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Happy Birthday, Michael!

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On Friday, November 21, 2014, my son Michael turned two years old.

He had a rough start on life. Those of you who know me personally, or see me on Facebook, know about the trials and tribulations he endured during his first year. The invasive surgery, the physical therapy, and so on. For a long time he needed to use an oxygen pump, but he hasn’t needed that for a few months, and it looks like that big machine will soon be out of our house. Hopefully before Christmas, because we’ve got a busy month coming up.

All the difficulty he endured in his first year seems far away, now. Michael is a tough and resilient little guy. When presented with a difficult situation, he either shrugs and keeps going, or he finds another path. That’s a pretty good model to live by.

Jan '13, M smile
December, 2013

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August, 2014

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October, 2014

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November 21, 2014

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Zany Scary

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My nephew and godson, Connor, just celebrated his ninth birthday, and his party was held at an indoor miniature golf course and arcade called Monster Mini Golf. Functionally, it was like a lot of indoor playground venues. This one had an indoor mini-golf course, a suite of arcade games, and accommodations for a disc jockey. What set it apart was the theme. The place looked like a set from the Hilarious House of Frightenstein, and the staff were dressed like stereotypical mad scientists and “Igor” types. The decor was predominantly black, with splashes of day-glo paint everywhere. The private party room looked like it was pulled from the set of the old Addams Family TV series, with all manner of tacky and hilarious decorations. And finally, the bad puns that were incorporated into the murals and other artwork would send most English majors into cardiac arrest.

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It was a totally zany and fun place to have a children’s party. Near as I can tell, everyone had fun. My daughter likes one of the place’s mascots, a ghoul-girl named Stella Skellarella (pictured above), who looks like a recent graduate of Monster High.

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I hope this place lasts for a while. I’ve been to a number of places like this over the years, and sadly, they don’t last very long. They are often set up in response to a particular fad or pop culture trend, and do very well for a while. But once the fad runs down, the business goes down as well. Sometimes the owners of these places see the changes in the wind and react accordingly. The business may close for a month, then re-emerge with a whole new look and theme. Or they find a creative way to re-invent themselves anew. Or, sadly, they fall off the radar and quietly vanish. I thought this place was rather fun, so I’m hoping it does not suffer that unpleasant and all-to-common fate.

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But I must make one confession regarding those hideous puns. I wish I had thought of them first.

The best toys ever…

Time to bolt!It’s Time to bolt!

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tardis_by_homemadezombieIt’s flashback time!

This is something that appeared on my older blog, “Time to Bolt,” and was originally posted on June 15, 2012. The content has remained largely unchanged.

Most kids love toys, and most kids have one toy that is their all-time favorite. But sometimes there is one toy that you never seem to outgrow.  You may put it aside for a few years, or even a decade or so, but somehow it always comes back, sometimes when you least expect it. For me, that toy is the A.C. Gilbert Erector.

I became an Erector fan during my teens (late 1970’s to early 1980’s), largely because my Dad was one.  Somewhere around 1978, he passed his set on to me.  I had been using a smaller set at that point, and his circa 1948, “Engineers 7.5” set was a bit daunting.  He pretty much let me figure things out for myself.

I played with that set for ages.  During my teen years it was frequently in use.  I even recall using it to do my physics homework!

When I left for college in 1985, the composite Erector set went dormant for several years.  My brother had access to it, but never used it much; he was largely a Lego man.  When I moved to the Washington, DC area in 1996, the set came with me, though it was still dormant in it’s metal toolbox.

Fast forward to December of 2011.  I pulled the set out of mothballs to build a maquette of a home project.  I was trying to design a piece of furniture for the home, and the Erector set gave me a very clear view of how my design would work: It simply wouldn’t.  Oh well.

But after this, I continued to tinker and build with the set.  That chaotic collection of beams and plates was like seeing an old friend after almost twenty years.  Surprisingly, I had forgotten how much fun the Erector could be!  I have a stressful “white-collar” job, and bolting together pieces of metal has proven to be very therapeutic!  Apparently I regressed a bit, and didn’t care.  But something unexpected happened.

