Listen To What the Man Said

Picture it, Tuscaloosa, AL, July 14, 1975. It's a hot mid July day in the south. The #1 song on the charts is "Listen to What the Man Said" by Paul McCartney & Wings. One young woman has been waiting since June 22nd to meet her son. Apparently, he's in no hurry or else doctors haven't heard of the word "induce" yet. Finally, at 3:30 in the afternoon at Druid City Hospital, a wonderful bouncing baby boy arrived. He weighed 10 lbs., 9 oz. Yup, that's me.

No big frills or fanfares greeted my arrival. No camera crews or paparazzi. My life hasn't been extraordinarily ordinary. I had pneumonia when I was 18 months old, but I recovered. I went to school, started reading early, went to the gifted program, went to church, left that church, found a new church, went to high school, marched in the band, sang in the choir, was on the math team and scholar's bowl team, I played the part of a nerd quite nicely I believe and am proud of it, I went to college, majored in too many things, worked for a stocks/investments broker, went to the BCM and met a ton of great friends,summer missions 3 times (hey Kansas! You too Savannah) switched to TV and worked a 2 TV stations and met a ton of great friends, diagnosed with a skin condition and arthritis but am doing much better now, switched to radio (more friends RIP RQ!), back to TV, another church (directing music!) up to corporate and far away from home, finally found another church, had my job responsibilities change to a brand new challenge, moved to a Mayberry type town, and here I am, on my bed flipping between Chopped and House Hunters International.

That's me in one incredibly boring run on paragraph. It's amazing how the high points of our life don't really fill up a whole lot of space. That's because life is made of so many small moments. Those small moments provide us with so many memories and experiences and life lessons. I've seen and learned so much in my life. In my 35 years, this is what I have seen & learned.

I've been alive bad times in Bama football and for 4 Crimson Tide National Championships! I have seen the Braves suck like a new Dyson vacuum and I've seen them win the World Series! I've made many friends and gained many new members of my family. I've also seen too many people pass away (now matter how long it's been, you'll always miss your grandmothers). I had 4 official majors, visited a lot of states, had 5 paying jobs, been through 7 presidents, owned 6 cars, went to NYC, and been through 8 Bama head football coaches (I don't count Pensacola Price).

What other things have I learned? Well...

I put up my senior picture as my profile picture because it's a good picture, I actually cleaned up pretty well back in 1992 when that picture was made (and see, I did have hair, smile and eyes still look the same though. My eyes aren't brown, they are Tootsie Roll colored!) I think the Hummer is the most ridiculous and impractical vehicle. I STILL don't get the appeal of Miley Cyrus, Jennifer Aniston, or Nickelback. Politics has become such an ugly game that people on all sides should be ashamed of themselves and what they have allowed this country to become. Even though I was made to go to church all of my life, I do not regret it, I now go because I want to. I still want to host The Soup once Joel McHale when he gets too famous to be on E! I should be ashamed that E! shows are my guilty pleasure, but I'm really not. I need to start going back to the gym again before my doctor calls me fat again. What's Love Got to Do With It was a great movie to watch at the movies, especially when the sisters were cheering when Tina finally fought back against Ike. An "acquired taste" is a stupid thing, if I don't like something the first time I eat it, why would I try it again? I believe ice cream can heal a bad day and a sore throat. Selling seafood by the side of the road more than a couple of hours inland just doesn't inspire confidence (especially not at a place called She's Got Crabs). I hate that As the World Turns is going off the air because the show still reminds me of when my Granny used to watch it. I still remember the long Spring Break road trips to Arkansas. I miss hanging out with Krista, Ann(e) Marie, and the rest of the Gilgal youth group. I should probably be packing instead of blogging. Duff on Ace of Cakes looks like he'd smell like a mix of butter, sweat, and cigarettes. The look of joy on a 4 year old's face while he's watching his first parade AND getting candy thrown his way make you say HOORAY!! It's much easier and much more effective to smile and be in a good mood than a bad one, people tend to appreciate it. We as Christians should ALL learn to be more Christ like and help our fellow man instead of acting like we are all morally superior.

Finally, I've learned that just because you aren't in the same city, state, or time zone, you can still be good friends. I spend way too much time on Facebook, I know. But it's how I reconnected with a lot of friends. I love laughing with friends, listening to them, giving advice, getting advice, etc. Keeping friends around, even if you never see them or even call them on the phone, is critical. That's the most important thing I've learned in the last 35 years.