Insomnia and Eternal Things

    Once again I can't sleep.  Too many things going on in my mind, and the weight of the world on my shoulders.  I wonder some times if I am the only one that gets this way.  Do others have as much trouble finding the elusive rest?  I find myself like this often.
     So many things on my mind right now.  There are life's everyday problems, like how to pay bills, how to be in two or three places at once.  Then there are concerns for others.  It amazes me when I go to church the number of prayer requests that are given.  So many people today are fighting cancer or other diseases, dealing with broken families, struggling to make ends meet, and so many others problems.  Is there any doubt that time has to be coming to a close soon?
     That is the biggest thing keeping me awake nights these days.  When I think of what the Bible says about the end times it scares me, not for myself, because I know where I stand, but for others.  I am NOT a bold person when it comes to talking about my faith most times, but find it almost impossible to stay quiet about it now.  Time is too short. I look forward to the day that Jesus comes to take God's children home, but also dread the day because of those who will be left behind. 
     On the bright side, it is only a little more than an hour until the alarm goes off and my family will awaken from their slumber.  At least then I will have company.

Football Dad

     As most of you already know, I wear many hats.  Last week I posted about my oldest daughter marching with the high school band, and my feelings as "Band Dad."  For those of you wondering, she did great Friday night, and I, miraculously, made it through the night without crying.
     I also have become "Football Dad" this year.  My 6 year old son, is in his first year playing rec league football.  I am a better band dad than football dad.  Playing football and baseball are all he has ever wanted to do.  He has played baseball for 3 years now, and has been one of the better players on his team.  Last year he had to play soccer instead of football because of his age, and I knew he was disappointed.  This year he made the age limit by less than a month and a half. Therein lies part of the problem.
     My son is one of, if not the youngest players on the team, by far.  He is also one of the smallest.  In other sports size doesn't come into play that much, but in football a 43 pound barely 6 year old doesn't stand much of a chance against a 100+ pound almost 8 year old.  I'll give him credit though, he tries.  The biggest thing is that his mind comprehends a lot of what he is supposed to do, he is one of the best on the team about finding his position and knowing where he is supposed to be, but his body isn't able to accomplish what his mind tells him to do.  This is where being football dad gets tough for me.
     It's not easy for me to watch him struggle.  I knew that football would be good for him as far as him learning teamwork and discipline, but I didn't realize how much he would struggle playing the game.  My routine at his practices is set now, I take my chair, my headphones, and something to read.  I will watch to make sure he doesn't get hurt, but can't stand much more than that.  I also don't care to listen to all of the other parents talking about how great this 6 year old or that 7 year old is going to be.  I have seen a lot of 7 year old future hall of famers not pan out.  I also don't want to see how bad he is struggling, he is going to face a lot of adversity in his life, 6 year old football is a good place for him to learn to overcome by himself.  It will make him stronger.
     I take solace in the fact that in a few years he will be old enough to play baseball year round if he so chooses.  I think that is his real love anyway.  Besides that I am a great baseball dad.

Random Thoughts

     I have been up since 3 am this morning struggling with several issues.   I do this some times.  Lots of prayers have given up no answers.  That's okay, the time with my Lord was precious.  When you pray for someone with a terminal illness, do you pray for healing, or deliverance?  The easy answer is to pray for God's will, but we don't necessarily know what that is.  To live is Christ, but to die is gain.  Our humanity makes us think that healing would be the best, but wouldn't deliverance actually be better?
     I am thinking about something big for the month of September for the blog.  I am not sure that I am going to try it, or that it would be anything more than an unmitigated disaster.  Stay tuned for more details.
     I truly apologize for the quality and quantity of posts lately.  It is hard to keep this up like I did when I am leaving home around 6am and getting home around 8:30 pm.  I do like to eat, and see my family.  Look for information about September coming soon as soon as I decide exactly what I plan to try, or if I want to try  it or not.

