The Tudors

In my time away from you all I've been watching the first two seasons of The Tudors from Showtime. Best Buy had them on sale for $15.00 a season. It was worth it to give the shows a try, at the normal thirty dollars a season there was no way I would have ever picked them up. I'm glad I did. At the time I started watching the first season I picked up a book that I've had sitting in my bookcase for years and never got around to reading. It was "The Six Wives of Henry VIII."

It was strange reading and watching the show at the same time. Somehow I kept my reading along what was going on in the show. I couldn't remember what happened to his first wife Katherine of Argon and I wasn't sure if I was going to read about it or see it on the show. I actually started to get ahead in the book and discovered her fate reading it and later watched it on the show.

Now you can complain that The Tudors is just historical soap opera, but life in Henry VIII's court was nothing sort of a grand soap opera at the time. Reading the book I was surprised by how historical accurate the show was. Some of the lines from the show are straight from history. It made the times when they deviated from the truth hit harder for me. The whole subplot of Henry marrying his sister to the King of Portugal was completely wrong. It was his younger sister and she married the King of France, but she does end up marrying Henry's friend after her husband dies and she returns to England.

It just made me wonder why when they did such a good job of sticking to the truth most of the time, that they had to change things in some occasions. I'm sure they thought they had to keep the number of characters down or whatever reason, but to me it was no excuse. Stick to what happened.

Still I have enjoyed the first two seasons and plan to eventually purchase the final two seasons. I finished the book and went right into reading the sequel by the author, "The Children of Henry VIII." A very fascinating time. The problem is that the second book ends with Elizabeth becoming Queen, so now I have to find a book about her.

Computer problems

My modem is driving me crazy, it won't stay connected to the internet for more than a few minutes at a time.

Changes

As you can see there's been a few changes to the site.  Consider it a late spring cleaning.  I've got rid of a lot of the stuff on the sidebar, so hopefully it'll help load faster.  I'm still trimming, so I might lose a few more things before it's all said and done.  It's a brighter and cleaner look, hope you all like it.

I'm also considering some major changes in my life at the moment.  Hopefully for the better.  I'll know more in the next week or two and let everyone know.

And finally my computer has been acting up so much lately, that's it hard for me to be online very long.  I think it's  my modem but haven't had a chance to really check it out yet.  Hopefully I'll get that fixed and be online a little bit more than my vanishing self lately.

My Hero

We all have our heroes.  My list would look incomprehensible to someone else.  Some of my heroes are Albert Einstein, John Lennon, Harlan Ellison, Johnny Cash, Mark Twain and Isaac Asimov.   My Dad.   I chose my heroes carefully and they mean a lot to me.  They inspire me, they move me, in the end they make me want to be a better person.

I'd like to talk about one of my heroes today.   One that I've know personally.  His name is Jason Hill Estopinal. On February 15th of this year he was killed in Afghanistan when he stepped on an IED.  I remember him as a baby, holding him and hoping I didn't break him, he was so small and looked so fragile.  Why would someone trust me to hold onto something this small and breakable?  But Jason and Claire did, they did more than trust me, they insisted.   Babysitting was not something high on my list of fun things to do, but how could I say no?  And you know what, it actually was fun.  JJ as he'll always be known to me, was a ball of energy.  He never sat still for more than a few seconds at a time.  I made the mistake of running around the yard with him and wrestling with him, so that was what we had to do.   At that time they had a house behind a golf course, so it wasn't unusual  to find golf balls in their yard.  We'd find them and throw them back to the golf course.  For someone that was so small he sure could tire me out quickly.

After they moved to Georgia I remember the basketball goal Big Jason had put in their driveway.  I'd stand out there throwing balls with JJ until I could barely lift my arms to throw another basket, but JJ would be raring to go for another thirty minutes.

I hadn't been to visit them for the last few years and for that I'll always blame myself.  So I didn't see JJ grow into a young man.  But I know he was a man of compassion and honesty and truth.

He decided to go into the Marines.  How a young man or woman can make that decision, knowing that there is more than a good chance that they'll be put in harms' way, is something I find hard to understand.  There has to be a belief there that they can do good, that they can help someone.  We can argue the merits of our being in such a war as we are now in and if we should be there, but we can have that argument because of men and women like JJ.  I may not support the war, but I will always support the men and women that fight it.     They give us the ability to enjoy our liberties that we take so much for granted.

Until a young man, barely more than a boy, but a man in more ways than I can comprehend, is the point man on a squad patrolling a rural area of a country far from home steps on an explosive.  Than we remember.

So today, Memorial Day, while I pay my respects and memorance to the thousands of men and women who sign up to continue to give us the freedoms to argue and fight and talk and live as free men and women every day of our lives while so many in the rest of the world don't have that opportunity I salute and remember a special memory, my personal hero Jason Hill Estopinal.

