A Very Appropriate Song

I love my Dad. His end came too soon. He loved life, and his family...I have been trying to put a tribute to him up on this blog for a while...I think I'm ready.

Please read on:

I came across this song when my wife was driving one day. See, she gets to pick the radio station when she drives - she ALWAYS chooses country music. Ugh!

Anyhow, this song came on, and it really hit me hard. It was so appropriate to what my dad tried to do the last 4 years of battling the cancer inside him. He never gave up. Unfortunately, neither did his cancer.

If you're familar with country music, there's no doubt you've heard it. It’s a song by Tim McGraw. Kristin apparently thinks he's a pretty good singer. Most of you who know me know that I'm not particularly fond of country music. However, this song has some very touching lyrics...I get emotional when I hear it.

I hope Mr. McGraw doesn't mind, but I changed some of the lyrics to make the song more of a memorial to my Dad.

It's called Live Like You Were Dying:

you can find the actual lyrics here ==> http://www.dapslyrics.com/display.php?sid=6116

Here's my version:

He said: "I was in my mid fifties,
"With a lot of life before me,"
An' a moment came that stopped me on a dime.
"I spent most of the next days,
"Looking at the x-rays,"
An' talking 'bout the options an' talkin’ ‘bout "sweet time."
I asked him when it sank in,
That this might really be the real end?
How’s it hit you when you get that kind of news?
Dad whatcha do?
And he said,

"I played hoops daily,
Even went parasailing
I was the Salt Lake Savages in a Fantasy Football League
I went Hot Air balloon flyin’
Loved the rush of Alpine Slidin'
Played board games when I could have been cryin’
An' he said: Someday, I hope you get the chance,
To live like you were dyin'."


He said, "I was finally the husband,"
That most the time I wasn’t.
"An' I became a friend a friend would like to have.
"And all of a sudden goin' golfin’,
"Was somethin’ I did more often,
"And I went even when my son was in from Cleve-land.
"Although I never read the Good Book,
"I took a good long hard look,
"At what I'd do, if I could do it all again,
"And then:

"I strived to plan the best vacations
Traveled to more than 40 nations,
But I had to have my Starbucks each day after lunch
And I loved card games, hated the Queen of Spades
But games like Taboo or Flinch made me start whining
An' he said: "Some day, I hope you get the chance,
"To live like you were dyin'."


Like tomorrow was a gift,
And you got eternity,
To think about what you’d do with it.
An' what did you do with it?
An' what can I do with it?
An' what would I do with it?


"Tennis in Hawaii, flew all the way to China,
"I wrote 8 editions of a textbook that kept on getting finer.
"And then I loved deeper and I spoke sweeter,
"And I watched my kids as they kept on tryin'.
"An' he said: "Some day, I hope you get the chance,
"To live like you were dyin'."


"To live like you were dyin'."
"To live like you were dyin'."
"To live like you were dyin'."
"To live like you were dyin'."


I miss you Dad. I love you, Dad...........

Playing Games

This picture was taken in 1985. We were in Australia at the time. Yes, I have a cast on my right arm. I broke my wrist while playing baseball. It didn't, however, stop me from playing games.

My Dad LOVED to play games. Eventually he instilled this quality in all of his children - as we are ALL gamers. You name the game, and we'll try it [after we read the rules, of course!] I'll bet I've played over 5,000 different games in my life.

From the game of Life to Monopoly, Chess, Old Maid, Spades, Euchre, Blockhead, Trivial Pursuit, Concentration, Stratego, Master Mind, Murder She Wrote, Run Me Ragged, Yahtzee, Tripoley, Cribbage, Quiddler, Acquire, Backgammon, Rummicube, Dominoes, The Stock Market Game, Careers, and on and on and on. The competitive spirit was very alive in my father - 24/7.

Playing games with him meant you had to be competitive. I felt I always had to win. When I was very young, I'd cry if I didn't win. But my Dad taught me that losing - from time to time - happened to everyone. As long as I had fun, and maybe even learned something [like how to win next time!] that was all that mattered. From time to time discussions about the rule(s) of a particular game would get extensive and sometimes even heated. Nonetheless, we'd eventually come to an agreement and play on. And we'd always, always come back for more.

Every Christmas meant we'd get new games. Some were big hits [Jackpot Yahtzee, Bargain Hunter, Sorry] and we'd play until the pieces fell apart; some were not [anyone remember The Ungame? I think we literally played it once.] But next year we'd get new ones. We always played a game after opening Christmas presents. And sometimes we didn't have to wait until Christmas. Other times, instead of a new game, we'd settle for a old family favorite like Fan Tan, Hearts, or 4-player Solitaire.

