The Dream that is.....Gameday Broadcasting

Magic

I guess it started from when I was a kid. I wasn’t like most other kids my age (ha, I am not like most adults my age, some would argue), I would much rather have listened to a game on radio than watch it on TV. It didn’t matter what sport, I was just fascinated with radio and sports. Many warm summer nights I would go to my room, open a window, and let the warm air blow in, while flipping on the radio and letting Marty and Joe bring me the action, hundreds and sometimes thousands of miles away.(this was the Reds radio team, for those who might not know..Marty is still at it) Yet they would paint a picture so clear with their words and voices, I would feel as if I were in the press box with them watching the games. As much as I liked Marty and Joe as a kid, no one at least for my money was better than our local guys Johnny Wharff and the WMOA staff of sportscasters. Often catching him along with his legendary father in the booth covering all things Marietta sports, both college and high school.

As I grew older sports radio still played a part in my life.  Late in high school, I found the gold mine (at least that is what I thought it was) of all day ESPN radio. What could be better, than people talking sports on the radio all day? I told you I wasn’t normal!

So it would be natural for me to go into radio journalism in college, right? Well not so much. While I loved radio and sports, I had yet to be exposed to it ‘behind the scenes.’ I guess I didn’t think much about it, I was going to school to teach or become a business man. I didn’t think of radio as a career.

As I went through college, early on I was given an opportunity to do an ‘internship’ with the Akron Zips football broadcasters. I thought, heck why not. It would be a way to get into the games free and see what broadcasting was all about behind the scenes.

That experience, needless to say was amazing; in fact I did it for two years. Also around this time, during summer break from College, I worked at mystical WMOA radio station, of my childhood past. I was ‘running’ the station on Sat and Sun nights. I like to think I ran the station, however it pretty much ran itself, but it sounds better for the story when I say I ran it!

One of those summers, I managed to work my way into the press box (at then) Pioneer Park, to see how Johnny and his broadcast partner Mark, worked their craft.  During one of my visits to the booth, I somehow slide my way into the Color commentary chair one day, to call one batter, with Johnny while Mark was on a food run. You can imagine, I was like that kid again. But unlike 12 years before when I just pictured what it was like in a broadcast booth, I was there living it in color. I put a pair of headsets on for the first time, and the magical voice of Johnny Wharff , went into one ear, stopped at my brain, allowing me to see that picture once again as I did as a kid, and went out my ear;

“The 1-1 pitch on the way, and taken for a ball by the Pioneer batter, I would like to welcome in Aaron Cassady to the booth, Aaron……” Johnny would go onto ask me a few questions, and allow me to add my ‘commentary about the game.’  While it was just one batter that moment as far as broadcasting goes, will always be near the top of my memories. It was what totally blew me away, and hooked me."  

It’s amazing how a person can give you a break in life, and it totally propels you into a whole new ‘era’ in your life.  Johnny did that for me that day.  And knowing the type of guys he is, he probably didn’t even know he did anything special.  He was just helping a young college kids ‘learn’ the ropes.  I have since thanked him and let him know the impact he has had on me, not only as the ‘mystical’ person that came through my radio as a youth, but also as the young man, that he would be giving  a ‘chance’.

College in Akron came and went, and then a move to Columbus. During that time, I would talk to someone here and there from a station, in hopes to call games. I tried mostly with little stations around the area, seeing if they coved local high school games. But to no luck, they either didn’t do games or didn’t need any more help.

I was starting to become successful in my business career and a local University in Columbus (who didn’t have sports by the way to cover), yet I still had the burning memory and sound etched in my head, of Johnny’s voice coming through my headphone that summer day. Something kept telling me to broadcast games on the side, not for a career but as a passion. But I had no demos to give to stations, Central Ohio I was finding was very under coved as far as local high school or college sports went, and I was running out of stations to send emails to, letting them know my situation. I mean, looking back, I am sure some of these stations were a bit confused. Random email from a guy with little experience, no demos, works full time outside the radio business, and says he will work for free to get experience…Humm!!!, is a sound from the mouth of those reading an email from me, followed by a click of the mouse to delete the email.

God’s working
God works in ways that I will never be able to explain. Yet I have seen His work to often to ever question His presence. I am too often impatient to realize that sitting back and letting Him do His thing, works out way better than me trying to figure it out.

This is the part in the story of how gamedaybroadcasting.com came to me.  Above is why, so here is how, and I promise to keep it brief. This is also why I like radio, I could have said all of this in 10 min on air, but it has taken me an hour to write..

(This section I kind of go half story on you/half bullet points--- story goes a bit quick)

One last ditch effort I email Tony Castricone from 97.1 the Fan in Columbus, on pure Faith it would work (was then AM 1460 the Fan). I knew Tony has done some work in High School sports, I had heard him fill in for the local sportscasters, and he seemed to just be down to earth. So I pick him to email. (I say I picked him, but I would later find out, God put it in my heart to email him of all the people I could have.)

