Love And Food... or Love Of Food? Is There A Difference?

So,
what's a guy to do when he's tired, busy, cranky, irritable, and just plain snotty? Simple, spend a weekend with the gal pal... It's funny, someone pointed out an observation to me that I didn't realize before but now that I think about it, it makes sense. It seems that most often due to my whacked out schedule, I don't post as much as I should. But when I do post, it almost always seems to happen after spending time with the gal pal, or I've finished chatting with her. She cracks me up. Every time I go see her, and I spend about ten to twelve minutes with her, I feel every tired, busy, cranky, irritable and just plain snotty attitude disappear. They don't exist anymore. They are replaced by awe, and by amazement. We went to lunch after church on Sunday with her folks and I think all four of us were almost ready to nod off at the table we were at in a mexican restaurant. Of course the lone exception being when her dad and I both were busy inhailing the tortilla chips and salsa that we had before our meal arrived. I normally don't eat like that with the lone exception of when the gal pal and I go to that restaurant. Of course, her dad wasn't buying that... He laughed at me and just kept saying "uh-huh, sure Mik". I even pleaded that if I wanted to eat heavy duty mexican food, being of mexican descent, I could just go home or over to my sisters' and I could whale-out all I wanted. He acknowledged that and then laughed when I told him that when I do eat mexican food, sadly, it's usually Taco Bell. Or as I like to call it after eating there each time... Taco hell. I dunno... They just opened a Del Taco in my town and I've gone there and tried it a couple of times. It's not too bad actually. I liked it. I've tried Jack In the Box and again, not all bad. Okay so nothing can take the place of homemade... My question today: outside of homemade, what's your favorite chain for mexican food and what's your favorite meal from there? I know, I know, not the most ponderous question we've ever dealt with, but hey, why not? As I type this out, I'm dreaming of FOOD.... GLORIOUS FOOD...mmmm... (oh yeah, and how awesome my gal pal is...) That figures. I started this entry to say how much I love and appreciate my gal pal and I get side tracked by my one true weakness in this world... FOOD...lol

And On The Third Day, He Rose

Happy Easter folks,
Hope you all have a great weekend and a good week. Me and mine are doing fine. Nothing major going on right now (whew!) and trust me, I don't mind the doldrums of day to day life. In fact, I kinda look forward to them. But that being said, this is my favorite part of the year. Well this and early fall... I love spring because that means warmer weather and no more wearing mulitiple layers of clothing. As much as I like winter, I can only stand it for so long. Spring means golf, baseball, my gal pal in a much better frame of mind... (hint: she HATES winter and just being cold in general). Easter is a starting point for me. A new beginning of sorts. I have come to appreciate the REAL meaning of Easter. I don't mind kids doing the egg hunt thing (so long as they don't trip over the left over Christmas lights in the process... that's a true story which I'll write about someday...). The easter candy stuff is okay too... I don't get wound up about it. However, the REAL meaning of Easter is something I never took seriously before. But I do now. I guess in the commercialization of Easter, some things get lost. But I don't want that to happen any more. I have a heart of gratitude that wants to say thanks to Him for taking my sins and all my crap and letting me lay it down at the foot of the Cross. I seen a bumpersticker the other day that says it all... 1 tree + 3 nails = 4 given

