i have recently come up w/ an idea to issue challenges to myself and allow others to join me.
The very first challenge is this: For the month of July (starting now, though - Monday, June 30th), we have to exercise at least 30 minutes per day.
This exercise can consist of cutting one's grass, gardening, walking, whatever physical exertion you choose as long as lasts at least twenty minutes. (Sex does not count for this one.)
And exercising for one hour on Monday, for example, does not absolve us from another 30 minutes on Tuesday; so no accumulation of exercise time.
Feel to leave comments on this challenge, how you do w/ it, encourage me and/or others, etc... in the comments section.
Good Luck!
Monday, June 30, 2008
Saturday, June 28, 2008
The McCain Train - A Town Hall Meeting @ X
Hello!
For those that do not know, i was invited to attend Senator John McCain's Town Hall Meeting at Xavier University (one of my alma maters) in Cincinnati this past Thursday (June 26th, 2008) and what an experience it was.
For a little personal-historical background, i also saw Al Gore speak at The Commons @ Mississippi State University (another am) back in 1992. Gore's speech was attended by about 3 high school classes and about 20-30 other attendees on a rainy day; though by no stretch a Mississippi rain which can be torrential. i received an invitation to Gore's speech by being in the 'right' (?) place at the right (?) time. While in my theatre design class, it was an elective that fit well w/ my major in Architecture (turned out i was pretty good at as the teacher asked to keep one of my designs for the complex comedy - Tartuffe), the head of the 'Young Democrats' came in and offered the professor two tickets to the event. After he left, the prof immediately offerred them to me. i was not really personally interested in going but a friend of mine was a Clinton/Gore supporter and i thought he would appreciate it and i have always been open-minded enough to go and listen; so i took the tickets.
Anyway, Gore was rambling on about how he and, at the time, Governor Bill "felt everyone's pain" (btw...in Arkansas Gov Bill was known as Slick Willy as my best college friend's father told me when i first inquired about this then unknown Arkansas Governor; my best college friend's family is from Magnolia, Arkansas) ". Meanwhile, standing not two feet from him in the pooring down rain was a woman translating his speech into sign language. He went on and on for several minutes while someone held an umbrella over his head w/o offering her the courtesy any gentleman should have been aware enough to offer her.
Of course, i could not just stand by and let this poor lady get soaked; after all she was translating for the deaf for God's sake. So, i started to take my umbrella up to her by stepping over the yellow rope strung up to provide space b/n the crowd (as i mentioned it was more like a small group most of which were forced to be there; sad state of our society really; when a potential and as it turned out actual VP of the USA comes to speak and less than 75 people show up). The Secret Service, of course, did not like my coming closer to Mr. Gore. Two SS agents came over to me very, very quickly i might add. i pointed out that this poor lady was getting soaked and suggested someone hold an umbrella for her as they were doing for Gore. Ten seconds later an SS agent comes out and holds an umbrella over her. It just goes to show that it takes a Conservative Republican to actually do what Liberal Democrats only talk about.
Jump forward to The McCain Train's Town Hall Meeting at X...
Earlier Wednesday a very good friend, Jennifer Miller, sent me an email about this Town Hall being held at our mutual alma mater. Later that night i received a phone call, answered their questions then was invited to attend. The meeting was for 'Undecideds' which i was at the time; leaning one way but still undecided. (BTW...i will continue to go to Sen. Obama's website to learn more about his policies, experience, and ideas but at this point, i just cannot imagine voting for him over a man like Sen. McCain. Feel free to contact me about my reasons for my vote.)
So i arrived early enough that i was able to choose a good seat that turned out to be the one best positioned at the door where Sen. McCain would enter/leave. At 11:50A.M., a voice said that the program would begin shortly and asked everyone to turn off their phones. At 12:01P.M. Senator McCain came walking in w/ zero fan-fare or even an introduction; not that he needed one. He spoke directly if not eloquently for about fifteen minutes then opened the floor up to questions. i will not run down all of the questions for you here (again if you would like more detail feel free to contact me or click on the links below).
The format was simple, respectful: those that had a question raised their hands, Sen. McCain choose people at random, they asked their question, he answered/had a conversation w/ them; then he choose someone else.
Something that has not been reported that occurred that i thought was really cool was when someone, obviously to me a plant, rudely tried to jump in and ask a question, Senator McCain cut him off by saying he was calling on people who were respectful and had their hand raised then went on to ask if he was an undecided voter or a reporter. After the guy/jerk admitted being a reporter, Sen. McCain respectfully but directly pointed out that this town hall was for voters and, as such, he would continue answering their questions. At this point, i and others started clapping and the whole room joined in sending the message that this kind of disrespectful badgering was unacceptable. (He did get back to him, though, which was another interesting altercation.)
After answering some uneducated, barely articulate professor's question that was more a personal statement about the Afghanistan and Iraq wars (sadly to say the prof was, of course, from X); Sen McCain went back to the rude reporter's question which involved some Arizona professor that sat outside Sen. McCain's office for 16-days w/o eating demanding that Sen. McCain meet w/ him for two hours; about what i have no idea and, frankly, i don't care.
Sen McCain said that the Arizona professor was "happy", his issue apparently being resolved to his satisfaction, the reporter beligerently tried to follow-up saying w/ an accusatory tone, "So, you met w/ him for two hours?"
At which point, Sen McCain very non-challantly yet directly said, "I don't respond to threats!" ending their conversation to another round of applause. In case i am not painting this picture as clearly as it was in-person, Sen. McCain's last comment made it clear that he was not going to be disrespected nor bullied by this type of accusatory questioning nor bow to someone's inappropriate demands of him or his time. Whether Sen. McCain had met w/ this Arizona professor was irrelevant.
For a composite video of this Town Hall click on this link (http://news.cincinnati.com/apps/pbcs.dll/frontpage ) then scroll down, you will see Senator McCain. BTW...i am in this video - about half way through, and the "in60" video where there is a pic of Sen McCain and i; when you see the woman taking a picture then looking at her camera in the composite video of the Town Hall - not the "in60" video; you will here my voice then see me. Watch to the end when he is just chatting w/ a few people about reading different books.)
After casting my vote for Dr. Condoleezza Rice as his VP and giving him the opportunity to announce who his VP candidate will be (this part is in the vid above); i asked him how he will differ from President Bush specifically in the areas of foreign and educational policies?
His first response was that "no one will be tortured under his command" and that he will close Guantanamo prison at which point i asked him what he would do w/ the combatants. He replied, "They are enemy combatants. I will bring them to the U.S., to prisons here. We have the" resources to hold them here. He went on to explain that Guantanamo is viewed by some here and around the world as a black-eye. Whether we won't those people guiding American policy and war-time solutions to difficult problems is, in my humble opinion, a question worth asking. In other words, we cannot just change when a few people express their opinions but Sen. McCain obviously thinks it is time to come up w/ a different solution and i can respect that particularly from a man that was a P.O.W. for seven years.
Personally, i disagree w/ the Senator on this point. Guantanamo was a perfect military solution to a military problem. If torturing occurred at Guantanamo, and one's definition of what is and what is not 'torture' obviously can vary, then that should not take place at Gitmo or anywhere else. But as far as a military solution to a military problem it was and is very, very sound.
