Thursday, June 17, 2004

Prayer Request!

Just a quick note to ask for your prayers. Some of you have heard the tragic story that involved the death of a man and his children at the Ft. Worth Water Gardens in downtown Ft. Worth. I just was informed that this was the family of a Sprint employee. As I've mentioned before, I work for Sprint and I'm deeply saddened when something horrible happens to a Sprint family member. Please join me in praying for Stephanie Dukes who lives in Bolingbrook, Illinois. I cannot imagine losing your entire immediate family like that !! Makes me wish my family was all home with me right now instead of across the state.

Pray for Stephanie please.

-donny-

(if you can't click on this link, simply copy and paste it into your browser)
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/latestnews/stories/061804dnmetdrowned.26ec4d53f.html

June 17, 2004

Little observation that might make your head swim ...

On my way home, I drive down Hwy 114 which runs just north of DFW Airport. On most days, traffic moves fairly slow. Yesterday was no exception. I started noticing that there were just a TON of planes coming and going out of DFW. On my short drive home (25 min.) I could count close to 35 planes either leaving or coming into my little town. Probably always like this but I just have never paid that much attention since we live so close. This is where the head swimming begins...

I started imagining on each of those planes all of the different people on there and why they were on that plane. Were they arriving on business, coming home from a week long business trip, vacation, coming to see little Johnny (not to be confused with Smooth Johnny! HA) graduate, and even those coming home from Iraq. I then started thinking about all the planning that went into getting that person on the plane. Someone made the call to American or Delta or more than likely went online. Someone took some time to get the suitcase out of the closet for the first time in years while another person has done this so many times that they can pack in a little carry-on so they don't have to wait in line at baggage claim.

Then there's the family and friends. Someone is just minutes away from giving their grandson a big hug, their boss a handshake in welcoming them to Dallas/Ft. Worth, or a kiss to their spouse as they start to enjoy 2 weeks of R&R before heading back to the Middle East.

I'm not sure how I didn't have a wreck during all of this thinking. Just amazed me when I thought about how big this world is. I was simply looking at 30+ planes and the people it involved. That didn't count all of the other poor souls stuck in traffic on the same highway I was on. What about the other highways in DFW. The other airports in Dallas. The other cities in the US. The other airports in the US. And it can go on and on...

Just a wild thought I wanted to share. I guess when my 3 year old sings "My God is so big..." I guess HE must be to cover all this ground !

God bless you all,

SJ


Wednesday, June 16, 2004

June 16, 2004

Today's blog will not be near as long... apologize for the lenthly rant yesterday.

Update on the manhood week: I had a great time at the driving range with my buddy, George. For those guys at ACU that know me, think of "freakin'" and you'll have the right George. I'm trying to get George into playing golf as a hobby so we can hit the links every so often. We will see but I hope it does.

Watched a little of the NBA game last night but it bored me quickly. I don't like NBA basketball, even the playoffs. Give me March Madness !! Of course, football is my favorite. Dallas Cowboys for the NFL and Texas A&M Aggies for college! Gig 'em Coach Fran !!

I remembered at one point that we had rented Shrek (the 1st one) to see what the fuss was all about and never got through it before Kendra left for Midland. Review... uh... not that great in my opinion. Alot more cussing and potty humor than I expected - thus the PG. In fact, to make it more interesting I turned the DVD option of "Directors Commentary" on so I can listen to them talk about the movie as the movie played. Plus I had the subtitles on so this was definitely not your father's movie watching experience. I think I'm getting too old because I'm addicted to subtitles. If I watch a movie without them, I'm constantly saying "What did he say?" So watching a movie with subtitles makes it stress free. Try it if you haven't done so - just make sure you choose English instead of French ! :) I guess if you knew the movie lines by heart it would be a cool way to learn French !

Miss my family so much. It was fun to hear both my boys, Tyler and Colby, say Hi to Daddy this morning over the phone. My one year old even got out a hint of "I love you". I melted on the spot. They love spending time with their grandparents on both sides. This week is with Nonny and PawPaw. In 2 weeks (over July 4th holiday weekend), it's Nana and Papa's turn. Gotta have balance you know!!

This is getting longer than expected ... Kendra when you are reading this in Midland, know that I'm loving you clear across Texas !! You're the best! No you are! OK!!

God bless you all,

SJ

Tuesday, June 15, 2004

June 15, 2004

Boys and wife left for Midland for the next several days. They will be back on Saturday afternoon, just in time for Father's Day. Very sad to see them go but honestly, it's kinda fun to have some alone time. Too bad the house will stay a wreck until about 2 hours before she shows up. Why do you think guys always ask their wives "Call me when you are on the road." It sounds like we are concerned and are going to time your trip so that we know when to call 911. But honestly it's just so we can make it into a sports reference and tell overselves when our "2 min warning" has begun. Only we make it a couple of hours instead. It's fun to clean house under pressure. There's some insight.

Went bowling on Sunday and saw one of my friends get 7 strikes in a row !! Wow - I thought I was watching a "perfect game" in the making !! It was wild to see and everyone was excited. Frankly, I didn't care what I bowled - I just couldn't wait for Darrell to get to his turn again. By the way, it was obvious I didn't care by the way I scored. One time, I got so bored with hitting nothing but one or two pins that I tried to have some fun spinning the ball down the lane. Only the time I tried, it went across to the lane next to us and landed in that gutter. Fortunately no one was bowling next to us. But I earned the nickname, Double Lane Donny by the end of the night !! Nice friends, huh!

I realized the other day that I was slowly losing my manhood. We had pulled up to a stop light on our way to lunch after church. I found myself doing hand motions to a kids praise CD with my 3 year old in the back seat. I'm sure the people next to me were questionning what I was doing and how incredibly silly I looked. Oh, and did I mention that my 3 yr old was in the back seat of our ... (gulp!)... mini-van !! That made it worse. At least if I'd been in a Hummer H2 I would have had some ounce of manhood in me. Later that day, I told my wife that I wanted to try and watch some Nascar on TV to help improve my manhood status. (By the way, I don't understand Nascar but it's loud and manly so that's why I chose that option) Then my wife reminded me that a real man can't watch Nascar doing the activity I was doing. I just so happened to be ... (gulp again!)... sewing some buttons that had come loose on my pants! Imagine that - NASCAR meets SEWING !! Wow - how incredibly un-manly is that.

So, I'm announcing today that with my wife and children gone for the next 4 days, I solemnly swear to do nothing that is not masculine. Tonight, I meeting a friend at the driving range. After we finish dinner at La Madelines ... just kidding !! After I finish the range, I'm going home to watch Game 5 of the NBA Playoffs. I don't really care who wins but it's manly. I might even pick up some pork rines and beer on the way home. I won't eat or drink them but I want witnesses to my manly events !!

Tomorrow after work I will attend our church service to help out with the Youth activities. They need good MEN like me around !! I might pop in the video arcade room just to see if I can rustle up a good game of Madden Football with a 12 year old !!

Thursday, my plan is to go to the batting cages either by myself or with another manly friend. I might even pick up a movie on the way home to help me close out the night. Probably Gladiator, Braveheart (seriously I might on this because I've never seen it) or some sports movie !! Might watch the Miracle Movie again because it's so cool.

Friday, well... that's the mother of all manly nights. I'm not exactly sure what I'll do so you'll have to tune in later to see what I ended up doing.

On Saturday, I will probably do some yard work around the house, get the oil changed in my car and probably watch some of the US Open (golf) on TV before the wife and kids come home. Oh, and I'll probably have to vacuum, dust and clean the kitchen once I get my "2 minute warning".

God bless you all,

SJ