The Parting of a Great Lakes

Whew!
That's the best way to describe the last week and a half I reckon. I was looking so forward to going to Boston for nationals, but that got derailed in Iowa. (side note to Di from Dubuque: I hate that town because the last two years I've driven out there for the Hurster Cup playoffs... twice I've gotten to meet State Troopers if you get my meaning...lol) So I had taken that time off from work and still thought about going out to bean town just to take everything in. But then I thought about my gal pal and figured spending the time with her would be a good thing as I really didn't have the heart to watch another hockey game that my team wasn't in. So my gal pal tells me that her grandfather wasn't doing well and it was a matter of time till he passed. I got out of church on Sunday morning and drove the long trip getting there in the evening. When I woke up on Monday morning, my gal pal calls me and tells me that he passed away at the hospice during the night. I went over to see her and her folks and hugged them. I didn't know what to do except to just be there. I spent lots of time with my gal pal because she was very close to her grandfather. They watched UK games together all the time. They shared alot of special moments together. I just tried to simply be there for her and her family. They were prepared for this as was her grandfather. He was very prepared and ready to go. He said he couldn't wait to go to Heaven. His faith was of utmost importance to him and he shared it with others in testimony and witness right up till the day before he passed. Friends and family rallied around my gal pal's family in a wonderful and loving way. It was funny because to give you an idea how serious they are about UK basketball... during the whole process of mourning and burying my gal pal's grandfather, in addition to saying kind words to the family about their loss, they also talked about UK getting a new basketball coach that same day. The conversation was going back and forth and they all were excited about UK naming John Calipari as their new coach. In fact on the day of the funeral, they had "Coach Cal's" news conference that same morning and I took my gal pal into the back office of the mortuary where they had the TV turned on to it and she watched it until it was time to head in for the services to begin. It was a very strong and moving service. Two different pastors preached at the service and while I am usually pretty stoic and not one to show any emotion at all, I had to hold back tears on a couple of occasions as I saw them mourning a really good man. It made me think a lot about my dad. I miss him a lot sometimes. I really do. It hit home during this whole time with my gal pal's family. I miss him so much but I don't wish him back for one minute. He's with my mom in Heaven. I couldn't him bring back here just for my benefit. That's just selfish. I know that he's in my heart. I felt in my heart that I just know that I was meant to be here. After a series of circumstances that came into play, I came to the conclusion that the good Lord didn't want me in Boston. He wanted me to be with my gal pal's family. I was meant to be there. The time that I left to be there until the time I came home which was the day AFTER the funeral... was the exact same number of days I requested off from work two months ago so I could go to Boston. Yeah, I think God had a hand in this and directed me where I needed to be. As for my gal pal, she was amazing. She handled everything with grace and kindness and no matter how tired she was, she always welcomed everyone that came up to her to express their condolences. She was exhausted, but reached out to everyone that was there and she was a real inspiration to me. I was so grateful for the honor of being allowed to be a part of the experience. I am grateful to have gotten to meet and know her grandfather a little bit. He was quite a charachter. I'm glad and thankful to God that I was able to be there and supportive of my gal pal. I learned so much about my gal pal, my faith, and the love of a community for a really good person.

