2 Pics From Last Night's Show.

Ladies Love Country Boys.

I saw Luke Bryan and Dierks Bentley in concert earlier tonight in Muskegon. There was another opening act that finished shortly before 7:00. I noticed that they seemed to be delaying Luke Bryan's appearance on stage. All of a sudden they introduced Terri DeBoer, who is one of the meteorologists on Wood TV8. She announced that a severe thunderstom was coming off of Lake Michigan. We all needed to evacuate the concert area and get in our cars. They told us to listen to WMUS 106.9 and they would tell us when it was safe to return. About 45 minutes or so later, it was safe again. Luke Bryan took to the stage before we even got back to the concert area. I didn't really know his music. But, he was good. He played mostly uptempo songs that got the crowd up and moving. Dierks Bentley didn't take the stage until 9:50. But, he put on a solid show for at least 90 minutes. He started his set with "Lot of Leavin' Left To Do." He continued with 5 more uptempo songs including "Trying To Stop Your Leaving" which is a song I love. He then slowed things down with "Long Trip Alone" followed by "Settle For A Slowdown". I love that song. I got a little emotional singing along to that song. He followed that with "Soon As You Can" and "Come A Little Closer". He turned "Come A Little Closer" into an anthem. The crowd loudly sang parts of the chorus. o/' Come a little closer baby...I feel like laying you down...o/' The women screamed with the line: o/' Come a little closer baby...I feel like stripping it down...o/' He laughed and told them to get their minds out of the gutter! Other highlights included the Del McCoury song "Good Man Like Me" , "My Last Name" which Dierks dedicated to all those serving in the military, "Every Mile A Memory" and the crowd favorite "What Was I Thinkin". He closed the show by bringing Luke Bryan and his band back on stage for a rousing cover of "Folsom Prison Blues". All in all, it was great concert. Oh, and there's something about hot women in cowboy hats! Giddyup! LOL!

Ivanovic Moves On, Djokovic Goes Home.

Ana Ivanovic saved two match points yesterday, one of them being saved by an extremely lucky net cord winner and defeated Natalie Dechy in 3 sets in their 2nd round match at Wimbledon. She won the final set by a score of 10-8. Novak Djokovic wasn't as lucky as he was straight-setted by Marat Safin. Safin has always had skills, he's just always been a little bit of a headcase. Many people, including Djokovic himself, considered him to be a serious threat to de-throne Roger Federer in the semi-finals. I guess he'll have to wait for next year. I'm just happy that Ana won.

The Latest.

My Dad got moved into a nursing home today. The only one they could get him into was a place called "Heartland". It's not really located near where anyone of us live. It's actually somewhat close to where I work. He was told that this was just a temporary move. A place where he could get some physical therapy before returning home in a few weeks. But, my sister and I have the same idea that it's NOT a temporary thing. He was very out of it today, very quiet. They got him to the nursing home and he has been having epileptic seizures all afternoon. I don't really know how much longer he's gonna hang on.

No Easy Way Out.

As most of you already know, my Mom is putting my Dad in a nursing home today. He has been in the hospital since last Friday. He is extremely feeble right now. He has gotten worse health-wise over the last 2 years or so. He has been way too much for my Mom to handle for quite some time, but she has resisted putting him in a nursing until now. Surprisingly, he has been pretty calm about this since they told him yesterday morning. I don't quite know if they sold it to him as a temporary move or a permanent one. Regardless, I know that it is a permanent move. The doctor told my Mom that his condition isn't going to improve. I have a lot of mixed feelings about this. As many of you know, my Dad has never been the easiest person to get along with. But, despite our differences, he is and will always be my Dad. None of us ever wished for this to happen. We always had expected him to go before we ever had to put him in a nursing home. Especially, considering that it's been over 26 years since he had his first heart attack and he's had 2 more heart attacks since then. But, he has lived longer than anybody could have predicted. Despite all the battles I have had with him over the years, I cannot help but feel sad for him right now. I don't know what lies ahead for him. I know that he will no longer be living at home with my Mom. I know that visiting my parents will probably become a higher priority for me now. I know that my Mom is doing something that probably needed to be done a long time ago. It was a tough decision for her to make, but it was the right one.

