4ths of July in the Life

This past week has been hectic and strange.

Lily, you were mentioned three times to me on the 4th of July by different people in different places, and I think only one of them knows anything about what Independence Day reminds us of or how appropriate the name of that day is to our private anniversaries. I will always remember the fireworks when we brought you home. Teh internets keep you close to me. Laughing with you is the best.

Dahlia, every time I saw the rockets red glare and the bombs bursting in air I thought of my London Lady fair. You couldn’t be closer to me if you were here. Do you remember when we were walking down Michigan Avenue in a sea of people and the toy soldier in front of FAO Schwarz started waving and shouting ‘Hey, Winston!’ and it was like a to-ridiculous-to-ever-actually-happen-in-real-life kind of movie moment? Well, he runs an entertainment company that does small events and birthday parties and he needed somebody to frolic in a moose costume at a local festival this weekend. He kind of called me out of the blue and said he really needed somebody to do this for him. How could I say no? Needless to say, I had as much fun as one could have in a giant cartoon moose costume on a sunny 85 degree afternoon. I gadded and cavorted with mad abandon in front of the WXRT booth to the delight of all. There was a cover band nearby that worked it’s way through an oldies set of songs from twenty years or more ago with a White Stripes tune thrown in their mix. The photographer from the local paper who was not wearing a cartoon moose costume thought it would be a good idea for me to make a spectacle of myself in front of the bandstand. Turns out he was right. While the band worked their way through ‘Hungry Like the Wolf’ I gyrated spastically in the best approximation of how a moose might boogie down and several children joined me, including a young lady with Down’s Syndrome who took great delight in holding my paw while twirling. The band in a moment of mad spontanity sang a chorus of ‘Hungry Like the Moose’ and a very mild wave of whimsy crested through the afternoon. Another forty five minutes of waving and posing for pictures with tourists (there was a schoolteacher from Wyoming who asked for a picture with me for her fifth grade class. Weird.) and children and then I was done. I smelled like a moose.

I spent the 4th and 5th with the Port Awesome crew. Gargunza and I drove back from Indiana together and had a delightful conversation. He only almost got us killed once, which is really good for him. Justin and Maggie are out in the country near Hobart and have a beautiful view. I failed horribly at Guitar Hero.

Gotta get some sleep. My unlimited love to y’all.
WD