Daily Report: Real America... And Apple Pie

I woke up today, and my throat infection has flared up something fierce. My throat is sore, coughing is painful, and sneezing is agony. I sneezed about 10 times in a row, and thought I was going to pass out. It turns out that everybody back in Pattaya has the same thing I do, so I obviously carried it with me from Thailand. Perhaps it is some exotic jungle disease that I've carried back to America, and I'll go down in history as the next Typhoid Mary.

Vinnie got baptized today, and the whole family turned out to see it. Reverend Madden did the honors. He's new since I attended church last, and is quite a good minister. He looks like a young Benjamin Franklin, and you feel he is probably just as wise. However, at the same time, he has several scars on his face that makes you think that at one point he was not in God's good graces, and found God via tribulation... the kind of guy you tend to take seriously when he tells you about finding happiness through faith.


My father (of whom I am
told I am the spitting image)
and his wife Judy.After the church service and baptism, we had a brunch in one of the church's dining rooms, and Dan and Nancy opened presents for Vinnie.

While driving back to my mother's house after church, I was listening to the radio station in Bath, Z98.3... the old WVIN. They were giving away a DVD for "The Bridge to Tarabithia" (whatever that is), and announced, "If you are over 18, and a legal U.S. citizen, and are caller number 10, you win!"

What a big pile of petty, childish, and xenophobic horse shit that is. America dislikes foreigners so much that they aren't allowed to even call up radio stations to try and win a prize? Sheesh. Grow up people.

Anyway, in the mid-afternoon, I worked on the blog for a while, and then in the evening it was off to Paul's (my mother's new husband's) house for a family bar-be-que. Four of Paul's five children — and their families — were there. The main dish actually was made by Noi, Paul's daugter-in-law from Thailand. She made a huge pile of chicken satay with peanut sauce and sticky rice. There were also hotdogs, hamburgers, potato salad, baked beans... and apple pie for dessert.

I spent a fair amount of time sitting with my old art teacher from high school, Mr. Moore. (His wife and my mother are best friends.) He told me about all of the awful friends he has had in his life and the fact that on three separate occasions, he essentially had millions of dollars almost in his hands, and lost it due to people he called friends. If Mr. Moore isn't one prone to tall tales, they are great... if agonizing... stories.

In the end, at about 8:30 or so, I called it quits due to my cold, and drove home. Dan and Nancy had left early to take Vinnie to bed, and we sat and watched "Monsters Inc" on the Disney Channel.

And finally, Mike's thousand words: Backyard Bar-Be-Que, 7:00 p.m.