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

I haven’t worn a tie to work in many years, but I have about two dozen ties hanging on two clothes hangers at the back of my closet.

Of those 20+, here are my favorites. Sadly, I only ever wear the conservative one on the right. Since I only wear a tie nowadays either for a job interview or to a funeral (I’ve aged past the days of all my friends getting married), I never get the opportunity to wear Thor or Captain America.

I miss showing these ties as a business sign of my cool geekness. (I own both issues of The Mighty Thor and Captain America that these designs are based on.) But I definitely don’t miss having to wear ties on a daily basis. I’m a jeans and t-shirt guy.

But if I had a business-dress alter ego, he’d wear a kick-ass superhero tie. “Avengers assemble my wardrobe!”

Bullgrit
bullgrit@totalbullgrit.com

I was telling Cowgrit how my blog needs more humor; my posts need to be more entertaining. A few minutes later, she and I had what I thought was a hilarious conversation.

“See,” I said, “this would make a great blog post.”

“I don’t know,” she said, hesitant to let me post about a private conversation.

“Really. That was great. It was cute and entertaining,” I argued. “Perfect.”

“Well,” she smiled, “I’m cute and perfect, so anything you write about me has to be cute and perfect.”

It was a few moments later that I realized, she wasn’t so much describing herself as she was telling me how I’m allowed to write about her. See, she’s cute and perfect.

Bullgrit
bullgrit@totalbullgrit.com