Best Books of 2015

 

My total blog count this year was almost double that of any previous year for the 7 total months of '15 blogging activity; and thus, my total 'read' book count dropped to only a few dozen.

That is compared to the normal 4 to 8 dozen books a year that I usually read.  Since there is only so much sleep that I can give up, it is obvious that I am swapping a lot of time reading for time writing instead.  Oh well, I love doing both.

My top 7 books for '15 are: 

1)  You Can't Make This Up, by Al Michaels.  This is his autobiography, and I LOVED this book.  It is fast, funny, and full of factoids.  He is as great a writer as he is a broadcaster.  

2)  Living Beyond The Limits, by Franklin Graham.  So true, so factual, so good.

3)  Revelation Revealed, by Tim LaHaye.  Scary good, powerful.  A great read.

4)  Heroes Proved, by Oliver North.  I love his books; every one of them.  He is one of my favorite writers.  This is great fiction that immerses you in the story.

5)  Killing Lincoln, by Bill O' Reilly.  Historically, one of the most interesting books that I have ever read.  But, it is depressing.  Extremely well written.

6)  Johnny Carson, by Henry Bushkin.  This is a historically accurate retelling of Johnny's story by his best friend.  Frequently funny, exceptionally well paced; but sad.

7)  Adios, by Ann Coulter.  Having blogged about this book already, I will not repeat my words of caution.

Were any of these your favorites too?

And into '16 we head.  My inventory of books already purchased for '16 totals 20, and with about $100 of B&N gift cards still needing to be redeemed; it looks like '16 will get me back to the normal 50+ books.  At least I hope so.

See you next year :-)

O Holy Night

Jesus Christ, born of a virgin, lived a sinless life, to be the Savior of the world.  You, and only You, are the meaning of Peace. 

~


O Holy Night is my favorite Christmas song, (sung by Martina McBride); and it leaves me with shivers every time I hear the song; no matter who sings it, but Martina is my favorite.

And THE staple is Handel's "Hallelujah Chorus" from 1741.  I love it almost as much as O Holy Night.  Unfortunately for today's generation, it is lost in many of today's modern church Christmas programs.  If it is not sung at your Christmas program; what a shame.  It's not been sung at my church for a long time, and what a treasure is being missed each year.

There is nothing more glorious than the Hallelujah Chorus.

This magnificent version is sung by the Royal Choral Society; which has sung it every year since 1878.

Merry Christmas Jesus.

Merry Christmas.

Food w/Friends & Family

Food has always been a big deal to me.  I have always been a big eater, and if it wasn't for a faster metabolism (slowing as the decades pass), I would weigh 700 lbs by now; and exercise only helps so much anymore.

Cooking is a stress relief for me, and I wish I had more time for it.  For large crowds; I love to smoke meats, and make fancy Italian meals.  I especially love to cook for crowds of 10-25, as it tests my analytical skills; but, at the same time, I love to entertain and see my friends and family genuinely enjoying a great meal.

Meals that require multiple steps are some of my favorites to prepare, as perfect timing and balance are always later rewarded with one of the finest tastes imaginable.  My cook books stacked end to end are close to 2' wide.  My favorites are those from Williams-Sonoma.

I was looking through some old photo's recently, and remembering some of the meals they were attributed to, and it starting stirring up my memory banks.  I decided to turn my culinary memories into a mental road trip of my baker's dozen top 13 meals of my life.  These are not listed in any order:

1) In '82, when I was promoted to Area Supervisor with LJS, my boss was Gerald Goins, and he treated Pam and myself, and our good friends Randy and Robi Farris to a meal in Glenpool.  It was a BBQ restaurant (no longer in business) that served the best ribs and steak fries that I had ever tasted.  I ate a full rack of them, and probably 3 lbs. of french fries.  It was a great night, and a great meal.

2) In '76, two of my best friends (Mike McDonald and Steve Vives) and I took our own Senior trip to Pensacola, FL (the class went to Padre Island) in my new Smokey and the Bandit Trans Am.  Along the way, we stopped for a meal at Steve's Aunt (I do not remember which state in the deep south it was).

To this day, it was one of the best meals that I have ever had in my life.  Roast beef so succulent that it fell apart on my fork, with a special brown gravy (I think it might have had sauteed onions in it), plus mashed potato's, corn on the cob, green beans with pearl onions and slivered almonds, home-made biscuits, and Iced Tea.  I don't remember the dessert, as I was in a food coma by then.  I ate so much that I probably embarrassed Steve, but his Aunt had made so much food that she could have fed 300 of the neighbor friends, and not just the 3 of us.  It was a totally amazing meal.

3) When Pam's Grandpa died, we traveled to Houston for the funeral, and we stayed at Grandma's house.  Grandma was a true southern cook.  Massive sized meals with so much food, that after feeding 20 people at one sitting that there was still food left for 40 more.  Fried chicken, mashed potato's, chicken fried steak, and oh the gravy.  The black-pepper cream crazy I could eat with a spoon like soup.  It was so flavorful and delicious.  And Grandma's home-made pickles were the best I've ever tasted in my life.  She stored them at the 8' level next to her ceiling as she thought the height enhanced the flavor.  Who am I to argue?  They remain to this day unbeatable. 

