Most of the Hirsch family spent a part of yesterday at Disney. Daniel found out some more teams were testing so he wanted to go back to watch. Devin had talked for awhile about wanting to get Pokemon cards at Epcot in Japan. Daniel had a blast, as expected. Testing was David Reuteman, RCRs truck teams and the highlite Kevin Harvick. Being really close to the track was very cool. I counted, it took the Sprint Cup cars around 13 seconds to get around the track. The best part of the day was when Kevin Harvick was coming off pit row. Daniel was just a few feet from him. He stopped his #29 Budweiser right in front of Daniel and let me take a close up picture. Daniel then gave him the thumbs up and away he went. It may have been a little thing to him but it totally made his day and gave him a very special memory. Its so nice when athletes use their power for good. I have often thought how growing up next to Disney has effected the boys childhoods. Going to EPCOT just for Pokemon cards is definitely not the norm. I don't know how it will effect them. But the only negative I could see is if they get a warped sense of reality. Both boys know people have to save up for years to come to Disney. But I don't really thing they have a full idea of whats that entails. Or just how special the place is. One of my favorite thing is going to Disney with someone who does not get to go often. I love seeing the their joy and wonderment. Unfortunately the boys will never know that feeling. BUT all things considered when they look back I'm certain they will be overjoyed they lived next to Disney. Their childhoods have been special And they are having experiences other kids can only dream about.
We watched the memorial for the Tucson shooting victims last night. All I'll say about it was the crowd full of college students was cheering at the most inappropriate times. As for the Presidents speech, I thought it was a very good one. When he mentioned how we should be better because that's what that little girl expected of us, I thought was a very good line. Also he shot down once and for all that the shooting was caused by right wing "hate speech"
Thursday, January 13, 2011
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
Jan. 12, 2011
Yesterday morning I had another appointment with Dr. Santini. It was really exhausting with all the vocal drills she put me thought. The main purpose today was to get me to use my head voice. I know I used to speak from my throat. This was all wrong. And probably goes a long way explaining why I lost my voice so often. Also she was working with me to help with voice inflection and to more efficiently project my voice. She is terrific. I have another appointment on Thursday morning then I will be able to go back to work on either Friday or Monday. Normalcy is right around the corner. As an aside I've spent more time in and around doctors in the past year than ever before. I hope this trend stops because I'm too young to have my days off to be planned around doctors appointments like older people.
On the way home me and Jenny talked about going to St. Pete and spending the night at the Island Inn. When we got home we told the boys we were going and started packing. But after thinking about it for a few minutes we decided it was not the right thing to do being behind on bills. In addition Jenny did not sleep a wink the night before. So while Jenny and Devin relaxed at home me and Daniel went to the Walt Disney Speedway to watch testing. The night before while online Daniel saw Red Bull Racing was testing at Disney. He was so excited to go. He knew Brian Vickers was going to be there. But when we arrived we also found out Kasey Kahne, Martin Treaux Jr and Reed Sorensen was there. As for the crowd? There was none. Daniel and some Disney cast member who is a Brian Vickers fan. The weather was gorgeous. It was probably about 60 degrees. I have no idea why Daniel became a NASCAR fan. I could guarantee he is the first Hirsch to like the sport. All I know is since he was a little boy he loved it. When he was first diagnosed with Diabetes Jenny used to use his die cast cars and make a voice with a southern accent to get him to get his shots. Jenny used to say your like a special car who needs special fuel(insulin shots). This was brilliant and really helped with the adjustment. I remember during the off season when he was very young he found he one day watching lawn mower racing. Even now his favorite thing to collect is die casts. He probably has over 150 of them. Watching the cars test yesterday he looked so beyond happy. It was also very special Daniel and daddy time. In the bright Jan. sunshine watching the cars made me very happy we live in Florida. I remember when I was his age living in New York. I dreamed of going to spring training. It was almost magical. I never made it when I was growing up. But here we were watching NASCARs version of spring training. Then shortly we will go to baseball spring training. Not too shabby for either him or me.
