Monday, May 29, 2006

The Last Full Measure Of Devotion


Now I don't know if I have ever actually read this speech or not. I probably had to read it sometime in high school, but I'm sure I was not paying attention. I actually read it and thought about it today for the first time. It is very fitting for today. Everyone knows the first line, but do you remember the rest of this famous speech? Have a good Memorial Day with the friends and family, but don't forget why we are free to picnic, go to the beach, and enjoy the day without the fears that so many others around the world face on a daily basis.


Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent a new nation, conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.
Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battlefield of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field as a final resting-place for those who here gave their lives that this nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this.
But, in a larger sense, we cannot dedicate, we cannot consecrate, we cannot hallow, this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us, the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us--that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion--that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain, that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom, and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.

Monday, May 15, 2006

The Best Man


Happy 2nd Anniversary to Eddy & Jess.
Two years ago today I was the best man at their wedding. I have never been good at public speaking and I was nervous as hell about the best man speech. When we got to where the reception was at, the wedding planner asked me if I had a toast "ready". I said yes, and asked her how long I had before I gave it. She said it would be right after we came in and were seated. So apparently I wasn't "ready". I had been hoping I could get a drink or two in to relax me before I gave the toast, so I was very nervous now. Fortunately I had a flask in my tuxedo pocket that had some tequila in it. I proceeded to have a few nips, and then a few more. Unfortunately there was not enough time for this to kick in and relax me before the toast. All that it did was give me heart burn right at the time the meal was served, so I could hardly eat anything.

Not being good at public speaking I really stressed about the toast and spent some time writing it, I was actually kind of proud of what I came up with. I thought it sucked at the time, but have been to a few weddings since then and from the other best man toast I have witnessed I realized that mine wasn't that bad. I posted it below and the comic strip above is one I came across while writing the toast, which was 2 days before the wedding. I felt that the strip fit for me, not Ed, he is the lucky one. Maybe the comic was Karma, Fate, or just a strange premonition. Either way, I'm probably a "block head"!

It was definitely a fun night. After the wedding I told DJ to keep his tux on, we were going out on the town in style that night. I'm not going to go into detail about DJ and his layers, LOL, but it was a blast. We ended up partying all night and ended back at the hotel sometime after daylight the next day. Eddy had to tell the front desk we needed a later checkout time because we were not in much shape to get up. Definitely a awesome time.

Congratulations again to Ed & Jess! I know DJ & I had a night we will definitely remember for a long time. :)



I'd like to start off by wishing Jess & Ed a happy 2 hour anniversary. Ed, I think you made a wonderful choice. You couldn't have picked a better best man. This means a lot to me. I'm honored. Usually at weddings I'm the guy sitting at that table back there, you know, that table that gets to eat last.
I've know Ed for over 12 yrs now. We've been best friends since the day we met. We have a lot of good stories to. There was the time Ed saved our lives, from that crazy old man with the gun. There are some times Ed tried to do me in to, but I'm sure those are unintentional.
Even though Ed and I didn't know each other till we were 18, we have done a lot of growing up together. In Youngstown we lived together for 2 years. We both worked at the same Giant Eagle for a while. After we graduated, we even got a job at the same place. The funny part about that is our resumes were exactly the same, word for word, except the name and some of the work experience. And the guy that hired us never noticed. He even called us 5 min apart.
All this time I have known eddy, and I have to honestly say, I have never seen him happier. So Jess, on behalf of eddy's friends, family, co-workers, his cat, and any future EMR's. I would like to say thank you for making eddy a better friend than he already is, a little bit nicer guy, and more tolerable to be around.
So please raise your glass, and join me in toasting Jess & Ed
To you both, a day of perfection. A night of bliss. A lifetime of blessings. And may your home always be too small to hold all who love you.

Monday, May 01, 2006

What I Miss The Most


Just like Life, and most of my previous Blog entries, this one didn't turn out quite like I had intended. What I Miss The Most, I had such a hard time coming up with something to write about on that topic. Its not that I don't miss the old man. I just found that I couldn't come up with the words, every time I would try my mind would wander to other things. Things that made me smile.

Almost everyone at a funeral has their own little moment. A moment alone where they say their goodbye. I don't remember if I said "goodbye" or not, I don't think I actually did. I do remember what I did say though. "You made me proud Old Man, You made me proud." It was such a long day. So many people. It was spitting a little bit of snow that day in North Western Pennsylvania and the line was around the building. Some people waited in line for 2 hours that day. It was amazing, just to hear all the stories about Dad, and getting to meet all the people that knew him and considered him a friend. Some I knew, some I didn't, others I had only heard stories about. I have never seen anything like it, and I was proud that so many people loved and respected him, and that was my father.

I remember when I was probably between 8 & 10. There was a back road between the farm and Meadville that we used to drive on a lot. The road was named after someone, I cant even remember the persons name. Being at that age I wanted to try to express my own opinions. I made some comment about not wanting to be remembered by having my name on some small road. I don't know why I said it, why I still remember that comment of over 20 yrs ago, or why sometimes when I drive down that road I remember and feel a little guilty about saying it. I will never have a road, or anything for that matter named after me, but I definitely know now how I wish to be remembered.

What makes me proud. Its a much more fitting title. I am proud of a lot of things. My family. I know so many people that don't get along with their family. The Alter side has been through some rough patches in the past, but I'm glad to see most of us have came through it for the better. My 3 sisters and my Giant little brother. It makes me proud the things we have in common, and I am so so so so very very verrry thankful for some of the things we don't. I was proud when at the viewing someone mistook my brother Colton for my son. Even though I am much better looking than he is, I was still proud (he doesn't have the internet yet, so he wont be able to read this for a few more weeks).

I was proud this weekend when I got to spend time with Colton, watching him compete in a competition for area football players. It was a lot like the Strong Man Competition. I know Dad was there and looking down on us, and he was proud. Im also proud that for some strange reason, after all these years, I now listen to country music.

I am very proud when someone tells me I look like the old man or that I do something that reminds them of him. One of my favorite stories involves 2 people who have never met him. My friend Leanne was on her way from State College to Altoona, she was going to visit some of her family. She stopped and took me along with her. She saw the picture of my dad and commented that we had the same smile. Later in the evening we were at her Uncle Arrow's place, jamming on the bongo's and having a good time. He had never met me before but said that he liked me because I had a friendly smile. It was awesome for me to have the connection between those two comments. It made me feel very good.

I know that he is proud of not only his children, but the rest of his family as well. He always had a big heart and I'm sure he is proud of the way we have all pulled together and became the family we haven't been in many years. I know it makes me proud. I can see him looking down on us with that big shit eaten grin on his face. I know I have had a few moments where he was looking down and laughing, but this probably isn't the appropriate place to share those moments. Some of those, I am not so proud of.

I know there is going to be some comments posted on this blog, so make sure you read them and please feel free to add your own.

I guess what I miss the most is that there will be no new opportunities to learn ways that we were alike. No new memories to look back upon. Even though I didn't feel I needed to say any goodbye's or I Love You, as I write this there is one thing I wish I could have said to him. "You made me proud Old Man, You made me proud."