Lord Protect My Child by Bob Dylan

Lord Protect My Child

For his age, he’s wise

He’s got his mother’s eyes

There’s gladness in his heart

He’s young and he’s wild

My only prayer is, if I can’t be there

Lord, protect my child

As his youth now unfolds

He is centuries old

Just to see him at play makes me smile

No matter what happens to me

No matter what my destiny

Lord, protect my child

The whole world is asleep

You can look at it and weep

Few things you find are worthwhile

And though I don’t ask for much

No material things to touch

Lord, protect my child

He’s young and on fire

Full of hope and desire

In a world that’s been raped and defiled

If I fall along the way

And can’t see another day

Lord, protect my child

There’ll be a time I hear tell

When all will be well

When God and man will be reconciled

But until men lose their chains

And righteousness reigns

Lord, protect my child

--Bob Dylan

The Day August Left Albuquerque

Some images of August: leaving Albuquerque, the road, and at home in Iowa City.

Super Bowl Sunday

The evidence is everywhere.

Super Bowl Dreams

August dreams of Aaron Rodgers and Charles Woodson, his two favorite players, and wavers over which of their jerseys he will wear for the game. Tomorrow he will take Mama and Papa to visit Jake and his parents Nando and Mel for Super Bowl Sunday. He'll be sure to thank them again for the Green Bay helmet pillow they gave him during the Pro Bowl.

It's said that when the Packers go to the Super Bowl, the spirit of Lombardi quietly visits the Packer Backers who have been good throughout the season. Lombardi brings each of the faithful a Green Bay balloon, and sets all of the clocks in the house fifteen minutes ahead to make sure everyone's on time for the big game.

For his part, it occurs to Papa that he was about August's age when Green Bay played Kansas City in the very first Super Bowl. Papa doesn't remember that day, but he has come to know a great deal about what happened in Super Bowl I. Perhaps August will know the same feeling one day, of a February Sunday when it was a great day to root for the Pack, when Papa told him about Starr and Kramer and Hornung, Green and Sharpe and Lofton and White and even old number four who one day may return to the fold. Maybe someday he will hold his son on his knee and tell him about the magic Sunday when Rodgers, Jennings, Woodson, Matthews and the rest brought the Lombardi trophy back to Green Bay.

Happy Birthday, Grandma Ardy

Dear Grandma,

We miss you and think of you every day. August likes to talk about you and Iowa and the big white house in Cedar Rapids. The Packers have a playoff game today against the Falcons. Papa went to Cedar Rapids last week and saw Uncle Jeff, Aunt Sheri, cousins Alexis and Jake. August and Mama and Papa will all go to Iowa in March and see them again. We love you and miss you so very, very much.

Love,

Papa, Mama and August

GO PACK!

It's not an admonition to stuff a weekend's worth of socks and apple juice into a backpack and run off to Atlanta, but nonetheless August is exultant at the success of the Green Bay Packers in the wildcard round of the 2010-11 NFL playoffs. He celebrated by wearing his vintage [70s era!!] helmet and his [somewhat newer] number 12 away jersey of his generation's biggest hero, the super-solid Aaron Rodgers.

In other news from football Sunday, August took Mama and Papa to ABQJump [http://www.abqjump.com] for a morning of bouncing around in inflatable edifices designed to provide a safe and fall-around-able environment for two-year-olds to take serious diggers.

January 1, 2011

August took Mama and Papa to the Taj Mahal in Albuquerque on New Year's Day. Jeff and Debra of Bunnytown also came along, and Jeff took this candid shot of August the morning after the NYE rager at the Hoeft/Montoya residence. From crab legs and Dale's Ale to tandoori and sag paneer in under 12 hours--UFF DA!