Another year... tick, tock, tick, tock.

I figured I should at least notice the one year anniversary of my blog like ol' George did. One year ago today I started blogging. I haven't been the same since. I have blogged from the north, I have blogged from the south. They have said of me "never have so many owed so much to so few". Each post has been better than the next.

Thank you! Thank you all for your support and generous contributions through PayPal.

Is it Just Me?

Ok... I've been trying this joke for a week now. I have a prop and ask the unsuspecting viewer if they think it is funny or not. It's met with mixed results. So you be the judge... Is this funny? Do you get it? Is it just me? I still laugh when I think bout it.

Brush with a Tribute to Greatness

As seen on a post by everyone's favorite porkoholic, Kyle, we saw a Journey tribute band the other night. I'll spare you the details of how great they were since it would take too long. They really were fantastic and I hope to see them again. I found the guitarist on Facebook and sent him a message and he wrote me back! Here's how the correspondence went down:

Me: Saw you guys in Greenville, SC the other night. We've been talking about it ever since. Great show! Loved the guitar at the end of Who's Crying Now. Paul (guy in DIO shirt) Reaves

Him: Thanks Paul! We had a great time in Greenville! Glad you liked the solo! The first couple of weeks I did it, some hard core Journey fans hated it! LOL! I figure, I play most of the solos pretty close, so I wanted to try some something different to set me apart! Good to hear that some people like it! Keep in touch and see ya next time! Peace, Kenny

That's about it, I guess. The ball is in my court now for developing the relationship. Here's a clip of some of the tunes. They sounded pretty much just like the real thing even if they were a little fast.

Rockband!

My nephews, Ben and Daniel, have invited me up to their house to play and rock in their new Rockband. In my minds eye, I see this type of look...

Visit for Samuel

This past week we got a visit from a few of our relatives. My wife was out of town so my Mom came up to stay and help out with Sam. She pretty much ran the show... thanks Mom! On Monday night, Sam got a visit from his Great Uncle (who is quite great indeed), his first cousin once removed and his second cousins. As with most times like that you all say we should do it more often or we should spend more time together... stuff like that. But I'm reminded of the times when I was very young and would see relatives. It was always very fun. A little awkward at first, but by the end, fast friends. It was interesting for me to see that with my son and his cousins. He was a little stand off-ish at first but quickly warmed up. Maybe the bubbles had something to do with it. Meredith and Christine: Sam still loves his bubble making machine. He knocks it over every day. We should do it more often!

One Minute a Year

We've gotten into the habit of going to Edisto Beach each year for a week. We enjoy it tremendously and I have developed a personal fondness for the locale. In fact, we jokingly say (in all seriousness) that when we win the lottery, that's where you'll find us... if we want to be found.

Each year, on the last day, when we're leaving the beach, I pause a moment and think. I think about how thankful I am to be there. I think about how fast the year has been and how quickly life moves us along. I think about how the ocean doesn't care much about me... it's doing it's think right now whether I'm there or not. I think about the end of "The Time Machine" when the guy is on the shore and the sun has stopped moving and the Earth has died off. I think about the immensity of life before me and how I worry about the mortgage payment or whatever the crisis de jour is.

This year, I chronicled my goings on for the month before. As usual, it's too much long, too much stupid, too much embarrassing, too much... "too". Looking back, I see that all I really did was sweat and wait to get there. I guess I missed a lot of life waiting for one brief moment. It was a good one, though...

~~~

The family and I are off to Edisto Beach for the week so I won't be posting. Not that I practice posting daily but... I didn't want you to think that I forgot about you. In lieu of anything amazing here in the coming week, I'll leave you with some cute pictures of Samuel.

The Shaving of the Beard

Over the last 4 or 5 weeks I've grown a beard. I've done that once before, in college, and it didn't look very good. I've had a gotee a couple of times in my adult life and never felt it was really 'me' either. I was quite ready to let loose the mortal beard but thought since it was probably a one shot deal I should make it an event. It was no event, but here's how it went down: