Want A Toothpick?

It Was A Hot Evening When I Realized I Was Out Of Popcorn. Each Night I Snack On Popcorn To Kick In My Medicine. I Hopped Into The Truck Heading For The Dollar Store. Once There I Realized I Forgot My Glasses. Well I Knew Where The Popcorn Was So It Should Be No Big Deal, And It Wasn't. I Seen A Long Line To The Register And Realized I Also Needed To Buy Some Kitchen Stick Matches. I Knew Exactly Where They Were Located. I Retrieved The Matches Then Paid For My Purchase. After Arriving Home I Was Asked Why I Bought So Many Toothpicks? By This Time I Had My Glasses On And Saw That Indeed I Purchased 2 Boxes Of Toothpicks That Contained 1,000 In Each Box. The Toothpicks Were In A Similar Size Box As The Match Sticks.
Sure I Could Have Took Them Back But For Some Reason I Never Did. So I Decided From Now On Anyone Who Enters My Home I Will Offer A Toothpick.
Glasses, Never Leave Home Without Them.

My Beano Is Growing

This Is A Picture Of My Grandson AJ. I Nicknamed Him Beano When He Was Just A Bouncing Baby. He Wouldn't Set Still. He Reminded Me Of A Mexican Jumping Bean. I Have Called Him Beano Ever Since.
Today Was His Birthday Party. He Turned 12 This Past Thursday The 11th. He's A Good Kid. Loves To Play Video Games With His Cousin Blake.
I Was Hoping He Would Take Interest In My Mission In Life. Helping The Ones Who Live In Poverty. I'm Not Sure This Body Of Mine Can Hang On That Long. I Am Getting Tired.
I Told Beano That I First Met His Nanny When I Was 12 Years Old. I Don't Think He Could Even Imagine Me Being Twelve. Seems Like A Lifetime Ago.

Real Men Wear Pink

Yesterday Would Have Been Bobby's 32nd Birthday. There Were A Couple Different Plantings In Our Front Yard. A Snow Mountain Tree That Jackie Purchased. It's A Beautiful Tree. It Blooms In The Months Of July And August.
I Planted Pink Knockout Roses. A Friend Posted A Photo Of Her's In Her Yard. They Were Beautiful. I Knew That Was What I Would Plant For Bobby's Birthday. Bobby Always Said Real Men Wear Pink. He Had A Pink Shirt He Wore To Prove His Point.
I Knocked On Someone's Door This Afternoon To Pick Up A Couch To Be Given To A Family. He Asked Me If I Was Bobby's Dad. It Stunned Me But I Immediately Said Yes. It Made Me Wonder If I Would Ever Be Asked That Question Again. I Must Confess It Made Me Sad. Jackie Will Be Here Through The End Of The Week. She Came To Illinois To Visit With Us For Ten Days. It Was Important She Was Here On Bobby's Birthday.
I Really Am Not Concerned What People May Say Or Think About How I Continue To Grieve My Son's Death. I Will Always Have This Empty Feeling Inside. My Heart Was Broken The Day He Passed Away. If You Are Tired Of Reading My Words About Him I Suggest You lose My Blog Address Or Remove Yourself From My Facebook Page. Some May Wonder If I Will Ever Move On. I Would Probably Say, Probably Not. My Heart Aches.
Thanks For The Memories Bobby. I Will Cherish Them Forever.

