Hydrox and Pepsi, Please!!!!!!!

He was a rebel. A man different from most fathers I knew. To me he always seemed like he could've been one of the kids. He had a sense of humor and an easy smile that made you realize his inner child wasn't so inner. He was a man who studied people. He would people watch for hours if you let him, of course in our new paranoid  world he'd be creepy. He was gentle with a warmth that always seemed to permeate every situation he was in. He was hard to hate, believe me I tried, but it's hard to hate a man who believes The Three Stooges are high art.

My father was well read and loved books on all subjects. He could read and glean all the information he needed in just one sitting. He loved books about nature, one of his favorites was James Herriot's "All Creatures Great and Small", he even made us watch the television adaptation on PBS. It was like living with a modern day Davy Crockett, I think I knew how to fish before I learned how to swim thanks to my father. He chopped wood, ran a chainsaw, fished, and was an all around outdoors man. He once built a shanty out of plank wood in our backyard that stood for over a decade. Unfortunately not much of his woodland skills rubbed off on me.

My father was our coach for most of our baseball/ softball careers. He learned the sport right along with us just so he could be involved in our lives. My dad was a soccer guy who never really liked baseball, but for his kids he toughed it out and became one of the greatest coaches my hometown ever saw. He went from knowing zero about the sport to becoming a guru. People from all over sought his advice on how to teach "windmill" pitching for softball. He would read for hours, attend clinics, get dirty himself all to learn the sport better, it was amazing to watch.  While most men his age were putting in overtime, or watching the game on television, my dad was living it.

I believe I learned a great deal more from my dad then I ever knew. He taught me so much in a short time frame, I just wish I had realized it earlier in life. My dad and I barely talked for most of my grown up life, partly my fault, some of it his. He died January 11th 2006 from bone cancer. We never made up for whatever reason, call it stubbornness, but I never stopped loving him. He was a great man who was loving yet firm. He always seemed to have an air of confidence that left him without fear. He mentored a lot of kids in my hometown probably without them even realizing it. I realize now at age forty-two he mentored me more than I ever knew. I thank you dad for being you, never giving in to convention and always being yourself no matter where you were, I love you and miss you and only wish to say I'm sorry for all the trouble I caused you and the family. I just pray one great day, God willing, you and I will stand side by side as friends for all eternity.

He Shoots, He Scores!!!!!!!

To those of us who understand the sport Hockey is a treasure. It's an endeavor steeped richly in tradition. Men become heroes and heroes become legends. Names like Howe, Gretzky, Richard, and Orr ring through it's hallowed halls like a beautiful symphony greater than anything ever written by a single composer. We cheer at the exploits of brave men who play a sport that combines the grace of ice skating, the thunder of American Football, and the pugilistic science of boxing, it's the perfect storm. It's fast and furious without having to watch men huddle up and kill the clock. Hockey's clock runs for a fast sixty minutes only breaking for any length of time to recap each period. Most of it's detractors bemoan the fact that it's too fast and they can't track the puck. With a little education and a better understanding anyone can be a hockey fan able to follow the little black disc.

Most people don't realize that American Football is slow and filled with very little action. Studies have shown that on average a football game features only twenty-six minutes of contact. Hockey on the other hand is pure action from the puck drop to start the game all the way to the final horn. Hockey doesn't huddle, run slow down offences, or call many time outs to stop the clock. To the point, in a hockey game each team gets only one time out to use as they see fit. Hockey teams must have a flexible strategic plan because the lines roll non stop as the game flows. Players have to be quick because there is no "play clock" to replace tired players or get the perfect match ups teams want.  Coaches roll four lines seamlessly throughout the game trying to create mismatches to improve their chances of scoring. Unlike football's stop and go plodding pace, hockey is a whirling dervish of  kinetic energy from start to finish.

Hockey has been around since 1917 and it's original six era started in 1942, that's when it really started to blossom. Hockey now has 30 teams spread across America, including places like Phoenix that have never seen ice, and Canada. Each team plays  82 games a year during the regular season. It's a long season that grows longer if you make the playoffs, then you may play another three rounds of four to seven games before you get to vie for Lord Stanley's Cup. It's grueling and unforgiving which makes it unpredictable, unlike most football and baseball seasons. Hockey is a sport where work ethic is demanded not expected. No one in hockey "takes plays off" because if you do you may end up carried off on a stretcher. These guys fly around the ice at twenty plus miles an hour and can weight up to two hundred and twenty five pounds, you do the math on contact force. It's a sport where whining is not an option, I've watched guys spit teeth on the ice get up, go to the bench, pull out the other loose teeth and climb over the boards for their next shift. I can't imagine someone like T.O. doing that, not in a million years.

So if you're bored with sports that promote prima-donna millionaire brats and long for an exciting fast paced "hardhat and lunch pail" thrill ride, I suggest you take in a live hockey game. You'll be hooked for life. If you aren't able to see a live game, as most hockey seasons have ended, tune into the NHL Stanley Cup Finals on NBC starting Wednesday June first as two of hockey's best fight it out for one of sports biggest prizes, The Stanley Cup. I'm sure you'll be amazed at how cool this game really is. Pun intended. Thanks for reading and God Bless.

