Paterno and Occupiers..blah....

As I see all the fervor and support for Joe Paterno, I can understand how such atrocities can exist when people will first weigh in with their shock of an incident happening to a time honored institution before the severity of the human impact has touched the senses. I mean really, rioting because a man was let go for FAILING, that’s right I said FAILING as a human, coach and leader. I don’t care how many games this man has won, how many players have went through his hallowed halls, he failed miserably at his primary job as an authority figure. P-E-R-I-O-D. Thought I would spell that out since the actual punctuation doesn’t carry the weight it should.


The man admitted in the LEAST, that he knew enough and didn’t act the way he should. In addition, the moronic journalist goading on the trustees about how they were acting harshly before a verdict had been rendered in Sandusky and Paterno’s case is just plain stupid and now I can see why the people in all these cities that claim to be representing me and the rest of the 99% are failing miserably! I don’t want a reporter asking stupid questions like he is protecting my rights when he won’t look at a situation realistically in the place of protection he should be rendering to those kids in the first place!

I mean I don’t think enough has been done yet civilly actually. We have at least three coaches that failed as role models, leaders, coaches, men and fathers. They all had pieces of a puzzle that said something was happening. One saw it happening, told one person, and stopped there. I wonder f it were his kid would he feel he did enough by just telling Paterno? Rhetoric I know but the moron has had to think about that so I have no sympathy for him. Not to mention if it were me, or most any other man in this universe that wasn’t a pervert, we would have kicked the man’s ass right there, and the news head line would have been “Assistant Coach Everett kicked the shit out of a child molester and is now arrested for aggravated assault.” Because I would have picked up anything and beat the shit out of him! Incase you missed it earlier, P-E-R-I-O-D. Moreover, do you think any court would convict me knowing the facts we know now? And when I went home to my family, my wife and children, even if I went to jail, would hold their head high knowing I didn’t let one more kid be mistreated and scarred by these bumbling morons!

And that’s what this boils down to: we are adults. These children need us to protect them. THAT’S OUR JOB IN LIFE WHETHER WE HAVE KIDS OR NOT!!!!! They need and have to have us so GET OFF YOUR ASS and stop worshiping a fool and start being the adult, man, woman and coach, leader you’re supposed to be.

And Paterno, come on! You of all people don’t have the common sense to smack a mosquito off you. How can you have something brought to you like this and ignore it? I get something brought to me, I don’t care how much I know or think I know someone, I HAVE TO ACT ON IT AND FIND OUT THE TRUTH!!!!! Some things there is just NO recourse for but to take action. Sometimes it’s not what we want to do but we are backed in a corner and have to do THE RIGHT THING! I have had to do it many times and will not change a thing about the way I approach matters of severity.

It sickens and stuns me that someone at any level in any organization could turn such a blind eye to those little innocent children in this manner. SEND THEM ALL TO JAIL FOR NEGLECT AND ABUSE OF AUTHORITY FIGURE! THEY ALL DESERVE IT!!

And what is it with coaches now. I have seen articles where coaches are using racial slurs against their athletes, forcing them to take part in drills with adults, cussing them out and beating on them. My coaches were harsh and road our ass but never abusive and honestly, some of us probably urged it on by our behavior but it never happened that I was aware of.

Now I hit on the Occupy Wall Street thing a few minutes ago. Sorry fellas, I am not getting it and you look like morons. I understand the financial problems we have. I understand the problems with commerce, the global economy and such, but a sit in on Wall Street is only delaying a person on their way to Starbucks. Go to Washington! VOTE AGAINST THE MORONS! Not the Republicans, Independents, or Democrats. THE MORONS. Get educated abut who is running and get the people closest to doing the right things in there. Send the fogies home. Let’s generate some concern around term limits and how it ties to retirement. Why are we paying a full pension to a congressman or representative that serves one term? He wasn’t good enough to last more than on term HE DOESN’T DESERVE MONEY FOR LIFE! GOOD LORD MAKE THEM EARN IT LIKE WE DO! We don’t get to get pay for life if we don’t last at our jobs past a certain point. We get what we earn.

Set up a pension plan where they have to invest like we do. Make them invest in privatized healthcare.

I think it is unrealistic to make them hold down another job the way it used to be as the world is just to complex and large for that. We have grown to develop so many regulations and such that we need for our fairness, we need someone who only has that distraction and not having to provide for his/her family but the other things and benefits? Please!

In addition, the problem with the economy started with deregulation brought on by one party and carried out by the next. It’s not partisan. OUR COUNTRY LET it happen. If we told you we would give you $100 a month for free, you wouldn’t turn it down so why should any commercial institution. They’re thinking of themselves! Give them a rope…they’ll hang themselves. It’s like a Raven. The animal not a football player, the bird will explode on blood if allowed to engorge himself on a carcass nonstop. It’s his nature. Why stop?

Regulation, accountability are the two things we need in government. Partisanship is a symptom of a bigger problem. Agenda of Power. It will always be there and can never go away. George Washington knew it when he saw it in the early stages of the country. Regardless of Alexander Hamilton’s efforts to keep politics non partisan, it occurs because people have different views of what is right for the country. Washington knew that and knew that the basic concept of this was good for the country. And it is. What we have now is selfish thought. Many politicians are there trying to do what’s right and cant. Many things are held up and denied because a moron didn’t get his drainage ditch built in Arizona. Therefore, someone goes without benefits until the next bill can have a rider attached to cover the toothpaste factory in Utah. That’s government now. Trades, not differences. It’s been perverted and needs to be wiped clean.

Vote them out! Protest the WHY’s NOT THE WHO’s on WALL STREET! Occupy frikin Washington and do it like the guys did in the 60’s. Don’t make this a romantic notion! Make it a point that needs to be dealt with and fixed! THEN action will happen. The crap you guys are doing right now is just dirtying up the streets and looking stupid on TV.

Well, there ya go. I blathered and ranted. Comment and let’s argue!



XO ILYYM

I dont have a lot to write about today, or actually let me say, I dont have a lot of time to write today but I do want to post a new commercial I am in from my company for our LTE/4G launch.  It is posted here:  http://www.uscellular.com/4G/index.html

I am very proud of my company and what we are accomplishing.

XO ILY YM

C’mon man!

I have a few things of note today that make me wonder as I drive my 1.5 hours home and to work each day. Well on the way to work, I think about work and things I can do to help enable some change for the better or improve on something. On the way home, I am brain dead and think of silly crap like the list I have here. So today, I give you my “C’mon man!” segment.


1. What the heck does MW on the back of all these cars I see mean? First notice I make is they are all shitty drivers. The majority of them are unsafe, cut you off, change lanes in an intersection, constantly jockey around trying to get a spot ahead every mile as far as possible only to end up in the lane next to me waiting on the same light after risking everyone’s life and spending more gas than any of us with their tomfoolery. Do they get a ticket? No! But I will for going 12 over on a highway while other cars PASS ME ILLEGALLY!!!! C’mon man!

2. Has anyone ever went into a mattress store due to the little teen-ager that stands out with the mattress outfit on in the July sun dancing around to get your attention? I mean, is a mattress really an impulse buy that can be swayed because of a kid standing in the gutter waving like a moron? It’s a great way for a kid to make $7.00 bucks an hour but C’mon man!



3. Now it’s time for Sugarland: the band.  I apologize to those of my readers and dear friends that like them.  I have to say I do not.  The lead singer reminds me of Paula Dean and her overdone southern accent.  This woman let’s her “a’s” turn into “i’s” and every word is a shortened contraction version of another contraction.  Then there’s that little man hopping around the stage with his cowboy hat that’s bigger than he is like a little elf version of Garth Brooks.  The nervous energy that squirt emits needs to be bottled and besides, WHAT DOES HE DO?  I mean I see a show they do and he’s all firing off across the stage distracting everybody and then he’s gone.  I think finally!  Now we can listen to some music and hear her sing and then POW!  There he is again.  It’s like a little “wack-a-mole” game with him popping in and out of off screen or something!  I hope he writes because if not, the girl can sing and she don’t need his little bunny-fru-fru ass anyway.  Switch to decaf, sing like a normal person and stop ruining my radio!  C’mon man!



I’ll have more later and as I remember them, I’ll try to step in where Art Rooney is leaving off and fulfill the curmudgeon tendencies we all have and desire to talk about but wont. Enjoy your day!



ILY XO YM

It's 30 degrees: I guess Fall is here early...

We’ll be moving soon so my route to work will need to be altered a bit. I will be limited in my route preferences however; I enjoy the challenge of evading traffic jams and shortening my drive time as well as conserving as much fuel as I can in my tank.


I am having a little fun researching areas where I can hunt in the manner I am used to, for example, openly and not restricted to certain days etc… That is proving to be difficult without driving some good distance away. I am resigned I will need to drive two hours to enjoy the true settings for my usual hunt pursuits: Honestly, that’s not that bad. I was telling my wife last night that I drove two hours or more in Tennessee as well yet two hours in Tennessee is twice the distance it is in Illinois.

One thing I am aware of is my renewed love for fall. Hunting, crisp air, football, leaves, the smell of smoke from burning falling leaves, Halloween. All things I used to love and still do but now I don’t approach the season with sadness. It used to remind me of my mother’s passing and all the other bad things that happened to me as I grew up. But now, because of my wife, married in the fall, she loves it, and makes it feel so much better, lets me remember the events in my life as experience and not regrets.