4) When Pam was 16, I took her to my house one evening for a meal.  She had never been to one of our meals.  Mom placed this enormous container of hamburger pie in the middle of the table.  My brothers and I immediately dug in to quickly fill our plates.  Our appetites were ravenous, and there was never such a thing as "leftovers".  My Mom quickly accessed that she better intervene and gather Pam a plate of food, or we might have it eaten it all.  She could see that Pam was shell-shocked, as Pam's eyes had doubled in size, and her jaw was in her lap.  I still don't know if she was shell-shocked from the sight of the boys eating like cavemen, or the size of the container for hamburger pie, or both . . .

5) In the summer of '70, my family and I traveled to Johnson, KS to visit my cousins.  My Grandpa maintained an impressive garden, and my Aunt Evelyn was an amazing cook.  I'm not sure how many days our stay was, but after the 1st meal she made, I was hoping that we would be able to stay a long time.  The garden fresh vegetables were the hit of the meal, as I don't remember tasting vegetables that were that fresh and full of flavor vibrancy.  I don't know what the meat(s) were, as the garden vegetables stole my heart (stomach).

6) In '74, when Pam (my future wife) were dating at the tender age of 16; she cooked me a meal that was so good, that it still ranks as one of my all time favorites.  To serve as the ultimate compliment, she still makes it for me on special occasions like my Birthday or Father's Day.  She made me fried chicken, corn, and mashed potato's.  Plus, Iced Tea of course.  It's a basic meal, but good home cooked comfort food is always my favorite.

7)  I can't do them justice, so I am lumping them all together.  Thanksgiving, Christmas, Mother's Day, Father's Day, Birthdays, Memorial Day, July 4th, and Labor Day; are all excuses for me to cook; or smoke.  I could write chapters about the basic and fancy meals prepared and enjoyed on all these special days.  Christmas Prime Rib, Thanksgiving Trattoria, oh my; there is absolutely no way for me to pick just one.  I have so many wonderful memories of incredible meals with family and friends during Holidays.  I am truly a blessed man.

8) In '07, Pam and I traveled to Italy for our 30th Wedding Anniversary.  Christmas that year was spent in Venice, and that evening was my favorite meal of the entire trip.  From our hotel, we walked to a hole-in-the-wall Restaurante, and dined on brick-oven pizza.  The seating for 12 was more like seating for 6, as you had to walk sideways to your table; but oh my, that pizza was amazing.  And, so was the company of my wife :-).

9) In '90, the Doubletree Hotel in Tulsa offered AYCE prime rib.  That is where we chose to dine for 13th wedding anniversary.  I can't speak for Pam and how much she had, but I distinctly remember having 3 large slabs of beef.  We loved it so much that we became frequent visitors to the buffet line on many future visits.

10) In '80, for our 3rd wedding anniversary, Pam's Dad sent us to University Club tower for our dinner celebration.  We had eaten there a time or two before (thankfully on his tab), and we both had fallen in love with Cherries Jubilee for our dessert.  Why I remember this night, was because our server caught the white linen on fire when he Flambe' the Cherries Jubilee.  And though he quickly extinguished the flames, it probably remains the sole reason the Pam does not like me to Flambe' my food when I am cooking a fancy meal.  Or maybe it's because she caught her shirt on fire when she tried it....No wait, she caught her shirt on fire for some other reason.  My wife is so hot :-)

11) I learned to smoke and BBQ from Pam's Dad (Frank).  He had several Hasty-Bakes, he gave me my first Hasty Bake, and Hasty Bake is the ONLY grill that I have cooked on since I started smoking meats.  The 1st meal that I had at Frank's was Christmas of '77, and let's just say that I was not prepared for this meal.

Frank brought to the table roaster pan after roaster pan that was full of smoked chicken, smoked sausage, smoked roasts, smoked spare ribs, smoked baby back ribs, smoked corn, and smoked bologna.  Pam had warned him that I was a big eater; but this was over the top.  I was in smoked meat heaven.  I had never seen (nor eaten) so much smoked meat in my life.  I have no idea if anything else was served at that meal or not, as I was totally zoned out on the smoked meats.  Fortunately, Frank repeated this smoked meat meal for me many-many times in my life, as he loved to smoke as much as I loved to eat.

12) In '77, several of my best friends (Mike McDonald, Steve Vives, Mark Politte, Mike Bertuzzi, Bill Pollock, and my brother Paul) took me to Casa Bonita for my bachelor party dinner as they knew I was fond of eating a large quantity of food.

After the 15th taco; I was done.  It was a record that I will never break.  I don't remember much else about that evening, other than I couldn't believe that I was capable of eating 15 tacos.  Though I had previously demonstrated the ability many different times of eating 9-12 tacos at Taco Bueno; 15 tacos at one sitting seemed impossible.

13)  And how can I not include Fiorelli's Jack Stack BBQ of Martin City, MO (this is actually Kansas City).  Opened in '57, my first visit was '61, and over the past 55 years, I have eaten at their various locations at least 55x, but really, probably over 100x by now.  The original location (and still my favorite location) is in the same building, with the same basic floor plan that it had when it opened in '57.

