Stars and Stripes Forever

  A week ago today I was like a kid on Christmas Eve.  Instead of sugarplum fairies dancing through my head, there were brats and plastic beer cups.  It was July 3rd, and I was ready to enjoy the long weekend.  And boy did I.

  But after all of the crushed light beers and junk food was over, I had a small realization:  There is nowhere in the world I would rather be on July 4th than Bartlett, IL.  It's where I grew up, and where I still live today (total townie), and we do it right.  As long as I can remember, it's been the best time of year in our little shit of a Village (not city).  As an adult, especially one without children, the appeal of the 4th of July is obvious.  Days off of work, cook outs, day drinking.  But even as a kid I think I realized that Independence Day was special.  

  It starts with all of the tents and rides going up in Apple Orchard Park.  There's a little bit of electricity to the air and everyone young and old knows that means it's time to get loose.  Whether you're a twenty something looking to get blind drunk, or a 9 year old that knows they're going to get a little extra leeway because mom and dad a couple extra beers on the walk over, it's party time.  

  The fest usually opens on the night of July 3rd.  If you're smart (and in close enough proximity) you walk.  This walk is the first part that makes the weekend special.  For what I think a lot of people would consider a bedroom community, I don't feel like there's a lot of neighborly interaction in Bartlett.  Not enough as least.  But over this span of a few days, especially the first day, everyone in town are buddies.  Open containers?  Sure!  Sharing beers with strangers?  Why not!?  In that walk the aforementioned mom and dad get to have those couple extra beers, and they don't have to worry about driving the mini van home.  

  For the first time in a couple of years I made it a point to go to the fest, and hang out at the beer tent.  And it's the same as it ever was.  Perfect.  The right mix of old friends and quite a few people that make one think; "Where the hell did that guy come from?"  Teenagers awkwardly smoking cigarettes, pre teens running around like idiots because they don't quite know what to do with themselves.  It's all there for you to enjoy.  Everyone is in a good mood, and seeing your tee ball coach after you've had three luke warm Miller Lites isn't the laborious conversation it is if you cross paths at Jewel.  Personally, I like to end my fest attendance with one night.  It's the perfect amount of time spent under a hot tent.  

  The next day, on the 4th, that's what you save your energy for.  Even as a kid, I would wake up knowing it was a special day.  Before the sweet release of drinking 25 beers, it was cake and hot dogs and blowing shit up.  There's that same electricity throughout town.  People walking all over, waving, stopping by parties on the way to another.  

  As time went on, and legalities would allow (being over 21), I started throwing parties at my parents house.  The first one was spur of the moment, but up until two years ago (when I moved out), I like to think we threw a hell of a shindig.  Things have tapered down a bit the last couple of years, but we still have a great day in the pool, and the magic is still in the air.  

  The rest of the weekend continues on like this.  Good vibes, friendly people, a bingo tent to attend.  It's all there in our boring little town for 4 days.  Sure, it's probably cool to hang out on a yacht, and watch fireworks on Lake Michigan.  But I'll take my family, friends, and parents rusty 4ft pool every year.

Hey, remember that one time...

  Recently, I've been spending a lot of long, lonely nights at work. When one is unhappy with their current station, and has time to let their mind wander, they tend to think of happy thoughts.  Well, unless you're a total bummer.  In that case, shape up!  Life ain't so bad! 
  While thinking of these happy thoughts, it occurred to me that I have a lot of really happy, fond memories that are attached to, what seemed at the time anyway, inconsequential events.  I'm sure everyone has these, and they are super fun to think about.  Anyway, here are a couple of mine that popped up recently, please share yours in the comments and we'll all have a fun discussion.


-  My dear friend Will and I were supposed to go see the band Ceremony on a Sunday evening. There was a noon Bears game that he came over to watch, and we were to head to the city afterward.  It was November and the weather was just starting to turn, so it was chilly with what Tom Skilling would call a "wintry mix".  For some reason, neither of us spoke much during the game, and it was almost as if both of us were nervous.  Finally, as the 4th quarter was winding down, Will took a deep breath and said; "Hey, what if we don't go to this show...?"
  I had never been so relieved to hear a question in my life.  As I too, did not really want to go.  I told him that I had been trying to figure out a way to ask the same thing, but we both thought the other REALLY wanted to go and didn't want to be a bummer.  We laughed and then settled into the couches in my parents basement to watch football on that shitty November day.  Like Americans. 
  This will always stick out as such a happy moment between me and my buddy.  I'm not really sure why.


