Beautiful God! Beautiful Weather! So-So Singing?

Today God provided something for me that I needed right then, right there. Sometimes we pray about things and it may take days, weeks, or even years before God provides what we've requested. Sometimes, the prayers go unanswered. During those times, we tend to feel isolated from God, as if He is not listening. Funny how we are usually thankful, though, for some of those unanswered prayers.

But today, He delivered me from a problem. Fast! So I was singing and praising...and I brought you along for the ride. Most people would be quick to interject that "Slide" by the Goo Goo Dolls is not exactly a praise and worship song. They'd be right. But that didn't stop me from having a thankful heart for God's beautiful and mysterious ways.

For Those About To Laugh...I Salute You

Thanks to all of my wonderful friends who make me laugh. Life wouldn't be the same without y'all.

The Lunch Bunch met last week and I never showed any of the photos that I took. Unfortunately, several members of the gang had left before I whipped out my phone and took these shots. So forgive me if I don't post any photos of you.

Feeling a little creative tonight, I've taken some liberties and set up a slide show for you. All of the fantastic voice-over work was done by me on the "fly." I find that unrehearsed can sometimes be the cutting edge. And then again, the cutting edge does get dull quickest. You be the judge.

Hey BooBoo, Where's The Pic-A-Nic Basket?

Most of you know that Angie works one week on, one week off. She started her work week tonight. So today we had our last lunch together until next week. Fortunately for me, the weather worked in my favor.

We loaded up in my van and headed down North 18th Street. Stopping at Thurman's, we picked up a couple of chicken spaghetti plates and headed towards the river.

We found a picnic table by the river with a couple shade trees strategically placed in our favor. Guys, it doesn't get much better than this. I hope when the weather is pleasant again, you'll take advantage of the some of the natural resources we have around here. I guarantee I will. My bride was giddy with happiness.

Check Out Angie's Site

I have no specific blog tonight. But I do want to tell you that Angie created her site today and christened it with a video.

Check it out.

http://markyswife.blogspot.com/

You can also click Angie's link under my friends links.

Don't Forget To Watch Me

I almost forgot to tell y'all that I'm going to be on TV Sunday afternoon. At 5:00 pm, I will be interviewed on a show called Home Sweet Home. Tune in to Comcast channel 11, KAQY, tomorrow and I'll be on somewhere before the half way point.

Also, I'm putting a clip up tonight in addition to Scooter's Car Ride. /whispering/ This clip may get me in a world of trouble. So this blog posting may get deleted if a certain someone finds out that I put the video on line. You can clearly see that I've raised perfectly normal kids.

****As expected, the video was "discovered" and I was forced to remove it. For those who didn't get to see it, I'm sorry. For those who did view it, don't tell anybody what you saw or I'm a dead man walking.****

Scooter's Car Ride

Daniel was sick last night...all night. Today, he ran fever and slept most of the day. As a parent, it can be so frustrating to see your child sick. You want to do anything in the world to make them feel better. But most times, all you can do is be there to comfort them. And all three of our kids would probably agree that they'd rather have Angie to take care of them instead of me. She's not only a nurse as her profession, she's a nurse at heart.

Well long story short, Daniel needed some refreshments to replenish some of the fluids he lost during the night. So off to Wal Mart I go. And if you're ever at my house, don't jangle your car keys or Scooter will run to the door and start whining. Scooter is one of our Jack Russell terriers. If he hears the word "go" or hears car keys rattling, he runs to the door. He loves to go for rides, walks, runs, or whatever. He just loves to go; and since he's so well-behaved, he usually "pals" around with me. The neat thing is he never complains about my singing and he loves whatever songs I play on the iPod.

I'm Not Giving Up My Day Job

After a couple of longer blogs, I'm going to attempt to shorten this one. I've chosen to deal with a "sensitive" subject again. I beg you to use discretion and don't rush to punish me publicly for my obvious disability.

When Angie and I ride in the car together, she refuses to let me sing. Well, sometimes I start singing and then I get the "look." It's the shut-up-or-bad-things-are-gonna-happen look. I realize that I'm not the brightest bulb on the Christmas tree, but I have learned from experience. And when it comes to my singing, Angie means business. Flat out, she does not like my singing. It's not so much my lack of pitch, which is poor. But, instead, it's my inability to stay in time with the song that really grinds her gears. She claims I have a timing issue. I'm convinced it's a memory problem.

