Hey, Ya Know What?

Blogs of People You Know in Everyday Life

When it comes to bloggers, there is plenty that intrigues and interests me. One of the things that interests me most is reading the blogs of people I know in real, everyday life. They can usually be broken down into two categories when it comes to what they write about. I know bloggers from each.

1. Some are the same whether in real life or on their blog. It’s never hard to see similarities in what they say and how they act those things out. Their transparency is obvious and their honesty is refreshing. I really appreciate these blogs. I will give you one example: Ernie.

2. The others are not at all the same in real life as they are on their blog. It could be that they are projecting what they wish they were and are not like they are in real life. It’s possible that they think what they are writing reflects their real life. These are the people you read and think, wow, that’s not what they are doing or saying in real life. These people bug me, but I kind of understand them. I won’t give examples here because it may hurt someone’s feelings.

I guess we could add another category and say that we all do some of both, but I am talking about what these bloggers are doing most of the time. I suspect that most bloggers (well, non-pros with blogs mostly about them and their lives) fall into one of these categories.

As a blogger, it’s a good exercise for me to see where I mostly fall and to make sure I am not in group number 2. I THINK most of the people who know me in real life and read my blog would say I am in the first group, but it would be so easy to slip into group number 2. That is why I try not to be too critical of those people.

Anyway, not sure there is a point to this post other than it being a good reminder to myself to not be a fake and if there is something I want to change in my life, I do more than just write about it.

Today, My Wife and I Celebrate our Anniversary

13 years ago I said “I do”. I said I would love Evette forever and be hers only. I told her and the world that I wanted nothing else. All these years later I love her more. It’s easy to do. See, in 13 years she’s seen the best and the worst of me. She’s been through the good and the bad. And she knows by now that I definitely got the better end of the deal. ;-) In spite of it all, She still loves me. She still treats me like she did the first month we dated. She still lights up when she sees me. Go figure?

Here’s to you my bride. Thank you for loving me. Thank you for your patience. Thank you for knowing what the moment calls and for giving me what I need in those moments. Thank you for our beautiful children. You absolutely, positively rock. That’s no lie.

Today we celebrate. We celebrate our love and the home we’ve made together. We celebrate how God has helped us overcome so much and how gracious he as been to us. We celebrate our journey thus far. It’s been quite a ride. The best part? We’ve hardly gotten started.

This Doesn't Seem Very Smart to Me

I understand wanting to be fair. I really really do. But why on earth would he actually single out "white male construction workers"?

It's Still About Race?

What do you think about this? On a day of celebration and unity, how do these lines from the Inaugural Benediction strike you? I found them a little out of place, but wanted to wait till today to say anything.

Rev. Joseph Lowery's impassioned benediction - Faith & Reason.

....help us work for that day when black will not be asked to give back, when brown can stick around, when yellow will be mellow, when the red man can get ahead, man, and when white will embrace what is right."

For the record, I THINK I know what he meant here and that it probably was not meant to offend or separate us. But I am white and I know a lot of white people (obviously) and many of them will hear this and immediately groan...

Has This Election Defined Who/What My Kids Are?

I’ve watched a lot of coverage the last couple of days. It’s a very historic time and I don’t want to miss anything. One of the main themes in much of the coverage is “First Black President” or “First African American President”. This is how he is identified in spite of one parent and half his heritage being “White”. Sure, that gets mentioned occasionally, but it is usually in passing.

Since the birth of our first child, this has been a discussion for us. What ethnic group will they be associated with? How would we like them to respond to the question “what (race) are you?” We made the decision early on and if you ask one of them now, they will respond “I am both”. Or sometime Riley might tell you neither. He’d say he is “really light brown”. :) Smart kid. Now we have the media reinforcing the idea that if you are “black” at all, that’s your race. At least, that is how I see it.

Let me ask you a couple of questions. And there are no right or wrong answers as I am asking questions that are in the vein of perception. Do you think of President Obama as black or biracial? When you see a person who you know is the child of an interracial marriage do think think black or biracial? If by some chance those answers are different, why do you think that is so?

And finally, I wonder if this is even something I should think about?

