Della's In Town

Not just Della, of course.  She arrived with Magda, Joe and Dagny in tow for her first visit to the Folly.  Magda said "been there, done that."  Della liked the ocean more than her sister did initially.

Dagny's and Della's impact on our placid routine was no less dramatic than Will Smith's behavior at the Oscars.  We had a full range of activities planned beginning with some banana bread, egg salad and pool time, Thom's bailiwick.

Dad needed a nap.  

We drove to Lion Safari Saturday morning.  I had to go all the way to Kenya to see my first ostrich up close.  But not this close!

Goodwill provided Sunday morning's playtime puzzles and trike.  Dagny refused to demonstrate the animatronic unicorn, her favorite toy.  It matched the stuffed animal and ice cream flavor in the freezer.

Thom walked all the way to Spring Flowers in Worth Avenue last week (a 13-mile round trip) to buy the D-girls a pair of new dresses, keeping up a tradition he began last year when we first made Della's rambunctious acquaintance in Boston.

Trust me, Dagny wasn't all smiles when they opened the beautifully wrapped packages. Despite the bows on hers, she coveted Della's dress, badly.  By the way, that head band, adorned with a Christmas tree, never comes off.  Audi B knows her granddaughter's taste.

Afterward, skeptical Della, a Diane Sawyer lookalike, amassed a bunch of bling showing off her colorful new outfit at Palm Beach County's gay pride parade.  "More" is her favorite word by far, especially when it comes to marshmallows in fruit salad.

And daddy Joe could not be a more vocal ally!  He and Magda were definitely more into the parade than either Thom or I.

The weather during their four-day visit cooperated for a change:  cool nights, warm days and no wind.  We headed to Phipps Ocean Park late Monday afternoon.

I can't tell you how happy this photo makes me!

Thom transported a yummy panzarella picnic dinner using a fancy basket from Hammacher Schlemmer, an anniversary gift never opened by his deceased parents.  We should have toasted them!

Given the shrimp and Sour Patch Kid candies that I had just consumed, it probably wasn't the smartest move to offer Dagny a helicopter swing, something I used to do for Magda when she was around the same age.  Although dizziness nearly toppled us, we didn't lose our cookies.

Now that Magda has children of her own, it's not hard to believe I've been a guncle for nearly four decades.

On Tuesday morning, I had just enough time to watch Dagny feed peanuts to the squirrels in Bryant Park.

What a wonderful visit!

 

Say It Loud & Clear!

You've got to wonder what Dagny and Della were thinking when these drag queens waved and threw them enough loot to fill a stroller.

They even took the guys dancing half-naked in stride, although there weren't nearly as many of those.

Dagny LOVES Belle, from Beauty and the Beast.  I gave her a piggy bank that looked just like this mom.  She's still sleeping with it!

There were unicorns on golf carts, too.  Only in Florida!

I'm glad Dagny didn't ask what this costume signified.  If I were a teacher and she was my student, I wouldn't have been able to tell her without fear of losing my job.

Just what I need!

This year's pride parade had more political significance than in year's past because Trump wanna-be Ron De Santis cynically signed "Don't Say Gay" legislation the week before.  These marchers, with a mock-up of the Florida state capitol in Tallahasee, weren't having it.  They jubilantly tore the building open.

Among other hateful things, the vaguely written bill prohibits children in kindergarten through third grade from learning about sexual orientation or gender identity. It represents the worst kind of backsliding by trying to segregate the full range of human nature from kids but classrooms are the new battlegrounds in the nation's culture wars and the LGBTQ community is losing ground in red states.  Where will it end?

Wife-Carrying Contest

Lake Worth's annual Midnight Sun Festival features a wife-carrying contest.  For the uninitiated, the emcee explained that in Finland, men looking for wives had to raid distant villages and carry them off over their shoulders.

Eight couples participated this year, each twice completing an obstacle course in the first heat that included two hurdles and water-filled wading pools.

This kid blew away most of the competition.  He and his wife have adopted "the Estonian variation" rather than piggybacking.

I'm pretty sure bald competitor in this video will win the final heat. Randy and I didn't stay to find out.