tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-65805607517740090052012-02-09T19:48:38.760-06:00not moving picturesMy rambling thoughts on music, movies, life and whatever else comes to my mind at any moment as I make my way through life. I like to talk about 70s-80s punk, new wave, ska, metal and so forth, books I've read and stories from my life.Donhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06403748025258193456noreply@blogger.comBlogger2981100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6580560751774009005.post-12282405593163778162012-02-08T23:28:00.008-06:002012-02-09T19:48:38.769-06:00Valentines Day At Work?They passed out paper sacks to us at work a few days ago and the idea is that after decorating them for Valentines Day we are to put them up on our desks so that people can put valentines in them. Suddenly I feel like I'm in grade school again. Well, after a bit of internal debate I decided I would partake of the festivities..........in my own way of course. Written and Published by Don Leach. Donhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06403748025258193456noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6580560751774009005.post-86282253892746000332012-02-05T15:10:00.007-06:002012-02-05T16:00:21.834-06:00Un Oso Rojo, A Movie About Doing What Is Right For Your Child Yesterday I finished watching a film by the name of Un Oso Rojo (A Red Bear) by Argentinian director Adrian Caetano. It's very good, compelling movie about a man (Oso or Bear) that has just gotten out of prison and he wants to reconnect with his daughter who does not remember him. The problem is he has a violent past and he doesn't exactly wish to leave that part of him behind. To compound thoseDonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06403748025258193456noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6580560751774009005.post-39277581299323104002012-02-04T19:03:00.017-06:002012-02-05T15:56:29.360-06:00Why Can't Don Write Anymore?If you are one of the few people out there that reads this blog you will have noticed that lately my productivity has declined. It's not that I don't have any ideas, quite the opposite there, it just seems as if I've lost my urge to write. There no longer seems to be the push that I had before to make it happen. I've been giving a great deal of thought as to why this has happened. In September Donhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06403748025258193456noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6580560751774009005.post-34102431334070198132012-02-04T18:14:00.007-06:002012-02-04T18:20:46.335-06:00A Medical Decision LoomsTwo weeks ago I took my wife for an appointment with an orthopedic doctor and the news we received was basically what we expected. She is only forty years old yet her right knee is the knee of an eighty year old. There is no cartilage in her knee at all and you cannot regrow cartilage. At some point in her life she will require a knee replacement. While it is very unusual for someone her age to Donhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06403748025258193456noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6580560751774009005.post-77058122505131344112012-01-01T18:17:00.005-06:002012-01-02T01:08:17.272-06:00A New Year To Work On Patience (Amongst Other Things)It's a new year today and while some good things happened in the last year some not so good things happened as well. Hopefully this year we can have more of the former and less of the latter. There are many things I want to improve on in this coming year. Patience is one of those. In certain areas I have a great deal of patience but in others it disappears quickly. My personality is one that I Donhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06403748025258193456noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6580560751774009005.post-23956086203866866882011-12-31T16:01:00.007-06:002011-12-31T17:49:41.215-06:00Frat Life 101: How To Earn A Pledge NicknameOne of the traditions of Sig Tau was that a member was assigned for every pledge to be their big brother. Ostensibly the role of the big brother was one of mentorship, to help guide the pledge through their journey and to assist them when they needed it. That was the theory at least. Put into practice the results would always vary depending upon who the big and little brothers were. The pledge Donhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06403748025258193456noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6580560751774009005.post-67508917393332585502011-12-22T02:29:00.015-06:002011-12-23T02:36:51.059-06:00The Flight Of The TrooperIn November of 1987 I joined the U.S. Army and since I was already in the National Guard and had attended all of my training all I had to do was go back and get a new MOS (Military Occupational Specialty). Basically that means getting trained for a new job. My training took me back to Ft. Jackson, S.C., the scene of so much pain, sweat and a few curse words that we shall call Basic Training. The Donhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06403748025258193456noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6580560751774009005.post-45440558254973651222011-12-10T01:56:00.004-06:002011-12-10T02:14:16.196-06:00Tell Me SomethingOkay, it's been a while but here are some lyrics I wrote tonight on my break at work. They are pretty straight forward, at least for me.Tell me SomethingYou got an opinion and you’reNot afraid to share it with Whoever is so dreadfully unlucky toDrift into the space of your gravity wellLife, liberty, religion, sports All the behind the scenes politicsYour tongue leaves no topic unscathedNor any Donhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06403748025258193456noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6580560751774009005.post-42835807521575096682011-11-25T20:12:00.005-06:002011-11-25T20:33:20.464-06:00The Story That Became A StoryPreviously I had written a fictional story and placed it here on my blog. Several people had read it and enjoyed it. In an effort to gain more readers for the blog I decided to submit the story to a blog of English speaking writers based in Peru. My thinking was that perhaps I could expose my writing to more people and gain some constructive criticism that would help improve the story. I did thisDonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06403748025258193456noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6580560751774009005.post-53563742831349001252011-11-17T17:20:00.005-06:002011-11-17T17:36:30.943-06:00Mortality Has Reared It's Ugly HeadThis year I've been feeling my mortality for the first time, and not because I turned forty-seven yesterday. Earlier in the year my wife had a blood clot on her brain and it really made me look at life and assess where I am in my own life. Yes I did realize that I have more than likely already lived more than half of my allotted time and I haven't accomplished much of what I want to. What I Donhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06403748025258193456noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6580560751774009005.post-2581104312342303432011-11-16T01:22:00.010-06:002011-11-17T16:42:58.531-06:00A Nice, Easy Going Day For OnceLast Saturday turned out to be a pretty good day for me. First, a friend from another ward at church asked me if I wanted to help take the Boy Scouts to the Marshall University vs Tulsa University football game. Since I had lived in Huntington and volunteered at Marshall’s radio station (WMUL) I of course said yes. It turned out that the tickets were free for us and I only had to forego a little Donhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06403748025258193456noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6580560751774009005.post-13129433606371779002011-11-11T22:31:00.006-06:002011-11-12T00:24:41.364-06:00Cleaning Up The IpodI've been cleaning up my Ipod lately, trying to determine what songs to keep and which ones to get rid of. I have a really bad habit of putting an entire album by an artist on there and forgetting about it. Since my Ipod is only 8 gigs and I also have many podcasts I listen