- Peaceful Journey: Yesterday morning, my uncle, James Dicks, passed away after a long bout with cancer. He was best known as the owner of the deli called "Frussie's" in Knoxville, TN and Gatlinburg, TN (hence the name of this edition of DJRT). He was the sandwich equivalent of the "Soup Nazi" from the TV show Seinfeld, sometimes nicknamed the "Sandwich Nazi." According to one story, a well-known newsperson in Knoxville stopped into Frussie's to grab something to eat and when a patron pointed out that a famous person was there, James said something along the lines of "As long as he's a paying customer I really don't care." Even with that, that is not how I'm going to remember him. I always saw him as one of the most caring and thoughtful people I've ever known. I remember when I was a kid around Christmastime getting presents from he and my aunt Claudia. One was a "wrist racer" with a wind-up General Lee from the Dukes of Hazzard and as a little kid I thought that was one of the coolest things I ever got. I remember he and Claudia's graciousness whenever my family would pass through Gatlinburg where they lived at the time as we would travel to and from Florida, putting us up and showing us around Gatlinburg and being so hospitable in letting us stay with them in our travels. James also kept a lot of photos of family including one of the few photos of me as a baby that still exist which he sent a copy of to me...of course the photo had to be one with me in probably the ugliest yellow outfits in existence thanks to my parents' taste in clothing, but just to have that photo exemplified how thoughtful of a person he was. After I had issues with people back in 2009 regarding my blog, I was able to get back in touch with James and Claudia and it was just such a blessing that I got to reconnect with them and keep in touch since through e-mail and Facebook. It meant so much to me that they were there for me. I wish a lot of you who've known me for years would have been able to meet my uncle because he was just such a great guy. I want to thank those of you who sent prayers and condolences to my family and my aunt Claudia over his passing. Your thoughtfulness is touching and it means a lot to my family as we deal with his passing. I am going to miss him an awful lot. Rest in peace, Uncle James.
- I want to congratulate my friend Pastor Cory Pariseau on his recent engagement. I want to wish him and his fiancee all the best for the future and all the happiness the Lord wants to bless them with. I couldn't be happier for him.
- Back on February 19, I got to go to my first ever independent wrestling show. It was an MCW show that took place in Akron at the Knights of Columbus building. Out of all the wrestling shows I've been to, including WWE, TNA, WCW and NWA events, this show was the best one I've been to...and that's saying something. At those other big-time shows I would cheer but the atmosphere just seemed so...passive and uninspiring. Sure there were high spots but I have never felt that active as a wrestling fan at those older shows. With the decent-sized crowd that showed up to watch the show, I couldn't help but be active and vocal at this MCW show. I can only imagine that was what early ECW was like for those fans in Philidelphia. From top to bottom the show was just amazing, seeing all those wrestlers busting their butts and putting on great performances just to give the fans their money's worth. They did that and more especially with their main event: a triple-threat ladder match for the MCW Elite championship between Patrick Hayes, Ethan Wright, and Justin Mane. It was also the first show where I personally witnessed a title change, that being Justin Mane winning the Elite title from the previous champ Patrick Hayes (who BTW has some of the loudest chops this side of Nature Boy Ric Flair...maybe even louder). The match itself was off-the-charts and worthy of old-school ECW...they worked that hard in that match. I've got some pics here (02-19-12 - MCW Winter Warfare - Akron, OH (Knights of Columbus building) - some actually turned out alright even for my cellphone).
