29 days of giving challenge - chinese food ... day 9

Fuzzy has never really grown up, and I mean that in the nicest possible way.

He still has the joy and imagination of a kid when it comes to all things Sci-Fi and Fantasy.

This summer was made for him.  I mean we had the Green Hornet (disappointment), Thor (ladies, I highly recommend this), the Green Lantern (more or less thumbs up), and soon to have Captain America.

The gift?  I didn't fall asleep in the movie.  Normally if there are enough explosions, special effects, and the theater is cool enough, it is beddie by time for me.  I have slept through all of the James Bond, Star Wars, Die Hard, and Arnie movies that are out there.  I do remember staying awake for Ironman, but I slept through Sherlock Holmes - go figure.

As a result of staying awake and somewhat engaged in the movie, I chose dinner at a Chinese place.

How is this a benefit to me?  Easy.  I've been stuck trying to find inspiration for a story.  Sort of.  I have ideas for several that have been in my mind and fighting for dominance.  The lucky numbers from dinner will be the deciding factor of some of the characters and some of the issues that may (and may not) come up ... or could just be used for me and backstory.

29 days of giving challenge - the history lesson ... day 2

Right now I'm not as timely as I'd like to be with writing, but I am again doing the 29 days of giving.

Friday I took hubby with me to see a Golden Age of Comics exhibit at the library (1938-1950).  I thought the gift was getting him in touch with his inner child.  It wasn't.

 
The gift was for the teen-volunteer.  His job this summer is to keep the exhibit clean, orderly, and answer questions to the gawking adults and find stuff for the little kids to look at so they are entertained.

Some of the most impactful adults I ever met treated me like a full-fledged person long before I was old enough to drive.  They got me to value myself and to see how my ideas were important.

No, I don't think drawing him out and getting him to tell me about his favorite things (and who his favorite superheroes) were. 

When he told me he didn't understand how the telephone in the phonebooth would have worked in real life, I was shocked.  Such a simple, or so I thought, thing. 

In his lifetime, there have been precious few pay phones, fewer phonebooths, and a rotary dial phone has never existed except in pictures.  The thought of not having a cell phone or needing change to make a call was completely beyond his scope.

I became a history teacher, first the payphone and then 1930s/1940s economics.

Later I explained that when my dad was a kid, his father paid 3.5 cents per comic that sold for a nickle.  (My grandfather owned the town pharmacy and soda fountain.) My father and his brother were allowed to take them home, read them (provided they didn't so much as breathe on the print), and return them to the store the next day for sale. 

The fact that newspapers costing a dime was a heft investment was another idea he had a hard time fathoming.


I introduced him t The Shadow and he schooled me on the Green Lantern.  My husband prefers Captain America.

All in all, it was a great gift.