Alan Bastyr

It's hard to describe Alan if you don't know him. He's a man I've known since I was in junior high. He's blind. And on most days I'd tell you that he's out of his mind!

I mean let's face it, this 50 something year old man goes around singing songs like Fishcakes and Heads while giving "Head Squishes" and calling young kids "Characters." You just kind of have to know Alan to get him I suppose.

But today, he turned on the serious side and blew us all away as he sang solo in the St. Anne's Church in Jerusalem.

I wasn't there when Dad and Alan were first talking with the fathers but apparently the song Holy City came up and Alan mentioned he had known it, but hadn't sung it since he was 16.  The fathers didn't have the song in braille but they made a copy for Dad and as Dad mumbled the words to Alan, he was able to remember the song.

Here is Alan singing Holy City (he was pretty excited to be able to, as he said, Sing Holy City in the Holy City).

And here is his encore!

 

The 2012 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition

One of the realities of raising boys in this sex-crazed-soft-porn-is-acceptable little world is the difficultly that it is to protect the boys of having such images burned into their little brains at an early age.

 I remember reading a story somewhere or hearing advice once about a mom who avoided the check out lines with magazines to protect her children from the sexualization displayed on the covers, opting to have a battle over candy bars now rather than facing other more subliminally ingrained battles later.

I remember there was a time I took that advice to heart, but somewhere along the way I forgot it.

Until today.

Today ISH and I were on our regular Monday grocery run and, after scoping outing which line was the shortest, I pulled into lane 8. And what should be there as a last ditch effort for an impulse buy but this season's Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition.

"Ugh!" I thought.  "Lord please protect my boys."

And as the words were going from my mind to the Father ISH says "Oh."

"Oh?" I replied

"Oh, that-" he said pointing to the SI cover.

"Oh :( " I thought

"-that is really inappropriate." ISH said with as much disdain as can come from a six-year-old lisp-y little mouth.

"Yes. It is." I said, breathing a sigh of relief.

"Why do they want to put that on the cover?" ISH asked me.

"Because some men like her and some women want to be her and they think it's a good way to sell magazines."

"Well I don't."  (Lord keep this innocence about him)

"Me neither buddy." I said as I started to put my groceries on the checkout line belt feeling as though I had somehow avoided a storm.

"Now that-" he said with his eyes getting bigger, pointing the Food Network Magazine cover of a Bacon, Egg, and Cheese tart, "that's what they need to have on the cover.  That's what they need more of."

I giggled.

"Yes buddy, I agree."

 

Backyard Light Saber Video

Last week Gena posted a fabulous Star Wars Light Saber video. And while I can't play the violin like her (or at all for that matter) I see her rock star video and raise her two kids in the backyard fighting to their own Okie Eye of the Tiger light saber fight. How many syllables does Bawmp! have?

Carrie Underwood's Amazing Leg Workout

My guess my friends is that it doesn't involve sitting on the couch searching through Pinterest.