I don't use real names on here - never. I don't know that I 've explained why, but I will now.
I believe that everyone on here deserves a certain amount of privacy, but me. The only ones who know exactly who I'm talking about are the ones who are normally in the exact situation discussed. I did this so that even if I say something that is unflattering about someone they can rest assured that the entire world doesn't know who they are. It isn't a personal attack. It was, more than likely, never meant to be.
This also allows people to have the freedom to let their friends read about themselves and not have to let them know that I'm speaking of them. It gives them a choice. Since I'm not allowing others to determine what I write, at least they have some solace.
Today, I'm going to make an exception though. Today is different - very different. Since this is newsworthy stuff and I feel that I have a duty, no an obligation to report this news.
Mary Cate Henry has been spotted traveling towards Hagerstown, MD.
That's it... thank you, and good night.
What?
You wanted more?
Man, you guys are demanding.
Okay.
Mary Cate Henry was seen travelling in a Pontiac Aztec - tonight.
Better? lol
I didn't think so.
Mary Cate Henry is only recently that at all. As a matter of fact, even as late as 2:30 this afternoon (we remembered the time change) she was not as she is now... she was much different...
She had a completely different name.
For, at 2:00 this afternoon the process had begun to turn her from Mary Cate O'Connor (one of my dearest and most Loved friends) to Mary Cate Henry (one of my dearest and most loved friends).
Now who, you may ask, could possibly be worthy of the hand of one of my dearest friends?
A friend so close that he is my son's Godfather.
Shawn Henry is as good a friend as anyone could ever ask, and more. I have had tough times, especially in the past year, and one person who I can say was there in the toughest, stickiest parts of the whole thing was Shawn. When no one else wanted to put up with me at 1 am Shawn was at Denny's drinking coffee with me. When things were at their worst he helped me remember that I was going through a process more than I was a tragedy in my own life. So, when I look at things now, and see what's around me, I can honestly say that Shawn was there then to help me get here now.
Maybe it isn't all that important when he thinks back on it, but it was important to me, and, since I'm the author here lol, that's all that matters.
I believe that if we all knew how much of a difference we've made in someone's life we can sleep better realizing that, even in the smallest things, we made an impact. Yes, it's idealistic and maybe it would even require us to wear a bit of our hearts on our sleeves (gasp!), but it'd change the world, and people like Shawn and Mary Cate would be it's leaders.
They (with the possible exception of their families) tell more people that they Love them than anyone I know. It doesn't have to be a relative or even the opposite sex. They just say it, with no thought of the words, and never leaving a crumb of doubt, that they absolutely meant it with all the gravity those few syllables could possibly carry.
Their outdoor wedding was absolutely beautiful. I think most fairy tale stories women come up with are very close to what my dear friends actually did. A beautiful woman and her gallant beau were married, outside, by a quiet pond, with a monk presiding. It was very fairy tale like, and the reception maintained that fantasy with a lively, sometimes raucous party with amazing ambience.
If there is any lesson today, it's to learn from them. Be happy. Be in Love. Just be, but do it so that people know you mean it.
So, heres to my friends, who are more like my family. May they have many, many days that turn into many, many years of the wonders and the mysteries that make life great by yourself. But make it all that much more amazing when you share it with that one person who makes all those mysteries and wonders reality.
Congratulations
SHAWN AND MARY CATE HENRY
I Love you both.
-Billy
P.S.
4
... and welcome back Calyn. I'm glad that you're safe.
Sunday, October 31, 2004
Sunday, October 24, 2004
Well it ain't gonna update itself...
Yeah, yeah, I've been slacking. Well, actually, I haven't as much as you might think. This has been an extremely busy month for me; and as we meander towards Christmas I fear it may get worse.
So, what's been up?
White water rafting in October - cold, but a lot of fun.
Work is getting busy. I had a fantastic remount show, where I was part of an $18,000 sale. FEMALEATLAS can take credit for the other half. I honestly couldn't have made it as far as I have without her.
My daughter's birthday. She was a princess, (after opening her gifts and finding a Sleeping Beauty dress) as she'll be for Halloween, and forever in her Daddy's eyes. She's four. FOUR! And I can't believe how the time has flown, not to mention the joy she gives me. (Her brother's great too, but I'll go on and on about my son on his own birthday.)
WVU Football game. It never gets old, and I hope it never does. Every time I go there, I have a wonderful time. Win or lose, (though I obviously prefer a win), I always enjoy myself. They beat up on Syracuse, and we had great seats to watch.
