Makes me smile...

Something that makes me smile...

This is a music video of a duet-Vanessa Williams and Chayanne singing and dancing, showing bits and pieces of their 1998 movie, "Dance With Me". The video is fair quality, but the music is maravilloso.

I briefly mentioned Chayanne in my last post. Since I've been thinking about and looking for dancing videos this week, "Dance With Me" came to mind. I decided to post a bit of info about Chayanne, since this movie and his role in it hold a special place in my heart.
His official website: http://www.chayanne.net/
Chayanne (06/28/28) is a Latin pop singer. He was born in Puerto Rico and his family moved to the states when he was a babe. He began his music career in the late 70s with 'Los Chicos' and went solo in 1984. He has released twenty (?) albums to date. He is married and he and his wife have two children. I was hooked after watching him in "Dance with Me". The character he played, Rafael Infante, lives in Cuba and after experiencing the death of his mother, he discovers information about his biological father. He writes the man about his mother's death and asks for a job. The man played by Kris Kristofferson, does not know he is Rafael's father. He owns a dance studio in Texas and allows Rafael to come work for him. The movie centers around the "goings on" at the dance studio and preparation for an upcoming dance competition. It is a story about discovery of self, family and love. It is one of those "feel good" movies-funny, romantic and heartwarming with lots of music and dancing! Chayanne's role as Rafael depicts a man who has integrity, courage, and passion. It's more than just the looks, it's the aura, sensitivity of this man, that is so captivating. I'm not really into the whole hollywood/music star "thing", but thinking about the movie and his role in it makes me smile. It's my birthday, hence this post.

The video below that I chose also to download is quite sad, but I think it again portrays the tender side of Chayanne. Tenderness in a man makes just about any woman smile :)

Sentada Aqui En Mi Alma (Sitting Here in my Soul)
...one of his videos...


The link: http://music.aol.com/video/chayanne-sentada-aqui-en-mi-alma/chayanne/1131339




Oh and by the way...the Cardinals won their game against the North Carolina Panthers...Cardinals 33 - Panthers 13. So they continue to advance in the playoffs. Believe it or not I could hear fireworks going off after the game. Cardinal fans in Glendale (and the Valley of the Sun from the news coverage) are going wild and crazy with excitement!!

You're only as good as you think...

Do you ever have one of those days when you wake up late, rush to get ready and when you reach for your keys, they are not where you should have left them? You didn't put them where you usually put them, because the night before you had come home tired, and your cell phone had rung and you took the call. Distracted, you laid your keys down, instead of immediately putting them away where you usually put them.

You only talk for a few minutes, but as soon as you get off the phone, you remember what you are supposed to do before bed. You have a project the next day and need to find information to complete the project...information you organized at one time or another and put away for just a time as this. But you can't remember where that place is, because you have many boxes in which you store your organized information. So you spend several hours looking for the information and are relieved when you finally find it, only to also realize that you've just used up two precious hours of sleep.

You know tomorrow you have to get up quite early because you have started a part time job for a few hours in the morning twice a week to supplement your full time job. You're not really feeling tired enough to fall asleep, because you're still wired from looking for all the information and you're thinking about your friend who called you and is going through a difficult time. You then think of a particular piece of music that has helped you fall asleep in moments just like this one, and so you open up the cabinet to pull it out. But that particular music is not where you thought it would be. You look high and low for it, and once you find the music you are looking for, you are ready to relax and get some sleep. Finally you crawl into bed, exhausted from the relentless searches. Unfortunately you are still abit wired from two adrenaline surges and knowing that you must be up in less than approximately six hours to start the next day. After laying down, you get up several more times to take care of small items you've been too "busy" to remember to do, such as using the bathroom. In the meantime, your keys have fallen off the bed, after pulling the covers back, and have dropped under the bed, just out of sight.

In the morning you push the snooze button one time too many, and then all of a sudden you wake up with a start! Looking at the clock you see that you have 15 minutes before you must leave to make it to your job on time. You rush around getting ready and when you reach for your keys, where you always put them, they are not there. You have no idea where you could have put them, you frantically search everywhere you can possibly think of that you would have put them. After 15 minutes of searching, you find them under the bed, but now you will have to call work to let them know you are running late. You're stressed and pissed off because you hate this...you're thinking "if it's not one thing, it's another!!! Aaaarrrrgggghhhhh!!!!!!!

Well...believe it or not, this can be a typical day for someone who is ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder) or ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder), even with medication to assist them in managing the disorder's effects/symptoms.

