Why am i up at 6am on my vacation?

No, Glenn Beck, Rush Limbaugh, or Sarah Palin are not coming to the Graham Library for a book signing.

I'm going deer hunting. I'm currently camo'ed up and about to go out into the 22 degree weather to sit in the middle of the woods to find the ever elusive white-tailed deer.

I didn't grow up a hunter so this has been a fun learning experience for me. Lucky for me, I have patient in-laws that have joined me on the journey these last eight years. To some, it may seem mean or barbaric or just a plain waste of time. In fact, I accidently made a coworker cry one time just bringing up the subject. However, there is much more to the actual experience than the casual observer would expect. It's refreshing to be in the woods with absolutely no sounds. No airplanes, no cars, no radio or TV. It's amazing to hear the silence in nature just before the sun presents itself for the day or just before it disappears to reveal the darkness of night.

It's called a sport, but it's much more than that. Like anything, it can be abused or given a bad name. But it reaches back to the early days when man had to hunt their food. They may have not had high-powered rifles or Scent Lock clothing, but it's the same in nature. It's taking part in God's design that man care for the other beasts of His creation. Plus, it's just fun to go shoot guns with the boys.

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How cool was that?

The answer is very cool. This is a response to the last posting about President and Mrs. Bush's visit to Charlotte. The good news is that in day 2 of my line-standing journey, my experience was only a little over 2 hours long.

The whole event was very interesting. All the local news guys were there so you had that big event feel. As I was standing in line, I looked up and saw Greta van Susteren from Fox News. I found out later that she'd done an interview with Billy Graham and Pres. Bush.

We were still in line outside with no view of the W (if I may call him that with all due respect). However, things were surreal with all the secret service agents around. It was clear they were not going to mess around.

After about 2 hours in line, we made it up to the metal detectors. No pictures because cameras were not allowed inside and cell phones had to be turned off. Once you made it inside, it was a little like Disney World with the zig-zag rope lines. I eventually made it near the end of the line. I was about 20 people back when I just casually stuck my hand in my pocket. It was more out of nervous energy than anything. At that point, the secret service agent beside me kindly asked, "Sir, can you please take your hand out of your pocket?" "Yes sir" was my quick and alarmed response. As I waited for my heart to start beating again I finally approached the table. Mrs. Bush was first greeting everyone with a "Thank you for coming and have a Merry Christmas." She was as graceful as you'd imagine based on what I've seen on TV.

At the end of the table sat the man who less than two years ago was the most powerful man on earth. He shook everone's hand and offered a pleasant greeting. He looked up from signing a book, stuck out his hand, and said, "Thanks for coming. Have a Merry Christmas." It wasn't my wedding or the birth of my child, but that was one of the coolest things i've experienced. That may sound dorky, but for me, it's true.

He's just a man. But he's a man that I respect for his morals and integrity. Think of him what you may, it can't diminishy experience.

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Have you ever met a US President?

In the next couple of hours, we'll find out if I've joined the list. On Saturday, I stood in line for 5 hours for the chance to buy a wristband. That wristband has gotten me the chance to stand in line AGAIN at the Billy Graham Library.


So let's back up a little. Last Thursday I found out that George W Bush was coming to the library to sign his new book. My first thought was, I'm there. So on Saturday, I got in line at 7:45am for a book sale that didn't start until 9:30am. I stood in that slow-moving line until almost 1pm. Doesn't sound bad until you consider that it was in the 30's and sleeting/ snowing a good portion of the time. By the way, we were standing in line outside.

It's been an interesting experience so far. There are more rumors than a gossip website. We all get to see him. Only a certain color wristband is guaranteed to see him. Suddenly every has their sources or knows someone who works for BG ministries. So we'll see how this goes. Lord willing I'll have the chance to talk with the 43rd President of the US. I'll keep you posted...

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What are you thankful for?

Is it a day off work? A plate full of food and leftovers for later? Maybe football on TV all day on a Thursday? To be honest, I'm thankful for all those things. But. I'm also thankful for so much more.

First of all, I feel blessed to just be alive. I have a wonderful wife, a cool son, a terrific family, and a great job with good people to work with. This week I was witness to the sting of death. I had a fried whose father passed away. He was probably around 70+ years of age so I believe he lived a full life. He'd struggled with illnesses including cancer so he's in a better place where he's hurting no more. Still, his family will deal with loss as they go through this holiday season.

