Can you only imagine?

Are you sitting down? Are you comfortable?

Good. Because I think we should talk.

When is the last time you took a second to sit down and look at the world? When is the last time you sat and considered what’s going on, where you’re at, and just how things really are?

When is the last time you took your eyes off of your phone, tablet or 42” HD television to really pay attention?

So many of us are lost in our safe little world. While there may be water in our basement, we have a roof over our heads. While we may have had to take the long way to work, many of us are still earning a paycheck. And when we don’t have a job, we are fortunate enough to live in a country where our government and other organizations try to meet our needs.

When we may be lost or down on our luck, we have programs to help us find our way. We can go to a church. We can go to a mosque or temple. We don’t even have to have a religion. We can see a doctor. We can call or text our friends. We can choose the type of news we want to hear.

We can do just about what we want…for the most part.

Here in our world, things are pretty good. Imagine living in a world nothing. like. that.

On our side of the world, America is mourning the loss of an entertainment legend. We don’t understand how a man who made so many people feel so happy could take his own life. We can’t fathom how someone who seemed to have so much of everything could take his own life. We all seem to grieve in some shape or form as we recall the first time we saw him in a TV show or movie.

Behind the scenes, he was in pain. No one really knows what it was. But in his lifetime he battled addictions to substances just so like so many people around us. A sad story involving a funny man, and our world mourns.

While I’m not discounting the loss, the tragedy of suicide or his impact on our country, it’s sad that on the other side of this small world so many other people are losing their lives with such little fanfare. Some might even consider taking their own lives rather than face the death that seems to await them in the Middle East.

As much as I can’t imagine a pain so deep that taking my own life seems to be an answer, I can’t imagine fleeing for my life. I can’t imagine fleeing to save my wife and kids from the threat of death, rape, and torture. I can’t imagine running to the mountains without food or water, essentially choosing to die a slow death to avoid the evil that awaits me down the mountain.

I can’t imagine throwing my children off of a mountain to their death in order to keep them from being killed, crucified or beheaded.

Try to imagine being marked with a symbol that tells someone you’re a Christian which is essentially a death sentence.

Try as I might, I cannot imagine it.

I can’t imagine having to choose to renounce my faith or have to pay a fine or face death.

I can’t imagine being thankful for planes flying over me dropping food, water and supplies to me while all it’s really doing is sustaining me while the bad guys still wait for me…with no one trying to stop them.

Try to imagine a world like that.

Try to imagine waking up and leaving your family in search for food not knowing if that might be the last time you hug or kiss them.

Try to imagine trying to find a place to pray to your God without the threat of the follower of another religion looking to end your life.

Try to imagine knowing there are a people on the other side of the world who could do something about it but don’t.

Try to imagine knowing that for the better part of a century these people stood up for the weak and the helpless, and told the evildoers they’d gone too far.

Try to imagine knowing that there is real news to tell, but it’s not being told.

Try to imagine the same people that could help me are tied up in their sports, recreation and entertainment to even hear what is going on.

Are you still comfortable?

See, while we complain about our weather here. While we complain about a baseball team that isn’t playing as well as we’d like. While we worry about buying our school supplies, someone just needs a drink of water. While we worry what we’re going to wear or eat, there are people on the other side of the world trying to sleep knowing this could be their last night.

Isn’t that uncomfortable?

While we can argue about all the sins of America, our greatest sin may be our comfort.

We’re too comfortable to care. I mean, it’s the other side of the world, right?

It’s the Middle East. They’ve never gotten along. We shouldn’t have gone in the first place.

When it’s country against country, I may agree. But when it’s an ideology that says you don’t believe the same way as me, you must die….that’s evil. And we should never stand for evil

It’s been said that a man who doesn’t stand for something will fall for anything. And the same can be said for our country. It seems we no longer stand for anything. Peace and success have cost us our strength.

We stand in line for new phones. We stand in line for the latest move release.

We stand and cheer our millionaire celebrities and athletes.

We stand with fellow Americans who announce their lifestyle choice.

We stand with immigrants who illegally walk across our borders.

We stand with those who want to save the trees.

We stand with those who want to save the whales.

But we won’t stand with people who face the end of their life for no other reason than they believe in Jesus Christ.

I don’t care what belief system you adhere to, you can’t be comfortable with what’s going on. You don't even have to have a belief system. You can't be comfortable with it.

And the longer this world lets it fester, the longer its allowed to go unchallenged, the greater the evil becomes.

There is a famous Edmund Burke quote that says “All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing.”

Friends, the things going on over there are evil. Imagine it getting worse if we do nothing.

BUT, Imagine an America that finds its strength and remembers its place in history.

Imagine politicians that stop politicking and quit worrying about the November elections.

Imagine having leaders lead; leaders who step up and say if no one else will fight for you, we’ll fight for you

Imagine a guardian coming to their defense and putting an end to the atrocities.

Imagine a country that puts aside its selfish lusts, passions and addictions for the cause of helping people who just want to live.

Imagine people who pray for the safety, protection and freedom of the oppressed.

Imagine churches that remember God.

Imagine Christians praying…and not just for themselves and their needs.

Imagine a sleeping giant waking up.

Imagine a fire burning so great it cannot be contained.

Imagine a miracle.

Can you only imagine?  

A snowstorm. In Michigan. In January…from the perspective of Nathan C. Hood I

Ya gotta love what storms do to us in the modern age. In the back of my mind, I wonder if those who came before us are rolling over in their graves.

Thanks to our virtual connectivity, social media, and so many means of communication, things become bigger than life. Take for instance a snowstorm. In Michigan. In January.

Meteorologists and news outlets want to be first to the party. And then want to get your attention. Plus, they can’t downplay it and have it be worse than forecast. So talk it up. No…REALLY talk it up.

That hits Twitter, Facebook and social media. Cool words are developed like “Snowmageddon” and “Snowpocalypse”.

Bam. And then it goes crazy.

I’ll give credit where credit is due. The weather experts nailed this one. So kudos to them.

But I want to talk about “PANIC IN MICHIGAN” and what just happened. No, really. What just happened? Here's a quick rundown:

Monday and Tuesday: Forecast of snow for Thursday, but rumors of a bigger storm behind it surface. The storm was brewing. The storm appeared likely to hit. Be prepared, they say. People tweeted and commented.

Wednesday: The storm is coming. We can see it on the radar…and it’s going to get crazy cold after! Be prepared and be careful, they say. People tweeted and commented.

Thursday: First storm hits, dumping several inches on the ground. Most seem to handle it okay, though the fact that the snow isn’t completely off the roads within hours frustrates many people. Why didn’t they cancel school? They should cancel school for the next week. Why didn't they preemptively cancel school? Why weren't they prepared? The big storm is coming! Be prepared, they tell us. People tweeted and commented.

Friday: Cleanup of storm #1 continues. It wasn’t quick enough or complete enough for many. “That’s my tax dollars at work.” How will we ever handle “Snowpacalypse”? Be prepared, they tell us. People tweeted and commented.

Saturday: The storm is nearly here. PANIC IN MICHIGAN! I have to be prepared! Who knew Snowmageddon was coming? I NEED FOOD! I NEED WATER! I NEED….BEER! I need bananas! I need chips. Gone? Curse you, fellow human being and similarly panicked individual! Clear the roads now! The snow is coming! The snow is coming! I see a snow flake… We’re going to get over a foot of snow! Be prepared, they tell us. How can I be prepared if it’s all gone? People panicked. People tweeted and commented.

Saturday evening and Sunday: The storm is here. PANIC IN MICHIGAN! Why aren’t the roads cleared? Why are they driving so slowly? Why are they driving so fast? Act like you’ve seen snow before…both of you. I had to shovel 6 inches of snow….TWICE! No…three times! How much snow did you get? 9 inches? That’s all? We got 10 here. You couldn’t get out of your driveway? I couldn’t get out of my subdivision? Have you ever seen SOOOOOOOOOOOOO much snow. Where are we, Siberia!? Global warming? Sorry, Climate change? People tweeted and commented.

Monday: Man, it's sooo cold. What is a polar vortex? That's cool. Too bad it's so cold. I want to go play in the snow! Don't drive. It's icy. Be careful. 

That was just my perspective of the world this past week. I found it humorous.

For those keeping track at home: 

Snow = panic

Record low temps = be nice to people

Now if we take the panic out of the equation. If we remove the hype, the drama, and the need to say it bigger, better, and sooner than anyone else. If we get rid of the need to be first, funnest (not a real word, I know), and funniest and if we take out the anger and hyperbole, what really happened?

We had a snowstorm. In Michigan. In January.

About a foot of snow fell in most places. Others had a foot and a half. Sounds like a lot. But really, it’s just a ruler or half a yard stick of snow. It’s not even past the knees of most people.

It really only took a day or so to clear most main roads. Considering how much fell in a short time in the area, that’s not bad at all.

We had a snowstorm. In Michigan. In January.

The kids got a couple snow days. Just like we used to. Bonus time with our kids!

We had to slow down, stay in, stay warm, crawl under a blanket, drink hot chocolate, and look out our windows at something we haven’t seen in a while.

A snowstorm. In Michigan. In January.

