Mitchell's First Hair Cut

and now... by popular demand... Mitchell and his first hair cut!

Interesting... (Frank Schaeffer: Dr. Dobson Has Just Handed Obama Victory)

I found this article interesting...

Senator Obama just took another giant step toward winning the presidency. Actually, someone who considers himself a sworn enemy of Senator Obama took the step for him. Dr. Dobson of the Focus On the Family radio program (and evangelical media empire) has aired a program in which he attacks Senator Obama, the Senator's theology and his credentials.

read more digg story

Pictures from the month of June

Grub Master

I'd like tto share an video from the Awkward Moments archives...

# 17 and random thoughts

I am happy to report that after 22 years, the Celtics have renewed their dominance of the NBA. I was eight years old in '86... and have vivid memories of that year. Much like this past 12 months, the Celtics, Patriots and Red Sox had appearances in the Finals, Superbowl and World Series. This time around does feel a little different... as it feels like all of 3 of these teams had a legitimate shot at winning before the season even began. In '86, the Celtics were the only pre-season favorite of the Boston teams. The Red Sox had an improbably win over the Angles (Thanks Dave Henderson)... and the Patriots had to "Squish the Fish" (Thanks Tony Eason... I think....)
So, it could be that I'm no longer 8 years old... or that the teams were expected to win... but I do feel more of a sense of relief than a sense of total jubilation.

By the way... was anyone else surprised by the dramatic interview with Kevin Garnett with Michelle Tafoya after the game. KG was euphoric... and incomprehensible. All of us watching were wishing that they would just let the guy run around the court hugging people instead being forced to answer ridiculous questions like, "How does it feel to be a champion?" Despite that... I was a little embarrassed for KG's Oscar winning responses and "shout-outs". Of the "Big 3" it was a sliding scale of drama... with KG at the top, Paul Peirce in the middle and Ray Allen on the low end by taking it all in stride.

Anyway... enough random thoughts for now... Congrats to all the Celtic faithful!

Appleby / Norris 06/01/08

Just in case anyone wanted the text from the ceremony:

INTRO

What an unbelievable honor it is to be a part of this wedding today. When Christopher and Nichole approached me about being a part of their wedding… I was excited… and a little nervous. No one has ever asked me to speak at their wedding before.

I spent 4 of the best years of my life as director of student ministry at Holden Chapel, where Chris and Nichole were both involved. As a youth pastor I figured it was inevitable that some of the kids would eventually realize that they liked someone else in the youth group. However, I got lucky and for the first two years, there were virtually no serious relationships in the youth group… just whispers and crushes. Eventually a lot of the guys had girlfriends… but Chris was not one of them. (by the way… Chris, I’d like to take this moment to thank you for your dedication to the Lord). It wasn’t until Chris and Nichole went to the college together that she noticed his quiet charm. …and the rest is history.

I am deeply honored to be a part of this special day!

We are going to spend a few moments talking about:
Love vs. Falling in Love

Today, Christopher and Nichole have committed (with all of you as witnesses) to “LOVE” each other, not to simply “Fall In Love” with each other.

Falling in love with someone is fun… you think she’s cute; she thinks that you’re funny. Your eyes lock on to each other just a little longer than usual. You’re in the grocery store and you half expect that you’re going to see her walking up to the same checkout line. Your friends keep trying to call you, but you blow them off, because she may be able to go out tonight. You go home at night and you can’t stop thinking about the next time that you get to be with her.

There’s energy, excitement, anticipation, and flutters in your stomach. “Being in Love” consumes you. It feels great!

It’s like sugary-sweet icing on a cake!

Have you ever had a corner piece of cake that is just loaded with icing? It can actually be hard to clean off your plate if you are left with just frosting and no actual cake. Most of us will naturally hit a “wall” if we eat too much sugar all at once. As a youth pastor I spent a lot of time with high school students. And as a result, I’ve witnessed a few of these guys willing to push the limits of sugar consumption that the human body can take. The point is that we can only take so much frosting before we start to feel sick. So watch out for those corner pieces of cake… the look really good, but can leaving feeling a little sick in the end.

What about the cake itself? The real substance of a cake is the… cake… not the frosting. Frosting without the cake is a big sloppy mess… kind of like most of us when we first “Fall in Love”.

So cake is like real LOVE. Love is selfless and kind. Love is commitment the other person. A marriage covenant is built on a love commitment.

Story of Commitment – Ruth and Naomi

If you read along in the Bible you will find that the Old Testament describes the early days of the nation of Israel, which was marked as a violent time in human history. Before long, you will get to the book of Judges, where you will read about war, death, looting, and pillaging. And then, just when you can’t take it any more, you turn to the book of Ruth.

