Life goes on beyond the Palisades*

* Guess who sang that?
Life has gone on in a big way since the last time I posted. Nastia went to the home coming game, then the home coming dance and afterwards came home on such a natural high (not drug induced) that it was one of the high lights of the month.

  Teri took Elena to a baseball game a few years back, saying it should of been me, so I volunteered to take Nastia to the Homecoming game. It was a bright sunny day and I thought I over dressed by taking a sweater. By half time clouds had rolled in on a north-western wind and I was wishing I had bought my jacket too.
  We were sitting in the stands and of course Nastia strikes up a conversation with a women who has two grand-daughters as Cheer leaders.
  With the game tied at twenty and the third quarter about to start, Nastia asks to go home because she is cold. Thank You God!
  The home coming dance had security that homeland security (hopefully you the future reader doesn't understand the reference, well I can hope.)  came to take lessons. You had to be there between seven and seven-thirty, At seven-thirty the doors were locked. No drugs, or alcohol.
  Nastia got there at seven-ten and Teri, Nancy and I went off to have dinner.
  We ate at Outback, they lost our name on the list. Then they lost our order and for that they gave us our appetizers free. On top of that my steak was excellent. I had almost as much fun as Nastia.
  We picked her up at about ten-thirty and she was going on how everyone was saying she was tearing up the dance floor and three boys are wanting to marry her and one boy, who wears the school mascot outfit, gave her a plastic ring. She was so very happy.
  Elena went with her boyfriend and his family to see the horror film Annabella. His parents must really love him.
  That was three weeks ago. Two  weeks ago we went to the West Nyack heritage festival. Karl and Madeline are big into it and it was fun There were a few booths with food and some craft doing stuff. Eric and his son Denis were there with the boy scouts. There was even a short play about the last witch trial in Rockland, which happened around there in 1816, hard to believe it was that recent. I was wondering around walking up a deer trail while the play was going on and I found a deer antler. It was a four pointer, from a four year old male. It was in some grass that had folded over it and it stuck up all white and brown. When the girls saw it, Nastia wanted to go show everyone and she did. Elena, the more calculating one asked if she could have it. What was I going to do with it? So I said yes, Nastia wasn't happy. A few day later I walked the edges of the Germond's ball fields trying to find one for Nastia. All I found were several old baseballs and a tick, who freaked me out when I found him on my face two hours later.

*Billy Joel in Miami 2017 the live version is better then the studio
We all bought Cadillacs and left there long ago. There are not many who remember...

In for a penny in for a pound

I was going to talk about dogs, garbage cans open to them and what is a tampon and how the hell should I know, even in a house full of women, but I think the Italian-American (there's that hyphen again. See previous blog) fair, festival, whatever at the German Masonic fair grounds in Tappan is better to talk about.

It was on for four days and we picked the final afternoon, like a thousand other people. Teri drove and the line was we have no money so we are just going there to do something. It was jam packed so we parked about a quarter of a mile away. It was a nice day and it was pleasant to get out. At the gate it was three dollars to get in. There never was a fee to get in. Teri wanted to leave, then asked my opinion and I punked  out and said whatever you want. She earns the money and if she doesn't want to spend it I will not get in the way. She said to go for it. Ten minutes in and Nastia needs a bathroom. While we are looking for it she asks what are we going to do. This is where in for a penny, in for a pound figures into the equation. The expression is English. Change Pound to dollar and the meaning is we spent twelve dollars to get in, so we'll most likely buy some other stuff, meaning food. Bathroom is done and Nancy wants to get something to drink, then we get some empanadas and Elena gets a ring and Nastia wants something because Elena got something. We stayed there for a couple of hours, had a good time, spent too muck money and left.
  The Girls did get to go on a ride. It was a bronco ride. They did it twice at five dollars a pop. That was OK. It made them happy and Teri happy.
  We were walking by this stand and saw a guy  who was wearing this very tall balloon hat. He stopped the girls and told them to hold it.Then he said to wear it and they did.

School Starts and Old Memories fade

School started last week. They had Thursday and Friday, then the weekend off and back to it yesterday for the first full week of School.

  This time of year is the start of new beginnings and for me a time to look back at where this family has been. I'm sure Teri, ever the forward thinker would consider thinking about the past a luxury for People with too much time on their hands. I would agree with her. She doesn't have that luxury working twelve hour days,
   I on the other hand have more time and

I'm a melancholy sort of person and I must admit I wallow in it like I accuse others of wallowing in their hyphenated existence. No One is just an American any more, except me. Everyone is from somewhere else and America.
My Wife is an Italian-American, except she is at least a quarter Dutch. If I was to become a hyphen I would be, in no particular order an English, Irish, Dutch, German, Italian, Turkish American. I'll just stay with Joe.
  What started the second part of the title is Elena was asked to do a short essay about what she was like as a kindergartner. Tears come to my eyes as I think back to both of them as skinny little kids and what I imagine was their existence. I told her she arrived at the orphanage at about four years old and I asked her what was it like when you were in Birobidzhan? She said she couldn't remember. I don't know if it is from wanting to not remember or if she really has forgotten.

  We sat down in front of the computer and I typed a few sentences about how I remember her as a small child of seven. She was quite. When someone yelled at her she would look straight ahead and almost shrink before your eyes and not talk. Imagine her not talking today. Then I used a little imagination had Elena wrote her version of what I wrote. Lastly I told her to write some of her friends names down and she could not remember. I don't know if it is sad or just normal to forget the past, for her it is half a life time ago.
  On that bright and cheery note this is the first full week of the school year. We are still getting into a routine. Elena goes to bed at 9:30 and Nastia goes to bed at 10 pm, I don't think it has happened that way yet. Nastia gets up at about six. I want it to be six-fifteen, Teri says what happens if she needs to go to the bathroom, so we are working on it. I have been going to bed earlier then before because I have been getting up around five or so and not being able to go back to sleep until I have to get Elena up at about seven-thirty.
  The good of this new arrangement is Nastia gets to spend sometime with her mother and she gets a mother's touch on all those things like make-up and clothing that I never did or would fight with her about.

  Elena gets up after all the others have gone and so far I have driven her to school all four days because it gets me out of the house and I do my job some and it makes me feel like..Oh, you didn't hear about my job? Its really nothing and I mean nothing. It is a full commission job and I have yet to be paid, though today I did make a connection that in a few days hopefully will be my first sale. If not then it might be the Nyack Water company. It is really a great importunity, but it is shift work and as I told a friend who owns Bagel Boys in Suffern, I'm fifty-seven almost I don't want someone looking over my shoulder asking me what I did all day. I have evolved beyond all that now I have become a superior human being, I just wish they paid more for the job.

