I don't think Thanksgiving will ever be quite the same for me. I found out that today my friend's son passed away in a car accident. He was going back to school from visiting family for Thanksgiving. I didn't know this young man personally, and I haven't spoken with his parents face to face in some time. We kept in touch on facebook to some degree, but you know how that goes.

It just really struck me that I don't know how I would handle this type of tragedy. God forbid this would happen to one of my children. These people are strong and I know they will make it. It just seems like such a waste of a young life. This boy was just getting started and everything was taken away from him and his family in the blink of an eye.

It got me to thinking how important it is to let my family know how important they are to me. I don't tell them often enough that they are the reason I maintain some measure of sanity (allbeit slim sometimes). I'm pinning a note to my desk to remind me to say it more often. To show it more often, and most importantly to enjoy the time I have now because I can never know how long it will last.

To Steve and Shelly, I'm truly sorry for your loss. I remember all of us at that age just preparing to go out into the world. We were excited about what was to come, and even if we wouldn't admit it we were a little scared of it as well. I am praying for you guys and a lot of other people are as well.

So to any of you that happen to read this. Keep my friends in your thoughts, and if you are so inclined say a little prayer for them, I have a feeling they are going to be needing as much support as they can get.

Well here we go into the "Holiday" season. It doesn't officially start until Thanksgiving although I think they should go ahead and give the nod to Halloween. After all around the beginning of October is when I see the first signs of Christmas anyway, so why not just usher in the Holiday season with the beginning of Fall.

I'm against putting up decorations for Christmas before Thanksgiving, but I surely do love the Christmas music. It's on a station where I live 24 hours a day. I drive my coworkers and family nuts with it. It's just very uplifting for me to listen to Perry Como or Bing Crosby singing Christmas songs. :)

I've mentioned in the past that I work as a safety manager. Well I get these little tidbits of information from time to time from different "safety" sources. News clips or changes in regulations. Anyway, I saw one the other day that was talking about the proper training for employees to avoid injuries during big crowd events ie. Black Friday. This all came about because some poor soul was trampled to death last year at a Walmart during Black Friday. I'm just curious how they plan to train all these people in what to look for and how to avoid this kind of mess in less than a week (the regulation came out last friday). It took them over a year from the time this poor guy died to come up with a plan. Ah well if that isn't a good sign of our government at work, I don't know what is.

So I have been browsing the websites looking for the good deals that are supposed to be happening this weekend. I have to say I'm not all that impressed with it. We are supposedly recovering from this economic crisis. I would think they would do a bit more to get people into the store instead of offering the same stale, tired sales that they have been offering for the last month (with an extra 3-5% off).

BUT in the true spirit of the season, I have to share a little enounter I had with a "kid"(he was about 17). I was in line at the local Mcdonalds, well not local, but since I travel a good bit, I consider them pretty local. So I'm waiting in line and it's a pretty healthy line, I'd say there were at least 15 people in front of me and a good 10 behind. The line was moving along at a snails pace. Right behind me was this young man and behind him was this older woman (I'd guess late 70's). She was a little stooped and was chatting with everybody around here. Very outgoing and pleasant. She was talking to a bunch of younger kids behind her and they were all having a good laugh which sorta surprised me because usually kids don't have time for the elderly in my experience.

I came to find out that she had recently lost her husband and oldest son in a car accident (same accident). Well that just shot my mood to yucky in about one second. She told us not to be upset because she had faith that they were in a better place. She went on to tell us about her husband and son. By now the younger kids weren't listening anymore, but me and this guy behind me sure were. She told us how her son was a coach for little league and her husband used to go help him up until only a couple of years ago. I guess that her husband had some health issues that kept him from doing all the things he had enjoyed earlier in life. She wasn't specific and I didn't ask.