Hope

Tomorrow is Inauguration Day. It is the day that we swear in a new President and open a new chapter in here in the U.S. It will be a time of great hope. For many this hope is bolstered by the fact we have our first President of African American decent. For others, they see his promises and policies as fixing what is broken and improving us as a nation. Still others see him as a leader who will lead us into more peaceful times.

Hope is a very powerful thing. It can literally be the difference between life and death in some situations. The lack of hope can be just as powerful. Those who have hope are generally happy people who look to the future positively. Those who have lost it are another story completely. If you have ever met one of these people, you know this.

One definition of hope reads as follows:

“the feeling that what is wanted can be had or that events will turn out for the best”.

So…

All this hope talk we’re seeing has me thinking. What are people REALLY hoping for? And I mean beyond world peace, better economy, nice houses and cars, and all the other usual suspects. What are you, me, and everyone else hoping for? What’s that one thing buried deep down that you want and you think could be had? I think this is important for us to know. Cause if we don’t have it and think it can be had, then what’s up? What is our hope really worth? Is hope the end in and of itself, or do we have a responsibility in seeing it go beyond the feeling?

I know this is all “rambley” and I have made a poor attempt at putting this post on “hope” together. But just think about this stuff and comment. Help me flesh it out.

Global Warming: Our Media Sucks

Why does this not get reported in the mainstream media? RiDONKulous.

At December's U.N. Global Warming conference in Poznan, Poland, 650 of the world's top climatologists stood up and said man-made global warming is a media generated myth without basis. Said climatologist Dr. David Gee, Chairman of the International Geological Congress, "For how many years must the planet cool before we begin to understand that the planet is not warming?"

...The earth's temperature peaked in 1998. It's been falling ever since; it dropped dramatically in 2007 and got worse in 2008, when temperatures touched 1980 levels.

Meanwhile, the University of Illinois' Arctic Climate Research Center released conclusive satellite photos showing that Arctic ice is back to 1979 levels. What's more, measurements of Antarctic ice now show that its accumulation is up 5 percent since 1980...

...To think, early last year, liberals suggested we spend 45 trillion dollars and give up five million jobs to fix global warming. But there is good news: now that we don't have to spend any of that money, we can give it all to the banks.

It's time to pray for global warming, says Flint Journal columnist John Tomlinson - Flint, Michigan Columns, Letters & Opinion - The Flint Journal – MLive.com.

We Were Very Blessed

Hundreds of wrecks reported overnight Saturday due to ice - Kingsport Times-News Online.

This Is a Bit Odd

Joaquin Phoenix Debuts New Career ... As a Rapper

The Neverending GIG Story: Last Night’s Update

Last night and this morning were very interesting to say the least. And it may not make a GREAT story, but it makes one nonetheless. So I thought I would chronicle things for you. Most of our gigs go without much trouble at all. Meet one that did not.

6:22 PM – Rob, my brother calls to tell me the band’s van has broken down. We play at 10:00 PM 30 minutes away. I need to get over there to load my minivan and the bass player is bringing his truck. Later on I will tell you how this seeming mini-disaster was a blessing in disguise.

6:30 PM – Luckily they broke down close to me so I am already there. We start moving things to my van.

6:40 PM – My van is full and Chris, our bass player has just arrived. We load the rest into his truck.

6:50 PM – We are on the road, headed for Bristol VA.

7:15 PM – We arrive at our destination and actually still end up beating our drummer there.

7:30 PM – We begin unloading and setting up.

9:00 PM – We are pretty much set up, but my Dad’s pedal board is not working. This is kind of important since he is our lead guitarist. It’s shaping up to be quite a night already.

9:15 PM – We give up on it and he runs it through one pedal and still gets a great tone from his Vox AC30 amp. Go figure. :) I order a BLT.

9:30 PM – Sound check. This actually goes pretty smooth for once.

9:45 PM – I eat that BLT. Mmm Mmmm good. Would have enjoyed it more if I knew it was the last thing I’d eat for a while.

10:00 PM – Show starts. Great crowd. Heads grooving, smiling faces and dancing. Awesome. It makes playing so much easier. Bout a hundred people in the place counting the bar. Nice.

12:00 AM – Last break. The gig has gone great so far. We step out side and see that it is snowing and sleeting. But people are still coming, so the roads must not be too bad.

