Bearded Boy and I thought it necessary to share my mad golf skills and tips with the Earth (by Earth I mean the 9 people that read this blog).
To watch, please input password: michigan. Bearded Boy likes to make things secret.
Steve's Golf School from Chase O. on Vimeo.
You're welcome, Earth.
-the Hubs
August 27, 2010
August 25, 2010
Someday We'll Have Kids - Reason #468
We saw this kid in the news Monday night, have you heard about him?
His name is Kieron Williamson...read about him here: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100813/ap_on_en_ot/eu_britain_painting_prodigy_2
He paints...he paints pretty well...and because of those painting skills the kid is bringin' home the BACON to his parents! I mean...dang!
The little goober (who by the way is only 8 years old) turns out paintings like this:
Which is like...freakin' unbelievable.
But it also leads me to this...that people are paying hundreds of thousands of dollars for his paintings...because he is 8. Am I right? Yes...I am right. If a painting like this were hanging in a gallery, with a forty year old's signature on the bottom....would it make as much? I'm afraid not. People would look at it and hope the dude has a day job...'cause he ain't makin' money at painting. In fact, I do believe that if an adult painted this, it would be a part of one of those 'starving artist' sales...those fire sales in hotel lobbies where artists are just trying to sell their stuff to ANYONE who has spare change. The public, with money to spare, are buying this little guy's stuff because he's a little guy. And little guys shouldn't have skills like this. So the public is paying for the awe factor...not for the art itself. Maybe. Most of the time. But that's not important here.
What IS important is that with the right training and skills...your kids can make you some serious BANK! If they have even the slightest of adult skills...they should be selling those skills to the public, for sure. Is your 5 year old an amazing craftsman? Call Bob Villa...stat...there's a TV show waiting to happen. Say your toddler has an uncanny ability to count to 20 without using their fingers or toes...NASA needs them. Does your newborn cry on key? America's Got Talent...here we come.
I'm just sayin'...if your kid's got it, flaunt it. The public will pay big money for kids doing adult things...and so just one more reason for having kids. Let it be known, if our kid(s) are not twirling batons or juggling fire rings by age 3, we may have to reconsider whether or not we keep them through college.
-the Hubs
His name is Kieron Williamson...read about him here: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100813/ap_on_en_ot/eu_britain_painting_prodigy_2
He paints...he paints pretty well...and because of those painting skills the kid is bringin' home the BACON to his parents! I mean...dang!
The little goober (who by the way is only 8 years old) turns out paintings like this:
Which is like...freakin' unbelievable.
But it also leads me to this...that people are paying hundreds of thousands of dollars for his paintings...because he is 8. Am I right? Yes...I am right. If a painting like this were hanging in a gallery, with a forty year old's signature on the bottom....would it make as much? I'm afraid not. People would look at it and hope the dude has a day job...'cause he ain't makin' money at painting. In fact, I do believe that if an adult painted this, it would be a part of one of those 'starving artist' sales...those fire sales in hotel lobbies where artists are just trying to sell their stuff to ANYONE who has spare change. The public, with money to spare, are buying this little guy's stuff because he's a little guy. And little guys shouldn't have skills like this. So the public is paying for the awe factor...not for the art itself. Maybe. Most of the time. But that's not important here.
What IS important is that with the right training and skills...your kids can make you some serious BANK! If they have even the slightest of adult skills...they should be selling those skills to the public, for sure. Is your 5 year old an amazing craftsman? Call Bob Villa...stat...there's a TV show waiting to happen. Say your toddler has an uncanny ability to count to 20 without using their fingers or toes...NASA needs them. Does your newborn cry on key? America's Got Talent...here we come.
I'm just sayin'...if your kid's got it, flaunt it. The public will pay big money for kids doing adult things...and so just one more reason for having kids. Let it be known, if our kid(s) are not twirling batons or juggling fire rings by age 3, we may have to reconsider whether or not we keep them through college.
-the Hubs
August 12, 2010
View From the Backseat...
In the middle of about the 6th or 7th hour of a stupidly long 12 hour drive to Michigan last week, I had some thoughts. These thoughts came while my wife was napping in the back seat and the Bearded Boy was yelling at passing cars in the passenger seat...how I was able to even generate coherent thoughts, I have no idea.
