Poetry Alive 2024

In late December 2022, my daughter told me about  a poetry group that  met the first Monday of the month.  She and I went in January both enjoyed it so we have been attending ever since.  The group meets both in person ad remotely.  Emma and I have only attended in person so far.

The structure of the group is that the poets share any poems they are working on the the moderator leads us through the theme of the week and then gives us a prompt to work on.  After the group is finished composing, they share the work they just completed.  n

In 2023 several poets shared one poem about Elgin, the city I live in, o Valentines Day. Our group was asked to participate in that.  In April of last year we all participated in a event called Poetry Alive where we all read several of our poems at a  public meeting.  My daughter chose not to participate last year i the event but went with the rest of our family to see me read.

Many of the poems I have submitted for Poetry Friday have bee written during or shared at our monthly poetry meetings .  For today's Poetry Friday I would like to present the You Tube video of the 2024 Poetry Alive presentation.  This year Emma participated as well.  We are the 2nd and 3rd poets.  There were 4 rounds of recitations.  Poetry Alive 2024 took place on the night of my 26th wedding anniversary, so in honor of the occasion, I adapted a song I wrote for her into a poem and recited it in the third round.Poetry Friday is hosted this week by Linda Mitchell at A Word Edgewise. 

A To Z 2024: J is for Just Married (26 Years Ago)

For The A to Z Challenge this year, I am focusing on everyday holidays. Each day there are multiple unusual things to celebrate.  Every day of the challenge I look for an event taking place that day and pair it with the letter of the day.  I have also made up 5 holidays to coincide with the vowel days of the challenge.  At the end of each post I will share a special song of the day for that day's letter.  At the end of the month, these songs will be assembled in a to z keepsake playlist on Spotify.  Every day is a celebration, let's unwrap today's together. 

April 11th is Dave and Amy Roller's wedding anniversary.

I was trying to justify not pulling a random holiday from the April 11th list and just writing about my wedding anniversary when I realized there is no justification needed.  The 3rd sentence in the above paragraph says it all, " Every day of the challenge I look for an event taking place that day and pair it with the letter of the day." My anniversary is an event taking place today and my titling the post Just Married (26 years ago), I have, in the words of Paul Hollywood, ticked all the boxes.

Yesterday morning my daughter was getting ready for her writing class at the same time I was getting ready for school.  She went towards the door and then came back saying, she had forgotten her glasses. Before I could stop myself I blurted out the line, "He can't see without his glasses". 

This is a line from the 1991 movie "My Girl".  My son recites this line quite a bit. A, because he like's to make fun of it and B, because it annoys his sisters.  If you've ever been  a brother or a sister you don't need me to say, not necessarily in that order.

As I was driving to work, while ruminating on that film, a memory popped in my head from almost 33 years ago when that film was in theatres.  At the time I was in a long distance relationship, and because it was the winter Holidays we were both in the Chicago area where our families both lived .  

We went to the Woodfield Mall to see the aforementioned film.  After the film I remember telling her on an escalator talking about the film and in that context  said something about wanting to grow old with her, (my girlfriend).  I don't know which direction we were on in the escalator, but things started going downhill after that. Because, shortly after I made that comment to her we were broken up, and I'm not sure but I don't think I even saw her again after that.

I remember going back to my parents house and calling up my best friend and spilling  all the  sordid details.  You ever have a friend you could tell anything, do anything with, share your secrets and keep theirs?  That's what I had with my best friend back in January of 1992.  26 years ago today I married her.

Lots has changed since I saw My Girl with someone who out turned out not to be my girl at all.  Woodfield Mall no longer has movie theatres, My parents no longer live at my boyhood home, I no longer need to use a landline to call my best friend, cause quite often we are together and when were not I just tell my phone to call her.  

But Amy and I are growing old together.  As Rowlf the Dog sang so eloquently in 1979, "The urge was righteous but the face was wrong."  But in my case something better didn't come along, she had been there all along.  

Amy and I love movies.  We watch them, re watch them, quote them, and watch them again.  One movie we enjoy is The Wedding Singer, a movie about friends who fell in love, like us.  In the final scene he confesses his love in a song he wrote called "Grow Old With You."

Songs also play a part of our friendship.  When I was living in Russia, I once wrote her a song about our friendship which is really a love song, we just didn't know it yet.  I wrote her another song and sang it for her as I proposed.  I wrote another song and a choir from our church sang it as we walked down the aisle after we had just been declared man and wife.  

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Our marriage is not perfect.  A few years ago we read a book together, called "When Sinner's say I do". The basic premise imperfect people cannot have a perfect relationship.  I certainly am not perfect.  She tells me she's not perfect, so I believe her.  She is certainly the person I want to spend the rest of my life with.  This August we will celebrate 34 years of friendship.  Each day I grow older with my dear friend Amy is worthy of a celebration. Not just a celebration, but each day with Amy is a Holiday in itself.  

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Today's song of the day is Jack and Jill Part II by the Gray Havens

I chose the songs for the A to Z playlist this February and March, and just decided today that I was going to write about Amy and Myself for J.  So I didn't really plan a connection between the holiday and the song of the day.  It turns out there is one, but it's very slight.  After Amy and I were married for a couple years, we moved into our first house and preceded to have our 2nd and third child.  During that time we were attending a church that met at Crystal Lake South High School.  I don't know if you've ever attended a church at a  school before.  I have on several occasions.  One thing that happens is all the accoutrements of the school for the most part stay right where they are even on Sunday.  So over the years we saw many homecoming posters and other things on the wall of our "church building".  One such poster was celebrating the fact that one of their seniors had just made it into the top 20 of Season 5 of American Idol.

