AS REGARD THE HIJO ...

Hm. I'm not sure about the brother's influence. Like, this week I was helping Michael fill out a questionnaire for drafting up his graduation speech -- O MOI GAWD, I'm going to be Mom to a middle school graduate!!! Who'da thunk...! Anyways, Moi digress....

...so I was helping out on Michael's questionnaire and one of the questions was, "Do you have a motto to live by?"

Of course I assumed Michael had none. I was already checking "None" when he piped up, "Yep!"

Surprised, I queried, "What's your motto?"

Proudly, he declaimed:

When you fall off Mount Everest, don't think about the others. Focus on your own survival.

What ....?! Dazed, Moi asked, "Where'd you come up with that?!"

He said, "Tio Fil!"

I turned to my brother and glared. My glare must have shot through the newspaper he'd hidden behind because he slowly lowered it. He insisted, "Self-survival is important! You can't help others without helping yourself first!"

Sure. But with the narcissism that too many people tell me is "age appropriate" behavior for peeps of Michael's age, I'd really rather focus him on something else for now. Somehow, my chats about compassion and kindness are rolling off the little duck's back!

Later, my brother tried to make up. He offered to give Michael a new slogan. It involved General Patton. I walked away. Here are the two culprits with their BMX bikes. Fil and his son William made a bike for Michael's birthday:


As a bit of juvenilia, I mean, info we should all know--to quote the brother, "BMX bikes are all-around bikes used for racing, doing stunts/tricks and cruising around. Back then, BMX bikes are what kids rode before transitioning to an off-road/dirt motorcycle. It became so popular that it spawned its own organization and made bike manufacturers develop a new line of bicycles. Michael has an S&M Challenger bike, circa 1997. This particular model was hand built in Santa Ana, CA; and designed for racing around a BMX dirt track. There is an S&M Owner's Group that he can join if he wishes to do so..."

Brother, I most assuredly am not having my son join any club whose name begins with "S&M..." Kapischkie? And I love how, when I raised my Iphone to take a photograph of them, Achilles and Gabriela ran over to make sure their furrinesses were included.