I got to meet several of the wrestlers and MCW staff after the show and at an after-party in Barberton. I got to meet MCW Commissioner Shasta, Bobby Beverly (who also wrestles in Pro Wrestling Ohio out of Cleveland on SportsTime Ohio), new MCW Elite champion Jason Mane, WSU Spirit champion (& now WSU World champion) Jessicka Havok, Ethan Wright, MCW champion Jebediah, and the Akron show's promoter Micah. They were all professional and class acts, just great people all around that I felt priviliged (yes, I said priviliged) to talk to. A couple more things before I move on. First, there was a manager there by the name of Minka Murder of Murder Inc. I don't normally say things or speak like this but...Minka is FREAKIN' HOT!!! There, I said it and I'm not taking it back. Second, I was to apologize to wrestler Shawn Blaze for my rudeness for interrupting him while he was eating as I wanted to congratulate him for the great job (especially his run-in after a match) during the show. I was on my way out the door & didn't want to forget lauding his efforts before leaving the after-party so if he sees this, I apologize.
The next MCW show is their 12th Anniversary show, which takes place in Alliance at Marlington Middle School this Friday night (March 16) at 7:30. You can find out more about the card here: MCW 12th Anniversary Show. It will have a steel cage match for the MCW Championship between champion Jebediah and challenger Christian Vaughn as well as a special appearance by Matt Hardy...yes, THAT Matt Hardy...as he challenges Superstar Bill Martel of Murder Inc. Given recent events in the past couple days I'm not sure I'll be able to make that show (I'm hoping to) but if I don't I'll see about the next show. In any case, if anybody wants to learn more about MCW or watch episodes of MCW Riot Television, you can do so through their website at MCWPro.com.
- Staying on wrestling for a moment, I made a passing mention of shows a few editions back that I watched on Saturday nights as a teenager in the 80's, one of them being the Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling. Well, there is going to be a documentary about GLOW coming out sometime in 2012 (don't know when yet). You can find out about this documentary at the website here: GLOW: The Story of the Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling.
- As far as me personally, I'm still at that crossroads I talked about in the last edition. I'm still going through those ups and downs but with better weather on the horizon I'm hoping for more ups than downs. I've got my 40th birthday coming up next month on the 9th. Last year I had a great time on my birthday but this year even though I don't mind turning 40 I'm just not feeling it that much. It might be because it's the day after Easter, it might be because it on a Monday, or it's most likely because of those aforementioned ups-and-downs. I don't have a clue what I'm going to do if I decide to do anything. If I do anything that I want people with me on, I'll let you all know.
- I filled out my bracket for the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament this year and I'm picking Ohio State to take the title...yeah, yeah, no surprise there since it's my alma mater but a lot of pundits are picking either Ohio State or Kentucky to take it all this year. I'm crossing my fingers for an OSU win.
- Recently I came across the following quote: "Leaving a price tag on a gift implies that the giver is also 'giving' the recipient a burden of gratitude." I saw that line and it got me to think about the following question: how much of a burden can gratitude be? Yes, that sounds like a strange question to ask but here I am asking it. I speak not just of giving gratitude but receiving it as well as the expectations and etiquette surrounding it. Gratitude occurs all over the place. Tim Tebow thanks God and gets mocked for "Tebowing." Ricky Gervais, a noted athiest, slams people as "arrogant" in thanking God. We thank our parents for how we were raised...or not. Some people do things for folks and when they don't get thanks in return those people might exclaim "You're welcome!" out of thinly-hidden sarcastic disgust.
Is gratitude something that should be expected or something given out of true gratefulness? I've wrestled that particular question more times than I've liked. Granted, I'm not the most social of people (at least not anymore) or socially adept but should I express gratitude when I don't really feel it? How honest can we be with folks if they've come to expect gratitude when maybe it shouldn't be given? Many of us are raised to say "thank you" when something is given to us, but many times we are thanking people for things that aren't worthy of that thanks. Are there really times that we should fake graciousness simply for the sake of the convenience of others and their sensitivities? I can only imagine the cringing some have, me included, when we are expected to be thankful for something that is hurtful or a burden to us.
Now say we do give gratitude that we truly feel, even the effusive kind, and it's either not enough for the people we give it to or it's considered "inappropriate," for lack of a better word. What do we do then? Do we stop giving it altogether when we feel it? There have been times where I've given major praise to someone and they seem completely embarassed by it. What are we supposed to feel then? I would think awkward but some might feel angry or disappointed. In those instances, how do we show our gratitude?
