Hoco 2025

I didn’t get a chance to blog yesterday. I’ve been on the go since Friday.

I took the day off on Friday so I could walk with Ella in the homecoming parade. After the Grand Marshall and Alumni Couple of the Year, the Kindergarten classes from the district were featured together. They walked behind a banner that said “Our Youngest Students – Class of 2038!”

Andrew and Ella hung out before we split up. He went with my wife to watch the parade (and catch candy), while Ella and I went to the staging area.

It was sunny and hot. The teachers did a good job keeping them focused for the 45 minutes we waited for everything to start. They played “telephone” and sang songs to pass the time.

Once the parade got going, we waved and tossed candy to spectators. The cars that had the Grand Marshall and the Alumni Couple were starting to break ahead of us. We certainly weren’t walking slow. They were going a bit fast.

So basically you had:

Alumni – space – half of kindergarten – space – rest of kindergarten – group behind them.

At one point, Ella and I, the principal and a couple others were stuck walking in the middle of the space. 10-15 feet of pavement in front of us and 10-15 feet pavement behind us. We couldn’t stand out any more!

I cracked jokes to the folks watching our little group along the route. “We’re pacing ourselves.” “Did you happen to see the front of the parade, we seem to have lost them.” “Wasn’t that invisible float in front of us fantastic?”

Ella, of course, took the opportunity to let the spotlight shine on her.

After about a quarter of the walk, she got tired and she wound up on my shoulders. I got quite the workout the rest of the way.

After the parade, the kids went home with Nana and Pa and I stayed for the football game. As you would expect, I was focused on the marching band.

The home team was up 21-0 at halftime. I was excited for the halftime show. The theme was “Black Widow.”. They had spider web things on the field and every band member changed from their standard uniforms into a spider designed outfit. That’s the first time I’ve ever seen a band do a show not in uniform.

It was a long day/night but it was a homecoming win – 42-8 was the final score. We got home pretty late and Andrew just slept in his clothes because he was fast asleep.

Yesterday morning was soccer time for Ella. We were there early for pictures. The game followed. At one point Ella was a goalie. Apparently this meant standing in front of the net with both arms stretched across the top of it.

Aunt Margaret came to the game and took the kids to lunch afterwards. They love her. She brought them some books and some fun sensory toys.

I love when we are able to get together, even if it was just for a short time. I’m so blessed with her friendship.

Life’s Little Moments

You may remember that last year we redid all the boards on our side porch. I never did get the chance to stain it because of the weather. It took me a week or two, but on days when I had time and the weather was right, I got out and did it.

Here you see the first coat and the original wood. The boards really soaked up the stain, so I put a second coat on and it looks great!

Now I have to get out and stain the columns. I have a white stain that should really make them look good.

This weekend, after a slight bout with vertigo, I was able to head to the Homecoming parade and football game. The kids love the parade (because they get candy!) It was a good parade with a lot of floats, kids from the schools, and of course, my favorite – the band.

This year, the weather was great, so they were actually playing songs. Last year, the band walked and did some chants or something.

The team looked great and would go on to have a homecoming win. This is Sam’s brother’s senior year, so it extra special to see them play.

When the halftime show happened, I was a little baffled. When I was in band, the halftime show consisted of four or five songs. The band played two songs and (as I have complained about before) there were times where the xylophones had the melody and no one in the stands could hear it. I will never understand why those things are on a marching band field. When the rest of the band played, they sounded good.

It was a bit bizarre, though, as their show was about outer space or the planets or something. On the field, they had these four big “planets” on some sort of “planet holder” on wheels. There were people whose job was to move these planets around on the field. It was … strange. It’s hard to tell in the picture, so I circled the planets for you. All in all, I wanted to hear more music.

I was thrilled to see many parents there with shirts that read “I’m with the band.” I had forgotten how many people in the stands just blow the band off. That makes me so mad. Those kids work hard to put on that show and you’ve got people standing in the bleachers, blocking the view of the field, or just talking loudly while you are trying to listen. Sigh. I wish more people had some respect for the band.

Now that I work Fridays, I rarely get to see events like this, unless it falls on Saturday, and so it all worked out this weekend.

I love time with the family!

Lots to tackle over the next few days – praying I have the strength.

31 Years Ago

The year is ….

