Tell me about your kids...

[WildcatOne]

Today is my oldest son Kyle's 24th birthday. He's a little confused about what to do with his life, but he has goals and I have advised him to stay focused on them, he looks great and is doing good things...today is also a good day for me, as it was 24 years ago today that this little human being came into my life, hit me like a thunderbolt and made me the happiest guy in the world...I gave up drugs 24 years ago today, and I never went back. Life is good. WC1

[draglist]

Happy birthday, Kyle! Great tribute, Cat. bp

[jim sanders]

[draglist]

I hope I'm not being too tiring, but it's Emily and Jason time again! Jason has been doing a great job at work this year and is really enjoying setting up PCs, etc., at my job. We been having such a great time traveling downtown together every day. I'll treasure these days. Emily gets to come with us a few days this week as Denise has a few work days and while Emily is totally ready to stay at home by herself, why should she? All the ladies at work want me to bring her in so that they can chat her up. She really can hold a pleasant conversation with everyone from six to sixty (and beyond). Emily was down at University of North Carolina-Greensboro this past week and had an absolute blast playing in a gigantic symphony comprised of kids from 13 states. We drove down on Friday and really enjoyed the show. Incredible sound. Emily "qualified fourth" out of a field of 16 cellists, but that put her right behind the huge 3rd chair guy and I could not see her during the concert (just her hands)!!! Oh well, I did get one photo of her leaning back. The kids stayed in one of the dorms there and I got a bittersweet premonition of what we'll be going through in just a few short years as she takes off for college. Jason will probably do the community college route for the first two years as he works somewhere in the IT field. I count my blessings every day. bp

[Tom McCrea]

We have two kids of whom we are proud.

Sean turned 32 on July 4 (a Bicentennial kid) and operates his own cleaning business while he tries to figure out how to raise $1M to open a car wash. For some reason he really loves that business and has done a good job of managing several in the past. He quit his last job so that he could spend more time with his girlfriend. He was working 80+ hours per week and had little time to spend with her. The kid is like his dad, he works hard instead of smart!

Kelly will be 30 in Dec. (26 by her calculations) and is another hard worker. She is the student and is taking college classes while working two (sometimes three) jobs. She has a very responsible job with a board of education and a second at a health club. She informed me a couple weeks ago that she is maintaining a 3.72 GPA.

Both kids have a tremendous work ethic and are generous with whatever they have. Sometimes that is in the form of LIP!

Here's Sean at one of his early drag events.





There is little about these two that we would change.

[draglist]

Fantastic post, Tom. Thanks for bringing us up to speed on your great kids. The world will keep on rolling smoothly with parents and kids like this... bp

[WildcatOne]

