Today is my forty-second birthday, which I feel should bring me one step closer to understanding what life, the Universe, and everything is all about. If I get any blinding insights, I'll be sure to share them. As always with my birthdays, the truly important things to note are that I share the date with Justine Bateman, and that I'm exactly one day older than Cindy Crawford. I mean hey, with references like those, how can I lose?
Today is also the first day of early voting in Texas for the March 4 primary. Those of you in Harris County, you can find early voting information and locations here (PDF). I highly recommend voting early this year, as turnout projections are incredibly high, and I wouldn't want to get caught in the chaos that's sure to occur on the fourth. Of course, that means you have to figure out who you're voting for once and for all. I'll post an incomplete list of people for whom I'll be pushing the button tomorrow, for what that will be worth to you. Some choices are easier than others, but they're all important. Please make sure your voice is heard.
Here's a sorted list of the candidate interviews and Q&As I've done for the Democratic primary. I hope this helps you make your decisions. Thanks very much, and go vote!
Interviews:
US Senate - Rick Noriega
US House, District 10 - Dan Grant and Larry Joe Doherty
Harris County Judge - David Mincberg
Harris County Sheriff - Adrian Garcia
Harris County Tax Assessor - Diane Trautman
State Senator, District 11 - Joe Jaworski
State Representative, District 27 - Ron Reynolds and Rep. Dora Olivo
State Representative, District 140 - Armando Walle
State Representative, District 145 - Carol Alvarado
State Representative, District 147 - Rep. Garnet Coleman
State Representative, District 148 - Rep. Jessica Farrar
Harris County Commissioners Court, Precinct 3 - Dexter Handy
Written Q&As:
State Supreme Court, Place 7 - Sam Houston and Baltasar D. Cruz
State Supreme Court, Place 8 - Judge Susan Criss and Judge Linda Yanez
80th District Court (Civil) - Larry Weiman
125th District Court (Civil) - Jim Wrotenbery and Kyle Carter
174th District Court (Criminal) - Ruben Guerrero
190th District Court (Civil) - Bruce Mosier and Andres Pereira
215th District Court (Civil) - Fred Cook and Steve Kirkland
Justice of the Peace, Precinct 1, Place 1 - Harold Landreneau
It's possible I'll get some more responses - I did send out more Q&As than this - and if so I'll print them when I get them.
Today is Audrey's first birthday. She is very mobile and active, though not quite walking yet. She is basically fearless about climbing on furniture, which points out to us just how little actual baby-proofing we had to do with Olivia. We're starting to hear some recognizable word-like sounds in her babbling - she got a little plastic baseball and bat for Christmas, and she clearly says "bah" and "baw" to indicate one or the other. Like her older sister at that age, she eats just about everything (avocadoes are a notable exception), and in truly awesome quantities. She fights taking naps with determined fierceness, but usually goes to sleep at night without too much difficulty. She loves her big sister Olivia, and the feeling is mutual. She also loves us, as we do her. Our lives are more complex with her around, but they are also far richer and more rewarding. We are blessed to have her in our family.
Happy birthday, Audrey!
Have a holly, jolly Christmas;
It's the best time of the year
I don't know if there'll be snow
but have a cup of cheer
Have a holly, jolly Christmas;
And when you walk down the street
Say Hello to friends you know
and everyone you meetOh, ho, the mistletoe
hung where you can see;
Somebody waits for you;
Kiss her once for me
Have a holly jolly Christmas
and in case you didn't hear
Oh by golly
have a holly, jolly Christmas this year
From my family to yours, have a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. I'll see you tomorrow.
I'm going to be taking a bit of a break over the next week or so to spend some quality time with the family. I will still be publishing a Looking Forward To 2008 piece each day, and you can expect to see stuff from my excellent guest bloggers Martha, Alex, and Greg. I may yet post stuff as time allows and the spirit moves. But I need a little break, and this is a good time to take one. Have a great week, and I'll see you after Christmas.
I'm going to be taking a bit of a break over the next week or so to spend some quality time with the family. I will still be publishing a Looking Forward To 2008 piece each day, and you can expect to see stuff from my excellent guest bloggers Martha, Alex, and Greg. I may yet post stuff as time allows and the spirit moves. But I need a little break, and this is a good time to take one. Have a great week, and I'll see you after Christmas.
I think everyone already knows what I'm thankful for this year, but just so we're sure:
I've said it before and I'll say it again: I'm one hell of a lucky guy. Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours from me and mine.
We visited Austin over the weekend to attend a wedding, and stayed at a hotel. I was carrying Olivia as we were waiting for the elevator to go back to our room. When the elevator arrived, Olivia decided to climb down. When she did that, she managed to kick my BlackBerry out of its holster. When it hit the floor, its back cover flew off. When the back cover flew off, the battery popped out. When the battery popped out, it found the gap between the elevator floor and the hotel floor, and disappeared down the elevator shaft. When this happened, I had to remind myself that I was in the presence of a three-year-old, and managed to restrict my swearing to under my breath.
Did you know that Best Buy now carries replacement BlackBerry batteries? Before Sunday, I can't say that I did. I'm sure my siblings and I brought death to a few home electronics while we were kids, but I'm pretty sure we never did anything as intricate as this.
One of the unfortunate side effects of my recent pneumonia experience was that I was forced to cancel a trip Olivia and I had planned to take to New York to visit family and attend a few minor league baseball games. These trips have become a semi-annual family tradition, and I'd really been excited about taking Olivia to participate, especially since we'd be meeting up with some cousins I hadn't seen in awhile. Life had other plans for me, sadly.
One of my uncles spoke to a writer at the hometown paper about the experience. Here it is, so you can see what we missed out on.
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- They call it the Wanderers tour -- a journey that began in 1994, when the children of Charlie and Jessie (McLaren) Kuffner met in Chittenango State Park near Syracuse, went camping, played Scrabble and cheered at six minor-league baseball games, including one played in Cooperstown. And it was at Cooperstown that Charlie, Ken, Jim, Dan and Bill -- and their sister, Judy -- who was not with them on the tour -- decided to call themselves the Wanderers Minor League Baseball Touring Company in honor of their father and his brothers, who grew up in Stapleton during the 1920s and '30s and played semipro baseball, basketball and football as the Stapleton Wanderers.According to Bill Kuffner, since 1994 there have been eight Wanderers Tours that covered Indiana, Illinois, Western New York, North Carolina, Texas, Oregon and Montana. Along the way, participation in the tours grew to include Judy, their children, grandchildren and several Kuffner cousins.
This year, we hear, the tour focused on the New York City area and ran from July 8 to 14 -- including stops at Brooklyn Cyclones, Staten Island Yankees and Newark Bears games -- so kinfolk decided to get the entire family involved and gather on Staten Island with Kuffner cousins and their families and McLaren cousins and their families. The host for the event was the Rev. Pat Kuffner, who was gracious enough to extend the use of his parish hall and gym over in Metuchen, N.J., to the out-of-state tour members, to be used as their campsite.
Karen Kuffner Benson and her husband, Kevin, were hosts for the Kuffner family reunion on July 11 -- and Ann McLaren Lutkenhouse hosted the McLaren family reunion on July 12 -- after the Staten Island Yankee game. In all, the get-together comprised about 50 people.
