Camping, Goo-Monsters, The Mess and Weird Summer Nostalgia

     First, Camping!  I happen to have a family and large "village" of people who camp, dirtbike, surf, skateboard, be musical, be strange and be there. I went camping for a week with said group of people.  This is where I finished Lamentaion (which I found to be a very worthy endeavor.)

     AG, what did you do on this trip you adventuresome and daring adventurer?

Well, since you asked so kindly...

Most of what I did was read and jump off of rocks.

But, I also
Caught a frog,
Called a river a lake,
Ate S'mores,
Geeked out with my cousin-person,
Took illegal(ish) river showers,
Celebrated my Aunt and Uncle's Anniversary,
Played 'Catchphrase' for the first time,
AND
Last, but definitely not least,
I got to spend time with some of my favorite people. Ever. *

     Something I think Hyperspace would want me to mention is that he has full permit and is close to being able to drive to were I am. This will be a big improvement from our current approxiamtely-once-every-three-months arrangement. I have a standing offer with Addyday for driving lessons in the college parking lot.   


     There is a new Goo Monster in my part of Cali. She is the daughter of the sister of Blondie. Which makes me sort of an Aunt, I guess. She is loud and smelly and has adorable toes. She also has the same largeish head that both of her parents had as Goo Monster/Very  VERY small people. 
     The Mess is nearly clean. Which is nothing short of miraculous. It only took me two months. (NOTE: the sarcasm)
     My summer is nearly over, but I hope to get my summer homework done and at LEAST 

spend at least one more day at the beach. 

*Ammamay is more for "outdoorsing". I don't mind tents.

Love You, Stranger,
AG

The Fair

     Call me sentimental.
     Call me insane.
     The fair is magic.

     Yup.  Magic.

     OK, I'm not a stark-raving looney(kind of).  It's just that the fair is different from the rest of the year.  It doesn't take place in "normal-time", it takes place in the same weird, alternate-reality that houses Halloween.  That place where kids have freedom to just run around, junk food is not just allowed, but mandatory and enemies declare(temporary) truces.
     For one weekend of the year, every year, everyone is friends.  For the parents - there's nostalgia, for the kids - a world of light and wonder, the teens get a chance to live in a place of their own, a domain that is solely based on their decisions.  It's sort of like real-life, except someone else is paying your bills for you and there's no mortgage.  The really neat part is that the normal rules of engagement don't seem to apply in this other-world.
     Under the stars, gaudy lights and too-loud sounds of the music, games and crowds, everyone is equal.  You can be a kid.  You can run around, tell stupid jokes, and basically act four or six or eight as a middle-schooler or high-schooler.  Balloon-animals, "sword fights", ice cream, tag, hide-and-go-seek-tag*.  Parents lose a lot of the "serious, parental attitudes" and laughter is everywhere.  Seriously. 

I'm not making this up.

      We live in a fairly average sized city and that part which we inhabit is fairly small.  Don't get me wrong, this isn't some small-town, my high school has enough humans for the Census Bureau to gain us the title of "Small Town"






































 Anyway, when you're my age, the people at the fair are the people you've spent your whole life with(although you may not know them super-well).  You pass these people on your bike, that group you've known since pre-school, those guys are your buds and you've been saying, "Hey" to that person at the baseball field since before your brother stopped using a tee.
     So, in order to break grudges, break normalcy and basically break the whole fair down to one component, I have come to the conclusion that the fair is magic.  It's not perfect, but it's not perfect in the most perfect way possible.  You know Sandlot?  The fair is a lot like the Fourth of July in Sandlot, minus the fireworks.  It feels like something is going to happen, something unusual.  The anticipation and possibility mix with the sickly-sweet cotton-candy and adrenaline from the Gravitron**.
     I have a feeling this is going to be an interesting weekend.
 -AG

 *like tag, only hide-ier and seek-ier.  And cooler, that too.
**I'm still too chicken for this ride.  Oh so very chicken.

How to Stump a Stubbern Child

 I was one.  I was a very stubbern child.

Now I am very different.

Now I am a very stubbern teenager.

Lovely.

     Anywho, I was thinking, as I often do, about this, that, the-other-thing, and ventalation.  I was also working on an English project and I found a list of questions relationg to the wonderful book by Roald Dahl that is known to the world as, The BFG.      

     One of the questions was, "How does the BFG label his dream jars?"

     My response(my immediate one, at least) would have been,* "With paper."

*(ha!  Actually, this was my immediate reaction)


     Another thing it brought to my mind was the question, "Why does the BFG label his dream jars?"


The answer to the question is easy to find, but the point is that it derailed my train of thought.


Again.


     Now I was thinking about little children and how they incessantly the question, "Why?" 


 I, myslef, have been one of the worst. 

     The proper response to this question from a child, I have found, is to ask them a question in return.


     Answer their questions until you have no more answers or have run out of your Advil, ibuprofin, Tyelnol(yadda, yadda, yadda, [insert brand of pain releiver/headache medicine here]), then return to them a question of your own.


     When you have reached the limits of your answering capabilities, simply ask them , "Why not?"
     Be prepared for a new round of questions on a new subject, or persistence on the other one, but honestly, this has worked.
     I mean, I've used this.  It had become second nature because it worked. I just hadn't stopped to ask myself why it worked.


     My answer to why it works?  Why not?  Why shouldn't it work?  It may not be one-hundred-per-cent, but it's better than nothing and can inspire exploration and curiosity.


This is my random thought for today.


Best Regards
~AG