My last day at UFP...

Today is my last day with Universal Forest Products.  I began my tenure here almost 7 years ago.  I was in a job with a failing company, selling data center services that the company had stopped investing in.  I despised my job at the time and wanted to get out of sales and back into network administration.  I got an email from a headhunter about an opportunity on the North side of Grand Rapids.  She asked if I could come in that day for an interview.  An hour and a half later, I was sitting in the lobby waiting for an interview.  I had a second interview over the phone that night and was offered the position a few days later. I got the job with UFP at a time when my life was in great turmoil and I believe the timing was a gift from God. After three months, I was hired in full time and the stress I had been under for the last three years was gone.

The first several years at UFP were fantastic!  Life had become stable again and my growing family was happy and healthy.  But then my team started experiencing morale problems due to the "leadership" of our boss.  I can't speak for my team, but for me, it had come to a point where I was looking to make a move again. When you lose respect for your boss, good things cease to happen.  I began dreading coming to work.  Eventually, UFP recognized this and took action.  With the change in leadership, there was a newfound sense of team and life was good again. For the last two years, I've felt a great sense of purpose and direction and it is all due to this change.

In December of last year, I was blessed with phone call from an old friend.  He was looking for someone to join his team because his company was growing. He needed help and wanted me to join his team. Initially, I turned him down because of the great year UFP was having and the timing just wasn't quite right.  A week went by and I got an email from him that changed everything.  We met for a few hours in the evening and I decided that the time was right for a change.  A week later I had a written offer in my Inbox that I accepted the following day.

So here I sit, on my last day at UFP.  My responsibilities have been shifted to my very capable teammates and my thoughts return to all the good times that I had here. Like the time I fell asleep under my desk during an all night datacenter move. And my first UFP Christmas party where I overshot before the party started and, upon arriving to the party, picked up the now CEO's pitcher of beer and had a few swigs, followed by a lot of Owen bear hugs for my new teammates. I remember all the days of playing wallyball and working out in the Exercise Room at lunch time. And playing volleyball on a hot summer day on the sand court that they put in two years ago.  All the Wednesday Night Beer Club meetings spent with great friends.  But, for me, the very best and most memorable part of working at UFP these last seven years, is all the great, motivated and happy people that came into my life. This is why no one ever leaves UFP.

On my last day here, I feel satisfied knowing that my contribution helped the company and my presence affected people in a positive way.  I'm sad to be leaving a great company, but excited for a new opportunity with some old friends.  I will miss all of you at UFP, but I know I'll see you around.  Thank you for changing my life.

Battling Daylight

I've been battling daylight.  My nemesis darts through this cloudy, dark summer sky with the ease of a great bald eagle riding an updraft.  The battle has been long and arduous.  VAN VAN, a white 1968 VW Campmobile, has been our chariot in this day of war.  Harassingly, we rumbled down the small winding roads of Barry and Kent county, teasing the lazy bovine and swine who wallow in their own filth, avoiding the suns torment.  My farmer tanned skin is oily and tight, permeated with the stench of burning birch wood and sunburn.  My hands hold the memory of the dozen small blue gills I released from my sons’ sharp, golden hooks. The taste of charred turkey franks and pickle relish lingers in the back of my mouth, holding on like a cocklebur.  I've been battling daylight, and I lassoed its ass and hog tied it with love. I've been battling daylight and now I sit here, with my shirt off, sipping on the Rampant Imperial IPA that is pooled in my pint glass, dripping with humid perspiration, resting nervously in my slippery, wet hand.  It trembles at the pace in which it enters my dry, thirsty mouth.  I’m worn and tattered from 3 relentlessly conspiring young men who are all but an image of their Father.  I've battled daylight, and those three boisterous, young men fought hard and will remember this battle and tell the story.  We battled daylight and made the most of this cool, rainy, summer day in the mitten and we’ll never forget how we conquered it.  #Summer #PureMichigan #BattlingDaylight

40 Years Gone

At 4:10 AM on March 13, 1973, I was born.  It's been 40 years.  Because of the date of my birth, I'm a Pisces and an Ox. Water is my element.  Funny, and not surprising, none of that has had a bearing on my life.  I was Baptized in the Catholic Church. I grew up in what was considered a redneck, farm town named Lowell.  When I was living there, it was every bit of those things. But, in spite of it, I think I turned out okay.

I was considered a farmer because I lived on a 12 acre plot with my parents and brother and we raised all sorts of farm animals.  At some point in my youth, we owned cats, dogs, rabbits, birds, cows, goats, horses, donkeys and chickens.  We had a big red barn with some stalls in it and two big pastures.  When I was young I remember riding the goats around the pasture.  They didn't like it so much, but I thought it was great fun.  We milked the goats and used the milk in our home.  I didn't think much of it at the time, but we were pretty green as a family.  We burned wood in the Winter, raised animals and used them for food, milk and eggs.  It was a lot of work, but taught me a lot.  I am blessed with a Mother and Father that cared so much for their children.  I think it was more important to them to expose us to different things than to give us what we wanted.  I am happy that I was brought up in that way.  I had to work.  Shoveling stalls, stacking hay, feeding animals, splitting and hauling wood, mowing grass, etc... But we had lots of time to ride bikes and explore the woods out back, build forts and have fun.

Our neighbors played a big role in my life.  There were six kids that lived next door.  Over the years we all got into trouble together and had great times learning about life.  We played outside all the time.  We had a fun little bike path at their house and were always building forts and making up clubs that we were in.  As time went on, we grew apart, grew back together, and apart again.  Some of my best memories are:  playing in the small seasonal creek in the North pasture, riding bikes, shooting roosters, my first kiss, playing volleyball with my Dad and Mr. Pawloski and Ryan or Sean in the evenings until the darkness overtook us, throwing rocks while waiting for the bus, sledding, rock heaven, the log of chew, camping in hammocks in the woods, the Pony Keg week, needing Ryan to drive when he was 14 because I had too much tequila, passing out in their basement only to wake up and think it would be funny to steal all the cushions off of their couch and stuff them in the back of my car (when I got in my car the next morning I freaked out when I saw them, so I drove over there and luckily no one was home, so I put them back), climbing willow trees.  I don't think any of us knew what we wanted in life, nor did we care.  We just had fun.