I Light Fires!!!!!

Summer has a rhythm all it's own. The sky's are bluer and the air is filled with the scent of new life. It's a time to celebrate the passing of the gloomy demeanor known as winter. No longer are we locked away in our domiciles hiding from the cold and blustery season. We are free to roam the wild yonder under the sun's yellowy-orange warmth. We are released from the doldrums of  the grey season and awakened to play in the lush vibrant radiance of newness. We are reborn. We once again feel the energy of our childhoods rushing back to us. Many feel the primal call of the wild and choose to live within the wide open frontier, if only for a few days. We feel the need to return to our roots and become one with nature as a means to escape the rat race around us. We yearn for the quiet simplicity of a by-gone era before the great expansion of machinery and technology stole our souls.

The simplest of escapes, cooking over an open fire. Nothing beats that. The roar of the flames, the smell of the searing flesh, it's as old as man himself. Nothing beats the unmistakable taste of a steak seared to juicy perfection over an open flame. It's like tasting food for the first time all over again. A man will stand at his grill all day flame-broiling proteins for mass consumption just to taste that smoky sweet flavor. For most of us, it's a compulsion, an unconscious desire that as soon as the sun shines and it gets warm, we must grill. I've even been known to stand outside in zero degree weather buried by snow grilling, I may have an addiction.

The grill is a magnificent tool. For some it's like an appendage, to others a complete mystery. Grilling can be made more complicated by bright shiny gas grills or worse, the dual grill. It's a hybrid of technology that gives you the choice to cook with either gas or charcoal. Honestly gas is fine but it leaves a strange taste on your product. I use charcoal, plain old charcoal in a kettle grill. No fast light stuff for me because like gas it too has a funky aftertaste. I also light my charcoal with newspaper soaked in vegetable oil instead of  lighter fluid. The propellant can leave a strange smell and flavor on your food.  With the vegetable oil it burns slower and lights the coal and wood chips more evenly without the gassy smell and taste. Squirt a little veggie oil on the black nuggets and wood chips as well, it will help you regulate the heat more.

So I say unto you my fellow grill geeks stay true to the ancient ways and you will find a better tasting, more flavorful piece of protein. From bovine to the kingly pig, all things are better over the naked flame. Grab your friends, relatives, or neighbors and get together to celebrate our ancient heritage and cook a hearty meal over natures greatest cooking instrument, the glorious open flame. Enjoy and God Bless!!!  

Just A Little Change.

My local paper had published a story by a Wal Mart cashier explaining how they were raising lots of money for CMN (Children's Miracle Network).They do it by asking customers to round up their total purchase to the next dollar and donating the change. It's called a "round up". In this stunted economy she was saying the company was actually well beyond it's goals. I'm thinking good and happy thoughts for once about this much bedeviled corporate giant. Maybe there is some good in the world after all. That is until I make the mistake of reading people's comments to the story. At first they were all positive and encouraging. Most people seemed as surprised as I was that this company known for it's stinginess was being so thoughtful and helpful.

And then it happened. Some woman posted a reply saying she was "offended" that every time she went into the retailer she was asked to surrender her change for charity. Offended?
How could you be offended by a cashier asking you to drop a few cents for a child's charity? It could be one cent, or it may be ninety-nine cents, no big deal. Her reasoning was "times are tough and getting tougher." Her pocket book was going to be empty just because she was asked to donate a few cents.
I am unemployed and not collecting any state assistance and have no car to drive to Wal Mart to be "harassed" into giving up my change, so I know tough times. Thank God my girlfriend and I have been able to support our family on her retail store paychecks. Hard times, sure, but every time she is asked to donate her change to CMN she does it with out blinking.

I understand to some people being constantly asked to fork over a portion of your hard earned money, no matter how small an amount is annoying. It's not like it's a huge bother, nothing to fill out, no little trinket to carry around, they just want your change. I look at it this way, every penny I turn over to Wal Mart they in turn give it to a charity that allows sick children to get the medicine and treatment they normally couldn't afford. For me it's a chance to be someone's hero. I need no superpowers, no funny tights, and no special training to help save someone's life, or at least make their life a little more comfortable before they pass on.
No one should have to watch their child suffer just because some people felt "offended" enough not to donate their spare change. We live in a country where "helping thy neighbor" used to be automatic and done without whining about "tough times." It was done out of kindness and concern for other people. Most people I run into today can only think of themselves. We are at a crossroads good readers, we can continue to walk the wicked path and only do for ourselves, or we can go back to a time when charity started at home. Just picture yourself or your family in need and there is no one there to help. We live in a world where heroes are few and far between, this maybe your chance to be a hero.

We all have tight budgets now, it's the way of the world. It doesn't mean we shouldn't be charitable, especially when it comes to the children. I could quote some cheesy Whitney Houston song explaining how they are our future, but by now we all understand that. All I ask is never be "offended" by someone asking for a little help from you. I challenge my readers to say "yes" every time a Wal Mart cashier asks you to "round up". I want to believe that everyone who reads this blog can be a hero.
                                                                      http://childrensmiraclenetworkhospitals.org/

Fear And Loathing Here On Earth.

