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Talk To Your Daughters

My sister died when I was a teenager.  She had an inoperable brain tumor.  We watched for two years as the cancer slowly took control of her body, day by day, as her physical and mental capabilities incrementally diminished, until the cancer eventually took her life.  I don’t know what is worse, a slow death when you know its coming or the unexpected sudden heinous death that Chelsea King just suffered thirty minutes from my house at Lake Hodges.  I guess both routes to death’s door are equally perturbing in their own ways.  I can’t get out of my mind the fear the young woman experienced in her last minutes.  I also can’t get out of my mind the tremendous guilt and sadness her parents are going to experience for the rest of their lives.  They are going to go through that afternoon everyday for the rest of their lives.  They are going to question every place they went and why.  We should have done this.  Why didn’t we do that?  I pray for them that they can come through this someday.  Nobody or family deserves an end like this. I know that my two daughters have been preoccupied with the news of Chelsea King’s death.  It’s time to have that conversation that we’ve had before, but need to reinforce from time to time.  Be Safe.  We have lots of open fields around our house.  It’s a great area to go biking, jogging and letting the... [Read more]

The Fishwrap is Dead

Driving around the block the other day, I saw three newspapers sitting in  someone’s driveway.  It was an unusual sight because you just don’t see newspapers delivered in the suburbs anymore.  Paper boys are extinct.  One of my favorite activities used to be sitting on the back deck with a big cup of coffee and reading the paper.  Now, I sit on the back deck with my laptop hoping my battery will last through one cup.  I keep hearing in the media about the terrible economic state of the newspaper industry across the states.  Nationwide, newspapers have gone out of business, downsized and been put up for sale due to the drastic drop in circulation for these publications.  They cry foul over the internet and all of the bloggers and other media sites that have been created.  One of the biggest complaints you here is the lack of quality of the news on blogging and off brand sites.  These people aren’t trained journalists.  They are not verifying their facts.  Blah, blah, blah. I see it as a complete lack of foresight by the newspapers.  Why pay to have the paper delivered when I can read it for free on my computer?  Not only can I read it for free, but I can read almost any newspaper in the world. I remember starting with email and internet usage in the early 90’s.  There weren’t a whole lot of news outlets online yet.  If my local paper had hit me up for... [Read more]

Sweet 16!

First of all, I am amazed that I have helped create a human being and have gone through sixteen years with him.  His mom and I are excited for him and we truly hope he is enjoying his high school years since we don’t have much time left with him.  Before the blink of an eye he will be a man and off living his life. It seems like a lot of parents and the government are completely paranoid about their teens getting a driver’s license.  Karen and I can’t wait.  I wish he could have gotten his license on his birthday, but with his broken leg and all, he’s a little behind schedule.  However, in a couple of weeks, we should have a new driver in the house. I am looking forward to this for mainly selfish reasons.  When you have three children, a lot of your life is spent in the car.  Almost every night of the week, either Karen or I are driving around for dance, soccer, swim, surfing and whatever else you can think of.  We believe the kids need to work hard in school, but we also believe they should have an athletic endeavor to keep fit, so it is all brought upon ourselves. About three years ago, I had a melt down in the car.  It was Labor Day weekend and there was a soccer tournament.  Why do these morons schedule games at seven in the morning on Saturdays and Sundays?  After a long week at work and spending the entire weekend at a soccer tournament in one hundred degree... [Read more]

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