B. Hudson

Probably the most influential person I have had in my life growing up was my mom.  #2 was Uncle Dave.

There was always, and to some degree still is, a divide between me and my Dad.  I think my side of it is that I feel like his life with my brothers was so great, and my life was pretty hard.  While on his side, he barely knows me.  I mean its like saying some guy on the street is your kid.  How do you act?  I mean he’s known I was his kid from birth, couldn’t deny me if he wanted to.. Just saying him in Hawaii most of my life, and me in Louisville.. We aren’t well acquainted like Father-Son Duo’s usually are.

So much to his chagrin, Uncle Dave was my father figure growing up in my teenage years.  He’s a perpetual smart a–, and sarcastic as the day is long.  Which I now am.  Probably most of the people who have found themselves on the end of one of my tirade’s would wish Dave had left me the heck alone.  I don’t know if he did it out of a service to his brother (my Dad), or if he did it because he felt he should (since I’m family), or if he did it because he just really thought I was awesome.  Probably the awesome one.  Dave was better to me most of the time than I really understood.  He was always there.  I’d call him just to talk to him, cause I missed “hanging with Dave”.  Like my Father, I don’t think he ever got along with my Mom.. but it was never an issue for me.

Anyway, I am in TOTAL denial.  Total and complete denial, he told me he was needing to be tested for alzheimers and I’m overwhelmed.  It quickly over-ran all I had mentally to understand/cope/deal with it.  He’s not really that old, but I guess that friggin disease starts at some point.  Anyway.  I’m ticked off that he might have it, worried that he does, and praying that he doesn’t.

I don’t keep in touch, I’m really bad with that anyway.  I’m really bad at almost everything interpersonally that people depend on.  I barely have any time to myself, and that time is either in the wee hours of the morning (Midnight World of Warcraft!!), or stolen from my family at large.  Right now, whether its right or wrong my priorities are for the people I live with first.  When/if I can get them to a place where me leaving won’t collapse the house of cards, I’ll be able to visit my Mom, and Uncle Dave.. maybe even a few of the others if they don’t hate me by then.

Well I’m freaked out.. its inevitble and I know this.  People get old and wild stuff happens to them.  I guess I’ve been so blindsided by my son having crazy things happen to him, I just never considered anything for old people.  getting old = sucks.

I don’t know who you are, but everyone aside from me and like 10 other people in the US thinks OJ Simpson is a murderer.  Admittedly, things did look pretty bad there for a while, but in the end he was aquitted.  This means, he cannot be tried again, and that there was not even enough evidence to get a hung jury (meaning some thought he was a killer some thought he wasn’t).

Unfortunately he was the first in the new trend of Media Trials.  Where everything from his ex girlfriends, next door neighbors, college roommate was put in front of a camera to say how awful he was/is as a person.  Now I don’t think he’s as clean as “the preachers sheets”, but there clearly wasn’t enough evidence to do anything to him.

Now the guy is all over the news cause he was with some guys who allegedly robbed some sports memorabilia from some dealers in a hotel in Vegas.  The hostility and the general drooling from the media as they got to, once again, run this guy’s name in the mud was just unmeasurable..  No one ever mentions that the media basically ruined his career.  It wasn’t MUCH of a career (for Hertz, and in some minor movie roles), but it was SOME money.. Probably more than I make.

Anyway, this whole trial by media thing hung him out to dry.  I was deeply SADDENED to hear that the book he helped with (not sure how that worked out, ghostwritten by someone.. etc..) all the proceeds go to the victims of the crime.. wait for it.. he was ACQUITTED OF!  Lets not get into the travesty of justice it was to even sue the man after being acquitted, it basically served to leach money off of a rich guy that was sufficiently slandered in the media that almost everyone despised him.  They took advantage of that and hung him out to dry.  Now his ex wife, she was apparently beaten pretty often, and all this.. So maybe her family should be able to suck some money from him.. but the waiter?  Why is the waiter’s family privy to any money from the innocent man?  Its just generous to the utmost that he is doing it this way, even if the book is creepy (it is, and kinda stupid on his part.. but what else does he have going for him?).  When I heard it was doing good, I actually thought.. I’d buy that book (wouldn’t read it though.. not interested), I mean he got screwed pretty royally.. and is now probably just livin off his old money he had from football (I assume).  I’m sure its more money than I’ll ever see, but honestly he’s willing to work.. and can’t.  He wasn’t gifted as an actor, or anything but he was funny in the naked gun movies.  I don’t know how much Hertz paid him as a spokesman, but he’s not getting it now.

