Remembering Bob

A few days ago i had a chance to go to a Reggae festival where bands paid homage to the legendary pioneer of reggae music Mr.Bob Marley. I'm a HUGE Marley fan, always have been, ever since i was a little kid I was bobbing my head to his music. He's a total legend. Nowadays reggae music other than Bob's stuff is just o.k. for me. Songs these days dont seem to have the conviction and depth that Bob had and wrote about.

As some of you may know (like my wife and her ghetto KB park crew) when you're high you get the munchies and you want to snack and grub on anything that's edible. I have never experienced that but have heard a whole bunch of stories from the wife. That night i saw with my own two eyes what an impact a plant can make on one's judgment.

I was not only there for the festival though, i was there to help my friends Chad and Kara out with the apple carts that they have at the IPayone center. I had a blast! I made new friends and learned how to slice apples with the best of them. I also learned how to dip cheesecake and bananas. Anyways back to the impact of the plant, Chad was running back and forth from cart to cart and while he was gone Veronica (new friend) and I were working and a guy came up to our cart hazed eyes and all. He ordered a "KILLER" but he wanted it sliced, so we hooked him up. Here's how jacked up he was, a killer is five bucks and he gave me a hundy (slang for Hundred dollar bill) i went to get him his change and turned back around and he was walking away. Now a few thoughts ran through my head... should i just let him go and hook my friends Chad and Kara up with a huge tip or should i chase him down and give him his change. I thought about it for about 10 seconds and then ran after him. It was the right thing to do.

Thanks to my friend Chad I had a chance to be a good citizen, good employee and a good example for all of the Rastafarians to see. I also had a headache going into that evening but thanks to all of the burning bushes in the building i may be healed forever.

Long live BOB!

One of my favorite people....

I've been thinking of possibly signing off of blog-land forever and i'm still debating that. However i couldn't sign off without a blog about My mother in law. She is one of those people who has a genuine heart and love for people. You know they say that when you marry your wife you're pretty much marrying the family too. My mother in law makes me glad that i did. Anyways i decided to make a top ten list of the things that i love about my mother in law:

10. She makes the best Mandarin-Orange cake in the world.
9. She works hard at anything she does.
8. She introduced me to the Magic Eraser.
7. She likes my Soy Sauce Chicken.
6. She cooks really well, i'll eat anything she makes, except anything with raisins.
5. She's a bargain shopper at the grocery stores.
4. She loves her family.
3. She loves her Husband
2. She loves her grandkids Cameron and Riley.
1. She loves me and Lauren.

The list of the things that make her great can go and on! What can i say, i'm a pretty blessed son-in-law!

Refreshing....

Yesterday was a pretty rough one for me, physically, emotionally and spiritually. It was one of those days that i wanted to go away as soon as the morning started. I never could get myself rolling, I was kind of a grump the whole day. I felt soo yucky and for being the guy who absolutely LOVES community and people, i did not want to be seen in public or talk to anyone.

I learned a valuable lesson yesterday. Mid-afternoon I realized that i had to get out and do some soul searching. I decided to take a drive and ask God to lead me to the place where he felt i needed to go to collect my thoughts. He lead me to my Father's burial site. This past January marked the ten year anniversary since he passed, wow it honestly feels like it just yesterday. Anyways I pull up to Greenwood mortuary and there were quite a few people paying respects to there loved ones. When i arrived to his stone, i started to weep and weep for about a good half hour. I talked a little about how i missed him and how i wish he was here to play with my boys and speak his broken english to my lovely wife. I tried to catch him up on all of things that he was missing.

After being there an hour and half i realized why God lead me there. One: was to cry and to release all of the things that were causing my soul and my heart to callous. It's amazing how refreshing it is to cry, there is a sense of relief and a sweet aroma of God's grace in crying. The second reason i was there was to be reminded of the legacy he left behind. I sat there and found myself laughing and crying conversing with a man who's been dead for 10 years. Crazy huh?!

Anyhow i'm sitting here with my calendar and purposefully making dates with my "Pops" to cry and laugh more. Did i forget to mention that he's a good listener too!

Tofa.

Aunt Dani... you rock!!!

Today marks the 1 month anniversary of Riley's surgery. He is doing soo awesome! These past few weeks I've had a front row seat to watching the hand of God move in Riley's life. Through this process i've been reminded of how important it is to surround yourself with people who love GOD and love you.

As i'm typing this out, I hear my Aunt Dani laughing in the background at my crazy son Cameron's antics. That brings a smile to my face and my heart. Thanks Aunt Dani for being an example of love to us!