Not so secret life of an American Dad

Cat in the cradle and the silver spoon

2010-09-15T06:40:00.000-07:00

Since it has been forever since I have posted anything, I just had an inspiration to share.

Our black cat has recently become accustomed to getting milk from a cereal bowl after one of us has finished eating breakfast. It has become a morning ritual that when someone has retrieved a bowl from the cabinet and places a spoon in the bowl our black cat, Sophie will come running into the kitchen and immediately takes her position at the kitchen table sitting in a vacant chair next to the person enjoying their morning meal. She patiently waits for morning treat and expects the bowl to be pushed in front of her so she can partake of the milk that is left over. Additionally, when we slide the bowl over to her, we must walk away and not look at her. She is a shy cat and will not partake if someone is watching.

We have found that she most prefers Fruit Loops leftover milk. The more healthy stuff she seems to turn her nose up at. She only takes a little drink, generally less than 30 seconds and then she is gone to sleep the day away.

So warning, if you ever at our house for breakfast, don't be afraid of a black cat staring at you. She is not looking at you for her next meal. She just wants your leftover cereal bowl.

Finally, Someone Else Gets a Turn

2009-08-26T05:55:00.000-07:00

Since when does longevity at a job translate into doing a good job?

I just read that Senator Kennedy passed away. May God rest his soul. Whatever that means. I truly wish his family peace and comfort during this season and I feel grief for all those who were close to him.

But on the public and political level, I am not a big Kennedy fan. For whatever reason this family had way too much influence in a political system that is suppose to represent the people. The Kennedy Family represents, in my mind, everything that is wrong in our political system. I think most would agree that they were powerful, influential, and very difficult to do battle against. I am pretty sure our founding fathers, who wrote our constitution and Declaration of Independence, never envisioned elected officials would get into office and make a career out of holding an office.

I have a very difficult time imagining any political person who does not live in the "real" world being capable of representing their constituency in any sort of positive way. I am convinced that if elected officials had to live under the laws that they choose to create, live with the health insurance rules that they craft, and things of that sort, that they would do a much better job. Why is it so hard to implement term limits? It baffles me.

My opinion goes for all political parties and all positions. I think it is very dangerous when we get politicians that look like they are a "made man" like you see in the mafia movies like "Goodfellas". It is scary, but there are many similarities between what goes on in politics and what goes on in "The Family" business of crime families.

I make a prediction now. With all the tragedies of the Kennedy family and now that the reining patriarch has passed on, there is bound to be a movie or mini series made. I can really imagine an epic series done on HBO that is similar to the quality of "The Band of Brothers" series.

As T.O. would say, "Get your popcorn ready!"

Best things in life still are free!

2009-05-11T09:52:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, was a very blessed day. First of all it was Mothers Day. Had a great time with my wife and spending time with her. Got to wish my mom a Happy Mothers Day. Enjoy a great dinner with my wife and mother inlaw. I am very thankful for all the moms in my life and the jobs they do. They make this world, truly, a better place.

The most fun thing was going fishing with Shelby last night. That was a real treat for me. Much of the time it is difficult finding things that we both enjoy and can share together. We have our challenges communicating mainly because we think totally different. I had so much fun going fishing with her and seeing her catch a nice size bass. We fished until it was too dark to see. These times happen so infrequently that it means a great deal when we get to do these things. I was impressed at how well she can cast. She even figured out how to cast using my open face reel. Funny, how the little things make me smile. I am truly blessed with great kids. That is what life is all about.

Gotta go now I think I hear "The Cats in the Cradle" playing now ....

A night I will never forget

2009-05-01T20:52:00.000-07:00

Tonight I had the privilege of taking my youngest daughter, Alix, out on a date. We decided to check out a play being done by the Dallas Children's Theater, called "and Then They Came For Me"

It was great to get to spend time with Alix. I don't know why I don't do it more often. She is a great person. She is funny, thoughtful, and can carry on some very adult conversations. She really thinks things through. We had a great time. She also has some great music that we listened to on her iPod.

The play was very good and I would highly recommend taking older children through adults to see this wonderful play. It touches some on Anne Frank and some of her friends during WW II. There is video mixed in with the play of the real life people telling stories of what it was like living through those things. The play is a childrens play that deals with a horrific subject in a way that will not scare kids but gets the message across.

The real gem for the evening was getting to hear the stories of Eva Schoss who happened to be at the play. Her life was potrayed as one of the characters. She took questions from the audience at the end of the play for about 20 minutes.

