Yesterday, October 15, was Calfgrit3’s birthday — he’s now Calfgrit4. It was an exciting day for him, and it turned out to be an exciting day for me, too.

For him, he got lots of attention from us as the birthday boy. He had a cookie-cake party at preschool with all his classmates. Then we had a small “party” for him at home — he chose what to eat, he got a “Happy Birthday” balloon, and we all had some cake.

His big party will be on Saturday, at the bowling alley. Bowling seems to be all – the – rage for kids’ birthday parties nowadays. I’m sure you’re anxious to read how that all goes.

For me, I’ve been offered a new job, and I start this coming Monday. This job seems like it will be pretty darn interesting — it has potential to be the best job I’ve ever had — and I’m excited to start it. So, wow, who could have predicted I’d get a possibly better job just two weeks after getting laid off from the previous “better job”?

Bullgrit
bullgrit@totalbullgrit.com

Back in the 90s, I worked several months at a computer art school. The school taught computer graphics, animation, etc., but it also had some traditional art activities.

One day, after only a few weeks at the job, I was looking for a particular instructor. I was told he had his class in the auditorium that hour for illustration practice. The auditorium at this small school was only about 50’x50′, built to seat maybe 100 students. When I arrived at the auditorium, the doors were closed. That was unusual, but I just shrugged and opened the doors and walked in.

About twenty feet in front of me was a naked 40-year-old man holding a pose. He was standing on a pedestal and his “midsection” was right at eye level. You can imagine my surprise.

I froze in place and shifted my eyes side to side. All around the room were about 20 student artists, drawing the nude model. The instructor saw me and came over. He had a strange look on his face, apparently trying to figure out why I had the surprised look on my face. He laughed heartily when he learned I hadn’t been told they sometimes work with nude models.

I have no problem with nude models, or nudity in general, but I had never before walked in on one at my workplace. And to make the surprise more, um, surprising, was that the first thing in the room my eyes saw was this man’s “midsection.”

Well, the surprise was over quickly, and now that I knew about the occasional model sessions, walking in on others later didn’t stun me. In fact, the first time I walked in on the 20-something female model, noticing her purple pubic hair didn’t faze me. I guess she liked the aesthetic symmetry of having her pubes match her purple head hair. She was an artist, herself, apparently.

Bullgrit
bullgrit@totalbullgrit.com

The boys were in the backyard playing, and I had just gone inside to gather up some snacks. I answered the phone while in the kitchen. It was Cowgrit calling.

I had left the back door open so I could hear the boys, and hear them, and more, I did. There was a big roar outside from an aircraft flying over. We’re not too far from the busy main airport of our state, so hearing a plane fly over is not exceptional. But this one sounded really low, and that’s pretty rare.

The boys outside were yelling, “Dad! Dad! Come here! Look at this!” They also asked “What is this?!”

I walked to the back door with the phone to my ear and looked out at the boys by their play set. “I’m on the phone, boys!” I shouted back. They were looking and pointing up in the sky over the house very excitedly. I could understand that. An unusually low flying plane going over our house is exciting. But they were saying, “Dad, what is that? It’s something strange!”

“It’s not an airplane?” I shouted.

“No,” they answered. “I don’t know what it is,” said Calfgrit7.

“Is it a helicopter?” asked Calfgrit3.

Calfgrit7 said it wasn’t, and it didn’t sound like a helicopter. The sound was fading, having passed directly over our house.

I decided I should run out in the yard and take a look before it got out of sight. All kinds of thoughts ran through my head right then. I started thinking all kinds of fantastic things. Holy crap! I thought, what if it really is something fantastic!?.

I ran outside to the boys by the play set and turned around to look up over the house. I was at once relieved that it wasn’t something really fantastic, but I was excited that it was something very cool. It was a B-2 stealth bomber. I caught sight of it just before it disappeared over the trees — it was very low, less than a thousand feet up.

I’ve seen a B-2 before. Many times on TV and/or movies, and once in person at a military air show. But I can totally understand how a 7 year old and a 3 year old would be bewildered by it. It doesn’t look like any other aircraft they have ever seen, on TV or in person. To them it is something fantastic. Their excitement over the fantastic enhanced my excitement over the coolness, and I jabbered to Cowgrit on the phone about what had just happened (as though she hadn’t heard the whole thing as it happened).

Some things are best experienced in the presence of children. The merely cool can become fantastic.

Bullgrit
bullgrit@totalbullgrit.com

Cowgrit calls it my “redneck” shirt (she hates it). Calfgrit7 calls it my “octopus skeleton” shirt (he loves it).

It’s not a redneck shirt. And octopi don’t have skeletons.

The white t-shirt has the Reaper logo large across the back and small on the front. Reaper is a miniature figure company — they make the little figures used in table-top war games and role playing games.

I also have a black ball cap with the logo. I got both items for free by mailing in proofs of purchase from the many packs of mini figures I bought over a couple year’s period. It’s cool swag.

So, you see, there’s nothing redneck about this shirt or logo. It’s a gamer thing.

OK, it’s a gamer geek thing. I’ll cop to that.

But I’m not a redneck. A redneck wouldn’t have changed out of this shirt for the parent teacher conference last month. See?

Bullgrit
bullgrit@totalbullgrit.com