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Rockstars, Pirates, Pimps and Saints August 4, 2008 in Family, Friends, Hokie Nation, Hokie Spirit, Life's Questions, Marriage, Party, Stephanie, The Hobans, Van Morrison, Virginia Tech, Waxing Poetic...Sorta, Wedding | 1 comment (Otherwise known as our wedding reception) Me and Steph at our wedding reception A wild title for a wild night. What else can I say?! It was an eclectic blend of personalities that had the possibility to either make the night or completely derail it. We went ahead and chose the former, and had a grand ol’ time in Hokieland! Mix in a couple of live performances from my extremely talentedtruth about enzyte new family. Add a boat load of rum-guzzling capt’ns. Thrown in a dash of straight-up pimp cousin. Top it off with the Hoban family matriarch, aunts and my reverend uncle (who married us). Even then, we are only scratching the surface. There were even a few incidents involving myself, a microphone, some down-home country music, good friends…and a good bit of liquid courage. The result was a perfect ending to wedding day. We even managed, due to a wonderful suggestion from Steph, to bookend the night with Van Morrison. That still makes me smile when I think about it. Don’t get me wrong. Our marriage has and will always be the most important part of this story. Not the wedding. Not the reception. Not even the amazing trip to Cozumel (yes, more on that later). Even so, I wanted so badly for the reception to be a great time. Not just for me and Steph, but for everyone. And I don’t mind saying that I think we succeeded. And, honestly, what else would you expect from a gathering of rockstars, pirates, pimps and saints? August 4, 2008 in Christianity, Faith, Life's Questions, Marriage, Religion, Stephanie, Virginia Tech, Wedding | No comments Me and Steph getting married oh that’s right. July 26th, 2008. A date which will live in…famy (ok, i’m pretty certain that isn’t a word). Things went extremely smooth, especially considering how chaotic things were at the rehearsal. I think God may have felt sorry for us when he saw us flopping about like fish while rehearsing and decided that he’d run the main event. Fine with me, i mean that is the way it’s supposed to be anyhow, yeah? Clearly i already think Stephanie is very beautiful, but she really blew me away at the wedding. I don’t think my heart has ever beaten faster. My best friend (and best man) Matt and his wife had told us how the ceremony would seem like a blur b/c things are so surreal. Boy were they right. I don’t really remember much. I remember saying our vows, I remember Steph almost losing her balance on the alter while lighting the unity candles only to be trumped by my spilling hot wax on my hand seconds later. Or honestly, i’m not even sure which of those happened first. I do remember being allowed to kiss my wife. Very nice. I like! But that was just the start of the fun, things “got right” at the reception. There will be more on that later. April 16, 2008 in Faith, Hokie Nation, Hokie Spirit, Life's Questions, Virginia Tech, Virginia Tech Massacre, Waxing Poetic...Sorta | Tags: april 16, Hokie Spirit, the 32, Virginia Tech | 1 comment A phrase that I’ve seen used more than once in the last several days. For The 32. The 32, of course, represent the 32 victims in the shooting at Virginia Tech one year ago today. One year ago. Wow. In some ways it feels like yesterday. It others, a lifetime. April 16th, 2007 was a shocking and terrible day for people all around the world. It was a day of unimaginable pain for the families and friends of The 32 as well as those that were injured. No doubt it was a day of intense stress for the families of the other 20,000+ students on campus that day. And what of a proud alum? It was a whirlwind of emotion. Raw shock. Overwhelming Pain. Unashamed Anger. Those 3 emotions swirled about in unison. But something else happened in that day and the days that followed. Another powerful emotion began to rise up as the day moved to night on that April 16th. Glued to the TV, unable to stomach what I was watching but equally unable to turn away, I started to see something. Something in the young students being interviewed in front of national, no world-wide, audiences. At first I didn’t recognize it. It was not foreign to me. I had been around it, consumed by it, for years. But the shock, pain and anger were blurring my vision. What is that? Hokie