The Cornfield Chronicles

Hi,
Well, it's been awhile (again) but that's because I've been traveling all over the midwest with reckless abandon. My hockey season is over as we lost in our league championship game over in Iowa and that prevented us from qualifying for the national championship tournament in Boston. It really hurt because if our kids had won or tied one more game in the regular season, we'd be packing our bags for Beantown on Wednesday. But because we gave it away during the regular season, we had to win a round-robin playoff tournament with St Louis, Peoria, and Dubuque. Well, to quote Meatloaf “two out of three ain't bad”... We beat Peoria and St Louis but couldn't get by Dubuque. So Dubuque goes to Boston... oh yippee... I'm so tickled to death... not! A Dubuque fan was so happy and came up to me not realizing that I was with Toledo and said “Isn't this great?” I was polite, but droll and said “yeah, I think I'll go wet my pants now.”
Now the easy thing to do would be say bad things about Dubuque, Iowa because I've never liked the town or the area for a wide variety of reasons. But this time around, I came across a Dubuque fan who just warmed my heart and made me smile. This kid looked to be around 12 or 13 years old. He appeared to be a very innocent (as in naive), soft spoken and gentile. My first thought was maybe special needs but I didn't want to seem judging. But boy did he loved his Dubuque team. But he came out to the early game on the first day of the tournament to see Toledo play Peoria in the afternoon. This kid, reached out his hand and touched the glove of one of our bruiser types, Brandon. Brandon is 6 foot 3, 200 lb rugged defenseman, who loves to intimidate, and drop the gloves and scrap. Well, after our game. The kid runs into Brandon in the concession lobby and the kid was just in total awe. He looks up at Brandon and asks him his name. Brandon is not the type to converse politely for a long period of time. But for some reason, this kid has Brandon's complete attention. I think Brandon realized that he was dealing with an innocent child so he couldn't just rip a bunch of expletives to try and be funny. So he chatted with this kid for a while and ends up befriending the boy. The boy brings his game program for Brandon to autograph. Now here's where I love hockey so much more than any other sport. The people involved in the game are just so different than Basketball, Baseball, and Football. Hockey is not just a sport, but the people involved know how different it is than the other big three. We love those sports too, but for some reason, hockey has it's own distinct culture. But for a lot of the people, it's a lifestyle. It's a big part of their lives, not just a hobby. Kind of like how Soccer fans around the world that get passionate during the season. Anyway, back to Brandon. This kid asks for Brandon's autograph and Brandon says “give me a minute”. Brandon takes the kid's program into the locker room and has the entire team (including staff... meaning me), autograph this kid's program. He takes it back out but the kid had left. So Brandon gives the program to me and asks me to hold it till either one of us see this kid again. Brandon sees him later asks me for the program and gives it to the kid and you would've thought he gave him a million dollars. The kid's face lights up. So while a bunch of our players were in the stands watching the Dubuque – St Louis game, the kid comes over and starts talking to our guys who razz him a little because he's a Dubuque fan, but were overall, good to him and treated him with kid gloves. So, when they were getting up to leave, the kid walks over to Brandon, like he's his new best friend, and says, “I'll be cheering for you guys tomorrow when you play St Louis.” Brandon in true fashion chirps “okay but just don't wear that $&*#%### Dubuque jersey to our game okay?” The other players laugh. The kid says “yeah but I don't have a Cherokee shirt”. So the players talk one of our fans into doing something amazing. The fan gives up her game worn jersey, and the players autograph it, and the next day, they present it to the kid to keep and wear during Toledo's game against St Louis. The kid just lit up like you wouldn't believe. Of course the same night when Dubuque played Peoria, he went back to his Dubuque jersey... but we couldn't fault him for that. And then the capper... after the championship game when we lost to Dubuque, the players packed their gear for the final time and headed out to the bus for the long ride home. Some of the players, still in tears over losing, were hugging family and friends and taking a few pictures for posterity. After all the celebrating by the Dubuque fans inside the rink, this precious kid comes outside to the Toledo bus and is shaking hands and then starts giving big hugs to Brandon and the rest of the team. As much as the trip home sucked, I'll never forget this kid or how our team embraced a supposed “opponent”. It just made me feel so good that when those that rag on hockey players sometimes calling them cement heads because hockey can be such a violent sport sometimes, stories like the one I wrote about here happen often without anyone noticing it. But I witnessed this one and I wanted to write about it and say thanks to the players... They are what is good about our sport... and they're what is good about human beings.

It Figures...

So,
Here I am, trying to recover from this nasty cold and coughing up lung oysters and nurse this sore throat back to health because I have to broadcast hockey this weekend on Toledo Sports Radio... Anyway, during this time, I get a text from my sister Terri telling me that my sister Lou is in the hospital having some (minor) surgery and wanted to know if I could check on her. Whaaaat!??? Um, could you at least have let me know that she was going to go in there in the first place. Oh well. Such is life. Anyhow, my youngest sister is texting me from the cafeteria of the hospital that I work at. I'm plopped on the couch, being thankful that my fever broke and that I'm able to breath reasonably again. It goes something like this...

Angie: "Hey, I'm in the cafeteria! where are you"

Me: "I'm home sick on the couch, trying to breathe"

Angie: "I guess that rules out you buying me lunch."

Me: "Ok, um, what's the word on Lou?"

Angie: "Just went back, she'll be able to go home in 2 hours"

Me: "alright, let me know how it goes. nobody in this family let's me know about anything until 6 months after the fact. I didn't know about this until 20 minutes ago."

Angie: "In that case I'll text you in December"

Me: "Merry freakin' Christmas"

I come from a family of whackos... Lou is home and recovering nicely by the way. Not that anybody in my family was willing to volunteer that info right away... ugh... I am just starting to move around and feel a bit better. Still coughing lots but otherwise, I'm feeling better.