"We had an absolutely wonderful time at the reunions," says Bill, as well as at the baseball games. "We sang the national anthem at both the S.I. Yankees and the Newark Bears" and went swimming at Hillside Swim Club -- courtesy of cousin Karen Kuffner Benson and her husband, Kevin. Also, they got to swim at the South Shore Swim Club, courtesy of cousin Ann McLaren Lutkenhouse.
Cousin Hap Kuffner and his wife, Karen, hosted a picnic at their house -- where revelers played stickball, took a ferry ride and visited the firehouse of Engine Co. 157/Ladder Co. 80 in Port Richmond, where their dad worked for 22 years (an alarm came in while they were there) and where one of the firemen produced a ledger from 1944 showing their dad reporting in for duty! Quite a thrill, says Bill.
"We visited our homesite at 226 Oakland Ave. and marveled at the beauty of the neighborhood. We visited St. Peter's, from which we all graduated, in '54, '59, '61 and '64. We visited the cemetery and laughed and cried with our parents and Kuffner and McLaren aunts and uncles who are buried there," Bill adds.
They further reminisced when indulging in pizza at Denino's and Italian ices at Ralph's over in Port Richmond.
All in all, Bill says it was just a spectacular event and experience.
People sometimes ask me who Olivia takes after more, me or Tiffany. The truth is that in most ways she's very much her own person, but every now and then, you see an indelible glimpse of one of us on her character. Her nascent musical taste is one such place, but I got an even better illustration yesterday afternoon as we were planning to head out to the Children's Museum. The following conversation took place as Olivia and I were walking down the stairs in our house:
Olivia: Daddy! I did what you told me to do.Me: That's very good, Olivia, doing what Daddy told you to do. (pause) What did I tell you to do?
Olivia: I don't remember.
That's my girl.
So a little more than two weeks ago, I came down with a fever. It was nasty - I spent an entire weekend alternating between freezing cold and boiling hot, and I had no energy at all. I also had a cough, couldn't breathe deeply, and had no appetite. On Monday, exactly two weeks ago, I saw my doctor, who said there wasn't much to be done about the fever except to ride it out, and who gave me prescriptions for prednisone and codeine cough medicine for the respiratory issues. Later that day, the fever broke and my energy came back, which made me feel much better. I was still coughing and not breathing optimally, but I figured that would get fixed as I took the meds.
Except that it didn't. By later in the week, I was coughing more than before. I still functioned normally through the week, but by the weekend things had taken a definite turn for the worse. I should have called my doctor on Saturday, but for reasons unclear to me, I didn't. After one of the worst nights of my life on Saturday, where I couldn't sleep because I couldn't lie down - it felt like there was a weight on my chest when I tried - I called my doctor on Sunday morning. He listened to my labored breathing on the phone for maybe thirty seconds, then ordered me to the emergency room.
After my in-laws arrived to watch the kids, Tiffany and I headed to St. Joseph's Hospital downtown. I didn't have to wait long before a nurse saw me - I guess "difficulty breathing" as a symptom moves you up the triage list. They gave me oxygen and albuterol to help me breathe, and took a chest x-ray, which showed pneumonia in my right lung. They admitted me shortly thereafter.
I stayed on an oxygen mask till Tuesday morning, while they gave me more albuterol and started me on antibiotics - vancomycin and levaquin, to be exact. This was my first IV, as well as my first overnight stay in a hospital. I was basically out of it all day Monday, but by Tuesday was starting to feel a little better. I switched from the oxygen mask to the little oxygen tube that hooks into your nose, which at least gave me a little more mobility in bed. By Wednesday, my doctor had me get up and move around some, checking my oxygen levels afterwards to ensure they stayed above 90%. (Normal is about 95%, though anything above 90 is okay - I was at about 85 when I first checked in.) I had a followup chest x-ray on Tuesday night, which confirmed that I was doing better, and which allowed me to be discharged on Thursday. I was sent home with scrips for levaquin, a twice-a-day inhaler, and more codeine, plus orders to rest.
Since Thursday, I've steadily gotten better. I can walk up the stairs in my house now, and yesterday for the first time in over a week I took my dog around the block. I'll be working from home this week, and I'll have a followup appointment with my doctor on Thursday. I'm still taking it easy - I really really really don't want to have a relapse - but after over two weeks of feeling bad, I'm finally starting to feel good. I can't tell you how nice that is.
I don't know what brought on the pneumonia. Maybe I tried to do too much too quickly after my fever broke. Maybe I was always going to come down with it. Whatever the case, I have been maintaining a pretty busy pace here on the blog, and whether that had anything to do with my recent health woes or not, I'm going to try to cut back a bit. There's no point in taking any chances. I've been very pleased with the guest blogging efforts of Martha, Alex, and Greg, and I've asked them to consider staying on as regular contributors for the long term. We'll see how that goes.
So that's my story. They took good care of me at St. Joe's, but it's really not an experience that I'd recommend to anybody. If nothing else, I've learned how much my presence at home means to Olivia, who's clearly a lot happier that I'm back and her usual routine is returning to normal. Though she did apparently enjoy visiting me at the hospital - my bed had buttons to push, after all, and that was a huge attraction for her. But we're all glad I'm not there any more.
Just wanted to let everybody know that I was discharged from the hospital today, and am back home resting up. I'll tell the full story later, but for now I just wanted to say thanks to everyone for the well-wishes, and to Alex and Martha for their superb guest-blogging, which will continue for a little while longer while I get back on my feet. This ordeal has been hard on my family, but they came through like champions and I couldn't have done it without them. To our friends Pat and Andrea for the babysitting and dog-walking, to my in-laws Tim and Sharon for all they did, and especially to Tiffany, Olivia, and Audrey: Thank you. I love you all.
J. Fred Duckett, the longtime stadium announcer for the Rice Owls and the originator of the phrase "It's a great day for outdoor football!", is suffering from leukemia and in need of platelet donations. From the Owl fan forum, posted on Monday the 18th:
Hello all. I just spoke to Fred and, among other things, he said that he is need of platelets and blood. For those not familiar with platelets, they are necessary for blood to clot, they are often needed by leukemia patients on a daily basis and they have a very short shelf life (something like 48 hours). The process takes about two (2) hours and there are many things that are much more enjoyable than giving platelets, but nothing that is as important as giving for Fred. I called the Methodist Hospital Blood Center @ 713.441.3415 and made an appointment to give both platelets & blood on Wednesday of this week. As I said, platelets have a short shelf life, and we need to get people lined up to give platelets on a daily basis for as long as necessary (could be weeks depending on his treatment).For this to be effective, there needs to be a schedule of donors. I am scheduled for Wednesday -- we now need Tues (tomorrow) if possible, Thurs and Friday of this week and Mon-Friday next week, etc, etc. Email me and I'll put you on the schedule on a first come, first served basis. As soon as I confirms your date, call the Methodist Blood Center @ 713.441.3415 and make your appointment -- be sure to tell them you are donating specifically for Fred. Then call Fred and tell him what you are doing because he will have to provide some kind of written authorization since the platelets are specifically for him. I have done this before for patients at MDACC and it works, but we need commitments and help to get this coordinated and on track. It will then pretty much run on its own for as long as necessary. Please do your part to help Fred and volunteer now.
