The Valley of Death

I am beyond middle age now. I can see the finish line of life much more clearly now. When I was in the first grade, I can still remember vividly my school bus pulling up to my classmates Greg's home. The fire department was just finishing putting out the last of the flames, that had burned the small house to the ground. Greg and his siblings were found under the bed. I often wondered if they had died from the smoke or had suffered through the fire...No one talked about it in the late 1960's, it was as if he never existed. I have thought about Greg over the years and it seems so tragic that his life was never fulfilled. I have thought about his parents and how they must have felt so much pain, losing all of their children....

My Grandfather Bruck died in his early 50's a couple of years later. My mothers mom (Gran) comforted me by sharing with me that God only takes the ones he wants. In my faith, my understanding changed about death. If I truly believed, then I would have to understand that after death, the dead go to a better place, and that the pain I would feel should not be for them, but for us, the loved ones that the departed had left behind. My two best friends in Junior High School had both tragically lost older siblings. Both of their parents guarded their surviving children and probably over protected them. I understand now more than I did then.

In high school, I had an off again on again girl friend named Mona. She was very sweet and she and her sister Kitty quickly became two of my best friends. I went off to college, and lost touch with those two great sisters. They were both incredibly sweet and beautiful girls. Through Face Book , I found out a couple of years ago, that Kitty had lost her life in a snow mobile accident. She had drowned in an icy pond and left behind a husband and children. I laid in bed across the world in Dubai, and regretted not staying in touch with these sisters that had made my High School days so much happier. Tears flowed freely and I was angry that I did not find out about Kitty's premature death until several years after her passing.

I had a coworker while I was selling copiers years ago that took me under his wings. Jim taught me so many things about sales. He was a student of "the sale" and read as many books and attended many seminars to improve his craft and better his family's finances. Later on in life (1998) I was able to hire Jim and he worked with Fred and I before his untimely death. He was diagnosed with colon cancer in 1999, and within a couple of years Jim died alone in a hospice. I was distant from Jim in his last days...I was scared of death, as I still am.

This past week, one of my best friends from High School took his own life. Mike Baker was a Minister and teased me in emails even while I was in Dubai. He married one of the most popular girls from High School, and he and Beth had a great family. He used humor from the pulpit, and was just a really genuine man. I hadn't seen him in person since 1981, but we had exchanged numerous messages and even spoke on the phone a few times. I don't understand why a man that in my eyes had everything, would give it all away, and leave so many behind with immense pain to fill their grieving hearts...and it has caused me to question my own end time...I guess this blog has given me a chance to try and make since of death.

"Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me."
This verse from the King James version of the Bible, finally makes since to me, It gives little comfort to those that are grieving, but in time it will help heal the hearts of those left behind...I will miss you Mike...

Next weekend my best friend Fred and I are having a boys weekend in Cincinnati. We have Reds tickets and are going to see my favorite team face another baseball playoff contending team, the Pittsburgh Pirates. I find myself living a fairly frugal life, except for my one weekend a month guilty pleasure. Have no fears, my savings account is still growing, I just have a need to enjoy my hard earned economic freedom with a little excursion every month.

Kelly and I have caught up with each other, and she is home in Canada missing out on all of the Ramadan fun of the UAE. Last year I only went to one Iftar dinner, and it was with Kelly. I plan on calling Kelly and catching up with her while she is in Canada. I miss that gal, and I will cling to her friendship.

Speaking of getting out of town during Ramadan, Rodz is home with her family in the Philippines. Rodz and I have discovered the joy of Skype, and somehow we are closer now than we were my last year in Dubai...as the song goes..."You're gonna miss me when I am gone"...

Cherish your friends and loved ones, let them know as often as you can how much you care...Thanks for the few minutes that you shared with me reading this blog...I am grateful for your friendship and I hope to see and talk with you again soon. Hopefully, we will see each other here again August 1st.

