The Weekend Eudemon
Michigan in October. It's not Vermont or the Smokies, but it's still one of the prettiest places. The leaves change, the bugs disappear, and half-harvested corn fields look like battlefields, but in a good way. Thousands of spring-fed lakes cool down, making their surface sparkle and reflecting the colored leaves.
And yesterday, I enjoyed it all. Leaving work early, Marie and I took a walk with the three little ones, leaving the four older ones with the job of cleaning the house and a promise to reward them amply for their efforts. We walked along the outskirts of town, along one of those brown cornfields, then took all the kids to the drinking club, there to drink beer while overlooking Omena Lake and listening to Sirius's Standards (Sinatra, Martin, Goodman) from the outdoor speakers. The kids played at the club's playground about forty yards away from the porch. I love my children, and they're particularly lovable when I'm drinking and they're occupied with something else where I can watch them but can't hear them. They sort out their own arguments (which are rare) and rely on each other for pushes, tosses, and games, leaving me with the crucial jobs of getting refills and talking with my wife for the first time in a week.
The whole evening will probably cost me $40. That might seem like a lot for a couple of hours of relaxation, but it wrung a lot of enjoyment out of very little effort, and it left the rest of my weekend open for other things. For me, it's an example of the axiom that a lot of neat things can be found in one's own backyard, if only we can overcome the extremes of (i) constantly wanting to travel, or (ii) sitting in front of the TV.
TDE is doing well. The daggone web hoster crashed at least once and now the stat counter doesn't seem to be tracking all visits, but it still shows increased traffic for the month.
The Kiosk is still limping along. I'm surprised more people aren't using it for free advertising for their products or blogs. It's the only webpage I've seen that encourages people to post whatever they want, including solicitations. But with less than 1% of TDE monthly visitors clicking on it, perhaps it's simply not worth the effort.
There's humorous content over there, by the way. I'd guess that more than half of the 80 posts are jokes, funny comments, or humorous news stories. A handful of people have told me they like it, too. We'll see. It might catch on yet.
Until next week, thanks for reading and for not throwing rocks at me.
Malcolm's Messages (What's this?)
Chapter 4: Malcolm and the Children (continued)
One day he addressed the children:
"Trophies," for that is how he referred to them, "how are you today? Are you having fun? I hope so, for that is your job.
"Do all of you know what a 'job' is?"
A boy aged six spoke up quickly, "It's what moms and dads do."
"That is true," Malcolm said, "it is what moms and dads do. But it is not just moms and dads. I just said you children have jobs, and you are not old enough to be moms and dads.
"A 'job' is what adults do because it means work in exchange for money. But 'job' also means what we are supposed to do throughout the day."
He looked at a little girl and asked her, "Where does your daddy work?"
"He's acoutin,” the little girl said. Malcolm looked at her, puzzled. The little girl said again, "acoutin," paused then added, "a CPA."
"Ah, an accountant," Malcolm said. "An honorable job in most situations. You ought to be proud of your daddy.
"Now, your daddy is an accountant. But you know what else he is?" The little girl's eyes got big, expecting some startling news. "He's also a daddy. Is your mommy here?"
The little girl nodded and used her right hand to point over her right shoulder, in no particular direction. On faith, Malcolm accepted the pointing and wished that others would do the same.
"And are your daddy and mommy married?" he asked.
The little girl nodded.
"Good," Malcolm said, "it is good to know that the Beautiful Beast has not been killed in your family.
"So, your daddy is also a husband?" The girl nodded excitedly. Malcolm continued. "He's an accountant, a daddy, and a husband. Hmmmm. That's a lot of jobs. But you know what is good about it? They are all tied together. By being a good accountant, he is a better father and husband. By being a good husband, he's a good father, and by being a good father, he's a good husband. And by being a good father and husband, he will find that he becomes a better accountant."
The children didn't really understand Malcolm, but they were drawn by the goodness that sat on him. And Malcolm knew they did not understand; for at this point he was really addressing the adults. The writing on his hands told him that he must say some disagreeable things, but he wanted to be as kindly as possible, so he continued to talk to the children.