Email back from Tony-He says not only will he talk with me a little bit about the ‘business’, but he wants to do it face to face. I meet with Tony, he gives me some great advice, but the meeting more than anything, re-assured me that I really want to do broadcasting, not as my career, but something bigger.  A way to give back to a community and fill a passion in doing so.

Few months go by: I am working in community relations as my ‘day job’ at the college mentioned above. Random email comes to my boss about a broadcasting open house at a small radio station in Columbus. It was inviting our broadcasting students to the open house, the station needs our help promoting the event to students. (Funny thing- we don’t have broadcasting major therefore no broadcasting students.) My boss, knowing I love broadcasting, emails it to me as an ‘FYI’.   As if she didn’t know exactly what I was going to do.  Another example of a person watching out for someone else, and wanting to see that person be successful.

I email the station back telling them we have no students; however I would like to attend. Lucky for me, the open house is open to the public and 4 spots were open. I didn’t know what to expect, but I thought it couldn’t hurt. Also around this time, my boss had introduced me to a guy who had over 25 years of experience in radio; he was doing some partnership work with us at the college.

I go to the open house, I immediately try and pick out the person who I think ‘runs the show’. This station wasn’t a sports station, nor did they cover a local team, but at this point my thinking was just getting some more experience and making contacts, just wanting something part time.  I find ‘the boss’, and talk to him after the open house- During the open house, they let the people attending know they might need someone coming up in the next month or two to work a weekend shift. Well that’s all I needed to hear. Left with a very good feeling, but didn’t hear anything back after a month.

Meanwhile I meet with the radio guy of 25 years (Eddie), to talk about the biz. And man did I spill it on him. I talked to the poor man, I think for two hours about radio and how I wanted to do my own thing on the side, as a passion as a service to a community. Eddie plays an important part later on, along with this night.

Get an email on a Wednesday-From the guy from the station whom had the open house. Almost two months had gone by and he was right, they were looking for a part time person. He remembered me from talking with him that night and wanted to bring me in. Tell my boss, I talking a vacation day Thursday; have to take care of something. Get the part time job, running the board at WRFD, on Sat and Sunday morning from 5:45am-noon. Hey, it’s part time and I am the new guy, what do you expect?   Once I start working there, I find out one of the guys at the station does high school games about a half hour north of Columbus, I tag along for a few, but he has his partner, so no real need for me.

Meanwhile-I shoot one more email to a local station about 20 min east of Columbus, WCLT. I have listened to them cover sports, and they very similar to WMOA from home. Local owned and operated.  And Johnny Wharff know the owner as well.

What-da ya know, an email back.  The program director Curtis says “Aaron I might have something open during the winter for basketball (this email is sometime in Oct.), do you have any demo’s to send and can you come meet me this week? Ah ha, this time I can figure out the demo part, remember I now work at a station with full access to a studio. I can record something, anything would be good, and I do just that. End up doing some work with WCLT for basketball that season, now I have REAL audio from a games and some experience.

Learned from Curtis that many stations are ‘streaming games online’ as well as carrying them live on the FM or AM dial. WLCT had just done this during football season, so I learn all I can from Curtis on how this works. Also find out that WCLT might be doing it again next football season. I call up Eddy (25 year radio guy) to tell me more about streaming games online, how’s it’s done, etc. Eddy had mentioned this to me in our other meeting but I kind of blew it off thinking it wasn’t something I could do. Now I insist he tells me.

Jump ahead. Find out during the summer that WLCT decided to scratch the idea of doing games online during football. So it was all now up to me. If I really wanted to do this whole broadcasting thing, I was going to have to do it on my own. Which I had been thinking about all winter just in case WCLT wasn’t going to do it. I found out how, when, where, who, and whatever else you can think of. I pretty much found out, there is a whole world out there of independent broadcasters. Some do it as their business and do as many as 200 plus games a year. They simple have a ‘host’ site, create a website, buy some equipment, and bam, there you go. They sell commercial spots like any other station would do to support their cost.  The set up is the exact same thing you would see with a 'real radio' station..Except insted of sending the broadcast signal to a tower, it is sent into the computer and then online.

The Start
So in the Summer/Fall 2009 I create my own website, find a host, buy my equipment, find a local team to cover and I am ready to roll. I even convince my friends Eric and Billy to do color commentary for me for FREE! I come up with Gameday Broadcasting as the name, mostly because my wife says it’s catchy.

On a late Aug sat afternoon we go live for the first time, covering the Hilliard Davidson Wildcats, a local high school team. Ohh yeah, we are going live from a little place I have always wanted to broadcast from, The Horse Shoe (Ohio Stadium), home to the Ohio State Buckeyes. Check that one off the bucket list. Hilliard also goes on to win the State title for 2009; it has to have something to do with us, right?

Our home

The 2009 first year of broadcasting went great.  Hilliard won the state title, we got good support from their fans.  However I still felt something was missing.  That ‘home town’  feel was something I was searching for. 

