I got a phone call from the hospital saying I owe them $250 from my neck surgery back in December. They said insurance already paid their part, so I asked for an itemized bill. A week goes by, but the bill hadn’t arrived, and they started to call every day to collect the funds. I got tired of it, so I go online to try to make a payment, but I get some sort of error, so I call in for assistance. The representative said if I’m willing to pay on the phone through him, he’d knock 30% off, so all I’d owe would be $175.
I caught the very end of The Amazing Race last night. I used to record it and try to watch it with my ex as a bonding experience. One of the contestants asked that all the video crew following the teams get a chance to be on camera for all their hard work behind the scenes to make the show possible. That should be done more often. Heck, the show should have a special on how they make episodes.
I’m sure you all remember Kramer from Seinfeld. The actor, Michael Richards, is still close friends with Jerry and I recently saw him in Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee. Richards, as you may recall, lost his temper on stage and said some very racist stuff. In this clip (cued), Richards appears genuinely remorseful, that he’s taken a lot of time to reflect, grow, and learn from his mistake. It reminded me of when this incident first happened and Seinfeld stepped in to help by going on Letterman and having him interview his friend. It’s the only time you’ll see Jerry Seinfeld tell people to stop laughing because it wasn’t funny. Seinfeld could have easily left him hung out to dry, but showed true loyalty and friendship.
A lot of people mistakenly thought Mark Hammil dressed as Luke Skywalker and performed sign language, but it was actually a Mark Hammil impersonator. Both recently cleared up the confusion on Twitter.
I understand, Fluke, so don't worry about it. I only wish I knew how to sign like you. The video was so touching & heartwarming. All the best, mh
I was curious to know what film series was considered the first movie prequel. My limited research told me it was The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly, which I’ve still haven’t seen. I bet when I do, I’m going to understand a bunch of Back to the Future III references that’s always gone over my head.
I continue to think the opposing party’s response after the president’s State of the Union address is stupid. You can’t respond to something you haven’t heard. Yes, advanced copies of the speech are given out, but those responses are written long before they provide any advanced copy.
Since our separation, I’ve attended trivia night with three of my closest friends on most Tuesdays. At first, it was one of those things I was forcing myself to go to just to get out of the house and integrate with people. Like most things, I’d sit there thinking “I’d rather be home with my family.” However, that was no longer an option, I had nothing to go home to any more. Now, trivia night is becoming a fun event I look forward to. I’m thankful my friends have invited and welcomed me through this transition.
The other night, my daughter expressed to me she believes her mother is now recruiting her teaching peers to speak to her about the divorce. For instance, a teacher my daughter has never had unexpectedly sought her out, started to talk to her, brought up the divorce, and promised anything she divulged she wouldn’t reveal to her mother. My daughter thought that was suspicious and not very genuine. I told her to give her the benefit of the doubt, seek the good in that person, but at the same time, guard her heart. She said that teacher told her that her mother decided to get the divorce because she couldn’t become a better person by being with her father. It hurts to know that sort of thing is being told to my daughter, and I’m sure that teacher isn’t aware that’s a form of parental alienation. She’s basically telling our daughter that dad makes mom a bad person, and that’s why mom had to leave him. I didn’t try to clarify any of that with our daughter. That was the time for me to listen and let her know her words have value, not for me to clear the record or make a point. God is not going to make someone break a covenant with him to get that person to where he wants she or he to be. The truth will eventually reveal itself to her. The other thing that hurt is knowing my ex’s first choice was to break up the family and not try to keep it together. She never revealed her unhappiness. I’m less upset with the divorce than I am about the way she went about it.
I dropped my daughter off at her mother’s apartment from softball practice yesterday. Since I was there, I asked if I could give my son a hug. She said he was in the bathroom, and then yelled upstairs, “Son, your dad is here.” What’s up with the clarifier? Did she have to include “your”? Who else does he know as dad? I spoke to one of my peers in my divorce recovery group. I’m told separated parents, especially the ones who filed for divorce, do what they can to send the message that the other parent is severed from the family.
