The Friday Four, Part 18

~1~

Since Fathers' Day is this coming Sunday, I want to use my little corner of the web to honor a great man who also happens to be my dad, or as I've called him since I was a teenager: 

**Poppo**

(snagged this from my dad's facebook page
since I don't seem to have any digital pics
of him - I'll have to remedy that...)

This time of year, lots of people say their dad was "the best", and I'm sure all these dads are wonderful guys, just as I'm sure that "best" is a completely subjective term in this case.  Then again, it's hard - if not impossible - to be objective about a person who has been such an essential part of making you who you are.  

I will say this: Frank Hutchison is one of my heroes.  He embodies so many qualities I admire and want to emulate.  He continually strives to improve himself and to do better today than he did yesterday.  He is a savvy and persistent problem-solver, able to look at a tricky situation from different perspectives and try various solutions until he finds one that works.  He believes that love is a verb and a choice, "something that we do," and it's the driving motivator in his life.

If I grow up to be half the person my father is, I'll be doing well.  Thanks for everything, Poppo.

~2~

One of the first signs of summer around here is Spokane Indians baseball!  Our family has gotten a "mini-season ticket package" (tickets to eight regular season games) for about a decade now.  It's a cherished annual tradition.  Wednesday night we went to the ball park for the Opening Social.  We ate free hot dogs, soda, and popcorn, and got to wander around the newly renovated concourse.  The players lined up on the field to introduce themselves - one juggled baseballs and another rapped in Japanese.  We cheered them on during the home run derby, and saw some old baseball friends.  The boys are so stoked for the season now, and truth be told, so am I!

~3~

My oldest earned his Arrow of Light (the highest award a Cub Scout can earn) and it was awarded in a nice little ceremony this week.  He even said a few words thanking his Webelos leaders for helping him get to where he is now (in between cracking jokes and being generally silly) and managed to put the pin in my shirt without drawing blood.  I'm proud of him!

You can see the blinding glare of the Arrow of Light stand behind
Will as his Cubmaster is getting ready to hand him his award.
(Thanks for taking the picture, Felicia!)

And here's the nifty bridge Will crossed to symbolize moving
on from Cub Scouts to Boy Scouts with his Cubmaster on the
one side and his new Scout leader on the other.
(Thanks again, Felicia!)

~4~

I know not everybody loved the first Hobbit film, but I enjoyed it immensely.  Peter Jackson has created a rich and lively Middle-earth.  Now, I'll freely admit to being a bit concerned when I first heard they were making it into three films instead of two, but part one, "An Unexpected Journey", completely won me over and I can't wait for part two, "The Desolation of Smaug", to be released on December 13.  The first trailer came out this week:

Did you see that dragon?!?!?!?! Squeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!!!!!!!!!