Adieu to '08... Looking Forward to '09

Hey y'all,
Just dropping a line to say howdy as we come to the close of 2008. Lord knows there are a lot of things I won't miss about '08 and am looking forward to 2009. I wonder what 2009 will bring? I'm wondering what to hope for as we dip our tootsies into the sea of '09? I guess my hope for 2009 is for a calmer world, less stress for me and my family. more success for us. Things like that. Good health would sure be a big help! As I type this, the winds are whipping here on the lake and I've already heard a few shingles blow off of my roof. I know one new year's resolution that is rooted in reality... fixing my dang roof.... grrrr.... Besides that, some of the old favorites are there for me to try and stick with... lose weight, more exercising, try and be a better person. Only this year, I'm going to make a conscious effort to get to more blogs/journals as I've been less that stellar in that department over the last year and have lost touch with a couple of folks. I want to make that right and get my poop in a group. I know that's something I want to work at heading into the new year. So what is your new year's resolution and do you think you'll be able to keep it?

Christmas on TV...

As we get closer to Our Lord's birthday, I was thinking about all the Christmas shows that are out on tv now... between ABC Family and the Hallmark Channel, there's a bizillion to choose from. But I'm an old school kind of guy. Now, though I am a christian, and I believe in the REAL meaning of Christmas, I still enjoy Christmas themed shows because even though they are more secular and revolve around holiday characters and activities (santa, shopping, decorating the tree, etc...) They still take me back to a more innocent time. As tough as things are right now with the economy, I enjoy the old school movies and tv shows that highlight the joy of Christmas. Looking back, I started thinking about which of the old school shows and movies were my favorites. I couldn't pick just one of each. But I limited my picks to three of each. So I narrowed it down to my top three Christmas movies and top three Christmas shows.

Top 3 Movies:

1) A Christmas Story- Watching Peter Billingsley as Ralphie and Darren McGavin as his father, this flick is an absolute classic. The fish-net legged stocking lamp is my favorite part. That and when Ralphie inadvertently curses while his dad is changing a flat tire an ends up with a bar of Lifeboy Soap in his mouth... Priceless stuff.

2) It's a Wonderful Life- Yeah, it's a bit schmaltzy when you watch it, but hey, with the economy as it is right now, maybe we should watch this one again and pay attention to the last 45 minutes of the movie...

3) The Santa Clause- Okay, so it's not as old as the others, but I love Tim Allen in the first movie. The sequels that followed were kind of blah, but the first one is always a favorite.


Top 3 TV Shows:

1) Rudolph the Rednosed Reindeer- How can you not get a hoot out of Rudolph flying through the air screaming "I'm cute! I'm cute! She said I'm cuuute!" or Yukon Cornelius... "bumbles bounce"...

2) Santa Claus is Coming To Town- Okay, two words: Bergermeister Meisterberger

3) Charlie Brown Christmas- One of the few that actually references the Birth of Our Lord as the true meaning of Christmas. Plus, I love the tree that Charlie Brown picks out. To this day, when I see a lame looking tree, I refer to it as a "chuck tree"...

There you have it... How about you? What's your favorite Christmas movie and tv show? Let me know and I hope you all are enjoying this time of year...

Christmas Time

Wasn't sure what to write about today as I have been so incredibly busy. But I must say, I'm looking forward to the Christmas season. I love Christmas. Not cause of the commercial reasons, but because there are people that under normal circumstances, would not be very happy during this time of year. Whether it be because of losing a loved one, the end of a meaningful relationship, the idea of being alone... y'know, the whole enchilada. But somehow, God reaches them (either directly, or by using others to reach out to them) and when they don't want to do it, they still manage to get through Christmas and continue to live. How do I know this? Simple, I used to BE that person. Now, I give thanks everyday to God that He allowed me to gut it out and through that misery, I was able to find real happiness. One thing I've learned from all of this is that you have to stick around for the finish, because you really don't know how the end of this movie we call life is going to be. We think we do, but we don't. I never ever thought I'd be as happy as I am right now. But thanks be to God... I AM... My gal pal loves me. My family is hanging in there as best they can. And I have a lot to be thankful for... including friends here that stop by to read up on what's going on in my whacky world. For that, I am also gratefully blessed.

Here's a recipe for a non-alcoholic drink that I found... something Christmas-like... mmmmm

Peppermint Mocha: (makes 4 servings)

8 tsp sugar
8 tbsp milk
16 tbsp vanilla ice cream
8 tbsp peppermint candies
8 tbsp chocolate syrup

Add all ingredients to a blender and blend until smooth. Pour into a cocktail glass, add straw, and serve.

Holiday Hopes... :)

hmmm...
I'm sitting here post turkey day, still smarting over the bruises incurred on the holiday weekend so far... let's see, stood in line only to not get the item I wanted. Um, oh yeah, getting a ticket for not wearing my seat belt... grrrrr.... 65 bucks lighter, I'm still hacked but I know better, so my being ticked off isn't lasting long. Besides it could be worse. I read where some poor guy literally got trampled to death working at Wal-Mart. That's just wrong. That's not what the Christmas spirit is supposed to be. Of course most of what we do now is not associated with the origin of Christmas. But I'm not going to be derailed. I'm looking forward to the Christmas season. I don't get into all the 'stuff' that comes with the season till AFTER Thanksgiving. Now I know we all like to do things for others as part of the holiday spirit. To do things for others is both an honor and a great feeling inside. But what I want to know is this... was there ever a time when someone did something really nice for you? For no apparent reason, other than kindness? It doesn't necessarily have to be a down on your luck story, but I want to hear about circumstances where good people stepped up and without any benefit to themselves, did something to help you or a loved one out at a time you wouldn't have expected? I want to keep my hope for the holidays.

Food... Glorious Food...

I am looking outside and seeing the snow on the ground and the roads are slick with accidents all over the place... and I'm thinking two things:
One- I'm glad that I decided to put another set of tires on the car last week. I knew that the tread on the tires were getting kind of low. So I opted to go get that taken care of... so far, so good. I'm liking the way my car is gripping the road again... I'm a happy guy. And the second thought I'm having is- boy am I glad that I'm at home and not out in 25 degree weather. I didn't turn my heater on until last week because the weather had been pretty mild up until last week when the cold hit us good. My rule of thumb is not to turn on the heat in the house until November 1st. Well, it was mild out so I tried to see if I could go until December 1st but two nights sleeping in 30 degree weather told me that I was crazy. Not to mention frosty... so the heater was turned on and 20 minutes later I was curled up on the couch sawing logs... er, sleeping comfortably. I have been trying to stay the course and not veer too far out of my normal patterns. Just work, home, eat, talk to gal pal, occasionally do laundry, and then hit the sack. I should probably do more exercise and try to get into a little better shape, but I haven't had the time to do it... I know I need to make time... hopefully I'll get into the swing of things after the holidays. I don't even pretend to think that I'll be good for the holidays... I love food... I love to eat... Holidays = Food. Enough said. What do you love to eat most over Thanksgiving, besides turkey? Now I LOVE turkey. But besides the bird, I love stuffing and pumpkin roll with crème filling... ooohh how do I love food...

An Attitude of Gratitude

Hmmm... it's been the busiest time of my life these days. But the thing that I have found is that despite the work and insane schedule of juggling things around, I have discovered a spirit of peace and contentment that I haven't had in a LONNNNNG time... Lou got to go home from the nursing facility as she has two new leg prosthetics that she's working hard on trying to use. She's been on dialysis 3 days a week, but has been improving with her kidney function to the point that they're talking about reducing the amount of time she needs to be dialyzed. For this, I am grateful to the Lord. He is GOOD. Terri still has chemo every three weeks and gets her butt whipped when she does. But her guy came into town and is spending some time here. I haven't seen Terri this peaceful and relaxed for a long time. She has a look of happiness, after all these months that I've seen her go through misery and despair. She is now experiencing a little happiness. I am grateful to the Lord... He is GOOD. My wallet has been a source of derision and despair as I wanted more income. Trying to catch up on bills has been a chore, but I was a little frustrated. I have been working on promoting the Toledo Sports Radio website and have been praying hard for the alliance with a local TV station to become fruitful. My radio partner who has been given the charge of making this whole thing work told me that I would be the lead broadcaster for the high school playoff football games that they did if we could get enough sponsorships. Well, we got the go ahead for the games but each game that we have to do, I already have a commitment to broadcast Cherokee hockey online. So I couldn't do the football games on TV. And to make matters tougher, the football game this weekend is going to be shown statewide on cable. But y'know what? I'm okay with it. My ego doesn't need this for me to be happy. I genuinely was happy for the guy doing the game on TV because he's a good friend and fellow Christian. It's awesome how God works. When I was released by the other TV station, I figured that I'd just stay in the backround and off the air. But those of us that are now working for TSR, of the six of us, five of us are Christians. And we're going to be doing more sports on local TV this year with our new alliance with the other station. It's really wonderful. I've seen my income increase from my job. And in a true God moment, I was at church when our pastor was talking about giving and tithing. I gave double what I normally give because I have been on the road with hockey and missed a couple of weeks. So when I go on Monday and check my mail, I get an unexpected check from the city. I was not expecting anything from them at all. It was completely out of the blue. It was for over 6 times what I gave on Sunday to church. I am grateful to the Lord... He is GOOD... He isn't good because I got some things going my way or because I received a check. But because I want to work on being a better Christian and serve Him. I still screw up lots, but He's always there. And by the way, did I mention... HE IS GOOD!!!

