Look Who’s Back
Posted on November 10, 2012 Posted by John Scalzi 20 Comments
Wife & daughter, after a week of them being off to DC for a field trip: Athena to learn, Krissy to be a chaperone for Athena’s class.
What’s that, you say? You didn’t even know they were gone? Well, we did have that election last week, which kept me busy. And also, you know. I don’t tell you everything here on Whatever. This should not be a shock by now.
Regardless, Saturday is Reunited Family Time. See you all later.
Yesterday, you claim that you are alive. I’m alive too, but that’s not something I make blog posts about. Today, we see a picture of Athena and Krissy smiling as if everything is fine.
DC’s the most wonderful city I’m glad I no longer live in. But growing up with an interest in history…I’m thankful, in retrospect, that my dad took the Pentagon posting over the Presidio in San Diego, even if there were fewer beach babes in Arlington :-/
I was a molecular chaperone protein for the Poll workers…
I feel your pain. In a 3-person 2-car family (I don’t count our dog because she hates to ride on top of the car on the Romney-Rack) it is hard to get me, my wife, and our son in the same place at the same time, with all of us awake (we need quantum computers to handle our Time Management).
I’m waiting for the new Family Values movie “Keep It In Your Pants”, starring ex-CIA Director David Petraeus, and ex-Chairman and CEO of Lockheed, Robert J. Stevens. It would be written by Patreus’s biographer, shot by Johnny Reid “John” Edwards’ videographer, and funded by Newt Gingrich.
OK, you weren’t dead, you were pining for your missing family. Quite understandable, really.
Reunions are so much more satisfying when you noticed they were gone.
One of the strange things about living in California is the number of native adults who’ve never been to DC. I grew up on the East Coast, and going to DC over spring break was a standard junior-high or high school field trip, and DC was a city you just ended up visiting occasionally, like New York. A few years ago a coworker and I went to visit a customer in the DC suburbs, and since we had some time to kill before our return flight we spent an hour driving around the mall area looking at monuments. I don’t know if she’d been east of the Mississippi before.
I hope your family enjoyed the trip. Did they go to the Einstien statue? I think that’s my favorite there. I’ve been several times, and it always reminds me of a pilgrimage, but instead of Mecca, it’s a shrine to freedom. The Declaration of Independance certainly is enshrined in a cathedral-like atmosphere. I think everyone should go there at least once in their lifetimes.
Same here wrt ‘busy’. Working on the eulogy still. Boy, did the family freak at the first draft. Okay, onto the second. Funeral will be this week, then life (and death) return to normal.
Glad you’re all together again. Enjoy, amigo.
It’s nice that when you’re back together, you’re glad that you’re back together.
Oops. That was me distracted by the Alabama game.
Bill, regarding California and Washington, DC: The power-brokers in DC are jealous of Hollywood Glamor. The glitterati in California are jealous of DC’s power. Of course, California is more than Hollywood. We have Silicon Valley, the American Bangalore. And we have the Mojave Spaceport, smack at the center of all the major cities in the world reached by Suborbotal Commercial Spacecraft. Hang on. What year is this?
Did they enjoy their trip? How did Krissy survive chaperoning? My 8th grader’s DC trip is coming up in the spring.
I did the chaperoning middle schoolers in D.C. thing in 2011. Quite an experience. The main required skill seems to be ability to holler “Stay to the right!” “Orange group we are going this way!” and “Stay out of the fountain!” I’m sure Krissy is well qualified.
Bill, I don’t know about other Californians, but I consider anything east of the Rockies to be the exotic Orient. I’m not entirely sure, but this “D.C.” you refer to–is that what’s known as the “Forbidden City”?
My wife and I took our kids (7 and 9 years old) to D.C. this summer. We spent a week there. My daughter was obsessed by William H. Taft. She remembers him as the one who got stuck in the bathtub. Hopefully, she will associate him with the Supreme Court Building as well.
D.C. fun fact: You can buy Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter at Ford’s Theater. I have a picture in my Facebook album.
As an 8th grade teacher, I’ve chaperoned about a dozen trips to DC. We’re a large school, and usually send about 6 busses full of kids. I am able to survive due to my ability to fall asleep during anything, but I swear to FSM that as soon as someone whispers during quiet hours on the bus trip down, my head pops up like a prairie dog! I kind of miss it – I’ve taken a few years off as I need to get my own daughter off to school mornings – but it certainly takes a particular skill set to return with your sanity intact. I hope Krissy has recovered! (Athena, like most middle schoolers, I’m sure has bounced right back).
Coincidentally, this was the same week that my school went to DC. It’s funny to think that the two groups may have crossed paths!
John you need a Facebook style “Like” button so we can register our approval of good news from regular updates without having to write silly comments that take so much of your readers valuable time. I’m sure a the API is easy to implement, and you have tons and tons of free time. Seriously, stop thinking about yourself for one second and think about us!
/Sarcasm
Seriously, good to hear all is well and that the fam is home safely. Have a good week!
I’m forced to inquire whether Athena or Krissy brought matches to the place of learning and oversight?
DC on election week, wow. Sure that was entertaining in its own right. Better now than, say, the third week in January.
I have fond memories of my 7th grade class trip to DC, Jamestown, and Colonial Williamsburg. It was a super big deal, since we were going all the way across the country, andI completely geeked out. I remember none of my classmates, nor even the name of the teacher, but I remember the places we went vividly. I hope Athena enjoyed herself, learned a lot, and has the opportunity to return as often as she likes. Maybe someday she’ll work there! How do you feel about Athena as a Senator, Supreme Court Justice, or President?