Marching Band Dad Thoughts

     Tonight will be my daughters debut with her high school marching band.  I think I am more nervous than she is.  I realize that this is one more milestone in her march to adulthood, and I'm not ready.
     Up until this point, things were easy.  Recreation league games, beginner band, band manager......  these were easily taken, because it was still "kid stuff."  It seems like yesterday she was starting pre-k. Tonight she is marching in the high school band.  Where did the time go? 
     I asked her this morning when I woke her up if she was nervous.  She said "kind of."  I knew she was. I reminded her of what her band director told the band a few weeks ago, life is made of moments, and to enjoy each one.  I thnk she will, band seems to be her true love.
     As for Dad, I will be sitting in the stands watching, and true to form will probably have a tear or two of joy when she marches out with the band.  The older she gets, and the older I get, the more I try to grasp and hold on to those moments, because I know that each one is precious.   

Life Happens

     When I started this blogging journey, I fully intended to do a new blog each and every day.  Soon I found myself trying to do blogs each weekday, and now can't even keep up with that.  That's okay.  As I type this now, I am sitting at my desk beside the dock door, eating a peanut butter and jelly sandwich with corn chips.  When I say peanut butter and jelly with corn chips, I mean chips on the sandwich.  It's quicker and easier that way.
     That's just one of the shortcuts I find myself taking lately.  My son is playing football, so he practices 3 nights a week plus Saturdays.  My oldest daughter is in band practice 3 afternoons a week, then starts marching on Friday nights tomorrow night.  My youngest daughter hasn't even started soccer season yet.    My wife and I get a quick kiss on the way in and out the door if we are lucky.
     Yesterday I got home from work, took a shower, and got ready for church.  Dinner was ate quickly as usual, and off we went.  When we came home from church, the front door of our house was standing wide open.  I drove down the street, called the police, and waited.  We escorted them to our house and waited nervously as we watched them going through our home with flashlights blazing.  Soon they came out the door and told me I could come in and look around.  Nothing was missing or moved.  We had, in our haste to get ourselves and our children out the door, simply forgotten to shut the front door. 
     The thing is, I wouldn't trade my life for anything.  I made a promise to myself and my kids that I would do everything possible to be there for all the things they did.  Sometimes when they do things at the same time it is impossible, but I give it my best shot. I am proud to say that the only time I have missed one of my children's activities is when they conflicted and I couldn't be on two places at once. 
     The blog will get done when I have time, and when I have something to say. Church, football, band and soccer can't wait.

Official Blog Video

Don't really have anything to say, so I will share this video.  Hopefully it will post and you can see it.  Many of you have probably seen it before, but if not, enjoy.  Very busy time right now for me, so blogs may not be coming daily like they have been for a while.

Homecoming Season

Spring Creek Baptist Church

     I went to homecoming at a little church called Spring Creek Baptist Church yesterday.  My Mother In Law and Father In Law go there and invited us.  I have spoken before about my affinity for smaller churches.  For some reason the singing seems to be a little sweeter, the food a little better, and the preaching a little more to the point at the smaller churches.  Yesterday was no different.
     One thing had me concerned, and that was the fact that this church likes having dinner on the grounds.  I like dinner on the grounds, but hesitate in 90+ degree weather.  Luckily the fellowship hall was chosen to host the dinner.
     This is the time of year when churches start having homecomings in the south.  Homecoming season kicks into high gear in early August and runs through late September.  I don't know what verse in the Bible says Thou Shalt have thy homecoming in the months of August or September, but it has to be in there somewhere.   My Mother's church, Sardis Baptist held their homecoming today also, along with a few other churches in the area.  My church has homecoming the second Sunday in September.  I think the second Sunday in August and September must be the prime homecoming dates, they seem to be the most popular.
     I always find it ironic when preachers at homecomings speak of Jesus feeding the masses with the loaves and fishes.  I have often looked at the spread for the homecoming dinner and thought there was no way that amount of food could feed as many people that were there, only to see people take home more food than they brought.  Everybody brings their best dishes, and looks to have a good time of worship and fellowship.  What could be better?

