Pat Tillmans Mom

I want to talk about something that has really been bugging me. A little back strory first.....
For those that don't know who Pat Tillman is, he played professional football for the Arizona Cardinals.  This is him:

Ok, so the story goes that he had this great life and he was a really well-liked guy. He had a pretty close knit family and was always very talented.  He married his high school sweetheart and signed a professional football deal....you get the picture; he had the kind of life we all wish for our children someday. 

  So  he decided that he was giving it up to join the Army.  After the events of 9/11 he wanted to give back to the country he loved so much by doing what he considered to be a small part.  Of course his family thought he was crazy but apparently Pat was the kind of guy that once he decided to do something, that was it.  So there was clearly no talking him out of it. 

He joined the Army Rangers and for anyone that knows anything about the Army, the Rangers are pretty bad-ass and rigt in the middle of everything. He served on several combat missions and was unfrotunately killed in Afghanistan.  Here is where it gets tricky......

So it was first reported that he was killed by the enemy in the midst of a fire fight. He was awarded the silver star for bravery and was deemed a "hero" upon his death.  His funeral was widely publicized due to his somewhat "celebrity" status and this upset his family. They said he was always a very humble and private guy. In fact, when he enlisted and stop playing football, he would not talk about it to anyone and made it clear it was a very personal decision he had made for himself. You can definately respect that though.....not wanting to be put in the public spotlight for just doing what you think is right. We live in a time where everyone is trying to get recognition for everything. So I can really take my hat off to someone that just wants to do something because its right and skip all the fanfare.

This is Pat Tillmans Mom. Rodney and I watched a documentary not long ago and she was basically the driving force behind it.  She was not satisfied with the fact that her son was killed by the enemy and start digging essentialy. That to me is fine, it's her right to do so.  She was a grieving mother and I can respect the fac that she just wanted answers.  After a very long investigation, she found a memo that was written by by Lieutenant General McChrystal that basically said, "Pat was killed by friendly fire, it was an accident, but let's make it seem like he is a hero and give him this award. It looks bad for us for the public to see that after he gave such a promising football career, he gets killed by one of his own guys."  This memo was received by all these high ranking Army officials and even Donald Rumsfeld himself. They all knew the truth but covered it up to make it look like he was a hero rather than having been killed in an accident.

 Lying is not a nice thing to do. I am a very firm believer in always telling the truth no matter how difficult it would be. I happen to think that if more people were honest with one another, life would be a heck of a lot easier on us all.  With that said, I gotta tell you; I don't think that what the Army did was such a horrible thing and I don't understand this crusade that Mrs. Tillman has been on for all these years. She was pissed because the Army lied to her about what happend to her son, that I understand and can agree with that.  Any mother that loses a child and then is lied to about it has the right to be upset. But is it really such a bad thing to have America view your son as a hero? What's wrong with that?   I don't have children, but I would like to think if I did, I would feel really proud to have everyone think that way about my son.  In fact I think that Pat Tillman is somewhat of a role model. He was making all this money as a football player, was a famous figure and then gave it up to do something he felt was right in his heart. How many people can say that they have dont that?  The right path is usually always the hardest, no question about that. He chose that hard path. He was killed , yes, but he died doing what he loved and truly wanted to do. Does not sound so bad to me.

  So then, this week, Mrs. Tillman has started taking things a little too far.  Shttp://ktar.com/category/local-news-articles/20110414/Pat-Tillman's-mom-blasts-choice-to-head-military-program

She has started bashing General Mc Crystals appointment to a new FRG saying that it is a "slap in the face of the American people." She feels betrayed because she never got an "adequate apology" or explanation from someone like McCrystal regarding Pat's death.  In all honesty, why does she need this? Seriously, her son is dead and nothing that anyone will ever say or do is going to bring him back. So why is it such a big deal anymore. I feel as though she is chasing after this grand apology that even if she got, wouldn't make her feel any better. I really wish she would let it go at this point.
Furthermore, she always spoke of how humble Pat was and how he didn't want to be labled a celebrity or a hero. Do you think that ANYONE would pay any attention to her little crusade if she was anyone else? I am sure there are a lot of other mothers out there who's children were killed by friendly fire and no one pays a lick of attention to them. The fact that her son WAS a celebrity is the only reason she got her own documentary and has any say in anything at all. 
So to you Mrs. Tillman, I say this; We are all very sorry for the lose of your son. It's unfair and tragic and no words can ever ease the grief expereinced by this.  However, enough is enough.  America is TIRED of hearing from you and frankly, you really have no right or place to make any type of comment on what the Army does these days.  In the end, they tried to make your son seem like a hero.  That's fine with most, so what is your problem already????

General Covered Up Soldier's Death?

