Day Six: And Ye Shall...

My wife and I saw this outside a church in Alcoa, Tennessee a couple of years ago and it cracked us up. Thought I would lead with this since this post s of a religious nature and a little more serious than usual. Enjoy!



Last night I was watching some on demand when the program blew up and would not let me anymore. Some kind of maintenance I guess that Comcast was doing. Of course, it never worked again and from what I understand, it is still broke: Nice job people. I do not think we can handle any more upgrades or improvements around here. However, as I tried to watch Dexter, the channel I was on had a religious program going when it reverted to regular TV. Now I have been raised God fearing. I have recently been given to doubts but things I have witnessed and seen in my life have me conflicted with my belief system. So like many of the enchanted young minds of the 60’s looking for the answers, my mind wanders occasionally to the “What ifs?”

I do not think this is a bad thing to do and really, part of free will based on Christianity gives us the right and choice to ask these questions of ourselves and of others. It also lets us ask it of God himself. From what I have read, he expects us to do it in order to enhance our faith and prove his existence to the unbelieving.

That being said, stumbling upon this religious program, the usual hype of poor sinner come to repent and then the majority of the talking turned to the usual: Send me money. The person was shameless. They even have set fees established to give gifts back to the donators at different pay levels. For instance, the lowest donation amount was $58.00. Not $50.00, not $25.00 but $58.00. Maybe that is the person’s regular hotel bill for the hooker he goes to see after the show, $58.00 an hour. Either way this fee schedule went up to $10,000.00 with commensurate gifts. Astonishing.

Now when I read the Bible it does state that in prayer and giving, these are to be considered holy gifts if given in love and charity for the sole purpose of uplifting God’s kingdom and in that regard they are deemed seeds which will grow spiritual gifts for the giver. Now given that definition and guidance, one cannot give to anything thinking, “If I do this, then I’ll get this in return.” Sort of a spiritual savings account. God does not work that way. A gift has to be given, regardless of monetary value or materialistic properties in the embrace of love and kindness, not in expectation of reciprocity. Nevertheless, this person, as many others I have seen, taut how these donations “Will grow…and if you have given before,” he sleazily slurs to the screen, “just give more. For whatever reason God has not allowed that seed to germinate and grow but the more you give, the more it will grow. Say you gave $58.00 last week and it has yet to grow. Give $1000.00 this week, and I tell you God has said it will grow. It may be in some business venture you have going on that will prosper. It may be in other ways but it will grow out of God’s love.”

I was literally sick to my stomach with this vile bull sh#$t! How can anyone prey on the weak like that and do it in the name of faith and it is legal yet alone not reprehensible? These people should be put in jail! This is not a difference in doctrine that makes it okay for him and others to do this, this is the violation and exploitation of a specific principle of faith that people believe in and our being taught is okay. It is not! That is not the way tithing and gifting works.

Yes, it is true it will grow. Whatever your gift is to a ministry will in turn grow if given in love and with a clear conscience and heart and free of expectation of reciprocity. Moreover, it will and can grow in many ways dependant upon what God feels is best for you.

Now I send out to this man a little reminder of what God does to people like this. He needs to read Acts and how the man feel dead in his doorway for begrudging God his gift and giving it out of what he felt was REQUIRED of him and not because he wanted to give. In addition, how he expected return on his investment. They need to remember this is God’s in the first place. Everything you own is God’s and it is all about the mindset and what you INTEND to do, not WHAT you do that is important and either a sin or a blessing. Also, I seem to recall another TV preacher of our time, standing on his stage spouting dogma and rhetoric as old as the Bible at the camera and then giving an ultimatum to gather more rewards from his gullible audience. Oral Roberts shouted at the camera “You must help me achieve $1 million by midnight or this station won’t be able to broadcast anymore. God has set a deadline!” And as if on queue, God spoke in words of nature and said “Enough.” Lightning hit the stations antenna and took it off the air: Well before the supposed deadline set by the deity.

I do not know if that woke him up to the possible existence of God because he obviously was not a believer and neither is his son. And you may be saying to yourself, “Who are you to judge these people?” And I say I am a fence sitting Christian who understands the Bible and it says, “Try the spirits to see if they are of God.” It also says, “Be on the lookout for false prophets. You will know them by their works.” Therefore, when a man stands before spouting stupid doctrine that is perverted from the direction of the Bible for his own gain, I call it what it is and I judge it rightfully so. We all sin and do stupid things we need forgiveness for and God has only two levels of sin for man. All sin is forgivable in God’s eyes save the blasphemy of the Holy Ghost. However, I feel one of the worst sins to commit is to lead a person astray in their beliefs and cause them to not hear the true word of God and benefit from his guidance.

If there is a God and I am leaning to think there is, I know these people will receive just rewards some day. Even if there is not one, I still believe in Karma and that such evil cannot go inappropriately rewarded. So dude, think about what you are doing and regardless of whether you believe or not, why make some one else’s life so miserable and prey on possibly the only thing they have giving them hope for something better? You suck and I hope you get what is coming to you because you deserve it.

Sorry for the deepness of the post today but that really made me sick.

Day Five: Were it nobler...

Ogle Cabin, Gatlinburg, TN


Sir John Ogle



A picture paints a thousand words. But if I leave this picture up here and do not tell a story of discovery, you would probably think, “Why is there a picture of Shakespeare and Jesus on this dudes blog?” I tell this short story not to brag on my heritage but just as a funny little trek I took through genealogy last year.

Actually it is one of my ancestors from England, Sir John Ogle: A knight who served King Edward II around 1310. I started working on my ancestry back last year and it was exciting and addicting. For a month I worked hard on it and uncovered so many things. I started out thinking my ancestry was German Indian: Cherokee specifically. This was based on word of mouth information passed from my mother, a half-breed and my grandmother full bred. My great grandmother was full and considered a shaman type character. (I am not sure of the terminology for the female of the vocation. I didn’t look that up as it was more interesting assembling the names and lineage and still is actually even as this small discrepancy presents its self to me.)

So with that, I was in for a shock no doubt. I knew I would stumble in the research since it is a very daunting task. I mean one sole person taking on years of history and documents mostly handwritten and poorly kept. Then there is the problem of Indian data being inconsistent due to rebellion of the populace defying the government by not signing on to the rolls. My family was one of the ones that did not sign and thus past my great grandmother, my trail gets cold for the Cherokee side.

My German side comes from my father who is first generation German. His father and mother came over from England and before that were denizens of Germany. After that, it is also a cold trail. So there is the German and Indian.

So for the shock and surprise that shouldn’t be: My grandfather was English, from a long line of English. I actually traced it all the way back to 1033. There were at least five knights in the line. Just around the time of Lady Jane Grey, her uncle was in my direct line. I found that Isaac Newton was a cousin twice removed from that line as well. From that line a man worked with William Penn and rebelled in England with him and was arrested on many occasions fighting for land rights for the commoners. Then he came to Anne Arrundal County, Maryland and helped set up the township there and became one of the first mayors and legislators as well as the family setting up a sheriff’s office.

Then later I found as the lineage passed on, that Robert Ogle left Maryland and came to a little cove in east Tennessee in the Smoky Mountains. While in that cove he set up a small village that grew into what is now Gatlinburg and Sevierville, Tennessee. After he died, my great, great, great grandmother sold off some of the land to pay for the things she needed and helped establish Gatlinburg as a trading area and it grew and grew.

This family I discovered is so large and prevalent that a full society exists to establish more and more history around the line. I discovered there were many people across the world that are tied into my bloodline. There is still one of the many castles standing that King Edward awarded to Sir Robert for his efforts and loyalty during the wars with the Scottish. (A more dark time in the Ogle family as Sir Robert was one of the fine men that stood against William Wallace. Oh joy…)

Anyway, a rich history and great stories come from this research and there is so much more to discover. I plan on going to England one day with my wonderful wife and seeing this castle and maybe some more places related to the tree. Such a great thing to know this about my family and it makes me so eager to dive into the Indian and German side so much. As long as I don’t find I am related to Gobels or Himler I’ll be okay.

I worked on my wife's line and hit awall but I want to go back in. I may have to get another subscription and make the dive. I will leave any stories or tales of my wife's line to her.

But one interesting tidbit as I sat here with my family last May. We discussed movies and things we wanted to see and do and such. And as I thought I came across the “Angels and Demons” movie, the sequel to “The Da Vinci Code”. It dawned on me a very important part to that story or theory actually told in “Holy Blood, Holy Grail”, is of the Priory of Sion and the lineage back to Jesus. In that line there was of course Leonardo but one stuck out to me and stuck out for a reason I didn’t realize until almost two years after reading “The Da Vinci Code”. Some other name jumped into my thoughts and immediately I was ready to start teasing my family. “If that story is true,” I said.

