Online Dating

Back in 1995 my Uncle Ron called me over to show me this cool computer he bought. it was a Packard Bell model with a 133meg processor and 32megs of ram and a huge 2 gig hard drive. Later we started calling it "Packard Hell" but i doubt that is an original term. We had a huge argument about its worth, I was calling it an over priced type writer. That's when he showed me A.O.L. and the addiction began.
My first Screen name was Gator9571 and i was spending all my free time in chat rooms. I had fifty people on my buddy list and by 1996 i didn't have to enter a chat room to chat i would get I.M.'ed the second i signed on. I wasn't looking for a date when i met Kim, it just kinda happened to turn out that way. I was in Florida and Kim was Living in Arkansas. We talked online for two months and then started making AT&T stock holders very happy. I moved out there and found the area very beautiful, but the people where a little off. No alcohol, No fool langauge and church every sunday. Now im not saying thats why they are a little off, I tried to clean up my act. Its when they started preaching No premarridal sex that i began to choke. Come on!!!! where's the love? Needless to say the relationship between Kim and I didn't work out and I went back to florida never to return to Arkansas.
The year is now 1997 and it has happend once more. This time her name is Donna and I am back into the Phone stage and the stock holders are happy as hell due to my $700 a month phone bill. My Uncle Ron thinks im a loser and my Friends want to stage an intervention for me. One fine day in November of 1997 Donna had a bussniss meeting in Fort Lauderdale and stops by Jacksonville for a three day visit. We Hit it off and in January of 1998, I once agian moved this time to Chicago.
Flash forward ten years and Donna and I are still together happly married. My current computer is light years ahead of that old packard Hell, But the only thing i do on it now is Gaming and Blogs.

Fatherhood

When i was little it amazed me to no end how cool grown ups where. The chain coming off on my bicycle or understanding how the "tricky" parts fit together on my model airplane, my dad was there with a quick fix or an explanation. I always wondered when i was going to be blessed with this gift. Eight years ago when my daughter was born i was scared to death, seems i was now a dad and i didn't have any idea on how to be a parent. My daughter was born at 8:04 pm August 21st 2000. The next morning the hospital called me at home and asked me to return to the hospital. My wife was having complications with her c-section wounds and they wanted me to be there to feed Becky. I sat in the room alone with my newly born daughter in my arms and my heart was busting with pride, but that didn't last long. when i picked up the bottle to feed her it squirted formula in her eyes. My pride turned to panic when i realized i was screwing up the most simplest acts of parenting. After about two minutes my face was as wet as Becky's, i could not believe i was crying...i never cry...but i was. The nurse came in and made a reference to me being a rookie and took her away. Now what kind of start was i off to? Was i going to be an idiot father? Hell No!!! i made a vow to become super dad right then and there. The years went by and i became a pro, and when a problem came up i thought back to how my dad or some other adult solved the dilemma and applied that course of action.
The other day Becky came to me and needed help with one of her toys. I fixed it and handed it back to her with a pat on her head. She looked at me and said "Dad, you can fix anything can't you?" That's when it hit me. we never really "grow up", we just get older. Wisdom from our experiences replace our parents as we become parents ourselves. I looked my daughter in the eye and said "Yes Becky, I can fix anything"