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Be a part of something great – Your Life

2009-11-01T16:10:00.001-06:00

Be a part of something great – YOUR LIFE

This thought popped into my head a few weeks ago when I was watching Major League on the tube. It was the 20^th anniversary of that movie, which I dearly love. In fact, it's one of the few movies that actually gets me misty eyed at the end of. Braveheart, being one of the others.

What is it about sports and action movies that move their viewers?

Is it the thrill of the victory? The greatness of overcoming the insurmountable odds that are against you? Being the hero, saving the damsel in distress, the world, or the galaxy? Beating the bad guys, righting the wrongs?

Probably a bit of all of it. We all want to be a part of something great, be the hero, and lead the charge. I think that sometimes we get so caught up in what is going on around us that we can easily forget that we are part of something great – OUR OWN LIVES. Your life is what you make of it. Every day can be an adventure. Our lives are where they are for a lot of reasons. My personal view is that God puts us where we are at any given time. That doesn't mean that where we are now is where we will be for the rest of our lives, and it doesn't mean that we should become complacent. That adventure, our lives, can take place anywhere, anytime, anyplace. Make the most of what you have, when you have it. Be thankful for your family, your neighbors, and your friends. Strive to do it a little better today than you did yesterday.

Being a hero to someone, whether in your family, someone close to you or someone you just happen to run into doesn't have to take a lot of effort. It can be as simple as a smile, a phone call to an old friend, or a quick visit to someone you haven't seen in a while. As we pick up steam and head into the holiday season, we need to take a moment and be thankful for what we have.

Again, it's easy to be complacent and forgot how good we have it, especially when compared to people in other parts of the world, or even this country. Last Wednesday at Awanas, we watched a short film on the Samaritan's Purse organization. They're the people who do Operation Christmas Child. If you're not familiar with that, they collect shoeboxes full of random items; pencils, shoes, toothpaste and toothbrushes, combs, small toys and the like and send them to kids in other countries who don't have much of a Christmas. They also help with other relief efforts here at home. We collect for our Church's donation to them and always thought that it was a great cause, but never thought much more about it. It got put into perspective when the gentleman talking about the clips we were watching said "This may be EVERYTHING that they get for Christmas, EVER". One shoebox full of stuff. Watching the movie of their reactions when those kids opened those boxes was really moving. They were so excited about those items, that most of just consider necessities.

We also watched another clip about a lady named Lejla Allison , a young lady who grew up in Bosnia during some of the worst times of the wars there. It tells how that one shoebox completely changed her life. I hope you'll take a moment to watch her story, it's truly moving.

It's November 1^st and this year will be over before we know it. I wish everyone the best for the remaining 2 months of the year. Hang on, it's going to go quickly!

What do you take for granted?

2009-07-12T15:13:00.006-05:00

Ok, so I'm not the most mechanically inclined person in the world. I'm fairly handy, but at times, my patience, or occasional lack of, can get the best of me.

Well, Wednesday night, it got me again. I'm trying to change the blades on my lawn mower, they needed it badly, and I'm having trouble loosening the nut that holds the right blade on. I won't go into all of the details, which includes not taking time to go inside, find some WD40 (which I found today) and loosen that nut so I can easily change the blades. No, I just figured I'd use some good old fashioned brute force and loosen it that way. It worked, a little too well. My right hand slipped off the blade and without looking, I knew it wasn't good.

Oh, it wasn't that bad, 11 stitches and 12 chicken wings (I know they're horrible for you, but it's a rare guilty pleasure I take) later, I'm back home marveling at my right hand. Heck, I actually caught a few innings of a baseball game while I was in the ER. Hadn't done that in a while, and Lana and I talked a lot. It's not often we get uninterrupted conversation.

One of my first thoughts was, "good thing, it's my right hand. I'm left handed, this shouldn't be that bad" The next morning, I noticed that I used my right hand a lot more than I thought I did. I figured I did most everything left handed. Kind of took my right hand for granted. I even started making a list of what I use my right hand for. I live a fairly pain free life. I'm rarely sick. I get up every morning and have great days, usually.