So I can think of scouting and hunting and walking in the woods with happiness and longing for enjoyment and not to escape my troubled thoughts. I wish she enjoyed a lot of the fall activities I do but she’ll never be sitting in a blind with me holding a bow. Maybe we could do that with a camera some time. She could not only enjoy watching the wildlife with me while experiencing the woods the way I like to but she could also say she shot a deer or turkey then!

So back to work so I can make the money to do the things I love and enjoy my life with the ones I love.

ILY XO YM

It's Fall and that means...

It’s almost fall again. The crispness is in the air and the leaves are slowly turning. On my way home yesterday, in my favorite field I have been watching since April, I saw three does standing eating clover. I almost cried I got so excited to see them. It may sound funny but one thing I love is watching deer and other wildlife in their natural setting.


This field is perfect habitat for deer too. It is next to a soy bean field, near a creek and has lots of cover all around the edge creating wonderful funnels of travel between bedding areas, food, and water. I imagined myself sitting on the edge of the field, binoculars and camera in hand, as well as my bow nearby inside a hunting blind just watching the behaviors and travel routes of the deer. Logging the bucks and estimating age to get an idea of herd size as well as age and make-up. However, this is private land and I obviously can’t do that.

One of the things that make me miss Tennessee is being able to just head out on a whim to a forest or public land and scout deer. In Illinois, if it’s not private land anyway, you have to schedule it or go on specific days to scout. Because deer are on schedules you see…

The scene was made even more perfect by the sun dipping low on the horizon creating an orange glow across the field providing a small bit of silhouette to the deer but leaving just enough natural light to see the color and sex of the deer. I hate that I had to drive near the speed limit and couldn’t hover around a bit to maybe get a snapshot of it because it was pretty.

To alleviate my sadness, I had to remind myself I didn’t have my hunting license yet, my bow hasn’t been tuned or set up either. With that, I sighed and continued on my merry way.  Here is the Google Link to a satellite view of that area.  Between Country Club road and Fleming is the area.  Anyone that hunts can see the gold in this area.  http://maps.google.com/maps?q=Fleming+Road,+Bull+valley,+Illinois&hl=en&ll=42.307118,-88.388336&spn=0.008061,0.021887&sll=40.987993,-90.042013&sspn=7.281943,5.819167&t=h&z=16&vpsrc=6

This does raise the question in my mind, you have your bike and its getting colder so the morning rides you had planned could be more beneficial if 1.) you went this way, and 2.) went in the evening! Something to think about.

I catch myself looking at camouflage in the Basspro Shop ads and online. I look for fluctuations in the prices of new bows and think of selling the old one on Craig’s List when I finally decide on a new model I can afford. Then I start thinking about how I should shoot left handed since I am left eye dominant instead of right handed. That limits the bow models available to me though, but I would shoot more accurately and further. Currently I am within two inches of spot on at 30 yards. I would like to have that accuracy up to 40 yards. I saw a sight that could help with this. Technology is truly amazing these days.

It’s from a company called IQ Bow sights. You can get to them on this link and see the sight. http://www.iqbowsights.com/ Awesome technology. The 4 pin sight however is $199.00. So, I guess I’ll be doing it the old fashioned way. HA! And really I shoot decent with the old $14.00 Wal-mart sight I have now. I just need to change out the pins so I can see better at dusk and dawn. This bow has great ratings, up to 85% let off, very light as it only weighs 3.4 pounds. http://www.basspro.com/RedHead-Kronik-Compound-Bow-Package/product/101408/-1502927

So lots occupying my mind with the coming of Autumn. Football has started and I have made my divisional selections as usual. I haven’t settled on a Super Bowl yet but I am leaning towards Green Bay over the Patriots this year. We’ll see I guess. This also brings on the Fantasy Football teams from the department I work in and AJ, you will be defeated this weekend. If by some mistake I do lose, I will purchase that soda with dignity and bow to your supremacy for the week.

So back to work and to get ready for the next conference call.

XO ILY YM

Do you wad or fold? (Silliness)

So, here is some dinner conversation or ice breaker material for you to discuss next time you’re in need of mindless ridiculous subjects. First, let me preface this with why I thought about it. I had read an article that folders are more likely to pass more germs than wadders when they wipe in the bathroom. The link to some studies is here. There are more believe it or not. Apparently, this is a hot topic in the science and statistical communities.


http://www.wonderbarry.com/TP%20Site/general.html

Just to run down some statistics:

44% wipe from front to back from behind their backs.

60% look at the paper after they wipe.

50% say that they have wiped with leaves.

8% have wiped with their hands.

2% have wiped with money.

The following are some interesting percentages on toilet paper use taken from a Kimberly Clark survey in July 5th, 2000. It shows that more men "fold" and more women "wad".

40% fold or stack, 40% wad or crumple, 20% wrap it around their hand.

52% (Men) & 38% (Women) are "folders"

38% (Men) & 52% (Women) are "wadders"

6% (Men) & 6% (Women) have no preference

4% (Men) & 3% (Women) don't know

So I was in the bathroom and was washing my hands and reached to dry with the towel. I noticed I always grab three regardless of how long I wash my hands. The guy in the other side getting paper towels was damaging Brazil with as many towels as he was grabbing. Some how I got to thinking about the toilet paper and how I am a folder and how the study said I would get more germs than a wadder. (Which I don’t see how since its all wadded up and nasty! But then again, IT’S TOILET PAPER PEOLE AND IT’S RUBBING YOUR BOOTY! So there you go, DISCUSS!!!!!!!! And post your thoughts here, I won’t tell anyone. Heh!

XO ILY YM

Driving, Riding and it better be a tractor man...

Traffic this week ahs been terrible. I have managed to knock my MPG down to 13 miles per gallon due to the absurd traffic jams! I now know the reason for “Take a Back Road” by Rodney Atkins. I liked it anyway but the line about knowing what a field of corn and cotton looks like and if there’s a jam it better be a tractor man! I have actually created a tracker in excel to measure my routes and such.


I am limited to three anyway. Distance varies from only 28 miles to 34 miles. There are only four ways across the Fox River:

1. Interstate 90 – the most traveled and also under construction

2. Algonquin road – the next most traveled, mostly two lanes and constant back-ups

3. IL 14 – Not as many back-ups but traffic is sporadic and you never know when it will be backed up ridiculous and where

4. Down 31 and onto Higgins – also under construction and backed up due to folks jumping off the interstate to avoid back-ups

So this is definitely a quandary for me but, I like driving and I like the country side. I also like the opportunity to sing and work on my voice again as I haven’t done it in so long I get some practice. Now I said I like driving. Driving; not sitting still. Yesterday it took me 30 minutes to get from the Cary Metra station to the Fox River Grove Metra Station. Crazy. Done harping.

My wife is awesome!  I got a new bike. It’s awesome and I can’t wait to start riding. I plan on riding every morning for 30 minutes in order to get my self back into shape and start doing some longer distances and speeds. I plan on doing it before showering in the a.m. before work and then expanding to a weekend ride. There is a trail here that is about 26 miles long and goes from Algonquin to Wisconsin. I plan on riding it and logging my trek. There is a web site that has some major pictures of it and how it links to other trails. Its pretty neat. The trail connects to over a 100 miles of other trails as well. I am very excited about this and cant wait to get to work on it!







And now back to work. Had a short break for a moment to clear my mind before starting on another avenue to work on.

ILY XO YM

Never look a gift box in the wrapper...

Let’s start things off with a little absurdity. My wife receives a present from her friend in the mail. A nice gift card from Bath and Body works: Definitely something very nice and useful that she likes. A few days later, she receives a bigger box, (picture to come soon because I will be posting this!) this box is approximately 2 feet long by 10 inches deep and 6 to 10 inches thick. It’s very light as well. She opens it up and guess what’s inside? Another box: A gift box. A long flat gift box sealed in plastic with Bath and Body Works on it.


So being the thoughtful person her friend was she selected a gift box for her gift card to come in and create a nice presentation of the gift. However, the wise folks at B&BW grabbed a large gift box and sent it separately, paying extra shipping and in a box way larger than needed and even with protective wrapping inside. Wow…****SHORT DIATRIBE AND RANT WARNING*******

Our toys have really damaged our kid’s intelligence and thought processing skills. We need to smash all the computer toys and games that do stuff for them and give them Hotwheels, dolls and board games. Another rant is posted somewhere here relating to that so I won’t go off on that tangent. I will say however, this week has presented itself with a plethora, a veritable cornucopia of reasons that lead me to the upbringing of our spawn. Give it to me now, give it the way I want it because I matter more than you and I don’t care about the impact to anyone else. WRONG THOUGHT PROCESS!

So I am singing in the truck with my mp3 player and really getting my voice back finally. I am loving the music I am creating on my acoustic. I now need to get back into the habit of writing and trying to record. My Xmas list will have some recording elements to it so I can begin that hobby/process again. There is nothing like going to a bar and playing music you have written and see people concentrating on the words trying to hear the story. And with me its so much more enjoyable because most people think songs are born from experience. Some are, but mine are just how the words fell on the page and how they fit the music. Sure I have a few that have significance to them but for the most part, they are just songs.