Greet Me In St Louis

Hi y'all,
Right now, I'm down in St Louis getting ready to broadcast a couple of hockey games on Toledo Sports Radio this weekend. I haven't been by much lately and I apologize for that... I have been so stinking busy but I am going to try and stop by pay a visit to your blogs... Most of the stuff I've been tied up with is broadcast related. Trying to get some deals done with local stations and goofy stuff like that. But I needed to at least say hello and let you know that I'm alive and ticking. Terri is trying to hang in there still. Her boy toy is in town so she is all happy and stuff... Lou got her new prosthetic legs and is trying hard to learn how to walk on both of them. But she finally gets to go home next week sometime. So that's a huge blessing. Me, I got to spend a day and a half with the gal pal last weekend and it made all my frustrations and irritations from work and what not... all worthwhile. She always has that effect on me. So I'm doing not too bad. Well, I'll be in touch over the next week or so... Be sure to have a great weekend/ week and I'll post here again in a few more days.... thanks for understanding...

Never Judge A Book By It's Cover...

I sit sometimes and have to laugh at some of the bizzare things I see as I go through life. Every time that I begin to think that I'm a few fries short of a happy meal, someone comes along to show me that maybe I'm not the complete crackpot I thought I was...
Yesterday morning, I jump in my car at 8am to go and watch my nephews' football games. (an A.D.D. moment- why can't pee-wee football games start at more NORMAL start times and not at 8:30 in the freakin' MORNING???!!!!) So, as I'm driving down I-75 towards the games, I see a new, beautiful, fire-engine red Ford Mustang convertible cruising past me effortlessly. As I look over at this dream machine, my sleep-deprived eyes were expecting to see either a middle-aged guy wanting to look young or maybe a 20-ish college girl who thought she was all that and a bag of chips... Well, as usual, I was wrong... I look over to my left for a split second, and sure enough, it was a female. However, it was one for the books... it was an older woman, couldn't make out her features or much less care because of the noxzema on her face. The curlers in her hair were covered by a see-through scarf over her head. It freaked me out... at 8 in the morning... It was very cold at the field but I couldn't get that picture out of my head... I had one set of expectations, and was surprised to find something else. So let me ask you... have you ever went into a situation expecting one thing and something comes out of left field and your jaw drops??

I Wanna Be Se-(Up)dated

Howdy howdy hey....
Hope this finds y'all in good spirits. Me, I'm a little under the weather today with a slight cold and sore throat. But other than that , I'm alright. I haven't spoken much about the sisters so I should do an update. Lou is improving more and more. They've reduced the amount she's had to go to dialysis and they're going to fit her with new prosthetics. So things are a lot better for her, much to my relief... Terri is still hanging in there. She gets hit with chemo every three weeks, which is so hard. But she's battling as best she can. But right now, she's had a few problems with her kidneys. So we'll see how she responds to treatment. My gal pal is doing okay. She still puts up with my crazy schedule and though she doesn't see me as much as she wants, she still loves me and is my biggest fan. I only say that cause I don't take her for granted and I try to go out of my way to let her know that she is so amazing to me and I love her deeply. She reads this space here so I like to let her know that she means everything to me... and that I am blessed to have her in my life.

Working For The Weekend...

Had a long and rough week last week... but I just started thinking about my gal pal and our time together. Whenever I get down... I go see the gal pal... she brings me up like no one else... I am blessed... that's it in a nutshell... my girl is something else... and I'm grateful. Hope y'all are having a good week. Me, it's getting better and between her and listening to the co-workers talk about Dancing With The Stars... I guess life can't be all bad...lol... But I do change the channel when Chloris Leachmen comes on... ugh... I'm pulling for Warren Sapp... He's a big guy like me and he's light on his feet. Plus he's just lots of fun. Can't go wrong with that...

Who Am I??

Thanks to my friend Riccie for this little get to know... me...

1. WERE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE? Everyone and their brother wanted me to be named after one of the Beatles. I'm glad my folks didn't. I think I was named after St. Michael the Arch Angel... either way, I'm glad I wasn't named after Ringo...
2. WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU CRIED? I can't remember...
3. Do you like your handwriting? NO
4. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE LUNCH MEAT? Chicken, Turkey and Corned Beef...
5. DO YOU HAVE KIDS? none that I'm aware of...lol
6. IF YOU WERE ANOTHER PERSON, WOULD YOU BE FRIENDS WITH YOU? I dunno, it depends on when I would meet me...
7. DO YOU USE SARCASM A LOT? ME?? Nooooo... NOT ME.... lol
8. DO YOU STILL HAVE YOUR TONSILS? Yes I do....
9. WOULD YOU BUNGEE JUMP? Oh heck no...
10. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CEREAL? Well, I'm lame... Cheerios!
11. DO YOU UNTIE YOUR SHOES WHEN YOU TAKE THEM OFF? No Way!!!
12. DO YOU THINK YOU ARE STRONG? Not really... just trying to make a go of life... that's about it.
13. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ICE CREAM? Butter Pecan or Strawberry. I can't have ice cream anymore but when I did... mmmmm...
14. WHAT IS THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT PEOPLE? APPEARANCE (SLOVENLY VS CLEAN) I'm an eye man...
15. RED OR PINK? why be greedy... BOTH!!
16. WHAT IS THE LEAST FAVORITE THING ABOUT YOURSELF? AGAIN, PHYSICALLY OR PERSONALITY???? Too many to list here...
17. WHO DO YOU MISS THE MOST? My dad... he was something else
18. DO YOU WANT EVERYONE TO SEND THIS BACK TO YOU? Not necessarily, but it's okay...
19. WHAT COLOR PANTS AND SHOES ARE YOU WEARING? Midnight Blue and Black...
20. WHAT WAS THE LAST THING YOU ATE? Watermelon
21. WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW? The radio
22. IF YOU WERE A CRAYON, WHAT COLOR WOULD YOU Be? Aqua
23. FAVORITE SMELLS? My gal pal with her favorite perfume, Fresh baked bread.
24. WHO WAS THE LAST PERSON YOU TALKED TO ON THE PHONE? My radio partner...
25. DO YOU LIKE THE PERSON WHO SENT THIS? Absolutely
26. FAVORITE SPORTS TO WATCH? Hockey... Hockey... oh yeah, football too...
27. HAIR COLOR? Black with a few grays tossed in for fun...lol...
28. EYE COLOR? two black olive pits jammed into my skull...lol...
29. Do you wear contacts? nope
30 FAVORITE FOODS? ALL OF IT.... I flat out, LOVE food... lol
31. SCARY MOVIES OR HAPPY ENDINGS? Happy Endings
32. LAST MOVIE YOU WATCHED? Still Crazy (Billy Connolly, Stephen Rea) came out in 1998
33. WHAT COLOR SHIRT ARE YOU WEARING? Blue
35. HUGS OR KISSES? I am greedy.... BOTH
37. MOST LIKELY TO RESPOND? Don't know
38. LEAST LIKELY TO RESPOND? Don't know
39. What book are you reading now? 90 Minutes In Heaven
40. WHAT IS ON YOUR MOUSE PAD? Logo of the Saskatchewan Roughrider football team...
41. WHAT DID YOU WATCH ON T.V.. Fox News Channel
42. FAVORITE SOUND? Music and sports radio...
43. ROLLING STONES OR BEATLES? Neither one...
44. WHAT IS THE FARTHEST YOU HAVE BEEN FROM HOME? Hawaii
45. Any new news in your life? Not yet... subject to change though...
46. WHERE WERE YOU BORN? In a cave, during the days when dinosaurs walked the earth...
47. WHOSE ANSWERS ARE YOU LOOKING FORWARD TO GETTING BACK? Didn't I answer this earlier? oops sarcasm...lol
48. WHAT TIME IS IT NOW? It's now... and it's NOW (plus 7 seconds)... and it's still... NOW.... aiiiiiiiigh!

Extreme Makeover: my hometown edition...

