I didn't go to worship today.
Might have been a little immature on my part.
My birthday was Friday.
My wife wished me a happy birthday.
My kids wished me a happy birthday.
Both of my brothers wished me a happy birthday.
Even my best friend called, wished me a happy birthday and invited me to lunch.
But my mom and dad didn't call.
Didn't call Saturday either.
I figured they forgot.
Since we go to the same church, I skipped today. Didn't want to see them.
They came to the house afterwards, and I said I didn't want to talk. They were both a little indignant. They said they thought of me.
And how would I know? Is it that hard to call and leave a message?
Really?
Am I overreacting?
Sunday, January 22, 2012
Sunday, September 11, 2011
September 11, 2001
I watched some of the documentaries this weekend commemorating the 10th anniversary of the terrorist attacks of 9/11/01. Thought I might share my own thoughts on these events.
After learning of the attacks from a colleague at another telephone company, I searched the intenet for breaking news and confirmed what he had told me. I told my coworkers what had happened, and we walked to our sales office a couple of blocks away to watch the events unfold on the TV in the conference room.
There was an oppressive silence in the room as we watched the scene from New York and listened to the talking heads blather on with their commentary. It was that day that I realized I disliked the national broadcast media.
Then the first tower fell.
No one in the room said a word.
Except me.
The word that escaped my lips was vulgar and crude but I'm certain it was what everyone else was thinking.
Motherfuckers.
How do I know they were thinking the same thing? Because in a professional setting that particular word is taboo. Might even get you fired. Not this day. Not a word was uttered by anyone else.
Many people said when they heard of or saw coverage of the attacks they were in shock, felt incredible sadness, were numb, or some other emotion that one might feel when they are unable to comprehend what it is they are seeing.
Not me.
I felt one thing.
Rage.
Pure.
Unadulterated.
Total.
Complete.
Rage.
All I wanted to do was go to the middle East and start killing people. When I got home that night I told my wife that if I was ten years younger, I would be on my way to a recruiters office in the morning.
She said she knew. She understood.
And the rage did not go away.
Our government failed all of us in the days that followed.
What if I was the President?
I would have called up the militia and dispatched each man to the nearest border. There could have been an armed American every 10 feet on our borders with Canada and Mexico. Shoot and kill anyone crossing the border.
All international flights cancelled. Americans abroad would have been instructed to make they way to the nearest embassy.
No one in.
No one out.
Unless you can prove you have a right to be on this soil.
After sealing the border, every person in this country illegally, whether on an expired visa or an "undocumented" immigrant, would have been rounded up and sent to their own country.
Every application for entry into this country canceled. Reapply. New, tougher standards for getting in.
But we didn't. Because we have turned into a bunch of thumb sucking gutless pussies.
And now we're paying for it.
That's my rant, incomplete as it may be. But my neck and shoulders hurt. I'm tired.
And I need to go pray.
After learning of the attacks from a colleague at another telephone company, I searched the intenet for breaking news and confirmed what he had told me. I told my coworkers what had happened, and we walked to our sales office a couple of blocks away to watch the events unfold on the TV in the conference room.
There was an oppressive silence in the room as we watched the scene from New York and listened to the talking heads blather on with their commentary. It was that day that I realized I disliked the national broadcast media.
Then the first tower fell.
No one in the room said a word.
Except me.
The word that escaped my lips was vulgar and crude but I'm certain it was what everyone else was thinking.
Motherfuckers.
How do I know they were thinking the same thing? Because in a professional setting that particular word is taboo. Might even get you fired. Not this day. Not a word was uttered by anyone else.
Many people said when they heard of or saw coverage of the attacks they were in shock, felt incredible sadness, were numb, or some other emotion that one might feel when they are unable to comprehend what it is they are seeing.
Not me.
I felt one thing.
Rage.
Pure.
Unadulterated.
Total.
Complete.
Rage.
All I wanted to do was go to the middle East and start killing people. When I got home that night I told my wife that if I was ten years younger, I would be on my way to a recruiters office in the morning.
She said she knew. She understood.
And the rage did not go away.
Our government failed all of us in the days that followed.
What if I was the President?
I would have called up the militia and dispatched each man to the nearest border. There could have been an armed American every 10 feet on our borders with Canada and Mexico. Shoot and kill anyone crossing the border.
All international flights cancelled. Americans abroad would have been instructed to make they way to the nearest embassy.
No one in.
