Outside

Exhausted from a hard day's work, Hank opened the front door and and pulled down his tie. "Hey, honey, how was your day?" asked a young woman in her early 30s with jet black hair and light eyes. She looked as though she had retired from modeling years ago in order to start a family. Hank, himself a man in his mid-40s, was quite tired, although it was hard to tell due to his muscular build and his concealed facial expressions, hidden by his coarse salt and pepper mustache. "It was alright, I got promoted," he replied with a smile.

It was apparent that she shared his joy. "Congratulations! I'm so happy for you!" He held her in his arms and they kissed. They were beautiful together; the perfect couple. "You mean the world to me," he told her, meaning every word. The love and caring they shared was beyond explanation, and they seemed to be able to read each other's thoughts. She looked him in his eyes and whispered in her sexiest voice, "The kids aren't home. Don't you think you deserve a reward for promotion?" They truly loved each other.

As they made love, a man sat in an office building accross town with a phone reciever in his hand. Tears flowed down his face, making it's way in paths around his stubble. He'd been working so hard to pay the bills that he sometimes didn't have time to shave. "And you're sure?" the words were shaky and he quivered as he spoke. "Hank Aragon? He's my next door neighbor!...And your sure?...but my wife loves me, she'd nev...video? oh my God. No…no, I don't want legal advice…” He hung up the reciever, his whole world as he knew it had fallen apart. “…I just want my life back!!!”

2008 Veepstakes, a tangled Webb, and Air...Kobe?

And their off...

Charging out of the gate and stumbling we have Huckabee Steve's Support, passed quickly by the front-runner Florida Governor Charlie Crist running neck and neck with dark horse Louisiana Governor Piyush "Bobby" Jindal, with money horse Mitt Romney not far behind. Steve's Support

While it's still too early to call the odds on this one, many feel Crist has the best chance of getting on the ticket. He's governor of a crucial swing state in November, he's relatively well known, and is a popular Republican in a Democrat leaning year. However, some feel that Jindal, who has the least experience of the bunch, has the youth and, quite frankly, the race to balance the ticket and challenge Obama, who by now is the generally accepted Democratic Nominee.

So generally accepted, in fact, that he himself is covertly searching for a VP. Steve's Support That's right, Hillary. Obama is looking for his running mate. After all, he HAS locked up the majority of pledged delegates. Steve's Support It's pretty much impossible for Hillary to win the nomination now. So why not start looking for a running mate and start hitting McCain hard? Exactly.

Now, mind you, neither candidate is admitting their Veepstakes are underway fully. After all, McCain's weekend is "just a social gathering" according to him. Odd that Jindal and Romney are such good chums of his, isn't it? And Obama has said time and time again that until he's the nominee, he will not search for a running mate. But it's obvious the Veepstakes have begun. Enter for your chance to win.

Next we have my favorite team. You guessed it. The Marlins. And we made some MAJOR headlines last night. We are now 2 for 2 against the Diamondbacks, the best team in the MLB. But we did it against BRANDON WEBB. Steve's Support Webb entered the game after winning all 9 of his starts. He left the game 9-1 thanks to superb pitching by Ricky Nolasco and some small ball by former Diamondback teammate and Marlins veteran Luis Gonzalez, Matt Treanor, and yet another Marlins homerun, this time by Cody Ross. Tonight the Marlins go for the sweep.

Alright, so Spurs + 20 pt lead = Win, right? Wrong. Spurs + 20 pt lead againsts Kobe equals "what lead?". Kobe, and it kills me to say this, played superbly last night as he led the Lakers to an incredibly comeback in the second half to beat the Spurs 89-85 and take a 1-0 series lead in the Western Conference Finals. Steve's Support A spectacular mixture of points and assists, the masterpiece Kobe orchestrated was one that His Airness himself would have to admire. My only question is this: why WERE the Lakers down by 20 at home? ::crickets chirping::

Next we have the case of the Texas Court of Appeals saying that the State of Texas had no right to remove children from the polygamist sect the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Steve's Support I find it irresponsible that the court would rule in favor of the sect. Let's be honest. The children being raped and exploited underage ARE in "immediate" danger. For the court to have ruled the way it did makes it a sad, sad day for America's justice system which I have experiences the short-comings of first-hand. I only hope they don't remove these poor children from their foster homes. It is unclear whether that course of action will be taken or not.

