Aunt Rose

I love my Aunt Rosemary. She and my Uncle Warren live in Virginia and for the past few months she has been battling breast cancer. The chemotherapeutics have worked well to destroy the cancer, but as you may know, the medicines also destroys some healthy cells and can cause side effects.

I joked with her, pointing out that she is one of the "less than 1 percenters". That is, in any drug label, uncommon side effects are listed as affecting less than one percent of the population on drug. She, unfortunately, experienced them all. The great thing is that she has completed all of her rounds of chemotherapy. She has recovered nicely from surgery and is beginning to feel like herself, albeit, a tired self.

Please say a prayer for my Aunt and her family and for all those who deal with a disease which can be cruel and, frankly, unfair.

Alan and Leslie's Fridge

Oh why not. Inspired by George, Kyle and others, here is the Green's refrigerator, sans giant thumbtacks.

The Dangers of Beer

Ladies and gentlemen, please take a moment to view this short, which deals with one of the real dangers of consuming beer. Please be advised that this is not to be taken lightly, as it could be referenced by your close friends for a lifetime.

Politics and Nonsense

I both love and hate the political season. I hate the rhetoric but love the game. Leslie and I were watching the NC Governor's Debate tonight. The Repulican Mayor of Charlotte vs. the Democratic Lt. Governor. Their names? For the purposes of this blog, who really cares. However, here is a list of the top level topics of the night:

Offshore Drilling, Illegal Immigration, Taxes (of course), Education (of course), school vouchers, yada yada yada. In the end, what true power does a state Governor (or US President) really have? I offer that a Senate and House majority holds the real power. The one exception to this rule is veto power, but who's counting. The point is, the real power of a sitting Governor (or President) is in stopping bills from going... all... the... way.

So in essence, all the talk about, "what I will do" or "what my plan is", is a farce without the support of congress. The reality is that the true power of a Governor lies in the ability to take the offerings of others and stop them cold with the stroke of a pen. It is both the tragedy and the beauty of our system, of which there is no better in the world.

So while Leslie and I enjoyed the back and forth of the debate, and chose our candidate in the process, I was not so impressed with what either of them would do. I'm more interested in what either of them, as Governor, would not allow.

Post-note: North Carolina was the last state in the Union to give its governors veto power over legislation; this was not added to the state constitution until the mid-1980's.

Cheers to you, old friend

As many of you know, I was a music major my first year of college. To this day I enjoy listening to, playing and even writing music. Many of my best memories include hanging out with my newly formed friends in the music department that first year of school. I sometimes think back with a warm sense of nostalgia about friends like Mike, Caryn, Cindy, Chris Memoli and ,yes, even Chris "this friggin chicken's raw" Willis. In fact, many of the people I just mentioned are still in my life to a certain degree. Mike is a good friend of my childhood friend Jay Kirk, who incidentally married Caryn. All three live near each other out west. Another childhood friend, Chuck Bryan married Cindy. Sometimes, it's a very small and rather cool world.


There were other friends that year that I had a chance to spend time with. These were people whom I had known for years and practically grown up with. Besides previously mentioned- Jay Kirk and Chuck Bryan, there was also my roommate, Chris Neeley, and one of the funniest people I've ever hung out with, Todd Vick.


Todd has always been one of my favorite people because even in tough times, he's always had a smile and wise crack for me. That was true then and it's true now. Todd gave me more free beer at the Pizza Factory than I could ever drink. He later became a pastor. Interesting where life takes us. Todd and I both changed quite a bit since those days. Today, I... Well, today I would most likely still drink Todd's free beer, but you get the point.



So, tonight, I lift my 12 oz glass to many an old friend, who although may be a slightly different person today, still remains a part of my life and a good friend. Cheers.