The Blog Less Traveled

I hope everyone had a safe and enjoyable Memorial Day weekend. The weather here in Michigan was great. We spent some of the weekend with family and friends in Grand Haven and enjoyed a nice picnic at the park watching all the boats and people along the channel. There were definitely a wide range of people and clothing styles to both admire and be amused by. Later in the evening we had a little campfire and roasted some hot dogs, marshmallows and s’mores. The only thing missing was our daughter who is hard at work in Pennsylvania. We missed you Beaners!

As I’m writing this, I’m feeling a little guilty. This is supposed to be a day for celebrating all the fallen heroes who died in service of their country. I know that there were services and parades in many cities around the country to observe this fact. However, it seems that Memorial Day has just become another 3-day national holiday. It’s pretty much lost most of its true meaning and is now known more as the start of the summer season as anything else. I’ve become as guilty as everyone else so I’m certainly not pointing fingers at anyone. I think I’d like to see Congress change Memorial Day observance to the last Wednesday in May. Maybe that would remove it from the 3-day weekend mentality and bring its true meaning back into the limelight. What do you think?

As a final thought to maybe bring the true meaning of sacrifice to the forefront, below is the text of the letter that President Lincoln wrote to the mother who lost all five of her sons in battle during the Civil War.

Washington, Nov. 21, 1864.

Dear Madam,–

I have been shown in the files of the War Department a statement of the Adjutant General of Massachusetts that you are the mother of five sons who have died gloriously on the field of battle.

I feel how weak and fruitless must be any word of mine which should attempt to beguile you from the grief of a loss so overwhelming. But I cannot refrain from tendering you the consolation that may be found in the thanks of the Republic they died to save.

I pray that our Heavenly Father may assuage the anguish of your bereavement, and leave you only the cherished memory of the loved and lost, and the solemn pride that must be yours to have laid so costly a sacrifice upon the altar of freedom.

Yours, very sincerely and respectfully,

A. Lincoln

I found some of the below songs on a few websites that claimed they’re actual song titles. I know that a few of them are real, but I didn’t bother to check them all. Even if they’re not actual song titles, who cares. They’re still pretty funny.

• There Ain’t Enough Room In My Fruit Of The Looms To Hold All My Lovin’ For You
• Get Your Tongue Outta My Mouth ‘Cause I’m Kissing You Goodbye
• I Ain’t Gone To Bed With No Ugly Women, But I Sure Woke Up With A Few
• I Kissed Her On The Lips, And Left Her Behind For You
• I’d Rather Pass A Kidney Stone Than Spend Another Night With You
• She Got The Gold Mine And I Got The Shaft
• My Wife Ran Off With My Best Friend And I Sure Do Miss Him Now
• Liked You Better Before I Knew You So Well
• I’ve Been Flushed From The Bathroom Of Your Heart
• You’re The Hangnail In My Life, And I Can’t Bite You Off
• How Can I Miss You When You Won’t Go Away?
• She Got The Ring And I Got The Finger
• I Fell In A Pile Of You And Got Love All Over Me
• I’m So Miserable Without You, It’s Like Having You Here
• I Never Really Loved You, I Just Drank Too Much
• She Broke My Heart, So I Busted Her Jaw

Another bucket list item bites the dust. I’ve always wanted to see a shuttle launch in person. I went down to Florida in late 2007 to finally see one, but it was cancelled at the last minute for technical problems. I was going to wait around for a day or two, but decided that there was no guarantee that it would make it, so I left. This particular shuttle did finally launch, but not until after a week had passed.

As luck would have it, my wife and I were recently invited to a wedding in Georgia. These were friends we had met over 25 years ago. We hadn’t seen them since 1986. One of their daughters was getting married who was only two years old the last time we saw her. We gladly accepted. At the time, I didn’t know that a shuttle launch was scheduled for April 5th, only two days after the wedding. A week or so before the trip, the shuttle launch was mentioned in a news article I was reading. What a great surprise and opportunity this was. We went to Georgia, had a great time attending our friends’ wedding, and left the next day for Florida.

