Ramblings, Incoherent Thought and Family

Episode III – The great experiment and how the word Prequel was ruined forever. 1999 was a year of great expectations.  From the moment the first trailer landed on Entertainment Tonight…I don’t think anyone would ever have thought that Star Wars and especially; Star Wars helmed by George Lucas could go wrong.  This seemed like such an easy lay-up and no doubt would be the greatest chapters of the greatest film saga of all time. Boy…we got that wrong. I touched on it in the first chapter about my experiences with the first trailer for Episode 1.  The excitement it generated as it FELT like Star Wars.  The chills I got when Qui-Gon says “Anakin Skywalker, meet Obi Wan Kenobi” knowing how Obi-Wan was destined to die at this little boys hands.  I mean…the viewing of this trailer made me WATCH and RECORD Entertainment Tonight.  It made me go and BUY QuickTime so I could download a copy of the trailer to my computer and watch it repeatedly.  The ideas ...

Episode II – The quiet years…and the vision of things to come: I spoke in part 1 about Star Wars and my love for it.  How as a kid these movies inspired my imagination and that the characters seemed to leap off the screen and become friends to a lonely nerdy kid.  I encourage you to read it if you you’re just finding this as I’m going to move past the original trilogy and speak more about my second decade of fandom. It was about 1994 when Star Wars would invade my conscious mind again and I’d become just as fascinated and entrenched in the canon and story of a galaxy far far away that was rebuilding after galactic civil war. I was dating this girl in college who introduced me to one of her friends who happened to be going to a college near my home town.  She and I hit it off and during breaks when (because she was on a ‘quarters’ and not semester system) I was home…we’d hang out.  One time I was at her college and she had on her night stand a Star Wars book cal...

I’ve wanted to write this for a while but even in this culture of ‘geek chic’, this could make a few of my coworkers or friends roll their eyes as they may flat out just not get it.  If that’s you…consider this your surgeon general’s warning that the level of nerd/geek/dweeb in this and future articles is going to get pretty high.  Fair warning.  This is my series on Star Wars and what it means to me. Episode I – A galaxy far far away. Last night right before bed…I was perusing THE Facebook (yes…since I’m now over 45 I’m legally and morally obligated to call it that.  I also have started to get a hankering for ribbon candy and don’t you even THINK about walking on my lawn) and came across the trailer for Star Wars Episode IX.  The final trailer.  I was surprised.  I’d told myself a few times that it was going to drop on Monday but where in recent years for previous chapters of the saga, I was eagerly refreshing twitter and facebook to get the ...

My world has changed.  In five days…I take a step I wasn’t sure I’d ever take again.  I’m going to be a husband.  A husband to Wendy Adamkoski.  The words still don’t make sense in that order to me sometimes.  Wendy Adamkoski is marrying me?  How did this happen?  I still can’t believe it.  I’m the most blessed man alive. When I think about where I was just 7 years ago.  The loss of my first marriage, the decline and death of my mother, my Dad leaving to find a new life 2000 miles away, finally me moving out to another area of the state where I knew only a few people (and where I still can’t find a decent wing).  It’s still surreal sometimes.  My life was surrounded by change for so long that now that things have settled…I find myself wondering when the shoe is going to drop. I keep telling myself that even if it does…the past 7 years have shown I can deal with it.  I have to take the lessons from this time of change…and g...

So it's my last day as a 44 year old and as I did last year thought I'd relate my thoughts.  - Just as last year...the last 365 days I've become more a part of this amazing family.  All my life I've wanted to be a Dad...and while I've been calling myself a 'pseudo custodial adult' since I got here in 2015...this year I truly called myself "bonus Dad".  Nicholasn and Sandra along with Wendy and I make a great unit really dedicated to these kids.  I call them my kids...and I hope to God they understand that doesn't mean I'm trying to replace anyone...but just that the love and true hope I have for them would be what I'd have for any blood child I could have had.  This family that God has blessed me with has been an amazing part of my life and I can't wait to make it official this year.  - I've now been engaged almost a full year to the best partner anyone could hope for.  It's not totally easy all the time.  We're not ...

IN late July 2011 I met one of the best friends I’d ever know. My cousin’s mother had passed away and he asked me to do the service for him as I was still an Elder in my church and I guess he just wanted someone who knew his Mom to do it.   When I went over to Nate’s to talk about the service I met Bunny.   See his Mom had a few dogs…and I believe even tried breeding for awhile.   One of the dogs…the smallest, had been hard for him to find a home for.   He’d tried our cousin Dawn but she had two big (awesome) dogs and Bunny just didn’t work.   So Dawn had to bring her back to Nate.   Then while talking about the service Nate and Rachel asked if we wanted her.   See at this time…my former wife and I had 5 cats and were living in a house and kinda pondered getting a dog but we really wanted a puppy to avoid the issues that could come from introducing a dog to a pack of cats.   This little pooch seemed perfect for that.   The idea b...

“Tonight’s the Night we’ll make History…honey you and I” Those words. They were the first words sung on a mix tape given to me by a friend of mine when I graduated high school.   A friend I had met three years earlier.   The mix tape was for me to listen to whenever I needed to remember how she felt.   It was full of great ‘friendsy’ type songs.   Best of times by Styx, Friends by Michael W. Smith, Angels by Amy Grant and more.   It was a mainstay in every car that had a tape deck in it until it was eaten in 2005. I didn’t listen to it every day…but when I did I thought of our friendship.   I wish I had it now. I got the news yesterday morning through IM from a mutual friend.   One of the oldest and first friends I’d ever had as an adult…and most likely one of the TRUEST…was gone.   I’d been trying to get home the last month…but things seemed to always get in the way.   One week was kids, the next was finances, the next was miscommunic...