Tried to post these for a while, but had issues…Got this old fella the Saturday after Thanksgiving using a gun made by my brother John, the .358 Wisley. Shot him on the run from about 60 yards. I’m guessing around 175 lbs dressed out…sure makes great chili!
8 years ago this holiday season, I spent some time with my bride-to-be in Chicago, celebrating Christmas with her family. The month before, I had asked her dad for permission to marry her, at a Denny’s restaurant no less, and I was happy to have been given the go ahead. Things were running along smoothly over Christmas break until my 1993 Blazer, Old Blue, threw a serpentine belt in the parking lot of Calvary Memorial Church in Oak Park. A belt isn’t that expensive, but I barely had enough money to my name to cover gas on the way back home. Without knowing my situation, Mel’s dad, Bob, offered to pay for the belt and I gladly accepted. Melissa knew I didn’t have much money, and also knew I wasn’t working that semester (I’d saved my money from my summer job and decided I would enjoy one last semester spending time with my friends before real life called my number!). What she didn’t know was the reason I had no money was because I’d purchased an engagement ring for her with my savings, and that I was planning to start working as soon as second semester started. Armed with the limited knowledge she had of my finances, she shared with her dad all of her concerns about my lack of funds and that she had no idea how I would even be able to afford an engagement ring. This prompted dear sweet dad to take his future son-in-law on a little drive around town. I knew what was coming, and to make the conversation a bit shorter and sweeter, I stuffed the little ring box in my pocket and pulled it out at just the right time. After seeing I had already purchased a ring, Bob breathed a bit easier knowing I would work hard to care for his daughter, and we had a good ole time visiting different parts stores trying to track down the aforementioned serpentine.
Later in the week, as we were celebrating at her Uncle Joe and Aunt Deb’s, Mel’s worries finally got the best of her and she let me have it with both barrels. She had tons of heated questions about my work ethic, money saving principles, ability to care for her and a family, you know, all sorts of fun stuff! I tried to reassure her I would always take good care of our family, even pick up an extra job if needed, and she didn’t need to worry, but it finally came down to me blurting out “I’ve already got your freaking ring!” At that point, her eyes leaked a little bit, the conversation took a much brighter turn, and we were able to move past her concerns. It was a Merry Christmas indeed, as less than a month later, we were engaged!
I tell you all that to bring us to the present. Due to my job at camp which requires me to raise my own support, we’re at a point financially where I’ve had to pick up that extra work I promised I was willing to pick up 8 years ago. We just picked up health insurance and were charged for the first 2 months at one time, plus recently picked up a car payment, plus have the expenses of having a new son, plus lots of other stuff I won’t bore you with. As it stands, after paying our necessary bills, we have a little less than $100 to get us through the month. I know this is something of our choosing, and I’m perfectly happy with our position in life, but it has made for a very busy Christmas break around our house. Aside from a few days in Chicago, I’ve spent most every possible work day just outside of Bedford, my hometown, at Crane Naval Base, working with my brother on a job remodeling one of the office buildings for the Army. It’s an hour long drive from my brother Josh’s house, where I’ve been staying, and we’ve usually been on the road by around 6-6:15. I generally get back around dark, and have just enough time to shower, get something to eat, and think about bed. It’s a tiring schedule, while trying to keep up with things at camp, but the extra money has certainly made a difference the last few weeks. I’m hoping to be able to keep up some extra work on the side for as long as necessary to make ends meet. We’re currently at about 65% of our monthly fundraising goal, and if I can avoid hitting myself in the knee with a sledgehammer again in the near future, I should be able to make up the difference until our fundraising allows the extra work to yield extra money, instead of necessary money. This is the part of the blog for the obligatory “If you’re looking for a place to send your tithes and offerings, I know a guy working at a camp whose family could really make a difference with it” speech! Seriously though, if you’d like to partner with us to make a difference in the lives of thousands of people both here and around the world, let me know and we’ll chat.
To further explain the sledgehammer comment, I was working on Tuesday, trying to bust off some bolts that were hopelessly stuck in 60 year old concrete where we are doing the remodel. I was on my knees with a 3 lb sledge and swinging it hard enough to bend the 1/2 inch bolts one way and then the other to break it off. I had managed to bend one away from me and was trying to hammer it back when one of my swings glanced off the bolt and found it’s mark on the meaty part of my knee, just above the knee cap. For that, I was fortunate, as hitting my knee cap would have probably shattered it. I did what I generally do when I’m in so much pain I can barely speak, I laughed. For me, that’s my general response to pain, as it keeps me from crying or cussing! The next couple days were rough, as I had to keep my leg out straight to even bend over, but it feels better now. The only bad part is having to tell everyone that yes, I was a big enough idiot to hit myself with a sledgehammer!
