Focused at Fifty

A couple weeks ago, the weekend of Mother's Day, I had to attend the funeral of a beloved fraternity brother from the Phi Kappa Psi fraternity, Tim Reeves. I received an email from my other fraternity brother Kent, who informed me that Tim had passed from cancer that Tuesday and services would be held the following Saturday morning.  Best friends Tim and John H. Tim was 46, very private about his medical issue and had kept the gravity of the situation, for the most part, secret. Needless to say the email came as a shock. I had no hesitation when I emailed Kent back that I was rearranging my schedule so that I could make it. There was no question about it. I needed to attend and support Tim's family and my fraternity brothers who were close to him. I had met Tim when I went to Rutgers University. By the time I became a brother, he was no longer at Rutgers but still remained a brother for life coming to our events whenever he could....

Chevy Chevette Interior (photo from Galleryhip.com) I was driving my normal commute this morning and like every morning, I let my mind wander. Just looking over the pastures racing by, the Blue Mountain in the distance running parallel to the highway, a turkey vulture flying overhead, I glanced at my speedometer and then down at my emergency brake. A memory flashed into my mind and I laughed out loud. Back when I was five years old, I was riding with my Dad in our Chevy Chevette. I mentioned that car before, it's the one my big brother Adam crashed up whilst in college. LOL sorry Adam. :) Being that it was the 70's, I was riding up front (with my seat belt on) and not in the back in a child seat. Luckily, Dad and Mom were big on wearing the seat belt in the front but not in the back seat those days. We were speeding along one of the local highways, I think it was actually Route 130 in South Jersey. It's crazy how some memories are so vivid. I was looking around th...

I picked up this picture on Facebook the other day and just really connected with its message.  I had recently moved on from some people in my community. It felt good to move on and this message really solidified what I had felt. Outgrowing people around you is not only OK, but it's normal and healthy. You can't stay friends with everybody,for if you do, you don't grow, you end up stagnating. For years, I had tried to remain "Switzerland" and be FRIENDS with everyone. You know the basic history of Switzerland, remain peaceful and neutral. As history has shown us, sometimes it just isn't possible. You still get "overrun" and sometimes invaded. Or like Switzerland in WWII, you maintain armed neutrality and yet still are forced to make economic concessions to Germany. OK, that's enough history lesson for now. :-)  I tried to remain neutral. I wanted battling friends to figure things out for themselves but it didn't work out that way. I...

BLOGGERS NOTE: Below are some things I have done to be healthier and get into shape. I am by no means an expert so always consult with a doctor before starting a workout regiment. After some soul searching these last couple months, I finally got fed up with my weight and shape. For the last couple years, I had been losing weight, gaining it back, losing weight and gaining it back. Every season I would "plan" an event so I could work towards dropping a quick 10 pounds and feel good about myself. And the week after the event, I quickly began to gain it back. I needed a mental attitude change, something not superficial like an upcoming reunion but more meaningful and long term. I did some hard thinking about my life and health and decided that I needed to just be healthier overall. My stamina was zapped and energy levels were at an all time low. I also noticed I wasn't waking up as easily as I thought I should. I was always tired and drained. I began to develop some go...

 Sheryl and I at Passover 2015 ***I know Passover was in the beginning of April, but I still wanted to post this piece for my series in "Cooking Through Family" as I used a family recipe. Thanks. :) Marc Passover is one of those Jewish holidays which inspires excitement and dread for   me at the same time. And the reason for both is purely selfish. I am excited because I love the foods surrounding this holiday. I dread it because of how long the Seder (the ritual dinner) may last.  The holy Jewish festival occurs each Spring and commemorates the Jews' exodus from slavery by their oppressors in Egypt. It is one of the most celebrated of holidays and lasts 8 days or 7 depending on whether or not you are in America, Israel, or the rest of the world. The length of the festival also depends on how religious a Jew you are.  Sheryl set a beautiful table! The first night of Passover is all about the special ritual dinner...

Visiting Mom and our traditions What a difficult month this has been for me. I'm not asking for a pity party and actually I'm finally getting out of my funk. You all lend me your ears and that's all I can ask for. J I have a couple blog posts written and am in the process of polishing them up to post soon. I wanted to explain my absence though. It was the 5 th anniversary of Mom's passing this year. A sad time every year. At least I don't sob openly in public anymore. Those who have lost someone close know how easily that can happen during the first couple years. The pain is still there, very raw. I am very very sad. But I process it, sometimes confront it, sometimes overwhelmed by it. That sob comes in private. I then put it back in its place until the next year when the scab is ripped off again and the process starts all over. Each year, the wound gets smaller, but still pain hurts just as much. You just learn how to deal with it better. Hope this mak...

***Blogger's note: I have changed the names of the individuals and some of the places discussed below for privacy. Pic courtesy of Firstnetsource.com The other evening I stopped at my local firehouse social club, the hosey, to meet my friend Sue for a beer. A lot of my neighbors and friends head down there on Wednesday nights for drinks, games, and fun. I figured I'd join them for one beer, maybe two, maybe two and a shot of Fireball. You get the idea. I had just walked in and who did I see across the bar but my friends Dan Myers and his wife Louise. I hadn't seen them in a couple of years since they had moved west to Missouri. I had gotten to know them fairly well when I was bartending at the hosey a while back. They lived around the corner from me and then moved out west for work after Dan had spent month after month job hunting in our economically depressed county. He finally gave up and went where the work was after no success up in this area. I went over,...