Prom Again at Thirty Five

On Saturday night April 28 2007 Tathie, who was absolutely
stunning, and I along with several friends went to a Prom event organized by a local radio station. I thought the idea of going to a prom would be a fun group event as it had been several years since I had been to my High School Prom. I figured since my mentality had changed a bit that it may be fun. I was not exactly the prom King in school but I may have had dreams of running over the Prom King with by light blue 1985 two door Nissan Pulsar coupe. Sounded like fun at the time. We have some new friends by the name of Orion and Kim who were able to get some extra tickets for the prom event. It was great that they were able to include us on the free tickets. I think that we had more fun at the restaurant before the Prom than we did at the prom itself. The regular ticket price was $20 but of course it is usually who you know. Thanks Guys . The prom felt more like a club experience which should have had a cover charge. The music was not great and I think most of the group left feeling the same way. It had been years since I had done the club scene and I didn't miss it. The heaviness in the room was very apparent. Some of the people at the event were there seeking something that they will never find by themselves. Tathie overheard some women in the restroom talking about being there to meet men. Tathie and I also ran into a guy that we had gone to church with in the past. He had left his wife for greener pastures but had obviously not found it yet. He was obviously there by himself still seeking something better. As this guy left the event he tapped me on the arm and told me told me to "hold things down". If people continue to do exactly the same things and go down the same roads what gives them the impression that the outcome will be different. I speaking to myself also. I have spoken to and counseled dozens of people through our domestic case work and I will tell you that infidelity has little or nothing to do with physical appearance. It has to do with filling a need or the perception of a need. It is amazing that I have had clients that were very attractive people who's spouses were having an affair with someone who was very appearance challenged. Some more insensitive people may refer to these people as dog meat. I can not exactly explain this except for the fact that it has been true for many cases. If you are placing yourself in a vulnerable or compromising situation it is only a matter of time before you get burned or you get something that you can't kill with Penicillin. The penicillin part is a joke. I would do the prom thing again but the only reason I would go would be to spend a fun filled evening with by beautiful bride Tathie and some very close friends. A special time was the fact that my sister Crystal and her husband Chase attended the Prom with us. That was a fun part because my sister is ten years younger than I am and we had never done anything like that together before. My sister is a great sister and a special lady and we had a blast . I do intend to provide some constructive feedback to the radio station in hopes that they will make some music improvements for the next time. Hopefully some seventies and eighties.

Porn and Unwanted Memories

In recent posts my friend Mark has been addressing some very touchy stuff. He is speaking a level of truth that most people would not even be willing to admit. I only left a brief comment on his blog but that short comment brought back a flood of unwanted memories. He is correct when he says porn is burned on your brain forever. I will take it a step further. Perverted materials, actions and experiences leave an absolutely unforgettable picture in your mind. It is not a cloudy picture, it is a crystal clear picture. I grew up in a single parent situation. My mother did a great job of providing for us but she chose to ignore the rest. Things were going on all around her but she was having to provide. Thank God for my intense involvement in the Boy Scouts starting at age 11. I was able to get around some real men that showed me some balance in my life. Shortly after I got involved with Scouts I got saved. Jesus helped through the rest. I read a book when I was about 12 years old. The name of the book was Satan's Underground. This was the life story of one young woman's betrayal. The betrayal was started by her own parent's. You should be able to trust your own parent's. Shouldn't you? I am not recommending this book as it is certainly not light reading. The stuff she experienced was evil and horrific. That's enough for now. Parents please pay attention.

SACKS OF TATERS

I love the thoughts my friend Mark Asbell had on this subject. Mark comments were in response to a comment our pastor made during the Sunday sermon. It is a funny subject, but sagage is a reality. Don't worry so much about those harry taters. I once had my seventy something year old dad bend over in front of me and I almost flipped back in my chair. The level of modestly people have seems to diminish with age. It was no big deal to my dad but I have not been the same since. My therapist has been helping me get rid of that mental pictures. I feel for the people at the YMCA. I had to endure the sight of only one sack of taters. I can't really picture a whole room full of old hairy saggy taters.

