Tuesday, December 30, 2008

Return from Vacation


I wish I just returned from vacation, but the truth is the blog has been ignored lately. I had someone tell me yesterday to put something....ANYTHING....new on my blog, so here I am. I guess a little vacation recap is in order.


We had a wonderful time on the cruise. There are so many funny stories that I don't know where to start. Maybe I'll start with when we got off the plane in Tampa and mom's pants are covered with coffee. Mom pointed at Aunt Cindy as the spiller. Aunt Cindy pointed at mom. Whoever spilled it, there was no doubt where it landed. Or maybe the true story of mom collecting aluminum cans to bring home while walking at the hotel in Tampa. Seriously....no lie! How about mom telling the waiter on the cruise ship she would like her check separate from ours. I'm starting to see a pattern here in my stories.


There are many, many more, but most of them are those "you had to be there" type of laughs. I am truly blesses to be able to go on vacation with family and enjoy every moment together.



Monday, October 27, 2008

Almost Time

I had a friend tell me he noticed my Corvette had taken over my blog. I couldn't argue too much since the last two entries were about Janay's new car, but my blog hasn't been getting much attention period. Life has been keeping me busy, but that will change in thre weeks. Oh yeah!! It's almost time for the cruise. Buffet time, baby!





Sunday, October 19, 2008

Some New Photos

The blog has been on the backburner lately. The busy season for my photography business is in full swing. I did manage to take some good photos of the new toy. A week ago I spent about 12 hours polishing and sealing the paint. It sounds like a lot of work, but I enjoyed every minute of it.






Tuesday, September 23, 2008

I'll Be In The Garage



I finally bought something to play with. When I had motorcycles, I spent hours in the garage tinkering on them. Whether it was actually something that needed to be repaired or just a little cleaning, I enjoyed being out there. Now I have something that's once again pulling me out there. I have delayed blogging about this until I had time to take some good photos of it, but I haven't had time to take the type of photos I want so these will have to do for now.

Tuesday, September 2, 2008

Two Wheels Broke Me, Three Wheels Burned Me......



......four wheels is the perfect fit! Janay and I traveled with her parents to her brother Bryan's house in Haubstadt over the Labor Day weekend. Bryan pulled out his four-wheeler for me to take a spin on. Trust me, I learned from my mistakes and made sure the quad wouldn't burn my legs. Sure, it could have spit me off and cracked my head, but I took it easy.....and it was fun. Janay had fun on it too. Turns out she was the crazy one on it, speeding down the county roads at almost 60 mph. We had a great visit and wish they lived closer so we could visit more often. The Tucker's are wonderful hosts at the Haubstadt Hacienda.

Tuesday, August 26, 2008

I Am Thankful For.......


.....this family. There are people in all of our lives that we are thankful for. The problem is we often don't tell them. I am so thankful for the Williams family. I know that if I/we need something, they will be there to extend a helping hand. Each one of them offers their own unique talents at just the right time. James is quick to step in with his construction skills and strength, filling in where I'm physically unable. Heck, even if I was able, I have no idea how to do most of the stuff he does. Stacey helps with work as well, but her strength is her tender heart. Compassion and love flow from her like a mighty river. Corbin is the athlete who pulls the entire family together through his sports. He is a naturally gifted athlete, but when you really get to know him, he has his mom's tender heart. Corbin's quick to give you a hug and flash his toothy smile your way. Finally there's Carly....the family Princess. In public, she'll hide behind her dad or mom. Get her alone and look out.....she'll talk your ear off and keep you entertained for hours. She sings, she dances.....and she'll often say what she's thinking, whether you like it or not. Janay and I often repeat things she said years ago and still laugh about them. I doubt anyone is repeating anything I said years ago. I see Carly as a natural leader....fearless and willing to go against the grain.

I am thankful God put these individuals in my life. I love you all!

Tuesday, August 5, 2008

Senior Photography


I recently had the opportunity to do a senior photo session with Ben. Ben's a handsome, athletic young man who was a pleasure to work with. He was quiet, but personable. He answered intellegently when spoken to. He followed directions perfectly. I tried some new lighting techniques with him and he was patient while I adjusted equipment. Ben has a bright future ahead of him. It was a pleasure meeting and working with him.

