Horror Report

Tag: ayden

  • The accidental trip down memory lane

    The accidental trip down memory lane

    By accident, I stumbled across a folder on my computer hard drive that has not been accessed since 2012.. Seemingly not that long ago in years, in at least in theory. But when I looked through the contents, I suddenly realized how much time had passed..

    Contained within the computer save point: Photographs dating back ten years to a trip my wife and I took to Asbury Park NJ to see Lisa Marie Presley. More pictures of family, people who have passed away since they smiled for the shot.. A few photos before my son’s birth, in 2010, when parenting wasn’t on our minds.. The way we changed in 2011 after having a son.. and in 2012.. Our styles, our hair, my hairline.. the very core and structure of our lives altered incredibly throughout the previous ten years.  I looked through the pictures for at least two hours after my wife and son fell asleep.. I couldn’t stop. I became suddenly addicted to studying each photo, over and over, seeing if I missed something the first time. I placed myself in the shot again, tried to relive the memory.. But so many have become fuzzy.  A photo can bring some recollections racing back. But the haywire act of living so often forces us to forget the important things.
    For me..looking through these photos was an important thing.

    I love father’s day.
    Not because of a few gifts that my wife and son give me, and not because of the language of some hackneyed card … No, I love it for deeper reasons. I love being a father. It’s the single handled most important job I have ever held in my life.. It’s endless world. You’re on call 24/7, and you’re constantly trying to plan future work events while the present time does its best to throw off the routine of life. It’s challenging and rewarding.. It’s amazing and scary. It’s every single emotion piled onto each other with a bow on top..
    There are very important people relying on my.. Very important plans yet to be completed.

     

    I was a young subscriber to TIME magazine, and I remember getting this issue in 1993. I now look back &hellip; I was 13 then and I am 31 now. I am a father. Wow.. I am what I&rsquo;d never thought I&rsquo;d be when I was 13. But now I am completely fine with that&hellip; It just fascinates me how life changes. By the way, I am posting this while my son, Ayden, is messily trying to eat his chicken noodle soup. He got mad at first that there were no crackers in his soup&hellip; I am at his command. <br /><br /><br /> Yes, indeed, how life changes.<br /><br /><br /> I wonder what will be on TIME magazine when he is 13. I wonder if there will be a TIME when he is 13&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;.<br /><br /><br /> (By the time I was done writing this post, at 7:13 pm EDT this Friday night, Ayden dumped the entire bowl of chicken soup on the floor. Guess he&rsquo;s not hungry)

    I was a young subscriber to TIME magazine, and I remember getting this issue in 1993. I now look back … I was 13 then and I am 34 now.

    And I am a father.

    I am what I’d never thought I’d be when I was 13. But now I am completely fine with that… I love it.

    I wonder what will be on TIME magazine when he is 13. I wonder if there will be a TIME when he is 13……….
    Regardless of what modern thrill or shrill spill takes place.. Life will continue.
    My son will keep aging. I will age faster.
    And I will be a dad for the rest of my life..

    FATHERHOOD indeed.
    Happy father’s day to those in the camp.

  • Untitled post 13327

    A great view from the Rock Bass Grill in Harrisburg tonight.. a good conversation with friends, a bit more about ringworm and MRSA than expected. But that is how strangeness rolls..
    I hope your Saturday was as peaceful as mine.. Good evening, all.

  • Mission accomplished

    Mission accomplished

    My 4 year old took some my old HE-MAN guys to school today. As I was leaving I heard him explaining the names and their background to other dumbfounded kids.
    A moment of pride. .the 80s strike back

  • I don’t want to brag..

    I don’t want to brag..

    …But this was an amazing, wonderful, and memorable weekend. Not because of anything amazing but simply because it was simple.. Days at the park under blue skies with my son.. No plans, just winging it.. amazing weather .. Good food and fantasy.. 
    All of it was just memorable.
    And all without a phone. It can happen.

    Hope yours out there was just as fine..
    The summer season begins. 
    Now if only every day is like these days, I’ll love those days.

  • Untitled post 13524

    PEPPA PIG smashes records!! The kids love the hog..Smashes the billion dollar mark.. . My son, age 4, has seen the program, and while he doesn’t request it, he will quietly watch it when it’s on..  

    Five minute programs about a family with one pig that enjoys jumping in puddles? The makers didn’t know  it would be this much of a success and quite frankly, how could they have?

     It was created in 2004 in the UK.. the same place that gave us quirky comedy with MONTY PYTHON and amazing DR WHO shows also gives us pigs with sidewalks snouts who have overly dull existences and never raise their voices.. And the kids, these days, just love it.

     If I have to theorize as to why, I would say this: We have complicated kids’ lives with technology and gadgets. Maybe this low key simple show that eliminates flashy animation is exactly what the child’s mind needs. Something kind and peaceful. Something that doesn’t inspire seizures, violence, rage, or hate. Just a pig that likes jumping in puddles.

  • Netflix shares soar past $600 on potential blockbuster expansion

    Netflix shares soar past $600 on potential blockbuster expansion

    Netflix shares soar past $600 on potential blockbuster expansion

    That is all well and good. But I just wish they’d stop touching the kid shows. Every time my son develops a love for a series on NETFLIX, it vanishes with their updates.. 

