This freakin world...

I am reading about this new movie that just came out, "The Hunger Games". A post-apocalyptic piece about teens and pre-teens having to run around killing each other for rich peoples amusement.

Never mind the not-so-subliminal class warfare angle, I want to focus on the violence in the movie. I have not seen it and don't plan to. I am basing this solely on the reviews I have read and their explanation of the film...

The movie, like the book, involves teens killing each other in a graphic assortment of ways, including death by spears and blows to the head by rocks. One "tribute," or teen warrior, kills another by snapping his neck. Another is stung to death by mutant yellow jackets, while yet another is devoured for hours by rabid dogs.

Sounds like a good family film.

The author states the book is a commentary on the horrors of war and violence...and she does this by writing a book which spawned a blockbuster movie depicting kids engaging in...war...and violence.

Oh, I get it! The absurdity of the children participating in such graphic activities is the message. The violence is necessary to the plot of the movie and ultimately the betterment of man through the realization that sometimes the ends justify the means.

So, the violence is paramount and can be overlooked because it is for the greater good.

Too bad the critics didn't afford the violence in "The Passion of the Christ" that same privilege.

What of a bits...

I let the kids play on my iTouch. Mostly Angry Birds and a Star Wars game. They all play and love it. A few weeks ago I found Ian in the closet "playing". Turns out he was watching Tombstone. He would fast forward the talking parts and go straight to the gunfights. For those of you that don't know, the movie is about Wyatt Earp, his brothers and Doc Holliday and their time in Tombstone. The fight at the OK Corral and all that. The bad guys are a group of truly mean dudes who call themselves Cowboys. Wyatt, Doc and the boys prevail in the end but not before a lot of bloodshed. The leader of the Cowboys wears a red shirt.

I told him that was not a movie for children only mommies and daddies. (Is that how you spell those?) He was disappointed because apparently he had been watching that movie for a while. I said no more and that was the end of it...or so I thought.

We were out at dinner the other night and right in the middle of dinner he turns to me and says in a whisper:

Daddy? What did the Cowboy in the red shirt mean when he said, "What of a bits?

Needless to say I was ROFLMAO. I explained to him that was a bad word and that was why he couldn't watch the movie.

Madison had a slumber party for her 9th birthday last Friday. Ian and I left on a guys night out. We ate at 5 guys burgers just to keep the mood. We drove over to Mom and Dad's to spend the night in the camper and watch Master and Commander. On the way over the traffic was horrible. Grapefest was going on and it was raining. Needless to say, the bad drivers were out in force. During the drive I said to Ian there sure were a lot of people out tonight. From the backseat looking out the window and without skipping a beat he said, "And a lot of morons."

I guess they do listen.

I told this story to my brother Steve and he said one day they were going to school and some bozo cut Steve off. About 2 minutes later Christian asked:

Dad? What does funky moron mean?"

Pfaff Pfest XVI is in the books...

what a blast!

I can speak for all 10 attendees when I say a good time was had by all. We sang. We talked. We laughed. We cried. (mostly during the game) And we laughed some more.

Got to spend some good time with my nephews, Tod, Eric, Kody and Craig. Had some deep conversations about love and life. Best thing was their dads going to bed early. Not that they wouldn't have been as open if they were around but it may have made it a little easier. Regardless, Saturday night was fun and somehting I will remember for a long time.

Who had a good time on Saturday night hanging with his brother Steve and his nephews Tod, Craig and Eric...

Again it seemed like the game got in the way of the good time. We made a game of it but we were too little too late. 0-1 to start the season. Welcome to UCLA football.

Steve and I played golf on Friday at the #1 ranked course in Texas. It was truly awesome. Pine tree lined fairways. Tough, tough greens. I hit the ball pretty well but putted like a blind man. It didn't matter though. It was spectacular anyway.

Next year it's either Colorado or Oregon. Wherever the wind takes us the family will be there.

Madison was baptized on Sunday...

what a great day.

Amidst the constant hitting and kicking and yelling among the siblings, it makes us feel like we are at least doing something right. She knows Jesus and loves Him and wants to live her life by His word.

It's all good. But not too good. (Right Sam?)

