My dad, Bob, is a man of very few words. He does not show a lot of emotion and growing up he really let me, be me. I was a good girl. I did not get into trouble and he knew that. He trusted me. The only time he felt he had to give his opinion was when I began dating. My father had three daughters and one very successful son. Sorry Carol!
My sister, Carol, was the oldest. She was thin, blonde and very pretty. She began the dating thing for the girls of the family. My sister, Michelle, was next. She got married soon after she began dating and my father was very upfront about the fact that he did not like her selection. He was always very nice to my sister's husband but you knew he was not thrilled. I was next on the list to date. I was a little different because I was the youngest. I was also a little more endowed then the other girls my age. On top of that the majority of my high school friends were male. I got along better with men. I still do. I guess its because I like sports, I am athletic and I am not always real girly. Well my dad had no problem telling me how he felt about the men in my life. When I look back now it’s a wonder I ever left the house. Here's the break down. For those that might see this I am using initials so not to offend the actual people
TZ – Big football player who told my dad, not knowing he was my dad, that he wanted "a piece of that" before summer was over. We all worked together at a camp and Ted did not know he was talking to my dad. Needless to say that was not a good summer for Ted.
JB – Liked by my Dad. Said he was " a nice boy." He was the mastermind behind some car "decorating" in my teens but all in all a very nice boy. He is also now a really nice man. On of the few men in my life that I can say that about.
PD – Best friend to JB. I was crazy about this guy in my teens. According to my Dad he was "sneaky." So it was always me saying, "Hey dad I am going out with sneaky and nice boy tonight."
BG – Thought I was going to marry this guy. First serious relationship. My dad had no opinion of him. That was not good either. He said he could take him or leave him. He treated me really well and we were together for a while. I could still call and talk to him today.
MB – Liked by my Dad now, not all that liked as a teen. My dad called him "spinner." Not sure why but it had something to do with the fact that his eyes were always half open. Said he was always spinnin in his head. I laugh about this now because I was a pretty naïve teen and I did not know what he meant. I do now. This was the bad boy that for some reason otherwise intelligent woman are drawn too. I could not get enough of MB. He would drop his girlfriend off at home and come and pick me up. We did doughnuts in the snow and stole street signs. He carried me over his shoulder back to his car at Dave's beach, because it was raining. He had seats in his El Camino that spun all the way around. As a teenage girl I thought he just wanted to hang out and be friends. Luckily for me I had another friend, AP, who new differently and saved me from MB. I still see MB and there's a part of me that still lusts after the bad boy
LB – Not liked by my dad at all. Said he was "spoiled." Said he was a nice enough guy but could tell he did not like to get his hands dirty. We broke up on Valentines night at a dance. We broke up because his friend DH said out loud, "wow your girlfriend has big guns." My boyfriends reply was "yeah I know." I looked at him, found MB and left the dance. That’s the only encounter I had with DH and I am pretty happy about that. Part of me loves MB for rescuing me from that night.
AV – Liked by both my mom and Dad. My mom said he would be "very handsome and successful" when he grew up. My Dad said he was a "stand up" kind of guy. As a teenager that was hard to believe because he was such a goofy guy. He made everyone laugh. He was president of the teen club. He was fun and great. Well they were right, today he is handsome and successful. Way to go AV.
AP – Best friend to AV. My best friend too. My dad has always said, "there's something about him." I'm sure that’s not a good phrase. He saved me from MB and has been my best friend for almost twenty years. Trust me when I say it took a lot to save me from MB. I was pretty set on spending some time with him. This is also the only person who I have screamed obscenities at in the rain barefoot in front of his house with his mother watching. I am sure like my dad she has her own opinion of me.
Sunday, August 20, 2006
Saturday, August 19, 2006
Things I learned in Texas
I have lived in Texas for 2 years now. There are certain things in Texas that one coming from New England should know ahead of time. Consider this your warning.
1) Don’t drink from a garden hose in Texas. The water coming out of the hose will be Hot. Not just hot but make brewed tea, kind of hot. You will burn your grass, flowers and your mouth. Trust me I know.
2) Carrying Firearms – Texans can carry firearms and it is up to the owner of a store to post signs saying that guns cannot be brought in. True story. A man open fired on his ex wife and son outside of a court house after their divorce hearing. He killed his ex wife, injured his son and others. Another man driving by in his pick up truck (of course) stopped, shot and killed the man with the gun. The man driving the truck was not charged.
