Author: King Tom

The Giant Inflatable Sumo Wrestler Will Only Lead To More Questions

Near our house there’s a tire place that advertises with giant inflatables. Every week, there’s something different outside the store advertising that week’s deals. It used to be simple, large tires, rabbits or monkeys. But in the past few months, the place has had a steady rotation, mixing in a dinosaur, sumo wrestler and even a large inflatable Elvis to get attention.

Hope loves to talk and ask questions, and the inflatables have started a lot of conversations on our car rides.

The questions started out normal:

Hope: What’s that guy?

Me: That’s a sumo wrestler.

Hope: What’s a sumo wrestler?

Me: Sumo wrestling is a sport they play in Japan.

Or

Hope: What’s that guy?.

Me: That’s Elvis. He’s the king of rock and roll.

Hope: Like Weezer?

Me: Yes, but older.

Hope can see anything and ask for a story about it. Or try and relate it to something else. But we’ve had to be careful, because her questions have gotten more involved. Last time we saw the sumo wrestler, the conversation went something like this:

Hope: What does that sumo guy do?

Me: Well, two of them are in a circle and have to push each other out.

Hope: Isn’t that mean?

Me: It’s part of the game. There’s a referee.

Hope: Is he naked?

Me: No, he’s wearing something.

One topic that we’ve had to start addressing with her is death. Earlier this summer, she had some pillbugs in a container that died overnight. So The Civee and I tried explaining the concept to her. And she won a goldfish at a church festival back in June that has miraculously survived (so far). We knew the topic would come up again, and eventually we would have to let her in on the fact that people die too. A few weeks ago on the radio, the DJ mentioned it was the anniversary of Elvis’ death. This led to another round, once the Elvis inflatable made a reappearance:

Hope: Did Elvis die?

Me: Yes.

Hope: Why did he die?

Me: Ummmm…because he took a bunch of medicine without his doctor or parents saying he could.

She’s asked these questions every time we’ve passed the Elvis inflatable. And we try and steer the conversation back to something positive about Elvis. But it’s better she’s learning about things like death. At the very least, we can use these conversations to have the [other] king teach her a lesson- don’t take medicine your doctor or mom or dad doesn’t tell you to take.

King Tom2 Comments

Going Viral

Something I posted about more than two years ago went viral (as the kids say).

On August 15, 2011, I posted my frustrations about a lengthy receipt from a quick trip to CVS:

And as if CVS wasn’t wasting enough of my time, it seems like they also like to waste paper.  Keep in mind, I had four items.  This was my receipt (I’ve enlisted some of Hope’s toys to give you an idea of the scale):

That receipt is more than a foot long.  I’m not sure whether to throw it out or to give it to a high school marching band so the drum majorettes have something to march behind for their homecoming parade.

According to NBC, I’m not the only one frustrated by these Andre The Giant-scale receipts. But I was the first.

You’re welcome Internet.

King Tom

Happy Birthday Luke!

I did something rare today: I watched TV news around dinnertime. The weather people were talking about the storm that hit Columbus last June 29.

I’ll always remember that storm, but for a reason other than the storm and the damage it caused. While the storm was at its height that afternoon, Luke was being born.

The rest of that day was a blur. In fact, the 12 months since have been a blur. Luke has grown, and is now doing typical toddler things: eating on his own, laughing, playing with his big sister and walking. His walking has improved so much in the past two weeks that we’ve had to re-childproof our house.

At least we’ve had the practice of seeing Hope through these stages to help us with Luke. Having two is a lot of work, but it’s also a lot of fun.

So happy birthday, Luke. It’s been a fun year.

King Tom4 Comments

Keeping Up With The Kids

So it’s been a while since I’ve posted anything.

And not because there’s been nothing going on. There’s been a lot happening. The Civee and I have been trying to keep up with a three-year-old and an almost-one-year-old who are growing every day.

Not only are Hope and Luke growing, but they’re also doing new things all the time. In the past few weeks, Luke has started walking. Just like with Hope, when he knows the cameras are on, he won’t walk. So this is the best I could do, a video of Luke pushing a bike all the way across Little Kids Space at COSI:

Hope is also going through all sorts of new things. She’s starting to like music other than Weezer (okay, she’s always liked songs by musicians other than Weezer). Ever since my guest DJ stint for CD 102.5 last month, she’s been really into Steve Burns’ Mighty Little Man. Here she is with her rendition of the tune:

We’ve been spending a lot of time outside this spring, especially now that the mosquito defense system is active. Hope has been helping out in the garden and has been a great help with our strawberries. Last year, I thought we had a lot of strawberries. But this year, there were a few days in a row where we picked more than a hundred each day. It got to be so much that we just stopped counting.

I should mention that Hope picked most of those. She’s getting to be very helpful. But probably the best thing about her and Luke growing is they’re growing together. Now that Luke has a personality and can move around and react, they’re starting to have a lot of fun with each other.

Sure they’re cute together, but I think they’re going to be trouble.

 

 

King Tom

Turning Up The Radio

Since moving to Columbus 13 years ago, I’ve listened to mostly one radio station: CD 102.5. a locally-owned alt rock station.

CD 102.5 (formerly CD 101) has a Guest DJ feature. Send in a playlist, and if they pick it, they’ll let you be on the air for an hour.  Last month, The Civee and I were driving around and heard a promo. The Civee said I should try it, and I admitted I’d thought of it before. Putting together a playlist was actually pretty tough. I had to pick between 12 and 14 songs, mostly comprised of artists they play regularly. And I thought it would be a good idea if I kept it to one Weezer song. After some thought, I sent in a playlist and a few hours later, they scheduled my time on air.

My guest DJ stint was today and it was a blast. I had to cut a few songs, but once the show started, aside from a short intro from DJ Brian Phillips, I did most of the talking. I talked about myself (And The Civee, Hope and Luke) and introduced some of the songs. They also let me cut a weather promo sponsored by The Easy Street Cafe. I put some life into the Easy Street Cafe promo and my coworkers got a kick out of my reading of their catchphrase: “Feta is Beta.” I had a blast and while I’d love to do it again, it’s probably better to let some other people have a shot. 

Besides, it’s pretty tough limiting myself to one Weezer song each hour.

Here’s my playlist:

Ted Leo and the Pharmacists: Biomusicology
Grouplove: Itchin’ on a Photograph
Steve Burns: Mighty Little Man
Weezer: No One Else
INXS: Don’t Change
The 88: Coming Home
The Thermals: St. Rosa and The Swallows
“Weird” Al Yankovic: One More Minute
Ben Kweller: Hospital Bed
William Shatner: Common People
Better Than Ezra: Good

The songs cut for time:
Oasis: Stand By Me
The Pixies: Here Comes Your Man
Temper Trap: Down River

If you have to ask “why?” about any of these songs, the answer is simple: because I like it.

King Tom3 Comments