What would holidays be without family?

The Christmas holidays have always been a special time, just as every other holiday throughout the year. The one constant with every holiday is family. Our own personal level of enjoyment changes as we grow up. As children, we enjoy the mystery of Santa Claus and the excitement of opening presents. As teenagers, the gifts may change from toys to cool gadgets and clothes. When we are grown and there are no more little children to spoil and no more little smiley faces to light up the room, the gifts don't matter as much. Family is what matters. Whether you live close and spend every holiday and most other days with your family, or if you live far away and only see them a few times a year, the holidays are always special when you are with family.

Everyone's family has a certain level of dysfunction and mine is no different. But I love them all the same. I left my home town, and my family, more than 15 years ago. I have traveled the world and have lived in many different places. I do make it back home from time to time...maybe not often enough. My family and I may not know each other as well as most, but that doesn't mean I love them any less. Knowing they are there for me...for each other...can be comforting.

This year's Christmas was going to be special. You see, my family was planning a big Christmas party and we were going to gather all of the family that we could and celebrate with my grandfather one last time. My grandfather, if you've been following, is the 94 year old Pearl Harbor Survivor that I wrote about earlier this month. The plans were in place. I was coming home. My aunt was coming from New York. It was going to be great...   Only my grandfather didn't make it.  He passed away the weekend before Christmas. (If you'd like, read this article about him in the local newspaper). He went quickly and painlessly from what I was told. He has been finally reunited with his wife, who left him 12 years before. While his passing is sad, I am happy for him. He is a hero, a local celebrity, and an important part of our family...an important part of my life. He has lived a very long and full life. Hell, I hope I live to be 94 and be as capable as he was at that age. So my family's Christmas plans had changed, but we were still together. I had the honor and privilege of being a pall bearer. My brother and I, both military veterans, folded the American flag that was draped over our grandfather's casket and then I presented it to my dad. A moving moment to say the least and probably the most emotion I saw out of my dad. The holidays continued only with one less seat at the table, but we were still together.

Whether your family is close or if they have drifted apart, enjoy the time you do have together. Cherish those moments. Make efforts to connect with new family members or reconnect with those you've lost touch with, even if it's only for a few minutes. Put aside your differences and any negativity and enjoy each other. You never know when that holiday might be the last one with them.

Two years later, things are looking good!

I was just reminded (not sure how I could forget) that it has been two years since I really took control of my life and really started to live it for myself. I ended an unhealthy relationship that was holding me back and making me miserable. Since then, the last two years have been, for the most part, all about me. Not in a completely egotistical selfish way either. I've been going down a path of self-evaluation and self-improvement. I've spent a lot of time getting to know who I was, what I enjoyed, what my passions were, and what made me happy. I have focused on continuing my education and plan to graduate in Spring 2011. I'm discovering what some of my hidden talents might be as many of my friends are pointing out things they think I do well. I have a big heart and I'm passionate about helping others and giving back. I try to do that as often as I can, but know I could do more.  My life is moving forward and I like the direction it is headed. There opportunities out there for me, and even more will open up next Spring. Although I may not know where my path is taking me, I do know that the decisions are mine. I like that!

Remember Pearl Harbor

Today is December 7, 2010, the 69th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor. My family and I happen to be very lucky and proud to have a Pearl Harbor survivor in our family, my grandfather, Andrew Barylski, Sr. He is 94 years young and can recount that fateful day as if it happened yesterday. He's something of a celebrity back home in Putnam, CT. He participates in parades, has had the occasional speaking engagement, and has had numerous articles written about him and other Pearly Harbor survivors and WWII veterans. Here is an article published in today's edition of the Norwich Bulletin.

I am very fortunate to have been able to hear firsthand accounts of this amazing historical and infamous event in history. I am very proud!

There are only about 3000 Pearl Harbor survivors alive today and the number of WWII veterans lessens each year. If you happen to meet one of these veterans, please shake their hands and say 'Thank You'. These are real heroes!!

Thank you Gramps! Love you!

Andrew Barylski Sr. with my brother Army Sergeant First Class Dennis Barylski

I can appreciate a good acoustic performance

The last two shows I've seen have been acoustic shows. Normally, which is like 99% of the time, I'm attending shows with stacks of amplifiers and speakers so loud the bass reverberates in your chest. As a lover of music and live performances, I can enjoy a good acoustic show as well.  How well a band can perform and sing without being able to hide behind thrashing electric guitars and thundering drums is a real testament to just how good they really are.

On October 23, 2010, I saw Aaron Lewis at The Pabst Theater. Some of you may know Aaron Lewis as the lead singer of the band Staind. Aaron has an amazing voice. This was really my first full acoustic show. The show turned out to be more of a jam session. Aaron sang many of the favorite Staind songs such as "It's Been Awhile", "Outside", and "So Far Away".  He mixed in requests for covers from the audience.  The crowd got to be a little annoying with all of the requests for Aaron to sing other people's songs. In the end it was a good show.  Here are pictures from the Aaron Lewis show.

