Wednesday, February 6, 2013

The RCTID family 2-stick project



     I admit it.  I live vicariously through my kids… or at least use them as an excuse to do the things that I want to do my damn self.  From mohawking my son’s hair and spraying both of my kids’ hairdos a nice green ala Sally’s Beauty Supply, to getting them some scarf on log time as Little Joeys.  It was a simple conclusion to reach that with a little motivation due to some corporate greed, we would be making two-sticks together before you knew it.

     I discussed the situation with mom and the kids.  We talked about right and wrong, the money side of MLS versus the fun and games, the difference between MLS club and supporters group, and we talked about the TA and 107ist.  We talked about what we could do to show our support for the Timbers players, Timbers Army, and for Cascadia. 

     At just about that time, I saw a post on twitter that was from @JNyen:



 “Please enjoy a primer from @disfictional on how to make two-sticks.  Soccercityusa.com/cgi-bin/yabb25  Thanks”

We had a plan. 

      But then… an announcement was made a short few days later that a positive meeting was had between the supporters groups and MLS officials.  The “positive” part was written by supporters group representatives, so I had to take it into account.  What if the kids spent all this time working on “Stop Thief” signs and “Hands Off” messages, but it was somehow all resolved by March 3rd, and come opening day, the whole concept of the signs they worked so hard on were a moot point?  Emma is 10 and would get the idea, but Alex, at six, wouldn’t.  We’d definitely be the people at the game holding signs up for something that was outdated and already resolved.  So I had the kids draw ideas that had nothing to do with #GrandTheftCascadia, but rather just supported our team.  The team that we love.  We had already come up with some “STOP THIEF” type ideas, but now they made some that we would definitely be able to use.
 



After drawing out the ideas (some drawn by them, some of THEIR ideas drawn by me), we commandeered a card table from the garage and taped the “canvas” down.  Oh wait.. I didn’t explain about the fabric used and how we happened to have so much?





      Let’s just say there was a Sumo Wrestler in our family that went to an adults only Halloween party last October.  Let’s also say that this Sumo Wrestler was me.  The Mawashi, or the diaper looking thing that is worn, is fabric that is about 20 inches wide and about 9 yards long.  I had 40 inch wide cloth folded in half, and 9 yards of that stuff.  White.  Yes I washed it.  Twice.



     We followed the directions forwarded to us by @JNyen and created by @disfictional and made the appropriate pieces.  I folded the edges over to create the pockets/sleeves for the handles to go into and worked my sewing machine magic.  No stitches in me, no stitches in kids’ fingers or lips.  All was good.

     So after taping down the first piece of fabric to work on, it was Emma’s turn first.  We lightly drew her drawing onto the fabric with a pencil, then traced it with a black marker.  Using a couple of different styles of paint that were found in discount areas, she painted her first (OUR first) two-stick.  It was AWESOME and she was so proud.







     Alex’s was next.  He’s a little guy, and I know that he will want to hold his own sign up during the match (I’m apologizing now), so his sign is a little bit more narrow than hers is.  Alex drew an OUTSTANDING ambulance.  He wrote the number 17 on the jersey of the guy he drew on the stretcher, colored it a puke green/blue, and wrote the words “NO MEANS NO!” on his drawing.  I teared up a little.  It was beautiful.


But alas, Freddy “nomeansno” Montero ran away to South or Central America somewhere where roofies are cheap, and we are here making this sign.  I explained to Alex that he was gone, so maybe we should change the words.  He did so, and said that he was happy that the girls in Cascadia are now a little bit safer without Freddy Montero here to be mean to them.  I love my son.
















     So we have our two-sticks and our family project is almost complete.  Oftentimes, when the kids are with us, we’ll stand in 208 somewhere and sing our hearts out, and other times, we’ll take them with us down into 107 somewhere between about C and H.  Look for us down there in the first few games.  We’ll be easy to spot, waving our family projects in the air, showing our support for the team that we love.

Give a follow to @JNyen and @disfictional for me.

4 comments:

  1. Everything about this post is amazing and awesome and makes my little green and gold heart flutter with happiness. And yet...this:

    "said that he was happy that the girls in Cascadia are now a little bit safer without Freddy Montero here to be mean to them"

    makes me want to find you at the games, high five you, and bear hug your kid. What a great parent you are!

    ReplyDelete
  2. This is awesome. As a soon-to-be father myself, this is encouraging. The future of the Timbers Army is in good hands. Keep up the good work!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Absolutely amazing story. Hats off to you and your family

    ReplyDelete