Monday, August 4, 2008

My Beautiful Assistant


I am so blessed to be married to this woman. She impresses me each and every day with the way she lives her life. As cliche as it may sound, she is more beautiful on the inside than she is on the outside. I love you, Janay!

Sunday, August 3, 2008

Fair Photography Success

With the exception of last year, I always enter the photography contest at the Morgan County Fair. It's fun to see how others view your work. Some years I have had success and others I have not. This year I entered four photos in the photography contest at the Morgan County Fair and each one earned a ribbon in it's respective category. The photos got a third, two seconds and a first. The first place photo also received a special merit award, which means it was in the top three of all of the photos entered. Cool!



The above photo shows me with my prize-winning photos and my awards, including my $3 prize money crumpled in my crotch area. I must have subconciously stuffed it there knowing that if Janay tried to take it, it would be $3 dollars well spent! :)

Friday, July 25, 2008

Massive Dead Snake

I have never seen a snake this long before.

Monday, July 21, 2008

Chicago.......in 6 1/2 Hours

Janay has always wanted to take a day trip to Chicago on the Amtrak train. Me......not so much. But being the wonderful husband I am, I agreed to go. Janay made the arrangements and even got our friends from Cincinnati, Greg and Susan, to go with us. Janay and Susan went to college together and the four of us have become great friends. Greg and Susan are world travelers and have been to Chicago several times, so going with them was a great idea. This entry started out with me typing everything that took place on the trip, but I soon realized it was going to take FOREVER if I continued on. You are now reading the condensed version.

The decision was made to stay in a hotel the night before. Greg offered to use some of his six gadzillion travel miles (I told you they were world travelers) to pay for our room. Thanks, Greg!! We ended up staying at the Hilton Garden Inn on the circle in Indy. The hotel was wonderful....we only wish we could have spent more time there since we had to get up at 4 am the next morning. We were trying to decide where to eat at, but Janay and Susan were too busy chatting so Greg and I made a decision to go to the Weber Grill. It was just a few blocks away and the short walk (roll) was enjoyable because it was such a nice evening. One thing we forgot when we planned our downtown stay was that it was Black Expo weekend. I'll just say it made for some interesting people watching.

4 am came very quickly. We had to be at the train station around 5:45. The train ride was fun because you get to see the landscape from a different perspective. Our conductor, Roby, was very helpful. He made people move to other seats so the boarding VIP's....I mean, the disabled guy....could have the seats at the back of the car. This allowed me to keep my wheelchair close and also put us close to the bathrooms. The train is a non-smoking train, but a couple of people must have been sleeping during the announcement. We could smell the nasty smoke as could other passengers around us. Everyone was commenting on how rude it was. When one guy finally emerged, Greg shouted out "we worried you might have caught on fire!" The man answered "oh no, no" and looked rather shocked someone called him out. He knew what Greg meant. Everyone around us erupted in laughter......I guess you had to be there.

I watched the weather forecast for Chicago the entire week prior to our trip. On Thursday the forecast was 2 to 3 inches of rain for Chicago on Saturday. I didn't tell anyone because I didn't want to believe it and prayed against it. I guess should have told more people to join me in prayer because the rain started while still on the train around Lafayette. When the train pulled into the station in Chicago it was pouring. Joy....

We all bought 24 hour bus passes and planned to use the city buses to navigate the city. We got a map that showed bus routes on one side and the free trolley routes on the other. Apparently you need to be a genius to understand the bus route map. The free trolley route map was color coded showing where each colored trolley went. Let's take the trolley!

