TGIF!

OK, sorry for the lack of posts lately... hopefully life gets back to normal here soon. Rosary tonight at 7 p.m., funeral at 10 a.m. on Friday.

Have a great weekend! Go 'Hawks, beat Mizzou on Sunday!

Ramon, you were a good man, and I admired you

We lost Ramon today.

He was 83? Maybe 87. Long life. Successful life. Good life.

Ramon was a WWII veteran, fought in the Pacific. He'd tell me stories of all the guys getting sick on his ship. That always made him laugh.

Ramon was the man in the Romero family. I mean, he had his stuff together. Most of the family are living in houses Ramon paid off in the 1970s. Even last year he was telling me of an auction he wanted to check out for a little crappy lot, maybe put an apartment building on it. He had it figured out.

It was great seeing such a large gathering at the hospital. He was the man, and you could see that by all the sad faces at LMH over the last two weeks. The day he went into the hospital (12 days ago) I counted 15 people in the room, all family, both close and distant, all worried about "Papoo." And I thought to myself, "Man, I hope half this many people give a shit about me when I'm his age."

He left peacefully at around 1 p.m. today. Everyone got to say goodbye. Even Evey told Papoo, "I love you Papoo. Bye-bye Papoo."

I've known Ramon what, five years? I don't have as many stories as his immediate family has... but I can think of a couple things I want to remember about the man.

First, he LOVED his little Evelyn. Loved making cow noises at her. MOOOO!!!! I'm not sure Evey loved the cow noises, but she loved the attention he'd shower her with. They were an odd couple, her just learning to walk, him walking with a cane, but they were tight.

Ramon had a loud laugh, and he used it frequently. These last few weeks, that laugh always trailed off into uncontrollable coughing. But he loved to laugh, and he found lots of things about this world amused him.

Check out that shock of white hair! His white hair always cracked me up. Ramon could rock a suit, too, couldn't he? He looks like the 80-year-old Mexican James Bond in that photo with Adro.

Ramon always tried to get me to eat the chili peppers on their dining room table. Every time I refused the peppers, he'd give me that look that said, "Ahh, OK.... white boy!"

I once moved a pile of junk to his farm for him. Ramon organized junk the way librarians arrange books. Every piece of junk had a specific pile. I picked up an old toilet, and he told me that the proper place was behind the barn. I'm thinking to myself, "Behind the barn? I don't wanna dodge cow pattys all the way over there!" I'm thinking that I get out of sight, I'll ditch the toilet wherever I feel appropriate. But then I round the corner on the barn, and, I'll be damned... I found the "bathroom" department. Toilets, tubs, shower heads, sinks. Who was I to mess with this controlled chaos? I neatly set the toilet next to two of its fellow forgotten brethren. "Well played, Ramon," I thought to myself.

Well, I need to shut this down. I could go on (I have more stories about his truck and his junk piles, but I'll save those for anyone willing to listen after the funeral). But all I want to say is this: Ramon, you were a good man, and I admired you.

Room with a view

Here are a few photos of the view from the downtown Sheraton in New Orleans. Evey loved the view. We spent a lot of time looking down at the people and the trolly, the boats, etc.

Best dinner in New Orleans

Was had at the Royal House Oyster Bar (SW corner of Royal and Saint Louis). The "Voodoo Steak" I've got there was the best steak I've had since I-can't-remember-when. Plus, if it's good enough for the New Orleans Hornets (one of the Hornets, Devin Brown, was sitting at the table next to us)...

It is possible that Evey is having a growth spurt right now. She's eating a ton, and she's sleeping a lot. Plus, she's giant now. Seriously, if she keeps growing this fast, I think she'll have a head about the same size as the one she's standing next to in the photo below this one. OK, maybe not that big, but as big as my dad's noggin, perhaps. OK, probably not that big either. But BIG, nonetheless. She's growing fast, that's what I'm trying to say.

The other day I woke her up to get ready. She looked at me and said, "I want more sleep."

Yikes, what happened to "Whaaaaaa!!!"?

Evey, don't look now, but...

THERE'S A GIANT FRICKIN' HEAD JUST OVER YOUR SHOULDER!!!

Evey Jones!

New Orleans Audubon Zoo

Just some photos today... Evey loved touching the animals, as you can see. There was only one animal in the petting zoo -- a lizard of some sort -- that she didn't touch.

