Hung jury

“You’ll need to take every moment you can for sleep,” said the resident intern. My head bobbed up to see her flash by. All whites shoes and blue smock. I was sitting in an 5th floor lobby at Emanuel hospital; waiting for my Nana to get back from an x-ray. She took a turn for the worse on Wednesday, with a blood infection and who knows what else. I rose and slipped through the familiar halls. Earlier this summer, Nana had been there after a fall at the assisted living facility.

Going back further, I was born here in 1971.

Sitting in the lobby now. Unable to get a wi-fi signal for some reason. I’m waiting a few more minutes before I check on her again.

The day started with an early crush. Unable to sleep, I shuffled downstairs and climbed on board the Precor. After punching a few data bits – the thing started tracking my pace. I punched on the dvd player to watch a documentary.

Today was jury duty, a task that required an early arrival.

Greer drug himself sleepily across the living room. Rubbing his eyes, he posed for a moment, making his bed head hang sprout oddly. I watch him climb up the chair to get his breakfast. He’s not used to getting up quite so early. His expectation is a day at home, but today he’ll be going to the Y while I serve the city.

Laptop in hand, I was ready to make up for the lack of blogging by finishing up any half-baked, unposted entries while waiting on the court. Surely a whole day waiting for my name to be called would be enough.

Four hours later, they dismissed us due to a lack of active trials.

Now I’m here, wondering if Nana is going to be ok.

Ember visits!

Recently, we had the privilege of returning a favor. Greer has often been the short-term guest of my brother and his family - including his newly minted cousin - Ember. Whether it's a date night or conflicting schedules, Greer loves hanging with his second family when Mom and Dad are away.

After some time and frequent asking on our part, C and W finally decided to splurge and have a night to themselves, and left Ember in our care. Greer was elated to find out his cousin would be coming over and proceeded to pull out his favorite toys - along with a few that his 8-month old guest might enjoy as well. After the usual acclimatizing and parental lingering, the parents were gone off to a movie - and we were able to get down to business.

Books. More books. Singing. Jumping. Rolling. Laughing.

While Ember is still figuring out how to amble on two pegs, she is surprisingly agile on four. Regardless, Greer treated her like a little princess, doting on her and being a model big brother.

Such is his destiny...as he will be surrounded by girl cousins from within the family.

Blueberry buckets

When August rolls around, I turn into a bit of a fanatic. The lure of fresh berries from the field turns every week into a new quest. Farmers Markets are perused and pillaged. Plastic and cardboard containers full of Oregon's finest are consumed en masse out of the refrigerator.

Blueberries are usually the focus. A ripe blueberry is a truly wonderful thing - and an annual exodus to any of the nearby U-pick farms is a must. This year, we managed to make it out twice before the bushes were all picked out. Both times, Greer and I met up with my folks in Hood River and headed south into the legendary Fruit Loop that looms along the hills and valleys.

Our target was Gloria's Two Blues farm - which my folks hold as one of the best U-Pick's around. Gloria is a fantastic earth-mom who loves her berries, and grows them large. From the road, you could see the them hanging like grape clusters - a mouth-watering invitation. Unfortunately, she hadn't yet opened for picking during the week, so we had to scuttle down the road to the Browning farm, where things had been picked over a bit. Greer enjoyed the first go-round, carrying his bucket around and showing off its contents...all the while munching away.

Undaunted, I made plans to return the following week - this time with Dave along for the ride. Thankfully, things panned out (after a bit of cajoling - as she still wasn't open during the week), and we were free to pick. To say that these berries were big is an understatement. In some cases, they looked like small grapes - making it easy to harvest in short order. An hour after we arrived, we had raked in over 32 pounds.

Mmmmmm......

Double Wall-E

Starting in July, we've paired back Greer's time at the Y to three days a week. Given my recent freedom, it's a good opportunity for the two of us to have some time together. Whether it's at the pool or playing in the park, Thursdays and Fridays are reserved for us.

