Weekend Whatnot

Before VCRs, DVD players, and cable, we were at the mercy of the local over-the-air TV stations for our entertainment and information. But at some point in the early 1970's, my mother discovered that the public library had an awesome collection of 16mm movies. Several times a month, she would bring home a projector and we'd watch old movies, documentaries, and cartoons. My best memory of that time was on my 13th birthday when the lights dimmed and the movie screen in our living room filled with the glorious vision of flying irons and toasters in Hardware Wars, a spoof of Star Wars that all the kids in my class had been wanting to see. We thought life was pretty good, and had no concept that our home entertainment options would get any better than a noisy, hot film projector set up on a rickety card table.

The first day of spring today was near perfect in our little corner of the world. The warm temperatures and sunny skies brought every kid in the neighborhood out of winter hiding to fill the park near our house. My energy levels were so high that I was able to clean out the entire garage in two hours while the kids played outside. A promising start to the new season!

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Our van is back from the body shop, and looking better than new. At least from the back. One nice thing about the whole ordeal is that the body shop detailed the van, inside and out. I try to find the silver lining. The one bad thing, besides the inconvenience, is that I am now paranoid about getting rear-ended again. Every time I stop at a traffic light now, my eyes quickly shift to the rear-view mirror to hope the approaching car knows not to plow into me.

Don't forget about my giveaway! If you'd like to win a copy of the brilliant new Gustafer Yellowgold CD/DVD set, leave a comment on Thursday's post. Here's a video of "Getting In A Treetop," my favorite song from the CD. It's a great soundtrack for the changing of the season from winter to spring.