NO, I don't smell fire

I took Nastia to get a bagel and drop off a job application in Nyack. Elena didn't want a Bagel or to go. 

  When I get home and walk in the door, I smell smoke. I start running around like a manic deeply inhaling trying to locate where the smell is coming from. I yell at Elena,"Did you burn anything?"  She answers "No, I didn't. " 

  After about ten minutes and a top to bottom search I send Nastia upstairs and quietly take Elena aside and quietly say, "I need to know if you burned anything, I won't yell. The reason I need to know is I wired this entire house and if it ever burned and someone got even a little hurt I'd never forgive myself."

  Her response was, " No, I didn't burn anything."

  So I push them both to go bike riding telling them to call me in two hours. I put all the dogs outside and begin another search. I'm encouraged that the smokey smell is not getting heavier. 

  On the floor in the dining room was a burn stick match that Elena was eyeing yesterday, wanting to try and I told her no, they were fifty years old and when I tried one I set the side of the box on fire.

  I called Elena and told her I was very hurt by her lying to my face several times, even when I told her why I was so scared.

  Fuckin Kids

Epilogue: I sat down with Elena and with Teri on speaker we talked to Elena about why we were making such a big deal of her lighting a match and then lying about it. She broke down and cried, why, I don't know. Maybe she was sorry for lying or all that positive calm talking or we just bored her to tears. ( hey, that's the first good joke in a long time).
  Well Teri thought it was a good idea to give a safety lesson and let them light a match. (Lighting matches is becoming a lost art), so I take the girls into the kitchen and tell them about the matches and the danger of these old matches. Elena lights a match after I do, then its Nastia's turn, she is afraid of getting burned and some how I end of wrestling with her to try and get her to light the match. If it wasn't so pathetic,  it would be funny. I finally realize what I'm doing and stop. My daughter is in tears and I'm angry. I tell her to go then tell her to come back. I tell her I am sorry a dozen time and it doesn't make me feel any better. I do try to approach the match lighting in a new way by striking the match first and give it to her, she accepts it and I feel a little better. She then agrees to light the match and she holds it for a few seconds then calmly puts it out. Things are better, but her father is not the person I grew up with.

Three Days of peace, love and spending lots of money*

* modern version of the Woodstock slogan, about 45 years ago this month. They closed the Thruway,  man

Teri has the last two weeks of August off every year. Teri wanted to do some stuff with the kids, because they had done so little. Except for the Circle line all I was able to give the girls was letting their friends come over and swim.
  On Tuesday, we took in the Bronx Zoo. Amanda, Nick and Nick's eleven year old brother came along, boy can Nick talk, nonstop.
  We went to see the bird house again and Teri wanted to see the lions, tigers and bears, oh, my.
  We stopped for some over priced food, expected, but come on now if you are going to charge big bucks for food at least make it good.
  We were there all day until the park closed at 5 pm. Considering everything it was a cheap day. Teri has a membership and we had fun.

  The next day, with the threat of rain in the forecast, we headed out to g
Great Adventure. The girls have been there every year with camp and this year there was no camp. Teri and I felt guilty, so we took them there. I hadn't been there in twenty years, so I have fond memories of it. Well I've become a grouchy old man I guess, because all I could see was how this poor imitation of Orlando was squeezing every penny it could out of their poor victim's pockets. First there was the premium parking for ten bucks extra. then the express pass for an additional twelve dollars and finally the extreme thrill rides where you could buy a book of tickets for twenty dollars. This was in addition to the entrance fee of about thirty-five dollars and the parking fee of twenty-five dollars.
  We get into the park and the girls want to do the Batman ride and I go on with them. It was a fun ride. The g forces pushing down on my neck in the loops and spins gave me a head ache and I hadn't eaten so I skipped the next two rides.

I wanted to eat at Johnny Rockets so we headed for it over near the entrance to the park. We spent fifty-four dollars for two burgers, chicken fingers, fries and two milk shakes and a soda. Again like earlier it was very poor food. I wanted Johnny Rockets and got poor midway food. Later we would grab a snack on the way out and I ate a boneless pork ribs sandwich that was almost good. Let me say here I am not a snob when it comes to food. I will eat a burger and be happy, just don't make me feel like a fool for paying fifty-six dollars for it if it is poor midway food and not Johnny Rockets.
  We hit most of the rides and the girls wanted to ride King Da Kah. It's a roller Coaster that goes straight jump, goes over the top and goes almost straight down the other side. It was closed when we got there.
  We got the snack I told you about and headed home with reports of  thunderstorms back home.
  We left the backdoor open in hopes of the dogs, Mesha not destroying the house and with the fear that they might of gotten out in the twelve or so hours we'd been gone. About half way home we hit some intense storms, slowing us down. We got home around eleven or so and the dogs and the house were OK.

King da kah!!

   Thursday was a choice between Great Adventure and the Dutchess County Fair, with the loser going on Friday. When Friday morning came I didn't want to spend the money to go. Great Adventure had been a small bundle so instead we went to an early movie, with Elena going to her boyfriend's house and missing out on Chinese food.
  It was an overly ambitious three days and despite the bad food it was fun and the girls really enjoyed it.

Elenapoloza 2014,a three day affair.

With a Job not magically appearing for me it was a surprise that my wife said it was OK for me to take the Girls on the Circle Line the Friday before Elena's birthday. This became the unofficial start to Elenapaloze 2014.

Train ride into the City

  It hit with more of a thud then a bang when I invited her to go and miss the last day of ESL school and she said 'No'. I told her she was going anyway.
   My friend Mike was up from North Carolina and we were going to take in a ball game on Saturday. He asks what would you like to do on Friday. He said lets go into the city and I said lets do the Circle Line.

Sitting on a Subway floor??

   The last time I was on the Circle Line was in 1973 or 4. What were We doing in the City at that age? They were rebuilding Yankee Stadium, the original one, from 1923 and I wanted to take some pictures of it and Mike says lets go on the circle Line. We were 16-17 years old and had no business going into the City. Back then it was bad, real bad! There were blocks of apartment buildings near the stadium that were abandoned and filled with junkies. (Illegal Drug users, if the term is out of style) We would go there later to take pictures and be let inside the Stadium, When they built the new Stadium they were not half as nice to picture takers.
 Mike met Us at the Train Station in Nanuet. We would of been in plenty of time except Mesha took one of Elena's sneakers and we could not find it and the night before I woke up about three-thirty and remembered that I did not buy any sun screen. I then had trouble going back to sleep.

