A tribute to my Friend, Pat Proffitt...

My Dear Friend, Pat Proffitt...

It has been about a year since you left us all behind. I had always admired you and your work ethic when it came to sports. Our sophomore year in football I looked up to you. You never complained about anything and you always had a smile for me when I needed it. When we used to have to run for conditioning, I would run behind you and tried to keep up with you. I knew if I could keep up running with you, I knew I would be doing well. I always told myself that I could quit at any time and just walk off the practice field.  Then I would tell myself, stick with Pat and he could get me to do it. I don’t think he ever said much to me about it, we would just make eye contact and we did it.  He sort of carried me through it all with his determination and his work ethics and he never even knew it.  He never even knew that I depended on him and I looked up to him. He got me through the entire football season and he had no clue how important he was to me. I even needed to borrow a car a few times and he loaned me his Firebird without ever making it a big deal.  

He was always so silent in all he did, but he said loads in a simple smile or kind gesture.  I believe during one of our class reunions I did go up to him and told him that I never forgot running behind him and how much his friendship and kindness meant to me.  I am not at all a religious person, even though I attended Catholic school for 9 years, but he has inspired me to aspire to be a much better person. He made me want to be a better person and to this day I try to live like he would be proud of how I act. I am no means a saint, and I have done things I am not so proud of, but I try to be a better person because of this one single guy, who made a big difference in my life.

I am proud to have had him as a friend, but I am really honored that he considered me a friend.  I try to live up to that each and everyday.

Thank you Pat for making me want to be a better person. May you look down and spread your love over all that need it.  I think I might be one of those people.

Hopefully I will see you again, my friend. Until then, it was an honor to have met you.

your friend,

- Michael

It might be Tuesday, but it is 49 Weeks until Retirement!

Today’s music trivia is a pop/rock band from Illinois that started in the 70s and is still hanging together today.  I used to really like this band, especially in the late 70s and early 80s because some of their lyrics were so meaningful to me. In fact, one of their albums had such a cool title, “You Can Tune a Piano, But you Can’t Tuna Fish”.  With commercial hits such as, “Roll with the Changes”, “I Can’t Stop this Feeling”, “Candle in the Wind” and “Ridin’ the Storm Out”. Can you name this American band?

Welcome back after a nice three-day weekend!  I got to watch some football and did very little else but hang at home with Snoopy and watch TV.  I’ve been kinda lazy the past few weekends and I really should get out and ride my bicycle a bit more. I have been riding into work consistently, which is still a good thing but I really should ride my bike more in my off time. From my pad, if I ride east, the terrain is pretty flat and level, and west from my place is quite hilly all the way to the beach.  All the hills make riding quite difficult, especially since I am still out of shape, but I am still consistently working on it, which is good. 

After the Seattle VS 49er game, I changed the channel, so I did not see the idiot from the Seahawks being interviewed until someone posted it on FB.  That guy immediately made a bunch of undecided fans instant Bronco fans. Some people should just keep their mouths shut and play the damn game. I bet when he comes on the field on Super Bowl Sunday he gets booed by almost everyone in the stadium, even his own fans.  And it is rightfully deserved.  If this guy had any endorsements lined up, I doubt that deal will now come through. You what they say, you get what you reap!

Well, it’s tax time and I need to set up an appointment with my tax guy, Wally.  I am hoping to get a bunch of money back, especially since I paid alimony all damn year.  With my tax refunds I plan on paying off my attorney and also making a dent in my Visa card bill, which has grown into a sizable debt.  I need to stop using that puppy and start making some serious payments to reduce it to zero before I retire.  I am estimating my retirement paycheck to be about the same as having a large debt I have to pay off.  70% of my paycheck I estimate should be enough to live off of comfortably. Maybe not here in California, but someplace nice hopefully.

We are still looking for suggestions for places to visit on our back roads trip next year.  We have gotten some suggestions which we appreciate so very much, but we definitely need some more input from you guys. Please help us find new places to visit. We need your input since most of you have traveled all over this great country and we value your suggestions. So, c’mon people now, smile on your brother, everybody get together and love one another right now. Sorry, I sometimes just go off into rock lyrics and I begin singing, and not too well I might add.  Please, please people… give us some input so we can plan our drive accordingly. We also are looking for events such as festivals, carnivals or any kind of various annual celebrations that might be occurring along the way. We are open to all suggestions.

Today I was catching up on my listening to podcasts from last week and I found out that the Brian & Jill Show is stopping their weekday daily podcasts and will continue on a “whenever” schedule so they can pursue other endeavors, together and separately.  I can totally understand their situation to be limited in their ability to follow dreams of working on some other kind of projects.  They say they will continue to put out podcasts, but just not on a day to day schedule, which was really quite an ambitious schedule.  Hardly anyone really does a 5-day podcast per week.  Good luck to them and we look forward to hearing back from them.

