2009 Sam's Club MS150

It’s the time of year again when I jump on my bike, head out with 4,000 other loonies on two wheels and conquer 150 miles in two days as a part of the Sam’s Club MS150 on May 2-3, 2009 – benefitting the National Multiple Sclerosis Society!

Although this will be my third time to participate in this event, it will be the first time that I do so with a purpose greater than just my own personal achievement. This year, I will be riding with someone very special in mind!

Just last October, Amy Steele Davis (who married one of my closest friends and college roommates) was diagnosed with MS. Amy recently told me in a letter . . . 

“By the time I got the diagnosis, the words ‘it is MS’ from my neurologist were not shocking or devastating to me. In fact, they were sort of anticlimactic. MS had been suspected for several weeks, so I was just thankful to finally know for sure. 

Reality did set in a couple of days later; however, and I went through a period of severe anxiety as I began to contemplate what the disease would mean for me, my husband, and my two young children.

Several months later, I can say I am doing very well. I get tired a little easier than I'd like, and occasionally my symptoms do flare up. But as I regularly tell people who ask how I'm doing, I just take my injections, try to get a lot of rest, and, as much as possible, try to live life as though I don't have the disease. I find that approach works well for me.

 
The advancements made by MS researchers over the past several years are absolutely remarkable, and I am very optimistic about the possibilities for the future. My understanding is that a pill form of the medication I'm currently taking is just around the corner. That is very exciting news to me! 

I am confident that one day there will be a cure for Multiple Sclerosis. As MS is thought to be a hereditary disease, my primary interest in helping to find a cure is on behalf of my beautiful babies!”

When I think of the hard work involved with training for and completing 150 miles in two days, there’s really no comparison to what millions like Amy have to deal with on a daily basis. I’m more than happy to ride my bicycle for Amy if it can increase awareness and help fund the research that could help find a cure for her and so many others.

I’m writing today to encourage you to support Amy and myself as we face MS head on. Please contribute to our efforts at my personal MS150 webpage. Friends and family on Facebook will be able to track my progress during the event.

Amy and I both thank you for your encouragement and support!

My Observations From Our 10-Year Reunion at ACU Last Weekend

1. Don’t sign up to help with the Annual Fund Campaign unless you’re comfortable with calling people you haven’t talked to in a really long time to ask them to donate large sums of money to ACU while the economy is bad, they're still paying off students loans, and/or they’re expecting another baby soon.

2. If you haven’t heard from me in years but suddenly notice my name pop up on your caller ID . . . don’t pick up the phone unless you’re comfortable listening to me stammer around for 20 minutes while I work up the nerve to ask you to donate large sums of money to ACU and then beg you to come back for Homecoming.

3. In case you forgot, Eastland is a speed trap!

4. In case you get pulled over in Eastland, be polite, smile, apologize and whimper as if you’re about to cry. Apparently that’s all it takes to get away with only a warning!

(Whew!)

5. There are two ways to be cool at ACU. First way: Pull out your iPhone in the middle of Chapel and text the person sitting two seats down from you – hey, all the other students were doing it!

6. Or, the second way . . . you can just be Kooooooooool!

(Is it just me or am I starting to look like Kool with my sunglasses and whiskers????)

7. Of all the people I bumped into, only once did I find myself in a conversation with someone who I apparently was supposed to know but had absolutely no clue who they were. I just kept thinking, “Keep the conversation as vague and generic as possible!”

8. There’s no quicker way to endear yourself to the President of ACU than by handing him your child and making he and his wife pose for a photo by saying, “Full Scholarship!”

(Now I have photographic evidence that he promised Tate a full ride!)

9. Judging by how things went during the Gamma Sigma Phi Breakfast, the guys I was in club were the most fun. All the younger alumni were way too serious and kept looking over their shoulders at us. All in good fun, boys!

10. Carrying a highchair through The Bean for your son to sit in is a very surreal moment.

11. Why is it that when Tate screams at the top of his lungs and runs circles around The GATA Fountain all the college girls giggle and comment on how cute he is . . . but when I did the same thing 10 years ago they all just looked the other way and acted like I didn’t exist?


12. You know you’re old when you can be overheard saying while walking across campus, “Wow! I can’t believe how big these trees have grown!” I must have said that 20 times!


13. You also know you’re old when you’re actually excited about going back to the hotel for Tate’s afternoon nap instead of going to the football game – GSP breakfast came really early that morning!

14. I now have another reason to be insanely jealous of my best friend/college roommate's back swing. Not only did Brian's group win the Homecoming Golf Tourney but he made a freakin' hole-in-one! I'm telling you, his back swing is such sweetness!

The sad part is that there was a hole-in-one contest for a free pick-up truck on the front nine - Brian made his ace on the back nine! But don't feel sorry for him, he still walked away with a free set of irons. Plus, this is his 3rd hole-in-one!

He's such a show-off, the jerk!

(Thanks Amy for letting me steal your photo!)

15. The two things that make the weekend all worthwhile: Great friends & great memories!

Dallas Cowboys Are Great! But Unfortunately Not The Best!

To further my addiction to all things Dallas Cowboys and Tony Freakin' Romo, my college roommate Brian and I took in the Cowboy-Patriot game today at Texas Stadium!


Yes, I know we look like a couple of twinkies but what are you supposed to do when you show up and realize that you're both wearing basically the same t-shirt! So before you all leave a ton of comments making fun of us please know that this was not by design! I actually wanted to come in a Santa Claus suit and hold a sign that read John 3:16!

