Chris Raabe's Blog, page 6

Did the sun come up today?

  Whew!! The end of the world didn’t arrive as foretold… again.  Although, after watching my beloved Cornhuskers wet their pants in the Big 10 title game against Wisconsin, I was wondering if perhaps this was an omen for the Mayan calendar to be correct.  But the day after the Badger walloping, the sun did rise again in the east, just like it rose on December 22.  Isn’t that really what life is for us?  Bad things happen (or don’t), and then the sun rises the next day.  When good things happen, we don’t even think about the sun coming up the next day.  But, man, those bad days are awful aren’t they?

  The sun coming up doesn’t make the difficult times go away, but it does let us know that the wheel of time continues to move forward, regardless of how much we want to stop it or slow it down. Perhaps the grand design is a lesson we could all learn from.  Bad things happen, and they happen to good people, and as much as we don’t like it, the freedom of choice allows it to take place.  The sun rises again. The only freedom of choice we can control is our own, but we all worry about the choices of others.  I know I hugged my kids extra tight after the events in Connecticut.

  Don’t wait for tragedy to see the important parts of life. Tell those closest to you how much they mean to you, and do it every day. It’s a simple gesture that we often fail to share daily, and it needs repeating. It’s worth repeating. Lesson learned.

Dinner with the author

Congrats to Paul Ramsey for being the 200th person to like my fan page. Paul, you and your family have won dinner with the author after the holidays.

156th and Q – Brewsky’s Book Signing tonight 5:30-7:30

Please stop down by Brewsky’s at 156th and Q Streets between 5:30 and 7:30 tonight to get a copy of On The Run, the second book of the Phenomenon Trilogy.  We will have plenty of copies on hand.

Almost Kicked the Bucket with Attempt at Bucket List Item

Ugly Sweater Run – Omaha 2012

 

   I always wanted to run in a 5K or 10K. It was a bucket list item of mine. Of course, when I think 5K/10K, I think of a warm spring day in shorts and a t-shirt. I did not think it would be in 30 degree weather with snow falling, which was today’s weather.

  That is my wife with the blonde moustache. She is a runner, and I am not, but neither of us did any sort of training over the last month. Well, she runs quite often. I am not what you would call a motivated runner. Oh, I will go out and run every once in a while, usually around the softball field or officiating a basketball game. I was ill-prepared for three plus miles of running. Yes, I did run… some of it.

  I am not quite sure why these people choose to do this running thing, and there were over 5000 of “these” people. To me, I always pictured running as a punishment for various offenses while playing sports. Fumble the football in practice equals running to the trees and back. Too many turnovers in basketball equals time for killers. “Get on the line, boys!” Make an inappropriate gesture to the camera during senior photos for a college baseball team, and it doesn’t get noticed until the posters are printed, well, that equals a SUPER LOOP. Come to think of it, that was the last time I ran a 5K. The SUPER LOOP was over three miles, but it really doesn’t count because it was just me and one other guy. Hey, we all have moments we are not proud of at the time, but we laugh about it every time the story is retold. No, NOT funny at the time… okay, yeah, it was pretty funny even though the running wasn’t.  Actually, we had to run it twice, so that was my 10K. Awesome, I can cross both the 10K and the 5K off my list.

  Today, I only had to run the 5K. My wife explained that this was not a typical 5K because there was no keeping of time.  In fact, most people were just there to dress up in their worst Christmas costume and drink something called “Angry Orchard” afterwards.

  As the race started, I realized that even though my feet were touching the ground, I couldn’t feel them. Did I mention it was 30 degrees out? My hands were numb for the first half of the run, and it wasn’t until I was almost to the top of the first hill that I started to walk.  My wife had lagged behind and told me to go on without her. I felt like I was leaving a man behind, but I’m not in the military so I decided it was okay.  That was a big mistake. I was now alone with only my numb feet, frozen hands, and no one to talk to.

  That is the “fun” of the Ugly Sweater Run.” You talk to the people you came with.  Nobody in their right mind would come alone. People come to meet up with friends and family, because if you are going to be miserable for a 3 mile run, you might as well have company. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed the experience, but I am now absolutely positive that this is not something I will ever want to do willingly.

  If you ever see me running a 5K in the future, you will know that it was not by choice. It will be for punishment. Maybe I will think twice before I make an inappropriate gesture at the camera when my mom gets us all together for the family photo at the reunion. I hope she doesn’t read this blog and go back to check the family picture from the Raabe Reunion of 2008.  Hey, anybody need an ugly sweater for next year’s Ugly Sweater Run?  I would like to sell it before we all find out the Mayans got it right.  Send all offers to chris@chrisraabe.net

A Dodge Ball Day That Will Live In Infamy

Batman and The Grammar Hammer prepare for a dodge ball fundraiser

  That is me on the right, in case you couldn’t recognize me in my super hero garb. I am “The Grammar Hammer” for the staff team known as “The EdVengers.”  Today, we hold the largest student involved activity in our district.  Approximately 70 percent of our student body will participate as either spectators or players in the AMS Dodge Ball Tournament.  That will mean about 600 students will hang out after school in our gym, cafeteria, and commons for the event.  The tournament raises money for our athletic teams, so we can cycle out uniforms older than the students wearing them.

