Good Medicine

If ever you find yourself so overwhelmed with the responsibilites, boredom, and/or chaos of being a stay-at-home parent, then I recommend taking a few days off to reconnect with your former, pre-parental self. Last weekend I did just that.

One of my very best friends in the universe, Troy Lepper, and his best gal Anita (a muy caliente Latina that Troy affectionately calls "Brown Sugar") got hitched in the scenic but chilly mountains of northern Colorado. I was blessed with the opportunity to attend said nuptials sans familia. Bethany agreed to take some time off from work to spend a long weekend with the kids while I was given a rare furlough from my incarceration at the Hartsburg Sanitorium. My friend Rob Scott accompanied me on the epic road trip to Ft. Collins in anticipation of a three day wedding celebration that we were certain would rank as one of the most fun of all time. We were not disappointed.

On Thursday evening, Troy and Anita held a backyard movie night at their home for thirty or so of their favorite people. Apparently, Rob and I qualified. Everyone let their hair down, enjoyed various intoxicants, and laughed until it hurt. The highlight of the evening was an unforgettable burlesque show performed by a very close friend of the happy couple named Lady Ginger Licious, a lovely and unique woman I had had the pleasure of meeting once before.

Friday night involved a fantastic rehearsal dinner at the mountain resort that played host to the wedding festivities. Troy convinced several members of his family that Rob and I were a gay couple, and we enjoyed keeping them guessing for the rest of the weekend. (If you don't know Rob, I'll tell you that he is about 6'4", 240 pounds to my 5'7" 147. An odd couple if there ever was one.)

Saturday was the big day, and I have to say it was one of the neatest ceremonies that I had ever attended. Troy and Anita's good friend Brandi procured a ministerial certification from the ad in the back of "Rolling Stone" magazine and officiated the ceremony as the Right Reverend Brandi Wine. Spirit wands were waved by members of the audience as a blessing of the union. The bride wore a stunning white gown with a rainbow patterned bow tied around her waist which looked absolutely perfect. The bride and groom shook their groove thing while exchanging vows that included the promise to "love, honor, and get funky" with their counterpart for as long as they both shall live.

The reception featured great toasts by the best man Steve "The Fonz" Winkler and the maid of honor/burlesque dancer Ginger. Troy thanked the wedding guests for sharing the big weekend with him and Anita and his speech left the crowd both laughing and crying. As I mingled with the other guests, I realized I had made several new friends over the course of the all-too-brief weekend. Brandi and Ginger are two of them as well as a couple named Billy and Leigh. I spent a lot of time visiting with old friends Ben and Steve and got to know their wives Tara and Rachael quite well. They are now officially friends of mine, too.

Last weekend was just what the doctor ordered for me. I had been feeling quite impatient, quick-tempered, and exhausted by the never-ending responsibility of my job as a stay-at-home dad. But spending a three day weekend with dear friends made all of my stress melt away and now I feel like a new man (for the time being anyway.) This unique group of friends has the ability to lift my spirits unlike any other circle of friends I have had. Each of them is a very positive person who lives life to the fullest while marching to the beat of their own drum. They remind me that it is okay to be myself and not worry about looking or sounding foolish. Troy especially has been a colossal influence in my life and has helped me through many a rough patch during my younger, self-destructive years.

Troy is more than a friend. As I told him after his wedding, he is the big brother I never had. I am the oldest of four kids in my family, Troy is the youngest of four in his. A few years older than me, I think he considers me the younger brother he never had. Sharing the same height and build, the same first initial, the same hair color, the same tastes in music, and at one point a blues show on Mizzou's college radio station, we have a lot in common. Not the least of which is a love of life and a love for one another that was once again, over the course of three days in Colorado, reaffirmed.

Congrats Dr. & Mrs. Lepper, and much love to you both. Stay funky.

Memorial Day

In Thurdsay's online edition of the Columbia Daily Tribune, a reader posted the following comment; "I always admitted that "W" was a bungler and truly wished we had a better speaker to put forth the conservative ideals that most true Americans hold dear."

I responded with the following:

Most TRUE Americans hold conservatives ideals dear? So if I am not a conservative then I am not a TRUE American? There is the TRUE problem facing our country today. Why can't we have an intelligent debate about issues without questioning each other's patriotism or love of country? I voted for Obama, as did the majority of voters in the last election. Therefore, I don't see how it's possible that "most true Americans" hold dear the values of conservativism.