In most games, my Dad always seemed to be "the marked man". Every time we played a game, the objective - according to my mother - was to "get Dad". The card game of Hearts would be a great example of this. My mother's one desire during the entire game was to play the Queen of Spades on my father. If she had the Queen, she'd do anything to get a chance to play it on a trick where my father had the highest card. She would get such tremendous joy from nailing him with those 13 points it was indescribable. It may only happen once a game, but once was enough for my Mom.

As a fitting tribute, we placed a Queen of Spades in Dad's right hand when he was buried.

Now that I have a family of my own, when we play games - you guessed it, the objective is to "get Dad". It makes me feel good in a strange way. I now know how my Dad felt - everyone rooting against him. He still took on the challenge, used his skills & strategies, and more times than not, still won the game. I intend on continuing that legacy.

Now, if you'll excuse me, my 4 yr old daughter wants to play a game of Blokus.

Remember the 70s?

Remember when it was "in" to have every color possible in your living room?

me neither....

However, this picture, from Christmas 1977 clearly shows that we all were taking part in the "not matching" fashion craze. ouch!

Nice couch, eh?

Check out those curtains? Lovely, don't you think?

How 'bout my dad's shirt? I don't think anyone knows where that shirt is now - and that's a good thing!

Nonetheless, holidays are about family - whether their clothes match or not. We matched - we enjoyed time spent as a family.

That's what memories should be made of = good times...

This is me & my dad, Barry Cushing, in the summer of 1971. I was 1. He was 26.

March 1, 2005 he passed away. Maybe a better way to put it is cancer killed him. He never gave up.

He never made it to 60.

I miss him terribly. I think about him all the time. I've been creating a couple of different tributes to him that I hope to put up in the next 2/3 days.

I love you Dad.

6 months and counting

Roll with the punches. Being the third and final installment of the Cleveland Cushing crew, Carly has her job. OK, maybe not roll. Too lazy for that right now...just doesn't feel like it. Sit (no, too lazy for that, too) LAY DOWN and look cute with the punches. And pokes. And too close hugs. And other peoples' (ok, mainly Kady's)fingers in the mouth.

6 months and counting with the little bear. And she still hasn't crawled away...yep, you guessed it....too lazy for that, too.

Age Gauge

This may surprise you and possibly make you chuckle.

It may, at the same time, make you feel a little old, too....

Go to this link: [you may have to cut & paste it to your browser]

http://www.frontiernet/~cdm/age1.html

Put your birth date in the pop up window after you click on the below link.

What happens is pretty interesting.

There are two other options for movies and TV stars/shows.


I had no idea I am the exact same age as J.Lo.!!!

UGH!!

What a time to be a sports fan in Clevland, Ohio.

Yuck!

The most recent World Series was won by the Chicago White Sox - the interdivisional rival of the Cleveland Indians....

Barf!

The most recent Super Bowl was won by the Pittsburgh Steelers - the interdivisional rival of the Cleveland Browns....

Ouch!

I wonder how the Chicago Bulls are doing this year...do they have a chance to get into the Basketball playoffs??

When oh when do you think ANY Cleveland Team will win a National Championship in any of the 3 Major Sports???

It hasn't happened in over 40 years....That would be before the Super Bowl was known as the Super Bowl!!

That's the longest drought for any large city - ANY!!

Cleveland has NEVER been to a Super Bowl

Cleveland has NEVER been to an NBA Championship Series

Cleveland DID win the World Series - WAAAAAAY back in 1948!! Seems like a long time, doesn't it??

Isn't Cleveland

SHEEEEEEEESH!!due??

sure would be nice.....sometime in our lifetime....to see a Championship in Cleveland!!

wishful thinking, right now, I guess......

Did you ever get one of these??

An email chain letter??

The about an Applebee's coupon?
The one about Ms. Field's Cookie Recipe?
The one about Bill Gates wanting to give you $5?
The one about some starving orphan in an underdeveloped country who needs you to simply forward an email about his tragic situation or else he won't recover?

We have - We've gotten them all. In fact, some of them we've received multiple times. These are a waste. They are all fake - No one no where will get anything. Ms. Field's cookie recipe is probably just like most of the rest of them - some eggs, some sugar, some flour, some chocolate chips, bake @ 400, you know the deal.

What about the emails that try to make you feel like you aren't a "good" Christian/friend/parent/etc. if you don't forward something. Or others that tell you to "send this on to at least 5 people and something wonderful will happen to you" ?

Do you send those on? I'd have to speculate that some of you do - mainly because we are the recipient...

That "something wonderful" never does happen, does it? Didn't think so.

Just when we thought we'd seen them all, we received this one:

From: "Benjamin Lemo"
Reply-To: benjaminlemo@yahoo.fr
Subject: Attn: Cushing....Next of Kin
Date: Wed, 01 Feb 2006 19:48:07 +0000
Dear Cushing,

I am very sorry to interrupt your peace since you are not expecting
to receive any mail from me. However, I was obliged to do so due to
the need and urgency of the message.

