I know a Cat mythically embodies 9 lives. I've always assumed that to mean that a cat may have a so called face to face encounter with death, yet the cat is too elusive for capture. However, after nine tries, death finally catches on... literally.
My question is, how many lives does a Weasel have.
Those who know my family well, know that my youngest boy "Joshua Dylan" had adopted the nickname "Weasel". This moniker was appointed no less than 20 seconds of him gulping his first breath of air. Just after he adjusted to the world outside of mommy's womb, and began breathing air, he opened his eyes and just looked at me in a way that was way too confident for his own good. Immediately he grins and stares deeply into my eyes as if he recognizes the fact that this is his first gaze upon his own father. I instinctively recognized the look, and nicknamed him Weasel immediately.
The moment ends as quickly as it begins and he poops and screams bloody murder...
Saturday June 21st 2008, 3pm PST.
I have 2 hours before I close my Sales and Lease store for the weekend. The staff, except for 2 others, have been sent home. It's been a long hard week and we are all thankful for a day with our families.
My cell phone rings and my wife is on the other line, not unexpected... with the exception of her tone... there's emergency in her voice...
Dylan went to the hospital.
Just that morning I awoke with something weighing me down. I awoke with a poem on my mind: Rudyard Kipling's "IF".
I posted it before I went to work with only the intention of having it more prominently available in my mind. I even printed out the poem and took it to work with me and had it placed under the same keyboard I would pound on for the next several hours. Lines of the poem would occasionally jump into my mind as they resided just under my palms.
One week ago Grandma and Grandpa came to visit. By the end of the visit, we were willing to allow two of the boys to go back to Las Vegas with them. We we were going to go to Las Vegas on Fourth of July weekend, so we would pick them up then.
Tyler (our oldest) and Dylan (our youngest boy), were allowed to go. Our kids have a blast with Grandma and Grandpa as well as with their Aunties and Uncles who all reside in Las Vegas.
I hung up the phone with my wife who just told me why Dylan was taken to the hospital.
For only a moment he was unwatched. He was in the kiddie part of the pool and decided to take his floatie off. While making his way out of the kiddie pool and toward Grandma, he slipped on the edge and fell into the deep end of the adult pool. When this happened, no one had noticed...
The area of the pool where Dylan had been splashing and had apparently been having a good time, was quiet. Attention was turned toward his sphere. He was face down in the water and not moving.
I hung up my cell after having just received the news of Dylan's drowning. The spirit inside of me seemingly jumped out of my mortal body in an attempt to arrive at the scene of the tragedy instantaneously. This triggers a massive dump of adrenaline into my bloodstream. I realized that I am a 6 hour drive away from being with my little buddy, my namesake.
Clicking the cell back onto my belt I walked out of my store. I needed to avoid the awkward moment of screaming at the top of my lungs at a complete stranger. I was susceptible to all out turrets syndrome at that moment. I went into the parking lot completely helpless and stared at the tree studded hill in front of me; I was almost 400 miles away from my little man and he needed me.
Tyler and Breanne (both 9 years old) swam toward the limp body. They pushed him toward the edge where Grandma was reaching to pull him out. He was pulled out and had purplish lips and eye sockets. He was way low on oxygen and he was not breathing. Grandma laid him on his stomach and began massaging his back while calling his name to illicit a response. She then stuck her fingers down his throat to trigger a gag reflex and suddenly water begins to eject from his mouth. He pukes a stomach/chest full of water and coughs his little head off.
He's breathing.
This is when Rhonda gets the call... Soon after Rhonda calls me...
I called one of my associates and told him to close the store for me, I had to leave. I ran to my truck with a 220lb body full of adrenaline ready to spontaneously combust.
Dylan was taken to an Emergency Care. He was checked out by a nurse and the nurse called me while I was in route to Vegas with the news that he will require observation for the next few hours because he had achieved unconscious during the episode. All I cared about was that he was being monitored and I finally had the opportunity to relax.
I had yet to release a tear, (the rage at being so far away was immediate as evidenced by the damage to the knuckles on my right hand) but now the tears began to flow. It made getting to I-40 West in Holbrook that much more difficult. The hazard lights were turned on and the accelerator was pressed to the floor.
