My email to you sent on Aug. 17, 2013

Here is the letter I sent to you on Aug. 17, 2013, in case you do not receive it:

Hi Kieran,

How are you doing today? I am doing fine though I miss you like crazy!

I am so glad that you’re having a busy and fun summer. That’s what summers should be about when you’re young.

It was exciting to hear that you’re learning how to swim. That’s a very important skill to have and a fun activity. I once knew how to swim, having taken swimming lessons as a young boy when just a little older than you, but I almost drowned once. Now when I go in the water I tense up and can’t swim or float very well. There are many times I wish I could go swimming, though! Have you learned how to float yet?

I also am glad to hear that you’re working on the bicycle riding. Besides being great exercise, it’s lots of fun to go whooshing down the street with the blow blowing through your hair! What color bicycle do you have?

Going to the zoos always was a favorite trip of mine, too. I like the jungle/tropics section of the Minnesota Zoo. Como Park Zoo has changed a lot since I was a little boy; in the 1960s, the animals were kept in small cages, but now they fortunately are placed in environments that are more like where they would actually live if in the wilds. What is your favorite part of each zoo?

The Blue Jays should be a good baseball game. I think the Twins actually might be able to win that one! Not that I should talk – two of my teams (The San Diego Padres and the Milwaukee Brewers) actually are doing worse than the Twins. But the Los Angeles Dodgers are in first place, and hopefully will make the playoffs this fall! Who will you be rooting for to win the World Series?

Football season also is about to start. Exhibition season, in which the players get to practice by playing games that don’t count, already are underway. Adrian Peterson says he plans to run for 2500 yards this year. Do you think he can do it?

Thank you for telling me that you enjoy seeing me. I know you do – we always have lots of fun when we get together – but it was still nice to hear anyway! I always enjoy being with you well. In fact, I am very excited because we will get to spend time together every week for the next three weeks! Our next visit is in just five days on Thursday, Aug. 22. We then get together on Friday, Aug. 30, and then on Thursday, Sept. 5. Is there anything you would like me to bring this Thursday?

Well, that is all for now. I miss and love you very much! I look forward to reading your next letter and will see you on Thursday!

Love,

Daddy

My letter to you for June 30-July 5, 2013

Here is my letter from July 6, 2013, just in case you do not receive it.

Hi Kieran,

How are you doing? I’m doing fine, though I miss you like crazy! I hope you’re having a good summer. It’s almost half over with – can you believe that?

Is summer school fun? When you last wrote, you mentioned you were learning about the presidents. Which president do you think is the best? One of my favorite presidents is Abraham Lincoln. He led the country during a war. But he is more famous for being honest. He always kept his word and promises. For example, one day he was running his store when he realized that he’d not given a customer all of her change, so he ran outside and gave it to her as she was walking away down the street. He could have kept the money, and the customer probably never would have known. But, as you know from school, one always should be honest. Do you know which bill Abraham Lincoln’s face is on?

How is your bicycle riding coming along? I bet you can ride it really well! Do you get to ride you bicycle in the park? I have a bicycle joke for you:

A man was standing on the street when a bicyclist collided with him, knocking him down.

“Boy, you’re really lucky,” the bicyclist said to the man.

“That really hurt!” said the man. “What do you mean I was lucky?”

“I usually drive a bus,” the bicyclist said.

Did you get to see the fireworks on the Fourth of July? I am going to see the fireworks tonight (Saturday) in Hudson. It is Booster Days here, and there is a big festival. The fireworks are held over Lake St. Croix. I wish you could be with me for the festival and fireworks.

Have you seen any movies this summer? I’ve been to “Star Trek” and “Man of Steel” (the Superman movie). I remember when you were three years old, and I told you the tale of how Superman came to Earth and grew up to become a superhero. When I finished, you said, “Wow – that’s a pretty good story!” I also want to see “The Lone Ranger” movie. What movies would you like to see?

I am still trying to work it out so we can see each other every other week. This could begin as soon as Friday (July 12) if other people involved in this decision agree to it. I am looking forward to being able to see you more often.

Well, that is all for now. I miss and love you very much. Hopefully, I will see you on Friday!

Best,

Daddy

My email to you from June 15, 2013

Here is my letter to you from June 15, 2013, in case you do not receive it.