Tuck

This Is My Brother Tuck. Today Is His 60th Birthday. It's Not Every Day You Turn 60. It's A Milestone In One Sense Yet In Another It's Just A Number. For Him It's A Little Of Both. He Likes To Say I Am 18 With 42 Years Of Experience Of Being 18.
He Is Always Cracking A Joke. If He Can Put A Smile On Your Face, Mission Accomplished. I Would Say He Has Been A Good Brother To Me. He Has Always Been There For Me. Whether It Be Advice Or A Helping Hand, I Know I Can Always Count On Him. He Is A Good Euchre Partner. He Is A Great Team Mate In Bowling. We Both Bowl On The Same Team Two Different Days. He Lets Me Use His Garage When I Need To Store "Stuff".
He Pointed Out To Me The Other Day I Have Not Written A Blog In The Month Of June. Why? I Have No Idea. I Am So Busy In The Summer Months. However, Today Being A Special Day For Him I Had To Create This Blog Especially For Him. I Chose This Photo Of Him Because He Loves Playing Santa For The Little Children. This Has Been A Tradition For Many Years Now.
I Could Not Ask For A Better Brother. I Know We Never Say It But I Love You Bro. I Cannot Imagine Life Without You In It. Happy 60th Birthday. I Wish You Many More. We Can Celebrate The Entire Weekend If You Want. You Have Earned It.

Whenever in Doubt, Google It

As Long As You Own A Computer You Will Never Wonder Why Or How. I Have Found Out How Amazing Google Is. I Can Simply Type In A Question And "Poof" I Get Pages On Top Of Pages Giving Me Anything And Everything That Has Been Written About The Topic.
Recently I Have Been Facing Some Health Issues. I Have Learned A Lot About My Possible Medical Condition. What Causes It And What Fixes It. Google Takes The Wonder Out Of Everything.
I Felt Every Bit Of My Age On The Truck Today. This Season Marks My 27th Year In What I Do To Help Face Poverty. I Knew One Day I Would Take Notice That I Cannot Do What I Have Been Doing For Years. At This Point In Time All I Can Do Is Take One Season At A Time. I Will Have To Admit This Year Has Already Taken A Toll On Me. I Was Hoping I Had At Least Another Ten Years In Me. I Am Guessing A Lot Of My Problems Are The Extra Weight I Put On Last Winter. I Am Still Lugging It Around With Me. I Had Hoped Since We Are Finishing Up The Month Of April I Wouldn't Have All The Aches And Pains I Normally Have At The Beginning Of The Season. I Have Found Me Taking Pain Medication In Anticipation That I Will Be Having Pain. That's How Well I Know My Body At This Moment. I Think If I Could Lose Ten Pounds It Would Make Things Easier On Me.
I Know It Has Been Awhile Since I Posted A Blog. I Must Have Had Writers Block. I Will Try To Get Back In It. Maybe The Next Blog Will Share The Fun Of Passing A Kidney Stone.

