Highland Lakes

I was on my way to work this morning and I heard that old song "Convoy" I started thinking about Pop-Pop.

Then last night when I was coming home from work, my mind began to drift back to Highland Lakes. That's where I lived with Grandma and Pop-Pop Johnson. I talk to Grandma about all the things that I remember from being there as a kid. It never fails to amaze her how many detailed memories are stored away in my mind.

That big blue house was always swarming with activity. This time of year was always special there. The big piles of freshly raked leaves in the backyard always tempting me to jump in. Or I would get Brandy & Shadow to run right through the piles, while they were chasing after sticks. Thanksgiving was always special. There we always so many people who would be there for the feast.

The Thanksgiving that I remember most is the one where Aunt Nancy tried to teach how to fling mashed potatoes from a spoon. My first attempt hit Pop-Pop in the face right after he said Grace. Then came the mini food fight. That image still brings a smile to the face of everyone who hears about it... or was there.

Early Bender

I was on my way to work this morning, driving along Old Milford Road. I was following behind a white car without incident. Down by Pocono Mountain Lake Estates, a Honda Civic pulled out behind me & proceeded to tailgate.

As I drove along, I noticed in my mirrors how close the car was to me. I thought, "It's really going to suck if she hits me." Sure enough, the car in front of me braked to avoid a deer crossing the road. I too hit my brakes, stopping with pleanty of room. Then I felt the thud. That wonderful Civic had just bumped me.

I got out, preparing to see some damage on my bumper. Out of the Civic comes a skinny, young girl apologizing profusely. I touched her arm & told her it would be ok. I looked at my car, thankfully, there was no damage. The girl, all of 19, kept apologizing. I told her it was fine, there was no damage & no injuries, so there was nothing to worry about. She was crying because she hit a deer the night before & thought that her father was going to kill her. She kept asing if I wanted her phone number or her insurance information. I again told her not to worry about it because there was nothing to report. She started thanking me, profusly. I told her that she needed to give a little more space between cars since we were on an back road, at sunrise, that was coated in black ice. I also, politly, told her to be glad she hit me & not one of these scum-bags out of NYC, looking for a way to make a quick buck by suing her.

Now, I know you're all laughing it up that I told someone not to drive so close so another car, given my history of "drafting". Say what you will, but when it comes to dawn, dusk, back roads, and deer season, I DO know better. The highway is a whole seperate issue...

UFC 91 Thoughts

It was said to be the biggest UFC event of the year.........and simply put, they delivered. With some top fighters competing, it's hard to ignore that these were going to be some good fights. And we even underestimated that by far. Now, because eight of the nine fights ended quickly and they ended up showing every one on the event, I'll be doing a quicker recap of them, besides the main event of course.

The undercard had some promising fights, and ended up being insanely entertaining. Matt Brown defeated Ryan Thomas via 2nd round submission in a welterweight fight he was losing, but kept hanging on until he locked on a nice armbar. Aaron Riley and Jorge Gurgel had a great war at lightweight that Riley won by coming back from the 1st and wining the last 2 rounds to get the decision, and may have gotten Fight of the Night honors. In another lightweight fight, Mark Bocek easily dominated Alvin Robinson, and got a 3rd round submission win. In what was easily the Knockout of the Night, Jeremy Stephens knocked out Rafael dos Anjos in the 3rd round with a BEAUTIFUL uppercut that dropped him. This lightweight fight could've been Fight of the Night too considering dos Anjos was winning while going for submission attempts left and right.

The main card equally shared some great highlights too. The first fight was between middleweights Nate Quarry and Demian Maia. I like Quarry a lot, but this was a bad fight for him to take, and he was submitted in the end of round one by a rear-naked choke by a top-class jiu-jitsu fighter. Next was a heavyweight fight between Gabriel Gonzaga and newcomer Josh Hendricks. As was expected, Gonzaga ended up connecting with a right in the first round, and got the TKO win with ease. Another welterwight fight was next as Dustin Hazelett and Tamden McCrory. This was a great fight while it lasted, but Hazelett locked on an armbar that almost tore McCrory's arm off, and forced him to tap out in the 1st. It easily got Submission of the Night honors. Lastly, there was a highly-anticipated lightweight fight between Kenny Florian and Joe Stevenson. Interesting to note that Stevenson was expected to hold his own......but, Florian dominated Stevenson, and got a rear-naked choke in the 1st round to get the win. Amazing performance.

Then it was time for the big main event fight for the heavyweight championship between Randy Couture and Brock Lesnar. I should mention that soon after the fight started, the power went out here at home, and we all freaked out, but it came back on for us to see the end of the fight. Regardless, we ended up staying up until 3 AM to watch the fight again during the 2nd showing, and see all of what happened. Lesnar won the first round by getting a couple of takedowns, but most of the fight was them attempting to physically control eachother. The second round saw both fighters tiring already, but both were connecting with some hard strikes; Couture drew first blood when Lesnar got cut above his right eye. And then it happened......Lesnar caught Couture with a right-hand that dropped him, and Lesnar got on top, and hammered Couture until the referee stopped the fight. With that, Brock Lesnar, in only his 4th fight of his career, became the UFC Heavyweight Champion.

A fantastic event if I do say so myself. And the UFC is still looking to top it with their last pay-per-view of the year, including 2 title fights and other highly competitive fights to boot. And even though I'll be on my vacation in California during that event, with some luck I'll still be able to see it...........please let there be some luck.........

-Joe

R.I.P. Opa

My grandfather, or "opa" in German, has recently passed away. It's been hard on the family on that side, but we're all doing OK.

