thehooch36.com

I’m a firm believer in printing what you’re passionate about. It’s why I write about sports, pro wrestling (which, as we all know, is TECHNICALLY “sports entertainment”), good music, etc.

I’m also passionate about my home life, my friends, and, as weird as it is to state publicly, to a “lesser extent,” my faith. I’m one of those C, E, and SO Catholics (Christmas, Easter, and special occasions, like when my grandparents recently celebrated their 65th wedding anniversary, which I think is the Pacemaker Anniversary…). I have a great home life with a wonderful wife whom I adore. We have our differences, sure, but if I were stuck with one person for the rest of my life, I’d choose her again. I do very little around the house. I take out the trash, do some laundry, do the dishes on occasion, and when it’s the right season, I sort of insist on mowing the lawn. I also help take care of our “child,” a 45-pound hound named Lucky. But when you think about it, I really don’t do a lot, and I know I could certainly do more. Oh, and I do cook an occasional AWESOME meal.

Lucky - she's cute, in a destructive sort of way.

Then there is the issue of my friends. And here is why I’m writing tonight at near 1am instead of crawling into bed with my sleeping bride and the dog (who, despite our attempts, insists on sleeping in between the two of us). I was driving home from podcasting tonight (www.bigkev.fm) when I came to the realization that, at some of my friends’ most important times, I haven’t been there for them.

I am an individual who firmly believes that it is not just our actions that define us, but our non-actions as well.

Which brought me to the conclusion of “I can, at times, be a shitty friend.” When my best friend was stepping up to what was the biggest day of his life at that time, his wedding day, he asked me to be there. And I wanted to be there. This, after all, was the guy who stood by me at the altar when I said “I do.” This was the guy who fell asleep guilt-free the night of my bachelor party when I was up puking all night telling my soon-to-be wife that it was “all RJ’s fault” (a claim he’ll never live down). I told my friend that I couldn’t be there because I couldn’t get off work. Why couldn’t I get off work? I forgot to request the time off. That’s it. Joe, Danielle, if you’re reading this, I’m sorry. I failed as a friend, and I failed on an epic scale.

I’m not looking for any sympathy, my words here should not convey one to thoughts of the sort. I know that I have grown more in the last six months than I had the five years prior. And yet, sometimes, I catch myself wondering if I’ve grown into the kind of man I was raised to be.

As a writer, sometimes words flow freely, and sometimes they need a nudge. Sometimes we get the speeches of grandeur worked up in our minds, but they don’t always gravitate to the page, err, screen that way.

In high school, I often would lay in bed at night wondering what would be said of me if I didn’t wake up that next morning. I’m sure it’s something most teens do, or did. I often wonder about my legacy – how would I be remembered?

I know I don’t want to be the guy known as not being there for his friends. I want others to know they can count on me, as I can count on them. I’ve been fortunate in my life to have some amazing friends. I hope that – to those who call me “friend,” – I can be equally amazing.

The muse doesn’t always tell me how to end a written work – so I’ll keep it simple this time and say only this:

Thank you to the people who have entered my life and hung around, and also, thank you to those who, for whatever reason didn’t stick around, but made an impact nonetheless. And… thanks to those of you who put up with me and my shenanigans on a regular basis. I know it’s not an easy task and you don’t get paid nearly enough.

Speaking of not getting paid nearly enough… no, that’s a blog for another time.

If you’re wondering why I tagged “Superman” and “John Williams,” it’s because it’s playing on the iTunes right now. That is all.

TGIF…. you all know what it means. I mean BEFORE it was a popular restaurant chain (how many pieces of flare are YOU wearing?)

15 years ago, as a thirteen-year-old lad, Friday nights were spent in front of the television watching such family-friendly shows as Family Matters, Boy Meets World, Step by Step, and Hangin’ With Mister Cooper (really, that was the TGIF lineup from 1993-95, if you don’t believe me, click this link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TGIF_(ABC)#TGIF_lineup_history).

No, this blog isn’t a rant about the quality of yester-year’s family television programing compared to what there is today on network television. I’m just damn glad it’s Friday.

Last night, the Nebraska Cornhuskers went into the Little Apple (Manhattan, KS) and walked away with a 48-13 victory. Watching Taylor (T-Magic) Martinez have his way with the Wildcats’ defense put a big smile on all of Husker Nation. Through five games, the redshirt freshman leads the nation in touchdowns. Yes, through the same amount of games, T-Magic has more touchdowns than Michigan quarterback Denard Robinson. Also, the Blackshirts defense played fast, played downhill, and appeared ready for their final run through the Big 12. Speaking of running through, anyone else catch Lavonte David, the JuCo transfer linebacker for Nebraska? He had ten tackles by the mid-way point of second quarter. I foresee “All-American” among his honors at the end of the year. Cornerback Prince Amukamara is, according to Mel Kiper, a top-five draft pick. Nolan Nawrocki from www.ProFootballWeekly.com claims Amukamara is the top senior cornerback in the country. High praise, indeed.

Ok, that’s enough gushing over the Big Red (Jared Crick is a first-round pick. Roy Helu Jr, Rex Burkhead, and Niles Paul are other names I didn’t have time to mention… until now). Let’s move on.