“Isaac Newton was in that line, thus, I am related to Jesus Christ. I began to tell my wife who with a grin and a giggle raised her head to the ceiling as I explained the link and said “Oh My God.”

I said “Actually, very much mine but I’ll share. It’s all free. But you guys think you couldn’t take my ego before….How do you like me now?!”

Day Four: I want you...

Okay, technically I didn’t take this picture but it is relevant to my day and that’s how I plan on continuing this when I don’t take pictures and have time to write. So this is for September 28, 2009.

Meatloaf. The other day I was in the bathroom and had the stupid Target commercial stuck in my brain. The one where it sounds like a French chick trying to say mocha…I have no clue as to what is being said nor do I care. I just hate the commercial.

So I try to get it out of my head and start thinking of songs from the 70’s and “Two out of Three Ain’t Bad” pops in there. I was immediately flashed back to my summer of 6th grade and running around with my friends as we stayed out late, camped in the yard and became as close to derelicts as I would allow myself without getting into trouble with my mother. Because my mother would do more to me than the law ever would and I couldn’t bear to have her be disappointed in me.

So there I was showering, trying to wake up and clear my sinuses. My sinuses have been horrible these last few weeks with the change in weather and it is my first fall in the Chicago land area. So I am being exposed to some new molds and spores yay!!!! Sigh..

But I kept cleaning the cob webs as I had the chorus run over and over in my head, “I want you, (I want you…) I need you, ( I need you…) but there ain’t no way I’m ever gonna love you now don’t be sad. (Don’t be sad…cause) Cause two out of three ain’t bad.” And bam! It hit me! All these years and I just thought it was an ambiguous statement you know, “two out of three ain’t bad.” No, I finally know it is two out of the three things said. Taken from the old Elvis song, “I want you I need you I love you”. Two of the three but never gonna love you.

DO YOU KNOW HOW STUPID I FELT STANDING THERE WITH WATER RUNNING DOWN MY FACE? DUH!!!! Needless to say the Target ad was out of my head and I was awake and ready for work. Thanks Mr. Marvin Lee Aday for making me feel like an idiot for oh, 30 some odd years!

Day 3 installment of the 365 Journal: My Chair

This is my chair. It is my throne. It doesn’t look like much but it represents a lot and it allows me to do some of the things I love doing the most. For instance, from here I watch as my wife sits across from me and we argue and discuss and banter about everything under the sun. I see her sit so cute as she works her crocheting and poises herself for the boring shows I keep busy with at night. I watch her confront our teen with the “Why’s” and “How to’s” every teen is faced with these days. I watch her divine answers from him of questions he doesn’t want to answer as he sits and gives a blank stare as if that absolves him from all responsibility. I watch as she plays with our daughter and sends her running to me in fright. I watch her enjoy a meal I have cooked for her and I trust that she at least thinks its edible and doesn’t croak or gag.

Then my chair also allows me to do another thing I value so much. I get to relax at night as it is quiet and my head is clearing. The buzzing has stopped and NCIS comes on and I feel my head lighten as I finish a crossword puzzle and hear only the TV on low volume. Then rest follows and I soon fall asleep in the chair as I relax finally into slumber while the rest of the Everett camp lays sleeping in other parts of the house.

Then my chair also allows me to lay claim to my abode as El Presidente or better yet, the in house title of “Big Poppa”. When I leave for trips the oldest lays claim to the chair and draws a level of importance as the man of the house as well as feeling as if he has claimed something from the power seat without being chastised for it.

But the one thing I do from this chair I think I have enjoyed more than anything else. And that I am sure is because I didn’t do it with either child before her, is watch my youngest grow. From this chair I have watched her discover words, utensils, toys and body parts. I have seen her learn to jump and run as well as become even more self dependent until that “boo-boo chicken” becomes too much and she needs attention of a parent to make it better even though it doesn’t hurt. I have seen her scoot across the table with a pet animal toy in her hand as she set them in line and counted them from one to ten and back again. And I have seen her accomplish this feat in Spanish as well as English.