Opa was one of the funniest guys I've known. He's always joked around, especially with busting on everybody's chops now and then. Even when he went a little far from time to time, you couldn't help but laugh (as long as you weren't on the receiving end of it). But aside from that, he was known for his stories too. He always had a good one to tell, and as an adult that was always the thing I looked forward to whenever I saw him. Any goofy story he had, any knowledge he imparted from what he knew, and even some of the good dirty jokes were always entertaining. It'll be hard for me to find tales like that now.

He won't be forgotten, and I know he made sure of that while he was around. Good job Opa. You did just that easily.

-Joe

Commercial Holiday

Ok, I'm going to take a page out of my mom's book & list a pet peeve...Why the Hell is there Christmas stuff up already?!? Look, I love Christmas as much as the next person, but can we get through Thanksgiving before we fall into the commercialism that is now the Christmas season?

Thanksgiving is a treasured American tradition, a time when families from all over come together to celebrate... what?

Nobody really seems to know. People just sit down at their tables, over stuff themselves with turkey, while watching football & don't realize that we're celebrating the Pilgrims harvest. Go out & ask people for the origin of Thanksgiving. How many of them will look at you like you have nine hundred heads, before saying something along the lines of, "It's when we gather together as a family & say what we're thankful for."

Ok, well that explanation is the intended spirit of the holiday. But do we really sit around & think about how blessed we are on Thanksgiving? We all celebrate it out of habit, but the true spirit of its meaning seems lost. The true MODERN nature of Thanksgiving appears the next day.

On Black Friday, the Pavlovian bells of retail ring- signaling for tens of thousands people, likened to salivating dogs, be released into store aisles everywhere. Perhaps we don't have time to consider the our blessings when every where we look there are signs for the latest, greatest sale of the season.

Growing Up

25 Signs You Have Grown Up

1. Your house plants are alive, and you can't smoke any of them.

2. Having sex in a twin bed is out of the question.

3. You keep more food than beer in the fridge.

4. 6:00 AM is when you get up, not when you go to bed.

5. You hear your favorite song in an elevator.

6. You watch the Weather Channel.

7. Your friends marry and divorce instead of "hook up" and "break up."

8. You go from 130 days of vacation time to 14.

9. Jeans and a sweater no longer qualify as "dressed up."

10. You're the one calling the police because those %&@# kids next door won't turn down the stereo.

11. Older relatives feel comfortable telling sex jokes around you.

12. You don't know what time Taco Bell closes anymore.

13. Your car insurance goes down and your car payments go up.

14. You feed your dog Science Diet instead of McDonald's leftovers.

15. Sleeping on the couch makes your back hurt.

16. You take naps.

17. Dinner and a movie is the whole date instead of the beginning of one.

18. Eating a basket of chicken wings at 3 AM would severely upset, rather than settle, your stomach.

19. You go to the drug store for ibuprofen and antacid, not condoms and pregnancy tests.

20. A $4.00 bottle of wine is no longer "pretty good shit."

21. You actually eat breakfast food at breakfast time.

22. "I just can't drink the way I used to" replaces "I'm never going to drink that much again."

23. 90% of the time you spend in front of a computer is for real work.

24. You drink at home to save money before going to a bar.

25. When you find out your friend is pregnant you congratulate them instead of asking "Oh shit what the hell happened?"

BONUS: 26: You read this entire list looking desperately for one sign that doesn't apply to you and can't find one to save your sorry old ass.

Who To Pick

Elections are right around the corner. For a while there I really had no clue who I was going to vote for. Like Leslie, I wasn't proud of not wanting to vote for either candidate. Each time I would start to lean toward one candidate they would do or say something stupid that would push me in the other direction. So, I ignored all the television commercials & did my own research to reach my decision. I'm not telling who I plan on voting for, though. I do agree with everyone that there is a time for change, I do think that change will come with youth.

Say what you will, but if you look around there have been many communities that were run by old, staunchly politicians & it took someone with youthful, naive politician to reboot the system & get success. I also feel that if there were more mature youthful individuals in government, you would see young America taking more pride in the nation. It always bothered me that the national pride that came after 9/11 has floated away for most people. I felt that pride long before & long after that day. With a family full of former military & friends still overseas it's hard to not feel pride for America & her people.

What has also seemed to drift away is the national sense that we're strong enough to survive anything that gets thrown our way. There have been cycles of war, recessions, depressions, & morons in power for as long as we've been a nation. We've always come through it. So cinch those belts a little tighter & stop whining.

First Of November

Halloween has come & gone. We were invited to a party, but opted not to go because we were concerned about leaving the house empty while all those little hoodlums went door to door seeking candy. We only had 3 trick-or-treaters the whole night long. It's ok though, more candy for us to eat! Speaking of candy, right now Sensei is digging into the candy bowl, pulling out the candy & playing with it. He's chasing it all over the dining room floor. It's too funny!

October passed very quickly...Now it's time to gear up for turkey day. I got elected to host the family festivities this year. Not really sure why anyone wants me to attempt to make a turkey again. As far as we know, it's going to be small this year; just the two of us, Mom, Sean, John & Kelsey. Mom told me that Abuelita, Russell, Dolores & Kevin are all going to South Carolina to see Debbie & the kids. I've been crawling over all of my cook books to start making my own traditional dishes for the day. I think I'm going to make a creamy sauce to put over the vegetables that takes about 2lbs of bacon fat to make. I told mom about it & her arteries were hardening just hearing about it. When a recipe makes everyone think they're going to suffer a massive MI, it's going to be good.