Through the tears. My Grandma Moore’s Eulogy

Almost word for word account of what I said.

“I keep reminding myself that we are here to celebrate a life and not mourn a loss. That is what is going to get me through this. First I would like to apologize if this is bad but my Grandmother was proud of us grandchildren no matter what so that is why I am doing this.

Hello and Welcome. For those of you I have not met my name is Nickolas Conklin. I am Marilyn’s youngest Grandson. Marilyn had 4 grandchildren; my older brothers Dan and Casey and my younger sister Lilly. From my whole family I want to thank everyone for being here. My grandmother loved being around anyone with a smile and I know she cherished every moment spent with all of you.

Marilyn was a beloved classmate, co-worker, friend, mother, or grandmother to everyone she met. She had such a familiar grandmother essence about her that she made everyone feel like family.  When I was thinking about what she did that made her a wonderful friend and grandmother to me I realized what I felt for her was probably not exclusive to me even though I thought I was so special. She treated everyone with same love and compassion especially small children. She could not walk by a small child without saying hello and exchanging some baby talk.

Marilyn was an Eastern High School graduate. She married her high school sweetheart, Robert, when he was on a 10 day leave from the Marines. Robert was a Korean War veteran and Marilyn stayed strong while he was off at war and, probably more impressively, she put up with him when he returned home.

Marilyn and Robert had one child, my mother, Kimberly. When my mother married my father, David, Marilyn and Robert accepted him into the family as their son. Then there was us 4 grandkids. We were a very small family but very close.

To me what made Marilyn so wonderful was that it was never about her. She lived life through her relationships with friends and family and she was always there when you needed her. This reminded me of when my grandmother joined me on my High School trip to New York City. Not wanting to slow anybody down or be a burden she trooped through New York City with us. Now this was not a trip where you pop on a Subway get off and leisurely walk to the site.  We had a tour guide that was 2 things. One, I think this guy was on the Power walking Olympic team. He was go, go, go, all day as fast as possible. And Two, the tour guide also did not know New York City at all so he never took the most efficient way to any site so that meant a lot of walking. For example, we walked over 7 blocks in the wrong direction of the Empire State Building. Not sure how you do that but our tour guide did. We also had several building tours and one most notably was the tour of Radio City Music hall where I think we climbed every stair in that building… twice. The whole time my grandmother kept up and never complained. There are still people from my high school who love to tell the story of how wonderful she was on that trip. I am so proud and happy I got to share that trip with her.

My Grandmother was a go to baby sitter for her grandkids while also caring for her father-in-law for many years. My Great-Grandpa Moore lived to be 104 years old so I am sure what she thought was only going to be a few year commitment turned into over a decade of work caring for him.

My grandma was also dedicated to never missing any of her grandkids events if she could help it. As I think about growing up there were not many sporting events, school functions, or anything we were interested in that my grandmother missed being there. Sometime if it were just to jump in the car and be along for the ride she was there for us but it was not just the ride she was there for. She genuinely took an interest in what we were interested in. It is like when we would go to an MSU game she would watch on T.V. or listen on the radio just so she could talk about the game with us when we got back.

Speaking of sports my grandmother was an avid baseball fans. Some of my earliest memories were of visiting my grandparents’ house. I can still feel the summer breeze blowing into their sunroom, the smell of chlorine as we just got out of there pool and the voice of Ernie Harwell in the background. I use to think my Great-Grandpa Moore just liked to nap to Ernies voice but now I think it was so my grandmother could keep track of her Tigers. She caught every Tigers game she could.

She was also an entertainer. Not the sing and dance type of person but she loved to host the party. She was famous for cooking holiday dinner for 30 people, except we had such a small family there would only be about 15 people there. You could always count on some good leftovers when she was cooking. My grandmother later in life made a lot of friends through her baking at a shop in Charlotte. She wanted to make friends and feed everyone baked goods that walked through the door. I am sure there were a lot of small children she would sneak a free cookie to every now and again. She also expanded her generosity through her volunteer work. She took any opportunity to bake and meet new people.

My grandmother was also a great gift giver. For instance, When I was a hyper 12 year old there was what seemed to be an unlimited supply of candy, sweets and soda by my stocking and after I was 21 years old there was a 12 pack of beer. She said it was Santa but I was 21 year old… I knew Santa didn’t know me that well.

As some of you know my grandmother was definition of a “worry wart” but I know it was because she cared so much about us. My grandmother life was lived through all of her experiences with people and that is why we are all here. I want to personally thank all of you for fulfilling her life.

Now, I would just like to finish by speaking directly to her:

Grandma,

You are still the only one I allow to call me Nicky. I love you. I am sorry I did not visit more and thank you for everything. Rest in Peace.”