This sentence in this T-Rex article got me to thinking, how many complete fossils of the T-Rex have been unearthed? I would have guessed under the number of the one mentioned.
A new analysis of the bones and teeth of 37 T. rex specimens suggests that the dinosaur might need to be regrouped into three separate species
I’ve followed this man’s journey for a while, glad to see he completed it.
I’m happy to announce that Alex from Honolulu, Hawaii has officially completed our 50-yard challenge by mowing 50 lawns in their community for the elderly, disabled, single parents and veterans. I'll be visiting him soon with his new lawn equipment. pic.twitter.com/USBOojenL6
I don’t think I’m a fan of McNeese State’s baseball field. The school was founded in 1939 as Lake Charles Junior College, and renamed McNeese Junior College after John McNeese, an early local educator. Their mascot is the Cowboys. I’m sorry, but when I think of Louisiana, “cowboys” don’t come to mind. The McNeese State University newspaper is The Contraband and the yearbook is called The Log. There are 14 Greek organizations on campus. I hate Greek organizations. Once I find out someone was affiliated with a Greek organization, I automatically think less of that person. Joe Dumars is the school’s most famous alumni, followed by R. C. Slocum.
R. C. Slocum is from Orange, Texas. Orange has several high schools. The first two I looked up had school colors of red and blue, not orange.
In Orange, TX, the nearly completed Confederate Memorial of the Wind is being built on private land at the intersection of Interstate 10 and Martin Luther King Jr Drive. It has 13 columns arranged in a circle, one for each Confederate state. It will display 32 flags representing U.S. Civil War units from Texas, along with eight large Confederate flags visible from the highway. Supposedly, the location was chosen because of the low cost of land in the area.
Yesterday, the House of Representatives passed a bill making lynching a federal hate crime. Seems like a no-brainer. The bill sailed through with bipartisan support, but three Republicans – Reps. Andrew Clyde (Ga.), Thomas Massie (Ky.) and Chip Roy (Texas) – voted against it. Roy had this to say about lynching a year ago, “We believe in justice. There’s old sayings in Texas about ‘find all the rope in Texas and get a tall oak tree,’” he said. “You know, we take justice very seriously, and we ought to do that. Round up the bad guys. That’s what we believe.”
It brings much joy to my heart every time I hear Art Briles has been fired or was forced to resign. No one believed me that he was a horrible person, which I’ve been preaching since high school. The man is rich enough; he doesn’t need to work another day in his life. And that’s the sweet part. He wants to work, particularly in college, yet no one can tolerate employing him.
I really admire the President of Ukraine, even if he’s not going to be in power (or alive) much long.
Spring break is around the corner. The stupid divorce decree states I get to keep the kids on even-numbered years. Since my daughter is going through a rough time, I’m toying with the idea of taking her and her brother to Harry Potter fan to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter for spring break. A loyal reader works for a travel company and reached out to me with a great offer..
My daughter has her very first softball game this Friday. It’s an all day tournament, with one game in the morning, another in the afternoon, and another in the early evening. I wouldn’t miss it for the world, especially since it’s her first ever softball game. However, when she first told her mother of the event, she stated she could only make the evening game because of work. My daughter told me that disappointed her, and I understand why. I guess her mother sensed it and followed up with, “I can take the day off and go, if you want me to?” That brought back some hurtful memories. There were a lot of moments throughout our marriage that I wanted my wife’s support with her simply attending a function or event of mine. I hoped to have a supportive wife who would want to be there to support me on her own without being asked. But she always made it sound like her attendance was a burden or hinderance by qualifying, “If you want me to?” I mean, what does she expect either me or my daughter to say? That puts a person in an awkward spot. I’m sure she had well-meaning intentions, but she’s always been oblivious to how insincere and cold-hearted she comes across.
