Catching up

Non-Halloween related stuff. Same rules: family oriented, no flaming, be nice. ;-)
Murfreesboro
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Re: Catching up

Post by Murfreesboro » Sun Sep 13, 2026 9:05 am

I expect she was just processing what you'd shown her. She may also be visually sensitive. My daughter is like that. When she was three, and the boys were older, we showed the kids some 1960s Easter movies about Jesus, which of course included very sanitized versions of the crucifixion. She freaked out, which I hadn't expected, since I'm so used to that story, and I'd seen those movies in my childhood (though older than she was). When she was nine, we took her to an Egyptian mummy exhibit at Nashville's Frist art museum. That freaked her out, too, and I asked her why on the ride home. She said it was their gods. I said, "But, Lydia, you knew the ancient Egyptians were polytheists." Turns out what bothered her wasn't polytheism, but the grotesque way the Egyptians imagined human/animal hybrids. Very different from the Greeks.

Circe is a terrific name for a cat. What color is she?

There is a modern novel named Circe which is a retelling and amplified story about the Greek myth. I'll have to look up the author, but I read it at Lydia's recommendation, and it's very good.

Just looked it up. Madeline Miller is the author's name. She made her reputation with her first novel, The Song of Achilles. I've read both of them, but I liked Circe better. Perhaps your wife would like to read them--if she ever has time to read!

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TheHeadlessHorseman
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Re: Catching up

Post by TheHeadlessHorseman » Wed Sep 16, 2026 5:42 am

The kids had seen footage of the attacks before, but it was only the initial plane strikes and the collapses because that's the only footage that they really show any more, at least in the cleansed modern media. I can understand why Sam reacted that way to the graphic footage of the people jumping, and the result of their decision that the whole world unfortunately had to witness on that day. I was 20 when it happened and watching the people jump was horrific to watch even at that age, and Sam crying is a perfectly normal reaction for a young person that's watching it for the first time. She hasn't said anything about it in a few days, so hopefully she is already past it.

In a lot of ways Sam reminds me of my mother, she's a very kind hearted, and sensitive person that's always concerned for others. I think that's why she wants to be a doctor, because she's very caring toward people and animals, and she wants to help them.

You're right, my wife doesn't have the time to read anymore, but maybe when she retires. That is, if she ever retires, she's a compulsive workaholic like me, and retirement is something that I have no interest in, but I don't know what she wants to do.
Circe is a terrific name for a cat. What color is she?
She started out with a velvety black coat, but now because she's older it's more of a faded tone. Like I said, she's older and slower now, but she's still faster than the dog, he's the slowest, laziest dog I've ever seen, but he's very friendly and affectionate. When I'm up late at night he's always curling up to me, and I really do love him, even if he has the stupidest name for a dog in the history of dog names. :lol:

On a unrelated side note, I shaved the other day, and after I grow some stubble Phoebe always likes to rub her hands across it, I'm not sure why, but it's something that she's liked doing since she was little. Anyway, she did it again this morning, and man, that kid has some rough hands. Her hands are as rough as a 40 year old factory worker's hands, not that I'm saying anything against any 40 year old factory workers, but it's a reasonable comparison. The reason her hands are so rough is because of her martial arts and gymnastics training, and her hands always have to be covered in that powder so that she can grip the bars when she does gymnastics, she also walks around on her hands a lot, I guess because she can. Yeah, sometimes that kid is weird. :D

By the way, Phoebe will be competing in her first martial arts tournament of the season this weekend. It's going to be the last 2 weekends of every month, so that's 8 weeks of competition until Dec. Her coaches don't have any doubt that she will place first again.

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Re: Catching up

Post by Murfreesboro » Wed Sep 16, 2026 9:35 am

Sadly, very few adults have the leisure to read, unless of course their profession requires it, as mine (English prof) once did. Even in those days I was mostly reading the things I had to teach, though, rarely the current best sellers.

If people enjoy their work, and especially if they own their own business, as you all do, I see no reason to retire.

I'm not at all surprised that Phoebe's hands are as strong and "rough" as you say. The girl is using them in every way imaginable. I'm sure you'd see the same with Olympic gymnasts. She certainly has a full slate of competitions coming up! Best wishes to her. I hope she has fun.

