I Am Convinced!

• I am convinced that diaper rash is the worst plague known to man. Colin has a severe case of it right now and is completely miserable. He woke up this morning screaming and crying like I have never heard him before. And changing his diaper when he has The Plague is an adventure, and not a fun one. I guess I'll be heading to the drugstore later to find a better treatment for it.
• I am convinced that being a dad is the best thing in the world!
  
• I am convinced that Roger Clemens is the worst teammate in Major League Baseball. He is no more than a mercenary. When he announced his return to the Yankees, he spoke of how glad he was to be back in NY. Well, sure he was. They threw more money at him than did Boston or Houston. If one of those teams had given him more money, he would have been thrilled to be there, too. But what kind of teammate demands to be able to go home whenever he wants? It's one thing to want to spend time with your family, but for $28 million, I think you could maybe buy them a nice home in NY so you could be with them. And he doesn't just use that privilege to spend time with his family. He also uses it to play golf, according to his former manager Phil Garner. I would rather have a teammate that is committed to the team than one who is no more than a hired gun who can show up late and leave whenever.
• I am convinced that MLB teams are doing the right thing by banning alcohol from their clubhouses, in light of the death of Cardinals pitcher Josh Hancock. I know, he didn't get drunk at the stadium, but why even have alcohol there? What other employer offers beer to their employers at their place of employment after a long day? None! Some - Colin Cowherd and Mike Greenberg on ESPN Radio - say that this is the wrong approach, that we need to stress personal responsibility instead. That's fine, but why put the temptation there for anyone that may be struggling with it? We might as well offer betting slips in the clubhouse but make sure we stress responsibility. Give me a break! I know that alcohol is legal, but also very damaging to many people. Get it out of the clubhouse.
• Speaking of ESPN, I am convinced that they are coming close to losing me as a fan of their establishment (I know, it would crush them to know this). It ticks me off that more and more of the articles that they posy online are only available to Insiders, which means paying X amount of dollars for the inside scoop. I know they are in the business of making money, but they won't make my money this way. I'll look at a different website instead.
• I am convinced that the local media in Cape Girardeau is too self-important. A couple of examples to prove my point. One, every time there is any kind of severe weather, the local TV station breaks into regular programming every few minutes for special updates, instead of breaking in once and then having the little map on the screen showing affected areas or the ticker at the bottom of the screen. For some reason, they feel it is vital to show off their triple doppler whatever and let Mom and Pop in Podunkville know that it will be raining in their neighborhood in seven minutes. And two, are there that many people in this area that care about SEMO baseball? While listening to the NFL Draft a couple of weeks ago, they were early in the broadcast of the first round when the local sports station cut away for a SEMO baseball game. OK fine, you have a contract with SEMO, but have the foresight to know when the second biggest day of the football season is so you don't have to cut away. Geez! And finally, when the shooting tragedy happened at Va Tech, and all of the national news programs were having special one-hour broadcasts instead of their normal half-hour programs, the local station cut away from the coverage to do their local news program. I know, local news is important, but I think that event takes precedence.
  
• I am convinced that British TV is better than American TV. OK, so maybe just the few programs I have watched have been better - thanks, Oral - but they sure seem better. My current favorite is Life on Mars. Other favorites have been , The Office (British version), Cracker and Dr. Who.

Enough ranting for now. I'm sure Colin will be waking up soon. Must be ready...

A Fun Thought...

Colin is at the stage in his life where he is all over the place. He walks really well now, and is on the verge of flat-out running. But while he is so good at getting around, he still falls down quite a bit. Not falling down and getting hurt, although he is getting good at that, too. I mean the kind of falling where he will be standing there one second, and the next he is on his butt. The other night, he must have fallen down five or six times in a row, which led to much laughter from his parents (we weren't laughing at him, we were laughing near him). Marcy thought that the dog toy he was holding was throwing him off-balance. I don't know that those few ounces made that much of a difference, but that's really not the point. The point is, he falls on his butt quite frequently.

I thought recently, as I observed Colin's sometimes inability to stand up, what if adults were like that? What if, randomly throughout our days, we would simply fall on our butt? And there would be no reaction at all; we would simply stand back up like nothing ever happened. Imagine the scenarios:

• You are looking at buying a brand-new car, and the salesman simply falls down on his butt.
• As you walk through the mall, people are dropping left and right, falling on their butts.
• While everyone is singing in church, people are sporadically falling on their butts throughout the sanctuary.
• You're getting ready to kiss that girl for the first time, and she falls on her butt.

