Well, well, well...Spud fell in the well! LOL! Little Rascals reference. Spud
was always messin' with that poor Weezer! My cable has been out for a couple of
days and they can't get out until Monday, so I thought I would write something.
Speaking of the cable being out, there is a Looney Tunes episode where Cecil the
turtle works for the cable company and he is like, "It's Monday, time to ruin
someone's day." He laughs and then cuts Bugs Bunny's cable off. When Bugs calls
in, Cecil is like, "I'm sorry Mr. Buuunny (pronounces his name all wrong and
shit, LOL!!), someone will be out on Tuesday between 8:00am and 2:00pm, make
sure you're home!!" Bugs is in the bathroom, they knock, wait like 2 seconds,
leave a letter that says, "Sorry we missed you." and they leave, quick as hell!
Bugs calls back alllll bummed out because the basketball playoffs are on! LOL!!
I still love a good cartoon. Whoever wrote that, is a great writer! I on the
other hand, don't care too much about tv, so it's not too big of a deal to
me.
I was soakin my bones in the tub (LOVE SOAKIN MY BONES) and thought,
well, I guess I'm gonna have to do something constructive. To be honest, I
always feel like I should get back to writing. Too bad it took me about a half
an hour just to figure out how to sign in. All these damn passwords and shit.
I got it though and I feel like I have a pretty good message for all you muggs out there too.
So, here it goes.
I went to a funeral today for a friend's son who was shot. Depressing
right? No doubt, depressing! I didn't go to the funeral home, I went to the
service and I'm glad I did. First of all, that is the least I could do to
support my friend. We all need a good support system in this life! Secondly, I
ain't gonna lie, I haven't been to church in a while!! When I got there everybody was lined up to pay their respects and greet the family. It was rough, I mean, what do you say? I can't begin to imagine, nor do I really want to imagine what it would be like. I get up to the casket and say a prayer and then turn to my friend and his family. I give him a hug and tell him, I'm so sorry. It was like that was all I could even come up with to say. I must have said it to him 5 times. Hugged his wife, same thing. All the way down the line.
We take our seats though and wait for the service to begin. It was a little different then I am used to. I am raised Catholic, that goes, sing, reading, sing, reading, sing, gospel, homily, eulogy, communion, sing, go in peace, and done. So it starts with a scripture and then they call up this girl to read the obituary and messages from the family. To myself, I'm like whoa, this isn't going to be easy to listen to! Especially since I have two kids myself. It's like you automatically associate what is going on to your family and in this case to my kids. She gets up to the mic and says, "before I do this there is something I have to do." She says, "Hallelujah!" not much of a response. She is like, "Oh no no no, I said Hallelujah" Some people give it back, definitely a better response. Then she raises both hands up and says, "I said HALLELUJAH, this is the day the LORD has MADE, HALLELUJAH!" Now muggs are hollerin' it back! Then she starts to sing! I mean to tell you this girl could SING! She sang, "I'll fly away ole glory, I'll fly away. In the morning, when I die hallelujah by and by, I'll fly away..." I know the song from a movie, "Oh Brother Where art Thou" I love that movie, and the soundtrack. My eyes immediately welled up, but it wasn't sadness that overcame me. It was like she was so full of passion for song and so full of passion for his life that she was almost breathing joy into the people's hearts. From that moment on, I felt more like it was a celebration of his life. She went on to read the obituary and the messages and of course they were not easy to listen to, but I think maybe I listened to them in a different way than I would have had she not got up there. I listened to it more as love being spoken about my friend's son rather than feeling the sorrow being spoken to my friend. I guess I didn't expect to feel enlightened when I left.
So after that they call up like 5 people to speak, all of which had a great messages. The one that stood out most to me was one of his cousins. I don't remember everything he said, however what he left the mic with was, "Even though I don't know all of you, I love all of you!" He was a young dude, I say he was young, because that seems like a hell of a statement for a young man. That usually comes from someone who is older, who has lived a long life. Someone who is giving advice to a young dude. In my opinion, he summed up the whole service with that closing statement!! I tried to find him after the service, just to give him my condolences and tell him hey, I love you too, but I couldn't find him. I did find the girl who sang and told her that she had a beautiful voice!
Like I said, I didn't expect to feel enlightened leaving a funeral, but I did. Those are just 2 things that stood out to me and inspired me to write this. I guess even in times of sadness there are some things that can bring joy, some things to be learned, and a way to grow and become a better person. I'm learning Mom!!! I try to give love to the people that surround me, show love to the people around me, and be kind. It sure seems like things would be a whole lot better in this world if we all just said hey, I love you! You never know what this life may bring. Say I love you, be kind, it could change someone's day, change someone life, or inspire someone to do something. After all, a song and an I love you inspired me. In tribute to my friend Rodney's son! May you rest in peace Carlton Coleman!
Tuesday, April 18, 2017
Tuesday, June 10, 2014
Say "NO" to Ego
So today someone asked me what the link to my blog was. I was paid a great compliment, that I am not sure I really deserved but it made me smile reallll BIG! One of the best compliments I was ever paid. Maybe some of my Momma's gootness did rub off on me! I don't want to break my arm pattin' myself on the back, but DAMN it was a GOOT one!!! I'm just gonna keep the compliment to myself though. I don't want my head to get too big, LOL.
At any rate, of course I had to sign in to the blog and read some of my posts. They really take me back. I read about 4 of my posts. It's crazy that I wrote all these things from the heart and I get to have a record of them. A record of my feelings, my opinions, and my theories (after all, you know what they say about opinions...nice lil cliché for ya...hahaha). As I read the posts, I realized that the overwhelming message of my posts was and is LOVE. It's about being happy, smiling, laughing and being KIND. It's about the simple things, the things that really matter!! Stopping for a minute to enjoy what makes you smile. Stopping for a minute to make someone else smile, just because everybody deserves that. So without further ado, your boy JC! LMAO!
I often wonder what it is about me that draws people in. Or what makes people drawn to someone in general. It is kind of hard to grasp for me. Is it just laughter? Is it just the smiles? Could it really be that simple. I guess that IS what I try to preach. Preach on JC, preach ON! "Donations donations...I thought it was the trash...don't be hittin on me..." That is from one of my all time favorite movies, Coming to America. Man there are some great lines in that, "Hey Stu, YO RENTS DUE MF'r...(put that shit on the movie list 17 times just because it's great). My Brother and I had the whole barber shop scene down pat. My mom and Dad would always ask us to do the scene. We felt all awkward cussin in front of them. Gotta be respectful you know, at least that's how I was raised. I think the youth of today need to be a WHOLE LOT more respectful! And I'm back.
As I sit here writing and thinking about what draws people in, I think maybe it is just being yourself. I think people have big egos. I think people let their egos get in the way instead of just being themselves.
I was helping a new salesman at work today. The manager asked me if I would spend some time with him. I sat him down with one of my good customers and let him handle as much as I could. I told him, "just be yourself." I told him that everybody has their own way and my way may not work for him. Selling is about making friends. Above all, put people at ease, it is no fun on the other side of the desk. Once you make a friend, you sell something, whatever it be. Even if you don't, there is still an opportunity to make an impression on that person. So let the ego go and make it a good one, right? Ego would have you believe it's all about oneself, but that is so far from the truth! Maybe make a friend or maybe just brighten their day! One act of random kindness a day! If you have this giant ego, you miss out on so much of what is simple and what is great in life. You have to be able to cry, you have to be able to express your deepest heart felt feelings. You just never know, cuz sometimes, someday never comes!You have to be able to able to apologize, and most of all you have to give love. When you GIVE love...you ALWAYS GET love in return. Life is funny, you know? People come, people go, but the love inside your heart never does. It's always there! And I'm out...Your Boy JC
At any rate, of course I had to sign in to the blog and read some of my posts. They really take me back. I read about 4 of my posts. It's crazy that I wrote all these things from the heart and I get to have a record of them. A record of my feelings, my opinions, and my theories (after all, you know what they say about opinions...nice lil cliché for ya...hahaha). As I read the posts, I realized that the overwhelming message of my posts was and is LOVE. It's about being happy, smiling, laughing and being KIND. It's about the simple things, the things that really matter!! Stopping for a minute to enjoy what makes you smile. Stopping for a minute to make someone else smile, just because everybody deserves that. So without further ado, your boy JC! LMAO!