No one out.
Unless you can prove you have a right to be on this soil.
After sealing the border, every person in this country illegally, whether on an expired visa or an "undocumented" immigrant, would have been rounded up and sent to their own country.
Every application for entry into this country canceled. Reapply. New, tougher standards for getting in.
But we didn't. Because we have turned into a bunch of thumb sucking gutless pussies.
And now we're paying for it.
That's my rant, incomplete as it may be. But my neck and shoulders hurt. I'm tired.
And I need to go pray.
Sunday, July 24, 2011
It's July what?!?!
Where has July gone? Already days here in Wisconsin are noticeably shorter and school is going to start shortly. I feel like I am missing so much!
Been hotter than Hades here, so I haven't been doing a lot of barbequing but I have had the grill fired up quite a bit. Pork chops, hobo potatoes and the like. The last time I grilled I made bruschetta that we ate on toasted Italian bread. It was good! So good in fact that my wife bought more tomatoes and another loaf of bread today, so I made it again tonight. It was all we had. Very refreshing in these dog days of summer.
My oldest son and I worked on restoring a Weber kettle grill I bought him for his birthday last November. It was quite a bit of work, but we did a tremendous job and it looks fantastic. We broke it in cooking Hasselback potatoes on it, and did pork cutlets on it as a follow up.
Can you believe that that grill is almost twenty years old? It turned out really nice, and I'm proud of my son for wanting to do it with me.
Also in July, after waiting for 25 years, 1 month, and 2 days we finally got our driveway paved. It looks incredible, and probably added a ton of value to the house. Next up outside is to get a "smoke shack" done so I have a place to store my toys. Need to get those classic Weber kettles in out of the weather. Of course, it won't happen until the floors for the kitchen and dining room are done and the whole area gets painted.
I scored a Smokey Joe grill on CL the other day. Cleaned it up, repainted the legs and gave it to my mom and dad. Money well spent as far as I'm concerned. He'll get more use out of it than I would have. I also just bought a red Weber MasterTouch grill, but after seeing pics I decided to help out my young nephew who was looking for a grill, so he's gonna buy it for what I have into it.
Well, I need to go make some iced tea.
Have a blessed week.
Been hotter than Hades here, so I haven't been doing a lot of barbequing but I have had the grill fired up quite a bit. Pork chops, hobo potatoes and the like. The last time I grilled I made bruschetta that we ate on toasted Italian bread. It was good! So good in fact that my wife bought more tomatoes and another loaf of bread today, so I made it again tonight. It was all we had. Very refreshing in these dog days of summer.
My oldest son and I worked on restoring a Weber kettle grill I bought him for his birthday last November. It was quite a bit of work, but we did a tremendous job and it looks fantastic. We broke it in cooking Hasselback potatoes on it, and did pork cutlets on it as a follow up.
Can you believe that that grill is almost twenty years old? It turned out really nice, and I'm proud of my son for wanting to do it with me.
Also in July, after waiting for 25 years, 1 month, and 2 days we finally got our driveway paved. It looks incredible, and probably added a ton of value to the house. Next up outside is to get a "smoke shack" done so I have a place to store my toys. Need to get those classic Weber kettles in out of the weather. Of course, it won't happen until the floors for the kitchen and dining room are done and the whole area gets painted.
I scored a Smokey Joe grill on CL the other day. Cleaned it up, repainted the legs and gave it to my mom and dad. Money well spent as far as I'm concerned. He'll get more use out of it than I would have. I also just bought a red Weber MasterTouch grill, but after seeing pics I decided to help out my young nephew who was looking for a grill, so he's gonna buy it for what I have into it.
Well, I need to go make some iced tea.
Have a blessed week.
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
Lots of little things
Lots of little things have kept me away from my blog. If there are any regular readers, I'm sorry for neglecting this blog.
This past weekend, two of my sons, a friend, and I cooked a KCBS BBQ competition just a few miles from the Yacht Club. I wish I had time to detail the whole weekend. (maybe I'll get to that in the next few days) We all had a wonderful time and got to see many friends we have made in the BBQ community.
It didn't suck either that we had a great weekend cooking and had our best ever finish. We placed 3rd in pulled pork, 7th in beef brisket (we have placed in brisket in every comp I have cooked), 13th in pork ribs, and 30th in chicken (If I get around to blogging the whole contest, I will tell you about the idiot judge who gave my chicken turn-in a 2 in appearance.). Our combined score landed us with an 8th place finish overall out of 43 teams.
