Again, more days where I just can't seem to get anything done. But it was a fine weekend, with godly weather and friendly people. We attended a birthday party yesterday morning for a friend of the Little Ditchman. Hullabaloo was there! My kid saw him come in and ran over and sat down. He said he recognized her, but all the stars do that. (People calling in to talk shows all the time: "You probably don't remember me, Dennis. I called a few years ago? I was the guy with the friend who..." Dennis: "Oh sure! I remember you!") But she woke up that morning announcing that Hullabaloo was going to be at Zach's house, and sure enough, when you wish upon a star dreams really do come true. She's a Hullabaloo groupie! There's two Hullabaloo guys, but I've only seen the one (which, I guess makes him "Hulla") as, if you want both guys, you've got to shuck out double the shekels. They do something like 350 shows a year! Man. Do the math and it sounds like a good living, playing music and making kids happy. I was thinking I could save money and be my own Hullabaloo at the Little DItchman's party, a la Steve Martin in Parenthood. I mean, how hard is it to play "She'll Be Coming 'Round the Mountain" on guitar? I would grow a goatee and call myself "Ballyhoo".

Two thirds of the way through the show she bailed out on her own. Went outside and looked at the stuff on the patio. Too much of a good thing, I guess, but of course, I've always said that a short attention span was a sign of higher intelligence.

Also, there is this:


It cannot be explained. Months ago we all noticed an "upwelling" in the center of our street. It was the damnedest thing! It started as something of a curiosity, evolved into "local item of interest", but has since been elevated to "object of concern". Upon close inspection, it looks as if something is erupting out of the street, like one of those bitter man-eating tripods from Spielberg's War of the Worlds. The asphalt started to crack, and then there was another upwelling adjacent to it, and then we noticed that the street never dried. Someone went out and put an old caution horse to it, and calls to The City were made. I heard someone came out and did tests. Evidently nothing can be done about it. No really, that's what they said: "Nothing can be done about it!" Some say it is a natural spring, and with groundwater levels higher from the recent rains, well, we should have all seen it coming.

I'm glad I sealed my foundation before I laid the hardwood floors, is all I can say. Some are worried because they've watched local residences slide down hills without precedent. Some are worried that the street will open up into a sinkhole the size of the Everglades. And still some are concerned about the state of affairs with the city officials and the local Dept. of Works. That's me. The local train stop just opened up last weekend. It was 10 years late and 150 million over budget, and I'm still waiting on a final building inspection of a little shade structure and the deletion of "Roberto's Taco Shop" from my city account.

Add this to the woes of Daylight Savings Time, and suburban living plods on endlessly. DST is tough on a kid, and somewhat worse on the parents. Why, the party yesterday was at 10:30AM, meaning it was really 9:30AM! Earliest birthday party I've ever been to, I can tell you, but at least the Dad served good hearty morning brews out of the fridge in his garage and naptime came after, which is how one schedules these things, (and all of life.) I try not to lose any sleep over it, but it's DST so I did lose sleep over it. Literally. An hour to be exact.


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