Then A Friend Walks By

This guy's walking down the street when he falls in a hole. The walls are so steep he can't get out.

A doctor passes by, and the guy shouts up: "Hey, you! Can you help me out?" The doctor writes a prescription, throws it down in the hole and moves on.

Then a priest comes along and the guy shouts up: "Father, I'm down in this hole. Can you help me out?" The priest writes out a prayer, throws it down in the hole, and moves on.

Then a friend walks by: " Hey, Joe, it's me. Can you help me out?" And the friend jumps in the hole.

Our guy says, "Are you stupid? Now we're both down here. "

The friend says: "Yeah, but I've been down here before, and I know the way out. "

Script #2 - Update

Looking back at previous entries, I saw that I began updating everyone on the progress of my first script. I thought it might be fun, if I ended up selling the script, to be able to look back and see what I was thinking.

Well I'm apparently awesome at updating because...I finished that script a long time ago. And I'm actually well into writing my second one.

So, just in case, here's a quick update.

Football script? In the books.

New script? About 90 pages in...so about as long as the first one already, and I'm not really to act two yet. So while the first one is probably just long enough, this one is already too long. Which is probably the way to do it...there are things that I could trim or cut...but that's easier than adding a whole new plot thread so that the movie stays over 90 minutes.

This is a story that I've wanted to get on paper for a long time because it's fascinated me. I'm not going to give the synopsis here, but I've probably told most of you the story anyway. If you're curious, its the story about baseball.

Writing scripts is pretty easy, I think. I'm able to write quickly, and it really suits my "stream of consciousness / to the point" style of writing. I still have no idea how I'm going to get any of this sold to an agent/studio, but it's been fun writing them. Once I get this one on paper, I think I'll really look into getting them sold.

But that's what I said about my second novel...and I'm no closer to selling either of them.

Oh well...it's still fun. I'll try to update again when I'm finished.

Softball Soreness

About a month ago, I agreed to play softball with some guys on my team at work. They needed guys, and I used to play. It sounded like it would be a lot of fun. A few problems:

1. They wanted to play at 8am. That meant getting there before 8am. Which meant waking up before 8am. I haven't woken up before 8am on a Saturday in years.
2. They wanted to play at Sandy Lake in Carrolton. That's a good 20-30 minute drive from my apartment, even with zero traffic.
3. They wanted to play in late June in Texas. Temperature 90+ even that early in the day...and right at 100 when the tournament would end.

I knew #3 was going to be an issue when I signed up (although, in my defense, things were still cooler when I signed up). Items 2 and 3 were brought to my attention later, in addition to the fact that I'd need to be there between 7am and 7:30am. Which would mean getting up before 7am.

So I woke up, extremely reluctantly, at 6:25am on Saturday. I took a quick shower, grabbed my glove, a big bottle of water, and I started my drive to Carrolton.

Let me first say that I've played about one game of softball - an intramural game in college. Before that, we're talking high school baseball...which, sadly enough, was about 7 years ago. At some point, I think I've lost my "good" glove from baseball. All I have is my older glove from freshman year. This glove sucks.

But I found that throwing/catching a softball isn't a whole lot different than a baseball. And because of my prior experience (which was probably higher than most of the guys/girls playing), I was pretty good in terms of throwing.

The leader in all of this is my team lead at work, and he's really into this game. He wants to win really badly, I guess for the bragging rights, and he's relying on me a bit. I'm a nervous about keeping up the expectations, but I'd gone to the batting cages a couple times and felt pretty good about hitting.

Defensively, I was a bit more nervous. He wanted to put me in the outfield...mostly because he wouldn't have to worry about my knowledge of the game and because he knew I played tennis. To him, that meant that I was in shape.

(Tucker can probably stop laughing now. He knows that, despite the fact that I've been playing tennis with him about once a week for six months, I'm not really "in shape." I'm getting better and I think I look like I'm in good shape. But I wouldn't really consider myself "in shape.")

The only problem is that I've always been terrible at outfield. I have above-average hand-eye coordination...I can put my hand/glove/racket out in a place where I'm pretty sure the ball will be. And nine times out of ten, I'll be right. If I'm good at any sport, this is the primary reason. It's why I have the ability to hit a baseball even though I don't really look at the ball.