Like A Really Bad "Three's Company" Episode

Okay,
When last I was trying to write and keep up with you all, I was pointing out some great virtues of the gal pal.. I had a bizarre thing happen to me last week and after clearing it with the boss, I figured I'd share it with you guys. So, for Valentine's day, my gal pal gets us tickets for the Kentucky – Georgia college basketball game. This was a nice surprise for me and I looked forward to seeing the tradition rich program of Kentucky basketball and the historic Rupp Arena. So last week was the game. I was feeling like crap with a terrible head cold and sore throat to beat the band. But I wasn't going to miss this. It was important to her, and it was important to me. So I took some Zicam, and headed down to meet her, and her folks for dinner at Applebee's. I chose that place because I had driven by the Rupp Arena exit and saw an Applebee's sign there so I figured it would be easy for everyone to meet there. Of course, I'm not the local and when I got off the exit to head towards the restaurant, I notice that there's no restaurant. What do I find at the address? Applebee's Ball Park, the home of the local minor-league baseball team. So after realizing that I'm a clod and am directionally challenged, I get directions from someone at the ticket office, and call them and get things figured out and meet at an Applebee's that's about 8 miles away. Ugh... once we get there, we have a great time. Since I'm such a wonder at finding places in and around Lexington, we decide to leave my car and we all ride together over to Rupp. Once inside, things were a lot of fun. You could see the rich history of the place. It was very cool. I was sitting with my beloved and trading text messages with my buddy back home. Then during the middle of the game, I get a text that does not have a name on the header, but rather a phone number. I did not recognize it at all. So I shrug my shoulders and show it to my gal pal and say “I dunno who it is” and I proceed to open it in front of her. The message read “I'm heading out of Findlay and wanted to know if you wanted to meet or ? This is Michelle by the way” To which my gal pal looks at me and says “who's Michelle?” I looked at her and said “I have no idea. This must be a wrong number.” So I text this person back and tell her that she must've texted the wrong number. I get a quick text back saying that it was indeed a wrong number and they apologized. I look back up at the gal pal and she's got crocodile tears in her eyes and my heart just flat out sunk. This is a no-win situation if ever there was one. Any person that even knows a little about me knows that I would NEVER cheat on my gal pal or do anything purposely to hurt her. But here I was, because of someone's wrong number, trying to explain to my gal pal that while many of my species are indeed swine and like to “play the field”, that I was strictly a one woman man. I told her if I was that kind of guy that I would never have shown her the text message in the first place. I would've tried to be secretive and hide the message and the phone. She stopped crying and I looked her straight in the eyes and asked her if she trusted me. She said yes and I told her that I trusted her too. After a little while, she came around and realized the truth and told me she was fine and that it just got under her skin and it took her awhile to process it all. So I am trying to continue watching the game and my gal pal lays her head on my shoulder and I never felt such a surge of love go through me as I looked down at her head on my shoulder. I kept stroking her hair and I kissed her forehead because I didn't want to give her my cold. Then I started sneezing and sneezing and sneezing.... she laughed. By the next day, I felt a lot better because we talked about everything and she knows that I'd never ever do such a thing to her... She knows that I adore her. But man, talk about a simple thing that could tear you apart. And you didn't do anything wrong! By the next afternoon, she was feeling better about it than I was. She was trying to console me about it...lol... It really bothered me a great deal because it was such an innocent thing that could've destroyed a relationship. But I've got a good woman. I spend time every day showing her that I feel that way about her... She laughs about it now. In between sneezes and sniffles. Because as a true sign of my love for her... I gave her my cold. If that doesn't say “I love you”, then I don't know what does...

A Chatter Box...

Hi everyone,
Sorry I haven't been around much lately. As my gal pal puts it, “Mik is in the busiest part of his year. I know I won't see him very much.” Sports and more sports have kept me busy to beat the band. Hockey and Basketball have kept me swamped to where I haven't done much of anything else. I have tried to make time to spend with the gal pal (at least on IM or texting) because I have been traveling quite a bit and I've got to hand it to my gal pal, she loves me a lot. She listens online to all of the games I broadcast. This really floors me. She listens to all of the hockey games that I broadcast online on Toledo Sports Radio and she doesn't know thing one about hockey. But she is always there for me and I've got to say that it is a great comfort for me to know that she's there listening to every game. Well, every game as long as there is not a Kentucky Wildcat basketball game to watch... then it's “Mik who?” lol... she loves her Cats and almost never misses a game. She's even gotten me to become a fan of UK and their basketball program. But I'm my gal pal's biggest fan. She is simply amazing. She puts up with me and that's no easy task by any stretch. She really is the best thing on this earth to ever happen to me...