Ronald Reagan is President of the United States.
It cost 24 cents to mail a letter.
A gallon of gas was 91 cents.
The Washington Redskins beat the Broncos in Super Bowl XXII
The Winter Olympics were held in Calgary.
The average yearly salary was $24,500.
The LA Dodgers beat the Oakland A’s in the World Series.

1988 movies included Rain Man, Die Hard, Who Framed Roger Rabbit?, Big, A Fish Called Wanda, and ….

1988 music included:

…and Sweet Child O’ Mine from Guns ‘N Roses, too!

It was also a very special year for me …

Always an Abe!

I was reminded by Facebook’s “Memories” feed that it was 31 years ago this week that I graduated from Lincoln High School. (25 years later – to the day – I would graduate from college.) It’s hard to believe that it has been that long. Some days I can’t remember where I put my car keys, but I can remember graduation day like it was yesterday!

The ceremony always happened outside, unless it rained. If it rained, less people from your family could attend, because it was moved indoors to the auditorium. Luckily, the weather cooperated June 9, 1988, and we walked the stage outside in the stadium. The band performed some songs prior to things getting started. As a senior, we played through most of them. I remember conducting a number – it was called Tin Pan Alley. That is a memory I will never forget.

At the required time, the seniors left the band to go line up to walk in (to Pomp and Circumstance). I will always remember in the days leading up to graduation, sitting in band class and the seniors having to “sit out” during a number because we weren’t going to be there when they played it. Sitting in class listening to Pomp and Circumstance while the underclassmen played it was weird. It was then that I knew exactly how the seniors the year before felt when they had to listen while we played it.

I remember someone telling me that your senior year will go fast – they were right. There were times I wish there was a pause button. It was my favorite year of high school hands down. Our football team was undefeated. I had a solo in the marching band show. I went to all the dances and the prom. I got my first new car and spent many hours with my friends driving around listening to mix tapes I had made.

Things I Miss Most

It’s 31 years later and there are times I wish I could go back. There are so many things I miss about high school:

Friday Night Football Games. Yes, I miss playing in the Halftime Show, but I also miss watching our boys win! My classmates were always out their playing hard, and as I said, were undefeated my senior year. Coach Jim Benefield was the BEST! Hands down.

Movies in Class. Whenever you walked into a class and saw the TV and VCR, you were instantly excited. Even if it was some dumb educational film, it was a welcome event!

School Holidays. Winter Break! Christmas Break! Extra days surrounding other holidays! We had a lot of extra time off! And who can forget Summer Vacation?! In some countries, extra days off and built in vacation time is looked at as a must. Productivity in those countries are high and workers are happy. Sadly, once you graduate, you seem to work to death and often have to fight to get time off! I miss those holidays!!

Yearbooks. There was a time where you didn’t know what your picture looked like until the teacher passed them out. 9 times out of 10, mine came out looking terrible. Even Picture Retake Day didn’t help! There are plenty of bad yearbook pictures of me! There are also plenty of other kids with bad yearbook pictures. Today, I love sitting back and reading the things people wrote in my yearbook.

Less Responsibilities. This holds true for most adults. We tend to look back at the days of ‘freedom”. Who wouldn’t want to be in a position to not worry about whether or not you have enough money to pay bills?!

Working While Going to School. My first job was at a boat marina. They worked around my crazy band and school schedule. I don’t remember the hourly rate, but I do remember getting a check for $150-$250 every two weeks. It was like “mad money”. I used it to buy albums, tapes, books, and gadgets. I really had no bills, and a teenager rarely saves money.

Passing Notes. Long before texting, we used to write notes and pass them back and forth in classes and in the hallways. Sometimes, I’d get caught passing one in class. I did most note passing in the hallway. Many times it was just stupid gossip, a drawing, or the “Do you want to go to the dance – check yes or no” type note. Some folks even got real creative about the way the notes were folded, too!

Lockers. I am sure my locker partner, Joe (who was always good at numbers), can remember our locker combination! I remember it was outside the library, under the clock, on the second floor. I rarely used it after freshman year. I kept most of my books in the band room or in a backpack. A lot of girls decorated the inside of their lockers, and on game days, they often decorated the lockers of the football players. I think my locker was basically a storage place for whatever I didn’t want to take home.

