​Growing up my Dad used to tell my brother and I to find a job we loved and we'll never have to work a day in our lives; I found that to be especially true for the last decade and a half.  ​I learned three very important things working in sales that I will take with me in this next chapter of my life. 

​I wish I understood earlier on in my career how important it is to help others succeed.  Achieving goals of my own was great but helping others with something they are struggling with was much more rewarding than doing something for myself.  

​While working at Sprint I was able to volunteer and be a teacher for a day nine different times and it was an amazing experience each and every time.  I also got involved in a three year mentoring program at Joliet West High School through a program called My Brothers Keeper.  We all have a unique set of skills, some of us are born with them and others spend a good amount of time perfecting our craft, whatever our skills are, share them with others & you will get it back 10 fold.  Again, whatever the skills are, people who help other people are the real MVP's.  

​For so many years I was focused solely on myself & self promotion, once I started helping others, doors opened and I began to see how rewarding it is to hear from someone they are better today than they were yesterday because of something we worked on together.   

​​Thank you Jay, Rick & Dan.

​Thank you "TeleNav Tim" for giving me a chance and saying Yes to a 21 year old college kid slinging cell phones out of a Nextel shop in 2005.  Truth be told I was scared to death the first time I presented "GPS Technology" in-front of a group of 10-15 seasoned sales professionals but you had faith in me that I didn't even see in myself at times.  By saying Yes to things it allowed me to experience so much I may not have seen if I otherwise said No.  I traveled all over the US and Canada and it didn't cost me a dime.  

​I was able to surprise my Grandparents with a few visits to Florida when I had business meetings in Tampa, I saw the Statue of Liberty in NY with friends from College and I got to eat In & Out burger and see the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco every few weeks when I commuted back and forth to Sunnyvale on the west coast.  Looking back I'm certainly not the same 21 year old I was wearing dockers and a wrinkled blue Nextel button up shirt, I'm now an adult that wears a wrinkled button up shirt & poorly tied neck tie.  

​Thank you "TeleNav Tim."

Last but not least, Thank you Mom and Dad for your unwavering love and support the last 34 years.  You have been an incredible inspiration.  You continue to teach me there is no substitute for hard work.  You taught me to always do my best, never give up, keep my commitments, and to be a good Man. If we ever stumbled you were there to give us strength with your unconditional love, even as grown men we turn to you for that same love & encouragement.

​​
​Thank you for teaching me the importance of Grit, doing good work & having a positive attitude regardless of the circumstances.  There is nothing more important to me than making you proud and being a positive influence to Jackson, Nicholas & Charlotte.  

Growing up you demonstrated “mental toughness” in facing adversity and you created the environment where it was ok to make mistakes.  You both taught me me how important it is to accept failing fast so we can try again with the lessons learned.

It is comforting and brings a sense of peace knowing that we don’t have to get things right every time but we can strive towards progress.  Naturally leaving a profession that is all I've known since I was 18 years old brings mixed emotions.  I am anxious, curious & optimistic but most of all I am prepared.  

Thank you Mom and Dad, I love you.

I am part of the Product Ambassador Team at Sprint and every few months we are able to test new devices; I just swapped into the Samsung S9 and it is my favorite device yet!

If you like Samsung Galaxy phones, you will love the Samsung Galaxy S9.  Last years Galaxy S8 model got rid of the home button and replaced it with a haptic feedback (software style) home button, they introduced the new USB C fast charging and the Galaxy Infinity Display.  The Samsung Galaxy S8 was a "Revolutionary" phone in 2017, and the Galaxy S9 is an "Evolutionary" device in 2018 that I grade an A+. If you have the chance to swap into a Samsung S9, I would highly recommend it and bet that you will not be disappointed after you make the switch.  

​​The Galaxy S9/S9+ camera captures photos like a pro. With Pro Mode you can manually adjust camera settings so that every shot looks professional.

​Cameras on latest generation smart phones are quickly catching up to high end more expensive DSLR cameras for novice photographers.  Samsung has shown a huge commitment for advancing the photography experience on current and future Galaxy devices.    

The Samsung S9 and S9+ are nearly identical devices where the main difference in the S9+ is the additional secondary camera sensor allowing for 2x optical zoom.  Both the S9 and S9+ have an 8mb front facing camera for our selfies.  ​

​Bixby Vision is really cool, it is software built into your camera app to give you a deeper understanding of what you’re looking at. It uses object recognition to translate words, shop online, or identify landmarks.

​Bixby Translate allows you to simply use your camera on the Samsung S8 & S9 to transcribe multiple different foreign languages.  

​It was raining pretty hard on my drive into work this morning in Chicago and I was thinking three things. Rain-X is a pretty cool product!  Oil and water do not mix and number three, I’d hate to be outside right now selling anything door to door in the rain.

A few months ago a colleague of mine Brent recommended Rain-X.  If my memory serves me correct, we were in Kansas City, Brent was driving the rental car and he was just sharing his loyalty and love for Rain-X.  The way that Brent explained the product made me want to go out and get a bottle for $6 right away. 

​Over that short week traveling together I connected with Brent personally and professionally therefore I trusted his recommendation about a product from a fellow car guy.  If anybody else handed me a flyer about Rain-X or possibly even gave me a sample I don’t know that the product would have ever made it on my Infiniti.

​It's been raining a lot lately, more than usual in the midwest and last week it was raining although slightly less than today’s downpour; I remember taking note of the weather because I saw (4) Jehovah’s Witnesses people going from my neighbors house to my other neighbors house eventually to my house in the rain.   

As I’m typing this, I am reminded of something funny that happened answering the door a few years ago.  The door to door salesman asked "are your parents home!?"  Although it is a good feeling getting carded from time to time in my 30's, you have to understand the customers buying center, who makes the decisions in the company or household and the relationship between who you’re talking to and who buys.  I responded "no but they will be home after 5" and I closed the door.  

​I don’t care what religion you are but if you want to talk to me about yours, I suggest you find a way to do it like Brent did on our drive to Top Golf about Rain-X.  My coworker Brent‘s experience with the product Rain-X was so great last year that he told me about it.  And my drive into work this morning was so great because of Rain-X that I wanted to share it with my friends and family.  Go get a bottle, put it on your windshield before the next rain storm & you will be amazed; I guarantee it.  

​
Thanks Greg for letting me win at tennis a few matches and great choice for BBQ after in Plainfield.  With your full beard, your quick wit, & your vast amount of knowledge you would pass onto me during our post high school relationship, you often remind me of Robin Williams the professor in Good Will Hunting. 


​"A teacher affects eternity; he can never tell where his influence stops."  
​​
​​I hope you are enjoying the retirement life in California & you still use your favorite word kum·quat, I think of you whenever I see that orange fruit, a tennis court & live music. 

​Thank you Greg for being a great teacher, friend & mentor.  

The app is plain but it counts your steps along with miles registered, it registers your heart rate, calories & sleep patterns.  you have options to enable notifications and see how your activity is doing against your "targets."  Compared to the fit-bit or apple watch activity tracker apps, I would say the version 1.0 of the Motiv software, it is comparable but I imagine there will be some updates in the near future.

