Given that Lisa never takes any shit from me – “none of that” – I’ve had to wait a long time to properly transition into being a Grumpy Old Man.
So, I ordered this sign – which is on its way to Casa Claire – and it will be posted with all of the other colorful but very real Warning signs along the entrance to this magical oasis immediately upon its arrival.
PSA: As an attorney, I am a stickler for proper warnings. Belt and suspenders. If the anti-liability warnings don’t work, I have a spade, great night vision and lots of property to resolve any issues.
When we were younger parents living next door to each other on Mosholu Avenue (family home from FJM on right, John’s now home on left)
my youngest sibling, John, and I used to imagine replacing Statler and Waldorf in a live version of that amazing Muppets duo when we had reached the appropriate geriatricity.
Statler and Waldorf – Wikipedia
Given the existing geographic hurdles, I’ve had to take my GOM act out on my own. Given that John is by far the nicest sibling in my family, I fear he may never attain GOM status on his own.
Now that the 1/2 Aussie 1/2 elven grans have returned from Oz, I’ve managed to make up for lost time in my GOM training routine. You see, my grandfather, Spaghetti, used to curse and threaten all of the children (and many of the neighbors) in Riverdale with the most outrageous consequences for any transgressions, real or imagined, to his absolute dominion over the house and property on Mosholu Avenue.
There is psychiatric support for this methodology – Immersion therapy – Wikipedia
That hedge clipper story in FJM is based on a very real event. Bronx children today still whisper that Spaghetti story in the nearby parks and schools, and none will dare walk up the driveway alone, even on a triple dog dare.
The personal result of decades of those kinds of threats from Spaghetti was a hardened young man who didn’t fear pissing people off as he went out into the world. That may be my greatest strength.
Made for a bumpy ride but left a trail of great stories.
As part of my legacy – remember, pay it forward – I work very hard at developing the same “you can’t scare me” attitude in my female grans – since they are the ones I see most regularly here in NoCo.
My one male gran-heir, Lucian Mattiace (phonetically “Matisse” like the artist, and the basis for a central character in TCS) – lives in Georgia with his mom/daughter Jackie (also fearless) – and their home serves as the basis of Simone’s house in Free radical – will just have to get by on his good looks:
He looks like a British rockstar from the 60s – everything old is new again.
It helps that the female grans were born like their father – Amazon.com: Luke Mccaffrey: books, biography, latest update – without a fear gene. Just read his books and you’ll understand.
But for my central role in their early childhood development, I try and maintain a theme here at Casa Claire. My threats towards my grans often involve magical retribution at the hands of mystical creatures.
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The savvy Stella may be the hardest nut to crack. That’s her in the Beagle Brothers conga line in the opening photo. She gives me no heed, and has coopted the Beagle Brothers to act as her dire wolves as she goes off all on her own and explores the back property – especially because the Dude said “no.” Now that’s confidence. My GOM plan is obviously working.
Well, hump day is again upon us my fine, five readers.
I tend to scale the hump a little slower these days and hang around on its peek to catch my breath while I stare for extended periods towards the horizons with hope of catching a hint of the promised land. But afterwards, I still like to catch the eye of my old friend Friday waiting patiently in Thursday’s shadow, before, with a wave, I descend on my skates.
You fine, five readers attack the Wednesday hump with your get-through-another-workweek determination. The whiff of weekend freedom and excitement can be caught on the wind at the peak.
And no matter what else we get up to, let us make today a great one.
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