I guess we all see the world through our own eyes and circumstances. But it was kind of disheartening to see us Michiganians treating this storm as our own natural disaster.

Honestly, was hoarding food necessary? Did people really not have enough food and water to last 24-48 hours?

If I acquiesce on the food question because maybe the storm hit people at the wrong time, did people really not have water? For 48 hours? When most of this area has city water or a running well?

I understood having to fill up gas tanks. But even those lines weren’t as ridiculous as the lines at supermarkets.

I understand the concern over the extreme temperatures. It is dangerous, and we should stay inside unless we truly have to go out. It's probably more dangerous than the snow that fell.

But I don’t know if I’ll ever understand how we reacted to the snow. It’s sad really.

It’s the Social Media age.

And it was only a snowstorm. In Michigan. In January.

Starting over...again

As I’ve said many times before, “Let’s try this again.”

And “this” would be my blogging. What better day to get back into it than January 1? And with that, what better way to blog than talk about 2013 and my hopes for 2014.

Tonight, I’m doing my melancholy thing as Christmas break comes to an end. You know how I am, spend a couple weeks of nearly uninterrupted time with my family and I turn to mush when things go back to the grind.

I’m not as sappy as I’ve been in the past, just more melancholy and reflective. We reallyhad great family time together. We didn't too anything too big, but stayed busy. We spent a lot of time together just hanging out.

The boys are at a great stage. Old enough to start to do a lot of things for themselves, dependent on us enough to where they respect us and look up to us as the smartest and best people they know. Their love is still very unconditional. Our instruction, advice and discipline is still very much followed and viewed as the right thing.

Life is still good in their eyes. They still have the look of amazement when they see things.

Nothing more amazing than the trip to Disney World this year. For the last 2 or 3 years, we planned that trip, and it was worth the wait. Not only was it their first visit, but it was the first trip for myself and my parents as well.

But even if I did nothing, watching the thrill and amazement in my sons’ eyes was worth every penny. From driving to the airport and getting on a plane, to seeing the castle at the Magic Kingdom, seeing Epcot, experiencing the rides and attractions to getting back on to a plane to come home.

There’s something magical about kids that makes you want to provide tangible moments which make their dreams come to life.  And it’s those moments that I never ever want to forget.

And here is where I become melancholy. It just seems we, as a society and culture, are just too busy anymore. I don’t ever want to forget these moments with my kids, yet I seem to spend more time trying to remember scheduling business trips, making business plans, catching up on Facebook statuses, and arguing about sports and politics. And that’s in between getting things done around the house, trying to catch up with friends, heading to church, and running errands and the like.  It seems those things take up memory in my mind, but also limit the time I have to make new memories.

It’s funny just how much 15 minutes of uninterrupted, untethered, undistracted time means to our kids. And 15 minutes isn’t much. I want to do as much as I can to give my boys so much more time than that. I know that transforming Optimus Prime my frustrate me (Hey, you try it!), but it means the world to Jakin.

I know that when they put on those super hero costumes and Grant calls me Flipflash , I should drop what I'm doing and be Flipflash. (Grant-speak for Whiplash from Iron Man.)

I know that building the Hot Wheels track to reach from one end of the basement to the other will take some trial and error and likely only be used for 5 minutes, but it is quality time with the boys. Effectiveness and efficiency of my utilized time shouldn't be a factor.

I know that having a sock fight might make the house messy and seem quite childish, but that’s what gets the boys laughing and chasing me around the house.

I know that not following through on a promise (no matter how important something else may be) can do incremental damage to the trust kids have in life and their parents. Though not possible, I never want to break a promise I make to them.

Nothing brings me more joy right now than getting that true, heartfelt smile and laugh from my boys. That one that puts a sparkle in their eyes. That laugh that comes from the gut.

I haven’t blogged much the last 18 months or so. Part of that was technology and not getting the connection to work between the blog and Facebook. Part of it was being busy. Part of it was being lazy. I really didn’t like not blogging, so we’ll see where this goes.

I almost feel a call or mission to this. Like it’s a gift I have to give or would like to share.

But while the blogging has been few and far between, I’ve still written down my thoughts as things go in in my life. One of the things that hit me recently seems to fit in this blog post today.

And that is this: The world would be a better place if we were all a lot more like kids.

We rarely act like adults, and our children often act more mature than us. Kids share. Kids laugh. Kids play. Kids cry. Kids sleep. Kids trust. Kids love. Truly.

I talk a lot about how my sons are like me, and I spend a lot of time molding them to be a better version of me.

Yet I realized this Christmas break that maybe I should spend more time being more like them.

I don’t put much stock into New Year’s resolutions. I bet many people who had some for 2014 have already broken or forgotten them. But I do believe in goals and always trying to be better or do better. I believe in trying to make an impact.

So this year, I plan on spending more time blogging and sharing my life and thoughts. Maybe I can help make someone’s life better. Maybe I can make an impact.

Just don’t be surprised if what I have to share is heavily influenced by a couple of boys who daily impact my life and help make me a better man.

A Dark Night Rises

Where’s Batman when you really need him? The shooting at The Dark Knight Rises premiere in Aurora, Colorado was a reminder that those types of heroes don’t really exist. I wish they did. They buck the system; come in to save the day by doing what is right and what is necessary. Batman would’ve come in, dodged the raining bullets, punched the shooter in the mouth a few times, broke an arm, and then tied him up for the police. Problem solved. Sometimes I wonder what I’d do in that situation. Part of me envisions myself dodging the raining bullets, subduing the maniac, and saving the day. Don’t know if it would go that way since most everyone is bigger than me, and I haven’t been in a physical altercation since high school when I punched my little brother in the mug for breaking my silver neck chain. In reality, I think I’d hit the ground, cover my loved ones as best I could, and start praying. Think about it. This crazy person planned it out enough to wear a gas mask, wear a bulletproof vest, and use an automatic weapon. What could someone trying to save the day do? There just isn’t much you could do. But my mind quickly drifts to society. This stuff nearly happens on a daily basis now. Living outside Detroit, you hear of all kinds of things that happen at movie theatres, gas stations, in people’s homes, and even at churches. I mean, even pastors are being attacked Pardon the pun, but in America, a dark night rises. And it’s been rising for a long time. The natural reaction is to fix the rising problem. In America, that means we treat the symptoms instead of finding a cure. So in this case, government officials will start talking gun control. We’ll start to see security/police in every movie theatre. Some theatres are already banning all masks and costumes for movies. We’ll install metal detection devices at the doors of every public building. It’s probably happening as we speak. We’ll become a police state. They’ll say due to the changes and protection that we’ll be free, but freedom will be long gone. Heck, society is long gone already. I know how to fix this. It’s not hard. It’s not expensive. And it’s controversial because of it. We just have to shift how we think. Almost like going back in time. Find religion. Find God. Put the 10 Commandments back on the wall of our schools. Allow prayer back in our schools and public places. (I can guarantee most of those people in the movie theatre last night were praying as this tragedy was unfolding.) Get back to church more than twice a year. Choose loyalty, honesty and integrity over money, wealth and status. Already some readers are saying you can’t do this. You don’t have to look at the 10 Commandments if you don’t want to. You don’t have to pray if you want to. Others will inevitably say the following: Separation of Church and State…. Bunk. Things started to get away from us in 1948 and in the 1960’s when our Supreme Court ruled against school prayer. In the 80’s we started taking the 10 commandments off the walls of schools and public buildings. All in the name of a phrase that doesn’t exist in the Constitution. In fact, in a 1958 New York Supreme Court case, a dissenting judge said the following, ““If the court does not stop talking about the separation of church and state, people are going to start thinking it is part of the Constitution.” A noted psychologist, Dr. William James, often referred to the father of Modern Psychology, said "There is nothing so absurd but if you repeat it often enough people will believe it." Better yet, the notorious Adolf Hitler said “Make the lie big, make it simple, keep saying it, and eventually they will believe it.” He also said, “All propaganda has to be popular and has to accommodate itself to the comprehension of the least intelligent of those whom it seeks to reach.” It’s been said it takes one to three generations to effect social change. We’re about 3 generations from those days and well, look where we are. It didn’t take long to shift our way of thinking. And now, much of what we see today is the result of that thinking. We see a culture with no conscience. We see a culture which now lacks respect for women, children, and the elderly. The only respect that seems to matter to people now is the respect that they demand selfishly. How can America live for so long by holding a fear of God and then go the complete opposite direction expecting to do better? We became the greatest nation on the face of the earth because of freedoms that allowed us to have a reverence of God, respect for each other and our nation. To use a Dark Knight quote, “The night is always the darkest before the dawn.” I pray we’re at our darkest moment, and that a new day is dawning. It’s been a dark night long enough.

I Wish

I wish

I wish I had a platform.

I wish I had a platform, not just because I’m short and would feel taller.

I wish I had a platform because I would hope I could help bring some sanity to this world.

I wish I had a Star Trek Teleporter, so I could Teleport to wherever insanity was taking place. And I wish I could make like Jiminy Cricket and be that voice of reason on people’s shoulders.

I wish I didn’t have to read about shootings in schools. Is there anywhere safe these days?

I wish I didn’t have to worry about my boys starting school in the next 12-18 months and all the lunatics that exist.

