Wocket in my Pocket

Here is little post in honor of one of Jack's favorite books.

Did you ever have the feeling there's a Zamp in the lamp?

Or a Nink in the sink?

Or a Woset in the closet?

Sometimes I am quiet certain there's a Jertain in the curtain.

And when I hear a tock I know a Zlock's behind the clock.

And that Zelf on that shelf, I have talked to her myself.

I like the Zable on the table.

And the Ghair beneath the chair.

But the Bofa on the sofa acts as if he does not care.

I like the Geeling on the ceiling.

And the Zower in the shower.

And the Nupboards in the cupboards. I do like them a lot.

But that Nooth Grush on my toothbrush. . .Well, some are nice, but he is not.

The Yeps on the steps are always fun to have around, and so are many, many other friends that I have found. . .

Like the Tellar and the Nellar and the Gellar and the Dellar and the Bellar and the Wellar and the Zellar in the cellar.

There's the Yottle in the bottle whom I do not wish to keep.

But the Zillow on my pillow always helps me fall asleep.

Gone Fishin'

So, I am not an avid outdoorsman. I like hiking around and playing sports outside, but I have only fished once in my life (and I didn't catch a thing). My friend John Lewis offered to take me fishing on his boat, and he also offered for Matt to come along. I was very excited to take him up on his offer. Matt did great and we caught 5 fish (we threw them all back). Here are a couple of pictures.Matt did a great job on the boat. He ended up being really comfortable on it, and he had a great attitude.

Here are Matt and John with our first catch. Matt seemed a little nervous that the fish was going to "get him," especially since it kept flopping out of John's hands.

Here are Matt and I after a later catch. It was great that we both had our first successful fishing trip, and that it was together.

Special thanks to John for taking us out. It was a blast, and we hope to get to do it again sometime soon.

Some Great Books

So, I am going to throw out some great books that I have read recently. I highly recommend all of them.

Cry, the Beloved Country by Alan Paton
This is was written in the early 1940's, and it is a powerful story about South Africa. The main character is a black minister who lives in the country, but travels to the city to check up on family who have moved there. A series of events lead him to deal not only with the heartbreak and conflict, but also with the changing world around him. This is known as the classic novel on South Africa. I found myself constantly in tears through the last 50 pages of it. So, so good. Well worth a read.

The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini

I read this one back in January, but I still thought I would comment on it. You have probably seen it all over Borders and other book stores. It is a story that revolves around modern Afghanistan, but also deals with powerful themes that cross all cultural barriers. It deals with guilt, love, and destiny. A warning is that there are some tragic events in the book that are hard to read. I still found it to be incredibly worthwhile, though. Great stuff.

This Side of Paradise by F. Scott Fitzgerald

If you have read The Great Gatsby, and if you liked it, then I highly recommend this book. Again, I read this one a while ago, I think in December, but I just couldn't put it down. It is set in the 20s and it completely character and setting driven. It follows a young man through romance, college, friendship, and career life as he wrestles with his place in the world. I think it was amazing literature. Really interesting.

The Road by Cormac McCarthy

I just finished my second trip through this book. Simply put, this is a post-apocalyptic story of a father and a son try to survive. The story is told in a simple way, but it is so powerful, terrifying, and compelling that I moved through it in 2 or 3 days. You may have seen that a movie based on the book will be coming out this Fall (starring Viggo Mortenson, aka, Aragorn). I thinking being a father of sons made this book that much more powerful to me. It is strange how that things that the father in the story wrestled with, in how he kept his son alive and how he kept hope alive in his son, seemed so similar to the everyday things that fathers deal with. Highly recommended.

I am looking forward to more summer reading. I am working on another Daniel Silva novel right now. I am also reading through Trinitarian Soundings again. Maybe this time I will understand it.

Basketball Season

It is playoff season for the NBA, so Matthew has been getting well-acquainted with what is happening, especially with the Lakers. If Matthew is watching a sport with me, he inevitably will want to play that sport while we are watching. We have a basketball hoop in our play room (where the TV also is), so Matt will shoot hoops and serve as his own commentator.
On top of loving sports, Matt also has a pretty good memory, so he is able to remember a lot of the Lakers, even those who are not the main stars. He talks a lot about Bryant and Gasol and Ariza and Fisher, but my favorite is when he talks about Vujacic.
Sasha Vujacic is a role player with the Lakers and a 3-point specialist. Still, he tends to plan a major part in Matt's fantasy games. The other day he was playing and running a commentary while doing so. Here is a little taste of what it sounded like:
"Bryant to Fisher. To Ariza. To Odom. Odom shoots, NO GOOD! Vujacic the rebound. Vujacic, NO GOOD! Vujacic the rebound. Vujacic, NO GOOD! Vujacic the rebound. Vujacic, NO GOOD! Vujacic the rebound. Makes the shot. Vujacic to Gasol. . ." You get the point.
Other phrases that he throw in are:
"Slams it"
"For the three"
"Knocks it down"
"Misfires"
He also sometimes gets fouled and then shoots free throws.
On top of all of this, though, he will make Karina and/or me watch while he does his own instant replay of the best plays.
This video is not the same running commentary of what I tried to imitate previously, but it may give you a little taste. Listen for Farmar and Vujacic.

Fun at the Falls

Here are some pics of when I took Jack to the Falls. He is an easy kid to please (most of the time).

Biking

Getting Back Out There

So, the sun is out and so are our bikes. After a long slumber, Karina, Matt, and I are all riding again. It took Matt a little while to get going again because it had been so long. But I think it helped that I told him that riding a bike is like. . .well. . .riding a bike. Before he knew it, he was cruising through the cul de sac with no help from me.

The Springwater Trail

So, I wanted to get going again too. Last Saturday I decided that I wanted to do more than just ride around town. I decided to go out on the Springwater Trail and ride for a while. I started on it at about 12:45pm. There are mile markers, so I thought I would ride for about 5 miles and then head back. The 5 miles went so quickly, though, that I thought I could try for 10. It was going pretty well, even after I reached 10, and I thought to myself, "It is only about 6 more miles until the mile markers end. Why don't I just go for it?"

I did.

When I finally got to the end, I wanted to see exactly where I was, so I rode out before turning around on the trail. I was at OMSI! I had no idea.

The Dreaded Moment

Then I started to ride home. I realized very quickly that I had made a horrible mistake. I was on an older street bike with over 16 miles to ride, and I had probably never ridden for more than 3 miles at once in my entire life.

I could have just taken my sweet time, but I needed to get back for the Easter service that evening. I labored through the ride, stopping to stretch and drink water 3 or 4 times. After a while, I got the sensation that I was probably going to throw up. Funny enough, the next thought I had was that I did not object to throwing up at all. It sounded like it might help.

Well, I did make it home, just in time to shower and head out to church. My legs were tight, but it was still an experience worth having.

Today, I rode 10 miles out and 10 back. That was challenging, but not nearly as debilitating. Fun stuff.

All-Star Jack

Enjoy!