-  There's an equally less thrilling story with this one.  But for some reason it's just burned into my brain.  It was the summer of 2010, and it was a gorgeous summer night in my friend Sam's garage.  See, Sam's garage was clubhouse of sorts.  For a lot of people all the way back to high school, for myself from the age of 18 until he moved to the city with his now wife in 2011.
  Anyhow, it was a weeknight and Sam texted to see if I wanted to enjoy some cold beers.  I arrived with some Shiner Bocks and a pack of smokes and we drank, and talked while Pat and Ron gave us the Cubs game as background music.  Eventually our buddy Joe Legions arrived and more of the same went on until it was time to call it a night.  The Cubs won, but it's not like it was an important game.  We had a good time, but nothing significant happened.  I can't tell you why I think on it so fondly, even down to remembering what kind of beer I brought over, but I always will.  I've had so many good times, with big stories that involve hi-jinx, and way more people, but this one is what I'll always remember.  This was the essence of why the garage was so great.


These are the two that have come to mind recently.  Like I said they're not of REAL significance, but they're special to me.  These little things are what make life worth living.  I have a thousand more that I'm sure will come to mind, but for now, these will hold me over.

It's 2014, let's get it together people.

  I will be 28 years old in six months. For those that aren't real good at basic math, that means I am almost 30 years of age. To most people (myself included) 30 is a milestone. An age where you hope that you have your shit together, and your life is progressing in some semblance of the direction you want it to. As a person who is 30 (or almost 30), one would think their peers would be hip to the goings on in the world, and maybe even have an mildly educated opinion on them. At least an opinion based on facts.
   I suppose it's one of the major drawbacks of social media. The fact that everyone has a platform to express their ideas and theories on things (much like this one, just as worthless as any other). And in no way am I trying to discourage people from putting forth their thoughts and feelings, but when it comes to matters of fact, have your shit together before you spew nonsense for the world to read. I'm not talking about 18 year old kids who don't know any better. I'm talking to the dumb as rocks adults that post OBVIOUSLY fake "news" stories from partisan political websites (both sides of the aisle). Or people that regurgitate something they heard their dad say about politics, but can't defend their stance. These are ADULTS that put these things out there.
   I'm not that smart. Shit, I didn't even go to real college for more than a semester, but I know one thing for sure: If you're not sure something is legit, don't attach your name to it. So what if your dad let you have a sip of his Bud Light when you were 11? He may not know what the fuck he's talking about. Same goes for many news outlets, don't take things at face value. In a world where it takes 30 seconds of Google research to prove or disprove something, it's amazing how many people just agree with a story or opinion that fits their narrative. JUST LOOK IT UP! It's not hard! Maybe I am an optimist, but I would like to think most people I know are intelligent enough to spot fake news. But if you're not sure, and are too lazy to go to Snopes and look it up, don't post it!
   When it comes to matters of opinion based on false facts, that's where I get really steamed. I would never tell anyone how to think, but what I would tell people is to keep an open mind. Don't be stubborn. If someone presents you with information that could potentially sway your opinion, listen to it. You can't ignore something just because it's not what you agree with, that's childish. Listen. Argue with the person, but don't dismiss the information. And for the record, an argument does not consist of one side repeating the same thing over and over again until the other side gives up. The other side gave up because they realize you're dumb. There is however one surefire way to keep yourself from looking stupid, one that I try to use as often as I can: IF YOU DON'T KNOW SOMETHING, SHUT UP ABOUT IT. Ask questions, sure, but coming into a hot button issue half cocked is a sure way to make yourself look like a dummy.
   This whole thing is just a rant about something that's been bothering me for a while. If you're an adult, think about what you post and attach to yourself before you do it. Believe it or not, the slew of dick and fart jokes that make up my Facebook statuses are carefully thought out and researched. I really hope people I'm friends with keep presenting interesting news stories, and expressing their opinions. But for god's sake people, have your shit together before you come at me with some sideways logic. Happy New Year, gang. I'm gonna go watch COPS.