When I let some colleagues hear a couple of songs I had, both are blues rock type songs and have a strong element of being bitter towards a woman. The feed back I got from most women who heard it was “Man I’d hate to be her!” Now its not bad and I didn’t wish ill will on anybody or write about hurting anyone but I did detail the anger and hurt felt from their actions.

I told my wife a week or so a go I had about 10 songs that I think would fit specific artists and after reviewing the lyrics and music I knocked that down to about four and a possible fifth if I worked on it some more: That’s an avenue I have thought about pursuing: selling some music to some current artists. I like performing and I think I am still young enough in talent that I could survive a music career for 3 to 5 years but I really like playing small places and writing songs. Knowing I have material that someone else would be happy to pay me for and perform even if they had to alter it a bit is still very rewarding and satisfying. We’ll see.

I still have an idea for a kennel so I can work with animals on every level. I may begin investigating the business plan for that and developing a structure to approach it some how. Especially if I chose to buy some property soon it would be great to develop the business while I have another job. Growing the kennel in stages saving funds and developing partnerships with vets and ASPCA shelters and such. I would really like to do that full time eventually.

So there ya go. Random thoughts of crap as I break from work and process other things through the channels of this industry.

Today is my mother’s birthday. I miss you mom. Listening to “Purple Rain” (Prince), “Comfortably Numb” (Pink Floyd), and “Someday After While” (Eric Clapton) right now and thinking of you.

In case you don’t know about the significance of these songs I’ll give a short reason here. There are quite a few posts with more detail around them earlier on in this blog.

Purple Rain – Played at her funeral by her request. People didn’t want it played but damn it, it’s my momma’s funeral and she never got what she wanted in life she is damn sure gonna get what she wants now! Plus it is her way of saying hello to me every now and then and letting me know she is still there.

Comfortably Numb – When I began playing guitar around 12 she told me when I can play all of Comfortably Numb exactly the way it is, she would consider me a good guitarist. I worked hard at that and could do it by wrote before I was 18. So she at least got to hear me do that.

Someday After While – This one I just think of her when I play and hear it. Reminds me a lot about the way she lived her life and how she looked forward to the future no matter what overshadowed her life.

Jamming the Country Tunes at our Air Force Departure Party

Pappaw, Momma, Me and Granny

XO ILY YM

My girls...

I could easily write another diatribe about how old I am, feel and getting but I won’t. I won’t dwell on my little girl coming up with her boyfriend that she may marry one day so I can meet him. I won’t dwell on the memory of the day I realized I had to let her go and grow up. I remember it vividly.


She was 12 years old and at Skatetown, USA in Maryville, TN for a friend’s birthday party. I saw her skating around the same floor that her mother and I used to skate on each week. We’d go there often to see each other outside of the normal place, which was at church. We’d break up there and see other people, make each other mad and all the things a young teenage couple experience in that place.

Now my daughter, the same age as when we met was skating around, flirting with boys and giggling with her friends and it hit me like scripture: I had to let her grow up. She was no longer the little girl that looked at me as a hero when I took that fish off her fishing line. She was going to get her heart broke a dozen times and I would have to wait it out with her and let her work through that pain so she learned to cope healthily with the loss. No matter how much I wanted to go break his legs, I had to let her handle it and deal with it.

I knew she was going to have problems with her work one day. She would be in situations where she felt alone and no matter how much I wanted to come in and save the day, I had to let her do it alone and learn how to manage and pull herself up alone.

It sucked. I felt the pain of a lifetime in that moment. I had felt it before with her brother so why can this not be easier the second time? It’s now 8 years later and I still don’t have the answer to that question. Also, I have a four year old daughter and will get to go through this pain again at an older wiser age which means I will experience even more pain but have less discipline to hold myself back from breaking a man’s legs that hurts my girl whether she is wrong or right. It don’t matter. She’s my little girl idiot.

I listened to a Darius Rucker song this morning that got me to thinking this way, “It won’t be like this for long”. And ain’t it the truth?!

I am meeting the boy this weekend and I look forward to it. We have a lot of things changing in our future as a family and I trust and love my daughter to do the right things and not put herself in harms way more than is reasonable. At some point, a parent has to let go and trust that you have done all you can and allow them to make mistakes and have successes on their own without your help. They won’t do everything that’s right or what you want them to do or how you would do it. But, if you at least get the courtesy of a question from them on how to approach something, you did your job. You gave them confidence in themselves and in your parenting. Everything you worried about is now a memory and they have the reigns. Let them drive it and live their life.

I love you my little girl. I wish you all the best and hope for nothing less for you in anything you do. You will hurt and be mad and dismayed at times. But, never think someone somewhere loves and cares about every feeling you have and understands when you make a mistake you will learn from it and you don’t have to pay for it the rest of your life. Never distance yourself from your mother no matter what. Don’t turn your back on your father because you don’t agree. Don’t not talk to your brother because you get irritated with each other. Don’t allow people you love and that love you to go without hearing you care about them no matter how stupid we get with each other. We’re family. You get tired and sometimes you just want to be mad.

Make your mistakes, make your successes and love your life. At any moment, you have so much to be thankful for regardless of what you have going on and it should be cherished.

Now pray for your old man not to scare the crap out of your beaux and be able to keep from breaking the fingers of the first guy that hurts KB’s heart.

Guess I did everything I said I wasn't going to do.  NO WAIT!  I didn't blather about my age!

XO ILY YM

"Why is this thus? What is the reason for this thusness?"

Okay, I’m old. I said it. I don’t mind it. If you have a problem with it and need to make yourself feel better by joking and laughing because you will be in the same position one day, it’s not my fault. Sucka!


I come to this realization naturally, genuinely, and honestly. I don’t have a problem with it. I am not writing like this to affirm or deny it. I am not writing this to rationalize a need/desire for a two seat sports car. I am however writing it to belabor a point of one of my whims I have; (Yes, I have many, they’re free and I’m allowed.)

I have gained my interest back for music recently and still have an interest in journalism and I see my friends having fun playing and jamming with people all over the world. I see them doing what we used to do together and making connections with all manner of talent from extremely familiar and famous like Joe Walsh, Blake Shelton to obscure and local artists. The main point though, they’re playing and having fun. I will be playing again soon and playing my own music which will have copyright so I can possibly sell to some folks in the end. A great outcome of that would be the awesomeness of actually being able to write on a regular basis for artists. I like to perform but it hasn’t been a goal of mine to be a professional performer of notoriety since I was 20. Not because I don’t feel I can do it but it just isn’t as valuable to me as just being CONNECTED to the industry and enjoying the time of playing for folks while they enjoy their time with you.

Some folks put down playing out in bars and other places as if it is trivial or meaningless and since most are drunk, you don’t matter. That couldn’t be any farther from the truth. The majority of audiences are out to have a good time. Whether they were drunk or not doesn’t negate the fact that they came out, witnessed your performance and hopefully had a good time doing it. That’s why the owner of the establishment had you perform in the first place. Then you bring in regulars to follow you and spend more money at the spot and attract their friends. And their friends tell their friends and yada.

I have the utmost respect for musicians that spend their Thursday and Friday nights playing for us folks that just like to appreciate decent live music and relax. They practice hard through the week work a main job and take care of their families. And if they’re having fun then its better for us.

I remember a band my wife and I used to watch back at Kingston Alley in Knoxville, TN. They aren’t together anymore but my wife and I really enjoyed them. They were a cover band and had some distinct characters in the band. They had a singer guitar player who reminded me of Sam Elliot and I forget who he reminded my wife of but he was definitely a decent singer. The bass player was a real character who reminded me of a Doobie Brother but could play the crap out of a bass. They had a drummer that could sing decently and were just a real tight band. They were called The Hip Twangers. We would look for where they were playing each weekend for the chance to go sit and hear “Bad case of Loving You” or ”Jessie’s Girl”. I think that was an indelible mark on my memory that I will have for ever and cant think of a bad night out listening to those guys. I want to have that kind of impact when I play. That’s a great legacy.

If I can sell a song or two and say “You know Kenny Chesney sings a song I wrote?” I don’t like him but that would be cool. So off I go!

ILY XO YM

SOX Controls and hopefully they win tonight.

An exciting day awaits me: Discussions on Sarbanes Oxley Controls: YUMMY! But first, lunch. A ham sandwich with home made wheat bread and Swiss cheese, potato salad and some Pork Rinds.


So I hear Google+ is taking over the earth now. The new Facebook is the latest new and improved avenue for everyone and my son, who doesn’t want to go on Facebook for security issues, is pawing around looking for an invite to be a beta tester.

I recently, yesterday, found out one of my birthday presents was stolen from me. I had received another Xbox controller and it hadn’t even been opened yet and it is now gone. One of the repairmen that fixed either the AC or the electric has taken it because otherwise, someone broke into the house and took that yet left the brand new laptop and other items there: Pisses me off.

I haven’t played my games much yet. I have Madden, MLB and Medal of Honor as well as a few Kinect type games. I was looking forward to maybe playing one night when the house was quiet and I could focus on learning to play again since it has been so long. I can still play with one controller for me but it was purchased to play the sports games with the kids.

