There Are No Ordinary Moments

So tomorrow is a return to normalcy, whatever that looks like, with the Holidays done and school back in session.  Vacation is over.  A return to the ordinary.  It's hard to believe that one month ago, I flew off to the wilds of the Nevada desert for a training class for work.  I've not experienced any kind of routine since then.  The training class was intense, some of the most difficult work of my career, and lasted two weeks.  It was the longest separation of my daughter's life, for both of us.

Upon my return, daughter Melody and I spent some bonding time gearing up for Christmas, doing some shopping, watching IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE, the greatest movie ever made (in my opinion), on the big screen at the AFI Silver Theater in downtown Silver Spring.  We had a wonderful Christmas with the whole family, and followed that up with another getaway for a few days to Williamsburg, VA, where we went to Busch Garden's Christmas Town celebration.  We also saw the new Star Wars movie while in Williamsburg, and it was pretty awesome.  We celebrated Dad's 71st birthday just before the New Year rang in, and caught a great Maryland Women's basketball game yesterday with good friends.  And after all that, we got to celebrate the Pittsburgh Steelers return to the playoffs with a big win today (and a Jets loss).  Whew!

I spent most of today focused on my return to work tomorrow.  Attitude being everything, I'm concerned about not having the right attitude about my job.  I was really enthused about work after I returned home from my training class, and my three days in the office just before Christmas felt good, overall.  I was not feeling good about much of the circumstances surrounding work just prior to the class.  I knew this had to change.  So I'm anxious about tomorrow.

It's important that I have the right mindset from the get go, especially given how depression has clouded my thinking for several years now.  I'm excited to put into effect some of the strategies I learned from the class, and that may be enough to keep me positive, but there's also a looming project coming up mid-week that has kept much of our management staff on edge for a few months now.  That may take precedence.

Part of the training I received had to do with my own health, particularly my mental health, and I made a commitment to make this a priority.  The reality is that this focus may prove to be life-changing.  I've tried to maintain better physical health since returning, but the mental health is key.

I'm excited to be working on my spiritual health, too, and Pastor Mark's message last evening, at our church, Grace Community, really impacted me.  I have not been a very good advocate of my faith.  I know Jesus as my Lord and Savior, but in my battle with depression, I've too often forgotten to look to Him.  Mark's message was a nudge towards being more service oriented.  I've been content to just attend my church instead of being actively involved, mostly due to my commitment to my role as a single parent to my daughter.  But I know that balance is needed, and my faith is the most important thing in my life.  That doesn't make me any less of a parent.  It only makes me stronger.

My wife, Teresa, before her untimely death and home-going, which sent me spiralling into the depths of depression, taught me a lot about faith by how she carried herself.  Her focus was on being a servant, and this was apparent in her role and career as a teacher ("neighbor"), the things she involved herself in at our church, and how she carried herself and lived her life.  She lived life the way God wants us to live our lives.  She was such a great role model.

I was already a Christ-follower when we met, but she showed me how to serve Christ.  I've forgotten how to do that while I've tried to scramble my way out of this hole (depression) I've been in.  But through a combination of factors, including consciously recognizing that my recovery can and will lead to a better outlook, and make me a better person, is where I've placed my hope, and my faith is the motor to make it happen.  I don't want to return to normalcy, or the ordinary.  There are no ordinary moments.  Life is extraordinary.

I will keep you apprised of my progress.  And if you're looking for a church home, or have questions about God and how He can work in your life, come to Grace Community Church.  What a wonderful place this is.

I'll have more on all of this in future posts, I'm sure.  In the meantime, I hope you have a wonderful week.

Brief Bits

The New Year is an opportunity to make life changing pronouncements and adjustments towards improving one's life, but it's also a good time to signify changes in other areas.  Pastor Mark, at tonight's service at Grace Community Church, emphasized that, while improving ourselves is good, it is even more important to serve others.  I'll have more on this in a future post, but it was a great message to hear, and one that had an impact on me.

***

Much thanks to my friends, the Garners, for an enjoyable afternoon today.  They took me and my daughter to see the #6 ranked Lady Terps play #9 Ohio State at the University of Maryland.  While it was very exciting, the Terps lost the game.  They played well, and led most of the way, but OSU pulled away late in the 2nd half as the Terps couldn't get their shots to drop.  It was really kind of the Garners to treat us to the game, and our daughters seemed to enjoy the time together.  It also gave me a chance to spend time with my prayer buddy, Rick.  And if you're not reading his blog, Mr. Garner Goes to Washington, you're missing some great words of wisdom.

Mr. Garner & Mr. Freed

***

You read it here first:  The New York Jets will lose to their former coach, Rex Ryan, and the Buffalo Bills, and the Pittsburgh Steelers will march into the playoffs with a win against their long-time arch-rival, the Cleveland Browns, tomorrow afternoon.  This after the Steelers blew the game last week against the awful Baltimore Ravens, choking big-time in a must-win game.  The Steelers better get their act together.  They have one of the best offenses in the game, with Ben Roethlisberger at QB, and world-class talent at receiver with Antonio Brown, Markus Wheaton, and Martavis Bryant.  Despite a bunch of injuries, they still can be dominant, but their defense, particularly against the pass, has to play better.  It starts tomorrow.

***

The Pittsburgh Penguins, with a huge 5-2 win tonight versus the New York Islanders, seem to be on the verge of turning around their season.  They've got all kinds of talent, but they have struggled terribly all season.  But with their captain, Sidney Crosby, finally showing signs of life, the team is playing much better.  Tonight's win was impressive.

***

I don't know how I missed it, but yesterday was Faithful Pup Scout's 14th birthday!  Scout entered our lives in March of 2002.  She was supposed to be my wife Teresa's dog, but she became my buddy after Teresa's death and home-going in 2004.  She's named for the little girl in TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD, Teresa's favorite novel, Scout has been such a comfort to me over the years, and while she continues to slow down and show her age, I can't imagine life without her.  Happy birthday, Scout!

Have a great evening, everyone!