  • When nostalgia meets the present

    When nostalgia meets the present

    The family took a voyage to the movie theater today.. the HORROR REPORT family didn’t see anything filled with fright–no IT FOLLOWS for me, it’s not in a theater nearby.. Instead it was SPONGEBOB.. A sponge out of water. Funny parts, good laughs–though the ‘out of water’ business only took up the last 20 minutes or so of the movie, which was a disappointment. The real story here is that Ayden Morris, now 4, was at his first movie theater experience.

    This was a big day for me–huge as a matter of fact.. It’s not the movie choice that mattered, but just that he wanted to attend a theater showing. And he loved it.. he was stunned a bit at how loud certain parts were, he cringed during the return to JURASSIC PARK trailer, and he heartily laughed at the humor of Spongebob. So did I, and my wife..

    There was one more proud pappa moment for me, too.. After the film, we perused a much emptier mall than it ever was before. My local shopping sensation of yesteryear is suffering through the same downtown as many other brick and mortar shopping plazas.. But there’s a thrift shop–a place where old antiques and relics of yesterday are still bought and paid for by collectors and modern internet people. My son came across a bulk batch of HE-MAN action figures. He knew them since he plays with the few older broken ones I still possess. After today, we are adding three new (old) HE-MAN characters to the family, including HORDAK, who hasn’t been in my presence since 1990.

    A full circle kind of day.. Beginning with drenching rain, dour as could be. But the light of family brightening the mood.. a modern movie in a cool theater with my 4-year-old eating up every moment.. and then a dad, at the age of 34, buying toys that I bought at the age of 4 in the same mall that I bought them in 20 years ago. So different in ways, but so similar in others.

    Full circle.
    Another moment of parenting..

    The fleeting moments of today are gone tomorrow.. So forgive me for writing about it. But it’s my way of making amazing little things last just a little bit longer than the short span of time they inhabit..

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  • SOS to NINJA TURTLES toy collectors (written only halfway in a joking manner)

    SOS to NINJA TURTLES toy collectors (written only halfway in a joking manner)

    Attention parents of Ninja Turtles fans or adults who collect children’s toys: Some disconcerting developments have been taking place at stores across Pennsylvania–stores that regardless of size or location seemingly have become wastelands in the hunt for new Ninja Turtles action figures.. Is anyone else having the same problems finding new action figures that are not yet in the family collection? I myself have witnessed broken hearts with children staring at empty racks at Walmarts, Toys r Us, and other related locations. Even more, the figures displayed are already the ones purchased..

    However, miracles can happen–one day my son found TIGER CLAW in a rather ghastly dollar store in a purposely unnamed hole in the wall town in Western Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania..

    A few possibilities..
    1) Viacom and Nickelodean are trying to create an artificial scarcity
    2) Chinese factories can’t stop workers from committing suicide as good as APPLE does, therefore the scarcity is real
    3) Parents buy up the new actions figures immediately when a truck delivers..

    And that is why I am asking for help: Any store workers, delivery drivers, or people with insider information, I need to know the day that trucks delivers new action figures. I need to also know the day–and time–that workers restock shelves..

    We need Rat King, Razhar, and Neutralizer. Nick also created new action figures.. probably ones I’ll just buy online..
    SOS
    xx
    -30-

  • The amazing things that happen when you’re busy making other plans. Four years on..

    The amazing things that happen when you’re busy making other plans. Four years on..

    The John Lennon song still is true.. there are things in life that remind you you’re not in charge. Such an event occurred February 2011 when my wife went into labor after watching a Cosby Show rerun with me around 3am—the witching hour. She had our son, Ayden Morris, near 1pm hours later..

    From that moment on my life changed and it continues to do so.

    Being a father is amazing. Rewarding.. challenging.. And honestly the best job I’ve ever had. And one I have to do—my wife feels the same way about motherhood. We are called to act each and every day. And even when he goes to bed each night, we still watch from the corner of our eyes to make sure he’s safe and sound.

    And today, Ayden is four.

    I can’t honestly believe how quick time has passed.

    I think it was about two years ago that I wrote on this website that I intended on writing a book about fatherhood. I still want to. I started it.. I suppose it’s never too late. Information about parenting really doesn’t change, does it?

  • The sad reality of nostalgia: It really does not feel good

    Nostalgia is a terrible feeling at times.. It reminds you that you are losing time, giving away minutes. Precious minutes.. Allowing the second hand to dictate your existence..

    The smell of certain things, the sounds.. The cold at night under a moon.. Fog on a a warm evening.. All I those things bring back very specific memories or me. More accurately, they bring back feelings..
    They bring with them a melancholy and infinite sadness.

    Don’t get me wrong.. I enjoy my current state if existence quite a lot. But those creeping moments of yesteryear occurrences are becoming more pronounced.. The thoughts of life as it goes gets a little more fire. More serious..

    Youth is drying up.. Sure 34 is the new 19. But that’s only because people say that when they age..

    There’s a memory I have of a foggy night in a dance club in Allentown PA.. A night I danced with the woman who years later would became my wife. My wife who birthed our son.. Our family who is growing together with the pains , laughs, and trivial concerns that life brings..
    And the clock ticks away. I swear it gets louder as time goes by..
    Nostalgia..
    All of this may sound a bit glum for a Friday night.. But that’s just me sometimes.. Some have a green thumb. I have a glum thumb..
    Nostalgia.

    As crazed and sad as I may sound, I know you feel the same way too.