It sounds like Sam is adjusting beautifully to her new school. Her compassionate nature should serve her well in whatever profession she chooses.

Circe is a terrific name for a black cat. About 20 years ago there was a lady in this neighborhood with a black cat she called Voodoo. I thought that was a great name for a black ccat, too.

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TheHeadlessHorseman
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Re: Catching up

Post by TheHeadlessHorseman » Fri Sep 18, 2026 12:45 am

Thanks Murf. :)

Yes, Sam has only been there for a week and she comes home every day praising the school, she loves her new friends, teachers, and classes, and she told us that she loves the uniform because it makes her feel important like when she wears the uniform at the restaurant.

On the other side of that, Phoebe comes home every day complaining about the school, she says that she hates her teachers, and that the kids there are fat and stupid ... her words, not mine. We told her to give it some time, and she will like it here. By the way, did I mention that she HATES her uniform? I mean, she's only told us about 1000 times. :lol:

On a positive note, she's already blowing away her teachers in her gymnastics class, and because of her level of experience she's already outperforming everybody there. Of course, they were already well aware of her because some of their students perform in the same competitions. She's also doing very well at swimming even though she hasn't had much experience at it, but I guess that kid can do anything that involves endurance and speed.

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Re: Catching up

Post by Murfreesboro » Fri Sep 18, 2026 11:48 am

So, gymnastics and swimming? I wouldn't necessariy have seen the connection there. But I do know that competitive swimmers always have strong, powerful shoulders, even the girls, and I expect Phoebe has developed lots of shoulder strength through her gymnastics.

I was never the least bit athletic, but I took to swimming pretty fast and have always thought of it as the one area where I could hold my own in a group. I never competed, though, and would not have made much of a racer. My shoulders are pretty slight. They slope. I've never been able to keep a shoulder bag up easily. I think if I'd known about it when I was young, I could have done synchronized swimming. I was always into the surface dives and liked to imitate the moves I saw Esther Williams do in her movies when they were shown on tv. I just felt at home in the water.

Speaking of water, omg is it hot here! Degrees at 100 day after day, and projected to last all through the weekend. The end of the summer has been the hottest part. We're supposed to get storms on Monday, then descend to normal fall temps, highs in the 70s. Boy, are we ready for it. Just hanging on by our eyelashes.

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TheHeadlessHorseman
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Re: Catching up

Post by TheHeadlessHorseman » Sat Sep 19, 2026 1:27 am

I think the reason that both of them chose swimming is because they love to swim, but the only time that they ever get to swim was when we brought them to theme parks because we don't have a pool, and their previous school didn't either. They loved it at the theme park so much that sometimes we had to yell at them to get out of the water so we could leave, but they still didn't want to.

Another reason that I think that Phoebe picked swimming is because they have diving boards of different heights there, and that kid is fearless and she loves her heights. She's been on diving boards before at the theme parks, and we would anxiously watch her climb up there and jump from scary heights as if it was nothing to her. I know that she wanted to pick tennis as well because she had expressed interest in it, even though she hasn't ever played it before, but they only allow students to pick 2 activities for the year.

Sam had until today to choose a second activity, and to our surprise, she picked music, specifically the piano. She hasn't ever previously played, or expressed any interest in learning music before, so my wife and I think that she only chose it because she didn't like the other options available, either way, we hope that she enjoys it.

Man, the temperatures in your area are nuts! I sure hope that you guys have AC, or fans, or something to give you some relief from the heat. The temperatures here have already dropped to their standard numbers for the season, the mornings are chilly, and the days and nights are nice with gentle winds.

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Re: Catching up

Post by Murfreesboro » Sat Sep 19, 2026 8:53 am

Piano is a great choice for an intro to music because Sam will learn how to read music that way. My husband and I have spent many, many years in choirs--church choirs, community choirs, school choirs-- and it always astonishes me how many adults can't read music. It's surprising to think that there are so many people who care enough about music to dedicate a portion of their precious leisure time to it, yet they can't read it. It's not even really that hard to do. You just have to have somebody teach you.

Another interesting thing about music is that it is essentially a mathematical system. Most professional musicians and composers are good at math. So it strengthens a person's skill in that area. If you really get into the weeds with it, it's also connected to physics.