Lastly, and I refuse to dedicate too much time to this worthless topic, the winner of American Idol is....................David. What? They BOTH were named David? Okay, fine, David Cook is your newest Idol. Steve's Support Congratulations to him, I suppose.

Alright, lots more to come. Stick around for another creative writing post tonight as well as a new segment that will have it's first post tonight. Stay tuned.

A Sad Day for Kennedy, Celtics take Game 1, and more

If you were looking for an intelligent analysis of Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals, you won't find it here. That's because I didn't watch it. I caught a glimpse of the score when there was 2:30 left in the 4th quarter. And I knew it was over. The Celtics seem to have a dream team this year, and I'm quite surprised that their playoff struggle has been such a...well, struggle. I mean, wasn't the KG trade supposed to bring an end to any discussion of who the best team in the NBA was? Well, then why couldn't the Celtics win on the road? I hope that they destroy the Pistons though, because I'm still upset about 2005.

Alright, now I know that I'm not very nice when I speak about Sen. Kennedy. I understand I have repeatedly expressed how he doesn't deserve his last name. But I wouldn't wish this upon ANYONE. After a seizure Saturday morning at his Hyannis Port home, Sen. Kennedy was hospitalized as doctors ran several tests to try and determine the cause. The results are grim. Ted Kennedy has a malignant brain tumor. Steve's Support Treatment can only prolong the inevitable. The Senator will no longer be with us anywhere from a year from now to five years from now. And although I disagree with the man on several issues, and although I strongly detest his actions in July of '69, I am praying for Ted Kennedy and his family. This is heartbreaking to anyone, regardless of party. And it's sadly ironic that this man stood as recently as May 8th on the Senate floor urging his colleagues to renew the "war on cancer" by increasing funding to support research and treatment. I hope that cancer research funding does increase, but I hope that the money comes from somewhere...like private donors and charities.

Okay, just because I'm a Marlins fan, I'll mention it: MARLINS BEAT D-BACKS!!! Steve's Support I know, the best team in baseball...we beat them! It's great. Alright, relax, breathe.

Moving on...or....wait, not really. Apparently we have beaten the Barkley story to death enough. I haven't seen a story milked this much since the last time O.J. had a book deal. Apparently Barkley has now, in fact, paid off his $400,000 debt to Wynn...but still has NOT paid the $40,000 in court costs and attorney fees. Steve's Support Now, I believe he'll pay that immediately. But what I told you I did not believe was that he'd stop gambling. And sure enough, his new words are that he won't gamble "as much" for the next "1 or 2 years". Way to learn your lesson, Chuck. I say in six months, I'll be bumping into him at Seminole Hard Rock.

And finally I'll give you something interesting to think about. The Catholic Church requires for priest to meet many requirements, two of which are that they A) be celibate and B) be male. Tell that to the Roman Catholic Womenpriests (Website) who claim that they were all ordained through proper Apostolic Succession by Roman Catholic women bishops. Now, here's my thing. I've looked into it and have determined that these women, married and single, hetero- and homo-, are not approved by the Vatican, several have been excommunicated, and the Bishop who started this nonsense by ordaining the first seven womenpriests had been estranged from the Vatican for about 30 years. Steve's Support Also, none of these women went through the rigorous discernment process and proper preparation that a seminary would provide.

Now, although I see the invalidity of the ordinations, it has me thinking: do they have a point? And the answer, my friends, is yes. They do have a certain point. There is evidence that there were women in the priesthood in the early church. And a priest is supposed to be one in Christ's presence, not necessarily his bodily image. And furthermore, they've brought up an issue I've had problems with...mandatory celibacy. I do agree that celibacy can benefit a priest. But making it mandatory contradicts some of the bible passages that have been brought to my attention by the RCWP website.

