Music Monday-Harry Chapin "Cat's In The Cradle"

Being a Dad is probably the most important thing in the world to me.  There is nothing I like more than just hanging around the house and doing things with my son.

When I first heard this song, I swore that if I ever became a father that I would never be the type of man that put career and ambition ahead of family.  That promise had nothing to do with my relationship with my father.  I have a lot of fond memories of going to Washington Senators games with my Dad and of the sacrifices my parents made to give us the things we wanted.  One of the greatest Christmas gifts I ever received was when my folks gave my an electric guitar that they could not really afford to give me.

No, that promise came from the words of this song.  I hope this doesn't sound too egotistical, but I did very well in school.  I probably could have succeeded at anything that I chose.  In my career, I have had some success.  However, there were so many times I chose family ahead of career.  I wouldn't have it any other way.

So for all the Dads (and Moms) out there, my choice for Music Monday is Harry Chapin's "Cat's in the Cradle."

Come join Music Monday and share your songs with us. One simple rule, leave ONLY the actual post link here. You can grab this code at LJL Please note these links are STRICTLY for Music Monday participants only. All others will be deleted without prejudice.

My First Ebay Venture

During the course of my life, I have had a number of hobbies.  One of my favorites over the years has been collecting sports memorabilia.  I have built up a fairly large collection of autographed photographs, balls, and other items.  All told, I probably have close to 100 pieces.

I had hoped that when I had a son that he would share my love of sports and of memorabilia.  He does love the sports, but the idea of collecting autographs is more or less lost on him.  Plus, with his autism, he has a difficult time with treating items with care.  I can't tell you how many times I have had to burn new copies of CDs for him because he has broken other copies.

I have reached a point in my life where "things" mean very little to me.  All I really want to do is read some books, listen to tunes, and provide for my family.  The last time that I had some spare cash that I could have splurged on something for myself, I ended up buying something for my son. 

So taking all of this into consideration, along with the fact that money is just plain tight, I have decided to jump into the wonderful world of ebay and part with my collection.  I am going to go at this slowly to see how things go.  Tonight I put my first item up for auction, a set of Country Time Lemonade autographed Brooks Robinson baseball cards.  If all goes well, I will add more items to the auction block.

Music Monday-Steve Martin "King Tut"

I hope my choice for Music Monday this week will bring a smile to your face, Steve Martin and "King Tut."

Come join Music Monday and share your songs with us. One simple rule, leave ONLY the actual post link here. You can grab this code at LJL Please note these links are STRICTLY for Music Monday participants only. All others will be deleted without prejudice.

Tip The Pizza Guy- Update

As I mentioned once before, I deliver pizzas as a part time job for one of the national pizza parlors (their name shall remain unmentioned to protect the guilty.)  For the most part, it has been a decent part time job.  However, I found out Friday night about another change to our compensation that has caused me to explore whether or not I can afford to quit.

When I first started delivering fresh, hot pizza from the Pizza Palace, I was paid minimum wage and received $1 per delivery (the company itself charged $1.50 per delivery.)  This was in November of 2007.  It was a pretty good gig at the time.  Well, that was then and this is now.  There have been a number of changes over the last 6-8 months that have taken away from the glamour of delivering fresh, hot pizza.

When minimum wage was increased, while the inside help all received their raises, the drivers were kept at the old rate, because we made "tips."  Also during this time, gasoline prices were soaring to over $4 per gallon, cutting deeply into the amount of money we actually make. (We use our own cars and pay for our own gasoline.)  They did throw us a bone and raised the delivery charge to $1.70 and raising our mileage reimbursement rate to $1.10 per delivery.

On Friday night, we found out that they changed the amount we receive per delivery.  Now that gasoline prices are back to where they were when I started, they quietly lowered our rate to $0.75 per delivery, while keeping the delivery charge at $1.70.  I guess some people assume that the driver gets the delivery charge, but that is not the case.

To sum up, no longer making the minimum wage, plus getting a 25% cut in our mileage reimbursement, combined with a lot of people not tipping as well as before (Two people totally stiffed me Friday night) makes for an unhappy delivery guy.  

   

Trick Shot

I used to love to shoot pool in my younger days.  Every now and then, I would work on some trick shots.  I wasn't very good.  In my wildest dreams, I never thought of anything like this.  When I first saw this, I had two thoughts, and to be honest I am not sure which came first.  One thought was, "This is pretty cool."  The other thought was, "Somebody has WAY too much time on their hands."

Music Monday-Trace Adkins "Honky Tonk Badonkadonk"

After rocking out last week with Damn Yankees, I decided for something a little different this week for Music Monday.  Plus, since I just reviewed his book "A Personal Stand," I decided to go country with Trace Adkins and "Honky Tonk Badonkadonk."  

Come join Music Monday and share your songs with us. One simple rule, leave ONLY the actual post link here. You can grab this code at LJL Please note these links are STRICTLY for Music Monday participants only. All others will be deleted without prejudice.

Trace Adkins - A Personal Stand

About a year ago, I was watching the Glenn Beck show before he moved over to the Fox News Channel.  One Friday night, his guest for the whole hour was country music star Trace Adkins.  Being a fan of both Glenn and Trace, I stayed tuned for the whole hour. 

It was not your garden variety, celebrity interview.  Sure they touched on Trace's musical career, but for the most part they discussed Trace's views on news and politics.  Trace was a straight talking, no nonsense man.  I found myself in agreement with a lot of his views.

Fast forward to last night, when I was browsing around the local Barnes & Noble.  I was looking in the current affairs section of the store when I spotted "A Personal Stand" by Trace.  I was not aware that he had written a book, so I flipped through the chapters and quotes on the back of the book.  Since the book was in paperback, I decided to go ahead and make the purchase.

When I read the introduction to the book, I knew I was going to enjoy reading it.  In the second paragraph Trace writes the following:  "I stand for personal responsibility and against anything undermines it.  So much of what I see in our country today represents a hell-bent flight from responsibility to victimhood.  From acting on one's convictions  to going along just to get along.   From making decisions based on moral principals to taking the easy way out.  That's not what the United States is about, and that's not the legacy our children should inherit."  I could not agree more.

Throughout the book, Trace uses stories from his life to share his views on 9/11, energy, illegal immigration and more.  Like his appearance on the Glenn Beck Show that night, he writes in a straight forward, no nonsense style, interjected with a wry sense of humor.  As a writer, he isn't going to make anyone forget the great writers of the world.  Hell, he may not even make you forget the ordinary ones.  However, if you are a fan of Trace Adkins, and your political views tend to lean towards the right, I think you will enjoy the book.  I know I did.