Thinking of Nick

For what ever reason my mind has fixed on my cousin Nick. I haven't seen him in about 12 years. I miss him alot. We used to be very close. I tried to contact him a few years ago but could not get any info related to him from his sister. Maybe I should try again. I know he has diabetes which my dad had for years and it eventually took his life. I think my fathers life could have been much longer if he had taken better care of himself. I pray that Nick is taking good care of himself and eating right. I am a bit apprehensive to contact him since I was basically blamed for the breakup of his marriage. Let me explain. In March 1991 I moved to Florida ahead of my family to take a job with Citicorp. I lived with Nick and his family until my family could move down with me. After several weeks of having me live there Nick confided that their marriage strained. He said that he would not be doing as much with me as we had been. I was cool with this, because I had made friends with some of the other park residences. About two weeks before my family were to move down to Florida, I was told by Nick that the manager of the trailer park where he lived was enforcing some rule that limited the number or family members living in the residence. So I needed to find another place to live. My kind-hearted boss at Citicorp made it so I was able to stay with his son at his apartment until my family arrived and we got a place together. Praise God it all worked out. I found out later from Nick that his wife had divorced him and that the story of the trailer park rule was a lie he and his wife told to me to get me to leave their home. I do not know who in Nick's family were told that I broke up their marriage, but from their behavior toward me since, I would believe that my aunt and uncle believe this to be the case. I wish they would have told me that they were having problems because of my presence. I would have found other accommodations.
Wow that feels good to unload. Sad, but good.

On a lighter note. I have submitted for my employers educational assistance to take my CLEP and DANTES tests. These tests will conclude all the necessary credit hours I need to graduate and get my BS diploma. Robin's body is healing well and she is feeling much better. PTL!

Let the healing begin

Praise the Lord! Robin's hernia repair surgery went very well today. The surgery was at 7am and she was out and in recovery by 9am. She was put in an observation room until tomorrow. Thanks mom, for being there for her this morning and waiting with me until she was out of surgery and her room. When I left at 4:30pm she was a little more coherent and getting a bit hungry. The doctor said that she should not be lifting anything heavy for about 6 to 8 weeks. We will keep an eye on her to make sure that happens. Again, Praise God!
On a more somber note, I have not mentioned that my mom has been diagnosed with lung cancer. She is taking it pretty well, that I can tell over the phone. Please be praying for her. Also, my sister's stomach ailments have finally been diagnosed. Her doctor has prescribed some medication and she hopes to be better in a few weeks. PTL! My Ninnie is out of the hospital, she was having some dementia problems and her bladder was really acting up again. She will be staying in a nursing home for a few weeks.

One of life's best days

As promised I have pictures from graduation. It was a great day. I arrived at the auditorium around 8am. I met and congratulated some of my classmates. We filed out of the basement by rows and seated ourselves for the commencement at 9am. The commencement began at promptly 9:30am. The speakers were pretty good and the whole ceremony finished in about two hours. They called each graduate by name and if they were graduating with honors. The highlight of the morning was of course walking across the stage with my mock diploma. After the ceremony we went to mom Venus' apartment clubhouse for a post-graduation party. The party was fun and we had quite a few folks turn out. Click on picture to right to see more.

Goin' to California

Today I finalized plans to attend the 2006 Shepherds' Conference in Sun Valley, California(can you say it like Ahhhnold). Woo Hoo!! The conference is a church leadership conference hosted by Grace Community Church. The church pastored by none other than John MacArthur Jr. The conference is March 1st to March 5th. I am so humbled and encouraged by the fact that I was invited to go by our senior pastor. It is such a God thing, no doubt. There are about 16 of us going as a group. I am looking forward to the training and growth I know I will get at this conference. I do not know what God has in store for me, but His promise is for my benefit and His glory. I will be following up with additional posts about the conference as the plans unfold.
Oh yeah. Today I also picked up my cap and gown for my graduation ceremony which is this Saturday. I'll post some pics of it after.

The Friday Factor

I have been reading some blogs about the guest appearance of Bill O'Reilly on The Late Show with David Letterman. I have also been hearing some clips of it on talk radio, so I went out on the Net to see if I could find the whole segment. I found the following link takes you to the whole segment with Bill O'Reilly. January 3rd with Bill O'Reilly. When the video starts notice that Letterman stirs the guests coffee with his pencil. Later in the segment you will see O'Reilly take a drink from the cup. I hope you will also notice the way David Letterman tries to instigate O'Reilly into losing his composure. But O'Reilly doesn't. Also notice the way Letterman tries to argue with O'Reilly. He uses subjective opinion opposed to O'Reilly's objective opinion. Letterman also changes the subject on a couple of occasions. Letterman is just not even in the same class to debate O'Reilly. It is my opinion that Bill O'Reilly does a wonderful job as a guest in a hostile environment. Let me know what you think and post a comment.

I am also posting a picture on Robin's Mazda 3 after she got it back from the body shop. The dealership body shop did not complete the driver door. Whenever it is shut, it sounds like a tin can, opposed to the other 3 passenger doors. I think they forgot to put in the door insulation or something. It sure is hard to find great service anymore. I am also posting a good picture of our moose, Roscoe P. Coltrane. Please click on the picture to see the larger version.

Music to my ears

I haven't posted anything for awhile so I will talk about a rock band that I am just now getting into, Dream Theater. They have been around since the early 90's and are still recording today. Their music is characterized as progressive metal. They appeal to my sense of music like that of Trans-Siberian Orchestra. I am posting a link to one of their tracks from the album Images And words. The clip is called Surrounded. Click on the album cover to the right. Enjoy!
Update 1/14/06 - I have since learned about music licenses and I have changed the link to be a clip of the same song. Sorry Mom, you should be able to play it now and maybe this album cover is not as scary as the Scenes From A Memory cover.

Way to go Buckeyes

Final score: Buckeyes 34 - Notre Dame 20. That says it all.

Happy New Year

Welcome to the beginning of a new year. Happy New Year 2006!! I pray everyone had a joyful time bringing in the new year. My wife Robin and I spent it with friends from church. It was a very joyful time. We ate chili and had some delicious deserts. We also had awesome conversation, and played dominos into the night. We brought in the new year traveling home. New Years day was fairly uneventful. We went to church, worshipped the Lord in song. Pastor Pat spoke on Matthew 18:15-20, The Four Steps For Church Purity, a very challenging part of scripture. Today I bottled my first batch of home brewed beer. I will add the link of my home brew kit to my favorite links list. Today one of my favorite college teams will be playing football in the Fiesta Bowl. The Ohio State University Buckeyes vs. Notre Dame. Go Bucks!! I will post the score later.