The True Test Of Love

Illinois Is In The Midst Of Mushroom Season. Since The Passing Of My Son In 2010 I Have Yet To Go Mushroom Hunting. Ever Since He Was Old Enough To Walk, Every April Bobby And I Would Venture Out Into The Woods In Search Of What I Call White Man's Soul Food. I Would Like To Say It's A Tradition That's Been Handed Down Through The Generations Of My Family.
It's Been Three Mushroom Seasons Since Bobby Passed Away. The Mushroom Season Before He Passed Away He Shared His Favorite Spot With Me. Very Few People Disclose Such Vital Information. He Showed Me This Mighty Elm Tree That Was Rather Tricky To Get To. He Had Been Going To This Spot For A Few Years. He Told Me He Always Found Mushrooms There Each And Every Year. One Year After His Find He Ran Across Another Gentleman Walking Close By. In Their Exchange of Greetings Bobby Was Told By This Gentleman He Also Hunts Near That Tree. So Basically It Was A Matter Of Who Get's There First. He Was Right By Saying That. Even Though I Have Visited This Tree Numerous Times In The Years Of 2011 & 2012. No Mushrooms Near This Tree. Yesterday I Visited The Tree For The Second Time This Season. It Was As If Bobby Was Shining The Sunlight Upon Four Mushrooms Near What I Will Always Refer To As Bobby's Tree. The Biggest Grin Came Across My Face As I Plucked The Mushrooms From The Ground. I Walked Around For Another 30 Minutes Or So And Found No More. If Anything It Was A Proud Moment That I Finally Found These Mushrooms By "His" Tree. If That's All I Find This Year It's Ok With Me. However After Finding Them It Gave Me A Moment To Reflect On How Much We Enjoyed The Companionship Each Year In The Woods.
I Would Like To Think Bobby And I Were A Lot Alike. I Don't Think He Would Want Me To Stop Going Mushroom Hunting Just Because He Is No Longer With Us. I Think It's Long Over Due That I Take My Grandson With Me And Teach Him What I Know About Mushroom Hunting. Hopefully He Can Pass On To His Son And Grandson The Love Of Mushroom Hunting.
So Does The Title Of This Blog Confuse You? Let Me Explain. I Was Taught To Have The Mushrooms Soak Overnight In Saltwater To Draw The Bugs Out. So Basically I Slice The Mushrooms In Half Making 8 Pieces To Be Soaked Then Fried. Everyone Seems To Have Their Way Of Preparing Them To Eat. I Like To Enjoy The True Taste Of The Mushroom So I Prefer To Lightly Flour Them And Fry Them In A Skillet. I Will Admit I Am Not Fond Of Cooking. This Afternoon I Asked My Vegetarian Daughter If She Would Fry These 8 Pieces Of Mushrooms. She Understood Why They Were Important To Me. I Told Her I Would Split Them With Her. I Thought Maybe Once I Got The Taste Of The Mushroom I Would Go Out Again In Search For More. We Have Been Getting A Lot Of Rain Recently And The Grass Has Been Growing A Lot And With The Additional Weight I Had Put On Has Really Slowed Me Down In The Woods. Yet I Was Certain Just The Taste Of These Long Sought For Mushrooms Would Encourage Me To Find Even More Before The Season Ends.
I Found Myself Excited To Eat These Mushrooms. She Brought Them To Me And Explained She Didn't Care For How They Turned Out So She offered Her Share To Me. I Thought In My Mind, How Can You Not Enjoy The Taste Of This Eloquent Fungi? She Handed Them To Me On A Saucer. I Asked Her Where The Fork Was And She Said I Didn't Need One. I Picked Up A Mushroom And It Was As Stiff As A Board. I Took A Taste Of It And The Taste Was Unexplainable. I Immediately Placed The Uneaten Part Back On The Saucer And Told Her I Didn't Like It Either. This Is When She Admitted To Me That She Accidently Dipped The Mushrooms In Powdered Sugar. There Was Simply No Reason To Be Upset About It. I Achieved In Finding The Mushrooms In Bobby's Special Place. That Was The Most Important To Me.
After The Find Gave Me Reason To Continue The Family Tradition In Hunting The Morel Mushroom. I Always Joked About Why I Enjoyed Taking Bobby When He Was Just A Young Boy. Being Short When He Was Young, He Was Closer To The Ground. I Can Still Remember Walking Out Of The Woods With Bobby Riding On My Shoulders Asking If We Were lost. I Assured Him We Were Not Even Though We Were.
Sugar, Flour? The Overall Picture Is I Love My Daughter More Than The Mushroom. Did I Just Say That? Yes I Did. Bless Her Heart.
Memories Are A Gift From God. We Need To Keep Making Them So Others Can Enjoy Them In The Years Ahead.

