Come around and let me tell you a tale…

The last three days have been the closest to hell that one man can experience.

On second thought that is incorrect.  I could still be with my ex-wife. Hah, I still got it.

I’ve had to visit and get turned away from the emergency room twice.  Yup twice, the first time I had planned to go and see the emergency room again, because since they ad put the stitches in, the follow up would be at no charge.  I was going to do anything that was going to keep me from having to pay even more when I had a chance to get it done for free.  So I went up there on Monday night after dropping “HIM” at his hotel room. 

But when I got there I knew there was going to be a challenge.  You see, I’m not patient,especially when I have to wait.  But as I drove up I knew that there would be no room at the inn.

Why and how do you ask did I know that?  Because the entire waiting area was full and they had broken into the “pull up the folding chairs from storage mode.”  Not going to be my night.  The stitches were bothering me and I wanted to get them out before they would get infected. 

So Tuesday night I tried again.  I thought I had a better shot but after an hour of waiting I couldn’t wait any more.  I was too tired and had to wake up at six thirty to pick up the vice president.

What vice president?  Why, “HIM” the big boss is in town. 

I’ve had a ton of things on my mind lately.  I’ve been thinking about choices that I have made and the ones that I have needed to make in the future.

But there was no time or writing, reading, thinking, for when the boss is in town, it’s Boss Distraction Mode.  I’m the most dependable guy at the station for me to keep my boss busy.  Keep him talking and entertain him and leave my immediate bosses to glory. 

They deserve the time away from the VP, while I am still “earning my wings”.  One day I will have a subordinate that I can dispatch to take ‘the heat’ while I am with my family.

So I entertained the boss and had him buy dinner at the local bosses favorite steakhouse.  Why not?  To the workers sometimes go the spoils.

I entertained him and got a lot accomplished for my station.  I even stirred it up in the local community.

Recently the City of Lubbock decided not to allow the Texas Tech Club Hockey team to use the Lubbock Municipal Coliseum anymore because in the “new administration’s” thought that they would rather keep the place dark than to actually have entertainment including Club hockey, family skating night etc.  The city ran a $3,800 loss from the last year of operation.

The city decided in a 5-2 decision to not accept a new contract for Texas Tech Club Team to play, and to turn the ice off.  Yup, they were cold hearted and decided to quit as the team was about ready to start their 2008-2009 season.  Oh, and I might have forgotten to mention that the Big 12 Championships for Ice Hockey was supposed to be held in Lubbock.

I didn’t like what I was hearing.  After limited consultation with others, I put a plan in motion.

“Save Tech Hockey: Call the Lubbock City Council NOW”.  It was a call to action, I called out all the councilman who voted against the plan and asked them if we raised the $3,800 shortfall could we please have hockey.

Two councilpeople called me back and I interviewed them.

The other 5, well um, I think I won’t be expecting Christmas cards from them.

It was so huge that we got local TV exposure on Newschannel 11. And the VP was happy.  I got exposure during a crucial part of the year and made the station look like a hero.

Mission accomplished.

But then, as I was celebrating victory in my mind, my foot started to ache.  An unhealthy ache.

Yup, the toe was infected and it was WAY to late for me to get anything done on it yesterday.

The plan was to hand off the boss to others so I could sneak off to at best the ER so the foot could get looked at or at worst my family doc, who would charge me, snip and shoot me up with meds.

Oh, did I mention I was doing all this without pain meds the last week?

Forgot to mention that huh?  Well the pain meds I was on made me completely goofy and caused me to have nice little memory blackouts.  I wasn’t willing to have the blackouts in exchange for the cessation of pain, so I just went with the pain.

SO… I finally got a friend who beat me up without mercy the other night when she saw my foot in stitches. “Why did you go to the emergency room?  All you had to do is call me up and I would have had my husband the ER nurse fix you right up!”

Well hell.  So tonight she hooked me up with his number and tomorrow night he is going to snip and anti-biotic me up.

So BOoooooooooooooooom!

I’ve been reading all the trip reports from the Bash with Alcanthang, Evy, Bam-Bam and friends most excellent time.  I am intrigued by some of the stories by The Wife, Doc Chako and the missing glasses from Kat.  Take it from someone who almost lost their glasses in Oklahoma at Okie-Vegas.  I can feel the panic that she had.

I really wish I could have been there. It would have been a blast, but my priority is to get the kids bedroom finished up this weekend and at least make a good start on the bathroom.  I’m not kidding myself when I try and say it will be all done when Liam and Ally make their appearance for the Nebraska game on the 11th.  I was set back a week with my little foot injury and I hope that I can make the house presentable for them when they do arrive.