This 80 year old woman impressed me in so many ways. I got to see a little of what her life was like as a teenager. I can never completely understand the terrible things she had to endure. The prejudice and disgrace that her family had to go through. Hitler's compaign against her kind would be enough for most people to start complaining and whining. I cannot imagine how her and her mother could be split apart from her father and brother and then live in hiding for 22 months. After 22 months then get betrayed and turned into the Nazis. Then they spend 9 months in Auschwitz. Her father and brother did not survive. Can you imagine the strength, the pain, the hopelessness, the fear, or the unbelievable conditions they had to live in?

The struggles in my life and any difficulties I might have are nothing but a hang nail in comparison. If I ever complain about anything ever again, just slap me! I have no right. One of the questions someone asked was "How did you get over the pain and hate she must of had for the people that did those things to her?" She admitted she had a lot of hate towards the Nazis. She also realized that many Germans were not that way but were just afraid to speak out. She said she eventially had to let that all go so she could move on. This lady had such a quiet strength it was amazing. I will never be the same again.

Cha Cha Changes

2009-04-01T11:36:00.000-07:00

My wife has done it to me, my work place has done it to me, Life has done it to me, kids will do it to me all the time, and most recently Face Book has done it to me.

I am talking about changing what I am used to. Now I know change is good, change it healthy, change is "it just happens". Sometimes I don't like it, yet I am powerless to do anything about it. However I am empowered to respond to it.

"Who Moved My Cheese" is a great book everyone should read. It a book that addresses this topic in a very creative and effective way. Why is it so easy to observe someone else going through a change and immediately see what should be the best way to respond, yet when it comes to me, it requires much more thought and effort.

Take my lovely wife for instance, she loves to re-arrange the house or move the contents of drawers and cabinets. It usually takes me a year to quit going to old location when I am looking for something.

I know I am not the only one.

How can a terminal illness change your life?

2009-03-10T20:50:00.000-07:00

Ever thought a terminal illness could save your life? No, sorry I am not talking about me. I am very healthy right now and very thankful for that.

I was reading my wife's April issue of Good Housekeeping. Not something I usually do for obvious reasons. Michael J. Fox was on the cover so it caught my eye. I read his first book and was impressed with his outlook on life after being diagnosed with the terrible disease, Parkinson's. He has written another book called "Always Looking Up". In his interview he had some amazing things to say that I wanted to share.

He really looks at his initial diagnosis as a turning point in his life. While most people would think that it was a bad turning point, he looks at is as a point where he really began to live. He says his wife and him laugh at people that come up to them with very somber faces and offer their condolenses. He claims they are having more fun now than ever in their marriage and family.

His thoughts on marriage: "Keep the fights clean and the sex dirty" - I could not have said it better, myself

His thoughts on what life throws at you: "... look at the choices you have as apposed to the choices that have been taken away from you. Because in those choices , there are whole worlds of strength and new ways to look at things." later he says "... we are all dying from the moment we are born. This is not just rehearsal" . Sound like some good wisdom.

His thoughts on his situation: based on a birthday card he saw that said, if you did not know how old you are, how old do you think you are?" Michael changed the thought to "If you didn't know how sick you were, how sick would you think were?" - hmmmm some very good insight on how to live.

The absolute best thing he says: "For everything this disease has taken , something with greater value has been given" - now that is the way to think!

I am reminded again about how this thing called life works. Much of what happens to us and around us, we have no control over. However we can control how we respond. In our response, there lies the outcome. When bad things come I can choose to be bitter or I can choose to look for the good that will come out of the situation.

To read the article go to Good House Keeping Magazine

Jeremiah 29:11

Faith Renewed

2009-03-02T07:44:00.000-08:00

No this is not some super spiritual encounter, but in a way it is.

Last week I had the privilege to serve on a jury. The case was a criminal case involving 38 year old man who has been in trouble with the law for most of his adult life. He was accused of possession of a controlled substance.

Like most I was not thrilled when I received the notice for jury duty in the mail. I am busy like everyone else. The county court house is about 35 minutes drive from home, and there seems to always be more important things than jury duty.

Day 1, I show up just to find out I get to come back in the morning for jury selection.

Day 2, things get interesting. I am potential jury #25. The prosecution gets to strike 10 and the defense gets to strike 10. Then the next 12 potential jurors will be the seated jurors. The attorneys asked question of most everyone in front of me, but only asked me 1 direct question and it was simply tell me something about myself. I answered very generic and that was it. After a break for lunch, we come back and I find out I am on the jury. Yippee!

