Real hard to believe it’s the middle of June and we in these parts have had — what — 2.3 days of sun? On Father’s Day I joked with sons Shamus and Sean that Michigan is becoming the new Temperate Rain-forest in North America — taking over for the state of Washington.
They were less than amused and the joke evoked no laughter, save for a little nervous laughter from yours truly. (For those not in the know, “Temperate rain-forests are coniferous or broad leaf forests that occur in the temperate zone and receive heavy rainfall.”)
Neighbor Mike K., collects data for the National Weather folks. He said, so far in June we have had four inches of rain. Eeegads.
Aside from being a cold, rainy Father’s Day, it was good to see the boys. They took me to a Vietnamese restaurant in East Lansing called Pho So. Here are some of the menu items we had to choose from (and I have no idea how to pronounce).

#119 – Goi Ngo Sen (lotus stems with shrimp, pork)
#110 – Banh Mi Bo Kho (beef stew served with bread)
#90 – Cam Bi Cha Thit Heo (Bo) Nuong (charbroiled pork or beef, shredded pork skin and meat loaf served with broken rice — don’t ask me what broken rice is)
We ended getting a combination of the following:
#52 Bun Tom Thit Nuong (grilled pork, egg rolls with rice vermicelli and vegetables) . . .
. . . and, #22, the rare steak & flank pho (noodle soup of beef.)
Pretty good stuff, however the meal took a long time to finish. While the soup was served with a spoon, the Bun Tom Thit Nuong was served with chop sticks. The boys had no problems going forkless. Not so much for I, your hero. Ever try to pick up little shavings of cucumber and carrot with sticks? I bet I’d lose 40 pounds in a month if I were limited to the chop stick diet.
And, while I am aware of the wonderful ethnic diverstiy America has to offer, it’s safe to conclude Dandy Don Rush is ignorant of all eating practices other than Americanized everything.
Speaking of cultural stuff, also this weekend I learned youngest son, Sean in his “down” time downloaded an app to his phone called DuoLingo.
Out of nowhere the kid started talking in a strange, strange tongue. Then he translated to English.
“I eat bread, the man eats bread, she eats bread.”
It sounded like gibberish, but, I was told it was “the Irish.” The kid is learning to speak Gaelic! Why am I not surprised, he’s the same one who taught himself to play the banjo.

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Seems my dandelion column a few weeks back has you readers fired up. Here’s a poem written by Independence Township resident Cindy A.

A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood
Mr. Smith is in his yard,
He smiles and waves at me.
Such a friendly man, he’s holding a can,
What is that he’s spraying?

Ah, that smell, it’s the mist of death!
The battle flag is flying.
Mr. Smith is fighting
With The Evil Dandelion.

My mind conjures a vision
Of a giant yellow beast
Slithering through the neighborhood
With groping hands and feet.

It waves it’s slimy tentacles
That grab and choke the air,
It’s screaming imperfection
To the masses everywhere.

Mr. Smith is so afraid
Of being in its grasp,
He succumbs to drastic measures
And dons a big black mask.

With a can of human ignorance
He sprays blindly towards the ground
Heavy clouds of toxic mist
Start falling all around.

The giant beast falls to its knees
The battle has been won
And Mr. Smith stands proudly
In his perfect poison lawn.

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Thanks, Cindy! And for the rest of you readers, send in your thoughts to DontRushDon@gmail.com

  don rush, don’t rush me, father’s day