We lost a true pioneer this week. It's hard to believe after all he has done, he is gone forever. It's hard to believe that we won't see his face on tv anymore or hear his voice on the radio. That's the way it is though. Life and Death.
Rest in peace, Billy Mays. You will be missed.
Sunday, June 28, 2009
Sunday, June 21, 2009
a long time
I know it has been a long time since I posted anything.
You see, several weeks ago, my employers basically said that anyone caught accessing non-work-related sites would be fired on the spot with no questions asked. I asked no questions and just kind of stopped going to blogger. I have been on a little from home but have not written until now.
Not a lot has happened since then.
I heard a guy at the hair place ask the girl to give him a caesar. That was pretty funny.
Also, we got into a fight with our neighbor (Rodneysdad from JS if any of you remember him.) I will write about it soon.
See ya!
You see, several weeks ago, my employers basically said that anyone caught accessing non-work-related sites would be fired on the spot with no questions asked. I asked no questions and just kind of stopped going to blogger. I have been on a little from home but have not written until now.
Not a lot has happened since then.
I heard a guy at the hair place ask the girl to give him a caesar. That was pretty funny.
Also, we got into a fight with our neighbor (Rodneysdad from JS if any of you remember him.) I will write about it soon.
See ya!
Monday, May 4, 2009
High school photo
This photo was taken when I was on the Freshman basketball team. We were not a very good team which is evidenced by the fact that I was the only one with a face.
I think our record was about 6-12. That was because I hardly ever played, of course. I scored 2 points that season.
The following year, when about 6 of us were junior varsity we were much better. I think we finished 12-6 that season but finished 7-1 in our last 8 games. I lit up the scoreboard for 5 points during that season including a three point play in front of the home crowd. I don't have a picture of that, unfortunately.
I should mention that this photo was posted in response to snowangel and Simon posting their earlier photos. Go check theirs out too.
I think our record was about 6-12. That was because I hardly ever played, of course. I scored 2 points that season.
The following year, when about 6 of us were junior varsity we were much better. I think we finished 12-6 that season but finished 7-1 in our last 8 games. I lit up the scoreboard for 5 points during that season including a three point play in front of the home crowd. I don't have a picture of that, unfortunately.
I should mention that this photo was posted in response to snowangel and Simon posting their earlier photos. Go check theirs out too.
Monday, April 27, 2009
Greg
I used to coach swimming to kids. I started when I was 18 and continued doing it until I was thirty-four. When I was a law student at age twenty-three or so, I realized something that bothered me. I knew that if I continued to coach and interact with between 80-150 kids every single year, it was only a matter of time before we lost one of them at far too young an age.
A few months later, I got a call from my parents back home telling me about one of my swimmers who had died in an automobile accident. My realization had become a reality. A seventeen year old girl was dead at far too young an age.
This post is not about her, though. This is about Greg, the subject of the second such phone call I received. This call was last week.
Greg was the oldest of four boys. My fourth year coaching, I met Greg as an eight-year-old. He was very tall and thin. He did not start out being an exceptional swimmer, but then again most people don't. They get better from practicing. As the years went by, Greg improved. His brothers joined the team as they got old enough to do so and their family was one constant we could rely on. Greg was a backstroker and during the last year I coached him, I believe was the backstroker on a state champion medley relay. He was a smart kid. He always liked to read more than play with the other kids. Even his younger brothers were much more social than he was.
Last week I got a call from a friend who still lives back home. He left me a voicemail message telling me that Greg had passed away. He knew none of the details, but had just seen the obituary in the paper and thought I would want to know. I knew it must have been a suicide considering the lack of details. There was no accompanying story about an automobile accident or no phrase about a "lengthy illness."
I had not seen or spoken to Greg in several years. The odds are that had he lived I never would have seen him again. I'll still miss him though. He was a good guy and I just think it is very sad that he decided to shoot himself the day before his twenty-fifth birthday. I think it is sad that he spent his last day feeling so hopeless.
Here is a picture from a better day. Greg is the one on the right.
A few months later, I got a call from my parents back home telling me about one of my swimmers who had died in an automobile accident. My realization had become a reality. A seventeen year old girl was dead at far too young an age.
This post is not about her, though. This is about Greg, the subject of the second such phone call I received. This call was last week.
Greg was the oldest of four boys. My fourth year coaching, I met Greg as an eight-year-old. He was very tall and thin. He did not start out being an exceptional swimmer, but then again most people don't. They get better from practicing. As the years went by, Greg improved. His brothers joined the team as they got old enough to do so and their family was one constant we could rely on. Greg was a backstroker and during the last year I coached him, I believe was the backstroker on a state champion medley relay. He was a smart kid. He always liked to read more than play with the other kids. Even his younger brothers were much more social than he was.
