I had decided that this year I wouldn't make note of the event.  I had no plans for a journal entry.  Then I picked up the newspaper.
 
It was on the front page, as I expected, marking the 10-year anniversary of the crash.  My brother was mentioned briefly by his former coach, a man who now helps coach my daughter on Tuesdays.  It was a fleeting anecdote, nothing more.  The rest of the article covered familiar territory, offering little but the perceived obligatory recognition.

I read up on the state's proposed new energy policy, and about a man who threw the lid of a toilet tank through a motel window.  Section B held the obituaries.  A familiar face smiled at me from page B-3.  I had read about the accident last month, but at the time no names were released.  In the dark, he'd swum out to retrieve his untethered boat and drowned.  Only 36, he'd been my next door neighbor some time ...

[ Show full text and comments (29) ]

We lived in our cars.  For a time, it seemed that we were always driving, the tall girl and I.  We had reached that phase in life where we had attained our independence, but everything that was important to us could be loaded in a vehicle and toted off for the weekend.  We drove to visit friends or family, to weddings and funerals.  We drove to experience the road.

The dog rode shotgun.  She was a foundling ragmop, and next to the tall girl she was my best friend.  She sat in the tall girl's lap.  There was no air conditioner in the car, so in the summer her nose was out the window.  The window was always rolled down.

We had no money.  Poverty spurred an ingenuity of sorts.  Once, we stopped at a casino because the drinks were free.  The tall girl put a quarter in the slot machine and won enough to pay for the trip - over $40!  The next day we splurged on pay showers at the ...

[ Show full text and comments (30) ]

Literally years ago, I had mentioned the following article to several RPeeps. I had said, at the time, that I would try to find an online version of it, but I've been unable to until now. There has been a lot of change in the last 6 1/2 years, a whole lot. But, it's still a good read.

Sports Illustrated - Cross Road

Yes, the line about Osama Bin Laden's other victims seems ridiculous in retrospect, neither the coach nor the university president mentioned in the article is currently with the college, my grandfather (also mentioned) is no longer with us, I heard that the former team captain is now an optometrist, etc., etc. The big ol' globe just keeps spinning.


I would also like Rasputin's input on the following question posed in the article -

Hey, sometimes ya gotta go with what ya got, y'know?

Well, they firewalled me off of the RP site at work. I can still get the tunes (for now), thankfully. But that's it. No more fun and distraction here for me. It was really only a matter of time.

Thanks for making my workdays a little brighter, everyone. I'll see you in the evenings and on weekends!

It occurred to me that we can be a pretty somber bunch when it comes to these journal entries. It's understandable, really. When we're upset, it helps to work through the rough patches by writing the thoughts out. Sometimes we just need to vent. And, the advice doled out by some of the listener/gurus here is pretty powerful stuff.

So.....I thought to myself: What else have I got to offer?

The other day, my wife showed me a photo she had taken of our youngest daughter. It's pretty rare that things just completely take my breath away, but I was awe-struck by this one. I mean, how could I have had any genetic involvement in something so indescribably beautiful?



It made me sit back and take stock of what I've got. I'm a lucky guy. I just wish I could realize it more often.

Peace, my friends.

Last night I went into a dead man’s house and drank his beer. It wasn’t as unpleasant or sad as I had been anticipating, and in retrospect I’m glad I did it.
My friend and neighbor was killed last September in Iraq by one of those infamous “improvised explosive devices.” He was a Captain in the National Guard Army Reserve. He was also one of those rare people who was liked by nearly everyone who met him.
Like myself, he enjoyed brewing beer. A while back I purchased some of his home brewing equipment from his widow. She called me last week to ask if I could bring over his keg tap because she had found a full mini keg of beer which he had brewed not too long before he had left. She wanted to have some of his friends over to the house and drink some of the beer. While we were there, she said, she would like some help moving some heavy things around because she is now planning on moving to Colorado to start her own ...


[ Show full text and comments (10) ]