Musings of the Great Gonzo

Today, Christmas Day 2008, was a day of revelation to me. I learned things today that I have always known, but have taken for granted my entire life. Simple things like the importance of family, the importance of faith, and the importance of being thankful for life I have been given. This year, for the fist time, we had an empty house for Christmas. Our son is away in the Army. He is serving our country and, whether he understands it or note, has made me a very proud man. He overcame his on youthful self-destruction and is making his way in the world. But, he too, is away from his family. His wife, know pregnant with their first child, came back home to be with her family for the holidays. I called him and he sounded fine, his Sergeant had invited him over to spend the holiday with his family. I don’t know this man, but I thank him for his generosity. Our oldest daughter is out on her own, making her own way in the world. She just moved in to her own apartment and her gifts this year c...

Standing next to the mammoth stone walls, surrounded by thousands of years of history, I found myself thinking that it was almost dreamlike. The scene had a surreal quality, almost as if I were standing on a set of a Hollywood movie. Even now when I look at the photographs we took I can’t shake the feeling that it was nothing more than an elaborate fairy tale. This year my wife, daughters and I took the vacation of a lifetime to Italy with stops in Rome, Florence, Sienna, Venice, Cremona, and Verona. We visited so many wonders it is hard to describe them all. How does one adequately describe the awe of walking into St. Peter’s Basilica with its soaring ceilings nearly twenty stories from the floor? What words can express the beauty of the Trevi Fountain or the canals of Venice dotted with gondolas and their singing gondoliers? Where can anyone find the words to convey the magnificence of Michelangelo’s David or Sistine Chapel? Italy is home to so many beautiful works of art, so much st...

It’s Memorial Day and I’m on the road again. While I was sitting on the plane waiting to taxi out and take off for Texas I thought about what Memorial Day really means. In the past it was about a day off work, barbecues, and relaxing. But, this year it means something different to me. This year I have a son in the United States Army, serving his country and I couldn’t be prouder! Yesterday as I sat at my mother’s house visiting, a commercial came on during the Coca-Cola 600; it depicted a group of servicemembers walking through an airport, a man stands as they walk past and begins to clap. Soon others join him and the people in the terminal begin to cheer as the group of camouflaged soldiers passes. The commercial brought tears of pride to my eyes. The mere thought of it is making me misty now. Last year, Memorial Day was, as I said, just a day off from work. Today it is a day that means much more to me. Today, I am thankful for my son’s sacrifices in joining the Army. Today ...

It has been a while since I have posted anything here and I do apologize for that to those who read this blog. Its just that there has been so much going on in my life that I haven’t had a moment to stop and reflect on anything. Not that there has been a shortage of things to talk about, the list of things I could address is quite long: • Obama’s preacher – yeah, we all believe you knew nothing about his hate talk. • Gas prices – it is now actually cheaper to fly from Jacksonville, Florida to Buffalo, New York than buy two-week’s worth of gas. • Spitzer’s hypocrisy – gotta love a guy who aggressively prosecuted prostitution rings as a DA and then aggressively patronizes them as a Governor. • Crazy winter and spring weather – some of the coldest temperatures and highest snow accumulations in decades; I can certainly see the Global Warming making things hotter… • Economic panic – banks backed themselves into corners and created the current foreclosure problems in the sub-prime m...