Don't hate me because I'm thankful...

I had thought long and hard about the subject of my first post here on the blog. Should it be funny? Maybe insightful? Angry? (I can throw some of that out if I find the right direction...) But as Thanksgiving got closer and closer, I said to myself, "Self...let's be cliche." Ok, it might no have gone exactly like that...but you get the idea. And though the story is well known among family and friends, I thought I would tell it one more time...so maybe everyone can get another glimpse into how very thankful I am.

Ok...first I'll start with some back story. I had decided last year that on April 30th I was going to participate in my first triathlon. It is a very short one...but I thought that it would give me an idea of how they work...and if I felt good about this one after finishing that I might move up to some longer distance races. So race day comes...and I feel nervous but prepared for the race. As I stand on the pool deck (the swim was not in open water) I hear the announcer call for my range of race numbers. Because the swim was in a pool they have everyone enter the water based on their numbers. I was number 100. I noticed that over the railing stood a woman with number 96 on her arm...so I said to her, "Hi. I don't know if you heard...but they called our numbers." The lady responded, "Yeah...I do a lot of these and I'd prefer to wait until the crowd dies down a little in the pool." I nodded, smiled and then lined up for the race.

The swim was easy. I passed a number of people in the pool...and was feeling great about that. I knew that with the bike coming up...I'd be looking good for getting a decent time. But as I went through the transition area and got to my bike...I started to feel worn down. I had some kind of cold or something and wasn't feeling 100% anyhow...but now I felt like my batteries were draining faster than normal. I start the ride...and from the beginning I feel like I can't push myself. I am much more in my head than I wanted at this point. (By that I mean I was expecting to have to fight through the run portion with will power and adrenaline...but I didn't expect to have to be fighting that battle during the ride, which for me should be the cake walk part.) And as I pass by where Allison and others are standing...I give a thumbs up to them...which is a total scam at this point. I slow me pedaling...and people who shouldn't be passing me are getting by me. I get back some will power, or maybe I was embarrassed, and I start cranking it back up again. "I'm going to fight through this..." I told myself. And not more than a minute after that...I thought, "Ooh...lightheaded." And I was gone.

There was no stopping. No slowing down, even. I was here. Then I was gone. Writing that gives me chills. (I once joked that it was "pedal, pedal, pedal...dead". I admittedly can have a dark sense of humor.) I crashed very hard (apparently) on the road. My helmet cracked and I gave myself some hefty road rash. Two cops who were near by, Sgt. Smith and an Officer Henderson, rushed over to see what was happening. They said I appeared to be seizing. Sgt. Smith disconnected my feet from my bike and began my assessment. At this time, the lady I had spoken to at the pool rides up and sees my situation. She stops. She tells the police she is a nurse and will help. Right away she determines I not seizing...but I am convulsing from a heart attack. She begins providing CPR and tells the police that they need to get an AED and call the paramedics. Also, about this time, Officer Chris Dort shows up on his motorcycle. He joins in the rescue effort. The call goes out to the St. Pete police officers for an AED. Some cars in St. Pete are equipped with AEDs now because of a donation by a local couple (Lavelle or something of the like is their name) to the police department. Officer Mark Williams responds with the AED. While the nurse prepares the AED, Officer Dort takes over doing CPR on my unresponsive self. (At this point I am not breathing, nor is there a pulse.) The nurse next applies the sticky pads of the AED and gets ready to shock me. The first shock goes...and they aren't sure it did the job. As they prepare to hit me a second time, Officer Dort notices my one hand (or fingers) twitching. They hold off on the second shock and check my pulse. I'm coming back.

Before I become aware that I am awake...my legs apparently become aware that I was riding a bike a short time ago...and they proceed to go right back into a pedaling motion even though I am laying on the ground. (That bit of information is courtesy of Sgt. Smith.)