The other brush with death was far more sudden. We were driving home (actually from this visitation for the man I mentioned earlier) and saw fire trucks, an ambulance, and police cars lining the road. As we rolled past, we saw a body in the road covered in a sheet. We later found out the man was killed trying to cross a busy highway in the rain. He was struck twice by a car while trying to get to a gas station because his car had broken down. I don't know who he was. I'm sure he was someone's son, possibly a father, brother, or friend.

I tell of this not to depress or cause concern but rather to encourage. Oh really? Live every day with a purpose. Be thankful for the blessings you are given. Even on the darkest day, there is a light that will shine.

I'm also thankful because I don't fear death, the darkest of dark times. When Christ died on the cross, he conquered death for you and me. That's what I'm most thankful for, real hope. As I type this and ride in the rain, I look over and see a rainbow. That was first used by God as a sign of hope after a worried time. Just know that God is in control. Look to Him and be thankful.

And after you've had a chance to thank Him for your blessings, sneak back in the kitchen and see if there is any pecan pie left...

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Does your kid like Fox News?

Mine does. Or at least he says he does. The somewhat odd thing is that my son is only 3 years old. I know he would much rather watch The Wonder Pets or one of the Toy Story Movies, but ocassionally he will show some excitement that Fox News is on. A couple things happened this past weekend that showed the indoctrination of my child is taking hold. I just wish we could have the same affect on the 8 or 9 people that watch "The Ed Show" on MSNBC each night.

Before this weekend, he's always shown an interest in his daddy's favorite news channel. When he was about 2, he walked into the room while I was watching Fox News. Karl Rove was being interviewed. He asked, "Daddy, who's that on TV." To which I replied, "Karl Rove. He's the smartest man in the world." So for the next couple of months when someone would ask him, "Who's the smartest man in the World?" He'd quickly reply, "Karl Rove." When he'd hear his name being said on TV, his eyes would light up, and he'd say, "He said Karl Rove! He said Karl Rove!" I'm not sure if it's Karl's tussle with Kristine O'Donnell or just that he's moved on, but he doesn't mention Karl too much anymore.

Another funny thing happened when we were reading his pop-up book on America. The US Capital Building is on one of pages that pops out. The first time he saw that he said, "Look. It's Fox News!" He recognized the Capital Building which is in the background during Bret Baier's show. That's usually on while we are eating dinner at night. He was able to make the connection without me having to say anything. In the same book, one of the pages is the Golden Gate Bridge. We were reading it one night, and I asked him if he knew who lived under that bridge. I told him the evil witch Nancy lived under that bridge (referring to the elected official from that particular district, who could that be?). The next morning he was reading the same book with his mother. They got to that page and he explained to her that the evil witch Nacy lived under that bridge. My wife could just shake her head. I on the other hand was beaming with pride.

Back to this past weekend. The first example happened when we went to visit my wife's aunt on Friday. We walked in and Fox News happened to be on. He said, "That's Fox News. I love Fox News." Her aunt asked him what he watched on Fox News. He replied, "Glenn Beck." She was a little taken aback that a 3-year-old knew that he watched Glenn Beck on Fox News. I once again beamed with pride.

The next example occurred this past Sunday when one of our friends were watching Taylor because my wife had a baby shower and I had a church meeting. Imagine that, everything happening at the same time. Anyway, she asked him what he wanted to do. He said he wanted to go play in her son's room upstairs. That's normal for a 3-year-old so she said great that he could go play with his Lego's. He then said that after that he wanted to come back downstairs and watch Fox News. A little surprised, she jokingly asked him, "Who do you watch on Fox News?" To which he once again replied, "Glenn Beck." I think she about fell out. She was so surprised she had to call her husband in to hear him repeat that. He then had to record that to send to one of his conservative friends in Texas. Once again, I beamed with pride.

This may be no big deal, and it's just a kid repeating what he's heard. But I think it's pretty cool that he chooses this to repeat. Fair and Balanced.

Can you show me the way to Sante Fe?

Alright, alright.  I know that is not how that phrase goes.  But I'm in Santa Fe, so work with me.  This is a very cool little town.  And if you didn't know, it's actually the state capital of New Mexico.  Usually when you travel to a place for business, you spend more time in the airport, a cab or rental car, or a conference room than you do getting to enjoy what the city has to offer.  Luckily for me, I've had a little time to enjoy the local culture.  The city is over 400 years old so it has some history to it.