The information below gives a basic idea of what dealing with these disorders is like and this information is from the following site: http://www.helpguide.org/mental/adhd_add_adult_symptoms.htm
Adults with ADD / ADHD struggle daily with self-regulation: regulating their attention, regulating their impulses in talking and action, and regulating their emotions. If you have trouble staying focused, getting organized, starting and completing your work, managing your time and money, and remembering all the little things in your daily life, you may very well be one of these people.

The chaos of living with unrecognized and untreated ADD / ADHD can take its toll: never-ending to-do lists, the stress of missed deadlines and forgotten appointments, aggravated friends and family members [and co-workers/bosses] who just don’t understand why you can’t pull it together and self-recrimination over your lack of accomplishments.

For the last five years I have attempted to "manage" my out-of-control", easily distracted brain with medication. I have found one, in particular, that has helped somewhat. One positive outcome is I no longer lock my keys in the car, at least once a month. (For awhile I was beginning to think my "calling" in life was to keep locksmiths in business.) Fortunately for me, but not necessarily the locksmiths, I haven't locked my keys in my car in years. And there are many other improvements that have taken place since I've sought out information and help in managing my brain malfunctions.

When I say "you're only as good as you think", I'm not speaking of self-esteem. I'm talking about brain functioning. Alzheimers, dementia, bipolar, obsessive-compulsive, schizophrenia, post traumatic stress disorder, ADHD. These are just a few of the brain malfunctions that a significant number of people are living life with everyday. Some can be managed somewhat with medicine and therapy, others with behavior modification and diet, but some are still mind-boggling to medical doctors, research scientists, psychiatric doctors, family members, etc. The brain is a stunning piece of creation! Regardless of how our brains are functioning today, it is important to stay informed about brain health and to take care of your brain and your body. We really are only as good at what we do, as our brain is at taking on the task we give it to do.

For those who believe their minds are working flawlessly, and have no evidence of malfunction in their relationships or job to cause them concern, they may hardly give brain functioning a second thought. It is difficult to explain to others who have not had to work with a less than "flawless mind" what it is like.

All I can say is it is a good thing when one's mind is functioning vs when it's malfunctioning. The "functioning brain" is even more appreciated when one has been the guinea pig (once again) for a new or different drug for a variety of reasons and is left dealing with a "scambled brain", when med outcomes don't go as planned. Fortunately I am assertive, knowledgeable, and self-aware enough to know when to put my foot down and say "no" to more experimentation and ask for what I need, and my current psychiatrist is "respectful and mindful" of patient personal experience, deduction and conclusion/input. I've been reminded, in the last four months or so, that in order to have a postive outcome in dealing with almost anyone in the medical field, one has to be assertive, persistent, and extremely informed.

Over the years I have read various information on ADD and ADHD. Dr. Daniel Amen is one of the many who has written books on dealing with ADD/ADHD. He has done considerable research in these areas and other areas of brain functioning and recently has been doing lectures on brain health to everyone who will listen. Here is a link to his website... http://www.amenclinics.com/my-brain-health/ The information provided includes many helpful reminders of what we can do to take care of our body and our brain.

The dance video today is ball room dancing - The Cha Cha Cha. Ball room dancing...the costumes and the dance moves are breathtaking. One of my favorite movies that includes ball room dancing is "Dance With Me" with Vanessa Williams and the gorgeous Chayanne.
Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z3sRYp9HxEk&feature=related

Little Jonathan (one of my nephews) turned two years old on January 8th. I can't help but remember his birthday, as it is so close to my own. He shares his birthdate with Elvis, so I just had to download a couple of kids doing Elvis impersonations. I'm going to download one elvis video and just include the link to the other...

Link to another young Elvis singer and dancer...http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FJ3sqEdVHiY&feature=related

Unbeknowst to my brother and his wife, my secret harbored hope is that Jonathan will be a music fanatic. Coming into the world on Elvis's birthday...I think it's possibly a given! :)

Gotta fly!

Just dropping in for a quick post...

Back to work...slow day again...answering phones, opening doors, processing paperwork for releases, monitoring cameras, and the facility count. We took in as many teens as we released. Our facility count is really low at present...not as many teens committing crimes? not as many teens being detained for the crimes they commit? not as many repeat offenders? not sure why, but we definitely have less teens locked up in juvenile detention at the present moment.

