Day 6 - A trip down memory lane...

I have lived in several places in my life St. Pete, New Orleans, Atlanta, Seattle, a brief stint in Oklahoma, Texas and San Francisco.  However, New Orleans will always be my "home".  I will be a Saints fan until I die.   After being back here, I have realized the  friends that I have made over the years here are no longer here.  Gerry is in Berlin, Donovan is in Colorado, Brian is in Arkansas, Doug is in Colorado I believe too, but of course, JT, Avist, and Kip are still in New Orleans.   I saw Avist today after work and it was really great to see that I have grown up and ironically made him proud.  He has done more for me than he realizes, but I realized something too.  I helped him be the father figure he is today.  Gerry, you have always inspired me to be better.  Kip if you happen to read this, simply thank you.  The rest of you know how you have affected me.  What I realized after this trip with my wife is that the place will always change... buildings will come and go, and seeing the places where I got my first daquiri, where I worked at A&P (which is now a walmart family market), and the school that I attended over 20 years ago has grown and very few teachers are still there that knew me.... but it is the memories that I have that make those places special... it isn't the place, it is the experience.  Sharing those places with my wife really meant more to me than I would have thought.  I am not that scared 16 year old any more.  I am not that partying 20-something either.  I am not that "military" type any more either.  I am a grown man, who is a little out of shape, who loves his job, loves his wife even more, who has a few really special friends, and hundreds of acquaintances.  I enjoy dancing for fun.  I like jiujitsu, but not a competitor at it.  I apparently love writing and missed it more than I thought.  But so many things make me who I am... my life in New Orleans made me street smart, my life in Atlanta made me morally lost, my life in Seattle has made me inspired for my career, and my wife and God have made me whole.  So the moral of this little entry is this, appreciate your time and moments, but don't live in them, make more and more.  Good or bad experiences of my past are simply that, past experiences.  I haven't always done the right thing, and I have had some AMAZING wrong things too... but that is who I was, but not who I am now... and today I am changed and not who I was simply last week.  Keep growing, keep investigating your own self... learn and love it.  Ok, that's all for now... I think today was quite a bit for me to take in... thanks for stopping by.