Hills of Hayward

>???????? you are right. I did mean, we watched Indiana Jones in the theater with Anders together!

Guess what?! We finished the whole movie!

It’s been a while since Harrison and I watched a movie at the theater. Our good friend, Sam, was joking earlier that we should take Anders to the movie and just run out if he cries. I thought it was pretty crazy when he said that and I even told Harrison about it as a joke. And I didn’t expect that Harrison would say, “Let’s try it!”

We have been trying to keep Anders awake the whole morning by being out running errands. He normally likes to go out. New things keep him interested and awake. So we had a nice lunch with our friend, Peter, at the Tofu house. Right after lunch at 1 PM, he fell asleep and it didn’t matter how I bothered him, he wouldn’t wake up! Hehe… It was about time. There was one show starting at 1:00 PM so Peter, Harrison and I rushed to the Great Mall theater and were just in time.

I held Anders and covered his ears to avoid sudden loud sounds. He was having such a sweet dream that he didn’t move at all for 1 and a half hours. Then he woke up started getting ready to make noises… I turned him around to the movie. He was so interested and focused on the screen too that he didn’t yell or scream at all. I guess it was because he just woke up and was still slow. I was still covering his ears since we were afraid the loud sounds would hurt his listening. It was sooo funny seeing him being so focused and seemed to understand. After 45 minutes, he fell asleep again and we successfully finished the movie.

It was quite an experience. Peter was laughing and said, “You’re probably the only parents who take the baby to the movie.”

Now you wanna try, new parents?

Something I actively tried to avoid happened today.

Once it happens, there is no way to undo it.   I’ll explain.

NPR has been the only radio station in my car for the last 3 years, and I would venture to guess that I have listened to all from As it Happens with Barbara Budd to ????????????Writer’s Almanac with Garrison Keillor.

My favorite show is Fresh Air with Terry Gross.  Terry interviews a wide assortment of interesting people from musicians to politicians to celebrities.

Her voice is a multi-layered harmony, her pace is a little low-key and sometimes awkward, but always very intelligent and inquisitive.  In short, it is a very sexy radio voice.  She would have no problem hosting a 90’s love song radio show.

Even when I could not imagine the guest to be interesting, Terry brings out appealing story lines and candid emotions by asking very intimate questions.  The way she expertly draws out the answers, sometimes from unwilling guests, is fascinating and makes listening to her interviews exciting for me.

Having appreciated Terry’s voice and style for many years now, I have vowed to myself that I do not want to see a photo of Terry.  I like listening to her so much in a purely auditory and intellectual manner that knowing what she looks like in real life is superfluous.

As I was browsing the internet last week, I stumbled across and article with picture of Terry.

Anders normally has 3-hours nap during the day. Somehow his routine broke today and he didn’t nap much. This was what happened during his 5 PM rice cereal feeding.

While I may own a Prius, and encourage everybody to do so as well, I have no delusions that I am holier-than-thou-who-drives-a SUV. Ok, well maybe I suffer slightly from delusions, but only a tiny bit.

The true environmental heroes are the people that cut driving out of their daily routines altogether and take public transportation or work from home entirely to minimize their carbon footprint. Not only is it better for their environment, their risk of getting injured in a car accident have also been slashed.

I am still an oil addict, I just try to use less of the drug than others.

Here is a recent quote from the NYT:

To the Editor:

Re “The Gas-Guzzler Gambit” (editorial, May 1):

I couldn’t agree more that suspending the federal gas tax is a completely unhelpful idea. Consumers need to change their habits, not have their current habits pandered to.

Because of high gas prices, I now walk my fifth-grade son to school every morning. It’s a mile of exercise and good conversation for both of us. It’s particularly gratifying when we walk past long lines of S.U.V.’s stopped at traffic lights, all going to the same place we are. Do we really want to make it easier for those drivers?

Kevin Griffith
Columbus, Ohio, May 1, 2008

I look forward to walking Anders to school as well. Even if it makes him late for first period, whether my fault or his, I’ll write him a note.

In the mean time, I cling to the hope that America is a land of pragmatic and salt of the earth people. Maybe there is some hope As Gas Costs Soar, Buyers Flock to Small Cars.