I watch the little girl sit and review a book not just for pictures but to exhibit understanding of what a book is and how it is to be utilized to the point she tries to read the words. She has learned shapes like circle, triangle and square right before my eyes. I have watched as I fought back tears when she discovers a word for the first time and smiles so big in approval of herself.

And as in a post from days before I watched her tell her first lie to me. Which didn’t hurt me but made me smile that my little girl is discovering so much about herself.

But one thing I saw that seems like so long ago now, yet still makes me cry inside every time I hear it, is when she tells me she loves me. Any problem I have melts away when ever those little lips mouth the words and make the signs that mommy taught her to say “I” (points to eye) – “Louve” (twirls finger around the heart in a circle) – “Daddy!” as she points to me and smiles awaiting approval.

And the reason this is so special is not because she is singling me out in this cutest of cuteness, but because she is like a sponge and is learning something everyday. One day she will learn more and something more and something more and she will keep growing and growing and eventually my little girl will be a woman. I am going through that stage with my oldest daughter now as she approaches womanhood. She is having the pains of being hurt and tested as a woman and it is so painful to me. And as I think that I did not have the chance nor did I make the chance to sit and watch her or her brother grow up like that and see and indulge that effort of every little accomplishment no matter how small, I get pangs of heart break that this will be just a memory one day too and I cant keep seeing the same wonderful things from her without her being exposed to the hurts and pains of the world.

I don’t want her to grow up and interface with this world and discover the hardships that are there waiting. I want her safe and constantly growing in my view from my chair and our little family just stays together and thrives as we laugh and smile and grow with no pain or problems.

But that’s not realistic. And my girl is growing up. I will remember and cherish these moments when my wife and I see her leaving for college and remember that little girl that stood in front of this chair, leaned in on my knee and looked at me when I was crying watching her and said “Are you okay?” Not knowing she has made me the happiest man alive because she and her mother have showed me what real love is and what it can do.

That chair provides me more than a resting spot. It is my window on a world that unfolds everyday for the first time for a little soul that loves me and needs me. And I have a wonderful woman to thank for that. That chair ties my family together forever.

Brobee is Missing! (Day 2 of 365journal)

Here we are on day two. I assume if you are reading this then there is some interest in the goings on of this little house near the prairie so I will continue on with my diatribe.

My second installment was not hard to find or even difficult to write in story. At first glance of the picture, one would think how cute, some baby toys perched on a sofa. “One is that little blue dog from Nickelodeon and the other is some robot creature just the right size for a tot to have some fun.” Thinking this way one would be sadly mistaken. Underneath this shy repose is a more sinister and diabolical story: A story of deranged jealousy or maybe even of the slave trade. I am positive if Bill Curtis were to investigate the tale he would undoubtedly be led down roads that traverse the seedy side of the cartoon world. The course of the investigation possibly infringing upon the sordid realms of pleasure vices and other despicable behaviors may reflect control by more powerful or maybe just bitter former characters of the cult of personality.

Digressing in this hypothesis, I detract from my original goal: tell the reader a story about my picture from day two.

Yesterday was full of work and toil and the day went busily well as one initiative fell after another. After arriving home, I prepared dinner and enjoyed it with the family hastily as we had other efforts to wield on the day before it slid away into history. We had yet another Craig’s List rendezvous which led to the sale of our Wii system garnering a much needed sum of monetary profit, and after that a trip to Target to pick up a few things needed at home as well as a few items of flagrant enjoyment such as adding to my Pez dispenser collection. After all the Halloween selection is neat this year as they glow in the dark. Not to mention they are cheap and easily stored as to not take up so much room much like another hobby I wanted to pursue at an earlier date of building a train set. I could just imagine the enjoyment of building hills and patterns on a huge table in the garage, maybe even reflecting some real locations from my home state of Tennessee to be forever memorialized in plastic, felt, glue and faux wood. However once complete, other than running the train, the item just takes up a huge amount of space and that space is forever lost for storage or other use. Store the system and then to use it at ones whim results in an all day chore of set up and tear down which detracts from the fun and suddenly becomes work. From this the reader can deduce that I tend to over think things a little and probably miss out on a lot of fun.

