Shadow Void

It Sounds Like

From the sounds of it, mom and dad seem to be having a rough time as of late with their health. Dad's hip is giving him problems and mom isn't feeling good either. I guess yesterday she was having issues with shortness of breath. I knew that mom has had a cold, but I think something else is going on. They're not talking to much about it. I wish they would tell me because I don't like in the dark about things. Maybe I'm making mountains out of molehills here, but I still don't like it.

Hey Guys Big News

Yesterday at 4:00 am, there was a new arrival into the family. A little boy was born into my family via my brother's middle boy. The little guy is or was 6 lbs, 9 ounces, and 20 inches long. Welcome to the family little guy. Sorry no pictures!

    

Goodbyes

Hey guys this past week, the world said goodbye to a very beautiful soul. My dad has three great aunts left and now he is down to two. Anyway, to my great aunt, I hope you approve of your great nephew. I love you!

My Nephews’ Friends

Before I begin this actually get to the topic of this post, I want to first let everyone know that I love my readers especially Rick, Steve, and Ste and of course all the my regulars readers from Lifeout. Guys, I hope you all know that I care about you. Hope all is going well in your lives. I also want to say that the nephew's mentioned in this post are the children of my older brother. So here goes the actual post!

 

I have to say that I really do love my nephews despite all the headaches that I've got from them. One thing that I am not crazy about is that they can have big mouths. They have told friends of theirs that I am gay. Now once they put it out there who am I to deny it? Generally, they ask "Are you?" and I say "Yeah!". Most of their friends have been good about it. They know I am not going to hit on them and I try to make sure that they are at ease around me. I wonder at times how tight their lips are in relation to it. I am not losing any sleep over it but it does worry me a little bit each time that one of their friend's finds out. Only because I don't' want my sexuality to turning into a huge pile of crap. I just do not need the entire school knowing that I am gay. On the grand scheme of things, it really does not matter. In a perfect world, it would not matter at all, but since I work in a school, I try to keep things quiet. I just do not need someone finding out and making some huge stink over it. I have enough on my plate without adding that to it. There are people who would make a stink about it if things got out that I was gay. Any ways I really need to get on topic don't I? Two of their friends know that I am gay and they even know about the stash. No I don't have drugs. I have a few videos that I keep under lock and key. They are also fully aware that I would forever dislike them should they get into hiding place. I also don't' allow them in my room unless I am in here although that is more for my safety than their safety. I do not need someone getting into a tank and getting hurt or stealing something. Having their friends know that I am gay is a good thing. It lets them know that gay guys aren't after kids / teens. When they do bring it up in jest, I usually will make a comment like "Why would I want you when I can someone my own age?". One thing they also know is that I do not allow the use of gay slurs in my room. When I do hear it, I am quick to correct them not physically but verbally. I am really trying to get back to my roots as far as the blog goes and trying to come up material that actually gets me back to my roots. Well, I am out.

I needed to be there…

Today, my dad had surgery to remove blockage from one side of his neck. I had told everyone that I would be absent from work so that I could be there with my mom during the surgery. A call came in Friday from the doctor telling dad that the surgery would need to be put off till Tuesday or Wednesday. So I didn't call off because, I didn't know which day to call off on, so then I find out Sunday night that the surgery was back on for today. I then did something that I shouldn't have done. I asked my parents if I should call off for today. Didn't exactly get the response that I thought I would get from them. Their response was that I didn't need to take the day off, because my younger brother was going to be up there with my mom. I wasn't quite sure how I felt about that at the time. As the day progressed, I was okay with it. Hospitals are not my favorite places to be at, and I hate not being able to get stuff done. Although, I could have come up with some interesting blog posts while up there, which would be really nice since, I don't feel that I've been doing you any justice lately. Needless to say, the surgery went well and the blockage on one side of the neck was removed. Dad comes home tomorrow and his activities will be limited. Once the one side has healed, dad will go back and have the other side fixed up. Yes, I worried about my dad while I was at work, but at least I was occupied and busy. It made a big difference to have the distraction of work to occupy my mind.

A Belated Thanksgiving

This post was written in my blog journal on Nov. 30:

How was your Thanksgiving? Mine was good and for those who are wondering, yes I did eat. I had a full plate with all the trimmings and did my best to stay away from the carbs with little success. I had more dessert than I should have which I know was bad.

My niece who is know the mother of 2 really cute boys allowed me to hold my super, handsome 3 month old nephew. It was a much different experience from the last time that I held him. This time, he was all smiles. It was great. I know that I haven't posted pictures of him yet, but I finally got some pictures. Hopefully they came out okay.

Sadly, you're going to have to wait on seeing this post. Want to know why? I turned on my computer yesterday, November 29, and got an error message. One of my system fans had failed. I was told that I would be without a computer for 14 days total. ( Actually, it was less than that ) Actually, two good things came out of this situation. One it forced me to back up. Two, I don't have to pay for any of this. The other good thing that came out of this is that my warranty is extended for another year. Anyway, time to say good night. Sorry this post is so late!