The Melting Pot

      On Saturday night I went out to dinner for my friend Simone's Birthday.(That's Simone up above!) She lives in PA and wanted to go "The Melting Pot" in Philly.  So Rodney and I.....oh, wait I haven't introduced Rodney yet!
     That's Rodney on the left. Can you guess that he is a Giants fan? Anyway, he is my "Man Friend" and love of my life.  I use the term Man Friend because boyfriend sounds so......I'll meet you at my locker after gym class.  He isn't a boy and hasn't been for quite some time. So I think Man Friend is a sufficient label for him.  Anyway, we moved into a condo together last June and we couldn't be happier.
                                                                                                   Life is good at the moment!
     So now that introductions have been made, back to the evening. So we hopped in the car with our good friends Leslie and Shawn and headed to Philly.  The restaurant was located on Filbert street so everyone whipped out their cell phone maps and we of course relied on the technology to get us there.  That turned out to be a BAD idea. We wound up somewhere in the hood. No really, it was the hood.  The you better lock you doors for fear of of being ejected from the car by a dude with a gun kind of hood.  We quickly regrouped and realized that we needed to be on the other side of town, like that wasn't obvious already.......
       We got the melting pot and sat down to eat.  Now, I have to say this, I had no idea I would be preparing my own food!  They put everything in front of you and expect you to prepare it all yourself.  The portions are pretty small too, especially after you "cook" them and they shrink.  So the food was mediocor at best.

       The best part.....the dessert!  They bring out a tray of all kinds of goodies including rice krispy treats, marshmellows and strawberries.  And you pick you chocolate that you want to dip them in and then just escape to heaven!!!! SOOO GOOD! I highly recommend the strawberries dipped in the Disorino chocolate.  It is AMAZING. 

        Therefore, the Kelsey Lime Twist advice for today; Go to the Melting Pot for dessert ONLY. Skip the entree and go for the goods! You won't be disappointed! I also recommend the turtle chocolate for all your chocolate dipping needs. It is quite lovely.

I wanted to start writing a blog so that when I am 80 years old and can still actually function as a human being, I will have something to look back on and remember all the stuff I did.  Much like Dougie Houser in his young M.D. days I want to document life.  A good place to start would be how I came up with the title for my blog, so that is where I will begin.....
     I am now 27 and not a huge drinker anymore. Like most young 20 somethings, I used to do my fair share of happy houring and partying on every day of the week that ended in "Y".  It's amazing when I look back on it now because I can't help but say, "How in the heck did I do that??" Going to a full time job then going out after work till all hours of the early morning and then getting up at 6am to do it all over again the next day. I would always tell myself when I woke up that that night I was going to stay in and just relax. Inevitably someone would always make the rounds at about 4pm and ask, "Who is going to happy hour" and of course I would cave.  It just seemed to be the way life was for a few years. 
     Before that was college and of course that was a crazy time full of all-nighters, pure shenanigans and a jam-packed schedule of work, school and social engagements.  I also look back at that time now and say, "How in the heck did I do THAT?" Working practically full-time and keeping a full course load? The thought of it now makes me want to hunker down for a nap.
     So it seems that once 25 hit it was almost and overnight transition to adulthood and all the positives and negatives that come along with it.  I now find it hard to stay up past 11 o'clock on a weeknight; I just can't do it!  I have traded my fashionable and posh filled Saturday nights for a nice couch and a good book.  Priorities, friends and just my over all lifestyle have changed. It's still fast-paced and at times hectic, but in a totally different way.
      I am not going to lie and say that this transition was smooth. It took some definite getting used to on my part. I couldn't help but think that I was missing out on so much in the beginning. Because I wasn't running out to a be fashionably late for a dinner on a Saturday night, I felt like there was something wrong. However, I slowly came to the realization that I am fine with it.  I realized that this is just what happens in life. There comes a point where you are literally exhausted and just need to chillax.  If you are progressing correctly, you will find that your friends are doing the same. I was reminiscing with my Boo (Lez!) not too long ago on how we used to run around clubbing and drinking and just being crazy. We both agreed that those times are behind us because neither of us really has an interest in it anymore. 
     So I have completely digressed from the original topic here of how I came to name my blog.  In my younger days of happy hours and party's I used to drink lots of beer and drinks loaded with empty carbs and sugars. It was just bad, but like I said, it was the thing to do at the time. When I hit 25 I decided that I needed to come up with my "Signature Drink", something that I was ordering when I went out to the bar. It needed to be light, not super filling and crisp. Something that left me satisfied but not full to the brim.  I settled on the Vodka, Seltzer and Lime combo because it is all these things. It's light, low carb and cal and has a nice crisp clean taste. It's a good drink to sip and socialize with and offers me a nice balance if I am having a meal.  So hence, this blog will be just that; light, not super filling and crisp. Like I said, I just want something to look back on and say, "Yeah, that was really fun when I did that".......