So I ask you...do you believe that the Roman Catholic Church should begin ordaining women? Should they allow priests to marry? Both? or Neither? On the right column of this page, directly under the "About Me" and right above the Blog Archive is a poll that asks this very question. I'll announce the results in an upcoming blog.

Sleeper

"Mr. President, 5 minutes."

It was so strange to hear those words. He almost felt unworthy to be adorned with such a title, one borne by so many great men throughout history that he almost felt as though he was staining its honor. He wanted to believe that it was all real…that the people had chosen him, and that he was truly the man for the job, the one who was needed to steer this country in the right direction.

One look out the window, however, told him otherwise. He could see hundreds of protesters across the street, many of them waiving signs with powerful words…hurtful words. He wasn't a bad guy, he told himself. "I don't mean any harm." he mumbled under his breath. Those people are just misled by the media. They're misguided by the false notions they have about me and my policy, he thought.

"We're on in ten, nine, eight..."

This is it. This is my chance to share my vision with the American people.

"...four, three, two..."

The red light above the camera was replaced by a surprisingly intimidating green glow.

"My fellow Americans: It seems as though, tonight, you have elected me to serve as your president for the next four years..."

What was about to follow rocked the pages of history in a way no one could have possibly predicted. That is, everyone except the man that most of America was watching on their TV screens.

A Short News Recap for Today

Alright ladies and gents, to bring back the Barkley story briefly, Bad Luck Chuck has decided to change his ways. Steve's Support No more $400,000 baths. Let's hope he means it.

In other news, Red Sox hurler Jon Lester gave 9 reasons why the Sox are now first in the AL East. 9 hit-less innings, to be precise. Steve's Support Lester's no-hitter is not a good sign for the Tampa Bay Rays, who have done a good job until now of showing they are legitimate contenders this year. Both Florida teams were on top of their divisions but it has been the Rays, not the Marlins, that have fallen off the horse.

Journey is teaming up with Hillary for a re-make of Don't Stop Believing. Okay, maybe not. But nonetheless, Hillary is keeping the faith. Or brainwashing the people. The latest from the Hillary camp is that, when it's all said and done, she's won the popular vote. Steve's Support Not only do I disagree, I have reasons why. She's counting Michigan and Florida. You know, the states whose primaries DON'T COUNT. Steve's Support I mean, if the delegates were not going the be seated, do you REALLY believe people cared to vote? No. They didn't. No second election was held. You can't possibly fairly seat delegates. Case closed. Furthermore, even if she won the popular vote...isn't the delegate count all that matters anyway? So why is she wining? I give up. (So should she, lol)

Lastly, I turn to a story that makes me made at a certain parish of my denomination. A Catholic Church (you know this is going to be bad) in Bertha, Minn. has banned a 13 yr old autistic child from attending its services. Steve's Support They even filed a restraining order. What absolutely broke my heart was hearing the mother speak about how it was their FAITH that helped them cope with the boy's autism. And their church turns them away? Wow. Note to self: if I ever become a priest, don't turn away families in need.

That's all for now. Creative Writing post to follow.

Blind

I felt sorry for her. She looked so alone there, so lonely, so completely unaccompanied by anyone who could possibly feel for her at this time. Why doesn't anyone go over there? Shouldn't someone feel compassionate enough to just say "hi" to her or ask her how she's doing?

A group of cheerleaders walked by, most of them friends of mine. I waved, and as one of them waved back she accidentally knocked the entire stack of books from the poor girl's hands, sending her glasses flying as well. It was a seen all too familiar in this young lady's life. I stopped myself from calling out to my friend, expecting that she'd be busy for a second helping pick up the mess she had made. I expected wrong. She just uttered an empty "oops" to incite the laughter of the people around the scene.

I was sick of it. Why? What had the girl done to deserve this? Nothing that I'm aware of. She was different, yes, that was true. But aren't we all? I took a look back at my mini-skirt clad friends and realized I was wrong; each of them was an exact duplicate of the one next to them. Perhaps not in physical appearance, but in action. I was ashamed of myself for letting it go on for so long. Who am I kidding? I didn't just let it go on. I took part in making fun of her countless other losers. Losers? Their not losers, we are. Someone had to do something.