(The "not looking at the ball" thing is why I never learned to hit a curve ball. My hand-eye coordination told me where the ball should've been...that's where I swung...but the ball was no longer there.)

But, for some reason, I'm not good at judging fly balls. I was great in the infield, but I was bad at the trajectory of fly balls. In fact, in high school, a fly ball actually hit me in the head.

I didn't say anything - mostly not to embarrass myself - but also because I was pretty sure I could handle it. And I'll go ahead and say that I didn't embarrass myself. At least, not in the outfield.

So I get there at the ungodly time of 7:15am, and we get to work. I get all warm, and I get ready to play. Jason (boss man) tells me that I'm leading off. More pressure on me and my increasingly-long-time-ago resume. He also says that I'm the youngest and thus should be the fastest. I laugh at that too because I've never been fast.

But we do have a solid team and quickly get out of the first inning. I come up to bat, a bit nervous but feeling good from the cages, and I get a quick single. A bit later, I score a run. Nine batters later, we already have an 8-0 lead, and I'm up to bat again. I've already had a hit and a run, and we're already up big. Here comes the pitch.

And I destroy this ball. It's probably 300 feet to the walls at this softball park, and I probably hit it that far in the air. Unfortunately, I hit it to left-center, and it drops before the wall. I never got an answer about how close it was to going out, but I'm fairly certain that it was the longest ball hit in either of our games that day.

Safe to say, it went for a home run. We slowed down a bit, but I went 2-3 with a HR in the first game. We won 17-3.

We had the very-unusual "second round bye" in this 6-team tournament, so our first round win meant an automatic bid in the championship. That might sound strange, but this was a 4-inning game softball tournament...so don't worry about that.

We rested up between games and got a good feel for our opponents. When it was time to play, we batted first this time. Because of my Ian Kinsler impression in the first time (leadoff hitter with HR power, apparently), I was moved to second in the lineup for the championship game. After the new leadoff guy singled, I doubled him in. Probably should've been a triple, according to the base coaches, but I scored either way.

A few batters later, I was up again. And, just like I did in the first game, I destroy another ball in my second at bat. Another home run. And another 10-0 lead in the first inning.

It was 10-3 going into the bottom of the 3rd inning when the coach made a substitution. He took out our usual 3rd baseman, and he was going to put someone else at 3rd. I realized that I hadn't been burned in the outfield yet so I volunteered to play 3rd. No one had a problem with it so that's where I went.

That's when I realized that my glove was probably too small for softball. It was a baseball infielder's glove...so think what you will. I didn't worry about it too much until the first grounder came my way. There were already two runners on, and the ball came right to me. I swoop it up correctly, and I reach to tag the runner.

And even though he was a man of some size, he was able to dance around me. No out, bases are loaded. The next ball was hit to the left of me, and I made a bit of a dive to get the ball. I stopped it, but I was unable to make a throw. Everyone's safe again.

In my defense, that was a tough play. In the prosecution's defense, I probably should've let the shortstop get it. But I used to play shortstop, and that meant that I was supposed to get everything that I could get to. It was a reaction, and I don't think I had any control.

We ended up giving up 4 runs, trimming the lead to 10-7. In the top half of the final inning, I was finally walked. I got another single in my final at bat (yes, we batted around again), and we took a 17-7 lead. Thankfully, I was pulled for the final half of the fourth inning. I no longer, really, trusted my defense, and it was a million degrees. I think I drank two bottles of water in those four innings.

We ended up hanging on, winning this little tournament.

And, all in all, it was a lot more fun that I would've thought. It was still way too early, way too far away, and way too hot...but I was able to go 5-6 with two HRs, a double, and a walk. I also had at least 5 RBIs, although I didn't really keep track. My defense wasn't great, but neither "error" really screwed us over. And, of course, we emerged as the champions.