We ventured outside and were greeted by masses of people under the awning at Union Station seeking shelter from the rain. We said the heck with it.....let's go! Armed with one umbrella for four people we were off. The trolley stop was easy to find.....just look for the larger mass of people who also had the bright idea to take the free trolley. Greg somehow managed to work his way to the front of the line and let the bus driver know there was someone in a wheelchair wanting to board. The three of them get on while I was told to head towards the rear of the bus while they lower the wheelchair lift. I must have looked extra pitiful at this point because a kind woman came over and shared her umbrella with me. So here I am, enjoying my Chicago trip, sitting in the rain watching the driver try to work the lift. He finally gets the door opened and everything in place and hits the button to lower it....but nothing moves. He says to hang on (like I'm going to go anywhere) while he flips the power switch in an effort to get the electrical system to respond.....nothing. The driver throws his hands in the air and says were just going to have to try to catch the next trolley. So my three friends, who all the while have been sitting high and dry, have to exit the bus (which Janay said was extra stinky and sour smelling) and join me in the rain amongst the crowd of people growing ever impatient with this minor hurdle. Maybe we need to fall back on Greg's engineering degree and figure out that bus map.

At this point we just wanted to go anywhere that was dry. Greg figured out the map and found the bus we needed to head to the shopping district, also known as the Magnificent Mile. I give two thumbs up for the accessibility of the bus system in Chicago. When the driver realizes he has a passenger in a wheelchair wanting to board, he stops everyone else from boarding, hits a switch that lowers the bus and flips out a ramp that allows me to roll right on. It couldn't be any smoother! I slide my bus pass through the system and I'm on. Where the driver failed was in showing me where to go once on the bus. There is an open area in the front of the bus for wheelchairs, so I take a spot. The problem was as soon as the driver hit the gas, I went rolling through the bus! I tried sitting facing sideways and the driver turned a corner and I once again went bouncing around the inside like a human pinball. The driver noticed me flailing around at some point and stopped the bus in the middle of the street. He then showed me how to properly us the equipment on the bus to secure myself. Now we are set! The photo below is when I was rolling around inside the bus and my three travel compadres were laughing. The driver didn't think it was too funny.

By the time the we get off the bus in the shopping district the rain has let up. It's more of a mist now which doesn't soak us like the steady rain did. Now we are all hungry and we have a wonderful lunch at the Grand Lux Cafe. With our bellies full, we head out for shopping. I couldn't begin to tell you which stores we hit except for the Nike store. One place had a pair of dress shoes for a couple grand. The hand bags didn't even show the price, so I assumed if you have to ask, you can't afford it. At one point I noticed an old building that said Chicago Waterworks. We didn't go in and find out more info, but it looked like and old water tower. The picture below shows it in the foreground, dwarfed by the surrounding skyscrapers.

Our final tourist stop was the Navy Pier. The are all kinds of rides, shops and restaurants. Our stop was brief.....hop off the bus, take a quick look, snap a couple of photos and head back to the bus to get to the train station. The below photo is probably a familiar scene from our trip....Greg scouring the bus route map looking for our next destination while Matt silently sits thinking about how much Janay is going to owe him for agreeing to go on the trip. Actually, I think Janay caught me keeping a close eye out for terrorist suspects. My wheelchair is the perfect cover for my secret undercover agent job. Good thing no one reads this blog or my cover would be blown.


So we catch the bus to Union Station to wait for our train. On the way back, Susan spots a Garrett's Popcorn, which was one of our planned stops, but the one we found in the shopping district was closed. The bus arrived at Union Station and we depart. The original plan was to order a couple of pizzas from Giordano's for the train ride back to Indy. I poo-pooed the idea because the train says you can't carry food on, but I'm thankful everyone else ignored me because the pizzas were awesome! Greg the Navigator did all of the final leg work while we waited at the train station. While picking up the pizzas, he also made a stop at Garrett's Popcorn. The cashew caramel corn is to die for. I think it was gone before the train reached the Indiana border. Thanks for the extra effort Greg!

The train ride home took longer than expected. The conductor informed us that the signal lights along the tracks were all red due to a storm passing through. The train engineer relies on the signals to determine the speed at which the train can safely travel. Since the signals were red, our speed topped out at a whopping 15 mph. The delay put our arrival into Indianapolis at about 12:30 am. Black Expo was in full swing at this hour so the downtown area was once again full.

My condensed version of our trip turned out to not be so condensed after all. Overall, we had a fun trip. We always have fun with Greg and Susan no matter what we do. Chicago can not be seen in the short amount of time we were there. It appears to be a wonderful city with endless things to do. Maybe some time we will go back when we can spend a few days there. I wonder if we could do a day trip to New York City.......