We arrived in Titusville around 4pm the day before the launch. We didn’t have any plan as to where we would stay or watch the launch. We pulled into a bank parking lot next to a city park called Space View Park. As it turned out, this was one of the best public access areas to view a shuttle launch from. It’s on the Indian River, directly across from the NASA launch pads. You have an unobstructed view of the launch and there is a live audio feed from the mission control center. We were able to listen to all the audio going on between Houston Control, the local NASA launch site and the astronauts in the shuttle. We totally lucked out. Also, we arrived early enough so that we were able to secure a great spot. We ended up getting our sleeping bags out, and stayed the entire night in the park. That was definitely an adventure. I can’t remember the last time my wife and I went camping and slept in a sleeping bag. The weather was perfect for our outdoor camping adventure and there were plenty of people there to pass the time with. To top it off, we happened to be sitting by a Canadian gentleman who was a walking encyclopedia on all things space-related. This guy was telling us everything and anything related to the shuttle. He knew every fact and figure imaginable, and then some. It was really quite interesting listening to him.

As the scheduled 6:21am launch approached, people were excited and nervous. We were excited about seeing a night launch, but also nervous about the possibility of a cancelled launch for technical problems. After staying out all night, it would have been a big disappointment to have the launch scrubbed. It was pretty cool listening to all the live audio between the various control personnel and the astronauts aboard the shuttle. About 20 minutes before the final countdown, an announcement came over the PA system that a warning light had illuminated and the launch was put on hold. You could hear the crowd groan when it was announced. However, about 10 minutes later, the announcement was made that the problem had been fixed. There was a big cheer from the crowd. The weather was absolutely clear that evening. Not a cloud was in the sky. Because of that, we were able to see the International Space Station pass overhead about 10 minutes or so before the launch. That was an unexpected surprise.

At 6:21am, the launch went off as scheduled. Wow!!! What a sight. The sky really lit up as the rocket engines were ignited. The skyline went from almost total darkness to a brilliant white fireball. The people at the park were cheering and clapping like crazy. You can see and hear the shuttle for several minutes after the actual launch. It’s something truly amazing to see. Even after the shuttle finally disappeared in the sky, the people at the park were still pretty pumped up. To top it off, about 30-45 minutes after the launch, we were treated to a spectacular sunrise. We ended up doing quite a bit of driving in a short period of time to see this, but boy was it worth it.

This was the last scheduled night launch. However, there are three more daytime shuttle launches scheduled this year before the program is shut down. If you haven’t seen one yet, I highly recommend it. You won’t be disappointed.

Below is a short two minute video I took of the shuttle launch.

A teacher in Michigan asked her 6th grade class how many of them were Obama fans. Not really knowing what an Obama fan is, but wanting to be liked by the teacher, all the kids raised their hands except for Little Johnny. The teacher asked Little Johnny why he has decided to be different…again. Little Johnny says, ‘Because I’m not an Obama fan.’ The teacher says, ‘Why aren’t you an Obama fan?’ Johnny says, ‘Because I’m a Republican.’ The teacher asks him why he’s a Republican. Little Johnny answered, ‘Well, my mom’s a Republican and my dad’s a Republican, so I’m a Republican’.

The teacher asks, ‘If your mom was a moron and your dad was an idiot, what would that make you?’ With a big smile, Little Johnny replies, ‘That would make me an Obama fan.’

Well, I’m going to start a new category today – the “Bucket List”. I’m sure you’re all familiar with the term. It’s a list you make of all the things that you want to do before you “kick the bucket.” There was a movie by the same name that came out in 2007 and starred Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman. I just got the movie recently and watched it with my wife the other day.

I began thinking of compiling a bucket list last Fall. I don’t recall ever thinking too much about one before that. As you grow up, especially in your teenage years and early adult life, you don’t worry a whole lot about the future. There’s a certain feeling of immortality in those years and the idea that you’re going to die someday is pretty much pushed back into your subconscious somewhere. As you get older and begin to see more of your family, friends and acquaintances passing away, the idea of dying becomes more relevant. I think I’m at that point. The below bucket list is certainly not the final one, by any means. It’s more of a first cut of things that came to mind, initially. They’re not in any particular order. I’ll probably add more things as they come to mind.