Back to the story at hand: viewing the picture Blue stands happily beside Plex the robot on the sofa. Our trip to Target yielded the robot as we saw it as an addition to the collection my daughter may unofficially be starting of Yo Gabba Gabba toys. She already has Brobee, “The little green one!”, as the tune professes at the start of the show, but wait, why isn’t Brobee in the picture?

I searched the bottom floor of the house and couldn’t find him for the photo shoot. All through the house I wandered calling “Brobee!” in a low whisper all the while complaining under my breath about how stars have their issues and prima-donna complexes that develop with notoriety. Before my search was over I was confident that Brobee was jealous of Plex since he sings most of the songs and has his own instructional segment of the show teaching processes and procedures for such great acts of growing up as “It’s fun to wash your hair.” and “This is how you brush your teeth.” I mean who can top that anyway? There aren’t many unless one takes a trip back through the annals of children’s television and pulls out Barney or Howdy Doody or maybe even Bozo the clown but still, one is hard pressed to find an instructional segment of this nature on a program that is not deemed educational or in the category of Sesame Street or the Electric Company: so I can see why a star of Brobee’s caliber and mental strength would be upset with the addition of a new toy in the house after being a fixture since the last Christmas. Understandingly, it is a slap in the face to give a person such control, reign and authority and then suddenly expect them to share it.

But after I take the picture and think a little longer about the situation, I begin to fear for Brobee. Thoughts race through my head about Brobee being hurt or even killed through accident or maybe something more sinister like Blue and Plex deciding the house is not large enough for three characters. Add to that Plex is a robot and is the smartest of the three. We have stories all through history where this kind of intelligence goes awry and fights back due to its superiority complex.

All through the night, well at least until I fell asleep on the couch watching X-Files, I tried to find him. Even as I lay on the couch, one has to rest a little when leading such an exhaustive search effort, I could hear his little Brobee voice echoing through the house, “Sometimes I like to move around and be loud, loud, loud!”

Maybe he will show up today. Through the course of Keira playing with different toys and digging through her toy box maybe he will resurface and we will finally know the truth. Maybe he will be able to tell his own story and rekindle the fire of prominence and fame through reinventing himself as the star who survived. Or maybe Brobee will be silent forever and this will stay an enigma and be filed away with our other stories of similar nature like the case of the missing Godfather Saga, or possibly the case of the missing Galaxy Quest DVD. I can envision our story being a conspiracy case reviewed and discussed for the decades along side the Kennedy assassinations or D.B. Cooper.

So whether we find him slumbering in the toy box, shredded with his stuffing ripped out behind the washer or see him doing stage renditions of "Rent" or "Wicked" in a road show slave trade, Brobee will be missed.

And if he doesn’t turn up, we’ll go buy another one.

365journal: Day 1

All right! So it is the first day of my 365journal. The journal in which I track each day with a picture and short story to follow it. This picture is a very simple one. It’s not extravagant or picturesque or even noteworthy but there is a lot of story to go with it.

Yesterday we were on a trek to pick up a TV from a person on Craig’s List. We got a great deal on it and it is in great shape, sort of a miniature of the one we have in the living room. A nice one with a clear screen and all the gadgets we need to operate with peripheral devices and make watching TV in the bedroom more pleasurable.

My lovely wife made the deal and set up a pick up time. She then sent me the address and I Mapqwested it and attached all the contact information so it was readily available. I take a look at the distance and it says 24 miles northwest of us. Normally 24 miles means nothing but in Chicagoland, 24 miles is an outing not a jaunt especially around 6 pm.

Anyway, I forgot all about this until I got home and my wife and I talked of leaving. Once in the truck I noted the distance to her again and was then reminded that our son had just been here on an overnight trip with a high school friend a week or so before. During that trip they not only traveled the 24 miles back to his home but they went to a fair which was 24 miles south of us thus the trip one way being 48 miles one way and 96 miles in totality! Not to mention we were never informed of this adventure, the old, get forgiveness instead of permission. But I digress as usual.

Traveling to the TV set was a little longer than I expected but it wasn’t a bad drive. Then when we got there, we discovered the folks we were buying from were house poor. I mean this house was so huge my garage and living room would fit in the living room. And it was on this small lot where you could hand toilet paper to the bathroom window in the house next to you if needed, ridiculous: but inside, hardly anything at all. Very sparse smatterings of furniture and odds-and-ends here and there. Then he tried to up-sell us on some hideous lamps that look like something out of Barry White’s bedroom in the 70’s. Sorry dude, you can keep those, just fork over the set.