(I remember the floor plan from '61 and the hall I walked down on my way out of the restaurant when I stopped to eat more fries off of a plate that was sitting on the edge of the table while my parents were gabbing with friends.  I can even point the table out to you the next time I am there.  You might not believe me, but if you don't, then you don't know me very well, as my brain takes photo's like that, and never forgets.  That's also why I remember the exact symmetry of the St. Louis Arch when standing next to it, and the exact symmetry of the leaning tower of Pisa when standing next to it.  It's just what I do.)

Jack Stack has provided so many wonderful memories, and so much incredible food over the decades.  It is apropos to close this blog with that memory of BBQ.

And oh, in approximately 180 hours from this very moment; we will be eating at Jack Stack BBQ of Kansas City again :-)

I'm starved ~ headed to breakfast :-)

Merry Christmas!   

"They're called boobs Ed."

Disclaimer: This blog is rated PG13; definitely no riskier than that.  But, in light of what is happening to my account on Facebook, I just had to open the subject up for discussion!

One of my all-time favorite movies was Erin Brockovich.  And I cracked up laughing when Julia Roberts spoke the line "They're called boobs Ed."  If you don't remember, I think it was at about the same time in the movie that she insulted "Krispy Kreme" for having 2 asses, and not just one.  And that itself was another super funny line.

~

Something has happened to me on Facebook, and that is the nature of this post. Can anyone help, or explain?  I am overrun daily with friend requests from young women with well endowed boobs.

My LinkedIn network has almost 3,000 contacts, and all of the requests for network acceptance are from fully clothed guys and gals.  My Facebook network has over 2,000 "Friends." (Actually, I only have 3-5 friends, but as you probably know; FB calls everyone a friend).

What is very strange to me is that over the past month, I am getting all kinds of FB invites from young females, and many of them are selfies of their breasts (covered), but still exposed.  Why would their husbands allow this?  Aren't they at least a little embarrassed for their children to see these pictures of Mommy?

I get at least 10 of these invites a day to confirm or delete their friend request.  I don't know any of them.  Is this something new that FB is doing/allowing?  What gives?

It's like a group of grown up ladies lost on the side of a milk carton.   

I thought it was a blog-worthy subject, so I copied the photos of the last 7 (just from this morning) that want to be my friend, and as the cliche goes "I don't know them from Eve" . . .

Thanksgiving 394 years

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday of the year; and has been for as long as I can remember. In just a few days, we celebrate a tradition started 394 years ago.  

Today, a history lesson about Thanksgiving:
 
Most stories of Thanksgiving history start with the harvest celebration of the Pilgrims and the Native Americans that took place in the autumn of 1621. Although they did have a three-day feast in celebration of a good harvest, and the local natives did participate, this "first thanksgiving" was not a holiday, simply a gathering. 

In 1863, President Lincoln became the first president to proclaim Thanksgiving Day. The holiday has been a fixture of late November ever since.

Since most school children are taught that the first Thanksgiving was held in 1621 with the Pilgrims and Indians, let's take a closer look at just what took place leading up to that event, and then what happened in the centuries afterward that finally gave us our modern Thanksgiving.

The Pilgrims who sailed to this country aboard the Mayflower were originally members of the English Separatist Church (a Puritan sect). They had earlier fled their home in England and sailed to Holland (The Netherlands) to escape religious persecution. There, they enjoyed more religious tolerance, but they eventually became disenchanted with the Dutch way of life, thinking it ungodly. 

Seeking a better life, the Separatists negotiated with a London stock company to finance a pilgrimage to America. Most of those making the trip aboard the Mayflower were non-Separatists, but were hired to protect the company's interests. Only about one-third of the original colonists were Separatists.

The Pilgrims set ground at Plymouth Rock on December 11, 1620. Their first winter was devastating. At the beginning of the following fall, they had lost 46 of the original 102 who sailed on the Mayflower. 

But the harvest of 1621 was a bountiful one. And the remaining colonists decided to celebrate with a feast - including 91 natives who had helped the Pilgrims survive their first year. It is believed that the Pilgrims would not have made it through the year without the help of the natives. The feast was more of a traditional English harvest festival than a true "thanksgiving" observance. It lasted three days.

Governor William Bradford sent "four men fowling (hunting)" after wild ducks and geese. It is not certain that wild turkey was part of their feast. However, it is certain that they had venison. The term "turkey" was used by the Pilgrims to mean any sort of wild fowl.

Another modern staple at almost every Thanksgiving table is pumpkin pie. But it is unlikely that the first feast included that treat. The supply of flour had been long diminished, so there was no bread or pastries of any kind. However, they did eat boiled pumpkin, and they produced a type of fried bread from their corn crop. 

There was also no milk, cider, potatoes, or butter. There was no domestic cattle for dairy products, and the newly-discovered potato was still considered by many Europeans to be poisonous. But the feast did include fish, berries, watercress, lobster, dried fruit, clams, venison, and plums.

This "thanksgiving" feast was not repeated the following year. Many years passed before the event was repeated. It wasn't until June of 1676 that another Day of Thanksgiving was proclaimed. On June 20 of that year the governing council of Charlestown, Mass, held a meeting to determine how best to express thanks for the good fortune that had seen their community securely established. 

