Who is Fooling Who

Conversation at Dinner on Thursday October 28, 2004 between Beth and Thad:
Beth:"How is the spaghetti Thad"
Thad:"It was wonderful Beth"
Beth:"I used a different sauce today what do you think?"
Thad:"It is great"
Beth:"Are you full?"
Thad:"Yes I am full."
Beth:"Are you are sure your full?"
Thad:Yes dear I have had plenty."
Beth:"You like the sauce right?"
Thad:"Yes Beth it was fine."
Beth:"Great because you were eating Tofu!!"
Thad:"LOL"
Beth:"LOL"
Thad:"Wow. That is a first."
Beth:"LOL You had no idea that was vegetarian did you."
Thad:"I couldn't tell the difference."

Yes Beth tricked me without having any idea I was eating Tofu. Amazing that it tasted just the same. But what horrible gas did I have afterwards. Thanks Beth for the excitement.

Monday, Monday

I was very heartbroken yesterday to see the Panters lose at home. I hated even more for my father in law and his brother who saw the slow demise up close at Bank of America stadium. I feel for those guys after kicking butt in preseason and to lose 4 straight. I believe. I believe that John Fox can rally the team back up in spirit and encourage them to kick into overdrive. The problem with their team is they are plagued by injury. But the ones who are healthy need to play as a team. Not for themselves. And how about Brad Hoooooooooooooover!! That dude is awesome. Hats off to you bro.

In other news I hope you all know by now that Christian will go for his TEEACH evaluation on December 13th. We received the letter last week. We are truly excited that we will finally know if what we thought to be true about Christian. Beth and I have talked many hours about the possibilities of Christian having some mild form of Autism. We have accepted he may be autistic. Once we have the classification or label( if you want to call it that) then we can better help him get the help he needs in school and help for us here at home. Thank you Beth for your hard and ongoing sacrifice, continually keeping me informed about Christian and fighting to get the help we need to better help our son. You are the best friend in the world. And I am lucky to be married to you. And that is all from the World According to Thad

Is it Friday Yet?

Another week has gone by. I continue to itch in light of my efforts to be ivy free. The itching hasn't been as bad the last couple of days, however it still is evident that the ivy is lingering. I have been working on my resume the last hour or so. I haven't updated my Monster account in months. I always seem to get the job listings for insurance salesperson, car rentals, leasing agencies. Your probably asking why? Well the job search will still continue until I feel I can find something that is a little more profitable for the family. I want to buy my wife and son a house hopefully in the next couple of years. Working at the restaurant is cool and I enjoy it. I would like to see how my resume does online just to see if someone out there is looking for someone like me to work. After my last post about the band your probably saying why would you want to find a new job? I cannot stop putting out feelers. Until the possibility of going on the road is a reality then I have to continue to look for something better. I always like to keep my options open. Well I hope you all have read Beth's blog on her conference with Mrs. White, Christian's teacher. He had a wonderful report card. Congratulations son on your fine academic performance. Tomorrow brings on the last day of the work week for me. It will be a not so hectic weekend. So I hope all of you get to enjoy this fine October weekend. Take care.

The Never Ending Itch

Well it has been a week and a half since my brush with poison ivy. Today I was at the end of my rope. I thought I was going to rip my arms off of my body I itched so bad. As always my wife came to the rescue. I was frantically searching for a doctor to see about getting a shot to knock out the constant burning sensation I was feeling. She got online and within minutes had come up with a simple but effective solution. Technu soap and cooling gel. After one use I feel worlds better. I was hurting so much earlier today I rushed home and hour before I was scheduled to get off from work. Thank you again to you Bethie for your wonderful knowledge and willingness to take me to the store to get something to ease the violent scratching and burning.