Back Home.

As I mentioned a few days ago, my Dad had a heart cath done on Friday. I stopped by the hospital before I left for Ann Arbor on Friday afternoon. One of my Dad's nurses was a really cute woman named Elizabeth. She was about 5'5" and very skinny. She had short black hair and a pretty face along with a nice smile. Unfortunately , she had a ring on her finger. After leaving the hospital I got caught in a traffic jam in downtown Holland that was caused by a freight train. I also got pissed off majorly while I was sitting in the traffic jam when some women pulled around me at an intersection to get one car ahead of me. Had I pulled forward, I would have blocked the crosswalk. I was pissed off more than usual and I hit my horn two different times. She ignored me as she played with her cellphone/blackberry. It was a bullshit driving manuveur she did. Anyway, I got to Ann Arbor about 5:40 p.m. I stopped at the mall to kill some time. The "M Den" store had most all of the Nike-related Michigan clothing on sale. Basically because Michigan now has an endorsement deal with Adidas. I bought a Michigan windbreaker and 2 Michigan t-shirts for about $50. We had dinner at Outback Steakhouse. They had 2 hot hostesses working that night. One was a pretty blonde who wearing a nice black skirt with high-heels. Late Friday night we watched the last few minutes of the movie "Love With A Proper Stranger". That was a Natalie Wood & Steve McQueen movie from 1963. Natalie Wood was hot back then. On Saturday we went to Troy, Mi. to go to the Hockeytown Authentics store. It was our first time there , but it wasn't as cool as we thought it would be. We left there and went to Novi, Mi. We had lunch at Famous Dave's and then we went to Twelve Oaks Mall for a little while. That mall is almost too big! We finally went back to Ann Arbor. We found some new tv show that was a local tv show that was a little like MST3K , except they played old horror movies as well as old commercials/local commercials and had host segments. They were showing a 1968 movie called "Spider Baby" starring Lon Chaney Jr. It was quite creepy. After that , we watched the 1967 movie "Bonnie & Clyde". Faye Dunaway was pretty hot back then. I got back home tonight and I went to see my Dad at the hospital. He was kinda sleepy when I was there , but he was very mean after I left. Especially to his night nurse. I feel bad that they have to deal with my Dad. I guess everyone gets to see what we deal with on a daily basis. It's not pretty. He may get to go home on Tuesday , but that's not completely for certain. We'll know more in a day or so.

So So Long.

Just a little post before I get away from here for the weekend. Just another weekend trip to Ann Arbor. My Dad is having another heart cath today. He is probably going to have stay at the hospital, at least overnight. In work news, my plant was bought in an auction by my former employers this week. So, the company that currently employs me will no longer exist. Liquidation, people. Although nothing really good will probably come to us as a result of this, it is news here. I am going to see Dierks Bentley in concert next Friday night in Muskegon. I'm going by myself , but I don't really care about that. The point is that I am going. I briefly talked to my best friend from high school this morning. He is dead-set against going to our 20th high school reunion next month. I don't quite understand his reasons, but if he doesn't wanna go to it, that's his choice. I'm still going to go to it. I need to see some of my old friends. I mean, I only see most of them once every 5 years! Besides, it's not as if I have a social life. It will be another nice break from my life here. Anyway, have a nice weekend.

It's The Deeds, Not The Words.

That is a line from a song called "Back And Forth" by Mint Condition. I think those are very true words. You can take that line's meaning for whatever you think it is. I am getting away this weekend. You can call it a *sanity break* , because that's what it is. I see something Imported, Light & Cold in the future for me. (Killian's Irish Red or Labatt Blue)

Happy Friday the 13th.

The Next Time...

