Tuesday, July 29, 2008

California Vacation

Having left Paragon City to attend to domestic responsibilities, we decided it was high time we took some time together away from those domestic responsibilities. (Makes sense to me . . .) So, we went to visit family in Santa Barbara, California. Good times, good food and wonderful weather were enjoyed by all.
One highlight of the trip was watching the 1991 film Oscar, with good ol' Sylvester Stallone as "Snaps" Provolone, a comical 1930's gangster trying to go straight. It features such great lines as "Of course I knew. I just had no idea!" and touching family scenes like this:

Lisa Provolone: ...I wanna lay on the beach in Honolulu!
Snaps: Do whatever you want, just don't leave this room!

Snaps: You're going to marry this bum. Just as soon as I get my hands on him... And after the wedding you'll move into a nice ground floor apartment.
Lisa Provolone: Why a ground floor apartment?
Snaps: Because after I break his legs, he's not gonna make it up any steps!

We also went to Santa Barbara's Museum of Natural History. I've always liked the Museum, especially their bird room. You step into the room and hear a symphony of bird calls as great, majestic birds look down on you from above. Imagine my annoyance at finding out that they were rebuilding/revamping their bird room! Thus, not only were we not able to enter it together, but the presentation (my favorite thing at the museum) is gone forever.
The museum's big draw is undergoing some changes, also. The SBMNH's claim to fame is the large blue whale skeleton prominently displayed in front of the museum which has, until now, been a favorite photo op spot for families and tourists. Someone at the museum realized that all this human contact (not to mention exposure to the elements) was deteriorating their skeleton (is this a surprise to anyone?), even with the protective coating they put on it. It is now in a tent-like shelter, safely chained away from would-be touchers.
No matter where a hero goes, his talents are called upon. My family was putting on a skit about the trevails of the LDS pioneers when they reached the Salt Lake Valley, in dealing with massive swarms of crickets who were devouring their crops. While these crops were eventually saved by flocks of seagulls who ate the crickets, the skit also detailed the efforts made by the early settlers of Utah before the seagulls arrived on the scene. The show was to begin in a few minutes and one of the actors hadn't shown up. While theatricality isn't one of my trademarked superpowers, it's certainly part of my personality, so I stepped in to save the day, donning a straw hat and a thick dialect to provide for our missing man: Boy #2 (a crucial part . . . really!).

1 comment:

Grandma Jule said...

The "Sting" is too modest by half!

First day he was here, he used his super strength to completely rearrange my family room, a project that has been waiting for MONTHS because no one here has the strength to do the job.

His theatrical prowess is legendary (at least locally!) He coulda done the whole show single-handedly! Fortunately, a bunch of other folks showed up to help us out, and we only had to call upon his gifts in a small way. But, there are FEW MEN who can rise to such an occassion on such short notice.

THEN, last, but NOT LEAST, when our musical number fell through for church on Sunday, with less than 24 hours notice, S.S. filled his magnificent chest with pure coastal air, tuned his highly-trained vocal chords, and gave forth with a MAGNIFICENT rendition of "Come Thou Fount of EVery Blessing" for our worship service. It was . . . incredible. We had just listened to a lengthy talk about one pioneer family's experiences, and the youth in the crowd were restless. Babies were fussing. Super Steve stood up and began to sing, a cappella, and a hush fell over the crowd. Even the babies quit crying to listen to the angelic sound. The Spirit filled the room, and for those few moments we were all transported to a timeless place of pure worship.

Thank you for coming!!!

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