I mean, yeah, shooting innocent unsuspecting people teaches someone a lesson. It’s a mad world. It’s a sad world.

I wish I was raising my boys in a world like I had, or like my parents had.

I wish they could walk to school without me or my wife, and not have to worry about who was lurking.

I wish I didn’t have to do a background check on the parents, families, teachers and coaches my sons will have over the next 14 years.

I wish every child had a mommy and a daddy in the home.

I wish I could be wherever children are being hurt by adults, and somehow find a better home for the children. Every child deserves a chance to have a chance.

I wish I didn’t have to start thinking about how to tell my 3 and 4 year old boys that if anyone “touches” them, they need to tell mommy and daddy.

I wish I didn’t have to think about thinking about that.

I wish I could be the judge and jury AND enforcer for people who do hurt children.

I wish there was a way to punish those people who take the lives of other people, and then take their own.

I wish I could go back in time and tell the writers of the Constitution and our laws to be future minded and close as many loopholes as possible so that the intent wouldn’t be so abused these days.

I wish people would take the common sense approach to life and the Consitution.

I wish we didn’t have to talk about gun regulation. We have the right to bear arms. Problem is, idiots have the same right.

The right to bear arms was put there so the government couldn’t confiscate weapons, and so people could protect themselves from danger…and back then, even the government.

And what is gun regulation? The government controlling guns… See where this going?
I wish people really understood freedom.

Freedom isn’t the right to do wrong. Freedom is the right to be wrong.

I wish freedom of speech wasn’t so abused. Honestly. It’s not the right to say whatever you want. It’s the right to not have the government tell you what you can say.

And by misinterpreting that, we now have the government telling us what we can and can’t say.

I wish that anything spoken contrary to a person’s opinion wasn’t considered inflammatory or hateful.

I wish everything wasn’t about money. You name it, somehow money effects it.

I wish greed wasn’t good.

I wish our judicial system worked. I mean, not everyone is “a good kid who wouldn’t hurt anybody.” And I understand reasonable doubt, but in a morally and ethically challenged society, isn’t reasonable doubt abused? People deserve the right to a fair trial, but fair doesn’t mean getting off with little or no punishment.

I wish people would understand that whether they are Christian or not, our way of life was founded on those principles and as those principles have eroded, so has our way of life.

I understand that we are a land of many religions these days, but there used to be an “American Way.” It wasn’t perfect. But you surely didn’t have the chaos of today’s society.

If everyone is right, how can there by wrong? It’s simple. Not everyone is right, but we’ve been telling people for a few decades now that they are.

I wish people understood that sometimes what’s right for me IS right for you.

I wish we would realize that the freedom of religion doesn’t mean freedom from religion. It was meant to keep the government from telling us who or what to worship.

And by misinterpreting, we now have the government saying who, what, where, when and how to worship.

I wish people understood that the separation of Church and state wasn’t intended to keep church out of the state. It was meant to keep the state out of the church. (See freedom of religion wish)

I wish our country still had a fear of God. And by that I mean a respect for. God’s not out to get us.

Yeah, I believe in Him, and I know a lot of people don’t. I know many have other faiths. For anyone that doesn’t want to worship God, or any god. Don’t. You have the right not to worship. And nobody is making you. Chill out. Relax.

But it’s plain to see, that this country was better off when there was a stronger fear of God.

It gave us a backbone. It gave us a moral compass. It provided safety and comfort. It provided strength. It provided guidance.

Look at our world and tell me you don’t wish we had more of those things.

I Wish

I wish

I wish I had a platform.

I wish I had a platform, not just because I’m short and would feel taller.

I wish I had a platform because I would hope I could help bring some sanity to this world.

I wish I had a Star Trek Teleporter, so I could Teleport to wherever insanity was taking place. And I wish I could make like Jiminy Cricket and be that voice of reason on people’s shoulders.

I wish I didn’t have to read about shootings in schools. Is there anywhere safe these days?

I wish I didn’t have to worry about my boys starting school in the next 12-18 months and all the lunatics that exist.

I mean, yeah, shooting innocent unsuspecting people teaches someone a lesson. It’s a mad world. It’s a sad world.

I wish I was raising my boys in a world like I had, or like my parents had.

I wish they could walk to school without me or my wife, and not have to worry about who was lurking.

I wish I didn’t have to do a background check on the parents, families, teachers and coaches my sons will have over the next 14 years.

I wish every child had a mommy and a daddy in the home.

I wish I could be wherever children are being hurt by adults, and somehow find a better home for the children. Every child deserves a chance to have a chance.

I wish I didn’t have to start thinking about how to tell my 3 and 4 year old boys that if anyone “touches” them, they need to tell mommy and daddy.

I wish I didn’t have to think about thinking about that.

I wish I could be the judge and jury AND enforcer for people who do hurt children.

I wish there was a way to punish those people who take the lives of other people, and then take their own.

I wish I could go back in time and tell the writers of the Constitution and our laws to be future minded and close as many loopholes as possible so that the intent wouldn’t be so abused these days.

I wish people would take the common sense approach to life and the Consitution.

I wish we didn’t have to talk about gun regulation. We have the right to bear arms. Problem is, idiots have the same right.

The right to bear arms was put there so the government couldn’t confiscate weapons, and so people could protect themselves from danger…and back then, even the government.

And what is gun regulation? The government controlling guns… See where this going?
I wish people really understood freedom.

Freedom isn’t the right to do wrong. Freedom is the right to be wrong.

I wish freedom of speech wasn’t so abused. Honestly. It’s not the right to say whatever you want. It’s the right to not have the government tell you what you can say.

And by misinterpreting that, we now have the government telling us what we can and can’t say.

I wish that anything spoken contrary to a person’s opinion wasn’t considered inflammatory or hateful.

I wish everything wasn’t about money. You name it, somehow money effects it.

I wish greed wasn’t good.

I wish our judicial system worked. I mean, not everyone is “a good kid who wouldn’t hurt anybody.” And I understand reasonable doubt, but in a morally and ethically challenged society, isn’t reasonable doubt abused? People deserve the right to a fair trial, but fair doesn’t mean getting off with little or no punishment.

I wish people would understand that whether they are Christian or not, our way of life was founded on those principles and as those principles have eroded, so has our way of life.

I understand that we are a land of many religions these days, but there used to be an “American Way.” It wasn’t perfect. But you surely didn’t have the chaos of today’s society.

If everyone is right, how can there by wrong? It’s simple. Not everyone is right, but we’ve been telling people for a few decades now that they are.

I wish people understood that sometimes what’s right for me IS right for you.

I wish we would realize that the freedom of religion doesn’t mean freedom from religion. It was meant to keep the government from telling us who or what to worship.

And by misinterpreting, we now have the government saying who, what, where, when and how to worship.

I wish people understood that the separation of Church and state wasn’t intended to keep church out of the state. It was meant to keep the state out of the church. (See freedom of religion wish)

I wish our country still had a fear of God. And by that I mean a respect for. God’s not out to get us.

Yeah, I believe in Him, and I know a lot of people don’t. I know many have other faiths. For anyone that doesn’t want to worship God, or any god. Don’t. You have the right not to worship. And nobody is making you. Chill out. Relax.

But it’s plain to see, that this country was better off when there was a stronger fear of God.

It gave us a backbone. It gave us a moral compass. It provided safety and comfort. It provided strength. It provided guidance.

Look at our world and tell me you don’t wish we had more of those things.

I love this game!

What do doggies do?

Ruff.

What do kitties do?

Meow.

What do cows do?

Moooo.

What do Tigers do?

Beeseball.

I was probably 2 years old, but thus began my love affair with the great American past time. Before whining and complaining became the great American past time.

The Tigers’ magical run in 2006 restored my love of the game. From the early 90’s until then, baseball to me was more like a pretty good acquaintance that you could talk all night with when they stopped by, but if you didn’t see them, you didn’t miss them.

Secretly, I was jealous of the cities like Seattle, Atlanta and Cleveland that had baseball come back from the grave in the 90’s and early 2000’s. Those were the teams I laughed at when I was a kid. Shoot, even Boston and New York didn’t do too much from 1982 until their recent dominance.

The lean Detroit baseball years perhaps gave me some perspective. I’m a homer. I love me some Kool-Aid and cornbread, but I’m a realist.

You win some. You lose some. And by the way, sometimes the other team is better than you. And even if they aren’t sometimes the other team plays just good enough to beat you in that game or that series.

That’s why you play the game.

It was brought to my attention again that baseball is a game of failure. Failing 7 out of 10 times makes you and all-star. Failing 2 out of 3 times makes you a hall of famer. So often we sit back and pick apart every play and every pitch.

“Why did he throw there?”

“Why did he swing at that?”

“He should’ve…”

“Why isn’t Verlander pitching?”

It seems we’re all armchair quarterbacks…er, armchair coaches anymore. I’ve been there. But life has enough stress in it these days for us to now want to manage and scream at a team on the television.

Up until a couple years ago, that’s how I ended a lot of my sports nights. Between the Tigers and Pistons, I had 244 days and evenings (not including playoffs) of additional stress. It would be tough to sleep.

“Why didn’t he throw there?”

“Why did he do that?”

But recently, I’ve discovered the secret to enjoying watching baseball…more specifically, playoff baseball.