This young man, David Radford, would later become part of the folk duo, The Gray Havens along with his wife  Licia.  Like I said it's a slight connection.  The Spotify playlist is big enough now to have a top 10.  

Yes as far as Holidays are concerned, the anniversary of the day I married my best friend is a pretty big one.  Feel free to comment and tell me about your love story if you care to.  

To go to the home of the A to Z challenge click here, to see the 2024 master list of participating blogs click here. Enjoy the 2024 A to Z challenge, and Happy Holidays!

60 Years In Sixty Days:1997

 1997: She Said Sure 

1997 was a year of great change for me. I started the year miserable and lonely.  Which is a line from the movie Marty.  But I  had not yet seen the movie Marty, which is a pretty good reason to be miserable, but I had others. 

I was living in a different state than I am now.  A state of  habitual sin.  A state of unfulfilled desire. A state of deep regret.  A state of hopelessness.  I mean South Carolinas not the bad, you can play tennis year round but I wasn't nearly the man I wanted to be and I was doing nothing to change.

A friend sought me out and offered me the hope of real change.  As I started to work through my issues and allow God to change me from the inside out.  I discovered something.  I discovered someone.

I had a friend in a different state.  She was in a state of healing.  A state of awareness.  A state of discovery,  She was changing in Illinois while I was changing in South Carolina.

W e had been friend for going on 7 years.  Everyone else noticed that we were meant for each other.  But we were oblivious.  Why would I date her? I would ask, she's my best friend.  Then one Day I said I should court her, she's my best friend.

She flew down for Spring Break and it was clear that courting was like friendship with help.  By the time Spring Break was over I knew and put an emerald engagement ring on layaway.  

In July I moved back to Illinois with marriage on my mind.   .  When I earned enough to pay for the ring I asked her parent for permission to marry their daughter. They said yes and I made reservations at a fancy restaurant for the proposal.

After Spring Break I had written lyrics for a proposal  and gave it to a friend who had written music for other songs I had written.  About the same time I got the ring paid off,  he sent me the  cassette with the song on it.  I asked a H.S. senior from our youth group to accompany me at a fancy restaurant.  On the big night, he chickened out.  So instead of bringing an accompanist  ala Breaking Away.  I brought in a cassette player ala Say Anything.

I was so nervous.  I could hardly eat dinner.  Because I knew I was going to propose. I turned on the tape player and began to sing:

It's A beautiful night

Your a beautiful girl

I thank God for the day 

That you brightened my world

The song continued and when I ended with the title question Will You Marry Me My Darling?, Amy was unsure of what just happened.

/I had a  habit and still do of showing all my poems, songs and writings to Amy to see if they are any good.  She must have thought that's what I was doing.  

"Is that what you are going to sing when you propose?" She inquired.

"This is me, proposing," I replied.

So she said, sure.

After which, she took out a piece of paper from her purse of all the ways she had known that I was going to propose that night.  It turns out that since I had telegraphed my intentions, that she also was very nervous and didn't eat much of her dinner either.  So our first official act as an engaged couple was to go to Denny's and have another dinner.

We got engaged 26 years ago this month.  We have been through many changes since then but I'll always remember 1997 as the year God changed two people and led them to the path of being one couple.
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500th Post Proclamation

It's finally here. My 500th post here at HSD over the past few weeks I have been making some tweaks to the blog but have not really announced them.

First of all, I have joined the 2nd decade pf the twentieth century and am now on twitter. Going forward I will be tweeting a link to all my new posts. I will also be tweeting my Next Time announcement that appeared and have now reappeared at the bottom of my posts.

Secondly I have added two new pages to the blog. Earlier this month I hosted the Carnival of Homeschooling with a post about my Top 10 Films of all time. I have made that a page as well as a 500th post page.

There are a few other changes, but you can check those out yourself.

I promised something very special for 500 posts. To commemorate the occasion, I have written a song. Within the lyrics, there are links to some of the posts that have appeared in HSD over the last 2+ years. So without further explanation and WITH my apologies to the Proclaimers, I present . . .

I Just Blogged (500 Times)

When I wake up, yeah, you know I'm gonna blog
I'm gonna blog about playin' puppy on the floor.
When I go out, well you know I'm gonna blog
I'm gonna blog about a field trip to the store.

If it's Christmas, yes you know I'm gonna blog
I'm gonna blog about how much we like to bowl.
And if it's Easter, yes you know I'm gonna blog.
That it's not a little rabbit that makes us whole.

I just blogged 500 times
And I might blog 500 more
To blog and ask what you guys do
With children screaming on your floor.

When I'm teaching, yes you know I'm gonna blog
About something good that Bunny or Spider did.
And when puppysims come
I'm gonna post 'em here. She's really quite a kid.

When we travel. yeah, you know I'm gonna blog
Whether close to home or Washington D.C.
And when we get back you know I'm gonna blog
With words and pics and videos for all to see.