I am off to practice. I had a great conversation with Jason last night. We cleared the air a little bit on some strain we were feeling toward one another about band stuff. It can be draining on what the possibilities could be if we would just get out there and shake the bushes to get some dates to play. It is a lot harder to try and find places to play in a Christian band. The churches are were we like to play, however unless they have a decent size congregation a lot times they can not afford to reimburse your expenses. And we are really not very interested in playing smoky rock clubs were all the people would probably just heckle us for singing about Jesus. We are in contact with the owner of Maxx Productions in Winston Salem about hiring the band for a three year contract to possibly tour and also do studio work . If it goes through we may have a better chance of touring and getting our music heard by more people. So keep us in your prayers. And our families to because we have to be able to take care of their needs as well as possibly be away from them weeks at a time. And that is all from The World According to Thad.

What a Weekend for Celebration

This weekend we celebrate Christian's 6th birthday. I cannot believe that the six years have past by so quickly. I remember that I was so excited when he was born I went running down the hall to inform my folks that he was born and with tears in my eyes I said to my mom"He's here" and she asked me "Honey what's wrong?" ah, the things we go through. I have to give my prop's to Beth and Christy who have put together a supper duper Safari Blast birthday party. Beth you have outdone yourself this year. I applaud you for your imagination and hard work. Thanks to our friend Christy who has blessed us so much with her friendship and help with preparing for the party. And to Aunt Angela for the gift of money to help with the party. Bless you sweet sister. We look forward to all who attend. To the Galats we will miss you being here, we can't wait to see you at Thanksgiving. To my beloved son, words will never describe the love I have for you. Your are the most wonderful son a father and mother could ask for. I love you Christian Daryl Helderman. You and your mother are the reason I get out of bed every morning. Bless you little child on this wonderful weekend.

The Joy of Rash

Yes rash I said. I worked very hard this past Sunday clearing small trees and vines in the backyard along our fence. Monday afternoon I discovered my arm had little red dots all over it. I thought nothing of until the early hours of Tuesday morning my arm just above my elbow itched like crazy. I woke up hours later to find a rash. What the heck? In all of my years I have never to my knowledge had a rash anywhere. Later Tuesday night it had spread all over my forearm and then on my other arm. Okay seriously what the heck? Wednesday morning I woke up with rash from wrist to elbow on my right arm and two huge spots b/w my wrist and elbow on my left arm. If I had to take a guess I have for the first time in 30 years on this earth have either poison oak or poison ivy. Wow. I never thought that turning 30 would be so great. I am very fortunate not to have grazed the family jewels or anything in that area with the wicked poison plants. I would have been in a world of hurt had that happened. So my arms have that dull pink calamine lotion look to them this evening. This stuff really sucks. It really has got me down in the dumps. And that is all from The World of According to Thad.

Ahhh... Sunday Morning

I truly love getting up on the weekend and being able to enjoy the sunshine in the mornings. Beth and I got up to start an early and busy day. She is off to the store and Christian and I are going to do some yard work in the back yard. Our day started with a quick breakfast with Christian making all kinds of chicken noises. He is in good spirits this morning. Yesterday he was truly not himself as he was zoned out for most of the day. We watched Star Wars all day yesterday. Christian's newest love of video. I find it amazing that something that I enjoyed as a 5 year old would still be popular 25 years later. My mom took me to see the original Star Wars and I believe it to be the first motion picture I saw as a child.

Next weekend is the big party. This year should be a blast as the years past. We look forward to all coming and visiting with us. Well I need to get going and start on the sawing of trees. We have several small trees growing through the fence from our neighbors house. They are hanging over half of the fence. So off I go.

Round 2

Well so ends debate number 2 for the American Presidency. I have to say the the first hour was reminiscent of the last debate but it all hit the fan win the real questions that America wanted to know about were asked. Good job to both candidates for their responses to environment, stem cell, abortion, and energy questions. Special prop's to Senator Kerry for his proclamation to abstinence. Wow. That is a big word for me. But to both candidates thank you for finally dealing with issues that needed to be talked about. A quick message for all of you BE INFORMED. Go check out John and George. Just remember you cannot complain if you do not vote. And remember voter registration ends very soon Good night to all. God bless.

Politics and the Deception It Plays

These view is simply one of opinion not one of exact fact. This is entirely my opinion and definitely not shared by my wife and son.