Getting to know people

Getting to know people can be a delicate process and sometimes an amusing process. Like this guy in the photo. It took me a while to figure out what his issues were. He's mostly harmless. It is pretty tough to crack into some peoples spaces or crack into comfort zones. Of course most people that know me realize that Tathie and I have some some farly extensive study on the art of dealing with people. The people that are really close to us know where we gained some of that precious knowledge. What brought this to mind at this particular time was the fact that I have started dealing with some new people at New Spring Church. I have started running the sound for a couple of the kid's classes. This has been kind of a change of pace. I have been trying to serve where there is a need. Running the sound is not exactly a mental or physical challenge but there is a need for someone to serve in this area of ministry. Tathie and I know that this is not all GOD have for us but it is a start. Of course it is not about us. I love and support New Springs philosophy on sowing whatever resources it takes into our children's lives. If Disney and Nickelodeon are going to sow into our children why should we hold back. It doesn't take much to see some of the junk that these shows are sowing. Some of the stuff I have seen on these stations is certainly not what I want pass onto my kids as acceptable. I feel that we only have one opportunity not to screw our kids up. I think that we should financially spend all that it takes to steer our kids in the proper direction.

That's enough of my rant. I started off talking about getting to know people. I have been trying to get to know some people on the drama team but some of these people have been hard to figure out. One of ladies on the team is so quiet that I am certain it has been a stretch for her to even talk in front of the kids much less act in front of the kids. I have been in the class running the sound for approximately three weeks and no one had even spoken to me. For a minute I thought it may be. Finally realizing that no one was going to take the first step, I got every one's full name, SSN, DOB and blood type. Ha Ha. I figured this to be a start. Just kidding, I have learned some names and people have started to warm up a little.

Swimming Pools can be a Pain

It has been a couple of years since I have made an attempt to get our pool up to swimming condition. I turned the pool pump on a couple of days ago and have been letting the filter do its thing. For the past couple of years the pool has been at very best only a yard pond. I wish I was kidding. The only thing we were missing were pond lilies, gold fish and ducks. Well I was just made aware that a couple of ducklings had been seen running around in the yard. I am not sure where the mama duck was but I was just could not not believe it. At least I was in disbelief until I saw the little ducks running by the back door. I have not seen the ducks since. I thinks a neighborhood cat may have had some duckling. Alright, back to the pool story. Katiana, Lael and Christian love to swim. I thought I would be a good daddy and at least try to get the water blue or maybe just a mild shade of green. This process started with a me pumping the two feet of water off of the pool cover. Of course this is not the way it is supposed to be. I keep thinking that there had to be a service for this type of thing. Ha Ha. They would have laughed and then promptly proceeded to violate my wallet. I am not sure laughter is the emotion I feel while messing with the pool. We will have to see how things go. I am going to encourage the kids to swim as soon as possible. The water in the pool is about fifty degrees and I really need some good video footage of the kids getting into the cold pool. I am certain it will be great entertainment. It will be a couple of months yet before I even consider getting in the water.

Here we go. This is a little thought on where my first blog was written.

Well guys I have never done this before. I have never really thought about putting my thoughts into written text. I remember while I was attending High School I was required to do a daily journal. This was part of some sort of English essay requirement. I managed to put my daily thoughts down but I am not so sure that my English teacher, Mrs McCalister appreciated my sense of humor. I Graduated High School in 1991. I ran into that same teacher about ten years after graduation and she was still as crabby as I remembered. It is funny how a person's thought process changes through the years. You tend to mature and develop in many different ways. I have jokingly said that if I could go back a few years with the knowledge I have gained. Ha Ha! In all honesty I don't think some of the people I knew in school would get it. It is difficult to see something for what it is especially while you are going through it. I look back and realize how messed up some of the people were that were given the opportunity to have an influence in my life. The main people that come to mind are some of my high school teachers. Some of these people had a very off balance view of almost everything. I hope I can always keep things in perspective. This is one of the reasons I am convinced that GOD gave me such a beautiful, intelligent and well balanced wife. GOD knew what he was doing.