I've been sick for a few days and made it to a bachelor party (should have stayed home to get better), and missed a wedding (did stay home to get better - that didn't work - feel guilty for it).
Overall, I keep changing my perspective on things. I believe you need to in order to stay young. There is always a different point to take. Your job is to find out if it's better.
After a discussion the other day I came up with a new thought:
If you haven't failed at anything in life then you probably haven't tried hard enough to succeed at anything in life. If that's the case, then your greatest fear should be that, on your deathbed, you look back and see that everything was a failure because you played not to lose.
Take it for what it's worth, but I thought about it because of me, not because of someone else that may be reading this right now. However, if it applies, and you think it may be the case, then maybe you need a new perspective too.
I realize that all my life I've played not to lose, and it's really time to start playing to win. The beauty of it all is that I can say, without shame, that I'm not a loser, lol, but I'm not exactly a winner either... yet. Time is on my side, for now. Some day, it won't be, but I hope that I'll look back and note how I played to win.
And, with all the experience I have not losing, I can't see how I could be anything less than what I expect of myself.
You may ask why I'm writing this. Sometimes you have to put it out for others to see before even you can understand. So, with this, I'm putting up a counter. Every time I update you'll see a new number. That number will be the number of times I have played to win cumulatively. As of right this second, I'm starting fresh, the number is:
0
This will serve as a reminder to you, and a way to keep score for me.
Take care of yourselves.
-Mo
P.S.
I'd really Love it if someone would come up with a good costume for me before Oct 29th. Post it here, I'm sure everyone will get a laugh.
So, what's been up?
White water rafting in October - cold, but a lot of fun.
Work is getting busy. I had a fantastic remount show, where I was part of an $18,000 sale. FEMALEATLAS can take credit for the other half. I honestly couldn't have made it as far as I have without her.
My daughter's birthday. She was a princess, (after opening her gifts and finding a Sleeping Beauty dress) as she'll be for Halloween, and forever in her Daddy's eyes. She's four. FOUR! And I can't believe how the time has flown, not to mention the joy she gives me. (Her brother's great too, but I'll go on and on about my son on his own birthday.)
WVU Football game. It never gets old, and I hope it never does. Every time I go there, I have a wonderful time. Win or lose, (though I obviously prefer a win), I always enjoy myself. They beat up on Syracuse, and we had great seats to watch.
I've been sick for a few days and made it to a bachelor party (should have stayed home to get better), and missed a wedding (did stay home to get better - that didn't work - feel guilty for it).
Overall, I keep changing my perspective on things. I believe you need to in order to stay young. There is always a different point to take. Your job is to find out if it's better.
After a discussion the other day I came up with a new thought:
If you haven't failed at anything in life then you probably haven't tried hard enough to succeed at anything in life. If that's the case, then your greatest fear should be that, on your deathbed, you look back and see that everything was a failure because you played not to lose.
Take it for what it's worth, but I thought about it because of me, not because of someone else that may be reading this right now. However, if it applies, and you think it may be the case, then maybe you need a new perspective too.
I realize that all my life I've played not to lose, and it's really time to start playing to win. The beauty of it all is that I can say, without shame, that I'm not a loser, lol, but I'm not exactly a winner either... yet. Time is on my side, for now. Some day, it won't be, but I hope that I'll look back and note how I played to win.
And, with all the experience I have not losing, I can't see how I could be anything less than what I expect of myself.
You may ask why I'm writing this. Sometimes you have to put it out for others to see before even you can understand. So, with this, I'm putting up a counter. Every time I update you'll see a new number. That number will be the number of times I have played to win cumulatively. As of right this second, I'm starting fresh, the number is:
0
This will serve as a reminder to you, and a way to keep score for me.
Take care of yourselves.
-Mo
P.S.
I'd really Love it if someone would come up with a good costume for me before Oct 29th. Post it here, I'm sure everyone will get a laugh.
Monday, October 04, 2004
Punk'd!
FEMALEATLAS: "So how about this girl you were set up with?"
Mo: "Well, I really wasn't set up."
FEMALEATLAS: "True, from the way it sounds, you were punk'd!"
Mo: "Ha ha, very funny."
Yeah, I was wing man for a night. I took one for the team. Sadly, the rest of the team didn't fare so well either. I mean either one of us could have probably ended up with a long-term relationship by the end of the night with nothing more than a simple request. It just simply was not going to happen.