Another thing to note was my first few weeks, the motive was consistently calculating about 1/2 my steps compared to my Apple watch.  On days I logged 10,000 steps with my Apple watch, the Motiv was registering around 5,000.  A member of their support team responded to my inaccuracy claims and they said  "One reason is we actually test accuracy against foot pods which are the best source of “truth” for steps, as well as compare our performance to popular wrist-based trackers. We also count fairly sustained steps and not every random step — that’s our intention with depending on the Active Minutes metric as opposed to a 10k benchmarker."  ​
                                                                                 
​                                                                                           * Motiv Ring on the Top, Apple watch on the bottom

​​​Thursday: I brought him in for blood work which showed elevated levels & then x-rays revealed some significant size masses and tumors in his abdomen.


Friday: He was refereed to a specialist and the ultrasound & biopsy indicated an aggressive stage of a Carcinoma cancer in the liver and spleen that was not treatable with limited to no response to chemo.


Devastating prognosis, but thank God for the clear readings, the advice from both Dr's was to spend the weekend with him and that's exactly what we did.  

Saturday & Sunday: My friends Dan and Danielle were able to get him to take some medicine and eat a few treats when they came over on Saturday, I think he was showing off in-front of company because he didn't eat anything with me.  

​My Mom and Dad came over and we took him for a walk down town Plainfield.  There were times he was himself, but for the most part he had little energy from not eating for a week.  He would get up and greet people as they came over and he had moments where he was able to stand on his own & go up and down the stairs fine on his own.

​Monday: Things slowed down on Monday and his body was shutting down.  He had little to no mobility Monday but he didn't appear to be in any pain.  He was the most comfortable laying on the cold tile in the bathroom or hardwood floors in the hall with a fan near him.  ​We went to bed around 11pm Monday night without any issues & he slept fine through the night.  

Tuesday:  Tucker passed away at home peacefully around 7am Tuesday morning September 5th just a few hours before we were scheduled to go in to the vet.  ​As difficult as it was he is gone I was glad it happened naturally at home and in his sleep.    ​I miss you sweet boy.

I am excited to be back in a Blackberry with a full keyboard for the 1st time in over three years.  
I used to be one of Blackberry's biggest supporters from 2005 - 2013.   I was able to fire emails off so much quicker on the QWERTY design style devices compared to typing on touch screens, it's exciting to see Blackberry continue to release devices.

I switched away from Blackberry because up until recently applications were not available in the Blackberry store like they were quickly becoming released & updated in the Apple iTunes or Google Play store on other Galaxy devices.  

​This Blackberry KEYone is a workhorse and runs Android OS 7.1 Nougat and has access to the FULL Google play store.

​

1. Fully Android™
2. Access to over a million apps on Google Play
3. 4.5” scratch-resistant display
4. Convenience Key
5. 8MP front camera with flash
6. 12MP auto-focus large pixel rear camera
7. Fingerprint Sensor
8. BlackBerry Security software

​Watching you and the other 29 classmates sing, I couldn't help but see the pure joy in your voices, warmth in your hearts and love coming out of you children.  God willing, you and the other four and five year olds are being raised by caring hard working parents (or other family members) and you are all taught respect and to treat other people the way that you would like to be treated.  

When everyone lifted your hands in the air and sang together you reminded me to have more fun, be more generous to the people around me and not to be so quick to judge someone because they might believe something differently than I do.

Four year olds don't really know a lot about diversity.  We aren't born with any hate or prejudices, those have to be learned over time somehow.  As Kids we didn't care about the contrast between two different skin colors, different races, religions or ethnic backgrounds; we were just nice to someone at school because they were nice to us.  Nelson Mandella said "People must learn to hate, and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love, for love comes more naturally to the human heart than its opposite" and I was reminded of that 1st hand today.  Thank you Jackson, I am proud of you & I can not wait to see what the next school year brings you!  ​I love you Big Guy.

It's not often that my experience as a customer is so Great I write about it but I know great work when I see it and I wanted to share my positive encounter with Ted from Safelite AutoGlass yesterday. As consumers we often share 3 common needs whenever we are buying something.

1. Simplicity, it needs to be easy to understand across multiple generations of buyers.
2. A kick ass product or service.
3. A positive experience, we need to be left feeling Satisfied.
   
   

Cruising down the highway on Tuesday I took a small rock to the windshield and it caused a decent size crack. It was not a 'Final Destination log' through the windshield crack but none the less my view was impaired, the windshield was cracked and I needed to get it fixed ASAP. After the rock incident, Safelite was able to schedule the appointment to do the repair at my house the very next day. They provided a phone call & text messages with updates sharing their estimated time of arrival and the entire scheduling experience could not of been easier or more convenient; it was "Simple."  

The Safelite vehicle with the replacement windshield arrived less than 24 hours after I had the run in with the quarter sized rock. I heard the truck beeping as he backed into my driveway & like a kid excited on Christmas morning, I wanted to run outside and see some of this mobile 'windshield repair' in action.  The repair tech pulled out his easels, the suction contraptions to maneuver the heavy glass & he began to remove my damaged windshield in no time. It was fascinating to me seeing Ted swiftly work through all the stages of the windshield removal & replacement and shockingly us not being in an auto repair shop. I told him he was like an artist and this was such a "Kick ass Product" and service coming together demonstrating mobility in my own garage.

I'm in sales and customer service too and Ted reminded me how important it is to always do great work. Ted, you treated my car like it was your own, you weren't in a hurry & you made what started out as a negative experience as painless on me as possible. You indirectly encouraged me to shake off any complacency I may have being in the Sales and Technical Services industry & reminded me to always deliver a positive customer experience. If we don't; there are hundreds of other sharks salivating at the opportunity to shine in-front of our customers.  You do great work for your company Ted, you're darn good at your craft after 20 years and you appeared to really enjoy what you do. Hats off to you Ted, nice Cowboy boots and be safe on your Harley; I was more than "Satisfied" using Safelite AutoGlass.

​Nintendo brought back the original NES, only it's a whole lot smaller.  The Nintendo returned for the holidays and Christmas is coming early for some people who are lucky enough to get their hands on one!  November 11th Nintendo released a mini standalone retro unit with 30 classic NES games from the 80's and 90's and a vintage NES controller to play with on your high definition TV.  The system retails for $59, it's super easy to setup but it's difficult to get your hands on.  It is guaranteed to instantly bring you back to your childhood gaming experiences.

​The look and feel is nearly identical to playing the original system for me growing up in the 90's with a few exceptions.  Some of the favorites do include Super Mario 1, 2 and 3, Zelda, Castlevania, Donkey Kong, Megaman, Excite Bike and Metroid.  Unfortunately it doesn't play the actual Nintendo cartridges that as kids we had to sometimes blow into to get to work.  Currently there is not support for any additional games besides the 30 preloaded titles so I trust Nintendo put calculated thought into which 30 of the over 1,105 titles they included.