At the World Trade Center

 We found the sneaker stuck in the side of her bed, the dog didn't take it, I ran into Rite Aid and got some sun screen and we got to the train station five minutes before the train was supposed to get there. The Train was late. We talked for a few minutes until the train got there and I took my third maybe? train ride. The Girls first I think.
  We got to Hoboken, got our tickets and went over to the docks. The docks floated and the tide was just right that we occasionally had a free trip on a roller coaster.I was afraid Nastia would say she doesn't feel good, sea sick again and the Circle Line would be in trouble. At every step of the the trip I would send Teri a text message to let her know that her loved ones and I were safe and well cared for.

On the Circle Line

 The Ferry ride was fun and quick. We then walked over to the World Trade Center to see the site. It had just opened this year. We then walked over to where Mike used to work, 99 Church St. right near the Woolworth building. Then a quick subway ride ( My second, the girls first) to 45th St. and then a short walk over to the west side and we were at the Circle Line with plenty of time to spare so we got a couple of Hot Dogs and a drink.
  Tourism has become a very big business these last few years. It is another one of former Mayor Mike Bloomberg's accomplishments. The down side to that is now all the tourist things in the City are expensive and packed. Two years ago the Empire State Building was almost three hundred dollars to take six people to the very top. Now the Circle Line was not that bad, but four tickets cost, with tax, $158.00, but you pay if you want the piper to play.

Elena comes out for a picture

  The Girls were unhappy to find out the boat ride was a three hour tour. (People of a certain age when they hear three hour tour, think of something else. For all You kids and future readers that was the length of the tour they took on the show Gilligan's Island 1964-66 or so).
  Mike and I enjoyed the ride. In the 70's we were on top of the boat. This time it was crowded and we were in the bow of the boat. Nastia made friends with a women visiting her daughter living in the city. Then was talking to a guy. This is what scares me about her, too much trust.
   Elena, the soon to be birthday Girl spent 99% of the trip in the cabin wrapped up in her jacket. Her jacket and her hat are her armour when she is uncomfortable and needs to feel protected against the world. She was wrapped up in it until we got off the boat and were taking the water taxi across the river to the train.
  The trip went around Manhattan Island. On the first trip in the 70's they pointed out where Babe Ruth and Johnny Carson lived. This time they were left out.

In the Park near the Circle Line

   We took a water taxi right next to the Circle Line across the river instead of doing the subway to the World Trade then across to the Trains. This seemed faster. We would have to walk a little to the trains, but it didn't seem too far.
  The Water Taxi we took was the one Karl, the Girls and I took when we tried to see the tall ships in 2011 or 12. We waited on line for about five or so hours to see the Navy ship, while 'important' people went ahead of us, us as in most of the people who wanted to see the ships. Reports said people waited on line for over eight hours.

Boat ride to return to the Train home

  The Water Taxi dropped us off north of the trains by about a mile.It was a nice day and a pleasant walk. We got to the trains about 4:45 and our train left about five. I feel asleep pretty quickly and the girls turned on their music and we settled in for the ride home.
  I had forgotten Elena had Val at Six and a phone call from Teri reminded me. We ended up getting to her late, about 6:30.
  It was a long and enjoyable day, mostly On Saturday, I went to a Yankee game, where they were three hit or so. It was a warm and really nice day. Elena and Nastia spent time with their mother and went to see the movie Lucy. That night we went out for Mexican food.
   Sunday, Jessica gets dropped off and I take the three of them over to the Climb the Palisades climbing place in the Palisades Center. It is four floors of death defying adventure.

You get strapped in and a thick cable is clipped on that keeps you from falling and you go overall these scary things. The three spent two hours doing it and when we came home to another beautiful day,it was time to swim.
  Teri, Nancy and I got the food together. My Mom, Harriet, Eric,Lynn, Billy, and Denis all came. Ruth sent her regrets, again she was in Florida.
  Amanda came by with her boyfriend, Nick and we all hung out, ate and talked the next four hours away. It was nice and I think Elena had a good time.

 

Reflections

  I just saw a movie with Zach Braff, Mandy Patinkin, and Kate Hudson. Zach is an actor who hasn't worked much lately and his wife seems to resent him a little for it. His kids go to religious school paid for by his father, who has just found out he has cancer again.
  I was a little uncomfortable with the movie until I heard Kate's job was with the water company and she was not very happy there. Zach said "she was following the dream."
  If you haven't figured it out yet or are reading this in the future and I am just some dusty picture on a wall, please lets start by dusting off the picture, good. Now as of 2014 July 26, I am without a job and my wife works for the water company and a long time ago she quit following the dream.
  So now that we are caught up you see why this movie was not the one to see when you haven't gone to the movies in about two months.What makes it worse is it is an 'R' rated movie, (do they still use 'R' in the future?) and we bring the girls who at fifteen and thirteen laugh at a lot of wrong times. The Girls said it was a funny movie, I thought it was poignant, you know bitter sweet, moving, touching, you know like the definition I  just looked up

.
  Zach's character looks like he will have to give up the dream or home school the kids. With the tried and true Hollywood script, our hero manages to bumble his way through home school and land on some kind of a journey of self examination where his wife comes to him while he is doing the laundry and says "I haven't seem you in a while." He replies, "I've always been here."
  "No" she says,"I haven't seem this you in a long time."
Enough said there is a happy ending even though Mandy Patinkin's character dies, but not before Zach gets his brother to their father's bed side so they can repair their relationship.
  Easy, Hollywood simple,I should of written it.
I'll leave you to draw any conclusions.


Reflections Part 2.
  I was a little surprised to have my own words thrown back at me one day recently.
  I told Nastia, that most all boys want one thing, sex and they are all pigs. Naturally I did not intend to include myself in that category, but I am, or was a boy and all I was interested in when I was young was sex and I guess that makes me a pig, like all the other males in this world.
  Before we go on, I have to say I told her that because she is naive and too trusting and Elena has been doing her dating out of my eye site mostly.

  So one evening I'm at the table and Nastia is in a slightly short night shirt having taken her shower. She lies on my lap, face down. I look down and see a round bottom poking well out of her night shirt and her panties have ridden up a touch on one of her cheeks. So without a thought a lightly tap her cheek and call the dog to bit it. She jumps up and I don't remember everything she says but some of it was pervert and all boys are pigs and a couple of others. I was very surprised and a little hurt, but I knew she was trying it out to see how it felt to use it. And I will say I won't do that again.