Of course there are a few examples of professional musicians who can't read music, especially in the commercial sphere. Obviously it's possible for a person with a good ear to participate. But it's a handicap, I think, not to be able to read it if you really want to do it.

The heat. We have fans and window units at our house, so we limp along. It's very draining, though, and everyone around here has been affected by the heat that just won't quit. Some weathercaster my daughter listens to has said that the heat dome over Tennessee has been the largest and most intense on the planet over the last week or so. It is supposed to break with storms on Monday, and then we're supposed to be seeing highs in the 70s. I'm sure that will actually seem cold to us at first. I think it has had something to do with the El Nino phenomenon they've been talking about for a few weeks.

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TheHeadlessHorseman
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Re: Catching up

Post by TheHeadlessHorseman » Sun Sep 20, 2026 2:02 am

I always thought that music, like many other skills, was something that kids had to learn very early in life to be good at it, that's the same reason why we started our kids at martial arts and gymnastics when they were each 3 years old. Sam is great at math, so she should be able to pick up music easily. I guess if it's something that she becomes good at, and if she develops a passion for it, we might have to get piano for her.

Well, we had a heck of a day, Phoebe had her tournament, and she got disqualified and suspended. I suggest that you skip this and go straight to the end of the post.

As usual, the tournament started out fine, she was mowing through her opponents beating them easily, then she came up against a older girl that that was too stupid for her own good. I don't know how old the girl was, but she was about a foot taller than her. The match started and Phoebe immediately scored the first point, a restart and she scores the second point, just one more point and she wins the match to advance. The other girl was pissed by this point and she called Phoebe a b*tch and told her that she was going to kick her a**, Phoebe wasn't bothered by it and just stood there focused, waiting for the match to restart.

As soon as it started the girl spit in Phoebe's face, and I swear to you that I've never seen her that angry before, she grabbed the girl by the wrist and proceeded to kick her in the chest and stomach repeatedly, over and over, even after the girl dropped to the ground she continued kicking her harder and harder, the girl was screaming and crying, but Phoebe wouldn't let her wrist go, and she continued kicking her. The girl started vomiting and it sprayed across the mat, and on Phoebe's Gi. This went on for almost 40 seconds while the referee stood there in shock before she tried to get between them, then Phoebe punched the referee in her face and pushed her to the ground, then turned around and continued kicking and stomping the girl in the chest and back again and again.

You could hear the crowd gasp and then go silent, a group of referees ran over to try and stop it, a male referee tried to cover the girl to shield her from the kicks while the other referees tried to pull Phoebe away, she pushed them aside and ran back and started kicking the male referee in his side trying to get to the girl, he stood up and she punched him in the stomach, he stumbled back and then he put his arms around her to restrain her. Of course, Phoebe is trained to defend against that maneuver and she did a reverse kick straight to his d*ck, and the crowd laughed, he let her go and she turned around and while he was hunched over holding his crotch, she punched him in the face. He's a big guy, not somebody you want to mess with, and he was angry and he could have hit her back, but he obviously didn't, and he walked away rather than try again. Though, if he had hit her, either Phoebe, myself, or both of us would have killed him right there in front of everybody.

The other referees stood in front of her pleading with her to leave the competition area, Phoebe stood there breathing heavily, looking like a rabid animal. At this point I ran to the mat and stood in front of her, I told her that she already hurt that b*tch and that we should leave now, she calmed when she saw me, then she turned to the crowd and yelled out ... WHO'S THE B*TCH NOW? The crowd went wild cheering for her, I looked back at the girl laying there as we walked to the back, and I saw that she was almost unconscious. When we got back there Phoebe's coaches checked on her, and they said that even they were shocked at what happened, not at what she did to the girl, but the fact that she actually had the guts to hit the referees. We were told by a member of the board to stick around because they wanted to talk to us, so we waited for about 30 minutes, and I thought to myself, oh sh*t, she's really done it this time, I wonder how much they're going to fine me for this? Then 2 members of the board approached us with the male referee that she hit, they told us that they weren't going to fine her, but that because of the unsportsmanlike way that both girls conducted themselves that they are both suspended for a month and stripped of the points than they scored in this tournament.

