Thursday, May 5, 2005

13

Speaking of my little girl, I have to take a moment here and do what I, as her father, was meant to do: Brag.

I was mightily impressed when my daughter started to play CDs by herself. Last week I noticed her doing something even more phenomenal: Now she uses the skip fwd/back buttons to find her favorite song, but not by listening to the beginning of the songs. No, she figured out the numbers for them, on the player's LCD screen! She will pop in that Pippi CD, and click the skip button until the LCD reads "13", and then dance her heart out to a song where Pippi is partying with some burglars who broke into her house to steal her gold.

I'm just bursting with pride. My own little gadget-freak!

Wednesday, May 4, 2005

Philly

I have never been to Philadelphia before. Or Ben Franklin's Place, as I will know it from now on. That man must have been a phenomenon.

Even though I was only a couple of days there, I did get to see quite a lot. This wasn't supposed to be a vacation trip, but the Internet being down at the hotel for most of the stay provided a convenient excuse to play tourist. So I grabbed my daughter and off we went: Liberty Bell, Independence Hall, the Waterfront District, Penn's Landing, and—speaking of Penn—City Hall, with Penn himself sticking out of the top. I was a little worried that she would lack the stamina for this roaming around, but she loved it. We finished off with a carriage ride, courtesy of a massive horse named Richard and a guide, Brian, who used to be a jockey, but is now a virtual fountain of knowledge on Ben Franklin and this little town of his. I highly recommend seeking out these two, on the corner of Market and 6th, next time you're in Philly.

Before leaving, I did manage to break the law: Apparently, there is a statute in force, requiring everybody to have a Philly Cheese Steak before leaving the city. Guilty as charged, though I did manage to grab a soft pretzel with mustard at the airport.

Yum.