Fred's blood type is A+, but platelets do not have to match based on blood type (ie, platelets from any blood type will do for Fred). Blood can be given something like every 8-10 weeks, but platelets can be given much more often like weekly. On Wednesday, I will give my platelets and O- blood. I will not be able to give blood again for 8-10 weeks, but I will be able to give platelets again in a few days (next week for sure). Because of the short shelf life of platelets, those that I give on Wed will have to be used on Thurs or Friday. That is the reason why a daily schedule of platelet donors is so critically important.
I can't do this myself, because I did a double red blood cell donation back in March, which as noted here means I'm on the bench till July. Those of you who can, especially those of you in the Rice community, please click on the first link for more information, and please help if you can. Thanks very much.
Olivia was born when I was 38, and Audrey arrived just before I turned 41. That makes me a little young for this crowd, but I can still relate.
Paul McCartney had a baby when he was well past 50. So did Rupert Murdoch, Larry King, Cary Grant, Tony Randall, David Letterman and Dr. Michael DeBakey. Writer Cormac McCarthy has said he wouldn't have written The Road, the novel that won the Pulitzer Prize, if he hadn't been inspired by the son he had late in life. Older parenthood "wrenches you up and out of your nap," he told Oprah Winfrey.Overwhelmingly, making babies is the work of younger men. The National Center for Health Statistics reports just 2.7 live births per 1,000 men 50 and older, compared with 104.9 for men 25-29. The norm is that young people grow up, marry partners close to their own age, have children and then grandchildren.
I became a father at the right time for me to become a father. I'm pretty good at it, if I do say so myself, in a way that I don't think I'd have been when I was younger and more of a knucklehead. Sure, I worry that my daughters won't know their ancestry as well as I do mine, but that's just how it is. No such thing as a do-over in this life, so you make what you can out of what you've got. I'd say we're ahead on balance.
Dr. Steven Mintz, a history professor and director of the American cultures program at the University of Houston, says older fathers make some adults uneasy. They don't like men more interested in personal growth than growing up."We tend to be a judgmental society, and we want people to act pretty much according to our proper calendar," Mintz says.
"We're living through kind of a revolution in adulthood, and no one is quite sure how it will play out. ... It seems the rules have broken down."
I call that a feature, not a bug. We could stand to have a few more of those rules break down, if you ask me.
Happy Father's Day, from my family to yours.
Well, I'm not running this picture, so I figure I ought to run a picture. And here it is:
Audrey is sitting in a Bumbo, and as you can see she is holding herself fully upright. She is now four months old, and is beginning to be able to scoot around a bit when I put her down on the floor. Mobility can't be far behind. Look out, world, here she comes!
Today is Olivia's third birthday. If I had a working Internet connection at home, I'd have some pictures of her opening presents to show you, but alas, that will have to wait till Thursday. She did get a "Go, Diego, Go!" watch from her Aunt Kristin, which she proudly wore to school today, and there are a few more items to unwrap this evening. There's a big mound of Tiffany-made cupcakes - chocolate with pink icing, as requested - waiting for her at school, too.
I know it's a cliche to talk about the joys of parenthood, but Olivia really has been a joy to us. She amazes me every day. Watching her interact with Audrey has been even more amazing. I always find myself torn between the excitement of seeing her enter new phases of her life, and wishing whatever phase she's in at the time would last forever. In the end, the thrill of the new wins out, as it should. But that doesn't mean we can't remember the past.
As it happens, Tiffany and I will celebrate by seeing Weird Al at the Verizon Theater tonight. We'll make it up to Olivia with a trip to the swimming pool over the weekend. She's still a little fuzzy on the whole day-and-date thing, so we can get away with that. For now, anyway.
And finally, happy birthday to Stace. It's a good day all around, whatever Comcast may do to me.
The fundraiser for Mark Strawn is tonight. Marty Hajovsky has all the details. We hope to see you there.
Among the many survival skills one needs as a parent is a feel for what battles to pick. That's what was going through my head as I read this story about dental hygiene in kids today. This passage in particular stood out to me:
"The same things contributing to the obesity epidemic can also contribute to tooth decay," said Dr. Gary Rozier, a dentist who teaches public health policy at the University of North Carolina.Inadequate dental care may also play a role. Cavities in young children can form very quickly, and parents should begin bringing their children to the dentist at age 1, said Dr. Joel Berg, chairman of the University of Washington's Department of Pediatric Dentistry.
Parents also must help their young children brush properly. "Preschoolers don't have the dexterity to really clean their teeth," Berg said.
Baby teeth naturally fall out as children age, but dentists say untreated decay can spread and is too dangerous to go untreated.
Rotten baby teeth are treated with fillings or -- if the decay is extensive -- extraction. But baby teeth fill certain spaces in the mouth, so their early removal may lead to crowding when adult teeth come in.
Preschoolers may not have the dexterity to really clean their teeth, but they do have the indomitable will to insist on doing it all by themselves anyway. I know that if I were a better daddy, I'd work through the screaming temper tantrum that would accompany my own insistence that I need to help her with this task so that I can show her how to do it right, but I'm not. I comfort myself with the thought that by not making toothbrushing excessively traumatic, I'll someday have a more dextrous post-preschooler who is both capable and willing to brush her teeth regularly and correctly. I'll just hope she doesn't collect a mouthful of cavities in the meantime. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to crawl under my desk and wallow in my own inadequacy for awhile. I'll be back in a bit.
Just a reminder about the fundraiser for my neighbor Mark Strawn, who is recovering from a nasty auto accident that almost killed him. The cost is $40 per person in advance, $45 at the door. If you think you might want to attend, let me know and I'll pass along the contact info to reserve your tickets. Thanks very much.
Mark Strawn is a neighbor of ours who was involved in a serious car crash a few weeks ago. He's recovering nicely, but he is still mostly immobile, is in need of constant care, and has a long rehab with an uncertain outlook ahead of him. He and his wife Sabrina, who is currently on leave from her job as Executive Director of GHASP, have two children, and they are facing enormous medical bills that may force them out of their house.
To help offset some of these bills, friends of Mark's have organized a benefit for him on Friday, May 4, at the Heights Fire Station on Yale at 12th. Details are at the link. There will be live entertainment, food from Treebeard's, and a silent auction, for which donated items are still being accepted. A planning status meeting will be held at Onion Creek on Friday, April 6, at 5:00 PM for anyone interested in helping out.
Sabrina has been maintaining a blog about Mark's recovery for those who care about him. If you can help at all, please come to the benefit or drop me a note. Thanks very much.
I have finally drunk the Kool-Aid and gotten myself set up on Facebook - see my profile here. Those of you who are looking for a sign than social networking is dead should probably write down today's date, just in case. The rest of you, please feel free to friend me.
(An iPod and a Facebook page, both after turning 40. Is this what a 21st century midlife crisis looks like? Just as well if so, I've never cared much for sports cars.)
We did not got to the parade downtown today, but that's OK. We went to the Saint Patrick's Day parade at Olivia's preschool yesterday.