Once I begin to come to...my eyes open and I'm confused. I can't hear, I can't really think straight...and my body will not move. Fear is beginning to grip me...and I'm terrified. But in only a couple of seconds...it is like a thunder clap...and suddenly I can hear. I can speak. And I can feel my arms. (Not sure about the legs...I was focused on the arms.) I immediately stretch my arms directly in front of me, just to have two people grab them and pull them to the ground. Everyone is asking me questions and yelling for me to remain still. I'm confused as to what is going on... but once I realize I'm not in any immediate danger...I comply. I tell the group of rescuers who I am, my wife's name and her cell phone number. And by the time the paramedics are lifting me into the ambulance I am cracking jokes with paramedics, much to the surprise of Sgt. Smith. (He specifically said to me that he was stunned by what he had witnessed...and how I looked as though I had not just been unresponsive.)

Allison and my dad reach the hospital before me...and my dad later remarked that he had zero inclination of the seriousness of my experience because I was laughing and joking with my paramedic buddies, and then joking with the ER staff. (To be honest, I still didn't know then what exactly happened to me. I joked with Allison in the ER that she needed to take my timing chip from my ankle and cross the finish line so I could get a time. I told the male ER nurse, "Boy, is my time gonna suck!". And that same nurse asked me, "Have you ever had a stress test?" I said, "No." He replied, "Well, you did today...and you failed." I got a huge kick out of that.)

Within the hour I have two stents in my right coronary artery and I'm headed to the ICU for recovery. Now I begin to learn about my brush with death...and I begin to understand that I will forever have some people in my life who I can never EVER thank enough.

So here's to you:

Teresa - (Even saying her name sometimes makes me misty-eyed.) Teresa is the nurse greatly responsible for my ability to write this blog entry without doing it from beyond the grave. She was supposed to travel to North Carolina that weekend, but decided she wanted to stay and do that race. She was racer number 96. She SHOULD have been in front of me during the entire race...but she wanted to let everyone go before her, and because of that she was in the right place to save my life. She STOPPED when she saw someone else in distress. She could have continued on...but she knew she could help those officers...and to her that was more important than a time. And finally, she did exactly what was needed to get me back. (Oh, and she called the ICU at Bayfront and checked in on me afterwards...which was awesome.)

Officer Chris Dort - He joined in to the rescue effort...and kept the CPR going while Teresa orchestrated my revival. He listened to Teresa's constant commands...and cracked at least two of my ribs in the process.

Officer Mark Williams - Brought the AED. He stayed on scene...and even took my dad and Allison to the hospital to meet me. I know that was his job...but get this: Only a short time before my event...Mark Williams' son suffered a stroke after hitting his head skateboarding. He spent time in the hospital and only recently came out of a rehab clinic. So he could see what my family was going through...and I'm sure had memories of his horrific experience. But he did his job, and was great with my family.

Sgt. Kevin Smith - He was my first responder and was integral in getting the right resources to my side to help save me. He also allowed Teresa to do her thing...and he came to visit me later in the hospital. (And he got everyone recognized for their efforts...so that is big also!)

Allison - I know that there is the "..in sickness and in health..." clause in our marriage. But not everyone is good at living up to promises. She stood with me thoughout my ordeal...and aside from a couple of understandable bouts of tears...she was the rock I needed to get through my initial recovery...and then the bypass surgery and recovery. I knew when I proposed to her that she was going to be by my side forever...and that she was the one for me. I'm just glad I'm going to have more than two years of marriage to show her how much I love her.

Bryan - What can you say about a guy who flies from Pittsburgh to sit around in Tampa for a couple of days with a friend who can hardly lift a finger to do anything fun? (And I haven't forgotten about him helping me get an iPad!) There is a time in your life when you know you have a great friend...and there are times in your life when you realize that he's so far beyond that...and you consider yourself supremely lucky that you've gotten to be his friend. (I know Allison appreciated him coming here also...as she could feel better going to work knowing that Bryan was around to keep tabs on me.)

