Scooting and Skanking

Bodhi is becoming more and more mobile everyday. He can go from sitting up, to flat on his chest, to on his hands and knees, then back to sitting up again. With something to grab onto, he can pull himself to a standing position. When he does, he bobs up and down and grins, clearly very proud of himself. While not quite crawling yet, I did spot him scooting himself forward today on our smooth concrete floors. He shocks most people with the amount of food he consumes with his two bottom teeth and four more coming in up top.

After feeding him some milk the other day, he wiggled off my lap, sat next to me on the couch and joined me in watching the Warriors game. Moments like this remind me that he is becoming a little boy. Surprisingly,  this does not really make me sad. It’s pretty exciting actually. Can’t wait to talk to the little dude one day. In the meantime, watching him learn about and manipulate the world around him continues to be my life’s greatest joy.

Went to a ska show a block from my house this weekend. The Street Vendors and The Uptones both played tight, clean and irresistibly skankable traditional ska music, and I was reminded how powerful and moving the combination of syncopation and full horn line can be. The real treat for me, however, was Hectic, an Operation Ivy tribute band who plays the “Energy” album from start to finish for every show. I was sincerely hoping that Jesse Michaels, who lives in Berkeley and, as recently as last year, played “The Crowd” at 924 Gilman with Mike Park would surprise the small, but enthusiastic gathering with a ditty or two, but was not too disappointed to dance my face off to some of the best music ever written performed admirably by some kids from Santa Rosa who clearly love Op Ivy a lot. Twenty years after Jesse Michaels reminded us that “nothing can be changed except ourselves,” his message of peace and unity is probably more pertinent today than it’s ever been before.