Some Chickens by Jack Prelutsky
Some chickens love running,
some chickens love jumping,
and some love to swim in the ocean.
These chickens possess
a remarkable trait --
each one is pure poultry in motion.
from My Dog May Be a Genius, page 94
10 April 2013
09 April 2013
Guy Time
I had some work to do this evening so Isaac and Matt used the time to play video games. Lucky.
Zany Zapper Zockke
by Jack Prelutsky
The greatest ace of video space
was zany Zapper Zockke,
for just a single quarter
he could play around the clock.
One day he played a fateful game
of SUPER SPACE SARDINES,
he loved to zap those fishy blips
to countless smithereens.
They stormed in strange formations
but he boldly beat them back,
with both his blasters blazing,
Zapper weathered each attack.
They employed bizarre maneuvers,
and they set uncanny traps,
yes they met disintegration
from his lightning counter-zaps.
His hands were swift, his aim was true,
his strategy was keen,
he faced those fish invaders,
and he blew them off the screen.
They seemed to swoop from nowhere,
but he calmly kept his wits,
and with sharp and deadly volleys,
Zapper shattered them to bits.
The machine began to sizzle
as the points began to mount,
he zapped so many space sardines
that even he lost count.
Then, in a flash, he vanished,
for he moved at such a pace,
that he spun into a time warp--
Zapper Zockke's in hyperspace!
by Jack Prelutsky
The greatest ace of video space
was zany Zapper Zockke,
for just a single quarter
he could play around the clock.
One day he played a fateful game
of SUPER SPACE SARDINES,
he loved to zap those fishy blips
to countless smithereens.
They stormed in strange formations
but he boldly beat them back,
with both his blasters blazing,
Zapper weathered each attack.
They employed bizarre maneuvers,
and they set uncanny traps,
yes they met disintegration
from his lightning counter-zaps.
His hands were swift, his aim was true,
his strategy was keen,
he faced those fish invaders,
and he blew them off the screen.
They seemed to swoop from nowhere,
but he calmly kept his wits,
and with sharp and deadly volleys,
Zapper shattered them to bits.
The machine began to sizzle
as the points began to mount,
he zapped so many space sardines
that even he lost count.
Then, in a flash, he vanished,
for he moved at such a pace,
that he spun into a time warp--
Zapper Zockke's in hyperspace!
from New Kid On the Block, page 151
08 April 2013
Hungry
The three of us went to see "A Place at the Table" at a small local theater yesterday afternoon. It is about the problem of hunger in America. Watch it if you have an opportunity.
I am not sure how much Isaac internalized in between shifting around in his seat and curling up in a fetal position trying to stay warm. Our pastor says that he doesn't mind children reading or writing or drawing during his sermons because he believes that they are listening on some level. And I know that I have been surprised by what Isaac will ask about or refer to after listening to NPR on our commute to and from school when I thought he was engrossed in his Kindle or the latest Captain Underpants book. So, I hope that, while he claimed not to have learned anything, some part of the movie will stick in his brain.
Sometimes it seems we are surrounded by efforts to help solve the problem of hunger -- our church provides backpacks for needy families each weekend at a local school and collects food, cooks and serves at the local soup kitchen each month. At school our Student Council does an annual Salvation Army food drive and our PE teacher heads up an effort to support a local organization that also provides food for needy families on weekends. Despite all of the awareness efforts, however, the problem of hunger is rarely real to our family. We have plenty. It's hard to imagine sometimes that other people don't.
There were a lot of tears in the film and in the theater during the movie. There is not much to laugh about when there is "nuffin' in de pot."
Philosophy by Paul Laurence Dunbar
I been t'inkin' 'bout de preachah; whut he said de othah night,
'Bout hit bein' people's dooty, fu' to keep dey faces bright;
How one ought to live so pleasant dat ouah tempah never riles,
Meetin' evahbody roun' us wid ouah very nicest smiles.
Dat 's all right, I ain't a-sputin' not a t'ing dat soun's lak fac',
But you don't ketch folks a-grinnin' wid a misery in de back;
An' you don't fin' dem a-smilin' w'en dey 's hongry ez kin be,
Leastways, dat 's how human natur' allus seems to 'pear to me.
We is mos' all putty likely fu' to have our little cares,
An' I think we 'se doin' fus' rate w'en we jes' go long and bears,
Widout breakin' up ouah faces in a sickly so't o' grin,
W'en we knows dat in ouah innards we is p'intly mad ez sin.
Oh dey 's times fu' bein' pleasant an' fu' goin' smilin' roun',
'Cause I don't believe in people allus totin' roun' a frown,
But it's easy 'nough to titter w'en de stew is smokin' hot,
But hit's mighty ha'd to giggle w'en dey's nuffin' in de pot
I am not sure how much Isaac internalized in between shifting around in his seat and curling up in a fetal position trying to stay warm. Our pastor says that he doesn't mind children reading or writing or drawing during his sermons because he believes that they are listening on some level. And I know that I have been surprised by what Isaac will ask about or refer to after listening to NPR on our commute to and from school when I thought he was engrossed in his Kindle or the latest Captain Underpants book. So, I hope that, while he claimed not to have learned anything, some part of the movie will stick in his brain.