  Dressed in my “uniform” this morning, I ran into a lone student in the hallway about an hour before the start of the school day.  He is a kid who rarely cracks a smile and seems genuinely disinterested in learning.  When I came around the corner, he peered up from behind his locker door and caught sight of my super hero outfit.  For the first time this year, I heard him laugh.

  “That’s pretty cool, Mr. Raabe,” was all he said, as he chuckled while his English teacher strode past him.

   “The Grammar Hammer reminds you to revise and edit, young citizen,” I replied.

  He laughed again.

  That is why the people who teach middle school are a bit on the strange side.  We do things that normal people wouldn’t even attempt, but the kids in our building appreciate what we do.  I guess, I am who I teach… a middle school kid at heart.  I wonder what the people will say when the teachers show up at the afterhours restaurant to celebrate the end of another successful tournament.

  Citizens, you need to remember, that strange man you meet in a Wal-World who is checking out the pantyhose section in the women’s underwear department; well, he may not be the pervert you think he is.  He may actually be a super hero to over 800 middle school students!  Well, at least he can play the role of a super hero during a dodge ball day that will live in infamy.

The hammers say revise and edit on them.

From the mouths of babes

My wife, Melanie, was riding in the car with Olivia, our seven year old, and Reagan, our eleven year old. With Olivia, the conversations are always pretty interesting. My wife made a sarcastic comment of some kind and the conversation takes off from there.

Olivia: “I know you are kidding, Mom.”

Melanie: “How do you know that?”

Olivia: “Because I can read your mind.”

Melanie: “Really?”

Olivia: “Yeah, but I can’t read Reagan’s mind. She’s tricky.”

Book Signing in Omaha

I will be signing books at Brewsky’s at 156th and Q Streets on Tuesday, December 18. I will be there from 5:30-7:30 with copies of ON THE RUN. Don’t miss out on your opportunity to get your copy just in time for Christmas. ON THE RUN is the perfect stocking stuffer for your young adult reader. We accept checks, cash, and credit cards. Stop by and say “Hi” on Tuesday.

Call Security! We have a creeper in WalWorld

I teach middle school, so anyone who knows these kids knows that we deserve a medal for what we do to inspire these kiddos and survive from day to day. We have a dodge ball tournament coming up, and the staff team will be wearing super hero garb, so I need to get a costume put together. This means a trip to Wal-world for some items for my super hero, The Grammar Hammer. Hey, I teach English so it fits.

Some moron decided they needed tights to make the super hero attire complete, and that idiot was me. I am lost in the women’s section in search of tights when two elderly women begin to take notice. They don’t ask questions; they assume the worst and stare at me with evil eyes as I take a wrong turn into a world of women’s underwear. Not good. I am sensing their disapproval with me by the judging looks that only a grandmother can give.

I scurry off to locate another item on my list before I return once more to find my super hero tights, hoping the coast is clear. While scanning the stockings for the color I need, which wasn’t there by the way, the two women peek around the corner followed by a Wal-world security team. Okay it was one guy who walked with a limp, but I did what any man would do if innocently caught in the women’s underwear section with two old women and a security guy closing in for the kill…

I ran. I mean, I took off. I booked it out of there. I lost them in pet food and quickly headed to a self-check stand to pay. I scurried out the door and texted my wife in route to freedom, “You will be picking up the tights!!!!!”

Now I have to drive an extra six miles to go to Wal-world because I am worried my face is posted somewhere in the one near my home. Yep, I should get a medal for all that I do to inspire middle school students.

Red Oak book signing announcement

Book 2 of The Phenomenon Trilogy

For those fans in southwest Iowa, the wait will soon be over.  I will be signing my new book, ON THE RUN, at the Pudgy Pumpkin in Red Oak, Iowa on Saturday, December 15 from 9:30 to 11:30 am.  Don’t miss this opportunity to get an autographed copy of the second book of the trilogy.  They make great stocking stuffers.  I will also have copies of the first book, THE NEW PHENOMENON, available.  If you haven’t started reading THE PHENOMENON TRILOGY, there is no time like the present to begin.

Mark your calendars forthe morning of Saturday, December 15 in Red Oak.  See you all at the Pudgy Pumpkin.

Dinner at Capitol Lounge

My wife and I have made the trip downtown with two daughters for dinner at Capitol Lounge. My youngest loves the cake, the blue tree outside, the blue wall, and the cool lights.