Some people have dual citizenship -and I am swallowing the pun about the duel in may cause in a family, oops, choked on it instead. Anyway, I believe Summer would like to have the option to attend whichever school she preferred on a particular day. For instance, we are north of the snow and Der Bingle struggled back to Fairborn in a strong snowstorm. The interstate was a mess and other roads were horrible and at times, his tires were making tracks in snow that was falling so fast it kept the roadway looking white and untravelled.

He called when he arrived and said there were about 150 school delays and closings. Summer would like to claim his school district tomorrow. But, alas, it is school for her here. However, I know there will be schools closed when Fort Wayne runs its regional list tomorrow morning. Will I hear, “Why does the south get all the snow?” Probably.

A few years ago – very few by my 61 year gauge – she announced everyday: “This is the worst day of my life.” I’d say that phase and phrase period lasted longer than the hostages were in Iran. Well, brace yourself for the morning; the school delay/closing envy phase is going strong.

It’s not bad weather, at least not yet, but tomorrow is President’s Day and the kids have it off and there’s no getting ready for the morning. So, at 6 pm I have decided I am going to call it a day and put my jammies on. When I was little, very little, I called them “matt-jies” and sometimes I still think of them that way. Just a while ago, I asked Der Bingle, “Did you know when I was little, I called my pajamas matt-jies?” And he said he hadn’t known that and I told him well, now he did.

Here’s a pair of Land’s End pj pants that Alison got for me. Get your sunglasses on . . .

We are planning goulash tonight – we being Der Bingle, Cameron and I. They may be adding many, many spices so this could be an adventure for me. I remember once, a long time ago, Der Bingle sprinkled a pizza with really hot peppers and I spent most of the time at the table with my tongue in a glass of iced soda.

Other memories have been popping up of late. When I was young, something would trigger a thought in my father’s mind and he would cite a quote of piece of poetry. Once, in the summer, when I was in my late teen, we were in the warm weather eating area that looked to the east. He was still seated and I was getting up and I can still see him and hear him citing William Wordsworth:

THERE was a time when meadow, grove, and stream,
          The earth, and every common sight,
                    To me did seem
                  Apparelled in celestial light,
          The glory and the freshness of a dream.
          It is not now as it hath been of yore;--
                  Turn wheresoe'er I may,
                    By night or day,
          The things which I have seen I now can see no more.

Perhaps it was me getting older but still not of an age to realize things would not always be the way they were; perhaps it was him remembering his years before the war; perhaps it was some of both.

I hear those words again now in my head . . . and I remember that evening . . . and I understand more.

I have to smile – I thought everyone had fathers who quoted poetry at the dinner table. I guess I was pretty lucky.

So what will distinguish this goulash meal for Cameron – perhaps the quote for the movie Housesitter with Goldy Hawn and Steve Martin.  (Der Bingle has been working to give him a foundation in cultural reference movies.)  Actually, it’s a quote I already used when the subject of goulash came up; you know, this one: “I punched a totally innocent Hungarian.”

Yes,  I know, it’s not Wordsworth.

Cameron and I are here alone; I think he is upstairs; I know I am on the porch. Alison, Robert and Summer left to go to Indianapolis to visit Colin and they are staying both tonight and tomorrow night. So, right now, it is quiet – quiet in the way that in times past I would have considered normal. Oh, the TV is on because I saw Marlon Brando in The Freshman was being shown. This is the quiet such as I knew when Der Bingle was overseas and Robert William was sleeping in pajamas with feet in them. That was a long time ago.

Der Bingle is on his way and Sydney will be all excited and I suppose there will be Netflix streaming movies watched by grandpa and grandson. Right now I am going to sit and enjoy Tea with Mussolini.

I just heard the car door. And it will still be a good quiet, just a little more sound mixed in.

