« September 2005 | Main | November 2005 »
October 25, 2005
A Sad Day...
Today marked a very sad day for me, as I learned of the passing of Rosa Parks. When I think of fairness, equity, and knowing the difference between right and wrong, I think of Ms. Parks. Since I first came to know her story, I considered her one of my heroes. She stood up (or sat down, in this case) for what was fair, equal, and most importantly, for what was right. She was not out to change the world, or to become a hero, but she accomplished these things unkowingly, and, to some extent, unwittingly.
If I were to believe everything my teachers and the history books taught me, I would be in a lot of trouble. It seems that there were at least two women who were arrested before Ms. Parks was, for doing the exact same thing. Community leaders at the time, in Montgomery, Alabama, needed someone who would help bring their cause to the masses, and for varying reasons, the women before Ms. Parks were not suitable for the task. But Ms. Parks was. She agreed to challenge the very racist, unfair, unequal and wrong policy that kept black men, women or children from sitting in the front of the bus.
When I think of brave, courageous individuals, I think of soldiers, firefighters, police officers, and the like. As a firefighter, I choose to lay my life on the line, because that is what I want to do. Ms. Parks was not afraid to give up her seat to a white man. She could have been beaten, kidnapped or murdered, but she was not afraid. She saw that behind the hatred, the violence, and the unfairness, stood a world that believed what she did, which was a place that we could all live together and ride buses together, despite our differences.
I am sad that Ms. Parks died yesterday, but having known about her story and all that she did for all of America and her citizens, makes me happy to know that people like her were here in the first place.
You will be missed Ms. Parks. May your legacy and your beliefs drive us to that better place.
Posted by Jon at 08:31 PM | Comments (0)
October 10, 2005
Two Years And Going Strong!
If you were to break down the last two years, it would look something like this:
730 days...
104 weeks...
One wonderful boy...
One amazing, terrific, fabulous, beautiful, sweet, charming wife,
Many, many, many happy memories...
It would also describe the most amazing two years of my life, as Megan and I celebrate our two year wedding anniversary! It was on October 11th, 2003, that Megan and I married, and began our lives together.
Remember?
I, for one, will never forget. I have to thank our friends Jason and Sara, because if they didn't convince me to go to a party with them, I may have never met the most wonderful woman in the world. I also have to thank a past employer, because if I didn't leave where I was, I am sure that I would never have crossed paths with my sweetie. I also should thank Megan's Mom and Dad, who were respopnsible for putting her here on this earth, but mostly, I need to thank my sweetheart. My Megan is the most thoughtful, energetic, dedicated, focused person I have ever known. She is a fantastic mother to our son Jonah, and she takes care of this family so well, that it boggles my mind. She never complains, she always has time for me and the boy, and yet, somehow, doesn't wind up at the top of some clock tower somewhere with a high powered weapon. She has taught me a lot over the last four years, but the greatest lesson I have learned is that I have always loved Megan, I will always love Megan, and my love grows stronger for her each and every day that I am near her. You are the greatest, sweetie!
I Love You!
Happy Anniversary!
Posted by Jon at 08:09 PM | Comments (2)
October 08, 2005
A Birthday, A Road Trip, And A Reunion!
A few weeks ago, Megan and I introduced Jonah to the time honored and revered practice of the family vacation! We road-tripped to Pennsylvania to attend a surprise 80th birthday party for Megan's Grandfather, (Jonah's Great-Grandfather) Jim. The trip north went very well, with Jonah doing much better than we expected on the eight hour journey!
Nothing better than a sleeping baby on a L-O-N-G car trip, I always say! (Well, I didn't always say that, but I will now!
The trip back was a lot worse, as we hit the remnants of Hurricane Rita, and that slowed us down. Jonah didn't appreciate that at all. In addition, Megan suffered a serious injury while In West Virginia, which I will get to later. But while in Pennsylvania, we had a great time, (as we always do) visiting with Grandad, Grandmom, Great Grandad, Great Grandmom, Aunts, Uncles, cousins, family and friends!
