Times like these

The moving along of life is measured in time. We make plans based on time. But once you reach a certain age ,which I am sure is different for everyone.One begins to start to think of time as a precious commodity that you don't know if you will have enough of to accomplish the things you had hoped to.Days seem long at times but oddly years feel shorter.In our modern age of everyone being connected to our phones,tablets ,computers,televisions and radios.It's nice to just step away from that and enjoy the moments we have face .Me and my wife just went on a rare dinner outing with another couple who are friends of ours.It was so nice to have unhurried conversations and learn more of each others lives .The one thing I notice is that even though time moves fast it's what you do with that time and the enjoyment that  makes it all worthwhile.I am sure there will be many things I thought of doing as a child I will not accomplish.But that doesn't bother me .What would bother me is if I don't appreciate ,enjoy and cherish  the experiences and accomplishments I have been blessed with.

Football at the ville

It's our start to fall when it's cool and breezy or just plain hot.Tonight I got to watch my son's team play for the second time this year.Sometimes my work schedule doesnt allow me to make every game.But I try to catch the ones I can. They had a good game which they won. I love watching my son play he does very well on the field. It was really nice to hear folks in the crowd say good things about his skill and game smarts.The great thing about team play is the relationships he builds and confidence it builds in him.He has worked very hard over the summer going to athletic training and also doing training with his football coach.I have had many tell me how good a guy he is very respectful and hardworking .He is captain on his team.I don't try to coach him on the game anymore he has a coach and trainers for that but I will coach and support him in life. This is his last year of junior high here at the ville.I am gonna enjoy it while it last ..I love watching football but I really love to watch him grow up unhurried and happy.

TV news and talk ??really

The news media always seems to be in a frenzy about one thing or another.But to me rarely do they seem to be reporting news but instead trying to push their own thoughts out there.It seems they want everyone to be either scared,angry ,confused or simply unhappy.I have pretty much stopped watching the wind bags on TV and staying away from their hype.I read the news online from reputable news sources and make up my own mind ..I pass by the articles that are fluff ..and I am a much happier calmer person for it.Sometimes you have to just move along from the carnival bakers and be blessed.

long time no see (forgive yourself)

Well its been quite a while but here it goes. In a person's life you make some good choices and you make some less than stellar choices.It is so easy to feel good and proud of the good decisions. But the less than stellar ones can often prove to be somewhat of a hindrance to one's mental and spiritual well being. You want to learn and grow from mistakes and often times they still linger around in your head whispering doubt upon yourself.I heard a minister preach about this last night.It truly hit home with me.If God has forgave you and you have made amends ..then you must forgive yourself. You must move forward .don't let the past mistakes ever hold power over you.Be the new creature in Christ. Don't listen to the doubt ..live and use the knowledge you learned  in positive ways..  well until next time be blessed

old pictures

The mind is a wonderfully complex creation. It is what sends out the signals that cause us to breath ,makes a persons heart pump,and all our other body functions that go own quietly without us having to think about it .Scientist have sent men to the moon ,they have been able to clone animals and many other great achievements .But they study the brain and don't really understand how it does what it does .they understand certain things about it ,but not all the inner workings .How memories work in the mind is still somewhat of a mystery .I recently put up some pictures on my face book of me and my father ,as well as of my grandparents and mother and aunts and uncles.I am always amazed at the memories that come back to me as i look at old pictures ,Its like that particular time or person are back vibrant and alive in my mind. It is a very nice thing to have good memories come back.but as is always the case with good doesn't always come without bad.It is the yin and yang of life .But it was nice to look at the pics and feel the good and sometimes painful emotions that they evoke .I think a person needs to move forward in life. but in moving forward a person should also take time to reflect and remember the people and events that helped to make you the person you are .I don't know all the ends and outs of the minds memory ,but i am thankful that as the old saying goes " picture is worth a thousand words "That old pics can at times be priceless.

