The Dark Knight

Daddy Steve:  When we posted our Gregoropolis Christmas photo on the Sasha Facebook page, one person commented that Anthony looked like Bruce Wayne (a.k.a. Batman).  Anthony liked that comment a lot!  As the only non-Gregor in Gregoropolis, he sometimes feels a bit invisible.  Ever since reading that comment, he's been spending a lot of time in front of the mirror and talking in a very deep voice.

Anthony: I'm BATMAN!

Robin: Are you catching a cold?

Merry Christmas from Gregoropolis!

Waiting

Daddy Steve:  Christmas Eve morning in Gregoropolis!  Some of us (Frank) are having a little trouble waiting to dig into the holiday sweets.

A Change -- But Not Too Much

Daddy Steve: My two German boys, Rolf and Paul, loudly announced they were cold.

Rolf: Daddy Steve, you must buy more coal!

Paul: Ja, I haff got goosebumps on my legs!

Daddy Steve:  We don't heat the house with coal, and I think the problem is that you boys are still wearing your shorts.  Why don't we get you two changed into some warmer clothes?

Rolf: Hmmm.  Well, maybe.

Paul: Will we still match?

Daddy Steve: Very nearly.  I've got the overalls and shirt that Rolf wore last winter, and I've also bought a new shirt and overalls.  Aren't they nice?

Rolf: Hmmm.  Well, maybe.

Daddy Steve: Rolf, as senior Götz boy, you get to have the new outfit.

Rolf: Oh, no, Daddy!  Das ist mein outfit!

Daddy Steve: Oh, yes, sorry Rolf.  Daddy is old and sometimes gets strange ideas.

Daddy Steve: How's that, boys?  Better?
Paul: Much better!  I'm warm now.

Rolf:  Ja, Daddy Steve.  Change is gut!

'Continental' Cookies

Daddy Steve:  This weekend I baked Christmas cookies for the boys (including the big one I'm married to).  Minnesota Public Radio was playing lovely Christmas music, which helped me get in the mood.

I'll be the first to admit that I'm not very talented at shaped cookies.  They go into the oven looking like trees, stars, and candy canes and come out vaguely resembling continents (Africa, in particular).

Kaveh and Giancarlo assure me that they still taste just as good.

Kaveh: They smell yummy!

Giancarlo: When can we have one?

And with that, Gregoropolis has reached 100 posts!  

Thank you for reading and here's to the next 100!

Decking The Halls

Daddy John: Time to decorate Gregoropolis for the holidays, and two volunteers nominated themselves as my helper elves.  Benjamin Roy and Pete decided they would decorate the tree....well, the branches they could reach anyway.

BR: A Santa ornament should always go on first!

Pete: What's this one, Daddy John?

Daddy John: My mother got that for me when I was about your age.  If you look carefully at the brim of the boy's hat, you can see my name etched on it.

Pete: Be careful with this one, BR!  It's one of Daddy Steve's favorites.

BR: Good grief!  What is this?!

Daddy John: Ha-ha!  Daddy Steve bought me that one a few years ago.  He thought it was funny and he remembered I like Bigfoot!

Pete: Well, better not tell Sasha about it!  He'll never come anywhere near the tree!

Happy Hanukkah!

Daddy Steve:  Ezra would like to wish everyone a Happy Hanukkah.

Ezra:  Chag Sameach!

What's In A Name?

Daddy Steve:  You might recall that I assigned Rolf and Sebastian the task of choosing a name for their new Götz brother.  They presented their choice to me just before the new boy was scheduled to arrive.  They seemed quite pleased with themselves; obviously they believed they had picked a winner.

Sebastian: Daddy Steve, we've made our decision.

Rolf: Ja, it's the name ov a very famous German

Sebastian: Very famous.

Daddy Steve: Okay, boys, lay it on me.

Sebastian: His name will be...

Sebastian & Rolf: PAUL!

Hm.  I have to admit I was a bit surprised.  Now, Paul is a handsome name, and no doubt popular in Germany as it is in many other places.  However, after that build-up, I was really expecting something more along the lines of Ludwig or Johann.