Then I took a look at the bands on my wrist and thought about how sometimes we can take things for granted, especially our health. I'm sure everyone recognizes the yellow band, It's the LIVESTRONG band, courtesy of the Lance Armstrong foundation. http://www.livestrong.org/ The other one is the one that got me thinking. It says Cancer Can't, Ninja Can WIN. A friend of mine has a paintball teammate who just got diagnosed with colon cancer. Sucks. The bands are to help raise money for his fight. He just got a bad draw, the big C. Another guy that I ride with, the first time I rode with him, he told me he has stage 4 lung cancer and a few surgeries to go along with it. He was kind enough to hang back with me since it was my first ride. Again, I don't think he abused his body, just got a bad draw. It can happen that easily. Your health can change in a matter of seconds, even if you treat your body like a temple. I worked 8 years in hospitals, I've seen it.

Cancer just happens to be one of the things that I've got a passion for, or against actually. But there are a number of things that can sidetrack our health. I'm thankful that in a few days, I'll be back at 100%, or should be. I'll be able to swim with Kenny and roughhouse with him like I did before Wednesday. It could have been worse, I know, and I guess I'll take this opportunity to take stock of that and be thankful for what I have and my family. You never know what may happen tomorrow.

Since I got on the cancer soapbox, I'll go ahead and post a few sites where you can go and help that fight. If this fight isn't for you, then please find one that is and take up arms. There are many ways to help, and not all of them will drain your time or your wallet. I've been participating in the ACS relay for life the past few years. http://www.relay.org/ It's a great program and the walk is fun. Long but fun.

Lance Armstrong Foundation http://www.livestrong.org/
American Cancer Society http://www.cancer.org/
Relay for Life http://www.relay.org/

Is laughter really the best medicine?

2009-06-20T09:26:00.004-05:00

Laughter, is it really the best medicine?

Some would argue that it is and I'd say that it's definitely up there as something that's needed daily in our lives. I know I feel better after a good laughing fit, you probably do to. I'd also state that exercise is also in the top things that we can use to make ourselves feel better, physically and mentally.

Let's take last Thursday for instance. I got home from work, and to be frank, I've been in better moods. Not sure why I wasn't 100% of my normal happy self, but I wasn't. It had been several days since the last time on my bike. Thursday is my normal riding day, so I got dressed and started thinking about my ride. As soon as I pulled my cycling shorts on, I started feeling better immediately. Hadn't done anything, but just thinking about getting on the bike started a nice little mood lift. 43 minutes and 10 miles later, I was a brand new man. I felt much better.

We all know that exercise releases endorphins, that's part of the mental relief that we get from it. Physically there are lots of benefits too, but I want to focus more on the mental aspect of exercise benefits outside of weight loss, flexibility, and the like.

ENDORPHINS - what are they and how do they help?

Endorphins are produced by the pituitary gland and the hypothalamus in vertebrates during strenuous exercise, and they resemble the opiates in their abilities to produce analgesia and a sense of well-being. Endorphins work as "natural pain relievers", whose effects may be enhanced by other medications.

Thus ends our science class for today. Long story short, they're nature's feel good medication. We all produce it under certain circumstances. Exercise can help our bodies do this, for free. What happens when we don't do this? Bad moods result. Some people also have conditions where they don't produce enough of this on their own and that's a whole different issue. Low endorphin levels can lead to bad moods, low productivity and worse, depression. Weather you are diagnosed with clinical depression or not, exercise can effect your daily moods immensely.

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/depression-and-exercise/MH00043
http://exercise.about.com/cs/exercisehealth/a/depression.htm

These articles have two things in common. A list of benefits, including confidence building, sense of accomplishment, distraction from what's going on in your head. All things we need. It's amazing how just a little bit of accomplishment can increase your confidence in yourself. That boosts your mood, and helps you to feel better in an everyday basis. You don't have to be a championship bodybuilder, 100 yard dash recordholder, local cycling criterium winner to be successful in exercise. Just decide to find the time to elevate your mood and you'll be successful. Use that as a starting point to other successes.

Don't you think that spending 20 or 30 minutes a day is worth all the benefits you can reap from that time?

Encouragement in three little words

2009-06-05T21:58:00.004-05:00

Go, Daddy, Go!