Thanks, Hawks.

  Prior to 2009, I could not have cared less about hockey.  In fact, if you were to ask me about it as a 22 year old, I probably would have told you I thought it was stupid.  The team that I was supposed to root for was largely irrelevant, and had horrible ownership.  Why should I have cared?  Then towards the end of the 2007-2008 season, I heard Adam Burish on the then quite good Mac, Jurko and Harry show on ESPN1000.  I fell in love with the guy.  His personality was what I imagined all hockey players were like.  Goofy, humble, hard working and appreciative of support they got.  So I ended up watching the end of that season where they just barely missed the playoffs.  But I was hooked.
  The 2008-2009 season started and was a pretty great ride for my initial foray into hockey fandom.  A fun team to watch, with a cast of likable stars.  I would say they had a successful season that year, making the Western Conference finals when nobody really though they would.  That set the stage for what is to this point in my life, my favorite sports memory of all time.
  The 2009-2010 Blackhawks season was awesome for so many reasons.  For starters, at the time me and just about all of my friends lived at home with full time jobs.  So as one can imagine, the disposable income to spend at bars during games was flowing.  We would go out in big groups and all have a great time no matter where we went, just about always half in the bag.  One of the best specific memories I have from that season was the debut of Marian Hossa.  It was the Wednesday before Thanksgiving against the San Jose Sharks.  He had a huge game and the Hawks won handily, all while me and the entire bar were piping drunk with pre-Thanksgiving beer. 
  The season went on and the Olympics were almost as fun to watch as the NHL season itself.  But that was just the tip of the amazing iceberg that was the second half of the 2010 season/play offs. 
It was such a great time being at bars packed to the gills with Hawks fans, losing their shit with every ebb and flow of play off games.
   I watched game six against Philly at my house.  With my mom, dad, uncle and most of my closest friends.  It was awesome.  I don't really count watching Bulls championships as I was a kid and I didn't really appreciate it.  So to me this was the first championship I was ever really able to enjoy.  And let me tell you, I did.  A lot.  Work was hell the next day but so worth it.
  What made this whole run really special was the fact I was with just about ALL of my friends through the whole thing.  It's something that I don't think will ever happen again in my life.  It was our last couple years of not really having responsibility other than being to work on time, and living just blocks away from one another. 
  The next couple of years really stung.  Now that I was an actual fan of the game, and trying to understand it more and more each day, the aggravation set it.  Two first round play off exits, and a couple broken remotes later, we arrive at today.
  This season was spectacular in its own right.  Short, sweet, and in the end, just what we all wanted.  It was truly different than 2010, but didn't lack for its own memories.  The regular season was so short it was kind of a blur.  But the play offs, man...  I remember yelling to loud my throat bled when the Hawks beat the Wings in game 7 (thankfully I was just in my parents basement).  Kane's game 5 hat trick during the Kings series was at the tail end of my best friends bachelor party.  Fighting every natural instinct I had to say awake for the Cup Finals opener.
   And finally, watching the Hawks win their second Cup in 4 years with my mom, dad and uncle.  Celebrating in a very different way than I did at 23 years old.  High fives, a single fist pump, some social media, then bed.
  I'm really thankful that the Hawks got their shit together as an organization and helped me become a fan.  I'm thankful that I have something to do on nights in the dead of winter.  I have a valid excuse to go to the bar in the middle of the week and rub elbows with people.  I'm just thankful that I've become a hockey fan.  So, thanks, Hawks.

The New Normal

  I'm well aware that the title of the blog post is the name of a probably crappy (I've never actually watched it) TV show, but I can assure you it has nothing to do with said show.  Be that as it may, the subject of "the new normal" is something that I've been thinking about for a while now.

  When I refer to "the new normal", I'm not talking about societal norms, or things that affect the world at large.  It's a personal thing.  Your personal norm is constantly evolving, and if you stop to think about it, once  you become an adult, it changes so quickly that new things are normal in the blink of an eye.  

