We had a busy but FUN week!!

Bridgedette's Thoughts:

For anyone who has forgotten how much fun it is to watch a Puffy Taco dance, I have added it here for your viewing pleasure! Larry Suprised me Thursday afternoon with tickets to the Missions Baseball Game. He bought seats behind home plate!! I was excited and a bonus was that it was dollar night; dollar hotdogs, pizza, beer and sodas. It was too bad that the Missions lost, but Larry and I had fun.

Friday after work, I HAD to get a hair cut. The lady that normally did my hair was no longer at the salon, so I had to scramble looking for someone new.....who knew I would get a gay male! He was great! He asked what I wanted and what he could do with my hair. I just told him something different and manageable, but that color and scissors did not scare me.....as you can see from the photo, I lost half my hair. It is very different for me and fun. I love it!! Larry and I met some friends at Papasitos and at CHAMPS to toast the end of the College Connections season, which means that Larry does not have to run around San Antonio as much!! He can breathe!!

Saturday, Larry and I got to sleep in! but got up, ran errands....getting new perscription sunglasses for Larry, going to my house to check on the color, going to HEB, paying some bills and then attending a Church Picnic (Thanks to Larry's Mom for inviting us!).

NEW DO!

Bridgedette's Thoughts:

When I was little I swore that my hair was going to be the death of me!!

I have been messing with it all my life. But now that I am older and can choose how to style my hair I have had more fun with my hair. Changing it from long to short, wavy to straight and light to dark....

Here is my latest do.....short and brown.

Half of my hair is gone.....I love it....I needed to "reset."

Happy....and I know it

Bridgedette's thoughts:


Larry and I have been watching ESPN and Sports Center almost as much as we are breathing. The Finals have been very interesting but we are not hoping for the Kobe vs. Lebron match up...we want the other guys to win.

For the most part Larry is out saving the world, one student at a time. While I am trying to close out the school year with the class of 2009....can you believe it....We graduate on June 7th?!!?!?

I am excited and yet a little sad. For the most part some of the class of 2009 is ready to go on to the next stage of their lives, while some are just dragging their feet. I will still work on campus at MHS over the summer. I have made the students aware of that and some of them are already planning to come in for additional help. Its always the late bloomers that come in, when they realize that after all the graduation parties are over, they are the ones just standing around not progressing like their friends are.

I am glad at this chaotic time that I can come home and know that I am happy and supported in all that I do and all that I try to become. Larry and I have begun looking into graduate programs that we both can start in the Fall of 2010. We shall see if over the summer I want to pusue a PHD.....time will tell.

For now, I remain happy.

decisions, decisions...

Larry's thoughts::


"Don't sacrifice your convictions for the convenience of this hour"

~Sen. Ted Kennedy

Bridge and I were at the mall over the weekend just enjoying the long weekend and while I was there, I saw a Batman tshirt I had never seen before. Anyone who even remotely knows me knows that I'm a big Batman buff. The tshirt was a plain white tee but had the famous Batman logo in ultra bright neon colors like a highlighter. I thought it was different as compared to the dark or gloomy things often associated with the Caped Crusader so I bought it (and it was 50% off too!...love those Memorial Day sales). But when I showed it to Bridge she was immediately turned off by it. She was like "what the heck??" and didn't like it because it was different. I thought to myself that the reason I liked it was because it WAS different! While I'm not an extreme non-conformist by any means, I do like to defy the norm sometimes and be a daredevil to do something fun, wear a funny shirt because it is crazy, or just be silly for a laugh. Well she disliked it so much she even joked that I would have to walk a few feet from her if I were wearing it! She was teasing me so I played along and offered to just return the shirt because, even though I like Batman, I like Bridge more.. Lol. Well she told me that one of the reasons she loves me is because I'm a man of conviction and that I stand by what I say, think, or do. So if I really liked my neon Batman shirt, that was fine by her.

Anyways, that got me thinking about convictions. What is it that we believe in and are we willing to stand by that? My late paternal grandfather used to say that "true character is doing the right thing when no one is watching you" and I really do believe in that principle. Lord knows he was a man of true conviction that's for sure. People will judge us on what we say and if that is what we do in truth better known as a hypocrite. The world is filled with hypocrites and that is unfortunate. I agree that it is easy to bend under pressure under many circumstances. But not bending under pressure is what builds character.