5 more hours before I could see my lil Joshua.
By the time I got to Kingman it had grown dark and I had not had the radio on. I had been entranced by the rushing air through the rolled down windows of my '97 Ford Ranger Super Cab while my mind raced embracing every possible scenario.
Turning north onto RT 68 toward the Hoover Dam I pushed the seek mode on the AM dial. Soon a local station emerged in the billion star lit sky. I'm not sure what tribe it was, I'm assuming Navajo, but I heard a ceremonial song where there were several men chanting in their native language with all their soul to the beat of a bass drum. The world seemed to hinge on their chant. I rode that chanting into the outskirts of Las Vegas where the radio station faded into the blackness of the sky above me. I knew everything was going to be ok and that I would once again wrap my arms around the little goofy man I nicknamed the Weasel.
At Grandma's house I began hugging anyone within arm's reach. I couldn't perceive life without Dylan and thankfully I didn't have to. My eye sockets were sore from their excretions.
He was just falling asleep on an air mattress in front of Grandma's tv. I cupped his little shaved head in my hands and began covering his forehead in upside-down kisses. He opened his eyes and said, "I wuv you daaaad."
Tonight I'm back home with a severe case of truck driver's tan. My left arm is a deep maroon while my right arm is on the upswing of last weekend's fishing trip. None of that matters because the Weasel is back home.
On the way home I played a couple of mixed tapes that I had made in the latter half of the 1990's. One song pierced my soul and opened the floodgates of tears yet again. It's posted here not to be watched, but to be listened to.
Play the song, hit your knees, bow your head, let the Spirit flow...
This song is for Dylan... Silly Willy... Mr. Weasel Man.
If you can keep your head when all about you Are losing theirs and blaming it on you, If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you But make allowance for their doubting too, If you can wait and not be tired by waiting, Or being lied about, don't deal in lies, Or being hated, don't give way to hating, And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise:
If you can dream--and not make dreams your master, If you can think--and not make thoughts your aim; If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster And treat those two impostors just the same; If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools, Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken, And stoop and build 'em up with worn-out tools:
If you can make one heap of all your winnings And risk it all on one turn of pitch-and-toss, And lose, and start again at your beginnings And never breath a word about your loss; If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew To serve your turn long after they are gone, And so hold on when there is nothing in you Except the Will which says to them: "Hold on!"
If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue, Or walk with kings--nor lose the common touch, If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you; If all men count with you, but none too much, If you can fill the unforgiving minute With sixty seconds' worth of distance run, Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it, And--which is more--you'll be a Man, my son!
It took the Harbin Smart Special Aerocraft Co Ltd 12 years and 28 million yuan (4.1 million dollars) to develop the prototype craft, which is designed for aerial photography, geological surveys and emergency lighting, the report said.
Uhhh...
...4 Mil to develop something that takes aerial photography? (there's no small planes for rent in China?)
...4 Mil to develop something that takes geological surveys? (what about those tripod things that clog up traffic?)
...4 Mil to develop something that can create EMERGENCY LIGHTNING??? (parenteses cannot contain the complete insanity of the above statement.)
Please let me know exactly what situations would justify EMERGENCY LIGHTNING!
...I sense a coded message... naaa, it's just my paranoia...
My search for "Emergency Lightning" under Google Video produced this gem:
Calling the school district's office this morning we found out that the boys' winter vacation has been extended by at least one more day... much to mommy's chagrin.
Another foot or so is expected throughout the rest of this afternoon.
While this picture doesn't do my road's slope justice, backing out of my driveway almost became a disaster... I almost sent the back end of my Excursion through a fence and down a drop off that would have really made this a rough day. Instead I gunned my 2 wheel drive in first gear, parked it safely in my driveway and headed back into the house to start a fire in the wood burning stove.
With Wyatt's reminder, I set up a fantasy golf league that was quite competitive and full of smack talk last season.