Go back to the quote I brought up a bit at the beginning of this. That was an actual response from the Dear Abby writer (original article: Boyfriend Tugs At Heartstrings From A Very Long Distance - Yahoo! News) to someone who received a gift with a price tag on it and the question of what kind of expectation or gratitude the giver really had regarding the gesture. Did this particular gift-giver expect to get gratitude through the implication of the price given on the tag or were they simply trying to show gratitude in that they gave an effort into showing how much they value the person? Or were they showing that they were feeling coerced in showing appreciation through leaving the price tag on the gift? How do we read into it when someone doesn't know how much gratitude to have or expect to give out in any particular instance? How much of a burden is it just to think about that?
- I wasn't in the greatest mood on Valentine's Day this year, so I decided to indulge my creative side a bit and write up an essay on worthlessness. The stuff I talked about has happened to a lot of people I know and to me (probably only a quarter applies to me personally), so I thought I'd put it out in poetic form. Here it is:
I learned worthlessness from those who refused to let themselves count on me to help them out.
I learned worthlessness from a family who thinks their ideas for me are more important than my own.
I learned worthlessness from that guy who beat on me because I was an easy target.
I learned worthlessness from those teachers who always picked me to answer questions about things I was never taught.
I learned worthlessness from that boss who stuck me with all his work while he went golfing on company time.
I learned worthlessness from those old classmates who used peer pressure like a cokehead uses crack.
I learned worthlessness from those people on TV all the time who say they can solve my problems for me.
I learned worthlessness from those companies who wouldn't hire me because they didn't want me.
I learned worthlessness from those politicians and talking heads who say the way I live is a blasphemy against God Almighty.
I learned worthlessness from those complete strangers who tell me I suck and then chant it like sports fans at games.
I learned worthlessness from those coaches who said I'm just not that good.
I learned worthlessness from ex-girlfriends who said I wasn't good enough for them.
I learned worthlessness from those people who just tell me to stop trying because it's not worth it.
The most important person I learned worthlessness from is me for telling myself repeatedly to believe all these people and what they said or did. That is how I learned worthlessness.
- I've been working on creating and customizing merchandise and stuff on different product sites branded with the DJ logo I created for myself and the blog. Everything from t-shirts to stickers to mousepads to blankets to so many other products, I've been doing this partially for my own use and partially to promote me and the site sometime down the line. Recently from Artscow.com I received a few items that I customized and branded with the DJ logo: a large mousepad, a 4-port USB hub, and a luggage tag. Here are pictures of the items I received:
- Song on Repeat: "The Way You Look Tonight" by Steve Tyrell. I used this as a Song on Repeat before but I'm doing so again because I need to make a correction about the version I talked about before. I thought Harry Connick Jr. did this particular slow version but I was wrong...it was Steve Tyrell (I don't know why...they sound different). Anyway, this version of the song was used in the "Father of the Bride" movies. It was also the version that served as the father-daughter dance song at Chelsea Clinton's wedding (yes, that Chelsea...daughter of Bill & Hillary). Here's the song:
- SLP to the following: Holly, Kristen C., Ernest, Aunt Sandy, Todd, Griff, Micah, Shasta, Pastor Cory, Debbie, Bob, Lynn, Jessicka, Jason M., Ethan, Jebediah, Bobby B. (PWO), Dave, George, Donielle, Cathy, Daryl, Tony C., Aunt Susie, Michael L., Cheryl, Sonya, Al, Sean D., Rhonda, Mary K., Aunt Claudia, and MCW Wrestling.
That's all for this edition. I know it was a lot this time out but I had a backlog and wanted to get everything I've put here out there and clear the decks for the next edition. BTW, before I forget, I've added a Pinterest site for DJ's Random Thoughts and for me with the link next to the others in the upper corner for you to check out and connect to as well. Until next time, folks...take care and God Bless.
DJ
