A Pirate Looks At 40

Puhleese...Keanu! (previous post)

I guess every milestone birthday comes with either excitement or pondering over one's life.


16-the excitement is the drivers license and the "freedom" you now have behind the wheel.

18-you can vote, and declare yourself elegible for selective service. Of course the alternative is no job or student loans. The gov't really got us there.

21-you are now an "adult", but you don't feel like one. For the most part, noone really takes you seriously. In our gang, the birthday person was presented with a sweet pair of Ferris Bueller leopard print boxers. I love traditions.

25-your car insurance rates go down. Mine was pretty uneventful, except I had 3 cars at the time. I do remember my insurance rates going down by half. I also remember my buddy, Todd. He hit a serious funk at 25, declaring he was old, and nobody (ie: the mythical hot chick that loves sports) wants an old fart like him. It's a good thing he found his sports-loving, hot chick in Atlanta.

30-this is where I began to doubt my stature and accomplishments in life. It wasn't pleasant for a few weeks. At that point my craving was to be in Colorado. I had a true love for G, but I seriously lacked confidence. My 30's were a fertile ground for growing and stretching in many ways. Especially my waistline. As I close out my 30's, my life is good. My heart burns love for G and Benny. Many friends are still close after all these years.

About 10 years ago, I was climbing Mt Elbert, and started talking to a guy that was celebrating his 40th birthday with a climb to the top. At that point, this is what I wanted to do for my 40th. So here I sit at my desk on 40-eve, with no shoes and socks. I'm not going to accomplish that tomorrow-but there is this summer. I will summit a peak in that spirit this summer. Tomorrow is even better than a day in the mountains. It's a day with Benny. Maybe I'll go to the local ski area and summit the hill with Benny.

Forget what they say about 40 being the new 30. 40 is what it is. 40 is a great number-but that's all it is. A numerical representation of how long it has been since my mother was in a great deal of labor pain. Are there areas I need to work on in my life. Sure. This is the case for everyone, at any age. Am I "where I want to be"? In the Big Picture-yes. Never mind the fuzzy details. I have a great family. I was raised by good parents. I have great sisters. I have great In-laws. I have wonderful friends. God is blessing my business. My waist size is 34, I don't have liver spots, and I don't suffer from the maladies I see on those stupid pharmacological commercials-yet. Of course my hot wife still doesn't like sports.

It's been a good ride so far. I think I'll turn in and listen to some Buffett-probably "A Pirate Looks At 40". Some things will never change-no matter how old you are.

Here is an interesting headline I read not too long ago. More on this topic later...

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40TH BIRTHDAY PLUNGES KEANU INTO DEPRESSION

Hollywood hunk KEANU REEVES found turning 40 so tough last year (04) - he plummeted into a dark period of depression.

The MATRIX star says the months since his birthday last September have been a time of reflection, which quickly escalated into morbid brooding about how many years he has left before he dies.

The Canadian actor says, "It was a nightmare.

"It reminded me of adolescence and it felt like an internal transformation with physical aspect, like when your hormones run wild.

"But this time with a conscious shift, an awareness of your own mortality."

Fellowship and Fromage

No, we are not Packers fans. In fact I was elated at Super Bowl XXXII in San Diego, where the Broncos rose to the occasion and beat 'em. Pretty good storyline...The aging icon, Elway and Terrell Davis playing to his hometown crowd.

A few weeks ago, G was at Green Bay for work. She ate at Lambeau Field, and came back home-cheesehead in tow for Benny. He loves it. The only problem is that he is constantly picking at the foam. Sometimes it looks like we have grated cheese all over the floor. Oh well, if it's not one thing it's another. We do our best to keep the place clean.

Last night we hosted CARE group. I had a ball cooking burgers and brats for the crowd. The great thing is that we are making some good friends, as a result of this Sunday night fellowship. We praise God, have fun discussions, but also have impactful and meaningful talks about our walk with God. Mike J gave us a briefing on his travels throughout Israel, and the Middle East. It is so interesting to hear him talk about flying by the Gaza Strip, trekking up the Mount of Olives, and seeing the Biblical places where Jesus and the Prophets walked and died. Incidently, his job as an F-15 fighter pilot scores him as having one of the coolest jobs in my circle of friends. A close second is Mark L's job as Controller. Who can't get pumped up at the updated GAAP guidelines that comes out every year? (especially his special chapter on Accounting 5-10-15. Yes this is an inside joke).

Here is a picture of John C and Alan K resting comfortably on Benny's couch. This is visual proof that guys never grow up. Alan drove his old, restored pickup truck to our house yesterday. Our only complaint was that he had an old dishwasher in the back, which made it look like Fred Sanford was parked outside. We love him anyways.

Food, Fun, And Fountains

At the conclusion of a long week, we decided to hit downtown Kirkwood, and eat at Johnny Rocket's. It was a nice sunny day, and we were determined to have a quick family outing to enjoy the beautiful weather. This is a fountain in front of the plaza where we ate. We ran into a family from church, and saw quite a few kids bobbing for quarters (ie: stealing money) in the fountain.

