Happy New Year

I am not normally one to make resolutions for the New Year. However, this year I think I will give it a shot. I hereby resolve to stop letting people walk all over me in life. So, if you happen to be one of them be forewarned! lol

Let me hear what your resolution is. In 3 months we can all look back and see how well we did.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

If this doesn't warm your heart nothing will.

This was one of those "flashmob" events. At a set time all of the participants began to sing at the Orlando Airport. They watched for a signal given by a conductor on balcony above. Look at the faces of the other people around them. Not one person is annoyed or bothered by it. Perhaps there is hope for Christians after all.

Just something to make you stop and think....

It's getting a wee bit c-c-cold.

Things are calming down a bit since the media has backed off on beating me up. It was getting rather overwhelming for awhile. Of course that leaves me time now to worry about other issues. Like the fact that our 42 year old oil burner decided to drop dead. Ok maybe not dead but more like it has a problem with incontinence. It leaks water so bad that there if I try to get heat out of it, the basement gets flooded and there is still no hot water circulating in the baseboards. Since I own a duplex, the house has 2 burners. The first one went last winter and I was able to get that one replaced. We had the installer give us a decent price since we knew they both had to be done. Unfortunately, finances limited us to just the one at the time. I knew that come December I would be able to arrange for the cash to do the one for my side of the house. Of course my burner decided to quit before that money came.

We have been using electric space heaters in the meantime. They help a bit, but it still gets a bit cold when the temps are below freezing outside. I am dreading my electric bill next month! The only good thing is I am still able to turn on the burner when I need hot water for showers. My co-workers are happy about that too I am sure!

I am not a Scrooge....

My job year round is life safety. I get paid to protect the public. I do my job year round. There is no holiday for safety concerns. Christmas time is no exception. Recently I received a complaint from a concerned citizen about the potential for someone to either be electrocuted or run over by a car. I did my job and responded to the complaint. I found that the complainant has valid concerns. Illegal electrical wiring has been run both underground and above ground. Some of it attached to a metal chain-link fence. Other wiring buried under the municipal right-of-way and attached to a public utility pole. In addition, materials have been placed in that right-of-way which forces pedestrians to have to step out into traffic to pass by. The owner of the house has several times in the past been warned and asked to correct the issue. They apparently chose not to listen. The only option left is to issue summonses for the violations. No big deal right? In fact at any other time of year I would be thanked for doing my job.

Apparently, the minute you plug any type of Christmas decoration into the electrical wiring, it no longer becomes a problem. That is the situation here. The material blocking pedestrians is an over abundance of Christmas decorations. The entire front lawn and house is covered. It actually looks quite pretty. However, the basic facts remain that there is a safety issue here. The permanent electrical wiring was installed illegally. There is no electrical inspection certificate of compliance. Not to mention, it was installed on municipal property without the permission of the municipality. In addition the homeowner took it upon themselves to also extend the decorations in front of the neighbor's home. Suddenly I am public enemy number one. I have news vans all over the place. All of them reporting on how the government has something against holiday decorations. There are pages of nasty uninformed comments on Facebook bashing me. The phones are ringing like crazy because someone posted the number online so people can call and tell us what they think. They are talking about going to the Mayors house in mass and one person is trying to rally the masses to protest at my home.

Luckily the people I answer to where I work understand the situation. I reached out to them before I wrote the summonses. I knew this would be a subject that had the potential to explode. And that it did

I have nothing against Christmas or the decorations that come with it. In fact I decorate my own home. Not to this extent but, I do put up lights. I am always the first in the office to put up decorations in the office and play the holiday music. Despite what you may see on the news,and this story will probably go national so you will probably see it on your news, I am not a grinch. Merry Christmas!

This scene always makes me cry

I am sure at least a few of you remember the show Ally McBeal. I used to love the show. There was just something about the characters that kept me interested. Back in 2001 there was a Christmas episode that had me crying my eyes out. And to this day I can not help the tears whenever I watch it.

This was 2 months after 9-11. The show typically tried to keep up with real life current events. They wanted a way to reach out to the audience and deal with 9-11 and the sadness, but did not want to be so direct in their approach. I can only assume they felt it was just too soon. So, what they did was write a story about a small town outside of Boston where a tragic fire killed a number of firemen. The town council cancelled the holiday parade becuase they felt celebrations would not be appropriate so soon after a tragedy. A local man felt otherwise and took the town to court. He won. The town held it's parade, but in a way that remeberence was the main theme.