There were supposed to be 4 of us at the game but the other two opted to sell their $75 tickets at the last minute for $350 each. Any day trader will tell you that's a great return on investment but it would have taken crazy money for me to not go to this game!

Two 5-0 teams playing each other in what is no doubt a Super Bowl preview! (Boy, have I drunken the Cowboy cool-aid or what?)

I was able to catch two of the game's highlights on my camera. In the this first clip, notice Brian "popping" his t-shirt at some Patriot fans sitting behind us after a Cowboy touchdown. The video ends with a shot of slightly annoyed Patriot fans! Hee, hee!

In this next clip, you'll see some really bad "belly shots" of the people sitting around me. I was high 5'ing everyone after another touchdown and didn't realize the camera had a bad angle. Towards the end you'll see Brian dance a little jig in the aisle - after which the guy behind us told Brian that he needed to work on his moves!

I decided not to wear a Santa suit because I thought I'd look really silly. Apparently I wouldn't have had anything to worry about with this guy sitting a couple of rows in front of us. What a buffoon!


Unfortunately the game turned into a shellacking. Patriots won 48-27. It's not that the Cowboys are that bad - it's that the Patriots really are that good!

But even with the loss, I'll gladly pass up on $350 to take in a Cowboy game with one of my greatest friends!

Go Cowboys!

Brian's Tribute To Charles Trevathan

Some of you know my great friend and college roommate, Brian.

I want to direct you to his new blog that he has started in honor of Charles Trevathan.

I won't steal any of Brian's thunder other than to say what Brian is doing is a great way to honor a friend and mentor.

Please stop by and share with Brian some of your favorite ACU stories of Charles. And, if you're a golfer, tee it up in his tourny!

What would you do for money?

Thanks to my internet scout, Brian D., I have a new video for you.

Here's a clip of an absolutely insane Japanese game show - these people are crazy!

The object is to say a Japanese tongue-twister without messing up . . . and, if you're a guy, you don't want to mess up.

I can't understand a word the guy in red is saying, but I'm sure he's trying to act as a voice of reason to a misguided audience.

"This is not what I signed up for!! I want to have kids someday! Can't you just pour a bucket of slime on my head? Or maybe you could have some redhead with an Irish accent ridicule me and make fun of my dorky-looking outfit? That would be good!"

I've always thought that I would like to be on a game show one day. From now on I will be more specific: I would like to be on a non-Japanese game show one day.

Enjoy - if you can!

Shocking Confession #2

During our senior year at ACU, Monty, Brian and I lived in a townhouse on Bruce Way just behind Harvest Moon. One night, Brian and I were sitting on our front step when we heard a car coming down the road. It immediately caught our attention because we heard the radio and the 4 obnoxious girls inside long before we heard the car. These girls all went to HSU and lived 2 doors down from us. We never got to know them since they kept to themselves – we would soon find out why!

They came to a screeching halt with half of the car up on the curb. Out piled the 4 girls all talking at the same time (Brian does a great impression!). Brian and I just rolled our eyes because we could tell they were more than slightly inebriated (HSU girls inebriated? Noooo!).

They went inside their apartment and Brian and I had thought we’d seen the last of them for the night but it wasn’t but a few minutes later when they came back out, got into their car and drove off. I turned to Brian and said, “I bet those girls were so drunk that they forgot to lock their door.” And that’s when the light bulb turned on!

Brian and I ran around to their back door and, sure enough, it was wide open! Now, you come to expect certain things when you enter an apartment belonging to college girls. Somewhat clean – potpourri and/or candle scent – a pretty good attempt at decorating – a decent collection of chick-flick movies – a cork board to leave cheesy ‘Best friends 4-Ever!’ notes to each other!

Not this apartment! Brian and I were shocked at what we found! Quite literally it looked like college guys lived there instead of college girls. The kitchen was a wreck and stunk horribly! They had broken furniture! No decorations! A hole in the wall – literally and figuratively speaking. And gasp! Empty wine boxes stacked in the corner (yep, boxes not bottles). No wonder these girls kept to themselves - I had seen enough!

Knowing they wouldn’t be back until late that night (or rather, early the next morning), we decided that we would leave the girls “a gift” – something just to let them know that someone had been there. We couldn’t mess up the place – that would have actually made an improvement! There was nothing worth stealing (who wants a stack of chick-flick movies?)! Brian wanted to leave an anonymous note telling them to clean up – I doubted they would have ever found it!

That’s when I came up with the idea of going to their fuse box and shutting off their electricity – all of it! No lights! No refrigerator! No alarm clocks! No air conditioning! No nothing! C’mon! Do you think 4 drunk girls would be able to figure out (in the dark) how to turn their electricity back on? Genius!

I would have paid money to have been a fly on the wall when they got home in a drunken stupor!

“Oh ma gawd! Why won’t the stupid lights work? (hiccup!) Like – the switch must be broken! (hiccup!)"

The funniest part must have been the lecture that they got from our landlord, John, after having to drive all the way across town just to reset their fuse box! He was a sixty-something ex-Marine who did not tolerate in subornation much less public intoxication or destruction of his precious townhomes. He once got bent out of shape because I drove to his house to deliver my rent check without thinking to bringing Brian’s check with me. He told Brian, “Wade’s just a jerk!”

So if you went to HSU, lived on Bruce Way in 1998 and remember coming home late one night thinking you had forgotten to pay your electricity bill then, yep, that was me! And all I have to say is you have cheap taste in wine!