I feel bad for him.  I mean, lets go both ways on the story here:

1. He is robbing the guys..

1. This makes him a felon, a long way from rich/famous now..
2. this FURTHER cements him as a dingleberry , cause now he’s

1. a wife beater
2. a armed robber
3. a felon

1. He’s back in the spotlight as a douche
2. now thats 2 narrow scrapes with prison terms associated
3. eight out of the ten people with me that think he’s innocent of murder, are now going to be convinced he probably did (why people make that jump, well he did X ,surely he’d do Y, is beyond me)

So anyway, I feel for the guy.  The nation is almost united against him, and money from a book he helped with is funneling in to victims from a crime he didn’t commit.  I mean he’s not poor since he plays golf, like.. all the time (although they had some old guy making fun of him playing golf on national TV).  I can’t afford to even have golf clubs.. so I imagine hes way better off than me.  Anyway, that was buggin me and now you know.

Well there was once upon a time when a bunch of teenagers fighting wasn’t the end of the freaking world.. but the world is a changed place.

First of all, my understanding of this “Jena Six” scenario:

The white guy that got ganged up on, was shooting his mouth off (cause that’s odd for a teenager).. He may/may not be a racist, but the fellas that gave him a beating sure thought so.  period.

I think there’s a lot more going on here, but in the end this is the only thing that should matter in these cases.  Whether or not white students hung nooses, or if it was ninja monkeys.. none of that matters in the case for me.

1. Its rude what that guy did, and in a perfect world, he could get a little roughed up and learn a valuable lesson.. Don’t be a jerk
2. There is just no reason unless this guy is a professional Mixed Martial Arts fighter, that it should take 6 kids to give him a beating.
3. They should absolutely be punished for battery, or aggravated battery.. or whatever.  They kicked the kid in the head and messed up his face and hand.  Meaning, they weren’t “fighting” they were just beating a kid down.
4. Aggravated battery vs 2nd degree murder

1. I can see that this is a little out of place when not considered that this is a 6 on one attack.
2. AND that most of his seriousness of his injury was a concussion.  While not the end of the world, the fact that this was either a goal on purpose or just on accident.. its reckless ( I know teens don’t think, I remember being that age..)

1. even if you say “oh I don’t see how thats so bad”, keep in mind that even if it was just 1 (one) kick in the head, if done at just the right angle, this is fatal.  Whether you mean it or not, the guy still dies.  Not sayin they really WERE trying to kill him, really I don’t know.. and don’t care.  Just saying that the ability of you to kick someone and kill them is significantly higher than for you to punch them (legs being several times stronger than arms, etc).
2. If you are pointing a gun at a guy, and you don’t know its loaded.. and it goes off and you kill him.. You committed murder.. (the classification I don’t know, cause I’m no lawyer)  Then you go to jail.  How long I think depends on whether the jury believes you are dumb enough not to see bullets, or just crazy enough to think that a loaded gun wouldn’t “go off”.. but still.  Jail, for murder

Now for Sharpton:

As far as I can tell, Sharpton is all about equality.  All about lets all just be the same and no favors one way or the other.  I know of people on both sides of the color scheme that would argue that he is SO not… But I think he is.

To say that he wouldn’t have gone ballistic even more had this been 6 white kids beating on a black kid, is retarded.  He’d be cryin out for the limits of the laws..  Storming about how this is proof racism is still in America, and so on, and so forth.  THEN, if the charges levied against the attackers was attempted 2nd degree murder, I doubt he’d say a THING.  I love his prose, and can imagine it like this “This poor young man, was deliberately singled out for the color of his skin.  Beaten to the ground and then kicked around, until hospitalized.”  All true by the way (I don’t think the white kid got it for being “white” so much as just for being a jerk).

Lessons to learn:

One:  Kids should be allowed to fight, it heps reinforce social norms.  (if you grab a guy by the shoulder and make a fist, he assumes you want to fight even if you are just showing him your fake superbowl ring).  You shouldn’t do some things and you know it.   Legal/Illegal, doesn’t matter to me at this point.  Like if a guy grabs your wife’s “posterior”.. You can be a wimp and shrug it off.. or you can deck him.  Deck him.  If he’s bigger than you, you might get beat up but you defended yourself and someone you love (assuming you love your wife..), and thats courageous.. and maybe even honorable.
Two:  6:1 is not a fight, it is a deliberate attack.  Like a mugging.  Now had this been a standup fight where the jerk stood up and fought back.. I’d think differently.  Cause then he gets a broken nose and a black eye.. maybe still a concussion (weren’t all these guys football players?).  It isn’t fair, and shouldn’t be tolerated unless the 1 guy is the incredible hulk, or a UFC champion gone crazy in a joint (unlikely, but still.. I guess Rich Franklin or someone could just go off and be crazy and get in some trouble.. I doubt only 1 guy could take them down though).  This kind of attack SHOULD be treated more seriously, and SHOULD be prosecuted to the highest extent to keep it from happening.  Black on white, White on Black, Yellow on magenta.. Color means nothing to the odds here.  The same punishment should be sought whether it was white:black or black:white.  Maybe if the white guy was wearing a Klan hood, I could see it more.. but still 6:1?