I’m going to fix my bike this week so I can go riding again. I need some tubes and probably should replace the tires. I am just not going to spend $100 doing it. I couldn’t believe how much some places charge for an inner tube and tire. Wow!

As mentioned earlier I am entertaining a business idea of starting a kennel. It is of more interest to me than usual and I think would be a great work for my heart and bring a lot of satisfaction, I just need to build the business case appropriately to generate enough income to sustain life for the family. I look forward to working on making that happen. I would love to work with animals like that: They’re better than people…

Gotta go, lunch break over. LETS GO SOX! White sox I mean.

It was the Summer of 69....NO 79! I'm not that old!

Songs remind you of all kinds of things. I know one I write about often on here is “Purple Rain” and my mother. Today I heard one while at work that took me back to the summer of ’79. “Miss You” by the Rolling Stones. Not sure when that was actually released, but it is a song I remember hearing a lot that year.


I had a friend I hung out with all the time. We used to have a gang we called the Mad Dragons. Yeah, it was 6th grade. “The Warriors” was one of our favorite movies along with “Saturday Night Fever” and believe it or not “Grease”. We saw that movie a hundred times easy. We went to the Palace Theater every Saturday afternoon and watched episode after episode. They used to let us in free. There was hardly anybody in the theater with us and we’d just sit there and watch trailers and movies.

Another song around that time that always played when we were waiting on the movie to start was “My Love is Alive” by Gary Wright. That song got me into the 70’s funk music. I love Parliament and George Clinton. I got into Lakeside and so many others.

My mom really pushed me to be open to music and I was but since the early 90’s I have been more critical. Music just isn’t as good. It is getting harder and harder to really find good music.

I remember watching the Midnight Special with my mother and the one memory that I remember above all others was the night Janis Joplin was on and Momma turned the TV up real loud and was dancing. We lived in an apartment down town and one of the neighbors called the cops and had said a woman was screaming down stairs and thought she was fighting with her husband. Now my mom wouldn’t hold back from knocking the crap out of my dad if he got stupid and they did tend to get rowdy, but tonight she was dancing and enjoying her music.

Back to my original thought, there are a lot of songs that make me think of times in my life like that. That one is pretty nice to remember running all over Blount County, Tennessee, riding my bike or skate board. Playing baseball and going to the swimming pool. No bills to pay, just school was all I had to worry about and the occasional bully or fight.

I miss my mother and those times and I know I had fun back then, but now I can really appreciate what she was enjoying. She just loved good music and feeling alive and would share that with anyone. Her favorite thing she always did was sit at her desk with the radio on, listening to the Eagles and writing short stories. She would do that all day and be perfectly content. I love you momma.

Back on the wagon...better buy extra wheels though!

Now our AC is fixed. I need to vent a little about my new abode, which I know is all relevant to the time of year. I understand this that storms will come and go and no one knows what will happen from one day to the next however, I have lived in rural areas all my life and never had so much failure of infrastructure and broke parts in my life.


Thee events have me really wanting to move much sooner than I originally wanted to. Logic says the cost isn’t prohibitive but not effective. However when calculating loss and inconvenience, long term costs are outweighed by short term comfort and sanity.

Right now, if asked by my cute wonderful spouse if I want to move? YES. Just tired of the problems. Beautiful country but they suck at taking care of the area. I have never had so many power outages and just felt so isolated before in my life. I’m from Tennessee BF Egypt areas too. This is ridiculous. I don’t want to hear another redneck joke about a Tennesseean again from these idiots when it takes a week to restore power to a small rural area just 40 miles west of Chicago. Give me a break. In the words of one of my favorite AFV videos, “Now How you gonna tell me….” You can’t provide high speed internet out here yet? I have to use satellite DSL to get to the internet and can’t get cable. Really? This close to Chicago you can’t upgrade the facilities enough to provide cable and internet. Don’t ever talk about how far above raising you are from a southern boy!

Anyway, I have plans for this weekend. We’re grilling a little. Making some spinach lasagna on Sunday and I need to get parts for my bike so I can enjoy the bike trails around here. Plus a trip to the square to see what the market has to offer now that corn should be grown and I think I saw peaches and tomatoes too.

I’m making fried chicken, beans and mashed potatoes with cornbread tomorrow night. I need to get my wife by the library and check out some more music. I find myself in rotations. I listen to classic rock for a while and then back to country. The reason is that I get tired of the same old songs all the time but I can’t stand the new rock and pop crap. Country is the closest to original classic rock anyway.

So what happens is I give it a year or so and then new country music comes out that’s good, I get tired of it and switch back to rock for a while. I am finding though in my old age, acoustic guitar appeals to me more and the singing with the accompany accompany accompaniment is more pleasing to the ear and my voice.

I am also still in need of getting back to school and improving the grey matter a little. I have plans. Some long term plans include

(SOMEWHERE HAS BEEN NARROWED TO THREE AREAS NOW! BUT I’M NOT TELLING!)

Opening a Kennel somewhere

A used bookstore with a coffee house somewhere

Writing songs for extra dough

Of course writing books/journalism as a hobby(Free for a local rag or something)

Playing at diners or small bars in a duo or trio maybe o if I get back to stage presence I used to have doing it alone.

Biking

Disc Golf

Hunting

Fishing

Camping

Cooking

And what’s cool is most of this my wife would do with me in some fashion (Except the hunting)

What do you have going on now? Drop a comment!

XO ILY YM

Hello!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So it has been since….well look at the previous post. That long. So let me update:


Truck broke, truck fixed, car broke, car fixed, wife bought great toys for my birthday and fathers day: Martin Guitar, Telecaster Guitar, FX Processor, Music Stand, Guitar stands, guitar case, CD’s and DVD’s Galore, some cool sport collectibles which I adore, kids have been out, daughter at bday, sun at July 4, been to three baseball games, its hot, power outage lasted three days for us, ac broke, still broke, satellite TV broke getting fixed today, electrician out to repair some outlets, outlets broke after electrician installed, no electrician out to fix yet, health issues with me and my numbers unexpected, lost a lot of weight, gaining some back now, my wife had some health issues which we are still dealing with and I wish her well and she has blabbed about it to some degree on her blog, changes at work that were unforeseen and not pleasant but we’re weathering through, did I mention it was hot?

So yeah that last paragraph is a bit cryptic and for good reason. Topic and subject is enough since I don’t have time or patience to write the diatribe that would reveal the boring details around those events.

On a lighter note, I am playing guitar a little more again. I am editing some of my songs and bringing them up to date with the world and lingo of today to maybe sell a few one day. I am working on getting some folks together to play out in a few venues one day soon. Maybe a lounge or something. Just a simple little gig with acoustics maybe.

I need to repair my bike so I can start hitting the trails up here. There are a lot of bike trails in Illinois and especially where I live. This one trail is 27 miles long and goes to the Wisconsin border. It had 100 miles of trails attached as well so that sounds interesting. I want to start a bike log and record the trek on here with pics.

I also played a little disc golf while the boy was up. KICKED HIS BUTT I DID! 9 under par for me. Yes thank you.

Anyway, I have a basketball hoop to put together as well for exercise but not until this heat is done.

So until next time…adieu!

XO ILY YM

I hate this day.

A post long over due...

It’s been a while since I have been on here, which isn’t unusual however, my recent absence has been due to circumstance. It has been extremely busy at work and I have also been moving my residence and it is still in a bit of disarray as we try to get established in the new place. In the mean time however I just want to state for the world the positives in my life as most recently I have a lot of negative that I could ant about or focus on but I refuse to. I have too good of a life to allow it to overtake me right now.


1. I have a great loving family, which, I love dearly whether I am mad at them or extremely pleased with them.

2. I have a great job that supports said family which I love and enjoy doing. It is with great people that anger me as much as my family does yet they also have to put up with me just like my family does. I suppose that is a two way street so I cherish them as well.

3. I have music and can make music although I need to improve drastically just to get back to my former level of play to be satisfied with it, however I have wonderful equipment provided by my #2 love.

4. I have great pets. One old cranky dog, one neurotic moronic dog and a puppy. All which seem to care about me as much as I do them.

5. I have come to like an area of the country I never thought I would like so much. The area we have moved to is rather scenic and similar to home minus the mountains and I am coming to enjoy being there. When I can go fishing, camping and hunting I am sure it will become more of a joy.

6. I am embarking on a new era in my life due to some changes that occurred recently to my benefit and that is truly a blessing I wasn’t expecting so soon. It speeds a few things up for me and my family and will definitely make our lives a bit better in the long run much sooner.

So negative things take a hike or leave me a lone. I have no room for you and the things that I hold dear to my heart are still there and still bless me each day regardless of how much work it is to maintain the status quo or how much we as people piss each other off.

Thank you to my family for putting up with me and loving me and helping me to understand better how to put up with you. Thank you to my coworkers, leaders, and staff for the same. It’s all a journey as they say and it is definitely a roller coaster that we control and are having fun on. I am loving every minute.



ILY XO YM

Monkey's, Storms and blow outs...

As I wrote earlier, I got my truck back. Then on Saturday, we had a tire go out because the tread was separating: Wonderful. I ended up spending almost to the penny exactly what we saved on the registration. I had snapped a picture in Elgin on the way to the DMV that made me laugh and I wanted to write about it. Now looking back, I think it was the supreme being telling me, SAVE YOUR MONEY. You’ll need it.”