I was in the Boy Scouts and am proud to say that I am an an Eagle Scout.  Scouting was a big part of my life from the time I was old enough to join. In Cub Scouts, I loved the Pinewood derby.  I never seemed to win, but I did get 2nd and 3rd. Scouting is where I learned many life lessons like talking myself out of trouble, hiding the scent of a cigar and alcohol on my breath, how to pick up a chick, practical jokes, hazing and others that I shouldn't mention.  (By the way, John Engler kept some REALLY GOOD cigars in the Governor's mansion on Mackinac Island)   I also learned how to survive in the wild, pitch a tent in the rain and snow, tie a knot that will hold, cook on an open fire using an orange peel, how to use a knife and gun properly, shoot an arrow true, how to respect my elders, reverence for God, fellowship with my brethren and how to have fun.

I didn't really care for school, but had fun while I was there.  I never was much for the cliques and hung out with anyone who would hang out with me. I wasn't a jock, but I played sports.  Starting in the 8th grade, I played football and was on the wrestling team.  I had some good success with both until everyone got a lot bigger and I didn't. On the wrestling team, I was the 112 pound starter.  Wrestling was a lot of fun for me.  I didn't always win, but when I dropped my opponent with a goat farmer pile driver, it was over!  Or, if I worked the double chicken wing, forget about it.  On the football team I was a linebacker and offensive lineman. Seriously, at 112 pounds, I was a lineman and linebacker.  Now I know why we didn't win so much.  In my junior year, I discovered beer and bon fires.  It seems that Alto, Mi is the Mecca for bon fire parties.  It is said that you only need to pull a truck into a field, light a fire and start playing AC/DC loudly and people will come for miles.  There was a small grocery store in Ada, MI where I knew the manager and he would sell beer to me.  There were many nights when my best friend Luke and I would each get a sixer and head out to whatever party was going on.  I would drive us in my 1972 Dodge Charger.  I believe this car was my Christine, except that I, nor it, were possessed. It got me home every time and I was truly sad after I sold it.  It was with me when I snuck out of the house and went to a party at Angie's house.  I ended up breaking my leg and my best friend Jeremiah, who was legally blind in one eye and too drunk to see out of the other, drove us 10 miles back to my house so I could have my Dad take us to the hospital.  That car never failed me when I was being a dumb ass. So my best memories from high school would be:  Cruising Lowell in Wayne's Omni so we could chew, the Bylls, skiing with Jeremiah Luke and Jesse, Shaving Jeremiah's Mohawk, Jack Daniel's on Angie Brown's porch, Bridge jumping in Fallasburg, the moped gang, volleyball in the front yard, Rat Fest, Reggae Sunsplash.

On July 10, 1991, at the age of 18 and with the help of my parents, I purchased a 1968 Volkswagen Campmobile. This was one of the most significant moments of my life.  It was a dream come true for me. Up to that point, I was in love with the bus. A kid who was a few years older than me had one and he was the quintessential beach rat, surfer, and was always hanging out in Grand Haven.  I wanted that lifestyle sooo bad.  You could drive it anywhere, pop the top and you're home.  A party on wheels. Having it opened up my world to so many things.  I learned how to pull and rebuild and engine, drive slow, and enjoy the view. My favorite times were when I would load up a bunch of friends and head out to a party, or just park on a back road or two track with a case of beer and enjoy the night.  There was a lot of work that needed to be done and the majority of it I did with my Dad.  It was definitely a bonding and learning experience and we still work on VAN VAN together to this day.  When we had it in good working condition and with a new paint job, we drove it to New Mexico to visit my brother who was working for Philmont Scout Ranch at the time.  It was quite a trip and resulted in several great memories.  I'm so glad I had this time with my Dad.  It was the culmination of years of hard work and it had all paid off.  I remember when we began the trip, my Dad put the theme to the Lone Ranger on the radio as we pulled onto the road. That was his way of celebrating the start of our journey across the country that included:  yelling at bears in the middle of the night, sidestepping a buffalo, several carburetor adjustments, sewing up the popup cot with dental floss, crossing the bridge over the Royal Gorge bridge, Coasting with engine off from the Eisenhower Tunnel to what felt like Denver (quietest and fastest the Bus has ever been), the rest stop from Hell where the Alternator went out and a storm surge sucked open the pop up of the bus, a rental car and a rescue mission.

I spent three forgettable years attending Grand Rapids community College. This was a tumultuous time in my life.  Not sure what I wanted to do, wanting and needing more out of life.  Unfortunately, I didn't have any money, so I had to go with the flow.  I finally transferred to Central Michigan University and moved in with Chad Lyon and Sean Smith in a party house on Main Street.  Unbelievably, after one semester, I was on the Dean's list and was asked to join the Golden Key National Honors Society, which I did.  On the weekends, we would have great parties and every once in a while, a blow out kegger!  In my second year at CMU, I joined Alpha Kappa Psi (AKPsi), the co-ed professional business fraternity.  I expected this to be fun and a great addition to my resume. What I didn't expect was to meet the greatest people I've ever known.  People that were determined to succeed and party like it was their job!  The pledging process was much like the movie The Game.  You never knew what was going to happen next or what key to use.  It was certainly an eye opener and a place where I met life long friends who are truly my brothers. I'm intentionally going to gloss over these years as there are many holes in my memory and I want to protect the innocent.

Upon graduating college, I took a job with a small consulting firm in Holland, MI called ISG.  I was so incredibly happy to be working for this company, in Holland, close to the beach. Initially, I dreamt of driving my bus to the beach after work and watching the sunset and living the happy-go-lucky life.  Unfortunately, that didn't happen.  But I fell in love with the company and my coworkers. The first 5 years at ISG were very happy times.  In the Spring of 1998, ISG hired a new girl to answer the phones.  I referred to her as the secretary.  Her name was Beth Atkinson.  She had this amazing short, bob haircut that exposed her neck.  I fell in love with her immediately. It took some time, but I finally won her over at the ISG Christmas party, thanks to Bill and Mary Pollock.  After dating for around 6 months, we moved in together.  Again, I'm glossing over some details here, but this time to protect Me.

Up to this point, Beth was everything I had been looking for in a girlfriend / potential bride, but Beth had to pass the test.  I had vowed that if I were to marry, my bride would have to spend at least one week with me living in VAN VAN prior to any engagement. So, in the fall of 1999, Beth and I embarked on a "vacation" to Colorado.  We left Grand Rapids immediately after I had ridden my bike in a mountain bike race at Pando ski area.  Needless to say, Beth did most of the driving for the first 12 hours. We ended up having a great time!  Beth seemed to enjoy camping in Van Van which meant  that she passed the test. I think it was our trip up to the top of Pikes Peak that sealed the deal. ;)

Before Beth and I got together, a coworker asked me if I thought she was the one, and I remember saying, "If I can get her out on a date and she likes me back, I'll be off the market for good."  We got engaged on a hill in San Francisco, not quite overlooking the Ocean, but as close as I could get at the time.

