Sorry I was missing from the site most of the day but today was a grandson visiting day here at the Compound. Tertius (the third) is currently twelve years old. And that works out because I can still keep up with him in a baseball catch and shooting pool without looking too feeble. Against all odds (the recent weather forecast) the sun was out and it was about fifty degrees. And after two half-hour catches, I can proudly say my right shoulder and elbow are both reasonably intact.
Camera Girl provided the requested bill of fare (spaghetti and meatballs, cookies and cream ice cream, lemonade) and I provided the requested cinematic presentation (extended version of “The Two Towers). The conversation was limited to an in depth discussion of how Elrond and Aragorn could be related, his current progress in school band (baritone horn) and the trade-off between a lot of snow (which he likes) and not getting out of school until late June (which he is against). I tried introducing the question of dark matter but I didn’t seem to spark his imagination with it. Probably needs some background in physics first. I guess seventh grade science isn’t that advanced.
I’m happy to find that we have maintained good relations and I recognize several of my traits in him (the poor kid) and am highly pleased that we both enjoy a baseball catch as a good way to pass time and get a little exercise. Now, if he were sixteen, I’d probably be too old. And come to think of it sixteen-year-olds have other interests than playing sports with old fogeys. But currently I can throw it far enough and fast enough to keep him interested in the game. And it’s actually good exercise for me too.
And at 6:30 pm I drove him home to his parents and told Camera Girl that all is right with the world and we must have done something right to have such nice grandkids. To be honest, she probably did something right. I’m just born lucky and hang around with the right people.
So, I checked the news to see what I missed today and so far, I don’t see anything new. Trump, blah, blah, blah. Musk, blah, blah, blah. Resist, resist, resist. Rinse, repeat.
I was glad to see there was a fair amount of interest in the Heinlein post. I figure a lot of folks from our generation were fans back in the day of RAH. I’ll say that reading his stories gave me an interest in space and when the time came to think of engineering as a profession, his stories made it seem more interesting than it might have without his influence. Of course, he didn’t warn me enough about how stupid everyone in the executive suite would be. But maybe it was a different time.
So now we have to prepare for our visit from Quartus (the fourth) in the next couple of weeks. We have to nail down the menu. I already know his choice in movies. He’s going to demand at least a triple feature of Godzilla movies (Lord help me). As far as sports it may be something esoteric. Sometimes the kids have toys like tops or yo-yos or other less recognizable geegaws. But now is the time to go through the research stage so that the actual event goes smoothly. Who knows? Maybe bowling or laser tag will be on the agenda. Well, I better rest up.