A Prize Jewel

Flag at Long Island National Cemetery

There are moments in life that are just so precious and valuable you can't even begin to measure them.  I think many opportunities pass us by because it often times takes effort to arrive at that door and knock.  I am a firm believer that it is important to understand where we come from, especially when it comes to a persons ancestors/family.  Often times that can give you key insights into how you are as a person and how your family is.  I touched upon this a bit in my last blog so I won't waste more time here about it.  Not everyone comes from a perfect family, well truth be told NO ONE comes from a perfect family.  Some families are just better about covering it up and lying about it...but I digress.

I have been doing research along with my aunt to try and trace some of Sharlay's family going back multiple generations.  It has been exciting, frustrating and heartbreaking all at the same time.  However, I think it is important and Sharlay has really enjoyed it.

Sharlay's biological grandmother (on her mom's side) passed away long before Sharlay ever took a breath, she passed in 1957.  Up until recently Sharlay had no idea where her grandmother Dorothy was buried.  I thought it would be so great if we could find out this information and then hopefully pay a visit to the grave site to pay our respects.  I knew it would mean a great deal to Sharlay and it would be a very nice moment to share together.

For Dorothy it was pretty easy.  Her husband served in the Air Force and was Master Sgt.  Therefore it was a safe bet that she would be buried in a national cemetery.  She was.  Thanks to Ancestry.com and Findagrave.com we located her plot in Long Island National Cemetery.

Last Sunday I took my beautiful girlfriend out to Long Island so we could pay our respects.  Getting there was easy enough and once we printed off the map it was pretty easy to get there.  I picked a bad place to park in relation to the gravestone so we had to walk a ways...including over many graves but there was no other way to really do it.  Anyway, despite it being pretty cold and windy it was a beautiful day and the grounds of course were in great condition.  Add in the fall back drop and changing leaves and it was almost a perfect day for our trip.

We found her easily enough. 

Dorothy (Davis) Smith May 13, 1923 - May 27, 1957

It was such a moving moment to be there with Sharlay at the site of Dorothy's final resting spot.  I was overcome with sadness initially.  Sadness Sharlay never had the chance to meet Dorothy and vice versa.  Sadness in the unfairness of life at times.  Yet despite the sadness it was also very bitter sweet and while maybe strange- a bit romantic.  It wasn't so much about recognizing the dead as it was about understanding the living and celebrating the future. Our future.

Now Sharlay knows where her Grandmother is buried and can tell her family she has been there.  Hopefully we will make more trips here simply to pay respects and to always remember how precious life and family are.  It was a moving moment for both Sharlay and I.  I was grateful to God for that moment.  It was for sure one of those very special bonding moments that could have easily been missed had we not listened to the knock on our door of opportunity.  Here is a pic of Sharlay at the site.

I am so excited to see what adventures we will take next and places we will travel together.  She is an amazing woman who has overcome alot in her short life.  I love her to death.

More adventures to come including meeting the majority of her family on Thanksgiving!! Woo-sah....woo-sah....

A Historical (and future) Family Perspective on Veteran's Day

Life is funny.  It is so weird how things in life happen.

History is also entertaining.  I am not sure how it is that people find history - real history - boring.  Reading it out of textbooks and being tested it on it; I can see how that is boring,  However, real history, the kind that impacts you on a personal level, is fascinating.  One just needs to take the time to learn it.

For those of you who don't know (and I am not sure how you couldn't) my girlfriend, Sharlay, is from a small town in New York called Liberty.  Liberty is about 1,181 miles from where I grew up.  Sadly Google sucks and my link to directions from Farmington to Liberty will not work on this blog.  You will have trust me or Google it yourself.
It's hard to imagine I would have any connection (other than Sharlay) with such a random place so many miles away from Minnesota.  Then again, history (and life) can be funny.

You probably don't know it but Liberty itself was carved from a larger town called Lumberland over 200 years ago.  The town was created specifically for Revolutionary War soldiers so they could have a place to live after the war was over.  Specifically, it was created for 303 soldiers and their families.  The town of course is aptly named for this very reason.  Many of those men were originally from Connecticut.  The town itself, at least originally sat very close to Renovah Lake.  Here is a rendering of the lake and saw mill:

Thaddeus Brown was born September 4, 1756 to Obadiah & Ann Brown, who at that time had already been married for 16 years.  He was born and would live the majority of his young life in Connecticut. In 1775, at age 19 he enlisted in the Ashford Company (named for where the enlistments took place, Ashford, CT) under Capt. Thomas Knowlton.  This unit would fold into the 5th Connecticut Regiment under Col. Johnson.  This force, the one lead by Knowlton, was primarily made up of farmers, without uniforms whose only weapon was a shotgun.  Google Thomas Knowlton to read more about him and his place in our countries history it is pretty cool.

The 5th Connecticut Regiment (and hence Thaddeus) would be summoned to fight at Bunker Hill.  It was at Bunker Hill that this Regiment would hold their ground at Breed's Hill until the British would eventually retreat.  Only 3 men from that Regiment died that day.  You can read more about the Battle and in particular the stand at Breed's Hill here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Bunker_Hill Ultimately Bunker Hill was a defeat for the U.S. but it came at a crippling cost to the Red Coats.

In 1776, after Knowlton left the regiment to form Knowlton's Rangers, Thaddeus would re-enlist.  This time he would serve under Capt. John Hay in the 20th Continental Regiment under Col. John Durkee.  The regiment was just one of the many who would fight at the Battle of Long Island against the British.  This also is a famous battle of the war despite it being a loss for the Americans.  You can read more about the battle here:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Long_Island but basically Washington and his troops were able to escape in the middle of the night to Manhattan because the British refused to press their advantage when they had the chance.  This allowed the Continental Army to live to fight another day and eventually win the war.  Here is a painting of the battle of Long Island:

It is likely Thaddeus also fought in the Battle of Trenton later in 1776.  This is the battle which made famous George Washington's crossing of the Delaware which shows up in just about any U.S. History book.  While this was a small victory for the young Americans it was a crucial one.  Morale was very low and this victory, on December 26th, was the shot in the arm the revolution needed to keep going.  It is unclear if Thaddeus was one of the many men who overstayed their enlistments and would later fight in The Battle of Assunpink Creek and The Battle of Princeton but he may have.

What we do know is that Thaddeus re-enlisted again sometime in 1777.  This time with Captain John Hay's Company under Col. John Cly's (possibly Clay) Regiment.  It is unclear whether Thaddeus saw battle during this enlistment but there is a decent chance he did.  Generally speaking enlistments were only for one year at a time.  There is no record of him re-enlisting in 1778.  We know very little about what happened to Thaddeus immediately after he was out of the military.