If it's because of less crime, that is a very good thing! We've been joking around that we may have to begin looking for new jobs if the count continues to shrink. Now there's a way to cut a chuck out of the state's financial overload. Just imagine...teens go to school, get jobs, volunteer, follow the basic rules at home and in the community and the state uses the money to provide scholarships and/or grants for more teens to attend college or get some type of technical or job training. Then if we could just get all the adults to stop behaving so badly!! Nightline recently covered a story on a prosecutor in New York that is getting stiffer penalties for drunk drivers who kill. Instead of getting only a few years for reckless endangerment or manslaughter, several drunk drivers have recently been charged with and convicted of murder getting minimums of 15 and 25 years in prison. Personally I think this is a smart move. If you are going to drink alcohol or use drugs, the least you can do is NOT DRIVE. Too many innocent people are being killed. Unfortunately in this area-people killed by drunk drivers-the numbers are going up, not down.

What Is The Answer?

A baby’s life begins
As another’s life is snuffed
A father’s absence felt
Another can is huffed

Faces from many backgrounds
Eyes and hearts searching for hope
Settling instead for imitiations
maryjane, glass pipe or whatever...to cope

Sucked into the vacuum
Lives are out of control
Surveyors of the damage
What exactly is the goal?

Is it mending or conditioning?
These lives torn at the seams
Ever mounting casualties,
Hearts full of broken dreams

Caught in revolving doors
Swimming against the stream
Walking halls of stone
No way out, they scream

The ghetto life offers so little hope
What will become of their futures?
Will they live beyond tomorrow
stitched up with dirty sutures?

Will their minds just be wasted
And their talents neglected or lost?
What is the answer to this madness?
Finding it surely worth any cost!

Looking for the answers
time is running out
For every one that’s a successful release
Many others expected to fail without a doubt

With myriads of options
where have we turned?
It seems there are so many lessons,
yet so little learned.

tkaeu (2005)

On to a more positive note...I'm downloading a few dance videos from Russia. The Russian dance moves include lots of high flying kicks, low to ground kicks, and lots of kicks in between...mostly just for the men. All I have to say is these guys must be in very good physical shape. From what I've watched of the Superstars of Dance show so far, dance moves for the females in Russia are very dainty, delicate, and feminine...like ballerina or porcelain dolls.

Rejoice in the small things

Finally got the packages sent off to family and quite a bit of organizing done around home today. I feeling relieved and thankful. I love that feeling of having accomplished a project, particularly when the tasks I have to do seem so overwhelming. Since my surgery, what tends to overwhelm me is mindboggling and sometimes frustrating. I look forward to a time when the little things are not as daunting and I can pick up speed once again, not just with my step, but in my life as well. When my daughter and I spent some time together lately, I teased her saying, "We're practicing for when I'm in my 70s. This is how it will be." Does that give you any idea as to how slow I move these days? Actually I should have said 90s or older, but I don't think she can image that happening. She's seventeen and at that age you believe pretty much believe that you're unstoppable (at least regarding what you are able to physically do). Aahhh...how little we realize and how much even I took for granted when I was young. :)

Other than that I have been listening to music instead of NPR or any news source. I'm on information overload and need a break from any "breaking news" for the time being. When I find my regular radio and TV stations getting on my nerves, I turn on the music. Music is healing in so many ways. Nickel Creek was my panacea throughout the day. Their music is a bluegrass, folkish style and the lyrics are haunting. Check them out at their website. http://www.nickelcreek.com/ My favorite song of theirs is The Lighthouse Tale. Tragically beautiful... Smootie Song is definitely worth a peek on the videos too. Or listen to their final concert together as Nickel Creek. http://www.npr.org/templates/player/mediaPlayer.html?action=1&t=1&islist=false&id=15731658&m=15908059 Nickel Creek is Chris Thile, Sara Watkins and Sean Watkins. The musical path they originally walked together has split into three separate paths for the future. I guess their final concert together was November 2008. I look forward to hearing the sounds their new ventures will create.

For the dancing...I'm including two videos today. The first is two dancers from China...you'll be amazed!! EVEN IF YOU DON'T WATCH ANY OF THE OTHER DANCE VIDEOS - WATCH THIS ONE!

This second video is a cultural dance from India.

The combo of all this today leaves me quoting a few lines from my poem "Hope Found"...

Sometimes I surprise myself, and am surprised at the same
in others, how in the midst of personal pain one can be so inspired
Life has often pummeled a creative soul aspiring
to reach within for a glimpse of heaven others may behold
I guess it stands without reason that talent will unfold
and come to light in dark places, where you find hearts aching.

Life can be a circus

That's how I feel somedays. Not necessarily today...all day, but...