Wednesday, July 9, 2008

Mother Nature

Monday night after work I checked on the duck's nest and found the majority of the eggs broken and empty. I hoped they ducklings hatched and they were swimming on the lake, but I had a bad feeling. Not enough time had passed for them eggs to hatch. I found two eggs still intact and put them back in the nest. I checked Tuesday morning before work and Tuesday night after work and mama wasn't on the nest.

To our human eyes, nature can sometimes seem like a cruel world, but if every duck egg hatched we would be inundated with ducks.....sort of like we are with Canadian Geese. Don't even get me started on those annoying creatures!


Thursday, June 26, 2008

Matt.....MATT.....


......this is how I was awakened today. The voice was Janay calling me from her bathroom and I could hear the distress in her voice. "There's a Brown Recluse spider in my bathroom.....come help me please!" Long story short, I am Janay's hero and it was a Wolf spider. It was much larger than my photo shows and saving my damsel in distress made me a little nervous. This is how he looked once I smashed him. I took two photos because I was in a hurry to flush him before he came back to life and jumped on my face. Once the toilet bowl refilled....I flushed again to make sure!

Almost Famous

After our cruise, I found a website dedicated to cruising. I uploaded a few of our cruise photos to their gallery to show others that were on the same cruise as us. When I went to the website this morning I noticed they had posted one of my photos on their front page. How cool!! Then I realized.....Janay took that photo, not me. Way to go Janay! You must have a wonderful photography teacher :)

Janay's photo is the small one of the ship in the middle of the page.

Wednesday, June 25, 2008

Mama Duck

I caught mama duck returning to the nest this morning while leaving for work. This photo shows her impersonating a yard ornament.

Sunday, June 22, 2008

Mama Ducks Morning Return



As I was leaving for church this morning I decided to check and see if mama duck returned. Rounding the corner to her nest I noticed a trail in the morning dew crossing the yard. I laughed while envisioning her waddling though the yard to the nest. Sure enough, she was there.

Wednesday, June 18, 2008

June 18th, 1995

It is a date I will never forget....the anniversary of my spinal cord injury. Though my life is better in many ways because of it, I still grieve at times for the things I've lost. Approximately 11,000 people in the USA will sustain a spinal cord injury this year. The majority of those injured will be young males between the ages of 16 and 30. The video below flooded my mind with memories and took me right back to the rehab hospital. Except for a few minor details, it could be a video of my recovery process. I am very blessed to have recovered as much as I have, but I pray for a full recovery for those 11,000 people injured this year.

Friday, June 13, 2008

Spencer Flooding

Spencer has had significant flooding recently with all of the rain. My mom and dad both are from Spencer, so I figured family members that keep up with my blog but live out of state would be interested in seeing some photos.

This first photo shows the fairgrounds in the middle-left and in the background you can see the bridge we crossed to go out to the country to Grandma and Grandpa Woodcock's house.



The second photo is from the opposite angle of the first photo. The bridge is to the left and the fairgrounds are at the top.



The last photo is looking towards the east with 46 comes into town from the bottom. The high school is the buidling at the bottom of the photo. In the upper-right portion of the photo you can see where the river normally flows in the channel between the trees.

Tuesday, June 10, 2008

The Flood of 2008

Our county, as well as several other throughout Indiana, have been flooded by extremely heavy rains. Martinsville is one of the communities that was hit particularly hard. Janay and I were not affected since we live in a high area of town. Thank God none of our families homes were destroyed either. Janay's sister's house and her brother's house (they live down the street from each other) were very close to taking on water. Their crawlspaces were filled with water, but compared to many residents they are very fortunate. Janay's parents and her Grandma live in the same neighborhood as her sister and brother, but they live a couple streets down and apparently are on higher ground because they weren't affected. Mom lives across the highway from them and the water came up her street a little, but never reached her house. The bank branch she works at didn't fare as well and had about 6" of water throughout.

This first photo shows mom's bank and the surrounding area. The large building to the right is K-mart which had the same water damage as the bank.



This aerial view is from the opposite angle the previous photo showed. It shows the bank as well as the approximate location of mom's house. In the center-right of the photo is the local Chevrolet dealership. Every vehicle there is under water.