The picture below, as you can see, is a Jesus picture next to a spoke rim. When I first saw it, I thought, “Now that’s an eclectic shop there. You can get everything from rims to Jesus pictures.” Now it makes more sense, “You’re going to have a blow out and in the end, you will need the money you’re about to save.” Thanks. Didn’t make it any better for my wife having to spend the money she “BANKED”, like on ‘The Weakest Link’, but it was an omen I guess.

Fast forward to Sunday, now I am achy because I tried to change the tire myself and I couldn’t get the jack to work properly and no way was I going to risk causing more damage to my truck so soon after I got it so we called a tow service to change it out for us. That’s another story. It caused me to be late to pick up my desk I wanted. No big problem there I just don’t like looking lie a flake. We had to change the time from the morning for reasons I want get into and then this made it look like I was a loser and flaked when I really missed the time because of real incidents. Anyway, passed that now.

We had Keira’s early birthday party and she had a lot of fun. There were a lot of people there. We went to Monkey Joe’s, which, for those that don’t know is a huge air jumper place where kids go and behave like monkey’s and it’s okay. I only have to pay $10 and make sure she isn’t an evil bastion from hell and she can romp and frolic about as much as she likes. We had some folks from the NOC bring their kids as we haven’t really got her socialized with anyone in Schaumburg yet, and they were extremely cool. She liked having them there but I think she was overwhelmed with the ability to lose her mind and see so many kids in one place she didn’t get time to really bond with them. She will have opportunities in the future as we live closer to two of the families and we will have picnics and such for her to get more fun in with them.

While at the party, we had a huge storm roll through. Knocked the power out twice. All the air jumps were deflating, kids were screaming like they were on the Simpson’s and riding on flaming amusement park rides. It was a bit funny but it was also a little concerning as the rides deflated and kids were on top of them. Afterward we found out the worst of the storm was directly over us, we received the largest amount of hail and lightening in the area. Nice.

Back to work now, lots going on and I am tired.

ILY XO YM

It's My Blog...

This will probably be a ramble but oh well. It’s my blog.


American Idol

Sucks this season. Many reasons. The contestants suck. The judges suck. Although Steven Tyler did provide me a different view of him and see him as a cool and considerate person, the judging has been awful. Every performance regardless of how crappy and error filled as well as just having no substance to them to even say it was good karaoke, is met with THAT WAS AWESOME! You Owned it! You were terrific! BLAH BLAH BLAH!” How about giving these kids some direction they can use so they can improve and be better instead of just so touchy feely nice?! Eventually these kids have to perform and one of them will be doing it under contract. I’ve them some frikin direction! That’s why you’re there!

Work

I am glad to say two folks in my department have been promoted this week. Great for them but now I have to begin the process to back fill.

Home

Got my truck back. I go tomorrow to get it registered again and I am back on the road. I plan to get some things to dress it up and repair the cosmetic problems lingering as well as maybe some renewed lights and such to make it a little cleaner and better at night.

Home Front

My wife has been an organizing and knock out a list fool the past few weeks. She has made it so we can get everything done we need done and appropriated the right amount of fundage to purchase me this!

Also she is packing and stacking so we can move easily. Next week we go paint some in the new place and take our first truck load of boxes up to store.

Now I should get back to work and quit complaining about American idol crap.

ILY XO YM

OO OOO that smell....

Been awhile since I posted, but I have been under the weather and not in the mood. Also for me, I have been tied up with work and none of it is anything I should post about really. Nothing bad but nothing that should make it onto a BLOG.


So review time is over. All our reviews are done and we have been working on informing folks of raises and such so it has been a happy week in that regard. We have been doing a lot of house keeping items getting ready to improve our processes and such so no one has been running slowly.

We took another trip up to the house we will be renting and took both kids to see it. Keira of course loved it and is all ready. She loved seeing horses and cows and wanted to jump right in. She saw the rooster and hen and said they were loud and didn’t like them. She wants to paint her room and be a big girl and sleep in it. Awesome! On track! The boy seemed to like it as well. We shall see.

After we viewed the house, we went to Walmart to try the new Walmart out and make sure it fit the bill. While shopping for our groceries, we went down the drink aisle. In the aisle was a gentlemen using one of the wheel carts for the handicap. Now I know some folks have it difficult to clean properly and have a hard time bathing. Apparently this gentlemen did. And wow! I swear to you I haven’t smelled anything that made me gag and throw up in my mouth in years. That smell, even when he was gone, lingered and hung around. I walked backwards past where he was hoping maybe that traveling in the opposite direction will thwart the lingering. Nope! OMG I was in a backwash of funk and it floored me. Melina was walking on looking at the ceiling lights covering her nose as he passed and left me in the wake of the drifts. I was gagging and hacking and wanted a life alert to get someone’s damn attention! HELP! I’m smoten and cant smell anymore!

I was so close to puking and to now I can think of the funky fungus odiferous melodious mess that was this man’s “eau de toilette” and I weep. Lord that was funky and strong. Putting anything George Clinton could play to shame. Lets hope we don’t cross paths again or I may actually hurl next time.

My wife has some funny stories about the folks that came to see the house and her day on Monday but I will allow her to relay that as it is first hand evidence.

Now the house was supposed to be showed on Saturday. No one came. Then on Sunday, a hoard of people came through babbling and looky looing . Nothing of fruition.

On Saturday I also took that opportunity to take little miss to the theater for her first moving. SHE LOVED IT! The experience was awesome and she had a blast. We didn’t watch the entire movie because she got bored but we got drinks and popcorn and treats and relaxed the whole time. It was a great time.

Looking to this week we plan to start more packing and fixing things and moving on! Woodstock here we come!!!!!!

XO ILY YM

A rose by anyother name...It doesn't have to be a rose to create a wonderful memory

We went to Woodfield Mall yesterday and did some shopping: A lot of good sales that were saving a lot of people money. I’m not a mall guy but I was extremely satisfied.


While on our trip to the mall, we stumbled upon these local farmers that were giving out free potatoes. They will be featured at “the Jewel” in the future and were handing them out for publicity. We got two bags and I plan on fixing a bag tonight for dinner. My menu?


1.) Chicken breast rollups with Swiss cheese, parmesan and seasoned bread crumbs.

2) Butter roasted new and red baby potatoes with olive oil, garlic, paprika, pepper, salt and red onion, and carrots

3.) Fried bread in butter, garlic, and parmesan cheese

We took Keira to Target with us today and she had a blast. I got to give her the first bouquet ever! She was all smiles. She pointed them out when we walked in and we looked at them and that was honestly enough for her but when she found out she could have them for herself and keep them at home she was so happy. We picked out the color she wanted and handed them to her and she was all aglow! As I gave them to her, I thought some day, some crappy boy is going to give them to her, and she will smile and love them, but no way he will ever appreciate her smile as much as I do especially today. They’ll never appreciate her smile and laugh as much as I do.

I went through this with Melanie, my first daughter with other events. Skating, movies, dinner etc…each time, a little piece of her grew up, and I grew sadder each time as she grew into a woman: but she is still my little girl and I love her so much. (I’ll still break a boys legs if he hurts her enough for her to tell me he did it. She handles her idiots herself mostly. LOL)

My little girls, each growing up and taking different steps: They should all stop growing at 6 or 7 and stay alive forever really. That’s the most fun time.  Nothing has jaded them at that age and they can still enjoy new experiences with wonder and open eyes. Sigh.

I am watching NCIS marathon while I eat a bologna sandwich with BBQ chips and Dr Pepper.

I played guitar last night for quite a while, that is until Keira tried to climb on me. For the most part, she usually plays her Spongebob guitar or dances while I play, but I guess I played too long and she got bored and wanted to sit with me. I think I hurt her feelings because I told her no twice and once forcefully. She ran crying and whining as usual onto the couch, so I stopped playing. I didn’t stop because she interrupted me as much as she would be climbing on my back and hurting me as well as I could just see her toppling off the chair while I was oblivious to her status.

It’s getting near spring time here and is a little warmer. We have however, about 60% of our prior spring snow still left to receive before spring is truly here. I look forward to the new place: Sitting on the back porch watching the sun in the morning across the fields and the horses, walking in the woods and fields by the creek and playing basketball in the driveway again.

Back to here, I have two papers to read and an hour of relaxation and quiet to enjoy before my wife and wonderful daughter wake up to breech that silence. LOL

ILY XO YM

Opinions and noses...we all got 'em.

I will probably piss off some folks with this one but oh well. It’s my blog and my opinion.

I see this stuff on TV about the union bill, and being a democrat I have to side with the Republicans and say I would love to see Unions gone! They are now everything that unions were put together to protect against. I should not be MADE to pay into anything I don’t believe in or not allowed to work or be treated differently because I am NOT in the union or want to be in it.

First, arbitration is ridiculous. It’s a coin flip. No one is benefiting from it. They decide when they walk into the meeting, when the associate or employee is not present, and give and take then the show begins for the associate so the Union looks like its taking up for the associate. Just ridiculous.

Now Unions had their place and they have run their course. With labor laws the way they are now, occupations are protected well enough and can be handled with normal litigation when breaks in the regulations occur.

