Question...

How do you, or more specifically I, tell some one they are being a dumb ass?

Besides the obvious, just come out and say it.

In a few posts below, I've talked about Tom. He has esophogas cancer. He says from years of smoking. Like since he was 19, since Vietnam.

Because he was a real man (his words) he never went to the doctors. If he had they may have found it early enough to make it not be fatal.

So... what causes a mid 40's, intelligent man to start or re-start smoking?? Peer pressure...? Really? Naw, can't be.

Ok... I'll just say it.

DC, you're being a dumb ass! Just stop smoking! Ok?
That shit WILL kill you!

And Steve, my gut tells me you aren't doing everything you should. I hope I'm wrong.

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Turmoil

What would you give up for a job?

Would you move...
... across town/city?
... across the state?
... the country?

I know, I know. I'm beating this to death.

BUT

I've said before, these PGR guys (and gals) around here ARE family. There is more love here than any church I've ever attended.

I'm gonna miss them. All of them.

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The Big Catch-Up

Where the Hell am I...?

If you’ve asked a question recently, the answer is probably here.

Party at the Barn –
After lots of big plans and many people coming, it finally happened. Not as many soldiers as we would have liked and not as many friends as I would have liked but it was a good time. The Corpsman brother came up and got some ink. I got mine finished… well the outside. We’ll see if and when I get to the inside. Brian (the tattoo’er) sketched out a concept. It’s gonna be cool!













The Corpsman . . . . . . . . . . . . . The Blogger
(click'm for big'm)

The son –
Reserve center on or about June 1, then training in the California desert. Then off to the sand box. Unemployment aside, this is going to be a tough year for me.

The Test –
I passed. I am an official state of Indiana licensed bartender. Should get some apps out today. We’ll see what happens.

JOB –
Good news, guess I have one. They want me to do the contract thing for 4 weeks, then make me an official offer.
Bad news, like I said below, it’s in California… Los Angeles.

Tom –
Sigh.
He has asked me to take him to the Nickel Plate (local Steelers bar). He knows he’s going to miss the ’09 season so he wants to go have some of the bar food ‘one last time’.
We’re going today.
God! I’m gonna miss him!

IMG00133-20090508-2346.jpg

I'm not drunk... I'm just drinking.
It is q good night at the barn!!

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Testing

I hate tests.

I've spent the last two weeks in a bar tending school and today... in about 5 minutes. We have our final.

I have to write out the ingredients for 20 drinks and make 12 drinks in 8 minutes.

I'm sooo screwed!

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4 to 6 Weeks

Sigh…

It is amazing the range of emotions I go through while riding.

Tom was told last week, “the chemo is not helping anymore, we are going to stop it and make you comfortable. You have 4-6 weeks.”

No, I guess it wasn’t really that cold when he relayed the info to me but is was that abrupt, at least to me. Since this post in October of ’07. I had gotten used to him being sick and not dying. It’s been 18 months since that ‘Stage IV’ post and he’s still here, I had become complacent. Now …

When I left his house this evening, I was in a rage. If I could have gotten to a computer then, this would have been a VERY different post. But a bit of a ride and some tears on the inside of my ridding glasses and I don't need to kill anything. I want to remember. I want you to know.

***********************
I’d guess about 7 years ago we (me and my family) were a little tight for money. So, I got a second job. I think I was making $8 an hour as a cashier in a Shell station. As football season came around, I was grumpy that I was missing all of the football games, not just the Steelers. See, I was working 10 hours Saturday and Sunday, plus 8 hours 2 or 3 days a week making ‘the shell station’ almost another full time job.

On Sundays (with my Managers permission) I started bringing a 13 inch tv to work. I would at least get to watch whatever game was on the local airwaves. Amazingly, quite a few were Steelers games. Customers would loiter and watch the game for a few minutes, once they figured I was going to do this regularly some would drop their wives off to get groceries then ‘go get gas in the car’. Heh, amazingly ‘getting gas’ would take just as much time as the whole grocery trip. One of those regulars was Tom. He is a Steelers fan. We got to the point where he’d stop at Subway and bring us sandwiches for the late games. He was a Marine… we became friends.

Tom, my friend, this is going to be a tough month. For both of us. Like another friend of mine says, “you are where you are suppose to be”. I am so glad I decided to work at that gas station.

God bless, God’s peace. I will not forget you.

Overheard #2

"some diarrhea is good. It flushes the system of kooties. A lot of diarrhea is... shity"

Fire guys are hilarious.

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Overheard

I'm sitting in an EMA CPR and AED training class and an old Marine talking about monies going to public colleges.

"they all are a bunch of God damned communists. How in the hell do they get millions of dollars to teach communism? Aren't we in America?"

I love this guy.

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