The Boys In The Band

     As most of you readers have figured out, I was in the band in high school  We had a great band, with great directors.  Ron Becton should be in the band directors hall of fame.  Robert Fisher was the Tonto to Mr. Becton's Lone ranger.  The thing that made our band so special was that we were all so close, especially the guys.

My Band

     We weren't like most band guys, most of us were rough around the edges.  Some came from broken homes, some were farm boys, some were just tough.  We were close.  Some of us ended up staying around home, or coming back later.  We went to college, got jobs, had families, but when we see each other, we still feel the brotherhood.
     I followed Gene to college.  He graduated before I did, but we ended up at Berry together.  I haven't seen him in years.   His Mom tells me he is a successful teacher now.  David was my best friend.  He went into computers.  David married a city girl and had two kids, divorced and married her again.  Another city girl followed after the second divorce.  Now after the third divorce he is dating the girl he always wanted back in school.  He finally seems happy.
      Michael drives the bread truck.  I see him all the time delivering bread.  Wesley works at the denim mill.  Excuse me, Wesley is in the fashion industry.  Derek does competitive barbeque. Chris and Butch joined the Army.  Khevin lives in Chattanooga now, and just recently, after all these years, married his high school sweetheart. He reads the blog.
     Whitney went into the Marine Corps, then started working in the restaurant business.  Craig was the youngest person in the group, he came along just as everybody else was getting ready to graduate.  When I graduated everybody said I was the best tuba player ever at that school, Craig made me look like a beginner by the time he was done.  He was better than I could have ever dreamed of being.  He ended up going to Florida State, and is a succesful educator.
     My daughters band director told his band the other day that life was made of moments, and you can't get them back, take advantage of each moment. I would love to have some of those moments back. 

In Search Of D.B. Cooper

The Man, The Myth, The Legend, D.B. Cooper

    Recently, the news media has been abuzz (how's that for a word) over the FBI saying they may have finally solved the case of D.B.Cooper.  A woman, Marla Cooper, came forward and said she had reason to believe that her uncle L.D. Cooper was the mysterious D.B.  The FBI says her claims are credible, and that her uncle, L.D. may well have been D.B. Cooper.  I'm calling a foul.
     First off, it has been nearly 40 years since all of this took place, and I would like to think that the FBI had better things to do than worry about who D.B. Cooper was.  Assuming that L.D. Cooper was him, he died in 1999 anyway, so nothing would be gained from "solving" the crime other than the FBI salvaging a little pride.  I would think the statute of limitations would be over, but found out that the FBI got an indictment against John Doe AKA D.B. Cooper right before it ran out.  Maybe they want to try to collect taxes on the stolen money from his estate.
    More importantly, I don't think we really need to know who D.B. Cooper was.  Finding out his real identity would probably make me feel how I felt when I found out wrestling was fake.  Some things are just better off left alone.
     The biggest reason that I hope it's not true, and that the mystery of D.B. Cooper lives on, is that this would be one more bit of my youth that would disappear.  Evel Knievel and Elvis are dead, Mohammed Ali and Dusty Rhodes are old, but  D.B. Cooper is still the same as he always was, a mysterious police sketch that never changes.  I take some comfort in that, that maybe there is something that never changes.  Too much of my youth has gone away already, and each little bit that goes makes me face my own aging even more.
      Now I am reading that DNA tests have come back, and that L.D. Cooper's DNA does not match what they have on file for D.B.  Imagine that. I am not surprised.  Marla Cooper is still going to write a book about it, and will probably get rich.  That's the way it's done now. 

30 Things That I Am Part Three

      In making my list of the 30 things that I am, I really had to wrack my brain to come up with these final 10.  I would guess it probably took me at least 30 minutes.  I challenge you to try to come up with your own list of 30.  You might just learn something.