(For more on this from someone that was there and knows: http://www.foxnews.com/video2/video08.html?maven_referralObject=1898138&maven_referralPlaylistId=&sRevUrl=http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,373842,00.html .
It would be interesting if they do bring the enemy combatants here and put them in general population. If they do, the enemy combatants will be begging to go back to Guantanamo; if they make out alive. (BTW...have you heard/read that many of the enemy combatants are gaining weight at Gitmo b/c they are getting more food/nourishment than they were getting previously? How very interesting.)
Going back to the professor's semi-question about the Iraq War: The point Sen. McCain made about the Iraq War was that regardless of the reasons to go to war w/ Iraq in the first place, we are there now, and pulling out would simply be foolish and cause a much bigger problem now and down the road. Sen. McCain said we need to continue what we are doing and that despite the lack of media attention on it, we are having more and more successes in Iraq. (Another did you know from the book "Saddam's Secrets" by an Iraqi general: they have built 12,500 new schools in Iraq and teachers are now getting paid 100x...i will say that again, 100x what they were being paid during Saddam's regime!?!)
His answer to the other part of my question was short and lacked details. He simply said that President Bush's "No Child Left Behind" was a good program that he would keep but that it need a few "changes". He did not (could not b/c of time) elaborate on the details of the pros/cons of President Bush's "No Child Left Behind."
In short, i think the concept of a Town Hall is great and accomplishes the task of getting someone like Senator McCain to speak to and, as he pointed out - more importantly, to hear from those on the 'ground-level'. Town Halls simply need to be longer, w/o the media hovering around, and allow for more a conversation which Sen. McCain tried to do and did very well given the constraints.
As for my vote, i will say this: Senator McCain was and now definitely is the first and ONLY politician in my voting era which started w/ the first President Bush that i KNOW i can trust to do what is best and right for American and has the highest level of integrity of any modern-era politician.
In closing, i will say that Sen. McCain took a few well aimed shots at Sen. Obama. (If you care to hear what he said, again, feel free to contact me.)
Regardless of whether we agree on which candidate is best to lead our great country in a crucial period of our and the world's history, get out and vote! Learn as much as you can about both candidates. Talk to people from both sides of the aisle before, during, and even after you have decided. Take a stand but never stop the discussion!
It is ALL about furthering the discussion of life, liberty, the pursuit of happyness (and yes that is a reference to the great Will Smith movie "The Pursuit of Happyness" which everyone should see at least once), and the experiment that is our free-market economy and political republic-democracy; that we call these United States of America!!
Amen and GBA!
For those that do not know, i was invited to attend Senator John McCain's Town Hall Meeting at Xavier University (one of my alma maters) in Cincinnati this past Thursday (June 26th, 2008) and what an experience it was.
For a little personal-historical background, i also saw Al Gore speak at The Commons @ Mississippi State University (another am) back in 1992. Gore's speech was attended by about 3 high school classes and about 20-30 other attendees on a rainy day; though by no stretch a Mississippi rain which can be torrential. i received an invitation to Gore's speech by being in the 'right' (?) place at the right (?) time. While in my theatre design class, it was an elective that fit well w/ my major in Architecture (turned out i was pretty good at as the teacher asked to keep one of my designs for the complex comedy - Tartuffe), the head of the 'Young Democrats' came in and offered the professor two tickets to the event. After he left, the prof immediately offerred them to me. i was not really personally interested in going but a friend of mine was a Clinton/Gore supporter and i thought he would appreciate it and i have always been open-minded enough to go and listen; so i took the tickets.
Anyway, Gore was rambling on about how he and, at the time, Governor Bill "felt everyone's pain" (btw...in Arkansas Gov Bill was known as Slick Willy as my best college friend's father told me when i first inquired about this then unknown Arkansas Governor; my best college friend's family is from Magnolia, Arkansas) ". Meanwhile, standing not two feet from him in the pooring down rain was a woman translating his speech into sign language. He went on and on for several minutes while someone held an umbrella over his head w/o offering her the courtesy any gentleman should have been aware enough to offer her.
Of course, i could not just stand by and let this poor lady get soaked; after all she was translating for the deaf for God's sake. So, i started to take my umbrella up to her by stepping over the yellow rope strung up to provide space b/n the crowd (as i mentioned it was more like a small group most of which were forced to be there; sad state of our society really; when a potential and as it turned out actual VP of the USA comes to speak and less than 75 people show up). The Secret Service, of course, did not like my coming closer to Mr. Gore. Two SS agents came over to me very, very quickly i might add. i pointed out that this poor lady was getting soaked and suggested someone hold an umbrella for her as they were doing for Gore. Ten seconds later an SS agent comes out and holds an umbrella over her. It just goes to show that it takes a Conservative Republican to actually do what Liberal Democrats only talk about.
Jump forward to The McCain Train's Town Hall Meeting at X...
Earlier Wednesday a very good friend, Jennifer Miller, sent me an email about this Town Hall being held at our mutual alma mater. Later that night i received a phone call, answered their questions then was invited to attend. The meeting was for 'Undecideds' which i was at the time; leaning one way but still undecided. (BTW...i will continue to go to Sen. Obama's website to learn more about his policies, experience, and ideas but at this point, i just cannot imagine voting for him over a man like Sen. McCain. Feel free to contact me about my reasons for my vote.)
So i arrived early enough that i was able to choose a good seat that turned out to be the one best positioned at the door where Sen. McCain would enter/leave. At 11:50A.M., a voice said that the program would begin shortly and asked everyone to turn off their phones. At 12:01P.M. Senator McCain came walking in w/ zero fan-fare or even an introduction; not that he needed one. He spoke directly if not eloquently for about fifteen minutes then opened the floor up to questions. i will not run down all of the questions for you here (again if you would like more detail feel free to contact me or click on the links below).
The format was simple, respectful: those that had a question raised their hands, Sen. McCain choose people at random, they asked their question, he answered/had a conversation w/ them; then he choose someone else.
Something that has not been reported that occurred that i thought was really cool was when someone, obviously to me a plant, rudely tried to jump in and ask a question, Senator McCain cut him off by saying he was calling on people who were respectful and had their hand raised then went on to ask if he was an undecided voter or a reporter. After the guy/jerk admitted being a reporter, Sen. McCain respectfully but directly pointed out that this town hall was for voters and, as such, he would continue answering their questions. At this point, i and others started clapping and the whole room joined in sending the message that this kind of disrespectful badgering was unacceptable. (He did get back to him, though, which was another interesting altercation.)
After answering some uneducated, barely articulate professor's question that was more a personal statement about the Afghanistan and Iraq wars (sadly to say the prof was, of course, from X); Sen McCain went back to the rude reporter's question which involved some Arizona professor that sat outside Sen. McCain's office for 16-days w/o eating demanding that Sen. McCain meet w/ him for two hours; about what i have no idea and, frankly, i don't care.
Sen McCain said that the Arizona professor was "happy", his issue apparently being resolved to his satisfaction, the reporter beligerently tried to follow-up saying w/ an accusatory tone, "So, you met w/ him for two hours?"
At which point, Sen McCain very non-challantly yet directly said, "I don't respond to threats!" ending their conversation to another round of applause. In case i am not painting this picture as clearly as it was in-person, Sen. McCain's last comment made it clear that he was not going to be disrespected nor bullied by this type of accusatory questioning nor bow to someone's inappropriate demands of him or his time. Whether Sen. McCain had met w/ this Arizona professor was irrelevant.