I pretty much left immediately to get home and get ready to go to my friend Ben's wedding in Tyler. I knew that I was going to be sore because, as soon as I got home from the game, my legs were already sore. I do play tennis, but I sprinted a lot more than I usually do yesterday. By the time we got to Tyler (2 hour drive), my legs were definitely feeling sore.

(Side story that probably won't be good enough for a blog - Ashley drove to Tyler and we obviously gave way too much time. We were there an hour and a half early for the wedding, and we had to kill all that time...in Tyler. That was interesting).

This morning, every movement was painful. My thighs and groin are very sore, and even parts of my lower back and legs are sore. It hurt to stand up, sit down, or adjust my legs in any way. I probably said "ow" about a hundred times.

But after an exhausting day yesterday, I didn't really need to do much. I took the trash, did some laundry, and watched Speed Racer. I went to the store, but that was about it. And, no, I didn't try picking anyone up.

I guess that's the price I pay for playing softball, though. And even though it was painful and tiring, I guess I'll reluctantly admit that I had fun.

The Cost of Business

So I had lunch with Tucker today at Mooyah (side note: if you've never been to Mooyah, you owe yourself to try it - it's delicious), and we had a nice little discussion about food and big business. It either started or ended with Tucker looking at one of Mooyah's "posters" that indicated that it uses no additives or preservatives in its burgers.

And in my head, I'm thinking "Of course you don't use preservatives or additives" - you cook your food fresh right in front of me. I'm also thinking that they put that on their poster for three reasons:

1. It's good not to have preservatives and additives
2. People want no preservatives and additives
3. Most other places use preservatives and additives. So by not using them, Mooyah is unique.

And so then I started thinking, "why would anyone use them, then?"

And, of course, the answer is money. Right? Places like McDonalds and Wendy's and Burger King are so big that they have to use all of these preservatives. And like Tucker said, that makes the food tasteless...so they have to use chemicals to put the "beef" flavor back into beef.

That's right, they use chemicals to take the taste out of beef. Then they use chemicals to make the beef taste like beef again. Instead of, you know, just doing nothing because the beef wants to taste like beef.

(And now I've said "beef" so many times that the word lacks meaning).

Tucker also mentioned that these huge farms that provide food for these big companies are slowly-but-surely destroying the land because of all the fertilizers and pesticides. And, in turn, they're destroying the rivers and eventually the Gulf of Mexico. So you can't swim in Galveston because of McDonalds.

So it has to be money because these companies don't want to ruin the Earth. The bad guy from Captain Planet isn't sitting in his office at Hamburger University thinking of ways to ruin the Earth. If there was a cleaner way to grow crops, they'd be using it, right?

Not according to Tucker. He says that there's a farmer in North Carolina, quoted in a book he's reading, that makes better-tasting and healthier crops, and the way he does it is better for the land.

It all ties in with the healthiness. Does McDonalds really gain anything by their food being unhealthy? As long as they're making the same kind of money, I don't think it matters if their food turns people into Hurley (from LOST) or not.

Now what they can control is the chemicals they add to fast food. And one chemical is put into food that makes you believe you're hungrier than you are. So you could eat a double bacon cheeseburger, a bucket of fries, and a gallon of coke - your stomach could be filled to capacity - and you're still going to want to make room for dessert. Because McDonalds is using science to make your body think it still needs food.

And while this is genius (it's hidden and makes them money), there's also the risk of using such a chemical. If that was made public knowledge to every American, I bet a lot of people wouldn't want to eat such a food - because we eat so that we don't feel hungry. We don't want to eat things that make us feel hungrier.

But I'm sure there's a 200-page book at the McDonalds corporate office that weighs the risk/reward of using such a chemical.

Here's the thing - if that farmer in North Carolina can make food that's better for everyone (better for his wallet, better for you, and better for the Earth), why doesn't everyone? If Mooyah can make hamburgers without additives or preservatives, why can't everyone?

And I have to believe that it has something to do with the size of their corporation. There are only 12 Mooyah locations in the whole world - all of them in Texas. And that farmer in North Carolina is only dealing with a small percentage of customers.

Remember that all these big corporations started out small. McDonalds started off as a small restaurant in California. Wal-Mart started as a "five and dime" store in Arkansas. And, eventually, both stores exploded world-wide.

