Remembering Our Parents

Today was a tough day for both Norma and I. Norma's Mom's birthday is today. Her thoughts have been about her Mom all week. Since Her passing last year, it has been terribly difficult.

I tried hard to think of the good times with my mother-in-law. She always made me smile. And she usually cooked me something good to eat. :) She was a very special person. She treated me like her son and that is something I will always be grateful for.

Tonight was also hard for me because the All-Star Game was being played in Pittsburgh, PA my old hometown. It would have been something my Dad would have been excited about. Since my Dad passed in January I had thought a lot about how it would have been great to talk baseball with the game being played in Pittsburgh. I really miss that very much.



Both Norma and I have heavy hearts at times... but we are so very lucky to have had great parents. When either of us starts to feel bad, we just look at the other and completely understand. I don't know what either of us would do without the other.
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Aidan: Bath Time

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Sports: Berkman in the Derby

With a little sadness tonight I watch the HR Derby on ESPN. It's from Pittsburgh, PA my former hometown. It is sad that my Dad is missing All-Star Weekend. Last year at this time he asked me if I wanted to come up and go to some of the festivites. I said that we might have to do that. But, that was before the passing of Norma's Mom, My grandmother, and my father.

We'll go back to Pittsburgh next summer for my sister's wedding and we are really looking forward to it. Aidan is going to be the ring bearer. That should be cute, if he does what he is supposed to! And I will be giving my sister away along with my younger brother Terry. I am very honored to do so. But, I wish my Dad could have done it on his own. Of all of his kids, he had a special place in his heart for all of us. With my sister Aimee all of us wonder if that special place is a tad bigger than for the rest of us! She was always a favorite of his. As all daugthers usually are for Dads.

Tonight Lance only hit 3 dingers in the first round. My Dad probably would have been digging me about that in an email or instant message. I'm glad we had an Astro in it. Lance is the man... regardless of how few dingers he put out. He is our MVP hands down and if he continues leading the world in RBI he may be the NL MVP by the end of the year.

My Astros have been dis-Astro-ous this season. The bullpen has been awful and the first half ended on a sour note dropping 3 straight to the division leading (and hated!) Cardinals.

Maybe the 2nd half will see a huge comeback like last year? I can only hope!
Technorati Tags: Home Run Derby, Lance Berkman, Houston Astros
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Aidan: Always on the Move

We spent the weekend in San Antonio (actually in Bandera, TX just west of San Antonio) with Norma's brother and his family. It was a really nice weekend. The drive was long, but worth it. Aidan did really well in the car. He didn't sleep a lot, but his Mom did a great job of entertaining him.

We went swimming in the lake on Saturday morning. Aidan wore his life vest for the first time and he was pretty scared in the big old lake at first. Then he settled in and enjoyed it. He was clutching to me pretty tightly when we first went into the cool water. After 10 minutes or so he was putting his arms up as a signal to throw him up into the air.

We had to drag him kicking and screaming back to the truck to leave. He was having too much fun throwing rocks into the water. It is a hard time for him right now. He gets locked into something and hates having to go. He's playing 100% of the time and hates when his playtime is disrupted.

Today I took him to the park in the morning. I swear it already felt like it was 95 degrees with the humidity and sun at 8:30am. We were both pouring with sweat when we got home. Aidan had a ball running through the mud in the park though. The sprinkler system had just been on and it had a feel like it must have rained a few minutes early. He stomped his little sneakers in puddles, climbed the hill and splashed his hand in the water fountain. Aidan had very little to do with the swings, slides, and see-saws. He would rather play with sticks, mud puddles, and stomp on drainage grates. Such a boy!

Tonight we are going to take him to the pool. It will be the first time that he'll go with his vest on and be able to go in the big boy pool. He is always wanting to get in there with the big kids and have us just "let him go." That is just impossible. He is way too little, but he doesn't think so. Now we'll be able to let go of him a little and he will still float. The first time he dunks his head in the water he'll be grabbing for me though!

We are having a real nice summer. The memories and times with him are moments I'll be thinking of all through the school year when I miss him while I am teaching.

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Music & Politics: Pearl Jam Storytellers Plays Phil Ochs "Here's to the State of George W Bush"

Last night I watched and recorded on TiVo the VH1 Storytellers Pearl Jam. It was really something. I am a huge Pearl Jam fan and I have seen a lot of rare interviews and footage on the band. This was one of the best. It was probably the most political I've seen the band in a long time.