8th place may not seem that great, but we have competed 4 times, and the 8th place in the overall was our highest ever, our 3rd in pork was our highest ever category finish.
Yes, we were more than proud.
We will cook one more comp this year on Labor Day weekend. Is a Grand Championship in our future?
Last week my middle son had a Little League game and hit a three RBI triple in their first win of the season.
Yes, I was more than proud.
Tomorrow I will take my sons to the WIAA State Baseball Tournament in Appleton to see our home town high school team play in their first ever State Tournament game. This is a big deal for us because I was on the baseball team at the same high school that on two occassions was one game away from the State Tournament. The whole town is extremely proud of what the young men have done this year we just can't imagine not going. Go Bulldogs!
I will be preaching (teaching is more accurate) at our church on Sunday. Since it is Fathers Day weekend I will take the oppurtunity to honor my dad, and to show the congregation some "rules" I have been working on for my boys and how these same rules can be applied to our life in the Body of Christ.
Here are the rules that I have been teaching the kids:
Rule #1: Keep your head on a swivel.
Rule #2: Shoot the puck.
Rule #3: Good enough isn't.
Rule #4: Empty the magazine.
Rule #5: Have more than one magazine.
Rule #6: Don't swing at bad pitches.
Rule #7: It's not the cooker, it's the cook.
Thanks for stopping by. More to come soon.
This past weekend, two of my sons, a friend, and I cooked a KCBS BBQ competition just a few miles from the Yacht Club. I wish I had time to detail the whole weekend. (maybe I'll get to that in the next few days) We all had a wonderful time and got to see many friends we have made in the BBQ community.
It didn't suck either that we had a great weekend cooking and had our best ever finish. We placed 3rd in pulled pork, 7th in beef brisket (we have placed in brisket in every comp I have cooked), 13th in pork ribs, and 30th in chicken (If I get around to blogging the whole contest, I will tell you about the idiot judge who gave my chicken turn-in a 2 in appearance.). Our combined score landed us with an 8th place finish overall out of 43 teams.
8th place may not seem that great, but we have competed 4 times, and the 8th place in the overall was our highest ever, our 3rd in pork was our highest ever category finish.
Yes, we were more than proud.
We will cook one more comp this year on Labor Day weekend. Is a Grand Championship in our future?
Last week my middle son had a Little League game and hit a three RBI triple in their first win of the season.
Yes, I was more than proud.
Tomorrow I will take my sons to the WIAA State Baseball Tournament in Appleton to see our home town high school team play in their first ever State Tournament game. This is a big deal for us because I was on the baseball team at the same high school that on two occassions was one game away from the State Tournament. The whole town is extremely proud of what the young men have done this year we just can't imagine not going. Go Bulldogs!
I will be preaching (teaching is more accurate) at our church on Sunday. Since it is Fathers Day weekend I will take the oppurtunity to honor my dad, and to show the congregation some "rules" I have been working on for my boys and how these same rules can be applied to our life in the Body of Christ.
Here are the rules that I have been teaching the kids:
Rule #1: Keep your head on a swivel.
Rule #2: Shoot the puck.
Rule #3: Good enough isn't.
Rule #4: Empty the magazine.
Rule #5: Have more than one magazine.
Rule #6: Don't swing at bad pitches.
Rule #7: It's not the cooker, it's the cook.
Thanks for stopping by. More to come soon.
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
Hat availability
Here is what is currently available as of 11:23pm CDT 4/27/11:
2 washed lemon hats with navy text
1 washed purple hat with light green text
1 washed orange hat with navy text
Thank to the guys who have already placed orders!
2 washed lemon hats with navy text
1 washed purple hat with light green text
1 washed orange hat with navy text
Thank to the guys who have already placed orders!
Monday, April 25, 2011
It's a Pretty Big Deal
Yesterday Christians all over the world celebrated what has come to be called Easter. Our congregation prefers to call it Resurection Sunday.
Why?
Because that's what it really is and it removes the pagan aspect of the word Easter from what is Christianity's holiest day.
On that Sunday some 2000 years ago, Jesus of Nazareth, the step-son of a carpenter, fulfilled prophesies written hundreds of years before His birth, and fulfilled His own prophesy of Himself. Jesus said "Tear down this temple and in three days I will rebuild it." Of course, the Jewish leaders of the day didn't understand what he was saying.
