Oh Claire--

Yesterday, while at Target, I was holding Claire as she had experienced enough car seat time for one day. Most of the time when I hold her she wants to face forward, I was dutifully obliging for this outing. As we were strolling down the highly polished aisle I was informed by a friendly Target Team Member that she was spitting up. This nice lady quickly put a 'WARNING SPILL' sign up, and sent us on our way assuring us she would take care of it. The really funny part is that about five minutes later she spit up even more, and the same Team Member just happened to be coming around the corner -- once again 'WARNING SPILL' this time I insisted on cleaning up my Daughters mess (She is SO CUTE!).

My Girls!

Watching the game with her Daddy, note the crossed legs!

Today the Norton Family is making the switch from Cable to Satellite -- The installer is probably not prepared for me, my questions and my requests, so perhaps I'll fix him a coffee when he gets here. It's not my fault that DirectTV doesn't have a 'trial period' or some sort of satisfaction guarantee. The contract clearly states that once the installer leaves there is no turning back -- he may be here a while, while I test the system for my satisfaction. To be safe I've not cancelled the Cable yet.

And finally in the Things That Make Me Laugh file. When someone is really hacking you off politely state "You are causing my mood ring to turn an icky shade of brown!" This could really be used a number of ways, particularly when talking ABOUT someone. And for my favorite talent of the week MOUNTAIN UNICYCLING!

courtesy: http://www.63xc.com/mojok/mojok.htm

No this is not an altered photo, this is a real sport that is taking some small groups of interesting people by storm! A friend of mine at work was talking about this the other day like it was perfectly normal, citing the wonderful advantage that there was only one set of bearings, and one tire to worry about. At first I thought it must be something that is done in small spurts with lots of breaks -- but no, these people train for countless hours, and participate in real races!

I failed unicycle riding in gym class. I'm certain if I couldn't figure it out in a semester on a flat wood floor, then I certainly shouldn't be riding down trails in the SNOW!

Have a great day!

Sometimes You Just Have To Ask!

It was shortly after 9/11 and I was working at Miller Swim School in Tulsa, OK. To much pomp and circumstance a flag pole had been erected at the facility on this particular day - everyone loved it, the kids especially thought it was really neat!

On day one of the flag poles existence I was closing, as I was getting ready to leave for the night, I realized that I had not taken down the flag. I quickly put my things down and untied the rope to allow the flag to lower. Much to my horror I quickly realized the rope ends had not been tied together and as the flag lowered the end of the rope quickly went up in the air over the pully and fell to the ground at my feet.

I was troubled by this chain of events and was unsure of what I would do to fix this multi-level oversight. I thought about a ladder, but quickly ruled that such a decision could easily lead to my demise. I then considered shimmying up the pole, but came to the same conclusion. As I pondered my options I decided that surely there was a fire unit bored out of their mind that would love nothing more than to come out with their ladder truck and 'train' on its use in our parking lot while simultaneously fixing this little blunder.

So I called the county non-emergency number and asked for the phone number of a fire station that had a ladder truck, the operator kindly provided the information and I put out the call. The Fireman that answered basically blew me off stating that the Chief would have to make such a decision and to call back in the morning, I implored him to make an exception as we needed the flag to be up first thing in the morning, and informed him that his help would be most appreciated. He stood firm insisting he could make no such decision.

I thanked him and hung up the phone. About a minute later the phone rang it was the local Fire Captain, he was curious as to where again I was located. I told him and it turns out the owner of the Swim School had been this guys Principal when he was in High School, and his football coach. He told me he would do ANYTHING or Mr. Miller and informed me they would be out in ten minutes. In eight minutes the guys arrived in their ladder truck, and the operation ensued!

It took them a while but eventually the flagpole was repaired, and tied off! I never spoke of this story at risk of sounding like a complete idiot until long after I left the employ of the Swim School. I actually forgot about it until last week, when I was reflecting about times I was thinking outside the box and the outcome was surprising, this definitely falls into that category. And now its just funny!

Amy, Claire and I are off to Tulsa this week for a Birthday extravaganza -- it should be great fun, and we are going to get to see some old friends, including Mr. and Mrs. Miller -- it should be a hoot!