Daddy Steve: Oh, great choice!  So, who is this famous namesake?

Rolf: Ve vill show you.

Rolf & Sebastian: Ta-Da!

Daddy Steve: It's...an octopus.  You want to name him after an octopus?

Rolf: Eine deutsche Krake.  A German octopus.

Sebastian: Daddy Steve, he's not just any German octopus.  Tell him, Rolf.

Rolf: Nein! He is Paul, the Psychic Octopus!

For those of you who lead sheltered lives, Paul the Psychic Octopus was a resident of Sea Life Centre in Oberhausen, Germany.  A common octopus who was anything but, Paul gained worldwide fame for his astonishingly accurate predictions of World Cup Soccer winners.  In his short life of two and a half years (an average lifespan for his species), Paul achieved an 85.7% success record in his predictions.

Paul, deep in concentration.  Will it be Spain or Germany?

I suspect that our junior marine biologist Stephen Orange may have influenced this 'unique' choice.

Stephen Orange:  Octopuses have a highly evolved nervous system.  They are very intelligent, with complex thought processes, long and short term memories, and unique personalities.  They can use tools and learn through observation.

Sebastian: Cool!

Rolf: Sehr interessant!

Avid soccer fans Mikko and Tyler were no doubt big supporters as well.  Their arguments tend to be quite enthusiastic, if not terribly logical.

Mikko: Paul was an awesome octopus!  I bet he knew David Beckham!

Tyler: I bet he could make things appear just by thinking about them!

Mikko: Like hot dogs.

Tyler: And race cars.

Sebastian: Wow!  That's way cool!

Rolf: Ja, I like hot dogs.

The only question that remained is what soon-to-be-named Paul would think of his name.  The answer, of course, is that he loved it.  After all, what little boy wouldn't want to be named after a psychic, soccer-loving mollusk?

Paul: Danke, Meine Freunde!  I haff the best name ever!

Schuljunge

Daddy Steve: There's a new boy here in Gregoropolis!  He arrived several months ago as a little "Happy Birthday to me" present (one of the few privileges of entering middle age is that one gets to go through one's second childhood).  He's an early Götz school boy, complete with all original outfit.

I saw him a few months earlier on Shelly's site and fell in love with his big, dark eyes.  The seller very kindly agreed to a lay-away payment, and after a few months of bread, water, and ramen noodles (just kidding) (sort of) he was mine.

Such big handsome eyes!

His outfit is really in good shape for its age, although I think Rolf's outfit (made by Marti Murphy) is superior in tailoring and finishing.

The early Götz shorts were quite short!  Fortunately, he's got the legs for it.  Daddy Steve would not look good in this outfit.

He has the classic Götz boy haircut: neat on the sides and back, and a little longer on top.  This is really how most boys wore their hair in the early-to-mid 1960s, before a certain group of mop-top lads hit the scene.

I wondered how my other Götz boys would react to this new arrival.  I was pretty sure Sebastian would be cool with it, but Rolf is another story.  As you probably know, Rolf can be quite apprehensive about new things.  Although he's often said how much he would like another German brother, actually meeting that brother in the flesh (vinyl) might be an entirely different matter.  We would all just have to wait and find out.

Rolf: Vot do you think he vill be like?

Sebastian: Relax, Rolf.  I'm sure he will be nice.

Eventually the big day came.

New Boy: Guten Tag!

Sebastian: Hi!  Welcome to our home.

Rolf: Oh, ja, willkommen.

Rolf was immediately fascinated by this new boy who was so similar to him.  They quickly became good friends.

I think it may have helped that Rolf privately believed he was slightly more handsome than the new boy.

When I first told Rolf and Sebastian about their soon-to-be new brother, I gave them the job of choosing a name for him.  I believe I told them to "pick out a nice German name."  My boys are usually very good about completing any task that I give them, however it's not always done in quite the way I would have envisioned.  Stay tuned!