Molly, Frank, Loren, and David

I don't know exactly when I became aware of Frank Frazetta's artwork. I suppose it could have been from the Molly Hatchet album covers.

More likely, it was the posters they sold at Spencer Gifts and Coach House Gifts in the early 80's.
At some point, I bought this book in a secondhand store.

In it, Frazetta's painting of "Spider Man" (1966) is the stuff of nightmares. The paralyzing fear I felt when Sam fought Shelob in Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, and when the children of Aragog chased Harry and Ron in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets stems from this:

I found this calendar a few years ago at a Salvation Army store. I didn't know what I was going to do with a calendar from 1980, but it was too cool to pass up. 

I think "Circle of Terror" would be better suited for October, but maybe it's a take on "March in like a lion, out like a lamb"? I don't think that guy is going to meet any lambs anytime soon.

I think I've seen this on TV...

Yep, I've seen it. It's too bad they changed the cast and put Lorne Green in there.

Charlie's Angels was popular, but this show looks like it would have been better.

Okay, this made me jealous. Check out October 16.

That was the night when the Van Halen World Invasion Tour rocked Des Moines at the Veterans Memorial Auditorium. That would have been such a good time. I didn't get to see David Lee Roth as Van Halen's front man, and I lost interest when Sammy took the mic. Sadly, I missed the show because I was only ten years old and living in Rock Valley.

But I like the calendar's previous owner; they had great taste in art and music.

I was organizing the basement last December when I came across the calendar on a book shelf. I opened it to January. I remembered that the first of that month is my mom's birthday. I checked the current calendar to see when I needed to give her a call, and the days matched. Both 1980 and 2019 began on a Tuesday. I could actually use this calendar!

(I hope that dentist appointment went okay.)

It was fun for January and February. No, I don't stare at a calendar all of the time, but when I would notice it, I'd think, Hmmm. Is 1980 or 2019? Have I time traveled? 

Then I noticed something else about February.

February has 29 days! That means 1980 was a leap year, and 2019 isn't.  Dang it, my "new" calendar was broken!

The next time it will be accurate is in 2036 when Charlotte is 26.

I wonder who will be Van Halen's front man then?

Anyway, Happy New Year! 

PS. 2020 is also going to be a leap year.

Fall is Here!

I enjoy not being at school, but I'm not really a summer guy. I'd rather wear a light jacket than a swimsuit, and I'd rather walk through a pile of leaves than beach full of sand. 

Last Saturday was the first day of fall, and boy did the weather cooperate. At noon it was 60 degrees and sunny - a perfect combination.

We started the day at the Art on the Lake Festival. This was our first time at this event, and it was cool, "The festival is a family-friendly event that is free to attend & features music, food, kids’ crafts & over 50 local artists." Copper Creek Lake Part is also a beautiful area. We didn't buy any art, but Char liked the sno cones and popcorn.

Next was the Living History Farm's Fall Applefest. Air bobbing for apples is not as easy as it looks.

Home made apple fritter on a cool, autum day? Yes, please.

Char, can I have a bite of your fritter? 

I guess not.

Char went fishing for toothbrushes after lunch. I'm not sure why, though.

When you tour the history farms, the tractor ride drops you off at the 1700 Native American Farm. You then walk to the 1850 Pioneer Farm and finish at the 1900 Farm.

Char got to pick some corn at the 1850 farm.

This is called Bloody Butcher corn because of its red color. That has to be the coolest name ever given to a vegetable.

Thirteen and a half hands. That girl is growing like a weed.

Here Charlotte tries her hand at shelling corn. I wouldn't want to use if to shell a crop of corn, but the sheller is an ingenious devise.

Despite the great weather, we couldn't stay outdoors all day. Char has swimming lessons in the afternoon. Eventually we'll get back to pool weather, so we have to get Char ready for that. 

I grilled on Saturday night, but I think it's about time to dust off the crock pot. 

Chili, soups, pot roasts, stews, mashed potatoes, pumpkin-everything, fresh baked bread... there's a reason autumn ends with mmmmm.

“Char, these are your first steps…” Obi-Wan Kenobi

Charlotte is a fan of Calvin and Hobbes, and she likes this shirt that I bought in Canada two summers ago.

I was excited to show her the scene from The Empire Strikes Back that inspired the shirt's design, but she wasn't interested at all. She was only five then.

This year Charlotte's ballet dance at the mall coincided with the opening of Star Wars: The Last Jedi. As previously noted, Charlotte wanted to celebrate her dance by eating at the Flix movie theater.

Much of the Flix lobby was sectioned off for the Star Wars fans, and many were dressed in costume. Charlotte was really intrigued with all of the characters, and she was happy to stand inside a Death Star decorated for the holidays.

Charlotte gave me this for Christmas.

She was flattered when I showed her that I had framed it, "I didn't know you were going to do that with it, Dad."

"Why wouldn't I?"

Daphne and I have been trying to decide if Star Wars would be too intense for a seven-year-old. There's no way I'd show her Episodes I, II, or III because then I have to watch them, too. I think we will have to begin with Star Wars: Episode IV: A New Hope. The Internet agrees:

Looks like we should plan a movie night at home pretty soon!

I really hope it goes well. 

Lightning Strikes for a Third Time

Charlotte was chosen to take her classroom's pet for the weekend. He's a stuffed snake named Lightning, and he is kind of a big deal around here.

Daphne made him snowman pancakes in the morning.

To work off the syrup, Lightning shot hoops in the hallway with Char.

Lightning wanted to take us to the Des Moines Art Center to see the Vivian Maier exhibit. 

