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Happy Fourth

Today we are up in the White Mountains, and we required nice weather for approximately ten minutes, from 1:30 to 1:40pm, during the annual parade. And by "nice," I mean moderately dry at the minimum.

It rained off and on all morning and then was actually sunny around noontime. There were still some menacing black clouds visible in other parts of the sky, but we had pure blue and fluffy white above us. We walked into town, ordered our hot dogs and hamburgers, and waited in line with everyone else. At about 1:27, the sky turned black, the wind started howling, and we had a torrential downpour the likes of which I have never experienced. In addition to the blinding, pummeling rain, there was scary-loud thunder, ziggy-zaggy bolts of lightning, and wind-blown hail that felt like someone shooting a staple-gun at my bare calves.

For god-knows-what-reason, they decided to start the parade anyhow. The fire trucks came by with volunteers throwing Tootsie Rolls out the windows into puddles for kids to fish out, the various community groups' floats with their drenched costumed riders, the war veterans waving from behind the fogged-up windows of their antique cars, and even a full band under a makeshift tent. They drove a little more quickly than usual, and the whole procession was done by 1:37, at which time the rain stopped completely.

We all looked at each other, wolfed down our soggy sandwiches, and walked back home in squishy sneakers to change into dry clothes.

Then we drove to Chutters and bought several bags of penny candy.

Friday iPod Random Ten

1. Radio Sweetheart (live) - Elvis Costello & The Attractions
2. People Got a Lotta Nerve - Neko Case
3. Screen Door - Uncle Tupelo
4. The Tide Is High - Blondie
5. I Can't Make You Love Me - Bonnie Raitt
6. Warm Beer and Cold Women - Tom Waits
7. Walkin' In and Out of Your Arms - k.d. lang
8. Detroit City - John Doe & The Sadies
9. Illegal Smile (live) - John Prine
10. Copperline (live) - James Taylor

[Sound of Finger Twiddling Lower Lip]

What a long, boring day. We woke up to torrential rain—even I wouldn't make the kids go to their swimming lessons in that kind of rain—and soon enough we had the thunder and lightning to go with it. I was sure we were going to lose our power, but we didn't. At 11:00 Julie had her last piano lesson of the year (yes, she finally agreed to take a break for a month or so).

The windshield-repair guy was supposed to come to the house sometime between noon and 4pm, so of course I made sure we were securely house-bound at noon. So we could wait. And wait. They called at 1:30 to say they'd be here at 2:15. Then they called at 3pm to say they'd be here at 3:30. Then they came at 4:05. So you can imagine how thrilled I was to have stayed home with two cabin-feverish kids all day instead of taking them to a movie or something. I will say, though, that it was pretty cool to watch the guy remove the cracked windshield and replace it. (It thankfully stopped raining long enough for him to complete his task.)

Then I had a nice surprise, a visit from a cousin I haven't seen in quite a few years. He was on his way from home in New Jersey to vacation in Maine with his wife and two little daughters, none of whom I'd ever met. I knew that they were going to try to stop by, but I feared that the lousy weather would throw them off. Anyhow, they did come, and it really made up for an otherwise mind-numbingly dull day.

Hello Mudda, Hello Fadda

Today we got 4 letters from Steph! Well, 1 postcard ("You just left but they're making us send these stupid postcards"), 1 family letter, 1 letter just to Julie, and 1 letter just to Pete. To quickly recap: Camp is AWESOME. She loves all the kids, all the counselors, all the food, all the activities, everything. Well, not quite, but pretty darn close.

At dinner tonight we were talking about how happy and cheerful she seemed when we picked her up for the shots on Monday. Pete said, seemingly still in wonderment, "I didn't even think she'd say HI to me!" and Julie said wistfully, "I wished that day would never end."

Well, we'll get to see her again on Monday for the next round of shots. And there's a chance we won't have to get the fifth shot at all, but I won't jinx us by talking about that yet.

And if it ever stops raining ... well, who knows what could happen next?

My Hero

Remember last year when I finally caved and bought Pete a Nintendo DS for his birthday? And then this year when I got him the Guitar Hero game for it? Well, he loves it. He feels cool knowing the songs and doing the lead-guitar thing. He's always saying, "Mom, watch my hand when I do this one!"

So of course I jumped at the chance when Mom Central offered me a copy of "On Tour: Modern Hits" to review. Pete loves it. He says the songs are even better on this one than on the ones he has ("On Tour" and "On Tour: Decades"). He particularly likes "Still Waiting" by Sum 41 and "Miss Murder" by AFI. (Huh? Howzat? Kids these days....). He likes that the songs are really challenging but not impossible to "beat."

I had feared that the hand-held DS guitar grip would be too big for Pete's hand, but he manages it just fine. He uses the other hand to tap the guitar pick on the screen for each chord. It also comes with stickers you can use to decorate the hand grip to personalize your "guitar" for yourself.

All in all, this is a really fun game and Pete thinks it's way cool. Or whatever kids say these days.

Book Review

I forgot to mention last week that I finished Kazuo Ishiguro's novel Never Let Me Go. Wow, it's still hard for me to believe that this is the same author who brought us The Remains of the Day, one of my favorite books (and, incidentally, one of the few cases in which a film adaptation lived up to the book—I hope you've both seen the movie and read the book; if not, you're in for a double treat). I mean, the writing in both books is just as gorgeous and heart-felt and carefully executed, but the plotlines couldn't be more different. Whereas The Remains of the Day concerned the dying days of a proper British estate and, more importantly, its staff of household help, Never Let Me Go tells the story of a mysterious boarding school for "special children." Hints are dropped here and there about the purpose of the school, but it's left to the reader to piece everything together. I won't give away any more than that.

