The Jokelopedia...The Best, Silliest, Dumbest Joke Book Ever! Did I Mention Dumbest?

Working my part-time gig the other day, I came across a book, a book that plagued our family for years. It's a book that holds a special place in Taylor Family lore.

Oh, what a pox it was.

My oldest son (and our second son as well...) began reading when he was three-years old. And because he read so early, we got a lot of books. If you knew our oldest son when he was a youngster, you knew him as a precocious little squirt. We even signed him up with a talent agency through which he even got work. His paid performance career was short-lived, but that didn't stop him from loving the attention as the life of any party.

So, what did my sister-in-law give him for a Christmas present? We believe it was Christmas, but it could have been for his birthday.

Yes--the Jokelopedia, the Best, Silliest, Dumbest Joke Book Ever. He didn't get a hand-held video game where there was no volume control. No way! He got the Jokelopedia, a source of endless, and many would consider, tasteless jokes.

And our son took it and read it and memorized many of those jokes, after which he would tell to one and all many of these jokes. We tried getting my brother's family something to "even the score," but it was hopeless. We were beat, beat over the head by a big joke book.

Seeing the Jokelopedia at the library brought it all back. That's an example of how powerful books can actually be.

When Your Oldest Child Turns 21...

When you see your kids reach milestones in age, it reminds you of when you reached those same ages--at least, it does for me. Today our oldest turned twenty-one-years old. He's an old man. And considering I was almost thirty-years old when he was born, that makes me an extremely old man.

We had to whole family together today, which, considering I'm working two jobs now, is a rare thing. The only downer is the allergies hit me hard today. So much so, I missed out on going to see Kung Fu Panda 3 with the family.

Twenty-nine years ago I turned twenty-one. At that time I was living in Århus, Denmark's second largest city. I had a couple of months before my LDS mission was over. Because I kept a daily journal (even back then...), I just read about the day a few minutes ago. It wasn't a particularly rememberable day. Some friends of my mission companion came down from Ålborg (Denmark's third-largest city...) and we spent time with them. I don't know if we even celebrated my birthday all those years ago.

Tonight my in-laws came over and we had cake and ice cream. My son has his entire life ahead of him. He's got choices to make, school, marriage, career, basically decisions that will determine his future and the future of many others. It's a little strange--but also exciting--to watch your kids grow up. I wonder what lies in store for them.

Centerpoint Theatre's "Beauty And The Beast"...It Brought Back The Memories

This afternoon we loaded up the van and saw Centerpoint Theatre's production of Beauty & the Beast. I knew I would enjoy it--the music alone is fantastic. But what I didn't anticipate was the memories that flooded back to me.

In 2005, the incomparable Jim Christian and Rodger's Memorial Theatre (the forerunner to Centerpoint...) put on the same show. My son and I were fortunate enough to be cast, and we had a Gaston that could have walked right into Disneyland and played the part.

I was casts as an ensemble member and D'Arque.

Oh, and a cheese grater.

My son was cast as Chip.

Here's what he looked like then...

And what he looks like now.

My son and I did a lot of shows when he was younger. He kept acting in school doing mostly Shakespeare productions. Tonight my son and I both watched the show together. I watched new friends in the show and it reminded me of all the wonderful friendships I made in that show eleven years ago.

People go to the theatre (or a movie, or a sporting event...) for many reasons. They mostly go so they can feel something, excitement, fear, joy, pain, basically anything. This afternoon I went to a great show and reminisced. Amazing things happen both on stage and in the audience. I've been lucky enough to experience these things from both sides.