Urban Legends

Cameron has been taking a folklore class this summer that will come to a close this weekend. It may seem like a strange class to take for some, but it fulfills a general requirement for Kelley, and Cameron has really enjoyed it.  I have had fun listening to all that he has learned and I know that we both have found it more fascinating that the economics course that he finished several weeks ago.

The one bad part about the class is that he learned about urban legends and that most of them are false.  As a big believer in urban legends, I have taken the brunt of his research.  He has debunked my belief in the Florida Skunk Ape, although I am still planning on taking him to the research center when we visit the Florida Everglades in a few weeks.  Cameron also fact checked my story about Michael Stipe and the reason that the band REM broke up.  Nothing I told him was correct and I felt pretty stupid sharing the story with him in the first place as it definitely wasn't flattering to the lead singer.  

The worst one for me, however, was when he looked up the meaning of Phil Collins' song "In the Air Tonight."  I had told him this elaborate story from the 1980s about Phil Collins' friend drowning and another boater not helping save him.  According to the story, Phil Collins invited the man to a concert, gave him front row seats and sang the song to him just to humiliate him.  Cameron figured out in less that a minute that the story was just an urban legend and the song was really about divorce.  He has never let me forget it.  Thankfully, I have finally realized that I will never tell Cameron a story form my childhood that I hadn't research first.  That will definitely save me from complete humiliation later.  Either way, it has been fun sharing folklore with him this summer.  

This is Their Day All Day Everyday

Cameron and I went to dinner tonight with Jeannette's family and Jackie and Jamie.  It was a lot of fun and we both enjoyed it very much.  Joshua and Benjamin are always entertaining and we found the conversation at dinner very delightful.  It was also nice to try a new place, The Aspen Tap, and the meals we ordered were delicious.

The two of us spent several hours with my cousins before heading back to Syracuse.  We didn't talk a lot about the night on our drive to Grandma's, but once we got home I told Cameron how much I appreciated him going with me.  He said that he had a wonderful time especially listening to Joshua and Benjamin talk about Mine Craft.  He followed up that comment with, "You know the last three hours were a lot of fun, but also exhausting.  I just keep thinking that's their day all day everyday.  I'm not sure that I could do that."  After hanging out with the boys and my friend Rachel's toddler, I couldn't agree more.  I loved raising my own children, but was definitely at a point in my life that I was ready to hang out with my friends' and family's children instead of having youngsters living in my own home.  I was so glad that the Pancoasts and Mrs. Horsmon are willing to share their children with me today.  I was also happy that Cameron understood exactly how I felt.

Feeling Old

As we were eating lunch today at Grandma's and watching The Price is Right, Cameron told me that he was starting to feel old.  He had been spending the majority of his time sitting in the recliner watching gameshows.  Shortly after that, our favorite gameshow was preempted by the news that Hunter Biden was convicted on federal gun charges.  Even though the rest of the country may have thought it was newsworthy, Cameron voiced loudly that he didn't think that it deserved the thirty minutes that they devoted to it, especially since we missed the majority of the game show.  Thankfully, we still got to watch Plinko and the Showcase Showdown.

Cameron's complaining didn't stop just because The Price is Right returned.  A few minutes after the showcase ended, Cameron took a bit out of his sub and a meatball fell out on to his shirt and pants.  Grandma instantly jumped up to get a rag to help clean him up.  Once she touched his shirt, Cameron let go a bunch of expletives about how he could clean up his own mess and to back off.  I didn't say a word and Grandma just sat back down.  

Shortly after the outburst and subsequent changing of clothes, Cameron apologized for his language and for becoming extremely angry over something out of our control.   Grandma said that it was no big deal and I just laughed.  We all realized at that time that Cameron wasn't getting old, he was just turning into Grandpa.  

Bathroom Remodel

My parents had been thinking about remodeling their upstairs bathroom ever since we visited in September.  It wasn't as easy as it sounded as it took them a couple of months to decide what they wanted to do and then a couple more to find the right contractors to do the job.  Ten days ago they had the countertop replaced by the same person who did ours when we remodeled the upstairs bathroom in Syracuse in 2016.  Last Monday, a construction crew showed up to finish the rest including the shower, the flooring, the vent and the toilet. 

I wasn't sure at first how I felt about being here while they were working, but in the end I was really glad that I was.  One thing that I had a lot of experiences with was remodeling houses.  While we were living in Syracuse, we added on the pool table room, the family room, my bedroom and a bedroom in the basement.  We also remodeled the rest of the basement, the kitchen and the upstairs master bedroom.  Even the short time that we have been in Ocala, we had already replaced a bathtub with a shower, changed our landscaping, and repainted the entire interior and exterior of the house.  

In the end, the bathroom project wasn't too stressful.  The guys working on it were very nice and extremely easy to work with overall.  They finished the project in six days which was less than they predicted and it all looked awesome when it was completed.  