Here is a full list of the 30 titles & manuals that came with the Nintendo Classic, is it missing any of your favorite games?    https://www.nintendo.co.jp/clv/manuals/en/index.html 

Playing the Nintendo classic is simple and the interface is very straight forward.  My almost 5 year old nephew can turn it on and find a game on his own and it provides hours of entertainment to multiple generations.  One advantage the mini Nintendo has over its 30 year old predecessor is the ability to save your game state to memory and quickly pick up where you leave off in the future.  Games didn't get that luxury until the memory cad was introduced in 1996.  With the Nintendo classic you can save up to 5 states per game and choose to  start from any saved spot by pushing
the reset button on the system.  

​The Nintendo Classic was released November 11th and it's been sold out everywhere ever since.  I don't believe anyone had any idea how difficult they would be to get our hands on when they first launched.  Stores like Gamestop, Best Buy, Target and Walmart each only got a few units and they sold out instantly.  Amazon had a limited amount of NES Classic's for sale at 4pm on November 11th, but they also sold out almost instantly.  The Nintendo classics were selling on ebay & craigslist for $200 - $300, with stores now getting more shipments of them, they are becoming easier to find.

Here is a link where you can play ANY Nintendo game today in a desktop browser, Mac or Windows.  http://www.myeventsnyc.com/arcade/  

If you can't find one, don't worry, more are coming.  Nintendo tweeted recently they apologize for the shortage in inventory and promised a steady flow of systems between now and Christmas.  "The NES Classic Edition system is a hot item, and we are working hard to keep up with consumer demand.There will be a steady flow of additional systems through the holiday shopping season and into the new year." @NintendoAmerica ​

I've been using the new Spectacles by Snap Inc for the last 7 days and they are darn impressive.  They look and feel like regular sun glasses.  It's a treat to have a video camera on your face and not having to hold your camera or your phone to capture memories.  Recording from the Spectacles became second nature, it was easy and effortless.  

When recording at a sporting event or a concert using the Spectacles there is nothing between you and the performers.  With a phone or a camera, in a way it hinders the experience a great deal for you and potentially those around you...  with Spectacles you can both enjoy the moment and capture it at the same time.

Spectacles are the first hardware product from Snap Inc and they are $130 a pair.  Set up was super easy and the glasses are light and feel surprisingly comfortable on your face.  Spectacles are great at filming interactions with people.  Face to face videos are spot on because they are filmed at eye level exactly the way you see things.  Also, videos that are experimental videos where your hands are otherwise occupied Spectacles are great for because you won't be using one hand to juggle the camera while the other demonstrates what you are trying to film.

There is a white LED light circling around letting others know that you're filming, so it meets all regulatory and compliance laws and privacy suggestions.  Battery life advertises about 50 snaps or an entire day of use and I can say I was able to use them for about 3 days without having to charge them once.  The hard yellow case that the glasses come in doubles as a case & a travel charger so you are able to get five charges out of it on the go.

​Video quality is surprisingly good, I only have 2 suggestions or areas of Opportunity.

1. I wish it took still pictures and not only 10 second videos.
2. You can't see what you're recording in real time; this is part of a larger problem with the Spectacles.  With a traditional camera you typically have the LCD screen to see what you are filming, all be it small it helps you adjust and focus on what you want to capture.  With Snapchat's Spectacles you don't have that luxury yet in the app or anywhere built into the shades.  

​The way that Snap Inc in Venice, California is coming to market with the Spectacles is pretty impressive in itself.  They started out on the West Coast and they're working their way east to NY and dropping Snap Vending Machines at random places in the US creating quite a buzz.  Like anything that has inventory quantity constraints at launch it begs the following question.  Is it a marketing thing for companies finding ways to create a demand (for something that otherwise would not be there) by holding some of the product back?  Either way, I believe it's such a unique approach for going to market, Snap Inc isn't spending tons of money on marketing or carrying the glasses in retail outlets yet, the consumers are tweeting and snapping their experiences live and in real time doing all the campaigning the Spectacles need to be a national success.

Like the Apple Watch, the cool factor is a 10 out of 10 in my opinion and Snapchat isn't taking their own product too seriously... Do we need the Snapchat Spectacles? Absolutely not.  But do I enjoy them a whole hell of a lot and do I see the potential?  Absolutely.  

​Being able to capture something the way that you saw it is a really cool thing.  Kudos to Snapchat for taking a risk and coming out with a product that we might not need, but somehow we will wait in line for hours in the cold to get one or pay double on eBay.  I'm going to go out on a limb and say we're going to see multiple different versions of this kind of a product in 2017.

Such an incredible 180 degree turn in just 24 hours in the GI Joe fallen Police Officer story going from a homicide to a “carefully staged suicide.”  Today I learned facts matter & not to ever assume anything.  My Dad used to say "believe nothing you hear and only half of what you see" and boy was that true in this case.

On September 1st Gliniewicz radioed in a (made up) foot chase and claimed three male suspects looked suspicious and 15 minutes later he is found dead.  He was 50 yards from his squad car staging the scene spacing out his pepper spray, baton and glasses far away from him trying to indicate a struggle.  Later it was determined the two shots fired were from Gliniewicz's own weapon and surprisingly his gun wasn't found for over an hour and it was just three feet from his head.

What is  terrible is that a man who was employed to protect and serve ended up putting a lot of people in danger because of the way he choose to exit this world.

It was later found out that Gliniewicz  stole from the police department he worked at for the last 7 years.  He embezzled thousands of dollars for travel expenses, mortgage payments, personal gym membership, adult websites, facilitating personal loans, and unaccounted cash withdrawals.

On top of that, he forged signatures to requisitions for equipment in the Police Explorer program. Pages and pages of text messages, which he thought he had deleted, included evidence of his crimes were found and also his disdain against a Fox Lake administrator — including thoughts of burying her in "the Volo Bog" a state nature preserve in the area.   

​PDF: Joseph Gliniewicz text messages 

Before fatally shooting himself, he tried to camouflage his suicide as a homicide by leaving a staged trail of police equipment at the crime scene.  His pepper spray, baton and glasses were all spaced out trying to create a crime scene.  To make himself look like a shooting victim, he also fired a first shot from his handgun into his abdominal area and bullet-resistant vest, but not puncturing his skin because the vest absorbed most of that impact.

Glinieqicz betrayed the public's trust and put hundreds of officers at risk creating the unnecessary manhunt.  Thousands of taxpayer dollars were wasted on the search for suspects that didn't exist. He was given a hero's memorial service which police officers from 1,000 police forces came all across the country to pay their respects.  

I was 6 years old when The Undertaker made his WWE debut at the 1990 Survivor Series and he is still wrestling today 25 years later.  "Awesome" is the only word Gorilla Monsoon could think of to describe the him when hewas the Mystery partner on Ted Dibiase's Million Dollar Team.  Undertaker quickly eliminated Koko B Ware and Dusty Rhodes before being counted out himself.

Who could have guessed the success the Undertaker would have for the past 25 years and what can you say about the Deadman that hasn't already been said?  The Phenom's entrance alone is worth the price of admission to any live event, once the Gong Hits you are in for a treat.

