The Living Museum

In the third grade, students are asked to do a report on a famous person (current or historical).  As part of the project, they also participate in "The Living Museum" in which they present a short portion of their biography "live" whenever someone presses a fake button on the ground.  Max just performed his "Living Museum" along with the rest of third grade this past week.  It's very interesting to see how our other sons looked like in the third grade doing their presentations ... have a look:

2008 - Charlie Fleischer as Martin Luther King, Jr

Yes, it is pretty funny that a blond haired, Florida-born, 9 year old boy would choose Martin Luther King, Jr. to do his biography.  We didn't want to send him into school black-faced, so a simple ensemble of black pants, white shirt, and black tie did the trick.  

When I asked why he chose Martin Luther King, Jr., "Is it because of what he believed in ... his work in the civil rights movement ... his 'I have a Dream' speech on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial ... is that why you chose him?"

Charlie responded, "Well, we needed to have a couple of reference books for the biography and it seemed like there were lots for him" 

In the second picture above, you can kind of see the layout of the classroom.  "Living Biographies" stand and wait till someone presses the red button on the floor in front of them and they start their biography with, "Hello, my name is Martin Luther King, Jr.  I was born on ... I was married to ... I grew up in ... I'm famous for ... etc."  All memorized ... and repeated about 100 times during the day as parents and other classes walked through.

2011 - Will Fleischer as Vince Lombardi

This was a bit more predictable.  Will was enthralled with the Green Bay Packers at the time (pre-Colin Kap), and we quashed his other requests of doing the biography on Aaron Rodgers or Donald Driver (they're in their 20s or 30s ... what life have they lived, yet!!!).  

I so wanted Will to start off his Living Museum speech with this line from Vince Lombardi:

Alas, he chose to play it straight and not get kicked out of school.

It was a bit warm in May 2008, so no winter coat needed.  We decided to go with an ensemble of black pants, white shirt, and black tie ... with a couple other props ...

 

2013 - Max Fleischer as Max Fleischer

This was a natural ... Max Fleischer as Max Fleischer, the cartoonist.  One of the most interesting coincidences we found ... Max's father was William ... and Max's older brother was Charles.

Of course, Max's introduction in the Living Museum was, "Hello, my name is Max Fleischer ..."  which went over the head for most of the parents walking through, but the other students in the school that knew Max thought this was interesting.  One girl was completely befuddled ... "I know you're name is Max Fleischer, but who is your famous person?"  To which Max replied, "Max Fleischer!"  It was a mini, Fleischer-version of "Who's on first?"

By now, you might recognize the ensemble ... black pants, white shirt, and black tie ... with some added props for Max (nice mustache!).  He wore suspenders for the pictures at home, but didn't want to wear them at school (of course, he was already wearing a belt ... who wears a belt AND suspenders!!!!)

 

The Masters

 

After the Masters last year, I heard of an opportunity to put your name in for a select number of tournament tickets for the following year.  It didn't cost anything and everything was online.  By mid-Summer, they replied that I was not selected, but that I can apply for practice round tickets, too.  I did ... and a few months later, was notified that I had been selected and was able to buy four tickets for Tuesday's practice round this year.

At the time, I thought it would be great to have Shelly's parents join us for a meeting in Augusta, then follow-up with a drive up to NC for a visit.  Unfortunately, Jim had some health scares, and while recovering fully, did not feel well enough for a long day of walking the grounds at Augusta National Golf Club.

So, Will and I took off after school on Monday afternoon for a three hour drive to Columbia, SC (about an hour away from Augusta, GA).  I decided months ago to stay away from the high priced hotels around Augusta.  Interestingly, a lot of people had the same idea, as nearly everyone we saw / met at the hotel were in town to see the Masters.

On Tuesday morning, we took off for the hour drive to Augusta, just on the Georgian side of the GA / SC border.  We were able to sell our two additional tickets on the side of the road ... then were asked by a hundred others on our drive and walk into the golf club if we had any additional tickets.

As we entered the grounds, we heard others remark on the immaculate manicure of the grass, shrubs, landscape ... everything ... at Augusta National.  "This place is cleaner than Disney!", one patron remarked ... and he was right.  I've never seen such a well-kept landscape.  As you watch the tournament, in all its glory, there really isn't a way to describe how meticulous they are ... and how friendly the staff is.  Better than Disney is a shocking standard, but I think they achieved it.

Will and I spent the first three hours walking around.  Since it was a practice round, there were no scheduled tee-off times, but we were able to see some areas where they posted names of golfers teeing off or on the practice range.  It was pretty sparse of players, but amazingly crowded with spectators.  In those first few hours, we were able to see Phil Mickelson and Gary Player fairly close

 Phil Mickelson on the fairway at 11th, the start of Amen Corner

 

Gary Player, coming off the 9th green towards the 10th tee

 

After grabbing a bite to eat (Will loved the chicken sandwich), which only cost $10 for two sandwiches, two drinks, and a bag a chips.  Any other major sporting event would have cost $30 for the same meal.  (No, we did not have a Pimento Cheese sandwich).  We decided to find some shade and hang out at a hole for a while and watch players come through ... and we knew that Tiger would be teeing off soon, so we found some grandstands off the 4th hole green (a Par 3) with a view of the 5th hole tee area, too.  Not too many people were there and we were able to see several players come through.  As a practice round, the players hit multiple shots into the green, then practiced their putting and chipping from same place around the green in preparation for the various hole locations during the tournament.  Kind of blah viewing, but we were on vacation.  It was good to see grass grow for a bit.

Then, we heard that Tiger was on his way ... and the stands started to get crowded ... and the area around the tee box was swelling with people ... from 1-2 people deep ... to 6-7 people deep. 

 Will's first shot of Tiger ... rookie mistake

 Tiger with Fred Couples

 As the afternoon got longer, and the first few holes were no longer being practiced on, the lawn mower teams came out to trim just a little bit more

 On Hole 16, a par 3, Al Geiberger (Mr. 59 for being the first professional to shoot a 59 in a tournament round) pleases the crowd by hitting some trick shots ... ahead of the tee area, he hit some low shots, skipping them off the water multiple times (like skipping rocks) and having the ball hit up on to the green safely ... or into a nearby bunker

 Look how tough these greens are!!!  (Will taking some liberty with the camera angle)

Overall, we had a great time.  Lots of walking!  Hopefully I can "win" another set of tickets for next year's tournament and take a different son.

Morning ... Mourning

I'm not sure if the British spell morning with an added "u" or not, but this past Monday morning was Monday "mourning" for me.  I was speechless.  I walked around muttering, "Uggghhhh"  Shelly didn't notice anything different till much later in the day when I was still muttering.  The 49ers lost the Super Bowl.  How?  I have no idea.  

I've been refraining from updating the blog because you don't want to change anything in your routine when your team is this close to a championship.  I wore the same shirt and pants during the playoff run.  The boys had to sit in the same position during the games (with Max in a very uncomfortable position lying down with his feet by Charlie's face ... er ... with Charlie in an uncomfortable position with Max's feet in his face).

The 49ers lost.  It happens.  We move on.

We're doing well.  

Speaking of the British ... I just saw a picture of Tim Lincecum / Patrick Fleischer with a new haircut as he addressed the media before heading to Spring Training next week (see below):