Category Photo Journal

Pig Leg Slap

Here’s a video I meant to post several weeks ago. Fair warning, it’s pretty stupid and there’s one instance of NSFW language.

This spring Dub hosted a Whole Hog Party pig roast at his house. I had really wanted to see my old buddies from high school again, before I moved out of Helena for a while and I was lucky to have been back home to catch up and join ’em for this. Jayson and I used to play a game—he mentions it briefly before I smack him—called Paper, Rock, Scissors, Punch-in-the-Face. The rules were simple. The winner of paper rock scissors gets to punch the other guy in the face. The loser gets to decide if he wants to play again.

Thinking of My Nephew

From My Ma:
Bannack loves to mow! Only pretend. When Mike starts the mower engine Bannack is frightened!

I’m missing my little guy.

My sister, Chris and Bannack are staying up at my parent’s house so they can get their place rented before the big move to New York in August. So when I called home recently I got to talk to everyone, including little Bannack.

My mom wanted him to show off his newest word to me and put him on the line. I could only imagine what he looked like, but the little tyke growled something that sounded an awful lot like “garage” into the telephone and it made my day.

The Diner Next Door

Here is a table full of some of the people I’m in class with at the iO Training Center every Friday. For the past couple of weeks a handful of us have gotten together at the Salt and Pepper Diner, right next door to the theater, shoved tables together and started to get to know each other. We just finished our sixth week of first level classes, and only have two weeks to go. Time flies!

Stores for Spies

It’s impossible to miss this gem at the intersection of Western and Fullerton. Behind the buzzing neon window display a particle board wall bristles with security cameras for sale. To make them look more high tech, they’re all back lit with blue LED light, the most high tech color of all. Above the shop there may be an office that looks like this.

It’s important not to confuse this store with the world famous Boring Store, a little further south on Milwaukee Avenue. The Boring Store is a great novelty shop and a heck of a lot more fun than the paranoid and creepy Spy Store. And though I may be killed for blowing their cover, I’ll write it anyway, the Boring Store is a front for a really cool writing and tutoring program 866Chi. One of several big city storefront writing workshops started by author Dave Eggers.

end transmission…

Easter in Helena

I extended my stay in Montana so I could have a little more time with my family and friends before really diving into life in Chicago. I was glad I did.

Chris hard boiled some Easter eggs and dyed them Martha Stuart style in red cabbage and turmeric. He and I took Bannack a little way up Mount Helena to collect some grass for his basket and I made a little Easter nest.


It was great to get to fill an Easter basket with little Bannack.

The Hunt!

This was the first year Bannack was able to attempt an Easter egg hunt and he did very well! We took him to the one hosted by the Hibernians at Memorial Park. Bannack was raring to go at the starting gate and held his own against the six year olds towering above him.