My Top 10 Roller Coasters of 2015

I'm in the midst of a "Best of 2015" series of posts, and today my focus is on roller coasters. We visited a lot of parks this year, including Busch Gardens, Hersheypark, Holiday World, Kings Island, Kennywood, and Six Flags America.  Daughter Melody and I rode a bunch of coasters, too, and many crept into my personal Top 10, and a few are in my Top 5.  While my personal Top 5 includes coasters I didn't ride in 2015, the following list is for coasters ridden only in 2015.  Here is my Top 10 for 2015:


Honorable Mention:  Two coasters just missed this list.  Considering I rode almost 40 different coasters in 2015 alone, it was tough narrowing this list down to just 10.  Storm Runner is a launch coaster at Hersheypark that really made an impression on me.  Melody and I made a last-minute day-trip to Hershey, PA, on Memorial Day weekend, and, while the park was really crowded, we had fun riding about 10 different coasters that day.  Storm Runner blasts off and hits a fairly high hill, then rampages through a series of turns before ending.  The ride isn't that long, but it is very intense.  Banshee is an inverted coaster at Kings Island, near Cincinnati, OH.  I don't normally like inverted coasters.  They have a different feel than traditional steel coasters, and my body just doesn't handle the twists and turns that inverted coasters wrack on me, which tend to be more intense and frequent.  But I seemed to handle Banshee much better, and I actually enjoyed it.  It holds the record for the longest inverted coaster in the world, at 4124 feet.  It's quite a ride.

Storm Runner at Hersheypark

Banshee at Kings Island

10.  The Wild One is a wooden roller coaster at Six Flags America, near Bowie, MD.  It was originally built in 1917 as "The Giant Coaster" at Paragon Park in Nantasket Beach, MA.  It was partially destroyed by fire in 1932 and redesigned, but was again partially destroyed by fire in 1963.  It was rebuilt, but without several of its unique features.  It closed in 1985, and Paragon Park sold it to Wild World, the precursor to Six Flags America.  It opened at this, it's current location, in 1986.  I rode it that Summer and enjoyed it immensely.  It was a wild, rickety old coaster then, and it hasn't changed at all.  Melody rode it for the first time a few years ago, and we returned to the park in September.  It still packs a wallop.

The Wild One at Six Flags America

9.  Griffon is a steel coaster that opened at Busch Gardens, in Williamsburg, VA, in 2007.  It is currently the fastest "dive" coaster in existence at 75 mph.  It isn't a very long ride, and it is unique in that it has three rows of ten seats, making it much wider than it is long.  It also features a pause at the very top of its 205 foot drop, creating a bit of anticipation and/or anguish, depending on how much you like such things.  It's a great ride.  Melody and I went to Busch Gardens several times this year, including in April, August, October, and again this week for Christmas Town.

The Griffon at Busch Gardens

8.  We made our first visit to Holiday World, in Santa Claus, IN, during our Summer road trip, and this very small park has several world-class coasters.  Their newest coaster, Thunderbird, opened in the Spring, and it was a pretty cool ride.  It is a steel "wing" coaster, and it features a launch system that blasts it to 62 mph in 3.5 seconds.  It also features the largest vertical loop, at 125 feet, on any wing coaster in the world.  We rode it on a very hot day, but it provided nice thrills at this very under-estimated thrill park.

Thunderbird at Holiday World

7.  Melody and I returned to Hersheypark just after Thanksgiving for their Christmas celebration.  They feature over a dozen great coasters, but the Wildcat was one my daughter decided she didn't like when she first rode it with me last year.  When we returned over Memorial Day, she wouldn't ride it based on how she felt after that first ride.  However, with only a few coasters open for the Christmas season, she agreed to ride it with me since it was running, but it took some convincing.  Wildcat is a wooden coaster that opened in 1996.  It is named after the park's first coaster, the Wild Cat, which ran from 1923 to 1945.  The ride is pretty rough, which is why Melody didn't like it initially, but we both enjoyed it a lot this time around.

Wildcat at Hersheypark

6.  We returned to Kennywood, just outside of Pittsburgh, again this year, and while it doesn't have a lot of coasters, it does contain several older classic coasters.  One of our favorites is the Thunderbolt.  The ride's name was The Pippen when it was built in 1924, but after a track expansion in 1968, it became the Thunderbolt.  Because it is built on several ravines, the coaster follows the lay of the land, and it features a drop straight out of the loading platform.  Its longest drop is 95 feet, and it reaches speeds of 55 mph.  The Thunderbolt is a unique and enjoyable ride.

Thunderbolt at Kennywood

5.  The Loch Ness Monster is sometimes mistakenly referred to as a "beginners" coaster, but this Busch Gardens classic steel coaster is still one of the greatest ever built.  It is the only remaining double-interlocking looping coaster in the world, and it was a record holder for height and speed when it opened in 1978.  It was my first major steel coaster, and maybe that's why I still love it so much.  Melody loves it, too, and it is easily our most-ridden coaster.

The Loch Ness Monster at Busch Gardens

4.  The Voyage surprised me.  Actually, Holiday World surprised me, too.  I didn't expect it to have these world-class roller coaster, and each coaster made an impact on me.  The Voyage is a wooden coaster that feels like an old classic ride, but was actually built in 2006.  It's ranked #4 in height for a wooden coaster, and #2 in length.  The first drop is a doozy.

The Voyage at Holiday World

3.  The Beast is another coaster that surprised me, but not because of its reputation.  It surprised me because of how much I loved it.  I knew it was a great ride.  It has a lot of supporters, as does the coaster's park, Kings Island, just outside of Cincinnati, OH.  The park might be best known as the park that the Brady kids, from the Brady Bunch TV Show, visited in one of their episodes.  The Beast is like a runaway truck coming down a mountain.  That's really the best way I can describe it.  It's the longest wooden coaster in the world, and after the first drop, it feels like it's not going to stop as it rampages deep into the woods beyond.  Melody and I rode it about a half-dozen times, and it just got better and better.

The Beast at Kings Island

2.  Apollo's Chariot surpassed the Loch Ness Monster as my favorite coaster at Busch Gardens shortly after it opened in 1999.  It is a steel "hyper" coaster, with a 210 foot drop, and it reaches speeds of 73 mph.  It features eight air-time hills.  It's a fantastic ride!

Apollo's Chariot at Busch Gardens

1.  Diamondback is another hyper coaster, this one at Kings Island, opening in 2009, and features a 215 foot drop with speeds of 80 mph, and ten drops across its length.  This was our first visit to Kings Island, and the coasters there are some of the best I've ever ridden.  Diamondback is very similar to Busch Garden's Apollo's Chariot, but it is just a little more intense.  What a ride!

Diamondback at Kings Island

In case you can't tell, I'm a bit passionate about roller coasters...

There's more to come!  I'll do another Top 5/Top 10 of 2015 next time.  For now, have a wonderful evening, everyone!