On the way home me and Jenny talked about going to St. Pete and spending the night at the Island Inn. When we got home we told the boys we were going and started packing. But after thinking about it for a few minutes we decided it was not the right thing to do being behind on bills. In addition Jenny did not sleep a wink the night before. So while Jenny and Devin relaxed at home me and Daniel went to the Walt Disney Speedway to watch testing. The night before while online Daniel saw Red Bull Racing was testing at Disney. He was so excited to go. He knew Brian Vickers was going to be there. But when we arrived we also found out Kasey Kahne, Martin Treaux Jr and Reed Sorensen was there. As for the crowd? There was none. Daniel and some Disney cast member who is a Brian Vickers fan. The weather was gorgeous. It was probably about 60 degrees. I have no idea why Daniel became a NASCAR fan. I could guarantee he is the first Hirsch to like the sport. All I know is since he was a little boy he loved it. When he was first diagnosed with Diabetes Jenny used to use his die cast cars and make a voice with a southern accent to get him to get his shots. Jenny used to say your like a special car who needs special fuel(insulin shots). This was brilliant and really helped with the adjustment. I remember during the off season when he was very young he found he one day watching lawn mower racing. Even now his favorite thing to collect is die casts. He probably has over 150 of them. Watching the cars test yesterday he looked so beyond happy. It was also very special Daniel and daddy time. In the bright Jan. sunshine watching the cars made me very happy we live in Florida. I remember when I was his age living in New York. I dreamed of going to spring training. It was almost magical. I never made it when I was growing up. But here we were watching NASCARs version of spring training. Then shortly we will go to baseball spring training. Not too shabby for either him or me.
Jan. 11, 2011
Yesterday morning Jenny had a doctors appointment so I figured I'd watch the second part of the Ken Burns baseball 10th inning. This part focused on from 1999-2009. This series could have been made specifically for me. In its entirety it about 30 hours of baseball history. Most of the series deals with things before I was born. But one of the great things about baseball is it has such a long history. My interest in baseball history started when I was around 10 years old and started playing Strat baseball. I remember the first set I got was the old timers teams. So I became interested in teams and players starting with the 1905 Giants thought the present time(1974 at that time). After reading countless books the Ken Burns series put faces to names and told alot of great stories not found in stat lines. Also it told me about 19th century baseball something I knew very little about. Anyway baseball has been the constant throughout my life. Since I was six it was always in my life. I don't know of anything else like that. Well anyway the last installment was not only a great history of baseball the past ten years its was also a reminder of my life for the past 10 years. After about 30 minutes I heard someone go downstairs. There I saw Daniel on the couch. I asked him if he wanted to watch with me and he came right up. I can't pinpoint exactly when Daniel became a baseball fan. But at 13 he has been a fan for about 7 years. So he remembers alot of what happened in this episode. It was special watching with him. Each generation has an event where everyone remembers exactly where they were and what they were doing. For people a little older than me I think the event was when JFK was shot. For my generation the event is 9/11. On a much smaller scale I found myself remembering where I was during major events in the past 10 years in baseball history. And telling Daniel about everything. Telling him when Luis Gonzalez got the hit to end the 2001 WS how we were living at Centergate and I was so happy the Yankees lost I screamed and almost woke you up. How during the Steve Bartman game how we were on our first family vacation in Asheville. When they showed Endy Chavez's catch in game 7 of the NLCS how we looked at each other knowing how Yadier Molina was about to spoil a great season. And as I have my baseball childhood memories and my father is part of alot of them. I hope when Daniel is an adult I'll be part of his baseball memories. Like the night the Rays won the AL championship and we took Bonnie out for a walk after we had our own celebration. Both of us so happy happy they were going to the World Series. Also how his first regular season game was from a luxury box at the Trop. Or his first trip to Shea with me, Howie and Erik when he got a baseball during BP. He really enjoyed watching except seeing get Brad Lidge getting the last out against the Rays. But I think I got so much more enjoyment watching with him telling him of how our family history intersects with baseball.
