Dualola

William and Thomas are both deeply involved in Dungeons and Dragons, participating in online games at least once a week with various groups. Part of the D&D engagement is creating your own characters with their own personalities and powers, including crating their background story.

This is William's most recent character creation, told in the form of a poem, complete with graphic representation.

Dualóla

There once was an Elf

Who could play on the fiddle

And had an extravagant passion

To make people giggle...

His one hobby in life

Was to entertain

But alas

He was not accepted

For he was a HALF Elf  

What a shame...

As hard as he tried

To please the crowd

He was always frowned upon

By a disapproving shrowd...

And then one day

This Elf had enough

He packed up his things

And took off in a huff...

He went to a being

Of a higher power

And pleaded for a wish

To be funny on the hour, every hour...

His wish was granted

But with a price

His mind was destroyed

As part of a sacrifice...

Where could he be now?

It's tough to call

But one thing is for certain

The Half Elf got his wish after all...

William Huenergardt

11/19/18

New Mode of Transportation

Since the loss of the Focus, we've been scratching our heads trying to figure out how to get a replacement vehicle for the cash we've got on hand. Papa Bear took some time investigating private-party sales in our area, but none of those panned out. The search was put on hold until next the next weekend, hoping something would change by then.

What changed was my thinking, I can only credit to Tom Hanks and those wierd fairies who visit at 4:00 am and put odd thoughts in your head.

Yep, we got a scooter.  It's street-legal so it doesn't need registration or insurance, just a regular drivers' license, and it was about $1,000 brand-new with a warranty. We're living rural enough to get to several retail areas avoiding highways and significant traffic. So, this is our short-term transportation fix until we get settled in our new permanent home in Nashville.

 And, yep, I can't get Tom Petty's tune out of my head, especially when I see the scooter...which has been dubbed "Wilson."

Thomas and Wilson.

Near Miss Driving

One of the semi-accepted hazards of having a teenage driver is their propensity for accidents, both large and small. Thomas had had a couple of "minor" single-car (thankfully) accidents in the Focus. Now, he's had a "major" one.

The deputy who arrived on scene did not write him up, agreeing that the light rain and slick conditions made that stretch of road difficult to navigate safely. We can't figure out how he managed to avoid totalling the mailbox that is just on the other side of the vehicle. Ironically, this happened right in front of our new mechanic's shop, about five minutes from the house. We had the Focus towed to Moon Shade Hollow where it will await its ultimate fate...once we dig the pink slip out of storage.

That fire hydrant will forever have a special place in my heart. If it hadn't been there, the car would have rolled and crushed the roof, causing serious injury to my kid. As it happens, Thomas got himself out of the passenger-side door with narry a scratch and no injuries. All things considered, I count him (and us) very lucky.

 

Ready to Walk

We're participating in the JDRF One Walk tomorrow, for the first time in a few years. In the years that we have previously participated, I always wanted to have team tshirts, but never quite got that part done. This year, I managed to purchase enough ORANGE tshirts for everyone on the team, and personalized William's shirt with his nickname.

Go, Team Thunder Bear Lives!
 

William, ready to go!

A little bit messy with the spray-on paint.

Pre-cut stencils and spray paint...that's about the extent of my skills.

Meghan’s Doggie Adventure

Michael and I took a row around the lake this morning. On a lark, Michael put Meghan on the bow of my kayak just as I was ready to launch. To our surprise, she seemed perfectly comfortable there, and so became the prow of my small ship.

She stood a bit shakily at first, but eventually got her sea legs.





After a pass up the lake and back, she decided to kick back and relax a bit.

Meghan and Michael

Morning on the Lake

One of the advantages to living so near a lake is...being able to go out on the lake. Although the days are still quite hot, the mornings, especially when overcast, are almost pleasant. Almost.

Michael

Brotherly Love by William

William is taking his high school courses online through James Madison High School and is currently studying English. One of his assignments was to write a poem. Here it is.

Brotherly Love

By William

It’s the little insults that get me the most,

It’s the little insults that my bro likes to boast.

He says it at any point, at any place and at any time.

Its so dumb, that I hade to put it in rhyme.

Is it the look of my hair?

Is it the clothes that I always wear?

He does it so instantly, as if from thin air.

The words buzz around my head like a bunch of gnats,

I wish that they were all eaten by a bunch of bats.

Isn’t it bad that he just goes on and on?

Isn’t it sad that my brother calls me a Klingon?

Its simply the worst, but next time, I know,

When he does it again this time… POW! K.O.

I'll let you decide which brother it's about.

 

Potato Gizmo

When you have a creative kid who has an engineering mind, sometimes you end up with a potato that looks like this.

Michael's pototo gizmo

The most important bits are on the back

Hero Flipped

Thomas appeared this weekend in Live Arts Theatre's fundraising production of Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing - Flipped. Not only was this production of the famous comedic play gender bent (with men playing women and women playing men), it was set in the 70s with disco and gogo boots and frighteningly short miniskirts on guys. I haven't laughed so hard and so much at a community theatre comedy that I did during this play. Encore!

Thomas as Hero, the tragic bride

Headshots

All actors need headshots. Thomas attended at charity event at Stone Mountain "Shots for Tots."