  Elena has been a different person lately. She has been so full of life and adventure I find myself talking to her and yelling a lot less. I give her more freedom and I hope the change in her is not the fact that she is out of school and the moods will return when school does. I really hope it is a physical change and she might be growing out of her problems. I am not holding my breath and we are going forward with tests for ADD. If her behavior doesn't change I won't give her the pills.I don't want to anyway. I hate to take medicine unless I have to and I don't want her to. So lets hope.

Boyfriends.. dead ahead...good god...help me.

   Elena has been dating, I've removed the ' ' because she tried to french kiss him on his birthday. It's sorta funny until you start to think what else she might give him in the future, yuck.
   Nastia was the one who provided the information. She announced it to everyone in front of Elena and you can understand why she is angry at Nastia. I just wonder why she still tells her things.
   Now on to Nastia. She got rid of her face time boyfriend, Justin, who I had grown to dislike anyway. I tried not to let her know I didn't like him. He went really south in my opinion when I told him that Nastia was in trouble and couldn't text him until at least Friday. He gives me the OK sir, I'm sorry bit. Then a day later I see on Elena's phone that he was texting Elena trying to get her to have Nastia text him without me finding out. I replied that She wouldn't or something like that and he said He was sorry, he just missed her so much.
 I gave Nastia her phone back on Friday, but asked both of them not to contact Justin until Monday because he was being punished for trying to go behind my back. Thankfully she dumped him and this time she blocked him from the phone and x-box.  Now comes the be careful what you wish for has happened. Nastia now has a real boyfriend, his name is Anthony. He came over today to swim with Nastia while Elena went to Matt's house to hang out (french kiss?? , Nah she can't play x-box here and can over there. That has to be it)
  Well I leave the two of them alone to swim after Elena goes to Matt's and it is quiet. So I look out and see the two of them in the clinches like two tired prize fighters. I turn on the radio and get a glass of water and drink it without looking out the window, but plainly seen. A few moments later
  Nastia come to the window and asks "Is everything is OK?."
   I say "yes, just listening to the radio." I then tell her, "more swimming, less hugging." I don't know if I'm made to do this.
 They get out of the pool and play cards some, then Nastia asks to go in the tent with Anthony, I say No. She then wants to play X-box. At first I say no then say OK. I pop in every so often to check on them and I guess it went OK.
  A little after five Anthony's Dad shows up and He goes. There was no kissing, just hands touching arms.
  When I'm up to it they can do it again.
  Elena might be the smart one, she has started doing her dating out of my sight. I need to think about both sides of that coin.
 

Several degrees of separation.

Starting in the Fall, the girls will go to separate schools for the second and last time. The first time, two years ago was different. They were younger and had not begun to develop individual separate lives, even just a little. Nastia has a friend, Kaley, who is right now her best friend. Elena, has Jessica as her best friend. Back two years ago, they were each others best friend. Separate lives are one of our goals for them. At this stage of life they irritate each other over sometimes the simplest things. Elena doesn't want her sister to tell her what to do. Nastia can't help playing mother hen to her because she has done that all of Elena's life.
   So this summer has been a good change. Nastia has gotten to invite Kaley over to go swimming and Kaley has invites Nastia to go to Germonds pool.

   Elena invites Jessica to come over and swim and Jessica invites Elena to go to the Bronx Zoo without Nastia. Elena went out with Mathew, 'her boyfriend' (how much longer I will be able to use ' ' over boyfriend I don't know.) to dinner with his parents for his birthday. Elena ordered Smoked Salmon for an Appetizer and baby back ribs for the main meal. She didn't get back until 10:30 and I was starting to look out the windows to see if she was outside and I just didn't see her. I need to work on being a parent of teenage daughters who will be dating for real, you know no ' ' over the name. They will be on their own and doing all that ecky stuff that I used to do and my mother never asked about or want to know about and only one girlfriends mother let me know she worried about. I have to be less tightly wrapped.
   My mother's sex advise consisted of never let me know you got a girl in trouble. I've always wondered what she meant by that. Was it maybe like a girlfriend had a library book that needs to be returned today and if it isn't it would be late and I told her "Don't worry there will be no repercussions if you return it tomorrow.Or maybe it's more like I won't com....nah, too naughty to finish that thought.

 I did something the other day that if Teri knew she would maybe be pissed. So don't tell her all...two of you.
I gave both girls their second driving lessons. Second, you say? yes, the first one was done upstate two or so years ago when I let them sit on my lap and steer that big old Buick( and steer as we drove through town)*
   * I know it is only a snippet of a line, but what song does big old Buick come from?
We went over to Clarkstown South High School. This was not something planned. We had tried to visit my mother, but she was not home and they complained they were bored. So I went around the school told them a few stories about my time there and then I pulled into the parking lot furthest from the school and told Nastia to get into the drives seat. We went over mirrors and blind spots and changing lanes and reaching the peddles. Then I let her move the car. I had her just touch the gas and make believe there were eggs under the pedal she did not want to break. She touched the pedal and when she just bumped up the rpms and I was happy with that I then let her put the car in neutral and let it glide down the hill putting on the brake to slow and stop the car without jerking it. At the bottom of the hill I then turned it around and let her us the gas and go up hill. After a short while she was driving up and down the hill keeping it relatively straight.
   There then came a point where Elena said what about me.I told her in a year and a half I would let her do what her sister did. I then changed my mind and let her use the brake going down hill and maybe I let her go up hill once.

Ruth Darrow Smith  Moffett, my Grandmother 1920's

  It all reminds me of when my mother taught me how to drive upstate going down our driveway and the first time my Dad let me move the car and all I did way put it in drive and it moved on it's own. It seemed to be going so far. He then told me to stop it and I hit the brakes bouncing the car a little. Great memories, really great.

* My Hometown Bruce Springsteen
  I was eight years old and running with a dime in my hand
Into the bus stop to pick up a paper for my old man
I'd sit on his lap in that big old Buick and steer as we drove through town
He'd tousle my hair and say son take a good look around this is your hometown
This is your hometown
This is your hometown
This is your hometown

And the rockets red glare, the bombs bursting in mid-air gave proof through the night that our flag was still there....