Hearing the "drama" playing out in politics, I couldn't help but think of circuses today. Bill Richardson, Roland Burris, Rod Blagojevich, and Leon Panetta are all definitely acts for the media circus to ruminate. Then there's the Obamas moving to Washington D.C. and the upcoming inauguration. Not to mention the craziness going on between Israel and Hamas.

And while these "acts" are capturing our attention...

In Wyoming (a state that most people have probably rarely, if ever, given a passing thought to, let alone actually know where it is located) in the Yellowstone National Park, there have been 400 earthquake tremors since December 26, 2008. This may not seem like a big deal, but there is considerable concern that the amount of activity is unusual and what is triggering the level of activity unknown. Due to this information, there is speculation (by those paying attention) as to whether or not something catatrophic may be about to occur.

All the while we are going on about our daily lives, for the most part, unaware. It makes me wonder...why is so little said about this area and the potential for a catastrophe? I think that I tend to notice because Wyoming is my birthplace, and in the last year I've been considering visiting Yellowstone. As a result I've been listening to videos and reading up on this park, which is why I took the time to read the info about the recent tremor activity when it appeared on January 3, 2009.

Again I have to ask, "Why is so little said about this area?!" I'm thinking very few people know the info that is in this video clip. It's all really kinda crazy, and just a bit eerie...

Here's a link to the above video clip: http://video.aol.com/video-detail/yellowstone-super-volcano-jan-2009-warning/846011007/?icid=VIDURVNWS01
and a link to info on the tremor activity at Yellowstone National Park.
http://news.aol.com/article/yellowstone-earthquakes-raise-fears/292261

So what am I/what are we suppose to do with the above information?!?!?!? It's not like the USGS has released any significant warnings or directives to people in the area of impact on how to prepare for a possible supervolcanic eruption. So honestly I'm really unsure...other than "you could live each day, as if it were your last", but for me that just takes too much thought and emotion, and I'm not even going to get into that mode.

So, despite the above information (putting my head in the sand, I guess, so to speak), I'm on to other topics. I spent this day prepping the "Christmas/New Year" packages to send to family and to a friend. And I am easily overwhelmed by the seven I am sending. ...that's me! Easily overwhelmed with my own personal conflict of what I want to do and what I can realistically do each year during the Christmas season.

You may be thinking right now, "But Christmas was almost two weeks ago!?" Yeah! I know, but for some crazy reason every year it is so hard for me to get into the "Christmas mood" until Christmas eve and then I want to celebrate Christmas for the next several weeks!!! And, of course, that is just the opposite of the people around me. For example, one of my friends loves Christmas music, but she can not stand to hear another Christmas song played after December 25th. Me? I'm just getting started... So each year I'm ready to begin celebrating Christmas when everyone around me is ready and glad for it all to be OVER and put away til the next November!

Truly tho, I'd prefer to celebrate the Twelve Days (plus two) of Christmas or "the Christmas season" from December 24 through January 6th, rather than from November 29th to December 25th as is most common. It seems my preferences, often, do not line up with what is conventional.

I think this is how I would celebrate Christmas, if I could. I would attend one or two christmas plays/events sometime before December 25th...to spark the mood. Watch "A Christmas Carol" (one version or another of this classic favorite of mine) at least once before December 25th. Get a tree Christmas eve day and decorate it with family. Attend a Christmas eve service, preferably after dark, to begin the Christmas celebration. Help out an outreach ministry on Christmas morning, hopefully with the family along. Spend Christmas evening with family playing board games and eating delicious food. Over the next 11 days: 1)put up a new Christmas decoration in the home each day (something small, not elaborate), 2)make holiday treats and give them away to family, friends, and pan handlers, 3)do something unusual for someone unexpected each day, and 4)look for bargains (due to holiday sales) on Epiphany gifts (for the children in the family) and birthday gifts for the next year. Give small gifts to children in the family on January 6th, Epiphany, and gather as a family with a dinner celebration to remember once again not only Christ's birth, but the visit, worship and adoration from the wise men over the Christ child. Sometime during the twelve days of Christmas it would also be nice to go Christmas caroling in the snow and participate in a progressive dinner with family too. Well that's my "ideal" traditional Christmas celebration, but as you can see it doesn't really fit in with how everyone else celebrates the traditional American Christmas. So how much of it will ever play out for me in "real life"? At this point, most of it is just fantasizing...

