Duh

FYI: Before anyone else makes this bonehead mistake... We all know to keep magnets away from our iPods...right? Well, last night I had my sweatshirt pocket full of things and my iPod was in there. I was listening and it all of a sudden went to a metalic buzz. I fished it out of my pocket and stuck to it was a bolt that must have been a magnet. I fried the iPod; the home screen showed the lock and froze at 10:45 pm. I patched it into the computer...nothing. So, I went and bought a new iPod this morning. Later in the day, I went to mourn over the fried iPod and the screen came up with the apple. I plugged it into our docking station and discovered it has a second life. Now I have two iPods... Not that I am disappointed with the extra memory, video camera, pedometer, etc. but I really did not need it.
So, if you fry your iPod with a magnet. Let it run out of juice and plug it in. Expensive bone head move... I guess Kaliegh will get an iPod sooner than we planned.

Santa Claus

My first year really playing Santa. Done at 9 PM. Time to watch Jay Leno.

Merry Christmas

Merry Chirstmas to everyone!!

Too Long

It has come to my attention that someone actually does read my blog! Yea! But if I don't update I will lose my reader(s). So as I look at a blank screen, I find myself with writer's block. In this case, nothing is quite intimidating. It is quite amazing how nothing really adds up to something. I remember one time at a Greatful Dead concert a guy was walking around selling, "absolutely nothing!" He would say, "I have absolutely nothing for sale! You can buy absolutely nothing for only 5 dollars." He had several customers buying absolutely nothing. Some asked if they could get nothing in different colors. Of course they could! Some were buying nothing in red or black or orange. Some people were buying little nothings and big nothings. I also saw someone buy four of nothing. He dropped twenty bucks for four. It takes a novel entrepreneur to sell nothing. It would be so much easier to sell something, but one just doesn't make as much money as selling nothing.

Well, maybe he was selling more than nothing, because everyone walked away with hearts filled with joy. I found the scene hilarious (no I did not buy nothing...but I wanted too). Nothing can be filled with opportunity. Every now and then, I feel that I have nothing, nothing to have, nothing to offer, nothing going on. But I remind myself of how valuable nothing can be. I remind myself of how dozens of people were buying nothing and getting something, and there are days I am rich in nothing. It doesn't happen often in my life, but in the life of my students, I see it everyday. My students think they have nothing; they are nothing. I try to tell them what a great opportunity it is to have nothing. I tell them the story of buying nothing and they love the idea that they are rich with nothingness. However, I assume that they leave and forget the lesson, because no one has ever come to tell me how nothing got them something. But maybe in the future, when they feel like nothing, they will remember how valuable nothing can really be.

Better Now

I am better now...have been for quite a while. Thanks

Sick

I'm sick of being sick. This sore throat is making me sick. I am sick of this cough. I am sick of hearing about the swine flu. I am sick of sore skin and I am sick of a sore back. I'm sick of being lazy and having no energy. I was happy to watch X-Men Origins today; I finished two books I have been trying to finish for quite a while; I finally read a magazine article that kept me reading and laughing, but I'm sick of why I had time to do these things. I don't want to lay around any more. I am sick of it.

October 14

Today is one of my favorite historical days. It starts with William the Conqueror defeating the English at the Battle of Hastings in 1066. Thank you, William, for the English language. In 1947, Chuck Yeager broke the sound barrier in his X-1 Jet Rocket airplane. And my favorite, in 1912, while campaigning in Milwaukee, Theodore Roosevelt was about to give his speech when he was shot in the chest. After assessing the damages, he decided to give his speech with the bullet inches from his lung. Talk about tough! Happy October!

An American Lion

I just finished watching part 2 of Teddy Roosevelt: An American Lion. I only hope that some day in my life, I will get to meet someone as great as T.R. While he, like all Presidents, made several mistakes, his accomplishments as a president and a human being are tremendous. He stood up for his beliefs, battled the seemingly invulnerable, and lived life as a true adventure. Two favorite moments of his life are first when he was leading the Rough Riders he wouldn't say "charge," he would say, "follow me!" And, second, while campaigning in Wisconsin in 1912, he was shot in the chest, and "with a bullet lodged next to his left lung and blood gushing, he delivered an hour long speech." I admire him for his love of family, conservation of land, sense of adventure, and love of country. He was an amazing American.