I am a true American. I support your right to question my patriotism, even if it makes me angry. I support your right to cling too tightly to the belief that yours is the only correct point of view, although in my opinion you couldn't be more wrong. But I do ask you, with all due respect, to please refrain from insinuating that people in this country who disagree with you are not true Americans.

My great grandfather fought for America in WWI. My grandfather in WWII. My father in Vietnam. They fought to preserve your right to say incendiary things like proclaiming that you, and not their own descendant, are a true American. I hope that you and every true American remembers my ancestors' service to this great country of ours this Memorial Day.

As for this liberal, yet TRUE as they come American, I say thank you to all of the men and women who have fought, been injured, or died so that I can have the opportunity to sit here sipping my coffee, typing on my computer, and listening to my kids playing in the next room--a pretty damn good life if you ask me.

I'm Still Alive

Rumors of my demise have been greatly exaggerated. I have been taking a writing hiatus following the completion of the first draft of my book Naked Snow Angels. I needed to step away from the demands of finding something creative to say on a daily basis, and so yes, I must admit that I have been spending way too much time on the mindless distraction that is Facebook.

All the cold and rainy weather we have had for the past few months has caused me to slide into a very unsatisfying rut of checking email, checking facebook, reading the online version of the newspaper, and searching online listings for classic cars for sale that I cannot afford. Well folks, the sun has come out today, and I am feeling frisky.

Four or five more cups of coffee and I may be ready to start revising my book. I am not sure whether to change it from a non-fiction memoir to a novel, a collection of short stories, or a collection of humorous essays, but I'm pretty sure it will be quite changed in version 2.0. Stay tuned for further updates and excerpts.

And thank you for remaining my loyal and patient fans.

WWII in HD

Last night, I stayed up till two in the morning watching most of the WWII in HD marathon on the History Channel. I had seen most of these episodes the first time they ran, but this time I got to watch them all back-to-back. I couldn't turn it off.

My first thought after watching the series was that most people under the age of 30 probably don't have a living family member who fought in WWII. For these young people, the war is just another chapter in their history books at school. That is why this program should be required viewing in every high school history class. It makes the abstract concepts of world-wide warfare, genocide, and self-sacrifice very real.

I feel so indebted to my grandfathers and great uncles who fought in World War Two. Aldace Naughton, Jr served in the Pacific Theater while James Everett Naughton, his cousin, fought in the Battle of the Bulge against the Nazis. My mom's father, Robert Keller served in the Pacific, too, though I am not as familiar with his history. Part of me wants to know more about their experiences, but another part of me is afraid to know what these men saw during their tours of duty. I owe my life and my freedom to these great men. We all do.

I hope free people everywhere are aware that were it not for the incredible sacrifices of "The Greatest Generation" our world would be a very different place today. Can you fathom what life would be like on our planet if the Allies had lost the war? An estimated 70 million people died during the six years of WWII, half of them civilians. Imagine how many more would have perished had the Nazis and Japanese won. When we play with our i-phones and nintendos, listen to gangster rap and heavy metal, and tolerate baseball and football players going on strike because their $100 million contracts are never enough, shouldn't we stop for a moment to reflect upon what our grandfathers who froze to death in foxholes in France or were burned alive on Tarawa would think of our shallow, self-indulgences?

The next time you start to complain about the way the boy at the store bagged your groceries or the apparent shortage of foam in your Starbucks latte, think about the millions of men who were conscripted into the military, taken from their families, and thrown in front of a Japanese or German pillbox full of machine guns. Whenever you start to whine about how unfair it is that someone at work gets a better office or parking space than you, think about the men who were assigned to storm the beaches of Normandy or Okinawa, who knew that they may never see their wives or children again. When you get impatient waiting in the emergency room to see a doctor about your sprained ankle, think about the field nurses who held the hands of thousands of young men as they bled to death after being blown to pieces by exploding mortars.

The men and women who served in WWII are true heroes. Tiger Woods was never a hero. It amuses me how many people tuned in to watch his mea culpa press conference. I don't care how many strippers he was with. I don't care how far he can hit a golf ball. There are men and women in Iraq and Afghanistan getting killed or maimed everyday who don't even get a mention in the news for the sacrifices they've made. I wonder how our WWII vets, the few that are still with us, can tolerate living in a society that is so shallow and so oblivious to what really matters in the world. Freedom. Family. Love. Those things matter.

Next time you see an 85 year old, thank him or her for saving the world. Thank them for what you have and the life you live. We owe them everything. Absolutely everything.

Ice, Ice Baby

Photos of the boys enjoying a frozen waterfall in our woods.