Born Chris

FRUSTRATED

2012-01-31T22:49:00.000-08:00

I have endured pain and suffering. I am doing the right things. Following doctors orders. Praying. Serving at church. Yet I feel helpless. I am getting stronger. But not fast enough. I tried to bench press 50 pounds on a solid steel bar and my arms shook and elbows buckled, thought my bones would snap. I could not lift it from the holder. Frustration is setting in. I need to go back to work. Outside with tools. I need to sweat and earn a living. It is not fair. I am staying busy at home, but that does not pay the bills. It's hell being poor.

Born Chris: drip drop, drip drop...honey, make it stop!!!!

2012-01-28T08:03:00.000-08:00

Born Chris: drip drop, drip drop...honey, make it stop!!!!: Since I have been posting blogs and working on the website the information usually pertains to cancer related issues as well as my own past ...

drip drop, drip drop...honey, make it stop!!!!

2012-01-28T07:55:00.000-08:00

Since I have been posting blogs and working on the website the information usually pertains to cancer related issues as well as my own past experiences with health & family. I am a person that had cancer and at this moment is in remission. I deal with a list of problems, but life must continue to move forward.

Something happened about midnight last night that probably happened to you or some one you know at some point in your life. We were in bed trying to sleep and we heard a constant sound of water dripping or running. We checked the bathroom and there was nothing coming from the sink or shower. The sound continued. The mystery began. Being a world renown plumber with credentials in three US states and one territory I was quick to evaluate the situation and prepare to move forward. (I tried to sound important in that last sentence, call it "self-glossing". There are few chances for me to sound good so I have to jump on them when the opportunity presents itself.) Since I do not know where things are located in my kitchen I asked my wife (in pajamas, hair askew and blurrred vision) to find and bring some food coloring or a packet of Kool-Aid while I got some tools. We met in the bathroom and here is where the useful information begins. Lift the lid off your water closet (the top part of toilet that holds water) with the tank full of water drop some food coloring or Kool-Aid into the tank. Add enough to change the color of the water, this should take seconds. Once color has been changed, direct your attention and that of your spouse to the area inside the bowl. You are looking for that Kool-Aid colored water. If the color is in your bowl, you have found your leak. Next. Please use the Paypal link to pay for a weekend-overtime plumber to come to your home at midnight.

******************* PAY HERE ********************

Thanks for the payment. I will explain that part later. DO NOT PAY A PLUMBER if you see colored water in your bowl. If you are not afraid of getting a little wet and want to try some do it your self work, follow along. Looking into the tank look to see if water is flowing over the tube of the vertical tube. If it is you can make an adjustment with a screw driver on the part to the left of it. This contraption is called a fill valve and its purpose is to fill your tank when it is flushed and stop when it reaches the needed level. Sometimes adjustments need to be made. You could be filling it with too much water* you want to adjust the valve to lower your water amount. Once you make a few turns of the screwdriver go ahead and flush. When it refills it should be less water and the level will be lower than the top of that tube. Problem solved. Get the checkbook.

Another scenario would be the stopper. It is the rubber part connected by a chain to the handle. Flush the tank so that it is empty. Take a look at the stopper. If it is cracked, broken, chipped or rotted your water could be leaking through there. Leave it alone because it's midnight. You can put your hand below the tank on the left side and reach for the water supply valve. Shut it off and deal with it later. LATER. With water still off take the rubber stopper off and take to Home Depot plumbing section look for the John. Get a replacement. They are easy to switch out. Once changed turn water on and test. Nine times out of ten one of these two situations will be the cause of your water leak.

If this is some thing that just happened you are ok, you nipped it in the bud. If you notice a rust colored stain in your bowl that is a sign that it has been an ongoing problem. Contact your water supplier. Tell them you had a leak and a plumber came out to make repairs. Can you get an adjustment on your bill. They should track your water usage from that point for a month. It will be compared to your previous usage amount and they should issue a credit. It may take a few phone calls but if money is an issue, you will follow-up. In Houston I have seeen 50% of the previous 3 months be credited back to the customers account.

