Island of Misphit Blogs

So this Christmas is both different and the same from the last years Christmas. The same is they are both without Michele. It is different in that I am staying in Baltimore this year and last year I went home. I believe both decisions were correct but it still doesn't make looking back different. Michele's kids, and Sheri's daughter Taylor, are both older and the appeal of hanging out with "old folks" :) doesn't have the same allure lol. I'm guessing tonight and the next few days are part of the process. Grieving Grateful Confused. Guess it is what makes us human after all huh? To all of Island denizens I say I love you and I am thankful for you. 2000 miles is very far in the snow

Just saying tired of talking to the coconuts. I expect a glob post here by someone by monday so it shall be written so it shall.....oh hell i do a lousy brenner impersonation love ya

SHE is spending her first night in a college dorm as a college student tonight? sigh Old is not the word right now. But proud is! (and of her cousin Cam who has been at Texas Lutheran since Saturday) Good luck kids. Your family loves you

Latley? OK Lately Usually July ain't a bad month for me. San Diego beautiful people and weather and leading up to the convention everyone is so busy my life gets a little calmer. Not sure what drew me back to sadness about Ma and Michele last night but as long as that is not the norm I'm thinking that all right. Love to my Island Brethren and Sisterthen????? Thinking of you makes me smile. Thanks for that.

One of my favorite Dan songs

Steve, you sweet, wonderful man, thank you for your call last night. It really, really helps to know that I have such awesome friends who are there no matter what. I love you, man. Rebecca has been my rock through this. She called Keith and Nikki and Dave when I couldn't catch my breath long enough to talk. She's been holding down the fort and just generally making everything easier, talking me through it all and being there. She's a kick ass roommate...and swiftly becoming one of my best friends ever. Keith is being...Keith. He's trying to be comforting but it winds up being about him somehow. He's with the kids, though, and by doing that he's helping me to be able to go to NY and attend the funeral. And given that we're not living together, I'm able to be more understanding and forgiving these days for whatever reason and I'm touched that he tries. After all, he's my ex--he doesn't even have to do that much. He cares and I know that. Isn...

Really this is what I have to put up with. If you know anything about me you know I lurves me some TCU. I'd go as far to say no one in Maryland would even know about TCU if not for me (not to mention the folks on the island of Costa Rica) Back in the early 1800's when I was looking at colleges I had narrowed it down to three. Texas Lutheran because we were all good Lutherans and it was not a bad school. My nephew Cam is going there this year so good thing he doesn't have to hear about "Drunk Uncle Steve" stories on that campus. The second was the university of texas in austin (yes all small letters on purpose)but it was such a huge freaking school back then (and still is) I really did not think i had what it took to be in the middle of 30 thousand other people in school. Hell I barely graduated from Wichita Falls High School. And my niece Taylor is going to UT much to my chagrin. Which brings us back around to TCU (really there is a point here somewhere) The ban...

So as everyone knows Dad was in town. Usually I have the "cookout" that following weekend but this year Dad came in on Friday and the next Thursday we were off to Pennsylvania to play golf so the "cookout" was going to be the day after he came in or not at all. What this meant in the grand scheme of things was golfing Saturday morning and then back to my place to entertain about 20 folks. Not that big a deal. A little rushed but nothing I couldn't handle. And, as usual, everyone had a good time. Later in the week Dad and I cleaned out the grill and replaced the lava rocks all that normal gas grill maintenance that needs to be done once a year or so and he says "Steve we should grill out tonight" Which I was so cool with. We were out having a beer and invited two friends over as well and we are grilling baybee! YEAH! So the burgers are on the grill like 30 seconds and Dad brings out a slice of cheese. He wanted a cheeseburger which was great and this...

"Love you Bub" And the best words to say in response "Love you too Sheri" Nice talking with my sister this evening

WHAT? Look folks I don't lie about these things.

