When The Training Wheels Come Off

"I am still learning." - Michelangelo

   I knew this day was coming, and I learned more than one lesson in the process. My 'Lil Miss took some time learning how to pedal a bike. About few months ago, a few more girls her age moved into the neighborhood and we were outside more than ever. The bike was in full use and I started to notice about a month ago that my 'Lil Miss was coasting down the sidewalk and I couldn't hear the sound of the training wheels touching the ground (it was like the scream of a banshee!). She made a game of trying to not let those training wheels touch the ground. A little over a week ago, she traded bikes with one of her friends, who then promptly tried to attack a large electrical box in our front yard with it.
   I was trying to fix the bent training wheels, when my girl asked if she could leave them off. Trying to suppress the cynicism in my voice, I told her she'd most likely fall, and I didn't have the energy to run along side her holding her seat. MUCH protesting later, I threw my hands up and said okay. She got on and we started down the sidewalk. Within about 20 feet, I took my hands off to show her she was doing it all by herself, ready to be there for her. It's been almost two weeks and I haven't touched the bike seat since.
   I swiftly ate my own hat and stood in amazement at how fast my baby is growing. Seeing her breeze past me over the next several days was crazy to see. Her first crash didn't happen until day 5. I told her we'd go in for Band-Aid treatment and through the tears and crying she says, "Okay, but I want to come back out after, okay?!?" Her love for bike riding is clear. I think the time we took to encourage, participate, etc. has all paid off.
   So spend the time, no matter what the activity. The payoff is huge.

J.

Eddie Izzard - Comedy At Its Best

     I spent some time in southwest England around 1995. Around the year 2003, my buddy introduced me to the comedy of Eddie Izzard. My world was changed. I was baptized by his 1998 perrmance in San Francisco, "Dressed To Kill". I was born in San Francisco, so his first 10 minutes here on "The City" ab-solutely killed me! I was hooked ever since.
     He is mildly irreverent at times, but I spent several years listening to English street humor, and he's spot on. His one person skits are the best, and I have yet to see anyone who matches them. I recently watched Believe: The Eddie Izzard Story, and loved it. Besides learning a bit more about my favorite comedian, it was a wonderful story about going after your dream, no matter what. He wanted something so badly, that failure, negative feeback and such were not enough to stop him. I got a lot out of his story.
     He's been in a slew of movies, had his own t.v. show and still tours. His IMDB profile is here. I think it's more of an "after the kids are down" thing, but I'd think lesser of myself if I didn't do a post about Eddie.  Some of my favorite Eddie lines:

- "Stonehenge. One of the biggest henges of them all. Nobody knows what the f&@! a henge is."
- “I grew up in Europe, where the history comes from.”
- “I'm an action transvestite really, so it's running, jumping, climbing trees... putting on make-up when you're up there!”
- "We stole countries with the cunning use of flags."
- "Charles Darwin wrote a famous book in 18[gibberish]. And that book was an interesting book, cuz it was called "Monkey-Monkey-Monkey-Monkey-Monkey-Monkey-You."

Check him out and enjoy!

J.