                                                                    I AM

Lewis Grizzard

  21. A Reader.  I am a voracious reader, my favorites being the Bible, Uncle John's Bathroom Reader's, and Lewis Grizzard books.

22. Overweight    In my adult life I have weighed anywhere from 212 pounds to 310 pounds. It is a lifelong struggle that has a great deal to do with my being self conscious. (See #16)

23. A Lewis Grizzard fan   I used to buy an Atlanta Journal ever day just to read his column.  I probably haven't bought a handful since he died.  I also have a small collection of his books.



24. A Georgia Bulldog fan.  Sick' em Dawgs. My wife is a Florida Gators fan, my oldest daughter an Alabama Crimson Tide fan.  Football Saturdays are a lot of fun around our house.

25. Absent Minded    I often forget what I am doing, or where I am going.  What number was I on?

26. Extremely Intelligent    Hard for a lot of people to believe, but I am.

27. Obsessive Compulsive   If you ever watched me typing my blog, you would understand.  I go over and over everything, and even after I post them I will take them down briefly to edit them.  Another thing, some mornings I stop and get breakfast, and have to fold the trash in a certain way when I get done.  It's a sight to behold.

28. Humorous    Some readers of my blog would disagree, but hey, you can't please everybody.

29. Meek   I let myself get run over a lot.  I can stand up for others a lot easier than for myself.

30.  Unsatisfied   I can do a lot better, be a better father, husband, son, friend, all of the above.

     One more thing that I am, and that is finished with my list.  Tomorrow will be either "Searching for D.B. Cooper" or "The Boys In The Band."  If you get a chance, and see something in the adds on the sight that interests you, please click on one of the adds.  I enjoy doing this blog and making you laugh, but it would be nice to make a few pennies also.  All adds are legitimate and safe.  

30 Things That I Am Part Two

     This is the second part of my challenge to myself where I sat down and listed 30 things that I am.  I did all 30 in one sitting, but broke them up because I wanted to say a little about each of them. These 10 came a little harder than the first 10, as I had to start going beneath the surface a little bit.  If you think this sounds easy, try it.  I think you will be surprised at just how hard it is to come up with 30.

                                                                 I AM 

Steve Bartkowski, my favorite Falcon

11. A Falcons fan    I have always  loved the Atlanta Falcons, even when they weren't good. Steve Bartkowski was my favorite player.  I remember when I used to have to work on Sundays a friend of mine would call his wife and make her put their home phone by the television set so he could hear the games.  I had my own plan.  I told them I didn't like wearing earplugs, and got a set of ear muffs.  I ran my headphone cord up inside my shirt, turned my hat around backwards to hide the cord from my shirt to the earmuffs, and put the speakers inside them.  Nobody ever knew.


12. A Chattooga Indian   I am a proud graduate of Chattooga High School.  My kids go to Trion, which was our big rival, and I go to their games, but in my heart I will always be an Indian.  It's funny, I see more people that I went to school with at Trion games than I do at Chattooga games.

13. A Berry Viking  I am also a proud graduate of Berry College.  I had my choice of going to Berry, Jacksonville State, Troy, or West Georgia.  I chose Berry because of the beautiful campus.  I got to play in the Rome Symphony, and was president of the few fraternities on campus.

14. Right handed  I can't do anything left handed.

15. A Friend  I try to be a friend, and have several wonderful friends.

16. Self Conscious   I hate to look at myself, and often wonder how people view me.  This is my biggest flaw.  I am as far from vanity as one can possibly be.  Most times I wish I was invisible.  I hate the way I look, and I feel like people make fun of me.


17. Scared  I am scared about what kind of world my kids are going to be living in when they are my age.  I see how much the world has changed since I was their age, and it scares me.

18. Hopeful  I am hopeful that people can come to the realization that this world is a beautiful place, and can learn to live in harmony.

