So tomorrow is Kenzie's dance recital. I'll try to figure out how to post video so you can see some of it, but that'll take quite a while as far as I can tell. I'll let you know when/if I can get any videos posted, so keep checking back.

Kenzie's been taking dance all year long. She likes it well enough, but has intimated that she has no desire to continue next year or through the summer. Instead she wants to take karate. That's my girl.

Honestly, though, I'm glad she wants to take karate. I think self-defense is a smart thing and I can only hope that she'd be interested in continuing with karate after this summer program. Personally, I'd like to see her take karate throughout elementary, middle and high school.

The state of the world today demands that women be able to kick some righteous ass because you never know who is around the corner. But I don't want to get going on a tangent. Anyway...

I took karate in high school. I was marginally ok at it. I progressed all the way up to purple belt with one stripe. The next level for me was green, then brown, then black. I was pretty decent. But I stopped right before I went away to college. Then the head instructor of the school grew a ponytail, bought a sports car, left his wife, and moved to Vernon, NJ. Needless to say, the school's no longer there. I really miss it.

I was one of the very first students there. My friend, Ray, and I both signed up for the two-week trial together. I guess karate wasn't his thing; he was always more of a runner. And both Ray and I ruled the earth when it came to frisbee, but I digress.

It's been ages since I've donned a gi and I'd love to start up again. I looked at the local Kung Fu school and they charge $100 per month. When I was taking karate I paid (rather, my parents paid) $40 per month. But then again, that was from 1990-1993. A lot has changed since then. But the price doesn't make me squeamish. It's the school's hours. If I signed up now I'd never be able to make a class unless I got promoted to an Enterprise branch closer to home. But then again, right now I'm not thinking about me; I'm trying to think about Kenzie.

I'll have to evaluate her as the summer progresses. Hopefully she'll really like karate and it'll be something she'd like to pursue in the years ahead. Time will tell. Till then,

-andy