Chapter 58

Chapter 58 Begins In April. The 21st To Be Exact. So It Doesn't Sound So Complicated Today Is My Birthday. Yep You Guessed It, My 58th. I Look At Life In General Like A Book. In Your Book Of Life Hopefully There Are Many Chapters.
Tomorrow Begins Chapter 59. I Have No Idea What Chapter 59 Holds For Me But I Hope For Peace And Love In My Life. Sometimes When I Look Back I See Happy Times And Sad Times. It's Incredible How Much A Person Can Accumulate Throughout The Years. I Am Referring To Life's Memories, Life's Moments.
Today My Parents Took Me Out To Eat To Celebrate My Birthday. Yes That's Right, My Parents. I Suppose I Am Blessed To Have Both My Parents At My Age. They Are Still Rather Active And We Try To Be Involved In Each Others Lives. 58 Years Of Memories Of Them And Other Family Members Are Precious To Me. My Childhood Memories Sometimes Seem So Vivid And I Can Replay Those Moments In My Head Many Times Over. 1967 I Feel Was The Very Best Moment Of My Life. I Was Only 12 Years Old. It Was My Last Year Of Little League Baseball. It Was Also The Year I Met Billie. We Met In Church One Sunday Morning. Her Cousin Brought Her To Sunday School. That Was The Day. Do You Understand What I Mean By That? Most Everybody Has Them. Fate. For Example My Being Would Not Be In Existence If It Weren't For My Parents Of Course. It Was Fate That Brought Them Together. My Father Worked At A Furniture Store. On His Dinner Break He Would Go To A Restaurant. This Particular Evening The Restaurant Was Closed. He Found Another Small Restaurant. My Mother Had A Waitress Job There. That's How They Met. If It Weren't For Fate That Night I Might Not Be Here. There Are Many Chance Meetings In A Lifetime. For My Parents It Was In The Winter Months Of 1952. Their Chance Meeting Is The Reason For My Being.
I Was Born In 1955. 58 Years Of Fate And Memories Have Been Built Ever Since. I Am Sure There Will Be More In My Future And Yours. Fate Plays A Very Large Part In Our Lives. We Just Don't Take The Time To Notice And Smell The Flowers.
When Fate Happens To You, Which It Will, Smile And Be Thankful For It. Everything Happens For A Reason. That Reason May Not Be Relevant At The Moment, But In Time It Will.