So far, over the last eight years, Thanksgiving has been my favorite holiday, as I usually had it off from work, and was able to get together with family and friends to celebrate. Whereas during the Christmas holiday/New Year celebrations, I've usually had to work. Plus being single with no children in my house, the fact that most of my family live out-of-state and circumstances regarding my daughter...well...holidays of Christmas/New Year tend to be more melancholy for me.

I have been mulling and stewing over the celebration of Christmas for years. And every year I'm "late" in sending Christmas greetings and gifts to family and friends who do not live in Arizona. Having put into words what goes through my mind about Christmas celebrations, and how it plays out in my emotions...is basically an attempt to explain my persistant procrastination every year.

Regarding celebrating The Twelve Days of Christmas and Epiphany, here is some info I gleaned off the web. Seven years ago I did Christmas programming in detention that included similar information, which is when I was first exposed to and realized the interesting differences in how people around the year celebrate this time of the year.

January 6th – A Holiday Around the World
The Epiphany, Three Kings' Day, Twelfth Night, La Befana, and More
© Jennifer L. Price Dec 30, 2008
Link: http://holiday-entertaining.suite101.com/article.cfm/january_6th_a_holiday_around_the_world
January 6th is a special day in many countries and cultures--and is celebrated with various traditions all over the world.

The Christian holiday known as The Epiphany is celebrated each year on January 6th. The holiday is a feast that began to commemorate the introduction of Jesus in human form—the specific date of January 6th was first mentioned in 361.

Eastern Christians believe that The Epiphany was the day Christ was baptized in the Jordan River, while Western Christians believe the day commemorates the day the Magi (also known as the Three Kings and Three Wiseman) visited the baby Jesus Christ bringing gifts.
Three King’s Day (Spain, Philippines, Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, and more)
Many countries celebrate January 6th as Three King’s Day, celebrating the day Melchor, Gaspar, and Balthazar visited Jesus as a child bringing gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

In Spain, the Philippines, and certain parts of Latin America, El Día de los Reyes (The Day of the Kings) is celebrated with children leaving shoes out overnight to collect gifts from the Kings and sweets, drink, and hay as a gift for the Kings and their camels. A special cake known as Rosca de Reyes is made with a small doll of Jesus baked inside—depending on the country, the finder of the doll must pay for the cake, host a party later in the year, or simply serves as king for the day.

In the Netherlands and Belgium, the day is known as Drie koningen (Three King’s Day). Three children dress in costume to represent the three kings and visit houses singing songs, receiving sweets or coins from each door. German children also visit houses singing songs dressed as the three kings, but leave behind the initials of the three kings above the door frames to bless the family for the new year.

Twelfth Day of Christmas (some parts of the United States, United Kingdom)
According to many historians, the well-known twelve days of Christmas actually represent the twelve days between December 25th and January 6th, not the twelve days before Christmas. In the past, these days were celebrated with gift giving feasts with January 6th serving as the Twelfth Night, made popular by William Shakespeare’s play.

Some traditions are still carried out around the world with a yule log burning all twelve nights in America and Christmas decorations being taken down on the 6th in the United Kingdom (some think it’s unlucky to do so earlier).

Speaking of tradition...here's a video clip of some dance moves in Mexico. I'll be showing a dance video with each of my posts this week, as I stated in the Jan. 4th post.

This video is not the best quality, but it is a form of mexican dance that I enjoy watching. I really like the vibrant colors that Mexico, China, and India use in their dance customes, and how they use their costumes as a part of the dance.

Still recuperating...

Home again, but starting to feel better. Yuck! I hate this sick, laid up stuff. I feel like I haven't been myself since my surgery in October. It definitely gives me more empathy for those who face chronic health problems, as I have been seriously blessed with good health for the majority of my life.

Staying home gave me the opportunity to watch the NBC show 'Superstars of Dance'. This is a global competition of dance stars. I'm not necessarily interested in who wins, but it is fantastic to watch dancing styles from so many cultures. The countries competing on the show are Argentina, India, Australia, South Africa, USA, Ireland, Russia, and China. The first show aired tonight and continues tomorrow (Monday 01/05/08) 7pm central time.

I thought it would be interesting to include dance videos from various countries/cultures in my posts throughout the next week leading up to my birthday. Maybe someday I will take up dance lessons myself once I can get my knees back into shape. I don't know if that is realistic or not. Honestly I would just settle for being able to hike.