On Saturday some lunatic in Arizona shot a member of the House while she was doing what she called congress on the corner. As of now Congresswoman Giffords probably will survive this attack but 6 people were killed. For the past three days this is all that's been on the news. The shooter is a young man who has a history of being mentally unstable. His facebook postings are irrational. For example saying how the government is using grammar to control all of us This attack was clearly carried out by a crazy person. What has been so despicable has been how the left is blaming the attack on conservative TV, talk radio and Sarah Palin. There insane logic is since the vitriolic discourse is getting worse and worse coming from Rush, Glenn Beck etc. it was enough to put this guy over the edge. He was a registered independent who did not even vote in the 2010 elections. Even the sheriff in Arizona is toting this liberal line. Even his friends describe the shooter as a dope smoking leftist. For the New York Times and members of congress to use this to try to pass the fairness doctrine comes under the Rahm Emmanuel strategy of never let a good crisis go to waste. At the end of the day is beyond disgusting.
On Saturday some lunatic in Arizona shot a member of the House while she was doing what she called congress on the corner. As of now Congresswoman Giffords probably will survive this attack but 6 people were killed. For the past three days this is all that's been on the news. The shooter is a young man who has a history of being mentally unstable. His facebook postings are irrational. For example saying how the government is using grammar to control all of us This attack was clearly carried out by a crazy person. What has been so despicable has been how the left is blaming the attack on conservative TV, talk radio and Sarah Palin. There insane logic is since the vitriolic discourse is getting worse and worse coming from Rush, Glenn Beck etc. it was enough to put this guy over the edge. He was a registered independent who did not even vote in the 2010 elections. Even the sheriff in Arizona is toting this liberal line. Even his friends describe the shooter as a dope smoking leftist. For the New York Times and members of congress to use this to try to pass the fairness doctrine comes under the Rahm Emmanuel strategy of never let a good crisis go to waste. At the end of the day is beyond disgusting.
Monday, January 10, 2011
Jan. 10, 2011
Very quiet uneventful day yesterday. During yesterday afternoon mom, Jenny and the boys went to the movies to see Harry Potter. Me and Daniel already saw it when it came out so I decided to stay home. For a few hours it was really nice and quiet. I always look forward to having a couple of hours to myself. I think that's why I'm always up before everyone else. While I was raised on early to bed early to rise, the rest of this household goes by the opposite very late to bed and late to rise. Anyway while they were gone I watched the first part of the 10th inning from Ken Bruns baseball, watched one episode of Brad Meltzers Decoded and read(oddly enough a Brad Meltzer book). They were gone for the perfect length. After a few hours I get tired of being by myself and miss everybody. Everyone returned right as the Lightning-Devils game came on. The Lightning played a pretty uninspired game and lost 6-3. At night me, Jenny and Daniel watched the final 2 episodes of Sarah Palin's Alaska. She has been getting some flax for doing the show. But I disagree it shows her to be an average person. People are tired of politicians and she does not come across as one. She really seems to love being with her family and having the freedom to go around doing what she loves. The million dollar question is will she run??? Who knows. If I could visit any place on the planet it would be Alaska. So lets see on the bucket list we have 1.Alaska 2.See a Winter Classic Live 3.Visit Cooperstown with my Grandchildren. Oddly enough after we watched Sarah Palin's Alaska we watched Alaska's State Troopers. It is astounding how some people in really rural areas lives. Also they showed some festival where people take their snowmobiles. There was alot of drunkenness and some drug use. It reminded me immediately Bike Week in Daytona only with snow. The people who attended these events seemed pretty similar.
