Job Update

1 week and counting!
4 more 7p-7a shifts in the ICU before I start my 8a-4p monday-friday job in the PACU (recovery room)!!! after I orientate for a few weeks, I'll be working 10a-6p mon-fri with some night time call and every 8th weekend on call. Hey, I'll take the good with the bad and right now, I'm stoked about it!!!!
That's all for now.
Stanton's got a 1st grade Chorus concert tonight, I'll shoot some pictures and post them when I can.
Later,
Scott

COPE with it!

Hey y'all, I hope everyone's been doing well. I haven't posted lately due to the whole work/sleep thing, but had a moment to zone out on the computer, so I figured I'd share one of my and Melinda's passions. Music. All kinds of music. Live, studio, acoustic, electric, vocal, metal, blue grass, hip hop, folk, blues, rock,... we love it. The only exception would be most of the crap they play on the radio and oh, yeah, recorded opera. I didn't mind playing in the orchestra for an opera (when I was playing bassoon in college), and I would go to an opera, but can't stand to hear it on the radio/tv. And as far as radio... well regardless of whether it's top 40, country, "alternative", or whatever, Most of it boils down to mediocrity. I'm not saying that those musicians are not talented, but I am saying that the stuff they're putting on the radio tends to be fabricated on some sort of "American Idol" like assembly line. BTW, the best part of American Idol is the auditions!!! I would like American idol IF the contestants were only allowed 1 or 2 covers for the whole show, the rest of the shows they had to sing/play their OWN songs which they had written themselves or in collaboration with each other. Then, it might be impressive. Again, I'm not saying that those folks aren't talented or can't sing, I just think it's lame that they get sucked into the whole "sellout" mentality and become another generic "Pop Sensation" for a year or two then gone.

Speaking of sellouts (just kidding!), one of our FAVORITE musicians for going on 7 or so years now is Citizen Cope (aka Clarence Greenwood). You might recognize some of his tunes on recent tv commercial (hence the "sellout" I was alluding to... I really don't think he's sold out, I think the man is just trying to make a living... and probably has a promoter who elbowed his way into some kind of "commercial" contract... that's all). Anyways, we usually go to a big concert or two per year and we saw Citizen Cope in a small-ish venue in Atlanta last year called "Center Stage" and it was greaat... we just missed him last week (bummer), but we'd already been to our big show this year (G. Love & Special Sauce with John Butler Trio opening... JBT took the show by the way)...
Anyways, Cope is an incredible songwriter and is good to listen to anytime, even with the kids (not his debut album though, unless you can get a censored copy). I just thought I'd put a link or two for you folks to check out... he's got a new acoustic album coming out in December... would make a pretty good Christmas gift!
Hope you enjoy it!

Preserve Family! Politics affect you!

Please watch this video and pass it on.

Yeah, I know it's California, but there's a mindset that California sets the pressadent.

Family Weekend Update.

