A Father's Story

When I first found out that I was going to be father, I had no idea of what to do. Barely out of high school, the mere thought of being a parent terrified me. How could I possibly take care of a child when I could barely take care of myself? What kind of chance could the kid possibly have with me as his father?

Honestly, I didn’t know if I was even capable of being a good father. After all, I had absolutely no experience in this department. But there was no turning back now. There would soon be a brand new baby boy in the world who would be calling me Dad. My life was about to change…….

So, I prepared the baby seat in my car for my new little passenger. We would take many rides together in the upcoming years. And although my infant son was still developing his communication skills, a strong bond was already forming. The anxiety of being a new father was quickly disappearing. And I started to believe that I might actually be able to pull off this father thing after all.

Before long, I was sitting through Disney movies, coaching Little League baseball and running to countless basketball games on the weekends. And whether we were casting our fishing lines into a nearby creek or tossing a football in the backyard, the quality time we spent together was priceless. And although I’m sure I taught my son a few things, what I got in return was much, much more. Fatherhood is truly a gift.

While raising a child is rewarding, there are occasional bumps in the road. The initial reaction of most parents is to protect the child. And although I didn’t really understand it at first, I soon realized that you must allow your kids to learn from their mistakes. As my son got older, when he occasionally got into a jam, he knew that I would be there to support and advise him. But he would ultimately have to solve his own problems. From this, he learned responsibility.

In the blink of an eye, the first weekend of June 2004 was here. This would turn out to be one of the toughest weekends of my life. On the Friday of that weekend, my son graduated high school. Obviously, I was as proud as any parent could be. We celebrated and had a nice graduation party at the house the following day.

On the Sunday of that same weekend, my emotions took a u-turn. This was the day that my son would head off to boot camp for the US Army. That afternoon, several family members gathered at the house and waited for the Army recruiter to pick him up. As they drove away, I felt like part of my life was driving away with them. I realized that this would be the last time I would see my boy. The next time I saw him, he would be a man.

And although this took place over eighteen years, it seemed like it happened overnight.

My son is all grown up now and is ready to take on the world. He has already accomplished many things in his young life but his potential is limitless.. I’m not really sure how much impact I had on his life. But he has become a tremendous young man and that’s more than any parent could ask for.

Shortly before he shoved off to boot camp, my son said to me, “Dad, I hope I can make you proud.” The truth of the matter is that I have been proud ever since the first day he entered this world. From that point, anything he accomplished was icing on the cake. My pride continues to grow everyday.

Although this is my personal story, I’m sure there are countless Dad’s with similar tales. I applaud everyone of you. I truly believe that the character of a man can be judged by how good of a father he is.

Happy Father’s Day!

KW

Business Travel

I'm writing this as I fly home from Chicago. Yeah, I know it's not a big deal, but since joining the Mile High Club is out of the question, this is about exciting as it's going to get. So, let's talk....

Over the past twenty years, between training and remote projects, I've occasionally been required to travel for my job. When I was younger, traveling brought a welcomed change to the regular routine. Not only did I get to see some new places and eat at nice restaurants, but the company picked up the tab. Yeah, there was a little work involved, but I still viewed it as a mini-vacation.

The one thing I still haven't learned after all of these years is how to pack. While most guys can bring all of their necessities in a small carry-on bag, I bring along a gargantuan sized suitcase. It usually takes about three airline agents to check it in at the airport. When I meet up with my co-workers in the remote airport, they will usually say stuff like, “Damn boy, are you moving out here or what? You don't have a body in that bag, do you???”

What can I say? I like to be prepared!

For instance, as senseless as it is, I always pack some workout clothes. These days, the only workout that I get is the walk down to the hotel bar to grab a beer. However, when I was younger, things were somewhat different. I would sometimes run on the treadmill while sipping on a Miller Lite (thus the need for the workout clothes). But I eventually got tired of the strange looks and snide comments from the hotel staff. So, now I avoid the workout room altogether and just sip my beer in the bar. (But I still pack my workout clothes, just in case.)

Here's another thing I used to do. When I arrived at my hotel and unpacked my suitcase, I would notice all of my dress clothes were severely wrinkled. So, unless I wanted to look like a shar-pei at the office in the morning, I had to come up with a plan. My solution was to turn the hot water on in the shower and let it run for about an hour and a half. This would create steam that would take the wrinkles out of Joan River's ass! The good news was that my clothes looked great. The bad news was that everyone would be taking cold showers for the rest of the evening. Years later, someone informed me that there was an household item called an iron that worked pretty well on wrinkled clothes. I soon learned to use the iron and hot showers were back on at the Hilton!

While I was in Denver for a training class years ago, I had another interesting adventure. Back then, the company I worked for was really cutting back on expenses. The only way they would pay for a rental car is if you were an international employee. So, the first day of class I started to introduce myself to the rest of my classmates. Eventually, one of the guys replies in a heavy German accent. Jackpot! I've got wheels for the rest of the trip!

