Monday, April 4, 2011

What are A, B, and C for?

    My blogging buddy, Septembermom, over at My Voice, My View, joined an “April A to Z” challenge where she posts a new blog entry every day in April, except Sunday. The topic for the first day is “A,” the second day is “B,” and so on. She looked like she was having so much fun that I became very jealous, irritable, and whiny until I noticed that right on her sidebar was an invitation to the party!  Like always, I arrived late for all the fun so I am making up for it by posting my A, B, and C entries all in one day. Click on the link on my sidebar if you want to avoid the jealous, irritable and whiny stage and head right for the buffet table.
    A is for Alex.  Alex is my nephew who is now a senior in college. He is the first child of my sister, Kelli.  Since toddlerhood, this child has been amazing. When he was under five years old, my sister found him with encyclopedias lined up on the floor, opened to various pages. When she asked him what he was doing, he said he was lining up the Canadian prime ministers, in order. At age five, he could identify the national flag of almost every country in the world. When he was a little older—oh, roughly around age seven—he could name all of the U.S. presidents in order, along with their vice presidents, and their political parties.  It was around that time that my sister called me one morning, to tell me that Alex was refusing to go to school.
    “Who is Benjamin Netanyahu?” she asked.
    “I think he’s the new Prime Minister of Israel. Why?”
    “Alex doesn’t want to go to school because he heard that one of the morning news shows is going to interview Benjamin Netanyahu and he doesn’t want to miss it.”
    Well then.
    He later got interviewed for a two-part TV evening news segment shortly before the 1996 election, in which he demonstrated his knowledge of the presidents. He got to show off the cast, from a previous broken arm, that was signed by Hillary Clinton. At a political meeting, young Alex got to ask Newt Gingrich a question. The audience, and Newt, was dumbfounded when Alex asked a question something along these lines: “Mr. Speaker, can you tell me if security measures have been stepped up in light of the recent embassy bombings in Africa?”
    Alex has grown into a delightful young man who loves old, old, movies and politics (hard to believe, eh?) He hosts a college sports program and is graduating from the University of Iowa with a degree in Political Science.
    One of the most amazing things about Alex, is that he attracts famous people. No matter where he goes, famous people line up to get a picture taken with him. 
                                                         
 Alex with Chuck Norris


Alex with John McEnroe
Photos lovingly stolen from Alex's Facebook account
    B is for black jelly beans. Ever since I was a baby Quangster, I have loved them. When I dug through my Easter baskets, I always saved the black beans for last and ate them all at once in a gluttonous feast. Last Friday, I played trivia games with my students, with the reward being 1 jelly bean per correct answer at the end of the game. I was secretly delighted when one by one they would tell me what color they wanted, with most of them saying something like, “I’ll take any color but black.”  By the end of the day, there were only black, and a few white, jelly beans left. A whole black jelly bean stash just for me, me, me!

    C is for Chunk.  My chunky little grandson turned two today. He is a master charmer who no matter how much chaos he causes will steal your heart.  When he comes to visit, he loves to feign indifference, all the while checking to make sure he is being watched. He’ll walk away, but turn his head around and smile deviously. He is known for his messes, whether it is a pitcher of orange juice knocked on the floor, a set of muddy footprints tracked across his mother’s bed, toothpaste squeezed out all over the floor, or cereal crunched under chubby toddler feet. We love our little Chunk and are grateful for the past two years of joy that he has given to us.
 Photo Credit: Candice the Cool

What about you? Are you up for the A to Z challenge?

11 comments:

  1. Love this post; looking forward to D-Z. Alex is a great kid. I don't like black jelly beans, and Chunk is mega-cuteness.

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  2. Awesome Randi! I look forward to this. I too am a lover of black jelly beans and am delighted to report that my husband and children detest them. It is a nice change from fighting over them with my mom and sisters.

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  3. Hey I'm happy that you're joining the fun!! Happy birthday to gorgeous little Chunk!!! He's so cute. Your nephew is very handsome too. Looking at encyclopedias at that young age is very impressive.

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  4. Auntie M: You may have to help me come up with something on "X" day. I'm already stumped and it's not until the end of the month!

    Lela: So do you love black licorice too? I always choose black licorice over red.

    septembermom: I'm glad I finally decided to just go ahead and join. I had such fun reading your posts! Little Chunk wasn't so cute by the end of his birthday tonight--his older brother, Avatar, bonked him in the head with a metal baseball bat, and now he looks like Worf from Star Trek: The Next Generation. He's got a big lump right between the eyes.

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  5. Do you have Z? I have one for you.

    X might be harder.

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  6. So that is why you always put a ton of black jelly beans in my Easter basket!!! You knew I didn't like them and that I would have to give them to you. I guess it is another good parenting tip, lol. Give your kids the things they don't like so they give it to you. ;P

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  7. Auntie M: Do tell!

    Levizmom: I hate when your kids get old enough to catch on to all your tricks. Dang it.

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  8. Your great-great-grandfather's name was Zebulon Francis Guertin. Does that give you any ideas for Z?

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  9. Auntie M: Why, yes, it does! :)

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  10. gorgeous photo of Chunk!

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  11. Jill: Isn't it great? Our friend Candice takes the most stunning photos.

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