The Most Interesting Couple in the World...

It’s official; Alice and I have now been married for 8030 days. Today is our 22^nd Wedding Anniversary.

First off, I’d like to thank Michael Jackson for dying on June 25^th of last year. It’s a forever reminder that our Anniversary is coming up. When I start seeing the Michael Jackson tributes on TV, I’ll know it won’t be long until to have to shower, brush my teeth and take Alice out for dinner.

Secondly, people ask, “What makes a good marriage? How is it that you two seem so happy together even after all these years?” Before I answer, I want to say I’m not an expert by any stretch, but after careful consideration and analysis I think it’s all about “Give and Take”. Since we’ve been married, Alice gives and I take. Badda Boom.

Alyssa finished her last exam yesterday and is now University bound, the first in our immediate family. Tonight, Alice and I were enjoying some Anniversary cocktails on the deck and Reid was telling us how much he hated his teacher this year. Apparently she still lives at home with her parents.

Earlier this year he connected on Facebook with her for a short period and saw in a weird photo with her and another women or a womanly looking man. He didn’t really expand on it. She then quickly shut him down and told him in a serious tone she can’t be his Facebook friend. Reid’s had a good laugh over it and thought she was crazy for even bringing it up to him, it's not like he cared.

Yesterday, Reid’s teacher gave the class a year-end anonymous survey. It asked about the year and her abilities and to rank them on a one to four scale. The worst score was one and the best was four. Reid said he gave her a one on everything, except the question that asked something like, “how do you feel you tolerated the class?” He gave himself a four. All the kids in his class loved the fact that he was honest and gave her perfect ones. Even though they felt like doing the same, they didn’t.

Reid also told us he had to do a similar anonymous survey earlier in the year. I hadn’t known about that one. It had personal lifestyle questions. It asked things like, “Have you ever tried hash?”. “Do you look a pornography?”. “Have you ever had sexual intercourse?”, "Do you ever harmed a small animal?", "Do you have violent thoughts?". The entire list was similar style questions. Reid said he answered YES to all of them and handed the sheet in. He said his friends were rolling on the floor laughing.

Later last night, I said to him in a semi-stern voice, “REID, I’m very disappointed in you?” and he replied, “I love you too”. Then I said, “Don’t you want to know why I’m disappointed in you?” and he said “No” and I proceeded to tell him anyways.

I said, “I’m disappointed you didn’t put your name on those surveys”. I hate all things anonymous and from now on, even though you don’t have to, I want you to put your name on those surveys. He chuckled and said “okay”.

Switching gears, I’ve got some comments in the past couple of days that are pure gold, lots of material for future blogs. One post that I got was from Slowdad, who is a good dude in my books. It was a response to Reid taking care of me when I was drunk in Mexico. This is an excerpt

One of the saddest moments of my childhood was seeing my dad passed out drunk. When I remembered it years later I lost a lot of respect for him. Careful on that one.


That’s too late for me, if that scars, my kids need a skin graft. I come by it honestly, my family is full of generations of drunken and disorderly conduct. I remember seeing my Dad sitting on the toilet drunk once. I walked in the house and he was sitting there with his pants pulled down to his ankles, the bathroom door open and his hands holding up his head with his elbows on his knees. He looked painfully drunk. I doubt he knew I was even there.

My Dad can be a little stiff at times. Knowing him, I’m sure he’d be embarrassed about the situation and wouldn’t be sharing it with his other fellow churchgoers on Sunday. But when I think back on it, it wasn’t scaring, it made me laugh. To me, that was a good childhood memory. Even to this day, in my minds eye, when I see him on that toilet drunk, it STILL makes me laugh.

It just showed me that he was a regular guy, no superpowers. He drank too much and was paying the price, like we all do. I don’t hold that against anyone. I don’t even consider it an error. I consider it living life to the fullest.

At the end of the day, I believe you shouldn’t live your life to gain or lose the respect of anyone. If you do that, the terrorists win.

However, I do think Reid has lost some respect for me over China, not Mexico. Last night I was “busting his balls” on something, I think it was swimming, and he said, “Well at least I didn’t quit in China!!!” Ouch, that one hurt

I will say, he still made me proud. He was able to turn the tables on me quickly and pierce a long sharp stick directly into my heart with no “dilly dallying”. That’s my boy!!!!

As I was hunched over gasping, with a combination of laughing and hurting, he casually got up and went to the kitchen in the spirit of, “My work here is done. What’s there to eat?”

My son seems to have lost respect for me over my quitting in China for health reasons. Go figure. It’s obviously something he hasn’t forgotten. And since I can’t time travel back and change that moment in time, “HE’S GOING TO HAVE TO GET OVER IT”. It ain't my problem. It's his.

After China, I vowed to myself I’d never quit again, even if I were on deaths door. NOW, after Reid’s comments, if I need additional motivation, I know where to go in the recesses of my mind to get it. I’ll always remember our 22^nd Wedding Anniversary and talking with Reid on the deck.

Reid has left me no choice but to go extreme. In order for me to "silence that piercing blow" from future locker room talk, I'm going to have to do something that will dwarf it. I'm going to have to do a double or triple Ironman or ultra run. Something that will have the equivalent power to someone saying, "You quit the 5 km run you loser" and the response would be "that's true, but who gives a sh*t, 5 kms are for wimps anyway, I much prefer the 100 mile races".

And if that doesn't work, I think my health insurance plan pays for child Phycological counselling and if it doesn't then Reid will have to wait until Alyssa gets her Phycology degree and they can work through any Daddy issues together.

Training wise, easy run as part of the taper program for Sunday's Half Ironman.

Mod Run -35:01 / 7.39 km / 4:43 pace / 142 avg hr

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