to it doesn't take much to fill it up anymore. What I end up doing is making a list of the songs on the album and then I Donhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06403748025258193456noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6580560751774009005.post-82823794556862978862011-11-09T01:20:00.003-06:002011-11-09T01:37:20.656-06:00The First New Lyrics of NovemberI've taken a little time off from the blog but it hasn't been because I lack ideas to write about. Quite the opposite, I have many ideas but not much time to use on them. Also, I've had this feeling, I want to write but when the chance comes I can't bring myself to do it. It's not writers block, more like I allow myself to distract myself and end up running out of time without having Donhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06403748025258193456noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6580560751774009005.post-15470774635086135002011-10-30T16:55:00.008-05:002011-10-31T18:47:14.427-05:00A Very Military HalloweenAfter leaving college I ended up joining the Army for almost eight years and seeing the world, at least a good part of it. I can only remember two times in that period dressing up in a costume for Halloween and one of them doesn't really count. Both were while I was stationed at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C. The one that didn't count was at work, we were allowed to dress in Donhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06403748025258193456noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6580560751774009005.post-62924135596017219942011-10-29T14:07:00.004-05:002011-10-29T14:35:04.982-05:00And You Shall Know Them By Their Fruits....October 21st passed by rather quietly. You may ask what the significance of that date is. I only ask that you please indulge me and it will all be clear. Harold Camping is a preacher who predicted that on May 21st of this year the rapture would occur and that on October 21st, after five months of plagues, fire, disease and war that the end of the world would come about. Camping had previously Donhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06403748025258193456noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6580560751774009005.post-81498422550900199392011-10-26T23:58:00.004-05:002011-10-27T01:25:12.626-05:00It's Been A Good Month For Song LyricsIt's been quite a month for me as far as writing song lyrics. This one came to me last week and to be honest I haven't had time to go back and look at it to make changes. Still, why should this stop me from putting it up here? As usual most of my lyrics don't mean what they appear to mean, so what does this say about me? And in case you are wondering, no this isn't about my wife and our Donhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06403748025258193456noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6580560751774009005.post-22430812554968170002011-10-24T20:15:00.003-05:002011-10-25T01:28:38.173-05:00Frat Life 101: A Very Different Costume PartyIn the summer of 1986 I attended Basic Training and Advanced Individual Training for the Oklahoma National Guard which was not exactly my idea of the perfect way to spend a summer. There's something about spending the majority of your time outside marching, doing pushups and so forth that kind of ruins the day. Still, it was required in order for me to get my bonus check and I thought it would beDonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06403748025258193456noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6580560751774009005.post-30876159124942324192011-10-21T01:26:00.003-05:002011-10-22T14:17:22.423-05:00Dealing With An Angry SonMy son was angry with me yesterday which is not unusual since he is four years old and most children at that age do not have a good grasp on controlling their emotions. Normally he forgets about those kinds of feelings as soon as his attention in turned somewhere else. In other words, if you distract him from what made him mad he forgets about it immediately. In this case however it was for Donhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06403748025258193456noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6580560751774009005.post-3712122445240544292011-10-20T19:40:00.003-05:002011-10-21T01:25:10.861-05:00Frat Life 101: The Costume PartyAs Halloween fast approaches I am reminded of the handful of times that I have worn a costume on that day as an adult. This is the tale of one of those days. One thing to remember is that I am a person who has never felt comfortable in social settings, especially with large amounts of people, even more so when those people are consuming alcoholic beverages. I've never been one for celebrating Donhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06403748025258193456noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6580560751774009005.post-70388904458380677222011-10-18T19:26:00.004-05:002011-10-18T23:57:11.359-05:00Frat Life 101: Care To Watch A Scary Movie Anyone?It's that time of the year to think of scary things and a few nights ago at work somehow a few of us started talking about zombie movies which then led to further discussion on vampires and even werewolves. Although I do like a good zombie or vampire movie I've never really been a fan of horror movies per se. There is a distinction between the two. To me a horror movie is pretty much the same as Donhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06403748025258193456noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6580560751774009005.post-55863506359878315912011-10-15T14:47:00.007-05:002011-10-15T23:42:41.218-05:00The Empty Jar or An Empty Life?Last week in my Sunday School the teacher held up a jar and informed the class that it was perfect. It was clean and unblemished and had been shined so that it was sparkling. It was also empty. He then said that he was going to put it up on a shelf so that it could be admired. The question that was asked was if this was the correct thing to do, would there be a problem if he were to do that? A Donhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06403748025258193456noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6580560751774009005.post-12735380094860248872011-10-15T00:11:00.003-05:002011-10-15T00:17:06.631-05:00What Do You Mean More Lyrics????THese go back a few months, nothing has been done with them so I thought why not put them up as they are with no new work done on them? What have I got to lose? No, besides weight.Broken DownBroken down and worn outFrom an older time different worldOne era is done barely begunShelved before anyone noticesThought you got the better endThe bargain wasn’t the dealFrustrated lonely and unusedLeft to Donhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06403748025258193456noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6580560751774009005.post-35050830755049204012011-10-14T00:49:00.003-05:002011-10-14T22:24:37.685-05:00Yet more song lyrics..............I won't say where I was when I got the inspiration for this song but it all came about in roughly three minutes or so. I was playing a game of Mahjong when I said outloud to myself the first two lines after which I immediately paused and said hmmmm. That sound good. Bang presto there it came. By the way, more than likely it's not about what you think it is.Make It BackI’m having trouble seeing Donhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06403748025258193456noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6580560751774009005.post-16042694110247035952011-10-12T10:48:00.010-05:002011-10-13T00:32:42.882-05:00My Father's Best AdviceMy name is Ernesto Rivera. Roughly a week after my fourteenth birthday my mother came into my room and said that my father wanted to speak with me which came as quite a shock because I had never seen him before in my life. While my mother was pregnant with me he left her for his mistress and in the years since he had never come to see me. Not for when I as in the school play, not for any awards Donhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06403748025258193456noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6580560751774009005.post-51618128342776839632011-10-09T16:25:00.006-05:002011-10-09T19:15:20.980-05:00Critics (A World Of)Here are some new lyrics that I came up with on Friday. These took a little time, I opened a Word document and would come back to it every so often and add to it. See if you can guess what it's about.It doesn’t matter what you sayIf your opinion goes either wayAll they want is to pull you downFrom behind a safety net of anonymitySpewing vitriolic verbal diarrhea It stands to reason they’re glad Donhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06403748025258193456noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6580560751774009005.post-79609320828580627182011-10-07T23:20:00.008-05:002011-10-08T02:56:45.746-05:00My (Lack) Of VisionSomewhere around the age of eight or nine years old was the time when the terrible news was handed down to me. My vision had deteriorated to the point that I now needed glasses. My mother was raising three children with no help from our father, back then a person could seemingly disappear and never have to worry about being made to actually contribute to the raising of his children. Apparently myDonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06403748025258193456noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6580560751774009005.post-71187287836083210502011-10-06T19:08:00.008-05:002011-10-18T00:53:56.698-05:00Love, Marriage and IllnessThe alarm clock sounded for the second time and instead of hitting the snooze button again he shut it off and struggled to his feet. Squinting his eyes against the light he stumbled to the bathroom and relieved his bladder and following that as he washed his hands he stared at his image in the mirror. For most of his life he had looked younger than he was, even after he started losing his hair. Donhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06403748025258193456noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6580560751774009005.post-62375864905742585542011-10-05T23:27:00.006-05:002011-10-06T00:57:01.012-05:00The Unspoken Dress Code And A Sense Of Not Fitting InSaturday was the Priesthood session of General Conference at my church. I had not attended for the last two years and since I recently had become a teacher in the Elders Quorum I decided that I should be there. In true fashion however I chose to go wearing my jeans and a polo style shirt. I was the odd man out in a sea of dark suits and white dress shirts. Sure, there was the occasional differentDonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06403748025258193456noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6580560751774009005.post-45418270031544453872011-10-04T23:17:00.004-05:002011-10-05T01:31:48.010-05:00The Girl That I Didn't UnderstandIn late 1991 I re-enlisted in the Army and got to choose my next duty station. The Presidio in San Francisco was available and it was very tempting for a variety of reasons but ultimately I chose Walter Reed Army Medical Center because it was reasonably close to my hometown and my family whom I had not seen a great deal of ever since I first joined the Army. In February of 1992 I left Ft Hood andDonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06403748025258193456noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6580560751774009005.post-62883656049636074182011-10-01T21:17:00.006-05:002011-10-06T00:58:20.504-05:00Mikey Burnett Opens A New School In TulsaFormer UFC fighter Mikey Burnett opened a new school in Tulsa today. The new gym features a large grappling area and will feature adult, children's (and more importantly for me) old men's classes. I went there to support Mikey because he is a great person and I feel privileged to call him a friend. We both attend the Brookhollow Ward of the LDS church and he always has words of encouragement to Donhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06403748025258193456noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6580560751774009005.post-1778412354275162352011-09-29T23:22:00.003-05:002011-09-29T23:35:50.760-05:00A Video and More Pictures of the Grupo Fantasma Concert
Published by Don LeachDonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06403748025258193456noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6580560751774009005.post-52080283574953488192011-09-29T20:44:00.009-05:002011-09-29T23:22:33.325-05:00Report On The Grupo Fantasma Concert in TulsaOn Sunday, September 25th I had the pleasure of taking my son to see Grupo Fantasma in concert at the Tulsa Performing Arts Center. It was sponsored by the Tulsa Children's Museum who actually don't have a building yet and instead have roaming exhibits to take around the area. The concept of the show was for children and parents to come and enjoy the music together and all were encouraged to get Donhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06403748025258193456noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6580560751774009005.post-22639664303903040052011-09-24T03:12:00.007-05:002011-09-24T13:18:05.447-05:00Frat Life 101: The Drinking GameBack in the days when I used to drink I never was what you'd call a big drinker. Usually I only drank when there was a party and you would never find me drinking on a Saturday afternoon as I sat watching a football game. As a matter of fact I was called a lightweight, both literally and figuratively. My weight stayed consistently at 130 pounds no matter how much I ate (and I could eat a lot) and Donhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06403748025258193456noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6580560751774009005.post-14287050202194771272011-09-23T20:32:00.010-05:002011-09-24T00:27:23.937-05:00The High Cost Of Getting Into ShapeMy march towards becoming healthy continues on. Last week I had a consultation to see if I needed a new sleep study. I had one about five or six years ago and it showed that I have severe sleep apnea. After my son was born I stopped using my CPap machine because I was usually the one getting him from the crib so he could feed and then returning him to the crib. Basically it just made no sense to Donhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06403748025258193456noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6580560751774009005.post-12618540570891640292011-09-21T22:01:00.005-05:002011-09-21T22:26:17.275-05:00A Paul Westerberg Quote Sparks A SongWhile reading the book "Our Band Could Be Your Life" by Michael Azerrad I started the section on The Replacements and came across this quote from Paul Westerberg: "Sometimes you don't want to be creative. You just want to be normal and not have to worry, or think, or write." Of course it got me thinking and my creative mode kicked in so in about fifteen minutes I came up with these lyrics. My Donhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06403748025258193456noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6580560751774009005.post-42895453525281534842011-09-18T15:18:00.003-05:002011-09-18T15:30:40.583-05:00Brand LoyalIf I had to describe myself the first thing that comes to my mind is the word plain. Now don't get me wrong, to me plain is a good word, being plain is a good thing. If you add average to plain perhaps that's closer to the point. I prefer clothes that are average and plain, no labels, nothing that's in or cool at the moment, no company logo. Just plain is fine with me. Of course that makes me Donhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06403748025258193456noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6580560751774009005.post-73665192331222495352011-09-16T20:46:00.005-05:002011-09-17T19:49:44.397-05:00Come Back To MeShe’s calling to meWhispering my nameInfiltrating my dreamsTeasing me daring mePleading with meEncouraging the thoughtCome back to meCome back to meHaunting me at every turnAlways lying in waitUnderneath the surfaceIn the back of my mindHinting at what will bePromises of happinessCome back to meCome back to meBeautiful and uglyStrong and weakBold and timidRich and poorNew and old Safe and Donhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06403748025258193456noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6580560751774009005.post-39365514357712842442011-09-11T16:16:00.003-05:002011-09-11T16:25:01.967-05:00What Will Be Will BeAs I was driving to pick up my wife two weeks ago she called me to say the reason she needed me to take her to the Emergency Room. Her MRI had shown a dark spot. Immediately I followed my nature and started thinking deeply about what this could mean, not only to her but our family. What if it was something like a tumor? What if it was terminal? What would we do? Besides being a deep thinker I am Donhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06403748025258193456noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6580560751774009005.post-2574504262661592682011-09-11T15:42:00.005-05:002011-09-11T15:55:39.489-05:00What's The State Of Our Union?Today is a day of reflection for many people, after all, it marks the anniversary of the worst terroristic event ever on U.S. soil. There have been and will be tributes to the people who died and all those that were affected by the events that occurred on that tragic day. Let me be honest and straightforward about all of this. Anybody who lost someone or even thought that they might have, anyone Donhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06403748025258193456noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6580560751774009005.post-78344144690338837852011-09-07T23:37:00.004-05:002011-09-08T00:24:41.317-05:00Conflicted State Of MindThis is something I wrote a few months back and haven't really edited since, until typing it here tonight but I thought I'd put it up. I think there's something there if I can get the time to think about it but really if I can sit down with Tommy I know we can turn it into something good. But then time is elusive isn't it?How am I supposed to feelwhen a man is killedshould I shout and Donhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06403748025258193456noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6580560751774009005.post-91542419142244435882011-09-04T16:31:00.006-05:002011-09-04T16:59:04.406-05:00Frat Life 101: Greek Week FootballDuring my time at NSU, which was marred by my lack of studying, I only had occasion to play in the Greek Games twice and the first time was during my first year of school. They had this pesky rule about maintaining a good grade point average so normally that left me out. It's not that I was dumb or anything, I just wasn't interested in what they had to offer. The Greek Games was a competition of Donhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06403748025258193456noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6580560751774009005.post-85754229244558762702011-09-04T15:10:00.005-05:002011-09-04T15:25:22.329-05:00The Week In Review, Health Scares And So ForthLast week proved to be a difficult one in my household. My wife had been having symptoms that sounded like they were TIA which is also called mini-strokes. There is no lasting damage but it can be a precursor to an actual stroke so she went to the clinic and had an MRI of the brain scheduled. Five days before the MRI she stopped having her symptoms but decided to err on the side of safety and Donhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06403748025258193456noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6580560751774009005.post-10796158918419660562011-08-27T17:20:00.007-05:002011-08-27T17:42:01.422-05:00The Death Of Me........Or Starting To Work OutAbout three weeks or so ago my wife got a family membership for us at the YWCA that is located three blocks from our house. She did it because both of us need to lose weight and get in better shape. I had to face the fact that for too long I had been living a very sedentary life and while once upon a time my metabolism could withstand my poor eating habits that sadly is no longer the case. Donhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06403748025258193456noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6580560751774009005.post-21887510315215512742011-08-27T16:32:00.003-05:002011-08-27T16:37:17.194-05:00The LineJust a few lines I came up with a few weeks ago about well, waiting in line, whether it be standing, in a car or what have you. Take from it what you will.
a long lumbering line of slow minded dullards
each as uncertain and insane as the other
slowly creeping along in a line of prolonged deceit
too afraid to decide about making a decision
jamming up the airwaves, the freeways and the mindwaves
Donhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06403748025258193456noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6580560751774009005.post-84323478337052909462011-08-25T12:17:00.007-05:002011-08-25T18:47:59.461-05:00Busy DayYesterday was a busy day in our household. My four year old son started school for the first time (Pre-K) which involved getting up at 7AM to get ready and get there on time. Afterwards a had a far too brief nap and my wife and I went to do the signing for the refinancing of our house. It's a much lower interest rate and will save us over $160 dollars a month in our mortgage payments. Best of allDonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06403748025258193456noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6580560751774009005.post-88307576470250841282011-08-14T15:29:00.009-05:002011-08-14T15:45:09.088-05:00The Gift That Kept On GivingSometime around the third grade I received a GI Joe for Christmas. This wasn't the kind of small action figure that we have today, these were about a foot tall and came complete with the kung fu grip. I had no idea whatsoever what that meant but still it was a great selling point to a young person such as myself. I begged my mother endlessly for this particular GI Joe and for once it worked. My Donhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06403748025258193456noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6580560751774009005.post-35901344814956232152011-08-14T14:21:00.005-05:002011-08-14T15:46:28.956-05:00Talking Right Wing Nutjobs On The Internet
I've only been a member of Twitter for about two months and just now for the very first time had a reply from a right wing, tea party nut job from a tweet that I had sent. I read his reply thoughtfully and then promptly blocked him without so much as sending a reply first. The truth is that the vast majority of people that are so far out on one side of any issue is that you will never reach themDonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06403748025258193456noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6580560751774009005.post-66748606930950644332011-08-13T20:36:00.008-05:002011-08-14T14:17:01.220-05:00Losing It In School (No, Sadly Not That Way)..............During my entire time spent in the secondary educational system I can only recall vomiting while in school one time. Then again, it only took that one time for it to prove to be more than memorable. If my memory serves me well (and it probably doesn't) this lone instance of regurgitation occurred in my freshman year of high school at Ironton High School. In those days there was one girls and boysDonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06403748025258193456noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6580560751774009005.post-51353598458175877242011-08-07T13:00:00.008-05:002011-08-27T16:38:06.793-05:00Blood From A StoneThings have been rough lately in our household. There's a lot of uncertainty mixed with a fair amount of stress and pain on all fronts. So it was with a great deal of relief when my brother (from other parents) Tommy came over to work on some song lyrics. Of course first I was able to talk with him and sound off on the various things that were on my mind and gnawing at my stomach. As always not Donhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06403748025258193456noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6580560751774009005.post-54311934578527574692011-08-05T20:24:00.003-05:002011-08-07T12:59:30.888-05:00The Smell Of Burning.............As soon as I got out of my truck and came around the passenger side I could smell it. Something was burning and since it was after midnight