Had a full day today. For the last few days it has been raining. Amanda took the tent and didn't return it until tonight, but with all the rain it didn't matter. The Girls still have nine weeks to sleep out.
   The rain kept up until early afternoon, when Teri thought taking in a movie was a good idea. We went to see 'How to train your Dragon II' It got good reviews.
   After that we were going to eat dinner at home then go to the fireworks in Nyack. Time got away from us and we ate at mash burger on the Nanuet/Spring Valley border. Burgers were good, fries were nothing special.
  We got to Nyack about nine and walked down to Memorial Park. I bought some folding chair and opened one up as the fireworks just started. We had positioned ourselves in the road, just past the houses, at a break in the trees. The night was breezy and a little cool, perfect to watch fireworks.
   On the walk down some memories of other times came to mind.
   Annya and Leonid's visit with us two summers ago. I remember walking back up from the park and they were ahead of me and I had to really stretch my legs to catch up and thought it would be fun to finally have someone who had long legs and could keep up with me when I walked. I wonder where they are now? Annya is still in the orphanage. Leonid, most likely in the army. I hope they are happy.
   Walking past a side street off main, I remembered coming down to a Pizza Parlor for June's birthday, parking on a side street and seeing a little vegetable garden I man had grown using his front lawn and in it were corn stalks over ten feet tall. It was amazing.

  The last story happened on another July 4th, about ten or so years ago when Tony, Teri's father was going to drive down to the fireworks and it was a hot humid night and I told him it was easier to walk down and back. I bet him I could beat him back to the house if I walked. I did win, but I was drenched in sweat and in the long run it didn't matter in the least. It didn't take that much more time and was most likely a lot easier.

Tenting tonight and allowing ourselves to greive.

Nastia somehow got it in to her head that she wanted to sleep outside in a tent. Teri has an almost brand new Swiss Army tent that has been in the garage for several years... So guess who slept outside? It was a big event for the girls. Elena had her friend Jessica over and she wanted to join them and I said yes.
  Congers fireworks were the same night. My leg hurt and Teri was in a mood. (More later) So we stayed home. Eventually we all ended up standing in the backyard watching the fireworks. The Girls went up to the street to get a better look.
  That is when Teri let down her guard a little and got past the anger and cried a little over the fireworks. She quietly said "That one is one that my mother loved"It was a tough couple of weeks if you think about it. Her mother's birthday, her father's birthday and between the two their anniversary. It's been four years, maybe five since her mother's gone and she might only now be allowing herself to feel the loss. She is a strong driven person. I wish I was like her more.
   As a few tears trickled down her cheek, I took her in my arm for a moment. The fireworks had ended and the girls were coming back and Teri didn't want to have to explain why she was crying, it would take away from the release of feelings and lessen its effect.
   The Girls then piled into the tent.

Teri was worried they would be cold and we went inside. About three in the morning Nastia came into to use the bathroom, but that was all we saw of them the whole night.
  The next morning Teri went to work, and I let the girls sleep in and went to try to refinance the house.
   The short on that is the income is enough, the equity in the house is short. We'd end up with a third of what I wanted to retire all the short term bills.
   I got back in time to drive Nastia over to Germonds pool to swim with Kaley, leaving Elena and Jessica at the house to swim.
   By early afternoon Elena and Jessica were...come on take a guess. It's the first week of summer vacation. What would you of told your mother? Yea, we were never bored. There was always something to do as a kid in the 60's and 70's. There were kids around all the time, you could play baseball, go swimming, tell your mother you were bored. It was so different! I don't think it was better, just different.
  Jessica's mom calls around three and I tell her Jessica wants to sleep over again. She is fine with that except she has group. I say she can go and come back later.

   I get a call from Teri sometime around Five saying Jessica's mom just called and said Nastia was face timing her boyfriend from the tent in only her underwear. Everyone was all upset and after I calmed down I went outside and asked Elena to come and sit next to me on the stairs of the deck and I asked her if anything happened in the tent that shouldn't of. She goes "like what?" Sometimes I can read body language, other times like everyone else I am so wrapped up in myself that I don't take the time to look at the signs that are in front of me. I didn't look at Elena's body language to see if she was hiding anything, or not telling the truth. I went to pick up Nastia and we talked  and I didn't read her body language. I was not in the tent last night so I have to believe Nastia it didn't happen. I also told her I took someone else's word for the truth and when it turned out to be a lie I didn't talk to her for two days I was so hurt. I also reminded her little punishment now, later the truth comes out, much bigger trouble.
  When We got home Teri was there and she wanted to know what happened. Nastia said nothing happened. Teri said there was a video made.and to get her phone.
   On the phone was Nastia saying "I want to f... you in the pool, I want to f... you in the bed and a few other things. She said it was on a dare from Jessica and Elena. Later Elena says it was Justin's dare.
   The fall out is hard to tell. Jessica didn't come back last night and they tent was lent out to Amanda for a few days.
   When the tent comes back, Nastia can't sleep out with Jessica. L don't know who's rule that is, but it tells Nastia we don't believe her, and I guess we don't. We know the dare part is a lie. And we know Nastia does sometimes sleep without a shirt on when it's too hot.The next morning she was fully clothed.
  I know for a fact that things happen in a tent when you sleep out. That is the fun of sleeping out. My friend, Mike and I got into all kinds of mischief when we slept out. Is there a double standard because they are girls or there is the time difference of  forty-five or so years?

Wearing shirts from four years ago

Or is it take what happens in the tent stays in the tent was broken? Are we making a big deal over this because Nastia and Elena violated every rule I put down for use of X-box and gave out names, phone numbers and addresses to her internet boyfriend ? All I know of this kid is what I hear over x-box and the random text I read off Nastia's phone.He was texting and wanting to face time her all the time to the point she had no time to herself. She put limits on it, I was pleased. He comes off as needy and lonely. The few facts I know about him is he curses alot. He plays x-box at all hours of the night and day. We let the girls get up at five on a Saturday to play and they were playing with him. He eats his dinner in his room, maybe not all, but I don't know. I should be thankful that he can't touch her. There was talk of him coming down from where he lives to see her. Nastia had it in her mind he would stay with us.I killed that right there. I said "I will not have a complete stranger under my roof, in my house, near my daughter. You want to go on a date with him, my fifteen year old daughter? here are the rules. He comes down with his parents for a day trip or they find some place to stay,not here. I need notice. If he is showing up on Saturday, I want to know about it on the Monday before. You will go on a date like Elena did, with adult supervision to Dave and Busters or some place like that where I can meet the parents and not be stuck with talking to them for a lot time, if I don't want to. He will not be alone with my fifteen year old daughter. When you get older it will be different. Am I being too easy? hee, hee. God sometimes there is fun in my misery.
   The picture above resulted from me finding two shirts from when they first were over here. I had the bright idea that they should try them on and they did. The picture doesn't tell it, but it made them both look a few years older and scared me. Nastia loved the fact it didn't cover her stomach and Elena loved that if she wore it all day she could push me in the pool.

