Dad Entry #99

Michael asked if he was Italian (more on that later) so we chatted about ancestry, what it is, what it means. I told him, "I am American, and grateful for it, and you are too, but the term 'American' doesn't really describe ancestry or lineage to me unless you're Native American." Then Michael remembered and said, "Alissa has a friend who is related to Sacajawea!" He was suddenly excited by the possibilities; he said, "Maybe we're related to Lebron James! Or Aramis Ramirez!" Hmmm, okay, so the concept is only loosely understood for now, or it's being loosely applied, the concept of ancestry, but it is exciting, Michael's got that right, and if you go back far enough, I believe, yes, the Cox's are indeed related to Lebron and Aramis.

Megan is on the Diamondbacks since every team is named after an MLB franchise. By coincidence, Michael is on the Diamondbacks in his league, too. We were watching the Cubs play the Rockies on TV. Megan recognized the jerseys and said, "Oh, the Rockies, I know those guys, we played them." I smiled. Did she think they were the same players she faced? (Tulo and CarGo are two of the best on the planet.) Or was she was just matching names? It sure sounded like the former...

Megan overheard some women speaking Spanish. She thought it was cool. I told her, "I can teach you Spanish." Michael told her, "No, me teach you Caveman. It fun. It easy. It annoy grown-ups." It sure does!

I bought a book called "The 4-Hour Body: An Uncommon Guide to Rapid Fat-Loss, Incredible Sex, and Becoming Superhuman". Bash me for buying the book later. (It was a #1 New York Times Bestseller though.) Honestly, I was interested in the prescribed 'Slow Carb Diet', the benefits of insulin / blood sugar maintenance... the healthy eating part. Really. Now scientists say fat and salt aren't so bad, what's killing us are sugar, HFCS, and refined flour, blah, blah. Anyway, the funny moment: I left the book out and Michael started reading the title before I could whisk it away. So I decided not to bring more attention to it than deserved; I let him read the cover. I cringed and waited. Thankfully, he said, "Dad, what is rapid fat-loss?"

Megan is still a messy eater. I love it when I step in the kitchen and there's a crunch underfoot and it's a cheerio. Or what's left of one. I still try to pick up the particles, you know, get them in a single pinch between thumb and fore-, even though it's only flour now and impossible to clean without a vacuum. I don't like vacuums very much. I'm pretty sure Sara will corroborate. Side note: Aunt Jenny was more afraid of the 'Sweeper' - what we called the vacuum - when we were kids. Or, more precisely, Jenny called it the 'seeper'. (That does sound scary!) Cute-as-pie little Jenny was vigilant; whenever a vacuum came to life, she warned everyone, "Seeper get you!"

We saw a broken beer bottle on the sidewalk. Michael said, "Oh, Dad, in Indiana Jones I saw this, I could use that for a weapon!" Let's hope it never comes to that.