To close this one off, I know I’m not the only one whose ever had to pick up an extra job, so let the world know what your craziest side job has been. I know there’s some weird stuff out there. I think mine was dressing up like a two-legged horse and spouting off about how great 1340 WBIW is as a radio station. Perks: $25/hr and no one can actually see your face. Drawbacks: Wearing a 50 lb horse costume in 90 degree+ heat, having to keep bags of ice in your “hooves” to keep the blood circulating past your wrists cool enough to keep you alive!
Happy New Year everyone!
Last year, after the hike was over, I was intent on keeping the beard as long as possible…that lasted all of 3 days since we were heading to Mel’s 10 yr reunion…So, here are the pics of the beard coming off…thinking about growing it back, what do you think?
I was raised with the mantra above continually being repeated to me as it related to any facet of my life. My dad never cared if I got straight A’s, as long as my best effort didn’t result in straight A’s. If I could produce at that level, then I’d better bring home every report card covered in A’s, the more +’s, the better. Thus, it was second semester of my freshman year of college before I ever got anything less than an A on any subject on any report card. The class was LART, a snore of a class at AU that teaches the history of the church of God movement and other junk I didn’t really care about. Halfway through the semester, I tore ligaments in my ankle and had to miss a few classes as a result. My doctor visits were mostly during LART class and, since I was working to get my education at a place that gave you lower marks for poor attendance and not just poor performance, I received the aforementioned lower grade (a B+) and was livid. I called my dad, looking to get a sympathetic ear and some empathy for my anger, and his flippant response was simply, “Life sucks, then you die.” For him, he knew I’d tried my best given the circumstances, and that was enough.
Earlier in my life, one of my chores was taking out the trash at our house each week. It was the only time I ever ventured into the room on the right at the end of the hall. My two older brothers, James and John, called those few square feet home and kept Josh and I out under threat of death and dismemberment. At one point though, someone (it wasn’t me) snuck into the room, poured a bottle of deer pee (used for hunting, not medicinally!) on John’s bed, and lived to tell about it. While the culprit will remain nameless, he’s the best twin brother ever! I remember one particular chore day when I cautiously made my way into the filth hole where James and John slept and reached for the red plastic barrel-shaped trash can just inside the door on the left. I knew if I went in further than needed to reach the trash, my life was forfeit, so I determined to quickly dump the trash into my bag and be gone before anyone saw reason to harass me. I got the trash in the black bag and had turned to leave when I felt a hand grab the back of my neck and pull me back into the darkness. I was sure I was a goner! I held my breath and waited for the beating I was certain to endure, but it never came. The lights came on, and there stood my oldest brother, clutching my shoulder in one hand and the trash can in the other. My look was one of sheer terror, but for once, his was a look a kindness, sort of. He pointed to the inside of the trash can and asked what I saw. As I looked, still expecting death at any moment, I managed to stammer about the contents inside. There was a snotty tissue, some nasty gum stuck to the side, and a few other unmentionable items. Once I’d given inventory of the remaining trash, he told me to go ahead and get the rest out of the can and reminded me again that anything worth doing was worth doing right.
I’ve never forgotten that advice, and, to be honest, it is one of the reasons I’ve struggled mightily to keep this blog up to date. When we were hiking, every day was a new adventure, a new gripe, or some new experience to write about. I also had countless hours to think about what to say each day. These days, when the monotony of life gets in the way of adventure, I find it hard to continue bringing interesting things to the world wide web for everyone to read. I honestly wish I could do better, and I would like to promise I’ll be more consistent, but I’d hate to say that and make myself a liar. So, for those who like to comment and call me names for not blogging often enough, keep them coming. It reminds me to stop slacking!
We’re visiting family in Chicago now and everyone is crazy about the boy. It’ll be fun to see what he gets for Christmas, not that he’ll know any better, but fun just the same. Jake did role over on his own for the first time yesterday, which was pretty cool. I guess he’ll be driving soon! Merry Christmas everyone, and hopefully this won’t be my last blog of the year!
