Look Both Ways Before Crossing

Yesterday, following a trip to the liquor store, a woman was struck by a large pick-up truck and killed while crossing the busy street in front of my office. I had been out of the office at a meeting and returned just as the ambulance left the scene. The driver of the pick-up was still being questioned by the police and it was obvious that, not only was he distressed beyond belief, but he also had Parkinson’s or some other neurological disorder which was being aggravated by the stress of the accident. It was heartbreaking to watch and I feel sorry for everyone involved.

In more sad news, our former neighbor passed away this morning. He was a lovely old gentleman and he and my daughter shared a very special relationship, she used to paint pictures that he would hang on his refrigerator and she enjoyed visiting with him in his backyard. Several months ago, he had a fairly major stroke which left him unable to care for himself and his family made the decision to move him into the local nursing home. The Girl visited him there several times as well, always taking along a piece of her artwork or a photograph for him to enjoy.

Hugh and I are not looking forward to breaking the news to her this evening.

On the other hand, he died peacefully in his sleep and not on a busy highway and I do take some comfort in that.

On a far less depressing note, the Girl is actually starting to get 5th grade math. I am beyond thrilled with this latest development and not just because her newly acquired math skilz enable her to complete her homework sans my assistance and freeing my evenings for quality reality television viewing but because, as a somewhat math-impaired adult, assisting with the homework gives me a headache.

Oh, look; I appear to be grammatically challenged as well! Run on, sentence! Run on!

So, tomorrow is my nephew’s third birthday. Several weeks ago, when I asked my sister what he was into these days she sighed heavily and said, Superman which caused me to cackle with glee for, you see, since we were small children my sister has regarded all things super hero with utter disdain- a fact to which I can attest given her merciless teasing of me when I watched The Justice League cartoons on Saturday mornings during my childhood- so there can be no doubt that she likens her son’s affection for the Man of Steele to the ultimate betrayal.

Hey, perceived betrayal or not, I just hope she doesn’t call him names like “super hero nerd” or “sci-fi geek”. That shit can scar a person. Or, um… so I’ve heard.

Anyway, since she is my sister and, despite any reasons that I might have not to (see above reference to geeks and nerds), I love her, so, I offered my assistance in the party planning, suggesting appropriate party favors and games. One of the games I suggested was a type of Hot Potato using green glow-sticks to simulate Kryptonite. She said she already had “Kryptonite” for the gift bags and, why would they play Hot Potato with it, anyway? To which I replied “Well, duh! Kryptonite kills Superman.” This came as quite the shock to little miss I Hate All Things Super Hero who said “But, I thought that’s what gave him his powers!”

At which point I suggested that she actually take a moment to watch the Superman DVD that her son views oh, I don’t know, three times a day and get her facts straight before she starts spouting misinformation to the party guests. She was duly chastised.

Who’s laughing at the geeky super-hero fan now?