I love V8 Fusion Light Peach Mango juice and I hope to use it to flavor iced tea in the summer, and, actually, I doing that right now. I looked at the V8 site to grab a picture of it and was astounded to find that I couldn’t find it there. It is a test product? Will they stop making it? Should I have Foo order all that is in Wal-Mart warehouses so I will always have some in the Foo Bar beverage cellar, which is in the basement behind a brick wall. Yes, yes, I confess. Foo used to manage the Foo Speak Easy. Old-timers still mumble “AJ sent me” when they come through the door.

I think I am recognizing a pattern in this calendar thing. This Wednesday, however, I did not have to compensate for the evil 30-miute planned  delay that East Noble has because they are closed. The announcement came last night. A few snow flakes are still falling and the wind is picking up so maybe we will just drift***  through the day.

Last night I dreamed it warmed up considerably and started raining and all the yards and streets were free of snow and just wet. In this dream, I knew Summer and Cameron were someplace near and I was bracing for the outrage . . . and then that dream ceased, or I lost consciousness in it. I don’t know, really, but at least it was merciful.

***

Issued by The National Weather Service
North Webster, IN
4:24 am EST, Wed., Feb. 10, 2010

… WINTER STORM WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 7 PM EST THIS EVENING…

A WINTER STORM WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 7 PM EST THIS EVENING.

* TIMING… LIGHT TO AT TIMES MODERATE SNOW WILL CONTINUE INTO MID MORNING BEFORE DIMINISHING TO SNOW SHOWERS. WEST TO NORTHWEST WINDS WILL INCREASE TO 20 TO 30 MPH WITH GUSTS TO 35 MPH CAUSING SIGNIFICANT BLOWING AND DRIFTING SNOW.

* MAIN IMPACT… STORM TOTAL SNOWFALL BY THIS EVENING SHOULD RANGE FROM 6 TO 10 INCHES… WITH LOCALLY HIGHER AMOUNTS POSSIBLE ALONG WITH SIGNIFICANTLY HIGHER DRIFTS. THE HIGHER AMOUNTS ARE EXPECTED NORTH OF ROUTE 30 WITH THE LOWER AMOUNTS TO THE SOUTH. INCREASING NORTHWEST WINDS WILL CAUSE CONSIDERABLE BLOWING AND DRIFTING SNOW THROUGH THIS AFTERNOON… RESULTING IN NEAR BLIZZARD CONDITIONS AT TIMES AND SOME IMPASSABLE ROADS IN RURAL AREAS.

One snowy Buick. Check out the snow on the side mirror.

Two snowy Buicks, otherwise known as hump one and hump two.

This morning when I started the car the light digital number that indicates the temperature outside said 7; I did not expect this. Or maybe it said 4 – cold can have an effect on the brain and short-term memory. The mind chanting ooh, it’s cold, ooh it’s cold, ooh, it’s cold, ooh, it’s cold sort of sops up all the short-term memory cells for those moments.

Sydney and I waited in the cold car in the cold driveway for Summer to come out and then we dropped her off at school and then we went to the fairgrounds, although it the back of my mind I was thinking, “Ooh, it’s cold.” I thought Sydney should just be out for just a short spell at the fairgrounds and when I opened the door and he got out, he stopped in his tracks. Then, he took off on an exploration. On impulse I took a pictures of the cold morning and the exhaust documenting it and then I got back in the car and realized I had left the door open while I was outside.

Cold morning.

Cold in the rear.

Stupid.

I suddenly realized I couldn’t see Sydney anywhere; I panicked, thinking he might have a heart attack in the cold. I got out again and scanned the area and, then, there he was, trotting along. I honked the horn to remind the cold dog the car was waiting, but he still had things to sniff . . . and mark. Finally, finally, he came up to the car and got in the back door I was holding open for him. Then I turned and looked and saw that once again I had left the front door open.

The folks at the Peanut Butter Cafe & Roadhouse are shaking their heads at me and making me stay away from the firestove so I won’t soak up all the heat. They believe it will teach me a lesson. Fortunately, Foo tossed me a bar towel with which to warm my feet. She has a soft heart, dontcha know.