In the summer of 2010 I reached out to a local community just east of Columbus.  New Albany.  I started talking to their coaches, business, boosters and community.   New Albany was who we were going to cover to start with in 2009, however decided to cover Hilliard due to some contacts we already had in the school system.  What I found in my talks during the summer of ’10 was an amazing community.  A great head coach, businesses who were very supportive, and a boosters club and school that is first class.  We found a home for Gameday Broadcasting gamedaybroadcasting.com.  I found a place that I could continue my dream calling play by play for radio, but also build a grassroots effort in making a difference through a media service.  Some might think, really how can  you make a difference by calling football games?  I sometimes wondered the same thing.  How could I take this passion and make a difference.  I mean, I knew how great it was in high school to have a local hometown station cover games, but I guess I took for granted what it means to a community. 

I knew we were making a difference outside of kids getting to hear their name on radio when they went back and listened.  In week one, of the football season I started getting emails like this:

‘Thanks for providing this broadcast. I am on out of town and can listen to the game!’

“wow!! that was something…Nice job again guys. Really exciting broadcast; lots of excitement and the tension at the end had us all on our feet back here in Boston. Congrats to the Eagles and all New Albany fans”

Hi guys!
No kidding. I listen to a lot of my alma mater BC football on Boston radio and the two of you do a better job calling a game and getting the listener connected to the action and excitement.

you and the guys are doing such a great job...
You are helping to make New Albany Football even better....THANKS!
Go Eagles!

I wanted to thank you for broadcasting the New Albany games on the internet. I am the aunt of a player and live out of town, due to a recent death in my family I cannot be there but I can listen to New Albany football every friday! Keep up the good work !

Please send a hello to ____he will be in the hospital tonight recovering from surgery and will be listening.

You do such a tremendous job and I can't even begin to tell you the great words I receive about the job you do from people in our community who talk with me on a continuous basis. You are making a difference in our community and for our kids and that says alot about the 3 of you. So, thank you from a Board member, a sports fan and from somebody who loves to see people make a difference. I truly appreciate it.

I am listening from Iraq!

Those are a few emails we are getting.  This shows me we are making a difference to a community.  A solider in Iraq passing time by listening to use.  Someone in the hospital now able to listen to a game because we are broadcasting it.  An uncle from Boston who can listen to every game now….

I get to do something I love, for the love of it,,.,not for the money..while doing it with two of my best friends in the word, while making a difference….to me, that’s what it’s all about.  That’s why I started this company. 

The purpose in this blog, wasn’t to talk just about me…although that’s what I mostly did.  I want people to see how you can dream and dream, and live it.  Yes, I am not broadcasting for ESPN, or a major station.  But sometimes you have to create your own opportunities to live your dream.  I have called 5 games from Ohio States stadium.  No, it wasn’t the buckeyes that I got to call; it was high school games being played there.  But my goal was to one day call a game from there….and I found a way to do it.  Also during this whole process, I have met some amazing broadcasters, and I am making contacts I thought I would never have, sometimes I an in awe of who some of them are.  All because God put it in my heart, to accomplish this goal on my ‘bucket list’.

My point is, if a kid from Marietta Ohio can live a dream, you CAN as well.  If you have a dream or something you have always wanted to do, DO IT...Find away... It might not be the exact way you wanted to do it, but you still can live some part or the whole dream. 

If you are ever board on a crisp fall night or sipping some hot coco on a winter Friday night or craving the sound of summer baseball, check out gamedaybroadcasting.com.  Sit back and listen and know the voice on the other side is humbled beyond anything you can think of. 

You never know where we will be, I know I don’t. I gave that up a long time ago to God. He seems to know what’s best for me; after all He put the desire for me to do this and HE filled this dream!

Being Thankful

Today's I was driving along and was thinking of all the great people and 'things' that I have in my life.  And it totally blew me away.  I will often do this, as it seems to keep things in perspective.  It also allows you to realize and be thankful when things are going well in your life, for what you have.  But it's also human to not realize what you have, until something bad happens in life to either you, or someone you love.  Then it makes you realize.  We also all too often, just think about life and what we have during the holidays, no more so, than the two that are approaching in the next few months.

I recently put a note in our bathroom, near the sink/mirror, the first place I go when I wake up.  So I can't help to see when I reach to turn on the water, a note that tells me a few things:

It tells me to 'take one day at a time'.  Sounds simple, and easy enough to do, however it might be one of the most difficult things to do.  With today's fast paced world, and thinking about all the things we have to do, it’s hard to take one day at a time.  I used this method to lose 40lbs over the summer.  Recovering alcoholics use it to help them with not drinking.  So over the summer I was thinking, maybe it could help me in my goal to change my weight.  And it did!  My mentality was, I know for one day I could get my 1-2 hours of exercise in, I knew for that day I wouldn't drink soda, I knew for that day I could eat healthy.  I knew I had control over that day.  What I didn't know, was what tomorrow was going to bring.  And that was okay.  Because today I knew, was all I had for sure.