1:00 AM – Show is over, we had a great time and I think the crowd did too. Step outside. OK, this isn’t looking so great and there is no way put anything in the open truck bed. We decide to take what we can in my van and leave the big stuff to pick up in the morning.

1:05 AM – The police have called to say people need to get moving. Roads worsening. We start a hasty breakdown and get the van loaded. Jeff, our drummer, my Dad, and Rob all nearly wipe out in the ice.

2:00 AM – We set out for home. So far roads seem OK.

2:05 AM – We are on the interstate now. It seems decent, but our worry is growing. We see a rest stop full of truckers and none are on the road. We decide we will get of the interstate and head up 11W.

2:13 AM – Bad idea. Ice like crazy. Cars stopped everywhere. We back up and try to turn around. I have lost control of the van and we are sliding towards a guardrail. The hand of God must have reached out and stopped us. We miss the guardrail. We are now on the other side of the highway, facing back towards Bristol. Oh yeah, we have an 1/8 tank of gas. My bad.

2:30 AM – We are dangerously close to the road and if someone tries the same maneuver we did, we’re gonna get hit. I back us up into a businesses drive with another guy.

2:35 AM – A guy tries what I did, slides right to where we were, nearly hits the guardrail. Thank you one more time God.

3:15 AM – Salt truck arrives and we are close to getting to leave.

3:25 AM – Our new buddy who pulled in beside us decides to try it. He seems to be doing ok. I try to get a vote from my Dad and Rob, but no one says anything. I go.

3:27 AM – So far so good. Uh oh. There is our new buddy, off the side of the road. Now I see why. The salt truck turned around to go the other way. We are now on black ice again. I have no control over the van at all. “Boys, I don’t know what we are going to do” is what I think I said.

3:29 AM – Somehow we get through it and get to the roadside. Rob steps out, thinks the road is ok where we are now. We’re off again.

3:30 AM – We are going over a bridge looking down at the interstate. Big rigs are back out and moving quickly. We hit the interstate.

4:10 AM – We reach Colonial Heights. Almost home. Stop for gas. I am pumping the gas and Rob and Dad head in for something to drink and a snack. They walk in front of the van. Dad disappears. Now Rob has disappeared. I walk around and they are on the ground laughing. They have busted their arses. Inside there are lots of stranded people. We get the latest on Kingsport and find out all the side roads are really bad. I live on some of the worst of those side roads.

4:25 AM – Drop off Rob.

4:45 AM – Arrive at Dad’s and I am staying here. We still have to go back to Bristol before Noon to get our stuff.

5:00 AM – We both fall asleep.

9:00 AM – We are up. I stink. No shower. Same clothes. I smell like a bar and a guy who is 24 hours past his last shower. I feel ok though in spite of the short sleep.

10:15 AM – Arrive at Rob’s and unload my van.

10:50 AM – Arrive in Bristol at Fast Lane and start loading the rest of the stuff.

11:15 AM – Perkins for breakfast and the best Diet Coke I’ve had in a while.

12:30 PM – Drop off the rest of the stuff at Rob’s. We have loaded and unloaded this stuff more the past 16 hours than 2 and 1/2 normal gigs. My back hurts and my arms are fatigued.

12:45 PM – Drop off Dad.

1:00 PM – Quick trip to Wal Mart for a few things.

1:45 PM – Home at last!!! I missed everyone. Glad to be here.

2:00 PM – Shower, FINALLY!

So, it was quite a night. I talked to our drummer and found out he did end up off the road in a ditch and had to walk to his son’s house. He got his car out and got back home earlier today. Our bass player was stuck a little further down the same stretch we were. But I think he got home fine later on.

All in all, we were very blessed. No one got hurt and I suffered no damage to my van. Had the band van not broken down, we’d have had it AND my minivan in Bristol. Getting 2 vehicles home would have increased our chances of damage. The big band van would really have been a hand full and I would have been by myself in my car. Don’t tell them, but having my Dad and Brother there made it much easier to handle.

I’m gonna go rest now. Had to go ahead and do this so I wouldn’t forget anything… Rob, Dad, add anything you think I forgot.

And technically the gig isn’t over. We still have to get the band van towed, fixed and everything moved back into it.