Someone Tweeted this today and I was impressed that this 36 year old guy could hear a sound that is supposed to only be heard by people under 25. That makes me feel good. Can you hear it?
Created by Train Horn
Feb
20
2009
Category : Fun
That picture to the right brings back so many great memories of times spent riding a boat down the Detroit River to what was Southeast Michigan’s amusement park, Boblo Island. I can remember how much fun it was to wait on the docks to board that massive steamboat. The dreams and thoughts of what was going to happen and what adventures we would have danced through my head. Not to mention the smallness you felt as you would begin to walk the plank to board the boat realizing what an amazing time you were going to have as you traversed the river to get to the island. To me one of the best parts about the park was the boat ride there.
The boat had so many things to do. They had a concession stand, souvenir store, dancing area or you could just hang over the railing. I would spend a lot of my time hanging over the railing chatting with my friends and watching the water zip by below us. There was even a time when we were on our 6th grade Boblo Island class trip that I saw a girl a couple of decks below and so I started yelling down to her. We ended up meeting on one of the decks and spent the day together on the island. Yep, I had a Boblo Island romance.
There were also some really great memories of the amusement park. I loved when the boat docked there and everyone would pile off the boat and head down that long, covered walkway and off into the wonderland of Boblo. There were so many great adventures and rides that awaited. It was at Boblo that I found my love for roller coasters. They didn’t have the most spectacular roller coasters like Cedar Point, but the ones they had were pretty cool.
I can remember the first time I was going to go on the Rotor, which was a ride that spun around in a circle so fast that it would pin you up against the wall and then the floor would drop out from underneath you. I was really afraid to go on but my friends had talked me into doing and I didn’t want to seem like a coward, so I agreed. As we were standing there looking down at the people who were on it and waiting our turn, I noticed that one guy didn’t look so good. Sure enough as the ride came to a slow and he could free himself from the wall he hurled all over the floor. I guess that candied apple he had didn’t fully get down. 
I could go on and on about my memories of Boblo, but I won’t. So why don’t you leave some of your own and tell us what you remember from your trips to Boblo. To help refresh your memory here is a brochure from 1987 that has a map of the park.
Here is a video I found on YouTube that was a documentary someone did about the island recently. If you did not already know it is going to be turned into a marina resort community. 
I may ask my dad if he would mind taking me for a boat ride down to the island just for one last look before it is all completely gone.
Feb
13
2009
Category : Fun
This is kind of like the 25 things on Facebook – except there are pre-decided questions and it’s about you and your spouse or significant other, not just you. Come on, play along – inquiring minds want to know! Just copy this post into your own Facebook notes or blog and change the answers!
- What are your middle names? Douglas and Ann
- How long have you been together? We dated for a little over a year and were engaged for about 5 months. We have now been married for over 13 years.
- How long did you know each other before you started dating? We have known each other pretty much Kimmy’s whole life, because we grew up in church together.
- Who asked who out? I asked her out.
- How old are each of you? I am 35 and she is 33
- Whose siblings do/ did you see the most? We see mine the most.
- Do you have any children together? Yes, we have two kids. Hannah (11) and Caleb (9).
- What about pets? A dog, Zoey, who is a Silkchon. (That is actually her picture on that site.) We have a yellow parakeet named, Maizey. A hamster named, Shadow (I think!), and a fish.
- Which situation is the hardest on you as a couple? Job issues. I am unemployed right now and have been looking for a ministry position for almost 15 years, which has led to several “rejections”.
- Did you go to the same school? Nope.
- Are you from the same home town? No, I’m from Warren, MI and she is from Clinton Township, MI.
- Who is the smartest? When it comes to the kitchen, she rules; as far as computers go, I rule.
- Who is the most sensitive? She is but we are pretty close.
- Where do you eat out most as a couple? No where specific. We like to go to different places.
- Where is the furthest you two have traveled together as a couple? Friday Harbor, WA to take a boat tour of the San Juan Islands aboard the Pacific Catalyst.
- Who has the worst temper? Me.
- Who does the cooking? Kimmy.
- Who is more social? Me, by far! I love being with people.
- Who is the neat freak? Neither one of us, but she does more tidying up than I do.
- Who is the more stubborn? Me.
- Who hogs the bed? Kimmy.
- Who wakes up earlier? When I was employed, me. Now, we wake up at the same time to get the kids off to school.
- Where was your first date? We went out to eat at the Apple Orchard Inn in Romeo, Mi and then went out to a movie.