They're lining up in the schoolyard to march up and down the esplanade on Heights Boulevard. Note the nifty homemade green vests and the nattily sprayed green hair. Click on for more.
I do believe she's spotted us.
The pipes and drum lead the parade. As you know, all bagpipes come preloaded with three songs: "Scotland the Brave", "Amazing Grace", and "The Minstrel Boy". This one also played the Notre Dame fight song. Sadly for the Fighting Irish, their luck was not in yesterday.
And here come the children, with an older group leading the way.
Finally, here's Olivia and her classmates. Some of those vests did not survive the trip. If you know anything about 2- and 3-year olds, this is not a surprise.
So Happy Saint Patrick's Day, everybody! A couple of years ago, I wrote a few thoughts about the day and the concept that Everyone Is Irish On Saint Patrick's Day. Looking at the crowd yesterday, it was clear everyone bought into that. Rereading what I wrote from four years ago, I'd have to say as a 3/8ths Irishman that it's a good thing. What do you think?
As I pledged last month, I gave blood yesterday - we had a corporate blood drive, so I didn't even have to leave my building. Actually, I did a double red blood cell donation, which uses a technique called apheresis, which they were pushing. It takes a little longer - I was hooked up for about 45 minutes - and it feels a little funky when they're putting the fluid back in, but beyond that it was fine. And I came home with a big green bandage wrapped around my arm, which as predicted fascinated Olivia endlessly.
This was my second experience with apheresis - I was asked to donate platelets once, after being informed that I was CMV negative. That was an unpleasant affair. (Those of you who are needle-phobic should stop reading RIGHT NOW.) The phlebotomist had a hard time finding my vein, and after much feeling around, missed it when he stuck me. I had a nice purple bruise for several days afterwards, and felt sufficiently queasy during the fluid-replenishment part of the procedure (they do warn you that this is a possible side effect) that I made them stop. That put me off apheresis - indeed, it put me off donating at all - for awhile. I'm glad to report that this time was much better. I still prefer the old-fashioned give-a-pint donation, as it takes less time, but I could be persuaded to do this again. It's twice the bang for your buck, so there's a lot to be said for it.
So. Not to nag or anything, but if I can do it, you can do it. Please give blood. Thank you very much.
Today is my 41st birthday. I started the celebration early by changing Audrey's diapers at 2 AM and 4 AM, and by reassuring Olivia after she had a bad dream at 3 AM. Do I know how to party or what? I bet Prince Andrew (who turns 47 today) can't top that.
Ahem. Happy birthday as always to Justine Bateman, who arrived on this planet the same day I did, and happy birthday a day early to Cindy Crawford, who reminds us all that the forties aren't what they used to be.
Audrey came home as scheduled on Tuesday after her time under the bili lights. She gets to spend a little time in the sun now to make sure her bilirubin level stays in the normal range. So far, so good.
Also in the "so far, so good" department has been Olivia's reaction to and interaction with Audrey. She has been an exceptional big sister - she loves holding and hugging Audrey, she wants to see her when she wakes up and when she comes home from school, and she tells people she has a baby sister. She's shown some normal signs of anxiety resulting from all the change, but we really couldn't ask for more from her.
My three ladies. I'm a lucky guy.
Tiffany called me after I returned home on Sunday night to tell me that Audrey had an elevated bilirubin count, and that she had been placed under the bili light as a result, in order to prevent any serious problems. I'm pleased to say that the therapy has been successful, and that we expect to bring Audrey home later today as originally scheduled. If you've never seen such a thing, as I had not, it's a little strange. Depending on your perspective, you might think of it as a tanning bed or a microwave for infants. Look here and you'll see what I mean:
Audrey hated wearing the little eye shades. We had to check her every few minutes to make sure they hadn't slipped off from her constant wriggling and squirming. I told her this would be her last chance to sunbathe without guilt, but that didn't have any effect.
Olivia was fascinated by the bili lights, and insisted on opening the little access windows so she could touch her sister. I can't say enough about how beautifully Olivia has acted around Audrey. She's been a totally sweet big sister, and we are very proud of her.
Olivia had received a little teddy bear as a "big sister" present from her aunt Pamela, but she wanted it to be put in with Audrey while we were visiting. Isn't that nice of her?
Today is homecoming, in which we find out just how much crazier things will get with two kids. I can't wait.
After I came home and made the announcement about Audrey's arrival, I took Olivia to the hospital to meet her new baby sister. So far, so good - she was very interested in this new baby, and gave her multiple hugs and kisses. We'll see how it goes when Audrey comes home, but no complaints as yet.
More pictures:
Olivia climbed right into Tiffany's bed for a closer look.
A view from the other side, so Audrey's face is visible.
Olivia holds Audrey for the first time. Ain't that sweet?
Thank you all for the kind words and good wishes. We appreciate them very much.
It gives me great pleasure to announce the slightly early but very welcome arrival of Audrey Elizabeth Kuffner, who made her intentions known early this morning and officially entered the world at 1:13 PM CST on Sunday, February 11. Like her big sister Olivia, Audrey's debut came after a Friday visit to the doctor in which he said there was "no significant progress" towards her birth. Unlike her big sister Olivia, Audrey arrived before her due date, which had been the 14th.
She checked it at 7 pounds, 14.5 ounces (one ounce lighter than Olivia), and twenty inches in length. So far, she has proven to be mellow in temperament and ravenous of appetite, both of which mark has as cut from the same cloth as her big sister. Tiffany is doing well, and both mother and child will be at St. Joseph's Hospital until Tuesday. If you want to visit, send me a private note.
Enough of that. I know what you want - pictures. Here you are:
The new star of the household.
Audrey and Daddy.
Audrey, Mommy, and Daddy.
More pics to come later. As you might imagine, I'll be on a reduced-posting schedule for the immediate future. Thanks for all the kind thoughts, and I'll see you tomorrow.
Houston's traffic isn't this bad, right? Right?
If you think rush-hour traffic is frustrating, imagine what it was like for three women who gave birth in their vehicles because they couldn't make it to the hospital along clogged Interstate 5.Two little girls entered the world during the morning commute in as many days this week, and a boy was born along the north-south artery on Jan. 5.
"We simply attribute it to coincidence," State Patrol Trooper Jeffery L. Merrill said. "Who wants to have their baby in their car on the freeway?"
I mean, you can't even boil water in your car. Clearly, the lesson is to leave for the hospital a little earlier than you think you need to.
Liz Kirkman and her husband Brian got caught in a rush-hour slowdown while driving to a hospital east of the downtown area."Once I was in the moving car, I was like 'Uh-oh,'" Kirkman, 28, said Tuesday. "I started doing the math in my head and thought, 'I am cutting this real close.' Then I got this urge to push."
Finally she propped her leg up on the dashboard and delivered Juliet, her seventh child, as her husband drove in the car pool lane.
Well, that's one way to avoid a ticket. I don't think it's very scalable, however.
No, not here. In Portland, where this was the view outside my parents' condo Tuesday morning:
If we hadn't had a plane to catch that morning, I might have enjoyed it a bit more. Between snow in Portland and threats of ice in Houston, I'm a little amazed we got out of there at all.
We didn't have time to let Olivia play in the snow, so getting a picture of her with snow in the background was the best I could do. Here she is at PDX waiting for the plane and watching the snowplow clear a path for it, which she thought was cool.
