Those days are long gone. Today, I yelled out “Stephen, Thomas is on.” and all I got was a “So? What’s that got to do with anything?” as he continued to play his video game.

When we first go there, Stephen didn’t want to do anything except sit next to me. That was until the pizza came. He ate, the kids opened presents and he ended up having a pretty good day.

There was really only one present he wanted and as you can see he got it. Not to say that he didn’t appreciate getting the other gifts, but it was very obvious which one was his favorite.

I think it is a little weird that he is so into Mario because I remember playing Donkey Kong on the Atari 2600 with my cousins. For some reason, he doesn’t think that Mario has been around for so long.

Gabryale also attended the party and spent some time with her granddad. Every time I put my phone down, she would pick it up and hand it to me. So I took a picture.

I tried a couple of times to get her to smile, but she wasn’t having any of that.

This is a bad picture, but my best friend Shawn Crump got a very prestigious honor. Here is the official Press Release:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

COUNCILWOMAN BRENDA JONES PRESENTS SPIRIT OF DETROIT AWARD

Shawn Crump, IBEW Local 58 Business Agent receives award at Detroit Skilled Trades Task Force Meeting

DETROIT, Mi.-(July 28, 2009). Detroit City Councilwoman, Brenda Jones presented the prestigious Spirit of Detroit Award to Shawn Crump, Business Agent for the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, IBEW Local 58 during the Detroit Skilled Trades Task Force Meeting yesterday.

The Spirit of Detroit Award is given by Detroit City Council members to a person, event or organization to honor outstanding achievement or service to the citizens of Detroit.

Mr. Crump serves on the Detroit Skilled Trades Task Force and is a member of the Detroit JATC Committee for the IBEW-NECA Electrical Industry apprenticeship program. Mr. Crump, along with IBEW Local 58 and the National Electrical Contractors Association of Southeastern Michigan are actively involved in educating Detroit citizens about education and employment opportunities available through the IBEW-NECA Joint Apprenticeship Training Center in Warren.

In addition to receiving the Spirit of Detroit Award, Mr. Crump was recently appointed to the National Joint Apprenticeship Training Committee (NJATC) National Committee as one of two labor representatives from the Midwest and one of only twenty four advisors on the committee. The NJATC oversees the development of the nationwide curriculum used to train the contractors and workforce for the Electrical Industry.

Crump began his career as a Journeyman Electrician for IBEW Local 58 in 1992. “I am honored to receive the Spirit of Detroit award from Councilwoman Brenda Jones and the Detroit City Council. I applaud Councilwoman Jones for her for support of the advancement of the Skilled Trades apprenticeship programs throughout our region and for valuing their role in the advancement of Detroit citizens.”

The International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, IBEW Local 58 and the National Electrical Contractors Association of Southeastern Michigan provide inside electrical, tele-data and renewable energy systems installation and maintenance for commercial and residential applications

There are a few more at the Flickr site. As I get some more I will definitely share them.

Me: No, why would you want to?

Stephen: Because I don’t want to feel uncomfortable with my body.

Me: (very long pause punctuated by me trying not to laugh) Sure, son.

DCC Sr and Stephen on Easter 2005. This is the last picture I have of my father.

At the last Parent-Teacher Conference, my son’s teacher mentioned “some concerns” that she had with him. Specifically his behavior in class. I don’t want to go into the details about what she said, but I don’t agree with her. Today a small plastic bag was sent home, containing a stack of flash cards and the following letter:

Parents,
In this bag are words your child needs to know to help them be successful readers in Kindergarten. Please practice these words with your child as much as possible. When your child is able to read all of the words listed below and on this set of flash cards we will send home a new set of words to practice.

Thank you for your participation!

all, am, are, at, ate, be, black, blue, brown, but, cat, came, dad, did, do, dog, eat, four, get, good, green, has, he, into, like, love, mom, must, new, no, now, on, orange, our, out, pink, please, ran, red, ride, saw, say, she, so, son, that, there, they, this, too, under, want, was, well, went, what, white, who, will, with, yellow, yes

The words in bold are the words he missed. Keep in mind that he only had to read the words and not the accompanying letter.

There are the words on his flash cards, which he got all correct:
million
opposite
therefore
cover
various
wouldn’t
general
doesn’t
method
beyond
would
ancient
we’ll
century
shook
believe
capital
where
especially
necessary
temperature
attention
kitchen
electric

I really need to get his reading level tested because he is in Kindergarten and has no problem with the vast majority of words that he comes across. Unfortunately, when he is in the classroom, he doesn’t do any work. He’s not rude or combative about it, he just experiences a work stoppage and stares into space. No coloring, no using scissors, no using glue sticks and if he doesn’t feel like it, no writing. We cannot figure out why he just stops, but he does.

I would be a lot more worried if he ever got that unresponsive like at home. However, he has no problem engaging with other people and regularly has intelligent conversations with people who older than he is. I will admit that he has a problem playing with kids closer to his age, but he finds them boring. He would much rather play computer games or with his trains.

I am not one of those people who confuse the ability to learn in a classroom setting with intelligence. So while I may worry about his ability to sit down in a classroom and do the assigned work without someone wanting to label him with a learning disorder of some sort, I have absolutely no concerns about his intelligence.

We have a new puppy. A few days ago, A client at the animal hospital where Patti works gave her to us. She is a full blood boxer. Apparently the AKC requires three names, so Patti chose Ruby’s Red Squirt. To me, it sounds like a euphemism for one thing that women can do that men cannot (Thank God), but she says that was going to be our last Boxer Izzy’s name before we all started calling her Izzy.

Ruby is only eight weeks old right now, but she seems like she will be a pretty good dog. She’s no Izzy, but she doesn’t need to be.

We have a cat named Kimber who is the alpha animal. He rules the house and always has. It doesn’t matter what animal comes into the house, they all acquiesce to him. Dog, cat or small child, if they get in his face, he smacks them down. Luckily for them, he is de-clawed.

Every one has backed down. Except for Ruby. She approached him and he hissed and growled at her. She stepped back a couple of steps then started barking at him. Kimber looked at me like “What is she doing?” He hissed some more so she barked some more. Finally he just walked away.

I think she is going to fit in just fine.