Many young people are forced to deal with this concept every day when faced with things like sex, drugs, alcohol, etc. If you give in, then you're "cool" and if you don't...well you know the answer to that. I think the more you don't give in and stand by your convictions, the easier it gets to stand by your principles and what you believe in.

I think a popular example is probably being a Christian. For example, in the Bible, Jesus was denied three times because a disciple didn't stand by their convictions. To this day, Christians are often looked upon to see if they convey the the values they seem to live by better known as "practice what you preach". One of the men I knew at church told me once that "if someone accused you of being a Christian, would there be enough evidence to convict you?" and I think that's a good example of the 'practice what you preach' concept not only in religion but just in general.

I liked Senator Kennedy's quote because it is very true. I know I'm not running for political office like he did but it does apply to life. No matter what we stand for, take a position and stand by it. I know it isn't easy to make a decision sometimes. I tell Bridge often when she's confused about something to just make a decision. The longer you dwell on the issue, the harder it is to make that decision because then you begin to doubt yourself. In the end, no matter the outcome, at least you made a decision. Even if it was the wrong decision, you can still learn from the experience so that you can make better decisions in the future. Once you've decided to stand by something, then everything else often just falls into place.

As I was writing this blog, I glanced at the wall in my office and noticed something I hung on the wall a while back. In the daily grind, I usually just walk in and out of here working but I thought it was interesting given this topic. I have a framed picture of a poster asking "What Do You Stand For?" and it has various traits listed around it. Hmm...I guess this is something that I've obviously thought about before and will probably keep in my mind for some time to come.

Life in general

Bridgedette's Thoughts:

These little babies have just been born to Raven and Dakota (my parents Boxers)....but the one in the center, whom I call Panda, because he looks like a Panda Bear, was born with a cleft palate.

A Cleft Palate is an opening in the roof of the mouth. Cleft Puppies cannot nurse no matter how hard they try, as they cannot get any suction. It would be like you trying to suck on your finger without closing your mouth.

Even though some would give up on him for his "deformity" my parents are hand feeding him to see if he can survive.

I know that there is a circle of life and that for every beginning there has to be an end, but its so hard for me to accept this for the good or innocent. I am praying for my little Panda Friend, because if he survives, he will be coming home to me in Texas!! I figure that no one will want a dog with "problems" but for me, its a new challenge.....and I love to challenge myself.

I have always been a competitive person, but as I get older and spend more time with Larry, AKA "Moses" I feel the competitive side of me is fading. Normally I am not willing to share, but its been a great experience sharing my ups and downs of life with Larry. He is the BEST combination of Logic and Heart! He always knows exactly what I need to hear and exactly what I dont want to hear, but need to hear.

This morning a really good friend of mine, since 6th grade, was taken to the hospital. He has Chrons Disease. Crohn's disease is a chronic inflammatory disease of the digestive tract. It causes ulcerations of the small and large intestine. So needless to say that my friend has been fighting this battle since 9th grade (when he was diagnosed), its been more than 10 years. When I was notified by his sister that he was in the hospital, my heart immediately sank. This is a guy that I chased with shaving cream at his birthday. A guy who worked at Bill Millers with me and STAYED there long enough to own the place, just so he could pay for college. This is a guy who is my friend and my age; someone good and kind to others. He even became a nurse to help people on dialysis. I was very sad.

Larry and my mother did the best that they could to be there for me, but I was just so sad to hear that his lungs were filling with fluid and he was now in the ICU.

I'm praying for the little Panda and my friend! I will keep a positive outlook for both of them.

So today, I question: Why? Why those that are good and innocent?

Pomp and Circumstance

Larry's thoughts:::


This time of year is a busy one for me. I'm constantly running around the city and the county advising and registering high school seniors for college. I'm drained at the end of each day but, throughout my fatigue, I can't help but know that I'm making a difference in the lives of students who might not otherwise consider an education past high school. Each time I answer their questions or wish them a good day, I think of the beginning of the journey they're on. That is what I decided to write about- graduation. Bridge's mother is getting ready to graduate herself. I understand that the journey she has had has been a challenging one to say the least that has included balancing work, family, and school. She has done an admirable job and I'm very happy that her graduation is near. I wish that I could duplicate her success with each of the young adults I advise. Too often, they tend to take their education for granted. The team that I'm a part of at the Alamo Colleges travels to each high school in San Antonio at this time of year and the students we meet are wide and varied. I've met with the "wide-eyed, innocent" students who want to excel and I've also met the careless, "know it all" students who think they have all the answers to everything in life. The thing they fail to recognize (that Bridge's mom obviously understands) is that their graduation is just the beginning of knowledge and not the end. I wish I could guarantee success and happiness to these young people but I cannot. They must continue on and persevere in spite of the odds. All I can do is answer their questions, share my knowledge and experience, and then hope they succeed in their endeavours. Wisdom does not always come in textbooks or classrooms but often in working through challenges and learning from them. The intangible lessons that lead to graduation are what makes the journey worthwhile. So to those who will end one chapter of their life as they graduate and prepare for another, I wish you nothing but continued success and please remember that the learning process does not end with receival of a piece of paper but is only beginning of your next journey in life.