It's too bad she didn't get a chance to play in the snow, because she was prepared for it. Well, mostly - she didn't have boots. Next time for sure.
The good news is that Houston is dry, so the airports ought to be open today. The bad news is that snow is falling in Portland as I type this. The good news is that area schools are open, and at last report my flight was showing as on time. All in all, I'm hoping we'll make it back as scheduled today. Keep your fingers crossed.
UPDATE: Portland schools are now closed, but the airport is open and my flight is still showing as on time. Here's hoping.
UPDATE: We're back, and I'm worn out. The trip to the airport was long, and the plane took off a bit late, but we had a less than full flight, and that makes up for a lot. See you all tomorrow.
Here we are in Portland having fun. Olivia wanted to ride on the carousel (in particular, the ponies on the carousel) at the Jantzen Beach Mall as soon as she laid eyes on it. She was wearing one of the biggest smiles I'd ever seen on her face by the time it stopped spinning. Life is good.
Shortly after Olivia was born, I wrote about how we picked her name in part on the belief that it wasn't a trendy choice. That belief turned out to be false, but looking back, I don't think we care any more. We love the name Olivia Rose, and as an extra added bonus, we haven't encountered any other Olivias at Esperanza, as we thought we were going to. All in all, we're very happy with that choice.
Still, all things being equal, we'd rather not run with the crowd. As such, I'm pleased to see that the name we've selected for baby #2 is not in the top ten for 2006. It does appear in the top 100 list, but I can live with that. We're not looking to be pioneers, either. A happy medium works for us.
(No, I'm not going to tell you what it is yet. You'll know when she makes her debut.)
On that note, I've been amused by the debate in this week's Dear Abby about unusual baby names (see here, here, and here for the background). For what it's worth, I side with the MYOB crowd on this one. Among the reasons why we don't disclose our baby names prior to baby arrivals is too many stories from people who told others what they'd be naming their impending progeny only to get a negative reaction. That never seems to be a problem for an already-born child, just for those who are still in utero. I guess maybe these folks think that if the kid isn't here yet, they can change the parents' minds about its name. We'd just as soon not deal with people like that, so we avoid the issue. But for the record, as far as I'm concerned the only acceptable, polite reaction to the disclosure of a forthcoming baby's name is a pleasantry. If you don't like the chosen name, you are cordially invited to lump it. I don't care who you are or what your relationship is to the kid's parents. You have no say in the matter, so keep your criticism to yourself.
This is not to say that I think some names are better choices than others. As my friend Ellen likes to say, if you can't imagine your kid's name (in particular, your daughter's name) on the door of a CEO's office, you might want to explore other options. I'd just never say such a thing out loud to anyone, as it's none of my damn business.
Finally, I just want to say that the chapter on children's names in the book Freakonomics, especially the bit on the brothers named Winner and Loser, is excellent. If you've not yet read the book, consider this a good reason to seek it out.
Tiffany's family does a gift exchange on Christmas Eve. It used to be ornaments only (I didn't get the Derek Jeter that way, but have collected some other cool ones from that), but this year was a White Elephant exchange. You could only contribute things that you already had - no bought gifts allowed. As with the ornament exchange, everyone draws a number to determine the selection order. The rule is that you can pick from the pile of unopened gifts, or you can steal someone else's gift; if a gift is stolen, the person who lost it gets to pick or steal, with the turn ultimately ending when a selection is made from the pile. A gift can be stolen three times, after which it's the property of the last person to swipe it. At the end, the person who went first gets a chance to steal. It's great fun, and we all whoop it up the whole time.
Anyway. There were some interesting objects available at this year's exchange. One was a little doohickie that Olivia acquired - by stealing, I should point out - that she is fascinated by and we're tolerating grimly. It's a little stuffed monster that, well, see for yourself. I figured I'd capture it on video so we'll remember why we eventually threw the thing out a window.
It actually does one other thing besides that:
What can I say? Olivia spent the better part of the day yesterday making it do its thing. Now you can share in the joy.
It's gonna be a chocolate Christmas. I'll have a chocolate Christmas tree.
Chocolate reindeer pull a chocolate sleigh full of chocolate toys for me.
I'll bite off chocolate Santa's head and nibble his chocolate feet,
Wash him down with chocolate milk and go right back to sleep.And dream about chocolate ice cream and a German chocolate cake.
He knows if you've been bad or good so be good for chocolate's sake.
Chocolate stars in a chocolate sky, chocolate people walking by.
I'm so happy I could cry. It's Chocolate Christmas time.I'm talking 'bout a Chocolate Christmas,
A cha cha cha cha Chocolate Christmas,
It's gonna be a Chocolate Christmas.
Well, it's Chocolate Christmas time.I'm gonna decorate my chocolate house with chocolate Christmas lights.
Hang a chocolate wreath on a chocolate door and call it paradise.
Between the double chocolate brownies and a batch of chocolate fudge
I'll be so full of chocolate that I can barely budge.But you're standing under chocolate mistletoe,
oh now give me a little chocolate kiss.
I'll take my chocolate fishing pole and catch a big chocolate fish.
If my chocolate wish comes true I'll share my chocolate dreams with you.
I love chocolate. You do, too! It's Chocolate Christmas time.I'm talking 'bout a Chocolate Christmas,
A cha cha cha cha Chocolate Christmas,
It's gonna be a Chocolate Christmas.
Well, it's Chocolate Christmas time.
Merry Christmas, everybody. See you all tomorrow.
(Oh, and Merry Christmas to you, too, Texans fans. Amazing how much better a quarterback David Carr is when he has an effective running game behind him, isn't it?)
I'm back from New Orleans. The game could have gone better, but we all had fun, our performance was well-received, and we can now talk about the next time we go to a bowl game without sounding silly. I'll be catching up on some stuff after Christmas, so stay tuned.
Olivia received a Disney Princess Tea Set on Saturday as a Christmas present from a family friend. As you can see from the picture, the gift was a big hit. We all spent the better part of Sunday drinking enough tea to float a battleship. What amazed me was just how naturally the tea-pouring ritual - right down to the cream and sugar - came to Olivia. Far as I know, she'd never seen a tea set before this weekend. You can make whatever psycho-social mumbojumbo you want out of all that. I just got a kick out of watching her engage in this new form of play.
One of Olivia's current favorite books is a well-loved copy of Happiness Is A Warm Puppy that belonged to me as a kid. I was reading it to her yesterday, and when we finished, I asked her "So, Olivia, what makes you happy?" She gave her answer without hesitation - "Chocolate cake!" She is sooooo her mother's daughter...
I think a story like that deserves a picture, don't you? Here's Olivia doing another of her favorite things: decorating the Christmas tree.
And here's her favorite ornament:
Yes, that's a genuine Derek Jeter Christmas ornament, given to me by my excellent mother-in-law. Olivia loves loves loves the Derek Jeter ornament. Okay, so maybe she's a little bit my daughter, too.
I think it's pretty obvious...
I am thankful for my family - Tiffany, Olivia, my parents, my siblings, my in-laws, my aunts, uncles, cousins, assorted others, and those who are family by choice rather than by blood. Among all the other things for which I am blessed, that's number one.