I just blogged 500 times
And I might post 500 more
Just to be the guy whose 1000 posts
Will make you laugh but never snore.

When I'm fed up, yeah you know I'm gonna blog
I'm gonna blog 'bout how my family drives me mad
But when I think straight yeah you know I'm gonna blog
I'm gonna blog about the super times that we have had.

I just blogged 500 times
And I might tweet 500 more
Just to be the guy whose posts and tweets
reveal the passion at his core.

So that's it for post #500. Unless I get a lucrative contract in the music biz. I will be back very soon inching my way to 1000.

Next Time: Paragraphy for a Monday Morning.

Friday Fragments: Levis, Bunnyisms and Give-a-ways

My clock say Thursday evening but it really must be Half Past Kissing Time, The time of the week for Friday Fragments!


Fragment 1: In October I mentioned how one of my favorite musicians Allen Levi only updates his blog about once a month. In fact, His last post was only written at the excoriation (his word, not mine) and cajoling of faithful readers. The post was a masterpiece. His prose is almost as good as his lyrics. (By the way, IMHO, His music and lyrics are so powerful I would just rename the Grammys to the Levis.) His post about 2 sets of fathers and daughters just oozes poignancy.

Yet with as good as his blog is, he only updates it kicking and screaming, which leaves his readership wanting. Allen, must blog more. So, I have decided to do something about it. I have written a song: Since I can't carry many tunes with or without buckets don't expect any viral videos any time soon. (Some people have said that my singing may cause a virus.) Be that as it may here are the lyrics to my song.

Blog Allen Blog

He likes to sing
He likes to play
He doesn't like to blog
But that's OK

He likes his dog
And he likes his town
He doesn't like to blog
So word gets around

But he's really good at blogging
Eloquent, sincere, and charming
So the fact he doesn't like it
Can be quite disarming

Blog Allen Blog
We think you're quite a guy
Blog Allen Blog,
we need a regular dose of Levi

He hooks us in August with a song a day
And before we're saturated he just goes away
He can go a month or more without a single post
When he does it's great
But then the blog goes comatose

Blog Allen Blog
Come and press some words together
Blog Allen Blog
Your posts keep us on our tether

He's a poet
He's a critic
He can be a clown

The cyber space
is a better place
When he's around

Blog Allen Blog
I'm an Allen Levi geek
How about posting twice a fortnight
Which boils down to once a week



It can be a poem
It can be a song
It can be a recipe
A video of planting a tree
A thought on a sermon
A song about Ethel Merman
A tip about killing vermin

Blog Allen Blog



To hear some good music (Allen's) click here to go to his website.

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Fragment 2: As you know Levi's come in pairs. So I think it's time to give an update of my favorite current t.v. show (Chuck) starring my second favorite Levi (Zachary)

Zachary Levi Autograph
Originally uploaded by TravelShorts

Last year I was very clear in my opinion that Chuck was humming along in season 3 with brilliant episode after brilliant episode. Season 4, in no means a disappointment, has not been as consistently good as season 3. Instead of building from episode to episode, it reminds me of a title of another Chuck's (Swindoll) Book: Three steps forward. Two Steps back.



Despite it's unevenness (one mediocre episode of Chuck is worth a handful of CSI, NCIS, or the rest of the alphabet soup that's out there.), I still love Chuck and hope it staves off cancellation for yet another year.


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Fragment 3: I don't dabble in to too many Bunnyisms here at HSD. My 5 year old puppy tends to get all the good lines. Bunny had a doozy this week. I was reluctant to mention it, since it doesn't really put me in a good light. The fact is that I am very inconsistent in the way I structure the household and discipline the children. This past week I was much more consistent much to the chagrin of a certain 11 year old.



After handling some preteen rebellion, she came up to me and said " I liked you much better before Mom taught you how to parent." Well it is not her earthly Mom teaching me to parent but our Heavenly Father. I just need His grace to get better and better at it.



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Fragment 4: A few weeks ago, I started giving away an mp3 of an on line home school conference. So far, I have had only 1 entry. So it looks like I know who is going to win. Sure you may not home school yourself. But you may know someone who does. You could be a big hero in someones life to win such a useful prize for them. I have decided to lengthen the contest 1 more week until March 7th. Click here to see complete rules and to enter by leaving a comment.

That is all my Fragments for now. Other's are just a click away.

Six Word Saturday - Lyrics By Dave

Yes it's Six Word Saturday again and my top 25 label celebration is continuing.

These are not my six words: LABEL # 20 (7 way tie) Lyrics by Dave.

I have been writing songs for most of my life. I can carry a tune, but only in a bucket. As you know, buckets are hard to come by in this economy. Often when I sing, the only one who recognizes the tune, is me. This can be difficult, since I also wrote the music.

I occasionally write parodies so anyone I can con into listening will at least recognize the tune. I was trying to think of what parody lyrics to share in this post, when I saw this video on a friend's facebook page.

That video reminded me of today's six words:

Some people say I Monkey around.

I love the Monkees, they and the Beatles more or less created the music video along with the folks at School House Rock. Last Train to Clarksville is one of my favorite Monkee's songs. Let's face it any Monkee's song I happen to be listening to, has the tendency to be my favorite. My all time favorite has got be, I'm a believer. So sometime in 1987 while singing it to the top of my lungs alone in my van I came up with these alternate lyrics (All but the last verse those I made up as I typed. Hey it's a gift. But after you read it, you might want to send the gift back.) ...