My family and friends - The visits. The smiles. The encouragement. The cards. The food. The phone calls. When I was stuck in a hospital bed during both recoveries...I was laying there thinking to myself, "I hate that I am the reason people have to go out of their way...and change around their plans...just so they can stop in and say hi to me." But it meant the world to me to have a distraction from the pain (and the fear) I was feeling to talk to people. I may have been forced to lie to some of you, saying that I was doing better than I was feeling at the time...but I hope you can understand where I was coming. In the end, just know that the visits sometimes wore me out...but I never got tired of the visitors and the phone calls.

So as we approach this day of Thanks...I'm sure you can all understand where I stand.

To all of you who are a part of my life...I say thanks.

To Teresa, my team of first responder heroes and to Dr. Sheffield, the TGH and Bayfront staffs (including Dr. Singh, my cath procedure doc) who got me back to health...I wish I could say words of thanks that would measure up to what I'm feeling. I am only here because of your efforts.

I hope none of you ever have to go through what I have experienced this year...but if you do, I will be there as best as I can. You can count on that.

Fact.

"I'm just no damn good am I baby, I'm just no damn good, I know its true"

Turns out I am no damn good at both gambling and math. My first crack at wildly guessing about how NFL teams will fare against the spread failed terribly, with a 4-6-1 record last week. I nearly gave it up but my greatest quality is that I am truly delusional about my talents. I'm better than .571 winning percentage and I aim to prove it! Here are the picks with limited commentary, because its only a couple hours until kickoff.

-Tennessee (-3) over Houston: Just like last week, no Andre Johnson, no Super Mario, no cover.

-Tampa Bay (-1) over Chicago: Chicago has no offensive line. Tampa Bay has a young, angry pass rush. London's going to get to see the Cutlerface. I can feel it.

-Detroit (-3.5) over Atlanta: A good team giving 3.5 to an average team at home. Feels like it could go either way but I'd prefer the Falcons to lose.

-Denver (+1.5) over Miami: How is Miami GIVING points? For Jeebus sake, they had to basically throw Tim Tebow Day at their own stadium to get people to show up. That's a bad team.

-Carolina (-3) over Washington: Are you betting on John Beck? No thanks.

-Cleveland (-3) over Seattle: Eh...

-San Diego (-2.5) over NY Jets: I like Rex Ryan. He's fat and funny and a great character. His team just isn't any good this year.

-Kansas City (+5.5) over the Raiders: I so very badly wanted Carson Palmer to start this game so I could be absolutely certain of this pick. But he's not, Kyle Boller is....and I'm still pretty certain of this pick.

-Pittsburgh (-4) over Arizona: This seems like a dumb line. Arizona's home field is really enough to make up for being a bad team with a bad quarter back, against a good defense?

-St. Louis (+14) over Dallas: Two TDs is a lot. Also, I'd rather watch a World Series game between these two cities than this crap sandwich of a football game.

-Green Bay (-9.5) over Minnesota: Best team in the league vs. a rookie QB.

-New Orleans (-14) over Indy: As mentioned above, two TDs is a lot. I'm not sure how many would be enough for me to pick Indy in any game.

-Baltimore (-8) over Jacksonville: Blaine Gabbert is going to enjoy living in LA. He's already got the hair for it.

"Deal the cards and it won't matter how they fall, because nothing is a gamble when you want it all..."

As I was wasting time at work today by reading various NFL picks columns it occured to me that if there is one thing I love more than griping about my employer or reflecting on my mortality (sorry about that by the way) it's gamblin'! I needed something to write about and I can make inaccurate predictions as well as any jerk off blogger or highly paid sports journalist. I'll try and do this every week if I remember or don't get otherwise distracted, but in the meantime here are your lead pipe lock Week 6 NFL winners.

-Detroit (-4) over San Francisco: San Fran is feisty, but Detroit is good. Frank Gore will not be able to carve up the Lions defense the way he did Tampa Bay last week and the 49ers have no answer for Megatron. Even if you throw those two variables out, are you taking Alex Smith on the road in raucous stadium against Suh and his boys? Nope.