My Top 5 Pizzas of 2015

Everyone seems to be writing one of those "Year In Review" blog posts or articles, and while I like to use the blog itself to document our happenings, I decided it might be kind of fun to do one of these things for myself, particularly since I seem to have reduced my output this year.  Since it's the last day of the 2015, why not do our own year in review by mentioning our Top 5's of the year?  Every year is more exciting than the last, and there is so much that the Lord is doing in our lives.  So, today, on the last day of 2015, I'm starting with my favorite food.

I've never met a pizza I didn't like, though there are certainly different levels of good.  My pizza tastes were formulated at an early age with regular family dinners at chains like Pizza Hut (when it was actually good) and Pizza Oven, and one of a kind places like The Dino Restaurant in Suitland, MD, and the original Ledo's in Adelphi, MD.  You might laugh, but Mom regularly bought the Chef Boyardee pizza kits when I was a kid, and I learned how to dress them up into a weekly feast of the taste buds, and I still have a hankering for that pizza sauce, even if it was a thin, tomato-y tasting concoction of plainness.  Anyway, I consider myself a pizza connoisseur, and I continue to seek out good pizza everywhere we travel.  Keep in mind that there are many pizzas I would rank above some of these, but this is just for 2015.  So without further delay, here are my Top 5 pizzas of 2015:


5.  I really do try to stay away from the pizza chains.  Some of my least favorite pizzas come from Domino's and Papa John's, two of the few places who deliver to our home.  Ledo's is my all-time favorite pizza of those that are still around, but the original (and its sister location, TJ Elliot's in Bowie, MD) are better than the chains.  That being said, #5 on the list is a new chain I discovered several months ago.  It's called Blaze Fast-Fire'd Pizza, and it is the Chipotle's of the pizza biz.  When you arrive at the walk-up counter, you pick out the type of crust you want, the sauce, and cheese, then you add all and as much of the plethora of toppings they have available along their assembly line, just like at Chipotle's.  Once made, it is thrown into their oven and cooked in about 5 minutes.  And it's good!  They only have one size, and the price is the same regardless of the toppings, with the plain cheese a few bucks less.  The crust is nicely thin and crisp, the sauce just right, and the toppings are fresh.  It's easily one of the best of the pizza chains.  I just wish they delivered.  There's one at the Laurel Town Center, which is just close enough to be dangerous.  http://www.blazepizza.com/

Picture courtesy of the Baltimore Sun

4.  Okay, I guess this one qualifies as a chain, too, though it is certainly a regional thing.  The Dough Roller, native to the Ocean City, MD, Boardwalk, is a long-time family favorite!  Every time Melody and I go to OC, we stop at one of several Boardwalk locations for a very unique pizza.  The crust is nicely thin, but it's the sauce that seems to give it a taste that's a little different from a standard pie.  I don't think I'd like it if I could have it all the time, but given that I only get it once each year, it's definitely in my Top 5 for 2015.  The ambiance of the Boardwalk, mixed with being at the beach, make for a wonderful memory-making experience.  http://www.doughrollerrestaurants.com/

3.  A local favorite, Pub Dog, in Columbia, MD, has become a personal favorite for me and Melody, and we eat there more often than we should.  But it's so good!  Pub Dog is a bar/draft house with really great pizza, especially their "Smash Dog" pizzas, which are two pizzas smashed, face-first, into each other.  They have a variety of different flavors, like the Veggie Dog, the Froggy Dog, and the Fox and the Hound.  Old Yeller is another good one.  Check out their menu.  There's a lot to try.  Pub Dog started in Federal Hill, Baltimore, and expanded to Columbia in 2007.  http://www.pubdog.com/

2.  After visiting the annual Auto Show at the DC Convention Center last January, Melody and I were looking for a good place to have an early dinner.  With Chinatown only a few blocks away, and despite the frigid temperatures and snow on the ground, we wandered down H Street, NW, and found matchbox.  This wasn't what I expected to find in Chinatown, especially since we were craving some authentic Chinese food, but I had heard of matchbox and we decided to try it.  The small place was packed, but we were seated within 20 minutes.  We both got a small pizza and they were fantastic!  http://www.matchboxrestaurants.com/

DC Chinatown's matchbox

1.  Every year, daughter Melody and I travel to Chicago for the annual G-Fest convention, and we make a stop at the local Giordano's, famous throughout Chicagoland and beyond for their stuffed pizza, and it is a masterful creation.  I'm not a big fan of thick crust or deep dish pizzas anymore.  They're just too filling, and as a type 2 diabetic, I really have to take it easy with meals like pizza, so I try to stay away from the heavy breads and carbs.  But this once a year treat is just too wonderful to pass up.  It is awesome!  Melody and I each get a small pizza, and we're never able to complete them.  Melody sticks with the plain cheese, but I try a different variety of toppings/fillings.  This year's pizza had mushrooms, black olives, green peppers, and pepperoni.  I'm sure my body is still recovering.  If you're in Chicago, you've got to try it!  https://giordanos.com/

Giordano's in Chicago

Next Post:  My Top 5 Roller Coaster's of 2015

Have a great evening, everyone, and I hope 2016 is at least as great, but even better, than 2015!

Home For The Holidays

Yeah, I'm still here.  Though I wasn't here for much of the past month.  I was sent off to "executive training" for a solid two weeks by my boss, an experience I'm still trying to digest.  It was some of the most intense training I've attended in my 25 year career.  Not only was I far from home, and away from my daughter for the longest stretch of her life, it was during the lead-up to Christmas, my favorite time of year, and I was forced to do all of my Christmas shopping online.  Thank goodness for Amazon Prime!

Upon arriving home, Christmas was practically on top of us.  I spent last Saturday wrapping presents, and Melody and I spent the day doing some fun things together, including our service at Grace Community Church.  On Sunday, I introduced Melody to my personal annual Christmas tradition by taking her to see IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE on the big screen at the AFI Silver Theater in downtown Silver Spring.  It is the best movie ever made.

I returned to work on Monday, spending much of my time getting re-acclimated to the office.  Things were pretty much shutting down for the Holidays as the week went along, though, so I didn't feel pressed.  And the President gave us a half-day on Christmas Eve, so that was a nice gift, as well.

Monday evening was Melody's Middle School Band's concert, rescheduled from December 10 (when I was away), and I was so thankful to be able to attend.  Melody made first-chair clarinet in the Concert Band, and she has improved greatly over the last several months under Mr. Twigg's tutelage.  The concert was awesome!  It was a great evening, all around.

