I like to do things.
I want to make things. Sometimes
it works, but for the most part I end up feeling like Tooter Turtle*. And who
am I kidding, it NEVER works and I ALWAYS end up feeling like this in the
middle of whatever project I do. But I
do learn some things and have gathered enough skills to lightly compete with
Middle Age Man**, although our most common similarity is age.
This weekend I combined these skills as I tried to help my
son in the middle of HIS project.
Combining the forces of Tooter Turtle and Middle Aged Man I stepped
right into areas that I have no business being in. Rest assured, while starting to feel that it
is time to call on Mr. Wizard, I am gamely proceeding forward. It is only a matter of time before I seek
comfort with my side kick, Drinking Buddy (see video below).
Peter, my son, is more than knee deep in his current
discovery. Having much grander ideas
than even I would have contemplated, Peter has bought a new house that,
although not what one would call a fixer upper, one that needs a bit of
work. He has ripped out floors (the hard
way, i.e with my help), replaced windows, added sheetrock, painted walls, re
done hardwood floors and laid tile. All
while trying to hold down his full time job and with a child under one, and oh
yeah during that calm period of life between Thanksgiving and Christmas. A chip off the old block(head) on steroids –
what the hell was he thinking.
The current project problem has been set upon Peter from that notorious
super villain Epoxy Haze. Peter has been
slaving trying to correct a flaw that all the experts are telling him (similar
to my cooking disasters) could have been prevented by doing “something else”
before he had the problem. Nice advice
AFTER the problem exists. I have bought
some secret formula epoxy haze remover from the super heros at Georgetown
And stop looking at my gut....I'm working on it!
And stop looking at my gut....I'm working on it!
**
*Tooter Turtle (sometimes spelled Tudor
or Tutor) is a cartoon about a turtle that first appeared on TV in 1960, as a
segment, along with The Hunter a detective dog, as part of the King Leonardo
and His Short Subjects program. "Tooter Turtle" debuted on NBC,
on Saturday, October 15, 1960, and ran for 39 original episodes through July
22, 1961. These episodes were later rerun as backups on other cartoon shows,
but no more original episodes were made.
The plots followed the same general format. Tooter (voiced by Allen Swift) calls on his friend Mr. Wizard the Lizard (voiced by Sandy Becker), an anthropomorphic lizard wearing wizard cone hat, robe, and pince-nez eyeglasses. Mr. Wizard lived in a tiny cardboard box at the base of a tall tree. The introductory segment had Tooter knocking on the cardboard box, having "another favor to ask." From inside the box, Mr. Wizard would shrink Tooter small enough to enter through the box's front door, and invite him in. Mr. Wizard has the magic to change Tooter's life to some other destiny, usually sending him back in time and to various locales.
As Tooter is doing his destiny, Mr. Wizard narrates about it. When Tooter's trip finally became a catastrophe, Tooter would request help with a cry of "Help me Mr. Wizard, I don't want to be X any more!" where X was whatever destiny Tooter had entered. Mr. Wizard would then rescue Tooter with the incantation, "Twizzle, Twazzle, Twozzle, Twome; time for this one to come home." Then, Mr. Wizard would always give Tooter the same advice: "Be just what you is, not what you is not. Folks what do this has the happiest lot."