The only thing we had in common was that we were both fans of the German rock band, the Scorpions. But that was enough to secure shotgun for the week. I'm figuring that since this guy is from Germany, he's going to be driving an Audi or perhaps a Mercedes sedan. But to my amazement, he introduces me to his Ford Escort! Now, I'm well over six foot and two hundred pounds. And the German guy is even bigger than me. So, the thought of us squeezing into this tiny ass car all week was downright depressing. Then, just when I thought it couldn't get any worse, he tells me that we've got two more guys who will be riding with us!

Keep in mind that we're in Colorado. There's a lot of mountains. A Ford Escort is probably the worst possible vehicle four grown men could have in this situation. As we ascended up one of the steeper graded roads, I actually thought the car was going to start rolling backwards. We were all scared but no one wanted to say anything. We just put our fate in the driving skills of the German. After all, he's driven on the Autobahn, right? Well, during this tense moment, for reasons unknown, the he spills a cup of coffee into one the heating vents on the dashboard. Then, he instinctively turns the fan on high. This causes coffee to spray out onto everyone. Somehow, this amuses him. I guess they don't have Comedy Central in Europe? This was all I could take. I made up my mind that the was going to be my last road trip with the German. Once we got back to the hotel, I immediately started my search for a new international friend. (As a parting shot to the German, I tell him that everything that the Scorpions released after Love At First Sting sucked!)

In the hotel bar, I soon struck up a conversation with a nice Brit who was in my class. His name was Ian and he had a Toyota Forerunner. I got along splendidly with the ol' chap..

I ran into a new dilemma on my last trip. I bought a six pack of some really good beer. When I got to my room, I realized that the bottles were not the twist-off type. (Afraid of setting off the alarms and being strip searched by the TSA agents at the airport, I left my bottle opening at home.) As crazy as it sounds, I panicked. I started looking around the room for anything that would serve as an impromptu opener. I tried the TV remote, the curtain rods, the bed frame and every piece of plumbing I could see. But nothing seemed to work. My last option was the security latch on my entrance door. So, I put the bottle into the mechanism and yanked it. The cap finally came off of the bottle but I wound up spilling half of the beer into the electronic door lock. It sparked and made a few strange noises, but it only lasted for a minute or so. Amazingly, the lock still worked afterward. Maybe next time, I'll just stick with the twist-off bottles!

Traveling is always an adventure........

KW

Day 45 - The Spill Continues

Alright, now we’re into day 45 and the oil is still gushing into the gulf. Recent efforts by BP have continued to be unsuccessful. The “top kill” method last week was useless. And yesterday’s attempt to cut through the vertical oil pipe ended with the saw getting stuck. The good news is that the pipe was eventually cut with a pair of “shears” (where can I get a pair of those??). The bad news is that now the oil is blowing out of the open pipe like an underwater smokestack.

And predictably, President Obama continues to distance himself from the situation. When not reminding us that it’s BP’s fault, the President found some time to relax in Chicago and listen to Paul McCartney at the White House. The Messiah serenaded the First Lady with the Beatles classic song, Michelle. I guess now that the original love story is over between Tipper and Al, the Obama’s win by default? (By the way, McCartney took the opportunity to do a little Bush bashing. Basically saying that the former President doesn’t know what a library is. Hey Paul, just shut up and sing asshole!)

So, the Obama's partied while the situation in the Gulf grew dire. Balls of oil were floating towards Florida. And some experts say that the oil slick could reach the east coast within weeks.

People are growing increasingly impatient with Obama’s lackadaisical attitude towards the spill. The Ragin’ Cajun himself, James Carville, blasted Obama recently. As he said, “people are dyin’ down here”! (Hmmm, sounds a little like what we heard during Hurricane Katrina. Can you imagine Bush having a sing-along with Sir Paul during that one?)

Even film director Spike Lee has urged the Prez to stop being so calm and collected. He says it’s time to “go off!” That’s right! You tell ‘em, Spike!

And although not for the same reasons, media whore Jesse Jackson has also chimed in. He’s suggested that we boycott BP. What’s wrong Super Jesse? Did BP not fulfill their minority hiring quota for the month? Seriously, how is any of this going to help anything? Many BP gas stations are privately owned. If we boycott them, the small business owner feels the brunt of the pain.

In his defense, earlier in the week, Obama did indeed send someone from the administration down the Gulf region. Attorney General Eric Holder took the trip south, but not to help with the efforts or anything. He was just going to down to see if there were any grounds to pursue criminal charges against the BP folks. Yeah, this should really help them concentrate on stopping the leak. Hurry up and plug up the leak so you can go to jail!

And there have even been rumblings about the government taking over BP. Wow, from the recent government takeover of the banking and auto industries, as well as the healthcare system, I never saw this one coming! (By the way, isn’t BP a British owned company? So, how could the US government take it over even if it wanted to?)

But honestly, do you really think that the Feds want to be involved in this mess? The minute they take it over, it becomes their problem. Sorry, but our government’s ability to solve problems makes me a little less than optimistic.

So, there will be another attempt to cap the oil leak in the next day or so. If it actually works is anyone’s guess. We can only hope so. Then we can finally move on to the next phase: the massive clean up………

KW