First person I remember

In a world with a population in the billions one person made such a impression on me that to this day I remember them first in my life. Most people would say their mother or father but I would have to disagree with that.  As a child you are a playing animal so I think that most people are going to remember a good friend or some other child they grew up with and played with.  That person to me is my middle brother, Matt.  
Being only a year and three months older than I and living in the same house, we had nothing to do due but play with each other and beat each other up.  We were very close as brother even though we had an older brother who lived with us.  He was 5 years older then me so he wanted different things in his life and different friends.  Me and Matt had all kinds of things in common including friends and we both had the same mind state.  A age is basically a mental state of mind and we were very close mentally.
Television played a huge part in us having similar likes and dislikes.  There was many shows that not only did we watch but we had the action figures.  This made a bond between us to over time christened the picture of remembering him first.  Many aspects of us growing older together through time greatened the memory of when I was a child.  We had many great times together acting out the shows on television.
A big part of me and my brothers life was where we lived at the time.  We lived in a trailer park which now I’m older I would never want to live there but as a child it was a incredible experience.  Many children the same age to play with, I mean come on that’s great.  Me and my brother were always with each other.  We had the same friends in the park and we all would clique together until our parents would almost have to chase us down.  We were inseparable and all we wanted was  to have fun.
As a child the first one to make a impression on you is going to be the first to impact you.  When something or someone makes a impact on your mind you are going to remember that for periods of time.  I think that is why my brother is the one I believe would be the first person I can remember.  Do not tell my mother because she would be devastated but I was one of three other kids in the house.  As I said impressions are everything as a kid.
My child I believe I can see how impressions can create a impact on him.  I have no other children except my daughter who is ten and when she is here he tries to act as she does.  Another big relevancy to this fact is how currently I am home a lot with him compared to my wife and he really is picking up on my actions.  He is so susceptible to impressions.  That reinforces my reasons for my brother to be the first one I remember.

My safe place

Being at this place paints an illusion upon your mind, body and soul that is soothing and comforting for most all humans.  Humana are a animals the need attention and others around us but like any animal we have that need or the safe place where your mother resides. The safest place in this world is beside your mother.  We all have had that need from your mom right from birth.  She is the one through out your child hood until you are a legal adult and sometimes your whole life depending on peoples situations, that cares for you.
My mother has been a big part of who I am.  I am not different from most people.  Obviously she gave birth to me and I am part of her.  Through out life she has cared for me and looked out for me.  Me and my mother have had our really bad moments between each other but we seem to put our problems aside.  There seems to be no one that can care for you like your mom.  Even when you are old enough to care for yourself she still always seems to have that eye in the sky looking out for you.
She can take a horrible scary situation and turn it into a safe situation.  This reminds me of when I first received my drivers license, every moms worst nightmare.  Any how, I was casually driving into town when all of a sudden SMACK I went down into a ditch and hit a telephone tree.  This was all due to me changing a cd.  I looked off the road for one second and I guess the truth is it only takes that long.  I remember driving down a dirt road right before I hit the pole but in reality I was plowing over small trees and almost rolled my truck over.  No seatbelt of course I smacked my face off the steering wheel while my hands slipped off the wheel and went through the gauges.  I remember specifics like the wipers coming on and my stereo coming on.  The stereo I made sure was shut off before I got out.  It was embarrassing because it was so loud.  To make a long story short I ended up in the hospital.  My mom showed up and I was in really bad shape and scared.  All of a sudden I knew I was going to be alright when she walked into the room and rubbed my head.  I got the feeling of safety and it gave me confidence to know she would do anything and everything in her power and then some to make sure I was alright.
Another situation which is a little more realistic and more apt to happen is the simple influenza.  Yeah we all know how that can make you feel like shit.  Plain and simple.  Some times it can be worse than others but no one can make you feel safe and make you feel better as mom.  Don’t tell my wife because I tell her she makes me feel better.  Truth is I dump my wife’s soup out and wait for my moms.  A simple yet elegant soup. We all love moms home cooking which can make you feel mmm mmm good.
Everything that can make you feel good, safe, confident, and any other type of wonderful feeling mom can give you.  All those emotions can validate the fact the mom is a person who makes you feel safe.  Whether you are or not it’s the feelings and thought that counts.  For me, I always wonder where she is or call for her when I am feeling really done or need some kind of aid.  She saves you from any situation or problem that arrives in ones life.  She can give you safe advice as well it doesn’t have to be just physical safeness it can be mental to.  I think we all can agree mom is the best.

