Memorial Day With Family

First of all, I salute all those who have fought and died for our country on this Memorial Day.

Second, I began a hot, sunny Memorial Day with more wartime shorts. Donald Duck appeared in more war-related cartoons than any Disney character during World War II, including Disney's most famous short of that era, the Oscar-winning "Der Fuehrer's Face." Donald's nightmare takes him into a surreal Nazi Germany, working outrageous hours making bombs. Things get crazy during the end when Donald starts to crack from the stress!

Most of Donald's other World War II adventures were far less dire. "Donald Gets Drafted" kicks off the series with Donald finding himself dealing with grouchy Sargent Pete and a pile of ants who make standing at arms very difficult! Donald's "The Vanishing Private" when he discovers an invisibility paint and uses it to get back at Pete. Poor Donald can't get any sleep after a long hike, thanks to a stubborn tent and his noisy troop, in "Fall Out, Fall In." "Home Defense" has Donald, Huey, Dewey, and Louie working as civilian air craft spotters. Donald takes the boys' stripes away when they play a prank on him. He's quick to forgive when he thinks there's an invasion. "Commando Duck" takes Donald behind enemy lines to wipe...er, wash out the Japanese (and encounter a few obvious stereotypes).

Work was, as you can imagine, very busy all afternoon. It's a holiday and a Monday. I'm still kind of tired and wasn't always up to dealing with all the fussing. Other than that, there were no major problems, and my relief was right on time.

I hurried straight home. Holiday or no holiday, I had laundry that really couldn't be put off. I needed clean work clothes. Thankfully, it wasn't busy when I arrived, and I didn't have a big load anyway. I was able to get everything done quickly as I read and ignored Dr. Phil and his silly patients.

Headed to Dad's as soon as I put the laundry away. I ran three more shorts as I got organized. "First Aiders" has Minnie Mouse using Pluto to practice her nursing skills. Pluto would be happier about it if Figaro didn't keep teasing him and chasing him. The Pink Panther becomes one of the few major cartoon characters to enter the Vietnam War in "G.I Pink." Between land mines, cranky officers, and crazy obstacle courses, he'll be lucky to make it out of basic training alive! Mickey Mouse is having similar problems in his late 20's vehicle "The Barnyard Battle." World War I has come to the barnyard. Mickey may seem skinny, but he has no problems giving those Hun cats the what-for.

Jodie said she was putting steaks on the grill tonight. This time, it was just her, me, Dad, Craig, Rose, and Khai. Khai spent most of the time in the pool again. He and his mother tossed a translucent plastic ball filled with glittery Mylar shreds into the pool, then raced each other to see who could get it first. I stuck my feet in and laughed when I'd get splashed by their racing around. They were both so funny! When I pulled them out, Rose helped Khai work on his swimming in his froggy float.

We had dinner a little later this time, around 6:30. In addition to the steaks and more macaroni salad, Jodie put out a cucumber salad made with sour cream. It was surprisingly tasty, given I'm not a fan of sour cream. The steaks were delicious too, cooked just right. We had mini-cupcakes from the Acme for dessert. Khai was just going out to chase the Mr. Softee van when I was heading home.