Pleep & Crew Say Farewell to 2010 & Auld Lang Syne

The 2010 New Year's Eve has arrived.  Pleep, Delete, Leoni and Cubby are gearing up to celebrate in style: Cary Grant and Marx Brothers movies dominate the Turner Classic Movie schedule; College Football Bowl Games, including the Fighting Irish, and a trip to the Deck Down Under for an early New Year's Eve Toast.  Pleep agrees with George Heidkamp that New Year's Eve is amateur night and prefers to be safely home before the rookies hit the streets.  Thanks to David Gates, we have the perfect toasting shot glasses - tiki statues from his trip to Disney World.

2010 has been a fabulous year with many great  (and some sad) milestones: Harry's  8th grade graduation and Head Boy award; the George & Ida birthday mega-party; visitors to the new Daytona Beach condo; college graduations by Matt & Zan Heidkamp and Alex Collins; and, sadly, the passing of Ron Ross (aka The Vodka Bomber).

Watching Mike & Mike this morning, Pleep was surprised when the discussion turned to Auld Lang Syne.  According to recent surveys, the majority of Americans and Britons do not actually know the lyrics.  Everyone seems to be able to hum the song but actually stringing the words together in the right order seems to be the challenge.  Originally a poem penned by Scotsman Rabbie Burns, singing Auld Lang Syne is one of Pleep's favorite New Year's Eve traditions.  In anticipation of the event, Pleep thought it would be helpful to offer a little help by posting the lyrics (and a glossary to help interpret the old Scots phrases.) 

Happy New Year's to everyone.  We will raise our glasses in a virtual toast and hope to make more fine memories in 2011.

Auld Lang Syne
Robert Burns

Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
and never brought to mind?
Should auld acquaintance be forgot
and days of auld lang syne?

For auld lang syne, my dear,
For auld lang syne,
We'll take a cup o' kindness yet
For auld lang syne

And surely ye'll be your pint-stowp,

And surely I'll be mine,

And we'll tak a cup o kindness yet,

For auld lang syne!

We twa hae run aboot the braes
And pou'd the gowans fine;
we've wander'd mony a weary foot
Sin' auld lang syne

We two hae paidled i' the burn,
Frae mornin' sun till dine;
But seas between us braid hae roar'd
Sin' auld lang syne

And here's a hand, my trusty friend,
And gie's a hand o' thine;
We'll take a cup o' kindness yet
For auld lang syne

Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
and never brought to mind?
Should auld acquaintance be forgot
and days of auld lang syne?

For auld lang syne, my dear,
For auld lang syne,
We'll take a cup o' kindness yet
For auld lang syne

auld – old
lang – long
syne – since
be – buy
pint – pint
stowp – cup
twa – two
hae – have
braes – slopes
pou’d – picked
gowans – daisies
fit – foot
paidl’d – paddled
burn – stream
dine – dinner
braid – broad
fiere – friend
gude-willy waught – good-will draught

Beef, Booze, Boots, Bucks, & Booms

The Parker family Christmas party was a huge success.  The crowd grows every year with the 2010 numbers exceeding 40.  Being in the cattle business dictates dinner options; 3 huge beef tenderloins were the main event with biscuits, mashed potatoes and Janet Parker’s famous potato casserole as the sides.  The one green item was, Caesar salad.  To quote Harry, “You wouldn’t want to waste your stomach on green things when there is rare beef tenderloin and homemade desserts around.”  The house motto is prominently displayed in the kitchen and provides excellent advice for newcomers on how to handle one of the big events at the Parker Ranch.

Pleep was very impressed with the level of liquor consumption but felt the only Parker male with any taste was Grandpa Carl who favors Gentleman Jack.  He felt the Lord Calvert consumed by Ted & Harold leaves something to be desired.  When shopping for the booze, Ida’s local liquor store owner commented, “Of course you can have your normal 15% discount but you don’t normally buy Lord Calvert.  Are you sure you don’t want something else?”

