More of Joseph and My Job

I put the beginning of this story on Facebook, so you may or may not have heard it before.

 Jeni and the kids quite often pick me up from work at the Metro station.  They also occasionally drop me off there, always so I can "go to work".

Also, several months ago, Jeni brought the kids down to the Pentagon on the Metro, just to have lunch with me.  You can do that, a badged Pentagon employee (me) just has to sign them in and escort them.  Well, if you've ever been to the Pentagon on the Metro, you know that the train stops right under the Metro bus stop and you just walk out of the Metro station into the Pentagon entrance facility.  Little eyes and little minds might not perceive that they'd ever left the Metro system.

That evening, I was talking to Joseph about his day and coming to see me.  I asked him, "Where does Daddy work."  He said, "The train station!"  I asked him what Daddy does at work.  He thought for a moment and said, "Rides the train".  I guess you can't argue with his three year old logic.

Today, Jeni had a doctor's appointment and we couldn't get a baby sitter, so I stayed home this morning with the kids.  However, I needed to take a conference call, so I told the kids that I had a very important call with work and they needed to be very quiet and watch the TV show I put on for them.

I sat on the couch with my Blackberry on speaker and as you could have guessed, Joseph came in and climbed up next to me.  He pointed at the Blackberry and said, "Daddy's what's that?"  I told him I was on my important phone call with work.  He said, "With the train station?!"  Trying to get on with my call, I said, "Yes, go watch your show."  He didn't.  Just then, a person started talking on the call.  Joseph's eyes got as big as saucers and with much awe and wonderment he said, "Is that the train (unintelligible)!!??"  I just said yes, go back to your show, I need to talk to the train station.  At last, he did and I had my call.

You can't argue with his logic.

Why We (They) Do It

I said we, because I am in the Army, but this is really about they because I'm not allowed to do the real stuff any more.  I just wear a really cool uniform to my office job every day.

Back in 2004, when I was helping to mobilize the 1-148th Field Artillery, I met "Father John".  I don't remember his last name and he was widely called just Father John, but he was also a Captain (CH), the Battalion Chaplain for 1-148 and same rank as me, so we could converse without any formality.  Father John was a good man, he shepherded two Catholic Parishes in SE Idaho, at once.  In Idaho, Catholics are scarce as hens teeth, and I thought it odd that a Catholic Priest was the Battalion Chaplain for a Battalion that was probably 70% LDS (Mormon).

Like I said, Father John was a good man, and he loved the soldiers under his pastoral care.  I remember him going over to another camp at Ft. Bliss, where one of the battalion's soldiers had apparently been bitten by a Brown Recluse spider, but wasn't being treated properly.  Father John went to the leadership and raised cane to get that soldier taken care of.  The Brigade Chaplain (a real political type) dressed him down over that and told him to "stick to his job."  His reply, "I AM doing my job.  I'm caring for my flock.  I thought that was a Chaplains first duty".  He was livid and vented to me, and whoever else was in the vicinity at the time.  By the end of the deployment, Father John was the Brigade Chaplain and a Major.

He was also a pragmatic guy and a "real" person.  He told CW3 Tim Kindle (a fellow member of our AC/RC detachment and a good friend) and I at lunch one day how he was educated at the University of Idaho and how he used to go across the border to Montana on weekends because the drinking age over there was 18.  He also told us that he believed the Church should allow Priests to marry because the European Church believes that man can only do one thing at a time well but American Priests believe they can be both a good husband/father and Priest.

But anyway, to the point of the story:  I ran across this picture on facebook tonight.  It is from SemperToons.  They're a good bunch to follow if you're looking for some motivation.  The caption said, "This is why we fight and fight we will...., forever!"

Now, you're probably asking, what does this have to do with an unmarried Catholic Priest from Idaho.  Well, I went to one (several, but I remember this one, and its relevant) of Father John's services while we were down at Ft. Bliss.  [Let me digress for a moment here.  In the military, Chaplains have their own faith/denomination, but they minister to all faith groups.  Their messages generally focus on our shared faith in Jesus Christ (if they're Christian, others I assume, are more specific).  Hence, a Catholic Priest serving in a LDS Battalion.]  Well, at this service, he chose to address the doubts the soldiers might be having.  He spoke about "Why we're doing this".  He recounted his personal story of one of his last days in his Parish when, after Mass, a little five year old girl ran up to him, hugged him around his legs, and said, "I love you Father John!"  He told the gathered soldiers that is why he was going, so that little girl could have a bright future, a future without the fear and apprehension we had all experienced after 9/11.  A future where she wouldn't have to deal with all that because, "We went before."