Any way you slice it, I'll admit it does sound awful now that I've had a chance to watch the video. Oh well, I wasn't planning on giving up my day job any time soon.

Tagging and Sweating

I just finished working on a project The Desire sent to me a couple of days ago. It's a game called Tag, You're It. It took a couple of days for me. I know most of you guys probably did it in less than 10 minutes. But I sweat over some of the things I write. It's just my nature. What I say in person, you might forget. What I write on paper or on one of these pages can be seen until the end of the internet. Scares me!

At any rate, here's what I wrote. I know I'm double dipping by not offering a new blog. But not everybody reads myspace. So here you go...

1. Most of my email addresses are tied to my very first nickname. It was given to me was by my father, who incidentally I called "Pa" (pronounced "paw"). He called me "Pard" which is short for "pardner," which is an alteration of the word "partner."
2. I used to jump over other kids on my bike when I was young. A bunch of us boys in the neighborhood would build a ramp and then lie down at the end of the ramp. We'd take turns jumping each other. We'd lay side-by-side and hold our breaths. You never wanted to be on the end if the kid jumping was a wussy. The most I ever jumped was 5 kids. I tried 6 one time, but the back tire of my bike came down on the kid's stomach and that was the end of our kid-jumping ramp.
3. I weighed 135 pounds soaking wet when I started college. My waist was 28 inches and I had long hair and a mustache. Daniel is as tall as I am, weighs more right now, and he's only 12 and in 7th grade. Big boy!
4. I have a 2nd kyu brown belt in Shotokan karate, which is two steps away from black belt. Problem is I haven't trained in over 10 years. Please don't pick a fight with me or I'll have to show you how fast I can run.
5. I'm soft-hearted. I hit a bird one day in my car. So I stopped, picked up the bird, and took it home. Angie thought I was crazy. I put the bird in a shoebox and went to get a shovel to bury it. While I was looking for the shovel, the bird came back to life and started flying around in my house. Angie was not amused. It took us almost an hour to get the bird out of the house.
6. I'm partially deaf in my left ear. When I was a kid, I fell out of a tree over 15 feet and landed partially on my head. I broke a bone in the base of my skull and hemorrhaged from my ear for over a week. As a precaution, the doctors made me stay in bed for two months. Did I mention this happened at the beginning of summer? Can you imagine being bedridden for two months of summer when you're a kid? Not pleasant! Ironically, though I have a hearing problem, I've been a sound man for two different bands. Go figure. God does have a sense of humor.
7. I took Angie out on our first date on March 31st and married her on August 18th of the same year. On our first date, I took her out in my 1968 Ford Bronco, which had no air conditioning. The passenger side door was broken and she had to crawl through the driver's side to get to her seat. When we got the restaurant, four of my buddies were still there because they had gone to the restaurant's Happy Hour. When they saw how pretty Angie was they decided to dine at the same table with us. So, on our first date, I had to compete with four other guys for Angie's attention. Who said nice guys can't finish first? We will be married for 24 years in August. By the way, I still have the Bronco too.
8. I don't like going to big parties. Some people think that because I'm a happy-go-lucky guy that I love to party-it-up big time. Truth is I prefer to be with my close circle of family and friends doing rather ordinary things. If I have a choice of being with my loved ones watching a movie or going to a big shindig with people I only casually know, the family is going to win. Call me boring, but I love my family.
9. I have this eerie sense that I don't fit in. I mean, when I'm around seniors (aged 59 and above), I become that age. When I'm around people of my generation, I become that age. When I'm around youngsters (anybody 30 and below), I become that age. My age seems to be timeless. Now you're probably saying, "What a blessing." But there are days when it feels like a curse. I wrote a song over 20 years ago that expressed my angst. Here's a sample of the lyrics: "…frustrated by the thoughts that run inside of my mind. Am I a man, am I a child?"
10. I grew up in a Southern Baptist church, was baptized in a Southern Baptish church, was married in a Southern Baptist church, and will probably have my funeral there too. However, I seem to march to the beat of a different drummer. My beliefs could better be described as reformed or Calvinist. Not everyone that knows this agrees with me. There are people in my church that would be mortified to know that I believe this. We could get into a big argument, but it all boils down to this, though. Jesus is God's only begotten son and I believe in Him, and only Him, for my salvation. How about you?

