It is Saturday, February 21st, and Nancy and I are at Ocean City, MD with Buddy and Jane, Nancy's brother and sister-in-law at Buddy and Jane's condo. Charlie and Annalee, Buddy and Jane's grand kids are with us. Annalee is watching 101 Dalmatians and Charlie, who is 1 is screeching for what he wants. Words escape him and he is not yet aware of his "inside voice". Buddy googles how to handle the screeching and the comment of a "professional" was to teach him to use his "inside voice" and may the "time-out chair". Aren't professionals amazing! He's 1 for heaven's sake.
It's 32 degrees outside, a veritable heat wave after a week of zero and near zero temps. Maybe we will bundle u and open the balcony doors and listen to the roar of the waves. I could get used to this life; I mean what is there not to like. Sunrise off the balcony every morning, the splash of the ocean waves and the wind blowing strong from the ocean; these are the things that make my soul calm.
The bay is frozen over and it is a beautiful site. Just the thing I needed to help me make it to spring.
Gotta go, my nap is calling me!!
Saturday, February 21, 2015
Thursday, December 5, 2013
Tony Gene Lee, Jr.
In late July, I opened my Facebook page to the gut-punching news of the death of a long-time friend from high school. We all have lost friends to accident, aging, disease and other things, but I don't think any passing has affected me like that of Tony Gene Lee, Jr. or TG as he was known to his family and friends.
We met in high school when his family moved from California to Mississippi. The year escapes me now, but I am sure that it was at least 10th grade, but I would have to look back at a year book to be sure. TG was larger than life, at times hyper and I am pretty sure bored out of his mind with the traditional class room. He LOVED music, was always singing and was the biggest flirt and joker I had ever met. We used to have these discussions about music, in particular, The L.A. band The Doors. There was a depth about him that drew me; a spiritual, fun-loving, prankster whose presence would visit me over the next 40 plus years.
I remember that he was fast as well, probably one of the fastest kids in school. At Thursday night marching band rehearsals, he would kick off his shoes and race others the distance of the football field. I never remember him losing. At the end of 1971 school year, my parents went through a rough patch and separated. TG was working at Safeway in Clarksdale and he encouraged me to put in an application. I did and for the first time, other than running a paper route or working in my dad's office, I had a real job making $1.60 per hour. TG made work fun. Every night we would sweep the store out, break down boxes, and run a mop over the whole store. Twice a week we would strip the floor and then put down a coat of wax. It was hard work, but it was fun because TG knew how to make it fun.
We graduated in the spring of 1972 and went our separate ways. I went to college and TG went to the Navy...I probably should have joined him there.
Fast forward to 2010 and I am in Nashville visiting Arita Shepard Harber and the subject of the Lee family came up. Arita had remained close to TG's sisters and so we called Mary I believe and got TG's phone number. In the course of the conversation, I found out that TG had spent 5 plus years in the Navy, was discharged, eventually moved to Florida, got his undergrad degree and then his law degree. LAW DEGREE!!! Not that he didn't have the capability; he was one of the smartest people I ever knew. It was just not where I expected to find TG after all of these years. I called and left a message on his law office phone and went back to Virginia.
Several days later, I got this call from my friend of so many years ago and it was as if time stood still. We talked for almost an hour, catching up on each other's life, loves, heartbreaks and joys. We determined to talk again. We did, one more time about a year later and it was a stimulating conversation and again we determined to get together. After all, his home in Greeneville, TN was on the road I took down to see my family.
In December of 2012, I was traveling south to see my family and to attend my niece's wedding in Mobile. As I passed the exit to Greeneville, I thought of TG and his wife Regina and had a thought to call him and at least say hello. It was late and I had an agenda to keep and I said to myself, "there will be another day" and I drove on.
Fast forward to July: TG's father Tony, Sr.is entering the last days of his life and TG's sister Becky posts a picture that will forever be etched into my brain. It was a picture of a son saying goodbye to his father. Tony, Sr. passed through the veil to the other side of eternity and I wanted to get a message to TG. I went on his law firm website and posted a message of condolence to him and his family with the promise that I would call. I am fairly certain that as I was posting my message that TG's family was gathered around him as he, too, passed though the veil. When Becky's post reached Facebook, I was shattered in my soul. Floods of regret came over me; regret fueled by the fact that I had opportunity to reach out and affirm to my friend the place of importance that he held in my life and I had failed.to follow through.
