The Big Scare That Turned Out Alright

This past Saturday, the 28th of April, my wife and I boarded a chartered bus, one of 6 or 7, and headed off to Walt Disney World as chaperone's for Grad Nite. This is the second year we have done this. Last year went off without a hitch except for the students we busted smoking pot inside of the Magic Kingdom. The students turned out to be from my wife's school. This year things turned out completely different. We ended up spending the entire night in the emergency room.

Here is the story. The convoy of buses arrived at Disney and we were dropped off at one of several gates for entrance to the park. At Grad Nite you don't have to ride the monorail or the paddle boat across the lagoon. You are dropped off at one of several back entrances to the park which is cool because you get to see things that you normally wouldn't see. A small behind the scenes tour if you will. We were dropped off in Adventure Land right next to Splash Mountain.

Disney sets up a chaperon headquarters at the main entrance where chaperone's can get food, drink, rest, play games, etc. etc. etc. when they are not out in the park. This year for the chaperons they were giving 25 to 30 minute guided tours of the underground facilities for free. This is a tour that Disney normally charges $60 per person, provides lunch, and takes about 5 hours to complete. You get a lot of information on the history, and the inner workings of the whole facility. It's very cool. After we did the very condensed underground tour my wife said she needed to use the restroom. We went back to the chaperon HQ and she waited in line for her turn. I was seated outside the restroom waiting. Then all hell broke loose.

Some women rushed out of the restroom and were calling for me..... telling me my wife needed me because she was getting sick. Weird. Whatever it was had come on very fast since she had not said anything prior about felling ill. I was expecting to find her with her head over the toilet yakking up dinner which would not have been good because that would mean at the mere sound of her blowing chunks I would be hanging my head over the toilet with her tossing my own cookies into the toilet. This however, is not what I found. When I got inside I heard her sobbing and crying that she had lost the baby. She was beyond upset........ she was off the farm.
Gone. I of course was terrified but had to take charge of the situation.

I have to say that the Disney employees were great. They cleared the restroom and called EMS. When I told them what we thought was happening they really treated the situation very gently and graciously. EMS arrived and transported us to the emergency room. The hospital was great. They too were very gentle and gracious. They did blood tests, did an OB exam, and took a sonogram. Thankfully everything was fine. The baby is fine and doing well. In fact when they were doing the sonogram the baby was moving around so much it looked like he/she was doing cartwheels and waving at us. It looks like we are going to have a very active kid!

It was a long night to say the least. The situation in the restroom started around 10:30 pm and we left the hospital at 5:30 am the next morning. After they loaded us into the ambulance at the park I called my sister-in-law to tell her what was going on and she and her husband drove the hour or so to Orlando 1. because they care and 2. we didn't have any other way of getting home since we rode over on the bus. Oh, what a night........ Sylvia is taking a couple of days off and resting which is what the doctor said is all that can really be done right now. She feels good and is doing well. Much better than when I went into the restroom at Disney. The good thing was that she immediately calmed down as soon as the sonogram tech told her she was still pregnant and everything looked good. Then she was just exhausted from the emotional trauma of the whole evening.

Thank you to everyone who helped out that night. Thanks to the Disney employees who were so gracious and kind. Thank you to the stranger who prayed over us in the restroom when Sylvia was off the farm upset. Thanks to the EMS guys. Thanks to the dr.'s, nurses, and technicians at the hospital and thank you Bryon and Kera for being there and being a calm in a storm and driving us home. They got home just in time to get their kids up and head off to church. Thank you God for protecting Sylvia and the baby.

Yard Art

No it's not mine. It's my neighbor around the corner and down the street. Now I've seen toilets used as planters before but this is the first time I have seen the addition of the toilet paper stand. For me, this is the best and most creative part. It completes the piece. I also like the fact that these folks just did it. They just put it out there for all the world to see.

Thankfully I do not live in a deed restricted, walled in, security gated, nazi prison compound type neighborhood where such displays of creativity are discouraged by the use of nasty letters, leans, arbitration, etc. etc. etc. I live in the free world. A world where if I wanted to paint my house neon pink with lime green trim I can. Don't worry I'm not going to paint my house neon pink with lime green trim! I like the fact that I live in a neighborhood without the lame home owners association nazi's. Not in a neighborhood where property values are more important than getting to know your neighbors. A neighborhood where a housewife puts up a sign in her yard that says support the troops because her husband is deployed in Iraq then gets taken to court because she is in violation of the nazi neghborhood rules.