Sometimes it seems we are surrounded by efforts to help solve the problem of hunger -- our church provides backpacks for needy families each weekend at a local school and collects food, cooks and serves at the local soup kitchen each month. At school our Student Council does an annual Salvation Army food drive and our PE teacher heads up an effort to support a local organization that also provides food for needy families on weekends. Despite all of the awareness efforts, however, the problem of hunger is rarely real to our family. We have plenty. It's hard to imagine sometimes that other people don't.
There were a lot of tears in the film and in the theater during the movie. There is not much to laugh about when there is "nuffin' in de pot."
Philosophy by Paul Laurence Dunbar
I been t'inkin' 'bout de preachah; whut he said de othah night,
'Bout hit bein' people's dooty, fu' to keep dey faces bright;
How one ought to live so pleasant dat ouah tempah never riles,
Meetin' evahbody roun' us wid ouah very nicest smiles.
Dat 's all right, I ain't a-sputin' not a t'ing dat soun's lak fac',
But you don't ketch folks a-grinnin' wid a misery in de back;
An' you don't fin' dem a-smilin' w'en dey 's hongry ez kin be,
Leastways, dat 's how human natur' allus seems to 'pear to me.
We is mos' all putty likely fu' to have our little cares,
An' I think we 'se doin' fus' rate w'en we jes' go long and bears,
Widout breakin' up ouah faces in a sickly so't o' grin,
W'en we knows dat in ouah innards we is p'intly mad ez sin.
Oh dey 's times fu' bein' pleasant an' fu' goin' smilin' roun',
'Cause I don't believe in people allus totin' roun' a frown,
But it's easy 'nough to titter w'en de stew is smokin' hot,
But hit's mighty ha'd to giggle w'en dey's nuffin' in de pot
07 April 2013
Feeling Thankful
Psalm 100
God made us,
and we are His people.
So we should sing
songs of happiness!
Let's celebrate God's goodness,
His love that will last forever!
(from Psalms for Young Children by Marie-Helene Delval)
Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth.
Worship the Lord with gladness
come before Him with joyful songs.
Know that the Lord is God.
It is He who made us, and we are His;
we are His people, the sheep of His pasture.
Enter His gates with thanksgiving
and His courts with praise;
give thanks to Him and praise His name.
For the Lord is good and His love endures forever;
His faithfulness continues through all generations.
(New International Version)
06 April 2013
Never Only
Isaac was feeling better Friday and the weather had cleared, so we walked to the nearby movie theater to see The Croods. It was an average movie with a common theme -- daughter feels misunderstood by her over-protective father whom she misunderstands but in the end they overcome their differences and have a strong father/daughter relationship. Not the best children's movie I have seen, but not the worst. Isaac liked it and I like seeing him laugh.
My late-thirties self tends to sympathize with the dad (or the mom, as the case may be) in these kinds of plots. He is doing the best he can and his ungrateful daughter (or son) needs to show him more respect. If I had seen the same movie as a teenager, or even in my early twenties, I am sure I would have felt differently. Parenthood definitely changes your perspective.
Isaac is pretty lucky to have the father he does, and while we will try to listen and be open to his opinions as he grows up, there will be many times that he, and we, will feel misunderstood and frustrated. I just hope he can remember that we are doing the best we can.
My late-thirties self tends to sympathize with the dad (or the mom, as the case may be) in these kinds of plots. He is doing the best he can and his ungrateful daughter (or son) needs to show him more respect. If I had seen the same movie as a teenager, or even in my early twenties, I am sure I would have felt differently. Parenthood definitely changes your perspective.
Isaac is pretty lucky to have the father he does, and while we will try to listen and be open to his opinions as he grows up, there will be many times that he, and we, will feel misunderstood and frustrated. I just hope he can remember that we are doing the best we can.
Only a Dad by Edgar Guest
Only a dad with a tired face,
Coming home from the daily race,
Bringing little of gold or fame,
To show how well he has played the game,
But glad in his heart that his own rejoice
To see him come and to hear his voice.
Only a dad with a brood of four,
One of ten million men or more.
Plodding along in the daily strife,
Bearing the whips and the scorns of life,
With never a whimper of pain or hate,
For the sake of those who at home await.
Only a dad, neither rich nor proud,
Merely one of the surging crowd
Toiling, striving from day to day,
Facing whatever may come his way,
Silent, whenever the harsh condemn,
And bearing it all for the love of them.
Only a dad but he gives his all
To smooth the way for his children small,
Doing, with courage stern and grim,
The deeds that his father did for him.
This is the line that for him I pen:
Only a dad, but the best of men.
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