Westmoreland Asays

Meg called me at work one day and asked if I wanted to be her teammate for the Portland Urban Dare race. It sounded very hipster-ish to me, and I avoid such things like spoiled meat. I probably said I would do it, but that it wasn't something I would normally choose to do. She signed us up, regardless. Here's how the race worked: all teams were given one piece of paper with 12 clues. The clues, which were so obscure and unsolvable without the Internet, identified a specific place around the central city. We had to reach of the 12 places and either take a picture of us at the site or we interacted with a race official who oversaw a "dare." I'm not sure why they called it a dare: completing a three-legged walk around a city block, figuring out a simple math problem, and making a balloon animal don't exactly tickle the meter-o'-dare. It took us about an hour and 50 minutes to complete the race, good for 18th overall out of about 60 teams. I think we both a...

When my mom called first thing Saturday morning, I figured it was to share the news that my grandmother had died. I was right. The writing was on the wall, and I took the news with no emotional reaction. I would later learn that her funeral would be six days later and, thanks to my employer's policy, and the great understanding of my wife, I was able to take a few days off to make the trip to Medford (abut a five-hour drive from Portland). I began my travels on Thursday morning, after walking my boys to school and having Meg shave my head (she tried to rid me of my burns, but my pulling the plug of the clippers stopped that quickly. This didn't really happen, except in her mind). I stopped first in Salem and visited with Grandpa Hanna for an hour. He looked much better than the last time I saw him, back in June. I often struggle to think of things to discuss while I'm there, but we easily spent an hour talking about every-this-and-that. Eventually the lunch bell rang,...

Aaron and Edward advanced to their next grade levels today (4th and 2nd grades, respectively). I think everyone welcomed this routine back in our lives. Aaron's class this year boasts 33 students, while Ed has only 24 in his class, although he is out in a portable again (what, are they afraid of what havoc he might wreak inside the century-old building?). Edward's teacher is named Mrs. Frisby, and I gave him a bunch of good jokes to try out (we read the book together earlier in the year), but he reported that he failed to use any of them. I escorted Edward to his class, but he was fine without me--such a contrast to his first day of school two years ago . He really has made huge strides in being willing to jump through societal hoops. Aaron's almost the big man on campus, but I don't think it has gotten to his head. Lest Ian be lost in the shuffle, he will purportedly be home-schooled this year with some of his peers from the neighborhood/church. He has two more...