Because I Can… the random thoughts of Marc Scott

I’m a big fan of old movies.  I love the black and white romances from the 30’s and 40’s.  I’m a big fan of old musicals too.  There is just something about watching Fred & Ginger dance that makes you forget everything else in the world for those few moments.  I get lost in the movements, the story, the dialogue.  Back then, they could tell a love story that was actually about love, and not about sex.  I miss those days.  Not to say I ever knew them, obviously they were a few years before my time.  I think I would’ve like living back then.  But, I digress.

From time to time I enjoy a good action movie as well.  One of my favorite franchises to watch is the Lethal Weapon series.  It was in this movie series that I was introduced to the fine, and I’m sure, highly scientific, act of willing things to happen, or, not happen.  When Riggs and Murtaugh are trying to overcome their age, they will themselves to not get old.  In Lethal Weapon 4, when Riggs is trapped underwater, he wills Murtaugh to his location so he can be saved.  It’s brilliant.

Two weeks ago I decided it was time to do a little willing of my own.  So I put away my winter coat, crammed the sweatshirts to the back of closet, and busted out the short sleeves and Spring jackets.  I decided I was going to defy Winter and will it to be Spring.

The temperature nose dived to -20C the first night of my new venture.  I left the radio station at midnight, wearing a short sleeved shirt and a Spring Jacket.  My windshield was frosted, flurries were in the air, and I was pretty much convinced that I was little more than an idiot.

I am not one to be easily defeated when I have my mind made up about something.  Under normal, intelligent circumstances, I suppose this would be an admirable quality.  When it comes to matters of nature though, it ranks up there with glow in the dark combat gear, ham flavored massage lotion, and solar powered flashlights as an all time epic failure!

I am not deterred though.  I’m still sporting short sleeves.  I’m still cloaked in a Spring Jacket.  In fact, on days when the sun is shining I’ve even caught myself rolling down the window while I drive to work.  What I have decided is that it’s all a state of mind!

I may not be able to will Spring to come any quicker, although I could work on some kind of a bribe with a certain groundhog for next year, but I can choose how I trek through the final days of Winter.  That’s not to say that any good will come from quite literally freezing my butt off.  However, if I focus on milder temperatures, short sleeves, walks along the riverside, the sparkling reflection of a morning dew, and the rainbow of colors from all those fresh April flowers, I will certainly have less time to be miserable waiting for Winters curtain call.

When people find out that I’m a Volunteer Firefighter, almost like clockwork, I am asked two questions.  The first is whether or not I have ever saved a cat.  The answer is, I have. (Refer to this post No Glove… No Love!) for more on that.  The second is an inquiry as to the most difficult thing I’ve seen or done.

I’ve always wondered about this second question.  Is it a simple curiosity that brings it out?  Or, perhaps, is it more about understanding the challenges that we, as Firefighters, can face on any given day?  Certainly I have stories I could tell.  But 2 stand out for me in particular, and neither are quite what you’d expect.

Generally, when a Firefighter talks about the most difficult thing they’ve seen or done it involves a graphic scene from a motor vehicle collision, or it involves something with a small child.  I’ve done calls involving both.  The story I’ll share today involves the latter, a child.  But not necessarily in the manner you might expect.

It was only a couple of months ago.  It’s a day I’ll never forgot.  A Saturday in the Fall, October to be exact.  I was still in bed, sound asleep.  I had to work on this particular Saturday, but it was still early.  My alarm clock was still silent and would be for nearly another 2 hours.

The pager woke me, as it does many mornings.  As I sprang from bed, and shook the grogginess from my head, I listened intently to the details being dispatched.  I grabbed my pants, looked for the tag, and put them on.  When I’m awoke from a good sleep by the pager, it’s not uncommon for me to dress myself backwards.  That’s not usually a big deal until you have to go to the bathroom!  I pulled my shirt over my head, moved towards the door, stepped into my shoes, grabbed my wallet, keys, and a hat, and I was off.