I often wonder what it is about me that draws people in. Or what makes people drawn to someone in general. It is kind of hard to grasp for me. Is it just laughter? Is it just the smiles? Could it really be that simple. I guess that IS what I try to preach. Preach on JC, preach ON! "Donations donations...I thought it was the trash...don't be hittin on me..." That is from one of my all time favorite movies, Coming to America. Man there are some great lines in that, "Hey Stu, YO RENTS DUE MF'r...(put that shit on the movie list 17 times just because it's great). My Brother and I had the whole barber shop scene down pat. My mom and Dad would always ask us to do the scene. We felt all awkward cussin in front of them. Gotta be respectful you know, at least that's how I was raised. I think the youth of today need to be a WHOLE LOT more respectful! And I'm back.
As I sit here writing and thinking about what draws people in, I think maybe it is just being yourself. I think people have big egos. I think people let their egos get in the way instead of just being themselves.
I was helping a new salesman at work today. The manager asked me if I would spend some time with him. I sat him down with one of my good customers and let him handle as much as I could. I told him, "just be yourself." I told him that everybody has their own way and my way may not work for him. Selling is about making friends. Above all, put people at ease, it is no fun on the other side of the desk. Once you make a friend, you sell something, whatever it be. Even if you don't, there is still an opportunity to make an impression on that person. So let the ego go and make it a good one, right? Ego would have you believe it's all about oneself, but that is so far from the truth! Maybe make a friend or maybe just brighten their day! One act of random kindness a day! If you have this giant ego, you miss out on so much of what is simple and what is great in life. You have to be able to cry, you have to be able to express your deepest heart felt feelings. You just never know, cuz sometimes, someday never comes!You have to be able to able to apologize, and most of all you have to give love. When you GIVE love...you ALWAYS GET love in return. Life is funny, you know? People come, people go, but the love inside your heart never does. It's always there! And I'm out...Your Boy JC
Sunday, May 12, 2013
Too Close for Comfort!!! part 2
Well, first of all, sorry for the "to be continued" shit. Thanks for all the concerned messages though. It's real nice to know people genuinely care! See, there is hope for humanity after all, huh? Smile!! I really didn't mean to leave all of y'all hangin, it was just 1am and I was tired. Here we go, without further a do...The conclusion, the message, and all that goot shit!!!
I fly out the door, jump in my truck, and turn my radio off! I don't want ANY song to be associated with this! Funny how your brain works! I call my Wife and quickly tell her what's going on. She tells me that her Mom is on the way to my house to watch my little ones and tells me that her Sister is gonna ride down too. Her Sister is a Medic and is actually always there when you need her most. She is always willing to help, especially with my Chit lens, and I can't say how much I appreciate that. My Brother and his Wife just got a puppy and have 2 other dogs, so she figured that my Brother's Wife may need some help. I hang up and call my Brother. I tell him, "It's not good Dude, this is REALLLLL serious!" He says, "Oh I know it is! I looked that shit up on Wikipedia! What are you saying? Do I need to fly in?" I tell him there is not much he can do, but I would try to get here. I tell him I will call him when I get Downtown and know what's going on. I hang up with him and immediately call my Dad. Now, my Mom don't even know what's going on because she's not home. I can't even imagine how my Dad is feeling at this point. He is 700 miles away and all he can do is wait for me to tell him what's going on. I tell him what's going on and I can hear his voice cracking and I know he hears mine cracking too. I tell him word for word what has transpired to this point and tell him I will call him when I get Downtown too! I'm flyin down I-94 and I'm a wreck. I pray to God, "Please don't let my Brother die...Please!!!!" All I can think about is the picture that my Brother and I took on Easter and if this would be the last picture I would ever be in with him!!!! I get home, run in the house, tear off my suit, throw on some jeans, and tell my kids to say a prayer for their Uncle. My Son looks at me and says, "We already did Daddy!" My eyes well up and we are out. I'm in and out of traffic and as we get to about 8 mile, I completely lose it. With tears steaming out of my eyes I say, "He just can't die Ditty (that's what I call my Wife)." Within a couple of minutes I get it under control, but I am driving like a maniac. I'm in and out of traffic and my Sister in Law is trying to follow. Time is tickin and we finally pull in. We call my Brother's Wife and ask her where she is. She says, "5th floor!". We are on our way in. Luckily my Wife's sister is real familiar with the hospital and now we are trying to find my Brother's Wife. She makes a call to someone and boom, she is like, "this way!" We find my Brother's Wife and she is a mess too. She is stuck in the ICU waiting room by herself and they told her they would come and get her in a few. The waiting is straight up excruciating.
Finally someone comes and gets us. We head to the room and my Brother is laying there and there are like 8 Doctors and Nurses bumpin into each other, steppin over each other, and getting him hooked up. We get introduced to a Nurse, a Doctor, and finally a Surgeon. Someone on the team is having my Sister in Law sign waivers explaining what is going on. I remember her saying, "This is saying it's ok to put this in his arm, this is saying that you are ok'ing surgery and you understand that there is a chance of infection, stroke, and death...however, if he doesn't have surgery...HE WILL DIE!" The Surgeon starts talking to us and says, "He has a very serious condition. He has a dissected aorta. (pronounced it so perfectly too! I don't know why I noticed that, I guess I'm just observant when something is very important to me!) The reason we are so concerned is there is a tear in his aorta that is bleeding around the sack of his heart. If it ruptures, HE WILL DIE!!! That is why we are hurrying. It will be about an hour before he is in surgery!" At this point I'm thinkin, what the hell are you talkin to me for then bro? GET CRACKIN, THAT'S MY BIG BROTHER! Just then, my Brother says, "Hey, if I die...donate my shit!" I look at him and say, "You're not gonna fuckin die! Mom and Dad are on the way and I will see you in a little bit!" I kiss him on his forehead and tell him that I love him! As they are getting ready to wheel him out, I feel like I should tell him I love him again and kiss him again, so I do! At this point the Nurses are trying to assure my Sister in Law that even though it is VERY serious it will be OK! I remember 2 nurses, Zaherra and Chuck! I can't begin to tell you how much better they made me feel about the situation! They wheel my Brother out and all we can do now is wait!!!!
We get back in the waiting room and try to calm each other down. I call My Dad, and my Brother and tell them both verbatim what's up. I can't sit there anymore. I'm so anxious. Every time the door opened I was looking to see if it is one of the Doctors or Surgeons we talked to. The doors opened so slow too. They would buzz, click and open opposite each other! I just want to get through an hour and know that he is at least IN SURGERY and it didn't rupture. They had told us it was a 5-6 hour surgery so get comfortable. We went downstairs to get something to eat, but I just couldn't quit looking at the time! I don't think time EVER moved that slow for me!!!!! We came back up with some bananas, chips, coffee; and set up camp! Now, I'm getting call after call, and text after text. It was such a big help though, it really helped to take my mind off of what was really going on. My Aunt and Uncle show up, my Brother's Father in Law, my Father in Law, my Wife's Uncle, and next thing you know, we got the ICU lobby locked down!!!! We have a big family! My Mom is one of 12!!!!! Whatchu know about being pregnant for 12 years?????
Finally it is about 1:30pm and I finally feel like some of the weight is lifted off of my shoulders. Enough time has passed that I feel as though he is in surgery and the possibility of his aorta rupturing has passed!!! WOOOOO, at least a little sigh of relief. I call my Brother and he says just about the same thing. He lets me know that he is planning to fly in the next morning and tells me that my Mom and Dad are flying out at 4:00pm and should be there by 6:30 or so. I call my Dad and he tells me the plans and I talk to my Mom for the first time. I can hear the concern in my Mom's voice. My Mom is very soft spoken, and when something serious is going on, you can feel the sincerity in her voice. Things have seemed to calm down a little bit, so I start calling people back and texting people back, just so they now what's going on. I figure if they care enough to call or text, I owe them, at least to keep them in the loop. Another one of my Uncle's call and asks where in the hospital we are. I tell him and he comes walking in. Him and my Brother are 1 year apart. Growing up him and my Brother were real close. He would go camping with us and we spent a lot of time together at my Grams! Of course we get to bullshittin and I tell him the whole story and he just can't believe it, nobody can. We are kind of standing off to the side and I tell him, "You know, when you are in your 30's-40's, you think you are indestructible! This is so crazy! When it is so close to you like this, it is very humbling. All of a sudden you realize that you, or someone that you love could be gone in a second!" He agreed and went on to tell me about a girl that he worked with, that had been gone for a while fighting some ailment. I asked him if he wanted to go have a smoke, so we went to go have a meeting downstairs a long with my Father in Law.