The pay here link. If you clicked on that it should have taken you to a group we have started called "The Giving Back Group" it is a group of people that want to do something for their fellow man/woman. Please go back and take a minute to read some posts to see the work we do. You are invited to join. Everyone can give back to their community. It can be monetary, volunteering or sharing information like I just did.

Thank you all. Please feel free to repost or share this entry. We are always looking for new viewers.

are you still debating whether or not to donate bone marrow?

2012-01-26T11:01:00.000-08:00

don't be scared of registering & donating bone marrow

four years ago i thought a BMT was a sandwich. ask me today and you will want to have a seat while i talk for hours. when cancer knocks on your door you have few choices, to fight was my decision. in my fight against cancer my strongest weapon was knowledge. read, write, talk, listen, ask and if you do not understand ask them to explain.

someone asked about donating marrow. i am going to try and touch on a couple of points in this post. i have more information and videos on youtube. i am txplumber. there are clips from my transplant.
donating marrow. first i must debunk the myth that a huge long needle is inserted into your back bone and bone and marrow is succked out by a vacuum attached to a group of 20 car batteries. it does not work that way. i know. i saw and see it.

to donate marrow it is as easy as swabbing your mouth and having the swabs processed by a marrow registry. you can even have testing kits mailed to you at home. once you are registered you will be placed into a registry and your marrow will be matched against those in need. if you are a match you will be contacted.

if you are contacted as a match what happens next? first and most important is please follow through. again there is no needle to the bone. you will undergo various tests to see if you are capable of donating. if all goes well you will be given a prescription to enhance your marrow. you will than go to the hospital as an outpatient where you will be in a bed with tv and ammenities. your friends and family can stay by your side.

an iv will be inserted into one arm and blood & marrow will be drawn and processed into a machine behind the bed. the machine will seperate blood from marrow. your blood will be fed back to you via iv into your other arm. it may take a few hours and you may feel a little weak. if all goes well you will be out of that funny looking gown in a few hours.

of course the process from begining to end is more than the few paragraphs i wrote here. i just wanted to try and calm some fears about the process. if you donate and are called as a match than go on to give marrow to save a life, what greater gift can you ever give than giving the gift of life? i would like to have a brand new big shiny truck but if my sister was going to give me that truck or her bone marrow. well, i will take the bone marrow every time.

if you are too busy to donate and think it really does not matter please take 3 minutes to watch the video below

Blog Tag

2012-01-26T08:32:00.000-08:00

Thursday, January 26, 2012

Blog Tag... You're it!

Staci Tamaki, author of The Flirty Blog, tagged me in a game of 11 questions. The rules are posted below!

Rules:

1. You must post these rules.
2. Answer the questions the "tagger" listed for you in her post, and create 11 new questions for the people you tag to answer.
3. You must choose 11 people to tag and link to them in the post.
54. Go to each blogger’s page and mention that you have tagged them.

The 11 questions Stacie asked me were:

1. Your favorite blog or vlog post you've ever written or recorded (share the link): was not actually a blog at all but a post on Craigslist that led to be hosting a website and blog. Here's the link http://houston.craigslist.org/com/2819034540.html
2. Favorite flavor of ice cream? butter pecan
3. Do you dress up for Halloween? last few years it has been as a patient in a hospital gown completed with hospital. Seemed so real
4. Night owl or early riser? what ever the body dictates that day, working on getting a normal DAILY routine
5. Favorite movie genre (i.e. classic, action, horror, drama, comedy, romance. etc.): gots to be action
6. Have you ever met any of your blog readers in real life?
7. Banana Slugs creepy or cool?
8. Which do you love more? Books printed on paper or eBooks? paper
9. Most favorite city you've ever visited: San Diego, California
10. Did you think donating bone marrow is painful because it comes from your spine? (It's not painful and it doesn't come from your spine.): NO, I read about current procedues and new what I was thinking was rather archaic
11. Which is your favorite social media website: Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest or Google Plus, other? facebook connected me with a friend from high school I had not seen or heard from in 20 years. Eight months later we were married. Answer is a definite facebook

Your Mission, should you choose to accept it, is to answer the following 11 questions:
1. Are you on facebook (share the link):
2. Favorite movie?:
3. Do you Twitter? What about?:
4. Are you a blood donor?:
5. What song do you sing while driving alone in the car?:
6. Do you have a phone at home attached to the wall?:
7. How many languages are you fluent in?:
8. Which do you like more? water or tea?:
9. Most favorite professional sports team:
10. Did you think donating bone marrow is painful because it comes from your spine? (It's not painful and it doesn't come from your spine.):
11. Which is your favorite means of travel?