On June 30, 2001, I married Beth.  It was the happiest day of my life. Unfortunately, 2001 turned into a sorrowful year for us.  on September 11, our country was struck by a terrorist attack that affected me deeply.  A few months later, we lost our first child to a miscarriage.  I can't tell you how difficult this time  was for us. After being on a high from our wedding, then to crash to a national tragedy and then to the loss of a child was indescribable.  But, with perseverance, we regrouped and gave birth to our first son on October 18, 2002.  Magnus Morrison Smith.  He looked like a body builder coming out of the womb.  He is an incredible kid and, at the age of 10, extremely smart and very well read.

Our second son was born on January 30, 2007.  Nolan Ryder Smith is a loving and emotional young man.  He is very much like me.  He gives the best hugs you could imagine.

After some convincing, I agreed to have our third child, Grayson Oliver Smith. Born on July 22, 2009.  He is an incredible little guy.  His hair rivals Fabio and those eyes could entrap the mind and control thy spirit.  He, like his brothers, is a good young Man and I am grateful to be their Dad.

I feel that all of my greatest accomplishments are behind me. On this day, at 40 years old, I don't know what lies ahead.  I know that, up to this point, I've made some good decisions.  I'm happy. I struggle. I love God.  I've been given so much and I'm going to nurture it like I would a young child.  I may be half way to 80, but they're saying that 80 is the new 30.  Other than the general aches and pains, I don't feel a day over 29.  I love this life and I'm glad that you are a part of it. Thank you for being a part of my life.  I've grown because of your influence whether large or small.  My advice to you:  Be good, love life, love God, explore, leave your nest, have fun and celebrate your life like it's 1999!

Thank you, all, for being there and celebrating this life with me.  I love you all and I hope you all can celebrate with me for years to come.  Here's to the next 40 years!  Slainte!

"Do not ask the price I pay, I must live with my quiet rage
Tame the ghosts in my head that run wild and wish me dead
Should you shake my ash to the wind, Lord, forget all of my sins
Oh let me die where I lie 'neath the curse of my lover's eyes"

- Mumford and Sons

I didn't think...

I've been reflecting on life for the past couple of days.  Not sure why I experience some of the things that I do. Not sure why I feel the way I feel. Maybe it's just my instinct. Maybe my sense of self preservation.  Whatever the case may be, for good or bad, I know now that I tend to just react to what is happening without much thought.  And that is what happened this past weekend.

On Sunday, my neighbors house caught on fire.  The owners are a young couple with a 1 month old child. They were not home at the time.  But, they have two dogs and a cat.  All of which were in the house.  Being a hot Sunday afternoon, I was in my bathing suit playing in the hose with my Sons.  Then I heard "Fire"! Without forethought, I ran straight out the front door and toward their house with no shirt and no shoes.  There was already glass broken all over the porch from a neighbor that had tried to break out the window. Another neighbor arrived on the front porch just after I did.  He grabbed a landscape brick and finished breaking out the window.  Once we tore out the screen he stepped through the window and unlocked the front door.  We both bolted in; he ran upstairs and I ran downstairs to look for the dogs.  The house was filled with smoke and the flames were rising up the back of the house from the deck where the fire had started.  The dogs were in the upstairs bedroom and my neighbor grabbed them and ran out of the house.  I got to the basement and looked all around for the dogs but did not see them.  Then I heard an explosion and a crashing on the floor above.  My Wife yelled in the house that the dogs were out and I decided that i should get out too.  I took a deep breath and ran up the stairs, through the kitchen where the slider glass had broken out and out the front door.  A second neighbor had grabbed his garden hose and started connecting it to the faucet on the outside of the house.  I grabbed the hose and started pulling it toward the fire. The water came on and I started spraying the back deck where the fire had started. Another neighbor had pulled her hose across the street and was spraying beside me. In what seemed like an eternity, the flames started to subside and the police had arrived.  With the flames mostly extinguished, I handed the hose to an officer and backed away.  We had saved the house.

A while later, after the homeowners had arrived and we went inside to look around.  My neighbor who had run into the house with me, led us in a prayer together.  It was hard not to break down.  Finally realizing the extent of what had happened, the tears started flowing.  Whenever I think of this moment, I get choked up.  I'm so thankful that we did this. For whatever reason, I wouldn't have thought to do this and it makes me sad.  Did you ever think about it?  Why don't we pray with our neighbors?  This was the hardest part for me.

Looking back, I realize that I didn't think during this entire event.  I just acted.  Without the quick thinking of my other neighbors, who wore shoes and grabbed their garden hoses, the outcome may have been much different.  I didn't think to use the water faucet on the house that was burning.  I didn't think to put shoes or a shirt on before running into a burning house.  I didn't think there would be time.  But they did and each of them has earned my respect.

I am truly humbled by the whole experience and it has been hard to think of anything else.  I find myself thinking about how I could have done something differently.  It is futile, really, to think that I could have done more without the other people in the neighborhood.  I couldn't have.  We all needed to be there that day and God had put us there at just the right time.  I thank Him for each and every one of my neighbors.  ALL of them.  I learn a lot about myself from them every day.  In the end, I'm glad that no one was hurt and that this family will be rebuilding and moving back in next month.

To all my neighbors who had a hand in this, I thank you.

I believe this picture was taken just prior to us entering the house.

59 Days until Christmas...

The last few weeks have flown by.  It's been a long time since I've felt this motivated.  My boss was recently relieved from his duties.  This means that my team needed to pick up all of his responsibilities. It has been a daunting task but has brought us together and we are working hard to make up for lost time.  All of this was a surprise for us, but we are picking up the reigns and killin' it!  I'm proud to be part of our team and looking forward to the next 6 months as we get back on track and move this train down the line.

October has been a great month.  Some great weather mixed with some thunderstorms.  Magnus turned 9 years old!  It's his last year of single digits.  He is such an amazing kid and I'm so proud to be his Dad.  I've been working on organizing the garage and now we can park both cars in there.  VAN VAN has been put in storage for a long Winter's rest.  I seeded the yard again and just need to finish putting the garden fence together before the snow flies.  Speaking of SNOW, I am really looking forward to Winter in our new house.  I'm not sure why, but I'm already in the holiday spirit.  I love Winter!

