My Thanks for 2006 and Wishes for 2007

Happy Holidays Everyone!

As 2006 comes to a close, we all have very much for which to be thankful.

- For the love and comfort of my family;

- For those of us who reunited with our old friends during the year and especially those who we had not been in touch with for far too long;

- For those whose ill health was caught in time and successfully treated;

- For those who started new families and learned of future additons to them;

- For those who while they faced crises both in their families and their communities, had the prayers, well wishes, love and support of so many friends and family;

- For those who served their country overseas in the name of helping others and saving lives;

- For the safety and well being of our loved ones who ventured out into the world on thier own;

- For Melanie, because, well, she’s just “Melanie”;

- For rediscovering the beautiful sound of Mona’s voice in the Great Market;

- For the opportunity to celebrate successes of our own and our children and the strength to overcome the defeats; and

- For each and everyone one of you who while you know it or not have had an impact on my life this year.

My wish for 2007 is that we can learn from those who have gone before us, by showing tolerance and understanding, peace and love for our fellow mankind.  That we learn from the mistakes we have made and the mistakes of others so that we we can improve our lives and help guide others to make the right choices.

Happy Holidays and Happy New Year!

Poor Pat

So the notorious wheelman of the “Whitman 5″ has been sentenced to 10 years in jail with all but 10 days being suspended.  It truly is terrible that he has to serve any time in prison because I can tell you I personally would not want to spend 1 day or even one hour behind bars.

I feel sorry for the poor kid because he is just that.  A kid.  A kid who made a terrible mistake. 

So while many of you might think I have something against Pat Lazear, well, I will try and explain to you as simply as I can, again, ”No, I don’t”.

And as for those of you who think I hate Whitman High School,  I will try and explain to you as simply as I can, again, ”No, I don’t”.

• I don’t like parents, teachers, administrators and coaches who don’t do what is right for the child over their own self interests. 
• I don’t like parents, teachers, administrators and coaches who don’t enforce the rules.
• I don’t like parents, teachers, administrators and coaches who help to create and foster an environment of entitlement that leads to illegal and despicable acts in and against the community.
• I dont’ like parents, teachers, administrators and coaches and fans who believe that they are being falsely targeted and picked on when one of their own does something wrong.

If that fits Whitman High School, then maybe I don’t like Whitman but it is for good reason and not just a subjective reason , like “you are not me.”

And let me cut off any any discussion or comparison to what has occurred with Whitman students and the five Damascus students who were recently arrested for going to Clarksburg High to start a fight.

The kids from Damascus were wrong and the administration at Damascus dealt with it swiftly and appropriately.  They were all suspended and not given any special treatment regardless of who they were, what sport they played or any other factor.

How would I have reacted if I  were to hear they had not been?  I would have been on the phone to the principal and been blogging about it the next day.

So let’s all do what we can to prevent another incident like the Smoothie King Armed robbery from occurring again by holding parents, teachers, administrators and coaches accountable for behavior they could have influenced.  And as fans, let’s reconsider what it is that makes someone worthy of our adoration.

The Democrats in Power: Are We Headed for Another Korea?

I have been giving a lot of thought lately about what it really means to our involvement in the War in Iraq now that the Democratic Party will soon control the US Congress.

Interestingly enough this smacks of the Korean War when MacArthur wanted to attack China to stamp out the onslaught of communism.  Truman (a Democrat) went before Congress and asked for funding to support a “police action” in Korea with only a vague and ambiguous purpose – not a clear purpose like mobilization for complete victory as in WWII as FDR had.

Later Truman dismissed MacArthur because he publicly spoke of attacking China despite Truman and the Congress (Democratically controlled, mind you) wished just to police the “Korean Conflict” (notice it wasn’t called a ‘war” at that time).  This ultimately led to over 33,000 deaths in Korea, the spread of communism to Vietnam and the Vietnam War in which 58,000 Americans died.  How many have died in Iraq? Less than 3,000. (and yes, one death is too many, but it is war.)

After WWII MacArthur was the supreme commander of Japan.  While many didn’t feel the US should hold such authority over another nation, it was necessary in order to return peace and order to Japan while the country and its government was being rebuilt.  It also brought control over any radical groups which might have wanted to rebuild the Japanese military and start another war.

