Mountain Mama

"Country roads, take me home to the place I belong. West Virginia, Mountain Mama, take me home, country roads." John Denver will always hold a place in my heart. Not because his 70's hair style or his glasses that cover more than half his face, but simply for his love of the coolest place east of the Mississippi.
From left to right: My brother Joe, myself, and my college roommate Evan. We had such a blast on this snowboarding trip. We did spend close to six hours crammed in a car with all our gear, but it was all worth it. Just to let you know, if you ever go on a trip with us, don't be the first one to fall asleep. Evan will tell you that waking up with mustard all over your body is not worth a couple minutes of shut eye.
I even used my military I.D. to get out of a speeding ticket on the way home!
Seriously, unless your looking for a job, this beautiful state has so much to offer. Snowboarding, Backpacking, fishing, wildlife, shotguns, and plenty of chewing tobacco. Do yourself a favor and visit WV for a bit. If you value nature and what it has to offer, you will not be let down.

Nicknames

I find it quite amusing how nicknames can hang around. "Sledge"...Where does it come from? Am I just one of those guys who likes to make nicknames for themselves just to sound cooler and more manly? Well, I tried that once, and it backfired with a vengeance.

A group of guys and myself would get together and play poker frequently, so we decided to give each other nicknames. For example: one guy was named "No Face" because he displayed almost as good of a poker face a Chris Moneymaker. My buddy Nate (now known as Wardog whom is also a Marine) was awarded the name "Honker" for his overly large snout. And me, trying to be cool with my aviator sunglasses, tried to name myself "Mav." When the guys heard this, they laughed and said "too bad. Since you tried to name yourself, you are now known as tampon!" That sucked!

But that's not the feature nickname story for the day. Where, when, and how did some start to refer to me as Sledge? It was in early March of 2005, in Hit Iraq. Hit (pronounced heat) is roughly 40 west of Fallujah. Our FOB (Forward Observation Base) was actually an old Iraqi morgue. We slept on slabs of concrete about knee high, and a shade over six feet long. I can't go too much further because I would be getting off topic.

Back to the Sledge story. If you are unaware, a FOB is far different than a camp. A camp is much more established and has many extras a Forward Observation Base does not. For example: when we arrived in early March, our company realized that the simple line of defense, that being perimeter wire, was not there. Wow! So being part of our security platoon, myself and a handful of other Marines were volun-told to set up the razor wire around our perimeter.

Being master engineers in constructing walls and building lines of defense, we used 4 foot long stakes and a sledgehammer to pound them into the rocky desert. The razor wire would then be wrapped around the stakes, and from there be held in place. After a few hours of work under the sun, we were almost finished. All we needed to do is walk the line and shake each stake to make sure of its stability.

This is where "Sledge" comes from. While walking and shaking, I discovered a stake that was not up to par. So be trying to be cool like I always do, in a rugged cowboy voice, I said "gimme the sledge." And instead of tapping the stake lightly, driving it down a little at a time, I wanted to swing it like a man. So I grabbed the man hammer, swung it up and over my shoulder, and drove it down on top of the stake. The only problem...I didn't hit the stake like I planned.

Instead of driving that sucker down in one punch, I ended up driving that bad boy down and smashing my big toe. From there my toe nail fell off and the nickname Sledge took rise. Obviously, not everyone calls me Sledge. Pretty much only the people I was around I that time do.

Ice Ice Baby

Just because there is five inches of snow and another half inch of ice, it doesn't mean we can't have a little fun while shoveling the driveway. Snow days don't only apply to kids you know. They can also serve as the time during the winter when you and the dog can go outside and blow the stink off.

Hank is so funny. For some oddball reason, he goes crazy at the site of any broom or shovel. He immediately crouches down at first glimpse and goes into play mode. So instead of a shoveling the driveway for 35 minutes and coming into my hot cocoa, I was forced to chase the prankster around the yard like I was starring in Rocky 4.

I couldn't resist taking a few shots of the action to show our backyard fun and beauty. But like I always do, I got hungry. There was warm stew, ham sandwiches, and pickles with my name written all over em'. I just wish I would have splurged the extra 90 cents to buy the Clausens. They taste way better than the Kroger kind. Oh well...