Some time has passed and we still have the lobby locked down. Here comes a Nurse. She introduces herself to my Brother's Wife and says, "I just called down to the O.R. and they said things are progressing the way that they should, they are grafting in the aorta now. I will let you know any further developments as I know." She thanks her up and down and we are all starting to feel better. I'm back on the horn...my Brother, my Dad, my Work, and all my Homies. My Sister in Law and my Wife's Uncle head out to pick my Parents up from the airport. We are probably 3 1/2 hours into the surgery so we head back downstairs to get something to eat. We bring some pizzas up and when we do, my Sister in Law tells me that the Nurse came back out and said they were at a very critical part in the surgery. This is where they re-introduce his heart to his body! Probably within a half an hour the doors open and here comes a Doctor. He comes walking toward us, ehhhhh, he doesn't look familiar but it was crazy in the room, I'm not sure. We make eye contact and I stand up, my Wife stands up next to me, my Brother's Wife stands up too. Now we are all looking at him and everyone has gathered around. He looks a little unsure but keeps walking toward us and says, "Here's what happened..." MY HEART SINKS!!!! He says, "After he choked, his difibulation (don't hate on me if I butchered that, that's Doctor shit right there!!!!) got to 200, but we got it under control!" My Brother's Wife's Dad says, "How did the surgery go?" and the Doctor says, "What surgery??? I'm sorry, I'm sorry...wrong Family" AHHHHH, now I hate to hear about somebody else choking, but I was sooooo glad when that shit wasn't about my Brother!!!!! Within 20 minutes of that, the Surgeon comes walking out. from a door on the other side of the lobby, btw! I been starin at the WRONG DAMN DOOR all day!!!! LOL! He sits down and says, "He is in stable condition. We grafted in a new aorta (sweet pronunciation AGAIN! every word sounded perfect to me after stable!!!!). Normally in a case like this there is further damage to the heart, in his case there WAS NOT! Normally we have to replace the aortic valve, in this case WE DID NOT! We expect him to make a full recovery. He is still under anesthesia, but you should be able to see him TONIGHT!!!!" I can't believe it, a round of hugs and kisses is in order!!!!! I leave my parents a message that he is OK, so when they get off the plane they know. Call my Brother and share the good news! I call everyone that has called and texted all day and let them know that he is gonna be OK!
Ok, first of all, I kind of debated writing this in my blog because it is very personal, but here it goes. So now I'm standing off to the side by myself in the hall way. I just hung up with someone and I decide to text my Brother and tell him that I love him so when he finally comes to he knows how much he means to me. This is exactly what I wrote...I saved the texted! "Chris, You can't imagine how much I love you! I could hardly stand to see you that way. I did all I could to hold it together this morning when I saw you! When I left and heard the diagnosis I completely broke down and thought was it possible that the picture we took on Easter would be the last one I would ever get to take with you. On the way to pick up Katie, I prayed to God to please not let you die and when I saw Katie, I cried and told her that you just couldn't die! To me you were always invincible, someone I always admired and looked up to. The truth is that in life you don't always say those things, but I want you to be able to read this and know from the bottom of my heart I love you with all my heart and soul and would've traded places with you in a minute if I could've! I love you!" as I'm writing this My wife looks at me and asks, "What's wrong? Why are you crying? I said, "I was just texting Chris." She just nods and smiles!
Shortly there after, my Brother's Wife and I go back to see him even though he is still out. They tell us everything that's going on and tell us how good he is actually doing, WE ARE SOOOO RELIEVED!! Finally my parents arrive and everybody is still there, actually more people are on the way! Another Nurse comes out and says we should be able to see him in an hour or so. I take my Dad to the Cafeteria so he can get something to eat for my Mom and Himself. As we are walking back we realize now we have to go through a security check, I try to be sweet to avoid it, but nope. We are waiting and this dude behind us is cussin, carryin on, and talkin all kinds of shit! I'm tryin to humor my man but damn! I turned to my Dad and said, "Just like North Carolina, huh Pop?" LOL!!! That's a whole nother story there! When we get back up to the lobby, my Wife is like, "4 more minutes and it's been an hour!" So we try and go back to see him. They tell us it's gonna be a few and they will come and get us. We finally do get to go back at about 10:30pm. I walked in and he has his eyes closed, I say, "Let me see your eyeballs dude!" He opens em up and I say, "You good dude? You look good! Good to see you dude! I love you!" I told him to get some rest and that my younger Brother was flying in and I would see him in the morning. He gave me a thumbs up. We spent the whole week in the hospital with him. We were there everyday until he got released. I couldn't believe how fast he progressed and how great the staff was! I could go on and on, but I'm gonna wrap this up and spare you all the week's stories, shit there would be like 3 more too be continued's!!!
I wrote this blog, not for a good story, not so I could leave you hangin, and definitely not to put my business or my Family's business out there. I wrote this blog because I love my Brother. It is a tribute to him. I hope it makes you appreciate someone or something a little more. A tribute that says good things that can come from any situation. Maybe you have to try and find the good that comes from a situation and maybe it's staring you in the eye. My Brother is on his way to a full recovery and in my opinion has a NEW outlook on life! My Brother is probably happier than I have ever seen him!!! LIFE REALLY IS TOO SHORT!!!! Make amends, forgive and forget! Don't be one day late, tell the people you love that you love them and FOLLOW YOUR HEART! Smile, Laugh, Love...Just Because! I'm out, Your Boy JC!
I fly out the door, jump in my truck, and turn my radio off! I don't want ANY song to be associated with this! Funny how your brain works! I call my Wife and quickly tell her what's going on. She tells me that her Mom is on the way to my house to watch my little ones and tells me that her Sister is gonna ride down too. Her Sister is a Medic and is actually always there when you need her most. She is always willing to help, especially with my Chit lens, and I can't say how much I appreciate that. My Brother and his Wife just got a puppy and have 2 other dogs, so she figured that my Brother's Wife may need some help. I hang up and call my Brother. I tell him, "It's not good Dude, this is REALLLLL serious!" He says, "Oh I know it is! I looked that shit up on Wikipedia! What are you saying? Do I need to fly in?" I tell him there is not much he can do, but I would try to get here. I tell him I will call him when I get Downtown and know what's going on. I hang up with him and immediately call my Dad. Now, my Mom don't even know what's going on because she's not home. I can't even imagine how my Dad is feeling at this point. He is 700 miles away and all he can do is wait for me to tell him what's going on. I tell him what's going on and I can hear his voice cracking and I know he hears mine cracking too. I tell him word for word what has transpired to this point and tell him I will call him when I get Downtown too! I'm flyin down I-94 and I'm a wreck. I pray to God, "Please don't let my Brother die...Please!!!!" All I can think about is the picture that my Brother and I took on Easter and if this would be the last picture I would ever be in with him!!!! I get home, run in the house, tear off my suit, throw on some jeans, and tell my kids to say a prayer for their Uncle. My Son looks at me and says, "We already did Daddy!" My eyes well up and we are out. I'm in and out of traffic and as we get to about 8 mile, I completely lose it. With tears steaming out of my eyes I say, "He just can't die Ditty (that's what I call my Wife)." Within a couple of minutes I get it under control, but I am driving like a maniac. I'm in and out of traffic and my Sister in Law is trying to follow. Time is tickin and we finally pull in. We call my Brother's Wife and ask her where she is. She says, "5th floor!". We are on our way in. Luckily my Wife's sister is real familiar with the hospital and now we are trying to find my Brother's Wife. She makes a call to someone and boom, she is like, "this way!" We find my Brother's Wife and she is a mess too. She is stuck in the ICU waiting room by herself and they told her they would come and get her in a few. The waiting is straight up excruciating.