I think that is why they all go.  They may not even have kids, or nieces or nephews, but they all want a better, safer, stronger country for those who are coming after them.  Its not about them, its about those next in line.

P.S. I loved Father John, too.

Administrative note:  Truth in advertising, after thinking about it, this sermon was probably at Gowen Field, ID, during their Annual Training assembly (the two weeks a year).  I know the conversation about drinking in Montana and Priest marriage happened there in the little snack bar.  At that AT, the Battalion knew they were going, but didn't know all the details, so they were training strictly on pre-deployment tasks instead of the normal Artillery mission. 

Also, after doing a little Google research, I found that Father John is still ministering in the Pocatello and Soda Springs area.

Sesame Place Weekend

We spent this past weekend at Sesame Place with the kids.  We drove up on Friday and stayed through Sunday morning, so we could have a very full day at the park without having to endure the 3 1/2 hour drive on either end.  We stayed at the Quality Inn and Suites in Bensalem, PA, about 10 miles from Langhorne, PA, and the park.  If you want to see my review on the hotel, you can check it out at TripAdvisor.

First of all, Sesame Place is the place to be, in my opinion, if you're within a reasonable distance and have kids in the 3-7 year old window.  Earlier than three, and they won't get anything out of it.  Older than seven, and they've outgrown most of it.  The 3-7 year old group is their main target and it is absolutely great for them.  I don't think there is any activity or ride in the park that kids in that age group can not participate in with, at least, a parent riding along.  There are also several attractions they call "all by myself rides" (most aren't actually rides - more on those later) that they don't need parents for and many don't even have ques, just free play.

As a welcome offset to our costs for the weekend, Anheuser Busch picked up our admission tab.  They will do that once a year at any one of their parks for any military family.  Now, I've said before, I am no hero, but if Anheuser Busch wants to call my kids hero's for all they do, without even knowing they're special, well... that's pretty darn cool and just fine with me.

We got there just after they'd opened at 10:00 and parked about as close as you can.  We decided to take advantage of being there early and went straight to the "Vapor Trail" roller-coaster.  Its a relatively small coaster, but it does load up the Gs and I thought it was pretty intense for the audience it is intended for.  When we got off, I asked Joseph how he liked it.  He said, "I was only a little scared."  Later we rode it again and Joseph rode with me that time.  As we were going up to get on, Joseph told me, "I won't be scared this time".  It was by far the favorite of the day and we ended up riding four times because, in the afternoon, there was no one there.  We just got off, walked around, and got right back on.

The kids had never been to a theme park before, so they had no concept of "good" attractions and everything they saw was what they wanted to get on, even if it was just a fire truck model or a carousel like they could ride any weekend at Frying Pan Park.  It's all fun to them.

Next, we continued on to the "dry" side of the park.  We rode "Elmo's Cloud Chaser" (you've done something similar at any amusement park in America), then the "Flying Fish", and "Big Bird's Balloon Race".

Daddy was having fun too!

About to extend her wings.

After that, the kids climbed on "Cookie Mountain" a little bit, and played in "Big Bird's Court".  While they were playing, I walked around some and discovered that we could get in to see a live rendition of "Elmo's World" and rushed them out to come to the theater.  I told them that "We're going to see Elmo, come on!" After the show, Joseph was very upset that he didn't get to personally interact with Elmo.  He thought he was going to meet Elmo, not to watch him way down there on the stage.

Elmo, playing the crowd during the Elmo's World show.

We exited the park to eat a picnic lunch at the car.  We'd planned that, but as I was wandering around, I also checked out food prices, just in case we might want to change plans.  Lunch in the park would run about $11 each, so we ate our picnic.

After lunch, we tried out the "wet side" of the park.  Jeni went with the kids down "Big Bird's Rambling River".  I didn't get into any of the big water attractions because, although I was wearing swim trunks (in case you're wondering about my shorts), I didn't want to trust the ziplock bag to keep my wallet dry.  As a side note, the website says that "proper swimwear is encouraged for water attractions".  I suppose "proper swimwear" has different meaning to different people, because some of those folks had a bunch of junk spilling out of their trunks, if you know what I mean.  It should have said, "proper swimwear for your body type", but it probably wouldn't have mattered.

