Catching up

[Andybev01]

Head's shot from this afternoon, between thunderstorms.

The light was fantastic.

[TheHeadlessHorseman]

I'm glad to hear that you had fun, Murf. I hope that everybody here has been doing well.

I've been trying to sign into the forum since Mon. but it was just the same error message over and over again. I have better things to do than waste my time clicking the refresh button a hundred times trying to sign into this stone age technology based forum. Don't get me wrong, I love this forum, but if this <deleted> continues then I'm just going to leave because it's frustrating when you sit there typing for 20 minutes only to have the forum log you out before you can post.

I was going to tell you guys about my vacation, but I'm too ticked right now, maybe I'll come back later.

[Murfreesboro]

I had some issues earlier this week, too. I thought it was just my phone. My husband had to clear a lot of memory to make it function properly again.

I hope you do share some of your vacation fun with us. We had a fabulous, very busy time in Charleston. I just mentioned the stuff I thought folks here would like.

Andy, that photo above is amazing!

[Andybev01]

Thanks Murf!

Chris said that he turned down the bot-killer so it isn't so sensitive.

It's working normally... for now.

[TheHeadlessHorseman]

Well, this post turned out way longer than it should have, but it includes the vacation, as well as the other things we did this week.

We spent the week going to Universal and Disney, as well as local haunts and activities in the area. I will say that I enjoyed Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Studios waaaaay more than the attractions that Disney offered, as the atmosphere was scarier like a real haunted house and the actors there were really into their role and you could tell that they were having fun doing it.

As for Mickey's Not-So-Scary Halloween Party at Disney World, it was more of a family friendly experience with the same characters doing the same thing as usual, but the place was decorated beautifully, especially at night, I honestly couldn't even put into words how awesome it looked, it's something that you have to experience yourself.

The main thing about Disney was the CANDY! When you enter the park they give the kids large trick-or-treat bags and tell you that they are handing out candy throughout the park, and they weren't joking, everywhere you turned they were handing out candy, it was just candy candy candy, and more candy, and when you thought there couldn't possibly be any more candy, you turn around and there's more CANDY! They had large cauldrons and towers overflowing with candy, and even the Disney princesses were handing out candy, I haven't ever seen so much candy in my life, not at any store I've been to, or in any documentaries that I've watched. I don't know how much it would cost to buy that much candy but I would guess it would be a few hundred bucks, and while my wife wasn't thrilled with the unbelievable amount of candy that they handed out, she said that with what Disney charges to get into their parks they better be giving you something for it.

I'm not joking when I say this, but the girls got more candy in one night at Disney than they did in the last 4 years of trick-or-treating combined. On the way home we had to get a small suitcase to carry the candy because the girls didn't want to leave it behind. At the airport the guy that scanned the suitcase asked us to open it and when he saw the candy he looked up at my wife and me, and we told him about the event at Disney, and we told him to go ahead and eat some if he didn't believe us, then Phoebe yelled out... No! he can't eat my candy, let him eat Sam's candy! There was laughter from the other people waiting in line, but he looked angry, he called over a security dog to sniff the suitcase, then he stood there for a moment with the most serious look on his face, then he smiled at us and waved us through. Honestly, I know it sounds funny, but it was one of the most tense situations we have ever had going through airport security.

We honestly don't know how we are going to make sure they don't eat the whole pile by themselves, and they are still going trick-or-treating next week too, so my wife said that she is probably going to give some of it to trick-or-treaters, or their friends that will be at the party that weekend.

While I was there I also had a interesting conversation with Millie, she said that old people don't want to give up their independence, and they don't want to be treated like a child, so they show a tough side to the world, but sometimes, they like to be comforted like a child. When I'm with Millie she always leans against my shoulder, or I put my arm around her and she cuddles with me while we talk, she said that nobody else in the family does that for her, they just think of her as the stubborn old woman that probably doesn't want to be bothered, or they think she is fragile, so while they talk with her and tell her everyday that they love her, they don't really show her much physical affection. She told me that she loves when we cuddle because it reminds her of when she was a child with her parents. I'm happy that I can give her that comfort, and I can only hope that I have somebody to do that for me when I'm older.

After that conversation with her, I observed how everybody else interacted with her for the rest of the time that we were there, and aside from my wife and kids, not a single member of the family hugged her once while we were there, even when my older sister showed up with her kids, she only gave her a quick peck on the cheek and her kids just said hi to her. I don't know, maybe it's for the reasons Millie said, or maybe it's because they are always around her, but it seems like they treat her like a piece of furniture in the background. I honestly felt bad for her, and I would ask her to come and live with us, but I know she moved to Florida 30 years ago to get away from the winters here, and that's her home now.