I don't normally engage in conversation about politics because it always sets off numerous debates about who is right and who is wrong. This years election will be one of great history. I have to admit I have not done a lot of homework so as I am writing this entry I am studying what the big nose democrat has to say about healthcare reform. Here is a example of look what I will do:

"The Kerry-Edwards plan will give every American access to the range of high-quality, affordable plans available to members of Congress and extend coverage to 95 percent of Americans, including every American child. Their plan will also fight to erase the health disparities that persist along racial and economic lines, ensure that people with HIV and AIDS have the care they need, end discrimination against Americans with disabilities and mental illnesses, and ensure equal treatment for mental illness in our health system."

Fat chance. The health care industry is so powerful that it would take the would be president years to get through the red tape BS to put this into practice. We all agree that health care is outrageous. It has become big business at its best. Think about it. Don't quote me on this but I would say that a lot of health insurance companies spend billions of dollars on lobbying the federal government so that their pocket stay deep. I want to tell the health care business tycoons a little something "YOU SUCK". There are people dying in the streets because you don't want people to afford your care. So what the heck is the solution. If I were president, I would tell the health insurances people to "Kiss my A@@"do something else. Dear Health Care people, stop the madness. We are poor. You are rich. Stop ripping people off. Have a heart for crying out loud. People help those who are in need. Stop being selfish. Get it done.

I picked on Senator Kerry for a moment now its George W.'s turn.

"America will not wait for new threats to grow and fester. We will face new challenges – swiftly, surely, and with steely resolve. We cannot forget that the terrorists remain determined to kill as many Americans as possible, both abroad and here at home, and would like nothing more than to use the world’s most deadly weapons against us. With such an enemy, no negotiated peace is possible; no policy of containment or deterrence will prove effective. "

Mr. Bush, we appreciate your valor, but we need to take care of our economy right now. And for the love of Pete would you use a different word than resolve. I do want to live in a secure nation but you cannot tell one country they can have nuclear weapons and one cannot. That just doesn't make any sense. If I were president, I would destroy every nuclear warhead we had in our arsenal and only use nuclear power for energy.

Let it be known that I am a registered republican. That doesn't mean I always vote straight republican. Do yourself a favor. Find out what both canidates stand for and make an educational decision based on the information provided to you. What would you do if you were president? Here is what I would do!

I would first make sure that you were happy. I would hope you would learn how to not live in fear. American's fear everyone in the world because the rest of the world see's our true colors. We take for granted the freedoms we have and we let those stupid SOB in congress who WE elected into office make foolish decisions for us when they are suppose to represent us. I would make it mandatory for all to work in the restaurant business for 24 hours on a busy Friday night so people would understand what its like to work for $2.13 an hour. I would stop social security. It does have a purpose however there are better ways to save for retirement than taking it out of my personal payroll check every week. I would let people keep that money to invest in their own retirement. I would absolutely rip to shreds government agencies that suck up money that could go to people who really need it. Welfare, I got one word for you REFORM. Defense, we should have a well trained and qualified army that cares about their country and who want to be in the military and understand that you may have to go to war so day. I wouldn't bribe people to be in it but I would cut the red tap for them to have maximum retirement plans. Economy, gone are the days of free enterprise. Steamrolled by corporations and big business. Out with corporate America and in with free enterprise. Down with socialism, anarchy, and all that mess. Give back to the States the power they need to make decisions about their economy's and education funds. So if I had a billion dollars I would run for President of the United States. However, I don't so for know I just keep on with what I know best, cooking and playing guitar. And that is the World According to Thad.