Oscar was a bit gun shy with the crowd.  There were lots of boots and he was very afraid of a repeat performance from the earlier incident.  He had already had a tough day including having to be vacuumed with the Dyson attachment after rolling in the hay.  He managed to steer clear of all the boots while patrolling for dropped food.  He finally scored when a bit of beef fell off one of the plates as someone navigated the tight quarters in the kitchen.

After dinner, Beau, Harry and their Parker cousins conducted the Dirty Santa gift exchange.   As everyone has gotten older, there is less gift stealing.  With the colder weather, the “hot items” were snuggies and Ugh blankets.   

The other tradition is for everyone to play a dice game, Left, Right, Center.  There aren’t a lot of rules, just 3 dice and 3 bucks for everyone to start.  As is the norm, Harry Parker came from behind to win the pot.

The finale of the event was a fine fireworks display.  Perry Parker had snuck out earlier in the day to buy a small quantity of fireworks; “Ida, I think the boys are old enough to learn how to use these safely.  I promise to keep everything under control.”  He took the boys and the fireworks out to the front porch while Peggy, Ed and Ida commenced cleaning and reorganizing the house.  A sudden loud boom sent Oscar scurrying and Ida out the front door.  Evidently there was a misfire and one of the fireworks went the wrong way.  After a gentle reprimand and kind advice from Ida (actual quote can not be used), the activity moved further away from the house.  The display was very impressive and a fitting conclusion to another grand event at the Parker Ranch.  Thanks to Perry & Ida for sharing their house, family and friends.  We hope to see all these traditions carry on for many years to come.

Down On The Farm Oscar & Beau Head To Work

It may be cold in Seminary, Mississippi but that doesn't stop the work at the TP Cattle Company.  The cattle need tending, feeding and herding.  The horses need to be worked and the fields need fertilizer.  The debate at last night's dinner event was the benefits vs. aroma of the cured chicken shit.  Ted claims that, if it is cured right, it has a nice chocolaty aroma.  No one was buying that story.  Pleep preferred it when the discussion shifted to feed options; his favorite is the mash from Abita brewery.  He's not a big fan of Abita beer but felt it made for a more dinner friendly discussion.

Beau and Oscar have been very busy working for Ted over the Christmas break.   Beau starts before dawn so he had a lot of gear to don and a very long day.  Oscar starts then too but he didn't have any doggy attire.  Oscar loves to bark at the cattle, birds and horses.  He does a bit of cattle chasing too.  However, he is afraid of Janet's cat and gives it a wide berth.   While trying to evade the cat, he had a bit of a run in with Janet's foot; she gave him a kick thinking it was some critter trying to get into her newly remodeled kitchen.  With Oscar yelping, Ida explained to him, "That's what they do here Oscar.  They kick the small critters."

After a long morning of working the cattle, Oscar came home and was immediately taken to the sink for a bath.  Ida was muttering something about chicken shit, cow shit, smelly dog.   After a major shampoo and blow dry, Oscar headed to a sunny spot in the living room with his bone to relax and await the 40+ Parkers who are due to arrive for the big beef dinner party.

Annie Saves The Day

Early Sunday, Peggy and Ed headed over to the Parker Ranch in Seminary, Mississippi.  The Parkers were all coming in from Denver via New Orleans to finish up the Christmas vacation on with family and friends.  About halfway to Pensacola, Ed realized there was no plan for dinner and no provisions at the ranch.   Pleep had packed the car with Christmas cookies, frango mints, truffles, Svedka and Sauza.  Ed pointed out that while monkey's might like to live on cookies, chocolate. tequila, and vodka, he was interested in something more substantial.   He also noted that there was likely nothing to mix in with the vodka or tequila.