Let's use Mooyah as an example - let's say that a friend of mine comes in from California. I take her to Mooyah. She loves it, and when she gets home, she realizes that they're only in Texas. She raves and raves about it until her wealthy uncle decides that he could profit from bringing one to California. Someone from Washington comes into the California Mooyah and has the same experience. Before you know it, Mooyah has spread all over the country.

And, at some point, I think you'd start to see some of Mooyah's "corporate principles" break down. Instead of using 10 smaller family-owned farms, they'd agree to use one really big one in Iowa. And they'd realize that, to ship their meat from New Mexico to Maine, they'd need to use preservatives. They find a really expensive, relatively health-conscious, preservative at first, but then they end up lowering costs again...forcing them to use the generic preservative. Which makes them need to use the additive.

Before long, they're McDonalds.

And I think it happens one decision at a time. You make one anti-health or anti-environment decision at a time until you're the big corporation that you spent all that time separating yourselves from.

So, in the end, it has to come down to money. The big super-corporations use those preservatives because it's the most cost-efficient way of doing business. They use super-farms for the same reason.

And I don't think there's a solution. Tucker said that he wished we could go back to a "small-world" type organization. Where a local farmer grows the food for a town. Maybe there's one hamburger place run by one family and one chicken place run by another.

And I think that'd work to a point. Eventually, we'd go through the same process. Because Guy 1 might visit Guy 2 in Town 2. He goes to Town 2's hamburger place, and he realizes that it's better than Town 1's hamburger place. He tells all his friends in Town 1, and they all visit Town 2's hamburger place.

Before long, Town 1's hamburger place is getting no business and Town 2's hamburger place needs to expand. They rationally expand to Town 1. And then to town 3. And 4. And 5 and 6 and 7.

And the bigger you get, the more costs you have. And the more costs you have, the more you have to cut back on certain things that you used to think were important.

It's a cycle that I think we're always going to fall into. And even though we all want to break it (no one wants to destroy the environment and no one wants to be unhealthy), I don't think anyone will step up and stop it.

Because, as Tucker said, he could fix the whole problem in one year. The problem is that that one year would be full of chaos, and no matter how good it would be on the other side of that year, it wouldn't matter.

Because people would lose their jobs in that year. People would be hurt in that year. And politicians would have to get re-elected in that year. And no one's willing to have one crappy year, no matter how great the future would be afterwards.

We're far happier with an okay present, no matter how dark those storm clouds on the horizon are getting. Because we just flip on our TVs and check out the weather, and the fat old weatherman is predicting sunny days in the near future. So we just sit back, relax, and wait for the sun to come back out.

Club Tom Thumb

For most of my adult life, going to the store has been no big deal. Like most guys, I go in to get very specific items, get them, (self) check out, and get out of there.

But in my post-college life, I've realized that there is no longer a steady supply of cute girls at every turn. In college and high school, it was hard to walk 10 feet without bumping into a new good-looking girl. Now that I'm out of college, I really have to go out of my way to find one.

So my radar is a bit more heightened, you could say. And one of the places where it really goes off is the grocery store. I went shopping at the Tom Thumb yesterday, and there were about 10 cute girls there. And every time I've been inside Central Market, there have been twice as many.

I feel like I need to take a shower, put on a nice shirt, and fix up my hair when I go to the store now. Because if I'm going to meet a girl, outside of a bar or club, the grocery store might be my best bet.

Here's the question - do you dare hit on a girl at the grocery store? Girl friends have told me both "yes" and "no" - but it all seems to stem from one reason: girls are off guard at the grocery store. Some girls say that they'd like it - its a bit of a casual atmosphere, and it'd be a big of a surprise. Other girls I've talked to say that it'd be creepy.

So how do you bridge that gap between a pleasant surprise and creepiness? I think the answer is an unfair one...I'm guessing it depends on looks. I think if a good-looking guy and an ugly girl approached a girl at the store, I'm sure you'd get different responses - she'd be pleasantly surprised to get hit on by the good-looking guy and creeped out by the ugly guy.