My Haven

Experiencing the creativity, the power, and the wondrous works of God is so amazing. And one way I do that is by venturing out into the wilderness with anything I might need on my shoulders. There is just something about being away from the cell phones, radio stations, sidewalks, and refrigerators I admire. Well, if I were strong enough, I would still carry a refrigerator. But I just love to experience Gods gift of nature. Stepping away from my vehicle with a 50 pound pack, and not knowing where exactly I am going to camp is so exciting to me. The wilderness, being a man, making fires, crossing streams, the mud, and chopping wood, I enjoy all of it.

A good friend of mine once said, "I can imagine God looking from the Heavens above and seeing us admire what He has created. How do you think that makes him feel?" God loves when we admire and gauche over his work. He is so jealous for a relationship and a connection. There are a number of ways for me to connect with Christ on an emotional level, and one of them is by backpacking. The trails are not congested with traffic, much of my time is spent thinking about my past and where I am going, and I am surrounded by God and his gift of recreation for me and my spiritual relationship with him. What more is there to ask for.

If you havn't ventured on the trail before, I highly recomend it. But if you don't like that sort of thing, I strongly recomend finding some sort of connection with our creator.

What is your favorite recreation?

Have you experienced Christ?

10 Things That Annoy Me

Some of the random things that happen in your ordinary day to day life can test your last nerve. These are some of mine.

10: Stepping in a puddle of water after putting on a fresh pair of socks.

9: Trying to fold the stupid bed sheet that has that darn alastic in it. I always just ball it up.

8: Pimples and dry skin.

7: Sun burns on vacation.

6: Not packing enough underwear when I go out of town.

5: Unclogging other peoples dump.

4: Filling up my gas tank and see the prices drop by 18 cents the next day.

3: Driving to Blockbuster to return a movie and not realizing the dvd case is emty until you get

there.

2: Taping a sports event because of a conflicting schedule, and having someone tell you the

outcome just as you are sitting down to watch.

1. Seeing a spider crawling on my bed just as I am turning in.

Take this HGTV!

The demolition team, made up of my father-in-law Mark McAllister, my dad Frank, and myself, had an absolute blast ripping up the tile floors and installing a beautiful red oak floor with a golden oak stain. I think Mark may have had the best time because he was the one to enjoy smashing the bathroom sink into tiny pieces in order for proper removal.

My dad, whom will be 55 later this year, has been installing and refinishing hardwood flooring for more than 40 years. My grandfather started Cardinal Flooring in 1962 and initiated my dad into the business by giving him a vacuum for his birthday when he was 11. If there is a better way to encourage your son into following in your footsteps, let me know.

I'm not sure if my dad was more interested in making a hard worker out of his son or having me carry on the Cardinal torch, but this is the same way he brought me up...minus the vacuum at the age of 11. To be honest, when I was in junior high, I complained about sanding with my dad on the weekends because I would have rather played with my GI-Joe's. But I look back and am so thankful that he did what he did to make me a hard working, responsible person.
Back to the flooring. I think we were able to have so much fun on this project because of the male bond that accompanies hard work. Our time spent together working hard, learning new things, and taking 30 second breaks is what made our time so great together. Oh and I can't forget the most important thing, Power Tools! We love em'.

Books-R- Us

I said to Laura yesterday, "too bad you don't have a locker to stop at in between periods." Classes such as organic and biochemistry, pharmaceutical math, and diagnostic nursing make me want to take a nap.
Laura started her second semester of nursing school yesterday at Good Samaritan Hospital. I know she definitely has the intelligence to overcome these difficult classes and rigorous schedules, but this tower of terminology frightens me.
It will be a long haul for the both of us. But we are willing to accept this high endurance challenge from Old Spice. They even offer up to 25% higher performing odor protection!