I saw that Phoebe was upset about the decision, but she didn't say anything. We told her to go get changed so that we could leave, so she walked away with her coaches. Now, what happened next was ... well, unsettling ... one of the board members there was a woman that had previously stood up for Phoebe before, and she along with the referee pulled us aside and she told us that she absolutely LOVES what Phoebe did out there, and that's the kind of excitement and action that brings them the attention that they are looking for, and she said that they know that Phoebe is going to be big, and that nobody on the board is stupid enough to permanently ban her from competing because they know that this sport relies on people like her to thrive. Then she said something slightly disturbing ... that as long as she, and other people like her are on the board, that no matter what Phoebe does, that she won't ever have to worry about getting banned ... well, unless she kills somebody, and even then we can probably find a way around that. Then she laughed and winked at us and they walked away.

I looked at my wife and saw the shock on her face at what the woman said. Of course, I didn't tell Phoebe what the woman said because I don't want her to think that it's a free ticket to deliberately hurt other people during these tournaments. My wife hesitated for a moment before calling the referee back over, he came back and we both apologized for what she did to him. He laughed and said ... don't worry about it, I'm a third degree black belt and I've had my fair share of hard hits, but I tell you, your kid hits hard for somebody so small, she's dangerous, and that can bring her success in this sport. She's going to be deadly when she gets older, you just have to make sure that nobody pisses her off, because if she was able to do that to me today, I don't want think about what she could do if anybody tried to attack her outside of a tournament. Then he laughed and walked away.

Hey, at least he was a good sport about it. I mean, she did kick him in the d*ck.

My mother and my wife's parents told her that she did the right thing to that girl, but that she should have restrained herself from hitting the referees. I agree. When we got home my wife said ... I can't handle this, you go talk to her. So I did. I asked her how she was feeling, and she said that she felt fine, then I asked her if she thought that she went too far tonight, she emphatically said ... NO! That b*tch spit at me, I should have broke her in half. I told her that I agree with her, and that I was very proud of her because she showed me that she will bulldoze over anybody that opposes her. I gave her a hug and told her to get some rest.

Then I went to talk to my wife, and she was frantic. She said ... what are we going to do about this? Did you hear what people were saying about her? They were calling her psychotic and said that she's a evil little girl. I said ... so, those are compliments! She looked at me and said ... and what about the referees she hit? I said ... well, she showed us that she can kick the sh*t out of adults! Again, another angry stare from her, she said ... how many times did she kick that girl? I said ... I don't know, I lost count, maybe about 50 kicks? Hey, at least she didn't kick her in the face! I sure as Hell don't want to pay another dental bill. Another stare from my wife, then she said ... what if she killed that girl? I replied ... then I would have paid for the funeral .. My wife yelled out ... THIS ISN'T A F**KING JOKE! I said ... I know, I'm not laughing. Look, I get what you're saying, but I think that she reacted appropriately tonight, if somebody spit on me I would break their f**king jaw. As for the referees, they put themselves in her way, she would have stopped kicking that girl eventually, so they should have waited. My wife looked annoyed, and by this point, I was as well.

I got angry, raised my voice, and said ... Phoebe is a GOOD kid, she hasn't ever been mean, or bullied anybody, and she's just doing what she was trained to do ... defend herself. She hasn't ever hurt anybody first, every single person that she has ever hurt attacked and provoked her first, and if they hadn't cheated or tried to hurt her then she would have approached them the way she does every other opponent, just beat them in the match. When we got married we agreed before we had kids that we would teach them not to take any bullsh*t from anybody, and that's exactly what Phoebe is doing, so what the f**k are you complaining about? If that girl had conducted herself professionally and with honor then she wouldn't be laying in a hospital tonight. Who does that little b*tch think she is spitting in my daughter's face? Phoebe did the right thing, and I hope she broke that little b*tch's bones for it, because if she didn't, I'll go find that kid's father and break his f**king legs. How dare they say that my baby is evil, they don't even know the meaning of the word evil, she's just kicking the sh*t out of the assh*les that attacked her first, and I'm damn proud of her for it.

My wife stood there silently for a moment, then said ... you're right.

Anyway, she will be back competing in a month, and even though she will miss one tournament next week, and be going into the tournament next month without any points, she still has a good chance of placing first this season.

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