Something extra I'm adding myself: If you're reading this post and would like to play feel free to copy the questions, paste them into a comment and answer them there or post them on your blog and come back and leave a link to your post. I was unable to follow all the rules. I do not follow 11 blogs. I would like to but have not yet found them. I am pretty much limited to Stacie's blog and Blog for a Cure. If you write a blog, please participate and let me know about your blog. I look forward to visiting

The Bloggers I am tagging are:Jill - Blog For A Cure
Craig - Thats Nonsense

Can you help save a life? Originally posted in May of 2008, I again ask your assistance now in January 2012

2012-01-25T16:37:00.000-08:00

I have some unforeseen medical bills that have arose and I decided to put some things for sell on Craigslist. I opened my account and found this post. Take notice of the date. I am txplumber.

This posting has expired from craigslist. [?]
	You will have the opportunity to make changes before it is made live.

houston craigslist > community > general community

Can you help save my life?

Date: 2008-05-28, 1:21AM CDT
Reply to: TXPlumber@gmail.com

My name is Roger Contreras, each day that passes brings me closer to a death that could very well be avoided. I have been diagnosed with myelodyplastic syndrome. Here is a brief description.

Myelodysplastic Syndrome (MDS) is a group of diseases in which the bone marrow doesn't produce enough healthy blood cells. Red blood cells, white blood cells and platelets originate in the marrow and move into the bloodstream when they mature. In MDS, the marrow produces too many immature cells (blasts). These blasts die in the marrow or soon after entering the bloodstream, resulting in too few healthy blood cells and low patient blood counts.

I have been seen in 4 emergency rooms and admitted to 3 of them over the last 6 weeks. I have received 3 different blood transfusions totalling 10 pints of blood in that same time frame. At the time of my first transfusion I had only 5 pints of blood running through my body. The norm is 14- 18 pints for my size.

I was admitted at a regional hospital for my initial transfusion. Two weeks later I was readmitted. I had a bone marrow biopsy performed by a caring oncologist who saw that the hospital was unwilling to assist me because of the fact I did not have health insurance. This is when I found out I had MDS. On a Friday afternoon the symptoms of blood loss began. I went to the Ben Taub emergency room. After 7 hours my blood count was taken. I was at 8.1 pints of blood, low but not low enough I was discharged and referred to there Hematology department. I made an appointment with the HCHD to apply for a gold card. Appointment was kept and I received the card. I called the Hematology department to schedule an appointment as was told it would be about 2 weeks and they would notify me. I could not make it that long. The Monday following my trip to Ben Taub I was admitted to another hospital with 6.6 pints.

I was just notified that my appointment for my initital consultation is June 9, 2008. This is 2 weeks away and will be 3 weeks since my last transfusion. I will definitely be in another emergency room before than. There are various treatments for this disease that can save my life but we do not even know what options I have until I see a Hematologist. Each day that passes without treatment can mean numerous days taken off my life cycle.

If you or someone you know can help by getting me seen any sooner, I would greaty appreciate it. I will be forwarding this to some media outlets and ask if you can please do the same. My email is txplumber@gmail.com I have copies of my medical records with me and would be happy to answer any questions.

Thanks,

Roger

*************************************************************************

I have a friend of a friend who is suffering leukemia and is desperately in need of a bone marrow transplant. I needed one also but was blessed to find a match with my sister. Janet is not that fortunate. Please take a moment to view her plea for your help.

