Disconnected...and singing

I’ve had only very limited access to the internet since Friday—my router burned out. Hopefully Verizon will replace it soon and I can begin catching up on all of the posts I’ve missed the past few days. It's odd not being able to go on-line whenever the mood strikes. It makes me miss my magic encyclopedias.

I wanted to share that my wife did a little Black Friday shopping. She managed to snag the last copy of an “Office” DVD in Target. Sadly, as she continued shopping, someone took it from her cart. It’s a small thing, but who does stuff like that??? Not getting a DVD that we don’t need anyway isn’t a big deal, it’s just such an add thing to do for a DVD. I’m thankful the person didn’t steal her purse, but that at least I could understand.

On a happier note, I’ve been practicing my singing—the happy part is you didn’t have to hear it. My poor kids. I’ve decided that instead of singing an entire song on my blog, it would be better if I pick a few lyrics to focus on. Since I have a number of really terrific Canadian blogger friends, I wanted to include something that was uniquely Canadian to celebrate our friendship. It didn’t work as I'd hoped. No matter how I tried, “Hey, hey, you, you, I don’t like your boyfriend” just didn’t sound right coming from me. **smile**

Okay, sorry, that small piece of gentle teasing is an expression of fondness; I’m not making fun of Canadians (honest!), just being silly. If it would make you feel better, you could tease me back. Is that guy who sings “Shawty’s like a melody” from the US? You could tease me about that. I would sing that for you, but my daughter has forbidden me from even speaking those words. I think she’s afraid the lyrics might get stuck in my head and I’ll absentmindedly start singing it in front of her friends…maybe when my iPod’s stuck on replay (replay). :P

Wherever you are, whatever you’re doing, I hope you’re smiling!

Edit: When I was a kid, my sister and her hubby spent a few years living in Calgary and Regina. When they came home after their first winter in Canada, I noticed a power cord dangling under the hood of their car. Of course it was for an engine block heater, but for a few moments I thought, "Wow, they have electric cars in Canada!!!"

A Unique Visit to Starbucks

I was planning to write a second post on old song lyrics today. But after the mushroom story, I need to rehabilitate my reputation—I’m usually a good person to have around. So I’m going with something more serious.

One afternoon in August '09 my office was too warm, I needed something cold. So I made my 1st visit to Starbucks. Like most office buildings in the US, mine has a Starbucks on the first floor. I headed downstairs.

The line was very long—which was good, because I needed time to look at the menu board (and wonder, “What’s a ‘Venti’?”). I vaguely heard a man speaking loudly behind me, but that’s not unusual and I was focused on the menu. He started yelling and at first his words didn't register, but eventually started to sink in. “Aren’t you Vietnamese? You should be at the protest!” He was yelling about a protest against the US that evening at the Vietnamese Embassy (agents of the US were beating and killing some-one, somewhere). Finally I heard a small voice say, "I'm a US citizen and support the US government." I turned to see a fellow dressed all in black (like a commando-wannabe) standing over a tiny woman (I guessed late-40’s, so she was probably mid-60’s) who was nearly in tears. I asked her if they were together…she said no. I asked if she wanted to talk to him…she said no. So I invited her to go ahead of me in line and I stepped in between her and the crazy man.

Since he couldn’t get to her, he turned on me and for some reason that amused me. Loud and angry, he told me I couldn’t do that, I didn’t even know her. I told him we were old friends. Then he said I couldn’t tell her who she could talk to. I told him I get jealous when she talks to other men (she smiled at that) and assured him no one wanted to talk to him. He started rambling about Fox News and the US government. Then he wanted to know what evil agency I worked for. So I told him my boss controlled the entire government, that I worked for the devil (I don't! ;P). Next he asked my name so he could reveal my evilness on Fox News. I almost gave him the name of someone I don’t like, but decided against it. At that point I noticed the lady had her drink and was walking out the door, so I turned to place my order. For some reason he grabbed my shoulder. When I slapped his arm away and turned towards him, he just walked away, talking quietly to no one in particular. When I headed out later, he started walking towards me. But when I stopped and glared at him, he turned and walked away again.

It was a very weird visit to Starbuck’s. Since the place was so crowded and no one else said anything, part of me wondered if I had just been taped as part of a Dateline special on whether people will try to help in that kind of situation. But no one asked me to sign a release, so I guess it was all real. I looked for both the man and the woman the next few times I walked past the place, but so far I haven’t run into either of them again.