I made it through work last night. I took a package of kleenex with me because I wasn't sure what to expect last night. We talked about my friend Chris right away. Some people hadn't heard the news yet. I guess the news of her death was first heard early yesterday morning , before we left work. I was glad that I wasn't told then. I was even glad that I did not read the early morning text message I received from a friend of mine until yesterday afternoon. I wouldn't have wanted to go to bed knowing that. It is still a mystery concerning Chris' death. She went to see her cancer doctor (Dr. Death , she called him) on April 30th. He said that everything looked great and she didn't have to come back and see him until August. Apparently , Chris was found dead at home on Tuesday evening. So , nobody knows for sure what happened. Maybe her heart gave out? I saw Chris on Monday , but I didn't get the chance to talk to her. I wanted to tell her about my parents basement being flooded and ask her if she had room for me at her house. She'd laugh at that. I thought to myself, "I'll have to ask Chris that the next time I talk to her." Well, "The Next Time" I talk to her never happened.

I Don't Understand.

About 5 years ago I became friends with a woman at work named Chris. Our friendship was pretty much based on poking fun at each other. One day I was talking about my parent's basement and Chris said, "What's that? You live in your parent's basement?" From that day on she constantly asked me how things were in my parent's basement. It was kind of a running joke between us. Chris had also taken to affectionately calling me "Corky". Last year, Chris was diagnosed with breast cancer. She was to take some time off from work to undergo chemotherapy treatments. Our friendship had been based on poking fun at each other, but she was now going to begin a battle for her life. I made a point of saying goodbye to her before she left. I wished her luck. What else can you do??? Chris was gone for a few months. During this time, she started a blog to help update friends and family on her battle with cancer. She was strong and upbeat despite how sick she became. She lost all of her hair. But, the one thing that kept her going was wanting to live to see her daughter get married. Thankfully, she was able to see her daughter get married. Chris eventually returned to work and her hair grew back. It was quite curly. I had managed to bring a laugh to her by leaving a message on her blog that simply said, "My parent's basement now has internet access!" Chris was as feisty as ever when she came back to work. She still called me "Corky" and she still poked fun at me. I had been off work the past 2 weeks. I returned to work on Sunday night. I saw Chris that night , but I didn't get a chance to talk to her. I wanted to jokingly ask her if she had room for me to stay at her house since my parent's basement got flooded with water over the weekend. Later that night, someone came around asking for donations on Chris' behalf. Chris was going to do the "Relay For Life/Race For The Cure" this upcoming weekend. I donated some money and I was happy to do so. Fast forward to this afternoon. I got a text message from a friend at work. The message read: "OMG! Did you know that Chris Goedhart died?" As I said before, I had seen Chris at work the other night. I thought she was in remission. I don't understand. I just don't understand.

Caption Me!

Ana Ivanovic Wins The French Open!

Hockeytown Victory Parade!

Ana Ivanovic Reaches The French Open Final!

The Detroit Red Wings Win The Stanley Cup!

Dona Nobis Pacem....Peace Day.

Peacemaker by Kool & The Gang: From their 1986 album "Forever"


Spinning 'round in your dance of life like a hurricane
'Round and 'round we search for love in a world gone insane.
Where's the Joy? Where's the laughter? Have we all gone astray?
Hold on tight, don't give up for love is on the way.

What we need is a peace maker
What we need is a hero for the world.
What we need is a peace maker.

This old world is calling out man, woman, child
There must be someone
Somewhere to show the beauty and the power of love.
Could be you, could be me, that someone from all nations
Come together, our world as one for we are the hero generation.

What we need is a peace maker
What we need is a mighty mountain of love.
What we need is a peace maker.

Hearts will praise that precious beauty
When the time has finally come, This song of love
These words of light will help lift you towards the sun.
We bring Peace maker, peace maker, mighty mountain of love
Peace maker, peace maker, hero for the world.

What we need is a peace maker
What we need is a mighty mountain of love.
What we need is a peace maker - a mountain of love.
What we need is a peace maker - peace maker
What we need is a peace maker - peace maker
What we need is a peace maker - a mountain of love.

They (Space Version A.K.A. Naked Version)