July 9, 1998
Dear Everyone:
Things are starting to get back to “normal”, or as
normal as you can expect in this family.
I got an email last week regarding the traditional
Fourth of July
fireworks display that “Pleasanton” has each year.
These are usually set off from the “Pleasanton” Central Park.
But this year, due to some construction going on, the city of
“Pleasanton” asked Company if they could use the vacant lot east of
Company Park.
Company said OK, as long as “the public” didn’t try
to park in Company’s parking lots.
Then they sent an email to the people who work in “Pleasanton”
and “Livermore”, saying that Compoids could park as long as they had
badges to prove they were employees.
Last weekend, “Marshall” came up from
Fresno for
a visit and to go into the City to pick up something at Bullock & Jones.
I asked if he and “Jeannie” would like to attend the fireworks
display, and they decided that this was a dandy idea, since we had
guaranteed parking nearby.
So, Saturday evening, off we went to Company Park,
along with hundreds of other people.
We parked across from Building B, there being plenty of spaces on
that side of the Park and followed the people who looked as if they knew
where they were going.
“Jeannie” had insisted that we bring a blanket to sit on, so we spread
it out over some desiccated-looking ivy and settled in.
As soon as the fireworks started, we abandoned the
ivy to sit on the curb where we could see better.
We had definitely stumbled onto front row seating.
You could actually hear the men who were setting the fireworks
off. And the fire crackers
and roman candles were so close, instead of “Ooh!”
and “Ahh!”, we were sometimes tempted to cry “Aack!” or
“Incoming!!!”
It was a very generous and impressive display,
lasting over 20 minutes, of great, beautiful blossoms of fire in the
sky. They would set off two
or three pieces at a time, culminating in a gigantic, sustained burst of
colored lights. We were
quite impressed. When it was
over, we folded up the blanket and made our way home.
Later, when I have lots of time, I’ll pick all the dead ivy out
of the blanket.
The next day, we met at a restaurant in
Walnut
Creek that presents a delightful, if somewhat expensive, champagne
brunch on Sundays.
Afterward, “Marshall” headed back to Fresno; and I took “Jeannie” to my
place to help me assemble my “instant shade” contraption, which I had
bought the weekend before.
I’d been looking for something to shade the patio
without having to be permanently attached to the side of the building,
as an awning would need to be.
I had found several tent-like things, but all of them were at
least 10 feet wide and my patio weighs in at 9’8”.
But last weekend, I stumbled upon a canopy that was nine and a
half feet each way. This
would fit.
According to the instructions, it goes up in “only
a minute”. This would be if
the assemblers had any idea what they were doing; if several pieces had
already been attached where they were supposed to be; and if the
instructions were at all decipherable.
As it was, it took us maybe 20 minutes; but it’s up now and
shades better than half the patio.
“Jeannie” worried that a strong wind could cause it to become
airborne, so we weighted down the legs with concrete cinder blocks
(always handy to have around).
Yesterday was pretty windy, but the canopy held its own.
Movies...
I did manage to catch a couple of movies this
weekend, ones “Jeannie” didn’t care to see.
Mulan.
For some unfathomable reason, “Jeannie” refuses to see animated
musicals. I’ve no idea why.
This one is quite good.
Back in the Fifth Century, about the time that the
Roman Empire was
cracking up, a Chinese poet set down the tale of a girl named Mulan.
The Romans weren’t the only ones facing invading barbarians.
The Chinese emperor has ordered one male from each family to join
the army. The only man in
Mulan’s family is her father, aging and afflicted with an old war wound.
So Mulan cuts her hair, dons her father’s armor,
steals his commission and heads for boot camp in his place.
Things do not go smoothly.
But Mulan soon proves that she can be quick-witted and
resourceful in a crunch.
Also, there’s a dragon (another one!) and a cricket.
But I felt the grandmother looked too much like
Mr. Magoo in drag.
Armageddon. Yet
another “the sky is falling!” disaster movie.
Only this time with
Bruce Willis as
an oil well driller called upon to lead a mission to blow up an asteroid
before it hits Planet Earth and there’s no one left to go to the movies.
This is a
Jerry
Bruckheimer production with lots and lots of special effects.
It starts with the space shuttle exploding.
Billy
Bob Thornton (Primary
Colors) wants to know why his shuttle went kablooey.
Soon he learns that a rock, roughly the size of
Texas, is on a
collision course with guess what?
Smaller rocks crash through
New York City,
demolishing buildings and causing more explosions (Jerry likes
explosions).
Mercifully, this is one summer movie that does
not take out the
Brooklyn Bridge.
I’d bet that Jerry probably did want the Bridge, but the f/x guys
said, “Enough, already, with the Brooklyn Bridge.
Let us destroy something else for a change.”
And, of course, they do.
OK for the matinee price and to get out of the sun.
Finally, “Jeannie’s” two left feet.
Not too long ago, “Jeannie” had to go into the
City on a job.
She wanted to wear her
sneakers
until she actually got to the job, then change into dress shoes.
But, being “Jeannie”, she couldn’t find her regular sneakers, so
she had to make do with the old pair in the back of the car.
She soon remembered why these shoes were in the
back of the car. Number One:
They squeaked. Number
Two: As soon as her feet got
a little warm, the shoes began to smell.
By the time “Jeannie” arrived at the job, she was more than
willing to get out of her squeaky, smelly sneakers.
This is when she realized that she had one black
shoe and one navy shoe. Oh,
well, she thought, they’re both dark; maybe no one will notice.
This is when she discovered that she had two left shoes, one
black and one navy. The
choice was now, wear two left shoes or go back to the squeaky, smelly,
non-office sneakers.
Like I said, “Back to ‘normal’.”
Love as always,
Pete
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