My (then) five year old daughter saw the Erector, with all it’s perforated girders, sheets of metal, and antique motor, and was totally enthralled!  My father was a strong advocate of building toys for children.  Erector, Lego, Tinkertoy, American bricks, Lincoln Logs, plain old wooden blocks… the specific toy didn’t matter.  So long as it inspired imagination and creativity, he would say.  My daughter has tried to build things with the Erector, but she gets easily frustrated.  I suspect that’s because the tiny parts of the Erector are a tad beyond her age bracket.  I tell her to be patient (“you’ll grow into it”), or, to try her idea using Lego instead.  Try she did, and she’s managed to make some pretty neat stuff with Lego!  And she has a renewed interest in her basic wooden blocks and Thomas the Tank Engine building materials.  She’s also been doing a lot of artistic stuff, like drawing and painting, with renewed gusto.  I can’t help but think the Erector inspired this burst of creativity.  If there is one thing Erector could always do, it was get the imagination running.  Apparently, that 60-year old set can still do that.

Now I understand what my dad was talking about all those years back. The family Erector set has been in semi-steady use ever since, and I’m now looking into doing some restoration and salvage on many of the parts.  This may turn out to be something I can share with my daughter for several years to come.  I’m hoping so. At the very least, I’m hoping I can share my experiences with this classic toy with other fans of Erector and it’s cousins.

The best toys ever made are the ones that you never totally outgrow, and the ones that always manage to provide something new, no matter how many times you play with them.  Erector was, and still is, one of the best.


Additional thoughts from 2014.

The Erector hasn’t seen much use in recent months. That’s because part of my house is being remodeled, and I don’t want to lose any of the pieces in the chaos! But since writing this essay I have managed to acquire a variety of new parts, and I’ve even learned how to fabricate some of the non-metal parts from the classic and renaissance eras. I’m looking into ways to re-create parts using scraps of sheet metal and my Dremel tool. We’ll see how that works out.

My daughter is now approaching nine years old, and she had gotten better with the Erector. She is still by and large a Lego “master builder,” though, and she’s made some pretty amazing stuff with those things!

The inspiration from the Erector set still burns brightly.

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Mary Pat Peck, 1941-2014

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As many of you know, there was recently a death in my extended family. Namely, my dad’s kid sister Mary Pat.

My strongest memories of my aunt Mary Pat involve her singing voice. In particular, the musical prelude she sang at my uncle Tom’s wedding in 1979. She had a mezzo-soprano voice that was almost opera level in power and control. Another time, at another family event, we were all singing in church, and she overpowered everyone within a twelve-foot radius. And she was holding back!

I didn’t spend much time with her (that I can remember, anyway) until the mid-1970s during a visit to Dayton. Unfortunately, what I remember most of that trip was an ear infection that had me flat on my ass for several days. We spoke many times at family events over the subsequent years, and created some good memories. She had a very sweet, outgoing nature, and a vibrant, razor-sharp sense of humor.

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College portrait, Marshall University, 1964.

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Snapshot from a 1970 newspaper article.

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Photo of Mary Pat and Jennifer, at Jennifer’s wedding, Wilmington, Delaware, 1996.

  • Born Mary Patricia Pugh, July 28, 1941, Charleston, WV. (Father: Harry Lee Pugh; mother: Barbara Evans Pugh)
  • BA English, Marshall University, 1964
  • Married: Gary L. Peck, 1977
  • Died October 16, 2014, Englewood, Ohio

Obituary from the Dayton Daily News.

I sometimes have trouble writing things like this, but the obituary from Dayton probably sums up Mary Pat’s life better than I ever could.  The heavenly choir just gained one hell of a mezzo-soprano.

Sleep well, aunt Mary Pat.  I’ll be sure to sing Little Bunny Foo Foo to my kids for you.