Wednesday, August 27, 2008

just an amalgamation...

My life just seems to be a mishmash of things these days.

I had to pick up my son last Thursday for a tetanus booster shot. They won't let him into school this year without it. He was apprehensive about it but was trying to be brave. We played solitaire on the phone in the waiting room. When we got tired of that I just slunk down in my chair and closed my eyes. Brandon was not so relaxed. He kept playing with my arms, asking when he was going to be seen, asking if it was going to hurt, etc. At one point he decided to rub my head, then moved his hands to my face where he found a lot of stubble. He exclaimed "You're growing a beard!" I'm not, but it was funny. We weren't the only ones laughing.

While in the examining room he kept trying to make faces and I kept making him laugh so he couldn't. At some point we switched places and I ended up on the examining table. He was hoping I would get the shot. While I'm probably due for a booster, I don't mind shots or giving blood. I spent six years in the Navy and I just learned to accept a needle every other day or so to put something in or take something out.

You should have seen the look on the doctor's face when he walked in and saw me instead of the 11 year old boy he was expecting. :-) I do believe I have stated elsewhere that I like practical jokes.

So Brandon got his shot and was very brave. They gave him some ice cold liquid courage though, and no, not the adult variety. They now numb the spot of the shot with a cold liquid.

We went on to Subway for dinner, then to dodgeball, then I took him back to his Grandparents.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

My brother came up Saturday for the East Coast Surfing Championships (ECSC). He skims in an amateur / pro-am capacity. At dinner that night we talked about a lot of things. Something he said was interesting as it has come up in conversation for me lately too. He asked me if I had a bucket list. He said he was camping with a friend and they asked him that. I said not really. Usually if I think I want to do something, I do it. He doesn't either. I should probably tell you some stories about the predicaments my brother and I often find ourselves in. Phrases like "Danger, Cliff area" "Small craft advisory" "Bears won't bother you unless it's been a bad berry year, and it's been a bad berry year" "You will drown before someone gets to you" "I have a bad feeling about this but it's too late" "Why did I let you talk me into this" "How do we get down without dying" and "That's gonna really hurt tomorrow" come to mind. See the picture below as this was one of our favorite "trails" at Snowbird. The one at the boarder cross entrance was better and I wish I had gotten a picture of it...but I didn't want to stop.



We laughed at some of the things we've done. Then he said he really wants to go back to Yosemite. Me too. Here is why...at least I get it, maybe you will too...

Yosemite from the Hoover Wilderness, Eastern Side. I was hiking in the Sierras by myself on day in June 2002. I saw this and it hit me "I have to hike through Yosemite someday". My brother called two weeks later and said he and his wife were going...


We went just after labor day. It is an epic adventure story nearly as funny as Bill Bryson's "A Walk in the Woods". Below is the Hetch Hetchy resevoir. In a day or two (maybe more) I'll write the story out here. My sister in law would tell it a little different...but I'll never forget what she said in the car about our bodily smells on the way to Santa Cruz after our two day ordeal...



And of course the main valley...Unfortunately for you I'm no Ansel...


and just in case you thought I was kidding about the bears...



:-)

5 comments:

  1. Oh.my.goodness. I love Bill Bryson and A Walk in the Woods was hysterical!!

    You have a brave little boy there. Give him some extra hugs from the blogosphere! :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. Beautiful pictures like that make even this east coast girl want to visit Yosemite! (But maybe kick it off with something slightly less than a 17-miler.)

    Just reading about your brief time with Brandon makes it clear you are excited to have him back soon!

    ReplyDelete
  3. T,
    My sister in law had read it at the time we went, I hadn't. She was laughing at me the whole time, barely able to say "Katz". I had no clue what she was talking about.

    Liz,
    I really am excited to have Brandon back. He'll be home Sunday. I have a LOT to do. I still can't believe that we made it thought that hike in Yosemite.

    ReplyDelete
  4. first of all, todd, you look so young and skinny and tan in that picture!! lol

    secondly the only real difference btwn your pic and ansel is a thousand-dollar filter... but dont tell him i said that.

    and finally, that story made me think of a time when i was in the ER as a kid when i got bitten by a dog. one doctor came in and gave my mom this little sponge with some kind of antebacterial soap in it and said scrub the wound with this. it hurt like hell. about 2 seconds into it, a different doctor came in and said, that's enough. and my mom said, uhhh no it isnt. and the doc and i looked at each other and then her and said, in stereo, yes it is!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Those pictures are beautiful! The world of blogging has opened my eyes to the beauty that is America!

    mmm we dont do tetanus shots here! Glad you guys got thro it pretty painlessly!

    ReplyDelete

I will not accept advertising in the body of comments. If you leave links to spam, goods, or services it will be deleted. If you embed HTML it will be deleted. For any number of other reasons I may delete the comment. I do this for the safety and well being of the readers of the blog.