And I'm pleased to tell you that those blessings will grow. Sometime in mid-February, Olivia will acquire the status of Big Sister. According to the ultrasound, we'll be getting another girl. All of us are very happy about this.
My future is sure to be a chaotic one now that we'll be playing a fulltime man-to-man defense in the house. (As a friend said to me, the difference between having two kids and having three is the need to switch from a man-to-man to a zone defense. We can still play the man, we'll just have to give up on the double team.) But it's one to which I'm eagerly looking forward. On this day, I want to publicly acknowledge my bounty, and to express my thankfulness for it.
Happy Thanksgiving, everyone. I'll be back tomorrow.
Here's a story from my mom of a legendary Thanksgiving dinner at our old house in New York several years ago. Sadly, I was not there to witness this, but I've laughed at the tale many times.
My Most Memorable ThanksgivingI have to admit my most memorable Thanksgiving was the one the oven died and we almost set the house on fire. Since Charles was in Texas at this time I thought he could save this family story for Olivia.
This particular year, not only were the usual "elders" with us, in all their wheel chair, walker and medication glory, but also Geoff Kuffner, (who had been out partying the night before) and Todd, a college friend of Michael's from Arizona, (who had never been to the Big Apple).
(Note: Geoff is my cousin, and Michael is my brother. The "elders" included Uncle Joe Abbruzza, who had lost a leg to diabetes and got around in a wheelchair, and Uncle Frank Carasanite, who is a disabled WWII vet who gets around - very slowly - with a walker.)
As we were all seated eating Antipasti I went to check on the turkey and immediately noted the oven was no longer working. No sweat, our soon to be daughter-in-law Cathy, who can fix anything, came to the rescue. She checked under the oven and even went down the basement to the switch box, but even she could not fix the problem. Ok, Dad and I thought let's put it on the gas grille. After all we had done this many times before, just with smaller turkeys. What I had not thought about was the fact that this one was basted in cognac (an old Martha Stewart recipe). Well cognac and fire do not mix, we would soon discover.
The next problem was heating up the 2 trays of Red's famous lasagna. Yes, Italians do eat pasta after antipasti and before turkey. So we retrieved an old rotisserie roster from the basement, that first needed serious cleaning, and placed the 2 trays in there. Everyone was given another glass of wine.
(Note: Red was my mother's mother. And man, was her lasagna good.)
So now while everyone was enjoying Red's fabulous lasagna I again checked the turkey on the grille. This time I found flames shooting 6 feet in the air and very close to the house. Thanks, Martha.
I quietly went into the dining room so as not to upset the old folks to get Charlie's attention. I did not have worry, they were all so well carbed and wined no one had a clue anything was wrong.
Geoff just smiled and Todd was wide eyed. Well, we finally got the turkey on the table with no one the wiser.
After dinner everyone said it was the most delicious turkey they ever had. No one realized they just had real barbequed turkey. Todd said it was the most fun he ever had at Thanksgiving and could he come back next year. Geoff just sat and continued to smile. The true test of this well fed crowd was finding the elders sound asleep within an hour of dinner, in their assigned seats in front of the fireplace, while the "young" folks cleaned up.
Charlie and I still giggle at the memory of Cathy in her cute very mini skirt, with a glass of wine in her hand trying to crawl under the wall oven to see what the problem was and she never spilled a drop; a true Kuffner to be.
I think the lesson one learns from this is that the key to overcoming any kitchen mishap is making sure everyone has enough wine. I don't know if it's in any of Martha Stewart's cookbooks, but if not, it should be.
Finally, a candidate we can all support.
All the kids at Olivia's school were wearing ribbons like this when I went to pick her up today. Just too cute for words.
I got an email yesterday from a professor at my alma mater who told me that Dia de los Muertos is today, not yesterday. November 1 is All Saints Day, November 2 is All Souls Day. This is true, and as a good Catholic boy I did know these things, but I've always understood Dia de los Muertos to be a two-day celebration - I've even heard it referred to as Dias de los Muertos. I certainly would not claim to be an expert in these matters, however, so I'll note the correction.
Whatever is the case, this gives me an excuse to post one more item for Dia de los Muertos. In my previous entry, I mentioned the passing of my great uncle, Frank McLaren. When Uncle Frank died in August, my dad sent an email eulogy to the family. I wanted to include that yesterday, but it had gotten lost in my archives. Dad was kind enough to resend it to me, so here it is:
Capt. Frank J. McLaren, August 8th, 2006 RIPI can't write an eulogy for this man, he was too much to too many people. For me it was simple, he was my God Father; taught me to field ground balls; go back to catch a pop fly and took me to Yankee Stadium in 1948 to see my first Yankee game.
Most important, he was "Capt. Mac" to many, many men who joined the National Guard, either the 42nd Recon Co or the 101st Tank Co. He was their company commander, basketball coach, baseball coach, leader, mentor and role model. What greater testament to the devotion he inspired in his men than that of Nick Giordano. Nick was always there when Uncle Frank wanted him or needed him. I will be always grateful for Nick's friendship with him.
Does any one know how many Exceptional Children he taught to square dance? Can anyone tell me the number of residents at the Vanderbilt Nursing Home he entertained with his music?
Angie, his wife of 23 years gave him the love and support that he deserved and for that we will love her without limit.He was my pen pal for years after we left Staten Island and that connection to our former home made the separation meaningful. He would mine the Advance for mentions of people that were familiar to me and clip out the articles. He was especially proud of his baseball trivia and loved to stump the experts. He knows for sure who the starting shortstop for the 1945 Yankees was because he is probably sitting next to him at Braybrooks Stadium watching the Staten Island Yankees play some 1st class semi-pro team.
Unc, you touched so many people, too many for me to mention. But one thing is for sure, you were a man's man and you were loved.
May God have mercy on you and may Angie, Terry, Noreen and Vincent have strength,
God luv ya,
Charlie Boy
Amen.
I mentioned before how busy our house gets on Halloween. Here's a picture to show you what it's like:
That was at about 7:30. We had over 500 sets of Mardi Gras beads to give away, and we were wiped clean by just after 8 PM. At least this year, nobody knocked after we went inside and turned out the porch lights.
Also for your viewing pleasure:
Olivia scoring her first treat of the evening.
Our neighbors take Halloween seriously.
This one's a little dark, but another way of measuring how busy our neighborhood gets during Halloween is by the opportunist capitalists who show up for the evening.
How was your Halloween?
Today is Dia de los Muertos. As I have done in the past, I'm going to spend a few minutes remembering some of the people from my life who are no longer with us. Please bear with me during this indulgence.
Our family suffered a big loss this year when my Uncle Ken, who was one of my dad's four brothers (Dad also has a sister) passed away in January. If I have any regrets about not becoming a father until the age of 38, it's in the realization that Olivia will never truly know some of the family members that I grew up with. My ofrenda for today is to say a few words about these people, in the hope that all of my children will be able to have some memory of them.
I've said before that if I could have one wish, it would be for Olivia to know my grandmothers, Jessie Mary McLaren Kuffner (a/k/a Nana) and Ann Carasaniti Abbruzza Visco (a/k/a Grammy or Red) as I did. If I had a second wish, it would be for me to know my grandfathers, Charles Kuffner, Senior, and Russell Abbruzza, as well as I did my grandmothers. Olivia knows and loves all four of her grandparents, and her two living great-grandmothers. I am grateful every day for that.