Finally someone comes and gets us. We head to the room and my Brother is laying there and there are like 8 Doctors and Nurses bumpin into each other, steppin over each other, and getting him hooked up. We get introduced to a Nurse, a Doctor, and finally a Surgeon. Someone on the team is having my Sister in Law sign waivers explaining what is going on. I remember her saying, "This is saying it's ok to put this in his arm, this is saying that you are ok'ing surgery and you understand that there is a chance of infection, stroke, and death...however, if he doesn't have surgery...HE WILL DIE!" The Surgeon starts talking to us and says, "He has a very serious condition. He has a dissected aorta. (pronounced it so perfectly too! I don't know why I noticed that, I guess I'm just observant when something is very important to me!) The reason we are so concerned is there is a tear in his aorta that is bleeding around the sack of his heart. If it ruptures, HE WILL DIE!!! That is why we are hurrying. It will be about an hour before he is in surgery!" At this point I'm thinkin, what the hell are you talkin to me for then bro? GET CRACKIN, THAT'S MY BIG BROTHER! Just then, my Brother says, "Hey, if I die...donate my shit!" I look at him and say, "You're not gonna fuckin die! Mom and Dad are on the way and I will see you in a little bit!" I kiss him on his forehead and tell him that I love him! As they are getting ready to wheel him out, I feel like I should tell him I love him again and kiss him again, so I do! At this point the Nurses are trying to assure my Sister in Law that even though it is VERY serious it will be OK! I remember 2 nurses, Zaherra and Chuck! I can't begin to tell you how much better they made me feel about the situation! They wheel my Brother out and all we can do now is wait!!!!
We get back in the waiting room and try to calm each other down. I call My Dad, and my Brother and tell them both verbatim what's up. I can't sit there anymore. I'm so anxious. Every time the door opened I was looking to see if it is one of the Doctors or Surgeons we talked to. The doors opened so slow too. They would buzz, click and open opposite each other! I just want to get through an hour and know that he is at least IN SURGERY and it didn't rupture. They had told us it was a 5-6 hour surgery so get comfortable. We went downstairs to get something to eat, but I just couldn't quit looking at the time! I don't think time EVER moved that slow for me!!!!! We came back up with some bananas, chips, coffee; and set up camp! Now, I'm getting call after call, and text after text. It was such a big help though, it really helped to take my mind off of what was really going on. My Aunt and Uncle show up, my Brother's Father in Law, my Father in Law, my Wife's Uncle, and next thing you know, we got the ICU lobby locked down!!!! We have a big family! My Mom is one of 12!!!!! Whatchu know about being pregnant for 12 years?????
Finally it is about 1:30pm and I finally feel like some of the weight is lifted off of my shoulders. Enough time has passed that I feel as though he is in surgery and the possibility of his aorta rupturing has passed!!! WOOOOO, at least a little sigh of relief. I call my Brother and he says just about the same thing. He lets me know that he is planning to fly in the next morning and tells me that my Mom and Dad are flying out at 4:00pm and should be there by 6:30 or so. I call my Dad and he tells me the plans and I talk to my Mom for the first time. I can hear the concern in my Mom's voice. My Mom is very soft spoken, and when something serious is going on, you can feel the sincerity in her voice. Things have seemed to calm down a little bit, so I start calling people back and texting people back, just so they now what's going on. I figure if they care enough to call or text, I owe them, at least to keep them in the loop. Another one of my Uncle's call and asks where in the hospital we are. I tell him and he comes walking in. Him and my Brother are 1 year apart. Growing up him and my Brother were real close. He would go camping with us and we spent a lot of time together at my Grams! Of course we get to bullshittin and I tell him the whole story and he just can't believe it, nobody can. We are kind of standing off to the side and I tell him, "You know, when you are in your 30's-40's, you think you are indestructible! This is so crazy! When it is so close to you like this, it is very humbling. All of a sudden you realize that you, or someone that you love could be gone in a second!" He agreed and went on to tell me about a girl that he worked with, that had been gone for a while fighting some ailment. I asked him if he wanted to go have a smoke, so we went to go have a meeting downstairs a long with my Father in Law.
Some time has passed and we still have the lobby locked down. Here comes a Nurse. She introduces herself to my Brother's Wife and says, "I just called down to the O.R. and they said things are progressing the way that they should, they are grafting in the aorta now. I will let you know any further developments as I know." She thanks her up and down and we are all starting to feel better. I'm back on the horn...my Brother, my Dad, my Work, and all my Homies. My Sister in Law and my Wife's Uncle head out to pick my Parents up from the airport. We are probably 3 1/2 hours into the surgery so we head back downstairs to get something to eat. We bring some pizzas up and when we do, my Sister in Law tells me that the Nurse came back out and said they were at a very critical part in the surgery. This is where they re-introduce his heart to his body! Probably within a half an hour the doors open and here comes a Doctor. He comes walking toward us, ehhhhh, he doesn't look familiar but it was crazy in the room, I'm not sure. We make eye contact and I stand up, my Wife stands up next to me, my Brother's Wife stands up too. Now we are all looking at him and everyone has gathered around. He looks a little unsure but keeps walking toward us and says, "Here's what happened..." MY HEART SINKS!!!! He says, "After he choked, his difibulation (don't hate on me if I butchered that, that's Doctor shit right there!!!!) got to 200, but we got it under control!" My Brother's Wife's Dad says, "How did the surgery go?" and the Doctor says, "What surgery??? I'm sorry, I'm sorry...wrong Family" AHHHHH, now I hate to hear about somebody else choking, but I was sooooo glad when that shit wasn't about my Brother!!!!! Within 20 minutes of that, the Surgeon comes walking out. from a door on the other side of the lobby, btw! I been starin at the WRONG DAMN DOOR all day!!!! LOL! He sits down and says, "He is in stable condition. We grafted in a new aorta (sweet pronunciation AGAIN! every word sounded perfect to me after stable!!!!). Normally in a case like this there is further damage to the heart, in his case there WAS NOT! Normally we have to replace the aortic valve, in this case WE DID NOT! We expect him to make a full recovery. He is still under anesthesia, but you should be able to see him TONIGHT!!!!" I can't believe it, a round of hugs and kisses is in order!!!!! I leave my parents a message that he is OK, so when they get off the plane they know. Call my Brother and share the good news! I call everyone that has called and texted all day and let them know that he is gonna be OK!
Ok, first of all, I kind of debated writing this in my blog because it is very personal, but here it goes. So now I'm standing off to the side by myself in the hall way. I just hung up with someone and I decide to text my Brother and tell him that I love him so when he finally comes to he knows how much he means to me. This is exactly what I wrote...I saved the texted! "Chris, You can't imagine how much I love you! I could hardly stand to see you that way. I did all I could to hold it together this morning when I saw you! When I left and heard the diagnosis I completely broke down and thought was it possible that the picture we took on Easter would be the last one I would ever get to take with you. On the way to pick up Katie, I prayed to God to please not let you die and when I saw Katie, I cried and told her that you just couldn't die! To me you were always invincible, someone I always admired and looked up to. The truth is that in life you don't always say those things, but I want you to be able to read this and know from the bottom of my heart I love you with all my heart and soul and would've traded places with you in a minute if I could've! I love you!" as I'm writing this My wife looks at me and asks, "What's wrong? Why are you crying? I said, "I was just texting Chris." She just nods and smiles!
Shortly there after, my Brother's Wife and I go back to see him even though he is still out. They tell us everything that's going on and tell us how good he is actually doing, WE ARE SOOOO RELIEVED!! Finally my parents arrive and everybody is still there, actually more people are on the way! Another Nurse comes out and says we should be able to see him in an hour or so. I take my Dad to the Cafeteria so he can get something to eat for my Mom and Himself. As we are walking back we realize now we have to go through a security check, I try to be sweet to avoid it, but nope. We are waiting and this dude behind us is cussin, carryin on, and talkin all kinds of shit! I'm tryin to humor my man but damn! I turned to my Dad and said, "Just like North Carolina, huh Pop?" LOL!!! That's a whole nother story there! When we get back up to the lobby, my Wife is like, "4 more minutes and it's been an hour!" So we try and go back to see him. They tell us it's gonna be a few and they will come and get us. We finally do get to go back at about 10:30pm. I walked in and he has his eyes closed, I say, "Let me see your eyeballs dude!" He opens em up and I say, "You good dude? You look good! Good to see you dude! I love you!" I told him to get some rest and that my younger Brother was flying in and I would see him in the morning. He gave me a thumbs up. We spent the whole week in the hospital with him. We were there everyday until he got released. I couldn't believe how fast he progressed and how great the staff was! I could go on and on, but I'm gonna wrap this up and spare you all the week's stories, shit there would be like 3 more too be continued's!!!
