Poor Kid! Steve Wallace OK After Attempted Mugging

Steve Wallace OK After Attempted Mugging

NASCAR Busch Series Driver Attacked in Indianapolis; Will Race in Canada Round.
Tuesday, July 31, 2007

MOORESVILLE, NC —19 year-old RWI Racing NASCAR Busch Series driver, Steve Wallace, is OK following being attacked in an attempted mugging Sunday evening in Indianapolis. Wallace suffered only minor cuts and abrasions in the attack and will compete as scheduled in this weekend's NASCAR Busch Series event at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal, Canada.
Wallace was attacked by a group of at least three men upon exiting a convenience store in Indianapolis Sunday night, where he stayed to watch the running of the Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Wallace participated in the NASCAR Busch Series event at O'Reilly Raceway Park the previous evening.

Upon entering the convenience store, the men commented on Wallace's watch, a gift given to him by a sponsor after he earned his second career pole position at Nashville Superspeedway in June. After exiting the convenience store, Wallace was jumped and attacked by the group of men, who were attempting to rob him of his watch.

The men later fled the scene after being unsuccessful in robbing Wallace. A suspect was apprehended later that evening and is being held in an Indianapolis jail.

Howdy Folks!!!

Hello everyone! Sorry I haven't been posting as regularly as I hoped, I have been working hard on getting the New sitetogether, lots of self-promotion for my writing and photography and tons of homework in my new class.

All is great though! In fact it is better then I could have expected. Life is great and I love it!
Last weekend we attended a family party that was AWESOME! They had 4 bands that rocked the house like no ones business.Burden, Invisus Angelus, The No Hair Band, and White Horse were there to entertain and they did not disappoint. I had the privilege of photographing Burden and Invisus Angelus, which was a blast but my hearing has not been the same since. (Why is it that the best shots have me sitting in front of the amps and speakers during thrash metal?) Oh well pain for my craft is part of the fun.

I am also trying to catch up on the latest news and gossip so I can put out some cleverly witty posts. I am planning on getting a big glass of wine and reading this weekend. So beware of future posts!

I am also getting ready to submit my novel to the wolves, er I mean editors. Wish me luck!
Ok I better get back to work before I get busted…talk to everyone soon!

Howdy Folks!

Hello everyone! Sorry I haven’t been posting as regularly as I hoped, I have been working hard on getting the new site together, lots of self-promotion for my writing and photography and tons of homework in my new class.

All is great though! In fact it is better then I could have expected. Life is great and I love it!

Last weekend we attended a family party that was AWESOME! They had 4 bands that rocked the house like no ones business. Burden, Invisus Angelus, The No Hair Band, and White Horse were there to entertain and they did not disappoint. I had the privilege of photographing Burden and Invisus Angelus, which was a blast but my hearing has not been the same since. (Why is it that the best shots have me sitting in front of the amps and speakers during thrash metal?) Oh well pain for my craft is part of the fun.

I am also trying to catch up on the latest news and gossip so I can put out some cleverly witty posts. I am planning on getting a big glass of wine and reading this weekend. So beware of future posts! :)

I am also getting ready to submit my novel to the wolves, er I mean editors. Wish me luck!

Ok I better get back to work before I get busted…talk to everyone soon!

Fruits of our labor

Fruits of our labor
Well, it is official -we have veggies!

On Sunday, we picked our first zucchini out of our jungle of squash. Then while weeding our flower beds I discovered that we had carrots too. Looks like the seeds that got knocked over made their way to the flower bed. We had 2 super sweet baby carrots and a few really tiny things that should have been carrots. While grilling out John sliced the Zucchini, added a little Tony's, and threw them on the grill.

Then on Monday I went out to do my daily watering and we had 3 more zucchini's and 1 yellow squash. We had them with dinner tonight, again sliced, spiced and grilled.

It looks like our tomatoes will be a huge food maker. We also have 3 baby watermelons that are almost ready to be picked.

This has been the most amazing, fun and rewarding experience. It has also been a family experience for us. We planted together, we water together, we watch it grow together, we pick it together, and we eat it together. Not many things now-a-days allows for this family togetherness.

Well, as we close our day up we count our blessings and are grateful for what we have and dream of what is to come.