Father's Day, Ellis Island, Statue of Liberty

I didn't know what to expect for Father's day today because I am midway through the fifth month of unemployment, money is tight and will disappear in about a month.
  I got up early because Mesha doesn't do quiet mornings.

I let the three dogs, four with Nancy over last night out in the morning usually when I wake up around five. After Mesha comes back in she usually completely awake and manages to get everyone else up for at least a few moments. I was up at five went back to sleep and finally got up around eight. I was told to go back to bed and a few moments later the girls come into the room with cards and a father's day gift.
  I got a t-shirt and another card which has become a tradition. The card had a little Donkey on a big one and talked about being a pain in the ... It goes with the two moon card and the leave my nuts alone squirrel card. Not really childish cards.

   The tickets for Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty were for today so we all ate  and got ready to leave. We left around eleven and got down there after twelve. Got to the pier and even with the wind the ocean was pretty flat. I was happy, didn't want to throw up on father's day. I love the ocean, but it don't love me back. We got on the boat and the calm sea was really long low rollers about a foot or so high and it surprisingly rolled the boat pretty good. I felt it in my stomach and Nastia said she didn't feel so well. It was a short trip to Ellis Island and we roamed over the arrival building. Something like this is almost a religious experience. I am walking in the foot steps of the people who came before me. The people who made me and took that long dangerous trip to America for whatever reason. We stayed a couple of hours there, had a little something to eat and enjoyed the beautiful, bright sun shiny day.

   We got back on the boat to go to the Statue of Liberty and the boat moved out. When we got close to the Statue I started taking pictures. Something made me stop and start looking around the boat. Traditional Americans, you know us guys, white Europeans were few and far between. There were people from India and the middle east and Asia. All these different places from around the world snapping pictures of the Statue like it was going to pick up and move somewhere else tomorrow. It was amazing. I don't know if they were tourists or recently minted Americans, it was just totally amazing. Everyone was just so interested in the Statue.
  At the Statue, we wandered around. I bought a pocket knife with me and when we went through the first set of security at Liberty State Park they said when I went to the Statue to put the knife in a locker, boy did Teri have fun with me bring a knife. At the Statue we stuffed everything we didn't need in the locker.We bought jackets in case it was cold, it was hot,

I bought a knife and there was no wood to whittle (That's country talk where you take a perfectly good piece of wood and strip off sections of it until you have a pile of wood carvings. Some people carve stuff from it too) All that stuff went into the locker and none of us missed it. We only had tickets for the pedestal,so Teri and I got on line for the elevator.A Park Ranger kept walking by saying ten minutes by elevator, three minutes by stairs. Teri looks at me and says "NO" . I'm fine with it,my knee is not 100%, but the girls and Nancy wanted to do the stairs, so off they go. A few moments later Teri goes "You want to try it, she says it's only three minutes?" Well it was only three minutes until we decided to stop and take a break, That was one of I think three breaks, not minutes. I don't know how long it took us. Most likely not too much more then three minutes, but boy I'm gettin too old for this s...* In the past I would of run up those stairs.
  At the pedestal, we had a great view of everything. It was crowded and We didn't stay long. Going down the stairs was quick and a little easier.
  We got back to the car and headed home, that's when the day went a little south. The GPS insisted on taking us through the Holland Tunnel. Before that it took us on side roads and in a big circle. It gives options for routes and I think we picked the one that said to get lost in Jersey City. We got back home with a flat tire. Mesha for the first time had been left alone for an extended period of time. And She tore up the section of the house we didn't block off.

   We got the mess cleaned up and the tire switched off the car and after that things got calm until I realize Elena hadn't studied for her finals today or yesterday. Well I won't go into details except to say she knew she had to study and it felt like she was figuratively giving me the finger. She said she wasn't and just forgot...maybe.



*Danny Glover in Lethal Weapon

Too cold for Fireworks and in the pool ten days later

We went to the West Nyack Firehouse Carnival over at the town pool. Not that I'm bragging because Congers is really nothing, but West Nyacks was small. It was also cold . It's the last few days of May and no one wants to wear jackets. Teri and Nancy have jackets and as I'm going out the door I remember how it can be on the water during May and I grab a jacket and a sweater, Teri laughs at me and I leave the jacket in the car.It's early evening and we have come for the fireworks and the girls the rides. They get wrist bands and we spend fifty dollars. After a few rides, I think the girls are rode out,no they just want to win gold fish. We say no, they have wrist bands for rides.
 It starts go get dark and the temperature starts to go down too. After a while I even go get my jacket. The girls continue to ride. They went on several rides and when they stopped in front of the win a gold fish game. I knew what was next. "Mommy, Daddy, we want to win gold fish." Together, Teri and I said "NO" . I hate it because the fish is abused at the carnivals and die soon after they are home. Teri and I both didn't like the fact we just spent fifty dollars on wrist bands and they are already onto doing something else. There were no fish that night. They rode some more rides several times in a row, not even getting up to go around again and get on line. And yes we sat or stood around as it got colder and colder.
  About quarter to nine another m-80 went off and everyone jumped.  About this time is when Teri came up with the joke about it being too cold for the fireworks and we should go home. Nancy and I agreed. Teri figuring she was not going to win mother of the year anyway agreed.
 When the Girls got off this swing type ride Teri told them it was too cold for the fireworks to work and the two m-80 explosions was them testing them out. We got an "Awwh" from Nastia and Teri said we could go out for Ice Cream and we went to a Frozen Yogurt place in New City.    
  The Pool
  It was the usual opening the pool. The cover didn't keep a lot of the fall leaves out of the pool, Tthe holes in the cover and the pillow in the pool deflating didn't help.

So like usual I emptied the pool. I don't swim a lot, but I can't swim in a pool full of chemicals. I got the girls to go in the water and scoop out the leaves and Teri found the hole in the liner, I fixed it, then filled it. At almost full I stopped for the night. It had filled slowly and I thought it was because of bad water pressure, it wasn't. The level dropped down to almost a foot when I finally went into the water to find the hol. It was a foot away from the side and near the ladder. It was big. I fixed it and was about to get out when Teri came outside and said I should look for other holes. I figured what were the chances of other holes after I fixed these two big ones, but I did and after about twenty minutes found two more holes on the opposite side of the ladder. With those fixed the pool filled up very quickly and even though it was cold outside and the pool water was still the temperature out of the tap, the girls as soon as they got home went swimming. Crazy Russians!                                                                                             

What do you do when your child plays you and your wife has warned you trust is earned??