What I thought the place was, just wasn't

Have you ever been to that wondrous place that just doesn’t quite fulfill your expectations.  I have been to that place.  Not only just being disappointed once or twice or even three times but its been numerous times.  Everyone has felt the disappointment of this controllable situation.  Yeah it can be controlled. You make the place or the time you have at the place what it is.  If you are not feeling the emotional side of a certain time or place it can really be a drag.  Your expectations as well, make this supersaver tantalizing experience one that can be disrupted by a failure to live up to your expectations that were pre perceived by you.
This failed perception of a great time was interrupted by nothing else then the killer of all killers, weather.  Weather can depict a trip.  I mean you plan your vacation months and years in advance and I am no different than anyone else.  We planned this great vacation to no where else but Mohegan Sun.  Yeah I will admit it, I was a addict.  A addict of gambling.  So, in order to pull the wool over my wife’s eyes I told her that her favorite comedian was playing at the auditorium there.  Chelsea Handler.  She was really there I didn’t lie I just covered up my real intentions with putting a perception of the trip to being about her.  Was I a awful husband?  I didn’t think so.  I never get what I want and she seems to always some how come out on top in the getting her way department.
It was  jinxed from the start.  We were renting a car to drive down, no sense to add miles on our vehicle when it’s cheap enough to rent one.  We ended up with a chick car.  A bright blue Mustang.  Every time we would pass someone we would get the thumbs up.  Was it because my hott ass wife with bleach blonde hair was driving me. Either way I was embarrassed but hey we were heading to my favorite place so I sucked it up and took these thumbs up like a man.
We arrived at a perfect time at the hotel and took the shuttle to the attraction.  The show started in a little bit so we had time to get primed with liquor.  I just happen to lead us to a bar with built in slot machines.  My wife HATES gambling.  She hates anything to do with it.  However, we weren’t just gambling we were also drinking so it made it alright to sit here.  I threw out the idea to each throw a 20 in the machine.  Brilliant I thought.  She went for it.   She had no idea what she was doing so I had to explain to her as I was winning on my machine.  Things were going great for me but she was loosing like crazy.  It all went downhill from there. The tables turned and I lost big time.  Little did she know I was slipping more and more money in.  I was down numerous twenties by this time.  Thank god the drinks were free.
It was a horrible time for me.  It definitely wasn’t what I thought it was going to be.  Usually I win.  I still say she jinxed me.  Thank god at least she won enough money to make up for my unpleasant time.  All in all we got threw the weekend and had a great time after that bad experience.  The show the next day worked out good all I had to do is stay away from the machines.  There was plenty of other things to do besides gambling.  The gambling took away from the expectations we had and the money we had to spend. I was imagining money and being drunk with a great person.