A quick call to Annie resulted in her assembling a large care package: roast beet, turkey, swiss cheese, assorted breads, assorted crisps, and most importantly India Pale Ales for Ed.  A short pit stop to drop off the Murphy Cookies in exchange for a full cooler and full grocery sacks.  Plus, Annie had made her famous whoopie pies and pumpkin bread which also made it into the provisions.

Everyone made it to the ranch and thanks to Annie, had a very nice dinner and very special treats.  On the return trip to Daytona Beach Shores, Ed & Peggy will be stopping back in Pensacola to stay with the Murphys and reward Annie's efforts with a night out at Goatlips!

Twas The Night Before Christmas

Christmas Eve is finally here.  Peggy and Ed headed over to Our Lady Of Lourdes for the Christmas Eve mass.  The kindergarten through 5th grade students put on their annual reenactment of the Christmas story from St. Luke during the gospel reading.  This year's production featured live goats (in lieu of sheep).  Wisely, the goats were carried into the church by adults and turned over to the child shepards once everyone is in position at the altar.  Plus, this year, Baby Jesus was carried in by an adult Mary so everyone breathed easier.  Peggy whispered to Ed that it reminded her of when Ida was very little (2 or 3) at Christmas mass and kept yelling, "Where is baby Jesus? I want to see baby Jesus!"

Peggy enjoyed memories of Christmases past and Heidkamp family traditions.  One annual ritual was cutting down the tree and then bringing it home to decorate.  Unfortunately, one year George spilled gasoline all over the tree and had to replace it with another one which he purchased at a local orphanage selling very skimpy trees.  Then there was the annual ritual requiring each Heidkamp child to stand in front of the tree and sing a Christmas carol.  Alice had to reprimand Moon several times for singing "We three kings of Orient are, trying to smoke a russian cigar..."  Finally, taking down the tree was always an uncertain event.  There were years where the tree was redecorated with hearts (Valentine's Day), Shamrocks (St. Patricks Day), and even once Easter Eggs.  Chicago weather being what it is also meant the outdoor lights remained up for months past the Feast of the Epiphany.

We have celebrated Christmas in Chicago, Green Bay, Eagle River, Palm Springs, Santa Rosa, Pensacola, New York, London, Hattiesburg and other places.   One of the best of the more recent ones was George's 70th birthday which we celebrated in Mississippi.  Harold Parker reading A Cajun Night Before Christmas and the Big Lebowkski Bowling Tourney were just a few of the highlights of that event.  

Wishing everyone a wonderful Christmas, remember the message from that first Christmas, according to St. Luke:

And there were in the same country shepherds watching, 

and keeping the night watches over their flock.

And behold an angel of the Lord stood by them, and the brightness of God shone round about them; and they feared with a great fear. 

And the angel said to them: 

Fear not; for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, that shall be to all the people:

For, this day, is born to you a Saviour, who is Christ the Lord, in the city of David.

And this shall be a sign unto you. 

You shall find the infant wrapped in swaddling clothes, and laid in a manger.

And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly army, 

praising God, and saying:

Glory to God in the highest; and on earth peace to men of good will.

Pleep Celebrates Lunar Eclipse, Winter Solstice & Alice's Birthday

Early Tuesday morning, a rare event occurred - a lunar eclipse in conjunction with the winter solstice.  Here on the ocean, it was a crystal clear night and the full moon lit up the ocean.  Between 1 and 5 a.m. the eclipse caused the moon to glow spectacularly red, a result of particles in the atmosphere.

The last time a lunar eclipse occurred on the winter solstice was in 1638. For history buffs, that was the same year the Holy Roman Empire surrendered to the French at the Battle of Breisach. Also that year, Ottoman Empire Sultan Murad IV recaptured Baghdad. And, a gentleman named John Harvard left his estate to a local university near Boston that later took his name.  Pleep doesn't think much of the current crowd at Harvard and is fairly certain John Harvard would join him in monkeybutting the whole gang.