Not only did that help me with my goal of losing weight, it also all of the sudden, put life into perspective.  Each day I wake up now, I know I can have control of that day.  The one day at a time approach, allowed me to notice 'life'.  I walk outside now, and I actually hear the birds, I actually 'feel' the warm sun or cold air.  I appreciate the voice of my wife when I talk to her, or my family when I talk to them. It made me a more patient person as well.  The person who drives 10 mph below the speed limit in front of me now, doesn’t bother me.  I realize they aren't doing it out of malice.  It just has made me aware of 'life', and the 'things' for lack of a better word, that are in my life.  Something now as simple as new bed sheets and the smell of them, or sometimes I will stop and realize out of the blue, how lucky I am to have my hearing, or my sight, or the ability to walk.  There are people that would do love to be able to do those.  One day at a time has made me appreciate life.  I know that sounds really strange, that something as small as the smell of new sheets is something that makes me appreciate life, but I use that as an example that,  if you take the time to think for a second, those would be the first things you would miss.

One of the things that started my reflection today was I was thinking about my Grandma Cassady, who went to be with God about 6-7 months ago.  She took life, and lived every little bit out of it.  She was a great person to learn from growing up.  She loved this time of the year.  I miss her a lot, and I am thankful for the 27 years I got to spend with her.  The follow is a letter I had read at her funeral. 

There is an acronym that has the letters L-T-M-A-L.  And at first glance these letters formed together mean nothing.  They don’t spell a word, and if you try and sound it out, you might sound silly in doing so.  However these letters with the meaning they had behind them, changed my world forever. 

I once asked my Grandma and Grandpa, what this abbreviation meant.  After all, we would visit them, and we would see it everywhere.  A note on the door, another one on Grandma’s crossword book, or one on the remote that Grandpa kept close to his chair. 

Little Things Mean A Lot, they told me.  Still to this day, I don’t know the story of how it got started, or what it truly meant to them.  I was so blown away of the power of that statement, and I figured the story behind it was ‘theirs’, and that is what made it so special to them.

However, from that day on, I’ve used it to guide me through this, often times curious world we live in.  Those words, I am convinced is how Grandma saw the world.  Simple, when broken down to its core, yet serious enough that life and those in it, mean a lot, even the small things.

As we celebrate my Grandma’s life today, L-T-M-A-L has never meant so much.  The little things that meant a lot to me will never be lost.  A statement so powerful, that you can use it as a pillar in living your life and a statement in how we can treat others. 

We each have memories of the little things she had done for us.  Many of those today will be told, and others, like the true meaning behind the reason they used it, will be a secret between us and her.   Grandma was a teacher of life, a trait I am sure she was too humble to know she had.  Little did she know, the impact of how those little things she did for us, might just positively impact a life.

Her teachings and her love came natural.  Her smile and kindness touched your soul, and calling her my Grandma is something that will always be an honor. 

One day we will meet again, in a place so magical no earthly words are fit to describe it.  Until then, I celebrate a life of someone who will never be replaced, and her love and memories will always remain.  I will take her passion for life and remind myself everyday to remember that, Little Things Mean A Lot.  And not only do they mean a lot, but what they can do for one’s life.

I end with what I think are the fitting words from Dr. Seuss,

‘Don't cry because it's over, smile because it happened!’

Today Grandma I smile because your life happened, and I was blessed enough to be in it as your Grandson.

After all, a SMILE is a Little Thing That Means A Lot.

Take the time and tell those who you love and care for, that you love them.  Tell them how important they are to you.  My Grandma did this every chance she got with me.  And now that she is gone, I have taken that with me every day.  Reflect on the 'little things', because they truly do mean a lot.

God

Okay here comes the blog that might make some uneasy.  We are always taught, you don't discuss religion or politics in public!!  But why?  Why can't we be taught at a young age to have tolerance for other people's thoughts and views on things.  Can both of these topics get emotional?  yes!  But both are supposed to teach understanding of each other, and how to work together.  Yet we are taught not to talk about them?  Maybe if we talked more about them, we could better understand each other, and learn to use emotion in the right ways-not in the way of anger.

This is a lengthy post, but I think it needed to be.  To make it easier to read, I broke it into mini-posts, the BOLD titles being a new thought.

My Base-

I said in my first blog that some would find my views of religion interesting.  Some will not agree, some will say I don't have a 'good' base.  Some will say I am to 'wishy' on topics, that I don't have a strong stance.  Othesr would say I believe in to many things that can't be proven, or that they are based to much on blind faith.

Let me settle all of that.  As you read this, keep in mind a few things.  I wouldn't win a debate on Bible facts.  I couldn't tell you a bunch of quotes or verses from the Bible(although I have a personal goal of learning more).  In fact, I have never read the Bible all the way through.(again something I am working toward).  I dont' have a 'defined' religion.  So while you read this, please remember, I have a lot to learn, but I would argue so do those have have studied religion for years and those that say they are religious

The specific religion topic.

I actually once had someone who didn't know what to believe, say this description made sense to them.  They were asking, which denomination was right, which was wrong, etc.  They asked for my opinion, and I simply told them this(he was a former football player):

Think of religion as football.  In the analogy below I use football terms followed by my comparison to religion in ( ).