For a composite video of this Town Hall click on this link (http://news.cincinnati.com/apps/pbcs.dll/frontpage ) then scroll down, you will see Senator McCain. BTW...i am in this video - about half way through, and the "in60" video where there is a pic of Sen McCain and i; when you see the woman taking a picture then looking at her camera in the composite video of the Town Hall - not the "in60" video; you will here my voice then see me. Watch to the end when he is just chatting w/ a few people about reading different books.)
After casting my vote for Dr. Condoleezza Rice as his VP and giving him the opportunity to announce who his VP candidate will be (this part is in the vid above); i asked him how he will differ from President Bush specifically in the areas of foreign and educational policies?
His first response was that "no one will be tortured under his command" and that he will close Guantanamo prison at which point i asked him what he would do w/ the combatants. He replied, "They are enemy combatants. I will bring them to the U.S., to prisons here. We have the" resources to hold them here. He went on to explain that Guantanamo is viewed by some here and around the world as a black-eye. Whether we won't those people guiding American policy and war-time solutions to difficult problems is, in my humble opinion, a question worth asking. In other words, we cannot just change when a few people express their opinions but Sen. McCain obviously thinks it is time to come up w/ a different solution and i can respect that particularly from a man that was a P.O.W. for seven years.
Personally, i disagree w/ the Senator on this point. Guantanamo was a perfect military solution to a military problem. If torturing occurred at Guantanamo, and one's definition of what is and what is not 'torture' obviously can vary, then that should not take place at Gitmo or anywhere else. But as far as a military solution to a military problem it was and is very, very sound.
(For more on this from someone that was there and knows: http://www.foxnews.com/video2/video08.html?maven_referralObject=1898138&maven_referralPlaylistId=&sRevUrl=http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,373842,00.html .
It would be interesting if they do bring the enemy combatants here and put them in general population. If they do, the enemy combatants will be begging to go back to Guantanamo; if they make out alive. (BTW...have you heard/read that many of the enemy combatants are gaining weight at Gitmo b/c they are getting more food/nourishment than they were getting previously? How very interesting.)
Going back to the professor's semi-question about the Iraq War: The point Sen. McCain made about the Iraq War was that regardless of the reasons to go to war w/ Iraq in the first place, we are there now, and pulling out would simply be foolish and cause a much bigger problem now and down the road. Sen. McCain said we need to continue what we are doing and that despite the lack of media attention on it, we are having more and more successes in Iraq. (Another did you know from the book "Saddam's Secrets" by an Iraqi general: they have built 12,500 new schools in Iraq and teachers are now getting paid 100x...i will say that again, 100x what they were being paid during Saddam's regime!?!)
His answer to the other part of my question was short and lacked details. He simply said that President Bush's "No Child Left Behind" was a good program that he would keep but that it need a few "changes". He did not (could not b/c of time) elaborate on the details of the pros/cons of President Bush's "No Child Left Behind."
In short, i think the concept of a Town Hall is great and accomplishes the task of getting someone like Senator McCain to speak to and, as he pointed out - more importantly, to hear from those on the 'ground-level'. Town Halls simply need to be longer, w/o the media hovering around, and allow for more a conversation which Sen. McCain tried to do and did very well given the constraints.
As for my vote, i will say this: Senator McCain was and now definitely is the first and ONLY politician in my voting era which started w/ the first President Bush that i KNOW i can trust to do what is best and right for American and has the highest level of integrity of any modern-era politician.
In closing, i will say that Sen. McCain took a few well aimed shots at Sen. Obama. (If you care to hear what he said, again, feel free to contact me.)
Regardless of whether we agree on which candidate is best to lead our great country in a crucial period of our and the world's history, get out and vote! Learn as much as you can about both candidates. Talk to people from both sides of the aisle before, during, and even after you have decided. Take a stand but never stop the discussion!
It is ALL about furthering the discussion of life, liberty, the pursuit of happyness (and yes that is a reference to the great Will Smith movie "The Pursuit of Happyness" which everyone should see at least once), and the experiment that is our free-market economy and political republic-democracy; that we call these United States of America!!
Amen and GBA!
Monday, June 16, 2008
"She" Says Alot!
i do not know who "she" is but "she" talks alot. She was all over during a recent trip to Vermont to run the Vermont Cover-Bridge 1/2 Marathon - yes, my second in five weeks.
My good-friend, Al, invited me to come along w/ a contingent of great people heading to Vermont to stay with a friend's family to run this 1/2 Marathon. The ultimate hosts was the Tibbits family: Mr. & Mrs. Tibbits, Alison - the leader of this 1/2M running contingent, her brother - Jesse, and her sister - Brittany. They set the stage for a fantastic weekend despite our arriving at ALL hours of the night, actually Saturday morning.
McQueen, Colleen, Michelle, and i arrived about 1:30A.M. after my flight came in from Cincinnati, Dayton actually...well Detroit technically, about an hour and a half after their flight came in from Midway. (Thanks, again, ladies for waiting.) Midway was clearly the airport of choice coming out of Chicago as the second crew flew out of O'Hare and arrived in Manchester, N.H., about 4A.M. putting them at the Tibbits Household about 5:30A.M. This crew included Alison, Al, Berna, and Chris; who were all, well, how should we say it..."lit" having out-waited the five hour delay at an airport bar.
So that is how the weekend started w/ four of us arriving at 1:3oA.M. taking a quiet tour of the house led by M&M who had been there multiple times. A key word describing our tour being "quiet" after which we settled into our sleeping locations downstairs. As we looked at some of the family photos in the downstairs living room, though, i felt as if i were a thief in the night looking in on a family that i had never known as this was the case. The awesome Tibbits family included me on this adventure despite the fact that i had never met even Alison at the time they extend the invitation. i was fortunate enough to meet Alison, McQueen, and Michelle and later Colleen over the Shamrock Shuffle weekend, also known as Alison's 30th Birthday party weekend.
After our tour we settled in, the ladies in a back room and me on the downstairs couch...w/ one of the family cats, Nilly who took a liking to me and slept...well let's not discuss the details, besides it was apparently just a one night stand. (Nilly, i am still expecting at least a phone call!)
The second group arrived just before the sun came up and took a 'more lively' tour of the Tibbits household at 5:30A.M. Their tour involved barely muted giggling and attempts at a quiet discussion of getting a glass of warm water to be used for nefarious reasons. After their tour came to close all settled in for a couple hours of sleep; though i was visited shortly after the 'giggling' tour ended by the Tibbits family puppy which is a 50+ pound golden retriever named Cabot.
Our morning started with an excellent breakfast including fantastic French Toast made by Kevin (Mr. Tibbits aka Popa Tibbits). We then took a quintessential tour of Vermont stopping at Suger Bush Farms where we tasted cheeses, sauces, and jellies galore. Then we purchased our favorite cheeses and maple syrups (i have had waffles w/ Vermont maple syrup almost every day since being back; it's almost time to go back to get more maple syrup!). We then went 'downtown' to the Simon Pearce glass-blowing shop-restaurant-artisan center where they actually blow-glass, make pottery, and weave blankets all on-site; all very cool and very high quality pieces.