A room or rooms

Another day is about to start.  I open the bedroom gently turning the knob to not wake up my wife who is still cuddled up amongst the numerous blankets on the bed.  I fling the door open in order to keep the squeaking of the hinges to a minimal.  I don’t know if it helps but I feel it may so I do it anyway.  I don’t know why I got through all this trouble just to exit the bedroom when prior to all this my son comes in and opens the door and shuts it.
“Dad wake up come on it’s morning!” He states on a daily basis.
“I’ll be out in a minute.” I mutter back.
He then returns to the door and opens it and slams it shut.  I don’t think he means to but it’s just his routine. Just as I close the door and begin to limp with my achy morning feet into the living room I hear a scratching at the door I just closed. I know instantly what the faint noise is.  The cats!  Ugh… You think I would learn by now to make sure one of the cats were not in the room.  They are very frisky in the morning.  Through out the day they don’t want to be touched but first thing in the morning they rub against you to the point of annoyance.  They use your legs like an obstacle course of those orange caution cones. I limp back to the door and once again I begin to go about the task of opening the bedroom door once again.
To no surprise the cat runs back into the room to hide under the bed.   The room has many places for the cat to crawl under.  The furniture in the room is real elaborate and is something you would see out of the 1500’s.  It is very extravagant and detailed.  The paint looks weathered over time but is done to look like this on purpose.  It is a lavish set of five pieces all together and is fit for a king and queen.  The tops of the dressers and end tables are a smoky marble color while the rest is a rustic yellow kaki color.  The bed is the center piece of it all due to the pillar style bed frame.  It barely fits height wise even with eight foot ceilings.  It is dressed out around the top with a eight inch molding that frames out the top of the four pillar columns.  The thing that puts this bed over the top and makes it fit for a king and queen is the laced bed gown that hangs from the ceiling like curtains around all sides of the bed.
Finally, the cat comes out from under the bed to rub against me so I grab him and exit the room through six panel pine door that now has been opened and closed on three separate occasions.  My son awaits for me across the living room on the couch.  I kind of chuckle every time I see him.  It makes me chuckle due to the fact he is so small and the couch is oversized.  It’s all a tan leather couch but isn’t that hard dark brown leather.  This is a soft top cut leather.  The cushions wrap around you like race car driving seat.  It’s hard to get up off of the couch once you are sucked into its love.  My son saved the best spot for me, the end of the couch which reclines to a point where you are laying parallel with the floor.  This makes it easier to get to that point of love.
Before I sit down I make my way across the fake wood floor to the television to turn it on.  The cats both hot on my trail looking to rub against my legs.  The television sits on a small awkward mirror black stand.  It’s little pedestal makes a person think how it holds up the over sized television.  My son piercing into the gray screen as to tell me to hurry without even saying a word.  I press the button firmly as it makes a bonk sound.  The sound is like a charge of electricity flood the television.  I know later on I will be paying for this flood damage.  Instantly the sound of Spongebob’s laugh echo’s through the large room.   The living room is connected to the kitchen only to be separated by a half wall the my wife hates.  I think personally it defines each room as its own but still gives the openness of being one large room. These two interconnected rooms also mingles with a third room which is a mud room.  Again I put a half wall up to separate that room but to keep them open.  Even though she hates it everyone else come in and enjoys the spacious part of the modern house.  The walls in all three rooms match due to the fact my wife picked the colors.  They are different shades of browns and tans framed out by a glossy white trim.  Everything littered upon the wall is in cahoots with the next.  These rooms are filled with pictures, trinkets, and other items which fill the rooms to their maximum capacity with being a cluttered mess. This makes it great for my son but not for us because he always brings his toys out in the living room to play while he watches the big screen.
On that note I walk to the couch tripping over the weaving cats between and around my legs and only to step on one of his toys.  It hurts like no other when this happens.  Thank god the toy this time was a matchbox car and not some weapon for his G I Joe with a sharp edge not that a matchbox is any better.  My son chuckles without even taking his eyes of Spongebob and his friend Patrick’s  brainless adventures.  The curtains were closed and just a glimpse of the dreary day could be viewed between the cracks of the two dark brown curtains wispily hanging stationary.  The dark brown curtains are nice when the sun is beaming in it stops the sun in its tracks and allows us to keep viewing the television without seeing a big misshaped glare across the screen.  The television is in perfect sink with the sun in the evening which is the main time we watch television.
I sat beside my boy who kept a seat open for me beside which happens to be the crack of the couch.  You know the where the sections hook together but it always leaves that uncomfortable gap.  They make it so hard to connect the couch but talk about how easy it is when in actuality they should be talking about how easy it comes apart and you have to fix it.  So, in other words, half of the 7 different sections are disconnected from each other.  Above the couch on the ceiling sit’s a fan which right now is on giving off a gentle breeze onto me who is dressed in shorts and a tee.  This doesn’t quite cut it though, that breeze is a little to chilly on this autumn morning, especially when the heat isn’t running yet.  I like to save fuel as much as the next person.
I grab a blanket which lie’s half on the couch and half on the floor and cover me and my boy up.  I slide over a bit more on his cushion squeezing him against the arm of the couch.  I don’t think he minded because I think he was a little cool to and was using me for the blanket while I used him for his seat.  Now that we were both settled in for the long haul of Spongebob and other cartoons on this Saturday morning my son says, “Dad I’m hungry get me some breakfast.”  
I think to myself, “figures now he says it  now that I am all comfy and sitting down.”

