Mid-Michigan Style for Mid-November. . .

"The Young Master warning ol' Dad before the school bus arrived, "No skiing, tobogganing, or other fun in the snow ever!"

The Young Master, who is in the 3rd Grade and turned nine three weeks ago, has discovered that he can make people laugh. A lot.

A great reader, and highly talented with pencils, paper, and paints, he has created a series of book covers and story text since the early summer, which is divided into chapters, all about the misadventures of one put upon small boy who is made to do a million and one household chores by his mean father (actually just one task a day Monday through Friday plus feed the fish and cats daily) in the name of helping around the house and learning responsibility. The mean father in these highly detailed illustrations, naturally, looks like yours truly. Imagine that.

The various related narratives committed to paper always seems to be about arduous things like bath times, homework, feeding the fish and cats, swiffering the kitchen floor, tossing a basket of laundry into the washing machine, organizing his bedroom bookshelves, practicing the piano, bedtimes, and the like. And, of course, eating unpopular foods he has been served for dinner, for example homemade ravioli filled with cheese and asparagus tips.

Boyish perceptions and tendencies toward overstatement aside, The Young Master has already asked several times about skiing this winter since we have been having light snows here for the last week. With slightly colder temperatures and just a bit more on the ground we should be ready to schussss-schussss-schusss through the woods and down some hills together. In the meantime, it's like living with Steve Martin and Martin Short around here. Bizarrely madcap. There are days when our sides almost hurt from so much laughter brought on by our son.

-- Heinz-Ulrich

The woods beyond our backyard this morning just after The Young Master climbed aboard the school bus this morning.

Comments

J. Press Goodness. . .

F resh out of the UPS box, three examples of J. Press goodness on a Friday morning. These shirts are replacements for three recently worn-through, more than 20-year old OCBDs from Land's End (two) and L.L. Bean (one). They were purchased shortly after I took my first teaching position at a now defunct local college outside of Minneapolis, immediately following graduate school, as the fall semester kicked off in September 2003. While some professional gear hung in my closet already, a few additional items were needed at that point to round out the weekly rotation. Said shirts all finally fell prey to small rips showing up in the now very thin, but incredibly comfortable, fabric within six weeks of each other this winter and early spring. So, time for a few replacements. The old friends will find new life as summertime lawncare shirts. Of the three new items above, my favorite shirt is on the right, but one cannot go wrong with a light blue OCBD either, so we're in good

Time for the Ol' Switcheroo?

W ell, here we are approaching mid-April. And it might just be about time to swap the cool and cold weather attire for warmer weather gear this coming weekend. Mid-70s Fahrenheit yesterday, and low 70s today. Cooler after that later in the week, but I can probably stow the heavier wool items and cords in the cedar closet and safely bring out the warm weather suits, odd jackets, and pants until the fall. Still time of one last hurrah today however. Cooler enough this morning for a tan pair of cords paired with that recently arrived J. Press jacket. The latter is light enough, although it is wool, that I might just keep it handy since we can certainly have chilly days in May and June. While classes end on the April 19th this year, I'll still be on campus occasionally into June, so it's not exactly time for khaki shorts, Madras, seersucker and short-sleeved polo shirts just yet. There's also conference coming up in New Orleans at the start of June, so still some oppor

Job Talk #3. . .

C andidate #3 is, for my money, the person for the job. Considerable experience, broad perspective, well-connected throughout the college and university due to an array of collaborative pursuits of one kind or another, coherent and detailed vision laid out for the next three years and beyond. Yes. I am not on the committee that makes the recommendation to the dean, who will make the final decision and send the letter, but, were it up to yours truly, this is the guy. And he wore an actual suit (mid-gray), dress shoes, white shirt, and necktie as an added plus. 20 years or so my junior, but someone gets it. -- Heinz-Ulrich

Classic Style

Search This Blog