Just enjoy it.

If you’re watching playoff baseball, your team is one of only 8 that made it to the playoffs. The other 24 teams are watching your team play.

Enjoy watching your team play another good team. But realize, it’s not supposed to be easy. It’s the playoffs!

As a Detroiter, enjoy the fact that your owner spends enough to have had a competitive team most of the last 5 years. Enjoy the fact that the team doesn’t do a 1 year spending spree, to have it all blow up and then trades everyone starting a 10 year famine for quality baseball.

Enjoy the fact that you aren’t a small market team who will rarely get a chance to see playoff baseball live.

Enjoy the fact that you have arguably the best pitcher and hitter in baseball playing on your team…and they are signed long term.

Enjoy watching Brandon Inge. I usually don’t, but even though he’s been awful more than awesome, he’s always giving 110%.

Even though it’s been about every 20 years, enjoy the fact that Detroit baseball has a long and storied tradition. My boys will be cheering Cabby and JV. I cheered for Gibby and Tram. My dad cheered Rocky and Kaline. His dad cheered Mickey and Hank. His dad cheered Cobb.

And with that enjoy the fact that 8 cities have never had a World Series winning team to cheer for. And we’ve been able to cheer for four!

Enjoy the old English “D”. The world famous logo, up there with the overlapped “NY”.
Enjoy the fact that your team makes New York sweat.

Thirty some years after “What do Tigers do?” I spend these evenings with my boys in the front room screaming “Go Tigers!” and throwing the baseball around. We get out our “glubs” (gloves) and the whole nine.

“Here’s the windup, and the pitch..” is a game in which Grant pats the ball much like a quarterback surveying the field for an open receiver, and then adding a Jack Morris leg kick before releasing his unhittable 19 mph fastball under my chin.
And then I charge and tackle the pitcher like any good hitter who was brushed back would do!

Man, do I enjoy this!

I love this game…Oh wait. That’s the NBA.

Maybe baseball can borrow the slogan while the NBA is locked out?

Communication without consequence

I’m almost ready to boycott facebook.

I like the concept. I like being able to see what friends and family are doing. I like re-connecting with old friends.

But I’m tired of the constant “name your own” ville updates. I’m tired of seeing horoscopes and love tests, and 27 videos of someones favorite songs. You may like them and it may be good music, but it doesn’t need to clutter my wall.

I’m tired of hearing how many times you visit Starbucks during the day.

I’m tired of knowing every stop or every location you’re at during the day.

I’m tired of the “Re-post if …..” Because I do care, and I do love my mom, but I don’t have to repost it show it. How about you tell your mom you love her?

I’m tired of people’s everyday comments that are overexaggerated and downright sensationalized. People are entitled to their feelings, but I don’t need to know every single one of them. And not everything is amazing or unbelieveable.

I’m tired the rant clearly aimed at someone, but we don’t name them….”I’m sooo done with blah blah blah.”

More than anything, I’m tired of the shoot from the hip rants that most facebookers do these days. For example….As much as I disagreed with the Casey Anthony verdict, it is what it is. A bitter, scathing, sarcastic facebook post or status does absolutely nothing to change what happened.

I was most appalled when a good friend weighed in on someone else’s facebook post on the issue. All she said was, and I’m paraphrasing, “That’s the problem with circumstantial evidence…..”

You would’ve thought she said something about someone’s mother.

It’s uncalled for. Just as much as you had the right to be rude, she had the right to give her opinion. Especially in a public forum. Don’t post it if you don’t want a response. And by the way, you might get a response you don’t like. Go figure.

The problem with facebook and social networking these days it it allows for communciation without consequence because it’s not face to face. Type it, hit enter, and there it is. No repercussions. And if you don’t like it, I blow you up in a subsequent post, or I just “unfriend” you. There really is no confrontation. All we’re really doing is hiding behind a keyboard and monitor.

I miss the days of “Don’t speak unless spoken to.” Better yet, “If you can’t say something nice, don’t say anything at all.”

Social networking has given us a forum, but it doesn’t eliminate the need for manners or etiquette. Everyone’s a comedian. Everyone’s a critic.

Again, the Casey Anthony thing was just out of control. It was apalling the way people responded to the Casey Anthony verdict. It made me long for the days of a (insert news channel here) helicopter follow a white Bronco down a California freeway. I remember gathering in the university center to watch the OJ verdict, and the gasp throughout the room when it was read.

And then people talked. There was conversation.

“Can you believe it?”

“No way.”

“Wow.”

No one had the guts to tell a stranger that they hoped OJ died on his way home and that he and his defense burned in hell.

I wrote several months ago how unconnected we are in a society that’s supposed to be more connected and networked than ever. This is just another example.

Thanks to social networking we feel like we’re stars. The world can see and hear our views. It’s like we mean something. It seems our self worth is tied up in the number of facebook friends we have or the number of people that follow us on twitter.

It’s a predicament for me. I’m not sure if I want to unfriend the guilty parties, or hope that they ease up. But they’re my friends so it’s a tough spot to be in. At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter how many facebook friends I have. So if I gotta do what I gotta do…

Oh, the irony as I’m using a blog and facebook to write my thoughts.

Unruly Fans Ruining Sports?

I was able to listen to a couple of great topics on sports radio recently. One of the better topics was unruly fans, the amount of alcohol they’re taking in and its effects on fans at sporting events.

People called in with a variety of responses, mostly telling their own person bad experiences with drunk fans. From people leaving in the first inning of a baseball game, or the beating of a fan in LA, there were many awful stories.

No one really called in with an answer, but perhaps it’s because it’s the reasons and answers no one wants to hear. Respect for other people isn’t even an option any more. And money drives everything in sports.

As far as drunk fans….it’s gone from bad to worse really quickly. As long as stadiums are getting $8 a pop for beer, it isn’t going to change. And as long as they draw big numbers with half off beer nights, half off ticket nights or college night…it isn’t going to change.

For sports at the League office level, or home team level, it’s all about the Benjamins, Baby. For many fans, the special event nights or even games in general, it’s just a reason to party and get wasted.

I have a hard time taking my wife and young boys to games anymore. I want to. I love sports and specifically going to the ballpark. But I fear for what they will hear, see, or be subject to. I’ve had more than one experience where an over indulged fan is vomiting his insides out.

I’ve been at basketball games where people near me freely dropped “F” bombs like there was a quota on how many they had to use in a 5 minute period.

Yeah. That’s why I came to the game. I shouldn’t be subject to that.

I shouldn’t be subject to foul language in front of me or my family. I don’t need to see stumbling fans that had too much to drink by the 3rd inning. And I shouldn’t have to worry about my safety if I have to defend myself or my family from the idiocy or ask someone to please clean up their language.

The thing is, the drunk guy doesn’ t care that my young son shouldn’t hear those words. The drunk guys don’t care that I have to worry about my wife being hit on or worry for her safety because he’s full of liquid courage. I shouldn’t have to worry about a fight breaking out because dudes have had too much to drink.

Paying for the ticket doesn’t give them the right to do any of that. They’ll say it does, but that’s my point. People today care only about themselves. Oh and by the way, I paid for my ticket too. When does your right trump my right to enjoy an evening with my family?

When I was growing up, my dad had to worry about the drunks outside of the stadiums, not the drunks inside the stadium. He worried about our safety between the ballpark and the car, not with the guy right behind us or in front of us. It wasn’t that long ago if someone did get out of control, they would either see us kids and apologize. Or my dad would say something and they’d stop. If it came to getting an usher, it was too far. And fans listened to the ushers.

Not nowadays. What’s an usher going to do? They just get cussed out too.

Here are my options. I can go to the cheap seats. But the biggest issue is in the cheap seats. Whether cheaper seats leaves more money for booze, or draws the “true” fan, it gets crazy out there. Can’t take the family there.

I could go to the nice seats, but can’t afford tickets for the whole family without dipping into my life savings.

Or I don’t go. Which is really disappointing because I love going to the ballpark. And my boys love baseball.

How about this? You go and enjoy the game. Fine, have a beer or two. I don’t know how you can enjoy a beer that cost nearly $10, but have at it. Have a good time. But more than that respect the other fans and their families. We paid our hard earned money to enjoy our night as well.

How connected are we really?

I just heard another story of a teenage suicide, and this one hit closer to home. The young man went to school with my cousins. Several members of my family, adults and teenagers, probably know the young man, and perhaps very well.

And it happened at Christian school….

I think sometimes we Christians are oblivious to what’s really going on in the world. I think we have all the right intentions, but maybe we’re going about it all the wrong ways?

Nowadays, we’ll come up with a program to address an issue. We hold brainstorming sessions, come up with clever names, come up with a launch date, invite people to the first meeting that includes food or snacks, talk of the “vision”, and grow the program…

I’m guilty of it. But I’m starting to question the methodology now.

How much time do we waste setting something up when all we really need to do is be there?

The more I think about it, the more I realize how unconnected we’ve become. Facebook, text, email, Instant Messaging, Skype which covers about 10 years of rapid communication technology bring us together in theory.

But in reality, we’re in our homes sitting behind a computer. Or out and using our “wireless device” to keep in touch.

The thing is we aren’t “touching”. We’re keeping in touch, but we’re really out of touch. This world is farther apart then it’s ever been.