The Battle Begins. (rewrite of stranger comes to town)

I cannot remember when there was a time when I wasn’t in a battle.  Life has always has some kind of battle which you are focusing on. It can be as simple as picking out a outfit.  I know when I pick out something for me or for my son the battle is with my wife.  I kind of made it a personal battle now though.  I fight with myself wondering if it matches because the threat of a assualt may be to come when we walk out the other room into her focus.
Battles do not always have to be about war.  When I first saw the sentence about the battle I thought to myself, “Battle, I haven’t been to Desert Storm.” God bless to the men and women.  Though after the third or fourth time reading it hit me.  Life is a battle.  Some battle more than others but typically it is a uphill battle.  I always said life is easy and living is hard and it has proven true time and time again.  Most people have simply lost a job or quit a job and then what?  You can still live life but living your life is hard without money.  Money equals food and food equals living.  I currently am in that situation right now and it is a battle to find another job.  I have done electrical my whole life so what am I to do when no one is building houses?  That is a battle I am facing.
We all love our kids ain’t that the truth but I tell you what that is the hardest battle at times.  You can’t always be prepared for gorilla warfare.  Yeah, that is what they are like.  Next thing you know your left flank is a mess with toys and your right flank has a spilled drink. To boot, they are calling out for you to come wipe their butt cause they just took a poop and are to you to wipe.  And to tell you another thing that I heard from my mom is the battle never ends your entire life.  She says she is still at battle with me.  
I think this next battle is a battle we all have to deal with on a daily basis.  This battle is a battle of wits, physically and mentally this battle is house work.  Yeah this battle I think woops everyone’s ass and I am no exception.  I try and try to stay on the attack but somehow it attacks back with more troops or trash in this case.  The laundry drops a bomb around the hamper while the lays land mines around the clock that continuously go off on the bottoms of our feet.  Shrapnel lays all over and around the stove from breakfast, lunch and/or dinner.  Grease is like the napalm that covers Vietnam.  No amount of clean up can stop its rampage.  The bed is like a building that has surrendered to a bomb and needs to be rebuilt or remade.  Yeah this battle is a battle of a lifetime, literally.
There are many battles in life and we all cannot avoid these battles.  Battles between everyday living to battles at work.  These battles can escalate and really depress or over come some of the feeble minded people but 99 percent of us over come life’s battles and live wonderful lives.  On a daily basis we all awake with the thought of what is going to happen today.  We may go into the day with a war plan but plans change and we need to be ready and willing to change plans or tackle what life has to throw at us.

