Monday, February 8, 2010

Baby teeth

Yesterday, waiting for the Superbowl to start, I was cleaning out and rearraging an old desk in the guest room.

BAGMAN: "Rearranging!  You sound like some geek from Good Housekeeping!  Why don't you tell the truth sometimes!   Karen was on your ass about all the junk in the desk so you just moved it all to the empty bureau in your studio!  Same pile of junk, different place!"

BUTLER:  "But he did throw out a couple of dead batteries." 

In any case, while I was cleaning out and rearranging the stuff, I ran across some things of Karen's in there. 

BAGMAN: "So now, at least, the pile of junk in your bureau is at least all your junk!"

Karen has every scribble Brian ever made from Kindergarten on up.  Every Valentine's card I ever gave her.   And I remembered immediately when I saw this tucked in a drawer --


The Tooth Fairy's safety deposit box.

It seems a bit gruesome somehow.

But who am I to judge what people collect.  So this morning, after my morning libations...

BAGMAN:  "What kind of a jerk uses words like 'libations'?"

BUTLER: "In this case, Mark, old friend, Bagman is right but for a different reason.   The definition of "libations" is the ritual use of a beverage, particularly an intoxicating beverage, usually as a sacrifice.  It has nothing to do with shaving and showering.

Does coffee drinking count?  

Anyway, after shaving and showering and, trying to remember what word I meant to use, I gathered my fingernail clippings and asked Karen if she had a place she was keeping them.  

"The trashcan," she answered without missing a beat.

Sunday, February 7, 2010

"Worried Runner" - Circa 1985

Looking through old photos, I spotted this picture and couldn't help noticing the look on my face and wondering what I was thinking.


Of course, maybe I was just wondering why the air seemed to be having less and less oxygen.