On a second story thread in that episode, Josh Groban played a teen who had just lost his mother. He would always sing for her. When she died he stopped singing. No one could convince him otherwise. Eventually he agrees and appears in church on the same night of the parade.

Before you watch this clip, take a moment and think back to 2001 and what you felt in your heart that year. Once you are there, click play on the video below. If the little boy carrying his daddy's fire helmet does not make you cry, I don't know what ever will........

How NOT to be a good parent....

days like this are never easy

There are some days where being a dad is just so hard. My oldest son Kevin had a car accident today. He pulled out on a corner and a woman plowed into the passenger side of his car. Luckily no one was injured. I can not say the say the same for his car. It is T-boned on that side. There is no way he can continue to use the car.

I am sitting here thanking God that my son is fine. At the same time just the stress of now having to deal with insurance companies and having to go back to driving him around is bringing me down a bit. Even those are minor compared to the feeling of sadness I have for Kevin. He is upset that he no longer has a car. He feel awful that he had the accident to begin with. I can not help but feel sad right along with him. Not to mention that the mind now starts to go thinking about "what if". I just want to cry right now.

I know that life will go on. And one day this will just be a memory. I am telling myself everything I would be telling anyone else. Yet I just can not help it. Sigh........

Catching up

It has been a really busy couple months in my life. With the kids back in school and all of those activities that come along with it, and add in a wife that works and is a full time college student, you can imagine that I have very little "me" time.  When I do seem to have a few minutes to sit by the computer, I have a habit of dozing off.

I did get a bit of a reprieve 2 weeks ago when I headed to Charlotte, NC for an annual business meeting. Some of you probably saw my drunk blog from there. Even though it is a work conference, there is plenty of fun time built in.

We arrived in Charlotte on Saturday morning. The Hilton hotel where we stayed was gorgeous. After walking around a little bit it became evident that Charlotte is not what I am accustomed to in a city. It is made up primarily of hotels, office buildings and parking garages. There were some places to eat. What it lacked was any type of retail stores.

Sunday was the first official day of the conference. It kicked off with a golf outing. What a beautiful day that turned out to be. The weather was spectacular. I was actually in shorts and a short sleeve shirt. The course was amazing and we played really well. I am not an avid golfer but I love the game. I always worry a little bit when I play in these events because my skills could use some fine tuning. Luckily I played awesome that day. You could never guess I don't play all that often. Sunday night we headed to a local bar where it was a "meet the candidates" meet and greet. I had a few drinks and ate some great food. I stayed fairly sober. lol

Monday was the opening meeting which was fine, but not the reason I was looking so forward to that day. It also happened to be the night of the welcome event. This year the event was in the NASCAR Hall of Fame. I was in my glory! I got free admission into the Hall and got to do all the interactive stuff there. Add in the open bar and buffet that we had in the lobby area and it was a perfect evening. In all my years of attending these conferences, this was by far my favorite welcoming event. My son thought I was going to be total redneck when I got home. lol

Tuesday was the annual business meeting and elections. The morning was filled with speeches and campaigns. It may look boring on C-Span but, being there you can not help but get caught up in the whole process. We had a nice lunch and then I had the afternoon free. That night was delegate photos and the exhibitors reception. Again with a bar and buffet. this is where the trouble started. Every year, the New York delegates ( I am one of them) hosts a hospitality suite. We do it in conjuction with a few other states. This year it included NC, ND, RI, UT, KY and I think NJ. We had an open bar and some snack foods. I admit to getting totally smashed this year. Thankfully my room was only 8 floors up. I will not get into details here. Let's just say I ended up making the swear "Dear God. Let me live through this and I will never drink again!" I lived. So far I have been pretty much sticking to the promise. I will probably keep that promise......till next years conference in Phoenix AZ!

Overall, I had an awesome time in Charlotte. I brought home a lot of great memories and a bunch of pictures.

 

This was Saturday. You know where I was on Monday!

 

I managed to change the tire in just over 20 seconds. 