We were up to the front of the line and I asked her if I could buy her lunch for her. She accepted, but before I could get her order the boy behind me asked if I would please allow him to. I was a little shocked, but said sure. He placed his order for her and him ahead of me, and then explained to both of us that her son was his little league coach. The boy didn't remember her husband but said that her son was a great coach and always thought of the kids first. This boy was getting ready to get out of high school he said, and wanted to be a teacher because he wanted to be able to help kids like "Coach" did. Well I was getting a little emotional as I placed my order. I got my stuff and was walking away. The old woman was hugging the boy and told him that he gave her the best Christmas present she could ask for.

It's funny how these things can happen. I got to thinking about it afterwards. It's defintely a small town and the chances of running into each other are pretty good. I'm just glad I got to witness it and be involved in the conversation. I coached for about 17 years and I loved every minute of it (well maybe not every minute of it). It's a reward to see the kids learn something new and watch their eyes light up when they realize they got it right. I can only hope that one day I'll have a kid come up to me and say I had that kind of impact in his life. We think about doing that with our own children, but just remember others are watching. We are role models whether we want to be or not. I'm sure glad that lady got her Christmas present early :)

For those of you not involved in any form of online gaming, FTW simply means for the win. I am a complete online game freak but only for really one game. I play a game called Guild Wars. It's an MMORPG (Massive Multi Online Role Playing Game). I have been a gaming fanatic as long as I can remember. I started out playing pong. Which is by the way the first true video game. My taste in video games has evolved with the culture. I choose this particular game that I play now because it has stunning graphics and a good storyline for people that care to follow it.

Add to the fact that I have made so many friends online. We network with people from everywhere. I play with people from Germany, France, England, even a couple from Italy. Not to mention about 7 states here in the U.S. I have lots of people tell me that I can get the same thing from MySpace or Facebook. Nope I can't. I am a card carrying member of both although I don't even bother with MySpace any longer. I still network with my friends through Facebook, and don't get me wrong I enjoy it just fine for what it is.

The difference for me, is that I am able to relax and be myself online. Be it gaming, or networking. Gaming just allows me to be a little more silly and a little more childlike (immature). I have to say it's pretty liberating to become a character in a game and just let loose and have a good time. No worries about the job, or what's for dinner, or if the electric bill got paid on time. I can let loose and be somebody or something else for a little while and still retain who I am. Sounds a little confusing to read it, but for those of you that play, I'm sure it's totally making sense right about now.

I would suggest that if you have kids, or heck if you don't and you want a chance to relax without having to rely on a movie or the couch. Invest in one of the tons of MMORPG games available. Many are free to download and free to play. The only thing you really have to invest is a little time and effort in understanding the game and the storyline.

Now this will never take the place of my beloved reading, but it's a nice filler when I'm a little burned out on the stuff I'm reading, or if I've had a particularly rough day at work. It's nice to log in and talk with people that can relate to me, and even if they don't always understand exactly what my problem is, they understand that the gaming world is a great place to leave it behind. We have made a point of always finding something fun to do and hopefully as a large group. We have albums full of SS (screen shots) of gaming adventures, that are every bit as fun to look through as my pictures of the last Rec league softball team I was on.

I know that I'm a nerd, but I don't really care. I like the fact that there are tons of other nerds just like me and they are enjoying the same nerdy stuff I'm enjoying. So if you have a couple hours on the weekend go ahead and download a game, and give it a shot. I won't promise that it's for you, but I promise that if you like it, a whole new world will open up for you.

I realized that lately I've been sort of focusing on the negatives. It became pretty clear to me when I got so irritated by that rude little kid. I got to thinking that maybe I shouldn't let that kind of stuff get me down. My grandfather always told me that I will see in people exactly what I want to see. If I'm focusing on the bad stuff then I'm gonna see the bad in people, and of course if I start looking for the good then it's going to be that much easier to find.

I decided this morning that I was going to focus on the good stuff. So this is the middle of the month and for me that means Safety Meeting. I have to talk to people about the most boring drivel there is and I have to do it in a way that will keep their interest for at least 25 minutes. Any good presenter will tell you that the key is to make sure you get your information out there in a fashion that appeals to your audience, and do it in a timely manner. The longer you drag on the less they tend to remember.