Car accident Re-write

It was a typical work day.  Me and my business partner were heading down to Bar Harbor to have another ball busting day at work.  It was around 80 degrees outside and the sun was beating down on the Earth leaving a haze coming off the road.  It was in the middle of summer driving down Route 1A heading to the most beautiful tourist island in the United States.  Me and my friend, Jason, owned a newly started landscaping business and it was weirdly doing great.  We were working five days a week and actually had to hire one and sometimes two people to work with us.  The job we were currently on was a high priority job which we were very behind on.  It was important for us to get there and we had plenty of things left to do.  The house was going to be in HOME magazine and it was going to be a great thing for us to be feature on the front page of a very popular magazine.
So as we headed down we were smoking a bowl to get our morning attitude adjustment.  We both didn’t really drink coffee so a few tokes and a drink were all we needed.  Of course the cologne was in the glove box as well.  We could loose business over someone smelling that weed smell on us especially some filthy rich southern bell we were working for.  There wasn’t a lot of traffic on the road I think our little line of traffic of 5 cars was the only little line of traffic out this morning. When all of a sudden we came to a pretty quick stop. Thank god Jason was paying attention and this wasn’t like one of those anti marijuana commercial were the guy keeps going running over people.  This was the real life.
Just then we noticed a horror show.   There was a accident with a car which hit a tractor trailer truck.  We raced up to the accident to help and we were two of the first people.  Diesel fuel from the truck laid all over the road.  It literally looked liked it rained diesel fuel.  It didn’t slow us down as we ran through the fuel to get to the car.  The truck driver was fine and was out almost stunned just standing there looking at his truck instead of aiding the car.  The car was crunched it looked as if it was a soda can that had been stepped on.  A women was in the front seat somehow and she was very dazed and confused. She laid there limp and could see the pain and fear in her eyes.  She couldn’t say anything but her eyes said it all she didn’t even need to talk.   Another guy the ran to help was with her talking to her telling her she was alright.  Her legs were stuck under the dash due to the impact of the crash pushing the dash toward the seat.  She was pinned between a rock and a hard place in other words.
I looked in the passenger seat which thank god there was no one due to the fact there was basically no passenger side. Very great full at that mediocre fact it I turned  so my focus went to the back hoping there was no kids in the back.  No one was in the passenger side back seat and it was a good thing because that side was demolished.  The front seat was pushed up like a wrinkle.  As well as being just another wrinkle in the car, it was driven back as to be sitting on the back seat. It was like the front seat was a car seat sitting on the back seat. I couldn’t say the same for the driver side back seat.  To my viewing was a car seat.  I went to the car seat hoping there was no baby in it. The car seat, however, was not sitting on the back seat though which shot my nerves through the roof.  Thank god for the bowl we smoked earlier.  The back window was blown out and there was a baby who was strapped in the car seat was up on the back dash board and partly out side where the back window once was.  I made sure the baby was alright and knew not to touch anyone if we didn’t have to so I made the baby feel alright.
Wouldn’t you know it the car at that moment happened to catch on fire.  What a great time for this to happen.  A women was trapped in the car and gas was everywhere.   We all panicked at this moment and tried to push the car out of the fuel and throw sand up under the hood. I didn’t actually see the flames but someone else yelled in a frightening voice, “FIRE.“ Thank god at the moment a guy in spandex, which kind of at that tense moment made me chuckle or maybe it was the weed or a way for me to calm my nervousness, but whatever the fact he ran over with a fire extinguisher and saved the day.   By this time fire, paramedics and police showed up and took over. We walked back through the stream of diesel fuel with our heads hung and eyes full of sadness. Some people may have held their heads high knowing they may have just saved someone’s life but anyone hurt is a hard, sad, fact of life.  We were proud at heart or I know I was.  People watched us as we walked asking, “Is everyone alright.”  We ignored them not to be rude but were more fearful for the outcome.
This was a disastrous day and we both knew we couldn’t go to work.  You see my friend Jason was in a life threatening car accident and was in the hospital for a month about a year before this. His accident as well, was on the same road just the other way.  He was a passenger in a head on collision.  The passenger side of this car gave flashbacks to the passenger side of the car he was in.  He was cut out and life flighted to the Hospital and laid in a coma for two weeks. Until this day he suffers with seizures and other limps from the accident.
To boot, two weeks before this I got literally blown up and my face burnt off due to a gasoline and pine tree accident.  We happen to be on a job cutting a enormous pin tree that fell on someone’s house.  Instead of hauling it off we decided to burn it.  We gathered up a bunch of the branches and piled them up and figured while those were burning we could try like heck to cut this thick tree with our small saw.  It is always hard to light wet wood so I dumped a splash of gas on it and even poured a small trail out away knowing it may mushroom up a bit.  I lit my trail of fuel and next thing I knew I was 10 feet away laying on the ground.  Who would of figured.  I asked Jason if I was alright and he said yes just to calm my nerves I moments later found out.  I looked in the side mirror and watched my face slide off my face.  I was like a melting wax figure with skin dripping to the ground.
This made us have a sort of personal connection to this. The saddest part to all of this is that in that car of two people were three people.  The next day on the front page come to find out there was another little girl in the car who they cut out.  She was dead on arrival. What if that was my friend Jason? What if that was my mom and brother.  You never know but I feel we all have some kind of civic duty to aid others in any type of time in need.  You never know when you may be the one who needs the help.  I am still cursed with the thought, “ If only we could of helped her………..”