A Little Upset

You know what I hate?  I hate to be lied to.  Just tell me the truth, even if I don't like it, I'd rather to hear the truth than to be lied to.  I've just discovered that for the past few months, probably actually longer, I've been lied to by a lot of people at the company I work for.   To them they probably don't think of it as anything major, but to me it was.

A Little Something About the Oil Spill

A very informative article about the oil spill here.  It's strange how all the politicians that were crying for offshore drilling are being extra silent right about now.  We've only begun to see the effects of this oil spill.  Environmentally it's going to be one of the worst disasters we've ever seen, but economically it's going to be just as bad.  The ripple effects from this is going to devastate the gulf coast and Louisiana.

The Empire Strikes Back

Thirty years ago today The Empire Strikes Back was released.  I know I was in line on that first day of release, waiting with so many others, to see the next chapter in the Star Wars universe.  Even today I can still remember the thrill of watching the movie.  

Back

Sorry to disappear all of a sudden.  My second hotel in Chattanooga didn't have internet access and I haven't had a chance to get to a computer since.  But I'm back and over the next day or so I'll be back posting.

Road Signs

Driving in today I saw a road sign that really don't inspire a lot of confidence when you see them. One was driving by the side of a mountain, the road cut through the side and the road sign reads "Falling Rocks". Now that's all I want to watch out for, I thought. Rocks falling.


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Chattanooga, Tennessee

LOST

I missed it Tuesday, but managed to watch the most recent episode on my IPad (another plus for it). I'm not going to say anything in case there's anyone our there that hasn't seen it yet. Let the comments be full of spoilers. But I will say one thing....WOW! Things are really getting exciting.


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Franklin, Tennessee

A Few Remarks On The Flooding

It's easy to focus on all the bad that comes with something like the recent floods in Nashville. But watching the news I was struck by all the people that came out to help those that needed it. They interviewed a woman who said she didn't know any of the people in her house, but they had come out from all over to help. Just people that wanted to help. One guy said he didn't know anyone there, he just drove up to help.

The memories of Katrina are always the darkest, but the same outpouring of help was there too. People from all over the world arrived to help. They took time off from work and sacrificed pay and comfort to help those that needed it.

It's so easy to look at all the bad that comes from these events, and we shouldn't forget the bad, but we shouldn't forget or ignore how people step up to the challenge of helping those that need it. In times of our deepest remorse we can see the brightest and best of us.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Franklin, Tennessee

Chattanooga, Here I Come

Today is my final day in Franklin. To say the least, it was a very unusual week. Outside of world effects work actually went well. Everyone welcomed me and things went smoothly. Tomorrow I get up and head for a week in Chattanooga.


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Franklin, Tennessee

Country Stars Come Out For Nashville

I know everyone has been waiting to see what the country music world was going to do for Nashville sine the flood. The national networks aren't showing them, but the local stations in the Nashville market are having telethons. Thursday night was one such event. Vince Gill, Allison Krauss, Amy Grant and Keith Urban all donated their time and money to victims of the floods. Another local station started a three day telethon with some of the same names attached as well as former American Idol hopeful Melinda Doolittle. Other names I've read that are helping out have been Holly Williams (grand daughter of legend Hank Williams), Tim McGraw, Faith Hill, Brad Paisley, Taylor Swift, Kenny Chesney, Reba McEntire and more.

It's nice to see artists that are so associated with the capital of country music are stepping up to the task. Why there isn't anything showing up on a major, national network I don't understand.


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Franklin, tennessee

More on the Flood

Today I realized something. A lot of the people here in Nashville who were flooded do not have flood insurance. And before anyone makes any snide comments about it, they didn't think they needed it. Their insurance companies didn't think they needed it. It hasn't flooded like this in more than just years, maybe centuries. Nashville is not a city known for flooding. Back home in New Orleans everyone buys flood insurance, it's a given. Here in Nashville not so much. I hope FEMA doesn't let them down and steps up to the plate here. There's going to be a lot of people here you are going to need a lot of help.

I haven't figured out how to get pictures in here yet on the Ipad, I really want to put some of the pictures from the flooding up. It'll tear your heart out.


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Franklin,Tennessee

iPad

Oh, and as you might have noticed, the more recent posts have been made on an Ipad. I broke down and bought one just before I had to leave on my trip. I thought it would be nice not to have to cart a bunch of books around with me, I could just download them on the Ipad. I have downloaded a few, some Harlan Ellison that I in print but that I can always enjoy reading over again and this way I figure I'll have with me. I've also downloaded some comic books on here and I have to admit that they look really good. But I find it also is good for surfing the web and posting to my blog. I brought my laptop, but I have to admit I hate typing on it. My fingers never seem to be comfortable typing on it. I have to two finger type on here but find I can do it pretty easily and fairly fast. I prop it up in my lap and go to town on the keyboard. Oh, and I'm still hauling around a bunch of books...

