Pizza Break

Yes, Christmas is over and the insufferable forcing of Christmas nostalgia can be once again, allowed to rest. But, just one last time, "Baby it's Cold Outside." When a title rings true (and it is still within that week after Christmas), then it has to be repeated. Here in Nebraska (for those of you who do not know where these come from), it is very cold. Bitterly cold in fact. Another bitter fact, water freezes. Yes, at zero degrees Celsius the molecules in water slow enough to go from a liquid to a solid state. The solid state is larger in mass than the free-flowing liquid state and therefore the pipes that transfer the liquid state of water get clogged with a size too large to manage, and PPPsssshhhhhh (what I imagine spraying water sounds like). A resurfaced photo of our basement that one time. Dad swears I didn't take the hose off the spout.  Even in the gas state water can become problematic, (just watch the Festivus episode of Seinfeld). For my dad, he kno...

Such a messed-up way to respond to someone. To acknowledge someone said something, yet without even completing the sentence indicated by a period, a comma and a word thrown afterwards to discount thought, trump an opinion of another with your own. "But," typically the next phrase intending to discount or argue what the "yeah," recognized. "Well Tim, I think that we should put up Christmas lights for the Holidays." Says Jill very excited about her plan. "Yeah, but what about if we, um, don't." Responds Tim. "I just think that it will add to the holiday cheer and others will like it is all." Jill's response more subdued now. "Right, um, no." Says Tim as he continues to read his paper without looking up or even considering a change. "Yeah, but..." Isn't anything but. They occur all the time and can be done so, as Tim showed us, with different words. What to look for is when these things occur in...

Thursday 3PM, a three-day weekend lingers in the air. Is all I have to do is finish this one more note and I am out of here. A job well done, indicated by the work time being completely filled and me admitting that there wasn’t anything else I COULD do. Leaving work knowing you did the best you could and that you deserve a long-weekend is more satisfying to me than a vacation after a weekend. At least this one I feel I earned. Friday comes, it is full of activity with the family. Saturday passes nicely reminding me of life outside of work.   Sunday is a little dreary as now a work week lingers instead of the weekend before. In fact, I had already started to anticipate the work week on Saturday when I was enjoying my reading time. Monday morning, I am crawling out of bed, justifying the sacrifice to work out. Justifying a mood of positivity by appreciating all I have. A skill that is very difficult to work on when you are so tired and it’s dark outside. T...

No job should ask more than the employee can give. Some jobs specialize in it. Military service demands it. Any branch of service from Coast Guard to elite an Seal Team, all demand more. More than what the individual thought possible. More than what the families may have initially signed up for. More than the body of a battered and bruised soldier can handle.  This kid was 12 years old. We never read the files. It seemed best to show up, do the job the best we could, leaving the memories with the family. I was young, early 20s, barely out of the house myself, both parents still alive. I started this duty for money, what I got was the best experience of my life.  In the military, anyone who serves has the opportunity to have an American Flag, rife squad, and a presented folding of the flag as a memento for a loved-one's time served . The ceremony is expected to be flawless, no matter the conditions.  This kid was 12. He was sitting next to his mom,...

Standing in a group of guys, I feel like I don't belong, yet I am here. I know we are all doing something illegal, yet, I have justified this somehow. This is for some greater good, some purpose the law has not yet caught up to. At the top of the sky scraper we get the word. "Cops!"Someone yelled, one our crew maybe. I think to movies I've seen where a daring escape occurs. Where brawn from the police was no match for the wit of the "criminals." Is all I can do is stay with a broken-off smaller group as we run down the stairwell. I have no plan, I am just hoping they do. "Freeze!" I hear it before I see it. I Finish my descent down the stairs the the flat on which a few of the guys are following orders. I meet a gun to my face. I know we are caught. I know that the illegal act I was involved in has caught up to me. The next scene one of my crew members, for I cannot recall if they were a "friend" or not, is taken into an inter...