November brings Beth's birthday and THANKSGIVING, my second favorite holiday of the year. I'm also patiently waiting for my hard cider to finish fermenting.  It should be done within the next week.  I tried a pint a week ago and it is yummy and HARD!  Let's just say that I didn't need more than a pint.  Just the way I like it.  I'm going to want it to sit in the bottle for at least 6 months for best flavor.  I've had trouble keeping it above 66 degrees, so I'll have to let some of it sit.  But that won't keep me from drinking some soon.

I expect to start hearing Christmas music on the radio starting next week.  I have a few favorites.  They are:  My Favorite Things sung by Tony Bennet, Father Christmas by The Kinks, Christmas in Hollis by Run DMC,  The Christmas Song sung by Nat King Cole, Christmas Time Is Here (instrumental) by Vince Guaraldi and every song on "A Charlie Brown Christmas".

Bus Boo 2011!

My two older sons and I are going to brave the cold weather (down to 32 degrees at night) and head on out to BUS BOO! for our last camping trip of the year.  Bus Boo! is held at Camp Blodgett in Grand Haven.  You can learn more about Bus Boo! here and here.  This will be VAN VAN's last outing of the year before going into hibernation.  Now that VAN VAN's cot is fixed, we'll all fit nicely inside and won't need to put up a tent.  Beth and our youngest son will not be staying overnight this year because of the cold.  My Dad will be joining us too and he is going to brave the cold in a tent.  I did that last year, using a sleeping bag that was too small and wouldn't zip around my shoulders.  Needless to say, I didn't get much sleep.

At Bus Boo there is a costume contest, chili cook off and bus to bus trick or treating for the kids.  Last year was our first year and I didn't have a costume for me or VAN VAN. This year I'm going to be a Lumberjack.  I think the boys are going to be a skeleton and Iron Man.  VAN VAN still doesn't have a costume.  I'll work on that for next year.

 

I'm really looking forward to redeeming myself from last years chili disaster.  My chili was overcooked and a little too spicy for the judges.  I've tweaked the recipe for this year and will make certain that it will not overcook.  Once again I'll be heating it over the fire in a cast iron pot making certain that it doesn't get too hot.

Healing Field

The Healing Field at Cannonsburg Ski Area.  This memorial was erected to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the September 11, 2001 attacks on America.  I recommend taking a stroll through the field.  Read the placards on each flag that represent a person who died in the attacks.  It brought back a lot of memories from that day.  Lets all hope nothing like this happens again.

Never Forget...

A view from my bus on my morning commute.

Sent via DROID on Verizon Wireless

Long time coming...

I know it has been way to long and I haven't made time to update this blog, but I'm thinking of starting a new blog.  I don't want to give away any details, but it will be very simple and focused on pictures taken from a specific place.

As far as this blog goes, I'm planning on being better about adding content.  Life has taken us to the valley and back to the mountain top over the last year.  My focus has been on family and finances and little else.

So here is a quick bulleted list of life since my last post:

*  Our house had been on the market since the beginning of August.  In February, the master bathroom shower decided to take a leak and ruined the laundry room ceiling below it.  See video here.  We decided to let our listing expire and take the house off the market while we did the repairs.

*  In March, there was a knock at the door and when I answered, it was a Realtor asking if our house was still for sale.  I gave him the low down and he said that he had an interested party that would like to see it.  I agreed and directed him to our Realtor, Joe Siereveld, to schedule the showing.  Long story short, they offered, we accepted!

*  In April we moved into a two bedroom w/loft apartment and started our new home search.  It was an interesting place to live.  I'm still trying to forget it...

*  We made an offer on a house in downtown Byron Center, but were rejected.  We looked at several houses in the area and in Hudsonville, but couldn't decide on one.  We finally toured a home in Cook's crossing on Joe's suggestion.  After doing some reading and looking at another spec house that was in the process of being built, we pulled the trigger.

*  We had to wait until mid June for the house to be completed.  The time just dragged on and the neighbors in our apartment became more and more annoying.  Specifically the gent whose car alarm would go off randomly in the middle of the night.  That was Great!

*  We finally closed on the house on June 10th and started moving in the next day.  The unfortunate part is that we had no appliances, air conditioning or electricity.  And, we were leaving for a wedding / vacation in Colorado on the 16th!  Consumers Energy finally restored power on the 14th and we stayed our first night in the new house on the 15th.  Then we were off to Colorado for a week.

*  After our return, we finished unpacking the essentials and were living in the new house.  Our whole goal with this move was to rightsize our financial house to allow Beth to be a Stay at Home Mom!  On July 29, 2011 Beth worked her last day at Macatawa Bank as a Personal Trust officer.  My parents were gracious enough to watch the boys on Thursdays and Fridays for the summer until Beth was done working.  Their last day of daycare was July 27, 2011.

*  This had completed the cycle of our plan.  It had been a week shy of one year since we listed our house.

*  It has now been 1 month and Beth is really enjoying her new occupation.  Magnus starts school on the 6th of September in a new school, but in the same school district.  The school is 1/2 mile from our new home and there is a side walk / bike path all the way there.  He is excited to start the 3rd grade and to ride his bike to school.

*  For me, it is still taking some getting use to.  I still miss out on a lot, but I'm extremely happy for my family. I do enjoy getting up in the morning and not having to force the boys out of bed so we can shuttle them off for someone else to take care of.  Everyone is happy in their own room and the silence of the new neighborhood is deafening.  I haven't slept this well in decades.

That is all for now.  I hope the new school year finds everyone happy and healthy.  Here's to Fall!  Slainte!

Bus Boo is this weekend...

For those of you who don't know, I own a 1968 VW Campmobile.  I bought it in 1991 just after graduating from High School.  Through the years I've worked on restoring it.  In my case, I'm just keeping it running.  It is a solid Bus and one of the few things that I own that I truly love.  Several years ago, my friend Erik and I were heading up to Baldwin, MI to a friends cabin for guys weekend (usually involves a camp fire, beer, food and sleep).  On the way there, we were near Rockford, MI when my tire blew out.  The Van Van swerved hard to the left and luckily there were no cars in that lane.  I regained control of the Van Van and pulled over to the shoulder.  Not surprisingly, I didn't have a jack or an inflated spare tire.  So, I called my Dad to come and save me.

