Tuesday, November 8, 2011

When did they stop listening?

Good morning! Tink just ran out of the house to her class and she is once gain...late. Don't speed!

Buddy is once again the same Buddy that I have known over the years. Now that he no longer has fall ball, he is settling back into training and class work. If all this is true, why oh why does he wait until the last minute to study and write his papers? It's not like he is living on a farm and has to milk the cows and plow the fields before he walks down the dirt road to catch the school bus a mile away in the dark. I can't figure it out because it hurts my convoluted way of thinking...'cause no matter how many flaws I have (don't ask dad how many)I know how to be on time. Two weeks ago, I taught my students "Lombardi time". It means that you show up 15 minutes before the start or you will be considered late. They understand the concept after one hour, so why don't my own children get it after 20 years living and listening to me? Could it be that they stopped listening to me after the age of five? perhaps...I no longer have an impact on their way of thinking. I wonder what Dr. Spock (not Mr. Spock) would say about it? Is there evidence to support that kids stop listening to their beloved parent at a certain age? I should do the research, but experts may not like what I disclose.

For example, our favorite leftie still does not have a place to live next year. Why, you may ask since he was on fire to leave the place on the outskirts of town after the first day? Well, he found his place over the Dunkin Donuts. The students who are currently living there decided to renew their lease about a month ago. Since he was upset about this turn of events, he stopped looking thinking that a beautiful place will magically appear. Actually, my take on it is that he wants the broken down house in the middle of town that the Dog claims has "character.". Since dad and I already said "no" he will wait and wait until there are no other options and have to take the place since it is the last one left to rent. Do I know my kid or what?

He is also in the process of choosing his spring courses and MUST declare a major. Will he share this information with me? Nope, not until he desperately needs something from me and I will hold it over his head until he talks...I may have to use some Gestapo methods of getting him to 'spill his guts'. When I was a kid with 5 siblings, we would fight on the floor of the living room, incapacitate our victim, then use 'water torture' to get them to talk. Water torture is not 'water boarding', it is more like using droplets of water on their face or taking a feather and tickling their face until they can't stand it anymore. My brother in law Big M with his three older brothers would tie their baby brother down, put peanut butter on his stomach and let the dog lick him. To this day the story makes me laugh. yet, all five brothers grew up to be normal and happy guys who survived the battles in their own living rooms.

Back to Buddy...all of these tactics will not work. I doubt if I can 'crack' him with standard techniques. I may have to use some devious methods to procure the information that I crave. Or I can wait until he decides to share this confidential information with us. Number two sounds like the best plan. Dad already told him that he gets four years of college with his money, then he is on his own. What do I say about that statement? "Yeah...right..." If his little 6'4" boy with the curve ball, big eyes, and killer grin needs or wants an additional year of higher education, dad will dig into his chinos and pull out his platinum card. Perhaps the tuition money can be translated into air miles to use to celebrate when both kids are finished with college. The plan is to fly to an undisclosed location with the gps system on the cell phones turned off. They can check in once a day while I hang out under a palm tree with my margarita. Although by the time this happens, I might be ready to climb these palm trees....

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