Hi Kieran,

How are you today? I am doing fine, though I miss you very much! It was so nice to receive your email on Monday and catch up on what you were doing.

I’m glad to hear that you’re enjoying summer school. Does it go through August? Do you get some time off from school to enjoy summer vacation? Which of your friends are going to summer school with you?

I bet seeing the dinosaurs was a lot of fun! The science museum in St. Paul has a good collection of them. Which dinosaur was your favorite? My favorite dinosaur is the Troodon. It walked on two legs like a bird and had the biggest brain of all of the dinosaurs – and that still was only as large as a chicken’s brain! Some scientists think the Troodon may have had feathers.

The Twins game sounds fun as well! What team did they play? Who won (Hopefully yours!)? My two favorite baseball teams are not doing very well this season – the Dodgers are in last place and the Brewers are in fourth place! Maybe they’ll get things turned around, but usually by the end of June if a team isn’t in second or first place, the odds are against them going to the playoffs. Hopefully next year they’ll do better!

 

I’m so proud that you’ve learned to ride a bicycle! What color is your bike? When I was a little boy, we used to put playing cards in the spokes of our bicycle wheel so that when we cruised down the street it made this neat thwap, thwap, thwap! sound. Maybe you could send a picture of you on your bike.

I bet you had lots of fun at the farm. Did you get to feed any animals? Where was the farm at? Grandma and Grandpa Bignell no longer have animals on their farm, but when they did, there were cows, pigs and chickens. And of course, they had dogs and lots and lots of cats.

Tomorrow is a big day – it’s Father’s Day! This year to celebrate Father’s Day, I am reading essays at a book store in Stillwater about fatherhood and what a great son you are! What will you be doing for Father’s Day this year? Friday (yesterday) also was a holiday – Flag Day, in which we honor an important symbol of our country and all that it stands for. Did you notice a lot of American flags out yesterday? Traditionally people hang flags from their house on Flag Day. Did you hang one from your house?

Next Friday is the first day of summer – and also the 21^st when we get to see one another again! That’s just six days away! I can’t wait to see you then!

Be good in summer school, and I’ll see you on Friday! I definitely will brings the “Star Trek” stuff! I miss and love you very much!

Love,

Dad

My email to you for June 1, 2013

Here is my letter from June 1, 2013, in case you do not receive it:

Dear Kieran,

How are you doing today? I am doing fine, though I miss you a lot! I have very good news: We will be able to see one another more often – every two weeks in fact. It may take a while to get it all arranged, but soon we will get to visit one another every other week. I’m very excited about getting to spend more time with you and about all of the fun we will have.

How was your first week of first grade? What did you learn about in your first week? Do you like your new teacher? What is your new classroom like? Does your teacher have any fun field trips planned for the summer?

I recall you telling me last fall about learning how to ride a bicycle, but you had to put it off until spring. Have you gotten out the bicycle and mastered pedaling and steering yet? When I was a little boy your age, our local John Deere tractor shop also sold bicycles. While the clerk was helping my dad, I got on one of the bicycles to figure out how it might work. I started pedaling, and the bicycle took off through the store! Zip it went past the shelves of tractor parts. I didn’t know how to stop the bicycle, though, and crashed into the front counter! After that, the store clerk always kept his eye on me whenever I came into the store. By the way, don’t ever do what I did in the John Deere tractor shop. Not only was it very naughty of me but my elbow hurt like heck for the next week because it hit the hard floor.

Do you have any trips planned for the summer, such as the zoo or the fair? I will be traveling around Wisconsin promoting my book and researching hiking trails for my next one. Some of the places I’m going to are: the St. Croix River, which has neat rock formations on it; Big Manitou Falls, which is as tall as 16 houses stacked on top of one another; and Lake Superior, which is one of the largest lakes in the world (It would take days to drive around it!). I’m looking forward to going to all of these new places but sure wish you could come with me to see them.  

What did you get to do for Memorial Day? Did you go to any ceremonies? Memorial Day pays honor to soldiers and sailors who died in battle defending our country, and often there are special programs at cemeteries and parks. You’ve had many ancestors and relatives who served in the armed forces. Your Uncle George served in World War II, which was the biggest war the world has ever seen. He fought in France and Germany against the Nazis. Your Grandpa Ed (who you are named after) also served during that war and played a very important role in it; you’ll have to ask your mother to tell all about him.