Three little words, they may not seem like a battle cry of encouragement, but they are to me. I'll tell you why. Father's Day is approaching quickly. A few days ago, my wonderful wife, Lana, said she's got my gift and it'll be cool and I can use it. My interest was peaked immediately. She knows how to work me and knows that patience isn't always one of my virtues and I'd ask for it. She also knows how to use this in reverse for her birthday, mother's day, Christmas, anniversary, etc and that I won't be able to hold out on her gifts. But, I digress.

So, she gave it to me yesterday. It was a sports bottle, a metal one that's supposed to be better for you, better tasting, since it's not plastic. Bright (Cowboy) blue and three little words on it, seven actually - Go, Daddy Go! Love Lana and Kenny. The bottle itself isn't what is so special about the gift. It's a great bottle, don't get me wrong. It's those three words of encouragement, Go, Daddy, Go, that have me jazzed. I'm training for the Hotter N Hell 100. It's a 100 mile bike ride, this August, in Wichita Falls, Tx. I rode in it once in the 90's and it's appropriately named. The bottle also won't be my primary source of hydration on that ride. My Camelbak H.A.W.G. will be. It holds 100 ounces of liquid, and I'll need every bit of it, twice probably.

I'm blessed to have a wife that supports me the way that she does. Cycling isn't a sport that you can do in 20 or 30 minutes a day. It takes time, and she gives that to me. She's awesome. What that bottle will do for me is keep me going when I'm 50 or 60 miles into the ride and hot. I'll look down at that bottle and see those three little words - Go, Daddy, Go! It will energize me because I know she and Kenny are pulling for me. That bottle will turn into the shifter on Eleanor, Nick Cage's Mustang GT in "Gone in 60 Seconds" Yes, the shifter with the nitrous button in the end of it. The one with the sticker around that red button saying Go, Baby, Go. It'll keep me going when I need to reach down for something extra.

I'm not writing this to brag on my wife, although I can do that easily. That bottle got me thinking about the power a few words can have over someone and the Sunday School lesson that we had on encouragement a few weeks ago. That lesson was about Barnabus and how he stepped up for Paul, just after his conversion. The disciples weren't too sure about Paul's newfound faith, but Barnabus stood up for Paul, got his brothers to relax and accept him. Barnabus encouraged Paul, and the rest is history.

Encouragement doesn't always have to be that bold. It doesn't have to be hard, in fact, it's easy. You never know when a kind word, or three, can really effect someones day, totally turn it around. It can be as simple as a smile, a nod, or a hello. It takes virtually no energy on your part, but it can totally fill someones tank who needs it. It can take place in the form of a phone call to an old friend you haven't talked to in a while, an email, a text. I think hearing someone talk to you is better, but a little contact may just be what someone needs.

Words can build up and words can tear down. I know it's impossible to always be cheery and be the encourager. But, for such a small energy investment that can pay such big dividends for someone else, doesn't it make sense to have that hat on when we can? What if, your tank is running low one day, and a perfect stranger smiles as you pass in the hall or on the street and it perks you up? Wouldn't you be glad that they did? There are so many people who start a business, project, fitness program, or whathaveyou, often give up just inches before they achieve success. If they'd just persevered a little longer, they would have achieved their goals. Sometimes a bit of encouragement is all someone needs to keep going when they're ready to quit.

It's a simple choice we can make. We can add to someones day and mood, or not.

What are your three words going to be today?

How Twitter, Facebook and, oh yes, Exercise have helped my back pain

2009-05-29T19:24:00.007-05:00

Interesting title, huh?

I'll start this by saying that this will not be a post with earth shattering workout secrets, or a new, revolutionary eating program guaranteed to strip 30 pounds off of you in 6 days. What this will be is a few thoughts on my back pain, it's practically gone, and why I believe that's happened.

Exercise, help with back pain, sure. Twitter? Facebook? how can they help with back pain? I'll get to that in a paragraph or two.