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Franklin, Tennessee

Hamburger Wars

I've heard a lot about a hamburger chain called Five Guys and how good it's supposed to be. While I was working someone mentioned they had one up here, so I figured I'd go check it out. For some reason my GPS came up empty every time I input the name of the hamburger chain. I tried the GPS on my phone and it came up. It was located in Brentwood, which if you're like me and had no clue, is a very rich neighborhood. When I say rich, I mean rich with a capital R. I passed houses that were big enough to be apartment complexes. From what I've since been told a lot of big country stars live here. But back to more important matters, how was the hamburger?

It was good. I don't know if I'd say it was the best, but it was very good. The next day I actually ate a burger at what I think may have the best burgers....Backyard Burgers. Not to take anything away from Five Guys, but I love these burgers. Still burgers from two of the best isn't bad. And yeah, I know what it says about my culinary habits that I'm praising hamburger chains.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Nashville

It's heart breaking watching the news and seeing the scenes from Nashville. I'm sitting in a hotel room, maybe twenty minutes from these scenes and it's so weird. These are scenes I'm used to seeing back home. To drive up here and have this happen is almost surreal.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

A Little Rain

I'm sitting in a hotel room in Tuscumbia Alabama after having spent the day trying to make what should have been a little over three hour trip from my Moms in Saulsbury to Franklin Tennessee. Over eight hours on the road, going up one road only to end up having to turn around after running into a water covered road, and trying another path. It's pretty bad out there. The rain is supposed to stop tomorrow but there's so much standing water I don't know if i'll make it up there than.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Drill Baby Drill

How's that working now?

Long Day

I used to make these type of posts a lot more, just about what was going on in my day, nothing earth shattering, but lately it seems that every post has to be about something.  I kind of like making these type of posts.  Today has been a long day, first I had to get three weeks of posts up for Voices to hear so they can drop every day that I'm traveling.  And than just get other things ready for the trip, tomorrow night I work late so I won't have time to get much ready.   Than tonight I went downtown New Orleans to see some great music, Amanda Shaw, Shannon McNally, Little Band of Gold and Theresa Andersson.  More of that on Voices to hear.  And now I"m back home typing still.  Need to go to bed sleep soon.

Traveling

Getting ready to hit the road this weekend.  I have to travel to two other stores, one near Nashville and the other in Chattanooga in the coming weeks and at the end I'm hoping to take the last week as a vacation and go see my Mom near Memphis.  It's strange that all my traveling is being done in Tennessee during these three weeks.  Honestly I got more than my share of traveling when I worked for Service Merchandise and spent a year and some change traveling to different stores and spending very little time in my own bed.  Some people like to travel, and it's not that I don't like to travel, but when I do so for work, it's not much more than work and a hotel room, so to me it's really not that much traveling.  But the whole point of this overly long preamble was to tell everyone that if I'm not on here for the next three weeks it's not because I've been kidnapped by aliens or anything else drastic, it's just that I'm on the road and can't find a place to connect the laptop to.  And a side note to all this:  for those who have been reading this blog for any length of time knows May has not been a good month for me in the last few years.  I seem to end up in the hospital for one reason or another.  I'm thinking that it has something to do with the building I work in, it doesn't want me there for May, so this year instead of sending me to the hospital it's sending me traveling.  At least that's what I'm telling myself, because I don't want to end up in the hospital while traveling.

So check on me now and than, I'm going to try to post when I can....

Changes by Jim Butcher

I just finished reading the latest Harry Dresden novel.  All I'll say is that it lives up to its title.  I don't want to give anything away, but it was a very good read.  If I had any complaint and it's really not one is that because of the nature of the book a lot of the humor that is part of a Harry Dresden novel was missing.  A very small nit to pick.  I liked it a lot.  I'm waiting to see what Travis thought of it, let me know Trav.

Coming Soon To A Blog Near You

(Better Late Than Never)

Welcome to the 7th launch of BlogBlast For Peace aka Dona Nobis Pacem in the blogosphere. It's inception began in 2006 with one single post and a cry for peace in our world.
A small group of bloggers answered that challenge and it began to spread across the internet in ways that humble me still. It reaches across political lines and religious creeds, abides in corners of unrest and places of hope, gives voice to individual beliefs and promotes tolerance for diversity. It celebrates the genius in each one of us, found in sparkling conversations of passionate pleas for change in the earth. It is that hope for change that motivates us.