While we waited, a guy pulled up behind my bus and got out to talk and offer assistance.  His name was Brien Dews.  He offered me the jack he had in his work van and whatever else he could do for assistance.  I remember him saying, "Whenever I see a bus on the side of the road, I'll stop and help."  Brien told me about a group of VW Bus lovers that he had started called Buses By the Beach and told me to check out their website at busesbythebeach.com.  My Dad was on his way with everything I needed for repair so I thanked Brien he went on his way.

Brien had left his jack with me, so I made sure to bring it back to him the following week.  I stopped at his shop, All Good Time Clock Service to drop it off.  I was amazed by the work that Brien does.  He gave me a tour of the shop and showed me a bus that he had been working on.  Next to the bus I noticed a few kegs and some brewing equipment.  Brien told me that he brewed his own beer and that he usually does a tasting at a bus outing that he does in the spring.  I knew immediately that I had to check it out.

I attended my first Bus Benefit in the Spring of 2007 to raise money for the Phoenix Society.  It was a great weekend of family fun, good music, good people and good beer.  I've attended the Bus Benefit every Spring since.  My boys love camping in the Van Van and always look forward to camping with Buses By the Beach.

Tomorrow, we'll be attending our first Bus Boo with BBTB.  It is a Halloween themed campout with trick or treating, a chili cook off and costume contests.  They even decorate the buses.  Nolan, my middle son, asked me this morning if the music was going to be there.  At Bus Benefit this year, Nolan loved watching the live bands and staying up late.  I had to tell him that there might not be music this time, but he'll get to trick or treat instead.  He got a big smile on his face and said "OK!".

I'll have lots of pictures to share next week.  Talk to you soon!

And on it goes...

After some soul searching and number crunching, I decided to drop the price of my house to the amount that a buyer had offered.  This was a day after I had said no to that same offer.  It took a lot of justification to make me do it.  I can handle living in a two bedroom apartment for a while to make up the difference.  So with high hopes, I've been waiting to hear back from the prospective buyer.  It has been the longest two days I can remember.

Finally, today, we got the news.  They decided that their offer was too high and the price had to be an additional $2,000 lower.  $2,000!  At this point I feel like we are fighting over pennies and I'm starting to get pissed off.  Not only that, but in a week or two or even a month from now, if they came back and accepted, I may not sell it to them on principal.  I hate dickering, but I hate assholes even more.  You, buyer, are an asshole.

After spending the last two days preparing myself to spend the next six months in an apartment, I'm now preparing to spend the next 5 years trying to sell my house.  Maybe come Spring time the market will have changed and things will start moving again.  Until then, we'll keep loving our lives and planning our next step.  Keep praying and we'll see what happens.  It all happens in God's time.

How to destroy an easy up gazebo...

Easy answer, leave it out in a thunderstorm.  I had planned on taking down our gazebo because I knew there was a batch of thunderstorms rolling through our area last night.  I started taking down the curtains after work, but then we had to go get my car from the auto shop and we decided to have a pizza at Monelli's in Byron Center.  When we got home it was time to bathe the boys and put them to bed.  By the time we were saying prayers and good night to the boys, you could see a good amount of lightning and hear the thunder rolling across the sky.  I quickly went out to finish taking down the gazebo.  I got the screws that were securing it to the deck removed and started to lower it when the storm front hit.  I held on to the frame tightly and at one point the whole thing was pulling me upward.  I tried desperately to get it to fold into itself but it would not move.  After about 30 seconds a big gust of wind blew in and the gazebo broke in half folding over the top of me.  During that  time Beth had been frantically running through the house closing windows and realized that I was out on the deck.  As I made my way out from under the tent, Beth had just closed the sliding door.  When she saw me, she opened it to let me in and I saw the whole kitchen floor covered in water.  The wind was blowing so hard we had water almost to the living room.  The news reported that there were recorded 70+ mile per hour gusts.  After seeing what it did to the gazebo, I don't doubt it for a minute.

Hello Again...

If you’ve ever tried to sell a house, you know how busy and difficult it can be just to live life each day. Over the past month, we’ve had a few showings and open houses. We’ve had one offer, counter offer and rejection. Emotions have been up and down along the way too. I haven’t slept well in a while and I wake often and can’t get back to sleep. I guess it is the stress of the situation on top of life’s other responsibilities. There is so much in limbo right now that I’ve lost track of everything, especially blogging. It has been last on my list.

So, here we are. Our house is as clean as it ever has been. We are still on the market. This week we had our first offer, which was $20K below asking price. Since I am not desperate like many other home sellers, I countered with what I believe is reasonable for our house. I don’t know if the buyer is trying to play hardball or what, but they rejected the counter offer and held with their original offer. Well, sorry Charlie, I won’t drop my pants for you. We have worked too hard to keep this house for me to throw away all that work and money just because there is a perception that the value of my house has decreased. This thinking may mean that we’ll never sell this house. That’s OK with me…

On a brighter note, the school year has started and Magnus is happily attending 2nd grade. He loves his school very much and is excited to start doing homework. (I was the same way in 2nd grade. This will all change in middle school) The fall session of karate has started too. Magnus tested for his Green Belt on Monday and passed. I love watching him kick and break boards. He is getting a lot better at sparring too. We’re 1 month and 2 days from his 8th birthday. The time is just flying…

This weekend, Beth and I are heading to the Michigan Irish Music Festival in Muskegon. We’re meeting up with some friends that we met when we attended the fest back in 2007. It is always a good time and the music is great. A night out is needed for so many reasons. I’ll be happy to spend some time with Beth away from our daily grind.

That’s all for now. Thanks for reading my ramblings.

Showing and Smoke...

While on vacation last week, I received a call from my realtor that someone was interested in seeing our house. This was great news since we spent all day that Saturday cleaning and packing and cleaning just in case this happened. When we got back, we found out that the couple had been considering the communities of Byron Center and Ada / Cascade. Unfortunately, they chose Ada / Cascade. They did say that they liked our home and that the price was good. This made us happy because now we know the work has paid off and our price is in a good range for the market. Now we just continue waiting.