I thought God was only true for little ones
Like Santa Claus, you find He isn't real
But God was out to save me, I just couldn't see
When I was at lowest, He died for me

That's when I felt his grace (bomp Ba da da da)
Now I'm a believer (bomp ba da da da)
And there's now a place (bomp ba da da da)
In Heaven that's mine
And He's my Lord (Ohohohohohhhh)
Now I'm a believer
Now I'm a receiver
And I'm glorifyin!
(Bomp Ba da da da Bomp ba da da da)

I could never think of a second verse
I racked my head
I tried and tried and tried
Then a few years later
I heard a Christian version
And my chance for CCM* fame died

But I still feel His grace (bomp ba da da da)
I'm still a believer. (bomp ba da da da) )
There's still a place (bomp ba da da da)
in Heaven that's mine
He's still God. (Ohohohohohhhh)
I'm still a believer
still a receiver
And still glorifyin!
(Bomp ba da da da bomp ba da da da da bomp ba da da da daaaaaaaa)

* CCM = Contemporary Christian Music

So that's all we have for Dave's top 40 today. I'll keep writing em down and you keep your feet on the ground, and keep reaching for the stars. (Sorry, had to be said.) For more Six Word Saturday, head on over to show my face dot com.

Next Time: All good trips must come to an end.

I forgot all about Amnesia

I was looking through some of my older writings as I wanted to share a poem I wrote about the transition from winter to spring when I lived in Russia.

I discovered some song lyrics I wrote a few years after that when I was attending seminary in Columbia, South Carolina.

I gave the lyrics to my friend who put them to music and performed the song at a chapel service. We had been studying the prophets in one of our classes, and I decided to write a song summarizing one of the theme's of the prophets the cycle of rebellion of Israel. In the second part of the song I transitioned from Old Testament Israel to modern day America. This was written and performed in 1996 so the references are dated.

Looking it over 14 years later, I am not quite sure how I feel about the song. Thought I'd give it a spin here.

Amnesia

Word by David Roller

Music by Jeff Six

Israel, oh Israel those who bear my name

Why do you act like other gods and I are just the same

Israel oh Israel what's it going to be?

What do I have to do before you'll turn to me?

You were my chosen people in my promised place

Made to be a blessing, you trampled on my grace.

Israel oh Israel I cry over you

Why do you keep forgetting what you're supposed to do

Israel oh Israel what's it going to be

What do I have to do before you'll turn to me?

Israel oh Israel I still wait for you

I am your God and Father worship what is true

Israel oh Israel it's time to make your choice

Serve your own desires or listen to my voice

Israel never returned, I sent them away

They serve as a witness, even to this day

America, America land of the free

Free to do just as you please, you walk away from me

America, America what's it going to be?

What do I have to do before you'll turn to me?

Did I give you freedom just to gain your wealth?

You were free to worship, you exalt yourself.

America, America, I cry over you

Why do you keep forgetting what you're supposed to do?

America, America what's it going to be?

What do I have to do before you'll turn to Me?

You've had riots and you've had wars but you would not turn

AIDS and Oklahoma City. Will you ever learn?

America, America, I still wait for you.

Remember your God and Father. Worship what is true.

America, America it's time to make your choice.

Serve your own desires or listen to My voice

Remember Israel!

Next Time: April Fool

Say Uncle

Six Word Saturday time.

Uncle for ninth and first time!

I was on my way out to take my kids to see a play Thursday Morning. My SIL was trying to reach my wife at work, because her water had just broke. Early Friday morning she gave birth to Connor Mark. Amy was able to participate in the birth and Mom, Dad and Baby are doing fine.

I am now the uncle of nine children. Connor is a little different as he is my first nephew by marriage rather than blood. This is generally not too great of a distinction. However, being related to me by blood is not exactly a picnic. Sure I have my rugged good looks. I have no allergies and I am of pretty healthy stock. The problem is if being a goofball is hereditary, than you don't really want to have me swimming in your gene pool. Puns, parodies, crazy ideas, not to forget my scary math skills. Let's face it, Connor has a definite advantage of not having genetic predisposition to my random thoughts and nut job tendencies.

The flip side is that he is related by blood to Amy. Amy may well be every bit the lunatic that I am. After all, we did co write the song I'm insane, your insane, who's gonna win?

So, if 12 years from now at Grandma Kayrene's birthday bash Connor writes down the first thing that comes into his mind during a spirited game of Balderdash, we can know for sure that Amy's influence (nature or nurture) is to blame. Katie, Danny you knew what kind of relatives you had and you chose to continue those blood lines anyway. I say to you congratulations and good luck!

Head on over to Show my face dot come for more Six Word Saturday.

Next Time: C+H Book Review

Christmas Eve at the Bowling Alley

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Amy, Siblings and Cousins on 23rd

One of the things I really enjoy about Christmas is continuing family traditions. On Amy's side of the family there are 2 such traditions that I enjoy partaking in each year.