That night we had a pasta/carb-loaded dinner back at the Tibbits household. Mr. and Mrs. Tibbits were even kind (or foolish?) enough to allow me to make a traditional Italian sauce that eventually included nearly everything in the fridge sans peppers including 1/2 a large bottle of Olive Oil. It ended up even better in the Monday morning in omellettes.
The organization of the race day festivities, specifically the line(s) for the buses, left a little to be desired but the scenery was incredible. We crossed one Covered Bridge and ran past two more. We also ran what seemed like 1/3rd of the course along what i thought was the wide, gently flowing Ottauquechee river that seemed to help us (or me, at least) along the course when my legs wanted to just give up and jump in the river. (BTW...It turns out that what i thought was river was a long, wide Pond called Dewey's Pond.)
Everyone finished the race, some twice. It helped a ton having Mrs. Tibbits and Brittany's boyfriend, Chris, yelling for us at three different locations along the race path and then again at the finish line.
While waiting for our carriages to come carry us home we met a few ladies that were looking for the path back to where the cars were parked. Unfortunately, none of us that were waiting new where to point them; in fact we pointed them in the opposite direction that they needed to go. After Alison and M&M picked us up, we saw them walking...trudging up the hill toward their car. They had a ways to go yet and after a 1/2M that would have been a looooonnnngggg walk. At the top of the hill, i jumped out of our car that M&M was driving to explain their predicament to Alison who, of course, agreed we should go back and get them; so we did.
While i was chatting w/ Alison, the car-suv b/n our two cars starting honking at me/us despite the fact that they had plenty of time before the stop sign as we were four or five cars back. On the way back to M&M's car, the driver that was honking at me tried to explain that they were following the car in front of Alison to which my immediate response was, "Relax. You'll get there." Not sure why i said that but here we were trying to do a very nice thing and this yahoo was honking at us as if his world was going to end if they fell 100 yards behind their lead car. Of course, this was the same SUV that Alison nearly cut-off after picking us up.
Anyhow, we went back and picked the three very appreciative ladies up and drove them to their car. Having accomplished our good samaritan task for the day, we headed back to base-camp for some R&R, and later, a fantastic steak dinner and 20+ different flavors of Ben&Jerry's Ice Cream to celebrate. After grilling our steaks, Mr. Tibbits started a fire in their fire-pit by the pond, Cabot tried to run away w/ all the Smores' sticks, we eventually did roast smores, and talked well into the night while Chris and Al played w/ their cameras. What a picture perfect day!
My good-friend, Al, invited me to come along w/ a contingent of great people heading to Vermont to stay with a friend's family to run this 1/2 Marathon. The ultimate hosts was the Tibbits family: Mr. & Mrs. Tibbits, Alison - the leader of this 1/2M running contingent, her brother - Jesse, and her sister - Brittany. They set the stage for a fantastic weekend despite our arriving at ALL hours of the night, actually Saturday morning.
McQueen, Colleen, Michelle, and i arrived about 1:30A.M. after my flight came in from Cincinnati, Dayton actually...well Detroit technically, about an hour and a half after their flight came in from Midway. (Thanks, again, ladies for waiting.) Midway was clearly the airport of choice coming out of Chicago as the second crew flew out of O'Hare and arrived in Manchester, N.H., about 4A.M. putting them at the Tibbits Household about 5:30A.M. This crew included Alison, Al, Berna, and Chris; who were all, well, how should we say it..."lit" having out-waited the five hour delay at an airport bar.
So that is how the weekend started w/ four of us arriving at 1:3oA.M. taking a quiet tour of the house led by M&M who had been there multiple times. A key word describing our tour being "quiet" after which we settled into our sleeping locations downstairs. As we looked at some of the family photos in the downstairs living room, though, i felt as if i were a thief in the night looking in on a family that i had never known as this was the case. The awesome Tibbits family included me on this adventure despite the fact that i had never met even Alison at the time they extend the invitation. i was fortunate enough to meet Alison, McQueen, and Michelle and later Colleen over the Shamrock Shuffle weekend, also known as Alison's 30th Birthday party weekend.
After our tour we settled in, the ladies in a back room and me on the downstairs couch...w/ one of the family cats, Nilly who took a liking to me and slept...well let's not discuss the details, besides it was apparently just a one night stand. (Nilly, i am still expecting at least a phone call!)
The second group arrived just before the sun came up and took a 'more lively' tour of the Tibbits household at 5:30A.M. Their tour involved barely muted giggling and attempts at a quiet discussion of getting a glass of warm water to be used for nefarious reasons. After their tour came to close all settled in for a couple hours of sleep; though i was visited shortly after the 'giggling' tour ended by the Tibbits family puppy which is a 50+ pound golden retriever named Cabot.
Our morning started with an excellent breakfast including fantastic French Toast made by Kevin (Mr. Tibbits aka Popa Tibbits). We then took a quintessential tour of Vermont stopping at Suger Bush Farms where we tasted cheeses, sauces, and jellies galore. Then we purchased our favorite cheeses and maple syrups (i have had waffles w/ Vermont maple syrup almost every day since being back; it's almost time to go back to get more maple syrup!). We then went 'downtown' to the Simon Pearce glass-blowing shop-restaurant-artisan center where they actually blow-glass, make pottery, and weave blankets all on-site; all very cool and very high quality pieces.
That night we had a pasta/carb-loaded dinner back at the Tibbits household. Mr. and Mrs. Tibbits were even kind (or foolish?) enough to allow me to make a traditional Italian sauce that eventually included nearly everything in the fridge sans peppers including 1/2 a large bottle of Olive Oil. It ended up even better in the Monday morning in omellettes.
The organization of the race day festivities, specifically the line(s) for the buses, left a little to be desired but the scenery was incredible. We crossed one Covered Bridge and ran past two more. We also ran what seemed like 1/3rd of the course along what i thought was the wide, gently flowing Ottauquechee river that seemed to help us (or me, at least) along the course when my legs wanted to just give up and jump in the river. (BTW...It turns out that what i thought was river was a long, wide Pond called Dewey's Pond.)
Everyone finished the race, some twice. It helped a ton having Mrs. Tibbits and Brittany's boyfriend, Chris, yelling for us at three different locations along the race path and then again at the finish line.
While waiting for our carriages to come carry us home we met a few ladies that were looking for the path back to where the cars were parked. Unfortunately, none of us that were waiting new where to point them; in fact we pointed them in the opposite direction that they needed to go. After Alison and M&M picked us up, we saw them walking...trudging up the hill toward their car. They had a ways to go yet and after a 1/2M that would have been a looooonnnngggg walk. At the top of the hill, i jumped out of our car that M&M was driving to explain their predicament to Alison who, of course, agreed we should go back and get them; so we did.
While i was chatting w/ Alison, the car-suv b/n our two cars starting honking at me/us despite the fact that they had plenty of time before the stop sign as we were four or five cars back. On the way back to M&M's car, the driver that was honking at me tried to explain that they were following the car in front of Alison to which my immediate response was, "Relax. You'll get there." Not sure why i said that but here we were trying to do a very nice thing and this yahoo was honking at us as if his world was going to end if they fell 100 yards behind their lead car. Of course, this was the same SUV that Alison nearly cut-off after picking us up.