To begin with, my back isn't exactly right. Nothing debilitating, but I used to have a lot of tightness in it, with some occasional soreness and tweaks. If I had a long day of whatever, being on my feet, standing all day, it would really stiffen up. It has a curve and a little twist to it. Judging from my back X-rays, I'm lucky that a bit of minor pain and stiffness is all I have from it. It could be a lot worse. I first noticed it in 1995, a few years after I got out of Xray school. I was in pretty good shape, a result of going to the gym when I should have been studying. But, at that time, I hadn't been exercising like I should had been and put on about 15 pounds. I had a student shoot my lower back and thought wow, that shouldn't look like that. Some trips to the chiropractor helped a lot, but it still would always be tight. It didn't matter if I exercised, or how I exercised, it never was completely right. Not terribly painful, but not loose.

Fast forward a couple of more years and I'm trying to launch a medical sales career. That usually involves travel, and a lot of fancy dinners. Again, I had success, at times, in getting a good workout regimen and making good food choices. It didn't last and I blew up to about 248 pounds, not good, I'm 5'7" - 5'8"ish. I was 185 pounds when I got out of X-ray school, that fit well, but 248 was too much. I may have seen 250 on the scale, but I won't admit it. My back was tired, a LOT. They say that every pound on your front is equal to at least 4 pounds of pressure on your back. Tack on 20 or 60 pounds and that equals an easily tired back and Michael. Let's throw a child into the equation and I don't have near the energy to be the Husband and Dad that I want to and need to be.

January of 2008 I was done with being in the shape I was in. My dad had some health issues over the past two years and with that family history, it was time to make a permanent change. The biggest problem I had with getting back into a routine was mental. I couldn't take all of those years off, then go back and try and work out like I used to. I didn't start that way, how could I jump back into it that way? Finally I just started doing a little bit in the mornings, 10-15 minutes of bodyweight squats and pushups, several days a week. I built on that, started walking some, then I finally dusted off my bike last October. I ended up dropping up about 30pounds in 2008 and was feeling a LOT better.

I noticed something last month when we were on vacation in San Antonio. We went to Sea World and the first day there, we did the entire park. Walking everywhere, chasing Kenny down. Usually something that would kill my back and make it really stiffen up. When we got back to the hotel, we hit the pool on the roof of the place. I found this jet in the pool that would probably take paint off of a car hood. My first thought, put that on your back and loosen it up. I turned around and realized that my back wasn't stiff at all. I was astounded, couldn't believe it. A six hour drive the previous day, followed by the Sea World day should have had me beat. It didn't.

Pain is something you recognize immediately when it first hits you. If it is a frequent visitor, you don't always realize when it leaves because you get used to it. I started thinking, I haven't had a tired back in a long while. And when I thought about it, my flexibility had increased, a lot. Picking things up off of the floor was easier (of course the wedge between my chest and thighs is a lot smaller now). Toting Kenny around is still easy and he's not getting any smaller... I attribute it to exercise. I'm not living in the gym, but I'm getting some form of exercise done as much as I can. It's not a big secret. I cycle, I have some nifty dumbells that I'll use sometimes, but they've almost been replaced by Kettlebells, and I'll do some bodyweight exercises. It's varied in what I do, but I'm doing something most every day. I can't stress enough, how much I believe that it's exercise that's help my back. The cycling and Kettlebells have strengthened by legs and back. Something I've always believed - the stronger your legs are, the easier they will make things on your back. You can pick out 10 different fitness experts, and you'll probably find 10different views on fitness and nutrition. They're all fit, but they have different views. How can this be? That answer is easy, they're all doing something and that's the key DO SOMETHING!!!

How does Twitter and Facebook factor into this. Easy, you can find just about any thing, person, group on those social sites. I was lucky enough to catch up with some people, and I'll name a few here, who really know their stuff and love helping people get fit almost as much as they love being fit. They will share info, tips, the occasional workout, motivational quips and much more. They're truly special people who are willing to help and love to share their knowledge. They're also blessed enough to be working in an industry that they're passionate about. People like that are hard to find. I want to send out a personal thanks to Joe Gigantino (@joegigantino on twitter) . He owns a few fitness clubs in Northern Ca and is one of the most positive people I've chatted with, a fountain of motivational thoughts and ideas. Sandy Sommer (@sandysommer on twitter). He owns a Kettlebell gym in Baltimore. He's a wealth of information and comes up with some KILLER workouts. Last, but not least, Craig Ballantyne (@craigballantyne on twitter). He's got a great system called Turbulence Training that I'll be using after I complete the Hotter N Hell 100 this August, or at least after cycling season is over. Thanks again guys for all of your help, motivation and knowledge sharing.