The first takes place on the evening of the 23rd. It is the celebration of my MIL's birthday. Being born so close to Christmas sometimes can seem like the short end of the stick. My MIL's family certainly made it work for her. They gather the relatives for a great dinner (these day's it's an outstanding pot luck). Then after dinner they gather round the table and the birthday girl is celebrated. She is sung to and she opens a barrage of presents. When that is finished the Christmas presents are handed out and everyone opens presents from youngest to oldest.

My 2 favorite parts of this evening are the themed gifts and the clapping. Not every year, but many years some of my wife's relatives will give everyone the same type of gift. One year it was slipper socks. What is really cool about this is how the family pulls it off. After a few people have opened their gift, and the pattern has emerged, people begin chanting the name of the item while it's being opened. If you've never opened slipper socks while 15 people are chanting slipper socks you are missing out!

After each gift is opened there is a moment of gift appreciation and clapping. This is no golf clap either. These are heartfelt moments of appreciation, the clapping is really more from the joy of Christmas and time spent family and less the celebration of the material.

The second established tradition is also on my MIL's side of the family. Each year on Christmas Eve they go bowling. I am not quite sure how or why the idea started but as a guy who loves bowling I don't question it.

It's such a nice tradition that I just penned a ditty to celebrate it.

Tis the season to go bowling

Fa la la la la la la la la

Gets the Holiday fun a-rolling

Fa la la la la la la la la la

In the peaks and in the valleys

fa la la fa la la fa la la

We have fun in lighted alleys

fa la la la la la la la la

Some have t-shirts with their names

fa la la la la la la la la

Some are bowling Flintstone frames

fa la la la la la la la la

Some are striking some are sparring

Fa la la fa la la la la la

great experiences all are sharing

Fa la la la la la la la la

Here at Home School Dad I wish the happiest of holidays and the merriest of Christmas and the least amount of gutter balls possible.

Next Time: Six Word Saturday

The Most Wonderful Thing About Tiggers

Fits me to a T.

My Life in T-Shirts

When I was in college, my sister bought me a real cool Tigger shirt. I won't describe the front as you should be looking right at it. But the back had the Tigger song printed on the back: You know the one . . .

The Wonderful Thing about Tiggers

Is Tiggers are wonderful Things

Their Tops are made out of Rubber

Their Bottoms are made out of Springs

They're Bouncy, Trouncy, Flouncy, Pouncy Fun Fun Fun Fun Fun!

But the most wonderful thing about Tiggers is, I'm the only one.

It continues (although I'm not sure it continues on the shirt)

Tiggers are wonderful fellas

Tiggers are awfully sweet

Everyone ellis is jealous! That's why I repeat repeat

I loved that shirt. That shirt got through college, made it through 2 years in Russia. There's a picture of me wearing it in my yearbook from seminary. My wife wore it on a missions trip to Turkey in 2000. Sometime after that it came up missing. It had a long and storied life so I didn't grieve too much for it, but I sure do miss it. It would have made quite the adult t-shirt turned kid's pajamas.

This post is one in a series of remembrances of t-shirts past. Some people may wonder why I'm so nostalgic about t-shirts. The truth is, I'm nostalgic about everything. I'm nostalgic about the future. Here is a quick ditty I just composed to the Tigger tune that may explain my love for t-shirts.

The most wonderful thing about t-shirts

Is t-shirts are quite fun to wear

They're great to roll up your sleeves in

They help you let down your hair

They're cool, they're stylish, some think they're childish and while I will not bicker

the most wonderful thing about t-shirts is they're frontwards bumper stickers!

Well that's it for me for today. I like t-shirts. I'm sure I'm not the only one.

Head on over to Half Past Kissin' time for more fragmented Friday fun.

Next Time: Pictures

4 Weddings and a funeral. Part III.

Today is Amy's Birthday. I am blessed to have such a wonderful wife. As I mentioned in my last post, we recently viewed our wedding video from way back in 1998. Amy and I had a short engagement, we were engaged in November of '97 and married in April '98. The week after I proposed, I went to Schlotsky's Deli on my lunch break and penned a song to be played at our Wedding. Schlotsky's Deli has long since closed, but our marriage still lives on, as does the song. Yes I did get the title from the song from the movie Jerry Maguire. Remember this song is a mission statement not a memo.

You Complete Me

Left my ego at the altar

Left my pride out in the pew

God has brought us both together

And he gives us love that's true

It feels so much like a movie

Best of friends who fell in love

As we walk this aisle together

I can feel His blessings from above

Chorus:

You are mine

I am yours

We are His

We have never been our own

One Flesh

One Love

One Family

You complete me

You complete me

God has made us for each other

As he's made us for Himself

I will love you when there's sickness

I will love you when there's health

There's a love that lasts forever

There's a love that's life it gives

It is founded in the Father

By it we know we are His

Chorus:

You are mine

I am yours

We are His

We have never been our own

One Flesh

One Love

One Family

You complete me

You complete me

Bridge:

Struggles come more often than the mail

We are weak, we know that we will fail

God gave us grace to help each other through

He sent us His Spirit

To guide us in whats true

Chorus:

You are mine

I am yours

We are His

We have never been our own

One Flesh

One Love

One Family

You complete me

You complete me.

Happy birthday Babe. You are so up!

Next Time: Six word Saturday meets Seven Word September.

Steal bases not cameras.