You get the picture, and if you do, it's a pretty funny picture. I think it has great potential as a skit on SNL or Mad TV. What do you think?

What's Wrong with This Picture?

The Cavs just swept a playoff series.
The Indians are in first place.
The Browns just had a great draft.

All signs that the Armageddon is upon us...

With the Third Pick of the NFL Draft, the Cleveland Browns Select...

I don't remember a time when I have been this worked up about the NFL - or any - professional sports draft. Let's face it, the Browns stink and probably will for a very long time. And whoever they draft will either have a career-ending injury or will be a bust (repeat with me: Tim Couch - see above). But for whatever reason, there still is a glimmer of optimism in my spirit. Call it denial, if you like, but there's a hope deep within by being that says, "Maybe this draft will turn things around for my boys." Only time will tell, I guess. Here's my take on the top potential players that the Browns could pick #3 in the draft:

• Adrian Peterson: He could be the franchise back the Browns need. Or - if he doesn't change his running style - he could be the next Courtney Brown, always sidelined with injuries. I was ready to be OK with the Browns drafting him until I heard that he re-broke his collarbone in the Fiesta Bowl against Boise State and could require surgery. Now I'm a little more hesitant.
• Brady Quinn: He is a good quarterback, but I will shoot myself (not really, silly) if the Browns select him. He's good as long as it is not a big game; then he folds like a cheap card table. On the other hand, since the Browns are never in a big game, it might be a match made in Heaven.
• Joe Thomas: I would love to have him! It would give Frye/Anderson time to throw and continue to solidify the OL that Savage has worked hard to rebuild. But, they would still need to find a RB at some point because I don't think that Jamal Lewis is the long-term solution.
• JaMarcus Russell: If he slips to three and the Browns don't select him, I may have to start rooting for another team. "Go Texans!" Nah, I could never pull that off. But if they do get him, watch him be the next Ryan Leaf or Akili Smith.
• Calvin Johnson: If he slips to three and the Browns don't trade him to someone that is just drooling over him so that they can get him in front of the Bucs, well, see the above threat. We don't need him as bad as we need more picks. Trade, baby, trade!

Only 26+ hours to wait to see what they will do. I'm not sure if I'll make it. I should go mow the lawn or something...

P.S. I have already apologized to Colin for the fact that he will be raised a Cleveland sports fan. He doesn't have a choice in the matter - I will not let him pick the team he wants to root for - and it is a life of heartbreak. But, as Calvin's dad always used to say, "It will build character."

A Busy Couple of Weeks

Before I get into what has been going on in the wonderful world of Mike Fitzpatrick, allow me to apologize for the faulty music video that I posted earlier. I didn't know that it would only show the first 35 seconds of the video. Drag! But you can check it out here. Heck with hearitfirst.com...

We had a great birthday and baptism celebration for Colin. We wanted to get him baptized, so we planned to have it done as close to his birthday as possible so if family came to The Cape, we could kill two birds with one frying pan, if you know what I mean. What a great weekend! We had Marcy's sister and bro-in-law and her mom and stepdad stay with us, while my mom and aunt stayed at a hotel. It was a little crazy having all of those people here, especially since we had had company two of the previous three weekends. We were wiped out by the end, but it was worth it. It was such a fun weekend! We celebrated the Boy's birthday on Saturday, complete with his own cake and #1 candles (he wasn't so good at blowing them out). As you can tell from this picture, he enjoyed the cake quite a bit!

I forgot to mention that he also got his first haircut that weekend by Auntie Ruthie. He had developed quite the mullet, so thank God for scissors and that my mom snuck them through airport security. :-) He got quite the motherload for a kid that's not even going to remember this day. I'm not sure what he liked more, the Radio Flyer All-Terrain Wagon or the envelopes that all of the cards came in. It's a toss-up.

On Sunday, we had Colin baptized. What a blessing! I told Marcy just before we went up for the ceremony that I was more nervous for this than I am when I preach. I'm not sure why, but it was the case. Colin couldn't have been more precious or well-behaved, as you can tell from this picture.

He just soaked it all up, and when he was held up for the congregation to see him at the end, and everyone clapped, he shook his arms and legs with joy. He really is the best boy ever!