It is now early December, and the reality of his passing still doesn't seem real to me, yet, his wife recently posted a picture that was to me the epitome of the TG of my youth; the ever present smile and the confidence in those eyes. He will forever be in his 59th year, but he will live on as one of my great friends that I was fortunate to reconnect to before he crossed to Eternity. I love you, man...you were one of a kind!
It is now early December, and the reality of his passing still doesn't seem real to me, yet, his wife recently posted a picture that was to me the epitome of the TG of my youth; the ever present smile and the confidence in those eyes. He will forever be in his 59th year, but he will live on as one of my great friends that I was fortunate to reconnect to before he crossed to Eternity. I love you, man...you were one of a kind!
Wednesday, April 3, 2013
Kettle Bell Workouts Middle of March through April 2, 2013
The work has been getting more intense:
These are samples of the last 5 workouts in no particular order:
Warm-up: Halos, Foam Roller, light swings, jumping jacks, body weight Turkish Get-ups
Pushup SS with Heavy Swings 10 reps x 5 sets. Swing weight is 44 lbs
Turkish Get-Up Upward movement/Squat Push Press/Turkish Get-Up downward movment L/R for 8 minutes
Partner work (alternating work with partner of the following)
Swing 10x10
JJ 10x10
Bosu Crunch 5x10
Jump Rope 5x50
Thrusters/Woohoos 5x10
Warm Up: Halos, light swings, foam roller, jumping jacks, BW TGU
Stations ( approximately 8 minutes per station) wieght used was 44 lbs for swigs, rows, mil press. 35 lbs for squats, no weight for windmills, 26 lbs for figure 8
Stat 1 Stat 2
Swings 15 reps Rows L,R 5 reps
Windmill L,R 5 reps Mil Press L,R 5 reps
Stat 3 Stat 4
BOSU Crunch 8 reps Squat 6 reps
Side Planks 10 R,L Pushups 7 reps
Glute Bridge 30 sec Figure 8 reps
Finisher
Swings 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Jumping Jacks 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
As much as can be done in 5 minutes
Warm Up: Halos, light swings, foam roller, jumping jacks, BW TGU
Swing work 35 lb weight 20 sec on 20 sec off for 6 minutes
Clean-Press-Windmill L,R x 5
Swing-High Pull L,R x 5
Clean- Push press L,R x 5 This is all done for 3 rounds. Because it was light day used 35 lb bell for all work
Tabata 5 minutes
Ab work: Bosu Crunches/Planks/Rollups
Warm Up: foam roller, TGU ladders
Floor Press 25 secs on 15 secs rest did this for about 4 rounds. Used 2 44 lb bells for floor press
Cleans
BW Squat
two hand swings 10 reps, rest 30 repeat for 5 rounds used 44 lb bell
two hand push press 10 reps used 2 26 lb bells 5 rounds
single rows 5 l, 5 r used 1 44 lb 5 rounds
ab work
Warm Up: foam roller, swings, pumps, halos
Swing work
10 two hand swings x 5 rounds w 1 44 lb wt.
Stations about 7 minutes per station:
Stat 1 Stat 2
Farmer's carry 2- 70 lb wts Squats 5,6 7 R,L used 35 lbs for all wts
Abs(BOSU Crunch) 10 reps Cleans 5,6,7 R,L " " "
1 hand swings 5,6,7 R,L " " " "
Stat 3 Stat 4
Mil Press 1,2,,3,4,5 R,L 44 lb sgl Deadlift 5 reps w 88 lb wt
Row 1,2,3,4,5 R,L " " " Windmills 5 reps R,L 10 lb wt in lower hand
Eating plan has suffered somehwat but we are getting ready to start a 90 day challenge where my goals are to lose 20 pounds, military press a 70 pound kettle bell for 3 reps and lose another 10 to 12 inches overall. Trust me the body is feeling the work and I like the feeling. I am signing up to play pickup softball on Saturdays when I am available to do so. Its a 55 year and older group so it should be fun.