Yesterday I took my son and two of his friends to U.S. cellular field for the second Double Duty Classic. This game is a celebration of the negro leagues specifically the east-west all star games played at Comiskey Park, The classic is name after the late negro league star Ted "Double Duty" Radcliffe, who received his nickname by commonly pitching the first half of a double header and catching the second half.

U.S. Cellular Field opened in 1990 as New Comiskey Park and was built right next to Old Comiskey. The Sox destroyed the old building and constructed parking lots where it had stood. In what I thought was a cool touch, they maintained the old home plate and situated it outside one of the entrances to the new park. I took a picture of all 3 boys standing at home plate on our digital camera. The camera was on it's last legs. Motor problems were causing it to lose power much quicker and often not even open. Fixing the camera, I was told, would cost more than getting a new one. So, I was planning on buying a new one later in the summer.

I took the pictures and I absently put the camera in our lunch bag rather than putting it in my pocket which is where I planned to keep it. The game was free, and we had our choice of sitting anywhere we wanted. So we chose behind the players dugout on third base in the first row. I did not want to lose those seats so we draped jackets bags and gloves on them when we went to the wash room. Now I have left bags at seats countless times in the past and have never had anything stolen before. Until this time.

Instead of just describing to you what happened, I have decided to relate it in a different way. You see just recently I heard the song by Dave Carroll called United breaks guitars. I like how he took what happened to him and turned it into a song. So this morning inspiration hit and I wrote a song about what happened to me. Here is the blog premiere of Steal bases not cameras.

It was raining on the south side, when we got into the park
Put our jackets and our lunch bags in our seats
Off to the boys room our foursome did embark
When we came back we were greeted with a treat.

Some boys from the athletics were handling my glove
I said I'm glad you like it boys that's mine
You can have the front row, I said to them with love
They said "No thanks sir we'll be fine."

Well it just kept on raining and I said to my boys
Grab your stuff will come back when it's dry
I couldn't find my Sox bag and then I made a noise.
"My camera was in there!" was my cry.

Now jumping to conclusions can get you out of shape
So I glanced behind me with an open mind.
I wish they were all eating pizza or maybe just a grape.
They were munching on our peanuts at the time.

Chorus:
Steal bases not cameras my friends
Bases is where thievery should end
Hope you liked our peanuts and our chips
Glad I took your mitts off of our mitts.

Drago from security caught the kids in their lie
How do you buy peanuts at two stores?
The thief he did admit it but would not give me my prize
He said "he dropped and left it on the floor."

Their coach was less than helpful; wouldn't look me in the eye
Seemed to think the whole ting was just a joke
Me I'm not disheartened, a new camera I will buy
Had to anyway, the one they took was broke

Repeat Chorus

Now life can get real stormy, then out will come the sun
As it did, we remembered why we came
We shared the food they left us and we had a lot of fun
Chasing foul balls and watching a good game

I feel more like a fan than a victim of a crime
I'll curb my propensity for lectures
But I'd tell those young Athletics if they'd give me the time
That is not what is meant by taking pictures

Repeat Chorus

If you want to know how the song goes musically. Think Johnny Cash meets Willie Nelsen. As far as Amy is concerned, the real crime is I made her listen to a country song.

Next Time: Unbelievable! You want me to do what?

Wall of Glaze

Krispy Kreme Donuts, like many businesses in this economy, are encountering tumultuous times. In 1995 I encountered my first Krispy Kreme when I was living in South Carolina. It proved to be quite the haunt for the students at the Seminary I attended. Besides the yumalicious donuts, the most amazing thing about visiting a Krispy Kreme is watching the donuts being made. There is a giant assembly line that you watch through a window. The donut is cut and fried before your eyes and then it travels under a waterfall of glaze which I dubbed the "wall of glaze." In fact I began referring to Krispy Kreme itself as The Wall of Glaze (i.e., meet me at The Wall of Glaze at 4:30, k?)

A few months after my first Krispy Kreme experience I was driving around. As I was driving I was singing. When I sing I sometime sing songs I know and sometimes I just make up new ones. The ones I make up are usually "1 use" songs as I generally don't write them down or remember them. Sometimes a song comes to me that I especially like and I remember it. I liked this song because it describes the cycle of a romantic relationship and it centers that relationship at one place: The Wall of Glaze. Now, I don't sing well. The truth is that a song doesn't sound the same to others as it does to me. So when I want my lyrics turned into music, I just give them to music writers and let them come up with a tune. I gave these lyrics to my friend Jeff who gave it a Fifties sound and performed it as such at a seminary talent show. When I sang it that night in my car it had a more Bob Seger 70's a-m ballad feel to it. However you slice it (and most people usually don't slice donuts) here is the blog debut of The Wall of Glaze:

It was our first date
On a Friday night
She got a blueberry donut and a medium Sprite
She looked so good and I stood amazed
That I could lose my heart at the wall of glaze.

