Watching For Curve Balls

Being the brother of a former little league baseball star and a close person friend of a friend of Josh Willingham, I've heard enough about curve balls to tell you exactly how they operate. I've been told that the first thing you learn is that they start off looking like your typical pitch. As if in slow motion the pitcher begins his windup, the arm comes back, slowly extends forward, and you immediately think "Hey no problem. I got this one." Then suddenly as you swing with all your might instead of the sweet sound of wood meeting leather....the balls dips and falls just out of reach.

I've been thinking a lot about curve balls lately and how they relate to so much that is happening with myself and those around me. Speaking strictly from my own recent experiences I can tell you that it's almost too easy not expect today to be just like yesterday and tomorrow to carbon copy the days before.....we all enjoy our routines, but the fact is that we become so used to their existence that when something outside our daily expectations does occur it often leaves us still staring towards the fences looking for the ball that has long passed us by.

As I mentioned I'm not the only one that has seen a curve ball slip past them and change the way they see the world recently. And just the same I hope I'm not the only one that understands regardless of where we end up and what situation we find ourselves in, there are still things to be thankful for no matter how large or small. I think the trick is to remember that no matter what goes wrong you still get another chance to step up to the plate and take another swing.....who knows maybe this time you'll get the pitch you want.

To all those who have been caught off guard by a well placed curve ball, Happy Thanksgiving from Fred, Lucy, and Charlie. You are in our thoughts.......

Four Little Toothbrushes

Four little toothbrushes all in a row,

Which one was in his mouth I'll never know.

Four little toothbrushes all soaking wet,

How they got that way I haven't figured out just yet.

Four little toothbrushes surrounded by bubbles,

One little boy looking like he just commited some trouble.

Four litte toothbrushes one of which was mine,

Looks like I'll be buying a new one before morning time.

I Can Dance If I Want To!

I never danced at my prom....never even went....I think I hung out in the parking lot with a bunch of other geeks making fun of people going in and out secretly wishing I was one of them. The only time I ever danced in college was after I had taken a trip to Boonesville population me. I remember our whole wedding as one long dance from the moment they hit play on the CD of songs we spent months hand picking. The soft steps of Lucy walking down the isle. The two of us jumping up and down once we finally made it home as we tried desperately to get all the bird seed off of us. As far as something choreographed and planned....I'd never committed to it. Till I got the call one afternoon.

It was a couple months before the wedding and I was desperate to help in any way I could think. They got the idea from some show on TLC and more out of a feeling of obligation Broccoli wanted to make sure I knew I could join in. Ever on the look out for possible hurt feelings he added that he didn't think I would say yes, but wanted to include me just the same. Now I'd like to say that sometimes you do things not because of personal gain, but for what others can gain from your actions. Truth be told after the first practice my reasons did change to something more along the lines of "This is my gift to you on your wedding day". I wish I could say that was the reason I called him back immediately after saying no in the first place....but the truth is I'm just too stubborn for my own good and I wasn't about to let somebody tell me they didn't think I would do something. The way I saw it I had been robbed of my ability to make the decision for myself by having it included with the request. So because of stubbornness and later because of what it would mean to him...and because it had been so long sense we had bonded over anything....I agreed to dance. Not just dance, but practice.

I practiced in the living room while Fred begged me to quit. I practiced at the office on my way back from the copier. I met the guys in the group and practiced after church on Wednesday nights at a Ballet studio downtown. I ran through the routine at all hours of the day all the while keeping it a secret from as many people as possible in order to ensure it's shock value. Until finally after all the I Do's and I Love You's had been said...the DJ stopped the music and the dance began. Click here to see the Brothers Blockhead Live For The First Time!

P.S. I'm the one in the second row on the far right corner of the the screen. Hey nobody said I had to be good.

The One Thing You Should Never Say At Church!

I'm still trying to catch you guys up on all the wedding stories and before I post the video (yes there is a video!) I wanted to tell you about THE ONE THING YOU SHOULD NEVER SAY AT CHURCH! I always find it funny how stressful those moments before a wedding can be. The Bride and Groom are running around making sure everyone knows what they are supposed to be doing. The photographer wants everyone to stand here, the wedding planner demands everyone be as this place at this time, everyone is wondering why they didn't just elope.

It's in these moments of mass hysteria that some of the funniest lines are said out of exasperation. For example......