I felt relatively sure that not a single person was up that late grilling and that meant bad things for me. My mind immediately grabbed onto the thought that perhaps some liquid had spilled out in my engine and what I was smelling was that liquid burning off Donhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06403748025258193456noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6580560751774009005.post-19393585642791643392011-07-31T01:29:00.007-05:002011-08-02T19:59:32.608-05:00Bachelor For A Weekend, Sort OfWell, My wife went off to a weekend seminar/retreat that a friend had invited her to and took our four year old son with her so that left me by myself and loosely a bachelor for a few days. As expected I returned to bachelor eating mode and have had sandwiches, hotdogs and hamburger helper. What I didn't realize is that I'd be spending as much time as I have working around the house. Today for Donhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06403748025258193456noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6580560751774009005.post-77936862524934015032011-07-21T14:13:00.015-05:002011-07-23T00:40:13.124-05:00A Lack Of Originality or American Vs British TelevisionI've been on a bit of a writing sabbatical for the past few weeks and although I've had tons of ideas to write about I just couldn't bring myself to start any of them. Perhaps sometimes a break is needed to charge the mental batteries or married life will intervene or just maybe I had a case of writers block. Who's to say? I'm not sure why this happened but thankfully it appears to be over. WhileDonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06403748025258193456noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6580560751774009005.post-18567815644154533282011-07-01T19:46:00.009-05:002011-07-21T21:46:33.374-05:00Yesterday the wife had me digging holes in the ground in the over 100 degree weather so that she could put more of her plants in the terra firma. As is usually the case we were bickering over where to place them. My wife wanted them very close to the corners and I wanted them anywhere else. It was if we were speaking two different languages that neither of us could understand. Eventually we were Donhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06403748025258193456noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6580560751774009005.post-51976483739961981032011-06-30T21:18:00.005-05:002011-07-01T00:41:48.783-05:00Frat Life 101: The White Rose or Heartbreak Awaiting part 2The second White Rose that I attended, well I guess I have to say I sort of attended it. For this one I chose not to risk the embarrassment of asking a young lady for a date only to not have her show up or contact me. Plus I didn't have any money for tickets. There were actually three of us who found ourselves in this situation so Tony, Gary and I stayed in Bert's room. We would come by the Donhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06403748025258193456noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6580560751774009005.post-26776088866542097872011-06-30T21:14:00.008-05:002011-07-01T00:41:21.909-05:00Frat Life 101: The White Rose or Heartbreak Awaiting?Every year each chapter of Sigma Tau Gamma has an annual formal event called The White Rose where members, alumni, girlfriends/wives and members of our sister organization (Roses of Sig Tau) all get together to revel, make mischief, have fun and well, honestly, get drunk. Or at least that's the way it was done at Zeta Chapter especially back in the 80s. It was a point in my life when I did imbibeDonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06403748025258193456noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6580560751774009005.post-82061892166847607282011-06-28T23:45:00.010-05:002011-06-29T00:46:04.473-05:00Give In To The Dark Side And Join My Young ApprenticeThe day I've been dreading has come, I finally gave in after much thought and mental anguish and went over to the dark side. No, not that "dark side" you perverts. I'm talking about something entirely different and much more insidious. That's right, last night I joined twitter. For several weeks I've debated about joining and decided I'd wait until I was actually doing something that would Donhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06403748025258193456noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6580560751774009005.post-40211201868933221242011-06-23T18:33:00.006-05:002011-06-24T00:14:39.474-05:00It's The End Of The World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine)Whilst strolling through Youtube I found this video that is simply a great parody song that takes on current world events and skewers and twists them before spitting it all back in our collective faces. It comes from the College Humor website. Well done I say. Well done indeed. That's all, move along, nothing to see here.
Published by Don LeachDonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06403748025258193456noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6580560751774009005.post-85820684516141904342011-06-21T23:56:00.006-05:002011-06-22T22:14:49.437-05:00The Art Of Making The Mix TapeThe one way I can almost always guarantee creativity on my part is by being around someone or something that is also creative. Whenever I'm around my friends band while they are practicing I always seem to get an idea for a line or two at the least, which makes it a good thing that I help write their lyrics for them. Rarely does a situation like this fail to spark my mind into action. Sometimes Donhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06403748025258193456noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6580560751774009005.post-42920872308203083272011-06-20T21:01:00.004-05:002011-06-20T21:20:04.623-05:00Road Trip To New Orleans Day FourDay Four, the last day, of our journey was upon us. We awakened, got cleaned up and readied ourselves for the final leg of the journey, our drive home. Before doing so however we had to fuel ourselves with lunch and without asking we all knew where we would be stopping, Chuys. Chuys (pronounced Chewies) is a regional chain of Tex-Mex food and we've managed to eat there every time since we found Donhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06403748025258193456noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6580560751774009005.post-10500136361440630282011-06-17T00:19:00.010-05:002011-06-20T21:00:39.712-05:00Road Trip To New Orleans Day ThreeSaturday found us sleeping in a bit late so we quickly got cleaned up and packed all of our belongings so that we could check out of the hotel. A mere two blocks or so away was a local joint called Nola's and that was where we decided to have our lunch. Once again I decided to try something that I had never consumed before and the choice was a Crawfish Pie more commonly known as the Crawpie. It Donhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06403748025258193456noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6580560751774009005.post-62132206622360617602011-06-16T00:09:00.004-05:002011-06-16T00:16:59.982-05:00Pictures of Rush in Concert, New Orleans 6/10/11Published by Don LeachDonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06403748025258193456noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6580560751774009005.post-7763065941988654132011-06-15T22:17:00.005-05:002011-06-15T22:27:46.146-05:00Random Pictures From My New Orleans Road TripHere are a few pictures from the French Quarter in New Orleans:Published by Don LeachDonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06403748025258193456noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6580560751774009005.post-67270527737270113802011-06-11T00:09:00.013-05:002011-06-17T00:18:51.012-05:00New Orleans Road Trip Day 2Day two of the road trip started and after getting cleaned up we went to the French Quarter and had lunch at Johnny's Po-Boys where I had the Alligator Sausage Po-Boy that you see below. It basically tasted like sausage, nothing more nothing less. I could only finish half of it so I had the other half wrapped up and ended up giving it to a street