It has been storming all day. I took Malachi to his school football game. He attends a private school, which was playing our local team here.We had a great time, but left in the 3rd quarter because the storm looked really bad.

Anyways … Here are some pics I snapped during the storm, including the kids in the hallway due to the tornado warning…

Ahhh ‚Ķ clich?©. The grass is always greener on the other side. What exactly does that mean? Well for me it simply means that no matter who you are, where you are, who you’re with ‚Ķ whatever ‚Ķ you’re always going to have issues, and another person, another place, and another situation is always going to seem more appealing. Naturally, we want the best in life, and if everything is not picture perfect, then we long for that which appears so. It is human nature.

Somewhere in the world today, a revolution was birthed. A mind was changed, a path redirected, an emotion sparked, a belief engrained, and, inevitably, a change occurred. That revolution transpired in my office at approximately 2:00 p.m.

Today was like any other day: deadlines, rumors, victories and complaints. But today it all took place around me. It had been some time since I had simply allowed the day to happen without me. I was distracted mostly with a single “task” that I just couldn’t shake, and so I gave it my undivided attention, forgetting everyone else and everything they had to say. During that time, I had a few companions, known to the world as “Simple Minds”. After purchasing their greatest hits album, I felt it necessary to get my money’s worth, so I pressed the magic repeat button and went on with my day.

I have now come to the conclusion that the best song I have ever heard is “Don’t You (Forget About Me)”. Why? For the very reason you are now thinking about The Breakfast Club‚Ķ It sets a string of memories in to motion. You think about Bender walking by the football field with his hand clinched in the air, after putting Claire’s earring in his own. And that thought leads to another.. and another- until you remember when you were however old you were when you first watched that film… I can almost smell the hallways of Pine Tree Junior High…

I’m not going to go into the path, emotions, beliefs, and changes which occurred in my life today, because there are some things that are just too personal to share on the web, but they happened. Who were you back then? What is the same? What do you wish was different? What do you wish had not changed? heh…

Isn’t it odd how good and bad news often come bundled together? You know ‚Ķ we’ve all heard it: “There’s good news, and there is bad news ‚Ķ ” Well, The past several weeks have been (clich?© coming in 3, 2, 1…) an emotional rollercoaster. I’ll spare you the details… not because I am a nice guy, but simply because the lithium battery in my laptop is scorching my legs, and I must hurry.

Well tonight the saga you know little about (due to me not telling you) continued. Several months ago I heard very unpleasant news that a former classmate had been murdered in cold blood outside of a Dallas night club. I was very upset to say the least, and I often wondered what this person’s last moments might have been like. Was she scared?… did she know?… did anyone ignore her pleas for help?… I am serious folks… I was upset about it…

Well, tonight I got the chance to ask her. Yeah- she’s alive. Apparently, it was a sick rumor, and I hate that I even thought about it. Needless to say (but I guess I will anyway), I was very happy to know that my friend Heather is indeed “alive and kicking” as she put it.

So to my friend, Heather… Cheers, and I’m glad you are well. I pray God’s blessings on your life, with many great years to follow.

So yet again I find myself behind the dimming light of my PowerBook, feeling the need to express my feelings in a forum with a membership of one. I’m not sure what it is that compels me to write, knowing that few, if any, will read what I have written. Perhaps it is the hope that one day my children or my wife will stumble across these archives and see how much I truly love them ‚Ķ how much I treasure them and the small singular moments, that together, comprise an existence that most could only dream of. I am truly blessed.

My little girl, Hannah, is about to turn 3 years old, and my head is filled with nothing but old clich?©s. Time flies, and it seems like only yesterday that I was holding her in my arms for the very first time. Take a look at this photo kara snapped of me and my angel while celebrating early with her family‚Ķ

Hmm … funny that today this photo is being used to share a moment with friends and family, but one day will be used in a desperate attempt to relive a moment I will never get to experience again. Hug your babies … they grow up so fast.

Over the past few weeks Kara and I have traveled a bit more than usual, specifically to Longview and Dallas. My uncle has been in the hospital and last week we thought it was his time to go, but thankfully, God had other plans. he is doing well and is living in Longview with my folks.

On the way down this past weekend we stopped at what some might refer to as a “county store”. It was a log-style building that offered everything from gasoline to fishing lures, and I couldn’t help but get lost in the moment. How simple life must have been for people just 50 years ago. Stores such as this were the norm, and Wal-Marts had yet to appear, so many of the clerks were indeed the owners, and would call you by name each time you entered.

When I pulled in to the gravel parking lot, I noticed a man sitting on an old wooden church pew which was now a makeshift bench outside of the building. He was wearing denim suspenders, a tractor hat, and large frame glasses. The USA Today was open to the sports section and he didn’t even look up when I pulled my vehicle within a few feet of him. I sat in the van and just watched him for a few minutes, immediately envious of this man who didn’t seem to have a care in the world. No cell phone on his belt. No satchel near is feet. Nothing but the paper, and a pen that sat neatly tucked in to his center pocket.

I would eventually approach my new idol and introduce myself. He was more than friendly, not stopping until I finally told him I had to leave about 20 minutes later. We talked about the weather, his children, our home towns, and How much Hwy 59 had changed over the past 20 years, which now connects Longview, TX to Heavner, OK. Eventually I gathered up the courage to ask if I could photograph him. When he asked why, I explained that I found it fascinating that in a world that moves 1000 miles per hour, he seemed to be cruising comfortably at 35. His response was worth the 20 minute detour in my tight schedule:

“No- I don’t carry a cell phone. Well, I have one, but I don’t ever use it‚Ķ I guess it’s there in case I should ever need it, but I don’t. I don’t need it, truth be told. I don’t need a computer, or the internet, or any of that. Everything I need is right here, within a few minutes of my house, by way of a road no greater than 2 lanes. My closest neighbor is this store, so i come here to enjoy the breeze on this old church pew.”