3) Pride – Texans have pride. Big pride. They put the star of Texas on their house and in mosaic on their driveway. The wear the Texas flag on shirts and say things like, Long Live Texas. In school they not only say The Pledge of Allegiance to the United States flag they say The Pledge of Allegiance to the flag of Texas. My daughters know it by heart.
4) Religion – The Texans I have met have been very conservative and religious people. They want prayer in schools. In fact, I attended a school committee meeting, where my oldest daughter was getting an award, and before the meeting began we all stood and prayed. What!!!! I was a little shocked. It was not just a general prayer either, it was a God Bless Jimmie and Sue prayer. Everyone there said a great big Amen.
5) Football – Next to Baptist this is the second biggest religion in Texas. High school football stadiums here rival Gillette stadium. The closest high school just installed a hundred thousand dollar press box for their stadium. People buy season tickets for high school games. My daughter is in 8th grade. Her schools football team has been fully outfitted and practicing from the first day of school. She will not have books in her classroom for another week. Do you see a problem!
6) Beauty – Texas woman are beautiful woman. They are very girlie and they dress wonderfully every where they go. They don’t run to Walmart in sweat pants after just getting up. They do their hair, make up and clothes before running to Walmart. Just a heads up for those woman like me who tend to run errands looking like I just rolled out of bed. You will meet your friends mothers and you may be embarrassed that you are not in full mother gear.
7) Men in Texas drive trucks. Big Dodge Ram pick up trucks. Leaving a rodeo one night I heard a woman ask the man she was with where he parked their car. His response was, "next to a truck." Needless to say they wandered around the field aimlessly for twenty minutes weaving in and out of all the trucks there.
8) Texas men are nice and are nice to woman. It took me a little while to get used to this because at first I kind of found it offensive. I have now gotten over that feeling. Men in Texas will carry your groceries to your car even if they don’t know you. They will help you get things from the top shelf in the store if you cant reach. They will call you darling and hon and sweetie. They will open doors and refuse to walk through before you. They say things like yes ma'am if they don’t know you. They will tell random woman how nice they look. They also wear belt buckles that you could harness the suns power with and boots and hats.
9) Jury duty is more serious in Texas. Hello we have the death penalty and in the words of Ron White, "we use it." I had jury duty two weeks ago. Both cases were felony murder cases. I was relieved that I was not chosen Maybe they heard my accent and said, "hell no."
10) George W is liked. That’s all I have to say on this one. Its self explanatory!
11) Phrase:
Fixin To - means that you are going to do something. Example, "I'm fixin to get me some lunch."
Down the road a bit – This could mean and hour or two away
Never wear a cowboys hat unless your prepared to try out the cowboy. I might have messed this one up but I was told this by a close friend as I went to reach for a mans hat to try it on my head. I stopped after that.
Road hard and put away wet – This refers to a horse. Not in my mind but oh well.
12) Sweet Tea. Sweet tea is the official drink of Texas. They also have chips shaped like the state. Bud makes a beer just for Texas and only sells it in Texas. Shiner Bock and Amber Bock. You can get the best Mexican, Tex Mex and barbeque in Texas.
So Come to Texas. Look me up. We can have a Shiner together.
1) Don’t drink from a garden hose in Texas. The water coming out of the hose will be Hot. Not just hot but make brewed tea, kind of hot. You will burn your grass, flowers and your mouth. Trust me I know.
2) Carrying Firearms – Texans can carry firearms and it is up to the owner of a store to post signs saying that guns cannot be brought in. True story. A man open fired on his ex wife and son outside of a court house after their divorce hearing. He killed his ex wife, injured his son and others. Another man driving by in his pick up truck (of course) stopped, shot and killed the man with the gun. The man driving the truck was not charged.
3) Pride – Texans have pride. Big pride. They put the star of Texas on their house and in mosaic on their driveway. The wear the Texas flag on shirts and say things like, Long Live Texas. In school they not only say The Pledge of Allegiance to the United States flag they say The Pledge of Allegiance to the flag of Texas. My daughters know it by heart.
4) Religion – The Texans I have met have been very conservative and religious people. They want prayer in schools. In fact, I attended a school committee meeting, where my oldest daughter was getting an award, and before the meeting began we all stood and prayed. What!!!! I was a little shocked. It was not just a general prayer either, it was a God Bless Jimmie and Sue prayer. Everyone there said a great big Amen.