On the flip side, I found a house that I was interested in. It was in our school district and about 2 miles from where we now live. The lot was big at almost 1.85 acres and entirely wooded. The house was a decent size with a big deck and heated, two stall outbuilding. I had Joe schedule a showing and we visited the house on Wednesday evening. When we arrived, Joe was waiting for us in the driveway. I could tell from the look on his face that there was something wrong. We walked around the house and viewed the property and it was as I expected it to be; needed some work but nothing insurmountable. Then we opened the front door to walk in when a blast of the stale scent of cigarette smoke punched me in the face like a left hand upper cut from Mike Tyson in the early 90s. Instantly I became sad. I had such high hopes that this could be an option. I had already dreamed of playing in the woods behind the house with the boys, making bike trails and forts and camping. All those dreams now destroyed by the bad habits of the homes owners. All I could do was shake my head the rest of the time we toured the house. It was in good shape and it was decorated reasonably well. The owner had finished the basement himself. The construction was a bit shoddy and in one instance Joe grabbed onto one of the door jams and was able to wiggle it about an inch in both directions. Even with that I would have considered the home as I know those things are “fixable”. But the bowling alley stench that infiltrated our clothes, hair and nasal passages was just too much to bear.

I don’t understand how people can smoke in their home. Over time the smoke ruins everything in the house. There is no amount of money that could make me live in that house. By the time we got home, I started getting a headache from the smell. It was a horrendous experience and one I fear will not be the last on our house hunt.

On another note, I bought two of these storage closets so we could clean out our winter clothes from our closets and make them look bigger. They are working out fantastically.

Back in the saddle...

Wow, it's been a whole week since my last post.  I've been on vacation and found out how hard it is to blog when you are chasing 3 young boys around and relaxing.  Anyway, we had a great time in Brasstown, NC.  We were visiting Beth's Godmother and her husband.  They retired several years ago and moved to a rural farm where they built a house and now enjoy Appalachian country living.  We enjoyed it too.  It is a much slower pace, especially in the summer when it is 95 degrees every day.

After "The Drive", Beth and I took a day and recovered.  Short naps and wine helped and by Monday last, we were raring to go.  We spent time catching up with our hosts and got the lay of the land.  It has been 4 years since we visited them at their home and it was almost what I remembered.  Time can do many things.  I found that my memory of the place was about 90 per cent of what it actually was.  I think I was most excited to see the cows.  They have an arrangement with a local gentleman that allows him to graze his cattle and in return, he keeps up the fences in the pastures.  It's a win win.  There is nothing like waking to the soft drone of mooing cows.  Moooooooooo....

We also spent some time visiting the neighbors.  Dave, who lives down the road and lower in the canyon, has a beautiful pond that is stocked with fish.  We went to see Dave and to feed the fish on Tuesday.  I didn't expect what we saw.  As we walked up to the pond, all the fish swarmed up to us.  There were cat fish and another smaller fish that I don't know the name of.  The cat fish were about a foot long and when we threw food into the water, they would raise their whole head out of the water and gobble up their lunch.  One time Magnus dropped a whole hand full of food in the water right at the edge of the pond.  The fish swarmed the pile and splashed so much that water went flying and soaked Magnus's shirt.  It kinda scared him a little and he didn't do that again.  It was pretty amazing.

The next day, Wednesday, we went to visit Doug who lives up on the ridge to South of Dave.  Doug has some laying hens that he bought early in the spring.  There were several different  species and he let us feed them.  At first, I didn't think the boys would let the chickens eat out of their hands.  Magnus decided that he didn't want to try.  But after I did it and told them what it felt like, Nolan gave it a go.  He put some chicken feed into his hand and slowly lowered it down so Georgia the chicken would come over and take a bite.  He was very still until the first peck when he jumped back with fright and proceeded to throw the feed at the chickens.  After a minute and when the fear wore off, he thought it was funny but didn't want to try again. We also got a tour of Dave's garden.  He was growing beans, heirloom tomatoes, Okra and several other veggies.  His heirloom tomatoes were beautiful.  I think I'll grow some next year.  What really caught my eye was the Okra.  I've never seen how Okra grows.  It is a very unique plant and I'm glad I learned a little about a Southern vegetable.  The coolest thing we saw at Doug's was some bear scat.  The night before, there had been a rain storm and the wind had been blowing.  In the morning, Doug and his wife discovered that their bird feeder had been knocked off the cable it was hanging from.  Although Dave's wife insists that the wind had blown it down, Dave thinks that a bear climbed up on his deck, jumped off, and grabbed the bird feeder (about 20 feet in the air) and broke it off the cable and ate the bird seed.  I wouldn't have believed him, but when I saw the broken ring clamp, and the blackberry laden bear scat on the ground, I couldn't disagree.  We took a stick and poked around in the scat and it was blackberry all the way through.  It even turned the stick purple!  This bear had gorged himself / herself on so many blackberries that it had the blackberry revenge.  In a few days, it will have the sunflower seed revenge too.  Poor bear...

On Thursday and Friday, we visited Fires Creek picnic area.  If you ever get to the Western part of North Carolina, I highly recommend visiting Fires Creek.  We had so much fun looking at rocks, skipping stones, swimming, jumping in the small pools and walking down the creek, we just had to go back.  There was a small waterfall that we climbed up and sat under and a section of very slippery, smooth rock that we used for a slide.  The locals have moved the rocks around to create a chute down the creek where kids can ride inner tubes for about 50 yards.  At the end there is a man made pool and you can get out and run the trail back to the starting point.  I tried to float down the lower section of the chute and, while it was a good attempt, I caught about 6 rock up my rear and about 4 in my back.  Next time I'll try an inner tube.

Probably the most exciting experience was when I lost my wedding ring in the pool at the beginning of the chute.  Oh yeah, I freaked!  I had just jumped into the water and worked my way to the side to empty my sandals of sand and rocks when I notice that it was gone.

Wine timeout...  Yeah, I need more wine to calm my nerves...

So I stand up, raise my arms and say "everyone stop!"  Magnus and I had been playing with 4 other kids and jumping off a big rock into a small pool of water.  The kids all looked at me with a nervous eye wondering if they had gotten in trouble.  I told them that I had lost my wedding ring and needed help finding it.  To my amazement, they all started looking for it.  It was like a treasure hunt for them.  Where I had emptied my sandals, I moved the rocks aside and the kids searched the water but found nothing.  The bigger kids were looking in the pool of water for the ring, but the water was rushing so fast that it was hard to see the bottom.  I called to Beth to let her know of my predicament.  She joined in on the hunt and quickly left to see if she left Magnus's goggles in the car.  I continued searching in the rushing water.  After finding nothing, I climbed back up on the rock to try to determine where I would have landed on my last jump.  I picked a spot and walked into the water.  It was rushing fast and I needed to figure out a way to see into it's depths.  I turned my body into the stream so that my wide back side would settle the water.  Then I put my arms on the top of the water and made an enclosed area where the water was calm.  I bent over and put my face as close to the water as I could.  The bottom of the pool was visible, but I couldn't find anything shiny.  After a bit of searching, I turned my eyes to my feet and was surprised to see a shiny circle of Gold just in front of my left toe.  I almost screamed!  Now I had to go get it.  Very slowly I submerged myself in the 65 degree water and tried to feel my way to the ring.  This didn't work and I wasn't able to grab it.  The next time, I got down under the water and opened my eyes just long enough to snatch the ring and quickly place it on my finger for safety.  I jumped out of the water and yelled "YES!!!".  All the kids were stunned at first and then they all yelled.  They were happy that they could play again.  I walked down to the car to tell Beth that I found the ring and she and I gave each other a big hug and kiss.  It was such a relief.

