The one where Bill thinks back

Here I am, riding the ferry, across the Mississippi River, from the East Side of New Orleans to the French Quarter. Looking at the City, which incredibly, is below the berm. That was always amazing to me, a whole city below the water line. I am holding my Wife's hand as she calls back home to check in on how our 10 month old daughter is doing, My mom was watching her.

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The moon is out, but so are the clouds, they are battling, but ultimately, they reach a truce. The moon is not fully covered, but nor is it fully hidden. The ride across the river wasn't that slow relatively speaking, only about thirty minutes, but time was sneaking past us much faster than that, without us even knowing.

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There I am, sitting on the front porch of the first house smoking a cigar, talking about how our life is supposed to be. A Life of abundance, A life of adventure and travelling. A life worth living. Together. With our kids. With my wife as a family.

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Then there was the work, the struggle to get promoted, to earn more, to save, to make everything comfortable. To compete, to make something out of my career. To be worthy. To do what I needed to do, to make it all come true.

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It was a building type of thing. Build a life, build happiness, make something, but enjoy the process along the way. Which ties this remembrance of mine, back to those trips to New Orleans, also the various trips to New York, the time we went back to my college town, and the time on that porch. I remember buying the big four bedroom home together, having those kids of ours, building the landscape by the back deck as a team. The Christmases x 10, all the Thanksgivings, the welcoming in of the multiple New Years.

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It all died. She will tell you it was that one night, I will tell you that was just the final period at the end of the chapter that she had been writing for several years prior to that. It doesn't matter though. It ended up in complete and total failure.

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Life goes on though. Life keeps plugging away , like those nights crossing the river in New Orleans, It may seem to take forever to get from the one side to the other, but in reality, it was only about thirty minutes. Nearly four years have gone by now, but the ferry in New Orleans still goes from one side to the other, about every thirty minutes. One side to the other, four years worth of picking up and dropping off, but now when I ride it, I ride it alone.

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My Mom is dead now. My daughter is almost fourteen. We also have a ten year old son. The Life of abundance is still somewhere off in the future. The divisiveness divided and the division is really just a form of subtraction, its just less now.

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Jack Handy

"If you're at a Thanksgiving dinner, but you don't like the stuffing or the cranberry sauce or anything else, just pretend like you're eating it, but instead, put it all in your lap and form it into a big mushy ball. Then, later, when you're out back having cigars with the boys, let out a big fake cough and throw the ball to the ground. Then say, 'Boy, these are good cigars!'"-- Jack Handy

Bad Husbanding

Staring down the Holidays while juggling Chainsaws

The Holidays are on their way. I think of them kind of like I am standing on a train track and they are the train, My shoes are stuck under the railroad ties, and I get hypnotized by the shiny headlight of the train, plus the whistle and chug a chug chug chug sound it makes as it barrels towards me.

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Its the time of year that work always ratchets up a little bit, which coincides with all the distractions of the season, so I am not on top of my game, at the same time, the pressure is increasing. As a professional Chain Saw Juggler, this is not a good scenario.

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Where did the year go? It was mostly relatively smooth sailing, but the last month is the storm and the boat is in need of maintenance, but there is no time to take it into the marina. Thank goodness there will be wine.

The Phillip Rivers Conundrum

In one of the fantasy leagues I am in, I have Phillip Rivers (plus Jabar Gaffney), going tonight. The guy I am playing is done, but is also quite a few points ahead of me. In the other one, the guy I am playing has him. (I am done, but have a medium to small sized lead)
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In the one where he is on my roster I need him to absolutely blow up to have any kind of chance to win.
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In the other, I need him to play poorly and mostly hand the ball off.
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My prediction: He will do enough for the other guy that has him to pass me, but not enough for me to catch the other guy, and I will end up losing in both leagues.
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I think next year I am going to quit one of these leagues. I hate this conundrum.

Appalachian State says Shush

No, YOU SHUSH... Just cause you are 9 and 1 in your lower division of college football, does not mean you can come into the swamp and beat the Gators.

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We have superior athletes and the only way that could possibly happen would be if somehow the Gators got out coached. -- No way that happens. Our Coaches are creative and able to adjust on the fly and ALWAYS have imaginative play calling......... Oh wait... Shoot.... Never mind...

