Friendship.....you just can't live without it.
Everybody needs friends....people to turn to during stressful situations, people to build memories with, people who can rely on you for advice & guidance....& maybe people who will chip in on a 12 pack of beer once in a while.
I've been blessed with being able to make a lot of friends in my life. From childhood to the present time, I can't even begin to list all the individuals who I have come across. Each & every person has left an impact on me, whether good or bad, & I can crack a devious smile knowing that I can re-live those memories, be it in my head or through old videos & pictures.
But now I'm 32 years old & the brutal reality is that I rarely hang out with anybody anymore. A lot of it is life....you tend to go down your chosen path & end up not having any time anymore for those old shenanigans. But once in a while I still would like to believe that, one day, all of us could get together & re-live the experience one more time....for old time's sake.
Nowadays, there really isn't a group or clique that exists anymore. The last, tight knit group of friends that I have (known simply as "The Guys") rarely make appearences anymore. Pat & Mike are burdened by no transportation & Mike's current work schedule at Kroger's, Matt Keith has limited his appearences to mainly Wednesday evenings due to his thrid shift commitments at Wal-Mart, and Rob, for reasons only known to him, has decided to pretty much stop calling & coming over altogether...I haven't talked to him or seen him since May. Yet I still consider these guys my friends. No arguments, bad falling-outs, or anything like that...it's just the way the cookie crumbles, so to speak.
The world of Facebook has allowed me to reconnect with a lot of individuals from my past & it's been nifty....that's right, I said "nifty". The greatest thing about Facebook is that I've been able to locate the majority of my old friends from years past, people who I haven't seen or talked to in many years.
For starters, there's "The Brotherhood"....a ragtag group of trailer park hoodrats who made my childhood quite fun, to say the least. The list of misfits from that clan reads like a high school yearbook (or criminal defendant list, depending on who you ask)....Scott Cadell, Andy Carlson, Rob Smith, J.D. Nicholson, Jason Silva, Jake Slawik, Rhyne Spencer, Craig Scott, Jason McClaskey, Dwayne Tesch, Jeremy Williams & his stepbrother Mike K. These guys & I were a tight knit group of teenagers, causing chaos while having loads of fun doing it. We were all involved with an equally mischevious group of girls from East Peoria who kept up with us in every aspect....Erica Forden, Tiffanie McNeese, Sarah Hoffer, Kristina Sayers & Autumn Martin (who resided in Pekin), among other supporting cast members. Facebook has reunited me with almost all of these individuals (except for Andy, who is busy with work & family, although I do have his sister Juanita on my friend list, Jeremy because I have absolutley no interest in locating him as he was disowned long ago by everybody & Autumn, who has vanished from the face of the earth). Let me ask you this....if Facebook wasn't invented, do you REALLY think that we all would have kept in touch?
There also was "The Rock & Roll Society", my high school clique. Jesus H. Christ, Esq., were we ever a bunch of troublemakers! Rob Spear, Rick Miller, Jake Simonsen & Mike Johnson brought me out of the trailer park & into a whole new world of hell raising. To document our exploits would be a riot....it would also probably cast some of us in a non-favorable light. With the exception of Rick, I maintain FB contact with everybody else, & as mentioned earlier, Mike still makes occassional apperances.
My other friends have come from different eras of my life. Some were other childhood friends from the trailer park, some were other buddies from high school. There were the main trailer court chicks that I grew up with...& then there was everybody I met during the infamous Summer of '98, particulary those hip cats from Princeville, the lovely women from Metamora/Germantown Hills & East Peoria & other well-to-do people from the Tri-County area. Sorry if you're not named, but you know who you are!
I'm rambling here....
The point of all of this is that it's a honor to still consider all of you as friends. We may not see each other much, we may not hang out every weekend....shit, we might barely get the chance to even talk. But what matters is that we all can still (via Facebook, at least) keep up on tabs with how we all are doing. I would like to believe that while we may not physically be kicking it together, mentally we can still throwback to the days of yore, when there wasn't a damn care in the world & we did whatever the fuck we wanted to....with reckless abandon.
Maybe one day, all of us can plan a one-off reunion. Get everybody together & have a BBQ perhaps, or meet at some pre-determined location & have one last hurrah before we all dive back into our individual lives. Now THAT would be something for the books........
Monday, August 23, 2010
Saturday, June 5, 2010
Random Mumblings
Welcome back, sirs & madams!
If any of you have ever followed my MySpace account, you'll remember that I used to post various blogs, appropriately titled "Random Mumblings". This was my attempt at stringing together various thoughts, ideas, & other general bullshit that I swept out of the diaries & memoirs inside of my brain. So without further ado, let's dust off the cobwebs & do this....
-The Fuson family vacation trip to Wisconsin Dells was amazing. It was much needed for all of us....for me, it was a much needed break from the daily grind of the Red Cross. For Kira, it was the epitome of stress relief...stress that comes with dealing with me & the kids. For the boys, it was a chance to blow off some steam & have some fun that didn't involve a computer or a Xbox 360. For Kali, it was her very first road trip & she handled it like a pro.
