Re-entry to blogging

I haven't felt like blogging in quite a while. For the two people who actually read my blog, it has been pretty rough. I am sorry. So I am re-entering my blog in the most lazy of ways. You'll see.

I have been thinking about the past a lot lately. Specifically, news/sporting events during my life that stood out as clear memories. Not surprisingly, I found each of these events on Youtube. We live in a time when the movie Total Recall isn't as crazy a premise as it seemed in 1990.

This isn't really the total of my lifetime memories, but sadly it is pretty close.


As an 8 year old I watched the 76 Olympics with my dad. I remember the struggle I had understanding how our guy, Bruce Jenner, won the gold & set a world record. I just watched him lose the race!?! I figured it out at some point in my life that the 1500m was the 10th of 10 events.


It was a normal afternoon for a 9 year old kid in August of 1977, watching Beverly Hillbillies while eating a bowl of Fruit Loops. Then the TV screen changed and the program was interrupted by a special news announcement, Elvis had died. Remember it well.




Sporting events tend to dominate my lifetime memories. I believe this was the first hockey game I had ever watched. 1980 Olympics, the miracle on ice. Watched it with my dad at my grandmother's house in Monterey, IL. Pretty much everyone my age remembers this.



JFK was shot way before I was born, so this is my presidential assassination attempt memory. I was in PE at Chilli Jr. High in 1981 and Mrs. Kinney was my teacher. We were sitting on the gym floor stretching when Mr. Greene came over the intercom and announced that the president had just been shot. A weird moment for me. Didn't know what to think.



January 1986 and the second semester of my freshman year at Bradley U. was just a few days underway when this memory was burned in. I had just returned to my dorm room in the basement of Heitz Hall and flipped on the TV to relax between classes (probably should have used that time to study, but my poor study habits meant that I saw this live as it happened). Since I didn't have cable I was on a network when they interrupted the programming to show the space shuttle Challenger launch. In those days, all shuttle launches were newsworthy and this one more so with a civilian on board. Then it just blew up while I watched it. I sat stunned for a long time.



In 1990 I took a short trip to Chicago with Pam and her entire family. We arrived after interesting circumstances (Pam's grandma passed out on the ride up). We stayed at the Courtyard in Oakbrook and they had free HBO...sssuuuwheat! Em and I turned the TV on as soon as we arrived, just as the Mike Tyson/Buster Douglas fight was getting underway. At that time, Tyson was considered completely dominate, unbeatable. We put off going to dinner for a long time as we all watched in amazement as Tyson lost for the first time.



January 17, 1991 and Pam and I were driving down Rt. 6 as we listened to the radio report of the start of the Gulf War. It was very eerie to drive on that dark night listening to foreign correspondents report live from Baghdad with the sound of constant explosions near them. It was like we were waiting to hear them get killed. We later learned about many things we take for granted these days, like stealth bombers and precision guided missiles, etc., things that kept the destruction of civilians (at least the reporters in their hotels) to a minimum.



Pam and I stopped in at her folk's house for a visit on June 13, 1994, just as the strange news coverage of a police chase in LA began. We watched with intrigue as we learned the slow moving white Bronco might be carrying OJ Simpson who may have just killed his wife and her friend with a knife. It took years of TV to figure this one out. Oh, I guess we still don't know what happened.



In August of 1997 we had a bit of a OJ/celebrity/auto/drama deja vu. Again, Pam, Josh and I stopped by to visit Pam's folks just as news reports from Paris began to stream on the news channels, Princess Diana was killed in a car crash. We couldn't believe we were sitting there watching this. She was only 36 (seemed old then, now that seems so young).


1998 and I began a tradition of watching championship games with my son. Nearly 2 year old Josh and I watched as Michael Jordan and the Bulls won their 6th NBA championship. We have watched pretty much every major sports championship since. Not soccer of course, just the good sports ;)



9/11, prior to this day in 2001, 911 was the number known as the number you dial for emergencies. That changed. Pam was teaching at Mossville. I was getting Josh ready for preschool and 1 1/2 yr. old Erin ready to go to my folks so I could get to work. I got a call from my dad who said I should turn on the TV. The World Trade Center had just been hit by a second airplane. I watched in stunned amazement with the rest of the country as I held Erin in my arms and Josh sat nearby. I called Pam to let her know what was going on. Not long after, I watched live as the towers fell. Later in the day as I was stopped at the gas station, waiting in line to pay over $4 per gallon (Casey's, they got in trouble for that later), I watch Air Force One, escorted by 3 fighter jets, fly east over Chillicothe toward Washington DC. That day was the strangest day I ever remember. A perfect, beautiful, horrible day none of us will ever forget.