Pleep was up watching the event and Peggy was reminiscing about one of her favorite winter solstices.  She went to visit the Parkers in London for Christmas.  Beau and Harry were very little.  Everyone piled into the car and drove down to see Stonehenge.  Because no one had thought to check the calendar, it turned out to be the winter solstice, one of the very busiest times at Stonehenge.  It was packed with the crazy crowd - witches, druids, and generally crazilky attired folks.  Beau & Harry were not very interested in the crowd or in Stonehenge itself.  Instead, they sat in the double stroller, backs to everything and counted the cars, trucks, and buses passing by. 

Alice's birthday, 22 December,  is always close on the heels of the shortest day of the year.  Pleep really wanted to be in Chicago to celebrate it with her, especially when he heard Moon was stopping by with a load of gyros from Five Faces.  Instead, we will be toasting her from Florida and will take her out to the local haunts when she arrives in February.

Because it was in the 70s, Ed and Stan decided today was the perfect day to turn off the HVAC system and do a bit of repair.  It involves applying a rust repair coating, primer and then finally rustoleum paint all to the pan.   Each stage requires adequate drying time so the whole process will take a couple of days.  Pleep pointed out that if George were here to help there would be plenty of time to go to the local pubs between stages.  Also, maybe a couple of trips to the Ace Hardware store would be required, especially because the Ace is on the way to the surfer bar.  Pleep thinks the surfer bar would be a good place to chat up the locals and get their advice for how to keep the HVAC system tuned up.

Pleep Officially Kicks Off Holiday Season

With the return to Daytona Beach Shores, Pleep donned his holiday attire and declared the Christmas season officially open for partying.  This is his favorite time of the year.  Ed's birthday is today and Pleep thinks it is a good way to mark the start of the partying.  The plan is to head to the Deck Down Under for a birthday drink or two combined with dolphin watching and reconnecting with all our friends.

The beach is perfect with temperatures in the 70s. calm surf and nice breezes.  Everyone is very happy to have escaped KC with it's temps in the teens, snow, ice and cold winter winds. A nice long barefoot hike on the beach will be especially enjoyable.

Thanks to Stan & Diana, we arrived at the condo to find the tree up and all the decorations in place.   Delete, Leoni and Cubby were very happy to position themselves under the tree.  Delete thinks this is the best place to wait for Santa's arrival.  He is hoping Santa asks him to join the team and help pull the sleigh this year.  He thinks it would be fun and an easy way to visit friends and family.  His first stop would be the Carnicelli kids in Naples, FL just across the state.  Then he is planning on stops at the Murphy's (Pensacola),  George & Alice, Moon's crew (Chicago), and lots of Heidkampss and Parkers (Colorado).  

 

Pleep thinks he would like to go at least as far as Chicago where his plans are to hang out with Alice drinking her single malt Glenlivet.  He is fairly certain she will be through with her Advent pledge to refrain from drinking by Christmas Eve. 

Pleep Contemplates The Reality Of Santa

Pleep and crew have been very patiently awaiting Christmas.  When Peggy put out the snowman Beau gave her years ago, Pleep started reminiscing about the old days.  When the boys were very young and living in New York or London, Peggy often went to spend Christmas with them.  One year, everyone, including the boys' friend Nicholas,  went to Your Name Is Mud to paint special Christmas pieces.  Beau did a snowman and Harry did a candlestick.  

During the painting, the talk turned to Santa and a debate as to whether he was real.  Peggy said, "Of course he is real and he even gave me coal one year!"  This comment sparked a lot of questions and concerns.  Peggy explained that it happened when she was very little and living with her grandparents.  On Christmas morning, she went downstairs to see what Santa had left.  The Heidkamp tradition is always to look in the stockings first and start with the youngest.  There were only 2 kids at the time, Peggy and Tim.  Tim's stocking was filled with nice toys and treats.  Then it was Peggy's turn - she only had coal!   Of course, everyone wanted to know what she had done to get coal.  Peggy said, "I don't know.  I think I may have said a number of bad words."   Nicholas concluded, "Yes, Santa must be real.  No parent would give their kid coal!"

