Thursday, September 10, 2015
Tuesday, September 1, 2015
Monday, August 31, 2015
A journal entry from April 19, 2015
This was my fourth and final day on vacation in Panama City Beach, Florida. The first three days were filled with fun, food, rest, and relaxation.
Unfortunately, this day started out in a rush. One minute I was watching "Good Morning America". Another minute I was watching the local weather report from ABC station WMBB-TV on possible tornadoes and severe weather.
Kelly and I were smart enough to get off of the backroads and get onto I-10 once we got going. We skipped a planned breakfast in order to get on the road. Once we got moving and evaded the severe weather (high winds, hard/sideways rain), we emerged onto I-10 and began our journey home.
Actually, we needed to get to grandma's house first. Kelly's mom took great care of Ben during our vacation. We discovered Panama City Beach for the first time and was glorious. It's a neat little town.
It will be remembered for the beach, food, drinks, sleep, putt-putt, and getting ready for Blake. Now, back on the road.
On the road, Kelly and I drove Northbound on FLA HWY 79 to get home. Along the way, we saw a lot of severe weather. We witnessed rain, hard rain, wood debris, sideways rain, and strong winds. I've never been scared of severe weather like that in my life.
Finally, we saw daylight. We saw some light at the end of the tunnel: I-10. We took I-10 to Tallahassee, Florida. Add Tallahassee to another city as a state capitol I've set foot in. On the freeway, I saw a billboard that advertised WHATABURGER off the freeway. Before we settled in on Whataburger, we listened to some classic Casey Kasem. We heard a 'this week in 1981' countdown of some of the Top 40 hits.
After I enjoyed my most delicious Bacon and cheese Whataburger with my wife, we trekked back on the road. We bypassed the temptation that was a Krispy Kreme Donut shop. We drove up U.S. 319 all the way from Tallahassee to Wrightsville, Georgia.
Along the way, we crossed GA300 (Georgia/Florida Highway), I-75 in Tifton, Georgia, and I-16 near Dublin, Georgia. We tried three times to get gas for the old Rogue. The third time was the charm. I remember the scene of the crowded gas station. It was so rainy and crowded as I recall. I think think it took at least three laps around the filling station.
For our sake and for the sake of other drivers, I filled up my tank quickly and I got out of the way. I parked in front of the store so other drivers could gas up and so that my wife could get into the car as nearly as dry as possible. I think that was a success. We drove off with some coffee, chips, and soda to complete our journey.
We continued on US 319 on our journey to Grandma's house. We went past I-16 in Dublin. I remember the 'familiars' like Longhorn Steakhouse and Cracker Barrell on our rides through Dublin. I've stopped inside that Longhorn a couple of times. We were excited to see Ben for the first time in a few days.
Once we passed through Wrightsville, Georgia, I recalled that as the hometown of Georgia Bulldog legend and 1982 Heisman Trophy Winner Herschel Walker. I felt like I was riding through history.
When we got to my mother-in-law's house, I couldn't believe how grown-up Ben looked. He was having so much fun climbing and running around. I was spinning something to the amusement of Ben. I think I spun Ben around in a chair as well. He was smiling and laughing in his chair. One of those pictures was my phone screensaver for a while.
We all stayed as long as we could until it was time to go home. Kelly and I had to go to work the next morning. Sun light turned into darkness on GA-15 on our way to I-20. We bypassed the Flying J in order to get home.
Ben slept like a champ the entire three hour drive from Davisboro to Acworth. I couldn't believe it. I was a proud papa. It did not hurt that we had the Big 80's on 8 Big 40 countdown from SiriusXM to keep us company. I don't recall any late night road construction in slowing us down one drop.
When we finally got home, I was relieved to finally walk inside our four walls of our dwelling. I was even excited to see my beloved cat Gandalf. I was excited to give my family hugs and kisses. I was really ready for Gandalf, or so I thought.
Once Ben and Kelly went to bed, I got ready to see my furbaby. Unfortunately, Gandalf didn't feel the same. He clawed and meowed his way right out of my heart and to the door leading to our garage.
I just wanted him to be good and sit on my lap. I was hoping to get some last minute TV watching in with my four-legged pal before I had to go to bed.Instead, he made me chase him around to the door. I got mad at him for no reason because of that. He was just being a cat. I tried to pull him away from the door, engage in feather toy play with him, and bribe him with treats to get him away from the door. Nothing worked. He still scratched.