The characters at Sesame Place aren't as persistent as they are at, say, Disney.  They make brief appearances on the main "Sesame Street" drag, but they come and go on unpredictable and unpublished schedules.  I saw Oscar, who Joseph really wanted to see, but by the time they got out of the water, he was gone.  We found out that Elmo and Abbey were at 123 Smile (which is where they make pictures of your kids with the characters to sell you later), so we headed down there.  Janelle wouldn't get close to any of the characters, although Abbey, much to her credit played a little bit of hide and seek/chase with her, but Joseph loved them.  He ran right up to Elmo and gave him a big hug, but I wasn't ready for the picture.

This is the Sesame Place, computer edited photo from the "green screen".  Yes, we bought it.

After that, they played on "Elmo's Mattress", which is just a huge bounce house, and at some point they went down "Bert and Ernie's Slip and Slide", which is a very big water slide.  They both went down on their own and loved it.

By now, it's getting kind of late in the day, but Janelle really, really wanted to go on "Net's and Climbs".  Think about the McDonald's play place, with the platforms and tunnels, except everything is nets, and on a grand scale.   This thing is about three stories tall and about 100 - 150 foot square.  It's huge, and it's a "all by myself ride", so it is totally up to you how much you shepherd over your kids.  We initially went up to the first open entry to the nets, on the second level, and the kids jumped in.  I was ready to just watch them go.  Joseph was a pig in mud.  He was just going.  Janelle got to the first seam and decided that she couldn't go any more, so I went out and met her and encouraged her the rest of the way across.

When we got to the other side, there was a tunnel entry.  (Remember this is all net)  I told them that if they went in the tunnels, they were on their own.  They could crouch and walk.  I would only be able to crawl, with my knees on those hard ropes.  Joseph just raced ahead.  Janelle looked back for a long second and said "OK".  I visually followed them the best I could and positioned myself where I thought they'd come out.  Joseph popped out of the tunnel, happy as a clam, but no Janelle.  Jeni was there with me, and we had no idea where Janelle was in this multi-level maze of nets and tunnels.  Jeni went over to the other side of the maze, as we both frantically tried to figure out where Janelle was.  We had no idea where she might come out, or if she was in one of the enclosed areas where tunnels meet, afraid to go on.  I was afraid I was going to have to crawl all over this tunnel system to figure out where she was.  Eventually she popped out of a tunnel right in front of Jeni.

After that, I'd had enough of nets, but Joseph would have nothing of it, until he went "to the very top".  That little dude is fearless.  So we went to the top level and I went across with him because, first, it was a steep drop into the nets and he needed a little help and I didn't want him on the other side left to his own devices without direct supervision.  He did lose a shoe on the way that I had to recover, and I helped him get his foot out of the net once, but like I said, he was a pig in mud.

By now, Joseph was getting very tired and becoming very combative and uncooperative, so we decided it was time to go.  The kids had been fondling the merchandise on every souvenir stand all day, and we'd told them that we didn't want to carry around souvenirs all day, but we would let them pick something before we left.  We went to one of the shops, and Joseph picked an Oscar T-Shirt, but Janelle was steadfast that she didn't want any souvenir.  All she wanted was to get her face painted at the face painting stand outside.

We had seen the weather before we left DC and rain was expected Saturday, but not until late afternoon.  We got some intel, listening to the girls at the face painting stand converse, that some scunion was coming and wasn't far off.... possible severe weather within an hour, so we headed on out.

On the way out, we had to make a couple of more pics that we hadn't made during the day.  This one is at 123 Sesame Street.  I'm not sure who lives there on the old show, but it is right next to Oscar's alley and Big Birds house with all the multi-colored doors.

And one last souvenir picture with the front gate as a back-drop.
 

At the end of our big day, we didn't have the energy to go out, so we just went through the Chick Fil A drive through and took it back to the hotel.  Just as we parked at the hotel, the rain started.  We made it just in time.

Now, you my very well think that I'm a bit silly for making this much over a kid's theme park (or for even wearing those swim trunks, for that matter), but if you'd been there to see the joy on Janelle's face riding the roller-coaster, or to see Joseph hug Elmo, you'd understand why a 41 year old guy gets excited about a kid's theme park.  This is what life is made of and you only get one chance at it.