Have Faith

As We Are In The Holy Week I Must Ask You If You Have Faith. Do You Believe In Jesus The Son Of God? If You Do I Say Hallelujah.
Last Week We Had A Rather Large Snow Storm Predicted For The Midwest Region Of The Country. For Me I Sincerely Hope It Was Mother Natures Last Howrah And Springtime Would Be Around The Corner.
I Knew This Storm Was Suppose To Come In Two Phases. Saturday Night We May Get An Inch Or Two When We Woke Up Sunday Morning. Phase 2 Would Come Mid Day With Much Heavier Snow And Accumulation.
Shortly After Noon My Wife Asked Me Where This Big Giant Snowfall Was. I Told her It Was Coming And We better Be Prepared Because It Was Going To Be A Big One. She Gave Me One Of Those Looks And Said Yes I Know, They Say We Are Going To Get Something Bad But It Always Misses Us. I Assured her It Was Coming. According To My Computer Radar It Was Big And It Was Moving Rather Slowly. When It Moves Slowly It Usually Means It Will Dump Lots Of Snow Before It Moves Out Of The Area. The Radar Shows It Rotating In A Circular Motion And Moving Very Slowly. It Began To Lightly Snow. From The Other Room I Hear Is This The Big Snowfall You Are Making A Big Deal Out Of? I Said Yes, It's Only The Beginning.
As The Snow Began To Get Heavier And Heavier You Could See The Inches Of Accumulation Begin To Rise.
My Reason For Telling You This Story Is Because It's True. I Love My Wife And I Don't Think She Would Mind Me Using This As A Reason To Make My Point. Just Because You Don't See The Snow Coming Doesn't Mean It's Not Coming. If You Want To Literally Stand Out In Your Yard And Become A Human Snowman To Be A Believer Be My Guest.
This Coming Sunday Is Easter. In Order For You To Believe In Easter You Must Believe In The Son Of God. His Name Is Jesus. For God Gave His Only Begotten Son, That Who Ever Believeth In Him Shall Not Parish But Have Eternal Life. Just Because You Have Never Seen God Doesn't Mean He Doesn't Exist. I Believe In The Son. I Believe He Died For Our Sins.
Personally There Was A Moment In My Life Where I Met The Lord. I Have Not Spoken About It Because I Was Told Not To. I Don't Know Why But I Was Told God Has A Plan For Me.
I Was As Near Death As One Can Be. There Are Certain Things I Can Remember Yet Other Things Feel Foggy And Unsure. What I Know For A Fact Is God Is Real And I Believe. I Have Faith That God Will Give Me Eternal Life With Him. I Do Remember Begging Him To Take Me Then Because Life Was Not Worth Living For Me At The Time. He Had A Bigger Plan For Me.
Maybe I Am Doing It Now With The Work I Do For The Poor. Maybe He Wanted Me To Meet New People And Be An Inspiration To Them Or Them To Inspire Me In Some Way. I'm Not Sure What He Plans For Me. Since Then I Have Married And Had Two Children. I Have Met A Host Of People Since That Time In My Life. Maybe His Bigger Plan Has Nothing To Do With Me. Maybe I Will Be Just A Pawn. What I Mean By That Is Maybe I Will Be A Part Of Someone's Life To Make A Difference For Them. I'm Not So Selfish To Think The Reason Is Just For Me. If I Am Part Of The Big Picture In The Lords Plan, So Be It.
I Have Faith In God. I Don't Have To Die To Know He Exist. I'm Also Not Telling You This Because I Have Seen Him. I Was Raised In A Christian Home. My Father's Father Was A Minister Of God. I Was Baptized Not Once But Twice In My Lifetime. On A Side Remark I Must Say I Was Criticized By Someone Because I Was Baptized For The Second Time. Their Belief Is Once You Are Baptized Your Sins Are Washed Away. My Relationship With My Lord Is On A Personal Level. If I Had The Opportunity To Be Baptized In The Same Water Jesus Was Baptized In I Most Certainly Would. I Don't Need To Be In A Building Of Worship To Feel Close To God. My Personal Feelings About Church Itself Is It's A Useful Tool In Keeping Fellowship With Other Christians.
I Feel Humbled To Be Serving Him And Being A Part Of His Bigger Plan. Each One That Reads This Should Feel Humbled Because They Are Part Of God's Bigger Plan. I Suppose When He No Longer Needs You In His Plan You Get His Gift Of Everlasting Life. What A Comfort To Know.
This Takes Us Back To Faith. Believe In Him And You Will Have Ever Lasting Life. You Don't Need To Step Outside When It's Raining And Get Wet To Prove That It Is. You Don't Need To Touch The Fire To Know It Will Burn You. Just Because You Don't See It Doesn't Mean It's Not There.
Have A Wonderful Easter. He Has Risen!

The Calm Before The Storm

It's A Familiar Phrase We Have All Heard Throughout The Years. The Meaning Can Be Used For Different Circumstances.
This Blog Is Being Written On The Eve Of An Approaching Storm. This Being The 23rd Day Of March. One Would Assume A Thunderstorm Is What We Are Preparing For. I Wish It Were. If Temperatures Were Warmer That Would Be The Case. However The Central Part Of Illinois Is Bracing For The Largest Snowfall In Recent History. 9 Inches Is Predicted Within A 24 Hour Period.
We Were Hoping For An Early Spring Since That Is What A Rodent In Pennsylvania Predicted Seven Weeks Ago. As I Have Shared On Numerous Occasions I Do Not Believe In Any Kind Of Old Wives Tales When It Comes To The Weather.
Since We Are Only One Week From The Beginning Of April And One Week After The First Day Of Spring, It Was My Hopes Temperatures Would Be More Considerate. Some Of The Signs Of Spring Have Already Taken Place. I Have Seen Flocks Of Robin's. The Traditional Ice Cream Shops Have Announced Their Openings For The New Season.
After The Storm Has Passed And The Snow Has Fallen, The Most Precious Photo Of All Is That Taken Of Danville's Most Popular Ice Cream Establishment Open For Business, With Piles Of Snow Around Reminding Us All Who Really Is In Charge.
I Know Better Than To Predict The Weather On Any Level. I Am Just A Simple Human Being Who Will Take Whatever God Decides To Give Us. It Is Him Who Has The Final Say. I Believe The Reason For That Is To Remind Us Mortal Souls Who Is In Control. God Has Steered This World Since He Created It. Keep In Mind You And I Are Just A Speckle In Time. There Was Life Before Us And There Will Be Life After We Are Gone. The Course Of This Planet Has Always Been Guided And Directed By It's Creator.
Trust In Him. I'm Not Telling You This Because We Are Entering Into The Holy Week. I Tell You This Because It's The Truth.
It Will Be What God Decides It To Be. Trust In Him.