C'mon, ppl! Do something! I felt like speaking out, like calling everyone's attention to the great injustice in front of me. This girl was without her glasses, personal possesions sprawled out all around her, and yet she had no vision with which to gather them together. She was helpless, lost, bli......................

Wait. I looked down and stared at my feet. My two, immobile feet. And I realized: Why haven't I done anything myself? I've been sitting here waiting for someone to do something, but the person who needs to act is me. She isn't the one who's been blind all this time. I am. But now I see.

Barkley, China's earthquake, Kennedy and More...

So as the Penguins reach the Stanley Cup Finals, I can't help but picture my Aunt Becky hoping against hope that the Dallas Stars, her favorite sports team in the world, forces a Game 7 in hopes of somehow pulling off the tremendous upset and sending the Red Wings home in tears. I myself don't follow hockey, so I guess I'll just support my aunt's team this year in case anyone asks.

In other news, apparently the NBA playoffs are starting to take some form. Spurs, Lakers, Hornets, Celtics, Pistons....there's a name missing this year....oh yeah, the Miami Heat! Unfortunately, it's this time of the year that reminds me that even with the great Dwayne Wade and the legendary Pat Riley, the Heat this year not only had the worst record in the NBA...they're 15-67 (.183) record was the worst in franchise history! Steve's Support Good news here: there's nowhere to go but UP for them. And I'm desperately looking forward to it.

Keeping with the sports theme for just one more story (bear with me here), apparently Charles Barkley still refuses to admit he has a gambling problem. Wynn is suing him claiming they issued him $400,000 in credit in ONE SITTING and that he STILL hasn't paid it back. Steve's Support Sadly, he claims that he's not broke and that it was simply an "oversight." I eagerly await the day $400,000 lost is an "oversight" in MY life. If Sir Charles keeps this up, he's going to find himself doing T-Mobile commercials long after Dwayne Wade is no longer in his five.

Turning the attention away from sports (don't cry), I find another sad story...tragic even. No, I'm not talking about the earthquake that killed over 32,500 people in the Sichuan province of China while wounding 220,000 (not counting the 9,500 people still buried and likely to die). Steve's Support I'm talking about Scrubs ending it's run on NBC! Oh, wait, this just in...it's continuing it's run on ABC! Steve's Support Ah, the old network-switch-a-roo... Honestly, the stupidity and ignorance of people amazes me. Don't get me wrong, Scrubs is one of my favorite TV shows of all time...if not my favorite. But more of my friends are aware of Scrubs leaving NBC (mostly because they feared it would be the end of the sitcom), than were aware of the hundreds of thousands of lives destroyed in China. Why? Because it isn't happening to us? Because China seems like a far-off dream land and the earthquake only makes it to us as a headline? Wake up, people! It's as real a situation as you can think of...and ten times as tragic. For all the stuff I'm going through right now in my life, I thank God when I wake up I'm alive and well. That being said, God bless the souls of the victims of the Sichuan earthquake. And if I wasn't struggling for every single penny I can find to eat, I'd donate to help like I did during Hurricane Katrina and the Ocala tornadoes. We waste money daily on so much unnecessary garbage that we forget that God can only help those victims through people like us. We just have so many podcasts to track that it makes it difficult to give a damn.

In other TV news, Jimmy Fallon appears slated to take over for comedic genius Conan O'Brien when O'Brien makes the switch next year from Late Night at 12:35 am to the Tonight Show at 11:35 pm. Steve's Support I thought Fallon was decently funny with Weekend Update, but we'll see how he is interviewing celebrities, opening with monologues, and coming up with ongoing segments. My prediction: Fallon has BIG shoes to fill and will most likely fall flat on his face. It's a shame, though...he's a nice guy. But at least he'll have the nation's attention for a while as we judge for ourselves, giving us something to watch late at night other than movies like Rising Sun and Ricochet (both amazing movies, btw).