I wrote this blog, not for a good story, not so I could leave you hangin, and definitely not to put my business or my Family's business out there. I wrote this blog because I love my Brother. It is a tribute to him. I hope it makes you appreciate someone or something a little more. A tribute that says good things that can come from any situation. Maybe you have to try and find the good that comes from a situation and maybe it's staring you in the eye. My Brother is on his way to a full recovery and in my opinion has a NEW outlook on life! My Brother is probably happier than I have ever seen him!!! LIFE REALLY IS TOO SHORT!!!! Make amends, forgive and forget! Don't be one day late, tell the people you love that you love them and FOLLOW YOUR HEART! Smile, Laugh, Love...Just Because! I'm out, Your Boy JC!
Wednesday, May 8, 2013
Too Close for Comfort!!!
I'm baaaaaack! Sorry it's been so long. I checked my blog stats before getting started tonight and I can't believe I got 5 hits on May 6th and I haven't written anything in almost 2 years. It has been too long, but I wasn't really in the right state of mind for a minute. Now however...I'm in a great state of mind!
I have sooooo many things I would like to write about that I really don't know where to start. I guess if I kinda start in order of importance that would make the decision easy. So I'm gonna tell you a story about my Brother.
I got a call from my Brother a couple of days before Easter asking if I had anything going on. I told him we were gonna have dinner at my house at about 3pm or 4pm. He said he would try to make it, but he couldn't make any promises. I told him, I hoped he could, even if he just popped in for a few. He called on Easter Sunday and said he would be by at about 4pm or so, which was gonna work out perfect cuz we basically just sat down when he arrived. Boom, Bang, set an extra place, got him a glass of Licka (Jack Daniels...My House, My Flavor, bring your own if you don't like Whiskey, Bourbon, or Scotch :) and we're good to go. I made a BAD ASS Turkey, I'm talkin outta of a commercial type shit!!! Juices runnin all down the breast as it was getting sliced up. Goot Lord!! Sausage in the stuffing too!!!! Damn, My mouth is watering. BTW, who doesn't put sausage in the stuffing?? That shit just don't seem right to me. My Gram woulda been so proud of me, miss you Gram! Anyway, back to the story. So after dinner we run up to the store real quick and my Brother tells me that he is going to make a conscious effort to be around the family more. I tell him, "That's great dude, we love to have you around!" He then tells me that he has been writing back and forth with my Mom who is in North Carolina for the Winter. UHHHHHH, HEY DUDE, I'M supposed to be the favorite! Quit tryin to become the favorite. LOL. Both my Brother's say I'm the favorite! So, we get back to my house and we are out back drinkin and carrying on how we do and all of a sudden he says, "Let's take a picture." Now for my Brother this is way outta character. He generally doesn't like to be in pictures. My Mom and Dad on the other hand, they are the Grand-Poperatsee (sorry if I butchered the spelling). My Mom always takes a picture, shit, picturessssssss if we are over. Which I have to say, I love. Pictures are worth 1000 words, EASY! Back to my Brother though. I'm so caught off guard by this, I say, "Of what Dude?" He says, "Of me and you Dummy!" So we take one and he says, "Naaa, that's not a good one, let's take another." I'm like what????? So we take another, NOPE, not a good one! Bang, third times a charm. He likes it and we're good. To wrap up Easter real quick, he hangs out for a while after that, takes some more pictures, and takes a video of my Daughter dancing downstairs. I tell him I was glad he came by and business as usual right???? WRONG, lemme fast forward (>>>>>>>) 2 days!
Tuesday, I get up and get ready for work. I'm expecting a nice easy day. I'm supposed to be in a training seminar in Novi at 1pm. Shit, I didn't even shave. I get to work, get me a cup of coffee, fire up my computer, crack a couple of jokes and my phone rings. It's my Sister in Law. She says, "BIG JC (jk, jk, lol)!" She says, "Jeff, your Brother passed out at the gym. He said it's no big deal and not to call, but I'm a little worried. His Blood Pressure is pretty low!" I tell her, "I'm on my way!" So I go into the General Manager's office and tell him what's going on and tell him I'll be back about 11:30am so I can get to training. I tell a couple more people what's up and think to myself, shit...good workout dude! I've damn near passed out at the gym plenty of times. When I get there, He's not in the room though. My Sister in law tells me that 1 EKG came back ok and the other came back, EHHHH. They sent him down for a CT Scan and I tried to assure my Sister in Law that it was all good and he would be fine. When he got wheeled back into the room though, things got realllll serious! I asked my Brother how he felt and he said, "I feel like I got hit by a truck!" Here comes a Nurse. My Sister in Law asks her if she knows anything. She says, "We think he could have a Dissected Aorta, but we sent the CT scan down to Radiology!" I'm no Doctor, but this doesn't sound good and I'm getting nervous. I walk out of the room, call my Dad, my Brother, and my Wife and fill them in. They already knew I was headed there but were waiting on me to let them know what was up. I go back in and here comes the Doctor and he says, "You have a Dissected Aorta and you need surgery! I don't know if our Cardio Thoracic team can handle it or if you need to be air lifted to Main!" AIRRRRR LIFTED????? WHATTT???? I follow the doctor into some office and ask him how long it will take and he says he's gonna make a call and see. Then says it may be faster to get him there by EMS. I walk outta the ER and call my Manager and can't even hold it together. I call my Dad (who is NC), my Brother (who is also in NC), and my Wife. I get back in the room and within a couple of minutes EMS is there and the Doctor looks at them and says, "Full blown lights and sirens you guys...Get him there!!!" EMS says one of us can ride with them. So My Sister in law is gonna ride with them and I run out the door to get my Wife and get Downtown. I catch the Doctor on the way out and ask him if it's life threatening. He says as he looks me square in the eyes, "YES, but he is going where he needs to go!" I thanked him and FLEWWWW out the door!
TO BE CONTINUED...
(Sorry it works for the Dukes of Hazzard at the jumps!)
PS. In the mean time tell the people you love, that you love them! Don't forget to SMILE! I'm out, Your Boy JC!
I have sooooo many things I would like to write about that I really don't know where to start. I guess if I kinda start in order of importance that would make the decision easy. So I'm gonna tell you a story about my Brother.
I got a call from my Brother a couple of days before Easter asking if I had anything going on. I told him we were gonna have dinner at my house at about 3pm or 4pm. He said he would try to make it, but he couldn't make any promises. I told him, I hoped he could, even if he just popped in for a few. He called on Easter Sunday and said he would be by at about 4pm or so, which was gonna work out perfect cuz we basically just sat down when he arrived. Boom, Bang, set an extra place, got him a glass of Licka (Jack Daniels...My House, My Flavor, bring your own if you don't like Whiskey, Bourbon, or Scotch :) and we're good to go. I made a BAD ASS Turkey, I'm talkin outta of a commercial type shit!!! Juices runnin all down the breast as it was getting sliced up. Goot Lord!! Sausage in the stuffing too!!!! Damn, My mouth is watering. BTW, who doesn't put sausage in the stuffing?? That shit just don't seem right to me. My Gram woulda been so proud of me, miss you Gram! Anyway, back to the story. So after dinner we run up to the store real quick and my Brother tells me that he is going to make a conscious effort to be around the family more. I tell him, "That's great dude, we love to have you around!" He then tells me that he has been writing back and forth with my Mom who is in North Carolina for the Winter. UHHHHHH, HEY DUDE, I'M supposed to be the favorite! Quit tryin to become the favorite. LOL. Both my Brother's say I'm the favorite! So, we get back to my house and we are out back drinkin and carrying on how we do and all of a sudden he says, "Let's take a picture." Now for my Brother this is way outta character. He generally doesn't like to be in pictures. My Mom and Dad on the other hand, they are the Grand-Poperatsee (sorry if I butchered the spelling). My Mom always takes a picture, shit, picturessssssss if we are over. Which I have to say, I love. Pictures are worth 1000 words, EASY! Back to my Brother though. I'm so caught off guard by this, I say, "Of what Dude?" He says, "Of me and you Dummy!" So we take one and he says, "Naaa, that's not a good one, let's take another." I'm like what????? So we take another, NOPE, not a good one! Bang, third times a charm. He likes it and we're good. To wrap up Easter real quick, he hangs out for a while after that, takes some more pictures, and takes a video of my Daughter dancing downstairs. I tell him I was glad he came by and business as usual right???? WRONG, lemme fast forward (>>>>>>>) 2 days!