More recently, on Tuesday, November 30, 2010, I had the privilege of seeing Shinedown perform an acoustic show at The Riverside. This was going to be interesting. I already knew the lead singer had a great voice and thought an acoustic show would showcase his vocal abilities. I was right. Fantastic show! Let's be clear though...It's not an unplugged show. It was an acoustic show but they were plugged into amps. Definitely a step or two down from a full on metal performance.  They did not disappoint either.  

The show was kind of like those Storytellers shows on VH1 where the band tells a story about the songs they sing. Each song was introduced with a bit of an explanation about the song and what influenced it. It's interesting to note that sometimes what you think the song may be about is not what it is about at all. By far my favorite song performed was "Devour". On the album this song is fairly fast and heavy with lots of guitars. This night they had two acoustic guitars, a bass, drums, and two guys banging on boxes to get a deeper bass sound. It was dark and moody. Excellent!

Setlist:

• Heroes
• Save Me
• If You Only Knew
• Sound of Madness
• Shed Some Light
• 45
• I Dare You
• Times Like These (Foo Fighters cover)
• The Crow & The Butterfly
• Devour
• Burning Bright
• Call Me
• Fly From The Inside
• With A Little Help From My Friends (Joe Cocker cover)
• Simple Man (Lynyrd Skynyrd cover)
• Second Chance

Check out pictures from the Shinedown show.

Climbing for a Cure

Last night, for the second year in a row, I participated in the Climb for a Cure event to benefit the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. The event consists of climbing 47 floors - 94 flights - 1034 steps up the U.S. Bank building in downtown Milwaukee, WI. When I did this event last year, I had no idea what I was getting into and it turned out to be one of the most excruciating events I have participated in since Marine Corps Boot Camp. There is really no way you can train for this. Even weeks on a stair stepper or elliptical machine didn't help much. My one major mistake last year was starting off way to fast.  This year's motto was "Slow and Steady".  Well I have to say that I beat last year's time by almost one minute, finishing in 12 minutes and 11 seconds. Once again we had a small team of us (four this time) from my workplace and each one of us made it to top successfully. Next year we hope to grow our team to continue to support this great cause.

The main reason I, and my other friends, support the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, and participate in events such as this one, is because of our close friend and coworker, Nicki, who has CF. Here is a woman who was diagnosed at the age of 6 months and has battled this disease her entire life. For the seven or so years that I have known her, she has never asked for preferential treatment, never asked for help, and always thinks of others before herself, even while not being able to breath normally. She is truly an inspiration.

Last year, in August 2009, Nicki received a double lung transplant. Last night, Nicki climbed 47 floors - 94 flights - 1034 steps. Truly amazing! Something she would not have been able to do before surgery. She even passed a firefighter coming up the stairs.  Sure he was wearing his full fire fighter gear, but that doesn't matter.

Here is our mighty little team. From left to right - Nicki, Me, Crystal, and Carey.

Happy 235th Birthday Marines!

I'm registered as an American

I believe in my country. I believe in the Constitution and everything that it give us, the People, the power to do. I believe in change. Throughout our nation's history, change has been constant. We have changed. We have grown. We have developed into one of the finest, strongest nation's in the world. Yet the change we need most, no one seems to want. We need to stop the infighting. We need to stop beating ourselves up.

Over the last couple of years, I have seen changes withing our two major political parties. There was a time when one was all the way to the left and the other was all the way to the right. That's not the case anymore. The lines in the political parties have become more and more blurred, yet things seem to get worse. It seems more and more people are finding themselves closer to the middle than ever before, yet we still fight.  While I am registered with one of the two major political parties, I too find myself down the middle on a lot of issues. In conversations I have had with colleagues and strangers, I have found that I agree with many things on each side. So where does that leave me?

There is so much negativity and public bashing that it is often disgusting to think that these elected officials represent us in government. If one party has complete control over Congress and the Presidency and chooses not to work with the other party, is this truly a Democracy? Or is this some sort of authoritarian dictatorship run by a group. There was a time when having a multi party political system worked. Maybe that needs to change.

Do we really need two major political parties?  Are we not all playing for the same team? Don't you think we could get a lot more accomplished if we all just registered as American?

I don't understand why it gets so ugly around campaign and election time. The finger pointing, the name calling, the bashing...it's all very juvenile. I've seen 5th graders act more appropriately. I'd like to see more politicians and/or political parties as a whole take responsibility for their mistakes. Man/Woman up people! Admit you screwed up. Have some integrity. No matter who makes the mistake, the finger is always pointed at the person who last filled the seat. I would have a lot more faith and respect for someone who took responsibility for their own actions and misdeeds and those of their party. That is leadership.

One thing I do know is that being a politician is a thankless job. It's a dirty job. It's a job I do not want. Hats off to anyone who runs for office. A great thing about the Constitution is that it gives us the right to make changes. We'll see if the changes made on Tuesday have a positive effect. If not, then we'll make more changes in two years and keep making changes until we get it right.

Before I ever decided to register with any party, I registered as an American!