That night we were having dinner when it started to rain.  It was in the high 90's with high humidity so I decided that a little rain shower was in order.  I pulled off my shirt and stood on the edge of the deck to enjoy the cool shower.  Soon thereafter, Grayson was crawling his way across the deck.  He was getting soaked and I was getting a little nervous because there was lightning and thunder all over the place.  I stripped him out of his wet clothes and put him under the overhang of the house to keep him dry.  Grayson is a bit strong headed and immediately started walking back out into the rain.  I followed him and we ended up playing in the rain for the next 45 minutes.  Magnus joined us after stripping off his shirt.  It was amazing!  The rain was probably 75 degrees.  It literally was like taking a shower.  I was surprised at how Grayson had no worries and would just crawl around the deck in the rain.  He loved it!

On Friday night we took a jeep ride down into the pasture to see the cows.  This was an up close and personal trip.  There were several different species and some brand new baby calves.  At one point, we came close to a big bull.  I started mooing at it and he became irritated.  Lou reminded us not to look a bull in the eye and we quickly turned around and headed away.  After we were about 30 feet away, Magnus says to me "I looked it in the eye." and then he smiled and laughed.  One day he'll learn...

Since I grew up on a "farm", I figured that I would jump out of the jeep and try to pet the cows.  I soon found out that cows don't like the attention of unfamiliar humans.  Every time I approached a cow, they would slowly retreat and then turn and run away from me.  After about 10 minutes, I figured that I wasn't going to be able to pet a cow and jumped back into the jeep.  As we headed back up to the house, the sun was setting over the ridge and the sky was lit up with stars and a bright crescent moon.  What a beautiful way to end an evening.

I can't explain how beautiful the Appalachian mountains are.  You wake up to a foggy mess only to be relieved by a clear sight in the mid morning.  A beautiful blue sky and a slightly hazy and cool evening breaking to a black night dotted with the twinkle of diamonds in the sky.  I didn't get to spend much time outside after dark, but I bet it was a phenomenal site.

Thanks for reading.  I'll post pictures when I can.

The Drive...

Saturday started early.  We were leaving for North Carolina that evening and we had plenty to do.  First was to clean and prep the house for showing.  This took the majority of the day and the boys were cooperative and let us work.  They knew that we were leaving in the evening to drive to NC and were very excited to go.

By late afternoon, we were done prepping and turned our attention to packing and bathing the boys.  No one wanted to cook so we headed out to Monellis for dinner.  By 7:30 we were on the road.  The car was packed to the brim but the boys looked comfortable.

Shortly after this picture was taken, Grayson decided he was unhappy.  He spent the next 90 minutes screaming and crying regardless of what we did to soothe him.  It was a difficult 90 minutes.  Nolan spent most of the time plugging his ears and saying "Grayson is hurting my ears Daddy."

We were close to Ohio when most everyone was sleeping.  Magnus was still awake and wanted to stay awake until we were in Ohio.  After that, he was out like a light.  When we stopped for gas in Ohio, all the boys woke up.  Unfortunately, the bathrooms were in less the desireable conditions and, if you know what it's like to take a child to the bathroom in a public toilet, it was a horrible experience.  I don't know about you, but my children tend to touch everything despite my warnings of germs, disease, etc...  After a thorough washing in the sink, we were ready to forge on.  I continued driving the sleeping beauties all the way to Lexington, KY.   The last hour or so was touch and go.  I was very tired at that point.  Beth took over so I could try to get some rest.

If you've ever ridden in a Mazda 5, you know that there isn't a whole lot of room.  My knees were touching the dash board because we had to stow some stuff behind the seat.  I couldn't put the seat back because Nolan was behind me in his car seat.  I did fall asleep, but it was an uneasy rest.  After about two hours I came to with a sore back and neck.  The boys were still sleeping comfortably and that made me happy.

Beth was doing well despite an uneasy sleep in the car.  We decided to stop at Hardees for breakfast in a small town called Tellico.  It was about 6:30 AM.  I have never been so disappointed in a breakfast.  Fortunately, we don't eat fast food on a regular basis.  We choked down our biscuits and hit the road.  We were now on the Cherohala Skyway.  This is a scenic mountain road and there are may switchbacks as it winds along the tops of the smokey mountains.  Unfortunately, it was still quite early in the morning and we couldn't see very well through the fog.  Magnus was sitting in the back and he started to get motion sick.  We stopped briefly and let him get out and walk around.  I decided to switch places with him so he could watch out the front window and get some fresh air.  For the next hour and a half we drove and stopped, drove and stopped and finally when we were about 2 miles to our destination, Magnus emptied his stomach on the side of the road.  Fortunately, this made him feel better and he didn't cry or complain.

So, we arrived at Barb and Lou's home and unpacked the car.  It was 8:30 AM.  13 hours of driving through the night had come to an end.  Beth and I took turns napping during the day and called it an early night.  More fun and excitement on Monday.  Stay tuned.

Garden Fresh Inspiration and mini Soutapalooza...

So my garden is really producing a LOT of food.  My tomatoes are abundant and bursting with flavor!  I've been giving away about a pound of tomatoes per day.  When I came home from work yesterday, my neighbor Brenda had made some salsa with the tomatoes that I had given her the day before.  It was delicious!  That evening my cousin Tim, who is visiting from Switzerland and is on his way to Japan for the next two years, came over for a night of beer tasting (more on that later) and good food.  He brought over a pot of red beans that he had made with andouille sausage and beans from Louisiana.   I put some rice in the cooker and we feasted on red beans and rice topped with fresh garden salsa.  I was extremely close to food coma.

