donnieklayer.com

Have to say that IMHO most of the social networking sites are total shit. But at least for now Twitter seems to be something I can and will use. Its basically short posts to keep people up to date on what is going on in your life. Unlike the other sites i.e. Facebook and the abomination known as MySpace. Twitter isn’t slammed with adds and loaded with slow flashy noisy jumble. Its simple and to the point. Looks nice and not over loaded. Twitter does what its ment to do, keep in touch… One thing I really like are the cell phone updates. You have texting on your phone, you can update your twitter.

I know that more than likely its a matter of time until someone buys the site just to slam it full of ad space and destroy it. But until then I’ll enjoy the site. Plus its a great way to keep up with Coach Crean!

Am I the only one who gets so worn out this time of year? Count me as someone who cannot wait for the break we have coming up here for Christmas and the New Year.

As for christmas and the mass commercialization of this most religious of holidays, I do my best to help my children understand the real meaning of all the lights, gifts, food and shows. As for myself I have a couple reasons for not really being of good cheer this time of year. One - As a father I have yet to give my wife and kids the christmas I think they deserve. In the rat race that is “who gets (or buys) the most” Im falling behind badly. Is it a blessing or a sign of failure? It sure could be a blessing considering I have more of an opportunity to be thankful for what we have and teach my children the real meaning of christmas. Im very thankful to say that my family has all we need right now. A home, food, TV, water, transportation, health, great family, jobs and our faith in Christ. Keeping up with the latest gear and gadgets is a nightmare at times with the kids. The latest cell phone and texting plan, the new mp3 player, the new “in” backpack are things they might never have. But they get all they need and many things they do not need thanks to they great grandparents they have. Im thankful for that.

Two - Stress!!! Wow, I going to come out and say it now. If you do not get a gift from me it IS NOT for one of the following reasons! I do not love you, I didn’t think of you, you are not worth it, I think you have to much already, santa thinks you are a bad person, God told me in a dream that buying you something would lead to certain disaster for the both of us, or the store was out of what I wanted to get you. It means simply this, Im in the same boat as many other Americans right now and there is only so much to go around. :) Its amazing how much stress you can get rid of if you just concentrate on what you can do and not what everyone else is doing. It is what it is.

As for the New Year this year I might just take my wife out for once. We have throughout our marriage decided to stay home and avoid all the headaches (no pun intended) that go along with the New Year. But this year might be the year we break that tradition and do something. Even if thats having our own celebration as a family and counting down together as we eat drink and be merry! But for the first time I think going out and having a good time might be something we both need.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to All!

Last week was Veterans day as well all know. My being sick at the beginning of the week had me missing the veterans day program at school. I had planed on thanking as many of our Vets as I could get to at the program. But wasn’t able to make it because of the stomach bug I had. So, Im going to say it now. Thank you so much to our Vets and Armed Forces men and woman.

For as long as I could remember I have held our Veterans in the highest regard. So, in my opinion until our government does what it takes to properly take care of those who have served our country they are not getting what they deserve. No way should any Veteran of this country ever have to pay a dime for total and complete coverage of any and every type of insurance available. All hospitals or Doctors visits should be free regardless of where they go. Seeing a Veteran wait in a crowded “Veterans Hospital” to be seen is a travesty and an insult to this country. Im saying free at ANY hospital or Doctors office. IMHO it is the least we as a nation can do for them. 

The men and woman who have served and died for this nation deserve our upmost respect and thanks. God bless the Men, Woman and Families of all those who have made the sacrifice and payed the ultimate price for my safety and freedom.

Thank You.

Assembly Hall

What a great time we had at THE  Assembly Hall in Bloomington Indiana last Friday! I was considering taking my son to the game earlier in the week. But as Fridays game came closer I was really thinking of not making the trip. The drive is around two and a half hours one way and we didn’t have any tickets. Im the type of guy who counts nothing as a sure thing until it is in my hand or I have seen it happen for myself. So, as you can imagine driving that distance and spending the money and not being assured of having a seat or sitting someplace horrible had me thinking twice.

After work my wife and I were filling up our vehicles with fuel and were discussing if I was going to take the boy and head out. Really I had already kind of made up my mind that I wasn’t going to make the trip and told her that I wasn’t going to go. After letting her know that I wasn’t going she told me that Nathan was talking about going all day in school with his buddies and might be a little upset if we didn’t make the trip. Well, as you fathers know, if you find out your son is juiced to go to a ball game and you do not take the kid, well, lets just say I would have felt bad about it. So at 4 PM we are heading out for the basketball game that tips at 7 PM. You do the math, and we hadn’t stopped at the bank, eaten, or taken a bathroom break yet!

We just did miss tip-off by about one minute. Hey! Give me a break man I had to buy the tickets to remember? Man Nate was really excited about the game and seemed to love every moment. He ask a ton of questions (which was great) and I told him about all the great things he was seeing. The flag pic above is something he thought was real neat. The sites and sounds of a game in Assembly Hall is something I cant describe, its like nothing else really. The entire game experience is incredible. The young group of kids IU has this year have heart, thats for sure. Watching them grow and develop is going to be great. Seeing the excitement in my sons face is even better.

The ball game ends and I tell Nate were going to go to the varsity shop and get something then we can try and get some autographs before we head back home. I buy each of us a schedule poster and I get a media guide for some reading and we head out to the floor. Nathan was able to meet Daniel Moore (Great kid), Broderick lewis (another great kid), Jeremiah Rivers (was a real nice kid), and Todd Leary (who was great with Nathan! I thought it was great when he greeted Nate and said to him “Hi Nathan, maybe we will get to see you play out on this floor one day!”

As we were about to leave the young lady from the varsity shop spotted us getting read to head up the steps and waved for us to come to her. Earlier in the varsity shop I had told her about our drive and informed her it would be great to see Coach Crean before we head back. She told us to hurry that coach was in the shop signing for people. Needless to say Coach Crean is an electric individual to be around!

Nathan and I with Coach Crean

He not only signed Nates poster (to nathan, coach crean) he was more than happy to pose for this picture with us. Thanks so much to the young lady from the varsity shop who not only remembered that we wanted to meet Coach Crean, but also was the one who snapped the picture for us. She was great and extremely helpful. She, helped to make the trip unforgettable for my son and I.

Strange how sometimes you end up having the best of time when you least expect it. I hadn’t planed on making the trip. Now, I cherish the though of the awesome time Nate and I had. As a father moment like this are what you live for. To see them smile and to know that they are happy.

See you again soon Bloomington! I cant wait to get back so my son can ask me some more questions and pose for more pictures!