Kids

My friend Michael has been undergoing an ordeal. You can read his blog entries at the link. We've become friends through JP's and through his blog posts. All I can do is give him my words and hope they help him, and keep him in my thoughts and prayers and feel incredibly proud of what he did. And also the Ruiz family are in my thoughts for their tragic loss. I can only imagine the grief they feel. As a parent it has to touch you.

As I read through Michael's entries I thought about this article that I had read last week. Apparently, according to the researchers, young people are smart enough to make the correct decision when dealing with a risky behavior, it's just a more complicated process for them. And they usually don't get what the consequences are until it's too late. This is probably the case here.

The article also reminded me of a Mark Twain quote: "When I was fourteen, my father was so ignorant I could hardly stand to have him around. When I got to be twenty-one, I was astonished at how much he had learned in seven years." How true.

One thing I have decided from Michael's actions is to go for the CPR certification after the holidays. He made me realize this is an important thing for me to do as a citizen of the world.

The Song Remains The Same

An interesting thread started up at JP's which has me thinking a little earlier this year. Which is a good idea. I usually wait until the last minute to make these kind of plans which then seems to backfire on me. Can I overcome this behavior for the coming year?

My workouts have been crap this year. To say they were sporadic would be a compliment they don't deserve. I let some things get inside my head which F'd me all up. And I unfortunately let them dominate and throw me off course, not only in workouts but in other every day life matters. So the first step will be to clear out these "noises" and try to keep them away.

And then come up with the exercise/nutrition plan. My diet hasn't been that bad, I've just been kind of dormant, staying the same weight/body fat for several months now. I'm looking at an exercise plan right now, which I'll evaluate over the next few days to see if it will get me where I want to go. It has a lot of new exercises that I haven't done before so I'll need some practice on them. It's a 12 week plan which will carry me up to the summit if I start on Jan. 1. Which is the plan right now.

So that's the idea. Don't know if I'll log this. I know a lot of people find logs motivational but they don't do that for me. I carry a log book to the gym so it just makes me write it down all over again. Not very motivational for me. What I need to do is to build up the desire to hit the ground running on 1/1 and don't hold back until I'm done.

And hopefully there will be a new song next year.

Good Morning

A simple little phrase. But one that can give you that jump start to your day. And keep you going throughout the hours.

I miss good mornings.

Old Man

One of the things I like about long weekends away from work is that I don't have to shave in the morning, every morning. Now, there is a morning ritual I could do without, even though after all these years it takes only a few minutes to do.

So I have a nice little 3 day growth going on this morning but it has to come off. Too many damn grey hairs in these whiskers. Now I have plenty of grey on the top of my head; hell, I'm almost 53 so that can't be avoided (although the kids keep telling me to get some Grecian Formula, but I think their reason is they see greater comedic value in that than leaving it as it is). And I don't think the up top grey makes me look all too old. But the grey in the beard is a different story. Three days seems to have added 5+ years on this already aging face. Can't have that.

I was hoping to make it until Monday but I can't go out like this.

You've Got a Friend

I'm never going to be rich. Unless I hit the lottery (mental note- pick up a ticket tomorrow). But by the same token I'll never be poor. I have too many things that can't be measured by lottery tickets, or bank accounts, or stock portfolios. I have a great group of friends that I've been close to for 10+ years and it keeps getting better. There is just a great comfort there that I know will continue for years to come. It's unspoken but we all know that we can count on each other whenever that is needed. That's a real good feeling.

And in this last year I've been fortunate to make many new friends that don't happen to live close by. And though we can't get together for a coffee or a BBQ or to watch a game the lack of proximity doesn't take away from the closeness. I sometimes am amazed as to how this all came about, how we've been able to reach each other through words, or a joke, or a smile that we cannot see. I've been able to "meet" people from all over the United States, to the north up in Canada and across the oceans in Europe and the Far East. I hope that someday "meet" does become meet as I know that I'll be better for that. This, too, is a real good feeling.

So while I may never be monetarily rich, these friends, whether near or far, have my account overflowing. This is what I am thankful for. And what I can thank you all for.

Hurts So Good

DOMS!! They're back. There are lots of studies out there speculating where they come from. But I know where - IT'S FROM BEING A MORON AND NOT GOING TO THE GYM FOR A MONTH, THAT'S WHERE.

Ouch. It hurts to scratch my head.

And it's leg day tomorrow.

Scott's The Best

Fall in NYC and the leaves have been piling outside for the last week or so. But by the time I get home it's dark and there is so much other things to do. So my plan was for an early Saturday rise and get the leaves swept up and bagged for disposal. But coming home on Friday night it's already done. I'm thinking "I have to get up tomorrow and thank Pete (next door neighbor) for doing this".

Scott was over at a friends house and he called to ask if he can sleep over. Saying it was OK I remind him he has to get up early so I can take him to his mother's house. He gets home about 9 am and says "So, how'd I do?" I tell him we have plenty of time for him to get ready, to which he says "No, on the leaves?" I'm shocked. He did it without asking. And he did a great job, swept them all up, bagged them and hosed down the driveway and the sidewalk.

I really owe him now.

Damn

He beat me!!!

Baumholder....Bethpage

So Chris ended up here. He says it's about 30 miles from the borders of France and Luxemborg. He was able to get off post for a bit and said it's a nice area, very peaceful. So far his duty has been a long night shift, from 5 pm to 9 am on duty in one of the barracks there. The unit he is assigned to is just returning from a tour in Iraq, so he says the earliest he could be deployed in January 2008. But I'm learning that this is the Army and that could change at any time. It's good to know he made it OK.

This weekend I'll be taking Sean to play at Bethpage Black, site of the 2009 U.S. Open. He's been after me for a while about playing here. I've played it before and it's a tough golf course. He's been playing well but he's still a little wild and this is not a course to be wild on. We'll see how well he can handle this.

Scott will be at his mother's while I'm out golfing with Sean. Scott does play but there is no way he could play this course. So I'm going to owe him big time for this. ;-)

Unquiet Slumber for the Sleepers.....

I’m trying not to be negative here.

It’s been three days since Chris left. Right now he is somewhere in Germany, although I can’t say exactly where. I’m sure he’s getting acclimated over there and is quite busy, so I’ll have to wait to find out what is going on.

I didn’t really get the chance to spend much time with him, one on one. Most of his time was spent with his friends. I’ve had to get used to taking a back seat to them, although it’s never been a comfortable position for me to be in. Although I’ve tried to do my best for my boys (and I know, like any parent does, that I can always do better) I’ve felt a little resentment from Chris over our family situation. As I think of it was probably to both his mother and I; he would come to us when he needed something and back away once he had it. The best I could do was to be there for those times. I think he realizes that but it never changed how he handled it, preferring his friends to family. I wonder if they are praying, like me, that 9 AM on 10/29/06 is not the last time I will see him. In his line of work that is a distinct possibility.

I do wish I had the time to speak to him about his experience. It’s probably an interesting tale. I could imagine it’s quite a range of emotions that you go through for those 14 weeks. Those first few weeks have to be a living hell, yet some 3 months later you come out ready to take on anything. Having never gone through that myself it would be nice to learn about.

But I have the other guys to take care of, and no place for any slack. Nor is there anyone to allow me that slack, that unconditional help that we all need at some time, so I can try to gain some perspective on this. There are friends that can provide a distraction here and there but it’s not the same thing. This is becoming a reminder of the loneliness I try hard to keep at bay and it may be harder than other times.