So, it's been a while since I've been on here writing. Sorry about that. I have been insanely busy and have not been doing much except for working and more working... My fair hometown of Toledo just had a visit from the folks at ABC's “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition”... Some couple from a neighborhood in the west end got a new house. It was filmed this past week. They and their 11 kids (mostly adopted) went on vacay and the house was built. They came home this past Sunday and I think most of the city of Toledo came out to see it. I didn't bother because I had a hockey game to broadcast online but I knew many people that were there and worked on the project. It was a great experience for all of them and I'm glad for the family as they were very deserving. The news media here were just fawning all over the cast... they had a lineup of Pauly, Rachel, Rib, and Ty...
Now from the “what do you mean there's no Santa Claus?” department:
Apparently, since they're at a build for 7 days, around the clock, the stars have a little freedom to just relax. From a couple of guys that were putting some of the flooring in the house, “Pauly just sat there and smoked cigarettes most of the time we were working...” And from a couple of others: “Rachel spent most of her time in her trailer. For one of her shoots, she came out and they sprayed her with some sawdust to make her look like she was working it and they cleared the area of the volunteers so that they could film her “working”.... Now normally, I would say something really crass and mean because I know of a couple of folks that worked at the build and they said the same thing. The designers don't do much in the way of the physical labor... It's okay, I choose to acknowledge that it's the 100's volunteers that do all of the work and get very little of the credit. They're the ones who make it special. And for that, I am very proud of my hometown. I still am very much a fan of the show... The airing of this show will be sometime in November. So that'll be cool. Oh and by the way... there's no easter bunny either... have a nice day... ;)

Calm Before The...

Yippeeeee....
Well, I've been able to shake the thoughts of Chloris Leachman out of my head and am able to face the world again. Things are calm at the moment and sometimes that really scares me. It's been so long since I've had an uneventful week, that I don't know how to handle it sometimes. I'm just so used to pressure filled crisis of some sort or another that it seems odd that I'm sitting here feeling peaceful and almost waiting for the next big issue to come along. I don't want to think or feel like that. I want to be peaceful. I want to relax and find a way to enjoy life. To feel good about going about my life and be able to enjoy it. In other words... I want to be my old, whack-job self that is such a goof. Drives me crazy sometimes... I want to relax. Diving head first into broadcasting sports has been a big help for me. I try to keep prayerful and I gotta say, I've been a lot more peaceful and calm since I started getting in the Word every morning. I'll be honest, I didn't start out that way... Reading the Bible was about as interesting as going to a yawning festival. Till I actually tried to find out what the stuff in that book meant. When I started yearning to learn more in it, I began to grasp some of what is in there. It took a while for me to learn that I'll never completely get the meaning of everything in it... But it took longer for me to realize that it's OK for me not to understand it all... That's why I continue to read it. To find new things in there to help enlighten me as I try to do life with those around me... Hope this finds you in a good way and with a smile on your face... If not, do what I do... when I need to perk up, I look in the mirror, and just say "you're such a dork"... and I usually feel better. You can even do what a friend of mine did... My friend was feeling out of sorts, kinda blah... well, he told me that he went into the bathroom feeling that way and then he looked into the mirror and as loud and proud as he could, he said: "Mik is such a dork!"... He said he was feeling like a million bucks all day... in fact when he changed the ending of that statement to include other names, he said he got out of his mood and was whistling by the latter part of the day. So, if you're feeling down at all, feel free to look in the mirror and say, "Mik is such a dork" and maybe you too, will feel better... Have a great weekend... :)

Bizarre Dreams or Random Thoughts? Depends...

Hi kids,
I'm in a crazy mood these days. Mostly because work is nuts and I now am doing broadcasting work which means I'm going to start travelling all over the place and won't be keeping the close eye on the sisters or spend any free time with the gal pal as much as during the summer. But they know what I do and are very understandiing... So I'm happy for that...
Now, for an A.D.D. moment... The lineup or cast for Dancing With the Stars was revealed earlier this week. I was yawning my way through it... ZZZzzzzz Lance Bass, Toni Braxton (okay she's good looking)... yawn... Warren Sapp (he'll tackle the judges and eat them first)....Zzzzzz... Susan Lucci (well, she's okay to be in the cast since Jane Seymour proved it can be done)... snorrrrrre... Chloris Leachman...zzzzzzzzz... huh?.... wait a minute! Chloris "Phyllis" Leachman??? She was old when I was a kid!! She made it to DWTS? She is 82 years old!!!! Are you kidding me? I don't have a prejudice against seniors. But in a competition like this, the first two words that sprang to my sleepy head were "broken hip"... And of course, being in the health care line of work by day, you start to have bizarre thoughts going through your head. And I'll apologize in advance, but the number one thought that went through my head was the obvious: I hope that underneath Chloris Leachman's ballroom gown, she's wearing Depends undergarments. I keep thinking that the folks at Depends have a great marketing opportunity here. Wait a minute, I have an incredibly gorgeous girlfriend whom I love more than life itself, and I'm waking up here, thinking about an 82 year old's Depend's undergarments???? HELLLLLLPPP!!!! Quick! Someone get me a bottled water and a motivational CD! Why am I thinking about Dancing With the Stars anyway? AHHHHHHHHH.... Please, God, make it stop!!!! No more thoughts of Chloris Leachman... Please make it go away..... okay, Mik, repeat after me: "I love my gal pal"... keep saying that till you fall back asleep and the nightmare will soon end... I HOPE!!!!

keeping on... keeping on...

Just checking in from the pier...
Here's a couple of photos featuring my godzilla-sized skull and my much more attractive better half... she has no idea how beautiful she is... That she loves me is something that I don't take for granted. I only pray that I can keep doing the right things to keep her feeling that way. I think about it and I notice the difference between this relationship and any other relationship I've been in, is that even though some time has passed, both she and I still look at each other as if we were just starting out... namely in the beginning of a relationship, you get all goo-goo eyed, and you're punch drunk and you can't wait to just spend all kinds of time with that person. You'll make accommodations for that person because you want to be with them. You're so smitten with them that it doesn't matter what you're doing as long as you're with them. Well, the gal pal and I still feel that way about each other. But the reason for that is because we both realized that with people breaking up left and right all over the place, the one thing we're both committed to is what you do when you're first smitten with that other person in the beginning of the relationship... you think about the other person FIRST before you think about yourself. That's what you do in the beginning of a relationship (hence, the goo-goo eyes, the "I love everything" feeling, the willingness to go anywhere or do anything with that person so long as you're wth them)... Because I don't get to spend as much time with the gal pal as we'd like, I don't think about myself when I see her, I think about her first. And she feels that way about me. I think that's why we get along so well. We're both committed to keeping that train of thought entact...
Went to go see Lou at rehab... she has been really struggling with some short term memory loss, and just feeling overall awful at times. But I went and seen her and she was able to remember things about me and was in a mood. So I wasn't happy for that. When I first got there, she was very, very depressed. But when I got there and she told me she had been experiencing the diahrrea blues... my first comment was "oh, so you're full of sh**, so what else is new? I've known that for years..." I thought Lou's mouth was going to fall off of her face... She was not expecting that from her little brother. At least not quite like that... I surprised her with that. We explained that the anti-biotic she is on right now for the next few days, was the reason for her making frequent BM's. Once she grasped that concept, she was okay with that and when she and Terri started picking on me about my gal pal and our relationship, she felt much, much better and by the time I left, she was laughing and felt a lot more upbeat.
So, another week of work lies ahead for me, and the start of broadcasting high school football games on Toledo Sports Radio online. I'm looking forward to it. But it means my schedule becomes very hectic and I won't get to see my gal pal as much I want to. But I'm blessed in that she understands and is so encouraging for me to do the job I love. One of many jobs that I love... The one job I look forward to the most??? Oh, that's easy... loving her... no question about it... Y'all have a great week...

And then there are days like these... When Mik's worlds collide...

