Drowning in the Gene Pool

I am a firm believer in genetics. I think I inherited a bit of my father's temper, but I've figured out how to damp it a bit over the last 32 years or so. Unfortunately, even when I mean no harm at all, I have a tendency to let my anger seep out and it can rub people the wrong way. My last post was a little harsh, even though that was not my intention at all.

I couldn't seem to get past my anger over working on downed tree limbs that were full of leaves, and that showed through in my feelings while writing my post about the party aftermath. Yesterday, while tackling this bastard of a pile, I was absolutely infuriated, but I couldn't figure out why I just couldn't let it go. Taking care of the pile needed to be done, but the fact that the pile even existed was unavoidable in the focus of my anger. The decision was made for me in a way, and that's the root of the problem. It didn't help that it was 105 with the heat index yesterday, and I couldn't seem to drink enough water since it was running right through my sweat glands. Just a tip to tree-trimmers-to-be: Don't ever trim when it's above 85 degrees and the tree is full of leaves.

Whenever the wife and I tackle problems within our young marriage, it's usually discussed, and the tree project just popped up one morning while we were doing the regular lawn maintenance. Reluctantly, I agreed to a trimming of a particular tree, and that was a poor decision on my part because it snowballed into a huge pile of trimmings from several of our green, shade-making friends. It doesn't take me long to learn something new, and even though marriage is a constant learning process, I'll soon have that part of mutual agreement down to a science. In the future, we'll be discussing thoroughly every team project that may come up in hopes that we can avoid stoking the reaction on my sometimes crucible of a temper.

My wife is a beautiful, and loving person, and I consider myself one of the luckiest people on earth to have found someone willing to put up with my bouts with pent up anger and fervent desire for time by myself. I sometimes let anger seep out in subtle ways, and I did so on my blog, imparting a slight singe to my beloved. My mistake and poor judgment. I love my wife to death and can't fathom my life without her. I had no intentions of shedding poor light on the woman I hold closest to my heart, but it read like that in a public forum (well, as public as friends and family gets). I'm sorry, baby, and I'll try never to burn you.

Luckily, genetics played another role in my ability to do things or be 'handy' around the house. Pops showed me how to do quite a few things when I was growing up, and I seem to have inherited a basic love for tools and wrenching on things. I've come a long way from my meager beginnings in Adolescent Professional Lincoln Log Cabins and Impeccable Lego Vehicles for kindergarten graduates. Today, I had to return the favor and show Pops how to send and receive email, and showed him how to work his new DVD player since he is new to everything electrically technical unless it's electronic diagnostics related to the measure of natural gas, which is his occupation of choice with the local gas company. While these things aren't exactly wrenching, I'm returning the favor of years of tips and tricks.

While I'm here, I want to drop another brief about my good friends here in the fort. As many of you know, two great friends I hold most dear will soon be bringing a little Faldon into this crazy world. Because of this, Jen has decided to join the fray in the blogging world, and I wanted to bring it to the attention of everyone. Jen's a Mom is her new home on 'the internets', and you all should check it out since you've all now met her at the reception last weekend.

Scott is her husband and father-to-be, not to mention one of my best friends, and he is the recipient of the Arkansas Press Association's award for best sports article in 2007. That's the best in Arkansas in all of 2007, people. Scott's the man. Congratulations, my brother. Everyone enjoy. His blog is also at the bottom of my favorites list if you want to partake of his web ramblings.

http://swtimes.com/articles/2007/12/19/commentary/scott_faldon/faldon01.txt

My step-father was right about you all these years. I don't think he reads the blogs, but I know he reads the paper and there's a reason he asks you about Arkansas sports every time he sees you. HA!

Mmmm. Meat is goooood..My dearest wife Karen loves meat almost as much as I do, and that is a beautiful thing. We grilled burgers out on our sweet Brinkman (wedding gift from Pops-thanks-love ya) last night for dinner, and they were fantastic. We've used it about four days a week over the last month, and we won't be slowing down with the production of perfect pork chops, suculent steaks, and heavenly hamburgers. I also have been utilizing the grill to heat up my excellent red potatoes in a cast iron skillet. A half hour to forty-five minutes is perfect for getting nice home fries that are both crispy and soft at the same time. Perfect dinners usually ensue when the grill is fired up. I'm currently enjoying the leftover burger from last night, and it's nearly as good the day after. Still dripping full of flavor. Meat Euphoria, baby.