In football you have coaches(leaders in the church).  Each coach has his philosophy on how a team should win(denomination).  Some think the power running game is best, others like the spread offense, some the option.  On defense some like the 3-4, 4-3, etc.. The common thing each of these coach's have though, is to get their players to win games(become better in life).  Each coach wants to make sure his players experience the thrill of winning a championship(ultimate goal in life if you believe is to go to Heaven when you die). 
Now please note.  I am not trying to disrespect religion by comparing it to something as simple was football, most understand I am not saying that, just want to make that clear though
What that analogy does do, is allows me to explain why I think so many people have hate, in the name of religion.  I believe in the Bible and what it says, that I know.  I don't think they are made up stories, or something that was written by man just 'because'. 

But I do believe the Bible like anything that is written, is open for different peoples interpretations.  I think that is natural.  The core of it remains the same, but some might think of a verse one way and someone else another.  But don't Christian religions have the same goals?  To make people followers of God, to make them better people, to serve others, to have them strive for the ultimate goal, of being with God when it's all said and done?  I think when broken down to it's simplest terms, Christian religions, all want the same, or at least they have the same core.   Just like football coaches have the same core when teaching the game, and set their players up for sucess.  Each has a different way of doing it, and each way over time has had proven sucess.

So which one is right?  Which one will get you to your ultimate goal?  Much like life or in football in my analogy, does just one have to be right?  Haven't different coaches helped their players get to their ultimate goal with different philosophy's?   So should I believe that just because someone is Catholic they will go to Heaven and the person who is Baptist won't?  Didn't they believe in the same God?  Didn't through their religion, they try to know God better and do right as people? 

This is where I think not accepting or accepting others based soloy off religion can be very dangerous.  In my opinion the answers to the questions above, will be a personal search.  My opinion is your relationship with God should be a personal one first, and not one based off a specific religions thoughts.  I think starting with the personal relationship, God will lead you to a religion that fits you best.  But my point is, as long as the 'core' is the same, but the interpretation on how to teach it is different, why should that matter?


How I got where I am with my beliefs-

Growing up my parents didn't have a specific Church.  What they did have was an expectation for us as kids.  They expected us to treat people the way we wanted to be treated.  We learned this through their actions.  They encouraged us to have a personal relationship with God.  They talked about God with us, they talked about life with us, and they made sure we had a good foundation of knowing who God is. 

They all worked a lot especially on Sundays, so many times we would go to church on Sundays with other family.  I don't know if it was the teaching that we received from one of those churches or something I saw on t.v., but very early in life I feared God.  One thing I know, it wasn't the teaching my parents wanted me to have.  They would hammer home, that God was a loving God.  But somehow I got this idea that God punished you if you didn't do right.  If you weren't prefect, if you didn't go to church, if you didn't have a religion.  As you can imagine this placed a huge burden on a young child, especially one who wanted to know God more than anything else.  So, needless to say I went through much of my childhood, in fear of God, and not truly knowing him. And again, this was against all that I was taught, at least by my parents and those in my family. 


It all changed

It all changed when I met this person, who totally changed me forever.  Her name?  Heather, who is now my wife.  Heather will have her own posting.  If I were to write a book, Heather would have her own chapter.  She totally changed my life, with a simple smile and hello.

First I think, just meeting Heather started to change my thinking of who God was.  After all, I had done many 'bad' things in my life, yet, I got to meet this person, who took my breath away?  And who by the way, happened to like me too?  So I started thinking, maybe this isn't a God I should be fearful of.  One that I should respect, yes 100%.  But one who I thought punished us, even if we asked for forgiveness?  Maybe not.  Maybe, I started thinking, maybe I was wrong.

From day one, I put Heather on this huge pedestal, way above any girl who I thought would give me a look.  She was popular, played sports, her friends very all very attractive and popular, she drove(i didn't at the time), she was smart, knew what she wanted out of life, to me she just seemed prefect.  (just for a time reference this was my Jr year in HS).  The more Heather and I got to know each other, the quicker I feel in love and the quicker I learned about who God really was.  Yes, even at the age of 17, I recognized that God had sent me my soul mate.   

You have to understand.  At this point in my life, I was pretty lost.  Scared of disappointing God, didn't like school, didn't have the drive to do anything really.  I was a confused kid on the inside, but on the outside put on a 'front' that everything was okay.  And while I know Heather was brought into my life for many reasons, since this blog is about God and how I found Him, I will keep it to how Heather helped get me there.  Often times not even knowing she was doing it.

Heather and I would talk about God, and what we thought life was about.  The more I got to know her, the more I realized she wasn't 'perfect' either, although my love for her kept her on that pedestal.  She too would make mistakes in life, just as I did.  However I noticed, she had a much different attitude than I.  She knew that if she asked for forgiveness for those 'sins', and meant it, she didn't have to worry, they were forgiven.  Now, I knew this to be true, but I up until this point, I never have enough 'confidence' that it worked.  I always felt, if I didn't still feel bad about it, then I wouldn't be fully forgiven.  Seeing this attitude from someone whom I had put so high in my life, allowed me to give this 'new crazy theory' a try. 

