Friday, February 23, 2007
Don't Know Why...
I don't know why my last blog posted twice. Oh well...it's better than accidentally deleting it :)
Tuesday, February 20, 2007
Our trip to Okie
In support of the number 8 in the nation ranked Aggie Basketball team, Matt, Dad, and I embarked on a journey to Norman, Oklahoma to watch the game. Matt and I went to Denton on Friday and met the parents at Mexican restaurant. Great food, great drinks, not so great service. But we had a great time, regardless. Matt braved the cold on Saturday morning and ran five miles, but I stayed home. We then parted from Anne and started up to Oklahoma. We drove by enormous casino's and that's about it. I have never noticed the lack of structure in that state. We stopped for lunch at Marie Calendar's (the lady who sells frozen pot pies in the freezer section) and had a big lunch. I had meatloaf, but Dad and I both liked Anne's better, and my lunch came with a HUGE slice of world famous chocolate pie.
Yum! We got to the arean and were pleasantly suprised that they don't charge for parking and even more suprised when we saw how many Aggies showed up for the game. I seats were pretty great, we could see everything. The Oklahoma fans like to boo...the officials and our players...and part of the time they had good reason. We were a little nervous because the Ags were not playing their best and we were behind for a majority of the game. But, Acie Law stepped up in the last few minutes, Oklahoma fought the Law but the Law won. Along with the rest of the Ags...56 to 49. Very exciting game. Acie got boo'd harshly at the end of the game, but us along with the many other fans waited till' he was done with his interview and cheered him off the court. I think he liked it. We drove back to Denton and stopped at Rudy's barbecue which was scrumptious and then went home to bed. It was great to get to see my Dad all day and the Ags win. I wish that we could all just go to basketball games together instead of working, which by the way I should get back to. Stay tuned for a blog when we hopefully beat Texas in Austin (sorry Marcus). Let me emphasize the word HOPEFULLY.
Our trip to Okie
In support of the number 8 in the nation ranked Aggie Basketball team, Matt, Dad, and I embarked on a journey to Norman, Oklahoma to watch the game. Matt and I went to Denton on Friday and met the parents at Mexican restaurant. Great food, great drinks, not so great service. But we had a great time, regardless. Matt braved the cold on Saturday morning and ran five miles, but I stayed home. We then parted from Anne and started up to Oklahoma. We drove by enormous casino's and that's about it. I have never noticed the lack of structure in that state. We stopped for lunch at Marie Calendar's (the lady who sells frozen pot pies in the freezer section) and had a big lunch. I had meatloaf, but Dad and I both liked Anne's better, and my lunch came with a HUGE slice of world famous chocolate pie.
Yum! We got to the arean and were pleasantly suprised that they don't charge for parking and even more suprised when we saw how many Aggies showed up for the game. I seats were pretty great, we could see everything. The Oklahoma fans like to boo...the officials and our players...and part of the time they had good reason. We were a little nervous because the Ags were not playing their best and we were behind for a majority of the game. But, Acie Law stepped up in the last few minutes, Oklahoma fought the Law but the Law won. Along with the rest of the Ags...56 to 49. Very exciting game. Acie got boo'd harshly at the end of the game, but us along with the many other fans waited till' he was done with his interview and cheered him off the court. I think he liked it. We drove back to Denton and stopped at Rudy's barbecue which was scrumptious and then went home to bed. It was great to get to see my Dad all day and the Ags win. I wish that we could all just go to basketball games together instead of working, which by the way I should get back to. Stay tuned for a blog when we hopefully beat Texas in Austin (sorry Marcus). Let me emphasize the word HOPEFULLY.Thursday, February 1, 2007
When you think life is tough...
I was sent an article through e-mail that really made me stop and think about how lucky myself and my family is. Sometimes we think we have it tough and want to give up on things, but after reading the article below it really gives you inspiration to do more. I know that this isn't in the normal blog fashion, but I really wanted to share this. If you have time, please read this article "World's Strongest Dad" and watch the accompanying video.
[From Sports Illustrated, By Rick Reilly]
I try to be a good father. Give my kids mulligans. Work nights to pay For their text messaging. Take them to swimsuit shoots.
But compared with Dick Hoyt, I suck.
