Tag: family

A Question for My Older Brother

When I describe East Coast vs West Coast culture to my friends I often say “The East Coast is kind but not nice, the West Coast is nice but not kind,” and East Coasters immediately get it. West Coasters get mad. 😂😂😂

— Jordan Green (@jordonaut) January 21, 2021

Niceness is saying “I’m so sorry you’re cold,” while kindness may be “Ugh, you’ve said that five times, here’s a sweater!” Kindness is addressing the need, regardless of tone.

— Jordan Green (@jordonaut) January 21, 2021

Do you find this characterization, that “The East Coast is kind but not nice, the West Coast is nice but not kind,” to be accurate?

I do know that you have been less than enamored of the culture of the West Coast at times.

Kids

There are times when I think that I am a different kind of dad, like when my kids were too rambunctious at the dinner table, and told them, “It’s not buffet time at the Wildebeest.”

Today, we were rewarming chicken for dinner, we had my lentil soup for lunch.

I asked Nat if they wanted some chicken, and they said that they had already eaten.

I asked what, and they showed me a cup-a-soup.

I responded, “That’s not food, that’s a snack.”

I’m not the cool type of dad, I’m just a dad.

Great Pea Soup, the Toothpick Dispensers, Not So Much, a Decades Delayed Restaurant Review

Last night, I made some pea soup for the Shabbos mean, and it brought back some memories.

In 1977, my family went down to Los Angeles to visit with my grandparents, and to pick up grandma’s old car for my older brother, Stephen (The Bear Who Swims).

It was a 1963 Chevy nova.

Given that Stephen, who was relatively new to driving, was going to do some of the driving, and the fact that the Nova had never really done highway driving, we went north along the Pacific Coast Highway

Just off of the PCH, in Buellton, California, is a restaurant which is renowned for its pea soup, Pea Soup Andersen’s.

We were in the area around dinner time, and my dad decided that we would eat dinner there.

I don’t remember what I had, except for the soup, which was truly first rate.

What sticks in my memory was what happened after dinner.

I tried to get some toothpicks out of the toothpick machine, but it was jammed.

I tried to unjam it, and when I turned it upside down, because it appears that a toothpick was stuck underneath the roller, the top came off, spilling toothpicks all over the floors.

While the tres of the family remained in the booth, staring at me in poorly disguised amusement, I had to flag down the waitress and apologize.  (I did unjam the machine)

I’m still getting razzed by my brothers over this, after almost 44 years.

Family, nu?

Mom’s Yahrzeit Today

She died in 1976 in a car accident.  She was 39.

It was a drunk driver.

I don’t know the driver’s name, or what happened to him in court, but I hope that he did something useful with his life.

My mom was a serious bad-ass, at least to the degree that a 4’11” tall woman with juvenile onset rheumatoid arthritis can be. (Trust me, that’s a LOT)

I really wish that I had inherited her singing voice.

Vote Early and Often

The whole family voted today.

We got absentee ballots and then drove to Hannah Moore park to drop them off.

I voted for Biden, though the I was very tempted to vote for the Bread and Roses Party candidate, they are socialists on the ballot only in non-swing states like Maryland, but in the end, my family’s arguments prevailed.

I wanted to stop at the marijuana dispensary down the street after voting though.

It took about 15 minutes, and we caught it on video:

Busy Night.


A protrait of the cat as a young kitty

Destructo, our 7 year old long hair cat shut down yesterday.

He was just lying around.

He did not nip at us when he rubbed his stomach.

He did not react at all to catnip, when normally he’s a drug fiend.

Finally, in the evening, we took him to the veterinarian.

It turns out that he had a urinary tract blockage, not uncommon in male cats of a certain age, he is technically middle-aged now.

His blood work was good, and there is no sign of kidney damage, so it looks like we caught it early.

He has been catheterized.

We are probably going to have to change his diet, something lower in magnesium, I think, but I’m an engineer, not a veterinarian, dammit!*

The prognosis is pretty good.

*I love it when I get to go all Dr. McCoy!

Today in Appropriate Priorities

I’m taking on a new mission, one that keeps my feet planted here firmly on Earth and prioritizes my most important crew – my family. I’ll still be working hard with the #Starliner team and the @NASA_Astronauts on our crew. pic.twitter.com/PgdhPqwYQS

— Christopher Ferguson (@Astro_Ferg) October 7, 2020

Boeing astronaut Chris Ferguson has bowed out of the first manned flight of the first “Starliner” flight because it conflicts with his daughter’s wedding

 I wholeheartedly approve:

It was a defining moment for Boeing astronaut Chris Ferguson when he chose dedication to family over a flight to the International Space Station.

Serving as the commander of Boeing’s first astronaut-led flight, Ferguson announced Wednesday that he has pulled himself off the crew so he can attend his daughter’s wedding next year. Ferguson posted a video on Twitter that revealed his decision to stay at home with family.

Good.

Adventures in Dad Humor

I was in the Sukkah, doing kiddush, and it came time to say a blessing on the bread.  (Hamotzi)

After that, I asked where the knife was to cut the roll, and Sharon* said, “Just tear up the roll.”

So, I scowled at the roll, and shouted at it, “You’re ugly, and your mom dresses you funny.”

Minor mirth ensued.

*Love of my life, light of the  cosmos, she  who must be obeyed, my wife.

Dodged a Bullet

Last Thursday, a family friend, my kids’ old baby sitter, was not feeling, so my wife and kids did some grocery shopping for her, and delivered her groceries.

At the time, they thought that it was Strep, but it wasn’t.

She got a Covid-19 test, and it came back negative this Thursday.

Charlie, who delivered the groceries appropriately masked, was completely losing his sh%$ this week.

Have You Heard of the Hostile Workplace?

I’m working from home 3 days a week right now, and I have an excessively affectionate workplace.

It’s not Sharon* though, it’s the cats.

Today, I could not go more than 15 minutes before Meatball (the little queen) jumping up on my lap, or Destructo (the BIG Tom) nuzzling my elbow in a quest for affection and attention.

I’m sure that I am not the only one who has experienced this.

It’s surreal.

*Love of my life, light of the  cosmos, she  who must be obeyed, my wife.

Cats are Ingrates

We just did our semi-regular complete cleaning of the cat room, along with are significantly more frequent changing of the cat litter.

Do you know that the cats did as soon as we were finished?

They crapped in it.

Typical.*

*This is sarcasm. The cats crapping in the cat box is actually a GOOD thing.