-Cincinnati (-7) over Indianapolis: Cincy is a young team on the upswing that still isn't good enough to beat a quality opponent. Fortunately for them the Colts are not a quality opponent. They are in full on "Suck for Luck" mode and Curtis Painter is junk.

-Buffalo (+3) over NY Giants: The Giants defense can't stop anyone from doing anything. Elisha is still their QB and the Bills have a penchant for winning games they shouldn't by capitalizing on dumb QB mistakes. Plus its two New York teams so who cares. Moving on.

-Washington (-1.5) over Philadelphia: Philly's defense couldn't stop Rex Ryan from throwing on them, much less Rex Grossman, a real By God average NFL QB. And while as thrilling as ever, Ron Mexico is still as overrated as he was before he killed all those dogs and went to jail.

-Pittsburgh (-12) over Jacksonville: I don't even know what to say. Jacksonville already has one foot in LA and a shaky (I was raised to be polite) QB. Their only hope week to week is for MJD to go off. He won't be able to do that against the Steelers. Boring.

-St. Louis (+14.5) over Green Bay: The packers are the best team in football right now and the Rams are terrible, which is always enjoyable. But 14.5 seems very generous for any game involving two professional teams. Just a hunch but the Rams cover.

-Carolina (+3.5) over Atlanta: At some point the TV "experts" will realize that the Falcons winning 13 games last year has absolutely no correlation to this season and that they are actually quite shitty. Cam Newton finds a way to cover if not win out right.

-Baltimore (-7) over Houston: No Mario Williams. No Andre Johnson. No chance against the Ravens. Houston feels like it has already resigned itself to another 8-8, miss the playoffs season.

-Oakland (-6.5) over Cleveland: Cleveland has been game this season but Oakland is (and no one has uttered these words in a long time) fundamentally sound. They tackle well, block well, run the ball and don't make a ton of mistakes. Barring some kind of "post Al Davis emotional win" hangover, they should roll at home against the Browns.

-New England (-7) over Dallas: I know New England can't play defense and at some point that will cost them, but it won't be this week. I just can't get past Brady at home vs. Romo.

-Tampa Bay vs. New Orleans: I recuse myself. But I sure wish Punchy and GMC were playing.

-Minnesota (+3) over Chicago: Blah. I wouldn't watch this game if it was the last NFL game ever. But Minny has a good pass rush and Jay Cutler tends to get his grumpy pants in a twist when he gets hit (last week excluded). So I'm going Vikings to cover.

-NY Jets (-7) over Miami: Even with the Derrick Mason trade, reported dissention in the locker room, no ability whatsoever to run the ball, and Sanchez being Sanchez, there's just no way Matt Moore and "On The Hot Seat" Sparano have a chance.

All of these things are absolutely going to happen. If you don't wager large sums of money on them then you are dumb.**

**GF is not responsibly for any monetary losses on your part.

"Let's not let times build the flood rise, Before my thoughts begin to run, I think I'm getting older now"

More than the other 5 Guys, I tend to struggle with the concept of aging, mainly my own. Others will joke about their rapidly graying hair or note, with a wry a smile, that getting older "is better than the alternative". To which my inevitable response is "THAT SHIT AIN'T FUNNY".
Comments along these lines unnerve me to no end. They make me feel as if losing a step is inevitable, and maybe it is, but I refuse to concede the point. I would love to be more mature and age gracefully, but I'm not and I won't. I very much enjoy life and want to keep the party going for as long as possible. Incidentally, it's this attitude that prevents me from doing almost anything in moderation.

I only bring this up because Steve Jobs, Al Davis, and Roger Williams, each a titan of their respective fields, passed away this week. While I am not a techie, a Raiders fan, or a classical music aficionado I can appreciate as much as anyone what these men accomplished while noting the obvious: If death can get them, it'll get us all (Duh, GF!).

