Woman Of The Year

In honor of my dear wife Preppy Girl's thirty@#$$#$$% birthday (last Sunday), I present to y'all...

Thirteen Things You Might Not Know About Preppy Girl

1. She is a bonified expert in romantic comedies. No joke here. She watches as many as she can see in what free time she has (even made for cable). As much as I bitch about "Prince and Me 2" and "The Cutting Edge 2" and "Ashton Kutcher Drags Amanda Peet Down To His Sublevel Piece of Crap RomCom", her knowledge of these films astounds me.
2. She once did a pub crawl in Bemus Point with a blow up doll. His name (modified with a permanent marker.....Mr. Tud. They weren't alone, but with her bridesmaids at her bachelorette party.
3. She took me home to meet her mother on our third date. Boy did I have her family fooled! In a foreshadowing moment, I spent part of the evening talking trivia on the phone with my future B.I.L. and fellow Guest, Mr. Social.
4. She introduced me to the joys of Key West. Which we attempt to recreate on every subsequent trip. Seriously. We almost always hit Hog's Breath Saloon, Captain Tony's, The Book Store, Blue Heaven and The Conch Train Tour.
5. She can always talk me down. From whatever trips my fuse.
   
6. She is an excellent teacher. To her employees, to our kids and to me (with all things Microsoft Office.)
7. She rode on Kentucky Colonel's motorcycle. And flipped me the bird on I-75.
8. She is a great gift buyer/giver/wrapper. Very good taste all around.
9. She is a competitive dart thrower. Having played in a league in Florida, she has taught me the sport and hopefully will teach it to our kiddoes.
10. She is a Jeep fanatic. We've owned or leased three since we've been together. That Patriot is looking good and affordable! Even the kids had a Jeep rocking chair when they were infants.
11. She hung out with one of the villains from "Crocodile Dundee 2". No lie.
12. Her hair looks really good when it is up. It looks good whether in an up-do or just clipped in.
13. She has three tattoos. And one of them makes a sound when pressed upon...
    

Just Words

I've recently been informed that Galoot's Hoot Page has been nominated for "Best Local Blog" in the Chautauqua Region Word weekly arts/entertainment paper. Certainly, I am honored by even being considered for this distinction, but I have to give some credit to those blogs which I read often. Included are websites I visit often.

1. Preppy Girl's Guide - By the woman who got me into blogging just over a year ago. My wife, my soulmate, my love. A window into our humble life in Western New York.
2. And You Know What Else - The mostly anonymous "R" is a young, married and funny lawyer who is married to a galoot-like fellow, also working in law. Takes me back to the days before we had kids.
3. Mama Drama - The Houston Chronicle hosts blogs by several moms at various stages in their lives. My favorite to read is by Jenny Lawson, who also has a more profane blog - The Bloggess.
4. Starry Night Boutique - Preppy Girl's same sex soulmate and BFF, the Princess herself, gives us a unique look into life in her midwestern town. Imaginary friends, hairless cats and angry drivers rule.
5. In Java, Literally... - Runs a close second to Preppy Girl for my vote for favorite local blog. WRFA's newsreader and improv audience regular enlightens the world to her existence in the Southern Tier, including her husband - a government official and skateboarder.
6. What Jeff Killed - A large orange cat in California is "death itself" to the other critters in his domain. His adopted owners document his exploits graphically and with humor.
7. Chautauqua Area Music Profile - Ever wonder what musicians from my part of the state talk about? Surprisingly, not much about music. Check out the forums for threads of local debate.
8. Post Journal - Jamestown's own newspaper has improved since I moved here five years ago, but it still has a ways to go. Check out the letters section for the Bill O'Reilly wannabes and the opinions section for the editor's "fair and balanced" comments.
9. G-Mail - Google mail is the only account I have that hasn't been spammed.
10. Harry Shearer - Visit on Wednesdays for a rebroadcast of his Sunday night, one man, many voices program "Le Show".
11. Arts Council - The website for my workplace. New and improving. And I helped!
12. Weather Channel - More bugs than Weather Bug, but I still visit for the forecast.
13. Chautauqua Region Word - Arts, entertainment, cartoons and more.
    

Where It's At

Busy beavers are we in Western New York.

Jamestown has been the location of several events since Memorial Day weekend.

1. Lucy-Desi days came and went - though we skipped town after a late-night improv set.
2. The Gus Macker tournament took over 3rd street for a few days as did the...
3. ...Wild Rib Cook Off, which expanded this year.
4. Yassou - St. Nicholas' church's annual Greek festival took down its tents today. PGirlJr. and GalootJr. each took several turns on the dancing platform. Icing on the cake is the church only being 8 blocks away from our house.

The Sopranos ended its run a week ago tonight. I've only seriously watched the show for the last two seasons, but loved every minute I saw, including the final episode. Without getting into spoilers, I will say that the last five minutes of the show were gripping, and I was immensely satisfied with the ambiguous nature of the conclusion. I'm sick of reading t.v. critics trying to rally people behind them by claiming that David Chase let the fans down. As if all of the bitchers out there could agree on an ending to the story.

Father's Day was cool. PGirl and GalootJr. surprised me last night with the gift of a new DVD player. This one upgrades regular images up to near the quality of High Def - which our newest TV is equipped with. We watched "For Your Consideration" on it. Very funny movie. This morning we had breakfast with the Silver Fox, The Greater Spy and his family. Then we headed down to visit with The Organ Grinder and Saint Eileen for some lunch and dessert. All is well!

PSlea and Monkey visited with the kiddoes last week. Having them around was a blast. Reminded me of when my Uncle Bill, Aunt Maureen and their 3 kids lived with us in Long Island 30 years ago. We did birthday parties for PGirlJr. and my niece, attended a ballet recital for PGirlJr., did an improv show, cooked in, ordered in and more. Monkey and I finally had a boy's night out with The Greater Spy, Ian and Kip, doing the Jamestown pub crawl until the wee hours of Wednesday morning. Billiard balls were played and darts were thrown (including one plastic one at my hand, due to a sadistic tradition that The Unexpected Guests have). Can't wait to see our Illini brethren again!

Kids

My children are consistent in making me crack up. Regarding their recent exploits:

Galoot Jr. - During our recent trip to the Kentucky Colonel's homestead:

• Climbed into Colonel's car. When I lifted him out of it, an unpleasant smell wafted past my nostrils. I set the boy down in the driveway (in front of Mick, Mrs. Mick and a few other party guests) and asked if he had pooped his pants. After GJr. said he hadn't, I pulled back the waist band of his shorts and stuck my face down there to take a look. Without hesitation, the boy blasted an air biscuit, inches from my mug. While the small crowd laughed, GJr. walked a few steps, stretched his arms out and continued on his way.
• Peed off of the back porch into the grass. A perfect, golden arc into the lush bluegrass. He then pulled his shorts up, clapped his hands together and rubbed them. A new day had dawned.

PGirl Jr.

• During the trip to Kentucky, she flirted throughout the afternoon with a 12 year old boy who was a cousin's guest. During a game of head to head Halo, she sat next to her object of affection, hands on her knees, giggling at everything he said and did.
• This morning, as we pulled out of the driveway, we noticed three rabbits on the lawn, eating their breakfast. PGJr. said that rabbits are good because they don't bite people. I told her that, any wild animal had the potential to bite if they were scared. PGJr. remarked, "If a rabbit bites someone, they become Rabbit Man.". "Like Spiderman?", I asked. She replied, "Yes."