The Big Benner Philly Visit of July 2009

We who follow the Benner way of life consider Philadelphia to be our Mecca. Each year, we are compelled to make a lengthy pilgrimage back to the city of brotherly love in order to regain balance, obtain a fresh perspective, and to be made spiritually pure once again.

At least that's the line of reasoning we use in order to write the trip off our taxes: We're religiously obligated. But in reality, we just love our friends and family so much that we need to make time for quality visits. That's why we spent a little more than a week in our hometown just a short time ago. Here's a slide show, followed by some selected thoughts.



- We spent our first night at the Lozano compound, (Phil, Rachel, Matt and Jenn, plus all their kids) and they had a little unexpected birthday dinner for Rhianwen, including cake! Later, Joe and Meryl showed up with some cookies. This set the tone for a week-long binge on various sweets. So guiltily delicious.

- We hung out one night in Northern Liberties, and holy cow that place has changed since we were last there (maybe right before we moved to LA, spring of 2008). It's downright gentrified, complete with a mini-outdoor mall equipped with jumbo-tron TV. Funny how fast things develop.

- So many little boys in our lives have grown so fast. Aiden (Jen and Rob's son) is walking and talking. Jude (Phil and Rachel's son) is like a tiny little man. Micah (Jenn and Matt's son) is a completely different little boy than we remember, and with such a funny personality. Matthew (my baby cousin) has gotten huge, and is in love with Rhianwen (he has good taste). We miss all those little guys.

- One of the big reasons for the trip was Gwenyth's 60th birthday, which we threw a party for. It was a very nice, intimate event (Phil and Rachel were gracious enough to lend their home to us for it) with some of Gwenyth's close friends. We were so glad to be there to help celebrate such a wonderful, special mother. We're also thankful to our friends and family who helped us pull it off. We definitely needed their help.

- We spent a night at the Papa's, and were awoken on Sunday morning by the loudest, craziest thunder storm we can remember. It was actually a treat to experience that, as it hasn't rained in LA in months and we don't even remember when it may have thundered. Also a treat: swimming in the pool during the storm with the boys (I couldn't be bothered to change out of my pajamas, for some reason). What wasn't a treat: the storm delayed our flight home by hours, and we were under a lot of stress trying to make sure we would make our connecting flight. We didn't, but we were able to find another one that got us home alright.

Well, that's all. It was a special trip and we loved every minute we got to spend with people. Until the next pilgrimage, we bid Philadelphia adieu.

Up, and El Capitan: A winning combination

Have you heard of the El Capitan Theater? You should look it up. It is a super cool old school theater run by Disney, complete with organist and stage show. We were lucky enough that our friend John Bayer had some tickets to see Up there, and so we and a bunch of friends from our home group went.


Let me say, it is bonkers there. It's like an old movie theater from a cartoon come to life. First, you sit down in this completely restored theater and listen to the organist play songs from various Disney films. If you don't applaud enough, he gets annoyed and gives you rude hand gestures. (Don't worry, not that rude.) Eventually, he gets lowered under the stage, organ and all, so that an insanely joyous and colorful song and dance number begins. Oh, and random Disney mascots intermingle with the dancers, doing the choreography too. The lyrics are uplifting but make little sense, as if they picked a handful of words related to happiness and haphazardly placed them on a lyric sheet. The effect is like taking an Ambien while shotgunning a beer. Eventually they start calling all the children in the theater on stage to dance, too, and then the audience is forced to dance in their seats as well, lest they be labeled poopers of parties. After the children are sent to their seats again, cannons come up and shoot confetti at you with a loud BANG.




As the confetti rains down upon you, slowly collecting on your hair and shoulders, and the mascots make their way off stage, you are left grinning like an idiot. "Did I really just witness this, in real life?" you ask yourself. Yes. Yes you did. Don't worry, you are just showing the early symptoms of a blown mind.

Personally, I was ready to go home after that. It's not often that you see something so mindbendingly, insanely happy, and I was left wanting a nap quite frankly.

Good thing I didn't go, though, because Up was a fantastic movie. Really, just great, very moving, funny and beautiful to look at. (Oh, and if you see it in 3-D, you get to keep some nifty glasses.) If you haven't seen it yet, you should. And if you think you shouldn't, why are you so argumentative?

The best part of all? You get to keep a collectible Up popcorn bucket.


Rhianwen uses it as a lunch box now.

This is...

...AWESOME.

Fourth of July

Question: What’s the best way to spend Fourth of July

Answer: By stickin’ our freedom and liberty in the face of an Englishman!

That’s right, dear readers, your humble Rhi and Benner spent the birthday of our dear sweet America cozying up to a limey, tea-swilling Redcoat! But really, don’t hold Greg Jong’s citizenship against him. He’s a right good bloke, eh guv’na?

Anyways, the Benners and the Robins spent the holiday grilling at the Jong’s house. It was a low-key sort of night, as Greg and Dani were trying to help their new puppy Ivy June recuperate from illness. (Though things were looking bleak for a while, Ivy is doing quite swell now, and she is just about the cutest, sweetest dog ever.)

Here’s a slideshow from the night, followed by a few notes. Enjoy.



- Isn't Ivy June basically the cutest dog ever?
- Ryan Robins, God bless him, made potentially the worst beer choice ever by picking Michelob Ultra Light Cactus Agave Beer (or whatever it was). Nothing says Freedom and America like a sugary, low-carb, cactus-flavored alcohol.
- We love the Jongs and the Robins a lot.
- Though we heard plenty, we didn't see a single firework go off this year. Personally, I'd like to say I'm bummed, but it's just flashing lights and loud noises.

RIP Gary Papa

We were blessed to call Gary Papa a friend. Rhianwen first, and then I later, have come to think of the Papas--not to mention their dogs, their friends, their nannies and so on--to be part of an odd, altogether unique extended family.

We were devastated when Gary passed away more than a month ago. Of course we knew he was not long for this world, that this event had hung over the horizon for far too long. But as much as our minds were prepared for the worst, our spirits were not ready for the loss.

And yet his death does not feel quite real. Gary impacted us greatly. He encouraged us, challenged us, and made us think. He laughed with us, louder and more heartily than anyone we can think of. In the six or so years he has been in our lives, Gary carved quite a little home in our hearts. Though he has been torn from his niche there, our hearts still sense his presence as though a missing limb.

Gary thought of Rhianwen as his daughter, often introducing her that way. He believed in Rhi, pushed her to be bold and take chances, to not settle for things she did not want. One time he told her, “Rhi, no matter where you work, you’ll end up running the company in no time.” And as Rhianwen always says, he seemed so sincere and convinced of this, it was hard not to believe him.

Over the past several weeks, we have found this a difficult blog post to write. What can you say personally about a very public man? Anyone who every may have watched him on channel six knows that he was passionate, funny, engaging. We’ve all watched him battle cancer, fighting through pain and sickness just to deliver baseball scores. Gary’s life had been televised for all of Philadelphia to see for nearly thirty years.

What most people don’t know is that Gary wasn’t just a sports guy, but very much a renaissance man. He was the most well-read person I’ve ever met. He knew a little something about everything, and a great deal about many things. He loved acting, and the theater. He devoured music, and practically made buying albums a part of his daily routine. Seinfeld quotes flew from his mouth just as freely as Shakespearean sonnets.

But the most important part is that Gary was a kind, giving, loving friend. There are few people in the world as generous as Gary was, whether we mean with his time, support or friendship. Gary gave of himself to everyone he loved. And he loved a lot of people.

We'll always miss Gary. We have lost a dear friend.