It was the Internet's first ever online movement of its kind to invite bloggers to post the same message on the same day. From blog to blog it has moved and continues to grow. We have been amazed to see the power and passion shown each year displayed on pages across the world. We visit each other with our prayers and scribbles, prose and poetry, art and angst, heart and hilarity - and we are moved by it. From one post to thousands of others in fifty countries and almost every state in the United States, something rare and wonderful happens on BlogBlast For Peace day.
I am privileged to witness it.
I invite you to experience it.
It's time.
Join us!

November 4, 2010
Bloggers from all across the globe
will blog for peace. 
We will speak with one voice.
One subject.
One day. 

How To Get Your Peace Globe 2010 Here's how to do it in 4 easy steps!

1. Choose one of the Peace Globe designs shown on this page. Right CLICK and SAVE in JPG format.

2. Sign the globe using Paint, Photoshop or a similar graphics tool. Decorate the globe anyway you wish. You can even include the name of your blog. Click here for thousands of inspiring examples from previous BlogBlasts.

3. Return the peace globe to me via email ~ blogblastforpeace at yahoo.com and sign the Mr. Linky below. Leave a comment and your blog's name and url in the Mr. Linky so that we can visit each other.
Your submission will be numbered and dated in the official gallery with a link back to your post and a permanent spot on the Official BlogBlast For Peace website.
4. On November 4,2010 DISPLAY YOUR GLOBE IN A POST on your blog, FACEBOOK WALL and TWEET IT!
Title your post "Dona Nobis Pacem" - Latin for Grant Us Peace. This is important. The goal is for all blog post titles to say the same thing on the same day. Write about peace that day or simply fly your globe. Come back here and sign your name again once you've posted your own globe.

Need ideas and inspiration? Go toBlogBlast For Peace.com to see the gallery of thousands of peace globes and posts from 50 countries already submitted and numbered. If you'd like to read about the history of this movement, go here.

You can also find us on.... 

Join the Peace TWIBE Bloggers Unite group IPEACE Group

What should you do while you're planning what to write and create?

1. Post this badge on your site and Facebook pages to promote. Or feel free to use it as your globe on November 4th. Just grab the code below.

November 4, 2010 

2. Become a Peace Globe Worker Bee.
This organization of busy helpers and dedicated peace bloggers began in 2009. The concept was created by this man and taken up by a growing number of bloggers with a passion for peace and this movement. Read "You See There Were These Bees...." to find out how the bzzzzzzz started bzzzzzzzing. Any one of the bloggers mentioned in that post or who commented on that post are ready and willing to assist you.
What does a PGWB do? Many of you already do the following actions that define a Peace Globe Worker Bee: Spreading the word, posting the date, flying the Blog Blast banner, offering assistance to anyone who needs help making a Globe, or directing bloggers to one of the sites where they can find out more about the movement. Please take the bee badge with you too! We want to see the peace bzzzzz everywhere! We appreciate all you are doing already to spread the word.

3. SHARE and TWEET this post every chance you get until November 4th, 2010.

This is what has gone before.
I can't wait to see what you do with this movement in 2010.

Papa's Marbles ~ How It All BeganThe Silence Of PeaceBlogBlast For Peace #1BlogBlast For Peace #2 June 2007BlogBlast For Peace #3 November 2007BlogBlast For Peace #4 June 2008 BlogBlast For Peace #5 November 6, 2008BlogBlast For Peace #6 November 5, 2009 

If words are powerful....then this matters.
Join us! 

Checking In On Lost

Ok, does anyone understand what's going on?  I'm more confused every episode, even as they tell us more they leave us with more questions.  Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining.  I'm loving it.  Each episode now gives us those WTF moments.  I just wonder how they're going to tie all this up.  And I can't wait.

Sitting on a bench facing the Mississippi River, waiting for the music to start. Can't ask for a better day.

Tired But Feeling Great

Last year was a year sorely missing in the amount of live music I attended.  I'm not sure why, but for me there was little in the way of live music.  After spending the day at the French Quarter Fest I have to wonder why.  I have to make sure this year I get out to as much live music as I can.  There's just a feeling that comes over me when I'm listening to a musician sing live, all my troubles and problems are forgotten at least for the time being and it's the next best thing to being transported to anther world.  Saying that I have to admit that I am exhausted right now, I hopped around from stage to stage for most of the day before settling in for the long haul with Brian Stolz and Anders Osborne.  I'll post more and plan to do a lot more on Voices to hear (and pics)!  For now I'm going to bed.

Did You Get An Ipad?

