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The Haunted Land, a Halloween Story

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You are here: Home » The Haunted Land, a Halloween Story Christopher (front) and Nico just got their fresh haircuts. Snip-its, September 20, 2018  October 20, 2018 If you could find your way to the valley of Indigenous Falls, nestled in a deep crevice of ancestral land. And you were lucky enough to locate the path hidden deep in the thick green forest. One could follow this path, and it would lead you to a baron land. Not only does nothing grow here, but also, not one living thing can survive on this cursed land. You will not find a mammal, a reptile, or an insect. The story is told to generations of people about this spiritual land, which can give you everything and anything that you could have ever wanted. But your wants, needs, and cures will be used against you, as the land is known to have taken many lives. Only one person has ever made it out to tell her tale of this land. She will speak to anyone who will listen about a property that goes way back to the Native ...

Safety Zone

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You are here: Home » Safety Zone Nico (left) and Christopher standing by their drone! (September 24, 2018) September 30, 2018 Down the block from our house, there's a park where my kids like to play and just be kids without any of the worries we parents have. Damn, it must be good to be in their safety zone.   The boys travel by foot, or at times their electric scooter, along the tree-lined street. They sure are enjoying their youth. I hope they truly understand how lucky they are to be this young.   Their innocence is evident in the purity of the conversations I overhear while walking beside them. Occasionally, I ask them about the latest things happening. Still, I'm too uncool for them to develop exciting topics. Can I just sit and stay in their five-mile safety zone? My youngest turned 9 years old, and he will fly a drone for the first time. I have never flown a drone, so I am eager to see how it works. I'm excited to feel like a kid fo...

Big Wheels

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You are here: Home » Big Wheel Nico and Christopher on their first day of school. (August 13, 2018) August 31, 2018 Talking to my children in the car on our way to drop them off at school is an insightful way for me to learn about all the things I loved when I was their age while listening to what they love so much.  A topic of discussion that I brought up was a Big Wheel. After I Googled Big Wheel and showed them what it was, I explained the pure joy of riding that plastic 3-wheeler up and down my block in a convoy with all my friends. That larger-than-life front wheel spun round and round as I heavy-footed the pedal up and down our block.  Boy, we wore out that sidewalk.  We drove in cadence, zig-zagged without crashing, and went all day. "Daddy, those are kids on that. I can't believe you were that little once!" I chuckled.  It was a different time and place than the life they lead now.  We hadn't ushered in...

Endure and Enduring

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You are here: Home » Endure and Enduring Nico (front) and Christopher (the distance) flying their kites off the coast of Cuba. (July 24, 2018.) July 25, 2018 Endure and enduring. Words that look the same, but these verbs can work for you or against you. Endure: suffer patiently. Or, endure, remain in existence, last, live, go on...survive. Life’s little problems go hand-in-hand with our daily routines.  I have written about my woes and sadness, good times, and fun stories, which I have encountered over the past 6 years from my daily dose of reality.  But when I read the story about the woman who lost her husband, 3 kids, and 6 family members, I can’t help but feel guilty for having sadness.  Oh my, how will she ever endure what she is enduring? Deep inside, I know I’m grateful that her situation wasn’t mine.  Who would wish such horror on anyone?  When I was younger, my 2 friends, who were brothers, died within...

We the People... Independence Day

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You are here: Home » We the People... Nico and Christopher not getting enough of Incredible 2. July 3, 2018. The 4th of July, 2018 So much for being frugal!  I just bought fireworks for my kids.  It seems that the purchase of fireworks is an attempt to appear swanker than everyone else.  First of all, the store is jammed packed.  I could hardly move down the aisles.  I don't dare leave my shopping cart unattended because it would be gone as quickly as a bottle rocket launched into the air. I can't believe this feeding frenzy over gunpowder and pretty lights.  How about just purchasing a kaleidoscope?  Everything is buy one get one, free.  How about we buy and get more at our local grocery store?   I suppose we, as Americans, are doing our patriotic duty to celebrate our country's Independence.  And hey, if you're going to celebrate, our motto is to go big or go home. ...

Clear to Land

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You are here: Home » Clear to Land Christopher and Nico at Miami Dolphins Training facility June 9 , 2018 June 29, 2018 Have you ever flown in a plane?  Cruising in a jet at 35,000 feet above the clouds.  Man, does it look like heaven from here?  Can you imagine being able to exit the plane and run amongst the cotton ball fields of the sky?  The sight is so wonderful.  It’s heaven, and it seems to be within my grasp. My imagination goes wild.  I pretend I can see my family and friends who have died.  If only I was a simple flight away from seeing them all again.   Maybe the isolation way up here in the sky makes me nostalgic.  Being inside a plane is the most isolated you’ll feel, even though you’re crammed in a sardine can of over 100 people or more.  Flying high in the sky, skimming the clouds, and looking at the sun as it lights up the gloomy and dreary down below gives me hope that mankind can somehow f...