By unanimous vote they instructed Edward Rawson, the clerk, to proclaim June 29 as a day of thanksgiving. It is notable that this thanksgiving celebration probably did 'not' include Native Americans, as the celebration was meant partly to be in recognition of the colonists' recent victory over the "heathen natives." By then, it had become apparent to the settlers that the natives were a hindrance to their quest for more land, so the good will they shared at the first feast had long been lost. 

A hundred years later, in October of 1777 all 13 colonies joined in a thanksgiving celebration. It also commemorated the patriotic victory over the British at Saratoga.


George Washington proclaimed a National Day of Thanksgiving in 1789, although some were opposed to it. There was discord among the colonies, many feeling the hardships of a few pilgrims did not warrant a national holiday. And later, President Thomas Jefferson opposed the idea of having a day of thanksgiving for he was an early-American liberal and non-Christian that did not want to bring attention to a Puritan religion.

It was Sarah Hale, a magazine editor, whose efforts eventually led to what we recognize as Thanksgiving. Hale wrote many editorials championing her cause in her Boston Ladies' Magazine. Finally, after a 40-year campaign of writing editorials and letters to governors and presidents, the day of Thanksgiving holiday became a reality in 1863, when President Lincoln proclaimed the last Thursday in November as a national day of Thanksgiving.


Thanksgiving has been proclaimed by every president after Lincoln. The date was changed a couple of times, most recently by Franklin Roosevelt, who set it up one week to the next-to-last Thursday in order to create a longer Christmas shopping season. Public uproar against this decision caused the president to move Thanksgiving back to its original date two years later. And in 1941, Thanksgiving was finally sanctioned by Congress as a legal holiday, as the fourth Thursday in November.

Today, Thanksgiving has been relegated to just another day of the Christmas season; a 2 month long holiday season that officially starts on Nov. 1st, and ends on the 1st Monday of January. But for me, it shall always be my favorite holiday.

~

A few things this year that I am thankful for (among 1,000's of things) are: my Salvation through Jesus, for the heritage of my family, for my good friends, for my health, for my marriage to Pam of 38.5 years, for my daughters, for their husbands, for my grandchildren, for my church, and for our company.

I am truly a blessed man.

Happy Thanksgiving to you too.  

Rainbow

¹¹And I will establish my covenant with you; neither shall all flesh be cut off any more by the waters of a flood; neither shall there any more be a flood to destroy the earth. ¹²And God said, This [is] the token of the covenant which I make between me and you and every living creature that [is] with you, for perpetual generations: ¹³I do set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a token of a covenant between me and the earth. ¹⁴And it shall come to pass, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the bow shall be seen in the cloud: ¹⁵And I will remember my covenant, which [is] between me and you and every living creature of all flesh; and the waters shall no more become a flood to destroy all flesh.

~

I took these pictures at sunrise yesterday morning. It had not yet begun to rain where I was; but it immediately reminded me of God's promise from 7,000 years ago, and is still true today.

I am thankful for the promises of God.  I love seeing His promise in the sky like this.

Emma Jo

This little spitfire gives me the best lovin' of any little girl since her Aunt Jackie was about the same age.  And let me tell you "I'm lovin' every minute of it Jerry!"

Her love is unconditional.  No matter what she is doing, if I ask for a hug or kiss, you can guarantee that she will immediately stop what she is doing and come give me what I ask for.  And when she sees me, she is the only one that runs into my arms.  Actually, she runs, and then about 10' away she launches herself into my arms; knowing full well that I will reach out to catch her!  My heart beats faster with joy just thinking about it.

She will hug me for minutes on end, and she gives the best kisses too; so full of love.

This is my Spaz, with a few of her morning ready for school photo's.  I always look forward to my grand daughter photo's each school morning.  I love the assortment of bows, boots, colors, and coordination.  The smiles are always great; unless of course a diva moment has previously ensued, like the top photo.

Emma Jo accounts for 87.7% of the Franco food bill though; as she never stops eating. She out eats me, and I am probably 5x her weight.  If you were to look into her back pack, it is not full of books, it is full of food snacks.

I love you Emma Jo, you mean the world to me.

I am a blessed man!

Ava Corinne

She will be 10 in February. In so many ways though, she is so much older than that.

Ava Corinne is a mini-me clone of her gorgeous Mom, and "it freaks me out" to see the deja vu similarities more defined by the year.  Other than having her Daddy's eyes, this little girl is 100% Momma in the beauty of her appearance.

She, and her sister, and her Mom have 3 of the best smiles ever created.  And her long, thick black hair is killer.  She donated a 1' of it a few years ago to charity, and it has grown back even prettier than it was.  

She is so gifted athletically with grace, skill, and strength.  Goodness this girl is strong; she has more core strength than most boys her age.  She can do back handsprings, she can do one handed cart wheels; to me (the sap), the things this little girl can do is amazing.

Plus, she has personality.  In spades.  She is one of the sweetest, most giving, and obedient children that I have ever had the pleasure of knowing.  Her servant heart, her mercy, her tenderness are constantly on display.  She is so incredibly obedient, such a great girl.