Less Technology. I’ll be the first to admit that I am connected to my phone today. But, back in school, we weren’t connected to it. We talked to people. We had to use the card catalog to find books and encyclopedias to write reports. We used maps. We watched film strips! We had to thread the film projector. We rewound tapes to listen to a song again. Yeah, technology is great, but there were advantages to not having it too.

Field Trips. You had to have your permission slips! I never did the Washington DC trip. I did do a Florida Trip to Disney. I also loved those little trips to places like the Detroit Science Center or Cranbrook. I remember having my mom chaperone a couple times. Field trips were probably more frequent in elementary and middle school, but the ones in high school were always great fun!

Young Love. As you flip through a yearbook, you can often see those high school romances (the ones that lasted, and the ones that didn’t). I know a few people who married their high school sweetheart and they are still together!! That’s amazing! With young love comes hurt in many cases. I witnessed that at a prom I DJ’d recently. I remember seeing this guy sitting on the floor with his face in his hands and I thought, “I know how you feel, pal.”

Dances/Prom. It wasn’t until high school that I even attended a dance. It always seemed like it was just me and a few friends going to get out of the house. We never danced with anyone, we sat and talked and listened to the music. We walked around and drank that really crappy punch that always seemed to be the drink provided. I remember going to Homecoming with a gal who asked me. I had no idea even how to dance! After that night, though, I realized dancing with girls was a whole lot more fun than sitting eating those stale mints and drinking that punch! I remember using some of the money I was making at that boat job to rent a tux and go in on a limo for the fancier dances.

Teachers. No surprise here. Go back and read some of the many blogs I have written about the teachers I had in high school. They were the best! Mr. Shaner, Mr. Benefield, Mr. Balos, Mr. Yanoulaki, Mrs. Carter, Mrs. Beltz, Mr. Harvey, the list goes on and on. I am friends with many of them on Facebook. I am also friends with other teachers who I never had in class, but always respected and made an impact on me. I was lucky to know them in high school – and after!

Friends. My core group of friends and I have pretty much stayed in touch since high school. With My Space and Facebook, I have been able to reconnect with those I lost touch with. That’s one thing about technology that I am ok with. A downside to this is that since we all are connected on Facebook, our chances of a real reunion probably won’t happen (Not that we ever really had one – we didn’t. We tagged along with the Class of ’89 once, but nothing official for my class.) What was great about high school is that you always saw your friends every day. It was always extra cool when they were in the same class as you. The ones that weren’t, you couldn’t wait to meet them in the hall to tell them about something silly that happened or to plan something for after school. I miss that, but at the same time, when I am finally able to hook up with a friend on the phone or on social media, I enjoy picking up where we left off.

The Future. In high school, the future seemed so unclear. There were infinite possibilities. Your career path had not been chosen yet. There was a blank canvas for you to paint on. You had so many choices. You were in control over what you did next. The future was bright and it was something to look forward to. I’m not saying that 31 years later, I have no future, I do. It’s just different to look at it and know that the future is a bit more narrow since there is a lot less time ahead of me. I can still look ahead and know that there are a lot of good things awaiting me. I still look forward to the future, but I am looking at it through eyes that have seen more than an 18 year old. I have experienced more hurt. I have seen more cruelty and negativity. I have seen more dishonesty and hatred. I have lived through much difficulty. I look at the future a bit more cautiously now than I did at 18. I am smarter now, I hope.

Final Thoughts

Would I love to go back to the days of my youth? Would I love to have less responsibility, no bills, and have more time to just have fun? Yes. Without a doubt! However, if I were to go back to those days, I would live through some hurtful times, through depression, and shame. I would likely make some of the same bad decisions. I would make the same mistakes, maybe more.

Truth is, if I had the opportunity to go back and change things, I probably wouldn’t. Anyone who has watched Back to the Future or any time travel movie knows that all it takes is one small change to change everything else in the future. Would I like to go back and erase embarrassing moments? Would I like to go back and take back words I said in anger? Would I like to correct a mistake? Sure. But if I did that, it changes where I am today.

Yeah, I went through some real crappy times, but they all brought me to where I am today. Today, I am a happily married man. I have an amazing wife. I have two wonderful sons. I have some of the most amazing friends. I have a loving family. Life is good. Why would I want to change it?