Fast-forward a few days to that next Thursday (which was March 29th). The fam had all gone home. That night was our big Silent Auction & Dinner fundraiser for our student mission trip. This summer, we are taking around 35 students to serve in Birmingham in the name of Jesus, so we had to raise a lot of money. The theme was The 70's, and we had great funk music provided by Groove Conspiracy. The turnout was good and although the bidding wasn't as fierce as last year, we were still able to clear $6,500.00! It was a great night! I had to look the part, so:

Yes, that is a fun manchu on my face. That was the first time that Marcy had ever seen my chin. Colin wasn't really sure what to make of me that night. He just kept looking at my hair with a very concerned look on his face.

Then this past Saturday, I went with a group of our SIMYs to St. Louis for a training done by Youth Specialties on Helping Hurting Kids. What a tough day! It's just so hard to hear all of the crap that today's teens are dealing with. But it feels good to be used by God with these people. And I am SO thankful that I work alongside such great people that love the students as much as I do, if not more so.

That pretty much catches you up on my life. Except for the fact that I hate the state of Florida. And the fact that next weekend is our 30 Hour Famine with the youth. The senior high guys have challenged me that if they raise $5,000.00, I have to shave my head. To be continued...Before I go, can I ask you to do me a favor? Could you leave me a comment to let me know that you are reading this, even if you simply say, "I read this."? That would help me know if I am wasting my time keeping this blog up. Thanks...

Crowder vs. The Squirrels

So much has been going on that I haven't had much time to write. Sorry. Still no time today, but this new Crowder video is worth posting:

Competing Urges

One of Colin's favorite things to do is to look out the window that is right behind our couch. Ever since he was very small, he has enjoyed seeing the sights, staring at all of the various colors, and especially watching the cars go by. When he was younger, and was particularly fussy, I could take him out to the front porch and he would completely chill out while the cars whizzed by. He still loves that!

One of his daddy's favorite things to do is to cuddle him on the aforementioned couch. When he starts to get tired and whiny, and it's close to nap time, I like to take him over to the couch and let him cuddle against my chest. He doesn't always cuddle as good as he use to. He's more active and mobile now, so he tends to move around a bit. But, since he is so tired, he will stop moving, plop his head down onto my chest, and suck his thumb. It's one of the best feelings ever!

It is during these times that Colin faces a competition of urges. He is so tired, and he knows that he wants to - that he needs to - go to sleep, or at the very least, rest on Daddy's chest. But, the allure of the window is strong. He doesn't want to miss anything that happens out there, so he strains his neck and body to peer out the window, sometimes even crawling over me and standing on me to get a better view. But then the fatigue takes over and he drops back down to my chest to take a break. Then, back to the window. "What's going on out there? I think I heard something. Look! It's a car!" Then, back to the thumb and my chest. And the cycle continues until I finally take him to his room, sing him his song, and put him down in his crib to sleep. No more choices. No more tough decisions. Just rest.

I am so much like my son, it's scary. I deal with the same competition of urges. Only my choices have nothing to do with the window and the couch. My choices look more like, do I take time to read my Bible or check on my March Madness bracket? Do I set aside time at work to pray for my job or do I just jump in with both feet and get to work? Do I sit up later than I should to do essentially nothing online or do I get the sleep I so badly need? There's nothing intrinsically wrong with March Madness, or work, or checking out my web favorites. Just like there's nothing wrong with looking out the window. But there is a better choice. I feel like Paul, who said that he wants to do one thing, but ends up doing something else. It's not like I'm choosing between praying and robbing a bank, or reading my Bible and getting sloppy drunk, but there is still a competition for my time. And no matter how seemingly harmless many of the things are in our lives, there are frequently better choices to be made. I just know that I don't always - and sometimes, seldom - choose the better thing. But those times that I do, I can rest.

Jesus, help me to choose the better thing, and give me rest.

Heaven - I'm in Heaven...

This is the life! I am home for the afternoon since I have a work commitment tonight. And what better afternoon to be at home than the opening round of March Madness? I can't think of a better day. So far, I'm 4-0 in my picks. That won't last long, though. I just noticed that Butler pulled ahead of Old Dominion. Bummer! Either way, it's the best weekend in sports as far as I'm concerned. This is when all of the upsets happen and teams come out of nowhere to shock the world. I'm all about rooting for the underdog, even if I didn't pick them to win. That carries over to life, too, but that's for a different post. All I know is, I'm glad it's March...