Spirit. This time, the rush of emotion and tears had a different feel. Yes, there was still the persistence of shock, pain and anger. But now, there was relief. Now there was pride. And now there was a sense of responsibility. I was relieved to see these young students - thrust unwantingly into a world-wide headline - handling themselves like seasoned adults. I was proud because I was starting to realize that the world would see what I have always seen: Just how amazingly special the Hokie Spirit really is. And perhaps more importantly, I felt a sense of responsibility that, as Hokies, we must pick up the pieces and make things better. Not just “the same”, but better. Not just in Blacksburg, but around the world. Not just on campuses, but in Sudan. Not just about violence, but also about hunger. Not just the world, but our own selves. We must do these things for the 32. We may not have ask for this responsibility, but it has been endowed to us by a God much too awesome for me to ever fully understand. I’ve tried to live up to this responsibility in my own life over the past year. I’ve failed, in some measure I’m sure. But I hope that I will continue to work at it. I hope that, whenever things seem rough, I’ll think of The 32. I hope that, whenever it seems pointless to try and improve a world that seems beyond repair, I’ll think of The 32. I hope that I’ll always remember the emotions that I felt on April 16th, 2007. I hope that I’ll always remember The 32. February 14, 2008 in Greatest Bands, Led Zepplin, Life's Questions, Music, The Beatles, The Eagles, The Rolling Stones, U2, top 5, top five | No comments The age-old, but always spirited conversation of “top 5 bands” came up at a local watering hole last night. Myself and group of co-workers went around the table…and around again. Discussing, affirming, questioning, and even laughing each selection. The topic is fascinating and is actually, in my opinion, a good way to get a glimpse of who a person is. The music that you appreciate oftens speaks to the kind of person you are. But that is too deep a topic for this post. The real purpose here was to cement my top 5 bands of all time. I base this list not only my appreciation for the music, but I also try and weight the group’s influence on music, society, etc. So, enough rambling. My Top 5 Group (2 or more artists) of All Time: 1. The Beatles - the cheesy, obvious choice. Still, hard to argue 2. The Rolling Stones - just starting to really dig into their music. Like The Beatles, this one is hard to argue. 3. U2 - I may be straying a bit from the norm here, but they are my personal favorite and quite an influential group on everything from punk rock to gospel music. 4. Led Zepplin - perhaps not the longest of careers, but their music is still as popular now as it ever was - and that has to say something. 5. The Eagles - the top 4 for me is relatively easy. this pick was a bit more difficult. among the honorable mentions that could easily sneak into this spot: The Who, Queen, The Doors, Pink Floyd, Alabama and The Clash. I have a feeling that if I was more familiar with The Who and Queen (regrettably I am not), they would supplant The Eagles. December 29, 2007 in Admiration, American Ideals, Bill Clinton, Bill Gates, Billy Graham, Bono, Bush 41, Democrats, Faith, George H.W. Bush, John McCain, Microsoft, Mike Huckabee, Nelson Mandela, Politics, Presidents, Religion, Republicans, Tiger Woods, Waxing Poetic...Sorta | 4 comments USA Today and Gallup recently released their yearly list of most admired men/women. In sticking with what is, apparently, the status quo, President Bush was named as the most admired man among over 1000 adults above the age of 18. The article states that sitting US Presidents are always named as the most admired man. What makes this result all the more fascinating is the extraordinarily low approval rating that the President also carries around. Only 30% of Americans approve of the job he is doing, yet he is the most admired man? What gives? Well, this little revelation made me think…who would I name to this list. So, I came up with a top ten. The criteria was pretty simple for me. No family mentions. I admire the heck out of my father - probably more so than any of the people on my lists…but it is kinda corny and not nearly as debatable. So here is my top ten most admired men. I’ve also taken the liberty to include the USA Today/Gallup Poll results for comparison sakes. Here we go… |