Turkey Run State Park

Nature Weekend: Turkey Run

This weekend after a three hour drive, we arrived at Turkey run state park. My mom, dad, and of course me made the trip to check out a park that mom and me had never been too. My dad had been there at some point with the boys in his scout troop. He was so impressed with it that he decided to share it with us. It has a wonderful hardwood forest mixed with a few conifers mixed in. Some of the trees that fill this park are for lack of a better word giants. I would like to make a return trip so I could measure the tree trunks with a tape measure. Suffice to say, that I was in awe. We broke a little rule and tasted some pawpaw. OHHH...man is that good stuff! The park has some eastern hemlock trees which I'm sure that I saw but just didn't know it. Now there were plenty of animals around us, but about the only thing that I saw was snake, fish, and a chipmunk. Oh...wait, I forgot that we saw three raccoons late Saturday night. I'm going to post a slide show of the pics via youtube tonight. I highly recommend visiting this park.

No Child Left Inside Act of 2009 ( S. 866 )

Thank you for contacting me regarding the No Child Left Inside Act of 2009 (S. 866). I appreciate hearing your thoughts and understand your concerns. Education was a top priority of mine as Governor and it remains one of my highest priorities as your Senator. This is demonstrated by my consistent support for adequate funding and accountability for programs that increase educational outcomes for all of our students. We need to prepare our students for the challenges facing our nation as we compete in the global economy. Our future depends on the investments we make in our children today. S. 866 was introduced on April 22, 2009. This bill would require states to develop environmental literacy plans for pre-kindergarten through grade 12 that include environmental education standards and teacher training; create grants to states for activities involving teacher training and the development of more rigorous environmental education curricula; and create competitive matching grants for certain activities to improve and support environmental education. S. 866 has been referred to the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee. While I am not a member of this Committee, please rest assured that I will keep your views in mind as Congress debates these important issues. So what do you think of this act?

You Hit My Brother

I don't know who the hell gave you permission to take to the streets with alcohol ruling over your body. I want to know what you the right to get into your car and drive. You know the laws that govern what will happen if you get caught. You know the dangers of being behind the wheel with your blood thick with the devil's brew. So was this your first time, you know driving drunk?

 

Was this the first time that you decided that you're better than all of us? Is this first time that you decided to let your drunken ass make your decisions for you. If I'm right then the answer is "NO!" it's just the first, second, or hey maybe even the third time that you've been caught. More than likely, it's the first time that you had to ask someone "Where did you come from?" asshole. You got into the car, you turned the key, and you pushed the gas. No one twisted your hand to those drinks. No one forced you at gun point to get into your car, but then again you didn't call a cab. No one made you do this, asshole! Yeah I like that name don't you.

 

If the name fits own it! But more importantly, you did it. You took away my brother's toes. To make it worse, you can't even give them back. You can't give back the hours of missed work, though I think you should be paying him for hours missed. My brother would still be working; he would still would have the use of his legs. (No guys he's not paralyzed see this link http://shadowvoid.typepad.com/my_weblog/2009/07/brother-was-hit.html ) Asshole! You did because you just had to have those drinks. I don't ever want you to forget that that 4:15 am wakeup call that you had out on the highway. In fact, I want every single god dam drunk driver to remember the they hit someone. I hope you suffered the world's worst hang over. I hope Justice thrusts her sword and that you serve your time without the chance of time off for fucking good behavior.

 

My mind bounces between hate and sorrow on your behalf. Yeah right now, I hate you and you're going to be on my mind for a very long time. I made mention above that I don't want you to forget. I hope on some level that you feel remorse but knowing what booze does to your brain, I wonder if you can remember what you did. OH but I hope you do. I hope it weighs on your soul! Knowing that you're the cause of my brothers 4 hours of surgery, the cause of my brother's broken legs, and the cause of my brother's toes being gone. You want the effect of all of your stupid, selfish and (pardon the use of this word) but the retarded, yes I said it retarded decision. The effect of your pathetic action is that know my brother won't work more than likely for the rest of the year. I hope if you don't feel guilt that all of this haunts you.

 

I'm not one to hold on to hate, but until he's home and able to walk, I'm going to hold on to a scrape of the emotion that went into writing this. I hope you're sitting there with tears streaming down your fuckin face in fear. I hope you're sitting there wondering what's next. Yeah, I feel sorrow like I mentioned above. I feel sorrow for those people who love you. I feel sorrow for the wife, the girlfriend, and your kids who have to deal with your drinking. Who have the face the future in the sort of the same way that you do. Right now, they have to suffer too because of your stupid and weak moment. Your family deserves more from you. It's funny but I suppose that they'll continue loving you, which I suppose is okay but isn't that what family does. At least you can take that with you when you're facing Justice's balance in the courts. By the way, have a pleasant day!