I could feel my stress and anxiety level drop all during the day on Christmas Eve, and after leaving the office, I had a leisurely lunch by myself (an annual tradition for me), and then I attended my church's Christmas Eve service at 1:00.  I returned home with plenty of time to prepare for the evening's festivities.  I was proud of myself for having gotten all of my Christmas shopping and wrapping completed early despite being away so long, and I felt relaxed when I left the house to attend my in-law's church's Christmas Eve service.  I had dropped off Melody with them the night before, and upon arriving at the church, I found out that she was singing during the service.  This was the third year in a row she was doing that, and it filled me with excitement and emotion to see her stand in front of the whole church singing from her heart.  My father-in-law delivered a great message, and then it was time to eat.

My parents and sister always join us on Christmas Eve for the service, and my in-laws host a great dinner.  After we all eat, we exchange gifts.  It's a wonderful tradition that we started about 3 years ago, and I'm happy to give my in-laws a day to spend with their only grandchild for Christmas.  My wife was an only child, and after her death and home-going, Melody is all they have.  After opening gifts and enjoying everyone's company, Mom, Dad, sister Angie, and Melody head over to Mom & Dad's while I rush home to pick up Faithful Pup Scout.  Then I join them at their place.  It's usually after midnight before I get to sleep, but all of the preparation is well worth it.

And Christmas Day was as meaningful and memorable as it can be.  God has truly blessed our family despite all of the tragedy we've experienced, and it was great to enjoy each other's company.  My brother, his girlfriend, Erica, and her two teen daughters, join us, too, and it's a big party.  We spend all day having a great time together.

Melody and I finally returned home last evening, and we spent today enjoying our gifts and preparing for the week ahead.  We're both home until January 4, so it's a great time to rest, relax, and recharge.

I hope you all had a meaningful Christmas and wonderful Holiday break.  Best wishes and blessings!  Have a great evening, everyone!

Where in the World Am I?

Here!

Hope to be home by Christmas!

Best wishes for a joyous season!

A Hershey Thanksgiving

We just completed a fantastic few days of fun following our Thanksgiving feast with the family!

Thanksgiving itself was great.  Mom made a wonderful meal with all the trimmings, and the rest of the day was spent in fun conversation with football playing in the background.  Everyone parted late in the evening and Melody and I headed home.

Friday morning, we both got up early and packed and prepared for a getaway for a couple of days.  Destination:  Hershey, PA.  We left the house at around 11:30, made a stop at Chick-Fil-A to grab some lunch, then continued up the road to Hershey.  First stop was at Chocolate World.

Hershey's Chocolate World contains a lot of different fun activities that, as hokey as it sounds, really are for the whole family.  First of all, there's a free ride-through attraction that takes you through a mock chocolate factory, giving one a nice overview of how Hershey makes their chocolate.  It's informative and fun, with the smell of chocolate wafting through the air as you ride along.  At the end, a free sample of chocolate is given to every rider.  On this day, they gave us a Kit Kat bar.

There is a very large retail area with every kind of Hershey product available, including the basic Hershey Milk Chocolate Bars, Special Dark Chocolate bars, Mr. Goodbar bars, Krackle bars, Hershey's Kisses, Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, Reese's Pieces, Twizzlers, Whoppers, Mounds, Almond Joy, Payday, Kit Kats, plus shirts, bags, stuffed animals, banks, hats, and so much more.

There is a fun movie that Melody and I watched last year, where the audience gets to interact with the characters on the screen.  There is a chocolate tasting class, which teaches you the differences in the tastes of the various chocolates.  There's a make-your-own-chocolate bar activity that allows you to do that very thing, adding your favorite ingredients to customize the bar to your tastes.

Finally, there's a trolley ride through the town of Hershey where you get a sense of the history of Milton Hershey, his chocolate, the factory, and his contributions to the town he founded.  For the Holidays, there is a true Christmas theme to the ride, with a visit by Santa Claus along the way, and singing Christmas carols.  It's a lot of fun.

We did it all, and loaded up with chocolate gifts for the whole family, too.

The highlight of the trip, though, is Hersheypark, the adjoining amusement park, which opens for the Christmas season with lights and decorations.  We spent the rest of the evening running around the park and riding several rides.  It was really crowded, though, so the more popular rides had really long waits.  We ended up only riding five rides before calling it a night and heading for the exit.

The last thing we did for the evening was a ride through a spectacular light display called Hershey's Sweet Lights.  If you live in the Columbia, MD, area, this is very similar to the Symphony of Lights Holiday display at Merriweather Post, except much larger.  It was very festive, and was a great cap to the day.

After a great night of rest, we had breakfast at our favorite diner, the Soda Jerk Diner, in Hummelstown, PA, just up the road from Hershey.  The food is great, and the ambiance is even better.  There's just something about diner coffee...

We returned to Hersheypark after breakfast to ride the few coasters that were open, since we missed them the night before.  The park was not crowded since it was raining lightly, and we were able to ride Laff Trakk, a new coaster for 2015, for the first time.  It was fun, but the 20 minute wait really wasn't worth it.  The ride is kind of similar to a Wild Mouse, with a tight track and turns and 4-person coaster cars, but it's in the dark, like a fun house or dark ride, and the cars spin as the ride goes along.  It's also very short.

We also rode the Wildcat, a rickety old wooden coaster that my daughter, Melody, didn't really care for in the past.  However, this time, riding in the front seat, in the cool weather, it was fun.  We enjoyed it.  Finally, we rode the Sooper Dooper Looper, an older steel coaster that goes upside down.

We had some lunch, then headed for home.  It was an uneventful drive home, and it felt good to be home on Saturday, which allowed us all of Sunday to relax and gear up for the Holidays, and prepare for another week of work and school.

Have a great evening, everyone!

Thanks!

Another Thanksgiving is upon us, and with the season comes another reason to thank the good Lord for our health, safety, and happiness.

Happy Thanksgiving, my readers!

For much of the past dozen years, we have stayed with the same script.  Thanksgiving is all about family, and so our family is almost always together.  Mom makes a fantastic Turkey dinner; Dad makes the pumpkin pies using the super-secret Freed Family recipe (so closely guarded, I only became aware of the exact recipe last year); sister Angie assists Mom in the kitchen; brother Darren brings over his family almost every year (with his fiancee Erica and her 2 daughters, Britney & Caitlyn); many times my in-laws join us, as they will this year; sometimes my Aunt Linda (Mom's sister) comes to join us from her West Virginia home; and other members of our huge extended family come to join us, as well.