 

Friends in High Places

I am continually impressed with some of the jobs that my friends have. Military personnel, Librarians, Teachers, Nurses, Lawyers, Coaches, Police Officers, Fire Fighters, Boarder Patrol Agents, Secret Service Agents, Professional Athletes (Overseas or in Independent leagues), Journalists, Musicians, Fashion Designers, or just making their way up the corporate ladder. Growing up in a small community it was not always the easiest to find role models with similar backgrounds that proved the adage “you can be anything you want to be.” The first time I got a sense of that was a family friend and someone who went to the same High School I went to was on the television show Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Albeit, it was probably a 5 second role but someone from my high school got to approach Buffy and got shot down.

What got me to think about this was the other day the best man at my wedding had his television debut as a Minor League Umpire. He worked the plate at the Brooklyn Cyclones game that was aired on the SNY TV station that I was able to get via my Direct TV package. The Brooklyn Cyclones are a single A affiliate of the New York Mets and on that day they lost to the Washington Nationals single A affiliate Auburn Doubledays 9-3. Here is the box score to prove it. Even though the commentators were giving them a hard time about his zone I thought he did a great job and that was later confirmed when he was told by a Cyclone player that he had the most consistent zone they had seen all year. By what I had seen from the game this player meant what he said and wasn’t just trying to get better calls the next time. That in itself proved why I was really disappointed in the commentators. I could go into how one pitcher who can’t hit the mitt and can’t hit the zone with consistency is less likely to get the corners than one who does but I will leave out the boring details… But seriously if you want the corner the catcher can stretch the zone by setting up on the corner and having a good frame and all the pitcher has to do his hit the spot and I think the commentators should have a little bit of this perspective to do their job… but I digress. Most people don’t understand how hard it is to have a zone that everyone is happy with and not miss a pitch all game. I guess, like life, you cannot keep everyone happy and no one is perfect. I found it very unprofessional to attack the umpires, or any official for that matter, like the commentators did for what I thought was a very consistent and fairly called game. Even at one point in the broadcast the commentator said he thought the zone was the same for both teams but still criticized the officiating. What more can you ask for than a game that is called both ways? That is why I thought the umpire crew did a great job. All things considered this was one of the coolest things I have seen on T.V. in awhile and to top off the game my friend did get into it with the Cyclones pitching coach Frank Viola who is the 1987 World Seris MVP and 1988 AL Cy Young winner. That is pretty impressive if you ask me.

I am extremely proud that he is my friend as I am with all of my friends that protect or serve this country and its citizens, make a difference in their community or with their company, or just entertain with their talents.

Happy (Fiscal) New Year!

My company runs on Fiscal Year end June 30, therefore, tomorrow begins the new year. That means for the next several weeks I will be dealing with month end closing, year end closing, and the audit. Then just when that is all said and done I will be gearing up for our busy season.  Long story short is that I will be busy for a while and next thing I know it will be November.

My (fiscal)  new years resolution is to work more efficiently so I actually have time to enjoy the summer. The extra time I had last summer was spent playing in the Men’s Woodbat baseball league in Louisville but since we do not have a team this year these are some of the things I want to do this summer. I want to go golfing more. I want to go to a Cincinnati Reds game and possible a St. Louis Cardinals game if we visit the in-laws on a weekend with a home game. I want to be able to enjoy the weddings we were invited to this summer and I want to have time to enjoy family and friends this summer. I also still need to see this great Louisville Zoo people have told me about and visit some of the wonderful national award winning wineries in Kentucky.

Sounds exhausting but I have been here almost 2 years and it still feels like I hardly know the area. Time to make it happen this summer… if the auditors will allow it. So lets raises our glasses (power up the computer), que the music (open excel reports and queries), and start the count down to year end.

Loopholes Delay the Inevitable

Warning: I am about to toe some fine lines of possible giving too much information as some of you will be able to tell who I am talking about and some of the content is rumor based. However, it’s a blog and that means maybe you should not believe everything you read.

The other day I was skimming the a certain newspaper website from where I use to live and came across a familiar name. This name was someone that I had golfed against in High School. The matched I golfed against him was one of the most memorable rounds I have ever played and not for good reasons. It involved being witness of one of the worse tempers on a course I have ever seen and trust me I’ve had a bad temper on the course myself. He cursed like a drunken sailor and disposed of several clubs during the round. So much so he finished the round teeing off AND putting with a 3 iron. He snapped shafts over his knee and threw clubs as far as he could into water hazards and the woods while every time saying ,”I don’t care, I have a Callaway at home.” Oh, and did I mention that he was a Freshman?