Eighty-five times he's pushed his disabled son, Rick, 26.2 miles in Marathons. Eight times he's not only pushed him 26.2 miles in a Wheelchair but also towed him 2.4 miles in a dinghy while swimming and Pedaled him 112 miles in a seat on the handlebars--all in the same day.
Dick's also pulled him cross-country skiing, taken him on his back Mountain climbing and once hauled him across the U.S. On a bike. Makes Taking your son bowling look a little lame, right?
And what has Rick done for his father? Not much--except save his life.
This love story began in Winchester , Mass. , 43 years ago, when Rick Was strangled by the umbilical cord during birth, leaving him Brain-damaged and unable to control his limbs.
"He'll be a vegetable the rest of his life;'' Dick says doctors told him And his wife, Judy, when Rick was nine months old. ``Put him in an Institution.''
But the Hoyts weren't buying it. They noticed the way Rick's eyes Followed them around the room. When Rick was 11 they took him to the Engineering department at Tufts University and asked if there was Anything to help the boy communicate. ``No way,'' Dick says he was told. ``There's nothing going on in his brain.''
"Tell him a joke,'' Dick countered. They did. Rick laughed. Turns out a Lot was going on in his brain. Rigged up with a computer that allowed Him to control the cursor by touching a switch with the side of his Head, Rick was finally able to communicate. First words? ``Go Bruins!'' And after a high school classmate was paralyzed in an accident and the School organized a charity run for him, Rick pecked out, ``Dad, I want To do that.''
Yeah, right. How was Dick, a self-described ``porker'' who never ran More than a mile at a time, going to push his son five miles? Still, he Tried. ``Then it was me who was handicapped,'' Dick says. ``I was sore For two weeks.''
That day changed Rick's life. ``Dad,'' he typed, ``when we were running, It felt like I wasn't disabled anymore!''
And that sentence changed Dick's life. He became obsessed with giving Rick that feeling as often as he could. He got into such hard-belly Shape that he and Rick were ready to try the 1979 Boston Marathon.
``No way,'' Dick was told by a race official. The Hoyts weren't quite a Single runner, and they weren't quite a wheelchair competitor. For a few Years Dick and Rick just joined the massive field and ran anyway, then They found a way to get into the race Officially: In 1983 they ran another marathon so fast they made the Qualifying time for Boston the following year.
Then somebody said, ``Hey, Dick, why not a triathlon?''
How's a guy who never learned to swim and hadn't ridden a bike since he Was six going to haul his 110-pound kid through a triathlon? Still, Dick Tried.
Now they've done 212 triathlons, including four grueling 15-hour Ironmans in Hawaii . It must be a buzzkill to be a 25-year-old stud Getting passed by an old guy towing a grown man in a dinghy, don't you Think?
Hey, Dick, why not see how you'd do on your own? ``No way,'' he says. Dick does it purely for ``the awesome feeling'' he gets seeing Rick with A cantaloupe smile as they run, swim and ride together.
This year, at ages 65 and 43, Dick and Rick finished their 24th Boston Marathon, in 5,083rd place out of more than 20,000 starters. Their best Time? Two hours, 40 minutes in 1992--only 35 minutes off the world Record, which, in case you don't keep track of these things, happens to Be held by a guy who was not pushing another man in a wheelchair at the Time.
``No question about it,'' Rick types. ``My dad is the Father of the Century.''
And Dick got something else out of all this too. Two years ago he had a Mild heart attack during a race. Doctors found that one of his arteries Was 95% clogged. ``If you hadn't been in such great shape,'' One doctor told him, ``you probably would've died 15 years ago.'' So, in a way, Dick and Rick saved each other's life.
Rick, who has his own apartment (he gets home care) and works in Boston, and Dick, retired from the military and living in Holland, Mass. , always find ways to be together. They give speeches around the country and compete in some backbreaking race every weekend, including this Father's Day.
That night, Rick will buy his dad dinner, but the thing he really wants to give him is a gift he can never buy.
``The thing I'd most like,'' Rick types, ``is that my dad sit in the chair and I push him once.''
And the video is in the link below....
http://cjcphoto.com/can/
It really makes you think.
[From Sports Illustrated, By Rick Reilly]
I try to be a good father. Give my kids mulligans. Work nights to pay For their text messaging. Take them to swimsuit shoots.
