I am searching for a kayak; One that will fit in my garage and above my Subaru. I searched through my closet the other day looking for old sports stuff that I could sell in order to get a new kayak. I go on random spurts where I like one sport for an indeterminate amount of time. Before my new kayak spurt I was into mountain biking. I still am, but I live by the water and I want to learn how to kayak. Before mountain biking I was into rock climbing. I could probably sell that gear for some money, not enough for a kayak but it is a start. Besides, how am I supposed to find a natural rock climbing setting in a big city. I forgot that I had a wooden closet organizer full of my sporting stuff in the garage. I think I probably have enough stuff to sell in there to buy myself a kayak, a rack for my Subaru, and some paddles, and maybe even a life jacket. I am never good at a sport when I first start it but I do it with all of my heart until I am. I attempted skydiving for a good six months. I wanted to eventually go by myself, which I probably could have, if it hadn’t been for my tandem instructor who knew how clumsy I was. Maybe one day I will skydive alone. Until then I am going down some white water in a sexy blue kayak.

I was thinking about going to Dallas to study and hopefully someday be able to practice Lasik surgery. Maybe I would be able to meet the Dallas Cowboys. I am not sure how one goes about making that a specialty when studying ophthalmology. I know that I’m going to have to go through all the basic training just to practice as any type of eye doctor, but there is extra training that comes along with being able to practice lasik in Dallas. Every program at each university and college is different, but the overall consensus seemed to be that learning about lasik was necessary but you were not really required to learn how to actually do it to complete your degree. I definitely want to make a career out of it so I do not mind at all having to go through any and all extra training. I just want to figure out what the reputation of the schools are in Dallas compared to other parts of the country. I love it there and really want to go to school there, but I will have to hold off on moving there if I have to. Going to a good school is more important than living where I want right now.

I have heard of all sorts of crazy treatment plans but seriously, the reality TV shows like Out of Control or Intervention have taken the cake. I don’t understand how reality television has gotten to this point, or for that matter, who even watches these shows so their ratings are through the roof? Some of these shows even show celebrities. One was a professional motor cross athlete. Honestly, did anyone have any doubts in their minds that these kids were on drugs? Who in their right mind would ride a bike five hundred feet up in the air at eighty miles an hour without a helmet? Why make such a horrible, private thing like rehab public?  I would like to think that some of them do indisputably want to get better, to compose a change in their life, but if any them are there because they see this as their last chance to get back into the spotlight then there is a serious problem. As an example, how could the Baldwins let Daniel be on one of those shows? How embarrassing for their family!  I think that the one positive part of this show is the effect that it can have on others with addiction problems.  If people are able to see what rehab is like, and what other people like them has gone through, then maybe they will be more likely to seek help. Although I claim that these shows are ridiculous, I have to admit some of the shows are funny. The fact that these shows are constantly popping up and their ratings are unheard of says a lot about our culture. I think our culture might need to go to rehab.

When the man who fell at our house in Michigan got up he told us that he would be suing us very shortly, and in no short order he got a personal injury attorney in Michigan and served us with papers.  I couldn't believe it.  It was his fault that he fell.  Nothing we could have done would have prevented it.  He had come to give us an estimate on having some siding put on the house, and while he was crossing the yard he tripped over a tuft of grass.  He claimed then and in his lawsuit that we should have had it marked as a hazard. We are not sure what that would mean on a lawn.  Would that have meant putting up orange cones and taping it off like they do on road construction sites.  Our lawyer, who is actually a friend of ours, said that this suit should never make it to court, as it is without merit, and his only injury is to his pride.  Our friend, though, is not an injury attorney.  This man is claiming back injuries, vertigo and mental anguish.  He claims that he will not be able to perform his job anymore.  His suit is asking for 3 million in actual and punitive damages.  We really need to find a good attorney for this.

If that isn’t just the end, bitten by a gator!  And I survived to tell about it!  Wait, I’ve got to tell you the whole story right from the beginning.  Got a few minutes?  I took my nephews to Safari Land over in West Palm Beach.  Wouldn’t you know it, as soon as we got there they shout, right in my ears, “Gators! Gators!  We want to see the alligators!”  Oh, Lordy.  I said to them, I’ll tell you what, why don’t we stop over here at this nice little thatch-roofed snack bar, and get some hot dogs, and THEN we’ll go see the alligators and the crocodiles and all the swamp mammals, okay?  How I got them over so we could eat I’ll never know.  It must have taken 15 minutes just to calm them down, and soon they were sitting quietly, munching on their franks and chomping down on fries.  Then so the whole state of Florida could hear it comes the announcement over the loudspeaker: “The next Jungle Adventure begins in ten minutes!  Get your tickets NOW!!!”  The boys started to get excited again.  Come on, Aunt Sylvia, we’ve gotta hurry!  OK, OK, I said.  We headed over there and, after waiting in this endless line, managed to get seats on the 1:30 boat.  Well, to make a long story short, Nathan, the older nephew, tried to reach out and touch one of the alligators.  I guess it must have taken an exception to this, because he suddenly jumped out of the river and took a nice bite out of my arm!  You can imagine what our next stop was—the first aid station.  It still hurts like hell.  Anyone know a good personal injury attorney in Florida?