Oh, and before I forget, nobody solved the actor photo yesterday. In the ladybug costume was none other than Prissy Hawthorne. Julie Self was the spider. Oops, sorry Kim. Julie was a scorpion. And one of shots shows a young Chris Leader. All have gone on to star in bigger productions. Way to go Youngstage! My oldest son, John, was the grasshopper.

Plus, attached are some random "eye candy" photos for Matt

Name That Actor

Today I uncovered a little gem while I was looking for the goofy family video we made back in November 2005. First, the video was a response to one of several videos Meredith had sent to us. It was primitive and silly...unrehearsed and funny. But tonight's blog does not reveal the video. I'm saving that one!

At any rate, the gem I discovered was a photo of Daniel's first starring role in "James and the Giant Peach." Some of you may have seen it performed by the Youngtroupe back around 2003. It was a very good play and it was directed by Mickey Cannon. The costumes and set were really wild and fun.

Cutting to the chase, I noticed some of our theater pals in the pictures with Daniel. See if you know who they are under those costumes.

Welcome To "Who's In His Head Now?"

I hope to accomplish two things with this blog. 1) Let you in on a little secret that only my immediate family knows about. 2) Give Matt some eye candy so he'll shut up.

1) I have a bad habit. I don't know how long it's been going on...my guess is as long as I've been driving. I don't know why it started. I certainly don't know how to make it stop and I refuse to take medication for it. Therefore, I'm going to learn to live with it. Up until now, only my wife and kids have actually seen it. Plus, I waited until the kids were grown before I let them see it, up close and personal. But now, on this blog, I will reveal to the world....I talk to myself while I'm driving.

Oh yeah, sure, everyone talks to himself now and then. You know, we audibly remind ourselves to go to the store and pick up a loaf of bread....or stop and pick up the laundry at the cleaners. Sometimes we'll count out loud if we're faced with a math problem. We'll sing along with the radio. (My guess is Stephanie and Michael are singing Garth Brooks' songs right now.) Most times it's under the breath, though, and sometimes it's a silent monologue.

But me, I'm different....and it usually appears when I'm alone...in the car. I have conversations. There, I said it. It's out there...I said it. Now get over it. I have conversations...multiple character conversations...all for my own amusement. I try to make myself laugh. Sometimes I surprise myself with something really funny. Most times, though, it's just filler conversation. Well, before you go call the funny farm and ask them to pick me up, remember...this is a victimless crime. Since you've never heard any of the conversations, you can't claim that I've harmed you in any way. And who's to say that I'm not helping the planet by emitting carbon dioxide with each laugh?

So much for my argument. I filmed myself driving back from Ruston today. I have only a snippet of the film, but you'll get the gist. Please be merciful...it's a serious problem.

2) Matt has asked me for some eye candy on my blog. I figure that this video will suffice until I find the deck of cards from Oscar and Felix. The four poker buddies had some "special" cards printed with the girls...wink, wink.

A Lizard???

Some people have made disparaging remarks about my profile pic. And I'm sure most of you have noticed that I use the same picture for both the blogspot and myspace.

Well, here's the history behind the pic. The lizard ... as some have referred to it ... is really a gecko.

We moved to our present address during the summer of '96. It was still hot as blue blazes; or as some call it, the "dog days." We had previously lived in a newer subdivision in West Monroe for the previous three years. So coming back to an older neighborhood in Monroe was a bit of an adjustment. However, since school was still out, the kids...John and Meredith...explored the outdoors and made new friends rather easily. Daniel was only one year old at the time and stayed under Angie's wing.

I believe the first night we were in our "new" home, the kids noticed we had several geckos all over the back of the house. Although fast like the common green lizards, these geckos were actually easier to catch...especially at night. So for several weeks, the kids became gecko wranglers. It was strictly a catch-and-release program; because once you caught one, it wasn't a whole lot you could do with it.

To me, the geckos around the house are like a shield because they keep out unwanted bugs. And for this reason, I am grateful to them. Plus, they are cool looking and fun to watch. I love to see them scurry about with that crazy walk. In addition, have you noticed how many commercials are using either a gecko or a lizard, lately? Who's talking for Geiko Auto Insurance? Who's dancing to Michael Jackson's "Thriller" for Life Water? ...'nuff said.

One night in October '06, I was walking through my kitchen during a rainstorm. I noticed a gecko was on the window...clinging to the pane during the storm. I quickly grabbed my camera and took several shots as he slowly moved around. The next day, I uploaded the photos to my computer. Within a few weeks, I was playing with some photo software and used the gecko as the subject. Somehow, it became a project. I would think...how can I change the photo to make it more appealing? Really, all I was doing was experimenting with my software to learn how to use it more effectively. The end result was some cool gecko photos.