Sometime between 1778 and 1790, Thaddeus was married to Aboline and according to the 1790 census were living in Pine Hill, NY which would later become Delaware County, NY in 1797.  According to the records they may have had 4 children at this time and Samuel (Thaddeus' brother) may have also been living with them.

On November 6, 1793 Aboline gave birth to my great, great, great, great grandmother Caroline Brown.  Her father Thaddeus, is my 5th great grandfather!!

Shortly thereafter, the town of Liberty was created (or might have already been started at this point) and Thaddeus Brown moved his family there.  In 1808 Thaddeus purchased 42 1/2 acres of land from Ichibod Benton in Liberty Township.  It is unclear how long Thaddeus and his family lived in Liberty prior to purchasing this land.  What is clear is one of his other daughters, Delitta Brown, would live the majority of her life in or around Liberty.  She eventually married Nathaniel White (who would die in a milling accident) and would remarry Hooker Hubbard.  Delitta passed away in 1886 in Tioga, NY and still has family living there today.

Sadly, Thaddeus was very poor and lived a meek existence after the war. From what we can gather it seems that Aboline likely passed away during the birth (or shortly thereafter) of their son, George Washington Brown (probably their only son given his name.)  Thaddeus would eventually move to Salon, NY where he would pass away at the age of 74.  Even more sadly, his grave, which was probably unmarked given how poor he was is listed as obliterated in the "Abstract of Graves of Revolutionary Patriots."  All that can be determined is that he is buried on a farm somewhere in Salon.

While the ending to the story is a bit sad, what is amazing is that I have a family member who lived and owned property in the same town that my future wife would be born in.  You can't make this kind of stuff up.  I find it so fascinating that this kind of thing can happen when you study and research history.  I have a copy of the deed Thaddeus had.  At some point I am going to contact the town of Liberty and see if they can tell me where approximately this piece of land is.  I hope to go back out there and see it next time Sharlay and I go for a visit.  You can bet if they can tell me where it is that I will put up pictures.

To think that 203 years ago I had family in Liberty is absurd to me.  Given the fact that Thaddeus fought at the Battle of Long Island also meant he set feet in Manhattan for a period of time, even if only for a short while.  Now, I live in Manhattan and am in love with a woman from Liberty.  I feel like in some ways life, at least my families life, has come full circle.  Caroline (who I mentioned above as my 4th great grandmother) eventually moved to Wisconsin after her marriage to Ephraim Carpenter Gray Sr.  It is her blood line that would eventually give birth to my grandfather Dennis Manley Anderson and then to my mother.

It is just so weird.  And here we are today:

I love history, for better or for worse I love history and marvel at what we can learn.  I know I am not in the majority and many of you probably found this boring if you managed to read this far.  I am honored to have had a family member who fought so bravely in the Revolutionary War and who was involved in some of the most important battles of this great nation's foundation.  Truth is I had another family member who also fought.  Leonard Reed was a private in the New York Militia for two years he is also on my mother's side.

I sometimes wonder if things like this are passed via a families DNA.  I know it sounds weird, even for me.  I say this because I have always been fascinated by the Revolutionary War and that time period.  It is my favorite part of American History. I have always felt drawn to this time period, mostly because I consider myself very patriotic and a die hard believer in this country and all that it stands for.

I am also very fortunate because we can trace our family back to before the United States was the United States.  For instance, Thaddeus' father, Obediah (born 1718 in MA) was son to John Browne Jr. (his wife Lydia).  John was born in 1682 in Reading, MA.  John Jr. was born to John Browne Sr. who was born in 1628 in Worchestershire, England.  He was married to Sarah Barsham who was born in 1646 (gotta love the 18 year age difference) in Watertown, MA.  A similar story can be told regarding Thaddeus' mother Ann but not as detailed.  I will spare you the few details I have but that line goes back to the 1660s.

Well I will sign off now, this has been a very long posting.  I hope to go out to some of the places on Long Island (i.e. Brooklyn) where there are plaques dedicated to Rev. War battles. If and when I do I will post pics here.  I have already been to Bunker Hill but want to go back and see where Breed's Hill is or what is there now.

Thank you to all the men and women who have served our great country and sacrificed so much to the cause.  I am grateful to everyone of you!

Happy Veteran's Day!

What a Joke

Do you know this man?  He is a chicken shit coward. 

He is a man who refuses to own up to his own responsibility for the mess he has created. 

He is man who has decided that he would rather flee the ship instead of stepping up like a man and trying to fix this disaster he has created in Boston.

This man is Theo Epstein formerly of the @RedSox and now a member of @Cubs - he is overrated.

Can you say overrated boys and girls?

Don't let the door hit you on the way out jackass.  Thanks for the World Series victories (the first one being mostly Dan Duquette's doing) and the second directed mostly by the ownership group and the brilliance of Tito Francona.

Let's not even start with the total embarassment that has been the rest of the fat cats.  Some of the stories that have come out seem too stupid to be true - which means they must be.  The fact that Tek hasn't spoken up is perhaps the biggest disappointment of them all.  So much for being the Captain: more like Captain Crunch.  The fact no one is stepping up to take accountability clearly means that everyone on that team had a hand in all the behavior that took place. 

Youk is hiding behind "I never saw anything cause I play too hard to notice."  Really?  Cause it looked like you were too busy eating donuts and drinking beer to pay attention to what was going on.  Or maybe your enormous stomach was too big for you to see what was probably right in front of your face.  Clearly you would rather toil on a beer league softball than do the necessary things to stay in shape and stay healthy to help this club win.

Even Pedey didn't bother to speak up until just this week.  Apparently he is too pre-occupied with his endorsement of Coconut Water (which tastes terrible by the way) to speak up earlier.  Where was his leadership in September?

Finally, Mr. Pop Up.  Glad you found a way to get back on the juice this season without getting caught. It was an honroable attempt to try and steal some more money from Theo since we all know he gives money away to washed up past their prime players.  Good luck with our new GM sir.  I think you should go to the Yankees personally.  Pinstripes won't be flattering to your physique trust me...just ask your friend Joba or CC.  However, you will have access to higher quality HGH next season.  Say hi to Manny when you play in the Dominican league next year.

Ummm...wow...that kind of sucked! #keepingthefaith @redsoxnation

To my non-sports and especially my non-baseball loving friends this post will probably just make you roll your eyes and think how stupid people are to take sports so seriously.

Today I have a serious sports hangover.  If you don't know what that is then you should probably stop reading here as you probably have something important to do like "work," shopping or watching another episode of Dancing with the Stars.

Generally to have a sports hangover one must endure a severe let down on the sports front either over the course of several games/weeks or in one seriously devastating loss or event.  It is hard to explain but all day I have been highly irritable (yes more than normal), quiet, slightly...hmmm..more like manically depressed.