Three:  If you followed sharpton before and respected him as I did, this has to put you on notice that he either 1) isn’t forward thinking enough to think.. were the roles reversed I’d have pushed for that too, or 2) knows he would push for it and doesn’t care (shooting the WHOLE “equality” thing right the crap out of the window.

Again, murder?  I don’t really think so, but I can kinda understand.. maybe its a stretch though?  Now IF this town is a racist haven, means nothing.  Whether you are a racist or not should not affect the LAW.  I imagine Sharpton would push for “hate crime” if this had been the other way around though.  So on that aspect I follow him, but I think there should be more separation of all these issues..

Nooses in a tree:  Technically, its probably racially motivated.. I concede it.  However hanging a piece of rope from a tree is probably not illegal.

Getting into a fight at a private party when crashing:  This is normal, I’ve seen it happen and if you’ve lived much so have you.  Good bouncers make this less of a problem as you get older, but still.  What I read was the party was “invitation only”, and that the guys weren’t invited.  Some jerk (probably watched too much “Road House”) jumped in and started a fight.. then it moved to the parking lot.. and he got charged.. etc.  He got off minor though, but he wasn’t 6:1 from what I could tell in reports.. He was more 1:1, maybe 2:1.. I dunno but I heard nothing of “hospital visits” for anyone involved.

The big one I thought, but isn’t being played up that much:

Getting a gun pulled on you:  Some of the black students (or just adults, who knows..) had a gun pulled on them at a gas station.  Now, this looks bad.. But the story I got from a biased news source (aren’t they all?) seemed to play down that “he sited self defense as he thought he was being robbed”.  I think that is pretty key, but in the end.. if there was 2 guys coming at him.. ya know.. maybe he could’ve thought that.  So anyway the black individuals wrestled the gun from him and the guy ran away.  Later I think one of the black people were cited for “theft of the gun”?  This is funny to me, but technically accurate.  If there is no proof one way or another on the charge of “are they robbing me, or am I just a nutjob”, then they did just take a gun from a guy.. Which is a theft.  They took something that didn’t belong to them.  I think that’s pretty basic.

Racism is an ugly thing.  I don’t consider it criminal, but I do consider it wrong.  I think, as a white guy, we get picked on a lot as if we are just all racist.  Really and truly, YOUR perception of ME means almost nothing to ME.  If you think I’m racist, go for it.  Do I have more white friends than black, well yeah.  Do I have black friends?  Yeah.  Really its a kinda small circle anymore with kids and school and a wife, dog, house… You get my point, I don’t get out much.  Anyway don’t assume that everything you see white:black, black:white.. is racially motivated.  I am pretty sure all people have a potential to be a jerk and say some stupid crap.. Whether that means you need a posse of 6 guys to teach him a lesson is really the issue I have.   Really people should be adult and TALK things out.  They should.  We should all drive below the speed limit, and all pay our fair share of taxes.  And if this was the case there would be no pollution, litter.. you get my point here too.  People are just not there yet.  Some are, but not all.  Be kind to each other.. and for God’s sake.. stop talking trash ppl.

Not sure if I’ve mentioned before, but my wife is super.  I don’t mean as in she can fly or looks good in tights.. hm.. well she can’t fly..

Anyway I was just thinking just how magnificent she is in just about every conceivable way.  She is a beautiful beacon of awesomeness, wrapped up in a sweater.. (always a sweater I don’t know why.. but always..)

I say this for a few reasons:

1. She’s got her Bachelors degree (which seems funny to have a degree in being a bachelor when you’re married.. but I digress)
2. She’s a mother of at least 1 good kid (at any given moment at least 2 are acting like wild animals.. so just by probability 1 is good)
3. She works with some of the most self-important people I’ve ever run across, and has NEVER put anyone in their place (a hobby of mine, even though deb has mellowed me over the years)
4. She is FUNNY.  And I don’t mean like, wearing funny shoes, or like walkin around with a “Kick me” sign on.  I mean FUNNY.  Even when arguing with me she gets really upset and tongue tied.  Then she says something funny, and I instantly forget #1 what we are fighting about and #2 what she could have possibly meant by what she tried to say.  I joke around an awful lot and it takes a woman with some extreme tolerances to live with me and not jump in front of a bus.  She’s the woman though, through and through.  While I make jokes, she’s usually pretending not to notice.. or pretending she’s tuning me out.  Thats fine.  She still laughs.  My favorite thing to do is clown around just to make her laugh.  Oh.. thats another one
5. She has an awful cool laugh.  I’m sayin it comes off in a way that you just KNOW she #1 thought something was funny, and #2  really really needed that laugh.  She’s gotten stubborn over years of laugh abuse (me) forcing her to laugh by being hysterically funny.  Or just stupid.. probably a little of both.