The rest of Day 2, we got to hear the trial which lasted all of 2 hours. We then deliberated to come up with a verdict. Up until deliberation, we were not able to discuss the trial with anyone including other jurors. The prosecution was the only side that brought in witnesses and submitted evidence. The defendant, never took the stand. The prosecution's case was pretty much a slam dunk. The defendant was caught on video and the evidence was pretty cut and dry.

The funny thing was, as a jury, we knew nothing else about the defendant. At this point we did not know this guy had a record. We knew nothing of his past. For 10 of us, the guy was guilty. The 2 hold outs were struggling with sending someone to prison. They kept going on about the reasons why this guy did what he did, but it was all on speculation. The 10 of use found this very frustrating because our decision was to be based solely on the evidence presented and then it was to be only beyond a reasonable doubt. After about a 20 minute discussion we all agreed, guilty.

Day 3. In this trial, the jury was to hand out the sentence. The sentence guidelines were 2 - 10 years and $0 - $10,000 fine. Before the sentencing phase of the trial the 2 hold out jurors were still struggling somewhat that they found this guy guilty. During this day of the trial, we got to hear much more of the story about this guy. He had several chances to do the right thing. He had over 10+ other convictions and each time had got the minimum sentences. To cut a long story short, the defendant took the stand and gave a sob story, but the prosecutor ripped it to shreds. We the jury felt the defendant really was trying to manipulate us and the system so we came back and gave him the maximum time and fine.

I say all this, not because I am proud of sending a man away for a minimum of 2.5 years (eligible for parole when 1/4 of sentence is served). That part is very sobering and is heavy to weigh on my conscience. I am proud of our justice system and that I got to play a small part in it. The judge was very fair in his instructions, the attorneys were very respectful while doing their jobs, the discussions in the jury room were very civil and thought provoking. All parties took there jobs, seriously. I am impressed how fair the system was towards this guy who really has spent the majority of his life trying to cheat and steal from society.

This entire process restored my faith in our judicial system. It is an honor to be apart of this system. It has convinced me that this system with all its flaws, with all the bad press and media, is still the greatest system in the world. A jury of peers gets to decide someones fate, not some beaurocrat, not some government official, not some bully, or some corrupt force. A common person, my neighbor, someone who is only concerned with doing something fair and just. That is what I am most proud of.

The next time you receive your jury summons, remember, if it was you on trial, would you want someone like you on the jury or someone else. It is a great experience.

Kudos to Judge Lee Shipman of the 211th District Court of Denton County, Texas. He is an impressive example of a judge. God Bless him and God Bless America. God HAS Blessed America!

A way to make a difference

2009-02-09T06:14:00.000-08:00

Just finished reading an article in the local paper about a new company starting up. What caught my eye was the ideas and ideals of this company. I am encouraged to see that there are people who are willing to step out and be different in business.

This new company, Project 7, is a revolutionary new type of company. I applaud the owner for his small step for mankind. I believe we are seeing a new wave of corporate responsibility. It has long been known companies do their part of giving back, but do they give 50% of their profits? Hmmm, this is bold. This is revolutionary.

What kind of world would we live in if just a fraction of the companies out there would do this sort of thing. I love this idea. This is what we have been put on this earth to do. There was something that was drilled in my head when I was in Boy Scouts, when we were in the woods, camping, hiking, or just in our communities; we ALWAYS were to leave the places we have been in better shape than when we found them. In a practical sense we were to pick up trash even if it was not ours. Imagine if we lived our lives like this everyday. How much better would our schools be? How much better would our neighborhood be? How much better would our community be? How much better would our world be?

Our American culture has been so driven by consumerism. "We must have more to be successful" has been America's motto for as long as I have been alive. We as a country have lived this to the point now where we have worked ourselves to death, we have borrowed on our credit lines, and we have gambled away our resources all for the purpose to get more.

We have trading our desires to get more for our freedom and the next generation's freedom. I really believe this. There is no government bailout that will save us from ourselves. I hope we can take a deep look at ourselves and evaluate our motives. In business, do we really want to work to just make a huge profit so we can buy more stuff or pad our retirement? That is so empy and hollow. Isn't it more motivating to work for a cause. To work towards changing a life by helping make someone else's life better. There is no reason so many people have to go to be hungry, desperate, hopeless. We can do better ...... I can do better.

Passion ADD

2009-02-04T06:05:00.000-08:00

Recently I am getting very antsy to do something. I don't know what, but I want to do something. Something that benefits those around me, something that could generate an income, something that helps others, something that feeds that little entrepreneur in me, something that wants me to take a little risk.

