Who do you know?

When we were kids, when it came to having money we had no idea of the concept of being 'rich' or 'poor'. Mainly because it didn't matter, we had what we needed. Growing up, the world tells us, "You have to climb that corporate ladder, how much you make defines you, make and take whatever you can." As an adult we begin to realize the importance of putting things in order by their priority in our lives. This morning as I was reading an article about a high profile professional athlete doing some pretty amazing things off the field, a couple of thoughts came to mind. My first thought was, "Who do I know personally that exhibits that kind of selflessness?" I have the pleasure of knowing a lot of great people from many different cultures and walks of life. Many of them would be great examples of selflessness, but this question sparked a very pleasant memory from our childhood.
When we were young we lived across the street from the city park. Now when I say 'city', it's a little misleading because technically our home town was a village. A village with around 450 residents. It is a quiet, very nostalgic place in the middle of farm country. When you could walk from one end of town to the other in 10 minutes, pretty much everyone was your 'neighbor'. The park was a place where everyone gathered after school and all day long in the summer months. Sometimes in the evening or near dark, kids would have to be dragged home because they didn't want to leave. One of my favorite things at the park was when we had pick up baseball games. Usually the oldest two kids would be 'captains' and they would take turns choosing until everyone was on a team. Some of the kids were real characters and many I am still friends with today. You could almost always count on kids from these families being at the park; Dodge's, Alexander's, Ipox's, Crawford's, Watts, Moxley's, Conroy's, Hammer's, Beard's, Kirby's, and others. {No families were left off this list intentionally, these are the ones that come to my mind first.} We would play baseball until it was to dark to see the ball coming off the bat. The way the field was set up, when you hit one 'out of the park', it usually meant it landed in our back yard or possibly hit our house. Our screened in back porch faced the park. Coincidentally, the first one I recall hitting the house was hit by "Arkie" Ipox. I'm sure some older kids probably did it too, but I remember always wanting to be on "Arkie's" team when teams were picked.
One afternoon we were playing and it was getting pretty late in the day. My mom came off our back porch and over to the park with a giant plate of sandwiches and orange koolaid for EVERYONE! This was something she did often, for different occasions, but it was a pretty big deal to us kids. We all sat around on the ground and enjoyed our feast after a hard day of playing. I know, that doesn't seem like a very big deal when you think about it, just sandwiches and flavored water, right? But, as some of you know, my Mom and Dad we're parents to 10 kids. They had their own baseball team! My parents both worked outside the home at different times in their lives, Dad usually had at least 2 jobs it seemed. But they were never very 'wealthy', monetarily. So, as I look back now, making sandwiches and koolaid for two baseball teams really was a pretty big deal. And it was just one of the many examples of selflessness I've seen modeled by our Mom. She has always been involved one way or another helping others. She's watched over countless neighborhood kids, volunteered many hours at the hospital, making meals and taking them to those that were sick, homebound or lost a loved one, cooking, singing, telling stories and entertaining all the Senior Saints that show up at the Senior Center. And all of this while raising and continuing to care for 10 children, 30+ grandchildren, and 20ish great grandchildren.
Yeah, I'm pretty proud of my Mom, but most impotantly, she taught us this: "Life isn't about what you can get or gather up for yourself. It's the culmination of the love of God and how much of yourself you are willing to give to others. Because that is really when you experience true joy here on earth!" I hope that one day when I'm long gone, that my kids or grandkids will be able to say similar things about me as I have said about our mother.
That's the view from my stand. Thanks for reading!

Dream On...