Anyway, theres always time to tell someone you love, that you Love them.  I totally love you Deb.  Don’t forget it.  Nothing could improve my feelings for you.  Nothing but a totally awesome StarWars Marathon!!!! (just kidding)

(but seriously if you’re up for it, let me know)

XO

Man this class is good.  Well for now anyway, finding out that MOST of the information he is sending our way is kinda “good to know, but not required to know” made the big difference.  Before, I was doing ok.. I mean nothing special, but thats mostly because I’ve had Physics 298, Physics 299 before.

I kinda felt sorry for the freshmen and sophomores in the class… but then again.. they have all day to read crap, and not deal with a job/kids/wife.. etc..

Now that I think of it.. man forget them.. I want an A!

Well, I had assumed that “elements of astronomy” would be a really easy class.  Well think again sir, its rackin my friggin brain.  Firstly, apparently it is just not “astronomy” enough here to get a class called astronomy, so its Physics 107.  Ok, I’ve done classes that were kinda misnomered..

This class, while still interesting, is a lot more than I had envisioned.  I guess that’s okay in the grand scheme of things, but until I take test1 I won’t know for sure how this bird is going to fly.

jeesh!

It has been a long time since this attack humbled us as a nation. The attack itself was quickly eclipsed by the magnitude of heroics by regular Americans, and the pride that all of us who were not directly affected felt that we had such heroes. I personally salute all those who risked life/limb to help others, in most cases complete strangers in a time of such astonishing need.

The tragedy was not just that so many died.  The tragedy was that ordinary men/women rushed into burning buildings that would eventually collapse on them, with only the HOPE to help someone escape a fiery death.  These weren’t special people, these were people like your neighbor, the guy down the street and the lady at the gas station.  They gave their lives not knowing whether it would even make a difference.  Whether they would even have a chance to get a person out.  I am not just talking about the workers either.  The office people that stayed, or went back in to try to get a co-worker or a person they didn’t see waiting outside.  These people emblazoned what it truly meant to be “American” while the world watched.  Then there are the people in the aftermath.  Those people that worked endless hours for endless days pushing hope’s own boundary that they may find someone.  A place so horrific that the K9 search dogs got depressed (read that in a magazine)!  (being a dog owner, I cannot imagine my dog ever being depressed, much less depressed when I am around)

On today, do not think in anger of what has happened.  Or what you feel about the war going on in Iraq.  Think of the ordinary people, who became extraordinary by risking everything to save a countryman.

Heroes define us as a country.  They show all, what our country has to its merit.  What we all could be, and why so many people will do anything to become part of our country.

Well today my oldest son decided that whatever trace of common sense he had was something worth ignoring.  The kid did the following things

1. He called a little girl “fat” at school, and hurt her feelings(honestly, bad but not something I’m worried about)
2. We had some cookies that, I bought specifically for my wife (oreo FIEND!), and I had put them up REALLY high.  He climbed up on top of a barstool we have and got himself a package of them.  Mind you, our uber-super-sharp kitchen knives set is in the direct path of this.
3. Forged a note from his teacher saying that “Glenn had already done his homework at skool”.

With #1, I’m not surprised.. He’s kinda turned into a jerk lately.  Relishing in the irritation of others.  I know I did this too, but I’m sure I didn’t go to the extremes he visits when irritating his sister.

With #2, honestly aside from him being a hyperactive kid, I have no real issue with him getting some cookies.  My issue is he climbed up and could have fell down and broken his neck, let alone pulled a case of sharp kitchen knives down with which to impale himself.  I mean really.. eat the cookie but at least don’t do something to try to kill yourself!

#3.. Its terribly funny, but a side note.. it was written.  (wait for it)… IN CRAYON!.  I’m not saying a college educated professional wouldn’t WRITE a note in crayon, I’m just saying that this same person wouldn’ tdo so and still misspell the word “school”.  So this note, was so far from being believable, the only thing he could do to discredit it more was to forge it IN FRONT of us.