Sunday, January 9, 2011
Jan. 9, 2011
I love lists and I came across a really interesting one yesterday while online. It was things babies in 2011 may never know about.
video tape-I think this is pretty much a no brainer. I don't know if Devin knows what video tape is
travel agents-another no brainer. I see some set up in Walmarts but with the internet I'm sure they will go away shortly.
separation of home and work-one way progress is not always for the better. The boys grew up with me getting calls from the stores I worked at.
books,magazines and newspapers-I think they got this one wrong. Though I think there will not be big book stores like Barnes and Noble and Borders. Also I don't think every city will have their own newspapers. What I do know is I'd rather much read my Kindle than a real book
movie rental stores-with video on demand on directtv and redboxes everywhere these stores will be gone very soon.
watches-while Daniel gets the time from his pump everyone else gets the time from their phones. Watches will just be jewelry.
paper maps-with map quest and GPS paper maps will be gone very soon.
wired phones-land lines are starting to disappear. Tom doesn't have one. I could see them disappearing in a few years.
long distance-I remember running up a $300 phone bill when I was in Denver and Jenny in NY.
newspaper classifieds-with craigslist and the internet, classifieds are already a thing of the past. When I was looking for a job all the info I needed was online.
dial up internet-its like HD once you have high speed you can't even imagine going back.
encyclopedias-we had one set when I was growing up. Now all you have to do is enter a name or question in a browser and all the info you ever need is right there.
forgotten friends-I'm terrible with facebook but I'll get better. Its a great thing when not abused.
forgotten anything-Jenny has started using her I-pod for reminders of everything.
evening news-I know Fox News is on in our house just about ever waking moment someone is on.
CDs-I saw this coming unfortunately FYE was way too slow to adapt.
film camera-Daniel and Devin never saw this. I remember having to also having to wait a week to get film developed. Digital is a huge improvement.
yellow and white pages-useless except for using when you need something heavy
catalogs-we get so many in the mail everyday. Catalogs may hold on for awhile.
fax machines- everything will be send electronically.
1 picture frames-Jenny got me a frame and put about 100 pictures on it. I love it.
wires-everything will be wireless
hand written letters-with email hand wriiten letters are a dinosaur now
talking to one person at a time-I disagree with this one. I hate talking to more than one person at a time.
retirement plans-I guess 401K are suppose be for retirement. I know retirement for me is suppose to be 20 years away but somehow I don't see it happening
mail-I think we will still have mail but instead of having it 6 days a week I could see 3 days a week
commercial TV-I hate commercials but I understand why we have them. I don't see how you do away with them.
commercial radio-see above. Even sat. radio had commercials on some stations
hiding-probably my favorite on this list. The thought of being always available is scary and almost Orwellian. No longer will you be able to ignore the phone with voice mails and emails. I fear we are past the days when you could be left alone.
I finished the book on Rush Limbaugh. It was a very interesting book. It was written by neither a conservative or liberal. Portraits on people like Limbaugh are typically done by people with an agenda. This one wasn't. While I agree with the book when it states that Rush is the most important conservative voice in America. I would say the three most important are Rush, Glenn Beck and Sean Hannity. If I had to choose a politician it would be Sarah Palin. With that being said its a little disconcerting that no elected leaders are the voices people are following. John Boehner the new speaker seems like a nice enough guy but not someone to take the country by storm. As for Mitch McConnell the minority leader in the senate, he is the kind of old style politician who will say or do anything to keep power. I don't have much respect for him at all. I don't think any of the usual suspects(Mitt Romney,Newt Gingrich, Mike Huckabee) are going to be nominated. Thought I have alot of respect for Sarah Palin she has so many people who absolutely despise her I don't think she is electable in a general election. Charles Krauthammer coined the phrase Bush Derangement Syndrome. I'm sure it would be even worse for Sarah Palin. Paul Ryan is starting to get alot of attention. Bill Christol mentioned a Ryan-Marco Rubio ticket. If that is the case sign me up.
video tape-I think this is pretty much a no brainer. I don't know if Devin knows what video tape is
travel agents-another no brainer. I see some set up in Walmarts but with the internet I'm sure they will go away shortly.
separation of home and work-one way progress is not always for the better. The boys grew up with me getting calls from the stores I worked at.