This photo shows the road to the neighborhood where Janay's family lives. The building in the lower-right with the blue roof is South Elementary School.



This last photo shows the same area as the previous photo, but from a different angle. The elementary school is just out of the picture to the lower-left. The neighborhood at the bottom left is where Janay's family lives.

Monday, June 9, 2008

Maybe My Motocross Career Isn't Over

The heck with being able to walk 100%.......gimme my bike back!!

Wednesday, June 4, 2008

Six Degrees of Separation

Most of you probably know about the theory of Six Degrees of Separation. In short, it basically says that we are only six people away from knowing everyone on the earth. I've always wondered how true it could possibly be. A recent life experience has me thinking it could be possible.

Janay and I met a wonderful couple on our recent cruise, Rick and Cindy. We first encountered Rick and Cindy at the hotel during our precruise stay. Our paths crosses a couple of times getting on and off the elevators. At that time we only exchanged smiles and polite "hellos".

The first day on the ship Janay and I were relaxing at a table by the pool when we saw familiar faces walk by. They glanced our way and came over and introduced themselves as Rcik and Cindy. Turns out they lived south of Bloomington which isn't very far from us. We are on a ship with over 2,000 people and the first couple we meet are our "neighbors". What are the chances of that? Then we find out they are both Christians as well. I soon realized we didn't meet these people by chance. God is not into coincidences.

We spoke to Rick and Cindy several times throughout the cruise. Janay and I talked about having dinner with them one night, but we never finalized plans with them. The last day came and we never saw them again. We thought maybe they would be on the same flight home, but they weren't. The only things we knew about them were their first names, they lived south of Bloomington, he was a counselor at a church in Bloomington and Cindy worked for a hospital in Bedford. Janay and I were kicking ourselves for not getting their contact info. Once we were home I tried searching the internet with the little info that I had, but my search came up empty.

Little did we know that Rick and Cindy were thinking the same thing. Rick was talking to the secretary at his church about us, telling her about this fabulous couple (ok, maybe I like to embellish) from Martinsville they met on the cruise. Rick's advantage over me was that he remembered the name of our church. When he told the secretary the name of the church she said her sister attended our church as well as a friend of hers. She e-mailed her friend who soon replied back that she did know us, confirmed that we are indeed a fabulous couple :) and told them our last name. Armed with my first and last name, Rick searched the internet and struck gold.

Janay and I met Rick and Cindy for lunch in Bloomington and renewed our friendship. I have no doubt we will be friends and maintain contact for a long time. I believe God brings people in and out of our lives for a purpose. Sometimes that purpose is obvious, other times it isn't. Rick and Cindy are a wonderful couple and we both look forward to getting to know them better.

Yes, this is a tiny example of Six Degrees of Seperation, but I think you see the correlation. I think the internet has made this theory even more believable. It has made this big world a little smaller. Thanks for finding us Rick!

Wednesday, May 28, 2008

10,000 Visitors

Today the photo gallery with my burn photos had it's 10,000th hit. I have had everything from burn victims and physical therapy students to teachers and doctors contact me about my photos. Some have asked for permission to use the photos in presentations, while others have let me know they found them searching the internet for information because a friend or family member was burned. By simply documenting my burn journey through photography I have been able to help others. The internet is a powerful tool that makes this huge world a little smaller. We all go through difficult things in life, but even in those difficult things we can find some good if we look hard enough.

Burn Photos

Making Up for Lost Time

We had so much fun on our last cruise, we said what the heck and decided to do it again! I even managed to talk my mom and my aunt into going with us.

November 16th we will be leaving Tampa for a 7-day tour of the Western Carribean aboard the MS Veendam. We chose Holland America again because of the wonderful experience we had on the last cruise. The ship visits the ports on the map below.


We went back and forth deciding whether we should go or not and I finally said we are going. The funny thing is that I was the one who was hesitant about going on the first one and now I'm the one wanting to go again! I can't wait to get back on a ship and relax. Going with my mom and aunt will only add to the fun. Neither of them have been on a long cruise before, so it will be enjoyable watching them take it all in.

Let the countdown begin!