I live the closest to the fire hall.  In fact, I could practically spit out my bedroom window and hit the side of the building.  It was a cool morning.  I ran down the stairs from my building in a t-shirt, and hurried up the street to the hall.  As usual, I was the first to the hall.  I stepped inside, hit the button for the automatic bay doors, continued to my locker and started climbing into my gear.

The call was a medical, ambulance needed an assist with the lift.  This is a pretty common thing for us.  Many times there are stairs to deal with, or some other obstacle or challenge to safely getting the patient to the bus, so we are called to lend a couple extra pairs of hands.  It’s pretty routine.  This particular morning, so we’d soon find out, it was anything but routine.

Arriving on scene, we climbed from the back of the truck and were met by a Paramedic who informed us the patient had gone VSA, or, vital signs absent.  Almost as if on cue, all of us immediately doubled our pace.  As I quickly made my way into the house I walked past a man in panic, I would assume the husband, and a little girl, no more than about 7 or 8, running back and forth unsure of what was happening.

I knelt down at the woman’s head and assisted the medic in the room with CPR efforts while two other firefighters prepared a way to remove her.  The woman had received 3 shocks from a defibrillator, and in all honesty, at this point it seemed our efforts, no matter how noble, were futile.

We placed the woman on a backboard, strapped her in, and 4 of us carried her through the maze of hallways and obstacles of furniture, past a husband with tears in his eyes and fear in his heart.

When I’m in the midst of a call like this my training takes over.  I’m emotionless as a robot and focused solely on the task at hand.  We got the patient down the stairs and to the driveway where we placed her on the stretcher and loaded her in the ambulance.

Once I got in the back of the truck though, I took a moment to process what I just experienced.  A husband about to lose a wife.  A girl, so young and precious, about to lose her mommy.  A family waking up to tragedy when they should have been waking up to Lucky Charms and Saturday morning cartoons.

In my adult life I have cried 1 time.  But as I’ve got older, my heart has grown softer, and tears seem to be coming easier to me.  I’ve seemingly developed greater emotion, a new found tenderness.  I find myself with a  softness and gentleness you might expect in a newly blessed daddy, and a compassion unlike anything I’ve known.

In the back of the truck, returning to the hall, tears welled up in my eyes as images of that precious girls face replayed in my mind.  There was a probie on that call with us.  It was the first time he had experienced anything like that.  He replayed the scene out loud.  He just wanted to talk it through.  I understood.  I was in his shoes once.  I fought my back my emotion, and listened to him speak.  I encouraged him on a job well done.

I got back to my apartment with a little time to collect myself before I had to go to work.  I don’t remember anything about my air shift that day.  I’ve been on the Fire Department since 2000, and only 1 other time had a call affected me to my core.  I kept replaying the scene of a husband and father in shock, and of a sweet little girl unable to comprehend what was unfolding before her.  These are the calls that make it hard.

A lot of words are used to describe Firefighters.  Brave, courageous, heroes.  I’ve been called crazy and insane on more than one occasion as well.  When you see us on scene, we may seem hard and cold.  We may come across as men and women without emotion.  We do our job unfazed by what is happening around us.  Circumstances at the time aren’t nearly as important as simply getting the job done.  But when the task is complete, when the fire is out, when the person has been extricated, when the patient is in the ambulance, we are no different than any other.  We can hurt.  We can feel.  We can cry.  The longer I do this job, the more I find it to be true.

Here we go… live blogging the American Idol results…

I love Matt Breitzke, I think he seems like a really nice guy and he has a great voice, but wow… it was awkward watching him dance to Neyo.  That was just painful.  Did anybody notice that Norman Gentle (aka Nick Mitchell) looked very uncomfortable and nervous during this performance?  Or was it just me?

Is it really necessary to drag these stinking results show on for an hour?  For the love of bacon people… 60 minutes to give us 3 minutes of actual content???