At the Krispy Kreme
At the Wall of Glaze
Just a memory of my younger days
Of how she looked so good
And how I stood amazed
That I could lose my heart
At The Wall of Glaze

End of senior year
Going separate ways
I was off to the army
Her to the college days
We promised to write every week
It would be like we never went away
How we cried and cried at The Wall of Glaze

At the Krispy Kreme
At The Wall of Glaze
Just a memory of my younger days
Of how we promised to write every week
Like we never went away
But the tears fell like rain
At The Wall of Glaze

Well you know the story
Left a boy came back a man
And I wrote her in my letters
Things I still don't understand
Oh my love for her just grew and grew
I was longing for that day
When I'd ask for her hand at The Wall of Glaze

So on a Friday night
Got down on my knees
Put a ring on her finger
Said will you marry me please
She said I'm sorry
But you were just a passing phase
And she broke my heart at The Wall of Glaze

At the Krispy Kreme
At The Wall of Glaze
It's the end of the story
Not the starting page
I put a ring on her finger
She said "Boy, you're just a phase"
And she broke my heart at The Wall of Glaze

Now I sit alone
On a Friday night
With a blueberry donut
And it don't feel right
I know I shouldn't be here
But I feel trapped in a cage
Since she broke my heart at The Wall of Glaze

At the Krispy Kreme
Called The Wall of Glaze
Just a memory
Of my younger days
I know I shouldn't be here
I feel trapped in a cage
since I lost my heart, since she broke my heart, now that we're apart
At The Wall of Glaze.

Next Time: The Goalie on the Bench.

Rainy Days in June

I know I promised to continue to blog about my weekend. I will continue with that in a few days. For now the weather outside, albeit not frightful, has dictated my next few posts. I hope you enjoy them.

Amy and I weren't always the mom and pop operation that stands before you today. No, for the first seven years I knew her, we were "just friend's". The thing is, nobody believed it, except us. Everyone fully expected us to get the memo and get married. It is kind of hard to believe, especially when in 1993 I wrote her a love song. Now before you say "you did what?!!?!??!" Let me just say that Amy and I communicated a lot by songs in the early stages of our friendship. Like this little ditty I wrote for her in 1990 or 1991

Amy, as I come to an end to this song.
Please get me right, don't get me wrong.
In baseball's hall of fame you really don't belong
'cause after all you're just a girl.

Now at the time, A League of Their Own had not yet come out, so I was blissfully unaware that Women (or known girls) were already in baseball's hall of fame.

When I was in Russia in 1993, it was early April and I was going to visit one of my students. I was walking to my bus and it was raining. This song came to me which I dedicated to Amy and then recorded for her on my portable cassette player and mailed it off to her.

I didn't think of it as a love song as much as a friendship song although the lyrics I love you are right there. But in dedication to this first rainy day in June and to the best wife a guy could ever be best friends with is that smash of the mid '90s, Rainy Day in June

Rainy days in April almost every day.
Rainy days in April, flowers come in May.
Rainy days in May, they're are still a few
But I love a rainy day in June spent with you

Rainy days in June, baseball gets delayed
If it's really pouring some games don't get played
Though I'd miss my baseball I will tell you true
I prefer a rainy day in June spent with you.

Though you can't predict them like these April showers
And you sure can't pick them like the sweet May flowers
If I could choose my favorite time of year, and the weather too.
I would pick a rainy day in June spent with you.

Aim I miss you dearly
I wish you were nearer
We still get some rain here
Here in sweet Siberia
So when the rain comes falling
In April, May or September
Rainy days in June and you I will remember

(Musical Interlude)

Though you can't predict them like these April Showers
And you sure can't pick them like the sweet may flowers
If I could sing of my favorite time of year and the weather, too
I would sing of rainy days in June spent with you

I love rainy days in June and I love you

(repeats indistinctly)

Next Time: A handful of salt when a pinch will do

Aldi

WFMW THEMED EDITION.

Frugality.

To Aldi food I bought before. 

I used a quarter near the door. 

It secured for me a cart, 

and now I feel so smart. 

I saved and saved and saved some more. 

(My apologies to Julio, Willie,  and anyone who has no idea what I am talking about.)

Aldi is awesome. Not much to look at. My wife went to an Aldi in Austria a few years back. It wasn't called Aldi there. But she said the shape, color and layout of the store was exactly the same as here in the states.

If you are an off brand shopper like myself, Aldi is your dream come true. The selection is not the same as other grocery stores or supermarkets but they definitely have more than just the staples. The prices are much lower than the other stores.

I decided to do a little research. I decided to compose a "typical" grocery list (not necessarily what Amy and I buy but more on that later) and compare the prices to the lowest priced comparable item at another super market. For the competition, I chose Jewel (Same company as Shaws and Albertsons). Jewel was my choice for 2 reasons: 1) It was the grocery store of my youth. We weren't sent to the store. We were sent to "The Jewel." 2) They have been advertising quite a bit lately about their price cuts and I wanted to see how they stacked up to Aldi.

Here is a copy of my list:
Sour Cream, Butter, Tomato Soup (2 cans), Onion Soup Mix
Saltines, Dry Roasted Peanuts, Off Brand Cheerios, 2 Gallons Skim Milk
1 dozen eggs, 1/2 lb block cheddar, 1/2 lb grated cheddar, 3 pounds bananas
Cottage Cheese, Graham Crackers, Sliced American Cheese,Gala Apples 3 pounds

2 pounds green grapes, 1 can cream of chicken soup, 1 can chicken noodle soup, Cream Cheese
3 loaves wheat bread, Creamy Peanut Butter, 2 cans corn, 2 cans green beans
2pounds carrots, 3 boxes mac and cheese, Ramen 12 pack, Cake Mix
Off Brand Oreos 18 0z, Yogurt 4 6 oz containers, Ground beef 80/20 3 lbs, Sugar 5lbs
Flour, Mayo, Iced Tea mix

The first thing I did was to look at the cost at A, Jewel's pre-discounted prices, comparing that with B, their adjusted prices, and then to C, Aldi. Since Jewel sometime had 3 or more kinds of the same product I always chose the lowest priced item.