The Game of Life...

Hey guys,
First off, a special thanks to Joann out there in California who was kind enough to have folks come visit me in my little corner of the world. Thanks Joann, I appreciate that my friend. I guess I've been thinking lately about how precious life really is. I mean, in the last 6 weeks, I've seen several folks that I knew pass away and it did kind of get my mind in a bit of a pickle. I am a firm believer that if you accept Christ, you are saved. I believe 100 percent that heaven exists and that only through His grace, can we enter. I guess that's why I have had some thoughts about death on my mind. Not in a morbid way or anything. I firmly believe that they are in heaven now. I guess it's just that when people leave you unexpectedly, you're not prepared and are left feeling bewildered, shocked, dumbfounded, and then later, a little bit po'd. That's normal stuff to go through as we process those feelings. Me, I have found some comfort in the fact that I believe what I believe. It's been comforting for me in believing that they are now in a much better place, not suffering anymore. And that they're not just "resting in peace", but that they are enjoying themselves in paradise. I look at those folks and am grateful for the time I had with them. And it makes me appreciate the time I have here on earth now. Especially with my sisters. I don't see them that often, but I know that with everything I've seen them go through with Lou losing both her legs and on dialysis, and Terri still dealing with the ravages of cancer, yet both of them are still able to live life. Terri is still getting chemo every 3 weeks non-stop for the foreseeable future. While the tumors have metastisized in four spots, the constant chemo has prevented them from spreading. They've not worsened. So that's a good thing, even though she is wiped out by the chemo every 3 weeks. Me, as I size up the situations that are around me and have realized something. I've seen others who have suffered much worse than I have. They have had much worse happen to them and some have endured, and others have not. Sometimes, when there's nothing to celebrate or if you feel like there's nothing to be grateful for, (and I've felt that way many times) it might have to be that there are others who have suffered far greater and I can't complain. I mean think about it Mik old son... You're a person of faith. You've got a roof over your head. You've got 3 jobs. You are in decent health for the most part. You've still got a couple members of your family who by all logic, should have been gone long ago. You've got a gal pal who loves you every bit as much as you love her. There are others who would give anything to be in the situation you are in... Sorry for the a.d.d. moment there. But sometimes one has to look back (or in my case, have it pointed out to me) and see just exactly what I have versus what I don't. It didn't seem like much before. But now, I've really grown to value and treasure life and the people in it... Much more than I used to...

Rudy... (no, not the Notre Dame guy)...

Y'know, just when I think I'm dealing with things okay, I get hit with a sucker punch to the flippin' solar plexis that another person that I knew passed away. Rudy was a deacon at my dad's church and he was one of my dad's very best friends. For most of their adult lives, these two were always great friends. My dad was godfather to a couple of Rudy's kids. I got to know him through my dad's church and later in life, they worked together in prison ministry by going to an area prison to minister to the guys in there, dad and Rudy and a couple of other guys. They had mass in there on Saturdays. Anyway, it really hit home for me when I was losing my dad back in '05... Rudy was there every step of the way and was so instrumental in helping prepare my family for saying goodbye to my dad... He was awesome. He even got the (retired) Bishop come and say mass at my dad's funeral. Even though I wasn't catholic anymore, it still meant so much to me that Rudy was able to do that. When we buried my dad, the prisoners had made a crucifix out of string and gave it to my dad. We buried him with it. Rudy had asked the men at the prison to make more of those string crucifixes, one for each of his kids. We all got together for dinner and Rudy came and blessed them and presented them to each of us. I still wear mine to this very day. I don't ever take it off. It reminds me of my dad, and now it also reminds me of Rudy. Of course it always reminds me of God and that yes, He DID die for us... all of us, not just some of us. Regardless of our relationship (or lack thereof) with Him, He did give His life for our transgressions. I went to visitation and when I looked at Rudy, he looked at peace. He buried his wife a year earlier, almost to the day. He felt empty without her. They're together again. With my mom and dad. And if I know Rudy and my dad, they're cutting up like kids and my mom and Rudy's wife are just rolling their eyes like they used to when they got together here on earth. When I first learned he had passed, my eyes were moist and I felt that same sense of loss when I lost my dad. It reminded me of that. But in the midst of the tears, I simply said "thank you Rudy". That's what I will remember him for. He was always a funny screwball type. Kind of like me... Him and my dad would get just crazy and howl with laughter for hours. That and what he did for my dad at the end. I will never forget him... Thank you Rudy. I know you're enjoying paradise. Say hi to my folks for me and tell them I love them. And again, Thank YOU Rudy...