I sincerely write to seek your co-operation and trust to enable me
carries out an urgent business opportunity in my department.

I am Mr. Benjamin Lemo, an accountant and account manager to Mr. J.
Cushing, who here-in after shall be referred to as my client, on the January 27th, 2002 my client and his family were among those involved in an Ikeja bomb blast unfortunately they lost their lives in the process of the bomb blast.

For confirmation, please refer to the links below:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/2718295.stm

Since then I have made several inquiries to his Country embassy to
locate any of my client's extended Relatives, this has proved
unsuccessful.

My client was an oil contractor with the Federal Government of my
Country; He left in his domiciliary account a 40% of private individual
deposit with our Bank, which I have with me the Investment Deposit
Certificate an important document worth Twenty Six Million United
Stats Dollars (US$26,000,000.00). Until date I still manage this
Deposit.

I will like to know you personally and then state in Court through a
reputable attorney here declaring you as the next of kin to my late
client.

I am contacting you to assist in repatriating the money left behind
by my late client. While, you and I will benefit in the fund. The
Bank will pay this money to you as an inheritance.

After the sudden death of my client, and for the reason that there
as has not been a next of kin to my late client, the bank has
decided to forfeit the money and declare it as an abandoned property
as there is no next of kin who should inherit his funds.

The board of directors of this bank adopted a resolution and I was
mandated to provide his next of kin for the payment of this money
within 28 working days starting from the 9th January 2006, or forfeit the money to the bank as an abandoned property. The bankers had planned to invoke the abandoned
property decree of 1996 to confiscate the funds after the expiration
of the period given to me.

I have reasoned very professionally and I feel it will be legally
proper to present you as the next of kin of my deceased client, so
that you can be paid the funds left in his bank account.
I therefore seek your consent to present you as the Next of Kin to
the Deceased client since your have the same last name and also from
same national, so that the proceeds of this Bank account valued at
Twenty Six Million United Stats Dollars (US$26,000,000.00) can be
paid to you.

The need for a foreigner as next of kin in this project is
occasioned by the fact that the customer was a foreigner and a
Nigerian will not perfectly fit in as his next of kin or heir.
I have agreed that a reasonable percentage of the Fund would be
given to you as foreign partner, thereafter I will meet you in your
country for disbursement.

Please understand that my approach to you is based only on my
positive reasoning and on the belief that you will not disappoint or
betray me at last. The amount is fairly huge and we have agreed that
on completion of the deal, you will be highly compensated for your
assistance.

An attorney will be contracted to help us revalidated and notarize
all the necessary legal documents that can be used to back up this
claim you may make as soon as I hear from you with your full consent
to present you to the Bank as the next of kin to my late client,
after we reach an agreement.

All I require is your honest cooperation to enable us seeing this
deal through. I guarantee that this will be executed under a
legitimate arrangement that will protect you from any breach of the
law.
Please consider my official positions, reputation and integrity,
especially, the opportunities in the business itself, it is very
necessary that all due care be taken so that we do not miss the
opportunity due to carelessness.

You are therefore expected and advised to display high degree of
maturity, responsibility and understanding in handling this
information.

I will give you all the details in my next mail when you have
indicated your interest and commitment to work with me. Always
remember that this is the highest confidence and trust any person
can repose on the other, especially when it is considered that we
did not know ourselves before. I hope you will honor me too.

I will come over to join you in your Country for disbursement when
the funds hit your account.

More so for an effective and easy communication I will advice that
you furnish me with your telephone and fax number as well as your complete home address for trust sake.

I await your response.

Best Regards,

Mr. Benjamin Lemo.


Yes, pretty impressive little email, don't you think?? We'll it's all baloney!
If you look closely, you'll see some mispellings, and then after possibly a little more research a RED FLAG => The Nationality of the sender [or deceased, whichever] is listed as Nigerian. Nigeria is a apparently a cesspool of email scams.


Check out this website to see/read about more...
http://home.rica.net/alphae/419coal/


Go Here to see a listing of the "TOP 10 Email Hoaxes"
http://feeds.sophos.com/en/rss2_0-sophos-hoaxes.xml


And how about this one - all about those little worthless chain letters that somehow, someway continue to end up in our inboxes ---
http://www.symantec.com/avcenter/hoax.html


Do yourself a favor and DON'T send them on!
Do US a favor, and please don't send them to us!

Or IF you happen to think - nope, I'm gonna send them anyways, doggone it! Could you at least get rid of the 500+ people that it's already been sent to? That's also annoying, and possibly a topic for a future post....

Now, I have to go - I have "new" mail!! sheeeeeeesh!