Do you have a bucket list? If so, what sort of things do you have?

Bucket List

• Run a marathon (completed 10/18/2009)
• Run the Boston Marathon (completed 4/19/2010)
• Watch a shuttle launch (completed 4/5/2010)
• Go to Mt. Rushmore
• Go to Australia
• Go skydiving
• Hike the Grand Canyon
• Compete in a triathlon
• Attend a session of Congress
• Go white-water rafting
• Ride in a hot air balloon
• Celebrate my 50th wedding anniversary
• Walk my daughter down the aisle
• Have a grandchild

Another bucket list item bites the dust. I completed the Boston Marathon last Monday. After raining on both Saturday and Sunday, the weather cleared up on Monday. The temperature was about 45° at the start and warmed up to about 55° by the end of the race. It was a little windy in spots, but all in all, a pretty good day for running. The race started in the little town of Hopkinton at 10am. My wife and I stayed at a hotel near this town and I took the hotel shuttle to the starting line. I arrived there at 9am and spent the hour or so before the race in the Athlete’s Village. The village was located on the grounds at the local school. There were several big white tents with bagels, bananas, power bars, coffee, Gatorade, water, etc. Music was blaring, the sun was shining, and there were hundreds of porta-potties for the runners. Just before the start of the race, a group of fighter jets from the local military unit flew overhead and made it to Boston in just about 4 minutes (cheaters!).

About 30 minutes before the race, they came on the PA system and told the runners to start heading for the starting line. The Athlete’s Village is about ¾ of a mile from the actual starting line. As you start the walk, you can feel the excitement and tension building. As you near the line, you enter your starting corral based on your bib number. When the race starts, it may take a few minutes before you actually begin to get into a racing stride, depending on how far back in the pack you are. With around 25,000 runners, it’s a little crowded, particularly at the start. As you’re running and looking down the racecourse, it looks like a solid wall of humanity with little heads constantly bobbing up and down. The first couple of miles are a little bit crowded, but after that, things spread out enough to where there’s plenty of room to run without constantly bumping into each other.

The run went pretty well during the first half of the race. At the 13-mile mark, you pass by Wellesley College. I think just about every girl there had a sign that said, “Kiss Me.” They were all there cheering us on and it was a pretty loud group of ladies. There were several guys that did take the girls up on their offer. However, since this was Hillary Clinton’s alma mater, I politely declined their offer. At the 14-mile mark, my calf muscles started to lock up on me. As some of you know, I injured my back two months before the race and I couldn’t run for a whole month. I was only able to run a total of 60-70 miles over the 2-month period leading up to the race. Most runners training for a marathon will run that much in only 1-2 weeks. My muscles just didn’t have the strength built up in them to handle a 26-mile run. For miles 14 to 23, I would run until my muscles cramped up and then walk until they un-cramped enough to start another short run. By the 23rd mile, my calf muscles completely locked up and I was unable to run any more. I then finished the last 3 miles by walking as fast as I could. When I got within about 100 feet of the finish line, I made my best impression of a running movement, and crossed the line with my arms raised up in victory.

Considering my situation, I’m pretty pleased that I was able to finish the race. It would have been nice to be more competitive, but it just wasn’t meant to be. I managed to get a copy of me crossing the finish line from a video feed from the local NBC station in Boston. The video below isn’t the greatest quality, but you can see me hobbling across the line.

One week from tomorrow is the 114th running of the Boston Marathon. I got my official Boston Marathon race packet in the mail last week. My bib pickup card is what you see on the left. I’ve decided to run in it, after all. I was able to get an 18-mile run in about 10 days ago and a 10-mile run in last Saturday. The 18-mile run was a tough one, but considering the little training that I’ve done over the past month, it was bearable. Like I said in a previous post, I’ve given up on trying to run any kind of competitive time. I’m just going to be happy if I can finish it.

Hopefully, a week from now, I can say that I successfully completed it. As much of a physical challenge that this race will be for me, I’m still pretty excited about competing in it. Running alongside half-a-million cheering spectators is not something that you get to do every day. It’ll definitely be an experience to remember!