Today's sports hangover comes courtesy of the Red Sox who would normally always be the source of this kind of hangover unless of course you are also a Minnesota Vikings fan (apologies to all you Cubs fans).  The managed to incorporate about every event that causes sports hangovers: high expectations, terrible start, great majority of the season, complete meltdown over several weeks and then one large seemingly impossible devastating loss last night.

I was so angry last night...and even still today I am very very upset about what happened last night and all this month.  Although I have to admit it seemed like cosmic forces were working against us last night at least.  The Yanks blow a 7 run lead in the 8th only like the 3rd time in their history they have blown a lead that late in a game.  Yet to do it in such dramatic fashion was insane! 

Add to the fact it seemed the Red Sox couldn't get out of their own way (base running mistakes, fielding issues, men left on base etc).  Basically Boston kicked the Nation in the teeth last night and now we are left with a very cold and long winter with lots of question marks for next season and that perhaps is the most painful of all.  I didn't think we had much of a chance given our pitching problems of late but being in the playoffs is always better than not being in the playoffs.

Here is list of my most memorable sports hangovers

North Stars lose to Pittsburgh in Stanley Cup finals after being a #8 seed in the playoffs - 1991
North Stars move to Dallas and break my heart - 1993
Vikings lose in overtime to Atlanta (at the time the only 15-1 team to not make it to the Super Bowl) - 1998
Vikings 41- donut game vs New York Giants NFC Championship - 2001
Sox lose game 7 in ALCS - 2003
Sox lose to Rays in game 7 ALCS - 2009
Sox lose to Baltimore "Curse of Andino" on last day of season & miss playoffs 2011

Maybe more to come.  The documentary film crew is stopping by the apartment tonight for an interview regarding the season ending debacle.  That is going to be fun.

Let's go Tigers, Rays & Rangers!

It's time to play some hockey!
Vikings lose to Saints in NFC Championship game 2010

About that Hurricane...

Well for those of us in NYC and especially for anyone living about 60th Street the Hurricane ended up being a big snore fest.  After anxiously waiting two full days for the storm to arrive it was pretty much a non-event in New York.  I for one am very grateful as I had seen the destruction in NC, VA, MD and PA.  That storm sat down in NC/VA for a full day before moving along.  By the time it made it to New York it was moving very fast and was no longer a hurricane.  People here were really freaking out in the days leading up to the storm.  Here is a pic of the bread shelves at my local grocery store...these are ALWAYS full on a normal day...

These also made an appearance at my apartment building on Friday morning and made me nervous...

Okay never mind...it won't upload the picture of the four bags of "Play Sand" that are still sitting in our lobby.  This reduces the funny but I must go on.

I was a little nervous when I went to bed on Saturday night but by Sunday morning when I woke up at like 8am it was barely raining any more and the winds had died down.  Around 9:30 I decided to take a walk to survey the damage...

 As you can tell there wasn't much damage in my 'hood.  Plenty of flooding and wind damage on the lower end of Manhattan and also in Brooklyn and Staten Island.  While most of NYers are complaining about the hype I am very thankful that it wasn't as bad as it could have been.  It was a good idea for our city leaders to be planning for the worst and hoping for the best.  No reason to take unneeded risks especially when we are not familiar with how to deal with a hurricane.

I also walked down to the Hudson to see how bad the wind was blowing down there and to see if there was any other carnage (there wasn't).  Here are a few more pics...

Well that is all there is to report on the storm.  For the most part we are all back to normal here in the city.  I think there are still some people in the other boroughs without power.  Today is a beautifully cool day and I am going to go run in the park in about 30 minutes when my shift is over.

Talk to you soon!

Bracing for a Hurricane

Well we have already had a very crazy week with the "earthquake" that actually happened in Virginia.  However, not to be out done by Virgina NYers immediately began claiming it happened here in Manhattan.  It was really no big deal but people lost their minds anyway.  This was especially confusing for me because so many of my Christian friends went crazy.  That is the opposite of what God calls us to do.  However, I will not address this currently as it just irritates me that Christians would be so afraid as to lose their minds over something so trivial.

As if the "earthquake that wasn't" isn't enough we are now staring down the barrel of our first hurricane in over 100 years.  Hard to tell if it will be as bad as they are saying or not.  I am hoping to have some videos and pictures to download on Sunday/Monday assuming I have power.

More to come!  Prayers are welcome :)

Andrew

Amazing Trip!

Hey everyone!!

I am back from my vacation to Minnesota!!  What an amazing time I had back in my home state over the weekend.  Don't get me wrong there were some bumps along the way but it was possibly the best time I have had back in MN since I moved to New York over 4 years ago.  No I am NOT moving back.

Wednesday was awesome as I worked from the Minneapolis office (located in the U.S. Bank Plaza) during the day and then met up with Staci and Lindsay for the Red Sox vs Twins that night.  Sadly the Twins won but it was a good time.  I even was able to see Joe Nathan break the career saves record for the Twins which was a nice bit of baseball history.

Thursday I went golfing with my friend Greg and had a blast.  We played 18 and smoked two cigars.  After about 3 nice shots and 80 bad ones it was off to the airport to pick up Sharlay :)  Everyone was so nervous heading into dinner.  I was nervous, my parents were nervous and Sharlay was having a heart attack (sorry babe but you were!).  On the way to my parents it was so evident that she was having a rough go of it we pulled over and I spent about 5 minutes praying over the situation and getting her to relax.  It worked...sort of.  Truth be told that almost right away when we got out of the car Sharlay was amazing.  No other way to describe it.  She was so great with my parents (especially my mother (which is no small feat)) I was utterly amazed.  At one point I looked over to her at dinner and thought "Wow she is totally bringing the house down!"  And she really really was.  After dinner we walked over to Rambling River Park and then back to my parents house.

Friday we woke up and had french toast for breakfast courtesy of my mom!  Excellent breakfast!  Sadly Sharlay left her dress back in New York so we had to spend the better part of Friday looking for dresses so off to the MoA we went!  Sharlay loved MoA (as if this would surprise anyone who knows her!) and she especially loved how cheap things were compared to CT and NYC.  After a few hours of shopping we finally found her an amazing purple dress.

This picture doesn't do it justice but she looked totally hot!  Off to the wedding went where we had a really great time.  Much to my embarrassment they played polka music at the wedding reception.  I had failed to warn Sharlay about this cultural phenomenon.  Ugh.  Somehow she thought it was cool and was upset I didn't take her to dance the Polka (as if that would EVER happen!).  What was really sad was they never played one slow song for the first hour and a half after dinner, thus we never had a chance to slow dance on the floor.  Instead we headed back to the hotel (W - Minneapolis Foshay) and had a night cap at the Living Room.

