I walked into the restaurant for a nice quiet lunch with an interesting book. The hostess smiled and asked “Smoking or non-smoking?”

“Non-smoking,” I answered

She said, “I know you always say that, but I still ask you every time, don’t I.”

I’d only been in that restaurant twice before, and the last time was at least a month ago. Either she mistook me for someone else, or she has one hell of a memory. She walked me through the dining room to a good booth.

As I was sliding into the seat, the hostess apparently noticed my paperback book, and asked, “So what are you reading this week?”

I held the book face so she could see it: Panzer Commander [an autobiography of a WWII German Wehrmacht officer].

“Oh,” she said, “a war movie.”

I was slightly confused — a war movie?

“Ah, yeah,” I said. I wasn’t sure whether to comment on the obviously incorrect term. (I’m not good at the chit chat.)

She continued, “I like smut movies, myself.” She smiled, turned, and left me with that.

Both my eyebrows were raised as I watched her walk away. What the hell did that mean? I thought. So . . . many . . . things . . . weird.

Between the remembering me, to calling a book a movie, to mentioning smut — someone tell me what the heck happened.

Bullgrit

Calfgrit8’s Pokémon collection has grown a great deal; he’s got well over 100 cards now (not counting basic energy cards). Even Calfgrit4 has upwards of maybe 50 cards (not counting basic energy cards). We haven’t played the game in a long time, but the boys just absolutely love these cards.

Cowgrit bought them both a special book with pages of plastic sleeves for storing their cards (2 books for CG8, 1 for CG4), and this convenience has proven quite exciting for the boys. They carry their books of cards with them just about everywhere. When we don’t let them carry a book into a store or restaurant, they search through the pages and select the two or ten cards they want to carry in their pockets.

It’s rare that they don’t have at least one Pokémon card in their hand or in a pocket where ever we go. When we went to the park the other day, they had a few, and I and their nana ended up holding the cards for them while they played in the sand and water, so the cards wouldn’t get messed up.

It’s a joy to see the boys engrossed and enamored with these simple cards. At various times during a given day, one or both of the boys will have their books open in front of them just looking through the cards. They’ll pick a card, pull it out of the page sleeve, and place it on the floor next to them. Then they’ll go through the book some more, pick another card, pull it out, and place it on the floor next to them. They’ll do this several times until they have a dozen cards spread out beside them.

Then they’ll play with them in a quiet way that that just warms my heart to see. Usually, CG4 will have club meetings between his creatures — he’ll speak to and for the various critters. Occasionally, CG8 will have minor battles between the creatures.

I guess this is the boy equivalent of a girl having a tea party with her dolls. CG4’s play is more socializing between the pocket monsters, but CG8’s play is more an analysis of the creatures’ abilities — he can quote each Pokemon’s hit points, damage numbers, and resistances and vulnerabilities.

To CG4, there’s no better or lesser Pokémon — there’s just the ones he likes the looks of more than others. To CG8, higher game numbers make a Pokémon better than those with lower numbers — even though he doesn’t play the game with the cards.

It’s such a simple joy for me to watch them sitting around playing with their cards. It’s the kind of thing that just warms the cockles of my heart. No matter how busy or crazy or tiring a day has been, watching them quietly play on the floor with those Pokémon cards can ease my mind like few other things can. It’s their way of showing that all is well in their world. And that, of course, says that things can’t be too bad in my world.

Bullgrit

After getting the boys in bed last night, I plopped down on the den couch to chill out for a few minutes by watching some TV. Mindlessly surfing through the channels I came across Inside 9/11 on the National Geographic channel.

As all of you who are reading this, I witnessed the events of September 11, 2001 live, on TV, as they happened. But seeing the events again, almost 8 years later, I found extremely interesting. I learned things I didn’t know, and I was reminded of things I did know. So seeing this repeat of that day’s events is very worth watching.

But for me, the most interesting information was about how the terrorists organized the attack. Also, learning their thoughts, their reasonings, their philosophy, all that “inside” information, keeps world events in perspective. Hearing and seeing all this stuff helps people remember why world events since then evolved in the way they have.

Whether you approve or disapprove the way current (the last 8 years) world events have unfolded, I think this show should be required watching for all Americans (and probably many non-Americans). Before anyone states their belief that things have gone in the right or wrong direction in this time, they should be reminded and/or informed of how things started to set the current timeline in motion.

This show, Inside 9/11, is a wonderful current-history lesson. I’m so glad National Geographic produced this in a politically neutral manner — just the straight facts — so anyone can watch and learn without feeling like their political persuasions are being attacked. Nowadays, it seems that all information (truth and myth) about 9/11, and the events that lead up to it and followed it, are always used as propaganda or a political club to bash the other side with.

Bullgrit

We’re outgrowing our current home. With the interest rates and home prices as low as they are, we figure now is a great time to grab a bigger house – one that’ll still fit us when the boys are teenagers, and we won’t have to move again, ever. (Moving is a pain in the butt.)

A couple weeks ago, we learned that someone we knew had their house up for sale. We went by to take a look at it, and it was really nice – we fell in strong like with it. We talked about it for a couple of days, and were seriously considering making a move on it, but then we learned they already had an offer, and they accepted it. Oh well.

Then we learned of another house near Calfgrit8’s best friend, and we called to make an appointment to go see it in two days. The day before our intended visit, the agent called and said someone else had made an offer and the owners accepted. Jeeeez.

Then we found another house to look at, and made an appointment to visit it the next day. One hour before our appointment, the agent called and said someone made an offer and the owners accepted. Oh for the love of . . . .

Okay, okay, we gotta be ready to act. We can’t do this lazily. So, we decided to go ahead and get our house ready to sell. Then we can get an agent to start looking for us and we can be ready to visit and offer without delay.

All last weekend and this week, we’ve had dozens of cardboard boxes scattered around the house. We’ve been moving out big stuff and storing them at my mother-in-law’s house, (she lives just a couple of miles from us), so we can show our house to potential buyers – want the place to look open and uncrowded with our stuff so buyers can more easily picture their own stuff in the floor plan.

Now, some areas of the house look worse than normal because of boxes and sitting piles of various stuff scattered about. But other areas are looking clear and open. We probably have another week of clearing non-essential stuff out before we can present our house to buyers.

The biggest problem we’re finding with trying to get this place ready to show and sell is keeping the boys’ toys in control. They can have a hundred toys strewn across three rooms faster than Cowgrit and I can pack a single cardboard box. We walk out of the den for one minute, come back, and the floor is carpeted in Pokemon cards, Lego pieces, stuffed animals, and Hotwheels cars.

Bullgrit