  For instance, this past Sunday I was at my parents house with my sister celebrating Mother's Day.  After dinner, as I'm sitting in the front room, I looked at my mom and said; "It's weird that I don't live here anymore."  And really, it is.  For 20 years I lived in the same house, with the same people, and same daily routine.  And now I don't.  Now, it's not weird that I'm a 26 year old grown man that moved into his own house.  It's weird that all of the sudden this was my life and it feels like I didn't even need to do anything to make the transition.  It felt strange for maybe a week and then bang, that's life deal with it.  That's how life goes, I guess.  You kind of just jump into a thing that's already happening and you're forced to go with the flow or you're just going to make this difficult for yourself.  

  The concept of this rapid transition to normal is something that I never really thought about until I became what I call "a real grown-up".  You're a grown-up once you're past college age and are in the workforce full time.  But once you live on your own, you're a "real grown up".  You have responsibility.  I've lived on my own for just shy of a year, but if feels like it's been decades.  And that's because of how rapid new becomes normal.  I didn't have to cut the grass, weed whack, make sure my dryer vent was clear etc when I lived at home.  I could get drunk on Friday and sleep 'til noon on Saturday and it wouldn't make a lick of difference in how I viewed my weekend.  Now if I waste that much of a Saturday sleeping, I'm depressed about the lack of things I got done over the weekend.  Weird.  But that's my life now.  I'm totally fine with that, but again, it wasn't like that a short time ago, and now it is.  

  New normalcy isn't limited to the way you live your life.  As an adult, who you live your life with changes just as rapidly as how you live it.  I still see and hang out with pretty much all of my childhood/adolescent friends, but not as often.  Once you enter your mid-to late 20's, people get married and have serious girlfriends or boyfriends so that takes a big toll on your frequency of hang outs.  Couple that with work, and not sharing every similar interest and you pare down your regular hang out buds quite significantly.  Fortunately, I have interests where a sense of community and/or brotherhood is considered very important.  Through these things I've been able to make friends that are now really important to me, that a year ago I didn't even know existed.  That brings me back to the overall point.  In all aspects of adult life, things change so rapidly that you barely even notice them changing.  

  These aren't bitches or gripes.  They're observations I wanted to put down on paper.  If you read this, thanks.

What the hell happened to holidays?