The next morning we woke up and had breakfast at Hell's Kitchen, where I had the best Carmel Roll ever made by the hands of man.  SO GOOD!  If you go to Minneapolis you have to get breakfast here it is sooooo delicious!

After such a great breakfast I took Sharlay up to the observation deck of the Foshay Tower (which was the tallest building for many years in Minneapolis).  The cool thing was I had never been up there either so it was awesome to share a Minnesota first together :)  It was such a beautiful day and we took lots of pics.  Here is my fav...sappy I know:

After Foshay it was off to my Aunt Joyce's for a Sloss family reunion.  Due to the nature of the Sloss family there are no appropriate pictures that I can share here....lol.  Okay just kidding.  There were some pics taken but none with my phone so I don't have any to show.  Once again Sharlay was a rock star and brought the house down with my family as well.  Everyone (that wasn't my parents) had nothing but great things to say about her.  Since it was the Sloss side of the family they made plenty of fun of me as well which I was fully expecting.  It was also very cool to see my Uncle Dan and Aunt Judy who I hadn't seen in almost 3 years.  They are by far the coolest people in the world and someone I look up to with a great deal of respect and admiration.

Next up on that Saturday night was the Demolition Derby!!  The Dakota County Fair is held every August in my hometown and when I heard there was a Demo Derby happening how could I NOT take Sharlay to get a real taste of Farmington?

Afterwards she got her first taste of Cheese Curds and even managed to down a corn dog!  That is my kind of woman!  While at the Fair we even ran into my high school friend Angela Nevada Allard (had to give you a shout out!).  After the fair it was back home to look at some pictures of a boy who looked like me but had a mullet on his head...

Sunday was also a very fun day...we went to church...met up with my friend Staci in Edina and then went to Chino Latino for dinner.  Chino has always been one of my favorite spots to eat in Minneapolis if for no other reason than it is a lot of fun.  Sharlay

After Chino we went to Sebastian Joe's in Linden Hills for late night ice cream.  Also an amazing and fun place to go especially on a beautiful night.  At some point during the night we drove around Lake Calhoun and tried to walk around a bit but the bugs of course were WAY too bad to do that.  We drove back to Farmington and totally crashed after that.

Monday was our last day in Minnesota.  We woke up and had breakfast with my mom which was nice.  However, we couldn't stay long as we had a very specific mission to accomplish this day.  After driving downtown to meet my friend Ken we headed to South Minneapolis for date with a Jucy Lucy!!

This was a total success cause not only did we not burn the roof of our mouths with the molten cheese but Sharlay was treated to the best damn Cheeseburger you can get for $5.50.  Heck...we know that is the best burger you can get anywhere for any price!  Don't listen to those chumps who claim the 5/8 Club is better.  After our mecca to Matt's (yes I said mecca) we headed back to Farmington so she could meet my friend Greg and his wife Heidi.  We sort of kind of met Jake his son but he was being such a bit shy lol.  After that it was back to the parents for dinner and hanging out.  My dad and I told lots of ridiculous stories after dinner and before you knew it, it was time to leave for the hotel.  We said good bye to my parents and left for the Marriott hotel where we managed to get the entire pool and hot tub to ourselves for a few hours before crashing to sleep for the night.

It was an awesome trip!!  Sharlay is already trying to get me to move back to MN since she loved it so much...we will see how much she loves it in December.  More entries to come as I know I have to update you all on how we met and our first few dates...until then be safe out there!

Andrew

Minny Apple

Wow, time really flys by when you aren't blogging lol!  To my few fans out there I am sorry, I am getting as bad as Jenn Gowett on this thing! Kidding Jenn, love you!

I'm in Minnesota! In case you couldn't tell from the title of my blog entry...ummm or this picture!  It's actually a very big trip.  Tomorrow my girl arrives to spend a few days chilling with my family and seeing some friends including a wedding of one of my favorite people Molly Olson!  First, time since moving to NY that I brought a girl home to meet the folks.  I think this makes #3 that will have even met my parents period so its a big deal.

I am mostly excited to be able to show her around Minneapolis while the weather is nice.  We have several stops on tap...Matt's for Juicy Lucy's...Chino Latino for some Coconut Curry Shirmp and Smores...maybe a stop at the Falls (assuming the Latino Kings aren't hanging out there)...Lake Calhoun/Nokomis and the other 9,998 lakes in the state...and of course a trip to the Dakota County Fair to watch the Demolition Derby Saturday night!  Lots of fun to be had and soooooo many places to try and see...no way we will get even 25% of them in this trip but I am hopeful there might be plenty more trips in the future (preferably in the summer). 

Sharlay doesn't arrive until tomorrow afternoon and I cannot wait to see her.  We are having dinner with my parents in Farmington tomorrow.  Everyone on both sides is very anxious lol.  However, tonight I am going to the Red Sox game (vs Twins) with Staci White and Lindsay Willis.  Lindsay will be bringing me my SECOND starbucks gift card that I have earned via the Red Sox beating up the Twins twice this season.  Should be a good time!

Tomorrow morning I am going to squeeze in a round of 18 with Greg Delo before I speed off to pick up Sharlay from the airport.  More stories from Minnesota to come and of course I need to back up and spend time getting you up to speed on Sharlay including our awesome date dancing on the Pier at sunset and listening to a personalized custom playlist on my iPod for her...there were tears :)

Until later!!
Drew

Central Park

Woke up this morning around 7am which is not normal for me on a saturday.  Waking up at noon is more common for me than 7am.  My plans were to go back to bed by 8am but once I had a chance to step outside and saw how beautiful it was out I couldn't justify going back to sleep.

I came back upstairs changed into my running shoes and decided to go for a walk and spend some time with God instead.  I headed over to Riverside Park so I could walk along the Hudson but before I did that I stopped at this place in the park that overlooks a soccer field and the Hudson River.  I only sat there for a few moments soaking up the quiet of the Park and the city on a saturday morning.  It was so amazing.

After that I walked down to the pedestrian path that runs the length of Manhattan on the west side.  Easily one of my all time favorite places to go.  I often find it the most calming and relaxing place for me in the city.  I turned on my iPod to some worship music and started my walk.  It was just such an amazing time of worshiping God and being outside getting some fresh air.  I stopped along the way to relax on a bench so I could read some of his word.