My daughter, Melody, and I are usually up early.  We watch the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade on TV, question why anyone would want to go to NYC on Thanksgiving to see the parade live, then discuss what we would do if we did go...

We eat a light breakfast, anticipating that we will be eating constantly for the rest of the day...

We pack up Faithful Pup Scout and head over to Mom & Dad's, this year with a few of our own pumpkin pies, now that I know the recipe!

The NFL games are usually already started and blaring on the TV when we arrive.  Our family is full of sports fans, particularly football.  We're all diehard fans of the Steelers (and Redskins, when my in-laws are with us), so it gets pretty lively, especially if the Steelers are playing.

Mom always has appetizers out, whether it's fresh veggies and dip, or chips, or shrimp.

Everyone grabs their seat in the family room, and, except when Brit & Cait are with us, the seats usually stay assigned throughout the rest of the day (the teen girls grab the best seats as soon as they arrive, and don't move out of them until we eat, so the rest of us play musical chairs throughout the day).

The meal is the best part of the day.  Everyone heads to the dining room, where the seats are assigned:  Dad at the head, Mom to his right, me to his left.  The prayer tends to rotate among my Dad, me, Melody, or my father-in-law, Jim.  We usually have a pre-meal game or assignment, many times arranged by Mom and Melody, involving thankfulness in some way.  Sometimes it's as simple as saying what we're thankful for; other times, it might be a full ten-page quiz that is meant to be shared around the table while we eat.  It's always fun.

The turkey is awesome.  Mom has mastered her preparation.  There are rarely any surprises.  The meal is as traditional as it can be.  And there is never enough room on the plate for everything that is served.  Dad is the carver.  Mom sits just long enough to get a few bites in before she rushes back to the kitchen to reload.  Dishes are quickly passed around the table.  Some items, because there are so many, are usually already cold by the time we get around to actually eating.  And it's all great!

There is laughing, lively discussion, some shouting to be heard, and everyone is in a joyous mood.

And then the meal is over.  We tend to linger at the table, not wanting it to be done too soon (unless the Steelers are playing).  Then, at some point, though there's never a clear signal, everyone gets up and the table is cleared.  It's a group effort.  Mom never gets stuck with all of the cleanup.  She plays referee, deciding which leftovers go in which microwave-safe storage plate or bowl.  Angie usually mans the sink, rinsing off plates and placing them in the dishwasher.  It's a madhouse, but there's organization under the madness.

Then it's back to the family room, to our unofficial assigned seats, and the desserts are served.  Melody almost always plays hostess at this point, asking each person what they would like for dessert (pumpkin pie, cheesecake, mincemeat pie, jell-o, cookies...so many to choose from), then rushing back to the kitchen to tell Mom and she dishes it out, Melody then bringing a fresh plate to everyone.

We then begin to reflect on the day, and past Thanksgiving Days.  We tell stories.  Invariably, we talk about my wonderful wife, Teresa (now resting in Heaven with our Lord), and our traditions.  We rarely learn anything new, since we tell the same stories every year.

And then the fun really starts.  Out comes the Catchphrase game.  Catchphrase is a little electronic disc that has a word or catchphrase on it, and each person, split up into two teams, must describe what it says (without saying the word) so that their team can guess the word, while a timer counts down, faster and faster, and once a team guesses the word correctly, it is passed to the next person to describe a new word, all while a timer counts down faster and faster.  Whichever team is holding the disc when the buzzer sounds is the loser for that round.  It is fast and frenetic and oh so funny.  And everyone is laughing.  It's great!

After an hour of that, it's usually getting dark outside, and my in-laws are the first to call it a day.  Slowly, everyone begins to say their goodbyes, with hugs all around, and they journey home.  Melody and I stay until close to bedtime, staying overnight at Mom & Dad's many times.

While driving home, when we do drive home, I always spend a portion of the drive thanking God for another wonderful Thanksgiving.  He has blessed us so much, even as I battle through the sadness of another year gone by without my wife by my side, but knowing she's in a far better place.

Thank you, Lord, for this day, for your blessings, for our health, safety, and happiness.  Thank you for my Melody, who I love so much.  Thank you for family.  Where would we be without them?  Thank you for my life, Lord.  Amen.

Melody's Birthday and Bring Back MST3K

Tuesday was my daughter Melody's 12th birthday. Aside from the fact that she turned into a teen about a year ago, this was a pretty major birthday.  My little girl is growing up.  She's no longer the little angel who listens to everything her daddy tells her, and is sweet and nice all the time.  She's turned into a middle schooler, which is moodiness and sassiness and intelligence unexpectedly mixed with sarcasm.  She's still very smart.  Much smarter than me at that age.  Her fantastic report card and discipline with her homework is evidence of that.  And I'm so proud of her big accomplishment, getting straight A's in her first quarter of middle school.  She made the Honor Roll, and received the Principal's Award.  I couldn't be more proud.

We celebrated her birthday with all four of her grandparents and her aunt, and we had dinner at our local Ginza of Tokyo, on Johns Hopkins Road.  It was a wonderful meal, and a great time with everyone.

***

Photo Credit:  Facebook - MST3K

One of my favorite TV shows of all time is MYSTERY SCIENCE THEATER 3000, created by Joel Hodgson, which ran (mostly) on Comedy Central and the Sci-Fi Network back in the 90s.  The cast invented the term "riffing," which is the art of making fun of, and jokes about, a movie or show, generally due to how bad the movie or show is.  MST3K, as it's affectionately known, had a back story of a young, hard-working janitor named Joel, working at a company called the Gizmonics Institute, who is kidnapped and shot into space in a rocket as a part of an experiment by a couple of mad scientists, who make him watch really bad movies.  Joel has created several robots as companions, Tom Servo and Crow T. Robot, as well as Gypsy, who runs the "Satellite of Love" as it orbits the Earth, and Cambot, who serves as the camera that documents the goings-on.

The show is hilarious, and the jokes are creative, obscure, obvious, and downright funny, and the movies they chose to riff are some of the worst ever made.  The show is a lot like what most of us would like to do while we watch bad movies with our friends in our living room.