I seem to constantly teeter back and forth around things that I think could have potential business success, to things that have very little to do with business, but could help people. Then I throw in the thought of, I don't want to cheat my family by getting sucked into something that will consume too much of my time. I know an objective observer would say, "well why can't you just do both". That is the issue, if it was just 2 things I probably could, but in my current mindset I have dozens of ideas swimming in my head and having difficulty putting anything into action.

I call all this passion ADD. I must be passionate about things. I think we all have passions God has created within us. These passions are unique to us so we can carry out our purpose on earth. My passions seem to be all over the map. I realize that passions ebb and flow in our lives and can be very dependent on the stage of life we are in. Being 40 something, there are many unique things at this stage. I will have to blog about those in the near future. Stay tuned ....

Podcast Junkie

2009-01-30T05:40:00.000-08:00

I am a podcast junkie

Podcasting is a great way to get information or listen to my favorite speakers. I love listening to great speakers. I drink the kool-aid of Dave Ramsey, I draw encouragement from Family Life Today, Focus on the Family. I get a little smarter from podcasts from Things you should know from History class. I even keep up with the latest trends with hand guns, a new found hobbie.

I used to like talk radio, but that is so old school. I can't figure out why anyone likes to listen to the radio any more. Commercials drive me crazy. That is a reason why podcasting is so nice. I don't have to listen to car dealers screaming in my ear or the lastest weightloss system.

I am thoroughly convinced that a large part of who we are is what we put into our mind. I am choosing more and more to put postive information in my mind, so I can become a better person.

A great song

2009-01-23T12:49:00.000-08:00

There is something about Country Music that sometimes just hits the ol' nail on the head. One those songs is "I'm Just a Guy" by Brad Paisley. Love that song.

Help Wanted

2009-01-19T11:52:00.000-08:00

My fairly new friend, Jeremy has talked me into running a half marathon in 10 weeks. This might end up putting a strain on our friendship. We will see.

I have officially started my training today (queue the theme from Rocky here) I am going to have to get serious about this because I have never trained for something like this. I am going to need a significant support base for this, mainly in the area of eating. Lets face it, most of us have our vices. For some it is smoking, others its cursing, some it is sex, mine is eating. I love to eat. At times I live to eat. Fortunately I am active and have managed to keep my weight to a respectable level even though my Wii Fit says I am borderline obese (stupid game!). Like Superman and kryptonite, is me and chocolate. I need superpower to walk past a candy dish with anything chocolate in it. I should probably start a new 12 step program call Chocolate Anonymous. The chapter I belong to would be CAT - CA of Texas :-).

My 2nd weekness is simply endurance. I am pretty disciplined about getting off the couch and working out or running, but when it gets boring or too hard I quit easily. I know it is all mental and this is where friends and family are a big help. To know they are cheering me on or they depend on me can make me push past the grey matter problems and reach new levels of endurance. I hope to hear from my thousands of readers, not only encourangement but also making me accountable. I hate to go back on my word. When I say I am going to do something I am going to do it.

I have recently heard of some high school friends that have recently done what I am trying to do. So if they can do it, I now I can too.

Stay tuned, it should be interesting to see what comes of this.

What is a husband?

2009-01-13T11:31:00.000-08:00

Today while listening to a a podcast from Family Live Today the speaker was talking about the definition husband. Every time I hear a speaker start talking about the origins of a word I get flashbacks from the movie "My Big Fat Greek Wedding". If you haven't seen it, you must. It is great and you will understand what I am referring to and you will have new thoughts about Windex too.

The speaker was talking about how "husband" was an agricultural word. I have heard about animal husbandry, of which I always have to chuckle because it sounds really perverted. Sorry, there are parts of my brain that never grew up. Simply husband refers to someone who takes care of, a manager, a steward. You get the point. When I named my blog here, I really did not understand what the word husband meant. I simply would have thought a man married to a woman. Now as it relates to our society and me today, I want to be a husband. I think that is what I have been created for, that is who I am. I love to be a good care taker of my wife, my family, of all things that have been given to me. Notice I didn't say "of things that are mine". I believe and occasionally have to remind myself that I really don't own anything. I have been loaned my wife, my kids, family, friends, and many things while I walk this earth. It is my hope and prayer that I am always an example of a good husband and I can encourage other men to be the same. I think it is what all men that are married have been called to do.

This sounds like the beginning of a joke but its not

2009-01-08T13:44:00.000-08:00

A Christian (me), an Indian Hindu, an Israeli Jew, an Indian Muslim, an African American, an American agnostic, and an American Baptist walk into a Thai resteraunt to have lunch. I told you this sounds like a joke ... Now that is diversity. I did not realize it at the time how diverse our group was. One of my co-workers that was there brought it to my attention the fact of everyone's religion and ethnicity.