Today is October 8, 2010. 139 years ago, ALLEGEDLY, a cow knocked over a lantern in a barn and started the fire. However, the reporter for the Chicago Republican (haha like there are any of those) claimed 22 years later that he made up the story of Mrs. O’Leary’s cow because he thought it’d make for colorful copy. Here you go, get educated. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Chicago_Fire The thing about the Chicago Fire is that no matter what the city is now, at one point it was a center of industry, culture, etc. Now, I think it is seen more as overrun by crime, corruption (I can say that, I live in Illinois and not in the Chicago metro area. Yes, that place does exist), and a team that hasn’t won the World Series since 1908. You see, Chicago was a city built primarily much of wood and hence, why it burned so easily. But immediately following the fire, the city started to be re-built using steel, and Chicago became one of the most populous and economically important American cities. It’s more like a phoenix than the city of Phoenix… I’m just saying.

It IS Friday, and since the rest of my weekend is pretty busy, I’m going to relax at home tonight with my wife and our dog. We will watch Smallville and Supernatural and then, I’ll probably fall asleep. Tomorrow, I’m taking the opportunity to sleep in. Then I’m working in the afternoon and hanging out with my friend who is in town from Omaha.

It’s the weekend, but it’s the weekend before the Mount Vernon (IL) Jaycees House of Horror opens, so there won’t be a lot of free time.

Things I have to concentrate on for NEXT weekend: being covered in blood, wielding a hatchet, buying/preparing/cooking chicken wings for the Steelers/Browns game when my black n gold brother from another mother comes over, and Nebraska hosting Texas on Saturday. Eight days until the #RedOut.

No, it has nothing to do with the fact that I don’t have anything to say… I do. And in the last month+ since my last (ok, it was also my first) entry, a lot of stuff has happened.

But I have a brain that looks like Swiss Cheese (the kind with holes, if I learned nothing else from Travel Channel’s “Passport to Europe with Samantha Brown,” I learned that not all swiss cheese has holes.

Long story short, I forgot how to get to my admin/log-in page to actually post things.

So here’s what you’ve missed, in a veritable nutshell:

Sept. 1 – first blog, I encourage you to go read it if you haven’t.

Sept. 12 - Pittsburgh Steelers open their season with an overtime win at home against the Atlanta Falcons (thank you Rashard Mendenhall)

Also, the St. Louis Cardinals won their last five games of the season, and nine of their last eleven. So I ask you, “where was that production from mid-August up to that point?” I mean, how do you go into Cincinnati and sweep the Reds, but lost to the Pirates, Cubs, etc. It just doesn’t add up.

The Nebraska Cornhuskers (I almost put MY Nebraska Cornhuskers, only to come to the realization that I am not a player or coach, school president, nor do I sit on the board of regents. I’m just a fan) are off to a hot start to their final season in the Big 12. Taylor Martinez is a stud (as good as Denard Robinson of Michigan, I swear). They are two young quarterbacks who lead their respective teams in rushing (Robinson leads the nation, I believe). They seem to have different running styles, in what I’ve seen. Robinson may be a step quicker, but I think Martinez (T-Magic) has the better ability to make a cut on a defender and then shoot past him. Either way, NU opens Big 12 play tomorrow night against the Kansas State Wildcats (6:30pm Central on ESPN). I’m excited. I’ll be watching the Big Red for the first time all season (thanks to pay-per-view games and confusion between ESPN2 and ABC). #GOBIGRED and follow the Huskers on twitter (www.twitter.com/Huskers).

My friends and I took in a WWE house show the day before Night of Champions. It was a blast… floor seats! I was drawing heat from the crowd for cheering on heel CM Punk (www.twitter.com/CMPunk). I was among the first to start the “C-M Punk” chant and, hey, I have a big mouth. Some kid (I think) told me to shut up. I pause, I shout, “no,” and I resume my CM Punk chat. Good times. Also, let it be stated for the record, that my friends and I went to the Landing to Show-Mes for wings before the WWE show. I LOVE Show-Mes wings! I also tried a Schlafly Pale Ale. Good stuff put out by Schlafly. I’ll be drinking their brews more often now.

This past Monday, Ben Roethlisberger re-joined the Pittsburgh Steelers after serving his four-game suspension. A week-five bye provides the two-time (two-time) Super Bowl Champion 13 days to prepare for the Cleveland Browns. I read a report that his arm was in good shape for his first workout. That will help spell Mendenhall’s second-ranked yards-per-game rushing, as the Steelers will have a more reliable passing attack. I love Charlie Batch and I respect him and I’m glad he is a Steeler. He did his job. He was the fill-in guy and helped us to a 3-1 record.

Ok, what else happened? I sent a press kit to the WWE as they were (or maybe still are) looking for an announcer. The letter I got back from them stated that they were impressed by my background and experience, but that I wasn’t quite what they were looking for at the moment. That being said, WWE (www.twitter.com/WWE) if you’re reading this, I will work for your esteemed company one day! I’m currently in talks with a friend of mine who is the “top guy” in the independent wrestling company he is in about starting to do some annoucing for/with them. It’s just a matter of time.

As president of the Mount Vernon Jaycees (www.twitter.com/mtvjaycees) in my last couple of months, I’m very excited to say that the haunted house is coming along very well. I think we’ll be ready when we open on October 15 (come out and support us as we work to provide area children with the Christmas they were deprived of last year). I’ll probably be heading down there tomorrow afternoon to do some more work. Good times. The poker tournament hit a snag in that we (by “we,” I mean “I”) didn’t get the paperwork into the state on time, and thus have to wait until November to have our Texas Hold ‘Em tournament. Please follow the Jaycees on Twitter for more updates. We’re still planning a grand prize of a brand new flat-screen TV (not a small one, but c’mon, not the LARGEST ONE EVER. Probably a 40-incher or there-abouts.

Busy busy. Take care, come back. I’ll update with greater frequency, I assure you.

As always, follow me on twitter (www.twitter.com/thehooch36) and keep your head up.