Guess I should not get a job with a pit crew!

 

At the trade expo on Monday

 

I had such an awesome time here!

 

That's my favorite!

They have actual cars sitting up on the track that wraps around the ramp to the second floor.

the track display. All full size cars.

 

This was the simulator area. You sit in the car and drive a simulator.

I managed a 1:00.564 lap time at Talladega!

This was actually after more than half the people left.  

And before you ask, the lady in the lower right was dancing to the DJ. lol

The tooth fairy ain't made of gold kiddo!

I got home from my business trip on Thursday evening. Katie was already at dance class. I headed over to the dance studio. When I got there, the first class had just ended. Katie saw me coming and ran and gave me the biggest hugs! She really made my day. She kept telling everyone how it was her "lucky day" since she had lost a tooth and her daddy came back home.

Later that night when Katie went to bed, she placed her tooth under her pillow. I keep the golden dollar coins handy for these special nights. Just before I headed to bed myself, I tip-toed into her room to check on the tooth fairy. I reached under her pillow to look for the tooth. What I found was the tooth and the following note:

It is the memories like this one that make my life worth living and make me always look forward to getting home from my trips!

drunk off my ass

I decided it might be fun to see what my posts look liek when I am frunk....drunbk. I am exremly xdrubnk at the moment. It has been an awesomeluy fun night for me. ANds  yeas I anm feeliung very good at the moment/
The room is spinning. I thought it might be funb to try and type and then qwhen I sober up in to morning, I will lookk at see just how stupid I look to the rest of you.

I plan to write about my week here in NC...just not tonight. I just got bnack to my room after polishing off 2 bottles of 43. The room is spinning  and I know Iwill be sleeping with one foot on the floor. I had planned to stay spober. I guess that plan was not working. SO laugh at me all yu want. I am too drunk to care. lol

Breast Cancer Awareness

If you don't already know, you should. October is Breast Cancer Awareness month. My wife is a survivor of this horrible disease. I know a number of others who have also suffered the scare. A local tattoo parlor is doing their part to help spread the word by offering free pink ribbon tattoos. My wife decided she wanted to get one. Her mom got one yesterday. Her aunt and 2 cousins got them earlier this week. I think it is a good cause. In fact to help show my support I got a tattoo as well.

I have thought about getting a tattoo many times over the years. This is not what I had in mind originally but, what better design to start off with? Now that I know what it feels like, I will go back soon and get something artistic done. As for the rest of you, please please make sure to check your breasts regularly! And get those mammograms done. SAVE THE TA-TAS!

3rd time is the charm

This morning my son made his 3rd attempt at his road test. I don't know who was more nervous. Him or me. The first time he took the test he cut off a car as he was about to pull away from the curb. End of test before he even started. He had to wait a month to take it again. The second time he was shaking before he even got behind the wheel. Add in the fact that it was windy and raining due to a hurricane off the shore, he failed for being too cautious.

I had no idea what to expect today. We are getting very heavy rains and it is windy. All thanks to a coastal storm and the remnants of Tropical Storm Nicole. After dropping off my daughter, Kevin and I headed to the site of the test. We got there a little early. There were only a couple cars ahead of us. The rain would start and stop. Kevin's leg was bouncing and he was talking fast. There were two women testers today. The one that failed him last time and another one that he recognized as someone that came and talked at his Driver's Ed course. The order they were going in meant he was going to get the one he had last time. I saw him stress even more. However, the car ahead of us was a woman being tested. After her test her son got in the car for his test. This meant Kevin's tester would be the woman that came to his class. He got happy at that point. He told me he was comfortable since it was like he "already knew her."  He got behind the wheel, I stepped out with my big umbrella and I turned my back and prayed. Within a few minutes he pulled back up. He stepped out of the car and said, "I failed" Of course he was just way to excited to be able to not smile. He passed! He didn't get a single point off. He aced it.

So despite the weather, today is an awesome day! We got home from the test, I told him that his grandmother would want to know how he did. He reached for his phone so I told him, "Here, use this instead." and I tossed him my keys. So, off he went to drive for the very first time by himself. I am sure you can imagine his big smile. And here I sit smiling right along with him!