WNBA Controversy

Last winter, the biggest sports story was Kaitlin Clark, Iowa women's basketball star.  As an IU fan, I didn't really like her, but I did respect her basketball skills.  She ended up as the overall points leader ever in NCAA basketball in both men's and women's leagues.  She led her team to the final game in the NCAA women's March Madness tournament and was the first pick in the WNBA draft.  Because she had greatly increased interested in the women's college game, everyone was super hyped that she would do the same for the professional league.

The season started this summer and it has been nothing like I thought it would be.  My Dad followed women's basketball a lot better and hasn't been surprised at all by the reaction of the other women in the league.  They have treated Kaitlin Clark terribly with constant flagrant fouls and name calling.  Even her own team hasn't been supportive of her.  Just recently, she was left off the US Women's Olympic Basketball team.  

I was completely shocked by the snub on the Olympic team and the negative treatment of Clark.  Over the years, the WNBA has loudly complaining about not being treated equally with the men's program and has  asked for the publicity that the male league has received over the years.  They finally have a player that Americans have followed and were actually interested in watching play.  Young girls were wearing her jersey.  Attendance at games that she played in was at an all time high for the WNBA, and ESPN was finally covering the games.  

I guess none of this has matter to the other players or the league in general.  As much as I did not like Clark's attitude when she was a college player, she hasn't deserved any of this treatment.  She has been nothing but gracious, but that won't keep fans interested.  I keep wondering who will watch the Olympic team without her playing on it.  To me it didn't matter if she played a lot or not, it created interest in women's basketball and women's sports in general.  

In the end, no one really cares what my opinion is on the matter.  My Dad said that it will all come out in the wash next year as she improves and adjusts to the league.  Although this winter, I never would have believed that I would be rooting for her, but I definitely will be now.  

Meeting Karen

A big part of the reason that I wanted to go to Bloomington this weekend was to meet Karen, Brett's girlfriend.  They had been together since November, but we had not been in town when she was visiting to meet her.  I was a little bit nervous about it since I knew that Brett really liked her.  Thankfully, it went very well and we had a wonderful day.

Brett and I spent our morning at St. Charles Catholic Church.  He had decided to attend mass there as he felt that it was more geared for members his age.  It was a nice service and I was glad to try it with him.  Karen arrived shortly after we got back.  The three of us went to Buffalouies for lunch as she had never been there.  It was a great way to get to know her better and to showcase one of our favorite IU restaurants.  

After lunch, we walked up to the Union so that Karen could meet Meg and Nick.  The four of them took a walk together and I caught up with them later.  We then checked out the protesters in Dunn Meadow before walking to Kirkwood.  Brett and Karen continued shopping after our stop at Hartzell's for ice cream.  Meg and Nick took me back to Brett's so I could rest and they could get ready for mass.  Brett, Karen and I then played several games before she had to head back home.  It was a fun afternoon and I was very happy to have met such an important person in Brett's life.  

Tonight, Meg and Nick went to dinner at DaVinci's with Mallory.  They thought the Italian food was very good.  Brett and I had dinner at McAllister's and talked about his plans for the future.  It was a nice conversation.  The rest of the night was a quiet one.  Brett worked on his resume with Doug while Meg, Nick and I talked about the wedding.  I was sad that we would be leaving tomorrow, but extremely happy to have spent the last couple of days in Bloomington.  

Bloomington

Grandma and I met Meg in Plymouth last night so that I could ride with her to Bloomington for the weekend.  I hadn't seen Brett since March and was excited to spend some time with him today and tomorrow.  Since he was with Sean last night, I invited Meg and her friend, Mallory, to go with me to Social Cantina for dinner.  It was Meg's favorite restaurant in Bloomington and I hadn't been there in quite some time.  I enjoyed not only the food, but the conversation as well as the girls filled me in on their lives and I told them about the book, College Girl Missing, which occurred just blocks from where we were sitting.  

I saw Meg and Nick today, but spent the majority of it with Brett.  He had a meeting with representative, Dave Hall, this morning which I did not go to, but after that I cut his hair, ate lunch with him at Pot Belly's, did some shopping on Kirkwood and attended the "Craft Fair on the Square."  It was a fun afternoon hanging out, spending time together and catching up on life.  Brett's had a lot of awesome things happen recently and I loved listening to him talk about them.  

While Brett was helping set up for the church picnic, I hung out at his apartment and rested.  Meg and Nick stopped by to show me what they had bought and tell me about their day.  They made plans to go to a Speak Easy with Mallory tonight which sounded like a lot of fun.  Meg told me about a beer that they could order with a personalized picture on top.  It sounded really neat.

Once Brett got home this evening, we finished a few projects that Brett had wanted to get done, but hadn't had time to finish.  Afterward, we went to see the new Garfield movie.  It was super cute and I liked it very much.  We then hung out at his apartment watching episodes of Bluey and The Muppet Show.  It was a great day to be in Bloomington and well worth the trip.