I like a joke as much as the next person. I don't take things very seriously and I hope you don't either. Hope you didn't come here to whine 'cause I don't wanna hear it!
When we last met, Metalmom was riding the day away at high speed…..
I did more than just ride the rides, ya know. I saw lots of interesting things:
Like the dorky goth kids dressed in long black pants and long sleeved shirts in 90 degree weather….
Like the chick who had a purple kool-aid dye-job in her hair, went on a water ride and then had purple dripping down her forehead and neck….
Like the redneck covered in tattoos, wearing a NASCAR shirt, dragging his kids saying “Ya’ll hurry on up ‘fore I take yore sorry asses back to granny’s. I’ll give ya sumpin’ to cry ’bout, I’ll tell you what!”
And then there were animals.
We are posing with “Duke” the Budweiser Clydesdale. Isn’t he a beauty? Those horses were huge and so gentle. He even bent down low so a little kid could pet him- Without being told to!
These horse shoes should give you an idea of just how big they actually are! (And you know what they say about “big shoes”….)
We saw grey wolves and heard them howling. It was so cool. But it was an incredibly eerie sound too.
There were about three American Bald Eagles that we could see. I was a bit surprised at how big these birds actually are!
And there were parrots too. They came right over to where we were standing and began to pose. There were others but they moved so often, that most of my pictures blurred.
So yeah, Metalmom went out of her way to enjoy strolling along with Hubs just looking at the animals and marvelling at their beauty. This was pretty tame, and to me, “theme park” and “tame” just never seemed to mesh. However, I really enjoyed this.
There was something else that I liked (that I really expected to just tolerate)
My friends, these are the Four Tops. Now, I did grow up hearing their music played frequently. But that was my parents’ music. To me they were the “oldies”. I’m far too cool to listen to them!
But my Hubs likes loves the moldies oldies. He has the oldie channels pre-programmed into the car and work trucks. He watches the reunion specials on TV whenever they are on. When I heard that the Four Tops were going to be at Busch Gardens at the same time we were there, I knew that we had to go. I prepared myself to smile through clenched teeth just to show my man how much I love him.
And then it happened.
They came out and sang. At first, my toe tapped. And then my head bobbed a little. Eventually I began to sway in my seat. Finally I STOOD UP IN THE AISLE AND DANCED!
(*Can someone revive the reader who just passed out?)
They put on a great show for older guys. It was hot as hell. But they were so cool that I could barely see a glimmer of sweat on their foreheads. They were like Fonzie and we all know that Fonzie is cool!
It was the best theme park vacation I’ve had in like…….FOR-EV-AH!
And now……for your listening pleasure…..I give you….The Four Tops!!!
I woke up Saturday morning in complete darkness. I was disoriented. Where was I?
So I took off my blindfold.
Grayish skies greeted us and the weather channel called for afternoon thunderstorms. Determined to enjoy the day as much as possible, we left for the park.
Our hotel was only about 2 miles away from the park so we got there rather quickly. I have to say that Busch Gardens was extremely efficient at getting all the cars through the gates and into the parking lot. It could have been a nightmare!
As we entered the gates, I heard a sound so sweet to my ears. A sound that gives me a rush. A sound like a lover calling to me….beckoning me forward….pulling me….urging me….
The screams. The rumble. The whoosh.
ROLLER COASTERS!!!
The Griffon
Son1 and Babygirl started right away. I, however, was determined to follow the doctor’s orders to stay away. Jerky movements, centrifugal forces, inversions….these are the enemy of my poor damaged spine. I couldn’t resist the log flume. It was smaller than the one in Wildwood. What could it hurt? I went on. It was like drugs through an IV. Adrenaline coursed through my veins, feeding a long neglected addiction.
I was hooked again.
For me, nothing compares to the rush, the fear, the anxiety as you click, click, click your way up to sky. The terror as you crest the peak. And the teeth shattering, heart-pounding feeling as you drop down, down, down, faster and faster. Loops were created for a reason. The man who decided that adding them to a roller coaster was a good idea, is a god to me.
