B&K are in Vietnam riding around on a small motorbike.  Having fun.  See it all at: http://circumnavigate2012.tumblr.com/

Sorry about the ‘plug’.  Just a smidge of parental pride.

Em and B are cutting the mustard in Hong Kong and teaching English at our favourite school.  They, too, are doing good and so the parental pride thing is a’bursting.

Parenting?  ‘Ship ém to Asia!’, I say.

It is not so much that they have things that I think that they should do.  It isn’t that at all.  These guys are grownups. They choose what they want to do.  It is just that they are all taking bites out of life and chewing it up (‘specially K’.  She’s a foodie).  These kids are living. That’s where the pride-thing comes from……young, competent, healthy people exploring the world, doing things, meeting people and doing it all well.  Plus they write to mom and dad.

Doesn’t get much better than that.

The fact that ‘screen time’ is minimized and exotic locales are explored in ‘real time’ on real motorbikes rather than ‘virtual’ ones is also a big plus.

Man…….I feel like a raven watching the fledges take off for points unknown.

Jack and Liz with one of their four(!) offspring last Spring

Speaking of which – Yesterday Jack swoops down and settles beside Sal.  He struts his way kinda close and gives her one of those ‘look at me’ stares.  Sal stops what she is doing and looks.  Jack sucks his craw down and splays his neck feathers out.  He is ‘scrunching’ down – presumably for effect.  At the same time, he makes a huffing and puffing sound, like wheezing in and out.  Does that for a few seconds.  He finishes with a loud sigh.

After that little display, he resumes his proper raven posture and gives Sal ‘the look’ again.  Sal stares back stunned.  Jack looks at her and repeats the display and performance.  Sal looks stunned.  Again.  Jack does it again.  After awhile Jack concludes that Sal ‘just doesn’t get it’.  He gives her a disdainful look, shakes his head in seeming frustration and flies off.  She can almost hear him say, “What a ditz!”

Sal is beside herself.  “Dave!  Jack was talking to me!  Honest!  He was trying to say something.  I think it was kinda intimate stuff.  Maybe.  I think.  Who knows?  It was ‘whisper-y’ kinda and all fluffed up with sighs and wheezes.  Jack was talkin’ to me!”

“I dunno, Sal.  Hard to tell with Jack.  He’s a raven, ya know.  They got a sense of humour.  I think he was just messin’ with your head.  Probably went back to Liz and they’re just a’cacklin’ over how he ‘got ya goin’. I think he knows a patsy when he sees one.” 

“Really?!”

“No, sweetie.  I have no idea.  But I know a patsy when I see one. Obviously!”

So we have no idea what Jack is up to but I have to hand it to him: he comes up with something new all the time.  Boring, he is not.  Liz?  Well, Liz has issues.  Hard to get to know Liz.  She’s a bit anxious.  Nervous.  Aloof.

Corvidae, eh? Hard to live with ’em.  Harder still to live without ’em.