I honestly believe the US screwed the pooch in Iraq by not being more forceful and controlling after we forced Saddam out.  We should have sent a message to Iraq, Syria, North Korea and all other terrorist countries “keep it up and you will be next – and it won’t be pretty.”  This is essentially the message GWB tried to send by attacking Iraq initially, but there was no follow through.  We went soft and didn’t finish things off.

Don’t get me wrong and think that I condone or support everything we did in Iraq (Abu Ghraib for example), but we tried to please too many people and we didn’t have the commitment to win.

We need to tell the rest of the world, that while we respect their opinions, this is about OUR safety and OUR Freedom and while they may not like the way we are going about it, the bottom line is we have to do it because “their way” has not worked.

Now that the Democrats are in power I fear things will only get worse.

I’ll Make the Difference

Last night I attended my 11 year old daughter’s choir concert.  The music was very nice and I have to admit for middle schoolers, I was very impressed with the harmonies and blending of voices that the choral director had been able to achieve with these kids. 

While the voices were very good and I really enjoyed getting to see my youngest daughter perform on stage, there was one very special moment which occurred which literally choked me up.   

I can’t recall whether I have told you that our oldest son who is now 19,  is a 16 year cancer survivor.  He was diagnosed at three with neuroblastoma, went through chemo and radiation and eventually had an autologous bone marrow transplant.  We consider ourselves very fortunate that he is alive today and very thankful to everyone who played a part in his treatment and recovery.

So how does our oldest son having had cancer have anything to do with my daughter’s concert last night?

Well, the Chamber Singers, which is the school’s elite choir sang a song called “I’ll Make the Difference” which just happens to be a song written for the American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life.  It is a beautiful song whose lyrics are truly inspirational and there is a beautiful female solo which starts it off.  Having a son who is a cancer survior, having lost both my father and mother-in-law to cancer and having been an active participant in the Relay for Life for many years you can imagine that anything to do with cancer has a special meaning to me.  Over the years though, I have been able to suppress certain emotions on the outside when facing anything cancer-related.  But last night was different.

See, a few years ago a young boy in our town was diagnosed with Leukemia and after several attempts with chemo he eventually had a bone marrow transplant.  The donor was his sister who happened to be in the same grade with our youngest son.

The soloist was this same girl who was the marrow donor for her brother.

Now you might think she was selected for this part because of her story, and in part that may be true, but she has a beautiful voice and is a member of the State Honors Choir.

Seeing her up there singing this song about hope and helping others and knowing what she had already done in her life for others….well, you get my point.

After, the song I looked over at her dad and brother who were sitting a few rows down from us and I could see the joy in their faces.  They were both giving her a special hand signal which would make no sense to anyone else, but probably meant everything to them.

It’s moments like this that make you realize how precious life is and question what you have done to make a difference.  Is raising your family and living a model life enough?  Or do you need to be active in the community and participate in helping others outside of your family to make a difference? 

We are all busy in our daily lives and we have enough to keep us busy with our immediate family.  But the real reward and the real difference is when you go beyond what you have to do.

The next time you are faced with an opportunity to help someone else, do it before you are asked. 

It’s Been a While…and That’s Life

So it has been a few days since I last posted on my blog. For those of you who have been checking for something new…I apologize.

Not much of out the ordinary in my life has really been happening, though.  I’ve done some Christmas shopping and spent some time with my boss who was in town from Dallas for some meetings.  Basically, I have spent time with my wife and kids and just hung around the house, basically, well, living life.  A simple life.

 No events or dramas, no tragedies or triumphs.  Just life.

Isn’t that what we all say we want?   To just live everyday with no complications or troubles, with our loved ones safe and our possessions intact.  Being free to enjoy all that we have and all those we love. 

But when we get it, well, we are bored or don’t fill fulfilled.  I can’t say that I felt either over the past few days and I viewed the reprieve from constant activity as just a break following a crazy fall of football and other things before I enter into all this winter has planned.  A chance to catch my breath and enjoy the simple life around me.

We all need these moments in our lives otherwise we wouldn’t appreciate those times when our lives are full of triumphs, tragedies, dramas and events.  So, I will go back to the comfort of my down time and prepare for whatever life hands me next.