Today we are cleaning the house, but I started out early with a cup of Folgers and reading a bit before waking up Benny.










Books I am currently wading through:

"Last Dance" by John Feinstein (NCAA Basketball Tournament/Coaching Chronicles)
"Here Is Your War" by Ernie Pyle (WWII News Correspondent)
"Freakonomics" by Steven Levitt (Unconventional Economic Thinking)

Where's the time going?

Ever feel like you don't have enough hours in the day? This is the case for the past 3 or so weeks. I Don't really have time to give a good update on whats been going on, but here's a pic of Benny and Exa from Colorado to tide you over for now.

The big 4-Oh!

My buddy Darrel, aka: Benny's Uncle hit a big milestone today. Happy 40th, old chap!

Belated Birthday Present

Geri had this great idea that Benny would like to have kid-sized furniture for his birthday. Of course I was skeptical, but the proof is in the pudding. His couch was delivered this week, and he is having a ball with it. He quickly learned how to get himself up to sit on it, and slide down back to the floor.

This morning we played around the couch, and danced to the music channels on the cable. He has rhythm. We listened to 80's, Reggae and Country. Even a little Salsa! I'm thinking he likes swaying to the Carribean Reggae Beats the best. It must be an influence from all the Jimmy Buffett he listens to.

Speaking of music, every once in awhile I find a catchy song on the radio. Check this out and let me know if you like it. It's called SOS, by Rihanna. Never heard of her, but she's got a great voice. It's hard to miss when you mix in a bit of 80's remix for the backbeat.

http://www6.defjam.com/site/artist_av.php?artist_id=586

Later this week Geri has a meeting in Colo Spgs, so we are verrry excited to see our friends back in Denver next weekend. If you are reading this from the Mile High City, we'll see you soon.

3rd plank

My third plank for my "campaign" would be to rid baseball of the DH.

My 2 Cents

The term "Big Monday" came about when ESPN and Chris Farley teamed up to do some funny ads promoting NCAA basketball games on Monday nights. For me "Big Monday" isn't confined and constricted to basketball season. Every Monday, I get the great honor of staying home with Benny. As my business grows, I hope this spreads to Friday as well. Not many dads get to spend one, not to mention-TWO days/week home with their kids. Lord willing this will happen.

Every once in awhile I get frustrated at the political drivel I hear. Dems and Republicans alike. There would be 2 main planks I would run on, if I were to throw my hat in the ring. First, I'd find a quick way to grant citizenship to illegal immigrants already in the US. They are already here, and presumably (in my simple mind) their addition to the reported tax rolls would be an immediate boost to the legitimate economy. I would assume this would be an immediate relief on legitimate policework that could be taking place.

My second plank would be to open up Alaska for oil, as well as develop the Rocky Mountain oil shale work. Once again, I am a pea-brain when it comes to things of public policy-but isn't that status-quo? It's all good and grandiose to talk about developing other technologies to reduce our independence on oil and the Middle East, but we need to deal in the now! Can't we concurrently drill here in the US, build more refineries, and research long-term approaches to energy? I get tired of the US attitude that seems to say that our land should not be spoiled, so we'll just spoil someone elses land for oil. Attitudes like this probably build international resentment, and our suppliers' legitimacy to control the price we pay at the pump. Hey life isn't fair, is it. My guess is that US derived Oil = lower prices and a tremendous boon to our economy with high base of legitimate paying jobs. Perhaps even for those newly naturalized citizens.

Wow, fun game! We arrived late, but managed to get a primo, freebie parking spot next to the stadium. Must be living right. We didn't even sit down before G decided to stop off and get some munchies. The nachos/jalepenos were excellent as usual. The Italian Sausage was better at the old stadium-not to mention bigger.

Today was C of C day at the stadium. Basically there were 150 seats set aside, with proceeds going to CFS and the local Christian school (I think). Many thanks to the Kelley's for giving us their tix. After G and I scarfed down our food, I procured some Dip N Dots. Like father, like son. Benny's lips are coated with Cookies and Cream. This little sugar fix actually violates one of the things we said wouldn't happen when we have kids. We find ourselves eating our words alot these days.

Here are a few other snapshots of the outing. One pic shows Pujols getting ready to hit the gamebreaker with bases loaded. He is always coming through in a clutch. Gary and Mary Lee Loopers' (from OKC) nephew retired the 6 batters he faced today, as well. The ballpark was buzzing with excitement all afternoon. Also shown is Ed (Benny's St Louis Grandpa. If we were in the AL, he would be the Designated Grandpa). Hopefully PaPa will get up here one of these days to take him to a game. As usual, Ed was into the game filling out his scorecard. He is a top-shelf Cards fan.

All in all, today was a milestone for me as a Dad.