The rules are easy and it's all taken care of by the Yahoo! masterminds who have made fantasy sports much more addictive than they already are. If you think you need to know anything about fantasy sports or about Golf, just ask RT. She romped on me her first season and I've been playing for a few seasons now.
This via one of my hometown friends, this is classic...
Kids in the Kindergarten classes where I work were asked about Thanksgiving and "How to Cook a Turkey" and their responses were hilarious. A few were read over the announcements each morning. Someone smartly printed copies for teachers to take home and share. Seeing that they made me laugh out loud each morning and that Matt did the same when he read them. I had to share the joy with all of you. J I have typed out a few of my favorites and some funny excerpts. Who knows, maybe you'll pick up a few tips!
I hope that you have a lot to be thankful for this year.
Jen J
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We go to Price Chopper to get the turkey. It is where the cooking stuff is. It is in a little box and chocolate milk comes with it. We buy a small turkey--about 100 pounds. We put it in a pan and we put spices on it--like pepper fire mix so it is very hot. Then we add sugar. You put candy inside the turkey. Then we put butter all over it. The oven had to be really, really hot, about 30 degrees. You cook it for 30 minutes. The stove dings when the turkey is done. We grab a fork, pull the turkey out and take a bit. That's how you know it's done. My Dad and I cook. Mom is feeding Connor, my baby brother. My sisters play games. We eat turkey, roast beef and apples. We drink chocolate milk and have vanilla donuts with cream inside for desert (The dog bone donuts). --Cameron
Thanksgiving is when we give thanks for people who don't live in our state. --Maya
We have Thanksgiving so we can invite people over. To get our turkey we go to a chicken farm (they have turkeys too). You get a net and put the net over the turkey. We put him in a box and he sits in the front seat with Mom. I sit in the back seat with my brothers, Dominic and Noah. They turkey squeaks all the way home. Mom takes him out of the box and he flies around. Mom cleans him in the sink with a washcloth. She cleans his head first. Then she puts him in a pan and puts popcorn all over him--even inside him! She adds water and sticks him in the microwave. She cooks him for 4 minutes. The turkey is done when it's bubbly. You can hear popping all the time he is cooking. I set the table. We pray before we eat. We eat turkey, popcorn, chicken, lobster, apples and carrots. We have apple pie and pumpkin pie with whipped cream for desert. --Shylese
You get the turkey at Price Chopper. You buy it. Mom puts it in a pan with chicken and gravy. Turn the oven on 8 degrees. Cook it for 50 hours. --Nicole
You buy a turkey at Hannafords. It is 22 pounds. You take off the wrapping paper and put the turkey in the water (the turkey stinks -- the water gets really disgusting). You take the turkey out of the water and put it in a big pan. You add seasoning and cheese. Put the turkey in the oven for 23 minutes at 18 degrees. The turkey is always done at 6:30 in the morning. It cooks all night. You have to look at the temperature thing -- if it turns blue it's time to eat! --Cole
Put [the turkey] in the oven for four minutes. The oven is hot--hotter than the sun--about 30 degrees. --Beth
Get a dead turkey that is lying in the woods on the ground. Pick up the turkey and bring it home. There are no feathers when you find it in the woods. Put the turkey in a bowl and put it in the oven. Leave it in for however long you cook dinner. The oven makes noise and then it is done. Take it out of the oven and bring it to the table. Take the turkey out of the bowl and eat it. --John
My Mom and Aunt Nicole cook the turkey. They put it in a huge pan. The turkey is 52 pounds. They put bacon and A-1 sauce inside the turkey. They put maple syrup on the top, all over the turkey. We cook it for ten minutes. We eat turkey, ham, mayonnaise, apples, broccoli and crackers. We add maple syrup. --Trevor
You go in the woods. You see a turkey and shoot it with a gun. You pick it up and put it on your four-wheeler and hook it up to something. Bring the turkey home and unhook it. Skin the turkey and put it in a pan and put it in the oven for six minutes. It beep beeps and it's done. You take it out and eat it. --Jaden
You get a turkey at the Mobil Station. You bring it home. Leave the wrapping on so when you cook it, it will stay hot. --Erin
We get our turkey from a turkey farm. The turkey is running around so you have to catch it with a net. You have to clean it first. You use a towel and a hose. --Rebecca
You get a turkey in the forest. You grab it and bring it back to the village. You choke it. Me and Dad roast it. You roast it with fire from sticks. It takes six minutes. We eat it. --Forrest
You get a turkey from Food City. You bring it home. Take the paper off of it. Put the turkey in a big bowl and put it in the oven. Cook the turkey for 15 hours. It is done when it's not burned. Climb inside and eat it, but only after you shut off the oven. --April
Ok, so I had the Democratic Primary Debate on tonight at my store as I was closing up shop. I'm watching and listening passively perhaps in the hope that because it was in Vegas, there would be the possibility of a drunk strip goer with his three foot long straw dangling out of his plastic party glass half-full of watered down margarita who would cause an interesting scene.