This blog post is in support of free Americans and their right to have weird yard art. Even if it is a toilet. God bless America!

Frank Gambale: A Little Something

This is my favorite FG tune.

Twisted

One of my many twisted friends sent me this video.

Liam's Haircut

You can go to my Flickr page and see before photos.

Life In The Fast Lane

Not much going on here these days. The kids are in school and winding down the year with science fair projects and end of the year musical and juggling performances. Tyler has become quite the unicyclist and Rachel is doing very well her first year in the juggling class. Liam finally got his hair cut off and is donating it to Locks of Love. He looks so different with his short haircut. It took a few days to get used to seeing him with short hair. I'll post some pictures of him so everyone can see.

My old friend Darin had to re-launch his blog due to the size it has become. Apparently is was larger than Blogger could handle. He has some very cool new posts on the new site. You can check that out at Interactive Sermon.

An update on my friend Kellie. She is doing better since her car accident. She is home and the long road to recovery is under way. I got this email from her a couple of days ago.

Mark,

I am doing much better! I spent the first week after the crash in the hospital (Monday to Saturday). I made it home and developed an infection. Never had that before, thought I was going to die. I had severe fevers 103 and up for one week. Brian's stress level was at it's peak. I made two trips back to the ER. Finally, on the Saturday following my return home, the fever broke. It took me a couple of days to build my strength back up but it is getting better everyday. I saw the Dr on Thursday of this past week. He x ray ed everything again and said all is well. He expects that in 3 weeks I should be able to begin bearing weight on my leg. That will be 5 weeks post surgery. He originally told me that it would be 6-8 weeks. So things are healing well. I will be walking with a walker then with a cane. My physical therapist is about to kill me but says I will be ready to walk in three weeks. I am looking forward to things getting back to normal.

Thanks for checking on me!
Kellie


It sucks how something so destructive can happen so fast--a matter of seconds--yet take 5 times as much time or longer to recover from. There's a life lesson for you...... the choices we make in life have a very long and lingering effect on our lives. Kellie didn't choose for this to happen I know but just think about choices you've made in your own life that have not turned out the way you had hoped they would. Do they still affect you today? Are you reaping the benefit or are you paying the piper?


Sylvia is doing pretty good. She gets tired very easily. The B and prenatal vitamins are helping and she is not as nauseous as she was. Today she is officially 12 weeks along. The kids are still very excited and Sylvia and I are starting to catch up to them. It is still a bit of a shock though.

I guess that's about it for now. I will very shortly post some pictures of Liam's new haircut.

Matt Has Serious Issues

Matt and the Dora the Explorer pinata at his daughters 3rd birthday party.

Darin's Reaction

Here is what Darin had to say over at his blog interactive sermon.

Wednesday, April 18, 2007

What A Great Collection Of Liars!

My wife lied to me. She said "I just think you ought to go and spend some time with your nephew Jimmy tonight. I'm just going to stay home."

My nephew lied to me. He said, "So, have you heard from your old friend Mark? I wonder where that guy is these days? What's it been, 10 years since we've seen him?"

My daughter lied to me. She said, "Dad, my dance class will let out at 9 tonight. I'll call you if the plan changes."

My wife lied to me some more. "I drove Katie to youth group at the church and left the lights on in the van. I have a dead battery - will you come and jump the van?"

The Bible says: Thou shalt not lie. You're all sinners.

Good news! Jesus paid the price for your deceit... and I benefited by it. I'm thankful to each and every one of you! I love you all!

Thanks to a wonderful church family for being in on the surprise, for all the help you offered Shari in pulling a fast one on me, for the wonderful cards and gifts - and for wading through rivers to share a very special evening with me.

Thanks to a wonderful Mom, Sister, and Nephew for hopping a flight to New Hampshire during the middle of our Nor'easter to surprise me.

