East of Boston

Mongoose vs Smurf

Up at 3 AM notes... doing the werewolf shift again

- Never let young children watch scary movies. I'm not talking The Exorcist or anything. I'm talking a scary cartoon.

Two children's movies gave me the creeps when I was a kid. I can't tell you how Willie Wonka and the Chocolate Factory ends, as I bailed out right when they were killing that fat kid. I liked chocolate more than Gene Wilder, so my decision to bail was a sound one. No need to develop a Phobia, especially over a wimpy guy with a blonde afro.

 Going down to the kitchen for some cake instead of watching WW&TCF was actually a positive, as I- a small child- made a rational decision when faced with an irrational situation. I've never looked back, either.

Gabrielle and Melissa won't see that one unless Elle comes over with it, or if they're watching TV when Mommy falls asleep. The Colonel- who enjoyed that film as a child- knows better than to cross me on this. Tough to get laid from the couch.

The other film that creeped me out as a kid was the one we (the whole family, and Elle) watched this evening. We were YouTubing for a good kids movie, and we came across an old Jungle Book classic, animated by the Bugs Bunny people.

YouTube - Rikki-Tikki-Tavi (1975) - Part 1 of 3

This is a fairly ugly story about a heroic mongoose who is kept as a pet by an English family in India. The family lives on an estate with not one but two cobras. The cobras speak in an evil hiss, and are pretty much all about killing the whole fam damily.

RTT isn't having that shi+, though... and he kills both cobras in a series of terrifying battles. Prior to doing so, he discusses strategy with the camera. "If I can break her neck from the jump...." and "I'll bite the head, and just hang on long enough to kill it."

Granted... cobras don't have necks/spines to break, and mongooses don't talk. The film still scared me as a child, but I was outvoted.

Keep in mind... the other people with votes were the Colonel, Elle, and 2 children. The dog- who the kids came to view as a second line of defense- didn't get a vote. No one with a vote- except for me- has to get up when they have nightmares.

So... the movie ends, the kids are still scared- even after RTT dispatches the cobras- and they wake up five times with nightmares...including the 3 AM session that pretty much has me up for the rest of the night.

Melissa was more difficult at first, although having Sloppy Dog sleep in her room seems to have assuaged her fears somewhat.Kipling had his mongoose,while Melissa has a pretty goofy border collie who has run from a cat before. What she doesn't  know won't hurt her, especially 41 degrees or so above the equator.

Gabrielle is old enough that a border collie doesn't soothe her when thinking about cobras. She wouldn't sleep until I laid down beside her... and would wake up every time I tried to sneak away. It cost me a Celtics game, but one must prioritize.

The Colonel and I have a very strict division of duties. If there's some sort of noise in the house when we're in bed, he is the one who gets to get up and investigate. 100% of the time, it's the dog growling at a skunk/raccoon in our yard, but that's his problem. He's simply better equipped to deal with a potential prowler than I am.

When the kids wake up, the duty falls onto me. This was pretty much driven by feeding when the girls were infants, but it has evolved into glasses of water and nightmare counseling.

Elle- who had a vote- sleeps in the cellar bedroom, and gets neither Prowler or Nightmare duty. Even if we're not home and she's alone with the kids, her instructions in case of a prowler involve locking herself and the kids into a bedroom and calling Big L.

It's not as rude as it sounds... Big L is a drug dealer, and 3 AM is sort of his Peak Business Hour. He knows the deal, and promises to come over armed. My house is one of the few houses where a prowler is Unfortunate if he chooses to attack our home while the huge ex-soldier husband is out.

No prowler tonight... just a couple of kids who are afraid of a mid-winter cobra attack in Massachusetts. Sloppy Dog is still laying at the foot of Melissa's bed, performing her protector function admirably.

In other news.... emptying out my Favorites bookmarks....

YouTube - Right outta JAWS : Great White visits Martha's Vineyard area... you might remember this guy, who got into the papers for a few days with his summer visit to our shores. I seen one eat a rocking chair once....

YouTube - Demetriu Hook Mitchell Dunks.... one of the better streetball legends, the Hook is an Oakland area baller who chose Drugs over an NBA career. He's one of the few men who can jump over a car and dunk a basketball... a good skill to have, seeing how people drive Mustangs onto the court a lot in the NBA.

YouTube - Food Court Musical... if you choose to eat at a food court, you deserve whatever happens to you. The last time I was really sick from food was when Elle talked me into eating Taco Bell at the Independence Mall food court. She got sick, too... and after that, she was much more amenable to my cooking lessons.

This will probably be my Football graphic for some time. Quarterbacks... never set your WR up when he's coming over the middle....

... that brother got popped open like a bag of chips.

 CAPE COD CROSSOVER AAU BASKETBALL...  peep around on that page, and you'll notice that the Cape Cod Crossover pro level AAU team is currently being coached by Joe "Jelly Bean" Bryant. Jelly Bean is the father of NBA star Kobe Bryant, as well as a former NBA player in his own right. If the Crossover are playing, check them out... they're as good as basketball gets on Cape Cod.... except when I'm in a game somewhere.

Note... I went 3-1 betting on the boys hoop tournament, with only Scituate failing to close the deal. 3-1 with the girls, as Wellesley did what I told them not to do. 

Hockey today... go Sammich! (2:45 PM, TD Banknorth Garden)

Coming real soon... the return of Baby Magic (Elle) for the NCAA March Madness selection game. Be sure to tune in here at EOB to match college basketball knowledge with a teenager.