If you need or want help with your fitness, it's out there and it's not that hard to find.

I'll close this by saying, I'm not where I want to be, fitnesswise, yet. But, I'm on the road there and I feel much better than I did this time last year. I didn't hit 248 overnight and I won't get back to 185 overnight either. I still have a lot of work left. All I know is I gained zero weight over the holidays, which I am thankful for, and I've dropped a couple of more pounds this year. (I'm flirting with 214-215) I'm getting faster on the road, the hills are getting smaller and my clothes are getting larger. I'm taking that as a good sign.

A new proud Dad moment

2009-05-17T14:56:00.015-05:00

Well, it seems that I'm managing to post something about every 2 weeks or so. Not too bad, I guess, since this is more of just personal musings and not my job or anything. Actually, more happens than I post, but sometimes, it's hard to get it put down before the muse passes.

This past Wednesday, I had another proud Dad moment. Lana, Kenny, and I went to our Awana's awards banquet. For those of you who don't know, Awanas is a Wednesday night Bible study for the local kids, pre k through 6th grade, in our area. Lana and I both help out. I'm a handbook leader, read: one more big kid in the room.

This year was Kenny's first year in the club. He's a cubby, part of the pre-k group. They're a bunch of rambunctious kids, who get a litle study time in with memory verses, some play time, it's a blast. Part of the program was for them to get up and sing the Awanas Cubby song. It really went off very well, especially considering it was several kids in the 3-5 year old range.

They were all up there singing and actually staying pretty still and I realized something. This is the first, organized, show, presentation, skit, whathaveyou, that Kenny is participating in.

It almost brought a tear to my eye. It really made me proud of him to stand up there and do his thing with the rest of the kids. I just started smiling a large, ear to ear grin.

It really was nice see that production and it started me thinking about all of the other shows, events that lie ahead for our family. It's going to be a great ride. Especially with another little one on the way. That one is due at the end of September!
Being a Dad rocks!

That's the little man there, 3rd from the left.

Another great thing about this program is all of the local kids that it can reach. Our program averaged 100 kids each Wednesday night. Also, 50 workers were there helping out in one way or another. That's a lot of love going around out there. We're very blessed to have a program like this for the local kids.

Since, I've now figured out how to post pictures to this, I'll post a few from Seaworld a few weeks ago. Until next time!

Yes, we're on that ride!

The Aftermath

2009-04-30T22:50:00.004-05:00

What a day at Seaworld in San Antonio. I'm starting this tonight because I haven't posted in 2 or 3 weeks and really want to keep this growing, expanding, and just seeing what happens. Plus, one of my new Twitter friends who has a pretty nice blog sent me a message today asking how the blogging was coming along. Nice to have someone keeping you in check. I've actually gotten a lot out of Twitter and talked with some interesting people, but I'll save that for another posting.

I'm wrecked for several reasons. One, it's almost 11 and I'm digesting a nice rib-eye and grilled shrimp. Two, trying to keep up with my son, Kenny, is getting to be a challenge. Lana, he and I had a real blast today. It's our 2nd "real" vacation as just us, but this one's different. He's growing up so much, travels so much better, and now it's more like we're traveling with three people instead of two adults and a baby.

My hat is off to Lana. I'm thankful that she put this trip together. We're into her 18th week of the pregnancy and she made it through the day with flying colors. She's beat, I know, but she never showed it. She's an awesome wife and Mother.

I really love being a Dad. Don't know how else to put it. The first thing that we did when we hit the park was see the Shamu show. It was incredible. Just looking down at Kenny and seeing the way his face and eyes were lighting up, made that long drive yesterday worth it. So many memories are being made this week. We'll be talking about this trip for a while. He wasn't too sure about Shamu, the Killer Whale, until the show started. He's a fan now. He's always been a very happy and smiley child, but this smile was bigger than normal. There is something about watching him grow up, it seems that I get a bit younger trying to keep up with him. That's a good thing. We hit a couple more shows and I won't bore with all of the details, but what really astounded me about the Ken-man was when we hit this climbing course after Shamu.

