Hey gang, don't tell anybody, but I'm kind of into the ballet. Not that I know that much about it, and not that I dig men in tights, but those people can do some amazing things. If you can get past all the uber gayness, I'm not certain they aren't the most terrific athletes I've seen. Put a basketball in some of those dudes hands and I'm certain that in the process of missing a slam dunk terribly (why else would they being doing ballet if they could hammer a ball through a hoop) they'd bang their chin on the rim. Sometimes I get the feeling that they're about to jump out of the theater. One time I went to the ballet early as before the matinee show on Sundays, they have a meet the performer kind of question and answer period. They brought out a guy from Lithuania who talked about how he got into the art. Oddly enough, this guy wasn't gay. He went on to tell that he had reached a point in his career where he had to seriously consider whether to commit to it whole hearted or to give it up and concentrate on his schooling. He decided that it wasn't for him and he quit. People shifted a bit in their seats and then he backed up and said that he quit playing hockey, further breaking the stereotype. Later at the behest of his mother, he got into the ballet and he liked the physical demands it put on him. So yesterday was a real treat. I went with the wifeage and kids and two grandma's in tow, to the Nutcracker in San Francisco. It is a great time as all the kids are dressed to the nines. My boy wore a tie and looked smart in a 3/4 length black jacket. The girl wore a black evening type dress with a rose clad sash. She wore a matching red bow in her hair. Most of the other children in attendance were equally decked. They both loved the show and I loved their expressions. I asked them what their favorites were and they both liked the fight between the toy soldiers and the rats. I liked the Russian Cossacks as they always seem to dance as if they're suspended from a wire. It's really bizarre how they dance about.

Back to normal today. Went looking for the boy to say goodbye before I left for the rock pile this morning and found him hiding in a closet munching on a chocolate cookie baked up special for a cookie party they are going to at Ms. Colleen's house. I opened the door and he defiantly told me with a huge grin on his face, "I'm sneaking a cookie." "Indeed," was my reply as I shut the door trying not to explode in laughter.

I got it good.

Johnny GoFast