I have a handful of stories like this. This one is the most unusual--but also the most boring. If I share another, it will have a little action.

Have a great weekend folks and thank you for stopping by. I truly appreciate it. As my friend at Pop Champagne mentioned about tweeting, this wouldn’t be fun if I was writing to myself. :o)

PS - I went with a grande mocha frap.

Darkside III: The Mushroom

Last year I wrote a few stories about bad things I've done (Darkside I and II). Nothing too serious. It's time again to feed my confession compulsion and share the story about my neighbor Billy's encounter with a mushroom. But before I go any further, I want to state that I tried to cut him a break, but he failed to heed my escalating warnings. Remember that!

I was 12 and wrestling in my parent's yard against Billy and another boy. It was going well until I felt a finger in a bad place. Apparently I had a small hole in the crotch of my pants that I didn't know about. Billy thought it would be a good idea to stick his finger in it. I threw them both off and asked him what was wrong with him. He said it was an accident. I gave him a stern warning not to do it again. We started wrestling and the little goober did it again. I threw them off, punched him in the shoulder and told him if it happened again I was going to shove a mushroom down his throat. I'm not sure why I picked that as a consequence, except I could see mushrooms in the yard. For good measure I told him they were poisonous. The 3 of us started wrestling and before long he did it again!

I'd let him off with a warning the 1st time, given him a slap on the wrist (well, a punch in the shoulder) the 2nd, and this was strike 3. That's huge in the US! I HAD to follow through on my warning. Just as with good parenting, it's important to follow through on your promises for both rewards and consequences. Right? Right???

Anyway, I dragged Billy over to the mushrooms, picked one, and shoved it in his mouth. I didn't make him swallow it, but I did hold him there a little while before letting him get up, spit it out, and run home...crying.

On the one hand, I thought he deserved it. But at the same time I felt guilty about it. I should have punched him in the shoulder again and sent him home. You should know I'd seen my brother chew the mushrooms and spit them out. They never made him sick. But Billy had no way of knowing that--he thought I had just poisoned him. On the bright side, as far as I know Billy never tried to do that to anyone again.

I hope he's not working for TSA now--don't let anyone named Billy pat you down as you pass through an airport security checkpoint.


PS - I'm going to have to post about some of the good things I've done to try to balance out these Darkside stories! =)

Be Careful Where You Aim

I think some visitors have noticed that I'm generally pretty lucky (knock on wood). I've done some really dumb things, some I would do again and some I wouldn't. One dumb activity was playing with homemade slingshots when I was growing up. Most of the boys in my neighborhood had them. If we'd only shot at targets to see who was most accurate, that would have been great. But we just HAD to shoot at each other. The luck? I still have both eyes!

Many times we had duels (quick-draw style). We'd start with slingshots sticking out of our pockets and one rock in our hands. On the count of 3, we drew and fired. If we both missed, we would reload using a pile of rocks conveniently placed at our feet. It always ended badly. My brother once nailed me right between the eyes just above the nose. I had to run into the house for a pack of frozen veggies (to ease my pain). OMGosh that hurt. But I went back out to do it again. The next time it was my brother's turn to run for an ice-pack.

During one game of army, a boy from next door (Billy) and I were trying to hit his little brother. He was such a rotten kid--his dad let him get away with murder. To make a long story short, he was standing near his dad because he thought we wouldn't dare hit him. Billy shot and missed, so I gave it a try. I missed the boy, but hit his father square in back--he was shirtless!!! He yelled so loud (what a baby).

I knew I was dead, so I just stood there waiting for the end. What the heck, I'd had a good 10 or 11 years. But instead of coming for me, the man ran into his house (probably for a pack of frozen veggies). His wife did yell at me for 2 minutes, but that was it. They didn't even tell my parents. I was so lucky--my dad would've killed me. I got away with it!

But I didn't. I felt really guilty about hitting the dad. Years later (after the neighbors moved) I told my parents what I'd done and my dad laughed--he already knew. The neighbors DID tell my dad, but he didn't mention it to me because then he would have had to punish me. This was VERY unlike my dad, but he let it go for a reason. I knew my victim spoiled his youngest son rotten and was tough on Billy, but I didn't know he was abusive and I didn't know Billy was his stepson. The guy was a real jerk.

