Tragic Loss of Life

Have ever been a witness to someones life that you just knew was going to end up bad? It could be someone in the public eye, a neighbor, coworker, or just someone you knew of. But you could tell if they continued the lifestyle they were living it would lead to one of three results: 1) prison, 2) death, or 3) both. I was witness to one such young man recently. I didn’t know him. He was the neighbor of a family member that I visit regularly (I visit the family member, not the neighbor). Ever since this young man and his family moved in it has been clear that he was headed in a bad direction. Numerous visits in the middle of the night from the police. I would watch him and his buddies getting drunk on their porch and raising all sorts of hell: loud music, arguments, fights, cars squealing tires in the middle of the night. I knew from a friend of mine who happens to be on the police force in this town I’m speaking of, that this fellow was no stranger to them. Auto theft, drugs, simple battery were among some of his hobbies. This kind of life was only going to lead to bad unless something drastically changed.

Today I watched as the medical examiner wheeled him out in a body bag. I don’t know how he died, but I have a good suspicion. I couldn’t help but feel sorry for the young man and his family as they watched him being loaded up into a van. I began to pray. Then a since of real shame came over me. Why had I never thought to pray for this young man before today? I knew that if something didn’t change this could happen. I talked about it before with my wife. “He’s going to end up in prison or dead soon” I would say. I would even tell my family member, “Once he goes to prison you won’t have to put up with this crap anymore (referring to the loud drunken parties on the porch).” But even so, it never occurred to me to pray for him until today. Why? I say all the time that no one is so bad that they’re out of God’s reach. There are examples all over the bible. The Apostle Paul himself was a great persecutor of the early church and Christians. I am ashamed of myself today.

Charting New Territory

I started this blog for friends and family to be able to keep up with the goings on in the Bobo household. Soon it became an outlet for me to share my thoughts on current events and even use it as a sort of online journal. It is basically all things pertaining to the life and times of me. Since starting my Watkins business, I have incorporated some of it into this blog. But I really don’t want this to be an outlet for that, even though that is part of my life now. This blog is to remain a personal outlet for me to express thoughts and feelings and such.

So I have started another blog dedicated to my Watkins business. I even purchased a domain name for it. Brace yourselves, my creative juices were in overdrive when I bought it: bradleybobo.com. Head on over and check it out sometime.

Newest Recipe

I got a new grill for my birthday and I’ve been breaking it in a lot recently. The latest recipe I tried this week was one for kebabs (Recipe is here).  They were goood! A little warning though, they’ve got a kick to them.

Thinking Out Loud

While listening to Daniel’s prayer this morning, I couldn’t help but wonder if the United States has lost favor with our Lord. I’m not comparing our current state with that of Jerusalem’s, but I’m just wondering. I know our country has been through hard times before, and I’m sure people have thought the same thing. Have we as a nation rebelled against our Lord? Is there a lesson to be learned from these hard times so many of us are experiencing? Is it time we as a nation set our face toward the Lord and seek him by prayer and supplications (Daniel 9:3)?

I believe that now more than ever is the time, regardless of who you voted for, to pray for our leaders in Washington. It’s not just what I think, it’s biblical.

1 Timothy 2:1-2 (English Standard Version)

Pray for All People

¹First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, ² for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way.

Friday Flashback

Government vs. Private Industry

The state Georgia has been trying to outlaw video poker machines in the state since 2001. Today it seems they have succeeded. To me this is an example of how a government deals with  its competition. You see, Georgia has a state run lottery. One of the arguments given for outlawing the poker machines is that they are detrimental to those who have an addiction to gambling…. and a lottery isn’t (sarcasm)? The truth is the state government doesn’t care about anyone addicting to these machines, they’re concerned about someone cutting in on their territory.