With this in mind, I decided to go with a more humorous approach. I like joking around with the people I work around, and they generally like to joke back. I have some funny videos that I show from time to time to sort of lighten the mood while still offering up the information that they need to have. I chose one of these for this morning. So I got to the facility about 20 minutes ahead of time but nobody was there yet. I don't have the keys to unlock this place so I sat there and waited until 5 minutes before meeting time. Sure enough the guy shows up in the nick of time so that I can rush around and get everything in order before the meeting starts. Now normally I would have been a little irritated that he chose to show up to unlock at a few minutes before, but this is the new me. I told myself he probably got held up in traffic, or just dropped into the Mcdonalds on the way for a cup of coffee. No big deal right?

So I get the dvd player set up and the TV too. This only took an extra 15 minutes, because this same guy didn't bother to have anything out and available to get started. I once again told myself that he had probably just overlooked it, and it wasn't really him being difficult or anything like that. So I asked this guy where the DVD was that I left last night in preparation for this meeting, and he tells me that he didn't see it. He goes on to explain to me that it's not his job to have all this stuff set up and if I can't keep track of the movie I should hold on to it instead of leaving it in an unattended room overnight. Ok so maybe he had a rough night and just woke up on the wrong side of the bed. I'm still looking for some good here.

The meeting has to go on, so I get a different movie for these guys to suffer through. It is about 15 minutes of pure boredom. I haven't even seen this movie before, so I can't offer up any additional information when they start asking questions. So now I look like I don't know my job but I figure it's not a big deal. This is just one meeting and these guys just want to get done and get out of here. So we finish up in a pretty good time only took about an hour and I'm thinking something is finally going right. So everybody is leaving and this one guy is walking out but he stops to tell me that I shouldn't let it bother me too much.
I have no idea what he's talking about, so he explains to me that this wonderful guy that has done nothing but cause me grief this morning has been sort of telling stories about the safety manager (that's me). He was teling the guys that i'm not ever prepared and then he went on to blame me for the meeting starting late (I guess I have phantom keys to unlock the door). He even went as far as to tell the guys that I chose this movie over the other, cause I didn't figure they would understand the other one.

So I decided that maybe you can't always find something good in somebody. I set this poor guy straight. I explained to him how things had really worked and that I had absolutely nothing to do with the late start or the crappy movie they had to endure. I then proceeded to walk over to this "supervisors" office to give him a piece of my mind. I walked in the room and closed the door. He told me he'd be right with me. I told him that he would indeed be right with me. Then next 15 minutes would be a series of @$#! as that was pretty much all that was said with a couple of "if I ever hear any of this crap again" thrown in for good measure. I decided that it would have better impact on mr. personality if I just left quickly before I overdid it. So before he had a chance to respond I turned around and out the door I went.

The rest of the day wasn't nearly as bad, in fact my second meeting was very successful and I managed to give out some gift cards in a drawing (because we had the extra time). I was driving home and slipped through the little town where yesterday the young man with the bad attitude was crossing the street. I was sure that he was going to rear his rude little head and I was going to fall back into the "funk" I seem to have been in. Alas he wasn't anywhere to be found which turned out to be a good thing since I didn't have my son with me like I told the little prince I would.

I realize that I have not followed my own rule now. I have made this post long and boring, but at the very least I got this off my chest. One more week and it's Thanksgiving and I'll be a happy camper. Until then I think that my best bet is to avoid the mean and nasty's of the world and like the Beatles said "Let it Be".

I was honored with an award very recently... I have seen this one floating around here and there amongst the blogs that I read. I am most honored to receive this from Kristen at http://readingartandwriting.blogspot.com/

There are a couple of rules involved with this award
Superior Scribbler Rules :

*Each Superior Scribbler must in turn pass the Award to 5 most deserving Bloggy friends.

*Each Superior Scribbler must link to the Author & name of the blog from whom he/she received the Award.

*Each Superior Scribbler must display the Award on his/her blog and link to this post which explains the award.