Tuesday, I get up and get ready for work. I'm expecting a nice easy day. I'm supposed to be in a training seminar in Novi at 1pm. Shit, I didn't even shave. I get to work, get me a cup of coffee, fire up my computer, crack a couple of jokes and my phone rings. It's my Sister in Law. She says, "BIG JC (jk, jk, lol)!" She says, "Jeff, your Brother passed out at the gym. He said it's no big deal and not to call, but I'm a little worried. His Blood Pressure is pretty low!" I tell her, "I'm on my way!" So I go into the General Manager's office and tell him what's going on and tell him I'll be back about 11:30am so I can get to training. I tell a couple more people what's up and think to myself, shit...good workout dude! I've damn near passed out at the gym plenty of times. When I get there, He's not in the room though. My Sister in law tells me that 1 EKG came back ok and the other came back, EHHHH. They sent him down for a CT Scan and I tried to assure my Sister in Law that it was all good and he would be fine. When he got wheeled back into the room though, things got realllll serious! I asked my Brother how he felt and he said, "I feel like I got hit by a truck!" Here comes a Nurse. My Sister in Law asks her if she knows anything. She says, "We think he could have a Dissected Aorta, but we sent the CT scan down to Radiology!" I'm no Doctor, but this doesn't sound good and I'm getting nervous. I walk out of the room, call my Dad, my Brother, and my Wife and fill them in. They already knew I was headed there but were waiting on me to let them know what was up. I go back in and here comes the Doctor and he says, "You have a Dissected Aorta and you need surgery! I don't know if our Cardio Thoracic team can handle it or if you need to be air lifted to Main!" AIRRRRR LIFTED????? WHATTT???? I follow the doctor into some office and ask him how long it will take and he says he's gonna make a call and see. Then says it may be faster to get him there by EMS. I walk outta the ER and call my Manager and can't even hold it together. I call my Dad (who is NC), my Brother (who is also in NC), and my Wife. I get back in the room and within a couple of minutes EMS is there and the Doctor looks at them and says, "Full blown lights and sirens you guys...Get him there!!!" EMS says one of us can ride with them. So My Sister in law is gonna ride with them and I run out the door to get my Wife and get Downtown. I catch the Doctor on the way out and ask him if it's life threatening. He says as he looks me square in the eyes, "YES, but he is going where he needs to go!" I thanked him and FLEWWWW out the door!
TO BE CONTINUED...
(Sorry it works for the Dukes of Hazzard at the jumps!)
PS. In the mean time tell the people you love, that you love them! Don't forget to SMILE! I'm out, Your Boy JC!
Friday, July 15, 2011
I Might Shit Myself, but I'm Still Talkin Shit!
Happy Friday people!!! We just got back from a road trip to North Carolina to see my Brother and his family. We rode out 12 hrs straight, 4 deep, in the Boo (that would be my way of sayin Malibu...sounds much sweeter to me). "Oh, there can't be more than one brown 79 Malibu?" That's what my boy Dee said when the bouncer wouldn't let us in the club one night!!! Now that's a whole nother story, Lol!! Anyway, we were PACKED in there, I MEAN PACKED!!! You know how it is when you are little, you gotta bring your pillow, your blanket (even though it's 85-ish the whole way), your teddy bearsssssss, your gamesssss, your dvd, your DS, and your just in case too!!! Plus my little ones are still in boosters, which is total crap by the way! When I was little, I woulda been layin down the whole way, no booster, and no seat belt either!!! Although we were usually ridin out in a van that had just a huuuur more room than the Boo! Did I mention that the kids had to ride with the cooler between them too? I burned all kinds of music to listen to and as I have told you all before, I love to just cruise. The driver isn't all cluttered up with a bunch of shit, just a big ass coffee and cds which all fit neatly in the map pocket! The poor front passenger, let's just say that's definitely NOT the best seat in the house!!!! Ditty asked me if I wanted her to drive, but I wasn't giving up my plush accommodations. We leave Friday at 6:00am and plan to get to my Brother's at about 6:00pm that evening. I must say, it is a pretty scenic ride after you get through Ohio (GO BLUE you Buckeye BITCHES!!!! LMAO)! West Virginia and Virginia are just beautiful! Coming out of Virginia into North Carolina has got to be some of the most beautiful countyside ever. As a matter of fact I saw a bunch of bumper stickers that said, "Virginia is for lovers"...unless I read it wrong and it said "Vagina", LMAOOOOO, my bad, couldn't pass that up! I mean that is for lovers too!!! Thank God for the bumpy hook ups on the shoulder, cuz I may have went off a cliff looking "down in the valley, valley sooooo low"!
Ok, so we finally get there and pretty much on schedule too. We are gettin settled in, and my Brother fires up the grille. We are all starving, well except the kids, the excitement is just tooo much for them! They are CRAZYYYYY excited to see each other! After we eat, me and my Brother start shootin hoops with the kids and messin around with em. We get a little game going, the Kids vs Me and Chizz. We try to let em win, but if you keep missin your opportunity, we gotta beat you...little or not!!!! We let em steal the ball, some bad passes, bad shots, and even miss rebounds (I mean DAMN we got at least 2 feet on all 3 of em)! So we beat em, YESSSSSSSS!!!!! That's right, WE WIN!!! No here's a "participation ribbon", you tried and you are a winner too! How bout this, "You can't beat us, we're just toooo big, toooo strong, and toooo sweet for you!" Which leads me in to my main story.
So I drove 12hrs straight. My back is a little tight, but I figure hey, let's play a little Horse Chizz. I mean we did already whip the kids and now they are discouraged and we are feelin good cuz we are the CHAMPS!!! We are both pretty competitive! I really don't know anyone who is gonna turn down a Horse challenge anyway. By the way, doesn't it suck when you get HO, and then everyone talks shit? So we start playin and we both have an "H", I figure I gotta step my game up, couple of crazy shots, a reverse dunk (rim adjusted to 9ft of course) and I'm feelin sweet!!! I tell my Brother, "I'm about to hit a 360 on your ass!" He tries to warn me, but I don't listen! As long as I can remember, my Brother has kept me outta trouble, looked out for me, and is probably the reason I'm still alive...Thanks Chizz, if I never thanked you, love you! I back up, couple of dribbles, and then make my move! I take to the air, the rotation is feelin pretty as hell too, and then BONKKKKKKKKK!!!!! Packed by the rim, ANDDDD blow my back out too. You lucked out Chizzle cuz you woulda been HO after that!!! The next day we are havin a BBQ and Chizzle asks his boy if he can bring me some muscle relaxers...Praise the Lord, he does! By Wednesday, I'm in tip top shape boyyyyy and we take the kids to the pool. just me, him, and the 3 kiddies. We tell them we have 1 hour because we had just got back from a 2 hour ride from the ocean. There are 3 other people at the pool, a Mom and her 2 little girls. They stay for a bit, we asked them to take a picture of all of us and then they shake. Now, we have the pool all to ourselves. We look at the clock and it's getting pretty close to the hour mark. Now, another Mom comes with her 2 little ones. I look at the clock and decide to start talkin shit about racing my brother one lap across the pool. He says, "Jeff, No, I'm not racing you!" Of course I start telling the kids he can't beat me in no realllll shit, if it's not a video game he's hit, and that's why he won't race me!!! Now he is making his way to the starting block though, he will hardly ever turn down a challenge, ESPECIALLY if you talk shit!!! He says, "How bout we just race the width of the pool?" I tell him, "Chizz, by the time we dive in, we are gonna be half way across anyway!!" He says, " Dive in?" I said, "Yeah dude, come on." So we get down to the one end and we debate for a minute on proper form of how to start. Michael Phelps style of course, well, just short of the flip-a-roo on the other side because both of us could possibly pass out from 2 laps! I tell the kids, watch for the winner and you gotta say on your mark, get set, go! This Mom there with her 2 little ones is smiling at us like we are crazy, maybe so, but we are always having fun! The kids call it out...and we're off, neither of us swim great above water so we stay under as long as possible. As I come up and turn my head to my left, we are neck and neck half way through the race. I say to myself, "GO, get them arms movin!" To be honest, I didn't know my arms could move that fast, I was like a fine oiled machine. The only problem was the finely oiled "younger machine" was next to me and I could see he was inching ahead! When I say inching ahead, I mean it! We were SOOOO close, but I could see he was gonna get me, so at the last minute...I tried to grab him with one arm and grab the wall with the other!!! I was able to give him a sweet scratch on his chest, but definitely lost. I heard his son say, "Daddy, you won! and heard both of my little ones say, "Uncle Kevin won!" So I did what any fierce competitor would, Blamed that shit on my bad back!!!! HELLLLLOOOOOOOO, that's legit!!!!! I had to take muscle relaxers, DUHHHHH!