How are your “Star Trek” Lego toys holding up? Hopefully they haven’t come apart! If they do, maybe you’ll be able to put them back together using the instructions I put in your bag. You always can bring them with you when we get together, and I’ll help you put them back together. I will bring some more character packets when we next get together (June 21 at the latest), and hopefully we will get the Gorn!

Well, that is all for now. I miss and love you very much and can’t wait to see you again!

Love,

Dad

My response to your second email

Received an email from you on Friday and wanted to print my response to it below, just in case you don't receive it. I sent it to you today.

Dear Kieran,

It is so good to hear from you! I miss and love you very much and am glad you let me know how you are doing.

I do have one favor to ask of you: Could you ask your mother to remove “Dingle Fritz” from the name she has assigned me on her email. “Dingle Fritz” is not a very nice word and inappropriate for an email between a son and his father. I hope it is not a word you use in school or with your friends or to refer to your mother. Okay?

You must have had only half a day of school today – I see your email was sent at 1:40 in the afternoon! I hope you enjoyed your time off of school!

Playing football and tag with your friends and classmates sounds like a lot of fun. What position do you usually play when playing football? When my friends and I played football in school, our punter always kicked the ball backward so that it went behind him! When I told my Uncle George this, he suggested that we have our punter stand backward so that the ball went the right way. So we tried that – except he actually kicked it correctly, which meant the ball still went the “wrong way”! After that, we just decided to always go for it on fourth down.

Anakin or a firefighter for Halloween – that would be a difficult choice! Whichever you decide, I know you’ll look good in it. Maybe you could send a picture of yourself in your costume – surprise me with which one you choose!

If you have to wait until spring to learn to ride a bicycle, that’s okay. By that time, we hopefully will be able to see each other, and I can help teach you how to ride the bicycle (Now I better go out and remember how to ride one myself – It’s been a long time I’ve been on a bike! Don’t worry, once you learn, it’s something you never forget.).

What are you doing this weekend? Have you gone to the Minnesota Zoo yet some weekend? I like the jungle part at the zoo.

A guinea pig sounds like lots of fun in the classroom! Whenever we used to visit pet stores together, you always liked to watch the guinea pigs. Do you get to help take care of the guinea pig? When I was in kindergarten, our classroom had a salamander. I always liked the way his home in the glass cage was decorated with lots of green plants and rocks. It looked like a miniature jungle!

Have you read any good books lately? I just read “Time Train” by Paul Fleischman. It’s about all of these different places where you can find dinosaur bones – like Utah and Pennsylvania – and shows what those places used to look like when dinosaurs lived there.

Well, that is all for now. I miss and love you very much!

Daddy

Here's what you wrote to me on Friday:

Dad:

I go to school all day. Like playing outside, sometimes we play football or tag.

For Halloween I'm going to go as Anakin from Clone Wars, or maybe a fire fighter, I haven't decided yet.

Not sure if I'll learn how to ride a bike right now, maybe in the Spring.

Lots of different things to do on weekends so they fly by.

We have a guiena pig at school. So that is really exciting.

Love,

Kieran

Your first email to me!

Received your first email from you! This is the first time that I've "heard" from you since May 9 - more than four months now. Of course, someone else had to write it for you. I've published it here so that when you're older and able to read it, you can tell me if it really came from you ... I have my suspicions about that as the email makes a concerted effort to show how your current situation is perfect and didn't answer a number of questions or respond to a number of topics I wrote in my email. In addition, the wording isn;t entirely the way you speak, not matching your speaking patterns. Still, I will give everyone the benefit of the doubt for now and presume you really got to hear to first email to you and that these really are your words.

Dad:

I got your e-mail it sure was long.

I like my Kindergarten class and going to school.

I even go to bed early so I can be up to go to school early and play.

I have  a good breakfast every day.

I am learning to ride a 2 wheeler with training wheels and can’t wait for the training wheels come off and Grandpa can teach me to ride a 2 wheeler.

I still have several pictures of you and me.

Gotta go outside to play.  Bye.

Love,

Kieran