Music

For several months I have thought about all the different concerts I have been too. Over the past fifeteen years I have seen so many that I thought it would be cool to look back at all the different shows I have been too. For most of you it will be boring but for me it reminds me that music is a big part of my personality. So here is a least of music groups that I have seen starting with some of the greats: Ray Charles, Tony Bennet, Gladys Knight & the Pips, Oak Ridge Boys, The Commodores w/o Lionel Richie, Herbie Hancock and the Head Hunters, Guns & Roses, Skid Row, Extreme, Bon Jovi, Van Halen w/Gary Sharone, Kenny Wayne Shepard, Beastie Boys, Cypress Hill, Moby, Pearl Jam, Sonic Youth, Hole, Mighty Mighty Bosstones, Lucious Jackson, Angie Aparo, King's X, Spin Doctors, Gin Blossoms, Cracker, Eve 6, Semi Sonic, R.E.M., Tribe Called Quest, Wycliff Jean, Alanis Morrissette, Tori Amos, K' Choice, U2, Sean Lennon, Buffalo Daughter, Dave Matthews Band, Beck, Jesus Lizard, Pavement, Radiohead, KRS-1, Blues Traveler, The Wallflowers, Live, The Connells, Mannheim Steamroller, and last but not least the band the myth the lengend The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion. Also here are some gospel groups I have seen: Petra, WhiteCross, Newsboys, Russ Taff, Mylon Le Fevre and Broken Heart, Michael W. Smith, Margaret Becker, The Ressurection Band, Sacred Warrior, FFH, and Carmen.

Wow. It is awesome to share that with others. My musical history began when I was 11. I watch my older brother jamming on his homemade guitar that he built in senior year shop class and knew I wanted to learn how to play. Growing up in a non-denominational church I really appreciated the praise and worship music that sounded much like rock music. Needless to say I was hooked on music and how it moved people. I took lessons for about two years from our church piano player Dave Foxx. Dave has taught music at Greensboro College now for many years. After the two years of lessons I relyed on my brother and some of his band mates and friends for furthering my musical progress. I learned how to play by ear and just started to try and play everything I could listen to on tape, record, or cd. I have to give prop's to my brother Rik for always believing in me and keeping in check about my playing. In my early 20's I played in my first rock band with long time friend Jason and Joey. The band name was Tinman. You know like the Wizard of Oz guy. We played for a couple of years and we all started to rub shoulders a little to much and decided it would be best to part ways. After that I didn't want to play anymore. I saw how unkind and ruthless the band scene could be so I put my guitar down for about 5 years. I still played every once in a while and settled down with a wife and child. It wasn't until two years ago that I picked it back up again full time again and started playing with my current band Travel. So that is all today and thanks for reading my blog. God Bless. I love you Beth and Christian.

Time

After working in the restaurant business for 12 years you get used to living around a clock and constantly monitoring your progress. Its not usually obvious to the naked eye but an external time clock can easily become an internal time clock. Without hesitation every morning I start my day the exact same way as I did the day before. Coffee, set up my line, cook, clean, restock, clean up after other peoples messes, then go home. If I charted this on a timeline you would find it very interesting how the progress of the day goes. I rush like a bat out of the hot place at the start of the day only to switch into overdrive by open and then back down to first gear when I leave for the day. What is my point in all this. This routine carries over into my regular life. Its easy for me to run like a bat out of the hot place everyday all the way up to the early hours of the morning some times only to get a few hours of sleep some nights and get back up and do it all over again. It is a tiring process sometimes. I say that many days all I want to do is stay in bed and dream what it would be like to not do anything.

Lucky

Yes I feel lucky. What the hell am I talking about. Well its like this, if you have not noticed my blog received a new look today. And it is all thanks to my wife Beth. She rocks. I have never met someone that has not had any classroom training of hotmail and just get on the computer and do her thing. Beth is very gifted with the ability to learn very quick. When she first started messing around with the hotmail stuff I never imagined she would learn so quickly and she just makes it look so easy. Beth you are truly talented. Another work week has come to a close. I am off from cooking the next two days. I have to leave in a bit to go help John and Jason pack up the trailer for tomorrows show for The Miracles In Progress SubstanceAbuse Ministry, along with the Support Group Ministry for Anchor and Knowledge Awareness Day. The event will be at St.Thomas Chapel Church in Summerfield. I have a meeting at work first thing in the morning and then it is off to set up to play. The weekends get long but the music will keep going on too. Thanks again to Beth for the face lift on my blog. Beth you are an awesome wife.