Extreme Makover Home Edition - It's Ok For a Man To Cry

So friends, I have a confession to make. I'm going to let you in on a weakness of mine. I watch Extreme Makeover-Home Edition on Sunday nights with my girlfriend.

Ok, that's not the big thing. Here it is: I cry every episode!

Now men, before you rush to make a judgement, hear me out! Now I know that men are allowed to cry for only a few situations, as listed here:

1. Your mom, wife, or child dies.

2. You injure yourself to the point that it needs amputation. Anything less is a flesh wound and you're not allowed to cry.

3. Your dog dies. (Go watch the movie "Old Yeller.")


Beyond that men aren't really allowed to cry. Not even when your team loses the world series for the umpteeth time. (Sorry, any man in Buffalo who cried when they lost the Super Bowl like five years in a row broke the Man Rules.) Ok, but now let's take a look at tonight's story.


1. The father is a Iraq War Veteran. (That's going get me because my sister is an Iraq War Veteran. There's still a chance she can be sent back.)

2. He is now in a wheel chair because of his war wounds.

3. The family had a car accident and he was further injuried. But worse, their daughter lost a kidney and their son, who slipped out of his seatbelt, and is now in a wheelchair as well.


Ok, men, this man is a veteran. He's a hero just for that. He's still trying to be a great dad. He's even more of a hero than that. Just watching so far, we see the wife is an incredible strong woman. She's a hero as well. These are the type of Americans you'd be proud to know. Their story is as sad as when Old Yeller died!!! ( One of the few times men are allowed to cry.) And then they build him this incredible wheelchair accessible house. They give him a wheelchair where in can stand up. At the end, when he goes outside and all the army soldiers that help build the house are there and he is able to salute them standing up. . .Man, it gets you right there!! There has to be an allowance in the Man Rules to cry for this.

If you don't cry from watching this, you have no soul!

And it isn't just this episode. One episode they had a cop who was injuried on the job and came home paralyzed. Can you stab me in the heart any stronger. My best friend is a police officer and I think of that happening to him. Then another show they gave a struggling family with four kids who played violin a music room and brand new violins for the kids. Could they pick another topic to give a musician like me tears? And then last weeks? It was a family where the father came down with cancer and died six months later and they did the house as a tribute to him. My uncle died suddenly from cancer in 1996. I cried pretty much the entire show.

Good thing my girlfriend has plenty of kleenex readily available.

It's things like this that give me hope in America. Seeing people in a community come together and help a family just stirs the soul with hope and good feelings.



Ok, I'm going to get on my soapbox for a second. Veterans' Affairs is a little pet issue for me. I think our war veterans should get the best healthcare available. . .for life! That whole fiasco at Walter Reed Hospital and the rest of the Veterans Hospital is absolutely unacceptable!! We need to fund VA care. Here are two links to two organizations that you can goto to learn how to give our veterans your support. The first link is to a organization that was featured on tonight's episode of Extreme Makeover Home-Edition. The second is where you can learn to how to help all the men and women coming home from today's conflicts.

Veteran Care is neither a Republican or Democrat issue. It's neither towards the left or the right. It's an American Issue. And it needs to be an American Obligation!

Adopt-A-Soldier-Now

Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans Association

Fahrvergnügen

Remember that supid ad campaign from Volkswagon over a decade ago? (You know you're getting old when you can use the phrase, "remember a decade ago?" in conversation.) You know, the Fahrvergnügen campaign. It spawned countless bumper stickers like "Fukengruven" and "Farfrumpuken."

Fahrvergnügen means basically "driving pleasure" or "the joy of driving." I've rediscovered that feeling these past few weeks. You've read about the tribulations I went through with my old car Piglet. While Piglet, a Chevy Metro, was a great car (as I've written here), Piglet had been struggling for awhile, and had and accident back in December. (Which y'all remember. ) It was time to get a new car. The pressure started mounting as I knew I needed to get Piglet off the street before April 1st when the inspection expired.

This is where is helps to have a cousin in da biznezz. My cousin Anthony is the finance manager at one of the most popular Scion Dealerships in the country, Crysal Scion of Green Brook, NJ. A couple of phone calls, a couple of visits, and I drive away with a brand new Scion xA.