Given Greer's love of movies, we occasionally make our way to the Eastport 16 for a matinee of whatever's worth watching. At this multiplex back in 2006, Greer saw his first film, "Eight Below" - which he promptly walked out of. Good choice. He did the same with "Happy Feet", his second attempt....an act that gave me hope, as musical penguins are not my thing. It wasn't until the two-hour epiphany of "Cars" that Greer finally found something worth sitting for. His little bladder was about to explode, but he refused to move during the entire feature. This patience would be repeated many times at home, with Miyazaki's amazing Japanese animations, all things Wallace and Gromit, and my library of old Harryhausen Sinbad features.

Flash forward to 2008. "Wall-E" is the order of business.

As with other Pixar efforts, Greer was an easy convert. Although nothing has surpassed "Monsters Inc." or "Cars" in his mind, the "little robot who could" made for an enjoyable distraction. So much so, that he didn't mind it when we caught it again at the Newberg 99w Drive-In. Dressed in his PJs, and full of questions about how long it would take, we packed into the Bug and made the 30-mile trek. The wait until dark can be daunting when you are corralling a Greermonster. Even though he was guaranteed a second big-screen experience with Wall-E, the boy twisted in his seat. An agonizing 2 hours passed before dusk arrived. Slipping away to the bathroom felt like a vacation. Alex had almost gnawed through her lip - and Greer....well my boyo must have set a new record for "asks" as we waited for someone to spark the bulb.

Such are the joys and sacrifices of the drive-in devotee.

Time away from time

The early part of my unemployed 'work' week is usually occupied with project work around the house. The basement full of film cans and more personal history detritus than one can fathom. A pantry in need of reorganization. Layers of yard sale fodder unfound and unloved. All of it waiting for me. I usually find myself avoiding all of this by ducking out to lunch with a friend or catching a matinee. Occasionally, an agency will call to offer representation on a contract - but all in all, it's quiet....and vaguely desperate.

The week following our July 4th visit to Olympia, I managed to slip out to lunch with my bud Dave to catch a evening screening of the new Hunter Thompson documentary, "Gonzo". While a fair amount of the film was familiar, there were a few new tidbits that I hadn't seen - and moreover - it was just good to see the Doctor again.

Later in the week, Greer had the opportunity to see is grandparents again, so Alex and I could have a little time together. This coincided with a request from my folks to help purge the remainder of personal crapola that I haven't had the decency to remove from their house. After delivering boyo and spending the night, I piled boxes of old photos, childhood mementos, comic books and beloved dust bunnies in the Bug and headed home.

When Greer is gone, there is a palpable vacuum. Instead of waiting for the next shoe to drop or fielding the ever present "why" floating in the air, we are blessed with silence and the perception of freedom. The whirlwind of the Greermonster is elsewhere, and we are free to roam about the cabin. This time around, we escaped to the Bagdad Theater and the comfort of dinner in front of a big screen. While Prince Caspian wrangled the remains of Narnia, we sat back in a love seat and drank in the moment together. Time away from time. With cheeseburgers.

After we picked up Greer from the folks, we found ourselves with an unfettered Sunday afternoon. This lead to stop at Bonneville Dam - and the a visit to the gliding prehistoric bulk of Herman the Sturgeon. Located within the maze of fish holding pens and rhododendrons that make up the on site hatchery, Herman is a sight to behold. Behind submerged, thick glass, we eyeballed the ancient monster. A grey log of fins and cartilaginous skeletal ridges, this sturgeon is truly an amazing thing. Greer was transfixed as his 11-foot frame cruised by, occasionally flashing a look with one of his milky, 70-year old orbs.

During upcoming week, I had planned to take Greer out camping with Papa and Baba, but held back due to an unknown evil within my car's engine. A sudden, uneven loss of power on the road - like the fuel wasn't making it all the way. In short, I had received bad gas.....but my fear got the better of me. As with many dissolved plans, the backup options gave way to outside influence. In this case, apathy and a lack of air conditioning. Summer heat forced us into the basement - where the three of us laid low and sweated through the weekend. That Saturday afternoon was the apex of laxity. Three DVDs - followed by an evening visit to the multiplex.

Kung Fu Panda never felt so cool.