She struggles with math, and she is prone to diva drama; but my oh my, she is such a wonderful daughter, and a perfect granddaughter. 

Besides, there are a lot of dramatic actress diva's in Hollywood that are worth millions and probably take care of their Pappy's later in life :-)

I love you Ava Corinne.  I just wanted to tell you today how much I love you, and how much you mean to me.

I am a blessed man to have you as part of my heritage!

Happy 58th Birthday To Me

www.MikeFournier-Tulsa.com

When I was 8, I never wondered what I would look like at 18, much less at 58.

Fast forward 50 years, (and I do mean fast), and now I know.  I have not availed myself to the plethora of products and services available to try and make me look 38; such as: no Botox, no chemical peels, no laser treatments, and no plastic surgery.  I just have ample supplies of oily skin, courtesy of my Mom's genes.


I am mildly contemplating having the dark fatty bags under my eyes removed, but who knows when (or if) I will ever do that, as I have vacillated on that decision for probably 10 years now.  I did have Lasik surgery 15 years ago, but other than that, it's all-natural me.  

Now, at 58, I will admit to wondering what I will look like in another 50 years.  My Mom aged very well; I hope I do too.

I don't smoke or drink daily; and I have never gotten enough sleep (according to legend that 8 hours a night is optimum).  But, thanks to Pam, I do eat right and organically for the most part, definitely take my vitamins and supplements, drink filtered water, go to the gym, and work hard and long in my career.  I love my life.

I think it was Pam that took this picture of me to send to my g'girls a few weeks ago.  I was sitting in the dining room one morning (which served as my office overflow), while I was working on house plans.  We are in a nice rent house while we build our new home, but the space for my work is hard to stay contained in just one room.  I sent them this pic to my g'girls because the highlight of every morning for me is to get phone pictures from them as they are always dressed to the 9's on their way to school each morning.

Happy 58th Birthday to me; for I am a blessed man!  Here are some recent photo's of some of my family from yesterday when we got together for family day:

 I love you all.

Caveman & Momma's Boy

Owen: "I love Momma too, but Will REALLY loves Momma."  (The reason I decided to type in Momma's Boy) for Will. NOT THAT THERE IS ANYTHING WRONG WITH THAT, but WP has certainly favored Mom, and o'Mike has certainly favored Dad almost from the 1st day of their births.

Yesterday was making memory time for me any my g'boys.  After inhaling Bueno in 6 minutes (they don't savor their food for hours like my g'girls do), they immediately wanted to head to the arcade at the Bowling Alley. 

(Note to others: go ahead and spend the $100 on the pre-paid card; as you will get credit for $125. Then, after you go through $35 in 35 minutes you won't feel nearly as bad, because it only cost you $10 the first time).

Momma's boy lost the game of bowling to Caveman by the score of 78 to 74.  "Owen, stop throwing the ball so hard ~ you're going to break the pins!" says WP to his brother, who is definitely ready for a heavier ball, and yes, he was hurling it down the lane with all his might, and you should have heard him grunting while doing it.  Sounded like a real caveman.

They wanted popcorn, and at least 20% of it ending up on the floor, which I picked up and placed in the dish, telling them both "Don't eat this."  I leave to get a drink, and WP says upon my return "Pappy, Owen ate the trash popcorn, and the kernels."  I look at o'Mike and he shrugs his shoulders and grins like the Caveman that he is.

WP wanted 'revenge' in the arcade from losing the game of bowling (he didn't want to bowl a 2nd game), and promptly won the 1st game of air hockey 7-5, to lose the 2nd game 6-4, to win the 3rd game 7-1.  As you know, WP is super competitive.

Next, race cars and ski balls.  o'Mike won the ski ball, and then WP set a track best of 117 on the Tokyo drift.  For his age, his driving skills are amazingly reflexive, anticipating turns with adroit skill.

To close out our day in the arcade, we spent the next $25 dollars and 25 minutes at the basketball shot game.  WP had set the machine record of 45 the last time we were here, and he was determined to break his record.  I didn't keep scores, but he had several in the high 30's, several in the low 40's, once a 44, and then this one; a 50!  He has so pumped, hooting, hollering, fist-bumping his brother, and you can see the 50 at the bottom of the picture.  To get his 50, he made 9 shots in a row, then a miss, then 6 shots in a row, and I forget after that how many more he made.  He was on fire.

We then proceeded out of our new home under construction to check on things.  I had a few things to do with the sledgehammer that I had brought, and to the amazement of Caveman, he saw it, smiled, and said "Pappy, you have Thor's Hammer!"  Of which, he grabbed, and literally went around smashing every rock, pipe, and object that he could find.  I warned him early not to get Thor's hammer near my truck, as I liked it just the way it was.  Caveman worked up a good sweat swinging this 20lb sledge, and of course I was amazed at his power, as the hammer weighed 1/3 what he weighed.

With the sledgehammer, he occasionally got his superhero roles mixed up.  A few times he was swinging it as "Hulk Smash!", but most of the time in stayed in his role of Thor.  When he raised it into the sky waiting for the lighting to strike, he did have to use 2 hands though.