As I grow older the more I realize the value and importance of a touch. A pat on the back. A high five. A good firm handshake. A hug.

Can’t do that via Wi-Fi.

I used to be afraid of what the future holds for us…for our country. For our world. I still am, but now I realize I’m only afraid because of how our we’re raising this generation. We’ve failed the kids who are coming up today.

I have to wonder how much longer we’re going to keep running the way we run these days. In many cases, kids are growing up in a broken home or they’re growing up in a 2 income home that leaves little time for “Johnny.” Some parents can pull off the 2 income thing, because they’re children are still a priority. But others….career and wealth are more important. They replace the love with things and technology.

Nowadays, we have more things, but so much less love.

Johnny will get the cool new phone with unlimited text and talk. Mom and Dad will feel better because they can call or text him at any time. It eases their minds because now they can talk to him, but there’s no real connection.

How about this? Family communication was originally “wireless” anyways. You sat down and talked. No wires. No phone. Just talking. Unlimited minutes too. It wasn’t $20 to add a line.

I’m devastated by the little I know of the young man who took his life. I’m sure he had friends and family to talk to, even if he didn’t know it. What drives someone with so much to live for to that point? Or simply….Why?

Maybe all he needed was one more hug. Maybe all he needed was a friend to stand up for him. Maybe he needed to be laughed with, not laughed at.

But I can tell you this…kid’s today don’t need another program. They don’t need a Facebook message. They only need…and want… love. They’re crying out for it. Will we stop planning the next program to help them and instead, get out of our meetings, leave work early at 5, and put down our wireless device long enough and soon enough to hear them?

Take a step back, look and listen to what’s going on. It’s bad out there. No way to sugarcoat it. But we have to stop looking at schools and programs to help and save our kids. Schools are running out of money, and programs cost money. How can we expect them to help?

It starts at home and it starts with us.

Goodbye Old Friend

Today was day I thought I'd never see. Today I had to say farewell to my dog Tiger.

In a way, it was becoming more and more expected. At the same time, Tiger had lived through so many things. As Mom said today, "I always thought he was invincible."

Time and health caught up to him recently. It was becoming harder for him to walk and jump. Those of you that knew Tiger know how much he like to RUN and JUMP. His sight and hearing began to fail in the last year too.

So over the six months or so, he was less like the Tiger we knew.

Still that Tiger was always in there. He could always seem to drum enough energy to play "bally-bally", the game he invented with my Dad. It involved 2 tennis balls because Tiger was too stubborn to give up the one in his mouth and my Dad was too stubborn to teach him how to give up the one in his mouth. Bally was Tiger's life. Like I said, he always found the health and energy to play his favorite game. It was like he could see better, hear better, and run like a 3 year old dog in his prime whenever the tennis balls were being thrown.

Over the last year, Mom and Dad would tell me how he seemed to be aging. Yet, when we'd come over with our dog Kobe, they said it was like he had spring in his step again. I thought maybe just the loneliness of being at home without kids or other animals was dragging him down.

Turns out that wasn't the case.

This past weekend we got a call from Dad saying Tiger's back and legs seemed to really be bothering him. He wouldn't run. He wouldn't jump. He'd had back issues before, but medication and rest always seemed to help. This time, rest didn't help. So Monday night we decided we should take him to the Vet to have it checked out.

I was at work, so Dad took him. He called me at 1pm and the prognosis wasn't good. They muzzled him, as Tiger needed at the Vet due to his outgoing personality and his nose started bleeding profusely. They checked his legs and it seems somehow the nerves in his back and back legs weren't working. So he didn't know his legs weren't working right. The vet seemed concerned about his nose, because it was a simple process of putting on a muzzle that caused the bleeding. His concern was maybe there was a tumor or something else going on.

So we made the decision to let Tiger go to Doggie Heaven. And it was a tough one.

When you get a pet and they bond with you, you never expect that day to come. Even though you know the life span, you expect your pet to live forever. Tiger was 13. His breed typically lives 12-15 years. We figured he had a couple years left.

He was almost invincible, Mom. He took on the UPS truck and walked away. He took on the lawn mower, and walked away. He took on the tumor when he was a puppy, and walked away.

Those of you who have pets probably know what I'm feeling. Pets become a part of your family. Part of you.

Tiger was that for me. When I got Tige, it was kind of a lonely time in my life. He came right in and became my best friend. A few years ago, I was doing some journaling about key moments in my life. Getting Tiger was one of them. Here's what I wrote:

"I saw a phrase one time that said God and dog have the same letters, and they're both man's best friend. So true in my case. December of 1997, I got my best friend Tiger. Ever since my last dog died, I wanted a Jack Russell Terrier. After several years of waiting, I got my JRT."

"I knew I'd name him Tiger from the start. I loved golf and wanted to give a golf name. Tiger Woods was my favorite golfer and the name fit. I drove all the way to Port Austin to get him, and when I saw him I knew he was the one I wanted. His nose was half pink and half black and he had 2 brown spots on his eyes. When I saw him I knew he was feisty as he was dragging his brother around the cage. On the way home, he tried to get out of the box. He was the Tiger I named him."

"Needless to say, we were best friends right off the bat. He slept with me, and we played all the time. He stole the heart of the family. He is the life of the house. He plays when we need to be happy. He cuddles when we need warmth and love. He's the greatest."

The drive from work to the vet was tough, man. You try to tell yourself it's just an animal, but they are part of your life. A 40 minute drive was like watching 13 years of memories go through your mind.

He'd been a part of so many things in my life. There really isn't room in this blog to mention it all. From college graduation, to dating relationships and break-ups, to frisbee, and climbing trees, and taking on UPS trucks and lawn mowers. He approved of my future wife, and she adopted him as her own. Strangely that was important to me when we were dating.

He'd been there through so much but brought so much joy and happiness to us.

So many great memories, unfortunately my last one is the worst one. When I finally got to the Vet, I got to spend a couple minutes alone with him. I wanted so badly to have him put his paws on my chest and look at me, like he did so many times of the last 13 years. I wanted so badly to lay on my back and have him lay on my chest. It always calmed us both down.

But this time I couldn't do that. He couldn't do that. His legs weren't strong enough, his nose was bleeding and he wouldn't calm down. I knew then we made the right decision for him, though it hurt me so bad.

I declined to go back with him and the vet when they "did what they had to do." After seeing what Tiger was going through, I thought it best. But now I think back and wished I would've done it. To be there with him for the one thing he couldn't beat. I'll never know how it went or how much pain he might have felt. I mean, did he cry? Was he looking for me like all the other times when he was scared at the Vet?

My last memory is putting a generic leash on him, taking his own leash and collar off and watching him walk out of the room. I was too numb and broken up at the time to rethink about going back with him. The Vet said it was probably best. But again, I'll never know.

I'm accused of being rational and realistic. I tend to think in practical terms. It's hard to get burned that way. But this time I did. I missed out on one last moment. One last chance to be there and hold him.

I'll miss that Dog.

I try to take something from every situation in life, and what I take today is to play and cuddle whenever you can. Tiger lived for those 2 things. Playing and cuddling. Isn't that the best way to live life?

Play whenever you can. Play with your whole heart even when your body doesn't want to. And cuddle with those who love you and appreciate the love and warmth they provide.

You just never know when that last time to play or cuddle will come. And it hurts to wish you could just one more time.

I miss you Tiger. Goodbye, Old Friend.

I'm just saying

I'm no coach....Although I did coach a group of 8th graders in a 6 game basketball season one year. It was a small school.

I did coach a ragamuffin bunch of 20-something softball studs to a softball championship. But really all I had to do was keep guys happy and let the talent take over.

But this Michigan football thing is something else. Again, I'm no coach. Nor have I ever been an Athletic Director. Much like most of my friends, I've never played a second of college sports. Never signed a pro contract.

Somehow though, we're all experts.

And according to the experts, the Brady Hoke hiring is a joke.

The fact of the matter is....we don't know! And now one of my best and closest friends will be upset with me! What up, K!

The way I look at it, this hire wasn't about 12-0 or 11-1. This was about making Michigan, Michigan again. As much as we don't like the thought of 8-10 wins a year, we loved it when it was that way before.

But more than 8-10 wins, and top 20 rankings, Michigan was a solid school with a clean football program. And during those years, they'd beat MSU most seasons, Ohio State every other year or so, and win 8 out of 10 of their other games.

Michigan loved the rivalry games, and what made them great was they were....drumroll please...rivalries. They hated Ohio State and would say it. They hated MSU and said it. It was never "just another game".

It wasn't about flash, though enough flash came through the Big House. Jim Harbaugh, Desmond Howard, Charles Woodson, Tom Brady, Braylon Edwards. Michigan was a factory for NFL caliber QB's, WR's, Offensive linemen, and defensive studs. Even if Lloyd Carr's last couple years they were pumping out 1st round draft choices. Under Lloyd Carr, UM won 75% of their games.

But the Michigan faithful were tired of being clean, yet successful. They lusted for speed and savvy of the SEC schools. All flash, and alot of cash drew the cream of the crop to those schools. We wanted the spread offense. UM was stagnant. Football passed Lloyd by.