The first chapter of Ruth does begin with despair for Naomi, an Israelite woman who loses her husband and eventually her two sons to early deaths. They had been in the foreign land of Moab trying to avoid a famine taking place back in Israel. While in Moab, her two sons had married local women: Orpah and Ruth.

When Naomi heard that the famine was over, she wanted to head back to her home town of Bethlehem. But she told her daughters-in-law to stay in Moab.

16 But Ruth replied, "Don't ask me to leave you and turn back. I will go wherever you go and live wherever you live. Your people will be my people, and your God will be my God. 17 I will die where you die and will be buried there. May the LORD punish me severely if I allow anything but death to separate us!" 18 So when Naomi saw that Ruth had made up her mind to go with her, she stopped urging her.

Ruth was committed to Naomi. Ruth truly loved her mother-in-law even when it meant that things could possibly be uncomfortable for her. As it turned out, her show of true love was honored by another show of true love. An honorable man name Boaz eventually married Ruth; they had a son named Obed. Obed had a son named Jesse. Jesse had a son named David… You may have heard of him.

Conclusion

Shortly, we are going to celebrate this commitment that Christopher and Nichole have made to each other. One of the ways they are going to demonstrate their love is by serving each other a piece of cake. It will probably have some frosting on it, but most of it is actually cake.

Next time you eat cake, watch out for those corner pieces. They look like a lot of fun, but can be tough to finish. Falling in love can be fun too, but solid relationships require you to make it through adversity, not simply the fun times.

Real love is a commitment. A commitment that has untold potential…

Christopher and Nichole – Congratulations….
And may your love commitment to each other bear all the potential you can handle.

One Week

I've been 30 for an entire week now... and amazingly my hair has not fallen out... yet. Its true that I've been a little apprehensive about this milestone, however there was no stopping the inevitable, so I had to make peace with the big 3-0 or become seriously depressed. All of the birthday wishes and presents made it a lot easier to take. I owe many thank you cards (though I'm notoriously bad at sending them). Thank you everyone!

One thing that has made the transition easier has been my own transition to an HDTV. Despite my own proclivity to be on the bleeding edge of technology, I have not owned an HDTV until last Sunday night. And last night I had the chance to hook up an antenna. I've noticed that a lot of people out there don't realize that HD signals are available for free over the air. It's true; if you want the broadcast stations in HD, all you need is a TV with a Digital Tuner and an antenna capable of catching signals. And since its digital, the days of fuzzy signal through your "bunny ears" are over. The signal is either strong enough or not. If you want to check for signal strength at your address just head on over to Antenna Web and input your address.

I like HDTV so much that I'm willing to watch things that I normally would try to avoid. I watched parts of American Idol last night... as well as The Price is Right special and some documentary on PBS. Watching AI in this way made it much more interesting to me, although I could have used less close-ups of Paula crying... but that fact that you can see the lights reflecting of a tear drop is still cool!

Anyway, I'm mostly looking forward to watching sports in HD. Let me know if you want to come by and catch a game!

Update on my Grandfather

Cosmo DeStratis, 87, of Hycrest Drive in Worcester, passed away Saturday, May 10, 2008, in Dodge Park Rest Home. His wife of fifty-four years, Isabel (Esteves) DeStratis, passed away in February 2000.

He is survived by his son, Raymond DeStratis and his wife Darlene of Worcester; three grandsons, Jason DeStratis, Christopher DeStratis, and Sean DeStratis; a great grandson, Mitchell DeStratis; a brother, Anthony DeStratis of Worcester; a sister, Ida Tryzinski of Worcester; many nieces and nephews. He was pre-deceased by a brother, Joseph DeStratis as well as two sisters, Pauline DeSantis and Louise Rossetti.

Cosmo was born in Worcester, son of the late Antonio and Maryann (Cancelmo) DeStratis, and has lived here all his life. He graduated from Commerce High School. He served his nation proudly in the United States Army, during World War II. He was an engineer serving in the African and European Theatres.

Mr. DeStratis worked as the Data Processing Manager at Millbrook Distributors, for many years, before he retired. He had previously been the Parts Manager for the former George H. Jewett Automotive in Worcester. He was a member of West Boylston VFW Post 6907.

A funeral service will be held Wednesday, May 14, at 10 a.m. in MERCADANTE FUNERAL HOME & CHAPEL, 370 Plantation Street, Worcester. Interment will follow in Worcester County Memorial Park, Paxton. Calling hours will be held Tuesday, May 13, from 5 p.m. until 8 p.m. in the funeral home.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Dodge Park Rest Home, 101 Randolph Road, Worcester, MA 01606.