As of late, I've written of some of the struggles of my family and loved ones. It's been rough sometimes. Filled with worry, frustration, disappointment, anxiety... the usual suspects. So with all of that going on, I also tried to temper things with the fact that my gal pal's parents were going to be meeting my family for the first time on the weekend. I was worrying... I'll be honest. I was poopin' pickles wondering how was I going to clean the place up and make it homey enough and get food ready for the gathering on Saturday. I figured I'd be toast. But the one thing I believed and worked at trying put into action, was my faith. It's easy to say 'I have faith' or 'Yeah, I have faith in God'... I can give lipservice with the best of them. Well, this time, I knew I had to really put my money where my mouth is... I had to lay it down and let go and give it to God. Considering the back drop of everything leading up to this, the easy thing to do would be to just say 'the hell with it' and be a whiner about everything. But then, by ME having the utter gall to think I could do all this alone... HA! Who's kidding who here? I knew I couldn't... so I prayed... I prayed hard. And just when things seemed darkest... God answered my prayer. He put it in my kid sister's heart to come over with her sons to help me get the place presentable by decorating the walls and windows... (I'm such a bachelor... I don't know jack about decorating)... The boys went swimming at the beach and had a blast. I began to feel so much better. I was getting stuff done a little at a time. My refridgerator (which died a horrible death) was in the kitchen and the garbage men wouldn't take it so I put it out for someone to take it. I had the small micro-fridge though to get me through the weekend. So I knew I'd get through that. Then the coup de gras... The food for the get together. Major problem... I'm not much of a cook. I can do some things okay... but not great. Not even close. So I was over at Terri's house. She was still wobbly from the chemo therapy. But being Terri, she asked me about the weekend up coming. I told her I was probably going to by some take out or something and put it out for everybody. She said 'no way'. I asked her if she thought she'd feel well enough to help me a little. She said 'I will be fine' and offered to cook for me. As for cooking skills, let's put it this way... growing up at home, when my friends would come over and we'd get ready to go out... they asked if she'd feed them instead of us going out to eat. To say Terri is an awesome cook is a gross understatement. To this day, I'd rather go to her house to eat dinner, than to go out to a 5-star restaurant for free. So I went over on Saturday morning and loaded up my car with everything and headed back to my place. Oh, did I mention Terri is an awesome cook? That girl is amazing! My sister whipped up two distinct meals in case some of the folks didn't like mexican food. In addition, she made two different large desserts for after dinner. And sent me away with extra chairs and a big card table in case I didn't have enough room on my table for everything. I tried to give her more money for everything, but she wouldn't take it. "Ah, I just grabbed a few things out of my freezer and whipped them together." That's typical Terri. The only thing she didn't do was come to the get-together because she went to the rehab place to be with Lou. Now Lou is feeling better and improving from everything. She was miserable and disoriented earlier in the week. But on the weekend, she started to remember everything and was feeling a lot better. And they say there is no God... HA! So I bring the food and everything in the house and my gal pal and her parents arrive. My other family members are late in arriving so it's just the four of us. I wanted to just grab a cane and top hat and entertain them or something to keep them from just sitting there and doing nothing. My gal pal's mom offered to help me, but I told her that she was here to relax and take it easy, and not to be working. So I'm getting stuff ready. And then since I knew they were hungry, I saw where Terri whipped up some homemade salsa... and tortilla chips to go with them. So I grabbed those and served them that to tie them over till the meal. Well, they started by saying "just a little Mik, just to try it. Don't want to ruin our appetite." Uh, two plate fulls of chips and salsa later, my family show up. Then the fun began...
In another hand of God moment, my family and her family simply hit it off perfectly. My nephews just loved her parents and vice-versa. My kid sister was a riot and my other older nephew's fiance' came over and I just sat there and watched them all just have a blast. By the end of the day, my gal pal's parents were almost demanding that my kid sister and brother in law and the boys go down to their place and spend time at their cabin. How could this be topped?
Simple. God gave us Sunday! I woke up and met my gal pal's family at the motel and we headed to church. I was a little apprehensive at first because where I go to church, it's a little more uh, contemporary, than the church where they go. But even that, was not a problem as once the service started and the band played, they rocked the house. And the message preached really hit home and hit me but good. It was about how we all in some way or another try to impress... not in the same way, or to the same degree. But we have in the past. I thought about this weekend and how I was during the week and could only smile and nod. After church, my gal pal's dad told me "that first song was a little hard rocking for me but that's because of my age. Other than that, I'm right on board with what your church is doing Mik." I smiled and we headed to eat lunch. The afternoon had us go do a little window shopping at an outdoor mall. My gal pal's dad bought a pair of Fubu tennis shoes and showed them to me and asked if I had ever heard of them. I held back my chuckle and smiled and said "yes, it's a well known brand... amongst the young hip-hop generation." He liked them though so he was happy, and in the end, that's what it's all about.
After the outdoor mall, my gal pal's parents went back to the motel to rest, and me and the gal pal went to go see Lou. Terri was already there so she got to meet both of my sisters. They hit it off wonderfully and I didn't have to spend much in the way of introductions. They started talking together and picking on me a little... after spending time there, my gal pal and I met her parents later for dinner at Applebee's. I ordered a combo plate that included a keylime pie for dessert and my gal pal reminded me that I'm diabetic and shouldn't be eating that so I reluctantly put the spoon down. lol..
After dinner, her parents headed back to the motel to relax and me and my gal went over to the pier by the beach to watch the sunset. The water was calm, and even though it's August, it was a little on the chilly side. I got a coat for her to wear while we were out there and spent time watching the beautiful midwestern skyline. I just looked in her eyes and fell in love with this girl over and over again. I told her flat out "honey, you are stuck with me.." to which she happily responded "para siempre" which is spanish for 'forever'... if I wasn't diabetic before this, I would've been with the gooey, sticky-sweet nothings we were saying to each other...lol... it was simply perfect.
As they left for home on monday morning. I had two prevailing thoughts... the first one was "God is so good." I came into this weekend in a state of anxiety and disorganization, and He blessed me with peace, and perspective and I believed in Him and He put people in my path that allowed me to have such an amazing weekend. To Him be the Glory. The second prevailing thought from this previously very staunch and stubborn bachelor was: "y'know, I'm going to have to marry that girl..."

Slalom... dips, curves, twists and turns

Hi,
Not much is going on here in the great lakes region. Lou did finally get stabilized enough for them to amputate her other leg. She's going to be hospitalized for a while yet. She still has some of the effects of the infection, but they're trying to treat her with strong anti-biotics. They're still dialyzing her as her kidneys aren't functioning like they should. But will hopefully start feeling better as we move along here. She's still frustrated and hates being in the hospital. I don't blame her at all for feeling that way. I pray that God does a great work in her to help strengthen her faith.
Terri, on the other hand, got some fair news... her latest pet scan shows that while the four lesions are still metasisized, they have not worsened or spread. The crappy part is that she'll have to be on chemo indefinately. And it has really kicked her butt... However in typical Terri fashion, she is trying to get me focused on my gal pal and her family coming up to visit me this weekend... or as I like to call it: "When Mik's worlds collide"...lol... I'm not nervous at all... a little excited maybe. But not too wound up. I'm trying to stay positive and look forward to a nice visit with them. I'll take them to meet Lou and Terri at some point. And let them get a view of life from my perspective. They also want to take in a service where I go to church so I'm a little geeked about that. So the week and weekend ahead will feature what seems to be the norm these days... highs and lows... and I come out of it alive and grateful to God for doing so... We'll see how it goes... stay tuned !

Nine, Nign, Nein...

ahhhh, more fun...
So, Lou is doing MUCH better. She had to be dialyzed NINE days in a row... Crap! They took ninety... (wait)... NINETY freakin' pounds of fluid off of her. She's antsy and frustrated and wants to get out of there desperately. But she knows that she has to be patient. The infection has to be cleared up and once that happens, they can amputate the other leg. So that's where things are right now. I'm glad she's feeling better. But I think she knows that she's got a boatload of therapy ahead of her. Not something she's thrilled about, but she knows there's no other way. The one area where she's improved a little bit too is that her kidneys appear to be working again. She's had some output so that's a good thing. Slow steps... anyway. There was one really nice moment that we had that I've never done before. Lou was in her hospital bed and was talking about how anxious and frustrated she was... I told her that nothing I said could change that. I couldn't pretend to know what she was going through. It was something I felt lost about. But I told her that she needed to get into the Word because the enemy would use her anxiety against her. That he would use a spirit of fear against her. She looked at me and said "would you read some to me?" How could I not? I knew she needed some reassurance about herself and about feeling better in her faith. I read her some scripture from Phillipians and after I read it, I started talking to her and telling her about what I thought it meant. I told her about the story of the author of that book, the apostle Paul, and I told her a little bit about his story. How he went from being a persecutor with the name of Saul, to being persecuted as he went fearlessly to tell the Good News as Paul. I think, once I broke it all down for her, she calmed down and began to relax. I didn't tell her that she couldn't feel frustated or upset about being stuck in the hospital... again. But rather, it's okay and human of us to feel like that, and heck, I'd feel like that too. However, do not give dominion to the enemy by allowing the spirit fear to consume her. Of course in keeping with our smart alec sense of humor, I said "Do me a favor? Lie to me and tell me this helped." She laughed and said thanks that she did feel a little more peaceful. But knowing Lou, she'll get antsy again, but I'll keep an eye out for her and let you guys know what's up... I humbly say thanks to you for your prayers and good wishes... It has done more wonders than you know. It has strengthened my resolve to keep my faith entact. Can't ask for more than that!

Slow and Steady...

