Saturday, June 30, 2012

"The Pop-Pop Chronicles" - Introduction

So most of y'all who know me know that I have two daughters, one son (with my son and younger daughter being twins), and a crew of grandsons (up to four now with the latest addition). You also no doubt know that the twin daughter and her two sons (including the newest grandson) live with me. All of this, as you might imagine, makes for some interesting stories and memories. "Pop-Pop Chronicles" will be my addition to this blog where I share the joys of grandparenthood (my days of raising young kids pre-date blogging, sadly)...

If you're a grandparent or parent of multiple kids, you've no doubt had the experience of , when trying to address one of  your spawn (or one of theirs) by running through a whole list of names before you get to the right one (if you ever do):

"Justin-er-Darius-er-Chris-er-YOU RIGHT THERE, you know who I'm talking to, YOU, BOY, get over here!"

Besides which, whenever I'm telling a story about the kids or (especially) the grandkids to someone who isn't that familiar with them, I inevitably have to stop and explain who is who...
Well, my solution to these problems will be to refer to my descendants by a letter/number. Originally I just started referring to the grandboys as 1, 2, 3, and 4; then I realized I couldn't leave my own children out of the mix. Thus, from now on, in any "The Pop-Pop Chronicles" or other "The Angry Nerd" posts, I will reference my descendants by the following letter/number designations (a "C" is a Child, a "GC" is a Grandchild):
  • C-1 = April, my oldest daughter
  • C-2a = Justin, my son, and older of the twins
  • C-2b = Joy, my younger daughter and younger of the twins
  • GC-1 = Christopher, son of April
  • GC-2 = Darius, older son of Joy
  • GC-3 = Jaden, son of Justin
  • GC-4 = Kevin, younger son of joy
Got it? Too bad, you'll get used to it...
 

 
 

Friday, June 29, 2012

Baltimorons on Rehab



I pass by this place every morning heading out to work. There sure are lot of Baltimorons who have used illegals substances over the years; there's a line going  halfway down the block every time I go past there. The sign always gets me: "Open Access to Treatment. IN and OUT  - 15 Minutes!!!"

Oh well, I guess I can't knock them; at least they're trying...



Friday, June 22, 2012

I'm Baaaaack! And another year/decade/half century older...

Okay, so you a few of you have noticed I haven't posted in over a month, and have inquired why. It's taken me a while to figure it out myself; I mean it's not like there aren't plenty of assorted idiots, assholes,and just plain batshit crazy folk walking around giving me material to speak on, and I do have plenty of ideas and opinions to write about - I just haven't done it. But why?

Well, at first I thought I was just tired. I mean, I did recently have another addition to the house, with the arrival of my newest grandson, Kevin. But his older brother, "Hurricane" Darius has been around for a couple years now, and he has a patent on making me tired, so this new one isn't adding much to that, for the most part. Then I thought, oh I've just been so busy...but hell, I'm ALWAYS busy with something, and that hasn't stopped me from blogging.

Finally, I had to face facts and get over my denial: I turned 50 last month, and for all the weeks of insisting to anyone who asked that it was no big deal, just another day, I wasn't going to feel any different, etc., somewhere in my subconscious it actually WAS a big deal. And though I didn't feel depressed about the birthday, or succumb to overthinking / overanalyzing what it all means, and though I had a great time at the party my family threw for me (THANKS! LOVE Y'ALL!), on some level I think the milestone did have an effect on me, and temporarily threw me into a brief state of paralysis by (unaware) analysis.

Anyway, I'm baaaaack! and I'm FIFTY, DAMMIT. I've been on this earth a half a friggin' century, since before there were personal computers, cell phones, texting, sexting, instant messaging, iPods, iPads, DVDs, CDs, mp3s...before anyone ever heard of rap, hip hop, disco, punk, grunge metal, or New Jack Swing...before reality TV, HBO, Showtime, MTV, or satellite radio...before the major North American sports leagues all had 30 or more teams, before a man walked on the moon, eight years after Brown vs. the Board of Education, and two years before the passage of the Civil Rights Bill -- and a few decades before anyone thought they'd be alive to see a Black President of the United States.

So yeah, I'm OLD! But I embrace it, and everything on me still works pretty good (wink), including - maybe especially - my brain (you know, since it's the one part that gets used on a regular basis). That means you will be hearing more from my half a century ass in the very near future. You have been warned...