2011 cruise day two

By the time we got up on the second day we were far away from land ,surrounded by water .My wife ,Mary said that it made her feel a little funny not seeing any land .I worked off-shore several years ago so being surrounded by water was not new to me .The water was a very dark almost royale blue . We ate breakfast in the Paris room it was very good and as always the service was top notch. We went to an excursion seminar in the Rome theater ,we found it very comforting and educational .With all the stories you hear of the mexican drug wars ,they assured us our ports of call and any excursion we did would be safe . They also told us that the ship would be stopping and checking its side thrusters and not to be alarmed ... so most people that did not go to the seminar were kinda alarmed when they stopped..We made our way around the ship and kinda got a little better bearing on were things were located. We did get in the hot tub and enjoyed that . The second day also happend to be the formal night and the captains dinner. We had gotten dressed early so we could go and have pictures taken,and listen to the bands play. We got to take a picture with our captain Angelo Los .It was amazing to see some of the outfits and tuxes some were wearing .We had the the late dinning and it was very fun and exciting with everyone dressed up it added even more to the experience .We went to comedy show after dinner and then to a small magic show .We walked on the deck taking in the Moon, it was gorgeous out on the water .And with much anticipation on the next days coming events we called it a night.

Cruise Day one Port of New Orleans

Me and my wife left our house early Saturday morning heading to New Orleans .The trip down went very smooth .My GPS did a great job. We were very excited and a little nervous ,having never done the cruising procedure before . The check in went very well getting there early definitely paid off, as we had short waiting times in every line. We got 6 as our loading number and our wait in the port went fast. Before we knew it we were on the ship trying to find our way to deck 9 the "Liddo Deck". When we found the deck ,my wife got in the line for purchasing her coke card. While waiting in the line we were offered drinks my wife said sure not knowing at the time that they were neither free nor non-alcoholic. We tasted the drinks and mine was not as strong as my wife's but after having paid for them and her not liking them she made me drink not only mine but also hers .It was then on to find the food .They had a buffet and grill .By the time we ate my head was swirling just a bit . We had looked down and watched the long line of passengers boarding the ship. They finally had our rooms ready and having had the drinks i was in need of a nap .We napped for a bit . After getting up from our nap we made our way around the ship ,as you can imagine the interior of a ship can be hard to navigate around until you learn where all the places our located on the ship.The ship "Carnival Triumph" was very nice ,it is a large ship almost 3 football fields long and taller than the statue of liberty . We would see new people at every turn .We made a point of going to the welcome aboard show which was very entertaining and informative .We were told that if this was the first time on cruise that we would see some strange things in the coming days,but not to worry .As you will not be seeing these folks again .They had the triumph dancers do a song and dance show ,one of comedians came and did a small number. We were told food would be served 24/7 and at 3 in the morning we might see people slightly drunk out and about eating on the liddo deck .room service was available 24/7 too.We had the late dining which meant that our dinner time was at 8:15 pm every evening in the Paris room. Our table number was 429 which was a booth table .We were seated with a great married couple that were celebrating their 20th wedding anniversary .They pastor a church in Tennessee. The formal dinning experience was great ,the waiter placed your napkin on your lap ,suggested what was good that night and kept your drinks in check.I never once had to ask for a refill my cup ,it stayed full and the food was very good .I ate some kind of Italian chicken the first night although it was green ,it was very tasty .The food and service simply rocked.as did the ship cause we were going down the Mississippi river by then. It took about 7 hours for us to travel down the Mississippi river and reach the gulf . The ship was kinda rocky as we traveled down the river .but calmed as we got out to the gulf . It was a very fun and exciting time on our first day .As a side not it took a long time for our luggage to reach the room .So if you do cruise you really need to have everything you will need through out the day on the first day of boarding. I quickly learned that i brought way to many clothes and when i cruise again will not bring nearly as many clothes . We dressed up every night to dine and went and listened to the bands as often as we could. after our dinner the first night we went to see Cal Rimmi do his comedy act it was funny but the heckler/drunk guy that was talking to him from the crowd was just as funny . We were well ready for bed and sleep after the show and walking around on the deck . i will be trying to write other blogs covering the rest of the trip in the comiing days .i hope you enjoy this .