I know, its a long title, its a complex problem for me. I'll tell you the story and lets see where it goes...
  Elena gets to play x-box for circle sheets with threes and twos. For all the uninformed a circle sheet grades her daily between 3, the best and zero the worst everyday in every subject in four categories, homework, participation in class, arriving to class on time and behavior in class.
  Yesterday, for the second time in a row she did not bring home her circle sheet. Tuesday I asked her why and what she thought she got on the circle sheet giving her an opportunity to get x-box time she told me she left the sheet in school or something like that and would not venture a guess on how she did. I thought she didn't realize I wanted to give her x-box time, now I think she knew how bad the sheet was and chose not to bring the sheet home.
   Yesterday again no circle sheet and again I ask why and what did she think she got. She pulled the old, well I put it in my backpack and now I can't find it. I used to pull that when Iwas in school. I put it in my desk and I don't know what happened to it so I should have caught this one. I let her play x-box. She played two hours and then I had her come in and help me make eggplant parm. We both worked together, had fun and got dinner ready to put in the oven. Never a word about school.
  We sit down at the table and I hear something from Nastia about detention and Teri is asking Elena to tell her and she is refusing. Nastia tells what happened and it is in a relaxed playful environment so everything and everyone is cool. Elena got four detentions for I don't even remember what at this point. I start cleaning up and realize I am angry and I think it is because only Teri and I had the eggplant parm and the girls didn't even try it. No, it wasn't that. I call Elena down from upstairs and I wait for here in the kitchen. She comes to the door and stands there.
  I tell her, "I am in the kitchen here thinking I'm angry over the fact only your mother and I tried the eggplant, when I'm angry over the fact that you played me. I told her I was hurt because she knew she had detention and had not intention of telling anyone and she played x-box on top of that. I LET HER PLAY X-BOX WITHOUT A CIRCLE SHEET BECAUSE I WANT TO TRUST HER!!!!!! I didn't yell that at her, just at you now. Later after our talk I remember we had a talk about her not staying after school for track and I didn't believe her track is cancelled.
   I felt bad so I called her down and said "I am choosing to believe you that track was cancelled today and I'm sorry that I didn't believe you before."
  Her response was "That's OK, I don't care what people say to me."
  I told her I hoped she would care what I said to her. and she left.
  I remembered that after our talk and wanted to call her down and discuss it with her. Teri said I was dragging it out and should have done it all at once and I shouldn't start it all up again. I let it go, but now I feel very hurt by her and I didn't even want to talk to her this morning. In the car when her music was too loud, I grabbed her phone and turned it down without asking her to. I will get over this, its just right now I feel very hurt by her and it seems she doesn't care because she got what she wanted. I will try to not take my anger out on her in the following days. I've just got to remember, without anger what happened here and to make her earn my trust again and I told Teri I don't think we should reward her for any more good behavior. It has set a bad precedent and I am the most guilty one.
   Where do we go from here I don't know. I guess like parents for thousands of years Teri and I will play it by ear and hope for the best. There is so much good in her.


 
 

Mesha, one week later

I think our dog is defective, she leaks. It has been a week and I let her out at eleven pm again about 3 am and sometime about 5 am or so and I thought she was getting the idea that she was to do her business (come on don't make me spell it out, OK, pee and crap outside) but she hasn't yet. Teri keeps saying she had Mosha trained in a week, Mosha was smart. Mesha she keeps tilting her head when you talk to her like she doesn't understand.
  One morning, about three, I get up without turning on the lights and go towards the girls room. About half way down the hall I step in something squishy with my toes. I know what it is, I pick my foot up quickly, like it really matters and put it back down with just my heal touching intending to limp over to the bathroom to clean off my foot. When I put my heel down it squishes into some more. I've  stumbled into a mine field, in the dark expertly put down by our new dog to stop anyone from getting to the girls room our backing up without stepping on a mine. I manage to get out of the mine field without further damage and clean off my foot. I close the door to our room and turn on the light to clean the hallway. Except for it not being on the walls,what I see, is it looks like an pile of crap has exploded in the hallway. I grab a roll of paper towels, a plastic bag and the spray and get to work. When I'm done a good section of the rug, about six feet long looks nice and clean. The rug is ripped and worn out, but this section looks really good. It stays that way for about the rest of the night, our new dog it turns out has, as my wife would say 'the diarrhea'. Not to go into too many stories, but there is one where I let her out, she comes back in, craps in the hallway, I catch her, she stops, I put her outside, clean up, bring her back in and she finishes when my back is turned cleaning up a pee stain. Ahh, life with a new puppy, can you blame me for not finding a job?
   We started giving her some rice with her food and the problems have lessened. So far she sleeps on the floor, by the bed. There is no room on the bed with Athena and sometimes Bandi there. She has chewed several wires and charging cords, one I don't know what it is to. One Nastia threw out with some crap she cleaned up and I had to go through the garbage to dig it out. Her reasoning was, "Well its all chewed up, its no good." Silly girl she doesn't know she lives in the house of unlimited duct tape and black electrical tape. I got out my knife and tape, a few minutes later it was all fixed. Now if I knew what it was to!

Mesha, the German Sheffer

We got a new dog, her name is Mesha. She is a ten week old rescue dog, full breed German shepherd. Someone saw her advertised at Dapper Dog in Central Nyack and told Teri. I got the phone call from Teri about ten in the morning. I have to saw that she at least asks me about a crazy purchase like this. I don't like to say no to Teri about most things, because she works real hard and they are mostly reasoned out requests, this one wasn't. We currently have, including Mesha, Athena, Bandy, and the cats Benastork and Niki. It is going to be a madhouse at feeding time at the zoo.
 Teri says they can't hold the dog and I need to go give 500 cash and go over and buy the dog. I agree to go over to Dapper Dog and see if the dog is still there, hoping it wasn't. I got the money and went over and the dog was there, but the person who handles the dog was not, this was 10:30 Wednesday morning. I wait in my car listening to the radio until about 11:15, when my car battery dies. I call my mother ans ask her to come over and give my my car a jump.
 I get my car started before my mom arrives. I try to call her and she doesn't have her cell phone with her.
    The women finally shows up and is now cutting a dogs hair, I wait, there is nothing I have to do being out of a job for the last three months. My mom comes, hangs out for a few minutes, buys a couple of collars for her dogs and goes. I continue to wait.

