Journal of Post-Ralphaelite Thought

Youngest son, Ed, has been successfully installed at George Mason University , in Fairfax, VA. I got back yesterday evening (only to be greeted by a work emergency at midnight). We flew down Wednesday, arriving in the afternoon. We managed to get everything in a large duffel bag and Ed's backpack (with a few things in my small suitcase. Travel hint : put clothing in freezer bags and squeeze the air out before packing. The decision to fly rather than drive meant getting quite a bit of stuff locally. Rather subjecting the high-priced Taylor guitar to the dangers of air travel and dorm life, I offered to get a dorm-worthy guitar in Fairfax. So first stop (after an early dinner at our favorite Indian Buffet) was the Guitar Center. After much debate, negotiation and testing, a suitable candidate - an Epiphone AJ200SR six string - was bought and paid for, along with a gig bag for it to live in. Next we hit Target and stocked up on bedding and toiletries. During all this dr...

I'll be out of pocket the next few days, journeying with Youngest Son to Fairfax, Virginia where he's about to become a freshman at George Mason University. We fly out tomorrow morning and Thursday at 8:30 AM he's scheduled to check into his dorm room. I'm not really sure how much use he'll have for me after that. We'll probably run out to K-Mart or Target and get stuff for his room, but other than that, what purpose do I serve? At least during this trip? Not that I mind being cast aside like that. He's got new roommates and friends to meet, a new life to reinvent. Still, it will be a little odd, and a little awkward, as I (representing his old self) slowly fade in the rear view mirror. But it's not a bad thing: you want your kids to be independent, free thinkers. And in this age of Instant Messaging, email, Skype, Facebook and cellphones, it's a lot easier to stay in touch, even without really thinking about it. Much more so than when I wa...

I got to bed late last night - around 1:00 AM. After sleeping for about an hour, youngest son (who graduates from high school in 2 days) knocks on my bedroom door. "You got ten dollars?" he says, mumbling sheepishly. "Hhuhnnn...?" I reply. I'm always at the top of my game in the dead of night. "You got ten dollars?" "What for?" I ask, my paternal instincts kicking in at last. "My honor cord." This sort of makes sense to my sleep-fogged brain. My oldest, being a bit of an overachiever, had ribbons, cords and the like, a testimony to his active life. "Why didn't you ask me last week? I've got no cash at all." An argument ensues over what sort of household were we that didn't have ten bucks floating around. Finally after scraping under my dresser, on the floor and in various change jars, I successfully count out ten dollars in quarters: my spare 50 states quarters (damn!). Ever try to get back to sleep after turni...