Heahter's foundation came from the religion that she grew up with.  One that I always heard people talk about in a negative light.  She was one of those crazy Catholics!  You know 'the ones that think they can drink one day, and just because they ask for forgiveness they think they will be forgiven,  and they didn't have to mean it.'  'You know the ones, they worship Mary, not God.' ' The ones that you have to be all dressed up to go to their church.' 

I hope you can see my sarcasm in those statements.  But as crazy as those sound, those are the type of things I heard from people.   These are statements of people who didn't take the time to learn about a different religion than theirs.  It was easier to just pass on those statements as truth.   My experience the Catholic Religion would be much different.

Catholic Religion and Me

The following is my experience with the Catholic Religion.  Of course different people are going to have different thoughts and experiences.  It might have been the specific church I attended, people who I associated the religion with, etc..

So while God put Heather in my life to show me who He really was, I also think he wanted to show me other things as well.  I started to attend church with Heather. 

For the first time ever in my life, I felt like I was in a church where it was okay to make mistakes.  They of course make it known, like any religion, that you have to be sincere when asking for forgiveness, but attending made me feel free and confident with my relationship with God.

I learned a lot about God and what the Bible talked about.  I was finally learning what it was like to not only have a personal relationship with God, but also how having a specific religion or church to go to could help me build on knowing Him.  I even learned that you wouldn't go to hell if you wore jeans to church.  I know that might sound funny to some, but my mindset was such, that the first time I went to the Catholic Church and saw someone with jeans on, I felt so bad for them, just knowing they were doomed.  As I write this, it is amazing to me how far I have come with my thinking and relationship with God. 

I haven't yet 'converted' to the Catholic Religion.  However, I am thinking about doing so in the next year or so.  I really like the Presbyterian Church as well.  I am doing a lot of soul searching and asking God, which he wants to use, to help me become closer to Him.  The one thing I know and believe in my heart, I don't think He loves His Catholic children anymore than His Presbyterian children, or any other of His children from other religions.

My point in talking about the Catholic Religion and how it shaped me is to show a couple of things.

God put Heather into my life at a time where He saw a young kid lost and scared.  At a time where that kid wanted nothing more than to know Him, but didn't know how.  He used Heather, someone who total blew me away; to show me even though I wasn't perfect, good things could happen to me too. 

I believe He used the Catholic Religion, to show me that while having a personal relationship with Him important, a church and being around other people of faith was important too.   He has shown me the good of other religions since then, to let me know He doesn't favor one over the other.   It is up to us to choose one, that we can learn best about Him based on our thoughts and 'inner' feel we have.

I believe during that time in my life, when I met Heather and really found God, He was teaching me that He loves all, no matter the religion we are seeking Him through.  Think about it; I was a scared kid at the time, who knew nothing about religion, and He put the person of my dreams in my life, let me get to know her as a PERSON first, to then show me she her faith that I admired, came from the religion I heard the worst things about.  By Him doing this,  it's easy to see, He was showing me to look at the person first, get to know them, and not define them based off thier specific religion.

Final thoughts

God has done amazing things in my life.  I try and live a life that allows other people to see Him through my actions.  I think the best way to show or bring people to God, is through our actions and treatment of them.  They will become curious and want to know how they can have the same happiness.  Much like I did with Heather.   The humbling thing is, I fail to live up to this every day, in one way or another.  But I also live up to it in many ways.  The consistent each day though is my effort and intention is pure.

What I don't think is good is to point out to people how bad they are, how God is so disappointed in them, how if they don't believe everything your religion interprets, then they will go to hell.  A while back the phrase WWJD was going wild across the country.  What Would Jesus Do?  Do you think he would love the sinners?  Do you think he would forgive those who stole?  Do you think he would treat the Catholic down the street any different than the Baptist next door, being they both were seeking a relationship with God? 

I thought it was important to talk about God early in my posts.  Because, much of what I do in life is with the thought of how I can best accomplish the purpose He has for me.  My hope also is that someone who is lost like I was, will read this and know- who God really is.  He is neither the fear that I had, nor the God of punishment because I wasn’t perfect.  Yet, He is the God that amazes and humbles me by blessing me with this life and the people in it.  He is the God; I hope everyone gets to know.

Who I am

So this blog thing is pretty cool.  I actually couldn't wait to write some more.

I titled this post, who I am, because I wanted to talk about those who got me to where I am today.   I am humbled to my core, yet know God has more for me.  There are a TON of people who helped me along the way.  More than I could list on here.  In this blog I am going to talk about those who set a 'foundation' for me growing up.

I grew up with divorced parents.  My mom remarried, my dad never did.  While some kids really struggle with their parents not being together, I don't remember a time that I did.  I say don't remember a time, because they got divorced when I was very young. 

I always felt blessed.  In the divorce and remarriage I ended up with 3 parents, a new brother and a new sister, and another set of grandparents.  So the divorce thing never really was a negative to me, and the more I reflected on it as an adult, I see the true blessing in it.

While I have taken many things away from my 3 parents, I have taken 1 big thing from each to help build my foundation. 

