I knew the day would come but I didn’t expect it to come so soon. Evan got up on one ski the first time out this year. Go figure. He struggled last year and couldn’t quite get it. I think the difference was having the extra weight in the boat. We tagged the skiing on the end of a fishing trip and why not. The surface was glass-like and the morning was otherwise pristine in every imaginable way. Not only did he get up but no sooner was he up than he was crossing the wake trying to create his only little wall of water. I was surprised at every turn. Make no mistake about it. Noah went first since he had swim trunks on that were less likely to drop off and the plan was that Evan and he would switch trunks once Noah had is turn. For whatever reason, that plan went out the window and the world never looked back. The Noah-meister, on the other hand, struggled to get outside the wake on 2 skis. Once out there, he fell when crossing back inside the wake. I think he is not as comfortable nor nearly as fascile as Evan in the water.

It was funny. We were sitting in Sandy Bay later in the day yesterday and he and Evan were going into shore from our spot out in the bay. Evan had Johnny Weismueller-like strokes as he outpaced his friend while swimming towards shore. Noah, who swims less well than Evan, was trying in vain to keep up and finally resorted to running. It reminded me of one of those scenes out of an old movies where the villain is running from the law and is painstaking in his efforts to make his way through the mangrove swamp while holding all his earthly possessions just above the surface of the water. I could hear the dogs barking while the sweat poured profusely from the brow of the convict in the humidity of the deep swamp. We’re not understanding entirely why Evan isn’t more interested in competing in water sports. As one of his chess teachers once told Evan, you don’t know how good you are.

Our first fishing foray was less successful and will not get much play in this here journal for that very reason. Needless to say, my casting was careless and juvenile while Evan thought that every snag was worth playing until he landed whatever it was that continued to tug on his line. We used the crawfish as quickly as we could knowing full well that the introduction of sun block to the water meant a slow but sure death for the little fella’s. It wasn’t intentional but once done it was inevitable. I’m not entirely certain why we didn’t have better luck on the lake but we didn’t so we went skiing instead. Noah, who used worms, struggled to catch anything and pulled in a sunfish or two. At least he caught something. Enough already.

Nancy suggested that I use some of the hamburger from her American Chop Suey recipe to fashion a bowl of chili for myself for dinner which I thought to be a good idea and did just that. I added some fresh tomatoes, onions, mushrooms, red peppers, and left over spaghetti sauce that Nancy made and I had what can only be described as a delectable chili for dinner. I had a few bites of greek salad just to cleanse the palate and it turned out to be a delicious meal. I will look forward to making that recipe at home. I am trying my best to segregate my recipes from that of the boys during this trip and have been successful so far. There recipes are a bit to carb loaded for me and I am looking for more of a balance between the carbs and protein. I have the ingredients for pepper, onion, and chicken pockets but I’m not sure who besides me and Nancy is interested. Noah perhaps, but I can see Evan not wanting any of it. We’ll see.

I’ve got oatmeal on a slow cooker and will have that with strawberries and skim milk for breakfast. I think with this South Beach thing, I am rediscovering food. Not only tasting it for change, but enjoying the fine art of food selection and preparation. I’m wanting to try different things. More onions, peppers, and natural food enhancers whatever they may be. As much as I wanted a piece of chocolate fudge last night while in the village with the family, I came within a hare’s breath of ordering a square of Heavenly Hash but chose not to. It was a surprisingly easy decision. It was even easier to walk away. Another surprise to me last night was the decision by the boys to stay close to us even though we had offered to let them got there own way. Where would they go? What would they do? They are both nearly 14 years old so why not cut them a little slack. It was their decision though probably not a conscience one. We stayed within eyeshot when in the village and they looked for us from time to time to make sure we were still there. We were. Isn’t that what parents are for?

“It’s all good.” “We got took.” “I dom’ed.” Where does this language come from. It’s like from a different culture. One that is foreign to me and unintelligible at times although I’m able to synch up with help from the boys. Is it hip-hop? Be-bop? Maybe it’s skateboarder slang. I was just catching up to Obama’s fist jab and I thought I was doing pretty well to take that all in when this business starts with Evan and Noah. Who knew. Say what?