Running

As mentioned in an earlier post, Angie and I ran the inaugural Chicago Rock and Roll half marathon on August 2. It was a fun race with a nice expo, good crowds and lots of bands. What made it memorable though is that we ran the whole race together. Besides some 5K's, we are pretty sure that it is the only race we have run together start to finish. Running a race like that is kind of like experiencing marriage. It had a great, fun start. Then there was some pain and frustration for both of us. We enjoyed the scenery of downtown. We endured some long stretches along Lake Shore Drive with not much to look at or enjoy just like life and marriage where there are times where not much happens except the daily grind. Angie was there when I tripped on the sidewalk and took a spill. We cared for each other through the tough of training and the good times of the run. But the best part in running and marriage, even through the good and the tough, is that in the end we were holding hands raised in the air in celebration of a great race and a great marriage.

Across the State

We were in Chicago this last weekend for the Chicago Rock and Roll Half Marathon. It was a great weekend, but what struck me was the trip home. We left downtown Chicago in the morning and caught I 94 East to I-55 South. It was amazing getting out of Chicago as the traffic flowed right along. From I-55 we caught I-80 West. We went all the way across Illinois to I-280 to Rock Island to pick up our daughter. Kaleigh spent the weekend at her Aunt Laura and Uncle Chad's house; she also got to visit her grandma Townley. Then we jumped back on I-280 to I-74 East back to Peoria.
While the travel made for a long day and stiff muscles from sitting in the Aztec all day after the race, I really enjoyed the ride across Illinois. I've done the trip several times and I can almost name all the towns and exits across I-80 and east on I74. I love seeing the land and how it changes or doesn't change over time. I remember the times I've spent in many of the places like Oswego, my hometown; Morris, my high school rival; Ottawa, where I lived and worked in radio for several years; LaSalle/Peru, where I spent time with friends; Milan, where Angie's mom lives; Rock Island; biking under I-74 near Cambridge; Galesburg, where I always want to stop and visit; and of course Peoria, where we live. It's a great state with great memories.

Learning to Read

I just came across a really cool quote from a book I am reading called, "The Graveyard Book." It is written by Neil Gaiman. The main character in the book is a young boy (he doesn't know how old he is) named Bod, short for Nobody. He is being raised by the dead in a graveyard. That is all I am saying about the book, go read it!
The boy is learning to read and discovering the power of letters and wants to know when he will learn about "joined-up letters." Then realizing what joined-up letters and reading will do for him, he is thrilled. "He imagined a future in which he could read everything, in which all the stories could be opened and discovered."
This line made me realize how much I (we) take reading for granted. Reading opens up stories; it opens up the past. We know what we do because of the power of letters, symbols written on paper or on a screen, on a wall, in the sand. The words help us learn and grow. In this day where moving images on television, on a movie screen, on a computer screen, on our phones; tells the story more often, the images don't fill in the blanks. We want more (or should) and we should go to the written word in a newspaper, magazine, book, or the Internet. Reading fills in the cracks; it is the cement to our learning. Bod realizes this and he reminded me of it too.

Bitter Sweet Season

As the All-Star game approaches in two weeks, I have to say that this baseball season has a bitter sweet feeling for me. First, I have to establish that I have two favorite baseball teams. One my lifetime favorite, the Chicago Cubs and the other, the Detroit Tigers, evolved out of the failure of the Chicago Cubs. In 1984, when the Cubs completely blew it to the San Diego Padres in the NL championship series, I swore that if the American League team that played the Padres in the World Series won, I would be a fan of that team. So, since 1984, I have been a Detroit Tigers fan along with the Cubs.
But now, with interleague play, the Cubs have played the Tigers in two seasons. The first time they faced off I was really excited and enjoyed the games. But this season, as my "life sentence" as a Cubs fan is wearing a bit thin, I watched the three game series with weary eyes, as the Tigers completely dominated a Cubs team that in pre-season was clearly the favorite to win the NL Central.
Now, I don't want any confusion, I am not a fair weather fan. I still cheer for the Cubs. I do love the fact that Lou has called up all sorts of rookies like Jake Fox and Sam Fuld. But, after the drubbing the Tigers laid upon the Cubs in June, I have to say for the first time in many years, the Tigers are first in my heart this year. The Tigers have figured out that it doesn't take an all-star line-up; it takes solid clutch hitting and timely, effective pitching. I wish the Cubs could figure that out. They have had "great" pitching, but hitting that leaves runners on base seemingly every inning. I will enjoy watching the Cubs' young players, and hope for a solid winning streak. But this summer, I am really watching the Tigers!