Do you have dreams? If you do, do you remember them in vivid Technicolor? My buddy, Ed, is one of those guys who does. He has such elaborate dreams with elements that usually don't belong together, it's always entertaining to hear his rendition of such dreams. He's a great story teller too. Occasionally, I have dreams and actually remember them. Most of the time they are just flashes, like watching a highlight reel after a big game.
Last night was different. I don't know if it was the leftovers from Red Lobster that I ate at 11pm or just the fact that I was really tired, but one dream I had last night was very clear. My dream was from a memory from a long time ago. When we were very young Dad would take us to Niddles Creek, {sp?} out near the county line. We would fish for catfish and bluegill. My dream was me, as a very young guy, somewhere around 6-8 years of age. We were sitting in our old folding chairs, you know, those ones with the nylon type straps that leave waffle marks on your backside if you sit in them too long. We were bobber fishing and being a little bored as kids get, I started fooling around in my chair. Dad had left us for a few minutes to retrieve something from his vehicle. I started to stand up in the chair to see where he was and one of my legs slipped between the "waffle butt" straps of the chair. As I went through the chair, the metal frame became unbalanced and started to tip over. I panicked and tried to regain balance by hopping on the one leg that went through the chair. My hopping caused the chair to begin folding up and pinched my leg in the metal frame. Down I went in a heap of flailing arms and leg, caught in the ninja death grip of a K-Mart 'waffle butt' folding chair. To a young child this is definitely a serious and traumatic situation. I was screaming in pain, somewhat embarrassed, and wondering why no one was trying to help me. Out of the corner of my eye I see Dad running towards us with a traumatic look on his face, as if someone was letting out a death scream. That might have been me. When he got to my side he quickly assessed the situation, unfolded the chair and removed my leg from the waffle straps. Dad snatched me from what in my young mind seemed like certain death, and picked me up in his arms. After checking the marks on my leg from the chair frame and making sure I was okay, he wanted to know what happened. My siblings were quick to fill Dad in and let him know that I was standing up in the folding chair. I told him that I was looking for him but couldn't see him so I stood up. Next I was scolded for standing up in the unstable 'waffle butt' chair and I swore I would never do it again. Dad put me down and I went over to an empty 5 gallon bucket and turned it over to sit on that to fish. That's where my dream ended, or what I can remember of it.
The dream was crystal clear and so vivid as if this happened yesterday and not 40 years ago. Then I began to think, 'Why in the world would I have a dream like that in the first place?' My only reasoning for such a dream is that maybe I needed this reminder. My Dad wasn't a perfect Dad, but he showed a pretty great balance of compassion, discipline, silliness, common sense, and love of family and his life. Some people on the outside looking in might say that he was 'tough' on us boys. I'm sure I might have thought so when I was a kid, but as an adult, I'm incredibly thankful for my Dad. He taught me what a good work ethic is; he taught us there's a right and wrong to everything and you stay out of trouble more often if you're in the right; he taught us the importance of doing for others, especially those less fortunate than yourself; but I believe, most importantly, he modeled for us boys how to be a good husband and dad.
In many situations with our own kids I find myself asking this question, "What would Dad do?" Yes, we're dealing with a very different generation of kids from when we were growing up, but I believe if we stay true to some of the "old school' ways, more of the kids today would be more respectful of adults and those in authority. But that's a whole different blog post in itself. Dad's been gone for a long time, but to see him so vividly in a dream was pretty cool. Remembering him when he was in his prime; strong, handsome, smiling, was certainly better than remembering him in his last few months on earth. Thanks for the dream last night Dad. I hope some day that we get to sit together and you tell me that 'I made you proud as a husband and dad.' But until then, I'll just see you in my dreams.
I can't finish the story there because my fishing pals are going to want to know this. Ed, Bobby, Ralph, Ted, Jason...when we went fishing with Dad, we almost always brought back a 5 gallon bucket with fish in it, and that's no dream!
Thanks for reading, and that's the view from my stand!

2012... Let's See What Ya Got!

Good New Years morning! Wow, did 2011 blow by or what? It was a year of indifference for us in many ways. I'm glad it's over and we look forward to 2012 being a much better year. We had invitations to several parties to celebrate NYE, but decided to take Mariah and DJ to an early dinner at Amato's with our friends, Larry and Marci and their son, Hunter. Then a night of movies for the guys on the new Blue Ray player {LOTR and Rambo} while the girls danced and played games on the Kinnect. Barb made some delicious snacks and at 11:30ish, we gathered in the living room to watch the "Ball Drop" in NYC. I was greatly disappointed in the 'talent' they had to bring the New Year in. I think it might be a better idea in the future if they are going to use John Lennon's "Imagine" song again, they just play a recording of it. I haven't seen very many artists that are able to do that song and do it well. Shortly after the stroke of midnight we all headed for bed. I know, so much excitement in one night, how do I contain myself? I enjoyed reading all the NYE posts on Facebook, seeing how our family and friends were bringing in the New Year before I went to sleep. Yep, that was it.
I've never been one to come up with New Years resolutions every year. I'm always hopeful that I'll be a better person this year than last. Some years I actually think I've succeeded. I think it's a good and an obtainable goal for all of us. Right? But one of the things that I want to do differently for 2012 is to write in this blog more often. I've been blogging since 2009 and the pattern I see is each year I've had fewer blog entries. Not that our lives are all that exciting and people are calling me to remind me to blog, but I have just neglected to take the time to do it. I've always found writing to be very therapeutic and something that I enjoy doing. Many times some of our most raw and vulnerable thoughts and feelings come out when we put them down on paper. {or in a blog} Usually it's the things that matter most to us, family, friends and faith.
So, with that being said, I hope to kick it up a notch with the blog posts and if you enjoy reading them please feel free to leave a note or comment on any of them. Thanks for all the encouragement and I hope 2012 brings you everything that you wish. Happy New Year! That's the view from my stand!