Hey Folks,
Hope everyone had a good weekend. I know ours was good. The kids got out of school early on Thursday, off Friday and today (Monday) for "Fall Break". So, we went to Eclectic (North of Montgomery,AL just east of Wetumpka) for a family reunion. It was @ Melinda's Sister's house and it was the first big reunion on her side since her parents died in '03. It was just for the Saturday, not one of these all weekend events. We got there our usual 2 (ish) hours late, where we were quickly informed that bets had been placed that we would be the last to get there and what time we would get there. (Melinda's cousin, Holly and her son were only a few minutes earlier than us...) Glad we could provide a bit of conversation and entertainment.
It was good to see everyone. They had invited both families (Melinda's Mom's side and her Dad's). Being that they were all originally from Hokes Bluff (a little Mayberry like town east of Gadsden, AL), and many of them still reside within a 10-15 mile radius, they all are well acquainted with each other and for the most part, mix well in social settings. I think the head count was close to 75 people, but with this group, in contrast with my family, little kids were the minority... though they were well represented. I like Mel's family, and have grown quite fond of them over the years and it's times like these when I regret not being closer to them so the boys can know them too. It seems easier to go to my families events because there are so many cousins their age and they're used to seeing each other, but I hope we can make this a frequent gathering too.
Allison (Mel's sister who hosted the gathering) has 2 or 3 stocked ponds (one is probably big enough to call a lake... not sure of the qualifications though)... we've been fishing there before and of course Ethan caught 12 or 13 fish to mine and Stanton's 1... But not this time!!!! I think he was distracted by his cousins who were cruising around the property on a golf cart...
After lunch, many of the men, a wife or two, Ethan, Stanton, one other little boy and a few of the little girls headed to the water with their tackle boxes in tow... we went to the lake where we had not fished before, but where more folks were and put our hooks in the water. After a couple bites, it had come to our attention that people were catching a bunch of fish in the other pond. So, Everyone but Stanton and I went over to where the fish were biting. As soon as they were out of sight, I felt a couple bumps on my jig, then wham!!! I pulled in a 4 (ish) pound large mouth bass... Stanton pulls up next to me, then he pulls in a little bluegill (bream)... as we worked our way down this grassy shallow of the lake, I started pulling in nice 1 to 3 lb. basses with every other cast... now that's how I like to fish... I put a picture of Stanton's only bass... we were using the same kind of lure, but he mostly caught bluegills. After Stanton's big bass, he was anxious to go tell everybody else so he says: "Daddy, would you be lonely if I go to the other pond to fish?" I chuckled and told him that I'd go over there with him...
When we get over there, only a couple people were catching fish, no bass, only bluegill and a crappie or two... so we told them about what we'd been catching and thanks to the invention of cellphone cameras, we were able to back our story.
Anyways, I posted a picture of the biggest fish that I saw Ethan catch... a nice little bluegill... and I have had the pleasure of finally out-fishing my 10 year/old... I bet that if he weren't so concerned about fishing where everyone could see him (yes, a bit of a show-off)... then he probably would have done what he usually does and out fish me and Stanton.
It was a good time though and I look forward to our next visit.
After we left Allison's, we went to Ginger's house in Pine Level (just about 30 minutes NW of Allison's, and hung out with her 5 young'ns while she and Blake went to their Saturday session of Stake Conference. We stayed with them that night, had breakfast Sunday, they went to church and we went to Pelham (about 1 hour north)to go to Sacrament meeting with April and her family... we were going to stay for the rest of church, Stanton got sick and puked en route to the bathroom so we felt that we better head on home (yes, we cleaned up his mess first)... All-in-all it was a good weekend and nice being able to visit with all our family. I'm glad that we live close enough to visit, but far enough away to make most visits special. Thanks, Ginger for letting us crash there.
I gotta go, I hear some kind of commotion in the boy's room.
Later,
Scott

Letter from Wal-Mart

This is why women should not take men shopping against their will. Recently, Melinda has insisted that I accompany her on her trips to Wal-Mart (to make up for lost "date nights"). Unfortunately, like most men, I found shopping boring and preferred to get in and get out. Equally unfortunately, Melinda is like most women... she loves to browse. Yesterday she received the following letter from the local Wal-Mart.

Dear Mrs. Bedwell,
Over the past six months, your husband has been causing quite a commotion in our store. We cannot tolerate this behavior and have been forced to ban both of you from the store. Our complaints against Mr. Bedwell are listed below and are documented by our video surveillance cameras.
1. June 15: Took 24 boxes of condoms and randomly put them in people's carts when they weren't looking.
2 . July 2: Set all the alarm clocks in Housewares to go off at 5-minute intervals.
3. July 7: Made a trail of apple juice on the floor leading to the women's restroom.
4. July 19: Walked up to an employee and told her in an official voice, 'Code 3 in Housewares. Get on it right away.'
5. August 4: Went to the Service Desk and tried to put a bag of M&M's on layaway.
6. August 14: Moved a 'CAUTION - WET FLOOR' sign to a carpeted area.
7. August 15: Set up a tent in the camping department and told other shoppers he'd invite them in if they would bring pillows and blankets from the bedding department.
8. August 23: When a clerk asked if they could help him he began crying and screamed, 'Why can't you people just leave me alone?'
9. September 4: Looked right into the security camera and used it as a mirror while he picked his nose.
10. September 10: While handling guns in the hunting department, he asked the clerk where the anti-depressants were.
11. October 3: Darted around the store suspiciously while loudly humming the ' Mission Impossible' theme.
12. October 6: In the auto department, he practiced his 'Madonna look' by using different sizes of funnels.
13. October 18: Hid in a clothing rack and when people browsed through, yelled 'PICK ME! PICK ME!'
14. October 21: When an announcement came over the loud speaker, he assumed a fetal position and screamed 'OH NO! IT'S THOSE VOICES AGAIN!'
And last, but not least
15. October 23: Went into a fitting room, shut the door, waited awhile, then yelled very loudly, 'Hey! There's no toilet paper in here!'
Regards,

Tom Richards
Wal-Mart Manager

Just kidding, someone posted this on one of my Mountainbike forums and I thought it was funny. And for the record. We do not shop Wal-Mart (except for gas--- you know, if you use the gas card, you get 3 cents off per gallon... plus it's mostly North American oil as opposed to mid-east and South-American).... anyways, we don't shop wal-mart except for last ditch efforts... we try to buy local 1st, then small buisness, then bigger buisness... you get the picture...