These are samples of the last 5 workouts in no particular order:
Warm-up: Halos, Foam Roller, light swings, jumping jacks, body weight Turkish Get-ups
Pushup SS with Heavy Swings 10 reps x 5 sets. Swing weight is 44 lbs
Turkish Get-Up Upward movement/Squat Push Press/Turkish Get-Up downward movment L/R for 8 minutes
Partner work (alternating work with partner of the following)
Swing 10x10
JJ 10x10
Bosu Crunch 5x10
Jump Rope 5x50
Thrusters/Woohoos 5x10
Warm Up: Halos, light swings, foam roller, jumping jacks, BW TGU
Stations ( approximately 8 minutes per station) wieght used was 44 lbs for swigs, rows, mil press. 35 lbs for squats, no weight for windmills, 26 lbs for figure 8
Stat 1 Stat 2
Swings 15 reps Rows L,R 5 reps
Windmill L,R 5 reps Mil Press L,R 5 reps
Stat 3 Stat 4
BOSU Crunch 8 reps Squat 6 reps
Side Planks 10 R,L Pushups 7 reps
Glute Bridge 30 sec Figure 8 reps
Finisher
Swings 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Jumping Jacks 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
As much as can be done in 5 minutes
Warm Up: Halos, light swings, foam roller, jumping jacks, BW TGU
Swing work 35 lb weight 20 sec on 20 sec off for 6 minutes
Clean-Press-Windmill L,R x 5
Swing-High Pull L,R x 5
Clean- Push press L,R x 5 This is all done for 3 rounds. Because it was light day used 35 lb bell for all work
Tabata 5 minutes
Ab work: Bosu Crunches/Planks/Rollups
Warm Up: foam roller, TGU ladders
Floor Press 25 secs on 15 secs rest did this for about 4 rounds. Used 2 44 lb bells for floor press
Cleans
BW Squat
two hand swings 10 reps, rest 30 repeat for 5 rounds used 44 lb bell
two hand push press 10 reps used 2 26 lb bells 5 rounds
single rows 5 l, 5 r used 1 44 lb 5 rounds
ab work
Warm Up: foam roller, swings, pumps, halos
Swing work
10 two hand swings x 5 rounds w 1 44 lb wt.
Stations about 7 minutes per station:
Stat 1 Stat 2
Farmer's carry 2- 70 lb wts Squats 5,6 7 R,L used 35 lbs for all wts
Abs(BOSU Crunch) 10 reps Cleans 5,6,7 R,L " " "
1 hand swings 5,6,7 R,L " " " "
Stat 3 Stat 4
Mil Press 1,2,,3,4,5 R,L 44 lb sgl Deadlift 5 reps w 88 lb wt
Row 1,2,3,4,5 R,L " " " Windmills 5 reps R,L 10 lb wt in lower hand
Eating plan has suffered somehwat but we are getting ready to start a 90 day challenge where my goals are to lose 20 pounds, military press a 70 pound kettle bell for 3 reps and lose another 10 to 12 inches overall. Trust me the body is feeling the work and I like the feeling. I am signing up to play pickup softball on Saturdays when I am available to do so. Its a 55 year and older group so it should be fun.
Wednesday, March 13, 2013
Kettlebell Workouts 3/11-3/12/2013
After the completion of the 24 day challenge, I took a few days off from working out, ate a few carbs (read pasta and rainbow sherbert) and in general took it easy for the weekend. Monday 3/11/2013, I started my new job working at M&T Bank in Baltimore and I hit the Kettlebell routine again.
3/11/2013
Lower back is still a little sore and tender from a previous pull, but I was able to keep my core strong and used a little lighter weights to get through the workout. Mondays workout was a combination of swings, alternating push presses and bent over rows. I used 26 lb bells for most of the workout, concentrating on my form on the swings and push presses.
Second half of workout was more swings, squats with reverse lunge and another exercise that escapes me(guess I need to take a picture of the workout with the trusty iPhone so I can remember). This was followed by a 6 or 8 minute tabata of swings 30 secs work, 30 seconds of rest.