Of course many of their songs, like Dissident and World Wide Suicide, have political connections. Eddie Vedder re-wrote an old protest song by Phil Ochs from the 60s and played it on Storytellers. Ochs called his songs "Here's To The State Of Mississippi" and later re-wrote it as "Here's To The State of Richard Nixon". I found a video of it on YouTube. Check it out. (And be sure to watch about 3/4 of the way through for his little extra description of how this really is a protest song down to the chords on the guitar!)



Lyrics as "heard by me" from the end of the song:

And here's to the buisnessmen
of George Dubble U
Who wanna change the focus
From Haliburton and Enron
And their promises
Like blood money
Spilled out on the White House lawn

And to keep their hold on power
They're using terror as a con
While the bombs
that are fallin' on children
Don't know...
Don't care...
which side that they're on

Here's to the land
That you've torn out the heart of
George W find yourself
Another country to be part of

Pearl Jam Website Notes on "Here's to the State of Mississippi" played 2 times in concert by Pearl Jam

Technorati Tags: Pearl Jam, Eddie Vedder, Here's to the state of George Bush, Phil Ochs, Lyrics, Video
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Pieces of Pittsburgh - PittsburghSkyline.com

Link to : Pieces of Pittsburgh @ PittsburghSkyline.com

My Step Mom Fran sent me a link today of pictures of Pittsburgh shot during a lightning storm. They were really cool. But what really caught my eye was the link I saw at the bottom of that web page. I have shared above. It had some of those lightning pictures and many, many more. The page had just absolutely beautiful shots of my old "hometown" of Pittsburgh, PA.

The picture I have shown here (below) is from that site as well. It reminds me of a day last summer just about exactly one year ago when my Dad, Norma and I took in a Pirates game. It was almost exactly in this spot in the stadium, too. Very similar looking night. Just gave me chills thinking about it... because it was the last week that I saw him alive.



Of all of the immediate family I had it the worst because I didn't get to see him. I also had it the best because... I didn't have to see him. It is a mixed bag. It hurts, but yet it is easier when I am not reminded of him 24/7 at the house or around town. I am 1,500 miles away and that can help these situations.

Sometimes though when pictures like this jump out at you it is shocking. You relive days like the Pirates game last summer... and it hits you like a ton of bricks. I miss him.

He took me to lots of games at the old Three Rivers Stadium. We would get seats up in "Peanut Heaven" and then sneak down after a couple of innings when season ticket holders would not show up and leave an empty seat, or two, or two hundred (most nights). Those were special nights.

I simply can't wait until Aidan is old enough for me to take him downtown in Houston - or back in Pittsburgh when we visit Grandma Fran and Grandma Karen for the summer. I want to see the look in his eyes when he sees the sky scrapers and says, "Wow." I want to feel his hand gripping mine pretty tight as we wind our way through city streets to the stadium through throngs of people. And I want to see his face as he looks up at me and says, "Wow" realizing like I did that his Dad is something special.

4th of July Parade

Fourth of July and time for the Parade in Kingwood. This was Aidan's first parade. Last year he slept through it I believe. The weather was actually pretty good. About 85 and SUPER humid, but the sun was behind the clouds. About an hour after the parade it rained pretty hard. I feel badly for all the people in Town Center that set up booths for the 4th to only have them drenched.

We are going to head down to see the festivities in a few minutes. Fireworks at 9pm. Can't wait. It will be Aidan's first fireworks display and I hope he can stay awake to see them. We'll see.

Tomorrow Norma and I are going out to celebrate our anniversary. We are going to catch a movie and dinner... at the same time. There is a new place called the Movie Tavern that serves food with the movie. Should be fun.

Click on these images to see the larger version. Also see all of the 4th parade pictures at: My Picasa Web Album for the 4th




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Why?

This is just gross.

Japanese hot-dog-eating champ sets record
Kobayashi downs 53-plus, wins 6th straight competition at Nathan’s in NYC

NEW YORK - A 160-pound wonder from Japan set a new record by devouring a sickening 53 3/4 frankfurters in 12 minutes to win the annual Independence Day hot dog eating competition on Coney Island.

The feat earned Takeru Kobayashi, 27, his sixth straight title in the event, held at the original Nathan’s Famous hot dog stand on Brooklyn’s seashore.

He broke his own record of 53 1/2 hot dogs, set at the same competition two years ago.

Why do they do this? I just don't get it.
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My Life: Fireworks on the 4th - always

I am happy to celebrate our 11th wedding anniversary today. July 4th, 1995: Little White Chapel in Las Vegas, Nevada. We are both a little older, wiser, and slower... but we are still kicking strong.