- Who has the bigger family? I do, I have 3 siblings and she only has 1.
- Do you get flowers often? Nope. And I haven’t gotten her many lately.
- How do you spend the holidays? We alternate a lot of them, but make sure we do Christmas with both families.
- Who is more jealous? Neither one of us really is.
- How long did it take to get serious? About 18 years, which is her age when I asked her out. 
- Who eats more? I am the man, so me.
- Who does the laundry? Kimmy.
- Who’s better with the computer? Me, by far. I am a computer geek. 
- Who drives when you are together? Me, about 99% of the time.
Jan
16
2009
Category : Fun
Coldplay is one of my favorite bands and I loved watching “The Muppet Show”, so I thought it was great when I saw this video. Of course, it also makes me wonder about the people who have so much time on their hands to do this.
Jan
01
2009
I have had the same goals for the past two years and so I will re-post them again.
1) Do something about my job situation, whether that means a new job and forget ministry all together, or do something to get into ministry.
2) Do more to care for our planet (i.e. recycling, conserving energy, etc.)
3) To live my life in light of these deep and profound words…
I have done a pretty good job of continuing on the path of these goals. For the first one, I have been sending out resumes and will continue to do so. Things are pretty bleak here in the state of Michigan because of the economy and with me having a job tied closely to the automobile industry it is no secret that times are very tough. It is quite possible that the company I work for could go out of business or I could get laid off, so a job change may happen whether I am ready or not.
I have a couple of ideas of things to do. One thing that I have been toying with is the idea of becoming a personal trainer. I love going to the gym and have become somewhat of a fitness nut, and so I thought that it would be a natural fit. Not too mention that I have always loved motivating people to make better choices in their lives, so it really wouldn’t be too different than ministry. I don’t know just some thoughts. I also have thought about teaching. Especially after having this 12 day Christmas break.
My wife and I have been continuing doing what we can to reduce, reuse and recycle. It really isn’t as hard as I thought it would be and it is amazing how good you feel knowing that you are doing something to help make this planet a better place for our kids.
I can’t even begin to express how much better I feel in regards to my interactions with people, because I always look for ways to make sure that “love wins”. I am a much calmer driver and person. I honestly don’t get to frazzled when I am in a long grocery line or caught in traffic. Don’t get me wrong there are still times when I do lose my cool, but overall I am much better.
I do have a couple of fitness goals that I plan on adding to my goals for the year.
1) To run a 10K. I don’t really care about a time, I just want to be able to do it. After running in the Turkey Trot 5K I realized that if I run a bit of a slower pace that I could do a 10K.
2) To continue working towards competing in a mini-triathlon. I have seen a couple of them on runmichigan.com and so I will shoot for doing one probably in 2010. I am really working on trying to get the swimming portion of it down. I am pretty confident in being able to do the running and biking portion. I even saw one in Coldwater, MI that I might be able to do this year.
3) I plan on running in several more 5K’s again this year. My first one this year will be the Winter Witch’s Hat Run 7 February 2009. My friend Eric talked me into running a race in the middle of winter. That is crazy!
So do you make resolutions or goals? If so, share some with me.
Dec
10
2008
Category : Fun
One particular Christmas season a long time ago, Santa was getting ready for his annual trip but there were problems everywhere. Four of his elves got sick, and the trainee elves did not produce the toys as fast as the regular ones so Santa was beginning to feel the pressure of being behind schedule. Then Mrs. Claus told Santa that her Mom was coming to visit; this stressed Santa even more.
When he went to harness the reindeer, he found that three of them were about to give birth and two had jumped the fence and were out at heaven knows where. More stress.
Then when he began to load the sleigh one of the boards cracked and the toy bag fell to the ground and scattered the toys. So, frustrated, Santa went into the house for a cup of coffee and a shot of whiskey. When he went to the cupboard, he discovered that the elves had hid the liquor and there was nothing to drink.
In his frustration, he accidentally dropped the coffeepot and it broke into hundreds of little pieces all over the kitchen floor. He went to get the broom and found that mice had eaten the straw it was made of. Just then the doorbell rang and Santa cussed on his way to the door. He opened the door and there was a little angel with a great big Christmas tree.
The angel said, very cheerfully, “Merry Christmas Santa. Isn’t it just a lovely day? I have a beautiful tree for you. Isn’t it just a lovely tree? Where would you like me to stick it?
Thus began the tradition of the little angel on top of the tree.