3/12/2013
No lower back issues today. Warmup was turkish getup ladders (each step building on the previous)
The movements below were performed for 3 rounds
Two Hand Swings 10 with 1 - 35 lb bell
Floor Press 8 with 2 - 35 lb bells
Front Squats with twist/press 10 reps each side w 1 - 35 lb bell
5X5
Double Swings
Double Cleans
Double Squats
All of the above performed with 2 - 35 lb bells
Abs
10 Rollups with 18 lb bell
10 crunch twists w 18 lb bell
Tabata 6 minutes
20 secs work 10 secs rest
Swings followed by Jumping Jacks
3/11/2013
Lower back is still a little sore and tender from a previous pull, but I was able to keep my core strong and used a little lighter weights to get through the workout. Mondays workout was a combination of swings, alternating push presses and bent over rows. I used 26 lb bells for most of the workout, concentrating on my form on the swings and push presses.
Second half of workout was more swings, squats with reverse lunge and another exercise that escapes me(guess I need to take a picture of the workout with the trusty iPhone so I can remember). This was followed by a 6 or 8 minute tabata of swings 30 secs work, 30 seconds of rest.
3/12/2013
No lower back issues today. Warmup was turkish getup ladders (each step building on the previous)
The movements below were performed for 3 rounds
Two Hand Swings 10 with 1 - 35 lb bell
Floor Press 8 with 2 - 35 lb bells
Front Squats with twist/press 10 reps each side w 1 - 35 lb bell
5X5
Double Swings
Double Cleans
Double Squats
All of the above performed with 2 - 35 lb bells
Abs
10 Rollups with 18 lb bell
10 crunch twists w 18 lb bell
Tabata 6 minutes
20 secs work 10 secs rest
Swings followed by Jumping Jacks
Tuesday, March 5, 2013
Quiet Heroes
I have a friend from college who has chiseled his memory into my heart forever. Dr. J. Randall O'Brien, president of Carson Newman University in Jefferson City, Tennessee, writes a blog for the Huffington Post and the following is his accounting of an act of heroism that he witnessed during the Civil Rights struggle in McComb, MS in the early 1960's. This is his story of how he honored this hero of those times.
I want to thank Randall for his service to our country during the Viet Nam conflict and also for his self-less act in honoring Brenda Travis.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/j-randall-obrien/remembering-brenda_b_2792800.html?utm_hp_ref=fb&src=sp&comm_ref=false#sb=4595043,b=facebook
I want to thank Randall for his service to our country during the Viet Nam conflict and also for his self-less act in honoring Brenda Travis.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/j-randall-obrien/remembering-brenda_b_2792800.html?utm_hp_ref=fb&src=sp&comm_ref=false#sb=4595043,b=facebook
Monday, March 4, 2013
March 4, 2013
I'm back. I realized that my last posting was back in July. So much has happened since then in my life, I don't know where to begin.
The best news is that on August 31, 2012, my son, Christian and his wife, Aimee and their son, Caleb (my grandson) welcomed a daughter, Emma Rose Crawford. She is a gorgeous little bundle of cuteness and personality. Due to some schedule craziness, I was unable to see her and hold her until December 31, 2012 but let me tell you, it was a thrill. Children are a blessing, but grandchildren...man they are something else.
I met someone and we began dating in October. Wonderful woman from a great family....life is good in that respect. We have similar interests in working out, concerts and cooking and we also have other interests that are specifically our own. I'm looking forward to seeing where this goes; but so far I am liking the journey and I think she does as well.
My oldest son is making great strides in his recovery from alcohol and chemical addiction. He is working on 4 months sober and has started a new job. I pray for his continued sobriety and growth every day.
My oldest daughter is back living at home and looking for work in her chosen field of counseling. I pray for her success in finding that career path that will most fulfilling for her. We both celebrated birthdays last week; February 27th. She turned 26 and I celebrated the 29th anniversary of my 33rd birthday.
My youngest daughter is pushing forward with her career in photography/ For now she has taken a break from school...I hope she elects, at some point, to continue her education, but I will understand is she does not.
I lost my job in November and though I received a severance package, it didn't last very long and I went through the little savings I had in January. Needless to say, the job market is tough and very competitive these days. That should me looking up for me; will know more for sure at the end of the day today.
As I reflect on the past year; the subject of loss comes up...again. Lost a number of friends this year due to accident and illness. How did this aging thing happen? Where did my youth go? My high school class had a 40th reunion in October and I was unable to attend. Judging from the pictures posted on Facebook those that attended had a very good time.
