what? nobody's seen escape from new york? what is this? an audience or an oil painting? i get nothing from this crowd . . .

ok. so my first snake "i thought you were dead" plissken post fell a little flat. but i'm glad to be blogging on this monday night. i'll make it fast (and without arcane kurt russell references).

random observation. i missed the monday night football opening sequence. but i'll bet it was IN MY FACE. dizzying camera spins and mind-numbing montages. ugh. i long for the simplicity of no hype, old school broadcasting. curt gowdy rocks.

while kris is on his whirlwind tour of bangkok (don't miss the seasoned curly fries at the hard rock cafe there), i had a moment tonite.

it was one of life's simplest pleasures. and i've gotta share it. because i almost missed it.

i was anointed dog-walker by my family tonite. it was a nearly unanimous ruling. so i threw on a t-shirt, harnessed our hyper pup and helmeted the x-man. the boy was to mount his cheap bike and ride with us. trying to manage both of them -- and traffic -- was, trying, indeed.

so we get to the creek across the street. and the speed of life picks up even more. dog and boy want to run. off the bike. in the water. up the hill. after other dogs. at this point, i'm cargo at the end of a leash.

and as dusk falls, i'm ready to get my weary bones home. put the boy down. the dog out. and get on with my trivial activities.

until i stand with my son and dog, gazing from the mild hilltop where the bike is parked. a beautiful scene is unfolding in front of us. in the day's fading light, i notice the area we've been running in. how lush and green the freshly mowed grass is. and that scattered over the football field's length of it are dozens of fireflies, lazily glowing and floating about. all under a radiant full moon.

"da. can i catch a firefly?"

about three words of my explanation to go home were already out of my mouth when i stopped.

the three of us used the rest of today's light running through the soft grass, laughing as we tried to cup our hands around an elusive firefly.

consider it joy, my brothers.