Hope all is well with you guys... oh, and fair warning... I feel a big, smarty-pants political RANT coming soon... so keep an eye out.

Later,

Scott

NON-COMMITAL

Scott has really been at me to write a blog lately (my first) and something he asked me last night stuck. He asked what my favorite movies were- they are not all the same as his. Well, I thought for awhile and have come up with a list but before I blog this it comes with a disclaimer: I have not actually sat through that many movies w/o falling asleep(the usual), getting up and doing something else, or just not being interested enough in a particular film to spend seven bucks to see it. I really hate the 2 hr. commitment required to watch a movie. Give me Law and Order or The Closer any day -1 hr is a commitment even I can handle! I actually slept through most of a Star Wars movie- only woke up during the fight scenes- in a theater with surround sound! I am now being treated for my narcolepsy so that doesn't happen very often but my attention span is rather short (still) and there are lots of things to be doing. Alot of these movies are from a younger age and the ratings and/or content may be questionable but here's what I like/d and in no particular order of preference
Willy Wonka : I loved Gene Wilder in this -sort of creepy, definitely strange, and very honest,at least about human nature.
It's A Wonderful Life : maybe I need to watch it now in light of all the turmoil in the world, it is full of hope.
Harold and Maude: I know the concept of a young, rich, nihilist falls in love w/ a life loving geriatric is weird (and kinda gross) but it really was a positive affirmation about life (even though Maude purposefully o.d.'s on her 80th) and the soundtrack is great--Cat Stevens before he renounced his music and became a Muslim.
Tender Mercies:Robert DuVall in a very understated performance about change and redemption from the perspective of a sober alcoholic country music singer.
Red Rock West: I saw this a long time ago(1992) but I remember really liking it. Nicholas Cage and some crazy identity mix up w/ lots of strange characters.
Short Cuts: speaking of strange characters, this was out around the same time. It probably has some really horrible language and sex in it but I just like all the character developments. Based on the short works of Raymond Carver if I'm not mistaken.
Crash: this was a very powerful movie. So deep and so in your face honest-it was sometimes hard to watch. I would love to recommend it to even younger people but the language- the "f" word in particular prevents that.
Mumford: we just watched this on cable the other night. We both really liked this tale of finding yourself, even when you aren't really who you say you are. It was another one of those ensemble casts I'm so crazy about, also about love, hope and redemption
Raising Arizona, Tootsie, Spinal Tap : I love to laugh.
I really enjoy those football movies like Remember the Titans, Invincible, Rudy, and that new one w/ Ice Cube about the girl football player ;those underdog stories get me every time. There have been other films that I've enjoyed watching w/ the kids: Zorro, Fried Green Tomatoes, A River Runs Through It , and even The Birds:the kids loved these movies.
To Kill A Mockingbird; a classic (both book and film) too bad we don't have more Atticus Fitches in the world today.
So this is a working list and does not include those previously mentioned in our opening profile.
This is dedicated to you, Scott, because I can always talk to you and you'll get what I mean, usually anyway. Next topic please! Love, MOMO

miscellaneous

Yep, here's that random post which combines snips of a lot of things that I've been meaning to "blog" about but haven't made time to do it yet.

1. My folks visited a while back. It was just after school started (I think). I'd been bugging them and bugging them to come up and finally they did (actually Dad had been up a couple times for bike trips or a canoe trip, Mom just hadn't been up in a while... yes, it's way past time for us to pay them a visit... we will, we will.) Well, when they got here, we hung out, ate, went to a movie, did fun "visiting" type stuff. After they acclimated for a day or two, we decided to take them "Out"... you know, to do FUN stuff... so we drove them a little more than an hour away to this real cool place called "Rock Town"... it's on top of Pigeon Mountain which is a mountain plateau that parallels (on the south side) Lookout Mountain-- Chattanooga (but still in Georgia).