I don't excuse my bad judgement--I shouldn't have played with slingshots. But I stopped feeling guilty about that errant shot. I should have suspected something at the time just from the way Billy smiled when it happened. A few years after the shot, I made Billy have an unfortunate encounter with a mushroom, but that's another story.

The origin of a name

I got my name thanks to a misunderstanding. My dad’s nickname was Dick, so my mom assumed his given name was Richard. It wasn’t. The first time his birthday rolled around while they were dating, my mom bought him a belt buckle with “Richard” on it. He got upset—he thought it was a gift she’d bought for someone else and was now trying to recycle to him. They cleared up the misunderstanding, but that raised the question: How did he get that nickname?

He claimed that his favorite baseball player as a kid was Dick something-or-other. So people started calling him that and it stuck. He had a brother they called “Shin” when they were kids—because the guy could shinny up a tree in a flash, but that name didn’t stick. Why did “Dick”? I learned the real reason a few years ago, after my dad passed away.

According to my uncle, my dad was a very stubborn kid—he wouldn’t listen to anyone. That really annoyed their German grandfather, who said over and over and over that my dad was “thick headed” (which helps explain the time he circumcised his little brother--which is a much more interesting post than this one!). Eventually the grandfather just started calling him “thick”. Because of the man’s heavy German accent, it came out “dick” and before long everyone knew him by that nickname.

I tease my oldest brother on occasion that while he was named after our father, I’m named after the man our mother hoped he was. Hey, I HAVE to be the annoying little brother once in a while. LOL!

Have a great weekend!


PS – I’ve been Ricky (before elementary school), Richard (in elementary school—I was a formal child), and Rick (ever since elementary school).

Blog Awards

I want to thank MeiBelle of Beauty is Not Caused for giving me the Blog With Substance Award! This means a lot--I was surprised to see I'm on your blogroll (yay)! The award calls for summing up your blogging philosophy, motivation, and experiences in five words.

My blogging philosophy can be summarized by these 5 words: Try to not look silly! Haha, no, you know I don't mind looking silly. The 5 real words are: Sharing; Learning; Connecting; Laughing; and Supporting (each other). Blogworld is a great community.

Like MeiBelle, I'm picky about who I follow--every blog I follow has substance. If you're reading this, I'm passing it to you and would love to see a post about your blogging philosophy--even I can manage to pay attention for 5 words! ;P


I also want to thank IamNoOne of In Between Breaks for the Lovely Blogger Award. She's been on my missing person's list, but hopefully she'll become a regular poster again.








I'm very delinquent thanking London's-beauty @ London's boutique for passing me the Versatile Blogger Award. I'm supposed to list 7 random facts about myself, but since I've over-shared here they may be things you know already.

1) I was corporal in the safety patrols--walker division, as opposed to bus division. Okay, there were no divisions. But what did the bus riding patrols do? Nothing! The walking patrols actually kept the other kids safe, making sure they waited until there was no traffic before they crossed the street. We had no crossing guards.

2) I traded a tricycle for my first bicycle.

3) I rarely drink alcohol--but that's not because I once got stuffed into a car trunk. I just never developed the habit beyond the occasional social drink.

4) The best burger I ever had came from a no-name greasy spoon that you could only get to by going down an alley. I had lunch there too often during college.

5) I like Star Trek, all of them, and I have an idea for a book. I would share it, but last week I heard a Geico commercial and I swear it was ripping off a story from my blog!!! I know it's a coincidence, but...

6) I recommend the messy fun of eating a half-gallon of ice cream outside with a tiny wooden spoon. One summer my grandmother's store lost power for two days and she decided to share ice cream with kids in the neighborhood. A too big slice of watermelon is almost as much fun.

7) Why are the A and M in RicAdeMus capitalized? To help people know how to pronounce it. The first person I shared the name with wanted to know if "re cad e mus" was an illness. LOL!

Bonus #8) As far back as I can remember, I've never missed the Charlie Brown Christmas Special. It's a tradition. I like that it contrasts the true meaning of Christmas against the commercial aspects ($10's and $20's and real estate--this makes sense if you've seen it).

All of my blogging friends are versatile, but today it's time to learn more about: Blair; Dawna; Becks; Shingo T; Roma; Karen; and Shop N' Chomp. I hope you'll accept the award and participate.