Mrs. GF and I visited our home state of Florida last week. We attended the wedding of friends, saw family, spent time at the beach, and drank some beers with friends. Living 2,000 miles away I often get nostalgic for these things and wish I could be around for more of them. But whether in The D or The T, sunshine or snow, with friends or not, I will make the most of every day. There's only so many of them.

Apologies. I promise to make with the funny on the next one.

It's good to be back

So since I’ve long been absent from these cyber pages and I’m tired of the constant badgering from the other jackasses who contribute here I thought it was time to put finger to keyboard and see what happens.

First some bidness, Some of this is old news as GF broke the seal on a lot of the goings on during our collective absence; Welcome to the 6^th member of the Five Guys, not sure if, when, or why he would want to post anything here, but welcome nonetheless. He’s a great guy, who in an effort to try and out do my medical issues, nearly died this spring. We’re glad he didn’t mostly because he’s married to my sister and we’re contractually obligated to like him now. Second, Ant’ny has welcomed a wife and an offspring in the last 14 months or so, congratulations on both. Lil’ P becomes the fourth child added to our ever growing extended family.

Now that the pleasantries are out of the way on to the rest of the post. I was really hoping to have something profound or topical to post given Ant’ny’s September 11^th masterpiece or GF’s welcome back post, unfortunately I got nothing. There’s so much going on in our world today that the 24-hour news cycle, social media, 384 news channels, satellite radio continuously beat into the ground it almost makes having an opinion on something impossible. Regardless of your feelings about socialized health care, the economy, the conflicts in the middle east, the Arab Spring Movement, don’t ask don’t tell, NCAA conference realignment, or any number of other pressing social (or economic) subjects; chances are someone has already thought it, posted it, been rebuffed , and formed a PAC for their cause.

This is just my opinion (and I’m sure someone’s beaten me to the punch) and it’s nothing profound, but I think the constant bombardment from talking heads on TV and do-gooders on Facebook and Twitter only serve to make us increasingly numb as a society. You can only hear about an issue so many times until you just stop listening. Take the recent Casey Anthony, Tot Mom, trial. That was the biggest thing going for about a month here in Florida and around the country. Did she do it, was she molested, was it an accident, was the evidence tampered with, was the witness just out for the reward, when is she going to get released, where is she going to go, who’s going to get the first interview, how much is she going to make for her side of the story, who’s going to play her in the Hallmark movie, blah, blah, blah, crap. By the time the news programs began to fade and move on to their next story it was all I could do to listen to another sentence about the case. That’s when it struck me – lost in all those questions was the life of a little girl that was snuffed out under awful circumstances – who’s asking about her? Who’s asking how can we prevent the next little girl from having to go through that? I get that there’s a huge flaw in the system and that a guilty person (even if she’s only guilty of poor judgment and being an unfit parent) is walking free but lost in all those soap opera details isn’t there a responsibility on us as a society to look past the ‘sexy’ headlines and try to make society better as we go? What if the parents had called Family Services? What if the birth father had stepped in? What if one of the mother’s friends had questioned things a little earlier? There’s plenty of blame to go around but there’s also plenty to learn from.

I didn’t start out to write a call to action or a cautionary tale; see what happens when I’m given some free time and a blank slate? This isn’t necessarily about the Casey Anthony trial, or social media, or about information overload; I think my point to all this is for us to all take a few minutes and look a little deeper than the headlines. Let’s get out of the habit of letting the talking heads do the thinking for us. So much of today’s news is negative that it’s easy to get jaded or apathetic about our society and our country. We’re getting ready to jump head first into another election season. While I’m tempted to use a bunch of hyperbole and call it the most important election in a generation I won’t. What I will say however, is do a little homework, and resist the tendency to get numbed by it all.

One of my greatest self-imposed charges as a parent is to make sure my kids always think for themselves and form their own opinions. I’ll likely never be written about in a history book, or have a building named after me, but if I can raise two socially responsible, independent thinking children I will be proud of the mark I’ve left.

