Party Like a Rock Star...

Ok.. not quite totally....(dudes & dudettes). I celebrated the first day of my life for another year. For you all not quite getting it.... MY BIRTHDAY!! (Part I) It was sort of a spare of the moment deal since my actual birthday falls on a Tuesday. So I was out and said hey... let's start celebrating my birthday. I figure I can do both weekends. Hopefully I'll be in NYC or Miami, Houston OR Albuquerque! (*inside joke:) We had fun...I'm not sure if I need a disclaimer to go with the pictures... but here they are. I'm not going to say much, I'll just let the pictures speak for themselves...

A Pen & a Paper...

Ok.. here is an excert of the book Fences... Long/Mid-Long term project. Lemme know what you think...

"From the back of the bus to first class"

Walking thru security, Colton was noticing all the people around him. The airport was moderately crowed today. He turned to his right and there were families who looked like they were going on vacations. They were dressed in jeans; khaki shorts colorful t-shirts and Birkenstock sandals. Most of the kids came pre-packaged with ipods and/or psps. One kid who looked like he was about 12 or 13 years old was complaining to his mom about not getting the new Mayhem in Manhattan II video game. "geez mom you never get me anything I want!" Colton thought to himself... If I'd ever said that to my mom the first thing she would say is. "Do you like to breathe?" Well if you WANT to keep breathing I suggest you shut it up. Or else I can make that happen! There was this older guy in front of him who obviously had never flown or acted as he hadn't since 9-11. He complained about the long lines, all the security and having to take off his shoes. "Sir we need to scan your hat as well" they told him. My kangol?? What, do you think I'm smuggin a kangaroo underneath it? He put the hat and his cane in the gray bin and walked thru grumbling... "ya know ima vetren... Colton just smiled as the old guy walked in front of him with a slight limp thru security. The TSA agent asked Colton for his boarding pass and I'D. When Colton showed it him the agent gave him a funny look with a smerk...”thank you sir" he said to Colton. He walked thru, grabbed his briefcase and PDA and began walking to the gate.
Since there was a little time before boarding, he decided look for something to eat to tide him over until the flight. Would it be Nathan's home of the worlds best "NY" hotdogs or this Asian place called Kim Chow, that in addition to Asian food, sold soul food as well? Come... You like...you like we have best bbq in NY. Colton thought to himself...I'm from Memphis...by the time we are two years old we are BBQ critics. There was this old family joke about how one of his uncles learned how to walk. Rumor has it, every time they tried to teach his uncle blue to walk he would do nothing. One day they had some Interstate BBQ spaghetti and as grandma Netta took it out the bag the container fell on the floor. They said that uncle Blue got off all fours and walked so fast to it they didn't have time to finish up packing. And he was walking and eating BBQ every since!

The First Breath

They say everyday is the first day of your life.
A monumental milestone occurred when my daughter graduated high school May 26th. I've never felt so proud, preen even, in my life. Seeing her walk up the steps after graduation was an indescribable feeling. I know you've heard it before... but for real...it seems like it was just yesterday she was in her car seat on the backseat of the Escort Station wagon. LOL! That's for another blog! Even when I'm driving today...no not the Wagon, I can still just sometimes see her in the back, in her car seat...still just as observant and quiet as she is today. Now I'm trying to teach her how to drive! Maybe her first car should be a wagon....?? Humm..??
We had so much fun at the graduation party. It was at the Civil Rights Museum, what better place to have it? Gives me a flash back of when I was pledging...They said I looked like a Civil Rights marcher and started calling me "We shall overcome" for a small period of time. But, that's a different blog also! Anyway, I wanted to make sure she had fun...and it really appeared that she did. I hope she keps the memories for a lifetime. I am especially going to remember dancning with her...even though she was reluctant at first! I want to thank all the family and friends who showed up and celebrated with us. I am grateful for each and every person that was there and for those who could not attend. And to my daughter as you take your second breath...I say to you "Work hard, have fun and fill the unforgiving minute with sixty seconds worth of distance run."