I'm still on the fence about getting an Ipad.  Almost got one today, but decided to hold off.  I've heard that there are long lines and people sleeping over night to get first crack at the Ipads, but today I just happened to walk into Best Buy and there was no one even looking at them.  They told me they had a bunch of people when they first opened, but by ten it was clear.  I left and actually went back later in the day, around five and there was people looking at the Ipads.  The store itself was very busy, which probably was why I ended up not buying an Ipad, I couldn't get anyone to help me, so I looked for a bit and than left.

They look pretty cool.  I may end up buying one soon and than I might just hold off.  I'm not sure at the moment, still trying to make up my mind.  Anyone get one yet?  If you did how do you like it?

Next Monday

Next Monday I'll be a guest of Vinnie from The Big Leather Couch on his internet radio show. We'll be joined by some other great people that probably know more than me about music and we're going to talk about one of my favorite subjects, music. So stop by and listen.

Lost Tonight

I know I haven't been keeping up with what's going on this site with LOST.  But I have been watching it.  Last week's episode with Sawyer was very good.  Who would have imagined Sawyer as a cop?  The answers are coming slowly...and I do mean slowly.  But tonight's episode features Richard and promises a lot of answers.

I have one question.  Ok, the numbers refer to Jack, Sawyer and the ones chosen as candidates to replace Jacob.  There were a lot of names on that cave with names.  Did Jacob always keep a group of candidates in every era on hand in case he needed replacing?  Or did it just happen with this group?  Am I missing something here or is this another question that hasn't been answered yet.

Any thoughts if one of the chosen will end up on the island at the end.  And if so, which one?  After all Jack's arguments against the island and his fight to get off wouldn't it be something if he becomes the new defender of the island?

Still Another New Book

I had to post this one, because I know at least one other person out there that will be looking forward to it.  This is the twelfth novel in The Dresden Files series and is one of my favorites series.  If you haven't picked it up yet, do yourself a favor and give one of them a try.  There was a short lived sci fi series based on this series a year or so back.  The series, while actually got better as it went along, did not do service to how good this series is.  If you want to give the new book a try you can order it here from Amazon.  The cover price on the book is twenty five dollars, one reason I buy very little hard backs until they hid the remainder tables.  But at Amazon you can pick it up for $13.00.  And if you can find a few other things and get your total up to twenty five dollars (the irony of it) you get free shipping.  I find myself buying the more expensive books that I might not from Amazon, just because they usually offer such a good deal.  The book will be out in book stores April 6 if you want to wait and pick it up at your local book store.

Another Book

The question is, how many books can you have on one subject?  I guess I still don't know the answer to that question as I just picked up Philip Norman's bio on John Lennon.  If there is one thing that there is no shortage of around here, it's books on the Beatles.  I'm not even going to count how many I have.  But I've read good things about this book and it actually has information that has never been written about before.  I know that's hard to believe, with as much written about the Beatles.  But already, just in the first fifty pages I've read stuff no one else ever mentioned.  Mostly about John's Father and his side of the family.  Normally John's Father is given short shift and the Lennon side of the family is rarely if at all mentioned.  Plus Mr. Norman is the writer of one of my favorite books on the Beatles already, Shout.  I'll let everyone know how the book is when I finish it.

Alex Chilton Dies

I was sitting in the waiting room while my friend Larry was in the back with the doctor and I was surfing the web on my phone when I saw that Alex Chilton had died.  Alex was the singer of the The Box Tops, who had the hit "The Letter" and than later went on to form the critically acclaimed group Big Star and afterwards put out a lot of solo stuff.

Second Column

I mentioned before that I was writing a column about comic books at a local comic shop's web page.  Just wanted to mention that the second column, about kids' comics is out there, actually almost at the end of the week, I just sent in the next column which should be going up anyday.   If you want you can check it out here.

No News Is Not Always Good News

I've had a migraine all day today so I haven't updated any of the writings.  I even called in to work and anyone that knows me knows I almost never call in to work.  Last time I didn't go to work I went to the hospital.  I wanted to write about how great the Eric Clapton show was but didn't get to that either.  But for a great review, one that I agree with (except for wanting to hear "Wonderful Tonight") go check out Vinnie's review at the Couch.  As always spot on.  I'm actually feeling better now, after having spent most of the day in bed trying to not think too loud as pretty much everything caused my head to hurt.

Tomorrow night I am off to see one of those performers that are my short list of artists that I have not seen yet, but want to.  Eric Clapton comes to New Orleans tomorrow night and it should be a great show.  Roger Daltrey of the Who opens for him, which is really nice.  I've seen the Who and am a big fan, so seeing Daltrey will be fun.  I'm eagerly waiting for Bond's report on his chance to see the show tonight, so I can know what to expect.

