The update on the retaining wall and the working
of the boys is
that . . . well . . . I'm basically tuckered out. We made
huge
progress for most of last month, and the boys all helped,
but
after a while I have to admit I got a bit tired of hearing
boys
asking me for work to do. I'm really not a managerial type
if you
get my drift, and certain parts of a project like this simply
need
to be worked on slowly. Carefully thought out. Each move
considered thoughtfully. Then, just as I realize I'm about
to
screw up something I call my cousin and ask him what I should
do.
(My cousin Steve Uveges is one of those guys who can take
a project
step by step in his mind and make sure that you are considering
everything from beginning to end. He owns a local contracting
company called "Fruition". He is brilliant, and
more importantly
he is funny and kind. He gently points me in the right direction
at those delicate moments when I might be veering from the
straight
and narrow. I love him and hate him depending on the day.)
I was discussing the boys before this turned
into an unpaid
advertisement ("who's your cousin, cuz?") so let
me get back to
that. One afternoon while in that solo mode, unable to really
manage the teeming gang of testesterone-driven five to eight
year
olds, I decided to encourage them to find something for
themselves
to do. Obviously, this is a ridiculous thing to say, but
I'm tired
for God's sake and there is nothing more stupid than a tired
parent. (Do not gloss over that last sentence without full
understanding and appreciation.) Before I know it they have
wheeled my wheel barrow to the edge of the lawn where there
is a
thriving hornets nest and they are bombarding the hornets
with
chunks of clay from the wheelbarrow. At first I tell them
that
this is dangerous because hornets are mean and there is
a good
likelihood that they will get stung. (I know this because
at one
time I was a boy on a mission to kill hornets and my Grandpa
told me
hornets were mean but I didn't listen. The next day he fashioned
a
small squirt can with gasoline in it to "help"
me with my project. I
was in heaven for about an hour.) Undeterred by my warning,
the
boys are having a blast heaving chunks of clay at the whizzing
hornets. After about 30 minutes, I realize they haven't
bothered
me once to ask for work to do so I decide that maybe this
hornet
thing is not such a bad plan.
I start wheeling the wheel barrow over to
them so they can more
easily bombard the hornets. I have to admit that I plunked
a
couple clay balls in the direction of the nest as well.
Casually
mind you, not with any real passion. Hell, this isn't bad
at
all. They are moving dirt for me and they are having a blast
doing
it. I go upstairs to get a phone call and grab a drink of
water.
When I return, the inevitable has occurred. No, no one has
yet
been stung. They have determined that throwing larger objects
would have more of an effect. It is a guy thing. In that
few
minutes time I see there is now a pile of cement blocks,
wood
blocks from my wood pile, and moss rock from my garden bed
laying
in heaps around the hole to the nest. The hornets are going
crazy. So am I. I want to yell at them but I realize, I
have
created this monster. I tell them it's time to leave the
hornets
alone for a while. Grudgingly they give up, but not before
asking, "Joe, do you have any more work for us to do?"
The next day they come over. I've rigged up
a little spray can
with gasoline in it for them to spray at the hornets, just
like the
little spray can my Grandpa rigged up for me when I was
7. I loved
my Grandpa. No one asks me for work to do. Two kids get
stung. I feel just a twinge of sympathy but am able to squelch
it
before it shows. I am a bad parent I know. Next month. "
I am a
bad husband too".
Digs on Gigs. All Colorado Springs Shows
this month.
Every Thursday Night starting Aug.
30th. Olive Branch 23 S. Tejon 6- 9pm I'll be doing a night
of all original and/or traditional tunes. I will be bringing
in some guests from time to time, but for the months of
Sept and October I will be there every Thurs. night. Mark
Meltzer, the owner of the Olive Branch, was kind enough
to offer me this opportunity. Guaranteed funny, sad, powerful
and winsome. Reservations can be made by calling the Olive
Branch at 475-1199.
Friday, Sept 14th 5-9pm or so at the
Venetucci Farm (of Free Pumpkins fame) in Security, CO.
KJ Braithwaite and I will be doing the "Spirit of Philanthropy
Celebration" for the Pikes Peak Community Foundation.
This event is an awards ceremony and costs $25 per person.
Dinner included. It is not clear to me if this is an invite
only affair, but if you are interested, call Amy Sue Lambert
at 389-1251 ext 110. or alambert@ppcf.org
Don't forget, EVERY Thurs. night Through October.
Olive Branch. Peace out. j
Uveges News Archives:
July, 2008 Uveges News
"Swimmer's Ear, The RUB, etc. "
June, 2008 Uveges News
"THE RUB, plus the updated summer Schedule,
N.Mexico, Spokane, Missoula Penrose"
May, 2008 Uveges News
"Summer Schedule, Touring and 'Driving' Now Available"
March/April, 2008 Uveges News
"Karl Marx Lesson, Colorado Springs
and Denver shows, N.East tour"
January, 2008 Uveges News
"Portland OR, HPUUC, Soul Link, and NASCAR"
October, 2007 Uveges News
"When Freedom Calls CD Release Concert "
September, 2007 Uveges News
"The End of Summer . . .Portland,
Black Forest, Monarch"
August, 2007 Uveges News
"Working Boys (Cont),
Aug./ Sept shows, Olive Branch Returns every Thurs"
July, 2007 Uveges News
"On summer projects, boys, and schedule"
June, 2007 Uveges News
"Ducks in trees, the Philharmonic, and schedule for june, july"
(click here)
April/May, 2007 Uveges News
Late April, Early May shows
and the story of the "Stinking Ant Eater"
(click here)
March, 2007 Uveges News
This weekend in C.Springs, and New Hampshire end of March
(click here)
February, 2007 Uveges News
Soul Link with S. Rissman, N. Hampshire etc.
(click here)
November, 2006
Pre-marital Sex, Tours and End of Year Shows
(click here)
September, 2006
CABOOM!!!
(click here)
August, 2006
August 06 Co.Springs, Creede, Trinidad
(Click here)
July, 2006
On Maggot Farming and the summertime schedule
(Click here)
June, 2006
Summer Musings and Schedule Through Late August
(Click here)
April, 2006
Music and Rafting on Bighorn Sheep Canyon
(Click here)
March, 2006
March shows and Monarch Ski resort
(Click here)
January, 2006
Soul Link
(Click here)
Receive this newsletter every month
by subscribing to Uveges News on Yahoo Groups:
Yahoo! Groups Links:
To visit your group on the web, go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/uveges-news/
To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
uveges-news-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com
(Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to:
http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/)