Anyway, the show finished its run in 1999, and while it was no longer on the air, the fans continue to watch the DVDs, now released by Shout! Factory.  However, Joel Hodgson, the original creator, wants to bring the show back, and he began a Kickstarter campaign to raise the money needed to create new episodes.  Here's the link:  https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/mst3k/bringbackmst3k.  It appears they've already raised enough money to make several episodes, with more possible as the money pours in.  The show was popular enough, and the fans fanatic enough, that it will likely make the needed money.  If you're interested in contributing, click on the link.  And if you have never watched the show, it's worth checking out.

Photo Credit:  Everett Collection

Have a great Sunday, everyone!

Recovery

The rumors of my demise are greatly exaggerated, even despite how much I may have felt like I was dying over the past month.  I didn't realize just how much pneumonia was going to knock me off my feet, but here I am in week 4 of my recovery.  Coughing fits aside, I guess there are some benefits to doing just about nothing.  I have been working regularly recently, so I really haven't done nothing, but it sure feels like it, and I've really enjoyed the rest.  Daughter Melody came down with a bad cough, too, in the past week, though, so we're enjoying the stereo sounds of phlegm.  I think we might have a hit on our hands.

With all of the sitting around I've been doing, you might think there would be an uptick in the amount of posting on this site, but, frankly, I've had no desire to write.  I've started almost a dozen posts, but most ended up as one-paragraph drafts, if they weren't just deleted.  I may expand and finish some of them at some point, but I just haven't felt like writing.  I hesitate to call it writer's block, though it's close.  I just haven't felt like writing.

I liken this to a musician who goes through a listening phase in his or her development.  I went through this in college.  I had been playing my clarinet and sax pretty much non-stop for almost 9 years when I decided to break from it.  I went through a period a immense growth listening to a lot of music I hadn't heard before, for almost a year.  When I got back to playing again, it was as a much more mature musician, but I also found less opportunities to play, and eventually I stopped completely.

I did much the same thing with my acting.  I loved acting when I discovered it late in high school, and through my church drama program, I had an outlet.  However, as things progressed, I ended up more on the production side, and I preferred the smaller roles, which got me on and off the stage fairly quickly and right back to the behind-the-scenes stuff.  By the time my wife and I took over the drama program at our church, we were writing and directing as a team, and with my wife's obvious natural acting skills, I decided I liked being behind the curtain and camera and began directing exclusively.  I loved acting with my wife, but not so much without her.  I also liked putting everything together, and as a director, you have a lot of power to do so.  I enjoyed that.  And now I'm not acting or directing.  Lack of opportunity led to the end of that.

I'm not saying I'll stop writing completely, but I guess it's a possibility.  I certainly wouldn't be the first blogger to do so.  I'll just consider this a phase for now, and I'll just say thank you for continuing to support me.  I've got a lot of stories to tell, that's for sure.  They just haven't come out of me at the frequency I'm used to.

Enjoy your weekend, everyone!

My Dad the Army Vet

My father doesn't talk about it much, but he is a United States Army Veteran.  He joined the reserves in the mid-60s, just as the Vietnam War broke out.  He figured he would likely be drafted, and decided to join the reserves before it happened.  That's where he put his training into effect.

That's Dad at the top right center, standing tall

Dad was a smart egg.  When he was in high school, he took a typing class.  Dad could type, and he could type well.  He also knew how to drive a vehicle with a manual transmission, another skill that served him well during his time in the service.  You might think that these are odd skills for someone who served, but, believe it or not, these were much-needed but not very prevalent skills needed by our Armed Forces.  There just weren't very many skilled typists among our servicemen.

When Dad went to basic training, he learned a lot of survival and combat skills.  Dad was a fair athlete, and I think he took to the training well.  On one particular "mission," his unit was in the midst of a war game with another unit.  Dad and a few other soldiers were sent to out-flank the other unit, and while trudging through the woods, he realized he had lost his gas mask.  Having been through a training exercise where he experienced what it was like to not have a mask while being exposed to tear gas, he knew he needed to have his mask on him at all times.  So, without telling his platoon mates, he turned around and backtracked down the path to find his mask, which he was sure he had just dropped at some point along the way.  As he was walking along, he heard voices.  He ducked, and looking through the trees, he saw the other unit in the exercise.  Using some quick thinking, he jumped out of the bushes with his rifle pointed at the other soldiers, surprising them.  He had captured the entire unit!  He led them back to his commanding officer, and was quickly honored for his excellent work, and his immediate officer garnered praise for his fantastic strategy of leaving a man behind the unit to surprise them.  Dad never said a word, but I don't think he ever found his gas mask.

When the men in charge found out about Dad's typing skills, he immediately was reassigned to the typing pool, taking him out of any potential combat situation.  He watched many of his unit move out to duties oversees, many in Vietnam, while he typed letters, memos, and other military correspondence.

Dad also found himself driving VIPs all around the military base because he could drive a Jeep with a manual transmission, He served in the motor pool and was constantly on call for this type of duty.

The hardest thing he had to deal with was typing letters to the families of those soldiers who were killed in the line of duty.  Those are the types of things that broke his heart.  He quietly thanked God for the opportunity to serve in a way that didn't put his own life in danger, though he certainly would have if his circumstances had been any different.  He knew it was a great honor to serve his country, the United States of America.  And I'm really proud to know that he served.

Thank you to all who have served in our Armed Forces, protecting the freedoms that make America the greatest nation in the world.

Have a great day, everyone!

A Fine Fall Weekend

Halloween was fun.  Daughter Melody loves the scariness of the season, and since I wasn't sleeping well, I got up early Saturday morning and decorated.  She was suitably impressed, and happy, when she finally woke up at around 10 a.m. and saw what I did.  We spent the rest of the day getting ready for the festivities.  While I was on the couch most of the time, we did take time to carve a couple of pumpkins.  It was a beautiful Fall afternoon, though I couldn't enjoy much from the couch.

And, when darkness fell, Melody was ready in her Ladybug costume, though she decided to get rid of the uncomfortably fitting wings and go with a cape instead, which made her the Super Bug!

While we didn't have the really cheap Halloween candy, we didn't go all out.  We had Dum Dum lollipops and mini Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, Hershey Bars, Twix, and Twizzlers.  I also had a bunch of mini Comic Books designed specifically for Trick-or-Treaters, and they always go over well, especially with the youngsters.

Melody went out with her friends, doing one pass through our small development.  I manned the door, despite still recovering from pneumonia.  Fortunately, Melody was done in about an hour, and she took over, allowing me to return to the couch.  We ended up with about 50 kids, which is about our average, I guess.  It seemed quieter than usual, but that's probably because I wasn't answering the door once Melody took over.