When I read the bible I often start in Psalms and pick the Psalm that matches the day of the month.  This morning I read from Psalm 16, 17 and 18.  There are always so many great verses in Psalms it is hard to focus on just one.  However, the one I really liked the most while reading today was:

He trains my hands for battle;
my arms can bend a bow of bronze.
Ps 18:34

I love the fact that God trains me for battle everyday and that my arms (i.e. gifts) are able to do the impossible.  After reading the word and meditating for a bit I resumed my walk.  I left my iPod off so I could spend some time praying.  I prayed for C3 (my church) and especially the men of my church.  We have seen so many great things come to pass in the last year or so with the men at our church.  It has been so cool to see.  I then prayed for marriages and families at our church and also in our city.  I prayed for my job and my life of course.  I prayed for Sharlay and her family and of course our relationship together.

After praying I continued my walk down the Hudson and past the boat basin cafe.  As is my normal routine I went out to the pier and spent a few minutes enjoying the sights there.  Never gets old for me, I love being out there and seeing the city from the river.  From there I walked back towards the boat basin and then decided to climb the steps up to Riverside Dr. and walk over to Central Park.

It has been awhile since I had spent time exploring Central Park.  Which makes Central Park also one of my favorite spots in the city.  I have spent a lot of time there during my 4+ years here and I am always finding new things and new spots that are so amazingly beautiful and special I cannot always take it all in.  Frederick Olmstead was such a genius!!  I am going to try and find an autobiography of his today and add it to my pile of unread books lol.

So I walked down 72nd street past the Dakota where John Lennon was killed and continued to Strawberry Fields.  I continued to walk down by the lake and enjoy some of my previously discovered spots during the cool of a saturday morning.  It was so relaxing.  I then walked across a bridge I had never crossed before and had an amazing shot of New York City.  This is one of my favorite views of the city from Central Park.  The Essex House is such a great landmark in this city.  It was just a very special moment as I stood on that bridge listening to worship music and praising the God who makes all things and has been so very good to me my whole life.

I continued on my journey past the Castle and walked a little on the Ramble (where in Law & Order they always find the dead bodies) and explored a few other areas that looked cool.  Walked up by the pond at 100th Street and then as I was crossing a small foot bridge I came across a little waterfall that I had never noticed before.  I sat down and spent a little time enjoying the cool breeze that was coming off the water.  I noticed some small sunfish in this littel estuary that had been built so many years ago.  This place is certainly not secret but I cannot wait to go back and share this spot.  I will try and make it back here next week in the morning to just chill and enjoy it.

After that I spent a few more minutes wandering around the park and then headed home to relax, shower and now maybe take a nap.  I spent 3 hours walking around the city and loved every minute of it.  I remember when I used to do that many days in a row just seeing what the city had to offer and stopping at places randomly to see what they were all about.

Great day today!  Very thankful to be alive and very thankful to be so blessed and fortunate.

Love Sincerely

That is what Paul writes in the book of Romans Chapter 12 vr 9. "Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good."

What I love about this passage is that Paul doesn't bother to explain the "why" behind the first part of this verse. It is one of my favorite things about his writing style. There are just some things that he would encourage us about and because they were so fundamental and logical no explanation is needed. He doesn't say "Love must be sincere because..." He just makes a very easy to understand statement that it MUST be sincere knowing that as brothers in Christ we should know why without having to ask.

Therefore this morning men I ask you whether or not your love is sincere? The love you have for your wife, friends and family, is it sincere? More importantly do they believe your love for them is sincere?

Trust me gentlemen, especially when it comes to the women you care about in your life, they will know when your love is not sincere. They might not say that to you nor will they usually let it show that they are on to you. However, women can always tell when something is amiss.

As men we think we are so smart and ingenious when it comes to fooling people and outsmarting others, especially women. I am here to tell you that we aren't fooling anyone other than ourselves. Women know and women can tell when you aren't sincere in your love for them. However, rarely will they let on (at least initially) that they have figured you out. They generally allow us to keep digging our own holes until it becomes so obvious we are in a hole that we have to admit it ourselves. It can be a very painful prospect.

That is why I am writing to you today. I want to encourage you to love people sincerely. Be genuine with the people you care about. Don't let familiarity rob the power of the words "I love you."

The key to loving sincerely is through our actions. It is easy to say words that we don't mean. Anyone can say they love you to get what they want (As men we are terribly notorious for this) but not actually care about you sincerely.

Jesus said to his boys: "My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. You are my friends if you do what I command." John 15:12-14 (NIV)

Even Jesus knew love without sincerity is mostly meaningless. Loving sincerely means you will lay down your life for your friends and loved ones. Jesus wasn't necessarily talking literally here, although giving your life for someone is also expected it is not limited to just that. He is simply saying that when you sincerely love someone you will serve them and lay down your own agenda and motivations in order to love them.

Our biggest problem in this area is the whole "I don't feel like I love them." This is probably one of the worst rationales humans have every come up with. Christ didn't say that you should lay down your life for someone when you feel like you love them. He said when you love someone you should lay down your life for them.

If you love someone you love them all the time. Not part time. Not 3/4 of the time. All the time. We may "fall" in love with people but it is our choice to continue to love them. That doesn't mean loving people is always easy but as followers of God we must choose to love people even when it is hard and inconvenient. Any one can love someone when it is easy or they want something in return for their love.

Real men (and real women) love at all times and they do so sincerely. That doesn't mean we are perfect or that we walk in this command all the time but we are asked to try. Therefore we must.

I leave you with a thought and also with some encouragement. First, who in your life do you claim to love but have recently been loving without the sincerity Paul and John write about in the Bible? Seek God and ask him to show you. You may be surprised at what he will tell you. God wants to see all your relationships restored to right standing therefore there is no judgment ('There is no condemnation in Christ Rom 8:1). If you are confused about how to show love sincerly ask God, He will show you. Everyone wants to be loved sincerely and if you pay attention you will see how people in your life desire to have love expressed to them.

I leave you with a scripture we all know or have heard but you cannot escape the beauty and sincerity of God's love in it: "For God so LOVED the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life." John 3:16

Love sincerely and I promise you, your life will change in so many amazing ways you will have to shout to God from every roof top you can find!

Peace out!
Drew

Chicago

Well I see I am well overdue for a new post!!  Wow how quickly time goes by.

I am in Chicago for work today and head back to New York tomorrow afternoon and then on to Los Angeles for WOW Jam on Saturday.  Last WOW Jam week I went on was back in 2007 (also in L.A.).  Well techincally I helped out for 4 days in New Orleans later that fall but this is the first full mission week since 2007.  I have helped out a day or two here or there for Jams in NYC.  I am looking forward to it as the lack of WOW Jams in New York has been very frustrating to me.

Last weekend we had our men's retreat in upstate New York.  What an amazing time we had as brothers in Christ.  So much personal growth was taking place all weekend it has been awesome!  Even more encouraging involved men who were laying down their burdens and thus motivating other men to do the same.

I also experienced some serious growth as well and am very excited about what God has in store for me.  More on that in a later blog.