I told KAYA before we left, "This is how great stories start out." If nothing else, it was a good story, and we ate at a beautiful restaurant. The ESPN Zone is nice in Baltimore, and I was reminded why people who are indoctrinated are annoying. Other than that, I think I'll pass on round two with those two. They were nice girls... that's what I'm sure KAYA's friend also told him about his "date" when it was set up.
After playing wing man for the night, I stopped to see FEMALEATLAS at her other job. I actually stopped to tip her sister, and get a beer, but as I pulled in I remebered... we have a bet to reconcile.
I believe that the Ladder Theory http://www.laddertheory.com is, for the most part, correct. It is the closest thing to reality that I've ever read. So, while talking at work the other day, the theory gets brought up. FEMALEATLAS doesn't buy it. Problem is, two other co-workers, both female, agree with me overall. So, we bet on her friend at the other job. She says he would NEVER want to sleep with her, "He changed my diapers." I say she's crazy. He'd sleep with her if given the opportunity with no repercussions. The only challenge in my mind is getting him to be honest.
I walk in, and, as we're talking, ATLAS brings it up. She pulls her friend in and wants me to basically ask the guy. Well I've never met him. How do you walk up to a married guy and say,"If you weren't married and she wasn't married, would you sleep with her?"
Apparently, just that way. I beat around the bush for a while when he finally asked if I was basically asking just that question from above his answer was quick: "Well yeah! That was simple!"
ATLAS: "But, you changed my diapers!!!!!!!" Incredulous.
Friend: "Yeah, and I'd do it again if given the opportunity."
Life's hilarious like that sometimes. Man, that was a good FREE beer, and the dream she had as a result of all of it was worth more than a keg of beer.
As much fun as all that was, I came home to some very sobering news. I have spoken on this blog of, and sometimes, more specifically, to CALYN. She emailed to say that things are not well in her life, and that to cap off a horrible stretch of time (to put it mildly) she will be leaving to provide relief efforts in Iraq for 3 weeks. I'd normally be fine with that, because that's kind of in her job description, I guess, but this is different. Very different. She's going to Samarra next week. I don't know if you keep up with the news, but Samarra is not a nice place as far as I can tell.
Maybe I'm wrong about the city, and I pray that I am, but what I know I'm not wrong about is the way I feel. I know, I know... it's different when you actually know and care about someone who's there. I need to say nothing about that to CALYN, she knows better than all of us. The difference here is a matter of position.
I'm in a weird one. Maybe I shouldn't care, but I do. I mean, I've never actually met her before, so why should I really be concerned if she's here tomorrow? It doesn't matter - I am. I don't exactly know why I am, but I'm very concerned about her well-being.
I care for CALYN very much. As a matter of fact, feelings, at this point, are something I can't exactly describe. It has a lot more to do with technology than anything else.
We are at an age, now, when we can communicate with people anywhere in the world with the click of a mouse and a couple of keystrokes. This has stripped away all questions of appearance and allowed us all to judge a person by what they have to say... and I like what she has to say - a lot. We may not even agree on everything, and we don't, but we respect what the other has to say regardless. In our conversations, I believe she has made me a better person merely by association, much less by way of advice.
So, this leads me to where I am now: at a place where I'm not close enough to know if she's not ok because I have no way of finding out - yet close enough to be worried to death about her well-being, and I'm very worried. If something should happen I will, honestly, be completely devastated.
There are things that I will ponder indefinitely. Not the least of which, will be what in the world to do with this gift I have for her? lol.
KAYA tells me I think too much, and maybe he's right, but no one ever said that I felt too much and that's more the problem than anything right now.
CALYN, if you read this before you go, please be careful. I know that this has been an extremely difficult time in your life and I know that you hope to find some answers to questions that may never be answered. I also know that if you don't do this you'll always wonder about everything that you could have learned there. So, go, experience and try to enjoy, but don't let this distract you from what you've already accomplished and hope to yet accomplish.
"...our lives are like spider webs, and some of us are like flies stuck in the same spider web over and over again. Not put there by their own notions but trapped with only our own knowledge hearts and minds to allow us to escape." -CALYN
I know you're stuck, but give it time. You'll never feel the same, but you will feel better.
That's the problem... lol, time takes so much.... time.
Hang in there. Report in and make sure I know you're ok, at least physically. lol. I'll talk to you when you get back if not before.
LYTD
Take care,
-Mo
Mo: "Well, I really wasn't set up."
FEMALEATLAS: "True, from the way it sounds, you were punk'd!"
Mo: "Ha ha, very funny."
