If your going to spew, spew into the Gulf!!!

Many people out there are asking what they can do to help out locally with the economic, environmental and yes emotional disaster in the gulf. You don’t have to be down on a beach scooping oil clumps with a kitty litter scoop to do your part. You shouldn't boycott local BP franchises. In fact you should support the local BP stations as they are not owned by BP and are in fact not supplied gasoline from a BP refinery. For more on that see my previous blog on that subject. To help you can support the locally owned businesses here in the gulf region. Go to Dauphin Island, Gulf Shores, Orange Beach or any number of any other local municipalities that are under siege. Go down and eat dinner, fill your car up, buy some tee shirts from a gift shop that has a big shark for a door. Do some shopping. Go see a movie in Gulf Shores or Orange Beach instead of your closet cinema. Support our neighbors. Support the locally owned restaurants rather than chains like Long Horn, or Outback and local shops instead of the big box stores like Wal-Mart and Target. I am not saying do not visit national chains or big box stores just give the little guy first crack at fulfilling your needs.
Head down to the beach and show your children exactly what is going on. Take some photos or videos of your own and share them with your facebook, twitter and God forbid if you have a MySpace on there as well. I am sure many of you have contacts scattered around the nation who do not realize the true impact of what is happening. The majority of national coverage is centered on Louisiana, and Florida. Show your friends and family what is happening here and what it means to you. I know I plan to do this very soon. Be it a Sunday drive down to the Gulf to have a nice day with my family or a quick jaunt to the Island we will be going and will be sharing what we see with our friends and family.

One thing this last week that has had many in an uproar was the Jimmy Buffett benefit concert. It seems that many went into the hunt for tickets without all the facts. My understanding from the time it was first announced on Margaritaville.COM and CMT.com was that the point of this was to get people to come stay a day or two and spend some cash in South Baldwin County. That is why thousands of tickets were set aside by the Alabama Gulf Coast Convention & Visitors Bureau for owners and rental agencies to include the tickets in package deals. More power to them I say. I know that ticket agencies and greedy individuals cornered a large number of tickets and attempted to sell them, but folks that’s America for you. There is always a crook around every corner. I would be interested to know how many tickets will still get sold by people who stood in lines around the area. ( I find it funny that in Mobile County the only open Ticket Master was on St Stephens road. Not exactly the Buffett crowd living in those parts. ) I know a few people who got tickets from Ticketmaster.com so it wasn't fixed. If you can afford it rent a condo and get you some tickets. Enjoy the show. Me and mine we will have the DVR set and will be skipping commercials and the heat to let the true Parrot Heads rock out with their flip flops out on the beach. You locals who got tickets go enjoy, spend some cash and be courteous to the visitors who came down from areas north to stay for the weekend. Don’t be a bunch of drunken rednecks.
Go get to it people. Enjoy it while you can. Inform those you know who live elsewhere. Support local business. After we make our trip down in the near future I will post all about it.


Since we hit on old Jimmy Buffett did you know his song I Don't Know was featuted in one of the all time great Teen High School films FAST TIMES AT RIDGEMONT HIGH. So I leave you below with a quote from Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982) and Spicoli's Theme 'I Don't know'.

"What Jefferson was saying was, Hey! You know, we left this England place 'cause it was bogus; so if we don't get some cool rules ourselves - pronto - we'll just be bogus too! Get it? " Jeff Spicoli

Fathers Day and the week that was!!!

What a great week I have had since I last posted and it is all because of my wonderful family. We took the time last Saturday to have family portraits taken. It was not stress free but still enjoyable to see Bailey and Logan smiling for the camera. They are both so precious to Heather and me. Logan was such a good baby. After photos we enjoyed a great lunch at California Dreaming with some great friends (really should say family as they treat us like we are part of their clan). If you have not been to California Dreaming I recommend it highly. We followed that up with a trip into the toy box to see Toy Story 3. It was a god movie. Much better than Toy Story 2 but not as good as the original I think. Kind of dark at times but the kids all enjoyed it as well. (Spoiler Alert) I kind of thought the movie had great potential if only the toy gang had been melted down at the end rather than saved by the CLAW. I mean could you imagine taking a three or four year old to Toy Story 3 and the toys get destroyed at the end. It would have been a downer ending to rival The Empire Strikes Back, and would no doubt cause thousands of children to seek mental help. (Spoiler Alert End) All in good fun of course.
Sunday was Father’s Day which I spent at home with Heather and the kids. No big dinner, no big to do just a nice day with the best gifts I could ever possibly hope for, our children. I love so much spending time with them and hearing Bailey laugh and play, watching Logan coo, laugh, cry and search the room with his eyes for his mommy. The day also made me think of my daddy and how I cannot remember a Father’s Day spent with him. Then I thought about Heather’s dad Tony who we miss so much. Tony treated me so well. I thought of them both and how they would love all their grandchildren. Truly a bitter sweet day and it always will be for me.
I keep hearing how like my father I am and it makes me feel good inside. I know how much he loved his children, and I know how much we loved him.
The rest of the week has just been pleasant, even today no one can touch me. Things happen for a reason and I am learning that. I am learning just to ignore which in the past has been hard and still will be. I will let things fester and slide by without putting a stop to them but no more. It’s either ignored to let others have their kicks or put my foot down right away ala HULK. As Dr Banner says “You wouldn’t like me when I’m angry.”

Well since last week was the thirty-fifth anniversary of what is possibly my favorite movie of all time if not in the top 5 for sure I leave you with this from JAWS (1975).

"Farewell and adieu to you fair Spanish ladies. Farewell and adieu to you ladies of Spain. For we've received orders for to sail back to Boston. And so never more shall we see you again. "