Life

When a guy is stuck in Springfield, IL for the night, there's not much better to do than sit at your favorite Irish bar and drink a few cold ones. I've been trying to develop a taste for whiskey and an Irish bar is a good place to further that goal. Plus, my favorite beer Blue Moon was on sale for $2 last night. After a couple whiskeys and a couple beers, I got to thinking about some of the cool things I've done in my life and took the opportunity to write them down. Now, before Sarah gets a bunch of emails, these are not in any particular order.

Here's the (incomplete list). I'm thinking of more things all the time.

• Watched two great boys born at Grant Hospital.
• Watched Tiger win the Tiger Slam at Augusta National.
• Played football for the Massillon Tigers.
• Won thousands of dollars playing blackjack in a casino.
• Drank Coronas and Margaritas in Tijuana.
• Shook a President's (Bush I) hand.
• Studied in Spain prior to graduating from college.
• Watched the Buckeyes win a national championship in Tempe AZ.
• Got married in Las Vegas to a great girl.
• Backpacked through Europe.
• Met Jack Nicklaus.
• Flew on an airplane on September 11 and got stranded in a far-a-way city.
• Drank Dom Perignon from the bottle and stood on a balcony on Bourbon Street throwing beads to the throng below.
• Scuba dived off Key West and the Bahamas.
• Played college football at the University of Dayton.
• Worked for the U.S. House of Representatives.
• Have earned a million dollars in salary over my life.
• Attended the last Indian game at Municipal Stadium and the first at Jacobs Field.
• Got to tell my mom how much I loved her while she was still able to understand before she passed away.
• Walked to the top of the U.S. Capitol Building, something you must be accompianed by a Member of Congress to do.
• Caught large mouth bass on the St. John River south of Jacksonville.
• Attended George Bush and GW Bush Inaugural balls.
• Golfed Firestone South golf course numerous times.
• Drank beers in Mexico, Canada, Spain, France, Italy, the U.S., Greece, Germany, Belgium, England, Netherlands, Jamaica, Caymans, and Switzerland.
• Spoke at the podium where Abraham Lincon gave his famous "a House divided can not stand" speech.
• Watched the U.S. set two world records in track at the Olympics in Barcelona.
• Visited Napa Valley and sampled the wine.
• Attended the Indianapolis 500.
• Influenced legislators to pass legislation saving my company millions of dollars.
• Swam naked in the Mediterranean Ocean.
• Missed qualifying for the State Championships in the 400 Relay by 1/100 of a second my sophomore year in h.s.
• Sailed in Key West for a week in February.
• Ate a private lunch with the Spanish Ambassador to the U.S.
• Drank Jenever in Amsterdam and saw all the famous red light tourist sites.
• Attended an NBA game and sat in $300 seats with my feet on the floor.
• Never done an illegal drug in my life.
• Attended baseball games at Wrigley Field and Fenway Park. Plus, games in Cincinnati, Cleveland, Pittsburgh, Detroit, St. Louis, Philadelphia, NY Yankees, San Diego, San Francisco.
• Attended the Kentucky Derby, in both the infield and the good seats, stayed in a Super 8 and the Seelbach, and drank mint juleps at Churchill Downs.
• Steered a Cigarette boat off Miami.
• Ate crawfish and shrimp in the Louisiana sticks.
• Made tens of thousands of dollars on a single stock and lost the equivalent on another.
• Attended the 1996, 2000 and 2004 Republican Conventions.
• Won multiple volleyball games on the beach in Cozumel.
• Became a VIP at Mortons.
• Attended a game in SF that Bonds hit the game winning homerun a few seats away after throwing out the go-ahead run in the top of the 9th. I'm not a Bonds fan.
• Never won a baseball championship but was selected to 3 All-Star teams in Little League plus.
• Oh man, had a good time.