Greetings from Memphis

Sending this from the gorgeous city of Memphis, T.N.. Spent about 10 hours driving in the rain to get here yesterday but it was worth it.
Stopped by Elvis's house today. He wasn't home. Then went to Beale st., and took a horse and buggy ride around the section of barbecue and blues. During the ride, we found out about the "duck march" at the Peabody motel. If none of you understand this, I'm not going to explain it. Just hop on a bus, train or plane and see this.
Tomorrow we take Liam to the zoo.
We are so proud of him for not asking the tour guide at Graceland, where the famous toilet was.

Happy birthday Liam from the United States Post Office

Liam's birthday was this week and he has received a few packages in the mail. The last one we received was a little strange.
The package was from my sister, who always sends Liam really nice clothes. Liam at a younger age didn't care for things made out of cotton, he wanted plastic and metal. He's come around lately, and I must say when he dresses himself he is color-coordinated(even a color-blind person would agree).
Enough rambling, here's the meat. You can just imagine an 8 year old boy's expression when he opens his box to find a cute pink dress(I'm not making this up) with little buttons and bows sewn on it.
I repressed my whacked sense of humor and didn't make him try it on. The weird thing was it looked to be about his size.
The reason we received the little pink dress with little buttons and bows sewn on it, was due to the fact that the original box was somehow damaged, so I guess they somehow sent Liam's new shirt to a little girl, and a pink dress with little buttons and bows sewn on it to Liam.

Racing the clouds home

Well, woke up today about 1:00 p.m.(no, I'm not a rockstar, I work 3'rd shift), and after Steph and I picked Liam up from school we decided to go and look for strollers for Anthony who is still having fun using mommy's bladder for a punching bag. Right before we left I was watching the Weather Channel and noticed in the forecast they were calling for thunderstorms and possible hail. Being the great conversationalist that I am, I didn't mention this to my wife, who is still carrying the paranoid feeling of putting any kind of scratch on the new odyssey. I mentioned this "possible" weather report about 25 minutes into our drive. We debated whether or not to turn around and go home. We decided(well actually I decided) to venture on.
I guess I didn't help matters any by constantly pointing out the ominous black clouds that kept forming in all directions. Liam didn't seem to notice. That could be to the fact that he was only interested in the gameboy he was playing in the back of the van. Steph certainly noticed.
To make a long story short, we raced the clouds home, with a brief stop for our favorite grinders,and made it safely into the garage.

If it's too loud your too old!

I saw this statement on the back of a kiss tour shirt back in the late 70's, and it made me laugh. Well, after last night's Steve Vai show at the Orange Peel in Asheville N.C., I wasn't laughing anymore. I bought ticket's for myself and Phil, my good friend, last month. Now Phil is 54 and I am 37, so before the show I asked him laughingly if it would be too loud for him. To my major surprise it was too loud for even me ("the louder the better"). I asked Phil, on the way home, if it was too loud for him but I couldn't hear his answer.
Don't get me wrong, it was an incredible show with musicians who are into what they are playing. It was just too loud. Man, do I feel old!!!!!!
On a softer note, today is my son Liam's 8'th birthday. He is truly a gift from God and not a day goes by that I don't realize this. Happy birthday little buddy.
I have another gift arriving next month. The stork will bring us another boy named Anthony. Can't wait. Of course I'll probably want to take that back in 2 months, Just Kidding.
The moral to the top of this entry is if it's too loud, it's just too loud!

A new car for the wife, and a new hat for me.

Spent the last 2 weeks finalizing our decision after 14 years of marriage, 1 son and another on the way, to go all the way and buy a new car. Not just any car, but the dreaded mini-van.
My wife deserves this more than I can describe. It's not only just a "mini-van", but a Honda Odyssey.

To make a long story short, to seal the deal with the salesman, I told him to throw in a free Honda hat. My wife cracked up, as did the salesman, but when we were driving off the lot I had a goofy grin on my face and a hat on my head.

By the way, this first post is with great teaching by my father-in-law.