  With all of the major holidays of 2012 in the no too distant past, I got to thinking about how different things are now compared to the holidays of my childhood.  Now, I'm not talking about in general how holidays are different as a child vs as an adult, but how each holiday is approached in pop culture.  Commercials, TV shows and even movies are not at all the same as they were in my holiday glory years (starting from when I can remember, so 5 or so, all the way to probably 13 or 14).  This is all going off my personal experience, so if I forget a holiday that you celebrate and you're offended, go piss up a rope.  I don't care.
  A lot of the holidays that most Americans celebrate haven't really changed that much as far as the pop culture landscape.  I should mention when I say holidays, I mean days that people actually celebrate (not just days of remembrance like MLK Day, Presidents Day etc).  Days like Valentines Day and Easter are pretty much the same.  Not a lot of pomp and circumstance but still on the radar and acknowledged by the general public.  Valentines Day is still about buying stuff for your significant other, and going out to a fancy dinner.  Easter is probably one of the more "seriously" religious holidays that Christians celebrate (at least casual Christians) and it seems to have remained that way.  Church, a nice meal and gathering with your family and that's about it.  Not too much in the way of commercials and other pop culture impact.
  The year rolls on and other holidays are observed.  Again, days like Memorial Day, 4th of July, Labor Day are all basically the same as I remember from my childhood.  Aside from the fact that 4th of July is my favorite holiday as an adult (Booze, grilling, stuff blowing up.  What's not to love?), these have stayed the course and remained pretty much true to what I remember.
  Then, we hit the fall.  October comes and many peoples favorite adult holiday, Halloween, graces us with it's presence.  Here's where I start to get annoyed about how different things are.  People that are my age and older probably also remember how big of a deal Halloween was in our youths.  There were tons of commercials (like this gem http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x1eLq_yRuFw), every TV show had a great Halloween episode and people decorated their balls off.  Now?  You get maybe a week of themed commercials and a couple of sitcoms have decent episodes that may or may not be loosely Halloween themed.  I think this has a lot to do with the fact that everyone has cable now, and there are networks specifically designed for kids and family.  Whereas when I was a kid, network TV had the responsibility of airing all the greatness of Halloween cartoons, live action comedies, everything.  In turn, the commercials reflected the content of the shows.  Just not the case anymore.     
  Halloween passes, and Thanksgiving approaches.  And other than the madness of the day after sales and the various parades, it barely even registers on the pop culture radar.  It's basically a Sunday in the middle of the week where you eat a fancier meal.  There's no longer the great autumn decorations and warm feelings of everyone starting to deal with the cold, dark winter approaching.  As soon as October is over, Christmas decorations go up.  I can't tell you how many towns I saw with garland and bows on their "Welcome To" signs on November 1st. 
  You would think that with the hyper fast decorating, Christmas would be in pop culture over drive.  But I don't think that's the case.  Sure there's still commercials and TV shows, but it's not the same as it was.  Have you ever thought about the last iconic Christmas movies that came out?  It was probably in the 90's and I couldn't even tell you what it was.  The commercials now are just rabid consumerism and sales, not the great Christmas themed commercials for every single thing that exists (watch this).  I don't know if it's because the world has become too PC for Christmas itself to be acknowledged, or people just don't give a shit about anything but buying stuff.  But I hate it. 
  A lot of this has to do with how different pop culture is now than it was even 10 years ago.  Like I mentioned earlier, everyone has cable TV now, and this has totally changed how television works.  Regular network TV doesn't have to cater to kids and family anymore. The likelihood of a 26 year old single male watching networks that do showcase good old fashioned holiday fun (ABC Family and the like) without making a conscious decision to do so, is not very high.  So I'm pretty much left to my own devices when it comes to holiday cheer. 
  The Internet, however, is one way pop culture has changed for the better for old crabby holiday enthusiasts such as myself.  I can go on YouTube any time I want and enjoy holiday treats of old, and get those warm sentimental feelings I so desire.  I wish I didn't have to seek it out on my own, but with our society being celebrity obsessed and reality TV addicted, that's just how it is.  People would rather watch a shit kicker family raise their weird daughter, or TO jump into a pool than enjoy fine seasonal and/or holiday programming.  
  I may have an overly sentimental attachment to the idea of the holidays, but it makes me happy to be around that stuff when the time is right.  I was fortunate enough to grow up with a wonderful family who spent all of our holidays together.  Whether it was my dad taking my sister and me trick-or-treating, or all the Christmas mornings tearing through gifts and giving out handmade ornaments, I have many fond memories that are fun to relive when the stress of adult holidays weighs on you.  With all these updated ways to celebrate, it's harder and harder for me to get back to those days.  There was a time, as a young adult that I hated the holidays.  But now that I've settled into adulthood, I really enjoy being able to relax and reflect during Christmas or Halloween.  These are the things I think about when I have free time.  I wonder why I don't have a girlfriend?  Give me back my holidays, goddammit.
 

College visits: A mini vacation.

  Here I sit, a 26 year old man with a rather enjoyable life.  I'm mostly glad to be a grown up, really.  Sure I complain about shit, but really the idea that I can do whatever the hell I want sure beats being 15 and at the mercy of someone with a drivers license.  However, there is one thing I really miss from the ages of 18 to 23;  visiting people at college.  It was like a mini vacation, a break in the monotony of my job and life at home.  A chance to go somewhere 3 hrs away and act like a total asshole for two nights, without having to worry about running into people that know my parents.

  The first time I went and visited someone at another college, I was actually away at school myself.  Millikin University was a short trip down ILL 72 to Champaign/Urbana, and I hopped on board with some other guys that were headed there. A lot of people I knew were at U of I and I figured it was a good chance to see some people I hadn't in a few months.  Millikin is a small school, so the first time I went to Champaign was a bit overwhelming.  Just the amount of people, how much nicer my friends dorms were, and, the fact we could actually go to bars was shocking.  I was blown away that all we had to do was pass back the same ID of person that looked nothing like us, and boom, we were in.  Drinking Red Bull and vodka, shots with stupid names, and whatever other garbage 19 year old's drink.  It was great. 