books,magazines and newspapers-I think they got this one wrong. Though I think there will not be big book stores like Barnes and Noble and Borders. Also I don't think every city will have their own newspapers. What I do know is I'd rather much read my Kindle than a real book
movie rental stores-with video on demand on directtv and redboxes everywhere these stores will be gone very soon.
watches-while Daniel gets the time from his pump everyone else gets the time from their phones. Watches will just be jewelry.
paper maps-with map quest and GPS paper maps will be gone very soon.
wired phones-land lines are starting to disappear. Tom doesn't have one. I could see them disappearing in a few years.
long distance-I remember running up a $300 phone bill when I was in Denver and Jenny in NY.
newspaper classifieds-with craigslist and the internet, classifieds are already a thing of the past. When I was looking for a job all the info I needed was online.
dial up internet-its like HD once you have high speed you can't even imagine going back.
encyclopedias-we had one set when I was growing up. Now all you have to do is enter a name or question in a browser and all the info you ever need is right there.
forgotten friends-I'm terrible with facebook but I'll get better. Its a great thing when not abused.
forgotten anything-Jenny has started using her I-pod for reminders of everything.
evening news-I know Fox News is on in our house just about ever waking moment someone is on.
CDs-I saw this coming unfortunately FYE was way too slow to adapt.
film camera-Daniel and Devin never saw this. I remember having to also having to wait a week to get film developed. Digital is a huge improvement.
yellow and white pages-useless except for using when you need something heavy
catalogs-we get so many in the mail everyday. Catalogs may hold on for awhile.
fax machines- everything will be send electronically.
1 picture frames-Jenny got me a frame and put about 100 pictures on it. I love it.
wires-everything will be wireless
hand written letters-with email hand wriiten letters are a dinosaur now
talking to one person at a time-I disagree with this one. I hate talking to more than one person at a time.
retirement plans-I guess 401K are suppose be for retirement. I know retirement for me is suppose to be 20 years away but somehow I don't see it happening
mail-I think we will still have mail but instead of having it 6 days a week I could see 3 days a week
commercial TV-I hate commercials but I understand why we have them. I don't see how you do away with them.
commercial radio-see above. Even sat. radio had commercials on some stations
hiding-probably my favorite on this list. The thought of being always available is scary and almost Orwellian. No longer will you be able to ignore the phone with voice mails and emails. I fear we are past the days when you could be left alone.
I finished the book on Rush Limbaugh. It was a very interesting book. It was written by neither a conservative or liberal. Portraits on people like Limbaugh are typically done by people with an agenda. This one wasn't. While I agree with the book when it states that Rush is the most important conservative voice in America. I would say the three most important are Rush, Glenn Beck and Sean Hannity. If I had to choose a politician it would be Sarah Palin. With that being said its a little disconcerting that no elected leaders are the voices people are following. John Boehner the new speaker seems like a nice enough guy but not someone to take the country by storm. As for Mitch McConnell the minority leader in the senate, he is the kind of old style politician who will say or do anything to keep power. I don't have much respect for him at all. I don't think any of the usual suspects(Mitt Romney,Newt Gingrich, Mike Huckabee) are going to be nominated. Thought I have alot of respect for Sarah Palin she has so many people who absolutely despise her I don't think she is electable in a general election. Charles Krauthammer coined the phrase Bush Derangement Syndrome. I'm sure it would be even worse for Sarah Palin. Paul Ryan is starting to get alot of attention. Bill Christol mentioned a Ryan-Marco Rubio ticket. If that is the case sign me up.
Saturday, January 8, 2011
Jan. 8, 2011
Not much of note occurred yesterday. My voice seems to be getting a little stronger. I'm doing those exercises that Dr. Santini wanted me to do. I attempted to read a chapter of Daniel's history book aloud. The good news is he definitely was able to hear me. But my voice stamina has awhile to go. Compared to where I was just three days ago my progress has been amazing. I was able to communicate with everyone. Its like nothing ever changed. But in moments of reflection I know just how scary the whole situation was. Jenny definitely seems so much more relaxed. I was even able to shout sa-bon(4 straight strikes in bowling in Korean) which has gotten to be a Wii bowling tradition in our house.
