Thursday, December 24, 2009

the longest four days before Christmas


last saturday evening i watched my wife and son walk through the gate to sit and wait for their plane. i watched as ang and riley took their shoes off to be x-rayed. i watched as my son smiled and my wife as she carried him out of view.
my heart broke. i never knew i could love two people so much. i never knew that i would be so sad.
angie's family is in st.louis and i had to work up until the day before Christmas eve. i was unable to travel with them to st.louis and so being the good husband i am, i wanted her to spend time with her family before Christmas (we are spending it with my family in harlan county this year).
i spent the week without my family watching cartoons and eating a lot. at night i would lay in bed praying that i would see them soon and falling asleep holding riley's blanket (weird i know, but love makes me mushy on the inside...so i guess the inside matches the outside).
now i sit in the airport waiting for them to walk out and give me a big hug. i look forward to hearing my son laugh and talk non-stop. i am excited to talk to my wife as we drive 4 hours to harlan county. i cannot wait to spend the next few days with my family all around me... no matter how annoying some of them can get. i love them all.
Christmas has a new meaning to me now. i don't care about receiving or giving gifts... i just want to be with the people i love.
thank you james for talking to me many nights as i watched king of the hill. i am sure you got sick of me talking about my family.
thank you cartoon network for playing batman the brave and the bold over and over again.
thank you dishnetwork for creating dvr.
thank you God for my family and this life. i never thought i could be blessed this much with so little money.
Merry Christmas everyone!!!

Wednesday, December 23, 2009

happy horror days!


my good friend, co-worker, and official beattyville dork, tyler, showed me a scary myth of one of santa's unpopular helpers. he isn't a sweet little elf who makes toys out of wood. not a reindeer that flies him around the world... he isn't even the man who cleans up the stables... he is evil and will turn you into sausage.

"Krampus is a mythical creature. In various regions of the world – especially Austria– it is believed that Krampus accompanies St. Nicholas during the Christmas season, warning and punishing bad children, in contrast to St. Nicholas, who gives gifts to good children.

The word Krampus originates from the Old High German word for claw (Krampen). In the Alpine regions, Krampus is represented by an incubus-like creature. Traditionally, young men dress up as the Krampus in the first two weeks of December, particularly on the evening of December 5, and roam the streets frightening children and women with rusty chains and bells.In some rural areas the tradition also includes birching – corporal punishment with a birch rod – by Krampus, especially of young girls. Images of Krampus usually show him with a basket on his back used to carry away bad children and dump them into the pits of Hell.

Modern Krampus costumes consist of Larve (wooden masks), sheep's skin, and horns. Considerable effort goes into the manufacture of the hand-crafted masks, and many younger adults in rural communities compete in the Krampus events.

In Oberstdorf, in the alpine southwestern part of Bavaria, the tradition of der Wilde Mann ("the wild man") is kept alive. He is like Krampus, but has no horns, is dressed in fur, and frightens children (and adults) with rusty chains and bells, but is not an assistant of Saint Nicholas.

In the aftermath of the Austrian Civil War the Krampus tradition was a target of Austrian Fascists allied with Nazi Germany."

leave it to germany to come up with this creature.

Thursday, December 17, 2009

ARGH!!! HAPPY HALLADAYS!


and this is my present to you... many crowns! this makes you a wise man!!!

Wednesday, December 09, 2009

we are not alone


this past sunday night i watched war of the worlds. loved the tv show in the early 90's and i did like the movie, but it caused me to wonder if we are the only ones.
then i see the news report about the sight in norway...
makes you wonder... or it could be a wormhole to the multi-verse.

Monday, December 07, 2009