I am speaking from experience when I refer to my step-dad’s tenure at a company in Tennessee and they were on strike for 6 months. He was on the picket line everyday for up to 12 hours a day and made $10 a week from the union. Wow. Thanks for that dough. We ate biscuits and gravy for 6 months. I loved going to school so I could get a big good lunch. Aside from that he almost lost his job during one of the arbitration meetings because he was the third to go in that day and they decided in the meeting to throw the union a bone. Originally he was slated to lose. He knew this and still stuck by the union. They didn’t get paid any better and what raise he did see, they increased the dues and got part of it anyway.

Enough.

I read a blog the other day that was written by a college girl about spirituality, biased to Christian that is but still can be applied to any faith I feel. She was basically stating that the problem with parents and faith these days is they are not providing their view and beliefs when imparting spiritual guidance. I agree. As with baby sitting, especially our generation plops a kid in front of the tv and there you go, the id is occupied and out of our hair and is getting an education from a cartoonist. WAY TO GO!

So in faith, we plop them in a classroom of our desired faith and come get them after service, we look at their pretty pictures they colored of Jesus and the lambs and all is well.

Wrong. We need to be involved just like regular school. What are you learning? What does that mean? This is what it means to me? This is what I think God and Jesus meant and how we are to apply that in our lives. If these discussions aren’t happening, your kids will end up in more cults than experiencing the hope and insight faith provides a soul regardless of whether it is Islam, Catholic, Baptist, Buddhist or what have you.

We should be providing our children with all the information they need for faith, the world, school and jobs as possible not pacifying them or sating them while we go off and enjoy our lives or get our work finished.

I know this is a Christian statement based on bible principle but I think it applies to all faiths.

Jesus said “Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.” Any light or hurt or harm caused to a child holds a special place with him and will receive special punishment because of it. And I don’t think it stops there. We have an obligation to children and our families to provide them with the tools to make a decision on their own about many things including faith and if we fail in that, we are failing in our faith or lack of or main responsibilities as a parent. So get involved even if you don’t believe a faith and are agnostic or atheist. Your kids deserve to make their own decision based on the facts and information available and not left to determine on their own which is the best way until they have learned the information from not just teachers but from their parents. We should police what is being put in our children’s heads.

And it’s Friday and I am tired. Time for me to relax some more and let go of the heavy, which I started my blog with.

I shall be playing this weekend and practicing some. I have been listening to some good music that makes me want to play. I saw a beautiful guitar on “Craig’s List” the other day extremely cheap. Missed that opportunity.

Nearing closer when I may be able to find a nice guitar to develop my sound further. I plan on teaching myself slide guitar now. I started many years ago and never succeeded. My old age makes it hard for me to learn something new as I don’t have the patience to go through the mistakes and learn but I want to learn this and develop it as a character of my playing.

So off I go.

XO ILY YM

I wanna know, have you ever seen rain...and suburb drivers?

Due to our dryer being out and our landlord not responding (in the true fashion of someone who cares about their tenants) that we have to dry our clothes at the laundry mat. I’m not a snob. I have done it many times in my life including doing regular laundry in the laundry mat for not having the equipment etc: that’s not the point. The point is he is scraping to save a little dough and its not affecting his laundry so what doe it matter. Schmuck I say.


Regardless, we make our way to the “Tan and Wash”. Yes, an idea I had is a realization here and I see that it does not garner the revenue I thought it would, however, they don’t have the coffee bar, the used book store, or the location needed to support such an idea.

We headed down the road and pass by one of the many houses we see on that route on a usually day: I see the Ford 150 extended cab that I always covet. It is a 1997 model like mine was except it is green instead of red. I miss that truck and he obviously adores his as much as I did mine because he still has it and it is in good condition and driven lovingly. Also, two houses down is a house that likes to decorate for the different holidays using the “bbb bbboy bb bboy friend.” I HATE BTR! Right in the middle of my writing that crap busts in with no creativity and Snoop dog selling out like he likes this song or cares for these suburban white boys. Please! I don’t know he actually might. Back to my story…

The next house decorates for most every holiday that there is a decoration available. I have no problems with that and they often decorate festively and nicely. They mostly use the blow up type of decoration and still have their Christmas decorations up. It’s a month from spring and near Easter yet Santa and his elves and other forms of Santa are lying all over the yard still. And, the worse is that since the blizzard of 2011, they have all been under 22 inches of snow. It has recently rained, warmed up and the snow is mostly gone. The only thing left is the carnage of the holiday assassins who have obviously paid a visit. They are strewn about as if a drive-by has occurred and the police haven’t arrived and chalk lined the bodies yet. It is truly worrisome looking. Almost as if they planned the hit even.

The only other real occurrences on the weekend are the over aggressive Yankee Candle Associates who accost us as we enter as bad as the Sacks Fifth Avenue perfume sprayers. The only worse aggressors would be time share sellers but that is excusable of course. I mean the store is pretty small anyway, there are two of you and only one of us as a customer couple, once one person has hit us up and tried to assault us with the specials and sell us a candle sniffer, our decision is pretty much done, reassurance is not required any longer.

The usual moronic teen-age driver driving too fast and oblivious to the rest of the world in the worst possible conditions imaginable, weaving in and out of traffic to get one car length ahead of my slow old ass only to find they are sitting next to me at the traffic light and have already forgot that I am the one they passed to get to he same place I am using more gas, driving faster and unsafely. Youth. Yes I know that was a long badly written sentence followed by a fragment but guess what? It’s my blog and I got the emotion conveyed. Look for Oliver Twist if you want perfect grammar.

I’m having my coffee late in the day and have already mentally moved to Woodstock with my truck already fixed and don’t really care for this area much anymore other than Sonic. I need my back porch sunrise with some toast, jam, oats and coffee. How very nice that will be.

All righty, bored everyone enough. Time to take care o the little girl and read the paper.

XO ILY YM

Boredom awaits all who read this entry...sorry

So I am trying to get Keira to eat her dinner, or at least get her interested in it. As I am cooking I tell her, we’re going to eat at casa de table. She says “casa day Cabool?” Yes! Casa de table. Pretty funny to me anyway.


And then tonight I am walking the dog and one of my neighbors has put in a huge fluorescent light in his upstairs room and has it all aglow like he’s about to start interrogations or something. A little odd.

Had a rough week this week. Obtained a stomach virus from a co-worker. Lived through that so far though. Still have some stomach issues though. Every now and then it hurts awful. Hopefully tomorrow bodes better.

I plan on making some pulled pork or brisket this weekend with homemade BBQ sauce. My stomach better let me enjoy it.

If everything goes well we will be moving to a great place. I like where its at and I like the drive allowing me to get awake before work and loosen up and unwind before I get home. It’s all one floor with a porch over looking a pasture and 60 wooded acres complete with ponds and creek. I plan on using that porch a lot when its warm. I am looking forward to it very much!

Since I have stayed home and drench myself in rest I haven’t had much happen or much to think about so sorry for the boredom written here. I have the whole weekend for crap to happen so things are looking up. I trust I will have some interesting events after this weekend. It’s the first warm one after the blizzard and most of the snow is gone and what isn’t gone will be after the rain that is scheduled our way.

Happy whatever sale weekend it is to you all!



XO ILY YM

My Guitar does not gently wheep...it moans and wails.

Today as I worry about all the trifling things that affect my life and my future, I a, zapped back to the things that matter once again by a tragic event affecting millions around the world. The death of guitarist Gary Moore comes in to shock me and snap me back to reality and remember that all the materialistic things we strive for are just toys to help us enjoy the world a little more than we would if living by necessity.


In the end, we all just die and what is left is our legacy. How we will be remembered? Will our enemies still hate us or remember that we treated them with dignity and love even though we disagreed? Will my children see that I did all I could and tried hard to make their lives better than mine? Will my friends at work understand I only had theirs and my best interest in mind through our adversities and when the company does better, it’s because we all grew as friends, leaders and workers?

This event however, also makes me remember that this man touched my life deeply. He gave me the notion that playing what you like and with your heart is more important than anything else. When I started off as a musician in my teens, I had designs to get signed, get that contract and rock the world. As I grew older, a family was more important to me and I coveted a family with a community to grow in and give back to. As children grew I still did the things that gave me joy with music, just playing along with Walking By Myself and Still got the Blues and trying to figure out every little nuance of the songs, not to imitate but to understand the technique and grow as a player. Not to show off or better myself for performance, but to have the satisfaction of learning and growing and enjoying the intimacy that resides in a song written and performed by a giant like Gary Moore. To pull off a feat of that stature allows me to have the swagger inside that warms my soul and in the end, makes my momma proud.

Yes this ties back to my mother again. My mother set a bar for me when I first started playing, and that was when I could play Comfortably Numb by Pink Floyd note for note, I would be an accomplished guitarist. I satisfied that level of play before I went to the Air Force but I drove myself to perfect it and understand it, not just play it. Through my growth, I learned from the best as if I were in the room with them. I grabbed Randy Rhoads and began a classical tenure mixing it with metal and dark lyrics. I developed speed from Yngvie Malmsteen. I worked with Neal Schon to understand melodies and song structure. I worked with Ace Frehley to use pure drive to push my emotion into the audience. I worked with Rik Emmet to just understand theory and how it applies to pop music. I continued with Pink Floyd understanding phrasing and intonation. I listened to Eric Clapton and Bryan May tell me “Say more with less. Make a note mean something! Don’t just play a thousand notes cause you can and do perform every teaching in one song. A song is a message and emotion.” I finally focused on Stevie Ray Vaughan and how he brought color and fun to music.