There were a few minor snags that made us think that some sign from God was trying to tell us that we shouldn't have made the trip....Kira's hospital visit, the car rental place denying me the van that we had already made reservations for due to credit problems (BTW...fuck Avis! If you really need great service without the hassle, go to Enterprise), my lack of directional sense that made the 4 hour trip up there turn into 7 hours...you catch my drift. But all of those problems were washed away when we saw our resort, hit the water parks (although many of them were closed due to it being the middle of the week & lack of tourists) & went out for family dinners in the evenings. All in all, an excellent time that I'm sure none of us will ever forget!
-A couple of plugs to mention here: everybody needs to check out my friend Dallas & his concept EP "Faces Vol. 1", as well as his CD "Yeah That's My Real Name". Midwest hip-hop at it's finest! Hit http://www.indyground.com/ for more information!
Another old buddy of mine, John Farmer, has a really good band he's involved in called The Aposematics. Really eclectic & worth listening to! Head on over to http://theaposematics.com/ to find out more!
Lastly, my childhood friend Spencer has started up his own woman's Roller Derby League! You can e-mail him at rivercityrollergirls@hotmail.com to obtain more info. Also check out the official website at http://rivercityrollergirls.vpweb.com!
-Speaking of friends, the main group has somewhat splintered off, mainly due to this wonderful experience we call life. Rob rarely comes over anymore due to other committed plans he always has, Matt still stops by but only for 3 hours on Saturdays due to his 3rd shift commitments at Wal-Mart, & both Pat & Mike have no transportation to speak of. Oh well....as Blink 182 once iterated, "Well I guess this is growing up...".
Well..time to wrap this up for today. Kira has headed off for the day to attend a get together for her mom & stepdad's 25th anniversary & I'm here with Kali & the boys so I must put on my "Mr. Mom" hat (whatever that may look like!) & get to doing some things around the house.
Remember....if you're gonna be good, be good at it & don't get caught!
If any of you have ever followed my MySpace account, you'll remember that I used to post various blogs, appropriately titled "Random Mumblings". This was my attempt at stringing together various thoughts, ideas, & other general bullshit that I swept out of the diaries & memoirs inside of my brain. So without further ado, let's dust off the cobwebs & do this....
-The Fuson family vacation trip to Wisconsin Dells was amazing. It was much needed for all of us....for me, it was a much needed break from the daily grind of the Red Cross. For Kira, it was the epitome of stress relief...stress that comes with dealing with me & the kids. For the boys, it was a chance to blow off some steam & have some fun that didn't involve a computer or a Xbox 360. For Kali, it was her very first road trip & she handled it like a pro.
There were a few minor snags that made us think that some sign from God was trying to tell us that we shouldn't have made the trip....Kira's hospital visit, the car rental place denying me the van that we had already made reservations for due to credit problems (BTW...fuck Avis! If you really need great service without the hassle, go to Enterprise), my lack of directional sense that made the 4 hour trip up there turn into 7 hours...you catch my drift. But all of those problems were washed away when we saw our resort, hit the water parks (although many of them were closed due to it being the middle of the week & lack of tourists) & went out for family dinners in the evenings. All in all, an excellent time that I'm sure none of us will ever forget!
-A couple of plugs to mention here: everybody needs to check out my friend Dallas & his concept EP "Faces Vol. 1", as well as his CD "Yeah That's My Real Name". Midwest hip-hop at it's finest! Hit http://www.indyground.com/ for more information!
Another old buddy of mine, John Farmer, has a really good band he's involved in called The Aposematics. Really eclectic & worth listening to! Head on over to http://theaposematics.com/ to find out more!
Lastly, my childhood friend Spencer has started up his own woman's Roller Derby League! You can e-mail him at rivercityrollergirls@hotmail.com to obtain more info. Also check out the official website at http://rivercityrollergirls.vpweb.com!
-Speaking of friends, the main group has somewhat splintered off, mainly due to this wonderful experience we call life. Rob rarely comes over anymore due to other committed plans he always has, Matt still stops by but only for 3 hours on Saturdays due to his 3rd shift commitments at Wal-Mart, & both Pat & Mike have no transportation to speak of. Oh well....as Blink 182 once iterated, "Well I guess this is growing up...".
Well..time to wrap this up for today. Kira has headed off for the day to attend a get together for her mom & stepdad's 25th anniversary & I'm here with Kali & the boys so I must put on my "Mr. Mom" hat (whatever that may look like!) & get to doing some things around the house.
Remember....if you're gonna be good, be good at it & don't get caught!
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
Random Mumblings
Wow....where do I start?
It's been a while, kids, & I've found myself being a completely different dude than the Gary of years ago. Married, 3 kids, living in a modest 3 bedroom house in Bartonville & working for the American Red Cross. Years ago, I was unemployed, living with my parents & REALLY fucked up on various chemicals & liquids.
Goes to show you what maturity can do to somebody.
Not that I'm 100% mature....let's not get too jumpy here. I still play video games, still have my longtime friends over for weekend shenanigans (whatever they may be). There is really no way the inner child in me will ever grow up.