The Loch Ness Monster
Just one ride. Only once. Okay, maybe twice. Fine! I needed to be dragged away. Off to another ride. And another. And another. My back was great. Maybe it had something to do with the Aleve I loaded up on. Or maybe it was the Lidocaine patch attached firmly to the small of my back. Either way, it did the trick.
Roman Rapids, the Loch Ness Monster(video link), the Big Bad Wolf (another video link). All of them cupped my ass in their safely cushioned seats. Their safety harnesses held me firmly in their embrace.
Need I mention the near orgasms? TMI? Okay, I won’t.
We rode damn near every ride there. I did not hit Apollo’s Chariot, The Griffon, or Alpengeist. I thought that would be pushing my luck. But Son1 and Babygirl made me proud as they did it for me.
Son1, Shenanigans and Jazz
Shenanigan’s nine year-old daughter Jazz, (who may be my grandbaby someday) went on quite a few with me. It was like pulling teeth to get her mom to allow her on some of them. I took her on her first rollercoaster when she was five. Now she loves them. On this trip, she was introduced to high drops (Wolf), raging rapids, and loops(Loch Ness). Mid-loop she screamed,”I love this ride!!” I could have cried with joy. She is fierce!
But I did something other than the rides that may surprise you.
Babygirl with some random woman and her old man
To Be Continued…….**There will be other photos….chillax!
Vacation was — in the words of Tony the Tiger — GGRREAT!!
We left on Thursday and before we could even hit Washington,D.C., we caught the tail end of “Fay”. She pelted us with rain so strong that we could barely see. Luckily we made it through the Capitol Beltway without a hitch. If any of you have driven there, you know that this is quite an accomplishment! (If you scroll to the bottom of the link, you will see a partial listing of the exits…yes, partial!)
We arrived in Williamsburg in time to unpack, set a spell and find a place for dinner. With full bellies, we looked into something to pass the evening. (It sure as hell wasn’t going to be an in-room movie rental! They wanted fucking $12!!!) Instead we found the Ripley’s Believe It or Not Museum. Can I just say… This was almost the coolest place I’ve ever seen!! I saw shrunken heads, the tallest and the fattest men, ritual torture depictions, the Capitol Building made of matchsticks and so much more. I could have stayed there all night, but I needed my sleep. We were going to walk the next day.
We awoke pretty early but apparently Son1 and his gal, Shenanigans, stayed awake into the wee hours doing ‘God-knows-what’. We waited for quite some time before they got up and ready for breakfast. All the news reports were calling for rain and we hoped to fit things in before it started. After breakfast we started our day in Colonial Williamsburg.
Now, I feel the need to say, this wasn’t exactly something I was expecting to enjoy. Looking at old houses in the heat of the southern sun was not appealing. I wondered if I could look at these people all dressed up in costumes and not laugh.
BUT……Much to my surprise, I enjoyed every bit of it. I think that seeing these things in the heat made me much more appreciative of what our forefathers did to build our country. A few shops had air conditioning and that was incredibly welcome. I especially enjoyed the tours. These tour guides were so knowledgable and had a way of re-telling all the information that we learned in grade school and making it more understandable.
We were lucky enough not to get any rain.
We went for a dip in the hotel pool, rested a bit and went out for dinner around 9pm. Talk about late! We returned to the hotel room, where Metalmom donned a blindfold and promptly went to sleep.
I dreamed of the things I would do at Busch Gardens the following day.
To Be Continued…….**And before you start begging, the photos will follow later….
Yesterday’s post dealt with ‘memory’ and getting things done. Miss Loving Annie suggested that I get a notepad and write things down. This made me laugh for several reasons.
A few years ago, I decided to get more organized with my life. I began to file things, to get rid of things I no longer used or wore, threw out things that I thought I needed as keepsakes, etc.
One thing stood out glaringly. As I cleared drawer after drawer throughout the house, I found paper. Lots and lots of paper. Scraps of paper, magazine clippings, envelopes and napkins. Each had some kind of ‘important’ message on them.