I might come back in here tomorrow and add some more commentary... for now, BED. I'm old and I'm tired (and I had a b-ball game tonight).

The aquarium

Me and Judy took Evey to the aquarium on our first full day in New Orleans (Adro had to work). We bought the two-fer package and got admission to the Audubon Zoo the next day as well. That made it about $10 a day, better than the $16-$18 a day it was by buying single-day passes.

I'll have photos of the zoo, taken with the professional GCM camera, up tomorrow. For now, day one at the aquarium.

Thoughts on being home; a new video

Good news: while on “vacation,” Evey discovered Batman: Brave and the Bold. She knows who Batman is now, and she likes him. The show is a little violent, but she hasn’t punched me or anything yet. So for now, Evey is a Batman fan. And I’m way cool with that.

Evey has had somewhat a hard time adjusting to life back in Lawrence. She REALLY enjoyed New Orleans. And, well, think about it – she had it made there. Grandma lived in the room next door, she got to go for long walks in warm weather everyday, she had red beans and rice for lunch everyday, she was surrounded by adults who thought she was the cutest thing ever, her room had a 24-story view of downtown New Orleans, she pushed a button on an elevator whenever she wanted to leave the hotel, every meal was at a restaurant… she lived the high life. The Audubon Zoo, the Audubon Aquarium, the convention center, the French Quarter…

When she got back to our house, she cried. She was tired, yes, but I think that’s when she realized: vacation’s over. Back to work.

She’s cried each morning that we’ve taken her to Elvira’s. She’s fine after a little while. She wants to go back to the airport, though.

Sigh…

Me and Adro are loving life, being back in our own home. I’ve cooked dinner the last three nights. We’ve blown the Wheat keg. Adro loves having milk in the fridge (we kept a Styrofoam cooler in the hotel room). I love having the computer, my reading material, my TV. I’m LOVING driving the Z again. I’m racing all over Lawrence, I’ve burned a quarter-tank in just two days of driving it again.

Let's fly away

I was feeling somewhat inspired until the end of that KU/MU game.

Think I'll go to bed and put this stressful day to rest.

Here's a shot of the girls as we were leaving KC for NO. I like the sideways look Evey is giving me. Notice that she's reading the emergency landing fold-out. Because she's a new flyer and all.

The girls all look good for having gotten up at 3:30 a.m. that day, huh?

Back from the Big Easy

Hello,

Sorry things got sparse here last week. If you didn't know, the Jones family was in New Orleans. We were there for TEN DAYS. It was a long trip, but it went fast, and we had a great time.

We were there for the annual Golf Industry Show. Me, Adro, Evey and Grandma Judy all went down there together. Huge thanks go out to Judy, as she watched Evey for us all week while me and Adro were working at the convention center.

It feels good to blog here again. I wouldn't have had anything at all last week had I not written up those three quickie posts and scheduled them for the future. Glad I had that at least.

Yes, I missed updating Evey's blog. I missed updating my fantasy NBA team (you're welcome, Lerv). I missed my house. I missed the kegerator.

It's good to be home.

Spider-Man, Spider-Man, does whatever a spider can

Who needs those Fat Heads or giant stickers or whatever, when you have Uncle Seth?

You may remember a few months ago I painted Superman and Captain America on my nephew Jett's walls in his bedroom. He wanted Spidey to round out the group. So now he's got Spider-Man as well.

I'm pretty happy with the way it turned out. Would like to get some white to put in his eyes. Otherwise he's done.

I wonder if Jett will want another character any time soon, and what that character will be? Hopefully it's Green Lantern or maybe Hulk. Thor would be cool, too.

And at what age will he want these sanded off and painted over?

One baby, one scotch, one beer

A few weeks ago Adro and a few of her girlfriends went to the movies to see something girly. What movie? I have no idea. I imagine Hugh Grant was in it, probably a character named Mr. Darcy, and I'm guessing there was a misunderstanding at the beginning of the movie that was touchingly resolved in the last ten minutes.

So Evey and I were left behind to take care of ourselves.

You know what that means: RICK'S PLACE!

Evey loves it at Rick's. Rick gives her cheesy poofs. She plays with the cue balls and the buttons on the shuffleboard table. There's usually a dog to play with. And after a while, Dad talks funny.

Don't worry, we walk to/from Rick's.