She looked sad when she was by herself, but she lit up when my kids were there, and when they brought Karoleen over, you can tell how much they make her happy. I'm just glad that my kids are old enough to remember these moments with her, and I hope that she is still around when Karoleen is older so that she can get to know her the way that the rest of us have had the honor to. Oh yeah, speaking of Karoleen, she's getting big, it was nice to hold her again so soon, I really hope that kid knows how much she is loved.

It was also very nice to sit there with Millie and the family watching the Great Pumpkin and other Halloween classics together just like we used to do with her when we were kids. We also watched Batman Forever again, it was actually the last movie that Millie went to the theater to watch with us before she moved to Florida, so it seemed appropriate. This might be the last time that I ever get to enjoy them with Millie, and it made me appreciate the moment even more. It was also the first time that my kids ever watched that Batman movie, they liked it, and they really liked the soundtrack as well, I remember how big the songs from U2 and Seal were 30 years ago, and I've had them on my playlist since I got back. If you don't know the songs that I'm talking about, or you do and you want to hear them again just click the links below.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A9eQ0DaHCec

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3-Yh6rnOchs

The vacation was great, but the fun wasn't done yet, this week we went to play the murder mystery and escape room games as well. My wife and I usually play the murder mystery game designed for adults because they are written better with more clues to solve, and the kids and their grandparents play the junior level mystery, but we decided to try the family themed game where we compete against other families to try to solve the mystery before they do.

The game started, soon the lights turn out, the murder happens, then the lights come back on, and immediately Phoebe yells out... he did it! She is pointing to a tall slender man with a ratty moustache, he is playing the part of the slimy lawyer, a woman that was playing the game with us asked Phoebe why she thinks he did it? She said... I don't like the way he looks, he looks E-VIL! That's exactly the way she emphasised it, everybody laughed, and the game continued. But guess what? She was right, it turns out that in this game he did it, but somebody else solved the clues before we did. They still gave her a prize though because she got it right before anybody else did, it was a gift certificate to Applebee's, and it would be a great prize if I didn't already own a restaurant.

The escape room games were fun as well, the first scenario was that a comically bad super villain had trapped us in a room and we had to escape before he blew it up with us in it. The other game had us trying to escape from a mad scientist's lab before he returned to experiment on us... we escaped both rooms with time to spare. If you haven't ever tried any of these games then I recommend that you check if there are any in your area, I promise that you and your family will enjoy them.

We also went 2 towns over to visit a farm haunt for the first time this weekend, it was more fun than I was expecting, and we will definitely be going back again.

[Andybev01]

Whew!

You get more done in a day than most people do in a week.

There are very few older relatives left in my family, but of course, that means that my siblings and I are now the elder guard.

I was born old, and as a child I never hung around kids my age.

At family gatherings I gravitated toward
aunts and uncles because they had interesting things to say and knowledge to impart, and I've always been eager to learn.

Even now I get satisfaction from learning something new each day, even if it's a small thing like what's the right time ti flip a pancake or how to survive a zombie apocalypse.

The irony of this is that I have little patience with children, unless I meet one who seems halfway interested in learning about the world that they are going to inherit, then I will make the effort to help them along the way.

A few years back one of my grand-nieces was turning three, and the gift pile at her birthday party was the inevitable assortment of pink plastic princess cr@p.

Her parents are well-educated professionals and their children are "above average", as Garrison Keillor used to say.

Her dad is a civil engineer and her mother (my niece) is a project manager for a construction company, and even at three years old their daughter had the presence of mind of a much older child.

So hidden amongst the plastic-fantastic assortment of dreams due to dieappoint, were two books, each written for the beginning reader.

One a primer on string theory and the other an introduction to Einstein's theory of relativity.

Your stories about Mille reminded me of that birthday, and of how important it is to be there for people, not only in person but in mind as well.

[Murfreesboro]

That's a very poignant comment from your Aunt Millie, and I think it's quite true. Especially the part about not wanting to lose one's indeoendence. And, yes, the comfort of physical affection can't be over-rated.

That airport story is wild. You'd think they'd know about the Disney candy haul this time of year. Was it good candy? I mean, chocolate, not twizzlers or candy corn?
Sweettarts, not Smarties? Jelly Bellies, not Brachs? I'd for sure be giving out lots of it this Halloween. Candy costs a fortune.

Our family did an Escape Room several years ago around Christmas. We did not win. I discovered that I'm very stupid and don't understand any of the clues they give. However, my husband and daughter seemed born for it.