Nope, unfortunately it was just the same old tired lines of vaguery. Not unlike any of the other political debates, regardless of party...
I'm tired of having nothing but the professional politician as the perpetual pick.
I've been a fan of the Nighthawk for a long time, my wife hates when I wear headphones to bed because I can't bear to lay in bed knowing I'm missing a conversation that tends to exist only in Coast to Coast country.
I'll admit that Coast to Coast has always had a 'fantastic' side to it. Particularly while Art Bell was at the helm. There's no doubt that Art took the show to unseen heights in the night time AM radio world. However, I for one, was never much of an Art Bell fan. I found him pretty pretentious myself.
When George Noory took over the show I found myself falling asleep with inbedded earphones much more often... much to my ear canal's discomfort, and my wife's annoyance. He has taken the show into a much more realistic and practical direction.
But he wants to be President??
"I have never run for political office," Noory told WND in an e-mail, "but every night I am reaching out to millions of Americans on the radio and I am deeply concerned that the middle class of the United States is being sold out to multi-national corporations with a globalist agenda."
Hmmm... that sure is true
"Why are we outsourcing millions of high-paying jobs to China and India?" he asked. "Why don't we secure the border and stop the country being flooded with millions of illegal immigrants? These are important questions on the minds of middle class voters all over America who are worried the politicians aren't listening."
We way beyond worried about it, we're living it.
"I believe 2012 will be the beginning of a new age, an age of enlightenment," Noory answered. "The current crop of political candidates looks out of touch, saying nothing new or genuine. By 2012 people are going to be saying, 'We cannot continue down the path we have been going as it will lead us only back to the familiar dead end we now see in Congress and the White House.'"
Assuming Americans will ever enter an age of Enlightenment is perhaps a pipe dream, but it sure is fun to assume isn't it?
Could you imagine Noory as our Prez? Hmm, it's at the very least an interesting thought... perhaps he can summon the powers of the extraterrestial to better demonstrate how to be 'walkers in the light'.
As far as the current crop of candidates go, I see nothing substantial on the Democrat side of the aisle (as usual) and the Republican side has been severely damaged by the promise of conservatism by the Bush Administration that had never been delivered.
What's an independent conservative to do? (But dream)
Figure I'll get back in the swing a little bit while I'm in the mood.
Life sure is different here in the laid back rural life of the White Mountains as compared to the hustle of Sin City.
While the wife and I may be missing our date nights out on the town, including stops at some of the best restaurants on the planet, and experiences at some awesome concerts; gone are the police sirens throughout the night, the constant buzz of airplanes, and the annoying letters from the home owner association.
All we hear at night now is the occasional furry four-legger checking out what's in the garbage can outside and the occasional breeze rocking the ponderosa pines closely guarding our new home. Oh, and that guy who rides his ATV everywhere.
Date nights now consist of visiting the same restaurant that thankfully makes an incredible prime rib.
My kids no longer have to learn Spanish in order to communicate with half of their class. The public school out here is teaching the Weasel in Kindergarten things that his older brothers weren't learning until they were deep into first grade in the city school.
The kids didn't have to hide from the stifiling summer heat but rather spend their day getting as dirty as possible and collecting tarantulas.