He then accompanied Charlotte to a performance of Ramona Quimby at the Des Moines Playhouse.

Talk about a fun guy! He needs to come over more often. 

Still, It Would be Cool

Eight years ago I spotted a small ad taped to the front window of a Goodwill store. The ad was for a new website: shopgoodwill.com.

"Participating Goodwills from across the country offer for auction on the site a wide array of art, antiques and collectibles as well as new and nearly new items pulled from their vast inventories of donated goods. From unique one-of-a-kind items to estate pieces, the depth of resources is enormous."

So, it was like eBay, but I'd be bidding on stuff that was donated to different Goodwill stores across the US. That bummed me out a bit. The presence of this site meant that the good stuff was going to be cherry-picked behind the scenes, and I have to compete with a nation of thrift shoppers to buy it. Booo.

That wasn't the case, though. When I first tried shopgoodwill.com, the site was under most people's radar, and I was scoring some pretty neat stuff. Retro video gaming wasn't as popular in 2009 as it is now, and I picked up some fun cartridges and game systems. I also bought some LPs that I had been on the hunt for, and I even scored some artwork. I had two of the Goodwill paintings framed at Michaels, and they are hanging on our walls at home. Both are heavy on atmosphere.

This one was painted by Reg B. Strange, and that is a real name. I like the depth and what looks like an angel or a ghost leaving glowing footprints on the floor of the castle.

J. Cain painted this one. To me, it symbolizes the warmth of home when the rest of the world is stormy.

(Earl, get off the counter.)

Here's the category selection at SGW•C:

See the last category in the middle column? One day I clicked on it, and I spotted the vehicle of my childhood dreams.

"Daphne!" I was in the basement and shouting in excitement, "There's a fire truck for sale on shopgoodwill.com!"

Her one-word reply came swiftly down the stairs, "No."

I kept shouting. "But it's a fire truck. Do you know how cool it would be to own one?"

It took Daphne a moment to stop whatever she was doing and come to the stairwell. "Brent, where we would put a fire truck?" It was a logical question.

"It's not a full-sized one. It's a mini-sized fire truck. You know, kinda like the short bus at school. We could park it out front in the street. PLUS, no one has bid on it. It's only $1,500!"

"Don't you dare bid on that!" Daphne was now walking down the stairs. " What on earth would you do with a fire truck?"

I spun the computer chair around and smiled at her, "What couldn't you do with a fire truck? We could use it to wash the house... water the lawn... and your garden... we could have a car wash... and a dog wash. Oooo! I bet we could drive it in parades! I'd let you ring the bell and work the sirens. I'll just drive and wave. It will be a blast!"

"You're not serious are you? I can see it in your face."

"No. Not really," I admitted. "But come look. Check it out. It's a real fire truck."

I turned my chair back to the computer screen, and Daphne leaned over my shoulder. "Yep," she commented, "that's a real fire truck." She squeezed my arm and walked back to the stairs. "And you aren't going to try and buy it. Right?" Deflated, I mumbled in agreement. 

For a moment there I had dreams of rescue vehicles and Dalmatian puppies... Dang! I forgot to tell her about the puppies. Maybe that would have been the tipping point? Nah. That wouldn't have worked, either. 

Now I'll never be featured in Vintage Fire Truck & Equipment. Sniff.

I had hopes of buying something else as cool, but Adam Fisher from Time Magazine ruined my chances. How? He told everybody else about SGW•C:

The game was over once SGW•C made it on the Best 50 Websites list. The bidding became much heavier, and the winning bid amounts skyrocketed. Boooo, again.

Some Views from June

The blog has been still for awhile, but we haven't. In June I took two classes for grad credit and Daphne took one. Char's been to Zoo Camp, Safety City, and St. Charles. Here's some other stuff we've been doing.

This one of my better ideas for killing time. I trace a few chalk outlines of Char's body, and then she gives herself some chalk outfits.

Char's newest favorite color is yellow.

We spent an afternoon in Story City during their Scandinavian Days celebration. After lunch in a local church we headed over to check out their carousel.

We're posers.

When we're at the Des Moines Arts Festival Charlotte is distracted by the downtown water features. This is how she got the one-day nickname, "The Girl from Soggy Bottom". She didn't like the name, but I thought it was funny.

American Dream Machines has an open house during the Arts Fest, and I like to do a little window shopping. The two VW Beetles for sale are much nicer than the one in my garage, but the '57 is priced at $26,900 and the '66 is $19,900, so I think I'll be driving mine for awhile.

Char likes the water, Daphne like the art, and I like the cars. What we can all agree on is the food. "I don't know much about art, but I know what I like." Yum.

Adventureland has been a popular destination, and although I don't enjoy them at all, the Dramamine medication does let Daphne and I to join Char on the "go around" rides that she loves. Lady Luck, Der Flinger, The Lighthouse, and the Scrambler are among Char's favorites.

For my money, the Sky Ride is the most terrifying ride in the park. I'm fine riding solo, but when Char sits next to me the chairs seem so flimsy, and my mind fills with worst-case scenarios. I put on a brave face so Char won't catch my fear of heights, but nothing feels better than the moment when our feet touch the ground.

 We spend a lot of time in the local libraries (I have six different cards). It's always a bonus if they have superhero capes for you to wear.

Char likes to pick out her own books, but I look them over before we take them home. Here's one we left on the shelf.

Sorry Ruby Roth, your illustrations are cute, but I'm not teaching my daughter that consuming milk and eggs is mean or disgusting.

I guess "P" is for Propaganda.