Her situation is different from mine in that she is a 24 for year YOUNG child fresh out of UCLA. I am a 40 year OLD man that has seen and experienced life. I made peace with my God and am prepared to meet him at any time. She should not be going through this. If you are not yet registered with Be The Match or your local bone marrow registry please do so. Feel free to ask questions.

http://marrow.org/Home.aspx

Roger's Cancer Blog: Janet Liang needs you to save her life

2012-01-25T10:47:00.000-08:00

Roger's Cancer Blog: Janet Liang needs you to save her life

Janet Liang needs you to save her life

2012-01-24T21:26:00.000-08:00

Please take 3 minutes to watch this video. You will be moved. You can do something. Repost, share, email this message. If you want to do more, call me, at any hour (832) 270-8807. I am a cancer survivor that neeeded bone marrow. My sister saved my life. You can save Janets. If you can not make it to a bone marow drive I can have a testing kit mailed to your door. You can register by mail & phone. Please take the time, you have the power to make a difference. I will explain every step of the procedure if you want. I even have my transplant here on YouTube. I am txplumber.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VzXnmxSCMO8

Born Chris: great dinner but i got kicked in the ....

2012-01-19T22:02:00.000-08:00

Born Chris: great dinner but i got kicked in the ....: mx bar and grill had excellent speed of service, an mx burger that rivaled steak houses and a beautiful bartenderess. we just sat with the ...

great dinner but i got kicked in the ....

2012-01-19T22:00:00.000-08:00

mx bar and grill had excellent speed of service, an mx burger that rivaled steak houses and a beautiful bartenderess. we just sat with the wrong people.

i don't read a blog for the fancy graphics or bells and whistles. the title caught my eye and i will read it. the content will decide if i bookmark it or it is a one time stand. i hope what i write interests someone. my life had been fulfilling, there have been majestic highs and canyonous lows. thank you for reading this, i hope you come back. leaving a comment is great. i do not need anything special just something to let me know someone out there hears me. i open my soul when i open my keyboard. there is no holding back. my grammar is average but i will seldom use capitalization its just something i stopped doing a while ago. it started when i wrote about cancer. someone commented that i should capitalize it. i disagreed. by doing so i felt it would give it power. i wanted to beat it so it was a word to me not a proper pro-noun. my apologies to my english teachers.

tonight was good. my wife and i went to see a live band play where my daughter works her second job. she reserved us a table. when we got there the place was full and she had sat a friend of hers at the table. there was room so we had no problems sharing with another couple. i am open about my health. not to garner pity but hopefully to share information. so when someone that purport to be a friend begins the conversation with "hows work"? well, you just kicked me in the groin. i am unemployable. and when i say i am not working i just got out of the hospital. the reply was "why don't you work one day a week"? ok, now you just spit on me. my body does not have a normal immune system. i broke out in shingles and was hospitalized in isolation for a week because i failed to take medication. my bones are weak and (word opposite dense, goes here) brittle. i am nauseous, light headed and dizzy when i want to pay attention. i should not have to explain why i can not work. believe me it is not a topic of pride.

tomorrow i see two doctors and x-ray. i pray for the best but prepare for the worst. on many occasion i have been to a routine doctors visit and been sent to the emergency room for admittance. the power of prayer is a strong thing. i do not want to come across as a bible thumper but i am a catholic and have respect for any religion. so i will not go further into my religous beliefs, i want you to come back. i need you. i hope your day went well and tomorrow is better than today. if i can answer a question i am available. take care of yourself. goodnight

Born Chris: all dressed up and no where to go

2012-01-18T15:50:00.000-08:00

Born Chris: all dressed up and no where to go: I am wearing my University of Texas Longhorns sandals. I have blue sweat pants with a red shirt on. I have a knit cap keeping my though...

all dressed up and no where to go

2012-01-18T14:16:00.000-08:00

I am wearing my University of Texas Longhorns sandals. I have blue sweat pants with a red shirt on. I have a knit cap keeping my thoughts warm. I was never one to set the fashion world afire. Underneath this exotic ensemble, I am covered with pink Calamine lotion. Signs of infection have faded but are still visible. I am sniffing my underarms to find out if a shower is needed. It's too cold and my smelling senses are not working so I pass the smell test. Today is a good day and this is how they start.