  The next place I really remember visiting was Bradley University.  This was a bit of a different experience because my good friends that went there were in a fraternity.  It's a bit of a different way to party, when you're loosely attached to people in a fraternity.  Generally their brothers treat you really well and you reap a lot of the benefits (chicks, booze, drugs etc) they do.  Bradley was more of a house party scene when we were younger, and it was still great. 

  By the time I was visiting Bradley, my brief but glorious college career had ended.  I continued going to school, but I was at home and going to community college.  With my good friend Will at my side, we started to go on as many college weekend visits as we could.  It was an escape from our totally boring lives.  Seriously, being 19 and 20 while attending school at home is fucking brutal. I can only speak for myself, but I know without Will to go to concerts, drive around and smoke cigarettes with, and tip back brews when we could get 'em, between school visits, I don't know what the fuck I would have done.  

  Things went on like this for our under age years, and they were great.  But I think once we all turned 21, college visits became even better.  You could do all the same stupid stuff, but there was no chance of getting a drinking ticket.  It was like a double bonus.  Plus, by this time everyone lived in an apartment or house, so there was even more freedom to a guy that lives with his parents.  With people in their own places, I was able to wake up earlier than all of them (I worked full time at this point, so I was used to getting up before noon) and smoke weed in the family room.  Something I certainly was not able to do at home.  

  That may have been my favorite part of college visits.  The Saturday after a night of drinking.  Everyone in their pajamas, casually drinking beers all day, sharing stories from the night before, all in preparation to do it again that night.  I remember one time a guy that lived with my friends had brought his sister, who was still in high school to visit for a Friday.  My friends and I were all partaking in the aforementioned Saturday behavior, while she was terrified in her brothers room.  She would only come out to go to the bathroom or get something to drink.  After she closed the door to her brothers room, one of my friends says; "The Asian kids from the brochure are nowhere to be found, this is real college."  This resulted in uproarious laughter and a memory I will have til I'm dead.  

  By the time my friends and I were all 22 or 23, college visits were at their peak.  Between visiting my friend Sean and all the guys he lived with at Bradley, and my 6 buddies that lived together at U of I, it was a guaranteed awesome time.  This isn't even including the schools I visited on a much less frequent basis (Iowa, Illinois State and Western Illinois).  But the Bradley and U of I visits for whatever reason, hold the most memories for me.  But that's not to say I didn't have amazing times at other schools.  

  One particular U of I party comes to mind whenever I think of the glory days of college.  A ton of people showed up.  And things were going great.  But like great college parties do, things got out of hand.  A friend who shall remain nameless decided to throw a Lay-Z-Boy into the front yard, while other friends proceeded to beat the shit out of the innocent chair.  In celebration, the guy who threw the chair, straight up Chuck Norris roundhouse kicked the front window to their own apartment.  The cops happened to driving by at that exact moment.  This lead to scattering, interrogation, but surprisingly, no tickets.  However, it wasn't all seashells and balloons.  Someone stole my favorite Bears sweatshirt and I haven't seen it since.  

  This was par for the course on a good college visit.  Something wild happening with no real consequences, thus resulting in a great story.  Once at Bradley, my friend and I and all his roommates came home after the bar, and just started hitting each other with steel chairs and and empty water cooler bottles.  We woke up the next day unscathed and full of laughs from our stupidity.  I would have to write a novel to describe the all the great times I've had at various schools, but this is just to maybe help some other later 20's people remember a time that they enjoyed.  

  Visiting people at college is something that is gone forever for me.  At least in the way that I'm describing it. But I will always remember how exciting the drives down were, and how awful (especially in the winter) the rides home could be.  The idea that you will be able to walk just about anywhere you needed to go on a party weekend has been replaced by cab rides and L stops, but dammit if I won't always remember it.



Note:  I spent many a great night at North Central College, but I don't lump that under the "college visit" category.  It was 30 minutes away and we were there so often, it was more of just an awesome thing to do on the weekends.