So we get the TV and head back. The drive was decent and not eventful at all. We went to Taco Bell and got some dinner, which by the nature of Taco Bell will not agree with your stomach especially if you are going straight to bed afterward. Get the Dream Meanings book out and try to keep up if you attempt this feat.

So we get home, and starting the next day, today that is, we are supposed to be having our driveway sealed so I cant park in the garage or driveway which means I have further to walk with this TV set. Across the street in over-flow parking is the lot for me. We park and I look down and my “Check Engine Soon” light illuminates: wonderful!

So as I get aggravated with my truck having issues, I start thinking in my head, this TV now costs an eighth of a tank of gas, whatever the cost for my repair will be, $30.00 and a back ache from carrying it down the stairs of the house poor guys place, out to the truck, from the truck to the house then eventually upstairs to the bedroom. And my truck is still a problem which irritates me more. I am reminded of a friend I lived with in high school that went out to get a hardees biscuit in the snow one morning and drove his car off the elevated driveway. The car got stuck and cost $150.00 to tow off the embankment fo the carport, to fix the breaks and tubes that were damaged in the wreck was near $50-0.00 so that biscuit sale that was 2 for 1 at $2.00 ended up costing over $600.00. Expensive biscuits. LOL

But we have a good TV and I like it. My truck would have the engine light come on regardless it would have just been on the way home from work or to the grocery store this week anyway so the TV didn’t cause it but the comedy of errors and my aggravation as I think of the entire event along with flakes on Craig’s List that don’t like to show and add that the money we will make off any sells we have will probably go to fix my truck just irritates me that much more.

Then we get in and start to eat our Taco Bell and the baby is acting up because she’s tired. She’s ready to explode and doesn’t like her daddy and mommy being away for so long. Not to mention she has been glued to the TV now most of the day and is probably in cartoon “Yo Gabba Gabba” overload so give her a break.

So that’s the story. We got a good TV, I have my truck parked until we get it checked and Taco Bell will eat your stomach lining.

DISCLAIMER: I in no way want this to sound as if my wife made a bad decision or we shouldn’t have made this trip: I was in full agreement and felt it was a good thing to do and still do feel that way. We needed the TV, it is a good set, the trip was fine and everything is okay and I am happy with our decision. I am glad we got the TV and I am glad the truck acted up across from the house instead of on I90 in rush hour. I am just irritated I am in a position where I cant just fix it and sell it and get something new. The rest is just circumstance that makes for an interesting story. I love you honey!

XO ILY YM

Great Accolades for a Great Company and a new path for me...

I have to say my job has certainly taken off regardless of the progress I have not made that is just taking longer than I want. We had a forum this week with all the leaders of the company. I was privileged to be part of the few that were here at the first meeting of this type ten years ago. There were a little over 360 of us. This time there were over 1400! Wow! Our company is growing and growing well. We are one of a few companies in this industry that is still hiring when others are laying off people. Moreover, that is because our leaders, CEO, CIO, CFO, CTO and VP’s all were planning for this last year and before.

We have liquid assets that allow us to buy things outright that other companies have to finance. Our owners love us and we actually provide support in terms of funding for our parent company now that we have had such success.

I mean just this last year in my new position; I have created two positions to hire this year. I hired nine people and that is due to promoting others into new positions. I have set up new processes and programs that relate to equipment reliability and it has started a fire with other departments and organizations in the company to make it an enterprise effort.

Our new facility is set for 35% growth. We paid out bonuses and merit raises, not as good as last year obviously but still we paid them. In addition, this year we are still doing better than any other company in the industry is. We are doing so well one other company has put out ads stating they will pay extra money for any customer that defects from us and goes to them! WOW!!!

I was with this company on virtually the ground floor: just a few years out from its infancy. The department I am in now operated with nine people. Now, there are more than that on one shift!

Enough bragging, I just am very excited about what all we have done and what we still have to do. I have a great team of people even though sometimes they are misguided in their focus at times. I have a good team of leaders under me that take direction well and we work well together. We are ahead of the demand on every item that pops up and I could not be happier.

So today, I have been inundated with meetings and calls trying to secure other system related technologies to help us to do better work, but I still wanted to write something.