I might have to do the same thing soon really myself.  I do want to do some more writing and put some more effort into those other projects, and the daily publishing does take some effort and time. I know when we get out on the road we won’t be posting daily in our blog.  Some days I really don’t have too much to say anyways, so we will keep you posted.  It’s not like we have a lot of peeps that actually follow us anyway.  We hardly get any feedback from anyone anyways which kind of makes this more of a monologue rather than a dialogue.  We do need feedback from you guys all of the time.

As Snoopy says… Bark Less and Wag More…

Until next time… Be Good!

- cb

It's a Great Day today!

Today’s music trivia is a 4-member band from Los Angeles with three consistent members and a rotating fourth member, the lead guitarist.  They are actually a funk rock, alternative rock, funk metal band that began back in 1983 and are still together today. With ten albums produced, they have won seven Grammys and in 2012 they were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Known for their wild on-stage antics and strange costumes, this band is always a good show to watch, let alone they really jam. We actually saw them when they showed up at a tribute concert for George Clinton and the Funkadelics, and they stated that they never would of gotten into music if it was not for him.  With hit songs such as, “Scar Tissue”, “Higher Ground”, “Aeroplane”, and “Californication” getting lots of airplay, this American band is one of the most successful bands to continue to put out great music.  Their lead singer Anthony seems to always be shirtless as well as their bass player “Flea”. Chad, their drummer, is also a founding member of the rock band “Chickenfoot”. Also known as “RHCP”, can you name this funky rock band?

Congrats to Lisa K for correctly identifying “R.E.M.” as yesterday’s featured musical artist.  As always, I owe you, Maynard! J

Today is a happy day for me, for today is my last day I have to pay alimony to my ex! Now I have just one more year to pay off my visa bill, which has grown to over $20,000.00.  This is only $10,000.00 less than I was paying her, so I should be able to accomplish this before retirement on January 5, 2015, in just 353 days! 

I woke up today with a slight hangover. This is the first time I have had one in years and I had thought I had been immune to them, but apparently not today. I woke up about 4AM and was not feeling that well. I ended up turning off my wake up alarm and resumed sleeping in an extra hour after taking some meds for my head.  When I awoke, I felt much better, so I jumped into the shower, quickly got dressed and then bicycled into work.  Feeling okay at the moment but I sure could use a nap, like always. I think we should adopt the Mediterranean culture and shut down mid-day for a two-hour siesta. I myself think that would be a great idea!

Another slow Friday here at work.  The boss has already left early today, like he always seems to do on Fridays, which means I am now the HMFIC (Head Mother F*cker In Charge).  So, we know he always leaves early to beat the weekend traffic when he goes to his weekend pad in Palm Springs. So that is our indication to do what needs to be done.  What’s good for the goose, is good for the gander. 

It’s a three-day weekend for us to observe Martin Luther King, Jr’s birthday.  Did you know that Arizona is the only state that does not observe this holiday. You have to be pretty prejudiced to not vote for a paid holiday, that’s all I have to say.  Arizona is also the only state that does not change their clocks for Daylight Savings time. I guess all that having to change your clocks is just too much confusion for these poor pitiful folks who actually like living in the desert.  I have been to the desert and you could not pay me enough to ever live there. New Mexico was bad enough, but Arizona? Screw that! Never in a million years would I ever want to live there.  My little sister and her family live there. I will visit, but I gotta go after a few days.  The desert life is just not for me. I guess living in west Texas for 2 years was enough desert living for me.  I was so glad to leave that place and move to California. The differences between the two places is like night and day.  I love it here so much and I hated Texas with a passion.  That is two years out of my life that I’ll never get back!

As Snoopy continues to say, Bark Less and Wag More!

Until next time… Be Good!

- cb

Thursday, January 16, 2014

Thursday, January 16, 2014

Good morning!  Today’s music trivia is an alternative rock band formed in Athens, GA back in 1980.  In the late 80s this band started getting some airplay with hits such as my favorite one of their songs, “Stand”, “Losing My Religion”, “Everybody Hurts” and, “What’s the Frequency Kenneth?” Can you name this band who was most popular during the 1990-2010 timeframe?

Yesterday’s music trivia is a frequent winner of our daily contests, Tim B, who correctly identified “Queen” as our featured rock band. Thanks Tim for playing once again.  Tim also suggested that I do some more expressive writing, possibly pen a book or short story, which I have been considering and playing around with. I’ll keep you all posted on any progress that I make. I have been writing some here and there and will compile it later on into some sort of major document.

