- Joined
- Oct 9, 2017
- Messages
- 13,794
- Reaction score
- 7,497
- Gender
- Male
- Political Leaning
- Other
Many have developed their own family traditions for this end of summer holiday. Shopping the sales, parades, barbecues, stay home and avoiding the amateurs, binge drinking in remembrance of frat parties of yore, last seasonal days at the beach, combinations thereof, whatever.
Some years ago my oldest son bought a grand old house in the neighborhood, almost a mansion, crumbling from neglect and decay, for a song, and over the years he refurbished and rehabilitated the house and grounds, building a lovely barbecue area in the rear yard, for entertaining family, friends and neighbors, finalizing it last summer with a fire pit. Establishing a barbecue tradition for family, etal, on Labor Day. This year, he finished his man cave in the basement. Seating for 20 or so, a high quality sound system, a popcorn machine, a beverage stand, a little stage, classic movie posters on the walls (the original King Kong, The Searchers, Harold Lloyd, etc) and one of those 6' Sony 4K UHD TV's. Of course, it has been co-opted by the women and kids in the family, but what in this life isn't theirs? Had I bought the house and grounds I would have brought in the wrecking ball, and built two sizable houses on the lot for a tidy profit.
This year he's combining a barbecue with a streaming event. I digress for a moment, my wife and I watched Kevin Costner's "Yellowstone" series, the only series I watched on TV this season. My wife's idea. Not bad, not great, but surprisingly caught a growing audience as the season progressed, a winner in the ratings. With interestingly plotted twists for the almost soap opera of the modern western genre. Kevin's had his ups and downs over the years. Who could forget Waterworld, The Postman? And we want to forget them. He did a nice turn with Robert Duval and Annette Bening in Open Range, already almost a classic western for fans of the genre.
Kevin is no longer the boyish charmer of Silverado, a cliche western with every cliche, destroyed on the cutting room floor by a studio fearful of its length. He's a mature, somewhat grizzled man image of the American West. The women, younger, in between and older, think he's very "hawt." Thus the decision behind the choice for my son's streaming event.
Grandpa is bringing beer and root beer.
That's what we'll be doing the end of summer holiday. Eating, drinking, watching TV, with family, friends and neighbors. Sounds like most days these days.
What will you all be doing?
Some years ago my oldest son bought a grand old house in the neighborhood, almost a mansion, crumbling from neglect and decay, for a song, and over the years he refurbished and rehabilitated the house and grounds, building a lovely barbecue area in the rear yard, for entertaining family, friends and neighbors, finalizing it last summer with a fire pit. Establishing a barbecue tradition for family, etal, on Labor Day. This year, he finished his man cave in the basement. Seating for 20 or so, a high quality sound system, a popcorn machine, a beverage stand, a little stage, classic movie posters on the walls (the original King Kong, The Searchers, Harold Lloyd, etc) and one of those 6' Sony 4K UHD TV's. Of course, it has been co-opted by the women and kids in the family, but what in this life isn't theirs? Had I bought the house and grounds I would have brought in the wrecking ball, and built two sizable houses on the lot for a tidy profit.
This year he's combining a barbecue with a streaming event. I digress for a moment, my wife and I watched Kevin Costner's "Yellowstone" series, the only series I watched on TV this season. My wife's idea. Not bad, not great, but surprisingly caught a growing audience as the season progressed, a winner in the ratings. With interestingly plotted twists for the almost soap opera of the modern western genre. Kevin's had his ups and downs over the years. Who could forget Waterworld, The Postman? And we want to forget them. He did a nice turn with Robert Duval and Annette Bening in Open Range, already almost a classic western for fans of the genre.
Kevin is no longer the boyish charmer of Silverado, a cliche western with every cliche, destroyed on the cutting room floor by a studio fearful of its length. He's a mature, somewhat grizzled man image of the American West. The women, younger, in between and older, think he's very "hawt." Thus the decision behind the choice for my son's streaming event.
Grandpa is bringing beer and root beer.
That's what we'll be doing the end of summer holiday. Eating, drinking, watching TV, with family, friends and neighbors. Sounds like most days these days.
What will you all be doing?