WP make the most profound statement of the day though when he said "You know you gave that hammer to the wrong person don't you Paps?"  That made me laugh.

Finally, Thor relinquished his hammer, and allowed me to use it for what I had brought it for, and after a few minutes of pounding, WP made another announcement that I found funny when he yelled from the back of the truck "Come on Gramps, are you about done?, let's go, it's hot in here!"  Where did he hear Gramps?  He's always called me Pappy.

To finish out our day, we stopped at the ubiquitous QT on the corner, where they chose corn dogs, chips, drinks, candy bars, and a cappuccino for WP.  Maybe something else too. I bought the 1st round, then Mom arrived to pick them up, and she bought the 2nd round.

I LOVE you boys!  I missed you so much.  Hope you had as much fun as I did.

I am a blessed man!

Hula Hoops?

Emma Jo, (my youngest g'daughter) was using one of these not to long ago, and she kept it going for ages.  It was amazing to watch.

My wife used to be able to that as well (and probably still can if she wanted to).  I can still remember from 40 years ago watching her do the hoop, and being astonished that anyone could keep it up that long.

Me?  I was lucky to get it to swirl twice.  Seriously, I never could do it.  But, I never could roller skate either, or ice skate, or snap the fingers on my left hand, or whistle.  There, I said it!  I have no idea if any of this ties into my lack or coordination; but I definitely fall short in that category.

Q: And whom do we have to thank for the rebirth of the Hula Hoop?  A: Barnes & Noble of course; as the new leading marketer of nostalgia.  Now called the GloGlitterRing, and selling for $6.

And no, to answer your question, I did NOT buy one.

Grand Canyon

The pictures don't do it justice.  Words to describe it won't either.

We took off a few days last week and flew out to the Grand Canyon.  It was my 2nd trip, and Pam's 3rd.  My 1st trip in '07 was met with hazy skies, and while I enjoyed it; the beauty of that trip did not compare to this trip. This time, the temps were pleasant, the skies were clear, and the Canyon was gloriously beautiful.  My regret is not being able to spend an entire day/night there, as I am told that sunset in the Canyon is a lifetime memory.

We were on the most popular south rim again; and my next trip (who knows when), will be on the west rim, as I want to walk out on the cantilevered glass ledge.  And, to be there at sunset too.

If you've never been to see it, I heartily endorse a trip there.

Amazing.  Astonishing.  Awe-inspiring.  And none of those words do it justice. 

Personality Type: Squirrel

We went to the Grand Canyon last week for a few days off, and I'd already started the basic outline for this blog.  When I saw this squirrel, my immediate thought was to photo it, as it was my idea of a perfect open for this blog.

As you probably know, according to Psychology Today, over 97% of personality types come primarily from these 4 categories, and broken down with these primary tendencies from the psychology textbook:

Type A: Leader, bossy, competitive, task-obsessed, verbally aggressive, prone to rudeness, impatient, task-driven, goal-oriented, time-manager, administratively organized, perfectionist, easily angered, ambitious, energetic, inflexible, rigid, risk taker, entrepreneurial, hates delays, hates laziness, easily irritated, hates stupidity, few friends, dedicated, punctual, haughty, gregarious, hard charging, intense, governing, politically incorrect speech, loyal, adventurous, dependable, honest, factual, giving, generous, trustworthy, adaptable to change, tends to be anal-retentive.

Type A/B:  Up to 80% of the A characteristics, and up to 20% of the B characteristics.

Type B: Follower, unable to make a decision, easy-going, free-flowing thoughts, care-free, artistic, creative, emotionally volatile, warm, loving, outgoing, friendly, tender-hearted, gullible, lacks trust, prone to rebellion, lives for fun times, flexible, dramatic, theatrical, unorganized, calm, lovable, non-competitive, moody, reflective, caring, sensitive, pet lover, prone to counter-culture, emotional, expressive, indecisive, hates change, hates instability, prone to be selfish, prone to laziness, prone to procrastination, prone to be a do-gooder.  **** And I am adding one more to the textbook of characteristics: Prone to be a squirrel.    

Type B/A:  Up to 80% of the B characteristics, and up to 20% of the A characteristics. 

There is a personality type C, and a type D, but they are so rare that I need not spend time on them.

~

The world is run by type A's.  I wonder which type I am?  Hmm, that's a tough one.

Type A personalities will never be a Type B.  And vice-versa.  You are born that way.  But, even though it might not be my natural characteristic to be fun-loving 24/7/365.25, I can guarantee you that I will love a vacation or weekend off as much as anyone (even if I have to run my vacation with a clipboard, checklist, stop watch, and calendar).

The funniest thing I have seen this year is the post from my daughter Angela when she posted: "My decision making skills rival that of a squirrel crossing the road."

Ever since that post, I smile, sometimes outwardly laugh (frequently gregariously) when I see the indecisiveness of a road-side squirrel trying to decide to start, stop, turn around, or bolt and be squashed under my truck tire.  But no, I do not feel sorry for the squirrel if it made the wrong decision.  That part is reserved for the Type B.


