It’s Day Four of the #whatwouldyougive challenges, and as was the case last year, my favorite part is reading the reactions of the team members to their loss of abilities. I’m contending with my own latest issue, which is the almost complete loss of my voice — not a result of ALS, but of a simple cold. The dictation software and I are struggling today, and every time I try to use my hands to correct a mistake, I feel like they might as well be webbed. Hitting a single key correctly is nearly impossible. So I’m extra happy to share the words of some of our incredible team members. Read More>
Tag Archives: whatwouldyougive
Summertime
Scarlett is staying home from camp today. When I asked her to get dressed, she ran to her bedroom and got back under the covers. She was wearing my nephew’s underpants, and two of his T-shirts, and seemed far too comfy to get moving. I mostly understood. It’s been a busy summer, and not at all the kind I used to have when I was a kid growing up in Oak Park, Illinois.
In those days, we didn’t do camp. We played outside, often right in the middle of the street or the alley, we went to the pool or danced in the sprinkler. Basically we entertained ourselves along with the other neighborhood children for three months, and sometimes we went on vacation to a Holiday Inn in Indiana or Ohio, or to my uncle’s cabin in Wisconsin where we swam in the lake and hooked wiggling minnows and leeches onto fishing rods that we cast out into the shining water over and over.
Scarlett’s summers are different. Read More>
The World at Large
Last night, Rob, Scarlett and I watched Ghostbusters. I’m not sure if it was an advisable choice for a six-year-old or not, but it’s too late now, so I don’t want to hear your thoughts on that, Dad. (P. S. I love you!) Scarlett seemed to really enjoy it, particularly the fat green blob attacking a New York hotdog cart and the scene where Ray fell out of bed in the middle of the night after a ghost unzipped his pants. “Is this part going to be inappropriate?” she leaned over to ask me. “Um.” I said.
Rob hadn’t seen the movie since 1984, so I tried my best–mostly successfully–to not quote along with the entire thing, the way I am perfectly capable of doing. Ghostbusters is rated PG, which means Scarlett should definitely be able to see it, since most of the Pixar and Disney movies she watches are also rated PG. But apparently things were a little bit different in 1984, because I’m pretty sure you don’t hear the words prick, pissed, bitch, ass, shit or goddammit in, say, Finding Dory.
Why am I talking about Ghostbusters? There seem to be so many other things to discuss, both ALS related and otherwise. Read More>