The Two Sides of Alex

Make A Wish
Originally uploaded by Jagrap

Much has been made about Michael's enthusiasm, but his brother also has moments when he is overcome with great enthusiasm. After all, this is the boy who sprints up and down the beach. This is the boy who runs out of bed in the morning, with his eyes shut, as if his life depended on it.

The thing that is striking about Alex is that he is either "full-go" or "no-go;" he is running at full speed, or is so tired that he must be carried. At the arboretum yesterday, Alex asked, "Why does Baby Abby get to ride in the stroller? Can I ride in it?" Yes, he can be quite lazy, but moments later he spied a lake, and asked if he could go to the water's edge. When Jenny said "yes," the only thing you could see was a blurred streak speeding across the park.

R.A.Patton

The Fun Club

The Fun Club Postcard
Originally uploaded by Jagrap

Early Saturday morning the boys decided to spread their wings a bit; they created a place of their own, a private social club. Being the bright lads that they are, they greatly reduced their marketing overhead by christening it "The Fun Club." With a name like that, they are certain that it will sell itself.

I shied away from telling them that there are dark storm clouds on the horizon. You see, Michael and Alex placed an age limit on joining "The Fun Club," and adults are not allowed to have fun. In light of recent Supreme Court decisions, it appears that "The Fun Club" will share in the litigious troubles of its exclusive brethren. However, that is a problem for another day; today it is 72, sunny and "The Fun Club" is living up to its name.
>>>RAPatton

Shadows And Light

Shadows And Light
Originally uploaded by Jagrap

Most people have their likes and their dislikes. Often these are polar opposites, such that one is defined by the other. They enjoy spicy foods, so they hate bland foods, or conversely they like plain foods so they dislike foods that go to the extremes of their gastronomic palettes. They like Yin, so by default, they dislike Yang (after all it is not Yin!).

Michael is not most people; point in case: Michael adores the winter snow and the summer waves. He revels in them both, loving them for what they are. One is not less, because it is the opposite of the other; in his mind they both are wonderful. The day we left Fort Lauderdale was a special day for Michael; he awoke to the warm yellow sunrise illuminating the Atlantic, and fell asleep in a house blanketed by a pure, white, new fallen snow.
Robert A. Patton

Alex "I'm tired" Patton

Run Forest Run
Originally uploaded by Jagrap

There is an odd phenomena that overtakes Alex "I'm tired" Patton when he visits the beach. Spontaneously, he starts running up and down the beach at full speed. He runs hundreds of yards north, and then he turns around, and returns. He does this, over and over again, sprinting full speed at the waters edge.

This is not the first time he has exhibited this behavior; he did the same thing on our last trip to the sea side, and it is just such a contrast to the Alex "Will you carry me?" Patton that we know so well. I can't explain it, but I know that if the Olympics were held at the sea shore, Alex would be a marathon man.
RAPatton

First Sunburns

Tropical Nights
Originally uploaded by Jagrap

If you look at the boys faces you will notice that they are both quite pink and tender; on our trip they received their first real sunburns, but neither were the worse for it. At one point, Michael mentioned that his head was hot, but that was the only time either one seemed to notice. I think the application on Aloe on his face was more traumatic for Alex than the Sunburn -- you should have witnessed the horror; it was as if the Hindenberg had just exploded. The burns have faded and been replaced with tans; just like every year, Alex's skin has become very dark very quickly.
RAPatton

Fears

No Fear
Originally uploaded by Jagrap

Alex has no fear of the Ocean; he wades in hip deep and tries to defy the power of the tides. Often he gets knocked down, but he gets right up again. On the other hand, his brother has always been cautious around the sea; as a young child he seemed to irrationally afraid of it. However, he shows no fear at the pool. In fact, he encouraged me to shotput him 15 feet across the pool into the deep end. Alex, after a great deal of persuasion agreed to be tossed 3 feet.

You can see that they both fear what they feel they cannot control; Michael understands the enormity of the ocean and how it is far more powerful than a single man, whereas Alex understands his own abilities in withstanding the waves. Michael trusts me implicitly not to hurt him, but Alex fears ceding his fate to others.
~~RAPatton

We Rise with Sun

Dawn Patrol
Originally uploaded by Jagrap

Many people sleep in as long as possible when they go on vacation; do not count us among them, at least when we go to the beach. Typically, when we journey to the seaside, we rise with sun.

Of course that is easy to do when you have a window that faces the dawn that allows the morning light to fill your room. Our quarters were just such a place, on the 27th floor of the Westin Diplomat facing the Atlantic. We kept the sliding glass door open at night and that let the sounds of the sea trickle in. Of course when you get up early, you go to bed early. We often were asleep at 8:30! No South Beach nightlife for us, but in exchange we had the pools, ocean and sunrise to ourselves.
RAPatton