I thought that was the last I would hear of him but unfortunately I was wrong. A few years later I had heard (RUMOR) he was kicked off his golf team for killing animals on the course during a match. Then the worse news of all. I had heard he was the driver of a single car accident that killed a family friend. I am not sure of exactly what happened but it went something like this. He fled the scene of the accident and left 2 people in the car. One severally injured and the other our family friend. The police later found the driver and charged him with the accident. I am told that his blood test came back that he was drunk and had several drugs in his system when he crashed. Easy case, right? The case was later dropped because his lawyer got the evidence dismissed. Apparently, from what I hear, the police did not follow proper procedure when the blood test was taken. I believe blood was taken before a search warrant was completed or something of that nature.

Fast forward to the other day when I was reading the news online. There was his name again and next to it said “was charged with armed robbery, felony firearm, possession of a police scanner while committing a felony.”

My first reaction was that if he was properly convicted the first time he probably wouldn’t have been able to commit this crime and an innocent person would not have been subject to an armed robbery. I understand that proper procedures need to be followed to protect us as citizens from profiling and invasion of privacy but I cannot stand when the evidence is so obvious and some lawyer finds some minute loopholes and the guilty person is set free. Free to do what they have always done… Commit more crimes. How revolting is it that there are people who make a good living off of defending people that they know are guilty?

This has hit home for me and maybe it is more about the situation and less about the specific occurrence. I understand that some people make mistakes but I also believe that most people will not learn their lesson unless they have suffered to consequences. We have allowed people to get away with severe crimes because there was a small loopholes. It just does not seem right and I hope this time the consequences are severe enough so that this person will straighten out their life.

 

Also, if I have anything wrong please let me know so I can be as accurate as possible. I am not here to misrepresent. Thank you.

Food Truckin’

Since I heard that Louisville was going to start to allow Food Trucks and other street food vendors to serve the community I got very excited. Food trucks are the new craze in the U.S.A. and their allure has exploded since the Food Network ran a show called “The Great Food Truck Race”, however, most city governments are slow to accept this sort of commerce (take Detroit for example who just denied again application for Food Trucks to operate within city limits). Most of Louisville’s street food vendor regulations are barbaric and were created with Festival or Carnival food vend0rs in mind so they are not conducive to the food truck life style. For example, a vendor cannot occupy the same spot for more than 14 consecutive days so food trucks are not allowed to create a set pattern of business and clientele but with the use of social networks that is not the most hampering law. Actually, being new to the city (less than 2 years of being a Kentuckianian) the thrill of the chase, so to speak, is what excites me most. Catching a twitter feed, google mapping a location, and finding food in new places in town is what I want so I hope these trucks will continue to bounce around and tweet their coordinates.

I am really happy that Louisville city government is starting to adapt and allow the food trucks. They are working with the food trucks and the brick and mortar restaurant owners to make everyone happy. I believe there is common ground that can be found here. I just hope the brick and mortar restaurant owners remember that there is people out there like me that are following these food trucks with my eyes open and I assume there are going to be establishments that I will see on the way that I will try out at a different time. Therefore, both party’s can benefit and I hope other cities *cough*Detroit*cough* take note. Also, these mobile vendors have to pass and display health department permits, they have to register as a business with the state and city, they have to employ workers, buy from local grocery store, support local farmers, pay taxes like every other business, and they have to fill my belly with delicious food at a low cost on a quick lunch break. Where is the downside?

Today was my first food truck adventure. First, @BustaGrill502 (gourmet grilled sausage’s, brats, bison dogs…) posted on Facebook (I wish they would used the twitter feed that also posts to facebook feature so I wouldn’t have to hawk both sites but that is a small complaint) he was going to be at 1st and Washington in Downtown Louisville from 11am-2pm. So I google mapped the location and was set on getting a brat for lunch. Later in the morning I rechecked facebook and notice BustaGrill502 canceled due to Humana providing free lunch to all of their employees (wonder why insurance is so expensive?) and wind gusts made it hard for him to cook. Maybe I will Have to try back on Joe Pesci Friday. Any good Joe Pesci quotes? Ok, I will get back on topic. After that I noticed on Facebook (again Twitter people! Twitter is better for your business, trust me!) I noticed @LilCheezers was going to be right up the street from my work offering gourmet grilled cheese sandwiches and I was all in. They were in a TV Station parking lot that was 4 minutes away. I jumped in the car to get a Pepper Jack Grilled Cheese with homemade potato chips, curry ketchup, a pickle spear, and a 12 oz. can of coke for $7.

Lil Cheezers Truck

I was going to try their Pizza Grilled cheese but I had Pizza last night so I went with the plain grilled cheese. Grilled Cheese is what their business is built on and if they cannot do that well

then they are in trouble.  That is why I went plain but mixed it up a bit with going with Pepper Jack cheese. The sandwich came on a perfectly toasted wheatberry bread. The cheese was piled on but not too much and was perfectly gooey. What really made this “gourmet” was the bread. I am not a big wheat bread fan but this bread was very good. I ate all of the sandwich, the pickle and a few homemade chips before I even completed the 4 minute drive back to work. Then I finished the chips in my office. The chips were nice, fresh, thick cut, crispy homemade potato chips with a side of curry ketchup to dip. I was surprised at how good the ketchup was too. More of a BBQ sauce taste than a ketchup. All in all I am full for $7 but it tasted so good I wanted more. Perfect.

