babybloomr

Nostalgia

Things have calmed down around here, apparently the Taff media blitz is over. Madi is still getting daily messages from people saying, “Did you really get bitten by a shark???” but sadly, no paparazzi ambushing us on our way to the mailbox. We’ll have to learn to live with obscurity.

So last night we all went to the Stardust Drive-In Theater in Watertown to see that Ninja Panda movie, which kinda sucked was OK– Char loved it. I know I have written about going to the drive-in before, but I have to tell you, we just love that place! It is such a family-fun thing to do, and I always have waves of teenage memories flood over me every time we go. Although, of course, these trips are very different than the ones I remember from my torrid youth in Hot Springs, Arkansas. Nowadays there is a lot less making out. Actually, none– what’s up with THAT?

But some things haven’t changed at all. When you pull up, you still pay at the little guard gate thing:

The screen still looks like the ones I remember, kinda funky and rickety.

But these days we spend more time getting comfortable than steaming up the windows.

Here’s the set-up: Char and I pile in the back of the SUV with blankets and pillows…

Madi perches on top of the roof (with her quilt and ever-present phone)Â

and Russ sits in a beach chair next to the tailgate.

Of course, who are we kidding, it’s really all about the…

Some things never change.

And that’s my public service announcement for the day:

Find one of the few remaining drive-ins out there and patronize it! They’re a dying breed, and your kids will love it. Or, ditch the kids and go make out.

Madi’s 15 minutes of fame edited to add video links

Ok, it has been a little weird around Chez Taff today.

It began with a phone call at 8:30 from someone at the newspaper, asking if they could interview Madi. (!) She was, of course, asleep, so I got a number and arranged for Madi to call her back. Then I opened my email to find a message from a friend of mine that said they had seen a brief piece on the 10:00 news last night about Madi’s sharkbite, with the ‘facing her fear’ photo. Then I got another phone call from the local Fox affiliate asking for an interview. Then a few hours later, there’s a knock on the front door which I open wearing a football jersey and no makeup, and there’s a Fox TV news crew standing there! I explained that Sharkbite Girl was still sleeping, and arranged to have them come back in about an hour. I woke Madi up for the FOURTH time and she finally got up and started, of course, washing her hair. An hour later, I saw a car pull up and yelled at Madi that the TV crew was here and she looked out and said, “I thought it was supposed to be Fox– that’s NBC.” Yes, it was yet another reporter and camera man, from WSMV! I spoke to them and said that Fox was actually on their way to interview her, and they asked if they could talk to her after that.

It was at this point that I started wondering if we should go hire a Hollywood PR firm, and start negotiating for cover stories with People and US magazines. Then I reminded myself that this was a two-inch shark nibble that was looking less scary by the moment (dang, 15 year-olds heal fast!) and realized that while this situation may have bought us a couple of extra hours in check-out time at the condo, we were probably not going to be able to parlay this into the Hannah Montana bucks. So, apparently we are still going to have to be sweating college tuition in a few years, and I won’t be moving into that 10,000 sq. ft. Brentwood McMansion I’ve had my eye on. Shoot.

At any rate, Madi handled herself with her usual aplomb and charmed the pants off of the TV people. I was interviewed, I guess to add that ‘in-depth mom perspective’ to their report (“MY KID GOT BITTEN BY A FREAKING SHAAAAAAAARK!!!!!) and they also filmed Charlotte sitting with us and looking at the bite photos on the computer. It was obviously a really slow news day. I told Madi that if Obama and John McCain got into a fist fight or anything, she was totally screwed and would be relegated to a two second blurb at the end of the telecast. But it was actually the lead story at 6:00 on Channel 4, go figure, and the Fox piece will run at 9:00 tonight.

Like an idiot, I forgot to take any pictures while it was all going on– my blogger instincts were eclipsed by my “oh my gosh, my house is so messy!” instincts. But Madi had the presence of mind to take a couple on her phone, and here they are:

Media frenzy!!! Two whole cars in my driveway!!! Call security!!!!!

That sweet Channel 4 reporter Alan Frio preparing to interview us. He appears to be checking all of his facts and writing down his questions, but truthfully? He’s probably just making notes for the NBC legal department about the fact that I threatened him with his life if they dared show any close-ups of my reeeeealy dirty carpet.