Ever since I turned 30, I 've been in a "reflective" frame of mind. Always reminiscing about years past, re-living stories good & bad, finding myself reaching for the wore out, yet trusty photo album. Facebook hasn't really helped my cause as it's allowed me to reconnect with numerous old friends & acquaintences. 108 friends.....and I know each & every one of them. Not to throw out any digs at people who have upwards of 500-1000 "friends" on their list, but everybody who has added me or I've added myself are family or friends who I can at least share one good story about, validating how I know this person.
As much as I dislike the city of Peoria, my roots are firmly planted there. That damn trailer park off of Knoxville St. was my longtime stomping grounds. Everything I learned about life was taught to me or self taught within the cozy confines of Royal Highlander Mobile Estates. The fights, the games, the days & nights of chaoticness that came with hanging out in our clique. Don't even ask about the Summer of '98....that's another blog for another time (I promise).
Every Saturday & Sunday, Lite Rock 106.9 plays their "Awesome 80's Weekend". I'll head downstairs to the basement & flip on the shitty JVC boombox that resides down there. The moment that first song hits, I'm in flashback mode. You ever heard about how certain songs take you back to a certain moment and/or place in your life? Add some early-mid 90's music to the mix & it's a fucking soundtrack to my life!
But as everybody knows very well, there's no time machine. Time only moves forward & all we can do is get old & plan our next course in life. That's not to say that it's necessarily a bad thing, it's just life....and I love my current state in life. I'm married to the greatest woman ever, my children are everything I could ever imagine (no matter how much of a pain in the ass they could be), & I find myself pretty content.
From the skinny, young rugrats to the East Peoria girls (both groups!)...from the Brotherhood to the Rock & Roll Society...from the hazy days of '98 to my self-imposed recovery in '00...it's been one hell of a journey. And I can't thank each & every one of you enough for being a part of it!
This blog will serve to mainly let me clear my mind once a while, but also to re-live some of those funny childhood/teenage stories. Nobody will be safe....including myself! :)
It's been a while, kids, & I've found myself being a completely different dude than the Gary of years ago. Married, 3 kids, living in a modest 3 bedroom house in Bartonville & working for the American Red Cross. Years ago, I was unemployed, living with my parents & REALLY fucked up on various chemicals & liquids.
Goes to show you what maturity can do to somebody.
Not that I'm 100% mature....let's not get too jumpy here. I still play video games, still have my longtime friends over for weekend shenanigans (whatever they may be). There is really no way the inner child in me will ever grow up.
Ever since I turned 30, I 've been in a "reflective" frame of mind. Always reminiscing about years past, re-living stories good & bad, finding myself reaching for the wore out, yet trusty photo album. Facebook hasn't really helped my cause as it's allowed me to reconnect with numerous old friends & acquaintences. 108 friends.....and I know each & every one of them. Not to throw out any digs at people who have upwards of 500-1000 "friends" on their list, but everybody who has added me or I've added myself are family or friends who I can at least share one good story about, validating how I know this person.
As much as I dislike the city of Peoria, my roots are firmly planted there. That damn trailer park off of Knoxville St. was my longtime stomping grounds. Everything I learned about life was taught to me or self taught within the cozy confines of Royal Highlander Mobile Estates. The fights, the games, the days & nights of chaoticness that came with hanging out in our clique. Don't even ask about the Summer of '98....that's another blog for another time (I promise).
Every Saturday & Sunday, Lite Rock 106.9 plays their "Awesome 80's Weekend". I'll head downstairs to the basement & flip on the shitty JVC boombox that resides down there. The moment that first song hits, I'm in flashback mode. You ever heard about how certain songs take you back to a certain moment and/or place in your life? Add some early-mid 90's music to the mix & it's a fucking soundtrack to my life!
But as everybody knows very well, there's no time machine. Time only moves forward & all we can do is get old & plan our next course in life. That's not to say that it's necessarily a bad thing, it's just life....and I love my current state in life. I'm married to the greatest woman ever, my children are everything I could ever imagine (no matter how much of a pain in the ass they could be), & I find myself pretty content.
From the skinny, young rugrats to the East Peoria girls (both groups!)...from the Brotherhood to the Rock & Roll Society...from the hazy days of '98 to my self-imposed recovery in '00...it's been one hell of a journey. And I can't thank each & every one of you enough for being a part of it!
This blog will serve to mainly let me clear my mind once a while, but also to re-live some of those funny childhood/teenage stories. Nobody will be safe....including myself! :)
Monday, April 26, 2010
Welcome To My Brain!!!
That's right....I have now set up my own blog site! Nobody checks MySpace anymore & Facebook still doesn't really have a good blogging spot so here I am.
Feel free to read, comment, whatever the hell you wish...as long as it's not immoral and/or illegal!
I'll also be breaking out the old cut & paste method to some of my old MySpace blogs. Kinda gives you a peek at what little creative writing I have in me!
Feel free to read, comment, whatever the hell you wish...as long as it's not immoral and/or illegal!
I'll also be breaking out the old cut & paste method to some of my old MySpace blogs. Kinda gives you a peek at what little creative writing I have in me!
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)