I saw a friend is doing a photo journal on another site. It looks very interesting. A picture a day with a description of what is going on. It is called 365 Journal, I think; anyway, I was thinking of taking this activity up instead of the original reason I started this blog. With the current economy and my bill structure, I just have not had the money to go out and experience anything to write. However, that in itself is a good topic. Things to do for free with pictures! Sounds like a plan!

I may do that. Most of the initial pics will probably be of home life and such but eventually a walk in the meadow may emerge and such. So anyway, that is my plan. A daily photo blog with a short story. And off we go!

My daughter is a liar

My little girl of almost 2.5 years is a willing liar. She now can openly and consciously tell me a fib or hide materials in an attempt to conceal her involvement in anything of a mischievous nature.

This weekend I was playing with my daughter in one of the many ways we have fun. She will run from me carrying something she thinks I want and she is not supposed to have. With a squeal she trots off giggling all the way as she evades capture from the authorities heading to home base, the couch, and waiting to see if I follow her. Most of the time she is good about not getting too many things that is delicate of mine. (Mainly because I keep them under lock and key or have them up so high she “can’t reach it!” One of the many cute things she says now: “I can’t reach it!”, but I digress: more of the flagrant sinning heathen of Schaumburg.)

Saturday she was playing with my laptop, running her fingers across the keys like she was typing and looking at me with that mischievous grin of hers with a silly giggle accompanying. She turns to me often through this process and grins and waits to see what I will do and of course, I provide the usual “I’m gonna get you!” in various intervals to keep her guessing and the excitement level appropriate. The last time I say it however, she takes to a run. I grab her and pull her in close to me as I sit there and start tickling her neck and she begins giggling uncontrollably. Then she starts reaching out to her snack on the table with a whimper like, “bread, bread, I want my bread.” I let her go and what does the little wench do? Yes. She looks back at me and runs away as fast as she can! She lied to me! My little girl just openly lied and used me to get lose so she could run away! I was just astonished at the sight of seeing her that intelligent as well as using me so easily without a glimmer of shame or remorse for doing so.

And the weekend got worse. I was upstairs taking a shower and she, my daughter was downstairs with her mother. She had grabbed a dirty rag from the laundry and was playing with it and chewing on it. Her mother told her to put it away and not to do that, it was nasty. She ignored the mother figure and kept at her activity.

I began walking to the stairs and stopped on the landing. Her mother pointed out that I was on my way down and she had better put the rag back and stop. As I watched her from above, I saw her sitting next to my chair chewing on this rag and ignoring her mother. She looked up, saw me and quickly went into cover up mode as I walked down the stairs. She threw the rag by the chair and began feebly trying to cover it up with a dog leash. Once she had applied what she thought was ample coverage from the leash, she got up and ran toward me speaking tenderly and cutely as the little girl we all know she is saying “Hi daddy!” As if to say, “Why hello Father. I didn’t know you were here. When did you arrive? You didn’t happen to see my former activity did you? If so it wasn’t me. And if it was, I was probably nudged into doing whatever it was you know?”

My daughter the liar.

You better jump in and not miss the boat...the river moves fast and...

You might not get to be part of it one day.

Today was a good day. I got up late because I have been on an odd cycle of staying up too late and for some reason I get into a euphoric state by the time I can relax and go to sleep. Then I fall asleep on the couch. Anyway, that’s nothing to do with why I write today.

I write today because I had a great time with my wife and daughter today: especially with my wife. I took her to a Christmas store that is only open on the weekends and it is the first weekend of the store being open. We saw some things that were cute but nothing struck either of us. They also had Halloween stuff which was cool as well and we obviously had the same reaction to this part of the store as we left with nothing.

But through the day as we looked at more seasonal items, I found some cookie cutters for Halloween so I could make my daughter and I some sugar cookies. And as each aisle came up, I remembered, and in some cases thanks to my wonderful wife, how much I love Halloween. And then she further reminded me about how I hated fall and the holidays when I first met her. I have a totally different take on things now though.

I love the time. The movies, the food, the smells and the sights. I am eager now to start watching the horror movies for Halloween. I have many in mind and own most of them.

I cant wait for Christmas to see my daughter finally take hold of the holiday and start experiencing it for what it is. The family atmosphere and the love she already receives each day will be there but it will be touched and canvassed by the sounds, sights and smells of the season.