Damn it, I really wanted to keep this kind of funny. One thing that I think all five (now six) of us wanted to avoid in this forum was making things too politically charged or preachy so I apologize if I’ve violated that code, it’s been a while and I’m a little rusty. I promise the next post will be better...

The Speech I Want to Hear / Give

Good Afternoon, it's a pleasure to be here with you today in sunny Tampa and I thank you for the kind invitation.

Normally, a political person will open one of these speeches with a line like "My Fellow Americans..." Well, that's the normal approach and I am far from normal. "Normal" politicians, doing business the "normal" way haven't even been able to maintain a "normal" balance. So today, I ask you to join me in casting off the normal way of doing business and embark on the journey that will save this country (or at least make it a whole lot more entertaining and interesting).

Now, I am not talking about some Tea Party departure from normal. The only thing those people do differently than the tired old Democrats and Republicans is yell louder. They aren't part of the solution, they are an addition to the problem. I am talking about a bold new course. Not independent, not red, not blue, not libertarian, not anything. Today, we stand up and say that 95% of the country is more like us and the 5% of the country represented by our government time has run out. The clock is ticking on the people in Washington because a government by the people and for the people is about to be taken over by the people.

We can no longer sit idly by and pretend that America is the greatest country on Earth and that our brand of capitalism and democracy is the cure-all by which the world will be saved. If we had all of the answers, we wouldn't be subject to Russia and China being the lien holders on 70% of our debt. So, if we want to be great again bold action is required. Normal needs to end.

A great society is not one where people die merely because they are poor. A great society is not one in which the divide between the haves and have nots continues to grow. It is not one where tax burdens on companies are so high that the largest and wealthiest corporations leave the country in order to save money. It is not one where stockholder returns trump the good of the people. It is not a society that works more hours and takes less vacation than any other industrialized country in the world.

When I was a kid growing up in Polk County, Florida the radio station there had a loveable syndicated redneck that would be on the radio each morning railing against some injustice in society. Well today I am channeling Earl Pitts, Great American Redneck and telling you to Wake Up America!

Solutions don't get you elected in this country but it's time to say it like it is and make the solutions, not rhetoric, the order of business.

Our platform is simple and sound and provides meaningful and lasting solutions for the country that our generations to come will thank us for. Here are some highlights:

- The Department of Defense and the Department of Homeland Security will be combined into a single department focused on protecting THIS country and this country alone. We will protect ourselves and ourselves alone and leave other countries to do the same. We will no longer project democracy on those who cannot grasp it. We will no longer pick a fight to protect the stream of oil coming into this country. If you live in a country and allow a bad guy to take over, fix the problem yourself. We are going to focus on working on ours.

- On the topic of oil, we will take the money saved by no longer running crusades of democracy and focus them on developing alternative energy sources. 43 years ago we sent men to the moon with the computing power of a modern digital watch. We haven't solved this energy issue because quite frankly, rich people can't get richer when it's solved. No more! We will commit to developing new technology that is renewable and clean by the end of the next decade. It can be done, it will be done, it MUST be done.

- The remaining resources saved by pulling back the military and consolidating security will be put toward an ongoing plan to fix and upgrade America's rapidly decaying infrastructure. Our talented military minds will be put to use inside the US designing new bridges, roadways, mechanical and electrical and communication systems to benefit all of the citizens of this country...not just the military and certainly not the citizens of other countries. We will protect our borders as fiercely as we have protected those of other countries. We will always welcome immigration...legally. We will use the National Guard to embark on an ambitious round up of illegal residents of this country and send them back to the country from which they came. When they can get here legally we will welcome them back.

