When It's Good . . . . . .

Cindy makes these Chocolate Graham Cracker Peanut Butter bars. Graham cracker, powdered sugar, peanut butter crust with a chocolate topping. I love it. I ask for it every year for my birthday and anytime in-between. It is my all time favorite dessert. It is the one dessert that i can eat till I feel ready to explode. . . . . and then have just one more!!!!! It is a diet busting dessert for me. I come home from work in the morning and have a piece. If I walk by it during the day, I have a piece. If I can sneak one before dinner I will and then you have to have one for dessert afterwards. It is just good!!!!! There are no two ways around it. When there is a pan of it in the house, everything is just happier for me.

Lately my life has been a pan of Chocolate Graham Cracker Peanut Butter bars. My relationship to my wife is good, my kids is good, my work is good and my friends are good. I am in a happy place right now and I do not want it to end. I want my Chocolate Graham Cracker Peanut Butter bars to last forever and ever.

And not gain any weight :)

Smokey Down!!

I'm sad. Smokey my German Shepard is hurting. We always argue amongst ourselves how old Smokey really is, we think around 9, 10 or even 11 years old. You see it's the hips. In large breed dogs, a common occurrence is hip dysplasia. She has carried the weight of her body as well as the responsibilities of the protecting the house. For years Smokey has been the one who has stood guard at the front door, was the imposing figure when someone unknown came to the house. I could not tell you how many times strangers have come to the house and been stopped cold by a simple look, not willing to find out what would happen if things went bad. But now Smokey is hurting, barely able to carry the weight of responsibility much less her own body.

This saddens me.

But that is only part of it, then there's Bella. The companion, the friend. We have had other dogs in the house, but Smokey has always held a higher place with Bella. Smokey is not like any other dog to Bella, they are companions, true companions. Its not physical, it never was, it would never work. They are too opposite. Its a chemistry, a knowing that connects the two, something that most animals, much less humans never have.

I am sad today because Smokey is hurting. I see it, my family sees it and I'm sure Bella sees it.

The Bond

I hate it when my life and the lives of those I love are affected negatively by outside influences, influences we cannot control. Politicians are notorious for doing this. They make decisions that affect us, sometimes for the good and sometimes for the bad but most of the time for there own benefit. The city of Brea has a Fire Chief that is making decisions to save his own skin but he doesn't realize that those same decisions affect the lives, well-being and even the safety of the Firefighters that have to work under them. It is selfish on his part to not see that his decisions and actions can and do have a negative affect on the lives and relationships of those that work around him.

Now I am truly an optimist but it is hard in times like this to see good in this situation. But if you look hard enough, it is there, way in the back. An Army drill sergeant purposely imposes and embodies adversity to create and strengthen the bond between soldiers. Adversity and strife have the ability to tear individuals down, but to more than one person, a couple, a crew, or a department, it strengthens a bond and can deepen relationships.

This is what happens when a Fire Chief, a Politician, a Drill Sergeant or a Captain create adversity, the bonds of friendship, of camaraderie, of relationships, while put to the test, are strengthened.