I guess my reason for writing today is to express my dismay at the inability of the leaders of our nation to come together and produce a balanced budget. Why in the world do these so-called leaders feel it necessary to get on TV and accuse each other, call each other names, etc., instead of going into a room and sitting down and saying we are a representative republic...we were elected to do a job....let's hammer this out and not come out until we have a balanced budget that while painful will work towards bringing us back to solvency? Why? No one I know can walk out the door and spend more than is in their checking account without consequences....I got a new driver's license on Friday and I also registered to vote. When asked my party affiliation, I answered Independent....truth is I am more libertarian than anything else, but as was so eloquently pointed out to me last summer, I would be wasting my vote if I did not fall into the two party fold.
Anyway, I registered and it got me to thinking about this mess we are in. We have had months to fix this mess concerning the budget and have done nothing to make it right...except point fingers and call each other names...
I would like to see the people of this country sit down and write letters to Barack Obama, John Boehner and Harry Reid and ask they put their minds together and figure this thing out. I would like to say to them all....the middle class pays enough in taxes so figure out another way to raise the revenue that is out there. Ask them to call in the loans that have been outstanding for 30 to 40 plus years. Bring our manufacturing jobs back to this country and make enterprise zones in cities that have been hardest hit by the loss of jobs overseas. I could go on, but I would be parroting the voices of others. We need to, as a society, call our leaders into accountability and if they don't represent the people....find leaders that do and will care to do what is right for all Americans.
Just my rant for today....
The best news is that on August 31, 2012, my son, Christian and his wife, Aimee and their son, Caleb (my grandson) welcomed a daughter, Emma Rose Crawford. She is a gorgeous little bundle of cuteness and personality. Due to some schedule craziness, I was unable to see her and hold her until December 31, 2012 but let me tell you, it was a thrill. Children are a blessing, but grandchildren...man they are something else.
I met someone and we began dating in October. Wonderful woman from a great family....life is good in that respect. We have similar interests in working out, concerts and cooking and we also have other interests that are specifically our own. I'm looking forward to seeing where this goes; but so far I am liking the journey and I think she does as well.
My oldest son is making great strides in his recovery from alcohol and chemical addiction. He is working on 4 months sober and has started a new job. I pray for his continued sobriety and growth every day.
My oldest daughter is back living at home and looking for work in her chosen field of counseling. I pray for her success in finding that career path that will most fulfilling for her. We both celebrated birthdays last week; February 27th. She turned 26 and I celebrated the 29th anniversary of my 33rd birthday.
My youngest daughter is pushing forward with her career in photography/ For now she has taken a break from school...I hope she elects, at some point, to continue her education, but I will understand is she does not.
I lost my job in November and though I received a severance package, it didn't last very long and I went through the little savings I had in January. Needless to say, the job market is tough and very competitive these days. That should me looking up for me; will know more for sure at the end of the day today.
As I reflect on the past year; the subject of loss comes up...again. Lost a number of friends this year due to accident and illness. How did this aging thing happen? Where did my youth go? My high school class had a 40th reunion in October and I was unable to attend. Judging from the pictures posted on Facebook those that attended had a very good time.
I guess my reason for writing today is to express my dismay at the inability of the leaders of our nation to come together and produce a balanced budget. Why in the world do these so-called leaders feel it necessary to get on TV and accuse each other, call each other names, etc., instead of going into a room and sitting down and saying we are a representative republic...we were elected to do a job....let's hammer this out and not come out until we have a balanced budget that while painful will work towards bringing us back to solvency? Why? No one I know can walk out the door and spend more than is in their checking account without consequences....I got a new driver's license on Friday and I also registered to vote. When asked my party affiliation, I answered Independent....truth is I am more libertarian than anything else, but as was so eloquently pointed out to me last summer, I would be wasting my vote if I did not fall into the two party fold.
Anyway, I registered and it got me to thinking about this mess we are in. We have had months to fix this mess concerning the budget and have done nothing to make it right...except point fingers and call each other names...
