c

Marty's Joke of the Day

Marty's Joke of the day is an internet column that I've written for more than 5 years.
I tell humorous stories about my "sweet wife" and raising our 4 young sons, named #1, #2, #3, and #4.
After 5 years of story telling, in August of 2005, doctors found a brain tumor in son #4.
Our focus here has changed little as we still try to find humor in our lives.

Monday, June 25, 2007

6/25 - Busy Busy Summer!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Monday, June 25, 2007
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tonight we went to ‘Bridge to Terabithia’. It was pretty good, but
not quite what I expected. I’ll give it a 2 ½ boys out of 4.

We had a busy weekend. Last weekend, if you recall, we went to a
family reunion and camped overnight at Bear lake. This weekend
Camp Hobe asked up to be a host family for Camp Hobe at the 7th
annual ‘Catch a Cure for Cancer’ fishing tournament at
Starvation Reservoir. Last year they raised over $17,000 for camp Hobe.
I’m not sure how they did this year, but with 42 boats, and every one
giving all of their prize money back to the camp, plus a HUGE
raffle drawing, I’ll bet they did pretty well.



The kids even wanted to chip in and buy some raffle tickets. The 3
older ones put in $10 each, and mom and dad put in $30 more. We
all did pretty well too. Between the 6 of us we got some Olympic
key chains, floating pliers, blow up pool toy, 2 free lunches, 3
brand new fishing poles, a $25 gift card to Sportsmen wearhouse,
and a 4 man tent! I’m telling you, there was a ton of prizes. (If
someone will remind me next year, I’ll take your donations and
send you what you win!)

The summer is only 1/3 of the way over, and we still have the
Make-a-Wish Ducky Derby and swimming day, Pediatric Brain tumor
Ride for Kids, Pioneer Trek, and Scout camp left. I think we’re as
busy as we are in December!

Enjoy Today’s Jokes!
Marty

=-=-=-

Interesting quiz. Find out what accent you have. I’m upper Midwestern.
Right were I should be...

http://www.gotoquiz.com/what_american_accent_do_you_have


<>~<>~<>~<>~<>~<>~<>~<>~<>~<>~<>~<>~<>~<>~<>~<>~<>~<>

A crew of highway maintenance workers was sent to repair some road
signs that vandals had knocked down in a forested area. The first
one they put back up was a symbol warning of a deer crossing.

As they moved down the road to repair the next sign, one crew
member looked back and spotted a deer running across the highway.

She turned to a co-worker and said, "I wonder how long he's been
waiting to cross?"

<>~<>~<>~<>~<>~<>~<>~<>~<>~<>~<>~<>~<>~<>~<>~<>~<>~<>

"In England this week they recorded their highest temperature in
history. Good thing they can all cool off with a refreshing meat
pie."
~Conan O'Brien

[I hear they don’t put ice in their drinks, and serve water warm.
Yish…]


<>~<>~<>~<>~<>~<>~<>~<>~<>~<>~<>~<>~<>~<>~<>~<>~<>~<>

As the commercial says, "Life comes at you fast," and before you
know it you're old. This is one of the best assessments of being
old that I have read, so I thought I would share it with my
children, who will someday (before they know it) be old.

The other day a young person asked me how I felt about being old.
I was taken aback, for I do not think of myself as old. Upon
seeing my reaction, he was immediately embarrassed, but I
explained that it was an interesting question, and I would ponder
it, and let him know.*

*Growing Older, I decided, is a gift.*

I am now, probably for the first time in my life, the person I
have always wanted to be. Oh, not my body! I sometime despair over
my body ... The wrinkles, the baggy eyes, and the cellulite. And
often I am taken aback by that old person that lives in my mirror,
but I don't agonize over those things for long.*****I would never
trade my amazing friends, my wonderful life, my loving family for
less gray hair or a flatter belly. As I've aged, I've become more
kind to myself, and less critical! of myself. I've become my own
friend. I don't chide myself for eating that extra cookie, or for
not making my bed, or for buying that silly cement gecko that I
didn't need, but looks so avant garde on my patio. I am entitled
to be messy, to be extravagant, to smell the flowers. I have seen
too many dear friends leave this world too soon; before they
understood the great freedom that comes with aging.*

*Whose business is it if I choose to read or play on the computer
until **4 a.m** and then sleep until -- ? *

*I will dance with myself to those wonderful tunes of the 50's &
60's, and if I, at the same time, wish to weep over a lost love I
will. **

*I will walk the beach in a swim suit that is stretched over a
bulging body, and will dive into the waves with abandon if I
choose to, despite the pitying glances from the bikini set.*

*They, too, will get old. *

* I know I am sometimes forgetful. But then again, some of life is
just as well forgotten and I eventually remember the important
things.

Sure, over the years my heart has been broken. How can your heart
not break when you lose a loved one, or when a child suffers, or
even when a beloved pet gets hit by a car? But broken hearts are
what give us strength and understanding and compassion. A heart
never broken is pristine and sterile and will never know the joy
of being imperfect.

I am so blessed to have lived long enough to have my hair turn
gray, and to have my youthful laughs be forever etched into deep
grooves on my face So many have never laughed, and so many have
died before their hair could turn silver. I can say "no," and mean
it. I can say "yes." and mean it.

