To paraphrase Ghostbusters. . .

"When someone asks you if you want a 36" t.v.---you say YES!"

This week, my parents will be getting an LCD flatpannel, so today we became the proud inheritors of their old 36" tube TV! An unexpected event that spawned much happy-dancing.

It is, of course, dramatically larger than anything we've had before. Too large, in fact, to even fit into our living room entertainment center. Even in our planning for the future we never saw a day when we'd get into something like this.

So far, when all the kids have come into the 'playroom' (where we ended up putting it), the first thing out of their mouths is 'woah'.

It is an unbelievable upgrade over the little 19" they had attached to the Playstation. Lemur even made note that now the Star Wars Legos game is several times bigger on the screen than actual Leggos.

In other news. . .

After I hooked everything up, the little Bear was primed for an outing. The place he wanted to go? The place of greatest adventure in his mind? Wal-Mart.

But an odd thing, happened. When we pulled into the Wal-Mart parking lot, he immediately broke into tears. I know many socially active folk have done the same, but for him it's different. He at first wouldn't even allow me to say that it was in fact Wal-Mart we were parked in front of. When he gave to that point, seeing as I wouldn't concede it, he then went on about how this wasn't the Wal-Mart he wanted to go to. But it's the only one we have. So, I asked him, where was this other Wal-Mart he wanted to go to. He said he wanted to go to the Wal-Mart in the sky, pointing his little index finger to the roof of the car.

The Wal-Mart. In the sky.

I have no idea.

Sounds like some sort of Texas metaphor. It will be of those mysteries that dies with the universe. So we headed back home. Which was fine with me.

That's where the Wal-o-Video was.

Happy VD

So today is the day of love and merriment . . . for some.

The red head boy is having his first Valentines Day of twitterpation. There is a young lady he is fond of and he went out and bought her a special something with his own money. He went to Halmark and picked out a love hippo (she collects hippos--and the love hippo is all plush and soft and read and white with hearts and stuff).

But he also experienced the need to budget. After getting the hippo he had nothing left for candy or flowers. His frustration was compounded when Dad didn't have money to buy stuff for his girl either--so no amount of begging could help.

The daughter is experiencing her first Valentines day of heart-ache. Her break up was months ago but the wound still lingers and flares occasionally---like on a day that focuses all of it's efforts on romance.

So she is making this a black Valentines with some of her love lorn friends. She wrote a poem for her creative writing class, "Let me Burn you a Valentine" in preparation. Then today she dressed all in black, with her knee high, platform mega buckle boots (that her Grandma got her for Christmas!), black make-up and fingernails and Dad's black leather biker jacket. (If I were a teen age boy, I'd be in love.)

She also had her Winnie the Pooh backpack. She's so awesome.