Well, things are slowly improving for Lou as she was moved out of ICU and into a regular room. But that's because they took a boat-load of fluid off of her and dialyzed her four days in a row. Her kidneys still don't work and they're still going to have to amputate her other leg as well. But she is still hanging in there. I was visiting with her yesterday and she was pretty miserable because of the pain in her leg. I don't how soon till she is well enough to have it removed. But, once it happens, well, it's a whole new round of rehab and learning to deal with being a double amputee. Lou is not a spring chicken. I'm hoping she'll have the energy to fight and continue to live life... Terri is hanging in there. She found out her gyn/oncologist is moving to Columbus and that there is only one other gyn/onc doc in our city who has a toilet paper roll of a list for patients.So after praying on it, she made the choice to follow her doc and make the commute to Columbus, a 2 and a half hour trip each way for her to be treated, sevral-times a month... Meanwhile, nothing else in the land of Mik is going on right now... The gal pal and her mom and Aunt are off on a shopping trip to Tennessee so I'm going to spend some time with my family. As much as I talk about them here, I don't see them as much as I should. But I hope to get to hang out with them a little bit. Plus, I'd really like to sneak in a little golf somewhere along the way... I miss hitting that little white ball all over the place. It takes my mind off of things and I can laugh about how lousy I am at it...

(Tell Me Why) I Don't Like Mondays....

My apologies to the Boomtown Rats... But I've gotta tell ya, I've had better days. Lou got rushed to the hospital and is in ICU. She has a ton of problems going on with her and I got a phone call at work today from Terri who was bawling and said that Lou was taking a turn for the worst. I went numb. I got in my car and drove over there. I went into the ICU and was expecting to see a very grim and bleak scene. To my relief, I saw Lou with her eyes open, awake, and alert. They told me that her blood pressure was in the toilet but when I looked at it for myself, I was feeling a bit better. She has got a real long road to go... dialysis, removing fluid from her, and they've made the decision that she's now going to have to lose her other leg too... This whizzes... but I'm trying to keep my thought process on the fact that she can still have a quality of life if they can treat her other issues... Lots of things going on with her... Say a prayer if you could, okay? Thanks. Terri is still trying to deal with her own chemo treatment and couldn't go to the hospital and was torn apart over it... But her immune system is so compromised, that she couldn't afford to catch anything hospital-borne... But I went over and kept her updated. It's wierd. I'm frustated a little bit because it always seems that crap like this happens around my birthday. Let's see... Lou nearly exits stage left in ICU. The anniversary of my dad's passing is tomorrow (wednesday). And here I sit, another year older and sitting in an intesive care unit watching one sister fight for her life and then I see my other sister battle at her home for a shot at life... It's tempting to feel sorry for myself... But I know that my sisters would give me a big crap-burger if I did.... here's a perfect example of Lou letting me know that she's still got plenty of life in her....
The scenario: I'm visiting with her in the morning and I step out so that the nurse's aide can help her with a bath. I'm sitting in the waiting room and Lou's best friend Nan shows up. I talk with Nan and I don't see my kid sister Angie walk by and head into the unit. After a little while, I let Nan go in to the ICU to check on Lou. She sees Angie and they proceed to have the following conversation (as related to me by Angie):

Nan: Hi Angie
Angie: Hi Nan
Nan: So Lou, are you feeling better?
Lou: Mmmm... no, I still hurt. And I'm hungry! Get me some food...
Angie Don't worry Lou, lunch will be here soon...
Lou: Okay, so Nan, where's my brother?
Nan: He's out in the waiting room.
Lou (to Angie): go get him and tell him I said to get his a** in here.
Angie: Uhhhhhh....
Lou: He said he was here to visit me but he's out there and that's just bullsh**
Angie (shaking like jello, trying not to laugh out loud): okay Lou....
Nan (jaw aptly dropped and could not get words out)

Even the nurses were cracking up about that one... I've got more hope for her at the end of the day than I did at the start.... thanks to her busting my chops.

Shoot The Works...

Hope everyone is well. Me, it's still crazy but I'm hopeful things will work out as I pray for the best. The girls are still trying to hang in there. They are more durable than the energizer bunny. They (try) to keep going and going and going... you get the idea. Terri's port got plugged up so she had to have another one surgically put in. On the day of the procedure, I go and pick her up at her house for this thing, not saying much cause I didn't know what she'd be thinking about. I figured I'd just play off of whatever she was feeling and roll with it. Well, she gets in my car full of fire and venom. At this point, I'm thinking “uh-oh, what went wrong?” and was preparing for the worst. Anytime I've seen Terri upset, there's usually been a major catastrophe involved. So I'm expecting awful or painful information to hit me between the eyes. When I ask what's up, she barrels into a complete whining session about... about... POLITICS... what the??? I'm over here thinking either she got more bad news about her cancer or something is seriously wrong with Lou... but nooooo... She wants to vent about the election and a bunch of trifle little things that I could care less about. Now for the record, my sister and I are diametrically opposed in our political views. That has never bothered me. We take potshots at each other's issues and it's like a sport with us. She loves to get all worked up and when she does, I start calling her “Norma Rae” from the Sally Field movie and that gets her going even more. She loves to start in on me when I go over to visit her and Lou. She keeps hoping that she'll change my mind and I keep telling her that there will be blizzard warnings in hades before that happens. But we always keep it civil. That's the most important thing. Anyways...
My little sleepy town had it's big city-wide garage sale this past weekend. Part of the Independence Day celebration. We had people that came in from all over to our little plot of real estate and see what deals they could find. I found a computer and monitor (old, but works) for two dollars. We also had the fireworks on Saturday night at the beach where tons of people from different towns came to the lake to see it. The beach was absolutely packed to the gills with humanity. But the folks were all in really good spirits so that really made the whole thing enjoyable. The weirdest thing I saw was people dancing on the beach to the music that the DJ over on the pier was playing. Not that they were dancing. But rather, what they were dancing to... C'mon people... since when do you see 10 and 12-year old kids doing the macarena??? I thought that died a good death back in the 90's where it couldn't disappear fast enough. The funniest thing on the beach was watching people both young and attempting to be young, doing the cha-cha slide and other various forms of line-dancing... in sand!! Let's just say that it's a little tougher to do than it looks. And NO, I wasn't one of the folks out there trying to dance. I was busy watching little kids playing catch with a wiffle ball... I wanted to be out there with them on that... After the fireworks, I walked back over to my house (takes all of 45 seconds or so) and went in and got all ready for bed since I knew I had to get up early for church the next morning. I must've forgotten to pass that little nugget of information onto my neighbors. They were up well into the middle of the night shooting off all different kinds of fireworks and explosives... and the funny part is that we live just down the street from the police station! So I oversleep and wake up less than well rested for church and as I get to my car and get ready to make the 30 minute drive to church, I notice that my car is completely covered in orange and gray powdery soot. It was the residue from all of the fireworks that the folks from the neighborhood shot off in the midnight sky. The street looked like a war zone with all of the leftover and exploded bottle rockets and the other various things. I shook my head in disbelief. I drive quickly to church and just do get there in time for the start and enjoy the service like always. It ministered to my spiritual needs and gave me things to think about as I head into another week of challenges and ups and downs that we all go through, better known as 'daily life'. I left there feeling better about things and when I came and looked at my car, I couldn't help but laugh. I headed for home and stopped at the car wash and my car looked shiny and new afterwards. It was a beautiful day and when I got back home, there were already lots of people at the beach and when I drove down my street, the place had been cleaned up by the city and in the little field across the street from my little house, there were about 6 little kids, under the age of 9, playing baseball. They had one bat, and one ball... no gloves and no bases. I had some old throw down bases that were collecting dust in the trunk of my car, so I immediately got them out and gave them to the kids. You would have thought I gave them gold. They're eyes lit up and they said “you must be a coach or something“... I just smiled and told them to have fun but be careful and I walked back over to my house. I fell asleep but was awakened by my gal pal calling me from Florida where she and her whole family is on vacation. She misses me already... wow, what a novel change from my past relationships. I told her not to worry about me but to just have a great time on the beach and shopping (her two favorite pastimes) and that I'll be busy working (hint: sleeping on the couch) while she's out having a blast. Have a great week y'all, and now if you'll excuse me, I have more, uh, work to do... ;)

Dog Gone It...