But only here at the island and what happens at the island stays at the island! (Maybe we should look into a casino or two) A year ago tonight I was at M.D. Anderson hospital. In a couple hours visiting time would be over but the staff let us stay bit there was only room for two in the room. Naturally we gave that to Jim and Ali and Dad, Sheri, and I went and staked our spots out around ICU to see where we could get an hours or so sleep. And me being me I believed the signs saying "This Visitors Room Closes at 11:00" and went looking for somewhere to lay down and found a love seat in the lobby. Not very comfortable but I hunkered down and pulled my TCU cap over my head and tried to sleep (which was off and on)but eventually April 2nd came. Dad, Sheri and I met and had breakfast at the hospital and went back to the room and about noon Dad and I headed back to Brenham to shit shine shower and shave. And we got the call that we all had to meet to decide what was the next step. ...

Or maybe a better title would be "Jerry Jones Can Sell ANYTHING" I love my Dallas Cowboys I do I do I do. Reading the website today there is an article about the demolition of the old Texas Stadium . This was interesting to me as I have been to that stadium before and talks about the process of bringing it down and what the city plans to do with the land blah blah blah blah. And this is the last paragraph: Fireworks will precede the demolition, and the event will be emceed by ESPN's Chris Berman. Casey Rogers, an 11-year old from nearby Terrell, won an essay contest for the chance to press the final button completing the implosion, which is sponsored by Kraft Macaroni & Cheese. How in the world do you sell naming rights to the demolition of your own stadium? In the words of those old Guinness commercials "BRILLIANT"

And before the age of 49! If you don't want to keep spilling the cinnamon maybe moving it somewhere away from the cooking utensil you use often is not the worse idea evah. I am now going to try this tactic and have great faith it will work out.

So my vacation plan for this year has been for a while to get back to Fort Worth in the Spring/Summer so I could go to Scarborough Fair My reason for this is simple. I really want to get back to Fort Worth for a vacation. And go to Scarborough which we did a lot when I lived there. Ok AHEM Amongst my reasons....... (that was for you Bob) LOL I will also get to see Christina (yes lunch is on at LJS BABEEEEEEEE) and also one of two ex girlfriends that I still think about to this day (the other one is in CO so she probably won't be there) Hopefully this will all work out. And if not I will be back there the first weekend in September when the MIGHTY MIGHTY TCU HORNED FROGS open their season at Jerry-World in Arlington!!! I love the smell of pending vacations at 9:50 on a Wednesday evening

So I had to take the car in to the dealer because the check engine light was on. I don't worry about the check engine light because every time it has happened to me I either lost my gas cap or it was not on correctly and the car loss some pressure or vacuum in the line. I took out the work order tonight to put it in my "car folder" and this is what the first 3 sentences were: Customer states check engine light on. Test Drove Vehicle Check Engine light is on Really? I brought my car in for service and it actually needed, ya know, service? Because there is nothing I like more than to be without a car all freaking day long at work. Turns out I needed a sensor (which the service person told me it was a hail mary they had in stock but they did). So new sensor goes in, check engine light goes out. But under parts they say they put in a "thruster". Hmmm if I experience any sudden uncontrolled acceleration y'all are my witness's!

I, like most of us, was brought up to be truthful. In fact, it was a bit of a thing in my family - no shades of grey or excuses, you just don't lie to people. No claiming to be younger to get the kid's price, no pocketing the extra if you're given the wrong change, no staying home "sick" if you're not. And I really took it to heart. I eventually grew out of the wide-eyed absolutism of childhood, but the overall message stayed with me and while I'm not shocked-shocked-I-say at the white (and other colored) lies a lot of people are comfortable using, it's not for me. I'm not above smiling through food I don't like, but that's generally the extent of it. Except, today I had to choose between either relaxing that standard or putting a friend's job on the line and causing trouble for the rest of the company, and of course I chose the former. The disconcerting thing is, I think I was quite good at it. I wasn't happy about it, but the fa...

Sometimes having a super cool phone that keeps you connected ain't all that it is cracked up to be. While I am on facebook I'm hardly ever on facebook. I got an email tonight from someone named Cheryl who was looking for Michele there but found me instead. It took me a long time to respond. There was only one thing I could say. I gave her the address of the blog I started and let her know Michele had died earlier this year. It was just an odd way to start the new year.