We were less than two hours from show time and the Nani was desperately looking for something that Broccoli just had to have. As I mentioned the groom is being tugged, pulled, and twisted in every direction and the last thing he has time for is for something to go missing. Now Nani decided she had a pretty good idea as to where the meaningless item was, but didn't want to run all the way out to the car and it not be there. So she began describing to Broccoli where she thought it was except it was in something she couldn't quite bring herself to say out loud.

"Where is it?"
"In the trunk of the car"
"Where in the trunk of the car?"
"In that box!"
"What box?"
"The box in my trunk!"
"I'm telling you I want to know exactly where it is so I don't get all the way out there and waste time digging around! Which box?"
"The square one!"

Finally out of desperation Nani said what she had been trying to say all along.....
"You want me to get the Box of Whoop Ass?"

Now in her defense Whoop Ass just happens to be the name of the company that made the Bobble Head dolls Broccoli had made up of each of the groomsmen, but still the fact that she said that in the middle of church is something I will never forget.

Speaking of Bobble Heads, here is me with mine:

Will The Best Man Please Come To The Microphone?

What a loooong week it's been. The new job took a few twists and turns that nobody would have ever predicted hence I'm just now getting to talk about Broccoli and Brooklie's wedding which took place allll last weekend. I'll be sharing stories for a few posts yet to come, but I wanted to start with a true highlight of the entire event...my best man speech. Hope you like it!

"Living in a small town as we do at least once a week I run into somebody that knows both Brock and I, yet have never made the connection that we were related. When it does click, their response is always the same: “You’re Brock Beck’s brother (arms showing off imaginary muscles), but you’re so (arms making a large stomach motion)” In fact many of you today are probably just now discovering he has one.

As far as brothers go it’s no secret Brock and I are completely different. While over the years we have gone our separate ways, we’ve always done our best to stay in touch and believe it or not we do have a lot of things in common.

We both love our mother very much! The reason we are who were are and have what we have…in my case a beautiful wife, a fantastic son….your new life with Brooke which you’ll share with all here today to see the two of you come together…we owe it all to the sacrifices she made so we would have better future.

Other things we have in common: While growing up Brock played many sports from Basketball to Baseball and…I went to hockey game once.

You may not know this, but growing Brock and I shared the ability to make ourselves invisible of course we could only activate it the instant we heard the sound of a lawnmower being cranked.

Believe or not we both enjoy reading….no wait that’s just me…. We enjoy a nice pair of cowboy boots….no not really … I’ll just move on.

More importantly one thing we definitely share as well as the other men in our family is the ability to marry well. I don’t know how we do it but all of us from Grandpa Beck To PawPaw Hamm have somehow managed to find women who are not only beautiful but have ammmmmaaaazzzing amounts of patience. Women who have proven time and again that they are willing to follow us around the world and back based on the promise that one day we will settle down and devote our lives to making them happy. Which brings me to why we are here today…..

Brock as your older brother I feel I need to let you in on one the great secrets of marriage. No matter what happens from this point forward the most important thing you can do as a husband is cherish. Cherish every night spent alone with your wife, every long drive to see your family for the holidays, every second of laughter and moment of sadness. Brock and Brooke as we stand here today surrounded by friends and family we wish you all the happiness in the world and that you both realize how lucky you are to have found one other."

Excuse Me While I Adjust To The Time Change

I know everyone is just dying to hear about Broccoli's wedding that took place this past weekend, but so much took place that it will take me a few days to sort through it all. Plus I start the new job in morning and I've got all kinds of prep I've got to do in terms of how exactly my schedule is going to pan out (who thought that not calling your mother and wife every morning at 8:10 and 8:30 would be such a big deal). Hopefully I'll have the speech I gave and a video or two to share with you by the end of the week. For now I want to talk time change.

I know I talk about how insane the notion of changing the clocks is every year, but this time it has scarred my family for life. The below conversation took place this afternoon as Lucy was picking up Fred after work in what is now night time:

"Mommy why you not pick me up till dark outside?"
"Oh baby, this is the same time I pick you up everyday."
"But it dark out....Where's the moon?"
Scrambling for a way to let Fred know she didn't forget him while at the same time describing the demon time change she cleverly came up with "The moon is right there! Mommy would never forget you! You see when it starts getting cold outside the sun goes away and the moon comes out sooner!"
"Ooooooh ok!"

Thankfully he was happy with her answer although you just gotta know he was thinking we forgot him today.