Have you ever found yourself absorbed in locating a replacement for your number one Fantasy Football Draft choice who gets injured in the first game of the season, when your interrupted with a stupid work problem? Geez I hate that. Yes it's that time of year again and I'm hoping that all of my off season preparation will generate results better than last years finishes – which leads into a couple of points. First, John Myklusch's first place finish in his work league last year. His victory was good enough to warrant the purchase of a new Wii. Second, a rare book review – Quiet Strength by Tony Dungy. Totally respect the man – but I'm not sure that God is all that concerned about football games, one thumb down.
Another year of weddings, when will they ever end? Surrogate son Adam tied the knot in July in New York City and nephew Chris did the same in Cincinnati in August. Links to pictures of both below. The East coast nuptials seemed like a good reason to purchase another van to satisfy that urge to drive and camp for several weeks. One less urge – the 1994 Dodge conversion van made me feel like John Steinbeck – without Charlie. You gotta know this beauty is the ultimate chick magnate. I did experience some disagreement with the dealer – so I've added a link below hoping someone googles RV America and gets a dissatisfied customers opinion. Speaking of magnates, I need to plug my good friend Becky's new business/website labelmagnets.com You never know just how much you need/depend on magnates till you get stuck without one.
Of course a regular feature of this site is the Beckett page which contains a variety of pictures from the past year and the most current from his 22 month party (they still celebrate monthly). Another very clever lead in to Pa Murphy's (not to be confused with papa Smurf) 84th birthday which was celebrated with a hearty McDonalds' breakfast with the “regulars”. I was trying to think of a Titanic parable that I could use as a lead in to my second foster son – David (13). David stayed with me for six months, six long months. With the clever use of numerous parenting tricks (far too many to list here) honed to perfection, I was able to make zero impact on another child's life. I did come up with my new slogan - “Failing, one child at a time”. I do think I've pinpointed part of the problem – Jefferson County. Kids are shuffled around and dealt out like a poker hand – no legitimate attempt to match a child's needs with what a foster parent has to offer. The County only seems interested in the “process/bureaucracy/paperwork”. If all the forms are filled out correctly – mission accomplished. I'm left with the impression that this is just a job for them and dotting “i's” and crossing “t's” is a lot easier than looking into the mind/soul of their wards. Wish I had the answer to a better system.
Lastly, many of you are aware that I've changed careers and am now a chicken farmer. The business plan is a tad weak because at the moment each hen will have to lay 15.6 eggs per day for me to break even. I do feel that I'm connecting with them and will be able to motivate them for the good of the team. I read that the new Survivor China has a chicken farmer among the mix – of course I'm not going to watch it – but my money is on that guy. The header on this page refers to the flock.