Timbotron

My dad sent the 5 of us an email reminding that it's our little Timmy's birthday today. Like we could forget. The RE:'s started showing up in full force, with everyone writing his/her fave Tim memory.

Sarah: So, my favorite baby memory of Tim is from the birthday party when we dressed him up like a girl in a pretty, pink dress. "It's Timmy and the Punkers; it's Timmy and the Punkers! Timmy's a total... Punker."

Mary Lee: Well... I have memories of Tim when I wasn't with him.... But, I guess I could say I remember taking Tim and his friends to Ralph's market when he was little. We bought like all this guy stuff like TV dinners and beef jerky. Oh, and I let him drive mom's car home. He really sucked at driving. Then there was this time we went to Vons. I don't know. But it's a really good memory I have cuz it was just me and Tim; that's the main thing. Oh yah, and CHUNK! You little sausage-link finger baby!

Angelo: Well this is kind of a weird one, but it's big for me and Tim. I was trying to get Tim into Metallica at an early age. Like seven. So i was having him listen to the "And Justice for All" album. Now, in the song "Eye of the Beholder," during the second part of the guitar solo by Kirk Hammett, it breaks into this Lydian scale, which is very Egyptian sounding. Apparently Tim's a musical genius because 2 weeks later he came to me and was all, "Oh man, listen to this part, listen to this part." The Phrygian scale started to play and Tim looked at me and said," P-pyramid... pyramid." He was so small! He connected a piece of music to a cultural idiom! And the only word his seven year old brain could connect it to was "pyramid." So weird for that age! Haha, he was trying to get into Metallica, but he was watching Disney movies, too.

Me: On one of the mornings waking up in Yosemite, Tim, who was sleeping in one of the top bunks of our Pace Arrow motor-home, swung his tiny legs over the end of the bed. I remember looking at his tired little limbs dangling in front of me and thinking how his feet looked very small and amphibian-like somehow. At that point in my life, it was the cutest thing I had ever seen.

Tim himself: Goo goo ga ga.

Mom: He picked a scab after he fell and he had it for two years. Also, he drew a tank in his journal each day in kindergarten. People thought he was fixated on war and destruction, but it was really just the only thing he knew how to draw with confidence, sooooo tank is all you get.

Dad: The pig. *

Do I even need to say it, Tim? We love you. We're so glad you came.

*I will save the pig story for another blog. Really great. And there's video footage to go along with it.