10/30 - Early Christmas?

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Tuesday, October 30, 2007
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The other night there was an orchestra concert at the High School
for son #1. Afterwards, we all headed to Wendy’s for Frosties.
When we left, there was a small Italian Restaurant next door that
had a big sign right in front of our van that said, “Tired of
Burgers? Try Us!” It was a new little place (really little) called
Little Italy or something. I told my sweet wife that we needed to
try it on our next date night.

She reminded me that there was a new Ribs place by Smith’s that we
wanted to try first. So, last week was the rib place, and Friday
night was Little Italy. I think I like the Italian place better.
Not that the rib place was bad, it just seemed... well... regular
I suppose. Anyway, the Italian place only had 12 tables or so, and
there were only 4 full tables. (Which doesn’t bode well for first
impressions). But, I think it’s still pretty new. We joked that
the music playing must have been from some stereotypical Italian
music CD. We had heard all but 1 or 2 songs. But, after awhile it
blended in with the atmosphere, which I thought was really great.

Then, the food was really good too. It took several minutes for
the pre-dinner bread to come out, but it was hot and (of course,
Italian) tasted wonderful. We finished the small loaf, and when
our dinner came, my sweet wife asked for more. “Oh, just a second,
we’ll throw another one in the oven.” So, that’s why it takes a
few minutes for the bread. The salad was just your average iceberg
lettuce fair, and not very impressive, but the house dressing
tasted homemade and was very garlicy. Wonderful stuff.

Anyway, both of our spaghetti’s were great. And next time I’d like
to try the pizza. Although I’m sure it wasn’t good for my
triglycerides, I’d still give it a 4½ out of 5 date night stars.

Little Italy Pizzeria & Ristorante
9284 S. 700 E.
Sandy UT 84070
(801)255-0363
Dominic Galati

Also on Friday, we got a call from Primary Children’s Hospital.
(Why does my heart drop ever time they call. Ug...) But this time
it was good news. They said, “We have a very generous donor who
would like to give you a pair of tickets to the Hanna Montana
concert tomorrow.” Well, Yeah... Of course son #4 would love to
go! So son #4 and I did. We got to sit in a suite with about 15
other kids. The suite had all of the goodies; food, and lots of
it. Hot dogs and big chicken nuggets for the kids, and shrimp for
me. Boy, I love shrimp! They also brought ice cream and brownies.
There was a TV, bathroom, kitchen sink, and drinks galore. It was
awesome. Son #4 and I had a great time! David Vankomen, owner and
CEO of Vankomen Media was the generous donor. He seemed like a
really nice guy too! Anyway, here are some pictures with captions.




Here's a couple of pictures just before the concert. I've never met
any of these folks before. That in itself was interesting.
David's the one in blue.




Here are a couple of shots from stage right. We saw backstage too, and
that was cool. Son #4's favorite thing to say when people ask him about
the concert is, "They even had fireworks... Inside!" The 2nd photo is one
of the Jonas Brothers. Good music. Really loud.


We got there several minutes late, and when I tried to get son #4
to go to his seat in the front, it was already dark. He couldn't
see the stairs very well, and refused to go any further than the
protective table (that fed him all concert long). He does not like
new things that he can't see well. (Hiking, dark stairs, etc.)


At son #4's last IEP, they talked about using a monocular for him, along with
his white cane and braille studies. They suggested we try them out at
concerts and sporting events. So, I brought along some binoculars. He seemed
to do pretty well with them.


Here you see ketchup and blue M&M juice on his face. Matches the ear plugs I'd say.


This little girl and son #4 were the only ones who were dancing. Her mom
seemed to really have a good time too. I asked son #4 why he was dancing
so hard, and he said, "Hanna told me to!"

45 minutes after this girl's mom told me her daughter had type I dibetes,
I brought down the tray of brownies and offered everyone some. I felt
like such a putz when she said, "Um, no thanks. She can't have any."
D'oh!

Then, just before the concert started, David handed out a gift
bag to each of the kids. Each bag had a Nintendo DS game system,
with ‘Brain Age 2’ and another game inside. I thought, wow! Are
you kidding? It was really nice. But, I immediately thought of
sons #1, #2, and #3, and thought how they might be jealous.
(Especially son #3 who seems to think life is unfair to him, and
such a blessing for son #4. I can see his point, with the brain
tumor/youngest son/”profoundly socially adept” thing going on,
it's easy to miss some things with the other boys. But, I
digress...)

So, on the way home I asked son #4 if he wouldn’t mind sharing
his new treasure with his brothers. Without hesitation he said,
“Sure dad” Almost as if to say it rolling his eyes, ‘like there
would be any doubt dad...’ He is a good kid.

So, last night for family night we carved pumpkins (I think mine
is the best this year) and wrote thank you notes to Mr. Vankomen.

Life is good...

Enjoy Today’s Jokes!
Marty

p.s. Reading over this issue of the JOTD, and the last couple of
ones, I’ve noticed I’ve written a lot about food. (Wendy’s
frosties, ribs, Italian food, shrimp, etc.) I guess it shows I’m
more appreciative of the stuff anymore. Last August I got serious
about a diet. As of this morning, I’ve shed 25 pounds. I love it
when people who know me, and don’t know I’m on a diet say, “have
you lost weight?” It gives me a thrill! But, I’ve really tried to
keep it hush hush. I suppose it’s because I guess I’m embarrassed
about my weight. Anyway, one of my ‘treats’ I told myself I’d give
myself at 25 pounds, was that I would tell my JOTD readers. So,
the next time you see me, give me an ‘atta boy, but don’t give
up now...’ message.

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A man walks into an ice cream shop and asks, "I'd like two scoops
of chocolate ice cream, please." The girl behind the counter
replied, "I'm sorry, sir, but we're out of chocolate." "In that
case," the man continued, "I'll have two scoops of chocolate ice
cream." "We're out of chocolate," the girl repeated. "Then just
give me one scoop," he insists. Frustrated, the girl says, "Sir,
will you spell 'van,' as in 'vanilla?'" "V-A- N." "Now spell
'straw,' as in 'strawberry.'" "S-T-R-A-W." "Now," the girl asked,
"spell 'stink,' as in chocolate." The man hesitates. "There's no
stink in chocolate." "That's what I've been trying to tell you!"
she screams.

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"What is that sound?" a woman asked at our nature center. "It's
the frogs trilling for a mate," Patti, the naturalist, explained.
"We have a pair in the science room. But since they've been
together for so long, they no longer sing to each other."
The woman nodded sympathetically, "The trill is gone."

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Two female privates are ordered to paint the general's office.
They are warned not to get paint on their uniforms. So they lock
the door, strip off their clothes and get to work. An hour later,
there's a knock at the door. "Who is it?" they ask. "Blind man."
Thinking nothing of it, the privates open the door. "Hi," says the
man. "Where do you want the blinds?"