Now, us same experts, sit back, point, laugh, and shake our heads at the new head coach of University of Michigan football program.

I'll say it again...We don't know.

Remember when Lloyd Carr took over in 1995? We didn't like it, but didn't mind having him during the undefeated season and national championship in 1997. He was U-M's defensive coordinator before getting the head coaching job. His D-line coach? Brady Hoke.

The 2 names the experts in our area wanted were Jim Harbaugh and Les Miles. Not a surprise. Both had the UM ties, and Jim Harbaugh appears to be the next Vince Lombardi.

People point to Brady Hoke's poor record as a head coach, and it's a fair point. They say he's only had 2-3 good years, and only one was great. Let's look at these numbers...

1st season - 1st school: 7-4. Then two 11-1 seasons in the PIONEER FOOTBALL LEAGUE! Then he goes to Stanford and goes, 4-8, 5-7, and 8-5. That's a combined 17-20 at the big program. Those look alot like a recent UM coaches first 3 seasons....Just sayin.

Then...THEN, he has the 12-1 season. Now, he can do no wrong and is the best thing out there. His career winning percentage...68%....at the big school...58%.

Yeah. That was Harbaugh. And don't get me wrong. I'm a huge Jim Harbaugh fan. He was my first favorite college athlete. I followed him as he went into the NFL. So yeah, I would've been a huge fan of him as the UM coach.

Next guy. Great record in the SEC. Even a national title. He has the Michigan background as both a player and coach. He started as a head coach at Oklahoma State. He had a 58% winning percentage there. His teams went to 3 bowl games in 4 years, but his teams were never ranked.

Then he went to LSU when Nick "the Mercenary" Saban jetted for the NFL. His teams have been to bowl games in all 6 seasons, and in his 3rd season they won the National Championship.

All in all, he has a 70% winning percentage.

So Michigan faithful....Lloyd's 75% wasn't good enough. But the top 2 choices don't have his winning percentage. Jim and Les combined have just as many national championships as Lloyd had.

Now, Brady Hoke doesn't have the same resume as Miles or Harbaugh. I'll give you that. But it's not like they became the Jim Harbaugh and Les Miles we know today overnight. He's turned 2 ugly programs around while learning on the job. He never had a coordinator job before the Ball State gig. He left that program with a 12-1 season. He went to San Diego State and turned a 4-8 team into a 9-4 team with a bowl win.

Yeah, he has a losing record overall. But so did Harbaugh after 3 years at Stanford.

From what I've read, players love playing for him and coaches love coaching for him. He loves Michigan. He was one of Lloyd Carr's top recruiters.

And from what I hear he's a stand-up guy. My guess is you'll never hear about NCAA violations with Hoke around. Yeah, there might be alot of 8-9 win seasons, but that looks pretty darn good after the last 3 seasons.

My guess is he'll run the football. He'll focus on defense. He'll tell his team we've got to beat MSU and Ohio State. The very things that made Michigan, Michigan. From 1969 to 2007 that was good enough. During that time, Michigan football was consistent. Consistently great.....They won 77% of their football games! Bowl games from something like 1976 through 2007. No one else could say that.

I guess I'm saying the formula worked for nearly 40 years. I don't buy the whole "Michigan Man" thing. Way overblown. But you want a guy who wants to be here. Not the guy who wants the biggest paycheck. The thing with that guy....a bigger paycheck will always come around. The job you've dreamed might only come around once.

This is Brady Hoke's dream job.

I'm not saying he's the one. But I'm saying he could be. We just don't know....I'm just sayin.

Ah, the Nineties

It was a slow television night, other than the Office.

We put the kids to bed, and I started channel surfing around 8pm. I narrowed it down to watching an NBA game (Miserable these days, I miss the 90's) or Saturday Night Live: the 90's.

SNL won.

It's amazing how much that crew impacted the way people my age think and act. Okay, maybe a little overblown, but man, put a bunch of 30 somethings together and talk about Farley, Sandler, Myers, Spade....and we'd be laughing in no time, and for hours.

As I watched, I couldn't help but reminisce on a great decade. I was born in the 70's, raised by the 80's and grew up in the 90's. The 90's were great.

As far as the show, it wasn't innocent humor, but the things they did then that might have "pushed the limits" wouldn't make people blush today. Not saying it's right but it wasn't over the top like today's stuff.

Back then, as weird as that is to say, people weren't so sensitive. You could crack a joke on a politician and it was just that a joke. You didn't have a critic taking apart everything they did.

Personally, I had alot of great times. I lost the braces and glasses. I had great summer and winter jobs to help get me through college. I felt like I still had the "seasons" in my life. Summer, Fall (College), Winter (1 more semester of college), Spring (just a few more weeks of college) and Summer again.

I met some great people who became great friends. I don't see many of them anymore, but I do think fondly of those times. They helped me become me. There were heartaches and heartbreaks, but they toughened me up.

There was alot of laughing. Alot of late nights shooting hoops. Working out and getting ripped. Mondays playing 45 holes of golf. Breaking 80 for 18 holes. Softball championships. Getting my first real job.

The nineties brought us (or in my world, brought me) the Fab 5. Those guys changed college hoops from style of play to style of the uniforms. Baggy shorts and black socks. I'll admit it, I rocked those things within weeks of C Webb and Jalen breaking em out.

Shaq was becoming "The Most Dominant Player Ever", in his own words.

The Pistons drafted Grant Hill. A class act athlete who was supposed to change the game. Fill the void left by Michael Jordan....Ah, yes. I started my Jordan collection in the 90's.

The late 90's brought us Tiger Woods, who until recently was my all-time favorite athlete.

I gravitated to Deion Sanders. I just like the swagger that those guys brought. I've always gravitated or was a fan of athletes or people that had a swagger. Stand tall and stand proud.

Maybe it was because I was (am) short and reserved. I lived vicariously, I don't know. But they had fun too.

Those are things I try to exude today. Pride, strength, confidence and swagger. And I like to have fun.

But I digress. All I really wanted to say is that I enjoyed the nineties. They made a mark on my life. Now...

"Lay off me I'm starving!...Or you'll be living in a van down by the river...."

Light's not on, but someone is home

No light on, but I've been home. It's been awhile....

Don't have to like it, do I?

But it is frustrating having a passion, and what you see as a gift, not be utilized to it's full capacity.

Am I just too caught up in life as I know it?

It's a good life, but not where I thought I'd be. I sat down at the computer tonight (our new iMac), and said to Liza, this is me. This is where I feel at home.

Blogging. Trying to let creativity flow. I'm listening to Lifehouse, and I relate to a lot of their music. It has deeper meaning, a sense of something that reaches out and touches other peoples lives.

I've noticed over the last 6 months just how much I enjoy being with people, talking with people, listening to people. I like people and I think people like me.

So spending my days within the 3 walls of my cubicle can wear on me. I realize how blessed I am. Even the past weekend, as I drove a brand new car for the weekend, I realized how blessed we are. I'm blessed to have a job that pays the bills and even some more.

Liza took the Grant to the doctor, and the report was "perfect" as always. And then we paid the small copay, and she went on her way.

It's those times that I say to myself it's best to keep doing what I'm doing. Don't rock the boat. We've got it good. But....there's still a longing to do and be more.

I sit here trying to write and be creative, and the very thing that holds me back from pursuing dreams and aspirations is the same thing that always has, fear. Fear of failing. Fear of not being able to provide for my wife and kids.

As Liza and I played with the computer tonight, we started going through the pictures on the computer. We accumulated alot of pictures over the last 7+ years. We've changed so much. We saw pictures of our friends and laughed at how we have less hair, more wrinkles, more bags under eyes, more weight....

I started going through the pics of my boys. Man, from March of 2008 til now. The joy I've found in my growing family, but also realized how that's when the stress at work began to grow. Not coincidentally, that's when the economy started changing.

Every month the worry of maybe not having a job. The paycuts. Fewer and fewer benefits. Switching jobs...

I find peace with my family. My friends. My God.

People have said things to me recently when they see me...In so many words they say "It's nice to see you smile again."

And I realized I don't smile as much as I used to. As Buddy the Elf said, "Smiling's my favorite." Yet somehow it's been hard for me to smile, at least as often as much as I used to.

Maybe since I'm knocking on the door of 40, I'm taking inventory of what I've done and haven't done. It seems like it.

I gotta get there. We were all created for a purpose and I know mine is much bigger than me, than the me I see right now.

As I continue typing, I am reminded of all the special appointments in life. God has no doubt blessed me. I'll say it again, I'm blessed to be where I am.

But the moments that I remember, the moments that other people remember are the ones one someone's life has been touched. A smile. A kind word. Just asking how someone is doing. Allowing God to shine through me.

It's the moments when you are a light, or better yet when YOU are God's light to someone.

While I walk this path. As I go down the road, no knowing if there is another turn, or another pot hole, I'll be a light.

I'll keep the light on.

No more limits

Where is this going?

As you could probably tell from my last post, I'm thinking about life these days. There's got to be more to this life.

Now, I'm a God fearing man. I know He's got a plan for me. Right now, I just wish He'd share that plan for me. Have you ever been in a place where you wonder what you're doing or what should you really be doing?