Happy Birthday Paw-Paw

Today as I changed the date stamp that I mark all the incoming mail with, it occurred to me that today is my Grandfathers birthday. Had he still been alive he would be only 72 years old. Unfortunately, he passed away 10 years ago this past February after a nasty battle with Emphysema and COPD.
For many years I was angry at him for dying because I believe that had he stopped smoking he never would have had to suffer with, and eventually die from, the side effects of this addicting habit.
I also have held a grudge from his death because it changed my mother forever. She had finally gotten her father she so desperately longed for growing up, only to lose him 15 years later. Plus, she had the worse possible decision in the world, she had to decide to whether or not to remove his life support. She has been in turmoil ever since. Mom says it is her youth that made her the way she is, I think it was that decision that broke her spirit completely.
The day he died my life began to make a drastic change as well. The camels back was broken in my marriage when my now ex-husband wouldn't let me grieve and couldn't understand the importance of it. We separated 6 months later, but had become light years apart the day the phone call came.
I had made peace with my grandfather the year prior when I had this gut wrenching dream that he died. I awoke and immediately sat down and wrote him a very long letter. In the letter I told him my frustrations with his smoking, but mostly I told him how much I loved and admired him. He was my hero, my role model, my knight in shining armor. He was the reason I joined the Navy. I also talked of one day naming a future child after him because he was everything to me.
I can still remember the trips I took with him to the base in Gulfport. I felt so important at the age of 12, walking into rooms and having people in uniforms show him such respect. When he walked in any room you couldn't help but notice him. He was tall with dark eyes and hair. He looked like a Native American with his strong cheekbones and dark complexion. He was so handsome.
He was also incredibly active until he began slowing down to the diseases that plagued him. He was a member of the Shiners', VFW, and numerous other organizations. He volunteered his time driving sick children to Memphis to the St. Jude's Hospital for treatment. He worked in his yard and loved to travel. Having spent more of his life outside the U.S. traveling with the Navy that he couldn't sit still for long.
I always loved looking at the photographs on his walls. They were pictures of him at various points of his career, shaking hands with someone that looked really important. The pictures we along side autographed photos of Ronald Reagan, who was someone he greatly admired.
Paw-Paw also had a great love of westerns and the culture of the South West and the Old West. His living room was decked out with lots of knick-knacks of this admiration. Most of which I received upon his death. He also loved movies with John Wayne; I too inherited this upon his death and see my grandfather every time John Wayne appears on screen.
Now, 10 years after his death, I am finally beginning to forgive him for dying. Forgiving him for not being here to watch his great grand children grow, including the one I named after him nearly 7 years ago, the same one that sleeps at night with my grandfathers "cowboy's and Indian's" decorations.
I am learning to let go of the anger and regret that I have held in terms of my mother and her permanent change and downward spiral since her father's death. This is the hardest part because it caused my mother to finally break after being so fragile emotionally because of her childhood.
As I sit and write these words I am reminded of something he used to say to my brother, "Hang loose mongoose." I still chuckle at that. Living in Hawaii for so many years rubbed off on my grandfather.
I miss him today, hell I miss him everyday, but today especially. So Paw-Paw, "here's to you, wherever you are. Hang loose mongoose. I love you and happy birthday."Shannon Anicas
July 12, 2007
Today as I changed the date stamp that I mark all the incoming mail with, it occurred to me that today is my Grandfathers birthday. Had he still been alive he would be only 72 years old. Unfortunately, he passed away 10 years ago this past February after a nasty battle with Emphysema and COPD.

For many years I was angry at him for dying because I believe that had he stopped smoking he never would have had to suffer with, and eventually die from, the side effects of this addicting habit.

I also have held a grudge from his death because it changed my mother forever. She had finally gotten her father she so desperately longed for growing up, only to lose him 15 years later. Plus, she had the worse possible decision in the world, she had to decide to whether or not to remove his life support. She has been in turmoil ever since. Mom says it is her youth that made her the way she is, I think it was that decision that broke her spirit completely.

The day he died my life began to make a drastic change as well. The camels back was broken in my marriage when my now ex-husband wouldn't let me grieve and couldn't understand the importance of it. We separated 6 months later, but had become light years apart the day the phone call came.

I had made peace with my grandfather the year prior when I had this gut wrenching dream that he died. I awoke and immediately sat down and wrote him a very long letter. In the letter I told him my frustrations with his smoking, but mostly I told him how much I loved and admired him. He was my hero, my role model, my knight in shining armor. He was the reason I joined the Navy. I also talked of one day naming a future child after him because he was everything to me.

I can still remember the trips I took with him to the base in Gulfport. I felt so important at the age of 12, walking into rooms and having people in uniforms show him such respect. When he walked in any room you couldn't help but notice him. He was tall with dark eyes and hair. He looked like a Native American with his strong cheekbones and dark complexion. He was so handsome.