Hmmm... just when I think that there is (if nothing else) some peace in my family's world... Yeah, right. It doesn't stop. Went to visit the girls today. Terri was a little nervous because apparently a neighbors dog got out of the yard. I didn't think much of it until I saw the dog... One big mother of a pit bull with an attitude. Apparently, none of the neighbors knew that the new neighbor had a pit bull. So, the cops were called and when the dog finally goes back to the yard where he escaped from, the cop shows up and drives his cruiser right up against the double gate, so as to keep the dog in there. Plus, I was a little uncomfortable because the dog was huge and the fence wasn't very big. But the cop driving the cruiser gets out and comes and asks for some rope to tie the gates closed while we waited for the dog warden to show up. I give him some and the cop looks at me and says "hey, that dog's eyeing you up and down. You'd better watch your a** because he's looking pretty ticked." I smile and say back "yeah, he's thinking all-you-can-eat buffet... y'know what I mean?" The cop started laughing and we waited for an eternity for the warden to show up. The warden shows up finally and we show were the dog was, the fact that it had no tags or license etc..., the warden opts to contain the dog and drag it in to warden's vehicle. And right after that, the owners of the dog show up. They weren't too happy and the cop and dog warden both explained what happened and the fact that there were lots of little children running around in the neighborhood. Not in a rural area... but in the city in a block neighborhood... kids running, playing, riding their bikes... not an ideal place for an overly aggressive pit bull. But with the removal of said dog, maybe the neighbors will settle down a bit and get back to just being annoying... ;)

(Getting Shot) Down To Earth...

I had to laugh... I was getting ready to interview a couple of the women football players and air it during the halftime of our last regular season game. I turn on my computer and right there on my desktop is a picture of my beloved, my best girl, my love... my gal pal. The player looks at the picture and says "Hey Mik, is that your girlfriend?" I smile and proudly say "Yep, she sure is" and the player says "wow, she's really pretty." I say "thank you" and as I'm preparing to get things going for the interview, this player coughs up a little gem: "Geez, she's really pretty. How did YOU get her?" The other girl football players bust up laughing hysterically and when the player realizes what she said, she freaked and says "oh my gosh, I'm so sorry. " Me, I thought it was funny. It also kept me grounded and not to get egotistical or to take myself seriously. And to be grateful for a great lady for me to love... and even better... she loves ME... woo-hoo!!!

When Transcendentalism and Banjos Collide...

Greetings from the land of Appalachia... I was asked by my gal pal to go with her to a wedding of a friend she's known since childhood. This friend lives in Colorado but was coming back home to her country roots to get married. She was marrying a guy from out there. The key element to this whole entry is found in the last two words of the previous sentence. Out there. Okay, first things first. I'm a midwesterner and I come from the city and grew up in the hood. Drug dealers, prostitutes, gangs.... you name it. I now live just outside the city in a small area outside of town. I've gotten to discover a little bit of small town life and have come to embrace it. I have learned to have a sense of humor about all things small town. But nothing, I mean NOTHING... prepared me for what I was about to experience. The things I experienced, I've seen before... but the way they were brought together, it had me scratching my head and I was floored. I began to be convinced that perhaps the Second Coming might be arriving a little earlier than I thought... I know I know you're saying “Mik old son, what could possibly be that warped that it freaked you out so bad?”
I'll try and set the scenario in the most positive way possible and try not to sound judgmental. Up in the hills of the western part of Appalachia, in a rural tiny hick town on a small farm. Out in the grass field is where the wedding is going to take place, okay? No big deal, I've been to and shot video for outdoor weddings that took place on a farm. Not a problem. Out by a big tree, the chairs for the people were situated to face the tree which was going to be the focal point of the event. I was able to get my gal pal over there in her wheelchair. I am introduced to all of her friends from her school days and all of them are just knockouts. I mean very very attractive. Even my girlfriend looks at me later on and says “aren't my friends all pretty?” Now right there is a land mine waiting to detonate if ever there was one. Knowing my gal pal, it was an innocent question. But to me (and any guy on the planet), it was one I wasn't about trip over and set off. After all, I am a guy and we are always brought down by questions such as this one. So in an endeavor that required quick thinking and as much energy as my little brain could muster in such a short amount of time, I had to come up with something charming and sincere. Time was the critical element here. Either I took my time to say something thoughtful, and get her wondering if maybe I was taking too long to answer and WHY was I taking so long. OR if I said it too quickly, that maybe I was thinking more about them than I was about her. Thankfully, my radio reflexes came into effect. I took all of three seconds. Perilously close to taking too long, I looked my beloved right in the eye and smiled and said with as much firm warmth as I could muster in such short order: “yeah, I guess... but you're still better looking than any of them. Easily, I got the best of the bunch.” Jackpot! My gal pal got a big grin that lit up the entire place on such a oven-like day outdoors. “I love you” she mouths to me. I return the sentiment and exhale a massive sigh of relief through my teeth and my smile. WHEW! Disaster avoided. I was a little touch and go there for a brief moment. I mean, c'mon, nations have gone to war over questions like this... I don't know how I was able to leap frog this land mine and keep the compass pointing in the right direction, well, actually I do. It was really simple actually... It comes down to one irrefutable fact: I love this woman.
Okay so now back to the wedding... I saw some small children waving bright-colored strips that were on a stick. For some reason, my head began to think of the whole “age of aquarius” naturalist thing and I didn't give it much thought. I began to hear music playing that seemed to come from the general area of the tree. So I looked over in that direction and saw a speaker near the tree. The wedding party began to make their way towards the tree. Everyone seems appropriately dressed. At this point, I'm still thinking that this will be a traditional wedding. The gal pal is chatting with her friends and I'm just taking the whole thing in. Seems nice enough, what could possibly happen out here in the sticks?
Well, uh, as the gal pal and I get settled in to our spots, the music playing is weird. Not as inhippie chants, but rather as in bluegrass banjo. Now in the middle of Appalachia, I would consider this normal. Weird, but normal. Most all of the crowd were in their 20's and 30's. I seen the wedding party walking two by two from the farmhouse over to the tree in the field. The banjo went slightly out of tune and it was only then I realized that there was a real live bluegrass quartet playing behind the tree. As the bridal party make their way to where the tree was, I noticed the guy performing the wedding was listed in the program not as a minister, reverend or preacher. Those are standard bible belt terms. But this guy was called an 'Officiant'. The 'Officiant' welcomed the groom and bride to the tree, (apparently, the tree had no comment) and from the beginning of the ceremony until the end of it, the bride and groom stood facing the gathering with the 'Officiant' standing between them. They chose to have elements of Quaker, Buddhist, and a few other isms that I don't recall. The readings were from some transcendentalist author who said we needed to become 'one' with the trees. To 'breathe in' so as to inhale all of mother nature's goodness. To 'breathe out', so as to release all the irritants that keep us from embracing nature and all it has to offer. HUH???? We came all this way, got all dressed up to come have yoga meditation??? UGH... The entire service was all about referencing nature. The 'Officiant' had on a robe with leafs on the front of it. So once the nuptials were completed (with bluegrass banjos serenading us to the very end), we head over to the big tent to sit down, eat and whatever else the evening may have held. Well, I look over at the steel containers that held the evening's feast. No idea what the meal was going to entail. Pork? Beef? Sassafras Roots? Well, as it turns out, we didn't find out. They had the invocation for the meal where (finally) there was an actual reference to God.... They then proceeded to toast the bride and groom. Now where I'm from, that usually falls to the maid/ matron of honor and the best man to do that. Well, here, virtually EVERYBODY stood in line to toast the new husband and wife. And to make matters worse, the father of the groom decides to insult more than half of the crowd there by making a political joke that was very insulting. Beautiful... UGH... I finally looked over at one of my gal pal's friends and commented “Y'know, I don't think there's really any food over there. They're having everybody toast them so that the rest of us will leave before they eat.” Her response was: “I don't think I could bet against that.” And with that, my gal pal decided that she had enough. We departed the wedding and had a much more satisfying dinner... we went through the drive thru at Dairy Queen for chicken strips and a nice evening together at home. Laughing about what transpired in the afternoon... I wasn't sure what to call this experience... Hillbilly Hippies? Deliverance meets Sex In the City? Pinch of granola between my cheek and gum? Ahh... enough already!!! HA!

Just Winging It...

Hey folks,
Sorry it's been a while since my last entry. Lots going on with yours truly. Keeping busy mostly. Was a little under the weather and then my car had a little hiccup but I feel better and the car got fixed so I'm out and about again. Down to one more game left with the women's football team. I like the girls and the coaches both as they are pretty cool people. But I'm tired of sitting through such lopsided losses. The last couple were pretty tough. 76-0 and 41-0... I've got 2 weeks till the last game of the season and then I'm free. woo-hoo! I went and visited my sisters yesterday and of course I was put to work for a little bit. They asked me to put in the air conditioners in the windows so I said sure since it was no big deal. It's been pretty hot around my neck of the woods lately so I can appreciate the desire to remain cool. The breeze off of the lake where I live has helped in dealing with the summer heat. No complaints from me about the temps though. Everybody and their brother come out to the beach and walk along the pier so it's nice to see that there are people who enjoy the water and have fun doing the little things.

P.S. Um, I'm not going to say much about the Red Wings winning the Stanley Cup, but to simply say a big YEAH BABY!!!