It was a nice visit, here's proof:

Oh yeah, we had to hike a mile from the parking lot out to where the rocks were, it wasn't a bad hike though, here's my Mom and the gimp (Dad has a partial knee replacement, jacked up back and he can't raise his right arm due to a pending shoulder replacement... we still love him though and he's one heck of a trouper!) Oh, Yeah!!! My girl got some climbing skillz!!! Not sure why she decided not to smile though.
Here's a shot of one of the part monkey, part mountain goat, part cheetah that we've been raising for about 10 years now... He can climb just about anything.
Just like big brother right?
Funny thing about these cracks in the rocks... some of them only had 20 ft. drops, others dropped for 40, 50, or 60 feet... I'm not particularly afraid of heights, I just get a little nervous when my dad and my son jump back and forth across these things trying to scare me... ask Dad how that turned out for him the next time you see him... (he made it across one that he almost didn't get back across... yup, he almost took a fall... probably would've been his last).
This is a really cool place and no pictures could do it justice. You just have to go there.
Melinda and Mom chill a bit while Macho man flexes for the camera.
After a nice visit with the rocks, it's time to head back to the car. As you can see from this picture, everyone was energized and ready for our next adventure.
It was a good visit and I'm very thankful that my parents are game to so many of my shenanigans. I'm already planning their next visit. Dad says downhill mountain biking is out of the question ever since the incident on the Pinhoti trail (between Ellijay and Fort Mountain) last year. So,..... I guess it's going to have to be hang gliding instead!!

2. Let's see, I already told you about the Canoe trip, so I think next we went to Ginger's for Jonathan's birthday (he turned 12 and was ordained a Deacon). You can catch highlights from this on Ginger's Blog. Here's a couple pics. It was a nice visit... We took the kids on a stroll through the Bamboo Forest in Prattville, AL. (just down the road from the High School that I graduated from--- I only lived there my senior year... it was o.k.)
I learned a valuable lesson on that visit. That lesson is this: If I ever intend to play cards with Dad and Blake (Gingers Husband) again, then I must acquire a prescription for Valium or Xanax for me and/or for them. They figured out how to push my buttons that night... It had been a stressful week and I was sleep deprived as usual... 'Nuff said.

Moving on:
3. Kittens... I may have mentioned that we have kittens... actually we got them mid to late June, but I'm finally posting about them... We had a cat named Spike-tail that we got when Stanton was a baby... he was a cool cat... half Manx/half something else... purely and outside cat... a mouser... Well, long story-short... he got poisoned by the tainted Chinese cat food, ended up with liver failure and died last October (I think)... he's buried in the woods beside our house. Here's a picture of "Spike". Looks thrilled to be held, right?
Yeah, I know I said he was an outside cat, but every once in a while, he'd scram inside while we were fixing him some fresh water, but he lived 98% of his live "Guarding" our home. We'll miss him. So, about these new kittens, they're actually looking more likes cats now. Their names are Bootsie and Aloe. Brothers, but look like they're from different families. These cats are curious!!! They are hilarious too. They've been in/out cats lately, but as soon as we get their family jewels removed, they'll be full blown OUTSIDE cats. Ever hear the phrase "Who let the cat out of the bag?" Bootsie is the one in the bag, Aloe is just guarding the entrance. Here's a little bit of footage of what they do many times a day and every night from 10:45 to 11:45 like clockwork: (the footage is from when they were quite younger ):

No, we're not what I would call "Cat People"... you know, folks who eat, sleep, breath "Cats"... and I don't think that we smell like Cat Pee either.. you know the kind I'm talking about... Stereotypically they are single women in the 40 to 80 year age group who only go out to buy more cat food and kitty litter. Our kittens are DANG CUTE though.... gotta admit it.

4. Stanton's Birthday! Turned out to be a pretty big ordeal. I think we last counted close to 40 people (probably 2/3 kids). We were running our usual 1 1/2 hours late, but with the help of some of our early guests (thanks to the Giles, Yandows, Campbells and anyone else I may have forgotten to mention), it came together nicely. We grilled hot dogs, Conecuh sausage, chicken, and pork shoulder/Boston butt (slow cooked/pulled pork style)... with usual side items and finished it all off with Melinda's Famous Chocolate Cake with Chocolate Mousse filling and Ganache Icing. Stanton and the rest of the kids had a good time, as did the Adults (me too)... before it was all over, I had some of the men on Melinda's and my mountain bikes roaring up and down our trails... I think Todd Campbell and Jorge Bueno even rode on the teeter-totter that we built on the trail (one of our "intermediate" rated stunts)... Maybe for my birthday in November I can have all my friends come over and ride bikes again!!! Here are a few pictures from Stanton's celebration: Yes, that is in our garage... how classy of us.
I think the cats were the only ones who didn't enjoy the evening. Thank you for everyone who came, we enjoyed it... after living here for more than 2 years, we finally had guests over and the house didn't burn down after all. We did miss our friends and relatives who were not able to join us in the festivities... maybe you folks can make the next one.

Well, I'm running out of time and thoughts. See y'all soon (hopefully).

Later,

Scott (and Melinda if she ever decides to "Blog") Bedwell