Thanks to my old friend Mark for traveling to 'Seattle', and for being to my right on stage the other night... just like old times.

Thanks to my 3 Chords mates for surrounding me with real talent. Who was that bass player with the mullet? Does he own a van? Sign him up!

Thanks to the girls who spoke of 'big buts' and then donned big butts to bring me a smile (and for making everyone reading this blog who missed that scene wonder what in the world I am talking about!!!)

Thanks to my girls for the wonderful artwork and hard work in making this day for me. I love you all - and I am very proud of each of you.

Thanks to the love of my life Shari! You got me... my turn. I love you.

Back Home

The ride from Manchester NH to Philidelphia was fine as was the flight from Philly to Tampa. I was wheels down at about 6:20 pm. It was a whirlwind few days but I wouldn't have missed it for anything. I will be posting pictures soon. The fine folks in New Hampshire are supposed to send me what they have over the next few days.

There Is A God

Sanjawa is going home!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Oh, yea!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Last Night At The Party

I left sunny Tampa, Florida....... had a terrible flight from Tampa to Charlotte, North Carolina, a better flight from Charlotte to Manchester but still not great. I landed in a terrible storm that turned New Hampshire into a disaster area because of all the flooding. It was a mess.

We left Jim's house to go set up the church where the party was and what normally would have taken 10 minutes turned into and hour and a half because of the washed out roads. We saw one moron try to drive through a washed out spot in the road and he ended up sinking his car up to at least the bottom of his windows. More proof we need to throw some shock in the gene pool and thin it out a bit. We finally got to the church and while we were setting up Jim was being abused by Darin for keeping him busy for like 5 hours or something. They went to 2 guitar shops, ate at Hooters and all the while Darin is thinking somethings up because Jim never wants to just hang out like this and he was keeping track of mileage on his van and keeping up with all of his wife's phone calls so he could try and figure out what was going on.

Darin had an idea that something was up but he thought it would be for the coming weekend. He was not expecting a party last night. So, after much stress and anxiety--most of which was caused by Darin himself--Shari and Jim pulled it off and pulled it off well. Darin was most surprised. I was standing up on the stage with the other musicians when Darin looked up and saw me. He had to make his way through the crowd of church congregation members and family to get to the front of the room. It was a good reunion. It had been 7 years since we had seen or spoke to each other.

The night progressed with lots of slides of family, friends, cars, kids, bands, music............ everything that has made up the life of Darin Shaw. Then the band got up to play. It consisted of me on guitar, Jim Mariany (Darin's nephew) on guitar and vocals, Jesse Andreasen on guitar and vocals, Peter Havens on bass, and Dan Cruz on drums. Darin joined us for a few of his original tunes and we had a blast.

Tonight we are going to some bar and play and try to win $500.

From The Airports

It's 5 am on Monday, April 16, 2007. I'm on my way to the surprise party in New Hampshire. I would be stoked except that it's 5 am on Monday, April 16, 2007. I'll let everyone know how everything goes later on. So far, so good except that it's 5 am on Monday, April 16, 2007.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Right now it's 8:30 am and I am in Charlotte, North Carolina. The flight up sucked! It was the bumpiest flight I have ever been on. The approach into Charlotte was hideous. The landing was worse. It felt like we were going to slide off of the runway plus we landed an hour late. The good thing is that it does not interfere with my connecting flight to Manchester.

I am currently waiting for clearance to board. The weather in New Hampshire may prove to be a problem. I'm hoping not.

Stormy Weekend Ahead

This from tbo.com

By Neil Johnson
The Tampa Tribune

TAMPA - A strong line of squalls at the vanguard of a cold front could bring strong thunderstorms, wind gusts near hurricane strength and possible coastal flooding early Sunday morning.

The squall line could sweep across Florida sometime between midnight Saturday and dawn on Sunday with damaging winds and the threat of tornadoes, National Weather Service meteorologist Barry Goldsmith said.

“This is a very potent system,” he said.

Wind gusts could top 70 mph over a wide area as the squalls pass. Goldsmith said people should pick up loose objects around their yards Saturday.

Even after the train of thunderstorms clears the Tampa Bay area on Sunday morning, winds will pick up as the trailing front moves in. Forecasts call for sustained winds of 20 to 30 mph with gusts over 40 mph.