JUST KEEP SWIMMING

Bridgedette's Thoughts:


When my brother and I were little, my mom would try and teach us not to give up. She did it in such a creative way that after 27 years, its still part of my thought process.

The story goes;

You are swimming in the ocean and you are told to swim to the buoy and you will meet your goal....you will win once you reach that destination where a boat will be waiting for you, to bring you back to shore.

So you begin to swim and half way to the buoy you get scared and think that you are not going to make it; so you are faced with two choices....turn back and swim to shore OR keep going and swim to the buoy and the boat.

For thoses who choose to turn around: You will realize that by turning around and swimming back to shore, you have just swam the other half of the distance needed to reach the buoy.

My mom always told us that If you JUST KEEP SWIMMING you can reach your goal!


It is for my Mother's crazy stories and silly ways of entertaining us to making it through the hard times that I write this blog. I had every intention of writing this blog for my mother on Mother's Day, but then I got to thinking. Mother's Day is EVERY DAY!! Mothers are Mothers every day of the year, not just on the second Sunday in May. So I chose to write this blog today, to recognize my mother!

All children think that their mothers are the "smartest" and the "best." But it is without a doubt that my mother is the strongest.

• Not only was she strong enough to graduate from high school as an orphan, but she was strong enough to learn that love doesn't hurt.
• She was strong enough to keep her family together and strong enough to love again.
• She was strong enough to admit when she was wrong and she was strong enough to hold her ground when she was right.
• She was strong enough to be the disciplinarian and she was strong enough to not care about what people thought when we had mud fights in the front yard. "Hey, its washable." (another famous mom saying)
• She was strong enough to save for the house we live in and she was strong enough to spend time after work on the many extracurricular activites we were involved in...believe me, there were MANY!!

Today, my mother is strong enough to manage million dollars of assets and strong enough to take on college while once again trying to keep her family together from almost 1,000 miles away.

So, YES, MY MOTHER IS THE BEST, THE SMARTEST, THE MOST SKILLED TO TELL YOU THAT YOU COULD DO BETTER AND TO LOVE YOU FOR WHO YOU ARE.

I am grateful that she is silly, kind, stern, vocal, giving, humble,wise and a great story teller. I hope that one day I can be a tenth of the woman that my mother is. I just have to keep swimming......

youthful fascinations

Larry's Thoughts::


It's a quiet Monday evening which are the best type of evenings. When I got home from work, Bridge was watching "Golden Girls" like we did most of the weekend. Since Bea "Dorothy" Arthur passed away last week, there have been lots of reruns on honoring her. No matter how many times I watch those four old ladies, I still laugh hard like I did watching them as a boy when the show first ran on TV. There's nothing like a good laugh that's for sure (no matter how many times Bridge teases me for being a straight man who likes "Golden Girls"). There's something reassuring like that TV show that makes me feel good. The laughs I had watching something like "Golden Girls" makes me like I did over 20 years ago.

Anyways, after that was over, I was channel surfing since Bridge was napping. I came across one of my other favorite shows, Star Trek. Anyone who knows me knows that I'm a die-hard 'Trekkie' for years. I've watched every form of Star Trek since I was young. Being that young, I had a certain sense of social awkwardness that many young people do. I watched anything Star Trek, read anything Star Trek, and generally immersed myself in anything Star Trek since I felt I could identify with that show. I was always highly intelligent and felt as if I was smarter than many of my peers. I hid that fact because, honestly, most people (especially young people) are threatened by those they perceive to be smarter than themselves. I identified with the characters on Star Trek because they were exalted because of their intelligence instead of put down by it. Plus the characters were portrayed as without fear and physically adept and, as a boy, that's how I wanted to be also. In the world of the future that Star Trek portrays, mankind is portrayed in a utopian sense where many of our current problems don't exist anymore. I never quite let go of that part of my childhood since I'm very excited about the new Star Trek movie opening this weekend too.