Pleep is a bit worried that his monkeybutting behavior might result in coal or worse in his stocking.  He thought drafting a letter to Santa in support of his case would be a good idea.  He decided Harry's essay was the best example ever and he would use it as a good example.  He also thought it would be good to share with others who might be in the same situation as he is. Finally, he thinks this is further proof that there is a Santa because Ida would NEVER have bought Harry a dog on her own.

Harry

12/15/07

Have I been good this year?

English

The Best Kid

By Harry Parker

Dear Mom and Dad,

            Did I not deal with surgery well?  Haven’t I been working hard to get good grades?  Are you not impressed by my determination?  If the answer to any of these questions is yes, then you should get me a dog.  I should get a dog because I have been doing the dishes, extremely well I might add.   I have been nice and helpful to you and my friends; plus I’ve worked hard so I can be in the seventh grade math class.

            You know how often I do the dishes. I’m always working my hardest to meet your standards. You only have to remind me once get the dishes done well and I never complain about how many pans you use. I always work harder than my brother, don’t I?  I work so hard at the dishes it must mean I deserve a dog.

            Whenever you ask me to do something don’t I do it without fussing? I’m helpful to everyone who needs me.  I do my chores without you asking.  If my friends call and need something don’t I use my time to help them?  I’ve done extremely well helping you and my friends so don’t I deserve a dog?

            This year you really wanted me to advance into the seventh grade math class.  In response to your request, I worked extremely hard in math class.  When I did get bumped up and found I was confused , didn’t I go in and ask for clarification from Mr. Moore?  I did an amazing job transitioning from sixth grade math to seventh grade math.  So, I ask again, don’t I deserve a dog?

             Unlike the past, I wasn’t screaming before my surgery; I just took it like a man.  I have been working so hard lately to get good grades.  Isn’t my determination just brilliant?  Since the answer to all of these questions is yes, I should get a dog.  In summary, I do the dishes well; I’ve been kind to you, my brother and my friends, and I’ve worked hard in the seventh grade math class.  I’m the best kid I know, so don’t I deserve a dog?

Pleep, Harry & Oscar relaxing

Anxiously awaiting your response,

Harry Parker

Pleep Reflects On Christmas & Einstein's Theory of Relativity

The Thanksgiving turkey was not even cool before Pleep and crew decided to decorate the house in Kansas.  Ed explained we would be leaving for Florida in just a few days and would not even be here for Christmas.  Pleep didn't care; in his way of thinking that meant there would be two places to decorate.  Delete was most excited when the reindeer made their appearance; he views them as relatives.   

The very smallest tree was brought out and decorated with a few tiny ornaments and silver beads.  Delete and Leoni decided staying underneath it might help their chances for catching Santa.  Pleep opted to position himself as close to the fireplace opening as possible.  "When himself comes down the chimney, I want to be right there," he quipped.

The last step was to hang the stocking on the mantel.  Delete insisted everyone repeat the lines from 'Twas the Night Before Christmas during this part of the event.  Ed did not have the heart to tell them there is no fireplace in Florida and we would not be hanging stockings.  

Peggy got out a couple of Harry's Christmas letters to read and reminisce.  The favorite one is still the case for why he should have a dog.  Pleep likes that one the best too because it worked; Oscar may be the best Christmas present ever.  

When Peggy commented on how fast Christmas was coming, Pleep and Delete were perplexed.  From thier point of view it takes forever for Christmas morning to come.  Pleep thinks this difference is concrete proof that Einstein was right and time is relative.   While everyone else is rushing frantically about to parties, shopping and work, Pleep and crew are patiently waiting to celebrate Christmas.   They are hoping for a snow day or two so Peggy will stay home and watch Christmas movies all day: It's A Wonderful Life, The Bishops Wife, and , of course, The Christmas Story.