Written by Mike Young on August 16, 2009 at 9:23 pm
My 6 year old son is at that age where he has outgrown his 12″ bike. It’s so bad he cannot even turn the pedals. So I figured I’d take him to get the next size up, which is a 16 incher. Well, apparently it’s only okay to need a 16″ bike if you’re a girl. They had every flavor of 12″ bike or 20″ bike, but nothing in his size, except if he wanted something with Barbie or Cinderella on it.
We went all over the place. We went to Walmart, Target, Performance Bike and so on. We drove to Loveland, Longmont and Fort Collins. I easily put on 200 miles trying to find something for him. The irony in the whole thing is we actually had found a bike for him at the Super Target in Longmont, but we hadn’t decided to get him it at that time. We kinda wanted to look around first.
Now, I should mention that I had ruled out anything that tried to resemble a dirt bike. I can’t stand those ones that have all the fenders, fake tail pipe, etc. And I don’t want my son riding a bike with Disney characters. That was okay a couple of years ago. But not now.
Anyway, we found a couple of alternatives as we drove around. Performance Bike had a really nice one, but it was 3 times the price of the Target one we saw in Longmont. So then we went to Walmart and found a no frills one. But it looked pretty cheap and flimsy. The bottom line is that nothing quite stood up to the one we first saw at that Target in Longmont. Obviously, we could just go to the next closest Super Target. Right? Well, that would have been too easy. We tried a Target, a Super Target and couldn’t find the bike. Just those princess ones.
Finally, it’s after 8pm on a Sunday and we’re heading back to Longmont to get the bike that we first saw and liked the best. Our boy isn’t napping like usual. Nope. He’s up and anxious to get there. But guess what happened as we pulled into the parking lot? We saw our son’s bike be ridden away by some other little boy. But that wasn’t the best part. We only worked at this 2 days straight. It had become an adventure. But imagine our surprise when our son burst out with, “those bastards!”. Were we shocked? Or did he just sum up exactly what we were thinking? We just told him not to say that at school.
Category: Misc. Rants, The Young Clan
Written by Mike Young on April 10, 2009 at 9:16 am
Well, what can I say about life on a farm that I haven’t already said? Anyone who has known me for any length of time has to get a good chuckle over the thought of me raising chickens. But I shall endeavor despite recent discouragements.
Two days ago, our house was hit by what I can only descibe as a serial killer of chickens. Yep! You heard me right. You see, while you might think of this as a simple act of nature– a fox feeding on chickens, I have to remain a bit more cynical. On Wednesday, we lost four of remaining five chickens in broad daylight. The culprit was a fox. And the sucker wasn’t afraid of me at all. He simply stared me down and then sauntered off, after the carnage.
But what was really wrong for the whole thing was that the chickens were in immaculate condition. There were no chunks missing. There was no blood. Last year’s fox attacks resulted in headless lumps left in the chicken pen. But not with this fox. Their chicken necks were merely broken as they were left to flop around.
Our neighbor has lost more than forty chickens to this fox, and similar, disturbing results. His show chickens were killed and left pristine, as if posed.
I’ve thought about contacting the FBI’s BAU (Behavioral Analysis Unit), but let’s face it, there’s not a lot of experience to glean from. After all, there aren’t a lot of reported cases of serial killing foxes to build a profile. So, I’ve armed myself and I’m waiting. Foxes are creatures of habit. Yesterday, I stood ready and set a trap for the wiley fox. But he showed up before I could zero my scope on my Gamo rifle. I managed to get a body shot in, but it didn’t take him down. I am hoping he will come back by this afternoon so I can try to get a head shot in now that my scope’s sited. We’ll have to see.
Out of all our chickens, we only have one left– Olivia. Olivia also happens to be our oldest chicken. Well, I guess the fact that she’s the only one alive makes her the oldest. What I meant to say was that she has been with us longer than any other, previously living, chicken. Her theme song is I will Survive.
Wish me luck!
Category: Encouraging Bits, Mike Stuff, Misc. Rants, The Young Clan
Written by Mike Young on December 24, 2008 at 9:07 pm
Category: Encouraging Bits, The Young Clan
Written by Mike Young on August 4, 2008 at 7:05 am
I have been rather pre-occupied for the past few months– running a new company will do that to you. But so will planning for a wedding. This weekend kicked off a new chapter in my life and I have included a couple of pics.
My bride, EmilyElisabeth, couldn’t be more lovely. And apart from the fact that I am a lucky man, I am looking forward to building a family and a life with her.
I’ve got to say that I did have jitters on Saturday, but not for the reasons some may think. To begin with, our three extra house guests was a bit too much on our well and as water came to a trickle, I all of a sudden found myself dealing phobias such as using the gym shower to get cleaned up. Then we couldn’t get a hold of the DJ to plan out the event. He did manage to show up and did a good job. But the stress was pretty high. And lastly, when my friends and I arrived to the bed and breakfast, we found the place without power. So going down into the dungeon Egyptian room was a bit of a challenge. See that staircase
on the left? Well, imagine walking down it when it’s pitch black. And then imagine getting ready in the dark. It’s a normally awesome room. But there are times when novelty wears off. These were the contributors to pre-wedding jitters. Fortunately, everything came together and the ceremony was actually perfect and the festivities a blast.
For those who feel I could stand to learn a bit about preparation from the Boy Scouts, I actually thought ahead and brought bug spray to the event. And despite countless people saying, “Nah, I’ll be fine”, it was almost as popular as the bride. HOLY COW! The mosquitoes were in full force. And I have discovered a new law of physics that goes along with the notion that hot air rises. And that is that mosquitoes descend. Yep, that really cool looking room actually has no ventilation and is quite an attractor to mosquitoes. You could actually see them buzzing and congregating on the walls.
Anyway, despite the hiccups, I’ve never been happier.
Category: The Young Clan
Written by Mike Young on March 5, 2007 at 10:02 am
I’ve debated posting anything on this. I’ve tied to keep my personal life to myself, but my grandfather died this weekend and my mind is sort of all over the place.
I was just out in CA the other weekend for business and for some personal stuff. The Saturday before this past one, I took my sister and Brendan out to pay a visit to my grandfather. We hadn’t seen him in a couple of years. It’s never a very good excuse to be busy— too busy to see him or other loved ones. But that was the frequent line. It was hard to justify the 3+ hour drive out to his house.
Anyway, I was glad we made the trip. We had no idea it would be the last time we’d see him alive. He was actually looking like he was doing well. After all, he was 91.
Growing up, I didn’t really spend much time with my grandparents. There had always been a bit of a rif between my grandparents and my parents. This was largely due to disapproval over my mother for racial and, I’m sure, other reasons. The end result was that my sister and I grew spending very little time with my extended family. And trying to make up for such lost time as an adult isn’t very easy.
While I have been able, and fortunate, to be able to restore and build my relationship with my dad, I wasn’t so luck with the rest of my family. I think the relationship with my sister is the only other exception, and that’s a very recent thing.
So much has been coursing through my mind in the last few days. It’s tough living with regrets and I’ve found doing so to be of little value. Instead, it’s far better to simply learn from our decisions, both good and bad.
Anyway, I’ll be traveling back to CA, near the end of the week to attend the funeral services. I’m debating on whether or not to bring Brendan with me. He’s only 7 and such a service could be a bit much for him. But then again, I recall all of the services I missed out on, for similar thinking. And frankly, it may simply seem to be a boring church service to him. He had only seen his great grandfather a couple of times in his life. But, this will be another opportunity for him to see his other family. I wouldn’t want him to be deprived of the opportunity. But who knows? This could be another bad decision. …still weighing things.
Category: The Young Clan
