theScarlettletter

Jilluns and i were taking a walk around my neighbourhood on Saturday evening when i saw the following item lying on the street. it was practically begging to be picked up, and you will see that the risk to my health was well worth the effort. though it seem s a bit voyeuristic to publish it, if you're out there Scarlett, i think we can all feel your pain.

enjoy:


oh Scarlett...

thetreasures

thejayfather spent the Christmas season in fine style, up in Utah with family. even the weather managed to cooperate for my visit, warming up considerably just before Jill and i arrived, and cooling off again when we left. and something about the expectation of cold in Utah makes it seem less so, at least compared to California, where heat is supposed to be the rule.

anyway, among the many important things that occurred on that trip was a pretty thorough cleaning out of all my stuff in my parents' basement. i was not looking forward to trawling through all that junk but i did mangae to trash a whole bunch of it, and more importantly, i rediscovered some old treasures. of note were my cyclocomputer, which may mean i now have the motivation to get some exercise every once in a while; my harmonicas, including a sweet Hohner Blues Harp in the key of C (now i might learn to play something recognizable with it...); and a few important documents etc.

among this last class were the items pictured below, which are far too sweet just to go back in boxes. both are notes to me from my younger sister, Kim, and are from quite different time periods, though there are no dates on either. if i had to guess i'd say the first is mid- to late 80s, and the later one is probably from the mid-90s, just after we moved to the States.



Kim's earlier letter. a pound (₤) is now worth about $1.72, quite a lot for a young lad in the late 80s. below another work of slightly later vintage.



i hope you enjoy these priceless works as much as i do, and will ponder the wisdom Kim shares with us all: Polos really are that good, and a little respect goes a long way.

thewarshateria

last weekend saw me in Texas, where everything truly is bigger, or, as the new saying has it: "Texas is bigger than France." 'nuff said. things are a little strange out there for us non Texans, but with a bit of thought you can figure most things out, like what this place is for:


that's "laundromat" to the rest of us.

compounding the problem of such unfamiliar establishments is that they're usually referred to as "warshaterias", so sounding completely foreign. but when it's said in context, it can be really quite charming, as in: "we're fixin' to go to the warsheteria y'all". wonderful.

anyway, i was in Houston, where my closest friend, Taggert, and his family live. it's a huge, sprawling city, and the land round about is scarily flat, so a Rockies-dweller like me has a hard time ever knowing where he is, much less where he's going. good thing i was chauffeured around all weekend. Tag and Kara have just produced their third child, and since they named him after me (sort of), i couldn't resist going down there for his blessing and a grand tour.


me with my little namesake, Dean Thomas.

of course, my name isn't Dean, but my middle name, just like the little anklebiters', is Thomas. it was my maternal grandmother's maiden name. Tag and Kara seemed happy enough to have the name, but glad that Dean hadn't also inherited the noted "Thomas ear", which is like a normal one, but with a small notch cut out of its back edge.


the Mayfield kids and me. from left: Reagan Michelle, Dylan Michael and Dean Thomas.

i spent a great weekend hanging out with the family and playing with the children, and i came back with more photos and videos of the eldest, Reagan, dancing and playing than my memory card ever thought it could hold. above is one of the only pictures of the three kids and me which turned out at all well. what you can't tell is that i'm using about all the strength i have in my right arm to restrain Dylan from running off and going somewhere else. many shots were attempted before i thought of this strategy.

Dylan is the busiest little beaver i have ever met. he is always doing something or going somewhere, and is almost totally oblivious to anything you might say or do to him. i've never seen anyone quite so energetic or purposeful in my life, or with such a personality, which is why i must end with the following photo. from the pointing to the look on his face, it shows, in a way that could never have been posed, just what an entertaining little fella he is. enjoy:


who's the man? Dylan letting you know the exact answer to that question.

thepack-o

who'd have thought Taiwan was so multicultural? while there we made friends with many folks from faraway places, including, of all things, a wee Spanish fellow by the name of Paco. we came across him on one of our 'round island trips, soaked to the bone from the torrential summer rains, and bought him one of the $1 ponchos from a 7-11. then i gave him a lift--literally--to the train station in Tainan before saying farewell.

Taiwan was full of memories great and small, and Jill and i couldn't let our brief association with little Paco pass without a little photographic documentation. i hope you will enjoy this memory as much as we do.


Paco 'n me

theborder

Jill and i just got back from our ninth country together: Mexico! actually, in many respects Tijuana hardly counts as another country, but at least we saw a side that most Americanos don't bother to look for. we stayed well clear of Avenida Revolucion, and headed for the Centro Cultural Tijuana, in the newish downtownish area. this part of town has apparently seen a lot of work over the past few years, trying to turn it into a place that would lure turistas away from the Revolucion; they even put a huge statue of Abraham Lincoln in the middle of a roundabout:


Honest Abe and me, just hanging out in TJ.

like all Americans would (?), i just had to see it, even though Jill was none too thrilled about walking all the way down there. what kind of patriot is she anyway? besides, after i dragged her down there, threatening her with near death from a thousand crazy drivers, i took her to the cool IMAX theater inside the huge ball that gives the cultural center its distinctive look. we saw the National Geographic film "Fuerzas de la Naturaleza", or "Forces of Nature", which was narrated by Kevin Bacon. trouble was, he, or whoever was pretending to be him, was speaking Spanish, so we missed a bit of the meaning. but there were cool pictures of volcanoes exploding, and it only cost about US$2 each to get in. they even gave us a student discount with our American IDs.


Jill and me at the cultural center. that's her bag, promise.

next time we go, we're heading for the luxury movie theater at the Rio shopping center. comfy sofa seats, tickets still cheaper than you can get up here, and who knows, Kevin Bacon may have dubbed one of the movies. in any case, Tijuana proper is pretty cool. next time you go, get your cheap souvenir shopping done quick and head for the downtown; it's pretty nice, and Honest Abe will be waiting.