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!