Baseball

Opening Day!! A day full of hope. A day where anything is possible. A day that promises warmer weather and green fields. A day when the "Star Spangled Banner" is followed by "play ball!," and then seven and a half innings later followed by "Take Me Out to the Ballgame." Opening day is a day where hot dogs and chips become a staple in my diet. It is a day where play is not measured by time, but by strikes, hits, runs and outs. The crack of the bat. Triumph. Defeat. The ball snapping into the leather of the catchers mit. The calls and cries of balls and strikes. The home run cheer. Rounding the bases. Dust after a stolen base. The swing and a miss. The bat slammed on the ground. The high fives and pumping fists after a win. The white "W" flag. The box scores in the paper. Fantasy teams. The call of the beer and hot dog vendors "Beeeeeeeeeer here! Ice Cold Old Style! Hot Dooogsssss! The chocolate malted with the wooden stick spoon. The crowd. Harry Carey. Pat and Ron. WGN. KMOX. Cubs. Sox. Cards. Tigers. Damn Yankees. Late night West coast games on the radio. Falling asleep in the third inning. Waking up in the eighth. Foul balls. Peoria Chiefs. Wrigley Field. Comisky Park. Busch Stadium. Comerica Park. Called third strikes. The Heater. Line drives. Duck-snorts. Bobbles. 4-6-3 double plays. World Series. God, I love baseball.

End of March

It is not my favorite time of the year, but there are several things about the end of March that could, arguably, make it a candidate for "Best Time of the Year." First is basketball. While basketball is not my favorite sport, I can't help but be drawn into the March Madness experience of high school and college. Living in Peoria is a dream for any basketball purist, when the high school state tournaments come to town. I try to go to the games every year and this year my high school Alma mater, Oswego, made it to the championship game for class 3A. I did make it to that terrific game even as Oswego lost by two points. It was a hard fought game that started out with lots of long range three pointers (not my favorite type of basketball), but then both teams started going inside the paint for hard fought baskets (my favorite kind of play). Then, that night I watched from home on T.V. as Michael Jordan's son played in a great game for the 4A championship game. This is one of the reasons I love living in Peoria, and March may be the best time of the year.
Second is college hoops. The tournament is fun to watch and predict. Two of the five or so teams that I root for are doing very well in this year's post season tournaments. Notre Dame is in the final four in the NIT tournament and Louisville is in the elite eight after demolishing Arizona last night 103 to 64. Exciting games.
I also enjoy the end of March because the earth is changing. We move from the grays, browns, whites of winter to the blues, browns and greens of spring and summer. Just yesterday, I noticed that the trees are starting to bud leaves. Green stems are starting to sprout out of the ground and the soil is soft. I can smell spring in the air with the warmer breezes and thawing ground. It is very nice and gives hope of warm, short sleeve weather up ahead.
Finally, baseball is just around the corner! In two weeks, the boys of summer will break out the lumber and start smacking baseballs around stadiums and baseball fields across the country. I can never quite articulate it, but baseball just has a characteristic about it that relaxes me, excites the competition in me, and slows down a summer afternoon/evening to a liveable pace. I love the game.
March, while it doesn't match up to June or July or August or even October, is filled with lots to be excited about.

Enjoying the Credits

When I go to the theater, which isn't often, I find myself conforming to the crowd when the movie ends and credits begin; I file out of the theater with the crowd. Sitting through the credits used to be a very enjoyable experience. I used to stay to see if anyone in the hundreds of names sliding up the screen shared my name. Then, I learned that the music is usually great! It became the music that kept me. The credits are the place where a viewer can actually take time to listen to and appreciate the music. For example, sitting through any of the Star Wars films will get you an almost private concert with music by an Oscar winning composer, John Williams. The Lord of the Rings movies offers some powerful music that during the movie subconsciously drives our emotions, but we are so wrapped up with the visual sense that we don't realize the music also has us on the edge of our seats.

The last time I sat through the credits (either one of the Lord of the Rings movies or maybe even Chicago), the experience was kind of ruined. After most people have left and I was settling in to enjoy the music, the lights slowly started coming up and employees entered the theater. Nothing like enjoying the full TMX (or whatever) sound of a theater while being surrounded by vested employees weilding brooms, bags and those little dust pans on a stick.

Next time I stick around, I will imagine that they are characters in some dramatic endgame. They will battle it out to see who can get the most dropped popcorn, shells of soda cups with the watery left overs of ice floating around in the bottom, and the Milk Duds that were rolling around on the floor. It will be quite a battle in the shadowy theater as ushers duel it out with their brooms, clashing in front of the screen as one tries to shove the other into his dust pan box on a stick. All the while, the dramatic music from whatever movie I just watched plays in the background. The post movie experience just might be even more dramatic than the feature.

But, then I will miss the complete experience of enjoying the music uncluttered by the visual sense. Alas, I guess I will have to settle for the sound track.