I'm a pretty rational thinker. I tend to deal in realism. So much that I think it hurts me sometimes. Rational, realistic thinking has limited my reach. It’s caused me to undream my dreams.

We went out with some close friends Friday night, and I was mentally drained from a long day of work. It took me a few hours to finally unwind, but I took in alot of the conversation. Alot of it was around dreams.

Ironically, that's been on my mind and heart lately. What are my hopes and dreams? And how did I get so far from those dreams?

One of our friends said he recently asked his wife," Where do you see yourself in 10 years?"

I believe her reply was she didn't know. And for good reason. When you are waiting and trusting the Lord, how can you know? If you follow His leading, you go to where he leads you. That's where you'll be.

That's hard to fathom in today's world. Everyone maps out a plan for their life, but how often do we run it by God? In high school, they prep us for college and you start to outline where you want to go to school, where you go for Grad school, and then what will that career choice be which gets you to six figures faster.

That becomes what defines us. Career. Achievement. Wealth.

What is starting to drive me these days is fulfillment. And being truly fulfilled is going where He wants you to go. That’s what I want to define me.

This weekend I saw friends who were sweethearts when we went in high school. I hadn’t seen them in 10 years. His career is what he was born to be as he is a music and worship leader at his church. His talent was obvious back then. He followed the leading and there he is.

They look so fulfilled and had such joy. More inspiration.

Right now, I’m holding onto Jeremiah 29:11, “For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”

God’s been with me every step of the way to date, why would I even think He wouldn’t be with me going forward, or worse that He’s not with me now.

Why should I start to doubt God? Can I limit a God who has no limits? I was starting to say God can’t or won’t do things. I began to look at things the way we, well, look at things. By what we see, or by what we’ve seen.

Where do I want to be in 10 years? Not where I am now, sitting in a chair wondering how I get "there." I don't know where I'll be in 10 years, but I'm saying today it won't be in the same place.

It won't be looking back at the things I could have done, or the things I said I was going to do.

No more limits.

Dreams

It’s been a week since the last day of my 5 day vacation. We spent 4 of the last 5 days visiting friends in Tennessee. Though we were only gone a short time, it was a fun, relaxing trip. But my wife put it more accurately. It was inspiring. It sounds like a strange way to describe a vacation? I mean, you don’t usually go away for a few days and say a vacation was inspiring, but this one truly was.

I think part of it was we escaped our bubble, our comfort zone, for a few days and saw how life outside of it can be. When you can’t rely on daily habits and routine, things are fresh, exciting and yes, inspiring.

Our friends were probably the most inspiring part of the trip. It was refreshing to be around dreamers. Dreamers in the sense that they know what they hope to be and have, and then do what they can to go after the dreams.

I was that guy for awhile, but life got in the way. I’m not saying my wife and boys got in the way. Not at all. If anything, they helped keep the dream somewhat alive in me.

But often as adults, dreams give way to reality. And the reality is paying bills, maintaining homes and cars, trying to fit things into a chaotic schedule. It becomes a grind. Wake up at 6, hit snooze, roll over for 10 minutes, maybe hit snooze again. Then shuffle to the shower, get dressed, brush your teeth, grab breakfast in a package and hit the road for our 30 minute commute to the office.

We’re already buried in work by the time we get there. Yet by the end of the day we buried even further.

Yes, the American dream.

Somehow it’s supposed to be expected these days. With high unemployment rates, we are blessed to have jobs when we have them. People work knowing that if they complain, they run the risk of losing their job. They can’t walk away because they’ll be out in the street with the other nearly 10% of Americans.

Vacations as Americans aren’t vacations nearly as much as they used to be either. The wonders of today’s technology make each person a mobile office. All you need is a phone or blackberry and a laptop. I tried my hardest this past vacation to unplug as best as I could. I did a fair job, but in the back of my mind I knew the workload when I returned would be huge.

I tend to internalize as not to be a complainer. I keep it all in so I don't burden anyone else. I’ll work through meals to get things done. I’ll work late and cut out sleep to catch up. Then I’ll lay awake at night thinking about the first thing I need to get done the next morning. Well, that causes someone prone to stress induced migraines to have a nice spike in frequency of the headaches.

And it’s been brutal. Even my trips to the chiropractor haven’t helped as much as they did 6 months to a year ago. There was a stretch in the spring of 2009 where I went migraine free for a month. These days, I’m lucky if I only have 1 a week.

I’ve had CAT scans and MRI’s. Everything comes back normal. Doctors have prescribed muscle relaxers and beta blockers to reduce the frequency. Doctors have suggested Topomax for prevention, which seems to work in many patients. But the side effects are just as scary as the migraines.

I’ve been a diagnosed migraine sufferer for over 10 years now, but I can remember back to having bad headaches in my teens. So I’ve probably had them all my life. I often wonder if I have post concussion syndrome from times where I cracked my head on the road, or fell off a porch, or did something stupid to my cranium.

But I digressed for this reason, maybe if I was living my dream, and out of the rat race, I’d have fewer headaches.

It’s called a rat race because it’s a trap. You go through the maze in front of you, in search of the cheese. But it’s a trap. You search and search, but all you end up getting is a piece of cheese. In actuality, we want freedom and to find a way out. The dream is to be free.

I dream of a day when I’m not a robot, when I’m not a servant to the system. In that dream, I’m not 65 either. In my dream, I’m still a young man and the world is my oyster. In my dream, maybe I’m an author or I have a role where I help and encourage people.

In my dream, I can wake up and decide what I want to do that day. Maybe I go to my home office and write some more. Maybe I take the family on a daytrip on a whim. Maybe I drive the boys to school and let my wife sleep in. In my dream, I take a few days off to truly unwind, rest, relax and recharge.

In my dream, I’m living my dream.

It’s just hard to dream that dream when you don’t have time to sleep.

Freedom

So the other night, Liza and I and the boys went to see the Mt. Clemens fireworks with our buddy Mario. Oh, the sights we saw....

And then the fireworks started.

The most entertaining part of the evening was people watching. A festival or carnival brings out some of the best people watching one could EVER ask for.

Entertaining, but sad and scary at the same time.

I wanted to ask every other person (or so it seemed) what they were thinking. Seems like more than half the girls or women had their rear ends or upper halfs hanging out. The dudes were all walking around acting all strong. People smoking dope on the street corner, in the presence of the police who were too busy to do anything. Though there was no drinking allowed down in the carnival and fireworks, it doesn't mean people weren't blitzed when they got there.

I wanted to ask the young kids where their parents were, or better yet where they've been for the last 10 years. Then I realized I'd have to ask the parents where their parents were when they were growing up too.

It's sad to me. I really do feel that this generation doesn't have much hope. The kids don't have a chance. Even scarier, I think they believe they don't have a chance.

They know dad's not home and might never be home. They know mom is often too busy to care since she has to take care of raising kids and providing for the family.

Imagine a world without hope. Would you care what you were doing if you had no hope? Would you care how you acted if you had no hope?

With no hope, the answer probably is nope.

The sad part is people don't realize they have a choice. Just because mom or dad were an alcoholic or ran out on them, doesn't mean they have to run out on their family, or be addicted to the bottle.

Just because Dad didn't work, doesn't mean they don't have to care.

But until people realize it, a family could stay in the same sick cycle for years and generations.

The 4th of July is independence day. The day America celebrates it's freedom. Ironically, I see Americans today who are not acting so free. Their enslaved to bad choices. Their enslaved to the world they see, but their world is really only their lives as they live them.

Freedom. The right to be wrong, not the right to choose wrong.

It's the 4th of July, and I just wish more people knew what if felt like to be totally and truly free.

Contemplating

You know, it's crazy. As much as I feel like I missed out on so much time with my family on vacation, it gave me time to think.

As I continue to unpack from the vacation, I still think about how quickly this vacation seemed to move. I still can't believe it. Obviously, I can look at a calendar and see we were there from the 21st to the 27th. And I still have 3 full days of vacation ahead of me. So it's not like things are bad.

I can see how the time flew by....our boys actually slept in til 8 or 9 most mornings up there. From there, the days almost go in 2-3 hour increments. Breakfast and showers...2 hours (There were 6 of us in the condo...). Then the first activity of the day, whatever that was, capped off by lunch....2-3 hours. Then, naps....2-3 hours. Get ready for dinner, whether at the condo or going out...2-3 hours. Then, let the kids play for awhile, pajamas, kids go to bed....2 hours. Games...2-3 hours. In bed by midnight, wake up at 8, do it all again.

Now it's easy to see how the time flew by.

And even though I felt like I didn't get any time with Liza and the boys, I feel like we didn't get enough time with our friends either. Maybe I've reached that age where chilling out is my favorite thing to do.

But before anyone reads into this and thinks I have regrets about the vacation. I really don't. My only regret is that it ended so quickly.

So as I left Boyne, I realized 2/3 of my vacation was done. I had 4 days left at home, and back to the grind. My next vacation won't be til some time in August, and even that one is going to be a long road trip. So I bet it will fly by too.

Liza and I have talked about work and the hours....I don't see that changing anytime soon. I'm going to try to get in earlier, but that doesn't necessarily mean I get to go home earlier. I'm committed to my career right now, but we talked about a career change down the road, to something that is more fulfilling. We talked about a writing/authoring career, but I have no idea how to get that going. But to start, I may get this blog thing going again, and hope to build an audience.