A funny thing has been going on recently. Devin does AMAZING!!!!!!!!!! things with sculpy. He has been making figures from Mario games. Daniel asked him to create his favorite Kuppa and powerup. Devin charges Daniel the whopping amount of 30 cents per figure. And I think he said if you buy a second its even cheaper. Devin obviously has not grasped the true value of his work. I guess he is just happy to do it for Daniel. Devin definitely gets his creativity from Jenny. Daniel's artistic ability is about as bad as mine. But Devin's stuff even blows away Jenny. With proper instruction Devin could probably turn this into a little side business.
A funny thing has been going on recently. Devin does AMAZING!!!!!!!!!! things with sculpy. He has been making figures from Mario games. Daniel asked him to create his favorite Kuppa and powerup. Devin charges Daniel the whopping amount of 30 cents per figure. And I think he said if you buy a second its even cheaper. Devin obviously has not grasped the true value of his work. I guess he is just happy to do it for Daniel. Devin definitely gets his creativity from Jenny. Daniel's artistic ability is about as bad as mine. But Devin's stuff even blows away Jenny. With proper instruction Devin could probably turn this into a little side business.
Jan, 7, 2011
Yesterday was THE day we've been waiting for. My voice has finally returned!!!!!! After 6 weeks I can speak. In the morning I had my first appointment with a speech pathologist. Dr. Santini was like a magic woman. After Jenny told her my story. She came over and started by feeling my neck. She then wanted me to make all sorts of noises. We started by attempting to say M words. The logic is M is the only letter you can say with your head and not your throat. At first it was very difficult and painful. But as I got used to it and it got easier. Then after a few other exercises she has me roll my lips. This exercise loosens up the muscles around my vocal chords. After a few minutes of rolling my lips my voice became much stronger. She said since I had not used my voice the muscles had atrophied. At the end of the hour if I just tried to speak I'd say my voice is about at 50% strenght. Definitely loud enough to be understood. If I roll my lips then try to speak I can even raise my voice. Dr. Santini gave me some voice exercises she wants me to do before my next appointment. Before I left the office she took me around showing some of the office staff how I could speak now. Jenny was stunned!!!!! I was stunned!!!! I see her again next Tuesday. I would think at this rate I should be able to return to work late next work.
The rest of the day was spend getting used to being able to speak again. When I got home Howie called. It was great being able to speak to someone. After each paragraph my voice was losing volume. But once I rolled my lips, it was like someone put a microphone next to my throat. While our 10 minute conversation went great I know I still have to build up my voice stamina. The boys are really happy. Daniel wants to play Strat with me. And Devin wants to do a history lesson with me. Since both me and Jenny got about 4 hours sleep we were both not only mentally wiped out but also physically wiped out. Speaking is something everyone takes for granted until you can't do it anymore. Then everything is a chore. After saying how we were going to really celebrate when I got my voice back, we didn't. We were both too tired to do much of anything. We both ended up taking naps. And at night I ended up on the couch watching hockey in between dozing off. Things are finally looking up!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The rest of the day was spend getting used to being able to speak again. When I got home Howie called. It was great being able to speak to someone. After each paragraph my voice was losing volume. But once I rolled my lips, it was like someone put a microphone next to my throat. While our 10 minute conversation went great I know I still have to build up my voice stamina. The boys are really happy. Daniel wants to play Strat with me. And Devin wants to do a history lesson with me. Since both me and Jenny got about 4 hours sleep we were both not only mentally wiped out but also physically wiped out. Speaking is something everyone takes for granted until you can't do it anymore. Then everything is a chore. After saying how we were going to really celebrate when I got my voice back, we didn't. We were both too tired to do much of anything. We both ended up taking naps. And at night I ended up on the couch watching hockey in between dozing off. Things are finally looking up!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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