Brenda had explained how she made the salsa and how easy it was to make, so tonight I decided to give it a go.  I picked up some cilantro and a lime from the grocery store and proceeded to make my version of salsa.  It went a lot like this:  Chop a bunch of Roma tomatoes, finely dice any peppers that I had pulled from the garden (only 1 jalapeño, 2 green peppers and 2 of another kind that I don't know the name of), finely dice a small onion from the garden, squeeze the juice of one lime, coarse chop the cilantro, a dash of vinegar and olive oil, add some sea salt and pepper and stir.  I tasted it right away and it was good.

We had plans for dinner with our other neighbors, the Fielders, and I brought the salsa and some El Matador tortilla chips (The best chips ever!) over to their house for us to enjoy.  I was pleasantly surprised when I took another bite and the flavor had gotten even better!  Everyone loved it and I was forced to leave the leftovers for our friends to enjoy.  Good thing I've got more veggies growing.  Next year I think I'll do a salsa garden with different kinds of tomatoes (think heirloom varieties), assorted peppers, cilantro, onions, etc...  That would make for an interesting summer.

Back to the beer tasting.  My cousin Tim and I are both beer connoisseurs and every time he comes to visit we make a journey to Founders Brewing so Tim can experience what the West Michigan beer scene is all about.  Sunday night we did just that.  After enjoying their new IPA, Endurance Ale and a few Bourbon Apple Cream Ales, we were ready to get some food.  Unfortunately, there isn't much open late on a Sunday night.  We ended up at Steak and Shake for a Guacamole Burger and fries.  


Last night, along with our red beans and rice, we whipped together a mini Stoutapalooza.  The original Stoutapalooza happened over three days this past December.  We tasted about 55 beers over the course and it was an amazing experience.  Last night I tasted my first World Wide Stout by Dogfish Head brewing.  It was full of flavor and has definitely landed in my top 10 favorite beers.  I thoroughly enjoyed it and at 18% it really hit home! I knew it was good when I started having trouble seeing the ball on Wii baseball.  What a successful and wonderful evening.


Note:  My new camera should arrive tomorrow!!!  Then I can take pictures of all the good things I eat and drink.  Also, coming up next week, we'll be in North Carolina visiting family so look for some good stories to come.

The New Camera Is On Its Way!

I finally did it! I was able to sell enough of my stuff on Craigslist to buy a new camera. This has been a goal of mine since returning from our vacation in Mexico. While we were there, we went to Xplor! which is a zip line park. It was very fun flying down the zip lines and taking some fun videos. I knew that there were a few water landings at the end of some of the zip lines so I made sure to put the camera in a ziploc baggy to protect it from getting wet. It worked great during those short water landings. There was also an underground river that you could swim through. It was like spelunking in a cave but you got to swim through it. There were a lot of stalactites hanging from the ceiling. I had put my camera in my pocket, secured nicely in the ziploc bag before going into the river. It had worked in the water landings so I was sure it would be OK in the river too. Well, the ziploc bag leaked when it was submerged for so long. a few drops of water got in and ruined the camera. I tried everything to dry it out and save the camera but I was unsuccessful.

More background info: When Beth and I got married in 2001, we vacationed in Jamaica. We were given a nice panoramic camera as a wedding gift and we made sure to bring it with us. We took some great pictures with it and also some very tasteful, artistic nude photos on the clothing optional island. I couldn't wait to get them developed! On about the third day, we decided to go for a kayak ride in the ocean. I had the option to leave the camera at the sports desk, but I decided to bring it along in the kayak with me. I didn't think that the waves would be enough to break over the top of the kayak, so I put the camera in the back compartment on top of the kayak. We were about 50 yards off shore when Beth started yelling at me that the camera was swimming in a pool of water! I turned around and, sure enough, the bag the camera was in was floating around and soaked completely through. I was devastated. Beth was PISSED! She had told me not to bring the camera along. Now the pictures were destroyed, memories were gone forever and I thought she would renounce he wedding vows. The rest of the week I was walking on egg shells, but we worked it out.

Fast forward back to Mexico; Beth had also told me not to bring the camera in the water and that if I had to, use two ziplocs to keep it safe. Again I didn't listen and figured one ziploc would do the trick. You'd think that I would learn my lesson and I think I have. I was once again walking on egg shells. This is when I set a goal to purge some unused items to pay for the replacement of the camera.

So in a few short days, I'll have the new camera and I can start including pictures on this Blog! I hope it makes things a little more exciting for the 3 followers of my little Blog. Thanks for following my blog, I hope you like it so far. It will only get better. For anyone of you anonymous readers, feel free to follow along. There's a lot more good stuff coming.

Uncle Don...

This evening, I found out that my Uncle Don passed away. I found out late last week that he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. At the time the Doc gave him 3 months. His cancer must have been more advanced than the Doc had realized.

Uncle Don was married to my Aunt Irene. She was my Dad's sister. Aunt Irene passed away of cancer in the late 1990's. I think it was 1998, but might have been 1999. Aunt Irene was my Dad's first sibling to pass away and it was a very sad time. I remember hugging my Dad after the funeral service and crying uncontrollably with him. It was the first time I've had to console my Dad.

I didn't know my Aunt Irene or Uncle Don very well. Don and Irene had three children; Doreen, Mike and Dale. Doreen and Mike were quite a bit older than me so I didn't get to know them very well. I saw them at family reunions and always had a great respect for them. They were always nice to me my brother Phil. My cousin Dale was fun to be around. He was the first person to introduce me to "dubbing" CDs to tape. I also remember when I turned 18, Phil, Dale and I went to Déjà vu for a night of looking at strippers and getting lap dances. It was a great time that I won't forget.

Random Story: This is where I learned that strippers don't want anything but your money. Other than bachelor parties, I've never been back to a strip joint. Except for that time in Key West when the "performer" grabbed my ears with her long finger nails and began to thrust my face into her robust cleavage while digging said finger nails into my scalp. Needless to say that it hurt like hell. I'd never forcefully thrown dollar bills at anyone prior to that night. I have not purposely darkened the door of a strip joint since that day.

So now I pray that my Uncle Don's soul is accepted into heaven. I pray for safe passage and a short time in purgatory. I pray for Mike, Doreen and Dale and all of Uncle Don's Grandchildren that their suffering be eased knowing that Uncle Don is now in Heaven with Aunt Irene.

Until I see you again, Uncle Don, May the road rise to meet you. May the wind be always at your back. May the sun shine warm upon your face. May the rains fall soft upon your fields and until we meet again, May the Lord hold you in the palm of His hand.