My Dad.  I am going to start with him.  He is one of the most amazing people I have even known.   I remember even as a little kid, my sister and I being his life! The thing I most admire him about is the way he  bounced back after the divorce.  He was able to go through a divorce along with taking on another huge struggle at that point in his life, and kick it.  He took them both head on.  Not only did he take them on,  he did it while it seemed like he was losing everything, a house, two cars, his family, etc...  He then found a way to turn around and help other people who might be struggling at a point in their life. 

My Dad ranks up there  in the most successful and impactful people in my life. Watching him, put the foundation in my life of CHOOSING to make your life into what you want, even if you are at what you think is the lowest part of your life.  I take away a genuine heart and caring for others from him.  And I take away what it is to be a father, when I have kids one day.  Anyone can be a dad, it take someone special to be a father, and he is one, to it's truest sense.   I admire his will, love for us as his kids, and his ability to not give up at a trying point in his life and not only not to give up, but to turn it around to help others.

Next- Ed.  Ed became a father to my sister and I early on.  From the day he and my mom were dating, he took care of my sister and I very well.  From Ed, I took away for my foundation, the word respect and love for people.  Respect for myself, for my family, for older people, for life.  It's no secret that Ed and I had our 'challanging times'.  What step-son and step-father don't?  I believe with all of my heart though, not only was Ed brought into our lives to love my mom, but I think God put him there for specifically me.  Don't get my wrong, my mom and dad taught me how to love and respect others, but for some reason I seemed to really take Eds lead in this. 

I believe to this day, the reason why I love people and have a mission to make a difference in the lives of others, is from my parents pushing how important this was.  Ed though, took it to a new level.  I would watch how he treated people, how he would help anyone, and never accept pay.  I still to this day, watch a room dynamic change when he walks into it.  People just seem to gravitate to him and his charisma.  It's a trait that I think can't be learned and comes natural.  One of the most humble people you could ever learn from, and the life of the party all at the same time.  I remember him once telling me, you have to treat people right, and things will fall into place for you.  HOWEVER he would say, you don't treat them right, just so things will fall into place for you, you do it because its the right thing to do.  Pretty simple really if you think about it.  Treat people the right way, because it's the right thing to do.  Easy for a 7 year old to understand, and till holds true at the age of 28. 

Then there is my mom.  There is something about a mothers and son's relationship that just can't be touched.  In fact, I think there is something about a mothers relationship, with her children(boy or girl) that no words, that we know of on this earth, could describe.  That's the best way to describe my mom and what she has meant to me in my life, with no words.  Because really,  you can't think of any that will do justice.  But that would be a pretty boring blog, if I didn't try!  My mom encompasses all that is good with this world.  And while I took specific things I remember from my other two parents, my mom pretty much sums all good things up.  She is why, I think like to think at least, that I am a well rounded person. Or at least try to be.  She taught me about how to love, think, pray, know God, treat people, love people, and live life.  She taught me everything in life, and much of it through her actions.  I always like to point out how I think actions, are the best teachers. Anyone could tell their kids how to live, act, etc..But if they don't live those words, then why would the kid?  My mom at one point in our lives, when she was single and raising us, made $100 go longer than any person it seemed like.  Looking back as an adult, knowing what they made, understanding now what it takes, I can say this with all honesty.  I have NO CLUE how she did it.  None!  The thing about it, my sister and I really wanted for nothing.  I remember my mom leaving me cards in my room knowing when I was having a rough week.  She knew maybe a girlfriend had broken up with me, or maybe I was struggling with something.  Knowing I wouldn't come out and tell her what was wrong if she asked.  She simply made it known, that she knew, and she was there.

So I have taken away from my mom to build my foundation-pretty much everything that has made me have success as a person.  Knowing everything was/is going to be okay in life, for the simple fact that she is my mother, makes difficult times better.  That's how I truly feel in life, that no matter what, having her in my corner and still teaching me life lessons, makes me know everything in this life is going to be okay, no matter what.  That kind of presence you see, doesn't have words to describe it, but it impacts one to his core and soul.

My sister.   I wrote this to my sister on her wedding day.  It pretty much sums up how she has impacted my life.  She is truly my mothers, daugther and in many was has had the same impact as my mom.

I am sure you helped teach me how to walk and talk. I am sure you had something to do with me learning to spell, ride bikes, and play sports. As we grew older I am sure you taught me how to sneak and open Christmas presents-and then tape them back-up weeks before Christmas was here. As we grew older I am sure you were the one who taught me how to sign mom’s name, for those report cards and ‘sick’ days I didn’t want her to know about. I am sure you taught me how to handle adversity and how to be humble when things were great.

You see, these are the things that big sisters do. They teach you, protect you, and make sure you are taken care of. You fulfilled these duties as a big sister, and you didn’t it better than anyone could have. And while I am pretty sure you taught me all of the above and much more, there is one thing I KNOW is true. You are the best big sister that a little brother could ever have or want. I am very humbled that when God was looking to give you a little brother, he picked me. He knew the help I would need and knew that you were the perfect big sister for the job.
So on your wedding day, my toast to you is: Thank you for being the best big sister ever put on earth. Thank you for being the best friend a little brother could have. My wish for you is happiness that takes your breath away and a life that gives you pace. I know what both are like, because I experienced both having you as a big sister.