5) Football – Next to Baptist this is the second biggest religion in Texas. High school football stadiums here rival Gillette stadium. The closest high school just installed a hundred thousand dollar press box for their stadium. People buy season tickets for high school games. My daughter is in 8th grade. Her schools football team has been fully outfitted and practicing from the first day of school. She will not have books in her classroom for another week. Do you see a problem!
6) Beauty – Texas woman are beautiful woman. They are very girlie and they dress wonderfully every where they go. They don’t run to Walmart in sweat pants after just getting up. They do their hair, make up and clothes before running to Walmart. Just a heads up for those woman like me who tend to run errands looking like I just rolled out of bed. You will meet your friends mothers and you may be embarrassed that you are not in full mother gear.
7) Men in Texas drive trucks. Big Dodge Ram pick up trucks. Leaving a rodeo one night I heard a woman ask the man she was with where he parked their car. His response was, "next to a truck." Needless to say they wandered around the field aimlessly for twenty minutes weaving in and out of all the trucks there.
8) Texas men are nice and are nice to woman. It took me a little while to get used to this because at first I kind of found it offensive. I have now gotten over that feeling. Men in Texas will carry your groceries to your car even if they don’t know you. They will help you get things from the top shelf in the store if you cant reach. They will call you darling and hon and sweetie. They will open doors and refuse to walk through before you. They say things like yes ma'am if they don’t know you. They will tell random woman how nice they look. They also wear belt buckles that you could harness the suns power with and boots and hats.
9) Jury duty is more serious in Texas. Hello we have the death penalty and in the words of Ron White, "we use it." I had jury duty two weeks ago. Both cases were felony murder cases. I was relieved that I was not chosen Maybe they heard my accent and said, "hell no."
10) George W is liked. That’s all I have to say on this one. Its self explanatory!
11) Phrase:
Fixin To - means that you are going to do something. Example, "I'm fixin to get me some lunch."
Down the road a bit – This could mean and hour or two away
Never wear a cowboys hat unless your prepared to try out the cowboy. I might have messed this one up but I was told this by a close friend as I went to reach for a mans hat to try it on my head. I stopped after that.
Road hard and put away wet – This refers to a horse. Not in my mind but oh well.
12) Sweet Tea. Sweet tea is the official drink of Texas. They also have chips shaped like the state. Bud makes a beer just for Texas and only sells it in Texas. Shiner Bock and Amber Bock. You can get the best Mexican, Tex Mex and barbeque in Texas.
So Come to Texas. Look me up. We can have a Shiner together.
Thursday, August 17, 2006
Be Yourself
I am writing tonight to tell those young and old to be yourself. Live your life on your terms. If you want to dye your hair pink and wear combat boots then do it. If you want to spend your vacation reading, then spend your vacation reading. Do not live your life for someone else. Do not live your life the way you think others want you to live it. Live your life the way you want to live it. If you want a tattoo, get a tattoo. If you want to wear a mini skirt at 33 then do it. Life is way too short for regrets.
I have been faced with this reality in my own life lately. I have been touched by illness and death so much that I have reached this conclusion. Why are we spending the only time we have here doing the things that other people want us to do and being who we are not. For those of you that live life as yourself everyday, I applaud you! I have come across very few people like this and when I do they are usually happy people.
I know people who are gay and are living a straight lifestyle because thats what is expected. They are misreable. They make those around them misreable. I know people who hate their job but do it because it was expected of them. If you hate your job then take some steps to change it. Be happy because you only have one chance to be happy. If you are in an unhappy marriage then take steps to either fix it or move on. It is tough,yet easy to say but it is true. Only we control our own happiness.
I have been faced with this reality in my own life lately. I have been touched by illness and death so much that I have reached this conclusion. Why are we spending the only time we have here doing the things that other people want us to do and being who we are not. For those of you that live life as yourself everyday, I applaud you! I have come across very few people like this and when I do they are usually happy people.
I know people who are gay and are living a straight lifestyle because thats what is expected. They are misreable. They make those around them misreable. I know people who hate their job but do it because it was expected of them. If you hate your job then take some steps to change it. Be happy because you only have one chance to be happy. If you are in an unhappy marriage then take steps to either fix it or move on. It is tough,yet easy to say but it is true. Only we control our own happiness.
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