Me And My Better Half...

Hey one and all,
I suppose that when there is a black cloud, you have to find the silver lining. For me, last week's difficult turmoil was tough, but I got through it and when the week was over, I got to go spend some much needed time with the gal pal. I must admit, I was sleep deprived and could've used the time to sleep, but you know what? I got to enjoy my gal pal and I don't care how tired I am, she is always worth the effort. This last weekend was no different. I fell asleep in her arms on the couch watching TV (side note: I'm such an exciting guy...yawn) and she just sat there and stroked my hair while I snoozed. I even snored because I was so exhausted and she was understanding. She's a keeper, I will say that... I felt so energized after spending time with her. My attitude was better, I felt like my inner spirit felt better. And to all of you who keep asking me about when am I going to ask her.... well, I'm not going to ask her THAT question yet, but when I do, she told me to tell you all that she's already said 'yes'...lol... Like I told her, we may set a record for the longest courtship on the planet, but she is stuck with me and I'm not going anywhere but with her. She gave me the biggest smile of satisfaction that just lit up the room. I looked in her eyes and I felt the warmth and reassurance that even though it's going to take lots of time, I know that I'm where I am supposed to be. Where I was meant to be... with her as her man.

More than a feeling... (with apologies to Boston)

Hey folks,
Hope your week is going decent. Me, I'm feeling better after a rough start to the week. One of my co-workers passed away suddenly and another co-worker ended up in the ICU with Lord only knows what. But she is now out of ICU so that's good, but still... Not a good start to the day, week or anything... I was bumming a little bit. Bev was a very cool lady. She was tough as nails if she had to be, but she also had a very warm soft spot that made her so endearing to people. She was suffering from the ravages of cancer and we knew it was going to eventually happen. But we were thinking in another year perhaps. She called work on Saturday night to talk to some of the folks that were there and she was laughing it up with them. On Sunday night, she felt short of breath, her daughter asked Bev if she wanted her to call for help. Bev said 'no' and closed her eyes and that was it. Bev would come in to work and she didn't like sports as much as I did, but she did love baseball. Atlanta was her team and every once in a while she'd go down and catch a game. She would also give me a word each week out of the dictionary to use on my sports show. Sometimes a tough word, sometimes a whacked out word. Her family was her passion and she loved them dearly. It's times like these that make me so grateful that despite the trials and tribulations that we have from time to time, I still have family to love. My parents are up in heaven, but I've still got some siblings and nephews, etc... I've learned to appreciate that regardless of the make-up of family, whether it's blood related, or if you're alone with only a couple of close friends, as much as I used to be a loner, I now know that we weren't meant to go through life by ourselves. I did for most of my life, but by choice. I didn't let people get remotely close to me for most of my adult life. Not till the last eight years. Dumb move on my part. But now with God in my life, and an inspiring gal pal to touch my heart, I've found more happiness in the last 2 years than I have in the previous, well... ever... That's because I've allowed myself to feel more of what goes on around me. There was once a time where sadly, Bev's passing would've not even phased me. But I thank God, that over the last few years, I've learned that it's not about me. It's about serving others and my faith in my Creator. That has allowed a bright light to shine in this once cold heart and say g'bye to my friend Bev with sadness. But also a sense of gratitude. A thanks for having gotten to know her and know about her family. Things I used to take for granted. Not any more. God Bless ya Bev...

Curveballs and Change-ups...