So we came home from a great day of just being together and had a good dinner. I look forward to the rest of the weekend and the good things to continue to happen.

My family is truly awesome and my wife has given me a wonderful world that allows me to enjoy the best things in life every day and all I have to do is wake up and step into the river. Just float a long some time and experience the true joy of life and see where it takes you. Your soul will be ten years younger for one trip down I promise.

Pondering Pro Sports

I am having a hard time with pro sports lately. I stopped watching a few years back because of all the greed that went on. Somewhere along the way, mid eighties maybe, all the athletes stopped playing because they liked it and started playing for money even more. And this week when one of my favorite baseball players got traded from my favorite baseball team, it soured my want to watch the rest of the season. It was actually the nail in the coffin for this season as they are sliding further and further away from the playoffs.

I hear fans speak and wonder about why they don’t see the kind of plays they used to like Ahmad Rashad flipping through the air and bobbling a catch as he falls to the ground over an Oakland defensive back, or Lynn Swann jumping high in the air and taking a ball away from a Dallas back.

I attribute this phenomenon to greed. They don’t play for love of the game anymore. Not as many athletes anyway. I mean yes, they deserve to be paid well for punishing their bodies the way they do for our enjoyment and entertainment, but come on, the salary system sucks for this arena. Let me provide a comparison and explain how greatness still comes into play in professional sports yet the fans don’t carry the price for that excitement.

Golf.

In Golf, the pros play for a purse. The better you do the more money you get. There’s no salary. And if you don’t do well enough for the year, you go back to the qualification tours to get another shot at the pro tour. You want to make more money, by all means, sign some endorsements and get sponsors. There is nothing wrong with that at all.

I would love to see the NFL, NBA, NHL and MLB move to that kind of a pay structure. Pay the athletes a salary commensurate by position and what is expected of that position only. Then have a purse for each game sponsored by different companies as they do in golf. Next, playoffs; provide more incentive in player contracts for playoff and super bowl performance as well as participation and wins. Then let them get their own contracts for endorsements.

This would undoubtedly drive fan costs down increasing attendance and still making money for the teams and owners while driving up profits and endorsement monies while in the end driving for true athletes to perform at their best and give us the show we have missed for so long.

I watched the Players Championship this year, the Open and the Masters and they were all so exciting and good it was amazing. Even my wife who I know is bored to tears by Golf on TV was commenting and watching the Masters as the greatest players in the game today fought it out to the end. Lead changes over and over and down to a three way tie with a wonderful golfer comeback story for Angel Cabrera. Just a great exciting finish. And what is so cool, if I had wanted to see it in person, it would have cost me about $20.00 and I would have been able to walk the course and watch Phil Mickelson, Tiger Woods, Angel Cabrera and many, many others within ARMS REACH. And guess what, they aren’t but holes about their fans either. They talk to you and sign autographs much easier and are much more personable. They set up more funds and help more people out just because they want to, and not because a team corporate office wants to improve its image. They give back and think more of the common man than any other athlete.

So imagine setting down to watch a football game, and you begin seeing the plays like old times. Dan Fouts to Kellen Winslow in a triple over time playoff game where players are carried off due to fatigue of trying to just win one game and every play was their best effort. Not the best they decide to put out because there contract says once they hit 1000 yards they get a bonus, but because they love what they do and they do it well.

There were many more outstanding and wonderful athletes, moments, games and feats because they weren’t paid more than doctors and lawyers.

We have a few athletes now that definitely play to that level and do it relentlessly but they are very few that have the character to play that way and not be greedy. I definitely enjoy watching them and seeing them do well. But I still often think, how well would they play if it were just because they wanted to play. Imagine a whole team with Peyton Manning at Quarterback, Mat Forte at RB, Brandon Jacobs at Full Back, Larry Fitzgerald at WR, and Marvin Harrison on the other side. All these guys just playing. The talent that we would see in action and the drive would be awesome.

But we’re stuck with paying exorbitant amounts just to see a game on TV if it isn’t in our viewing area and tickets to some games are now at $120.00 a piece!

Something has to be done but I doubt an overhaul of that nature will never be acceptable and the corporate entity has let it all go too far and we will always have the greed outwin the talent and our teams will always be uneven and lopsided depending on the bank books and the smartest CPA’s.

Just me thinking and wishing.