musician.Next we went around the Quarter looking Donhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06403748025258193456noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6580560751774009005.post-14861368061385423022011-06-09T23:45:00.005-05:002011-06-09T23:55:38.942-05:00Road Trip To New Orleans Day OneAfter a long day of driving (almost 13 hours thanks to a shortcut that took longer than the directions said) we have arrived in New Orleans and are safely ensconced in our hotel room. It was difficult to say goodbye to Connie and John but we will see each other soon. Tommy, his son Chris and I are here to see Rush in concert. This is my first time ever in New Orleans so tomorrow we'll be doing Donhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06403748025258193456noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6580560751774009005.post-54862706442792847302011-06-02T00:03:00.004-05:002011-06-03T00:38:40.424-05:00Shootout In Old Tulsa Town, The World Just Got A Little CrazierThere was a shootout in Tulsa two days ago on a Tuesday afternoon at a Walmart Neighborhood Market. Apparently two men forced a man at gunpoint to take them to his Tulsa home. While there a police car pulled up and they made the hostage return to his vehicle and then they drove to the Walmart store located at 21st and Yale. This is a store that I frequent sometimes at night after I get off of Donhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06403748025258193456noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6580560751774009005.post-34608036613227721242011-06-01T23:41:00.010-05:002011-06-02T15:36:58.602-05:00A Brief History Of My Father And His WivesI spoke with my older sister earlier in the week and for some reason she and my mother are trying to determine how many children my father had and with whom. Mind you, both of my sisters and I are in our forties now and our father died back in 1999 so I wasn't really sure why they wanted to do this at this point in time but who am I to disagree? I guess it's something about mapping out our Donhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06403748025258193456noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6580560751774009005.post-24427374313180993372011-05-20T00:36:00.003-05:002011-05-21T00:42:03.896-05:00Late Thoughts On Osama Bin Laden's DeathI have intentionally stayed away from this topic since it happened so that I might approach it without falling prey to the hysteria that seemed to overtake a large percentage of the United States when it happened. That way I thought I might be able to look at it from various angles and perhaps gain some insight from it. Osama Bin Laden is dead. As pretty much everyone in the world knows Navy SealDonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06403748025258193456noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6580560751774009005.post-58308110483753726492011-05-13T23:54:00.012-05:002011-05-14T00:22:37.767-05:00Broken Hearts And Lying To YourselfI lied to a girl once. True story. My fraternity was doing a carwash to earn money for our formal and she and I were chosen to stand out on the island between the lanes of traffic and were given the task of enticing drivers to come let our friends wash their cars. After a few hours of standing in the hot summer sun we started to get tired and our antics slowed down dramatically. Eventually we satDonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06403748025258193456noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6580560751774009005.post-47744717499273631242011-05-10T23:54:00.006-05:002011-05-11T00:41:59.145-05:00The Wonders Of Getting Cursed Out At WorkThere's nothing like the always excellent experience of getting cursed out by an angry would be customer which did happen to me tonight. A young fellow came in after our release department was closed and wanted records released to him and didn't want to take no for an answer. It seems that our hours of operation was inconvenient for him and his situation. You see he doesn't have a car and had to Donhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06403748025258193456noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6580560751774009005.post-25350962095542363742011-05-09T23:31:00.005-05:002011-05-11T00:00:27.105-05:00Frat Life 101: Renting The TV/VCR Combo Unit As A Way Of LifeA few days ago I was reminded of an old practice that has all but disappeared in this modern age of instant gratification. In the early to mid 80s everything was much different than it is today. One of the primary activities that we at Sig Tau enjoyed was watching movies (and making fun of them). Strangely enough we did not enjoy the services of a VCR which at that time was state of the art Donhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06403748025258193456noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6580560751774009005.post-5699696634898299692011-05-07T22:54:00.005-05:002011-05-09T14:03:25.350-05:00Peru Visits PeruThis is pretty self explanatory even if you don't understand Spanish. It's a nice idea to expose people to other cultures that wouldn't necessarily have the chance in their lives. I got this from livinginperu.com which is a site that I go to pretty much every day. All I can say is that I wish I were there when they filmed this.Published by Don LeachDonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06403748025258193456noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6580560751774009005.post-40862774699495247862011-05-07T00:34:00.006-05:002011-05-07T00:51:45.871-05:00Mom Comes For A Birthday VisitEarlier this week my mother left to return to her home in Ohio after spending a week with us. She came in for my four year old son’s birthday which was the first time for her to do so. The last time she saw him was almost two years ago. All the other grandkids grew up in the same area and indeed still live there today but I’ve always been the one in the family to roam and unfortunately that meansDonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06403748025258193456noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6580560751774009005.post-81513451716073137272011-05-05T00:04:00.004-05:002011-05-05T00:17:14.552-05:00The Road by Cormac McCarthyI just finished reading "The Road" by Cormac McCarthy and it left a very large impression on me. The story is about a father and his young son walking the road after an apocalypse has destroyed most of humanity and the way we live. Gone are all the simple things that we take for granted every day of our existence like electricity, going to the store and basic civility. The son was born after the Donhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06403748025258193456noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6580560751774009005.post-62529728390938804732011-04-24T21:40:00.005-05:002011-04-26T00:07:11.770-05:00Frat Life 101: The Pledges Who Thought They Were InOne day in 1986 (I can't remember what semester it was) it occurred to the Sig Tau membership that the pledge class had become very bold, even going so far as to show up at the house by themselves when protocol dictated that pledges were to only show up as no less than a pair at a minimum. The rule was in place to ensure that any and all pledges would have no choice but to get to know each other Donhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06403748025258193456noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6580560751774009005.post-64371789006603209592011-04-19T21:52:00.004-05:002011-04-19T22:39:24.711-05:00Funeral DayToday I went to a funeral and I suppose it was as nice as a funeral can be. To be honest the reason you are there in the first place is enough to bring anybody's spirits down to the lowest levels. As I listened and watched what was going on around me I started to drift mentally and think about what would happen when I die. What would my funeral be like? Would my family know enough about me to Donhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06403748025258193456noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6580560751774009005.post-61045645451804980652011-04-13T22:20:00.005-05:002011-04-13T22:33:21.747-05:00Mortality