A year after his Survivor Series debut the Undertaker beat Hulk Hogan for his 1st of 4 WWE World Heavyweight Championships and the Deadman is a 6 time World Tag Team Champion
partnering with Stone Cold Steve Austin (1) Big Show (2) The Rock (1) and Kane (2).

The Undertaker is so fascinating to me because over the 25 years he continues to reinvent himself and stay relevant & exciting but sticking to his core character which the fans have grown to love over time.  He was a Mortician under Paul Bearer, the Phenom in the Ministry of Darkness, the American Badass on a motorcycle to a Deadman and now an Outlaw with short hair.  He is described as the hardest worker in the dressing room and so well respected in the industry.  

He was the first wrestler ever to compete in the Hell in a Cell match with HBK Shawn Michaels, he is known for his Buried Alive matches, his signature move the Tombstone Pile Driver and the Choke slam sending his opponents straight to hell.  "The Streak" started at Wrestlemania 7 winning 21 straight Wrestlemania appearances until Brock Lesnar broke the streak at Wrestlemania 30 shocking the entire world.   

 WrestleMania VII

• The Undertaker vs Jimmy "Superfly" Snuka (1-0)

Even though The Undertaker has defeated a wrestling legend in less than 5 minutes, this match wasn't viewed as anything special at the time. No one had a clue that this was the start of something special. With Hulk Hogan ending Sgt. Slaughter's evil grasp on the title, and the Ultimate Warrior sending Randy Savage into retirement, very few people paid much attention to this match.

​WrestleMania VIII

• The Undertaker vs Jake "The Snake" Roberts (2-0)

This was one of the most memorable matches from The Undertaker's WrestleMania winning streak. It was also one of the best feuds of The Undertaker's career. Jake Roberts has long been known as a master of the microphone. With The Undertaker not speaking that often at the time, Jake Roberts skillfully used his brilliance of ring psychology to bring the best of The Undertaker. He ultimately dominated the Snake almost the whole time of match. He even withstood the impact of Roberts' famous DDT after being hit by the move two times. The Undertaker won the match after performing his signature Tombstone Piledriver on Roberts to the concrete floor.

WrestleMania IX

• The Undertaker vs Giant Gonzales (3-0)

This was the only WrestleMania match in The Undertaker's career that he won via disqualification. It happened when the Giant Gonzales suffocated The Undertaker with a cloth soaked in chloroform in which his manager, Harvey Wippleman, gave him during the match. This knocked the Phenom unconscious and he was brought on a stretcher to be treated backstage. After a couple of minutes, a gong sounded, and The Undertaker stormed back into the ring and attacked Gonzales for knocking him out. The Phenom hit him with three clotheslines,the final took the giant down from his feet.

WrestleMania XI

• The Undertaker vs King Kong Bundy (4-0)

At the 1995 Royal Rumble, The Million Dollar Corporation (which included King Kong Bundy), stole The Undertaker's signature "Urn" after his match with Irwin R. Schyster. Undertaker looked for revenge at WrestleMania and defeated King Kong Bundy after delivering a flying clothesline. He may not have retrieved the urn back (because of Kama taking it back from Paul Bearer after The Undertaker claimed it from Ted DiBiase during the match), but The Undertaker had made an impact on The Million Dollar Corporation after the match.

WrestleMania XII

• The Undertaker vs Diesel (5-0)

The feud between The Undertaker and Diesel started after they interfered in each other's quests for the WWE Championship. Having nothing to gain from it, they decided to settle it at WrestleMania XII to a grudge match. It was also one of the memorable matches of The Undertaker's WrestleMania streak, where two big men fought each other into a stalemate, trading big boots, clotheslines, and finishers with each other. The Undertaker also withstood Diesel's finishing move Jacknife Powerbomb after being hit two times. After a chokeslam, The Undertaker finished it with a Tombstone Piledriver, and the fight between two of the biggest men in the WWE was over.

Wrestlemania 13

• The Undertaker vs Sycho Sid (6-0)

This was first of the three title matches in which The Undertaker competed at WrestleMania. During the main event, The Phenom entered the squred-circle with his old ring attire (trench coat, hat, gray tie, gloves, and boots) that he used during his early days. As the match started, the two traded finishers with each other, but that did not work too well. The two big men fought each other to a great match, but after two interferences from Bret Hart, The Undertaker pinned Sycho Sid with a Tombstone Piledriver, thus not only improving his streak to six wins, but also claiming his second WWE Championship in six years.

WrestleMania XIV

• The Undertaker vs Kane (7-0)

This was the first of the two matches against his brother Kane at WrestleMania. The feud between the two began at the 1997 Badd Blood, when Kane cost The Phenom the first ever Hell in a Cell match against Shawn Michaels. At first, The Undertaker, overcome with his emotions to his own brother, refused not to fight him. But as Kane and Paul Bearer forced him to do so week after week, he was almost being convinced, but ending up getting his emotions have the best of him, therefore still refusing to fight Kane. After being locked into a casket and having it set it on fire during the 1998 Royal Rumble, The Undertaker finally agreed to fight his brother at WrestleMania XIV. During the match, The Phenom was almost dominated by Kane, because it was still against his will to fight his own brother, but after delivering three tombstone piledrivers, The Undertaker won the match even though the fight between them was not yet over.

WrestleMania XV

• The Undertaker vs Big Boss Man (8-0)

This was the first of the two Hell in a Cell matches in which The Undertaker has competed at a WrestleMania. It was also the first Hell in a Cell match at a WrestleMania. As The Undertaker's Ministry of Darkness feuded with Vince McMahon's Corporation, McMahon instructed his enforcer, The Big Boss Man to fight The Undertaker at WrestleMania in a Hell in a Cell match. Though bloodied with a baton the Boss Man had used on him, The Undertaker dominated the whole match, and got the win after a Tombstone Piledriver. After the match, the Brood (Gangrel, Edge, andChristian), came from the rafters of the arena and gave their leader a noose. The Undertaker then put it on the Big Boss Man, who was still dazed from the match. As The Brood went back up, Paul Bearer is seen controlling the Hell in a Cell, which causes it to raise up with the Big Boss Man hanging on it, sending the Corporation a message.

WrestleMania X-Seven

• The Undertaker vs Triple H (9-0)

After Triple H cut a promo on an episode of Smackdown!, telling everyone that he had beaten all he needed to beat, The Undertaker showed up and made an exclamation that Triple H have never fought or even beaten him. This started the feud between the two superstars that culminated at WrestleMania X-Seven, as The Phenom requested the match to be done. The Undertaker and Triple H fought each other so intensely that after the referee was knocked out, the fight went all the way through the crowd. It allowed The Undertaker to perform a chokeslam on Triple H on a sea of WWE fans. As they got back into the ring, they traded each other's finishers, After a Last Ride from the top rope, The Undertaker pinned Triple H, despite being busted open with a sledgehammer, thus improving his streak to nine straight wins. This was considered as one of of The Undertaker's greatest WrestleMania matches. This was also the time where more people started to take notice about The Undertaker's undefeated streak.

