this past week "my little" sister
[she's 42 ...i mean 39 ...i mean younger]
has been in town with her husband MR C and the kids

we (me, M and the kids cm & the a-m)
catch a jays game on tuesday
our experience being heightened by the heckler
in our section
why the hell a body would heckle a third base coach
is beyond me
but i suppose like any artiste worth their paint
its not the medium its the result
it was impossible not to hear him
imagine yourself in a room with 2 tv's
one playing a news broadcast of impending doom
and the other playing pornography
i cant speak for anyone else but me
but when the bomb drops
im thinking "no body told me!!"

anyhoo

security tries to kick him out
and as irritatingly irrascible as he is
he proves to be more entertaining than a PITA
(i just made up - pain in the ass)
"LET HIM STAY" - we all chant
and sure enough - he leads us in the next cheer
"GO JAYS GO"
at this juncture my sister leans over and points out
"I" have been conspicuously absent
in representing our section

"hinske" is at bet, he used to be a jay
and homered at his last at bat
so i muster up my heckle
and yell (right at an untimed lull)
HINSKE - YER A BUM
everybody turns to look at the new heckler

i blush and stick out my chest

the jays lose but we had a raucous ole time

yesterday
the whole fam-damly reunited at my older bro's house
for the first time since summer '06
[minus my father, he's on a golf trip
which kinda greased the wheels]

man oh man
over and above my own re-connections
its great to see mom and my sister and dodo kebitz
frrreaky to see yet another nephew taller than my own
modest 5'9" ...ok ok ...5" 8&3/4"
cool to see my nieces blossom
and nice to see my ash's paul feel more comfortable
being part of us, our familie

not so much more importantly
but the reason i started this post
and meandered to this point

...is that "my ash and i" had one of "our moments"
with all of us just sittin around in the backyard
amongst multiple conversations
i hear a wood pecker
and as i am sitting beside my ash
i turn toward her with the intention
of doing "woody the woodpecker"
but i cant put my finger on it - dammit
she's looking at me looking at her with a blank stare
then i see the connection in her eyes
she knows exactly what im trying to do
hearing the woodpecker in the background
and my ash utters

"huhhuh huh huhhuh, huhhuh huh huhhuh
huh huh huh huh huh"

then we both BURST into laughter
"grasshopper" grabs the stone from my hand
i am chuffed and surprised
DAMN shes good!!

looking around i can see facial expressions
that say "what the heck?!"

our reunion broke up shortly after
and my little sister (& her family)
returned to "clear across the fucking country"
HAPPY to see my sister
im SAD to see her leave

times like this i wish canada
was a small country like ...let's say, ahh holland
we'd be just a jaunt apart

oh well - bright side, bern

for the life of me
i cannot imagine anything being more rewarding
then spending time with my family

[well, besides the obvious WW
...i'm just a man after all ;) ]

bern shares
bv)