We shut off the lights and closed the door at around 8:15, and we spent the rest of the evening watching a scary movie.  We were both asleep by 10:30.

I had a better night of sleep last night, and that contributed to feeling a little better.  In fact, it's the best I've felt since before last week's funeral for Melody's great-grandmother, though I'm still coughing like crazy.  But I feel rested.

I love the time change.  Standard Time agrees with me so much more than Daylight Savings.  I find it ridiculous that we even have a time change, and it's even more ridiculous when you consider that Standard Time is shorter in length than Daylight Savings.  The Standard is the Standard, as Coach Tomlin, the Steelers head coach, would say.  Anyway, Melody took advantage of the extended night of sleep and didn't get up until almost 10 a.m.

We had a nice, quiet afternoon, mostly watching football (me).  Melody decided today was the first day of the Christmas Season, and she spent the whole day listening to Christmas music.

Tomorrow will be my fourth day of missing work, between the funeral and pneumonia.  I have a followup appointment with the doctor tomorrow, and I'm hoping he'll clear me to return to work.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend, everyone!

A Case of Pneumonia

Well, on the positive side, I've got a forced weekend of rest and relaxation ahead of me.  That's all I've got, though.

I broke down today and decided I needed to see my doctor.  My cough wasn't improving, and in fact was getting worse since it began over the weekend, and I was losing sleep (and work!) trying to put on a smile and deal with it.

Since I was up, and daughter Melody was getting ready to head off to school, I decided to go to work.  I had already missed two days this week, between my great grandmother-in-law's death and homegoing, and taking off due to my cough and lack of energy yesterday, and I really hate being out of the office for any reason other than vacation.  I sure wasn't feeling like I should be at work, though, and it was apparent that my employees all thought the same thing, given the comments I received from them after they took one look at me.  I guess I looked pretty lousy.  I never had a face for playing poker.  I planned to call my doctor's office to see if they could take me in today, but I remembered that my father, who also sees the doc, told me he was on vacation this week.  Plan B meant heading to the emergency room, which I really didn't care to do, or go to one of those ER-like stand-alone little medical centers.  I chose Patient's First in Columbia.

I left work at 10, not too long after my employees pretty much threatened to MAKE me leave, and drove up 29 from Silver Spring to Columbia.  I arrived at 10:30.  The parking lot was crowded, but the lobby/waiting area was practically empty.  The front desk had a questionnaire on a touchscreen, which asked whether I had recently been to any of several exotic foreign countries, and whether I had any of a number of symptoms, and then it asked a few personal, identifying questions.  I was told to have a seat and I would be called soon.

I was called soon...within 30 seconds, in fact.  I went into a small room where a lady took all of my personal information (including the fact that I had visited a Patient's First once before, with my daughter, about 8 years ago), and then she entered my symptoms (cough, fever, chills, muscle aches and fatigue) into the computer.  I paid my co-pay, then I was told to have a seat in the waiting room and I would be called soon.  Again, I was seated for less than 30 seconds when my name was called, and I entered the main room.  I was weighed, measured, vitaled, and then sent to own private little partitioned room.  A nurse asked for my symptoms (again), and then told me to undress from the waist up and she handed me a gown, with instructions to keep the opening in the back.  Well, at least I could leave my pants on.  I quickly changed, and then was taken to another room where they took two X-rays.  Then I was lead back to my private cabana and told to wait, that the doctor would be there soon.

Soon quickly turned into an hour.  I could hear a lot of activity on the other side of the curtain separating me from the rest of the "hospital," and it sounded like they were having a good time.  But no one came to check on me.  I continued to periodically hack up a bucket of phlegm, and I still felt awful, but all I could do was wait.  Thank goodness for smartphones.  I played a lot of Candy Soda Crush, texted with my father, and continued to expect someone to check on me at any moment.  I had gotten comfortable on the bed, and I soon got pretty drowsy.  I guess I must've dozed off for a few seconds, because soon there was as knock outside my "door" and the doctor entered the room.  I must've jumped three feet off the bed.

The doctor went over my symptoms (again) and showed me the results of the X-rays.  His diagnosis was pneumonia!  I surely didn't expect that!  He said he wanted to do a few more tests before sending me home.  First, he wanted to draw blood to check my white blood cell count.  Second, he wanted to have me use a nebulizer to see if that would help my cough.  He then left again.  Within five minutes, another nurse entered and set up the nebulizer, which was like a breathing tube with an oxygen mist that I would breathe in through my mouth.  But I first had to take a breathing test, using a gadget that measured how quickly I could exhale a breath of air.  My first try was in the 450 range.  The second was around 400.  Then I was told to make myself comfortable on the examining table and the nebulizer was started.  She said it would take about 10 minutes to run through the test.  Then she left. Two minutes later, a second nurse entered to draw blood.  I always enjoy doing that.  When she finished, I was alone again...for about 15 minutes (I thought the test was only 10 minutes?).  The first nurse returned, turned off the nebulizer, and asked if I felt any better.  I could feel a little bit of difference, but not much.  She had me do the exhaling test again, and I hit 500, which she said was the goal.  Then she left.  I was alone again for another 20 minutes.

Finally, the doctor returned.  He concluded again that I likely had pneumonia, and he prescribed an antibiotic and Albuterol, an oral inhaler.  He gave me several printouts with instructions and details about the day's appointment.  He said he wanted me to return in three days for a follow-up.  He said I could get dressed and he would see me on Monday.  And I was free to leave, after over two hours.

I was a bit frustrated that I had been there so long.  The downtime was ridiculous.  But then I reasoned that I was able to get X-rays and all of the tests in one appointment, all of which would not have been possible at my regular doctor's office.  He likely would've sent me to the ER, and I was able to get all of the same things done that the ER would've done.  So I guess it was all good.  I might actually recommend Patient's First, though I still have an issue with how they treated my daughter 8 years ago.  But that's a story for another time.

So I'm home and on forced relaxation, and I'm loaded with all kinds of meds and tools for battling a case of pneumonia.  My wonderful daughter has promised to take care of me all weekend, even with Halloween happening tomorrow night.  And I can't help but thank the Lord for the doctors who are able to care for us when we're sick, for the medicine that assists us in healing our bodies, and a loving family to take care of me when we're feeling lousy.  And I am feeling really lousy.

Have a great weekend, everyone.