Lil Cheezers Food

I will continue to look for these food trucks as a fun way to grab a bite at lunch. Other cities that do not have food trucks should be jealous.

BustaGrill502 – Grilled Sausage’s

Lil Cheezers – Gormet Grilled Cheese Sandwishes

Holy Mole – Taco Truck

BBQ Cowboy – I will let you guess what they serve

MozzaPi – Mobile Wood Burning pizza oven

Back in the Swing of Things

This summer I was looking forward to a 2nd season or 25+ Men’s Wood bat baseball in Louisville but my team that finished in 2nd place last year folded. The manager could not find the time with a new job to secure a spot in the league this season. Therefore, this may be the summer of golf until next summer when we will try to get the team back together.

I am already getting the itch to hit the links more often. Ask my wife as she has witnessed me thoroughly clean my clubs twice in the past few days. After only golfing 2 rounds last year I have already matched that total. One round in Kissimmee, FL in April and the one round I played on Sunday. I have also hit the driving range twice as well as I get ready to play in my first Scramble of the year on this coming Sunday.

Golf in the Kentuckiana area is so much different that in Michigan. For one, there are probably less total course here than in Michigan and there are definitely far more really bad courses than in Michigan. However, the nice courses in Kentuckiana are really nice. A lot more contour than is offered in most Mid-Michigan courses. The exciting part is that the greens fees are significantly less than in Michigan. I would probably attribute this to the much longer season that I will be able to take advantage of. One of our realtors said when we moved down here that he was in a year round league in 2009 and they only had to cancel 2 weeks. Apparently we have seen much more harsh winters than they have had down here in the last few years but I would estimate there is 8 solid months of golf down here and 2 bonus months if the weather cooperates. Here are some of the courses that I have either played or want to play while I am down here.

http://www.oldcapitalgolf.com/

http://www.glenmarycountryclub.com/

http://www.caesars.com/golf/chariot-run-golf-course/

http://www.fuzzygolf.com/golf/proto/fuzzygolf/

http://www.hiddencreekgolfclub.com/

http://www.valleyviewgolfclub.org/golf/proto/valleyviewgolfclub/

http://www.bardstowncountryclub.com/

http://www.frenchlick.com/golf/petedye

http://www.frenchlick.com/golf/donaldross/history

http://www.quailchase.com/golf/proto/quailchase/

Now I just need to find a golf partner to get it done. Mix in some golf, an overdue visit to the zoo, posibly a trip to the casino, several weddings, family time, and checking out the local Drive In movie theater and this is already shapping up to be a busy summer even without baseball.

Father’s Day for me

To most this is a day of celebration. To some this is a memorial day. It had been just that for me since Father’s Day 1997, the first after my Dad had passed. Father’s day 2011 was as especially hard as this was the first since we lost our first son in February. For me, no father, no father’s father, no mother’s father and I am a father but not really. Sounds like fun doesn’t it? To keep my mind off of things I was able to sneak 18 holes of golf in with a friend and then went to a new Pizza place for Dinner with the wife.

Also, does anyone else think that the radio or your ipod can tell your mood? The last couple days I have heard Lynyrd Skynyrd – Free Bird on the radio several times including right now as I type (maybe it is just a Southern Rock thing as the radio station is based in Kentucky) and when I have listened my ipod on shuffle it seems like it is only playing songs like Aerosmith – Remember (Walking in the Sand), Skid Row – I Remember You, John Lennon – Beautiful Boy (Darling Boy), Aerosmith – Crying (which just came on the radio after Free Bird), Jimi Hendrix – Angel…. I think you get the point. I need to make some playlists so my ipod doesn’t have a choice.

Anyways back to the point. My father was such an amazing role model as a father, husband, friend, and coach. It amazes me that almost 15 years later his legacy lives on in so many people even outside the family. I miss him very much and look forward to passing on what he has taught me which brings it back as to why this one hurts so much.

UPDATE: Now Guns & Roses – Paradise City is on the radio 2 minutes after I posted this. Weird song to mention? Not really, there is a part in the song towards the beginning that has a whistle blowing and my Dad always had a coaches whistle hanging from his rear-view mirror in his truck. So when this song would come on he would blow his whistle as if he were in the band. Ever heard a full blown whistle in close closed quarters like a cab of a truck? What did you say? I can’t really hear you. Just kidding.

Here are some pictures below. I need to find a picture of me with my other Grandpa.

Me with my Dad at Silver Lake Sand Dunes

Me with my Grandpa at a Baseball Field at Potterville Schools