And here is a fun little Christmas video to make sure people keep Christ in Christmas.
Nov
11
2008
That I have no problem making a fool of myself. Just wait for the guy in the blue shirt to jump on stage.
Oct
16
2008
My church has a service in between the two services called Family Summit where the kids take their parent’s to church, and this past Sunday they had Kimmy and two other ladies do a song. They were called “The Amen Sisters” and they did a song called “Boogie Woogie Hebrew Man”, which was done to the tune of “Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy” by The Andrew Sisters. I brought my video camera and posted it here for your viewing pleasure. My wife is the one in the middle with the purple blouse.
Aug
20
2008
Here is this year’s Beloit College Mindset list for 2008.
For these students, Sammy Davis Jr., Jim Henson, Ryan White, Stevie Ray Vaughan, and Freddy Krueger have always been dead.
1. Harry Potter could be a classmate, playing on their Quidditch team.
2. Since they were in diapers, karaoke machines have been annoying people at parties.
3. They have always been looking for Carmen Sandiego.
4. GPS satellite navigation systems have always been available.
5. Coke and Pepsi have always used recycled plastic bottles.
6. Shampoo and conditioner have always been available in the same bottle.
7. Gas stations have never fixed flats, but most serve cappuccino.
8. The students’ parents may have dropped them in shock when they heard George Bush announce “tax-revenue increases.”
9. Electronic filing of tax returns has always been an option.
10. Girls in head scarves have always been part of the school fashion scene.
11. All have had a relative—or known about a friend’s relative—who died comfortably at home with hospice.
12. As a precursor to “whatever,” they have recognized that some people “just don’t get it.”
13. Universal Studios has always offered an alternative to Mickey in Orlando, Fla.
14. Grandma has always had wheels on her walker.
15. Martha Stewart Living has always been setting the style.
16. Häagen-Dazs ice cream has always come in quarts.
17. Club Med resorts have always been places to take the whole family.
18. WWW has never stood for World Wide Wrestling.
19. Films have never been X rated, only NC-17.
20. The Warsaw Pact is as hazy for them as the League of Nations was for their parents.
21. Students have always been “Rocking the Vote.”
22. Clarence Thomas has always sat on the Supreme Court.
23. Schools have always been concerned about multiculturalism.
24. We have always known that “All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten.”
25. There have always been gay rabbis.
26. Wayne Newton has never had a mustache.
27. College grads have always been able to Teach for America.
28. IBM has never made typewriters.
29. Roseanne Barr has never been invited to sing the national anthem again.
30. McDonald’s and Burger King have always used vegetable oil for cooking french fries.
31. The students have never been able to color a tree using a raw-umber Crayola.
32. There has always been Pearl Jam.
33. The Tonight Show has always had Jay Leno as its host and started at 11:35 p.m. Eastern time.
34. Pee-wee has never been in his playhouse during the day.
35. They never tasted Benefit cereal with psyllium.
36. They may have been given a Nintendo Game Boy to play with in the crib.
37. Authorities have always been building a wall along the Mexican border.
38. Lenin’s name has never been on a major city in Russia.
39. Employers have always been able to do credit checks on employees.
40. Balsamic vinegar has always been available in the United States.
41. Macaulay Culkin has always been Home Alone.
42. The students’ parents may have watched American Gladiators on TV the day they were born.
43. Personal privacy has always been threatened.
44. Caller ID has always been available on phones.
45. Living wills have always been asked for at hospital check-ins.
46. The Green Bay Packers (almost) always had the same starting quarterback.
47. The students have never heard a gasoline-station attendant ask, “Want me to check under the hood?”
48. Iced tea has always come in cans and bottles.
49. Soft-drink refills have always been free.
50. The students have never known life without Seinfeld references from a show about “nothing.”
51. Windows operating systems have always made IBM PC’s user-friendly.
52. Muscovites have always been able to buy Big Macs.
53. The Royal New Zealand Navy has never been permitted a daily ration of rum.
54. The Hubble Space Telescope has always been eavesdropping on the heavens.
55. 98.6 degrees F, or otherwise, has always been confirmed in the ear.
56. Michael Milken has always been a philanthropist promoting prostate-cancer research.
57. Off-shore oil drilling in U.S. waters has always been prohibited.
58. Radio stations have never been required to present both sides of public issues.
59. There have always been charter schools.
60. Students always had Goosebumps.
Really puts things into perspective.
HT to Adam McLane.