But compared with Dick Hoyt, I suck.
Eighty-five times he's pushed his disabled son, Rick, 26.2 miles in Marathons. Eight times he's not only pushed him 26.2 miles in a Wheelchair but also towed him 2.4 miles in a dinghy while swimming and Pedaled him 112 miles in a seat on the handlebars--all in the same day.
Dick's also pulled him cross-country skiing, taken him on his back Mountain climbing and once hauled him across the U.S. On a bike. Makes Taking your son bowling look a little lame, right?
And what has Rick done for his father? Not much--except save his life.
This love story began in Winchester , Mass. , 43 years ago, when Rick Was strangled by the umbilical cord during birth, leaving him Brain-damaged and unable to control his limbs.
"He'll be a vegetable the rest of his life;'' Dick says doctors told him And his wife, Judy, when Rick was nine months old. ``Put him in an Institution.''
But the Hoyts weren't buying it. They noticed the way Rick's eyes Followed them around the room. When Rick was 11 they took him to the Engineering department at Tufts University and asked if there was Anything to help the boy communicate. ``No way,'' Dick says he was told. ``There's nothing going on in his brain.''
"Tell him a joke,'' Dick countered. They did. Rick laughed. Turns out a Lot was going on in his brain. Rigged up with a computer that allowed Him to control the cursor by touching a switch with the side of his Head, Rick was finally able to communicate. First words? ``Go Bruins!'' And after a high school classmate was paralyzed in an accident and the School organized a charity run for him, Rick pecked out, ``Dad, I want To do that.''
Yeah, right. How was Dick, a self-described ``porker'' who never ran More than a mile at a time, going to push his son five miles? Still, he Tried. ``Then it was me who was handicapped,'' Dick says. ``I was sore For two weeks.''
That day changed Rick's life. ``Dad,'' he typed, ``when we were running, It felt like I wasn't disabled anymore!''
And that sentence changed Dick's life. He became obsessed with giving Rick that feeling as often as he could. He got into such hard-belly Shape that he and Rick were ready to try the 1979 Boston Marathon.
``No way,'' Dick was told by a race official. The Hoyts weren't quite a Single runner, and they weren't quite a wheelchair competitor. For a few Years Dick and Rick just joined the massive field and ran anyway, then They found a way to get into the race Officially: In 1983 they ran another marathon so fast they made the Qualifying time for Boston the following year.
Then somebody said, ``Hey, Dick, why not a triathlon?''
How's a guy who never learned to swim and hadn't ridden a bike since he Was six going to haul his 110-pound kid through a triathlon? Still, Dick Tried.
Now they've done 212 triathlons, including four grueling 15-hour Ironmans in Hawaii . It must be a buzzkill to be a 25-year-old stud Getting passed by an old guy towing a grown man in a dinghy, don't you Think?
Hey, Dick, why not see how you'd do on your own? ``No way,'' he says. Dick does it purely for ``the awesome feeling'' he gets seeing Rick with A cantaloupe smile as they run, swim and ride together.
This year, at ages 65 and 43, Dick and Rick finished their 24th Boston Marathon, in 5,083rd place out of more than 20,000 starters. Their best Time? Two hours, 40 minutes in 1992--only 35 minutes off the world Record, which, in case you don't keep track of these things, happens to Be held by a guy who was not pushing another man in a wheelchair at the Time.
``No question about it,'' Rick types. ``My dad is the Father of the Century.''
And Dick got something else out of all this too. Two years ago he had a Mild heart attack during a race. Doctors found that one of his arteries Was 95% clogged. ``If you hadn't been in such great shape,'' One doctor told him, ``you probably would've died 15 years ago.'' So, in a way, Dick and Rick saved each other's life.
Rick, who has his own apartment (he gets home care) and works in Boston, and Dick, retired from the military and living in Holland, Mass. , always find ways to be together. They give speeches around the country and compete in some backbreaking race every weekend, including this Father's Day.
That night, Rick will buy his dad dinner, but the thing he really wants to give him is a gift he can never buy.
``The thing I'd most like,'' Rick types, ``is that my dad sit in the chair and I push him once.''
And the video is in the link below....
http://cjcphoto.com/can/
It really makes you think.
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