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Featured, Sound Decisions

Learning Guitar Changed My Life Direction

Chael Miners
August 9, 2014
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I used to be a punk kid, shooting out windows with BB Guns and sneaking into fenced in areas guarded by ‘private property’ signs. I loved playing in the fields and woods. I loved camping and swimming in questionable ponds. I would run with the cool kids that lived across the street and they tried to teach my brother and I how to smoke cigarettes. This may have all come from my mom and step-dad’s separation, I honestly don’t know. 20 years later, I don’t feel that their separation had any lasting effects on me negatively. To be honest, the opposite is probably true. My step-dad played the guitar.

I remember him playing the acoustic guitar when I was about 4 or 5. He didn’t play it all the time, but I know he got it out sometimes. After they separated, I still would visit him on the weekends with my brother(his dad). Eventually he left one of his guitars at his mom’s house and my cousin and I would play with it while listening to Michael Jackson Beat It, when I would visit them. I think I was about 13 or 14 then.

One day I got brave and asked him if I could have the guitar. It was broke anyways. It only had two strings on it. He gave it to me, and taught me how to play ‘Breaking the Law by Judas Priest’ with the two strings. He also bought me a full set of strings and taught me how to string it.

At that point, I pretty much wanted to teach myself. I asked my mom to buy me an instructional book, and she even got me some lessons. One of my close friends also got a guitar for Christmas a few months later and we started a band. haha. All these events changed and effected the person I was to eventually become. At one point I even joined a church band, which further helped influence me to stay out of trouble. This happened around when I was 17.

I stopped playing in bands when I was 20. When I was 25, I thought I was too old to be in bands and already started missing the old days.

When I was 28, I found out a band that I liked was looking for a bass player. I bought some equipment and tried out. They took me. So, at 28, this relaunched my music ‘career’ and 5 years later, I’ve been in 4 bands since and have high hopes for a few more.

I have a wife and kid now, so time not as available as it once was, but I’m sure I’ll find some time to rock out at some point in the next few years.

Thanks for reading!
Topher Chael

Childhood Memories

Simple Joys While Out of Town

The Halls
August 8, 2014
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Instead of going to High School my senior year, I enrolled as a Foreign Exchange Student. This was one of the hardest things I ever chose to do, leaving my friends during my senior year and possibly missing out on some great memories, but… ya know… Europe! And how did I know whether I would have another opportunity to visit there in my life.

The school I was at had planned a seven day excursion and we traveled to different places around the country by bus. Under other circumstances, I’m sure I would have hated it, but the new friends and people I was around made it much more enjoyable.  It was actually very exciting.

One of my favorite locations that we stopped at was the BEACH!!! .    Well, not THE beach, but we visited Lulworth Cove and got to stay at the Inn.   It was enough of a beach for us.

During the third day of our journey, one of the bus tires blew out leaving us stranded in a small village.  Our bus was broke down near an elementary(primary) school.  It was basically a small room with damaged walls and a straw roof on the edge of a paddy field.    The school obviously was for the village children, and they were all taught by one teacher.

While we were waiting on the tire to be repaired we played with the kids and shared our tea-breakfast with them. They were happy, we were happy. I realized that by sharing little little joys can give immense happiness to others.  This act of kindness also led our principal to announce that he would be taking us to dinner at one of the area restaurants.

This was one of my fondest memories growing up. It’s always stayed with me.  My family enjoyed the souvenirs I brought back with me. They claimed they were unexpected, haha, but who doesn’t bring back gifts from other countries?  Besides, it’s always brought me pleasure to see happiness in other’s smiles.

When you can make someone laugh or smile by your own efforts, you can have a peace of mind and build stronger social interactions…. even when not in your own country. – CH

 

Family Television, Featured

Brothers and Sisters

Chael Miners
August 6, 2014
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Although not exactly Family Television, I think most families experience the majority of what goes on in this show. Anyone over like 14 should be able to enjoy it.

My wife and I have been watching it for about a month straight and we’re only to the middle of the 3rd season. Netflix recommended it because we watch Parenthood.