  Finally after about an hour, she is done. She invites me behind the counter to meet the dog and proceeds to treat me like I am some virgin dog owner, who she needs to read the riot at to. I came in thinking she knew us from taking on Bandi after June died. She goes on about how this dog is going to need a lot of attention and she will chew on things so you need to do this and that. After a while, I'm asking myself why I'm still here. She eases up a bit and we start to talking and exchange a few stories. I tell her about Athena, how we rescued her. She asks what happened to her, like she expects that we killed her and buried her in the backyard dog cemetery.
  While waiting, I'd had time to check out the dog food she had., not unexpected it was expensive. She asks me what I feed our dogs, I know it is a trick question, but I can not see how. I answer Alpo. WRONG ANSWER!! Oh, that stuff is the worst. It is made with mostly water and meat by products, it makes them go to the bathroom a lot, effects their kidneys. Knowing that we are in the homestretch I ask what she has been feeding the dog., she says 'Blue'. I grab a large bag of it for fifty dollars and she throws in a couple of cans of blue and a few dog chews. I give her $300.00 for the dog and finally I'm out the door with Teri texting me whats going on, why is it taking so long. I text her back I have the dog.
  I put towels on the front seat and lay the dog there.We start to go and she immediately climbs into the next to an empty box I had there. (the picture above). I get her home and for the rest of the day I nurse maid the dogs to make sure they are getting along. Athena was nipping at Mesha's ear,Bandi was his usual grouchie self.
How the Dog got her name:

  When I got home I'd needed to call the dog something. We had just seen a movie called Bears and I thought that would be a good name. I knew Teri would not like it. So, I called her Bear.
  When everyone got home home it was naming time and I said I was calling her Bear and why. No one liked it. Then Teri asks what is Bear in Russian? While looking it up Nancy says in most Russian fairy tails bears are called Mesha, so she was called Mesha.

Kristen's Wedding

It seems like only yesterday, sorry Kristen, that I baby sat Kristen for the one and only time. She was old enough to talk, but still was still wearing Diapers .
  Now she is married and I feel no older then I did then, except for a few gray hairs, some would say more then a few, but I only got a few hairs and an extra thirty pounds I feel the same.

  The wedding was beautiful, the day, cold and over cast. The day before was warm and sunny, as was the day after. It didn't take anything away from a great wedding.
  They were wed at St. Anthony's old church, a very beautiful church. When ever there is a wedding in a Catholic Church the stories about lying to the Priest always start to circulate. To blow my own horn, I refused to lie to the Priest, so we didn't get married where Teri's parents got married, in Nyack. It was over the questions the Priest would ask. The one about will you raise your children as Catholics, I told Teri I would not, this was about the time of all the sexual allegations about Priest. If we ever renew our vows, I will raise any further children Catholic.
  The reception was at the Rockleigh Country Club, nice place, been there, done that before. Mike Marsico was married there in 1988

.
  We walked into the cocktail hour a little late. I could be happy with just the cocktail hour food, this was even better then normal. Elena and I hit the French Fry and slider station first. I then went to the calamari and other Italian food station. I should of quit there, but I went on.
  After the Cocktail hour we sat down to an abundance of food. There was bread and butter, there was more food then I can remember. I had a great steak, some chocolate covered Strawberries. So much food that I could not look at the wedding cake when they served it. It looked good, couldn't touch it. Best wedding I've been to in many a year.

Bronx Zoo and Dinner at Charlie Browns

  It is near the end of Easter vacation for the girls and I am dying to get back to the new old routine. So Teri decided it was time to try out the new Bronx Zoo membership.
  Yesterday we had lunch at Dave and Busters and let the girls run out all the chips we had acquired on several cards over the years.
  We left today and took a round about route to The Bronx Zoo. It was crowded and we got in at the Bronx River entrance. It was unusually cold, only 42 when we got there. It would top out at 48. We took in the Bird house first because it was warm and inside. Then we worked our way deeper into the Park ending up at the opposite corner sometime around three. We saw Baboons, Lions, almost Gorillas, Elk, and animals from Madagascar. It was busy and we covered a lot of ground and didn't see everything. We have a yearly membership, so it is free to go back. And We will.
  It was late and no one wanted to cook so we hit Charlie Browns and I ordered beer like I had a job. Food was good and everyone enjoyed themselves. Nastia had Salmon and Elena had Chicken fingers and French fries.

Revenge of the Teenage Mutant Ninja daughter or Does Father know best

It was a little before eight in the morning in Happyville when Teenage Mutant Ninja Daughter walks into the kitchen. Father knows best notices his daughter is dressed up and in black. He still sees his daughters as the little kids they were four years ago when they came over from Russia. Back then when they were asked if they wanted more and didn't like something they said "Oh, its good, no thank you." but that's another story.
  Kitten (another father knows best reference) goes to Papa, trying to divert attention from her short shirt over spandex " Don't You like the way I look.I'm dressed all in black." Father knows best has noticed, but not the short shirt, which is covered by a rain jacket type jacket ( If she was a flasher at least she'd have the right coat on) Father knows best looks her over and is about to tell her how pretty she looks when a hand darts out from behind her and gives a tug on a garment unseen until now. His eyes linger for a moment until he realizes she is wearing spandex and either forgot to put on a skirt or she is wearing a shirt that is too short for that outfit. Father knows best tries to play it cool, he still remembers being a teenager. He asks "Is that an outfit your mother made up or did you put it together?"

Athena questions why wear clothes if you wear that

  The Teenage Mutant Ninja daughter sees red lights go off around her, her sister is comforted in the knowledge it is not her wearing the clothes. Teenage Mutant Ninja daughter knows there could be trouble. She coyly replies "What outfit?" Father knows best repeats his question and she is trapped and out witted.    She plays her mother card but not really well, answering the question. Mommy bought this for me over the weekend.
  Father knows best senses something is not right and takes out his camera and snaps a picture of her and e-mails his wife. The Teenage Mutant Ninja daughter nervously pulls at her almost visible skirt.
  Father knows best finishes his e-mail and asks his daughter to turn around and bend over. Yes it is not polite to ask a teenage mutant ninja daughter to do this but when he sees nothing but butt the gig is up and Father knows best starts in on his "Your not going to school dressed like that speech". He peppers it with ' I still remember what it is to be a teenager. and I was young once.and You think you can handle boys until a two hundred pound boy has you pinned to the floor of the boys locker and there is no one around' and other classics like that. I know some might feel I am being too protective and demanding of my children, but I rather error on the side of safety then to regret it for the rest of my life. Go in peace,the mass is over.