New Series

I was unfamiliar with this series until I saw commercials for the new movie based on the book.   I saw one of the books and the name of the writer looked familiar.  Rick Riordan was also the writer of a series of mystery books that I love.  I was wondering why I haven't seen a new book in the series for awhile.  It's because he was off writing kids' books.  The series is Percy Jackson and the Olympians.

The main character is 12 year old Percy Jackson.  He discovers that his dad is none other than the Greek God Poseidon.  Of course this puts him on a quest and his fate is part of a prophecy that could foretell doom for the Gods of Olympus when he turns 16.  There's five books in the series and each book brings him closer to his 16th year, until the final book he turns 16.  The Greeks Gods are given a more modern twist, Apollo drives a sports car, etc.

I'm on the fourth of the books now.  I picked up the first one about a week ago and enjoyed it.  I've been reading them since.  Now before anyone asks, no they're not Harry Potter, but than what is?  Harry Potter was the top as far as kids books go, but these are very good and held my interest as an adult, much the way the Potter books did.

I would definitely recommend them to anyone interested in a good adventure story.

The Funeral Possession

Someone filmed the Funeral Possession passing through the town.  Ten minutes it took of cars driving.  It was amazing the amount of people that turned out for JJ's Funeral.  Watch it and just be amazed at the amount of cars in the possession.

New Column

Just to let everyone know I am now writing a column of comment about comic books for one of the local comic stores in town.  They have a webpage where they feature the upcoming comics and stuff and now where they'll feature my new column.  The column is called "Don't Try This At Home" mainly cause I couldn't think of anything else to call it.  It'll be me talking about comic books, reviews, basically anything I feel like talking about that I can connect to comic books.  You can find the page here, than just look for the logo with my name on the right side of the page and click on it.  I'm going to try and do this on a weekly basis but we'll see how that goes.

The Funeral

I've been back a couple days now from the funeral.

The funeral home quickly became filled with people coming to pay their last respects to JJ.  Jason and Claire did so well, they were holding up so good.  When I got there and greeted them I just went mute, I just didn't know what to say.  I just hugged Claire and wished I had the words to say.

The service was SRO.  So many people wanted to pay their respects to this young man.  I heard many a person say that they didn't even know the family, they just wanted to come pay their respects.  After the Chaplin gave the services he invited people that wished to speak about Jason to come forward.  JJ's brother went first and talked about his brother.  Throughout the day Parker did himself and his family proud.  He spoke wonderfully about the bond he had with JJ and what they meant to each other.  During the day I saw Parker talking to others, helping them with their grief, he showed what a fine young man he was becoming.

I made it through the service with just a little misting over.  I felt like I was cried out over JJ.  Afterwards the possession was to the cemetery.  The possession made its way through the town of Canton, passing the local shopping center, through the heart of the small town and passed the local high school.

On the way I found I still had plenty of tears for JJ.  Alongside the streets were gathered people, lots of people, all standing with flags or saluting or just standing out in the cold offering their respect.  The stores were closed so the people working could stand out front.  The high school was closed, all the students were in front.  As we drove down the street two hook an ladder trucks from the fire department were ahead of us, their ladders forming an arch we passed beneath with flags drapped from their heights.

I saw one little girl, she couldn't have been more than five or six standing next to her Mom, holding a small flag and waving it as we drove past.  I couldn't stop the tears as I drove, I kept wiping at my eyes and driving.  But I couldn't believe the amount of people on the streets.  So many people.

At the cemetery I heard the Chaplin (who was the Police Chaplin for the County) tell Claire that he was ready to start, but the people just seemed to keep coming.  He said he had never seen anything like this in his career.

I knew at the site, with the 21 gun salute and the folding of the flag I would get more emotional.  I did at my Dad's funeral when they fired the guns.  It was bitterly cold out there, but no one was in a rush to get it over with.

But finally I had to leave and head back to Louisiana.  

Leaving

I'm heading to Georgia this morning for JJ's funeral tomorrow.  Thanks to everyone that has commented and left good thoughts, it means a lot to JJ's parents.

TV News on Jason

Here's a video of the local news coverage of Jason.

For anyone wishing to leave condolences to the Family there is a page set up on Facebook here.

More on Jason

 Back when I was writing, those many years ago, one of my favorite things I created was the series "Lizards" that ran in the page of Fantagraphics Critter anthology comic.  I'm actually not too fond of the title Lizards, it was supposed to be called "Dragons" but somehow I ended up with Lizards.  Irregardless I think the stories I wrote in this series are some of the best things I've done.  For most of the kids in the series I took their names from the kids of friends.  Of course one of the kids in the series was named for Jason.  Instead of calling him JJ I called him Lil' Jason.  (I never got around to showing Big Jason in the series).  I thought I'd post one of the stories I did featuring Lil' Jason.  