NASCAR Heaven

I am a NASCAR fan. My kids pick on me for it, but I don't care. I love sitting and watching the races. It is even better when Jimmie Johnson wins the race. Seeing that Lowe's 48 car cross that finish line in front just makes my day. Last year, NASCAR opened a Hall of Fame in Charlotte NC. I knew this would be a place I just have to see one day. That day is happening October 25th! Woohoo!

Every year I travel to wherever the ICC Annual Conference is being held. This year it just happens to be in Charlotte, NC. As soon as I found out, I said I was going to hit the Hall of Fame. Well, it gets even better. Each year the ICC holds a big opening event. They find a major venue and book it exclusively for the ICC attendees. We have access to the entire place. There is a buffet and an open bar. When I was in Detroit it was held at the Henry Ford Museum. In Florida it was in Epcot. In Baltimore it was in Camden Yard and Oriole's Stadium. This year it will be in, yes you guessed it, the NASCAR Hall of Fame. So, not only do I get to see the museum, but it will be free, there will be food and drinks, and I will be in my glory! I am so excited that I feel like a kid just before Christmas.

One of the things that we do at our conference is trade collector pins. Chapters from all over the world bring pins and all week long I find people that are looking to trade pins. I have a decent sized collection. My Association is no different. We have had 3 designs over the past 10 years. All rather plain and all designed by the company making the pins. Since we have been using the same pin each year, it was getting harder to find people that didn't already have one. This year I decided I was going to take over the design. I wanted something unique. Something that combined the Chapter and this years International Conference. This is the design I came up with:

Knowing what people look for in a pin when trading, I have no doubt these will be hot this year. I didn't tell anyone I was going to design it until after I had the design complete. When it was done I presented my design to the Chapter President and VP. In typical fashion the President tried to tweek it into something he could then claim as his own. (He is notorious for this). I stuck to my guns and in the end we went with my design. 

I can not wait to get to Charlotte!

We are all young once

As a kid you never think about your parents being kids at some point in their life. And grandparents? They were born old...right? I was recently given the following photographs of my grandmother. In each picture she is the little girl in the shot. The pictures are from the sometime around 1920. In the first picture my grandmother is sitting in the window by the dog. The woman holding the baby is my great-grandmother. The baby is some great-uncle. I think my mom said his name was Rex.

I finally found what I was looking for

When I was younger, around 10 or 11, I lost my best friend. He ran out into the street and was hit by a truck and killed. He was a year younger than me. Hardest thing I ever went through. As a result, I built a shell around myself and had a hard time allowing people to get close to me. I still do. It comes from a fear that I will lose them one day too. When Bobby died, it was felt that I should be sheltered from the whole thing. I didn't get to go to the funeral and his death was never mentioned around me or to me. As a result, I was never able to get closure. I never got to say good bye. I am 47 now and it still affects me.

For years now I have wanted to visit Bobby's grave. To let go of the pain. To heal. To say good bye.... The problem was that I had no idea where he was buried. My parents could not remember. Since Bobby's family had moved to NJ before he died, and I had no idea where they were. Bobby's dad had passed and his mom had remarried. His sisters were grown and married. So, it was not like I could find anyone. When someone we all knew passed away several years ago, my mom mentioned having the phone number to contact Bobby's mom. (Gee thanks for not telling me this all these years.) I made the call to let her know about the passing. Unfortunately, I got an answering machine. I was already nervous about calling but, toss in the fact that I hate talking on the phone, my message was one of the dumbest sounding things ever. I tried to be composed but, I failed. I mentioned the death and at the end of the message I left my phone number and asked her to call me and told her why. I never heard from her. Feeling like a fool, I was afraid to call back.

Well, thanks to Facebook, I happened across Bobby's sister last week. I sent a friend request and a quick note. We exchanged a few messages back and forth. Catching up on all that has happened in the 30+ years since we last spoke to each other. I didn't know how to bring up the subject of where her brother is laid to rest. I finally decided to just lay it all out there. It took a couple days to hear back. I was beginning to think I had said the wrong thing. Last night I finally heard back from her. She not only gave me the information, but she has offered to meet me there. I am undecided on whether or not to take her up on that offer. I will be going to the cemetery but, I am just not sure if I will meet her there or not. My wife had said she would go with me, but I told her it was something I just need to do alone. For once she actually understands.