I won't let Gandalf ruin the end of what was a very successful vacation. I'll always have fond memories of visiting Panama City for the first time. It was a bonus for my wife and I that the Spring Break crowd was non-existent.
Unfortunately, this day started out in a rush. One minute I was watching "Good Morning America". Another minute I was watching the local weather report from ABC station WMBB-TV on possible tornadoes and severe weather.
Kelly and I were smart enough to get off of the backroads and get onto I-10 once we got going. We skipped a planned breakfast in order to get on the road. Once we got moving and evaded the severe weather (high winds, hard/sideways rain), we emerged onto I-10 and began our journey home.
Actually, we needed to get to grandma's house first. Kelly's mom took great care of Ben during our vacation. We discovered Panama City Beach for the first time and was glorious. It's a neat little town.
It will be remembered for the beach, food, drinks, sleep, putt-putt, and getting ready for Blake. Now, back on the road.
On the road, Kelly and I drove Northbound on FLA HWY 79 to get home. Along the way, we saw a lot of severe weather. We witnessed rain, hard rain, wood debris, sideways rain, and strong winds. I've never been scared of severe weather like that in my life.
Finally, we saw daylight. We saw some light at the end of the tunnel: I-10. We took I-10 to Tallahassee, Florida. Add Tallahassee to another city as a state capitol I've set foot in. On the freeway, I saw a billboard that advertised WHATABURGER off the freeway. Before we settled in on Whataburger, we listened to some classic Casey Kasem. We heard a 'this week in 1981' countdown of some of the Top 40 hits.
After I enjoyed my most delicious Bacon and cheese Whataburger with my wife, we trekked back on the road. We bypassed the temptation that was a Krispy Kreme Donut shop. We drove up U.S. 319 all the way from Tallahassee to Wrightsville, Georgia.
Along the way, we crossed GA300 (Georgia/Florida Highway), I-75 in Tifton, Georgia, and I-16 near Dublin, Georgia. We tried three times to get gas for the old Rogue. The third time was the charm. I remember the scene of the crowded gas station. It was so rainy and crowded as I recall. I think think it took at least three laps around the filling station.
For our sake and for the sake of other drivers, I filled up my tank quickly and I got out of the way. I parked in front of the store so other drivers could gas up and so that my wife could get into the car as nearly as dry as possible. I think that was a success. We drove off with some coffee, chips, and soda to complete our journey.
We continued on US 319 on our journey to Grandma's house. We went past I-16 in Dublin. I remember the 'familiars' like Longhorn Steakhouse and Cracker Barrell on our rides through Dublin. I've stopped inside that Longhorn a couple of times. We were excited to see Ben for the first time in a few days.
Once we passed through Wrightsville, Georgia, I recalled that as the hometown of Georgia Bulldog legend and 1982 Heisman Trophy Winner Herschel Walker. I felt like I was riding through history.
When we got to my mother-in-law's house, I couldn't believe how grown-up Ben looked. He was having so much fun climbing and running around. I was spinning something to the amusement of Ben. I think I spun Ben around in a chair as well. He was smiling and laughing in his chair. One of those pictures was my phone screensaver for a while.
We all stayed as long as we could until it was time to go home. Kelly and I had to go to work the next morning. Sun light turned into darkness on GA-15 on our way to I-20. We bypassed the Flying J in order to get home.
Ben slept like a champ the entire three hour drive from Davisboro to Acworth. I couldn't believe it. I was a proud papa. It did not hurt that we had the Big 80's on 8 Big 40 countdown from SiriusXM to keep us company. I don't recall any late night road construction in slowing us down one drop.
When we finally got home, I was relieved to finally walk inside our four walls of our dwelling. I was even excited to see my beloved cat Gandalf. I was excited to give my family hugs and kisses. I was really ready for Gandalf, or so I thought.
Once Ben and Kelly went to bed, I got ready to see my furbaby. Unfortunately, Gandalf didn't feel the same. He clawed and meowed his way right out of my heart and to the door leading to our garage.
I just wanted him to be good and sit on my lap. I was hoping to get some last minute TV watching in with my four-legged pal before I had to go to bed.Instead, he made me chase him around to the door. I got mad at him for no reason because of that. He was just being a cat. I tried to pull him away from the door, engage in feather toy play with him, and bribe him with treats to get him away from the door. Nothing worked. He still scratched.
I won't let Gandalf ruin the end of what was a very successful vacation. I'll always have fond memories of visiting Panama City for the first time. It was a bonus for my wife and I that the Spring Break crowd was non-existent.