Ninety-nine percent of Americans couldn’t tell you the color of Ukraine’s flag, much less what it looked like, before last week. It’s yellow on the bottom to represent its wheat fields (they are a major wheat exporter) and the blue on top represents the sky.
CBS Sunday Morning had two great segments on Ukraine. This first segment, around the 21-second mark, will tell you why they don’t like being called “The Ukraine”, a common thing I used to say, and its long history with Russia. In short, they find it patronizing to use “The” as they are their own independent country (well, at least for now) and you wouldn’t go around saying “The Germany” or “The France”. They also had this four-minute segment, which is a Putin biography and his rise to power.
My best friend and I watched the re-release of The Godfather at AMC Theatres in Grapevine on Saturday. At first, I was hesitant, since I’ve seen it a plethora of times on television, but I’m glad I did. There’s something about the cinema experience that makes it special, and I noticed several visual things I missed even watching it on an 60-inch HDTV. Also, it’s fun watching it along with a fellow movie trivia buddy and being able to quietly chit-chat about it in the almost empty theater. I also went because, well, I had nothing better to do. It was my weekend without my kids. I call those my “empty weekends.” So it was just a good way to get out of the house and eat up three to four hours.
Marlon Brando was 46-years-old when he starred in The Godfather. I’m currently 46. I know Brando had makeup on, but it feels weird being the age of someone who was supposed to be “old” in the film.
For the longest time, I held a grudge against Ryan Reynolds. I shouldn’t have. He’s a good man and actor. I mention him because I watched Deadpool for the first time on Friday evening. Thanks to him, I literally caught myself laughing out loud at something on television for the first time since my life turned upside down. It was a moment of growth, a sign that I may actually be getting better emotionally. What was it I laughed at? This end credit scene, a great homage to Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. Specifically, the very last thing he does/says. It was just that little bit extra nostalgic humor which did the trick.
For a while after our separation, my ex would continue to attend our church and we’d sit in the same row with the children between us. Later, she emailed me saying she wanted to set some boundaries, and for me to no longer sit in the same row with them, and the children would choose who they wanted to sit with. I didn’t like the idea whatsoever. I thought of all places, we could get along together in church, and just sitting in the same row was a simple sacrifice for the children as we show them that two adults can get along even if they no longer are married. She feared giving the kids and church members a false impression. I didn’t like the idea of literally making the kids choose a parent. But my children’s therapist told me how important that particular church was to them, and for me to compromise by sitting elsewhere, so I complied. She only brought the kids for a handful more visits. Our daughter always preferred sitting next to me, and our son would alternate. The last time I saw her at church was when the children were staying with me on that weekend. She was sitting alone in church, and when one of her favorite old hymns played, she felt it was too much and left. I haven’t seen her in the church since and they have been visiting elsewhere telling the children the church held too many memories. We’ve been attending for about 15 years. Yesterday at church, to my surprise, my children showed up and sat to the left and right of me. It was such a pleasant and delightful surprise. But my daughter said she felt sorry for her mother who was sitting by herself and how she and her brother made a bee-line towards me once they entered the sanctuary.
As harsh as it sounds, and I am judging, but I don’t understand why she attends church but doesn’t apply basic Christian principles in her life. Sometime the kids will flat out tell me they are confused by it. One of the last sermons they heard while visiting a church was about divorce, and my kids were wondering what she was thinking but felt too scared to ask her.
During the sermon, my kids will doodle and color. My ten-year-old son and I play and talk Wordle often. As a matter of fact, right before they entered, I was playing Wordle during the praise (singing) part of the service (forgive me, Father, for I have Wordled in thy own house). I’ll be honest, I felt like I was slightly cheating, looking for five-lettered words in the song lyrics displayed on the projector screen. My son cracked me up because he created a Wordle puzzle on the church bulletin for me to play during the sermon. The word ended up being “ALERT”.