All my teachings married themselves and brought my own sound and I was finally my own player. I could now profess my teachings and establish my prowess among my friends and local patrons of the establishments I played in and hold my head high as an individual virtuoso. Then Gary Moore came out with a blues album. I knew he was good. I had seen him play many rock songs and respected him but my god! He just played and fire came out of the speakers and tears followed. He was awesome and stayed that well. Even when I didn’t like the song, he just blew it away. I would hear him play with greats like BB, Albert King and Collins and he couldn’t help it, when he played he couldn’t play down it had to burn! I don’t know how that void will be filled now. It took me years to get over the fact that I wouldn’t see another Stevie Ray Vaughan record that he didn’t get to improve and perfect before releasing it. I have no idea how his brother got over his loss and now I have to go through the process for Gary Moore.

After hearing him play and watching him, I had the final ingredient in what was my influences for my style and sound. He was the personification of the last style I loved that reminded me of my mother and I knew would obtain her approval. Now for the hard part, I never sat down and played for her once I became accomplished. She never got o hear me play as an adult with skills. She passed and I lost my chance. My only solace is that she is now hopefully in the same place with Randy, Albert, Stevie and Gary and she is able to hear them play and enjoy the music that meant so much to me and I know did to her. She can experience the emotions they continue to provide me and they can see the joy they brought to so many people including me. How they changed the direction of so many musicians and influenced so many avenues of music.

I have a few heroes left still and I need to take advantage of being able to see them before they pass on. I am entering an area of my life where my friends are failing of natural causes and the athletic and artistic heroes of my day are leaving the world. Eric Clapton, Bryan May, Ritchie Blackmoore, Rik Emmet, David Gilmoore, Eddie Van Halen, Yngvie Malmsteen, Gary Richwrath, Neal Schon, Ian Moore, Rick Neilson. I need to see them when I have the opportunity and not waste it.

Now back to my mom and Gary. I have a blog some time ago talking specifically about what I felt was a supernatural communication from my mother. It could have been coincidence but it was very eerie and too much coincidence not to be something. If there is an afterlife that is organized enough to allow interaction with these other people of note, I do hope my mother has the opportunity to interact with them. She would truly enjoy herself so much as she loved this style of music.

As you can see, I rambled a bit today. I can’t imagine how I can ever speak enough about the influence this man had on my music life and how it connects with so many facets of my regular life. The unexpected death of such great artistic people such as Gary Moore, Randy Rhoads, Jeff Healey and Stevie Ray Vaughan only maximize the expectation their lives could have had on the music industry if they had been allowed to be around longer. The short careers thee men had and yet the massive impact they had resonates and echoes loudly forever. If you are not aware of them, or even just mildly aware of them, the strength of their art and creation isn’t fully aware in your thoughts. They were truly giants in a genre that didn’t need pop culture. They played what they loved and how they loved it. They were unaware of their true impact until their deaths and their families and friends are the ones that get to enjoy the flowers. They get to bask in the memories and successes of their loved ones and see the real benefit of being such a great artist. The stories you hear about people like this is most always the love that flowed from their souls through the music and through the events crating it. It is amazing and wonderful to watch them come alive in the conversations of people close to them. The eyes light up and smiles form on their faces as they remember the silly and wonderful experiences they had and it makes it even harder on the rest of us to see them as such great people as well as artists.

They made mistakes. They are human but the gift they gave us is one that stays forever and for me, I want to impart that to my children like my mother did to me. She showed me what she loved in music, why it meant so much to her and how it took her to another place so she enjoyed her time here even more. Now maybe she is getting to see those guys playing with some older greats like Hendrix, Joplin, Muddy Waters, Jim Morrison! What a show could be going on right now with those guys all together at once playing Red House and just enjoying the music.

To anyone who hasn’t experienced any of these genuses, please look up some music and just listen for the nuances and changes in the music. Watch them on the screen and see the emotion as they relive what caused them to write the music and words they perform. It is true art and is passing emotions of pain, joy and remembrance as they play and sing. It’s not just about making money: They loved what they did and pursued it with passion.

Gary Moore, on this day of loss, thank you for your dedication, love and wonderful artwork. You helped me develop myself and will continue to impact young guitarist for many years to come. Take your place at the table with the greatest artists ever and relish the wonders you bestowed on this world and rest in peace.



XO ILY YM

Chopped is the theme! The show, my yahoo account and my glasses..CHOPPED!

So I am watching Chopped and decide to clean my glasses. It looked like I had a little crud on there foggy up the view. So I take them off and wala! They fall apart from the center. Yep, less than a year old and broke in half. I will be taking those to the store to get replaced soon.


Now the funny thing is I go to use a pair of older prescripts and put them on and I see perfectly fine. What’s even better is that they are two prescriptions ago meaning that I basically have on glasses that have a prescription from around six years ago and I See perfectly clearly and fine. What’s more, they feel good on my head as if they never left. They are Nike frames and very light: Titanium. So, I am pleased and not sure if I even want to wear the newer ones when they are repaired. I have lost weight and it caused my frames to be slipping constantly and not rest on my nose properly so I am wondering if my prescription wasn’t right after all and was more related to my health at the time, pre-diabetic and not as meaty a head on my shoulders. I’m pleased basically.

Also today, the dryer has been making some funky noises so I sent an email to our landlord to let him know. Now, tonight, I go to put some pants in to avoid ironing this evening and it doesn’t even move. No squeaky noises no nothing! Great. I inform the landlord in email again. I go back and tweak it and run the FLUFF cycle. Does nothing but put dog hair on my pants. So, I go back and tweak a little more and it seems to be working. I have to go now and check and see if it put out any hot air to remove my wrinkles. We’ll see I guess.

I have been battling sinus issues these past two weeks and it has cost me two sick days this year already. I need to get to the bottom of that. I don’t need to be calling in sick so much. I have a lot of things to do and will need some time next month to move hopefully and I want to relax while doing it and not feel like I am getting behind at work.

Had my favorite meal tonight: Burritos. Nothing fancy, just simple burritos from cheap taco sauce with good fixin’s. And my daughter was eating tacos!

I want to see that new movie about the Gnomes. I don’t know why. Maybe because of the one Gnome in the wrestling leotard hopping around. This may be my KB’s first theater trip.

Had some funky stuff going on with one of my yahoo accounts so I had to axe it today. We had a hacker once before and I aint playing around with it. Down side is I am in the middle of a basketball fantasy league and I have a few trophies from the football and baseball leagues I will be abandoning. But I already spent that money so it’s really no big deal. Just something I can tease my wife about. So, for those of you I had on Yahoo, if you haven’t seen a request yet or an email, you will soon.

Got to go! Need to check my pants and hit the couch to relax a little.

XO ILY YM

My Uncle has a country place, that no one knows about....

in•ter•ac•tion   [in-ter-ak-shuhn]


–noun

1. reciprocal action, effect, or influence.

2. Physics .

a. the direct effect that one kind of particle has on another, in particular, in inducing the emission or absorption of one particle by another.

b. the mathematical expression that specifies the nature and strength of this effect.

I had me some interaction today: Very interesting interaction. We left to do our errands this morning: The usual stuff, groceries, bank, house stuff etc… Our first stop was to get a little breakfast at McDonalds. While looking for a seat, one of the booths was taken up by whom I assume was a homeless man sleeping. I was a bit startled at first but he wasn’t bothering anyone and there were plenty of places to sit for paying patrons. I looked around and the woman who was cleaning ignored him as he slept away. No one worried about it or drew attention to it. Other patrons sat down, started their meals, and ignored him including a gentleman who came walking by whistling, very vibrantly and annoyingly. My wife noticed another older man roll his eyes and give a sign of disgust at the whistler and not the homeless person. Once the whistler sat down, he stopped whistling and I believe it was really due to him noticing the man sleeping.

My first thought as I saw him was the poor guy was finally getting to relax a little after the blizzard. Then I went further in my head and thought, I have four bucks in my pocket and I am huffing down a bagel and coffee I bet he would love to do the same. It’s only a buck for sausage and biscuits and a coffee is only a dollar as well. Then I thought, what if I wake him up, and he gets pissed and rails at me? So yeah, I talked myself out of it but the whole time my conscious was saying this man needs it and you have the ability to provide a little comfort for him. In the end, I rationalized myself to being happy for him to get some warmth and for everyone being considerate and leaving him alone to rest. Still, I feel I missed an opportunity that was given to me for a reason. In reflection, it provided me the state of my compassion and how weakly I have applied it.

We left and went to the bank, uneventful this time, thank goodness. Just in and out: If they were selling burgers, I wouldn’t have been happier.

Onto Wal-Mart I get a GREAT parking space up front. I mean, they do exist. Someone has to be able to park in them in order for them to not be available right? So, that means occasionally a bone gets throne to me: and today, I was the big dog! Booyah! So we’re sitting there and I watch this big SUV pull into the parking lot in front of us and he spies the open space next to mine that is even closer to the store. He whips his truck into reverse and I swear backs up so fast he almost runs over the people walking out of the store. Then as his young punk butt pulls up next to us, he is making eye contact with me and looking back all the time because he knows I watched him look like an idiot. Moron #1.

