Uncle Steve loved to mess with the boys while he was here, and they sure loved it! Here is Ben in the “bird cage”! We soon got Sam in there and covered it up – that is supposed to make birds go quiet. Having a big strong man around during the day to mess with the boys (while I was working, writing papers and such) sure made it a very interesting and boisterous house! We have so many funny memories.

Here are a couple things Steve always said, which we find ourselves saying all the time…

“Ahoy there!”

“How was school, Sam? Gooood?”

“You kids like stickers? Ah know ah do!”

“STOOOOOP!”

We miss you, Uncle Steve! Miss all of your humor, wit, insights into the world around us, your quiet browsing on your laptop at the table, bringing new farmer friends over, homemade pizza to die for, fires that are robust AND a work of art, and more Beatles documentaries (and Miles Davis) than one man should have ever endured. “HEY! My friends call me whiskers, becuz ah’m a worrier!” (that is a funny SNL episode – Harry Carray).

We have been reading about Shakespeare in another really great Landmark Series book – Will Shakespeare and The Globe Theater. The boys have been captivated. They started acting out the fall of Caesar – with me, and baseball bats, out on the driveway, in the dark and cold, after playing football. They didn’t care that they were falling down and lying in the gravel. It has been so fun to watch them. Ben has a very natural way of dying – he oozes down, one leg lingering in the air, then flops to his side, motionless. He won’t come to, either. But Sam figured out how to make him come alive – he tickles his cheek! Sam is very different when he dies – very calculated, deliberate hands reaching back, ensuring it won’t hurt. Ben totally commits – he’s closer to the ground, after all. When Sam pretended to be Caesar and said “Et tu, Brute?” it sounded like he was laughing. It was really hard for him to find a last gasping breath sort of voice. When they are a bit at each other at the end of the day, it is very interesting to watch the chemistry totally change when they act. We brought it inside tonight to show Dad, who Sam suggested be Mark Antony. Enjoy this video…

This is The Globe Theatre – in sand. Click to see video of the fall of Caesar by Ben and Sam.