Last week I got a call from a friend who still lives back home. He left me a voicemail message telling me that Greg had passed away. He knew none of the details, but had just seen the obituary in the paper and thought I would want to know. I knew it must have been a suicide considering the lack of details. There was no accompanying story about an automobile accident or no phrase about a "lengthy illness."
I had not seen or spoken to Greg in several years. The odds are that had he lived I never would have seen him again. I'll still miss him though. He was a good guy and I just think it is very sad that he decided to shoot himself the day before his twenty-fifth birthday. I think it is sad that he spent his last day feeling so hopeless.
Here is a picture from a better day. Greg is the one on the right.
Friday, April 24, 2009
14
14 more wins until title number 18 hangs from the rafters. The Celtics have won 2 games in the playoffs this year.
To win a NBA championship, a team must win 4 best-of-seven series in the playoffs. That is only 16 games total. So, a team can go 16-12 and be the champions. It really sounds much easier than it is. I know this because only one out of sixteen playoff teams ever get that 16th win.
A team could go 15-4 and not be the champs. It's that 16th win that gets it. When you start examining the details and saying they will probably have to beat a team with LeBron James AND a team with Kobe Bryant without having the benefit of the homecourt advantage and without their best player, getting there it seems impossible. But it's not.
Sunday they play the Chicago Bulls and they can win that game. That is all they can do Sunday and if they do, the number will be down to 13.
To win a NBA championship, a team must win 4 best-of-seven series in the playoffs. That is only 16 games total. So, a team can go 16-12 and be the champions. It really sounds much easier than it is. I know this because only one out of sixteen playoff teams ever get that 16th win.
A team could go 15-4 and not be the champs. It's that 16th win that gets it. When you start examining the details and saying they will probably have to beat a team with LeBron James AND a team with Kobe Bryant without having the benefit of the homecourt advantage and without their best player, getting there it seems impossible. But it's not.
Sunday they play the Chicago Bulls and they can win that game. That is all they can do Sunday and if they do, the number will be down to 13.
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Beast
I was reading comments from fans on ESPN.com and came across this one:
"I know Bull fans and Celtic haters are thinking that the Celtics will lose in Chicago, but you gotta remember that Paul Pierce hasn't had a good game yet. So you never know what factors can round into a game. You're not always gonna get beast games from Rose or Gordon to bail you out. I'm a Laker fan and I hate the Celtics as much as the next guy, but I'm just saying that the Bulls can't relax just because they are at home now. "
I added the emphasis on "beast."
Brandon walks around talking about how beast things are and how beast he is and how beast everything is... unless it is epic. Sometimes things are both beast and epic.
I guess my reaction is similar to what my father's reaction was when I started calling things "massive" and "awesome" back in the early 1980's. The difference is that "massive" and "awesome" where always adjectives. I'm not sure when "beast" changed its part of speech.
I have never really used the word "beast" all that much except for a couple of years in college when people referred to what they were drinking as "The Beast." The Beast was the nickname for Milwaukee's Best Beer which is far from beast by today's standards. It was cheap though. Of course, sometimes it was hard to get ahold of beer in those days so just having some of the Beast was beast enough for the night.
"I know Bull fans and Celtic haters are thinking that the Celtics will lose in Chicago, but you gotta remember that Paul Pierce hasn't had a good game yet. So you never know what factors can round into a game. You're not always gonna get beast games from Rose or Gordon to bail you out. I'm a Laker fan and I hate the Celtics as much as the next guy, but I'm just saying that the Bulls can't relax just because they are at home now. "
I added the emphasis on "beast."
Brandon walks around talking about how beast things are and how beast he is and how beast everything is... unless it is epic. Sometimes things are both beast and epic.
I guess my reaction is similar to what my father's reaction was when I started calling things "massive" and "awesome" back in the early 1980's. The difference is that "massive" and "awesome" where always adjectives. I'm not sure when "beast" changed its part of speech.
I have never really used the word "beast" all that much except for a couple of years in college when people referred to what they were drinking as "The Beast." The Beast was the nickname for Milwaukee's Best Beer which is far from beast by today's standards. It was cheap though. Of course, sometimes it was hard to get ahold of beer in those days so just having some of the Beast was beast enough for the night.
Friday, April 3, 2009
Differences
A while back I wrote an entry about the differences between living in New England and living in Louisiana. It was on Journalspace so you won't find it in this journal.
I encountered another difference today.
I was in a rural town trying to get an older man to answer some questions for me about a particular piece of property. He answered my questions and then had some for me. The first question he asked me was to what church I belong.
Where I come from nobody cares what church to which you belong or even if you go to church at all.
Fortunately I had an answer for him. I am not sure how helpful he would have been otherwise.
I encountered another difference today.
I was in a rural town trying to get an older man to answer some questions for me about a particular piece of property. He answered my questions and then had some for me. The first question he asked me was to what church I belong.
Where I come from nobody cares what church to which you belong or even if you go to church at all.
Fortunately I had an answer for him. I am not sure how helpful he would have been otherwise.
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