Hi all…
Y’know, sometimes you just gotta reach back and go for the fastball in life. You sit and look back at how sometimes life will present some challenges and throws us a curveball or a change up and we bite on it and end up in even more miserable circumstances. And when you look at it, the people involved are not able to do anything about it. I was sitting here mulling that over. I usually get over it when I start to think about how blessed I actually am when I think about my issues. The first thing that pops into my head is that my gal pal faces serious challenges every day in her wheelchair and she handles them without even batting an eye. She makes me realize that I don’t have much in the way of issues that I can’t solve. She inspires me to want to do more for others instead of myself. Well, sometimes, we get that curveball or change up that we weren’t expecting and we swing at it and miss. Or better put, we get reminders of how blessed we really are. One such a reminder is a young man named Kyle. Kyle is a 14 year old freshman in high school. Kyle was injured in November playing in a hockey game down in Dayton and is now paralyzed from the chest down. Kyle is still in a hospital trying to stay alive and cope with his new situation. Don’t know about you, but for me, to have such a life altering change to your world, would be dang near impossible to deal with… and at the age of 14 years old??? On Wednesday, January 14th, there’s going to be fund raiser from 5-9pm for Kyle at Buffalo Wild Wings and Weck (or better known as BW3’s) in Oregon, OH. We (Myself, Jamo, and Dave… better known as the ‘3 for All’ radio program) will be broadcasting from 6-9pm ET. BW3 or as we call them ‘B-dubbs’, is going to donate 10 percent of all the food bills from 5p-9p to Kyle and his family to help offset his medical bills, which are astronomical. We’re honored to be allowed to be a small part of this event. You can listen to the show at Toledo Sports Radio online. If you’re in the area, please stop out and say hello. If you’re listening from anywhere else, leave a note saying hi if you would be so kind. It would really help raise some spirits around here.

Raising The Roof... (literally!)

From the “just between you and me” department...
So, last we chatted, I was asking about what you hope for in the new year that you would try to improve on. Me, I walked out of my house last week in the hope of getting together with my gal pal and enjoying the holidays and her birthday and have a great time. Well, I got (figuratively speaking) a swift kick in the pants. I walk to my car to head to church, and as I start to open the car door, I look back at my house, and notice that part of the roof is gone!! My jaw dropped and my heart sank. I just looked at roof and all that was there in the one corner was wood. Everything else was gone. I was numb. The wind storm that hit during the night before had wreaked havoc on my roof, the siding on my house, and the roof of the garage. There were 60 mph winds and higher wind gusts and the shingles couldn't stay in place. I swallowed hard and went to church anyway, choosing to thank God that nobody got hurt and that there were no leaks into the house. Trust me, that wasn't an easy thing to do. But that I did and I'm glad that I did. Our pastor just happened to be talking about being tested and how to be grateful to God during the tough times. Coincidence? I think not... So I go home and look at the roof again and this time, I wasn't so angry or sick about it. I felt better. I knew that I had a lot of stuff to do to get done, but I knew I was going to be okay. The only bad spot was that my girlfriend was expecting me to be coming to see her in a matter of a couple of hours and I had to let her know that I wasn't going to make it. To say she was disappointed is a great understatement. I couldn't be with her for Christmas. I couldn't be with her for her birthday. And now because of a stinkin' roof, I wasn't sure if I'd get to see her at all. Well, I threw my arms up and asked God to handle this one. As I was reporting all the details outside on my cell phone, a neighbor of mine is driving down the road and stops and gives me his card. Turns out he's a roofer and said he'd be able to help me to get this puppy taken care of. I felt better immediately. After getting the info I needed, I was able to go 2 days late and head to the gal pal's and spend a couple of days with her and her family. I took her out for dinner and a movie and by the time that we got home, it was 11:25pm on new year's eve. We were both so tired that we forgot that it was new year's eve. I had kissed her goodnight and when we seen each other the next morning, we both laughed when we realized that we missed bringing in the new year together. But we made up for it on new year's day... lol... So, what started out as miserable week, ended up being a pretty good one after all. So I thank GOD for being so good and giving me peace during difficulties and helping me deal with what seemed to be a rotten situation and putting people in my path that allow me to not only resolve things, but give me the perspective to realize that I needed to deal with everything and keep my sense of humor and calm throughout the whole ordeal. Plus my gal pal. Without her being there, I'd be toast. She wasn't happy about me not being there at the beginning of the week. But she understood and continues to amaze me with who she is... a true gift from God...

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...