TanoBlog

The Real Definition of the Word

Grandpa Harvey has called all three of our children "Humpicks" at various times. They all take to it a little differently, though they usually tease him and turn it back on him, as Shoshi does now. She'll get on the phone and immediately say "Hi grandpa, you a humpick!"

Today Shoshi asked what it meant and I replied that no one really knows.

"I know what it means Shoshi," Ben said leaning into her ear. Then he whispered "it means grandpa loves you."

Dispatch from Red Sox Nation

I'm an immigrant to Red Sox Nation. I like this team, I really do, but I can't call myself a fan. Frankly, I'm kind of scared to commit.

Personally, I haven't experienced the pain of going years and years, being tantalizingly close to a championship, only to see it slip away. My one experience in rooting hard for this team in 2003, was too painful to endure. So I went back to my beloved Mets.

And now that team too has become overly painful.

In any case, my oldest son has been indoctrinated into the cult that is the Red Sox, and he's taken my wife with him. One night the two of them threw me out of the bedroom, where I'd hoped to hunker down and watch the Mets on ESPN, so they could listen to the teachings of Remy on NESN.

Alex's big first-grade trip was to Fenway Park. These people start young. But they had him at 4, when I told him I was abandoning the Sox to go back to the Mets, he told me he'd be sticking with his beloved Sox.

In any case, my house is now in full Red Sox mode (since I'm not rooting for the Rockies) with everyone following every pitch and every piece of spit that leaves Terry Francona's mouth. Ellen's morning viewing, which was the Today Show, is now NESN so she can see the highlights.

Even Shoshi, who is too young to really know what she's saying, wants to stay up every night and watch the game. Though, she calls it "The Jets Game," which is just fine with me.

Oh, and the boys know all the words to "Sweet Caroline," which apparently ends with the chant "Lets Go Red Sox!"

Here's Lookin' Atcha!

Shoshi has this new thing in which she calls out "stop look at me!" even when you're not looking at her. This is code for "I'm about to do something I'm not supposed to be doing, so I don't want you looking this way."

Of course, the second she says this I start looking at her, at which points she starts yelling louder. Perhaps she needs a different code.

Baseball Playoffs

I'm not a happy camper.

Since May, when the Mets claimed first place in the NL East I've been planning to watch the playoffs. All season long they were the best in the NL, easily taking apart even the toughest opponents with ease. I got a David Wright jersey (for Father's Day) and looked forward to those Saturday Fox games and Sunday ESPN nights when I could watch David, Jose and the boys have fun on the field.

This felt like 1986, minus the synthesizer music.  Until last week.

Hope remained right up until the end, when on the same day I saw the Mets go down, the Phillies win and the Jets not bother to show up to the game.

My father and son seem to be enjoying the September collapse. Last night while on the phone taking great glee in the Yankee defeat, my father taught Alex to call the Mets the "Mutts." All calls will now be monitored for quality assurance purposes.

While I'm reeling my son is having a blast. His Sox remain in the game and show few signs of waning. He's enjoying checking out Kevin Youkilis' blog (Youk is a Newton resident and Jewish ballplayer). Last night Alex jumped around each time the Indians tacked on another run against the dreaded Yankees. Final: 12-3.

I do have a soft spot for the Cubs, but judging by my track record is appears that if I throw my support behind a team they are sure to lose (the Cubbies are currently down 2-0 against the Diamondbacks). As another case in point, I flipped through game "163" the other day and said "Gee, I would much rather see the Padres than the Rockies." Rockies won.

So, here's what I'm thinking: Go Yankees.

Week of Firsts

I've been slow to post recently, which means I'm a little behind in reporting on the first week of school. Everyone started something new this year, with Shoshi in a new preschool (a different one from the boys), Ben starting kindergarten and Alex beginning 3rd grade.

They're all handling the change in their own way, some things are moving better than others, but overall they seem to be doing OK. Shoshi's teachers report that she spends all day smiling. Ben is very quiet, but obviously absorbing everything being said, and Alex is working on settling in, but is obviously a little on edge.

Still, I got some good "first day of school" pictures.