Elvis with a tail?

Sorry for the lack of posts lately. I've gotten very busy at work, and I'm getting buried by things I need to read before I can begin my thesis proposal. [By the way, if you've got any great ideas about military recruitment messaging and the ways in which it is informed by and seeks to counteract the impact of a wartime environment, feel free to pass them along. I digress.]

Before we visited the farm on Saturday, we went to Samson's friend Emma's birthday party, where we had lunch with a huge anthropomorphic mouse. No, not that one.

This one.

It was crazy. And kind of fun, in a toddler "Lord of the Flies" sort of way.

Lots of games and blinking lights and kids running around, into, and over one another. But the highlight was the animatronic band on stage that would play every 10 or 15 minutes. You've probably already guessed that Samson spent a lot of time standing by the quiet, unlit stage waiting for the drummer to blink those giant staring eyes and move his weirdly suspended hands.

In any event, at some pre-appointed time, Chuck himself came out. He was flanked on either side by bored looking teenage girls who served as his backup singers/bodyguards. I'm not kidding. They announced his presence, gave a set list --- "If You're Happy and You Know It" and "Happy Birthday," natch --- and set the ground rules [e.g., "when we say Happy, you say Birthday" or "Chuck E. is leaving now; say goodbye everyone!"].

It was like Elvis in his late, fat period. Shuffle on, muddle through a tune or two, throw a scarf, and exit stage left. Ok, Chuck didn't throw any scarves. And he actually was available for a few hugs, which Samson bravely stepped up for. The fact that there was pizza and cake and other goodies was completely lost on him.

But he did get to go on some cool rides. And he was clearly proud of his bravery in the face of a 6-foot-tall rodent. He spent the rest of the day saying "I hugged the mouse! I did it!"

Sometimes it's the little victories in life that matter most. Now if only he wasn't afraid to hug Emma...