too many commas

Best parents ever.

My parents are the most generous people I know, and they don't want anybody to know about it.

When my friend's dad was laid off in high school, they left enough money for Thanksgiving at their door, anonymously. When a homeless man my dad met at the shelter needed money, my parents hired him to do odd jobs around the house -- ones that didn't really need to be done -- so they could give him money in a way that wouldn't shame him.

In exchange for their generosity, my dad wins everything. Everything. From door prizes to big-cash drawings, if his name is in the pot, everyone else is screwed. Call it karma. Call it God. Whatever it is, it's obviously a payback.

Last week, my sister's rent deposit was due, and my parents were a little worried about where they'd get the money. My mom entered my dad's name in a door prize at a fundraiser, just for fun. They won $500, almost exactly enough to pay my sister's rent.

With the $30 remaining, they sent me flowers.

"It just seemed more fun than going out to dinner or something like that," my mom said, shrugging it off.

Finally! Dad's visit

My dad came to visit, oh, more than a month ago. It was great fun, but since I was computerless until yesterday (now the owner of a hott H-P laptop with 124 gigs of memory!), I couldn't upload the photos.

Until now!

First, I give you the obligatory creepy-face photo. My dad and I are creepy-face experts.

And the blurry, laughing pic:

And here's my dad being pretty:

On the Sunday he was here, we went to see Bruce Cockburn in concert in a little theater in Irvington, N.Y. I'm not a huge Cockburn fan, but I really loved the concert. He told funny stories, explained where he got the inspiration for certain songs and generally rocked out. He sounded exactly like he does in his albums, which is so refreshingly rare.

As soon as my dad bought the tickets, he sent me this picture, where he had photoshopped our pictures onto the seats where we'd be sitting. I love what a nerd he is.

And here's Bruce in action. Whitest. Man. Ever.

The drive to and from the airport was so gorgeous that I had to take a photo while I was driving. No, I didn't get in an accident. Yes, I know that I probably should have. But look how pretty!