Life with The Swell Guy!

Zamboni...never gets old

Zamboni. Fun to say. Zamboni. And for some mysterious reason, fascinating to watch. Oh, come on. I know it is not just me. 

Have you ever been to a hockey game and become just a little excited when the Zamboni hits this ice? Have you ever wondered what it is like to be the Zamboni driver and pondered how you get that gig? Then there is the shotgun seat on some Zamboni machines. How cool is that? I'm pretty sure the idea was some young driver's attempt to meet more young ladies. I'll let you image the possible pick-up lines.

In honor of the 60th. anniversary of the Zamboni, I present these 10 Zamboni fun facts as written by Rick Reilly of Sports Illustrated.  Enjoy. The team will be back on the ice shortly.

 1. Zamboni was a ninth-grade dropout from Pocatello, Idaho.

2. Zamboni got the idea for an automatic ice resurfacer because he was sick and tired of waiting for men to manually resurface the ice with shovels and squeegees at his Paramount, Calif., skating rink, according to the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame. He vowed to find a better way.

3. In fact, Zamboni originally tried to call his company The Paramount Engineering Company, but that name was taken, so he named it Frank J. Zamboni & Co. The machines became, for short, "Zambonis."

4. What used to take three men 90 minutes to do suddenly took one man 10 minutes to do.

5. For a time, the chassis on Zambonis were old Jeeps.

6. The first one sold for $5,000.

7. The second and third were sold to figure skater Sonia Henie for her Hollywood on Ice show.

8. The Zamboni company is coming up on its 10,000th machine soon.

9. Many Zambonis are made in Brantford, Ontario, boyhood home of ... wait for it ... Wayne Gretzky.

10. "The Paramount" wouldn't have been near as cool a name.

10 best quotes from Nacho Libre

Yesterday's post was a big hit around our house.  I must tell you, my friend, that making a few people you love happy is plenty good enough for me. Plenty.

Last night Erin gave us a great description of  "speaking Nacho". I only wish I had taken notes or recorded it.  So anyways, here iz my 10 best quotes from Nacho Libre.

1. Nachoooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!! (see above photo for demo!)

 2. Chancho, when you are a man, sometimes you wear stretchy pants in your room. Just for fun.

3. It sucks to be me right now.

4. Tonight, I will fight the seven strongest men in town, maybe the world. And I will win because our heavenly father will be in the ring with me. And he and I will win 10,000 pesos.

5. My life is good. Really good.

6.  They don't think I know a butt load of crap about the gospel. But I dooo. Okay?

7. Ok. Orphans! Listen to Ignacio. I know it is fun to wrestle. A nice piledrive to the face... or a punch to the face... but you cannot do it. Because, it is in the Bible not to wrestle your neighbour.

8. Okay. Maybe I am not meant for these duties. Cooking duty. Dead guy... duty. Maybe it's time for me to get a better duty!

9. Me and my friend are thinking about going pro.

10. So anyways, let's get down to the nitty gritty.

Bonus Dialog

Sister Encarnación: Well, my favorite color is light tan. My favourite animal is puppies. I like serving the lord. Hiking, play volleyball...

Nacho: You gotta be kidding me. Everything you just said, is MY favourite thing to do, every day!

Nacho Libre changed our life

At some point Baby Girl and Erin discovered that they both love the movie Nacho Libre.  It is a farce that you either get or you don't.  There is not much in-between.

When the girls came to live with us this summer they brought Nacho along. They fondly call each other "Chancho" or "Little Chancho".  This makes me happy the movie uses Spanish words since it would be "Schwein" if it were a German movie. That would be less funny, my friend.

The girls picked up the catch phrases from the movie. And both started quoting lines from the movie. "The Chanchos" picked up the dialect which is hard to describe, but it is some sort of outrageous Mexican accent meets Napoleon Dynamite, with perhaps a dash of sleepiness...whatever that all means. I asked Baby Girl to describe the accent and while she can do it, I found her description a little lacking.  She closed her comment by saying "OOOhhhh K" which is very Nachoesque if said properly. 

Now, the thing is, our girls have contagious personalities. The staff at the Ragn Rooster is now speaking Nacho lines. I understand one of the kitchen staff can even do that flex the upper glut thing. They have us participating at home from time to time. You would think it would get old, but it has worn pretty well so far.

Recently I suggested the girls decorate the family Christmas tree. I was thinking it would be a nice thing to remember since they will likely not be in the US next Christmas. I should have checked with Mama first on this one, but anyway off we go. It is my understanding we should expect a Fiesta themed tree. This should not have been a surprise. I think Denine is on board with the idea since she was the one picking out alternating cactus and sombrero lights last night.

The thing that has caused the greatest alarm for me personally is the girls semi-regular suggestion that I don a Nacho Libra wrestling costume. This would not only be tragic for me, but also for any viewers. I mean really, I am no Jack Black. OOOhhh K, I am not another guy that needs to be seen bare chested in stretchy pants. More alarming, Denine has not been too quick coming to my aid on this topic. All joking aside, this really does not need to happen. I am certain stretchy pants is not my best look.

Some days at home Denine is calling the girls "Chancho" and lines are being repeated and the girls are using that funky accent for everything they say and all is well. It's a little like those special moments in a family when there is an inside joke that only the family gets and that is the way it should be. I'm sure in a few months when Baby Girl and Erin are across an ocean and across a continent we will yearn to hear them say one thing, just one more thing. Sigh.

So anyway, tomorrow I will post the best 10 lines from the movie. You can find them on the internet, but you would not have my ten and I have a photo that you will what to see, Chancho. Reeeal-Ly.

It's Tuesday-palooza!

If you plan to make it to the big time,  you have got to learn that menacing look technique.

Tuesday-palooza celebrates life through noteworthy photos. Selection tends towards humor, southern life and laughing at ourselves & the things we do to occupy our time. Your comments, suggestions, and photo submissions are welcome.