You can believe it!  Using Accucheck Products can be a life saver.  It's the only reason Tara's uncle is alive today.  I began using this one and that, just to see how I was doing, and found that I kept on top of my health concerns.  And eliminated a lot of worry.  Tara began using them too.  I know, we had a medicine cabinet full of tests, but it was worth it.  It kept us on a track of sorts.  We knew when to go to the doctor if something wasn't right.  I was talking to Dillon, Tara's uncle,  last fall and he was complaining.  He just wasn't feeling right.  He was feeling tired and just had no energy.  After asking a few questions I suggested he go to the drug store and get a kit and take the home tests.  He is really old school, so he wasn't sold on the idea that something you buy on a shelf can diagnose a problem.  Then I told him that Tara and I use these things all the time.  I named off the ones we use, and how often we take the tests.  He didn't say anything after that, but two weeks later we get a call from him and he told us what was going on.

After dozens and dozens of sleepless nights trolling the internet, hours and hours spent on the phone with various security companies, and afternoons wasted going through mountains of paperwork, I decided on DSC Security.  How you ask?  It was actually quite simple.  I tacked up DSC Security and all the other security companies up onto a board and then I shut my eyes and threw a dart.  It landed dead center on DSC Security.  It must be fate.  Or maybe I’m tired of researching all these different security companies and had to just make a choice before I drove myself mad.  DSC Security isn’t a bad choice either.  They have reasonable rates, a solid reputation, and their security devices look pretty neat too.   What more could I ask for?  Right, right.  A guarantee of absolute home security would be nice, but no one in the world can offer that.  There are no absolutely secure and safe security systems.  Even Fort Knox can be broken into.  There’s no point even worrying about the whole thing.  Or am I just repeatedly saying all this to try to convince myself that there’s no point in worry?  I don’t know.  I’m not that self-aware.

I grew up in Chicago and was fortunate enough to witness sports history seemingly year after year.  Whether they were down by twenty points in the fourth quarter, needed a last second shot, or just had to hang onto a lead for the last minute, the Chicago Bulls almost always pulled off the win.  It helped tremendously having Michael Jordan on the team.  Having the greatest player to ever play the game of basketball always helps.  Sometimes, he would simply force the Bulls to win by sheer force of his will power. 

            Watching him play was a true privilege.  He made spectacular shots, stole the show with slam dunks, scored a lot of points, played great defense, and made his teammates better just be being out on the floor with him.  But he wasn’t alone.  Phil Jackson ranks as one of the greatest coaches in NBA history and Scottie Pippen was a fantastic Hall of Fame worthy player in his own right as well.  There was also Horace Grant, BJ Armstrong, John Paxson, Steve Kerr, and the always interesting, yet disturbing Dennis Rodman. 

            They had two three-peats of championships during the 90s and might have had even more if Michael Jordan hadn’t briefly retired or if the owners’ lockout hadn’t forced the dynasty to be broken up prematurely.  Still, they thoroughly dominated the decade, which was a relief to Chicago sports fans who had endured years of the Cubs, Sox, and Blackhawks’ failures.  Though they had won a Superbowl during the 80s, the Bears had even tailed off in quality and were hard to watch at times.  But the Bulls almost always delivered. 

            Then when the team got broken up, I drifted away as a fan.  It became almost painful to watch the new generation of Bulls players struggling to merely win a game when Jordan and the others had cut through the competition like they were nothing.  It’s hard to go from having the greatest team in the world, maybe even the great team ever, to having just another team of youngsters trying to mature. 

            Film critic Gene Siskel was even a huge fan of the Chicago Bulls and used to write articles for the Chicago Tribune sports section about what he was supposed to do as a fan now that his team had broken up and was never coming back, not really.  As fans do, they drifted off and some went over to the White Sox who finally won a world series in the new millennium and others want to go after Steve Bartman, believing he and he alone had caused the Cubs to collapse in the play-offs.  And the Bears always have their fans, no matter how poor or mediocre they were.  But they finally reached the Superbowl again in 2007 and lost, though the fact that they got there at least showed an enormous amount of improvement. 

            The Bulls have been relegated to the back of the Chicago sports scene, but Michael Jordan’s statue still stands outside the United Center.  No one will ever forget his team, even if a new generation of the Bulls rise up to a championship.