They will be stronger near the coast with gusts reaching 45 mph or higher, Goldsmith said.

“The squall line will go through, then there will be a lull with winds about 10 to 15 mph, then around noon they’ll pick up,” he said.

Winds moving ahead of the squall line could cause 1 to 2 feet of coastal flooding but as the squalls move ashore, flooding could increase.

The severity of the flooding will depend on whether the storms arrive with a rising tide. If so, Goldsmith said, there could be moderate coastal flooding or worse.

The threat of tornadoes will increase to the north of the Tampa Bay area into Sumter, Citrus and Levy but the thunderstorms in the squall line could spawn tornadoes anyplace.

“There will be damage from this one, we just can’t say where or what,” Goldsmith said.

Anyone going to the beach on Saturday should watch for rip currents to develop after noon as winds pick up.

“It will be a nice, sunny day. That can fool people,” Goldsmith said.

Great. The possibility of more tornado's, more damage, more people with damaged homes or no homes at all, insurance rate hikes, price gouging, and you know gas prices are going to go up. If the president of some 3rd world country farts...... gas prices go up. Hopefully when I fly out tomorrow I wont be leaving my house in shambles. Actually if my house was in shambles I would not be leaving town.

This Coming Monday

Monday 04|16|07 I fly to New Hampshire for my buddy's surprise 40th birthday party. I am very much looking forward to this. I have been sitting on this thing for a month now and I can't wait to talk to him. Hopefully his wife and nephew have done a good job of maintaining the secrecy of this event. I hope he is totally blown away.

I was reading my friends blog yesterday and found out that there are going to be record snow storms up in his part of the country so I emailed his nephew because this news was cause for great concern on my part. Here is the email I sent him.

What's the weather looking like? I just read %$#@'s blob and saw that more snow is coming. Dude, I'm from Florida........... we have 2 seasons, hot, hotter, well actually 3 seasons......... and hurricane.

He assured me that all is well. There is more grass than snow on the ground....... etc. etc. etc. Still, I can't help but be a little concerned since I have "0" winter clothes. I had some winter clothes that I bought back in November for an outdoor gig I was playing in New York City but I took them back after I got home from the gig because New York had a heat wave the week I was there. Go figure. How ever cold I get or however much snow is falling to the ground It'll be fun. Did I mention I can't wait to get up there?

On the home front. The pregnancy is going along fine. Sylvia is feeling better and I think we are finally beginning to settle into the idea a bit better. The kids are still very excited....... 9 months is going to be a long time for them. Everyone has been so supportive, happy, and excited for us. Thanks. I guess that's it for now. I need to call by buddy Brian and get an update on his wife Kelli and post how she is doing. So keep a lookout for that.

Being Sick SUCKS

Big time!

Happy Easter

I hope everyone has a great day, spends time with their families, and remembers why we celebrate Easter.

The tomb is empty and He is risen!

The sick world we live in

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17944844/

Just read the story for yourself.

Bad News & A Prayer Request

Kelly and my daughter Rachel.

I just got off of the phone with my buddy Brian in Atlanta. He's the one who was going to spend spring break with me here in Florida this week. His wife Kelly was in a bad car accident this past Monday. She broke her leg and her hip. Brian had driven his dad to Louisiana to take care of some business and then had to come right back to Atlanta when he got the call about Kelly. When I talked to him he said he sure wished he had come to Florida instead of changing his plans at the last minute and going to Louisiana. When I talked to Kelly she obviously said the same thing even though she was heavily medicated. The Doctors say she will make a full recovery and won't have to have a hip replacement. They did surgery on her and put pins in her leg and hip to hold everything in place. She has to take 50 steps, with the help of a walker, before she can go home. Today she took 4. It's going to be a long road. Thankfully Brian and Kelly both have a ton of family around. Parents, siblings, nieces and nephews are all around to help out. Thankfully no one in the other vehicle was injured or hurt. Keep 'em in your prayers guys.

Thanks,
Mark.

Idol

Again, Sanjawa sucked last night. Get a clue people.......... vote him off! He doesn't deserve to be there.