When I reflect on this, I take it for granted that we live in a great country where we are not trying to kill each other or dispise each other. Open today's newspapers and the headlines are filled with people at war with each other. We are so far removed from what rest of the world has to deal with every day.

I realized today, we actually have many things in common. Our concerns are similar. It is my hope that as these friendships develop that I can have an impression on people around me. I hope they see something different in my life, I hope they see the real Jesus in me, not the religious Jesus that so many people in our society see and make stereo type judgments about.

I should have listened to my wife yet again ..... when will I learn?

2009-01-07T14:41:00.000-08:00

Disclaimer: Before I start into this, you might want to sit down and grab a tissue. If you don't I can't be held responsible for any mishaps.

This past week my family has been watching my sister's 2 dogs. That is addition to our 2 dogs and a cat, so we had a few 4 legged friends hanging around. For the most part, they are not much trouble. A couple of nights ago it had been raining and the dogs had just been out to do their business. A couple of the dogs think they are too good to walk out into a wet lawn and safely relieve themselves. The dogs were let into the house without inspecting what went on. One of the dogs apparently left a nice big pile on the rug we keep at the back door. OK, I know what you are thinking but don't get ahead of me! A short while later I was heading out the back door to take the trash out which is my duty every night before trash day. As I opened the door I was talking to my lovely wife and took a step out the door before looking. I am used to firmly planting my feet on a hard surface or at least a rug. Instead I felt the gut awful feeling of "squishing" at that time I think I let out a "Oh crap! Darn dogs!". Talking with the wife later, I think she said she was dying because she can imagine what just happened. I was thankful I had shoes on because I often take the trash out in bare feet.

But wait it gets better. A couple of days later it is time for the visiting 4 legged niece and nephew to go back home. Being the nice brother that I am, I chose to take the dogs to my sister's because it is not far from my work place. I drive a small Ford Ranger that is a regular cab. Because it was cold this morning, I decided to let the dogs ride up front with me instead of their cage in the bed of the pickup truck. Just as I put them in my wife offers to get some newspapers to put down because the female has a weak bladder. She easily pees if stressed, scared or whatever and the dog did not do #2 that morning she proclaimed. I wasn't too concerned. I figured it was a short enough ride and that it wasn't worth the hassle. OK again, don't get ahead of me ...

The ride was going pretty good and we were about 3/4 the way there when all of the sudden the female dog is trying to dive down below my feet as I am driving. I catch her and push her back and then I smell it. (pause for dramatic affect) Oh my gosh, I could not imagine something so foul coming from that cute dog. I thought I was going to die. I am quickly looking for a place to pull over. It takes me about 5 minutes to find someplace. In that 5 minutes the male dog is climbing up the back of my seat and is perched behind my head on top of the head rest trying to escape the brown mound substance piled about 3 inches high on my cloth seats of my truck. I could not be a hard firm poo, it had to be more like the consistency of peanut butter and I think she had been saving it up for weeks. She was just staring at me standing in the seat. I am not sure what I said at this point.

I pulled into the Bass Pro Shop parking lot and quickly grabbing the male dog and putting him in the cage that was in the bed of the pickup. I returned to cab to get the source of the poo and found that she had moved from the passenger seat into the drivers seat while stepping in the poo and tracking it onto my armrest, driver's seat, and my cell phone. When I picked her up she proceeded to pee in the drivers seat leaving a nice 6 inch wet spot in addition to poo doggy foot prints on this seat.

Fortunately I have a tool box on my truck that is stocked with rags, trash bags, and paper towels. I used what I had to pick up the huge mound of poo off the passenger's seat as best as I could without pushing it further into the fibers of the seat. I dabbed up as much as possible, put a plastic trash bag on the drivers seat to prevent the pee from soaking up into my pants, rolled the windows down and proceeded on my way with the dogs in the back of the truck. At this point I was not too concerned with their discomfort. Got within a couple blocks of my sisters house put a moving blanket down on the passenger seat and put the dogs back in the cab so my sister would not see that they were riding in the back. Got to my sister's without further incident.

My sister asked if we had any problems and I just smiled and lied through my teeth. So whatever you do, don't let her know.

I made it to work and saturated my trucks interior with Pinesol. If anything it smells a little better.

I can't blame the dog. This was yet another one of those things where I should have listened to my wife. Someday I will learn.

I hope your day started better than mine :-)