Hey All!

I should have been outta here about two hours ago. I’m on my way to meet, converse and share good times with friends.

I just wanted to take a moment to share a new poem with you all first. Here’s a link: “Me New Mucker”

In case you didn’t already know, that is the same as saying, “My New Friend”.

And here’s an excerpt…

A penchant, has he, for eyes of blue
Mountains of Mourne an’ Mulligan stew
He weaves words of magic from the heart
Fascinating me own with his lyrical art

Okay, I’m out the door now. Go on, click on the link above and read the rest of the poem, will ya?

Toodles.

“My other blog is a Cadillac.”

And then I considered, “You know, I ought to take this thought a step further.” So I did, ‘cept it really didn’t go too awfully far at first. (As you will see below) So I had to continue taking more thought-filled steps.

Quick definitions (cadillac)

(n.) A large pear, shaped like a flattened top, used chiefly for cooking.
(This definition is from the 1913 Webster’s Dictionary and may be outdated.)

What? Pardon? And just exactly what do they mean by offering me a definition that MAY be outdated? Awww, man!

So, I took that definition a step further. I clicked on the next definition link on the page. (All the while wondering if I should have said farther. But then I shook my head and said, “No. Further works well.”)

Cad·il·lac[ kádd'l àk ] city in Michigan, southeast of Traverse City, situated on Lake Cadillac in a forested region.
Population: 10,034 (2002 estimate).

???

Um … A little help here? Which is it; a pear or a city? No wonder foreigners get so confused when they come to the good ol’ US of A.

So you know what I had to do next, right?

Yup, you guessed it. I clicked on the next definition link.

Cad·il·lac

Pronunciation: (kad’l-ak”; for 1 also Fr. ka-d?-yak’), [key]
—n.
1. An•toine de la Mothe Pronunciation: (än-twan’ du la môt’), [key] 1657?–1730, French colonial governor in North America: founder of Detroit.
2. a city in NW Michigan. 10,199.

Wha–?

Okay, now that’s just rude. You can see that they’re toying with me here, right? So much for the foreigners becoming befuddled by our language when they arrive. They brought the blasted confusion! Trying to make me believe that some guy in France, (mind you), founded Detroit. Which is yet another, (entirely different), city in the lovely State of Michigan. AND, it has absolutely nothing to do with pears!!!

*huge sigh*

So, yeah … okay. I’ll give it another try here, being as the third attempt was definitely lacking in the charm department. It’s the least I can do for those struggling with the English language. Speaking of the English language … um, no, forget I said that. It’s just another stray thought which threatens to muddle my brain with yet another trail of confusion.

Moving along …

After sampling #’s 1-3 in the definitions list; I clicked briefly on #4 & #5. Much to my dismay, they didn’t have anything new to say … and definitely held no mention of pears. Well, that’s not entirely true. #4 was a precursor to #6, which brings us to the clicking of said defintion, numero #6. (Wikipedia).

Cadillac …

… is a brand of luxury automobile, part of the General Motors corporation, produced and mostly sold in the United States; (however) outside of North America, they have been less successful.

In the United States, the name became a synonym for “high quality”, used in such phrases as “the Cadillac of clocks”. This is less prevalent, though still known, in other English-speaking countries (who are more likely to use Rolls-Royce in such phrases).

(That’s a really big grin –>)

Now we’re talking!

(Another really big grin, trust me. –>) That little voice just piped up again. Wanna hear what it had to say?

“Who needs flat pears? My other blog is a Rolls Royce.”

So, in summary, my little ‘inner-voice’ took me on a fun journey of discovery. Here is what I’ve learned …

… A dude from France, (who might possibly have had a thing for pears), traveled to a lovely, forested, lake-side area in the State of Michigan. Which, one could argue that it really wasn’t Michigan, (per se), until Antoine de la Mothe founded Detroit in 1701. Anyway, (being one to falsely claim aristocratic heritage), Antoine deemed himself worthy of naming said area; ‘Cadillac’.

Now (not to be outdone by his neighboring countryman), an English bloke by the name of Henry Martyn Leland, happened along. Actually, he didn’t just happen, you know. He had immigrated from England to Vermont in the 18th Century. Anyhow, Henry, it seems, decided that naming things after pears was a rather nifty idea. …Quite. Besides, he couldn’t let the Frenchman have all the fun. So, in 1902, Henry Martyn Leland formed the automobile company that we’ve come to know as “Cadillac”.

To be honest, I’m fairly certain that all of this really has nothing to do with pears.

And, btw… definition #9 was a hoot! It had absolutely no listing for the word, ‘cadillac’. Not funny, you say? Well, considering the definition source is inappropriately named, ‘AllWords.com Multi-Lingual Dictionary’ … I’d say that’s a riot!