I can't help but also think of one of my other favorite parts of my youth and that is the character of Batman. As long as I can remember (which has to be about 30 years now), I've considered Batman to be a role model for me. Most don't completely understand why I've been a fan of that character for years now. When I was young, I didn't have a strong male role model to look up to. Psychologically speaking, it is my belief that any young man seeks strong, positive male role models to look up to. Many incarcerated males have stated in the past a lack of positive male role models as a reason they turned to darker substitutes such as crime, drugs, or gangs. With the exception of my beloved grandfathers, I felt I lacked a figure to look up to. Therefore, when I started watching Batman cruise the dark streets of Gotham City on television as a young boy, I was immediately enamored. Here was this good man named Bruce Wayne who used his vast wealth and power to protect the people of Gotham from those who would do harm to them. He was a normal man, without extraterrestrial powers, who perfected himself mentally and physically so that a normal person like me wouldn't suffer or hurt they way he did when his parents died. That, to me, was something I could look up to and it gave me comfort and reassurance. It was proof that hard work and dedication to a goal could have a positive result. So began my interest in the character which has led to a minor hobby for me as an adult since I have collected Batman knick-knack's over the years.

As I've grown into an adult, I've often been asked about why I still care about things of my youth such as the examples of Star Trek or Batman. It's as if somehow and someway, we are supposed to "grow out" of our youthful interests and fascinations and forget about that which reassured us as children. But, I ask, why should any of us feel pressured to have to "grow out" of that which we embraced as children? I think many adults get wrapped up in the duties and responsibilities of real life that they forget to just step back and think about that which gave us comfort. Whether it be a favorite decades-old blanket you hid under during thunderstorms, a certain ice cream parlor your grandparents took you to when you had a sore throat, or an old VHS cartoon you laughed at when you were sad that is buried in a drawer somewhere, I really believe that never letting go of positive memories like those are key to embracing the present and preparing for the future. I hope that you agree with me as well.

Home Sweet Home

Bridgedette's Thoughts:

Larry thinks that I should just add to the Blog I just posted, but I like to keep my thoughts separate......

This morning we went to my house....well, my mom and dad's house.....to cut the grass. My brother was supposed to meet us there, but apparently he forgot that he had to work. As usual I think that it is unacceptable behavior that my brother feels is just okay. But as usual Larry reminds me to be calm. So I try, but I did vocalize my disapproval to my brother about his behavior and his lack of commitment to the promise we made to our parents to take care and maintain the home that they waited so long for.

The good thing about going back home was the feeling of comfort. The other day Larry asked me if there was a place that I "could just relax." I had to think about it for a while, but I could not give him an answer. After going home, spending a few hours cutting grass and playing with the dogs, I realized that "home" is my place to relax. "Home" is where I feel most comfortable. But right now the "house" on Stuart Road is not home. It's missing 2 very important elements.....MOM and DAD.

Our home has not been the same since they left, but they did not move for greed or for selfishness....they moved to better themselves. They have worked hard all their lives and my parents deserve the opportunity that was offered to them in St. Louis. So even though life has been different without them here, I know that its all worth it.

I am proud of all that they do, all that they accomplish and for all that they have taught me. I will continue to cut the grass and maintain the house till they come home..........

TAKS Week, High School and Swine Flu

Bridgedette's Thoughts:

This week was TAKS week for my students at Memorial. I hope that my seniors pass, since as of today there are only 116 of 232 who have passed all areas of TAKS.

The Cinco de Mayo parade in the Edgewood District was canceled due to the Swine Flu outbreak. The district did not want to contribute to the masses collecting and possibily spreading more Swine Flu. It s good that the district is looking out for peoples health, the bad part is that my seniors were going to sell drinks at the parade to raise money for Prom, which is next weekend. We shall see what the next opportunity for a fundraiser is....im sure that I will be buying some sort of candy, cookies or popcorn (I just wont eat it, so I dont have to run it off).

On a side note:

I worked out at the YMCA 13 out of 26 days they were open during the month of April!! The YMCA has these cards that you get signed each time you go; they are called "Frequent Y'er Cards." On the 12th signing you are eligible for the incentive item that they give away for the month. This month was a 32 red water bottle. I was very proud of myself for earning the water bottle and I know that if I keep it up, I will be at my goal by the end of the year.