Sneakerville

It is fair to say I have never been one of those guys who watch or follow basketball. It's just not my thing and really never has been. Of course being only 5'8, that might have something to do with it. But even before that when I was sure I would grow to a strapping 6'3, bball just wasn't something I was drawn to. Not sure why as I do like to participate in a variety of sports.

Within the last week or so the NBA had their All Star game. (I didn't watch). The only time in the past few years I have seen any NBA action is the Christmas Day game and that is because we visit family who has the game up on the tube. (I guess tube is a little dated. Perhaps I should say screen. Okay, screen it is. However 'boob screen' just doesn't have the same ring to it).

The day after the game I tuned in my sports radio show on my drive into work. All I heard was talk about the game and a certain retirement looming over the sport. Although I know the sport and the major participants, I've never understood the culture that surrounds it. I listened to the hosts and it was nothing but a couple guys that sounded like they were 'wanna-bees'. I wanna be part of that culture. It was basketball slang and a show not suited to a general sports audience.

Now I know I'm an old guy but listening to two guys try and sound hip to that world just didn't live up to how I wanted my morning to start. Unfortunately there isn't much on the radio these days that holds my interest. It was a long ride into work that day ...

And don't even get me started on the 'sneaker' thing that ties into the basketball world.  How someone needs +$200 pairs of sneakers every time another 'star' puts out a new set is ridiculous. Are there really 125 different sets of Air Jordans through the years?

I just don't get it ...

A day of love and loss

It has now been three years this Valentine's Day that a voice that eloquently graced these pages fell silent. To readers of this blog, you know him best as North of 50. To myself and my family, he was the keystone of our family, the one in the middle that seemed to hold us all together.

To that end, this holiday has become bitter-sweet for many of us. We see the primping and gift-giving that surrounds us this February 14th. We long to reach out to our loved ones and embrace them with the love, fun and frivolity that Valentine's Day has come to symbolize. But for my family it is tinged with sadness at my brother's passing. His children that have come together as couples feel the pang of loss on this day.

For me, it is something I have been able to begin to look past. Nothing will ever take away his memory, his smile, his intellect. But my life and the life of his children must move forward. It is the natural way of things. Some may think that harsh. I do not. We were raised in a religious family. Death though sad, was also a celebration of God and his calling of a soul home to heaven.

So why do I write this post? For me it is a way to reach out to my nieces and nephews and family that called Don father and uncle, that they may themselves begin to again embrace this holiday as a celebration of their love for each other. My brother celebrated family like none other. Family is everything to him. Know that each of you now should embrace again the spirit of this holiday and turn your hearts away from loss and remember his embrace shall be with you always. His life was about celebration, a celebration that continues until that day when we all embrace him again in God's love.

A Man's Man

As one slides along on our blue marble ones perspectives tend to change over time. That is a natural occurrence, at least I would hope so. Not only does society change and evolve but so does its stereotypes of what we as people should become. At the end of it all, we are who we think we should become.

My world is not the world of my father or my father's father. They lived in different times and had different struggles. But I ask myself, what do we have in common? I would classify my father as a 'man's man', but his world is not my world. Although times and attitudes change, I find myself asking what does it mean to be a man in this world? In my opinion, it means to be well-rounded. So, what does that mean? It means a man isn't stuck in a single world. He has evolved through experiences and is adaptable to be able to fit into many worlds.

We all live in our own world built by our experiences. One is not necessarily any better or worse than another, but why would one limit themselves to only one set of experiences? Why can't the man who grew up farming the land not feel like he could attend an opera in New York City and fit the circumstances? And in reverse, why couldn't a big city man feel relatively at home in the mountains of Tennessee? That's what I mean by someone who has grown into his own and become a man's man.

As I began to ponder this existence I started jotting down a list of many of those things I believe every man should experience in his life. Now, this is not an all-encompassing list and I will surely add to it as I continue my walk through this life with My Beloved.

