Dad rocks!

So my dad is getting this great award from the city of Huron, SD tonight, the Distinguished Civic Service Award. My brother Jon wrote a terrific tribute to him here. I couldn't agree with him more on this. We all are very proud of him. We have known for many many years what many others in Huron knew, and now the rest will know, that our dad is a very selfless man.

We all learned very early how important it is to give back to your community and your family, and not in that order. Being the youngest of 3 sons, I got to see how important it was to our parents to be supportive and involved in everything their kids were doing. I can't remember a single time where mom and/or dad were not at a function of ours. If one couldn't make it, the other was there. Most of the time, both were there. I still remember a Christmas Concert at school that dad was going to have trouble getting to because of meetings on one of his many boards. He made it just in time. It was just a Christmas concert, and I was the only one left in school at the time, but it was important for him to be there, and he made it.

Us three boys were involved in different things. Brent and Jon were involved in basketball, soccer, and track. I was involved in one-act plays, oral interp, and band. It didn't matter what it was, they made it to pretty much every event. Dad never ran into a function that was too far away. I remember going along to drop Jon off at hockey camps in northern Minnesota, basketball camps in Kentucky, taking me to a German language camp up in northern Minnesota, going up to Fargo to watch Jon run an indoor sprint when he was running track for the U (a race that lasted all of 3 seconds because Jon sprained his ankle pretty much out of the blocks). All of that didn't matter, what was important is that we went and supported each other. Have you ever known someone who thinks Chicago is on the way home from Branson, Missouri or Des Moines, Iowa? Since I've lived in Chicago, mom and dad have made those types of trips many times. If they are within 6 hours of us, then we're on the way. :)

That value has been greatly instilled in us kids. That is why I am back in South Dakota right now. I knew as soon as I saw that he was getting this award that I had to come and be a part of his big night. After all, nothing has kept him from coming to support us. Its been a long day, I left home at 5:30AM, but I wouldn't miss it for the world!

Thanks, Dad, for all you've done for us and the great example you and mom have set for us. You really deserve this recognition and I'm glad to be here for you this time.

Bailey needs a Chiropractor

Tonight, Bailey was just chillaxing and watching some hockey while laying on her back. Sheila noticed her acting strange by shaking her arms and legs. Sometimes, when she is asleep, she'll dream and start running and growling in her sleep, but her eyes were wide open. She couldn't straighten or move her arms. I watched her struggle for a bit and kinda rolled her over and felt the top of her back. It felt like her sholder blades (if dogs have them) were somehow tangled up. i only felt one, so the other one seemed like it was locked up somehow.

This went on for a few strange minutes. she couldn't walk or stand up or anything. I started to massage her upper back where her arms meet (the shoulder blade area) and finally got to the point that i could feel both of them. It finally corrected itself and she was back to normal running around and jumping all over the place.

Very strange, but I thought I'd post this one for my brother Jon the Chiropractor. He'd be proud of me. I maniuplated a dog's back. Is that something you learn in the second or third year? :)

Chicago In Da (white) House

Well, the election is over and it looks like Chicago politics is going to Washington. I was disappointed that McCain didn't win, but I liked his concession speech. I want to give Obama the benefit of the doubt. Since we really don't know much about him, we just have to wait and see. However, I am not very encouraged by his Chief of Staff pick. Rahm Emanuel is a hyper partisan Chicago politician. Not a good way to start off the reaching out to the other side.

I find it interesting how smoothly the election went and I wonder as I wander whether that is mainly because the media's guy won. If McCain had pulled it off, I think we'd still be hearing about how much voter fraud and intimidation and how he stole the election. But Obama wins? Not a peep. All on the up and up.

I think this election was nearly impossible for any republican to win. I think McCain had the best shot, but once the economy tanked in the September Surprise, it was pretty much over. I also think that if the Democrats had put up any other candidate, we'd be celebrating President McCain right now. It was the perfect mix of circumstances, and even then, it was still a 52-48 type of vote.

Oh well, this country finally has its first african american president and I think that can be a good thing in some ways. I will try my best to give him the benefit of the doubt because I'm sick of people hating people just becuase of their party affiliation. George Bush has gotten and continues to get the worst treatment of any President in history. Ever since shortly after 9/11, he hasn't gotten any support at all from the left. Their contempt for him is mostly clouded by their simple hatred of him. That needs to stop. I don't hate Barack Obama, and I don't think I agree with what he stands for. But even now after 2 years of campaigning, I'm not 100% sure what exactly it is that he stands for. Now that he is President, I'll give him support with a wary eye. Like I said, I'm not too encouraged so far with his chief of staff pick.

I just hope that all of those that voted for Change won't regret what they are going to get. I still can't quite understand how you can look at a place like Chicago, and think, "Hey, that place is being run so great. The schools are great, infrastructure is great, politics are clean and ethical, and they are doing a great job keeping the peace and enforcing the laws. Let's take some of that Chicago magic and put it in the White House." But, that is what has happened. Cook County (Chicago is the county seat) is in shambles with respect to all of those things. And, I think Chicago took back the honor of the highest murder rate in the country again. Take that New York!!

I also find it interesting how people think that Obama was actually telling the truth about the tax cuts and the $250k cutoff. Soak the rich. Well, those rich are the ones who employ the poor. Nevermind that $250k doesn't go as far as it used to, especially if you live in Chicago (highest taxes in the country) and have a family. Another good one is how we need to make companies pay more taxes. Do people not realize that "companies" don't pay taxes? People do. If you raise taxes on a company, they will simply raise prices, cut staff, or any number of things to make that up. All of those things have some affect on PEOPLE, not the company.

Anyways, this has gotten long enough. At least we should now have a much better shot at getting the 2016 Olympics! Change is Coming!