You’ll see similar tactics when the United States gets universal health care started. Congress may or may not outlaw private health care providers or insurance providers, but they will snuff out their competition. Despite what they’ll tell you about it being a fair and level playing field, it will be anything but. Private companies will have to comply with all the different individual state mandates. The federal program will be immune to such mandates. But the biggest weapon the government has is that they will not required to make a profit. It will be impossible for any private company to compete with such competition

Setting the Record Straight

In my last post I was poking a little fun at myself. I realize that the fact I have let my health go over the past few years is really not a laughing matter. It has caused me some problems with my (I hate to mention it cause it always sounds like I’m whining) bad back. My last trip to the doc also showed that I’ve got some stuff going on inside my body that is nothing to laugh at either, i.e. high cholesterol, high blood sugar. The numbers aren’t off the charts, but they are creeping up in the wrong direction.

So the truth is, I am actually trying to change my behavior and take my health a little more seriously. In fact I feel that it is my duty to take better care of myself. I’ve got others who are depending on my to stick around for a while. Being a father means being a role model in everything I do. I can’t expect my children to grow up with good eating habits if I don’t walk the walk myself.

I’ve been down this road before. I’ve struggled with my weight for pretty much my entire life.  In my mid-twenties I peaked at around 300lbs.  At some point a light bulb went off and I became obsessed with changing my lifestyle for the better. And I was very successful. In one year I dropped to 190 pounds. I kept that weight off for more than 10 years.  Then as often happens life gets busy; marriage, children, job promotions, left little time to workout or mountain bike (my preferred exercise), old habits creep back into the picture. Age makes it harder to drop those extra pounds gained over the holidays or vacation, and before you know it they have accumulated into a large amount of weight. This past year has also been quite stressful… not good for someone like me, I’m a stress eater. Comfort food is never healthy food. I’m not making excuses, just stating the facts.

So why am I writing about this? Well, I’m not sure. There has been some concern expressed recently about my health. So I guess I just wanted to set the record straight. My last post was for humor only. In no way was I boasting about being a fat guy on the beach.

A Couple of Fat Guys on the Beach

While on our vacation my buddy and I were sitting on the beach in our lawn chairs people watching. We noticed that there were no fat people on the beach. Then it came to us…. we were the fat people on the beach!  Everyone was there sporting there beach bodies that they have worked so hard on for the year leading up to their trip; and then there we were just letting it all hang out.

Everyone else was jealous of us though. I know this because they were always starring and pointing at us. Them eating their fat free rice cakes and veggies, while we were sucking down some suds and eating Doritos, occasionally brushing Doritos crumbs off of our bellies.

At one point these three young flat bellies in barely-enough-fabric-to-be-called-a-bikini, bikinis came walking right up to us. As they arrived the abruptly turned around and walked away. My buddy and I looked and each other and I said, “I guess they realized I wasn’t Larry the Cable Guy.

Home

We’re home now. Back to reality. We had a wonderful vacation and I got the needed rest and relaxation I needed. We enjoyed some time with some great friends of ours. It’s fun to see my kids becoming such great friends with one of my best friends from childhood. Vacations are always fun, but as Dorothy said so wisely, “There’s no place like home.”

A Forgotten Drive

Today we took a break from the beach and went for a drive along the Forgotten Coast of Florida. We rode out Hwy. 98 toward Port St. Joe and made a detour to Cape San Blas to check it out, very beautiful (note to self: possible future vacation destination). Then we went on into Port St. Joe for some lunch. GPS came in very handy today and steered us to a nice little place by the water called Sunset Coastal Grill. I had one of the best meals I’ve had in a long time, a soft shell crab hoagie. My cholesterol is probably off the charts today but it was ohhh so good: soft shell crab breaded and deep fried, bacon, lettuce and fried green tomatoes to top it off. My side dish was cheese grits that were breaded and deep fried.  I didn’t think grits could get any better, until I had them FRIED. In the south

we’ll fry anything, even our vegetables;  i.e. fried green tomatoes, fried squash, fried okra, fried zucchini, etc. I capped off my lunch with a huge slice of homemade key lime pie. I ate so much I thought I might not eat again until Monday. But then we came back to a low country shrimp boil.

After dinner we headed down to the beach for the last time this trip. We of course had to take the obligatory beach vacation pictures. I will spare you them here, but I can’t say the same for those of you who follow along with me on facebook