"Sometimes Bad is Bad"

Everyone knows that "Bad" can mean good if used in the right context such as "My wife makes the baddest lasagna!" but sometimes bad still means "Bad" This week has been pretty uneventful other than a couple of pieces of bad news! I had to sit through a Video Teleconference with all the other Safety Managers in Europe to listen to a briefing about a young airman that was killed on his motorcycle recently. All I could think of is how sad it was that a 23 year old kid lost his life. I don't know all the details of this persons family life, but just think, now there is a Mom and Dad out there without a Son, all because of a wet patch of pavement. I make no claims to the title "Best Rider in the World, but I wish I could take every new rider and mentor them. I've taught all ages of people to ride motorcycles; 18 year old kids all the way up to a 74 year old man, just teaching them to ride doesn't keep them from having an accident but at least they have some basic skills. This particular kid did everything right, but mother nature got him, when the rear tire broke loose on the wet pavement. Poor kid had all his riding gear on and yet when his head hit an oncoming vehicle, well...I'll spare you the details. As the Huey Lewis song says, "Sometimes bad is bad"

In other bad news, I hear that my friend Jackie Dolan has a hernia and will possibly be facing a surgery to repair it. Pray for Jackie! Pray for a speedy recovery, Jackie will have a fit if he has to miss deer season! Pray for Dena too, if Jackie can't go hunting, he might be a little tough to live with!

So, my plans for the weekend have changed. I was planning to go to Granada to see the Al Ahambra which is an old palace that you can tour. Problem is, you have to order tickets online, 3 weeks in advance and the website is down. So, I think I am going to Seville on Saturday to an Art Gallery that is supposed to be really good. I know, some of you are saying "Art Gallery, that is definately not Mike!' Hey, it's not like there's a Bass Pro Shop around here for me to go spend the day at so I might as well get a little culture, right?

You know, I don't want to end this on a negative note, so I'll tell you a couple of really good things that happend this week. First and foremost, I have been able to see Andria and the kids every morning! I have been able to have Connor tell me about his first day of school and be able to see his facial expressions and his excitement about 2nd grade. How come we adults can't get excited about going to work like our kids get excited about going back to school? I guess cause in second grade you still get recess! Lily has been a lot less cooperative about talking to me in the mornings She insists that she is "Grumpy" every morning and doesn't want to talk. When you're 4, cartoons and pop tarts are high on the priority list, talking to Dad is way down the list, past baby dolls and dress up clothes. Probably somewhere between sitting in the corner and going to bed would be about where talking to Daddy would fall. Oh well, at least I catch glimpses of her while I'm talking to Connor. Occasionally she will holler something at me from her little perch on the couch. She's such a nut!

The second good thing this week is that Chaplain Croft came by the office and he gave me one of the Chaplains Coins. A lot of people in the military collect "Challenge Coins" and I'm no different so it was really cool to recieve a coin. "Thanks Chaps!" There is a history behind the Challenge Coin and most of the time if you were to ask me, I will have mine in my pocket regardless of whether I am in uniform or not. I have at times, been caught without one, such as once when I was performing an Honor Guard detail, I gave mine away to a little boy, it was awesome to see the look on his face when I bent down to give it to him. Here is a link to give you several of the versions behind the history of the coin. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Challenge_coin

Well, this has turned into a whole lot of ramblin on now, so I guess I will close. Be sure to check out Philip's blog; Upward Point, there is some insightful and often humorous news in there. Best news of all....Tomorrow is Friday!