The irony there is I don't really have that much time to write. There's not enough time in the day.

How do you slow down time? It seems like time continues to pick up speed. You blink and you miss something.

And like Aerosmith said, "I don't wanna miss a thing..."

Before You Know It

We returned from our vacation up North yesterday afternoon. It was a good time but it just wasn't enough. And honestly, I've been depressed since we pulled the car out of the Boyne condo and headed home. I fought back tears the entire drive home, and finally around 7 last night, they made their way out.

Now you may ask how I can be depressed after a vacation. I keep asking myself that. After almost a day of reflection, I think I know why.

The Nathan Hood family hasn't vacationed since last fall back when we took a weekend trip to Chicago and a weekend trip to the Great Wolf Lodge. Ever since then we've been cooped up in the condo, and the hours and stress at work have grown more than I ever would have thought.

So back when Linz invited us and other friends to share a few condos up at Boyne, we jumped at the chance. It would be very cheap, away from here, away from work, and just a time to get away with the family. We ended up with 6 couples when Jeremy and Heather decided to join us. This had the makings of being a fantastic vacation.

But time just flew as we got closer to the vacation. Work was busier....9-10 hour days became 11-12 hour days and working from home. If I was lucky, I'd see Jakin and Grant for an hour every day. I'd see Liza for maybe 2 hours before one of us was so tired we just went to bed.But I kept telling myself vacation was right around the corner.

So vacation eve came....we did our packing, got the boys in bed, and waited for the Burkes to get here. That was Thursday, May 20th. Friday showed up and I hit the chiropractor, came home, went to pick up the new car...which took much longer than expected. We left around 3pm, when the plan was 1:30 or 2 pm. The Burkes followed us as we drove up I 75....but since we left late, we screwed up the boys napping schedule. It wasn't a quiet ride up. Then I realized I hadn't filled up with gas, so we had to stop. We hit Gaylord and the boys had reached their limit. We stopped and got some food, then hit the road for the last 30 minutes of the trip.

We checked in and pretty much did nothing the rest of the evening. Everything is a blur after that and I think it's the root of my being depressed. Vacation was over before you knew it. It almost felt like we got up there, went to bed, woke up and had to come home. But we were there almost an entire week!

Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed my time. I got to relax, go to the pool, go to the waterpark, play 2 rounds of golf, spend time with family and friends. But it was done before it got started. Friday to Thursday happened to fast.

And what I realized was as much fun as I was having, I wasn't getting the time with the 3 most important people in my life. Liza, Jakin and Grant. I get so little time with them that I really had big plans on just being with them. We didn't have one minute of "just the 4 of us" other than the time in the car. We planned on hitting Charlevoix yesterday....when most of the vacation crew had left. It was going to be the Hood only day. Well, we woke up to Grant throwing up, and decided to come home.

So as we left the resort, I thought back to my favorite moments. And those were with the Hood 4. I got to nap with Jake, which I hadn't done since he was an infant. I watched Jake become braver in the water, to the point where he loves swimming now. I'll never forget that moment. When we made our first trip to the pool, he would hardly go in. We went to the water park and about an hour before we left, he started to enjoy the pool.

So when we made our next trip to the resort pool, Jake put his swimmies on and started walking out deeper than he ever did before. And smiled and laughed. He wanted to swim to the ladders, and to people. He would run out and back in. He started kicking his legs...it was one of my favorite moments as a parent. He loved the pool so much that when we told him we were going to the pool he'd instantly lay down in front of us to change him into his swimmies and swimsuit.

During the trip he was finally brave enough to run on the playscape by himself. He started going down the big slide by himself. He wanted to walk by himself....Even Grant seemed to be walking and talking more. They were...they are...growing up.

So maybe that's where my depressed slide starts? I hit me that I don't have much longer with the boys at this stage. I have loved the baby/infant/toddler stage. So here I was on vacation, when I should have spent more time than ever with them, and we were leaving the resort to go back home. Vacation came. Vacation went. And vacation was over before I knew it.

Back home to our condo. Back home to the same ol' same ol' days of Macomb County. Back to every day life. Probably back to long hours of work.

No more hopping in the car for a little road trip. No more opportunities so say, "Jake. Wanna walk down to the pool?" and see him light up and scream "Yes!". No more of him yelling "Deeeve" or "Chrever" or "Wanny" across the pool. No more having the boys sleeping in our room and listening to the sleep. No more walking across the parking lot in our sandals to go to the playscape or pool. All those things that were making my vacation so memorable and enjoyable were done before I knew it.

We didn't get to have our family day. I'd trade every minute on the golf course this past week for more time with the family. I'd trade every hand of cards played this weekend for another trip to the pool or jungle gym with Jakin. I want that day back.

To my vacation friends, thank you for the opportunity to spend time with you guys, so don't read this as I didn't have fun, or that I didn't want to be near you. I did enjoy myself and the fun and fellowship with you all. But I'm starting to realize just how little time I have with my family and my boys. Especially at this time of their lives. We only have so much time before they grow up.

For those of you with little ones now or have them on the way, cherish your time with them when they are little. Protect your family time. The golf courses will always be there. The games aren't going anywhere. But those hours they are awake, spend as much time with them as you can. Be with them. Play with them. Love them. Because those days will be gone before you know it.

Lunch Time Analysis - Hockey Style

I did a little lunch time analysis…since the whining was getting to be too much.

Let’s compare 2 players. Player 1 is loved and adored. Player 2 is not.

Player 1:
· Stands 5’11
· One of only a few players to win a Stanley Cup and Olympic Gold medal in the same year
· Named captain of his hockey team at the age of 21, youngest in NHL history
· Youngest player in an all-star game at age 18
· Finished 2nd in Rookie of the year voting
· In his first 4 years he scored 89, 89, 42 (injury) and 90 points
· His 5th year was his break out year in terms of points, reaching 50 goals for the first time
· Arguably one of the top 3 players in the NHL at the peak of his career
· Compared with Lemieux and Gretzky
· Impressed by work ethic, skills of player #2
· Won a Lester Pearson award…best player voted by his peers.

Player 2:
· Stands 5’11
· One of only a few players to win a Stanley Cup and Olympic Gold medal in the same year
· Named captain of his hockey team at the age of 19, youngest in NHL history
· Finished 2nd in Rookie of the year voting
· Youngest player to score 100 points in single season
· In his first 4 years he scored 102, 120, 72 (injury) and 103 points
· His 5th year was his break out year in terms of points, on pace for 50 goals for the first time.
· Arguably one of the top 3 players in the NHL at this point in his career
· Compared with Lemieux and Gretzky
· Idolized player #1 when growing up
· Won a Lester Pearson award…best player voted by his peers.

Player #1 = Steve Yzerman, loved and adored
Player #2 = Sidney Crosby, hated and loathed

Yet, they are nearly identical players.

Detroit fans laugh when Crosby is called the best player in the NHL. Though he may not be THE best, he is clearly one of the top players. Recall the days of Yzerman in this town, and you will remember the pining we did for Stevie to be called the best player in the league. We’d say “He’s more complete….He plays defense….Mario and Gretzky have better players around them.”

So now we say a guy who has identical…better stats…. than our beloved Stevie is not that great at all. We say Ovechkin is the best and he may be. But last I checked, he’s never won a Stanley Cup or Gold Medal. In fact, he’s never scored as many points as Crosby in a season, as his highest point total is 112 points. Although, he has scored more goals, and has won multiple Pearson and Hart trophies.

Truth be told, it’s a very subjective argument. But I tend to thing locally it’s subject to the insecurity or inferiority complex of the Detroit sports fan. Detroit fans don’t take losing well and we discredit the other team various ways.

1. By whining about unfair officiating or preferential treatment
2. We blame injuries
3. We say the other team isn’t that good and we played bad

We pine to have superstars here, but when they don’t come we say we didn’t need them anyhow. We’ve booed Jordan and Lebron. Yet they were or are clearly the best players in their leagues at their times. We’ve run stars like Grant Hill out of town because they weren’t “tough” enough. We whine when superstars don’t come to Detroit as a free agent. When we lose to them, it’s because we don’t have superstars. When we beat them it’s because they really aren’t superstars. We’ve often made it clear in this town that we don’t like superstars, and with that we underrate how good superstars actually are. We take pride in tough, gritty players, and from what I can read Crosby is that, but with a lot of skill too.

So why is Crosby overrated in our minds? Look at the stats. Look at the accomplishments. Line by line they are the same or better than “The Captain’s”. I think I could also argue that scoring is tougher these days than in the glory days of numbers 99, 66 and 19. So doesn’t that make Crosby’s numbers better? I tend to think that if we had Crosby in Detroit we’d love him. We’d argue that he is one of the best and that Ovechkin isn’t because of Ovechkin hasn’t won anything yet. That’s what we said about Jordan until he won 6 titles. That’s what we said about Lebron till the Cavs rolled through Detroit time and again.

I cheer as much as the next person when my team beats a star studded roster. But you have to give credit where credit is due. Some players are stars, plain and simple. Hate him because he’s a Penguin, but simply saying he’s overrated because we don’t like them, or we don’t have them is ridiculous.