Jesus was speaking of His own death and resurection.
Had Jesus not been resurected He would have been a liar and a fraud. Our faith would be in vain and empty. We would sit in Sunday worship for no reason, we would pray to an impotent god, and we would still be dead in our trespasses and sins.
But He did rise from the dead.
He died that we might live, and lives that we might never die.
He proved who He is.
He is our Lord. He is our God.
And He is worthy of our worship and praise.
The tomb is empty.
And that is a FACT!
Why?
Because that's what it really is and it removes the pagan aspect of the word Easter from what is Christianity's holiest day.
On that Sunday some 2000 years ago, Jesus of Nazareth, the step-son of a carpenter, fulfilled prophesies written hundreds of years before His birth, and fulfilled His own prophesy of Himself. Jesus said "Tear down this temple and in three days I will rebuild it." Of course, the Jewish leaders of the day didn't understand what he was saying.
Jesus was speaking of His own death and resurection.
Had Jesus not been resurected He would have been a liar and a fraud. Our faith would be in vain and empty. We would sit in Sunday worship for no reason, we would pray to an impotent god, and we would still be dead in our trespasses and sins.
But He did rise from the dead.
He died that we might live, and lives that we might never die.
He proved who He is.
He is our Lord. He is our God.
And He is worthy of our worship and praise.
The tomb is empty.
And that is a FACT!
Monday, March 21, 2011
Braggin' on my boys...
I'm a gun guy. I love guns; the engineering; the lines; the precision; the fact that they go BOOM!
I have taken my sons shooting in the past and they have had a really good time.
Wisconsin law requires that you complete a Hunter's Safety course in order to buy any type of hunting license. I completed my course in 1976, and it was time for the boys to take theirs.
I hounded them about their homework, took them to their classes when I was free, and helped the study, teaching things myself along the way.
All three of them passed their written test, and all three passed their field test. I was pretty relieved. Don't think I could have gone through another class like that.
Now, when I say I'm a gun guy I really am, but I don't own any shotguns. I'm not much of a hunter, more of a shooter. Not much fun in shooting a 12 ga at a target, know what I mean? I'm a rifle and handgun guy.
So back to the field day. It was held at a local conservation club, and they allow shotguns only, so I could not bring a .22 for the boys to shoot. They had to shoot shotguns which were provided.
My oldest had no problem with it, except the first 20 ga he shot was a little long for him and hard to handle. He fared much better shooting trap with a youth sized firearm.
My middle one did OK too, but he shot the same long shotgun as his brother and had a little trouble getting it pointed at the target. He chose not to shoot any trap.
My youngest wasn't going to shoot at all, and I was getting ready to leave when he ran out and decided to give it a go. The gun was again to big for him, but he managed and took a couple of shots. He's not a big boy for his age, and was worried he might have trouble with the recoil from a shotgun, but he seemed unfazed.
So, all three will get there cards in the mail, and I'll feel a lot more comfortable about taking them to the range.
I have taken my sons shooting in the past and they have had a really good time.
Wisconsin law requires that you complete a Hunter's Safety course in order to buy any type of hunting license. I completed my course in 1976, and it was time for the boys to take theirs.
I hounded them about their homework, took them to their classes when I was free, and helped the study, teaching things myself along the way.
All three of them passed their written test, and all three passed their field test. I was pretty relieved. Don't think I could have gone through another class like that.
Now, when I say I'm a gun guy I really am, but I don't own any shotguns. I'm not much of a hunter, more of a shooter. Not much fun in shooting a 12 ga at a target, know what I mean? I'm a rifle and handgun guy.
So back to the field day. It was held at a local conservation club, and they allow shotguns only, so I could not bring a .22 for the boys to shoot. They had to shoot shotguns which were provided.
My oldest had no problem with it, except the first 20 ga he shot was a little long for him and hard to handle. He fared much better shooting trap with a youth sized firearm.
My middle one did OK too, but he shot the same long shotgun as his brother and had a little trouble getting it pointed at the target. He chose not to shoot any trap.
My youngest wasn't going to shoot at all, and I was getting ready to leave when he ran out and decided to give it a go. The gun was again to big for him, but he managed and took a couple of shots. He's not a big boy for his age, and was worried he might have trouble with the recoil from a shotgun, but he seemed unfazed.
So, all three will get there cards in the mail, and I'll feel a lot more comfortable about taking them to the range.
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