As predicted… Allison is in.  She was the performance of the night last night, hands down.  I think she could go far in this competition.  Great voice, and she kind of came from nowhere.  She’s had very little TV time up to this point.  Here’s hoping she gets more!

I’m sorry to see Matt go.  I really liked him.  But when 9 people have to be axed, it’s not really a surprise.  Guess we have a 1 roughneck per season limit and Michael Sarver filled the quota.

Watching Idol live is really annoying.  I hate not being able to fast forward the commercials!

Matt Giraud won me over when he did Georgia by Ray Charles during Hollywood week.  That’s his element.  The guy has soul, and can do magical things when he is sitting at a piano.  I can’t believe he didn’t make it through.  I know he tanked on Coldplay last night, but I wish he would’ve got a second chance.  I’ll miss him.  Come back next year Matt!

That being said, Kris has been really consistent all the way through, although I don’t think he did any better than Matt last night.  He butchered Michael Jackson.  I think he’ll do well though.  There is no question he can sing.  I will give him this much… his performance tonight was a hundred times better than last night.

OK.  So now there is over 20 minutes left in the show and somehow they are going to drag this out to bring us the final result?  This is why I HATE results shows.

An Idol retrospect?  Come on!  For real?  Doesn’t anybody care.  Cut the results shows to 30 minutes and get on on with life!

Love Brooke White.  Her new single “Hold Up My Heart” isn’t bad.  Might look that one up on iTunes.

Seacrest is twittering during the commercial breaks.  Did you know it took 8 guys to take the piano off stage after Brooke’s performance?  Very important information! :p

Nick, Norman and Adam.  No surprise they left these “3″ to the last.  Simon prayed for 5 or 6 hours last night, and he hopes that him and God have a good relationship.  I hope they do as well.  And for suspense… yet another commercial break!

God and Simon must be good.  Norman Gentle is done.  I am not an Adam Lambert fan, but I did expect he’d go through.

Here’s hoping Matt gets another chance in the Wild Card round.

And… we’re done.

Here we go… time to live blog Idol again.

I would never want to be first to perform.  I’m just not sure it’s the best spot, especially on a 2 hour episode.  By the time the end of the show rolls around, you could be potentially forgotten.  So we begin with Jasmine Murray.  She has been one the more solid females thus far, but I wasn’t overly thrilled with her performance of Love Song by Sara Bareilles.  I don’t know if I’ll remember her by the end of the show.  It was weak.

4 judges really slow the show down.  One performance and I’m already bored!  Good thing I recorded the show so I can fast forward the boring parts!  I love my PVR.

Next up, Matt Giraud. This guy won me over with his performance of Georgia during Hollywood Week.  He has a great voice.  I’m not a big fan of Coldplay to begin with, so this wasn’t a great song for me and it definitely wasn’t his best performance.  I still like him though.  He needs to make better song choices if he gets through!  I hope he does!!!

Jeanine Vailes.  Umm… who is this?  I didn’t even know she was on the show.  Oh well, after tomorrow’s results show, she won’t be.  Way to butcher Maroon 5.  Love them… but did NOT love the performance.

We’re off to a stellar start… 0 for 3 for performances so far!

Normal Gentle… good grief… what can I even say about this guy?  Umm… I know… the novelty has totally wore off for me!  You know that site votefortheworst.com?  Nick Nitchell will likely end up on that site and last half way through the competition like Sanjaya did.  Dear Lord help us all!!!

Ok, just checked… He IS on that site!!! http://votefortheworst.com.  Please America… PLEASE!!!  Don’t do it!

Allison Iraheta is up next, and quite frankly, anything would be awesome after Norman Gentle.  The thing is… she actually was awesome!!!  Honestly, of the 5 so far, she is top of the list hands down.  An unquestionably respectable version of Alone by Heart, which is a big song to sing.  Well done!