DLmail 1/22/2010 a virus named Gen

In all of my years of hammering on computers, stories of viruses always came from the other guy. About two weeks ago, I became the other guy. Our main computer in the office, the server, the one that allows all the other machines to communicate with each other and the printers/scanner, etc., caught a virus, and it looks like her name is Gen. I would like to give you some advice, be DISCIPLINED when it comes to keeping your spyware/antivirus software up to date. It can happen to you.

It has caused a certain amount of trouble for me, making work a little trickier. It has also squashed my creativity concerning this DLmail. So don't get as crazy excited as you usually do when you read it. Here is what you need to know.

You need to know that Kevin Stewart is Ironman. He showed up at church last Saturday, 5 days out from having double carpal tunnel surgery. He wasn't doing cartwheels or anything, but he was there serving. Like I said, Ironman. Oh, and Kevin, I have your small group stuff. You left it on the counter.

Jeannine taught the week before last. She doesn't teach very often, but when she does she knocks your socks off. What a great teacher she is. She also has led worship for the past couple weeks. What a great teacher she is. :-) j.k.
Kevin Elder taught last week and of course did a fine job. He brought his little helper Ben, who didn't actually help. Rather he hung out with my little helper Josh, who didn't seem to be helping either. But they did manage to play some extreme bago with each other and laugh a lot.

Em and Pam have been doing their usual best. Em even ended up on stage with myself, Kevin and Kevin. Never has the stage looked prettier than with us four guys and a bunch of footballs on it.
Amy (pic not available), our sole surviving rotational leader, came on just the right night. She even brought her little helper Craig, who I caught actually helping, specifically working the room looking for kids that were alone or seemed disconnected. Nice work Mr. Observer. Amy gave the girls that I have led too often this year a much needed womanly presence. Hope they aren't too bummed when they return this week and find me or Tim sitting with them.

So this week, we will continue with the Discipline virtue, doing what you need to do now so you can grow stronger. Memory verse remains 2 Timothy 3:16, "All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching..." Our Bible story is "Peter states who Jesus is" and is found in Matthew 16:13-17.

MAJOR ANNOUNCEMENT...Rick will miss DL on Jan. 30th. Also missing will be Pam. Tim will be here this week, but on the 30th he is scheduled to be gone. You do the math 5 minus three leaves two...Em and Kevin. Needless to say I will be looking for help for them. Jeannine is aware of this perfect storm on the horizon. Pray that we can find some folks willing to serve that weekend.

Deadliest Crop ...or... Ice Road Farmers

I am a fan of the Discovery Channel. Also a fan of the History Channel. So it should be no surprise that I seek out adventure at every opportunity. Risking my life is a daily activity, just like Bear Grylls. (I actually prefer Les Stroud when it comes to surviving).

Despite temperatures that would kill most Floridians, we ventured out to the farm on January 10th to do a little farming (well, kind of just watched Russ's hired hands do it, and watched Russ do the hauling). But, we could have easily DIED! Maybe. But we didn't. What we did do was manage to have fun on a wicked cold Sunday in January, the last day we saw the sun in Illinois in 2010.

Russ has a big farm. Lots of acres, in the thousands. This year, like many others, Russ had to battle the rain. Ideally he likes to have the harvest done in the same year the planting happened. As January 2010 ends, he still has 300+ acres of 2009 corn waiting to be picked. The day we joined him he was working his way down to 700 left. And Russ is such a good guy he does it with a laugh and a joke (and a constant jug of coffee). Even on this day when one of the two combines wouldn't start because of the extreme cold, meaning the work would take twice as long, he was a terrific host.

We had fun on the farm this day. The boys didn't lose any hands or digits. No one fell from the shiny new bin. Hardly any frost bite. No truck or tractor accidentally backed over us. Just a solid good day.

DLmail 1/15/2010 celebrity gossip edition

Drift back with me many years and remember this (pre-Factory) allstar DL team from 2003-2004.

Notice the tall one with the hat. That's Dirk. Not long after this photo was taken he moved to Tampa, FL, then eventually to the Orlando area. This may surprise you to find out that Dirk has no manservant and must do his own grocery shopping. On a cool Monday January 11th, 2010, Dirk drove to the Metrowest Shopping Center near Windemere, FL to buy some food. Look who was next to him in the parking lot! Yessiree, none other than Mrs. Tiger Woods, Elin Nordegren. Dirk said it was hard not to miss her with four body guards and a pack of paparazzi. Here is Dirk's phone camera pic. Click here for some of the paparazzi photos from this same parking lot experience. I had high hopes that I would find paparazzi pics from this moment that would show Dirk in his car next to her, but no such luck.