Anyhow, we went back and picked the three very appreciative ladies up and drove them to their car. Having accomplished our good samaritan task for the day, we headed back to base-camp for some R&R, and later, a fantastic steak dinner and 20+ different flavors of Ben&Jerry's Ice Cream to celebrate. After grilling our steaks, Mr. Tibbits started a fire in their fire-pit by the pond, Cabot tried to run away w/ all the Smores' sticks, we eventually did roast smores, and talked well into the night while Chris and Al played w/ their cameras. What a picture perfect day!
On Monday, minus Colleen who flew out on Sunday night after dinner - Thanks again, Colleen, for your steak!; we went to the Quechee Gorge. Everyone agreed we could have spent an entire afternoon just hanging out on the rocks enjoying the flow of the creek-river, maybe occassionally dabbling our feet in the cool water. But, the rest of the ladies had to fly back while the boys remained to venture on to Ascutney State Park (see the post "Adventures @ ASP" for more).
Another heart-felt and huge "Thank You!" to the Tibbits Family particularly Alison for inviting me/us and Mr. and Mrs. Tibbits for being such great hosts (be on the look out, Mr. & Mrs. T., something is on its way via the mail as more tangible "thank you"!)
Thank you Al for inviting me. Thank you Alison for extending the invitation to someone that, at that point, you had never even met. Thank you Colleen, McQueen, and M&M for waiting for me on Friday night. Thank you all for a fantastic and very memorable weekend!!!
Sunday, May 25, 2008
Rocky Mtn/Denver - Bandolier/Santa Fe Trip
The Camera Trip as i am now calling it; or The Picture Trip depending on the circumstances.
Between the four of us i am certain we took over 1,000 pictures easy. And if my pictures are any indication, about 40 to 50 good ones; well, ones worth showing to people. Why is it that a tree or mountain or flower looks cool in person but then the picture it just looks boring? i am, of course, being a little facetious but of the 250+ pictures i would say 50 of mine are really good.
The Rocky Mountains were amazing. We saw a coyote (a 'beggar' coyote we think). It looked like a big white/grey fox; some elk including a few walking around the town and across the street right in front of us; more elk grazing about 20-30 yards away; an elk herd chillin' by the RMNP (Rocky Mountain National Park) Visitor Center; no snakes; no mountain lions - Thank God; and no bears - Thanks Al.
Al was our official bear-scarer. Al made sure we had no morsel, no crumb of food in our rented Jeep Commander so as not to invite any 'just-finished hibernating' hungry bears to us. When we hiked, which was seldom, Al brought up the rear thinking this to be the safest place in a line of hikers but not realizing it is actually the position most likely to get mauled. We, of course, neglected to tell Al this tiny morsel of information.
During one of our longest hikes around a pond-lake (about 1.4 miles around it), we nearly lost Kevin to a snow drift. With one leg knee deep in snow about 3-feet from the edge of the lake, Kevin good-naturedly 'posed' for pictures before we extricated him from his predicament.
We let Jason drive briefly on Friday night to drop Al off for his massage/moon-lit bath and then to the movies (to see Speed Racer b/c i am a huge 'Speed' fan and wanted to see this movie on the weekend it opened - it did not disappoint, but then again it also did not live up to its potential). And we quickly realized why he was not driving more often. In the matter of about 15 minutes of driving, Jason nearly ran a stop sign, BLEW through another stop sign w/o even hesitating, and almost turned up the wrong (left) side of the street. He nearly gave back all five of his points he earned w/ the group the previous night when he noticed as someone else, whose name will remain anonymous...but it was NOT me...nor Al...nor Jason, was driving that the gas gauge was on E which sent a shock-wave through the car. The gauge was, in fact, below E. Regardless despite the worry from some, the likelihood of us running out of gas was remote; still there particularly given that we were somewhere b/n Denver and Santa Fe in the New Mexico desert w/ nothing but the blackest death of night surrounding us for miles and miles and miles.
Speaking of driving, i drove the majority of our tours to RMNP/Boulder, Pike's Peek - or at least to the COG Railway that took us up to Pike's Peak, 2/3 of the way to Santa Fe, and to Alberquerque. This may not seem like much but those that have driven with me previously know that this is sometimes more nerve-wrecking than facing a mama bear who is looking for her cubs...or a hungry mountain lion as i can...sometimes drive beyond the legal, posted speed so-called 'limit.' The drive after RMNP through Denver during rush-hour on toward Santa Fe was, i would hazard a guess, the most...'interesting' for my passengers. The only likely exception to this was Al who particularly liked my actually driving below the speed limit through the meandering hills and mountains of RMNP. I did try to warn my passengers early on, though, by informing them that i am very, very good at getting from point A to point B in a minimal amount of time and suggested they not, i repeat, NOT look out the front window while i am driving. But, not everyone headed my warning.
All in all, it was a fantastic trip. i half expected to experience those 'Arggghhh' moments when personalities rub the wrong way after traveling together for 7 days but...was pleasantly surprised to find that there were none (at least not for me save a few times when i nearly dumped a bucket of freezing cold water on Al b/c he woke me up w/ his incessant snoring). Now if you asked my travel companions you might get a completely different response but i enjoyed a very relaxing and fun-filled trip w/ very little, if any, aggravations. We, of course, had our moments that all travel will present to travelers but none were travel companion(s) related.
i think we set the tone of our trip when during our very first venture we were in search of our hotel. Following the direcdtions of Kevin's "Magic Phone" (that would be an i-Phone w/ Internet access), we found ourselves first behind a biker's gang then driving through Denver's projects which was located precisely where the "Magic Phone" said our hotel should be. As we passed a few more questionable characters, the command came from the captain's chair to, "Lock'em UP!!"
We then used the 'old-fashioned' means of directions: we called them w/ a cell phone to get directions directly from them. A short time later, after breaking out of Denver's down-side, we arrived at our hotel which turned out to be out all by itself sitting just outside the parking lot of Denver's new football stadium.
In the end we all chipped in, Jason w/ pre-planning-hotel reservations-directions; Kevin with pre-planning-directions-on-the-spot directions w/ the Magic Phone; and Al with Jennifer and the Rockies game and inviting me in the first place; and my driving and planning the Jeep Tour.
All-in-all i think the highlights of our trip were up front and at the end; meeting Al's friend Jennifer in Denver and the Jeep Tour with our guides Roch (pron. Rock) and Jerry south of Santa Fe where the Rocky Mountains begin at Valle Caldera - the result of an old volcano. i will post the best of my pictures soon - as soon as i can figure out how to upload them.
(Let me know what you think of this post or what questions you have.)
ALL MY BEST!
Brian
Between the four of us i am certain we took over 1,000 pictures easy. And if my pictures are any indication, about 40 to 50 good ones; well, ones worth showing to people. Why is it that a tree or mountain or flower looks cool in person but then the picture it just looks boring? i am, of course, being a little facetious but of the 250+ pictures i would say 50 of mine are really good.
The Rocky Mountains were amazing. We saw a coyote (a 'beggar' coyote we think). It looked like a big white/grey fox; some elk including a few walking around the town and across the street right in front of us; more elk grazing about 20-30 yards away; an elk herd chillin' by the RMNP (Rocky Mountain National Park) Visitor Center; no snakes; no mountain lions - Thank God; and no bears - Thanks Al.
Al was our official bear-scarer. Al made sure we had no morsel, no crumb of food in our rented Jeep Commander so as not to invite any 'just-finished hibernating' hungry bears to us. When we hiked, which was seldom, Al brought up the rear thinking this to be the safest place in a line of hikers but not realizing it is actually the position most likely to get mauled. We, of course, neglected to tell Al this tiny morsel of information.
