Friday, June 20, 2014

From the Ashes,comes a Pink Hat Mission

12:45 am

     It's been a loud and rainy day here in SE Michigan as a wave of thunderstorms have rolled across our area since 4:00 am this morning.


   I have discovered that Paladin is immune to these storms. I got home this morning and as I was drinking a glass of green tea and watching "Annie Oakley" on DVD,the storm was kicking off in a big way...the sky was filled with lightening and the cracks of thunder were some of the loudest I have ever heard. It sound like the storm had set up camp right over the house and started tapping on the roof.
  While the mighty Derek Jeter would have sat there and watched this event,it wasn't til he was 11 years old that he was able to this. Paladin is doing it now,he was camped out in his window sill and watching the rain fall. His tail was curled up tightly and his front paws  folded in,a sign that he was relaxed.
  Watched a couple of episodes of Annie Oakley and then retreated upstairs to get some sleep.


A couple of years ago I blogged about a incident involving our neighbors across the street. Simon and Cyndi are a hard working couple with two very sweet kids,Alan and Jason.
  I have had to help out once before when the little one,Alan,had a allergic reaction to peanuts as I stayed with him until his parents could get home and take him in to his doctor.
Even today,its the first thing that crosses my mind when my doorbell rings,Alan is in trouble and he needs help.
   But a couple of years ago,the boys were very careless with their bicycles,leaving them unattended despite the parents asking them to put them away. Now we live in a nice sub with very little crime that I know of so while the bikes were most likely safe,its still a good idea to leave them lying about about.
  One night when we had returned from somewhere,we saw the bikes had once again been left outside. So I decided to see what would happen if the bikes went missing....I put them in my garage and in the morning called Cyndi and told her what I had done...she was pretty amused by it and agreed that the boys needed a lesson....six weeks later,she finally told them I had the bikes. They came over with Simon,got a small lecture from Lori and myself and then got their bikes back.

   Flash forward to 2 weeks ago....I came home from work at 2:40 am and what do I see? A bike sitting on the sidewalk with a helmet on the grass. I walk over,get the bike and helmet and back to the garage again,a call to Cyndi in the morning and getting the story.
  Seems like the older son,Jason, had wanted to play with his friends and ignored his mom's request to put his brand new (6 days old) bike away in the garage and everyone had forgotten about it.
  Cyndi asked that I hold on to the bike for a week,the kids were going to be off for summer vacation and she wanted Jason to want to miss the bike.
  Our plan almost crashed as Simon came over to ask about the bike but since he was alone,I quickly brought him up to speed and he agreed with it.
   Two days later,Jason knocked on my door and asking if I had the bike again...it was very hard to look him in the eye and say "no,I don"t" but then again,it was very hard to watch him not tell me the truth as well. Not that he had forgotten to put his bike away but that he ignored his mom's request to do so before he played with his friends.

   A bit of a stalemate...but I let him know I knew the truth,I was very gentle and explained that his folks worked very hard to buy that bike,over 100.00 went into it and to be so careless....
I advised him that he needed to write his mother a letter stating how sorry he was and he was going to learn from this. I told him I would keep a eye out for the bike,which by now had been moved into the house.
  Today,on my anniversary,it was time for my Pink Hat Mission....to make sure Jason learned his lesson (his mom talked with me for a hour about this) and know why his parents were strict with him.

  I spent three hours with the boys today,we talked while we shot a basketball and then I hired them to help me clean the side of the house,which gave me another couple of hours. Those boys are sharp,we talked computers,hacking,Minecraft,schoolwork,girls as Jason is becoming aware of them now while Alan is still in the "girls have cooties" phase.
   As we wrapped things up and the boys headed for home and lunch,I gently reminded Jason that I wanted to see that letter. He agreed and I shall see it by tomorrow I believe.
  I called Cyndi and told her what was going on....and that I hired them to help,they worked hard and stayed with it til the end.
  When I get my copy of the letter,I will update you all with what happens. Helping this young man follow the right path is a Pink Hat worthy mission,don't you think?


Like to thank the amazing bloggers of the Facebook page "Awesome Bloggers"for coming by and reading my blog. I am touched by the wonderful comments they have left. And I am really impressed by some of the blogs I have read as well.  There are some seriously talented writers out there..and who knew you could make money doing it? But I like my theme here,this is a personal blog and it showcases what my life is...some days are good,some are not so good. But we all experience up and downs,don't we?

   And speaking of writers,I have added a few more blogs that I follow on my right side of my page.
The Projection Booth is now up with its new episode, "The King of Marvin Gardens". Just heard from Mike White that his podcast will be covering "Logan's Run" in an upcoming show. This is one of my favorite movies,while the film looks very outdated by today's standards,the story and the cast are the real reason to watch. Well yes,the cats at the end are also a huge reason to watch it!
   And it seems on of my oldest followers and friends online,Patrick aka Stone,is now writing a cool happenings blog down in Orlando. I added his link as well so you can catch his fun adventures covering what is hip in the big O.
  I also blogged about winning a DVD from the podcast Charred Remains and I got that in the mail today.
I have chatted with Char a few times since winning and think she is a pretty cool young lady. I took a couple of pictures as a way of saying I did indeed win and Char indeed sent the prize!



The cheetah wanted to check it out first......




Thanks Charred Remains!


So I guess I will wrap this up for now as its time for bed. I am happy I made it through another day,although its a very sad one.  Just have to keep moving forward,one step at a time...

