I'll try to make this quick, in case the power goes out again. I stayed at Handsome's house last night so I could get it ready for the hurricane. I woke up and watched the second half of "Batman" (The original, with Michael Keaton as Batman. He's good, but there's no keeping Jack Nicholson from stealing the show as the Joker) and started getting the garage ready. I took a break and went to play a game with Handsome, who just got three new games for the Wii for his birthday. I came downstairs to finish the garage while Wife went to the store, and that's when the power went out.
Damn.
I was kind of counting on the power lasting for longer than that; the storm didn't seem to really have gotten going. Although I did watch a tree go down across the street from me. No property damage other than the tree, so it was pretty cool. Anyway, Handsome was counting on the power lasting as well. When his Wii went dead on him I could hear him wailing all the way down in the garage!
We told him that it might be a while before the power came back on, and one way to make the time fly by would be to help his mother and me in the basement!
No dice.
"No thanks. It's my birthday."
He was so casual about not helping us, he rounded it out by rolling away on his scooter. 'No thanks,' roooollllllll ...
We moved on to getting the basement ready for water. You see, the house is set into a hill, and what happens when we get too much rain or snow-melt is water comes in through the back wall of the basement and then follows the paths that 60 years of feet have worn into the concrete floor. It comes through the back room into the family room, then takes a left and flows through the laundry/mechanical room and into the garage, and from there down the slope of the driveway to the street. It's like a little river all our own, and I've been tempted to throw a line in there once or twice during past floods.
Can't do any worse than the last two times I went for stripers.
So all we really have to do is get the stuff up off the floor and let it go. We were in the process of that when we had a visit from a little practical joker I've mentioned before. I like to call him God.
We were in the basement moving stuff, and we could hear the wheels of Handsome's scooter rolling back and forth across the kitchen. I'll admit, I was getting a little steamed that he wasn't helping, but I was trying not to yell at him about it; it is his birthday after all. Suddenly, the power came on. Lights, televisions, etc. From upstairs we heard a "Yay! Now I can play my game!" Footsteps pounded across the kitchen and into Handsome'd bedroom, and seconds later we heard the start-up melody of his Wii come blasting from his television.
The lights went out.
"Awww! Dangit!"
There were slow, angry footsteps back across the kitchen to where the scooter, I just knew, lay forgotten on the floor.
The lights came on.
"Yay!"
Footsteps pounded.
The lights went out.
"Dangit!"
The lights flickered on and off. They came on again for about 3 seconds; long enough for Handsome to take a cautious breath. They went out again before he could 'yay'. Then they flickered again.
I just had to laugh. All I could picture was God, white robed, white bearded, blazing with a blinding light, and laughing like Pete Puma. One Hand on a huge Celestial Light Switch, flipping It up to watch Handsome run, and then down again to watch him stomp.
"Look! Lookit him scoot! Wait, Peter, Gabriel, watch this, you gotta see this! Ready... and.... off! Ha! Lookit him stomp! Wait, wait I'll get him again. Got him! Honest to Me, I slay Myself! Next time help your dad, Kiddo! Watch his face when I flicker it like this... oohoooo, I love this kid!"
So, thank you God. Thank you for giving my son a 9th birthday I'll never forget!
Talk to you later!
(if the power holds out, that it...)
No comments:
Post a Comment