Rears It's Ugly HeadSometimes things happen that seem extremely important and very serious and then a second thing happens that shows me that it really isn't so. Case in point, last Saturday my glasses broke and I had to be driven by my wife to see about getting them fixed. Once at the shop I found that they didn't have my frame in stock (the lenses were cut for the frame) and that it could take up to ten days to Donhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06403748025258193456noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6580560751774009005.post-44593784808986041502011-04-05T21:43:00.007-05:002011-04-08T01:49:44.310-05:00Frat Life 101: I'm Not Even In School!While in college in November, 1986 I joined the Oklahoma Army National Guard for two reasons. The first was so that I would receive a bonus and I would receive money for college. The second was so that I would have a little bit of money coming in each month. In order to receive my bonus I had to complete Basic training as well as my Advanced Individual Training (AIT) so with that in mind I Donhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06403748025258193456noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6580560751774009005.post-10288931810692417162011-04-05T01:17:00.003-05:002011-04-05T01:42:04.143-05:00Over My Head song lyricsI friend came in to work last night and told me about how his recording session had gone with his brothers band. They are without a bassist and wanted him to play bass on a song. Nothing special mind you, just something basic so he agreed. Once he was done two members of the band showed up with a few other guys from another band that had broken up. They wanted him to play drums on a song that Donhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06403748025258193456noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6580560751774009005.post-79033734606791227002011-04-01T23:45:00.007-05:002011-04-05T02:06:16.031-05:00The Perils of Driving in TulsaI almost hit a child yesterday. Now before anyone gets all upset about physical abuse let me say I don't mean it in that way. Allow me explain in greater detail. I had just dropped my son off at our babysitters house and directly across from them is a school. There is a small hill which comes up against the sidewalk and it was this time for parents to pick up their children so there were a numberDonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06403748025258193456noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6580560751774009005.post-51830642049692863692011-03-29T13:07:00.002-05:002011-03-29T22:33:44.427-05:00Frat Life 101, Night Of The Dunking Pledges, Part 3The next plan came together quite simply. Somebody had some balloons. A few other people had some shoe polish. The rest of our supplies were inadvertently "donated" by the university as we went through our dorms and gathered every single roll of toilet paper that we could find. The only toilet paper left in the entire dorm was the rolls on the floors where our rooms were. All else were taken and Donhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06403748025258193456noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6580560751774009005.post-85018213432048577302011-03-24T21:42:00.008-05:002011-03-24T21:57:56.014-05:00Frat Life 101: Night Of The Dunking Pledges, Part 2We chose Jay and Keith who lived in a house just off one of the busiest four lane streets in town with their girlfriends, Kim and Kim, to be our next victims. Again the plan was simple. Terry was to go inside and tell them that his motorcycle had broken down at the river and that he needed help loading it onto his truck. The rest of us took up positions on both sides of the house in bushes, Donhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06403748025258193456noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6580560751774009005.post-84574982229602737332011-03-23T18:27:00.003-05:002011-03-24T17:19:49.113-05:00A Trip To The Local Discount Movie TheaterSince I'm still on vacation today I got to do something that I haven't been able to do very much since I got married. I went to the discount cinema and caught a flick. For the mere price of one dollar I was able to go to see a second run movie and I had the place to myself. It's such a good feeling not to have to worry about other people talking or answering their phones during the movie. I'm Donhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06403748025258193456noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6580560751774009005.post-74995086904333485652011-03-23T18:14:00.008-05:002011-03-24T17:21:38.435-05:00Before Technology Became A Part Of Our LivesI'm a part of a very unique generation. We were here before today's technology existed and then became so prevalent and all encompassing in our lives. We know what it's like to exist before all the technological advances came to be and yet they are now a major part of our lives. My son on the other hand will never know what it's like unless something cataclysmic happens to the world, which isn't Donhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06403748025258193456noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6580560751774009005.post-17406118182023963952011-03-22T21:00:00.003-05:002011-03-22T21:05:07.952-05:00The Cars "Sad Song" From New AlbumThis is the second video released from The Cars forthcoming album Move Like This which is due out in May. I can't say enough how much I like what I've heard so far from them, let's hope that the rest is just as good and that they tour. Please guys, I need this!Published by Don LeachDonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06403748025258193456noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6580560751774009005.post-55828814798924637782011-03-22T18:11:00.004-05:002011-03-22T20:39:50.325-05:00Drifting In And Out Of Our LivesIt's strange how people drift in and out of our lives in patterns of randomness. One moment they appear, a part of your everyday existence and the next they're gone. Then you have to start adjusting your habits and routines as if they never were there in the first place. Of course when you're very young it's easier to make changes and then for in the grade school range it can be really difficult Donhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06403748025258193456noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6580560751774009005.post-70634574030994896022011-03-19T19:37:00.005-05:002011-03-19T20:03:27.241-05:00The NFL Draft vs The Players UnionI hope this is the last thing I'll be posting about the NFL and their labor issues for a long time because frankly both sides are getting on my nerves. As it stands the players Union, oops sorry, they decertified Friday and are no longer a union. Instead they are a a "trade association" although everything that they do and say now really sounds like they are a union dictating their plan of actionDonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06403748025258193456noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6580560751774009005.post-30388592590641291822011-03-19T00:31:00.012-05:002011-03-19T19:28:32.147-05:00Japan, Tsunami, Athletes Who Talk Too MuchA lot has been written lately by better writers than myself about the insanity that's been going on in Japan so the the only thing that I'll add is how unbelievable it all is. The force that the tsunami hit with, how fast the water rose and all the damage it caused was bad enough but now with the damage to the nuclear reactors and their leaks/meltdowns is just so hard to believe. I can only pray Donhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06403748025258193456noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6580560751774009005.post-15262213880423735042011-03-17T20:26:00.004-05:002011-03-18T02:19:04.304-05:00Frat Life 101: Night Of The Dunking PledgesIt was made abundantly clear to the Fall 1983 pledge class of Sigma Tau Gamma that we were expected to show the membership that we had unity, teamwork and most of all some backbone. The members wanted to make sure we exhibited the characteristics that they