If you're average looking, it probably will have to do with your approach. And, honestly, I don't really know an approach that would work. You could ask a girl where, say, the cereal is...that will open the door of communication, but it won't really start you a conversation. The thing I always hear is to see what kind of food they're looking at and ask them about it. "Do you like that brand of spaghetti sauce? I've always wanted to try it. Oh, by the way, my name's Drew."

That might be something to do, but it'd depend on good timing. You'd have to time it correctly so that you're both in the right aisle...it'd be creepy if you followed her around until you get to the spaghetti aisle...and awkward if you tried to ask her about feminine products.

So what's the best way of going about it? Girls, would you want to get hit on in the store? If so, what would be the best way to approach you? Guys, have you tried anything that worked?

All comments are appreciated.

Lights out at the Ballpark

So I went to the Ballpark last night with Ashley, and I was excited to see the first-place Texas Rangers in person for the first time since Opening Day. I was also excited to see the Dodgers in person, something that we rarely get to see here in DFW.

And the game started off pretty well. We were really high up, but we were right behind home plate. It was hot, but we had a pretty nice (and very consistent) breeze for all of the hot times. And we were watching a quick and solid game - it was a pitcher's duel / scoreless game through five innings. And it wasn't even 8:30 yet.

But then we heard an odd announcement - that one of the lights at the park had gone out, and that we were going to have a "light delay"

Like I said, it wasn't even 8:30...so there was still sunlight. I could look down at the field and not really notice a difference in the way the field was lighted, but there has to be some kind of major league baseball regulation about the lights working or not.

So ten minutes passed. Then twenty. Thirty. Forty. Fifty. An hour.

And all this time, people are leaving. There wasn't any notification/update on what was going on, and there didn't seem to be any progress. People with kids weren't going to be able to entertain their kids with an empty field, and there really wasn't anything to do but talk and eat overly-expensive ballpark food.

Honestly, I didn't blame them.

A few minutes after we were certain an hour had passed...Chuck Morgan told us that the lights were coming back on. We saw players come back up to warm up and stretch, and we were told that the game would resume at 10pm. At least an hour and a half after the delay had started.

Rain delays I can deal with - usually storms don't just spark up. I expect, when the weather is bad, that I might have to deal with a rain delay. This was different.

And while I kinda understand why they couldn't play with one of the lights out (but only kinda), I don't understand why the players couldn't use the field to stay warm while the delay was going on. They could've been jogging or soft tossing or stretching during the delay...so that we didn't have to wait another fifteen minutes to start the game.

Honestly, it was just a mess. Because of that, both starting pitchers had to leave the game...and it was turned over to the bullpens. The Dodgers quickly took the lead and never lost it...and Ashley and I watched a 2:20 minute game but didn't get home until almost midnight.

Now the Rangers did offer to give the fans that stayed the opportunity to turn in their tickets for free tickets to the July 5 nationally televised game against Tampa. And they seemed to do their best to entertain those who were staying, showing a live game on the JumboTron, having the ball girls throw t-shirts to the crowd, and playing music.

But it was just not a whole lot of fun. In a lot of ways, it ruined the game experience for me. We were cheated out of a great pitchers' game, and it probably had a lot to do with why the Rangers lost that game. And while I'm not really sure what they could've done to entertain us for 90 minutes, it didn't really seem like they were really trying.

All in all, it was nice to see the Rangers live, and it was nice to see the Dodgers. Other than that, it was one of the worst experiences I've ever had at the Ballpark. And, honestly, it really isn't that close.

(And no offense to Ashley, who was good entertainment throughout).

Next time on Crocodile Hunting : Club Tom Thumb

* The above blog was dedicated to a bird that I hit with my car a few minutes ago. We drive by a lot of animals on the road, and we always expect them to get out of the way in time. As I was driving to the store, I saw a bird in the road. It didn't see me coming, and it started to fly away too late. It hit my bumper and flew off awkwardly behind me. I looked back and saw nothing - I have no idea whether it was okay or not. Hopefully it was.

Come With Me If You Want To Work

For real, I think the new girl at work is a robot. No one has ever seen her smile or show any emotion, and she walks a bit like I'd expect a robot to walk.