WrestleMania X8

• The Undertaker vs Ric Flair (10-0)

The feud between The Undertaker and Ric Flair began after Flair cost him the victory at the 2002 No Way Out during The Undertaker's match with The Rock. Afterwards, The Phenom challenged Flair into a match, in which Flair refused a number of times. After The Undertaker attacked Ric Flair's son, David, and threatened to attack his daughter, Flair finally agreed to fight The Phenom in a no-disqualification match. The Undertaker may have dominated almost the entire match, but there are times where Flair gained the advantage from The Undertaker. Despite the interference from Arn Anderson and the nature of a no-disqualification match, the Undertaker defeated Ric Flair after a Tombstone Piledriver. This was the year the undefeated streak took off, as The Undertaker motioned ten fingers for his ten victories after pinning his latest opponent.

WrestleMania XIX

• The Undertaker vs The Big Show and A-Train (11-0)

As The Undertaker feuded with the Big Show during the late 2002, A-Train become a part of the rivalry after he attacked The Phenom after his match with the Big Show at 2003 No Way Out. Also during the time, Nathan Jones has become The Undertaker's protege, training him for their tag-team match at WrestleMania XIX. Later on, the tag-team match became a Handicap match between The Undertaker versus the Big Show and A-Train. Although fighting alone, The Phenom still dominated the whole match, and as he went into trouble, Nathan Jones came to his aid and helped The Undertaker win the match and extend his undefeated streak to eleven wins.

WrestleMania XX

• The Undertaker vs Kane (12-0)

During the Buried Alive match between The Undertaker and Mr.McMahon at the 2003 Survivor Series, Kane attacked his brother and cost him the match, thus The Undertaker ended up being the one buried alive. After the event, Kane held a eulogy telling everyone that The Undertaker is finally dead and is not coming back. He was wrong, during the 2004 Royal Rumble match, a gong sounded, which caused Kane to freak out and to be eliminated by Booker T. This, followed with a series of mind games from The Undertaker, culminated to a match with Kane at WrestleMania XX. As The Undertaker came to the ring, he returned to his "Deadman" persona (with Paul Bearer on his side). As the two brother fought each other, the newly-reborn Deadman finished his brother once and for all with a Tombstone Piledriver and improve his streak to twelve straight wins.

WrestleMania 21

• The Undertaker vs Randy Orton (13-0)

It was billed as the "Legend vs Legend Killer match" for WrestleMania 21. This was one of the few moments throughout the Undertaker's Wrestlemania winning streak where fans believed that it could come to an end. Many felt that Randy Orton would get the win to help elevate him higher into the main event, but even the interferance from his father, Cowboy Bob Orton, and his RKO finishing move wasn't enough to break the streak. The Undertaker won the match after reversing a tombstone piledriver from Orton and performing a tombstone of his own.

WrestleMania XXII

• The Undertaker vs Mark Henry (14-0)

This was billed as a casket match, the first one in WrestleMania history. Despite what one editor wrote in this space earlier, this match is noted as being one of Mark Henry's better performances as he more than held his own throughout. After the match, Undertaker sent a lightning bolt on the casket.

• This match is also the last one to feature the old-style 'coffin' style casket. Subsequent Casket Matches would use modern caskets.

WrestleMania 23

• The Undertaker vs Batista (15-0)

This was one of the Undertaker's finest matches ever. The emotions were there as he was able to win the World Heavyweight Championship from Batista. Plus, the match surprised a lot of fans in that Batista performed much better than expected.

WrestleMania XXIV

• The Undertaker vs Edge (16-0)

Undertaker defeated Edge for the World Heavyweight Title. It was also the first match where The Undertaker won via submission (using his then-unknown Hell's Gate submission hold). However, only about 1 month later Vickie Guererro, who at the time was dating Edge, made Undertaker vacate the title due to his dangerous submission manuever, which he used to win the match at WrestleMania.

WrestleMania XXV

• The Undertaker vs Shawn Michaels (17-0)

Arguably Undertaker's best WrestleMania encounter, Shawn Michaels proved to be the one of the biggest threats to Undertaker's Streak. This match recieved a 5-star rating from critics due to the length and action of the match. It was named the best match of 2009 and will be remembered for many WrestleMania's to come.

WrestleMania XXVI

• The Undertaker vs Shawn Michaels II (18-0)

It was billed as "The Undertaker's Streak vs Shawn Michaels Career" for WrestleMania XXVI. A rematch was made as Michaels has challenged Undertaker to a rematch at next year's Wrestlemania. However, The Undertaker refused, telling Michaels that he has nothing to prove on him anymore. After Shawn Michaels caused him to lose the World Heavyweight Championship to Chris Jericho inside the Elimination Chamber by hitting him with his signature Sweet Chin Music, The Undertaker changed his mind and accepted the rematch but only if Michaels agreed to putting his career on the line. Michaels did, and two-weeks later it was announced the match could only end by pinfall or submission. Though not reaching the height that their Wrestlemania XXV match did, the added stipulation made this match an automatic classic for any wrestling fan.

WrestleMania XXVII

• The Undertaker vs. Triple H II (19-0)

As The Undertaker returned on the February 21st episode of Raw, Triple H also made his return as he interrupted The Phenom. The Game then laid down the challenge for WrestleMania, which The Undertaker accepted. As weeks progressed, Triple would interfere during some random matches and deliver his finisher, the Pedigree, on the announce table to whichever superstar (Sheamus on the first and  Ted Dibiase on the second) comes out, sending a message to The Undertaker. On the week before the match, Triple H would then tell everyone why Shawn Michaels could not defeat The Phenom, and that was because of his emotions, and promised that he is a different person, that he could end the Deadman's winning streak. Also before the match, it was announced that it will be a "No Holds Barred" match. At WrestleMania, the Deadman would gain the momentum during the start of the match. However, Triple H dominated the whole match after he brutalized The Undertaker with chair shots to the point that he could not go on anymore. Although badly beaten up, the Phenom got up to his feet, but ended up being hit by his own Tombstone Piledriver finisher by the Game, to which he would kick out. After delivering two pedigrees resulting in unsuccessful pins, The Game resorted on bringing in the sledgehammer, thinking that it would end the match once and for all. As he was about to use it, the Deadman somehow put him into the Hell's Gate submission hold, in which he locked on Triple H for about a minute. As the Game was about to pass out, he finally submitted as a result of too much pressure from The Undertaker. Despite winning the match and keeping his undefeated streak intact, The Undertaker did not walk out of the arena, but instead was carried off on a cart because he had received too much punishment from Triple H.