Unfortunately for Type A's, they historically don't live as long as Type B's, being more drawn to alcohol, drugs, and poor diet; which leads to more heart disease, more heart attacks, and shorter lives.  Fortunately for me, I will be one of those rare type A's that is going to live to be 111.

Because . . . I am a blessed man :-)

Boys Will Be Boys

My g'girls both look great in virtually 100% of pictures taken of them.  They are both photogenic, have awesome smiles, and don't mind the camera.

The boys however....

This is the typical outcome after 10 pic attempts (I deleted the other 7) to get a group picture of my g'sons, and these are the best 3 pictures.  The net result:  1 good pic of Jack, 2 good pics of Owen, 0 good pics of Will, and 1 good pic of Jared (though he is not looking at the camera).  Oh my boys.

The best pictures of them usually come when they are in their wheelhouses; either glued to the screen on their gameboys, or participating in group sports.  Being silly with sandwiches is not their wheelhouse . . .

I love you boys!  Maybe my attempts to get pics of you at your football games this morning will have something better to show.

I am a blessed man.

Cheerleading

My heart is easily stolen.  My wife stole my heart when she was a teenager, my daughters each stole my heart when they were born, as did each of my grandchildren when they were born too.

I am a sap.  I wouldn't want it any other way though, as I love being unashamed to show affection; to shower the loves of my life with hugs and kisses.  It embarrasses them, but not me.  That's what I do, that's how I am; an affection shower.  They tell me it's over the top; yet I can never get enough, so how can it possibly be over the top?

A single case in point; this little spitfire Italian.  Oh my gosh did this little girl light up my life 9 years ago when she was born; and to watch her and all of my grandkids grow up has been the pinnacle of my life.

Ava Corinne, a mini-me twin of her Momma Angela Corinne.  They are both just all kinds of in-your-face gorgeous, sweet, precious, kind, and merciful.  But, not good at math . . ., so we won't go there today.

I love-love-love to watch Ava cheer.  Enjoying cheering started with my other daughter Jackie, and I think? it was 6th grade for her; and she was sure fun to watch ~ especially in high school with her toe touches, herkies, and her pre-cheer routine of 100+ reverse sit ups on my hips when her muscles were so taught you could bounce a coin off off her belly.

But Ava started I think? at age 6, and this year began her 3rd year to cheer for BA.  She also does dance and tumbling.  She showed me her dance routine to music that she created herself; and I'm telling you, it was great.  Very imaginative, and well choreographed.  Plus, her back handspring is really good for just learning it, and she has the strength to eventually be one of those girls you see reeling off 3-4 in a row.

At last Saturday's game (which I didn't watch), as my eyes were glued to Ava.  I was literally 10' away from her on the sidelines, and hoped my presence did not intimidate or bother her.  It didn't, she did incredible.  Always smiling, jumping, yelling, waving her arms, and 'nailing' the cheer routines.

She called my favorite too (at my request).  "1 2 3 4, what do you think these cleats are for? To stomp them, yeah, to stomp them!  1 2 3 4, what do you think these cleats are for? To stomp them, yeah to stomp them!"

I love you Ava Corinne; I am so proud of you!

I am a blessed man.      

Brute Force Trauma: Reborn

And this is why we say that o'Mike has the power of a Gorilla (like his Pappy).

This is a transcript of our text thread from last night around 8:30, as he was at his parents latest flip home, helping with the demo work.

"Owen has been at this for a good 20 minutes. This is right up his alley!"

"What I noticed is Owen is the most powerful with overhand hitting and Will is hitting from the side, and the rest of them are too scared to try. Guess that wall is coming down tonight."

"Dad watched it and never stopped laughing. Owen was made for that."

The dialogue continues, but without a 2nd video:

"Oh my gosh!  It is going on 45 minutes now.  Owen is the ONLY child still doing it. He almost has half of the entire wall down.  He is sweating through his shirt, he has sweat rolling down his face, and he doesn't want to stop!"

"He is tearing up because we told him it is time to go."

"What a gorilla.  He loves that stuff.  Maybe he can finish the wall later."

"He was using the huge sledgehammer that not ONE child could even lift, and he was hammering it into the wall over and over.  The sledgehammer probably weighed more than he does."

"He is hands down so much stronger than his 9 year old brother."

"No question about it.  Once again, brute force; he's got it."

~

And this is why I wrote the blog a few months ago called "Brute Force Trauma".  Here it is: reborn.

I love you Owen Michael; glad you enjoyed that!  I know I sure did, and I was just the one watching!

Boomer! . . . .

Natural Pose

Jackie and her family recently completed a trip to the great NW.  I asked her to send me a picture of the boys, and this is what I got.  I had been missing them terribly, and was hoping for big happy smiles picture like I get from my girls when they send me a picture every morning.

But nope, I can sure tell they enjoyed this picture . . . 100% completely normal.

o'Mike, doing his Casper imitation lives a great deal of his life under wraps as he does not like the sun glaring on his playstation while he is building a bunker in Minecraft.  Or perhaps he has found a way to hack into the internet and is gawking at swimsuit models; and doesn't want the parents to know . . .  Remember, this is the Romeo that at age 3 asked me the question "I like boobies, do you like boobies?"  And at age 4, was trying to 'hit on' the pretty teen Elf at Bass Pro by asking me "what's her name Pappy?" 