Narrative

It was a typical work day.  Me and my business partner were heading down to Bar Harbor to have another ball busting day at work.  It was around 80 degrees outside and the sun was beating down on the Earth leaving a haze coming off the road.  It was in the middle of summer driving down Route 1A heading to the most beautiful tourist island in the United States.  Me and my friend, Jason, owned a newly started landscaping business and it was weirdly doing great.  We were working five days a week and actually had to hire one and sometimes two people to work with us.  The job we were currently on was a high priority job which we were very behind on.  It was important for us to get there and we had plenty of things left to do.  The house was going to be in HOME magazine and it was going to be a great thing for us to be feature on the front page of a very popular magazine.
So as we headed down we were smoking a bowl to get our morning attitude adjustment.  We both didn’t really drink coffee so a few tokes and a drink were all we needed.  Of course the cologne was in the glove box as well.  We could loose business over someone smelling that weed smell on us especially some filthy rich southern bell we were working for.  There wasn’t a lot of traffic on the road I think our little line of traffic of 5 cars was the only little line of traffic out this morning. When all of a sudden we came to a pretty quick stop. Thank god Jason was paying attention and this wasn’t like one of those anti marijuana commercial were the guy keeps going running over people.  This was the real life.
Just then we noticed a horror show.   There was a accident with a car which hit a tractor trailer truck.  We raced up to the accident to help and we were two of the first people.  Diesel fuel from the truck laid all over the road.  It literally looked liked it rained diesel fuel.  It didn’t slow us down as we ran through the fuel to get to the car.  The truck driver was fine and was out almost stunned just looking at his truck instead of aiding the car.  The car was crunched it looked as if it was a soda can the had been stepped on.  A women was in the front very dazed and confused.  Another guy the ran to help was with her talking to her telling her she was alright.  Her legs were stuck under the dash due to the impact of the crash pushing the dash toward the seat.
I looked in the passenger seat and noticed no one so my focus went to the back hoping there was no kids in the back.  Sure enough, I saw a baby in a car seat and no one on the passenger side back seat and it was a good thing because that side was demolished.  I went to the baby which wasn’t on the seat.  The back window was blown out and the baby who was strapped in the car seat was up on the back dash board and partly out side where the back window once was.  I made sure the baby was alright and knew not to touch anyone if we didn’t have to so I made the baby feel alright.
Wouldn’t you know it the car at that moment happened to catch on fire.  What a great time for this to happen a women was trapped in the car and gas was everywhere.  We all panicked at this moment and tried to push the car out of the fuel and throw sand up under the hood. Thank god at the moment a guy in spandex, which kind of at that tense moment made me chuckle, but he ran over with a fire extinguisher and saved the day.   By this time fire, paramedics and police showed up and took over.
This was a disastrous day and we both knew we couldn’t go to work.  You see my friend Jason was in a life threatening car accident and was in the hospital for a month about a year before this. To boot, two weeks before this I got literally blown up and my face burnt off due to a gasoline and pine tree accident.  This made us have a sort of personal connection to this. The saddest part to all of this is that in that car of two people were three people.  The next day on the front page come to find out there was another little girl in the car who they cut out.  She was dead on arrival.  If only we could of helped her………..