Category Archives: fun

fun and games.

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 intense competitors at play in the action-packed shenanigans of

the get the diaper that is around your ankles moved to your bathing suit area without using your hands game

it just wouldn’t be our traditional christmas

without the crazy fun and games.

 

“life is more fun if you play games.”

  • roald dahl

i’m not joking.

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every august 16th it’s national tell a joke day

 not my best holiday

 i’m a horrible joke-teller

i’m more of a story-teller

 a whole other skill set

all i’ve ever been able to remember

is my one go-to joke

(and even this is iffy, as i often add part of the answer into the question part of the joke)

“what animal loves summer the best?”

“a hot dog!”

(i learned this years ago when my daughter was in a kindergarten talent show and did stand-up comedy)

she got an amazing response perhaps because she was a brave kinder doing stand up and the audience ate it up

i decided it would be my standing joke from that moment on

sure to get a laugh

though when i tell it, in whatever convoluted manner it manages to be delivered

i generally either hear groans or silence from any audience of any age or any number

so i guess the joke’s on me. 

“i’m gonna fix that last joke by taking out all the words and adding new ones.”

-mitch hedberg

 

 


credits: “hot dog” by doug salati (caldecott award winner), penguin random house, google images

destination: fun.

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when you have a barbie head on your dash

and a beachball in the back seat

it’s clear you are headed

for destination: fun.

 

“you must not ever stop being whimsical.

and you must not, ever, give anyone else the responsibility for your life.”

-mary oliver, wild geese

*yoopers.

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I
It took a month to make some of the incredible snow sculptures that were part of the annual Michigan Technological University Winter Carnival. Phi Kappa Tau extended its winning streak to five years with a huge rendition of Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory. (Photo: Daniel Staelgraeve | Michigan Technological University)
what you do in the winter (and sometimes in may),
when you go to college in the upper peninsula of michigan
* yooper – a native or inhabitant of the upper peninsula of michigan
 “i wrote, and sometimes, when i was stuck, i hit the road.
i ate pasties in the upper peninsula and hush puppies in cairo.
i did my best not to write about any place i had not been.”
– neil gaiman

“well, i didn’t vote for you.” – peasant to king arthur (monty python and the holy grail)

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an adventurous visit to the michigan renaissance festival

way back when

in days of yore

i took my daughters

to this very shire

 all of us dressed up

now my grandsons

have picked up where we left off

 as brave knights

“look, it’s my duty as a knight to sample as much peril as I can.”

– Sir Galahad (Holy Grail)

people enjoying the day

being whoever they imagine themselves to be

villagers from far and wide are all welcomed here

no matter their dress or look or form

 and what could be better than spying a kilted warrior brave enough to pick up his own hot latte?

“live every day as if it’s a festival. turn your life into a celebration.”

-shri radhe maa

down the rabbit hole.

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walking through the city

i noticed

 a lot of people

 dressed differently

than the usual weekend attire

how fun to discover

that people from all over

of all ages and stages

had come to town to be part of

an ‘alice in wonderland’ immersive experience.

also fun to imagine them crossing paths with the families

who might be nervous

dropping off their child at the uni 

visiting our city for the first time.

“what kind of city is this?!”

“this wasn’t in the brochure.”

“do you think they’ll be safe here?”

and this was only day one.

“when I used to read fairy-tales, I fancied that kind of thing never happened,

and now here I am in the middle of one!”

-lewis carroll, alice’s adventures in wonderland/through the looking-glass

apples to even more apples.

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opening day – tis the season! 

“if you never tasted a bad apple, you would not appreciate a good apple.

you have to experience life to understand life.”

-leon brown

 

 

 

image credit: mlive

dare to dance.

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on this day in 1959, hawaii officially became the 50th state

 always wanted to visit

but the closest i’ve come

is when i was young and my dad announced

he wanted to buy a little radio station in kauai

i quickly got ahold of a hawaiian dictionary

 forced/encouraged the family to learn the alphabet during dinner

only to discover it was just a fantasy job wish for him

years later, as an adult

i took hula lessons with close friends

we were not good at it

got into the spirit of the dance

did not get asked to perform in hawaii

but we had a a blast

you never know

where and when this skill will come in handy

plus, it’s impressive on a resume

 i’ve yet to make it to hawaii

 only a matter of time

third time’s the charm

aloha!

“dare to dance, leave shame at home.”

(A’a i ka hula, waiho i ka maka’u i ka hale)

-hawaiian saying

 

 

art credit: vintage hawaiian poster

belt.

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while at the airport waiting for a flight to arrive

 the voice of a cheerful tsa agent came on the intercom:

” attention, attention, all in the terminal!

if you are walking around

with your pants falling down around your knees

come back and see us at the tsa checkpoint,

we have your belt right where you left it!

 i figured this guy

 working a double shift this weekend

 dealing with a lot of unhappy, delayed, and cancelled customers

has a boss who’s putting out fires

or off for the log off the long holiday

 just wants to have fun and make the best of things

bravo.

“my belt holds my pants up, but the belt loops hold my belt up.

i don’t really know what’s happening down there.

who is the real hero?”

-mitch hedberg

hangin’ tough.

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unexpected fun
when my friend won tickets
  to a new kids on the block concert
‘the mixtape tour”
with other ‘retro’ bands of that era
salt-n-pepa, rick astley, and en vogue
bands i haven’t seen or heard
since i took my daughter and her friend
30ish years ago
not my dream music but great to be 
in the midst of a  really happy crowd who still loved them
and who knew i’d spend my friday night dancing with nkotb?
“keep calm and hang tough.”
-new kids on the block