Love a dog; bury a dog.
Learn to play a musical instrument
Be in a play or theater event
Build something completely from scratch
Renovate or refurbish something
Witness a birth
Swim in an ocean
Pilot a plane (even if it's just for a few seconds)
Change parts on a car
Play a competitive team sport
Help a child with their homework
Explore a cave
Hike a trail
Sleep outside in a tent under the stars with a child just for fun
Learn to dance
Learn to fly-fish
Grow a beard or a mustache
Learn to drive a stick-shift
Help someone who could never pay you back

These are just some of the things that would give a man a wide-ranging set of experiences and broaden his perspectives on the world. And a note, I have not yet done all these things. Some I may never have the opportunity to do. We'll see. I hope my future is not so limited.

Many people have their own thoughts as to what it means to be a man. To be a man is to be confident in one's own skin without being abjectly arrogant. These are my thoughts, ever evolving as they are.

Home World Series

When one has been writing as long as I have, over twenty-five years actually, one starts out with a clear vision in mind of where you want to go. Over time, the future wanders in the mind's eye. The majority of my work has been in the fantasy genre. As a matter of fact, the project after Star Eagle Six is revisiting book three of the Last Elf Prophesy series.

I have always felt there is a kindred spirit between the fantasy and sci-fi genres. Many who read one often read the other. So to that end, I proudly introduce the first novel of a new sci-fi series, Star Eagle Six. It is now available for purchase at Star Eagle Six, Amazon.com.

   The vastness that surrounds me is beyond my measure. I stare into the void safely tucked away within my cocoon, that which shelters me from the cold expanse of the universe. It is my only salvation. I stare blankly at the panel before me strung with instruments that are nothing but a memory. They call out their song but I do not recognize their words.

   The warmth of the yellow star that illuminates my cockpit falls away leaving me in cold shadow. I am a stranger to this space. My memory fails. I have no recollection of the events that have brought me to this point, this time. My future is a canvas as blank as my past. What is to happen to me? Where am I to go? Should this ship be my coffin or my salvation? I remember, I am at war ... Star Eagle Six, is anyone out there?

I sincerely hope everyone who reads this book truly enjoys it. Writers put their heart into every word penned (or typed) onto the paper. It's what we do. Every book should be an experience for the reader and I hope you truly enjoy this experience.

Mega-white

Let's see now, the east coast of the United States is getting blasted with what many are saying is the largest storm in nearly one-hundred years. Up and down the eastern seaboard the major metropolises are paralyzed and it will be days or weeks until they dig out. This, is a major impact and not to be taken lightly ... sort of.

How many times though have we seen the world outside our door shut down almost at the mention of the word "snow". Hey, it's winter folks. The white stuff falls and it has ever since you've been alive. Why the heck does everyone panic like they've never seen it before? Why are we all shocked at this?

Times have changed and it wasn't always this way. When I was a kid, I think my high school shut down once due to weather, maybe twice. Now, three snow flakes get together to have a meeting and there is a two hour delay. I thought I'd put together a little chart as to how things used to be versus now.

1/2 inch:
 When I was a kid (WIWAK): It snowed?

 Now: Weather men on TV take off their coats and roll up their sleeves

1 inch:
WIWAK: That's not even enough for a good snowman

Now: Two hour delay for schools

2 inches:
 WIWAK: I'll have to shovel the driveway when I get home from school

 Now: Emergency Level One is declared

4 inches:
 WIWAK: My brother will have to help me shovel after school

 Now: Emergency Level Two is declared. Schools are cancelled

6 inches:
 WIWAK: I had to go shovel the neighbors driveways (they were older)

 Now: Emergency Level Three declared Every meeting across the city is cancelled

8 inches:
WIWAK: School is cancelled

Now: All grocery stores are picked clean like buzzards on a dead carcass

10 or more inches:
WIWAK: Okay, it's starting to get serious

Now: We're all gonna die !! (However, everyone goes outside anyway). Most common complaint: It's been a whole day and nobody's plowed my street yet.