I picked up and put aside this book many times in the past—picked it up because it was recommended so highly and because I love Ishiguro's use of language; put it aside because I was turned off by the idea that it would be futuristic, sci-fi, upsetting, and just plain weird. Well, it's a little bit of all those things, but it is all done with such a deft hand that I wasn't freaked out by it. Once you start to realize what's going on, you just kind of accept it (albeit with a burning curiosity to know more details about how things came to be this way); this is all thanks to the voice of our narrator, Kathy H., who just tells it like it is. She is at a point when she is looking back on her years at the boarding school and remembering the relationships she had there and what became of them.

Truly, this is a remarkable book, both hard to put down and devastating to consider and reconsider after reading. I am normally not a fan of dystopian novels (I'm still haunted by the memory of The Handmaid's Tale, which I had to read for a college course), but this one was somehow easier to take, probably because Ishiguro really seems to care about his characters and goes out of his way to let them show their heart and soul.

And you know what? The more I think about it, perhaps Never Let Me Go and The Remains of the Day are not as different as I first thought. Both introduce us to characters who are born into a particular life, one that may seem unfair to us but one that they accept without question as "their lot." They have all the same doubts, fears, and passions as we do, but they recognize that "theirs is not to ask why." We feel for them and want them to ask why, but instead we must just watch them living out their assigned destinies.

Ow, My Toe!

So I forgot that some of my loyal readers (cough, cough, one pair of brothers in particular) like nothing better than my tales of hypochondria. I've withheld from you, friends, and I apologize.

Last Thursday night, out of nowhere, the second toe on my left foot began to hurt like you can't imagine. Well, maybe you can imagine: Supposing someone wrapped your three smallest toes and your big toe in bubble wrap, and your instep too, just to be safe, and in fact the tip of your second toe too. Then, imagine that same someone whacked your still-mostly-exposed second toe with an iron mallet of some sort. Or dropped an anvil on it. Or the like. Yow!

Of course I lay awake most of the night imagining gangrene + amputation + no one at Kim's being willing to give me a pedicure etc. By morning, I was not feeling quite so dramatic but still very much in pain.

Several Twitter pals suggested gout. (With pals like that, who needs enemies?) I didn't think so, what with gout mostly affecting men's big toes, but who knows? But the initial symptoms of gout are redness, swelling, and hotness, none of which my poor toe had. It just plain hurt, right smack in the middle. Not on the surface, either, like a cut or bite, but deep within.

I could barely put weight on that foot all day.

Next day: Gone! Completely and utterly gone. I don't know which is more remarkable: the suddenness of the onset of excruciating pain or the suddenness of departure of excruciating pain, but I'm glad it's done with.

Today

7:45    Andy leaves to drive up to camp to pick up Steph.
9:15    Andy arrives at camp, only to learn that they've let everyone sleep late because it's pouring rain.
9:45    Andy and Steph leave camp.
10:30    Andy and Steph arrive home! Joyous reunion!*
10:45    Andy goes to work; Karen takes Steph, Pete, and Julie to pediatrician for rabies shot #3.
11:30    Kids get shot #3.
11:45    We hit the road for camp.
12:45    We arrive at camp, leave Steph.
1:15    We hit intense thunderstorms on Route 3. Scary.
2:15    We arrive at Waltham Urgent Care Center for Karen's shot #3.
2:45    Ouch!
3:15    We finish up with paperwork and leave.
4:00    Pool!

(To be repeated next Monday.)

*Steph was awesome. She loves camp the way I loved camp, feeling as though THIS is the place she is meant to be. I asked about every meal, every activity, every person. She is so happy, so self-confident, so in her element. This is THE BEST.

More from Maira

You know I'm a big fan of Maira Kalman—you'll recall how delighted I was by her illustrated version of Strunk & White, and how moved by this piece about Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Well, here's another one: this time about a visit to Monticello and a peek inside the life of Thomas Jefferson. Really, take a few minutes to check it out (and the Ginsburg one, if you haven't already).

Surely I Jest

I finally settled in for the start of Infinite Jest yesterday (for those who missed the big news, I'm doing the Infinite Summer thing). Even though I'm a really good reader, I was nervous that it would be very hard work and that the challenges would soon become too daunting too face. I even considered buying this Reader's Guide.

People kept talking about the need to have a dictionary handy, and the footnotes (!), and the seemingly endless cast of characters to keep track of, and so on. Well, none of this has been a problem so far. Yes, I've looked up a few words (lapidary and pargeted, for instance); yes, I keep one bookmark on the part I'm reading and another at the footnotes endnotes and find it disruptive when an endnote comes in the middle of a sentence (and then when the endnote has its own footnote); and yes, I've had to flip back a few pages now and again to remember a character's name (I predict I will soon feel very grateful for this handy database of characters). Big deal. Sure, it's more work than a drugstore whodunnit, but the reward is already so much greater (and I still have more than a thousand pages to go—gulp!). I have quite literally laughed out loud several times while reading, and that sure doesn't happen every day. I am blown away and am so glad I took this challenge.

My 2006 paperback edition comes with a wonderful foreword by Dave Eggers; you should read it here and then consider joining our cult book group. It's not too late, really.