Here are the results. These prices are before sales tax.

A. Jewel regular price: $114.39

B. Jewel reduced price: $ 89.93

C. Aldi price: $ 63.55

So for comparison purposes let's call A $115, B $90, and C $65. Lets also assume that is the average cost of 2 weeks groceries.

The savings in one year by going to Aldi rather than Jewel is $650 ((B-C)*26) or $1,300 ((A-C*26) over their regular prices.

Now I know a lot of people who shop at Aldi, but very few who do so exclusively. We don't get our meat there (although I know people who say the meat is great there). Amy flat out refuses to let me buy saltines there as well. There are some items we can't get due to HFCS concerns. (Yes, last month's themed entry was an April Fools joke!) We do get most of our groceries at Aldi and the savings are significant.

Now there were some items that were actually priced lower at Jewel but overall Aldi was the consistent winner on price. I am not sure exactly how they do it. But here is one thing I noticed on Thursday when I was doing my comparisons. I got there about 7:40 p.m only to realize that they closed at 8:00. I got my comparisons done just as they were closing and was off to Jewel which was open until midnight. So, Aldi had 4 less hours of payroll to contend with on Thursday. The old adage is that you pay for convenience, but an adage of the frugal is that convenience is overrated.

Aldi works for me. I enjoyed my stint as a GSI (Grocery Store Investigator.) Contact me if you want me to e-mail you a copy of my spreadsheet that I used. For more Frugal tips that work go to WFMW at We are That Family.

Next Time: Oh, Where is my Hair net?

Song Parodies

If you haven't figured it out already I am unusual. A former seminary professor described me recently as marching to a different drummer. That's putting it mildly. That's why I am using this household hints/time saving carnival to tell you why I like song parodies. But bear with me before you move on to the next post, I do have a WFMW method to my madness.

It all started with my upbringing. The music I remember most vividly listening to when I was a child was Allen Sherman, most famous for his song Camp Grenada (Hello Muddah, Hello Faddah) also known as a Letter from Camp. My siblings and I had all of his songs memorized. Sherman would take simple songs like On Top of Old Smokey and put a bizarre twist on:

On Top of Old Smokey
All covered with hair
Of course I'm referring
To Smokey the Bear

Down by the Riverside became Don't Buy the Liverwurst and there were so many like that.

My Mom and Dad celebrate the holidays by writing their Christmas Letter to the tune of popular Christmas Carols. Thus for Christmas 1974, the year when their final child, my sister, was born their friends and family were treated to this reworking of Hark The Herald, Angels Sing

January 27
We were 6 and then were 7
On that day in early morn
Bonnie Eileen, at last was born

She is Kathy's pride and joy
'Specially because she's not a boy.

As I continued to grow I began to shift from Allen Sherman to a weirder Al, that being Mr. Yankovic. Being a big fan of Billy Joel, I liked how Yankovic skewered him in "It's still Billy Joel to me." ...

Bought a couple of his record albums and they're starting to sound the same
It might be Elvis and it might be the blues
It might sound like the B-52's
But it's all Billy Joel to me.

Song Parodies work for me first because I am a man with a passion for song writing who can't carry a tune, with or without a bucket. So my melodies do not sound, when I sing them, like they sound in my head. If I write a straight song, I need to find someone to write music for my lyrics. If I write a parody at least the public knows what it's supposed to sound like.

Parodies, don't have to be funny. I have written touching songs like the time one of the girls the college group moved away. I wrote a farewell to the tune of Hakuna Matata called Hakuna Renatta. Her name is Audrey, so it didn't work that well. Her name was Renatta, I'm just kidding about Audrey.

I got to thinking about song parodies recently when one of the contributors here, dropped out of blogging last week. See my post Danger:Blogging for further details. Instantly the first stanza and chorus of a song to the tune of the Everly Brothers' "Bye Bye Love" hopped into my mind. Now this person came back to blogging less than a week after she left, ruining my second verse and chorus. Real life gets so much in the way of the creative process. But I went back to the drawing board and I present in homage to the fine upstanding mother of 5 pirates and a princess:

Bye Bye Blogs

She was a blogger

A virtual friend

'Til her days of blogging

came to an end

Her blog was helpful

And filled with mirth

But her 6 children

It was not worth

So she said

Bye bye blog

Hello family

Do you remember me?

I used to blog about you

Bye bye blog

I'm sad we had to part

You're not my children's heart

I'm not called to care for you

Your not the love that's true

'Twas not a fortnight

Less than a week

Her blog came back

With a few tweaks

Blogs can be useful

When in their place

She'll find the balance

with our Lord's  grace

So she said hello blogs

You're not my idol now

Won't make you a golden cow

I know what matters most

Hello blogs

My blog's not what I am

If it was, it would all be spam

I won't forget my post

Or I'd be a bad host

Song parodies work for me, to find out what works for normal people, go to We are that Family and check out Works For Me Wednesday.

Next Time: The Kids Bike