Family

Yesterday was the funeral and homegoing celebration for my daughter's great grandmother.  It was a sad occasion, but it also was a learning experience.  It's tough being an in-law in a close-knit family.  I'm related but only through marriage, and that connection is never as close as flesh and blood.  But what yesterday reminded me is that love surpasses all of this.  The love of this family is so strong, and they show me that love during these times of crisis.  Despite Meemaw being 94 and having lived a long and fulfilling life, and spending much of the past dozen years she's lived in the haze of Alzheimer's, the love she showed to her children, which has lived on in each generation following, is what will always be central to the family dynamic.  And it's not just a love for each other.  It's a love for Jesus.  I had a vision during the funeral service of my grandfather, Chester "Pap" Freed, who loved the Lord himself, sitting down to a conversation with Meemaw and Pop, Teresa's grandparents, as well as Teresa.  And that is such a comfort to me.

***

Melody seemed to take the whole experience in stride.  For a little girl who seemingly is surrounded by the stigma of death (losing her mother at 5 months old), she really hasn't experienced loss in any other way.  Several years ago, a close friend lost her father, and that ended up being Melody's first funeral.  It was a closed casket, and she didn't really know him, so the emotional attachment wasn't there.  However, with the death of her great grandmother, this was the first time she has had someone close to her pass away, and I was concerned about how this might affect her.  But she did well.

We talk often about the love of Christ, and eternal life in Heaven, and while she readily admits that she understands it, she hasn't made the decision to bring Him into her heart.  It will be her decision.  I look forward to that day so much.

***

I seem to have come down with a fairly severe bronchial infection of some sort.  I've been miserable.  Hacking cough accompanied by lots of phlegm, body aches, sweating, and chills.  It hit me a few days ago, and while I worked on Tuesday, I steadily got worst as the day went along.  The viewing for Meemaw was Tuesday evening, and I got through it with lots of cough drops.  Wednesday morning was the funeral, and I was able to get some meds to help me.  That was helpful, but I was pretty miserable by afternoon, and we came home and crashed.  It sure didn't help that it was pouring down rain at the cemetery, and as a pall bearer, I was soaked.  After a rough night, I was significantly worse this morning, and I stayed home from work again.  What a miserable day.  I couldn't get comfortable, and my body aches made any movement so painful.  I slept through most of the day, but the cough returned like clockwork anytime the meds wore off, every four hours.  It was a long day.

Tomorrow is Friday, and after being out of the office for the past two days, I hate missing another, but it's probably better to stay home and rest, and not bring any germs into the office.  We'll see how I'm feeling in the morning.

***

Today is my brother's actual birthday, and I want to give a shout out to him.  So proud of my little brother.  Happy birthday, Kiddo!

Have a great evening, everyone!

A Death in the Family and a Birthday

It continues to feel like anything but normal these days.  My new hours at work have been a big adjustment for me, and my days just seem to fly by.  While I love this time of year, I'm not looking forward to when I will be going to work in the dark, and coming home in the dark.

We received some sad news on Friday.  My wife's grandmother, and daughter's great grandmother, went to be with the Lord.  She was 94.  She suffered from Alzheimer's for about a dozen years, and was in a nursing home for much of that time.

I met Meemaw and Pop shortly after meeting my wife, Teresa.  They were so nice.  Pop was a great guy who loved the Lord, and I was proud to know him.  Meemaw was so funny, and I loved listening to her fuss over the things Pop would do or say.  I remember being in Florida visiting with them, and one evening, while riding around Lakeland, getting a nice little tour, they carried on back and forth for about 30 minutes, arguing about where we were going, what we were seeing, and why were we doing it.  It was hilarious.

Pop passed away in February 2004 after a lengthy battle with cancer.  Teresa passed away two months later.  It was a terrible time for the whole family.  Unfortunately, Meemaw didn't know what was happening at the time, and it was right around then that she was moved into the nursing home.  She was there ever since.

We visited her every few months, but it was difficult watching her struggle with not knowing us.  At first, she acted like she knew us, and I'm sure she knew she was supposed to know us.  Later, though, she just didn't know us at all, even though she was as nice as she could be towards us.

We saw her last weekend, and it turned out to be the last time we saw her before she passed on.  Aunt Jody was with her constantly over the past 10 days, and I know this was difficult for her.  She was completely devoted to her mom.  I'm glad to have known her, and I'm doubly glad that Melody was able to know her.  How many of us remember our great grandparents?  Though a few of mine were alive, I was too young to remember them.  Melody will always have this memory.

Rest in peace, Meemaw.

***

Yesterday we celebrated my brother's birthday.  He'll be 41 later this week, but we took advantage of the weekend to spend some time with him and his family.  We watched the Pittsburgh Steelers lose to the Chiefs.  That wasn't the plan.  The Steelers were supposed to win, but with quarterback Ben Roethlisberger still out with a knee injury, and the Steelers playing their fourth (!) string QB, Landry Jones, it was a tough game.  Big Ben will likely be back next week.

Anyway, each year, right around this time, we all get together for Darren's birthday.  My little brother, who is 6'6" tall, looks forward to all of us getting together for a Steelers game and cake and ice cream.  We had a lot of fun.

Darren and I are very different.  He would be the first to say that I didn't prepare my parents for him (or my sister).  I was a straight-shooter.  I didn't rock the boat, or do anything to make my parents mad at me.  I didn't sneak out of the house.  I didn't drink (I still don't).  I don't fight.  I don't curse.  I got good grades.  I did well in school.  I always tried to do the right thing.  I've had a safe government career.  I'm wired for responsibility.

Darren has lived life.  He had no problem being a "bad boy."  He got into trouble.  He once backed the car down the driveway (at the age of 14), right over the bush at the bottom, without my parents ever finding out.  He conveniently placed his bike over the broken bush, telling Mom & Dad that he crashed his bike into it.  They believed him, but were so disappointed and angry when they discovered the truth.  Darren hung out with a bad crowd.  He got into trouble for throwing rocks at passing cars.  He got in trouble for sneaking out of the house at night.  He got into fights.  He struggled in school.  He's still trying to find his niche in life.

He used to get angry with me when HE got in trouble, because I never did.  So we never really became buddies.  We tend to argue when we're around each other too long.  We're much better being together for short doses.  We both can't stand to admit the other is right about something.

He's a good kid, and I'm so proud of him for being true to himself.  He's doing well, and I'm happy for him.  Happy birthday, Bro!

Have a great evening, everyone!