Yeah, I was wing man for a night. I took one for the team. Sadly, the rest of the team didn't fare so well either. I mean either one of us could have probably ended up with a long-term relationship by the end of the night with nothing more than a simple request. It just simply was not going to happen.
I told KAYA before we left, "This is how great stories start out." If nothing else, it was a good story, and we ate at a beautiful restaurant. The ESPN Zone is nice in Baltimore, and I was reminded why people who are indoctrinated are annoying. Other than that, I think I'll pass on round two with those two. They were nice girls... that's what I'm sure KAYA's friend also told him about his "date" when it was set up.
After playing wing man for the night, I stopped to see FEMALEATLAS at her other job. I actually stopped to tip her sister, and get a beer, but as I pulled in I remebered... we have a bet to reconcile.
I believe that the Ladder Theory http://www.laddertheory.com is, for the most part, correct. It is the closest thing to reality that I've ever read. So, while talking at work the other day, the theory gets brought up. FEMALEATLAS doesn't buy it. Problem is, two other co-workers, both female, agree with me overall. So, we bet on her friend at the other job. She says he would NEVER want to sleep with her, "He changed my diapers." I say she's crazy. He'd sleep with her if given the opportunity with no repercussions. The only challenge in my mind is getting him to be honest.
I walk in, and, as we're talking, ATLAS brings it up. She pulls her friend in and wants me to basically ask the guy. Well I've never met him. How do you walk up to a married guy and say,"If you weren't married and she wasn't married, would you sleep with her?"
Apparently, just that way. I beat around the bush for a while when he finally asked if I was basically asking just that question from above his answer was quick: "Well yeah! That was simple!"
ATLAS: "But, you changed my diapers!!!!!!!" Incredulous.
Friend: "Yeah, and I'd do it again if given the opportunity."
Life's hilarious like that sometimes. Man, that was a good FREE beer, and the dream she had as a result of all of it was worth more than a keg of beer.
As much fun as all that was, I came home to some very sobering news. I have spoken on this blog of, and sometimes, more specifically, to CALYN. She emailed to say that things are not well in her life, and that to cap off a horrible stretch of time (to put it mildly) she will be leaving to provide relief efforts in Iraq for 3 weeks. I'd normally be fine with that, because that's kind of in her job description, I guess, but this is different. Very different. She's going to Samarra next week. I don't know if you keep up with the news, but Samarra is not a nice place as far as I can tell.
Maybe I'm wrong about the city, and I pray that I am, but what I know I'm not wrong about is the way I feel. I know, I know... it's different when you actually know and care about someone who's there. I need to say nothing about that to CALYN, she knows better than all of us. The difference here is a matter of position.
I'm in a weird one. Maybe I shouldn't care, but I do. I mean, I've never actually met her before, so why should I really be concerned if she's here tomorrow? It doesn't matter - I am. I don't exactly know why I am, but I'm very concerned about her well-being.
I care for CALYN very much. As a matter of fact, feelings, at this point, are something I can't exactly describe. It has a lot more to do with technology than anything else.
We are at an age, now, when we can communicate with people anywhere in the world with the click of a mouse and a couple of keystrokes. This has stripped away all questions of appearance and allowed us all to judge a person by what they have to say... and I like what she has to say - a lot. We may not even agree on everything, and we don't, but we respect what the other has to say regardless. In our conversations, I believe she has made me a better person merely by association, much less by way of advice.
So, this leads me to where I am now: at a place where I'm not close enough to know if she's not ok because I have no way of finding out - yet close enough to be worried to death about her well-being, and I'm very worried. If something should happen I will, honestly, be completely devastated.
There are things that I will ponder indefinitely. Not the least of which, will be what in the world to do with this gift I have for her? lol.
KAYA tells me I think too much, and maybe he's right, but no one ever said that I felt too much and that's more the problem than anything right now.
CALYN, if you read this before you go, please be careful. I know that this has been an extremely difficult time in your life and I know that you hope to find some answers to questions that may never be answered. I also know that if you don't do this you'll always wonder about everything that you could have learned there. So, go, experience and try to enjoy, but don't let this distract you from what you've already accomplished and hope to yet accomplish.
"...our lives are like spider webs, and some of us are like flies stuck in the same spider web over and over again. Not put there by their own notions but trapped with only our own knowledge hearts and minds to allow us to escape." -CALYN
I know you're stuck, but give it time. You'll never feel the same, but you will feel better.
That's the problem... lol, time takes so much.... time.
Hang in there. Report in and make sure I know you're ok, at least physically. lol. I'll talk to you when you get back if not before.
LYTD
Take care,
-Mo
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