If you are on Twitter,please give me a follow @Jinzo_2400


Shout outs

Monte - Thanks for the call today. Felt good to get my mind off the day,even if its for a little while.
Char - Thanks again for the prize! I am not sure exactly when I will get to it but I will soon!
Chris Alexander - After watching "The Gingerdead Man 3",I emailed Uwe Boll your home address and the route you drive to work....my God,you could have warned me!
Awesome Bloggers - Wow! Just beyond grateful....so glad I found this group,so many great writers as well
Scorpion - The Evil Empire isn't quite dead yet! Go Yankees!
Debbie Rochon - Thanks for waking up with me this week.  Annie Oakley,Monster Hunter...make it happen!
Stone - Glad I found your blog/column....tossed a link for it as well.
Brad Ausmus - Opem mouth,insert both feet,swallow
Jared Leaf - Out of the hospital,ready for action....even if its in 2015! Spartan Strong!















43 comments:

  1. Gosh, you always intertwine so many subjects within a blog post!
    Very impressive!

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  2. What an awesome thing to do to lead the boy on the right path. I love when moms can help each other out.

    Michelle F.

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  3. uh.....anyone know what is wrong with this comment? *LMAO*
    but thanks for stopping by....you made my day!

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  4. Thats such a great story with the boys about the bikes. Good you can help teach them some responsibility! Also, favorite part of this post might have been your comment to a reader- open mouth, insert both feet, swallow. Hilarious!

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    1. Yeah,Brad is the manager of the Detroit Tigers baseball team. The team has really struggled as of late and after a bad loss,he was asked what was he doing to do...his comment was "Go home and beat my wife" which was a asshole thing to say.

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  5. Awesome great post! Its fab leading them on the right path :-)

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    1. Aye Dannie....Its the 23rd and guess who still has the bike??

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  6. Wow! I loved this story. I would love to have you as a neighbor to truly care about my family and myself. There are so many lessons and reminders here. Also that you are grateful (as I am) for the support of the Awesome Blogger group. You see the positive where other's see negative. Thanks for making my day!

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    1. Thank you Paula and I will do the blog hop today

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  7. Those pictures of the lighting are crazy.. I do not think i ever saw anything like that in person

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    1. Me neither! Thank heaven for Bing images....

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  8. It is so hard to parent kids in this day and age. What a wonderful thing helping out your neighbors in this way. I have neighbors from my childhood that I have remembered all of my life and I bet these 2 boys will always remember you as well.

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    1. I hope so....they are great kids and are blessed to have loving parents

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  9. What a great story, i hope we can be neighbors someday, i have a little boy who always play with his bike and leave them behind when he sees his friend, i always yell at him every time he does that but his mom always spoils him.

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    1. Thank you for the kind words....its too bad his mom doesn't care as much as you do...you are a good neighbor.

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  10. What a valuable lesson taught. Hopefully he'll listen to mom next time and not leave his bike out again! :)

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  11. I think it's good their bikes were taken away. I think that kids need to have a bit more stern lessons these days

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    1. I totally agree! Kids need to have limits....

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  12. Loved the bike story! Very entertaining! Ahah! You tell stories so well, very fun to read!

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  13. What a great story. And an original way to teach the boys a lesson. Good job!

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    1. I hope so....I am still holding the bike! And I have three days of home repairs to do!

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  14. Great post. I love how you taught the boys a lesson and are leading them on the right path :)

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  15. You guys sound like amazing neighbors! Our just shoot firecracker sin the road every weekend and the cops do nothing about it.

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    1. What city do you live in? Fireworks are so dangerous in the summer...

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  16. Aww it seems you have such a great family as neighbors and there is no way to get bored with those boy and their bikes, you you just give me a great idea to stop my son form leaving his toys lying all over the yard.

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    1. Where do I send my bill? *L* Good luck Maria!

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  17. This is a great story! I’m so happy that you were able to teach that kid a lesson in a loving and appreciative manner. It really amazes me how you were able to mix many stories in one blog and keep the interest going for your readers! Kudos to your post. :)

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    1. I love your group and dedication to it,its a great bunch of writers and I love the fact there are many personal blogs and not just business/paid to shill products they get free to pander over. (no offense to those who do)

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  18. This very rare a lot of topics in 1 blog post and yet it was cohesive.

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    1. Thank you,Have gotten used to doing that since I don't post every day

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  19. I live in WI and we had heavy rain and thunder boomer last few days ago. It was loud and it woke me up many times. That is one cute cheetah you got and probably wants to make sure the movie is safe for you to watch lol

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    1. I LOVE you comment! Thank you for calling my cheetah cute,he really is quite a cute cat,a little hard headed but loves to ambush my feet and sit in the windows

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  20. Love how you mix up and weave in so many different things that have continuity!

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    1. Thank you,I hope you go back and read some of my older posts

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  21. I am new to Awesome Bloggers too and I agree there are some great blogs out there. I love how you hid the bikes. I have done that with my 10 yr old daughters tablet. She left it on the front porch and so I hid it in my room. I should of kept it for longer but I usually budge once she starts crying that someone stole it. Lol.

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    1. Be firm and don't budge....make her write you a letter promising to be more careful...

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  22. Great story- and let's hope the rain clears soon. I am in Iowa and it has been storming here for days.

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  23. Good weather this week.....which is good because I have to cut my lawn!

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  24. What a terrific thing to do and a great lesson to learn. Glad to learn about the pink letter mission.

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