Jason Estopinal

Families come in all sizes and shapes.  You don't even have to be related to be family.  That's how I think of Jason and Claire, two of my best friends in the world.  I wrote about them in this post when I was writing about what great friends I have.  I remember when their first son, Jason Junior was born.  And their second Parker.  So much of my life is made of memories of friends and the two of them share a wonderful part of it.

I don't even know how to write this.  On Monday their oldest son, JJ, was killed while serving on duty as a Marine in Afghanistan.  When I went to lunch I checked my email on my phone and saw an email forwarded from Claire and opened it.  It was a link to a newspaper article about the death of JJ.  I was stunned.  I didn't even realize I was crying until I felt the tears on my face.  


I remember when JJ was born, Claire wasn't going to let me feel awkward around the baby.  I wasn't use to babies, to me they were little people that others took care of.  Claire wasn't going to have any of that, the first time I saw them she pushed JJ at me and told me to hold on to him.  She made sure that I was comfortable with him.  One of my favorite pictures of me (and I generally hate pictures of myself) is of me holding JJ at one of the many BBQ/crawfish boils we would have.  Before I realized it I was babysitting JJ.  I can still remember when we'd all get together as a group and all the grown ups would be sitting around talking and I'd be running around the back yard with JJ.  


I don't even know why I'm writing this right now.  To be honest it hurts to just sit here and put these words down.  It hurts to remember him.  But all I can do is write.  That's all I have is words, however inadequate they are.  


Jason and Claire ended up moving to Atlanta so I didn't see them as much.  A few of us made a point of going every year to visit.  Than after awhile that stopped.  It seemed there were always too many things to do.   Than even the phone calls dwindled down.  It wasn't that we still didn't think of ourselves as the same friends. Life just has a way of making things difficult.  Last summer I talked to Claire and I had the best intentions of driving up to Atlanta and seeing them.  I would probably not be able to see JJ, he has joined the Marines and was finishing up Boot Camp that summer.   But I got sick, my Mom had surgery and again life just threw up too many roadblocks for me to make the visit.  

One of my favorite pictures.  I don't know how old JJ was, but he couldn't have been very old.

This picture was probably at Six Flags in Atlanta.  I just love that smile.

Me and JJ riding Splash Mountain. Notice how he's trying to hide behind me and let me get most of the water.

Didn't work.

Another trip to Atlanta.  This was at Stone Mountain.  That's Claire, JJ and his brother Parker and to their right my friend Sal and me kneeling in the front.

JJ and me riding away.

JJ with his brother Parker.

Jason as a Marine.

All my memories of JJ are as him as a child.  Even his name, his name is Jason, but when he was little everyone called him JJ and that's still how I think of him.  But he wasn't a child anymore, he was a man.  I wish I had been able to know him as a man.  He was 21, the same age as my niece.  I know he was a good man, he couldn't have been less.  And he would have continued to grow and become an even better man.

I left work today.  I thought I'd go back in but as I walked towards the door I knew that I wasn't going to be able to stay.  I told Krista, asking her to come outside to talk to her, and barely able to get the words out.  Saying the words made it too real.

So here I sit, trying to find words that can make some sort of sense of all of it.  I like to think of myself as a writer, but I can't find the words.  I try to think of some quote or passage, something that might make take the edge off some.  I like to think that I'm this fountain of knowledge when it comes to music and when I try to think of a song to download on this page I come up empty.

When I remember JJ I'll always remember the smiles and the laughter.

Happy Mardi Gras!

I had to work.

Rockford Again

I read somewhere that they are making a new version of The Rockford Files for TV.  I'm sorry, there will only be one Jim Rockford and that's James Garner.  Are there no new ideas out there, that the networks have to keep going back and dusting off old television shows.  I've also heard that there's a new Hawaii Five-0 in the makings too.  Why try and re-do Rockford, use all that energy into creating something new.

LOST

I know I'm running late with this week's edition of LOST.  I've come to a conclusion that I'm kind of surprised by:  I'm not that interested in Kate.  I've realized that the Kate centered shows are some of my least favorite.  Coming from the high of last week's episode this one was something of a let down.  Reactions?  Thoughts?

Five Years

This Friday will mark the fifth year that I've been blogging on this site.  Wow....five years, I'll write more about it as that day comes.

The Night of the Saint's Win

I didn't get to watch the Big Game.  I was working.  I work at a sporting goods and outdoors store.  We are a major source of Saints products: shirts, hats, pennants, etc.  Since they've won the NFC championship we've been selling a lot of Saints stuff.  If the Saints win we were going to open right after the game and start selling Superbowl championship product.  The merchandise was there, we couldn't open it until the end of the game.  If the Saints lost than it all went back.