I'm also in Heaven because my son is still alive. Before anyone goes and freaks out, there's nothing wrong with him. But, I have had him to myself since Tuesday morning when Marcy left for a conference at Willow Creek. She gets back tomorrow night. Four days, just me and Colin. That's a recipe for disaster! But it has gone well. We miss Mommy very much, but it's good to know that I can take care of my Boy if I have to. And I don't think it's a problem at all that he has eaten buffalo wings and watched Evil Dead 2 every night. It's good for him...

It's a Nice Day!

I am sitting here, in my beloved recliner, thinking about how good of a weekend it had been. I am feeling significantly better than I did at this time last weekend, when I was just starting to come down with the plague. I am not at 100% yet, but I'm going in the right direction. The weather has been great! It is finally flip-flop weather. I know, I've done a lot of complaining about how we haven't had much of a winter to speak of, but that was February, and this is March, and I love not wearing shoes. The sun has been shining, it has been warm, and I've been loving it! We had two great friends come and visit for a too-brief weekend. And today, my Buckeyes sealed up a #1 seed in the NCAA Men's B-Ball Tourney. Now granted, I was jazzed about them playing in the national championship of college football, and that didn't go so well. Here's hoping this one goes much better. Either way, the ride sure is fun!


Today we had a SIMY meeting. SIMY is an acronym for Servants In Ministry to Youth. It's what we call our adult leaders in our youth group. We invited some of our students to discuss how things are going with the youth group. I think things are going well, but some of our students have had concerns, so I wanted them to be able to voice them. They did that today, and while I didn't like or agree with everything they had to say, I sure appreciate their guts to say what they did and their desire for our youth group to be all it can be for their spiritual transformation. As Emily's quote wall on Facebook says, "My kids are better than your kids!" Apparently, I said that somewhere along the way. It's true.

Thank you, Jesus, for the good life you have given me. Help me to not take it for granted...

I Ain't So Stupid

Strange Injury

And I thought I was out of shape. It turns out that John Daly had to withdraw from the golf tournament he was in when he hurt himself trying to stop his backswing when a fan took his picture. Hee-hee...

A Good Dad?

This weekend, our church is hosting author and speaker Tim Smith for a couple of parenting seminars. This morning's seminar was based on information from his book The Seven Cries of Today's Teens. The information in the book is pulled from research he did while a fellow at the Gallup Organization. He discussed the seven cries of teens: the cry to be trusted, to be loved, to be heard, for security, for purpose, and two others that I don't remember because I left my handbook at the church. We presented this seminar as a way to minister to our teens by ministering to their parents. It was money well-spent as it was excellent! I wish I could attend the seminar tomorrow also (based on his book Connecting With Your Kids), but I will be watching the OSU basketball game with Colin.

As I sat through the seminar, I kept fast-forwarding in my mind to when Colin is a teenager. I think I'm a pretty OK dad so far, but it's only been 10 1/2 months. I take time to hang out with him, I play with him, I kiss him and give him zerberts, I tell him I love him all the time, and try to make him a priority. But I wonder if I will still consider myself to be a good dad when he is 17 years old. Will I keep it up? Will I know and respond to his love keys so that he feels love how he needs to feel it? Will he feel trusted, and loved, and heard, and secure, and have purpose, and two other things that I don't remember because I left my handbook at the church? Will I be the spiritual leader that he needs me to be? It's an overwhelming thought, and it was this morning, as I found myself holding back tears a couple of times. Only time will tell the answer to these questions. Lord, help me to be a good dad and to point Colin to you...

She's Losing It

I know I already posted today, but I had to get this out there. Guess who that is in the above picture. Go ahead, guess. It's none other than Britney Spears. Apparently, she shaved her head and got a couple of tattoos. What won't she do for attention? Keep an eye on her. I predict some really bad stuff is in her future as she continues this need to be noticed.

What's Going On?

Maybe you've been asking yourself that since I haven't blogged in forever. And maybe not. I'll answer the question anyway. Here are some random things that have popped into my life and into my mind...hmmm, were have I heard that before?:


HIGHLIGHT
The highlight of the last couple of weeks concerns Colin. Surprise, surprise! Lately, he has been getting quite brave. He has, for several months now, been pulling himself up on furniture or on us and standing while hanging on. Only for the past few weeks has he been getting brave enough to let go. He will stand there, for 5, 10, 15 seconds or so, before plummeting to the earth, or to Mommy or Daddy. There have been a few times that he has swung his arms back and forth, enjoying the turning of his torso. But last night was the coup de grace. As I was playing with him on the floor, and as Marcy observed from the couch, he pulled himself up while holding onto my fingers. I encouraged him to let go, which he did. Then, IT happened. He took two steps toward me before falling into my arms. His first steps! It was so exciting, I started crying. Yes, crying! One of the hazards of having an extreme feeling-type personality. But I don't care because my boy just walked! WOO-HOO!