During one of our longest hikes around a pond-lake (about 1.4 miles around it), we nearly lost Kevin to a snow drift. With one leg knee deep in snow about 3-feet from the edge of the lake, Kevin good-naturedly 'posed' for pictures before we extricated him from his predicament.
We let Jason drive briefly on Friday night to drop Al off for his massage/moon-lit bath and then to the movies (to see Speed Racer b/c i am a huge 'Speed' fan and wanted to see this movie on the weekend it opened - it did not disappoint, but then again it also did not live up to its potential). And we quickly realized why he was not driving more often. In the matter of about 15 minutes of driving, Jason nearly ran a stop sign, BLEW through another stop sign w/o even hesitating, and almost turned up the wrong (left) side of the street. He nearly gave back all five of his points he earned w/ the group the previous night when he noticed as someone else, whose name will remain anonymous...but it was NOT me...nor Al...nor Jason, was driving that the gas gauge was on E which sent a shock-wave through the car. The gauge was, in fact, below E. Regardless despite the worry from some, the likelihood of us running out of gas was remote; still there particularly given that we were somewhere b/n Denver and Santa Fe in the New Mexico desert w/ nothing but the blackest death of night surrounding us for miles and miles and miles.
Speaking of driving, i drove the majority of our tours to RMNP/Boulder, Pike's Peek - or at least to the COG Railway that took us up to Pike's Peak, 2/3 of the way to Santa Fe, and to Alberquerque. This may not seem like much but those that have driven with me previously know that this is sometimes more nerve-wrecking than facing a mama bear who is looking for her cubs...or a hungry mountain lion as i can...sometimes drive beyond the legal, posted speed so-called 'limit.' The drive after RMNP through Denver during rush-hour on toward Santa Fe was, i would hazard a guess, the most...'interesting' for my passengers. The only likely exception to this was Al who particularly liked my actually driving below the speed limit through the meandering hills and mountains of RMNP. I did try to warn my passengers early on, though, by informing them that i am very, very good at getting from point A to point B in a minimal amount of time and suggested they not, i repeat, NOT look out the front window while i am driving. But, not everyone headed my warning.
All in all, it was a fantastic trip. i half expected to experience those 'Arggghhh' moments when personalities rub the wrong way after traveling together for 7 days but...was pleasantly surprised to find that there were none (at least not for me save a few times when i nearly dumped a bucket of freezing cold water on Al b/c he woke me up w/ his incessant snoring). Now if you asked my travel companions you might get a completely different response but i enjoyed a very relaxing and fun-filled trip w/ very little, if any, aggravations. We, of course, had our moments that all travel will present to travelers but none were travel companion(s) related.
i think we set the tone of our trip when during our very first venture we were in search of our hotel. Following the direcdtions of Kevin's "Magic Phone" (that would be an i-Phone w/ Internet access), we found ourselves first behind a biker's gang then driving through Denver's projects which was located precisely where the "Magic Phone" said our hotel should be. As we passed a few more questionable characters, the command came from the captain's chair to, "Lock'em UP!!"
We then used the 'old-fashioned' means of directions: we called them w/ a cell phone to get directions directly from them. A short time later, after breaking out of Denver's down-side, we arrived at our hotel which turned out to be out all by itself sitting just outside the parking lot of Denver's new football stadium.
In the end we all chipped in, Jason w/ pre-planning-hotel reservations-directions; Kevin with pre-planning-directions-on-the-spot directions w/ the Magic Phone; and Al with Jennifer and the Rockies game and inviting me in the first place; and my driving and planning the Jeep Tour.
All-in-all i think the highlights of our trip were up front and at the end; meeting Al's friend Jennifer in Denver and the Jeep Tour with our guides Roch (pron. Rock) and Jerry south of Santa Fe where the Rocky Mountains begin at Valle Caldera - the result of an old volcano. i will post the best of my pictures soon - as soon as i can figure out how to upload them.
(Let me know what you think of this post or what questions you have.)
ALL MY BEST!
Brian
Thursday, May 15, 2008
Adventure Vacation 2008: Rocky Mtn-Santa Fe Trip
Aftering running my first half-marathon on Sunday, May 4th, i left on Monday, May 5th, for a vacation w/ my friends Al, Kevin, and Jason B. We were West-bound to Denver first then down to Santa Fe/Albuquerque.
This was a photographic journey as Jason B. is a semi-professional photographer (he makes enough to pay for a very nice/expensive camera - NIKON, of course), Kevin also has a very nice digital SLR camera (Nikon, of course), and Al recently purchased a digital SLR camera (Nikon, of course); while i went old school using my 20-year old 35-mm FILM camera (also Nikon, of course) along with my new digital Coolpix camera (yep, Nikon, of course).
The four of us, particularly those three, were funny to watch walking around w/ our nine.....NINE cameras: 3 - digital SLR's, 1 - old-school 35mm, 1 new digital, and four camera-phones. One of the best scenes was watching Kevin juggle the three SLR's while taking pictures of Jason, Al, and I up in an Indian cave dwelling with each of the three SLR cameras. i actually snapped a good picture of him holding all three cameras trying to take our picture.
The flights on Frontier, our bankruptancy protected airline, were...well, interesting. Having flown often in my life, i liken flying to a huge thrill ride at an amusement park. i even sometimes hold my hands up like one would when going down a major hill on one of those rides - but that could scare those behind me so i did it 'quietly'.
Anyway, on each lift-off and landing i got the feeling the pilots were told to either conserve gas or give the passengers a real thrill! My father worked on jet engines for his entire 25-year career at GE Aircraft Engines. That, coupled w/ my own experience told me that these pilots were not exactly using the entire engines particularly during lift off (or they were Piggly-Wiggly engines - that would be Pratt & Whitney engines for those not familiar w/ the airline engine industry).
The take-offs were slow to the point of my wondering if we were going to actually lift off. Then, the pilots tried to take (particularly the lift-off from Dayton to Denver) a Rocky Mountain slope of a climb to cruising altitude. At one point i simply thought the plane would slide backward we we going so slow. And keep in mind, this is all from someone who LIKES to fly!
Then the touch-downs were like those thrill ride drops and embankments. It was more like being flown by a fighter-pilot than an airline pilot. Fun...but exhausting. At one point on the flight back (from Albuquerue to Denver), during our rapid descent the EXIT lights came on as if we were all going to have to jump out of the plane. In all of my airline travels i have never experienced a plane in a near nose-dive when the lights and EXIT lights come on like that during our descent. Whew! What (now that my feet are squarely on the ground in Cincy) fun!
And that was merely the flights out and back!
Ready to hear about the actual trip?
This was a photographic journey as Jason B. is a semi-professional photographer (he makes enough to pay for a very nice/expensive camera - NIKON, of course), Kevin also has a very nice digital SLR camera (Nikon, of course), and Al recently purchased a digital SLR camera (Nikon, of course); while i went old school using my 20-year old 35-mm FILM camera (also Nikon, of course) along with my new digital Coolpix camera (yep, Nikon, of course).