Perhaps the best thing about the Men's Retreat is that we have continued the momentum going this first week back and it is my fervent desire to keep that going and encourgaing my brothers to do so as well!

Okay I have to run...literally..its work out time at the Hotel gym....I love the W Chicago!

Until later boys and girls...

Is it ok to be proud?

God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble. I Peter 5:5

It is right for me to be enthusiastic about all Christ Jesus has done through me. Romans 15:17

God alone made it possible for you to be in Christ Jesus...As the Scripture says, "The person who wished to boast should boast only of what the Lord has done.  I Cor 1:30-31

God forbid that I should boast about anything except the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ.  Gal 6:14

There are times when it is appropriate to be proud.  Often times you will experience feelings of great satisfaction for what God is doing through your life.  Those are the times it is okay to boast about what God is doing!  There is nothing wrong with feeling pride in a job well done when you have honored God in your task.  God blessed you with the gifts, skills and/or talents to do the job well.

Likewise it is okay to be proud of your children (or so I am told lol) as they are a gift from God.  When you read Paul's writings he often times can come across as boastful or proud.  However, he is always boasting about what God has done through him and not about what he is doing himself.  Let's try and look to Paul's example and take pride in what the Lord is doing in each of our lives.  When we do this our focus is on God and not ourselves.

Take a moment today and think about just one thing that God is doing through you.  Take pride in whatever that thing is and don't hold back from sharing with others!  It is good that God be praised so people might see your good works and glorify Him who made you.

I will leave you with one last verse: Those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted. Matt 23:12

Red Sox v Yankees

Hello!!

So....our trip to Yankee Stadium last Saturday was great!!  The Sox won 6-0 behind an outstanding performance by Joshua Beckett.  There are not many things in life more enjoyable than the Red Sox beating the Yankees @ Yankee Stadium!!  Everytime a Sox fan came back to his or her seat after getting something to drink, eat or to use the bathroom we were booed.  Awesome!  Sometimes there were worse things than booing but it's Yankees fans, so you knew this already.

Stepping off the train and into enemy territory is always an "enjoyable" experience.  Most of the ribbing, booing and being yelled at is funny and hilarious.  Of course there are always a few people who take it too far but overall it is usually just funny.  Don't get me wrong, you have to be prepared for it otherwise you might be shocked but if you come prepared or have experience it is actually a lot of fun!  Besides there are enough Sox fans at the game to make you feel at home at least a little bit.

The real stupid (and yet entertaining story) was on the train ride up to the stadium.  We had the film crew with us for the ride and sadly there was not one obvious Yankee fan on our subway car.  We were very concerned it would be an uneventful ride to the stadium.  Thankfully, just like in "reality" TV we made something happen.  At 125th Street this dude and his wife got on and as he entered the train I heard him grumble under his breath about the Red Sox fans on the train.  Since he didn't have the courage to speak up I let it alone.  However, Kristin, one of the filmmakers wasn't going to let it go.  She immediately decided to interview me and set me up with a softball of a question to try and get a reaction from this guy on the train.

Her questions was something like "Andrew, so tell us how you feel about the apparent decline of the Yankees and their older generation of players?"  Well being the sound bite machine that I am ;) I said something I would never dare say in a train full of Yankee fans including some statements that I only said for the pure dramtic nature of the statement.  I may have mentioned that I beleived Posada's career was over (keep in mind this was the same night he cried and sat out the game), that Jeter was also done and the Yanks made a huge mistake in re-signing him.  I said that Texieria was too fat to hit for an average any more and that A-Rod was more interested in getting fed popcorn by Cameron Diaz than he was at driving in RBI's or hitting for an average.  I think I even worked in a statement or two about Mo and Joe Girardi. LOL

Needless to say this ball-less wonder took the bait hardcore.  He immediately started talking to me and getting very upset about my statements.  Well...except he wasn't really talking to me because he was facing the other direction and talking to the far wall of the train.  I asked him is he was talking to me to which he didn't really reply he simply went on and on and on talking to no one.  At some point he turned slightly so I could see his profile but he still refused to talk...or "yell" in my direction.  He wouldn't even look at me or the rest of my friends on the train.  Needless to say we continued to talk smack because we were filming.  The biggest difference is that he was getting like angry...super duper nuclear angry...it was really creepy! 

I mean if he was any kind of fan or followed the game he would have had plenty of ammo to turn around on the Sox since we have so many under performing players but he didn't.  Probably because he couldn't.  Then of course because he is so angry he starts to not make sense or is unable to argue logically.  For instance he said of Sox fans "Oh you think you are so great because you have won 2 championships in 10 years but we have won 27!"  So I ask him "How did the Yanks manage to win 27 in a 10 year stretch?"  He then says he meant since the beginning of time, so then I said well in that case you are missing four of our world championships.  Then he started accusing us of being bandwagon fans and started going on and on about how he couldn't understand why fans from another team would go to a "non-team" stadium to watch a baseball game.  Our whole crew was like "what the hell are you talking about, people go see other teams play baseball all the time!"  However, he just kept getting more and more angry even though we were mostly joking with him with smiled on our faces.  Finally, our friend Christy asked him "Why are you so angry?"  We all busted out laughing and he just became more angry.

At this point we were pretty much at our stop so we all piled off laughing and being a little creeped out over how mad this dude was.  Good times :)  Can't wait to go back! Go Sox!!

Battles - The Battle to Pray

"Whenever you were in distress and turned to the Lord...and sought him out, you found him." 2 Chronicles 15:4

"He is your protecting shield and your triumphant sword!" Deut. 33:29

"The Lord is my strength, my shield from every danger, I trust in him with all my heart.  He helps me, and my heart is filled with joy." Psalm 28:7

How does God help us (you) in our (your) daily battles?

The most obvious way God helps us daily on the battles we face is through prayer.  However, what do you do when one of your daily battles is finding time to pray?

I will be honest finding time to pray has been the hardest thing for me since I became a believer in 1997 and even when I got serious about that decision in 1999 I still struggled with finding time to pray consistently.  It bothers me so much when pastors or other believers say things like "well you just have to do it" or "how can you not find time to pray?"  Easy.  I don't.

It isn't because I don't want to.  Often times it is because I don't think about it.  Or the moments I think about it I just can't "really" pray (i.e. like in the middle of a presentation or something at work).  I have tried all kinds of really great ideas.  I have left a note next to my bed in the morning that said "Pray".  I have left a note in my bathroom, kitchen, on my door all saying the same thing.  Most of the time, I never notice them.  The times that I did notice them going to the bathroom and waking up seem much more important.  I am also not the kind of person who wakes up with instant energy and is ready to go about his day.  I am a slow waker-upper and it takes me a good 30 minutes before I can do much of anything in the morning.