- Income and payroll taxes will be replaced by a national sales tax that based on revenue needs will be no lower than 15% and no higher than 17.5%. For those who say this unjustly punishes the poor, I respectfully disagree. This tax is the fairest of all taxes. If you do not wish to pay tax, don't buy anything unnecessary. Estate taxes, capital gains taxes, etc. will all be abolished. The IRS will shift it's focus to enforcing the paying of the sales tax by companies instead of that by individuals. Social Security will be phased out giving Americans the choice of where to spend, invest or save their own money. Churches will no longer be given tax exemptions.

- Congress will enact term limits We will push to amend the Constitution to allow for a 4 year term for Representatives and keep the Senate term at 6. Representatives will be limited to 2 terms while Senators will be limited to 3. Upon leaving office, one may run for the other House after a 10 year period but may not serve in the same house again. This change allows for Representatives to do some real work without being so focused on immediately needing to be re-elected. Yet it removes the specter of career politicians.

- The United States will operate on balanced budget.

- Marriage will no longer be legally recognized. Two consenting adults may enter into a legal, civil union with all of the rights now known to be part of marriage. Churches may continue to marry people, or choose not to if the marriage violates their beliefs, in addition to the legal union, with no additional rights to the citizens.

- We will downsize Medicare and Medicaid and emphasize working opportunities. All federal aid will have a time limit for individuals to collect to motivate them to work. We will fix the broken and tangled mess that comprises our healthcare system, not by nationalizing it, but by holding insurers and healthcare providers to standards. However, at the end of the day healthcare is the responsibility of each individual citizen.

There was a time where being an American meant something and we will get back to that time. It will take hard work, it will take sacrifice and it will take many of you looking in the mirror and realizing you are not as entitled as you think you are. If you don't have a job, there will be many left behind when the illegal residents are sent home. If you think this work is beneath you, then you are part of the problem not part of the solution.

I am here to tell you that America and democracy are hard. It's not a spectator sport. You must take action. You must not sit idly by and think things will be okay. Do not believe what you see on TV. The guy with the clean record, isn't the guy you want to run this country. The only qualification for the job should be the solutions they offer and whether or not you think they can get them done. I think I can. I have fornicated, I have been drunk too many times to count, I curse too much and I don't believe in religion... I am one of you. I am the majority.

I am an American, I have real solutions and I am running for President.

“It’s cold in the desert, water never sees the ground, special unspoken without sound”

This weekend the country will take pause and remember the events of September 11, 2001. As a nation, we have experienced a lot since that normal morning turned to horror in the span of 102 minutes. There are many different types of impacts that took place that morning, 4 airplanes impacted a structure or the earth, 2 towers that symbolize power, freedom, greed, oppression, everything that is good to some and everything they hate to others impacted the ground, as did 1 section of a building that symbolizes safety and security to some and hatred or tyranny to others. Nearly 3,000 mothers, fathers, uncles, friends, sons, daughters were lost impacting thousands of communities all over the country and more than half of them were never recovered making it difficult to move on.

Of course, I remember where I was just like everybody else remembers. I was in the car on my way to the University of South Florida for a communications in film class. I had a presentation to give on the different interpersonal relationships in the movie Shrek (tough stuff). I sat in the parking lot listening to Bubba the Love Sponge on 98 Rock and he said that a plane had hit a tower in NYC. Just as I parked the whole studio started screaming, “Was that a repeat, was that live…did that just happen…was that a second plane?” Then one of the cast, Brent Hatley said, “that was a second plane, we are under attack, and it’s Usama Bin Laden…” I ran in to class to watch it on TV but they did not have one so I left and went to the library and watched in horror at what was happening. When the first tower fell they closed USF and I had to leave the library. When I came outside there was a massive gathering of Muslim students in front of the library and it was interesting to see the contrast of students coming out of the library shocked and scared and the Muslim students smiling and cheering. I worked for 98 Rock at the time and went in the next day to help organize a blood drive and I told Bubba about what I saw and he put it out over the radio and USF officials immediately called in and contradicted that story but I know what I saw and it really pissed me off. That was the impact on me. I walked into the Air Force ROTC office 1 week later and was Commissioned as a Second Lieutenant 8 months later.

