Ash and Ren ride the twisting Monster Octopus attraction together because Ash is responsible enough to take Ren on the ride by herself and neither B nor I can stand all the spinning—oh yeah, it’s an age thing. They run in line, board right away and laugh and spin for the next fewminutes. As soon as they get off, they run across the walkway where B and I are relaxing on a bench in the shade. “We wanna go again.”
Read MoreAsh and I were sitting in the car at a gas station in Orlando, Florida, while B and Ren were filling the tank after a day at Universal Studios. A white mini van pulled up in front of us and a tall, tanned, muscular man got out. He put the gas nozzle in his gas tank and then leaned back against the automobile with a visible detached disdain for the pedestrian task he was performing.
Read MoreRen met his hero, and not just any hero, a super hero. The one whose movies--all of them--we've seen about 100 times...each. As soon as he met him, Ren stated, "What I think is awesome about Universal is that it has a Spider Man ride. I met him. Spider Man, that is. I told you he’s real."
Read MoreLast week B and I found ourselves in New York City. It’s not like we suddenly woke up from an unknowing slumber in a strange and distant land, or that we were on a walkabout and this was our final destination. This journey was planned. In fact in the days leading to the BIG day, we spent time looking at maps and ferry and bus schedules, so much so that when the BIG day finally arrived, we were very confident that we could navigate our way across the island of Manhattan with ease. It was almost as though we felt we ourselves were New Yorkers. Oh, yes, residents. Nay, natives.
Read More