I was thinking back about 15 or 16 years (my timing is probably way off actually, I always recall things as if I was 11 or 12...it was a busy year apparently). Around that time, again not exactly sure of the year, my parents, brother, and I took our first trip along Lake Michigan...which subsequently was the trip that started a trend of so many trips to Lake Michigan after that. This first trip was special though and it sticks in my mind to this day. We started way up north near Mackinaw City and made our way down the west coast of Michigan, all the way down to just about Indiana...all the while catching glimpses of the Lake as we drove and stopping in tiny lakeside cities to enjoy fudge, pasties, and rocks (Michigan stuff). There were good memories to be had on that trip, but I think what resonates with me (and what I was thinking about on OUR drive up to Michigan) is the backseat of the car. Stick with me here. Those memories from the backseat are so special to me...the view is different from the back. The feelings of being safe, with Dad driving and Mom navigating...they knew where we were headed, I didn't have to worry about that. Feelings of discovery, every mile or so being able to see something new from our back windows...the Lake, towns, cows, more rocks...everything was exciting from the backseat. The backseat was my bro and I's home for a week, it was our place... it was safe, it was comfortable, it was my youth. Which brings me to the present...
So, here I am, driving my newly formed family (my wife and I...and brother) up to the place where years ago, my family drove me. I got to thinking about how I was driving my family 12 hours north to go on vacation...and how I had never done that before. I was always the one in the backseat, enjoying the view...being the kid. I got to thinking about how I will rarely, probably never, be the backseat dweller again. For the rest of my life, I'll be the driver...I'll be the man...and eventually the dad, driving my wife and kids to...wherever.
It made me a little sad at first, to be honest. I mean, it was one of those thoughts that lets you know that you'll never be a kid again. I'll never again get to experience the feeling of just hopping into the backseat without really caring what highway we're taking or how we're getting there, but rather being more worried with where lunch will be or if Mom packed my drawing pencils. I'll never again be able to fall asleep while the car is in motion, hearing my parent's whispers in the front seat...waking up at the next stop to get lunch (that I don't have to pay for). So yeah, it made me a little sad...it's always a little sobering when you realize that you can't go back.
I was thinking back about 15 or 16 years (my timing is probably way off actually, I always recall things as if I was 11 or 12...it was a busy year apparently). Around that time, again not exactly sure of the year, my parents, brother, and I took our first trip along Lake Michigan...which subsequently was the trip that started a trend of so many trips to Lake Michigan after that. This first trip was special though and it sticks in my mind to this day. We started way up north near Mackinaw City and made our way down the west coast of Michigan, all the way down to just about Indiana...all the while catching glimpses of the Lake as we drove and stopping in tiny lakeside cities to enjoy fudge, pasties, and rocks (Michigan stuff). There were good memories to be had on that trip, but I think what resonates with me (and what I was thinking about on OUR drive up to Michigan) is the backseat of the car. Stick with me here. Those memories from the backseat are so special to me...the view is different from the back. The feelings of being safe, with Dad driving and Mom navigating...they knew where we were headed, I didn't have to worry about that. Feelings of discovery, every mile or so being able to see something new from our back windows...the Lake, towns, cows, more rocks...everything was exciting from the backseat. The backseat was my bro and I's home for a week, it was our place... it was safe, it was comfortable, it was my youth. Which brings me to the present...
So, here I am, driving my newly formed family (my wife and I...and brother) up to the place where years ago, my family drove me. I got to thinking about how I was driving my family 12 hours north to go on vacation...and how I had never done that before. I was always the one in the backseat, enjoying the view...being the kid. I got to thinking about how I will rarely, probably never, be the backseat dweller again. For the rest of my life, I'll be the driver...I'll be the man...and eventually the dad, driving my wife and kids to...wherever.
It made me a little sad at first, to be honest. I mean, it was one of those thoughts that lets you know that you'll never be a kid again. I'll never again get to experience the feeling of just hopping into the backseat without really caring what highway we're taking or how we're getting there, but rather being more worried with where lunch will be or if Mom packed my drawing pencils. I'll never again be able to fall asleep while the car is in motion, hearing my parent's whispers in the front seat...waking up at the next stop to get lunch (that I don't have to pay for). So yeah, it made me a little sad...it's always a little sobering when you realize that you can't go back.
But then I had another thought...and it made me happy and excited. It was a small thought, but it went something like this...'Your backseat days are over, yes, but your kids will one day be grateful that YOU are in the front seat, leading them on.' Such a great thought. What a great thing it will be when one day Janele and I can give our kids memories like the ones that I have today. When I can drive our family to Michigan, or Florida, or Oregon, or wherever we decide to go. My job now is to let OUR kids have the backseat, to let THEM have memories and feel safe and be excited (though I still get REALLY excited when we're leaving for vacation, don't get me wrong). What a privilage it is to be handed the responsibility of building memories for your family. It makes me look forward to one day being a dad and being able to take my family on adventures. Janele and I will get to give our children a really special thing in that we'll be able to give them amazing memories, just as we've been given from our parents.