I love Paula Adbul.  I mean, like every guy my age, I had a crush on her when I was growing up.  But good grief… what is in her Coke cup???

OK.  Thanks to Allison, it’s now game on.  It only took an hour to get to this point!  Now we have Kris Allen, whom I actually like.  He’s doing Man In The Mirror by Michael Jackson, which is an awesome song.  To bad he started in  the totally wrong key.  Too low.  After Allison, his performance seemed a little weak.  Not bad though.  I like him!  At least he didn’t grab his crotch!  Simon is pushing him to continue… anybody else notice that?

It’s on now girls.  Allison and Megan Joy Corkrey just raised the bar for the females tonight.  Megan has a very unique, very cool voice.  She looks a little odd in her cutesy white dress with her big honking arm tat though.

Matt Breitzke is up next doing If You Could Only See by Tonic.  This guy is pretty cool.  Good story.  Good voice.  Easy to like.  This guy just doesn’t look like what most would picture when you think of an American Idol.  Personally, I don’t care.  But I’m afraid that could play against him.  I wish I could’ve seen him do something to showcase his vocals a little bit more.

Every time I hear Bette Davis Eyes all I can think about is Gwyneth Paltrow from Duets.  Jesse Langseth has a good voice, but I’m not convinced she was better than Allison or Megan.  She’s done.

Kai Kalama is up next.  Season 8 belongs to the guys this year, no question.  Great version of Jimmy Ruffin’s What Becomes Of The Broken Hearted.  Vocally it was well done, but it seemed very safe to me.

Drops Of Jupiter by Train… I’m so afraid right now.  This is one of my favorite songs.  Mishavonna Henson is one we haven’t heard much of thus far.  She’s actually got an alright voice.  But I still think Allison is the female to beat tonight.  I don’t think she did that.

If American Idol was a musical theatre show Adam Lambert. would have it nailed.  Unfortunately, it’s not a musical theatre show, so I’m not sure he’s got it nailed.  I’m not sure what to say about this guy.  He has great control of his voice, but I don’t actually like his voice… at all!!  If I watched it with my eyes closed, I’m not entirely sure I’d be able to tell if he was a man or woman.  I think American will vote for him though.  Paula loves this guy.

So we are at the end… who goes on?  This is actually a really tough call tonight.  Allison Iraheta HAS to be the female that gets through.  As for the guys, I have a feeling Adam Lambert might be the guy.  Keep in mind he’s not my pick, I just have a feeling he’ll be America’s pick.  I’d also like to see Matt Giraud get another chance.  

I really hope Norman Gentle doesn’t go on.  That would really just rob the show of a talented singer that could actually have a shot at winning.  I guess we’ll find out tomorrow night.

OK.  It’s been fun, but I have to get up at 3:30a to do the morning show, and it’s now 10:02p.  Time to go nite nite!

Do you ever have one of those days when you feeling like you have nothing productive or intelligent to offer to society?  I say this not in a negative way either.  I don’t think it’s necessarily a bad thing.  I mean really, can anyone be expected to be on their game all the time?  Should anyone be expected to be on their game all the time?

When I first started this blog, my biggest apprehension was that there would be days when I wouldn’t have anything to write about.  If I’m going to post everyday, and people are doing to give me their time everyday, I should have something here for them to read everyday.  It’s actually a lot of pressure, and it’s probably unnecessary pressure that I’ve put on myself.

The reality is, we all need a day off.  I don’t just mean a day off from work either.  I mean, sometimes we all just need to take a day to do absolutely nothing.  No work.  No thinking.  Nothing productive.  We just need a day to relax, restore, renew.  Productivity is not a constant.  Creativity is not a constant.  If Shakespeare was allowed to have days when his pen ran dry, then I guess it’s OK for me to.  After all… he was Shakespeare!  I’m just some random guy.  I don’t suspect that my literary offerings will ever be required reading in High School.  That’s not to say that it couldn’t happen.  Just to say that it’s not something I’ve considered!

