Jake Locker, pro rassling and Santa Claus

So, what do Jack Locker, pro rassling and Santa Claus have in common?

None of them are real.

Oh sure, there really is a Jake Locker and he is the QB at the University of Washington. I started watching him a little last year and thought he had the potential to be really good. I wanted Jake Locker to be good.

First of all, he's got a really cool name.

I always wanted to be a Jake. I think it's one of the best first names for a guy out there and probably have thought so since the classic John Wayne movie came out way back when, Big Jake.

Secondly, he's got a set a wheels on him that not a lot of QBs can match.

He's also got a pretty strong arm.

But something's not right and he's not the real deal that I wanted to believe in. Washington has had a horrible season and the Qb is at least partly responsible for that.

I was not going to use football a lot in my blogging but I love the game and couldn't resist at least one blog involving college ball.

Rassling, now, that is a hoot. Maybe not so much anymore, but back in the day it sure was fun to watch.

Classic good guy versus bad guy.

Fake as a rubber snake.

I remember as a young fellow wanting so much for rassling to be real. Ulitmate warriors fighting for supremacy inside the ring night after night.

Always knew it was fake but hoped it was real.

Not much needs be said about Santa, but what little kid doesn't want there to be a Santa? Who can remember being crushed when they found out the truth? That we had been sold a bill of goods. Hoodwinked.

I can.

Some things are obviously not real. But, in life, sometimes it's really hard to tell what is real. Sometimes, it's hard to tell what to believe in.

Confusing times for me because at this time I am no longer sure what is real and what to believe in.

I believe in God. Just not so sure about some of his fan club. Not sure why he allows some of his folks to suffer sometimes. Doesn't feel like he cares about us sometimes.

I could go on and on about that and might never have an answer. But, as for people, how does one determine who is for real and who is not. Or, who is out to rip you off? Who is out to take advantage of you when you have nothing but good things in your heart?

Are they going to be there for you when times get hard?

For me, they weren't.

But, that just makes me determined to find out who's the real deal.

Sorry that Jake Locker, Rasslers and Santa didn't work out.

Maybe next time.

Sometimes

Sometimes you just don't have it.

Tonight is one of those times for me.

Tomorrow is another day

Kiko

One of our two cats is missing. Just happened suddenly on Monday night. It's now Wednesday and still no sign of him.
We put fliers out tonight and hopefully he will show up. I know cats can disappear from time to time and sometimes show up unexpectedly.

I have hope.

Not much else happening around here.

Tara and Adelaide have returned to Australia.
Jeff and Aspen, plus the pups have moved to South Carolina and seem happy.
All is quiet here.

It's about to get quieter because the most annoying neighbors in the world are moving. They are actually pretty nice folks, but they live above us and don't believe in walking in the apartment. They stomp, they jump, and they run and it's always loud no matter which means they choose to move around the unit.
They also have surround sound and seem to be really proud of it. I do have mixed feelings because we will miss the rental income and the apartment will be a mess to clean up and we have plenty of those right now.
Still, I will enjoy the peace and quiet.


In my dreams of peace and quiet, I sit here hoping Mr Kiko returns soon.

Blue sky

Middle daughter and husband just climbed in the truck and took off for South Carolina.

Damn, for lack of a better word and please forgive me Mom, but this house feels empty without them and the dogs.

Not sure how people can lose a loved one and stay in the same house. It's hard right now.

Bright side is the adventure that lies in wait for them and I am happy for them and that.

Another thing is the sky above us. Not sure when I have seen such a blue sky recently. The north winds came through leaving the sky a color that reminds me of a deep blue lake.

I have seen a few scenic lakes in my day and right now that sky makes my heart ache to see the blueness of the deep, deep water.

Loading up the car and heading out, will write more later

reflections of my life

I heard a song recently on a TV show called Reflections of My Life by Marmalade. It was recorded in 1969 originally and to be perfectly honest I don't remember the song at the time.
But, hey, I was 10 years old.

In the few weeks that this song has been reintroduced to me it has become one of my favorite songs for a couple of reasons.
The first reason is that it's just a beautiful song.

But, the timing is probably more important to me right now.
To me, the singer is saying that the world is a bad place but it's better than the other choice, death.

Why that's important to me is obvious if you know me but I am going to write about it anyway.

The world can be a hard place to live at times and choosing to get beyond all that and make the best of things is exactly what I am choosing.
In spite of chaos or pain, you just have to look at the good things in your life as well.
Start thinking about what's good and you'll come up with a number of good to great things.

Here are a few of mine that are worth living for:

My California girl
My children
Adelaide
Duke and Ella
Kiki and Lucy
Great food
Beverages
Good music
Dreams
Travel

I could go on and on.

Life is very much worth living and make the best of it.

And, yes, I will get to reflections of my own life soon.

The fortune cookie

My fortune cookie said to look forward to great fortune and a new lease on life.
Kind of crazy because I don't really put much stock in fortune cookies but that's exactly what I've been saying lately.

So, I am looking forward to great fortune and I do actually have a new lease on life already.

Long day, short night to blog.

BTW, Bruce Lee is an all time favorite. He was larger than life.

More later.

Back to Stralia

Our oldest daughter, Tara, and our only grandchild, Adelaide, are getting on a plane and heading back to Australia tomorrow.

We're going to miss them a lot, but it was great to have them here for a short time.

It's been fun to watch Adelaide grow and learn during the short time she has been back here. She loves for you to say words or phrases and she loves to repeat them. If she can't say it, she just laughs which is funny in itself.

From this, however, I am taught another lesson from a child.

We should never tire of learning. Understanding things is the key to mastering them.

If we were around another person that didn't speak English and asked them to say words and repeated them we would know more than just one language which is somewhat embarrasing.
If we had the same desire to learn as a child, or asked as many questions, is there any limit to what we can accomplish?
If we had the same work ethic as a Tiger Woods could we not be a lot better at golf than what we are?
If we had the same type of desire to cure cancer?......

My Momma told me there is no limit to what I could do. For some reason I did not believe her at the time.
Now, I do.

Is it too late?


Anyway, back to Stralia. Going to be sad, but at the same time I am glad they have the courage to see the world.

I look forward to the day we can see Stralia.