April: Apocalypse Now

This has been a strange month. The weirdness of this April might just be evolutionary - a father learning how to survive in household upheaval. Here is where we stand and where we fell in April 2018.

Golf is Back.

I secured my first birdie on my 18th hole of this golf season. This is a rare event in my golf game. It very well could be the only time an animal of the sky is linked to my 2018 adventures on the links. The sun shined bright on me as I scooped my birdie ball out of the hole.

Winter is Back.

Less than 48 hours later, it snowed. I scooped the shovel out of the garage. Animals of the sky chirped profanity.

Ocean Dogs are Here.

I had the pleasure of attending Paw Patrol Live at War Memorial Arena. I went by myself. Just kidding, I went with my 3-year-old and my wife. It was a seismic blast of canine fiction. At one point (spoiler alert), super hero dogs were on an oceanic mission surrounded by jellyfish. I found it to be far fetched. Packs of children did not seem to mind the absurdity of the plot. At one point, I glanced at my wife and daughter. They both were crying. Did Paw Patrol bring out such raw emotion?  No, my 3-year-old accidentally headbutted my wife in the cheekbone.

Playoff Hockey is Back.

For Game 1 of the Pittsburgh /Philadelphia playoff matchup, I was in my Pens jersey. I was sitting by a Dad dressed exactly like me. We were in a hockey arena. We were at Paw Patrol Live.


Men swim at the YWCA.

I found myself in a pool of emotion this April. Kiddos' swim lessons commenced. My junior high basketball coach was with his grandson swimming beside me in a ridiculous sea of children. We laughed about this moment in time. The sneakers are retired. The swim trunks carry on.

Ice cream is Always.

My parents took my children to Shaffer's Frosty Freeze opening day. It was approximately 37 degrees at the time of Banana /Chocolate twist. My mom said there was a steady stream of cars. Johnstowners will risk frostbite for Frosty Freeze. Long live Shaffer's.

Dinosaurs are Back.

I attended A Night at the Dinosaur Museum, a workshop presented by the University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown's Education Division and held at the ACRP Center for Achievement in Cambria City. My oldest daughter participated in all the prehistoric pageantry. She made a dino timeline and a fossil. She got to dig up bones. After completing her dig, she used her shovel to toss sand into the air - not a respectful, paleontology move. it was a great event that gave up-and-coming teachers a taste of classroom chaos.

Kids are Kids.

Immediately after the dinosaur workshop was over, the children were free to play. Sweet, young minds instantly became barbaric cave dwellers, roaming, screaming, and terrorizing the communal space. It was the exact opposite of what you want to have happen in the event there is a house fire. If you listened close, you could hear the dinosaurs.

If this is the apocalypse, I'm going to enjoy it. Live and laugh on, Johnstown.