Sisters' Keeper II

The youngest of my 3 sisters is a little over seven years older than I am. She’s the one who took me into the woods (and left me there) when I was 2 years-old because she decided we had too many kids in our house. She wanted to give me a chance to catch on with a different family. LOL! Of course, I don’t remember that day at all--I only know it because it’s her favorite story. But I do remember a day she needed me desperately.

I don’t recall my exact age, it was probably 9—which made her 16. We were home alone that day and I was enjoying some peace and quiet while she enjoyed not having to compete for time in the bathroom. She was in there a long time. Eventually I heard her banging on the door and calling for help. My first thought was, “I’m not going in there!!!” But I did go to the door. She was yelling that she couldn’t get the door unlocked and she was freaking out about it. She was prone to panic, but it usually involved bees. Short of kicking in the door (which I couldn’t do), there was no way anyone could open the door from the outside.

I tried to coach her, suggesting she turn the lock to the right. She said that wouldn’t work. Guess what I suggested next? But she said turning it to the left wouldn’t work either. Fortunately for her I was very good with and on ladders—@ 6 I planned an after-dinner escape by placing an old sliding board ladder under my bedroom window. My dad’s extension ladders were too heavy for me, but I could carry his wooden step-ladder. I got it out of the basement, leaned it against the house and climbed in the bathroom window. By that time my sister was crying. The lock worked fine, I just turned the knob to the right and she was out the door in a flash.

Right about now you might be thinking I was a nice brother (I was), that I could have left her in there until someone else got home. But I couldn't do that to her.

I needed to use the bathroom. ;P


PS - Sisters' Keeper I was about how I helped my dad make sure there was no hanky-panky in our driveway when my sisters' dates were dropping them off.

Prejudice

I have been trying to write a post on prejudice for quite some time now. Words flow, but they are disjointed because I get too annoyed. So I erase and start over. I let it sit a few days and then circle back to it. I tried leading with the definitions of prejudice (noun and verb), racism, ignorance, sexism. Then I’d get annoyed and need to start over again.

A post by my friend RML made me realize I don’t really need to write a post on prejudice. The words and ideas are all already out there. They have been for a long, long time. Her wonderful post referenced "To Kill a Mockingbird", Huck Finn, Shakespeare and more. The lessons are there to be learned! Why do so many ignore them? What does hate accomplish?

My favorite part of her post was the explanation of prejudice she received as a small child from her mom. It was perfect. It ended with, "intelligent people don't ignore something like prejudice - they fight it". I love that. If you think you might ever need to explain prejudice to a little one, visit her post and read the whole thing.

I failed at writing a post about prejudice, but I do have a story. I hope RML will allow me to write a guest post about the night I confronted my racist/homophobic brother-in-law about his attitude and comments. If you knew what a jerk he is and how calm I usually am...well, I'll just say that when I shared the story with my uncle, it made him so happy and he laughed so hard that I was afraid he was going to keel over. Please visit RML's blog and encourage her to let me tell the story.

GUEST POST, GUEST POST, GUEST POST!!! =)

PS - Happy {belated} Birthday, Bekah!!!

Old Song Lyrics

I've learned that many of my blogging friends like old songs. The ones you still hear on the radio on occasion have a great sound and great lyrics. Right? Well, I've been searching for an old song I heard on the radio just once. Kym warned me it could be "1 of 2,313,312,342,342 songs," but I searched anyway. I couldn't find it. But I did find some old songs with interesting lyrics. Interesting as in disturbing. I'd like to share a few:

"I know you want to leave me--but I refuse to let you go!" Sure, it's cute when the Temptations sing it, but would you really want to hear that from someone you're trying to get away from?

And speaking of getting away from, there seemed to be a lot of stalker songs, "I'll be watching you--every single day!" Yikes.

I found some educational lyrics. "Strange as it seems, you know you can't treat a woman mean." Really? That came out in the '70s. The 1570's, maybe???

Thankfully, attitudes have progressed a long way from, "She always knows her place." But I like Tom Jones anyway--it's not unusual!!!

If you ever hear anyone singing this next lyric, start inching away. It might be the most disturbing I've heard. It's "Pardon me miss, but I've never done this with a real...live...girl." Forget "inching away", just run and dial 911 as you go!

And don't forget, "She was a long cool woman in a black dress." Actually, there's nothing wrong with that one, I just like it! ;P

I could go on and on, but I won't (I may get writer's block again and need that material for an "Old Songs II").

Hope you're having a great weekend.

Edit: "It's Not Unusual" was Tom Jones' other big hit.