We had the game on the radio so we could listen.  We had a store full of associates standing around waiting for the outcome.  Before the game was over, once it started to look pretty good for a Saints' win we had people start lining up outside the store.  By the time the game was over we probably had a few hundred people waiting. As the game ended we started opening boxes and putting the product out on the tables.  Every register was manned and we had people behind all the tables getting the shirts and hats out.  I was in charge, making sure everything was ready.  We had police there to help control the crowd.

The plan was to let twenty people in at a time, once the first twenty was in and moving along we would let another twenty in, and so on.  Once the tables were packed with the shirts and hats I gave the signal to the police office to start with the first twenty.  By now the line was all the way down the strip mall and around the side.  We had to have over a thousand people in line.  The parking lot was parked, all you saw on the road was headlights headed towards us.  Horns were blaring, car alarms were going off, people were screaming and all you could hear was "Who Dat!!!!"  The fire department came with an engine with lights and horns blaring, parking out front of the store.

Everything went smooth.  People poured through the store, buying shirts and hats and moving through the registers with no problems.  Everyone was cheering and yelling as they came through.  It was as close to a party you can have while still working.

43 years in the making.  There was a lot of emotion that night.  The people here love their Saints and have stood behind this team through a lot of bad years, so it was great to see all that loyalty finally being rewarded. Within three hours we were sold out of everything Superbowl related and we still have hundreds of people outside.

I have to admit I was a little nervous about having to go out there and face that crowd.  Some of those people had been standing in line for hours.  One of the firemen came in and volunteered to go inform the crowd through the fire trucks' speakers.  The police officer at the door told the people that had waited so patiently and were now at the door to be let in that sadly they were going to be turned away, we had no more product.  After thousands of hats, shirts, pennants, license plate holders, magnets we were out.

This was crucial point, even the police officers were a little worried.  What would this crowd of hundreds do after standing outside, drinking and partying, waiting for Saints product that they were now told was not here. New Orleans did me proud.  They turned away with no problem.  Of course there was some grumbling, a few people could be heard that this wasn't fair, but the majority, the vast majority of the people understand and went off cheering and chanting for their Saints.  They knew we'd have more product the next morning and even more important than to be the first to get that shirt or hat I think they just wanted to be out with fellow fans to celebrate after the win.

So for me I've been seeing the win from a slightly different perspective.  I haven't even had a chance to see the local news to see how the rest of the city has reacted.  The next day I was back again, with another big crowd, but nowhere near the size of the previous night, and lines of people with the shirts and hats we received again.

I heard from someone that when the Saints came home today from the airport that the streets were lined for miles around the airport with fans.  I'm off Tuesday so I'm looking to be able to watch some news and see what's been happening otherwise with the Saints.

Who Dat Picked the Saints?

Before the game a lot of celebrities are polled to see who they thought would win.  The majority picked the Colts, mainly due to Peyton.  Just thought I'd share two picks with everyone.  I always knew I liked Valerie and Ms. Jett is one of my favorite rockers.

VALERIE BERTINELLI Actress

New Orleans, 24-21. With those two quarterbacks, there has to be some scoring because they are both brilliant. The Saints have a deep offense and the defense is so good, they will hold them back. It will be a great game no matter what ... especially when the Saints win.

JOAN JETT Rock star

New Orleans, 45-33.

Two Scary Words - President Palin

I admit that I find the words President Palin to be just about the two scariest words I can think of.  She is saying that running is on her mind.  Fred Kaplan from Slate explains why those two words should be scary.

Let's be clear on why those words should terrify anyone with a thinking brain. Palin is someone who has clearly never seriously thought through any issue of national importance on her own. She's excellent at reciting a raucous speech, but she can't improvise a coherent sentence, which usually reflects an inability to form a coherent idea. (At Nashville, she even had to scribble her five-word legislative agenda on her palm, andglanced down at it during the Q&A.) She is deluded enough to believe (or at least to saySunday morning on Fox News) that her brief, aborted stint as Alaska's governor gave her more executive experience than President Obama has even now. She believes that the country should elect leaders, including presumably herself, who seek solutions in "divine intervention."

Saints Win!

I know I'm late, but I had to work for the Superbowl and afterwards we re-opened to sell Superbowl shirts and hats.  There literally was thousands of people in line tonight.  I'm sure I'll have more to talk about the Saints win later, but it's time for bed.

Maybe They Can't Get Enough

I know it was only a post or two ago that I talked about the bonuses of big companies, but I came across this and had to pass it on.  Go read here.  This is the type of stuff that makes me think President Obama isn't delivering on his promises.