GRAMMYS
I was jazzed about watching the Grammys this year (no pun intended) as I heard that The Police were reuniting after being apart for 20 years. So Colin and I tuned in last Sunday while Marcy was at small group. They opened the show by exclaiming, "We are The Police, and we're back!" They then broke into a three-minute version of Roxanne, and that was it. As exciting as it was, it was also a little disappointing, as I was hoping for more. I guess it was just a precursor to their upcoming reunion tour. But seriously, how do you give The Police that small amount of face time, while giving Justin Timberlake two huge sets, including one of the most narcissistic performances I have ever seen (that mini-camera thing was just plain creepy)?! Screwed up priorities, I'd say.


THE INDIANS
I was pleased to watch as the Cleveland Indians made improving their bullpen a significant priority. I was, however, a little concerned because it seemed that many of the pitchers they were signing were older and had injury concerns/histories. It turns out that my fears were well-founded as Keith Foulke, the guy that was slated to be the closer, retired after experiencing pain in his throwing elbow. Yet another sign that the Curse of Rocky Colavito is real and alive, and that Cleveland is the most tortured sports city in America.


SNOW
Yet again, the weathercasters in our area got my hopes up. They were calling for a snow advisory and a blowing snow advisory for our area. Now in Ohio, when snow was coming, there was no advisory - it was just going to snow, that's all. You don't need a weather advisory. Especially for the amount that we get here. It was a dusting when I woke up. Since then, we have gotten some more to make it bearable, but it''s supposed to be 50 degrees tomorrow, so it will all be gone, dang it! But we did make sure to take Colin outside to experience the snow, because who knows when he will get the chance again. He either was not crazy about it, or not thrilled with his snowsuit. I think it was the snowsuit, since he started whining as I put him in it.

YOUTUBE
This is one of my latest favorite YouTube videos. It's what I wish Marcy and I had done for our first dance.

I guess that's it for now. Time to go start on the chores...

Six Degrees

Several years back, I heard about a great game called The Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon. In it, you had to be able to link any actor or actress to Kevin Bacon through working associations in movies or TV shows in six steps or less. It turns out that you can do this with anyone, even the dolphin Flipper. It also turned out that I was pretty good at this game. Today I discovered that Kevin Bacon is using this once-annoying-to-him game for good, as he has set up an organization that allows visitors to the website - www.sixdegrees.org - to donate to the charities of various celebrities. Or, someone can choose to be the 'celebrity face' for their organization and invite friends and family members to donate to their cause. I thought about setting one up, but it would be so hard to decide which cause I would want to put forward. Any ideas?

The Fitz Update

I am in Ohio, The Heart of It All, right now. I flew in last night with the single-minded purpose of watching the college football national championship tonight between The Ohio State University and some school from Florida. I'm very nervous about the game, but I think that's something that comes from being a sports fan in Cleveland - you can't imagine anything ever going well for your team. It will be a lot of fun to watch the game with my dad, cousins, and uncle. This was a plan by my brother who decided we should all come in for the game, and then backed out. What a goob! My best friend Joe said that it should be a Man Law that you can't plan something and then not show up. I agree.

My cousin Jason did something funny last night. I had reminded him of a time that we were up at 3:00am eating garlic bread and Breyer's chocolate ice cream. When I showed up, he had garlic bread in the oven and Breyer's chocolate ice cream in the freezer. Good times! It brought back fun memories and a not-so-good feeling in my stomach.

Christmas was good. We had fun hanging out with Marcy's family in Marietta, Ohio. I walked away from the holiday with an iPod charger/transmitter for the car and an Xbox, probably my two best gifts. We found out this Christmas that Colin enjoys all flavors of wrapping paper. He is so funny! He got all kinds of cool gifts for Christmas, but his favorite things at home are still the things he can't have: the dog's toys, the dog's food, the dog. Hilarious!

One last thing: Go Bucks!