P.S.S. That's Red Wing team captain Nick Lidstrom carrying the Stanley Cup in the parade in downtown Detroit where over a million people came out to see their champs... oh by the way, did I mention they won the cup??? YEAH BABY!!!

Being Pen-sive

I'm having a blast watching the Stanley Cup Finals (On NBC in the US, CBC in Canada)... It has been a hoot hearing from some of the Burgers from the steel city. They are convinced that the Penguins are going to come back and win this... I just keep my peace and enjoy watching the series. I hope the Wings wrap things up soon... lol
Other than the sports stuff, not much is going on in my world. Lou is doing better and is supposed to be released from nursing home rehab place on Sunday or Monday. Terri had chemo a couple of days ago and is trying to bounce back. She still is fighting. I don't know how she does it. She is so much braver and stronger than her little brother. I'm not saying that to put myself down, just pointing out obvious facts. Namely she's had to fight this battle on her own, most of the time. She has to try and take care of Lou when Lou is at the house. And Terri somehow is able to do it... I sit in amazement of her. She handles adversity a whole lot better than anyone else I know.

(Death) March of the Penguins.... GO WINGS!!!

Okay, just so you know, this entry is a sports entry about the Stanley Cup hockey finals (best of 7)... I am a HUGE Detroit Redwings fan and they are playing the Pittsburgh Penguins for the Cup. I don't like Pittsburgh period. For anything at all... can't stand the Penguins, hate the Steelers, feel embarrassed for the Pirates and am not much for the city as a whole. One of my best friends lives there (and he's from Michigan no less) and we refer to the citizens of Pittsburgh as... well, "burgers" I can't think of a much better way to put it. They think they've already got the Stanley Cup won and are planning for the parade because they have the young phenom Sidney Crosby in their lineup and are supposedly going to dominate. I just smile when I think about it... and then to take things to a mean extreme, the Detroit Free Press has a little game you can play on their website called "Whack The Penguin" that is an absolute hoot. Go check it out by clicking here ... But for those of you that think somehow that it's a mean game because it involes whacking a penguin (for distance, not to kill) I understand if you pass on it. It's not an anti-animal game but rather a anti-Pittsburgh game.... getting ready for the Stanley Cup finals... Now if you decide to go and give it a few whacks, let me know how far you were able to whack the penguin... My best so far is 322.9

My (Much) Better Half...

Hey y'all,
I hope you had a decent weekend. Or at least tried to. Me, I got to spend a little quality time with the gal pal. Always a treat for me... We had fun together. I think the reason our relationship is so successful, is because even though we are both crazy about each other, we don't get to see each other all of the time. So the thing we focus on the most when we are together, is each other. Even though she isn't 100% healthy, she is constantly giving me her attention and is far more worried about what's going on with me than I am about myself. Me, I don't think at all about myself when I'm with her. My sole focus is on her. And all this time later, we haven't changed in that behavior. In the beginning, sure the physical attraction to her was great. (okay, it still is... I'm a GUY after all...lol). But as time has passed, the passion and desire goes to what's in the heart and soul. I am amazed over and over again by what I see and feel when I look at her. I went with her to PT and watched her work out. I saw the effort she put into her session and I could see the grit and determination in her face. She made me realize how much I take things for granted without saying one word or even knowing that she was teaching me. All of this was going through my head and in typical fashion, when I told her how proud I was of her effort, she completely downplayed what she was doing. “It's no big deal”. Well, to me it was. It really was. Because sometimes when I am feeling tired or just blah because of work or other areas in my life outside of her, I look at her and I get an instant attitude adjustment. She is younger than I am, but I look up to her... She inspires me more than anyone I know on this earth. Geez, after reading this, you'd think I was in love with the woman or something...lol.. (hint: the worst kept secret on the planet: yes I am)

What? More Cornball Humor? Here's Another One

Thanks to my friend Judy for the email that had this joke. Another oldie but it's still pretty funny today...

An old man lived alone in the country. He wanted to dig his tomato garden, but it was very hard work as the ground was hard. His only son, Vincent, who used to help him, was in prison. The old man wrote a letter to his son and described his predicament.

Dear Vincent, I am feeling pretty bad because it looks like I won't be able to plant my tomato garden this year. I'm just getting too old to be digging up a garden plot. If you were here my troubles would be over. I know you would dig the plot for me. Love, Pop

A few days later, he received a letter from his son:

Dear Pop,
Not worry for nothing, but don't dig up that garden. That's where I buried the BODIES.Love, Vinnie

At 4 a.m. the next morning, FBI agents and local police arrived and dug up the entire area without finding any bodies. They apologized to the old man and left. That same day the old man received another letter from his son:

Dear Pop, Go ahead and plant the tomatoes now. That's the best I could do under the circumstances. Love, Vinnie

Toilet (?) Humor... ;)

Oldie but a Goodie.... have a good day y'all... ;)

According to a news report, a certain private school in Washington was recently faced with a unique problem. A number of 12-year-old girls were beginning to use lipstick and would put it on in the bathroom. That was fine but after they put on their lipstick, they would press their lips to the mirror leaving dozens of little lip prints. Every night the maintenance man would remove them, and the next day the girls would put them back.
Finally the principal decided that something had to be done. She called all the girls to the bathroom and met them there with the maintenance man. She explained that all these lip prints were causing a major problem for the custodian who had to clean the mirrors every night (you can just imagine the yawns from the little princesses).
To demonstrate how difficult it had been to clean the mirrors, she asked the maintenance man to show the girls how much effort was required.
He took out a long-handled squeegee, dipped it in the toilet, and cleaned the mirror with it. Since then, there have been no lip prints on the mirror.

The Song Remains The Same (my apologies to Led Zep)

Hi kids....
More insanity rules the roost here in Mik-world... Things are crazy with the girls again as Lou is back in the hospital. For a while, the doctors thought she might be on the road to losing the other foot, but she's doing better and responding to treatment. It's a catch 22 situation for her... She needs to work on her activity level to continue to remain mobile so they want her to do lots more physical therapy. But the docs don't want her standing up for the next couple of weeks in order to allow the wound on her foot to heal. She's healing up and will have to go for a couple of weeks of in-patient PT rehab. I'm not glad she's there but it will give Terri a break. Terri had chemo a couple of days ago and part of the process is that she's supposed to rest and allow things to work inside of her... Of course, the operative words there are "supposed to"... But she's doing what she can to battle this disease so I keep hoping the chemo will help and as for what may happen, I'll leave it up to God.

Twinbill Doubleheader (and we're not talking baseball)

I had a fun time talking to one of my childhood friends, Bill, who lives out in Southern California. Bill and I have known each other since 2nd grade and the funny part is that we weren't good friends in grade school. We didn't particularly like each other very much. As we got older and played baseball, we were polite to each other since we had some of the same friends we were tight with. In high school, we didn't see each other much till about junior year. Then we came across each other again because of mutual friends. And this time, we discovered we had a similar interest... music. We really hit it off because of musical tastes and especially after graduation. We and a couple of other friends spent all kinds of time together, going to concerts, partying, y'know... all the crazy stuff you do in your youth. Well, after a while, Bill got the itch to move out to California. That was about 20 years ago. Bill went to work and made some friends and ended up recently getting married (for the 1st time) out there to a girl a bit younger than him. Of course, the warm, caring, sensitive, supportive friends he has back in Ohio had to express ourselves the only way we know how. I think the nicest thing we said to him was "gee Bill, just think, in August, you can take her shopping for all of the 'back to school' sales...woo-hoo".... Well, she's not THAT much younger than him, but you get the idea of our relationships. Yesterday, Bill's mom calls me. She is just going bananas because finally.... finally. Bill and his wife are expecting. Then I call out to California to give Bill some crap for the fun of it, and then of course he has this stunned shock in his voice.... they're expecting twins. Oops. He was freaking out especially since twins don't run in either family. I was the second buddy to call him out there to congratulate him. Robert was the first and told him that the since his wife was expecting that when she goes to buy diapers, she won't feel so awkward about buying diapers for THREE... I laughed my butt off... Poor Bill. A first time dad at the age of 45... with twins? Bill doesn't stand a chance... they'll bring him to his knees in no time flat.... I can't wait!

A Little Humble Pie...