Aside: I know why Jesus was an only child. I just can't see him calling his sister a poopy head. Or kicking her in the nose because she touched his army men.

I wrote a song for the occasion. The chorus came to me about two months ago. In church, I just started to hear these words in my head:

On water He walks
From water to wine
Of water and the Spirit
He saves this sinner's life

Not long after I wrote down these words Madison came to us and asked about Baptism. I finished the song soon thereafter. Jim Henderson and I sat down and knocked out the chords in about 45 minutes. I then went home and created the melody.

I put in some words from a David Wilcox song called "Break in the Cup". I planned on looking at Mike and Steve when I came to that part and smile. I thought I might laugh but I did it anyway.

Much to my surprise, I started to choke up. Not good when you are singing. I had to look away post haste. Which I did and made it through the song. Whew!

The coolest thing happened after the song.

Aside: The whole family was there sans the Phoenix Pfaffenbergers. The church was 1/4 full with just us. Pretty cool.

From my view in the choir, I could see Steve with Tod and Craig sitting right behind him and Mike sitting right behind them. I sat down and looked up at them and as if on cue, they all nodded their heads in perfect unison as if to say, "Well done, sir."

Unscripted, raw emotion. Family.

Everyone came back to the house. The newly painted house because...that's another blog. Simple fare; sandwiches, chips, potato salad, asian coleslaw, fruit, olive tray, cookies and cheesecake. Some swam, some played, all visited.

The words to Madison's song

On water He walked
To reveal Himself to them
The calming sea proved
He is the Son of man

From water to wine
His life forever changed
He set His fate in stone
His promise began that day

Chorus
On water He walks
From water to wine
Of water and the Spirit
He saves this sinner's life

Bridge
There's a break in the cup that holds love
Inside us all
For there's a break in the cup that holds love
We must go to the waterfall

Over time
Water wears the stone
Through the perfect grace of Christ
Water brings us home

Nothing better...

than a long drive to clear the head.

I drove up to Tulsa this week for work. Trust me I wouldn't go if I didn't have to.

Aside:

Everytime I want to type an apostrophe I end up typing a semi-colon instead. I will give you a second to look at your keyboard...As you saw they are right next to one another. I always have to arrow back to the word and replace the semi-colon with the apostrophe. I wish it had auto-correct so it would know I wanted to type can't instead of can;t. On second thought my phone has auto-correct and it, to put it bluntly, sucks. I was sending a text the other day and I wrote "You damn skippy" because that is one of my favorite sayings. Well, it came out "You damn sloppy". So I sent it again making sure I typed in skippy an even explaining that auto-correct changed the word. Auto-correct strikes again. For the second time it changed the word to sloppy. I then added it to my dictionary. I won't be second guessed by my freakin phone. (By the way, when I typed in the word won't just now, I typed in a semi-colon instead of the apostrophe. D'OH!)

Anywho...believe it or not, after that rambling, my head was clear. Actually, it was clear enough to remember that hilarious anecdote so I guess it worked.

I thought about Kelly and Madison and Ian and the little one...what's her name...think Presidents...oh yea Reagan. (Man, I'm a goof)

I thought about how lucky I am. I thought about how if I had the chance to do anything over again I wouldn't change a thing.

And yes, I typed the wouldn't as wouldn;t.

Back again...

Where should I start...

Madison presented herself for Baptism on Sunday. She made her profession of faith and is ready to become an "official" Christian.

She initiated the conversation without any prodding from us. She spoke with our pastor, Sam, and she came down the aisle last Sunday. For those of you not familiar with how the Baptists do things, at the end of the service they have a time where church members can come down the aisle to the pastor and pray or join the church or ask for Baptism. It's a big deal. Coming down that aisle all by yourself is a little scary. Or so I am told.

Needless to say, Kelly and I are very proud. She is an 8 year old wise beyond her years. We know, and Sam agrees, that she understands what she is doing and what it means to be a Christian.

When we talked about it with Ian and Reagan, Reagan asked "When can we get appetized?" Ian when told how a Baptism works, in the Baptist church they are fully submerged, looked a little concerned:

What's the matter son?
They go totally underwater?
Yep.
Can I wear my goggles because I can't go under water without my goggles?