Recipes for cakes and cookies, do-it-yourself household tips, book titles that I wanted to check out of the library, phone numbers, websites to be checked out, reminders of meetings at school, or doctor appointments. Oh a few were for Hubs–addresses for him to check out jobs, phone messages, etc. But the majority were mine.
So I went to the store and bought a 5-subject small notepad. I separated papers and put everything into it’s little place. It worked out great. Even in July, if I saw something that would make a great Christmas gift for someone, it went into the book.
I named it my “Memory”
It went everywhere with me. I was on top of my game. There it was- in my handbag-whenever I needed it.
Then I changed bags.
It was smaller and not all the same things fit into it. So the ‘memory’ was the first thing to go. I kept it on the table beside my bed. Then I cleaned the bedroom and moved my book to the dining room, where I could access it during the day when something came up. Then I cleared that table because we were having company. Where is it now? I don’t know.
I’ve lost my ‘memory’.
I’d like to find it and start using it again, but what is to stop me from repeating the cycle? When I had it around, I actually used it. But when I misplaced it, I went back to my old habit of using scraps so easily that I never realized the loss of the book until I went to library and couldn’t remember the name of the book I wanted, or I had no idea what I wanted to get my son as a gift for Christmas and couldn’t remember the “perfect” thing that I saw in the spring.
What do you do learn a new habit? How do you keep track of things like this? Am I doomed to forever be the woman with a mind like Swiss Cheese?
Hi, you’ve reached Metalmom! I can’t come to the blog right now. I am currently on vacation for the week! The key is under the mat, beer’s in the fridge, and alcohol is hidden everywhere. I’d appreciate it if you mow the lawn and DON’T get busted for noise violations if you have a barbecue! Keep the girls and the drinkers legal, and no pooping in the sinks like last year!! BEEP……..
A funny thing happens during a vacation, holiday, or long weekend. You know what it is because you have all felt it at one time or another.
It is the “Time Warp”.
I was able to hang out on the Fourth doing nothing in particular. I played on Facebook and played with Bandit. I visited my FIL in the hospital. Later on in the afternoon, my son gathered up his single friends who had no plans and held an impromptu barbecue. All in all, it was a great day.
After sleeping in a bit on Saturday, I got up, showered, and went out to breakfast with my girlfriend and my daughter. It was a good time. I napped in the afternoon and when I woke up, it had happened. Time shifted.
I couldn’t shake the feeling that there were things that I had to get done because “tomorrow is a work day.” I felt like I had to finish other things because the radio shows that I listen to were coming on soon. I thought my son had to go to work because it was Sunday night.
It was no such thing. It was only Saturday.
This particular ‘time warp’ is different from wishing that time would move faster.”It’s only Wednesday??” Doesn’t apply. It’s the warp where you realize that you have an extra day. You can sit down and relax or finish the job that you have been putting off.
It is kind of related to the feeling when you eat dinner early or finish a task way ahead of time. “Why, it’s still early! I still have time to ___!”
When the holiday happens to fall on a Monday, it makes the week whiz by. Thursday comes along and all of a sudden you realize that the weekend will begin tomorrow!
I don’t usually pay a whole lot of attention to the Fourth of July. Well, yes I do, but in the superficial way. You know, barbecues, fireworks, parades and such. But I don’t usually think about it.
This year, America is beating me over the head with it’s significance.
I watched Good Morning America yesterday and I saw Senator McCain spout alot of incomprehensible bullshit when asked a direct question by Robin Roberts. He rambled on and on about South America and the drug problems.He never addressed the question posed to him….”Why are you there at a time when the American public is in such financial straits?”
I’m not saying that I am for either him or Senator Obama, but I am glad that I have the right to choose.
I watch the news and see the horrors playing out in other countries. Women are unheard and unseen. There are no freedoms. And I am glad that I am living here.