(Click on any picture to enlarge.)










I can't tell you how much this car ROCKS! It's as if someone built a car exactly for my needs and wants. The only change to it that I'll make is to tint the rear windows to hide my gear when I goto gigs.


















While very thankful for Piglet's service, and the fact that he was the perfect car for city driving, I missed a lot of the Fahrvergnügen. I missed power steering, power windows, power locks. Piglet's AC died about 2 years ago and I wasn't in a place then to fix it so I did without. It is a joy to have those little things back in my driving experience.

Returning to the "you know your getting old" comment in the first paragraph. you knw you're getting old when you get excited that your car comes with side-curtain airbags. And it not for the reason of getting a discount on your car insurance, but because you know that you often carry precious cargo and you want the person riding shotgun to be as safe as she can be.

See you on the road!

First You Shave Your Head

Saturday, (March 31st), was my 31st birthday. Thank you for wishing me well and all the things that come with turning another year older. 30 was a big step. 3 decades, no longer in my 20’s, have to grow up, and so on! 31 seemed . . .well, “eh!” Don’t get me wrong, I am not unhappy with 31. I actually really like this number. (Go figure, being born on the 31st .)


Perhaps it’s because I don’t sleep. I’m an insomniac whose problem consists of waking multiple times through the night. This has gone on for years. I can count on both hands the number of times I have slept through the night without the aid of sleep drugs or alcohol during the past two years. The problem has finally reach a point where I really need to do something about it. My energy is at an all time low, as is my productive at work. My concentration abilities are sharply decreased. It’s as if I have ADD (attention deficit disorder). Also, I know that it has affected my mood and personality. Jim can be a bit bitchy when he’s tired and stressed. I mean, just look at this headshot! I have such dark circles under my eyes, I look like a zombie!



















(Click on any picture to enlarge.)

So I am taking part of a sleep study for the next 60 days. Twice a week for the next 6 weeks I will stay over at a sleep clinic. I will be taking medication, have my sleep monitored and recorded, and have to keep a sleep diary. Also, I have been asked to refrain from alcohol and to minimize my caffeine intake. I have taken this a step further.

Because I really want this sleep problem done with, I am going to abstain from alcohol and caffeine totally for the next 60 days. And since chocolate contains caffeine, I am abstaining from that as well. While on this path, I figured that I might as well eliminate all desserts as I have an indominable sweet tooth. So I am abstaining from processed sugars and such. The only desserts I will allow myself are those that are just fruit. It's really time for me to make a change for better health. Not that I am in bad health, but I can be in a lot better health.

Here is a picture of me taking this past Sunday, April 1st. At my physical March 28th, I weighed in at 174.5lbs. Not bad, but not the weight or body fate percentage I'd like.Also, looking at this picture, I'd be a little embarrassed to walk out on a beach. Hell, I am embarrassed to post them here!!





















I post these pictures as an impetus to inspire me to work out and get in shape. Making the commitment that I have made to myself that I have to work out 4-7 days a week public will just add to the drive to make that happen. I'll post weekly or bi-weekly pictures up so you can see the progress. And I will give updates on weight and body fat percentages.

Also, in the spirit of starting new beginnings, I have shaved my head.





















The thought of this comes from two places. First, I know my hair is thinning and I wanted to see what it would look like bald. And two, on a more philosophical note, I am inspired by the title of this book, First You Shave Your Head. It's author went to study with Korean Buddhist monks and went on a pilgrimage. The first thing they told was, and I'm paraphrasing, "Ok, you want to study with us. First you shave your head." Now the author had long curly locks of red hair. That was a huge step for her. Now, I know what I will go through the next 60 days, (the detoxing, the working out and the focus on getting healthy) will not compare to the hardships that she went through on her pilgrimage. But I know changes will happen and I know that I will be "digging in the dirt." I already have some deep blog posts written that I will publish on the way.

So here is a picture of my new short (bald) look. Actually, I will probably take the straight razor to it this weekend to get the squeaky look. I'll post that picture next week. It will probably look better as the weeks go on and my van dyke (not goatee) grows in thicker. (And hopefully those dark circles will fade.)

















Wish me luck as my first overnight stay is tonight! Talk with you soon. And thanks for following my journey through life.