Interesting Article

I really enjoy reading articles online, and when I read online I often come across an article or quote that speaks to me. Anyone who knows me well knows that I absolutely love The West Wing, an old television show about the White House. Martin Sheen plays the character of Josiah Bartlet, who is the President Of The United States on the show. I highlighted in the information that stood out to me.

LOS ANGELES, California (AP) -- Martin Sheen became "fanatic" when his son Charlie was using drugs.

Martin Sheen says he was a "fanatic" about going after son Charlie's drug use.

"When a life is at stake and it's your child, you become fearless in a lot of ways. I mean, you just become fanatic," the 67-year-old actor says in the July/August issue of AARP The Magazine. "Nothing ever gets done unless it's done by a fanatic."
Sheen, who portrayed fictional President Josiah Bartlet on NBC's "The West Wing," tells the magazine how he intervened to save his actor-son.
"The only way I got to Charlie, frankly, was because he'd skipped out of the hospital. I had to pay the bill," Sheen says. "In paying the bill, I got to see why he was in there. He'd consumed an illegal substance; he was on probation. ... This was a criminal matter. And so that was the wedge; that was the leverage I had. That is what I took to the court; that's what I took to the sheriff. It was the only way I got him."
The veteran TV and film star, who battled alcoholism himself, also turned to Alcoholics Anonymous to help his son.
"I got sober through Catholicism, through my faith," Sheen tells the magazine. "I only got involved with AA when I was trying desperately to find a way to help Charlie, because I didn't have any skills."
Sheen also talked about his career and politics, saying he doesn't plan to run for public office.
"I'm not qualified," he says. "It's crossed my ego. I feel like a public servant. I feel like a responsible citizen. But I couldn't do it professionally. I don't have the temperament."

One more:

Here's an interesting link off of Randy Pausch's website that discusses both statistics (mean, median, and mode) along with the importance of attitude when fighting adversity:

http://download.srv.cs.cmu.edu/~pausch/news/medianNotMessage.html

I like to think of myself as a right-tailed person in most cases. :)

One, Two, Three, Like a Bird I Sing

Mav and I experimented with Mommy's camera to make a quick video.

From the Mouths of Babes

This evening I thought I'd let the kids say whatever they wanted on the computer. Maverik went as far to type his own name after each of his statements. Jaecy didn't type, but she was very sure of the messages that she wanted to give to everyone. After a while they got bored of my little project, but it was fun hearing what they wanted to say!

Grandma I love you! MAVERIK

Grandma loves helping me fix the 64 video games! MAVERIK

Grandma loves helping me make a drink! MAVERIK

Grandma loves helping me play computers! MAVERIK

GRANDMA LOVES HELPING ME MAKE ADVENTURES! MAVERIK (Mav typed this whole thing, I just helped with the spelling)

Grandma loves helping me figure out what to do! MAVERIK


Hannah, I'm on the computer! JAECY

Alyssa, Travis, Maverik, Jayden, Mommy, Daddy, Jaecy, Shooter

Grandpa Merel - Grandpa loves me alot! JAECY

Grandma Kathy - I love her so really much! JAECY

Grandma Debbie - I love her so much in the world! JAECY

Grandpa Terry - I love him so in the world much! JAECY

Grandpa Steve - I really, really love him in the much! JAECY

Grandma Abbey - I really, really love her so much! JAECY

Kale - I really, really love him! JAECY

Daddy, I think that's all! Jaecy

'Nuff said!

Tomorrow I'm running in a 3.1 mile run with Mike Villanueva and Bryon Clouse. We signed up for the race recently, although we've decided on doing a few of them this summer. My goal is simply to run the whole race without stopping, it won't be easy with the chest cold I've been battling for the past week. As Jaecy would say, "I've got the heart of a champion!" (use your imagination to see her singing it!) :0

Lace 'Em Up!

Last night I was officially hired as the next boys basketball coach at Calumet High School. As you all know I was last at Morgan Township during the 2006-07 season, and I spent year as the freshman boys coach here at Calumet. We're working hard to plan the summer schedule, I think things are going to go well. We will have a meeting today after school to get the boys moving in the right direction. Kari and I have planned on this summer and fall as a way to be able to spend more time together as a family, so this is all a part of a larger plan (in more ways than one!)

By the way, as I finish typing this I just received a standing "O" from my Health class for being named the new coach. That felt good. :)