So I guess, what I’m really trying to say is, it’s OK to have an off day.  It’s OK to wake up in the morning every so often and not feel like getting out of bed or offering anything to the world.  It just means when you come back the next time around, you’ll be that much more energized, that much more creative, and be that much more of a blessing.  Here is hoping tomorrow I prove this true!

I’ve filled in on the Morning Show at work a couple of times in the past week. Actually, I did it Thursday, Friday and again today. There is a distinct possibility that I’ll be doing it Thursday as well.  

It was not an easy thing for me.  I am such a creature of habit.  I have routine.  Structure.  It’s not that I can’t function without them, but, they become old hat for you.  You don’t necessarily acknowledge them.  But there is certainly a comfort found in having them there.

The biggest challenge for me has been the complete schedule reversal.  Currently working evening shifts during the week, I find myself on the air from 7p – 12a.  So to all of the sudden flip and work from 5:30a – 10a has not been easy.  I have a sleeping disorder.  I need to have consistency in my sleep or I’m basically screwed.  So filling in on the Morning Show wasn’t easy.

I’ve learned over the past couple days that I am still able to perform on limited sleep.  I’ve also learned that the moment I turn the mic off after my last break, my body pretty much shuts down.  All unnecessary functions resign, and I’m left with limited capacity.  Basically… just enough to safely drive home.

Despite this experience virtually turning my world upside down for a few days, I must admit, I’ve enjoyed it.  I used to be a Morning Man a couple of years ago.  I had forgot what it felt like.  You are responsible for waking up a city.  That is no small task.  How you greet each person as they start their day could have a profound effect on how they greet their day.  After all, as the Morning Man, you could quite possibly be the first voice heard as the sun slowly appears over the horizon.

What an honor.  What a privilege.  With a word I can bring a laugh.  With a song I can bring a smile.  Like a friend I can bring them up to speed on the events of the day.  I can offer the promise of sunshine, the concerned warning of snow covered roads, and the highlights of all that has taken place in their slumber.  It’s like being a member of an extended family.  I’m there for breakfast, for that first coffee.  It’s a great feeling to be able to contribute to the day to day lives of so many.  My only prayer is that I’m able to do it well, and bring a positive start to each turning page of the calender.

I must admit, however, that 3:30a is not my favorite time.  In fact, as the hands pass the 24 hours of the clock, it ranks somewhere in the bottom of my most celebrated hours.  This is about the time I rise.  After all, if you’re going to wake up a city, you need to be up and in place yourself before them!

Just when I start to feel displeasure for that early morning wake up call though, something happens.  When I walk out the door of my building and head to my truck, I am greeted with a confidence that I suspect can only be found when breathing the pre-dawn air.  

The world in which I live, for the most part, is still nestled in their beds when I leave for work.  The sun itself hasn’t even begun to rise.  In that transition between the final twinkles of a night sky, and the bold glow that kisses the horizon with the commencement of a new day, there is a serenity.  It’s in that calm and peaceful twilight that I find the assurance I need to carry on with the task at hand.

As I drive to work on the lonely, black roads, I feel like I own all that I see.  This is my city, my county, my territory. Rarely do I even see another vehicle on my journey.  And why would I?  For I have not yet stirred them from their rest. When I arrive at work, take my seat in the studio, and crack that mic for the first time, I will bring it all to life.

The power of that drive in the sea of darkness is not about ego though.  In fact, it’s quite the contrary.  It’s about pride!  It’s about preparation.  It’s about building confidence for the great responsibility that awaits me.  This morning, even if it’s only temporary, I will help you begin your day.  That makes me feel great about being me.  When I bid you good morning, just know that I truly mean it!

I watched the Oscars last night, more out of obligation than desire.  I had to fill in on the Morning Show at work today, so I knew if I wanted to be able to intelligently talk about the awards show, I’d have to stay up and way them.  Were it not for that, the Oscars would’ve come and gone from my life without even so much as a second thought.