I would like to see the people of this country sit down and write letters to Barack Obama, John Boehner and Harry Reid and ask they put their minds together and figure this thing out. I would like to say to them all....the middle class pays enough in taxes so figure out another way to raise the revenue that is out there. Ask them to call in the loans that have been outstanding for 30 to 40 plus years. Bring our manufacturing jobs back to this country and make enterprise zones in cities that have been hardest hit by the loss of jobs overseas. I could go on, but I would be parroting the voices of others. We need to, as a society, call our leaders into accountability and if they don't represent the people....find leaders that do and will care to do what is right for all Americans.
Just my rant for today....
Sunday, July 8, 2012
How Do I Know....
I got a new car on Friday; well, it's new to me and it allows me some freedom of movement that I haven't had for a while. One of the things that it has allowed me is the freedom to attend a fellowship of God's people. The pastor has a real heart for the people not unlike many other pastor's do and he speaks in a very practical and straight forward way. So, yesterday afternoon, I went to the 5:30 pm service to sing, to worship, to contemplate and to listen to God's word for me. Rusty's message was " How do I know I am pleasing God?".
Now, there's a question...My immediate thoughts were of my own father and the struggle in my own life for his acceptance and approval. I think it is only natural to want those things...the assurance of God's love for us is sometimes hard to handle when the assurance of our earthly father's love is not so sure. And that pleasing thing is another story entirely. The acceptance and the resting in God's love has brought to me over time the knowledge that I am pleasing to my Father.
My struggle with this in my own father's eyes is not unlike that of others. I did things over the years that were displeasing to him and that displeasure was evident. I even tried in ways to get him to see that there were the things that he did wrong and how they affected me. In my haste to get my acknowledgement, I probably neglected to give him the props that he was due for his struggles to put a roof over our heads and food in our bellies. In the years since my father's passing, I have reconciled his love and acceptance of me. He did better for me, than his own dad did for him, I did better for mine than he did for me, and mine will do better for their children. Why, because we hope to learn from the shortcomings and attempt to be better and we take what was good and continue to pass that on.
The thing about God is that He is described as a generous God, who, if we ask Him, will give to us wisdom. The point of the message to me was that when I doubt, that is okay. When I need wisdom, then I just ask of God and He will give me that wisdom. I must place that trust in Him alone and not be unstable. It is hard to walk in stability in the world today, there are so many voices and opinions tugging and pulling us. I needed to be reminded of God's love and guidance yesterday. I needed to have reinforced that His Word, His Spirit and His People are the ways that He guides us. Sometimes we tend to really complicate things with our musings and our ideas.
I think what made yesterday special to me was that before I could answer the question "do I want to please God, I needed to know, again, that He Loved me. And He does, always has, always will....You see, it just comes down to love....God did for us what we could not do for ourselves and He did it through His love.
Now, there's a question...My immediate thoughts were of my own father and the struggle in my own life for his acceptance and approval. I think it is only natural to want those things...the assurance of God's love for us is sometimes hard to handle when the assurance of our earthly father's love is not so sure. And that pleasing thing is another story entirely. The acceptance and the resting in God's love has brought to me over time the knowledge that I am pleasing to my Father.
My struggle with this in my own father's eyes is not unlike that of others. I did things over the years that were displeasing to him and that displeasure was evident. I even tried in ways to get him to see that there were the things that he did wrong and how they affected me. In my haste to get my acknowledgement, I probably neglected to give him the props that he was due for his struggles to put a roof over our heads and food in our bellies. In the years since my father's passing, I have reconciled his love and acceptance of me. He did better for me, than his own dad did for him, I did better for mine than he did for me, and mine will do better for their children. Why, because we hope to learn from the shortcomings and attempt to be better and we take what was good and continue to pass that on.
The thing about God is that He is described as a generous God, who, if we ask Him, will give to us wisdom. The point of the message to me was that when I doubt, that is okay. When I need wisdom, then I just ask of God and He will give me that wisdom. I must place that trust in Him alone and not be unstable. It is hard to walk in stability in the world today, there are so many voices and opinions tugging and pulling us. I needed to be reminded of God's love and guidance yesterday. I needed to have reinforced that His Word, His Spirit and His People are the ways that He guides us. Sometimes we tend to really complicate things with our musings and our ideas.
I think what made yesterday special to me was that before I could answer the question "do I want to please God, I needed to know, again, that He Loved me. And He does, always has, always will....You see, it just comes down to love....God did for us what we could not do for ourselves and He did it through His love.
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