The end is near. According to some it's Saturday, bummer. Haven't we heard enough of these wacko predictions in the past to realize it's most likely false. I just keep flashing back to Y2K. It never happened, we all have lived though this before. I just keep wondering on who's authority do these people get the right to scream "the sky is falling." The Bible talks of the end of days, but real Christians don't run around proclaiming the end is near. They don't know when it's going to happen so they live their lives the best they can every day. Shouldn't we all take a hint from them and just live really good lives, bringing peace to the world, doing good things, and being really cool people overall?

It's simple, life is hard. We watch bad things happen to good people, friends and family die, and bad people get ahead. Some people just get angry, others just ignore it, and still others turn to God to help them understand the world around them. It's called faith. Faith is a beautiful thing because it allows you to have strength you never thought you had. I used to fear death, when I became "Born Again" that fear disappeared. Now I am free to live my life the best I can because I believe God knows better than I do. I pray everyday for wisdom and inner peace so I can go out into my community and do good works in His name. The coolest thing is that I haven't stopped being myself, I'm just a better version of me. I've cut down on the stupid stuff in my life. Who can't use a little of that?

So I say to all the people who keep bringing up the "End Times". Live a little. If the world ends you can't stop it, so why worry. Concentrate on what you can change, your destructive behavior. I guess what I'm trying to say is have a little faith and you too won't care when the "End Of Days" happens because you'll be a Godly man who will spend eternity with our Lord. Now what could be better than that!!!

A Field Of Nightmares

Tradition. That's what lacks in sports today. Gone are the days of the myth makers, the golden boys who were treated like royalty everywhere they went. We would later learn just how flawed many of them were as humans, but in the moment they were our heroes. They shined brighter than any star in the sky ever could, and they soared high above us in the clouds. They were untouchable. We as kids dreamed of one day being just like them, bigger than life. Call it naive, or juvenile but these were our dreams.

Add in the fact that these heroes played in monumental palaces like Yankee Stadium, The Polo Grounds, Candlestick Park, and The Boston Gardens. These iconic buildings became as famous as the people who played within their walls. They were as much the identity of the team as the players were, sometimes even more. The buildings each had a nuance that went unmatched anywhere else. Seats that were hailed as sacred, overhangs that made the cheap seats seem really good, and groups of fans that were so fanatical they in turn had their own fans. Sports seemed magical.

Fast forward to now. Most of the players have become spoiled millionaires who could care less about the fans and the sports they play. They bring guns into locker rooms, fight amongst themselves, and of course the drugs. Not just the ones the are used for enhancement, also the ones for recreation.  It seems between the generations somehow our games were stolen from us by greedy owners and greedy players. Even the great hallowed halls fell to the wrecking ball of greed. Now we have mostly cookie cutter stadiums with all the warmth and charm of a cobra. You can blame free agency all you want, but the truth is we allowed this to happen. It's our fault as fans, we let our need to cheer and support our favorite teams get out of hand. We started paying the outrageous ticket prices to see our teams play, never thinking it would get this out of control. Pretty soon you're going to have to mortgage the house just to see a ball game with your kids, sad really.

I guess the bottom line is this. I miss the games of my youth, the heroes of my youth, and most of all the dreams of my youth. Maybe someday these millionaire cry-babies will remember a far away time when people played sports for the love of the game, not for a paycheck. Until then I just teach my kids to respect the tradition of whatever game they choose to play. I hope you do the same. If we teach our children to respect the game and their God given talent, maybe we can raise up a generation of pro athletes whom care less about money and more about the pure love of the game. This is my grown up dream.

Not The Same Old Pork And Beans!!

I know what you are thinking, how can you dress up the old stand by pork and beans?
Well it's not quite what you think. The pork is boneless chops and the beans are French cut green beans. It's a quick and easy way to have a tasty dinner you and the family will love.

First heat an 8" skillet and add just enough oil to thinly coat the bottom of the pan. Next add a cup of chicken broth, a half cup of apple juice, and two heaping tablespoons of minced garlic, this will create a brazing liquid. Let simmer for about a half hour before adding three or four boneless pork chops you have tenderized and lightly salted. Cook until chop starts to turn white on the bottom side, flip over and repeat on uncooked side. Now return to original side and cook for five minutes per side. Finish cooking when the chops inner temperature is 160 degrees. You can use a meat thermometer to check for doneness.

While you are waiting for your brazing liquid  to come to temperature you can heat up a frying pan to toast a half cup whole almonds. After the almonds are toasted, lightly salt them and rough chop them in a food processor. In a dutch oven boil one cup of chicken broth and add a pound of French cut green beans . Cook the beans in the broth until most of the liquid is absorbed. Strain out the rest of the broth to use with the pork chops. Put beans in a small casserole dish and combine with a can of cream of mushroom soup and sprinkle the almonds evenly over the top. Place in the oven at three hundred and fifty degrees for about ten minutes.

So there you have it, a quick meal for you and the family and none of those nasty pork and beans. Enjoy and God Bless.