I am at my desk, a nice desk with photos, laptop, and files. My wife got this for me to have a place to organize my activities. I can not call it work because I do not bring in an income, but I put together blood drives and other events here. I like it. It makes me strong. Gives me a sense of purpose. The wall bears framed photos, flyers, and letter from various people. From this desk I can reach both sides of the country by clicking publish. I have met some incredible people with remarkable skills and open hearts. This keyboard is no comparison to my tool bag, I can not carry my tool bag at this time. I am too weak. The tools inside built showroom quality items. They were a part of my hand, I was an artist. I miss creating something that the public can use and appreciate. I would take my daughter to an open lot where trees had just been cleared. Telling her that in a year there would be a 5 story hotel there. She could not imagine it. I would take her at various points in the project. It made me proud to see her wonder and amazement.

I am not stupid. I am a realist. I will not hang 20 stories in the air off the side of a building with 50 pounds of tools strapped to my waist. The thought makes me tired. The weight would crack my bones. I was blessed to have a love of reading and writing. The passion I had for making it possible for 100's of people to flush the toilet at the same time must be redirected. (did you ever think about what would happen if everyone in a hotel flushed the toilet at the same time? I did. It was my job. And when it happened the toilet paper would spin away in a gush of water and the tank would begin to refill) Just that thought was enough to get me excited. No Playboys needed. Mechanical plumbing for the commercial sect is good for me. I am not sure what tomorrow will bring or what impact I will have on it, I do know as long as I breathe I will keep talking. I do not want pity but I have been through to much too soon to fade away quietly.

parenthood

2012-01-17T22:36:00.000-08:00

The hardest part about life is living. We are not born in a coccoon shielded from what may harm us. Our parents can not protect us from the boogie man. Love can be the most valued emotion you will ever feel, but can break your heart and spirit with an equal amount of intensity. It's not easy being a parent. I do not know how mine have been able to do it this long. The golden child I am not. What my daughter wears gets my temper up. When she does not call or come when she says she will make my heart stop. A panic sets in. She works two jobs and does not get enough rest. I am very proud of her. But I worry everyday. did she oversleep? did she eat breakfast? is she driving too fast? is she talking on her phone while driving? Those are just some of the thoughts I have in the waking moments. The things I did do not compare to the things my daughter does. My parents made it, I hope I can

I am in isolaion, the immune system is weak

2012-01-07T04:31:00.000-08:00

Thursday morning I was admitted to MD Anderson for multiple symptoms. I am still here with no sign of being discharged. I had an endoscopy with biopsy to locate the source of the graft versus host disease. I have a case of shingles that is spreading quickly I am still losing weight, another 11 pounds since last visit. The holidays were tough. I was happy not to be in the hospital at the time but I spent Sunday through Tuesday in bed. I no longer have a cell phone (budgeting) so please do no think I was avoiding phone calls. This journey is beginning to affect me mentally, I forget things. I can not lose that, I am trying to exercise my mind and keep looking at pictures of the past so I can build a stronger memory. I kow I am a very blessed and special person to have the opportinity to live and make a difference. I am becoming moody and irratble, please bear with me times are tough and I am trying to be a better man.
I am groggy, weak and tired. I almost left my room in my boxers until anurse said something.

an insight to what ails me

2012-01-04T07:01:00.000-08:00

“Did you really want to die?"
"No one commits suicide because they want to die."
"Then why do they do it?"
"Because they want to stop the pain.”
― Tiffanie DeBartolo, How to Kill a Rock Star

My intentions for this blog were to reflect on the early years of my life. To relive small memories that would later go on to shape my thoughts and character. I planned to be upbeat and positive. Sharing a nugget of my past that I can still remember today and brings me joy was the plan. Laying in bed changes those thoughts. I can not just speak of the good. Pain is a part of my life. It does not allow me to sleep, eat or have strength. There is not a cure or procedure for what ails me. The website www.boneinfarct.org has offered the most information.

Severe 24 hour constant pain that can persist with no relief.
Frequent hospitalization because the pain gets totally uncontrollable and the medicine just stops working.
All tests may show nothing is wrong with the patient leaving everyone puzzled.
There is nothing to see on your skin such as swelling or redness.
Due to the pain, your blood pressure can be high enough for you to have a stroke.
Sadly you can easily be disabled from this kind of pain and possibly bedridden.
Both active and passive joint movements may be restricted and painful.
Advanced cases can cause joint deformity, muscle wasting and bone breakage.
Any bone can get it for no reason.
A neurologic deficit may be present if a nerve is affected (compressed) because of necrosis and
compression deformity of affected bones.
Indirectly it can be life threatening either on purpose or by accident.
As for more severe cases, there is no medicine to really control this pain.