So...there you have it. The gecko that became my logo. I've offered the original photo and some of my enhancements for your viewing pleasure.

So, What's So Funny?

I'm sitting at the computer tonight with absolutely nothing to say. Zero...zilch...laid an egg-a-roonie. I've tried several times to come up with something interesting to say or something funny to tell you, but I'm shooting blanks here. Maybe it's because I've burned the candle at both ends for several days in a row. Maybe it's because, truth be told, I'm not that interesting of a conversationalist. Certainly, my life story wouldn't fill the drama needed to make a 10-second movie. Partially, that's my fault because I shy from drama. I'm the T-Rex on "Toy Story" who says "I don't like confrontations!" Rather, it's my nature to try to make you smile. I like it even better when you laugh out loud.

What's wrong with that? Well, I can think of a few times when I was thinking of a joke when the situation needed to be more serious. I remember a time when I worked with this guy named Charlie.

I must have been about 27 or 28 years old, and Charlie was...well, heck, I really don't have a clue how old Charlie was. He looked about 65. He smoked three packs a day...in the office...from 8-5. (Yes, people used to be able to smoke freely in the office, kids.) There's no telling how many cigarettes he smoked at home. His voice was gruff, as you would expect from someone who smoked that much. And he was short...shorter than me...and portly. Charlie always had a story to tell. Even when you were too busy to think straight, Charlie wanted to talk....well, mostly, he wanted you to listen. In the two years I worked with him, I did my fair share of listening.

But one day, he had "cornered" a co-worker when I happened to walk back into the office. Turns out, Charlie was talking about his mother's funeral that had happened years previously. I don't know why the story struck me as funny because losing your mother is not a humorous event...I know firsthand. Maybe it was because I was tickled that someone else had been the prey for his endless stories that day. Maybe it was Charlie's slow, raspy drawl. Heck, it would take him five minutes to read a seven-digit phone number. {Eat your heart out, Vinnie!} Maybe it was the way he'd look at you with his droopy, hound-dog eyes. I don't know why I did what I did. I don't know to this day...but he looked at me and I started giggling. The man was talking about his beloved dead mother and I'm giggling like a little schoolgirl. Awkward...yes... to say the least. But I can recover, right? Stop giggling Mark. Stop right now! Now! I'm not kidding, mister! STOP GIGGLING....ARGGGGHHH!!!!

Well, nope, I couldn't AND didn't stop. My laugh-box had been kicked over and there was no turning back at this point. Then Charlie looks at me and says, "So, what's so funny?" I was blank. I had nothing. Zero...zilch...egg-a-roonie. All I could do was hold on to a thin thread of decency and bite my lip. Slowly, I slunk away...snickering under my breath.

Later that day, I apologized to Charlie and told him that I had a joke floating around in my mind when I walked back in that day. I explained that I just couldn't contain myself from laughing because of the joke. He accepted my apology and we shared a laugh together.

I don't know whatever happened to Charlie. I quit working at that office over 20 years ago and it was in another state. I suppose he could still be alive, and I sure hope he gave up smoking.

Well, like I said earlier, I don't have anything to say tonight. Zero...zilch...nothing. So, what's so funny?

It's the Small Things That Get You

Have you ever been bitten by a hippopotamus? How about a rhinoceros? Me either! You know what drives me crazy, though? Small, no-see-ums...bugs that bite that you don't see. Mosquitoes....arghhhh! Redbugs, chiggers, fleas, ticks!!!! Help!!! I'm starting to itch writing about them.

You want to know what the funny thing is? It's the small things that get you. You can see a hippopotamus coming from a mile away. Even slow runners like me could take cover from a hippo. And I'm not saying I could outrun a rhino, but I dang sure think I would see it coming! But the little bugs, they can drive a man crazy!

Now you're probably asking yourself, where is Mark going with this? My point is this: It's the small things that get you. I think I heard it first from Angie's dad. After I had made some home-fix-it mistake at our first house, he told me "you can have '99 attaboys' but it's the one 'oh crap' that gets you."