Wow…I was just cruising past the ole website and I discovered it has been two whole weeks since I’ve posted anything. I wish I could give a good reason like I’ve been doing c-sections on at risk bovine babies or digging a hole in which to bury old Oprah episodes, but I guess I’ve just been lazy. I have done some deer hunting the last week and a half, but that endeavor has yet to yield anything but wet clothes and wild theories about what all the squirrels do with their time when they’re not chattering wildly at each other, crashing through the leaves like little deer deterents, and/or just making a general nuisance of themselves. I’ve spent probably close to 20 hours in the woods and have just seen the butt end of 3 measly deer. I have, however, seen enough of the aforementioned chattering rats with fluffy tales that if I were to somehow speak their langauge, and entice them to assemble with promises of free walnuts for everyone, their numbers would probably be enough to overthrow at least a handful of small countries!
In other news, Jake is growing like a weed and getting more and more animated daily. On Sunday night, Melissa was playing with him and actually got him to giggle for the first time. Having him around is such a blessing and source of joy for us. I’m looking forward to so many things we can do with father/son time…”late night pitch-n-putt, cruise the livestock auction for 4-H babes, throw stuff of a bridge”…
Last weekend, around 20 or so of us associated with the camp packed up and headed west across the cornfields to Peoria for the National Missionary Convention. We set up our booth, complete with a giraffe, a baboon, a tiki bar, my old red truck with the Tap Tap on the back, a fake fire, a creepy old animatronic man named Mr. Feather, 10,000 s’more bars, and loads of other tacky crap, right in the middle of all the flannel boards, cardboard displays, and general tackiness you’d expect to find at a convention for and by people who haven’t lived in the states for most of their adult lives! It was a beautiful disaster! What came out of the event, aside from crazy comments about our booth and the civic center staff eating their weight in our s’more bars, was a good number of contacts with missionaries from around the world who are interested in partnering with the camp on various different levels. It was amazing to talk to so many people, working in so many different countries, doing so many different kinds of ministry, who were willing and excited about partnering with the camp. We also saw many old friends, including a guy I did a choir tour with in high school called Highest Praise whom I haven’t seen in 10+ years. He is doing ministry in China and changing all sorts of lives for the Kingdom. I look forward to this event every year, as it is a great reminder that God is active all over the world and wants me to be a part of that.
As I close for the day, it seems appropriate, given the season, to ask any and all who are willing what you’re thankful for today. I know, everyone always asks that question this time of year, and I know, you get tired of answering. To that I say, don’t be a turd! Give some thought to the blessings in your life and pass those thoughts on to the rest of us. Cause if there’s anything we could all use, it’s the chance to be reminded of our blessings…does turd have a “u” or an “e?” Peace. Out.
Yesterday was my monthly sabbatical day and I spent it taking stock of some of my life experiences thus far and putting down of paper some things I’d like to experience before I die. Let’s call it a bucket list. You’ll find the current list below. I’m certain I’ll be adding more to it as time goes on. As a point of reference, the many hiking items with (BP) after them refer to the BackPacker magazine edition in which I first discovered the particular hike. If you have any suggestions I should add, please pass them on. I’d also love to see your own list, if you have one. What a great tragedy to wake up at the end of life only to discover some of the finer moments have slipped through your grasp. The final bullet is empty so the list is never really complete. Enjoy:
Joe’s Bucket List
Maximus, our nearly 12 month old black labrador, is perhaps the best dog in the history of dogdom. He likes everyone he meets, protects our son, Jake, like he is his own, and has the disposition of a kid in a candy store. Every day for him is a new adventure and he finds pleasure in the simplest things. Sticks are his favorite toy, and chasing butterflies could keep him occupied for hours. For so many reasons, he might be the best “man’s best friend” I’ve ever seen. The only complaint is his farts could clean out a room full of sanitation workers. I’ve smelled my fair share of animal flatulence in my day, and his certainly tops the list for most pungent! As I write this, he is sitting in the living room, surrounded by his own stench, worrying about Jake in the back room and why we’re letting him cry himself to sleep. Max thinks one of his primary jobs of late is to let us know anytime Jake is crying, because he apparently doesn’t realize we can hear his cries just as well as he can! I can’t wait till Jake is big enough to play with his 4-legged pal!
Speaking of Jake crying, I know there are as many opinions to the topic as there are people in the world, so if you violently disagree with what I’m about to tell you, that’s fine, as this section of the blog is an opinion, and since I’m writing, mine is the one that matters! We’re in the process of trying to train Jake to go down by himself when it is time to sleep. I know in the long run this will be such a stress reliever for us, as well as for him, but in the present tense, our hearts are breaking as we hear him scream his cute little head off for a few minutes when he’s between happily awake and contentedly asleep. We check in every few minutes to make sure everything is okay, and we know babies need a good cry now and again to get rid of some energy, but words can’t express how hard it is to know the little guy is upset. This past week has set us back a bit too, as we visited family in Chicago and he never went more than a few minutes without the arms of some extended family member cradling the little guy. Now that we’re back home, we’re intent on getting him back into his routine and making that schedule work for all of us (he’s just fallen asleep and is happy in his little crib…woohoo…Mel just came out and said she rocked him a bit to put him down…guess we don’t quite have it down to a science yet).