Tuesday, August 25, 2015
Dreaming of New York again
This morning, I was in the middle of an amazing dream of me working and living in Manhattan. I was weaving in and out of sleep in this dream. I was watching my son Blake sleep and then I went back to sleep again.
In my dream, I was going Northbound in Manhattan. I was traveling inside a big bus/firetruck. I was part of a camera crew for some TV show. I was dreaming of working in Television News in the Big Apple.
I remember in the dream that my primary job was to shoot video of exteriors for a TV show to be filmed in Los Angeles.
Along the journey of my bus ride, I was humming the NBC theme and ID to a fellow passenger. He was impressed how good I was at doing that. I must have secretly been desiring to work for NBC over at 30 Rock. In real life, it was a dream of mine when I was a little kid.
I was getting into a groove. I was shooting tall buildings with my lightweight video camera, then something happened. I woke up.
At home, it was 7:45 in the morning, too late for me to keep sleeping. I had to get ready so that I could get my son ready for the day. I had to get the milk ready for Ben and the coffee ready for me. Then something else happened, Ben slept it.
He sometimes takes after his daddy.
In my dream, I was going Northbound in Manhattan. I was traveling inside a big bus/firetruck. I was part of a camera crew for some TV show. I was dreaming of working in Television News in the Big Apple.
I remember in the dream that my primary job was to shoot video of exteriors for a TV show to be filmed in Los Angeles.
Along the journey of my bus ride, I was humming the NBC theme and ID to a fellow passenger. He was impressed how good I was at doing that. I must have secretly been desiring to work for NBC over at 30 Rock. In real life, it was a dream of mine when I was a little kid.
I was getting into a groove. I was shooting tall buildings with my lightweight video camera, then something happened. I woke up.
At home, it was 7:45 in the morning, too late for me to keep sleeping. I had to get ready so that I could get my son ready for the day. I had to get the milk ready for Ben and the coffee ready for me. Then something else happened, Ben slept it.
He sometimes takes after his daddy.
Sunday, August 23, 2015
Sports Writing Samples for August 22/23, 2015
INTERLEAGUE
Final Houston 3 L.A.
Dodgers 1
AMERICAN LEAGUE
Final N-Y
Yankees 6 Cleveland 2
Final Minnesota 3 Baltimore 2
Final Texas 5 Detroit 3
Final Kansas City
6 Boston 3
Final Tampa
Bay 5 Oakland 4
Final Toronto 15 L.A.
Angels 3
TORONTO’S JOSH DONALDSON DROVE IN SIX RUNS
Final Chi
White Sox 6
Seattle 3 IN 10
NATIONAL
LEAGUE
Final Chi
Cubs 9 Atlanta 7
THE BRAVES HAVE LOST SIX IN A ROW
Final Pittsburgh 3
San Francisco 2
STARLING MARTE’S HOMER IN THE BOTTOM OF THE 9TH WINS IT
FOR THE PIRATES
Final Washington 6
Milwaukee 1
Final Arizona 11 Cincinnati 7
PAUL GOLDSCHMIDT HIT TWO HOME RUNS
Final Philadelphia 4
Miami 2
Final N-Y
Mets 14 Colorado 9
METS PLACE FIRST BASEMAN LUCAS DUDA ON THE 15 DAY D-L WITH A BACK
INJURY
Final San
Diego 8 St.
Louis 0
IAN KENNEDY AND 5 RELIEVERS COMBINE FOR THE SHUTOUT
JASON GORE LEADS AFTER
THREE ROUNDS OF THE WYNDHAM CHAMPIONSHIP IN GREENSBORO.
HE SHOT A 62 ON
SATURDAY TO TAKE A TWO STROKE LEAD AT 15-UNDER PAR OVER TIGER WOODS AND JONAS
BLIXT.
WOODS WILL QUALIFY FOR
THE FEDEX PLAYOFFS BY WINNING THE TOURNAMENT ON SUNDAY.
AND JOEY LOGANO WINS
AT BRISTOL UNDER THE LIGHTS FOR THE SECOND YEAR IN A ROW.
LOGANO TOOK THE LEAD
AT THE RESTART ON LAP 438 AND HELD OFF KEVIN HARVICK AT THE IRWIN TOOLS NIGHT
RACE.
SPRINT CUP RACING WILL
CONTINUE TWO WEEKS FROM NOW AT DARLINGTON.
Saturday, August 22, 2015
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)