The four of us, particularly those three, were funny to watch walking around w/ our nine.....NINE cameras: 3 - digital SLR's, 1 - old-school 35mm, 1 new digital, and four camera-phones. One of the best scenes was watching Kevin juggle the three SLR's while taking pictures of Jason, Al, and I up in an Indian cave dwelling with each of the three SLR cameras. i actually snapped a good picture of him holding all three cameras trying to take our picture.
The flights on Frontier, our bankruptancy protected airline, were...well, interesting. Having flown often in my life, i liken flying to a huge thrill ride at an amusement park. i even sometimes hold my hands up like one would when going down a major hill on one of those rides - but that could scare those behind me so i did it 'quietly'.
Anyway, on each lift-off and landing i got the feeling the pilots were told to either conserve gas or give the passengers a real thrill! My father worked on jet engines for his entire 25-year career at GE Aircraft Engines. That, coupled w/ my own experience told me that these pilots were not exactly using the entire engines particularly during lift off (or they were Piggly-Wiggly engines - that would be Pratt & Whitney engines for those not familiar w/ the airline engine industry).
The take-offs were slow to the point of my wondering if we were going to actually lift off. Then, the pilots tried to take (particularly the lift-off from Dayton to Denver) a Rocky Mountain slope of a climb to cruising altitude. At one point i simply thought the plane would slide backward we we going so slow. And keep in mind, this is all from someone who LIKES to fly!
Then the touch-downs were like those thrill ride drops and embankments. It was more like being flown by a fighter-pilot than an airline pilot. Fun...but exhausting. At one point on the flight back (from Albuquerue to Denver), during our rapid descent the EXIT lights came on as if we were all going to have to jump out of the plane. In all of my airline travels i have never experienced a plane in a near nose-dive when the lights and EXIT lights come on like that during our descent. Whew! What (now that my feet are squarely on the ground in Cincy) fun!
And that was merely the flights out and back!
Ready to hear about the actual trip?
My First 1/2
I DID IT! 13.2 Miles! In under 3 hours (2.45 to be exact)!
It was very difficult, painful, and challenging but i did it. And now, i have to do it again in two weeks in Vermont for the Covered Bridge 1/2 Marathon on June 1st.
The Flying Pig Marathon in Cincinnati on May 4th is one of the seemingly impossible but simultaneously most fun and most difficult 1/2M and Marathons. The hills make it one of the most difficult and the city and people make it one of the most fun runs (according to Runner's Magazine).
i ran once while on vacation - 4.5 miles in Santa Fe while sick (i think running really, really helped me get over/through the cold i acquired while visiting the Rocky Mountain National Park when the temperature/weather bounced back and forth b/n sunny and sixty to rain and forty to sleet to snowy and thirty-degrees at least three different times. It was still beautiful, though. (More on that trip in my next post - above.) )
Two of my running 'coaches' and Al were their at the very end cheering my triumph. The four of us walked along the loud and boisterous finish 'line' which was more of a corridor of people cheering everyone on to a proud finish for both the 1/2M and Marathon. The run was much, much more emotional than i ever imagined. i nearly broke down in the corridor of people shouting for me despite not knowing any (or few of them). Then it occurred to me...
Why can't people with cancer...ALS...etc... receive this same awe-inspiring, heart-filling, soul-enriching feeling? What if we could create a "Marathon Finish" for people battling cancer-ALS-type diseases? How empowering would that be?
It was very difficult, painful, and challenging but i did it. And now, i have to do it again in two weeks in Vermont for the Covered Bridge 1/2 Marathon on June 1st.
The Flying Pig Marathon in Cincinnati on May 4th is one of the seemingly impossible but simultaneously most fun and most difficult 1/2M and Marathons. The hills make it one of the most difficult and the city and people make it one of the most fun runs (according to Runner's Magazine).
i ran once while on vacation - 4.5 miles in Santa Fe while sick (i think running really, really helped me get over/through the cold i acquired while visiting the Rocky Mountain National Park when the temperature/weather bounced back and forth b/n sunny and sixty to rain and forty to sleet to snowy and thirty-degrees at least three different times. It was still beautiful, though. (More on that trip in my next post - above.) )
Two of my running 'coaches' and Al were their at the very end cheering my triumph. The four of us walked along the loud and boisterous finish 'line' which was more of a corridor of people cheering everyone on to a proud finish for both the 1/2M and Marathon. The run was much, much more emotional than i ever imagined. i nearly broke down in the corridor of people shouting for me despite not knowing any (or few of them). Then it occurred to me...
Why can't people with cancer...ALS...etc... receive this same awe-inspiring, heart-filling, soul-enriching feeling? What if we could create a "Marathon Finish" for people battling cancer-ALS-type diseases? How empowering would that be?
Monday, April 28, 2008
LIFE...& death
Several recent events have brought the memories of my dear friend Terry back into focus.
i usually handle my emotions well, or at least i would like to think so. When my grandparents both passed-on within a month of each other in 1998, i did not try to hide my emotions too much. i did so i could be there for my family, particularly my dad. But when it came time to say good-bye to my grandpa when everyone but the immediate family had left, i stepped up to my grandpa one final time and let my emotions overwhelm me. i cried harder than i think i ever have in my life and with no inhibitions. My brother and cousins surrounded and hugged me. Even now my eyes begin to tear up just thinking of him...of them...of that moment. You see grandpa and i, some say, were cut from the say cloth - which is the greatest compliment i, or anyone, could receive. i was not/ still am not anywhere near the man he was; but i still strive to be (though not enough; not everyday like i need to - see post below RE Wasting Time). Grandpa and i even looked alike. Since his death i have thought of him often and cried several times for him and my grandma.
But when my best-friend Terry died five years later in 2003 despite two years of advanced notice, i went numb relying on my cruise control to get me through. i even recall joking around at his funeral and in the 'pall-bearers' car with my best-friends that i had/have known for over 20 years. i even remember thinking shortly after the funeral that i did not cry and thinking it odd.
Terry was diagnosed with ALS - Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, better known as Lou Gehrig's disease, in 2001. Technically he was not diagnosed "with" ALS as ALS is not a disease they can diagnose; they actually eliminate all other possibilities until the only thing left is ALS. i recall being at the airport when Terry and his wife came back from The Mayo Clinic and told everyone right there in the airport. His wife understandably broke down and cried in her mother's arms. Terry did what he always does: smiles his wry-shoulder shrugging smile and said, "What are you going to do?" with his eyes as if it was no big deal.
(ALS is one of the worst diseases known to man. For those that do not know, ALS slowly strips a person of their motor/muscular functions starting from the toes and slowly crawling its insipid way up one's body until the afflicted person dies of respiratory failure because his brain can no longer tell the body to breathe. First muscle tremors, then limited use of one's feet, legs, hands, arms, then the ability to swallow one's saliva. Someone has to use suctions tubes, like those of a dentist, to vacuum out his saliva so he does not choke to death because he no longer has enough control to swallow. )
Over the next two years and three months we spent a lot of time together but never enough. We played golf - he beat me despite the unmistakable signs of ALS in Terry's legs. We played poker - Hi&Low his favorite. We watched movies - The Bourne Identity, specifically.
i spent the night with him a few times to both be with him and attempt to give his Heaven-sent wife a breath of a break. i once helped him go to the bathroom - #2 to be specific. Terry seemed to revel in those moments, in the fact that he was putting one of his best friends in very awkward positions and seeing just how i would handle it/them while he had no visible signs of embarassment. In fact, i am quite sure he enjoyed those moments of putting me in really odd situations. (i will save you the difficulty in reading about the specifics of those moments...for now. If...WHEN i write the book "How to Save a Life" you can read about the details; though, ever the one to shock those close to him, i can hear Terry now, "Aawwww, come on!")
