Sportsmanlike Conduct

I am not a huge sports fan. I don't understand football. I think golf is boring (even if Tiger is playing) and I will only watch baseball if I am in a stadium with a hot pretzel and spicy mustard. Unless, of course, my alma mater men's basketball team is playing. As an undergraduate at Syracuse, I developed a flavor for college basketball. Back in the 90s, the team was fantastic and every home game was the best entertainment around. Since then I have followed my beloved Orangemen, through the good and bad. There was a championship in the late 90s and early 2000s. And, then there was the year we didn't even get a bid to the tournament. That was also the year I boycotted the tournament in solidarity. I have also become a bit superstitious. We started this season with a bang and as we slumped, I showed my support and pride by placing a picture of CityBaby in his Cuse garb. And, even though the picture is over a year old now, I have not taken it down. I am already making quiet requests to the basketball powers that be that we do not cross Butler's path. I have placed my orders at Manny's for the entire family (luckily we are autumns and orange is in our palette). I appreciate any help out there. So, if you don't have a team or you don't care, think Orange!

Otto thanks you, too!

Stage Mother

Some months ago, we had professional pictures taken of CityBaby. A local photography studio, Signature Photography, was offering a program that a donation to our local children's hospital would provide a studio session in exchange. It is a great cause and the studio is owned by a family friend. The pictures came out amazing. CityBaby was well behaved and compliant considering there were several costume changes. We were thrilled with everything.

Cut to yesterday. We receive a call from the studio. They wanted to know if we could bring CityBaby in for a shoot for some ads for a local campaign they want to run in newspapers, magazines, etc. Um, sure. When you an opportunity lands in your lap, you have to take it. The stars were aligned since it was President's Day and we had a whole day ahead of us.

Now, I would be lying if I didn't tell you that I thought my child was the most beautiful, well-behaved, smartest child in existence. And he gets it all from me, natch. But, realistically, I have never thought he could make it as a runway model and Milan is only on his itinerary as part of an international teen tour one day. Stage mother material, I am not. Yet, here I was taking direction from a photographer on what outfits to bring and what time to be there for a casting call. I hardly recognized myself when I threw a bunch of clothes in a shopping bag and hit the road. And, I pretty much had an out of body experience as I dressed him through three costume changes, combed down his cowlick and stood behind the photographer's lense making bird noises and telling him to laugh.

Maybe stage mother isn't such a stretch afterall.

Curious

Last year, I read about an art exhibit at The Jewish Museum in NYC. It was about Curious George. I was curious but I was also intrigued. Was George Jewish? Upon further investigation, I found out that George's creators, Margret and H. A. Rey were in fact Jewish. Interesting. Cut to one year later. I am downloading lots of Curious George books for CityBaby on my nook. Thanks to advancements in CRM, I am immediately served up all the Curious George books in existence (there are a lot!). One sticks out to me because it does not have the banana yellow cover. It is called Journey That Saved Curious George. It tells the story of how Margret & H.A., 2 Jews living in pre-WWII Germany, met, married, changed their names, traveled throughout Europe ahead of the Nazis with manuscripts and drawings of what would turn into the world of Curious George. A riveting story I recommend for anyone, curious or not.