Well, it’s been a bit more than 120 hours. I’ve not written anything since Wednesday of last week – 5 whole days! That’s the way it goes. Nick and I were at scout camp for 3 days, played D&D one day, celebrated my father’s 68th birthday on Sunday, then had to do some database training when I went back to work yesterday. It’s high time to jump back into it.
Scout camp was great. Nick has come full circle. The first time we went, 3 years ago, we were at the camp site farthest from every activity. We had to walk at least 15 minutes to most things. That was a miserable 3 days, because Nick’s ADHD, his size, my inability to deal with his immaturity, etc. It got slightly better the next two times, at different sites. This year, we were at the same, farthest site as the first year! Nick handled it like a trooper – or should I say, like a boy scout. He’s really matured a lot in the last 3 years. It was an enjoyable trip.
On the 2nd night at camp, we did a flag retirement ceremony, during which we cut a flag into strips and burned it on a solemn campfire. Before we began, I reminded everyone that it is supposed to be a quiet and respectful time. Nick and the other 14 boys in our camp site were quiet AND STILL for nearly 40 minutes! I was simply amazed that a group of 10 year old boys could be silent for so long!
The soundtrack of the musical is, as I said, enchanting. The rhymes are tricky, but they fit. The music is thrilling and sincere. The performances are astounding, especially the titular (no, not Kristen!) character Elphaba, played by Idina Menzel. Elphaba is the real name of the Wicked Witch of the West. Yes, Wicked is sort of a prequel to the Wizard of Oz. It is a fascinating adaptation of the popular novel by Gregory Maguire.
Some time over the weekend, I was struck by inspiration. An idea came to my mind, unbidden as the best ones often do, for a D&D storyline that has the potential to the blow the socks off of all the old players. I haven’t been more excited about developing a story idea in more than a decade! Perhaps by the time Eric moves back to northwest
My son has grown into a bit of a Star Wars nut. Although I have steered him away from the collecting aspect, he still has quite a few toys that he actually plays with. His friends play along, too. We recently watched the Robot Chicken Star Wars special. Hilarious stuff, but it got me thinking of a time long ago, in a place that seems far, far away – the East Toledo Boys Club, about 27 years ago! On an old reel-to-reel projector, we watched a 15 minute short called Hardware Wars, a fantastically crude spoof of Star Wars. We probably watched it 10 times that summer. The image of a waffle iron, suspended sideways in a flat star field, slowly opening as Fluke Starbucker flies his bottle opener into the final battle, is indelible. I sat everyone in front of the TV last night to watch the Special Edition (not approved by the original creator), and I must say it was still as funny as it was nearly 3 decades ago! Nick certainly got a kick out of it!
This brings me to a comment on the Clone Wars feature coming out in a couple weeks. While I am looking forward to sharing the big screen experience with Nick, it again brings the dollar signs to the fore front of my Star Wars awareness. The action figures, the books, all the back-to-school stuff (good timing!), the video games, etc. It is a little disturbing to think of all the adult geeks out there who will end up purchasing not one, buy TWO complete sets of all the action figures - one to put away and one to open and display.
2 comments:
I read this and many of your other posts tonight. Keep up the good work.
Thanks, Eric.
It's been tough to set aside that 1 hour, but it's been worth it.
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