Have A Marvy Day!

I was all set to write something really important (as well as entertaining) on my blog this morning, when my son opened the front door and poked his head inside to inquire:

CJ: “Mom, can my friends and I watch a movie?”

Me: “Awww, jeesh! I was just enjoying some really great tunes on my Media player. …but, well. Yeah, go ahead.”

CJ: “Thanks Mom. You’re the greatest!”

Me: *silently patted myself on the back*

“Yeah, I know.”

My son walked in the door, and behind him, Huey, Dewey, and Louey piled in.

(Disclaimer: To protect the privacy of children that don’t belong to me (as well as covering my backside) I’ve altered their names to reflect purely fictional characters. Any similarities to reality-based persons, (whether you believe them to be rooted or not), was purely coincidental.)

CJ: “Mom, can we have popcorn?”
Me: “Yeah, go for it.”
CJ: “Cool. Thanks Mom.”
Me: *thinking*: He’s so polite. It warms the heart. Sort of makes up for the 95% of the time that he aggravates the holy-living, mongrel-snatching, tranquility out of me. Whatever the heck that means?

Side note digression:
Definitions of mongrel:
noun: an inferior dog or one of mixed breed
noun: derogatory term for a variation that is not genuine; something irregular or inferior or of dubious origin

“Hey!”

Christian hollered at his friends, as they all plopped down on my living room furniture. “Who wants popcorn?”

Of course, they all chimed in, “Me!”

And then they went on to decide whether it would be individual bags for each, or a couple of the larger bags to share. Duh-oh! They all opted for the individual bags, of course. First one to the microwave got their bag of buttery warmth first. No rotten eggs were involved.

Next was the daunting task of picking a movie from our personal collection, given the fact that we had just rented eight movies from ‘Movie Gallery’ as well. Oh the decisions. They perused the rentals first. My son then used his very best OCPD voice and slyly (quite unconsciously) suggested that everyone *vote* on which movie they wanted to watch, and, (all in the same breath), he *told* them exactly what movie that *would* be. (Amityville Horror 2005) Oddly enough, not a single one of the other boys caught on to the fact that their vote didn’t count for beans. It was just idle play to pass away the popping of corn time.

Personally, I passed the time by obeying the buzzer on my dryer (I hate it when that happens.), all the while listening in to the continuous discussion of the boys.

“Hey, I wanna watch this one…”

Finally, the three clueless ones in the living room unanimously decided on ‘Unleashed’, with Jet Li. Cool. I was in the mood for a little kick-ass, action-packed entertainment. I counted the seconds …1 …2 …2½

And then it happened .

“We’re *not* watching that movie. Pick something else.” (…my son’s reply shot out of the kitchen.)

As if his minions really had any choice in the matter. He would’t accept their choice until it matched his own. When will they learn? Not being able to squelch my urge to thwart the little control freak; I piped in.

“Jet Li is awesome! That’s an action-packed movie. You’ll like it, Christian. Besides, you’ve been out-voted.”

“Mom,” he said in a rather exasperated tone, “Let *us* handle this, please.” At which point, he scurried into the same vicinity of the others in an effort to control the situation.

Argh! He thwarted me with manners AND a rather impressive display of alpha maleness. Again he warmed my heart. My lips turned upward in a dual expression of amusement and pride. Somehow, I managed to quell my urge to say anything more.

And then the impossible happened. The clueless ones in the living-room all (simultaneously) caught a clue. Christian was *not* going to let them watch ‘Unleashed’. So, again, the voting began. (They really didn’t want to watch Amityville Horror). Come to think of it, it really wasn’t much of a voting session. Christian was in control again. He was just very good at making his friends think otherwise. Both sides (his & theirs) had admitted defeat on their first choice. But, this didn’t stop my son from victoriously winning the second round. Really, he was quite subtle about it this time. He started grabbing movie after movie off of the shelves and holding them up for selection. He did so rapidly, like an auctioneer. Going once. Going twice. Gone! Because, well because he said so. The trio on the couch was quite spun with confusion.

Finally, they hit the mark!

They chose ‘Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back.’

Now, I ask in all earnest. Just how am I supposed to concentrate on my writing, with that kind of entertainment sucking every ounce of attention I have away from my computer screen?

Bah!

So much for the post I was going to write titled: “How To Get Your Child Interested In Reading.”

Ah, well. Maybe another day.

“What’s with the knife? We having cake or something?”
– Jay in “Jay & Silent Bob Strike Back”

Despite what the name, (Bad Example), would seem to imply … this really is a great place to find good advice on blogging.

And yeah, um … Harvey IS a bit twisted. But that’s what makes him so much fun!

So, if you dare, check out Harvey’s tips @ Bad Example. And buy the man a drink while you’re there, would ya. He’s a thirtsy guy!