The Strip Lights no longer wash out the stars in the night sky. Now the stars which seemed to have multiplied a thousand fold are sprinkled along the tops of pine tree shaped silhouettes.
I will have to soon trade a winter golf outing in 75 degree weather in December for sledding sessions in the back yard and impromptu snowball fights. (Why did I teach Tyler to throw so well???)
Vegas had an astoundingly diverse population as well- while many of the people here that I have met have yet to wander out of the nest. However now there is no more anonymity in large numbers... I now no longer go shopping without someone who has recently met me asking how things are going.
The White Mountains is also the home of the Apache Indian Tribe. Considering my business, they are a large part of my clientele. They are a unique brand of Native-American with quite the storied history.
There is no doubt that this move was the best thing for our family. Although we have put a several hour drive between us and our beloved family that still resides in Vegas, this environment is an excellent place for our kids to grow and learn more about the outdoors. Oh, and work is going very well to boot. I've managed to turn around one of the largest stores in the region and make it very successful... which was why I was brought out here to begin with.
What is it that can bring me out of a 4 month blog hibernation?
'CUSE BASKETBALL BABY!!
Boeheim exemplifies my wife's feelings about this...
Plus tha 'Cuse is playing what I belive is my blog bud's Alma Mater- St. Joeseph's. Sorry Wyatt, but the freshmen phenoms are going go crazy on the Hawks...
This weekend, we drove into one of the most beautiful areas of the country, Sedona Arizona.
We went to visit the area they call "Slide Rock" where there is a natural water slide.
But first, some chow... Unfortunately, after a 3 and a half hour drive and four hundred "Are we there yets", the park was closed due to- HIGH BACTERIA! C'mon, we're a family of 7, how exactly is Bacteria considered High Risk to us?
A park ranger alerted us that the bacteria in question was in fact E. Coli. that they were worried about.
So instead we did some Hiking and some picture taking... enjoy.
Click on a picture for a 'close up'. Oh no, it's time to go home???
Well our time in the Las Vegas Valley is coming to an end. The company I'm working for made me an offer I couldn't refuse as long as I move to Show Low Arizona.
Established in 1870, incorporated in 1953, and located at an elevation of 6,412 feet, Show Low sits in the largest stand of Ponderosa Pine in the United States. It is 175 miles northeast of Phoenix and 195 miles north of Tucson. Show Low offers panoramic views, good fishing in mountain lakes and streams, and miles of wilderness for hiking, camping, cycling, horseback riding and downhill and cross-country skiing. It also features unique shops and fine, as well as casual, dining at many restaurants. The City also provides a broad range of Recreational Facilities.
Show Low received its name when C.E. Cooley and Marion Clark decided there was not enough room for both of them in their settlement. The two men agreed to let a game of cards decide who was to move. According to the story, Clark said, "If you can show low, you win." Cooley turned up the deuce of clubs and replied, "Show low it is."
This opportunity is nothing short of an answer to prayer. My wife and I have continued to debate and arrange a way to move out of the city to a smaller town so that our kids can grow up as kids when all of a sudden this opportunity presented itself.
We found a place on the mountain side among the dense ponderosa pines although I'm currently holed up in a Day's Inn. My family will join me at the end of this month and we'll move into our new home. Everyone is really excited, including me. While we've lived in large cities for the entirety of our marraige, my wife and I have always wanted to move to a small town where we can raise our kids. Our wish has come true and perhaps the best part is that my wife will no longer have to work out of the home any longer.
Well, I'll be back sometime soon with more pictures of our new town.
But for now... due to lack of time and wireless connections, just some pictures...
Heading out from the Vegas Valley to a new location, initally without the family... Last view of the eastern edge of the Las Vegas Valley... Ahhh, Lake Mead, a close friend of mine for the last several years. You will be missed! Many good memories were made. Hoover Dam Security... American ingenuity at it's finest... A long desolate road lies ahead... The provisions: laptop, bag with the essentials, and the left-over pizza wrapped in aluminum foil: essential road trip food... The other side of Hoover Dam produces the beautiful lil oasis of Willow Beach nestled between the thirsty rocks of northern Arizona. Yeah, I'm a member of the SAVAGE NATION... if you don't know what that is... check out the sidebar. The long boring road to Flagstaff begins. Mountain climbing combined with cabin fever. Cruising the sweet mountains of northern Arizona, heading into Flagstaff. Continued... After Flagstaff there's not much to see but everlasting desert landscape... Joseph City, AZ is home to an immense power plant in the middle of nowhere.
