Hair-raising adventures

I was trying to get O presentable for a cameo at Julie's work event last night so I thought it would be best to cut his hair first. I decided we'd try one of the South St barber shops....

We walked in and I asked the barber if he cuts 'kids' hair' and pointed to Owen. I think somewhere implied in the question was 'white hair' since I've never seen a white person in there. (Sure, I seriously doubted that he would say no but it crossed my mind is all). Anyway, the guy said 'yes' and, noting an older gentleman who appeared to be waiting in the back, I asked how long a wait it might be. The barber said 'None at all, he cuts hair' and pointed to that older gentleman.

This guy was pushing 70, had coke-bottle glasses on and had a serious tremor. But now that the contract was already started, and - hey, no wait! - we went for it. Owen was a super champ...he watched the shaking scissors pass right above his eyeballs multiple times. He had the clippers pressed against the back of his scalp over and over again with nary a flinch. And the hair cut looks fantastic. (Eva was really impressed this morning.) Owen and the barber had some good chatter going even though neither of them could hear each other until the second or third repeat.

O got on his dress-up clothes (think Danny from Caddyshack at the yacht club) and did a great job charming the donors at Pennsylvania Hospital.

Oriole Magic

When one of your consistent starters gives up 8 runs including four HRs and your best hitter goes 0-6, an ugly loss would seem inevitable. But these Birds have some fight, coming back from 0-4, 4-8, and 8-9 deficits to win in the bottom of the 11th 10-9 against the dreaded Yankees. My assessment is that the Yankees are so busy being pissy about little things that they have lost team cohesiveness.

Update to the "that's what you really think of me?" file

Over the years, the image of yourself as pefect is constantly under assault. And sometimes you just have to give in. Despite what I thought were reasonable efforts to portray myself as otherwise, I might actually be cheap, self-righteous and not skilled in personal hygiene.

Yesterday, I told Julie over the phone that "I stole a shirt" from her. In this enterprise of one Owen in two houses (but MOSTLY in Julie's house, people! MOSTLY in Julie's house!!), tracking his dress-code-appropriate clothing can be maddening. So I might wash the one he wore Thurs and put it on him Friday, hope Friday's a dress-down day or, rarely, take an extra shirt from Julie's house.

But in this brief conversation, it became clear that Julie thought I had stolen one of her blouses and that I might be planning to wear it to work.

O Boy

You didn't miss a particulary good game but it was a lot of fun for the O's die-hards. The O's started the series in Yankee stadium scoring 7 runs (1 earned) in the top of first off Mike Mussina (former O's ace) thanks in part to some sloppy Yankee fielding. Two hundred million $$ doesn't go as far as it used to apparently. But the story of the night was Daniel Cabrera who lost 18 games last year and led the league in walks. After flashes of brilliance (I saw him one-hit the Yankees in '06) he seems to be realizing the potential we've been talking about for 5 seasons and should get some All-Star consideration if he keeps this up.

Speaking of which, don't forget to vote (pitchers excluded of course):

http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/events/all_star/y2008/ballot_pop.html

No Oriole is a slam dunk, and perhaps only one is deserving (Brian Roberts) but that shouldn't stop you from voting early and often for the Black and Orange in this annual popularity contest.

Breakin' with the big kids

O had his first break-dancing class yesterday. We hitched a ride with Chloe way down into South Philly to the Teen Lounge of the rec center on 8th and Snyder. When we walked in, the music was already blaring and a dozen pre- and actual teens were doing break-dance warm-ups in perfect synchronization. O had no fear though -- he sat down in the stretching circle and introduced himself: O said his name was 'Owen' but his nickname was 'O.P.'. The teacher said "I'm gonna call you Big O," which seemed to make everyone happy.

Basically, O was already a few lessons behind and working with kids twice+ his age so it was hard to engage for the whole time. The teacher was really great though, trying to keep him interested and getting him his turns in the middle of the dance circle. By the end, O had a wacky twist and roll combo going that looked more like break dancing than the potty dance (yet with still some echoes of the latter) so I consider that an accomplishment. And man, look out South Philly because there is some serious break-dancing talent about to hit the streets. Some of those kids looked ready for prime time.

Today's sign that sports reporting ain't what it used to be

This was the last line in a brief espn.com story discussing Goose Gossage's displeasure with Joba Chamberlain's antics on the pitching mound:

"The elder Chamberlain [Joba's Dad] contracted polio when he was nine, and uses a motorized scooter."

The link between this fact and Joba's antics? Only the editors at espn.com know...

Silver lining thought for the day

I met a new patient today and we were talking about ordering a screening colonoscopy. It looks like he might get incarcerated for 6 months starting the end of the month. I told him we should wait then to schedule the test since we can't make it happen before then. He said, "Well, the test will probably be a lot easier after I'm done in prison," and then laughed heartily for about 30 seconds.

Quote of the Day

Recently called up Orioles SS/utility infielder Freddie Bynum who went 2-3 in last night's win:

"I can do anything and everything you want to do on a baseball field," Bynum said. "If you want me to run the catcher over I can run him over. If you want me to drop kick somebody I'll drop kick them. I am ready. I am ready to play ball."

Sunday Pics courtesy of Momo

have you hugged your frog lately?





Bustin' moves with the b boys




Always make sure children are accompanied by adult elbows

Ouch

The O's' West Coast trip has been painful. They've dropped five straight, last night's being the worst yet. They finally got the lead in the top of the 8th on a nice two-out rally only to lose it in the bottom of the inning and then the game in the 10th. All the losses have been by two or less. There's a chance for redemption vs. KC, a team w/ similar hitting struggles and decent pitching. Then, finally a day off and the Red Sox come to Baltimore. Incidentally, the AL 2B all-star slot is now officially up for grabs. I give Roberts the nod for speed and an edge on defense.

Weekend Highlights

Owen got to play with his buddy Becket from school on Saturday. They did some urban hiking between the fences behind the houses on Julie's street. Instead of frogs and fishin' holes, they encountered discarded work-out equipment, other assorted trash and a jungle canopy of weeds. Just wait til July boys.

Then it was Ironman, O's third PG-13 movie. This was an entertaining romp but I'm not sure how much of it Owen could follow besides the explosions, flying, fighting and iron suit-designing. Since this was 90% of the movie, it was enough to hold his attention.

But THE BEST was O's breakdancing in Rittenhouse Square yesterday. The troupe had gathered a circle of onlookers and Owen got caught up in the beat. He started to dance on the side but the performers saw him and coaxed him into the circle. Owen busted out some pop-locking and then got on all fours for a modified breakin' boo-ga-loo. The crowd went wild. This troupe has a free breakin' class on Fridays at 4 that O is starting ASAP.