Cake Thief Lounge Band Singer

Wednesday, September 14, 2005

Tuesday evening had brought in the gray clouds as Collette, Francis, and Linnea played badminton. Rose organized a book reading room downstairs consisting of her and Collette’s antique book collection placed in one of the Great-Grandparent’s dressers. Dad and OLeif soon arrived home from work for programming class while Mom and the girls mingled on the front porch over Hershey bars.

While waiting for dinner, Carrie and OLeif discussed electric violins and the “Republic of Texas” who considered themselves a separate country, offering their “condolences” to President Bush upon the aftermath of 9/11 as well as attempting the assassination of former President Clinton while in office with a poison cactus dart. (OLeif was sorely tempted to purchase their official “Republic of Texas” passport over their website, although not recognized by the United States, of course.)

Meanwhile, Carrie and Rose also decided which cat they would eat first, if they were on the brink of starvation. (Pumpkin had the most fat, but then again, Snuggles had the most meat.) In the end, however, they decided unanimously that Trooper would be their first choice.

Dad greedily eyed the Pepperidge Farm cakes for dessert, one of white and one of chocolate, and managed to slice off a piece (mostly undetected) before dinner.

Over dinner, Dad read a passage of Matthew 6 while Linnea wiggled her front tooth waiting for it to fall out or for Dad to pull it out (one of his rare and well looked-forward-to pastimes). There was also the discussion of tattoos.

“You know, we were going to play a trick on you while we were at Six Flags,” Mom said to Carrie.

“Yes,” Dad chuckled. “We were all going to get one of those temporary tattoos and see what you thought.”

Carrie laughed.

“Yeah, Dad, and you’d have to wear it to work. Oh, come on, Dad, you know you want one on your little dome.”

“Yeah,” OLeif said, “he’d come in the door with it on his head saying, ‘Whah-hoo!’”

And he raised his two hands in peace signs in the air.

(As if Dad was ever more wild than his “a-boom-boom-boom-boom-boom” pudding shakes or his own personalized “Sing Sing Sing” dance, which they all did as kids. But those were other stories…)

At programming class, (minus Joe who was once again called into work short notice), Rose came to the table wearing four hats on her head. She later placed the page boy cap on Dad’s head.

“Hey, that’s the hat you should wear for your lounge band,” Carrie said to him. “You’ll sell more albums if they think you have hair.”

(For Dad had just ordered a collection of books on sound recording, which they all thought was the cutest thing in the world.)

Meanwhile, Rose was looking out the dining room window, clipping her toenails.

“Rose, do you even know what’s going on?” Dad asked, pausing from reading aloud his html text.

“Yes!” Rose protested. “Html!”

But more than likely her mind was on the new shipment of underwear she was expecting in the mail.