7 Distinctive Facts

You may have noticed in the comments section (and judging by the number of comments, you haven't) that my good friend Kam "tagged" me. This means that I now have to list seven distinctive facts about myself. Here we go:

Fact #1: Carl's Jr. was the Arnold's of my teenage years.

On "Happy Days," everybody went to Arnold's to hang out. Even the guys who were too old to hang out with high schoolers were there. In Turlock, California (the key to the San Joaquin Valley, by the way), we had.......Carl's Jr.

Oh, yes, the home of the Double Western Bacon Cheeseburger and criss-cut fries was where we congregated on Friday and Saturday nights. The parking lot was full of cars. The Carl's was situated in a long, inter-connected strip mall, and the entire lot was full of cars. We would head there after football and basketball games. Sometimes we would eat, other times just chat. Often times, we would meet at Carl's, and then figure out where the real party was and head out. CJ's was the glue that held the social scene of Turlock together.

This is not the actual T-Town Carl's Jr, but it does look strikingly similar

Fact #2: The Hero Worship of George Brett.

I grew up in St. Joseph, Missouri - approximately an hour north of Kansas City. My formative years came during the glory days of the Kansas City Royals. They made the playoffs practically every year, went to the World Series twice, and won the World Championship in the magical year of 1985. The mainstay of the team was George Brett. My hero.

I wanted to be George. I think I still do. He was a first ballot Hall of Famer. It is unconfirmed he walked on water, but I think it did happened. I recieved a great biography of George the year he was inducted in Cooperstown as a gift(it was placed in a place of honor in Cade's nursery). April and I went to his restaurant on the Plaza in KC, and we came away with the souvenir t-shirt.

The classic lefty swing

I think it is almost unfortunate that George is probably best remembered for the Pine Tar incident. My favorite Brett moment is Game 3 of the 1980 ALCS when he went third deck off Goose Gossage.

Brett calmly approaching the umpire after being called out for too much pine tar on his bat

Fact #3: I drink Diet Mountain Dew for breakfast

I won't lie to you. Diet Mountain Dew is by far the best beverage in the history of liquids. It can just be consumed at any time, any place. If I have said it once, I have said it a thousand times: DMD is the nectar of the gods.

My breakfast consists of a power bar of some sort, and the DMD. Hey, some people get their caffeine fix from coffee. I prefer my pop. I guess it would be more socially acceptable to have a $4.00 Mocha Light Frappacino with no whip every morning (which would not necessarily be a bad thing), but I am that secure with my DMD.

Fact #4: Hootie Rules

Everyone has their own personal tastes and preferences when it comes to music. My brother-in-law is beyond a die-hard U2 fan. A guy I work with loves The Police. I get that. I respect that. But Hootie and the Blowfish is head and shoulders above all other recording artists. You heard me, McCartney. I have seen them in concert multiple times, therefore I say this with 100% certainty.

Darius Rucker and the boys

You can try to convince me otherwise, but you would be wasting your breath. Look through the music archives and you won't find a better song than "Let Her Cry." #1 All-Time. Top of the Charts. Just throw in Cracked Rear View, put it on song #3, and thank me later.

Cracked Rear View

Fact #5: My Favorite Writer is........ Bill Simmons?

Shakespeare, Hemingway, and Faulkner? All hacks. Bill Simmons puts them all to shame. Do you really think that the first three writers mentioned could create entire columns based upon the Cobra Kai from the Karate Kid? Only Bill Simmons can accomplish this feat.

Simmons is known as the Sports Guy, and he writes a bi-weekly coloumn for espn.com. He blends sports with pop culture refrences. He specializes in dropping characters and quotes from 80's and 90's movies in his coloumn, which is right up my alley. My only knock on Simmons is that he concentrates too much on the Boston area sports teams. He is a New England native and die hard Red Sox, Patriots, and Celtics fan. But at least he admits it. If I was a big time writer for espn, I would be doing the same thing for the Chiefs.

Fact #6: My Better Half really is my better half

I am so lucky to have married April. She is the best thing to ever happen to me. Beautiful and smart are just the tip of the iceberg. I love her so much, and she is the best mother to Cade. It is unbelievable to think it has already been 6 and a half years since we have been married. The time really does fly.

The Big Day (8/12/01)

April does such an outstanding job at making our house a home. It has been quite a large undertaking with our new digs in RSM, and her vision is really taking shape. And she makes great homemade salsa.

Christmas 2006

Fact #7: I am THAT Dad

I wouldn't go so far as to call me a "Little League Dad," but I have no problem in steering Cade into the world of sports. He knows the Angels quite well, and has become a Kansas State fan (he loves Willie the Wildcat). He is just now starting to catching a ball, and is able to throw it back. Unfortunately, he is right handed.

Celebrating the kickoff to the 2006 NFL Season

April rolls her eyes, but I have supplied him with various jerseys. Chiefs.....check. Wildcats......check. Angels.......check. I even find random Target and Old Navy shirts that have Tigers and Bulldogs on them (for Pacific and Turlock High respectively). Even though Cade has shown more talent in the musical arts (you should hear him sing Sandler's The Hanukkah song), he will be putting on all sorts of uniforms in the years to come.

This happens every time the Chiefs lose

Two favorite things: 1) the Angels shirt 2) Popsicles from the Ice Cream Man

Although I didn't play soccer, I was an orange wearin' Tiger. Cade is just 16 years away from being a UOP Diaper Dandy

This Bulldog logo from Target is a dead ringer for the THS Bulldog. You gotta love the "Tarjay"

This was Day 1. Granted, the lid was courtesy Uncle [b], but the precedent was set.

Seven facts were requested, and seven facts were delivered. I feel that we are all now so much closer. Peas and carrots.