Big news was the wedding of President Bush's daughter Jenna a week ago. The lovely couple was married in a private ceremony that Bush described as "spectacular". Steve's Support He looks forward to grandkids, who I'm sure will be brilliant seeing the "spectacular" genes they come from. Who knows, they might become "nucular" engineers or something. Speaking of great genes, Angelina Jolie has announced she is carrying twins, likely to be fraternal...not identical. Steve's Support If they're girls, that gives my future wife not one but two reasons to be mad at me in 18 years. Just kidding, obviously.

Finally, in the world of politics, Mike Huckabee is now brown-nosing his way towards the VP spot in the McCain '08 Veepstakes. Steve's Support If he has any hope of winning that spot, he better make sure to be more careful of what he says. His stupid remark about Barack getting shot at was not funny to anyone but him, forcing him to eat his words in front of the NRA. Not exactly helping his case there.

I'll end this entry, keeping with politics, acknowledging that Sen. Ted Kennedy, in the opinion of many people (myself included) a disgrace to the famed political family, has been hospitalized after suffering from multiple seizures. Steve's Support While I wish him the best in his recovery, I would also like to point out to him that he's doing better than a lot of people, like the people in the disaster area of China.

Or like Mary Jo Kopechne. Steve's Support

Marlins aren't just building a new stadium. They're Building a Dynasty.

So, um...I'm totally imitating my friend Michelle by creating a blog. Although mine isn't hosted with it's own url (not YET, haha).

I figured that if I did LiveJournal in high school, I can blog. I'm probably horribly, horribly wrong in that assumption.

My life is rapidly progressing career-wise and connection wise and I find myself having trouble sorting through all the millions of thoughts that run across my mind, so I figure getting some of them out would be a good thing.

First off, let it be known to all that there WILL be discussions. That is to say, I will answer any and all questions and have no problem debating anything from politics to sports to even the best flavor of Jolly Rancher (watermelon).

I'm currently still learning the basics of guitar playing, so expect a LOT of frustration to be vented here, mostly in the form of me finding excuses for why I can't take a couple hours to PRACTICE!!!

Sportswise, it appears my Florida Marlins have a chance at a GREAT year. We're First in the NL East and before these last 6 games (we've lost 5 of them), we had the best record in Major League Baseball. How has this happened? Well, for one, the Marlins have the greatest farm system in the majors, hands down. This is evident by the plethora of all-star talent across nearly all 30 teams that stems from one organization. That's right, EVERYbody's doing the Fish. Now, the reason why we're doing so well now is simple: we've kept a few of these phenoms to ourselves for a few years. Ramirez, Willingham, Ugla, Jacobs, Cantu, Helms, Gonzalez, Amezaga. ALL are forces to be reckoned with, a pitcher's worst nightmare. And now it appears the Fish have snagged Tiger's outfielder Jacque Jones. Steve's Support Then you have the pitchers. While still not the overall aces of the NL, you still have consistent talent from Olsen and Hendrickson, and great relief from the likes of Pinto ang Gregg, just to name a couple.

All that combined means that, just like the Rays, the Marlins are not just a flash in the pan surprise...they're for REAL this year.

That's not all folks. With the new Marlins ballpark Steve's Support being built (yes, ballpark, not football stadium, Allelujah!), the Marlins now feel like they can KEEP players. Yes, you heard me, the Marlins are loosening the checkbook. Notorious for having the lowest payroll in baseball just about every year, they hit an all-time record low this year starting 6 rookies on opening day and paying 16 (16? Yes, 16!) players the league minimum salary of $327,000. The next lowest team salary is more than DOUBLE theirs. Steve's Support Now they're changing their tune, signing Hanley Ramirez to a 6 year, $70 million dollar deal. Steve's Support And that's just one player, with many more players up for arbitration at the end of the year.

So there you have it folks, the organization famous for dismantling itself at the smallest sign of success has now decided to provide stability. It's decided to build more than just a stadium, it's building a dynasty. And so as it sheds it's old identity and enters itself into a club of REAL ballclubs, it's name shall also be shed.

Ladies and Gentleman, I give you the Miami Marlins! Steve's Support