Jason Raven

I'm beat, beet red

Up until this past year, I was very adept at avoiding beets. My father would eat them out of a can while I grew up. I'm feeling queasy just thinking about it. A couple of years ago, my wife brought some home from the grocery store and the more-mature me decided to give them a try. I had learned by that point that you can't condemn a vegetable just because some people choose to eat it out of a... Oh boy. Would you believe he eats canned potatoes, too? Urp.

For Boston

Signs of Spring 2008:

1. Back on Feb 2, the groundhog proclaimed 6 more weeks of winter, which would have been March 15
2. The robins have been back in town for a week since around March 17
3. The vernal equinox was March 20

The real date for the start of spring this year is... March 31. That's when the Yankees open up their season against Toronto at Yankee Stadium.

Down with disease

One of the things I dread most about visiting a new medical office is having to fill out all of the paperwork. Now that I have children, it's even worse because our visits and referrals to specialists are much more frequent. The part of the form that gives me the most trouble is the "Family History" section where you are expected to list all of the various genetic diseases and conditions that have plagued your clan. How much of my family should I include? Are we really susceptible to high blood pressure or does my uncle just eat way too much fast food?

Head games

Much to my wife's chagrin, the taxidermist finished the shoulder mount of my 2006 white-tailed buck this week. This is like salt in the wounds for her, because she hates that I'm away from home so much in the fall and now she has a permanent reminder of my favorite avocation adorning our abode. I maintain a very clear conscience, though, because I disclosed my hunting habit to her on our very first date.

From the beginning

Where to begin?

When I was about to get married, my great-aunt Minnie gave my wife and me blank notebooks and encouraged us to keep journals. "What a fantastic idea!" we both said. The journals went unused. I came very close to revisiting the idea when my first child was born, but sloth won out again. As usual.