Ashley doesn't think we have the technology for such a thing, but this is a multi-billion dollar company. If any company on Earth is going to hire a robot to work in trade processing, it might be this one.

And maybe we didn't build her. I'm not saying Skynet did, but I'm also not counting it out completely. Maybe she was sent here to protect John Connor.

And I'm not saying I'm John Connor, but my mom said I was meant for greatness. And I think John Connor is pretty great.

Dave Tippett

Yesterday, my friend Woody called me at 5pm to alert me that Dave Tippett had been fired. For those who don't know, Tippett has been the Stars' coach for the last six years.

And I don't know why, but it was really surprising to me.

It probably shouldn't have been. The Stars missed the playoffs this season for the first time in six years, and the team had already "fired" co-GMs Brett Hull and Les Jackson. Their new GM, former Conn Smythe winner Joe Nieuwendyk, was very quiet in his thoughts on Tippett's future, and that wasn't a good sign.

Besides, I have been advocating for Tippett's firing since 2003...his first season in Dallas. That season, the Stars marched into the second round of the playoffs with the perfect storm of activity. Both Detroit and Colorado, the two big hurdles in the Western Conference, had been eliminated in the first round. Dallas escaped, although not easily, and got to face a Mighty Ducks team that had just beaten the hated Red Wings.

First-round upsets in the NHL were common, but usually the Cinderella story ended there.

Unfortunately for the Stars, the story didn't end until game seven of the Stanley Cup Finals...meaning the Stars lost in round two. Since that loss, I've wanted Tippett to be fired.

Until this season. The Stars make the playoffs and compete for the championship, and I want him to get fired. The Stars miss the playoffs, and I want him to be retained? Wha...?

Basically, I thought Tippett did a great job with what he was given last year. With the Avery fiasco and all the injuries, the fact that the Stars were competing for a playoff spot in April was impressive. I think a lot of that credit should've gone to Tippett, who was able to juggle a roster of journeymen and young players into a team that competed for a playoff spot until falling off in the final month.

But Tippett, like Hull and Jackson, had to fall on his sword. Dallas is a proud team that, despite no championships since 1999, is one of the best teams in the last decade. That is probably Tippett's main problem....he had a lot of regular season success but few playoff series wins.

The Stars have already replaced Tippett...less than 24 hours after his firing...with Marc Crawford. Crawford coached in Colorado, Vancouver, and Los Angeles before taking a year off last season. And while he won a Stanley Cup with the Avs in 1995, he was fired from the Kings in his most recent coaching tenure. Because of this, I wasn't really excited about the prospects of his coming here.

But then I heard Razor on with the Musers this morning, and I perked up a bit. Crawford, despite coaching for three different teams, had never taken a year off in 13 years. According to Razor, he started worrying about the little things too much...and he simply got burnt out from coaching. That he's widely known in hockey circles as one of the best two or three coaches in the NHL.

I'm hoping it works out. The Stars have a lot of talent, and their window closes as soon as Marty Turco's window closes. This was a team that was the dark horse to win the Stanley Cup last season, and if they don't have such bad luck, I imagine they could be again next year. They have some youth ready to come up and step in, and they'll get a top 10 pick in this year's draft to add to their system.

With the right coach, this team can do something. And Niewendyk obviously got the man he wanted...with no time spent on interviewing other candidates. He wanted Crawford, and he got Crawford.

Let's hope it works out.

*A couple additional comments*

1. Hockey coaches get fired all the time. According to Razor, 18 of the 30 teams have had coaching changes in the last year. That includes the Pittsburgh Penguins, who had a coaching change mid-season...and now they're a game away from the Stanley Cup.

2. Marc Crawford was involved in the famous Todd Bertuzzi incident where he severely injured Steve Moore. There are reports (and litigation) indicating that Crawford was behind the attack (ordering Bertuzzi to do so), and apparently he was laughing when the injury took place. That's not good.

First They Came

In Germany, they came first for the communists. And I didn't speak up because I wasn't a communist.