A man is being arraigned in Philadelphia today on charges of aggravated assault, making terroristic threats and corruption of a minor for making a video for YouTube detailing the correct way to shoot a cop . He allegedly showed this to his son too. I was appalled by the hatred spewed by this man. I was disgusted that anyone could feel this way about our protectors. But he is using his freedom of speech. And as much as I disagree with him, I am glad that the right exists.
And every day, you and I make use of our freedom of expression by writing whatever we want on our blog. We choose whether or not we want to read the words put down by others. We choose the topics we wish to blog about. And I am glad that right exists.
So when you head off to your parades, your barbecues, and your fireworks, thank your forefathers for all that they did to ensure that we have a country like this.
Every year, beginning around March, I begin to spazz over the weight I haven’t been able to shed no matter how hard I try. I spazz because bathing suit weather is around the corner. Normally, there is a cushion involved because we don’t usually vacation until mid- to late August. This year we are going in late July.
AAAHHH!!!!
There is no time to do anything about my predicament. Oh well…..
We put a deposit on the place we are staying at and took a little spin around the area. What I saw made me forget about MY weight.
Did I actually see these particular women? No, but I might as well have. Oh dear God! What makes people think this is okay? Why should boobs spill out of your top? If you are NOT eighteen years old or perky, put that shit away!!!
Does anyone really want to see a woman (or man–you fellas are not immune to this behavior!) lift all of those rolls of fat to apply sunscreen? When you turn around, we DON’T want to see where the good Lord split you!
Hubs and I saw a woman with her four kids crossing the street, looking pretty close to this. We looked at each other and simultaneously said “Holy Shit!” I almost felt the bile rise in my throat.
I don’t think I will be worried about how I look in a swimsuit this year. Mine will cover my ass. I will not ‘accidently’ pop a titty out of the top. And I will look at these other women and say “Damn! I look pretty fuckin’ hot compared to her!”
My Dad is just a normal man. Six foot, three inches of blue-collar EveryMan. He is honest as the day is long. Smarter than one might think. Wickedly funny. And secretly sensitive. Growing up, Dad was always working or napping. He was the man to be feared. When Mom said,”Wait til your dad gets home”, you shook in your shoes.
When I reach into the past for some of my clearest memories of my dad, this is what I come up with….
I remember my Dad walking into our apartment, sweaty and tired after a long day of work, and kissing my sister on the top of her head as she sat in her high chair. (Mom said I had to be close to three years old.)
I remember sitting at the table sobbing, as my dad tried for the umpteenth time to teach me long division. I remember that I started right after dinner and we finished past my 8:30 bedtime. ( I passed math that year with flying colors)
I remember getting suspended for drinking in high school. He had to take the day off to meet with the nuns. He defended me and denied the possibility that I was guilty…even though he knew I was guilty as sin!
I remember the humiliation I suffered when he picked my sorry ass up from a kegger.I couldn’t even stand up between my friends who sheepishly dragged me to his car. And he never blinked an eye when I claimed to have only had 2 beers.
I remember waiting my cue to begin walking down the aisle at my wedding. My arm through his, he squeezed and whispered “The car is right out that door beside the curb. We can get into it and drive if that’s what you want. No questions asked.” I never loved him more than at that moment.
I remember when Son2 was born. Hubs had pneumonia and was banned from the hospital. Mom and Dad came to get me at 2 in the morning. Mom was my birth coach. We got to the hospital and I was put into a wheel chair. As they wheeled me away, Dad kissed me and said “See ya later” and he turned away quickly so that I couldn’t see that he was crying.
I remember five years later, as I was home alone and miscarrying. I called him and couldn’t even breathe through the pain. He charged into my house, and lifted me from the floor in his capable hands and carried me to the waiting car. I don’t remember anything after that until I woke up in the recovery room.
These are not the only things that come to mind. They are just the most vivid. Last month we celebrated his 65th birthday. Yes, he is still young. Apparently he gives Mom a reason to buy lingerie at Victoria’s Secret (AAH!! TMI, MOM!!!!) He is still the one I’d call in a pinch.
And I’m sure he could still find a way to pick me up if I needed it.
RSS Atom