I think that you have to keep competing, keep doing things you would in your youth, and KEEP talking shit too!!! I'm 35 years old, but I promise I don't act it! Maybe by the time I'm in my 80's I'll act like I'm 35-40, I don't know. I might shit myself or wet the bed, but I'm still gonna talk shit and act like I'm half my age! You gotta keep acting young, the kids have it right...That's why they're always smiling!!! Your Boy JC, and I'm out!!!
Ok, so we finally get there and pretty much on schedule too. We are gettin settled in, and my Brother fires up the grille. We are all starving, well except the kids, the excitement is just tooo much for them! They are CRAZYYYYY excited to see each other! After we eat, me and my Brother start shootin hoops with the kids and messin around with em. We get a little game going, the Kids vs Me and Chizz. We try to let em win, but if you keep missin your opportunity, we gotta beat you...little or not!!!! We let em steal the ball, some bad passes, bad shots, and even miss rebounds (I mean DAMN we got at least 2 feet on all 3 of em)! So we beat em, YESSSSSSSS!!!!! That's right, WE WIN!!! No here's a "participation ribbon", you tried and you are a winner too! How bout this, "You can't beat us, we're just toooo big, toooo strong, and toooo sweet for you!" Which leads me in to my main story.
So I drove 12hrs straight. My back is a little tight, but I figure hey, let's play a little Horse Chizz. I mean we did already whip the kids and now they are discouraged and we are feelin good cuz we are the CHAMPS!!! We are both pretty competitive! I really don't know anyone who is gonna turn down a Horse challenge anyway. By the way, doesn't it suck when you get HO, and then everyone talks shit? So we start playin and we both have an "H", I figure I gotta step my game up, couple of crazy shots, a reverse dunk (rim adjusted to 9ft of course) and I'm feelin sweet!!! I tell my Brother, "I'm about to hit a 360 on your ass!" He tries to warn me, but I don't listen! As long as I can remember, my Brother has kept me outta trouble, looked out for me, and is probably the reason I'm still alive...Thanks Chizz, if I never thanked you, love you! I back up, couple of dribbles, and then make my move! I take to the air, the rotation is feelin pretty as hell too, and then BONKKKKKKKKK!!!!! Packed by the rim, ANDDDD blow my back out too. You lucked out Chizzle cuz you woulda been HO after that!!! The next day we are havin a BBQ and Chizzle asks his boy if he can bring me some muscle relaxers...Praise the Lord, he does! By Wednesday, I'm in tip top shape boyyyyy and we take the kids to the pool. just me, him, and the 3 kiddies. We tell them we have 1 hour because we had just got back from a 2 hour ride from the ocean. There are 3 other people at the pool, a Mom and her 2 little girls. They stay for a bit, we asked them to take a picture of all of us and then they shake. Now, we have the pool all to ourselves. We look at the clock and it's getting pretty close to the hour mark. Now, another Mom comes with her 2 little ones. I look at the clock and decide to start talkin shit about racing my brother one lap across the pool. He says, "Jeff, No, I'm not racing you!" Of course I start telling the kids he can't beat me in no realllll shit, if it's not a video game he's hit, and that's why he won't race me!!! Now he is making his way to the starting block though, he will hardly ever turn down a challenge, ESPECIALLY if you talk shit!!! He says, "How bout we just race the width of the pool?" I tell him, "Chizz, by the time we dive in, we are gonna be half way across anyway!!" He says, " Dive in?" I said, "Yeah dude, come on." So we get down to the one end and we debate for a minute on proper form of how to start. Michael Phelps style of course, well, just short of the flip-a-roo on the other side because both of us could possibly pass out from 2 laps! I tell the kids, watch for the winner and you gotta say on your mark, get set, go! This Mom there with her 2 little ones is smiling at us like we are crazy, maybe so, but we are always having fun! The kids call it out...and we're off, neither of us swim great above water so we stay under as long as possible. As I come up and turn my head to my left, we are neck and neck half way through the race. I say to myself, "GO, get them arms movin!" To be honest, I didn't know my arms could move that fast, I was like a fine oiled machine. The only problem was the finely oiled "younger machine" was next to me and I could see he was inching ahead! When I say inching ahead, I mean it! We were SOOOO close, but I could see he was gonna get me, so at the last minute...I tried to grab him with one arm and grab the wall with the other!!! I was able to give him a sweet scratch on his chest, but definitely lost. I heard his son say, "Daddy, you won! and heard both of my little ones say, "Uncle Kevin won!" So I did what any fierce competitor would, Blamed that shit on my bad back!!!! HELLLLLOOOOOOOO, that's legit!!!!! I had to take muscle relaxers, DUHHHHH!
I think that you have to keep competing, keep doing things you would in your youth, and KEEP talking shit too!!! I'm 35 years old, but I promise I don't act it! Maybe by the time I'm in my 80's I'll act like I'm 35-40, I don't know. I might shit myself or wet the bed, but I'm still gonna talk shit and act like I'm half my age! You gotta keep acting young, the kids have it right...That's why they're always smiling!!! Your Boy JC, and I'm out!!!
Monday, July 4, 2011
4th of July Jump In The Lake With Your Clothes On
There is nothing like a nice hot sunny 4th of July day...when you get the urge to jump in the lake. Yes, I said jump in the lake. That's what I did today. I went to my sister Carol's house. She lives right on Lake St. Clair, not too far from New Baltimore. There is always lots of fun going on at her house during the summer months. She and her hubby, Rick have been welcoming hosts to everyone, throughout the years. Today was no exception. There we were, eating, drinking, laughing and soaking up the sun....
Well it got pretty hot, and I began to sweat. I forgot my bathing suit. I said to myself, "so what, if my clothes get wet...they'll dry" (why just the other day, my granddaughter said, "the sun can dry your hair, grandma") I figure now, the sun can dry my clothes, too. Off the chair I go! Jumped right in the lake, clothes and all. I meet Carol there (she had her swimsuit) Karen, my niece and David, my nephew....they all had their swimsuits on, too!
Oh what a free spirit feeling (almost like being naked ... one could swim that way also, but there were just too many people around for that.)
Meanwhile, my sis' floaty is floating off her dock waiting for another passenger. I swim to it. My clothes are dragging me down a little bit. Eventually, I reach the floaty I encounter a little difficulty trying to climb aboard. I call for some assistance to push my "big ol' booty" over the side and onto the officially named, Rest & Relaxation Station Floaty. Carol pushed, Karen pulled, we all laughed so hard that the "big ol' booty" with clothes on, barely made it.
Finally aboard the Rest & Relaxation Station Floaty, we're doing just that. Restin' and relaxin', floatin' and a talkin', when my nephew David says with a shiver and a chill, "Aunt Lin, I'm freezing?" I say, "Well, honey, that's because you ain't got no clothes on".
So don't worry about getting your clothes wet on a nice hot day. The sun will dry them eventually. In the meantime, if you're cold, they just might keep you warm.