Anniversary Week

I will have to admit that I have been chuckling a lot about the heat wave that is baking the southwestern areas of the United States right now. The temperatures have been in the 113 to 117 degree range in Arizona and Nevada the past few days. I keep my eyes on the weather in Dubai and although the high Saturday was 104 degrees, I imagine the long summer of heat in the UAE will have many days that top 117 (47) degrees. The heat in the Southwestern USA is also "dry" low humidity heat, while the Arabian Sea provides uncomfortable, scary hot heat.

This week marks 3 years since Bob and I flew to Dubai (July 4th, 2010), and it is amazing how the time I spent in Dubai has changed my life. I will never forget Bob's and my 4th of July trip. We landed in England in the middle of the night, and I still recall the look of amusement on the British security persons face when Bob asked her if the airport was relatively empty because the British were off of work celebrating the 4th of July holiday. I was embarrassed for about a nano second, but when I saw the amused look on the face of the security guard it became a memorable moment...lol.

My coworkers call me "Dubai" John in Springfield, and nary a day goes by that I don't tell a story about my time spent half way around the world. I often find myself in thought, wondering what is going on with Kelly, Kumail, Vineet, Mahesh, Suresh, Joseph, Juan or my other pals. I hear from many of my friends via social media, and it seems like the common theme is we will see you soon... I don't know why they think I will return to Dubai, I guess we will see.

The big movie release for this week in America is "The Lone Ranger". As you may recall, while I was working with Muzzy at Transmed, I often referred to Muzzy as "Tonto". My Indian sidekick and partner in crime had planned on going with me to the movie when it came out this summer, I hope that he takes Kumail to go and see it. Like the current top 40 tune sings, and I regularly reminded them "You're going to Miss Me when I'm Gone." Who knew that I would miss them so much also.

Ok, time for the happier update. I am getting along well with my new colleagues, and the atmosphere of "family" that the ownership has created at my company is really nice. I am putting a lot of pressure on myself to succeed, because the last thing I would want to do is fail and not reward the faith Todd and his boss have placed in me. I have a couple of restaurants that are opening up in September, and if it all goes smoothly I will be very pleased.

One of the things I promised myself when I moved to Springfield, was to try and have a monthly "road trip" and enjoy myself. It seems like the right thing to do after spending three tough years (on the personal side) overseas paying debts and saving for my return. My fun event in July is a weekend in Cincinnati with Fred. We have got tickets to Reds games on Saturday and Sunday in mid July. I have plans for August and September already and really feel good about keeping my pledge. Speaking of August, my parents are coming for a week long visit. Dad's health seems to have gotten a little better and mom will outlive me... I am sure that there is a story to come from that pending visit.

BTW, Shift leasing has left my bad list, and has joined my "Shifty/Shady list. My $400 car lease deposit refund finally arrived in my American Bank Account. A small victory, but a victory. If I ever do return to Dubai, my car damage Arab pal, will receive my pestering wrath....still gets my crawl.

Just like while I was in the UAE, I am enjoying the return of "True Blood". It was always delayed until the fall in Dubai, to avoid being shown during Ramadan. Ramadan is less than two weeks away, and it is a very tough month for Westerners working in the Middle East. Big Brother (the American Reality TV show) also amuses me, but that is a show like "Wipeout" that isn't shown in the UAE. I think "Wipeout" would be a big hit over in the UAE, watching Americans get abused is always a ratings winner in the Middle East...lol...well sorta lol.

I am watching the unrest in Egypt very closely. American's don't seem to know that there are even massive demonstrations there. Our government, has somehow aligned itself with President Morsi of the Muslim Brotherhood. The demonstrators are Moderate Muslims and Christian Egyptians that feel the Arab Spring of Democracy has been stolen from them. We have given weapons and public support to the Morsi regime...It seems like a horrible foreign policy blunder...no worries Americans (with the aid of the US press) will hardly notice the coming crack down on the people of Egypt. It will soon dawn on the Morsi government that we will not stand with the citizens demanding Democracy (Ironically, we supported the overthrow of our ally Mubarik) and I feel fairly certain that the military will step in and end the demonstrations and snuff out the hopes of a free Egypt. (sorry, had to throw in some politics).

Well, hopefully I will see you here in Mid July..be safe and enjoy your 4th of July celebrations.