So then the Christian taliban people tell me, "wake up an extra 30 minutes early to start your day."  Yea right.  That hasn't worked either.  Then of course someone always breaks out the "well you just aren't disciplined enough."  Which would be an easy out and often times I am not disciplined with other things in my life.  However, here is the key thing when it comes to either having or not having discipline.  You have to think about the activity you should be engaged in before you do or don't do it.  For example, I train in Mixed Martial Arts and have many friends who do as well.  When I have discipline to train it works like this in my head: "Andrew, don't forget you have MMA at 6:30 tonight."  And then I go to train at 6:30.  When I don't have discipline it usually goes like this "Andrew, don't forget you have MMA at 6:30 tonight."  And then I just choose to not go.  Those are examples of having and not having discipline.

Often times, especially in the morning the thought to pray or read my bible never enters the brain.  Therefore, doing it or not doing it isn't a discipline thing because I never give myself the option.  Outside of having a friend call me in the morning and pray with me (which would probably put an end to our friendship) I don't really think there is another option.  Now I am sure some of you "Holy" people just exclaimed "well ask God to remind you to pray."  First, get a life.  Second, do you really think I haven't already tried this?   Third, do you realize that asking him to remind me is also praying?  Do you not see the problem here? lol  Seriously people, pay attention!

Guess what?  I have a solution!!

Okay actually I don't, but that is the point of this blog entry.  I am just being real with you, my dear reader, that prayer for me and for many is difficult.  I also share my struggle so when you are confronted by the Christian taliban type of person, the legalistic everything is always about Christianity person or the "I live in a Christian bubble and can't relate to real people" person that you are NOT alone.  In fact, those people are probably much more alone than you are.  Finding time to pray is difficult for me and I am not going to pretend it is not.  I lose sleep over not praying, so then I pray I can fall asleep but then I feel like a jackass for finding time to pray about my sleep but not finding time to pray about others or myself.  Yet if I lay there and start praying for others I will most likely fall asleep in under two minutes.  Yet if I get up so I don't fall asleep so I can pray for others I am back at square one and unable to sleep cause now I am all pumped after praying. It is a vicious circle I tell you!

Last item before I call it a day on this blog and go about my business.  Today in church I was feeling ummm...what is the word....worthless.  Yea that is pretty good.  Not in the sense of I have nothing to offer or I am a loser.  Just in the sense of I feel worthless in my faith.  I feel like I am not being used by God or more likely not allowing God to use me.  I found myself struggling this morning with my direction and purpose in life a little bit.  Don't get me wrong I actually do love my job (not the culture of my job but my job is great) but I am not passionate about it.  I feel like life is passing me by and I am doing nothing to further the cause of Christ.  I am not a lazy person and have a deep and passionate desire to serve him.  I just know that going to church and having a bible study is not what I am only called to do.  I know I am called to do more and bigger things but feel lost as to how to start, where to start or if to start.

So what does that ultimately lead me back to?  *sigh* prayer...ugh.  I know I have to do it.  I know I have to be better.  I don't have high hopes it will get better as I have been saved for going on 15 years (wow I cannot believe it has been that long).  That being said my pastor @stephenhickson has challenged us all as a church to take the 3*5*7 challenge.  Which is basically praying 3 times a day for 5 minutes for 7 days.  While it sounds easy I know it is going to be hard as hell, especially on the weekend.  Let's do it!!

P.S. for those of you wanting an update on the Red Sox v Yankees I have to put up pictures first and then will share my story :)

Red Sox Documentary

Just a quick note as I am getting ready to head to the Red Sox game at Yankee stadium tonight.  Over the last few months we have had a film crew following our NYC Red Sox Meetup group.  They are doing a documentary on Red Sox fans living in the belly of the beast (i.e. NYC).  I have been interviewed a number of times so far and as I am sure you are surprised to hear that I am a "sound bite machine." LOL

Anyway, Steve is one of the guys doing the filming along with Kristin.  Tonight there is a group of us going to the game and we are meeting up with Steve before hand.  He is going to film us as we ride the subway to Yankee stadium and then follow us as we walk from the subway to the stadium (which isn't far at all).  The Red Sox won last night and have taken 3 of 4 from the Spankees this season so it will be interesting to see how much angst the Yanks fans will have towards us.

I think I am the only guy going so most of that anger will be directed at me.  Should be good times.  Can't wait to share some stories next time I right.  Until then please remember people...

Make the world a better place and punch a Yankee fan in the face! Go Sox!!!

Boston, Back Bay and Business

Anyone who knows me at all, knows how much I LOVE baseball.  I just cannot ever get enough baseball in my life.  I am more than willing to acknowledge it may be a problem, but not today.

This past week I was in Boston on a "business trip" and it just "so happened" that the Red Sox were in town.  Of course I went to a few games (3 in 3 days for those of you who are counting).  The truth is I bought the tickets back in January when I found out about the business trip to Boston.  I am notorious for planning my business trips around the baseball schedule.  Not even the Red Sox schedule, just the baseball schedule in general.

Let me illustrate my point:

Two summers ago I had the opportunity to go on a business trip to Pittsburgh, PA.  So of course I worked my butt of to make sure that the trip fell in a certain way that would allow me to maximize my baseball intake.  I received permission to fly out to Pittsburgh on a Friday afternoon (my business meeting was the following Monday and Tuesday in Pittsburgh), picked up my rental car in Pittsburgh and drove as quick as I could to Cleveland to catch the 7pm Indians game that evening.  After the game I drove about an hour south so I was close to Canton, OH.  Saturday morning I woke up early and took a tour of the NFL Hall of Fame before driving down to Cincinnati where I caught two baseball games there (Sat and Sun).  On Sunday I drove back to Pittsburgh for the "business" part of my trip and then caught two games in Pittsburgh on Monday and Tuesday.  It was a great trip!!  I loved every moment of it.  There is just something so cathartic about watching a baseball game live and in person.  This is especially true when it is a beautiful summer night or afternoon. 

I haven't ever been able to explain it adequately to anyone but I just love the game and all the strategy that is involved.  Many people don't know about that part of the game or don't care but it is one of the reasons I love baseball so much.  There is actually a ton of strategy that goes into the game.  I love to watch back at see it all play out.  You usually cannot see this when watching on TV and you can only really see it all unfold when watching in person.

I only mention all of this because this past week was my first game of the year which is always a very special occasion to me.  These past two years I have been fortunate enough for both of my first games of the year to take place in Fenway Park.  Which is not only home to my fav baseball team but is also my "happy place."  Win or lose Fenway is always a happy place to be and it is nearly impossible to be crabby when watching a game at America's Most Beloved ballpark. 

