The Big Soft Fluffy Friend: Pengoon

Mary Jane and Betsy Jo realize that summer is upon them when none other than the Pengoon mysteriously appears in the house.  The large penguin mascot of the Mary Star Decathlon program materializes over summer and Christmas break.  He sits on the large rocking chair and quietly asserts his need for a can of tuna.  This naturally irritates TV Turtle and Sharkey who both want their share of fish food as well.  The penguin is quite placid but he does seem to intimidate the other stuffed animals with his rotund belly.  He also frightens Mommy when she sneaks off to the bathroom in the middle of the night and the suddenly he creeps in under the covers. For some reason, she blames Daddy for that when it was really Pengoon trying to get some warmth.



The Pengoon showed up one day sitting on the bar in the den.

Along with the Pengoon this year is Deborah the Zebra (pronounced the British way of course, ZEB-ruh), the mascot for the Mary Star Decathlon team #2.  Deborah was initially introduced to the family for Mary Jane's first birthday party.  She was an immediate hit with the girls but alas filled a more important team role as mascot.  Deborah and the Pengoon sit atop Mr. Erb's closet in the back corner of the room.  The proudly watched the Mary Star teams win a combined 42 medals last year.  Strong mascots indeed.

Deborah!!!

In the picture, Mary Jane and Betsy Jo sit down in front of the two mascots for the photo op.  Mary Jane and Betsy Jo are the human mascots for teams one and two, respectively.  Thus the picture actually has the right human and animal mascots lineup up. 

In the brief video, Mary Jane attempts at putting Daddy's (aka Mr. Erb's) hat on the Pengoon.  After some failed attempts, she decides to place it upon Deborah's instead.  A for effort, MJ.  Wait, let's stick with the theme: gold medal for effort, Mary Jane!

Mister John Does Better than Watson

What, you don't recall the old American painting of that naked dude who fell into the harbor and was being attacked by a shark? I guess you didn't have Academic Decathlon a few years back. Well, get with it!

Anyway, Mister John had a good Saturday as he caught a nice big (plastic?) shark off the Manhattan Beach Pier. At least he said he caught it. Most people who catch shark are either lying or end up with one arm. (I think we'll need a bigger boat.) Anyway, he marched around with Miss Jill on the beachhead yesterday and had a very good time. It was a big foggy out so they didn't burn. I don't think the shark had to worry about it.

No word yet from Sharkey about whether he approves of Mister John's weekend activities.

Penguins Tend to Relax on Sundays

The Pengoon is spending his vacation in style. For much of the year he sits atop Mister John's (aka Mr. Erb) mobile school closet. But for a few weeks during Christmas and summer break, he gets to chill with the family. Of course that brings the annual conflicts with TV Turtle and Sharkey as they all want to eat fish. And clearly this proves to be a greater problem as the Pengoon is much larger than them. Never discuss issues of biomass with Decathlon penguins, television turtles, and cloth-toothed sharks (they get a bit testy). Furthermore Shark Week comes on just in time for the fish eating conflicting every year. This year the three have bonded and have enjoyed watching all the Shark Week programming. This has left Miss Jill and Mister John a little worried as the new programming for 2010 dealt mostly with shark attacks on humans. When either Jill or John walks by, they all turn their heads to look at them like the ghosts did on the Ancient Mariner's ship (what, you haven't read "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner" lately? you suck!).

In the afternoons, Pengoon gets out and lounges in the back yard. Good for him, he deserves a good rest from all the action inside. Besides, in about ten days, he'll be back at Mary Star and surviving all the sophomore madness. And he also knows that January is coming soon enough: the Decathlon awaits. Mister John (aka Coach Erb) will be ready to bring him into battle. And nothing drives fear into other Decathlon teams than the Pengoon. Because they know Mary Star is coming. Well, that and the onslaught of parents that come.

Remote Control Seized During Shark Week

Normally TV Turtle is in control of the remote but for one week a year, Sharkey swims from upon the bedroom television and seizes control. He watches nothing but non-stop Shark Week programming on the Discovery Channel. He sits there casually enjoying the remarkable pictures of his fellow sharks. On Sunday night he was jumping through the air as he emulated the flying sharks off of Shark Island.

So as Miss Jill sits there in the bedroom watching the tense conclusion of The Bachelorette and Mister John oscillates between a Dodger loss and How the Earth Was Made (hey, man, this episode is about the Rocky Mountains), Sharkey sits in the living room and watches three hours of shark programming. You can call us crazy but look at the picture. That shark's got teeth!

Last Night for the Pengoon

Alas, poor Pengoon, I knew him well, Horatio.

The Academic Decathlon mascot will return to school tomorrow as the whole school year process starts all over again. While it is sad not to see the cheerful penguin in the home, it does prove problematic. Such animals like TV Turtle and Sharkey (who disappeared for a week but was finally found in Miss Jill's jewelry box, don't ask) do not like the Pengoon's presence because he eats most of their fish. The Pengoon denies it all but fish breath is hard to remove.

Only students who are in Academic Decathlon are allowed to touch the penguin. Others receive detention. Such is the power of the penguin... er, Pengoon.

Not to worry, world, the Pengoon will be back home over Christmas vacation. Hey, gotta take the carpool lane once in a while!

Controversial Decision Awaits Bunny Election

After all the votes have been tallied, the Bunny Election of 2008 resulted in a TIE! Both the camps of Cherry Bugg and Princess Jane were outraged that the electorate could not decide upon the more deserving rabbit. Unfortunately there is nothing in the local constitution that provides a more definitive roadmap in case of electorate tying.

Quite possibly all of the indoor animals (Clifford, TV Turtle, Sharkey, etc) might get their own vote. Or there might just be a split leadership. Considering Princess Jane and Cherry Bugg do not seem to get along well, this might be a difficult decision.

Clearly there will be a recount. Hopefully cooler heads and lucky feet will prevail.

Bunny Debate Set for Next Week

Bunny Election candidates Cherry Bugg and Princess Jane have agreed to meet in three separate debates to discuss the various important election topics. The first debate will set in the master bedroom and will be supervised by Miss Jill. Here they will discuss domestic policy in front of many stuffed animals who are surprisingly still undecided (except for Mama and Papa Bugg who clearly will vote for their daughter). They will both be seated on the bed and answer these questions for at least 30 minutes or until one of them bites the other on the butt.

The second debate will be held outdoor in the patio by the back door. This debate will primarily discuss economic and agricultural issues. Questions about carrots, rose bushes, and dead leaves will surely arise. It is believed that Mister John will supervise this debate and it should last 30 minutes or until one of the rabbits again tries to bite the other on the butt.

The final debate will be held on the living room sofa and this will be more of a town hall debate in front of the other undecided animals: Fred, Frederica, Sharkey, Commute Bunny, and Clifford among others. Again this should last approximately thirty minutes. There is no truth to the rumor that Princess Jane and Cherry Bugg will debate MMA style in a steel cage. They prefer smooth wood floors.