It was the Snake’s birthday the other day. It has been a long time since Babel-on-the-Bay told you about him and his brother, the Corporal. It might not be political.
But Snake at seventeen is something. Tall, tanned, tapered and talented, he might be the answer to many a maiden’s dreams. You could hardly ask for a finer, more obliging grandson. He was at the daughter and son-in-law’s summer place in Muskoka near Parry Sound and we drove up for the birthday celebration. Snake took us out by boat for dinner of pizza at a place on the lake. Skimming over the still waters in a summer evening in that part of the country is an idyllic experience.
The younger, more rambunctious Corporal was also there. Recently turned 15, the Corporal will be taller than his brother when he grows into his large sized feet. Already tall, gangly and pushing the bounds of handsome, he has all the fast moves of the hockey goalie role he enjoys through the winter.
And wow, how their mother has changed her tune since she was that age and knew everything there was to know. Maybe there is nothing youth cannot outgrow when they are loved very much.
Snake and his mother recently completed the Camino de Santiago pilgrimage from Portugal. We are not sure if they gained anything spiritual from the experience but the long walk was wonderful exercise and it seems the real value was the people they met.
Both Snake and the Corporal were adamant this year that they had more than enough books still to read from their grandparents and that more practical birthday gifts were in order. We have not given up on encouraging them to read but we have noted that it is not an overwhelming pastime of today’s youth.
But we are more discouraged about their seeming lack of interest in politics. Their mother grew up in a very political home with political guests or political conversation at many a dinner. They are aware of this blog but seem to be blasé about its nature. To make note of some aspect of politics each day might be fun for their grandfather but boring to these young men.
They might not be aware yet that, as the term is used in the army, they have been mentioned in dispatches.
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Copyright 2014 © Peter Lowry
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