(This evening Joanna asked me if I had been thinking of Patrick when I wrote the above paragraph.  I had put Pat and Ally instead of Liam and Ally.  Sorry Liam, I had our brother on my mind.)

My kids are so excited that their room is painted and has new floors and Ryan told me today that he wants to have a “racecar poster” on his side of the room.  Shelby has asked that we paint flowers on her side of the room.

Me I’d be happy if the room was totally finished.

Joanna and I traded taking care of each other this week.  She took care of me on Saturday, Sunday and Monday and I’ve taken care of her Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday.  Hopefully we will be done with this crap by Friday so we can REALLY focus on the house.

I’ve been hiding, unintentionally, from my blog and from my poker playing brethren.  It was not an oversight I wanted to make.  Hell, I have two Heroes and a Chuck episode to catch up on.  I’ve been behind in life.

But I think that sometimes the choices you make, may hurt people in the short term, but may be the best choices fro you in the long term.

This recent break, due to illness and work has caused me to reevaluate what’s important in my life.

And when I told Joanna to “Honey, I love you, but go away, I really need to get some things written down that I have been thinking of.” I wasn’t surprised at all when she told me to “Get it done.”

Because that is our relationship, we both push each other to be better and she knows that when things are bottled up inside me that nothing good will come of it.

Something was bottled up inside me and I had to get out tonight.

It is with great sadness that we have to report the passing of Mailani Martin. Her long and valiant struggle with cancer came to an end Monday night, the 29th. For you new members who did not know her, you missed a wonderful lady. Both she and Nelson were long time officers and friends to our club. Whenever there was work to be done, or somebody needed help, they were there. Nelson, our thoughts and prayers are with you and your family. Mailani, we will miss your smile, that little sparkle in your eye and the way you thought of others first. You leave us in sadness, but so very glad we got to know you. Rest in peace. As you all know, fighting a disease like this is very expensive and can ravage a family. A fund for Nelson and family has been set up by our sponsor AimBank at both Lubbock locations. The funeral will be Friday, Oct. 3rd, at 11:00 am, Agape Funeral Home, 6825 West 19th St., Lubbock

Mailani Martin was a friend of mine who I worked with in the Lubbock Mustang Club and fought cancer and had beat it twice.  The third time was not the charm as she finally left this earth to be with the Big Guy and not to suffer pain anymore.

I got to see Mailani at the supermarket last week.  She had gained weight, because of the medication, and yet I could still see a smile and a fighting spirit.  I gave her a hug and a kiss on the cheek and in my mind when I said goodbye I knew it might be the last time to see her.  We talked about my kids and her not giving up.

And in my mind she did not give up.  Her body was just too hurt to continue. So the Big Guy lifted her worries up and brought her to his caring arms.

When I first met her close to 10 years ago Mailani and I teased and laughed.  Nelson was a saint then as he is now.  Always sitting back as we laughed, joining in at just the right moment to laugh with his wife.

I will miss her a bunch.

And that brings me to the point of my post.  I have let people get the better of me, they have lied to me, they have hurt me, and I have let them.

But to you, and you know who you are.  I know the lies, I know your two faceness.  I have seen the innocent look on your face as you press the knife in my back.

I don’t care.

Yes, that’s right… for karma will take you and punish you in a way that I can’t even seem to imagine.

I had cared what you thought, what you wanted to tell me, and what was “important to you.”

But recently I have determined that the only people I have to matter to is my kids, my family and the one woman in my life.

Everyone else has to earn that care.

I gave care to people who didn’t deserve it and yet did it anyway.  That’s who I am, and I anticipate that no matter how much I say I won’t care, I will.

But in this journey, these last couple of days since my eyes were opened…

I have to care about what I want to say here.  I have to and have written things that will never see the light of day for the people who they are written about have skin so thin that the anger would melt them.  I have written such words of passion and love that will only be shared with my kids , family and Joanna.  Because some things are meant to be treasured by a select few.

And I haven’t been seeing what really matters.

I saw a sunrise this morning and the majesty of it took my breath away.

Then I got news that took my breath away. 

No money crisis, job crisis or life crisis can compare.

A friend of mine who was just 40 is now gone. And I don’t know what life has in store for me.

Maybe it’s playing poker, maybe it’s finishing a novel. 

Maybe it’s just living life.

Love to my family, Luck to my friends, and lollipops to my kids cause I’m always thinking of you.

Sean