Maybe our kids will have memories when they're adults of seeing the world's largest cherry pie, or of dad screaming from the front seat because a bee has stung his face, or of mom whispering little things like, "Honey...what mile marker do you want to drop the kids off at?" It's all up to us, the memories that we provide our children are in our hands...and it's an immense responsibility and privilage, but one that I am extremely happy to take on and look forward to doing well.
- the Hubs
C'mon kids...hop in!!
August 9, 2010
Michigan. Sublime.
Hubs is back! I'm so glad; he keeps things funny on here.
Okay, first real MI experience for the wifey, and I can't say enough great things about it. Beautiful weather, something St. Louis could learn a thing or two about, amazing views, rugged coasts, but soft sandy beaches. Do I sound like their tourism department yet? You know, your trip starts in Michigan...
Let's do a highlights reel. Here goes:
1. The Beach! Check it out-
2. Family fun times! We enjoy one another.
3. Hubs and wifey times! We were a pleasant drive away from many little beach towns. Each one equipped with the best ice cream shop in the state...apparently.
Like Hubs said, I could go on and on explaining in great detail the soft breezes, the amazing sky full of stars, and the gentle lull of Michigan lake waves buffeting on the shore. It would be better if you just went to experience it yourself, though.
The trip came to a well rounded finish in Chicago. Our big city neighbors to the north....or something like that.
~the wifey
Michigan. Pure.
Ahhhhh...the wifey and I are now rested, peaceful, and ready to act like normal people. We've returned from a lovely one week vacation in Northwestern Michigan...it was cool, crisp, and much needed. You may be saying, "Ummm...Northern Michigan?? What the heck is in Michigan? What do you do up there...isn't that where Detroit is? Are you in a GANG??!!" To that I would say...stop it right now, and look at where we were:
There's about 450 more pictures where that came from, so I'll spare you the 'come over to my house and watch this hour and a half slide-show' experience. What I will do though is give you some highlights of our trip.
One highlight for me is the rest stop on the way to the destination. That sounds really bizarre, I know, but hear me out. Rest stops are only stopped at on road trips, so to me a rest stop is exciting and means that I'm on vacation. For me, it's the starting point of a trip and the time when your brain says, "Rest stop??!! Are we going on VACATION!!!?? WHOO!" So...I get excited...
But enough about the stupidly long drive up to Michigan...how about a dune climb?? Sleeping Bear dunes, a National Park, is a crazy high pile of sand. I didn't know sand can be piled that high...but God is powerful and He builds cool things. This is one of them. It's 500 feet...and as my trivia freak of a dad put it, is a 'traveling dune' meaning that it moves multiple feet each year. It will be miles inland in another 200-600 years!! CRAZY! So...what better way to enjoy a giant, traveling pile of sand than to get really stupid and climb that thing, right??
To get a good idea of what you are looking at, check out those little dots at the top of the hill...those are people. Those people are 500 feet in the air...and you are looking up at about a 60 degree angle. There...that's better.
One really slow, really dumb hour later...we made it! The best part? All of the little jerk kids RUNNING up the hill by us...oh wait, no, that wasn't that great at all. Just wait 10 years kids...just wait.
Janele got so tired...she just feel asleep standing up. Smiling. Weird.
So...what to do after climbing the world's largest litter box? Go find giant pie...of course!!
Yeah...that's right, the WORLD'S LARGEST. Good game Charlevoix! You did it! You sure know how to build...giant ovens! And...make...big pans? And...you have...a large supply of butter. Ok...I'm done.
There were more highlights of course...but I'm tired. So, I'll let wifey chime in. In summary though...my favorite things: bathrooms by a highway, moving sand piles, and giant fruit pie. I'm easily satisfied.
-the Hubs
One highlight for me is the rest stop on the way to the destination. That sounds really bizarre, I know, but hear me out. Rest stops are only stopped at on road trips, so to me a rest stop is exciting and means that I'm on vacation. For me, it's the starting point of a trip and the time when your brain says, "Rest stop??!! Are we going on VACATION!!!?? WHOO!" So...I get excited...
To get a good idea of what you are looking at, check out those little dots at the top of the hill...those are people. Those people are 500 feet in the air...and you are looking up at about a 60 degree angle. There...that's better.
One really slow, really dumb hour later...we made it! The best part? All of the little jerk kids RUNNING up the hill by us...oh wait, no, that wasn't that great at all. Just wait 10 years kids...just wait.
So...what to do after climbing the world's largest litter box? Go find giant pie...of course!!
There were more highlights of course...but I'm tired. So, I'll let wifey chime in. In summary though...my favorite things: bathrooms by a highway, moving sand piles, and giant fruit pie. I'm easily satisfied.
-the Hubs
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