WrestleMania XXVIII

• The Undertaker vs. Triple H III (20-0)

This was billed as "End Of An Era" match. During a segment between Triple H and John Laurinaitis the night after the 2012 Royal Rumble, The Undertaker made a surprise return and confronted Triple H. Feeling he has not done enough after the beating he took from the Game at the previous WrestleMania, The Phenom challenged his former opponent for another rematch at that year's WrestleMania. Triple H, feeling that ending the streak would be bad for the business, refused to take the match. As weeks progressed, it was shown that every time Triple H refuses, The Undertaker started to and continuously cut his hair. On the February 20th episode of RAW, after another refusal from Triple H, The Undertaker made a notion to his other previous WrestleMania opponent, Shawn Michaels. He accused Triple H of living in his best friend's shadow and thinks that Michaels was better than The Game. When Triple H hears about it, he become irritated and finally agreed to have the rematch, and promised that he would finish the streak and The Undertaker's career once and for all, but under one condition. The Undertaker must face Triple H in a Hell in a Cell match (the second Hell in a Cell match in which The Undertaker competed in at a WrestleMania). Weeks later, it was revealed that Shawn Michaels was picked as the special guest referee. During their match at WrestleMania, The Game and The Deadman picked up where they left off on their previous encounter. At first, Triple H dominated The Undertaker with chair shots just like their last match. Also, this match has full of emotions not only because of the two competitors, but also because of Michaels being the referee, contemplating to stop the match as his best friend instructed him to do because of The Undertaker looking like he cannot continue, or else The Game will "end it". After being put on Hell's Gate submission hold, Michaels hit a Sweet Chin Music to The Undertaker, which give Triple H and opportunity to also hit the pedigree. Many thought that after being hit by those two finishers, the match would end and the streak would be over, but the Deadman had the instinct to kick out. Afterwards, The Undertaker somehow "came back to life", and attacked Triple H with fury. The Deadman finally dominated The Game until the end of the match, leaving Triple H helpless even from Shawn Michaels. Afterwards, the Game was pinned after an emphatic Tombstone Piledriver, finally The Phenom having his revenge. He now extended his streak to perfect twenty straight wins. After the match, The Undertaker and Shawn Michaels helped carry Triple H back to the locker room and as they were standing on the stage, they hugged each other that signaled an end of an era.

WrestleMania 29

• The Undertaker vs. CM Punk (21-0)

On the start of March 4th episode of "Old School Raw", The Undertaker returned after a year-long hiatus and made everyone known that he will be competing at that year's WrestleMania. At the same night, after losing to John Cena on a number one contender's match for WWE Championship at WrestleMania, CM Punk issued a challenge and promised that he would beat The Undertaker and end his undefeated streak. However, Randy Orton, The Big Show, and Sheamus, also wants to face the Phenom, and so Vickie Guerrero announced a Fatal-4-Way match between the four competitors. At the main event, CM Punk defeated the other three superstars and has fought The Undertaker at WrestleMania 29. The streak of the Undertaker survives yet another year, by defeating CM Punk: The Undertaker locked Punk in a Hell's Gate which the latter countered with an Anaconda Vice, CM Punk tried everything he can to stop the streak (Jumping from the top rope into the table...) but it still wasn't enough. The Undertaker puts Punk through a Piledriver but Punk miraculously kicks out of the pin, The Phenom then knocks out the referee unintentionally, while held by Undertaker for a Last Ride, Punk receives the Urn from Paul Heyman in the corner, CM Punk hits the Undertaker with the Urn in the back of the head. In the end, Undertaker with a second Piledriver ended the Match to extend the streak for another year.

WrestleMania 30

• The Undertaker vs. Brock Lesnar (21-1) the end of the Streak

The End of the Streak. On the February 24, 2014 episode of Raw, Heyman stated that Lesnar had requested a match for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship, instead receiving an open contract to face anyone of his choosing at WrestleMania XXX. Heyman said that Lesnar felt insulted by this and that he would not be appearing at WrestleMania at all. The Undertaker then returned and chokeslammed Lesnar through a table, setting up their match at WrestleMania. Lesnar would ultimately defeat and pin The Undertaker and end the Streak after delivering 3 F5s.

WrestleMania 31

• The Undertaker vs. Bray Wyatt (22-1)

The iconic Undertaker exhibits no signs of fatigue following his loss to Brock Lesnar at last year's WrestleMania.  One should never raise the dead.  That much was clear in the final moments of Bray Wyatt’s encounter with The Undertaker at WrestleMania 31. Wyatt had rattled The Deadman’s casket, beckoned him to The Grandest Stage of Them All to make an example of The Phenom and prove to the world that Bray was WWE’s New Face of Fear.  Instead, he learned that WrestleMania is still The Undertaker’s yard.

Chris Farley was super talented, he connected to the audience like no one else and he cared more about other people than he did himself; that's not common in Comedy.  People were drawn to him & loved working with him.

He was my favorite comedian, hands down, there was nobody else like him & there won't be anyone like him in my lifetime.  The characters he played on SNL and in movies like Tommyboy & Black Sheep were in many ways actual representations of himself; he was a larger than life character, often over the top & gave off the image he was fearless but deep down inside, he was frightened and terrified.  Chris had a big heart, he was kind, gentle and innocent; in that was also a frightened person.  He had Low self esteem & never thought he was good enough.

He was born in Madison Wisconsin and had 3 other brothers.  He connected to the audience, cared about his work and people were drawn to him because of his natural ability to make people laugh.  

Chris had a simple upbringing, often him and his brothers had a lot of Fun.  He put parents through Hell & was striving for attention even at a young age.  
He wanted to outdo the other brothers, always horsing around and competing for the Spotlight which I can relate to.  The nuns would often tell his Mom "the Students at school were laughing AT Chris not with him."

Chris's Dad was grooming him to take over the family business Scotch's Oil Company interestingly the plot in Tommyboy was very similar to Chris's real life at home & relationship with his father.    

Chris would often kill them with laughter, he was friendly, had an infectious personality, he was kind, a puppy dog at heart.  He was not arrogant or melitious, never cocky even though he was the best in the room which says a lot about Chris.

He cared about the show, never fought for his time or piece.  He was comfortable just being a part of things and he cared about everyone on the Show; not just himself and that is uncommon for comedians.  

Farley didn't need a lot of prep, he could just wing it.  He could improvise like no one else.  An interesting fact, he doesn't block his fall much if any, Chevy Chase and David Spade would warn him "You gotta block your fall."  But Chris took it as pain, almost too committed using his body to make people laugh.  

Chris as a star himself was still star stuck by celebrities.  The Paul McCartney interview on SNL, Chris was a magnified version of himself, showing off his own insecurities.

His self deprecating manner, vulnerability in some of his characters were inspired by his real life struggle.

He seemed so comfortable and natural but inside he was terrified.  They said Chris lit up the room, but he did everything to excess.  He was a friend to excess, loved to excess , kind to excess, also drinking and partying to excess.   Chris was caught in a world he couldn't get out of.  He never said no to a dare, all in an effort to make people laugh and to get the attention he craved and 
desired since he was a kid.  

They said he was a sweet guy before Midnight.  Then the darkness wasn't something others would want to be around.  He would isolate himself when he would realize he was going down the wrong path with drinking and drugs & want to be alone.

Myers, Spade, Lorne Michael all tried to help and give Chris Warnings how worried they were for him.  they thought he drank too much (after the show) and even showed up drunk to some skits.  
He would go on stage and was clear as a bell but drunk.  Then after the show drunk again almost on auto pilot in front of the fans when he was on stage making people laugh.  