The slow bleedout

First noticed the blood running out from my wrist when the gators played so horribly against Miami of Ohio. I didn't think much of it though, You know, Just get a band aid, it was that type of thought process.
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Alabama gave the Gators their first loss this year. At that point, I was like, Hey man Bama is good, this blood running out of my wrist will coagulate soon. Then we had the over the shoulder bounce lateral to the kicker against LSU at Home.--- Followed the next week by the full seven points scored against Mississippi State at home, and I was like HEY, this thing keeps bleeding! Stop the bleeding here! this is getting kind of alarming!
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Saturday Night was like sitting in the bathtub watching the life drip out as Lattimore kept pounding on our defense. when it was over (and it was over at halftime) Florida was just a bloodless carcass - Season over. The halftime adjustment we needed to make was to fire Addazio. This season bled out slowly and now its over. Going through the motions with Appalachian State, then Florida State, plus a crummy little bowl game, probably the humanitarian or another crummy little place. Maybe Detroit. -
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New re-incarnation next year though. Another chance .. a new season... Just a long wait and of course we have those two other meaningless Saturdays and then the crumfest crummybowl to look forward to---

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So Sad.

Tebow's first NFL touchdown pass

Tebow's first NFL touchdown pass

South Carolina Tailgate

From this past weekends tailgate.

Go Gators

Gainesville, on a big game weekend is one of the most beautiful things you can see in this world.
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It's not like it isn't a great place to be when they are playing the FAU Owls, or some other poor sister of the homeless in early September, because it is, ---but Gainesville on a home football game weekend, for a chance to win something tangible, in November, is awesomeness defined. There is an intensity level about the pre-game tailgate that is generally not matched.
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The awesomeness magnifies itself into a pure goose bump causing frenzy when it happens to be a big game like it is this Saturday, and when you are playing another SEC opponent for the right to win awesome stuff on a future Saturday night, then damn it, that's what its all about.
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I may be immature for caring about this stuff as much as I do, especially, since I have been concerned about the fate of the Gators since the third grade, but call me whatever you want, as long as you call it the way it is, And the way it is: is that the gator Nation is alive and well . .except of course the part where it's struggling . -
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Here is to my specialness, as defined by being a Gator fan , and I mean that in only the best way you can think about it, and here it is to beating South Carolina on a fall like autumn day tomorrow.
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Go Gators ..-

Bill Werther

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Big Game this weekend in Gainesville

This Saturday in the Swamp, The Gators and the Gamecocks are going to be playing Football. This is not just any game either. This game is for some stuff.

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1) It's being played for an SEC Eastern Division Championship.

2) It's being played for a Chance to win the S.E.C. -- Winner has a shot at it.

3) In the case of Florida its a Chance for a small measure of redemption on what has been a hard season, by Florida's standards.

4) Win this game on Saturday and the chance to make it to a BCS game stays alive, because the loser is going to some crummy little bowl game.

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Urban has called for a blue out. Urban has asked for intensity from the crowd. Urban knows this is a big game.

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The Billster is making a little road trip up to Gainesville this weekend, gonna wear my blue, gonna bring the yell. I will be sweating out some intensity.

My Daughter the Tutor to Asian Kids in Math

While driving down from Gainesville to Tampa on Friday Night, My daughter was telling me how she might get into the International Baccalaureate program at Eastside High School. ---U.S. News and World Report rates that particular High School as the 15th best High School in the Country because of that program . (its look- up-able if you think I am pulling your leg)
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She is in the Middle school equivalent of the I/B program in Alachua County right now, and she was telling me how she tutors an Asian Kid in Math. She is so proud of that. -- So am I...Plus it just strikes me as kind of funny.

Pictures from this past weekend

Random Pictures from this past weekend with my kids

Hunter took lots of these pictures because He likes pushing buttons.

Sad Alabama Fan

She is Sad. She is a fan of Alabama. Look at her eyes. That is Sad

Alabama fan eyes.

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Serendipity? Am I supposed to learn something?

I heard this today at a Luncheon I attended : " People may not remember exactly what you did, or what you said, but they will always remember how you made them feel." - It is a quote from Maya Angelou
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Then I was goofing around on the internet tonight and saw it again: ---"People may not remember exactly what you did, or what you said, but they will always remember how you made them feel."
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I think I am supposed to think about that a little bit because seriously, Twice in one day?

RIP Mom

My Mom: Born 9-10-1947 died 11-4-2007 - Three years ago today.

