Men's View

First Snow Fall

Being from Daytona Florida, William had never seen snow. Everyone loved to be around him. He was a fun loving guy that enjoyed picking on people and playing jokes. After enlisting in the U.S. Air Force, he was stationed in Frankfurt,Germany. It was a typical winter day with snow falling and an ice cold, blowing wind. William was amazed with the snow. This was his first time ever in snow. He was stunned at how slippery the sidewalks and roads were becoming. He needed to go to the store before it got worse, so he took his friend Lucas and went out. Lucas, also from Florida, was like a kid at Christmas time seeing the snow. When they arrived at the store they sat in the car for awhile. They sat and just watched people slipping and sliding as they were going from store to store. Some people walked, some were sliding on their feet and some on their bottoms. William and Lucas were enjoying the entertainment. After a few minutes, they ventured inside the store for the things they needed. Laughing at what they had witnessed earlier, they soon were outside again watching the people. This time William found himself walking on the same sidewalks and roads as everyone else had been all day. Naturally, he was trying real hard not to fall. A couple of times he almost hit the ground, but he caught himself and kept going toward the car. As soon as he made it he turned around to give a big cheer. As he raised his hands in victory, BAM it happened. William's feet went out from under him he hit the ground and slid under his car. This victory had been short lived. He could hear Lucas laughing over the pounding of his heart. He slowly crawled out from under the car and made it to his feet and quickly got in his car. He sat there laughing at himself and could see Lucas on the sidewalk laughing at him. He drove to the sidewalk, pulled over and picked Lucas up. Lucas couldn't stop laughing. He looked at William and said, “Man, what happened? One minute you were there and the next, you were gone”. William replied, “I don't know. I was standing at the car and thought I had made it, and then I was looking up at my car”. They both laughed as William pulled out of the parking lot. William said “When you laugh at others, be ready to laugh at yourself”. William never forgot his first encounter with snow, and the great time he and Lucas had watching people. This is a true story.....

Can We Learn From Our Past

As we get older, we sometimes feel if we could go back in our past with what we know now, would we have changed things? How would a person fix, change or make things better now by going back to the past? Billy was asked this very question one day at work by his co-worker John. Billy thought about the question all day. He went home that afternoon and started looking around at his home, his wife, and children. He started to think about his job and life overall. He wondered if he had done things a little different in the past, would he have the things he has now and how would they be different. Billy now in his 50’s had never thought about his past affecting his future. He lived day to day, only adjusting as the times changed. The next day, Billy asked his co-worker had he thought much about the question from yesterday. John answered, “Man, I would have played sports and paid more attention in school. I would have waited on getting married and having children. I would have been someone that everyone would respect. Instead of being the worker, I would be the boss”. Billy thought about John's answer and it appeared that John wasn't happy with the way his life had turned out. John finished with, "Well, put it this way Billy, life could be a lot better and I could have made better choices, but you can't change it, so I guess I will accept it and keep going on”. John returned to work and Billy thought to himself “now if I hadn't gone to the school I attended, I would have never met my wife and had the children I have now. There also wouldn’t be any grandchildren to enjoy”. He realized he was happy overall with his job and life style. If he could change any thing it would have been that he would have spent more time enjoying his children and wife and would not have become so upset over the little things that had happened. They always seem to work themselves out anyway. He knew he couldn't change the past, but he could make the future better by the choices he makes today. Maybe 20 years down the road he could look back in the past and know he made good choices. Maybe he will see that he was the best Husband, Dad, and Granddad that he could have been.  If you have thought about this like Billy has, remember it isn't too late to make changes. Just always be thankful for what you have because there are others worse off than you. We can't change the past, but we can make the future brighter by the choices we make today...

