Falls Photos Posted
By Chris | August 17, 2008
I finally finished posting the pictures from the trip Jamie and I took to Bushkill Falls while we were in PA; see the gallery here, and see the whole photo site here. Enjoy!
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Double Standard
By Chris | August 15, 2008
I am sure by now that everyone has heard about Spain’s NBA team doing the squinty-eyed photo seen around the world. In the article I linked to, Jason Kidd makes some very valid, and of course, totally true points about what would have happened if this was not Spain that did this, but the United States.
“We would’ve been already thrown out of the Olympics,” he told Yahoo! Sports. “At least, we wouldn’t have been able to come back to the U.S. …There would be suspensions.”
And for his European peers, well, Kidd suggested, “They won’t do anything to them. It’s a double standard.”
Interesting how we’re held to a higher standard, perhaps - yet we’re also the world’s favorite country to hate. So why hold us to a standard that you yourselves cannot and will not be held to, and then look down their collective noses at us?
I won’t get into the rest of the article, as I won’t even pretend to say that I even know the first thing about the NBA or basketball, and I will admit I’ve watched very little of the Olympics at all this year, reason being is I really could care less about either. I only picked up this tidbit of news because the double standard just gets to me.
Really, I think it boils down to jealousy. The world is jealous of the United States. The world also loves to hate us. Sort of like when the popular HS Cheerleader gets knocked up, it’s the talk of the lunchroom and she becomes the butt of jokes. But when some marching band member suffers the same fate it’s not important. Those who are jealous of the cheerleader revel in her misfortune and she suffers the consequences. Always out to get those who have the spotlight on them is what it likely boils down to.
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The First Is Always The Hardest
By Chris | August 13, 2008
Today is the first night, the end of the first day, without Jamie. This is not to say that Jamie is gone - he’s only gone from my home. He left this morning for Beaufort to finish up high school. It was bittersweet. In the short time I’ve known him, I’ve grown to love him, and while he and I both knew this day was coming, it wasn’t any easier.
After a mostly sleepless night, the morning was awkward. We both knew what was on each other’s mind, however there was nothing we could say to each other to make it all better, to ease our minds. Jamie has it easier than me, though he may disagree - but in the end, he was going to his home where he grew up, and in the end I’m losing (so to speak) one of the the most important people in my life right now. I will readjust to him not being here. I’ll be okay with coming home from lunch and not seeing his car in the driveway, or knowing he’s just down the hall when he and I had a disagreement, or not being able to brush his hair off his forehead and give him a kiss in the middle of the night.
We loaded Jamie’s car up with his bags and his computer, and I left for work. I held it together. I was impressed with myself. Jamie left after me, and I didn’t see him as I left the subdivision. I went to work. I did fine until he called me later, and he sounded happy to be home. It was like a swift kick in the junk. I wanted him to be as sad as I was, I wanted to know that he was sad and was missing me. I mean, I knew, but I wanted to hear it, since I couldn’t see it. I saw it before he left - but now that he’s gone, I needed that reassurance. I didn’t get it in the form I wanted it, but I got it.
It was a tough day. I-we-made it through it. I could have done better, but I will readjust and in the future Jamie and Chris will be another love story for the books. I’m off for some narcotically (legal) induced slumber. I’m emotionally drained and can’t afford another sleepless night - bad enough it will be without him.
This entry is public, because I don’t care who knows. I’m not ashamed to admit that I’m in love with him.
Jamie, I love you.
Jamie and I on the first day we met.
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1000 and 1
By Chris | August 12, 2008
I noticed that my last post broke the 1000 post barrier. Whee. And today is my last full day with Jamie before he heads back to Beaufort - hence the 1000 and 1. 1000 posts and 1 day. Also, this would be post number 1001 so, it stands true in more ways than one - but I was writing it with the former in mind.
I am trying to remain positive today, and even moreso tomorrow. Jamie will embark on his short 90 minute and 76 mile drive down to Beaufort tomorrow when I depart for work. There was some talk about whether it’d be best for him to leave this afternoon or tomorrow morning. I wanted one more night with him, and he eventually decided to stay until Wednesday, since it was only a couple hours.
The rainy weather today totally in line with my disposition. It’s been hard to realize that he’s leaving, even though we both were aware it was on the horizon. The end of my trip up to PA pretty much marked the end of my summer, yet not the end of Jamie and Chris.
Smooches for my Jamie
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Bittersweet Return
By Chris | August 11, 2008
Jamie and I have returned from Pennsylvania safe and sound, as expected. We stopped in Washington, DC and visited the Arlington National Cemetary, as well as the Air Force Memorial, which was very important to me.
Old Glory near the Tomb of the Unknowns Amphitheatre
At Arlington, the somber mood was interrupted only by a lightly falling rain as we walked through the hallowed grounds towards the Tomb of the Unknowns. We caught the tail end of a changing of the guard, something I’ve not seen in probably nearly 15 years. The rain stopped and we meandered our way along the Potomac towards the Air Force Memorial. After finding directions via the internet on my cell phone we pointed the TrailBlazer in that direction.
View of the Memorial from Parking Lot
At first glance, it appears the memorial is in a rather poor location, but when you consider that it overlooks The Pentagon, and can be seen from many places in DC, it’s actually a very good location. The three arches looked magnificent against the sky and gave one a feeling of insignificance. It made me think to one of the things I do miss about being in the USAF - being part of something bigger than oneself. I miss being part of that at times. The weather was good for the AF Memorial, albeit a little windy - the wind bringing to mind the air on which the USAF’s mission rides.
Honor Guard Statues at Memorial
What surprised me most about all the memorials was the number of foreign visitors present. I heard German, and French (Jamie spotted that), and some Asian languages. It was pretty impressive to see that all these people came to see our nation’s capitol.
Afterwards Jamie and I headed southbound on Interstate 95 through spotty rain showers and seeming inexplicable and sporadic traffic backups. The traffic would pile up and then clear in a few minutes with no wreck, no traffic stop - nothing other than clear highway present to explain the backup. At one point the traffic became so backed up we got off near Lorton, VA and headed down US Route 1 about 20 miles and then picked I-95SB back up.
We spent the night at a Days Inn outside Petersburg, VA. I have to say, this Days Inn was very nice compared to the Econo Lodge in Dortches that we stayed in, and much nicer than the Days Inn I stayed at several years ago outside of Meridian, MS. We probably could have driven the whole way through, but we elected to stay a night and enjoy a nice large bed and some rest before the worst part of the trip: NC and SC. These have to be the most desolate stretches of the interstate on the way towards home.
I have to say that having been up North in the summer has made me miss it tremendously. My mom and step-dad Tom were great to us, and treated Jamie as if they’d known him for years. In NJ my father and step-mom Jill were also great during our visit out to their house. My next conquest is to deal with Jamie returning home to Beaufort on Wednesday - not something I’m looking forward to.
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