Celebrity phone camera pic #2. This lovely man in the hospital dress is none other than our own Kevin. No, he isn't dressed up for halloween as Pam. Monday saw him heading in for actual surgery. A double carpal tunnel surgery to be specific. And at such a young age!?! So he is out of commission this week a bit. Most people do them one at a time, but Kevin manned up and did them at the same time. He is healing well but is a little annoyed with his lack of independence (no driving, etc.) You will be glad to know he did shower yesterday. Prayers for Kevin as he continues to heal and begins physical therapy. Need a referral to a therapist? Click here, download, and look on pages 12 & 13 (It's old info, she is now at OSF Peoria, but pretty cool).


Jeannine sent you all an email about this coming weekend services, so I am not going to be redundant. It is possible that this will be slim pickens leader weekend in the Factory with Kevin freshly surgeried and Tim gone to another sporting event with Erika. We might be just Pam, Em and Rick. ****1:30PM****this just in****its Amy's week to serve with us****disaster avoided!

Why? Why not?

In lieu of a DLmail this week, I am posting a video. A video by the way, that is at least as, if not more, exciting than my ordinary writings.

Those in FL are jealous

Our white Christmas of 2009 began just a little late, with the snow fall beginning on Christmas day in the mid-afternoon and continuing to fall for the next 48 hours, leaving us with 8 inches on the ground. This post is mostly for friends and family in FL. Envy and jealously are such ugly things, but we understand those of you who don't get snow when you feel such things. Must stink to have swimming as your only outdoor fun activity.

Erin, our snow and cold loving daughter, wasted little time in getting into the snow on Dec. 26th and built herself a sweet fort. It's size will guarantee that it will be around for quite a while. It was built with the temps in the low 20s, just low enough to make her cheeks rosey, but warm enough to be comfy. You Floridians are sure missing out. Do any of you even remember the refreshing sting of single digit temps on your face (we awoke to 2 deg. today)? How about the the below zero wind chills that make you feel alive? Jumping into your screened pool you never use when the water temp is below 80 degrees just doesn't compare. Again I feel sad for you and sense your envy.

I know, mostly because it makes the national news, FL (northern and maybe even central) can and does get a freak snow on occasion (frost and ice don't count as snow). Its those moments that I again feel sad for you. You see, I know your only hills are for entering and exiting highways and/or interstates. I also imagine that the Florida Highway Patrol makes a frowny face everytime they see a transplant or snowbird, desperate for a little non-swimming action, trying to sled down a ramp on a blow up pool toy, and shoo's them away (shoo's is a word isn't it?).

I have been to FL, both sides, up and down, many times. I have seen the South American and Germen men in their thong swimsuits everywhere. Not a pretty sight. Here in Illinois, men like Jon and Troy only wear thongs in the privacy of their own homes, far from my family and camera. When men in Illinois lay on each other on an inner tube (you Floridians might recognize this device, you use it drag thong wearing men sitting on each other with your boats in alligator infested lakes), they bundle up, so as to be modest, safe from harmful UV rays and to not overdose on the refreshing cold air sting. And when they fall off at the end of the ride they happily land (see the smiles) on frozen farm ground, rather than in the jaws of the alligator that recently ate your neighbors Shitzu, Mitsy.

Now, there are similarities to our outdoor activities. We tested the old saying "Its not the size of the dog in the fight, its the size of the fight in the dog" in the video below. Only we raced, rather than fought, using one of your Florida tubes, a big dog (Craig), and a smaller, healthier, seemingly faster dog (Josh) on an actual sled built for the snow. We found, and this video proves it, that the larger size dog wins in sledding. Just like I assume a similarly "bouyant" large dog (S. American/Germen thong wearer) in water might swim faster than a small dog. The similarities end there though. Our large dog stopped in a marginally graceful way (the small dog gets points for his ending), without being torn to pieces by an alligator (or bull shark if you prefer the ocean).

Of course, sometimes the small dogs don't stop soon enough and think they have broken their leg on a frozen mound of earth. The Floridians who have survived shark and alligator bites know what he felt like I suppose.

one of my all time favorites

I am probably going to pass on doing this, mostly because we don't have cliffs around Chillicothe, but partly because it is a little dangerous I suppose. But I sure like to watch these guys. Wait till the summer scenes for this video to really get your attention.