There was this area, a BIG area that had some tubes that the kids could run through and play on. Kenny ran straight to it. Where he blew my mind was how he climbed the rope/nets and blew through that entire course. He scampered up what can best be described as a giant net on about a 40 degree angle. It was set so you couldn't slip through it, but it wasn't an easy trip by any means. When he got to the top of the net, there was a small climb to get to the next section. He couldn't get up it. He took a few steps down, went to the other side and tried it. That's when I figured I'd go help him.

By the time I got close to him, he'd made it up to the next platform with ease. I thought, "ok, he did it, now what?" What was next was a series of tubes with sections of those tubes being made of a thick, ballastic type, nylon cargo net. It looked like heavy duty stuff and it was. I had no idea that he'd blow through it like he did. I'm having trouble just seeing where he is, so I figured I'd go after him, just to make sure he stayed ok. I wasn't the only adult up there. I never caught up with him and here's why. A few reasons. One, he could walk through the tubes. They were about 3 feet in diameter, so I was on my hands and knees trying to keep up, and he was flying full speed ahead. Two, did I mention that most of the tubes were made of that cargo net looking stuff? Well, a lot of these tubes were 30 feet or so off of the ground. The first part was over the original rope nets, but after a while I looked down and I'm over concrete, 30 feet or so down.

I'm not real comfortable with heights. Yes, I jumped out of a perfectly good airplane at 10,000 feet last November, but put me 30 feet up in the air climbing over a cargo net and I get tense. What should have been a nice quick bear crawl on hands and toes ended up being a slow, get your grip tight, stay on your knees and pray before you take another step. It was slow. I ran into a few dads, who were probably close to my size. They had a few questions about the weight rating of those nets. It did end up being a nice little workout considering it's my "off day".

I managed to catch up with Kenny, almost. I was almost out of the area and called him back up so we could go down the last little part together. He didn't want to leave. It doesn't seem like that long ago that anything over a foot off of the ground would make him cringe. The rest of the day was incredible. Again, he amazed me when we went on the Return to Atlantis ride. This is a full fledged log ride with the last drop being super high in the air and dropping really fast. I kept trying to make sure he really wanted to go, because it's a ride that makes my stomach flip. He said ok and I reassured him we'd be fine. He took the big drop like a champ. I couldn't believe it. He didn't want to go a second time, but he got through it. I was impressed.

This trip isn't over and I'm already looking forward to our next vacation! I love my family.

Fatherhood

2009-04-15T07:23:00.001-05:00

I've been reading a book called Coach Wooden One on One, written by former UCLA coach John Wooden and Jay Carty. Wooden coached Lew Alcindor, better known as Kareem Abdul Jabbar, so he has some miles and experience on him. It's a book of powerful insights and a great daily devotional. I read this yesterday and it was about Fatherhood and being a good role model for your children.

A careful man I want to be,
A little fellow follows me;
I do not dare to go astray,
For fear he'll go the self-same way.

I cannot once escape his eyes,
Whate'er he sees me do, he tries;
Like me he says he's going to be,
The little fellow that follows me.

He thinks that I am good and fine,
Believes in every word of mine;
The base in me he must not see.
The little chap who follows me.

I must remember as I go,
Through summer's sun and winter's snow;
I am building for the years to be,
That little chap who follows me.

That poem really hit home when I think about Kenny. I have to be a good role model for him on all fronts. I just pray that I can help him be a better man than I am.

