Everything Old is New Again

The Old Curmudgeon is called "Old" for a reason. He is old enough to have forgotten many things. And yet, there are a few things that stick in his aged mind. One of them is the memory of when Spring Break was thought of as Easter Vacation. The "vacation" part referred to a vacation from school. It was unheard of for the family to actually take a vacation during this time. But I have already digressed. Spring Break started yesterday in our part of the universe. To start it off with a bang, we all stopped in at Bazbeux's Pizza for a couple of shatteringly good pies. The Old & Mrs Curmudgeon enjoyed the TCHOUPITOULAS pizza, involving Cajun shrimp, roasted red pepper, green pepper, red onion, andouille sausage and fresh garlic. So nice. The children, not being so adventureous and also not able to agree (can you imagine?) engineered a 1/2 cheese and 1/2 pepperoni with extra cheese production.

Digesting our pizza. You can tell Grif is really happy with his mother drawing attention to us by snapping a picture in the restaurant. Of course, Lauren is always game for a photo op.

After dinner we strolled over to the very friendly Indy CD & Vinyl to go back in time a bit and look over their extensive collection of new and vintage vinyl.

Then, it was off to Clowes Hall to enjoy a performance by Rain. It was a remarkable simulation of the Fab Four at each stage of their musical development. Present were a few old geezers like TOC, but, suprisingly, many more folks that looked to be in their twenties. And the sub-eighteen demographic was also well represented. The multi-media show included a number of projected slides that allowed for the family competition of shouting "I was there!" to the likely bewilderment of fellow patrons.

Here Grif and The Old Curmudgeon, near the end of intermission, await the second half of the show.

Having had a splendid time, Lauren gets an early start on her beauty sleep on the way home.

The Play's The Thing

Grif trod the boards late this week in the middle school production of Kokonut High, about an island woman who tries to salvage her resort by opening a private high school after a hurricane has eliminated her tourist business. The school promises a diploma to all who can pay the tuition. Talk about Charter schools, we may be looking for this place next year, but The Old Curmudgeon digresses. Grif's character is Roy Boy, the lazy son of the entrepreneurial woman.

The families of the young thespians were invited to a special dinner theater at which were served some of the finest school cafeteria selections available. Just as the heart burn began to flare up, the lights began to dim and it was showtime!

Here is Roy Boy listening to the insurance agent who (can you believe it?) is explaining the reasons why the school's policy won't be covering any of the things the school thought it would be covering. Hey, this is pretty realistic!

And there she goes…

A noted feature of this play is a production number that pays tribute to Taylor Martin. In case you don't recognize him, that's Roy "Boy" in the middle.

A final shot of Grif with many of the cast in his final middle school production.

Grif's 14th Birthday

Grif awoke to the traditional banner and a few gifts, guarded by faithful Bella (in case Lauren gets any ideas).

The young film-maker-to-be shows off his first video camera. We are expecting to get full credit in any award acceptance speeches for this early support by his parents.

Later, there was an incendiary moment involving cake.

Older? Yes. Wiser? Where is that jury?

Acapulco Joe's

The Old Curmudgeon and Grif got up bright and early this morning to make a pilgrimage to Acapulco Joe's Mexican restaurant in Indy. Joe has passed on now, but his mighty restaurant and traditional recipes live on. This was Grif's first trip and he was duly impressed.

Pictures were taken with the phone camera, which, it appears, was not really designed for taking pictures. Just so you know that Grif isn't normally blurry in real life.

Behold a masterpiece! Scrambled eggs with peppers & onions alongside refried beans topped with cheese and a tortilla with butter & honey. Top it off with the signature home-made salsa and add a cup of Joe's famous coffee and it can't be beat.