As you get older, it is easier to be positive. You care less about
what other people think. I don't question myself anymore. I've
even earned the right to be wrong.

So, to answer your question, I like being older. It has set me
free. I like the person I have become. I am not going to live
forever, but while I am still here, I will not waste time
lamenting what could have been, or worrying about what will be.
And I shall eat dessert every single day... (if I want)

Labels: , , , ,

Friday, March 09, 2007

3/9 - Help... Looking for a movie this weekend?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Friday, March 09, 2007
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hi All, just a quick, extra Friday email.
Not much going on with us. I got a C on my Biology test. I was
bummed, but the instructor says that most of this other classes
have said that was the hardest test of the course. We’ll see when
final grades come out.

On my day off today, I did my taxes. I hate taxes. Mostly because
I didn’t keep good records and should have. But with the records I
did keep, we did pretty well.

One last thing, I got this email today from my Ependymoma Brain
Tumor group. Looks like I’m going to go to a movie tonight! Hope
you can to...

=-=-=-
From: TCHFMom@aol.com
Date: Fri, 9 Mar 2007 16:46:14 -0500
Subject: Tanner Seebaum Foundation & "The Ultimate Gift"
To: ependyparents@braintrust.org

Hello,
Please read the email below sent from our certified financial
planner, Bill Eggert. Bill has given The Tanner Seebaum Foundation
a wonderful gift, however, we need your help to succeed. Please
read this email, enjoy the movie, forward this email to everyone
you know and help find a cure for pediatric Ependymoma brain
tumors. Please let me know if you have any questions. My contact
info is at the bottom of this email.

Dear Friends, Family, Associates and Valued Clients:
Please pardon this interruption in your day.
As many of you know, over the last two years I have been involved
with a group of Financial Advisors, Philanthropists, Consultants
and Film Makers working on a unique project. Our task was to bring
the best-selling book “The Ultimate Gift” to life on the big
screen.
I am happy to announce the culmination of our work with the motion
picture debut of “The Ultimate Gift”. Distributed by 20th Century
Fox, “The Ultimate Gift” premieres in 800 theaters across the
United States, today, March 9, 2007. This is a limited release.
How long it stays in theaters depends on how many people see the
film this weekend. So if you need something to do this weekend, I
would appreciate you going to see the film.

"The Ultimate Gift" is a great story (based on the James Stovall
book of the same name) that delivers a wonderful message and is
suitable for family viewing. It stars James Garner, Brian Dennehy,
Drew Fuller, Bill Cobbs, Lee Meriwether, Ali Hillis and Academy
Award nominee Abigail Breslin - the little girl in "Little Miss
Sunshine". Take some tissues - I have seen it twice and have shed
a tear or two both times! Get all the information about the movie
at www.theultimategift.com
You can find theaters near you that are showing the film by going
to www.foxfilmfund.com. If you enter your zip code, the site will
show you theaters in your area showing the film. If you then click
on a theater, you will be directed to either Fandango.com or
MovieTickets.com where you can buy tickets online (you are not
required to buy tickets online - they will be available at the
theaters).
If you buy tickets online, there will be a place to enter a code –
a box labeled as "Organization Code" or "Organization/Church Code"
(do not use "Promotional Code"). If you enter the code 500758 –
$1/ticket of your purchase will go to support a designated
charity. In this case, it is The Tanner Seebaum Foundation, a
small Denver-based foundation that helps to fund research and find
cures for children's brain cancer and brain tumors. Ticket price
is still the same - you get see a movie and help a good cause by
purchasing online and using code 500758. You can read about this
foundation at www.tannersfoundation.org.
As for me, I had a chance to be an extra in the film, but
unfortunately the timing of the shoot did not fit in my schedule.
But if you sit through all of the credits you will see my name
will scroll by.
Thanks for reading all this and for seeing the movie. Thanks in
advance for buying tickets online and supporting this movie and
this cause.
Please enjoy the movie.
Disclosure: I am not an employee or Board member of The Tanner
Seebaum Foundation – just a friend of the family. And yes, I own a
very minor fractional share of the movie. Trust me - it will take
all of you seeing the movie many times before I will ever see a
dime out of this.
PLEASE FEEL FREE TO FORWARD THIS INFORMATION TO ANYONE YOU KNOW.
Thank you.
All the Best,
Bill Eggert, CFP®

=-=-=-
Warmest Regards,
Stephanie J. Seebaum, Vice President
The Tanner Seebaum Foundation
6900 E. Belleview Ave, Ste 211
Greenwood Village, CO 80111
www.tannersfoundation.org
V: 303.771.HOPE
C: 303.909.7715
F: 303.771.6789
stephanie@tannersfoundation.org
Stephanie, mom to Tanner, 10. DX 4th Ventricle Posterior Fossa
Ependymoma 07/07/98. GTR 07/09/98. VP Shunt 7/98. 3 rounds chemo.
Relapsed 02/13/2001. GTR 02/19/2001. 2 rounds Temodar. 33 rounds
conformal radiation. Relapsed 05/17/04. GTR 06/07/04. 3 rounds
Radiosurgery. Daily growth hormone shots. Big brother to Ellie, 7.
Children's Hospital Ambassador, Denver. www.tannersfoundation.org;
www.caringbridge.org/co/tannerman/




Enjoy Today’s Issue!
Marty

Labels: , ,