He was also incredibly active until he began slowing down to the diseases that plagued him. He was a member of the Shiners', VFW, and numerous other organizations. He volunteered his time driving sick children to Memphis to the St. Jude's Hospital for treatment. He worked in his yard and loved to travel. Having spent more of his life outside the U.S. traveling with the Navy that he couldn't sit still for long.

I always loved looking at the photographs on his walls. They were pictures of him at various points of his career, shaking hands with someone that looked really important. The pictures we along side autographed photos of Ronald Reagan, who was someone he greatly admired.

Paw-Paw also had a great love of westerns and the culture of the South West and the Old West. His living room was decked out with lots of knick-knacks of this admiration. Most of which I received upon his death. He also loved movies with John Wayne; I too inherited this upon his death and see my grandfather every time John Wayne appears on screen.

Now, 10 years after his death, I am finally beginning to forgive him for dying. Forgiving him for not being here to watch his great grand children grow, including the one I named after him nearly 7 years ago, the same one that sleeps at night with my grandfathers "cowboy's and Indian's" decorations.

I am learning to let go of the anger and regret that I have held in terms of my mother and her permanent change and downward spiral since her father's death. This is the hardest part because it caused my mother to finally break after being so fragile emotionally because of her childhood.

As I sit and write these words I am reminded of something he used to say to my brother, "Hang loose mongoose." I still chuckle at that. Living in Hawaii for so many years rubbed off on my grandfather.

I miss him today, hell I miss him everyday, but today especially. So Paw-Paw, "here's to you, wherever you are. Hang loose mongoose. I love you and happy birthday."

36 Resolutions for my 36th year

Now that I am officially 36 and since my first year began on my birthday, I have decided to do a list of resolutions. Now, more then ever, I feel a change in perspective and in my life I see things for improvement so I am going to make (and hopefully keep to) these resolutions.
36. Accept that some people won't change and to stop trying to make them.
35. To love more and hate less.
34. To dance more even if someone is watching.
33. Sing more and more then in the shower and car
32. To stop sweating the small stuff and most of it is actually small stuff
31. To stop trying to control the course of fate
30. To give more hugs to everyone
29. To smile more often, even if I am having a crappy day
28. To start the day off meditating
27. To end the day meditating
26. To express how grateful I am for the blessings in my life
25. To show the people I love just how much I love them
24. To treat everyday as if it were my last
23. To live life to its fullest and not let lack of money, stress or other distractions deter me from doing so.
22. To write every day
21. To submit said writings to publications so I can live my dream
20. To do my best in my school work so that I can finish achieving my dream of a Bachelors Degree
19. To let bygones be bygones
18. To stop living for yesterday and live to today
17. To dream bigger, in dreams we are only limited by our imaginations not our pocketbooks
16. To laugh more
15. To stop and smell the roses, coffee, smell of my son when he snuggles next to me after a bath
14. To stop trying to be something or someone I am not. The people who matter most love me for who I am
13. To stop trying to hold on to things that don't matter and hold tighter to those that do.
12. To be proud of my accomplishments
11. To learn to be confident in my own skin regardless of my weight, hair color or outfit
10. To give more then I receive
9. To cherish the moments I have instead of living for the moments I can't get back
8. To show the people I love that I do indeed love them more then words can say
7. To make sure my friends know just how lucky I am to have them in my life
6. To be grateful for the things I have and stop living for the things I don't have
5. To plan a dream vacation and make arrangements for it to come true
4. To take lots of pictures and share them with the world
3. To be confident in my abilities
2. To love and forgive despite the persons faults and mistakes
1. To never compromise who I am for the sake of someone else.

Now these are not in order by priority because they are all equally important. It is just how they flowed out of my brain and into the keyboard. I (state your name) promise to do these 36 things no matter how the day is, what mood I or others around me are in. I will put all my heart and soul into these things because I am worth it.

New Navy Ship Built With WTC Steel

Why is this the first time I am hearing about this? Oh Yeah, because Paris and Lindsay are the more important news. Sorry I forgot where I was for a moment.

New Navy Ship Built With WTC Steel

NEW YORK - With a year to go before it even touches the water, the Navy's amphibious assault ship USS New York has already made history - twice. It was built with 24 tons of scrap steel from the World Trade Center, and it survived Hurricane Katrina.
That combination of disasters gives the ship a unique standing among the 500 or so Avondale, La., shipyard workers building it, said Tony Quaglino, a crane superintendent who postponed retirement to have a hand in the New York's construction.

