A Little Funk and a Little Rockabilly

What a wild twenty-four hours.

We were invited to go to The Ritz - a night club in Raleigh - with our friends Kristen and Scott. They had free tickets to see an '80's cover band, a '90's cover band, and...wait for it...intermissions played by Biz Markie.  It's okay. I had to look him up too.  He was a one hit wonder in the 1990s but took up DeeJaying and producing since then.

Lisa and I have never been to a "club", a place who's sole purpose is to put on music, serve over priced drinks, and be loud beyond the point of being able to hold a conversation.  It turns out Lisa l-o-v-e-d it. She looked fantastic and got into the sounds, the crowd, and the fun.  I did too - but Lisa owned it. She says it was her first time in 46 years being in a club but you could not tell by looking at her.

The first band was great - anytime you include a horn section it's going to be funky.  The second band needed a lot of help from the singers to their stage presence - meh, they only played for 45 minutes.  Biz Markie - I have to give him props - he killed it.  I really, really like the music he played.  At one point the African American rapper and DJ was playing Lynyrd Skynyrd in front of a mixed Southern audience of white people and black people- the oddity was not lost on me.

Twelve hours later we were headed to the Draft Line Brewery for the first annual Rockabilly Stomp, Pinup Girl Contest, and Antique Car Show.  It was outside. It was hot. It was a little zany. 

We love the Draft Line. Their beer, their owners, their atmosphere are a lot more in line with what I like in a place.  Plus it's kid friendly and dog friendly. 

Plus we were able to bring the boys with us and our friend Brittany and her daughter.

The Pinup Girls looked great - part Betty Paige, part American Graffiti, all sweethearts. 

The music was straight Americana; Elvis, Johnny Cash, Hank Williams, Stray Cats, Reverend Horton Hear - Nashville, Memphis, and a dash of punk rock. 

The summer is winding down. This was a fun way to exhale before the start of school and the fall.

End of Summer

Summer is coming to an end.  This time next week TJ will be in school and Grant will be waiting to start kindergarten. It has been a good summer for Grant. 

Grant has come so far this year in the pool - a big boost of confidence he just seemed to grow into.

One week he was barely going in the deep part of the pool (where water would be over his head) to jumping in the deep end - usually to attack his big brother. Grant would rarely go down the new slide at the pool and now, well, look at the video!

Also gone is the need for a mask - an insistence that required constant attention because the mask came off, or leaked, or Grant didn't want it that particular moment. Grant did not - and still doesn't to some extent - like water in his face and so a mask was a necessity. Then, one day, it wasn't.  There was no fanfare or announcement - he just stopped needing it.

And at the end of the summer I am a little excited because I will be taking him to Walt Disney World Magic Kingdom in a few weeks. Grant's new found confidence means he can go down the "volcano slide" at Disney's Polynesian Resort pool. 

Eh, What's Up, Doc?

About four weeks ago I hurt my shoulder.  I hurt it doing a combination of things, lifting weights at the gym, standing at Parade Rest (see blog post: I Was Raised By Drill Sergeants), and throwing kids in the community pool.  All of this combined activity pulled or strained something and the pain got so bad that I went to my doctor. (I haven't run in weeks)

In effect, I told my doctor, "This hurts, here. I can't feel here. This bothers me, there." The whole conversation lasted less than two minutes. After a quick physical check he declared that I had a pinched nerve and prescribed medicine and if it didn't work, I might need surgery. Oh, and here's a bottle of pain pills too.

I took the Prednisone which were supposed to reduce the inflammation and had some relief. I took the pain pills and got violently ill to the point I checked into the Emergency Room out of fear I was having a negative reaction to the ingredients. 

After another few days - and against my doctor's advice - I went to a chiropractor who spent as much time listening to me describe my symptoms and how it happened as he did manipulating the shoulder, neck, and back to knead out old scar tissue, loosen the knotted muscle, and adjusted my spine. I traded Tramadol for Advil and ice packs.

I am at the realization that I need a doctor who treats patients as if they are on a production line and dispenses synthetic narcotic pain medicine just because. This isn't the first time I've questioned his methods, attitude, or procedure. So why I am his patient?

Americans have an addiction problem to pain pills. While that is an anecdotal comment I know that it is backed up with research and data.  I do not want to be one those statistics.

