Hetzlers Go to Hollywood

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After watching "Toy Story 3" this morning - which came complete with popcorn, a crying wife and a scared 5-year-old - Old Wahoo and the eldest son happened upon the filming of "Real Steel," a movie starring Hugh Jackman, in Grosse Pointe Farms.
Since I was driving, I immediately pulled out my cellphone and gave it to my son. I told him to start shooting pictures so we could post them on the Internet. He said no.
"Isn't that stealing someone's property," the 7-year-old said. "I don't think that's a good idea."
Score one for old media.

The Truth Is Out There

While the kids are closer to Moe, Larry and Curly than Scully and Mulder, they have demonstrated they know the way works.
Case in point: On Monday, I tried to explain something to Rob, and he turned, looked at me and said, "It's OK, Dad. We know Mom makes all the decisions."
Upon more investigation, Old Wahoo learned that Mrs. Wahoo has the power because "she buys stuff."
There was nothing left for me to say.

Meltdowns

Father's Day was hot, and when the heat is on, some of us melt.
Old Wahoo sure did when his family took him to Comerica Park for Father's Day. In one of the low moments of fatherhood, Old Wahoo erupted at the Multicultural Three Stooges in a surface parking lot in Detroit after a South Asian man told me I didn't know how to drive. Eventually, I regained my composure, but I acted like a jerk. Sorry.
Fortunately, 2-year-olds can match meltdowns. (Unfortunately, I have 34 years on him.) The Moose was upset we left the ballgame, and cried "Tigers! Tigers!" until he fell asleep. Aside from the screaming - and who could blame him after his father's performance - it's kind of cool that he's such a passionate fan.

Words of the Week

Grumpy is good for you. I knew there was a reason I like Eeyore.

"Whereas positive mood seems to promote creativity, flexibility, co-operation and reliance on mental shortcuts, negative moods trigger more attentive, careful thinking, paying greater attention to the external world."
- Joe Forgas, Australian psychology expert

Obama's fatherhood initiative

Here's something more dads can get behind: President Obama extended his observance of Father's Day to Monday.
While Obama has a serious, noble mission in mind - getting more dads to step up and be involved in their children's lives (something that seems like a no-brainer but something he will get hammered for because he mentioned "two fathers" in raising a child) - there are tons of benefits to this plan. More barbecue, baseball and beer. If that's all we get with an extra day of Father's Day, then I'm all for it.

Words of the Week

I'm obsessed with the World Cup now, and I also am obsessed by how people respond to their mistakes. Hey, we all make 'em.

“At a younger point in my life, it would have affected me more. You turn around and pick the ball up out of the back of the net and say, ‘right, that’s happened, let’s move on.’ You don’t really kick yourself for the next 50 years.”
- England goalkeeper Robert Green, who allowed a soft goal in a 1-1 tie against the United States

Words of the Week

I'm finding this to be true. It least I'm finding out that I have the capacity for infinite stupidity.

"Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I'm not sure about the universe."

— Albert Einstein (from goodreads.com)

The Lessons of Imperfection

Old Wahoo and Mrs. Wahoo watched the Tigers' game last night, and we cheered when Austin Jackson made that spectacular catch in center field in the ninth inning to preserve a perfect effort by Armando Galarraga. We thought we were watching history, baseball's 21st perfect game.
Only, of course, we watched something more horrible yet in the end more compelling and more amazing. We saw umpire Jim Joyce miss a call on what would - and should - have been the 27th and final out of the game. We were stunned, outraged even. I called my Mom and Dad, and then called my brother, to talk about the injustice of it all.
The thing is, nobody's perfect. Galarraga realized this the moment Joyce made the call, where the pitcher, instead of yelling and screaming like his teammates, smiled. He was stunned, incredulous, probably, but with that smile he seemed to be saying that it's OK.
His reaction was perfect. I talked to my sons this morning about it. (Joe Posnanski, the best columnist in America, wrote about The Lessons of Jim Joyce today, and how he was going to talk about it with his daughters.) I'm not sure if they understood what  a perfect game is, but they understand disappointment. Everybody does. But not everyone knows how to react to it. I don't always react well to it, but on this night, Galarraga, who had more reason than anybody to be upset, knew just what to do.
He got over it.

Lawn Mower Etiquette

As Old Wahoo gets older, he realizes that stupid, little things irk him more and more. (So much for becoming more patient as I grow older.) For instance, the lack of lawn mower etiquette - a small bunch of unwritten rules for cutting the grass - is tiresome. Really, there's not much to lawn mower etiquette, just two simple rules: 1. No lawn mowing on Sundays before noon. 2. On all other days, no lawn mowing before 9 a.m.
Look, I understand that many people are pressed for time,  I understand that many people need to use landscaping services, and I understand that landscapers often need to work on several lawns a day. But there's still no good reason to cut grass so early in the morning.
There, I've gotten that off my chest. I hope my kids were listening because if there's one thing I hope they learn in life, it's lawn mower etiquette.