And then they came for the trade unionists. And I didn't speak up because I wasn't a trade unionist.

And then they came for the Jews. And I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Jew.

And then they came for me. And by that time, there was no one left to speak up.

Ode to Tucker and Keely

Tonight was Tucker and Keely's wedding rehearsal and rehearsal dinner, and I just wanted to say a few things about these two awesome people.

Tucker has really stepped in and become my best friend over the past year or so - we play tennis and we play Halo. He introduced me to 30 Rock, I introduced him to the Wire. We talk about serious topics like the death penalty and the legalization of marijuana, we talk about peeing in Gweneth Paltrow's butt.

Keely is the coolest girl in the world, and I've told her as much. She's best friends with Michael Young. She was a Belle. She's hardcore into football. And she wrote me a thank you note where the answer was "I'm on a boat."

These two people have had a huge impact on my life in a relatively short time, helping me get through (and thrive) in a year that was pretty rough. It doesn't matter what happened right before, how bad my day was at work, or how in the dumps I'm feeling - Tucker and Keely both have the ability to pick me back up in a matter of seconds. And that's something that I can't really thank them enough for - without them, I know I'd be a much sadder person.

And on Sunday, they're getting married. Now I'm not going to sit here and write that Tucker and Keely's love makes me believe that true love exists. Because I've had a real difficulty in the romantic department for my entire life, and I'm not sold on the idea that love is supposed to exist for everyone. I'm just not sure everyone's that lucky.

But I can tell you that it's really cool that these two people found each other, and its obvious why they'd instantly fall for each other. It's one of those cool moments like Joe Montana and Jerry Rice ending up on the same team at the same time, and I'm sure their marraige is going to be just as legendary. Although I'm not really sure what a "legendary marraige" would be, I'm sure they'll be able to figure it out.

So while I'm not entirely sold on true love, their love does make me realize that someone is watching out for us...making sure the truly great people in this world find true happiness. That good things can happen to good people - great things can happen to great people - and the best things can happen for the best people.

And no matter what, that's something that can make every day worth waking up for. We still have about 40 hours until the wedding itself, but I wanted to take the time to wish them nothing but the best. I'm so honored to be a part of the wedding itself, and I can't wait to see what these two people are capable of doing together.

I do know one thing - it's probably going to be freakin' awesome.

Love you guys...

The Sad World We Live In

Yesterday, I was leaving Old Town (shopping area off Greenville) and a man approached me, asking me for a ride to Park Ln. He claimed that his brother had been in a car accident, and he didn't have another way to get there. He threw in, somewhere in the story, that he was a Christian.

I told him that I wasn't going anywhere near there (a true but relatively flimsy excuse), and I adamantly repeated it when he continued to beg.

And as I was driving away, I felt bad. Because that's the world we live in. I have to assume, no matter what, that his aim is to kill me and steal my car. The guy wasn't necessarily "creepy" looking, and he did look like he was upset. And I'm sure the odds are more likely that he was really in need of help than that he was a con artist.

But the con artists have ruined it for everyone. It is why we don't pick up hitchhikers anymore. Why we don't help people when their car breaks down on the side of the road.

Because there might come a time when you need help. Maybe your car breaks down out of cell phone range. And everyone's going to assume that you're a con artist or a murderer or a psychopath.

And that's sad.

A scary fact

I think that America's economy would completely collapse if the public knew what kind of people were working for its banks. So, shhhh, don't tell anyone.

June

I found an old note tonight. It meant a lot to me back then, and I guess it still does. It's the only thing I kept. The only tangible thing, of course. As bad as my memory seems to be, it doesn't seem to know how to delete the things I want to go away. Just everything else.

I made a wish tonight. Well, actually, I made three. The first is the most unrealistic, but it makes the second two irrelevant. The second invalidates the third, but the third is still important.

The note is still in my desk. It doesn't make me smile anymore. But smiles are hard to come by these days.

I'm still here. I'm still waiting. I'm still hoping. And, apparently, I'm still wishing. Any of the three will do, but they're listed in order of importance. If there's enough magic in this world for me, I'm ready to use it.

Believe in me. It's the only way I'll exist.