All in all, I will confess, it wasn’t a bad show.  Hugh Jackman, I thought, did a fantastic job as the host.  He had moments when it almost reminded me of the Billy Crystal golden years of Oscar.  Keep in mind I say almost.  It wasn’t on the same level, but it was certainly a step in the right direction for a show that has hemorrhaged viewers at an alarming rate over the past few years.

There is a lot of pomp and circumstance surrounding the event.  I suppose that is one of the reasons I am uninterested.  Do I really care which celebrity is wearing which gown, or which star has accented their ensemble with a million dollars worth of jewelry from the latest designer flavor of the week?  No, no I don’t!

There are a couple of issues that I have with the Academy Awards, and, perhaps it is only I whom feels this way, but then again, perhaps it’s part of the reason why audiences have abandoned the show.

First, who picks the nominees?  I mean, can somebody explain to me how a movie like The Dark Knight, which is now the highest grossing movie of all time can be virtually ignored by the Academy?  Yet, on the other end of the spectrum, Slumdog Milionaire, the Best Picture winner, has earned around $100 million.  Don’t get me wrong, I’m not denying the quality of the movie.  All I’m saying is, how can you ignore one picture that is so huge, and honor a picture that isn’t even in the same realm, and then still wonder why the masses have lost interest in your show?  It seems obvious to me.  If you aren’t listening to the very people who go and watch your movies, then why would they give you 4 hours of their time on a Sunday night?

Secondly, the Oscars are supposed to be about winning an award.  It’s a time to be acknowledged for your great achievement in film, by your peers.  It’s an opportunity to stand in front of a worldwide audience and say thank you for recognizing my work, my skill, my devotion, my passion.  It is NOT, however, a platform to stand upon and force your personal political agenda’s down our throats!  It infuriates me when stars do this.  It’s also, I suspect, another reason why so many have given up on the Oscars.  If I want to watch political diatribes and soapbox speeches… I’ll watch CPAC.  It is certainly not why I watch the Academy Awards.

Finally, and this one is perhaps new this year, is the recession and the Oscars.  Celebrities were playing everything down this year.  The parties weren’t as extravagant.  The outfits weren’t so bold.  Nobody arrived wearing diamond encrusted shoes, as they have in the past.  The stars, quite openly, admitted that they felt it was their responsibility to hold back in these tough economic times, as they didn’t want to offend anybody.  The problem is, by doing so, they offended me.

Just because nobody wore $14 million dollars worth of jewelry, as they have in previous years, doesn’t mean I don’t know what’s going on.  You still collected a 10 or 15 or $20 million dollar payday for each of the movies you starred in last year.  You’re still living in a mansion, driving fancy cars, spending more money on shoes in a single shopping trip than most of us will make in our entire lives.  So when you try and go “recession chic”, as they’ve dubbed it, the only thing you’re really doing is insulting my intelligence.

If you want to earn my respect in these tough economic times, then work for half your regular salary so that the movie studio can afford to hire 10 or 15 or 40 people that they otherwise wouldn’t be able to.  Then I’ll believe your sincerity in relating to the rest of the world during this financial crisis.  But not wearing the $5 million dollar diamond necklace, knowing full well you’ve still got it, is not going to make you look better.  It’s going to make you look stupid.

There are many good things about the Oscars.  I will be the first to admit that there were parts of the show that I enjoyed last night.  But as I watched the Academy and the show producers try to figure out what’s wrong, I can’t help but think that until they come down off their high horse and start thinking like the common man, they may continue to struggle with winning our loyalty back and restoring the Oscars to the worldwide television juggernaut that it used to be.