Chris was doing WELL acting in movies like Waynes World, Coneheads & Billy Madison; he was happy, killing it and having a good time.  He had the IT factor and at that time entered into a rehab and was sober for a good amount of time.

Doing Black Sheep and Tommyboy, it was Ying and Yang with Farley and Spade.  They worked so well together as good friends on and off camera.

Initial reviews for Tommyboy were BAD and hurtful and took Chris back to drinking and drugs.  
The video came out and everyone LOVED Tommyboy, even though it was sabotaged in reviews while it was in theatures but Time Magazine named it top 10 comedy of all time.  
Once on TV it became a HUGE Hit and very popular.  

Fat guy in a little coat wasn't originally in the Tommyboy Script, Chris kept doing it (backstage while filming) using David Spades actual suit jacket and they eventually put it in the movie. 



Tommyboy is a sketch how Falrey grew up in Wisconsin.  Years later, Black Sheep tried to replicate Tommyboy and pickup where it left off with similar characters for Spade and Farley.  

They knew there was a difference between the two films but the two movies grossed about the same, $32 million each, both getting their following from VHS vs theature box office.  
Farley relapsed again after Black Sheep & went in and out in Rehab.

10 years ago today August 8th, 2005 I went from working at a Nextel store in Plainfield to working at TeleNav, a GPS software startup company in Sunnyvale, California.  I had a year left of College at Westwood and I was hired as a Channel Support Specialist.  I traveled around Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin and Michigan and I helped customers implement GPS in their company and supported the Sprint sales team with any questions they had positioning the software and solution.  

When I got hired out of college in 2005 George Bush Jr. was president and the popular cell phones were the Blackberry, the Motorola RAZR and the Palm Pilot, this was 2 years before the debut of the iPhone.  Many phones did not have GPS in them and they had a browser icon we would rarely if ever use.  

In August of 2008 I was promoted to manager of the Enterprise Accounts Team, to this day it was one of my proudest accomplishments.  I was able to accept the job and didn't have to relocate to California, I loved traveling back and forth but I did not want to sell my house in Illinois & reside in California, so I just commuted as often as I was needed.  I LOVED flying into San Jose, staying for a few days and then flying home.  

The Fast and the Furious movie series has been delivering since 2001 and Furious 7 has no shortage of Fast Cars, Beautiful Woman, Action, Action and more Action.  Furious 7 was 2 Hours and 20 minutes of non stop Action.  

7. "The most important thing in life will always be the people in this room, right here, right now. Salute mi familia. You'll always be with me.  And you'll always be my brother.  I don't have friends, I got family."  

6. “You almost had me? You never had me - you never had your car... Granny shiftin' not double clutchin' like you should. You're lucky that hundred shot of NOS didn't blow the welds on the intake! You almost had me?"  

5. “I live my life a quarter-mile at a time. Nothing else matters. Not the mortgage, not the store, not my team and all their bullshit. For those ten seconds or less, I’m free.”  








4. "He did the stare and drive on you, didn't he? He got that from me."

3. " Why don't you try Fat Burger from now on? You can get yourself a cheese and fries for 2.95."  

2. "Pockets ain't empty, cuz."  

1. You can have any brew you want... as long as it's a Corona.

What's been going on, what's happening and what's coming up with
Royal Family Kids?

Wayne Tesch (the Founder of Royal Family Kids Camp) was in town and spoke at Southwest Community Church and shared all the great things RFK is doing across the country. 
We launched Club which is designed to extend the experience of Camp for 11 kids and we had a successful Teen Retreat in March with 23 campers.

Did you know it costs $650 to send a kid to Camp? 
Because of your donations last year, we were able to send 55 kids to camp as well as begin our Club & Mentoring program. We had our 3rd year of Teen Retreat & celebrated Christmas with the Kids.

Teen Retreat is a weekend trip for our camp graduates. Since camp is only offered for ages 7-11, we offer this retreat for our teens. This year we decided to go crazy and do a winter retreat instead of one in the spring.

At first I was a little hesitant because of severe weather conditions we usually experience, but the weather was wonderful! It wasn’t freezing, but we still had snow to enjoy – and we stayed away from the lemon snow! I was very pleased with the great turnout! Thank you to all the
volunteers, who come out and spend time with amazing kids.

We enjoyed fun activities all weekend: snow tubing, snow shoeing, and broom-ball. Tubing down the hill was my favorite and quite the workout. Even though we had a busy schedule, we made time for board games and time to talk to each other. Sometimes we are so busy that we don’t take time to listen to one another. We were able to share stories and chat with one another. It was awesome getting to know others better

Our next step,
The winter retreat is just beginning for the plans we have for our graduates. Being a teen is a difficult time especially in this day and age. We are hoping to continue to see our graduates shape into responsible citizens. We are working on creating a mentoring program that will help develop a growing relationship.
More details coming soon, keep an eye on your mail!

If you can’t wait, then come join our youth group! 
We invite our teens (6th- 12th grades) to come join our youth group on Sundays 3:00-4:30 pm at Southwest Community Church Barn located at 4405 Van Dyke, Rd, Minooka, IL.

Our volunteers couldn't say good-bye at the end of camp so we created a way to keep saying hello.
Club and mentoring are the perfect combination to get your monthly dose of RFKC! Camp volunteers are matched to one of our campers, who they are committing to mentor every month. Mentoring is a minimum of four hours a month and then you both join us at our monthly club meeting. It is just simple as that!

Every year at Camp RFK has a Birthday Party for the Kids, for some this may be the first time their birthday is celebrated so we spare no expense. Each child gets a gift bag and takes a family photo with the Camp Grandma and Grandpa. This year we are inviting YOU to take part as a Birthday Bag Sponsor for $20.
Checks can be made payable to RFK, please designate your check for the Birthday Bag in the comments section.  
Contact Karyn at karynhoran@gmail.com .

 6. The Display & Feel
The s6 feels Amazing.  The s5 didn't WOW many people with it's look or feel, the s6 has the WOW factor.  The display on the s6 is the same size as the s5 but it is like going to a high Definition TV from an old bunny ears television from the 90's.  5.1" gorilla Glass with a Super AMOLED, 2560 x 1440 display.

5. It's FAST
It has a nicer processor than my desktop computer at home, worlds first 14nm processor.  The s6 has a 64-bit, Octa-core processor and comes with Lollypop 5.0.  The s6 supports simultaneous running apps to allow multitasking and side by side applications such as GPS directions and Pandora or Spotify.

3. Gear VR Support & Wearables
Partnering with Oculus Samsung has created a Virtual reality experience until today that was only available with a Note 4, now it is reported to support the s6 and s6 Edge.  Also Samsung has been a big advocate of Health & Fitness and tracking apps, with the new processor in the s6 allows for more features on the existing watch Samsung Gear wearable's.   

My dad is the greatest man I know, there is nobody else like him.  I've learned so much from my dad, he has a fix for everything, he is so handy and he always finds a way to just Get Things Done.  
I couldn't imagine the man I would be today if it weren't for my Dad. My dad has taught me the value in keeping my commitments, being on time, he passed on a fraction of his handiness to me, & my overall sense of humor I got from my Dad.