Happy 4th of July, Everyone....LKC
Well it got pretty hot, and I began to sweat. I forgot my bathing suit. I said to myself, "so what, if my clothes get wet...they'll dry" (why just the other day, my granddaughter said, "the sun can dry your hair, grandma") I figure now, the sun can dry my clothes, too. Off the chair I go! Jumped right in the lake, clothes and all. I meet Carol there (she had her swimsuit) Karen, my niece and David, my nephew....they all had their swimsuits on, too!
Oh what a free spirit feeling (almost like being naked ... one could swim that way also, but there were just too many people around for that.)
Meanwhile, my sis' floaty is floating off her dock waiting for another passenger. I swim to it. My clothes are dragging me down a little bit. Eventually, I reach the floaty I encounter a little difficulty trying to climb aboard. I call for some assistance to push my "big ol' booty" over the side and onto the officially named, Rest & Relaxation Station Floaty. Carol pushed, Karen pulled, we all laughed so hard that the "big ol' booty" with clothes on, barely made it.
Finally aboard the Rest & Relaxation Station Floaty, we're doing just that. Restin' and relaxin', floatin' and a talkin', when my nephew David says with a shiver and a chill, "Aunt Lin, I'm freezing?" I say, "Well, honey, that's because you ain't got no clothes on".
So don't worry about getting your clothes wet on a nice hot day. The sun will dry them eventually. In the meantime, if you're cold, they just might keep you warm.
Happy 4th of July, Everyone....LKC
Friday, June 24, 2011
What's on Your Mind?
You know it's funny, I have all these thoughts in my head but sometimes I sit down to write something and I just can't seem to get it right. It's like I write 2 sentences, delete, 2 sentence, delete...etc. So then I try to think of a title for what I'm going to write and when I do, it gives me some kind of direction. All of a sudden, I'm FURIOUSLY 2 fingerin this keyboard! All my thoughts seem to come out right, at least to me. So here's what I got for you tonight.
Like I told you in my last blog, I definitely believe in God. I believe that there has to be a higher power. Bear with me a minute, this isn't going to be me preachin, it's just the set up for my thought. When there is something that is weighing on my mind, I turn to God. I am not an overly religious person by any means, but I do say a prayer almost every night. I try to go to church to set a good example for my kids, but I don't believe that you HAVE to go to church to have a good relationship with God. After all, I listen to "Devil Music"! As a matter of fact, I just came up on some Motley Crue tickets, so I'll be shoutin at the devil Wednesday! Shit, I've seen Ozzy with and without Black Sabbath countless times, Slayer, White Zombie, Pantera, Marilyn Manson, every other bad influence, make you kill yourself, and sacrifice an animal band you can think of.
I started teaching my kids the "Our Father" and also "Hail Mary". After we say those prayers, I start to say a prayer that my Mom taught me to say when I was little. Me and my younger Brother shared a room growing up and if you asked us to recite a prayer, we would probably say just about the same thing. It would DEFINITELY start the same... Dear God, thank you for this day...I basically just thank God for everything I have, I guess I don't really ask for much and if I do, it's something that means a whole lot to me. I happened to be talking to my Brother a couple of weeks ago while I was headed to a party and we got started talking about this. Now my brother believes in goals, direction, plans, and having a destination more than anyone I personally know. Now, I started writing a book awhile ago and what made me start writing it was a post on Facebook that said, "I am a happy endings kind of person". I believe that everything will work out and for me it always does! I told him what my kids said they were thankful for and proceeded to tell him that I attribute my outlook on life to the way that WE pray. He said he had read somewhere that when you pray you should pray what you are thankful for. I am not trying to say there is a right or a wrong way to pray, DEFINITELY not!!! I do however attribute that things work out for me in life the way I want because of the way I pray. In my opinion, God gives you free will and opportunity, what you do with it is your business. With all my heart I believe you can have anything you put your mind to. You do however, HAVE to have a destination or a goal. so I don't think that it's God blessing me with all this "good fortune". There are a lot more deserving people, I'm sure. I believe YOU make your own "good fortune". This is the thought that was most interesting to me though. Things always work out for me and all these opportunities arise in my life, but these are the SAME things I thank God for EVERY night. When I told my Brother that I thank God for all the opportunities in my life, he said, "Me too Jeff, word for word!" I think your mind is SO powerful and if you say something over and over and over, whether it be the form of a prayer or in the form of a goal, consciously or sub-consciously you work toward it and DO achieve it!
All of these self help books and get rich books say the same things, just in a different way. The one thing they have in common though are goals and repetition. If you tell yourself over and over again that you don't deserve something in your life, you don't! Ultimately, consciously or sub-consciously you make that thought so. If you say things like that don't happen to me, they don't! It's not because you didn't or don't have the opportunity, it's because you didn't or don't take your chance on the opportunity to make it so. On the other hand, if you say, hey I deserve this...it ALWAYS seems to work out! Tell me I'm wrong and I'll holler BULLSHIT! If something is constantly on your mind, whether it be good or bad, I believe it WILL come to pass!!! So just what is it that's in the back of your mind? I know what's on mine! Go ahead and muuuurinate on that for a minute? Your Boy JC...and I'm out!
Like I told you in my last blog, I definitely believe in God. I believe that there has to be a higher power. Bear with me a minute, this isn't going to be me preachin, it's just the set up for my thought. When there is something that is weighing on my mind, I turn to God. I am not an overly religious person by any means, but I do say a prayer almost every night. I try to go to church to set a good example for my kids, but I don't believe that you HAVE to go to church to have a good relationship with God. After all, I listen to "Devil Music"! As a matter of fact, I just came up on some Motley Crue tickets, so I'll be shoutin at the devil Wednesday! Shit, I've seen Ozzy with and without Black Sabbath countless times, Slayer, White Zombie, Pantera, Marilyn Manson, every other bad influence, make you kill yourself, and sacrifice an animal band you can think of.
I started teaching my kids the "Our Father" and also "Hail Mary". After we say those prayers, I start to say a prayer that my Mom taught me to say when I was little. Me and my younger Brother shared a room growing up and if you asked us to recite a prayer, we would probably say just about the same thing. It would DEFINITELY start the same... Dear God, thank you for this day...I basically just thank God for everything I have, I guess I don't really ask for much and if I do, it's something that means a whole lot to me. I happened to be talking to my Brother a couple of weeks ago while I was headed to a party and we got started talking about this. Now my brother believes in goals, direction, plans, and having a destination more than anyone I personally know. Now, I started writing a book awhile ago and what made me start writing it was a post on Facebook that said, "I am a happy endings kind of person". I believe that everything will work out and for me it always does! I told him what my kids said they were thankful for and proceeded to tell him that I attribute my outlook on life to the way that WE pray. He said he had read somewhere that when you pray you should pray what you are thankful for. I am not trying to say there is a right or a wrong way to pray, DEFINITELY not!!! I do however attribute that things work out for me in life the way I want because of the way I pray. In my opinion, God gives you free will and opportunity, what you do with it is your business. With all my heart I believe you can have anything you put your mind to. You do however, HAVE to have a destination or a goal. so I don't think that it's God blessing me with all this "good fortune". There are a lot more deserving people, I'm sure. I believe YOU make your own "good fortune". This is the thought that was most interesting to me though. Things always work out for me and all these opportunities arise in my life, but these are the SAME things I thank God for EVERY night. When I told my Brother that I thank God for all the opportunities in my life, he said, "Me too Jeff, word for word!" I think your mind is SO powerful and if you say something over and over and over, whether it be the form of a prayer or in the form of a goal, consciously or sub-consciously you work toward it and DO achieve it!
All of these self help books and get rich books say the same things, just in a different way. The one thing they have in common though are goals and repetition. If you tell yourself over and over again that you don't deserve something in your life, you don't! Ultimately, consciously or sub-consciously you make that thought so. If you say things like that don't happen to me, they don't! It's not because you didn't or don't have the opportunity, it's because you didn't or don't take your chance on the opportunity to make it so. On the other hand, if you say, hey I deserve this...it ALWAYS seems to work out! Tell me I'm wrong and I'll holler BULLSHIT! If something is constantly on your mind, whether it be good or bad, I believe it WILL come to pass!!! So just what is it that's in the back of your mind? I know what's on mine! Go ahead and muuuurinate on that for a minute? Your Boy JC...and I'm out!
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