Yep, Norma and I were married in the same place as:
* Frank Sinatra and Mia Farrow (1966)
* Patty Duke and Michael Tell (1970)
* Joan Collins and Peter Holm (1985)
* Bruce Willis and Demi Moore (1987)
* Michael Jordan and Juanita Vanoy (1989)
* Stone Cold Steve Austin and Debra Marshall (2000)
* Natalie Maines and Adrian Pasdar (2000)
* Britney Spears and Jason Allen Alexander (2004)
* Judy Garland
* Sally Jesse Raphael
* Mickey Rooney (twice)

Our marriage has lasted a lot longer than some of theirs!


Little White Wedding Chapel, Las Vegas Nevada


It was one of the best things we have ever done. Just the two of us. Just like it has always been and will always be. When it comes right down to it, a marriage is a union of two people. Sure Aidan makes 3... but still the relationship between Norma and I is just made stronger with him. It's additional. We have nothing without the two of us.

As the years have past, the pounds have added, and the grey hairs mounted... we are still together. That's a pretty powerful thing in a nation of 50% divorce rates. How many other couples in American can say they work together and spend just about 95% of their time with each other.... and aren't at each other's throats.

Some people roll their eyes and just don't get it when we explain how excited we are that we will both be working at the same school next year. They are seeing it through their eyes though, not ours. They see their relationships that maybe could not handle that kind of situation. What we know is that the more we share the closer we get. When things come up at work we discuss them. What will make it so nice is that when things come up and we are discussing them, we will know exactly what the other person is talking about. We don't pretend to listen and nod. We actually understand the day to day much better.

I don't quite know what I did to deserve someone as good as Norma. She is so good to me. The only person that has it better than me... is Aidan. That boy has the best Mom on earth.

On the 4th this year we plan on taking Aidan down to Town Center in Kingwood and checking out the festivities. We will also take in the fireworks at night. Hopefully the little guy can stay up that long. We always have a pretty strict bed time for him. But, on the 4th we will waive it and celebrate.

Norma and I are lucky. We always have our anniversary to ourselves. No work on the 4th. Plus, we don't only celebrate our Nation's birthday. But, we celebrate our day. I always tell people, "I saw fireworks the night I was married." Tomorrow will be fun.
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Politics: Using the Press as a Whipping Boy

I wish the American voting public would see through this President's Administration and his plan to bash the media to get votes for this fall. What would they rather talk about though? The press/media releasing stories that make them look badly? Or...

Iraq
Gas Prices
Climate Crisis
Inflation
&
New struggles in Afghanistan

The NY Times should be applauded for finally giving the American public information that has been held back from them. Secret prisons, wiretapping, internatinoal banking records, and data mining of American information. All of these stories are important. They should be reported on by the press/media.

I don't see anyway that these stories lead to an advantage to our enemies. What it does do is embarrass this administration and show that they have gone too far in the measures they have created. The balance between security and freedom is a constant battle.

But, who has the upper hand here? It's simple. The first amendment that was created by the founding fathers, determined that the press should be open to be a check and balance against the government. On this fourth of July weekend, we should all remember that.
Technorati Tags: New York Times, Wiretapping, First Amendment, Politics
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Poll: Is it time?

What do you think?

Should the US bring the troops home from Iraq?
	Yes, it's about time.
	No, we have to finish the work.
	Not completely, but start moving most of them home.
Free polls from Pollhost.com

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My Life: Happy Canada Day!

As I am sure everyone is aware of (sarcasm), it's CANADA DAY! Who ho! So have a happy and safe one this July 1st.

Aidan is sick. He came down with a pretty stuffy and runny nose today. Poor little guy is having so much trouble breathing. We are hoping he sleeps well tonight. We put a little vick's breathing plugin in his room for him. Those usually do help you breath a little better. It was great for me last year when I was really, really sick with bronchitis.

He started getting sick after I took him outside to play. I know that didn't cause him to get sick, but it still upset me that he got so hot and sweaty and then started feeling back. He really had a good time out there though. Basically he was exploring the yard. Played with anything and everything that could be played with in that yard. Then Norma came out and had him help her feed the birds with some bird seed. He took a big handful and put it in his mouth. Crazy boy.

We watched a really good movie this week - Memoirs of a Geisha. It was essentially the cast from Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon - one of my very favorite films of all time. Geisha was a good movie and I loved the music, costumes, and sets. Really felt like you were there.
The awesome Michelle Yeoh (pictured) was awesome as usual, but I wished she had a larger role. Ken Watanabe as "The Chairman" was also great. Ziyi Zhang played the lead character and was a geisha to a "T". But the blue eyes were a little strange. I kept thinking, I know those are contact lenses.

Still a good movie. If you haven't seen it yet, it is worth the rental.

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