My co-workers have traveled out here many times before so they know some of the historical places to visit and the must-try restaurants.  This is the market that we got to visit the other day.  Local Native American artists set up to sell their hand-crafted jewelry, pottery, and other crafts.  One of my co-workers compared Santa Fe to Charleston, South Carolina.  That seems like an odd comparison, but I think it's very fitting.  As I mentioned earlier, you can feel the history when you walk around.  With the market, fabulous church buildings, and other historical sites, there's a sense of a time gone by that you get in Charleston.

So you may be wondering what I'm doing in Santa Fe.  We are traveling out here to meet with our scientists in our Los Alamos office.  Yeah, scientists, how cool is that?

If you don't know about Los Alamos, it's a pretty interesting place.  It's a city on a plateau almost in the middle of nowhere in New Mexico.  It's about 45 minutes outside of Santa Fe.  It's also the home to the United States work on developing the atomic and nuclear bomb.  In fact, there is still a nuclear facility where testing and research is still conducted.  We drove by it.  It basically looks like a normal production plant.  No large towers or huge billowing smoke, but very cool none the less.

One cool thing we got to do was tour the Bradbury Science Musuem (named for a former director of the testing facility).  It was interesting to read the history around the development of this weaponry and how it was used and implemented.  This is a picture of a replica of the bomb that was dropped on Hiroshima during WWII.  They also had a replica of the bomb dropped on Nagasaki; it was a little smaller and less impressive.  This is not to celebrate the lives that were lost in the dropping of those bombs or in the ware in general.  However, it is interesting to learn about the history behind that and how that helped us defeat the empire of Japan which had attacked us at Pearl Harbor.

So that was my visit to Santa Fe, which technically isn't over because I fly home today.  The best I can remember, I've now visited 21 states.  Maybe not that impressive, but I'm almost half-way there.

How tough is the color pink?

I don't wear pink. It's just now my color. I rarely even wear red (that's mainly did to my distain for North Carolina State University). I just stay away from that section of the color spectrum.

After all, I'm an Oakland Raiders fan. "Real men wear black." I'm a Tarheel, I can't be seen in any shade of red or pink. And let's not even get into the Red Sox. Argh, I hate that color. And like I said, that hatred has seemed to spread to its cousin pink. Guys just can't look tough in pink. Ever see any biker gangs in pink? What about ninjas in kungfu movies. Never in pink. I even got paranoid when my three-year-olds favorite color was pink for a while. Luckily, that too did pass.

But this past weekend, I was involved with something that showed me the real strength that color represents.

I've been doing some running lately to counteract the fact that my metabolism is slowing and my penchant for sweets is ever increasing. I wanted to run in some sort of organized event, somewhere I got to wear a number like I was an Olympian. My wife suggested (there's that phrase again) that I run in the Susan G Komen race. My mom is a breast cancer survivor so that has a special place in my heart. I signed up to do the recreational run because the competitive run sounded a little too intimidating.

So I show up on Saturday morning with my running shoes and my headphones ready to dash. Only problem was there were about 20 thousand people in my way clogging the streets. Mothers, grandmothers, teenagers, guys pushing strollers. This was a mass of humanity. At that point I realized this was less about me running a little over 3 miles this morning and more about the courageous journey these women were on. I remember the fight that my mom successfully won against her cancer. I remember how tough she was and the fact that she never complained. She fought through the pain and the chemo and the losing of her hair with grace and courage that I admire deeply. I also think of a friend who lost her battle earlier this year with the same disease. She trusted God through the entire journey that he had a plan for her. She knew her fight was bigger than her and that God would take care of her husband and two young sons.

As I walked, I read the notes of celebration or honor for loved ones that had experienced this disease. While watching football yesterday, I asked my wife why the NFL had chosen this disease as a focus. The players and coaches were wearing pink armbands or towels and pink-trimmed hats in tribute. Then, I thought back to Saturday and the fact that we all have mothers or grandmothers, sisters or aunts, or someone who'd been affected.

So on Saturday, I saw how tough pink is. It represents strength, couarge, and hope.

To end on a lighter note, here are some of the top slogans I saw on t-shirts or posters. Normally, these things said in public would be offensive or given a weird glance. But in this case, they were celebrated:

Running for Ra Ra's Ta Ta's

Helping save the A's, B's, C's, and DD's

We're breast friends

GRITS for ..

OK, you get the point.

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