One of the reasons why everybody loves Romantic Comedies created by Hollywood is that they always have a happy ending.  There is a good story, a few laughs, some version of love, and in the end, the guy always gets the girl.  Certainly it’s not reality, but that’s OK.  We have enough reality in our day to day lives.  We don’t need reality when we’re watching a movie.  I guess that is half the reason for watching the movie in the first place.  For the escape of it all.

Tonight I was flipping through the channels and couldn’t find anything really worth watching.  When I’m on the stationary bike, I need background noise.  Something, anything.  As I was channel surfing I came across “The Break Up” with Vince Vaughn and Jennifer Aniston.  

At first I assumed it would be just another Romantic Comedy like the rest.  90% of the way through, I still thought as much.  Even though they had experienced their break up, and the comedy ensued, I expected in the end, as always, the guy would get the girl.

By the time the end credits came up, I was convinced that when they edited the movie for television they must have accidentally cut off the ending.  Perhaps somebody inserted the wrong tape?  Maybe they let a student edit the movie and they goofed.  It didn’t seem possible.  They guy didn’t get the girl.  That’s not how it’s supposed to happen.  Or at least, that isn’t how it’s supposed to happen in Hollywood.

I sat for a few moments processing what had unfolded.  The more I thought about it though, the more I appreciated it.  A movie that took a chance.  A movie that didn’t end with “And they lived happily ever after.” Then again, whose to say they didn’t live happily ever after, simply because they didn’t live happily ever after with each other?

I’m 30 years old and divorced. In my wildest dreams, or perhaps I could say nightmares, that is something I never saw happening.  I love my Hollywood movies.  The black and white Romances of the 30’s and 40’s and the Romantic Comedies of today.  The guy is supposed to get the girl.  They are supposed to live happily ever after.  That’s just the way it’s supposed to work.

I guess that is why I appreciate The Break Up.  Now that I find myself in the position I’m in, I respect the reality of it.  At the same time, I also am intrigued by the mystery of it.  Just because the movie didn’t give us the happy ending we hoped for doesn’t mean there still can’t be a happy ending.

This is a fact I remind myself of daily.  My life is a book.  Each day is a page.  What I’m learning now is that just because one chapter ends, doesn’t mean the story does.  Instead, a page turns and a new chapter begins.  What I thought was the end of the story was merely a plot twist.  Pen still gets put to paper.  There are plenty more pages to write.

Life doesn’t follow a Hollywood script.  There are no storyboards that guide the plot.  Life is a series of choices.  Sometimes we make good decisions, sometimes we make bad decisions.  Sometimes, we don’t even get a say in the decisions.  All we can do is keep putting pen to paper.  When the plot takes an unexpected turn, we take time to collect ourselves, and follow the new path.  

Giving up is certainly an option, although it shouldn’t be.  There are days when I’ve wanted to.  Thankfully, my faith gets me through.  On those days, I’ve got somebody that picks me up and carries me.  For that, I’m grateful.  After all, if we give up before we reach the end of the book… we could miss our happy ending!

$48,000,000.  That’s the latest estimate.  Tonight’s Lotto 6/49 could potentially be a record breaker.  Even though the initial estimate is the prior mentioned value, officials say that an incredible increase in ticket purchasing will likely push that amount even higher.  Everybody has a dream, and everybody would love even a piece of that pie.

I am not a gambling man, but I did get my ticket.  I figured, why not?  Unlike many though, I purchased a single ticket.  One line, after all, is all you need to win!  I watch people as they drop $20, $50 or even $100 and I don’t know what to think.  As much as I would love to win, realistically, I know the odds are astronomical.  So it just seems a waste to spend that much money.

As I sit here, I wonder to myself, what would I do with that kind of money?  First, $4,800,000 would go to Ontario Christian Assembly, the church camp I attended in my youth.  They are in the process of preparing for a new building project, so I’d just take care of that right off the top.  It would be a blessing for me to see the camp that impacted my life as a child be improved upon so it can keep changing lives in the future.