*Each blogger who wins The Superior Scribbler award must visit Superior Scribbler Rules :

*Each Superior Scribbler must in turn pass the Award to 5 most deserving Bloggy friends.

*Each Superior Scribbler must link to the Author & name of the blog from whom he/she received the Award.

*Each Superior Scribbler must display the Award on his/her blog and link to this post which explains the award.

*Each blogger who wins The Superior Scribbler award must visit http://scholastic-scribe.blogspot.com/2008/10/200-this-blings-for-you.html.
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Now to pass on this great award...

1. http://hbmike2000.blogspot.com/

2. http://www.thecleanwhitepage.com/

3. http://writeitanyway.blogspot.com/

4. http://abookwithaview.blogspot.com/

5. http://plainolebob.blogspot.com/

I completely understand that the pedestrian has the right of way. I was taught that from a very young age. I remember as a young boy walking across a couple of busy intersections. In school they used to teach us to look both ways before crossing. Now maybe it's just me, but doesn't a little common sense have to come into play here? After you check both ways, shouldn't you also ensure that the way is clear before crossing? I don't undestand a bunch of school kids who look, and seeing a barrage of cars......cross anyway. Do they not realize that some cars are paying as little attention as they themselves are? Is it really gonna matter who has the right of way, if somebody gets splattered all over the road? On the headstone it will read "Here lies little Jimmy...... He had the right of way".

The reason for this little tantrum, is because of this afternoon on the way home.
I had sorta finished early and decided to come on home. I pass through a couple of small towns before I get to my small town, and decided to stop in one of them for a quick lunch. I hit a bad time since school was recently out. All the school kids were walking down the sidewalk. I noticed that they were crossing the street up ahead of me in little groups. Now instead of walking an extra half a block and crossing at the light, the kids were crossing at a crosswalk with no light. First of all what kind of backward town has crosswalks in the middle of the busiest street in the whole dang town? I am if nothing else a good ol' boy, but even I see how senseless it is too have a crosswalk in the middle of the street and then at the traffic light. This goes on through the whole street, which by the way is about 2 1/2 to 3 miles long. So anyways, I'm noticing these kids crossing in little groups, and they are for the most part waiting for traffic to calm before attempting the cross. Enter my group of kids. I say my group because these are the adorable little children who chose to cross as I was appoaching the middle of the street. About 4 of them were joking and laughing and they just started walking. Now I knew that I would pass well before they got to me, but the cars on the others side of the road slammed on their brakes. These kids didn't even look at the cars that nearly had an accident avoiding them. I stopped right in the middle of the cross walk. They almost ran into my truck because they couldn't even look far enough in front of themselves to see that a truck was parked in their way. Finally one of them looked up and then looked at me. He just stood there, didn't try to go around me or back up. Just staring at me with who knows what on his mind. I rolled down the window and proceeded to expalin to him that he was asking for a large helping of hurt if he didn't pay a little more attention to what he was doing (maybe not as G rated as that). He flipped me off. Yeah this 14 or 15 year old kid flipped me off. then he started to walk around my truck. I was sort of stunned that this kid thought it was acceptable to nearly cause an accident and then flip off the guy that warned him of what he did. So I pulled forward a little bit as he was going around me (he wasn't smart enough to go behind the vehicle). At that point he got the idea that maybe I wasn't the best person to flip off. He sort of trotted across the street with his friends quickly following him. I rolled down the other window and explained to him that I would be back tomorrow to see if he wanted to offer up that finger to me again. Only this time I was bringing my under 18 son with me. Now I know that I got down to his level on this one, but I can't understand the throught process here. Can someone please tell me, who is teaching our kids that it's ok to show a complete and utter lack of respect to everyone and everything around them? Now I'm starting to sound like the old farmer that used to cuss me all the time when I was a kid. Of course when I was getting yelled at I stood there and took it then I apologized for doing whatever dumb thing I was doing when I got caught....

Ok I feel a little better now. But I'm still going to go back there tomorrow with my boy and see if this kid is really brave or really dumb. Either way, he and I are going to have us another chat....