Patients can also feel very frustrated - depressed and suicidal due to the pain. Some have felt like they were losing their mind because the medical field along with testing have failed them terribly with no reasons or answers for their tormented pain.

So I find it difficult to embrace a new year and all it has to offer. My hopes and dreams have been broken. Peace, within my own body shared amongst my mind and foot, that is my hope now. No one can see my pain. They expect me to be someone that is no longer there. My spirit is being broken I fight a silent battle that will have no winner. The little things that I do want and can control are being put out of my reach. Happiness seems distant. I just wanted to be a man that put in an honest days labor and recieved and honest days wage. I wanted respect from my family. It will not happen. Perhaps somehow I lost respect for myself and now my family has also. This "fight" can not continue this way. I am no longer that man. I am just too tired.

To those of you who think I am having a "pity party", you are wrong. This is just a brief note letting you know how I feel. We never discussed it. Now I just don't walk to talk anymore.

Houston Texans face Adams owned Titans, they do not have the heart or right to take the Oil from Houston

2012-01-01T07:16:00.000-08:00

Today is a special day. The start of a new year and the last game of the regular season. I started this blog yesterday, it is not my first attempt at public speaking but I am still nervous. My life has had interesting moments. At times I feel like I am a Mexican-American version of Forrest Gump. Each day I wake is a blessing. The routine is not routine. That is how this blog was created, far from routine. My heirs will not inherit grand fortunes, fame or worldy possessions but they will have some knowledge of their family history. I hope you join me as I make an attempt to summarize my life experiences. Your comments are welcome.

When I was a boy growing up on the Mississippi river my pal Huck and I had us quite some adventures. Let me try that again. Growing up was not always easy. I think I was a nerd and nerds weren't invented yet. I liked to read & write. I loved math, even joining the math club. Good grades came easy for me. Knowledge was a double edged sword. It opened doors for me early in life but also made me complacent and lazy. I would not work as hard studying because I knew everything. I had a big head for a little kid. I know now that I know very little.

I do know I have yet to sleep this year and kick-off is in three hours. To fall asleep during the game would be a travesty. So I must close this keyboard and rest awhile. My team needs me, and the other 2 million or so Houstonians that have followed this team for as long as I could remember. I learned math by adjusting point spreads and setting a line. 6+1=7 and that was a heck of a lot better than driving 80 yards and kicking on 4th down to get 3 points. Team Luv ya Blue is now Luv Ya STEELBlue. I will be back. I hope you are here. When I was a boy I dreamt boyish dreams. Now I am a man and the dream remains the same. I will see my team, our team, win a Superbowl. The dream is now reality. It's gameday. Titans are the traitors of the south. Oilers are in Houston, now they are Texans.

Wait til your father gets home!

2011-12-31T10:11:00.000-08:00

That simple sentence brought tears to many a young man's face. It also taught you how to pray. You prayed that your father worked late & would be tired. You prayed that your mother would forget to tell him. I prayed I had enough underwear on to absorb some of the blows. The sentence alone was enough to be considered cruel and unusual punishment. The waiting was terrible.

Things were different than. There was no time-out or grounding. The action dictated whether you got the hand or the belt. Mom stayed with her reliable "chancla". Some how lying was never a (good) option for me. I was bad at it. They made little to no sense, my parents already knew the truth and it just made them madder. Crying may have worked on my mom, once. Tears meant nothing to my dad, no matter how loud or much I tried. I was not a bad kid, maybe rambunctious. Me and spankings met at an early stage in my life and they remained a staple as common as bread or milk. My folks even recruited others to throw in a swing if they felt I needed one. Grandparents, aunts, uncles, teachers, coaches, I swear I got spanked once while sitting on Santa's lap. Those things don't happen anymore. Now you take away your childs cell phone when they misbehave, yet you are still paying the $99 a month on it. When did it become a necessity for a teenager to have an electronic device that is more expensive than my first car? Why do they need the technology? Are they on call for the surgery unit this afternoon? Somethings I will never understand.

