Shimmy & Shake!

 Have you ever gone to a Concert in the Park?

For those of us who live in this particular cluster of towns, it is a Summer tradition.

I have a confession.

I don't go for the concert part.

I don't go for the park part.

I go to be with friends,

to relax,

& maybe to enjoy watching the slightly inebriated lady who proudly shows off her one dance move (picture a shoulder shimmy shake thing whilst leaning forward....and then leaning back. oh, & picture that over and over and over....).

She is there almost every Friday night, and for some reason, her consistency brings me comfort.

The "friends" I love to sit closest to, in the traditional attendance of auditory art in the great square shaped outdoors, are the Dubs.

This Friday was no exception.
I tagged along with the Dubs and their special guests,
Uncle Karl & Aunt Kristy.

The difference was that I enjoyed the nephews dancing with their Aunt Kristy, all three of whom have way better rhythm & more varied dance moves than the slightly inebriated shoulder shake lady.

It was delightful!

This little man, besides being a great dancer....

is also skilled in the art of comedy!

He climbed up on my blue plastic lawn chair, and proceeded to play "peek-a-boo"....

& "Smoosh-a-face-a-boo"

& "Not-sure-if-I'm-breathing-a-boo"

& "Scrunch-a-face-a-boo"

 & "Peek-a-scrunch-a-boo"

 & "Oh-my-goodness-I-want-to-eat-you-up-course-you're-so-cute-a-boo"!

 After E-baby got bored, 

Pilot J tried out the "Smoosh-your-face-a-boo" too!

Pilot J abandoned me shortly after, because of important frisbee throwing business,

and left me to face the "authorities" by my lonesome.

I think Sheriff E-baby thought I looked suspicious because of the whole
laughing-so-hard-I-almost-peed-my-pants thing.

He let me go with just a warning.

Which really was only fair, since the fun I was having was mostly his fault

Mumford vs Mummies

Here is what moves me. 
This month at least.

Music.

Bon Iver to be specific.

I am obsessed.

Since I have been working a lot of extra hours & sometimes from home,
I log on to youtube,
go to his channel and play all.

love. love. love.

My favorite of his is this live version of Skinny Love he played on Colbert

Where can I sign up to be one of his back up stompers?

 Mumford & Sons have a sweet mix of "dance a jig" and "search your soul" that gets me every time.

Roll Away Your Stone makes me miss the banjo that hung on the wall next to the fireplace in our little red house on the top of Ukarumpa hill.

 I like them enough to have bought a ticket to their show in Monterey in August.

I am excited, even though Marcus Mumford looks a bit like Brendan Fraser who is not my favorite actor.

The fact that they resemble each other makes me like Mr. Fraser better,
which is a great compliment to Mr. Mumford, in my opinion.

My roomie, FranTesska, & I have compared these two men several times,

and right about now Roomie would scoff, (slightly disgusted in her beautifully regal way),

and say that my dislike of the acting of Mr. Fraser is related to my general aversion to all movies from the nineties.

 I would counter that I do not have an averhate dislike of all nineties movies,

just most of them.

I do like The Shawshank Redemption,
Braveheart,
Fried Green Tomatoes,
& possibly more.

 I just think I have an averhate "strong impulse to avoid" most lame movies
and sadly, for Mr. Fraser,
that is most of the movies he acted in.

Roomie would then remind me in a innocently questioning way
" isn't your hatred" (her word not mine) "of all nineties movies due to the fact that the nineties were a difficult decade for you and you associate nineties styles, music, movies to that time of your life?"

I would probably at this point cross my arms and "harumph"
and remind her that
"You are not Brookie or Al, so STOP ANALYZING ME!"

And then I would roll my eyes so maturely and remind her that
"I am way older than you FranTesska, shouldn't you respect your elder?"

 And she would probably just close her eyes for a little nap (because of the narcolepsy),
 to which I might add
 "Is your stress at trying to analyze me making you feel narcoleptic?"

A pillow would probably be flung at my head at this point.

 I am glad for her insights, however many tantrums I throw.

And in some not-so-stubborn part of my brain, hidden just behind the hiccupotomas (I know it is not a real word), is where I like to keep that particular self awareness.

The nineties were hard.

 I survived.

Please don't make me watch Blast from the Past to prove it.

 I must now confess that there is a Brendan Fraser movie that I actually do like.

The Mummy ,

but just as Roomie might start to open one sleepy little eyeball at that reviving declaration,
my ability to avoid avoiding undislike of this one nineties movie may be due to Rachel Weisz, Richard Vosloo & Jon Hannah's acting and not Mr. Fraser's.

Shhhhhhhh!

Please don't tell Roomie,
 'cause I think she is actually sleeping at an appropriate time
and not in the middle of a fight dinner.