Today I took my son Nick around town to 3 music stores. He had a sizeable amount of Christmas money and savings from his allowance, and we went to some stores and he got a couple of new cymbals and some sticks...we went to the Percussion Center first. They all knew him...we hung out there for a while and he ended up getting all his stuff there; they were having an after-Christmas sale and he got his stuff at 50% off...on the way home I asked him if we could drop by the Guitar Center because I was looking for a little clip that goes on my mic stand that holds the cord on it without it slagging off to one side. We went in and he went straight for the drum room. I went into the sound and light section and was treated rather rudely by the people in there, who told me I'd have to buy a mic stand in order to get the clip I needed, and they scoffed at me for even asking. They made jokes at me about it and never answered the question I asked...do you have this part (I had removed one from a mic stand)? I finally said "So I take it the answer is no?" They still looked at me and didn't say anything. I said OK, thanks, I'll put this back on the mic stand...I think you might know what I wanted to say to them...so I went to the drum room, and here's Nick, sitting at a set of Roland V-drums, the electronic kit, and a guy about 28 or so is asking him questions and watching him play. Other folks are standing back watching. He is something to see on those drums, man. So he sees me and he gets up and we leave. He asked me if I got what I needed, and I told him the story. He says "Let's go to Evans down the street. If they don't have the clip, I'll bet Jason has something you can use and he'll give it to you..." I said "Who is Jason?" He said "He's the manager of the drum department. He's a great guy." So we went to Evans. Nick went straight to the set of Roland V-drums. These were programmed into a music system and an amp that plays music that is triggered by the drums...Nick sat down and cranked that system up and by the time I got back from browsing throughout the store (a much more down-home atmosphere in there), Nick had a crowd of people standing there watching him play and he had the music going great guns and it sounded fantastic...I hung back and watched him play for a while. He played for almost an hour in there and everybody knows him and loves him there. The drum manager asked me "Sir, can I help you with anything?" I said well, I was looking for a clip for my mic stand that keeps the cord on it...but I don't see one anywhere...he goes, "Well, you'd probably have to buy another mic stand, but I tellya what. I'll give you a couple of these black velcro straps that you can use, and it'll keep your cord on the stand..." I was blown away. He said "What else can I help ya with?" I said "That's my boy over there on those V-drums..." He said "Oh. Cool! He's great. We just let him go wild on them. We're all enjoying hearing him play, ya know. If he wasn't this good, we'd kick him outta here. But he's so good, we see it as a plus when he comes in because he gets the most out of those electronic kits and it makes the whole place look good when he shows up..." I was as proud as a peacock. Nick hangs out with these guys, he talks drums, music theory, styles, and preferences with them like a seasoned pro. All the way there and all the way back, he talked to me about his life's plans and how he intends to handle it, and I had no choice but to agree with him and give him encouragement. I'd love to get him a set of V-drums, but they cost a LOT of money. Nick could turn pro right now, but he needs to get through school and get the basics down in order to establish himself before he makes a move towards a career in music. First things first. But what I saw today proved to me beyond a doubt that this kid has what it takes. He has the friendship and admiration of musicians twice his age. He is to be taken seriously and treated with respect in these places...it's scary...he's only 16 and he's been playing drums for 2 years...his idols are Buddy Rich, Billy Cobham and Bernard Purdie...yet he respects the rock guys as well...but he can play funk and jazz with the best of them. Hats off to Nick! WC1

[draglist]

Congrats, John. Fantastic story. Best of luck to Nick in his future plans. bp

[draglist]

While I'm thinking about Jason on his birthday, I wanted to congratulate him publicly on hitting a goal that he frankly didn't think he could achieve (and I was crossing all fingers and toes myself). Jason made it into the Tri-County Honors Orchestra for this year. This is a real accomplishment for him. Emily makes the cut perennially, and I'm always super proud of her, of course. The cello is her life and she will definitely be working professionally as a musician in some capacity.

Jason, on the other hand, is a computer guy through and through (of course, manifesting itself mostly in GAMES at this point). He doesn't have the passion for music that Emily does and that shows up in his practice skills. He has always put in a workmanlike performance and while his high school orchestra gets top marks at state, he hasn't always made the cut when auditioning by himself for the top spots. This year was different.

In his Senior year, Jason manned up and went to Emily for coaching tips. Now, anybody who has kids knows how hard it is for a 17 year old to go to his or her 15 year old sibling for advice, but Jason knew where the expertise was. We were thrilled beyond belief when Jason made the All County Honors Orchestra in early December. That was something that Jason had never accomplished. Then it was time for all three Southern Maryland counties to get together. The best musicians from dozens of high schools competed for a shot.

Emily made it into the cello section, moving up one chair from her participation last year. We did not hear about Jason immediately, so we all frankly thought, "Well, he gave it a good shot." But a few days later, Jason got the call that he had made it into the Tri County orchestra! He wasn't anywhere near first chair, but he was in!

It reminded me of a journeyman drag racer who does well locally, but never really made a splash nationally, and then he qualifies for Indy! Even 16th in the field means you are racing on Monday! Jason is "in the show" and he, Emily, and a couple dozen more of the best student musicians in Maryland will put on one hell of a performance in early February. Congrats, Jason! bp