WP, on the other side of the minivan is looking pathetically bored, but is laser focused on his own playstation, and I'm not sure if he is on Minecraft too, or if he is solving math puzzles (like I would have probably been doing).

I love you boys ~ thanks for such an awesome picture!  :-)

I Am A Blessed Man

If I needed proof (which I don't!) that I am a blessed man; this 26 second video is all the proof I need.

I love word pictures, and in the day before selfies and camera phones; whenever I would talk to either of my daughters on the phone, I would always ask them to describe to me what they were wearing, and how they had done their make up, and how they had fixed their hair.  It helped me to see them in my mind.

The tradition continues with my grand-girls.  The boys would say "I have on a t-shirt."  Or, "I have on my shorts".  Short, non-descript, and they could care less.  It was always a hard conversation that I could not get started with them.  But, I stopped asking my grand-sons completely after Romeo answered me one day "I'm sitting here naked playing with my peanut" (and you can guess what his peanut is).  That was a word picture I didn't need to see....

Anyway, both of my grand girls are into fashion, drama, clothes, style, and being total girly-girls, and they always do a great job of explaining their ensemble for the day.

Occasionally, they have Mom take a phone video and send it to me.  This is their answer to my request from yesterday. 

I love you girls!  I am indeed a blessed man!

Mornings

I love mornings; especially early mornings; which is something I must have inherited from my Mom.  Pam (my wife) calls it the middle of the night; but I call it early morning.  I normally rise anywhere from 230a to 530a.  Pam is still up most nights till 11p to midnight; but I've usually been asleep for 2 to 2.5 hours by then.  After 8p, I struggle for the last 1 to 1.5 hours to stay awake till bedtime.  She thinks (probably rightfully so) that I will one day be one of those old people that goes to bed at 8p.    

Unless I have been dosed with Benedryl, I am up early of a morning (other than in winter when I tend  to hibernate, and can easily sleep to 7a).  A normal week for me is usually 1 day a week by 3a, 1 day a week by 4a, 3 days a week by 5a, 1 day a week by 6a, and 1 day a week by 7a (the Benedryl day).

This picture was taken at 530a on June 22nd as I was headed to breakfast.  I thought it was a beautiful sunrise.  I have seen lots of beautiful sunrises.

I love to be at QT early of a morning watching the lemmings.  It is enjoyable to watch the routine of some people.  I will never be called a people-person or be gifted with the ability to read people (like Pam can), but morning observation of people at QT is fascinating to me.

I love to leave early on trips.  When my girls were growing up; I wanted to be on the road by 3a, or 4a at the latest if we were driving somewhere on vacation.  Still to this day, if I am leaving for a weekend getaway with Pam, I want to be on the road early.  She is fine with leaving home by Noon; but I want to be at my new destination by Noon!  Unless we are flying somewhere, we usually compromise on the time; and leave by 10a; (which is the middle of the day for me).

I love the solitude of morning.  I can think, pray, concentrate, write; and enjoy life without distractions.  The most productive part of my day is usually before 8a.

Thank you Jesus for the beauty of morning.   

School Starts

My grandkids start back to school this week.  The last 2.5 months have gone by too fast.  I did not get to spend as much time with them this summer as I usually do; and it makes me sad.  This summer was stolen due to the loss of my Mom, and due to our moving to temporary housing while we build our new home.

Looking through some old photo's to cheer me up, I came across several that I love, and decided to tie them into the school theme of "describe your child to me in 3 words".  Well...., I know too many words, and I know my grandkids very well, so I will use 7 words, since that is my favorite number.  Besides, I'm their Pappy, and I can use as many words as I want to describe them! :-)

Good luck in school this year; I love you all!

This is Owen Michael (o'Mike). He is now 6 (and 1 month). 

CONFIDENT.  LOUD.  NATURAL.  TALKATIVE.  LEADER.  CHARMER.  BUSY.

This is Ava Corinne (little Momma). She is now 9 (and 6 months).

CONFIDENT.  OBEDIENT.  HELPER.  POWERHOUSE.  CULINARY.  TENDER.  OUTGOING.
 

This is Will Parker (WP).  He is now 8 (and 9 months).

OBEDIENT.  FOLLOWER.  MATHEMATICAL.  FOCUSED.  QUIET.  ANALYTICAL.  MERCIFUL.
 

This is Jared Henry (J Rod). He is now 10 (and 10 months).

LEADER.  NEGOTIATOR.  REPORTER.  INTELLIGENT.  DRIVEN.  FOCUSED.  ORGANIZED.
   

This is Jack Arthur (Flap Jack).  He is now 7 (and 5 months).

ATHLETIC.  TALKATIVE.  OUTGOING.  TOUGH.  GAMEBOY.  SMILER.  GIVING.

This is Emma Jo (Spaz).  She is now 7 (and 2 months).

DEMURE.  DRAMATIC.  AFFECTIONATE.  LOVABLE.  SHY.  COLORFUL.  RESTLESS.


I love you all.
I am a blessed man to be your Pappy!