Within Temptation is a Dutch band that hails from the Netherlands. Their musical genre can best be described as symphonic rock. There’s definitely a good dose of orchestra backup on many of their songs. They began as a musical group back in 1996 while they were still in college. The main singer is Sharon Den Adel and she has an outstanding voice with quite a vocal range. They’ve released about a half-dozen albums so far. In 2008, they performed live with the Metropole Orchestra in Rotterdam and released an album called Black Symphony. Based on some of the video recordings available on YouTube, it was a pretty spectacular event with quite a pyrotechnic display throughout the concert.

If you’re looking for a little change of pace in your musical repertoire, this band is definitely worth a listen. Some of their videos are pretty cool. Below are three of my favorites.

• Mother Earth
• Jillian (I’d Give My Heart)
• Deceiver of Fools (This song has a long intro but it gets really good about 2:10 into the song when the French Horns start.)

To go to their official website, click here.

Wow. What a demonstration of leadership. A Democratic president was able to get an overwhelmingly Democratic House and Democratic Senate to pass a bill giving the federal government even more power over the American people. Gee, that’s sort of like being in awe if Jane Fonda was able to get most Hollywood celebrities to donate to a liberal cause. Not that hard, folks. Yet that’s exactly what’s happened. The mainstream media are falling all over themselves touting what a great leader he is. I’m waiting now for some Democratic politician or liberal talking head to submit a proposal for Obama to be added to Mt. Rushmore. This guy is pathetic. He’s never led a day in his life and he still doesn’t know what it means to lead. His advisors give him the policy of the week (or more appropriately “weak”), and he goes out and tries to sell it. There’s absolutely no coherent strategy in anything this administration is doing, unless, of course, you want to call Socialism a strategy. However, that’s not a strategy – it’s an ideology.

To further demonstrate how inept this man is as a leader, he goes out and gives a speech where he clearly is mocking his adversaries. There’s nothing wrong with a President going out and trying to sell his plan. However, it’s so un-presidential to act like a child by trying to belittle the Republicans. He’s out there gloating and acting like an immature teenager after winning something. Taunting Republicans that want to repeal this bill by saying to them, “Go for it” is pretty weak as a strategy, if you ask me. He is the most arrogant and out of touch president in history. He and his Democratic cohorts didn’t listen to the majority of American people when they told them that they didn’t want this boondoggle of a bill. He is so completely ego-driven, it’s unbelievable.

If we get any more of his misguided policies shoved down our throats and put into law, this country will cease to be the United States of America, as we know it. For all intent and purposes, we will become the United Socialist States of America. Obama has clearly pushed the tiller to the left. Will this country be able to right itself before it’s too late?

Four weeks from today is the 110th running of the Boston Marathon. Right now, I’d say my chances are about 10 to 1 against running in it. As I mentioned in a post last month, I injured my back. I’ve gone to the chiropractor 13 times over the past month trying to get my back into a position that will allow me to run. I ran a short 6-mile run last Wednesday and a 12-mile run on Friday. It was a real challenge just to get the 12-mile run done. With almost no running for the better part of the last month, I’m really not in any kind of shape to tackle a marathon. I should be running 40-50 miles per week right now and I have only run about 20 miles in the last month. If I was on a normal training schedule, I should be doing a 20-mile run this week and then taper down my runs the last three weeks before the race. What I’m going to try and do is an 18-mile run this week and a 20-mile run next week. If I can accomplish that without injuring myself, I’ll probably do the marathon. However, instead of running with the idea of getting done in a certain timeframe, my goal will be to just try and finish. There’s no way I can be competitive. At this point, I’ll just have to be satisfied with running in the race and finishing it.

Today I’ll be going on my 6-mile run and on Thursday or Friday I’ll do the 18-miler. I’m still excited that I might yet get a chance to run in the Boston Marathon. Two weeks ago I was pretty sure it was out of the question. Maybe there’s still some hope. Plus, I just got a pair of Boston Marathon running shorts and a shirt for my birthday from my wife and daughter. Maybe that was just what I needed to get me in the right frame of mind. We’ll know for sure in a week or so.