On those nights, lying on the couch next to Terry's hospital bed in his living room listening as Terry struggled for each and every breath, something broke in me; something had to in order to survive. And i was only there temporarily. Terry's wife, and two young children, were there 24/7.
Terry was one of those rare individuals that could say all he needed to say with a look; no words, just a look (interestingly enough just like another man i love and seek to live up to: my grandpa Storn). So many memories of Terry, his voice, his face, his expressions, his no-non-sense approach to life and people are flooding my brain right now; like a fast-forward slide show. i want to tell you about them all; but now is not the time nor is this the right place. Suffice to say that my best-friend Terry was... ... ... ... ...a fresh breath of life, of truth, of honesty in a world so caked w/ niceties, and facades, and false-fronts, and politics. Terry was the directness to my beating around the bush. Terry was the honesty to my tact. Terry was the here-and-now to my tomorrow. Terry was the present to my future.
About a year ago i went to Terry's grave site with my mom after visiting my step-dad's grave. i started to cry but held back because i felt bad that i was getting more emotional at Terry's grave than Joe's which is no indication of my love or lack thereof for my step-father simply an indication of how 'things' sometimes take years to 'hit' me. (My step-day, btw, had another devastatingly difficult end to his life after surviving a massive stroke for seven years that would have killed most people. Hhmmm...a very, very unfortunate pattern is emerging here.) i have been back to Terry's grave since then and cried a little; but not the flood i now know is coming.
I miss you Terry! Not ready to join you, but i miss you something fierce. i need your friendship like never before; i need your honesty and directness and clear-thinking. i am holding myself back; don't know why but it is long-past time to let the chains go. Thank You, Terry! i will deliver your messages when the times come. i wish you were here now. i wish it could have been me instead. Why you? Why in the prime of your life? Why just when you had started a young family with a Heaven-sent wife and two beautiful children?
You faced the worst life has to offer and never once showed even a crack in your faith; never once said, "Why me? Why is this happening?" Never once questioned God or His reasons. You faced worse than most will ever even imagine; and you won. i miss you Terry and will never stop.
i usually handle my emotions well, or at least i would like to think so. When my grandparents both passed-on within a month of each other in 1998, i did not try to hide my emotions too much. i did so i could be there for my family, particularly my dad. But when it came time to say good-bye to my grandpa when everyone but the immediate family had left, i stepped up to my grandpa one final time and let my emotions overwhelm me. i cried harder than i think i ever have in my life and with no inhibitions. My brother and cousins surrounded and hugged me. Even now my eyes begin to tear up just thinking of him...of them...of that moment. You see grandpa and i, some say, were cut from the say cloth - which is the greatest compliment i, or anyone, could receive. i was not/ still am not anywhere near the man he was; but i still strive to be (though not enough; not everyday like i need to - see post below RE Wasting Time). Grandpa and i even looked alike. Since his death i have thought of him often and cried several times for him and my grandma.
But when my best-friend Terry died five years later in 2003 despite two years of advanced notice, i went numb relying on my cruise control to get me through. i even recall joking around at his funeral and in the 'pall-bearers' car with my best-friends that i had/have known for over 20 years. i even remember thinking shortly after the funeral that i did not cry and thinking it odd.
Terry was diagnosed with ALS - Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, better known as Lou Gehrig's disease, in 2001. Technically he was not diagnosed "with" ALS as ALS is not a disease they can diagnose; they actually eliminate all other possibilities until the only thing left is ALS. i recall being at the airport when Terry and his wife came back from The Mayo Clinic and told everyone right there in the airport. His wife understandably broke down and cried in her mother's arms. Terry did what he always does: smiles his wry-shoulder shrugging smile and said, "What are you going to do?" with his eyes as if it was no big deal.
(ALS is one of the worst diseases known to man. For those that do not know, ALS slowly strips a person of their motor/muscular functions starting from the toes and slowly crawling its insipid way up one's body until the afflicted person dies of respiratory failure because his brain can no longer tell the body to breathe. First muscle tremors, then limited use of one's feet, legs, hands, arms, then the ability to swallow one's saliva. Someone has to use suctions tubes, like those of a dentist, to vacuum out his saliva so he does not choke to death because he no longer has enough control to swallow. )
Over the next two years and three months we spent a lot of time together but never enough. We played golf - he beat me despite the unmistakable signs of ALS in Terry's legs. We played poker - Hi&Low his favorite. We watched movies - The Bourne Identity, specifically.
i spent the night with him a few times to both be with him and attempt to give his Heaven-sent wife a breath of a break. i once helped him go to the bathroom - #2 to be specific. Terry seemed to revel in those moments, in the fact that he was putting one of his best friends in very awkward positions and seeing just how i would handle it/them while he had no visible signs of embarassment. In fact, i am quite sure he enjoyed those moments of putting me in really odd situations. (i will save you the difficulty in reading about the specifics of those moments...for now. If...WHEN i write the book "How to Save a Life" you can read about the details; though, ever the one to shock those close to him, i can hear Terry now, "Aawwww, come on!")
On those nights, lying on the couch next to Terry's hospital bed in his living room listening as Terry struggled for each and every breath, something broke in me; something had to in order to survive. And i was only there temporarily. Terry's wife, and two young children, were there 24/7.
Terry was one of those rare individuals that could say all he needed to say with a look; no words, just a look (interestingly enough just like another man i love and seek to live up to: my grandpa Storn). So many memories of Terry, his voice, his face, his expressions, his no-non-sense approach to life and people are flooding my brain right now; like a fast-forward slide show. i want to tell you about them all; but now is not the time nor is this the right place. Suffice to say that my best-friend Terry was... ... ... ... ...a fresh breath of life, of truth, of honesty in a world so caked w/ niceties, and facades, and false-fronts, and politics. Terry was the directness to my beating around the bush. Terry was the honesty to my tact. Terry was the here-and-now to my tomorrow. Terry was the present to my future.
About a year ago i went to Terry's grave site with my mom after visiting my step-dad's grave. i started to cry but held back because i felt bad that i was getting more emotional at Terry's grave than Joe's which is no indication of my love or lack thereof for my step-father simply an indication of how 'things' sometimes take years to 'hit' me. (My step-day, btw, had another devastatingly difficult end to his life after surviving a massive stroke for seven years that would have killed most people. Hhmmm...a very, very unfortunate pattern is emerging here.) i have been back to Terry's grave since then and cried a little; but not the flood i now know is coming.
I miss you Terry! Not ready to join you, but i miss you something fierce. i need your friendship like never before; i need your honesty and directness and clear-thinking. i am holding myself back; don't know why but it is long-past time to let the chains go. Thank You, Terry! i will deliver your messages when the times come. i wish you were here now. i wish it could have been me instead. Why you? Why in the prime of your life? Why just when you had started a young family with a Heaven-sent wife and two beautiful children?
You faced the worst life has to offer and never once showed even a crack in your faith; never once said, "Why me? Why is this happening?" Never once questioned God or His reasons. You faced worse than most will ever even imagine; and you won. i miss you Terry and will never stop.
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