Hi folks,
Just getting ready to head into another weekend. Last weekend, I got to spend it with the gal pal... that was so much fun. We went to a fish fry and I got a small lesson in gratitude. I usually try to be a humble sort because trying to be something that you're not is usually a boot to the butt waiting to happen. My gal pal is in a wheelchair, I don't mind that at all. She is just perfect to me as she is. She inspires me everyday and I'm crazy about her... I went into the fish fry and even though I don't like fish, I sat and ate way too much other food. My tummy was overloaded on everything else there was to eat. I sat with my gal pal and some of her friends. It was neat cause they don't see me very often so they pepper with me questions from time to time. I met a young guy in a wheelchair who suffers from cerebral palsy. He was adopted by a lady who has a couple of other kids who are healthy. She chose to adopt this little guy knowing that he'd be a handful. I was amazed at the patience she showed in taking care of and loving him. I swallowed the lump in my throat cause as patient as I'd like to think that I am... this woman just put me to shame. Her boy is 15 now and is getting too big for her to take physical care of. But she's determined to make a go of it as best she can. I was thinking how unfair it was that he suffers from that disease. I mean, I do wish he was healthy. Absolutely I want him to be happy and to know what it is to live life to the fullest. To know what it'd be like to play sports. To have a girlfriend. To drive a car.... all these things that we all take for granted. Then I looked at my gal pal and she put it in complete perspective for me. She has the attitude that she was chosen by God to be afflicted with her ailment so that He could use her to touch other lives for Him. Looking at the relationship between this mother and her disabled son, I got a big heaping helping of gratitude that I got to meet him. His joy was pure innocence. His life and his infirmities are being used to touch other people's lives. It really made me realize how truly blessed I am. I looked back over at the gal pal... I fell even deeper in love with her watching her eat a piece of cheesecake. I am so grateful for her... just as she is. I wouldn't be the man that she thinks that I am without her...

Cables, Wires, and Chops... Oh My!!

grrrrrr.... I have such a love - hate with electronics... I took today off to go over to see the girls and since they got a new flatscreen HDTV.. They had everything but the cable hooked up... I figured it would be about five minutes of work and the afternoon to hangout and see how they were doing. Six and a half hours later and a few choice words for the cablesystem later, I still hadn't figured the dang thing out. After several calls to the cable company, it turned out that I wasn't the problem (for a change), but rather, the cable box was not functioning properly and they are going to come out with a new one and install it for Terri at no charge. I should be happy about that, but I'm still frustrated from having spent all day banging my head (figuratively and literally) against the wall. I didn't need the headache, but you know how it goes some days.
I was reading something in my local paper (in the obits of all places) that brought me back to a small, brief, innocent part of my youth. I was reading that a guy I simply knew as "Chops" had passed away. I hadn't seen him in years (decades), but for some reason, he left a permanent mark in my head from that time. Chops was a grill cook at a local little hole in the wall restaurant when I was a little boy and my dad used to take me in there because you could pig out and it was soooooo cheap. The place had booths whose seats were usually torn. Not exactly a Bob Evans or Cracker Barrel (If your table had matching glasses, you were lucky.) But the funny part was that for some reason, the little dive of a eat 'em up joint had some of the best food I ever ate. On the very rare occasion that my dad would let me pick the restaurant we could eat at, I always picked there... My dad liked it cause it was cheap. I loved it cause the food was good. City officials would eat there all the time. And then there was Chops. Chops would be involved with three or four different tables full of people in some spicy conversation (the restaurant was very tiny) and have everyone in stitches. He could weave in and out of different conversations without missing a beat. I wanted to be like that when I was a kid. I always thought he was cool. He was a very large man. Later in life he lost over 140 lbs. and stayed behind the grill at the Green Lantern restaurant till 1994 when he retired because of his health. I hadn't seen him since I was a kid, but when I read that he passed (he was only 55), I felt like a small part of my youth went too. I dunno, I had all of these memories come flooding back from when I was a kid. Going to the Green Lantern. Listening to Chops crack jokes on food, girls, politics, life... you name it. I don't even think the Green Lantern is open anymore, but it will always hold a special place in my heart... A double Gooper burger and free entertainment courtesy of Chops. And for an eight year old kid from a tough neighborhood, that was as good as it got.

A Dog-gone Busy Day...

Hi y'all,
I am beat right now... but it was worth it. Spent the early part of the day over at the girls' to see how they were and they corraled me into taking apart the entertainment center as they're getting a new one. So I took it apart (well, actually took all the components of the audio and video stuff out of there and then took the behemoth out of the house and put it out for someone to take if they could use it. I took the TV that was in there and since the girls are getting a new one, I took the one that was there (a heavy 36 inch beast) up a very narrow and steep flight of stairs for my nephew to use. Ugh, that was no fun. After doing my imitation of "Two men and a Truck", I hooked up the tv and vcr/dvd set up so my goofy nephew could watch a bigger screen than the 12-inch screen he was using before. I had to move some of the equipment out from the front room into Terri's room so that she could have a setup in her room too. By the time I got all of this done, I had to get going to work. But of course, one small fire to put out... my kid sister was feeling sick and was mildly scared about it so I stopped over there on my way to work and assessed the situation and she wasn't in any danger... just a little anxiety on her part. But the good news was that I got to spend time with my dog Penney. Oh it was an understatement to say Pen was so tickled to see me and of course, I abslolutely flat out LOVE that dog. I never used to like mini-daschunds... Not until her... I used to say she was the only woman that I ever both loved and trusted. Of course now with the gal pal in my life I can't say that any more... I don't want to get my butt kicked... ;) It was so funny, when my little nephew came up to hug me, Pen got up on me and wedged herself between me and Dyl... Territorial little cuss isn't she... Can't wait till the first time she sees me and the gal pal snuggling... that'll be a hoot.

Tuning In...

Well, I hope everyone is enjoying the weekend... Right now, everything (thankfully) is status quo. My gal pal's grandfather is home from the hospital and feeling a whole lot better. They thought is might be that dreaded 'c' word, but thankfully, it was a severe infection and he was horribly dehydrated. So they fattened him up a bit with meds and fluids, and he's home again. Thanks for the prayers and good wishes. They worked.
Terri is hanging on. I went to see her and Lou and they were both in pretty good moods. It was a typical household as Terri was working on a project for my nephew Dylan, Lou was playing backgammon, and Dyl was over visiting... well, at least in theory. As a 12 year-old, he doesn't go over to his aunt's to visit. He goes because she has cool toys ('Rockband' for X-box) and he gets spoiled and gets to eat whatever he wants. Oh, when life was so simple... I miss those days. When I was a kid we didn't have X-box, Wii, or even Nintendo for that matter... If I remember, we had four channels on tv (well, actually 8 because with the help of rabbit ears, we could pick up a couple in Detroit and one or two from Canada)... and we had outside. Me, I spent lots of time with the tv (because of the neighborhood I lived in... it was pretty rough) and I also spent a great deal of time with the radio. I fell in love with rock-n-roll, but also with listening to radio stations on the AM dial from far away places. As a kid from northern Ohio, I used to get all jazzed when I could pull in WOWO-AM from Fort Wayne. Or WCCO from Minneapolis. WABC from NYC... or WBZ from Boston. Every once in a while I'd get CFRB from Toronto. That was a whole other world for a kid from Ohio who never went anywhere. I even remember picking up KMOX from St Louis and WBAP and KRLD from Dallas... all the way up in Toledo, on a beat up old AM radio... now that radio stations can be picked up on the internet from anywhere in the world, it's not such a big deal. But to a little boy with no life... that beat up old AM radio was an escape to other places and in my mind, other worlds! I wouldn't trade those memories for ANYTHING...

Time Well Spent...

As per usual in life, highs and lows permeate the world of yours truly. I've simply learned to adjust and in the words of Steve Winwood “you gotta roll with it baby”. Stopped by Terri's to check on her. She's still feeling like ten pounds of crap in a five pound bag. But is trying to bounce back from the chemo treatment. Lou is definitely feeling better and was on the computer playing a card game when I showed up. Now you'd figure that in her condition, Terri would just want to rest and not really talk about much. Of course, you have to remember that this is my family we're talking about... no one has ever used the word “normal” and our name in the same sentence. True to form, Terri decides she wants to engage me in talking politics. Oh perfect... of all the things she could want to talk about... just perfect! She and I are opposites when it comes to most things political. But our debates, while very spirited, are usually respectful and cordial. And of course, how can I argue with a woman who is lying in bed from enduring a chemotherapy treatment? I'd look like a complete, heartless slug! Most of my family would tell you I'm a heartless slug anyways... but they'd say it out of sport and not out of spite...
I got the rare treat of spending time with the gal pal for a few days. She was in rare form if I do say so myself. I was so amazed... more on her in a moment. Her grandfather is not doing really well and they had to take him to the hospital today. But she was steadfast in having a good time with me and boy did we. We spent so much time together and I've got to tell ya... I've found THE GIRL... or should I say that the good Lord blessed me with her. Because she is amazing. She leaves me speechless because of who she is. The fact that she's crazy about me is an honor I don't take lightly. But her warmth, tenderness, and her gentle humor leaves me flabbergasted. I think you can tell by the pictures that we're pretty smitten with each other. DUHHHHHHH... :)