A delicious cake was waiting for Grandpa Jim, along with many of his closest friends and family!
Memories...
Megan and Jonah ready to party it down!
Jonah, his first balloon (we think...) and Grandpa!
Aunt Abby and Jonah...
The boy and his Dad...
The boy eating his Dad's nose...
Grandpa (or Greatgrandpa) Jim makes his entrance, flanked by his sons, Mike, Larry and Dan!
Megan's cousin Jessica, Jonah enjoying some of Jessica's shiny jewelery, and Jessica's sister, Julie!
Four generations of Davis'! Wow!
That kid loves noses, doesn't he?
Jim's boys sing Happy Birthday!
Aunt Marie cuts the b-day cake...Yum!
Jessica and her husband Ken, along with a very sleepy boy...
Grandpa and Grandma having a good time!
The trip north, as I said earlier, was easy, with little traffic, and a little boy who performed beyond my expectations! He didn't cry, wasn't mad at being in the car that long, and was a perfect gentleman at the party! So, Happy Birthday Jim! Your family loves you, and so does your greatgrandson, Jonah!
So as the weekend draws to a close, Megan and I pack up the boy and our stuff, and head south. It rained on us most of the way, and that kept our speed down through the mountains. The longest part of this trip is through West Virginia, where our journey took a scary, and bloody turn for the worst. While we were at a rest stop, Megan changed Jonah, and as she was going to throw the diaper away, her shoe got caught on a very high curb, and she fell. At the time she fell, she was holding Jonah, and her instincts told her to hold on tight to her son, which she did. (Hooray instincts!) However, since she was unable to break her fall with her hands, her right knee, left elbow and left foot took one for the team, as we say.
We cleaned her up as best as we could with what we had, then stopped at a Target at the next exit, and bought bandages, gauze, ice packs and M & M's. (For medicinal purposes, of course.) Megan is now on the road to recovery, which is good, since running after Jonah hasn't been easy with a bum leg!
Posted by Jon at 05:08 PM | Comments (0)
Jonah And The Pumpkin Patch!
Over the course of my 35 year life, I feel that I have learned a few things. Some I forgot, others I ignored. But the one thing I learned and remembered, is that life changes when you have a family. Of course, there are just too many of those ways to be listed here. But the big one that stands out is, when Autumn rolls around, you had better head to a pumpkin patch, quickly. And that's what we did. Now please understand, I am in no way complaining, because, as you will see from the following pics, we had a lot of fun. But did I ever go to a pumpkin patch as a single person? Not even once. Wow. So, Megan, Jonah, myself, my friend Marc, his wife Sharon and their son Noah, Marc's sister-in-law Janice and her daughters Mackenzie and Erin all met at a farm that featured hay rides...
...and pumpkins!
Here Jonah and Noah discover their new found pumpkins. (By the way, to refresh your memory, Noah was born five days before Jonah.)
Noah liked this one...
...but Jonah couldn't decide. Arm? Pumpkin? Arm? Pumpkin?
Here, Noah was surrounded by a small army of pumpkins...
...and Jonah had to get into the act, because, seriously, how cute is that?
And how cute is this?
Here's a shot of Noah enjoying his gourds...
And here are two friends just hangin' around in a pumpkin patch, waiting for the Great Pumpkin to arrive...
Here, Jonah, Noah and Noah's cousins frolic in the patch...(I think that's the first time I have ever used the word 'frolic'. See how having a family changes you?)
Whoo-Hoo Pumpkins!
Here's a nice family shot of Marc, Sharon and Noah...
And here's one of us!
And here is Janice and her daughters...
And on the hay ride back, Jonah had to taste some hay. He didn't like it.
As part of the admission price, Megan and I got to pick out two pumpkins. Stay tuned, and soon I will have pictures of carved pumpkins on this 'blog soon!
Posted by Jon at 03:10 PM | Comments (0)