19. An Uncle  I have a SLEW of nieces and nephews, from age 17 years to newborn.  I love them all, and love that I can spoil them without the parental responsibilities. Before I had children of my own, being Uncle Barry was my biggest joy.  In a few months, two of my nieces are going to have children, so I will be a Great Uncle.  I told my wife I though I was already a great uncle. I got to hold my newest niece for the first time Sunday.  It was a blessing.  I cried, of course.

20. A Forklift Driver  I like driving my forklift.  It's going to work I am not fond of :-)

                                         Tomorrow, the final 10

30 Things That I Am Part One

Number One, always

     I read one time about a test that is given where a person has to make a list of 30 things that they think they are.  I figured I would give it a try.  It can't be that hard, right?  Well, I did it, in one sitting, and it wasn't easy.  It really made me dig deep.  The first few went easy, after that, well, I learned a lot about myself.  I will be posting in three parts, to give me time and room to comment on each of them.

                                                               I AM



1. A Child of God.  This is the most important one to me, I am an heir, but also a lowly sinner saved by grace. I am NOTHING without Christ.

2. A Dad.  Notice I didn't say father, even though I am that also.  Any man can be a father, it takes a special  man to be a Dad.  My kids are my world, and I would lay down my life in a heartbeat for them.







3. A Husband. I love my wife, she is a great cook and thinks I am awesome.  I couldn't ask for a better life mate, best friend, whatever, than my beautiful lunch lady.

4. A Son.  I still have my mother, and miss my Dad every single day.  I wish I could go back and get the years that my Dad and I weren't on speaking terms back, but know I will have eternity in Heaven to make up for it.

5. A Musician  I was an all state tuba player in high school, played trombone in college, have a bachelor's degree in music, sing in the choir, etc.

6. An Introvert  I keep to myself.  A lot of people think I am not friendly, but that's not true.  It takes me a long time to open up to people, but when I get to know you, my true personality comes out.

7. A Crier    I cry, a LOT.  I cry when my kids do amazing things, I cry in church.  I cry when I am happy, but not so much when I am sad.  I cry when I think about crying.  My wife and I went to pick Rose up from band practice one night, and when I saw her on the practice field marching with the high school band for the first time I cried.

8. Empathetic  I hate to see others suffering, and a lot of times can actually feel their sadness and pain.

9. Middle aged. I am 43 years old, enough said.  I started to say middle aged and crazy, but I figured that
  was a given.

10. A Braves Fan    I love the Atlanta Braves, and the Rome Braves.  The Myron Noodleman game was a game between the Chattanooga Lookouts and the Mississippi Braves. The funny thing is, I have not been to an Atlanta Braves game since they moved into Turner Field.  I used to love to go to Fulton County Stadium.  I do love going to see the Rome Braves though, and come out a lot cheaper there with three kids.

                                                            Tomorrow Number's 11-20.

Why Blog

     I thought about giving up this blog, and asked myself why I do it.  It's simple, I have seen it make other people happy.
    I had a person at work tell me they look forward to reading what I write each day.  I watched a lady I work with, after asking her to check out something I had written laugh so hard that tears were streaming down her face.  I have had an Aunt tell me she is proud of me.
     If I can bring a shred of happiness and joy into someones life, then it is worth it.  That's what life is about isn't it?  Next week I am going to do 30 things about who I am.  I thought it would be easy, but it wasn't.  I learned a lot.  I am going to talk about D.B. Cooper, and tell you about the special people I call the Boys In The Band.  It's going to be a great week.  I hope you enjoy it. 