Reagan wasn't too keen on getting appetized after that either. She can't go underwater so she will have none of it.

As a Catholic, this is all new to me. The sacrament that best correlates to the Baptist Baptism is Confirmation. Catholics "seal the covenant" or confirm their infant Baptism at Confirmation. Baptists confirm their belief in Christ through Baptism. I don't want to wax poetic on the dogma but that is my belief in a nutshell.

On the weight front, I don't know how much I weigh. I do know I am still buying smaller pants. 10 sizes so far. I have about 6 sizes to go. If I could make it 8, that would be gravy.

I am still training for a 5K in November. I was going to do the Turkey Trot but it is a Susan G Komen foundation sponsored event and they give to Planned Parenthood. That is something I will not do. So the 5K is still a go; I just need to find a new one to run. There's got to be a million of them.

I just got through reading this post. I don't want to upset anybody. Rest assured any word choice was not pre-conceived to elicit emotional distress. I just wrote what I felt. So please don't read into this. Now I am projecting.

I will shut up now.

Sixty seven years ago today...

What makes free men jump out of landing craft in rough seas jump out to face this?

Sixty-seven years ago, free men of America, Great Britain, Canada, and Poland-in-exile stormed the shores of Normandy into the teeth of Adolf Hitler’s Fortress Europe. The losses at Omaha Beach especially were astounding; over 4400 Allied servicemen died in the assault, and 7500 more were wounded or went missing. Americans made up almost two-thirds of the overall casualties (over 6600). The German casualty figures were never known, but estimates range from 4000 to 9000. But that was just the first day of the Battle of Normandy. By the time Normandy was secured, over 425,000 casualties had been inflicted on both sides, 209,000 by Allied forces. Another 200,000 troops were captured by the allies. The French paid a price, too; over 15,000 civilians were killed in the Battle of Normandy.

Think of that picture above and the courage it took to take that first step. Many of the men who saw this vista died without ever getting past the shore. What made them take that step? Certainly discipline strengthened them, but these men knew that they faced one of the most evil regimes the world had ever known — and that the Nazis wouldn’t stop with Europe. Evil could not be contained, nor appeased; it had to be fought and destroyed, and that it would take a tremendous sacrifice to end it. They went forth to battle evil, and even if they as individuals fell, these men knew that liberty and justice would defeat evil, and that their sacrifice would make that victory possible.

Not for nothing do we call this our “Greatest Generation.” Most of them are gone now, but their valor and dedication live on to challenge, inspire, rebuke, and encourage us. We should not less this date pass without some remembrance as long as free people cherish their liberty.

FInally weighed myself the other day...

265!

That's 2 lbs shy of 70. It felt good. So I had a bowl of Capn Crunch. Mutley moment there.

I have to get back on the treadmill. It has been almost two weeks since I have been on that thing. I feel so good when I am done walking/running. I need to keep that mindset throughout the week.

The best thing right now is being able to walk into a store and by some clothes. And it isn't a tall and fat store. I bought two golf shirts and two pair of nike shorts. No way on God's green earth I could have fit into those things 3 months ago. It is very nice to be able to do that. People who don't battle wieght problems just don't understand the feeling of being able to do that. But we each have our triumphs.

T-ball season is almost over. Ian is much more aggressive on the field. Still some issues but he is 5 and is doing great. He said he loves tball. We will be practicing every week until next season. He can't wait.

I just realized Madison will be in 3rd grade next year. Only 2 weeks of school left and she's a 3rd grader. Man-oh-man! Time flies.

She is still reading...and reading...and reading. We are so proud of her. She is wise and mature beyond her years. I told you about the people game: one clue she gave was this man invented paper money and taught himself to swim at the age of 6. It was Benjamin Franklin. She continues to astound me in the things she knows. All because she read it somewhere. I hope she keeps it up. She wants to be a librarian so that's a good sign.

Reagan is the tag along. No matter what Ian and Madison do she wants to do it too. No fear. Tattletale. Just like her old man.

She is the cutest thing I have ever seen.