Tomorrow I get to meet up with my cousins for my Uncle Jim's 94th birthday party. It will be fun. I'm sure my uncle will tell us how bad he had it in the winters of his youth. "Heck, we didn't even have TV to tell us it was snowing." I'm sure something like that is about to come my way.

Stay warm and stay safe and Happy Birthday Uncle Jim !

                                                                                                         

                                               

Like a Boss !!

It's the new year, happy 2016 to everyone.

So, what does that mean? It means resolutions. It means changing our lives for the better. How do we do it? We make resolutions. Now, there's nothing wrong with making resolutions. There is something wrong with making unrealistic ones. I've always found the biggest changes happen with the smallest steps. One doesn't change one's life overnight. You won't lose 100 pounds in two months but you can start walking a mile per day above your normal travels. I won't look like Mr. Universe in three months but I can stick to my exercise routines to stay healthy in my old age.

The other obstacle many face is trying to do too much. No one can make ten high-demand resolutions and stick with them unless they plan to blow up their lives completely. Many of those obstacles are things one can't change due to the nature of life; job, family, etc. For me personally, I need to do things outside of my work. 2015 was a demanding year on the job. Due to circumstances in the company I work for, I averaged a day off from work about every eighteen to twenty days for nearly nine months. And the majority of those days were ten to twelve hour days. I also left two weeks of vacation time on the calendar I won't get back. But, it was what had to be done when it had to be done. It made life more difficult than it should have been and kept me away from home and My Beloved for many more hours than it should have.

With my work schedule hopefully back to a more normal routine, as much as can be expected in retail, it's time for a year for myself and My Beloved...

Resolutions ...

 Leave work when I supposed to leave work.

Publish two books in 2016. The first should be out this month. Look

for Star Eagle Six to be out in the coming weeks.

Begin a serious marketing campaign for my books. I had always told

myself I'd begin marketing seriously when I had seven or eight books

on the table. Star Eagle Six will be my eighth novel.

The second book will be the third book of the Last Elf Prophecy

series titled: Awakening of Lilestrom (Lilestrom is a dragon)

Take my wife on an adventure (get your minds out of the gutter)

each month. Do something fun we haven't done before.

Refinish a vintage 1947 Firestone radio / record player console

 I purchased from a friend last week. 

Okay, so these all sound doable. These are my goals and resolutions for the coming year of 2016. I going to do these LIKE A BOSS!

(and just in case I don't accomplish any of these, I'll erase this post like it never happened)

Make 2016 your year. Make it LIKE A BOSS!

This Christmas Eve

This day again, my favorite day of the year. Sitting here with My Beloved, the fire roaring as I sip a cheap glass of Cabernet Sauvignon. Okay, who am I kidding? It's sixty degrees here this year. I was sweating my reindeer off on Christmas Eve day as I wrapped up the process.

In truth however, this day has become the holiday for me each year. The hustle and bustle are complete and our home is decorated with pine and trimmings. Each year it is a little different. We cherish treasured ornaments and decorations from our past while we add new touches to the house. My Beloved does the vast majority of the Santa duties and I offset that by putting up and out the decorations each year. It's a working balance.

Christmas makes its statement to each one of us in its own special way, and as we grow older our views change and adapt. Christmas Day is for the children and the more I am around my grandsons the more that is refreshed within. I would gladly trade any gift I could or would receive to see their faces light up when they see the tree and what Santa has brought.

There will always be a religious element in our home as that is how I was raised. Christ's birth is the true meaning though I do not begrudge those who have come to take on a different outlook in this overly-commercialized season. I have come to terms with that and I believe most do as we grow older. My family comes first and that is the blessing that is bestowed upon me each and every day.

In these final hours before the magic of Christmas Eve, when the clock strikes midnight and the work of elves and a particular poignant fellow begins, I would like to wish everyone who reads this ramble a truly joyous and Merry Christmas. May you be blessed with joy and fellowship that pursue you throughout the coming year.

Now for my Christmas list ... oh, never mind. It's probably too late for all that.