Either way I love dance of almost any form. According to 'You Tube' these dancers are from Georgia. This is not a country involved in the competion, but I plan to include videos from around the globe. Watching the various dance routines tonight, I couldn't help but think "Whoa!..not with my knees!". What these Georgia dancers are capable of executing...well it is down right amazing! This particular dance is high energy!! Watching this dance, I can't help but wonder if knee surgery is common in Georgia. :)


(As I'm not sure how long the video is allowed to be shown on my blog, I'm including the link to it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LCSsap5_luw&feature=related)

Recuperating at home

Should be at work right now, but here I am at home instead. I was attacked by the intestinal monster yesterday and he did a serious number on me. I had to leave work because of the increasingly intense pain I was experiencing. I forfeited my holiday pay with that decision, which is very disappointing, but I just could not graciously handle that level of pain at work. It took 12 more hours, countless hot showers, crying, and various remedies to fight off this pain monster. I think I will stay on a liquid diet for a week or so. The pain is now at a manageable level and so I don't want to take any chances. It was crazy, as this seemed to come out of nowhere. All kinds of stuff goes through one's head in these moments-food poisoning? nasty flu bug? complications from constipation? diverticulitis? celiac? I guess it's time to make that yearly trek to the doctor. If I can get in within a week or so, the memory of my excruciating ordeal will add intensity and seriousness to a request for a more extensive checkup.

I have only experienced this level of pain on three other occasions. The first time was in 1991 when I gave birth to my daughter. Then in 2004 I made a visit to the ER because of sharp adominal pains, thinking that my appendix was about to erupt. The docs did all kinds of tests on me, and basically concluded that I needed a colonoscopy to determine whether or not I had diverticulitis. As I experienced no additional pain or intestinal problems in the months following that ER visit, I chose to put off having a colonoscopy for another time. As a side note, I was under considerable financial stress at the time, and my conclusion was that my worrying had wreaked havoc on my GI tract. I am a strong believer that stress can significantly affect/alter one's physical health.

Since then I've experienced occasional discomfort/sharp pains in my stomach/intestines due to physical issues, and each time over-the-counter medicine has alleviated the problem. Essentially it comes down to aging and lack of fiber in my diet, as well as needing to drink more water, exercise more, etc.

So here I am writing this post and listening to/somewhat watching the Arizona Cardinal-Atlanta Falcon game, which is playing almost in my backyard. Well, sort of anyway, I mean I live only three miles from the University of Phoenix stadium where the game is taking place. I'm not a true Cardinal fan, and usually find myself making smart-aleck comments to guys at work that follow the games. [Go Phoenix Suns!!!!] But I thought I'd catch this game, as this is the first time for the Cardinals to make the playoffs since 1998 and first post season game since 1947. Not to mention there was speculation as to whether this game would be televised at all.

News was there were 3700 available tickets to the Card-Falcon game by Thursday afternoon. I guess in order for a game to receive network airtime, it has to be sold out 72 hours prior to kickoff time. The Cardinals were given two 24 hour extensions by the NFL to get those tickets sold. A Phoenix company, Leslie's Pool Supplies reportedly pitched in to help and swooped up a large numbers of tickets. Nice marketing move for Leslie's, as it's likely that most Cardinal players own pools, not to mention a majority of their fans here in the Valley of the Sun. Ha! (The above pic is from the Cardinal's website and I thought it was cool. Here's the link-http://azcardinals.com/news/detail.php?PRKey=2803)

Football fever kinda runs in my immediate family. Three of my four brothers played high school football. I lived in Nebraska from 1978 to 1983 and was a die hard Husker fan. My brothers and their families are Husker (Nebraska Cornhuskers) fans. It runs in the blood of many who reside or have resided in Nebraska. Coincidentially my daughter is currently dating and "in love" with a football player. Her "birthfather" was a football fanatic...and on and on it goes.

The Nebraska Cornhuskers (8-4) won their 2008 bowl game against the Clemson Tigers (7-4). I did not see the game, but from what I read kicker Alex Henery (#90) carried the game with four field goals. The final score was 26 - 21. A link to info about the game off the Husker site is:

http://www.huskers.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=100&ATCLID=3638246

After reading about the outcome of the Gator Bowl, and doing a search on Alex Henery, I found an amazing fact about this young man. He kicked a 57 yard field goal offering up the winning points against the Colorado Buffalos on November 29, 2008. Final score: Huskers 40- Buffalos 31. Of course, none of this is news to hardcore Husker fans, but here's a link to video coverage of Henery's field goal. Definitely memorable.

http://www.scoresreport.com/tag/alex-henery-nebraska-field-goal/

Final score: Arizona Cardinals 30 - Atlanta Falcons 24

Kudos to the players and their fans!!!!