Beginner's Luck

I have a new toy: a Nikon D5300 camera. I am excited to say the least to learn a new hobby-- the craft of taking good, "wall-worthy" photos. With anything new I undertake, I have been wishing and researching for a while now. . .almost a year. I've wanted a camera. I have wanted to be that mom that has great shots of her children. I have wanted to be the one to share good pictures with others so that they too can delight in the image.

It really came to a head this summer when Tammi got a new camera for her work at Seafarer as the "Bunk1 Photographer." I saw her go through the process of taking pictures, experimenting, and learning the art of a good photo. I was envious that she was in a job where she took countless of photos every day and had the time to learn. I knew I could do this too. And so I ponied up some cash and got a used camera off of Craig's List.

In my first day of playing with the camera, these are some of the photos I took. I impressed myself

cause, in my mind, these are pretty darn good. And this is the automatic settings, Is it really this easy? Or can I write these pictures up to beginner's luck?

I've bought a couple of books so that I can eventually get off of automatic mode. Aperture, shutter speed, exposure compensation, ISO. I am already so confused. And after just a few days I am discovering that my comfort zone in photography is a little green label marked "auto." Auto knows better than me at this point how to take pictures. But, soon I hope to show Auto a thing or two about taking photos. I will not hang my hat on beginners luck. I don't want to be that mom that has an expensive toy with unrealized potential and joy. I will be a photographer.

Sam's Summer Visit

Samantha turned 19 last week. She is still this ball of anxiety, confusion, and temperament that is working on direction and focus. She is so frustrated with the way she feels you can hear it in her voice. As a parent - especially one four states away - it's just as frustrating for me.  My advice, direction, and opinions are not particularly accepted because she isn't sure what she wants to hear or act upon. Our mutual level of frustration is shared too!

However, the sharp edges that she had at 16, 17, and 18 are wearing down, perhaps as a result of the realization that not everything she thinks the world owes her has paid off. Nor does world work the way she wants because it fits her purpose. Being an under employed, high school graduate self proclaimed pot head who begrudgingly goes to college ain't what it's cracked up to be. Welcome to the world of grown-ups, kiddo.  Sam is finally admitting to her own faults and shortcomings and taking some ownership of the problem. In other words, she is making progress.

When you see your child struggle against all of their talents; intellect, athleticism, and leadership in favor of shortcuts, apathy, and blame it is all you can do to not grab them by the shoulders and scream at them, "YOU. HAVE. POTENTIAL! GO USE IT!".

Ugh.



However... Sam had a great visit despite all of the ambiguity of her future. Superimposed over a visit from the Kirk clan, we were able to celebrate her birthday on her birthday. This is a rarity that has only occurred once before in the last ten years. Most of her other birthdays were celebrated at Camp Seafarer or in New York.  We cooked out with chicken, burgers, bratwurst, hot dogs on the grill and watermelon, corn on the cob, sodas and beer. It was a nice party capped off with a Dairy Queen ice cream cake and watching old family videos from past holidays. I love the old family movies. It is so strange seeing the girls, Kira, Sam, and Grace at the ages that the boys are now.

We got in a short "stay-cation" with a Durham Bulls baseball game - where the opposing pitcher barfed on the mound in the first inning. A visit to the Museum of Life + Science - where we braved gawdawful humidity to watch bears eat watermelon and then run around the tree houses before retreating inside to play with the interactive exhibits. We went to see Suicide Squad - a good (not great) movie - but fun anyway.

And the Olympics!


Congratulations to Sam because she really got into watching the Olympics and got the rest of the family to watch too. She spent the first night watching the opening ceremony from Grandma's house with Mark and Linda while the rest of us (shamefully) didn't. She was great at capturing the human spirit of the game and the personal stories behind the lesser known athletes. One of her best qualities is promoting diversity and social injustice.

It was nice for Betty who had the rare occasion to have all of her children and grandchildren around at one time. Sam is off to new York, Kira is headed to South America for a year of school, and the Kirks won't be back at all this year.

There are big changes ahead for the Brown family. Sam's departure was the beginning. The spaces in the house will change. Sam's room will soon become Grant's room and his room now will become the office for my school and Lisa's photo studio. Oh? You didn't hear about Lisa's new hobby?  

Check back here in a week or so.