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This picture was taken around 1970

The Florida Gators and the Movie Top Gun

When "Goose" was killed during a training incident in the movie Top Gun , that was like Florida losing to Alabama earlier in the year. In case you don't follow Florida Gator Football closely, like I do, the exact moment Goose was killed was when Burton threw the Jump Pass Interception at the goal line.
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At that point in the game we had just drove the ball right down the field like a hot knife through soft butter. When we did not score at the goal line, and threw that pick, that was when Goose died, and Maverick (the Florida Gators) went into a funk. It wasn't that the Florida Gators suddenly didn't have some of the best talent in the nation, They always have, it was at that exact point, the coaching staff and the players, lost their swagger. It was just like when Maverick lost his.
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When Florida lost to LSU and MISS STATE the following weeks, that was the part in the movie Top Gun when Maverick, played by Tom Cruise, rode around on his motorcycle brooding about his father's legacy and feeling guilty about that jump pass on the goal line.
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The Gator fans played the part of Ice Man and got in Mavericks grille a little bit. "Maverick You're Dangerous" is what the Ice man told Maverick -- That quote can be translated into the language that the fans of Gator Nation speak, and reads like this: "Addazio, you suck as a play caller"
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Beating Georgia was when Maverick got assigned to an aircraft carrier in the Persian Gulf. -- Maverick had the cred to get that gig, and Florida Beat Georgia because, Hey, that's our thing, that's the Florida Gator Cred, It's what we do, at least for the most part during the last 21 years. (an 18 and 3 record)
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The upcoming games against Vanderbilt and South Carolina will hopefully be the part where Maverick Throws Goose's dog tags in the Indian Ocean with that Girlish looking throwing motion, regains his swagger, shoots down the Migs, moves back to California and hooks back up with Kelly McGillis' Character. (Charlie)
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At the end of the movie, during the final dogfight scene, Maverick said: "I will not leave my wingman" Translated into Gator Football fandom it sounds allot like this: "All the Gators have to do is beat Vandy and South Carolina and we can go back to Atlanta and have another chance"
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Whatever happened to Kelly McGillis anyway? Is she living in Atlanta now? That chick was hot, and winning the SEC is also pretty damn sexy.
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So here is to the Gators hooking up with the 1980's version of Kelly McGinnis.

-(attached is a video. It's about 9 minutes. If you are committed to this post, then watch it now, because it will act like a refresher course. for the rest of this post. honestly the shit they say in this video will have gator translations to follow but if you don't take the time to watch the video, then the rest of the post may not make sense for you)

* When Hollywood got hit, and goes down, that was when the Florida Gators lost to Mississippi State. - (just some more bad news when you are ready for some good news)

* When they reference going through "His" (the Migs) Jet-wash. -- that's like having LSU do a fake field goal with a Bounce Lateral to the kicker. Just crazy that it worked and also that the jet-wash didn't Mess them up all to hell (like a lateral bounce pass to a kicker would not completely cause an F-14 to lose their shit)

* When they talk about " two Migs dead ahead" That is Vandy and South Carolina.

* when they talk about it being 5 migs? and not Four? thats when they are talking about Lattimore. He is not just one Running back, he is a Beast of a running back. (its scary to think about just having to beat South Carolina but South Carolina with Lattimore running the rock.

* When they say " check the guys to the north" that is the fandom talking about the SEC WEST. They are basically saying hey, why the hell do you even want to win the East when you have to face the winner of the west? who for all purposes will kick your ass"

* When they talk about " Not getting a tone" that's the same thing as Gator fandom saying Even if we do get to Atlanta are we going to be able to do anything anyways? "

* when Maverick tells Merlin that he is: " gonna hit the breaks and let them fly right by me" that's the Gator Nation telling the doubters that the WEST can Kiss it. they may have the winner of the east in their sights, but we may just kick their ass in Atlanta for the spite of it.... all about hitting the breaks and letting them fly right bye....

Tim Tebow's Second Touchdown

Holidays -- a list.

Great Holidays: Labor Day, Memorial Day, July 4th , New years Day
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Okay Holidays: Thanksgiving
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Holidays I dislike: Halloween, Christmas
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The Great Holidays are about having a three day weekend and no real obligations. I make sure to appreciate the military every day, and especially on Memorial day. I also appreciate the extra day off. Lots of times the Labor Day, Memorial Day, July 4th holiday involves hanging with friends, drinking a beer, firing up the grill etc. New Years Day is a day you generally get off and there is football all day long.
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Thanksgiving -- Never been my thing. I like the food, I like Having the football on, and the two day off thing. Sometimes it can be stressful with family though, and then all the cleaning up. Don't get me wrong, Love my family but sometimes having them all together at the same time just seemed kind of like a job. Still does.
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Halloween with all the dressing up and the kids knocking on your door for several hours, plus, I like Candy allot, but I generally know better, but when there is so much of it...just laying around, begging to be eaten... .
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Christmas... Most pressure filled Holiday of them all. Its all about the presents. Its all about meeting expectations, not failing -- I usually always feel like I fail at Christmas ... I like it okay when it is over I guess.
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My favorite holiday? -- Super Bowl Sunday... I love that day, and it is a holiday. Its a thing Americans do,----- it just doesn't have an officalness to it.