Watching the rain fall at Fenway Park tonight, I suddenly became aware that it was raining pretty hard outside here in Highland, Maryland also. And then it hit me - I didn't care! Two years after moving in, I can finally say that I don't care if it rains. After two years of running around with buckets, squeegees and sponges, I could care less. Its all better now.
Sometimes the simplest of things can mean so much.
What a beautiful evening it was last night. The leaves on the trees were shimmering yellow and fire-red, and even at twilight the moon was bright. Birds were chirping. Crickets were... cricking. The fire was snapping and crackling in the fire pit. Just a wonderful evening for pouring a drink and sitting back to watch....
THE FREAKING RED SAWX WIN, BABY!
WE'RE GOIN' TO THE BIG SHOW!!!!!
Today the entire faculty and student body of the Academy went to "Sunday in the Park" at Centennial Park. It was billed as the most fun your kids would have this Halloween. Five minutes into the affair, this was the look of fun on most faces:
That's because FIFTY THOUSAND other families had the same destination. We sat for 45 minutes in the line for parking, then stood in line for another 45 minutes to purchase tickets, only to realize that you needed to stand in line another 45 minutes to DO ANYTHING. Uh, exit stage left. On the way to the car, Josh says "Well that was a big bucket of nuthin'".
So we came home and set up our own "Sunday in the Park" on the west grounds. First we sat around sipping our "H-eye Ball" martinis. Then we spread hay all around and buried dozens of prizes, which the kids had to find in their "needle in a haystack". Then we bobbed for apples and made scarecrows using our carved pumpkins for heads.
Next year, I'm charging the kids admission.
Eventually I hope to post some REAL "after" photos, but for now, these will have to do. Actually, its more like "during" and "more during" photos...
The lower dormitories are now ready for the winter, with the access stairwell covered up and dry. This represents another success (of sorts) for the closer. Unfortunately, its all temporary. The entire structure will have to come down this Spring, so that the retaining wall beneath it can be razed and rebuilt with stone.
sigh...
When the Headmaster was installing the new flooring in the conservatory, he had some leftover landing tread that he'd used around the stairwell. Being the frugal sort that he is (penny-wise, pound-foolish), and knowing that the conservatory needed a coat rack, he kept the material.
et voila.
Today we called in the closer, and the Headmistress is pleased to see yet another capital improvement project successfully completed. Using the left-over tread and half-inch gas-pipe fittings, the Headmaster has built an industro-chic coat rack, très élégant.
Each hook on the inverted tread is fashioned from the following gas-pipe fittings:
- 3" flange
- 1.5" nipple
- end cap
What delight the Headmaster will take in welcoming guests with his new double entendre!
That is, until the Headmistress l'entend...
A member of the Academy's faculty completed the Baltimore Marathon this morning. The entire Adademy is appreciative of his ambition and dedication, and basks in the glory that his accomplishment bestows on our institution.
Erstwhile runner that he is, the Headmaster longs for such an experience. There is something primal about running - it is a part of human nature. In Plutarch's On the Glory of Athens, we learn something of the Battle of Marathon, which some scholars cite as a pivotal battle for Western Civilization. Plutarch relates that a Greek soldier was sent from the town of Marathon to Athens in 490 BC to announce that the Persians had been defeated. It is said that he ran the entire distance without stopping and burst into the Senate exclaiming "Νενικήκαμεν!" Whereby he promptly collapsed on the Senate floor and died from exhaustion. In the gallery, someone presumably thought "Dude! Now that would make a great sport!"
Certainly, long-distance running predates this unlucky soldier. After all, mankind has been distance running since the stone age. Still, the Headmaster can't help but reflect on the wonder of running 26.2 miles in this modern age, without some motivating factor equal to the fear of being caught and eaten alive. Perhaps when they come out with something called the "Jurassic Marathon", he might have a shot at actually completing one.
To anyone who might organize such an event, it would be very convenient if the finish line could be located in the waiting room of an orthopedic surgeon, whereby the Headmaster could cross said finish line, proclaim "Νενικήκαμεν!", and promptly have both knees replaced.
I think the Academy needs a closer like Jonathan Papelbon. We never seem to be able to complete a project. The exterior project is officially on ice for the winter. The windows are in, the stone ledge is in, the brick is skim-coated with mortar, and the siding is up. The stone and the shutters will have to wait for Spring....
Just when you thought nothing could get weirder here at the Academy. I was talking on the phone when Kyle walked up with this one, and I almost lost my cookies laughing...
By the time the boys got done playing with him, he was practically BEGGING for the axe. I know that there are people out there who think snakes are great, but to me the only GOOD snake is a snake that's... well, not around here anymore.
Tonight, after sitting in front of the television from 7:30 to midnight watching the Indians beat the Yankees in the ALDS (WooHoo!!!), and then watching the entire postgame show with Cal Ripken, Frank Thomas and Ron Darling, I found that I simply could not extricate myself from the sofa. Try as I might, I could not fight through the 12 pound bag of chips from BJ's and the six pack of beer that I'd ingested.
So I had to endure (for the first time ever) an episode of Sex and the City. And I liked it. It was very funny. OMG. What is happening to me? I never thought I'd say this, but please come take the remote control out of my hands. I'm not worthy anymore. I am but a pitiful shadow of my former self....