At this point my digital camera batteries are dead but there was little to see from the ride from Flagstaff to Show Low Arizona, which was my final destination. There was the slow decent into Holbrook and the long slow climb up the plateau into Show Low-
In the article from the New York Times on the 13th of December 2006, written by Thomas Friedman named, “Imagination will be necessary to succeed,” he states, “Rigor and competence, without freedom, will take China only so far.”
This statement was in response to the implication that Great Britain ruled the 19th century, America dominated the 20th century, and that China will dominate the 21st.
Friedman contends that freedom is a necessary component to a society’s ability to produce innovative products and services that offer premium wages for the workers who deliver such a product or a service.
China currently possesses an incredible manufacturing base and has improved its educational system so that there are increasing numbers of high school graduates. However; their lack of freedom, as exhibited by their national censorship of Google, and the existence of a Communist government, will be major roadblocks to their ability to turn out innovative thinkers.
On the other hand, Friedman notes, “Freedom, without rigor and competence, will take us only so far.” There is no question that America’s educational system has some major revamping to do if America is to remain the world’s standard in innovative thinking.
Considering how American students lag the students of other developed nations in the categories of reading, writing, math, and science; it is difficult to conceive that this standard is going to be upheld.
This notion has been under investigation for some time as a bipartisan commission consisting of a 27-member panel that includes former governors, senators, Cabinet secretaries, business and labor leaders, civil rights leaders, and education and job-training experts realized in an influential report by the National Center in Education and the Economy named, Tough Choices or Tough Times.
The report makes specific recommendations on how American education will have to change given that nations such as China and India are now producing large numbers of educated people willing to work for relatively low salaries.
“Over the past 30 years one country after another has surpassed us in the proportion of their entering workforce with the equivalent of a high school diploma, and many more are on the verge of doing so. Thirty years ago, the United States could lay claim to having 30% of the world’s population of college students. Today that proportion has fallen to 14% and is continuing to fall.” (National Center in Education and the Economy, 2006)
“What Americans still don’t realize is that our economic preeminence rests squarely on our education preeminence,” said Marc S. Tucker, NCEE’s president, “and we aren’t preeminent any more.”
It’s going to be the countries that produce the important new products and services that will maintain the technological lead, but technology is not the only factor to maintaining leadership.
“It depends on a deep vein of creativity that is constantly renewing itself, and on a myriad of people who can imagine how people can use things that have never been available before.”
The NCEE’s report summarizes where Americans need to strengthen themselves if they expect to succeed in the future globalized job market.
“Strong skills in English, mathematics, technology, and science, as well as literature, history, and the arts, will be essential for many; beyond this, candidates will have to be comfortable with ideas and abstractions, good at both analysis and synthesis, creative and innovative, self-disciplined and well organized, able to learn very quickly and work well as a member of a team and have the flexibility to adapt quickly to frequent changes in the labor market as the shifts in the economy become ever faster and more dramatic.”
If the problem with China is the lack of freedom, and the problem with America is the lack of rigor and competence, where does the happy medium lie? Obviously it lies in an increase in freedom for the Chinese, and an increase in rigor and competence with the Americans.
Without major overhauls of our educational systems we can expect a major widening in the gap of the haves and the have-nots in American society as we see routine work become more digitized, off-shored, or automated.
Without major advances in the causes of freedom of expression and religion in China, we most likely will see only an increase in the manufacturing base of the country’s economy, rather than an increase in innovative products or services.
The less educated of America will descend to true poverty and obscurity, while the less fortunate of China will descend into further slavery. Only countries with highly skilled workforces will be able to successfully compete in the emerging world marketplace, and it will be that country or workforce that combines the principals of freedom, rigor, and competency the most effectively.