No doubt I’d see that my family is taken care of.  Mom and Dad would get a piece of the pie.  I might even give some to my sister (such a brotherly thing to say).  

I’d thoroughly enjoy buying a house and getting out of my apartment.  Just a normal house though.  I am but a lone man.  I don’t need a ridiculous mansion.  Maybe a couple thousand square feet tops with a nice yard, a big garage for my tools, and a basement I can finish off for the pool table.  I’ve always wanted a pool table.

I could finally replace my truck.  It’s a little worn, a little rough around the edges.  It’s been a good ride, but it’s reaching retirement age. I have no complaints.  It’s served me well.  I don’t know if I’d buy brand new.  It just seems frivolous, but then again, I am a simple man.  I suppose I would think that way.  Maybe I could convince myself to splurge just once.  I truly would love a fully loaded 2009 Ford Flex!

Outside of that, I can’t even imagine what I’d do.  I don’t want a lot of stuff, you can’t take it with you you know.  I don’t need much.  I wouldn’t go on any crazy shopping sprees.  I’d like to replace my TV.  It’s about 10 years old.  Maybe a nice plasma.  That would be cool.

I sponsor a child through World Vision.  I’ve often thought it would be a blessing to meet him.  So maybe a trip to Peru would be in order.  What a gift it would be to share some of my new found wealth with his village.  There is no doubt that money could be put to good use there.

As nice as it would be to win $48,000,000, and I certainly wouldn’t complain if I did, it just seems like so much.  Certainly more than I could ever spend.  Then again, with such a personal blessing, I would certainly have a good time randomly blessing others.  I love the feeling of anonymous acts of kindness.  It brings me joy.  A joy I’ve never experienced doing anything else.  I could certainly have a lot of fun with that.

What a brilliant marketing strategy.  ”Lotto 6/49… just imagine”.  Indeed I will.

I have to get up for work in about 4 hours.  It’s been a crazy day today, a busy day.  A morning radio show, 3 voice over jobs, a couple hours of freelance work for World Vision, a trip to my dad’s, 1 fire call and laundry… I can’t forget the laundry.  I tried to fit in everything but there is one thing I didn’t have time to do.  Write my blog.

Each evening I sit down to write a few thoughts, and then I set them to automatically post at 12:01am.  So many people, hundreds, to my surprise, visit this blog daily.  I feel compelled to share.  I love to share.

As I’ve sat here for the past 20 minutes trying to come up with something to write about, I found an article that really touched me.  I’d grab a portion of it, but in order to truly appreciate it, I think you need to take a couple minutes to read the entire thing.  Here is the link… http://is.gd/kad0

Sports used to be fun.  It used to be about a group of people getting together, enjoying each others company, having a good time and getting a little exercise.  At some point in time though, and I’m not entirely sure when it was, there was a shift in societies thinking.

Now it’s about competition.  It’s about win at all cost.  The story of the girls basketball team from a couple of weeks ago that hammered their opponents by 100 points is evidence to this.  The fact that professional athletes are being caught in droves taking performance enhancing drugs is evidence to this.  

This summer I was walking through a local park and was watching some kids play T-Ball.  They couldn’t have been more than 4 or 5 years old.  It is supposed to be a cute, fun, innocent thing.  But I watched a coach, most likely a father of one of the children, actually getting on these kids for not hustling and for not paying attention.  It made me sick to my stomach!  At 5?  Really?  That is simply not the way it was intended to be!

Then comes a story like the one linked above.  It’s a story that like that restores my faith in sport.  For all the wrongs, for all the obsessed coaches, for all the cheating players, for all the bad attitudes and win at all cost mentalities, every so often somebody gets it right!

It is possible to play the game, and play it well, while still having the utmost respect for your teammates, your opponents, and the purity of the game!  To the coaches and players of Milwaukee Madison and DeKalb High, I commend you for your integrity, and for protecting the purity of sport!  Many an athlete, professional and otherwise, could stand to learn a lesson from you all!