The Resistance of Memory

WORD COUNT: 10,878

If I remember correctly, the end of week two is the point where many people who have been clack, clack, clacking away on their National Novel Writing Month novels start to burn out or at the very least slow down. Keep in mind that many people may not even speak 1,667 words a day, much less be able to write them ... but that's ok. Especially for me, who requested and got the day off from Marketplace Foods where I work weekends but what we had planned to do -- assembling and setting off fireworks on a private farm in Sawyer in conjunction with a coworker of Martha's who owns and operates his own fireworks business -- didn't happen due to high winds on Friday and expected adverse weather over the weekend. And it hasn't been adverse here so much as cold. Welcome to North Dakota, and as of this morning before work, I heard that though we here in Minot my hometown DID get the winds (15 when I delivered the paper today) and snow flurries tomorrow.

Maybe.

My weekend reading included Robert Anderson's treatment of 20th century artist Salvador Dali (I did not know "surreal" was an invented word, but I learned from here, ISBN 053116244) and I took care of that in one sitting Friday! Saturday night after a day Martha, Sarah, Jeffrey, and I cleaned our dining room, washed our dishes -- seriously, they accumulate quickly -- and cleaned out most of the living room and the kids took care of theirs', we went out to Main Street here in Minot and entered a drawing for a $200 gift basket supplied through four different businesses. We had to find a Christmas item in each one (Jeffrey found the snowflake in Gourmet Chef, Sarah found the Christmas tree in Gideon's Trumpet, Martha found the mittens in Main Street Books, and I found the snowman in Lulu Lane) and we did and now we wait upon the good news! And that comes whether we win or not, I know that.

At the age of six I wanted to be a cook. At seven I wanted to be Napoleon. And my ambition has been growing steadily ever since.

Haven't seen Jeffrey plan the conquest of Europe yet, though he looks like he would sometimes! As for cooking, he'll get to learn to prepare a meal with his Cub Scout troop tomorrow night AT Gourmet Chef. It ought to be fun, and we'll try to set up another play date then with Jeffrey's friend Jasper who will be there -- he couldn't go today because he's been coughing a lot since yesterday afternoon. So today he and Sarah and their cousin Josceline are over at their grandma's (Martha's mom Sharon's) while her husband Robert, Martha, and I are at work. It's also worth it, by the way, to read George Washington and the Secret Six by Brian Kilmeade and Don Yeager, a fast-paced (it was for me, at least, ISBN 9781595231031) account of the Culper Ring, the six-person intelligence network set up by Washington during the American Revolution that supplied him with the information needed to get to Yorktown ready for the British, among other things.

Yesterday was the last day for Dalyce and I teaching on Jesus' Temptation in Parable Playhouse, and for a change I didn't have to sing "A Whole New World" (the Aladdin song with slightly different lyrics; it's Satan who sings it as he's whirling Jesus all over the world) one of our second graders did a great job! NOW I have the plays for our next three rotations -- I don't believe I have to do the Christmas one and we have a church children's program for that, but I do need to plan out Paul, Emmaus, and Zacchaeus. My PEZ dispenser, as it were. That afternoon I caught up on my words for "We Have Seen His Star In The East", this year's National Novel Writing Month entry from me, and the day before we went out to dinner at Perkins where in our area kids eat free Saturday night 4-10 with a paying adult, bought another bucket of movie popcorn, and rented Frankenweenie and Muppets Most Wanted (Sarah had wanted to see the first and we'd all wanted the second)!

My review? Frankenweenie more than I expected, Muppets less.

David