In the next month or so I will be making that trip to NJ. I will find my friend. And hopefully I will find that peace that has eluded me all these years.........tm

9/11 God Bless the USA

I need a shower now.

Part of my job involves investigative work. This means at times I get to interview people to ferret out information. It usually means I have to steer them into admitting things that they would rather you didn't discover. Today was one of those days.

Sadly, as bad as the economy is, men still seem to pay for sex. As a result, prostitution remains popular. The popular way of going about this is to open "massage" parlors. They are usually opened in office buildings and the advertising is done online. I have raided a few in the past. Today we received a complaint of a new one in the neighborhood. time to go to work.

Because of the nature of the investigation, we work in pairs. Going to a place like this alone is never a smart idea. It is too easy to be accused of inappropriate things. My partner and I work well together. He is an older guy and has that easy going nature. And since you are familiar with the "Good cop, Bad cop" routine, you can figure out which one I am. I just have this way of getting information from people. I let them know that I want answers and that I am serious. Don't waste my time with beating around the bush. I am also not afraid to tell anyone what the consequences will be if I have to find out later that they lied. I have to admit, I enjoy this part of my job.

Today we went into this place for preliminary information. We got a complaint that there is a car load of oriental girls being dropped off there at night and that a lot of men come and go all night long. It is rather obvious that this is not a normal business operation. We knocked on the door and were greeted by a fairly attractive asian woman in her early 50s. As soon as I showed her my badge her smile faded. Despite that, she invited us inside. Ok so maybe not offered up front but simply complied with my asking her if we could come inside. In the room we walked into there was a nice divider and behind it sat two younger asian women on a mattress. A closed circuit TV was set up so they could see who was approaching the front door. There were two back rooms with massage tables set up. I can not get into any details about the information we collected since it is an active investigation. However, during the investigation as I was reading the one woman's ID out so my partner could read it, she placed her head on my shoulder and nuzzled up against me. What the hell was going through her mind? That has got to be one of the dumbest things anyone has ever done during an investigation of mine. I just shrugged her head off of me and gave her a look that backed her up. I left there feeling like I need a shower......eeewwwww.

Smoke yourself to death. Just leave me out of it!

I don't smoke. Never really have. I am the only one in my family that never has. Same goes for my wife and her family. That being said, it is obvious that we just don't care for it. The smell of it makes me ill. I get a headache and it irritates my throat.

It is lunchtime right now and I am sitting down by the docks as I normally do. There is a breeze off the water and it is a beautiful sunny day. Fresh air! Or at least it was. A car pulled up next to me and the driver got out and decided to light up. My lovely salty breeze was now nothing but that putrid smell of second hand smoke.

Don't get me wrong. You have the right to give yourself cancer. I won't stop you. However, where is my right to not have to get it with you? Where is the consideration of stepping to a place where your nasty habit won't infringe on the rights of others? I don't get all preachy to smokers about not smoking. All I ask in return is that you do not drag the rest of us to an early grave with you.

On a related note, the earth is not your @#$%! ashtray! Stop flicking your butts all over it! That thing in your car is an ashtray. Not a change holder moron. Grrrrrr!

One of the worst jobs as a parent

No parent likes seeing their kids hurt or sad or distressed in any way. Sadly though, those days come along some times. Today is one of those days.

My son Tyler has one of the biggest hearts I know. Especially when it comes to animals. Today I was forced to tell him that his dog passed away. Cookie, our pug, was only 3 years old. He was Tyler's dog. We got Cookie after a lot of begging and pleading from every angle around me. I reluctantly agreed. Once we had him though, Cookie became a dog I absolutely loved. He was fun, He could be goofy at times and you could not help but laugh.

Being a pug, breathing was an issue constantly. Pugs have pushed in faces. The heat seemed to make it worse. I honestly think that perhaps Cookie had a medical condition that caused him to succumb to the heat. He passed away this afternoon when my wife was out. My wife is feeling extremely guilty, Though it was not really her fault. It is just one of thos freak things that happens.

So today I had I had to be the grown up and bury one of my son's best friends. All the while, trying not to fall apart myself. I can honestly say that this is one time that parenting sucks. I was going to include a picture of cookie but, I just cant bring myself to open one right now..........