 Yes I Know You Have Heard The Wind Blow Before. I Consider This Moment On The Same Level Of When I Decided To Finally Quit Smoking. The Very First Thing I Learned In That Very Long Struggle Of Trying To Quit, You Had To Do It For Yourself. A Lot Of People Could Care Less Whether You Smoke Or Not. I Had My Reasons For Quitting And It Was So Important To Me I Finally Was Able To Quit. I Tried Prior To That But Always Failed.
I Believe Once You Reach A Certain Level That You Consider The "Breaking Point", Your Chances Of Succeeding Has Increased To An Even Higher Level.
I Feel You Can Only Achieve Success At The End. My End Was The Cigarette Butt I Taped To The Bathroom Mirror Reminding Me It Was The Last Cigarette I Smoked And A Symbol To Remind Me Of All The Reasons I Quit.
Today I Face A Different Battle. A Battle I Am Determined To Win. Some Call It The Battle Of The Bulge. I Began Putting On The Excess Weight Shortly After I Quit Smoking. Every Time I Wanted A Cigarette I Would Put A Mint In My Mouth. The Package Said Fat Free So I Figured It Was The Perfect Thing For Me. Wrong! It Didn't Contain Fat But It Sure Did Contain Calories. 50 Calories Per Mint. It Didn't Take Long For Me To Go From Minus To Plus Size. I Had Been Skinny Most Of My Life. Weighing In At 126 Pounds When I Joined The Navy. My Grandmother Told Me I Must Be Either Sick Or Had Worms. Back Then I Ate To Live. Today I Live To Eat. What A Big Difference Between Then And Now.
I Believe A Person Reaches A Certain Point In Their Life When They Put Their Foot Down And Say Enough Is Enough.
When I Finally Smoked That Last Cigarette I Knew In My Heart It Would Be The Last. You Just Know. I Loved My Cigarettes, So I Thought. I Believe The Final Breaking Point Was The Cost. It Just Did Not Make Sense In Spending That Much Money Just To See It Go Up In Smoke.
My Goal This Winter Was To Keep The Weight Off That I Lost Last Summer. I Had Lost 17 Pounds. I Figured The Best Time To Lose It Was When I Am Most Active. All I Had To Do During The Winter Months Was To Maintain What I Had Lost. I Failed Miserably. I Had Gained 16 Of The 17 Pounds I Lost Last Summer. I Will Quit Eating All Together If I Have To. I Must Eat Breakfast In The Morning. The Most Important Meal Of The Day. It Gives Me The Energy I Need To Function Throughout The Day.
I Know A Couple People Personally Who Lost A Large Amount Of Weight And Have Kept It Off. My Goal Is 175 Pounds. When I Reach My Goal. Did You Notice I Said When? Once I Have Achieved, I Have Vowed To Keep It Off. I Realize I Must Change My Lifestyle If I Want To Shed This Unwanted Weight. I Will. I Can!
In Just 2 Weeks I Will Be Getting Started In My Big Truck. I Must Get My Butt In And Out Of It. This 16 Pounds Is Like Carrying Around A Bowling Ball With Me All The Time.
If You Want It Bad Enough It Will Happen. Mark Today On Your Calendar. It's The Day I Become A Determined Person. It's The Day I Drew The Line And Said No More. It's The Day I Said The Buck Stops Here.