My Dad has such a big heart, he is selfless & almost to a fault he helps others with their projects long before he tackles his own "To Do List." There is nothing my Dad can't do.

My dad used to park his Harley in the living room, my friends and I always got a kick out of it when he would come home and the house would start to shake.  My Dad Loves to ride and now that I have a Harley of my own, we can go on trips together on the motorcycles.  Working on the bikes together is a bond we have formed over the years.  

I can't even count the times I have called my dad with a question, a problem or needing help around the house and he was over before I could hang up the phone.  My dad is the most selfless person I know, he is ALWAYS helping others around him with some kind of an electrical side job, an upgrade to their home or helping fix their car on the side of the road.  (myself included)  

Thank you Dad for all you do.

1.  My Dad loves riding his motorcycle and ever since I was a kid I wanted one of my own; so when I turned 16 I got one.  For all the reasons you can imagine, my dad was against me getting a bike; he thought I drove cars too fast or someone was going to run me off the road.  

Sure enough, the 1st weekend I had my bike I got pulled over and got so many tickets I couldn't ride the bike home.  The options were to tow it or to call someone with a motorcycle license to come and get it, I asked "How much is the Tow?"  I didn't want to call my Dad at midnight, have to ask him to come and get it and tell him 
he was Right.

I called my Dad and said "I'm OK, but you need to come and get me, I got a bunch of tickets..."  
CLICK, he hung up.  I called him back and said " I don't know if that was your phone or mine... but you gotta come and get me."

My dad came and got me and rode the bike home and when we got home we talked in the garage before going to bed.  I learned indirectly from my Dad that night that We as family, friends and co-workers are going to disagree on some things, but it's important we Support the other people in the process.

2.  I didn't know all of this story until my friend Jeff shared it one Sunday morning he was preaching.  My friend had an Electrical problem at his house and I got my Dad over to fix it.  

After working an 8-10 hour day, my Dad came to my house & then we went to Jeff's house in Aurora and very quickly my Dad was able to identify the problem and fix it within the 1st hour we were there & then we left.

On our way out apparently Jeff tried to give my Dad some cash and said "If you didn't come I would have had to pay someone else a lot more money" and my Dad refused the money and said, "I know, that's why we came."

I learned from my Dad that night that we all have a unique set of skills, some of us are born with them and others have spent years crafting them; share what you are good at & you will get it back 10 fold.  

3.  The last story involves a neighbor and long time Family Friend of ours named Todd Morse.  My Dad ran into him & must have talked to Todd about what my brother and I were up to.  When I saw Todd he asked me if I had any idea how proud my Dad was of my brother and I?  

I had an idea but I wanted to hear what he said, so I asked him to tell me...  Todd said my Dad was going on and on about my brothers 2 boys and the new house him and his wife bought and how well I was doing at work...  


Then Todd asked me if I ever told my Dad I loved him?  I said "Oh No, no, we don't need to do that." Todd has 2 girls so I figured it may be easier for his two girls at least to tell him they love him...  
He said to try it.  

A few weeks later my Dad was over and I was having a difficult time with some things, I was down on my luck and he could tell.  He assured me everything was going to be alright and he told me what I needed to do to get through things.  On his way out I grabbed him and gave him a hug and I said how much I appreciated everything he does for me and "I love you."  He responded "I love you too"  It was awkward for us, but it was a good feeling knowing someone else knows how much they mean to you.  

I learned that weekend to Tell the people who are Important to you that you care about them.

In today's age with social media and news outlets reporting what is good for ratings and not just the news, people are quick to form a biased stance and instantly we all have Law Degree's from Yale University.  It's good we have opinions but it is nearly Impossible for us to say what we would do in someone else's situation.  If you have the time, educate yourself on the facts, try to have some compassion & resist the urge that someone has to be "Right or Wrong" because that is subjective.                                         STOP THE VIOLENCE

Aug. 9: Brown is shot by Wilson around noon local time on Canfield Drive in Ferguson, Mo., just outside St. Louis. Wilson was responding to another call but encountered Brown.

Earlier, Brown and a friend, Dorian Johnson, were videotaped in a nearby convenience store, Ferguson Market and Liquor, apparently stealing a box of cigars. Someone at the store placed a 911 call and a police dispatcher put out a description of Brown. It's unclear whether Wilson was aware of that report before the altercation with Brown.

Witness testimony differs: Some say Brown, who was unarmed, assaulted Wilson in his police vehicle and tried to grab his gun. Johnson said there was no struggle for the weapon. Another witness says Wilson tried to draw Brown into his vehicle. All accounts seem to agree that Brown was killed after he ran but then turned back toward the patrol car.

Aug. 10: St. Louis County police Chief Joe Belmar says in a news conference that Brown was unarmed but had assaulted the officer, who had not been named at that point. Belmar says one shot was fired inside the car and another outside the car.

Aug. 10-13: Several nights of peaceful and not-so-peaceful protests. Police fire tear gas and arrest dozens of people, many charged with vandalism and rioting. Many accuse the police of a heavy-handed approach in dealing with the city's black residents.

Aug. 14: President Obama addresses the nation and urges calm and an "open and transparent" investigation into Brown's death. Gov. Jay Nixon announces that the Missouri Highway Patrol, led by Capt. Ron Johnson, will take over security in Ferguson. A night of demonstrations is nonviolent for the first time in days.

Aug. 15: Police name Darren Wilson as the officer who shot Brown. Video of the convenience store robbery allegedly perpetrated by Brown and Johnson is made public for the first time. Clashes between police and protesters resume. Nearly 200 people are arrested.

Aug. 16: Nixon declares a state of emergency and curfew in Ferguson.

Aug. 18: Nixon orders the National Guard to be deployed to the St. Louis suburb.

President Obama announces that Attorney General Eric Holder will be dispatched to Ferguson to monitor the situation there.

Aug. 20: A grand jury begins investigating the actions of Wilson.

Aug. 21: As calm appears to return to Ferguson, Nixon orders the National Guard to begin withdrawing from the city.

Aug. 25: Brown's funeral service draws family, friends and strangers to the Friendly Temple Missionary Baptist Church in St. Louis.

Aug. 25-Sept. 26: Sporadic protests continue in Ferguson.

Sept. 27: A Ferguson police officer is shot while responding to a burglary. The shooting does not appear to be connected to the Brown case.

Oct. 14: Police arrest dozens of people during fresh protests in Ferguson.

Oct. 22: A leaked autopsy report on Brown is published by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. It reportedly supports accounts that there was an altercation between Brown and Wilson at the officer's patrol car. A toxicology screening also reportedly suggests that Brown had marijuana in his system at the time of his death.

Nov. 17: Nixon declares a state of emergency and activates the National Guard in anticipation of a grand jury decision on whether to indict Wilson.

Nov. 24: St. Louis County prosecuting attorney Robert McCulloch announces that a grand jury decided not to indict police officer Wilson for any crimes related to the fatal shooting of Brown.