One, Two, Three, You're Out

As a 6 year old, wrestling was a big deal. You had your heroes and like most fans, you had those that you didn't like. Most little boys dreamed of being just like their wrestling heroes. This was true for 42 year old Bobby. He still would think back to the days that he watched wrestling with his dad, and thought about how much he wanted to be a wrestler when he grew up. Well, now that dream seems to be just that, a dream. One day Bobby ran into an old friend who had started his own wrestling company. His friend John was looking for a referee for an upcoming event. After only a few questions, Bobby willing volunteered. The following Saturday, Bobby met John at the National Guard Armory and was introduced to all the local wrestlers. He was excited as he watched the wrestlers go over their matches with each other. He was going to be a part of the first match. Bobby started thinking about how he had dreamed of some day being in the square ring, and now it was coming true. He couldn’t wait to be out there hearing the fans yelling and booing. About that time, John walked up and asked Bobby if he would also like to dress out as a wrestler later and escort him to the ring for his match. He told Bobby that he wanted him to interfere with the match after it got started. Bobby gladly accepted this role as well. It was now time for the show to start. Bobby prepared to go thru the curtain and enter the ring. He couldn’t believe that in a few minutes he would be in front of hundreds of fans. He now was walking thru the curtain trying not to look like a child on Christmas morning. He entered the ring and while checking it, the music started and the fans started booing the first wrestler as he entered. The wrestler yelled at the fans, then went over and yelled at Bobby and shoved him. Bobby pointed back at the wrestler and shoved him to the ground (all prearranged). The fans went wild and about that time the music started for the next wrestler and of course the fans went wild cheering on their hero as he came out. It was very exciting. The show went as planned and Bobby was living in high heaven. Finally came the match where Bobby dressed out, wearing a mask so that no one would know it was the him, and escorted The DARK VANDER to the ring. Fans booed and yelled at the two as they approached the ring. Bobby walked around the ring, grabbing at the other wrestler when ever he got a chance. Each time the fans would yell at him and the referee would warn him for interfering. Bobby was having the time of his life. He began to think back to his childhood dream. It finally came true; he was a wrestler and loved it.  Some times dreams do come true.  THIS IS A TRUE STORY ONLY THE NAMES HAVE BEEN CHANGED FOR THIS ARTICLE....

The bigger we get, The bigger the toys

As young boys, we have all played Army with our friends. We had play guns and sometimes a real Army shirt that once belonged to our Dads. We could play for hours and never get tired. All of this is true for Pvt Smith, now 18 years old, and enlisted in the U.S. Army. The real Army reminded him of some of the games he would play when he was a child. Shortly after finishing Boot Camp he was at his first duty station.  Pvt Smith was now on his first training mission and excited about being in the field, playing Army with real equipment, real helicopters, real tanks, and real soldiers. He thought to himself, this couldn't get any better. By the third night, Pvt Smith came up for guard duty. He was thinking to himself that the only war games he had played so far were hearts and spades, and of course he slept a lot. But maybe guard duty would be different. After the first hour of guard duty, he realized nope, this was boring too. About that time, a helicopter flew over with no lights on and very low to the ground. Pvt Smith pulled out his flashlight and flashed the chopper. The chopper turned around and Pvt Smith ran underneath a tree and again flashed the chopper. This went on for a couple of minutes until the chopper finally left. Pvt Smith put away his flashlight and thought " Wow, that was exciting! ". The next day a jeep pulled up and a General asked if everything was OK? Puzzled by the question Pvt Smith listened as the General stated he was flying over last night and spotted a light flashing but was unable to locate the light. The General then left after a short visit. Everything went back to normal, card games and sleeping. However, later Pvt Smith thought " man, I played Army last night with real Army toys!" even though this was only 5 minutes long it sure was exciting.... THIS IS A TRUE STORY, NAMES HAVE BEEN CHANGED FOR THIS STORY..

Cops DO have a sense of Humor

After 9 hours of being on duty, two NC Police officers were patrolling the streets around 4:00 am when they spotted a possible drunk driver. After observing the suspected drunk driver, they activated the blue lights and the truck made its way to the curve. As officer one approached the vehicle, he could smell the odor of alcohol. After asking for the driver’s license and registration, he then asked him to step out of the vehicle. Earlier that night the two officers had been handing out balloons for Buckle up for safety week. Officer one still having some balloons in his pocket, pulled one out and blew it up. He held the balloon out in front of the driver and stated Mr. Jones, you have had too much to drink to be driving. He then held the balloon out in front of Mr. Jones and said, I will let go of this balloon. If you can catch it before it hits the ground, then I will let you go. Mr. Jones being in his late 50s, thought about it and said he was ready. The officer counted 1, 2, 3 and let go of the balloon. The balloon took off and so did Mr. Jones. Mr. Jones and the balloon were all over the road, the grass, the truck, well you get the picture. As Mr. Jones made his last attempt to grab the balloon, it hit the road. Mr. Jones stood up and out of breath asked what’s next? The officer holding back his laughter told Mr. Jones to turn his vehicle around and go home. If he was seen again that night he would be arrested for Driving while impaired. Mr. Jones thanked the officer and left the scene. Meanwhile, Officer two was laughing uncontrollable and asked Officer one as they were getting into the patrol car, why didn't you arrest him? Officer one in between laughing and trying to catch his breath stated, Man could you see me explaining that field test to the court? A sober man couldn't have caught that balloon! After 30 minutes of sitting there laughing till their sides were hurting and tears were rolling down their cheeks, they continued on patrolling. Officer two stated “man you are crazy!". Officer one replied yea, but you got to have fun sometimes.  THIS IS A TRUE STORY, NAMES WERE CHANGED FOR THIS ARTICLE...