Once I decided I was going to smoke a cigarette. Like most stupid things I did when I was young, I was caught doing it. The sentence was handed down "wait til your father gets home." He was different when he came home, almost friendly. Lets go outside he said. How was your day he asked. Is there something you want to tell me? This question was like a form of confession and was your last chance at possibly avoiding a beating, confession was good for the soul and it was always better if you did it because Tommy dared you. He listened and nodded. Very understanding. I thought we were going to shake hands like gentlemen and go back inside to watch the new episode of Archie Bunker. We actually started walking towards the door. The feeling of excitement was incredible. My father was growing up. He no longer needed to spank me like a child. We talked and setlled matters like adult men. Than he asked if I liked the cigarette? This was a trick question, had to be, so I said nothing. Oh, you don't remember if you liked it? Well here try another. He lit a smoke for me. I wasn't 10 years old. I politely said no thank you, sir. I just saw his eyes and in what was the most ominous tone I had ever heard outside a movie theatre I heard "SMOKE IT". I tried but gagged, coughed, spit and when I was almost done he taught me what "chain smoking" was. I had to smoke another and another somewhere I think I blacked out and went to smokers purgatory. If I could survive this day I would never smoke again. I don't remember getting spanked that day but the message was loud and clear.

Thirty-four years later and I have not smoked a cigarette. Well only once when I was in the Navy & didn't want to get beat up, but thats another story. My father is a good man. I respect everything he did for me, than and now. He always had my best interest at heart and being politically correct was never an issue. If I needed a spanking, so be it. I got what was coming and I learned-eventually.

12.31.11 5:38 a

2011-12-31T04:49:00.000-08:00

My life has been full. I have wanted for little. Possessions have never meant much, in some ways I am a simple man. I would like to think I am a good man, there are sure to be those that would contest that. I was not born this way. Years of learning shaped me into what I am today. The learning process never ends. Everyday offers a new chapter into a different subject. I have learned that the written word can be quite powerful. It can create nations and topple governments. It can open worlds you could never imagine. Every emotion can be touched by the written word. It is an art.

While coloring and fingerpainting as I child I would pretend to be an artist. I held onto the artistic desire but did not have the talent to express my thoughts in oils, chalks, or paints. As I grew older I found I had a penchant for writing. The older I grew the more material I had to write about. One of my early childhood gifts was a used electric typewriter. It was one of the newest models it had the ball mechanism with all the characters. My mother had purchased it for me, I loved it. It was huge and I can't remember if I ever moved it by myself. I would tap out pages of thoughts, rewrite and paraphrase encyclopedia entries. My parents had purchased us a complete encyclopedia collection. Those might have been the greatest possessions I have ever owned. They would be the building blocks for which to build a life. I wish I knew that, than. I was a bright student but mischievous in nature.

At what point does a boy realize his sister no longer looks like a frog? I am the oldest of three children and my sister is the middle child. My baby brother is six years younger. I wish we were closer. My sister and I were close, we shared a room painted purple with wide orange trim. We had bunkbeds and I spent quite alot of time harassing her for no other reason than the reason that she was there. She was a good friend and a trusted ally. The greatest invention came in my childhood. PONG. Two players, two controls and hours of endless entertainment bouncing that dot back and forth. My sister and I would get lost in this new technology.

We lived next to some strange neighbors, they had three boys about my age and they tried to pick on my sister. She was mine for the picking on and I didn't take kindly to someone else doing it. I do not know if I was defending her honor but I know I spent alot of time fighting those boys. They would call her a name and I would just go and start getting beat up. It didn't take long to realize that if I could get to the oldest brother and make him cry before they beat me, the younger two would scare off and run home. I was not born a gifted athlete but I was born dumb enough not to scare easy so I did some scrapping as a kid. My mom would have me stay inside until I was 18 if she had her way. Glad my dad was there. When I think about it now it did not make make much sense. I would spend the day wrestling three little hillbillyboys because they stuck their tongue out at my sister. Than I would get in trouble by my mom for fighting so I would be sent to my room where I probably pulled my sister hair, stuck my tongue out at her and sat on her while I made arm farts. Growing up was tough