Ode to "Old School"

It's a quiet Sunday night at home. The girls are both out with their friends, and it's just the three of us; Charlie, Bryson, and me. We're watching the closing ceremonies of the Olympics. It's been a long weekend of chores and yardwork. Charlie and Bry have worked hard digging up the front yard and preparing to put in new sprinklers. Everyone's tired, so there's not a whole lot of conversation going on. We're just enjoying being still and going braindead in front of the tube.

The Greeks are putting on an incredible show, and every once in awhile, one of us will say "Wow", or "Cool", or in Bry's case, the ever popular with teenaged boys; "Sweet". In between short exclamations, there is blessed quiet. The theme is "Harvest", so there is a beautiful spiraled wheatfield, many, many dancers, rhythmic drums and music, and much celebration. At times, it almost seems bacchanalian.

At one point of the show, some Greek "harvest peasants" light three bonfires and begin dancing around them and jumping THROUGH the flames. As one of the dancers was making his approach to fly through the inferno, out of the silence, and without batting an eyelash, Bryson calmly, and with straight-man timing says, "Dude, how much would it suck if he 'Will Farrelled' it?"

Charlie and I both looked over at Bry at the very same moment, and Bry never so much as twitched a muscle until we both broke out into fits. I almost pee'd myself laughing. With that, Bryson smiled and said, "Just sayin..." And between giggles, we went right back to silently watching the rest of the ceremonies.

It was probably one of Toddy's "you had to be there moments"...but I'll remember it as a classic. That kid kills me.