As a side note, I like TV shows about Bigfoot. They scare the crap out of me but I watch them nonetheless. When I was a boy we went to Oregon to see my Aunt and Uncle. They had a house in the forest. Their bathroom did not have curtains on it so you looked right out into the forest. Unless it was dark then you couldn't see anything. I did not go to the bathroom from sunset to sunrise the whole time we were there.

Come to think of it, that may be why in my heyday I could sit at a bar and drink for hours on end and never go to the bathroom. People thought there was something wrong with me. Nope. Just had a bigfoot bladder.

Moving right along...

like a skinny guy in his natural habitat...a Studebaker. (That's a muppet movie refernce by the way)

Still losing as far as I know. I haven't weighed myself but my belts are not holding up my pants anymore. No more holes. Time for a new belt.

I have kind of plateaued however. They said that would happen when I started eating real food. I am still not eating much. It's just that the body gets used to pretty much nothing. A little food slows the metabolism.

I do have a plethora of energy. Jefe, what is a plethora? (Three Amigos movie reference there, sorry. I actually didn't use the word correctly in this context but I will stop at nothing to reference a movie. Even break grammar rules. And for me that's huge.) The surgery is paying off nicely. And thanks to a tax refund I will be paying off the surgery quickly too.

I am starting a new job on Monday with a company here in Dallas. They do what I do on a grander scale. They have more resources so I can learn more. It's a steady paycheck and, best of all, insurance.

I wasn't looking. They called me. When they found out they were actually one of my clients, it clinched the deal. The travel was excessive so I said thanks but no thanks. They called back later that day and made me an offer I couldn't refuse. Little bit of travel. Mo' money. You can't go wrong with that. I'm looking forward to it.

The kids are still learning, growing, thriving, fighting. As they get older it is ramping up. More frequently. More intensity. I'm about to erect an octagonal ring in the living room and let them go at it.

Kelly had her Children's Chorus of Greater Dallas concert on Sunday at the Myerson. It was phenomenal. Her choir sang a song by Puccini that was the highlight of the evening. She is a talented woman and I am very blessed to be her husband.

SHort and sweet today.

It's been a while...

but I have so much energy now I don't want to spend it in front of a computer screen anymore. I still work from behind here and that makes it much harder to write this blog.

Things have been progressing nicely. I am down 8 pant sizes officially. Bought a new pair of jeans; which by the way I caught myself having to pull up this morning....aside...I have found the key to my childrens humor. I can stand in the middle of the room and move my belly back and forth, ala Fozzie Bear in the wokka-wokka mode, and my pants will fall to my ankles.

They laugh so hard they cry. All to the echoes of "Do it again! Do it again!".

I am comedy.

Kelly and I had a date night the other night. We left early about 4:00. Went to Sfuzzi'z in Uptown and sat on the porch. Had some bread with olive oil and pepper. Ordered a fabulous smoked salmon bruschetta and a pepperoni/organic veggie pizza. All wonderfully delicious. Brought a lot of food home.

We people watched. Talk about a boob and cocaine crowd. Holy Moly! There was more plastic on that patio than in our kids toy bin. You know the kind of people who look like they feel they are owed something.

It was a great time. Albeit slow. We looked at our watches after much merriment and revelry and it was 6:15...ok...what now? We drove around the Highland Park area and looked at the old homes with the huge trees and thought, wow...this is what our neighborhood looks like. Lucky us.

We than found a Humperdinks where the leather couches were free. I finished watching the Rangers beat the Orioles while Kelly fell asleep on my shoulder. What party animals! We were home by 8:30.

T-ball is going well. Ian got the game ball last night. He hit the ball well; out of the infield in fact. He made the last out by fielding the ball at 3rd base and stepping on 3rd to force out the runner. I think I may have been more proud of him for the fielding than the first hit. He was having an issue with fielding the ball and through some practice and hard work he overcame it.

Barney Fife moment.

The pool is all clean and ready to go for summer. I had to get in last Saturday to try to fix the pool sweep. My boys still haven't come down. TMI I know but man that water was cold.

The kids will be getting in this weekend. Sans daddy who is still recovering. They are looking forward to it.

As always the Pfaffenberger family is blessed happy and healthy.

Thank you, Obama!