That day had a tremendous impact on me and gave me focus. I was an average student (at best) and was in my senior year of college with no plan for my future career. Had it not been for that day I would probably be a mid-level manager in some mid-level company just scraping by. Instead, I threw myself into being the best Aircraft Maintenance Officer I could be. I lost weight, got in shape, had access to some of the finest leaders in this country and I learned from them. I stayed in school and for the first time in my entire life, I got straight A’s in pursuit of my Masters Degree. I got to live in Las Vegas, NV, Sumter, SC, and Ogden, UT and I got to be in charge of some of the most fun Squadron’s in the AF. It turns out I spent 6 weeks about 600 miles away from Usama Bin Laden, which is closer than most people ever got! I truly enjoyed the majority of the time I spent in the military and am very proud of my service.

Since September 11, 2001 over 10 Million Americans have worn a uniform in support of this country, something we can all be proud of. I volunteered to get out in 2008 and started a chapter in my life that I am equally focused on, being a good husband and dad, something I never even though of 10 years ago, my how time flies!

The country has gone through many changes as well. The attacks really brought out the best in Americans. Neighbors chipped in and helped each other clean up, dig out, grieve, understand, and cope. Flags and other patriotic symbols could be seen from sea to shinning sea. If you have time watch the documentary “9 Innings from Ground Zero,” it does a fantastic job of going over the timeline and emotions, and when W. fires the ball from the top of the mound for a strike I get goosebumps every time!!

I find it interesting that in 2001 if you had a cell phone it was a brick and if you sent text messages you were about 3 years ahead of your time. There was no Facebook, no Twitter, no blogs or smartphones. Think about all of the things that would have been different if we had these “tools”. Word could have spread much faster, status updates could let everybody know who was safe and who was in trouble. Twitter proved during the this years earthquake in the northeast that it could spread news faster than the earthquake could travel. But I also think that the ‘tools” would have taken away from that healing process after the attacks, when you had to look at the devastation and the looks of horror on your neighbors face instead of looking down at your phone.

Pauly had to talk to his daughter today about what September 11 was. I could not imagine having to sum it up into a few minutes (if you get even that long). Almost 3,000 people died in about 2 hours, since then the man that inspired it has been killed, along with tens of thousands of military personnel and a shit ton of asshole IED using, no courage having, shooting from a distance murderers. Our country has spent hundreds of billions, other countries have lost people and treasure, Afghanistan has lost lots of big rocks but gained many small ones and I guess they still have goats and opium. Iraq lost a dictator and gained some good things in the bargain and there you have it, 10 years has gone by. I am not getting political, I am just saying it is tough to explain to a kid so Pauly, let me know how that goes!

I guess when the time comes I will just say it like it is. Parker, some people in this world have a fundamental difference with others and that leads to hatred. When that hatred is strong enough it turns to violence. On September 11, 2001 that hatred lead to a real sucker punch that killed almost 3,000 people. Americans did what we always do, we picked ourselves up, dusted ourselves off and cleaned up the mess and then took the fight to those that perpetrated the violence and the people that harbored them (she will have a very good vocabulary). In the end, we did our best to protect freedom and the innocent while at the same time bringing the terrorists to justice.

10 years later the 9-11 memorial will finally open and give families a place to honor and remember the victims of that terrible day. I saw a documentary yesterday that focuses on that memorial and it is amazing. The fountains that lead into the basement of the footprints and the park are just amazing. However, the most amazing part of the whole rebuilding effort to me is the wedge of light. The architect designed the buildings and the train station in such a way that on 9-11 every year, the sun will bath the memorial in light with out shadows from the exact minute the first plane hit the first tower until the exact minute that the second tower fell. At the exact moment the second tower fell the sun’s rays will shine through the glass ceiling of the train station and bisect the floor perfectly. The folks that attacked us live in mud huts. They could never ever design something so perfect so how in the world can they think that they can destroy it?