Big Valley Fun 2010
4/2/2021
Sure wish these folks would get wi-fi. Logging into my wavecable account takes forever and is spotty. Like just yesterday when I wrote you all a delightful description of the previous day’s excitement. A fabulous bit of writing that wavecable managed to lose. You’ll have to use your imagination. Whatever drivel is below; yesterday’s was ten-times better.
Enough grumping. Yesterday, the boy and I come over to the Valley; boy this can be a dull drive while the North Cascades Highway is closed. All the excitement of driving along the Columbia River without the thrill of Christmas at the Ranch. (That’s the only other time we don’t take the NC Highway.) But Xander needs to know his grandparents so this spring break trip. And it’s probably a good thing. Harold is quite wheezy at the smallest physical exertion. I noticed it while we were feeding the cows yesterday.
According to Harold, it’s all Hitler’s fault.
Back in the day, a young and healthy Iowan named Harold signed up to kick some NAZI BUTT and while “Over There!”, he contracted a brief case of rheumatic fever. For the next 60-some years, the illness lay dormant, ready to attack at the slightest sign of weakness, and according to Harold, that time is now. Hence, his weakened heart. Now, most guys in their late 80s have less than perfectly healthy hearts, even without such a history of illness but if Harold wants to claim it as a war wound earned while saving young Parisian Damsels from Fascist Tyranny, well, I won’t gainsay.
Wendi and college friend Vickie got here on Saturday and had some family friends over for one of Tina’s blow-out swar-ays (just sound it out, okay?) with top-notch food and wine.
On the other side of the state, the boy and I had leftovers and watched a “Mythbusters” rerun. I’m just saying.
So far today, we ate a large breakfast, (anyone surprised?) and then Xander and I went to the big metropolises of Winthrop and Twisp. Probably the highlight was going to the Winthrop Fish Hatchery and getting to feed the trout. Good times, good times. I actually worked there one summer back in the 80s so I thrilled the boy with tales of how things used to be.
After the thrill of fish, we swung by the old Ranch House as Xander wanted to pick up an old toy from the TV Room. I told him it probably wasn’t there as Tina has spent the last 3 months cleaning the place out and doing a fairly good job at it. But I wanted to swing by there also so we went. Still a bit of stuff but it’s just about empty. There were two lamps I snagged for my classroom. That’s about it.
I think Xander got a little scared from it being so empty so we left pretty quickly.
(A wonderful scene is in front of me just outside the Office window. Xander found this cowboy hat in his room and has been wearing it all day; telling everyone we encountered about it. Tina probably found it while cleaning out the old house but nobody but a six-year-old would call it a cowboy hat. It’s basically the correct shape but it’s made out of green felt and has a pimpin’ rainbow feather sticking out of the band. Now, he and Tina are going to drive down to the River to have a picnic and with the weather being cool at best, Xander needed a coat. What does Grandma provide? A brown fur coat which is ankle-length on him. Ankle-length fur coat. Green felt hat. This doesn’t remind me so much of a cowboy hat as more of a midnight cowboy hat. I’ll ask Vicky to take a picture [or twenty].}
Speaking of our special child, Wendi told us a funny (if disturbing) story about him from late last week. Thursday morning, she was in a huge hurry and didn’t have time to get Xander a snack before before-school care. She told him to go downstairs to get something to eat. Quickly. A few minutes later, she comes downstairs to walk in on him standing at the counter eating a stick of butter. A stick of butter. How…. American of him. Despite his saturated fat-fogged mind, Xander was able to deduce that this wasn’t what Mommy would consider a “snack”. With some difficulty, he offered to extrude the mouthful of the stuff back onto the stick. She demurred. Some people.
Sure hope the organ-cloning technology is coming along ‘cause I know one fellow who will need a new heart about 20 years after he gets his own spending money (and away from his no fun parents).
Of the Wife, she and her friend are in Winthrop shopping. Not sure for what but she’s been very definite that she is here to do WHATEVER she wants. It’s her girls’ road trip and Xander is completely my responsibility. I think I need to get me one of those Guy Road Trip things. What say you, men?
Well, this is all I can think of now. Xander and I will be heading home tomorrow. Back to the grind. Wendi won’t be back till Friday. If you wish to reply (for some reason), please do so at the wavecable account. Harold gets too much email already. Hope to see you soon.
Brian