"I think Katrina made us more aware of the tragedy in New York," said the 66-year-old Quaglino. "One was manmade, one was natural, but they're both a common bond."

USS New York is about 45 percent complete and should be ready for launch in mid-2007. Katrina disrupted construction when it pounded the Gulf Coast last summer, but the 684-foot vessel escaped serious damage, and workers were back at the yard near New Orleans two weeks after the storm.

The ship was an impetus for many of the yard's thousands of workers to return to the job, even though hundreds lost their homes, Quaglino and others said.

Northrop Grumman employed 6,500 at Avondale before Katrina. Today, roughly 5,500 are back on the job, working on the New York and three other vessels. More than 200 employees who lost their homes to Katrina are living at the shipyard, some on a Navy barge and others in bunk-style housing.

"Their dedication and devotion to duty has been, to say the least, epic," Philip Teel, a vice president for Northrop Grumman Corp. and head of its ship systems division, told a Navy League dinner audience in New York on March 22.

"It sounds trite, but I saw it in their eyes," Teel said in a separate interview. "These are very patriotic people, and the fact that the ship has steel from the trade center is a source of great pride. They view it as something incredibly special. They're building it for the nation."

USS New York is the fifth in a new class of warship - designed for missions that include special operations against terrorists. It will carry a crew of 360 sailors and 700 combat-ready Marines to be delivered ashore by helicopters and assault craft.

"It would be fitting if the first mission this ship would go on is to make sure that bin Laden is taken out, his terrorist organization is taken out," said Glenn Clement, a paint foreman. "He came in through the back door and knocked our towers down and (the New York) is coming right through the front door, and we want them to know that."

When terrorists crashed two jetliners into the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001, destroying the twin towers and killing nearly 2,800 people, the $700 million ship was already on the drawing board but had not been assigned a name.

Months later, New York Gov. George Pataki asked the Navy to commemorate the disaster by reviving the name New York for a ship whose role would include fighting terrorism. That required an exception to Navy policy of assigning state names only to nuclear submarines, as they had been to battleships in earlier era.

Then-Navy Secretary Gordon England, in announcing the decision, said the New York would "project American power to the far corners of the Earth and support the cause of freedom well into the 21st century." Its motto is "Never Forget," a slogan among New Yorkers since Sept. 11.

Steel from the World Trade Center was melted down in a foundry in Amite, La., to cast the ship's bow section. When it was poured into the molds on Sept. 9, 2003, "those big rough steelworkers treated it with total reverence," recalled Navy Capt. Kevin Wensing, who was there. "It was a spiritual moment for everybody there."

Junior Chavers, foundry operations manager, said that when the trade center steel first arrived, he touched it with his hand and the "hair on my neck stood up."

"It had a big meaning to it for all of us," he said. "They knocked us down. They can't keep us down. We're going to be back."

The next big event came on March 14, when shipyard cranes lifted that bow section and guided it into place with the rest of the hull.

Later ships in the class will include USS Arlington, the location of the Pentagon, also struck by a hijacked jetliner on Sept. 11, and USS Somerset, named for the Pennsylvania county where United Flight 93 crashed after its passengers fought off hijackers apparently planning to attack another Washington target.

The New York revives a name borne by at least seven previous ships - most recently the nuclear submarine SSN New York City, retired in 1997 after 18 years service.

Ok this story is too much like Happy Gilmore!

Ok this story is too much like Happy Gilmore!

VENICE, Florida (AP) -- A man who lost his ball in a golf course pond nearly lost a limb when a nearly 11-foot alligator latched on to his arm and pulled him in the water, authorities said.

Bruce Burger, 50, was trying to retrieve his ball Monday from a pond on the sixth hole at the Lake Venice Golf Club.

The alligator latched on to Burger's right forearm and pulled him in the pond, said Gary Morse, a spokesman for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. Burger used his left arm to beat the reptile until it freed him.

"I saw him reach down to get his ball and he yelled" for help, said Janet Pallo, who was playing the fifth hole and ran over to drive the man to the clubhouse.

Burger, from Lenoir City, Tennessee, was taken to a hospital but was not seriously injured, Morse said Tuesday.

It took seven Fish and Wildlife officers an hour to trap the one-eyed alligator, which measured 10 feet, 11 inches, Morse said.

The pond at the sixth hole has a "Beware of Alligator" sign.

"Unfortunately, that's part of Florida," course general manager Rod Parry said. "There's wildlife in these ponds."