I made all kinds of "brownie points" with Angie this week with her birthday and Valentine's Day. But for some unknown reason, I stayed up late last night while Angie was working. No problem, right? It's Friday night, I can sleep late Saturday. Yes, most folks probably could. But everyday I wake up at about the same time and my body clock buzzed at its regular time this morning. So up-and-at-'em just like every other day. But ole Marky ran out of gas about four this afternoon. I wasn't going to wake Angie up until about five-ish....so, I'm thinking one-hour nap. Forty winks will do the body good, right? I lay next to Angie and set the clock for 5:15 pm.

Oh, did I forget to tell you that I snore? Well, truth is, I SNORE!!! I pull the nails out of the wall snore. Well, Angie was effectively sleeping until I started sawing logs. She shoved me several times, which didn't do anything but make me mad. All the commotion didn't do anything but keep her awake. We both woke up "sideways" with each other. If I had only taken a nap on the couch....dumb bunny!!!

I tell you this to help us all remember, it's the small things that get you. If I had gone to bed on time last night...if I had taken a nap on the couch...if....if...if. You've heard it said that the devil is in the details. I'm starting to pick up on that right now.

I Want To Miss It All

This morning, I had to go the southwestern part of the parish to look at a property. During the drive down Hwy 34, I opened my window and let the cool breeze invade my car. It reminded me…

Yesterday I saw an old friend that I used to coach against back in 1998. He and I reminisced about some of the escapades that we had taken part of during that time. We laughed for a solid hour…remembering some of the dumb stuff we did and some of crazy pranks we pulled. We ended the conversation with “Man, I miss those days.”

On my ride back to Monroe today, I went an alternate route and passed a convenience store. The smell of boiled crawfish immediately wafted into my car. Oh, the memories… You see, Angie and I love to eat boiled crawfish on our deck with friends. Some of my favorite times have been 20 feet out my back door. I love the smell of citronella candles burning and the faint sound of blues or jazz music playing in the background. I’m missing that right now.

I miss the soccer team I coached circa 2000. I thought about them yesterday because I was at the funeral for one of the players' grandfathers. The team practiced every Tuesday and Thursday at Covenant Presbyterian Church. That little Service Master team was full of characters; and the friendship of the parents was so genuine. I miss the Judy Moore Realty softball team I coached back in 1996. They weren’t expected to set the world on fire, but they won the league and the tournament that year. And again, the parents made all the difference in the world.

I miss the neighborhood Angie and I lived in while we were in Mississippi. All of the families were similar in age, had kids the same age, and were interested in similar things. On one occasion, I grilled chickens for 30 to 40 people…lots of laughter…lots of fun…all on a patio!

I miss the neighborhood where I grew up. There must have been about two dozen kids that lived in a two-block radius. There was usually a tag-football game going on every Saturday. And we rode our bikes virtually everywhere and made ramps to jump. At night, we’d do sinister things like shooting crabapples at cars using our Wrist-Rocket slingshots. You’ve never experienced fear until you have a grown man chasing you through an alley because you just “thumped” his car. I miss the nicknames because everybody had a nickname. To this day, I still don’t know some of those kids “real” names.

I miss the videos Meredith used to send me when she was a freshman at LSU. She and her roommate, Dani, would record Meredith dancing to different songs. Some times, Ernie, her stuffed dog, would participate. The videos always made me laugh and marvel at her creativity.

I miss John hitting the game-winning single in the bottom of the last inning of a baseball game. I was coaching first base that night and when the base-runner scored, John and I hugged at first base and screamed in unison. What a feeling!!

I miss Daniel looking me square in the eye and telling me “I’m not the Hammer…I’m the Big Cat.” I had started calling him “Hammer” when he was a toddler because he was so rough with all of his toys. One day, when he was about three, he straightened me out. We still don’t know where he came up with “the Big Cat,” but it stuck. I still call him that today.

I miss my mom on so many different levels. My mom loved to watch boxing. She was such a mild, meek lady, but when boxing came on, Katie bar the door! She probably could have been a great boxing manager. I miss hearing her sing and I miss hearing her laugh.

I miss my dad on so many levels too. He was infinitely funnier than I’ll ever be in a million years. He didn’t have a formal education, but I would have pitted him up against any of the brightest minds I know. He thought fast on his feet and was as quick-witted as anyone I’ve ever known.

To sum it up, I guess I’m happy that I’m missing these things. Ironic, isn’t it? I kid with Angie that when I get into something, I go all in…no holding back. You know…jump in feet first and start running. But isn’t that the way we’re supposed to live? I’m soaking it all up…how about you? Ten years from now, I hope I’m able to sit back, laugh, and say: “Man, I miss those days.”