TYOT: Akicistan Tony insists on going outside in the awful heat.

 

 

 

Three Trips Outside

No one in his right mind would have gone out this afternoon by choice.  They would have gone out only if it was mandatory.   It was too bloody hot.  A good activity would have been to sit in A/C and read. 

I went out three times, Tuesday afternoon, because Tony wanted to.  He currently finds walking outside, and looking for stones very interesting.  He wants the stones so he can throw them in the water.  There being lots of canals and ponds in the neighborhood, this throwing stones is a grand and convenient obsession to have.  Especially, if you have a sucker like me for a father. 

I thought the first trip into the blaring sun would cure him of a desire to go out.  But after twenty minutes, at which time I returned home for lunch, Tony protested passionately against going inside.  The fact that it was lunchtime didn't do much to change his thoughts (sometimes his attention can be quickly diverted by new sensations).  He had a bit of a drink and then took his shoes to me - his way of telling me that he wants to go out. 

So out I took him out again, this time going into the dungeonous tunnels of the apartment complex where the dankness was made tolerable by the coolness.   I found the one elevator that could take us to the lofty heights of the complex's tallest buildings.  Tony was not so much interested in the view.  He wanted to ride the elevators; another obsession of his because he like to press buttons whether on phones, keyboards, et cetera.   We went down to the canal.  A few times he actually threw the stones into the water in a manly way so I let him continue.  That is, he used his arm and threw for distance instead of just dropping the stones.  Now anytime he sees stones, he makes me stop so he can pick them up.  Sometimes, he doesn't pick up stones at all...  I took him back home after an hour of this.  I had passed the time by listening to Nassim Taleb talk about the financial crisis on a Econ Talk podcast which I had put on my mobile phone.  Taleb says he is going to write a book on how Universities have not added to the sum of human knowledge.

When I got home, a painter was there.  So I had to go out yet again.  This time, I took the electric bike and Tony to the Wu Culture Park.  An interesting place I would recommend you go if you are in Akicistan, also known as Hui Shan New City.  I took Tony to two rooms that were filled with painted figurines of Chinese people in older times.  I will have to take a video one day of the place to show you the delights it contains.  Unfortunately, Tony was not so much interested in the room because the displays were above his line of sight and there was nothing for him to grab onto.  So I took him to another part of the park which contained museums, walkways, pedestrian bridges going over streams, and ponds.  Tony immediately became interested in the ponds and streams, and he started looking for rocks and things to throw into the water.  After about twenty minutes, I took Tony for a ride which I hoped would put him to sleep.  It did, I am glad to say and so now I make this blog entry.