I usually write when the moment hits me. Sometimes I have to sit down and force myself to put words down. Once I get going, stuff just seems to flow out in bunches at times.  I do stop and go back to correct mistakes as they happen unless I am really on a roll with inspiration and ideas are just flowing out uncontrollably.  That is the best time to get it down and then go back and review it later on for grammar, spelling and edits. I have trouble getting my message out when I talk, but I seem to do better when I write things out. 

Many times in the past when I had to make an important phone call, prior to dialing I would write down my main narrative for what I actually wanted to say. If it was that important, then I would make sure I got my point across by writing it down first.  In college, I believe that was when I actually excelled at writing becoming a better student even though I had little time to study since I was working out on the flightline working on aircraft during my active duty days in the Air Force.  As I went out to work on airplanes, I’d have a toolbox in one hand and a bookbag full of college textbooks over my shoulder to allow me to study during any down time I might have. 

From January 1980 – Aug 1984, I was attending college full time, except during a one semester break when I left active duty (around Aug 1981). Even after I got out of active duty, I attended college night classes full time.  Those were some rough times, especially having to type up term papers on a borrowed portable typewriter at 3 O’Clock in the morning.  Using a computer to do this in today’s society is so much easier that ever using a typewriter.  I only wish back then we would have had the internet to do research instead of spending way too many hours in the library doing it old school.

Snoopy wanted e to remind all you peeps to… Bark Less and Wag More!

Until next time… Be Good!

- cb

Wednesday, January 15, 2015

Wednesday, January 15, 2014…

Today’s music trivia is one of my favorite British bands of all time.  I remember where I was exactly when I heard them first on the radio my Sophomore year in HS on the school bus travelling to the bowling alley for our intermural bowling league.  That song was probably their biggest hit of all time and definitely their most complex, I believe.  Their lead singer, when he was on stage, he demanded your full and undivided attention. Flambouent even more than Liberace, his nature is why the band had it’s feminine name.

There was a comedian named Mitch Hedberg I saw a long time ago and I always thought he was very funny.  I loved his cadence and how he put his personal inflection on certain words and syllables.  His deadpan demeanor and observations of life just cracks me up. Unfortunately, he tragically passed away, I believe, in 2005, from a heart attack (he had a bad heart) or possibly a drug over dose. He often admitted that he used drugs. One of his jokes was, “I used to do drugs… I still do… and I used to, too.”  Another quick joke was, “What’s the abbreviation for Arkansas?  I don’t know but just start spelling it and then quit.” If you have some free time, check out his comedy on You Tube. I think you will agree that he is very funny with his quick one-liners. I wish he was still around and still performing.  It seems that all the good comedians seem to go way too early, which is a shame.  L  Like they say, comedy is not pretty!

There are many stand-up comedians who seemed to have died way too young, including Mitch Hedberg, Greg Giraldo, Sam Kinison, Lenny Bruce, Freddie Prinze, John Belushi, Chris Farley, Phil Hartman, Patrice O’Neal, Richard Jeni, Bill Hicks, Andy Kaufman, Bernie Mac, and Robert Schimmil.  All of these great comedians went too early, most of them were in their prime.  Look for some of their stand-up comedy acts on You Tube for some really good laughs. 

You Tube is a great resource to find things we could not locate before the internet. I wish we would have had the internet when we were kids.  I think it is the best invention during our lifetime. I really could of used the internet during my college days instead of spending countless hours in libraries and in the periodical section.  Just think, I could of spent all my research time at home on the couch with a laptop.

Isn’t it funny how technology and time changes the meanings of words? Desktop used to mean the top of your desk.  Laptop meant the top or front of your thighs. Mouse meant small rat.  Keyboard was on a piano.  External hard drive meant driving your car on the Road to Hana during a rainstorm. I don’t even want to think about how they possibly could have meant to use a thumb drive.   heh heh… J

I have been riding my bicycle for about 4 weeks now and it is getting easier as each day goes by.  I have even changed my route to see different things along the way.  It seems you notice more things when you ride a bike or walk rather than when you drive a car.  It could be the speed, or the fact that you are driving and trying not to crash your car into anything.  It takes about the same amount of time to go each way, maybe with a difference of five minutes or so, which is not too bad.  I am feeling better and I am hopefully losing some of this excess fat I have gained.  My legs are feeling a bit better as well as my breathing capacity seems to be getting better also.  I still am not going out for lunch, but maybe in a few weeks I’ll feel like pedaling out during lunchtime. 

I think I need to get Snoopy involved pretty soon in this exercise routine, because she could use some more exercise too.  I have not tried taking her with me with the bicycle yet, so once we get her used to it, then maybe we will make it part of our daily exercise routine. She likes to run, but I am not too sure she will like a mandated running routine.  Most of the time she likes to do things on her own terms, just like a typical female. Maybe this weekend we will give it a try.

Like Snoopy says… Bark Less and Wag More!

Until next time… Be Good!

- cb