My Dad's Purple Star Saphire Ring

My Dad always said these things that at the time made no sense and at times felt obnoxious, mean or sarcastic when correcting me so most of the time I didn't listen. He must of known that recordings of him were being made in the back of my mind and thirty years later he would make perfect sense.

One thing he would always say, "It's OK to get angry! If you get mad you still have a chance to win, but if you start feeling sorry for yourself you've already lost!"

I think he said something like this when he saw me help a guy up who had cheap-shotted me in football. "I think you play a little better when your mad. Playing defense is not about being nice."

 He said something like it when I got a post surgical staph infection in my knee the spring of my Senior year. During the thirty days I was in the hospital I had to come to terms with loosing my dreams of being a professional baseball player (I actually had had a pretty good shot at it) and come to terms with loosing my football scholarship and on day seven, in traction, with tubes running in and out of everywhere come to terms with the very real possibility of loosing my leg. I remember saying something really nasty to him when he'd asked me if I had given up and he said, "Good, get mad at me and get really mad at this thing, I'd rather see you angry than feeling sorry for yourself!" He then brought me some shrimp fried rice.

So I got some bad news at work today. I have been, "displaced" as of January first. Merry Christmas.

I was walking my dogs in the snow and I looked down at my freezing hands and my Dad's ring must have hit the sun just right and the star in the middle winked at  me. I was looking down and strating to feel pretty darn sorry for myself and there he was telling me it was alright to be angry but not to feel sorry myself. "You can still win this one Bitty Buddy. You always play a little better when you're mad."

I have to take my DDD's advice with a grain of salt. What may have worked when I was an 18 year old playing football doesn't always bode well for a 46 year old 6' 3" 229 pound  bald guy who out-weighs his wife and three daughters combined. I've found that if I temper my anger with gratitude I can still win a few battles and not scare everyone off.

I am grateful Pfizer paid for my Masters Degree before kicking me to the curb. OK sarcasm is hard to grow out of but I am grateful and would do it all again in a heartbeat if I could.

Thank you Pfizer. You'll be see me again.

Mary's took seven staples in the head.

Yesterday we took Mary to the ER in Fruita with a head wound. She had been riding on the back this toy car thing with her friend in the kitchen and popped a wheelie. Mary fell back and hit her head on the cabinet corner. I had just got home early and was to have a phone interview in a liitle over an hour. It was hard to see the wound because her hair matted with blood instantly but at one point I saw blood gush out and splater on the floor. I put a towel and pressure on it for a few minutes and the bleeding did stop but I've seen bleeding like that before and know it means stiches. I told Suzy we have to go to the ER so we went and this what we saw when the hair was washed away. Of course Suzy never looked at it.

Suzy was a rock of comfort and had been stiched up recently in the very same room. That would be maybe 15 or so posts ago if you want to see it. It's pretty grusome. Hedge clippers and all!

Seven staple later and Mary didn't even cry. When I told her how tough she was and that she didn't even cry she said, "Yeh I did!" The she proceeded to try and make herslf cry and instead cracked herslef up and giggled.

This is the type of thing hat happen to me a lot while I was growing up. My Dumb Dumb Daddy O would always joke that I had my own private stall in the Cleveland ER with a plaque and everything because I was there on such a regular basis. It got so bad that once when I got hit by a car and my brake handle punched through my knee I had to chase my brother all the way home so he wouldn't tell Dad. I watched through the window as he told him and my Dad checked his watch and then went back to reading the paper. When I finally came in he wrapped my leg in a towel so I wouldn't bleed on the car seats. and we went to my private stall.

I was about to have my interview out in the car in the parking lot of the hospital but the interviewer left me a message to delay the interview for a half hour so I was able to get to my desk at home with a minute to spare. The interview went well but we'll see. What was great was being there for Mary and Suzy and having everthing work out in the end!

Co State Champion All-Around Gymnastics!

Kayla was placed in second place on the the call out to the stand. It was awesome.

Turns out Kayla was tied for 1st !!!!!

She is the All-Around State Co Champion

She may have been denied public recognition and their mistake robbed some of the glory but that fact that Kayla won a State Championship can never be taken away! Her father could not be more proud especially since none of this seems to bother her at all and her smiles can't get any bigger over the whole experience anyways.

Hard to believe a Champion at age 10!

Way to go K-bear.

Love,

DDD

 

 

When I Turned 18

The is a long sorted tail that starts with me having to admit that I drove a Pacer.

The story gets better from there because my Dad could throw a party. When I turned 18 my Dad considered me a man. Legal adult at least. He said, "now you really can go to jail, always remember that, and I won't come and get you." I said what if I was innocent? He said he'd come then. Then explained if I was to get drunk enough to get arrested I would deserve to sleep it off in the slammer.

When I turned 18 my girlfriend, Tina and my parents and friends threw me a surprise birthday party. I was totally surprised. Completely.

My Dad set up the bar!

Everyone crammed into my bedroom and I had come home before going downtown because I needed a tie to be able to get into Ben's Dad's private club ? (and I didn't even ketch on).

I don't want to get in the way with too many words. I think the following pictures speak for themselves.

Hard to believe I don't remember much of my 18th birthday. I do remember waking up freezing cold in the back yard upper garden beds. Killer party. Thanks Dumbdumbdaddyo.