Later at Sam’s, we are at the checkout and the lane next to us opens up. The manager points to us and the person in front of us to come to the line to check out and as we are walking up, this bozo comes flying in like he’s gonna get the FRONT ROW all excited in Bob Uker type action. DENIED! Go to the back of the line. No check out fro you. Come back, 45 minutes! He looked so ridiculous like a cat that just ran into a glass door and tries to play it off. Meow..I meant to do that. HA! Moron #2.

Now we get to Ultra and get to the second aisle where the condiments are and this older couple, I would say mid 50’s maybe older, are deciding on sauces and such. The guy, lord, is standing there in the middle of the aisle holding a ketchup bottle and arguing the difference in the ketchups and how expensive they are. As we walk past I hear him say “And look at this, they take OUT the salt and charge you more. You’re getting less ingredients but you pay more.” YOU’RE NOT STEPHEN WRIGHT AND THAT’S NOT FUNNY! What’s worse is when we go back by them, standing in the same annoying manner and location, he is still discussing this. They haven’t moved and there is still nothing in their cart. Is this how every shopping rip is for them? I’d kill Melina! Sign me up for the 48 hours show. SHE WOULDN’T SETTLE ON A FRIKIN’ BOTTLE OF KETCHUP!

We stroll about the store some more doing our shopping and then we see them finally moving off from the area of condiments and they have two bottles in the cart, no ketchup by the way and I hear “Maybe some of that other sauce would be good for the mushrooms?” Let it go dude. She don’t want to go back to the sauces and right now, I bet she’d eat a piece of frikin’ leather with shoe polish on it to get you to shut up. Moron #3.

Then we are at the deli and this guy wasn’t paying attention and gets all frothy when he comes back to find they are 8 or so people away from his number now. Why’d you leave? Why didn’t you listen? Get another frikin number before they get further away from your lethargic ass. Moron #4

Checked out and headed to get lottery tickets, my wife is in line and this old, I mean ancient old man comes up, smiles at her, runs his cart over her foot and steps in line in front of her to buy a lottery ticket. He got a quick pick too so if I see his old ass on TV with my money, I’m going to a voodoo lady and getting’ mine. Moron (senile) #5.

Fast forward to later in the afternoon and we are at Hobby Lobby. We get some stuff that to the first glance we think is on sale. Turns out not to be due to retail trickery or pixie dust or something. Either way, we get it and understand, and move on with our lives. At the next register, the manager, who we have seen act as a moron before, is yep, you guessed it, acting as a moron yet again. He is arguing with a patron over the sale price of an item and a coupon. Finished annoying these fine people, he over hears our discussion with the cashier and begins to interject into the conversation which has ended by the way, with our understanding and acquiescence, the same exact information the cashier told us satisfactorily. We tell him the signs were not clear and that’s why we misunderstood. He says the same thing again and adds, it’s not on the candy. We do what my grandmother said never do, argue with an idiot, and say actually no, it is over there but we understand and are fine. He continues to be an idiot, I finally say, “GOT IT for the third time.” I ask the cashier out loud so others can hear, “Does he just float around trying to find arguments? Every time I have seen that man here he is arguing with someone. Maybe he gets a bonus based on the disagreements and aggravation he causes.” Definitely Moron #6 and possibly Moron of the day.

Although there were many stupid drivers on the day, the Hobby Lobby manager takes it for the lead.

We had a decent dinner I think. I made some pork ribs with what I like to call fried bread, some slaw and some egg noodles for the ladies. Keira ate well and she has enjoyed her trip to her Mecca, Toys R Us. She is on a puzzle kick and we have a few to do yet. She still wants to help me with mine, a 1000 piece deer scene puzzle.

I played a little guitar and she has her Spongebob guitar now so that she can jam with me.

Watching the Bulls right now. They aren’t going to beat the Warriors as bad as last time. Last time it was 120 to 90 or something like that. They are pretty close tonight really. Chicago is on a 7 game win streak. Looking great right now and they play Portland Monday night. It would be nice to see that extend to 9 Monday night.. I may have to change my background to a Bulls symbol until Baseball Season. I have Stevie Ray on there right now.

Guess I should close and relax a little while I can. Enjoy this game and go to sleep.



XO ILY YM

The Blizzard of 2011..storm of the century...so far...it's just 2011!

Not too much to report since we last talked. The Blizzard of 2011 has hit in Chicago and it is taking names: 400 to be exact. The total of persons rescued from stranded vehicles on the roads of Chicago. Again, that is just Chicago and doesn’t count the suburbs of my residency. It is definitely quite a bit of snow. Not as much snow as I have seen in other blizzards of note, but enough to shut down most of the businesses for a day.

It is cold as well. We look to get to a -10 mark within the next two days, winds at 25 to 45 mph still and then back up to 2. Woo Hoo! I even saw a 0 on one of the weather predictions. Cool stuff.  The first is our entry at work and the second is my entry at home with our Lab Mix Luke and The Boy walking.  Luke is trying to find a spot to pee but its all near his head or higher.  HA!

The crew at work some are doing a double and getting the OT and some are trudging in if they can make it. Most of the routes are shut down and without four-wheel drive, it is not recommended to try the trek. We have some rooms reserved for folks and the leaders are bringing in some lunch meat and such for the guys that are keeping everything running. I am truly proud of my guys and the work they are doing. They are getting better and better at doing their jobs and are building even better relationships every event that happens.

Onto other events that have occurred. I received my very first Dynamic Deed from another leader in the organization. 15 years with the company and I had never received one. Now I am not complaining about that because I have been rewarded kindly through my tenure in many ways for my performance. Problem is, now I have to change my speech on promotions and such that I usually use my self as an example. “Fifteen years with U.S. Cellular® and I have never received a Dynamic Deed. They are great measurements of an associates dedication and drive but they are not a requirement for promotion. I have been promoted four times during my tenure with U.S. Cellular®: from NOC Technician to Manager and have loved the time I have served. I have received recognition for accomplishments and growth. I feel I am recognized appropriately and am grateful for just the recognition received from my leader. So please don’t think you are not eligible to be promoted because you don’t have any Dynamic Deeds.” Now I have to alter that and say, UNTIL…

With all jesting aside, thank you for the notice and recognition. It means a lot to me and I appreciate you recognizing the progress our teams are making together: You know who you are.

Now I am sitting here working on miscellaneous things that I cant usually get done in the office to the back ground of Spongebob Squarepants and hearing plankton trying to steel the crabby patty formula. I am also reading the notes of other associates around the country dealing with the different weather situations and it is truly amazing at the reach this storm has had. Rain and winds in the Southeast have the home area reeling a but in places, and all through the Midwest we are receiving reports of ice and snow build up. Pictures are coming in of truly wild visions. I look through Facebook even further, and as you all have witnessed through my rantings, I am longing for Spring and Fly Fishing. I see an entry from the host of the show I usually watch and he has this pristine stream in Brazil with little bubbles floating through an eddy with the closest cold spot being in the cooler with their cokes!

I guess I should get back to my day. I see other folks having conference calls and I feel guilty as I have none. I moved all mine to another day due to a meeting that was scheduled for today and canceled due to the weather. So I guess that leaves me free to help out where I can.

Anyway, getting off here and focusing I guess.

XO ILY YM

I'm odd, but I'm okay with that...

My wife will definitely tell you I have a few eccentricities, but today I noticed myself looking through the Sunday news paper and organizing the ads. I laughed because I know I have been doing this ever since I have been reading the paper. I read the paper in order by section but my favorites I leave for last so I can enjoy them. The funnies are of course last.


For the ads, I had to think about it and understand what the pecking order was. For the most part, I leave the same ads last: Wal-Mart, Target, K-mart as these we frequent the most, but I also order them based on whether or not we have the funds available to buy something from certain stores. For instance, I hardly ever look at Best-Buy as we don’t really go there often and it’s usually on a special occasion. It’s just something I noticed silly about me today.

I made some biscuits and gravy today using sausage my daughter brought me from Tennessee. Tasty! I also folded some butter into the biscuit mix and almost have it as light as I would like. I need to use some buttermilk and I think it will be just right for jam or honey.

Tonight I had beef stew I had stewing all day. The vegetables really turned out good in it. I will be having that tomorrow for lunch with some left over rice for sure.

Now I am sitting here fighting a sinus pressure head-ache as I can feel bad weather coming. We have a storm on the way that is supposed to bring us near 18 inches of snow this week before it’s done. I think my body heard the yelling about it before my ears did because it’s been hurting since last night.

I got to see a few minutes of the Bulls game last night but had a lot of fun reading to Keira from her Bug Book. She knows the Giraffe Beetle exclusively but the others she still has to be reminded of.

It was good to see the Celtics beat the crap out of the Lakers today, YES! Although, I slept through the game, I was awake enough to change the channel to some cooking shows for the rest of the houses liking. I am finally getting to see some basketball that is decent and some players I really like are all on the same team so it makes it much better to watch. The Bulls are doing very well. I really hope they get into the finals this year. Big road to head down though.

I need to get off here and relax. I have lots of work to do this week.



XO ILY YM