American Cancer Society's Relay For Life Survivor Dinner

2009-03-29T20:04:00.002-05:00

I was privileged enough to be asked to help support this years ACS Relay For Life Survivor Dinner in Hallsville last night. It was quite an experience. I don't know why but this cause has really struck a nerve with me. It's something that I feel strongly about. I've never had anyone in my immediate family stricken with this deadly disease although I have known some friends that have had it and Lana's grandmother is a survivor and she battled it before we met. So, I guess you can say I'm lucky, or better, blessed, that it's never hit that close to home with me. What I saw last night was a room full of brave people that I was glad I had the chance to meet, if only for a few minutes. One the last things that we did was ask how long the people there have been cancer survivors. We started at 5 years, then 10, then 15. It was amazing, the longest cancer survivor in the room was at 23 years!!! She's living proof that this horrible disease can be beat and I hope that she gave some hope to the others in the room who may not have been battling as long as she has.

I picked this up from the dinner last night.

It's a short poem titled, What Cancer Cannot Do

What Cancer Cannot DoIt cannot cripple love
It cannot shatter hope
It cannot corrode faith
It cannot destroy peace
It cannot destroy friendship
It cannot suppress memories
It cannot silence courage
It cannot invade the soul
It cannot steal eternal life
It canot conquer the spirit
Cancer is SO limited

This is the 25th anniversary of the Relay For Life. It was started by a doc in Washington who tried to raise money for the local cancer treatment center. He was a runner and he pesonally raised $25,000 that year, running for the cause. It's grown quite a bit since then. You probably don't have to look to far in your circle of friends to find someone who is involved with the ACS' Relay For Life. Find that person and help the cause out by donating what you can. If not, most of the relays are this weekend. Take a bit of time and go up there and walk for 30 minutes or an hour, or whatever you can. I was there last year, it was inspiring to see all of the people there that were coming out for the cause.

Here is the website www.relayforlife.org

Tales of the Bizarre, part 1

2009-03-27T15:28:00.008-05:00

I'll start with this since it's probably the easiest thing to write about. In my day job, I interact with a lot of different people and hear a lot of things. It starts here.

I'm talking with one of my plant engineers at a place where I do a little business. We were walking outside when we passed a beautiful convertible BMW, 6 series or something. I said "hey, check out my new company ride!" He replied, "don't think so, let me tell you a story about that car." Right then, I should have grabbed a blanket and settled in, because you cannot make this stuff up.

He proceeded to tell me a story about this doctor who owned it. Poor guy, several months ago, someone ran a red light, totaled his car (I'm sure it was nice) and broke his neck. The doc has since recovered from the crash and went out and bought this Beemer to replace his other car. This doctor is also pretty much chained to this hospital, he puts in a lot of hours. One day, he parks this car outside by one of the back doors to the hospital and runs in for, I don't know what. In the mean time a representative from a local funeral home drives up in their Hearse to pick up someone who has just passed away and bring them to the funeral home.

Evidently, this doc had parked too close to the sidewalk ramp for this mortician. Instead of finding another way to easily pick up his person, or calling the hospital operator to find the owner of the offending car, he proceeds to back into it, bumper to bumper, and push it out of the way so he could get his hearse where he wanted it. Notice I said wanted and not needed? Here's why. It turns out that all this guy had to do was drive past the innocent little BMW, and back up his car, right next to the OTHER SIDE of the sidewalk ramp and everything would have been hunky dorey.

This wasn't the case, however. Someone saw this incident, probably heard it too and detained him. Security was called, as was the CFO of the hospital. This funeral home person proceeds to go ballistic, cursing out the docs, the CFO, security in fine fashion. He even got in his car to cool down for a bit. All it did was give him a second wind and he got out and started over. Oh yes, did I mention that the daughter of the person whom he was picking up was standing there the entire time soaking it all in? I'm sure that's just what she needed to hear at that time.

Crazy, what do people think? Why does this guy think he can bash a car, then get hacked off when he gets busted. I've always been of the opinion that a nice car doesn't give you the right to take up three parking spots in a lot, and the doc probably was parked illegally, but, if you get beat to the nice, illegal spot by someone else, don't take it out on their car. Find another spot on your own. Really.

In the meantime, another engineer met us and put his thoughts in about the situation. We talked about what we would have done, opening the proverbial can of Whoop --- Since it ends up that this guy actually OWNED the funeral home, I most likely would have just tossed him the keys and said "Enjoy your new Beemer!", then seen what it was like to own a funeral home. Oh well, like I said, Bizarre. You cannot make this stuff up.