I honestly don’t know what to do with the guy.  His only real punishment now is writing his words, and not eating dinner with the rest of us.  I mean nothing really works, and I’ve tried it all.. Positive reinforcement, nope.  Spanking, nope.  Time out, nope.  He doesn’t have a favorite THING to take away, so that isn’t a punishment.  Sit in your room?  nope, he’s fine with that too (not initially, but it looses its affect when he starts dozing off on the bed).  To top things off, his “real” dad is taking him and his sister this weekend.  This promises to be a good weekend for ME as I won’t have to deal with his jerk-ness.  I always miss the guy but its hard to miss someone who delights in causing you more trouble than they should.  Honestly with all the things he’s done in the past and the path he’s on, I don’t know what to do.  Until an epiphany comes through, I can only continue my course and hope for better medication for him that perhaps can level out his wackiness a little.   I’d love to say, his dad will support us and keep the heat on him for the weekend, but I doubt it as much as I doubt George Bush is the second coming of Christ.  So whatever we impose is a lost battle.  He’ll run off and have a grand time and forget ever screwing the pooch this bad.

I know parenting is supposed to be hard, but really the little problems I can handle.  But how do you reach a kid that doesn’t care and has no real idea of how to connect wrongdoing with consequence.  When he can escape punishments by running off to his dad’s or his grandparents.  I feel like I have no way to fix this, and as a guy being unable to fix things frustrates me.  Oh well.. keep on truckin is all I can do..

Ok well I finally got all my stuff together at IUS.  The support departments came along kicking and screaming to finally allow me to get registered, get aid.. etc..

Boom

Wait just a minute, you mean even at a lesser cost than UofL tuition, I get even LESS aid?  Yup.  Well I can’t go there then, period.  I need to have enough aid to cover both tuition and books.

So back to UofL I go!

Well through a crazed attack on student services here, I am now registered in some classes, and attending.  One of them is good for my major (YEAH!) one is just fun(YEAH!).  Books.. Yeah I need books don’t I?  So I swap all my aid over from IUS to UofL, and have that done.. guess what?  When I had to ditch that programming class C# last fall.. I fell below required credit hours for a full year.  So I have to petition to get this money, to prove I’m not some schmuck who wants to just milk the system.  But guess what?  Its week 2 of class, and I have no books.   Those of you who haven’t been to college, week one is mostly bogus anyway, mostly “here’s your syllabus, now go home”.. But week 2 is when the boogie starts to up.  My history class is in FULL tilt boogie now.  Referencing not one, but TWO books.. My Astronomy class, the fun one, meets tonight.. I can only hope the prof didn’t drop 20 problems or a paper on these folks last week having it due tonight.  Either way this is a bad start for ME this semester.

Luckily I have found a benefactor to help me get books till I can get this aid situation sorted out.  Thank GOD!  (no really, I gotta thank Him).

So now I gotta wait on this money, and then GET the books.  More waiting, while my reading assignments pile up higher, and higher.

Wait a minute.. Do I ever READ my books?

hm.. well its a good precaution anyway.. just in case..

There is a certain gift children, especially mine, have for totally missing the point of anything.  I think it is what allows them to BE children.  They lack the constant fear that we all have that ya know what there is something bad that could happen if I do “THIS” or don’t do “THAT”.

Part of this falls under responsibility, and that has a firm nest in maturity, which of course no child should really have.  They SHOULD want to run around like wild animals and have a good time.  I did it.  You did it.  The stuffy person you know in Accounting did it too (although accountants are a breed unto their own).

My Kids (the older 2) who are in school have stopped worrying about actually DOING work in school.  Its more fun to goof around and talk.  (which, duh.. it is)  The real problem here is my boy, is a big brained freak.  He can totally ditch homework for months and get 100’s on all his work.  No worries.  My daughter needs coaching.  And she’s doing the same thing.  Ditching homework/classwork.  Even at this young age, I am just pushed to my limit trying to get them to make the grades they need to make.  I mean is it REALLY imperative they get an A in art?  No.  In anything?  No.  Now if they want to be in the advanced program (my son does), I’d say straight A’s would certainly HELP that appeal to get in.  And my daughter skirts the D average at a low area, or at least she did this past year.  I blogged it, I ‘m sure.  She’s just as smart as the boy, but she doesn’t care enough to do it.  I hate to say that but I really think there is a priority list, and school is close to the bottom.. right above “doing what mom/dad says”.

If you pray, pray for my kids.  Heck, pray for ME!  Cause this year is not starting out too hot, and there is enough stress in life without having to tell a kid to DO the thing called homework, because it is a requirement.