were looking for in prospective members. To that end we came up with a simple plan that by the end of the night had grown and expanded into Donhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06403748025258193456noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6580560751774009005.post-48364223752530568262011-03-15T20:46:00.004-05:002011-03-15T21:03:51.684-05:00Yearbook Day Was The Worst Time Of The YearA few days ago as I had finished my shower and was drying off (I know it's a scary thought) and I started thinking about how one of the worst times for me back when I was in high school was at the end of the year when the yearbooks came out. Now I don't recall how I got to that unusual point because normally I'll just have a thought that reminds me of something and that leads to a similar thoughtDonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06403748025258193456noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6580560751774009005.post-29557562717186777222011-03-12T01:02:00.005-06:002011-03-12T01:17:54.582-06:00Grass Fires In OklahomaWhile at work last night my sister Teresa left me voicemail on my work phone as well as my cell phone due to the fact that my niece Megan was worried about us. It seems that Oklahoma had been declared in a state of emergency due to grass fires mainly in the Oklahoma City area. This was news to me since I work in the dungeon and we don't get cellphone reception and generally don't see many people Donhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06403748025258193456noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6580560751774009005.post-46273560141733344272011-03-11T20:15:00.008-06:002011-03-12T01:20:42.871-06:00The Sad State Of Youth TodayI've recently seen an article on Yahoo about a mother being upset how her son's grade school teacher had sent a note home to her. It seems that the teacher in question had stapled a note to the boys shirt informing his parents of his actions. When questioned she stated that she had done so because she had previously sent homes notes and believed that he wasn't giving them to his parents. The Donhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06403748025258193456noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6580560751774009005.post-16003050824128345122011-03-06T22:48:00.013-06:002011-03-08T12:16:17.742-06:00They Say That Love Is Pain....While on my way to church today I was listening to a song by The Slackers called "You Don't Know I" and part of a lyric got me thinking. The song says "they say that love is pain" and as I sat in church I started to think about it. It's true that love can be painful when it is not returned or when it was there but no longer is. It can even be painful when one is with the wrong person. But perhapsDonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06403748025258193456noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6580560751774009005.post-28410310872588279852011-03-06T22:37:00.004-06:002011-03-06T22:59:28.438-06:00Please Don't Add Me To Your Group, JerkyOn Friday night while at work I decided to check my email from my work computer, something I am still able to do since they haven't blocked it yet. They've managed to block many things so far like Facebook, personal blogs and so forth so I don't doubt that it will happen soon. I noticed that I had seven new emails and my first thought was that perhaps one of my friends had read my message on Donhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06403748025258193456noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6580560751774009005.post-22572704593600826142011-03-01T23:39:00.009-06:002011-03-02T02:06:22.287-06:00The Return of Beavis and Butthead?I found out some of the best news I could get the other day. Beavis and Butthead are returning to MTV and no, I do not mean in reruns. Series creator Mike Judge has agreed to start creating and voicing new episodes of the dynamic duo. They'll still be the same age yet this time around not only will they watch music videos but also Youtube viral videos and other events like the Ultimate Fighting Donhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06403748025258193456noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6580560751774009005.post-51801290316411312532011-02-28T21:10:00.006-06:002011-03-01T00:42:48.465-06:00Your Personal Information Isn't So Private AnymoreThe other night my wife and I went to a local store that is of a party nature. They sell balloons, plates, cups, cheap little goodies to give away, basically things like that. We were there to look at stuff for our sons 4th birthday which is 2 months away and we ended up buying a couple of small items. As I went to pay the cashier asked me for my phone number and without thinking I supplied it. Donhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06403748025258193456noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6580560751774009005.post-13777973261486760202011-02-27T22:33:00.009-06:002011-02-28T00:03:18.582-06:00Frat Life 101: ContinuedThere we were, a bunch of young guys fresh out of high school, trying to take advantage of what we perceived as our new found freedom, no matter how immature we really were. We were just attempting to have fun now that we didn't have to listen to anyone telling us what time to go to bed or what music we could listen to or anything as banal as that. So we went to that fraternity party at Sigma TauDonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06403748025258193456noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6580560751774009005.post-29239042174775798792011-02-25T23:04:00.009-06:002011-02-27T23:15:43.453-06:00Family Can Be A Strange ThingGrowing up my family was never particularly close. We just weren't an affectionate family. We never hugged or kissed each other nor did we say "I love you." Now that we're older we do hug and say "I love you" however I only talk to my mother and older sister about once a week or so. I couldn't even tell you when the last time I spoke with my younger sister was but that's for different reasons. InDonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06403748025258193456noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6580560751774009005.post-69244078928563920062011-02-19T23:51:00.005-06:002011-02-20T20:05:17.320-06:00Stress Break!!!!!!We've had a week of unseasonably warm weather for this time of year and although it appears it might be over at least it was a nice respite from the snow and ice. Yesterday after helping at the Bishops Storehouse for church which involved a lot of heavy bags of food to lift and carry I had thought that I'd go into work and get some overtime. However after eating lunch I ended up falling asleep onDonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06403748025258193456noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6580560751774009005.post-49389836565411570172011-02-19T00:02:00.017-06:002011-02-19T01:02:58.350-06:00Frat Life 101: The Beginning or Were You One Of Those Frat Dudes?Whenever I tell people that I was in a fraternity while I attended college off and on back in the 80s they normally get a mental picture of a bunch of rich, smarmy jerks wearing Izod shirts and plaid shorts sitting around being pretentious, anal douche bags. Then I have to take the time to explain to them that no, we weren't like that and in actuality if you had to compare us to anybody we were Donhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06403748025258193456noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6580560751774009005.post-31080251550964234912011-02-17T23:41:00.002-06:002011-02-18T00:59:43.281-06:00The Cars - Blue Tip VideoThe Cars have now released the full video for their song "Blue Tip" off of their forthcoming album now entitled Move Like This. The album is expected to be released on May 10th and is their first album released in 24 years. The band is playing it coy so far with any news about a tour accompanying the albums release but at least I can dream. I never got to see them back in the day and they occupy Donhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06403748025258193456noreply@blogger.com0