The atmosphere outside the ball park, the first time you step into the stadium, see the green grass, smell the pretzels, beer and feel the buzz in the stadium.  It truly is a magical moment to me and I love it.  It's why I don't think I could every live overseas for more than a year or so I would miss baseball too much!

This week in Boston was just another demonstration of my passion for baseball.  On Tuesday I was fortunate enough to be treated to luxury box seats courtesy of my company as we were entertaining a client.  All the free lobster rolls, steak tips, Italian sausage etc that I could eat free of charge!  Plus the Sox won so it was an amazing night all around!  Wednesday night however I would be tested.

Wednesday night the game was suspended in the 5th inning due to rain.  The game had started at 7pm and by 8:30pm it was being delayed because of the weather.  It was already a cool night in Boston before the rain and it would only get cooler.  Many people of course left after about 30 minutes.  Many more people left after an hour.  By the time two hours had passed there were probably 1000 of us left.  Finally they announced the game would be starting in about 30 minutes.  This meant it was going to re-start at 11:10 or so.  While most rational individuals had left earlier I decided to stay and wait it out.

You don't understand, I know.  The Angels had a no hitter going through 5 innings and there was NO way I was going to miss the chance to see a no hitter.  Granted it would have been against my team but baseball history is baseball history, I had to stay.  So I stayed.  The no-hitter only lasted until the 7th inning and by then the Sox were down 2-0 but I still refused to stay.  It had already been a really good game but only got better as the Sox would go on to tie the game in the bottom of the 9th.  Free baseball!!  Nothing is better than some extra baseball free of charge.  Eventually the Red Sox would lose in the 13th after blowing a few chances to win the game outright in the 12th.  The game officially ended at 2:45am.  I was part of Fenway history as that was the latest a game has ever ended at Fenway (or something like that).  We also were given free hot chocolate by the Red Sox!!  I had a blast.  The best part was that in less than 12 hours I was going to be back at Fenway for game 3 which had a 1:35pm start!

Sadly the Red Sox were crushed on the Thursday game and it wasn't very much fun to watch but it was baseball so to some degree it was still worth it.

Have I mentioned I love baseball? :)

Fighting Poverty

Hmmm....

Don't get me wrong, I believe with all my heart that poverty is a bad thing and that "extreme poverty" is hard to even fully comprehend.  I also think it is great that so many people and organizations are helping those who are trapped in poverty and looking for away to get out.

What bothers me is Christian groups or Christians who have decided it is their mission in life to "end" poverty.  Apparently they don't read the bible.

"The poor you will always have with you, but you will not always have me" Matthew 26:11

I am all for trying to ease the burden of poverty and providing programs to help people achieve a better financial future for themselves.  However, even Jesus knew we couldn't eliminate poverty altogether.  What makes these people think they know better than Christ?  It is especially entertaining when the same God who said that it cannot be eliminated gets credit for making it their "destiny" to eliminate poverty.

I think at times we spend too much money (that never really gets into the hands of people it is intended to help anyway) on poverty and the poor.  There is only so much we can do to help eliminate some elements of poverty.  The bottom line is that it will always be here.

However, best of luck to those who do it....let me know how hitting your head against the wall feels in 20 years :)

That is all.

My First Blog...

My mother sent me this picture this morning.  The girl on the right (not the bus driver silly) is Christa Adelman.  She works with my mother at the elementary school in my hometown and gave her a copy of the photo and scanned it for me.

So this is me in Kindergarten or possibly first grade but I am 90% sure its Kindergarten.  For those of you who like to count (i.e. make fun of me) that was probably 1981 or 1982.  Yes I don't look happy.  Many people would say I have that same look on my face as I write this blog.  Whatever.

I have no idea why I have a large sticker hanging around my neck.  All I can really recall about the bus rides home were that we all had stickers/signs around our little necks so we knew which bus to get on.  I think we had different animals that matched up with the particular bus we were supposed to get on.  That didn't prevent them from putting me on the wrong bus the first day of school lol.

It is one of the stories as a child that makes my mother the most upset even 30 years later (gosh that statement makes me feel old now).  The fact I had to ride a bus at all was ridiculous anyway, we lived less than one mile from the school (.7 to be exact).  Which in my small town was about 7-8 blocks away.  Should have been able to walk home from school...mom wasn't cool with her little boy all alone walking home from school.  Yes I was a serious wuss growing up (no comments please).

The short version of this story is that while I was supposed to be riding in a small "van" that took all the local kids home, some well minded and insane teacher thought my address (which was stapled on the front of my shirt) was located out by the high school (not even close).  Despite my protestations I was put on the wrong bus.  Well it was no surprise that I never got off the bus then since it never stopped by my home.  The bus driver was very confused and insisted we must have passed my house at some point but I told her no that didn't happen.  Anyway, what should have been about a 5 minute bus ride home ended up being a two hour ordeal.  When the bus finally found my home (man if only we had google maps back then!) my mom read her the riot act.  Turns out my mother had been calling the school all afternoon yelling at people and ripping them a new one because I wasn't home and no one seemed to know what bus I was on.  Momma bear...always uber protective!  Needless to say I made it home safely.  Hated the bus after that but loved the little van I was able to ride home in.

I tried to link the map to indicate how stupid it was that the bus driver couldn't get me home but can't figure out how to do it on this blog.  The link won't work.  Anyway it was a straight shot from my school right down 5th Street to my house.

Now here I am 30 years later living in New York City.  I have been wanting to start a blog for sometime but always found it to be narcisstic and self serving.  However, after reading a number of my friends self serving and narcissitic posts I thought what the hell?  Kidding friends...your kids, wives, husbands, pets and observations on life are all...ummm...cute...yes that is it...cute.

Too bad I am starting this blog now as you dear reader have missed out on all kinds of whacky drama since I moved to New York in May of 2007.  The highlights include:

• My town car driver getting into a "fight" with another town car driver on the side of the highway in New Jersey
• Numerous dating dramas including a woman who drank too much at a party and then threw up all over my couch, it was only the third date.  Yea that didn't work out.  That is only one of the many obsurd dating stories I have.
• Getting spit upon for wearing a Patriots jersey the night of the Super Bowl (before the Giants won)
• Almost getting into a fist fight last summer with 4 drunk New York Yankee (read: douche bags) fans who of course were just leaving a "classy" strip club when they decided to pick a fight with the guy wearing a Boston Red Sox shirt.

Thus I am starting this blog to try and capture the essence which is my New York Life.  I currently have a new dating drama that I will be sharing with you all shortly.  I will do my best to keep it postive and to also share with you all some of the great things God is doing in my life.  As I write my last sentences of this blog I have exactly zero followers and have yet to tell anyone about the blog.  We will see what happens.

Until next time, go Red Sox!

Drew