I put the parts in BOLD because there isn't a statement that I will ever write in one of these blogs that is more true than that one.

As you can see I have had a lot of help in archiving many of my goals in life.  I have had a chance to do some pretty cool things.  It's because of the people above that helped build my foundation.  But you can see a theme in something they have all taught me, in the postings.  They taught me in someway, a love for people.  The desire to help others, to make a difference.  I talked in the first blog about my purpose.  How could that not be my purpose?

My old soul?

I have always wanted to do a blog, well I guess I should say, I have always like to write.  This might be a shock to some, as I dislike English class, writing papers, and all of the 'school' type writing.  However the older I got, the more I liked to write about the things I liked.  I liked to capture words on a page, tyring to paint a picture for those reading.  I think maybe that is where my love for radio sports broadcasting comes from.  Trying to paint a picture through words, so the person on the other side of the radio can 'see' whats going on.

With that being said, the nice thing about having a blog is; I don't have to worry about grammar, spelling, punctuation, etc.  In fact, as you read through this, you might catch a lot of those rules being broken.  My goal is to get my thoughts, feelings, and opinions down.  I don't think I want to take the time to spell check, grammar check, and such.  So while everything might not be a 'perfection' as far as those go, I am sure you will get the point of each blog.  If I can accomplish that, great! 

Before I forget and so she doesn't think I am copying her, my friend Jessie Huck-Parks has a blog as well.  She just started and its good stuff and she is a very good writer.  You can find it at http://apostcardfromlife.blogspot.com/

So you might wonder why the title 'my old soul', not only for this blog, but also the title of this specific posting.  Growing up I always knew I was a bit different. Those who know me, are saying to themselves 'a bit different?'.  By all accounts I don't think I was strange nor was I a loner.  What I mean by different is, I always felt like I was here for a reason.  A different reason maybe than what most think their purpose on this earth is for.  The strange part comes in because I felt this way at a very young age.  An age that most kids don't even know what having a 'purpose' is.  Many of my blogs I have a feeling, will tend to focus and talk about this reason.  Which I will talk about later.

The 'old soul' meaning?  It wasn't until my wife said the words one day, that I realized what really summed 'me'.  Summed up my thinking of what life was about, why I was here, how things that have happened in my life really seem to tie into each other.  Pretty much my thinking of why God put me here.  Just so you know, I will talk about God a lot in my blogs.  I will talk about my background with religion, what I think, what I believe, etc.  I will do this because it's the base of every decision I make in life.  Or at least I try an base my decisions on how it reflects on my thoughts of how God would want things done.  Needless to say, I am far from having this down to a science.

While I consider myself a person who believes in God with everything I have.  I think you will find my stance interesting of religion.  I think there can be a place of peace that people can have with God and their religion, and that is up to the person.  I think we can show His grace and greatness to other people, not by pushing religion onto them or making them feel bad about their lives, rather by letting them see Him. though our actions and treatment of others.(people are more perceptive than we think, they will get 'it').  Sorry, again, my thoughts on this will be a whole other post, but felt it was important to talk a little about it.  Back to old soul.

My wife looked at me one day, knowing me pretty well by this point in our life, and said 'you know something, you have the oldest soul of any 20something person I know'.  Now, I don't remember what I was doing or saying to make her think this.  I mean, it could have been many things. 

We could have been driving in the car and I shut off the radio, and after 20 minutes of silence, her asking why I had done such a thing.  My simple reply to her would have been, because I wanted to be 'alone with my thoughts'.(this is something I do often.)  I have driven up to 8 hours by myself in the car, without a single sound other than what was going through my head.).  It could have been me at the age of 23 telling her, 'lets not go out tonight on the town, instead lets rent a movie and go home and hang out.'  It could be the fact that all I listen to is sports talk radio, or public talk radio.  Or it could have been that I like to go to Bob Evans for dinner or sometimes use words, that she says only 'old men use'.

It's safe to say however, she isn't the only one that thinks this.  My friends tell me this all the time as well.  I am kind of glad she described it as this, as it truly is a perfect description.  I like to call it being mature for my age, they often say 'nope, just you being old'.  As I have accepted having this old soul, I have often thought about turning my experiences, thougths, everything really, into a book.  Calling it, of course, 'My Old Soul'. 

I have often wondered if people would read a book about me.  Not because I feel like I am interesting, rather I have had some interesting/amazing things happen to me in life.  I think I could tie those into ways that others could look at it, and maybe draw from them, and either laugh, or use them to help with their life.  As I sit back, it is shocking how many different pieces and parts I take from books, or others thoughts, or life lessons and use them in my life.  And if no one read it, well I wouldn't be out anything really  I thought maybe writing in this blog, would allow me to get an idea of what to put a book.  After all, a guys wrote a best selling book about his 'un-ruley dog' using a combination of his newspaper columns he wrote during his time as a journalist.

Enjoy the blogs, and take what you want, leave what you want as well.  I hope this allows me to get a the millions thoughts and ideas I have, down on 'paper'.  I hope you enjoy a look into my 'old soul'.