I noticed an eye patch on the floor in the restroom at work today and my first thought, obviously, was “What the hell is an eye patch doing in here?” And then I realized it was National Talk Like a Pirate Day (and some teams dressed up like pirates - wacky!) I view most people in bathrooms as gross - they’ll read someone else’s left-on-the-floor newspaper or magazine without thinking about it, so it’s entirely probable that the person who lost this eye patch would have just picked it up and worn it without thinking about it. However, I must have found a like soul - his obvious reluctance to reclaim his eyepatch indicates that he too believes that the five second rule is in full effect in a public restroom. It’s your freakin’ eye, man.

A friend/ex-coworker emailed me after my post about Amanda being fascinated with rocks that her daughter, also the same age, is also obsessed with rocks. Not particularly special rocks, just rocks, in general. She just picks them up and holds onto them like they’re treasures. So, parents, keep that in mind when your kid gets to be about 2 years old. You may suddenly find your home inexplicably filling with small, completely average looking rocks. (Nothing, however, explains why she needs to occasionally gnaw on the rocks.)

I don’t get this at all - there are rocks everywhere, so why certain ones draw her attention, I can’t imagine. They all look alike to me. One benefit of her rock-scavenging is that I’ve found that also really enjoys throwing things in the big garbage can outside, so I’ve employed her to get rid of some of the ones she doesn’t want - ugly rocks and small concrete chunks I dug up when doing our yard a few years back. This is a surprisingly effective method for getting rid of this crap.

I’ve kind of neglected this site for a few weeks now, but that doesn’t mean I’m not posting - Lookout For Hope has seen a lot of action lately, which makes sense since music is, you know, as the kids say, “my bag.”

For those who missed it, Amanda’s birthday was August 29, and I wrote up this piece over there about the day and her importance in my life. It really means a lot to me, so I hope you read it.