A Whole Bunch of Randomness

• SABBATH: Marcy and I have been trying to be more intentional about observing the Sabbath. Since we are church-workers, it's really hard to do it on a Sunday because work calls. So, we have been starting on Thursday night at dinner - followed by date night - and continuing until dinner on Friday. We try to not watch TV, do worky kind of stuff, and instead we just hang out with each other and Colin and God, and rest. It's hard. Especially for Marcy. It's tough to sit around and do relatively nothing. Humans are so wrapped up in accomplishing and doing to create worth, that it's hard to shut down and not accomplish anything. It made me wonder: Did God get bored on His Sabbath? Heck, He just created everything that exists, and then He took a day to do nothing but rest. I wonder if He thought, "I need to get something else done today. I'll go over here and create another universe." Probably not...
• I AM THE MAN!: Time magazine recently came out with its annual Person of The Year issue. There were many worthy candidates, but they declared that I am 2006's Person of The Year. In their statement, they said, "The answer is, you do. And for seizing the reins of the global media, for founding and framing the new digital democracy, for working for nothing and beating the pros at their own game, TIME's Person of the Year for 2006 is you." OK, so they didn't mean solely me, but anyone that utilizes the world wide web for publishing and communcating (like blogs, MySpace, Facebook, YouTube, etc.). You can read the article here...
  
• BRAWL: Which was more wussy, Carmelo Anthony sucker-punching a Knicks player and then running away like a little girl (no offense to little girls, because most little girls are more manly than him), or TO spitting in the face of D'Angelo Williams? Both actions were incredibly unmanly...
• BRAWL II: Another Brawl at Madison Square Garden thought: Is it any surprise that the coach of the Knicks, the team that flagrantly fouled the Nuggets player, is Isaiah Thomas? He was a part of a team that was the biggest collection of thugs ever, the Bad Boys. Alongside him on that Pistons team were Bill Laimbeer, Dennis Rodman, and Rick Mahorn, just to name a few. You can take the man out of the fight, but you can't take the thuggery out of the man...
  
• COLIN: It's amazing how having a child allows you a little more insight into what God might be feeling and thinking. The latest realization of this was the other day when Colin was inconsolable, we think because he is teething. Man, was that difficult! I wanted to say, "Colin, I am so sorry for your pain. Here, let me take it away for you. I'll even take it on me so you don't have to deal with it." That's pretty much what God did in sending His only Son to take away our pain of separation from Him...
• COLIN II: Colin is crawling now, as you can see here. This is exciting, but also adds a whole new set of challenges: baby-proofing, making sure the basement door is shut, etc. But it also adds what could be hours of entertainment: Watching Colin chase Attie all over the house. She's still not too sure what to make of him..
• If I don't post again before Christmas, I hope you have a very Merry and Christ-centered Christmas...
  

Apparently, they don't watch college football in Salem, Oregon...

The Heisman Trophy award ceremony is tomorrow night, recognizing the most outstanding college football player of the year. Most pundits say that Troy Smith, Ohio State's quarterback (67% completions, 2,507 yards, 30 touchdowns, five interceptions), will not only win the award, but some predict that he may win with the highest percentage of first-place votes (Reggie Bush is the current record-holder at 84.9%), and could come close to the highest margin of victory ever (O.J. Simpson currently holds that distinction). The other finalists invited to the ceremony this weekend were Notre Dame QB Brady Quinn, and Arkansas RB Darren McFadden. But, according to one less-than brilliant fellow from the great northwest, none of these players even deserved a mention on his ballot. I guess he knows more about college football than the rest of the country combined. Or maybe he is simply trying to make some sort of silly statement or trying to arouse a controversy. Or maybe, he wants to be known as the guy that didn't vote for Troy Smith. Whatever his motivation, his Heisman voting privileges should be revoked.

Friends, real friends, are hard to come by.

Friendship doesn't happen overnight nor does it come easy. Usually it takes time and it takes sacrifice.

It takes treks in the woods, time spent fishing, time enjoying a cup of coffee, time spent at some volunteer project, time spent praying, time spent around the table eating simple foods, etc. It takes time like sitting in front of a TV watching the A-Team with popcorn. Or maybe it will take times like sharing a baloney, onion, cheese and tomato sandwich.

I guess for me it was the time spent together, and not what we were doing.

Friendship is one of the most valuable commodities in the world today.

Your friend,
Rennie

This was written by the Maintenance Guru at La Croix. I thought it worthy of publishing...

Are You a Racist?

Ran across a series of tests that are part of Project Implicit at Harvard while reading Malcolm Gladwell's blog. Try one of them out to see if you have any subconscious preferences based on race or other factors. Go here and click on Demonstration and choose a test to take. Interesting stuff...