Every few months we stumble upon a new show that we LOVE and can’t stop watching. ‘Binge-watching’ is what they call it I think. We did the same thing with ‘Breaking Bad’.

We don’t have cable, so usually, when everyone is talking about a show, we can’t watch it for like 2 years. haha.  I don’t know. We save money I guess, by not having cable. I recently came across this website, eliminateyourcablebill.com. The site has tips about breaking the cable habit.

 

All Work, No Play, Featured

No Vacation Time

Chael Miners
August 1, 2014
1 Comment

I was 30 years old before I even saw the ocean. Over the last 10 years, I’ve always been busy working 1 job, and usually working 2. I never had time for a vacation because of work schedules. Every now and then I could get away for an extended weekend, but 6-8 hours was the furthest I could get.

So, luckily, a band I was in was invited to play some shows in Key West, FL. I was very apprehensive about going, because I would have needed to double up on work before AND after my trip. To me, this was hardly worth the fun trip. Why would I only want a glimpse of paradise, to end up back in my normal life after. The reason I work so hard now, is so I can eventually live in paradise one day. (Not that Key West IS paradise, but the illusion is there. They have drugs, crime and drunks, so I guess to me, that’s not completely paradise. I love drinking in ‘paradise’, but just enough to enjoy and remember it.)

 

 

Featured

Featured Stories

Everday Fam
August 1, 2014
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Be featured on our home page!

We’re always featuring good stories and pictures on our home page.

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Decisions, Sports

Fight or Pop tart

yeager
July 21, 2014
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One day while walking home from school I saw a big bag full of cans. I thought maybe I could take them home and recycle them. So I started walking home again and a big strange man walks up and says ” those are my cans”. I got a little bit scared and dropped the cans and ran all the way home without stopping. I reached my house and my dad was there mowing the lawn. “Son why are you running from school? Where there bullies following you home?”. “No,” I said and ran inside. I come inside and take a box of pop tarts and eat all of them. “I hate being so weak, I need to start doing boxing”. After asking his parents if he could box, they said yes yes yes. They would love for him to be a little tougher.

 
The following week was his first boxing practice. And after that practice he was ready for his first practice fight. He had only had two practices and now was his chance to prove to everyone that he could win and that he wasn’t a weakling. the match started and it was fierce. They threw punch after punch but nobody wanted to give up. Then I hit him with a quick two piece to the stomach and he’s down on the ground crying. I was the winner.

 
Next week after a couple more practices I was very ready for my next fighter. He came out of the dressing room and my jaw dropped to the floor. This kid looked like a grown man. There was no way that I could beat him. I chickened out of the fight and went home and ate more pop tarts.

Sports

Jump Jump Jump

yeager
July 17, 2014
No Comments

Once there was a boy named John. He lived in Akron, Ohio with only his mother. His father lived in Alaska where John used to live. He hated living in the cold weather and so did his mother so they decided to move to Ohio.

On John’s first day of school he went to principle’s office to find out which class he would have first. He started with science. After he had finished all but one of his classes, now his last class of the day would be gym. John loved gym at his old school. He played for the basketball team there. He had been thinking about joining at his new school considering he was the best player on the team at his old school.

On his way to gym he saw a group of boys messing around with a basketball and decided to ask them if they knew when basketball tryouts were. They laughed at him and said he was to small to play basketball and that they would dunk on him if he showed up. That wasn’t gonna stop John. He was determined even more to make the team now.

The following week was the first tryouts for the basketball team. John showed up about 15 before everyone else so he could work on his shot. It payed off because when they started the first warm up game, John hit five three’s in a row. Everyone around now knew that John was a good player.

The next day at school the boys came over to John and told him that they were going to dunk on him today at tryouts. He wasn’t scared and went to tryouts anyways. After about an hour of practice it was time for the final tryout game. It was going to be the players from the basketball team last year vs the best players who tried out this year. It was a great game and came down the the final point. It was 11 to 11 game was to 12. John had only made 3 points this game and really wanted the ball.

Johns team comes down the floor, ball is passed to John and he runs towards the basket, throws the ball off the backboard and BANG!!! He slams it threw winning the game for the new comers. The End

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