Significant Dates

Sig-nif-i-cance n.
1. The state or quality of being significant: see synonyms at Importance.
2. A meaning that is expressed.
3. A covert or implied meaning.
Why did I graduate from The Ohio State University with a degree in history? And why do I want to teach high school history? Easy. I love, love, love history. To read and understand how our country and civilization has evolved over thousands of years is so fascinating to me.
-In 1492 Columbus sailed the ocean blue and forever changed world civilizations.
-On June 6th, 1944 Dwight D. Eisenhower led a massive assault on the Normandy beaches in hopes to crush the Nazi regime.
-On July 20th, 1969 Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin opened a new door for science and what our solar system has to offer.
So many dates, so many significant times and places in our history that affect our daily life. But instead of focusing on something like World War Two and the Allied invasion, I would like to mention an extremely significant date in my time.
January 20th, 1979....
This was the day in which my older brother Joseph T. Massey was extracted from the womb of Kim E. Reihl (my Mom.) I would hate to even fathom of what life would be like without an older brother like Joe. Playing sports and riding bikes when we were kids, pretending to be pro wrestlers and jumping off the top bunks, snow boarding, sanding floors together, rough times in Iraq, best men in each others wedding, ect..ect..ect.. Mr. Webster should have put a picture of Joe in his dictionary next to the definition of significant.
January 20th, 2008....
The day Christ made his call to Nana. The thought of not having my Nana around still makes me sad. But thank God there is a quick fix for my sadness. All I have need to do is realize she is never gone and think of my time with her and how she and my Pop have had such a tremendous impact on my life. Collecting sea shells and skipping stones, playing nine holes at Otis, walking around Great Harbors, singing Christmas carols, witnessing a true level of commitment, ect..ect...
When I see people wearing hats or t-shirts with the logo "life is good" I smile to myself and utter "It sure is."

Lighthouse History

The lighthouse to the left is located on the sixteenth hole of a beautiful Nantucket golf course. In 1848, ten acres were purchased for $250 in order construct Sankaty Head and warn ships of disaster on the east side of the island. That's 10 bucks an acre! Now-a-days, the cheapest acre on Nantucket can't be bought for less than 50k, and that's right next to the place where they store old garbage and dirty diapers!
FYI: The Sankaty erection stands at 90 feet.
FYI: The first light house ever built stood at 900 ft. It was built in 283 AD by the Egyptians. Personally, I find it hard to believe that the tallest lighthouse ever was built almost 2,000 years ago by an ancient civilization. But its the truth. Just think about the pyramids...Those guys are pretty smart. Or if you live in Massachusetts, it would be "wicked smat"
Something else that is pretty cool...The first form of a lighthouse was simply a fire on the shores of potential shipwreck. They were first used by the Greeks and Romans in a land far, far away.

Abercrombie Model?

Yeah, I know what your thinking. "I wish I was buff like this stud." I tell you what.. it takes a lot of dedication, weight lifting, and ice cream eating to look like this. Some say my beauty is natural, but I beg the differ.

It took years for me to achieve this feathered hair-do. My lifetime has been spent chasing such a chiseled bod. I know you just wish you had tickets to the same gun show as me!

With motivation and dedication you can have the same. All because of my rockin' bow flex and 20 minutes a week, I have the all-American physique.

Just think, with 3 easy payments of $89.95, you can almost look like me. Make it 4 at $99.99, and I will send you my jock strap from boot camp!

Not convinced yet? Just send me $600, and you can have a free clump of chest hair. But since I am still going through puberty, there will only be 9 hairs in that clump.

Have a nice day......

Oh Well...

I had a pretty good posting for the day, but my hands are tied with two little ones. I am watching my nephews in from Cleveland, and the infant does not seem to happy about me spending time on my blog. My train of thought keeps coming off the tracks, so we will just have to wait until next time.
Adios.....

High Quality H20

Now thats some high quality H2O. Thank the Lord I have access to the type of drinking water on the right.

A good friend of mine is on a missions trip to Nepal in order to expand the kindom of God. Paul has been granted an abundance of Gods grace and compassion, but unfortunately his Nepali well only provides mud-water.

It is difficult to fully grasp the difference in our living standards compared to the rest of the world. Unless you have experience and seen other lifestyles first hand, there is no true way of seeing the way we live from another perspective.

Because of a water shortage in his village, Paul is only allowed to shower once a week. I love to take steamy, hot showers for like 15 minutes until my skin peels off. Paul probably does as well, but he won't have a chance to do that until late next year. If only one shower a week is not enough of an obstacle, his wash time is accompanied with shivering. Yup, his camp does not provide hardly enough hot water for everybody, so his showers can be comparable to a polar bear plunge.

What a guy! Taking a chance, stepping out of his comfort zone to do something great. God commands us to take his word to the ends of the Earth. Only 3% of the Nepal population is Christian and only about 14% have ever heard the name Jesus. To say the least, Paul is the man.

All the glory to God and his son Christ Jesus. May the Lord drape his love and protection over Paul and all other warriors who have traveled the globe to battle our enemy.