Monster Trucks of Death
Time was, when I used to feel that way at the end of a three day weekend, there was no question drinking and rock and roll had something to do with it. That really wasn't the case here, but this three day weekend still kicked my ass anyway.
Friday evening was so long ago; I don’t even remember what happened. I have a vague recollection that I cooked a nice meal -- I do that sometimes -- but sitting here all foggy headed this morning, Friday evening has turned a corner or gone over a hill or something. I can’t see it anymore and therefore can’t remember a damn thing about it.
The rest of the weekend however, is still relatively clear. Saturday the older boy and I got haircuts at Napoleon’s -- A place that I have gotten my haircut since the early eighties, when I was sporting a stylish mullet. Fortunately, my barber, Sharon has moved on from that specialty cut, branching out into, while not exactly hip, certainly hip enough for Tacoma styles, and a few steps beyond the short-top-and-sides-long-back market, that lasted in our City Of Destiny far longer than most cities with a population of over one hundred thousand.
After our haircuts, we headed out for the monster truck rally at the Dome. Yeah, that’s right -- Monster Jam! The older boy saw the commercials on TV and what the hell…it sounded like just the sort of adventure we needed to go to on a freezing cold-rainy day. It was standing room only by the time we got tickets but we ran into a school friend of the boy and at least the Older Boy got to sit in a seat for most of the show.
I know what you’re thinking here. Your thinking Gravedigger won the whole thing…but you’d be W-R-O-N-G! Gravedigger just won the freestyle part of the show. (I KNOW, can you believe it?!) I can’t think of the name of the truck that won the Monster Truck Race part of the afternoon -- Some rookie of the year or something. Best part of the afternoon was the demolition derby at the end. Just like a perfect grand finale at the end of a crappy fireworks show.
After the smoke had cleared, the older boy said he had a good time, but that he didn’t really understand the point of it all. All the destruction seemed like kind of a waste to him, and he also thought that the bigger trucks were just showing off. It was a moment where deep down inside I realize that I’ve raised a boy who is definitely not a redneck, and that thought leaves me both happy and a little bit depressed. Sometimes I wish that I had the unawareness gene necessary to really enjoy all that monster truck racing and its motorized-ilk has to offer. I know that it would most likely be an easier life for the older boy if racing oversized trucks on a little dome track, and enjoying demolition derby grand finales were his idea of a great way to spend an afternoon. America rewards those best, who spend the least time thinking about the meaning of it all.
After the last car remained standing we headed back out into the cold rain. The babysitter showed up after we got home, and Sweetie and I escaped for quick dinner and a movie. We caught The Life Aquatic, and though I had read some bad reviews, we both wound up liking it quite a bit.
Sunday, Sweetie had a baby shower to attend, as Corlis’ wife Debbie, is expecting their second. I stayed home with the boys and later that day Ike started to feel poorly. That morning the Older Boy and I had started working to refinish the kitchen table that he had put gouges in a few months back with a paint-can-opener-key-thingie, but by the time we finished sanding and got to the re-staining part, it became clear that Ike was feeling too poorly to let us continue. I stumbled around the singlewide for most of the afternoon carrying a crying Ike on my shoulder, playing games with the older boy, and waiting for Sweetie to get back.
Monday morning, Ike still wasn’t feeling any better. He looked like he was in a lot of pain but since he doesn’t talk, it was impossible to find out what was bothering him. We waited until after his nap to see if we were gonna have to take him to the clinic. Of course he wasn’t feeling any better after he woke up so Sweetie took him in. Suffice to say we wound up in the Emergency room later that evening, as Ike needed blood work and x-rays and IV fluids and urine samples. They also gave him an antibiotic and anti-nausea medicine to help keep him from throwing up.
The older boy and I brought Sweetie and Ike some dinner and hung out for a while, while they tried to get enough blood from his veins for all the tests they wanted to perform. We stayed as long as we could but since time stretches on forever in an emergency room, and it was a school night for the older boy, we finally had to pack it up and leave Sweetie and Ike to fend for themselves. Last night around midnight they finally made it back to the park. Sweetie said that there had been some talk about making them spend the night, but you know what Sweetie thinks about hospitals. They’re no place to get better…
This morning was hard to get out of bed for. The older boy missed his Spanish class, as no one could manage to get up and out of the trailer in time. Sweetie was going to take Ike in to get checked out by his regular pediatrician later on today as he was still sporting a fever and not feeling very well this morning after everyone got up.
The cobwebs are taking their sweet time clearing out of my head. The humming of the mill keeps putting me to sleep and it’s one of those mornings where no amount of coffee contains enough caffeine to do its job.
Sleep is what is needed here. Sleep – perchance to dream: ay, there’s the rub.
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