The last of my father's uncles, Frank McLaren, died a few months ago. He was Jessie's younger brother, one of many men from my family who served in World War II. I remember him as a baseball fan (you'd be hard pressed to find a member of my family who isn't a baseball fan) and a fan of Big Band jazz music. I have a memory of taking a drive with my dad and Uncle Frank up to Duchess County to visit Father Al, a retired priest who was related to us by choice rather than by blood, and listening to a CD of Glenn Miller music called "In the Digital Mood". It was a beautiful day for the drive, and the music only enhanced that.
I remember Antoinette "Auntie" DiMarzio and her house on Bement Avenue. She loved to cook for everyone, but you could never get her to sit at the table - "I ate in the kitchen before you all got here" was her standard response. If you've ever known an Italian woman from that generation, you know what I'm talking about. She was a fixture at the family Christmas Eve celebrations at Red's house, and was always the first to pinch someone's cheek. At Christmas Eve, there was Uncle Joe, who usually fell asleep after the big meal, and Aunt Angie, who never could quite remember my sisters' names. And Father Al, who spent years in China as a missionary, built TV sets and model ships for fun, and ate everything you put in front of him, who'd say Christmas Day mass at our house. Nick Visco, Red's second husband and a former mess hall sergeant from WWII, would be in the kitchen fussing over his famous clam chowder (Manhattan style, of course) and preparing to wash the mountain of dishes. Frank Carasaniti, Red's brother, who came back from WWII with disabilities that affect him to this day (he's still with us, in the same VA hospital in New Jersey that we'd collect him from back then for the holidays), would give us kids brand new $50 bills for Christmas, which my dad would immediately seize and deposit into our savings accounts. Uncle Mike Abbruzzese, my godfather, who kept the old spelling of his surname and who was the best-dressed member of the family, and Aunt Judy, who now lives in California with their daughter Judith, always gave us kids clothes for Christmas. We loved him anyway. And Nana, who like my dad was a convert to the church of Italian cuisine. When I'm on my deathbed and somebody asks me what the best memories of my childhood are, Christmas Eve at Red's house will come first by a mile.
On Dad's side, I remember Uncle Hap Kuffner, who was a founding member of the Staten Island Baseball Oldtimers and who was one of the better storytellers I've known, and Aunt Bea, who worked as a prison guard and once broke up a fight involving Joann Chesimard and was one of the toughest women I've ever known. There was Uncle George and Aunt Ann Kuffner, who had a pool table in their basement that I loved to play on when we visited. Aunt Gertrude Cotter, who finished up my school papers on an old-fashioned manual typewriter before I went off to college. Uncle Fred McLaren, who lived downstairs from Nana in the last years of his life. Aunt Loretta and Uncle Paul Crifasi, who are still with us out in Albuquerque. In 1985, when the Trinity University Wind Symphony and Jazz Band came to town on a spring break tour, she attended the concert, bought a bright pink Trinity Jazz T-shirt that she later wore to her aerobics classes, and had a big pot of spaghetti sauce cooked in case I wanted to invite the whole crew over for dinner. We'd all already been farmed out to various houses for our overnight stay, but the thought of her being ready to cook for 80 college students on a moment's notice tickles me to this day.
There are many more, most of whom I sadly never got to know very well. To all of you, I say I remember you, I miss you, and I hope some day Olivia will know you enough to miss you as well. Vaya con Dios.
Much like the Longhorns' offense, I'm taking the weekend off. Thanks to Greg for filling in, and I'll see you all tomorrow.
Olivia and I made the trek out to Sugar Land last night, where we joined about 200 or so good Democrats at the Sugar Land Community Center (in the shadow of the Imperial Sugar building) for a night of barbecue and politicking. She's giving emcee Don Bankston her full attention in the photo above - he took the mike to give a quick welcome and overview of the night's agenda, and upon hearing his voice, Olivia marched up to the podium so she could be sure of hearing every word. We should all have such audiences. That's the estimable Bob Dunn of Fort Bend Now in the back right of the picture, in case you're curious.
Hal and The Muse have reports from the event, so I'll steer you to them for the details. The three-headed blog machine that is McBlogger was there as well, and it was a pleasure to meet them all, as it always is to see PDiddie and Mrs. PDiddie. One correction to make from Hal's report: It was not Neeta Sane's speech that moved Olivia to tears, it was her daddy's rookie mistake of not recognizing the clear signs of an overtired toddler. Neeta, if you're reading this, my apologies for the interruption, and my compliments on your quick-witted recovery.
Anyway. This was a rousing way to kick off the "official" start of the campaign season. My thanks to Juanita for the hospitality, to Olivia's new friend McKenzie and her wonderfully patient mom Rhonda for keeping her entertained, and to the Democratic Women of Fort Bend County for the excellent desserts. Thanks, y'all!
I just finished setting up my mother-in-law with her DSL connection. She's already marvelling at how much it beats the pants off of dialup. In the vernacular, this makes me a Good Boy. I'm taking the rest of the day off.
(And before anyone asks: Windows Update - set for Automatic; McAfee Virus Scan - up to date and set up for automatic update checking; Microsoft Defender - installed and configured. Did I miss anything?)
I don't care what kind of crazy stuff some people may believe about today and today's date. Here's all you need to know:
Today is Olivia's second birthday. She started the celebration a little early by coming down with a stomach bug over the weekend (I'm sure that by the time she gets to college she'll figure out that it's party first, be sick second). She's feeling better now, and there's cupcakes waiting for her later on at daycare.
Since her first birthday, Olivia has continued to amaze us with her growth and development. She's a little chatterbox (most of the time; she gets shy around new people) and still just loves loves loves books. It's hard to say what her favorites are because she makes us read so much of her library on a regular basis, but there are a couple of books that stand out. I'll quote you a couple of lines from each (from memory, naturally - I've read these books a lot now). See if you can identify them. Those of you with small children will have no problem, the rest of you will have to think back.
1. My brothers read a little bit
Little words like "If" and "It"
My father can read big words, too
Like "Constantinople" and "Timbuktu"
2. Look at me!
Look at me!
Look at me now!
It is fun to have fun
But you have to know how!
Answers and another Olivia picture are beneath the fold.
Today is also the 40th birthday of my good friend Martha. Yes, that means she was born on 6-6-66. With a debut like that, how could she not have turned out to be cool?
Happy Birthday, Olivia and Martha!
Bonus Olivia picture:
The books in question are Hop on Pop and The Cat In The Hat. You all got them right, right?
I'm here in Orlando for another exciting Wireless Enterprise Symposium, so bloggage may be a little light for the next few days. Click the More link for a picture of Olivia to make it up to you for that.
I'll be back soon.Posted by Charles Kuffner
Do I actually have to add anything to that? Happy Easter, everybody!
No, I don't normally catblog - among other things, I don't have a cat. But we spent a couple of days with some friends in Walnut Creek who do have cats, and Olivia was utterly fascinated by them. Click the More link to see a picture.