Aside from sleeping troubles and a gassy dog, we couldn’t be happier with life. We feel blessed to have a great companion and a great son to spend time with and are excited for this new stage in our life together. Mel and I have missed spending time alone together and are making plans to get back into the swing of that very soon. We’re also planning to sit down sometime soon and put together a “bucket list” of sorts for ourselves. I figure since we did the AT in ‘08 and I did Rainier this year, we should just get a list of things to do before we die and try to live at least one adventure a year before the trumpet sounds! I don’t want to wake up 20 years from now when our kids are almost grown and wish we’d done more as a couple and a family. So, thus, the bucket list. Once we get a good list going, I’ll pass it along for your perusal. If you think of anything we need to add, pass it on, as we’re always up for a good adventure. Hope all is well in your world and feel free to drop us a line. I’ll close with a pick of the handsome boy and the trusty canine.
Jake and Max, best buds!
Jake turned 5 today…5 weeks that is. Here are some pics from the first 35 days. Enjoy.
By now most of you have probably heard our president, B. Hussein Obama, was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize today for his efforts to promote global peace. The world seems to be split over opinions of whether or not this was deserved or a good bit premature, if not even a good bit ludicrous. He did give a good speech in Cairo, and has scaled back US involvement in Iraq (although reviews are mixed as to whether that is leading to more peace), but he has also ordered around 20000 more troops into Afghanistan, (I’m sure the Taliban wouldn’t have voted for him) and has been slow on his promise to close down Gitmo. Perhaps he’s been so busy trying to get the Olympics to Chicago he just hasn’t had time.
What most people don’t know is that the nominations for the Nobel Peace Prize are closed on February 1st. This means he had been in office for all of 12 days before he was nominated. Now, I certainly don’t want to spoon feed people conclusions they can draw for themselves, but what exactly did he do in those 12 days that made his such a shoe-in for the Prize? I came across an interesting article the outlines those 12 days that I felt obliged to pass on. It was written by Tommy De Seno and came from Fox News (I know, some of you have stopped reading already):
HOW TO WIN THE NOBEL PEACE PRIZE IN 12 DAYS
“Barack Obama won the Nobel Peace Prize this morning. Over the last decade the only requirement to win the prize was that the nominee had to be critical of George W. Bush (see Al Gore, Mohamed El Baradei and Jimmy Carter).
President Obama has broken new ground here. Nominations for potential winners of the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize ended on February 1. The president took office only 12 days earlier on January 20.
Let’s take a look at the president’s first 12 days in the White House according to his public schedule to see what he did to deserve a Nobel Peace Prize:
January 20: Sworn in as president. Went to a parade. Partied.
January 21: Asked bureaucrats to re-write guidelines for information requests. Held an “open house” party at the White House.
January 22: Signed Executive Orders: Executive Branch workers to take ethics pledge; re-affirmed Army Field Manual techniques for interrogations; expressed desire to close Gitmo (how’s that working out?)
January 23: Ordered the release of federal funding to pay for abortions in foreign countries. Lunch with Joe Biden; met with Tim Geithner.
January 24: Budget meeting with economic team.
January 25: Skipped church.
January 26: Gave speech about jobs and energy. Met with Hillary Clinton. Attended Geithner’s swearing in ceremony.
January 27: Met with Republicans. Spoke at a clock tower in Ohio.
January 28: Economic meetings in the morning, met with Defense secretary in the afternoon.
January 29: Signed Ledbetter Bill overturning Supreme Court decision on lawsuits over wages. Party in the State Room. Met with Biden.
January 30: Met economic advisers. Gave speech on Middle Class Working Families Task Force. Met with senior enlisted military officials.
January 31: Took the day off.
February 1: Skipped church. Threw a Super Bowl party.
So there you have it. The short path to the Nobel Peace Prize: Party, go to meetings, skip church, release federal funding to pay for abortions in foreign countries, party some more.
Good grief.”
Thoughts? Comments? Observations? I’ve striven to stay away from politics on this blog page, and have avoided many an issue I wanted to discuss, but this one seemed a bit too perplexing to leave alone.
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