Special Late Night Posting

     I wasn't going to post again until Monday, I really wasn't.  I was having to rack my brain to come up with something to post, and I didn't want this to be a chore, I wanted it to be spontaneous and fun.  This will be a one of a kind (hopefully) post for me to get something off my chest.
     Most days only a handful of people read what I write, and that is fine.  I didn't start this to become famous.  I also know that I live in a small town, and people like to talk.  The person responsible for me not being able to sleep will hear about this, and will know who and what I am talking about.  Everybody else just bear with me.
     Here goes......  Yes, my wife heard what you said, and yes it hurt her feelings.  We don't have a lot of money, and we don't run in the "in" crowd.  Guess what, we have feelings though, and they get hurt.  I am proud of my family, proud of my wife and kids, and will stand beside them through thick and thin.  I do not think you are a bad person, on the contrary, I think you are a very nice person who spoke before you REALLY thought about what you were saying and who was listening.  I just wish you hadn't hurt my wife when you said it.  I thought you were above stuff like that, and so did Tina.
     The next time we see each other, we will smile, say hi, and go on with business as usual.  The sad part of it all is, my family really likes your family, without pretending, and without judgement.  I just wish the feeling was the same. 
                       The End

Meet The Krystal Man

     We have a column in our local paper called Soundoff.  Basically what happens is you call the local paper and leave a message, then they print it in the paper.  People call about all sorts of stuff, but one caller has become somewhat of a local celebrity, The Krystal Man.  Every week he calls in and talks about Krystals.  A few weeks ago I was talking to one of my close friends when the subject of food came up, specifically Krystals.  That's when he dropped the bombshell. 
     "Have you tried the barbeque Krystal yet" he asked? I admitted that I hadn't.  "You should really try them, they were my idea."  This caught me off guard, so I asked him what he meant.
     "I have been calling the paper and talking about Krystals" he said, "I called in a couple of weeks ago and said something about putting barbeque sauce on Krystals, and next thing you know they have barbeque Krystals."
     "You mean to tell me you are......"
     "Yep, I'm the Krystal Man.  I'm going to start calling in and talking about a cheese dipping sauce for Krystals.  I think they are listening to my ideas."
     Normally I would have blown this all off, but my friend is just crazy enough to be telling the truth.  He told me stuff that was going to be in the paper the next week, and was right.  My friend is on a crusade to get Krystals in Summerville.  It is a noble quest.
     It's an honor knowing that I have a close friend that is such a celebrity.  I have decided however to keep his identity a secret. You just don't pull the mask off the Lone Ranger.

Going Going Gone

     My daughter will be marching with the high school band this year.  30 years ago I was getting ready for my first year marching.  I was going into the 8th grade at Summerville Junior High School at the time.
     Summerville Junior High School was made from the old Summerville High School.  It became the Junior High School when they consolidated the high schools and made Chattooga High School.  My Mom went to Summerville High.  It always gave me pride knowing I was walking the same halls my Mom walked at one time.

SHS chattoogaphotohistory.com

     Some time ago they decided to do away with the junior high school and build a middle school.  I don't know who it was that decided that middle school was better than junior high, but I'm convinced it was some bigwig in Atlanta.  The junior high sat around unused for years, until the roof fell in and the building fell apart.  Finally they tore the old girl down.  A church was built on the old football field, apartments made out of one of the buildings, and a hamburger joint was put in the parking lot.
       Back then if you got in trouble, you got paddled, and I stayed in trouble.  The list of teachers that warmed my hide at that school reads like a Teacher's Hall of Fame.  Rodney White, Melvin Mosley, Becky Meadows, Alma Lewis, and David Jones all had the pleasure of guiding me to the right behavior.  Ms. Lewis was the worst, a fireplug of a woman that worked after school as an EMT.  She could paddle harder than anybody.  I'm sure that in some secret file I hold the record for most paddlings from her.  My wife jokes that I don't have a backside.  I know what happened to it, I left it on the paddles that they used there.
     My 25th high school reunion is coming up, and we are having a cookout at the park across from where the old junior high was.  I'm hoping that when we are sharing memories that the memories of those paddlings don't come back.  I don't want to have to stand up that long.