That's Olivia with our friend Jamila and Sharkey the cat. Olivia was enthralled by Sharkey and his bigger but shyer sibling Fluffy. She spent a lot of time at the back door (both cats are outdoors cats, which was good for me and my allergies) saying "Sharkey! Sharkey!" Happy Friday to you all from Olivia and Sharkey.
It's been a little while since I've posted some pictures of Olivia, hasn't it? Well, there's no time like the present. Click the More link to see a couple of snaps my sister Kris took while in town to help me celebrate my 40th birthday.
Happy Happy Joy Joy
Have I mentioned lately that I'm doomed?"I find your lack of faith disturbing."
Today is my 40th birthday. We had a little party to celebrate last night, and I think everyone had a good time. Before anyone asks, the answer is I feel great about hitting this milestone. If my 40s are to my 30s as my 30s were to my 20s, I'm in for a great decade.
Of course, the truly momentous thing about this is that it means that Cindy Crawford will be turning 40 tomorrow. I'm in good company.
I've got family and friends in town this weekend for my birthday, so I'll be spending a lot of time away from the computer. I'll post some stuff, just not so much. I'd suggest we all go outside and enjoy the nice weather, but Mother Nature didn't cooperate. Alas. Go wish Julia a happy fourth blogiversary, and enjoy the weekend in spite of the temperatures.
First, I'd like to thank everyone for the kind words of condolence that I've received in the comments, email, and by phone. I really appreciate it. Having the whole family in town was a great comfort for all of us. Everyone was at our house last night. We ordered a ton of takeout from Berryhill in the Heights, enjoyed each other's company, and talked some more about Uncle Ken. The occasion that brought us all together was sad, but it's never sad when we are all together.
This is Uncle Ken, with each of his grandchildren. The one on the bottom right was born eight weeks premature in November and is still in the NICU after several surgeries to relieve intestinal problems. The good news is that he'll be home in two weeks' time. We're all glad that Uncle Ken got to meet little Ryan before he died.
Uncle Ken was a patent attorney. He worked for a number of years with the Houston office of Arnold, White & Durkee, which has since merged with another firm. The biggest case he was involved in was the landmark patent infringement suit Two Pesos, Inc. v. Taco Cabana, Inc. (1992), in which the Supreme Court ruled that Two Pesos had copied enough individual elements of Taco Cabana's overall look to infringe on its uniqueness. That's the reason why there are no more Two Pesos restaurants in Houston. I know that when I arrived here in 1988 from San Antonio, which was definitely a Taco Cabana town, I was amazed at how interchangeable Two P's was with TC's. Sorry to disappoint any remaining Two Pesos fans here (having cut my teeth on Taco Cabana, I always thought Two P's was inferior), but Uncle Ken was on the winning plaintiff's team for that one.
Uncle Ken was still consulting on patent issues, as well as doing mediation work, when he died. My cousin James, who cut short a business trip to Tokyo to fly in yesterday and take part in the memorial, told us that he had retained Uncle Ken's services for some IP work in recent years. He said he got great advice, and was always gratified to know that he was working with a lawyer he knew he could trust.
The next time the whole family will be together is in July, for a family wedding in Portland. We have a longstanding tradition at family weddings in which the Kuffner men, led by the uncles, sings "Nothing Like A Dame" from South Pacific to the bride. Each of the uncles has a little solo part in it. Uncle Ken's was the bridge that begins "Lots of things in life are beautiful, but brother". They'll have to reassign that part, either by giving it to another brother or by transitioning it to one of the nephews, for the first generational shift since they took over the role from their uncles at the first of my cousins' weddings in 1987. I've no doubt that will stir up a lot of emotions and memories, but in the good way, I think. It'll certainly provide a lot of fodder for reminiscences of Uncle Ken.
Rest in peace, Ace. Your legacy is in good hands.
My uncle Ken passed away unexpectedly this week. Pretty much the whole extended family is in town for the funeral, which was today. I'm a little wrung out from helping people make travel and hotel arrangements and from picking people up at the airport, not to mention the actual wake and funeral. So, this is all I've got for today.
As I said at the memorial service on Friday night, my uncle Ken was my family in town when I first arrived in Houston in 1988. He was very generous with his time and hospitality to a poor grad student, and he remained kind and generous to me ever since. Every time I met someone in Houston who knew him, they would inevitably say to me "Your uncle's a really great guy, you know that?" Yes, I did know that. We all did. And we'll all miss you, Uncle Ken.
I've reprinted his obituary beneath the fold. See you tomorrow.
KENNETH EDWIN KUFFNER, SR. died Monday, January 23, 2006 in his home in Houston, Texas. Born on April 10th, 1941 in Staten Island, New York, he was one of six children of Charles A. Kuffner, Sr. and Jesse McLaren Kuffner, having four brothers and an older sister. Mr. Kuffner was a practicing Intellectual Property attorney in Houston. He graduated from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, New York and Georgetown University Law School. He was principal law clerk for a Justice of the Patent court in Washington, DC; on the faculty of Southwestern Texas Law School; a senior partner for Intellectual Property Law firm Arnold, White and Durkee for 15 years, and a member of the American Bar Association, the Texas Bar Association and an active member of the American and the Houston Intellectual Property Law Association. He was most recently working Of Counsel for Osha Liang, Houston, Texas. A devoutly spiritual man, Ken has for years been a strong member of the Catholic community, frequently serving as lector and usher at St. Vincent de Paul. Ken was also an active member and elder leader of the Mankind Project. Through his work he led retreats and meetings, opening hearts and minds with his words of wisdom, love and peace. He touched many lives through both his personal and spiritual endeavors. He is survived by his 4 children, Kate, Kenneth, Mary Kuffner Chelline and Elizabeth Kuffner Nealis; his 5 grandchildren. His extended family and siblings have remained close throughout their adult lives and mourn his loss deeply. The family of Mr. Kuffner will receive visitors from 4:00 p.m. 8:00 p.m. Friday, January 27, 2006 at Earthman Downtown Chapel, 2420 Fannin, Houston, Texas. A Rosary will be recited at 7:00 p.m. A Mass of the Resurrection will be at 10:00 a.m. Saturday, January 28, 2006 at St. Vincent de Paul Catholic Church, 6800 Buffalo Speedway, Houston, Texas. In lieu of flowers, a contribution may be made in his name to the Blessing Bear Foundation, a scholarship program that will be established through the Mankind Project Houston, www.mkphouston.org.
Haul Out The Holly
Put up the tree before my spirit falls again
Fill up the stocking but deck the halls nowFor we need a little christmas
right this very minute
Candles in the window
Carols at the spinet
Yes, we need a little christmas right this very minuteIt hasn't snowed a single flurry
But santa dear we're in a hurryClimb down the chimney
Turn on the brightest string of lights I've ever seen
Slice up the fruit cake
It's time we hung some tinsle on that evergreen boughFor I've grown a little leaner
Grown a little colder
Grown a little sadder
Grown a little olderAnd I need a little angel
Sitting on my shoulder
Need a little Christmas nowFor we need a little music
Need a little laughter
Need a little singing
Ringing through the rafterAnd we need a little snappy
"Happy ever after"
Need a little Christmas now
Merry Christmas, everybody!