Cosmo

A little over a week ago my Grandfather, Mitchell, Erin and myself took a 5 minute drive from Dodge Park Rest Home (where he had been staying) up to 12 Hycrest Dr (his home). My grandfather hadn't been home in over 2 months due to a series of hospital and nursing home stays. I helped him go through some of his clothes and some other personal items he had. After a few minutes on his feet he was looking for a place to rest, so we walked down toward the "Living Room". It is furnished with a couch, a glass coffee table, a Zenith radio from 1956, a lamp on a small table, a large bay window and 2 comfortable rocking chairs. My grandfather walked to the chair on the far end of the room and I took my place on the other and we talked for about a half an hour.

Growing up, my brother Chris and I spent a lot of time at my grandparent’s house. It was a win, win, win situation. My parents got a break, my grandparents got to show off two goofy little boys, and we got to stay up past our normal bed times. And as a result, there weren't many protests when it came to spending time at 12 Hycrest Dr. I have vivid memories of waking up on a Saturday morning and watching my grandparents go through their normal routine of cleaning up the house. My Grandparents equally shared in the responsibilities of mopping, changing the sheets, wiping down glass and counters, loading and unloading the laundry, and running the vacuum. I would start out the morning willing to help (as much as a 5 year old kid could), but as the morning rolled on, I'd begin to lose interest in the activities of cleaning. My grandparents, however, wouldn't waiver until they were done with all their responsibilities. And when they were done cleaning, Grandpa would stroll over to the refrigerator, reach into the bottom drawer and grab a couple of red apples. As he shined up his apple, he'd begin to whistle a tune. He'd walk over to the living room and draw open the curtain in front of the bay window. I'd follow him into the living room with my apple, make an attempt to whistle, wait for the curtain to open and stare out the window. Grandpa would say, "Now that we've finished our work, we can relax". He'd sit down on the far chair and I'd sit down on the other and we ate the apples.

At the age of 16 I had been living full time with my grandparents for a couple of years. It was quite a sacrifice for them to make; just think of the cost of food for two teenage boys and you know that many of the plans they had for retirement would have to be altered. My grandfather would pick me up from school almost every afternoon. After getting home I'd put my books down, change up and go look for a snack in the refrigerator. My grandfather was already in the living room on his chair going through the day’s mail; I'd stroll in and sit on the other chair. It was in the spring of 1995 that I said to him, "I think I found a car that I'd like to buy". He looked up from the latest piece of junk mail that he received and said, "Jason, that is a big responsibility... you have to get a loan, pay for insurance, gas and maintenance". I told him that I thought I was ready, so he took me down to the bank to apply for a loan. After having me go through the whole process of filling out forms and meeting with the loan officer, he pulled me aside and said, "I've got an idea... I'll give you an interest free loan for the car and you can pay me back $100 a month." That deal was a lot better than the bank’s offer, so I took it. A few weeks later, I was driving a 1989 Honda CRX. It took me about 3 years, but I paid him back the total that I borrowed.

It was in February of 2000 that my Grandmother passed away after a battle with Pancreatic Cancer. It was a very difficult time for my grandfather. Shortly thereafter, I finished my full time college career and moved back into 12 Hycrest Dr. I had just turned 22 years old and he was quick to point out that I was hardly ever around the house. However, I do remember several times where I would rush into the house with places to go and people to see. I yelled out “Hey-O” as I always did while bolting in to the house. He was in the living room, sitting quietly on his chair, gazing out the window. Most of the time he would call back, “Hey-O”; but he didn’t this time. His eyes were damp and his voice cracked as he said, “I miss her so much”. I didn’t know what to say; I was not used to seeing my Grandfather cry. I joined him by sitting on the other chair and said, “I miss Grandma too”.

It was in these moments in the spring of 2000 that he shared many of his favorite memories of his wife. He told me about meeting her while hanging out at East Park. “She was spunky and cute, and I just knew that she was the one for me” he confessed. He told me stories of the family support they received living together in a 3 decker on Rodney St. He spoke of difficult times and reminded me that relationships aren’t perfect, “but if you work at it, you’ll have way more good times than bad.” He started to laugh when he recalled that, “Grandma was so nervous about buying this house on Hycrest Dr. $23,000 was a lot of money to spend on a house in 1964.”

As I sat there, listening to him talk about how he and my grandmother fell in love and made a life together, it helped to serve as confirmation for me as I was falling in love with my girlfriend and soon to be wife, Erin.

And so, there we were, just over a week ago, on Saturday, May 3rd… now with my wife Erin and our son Mitchell… at 12 Hycrest Dr. It was at this very place that my grandfather took advantage of every “teachable moment” he had.

It was here that he taught me:
· To finish the job before you relax, because you can’t really relax until the job is done.
· An apple a day keeps the doctor away… or at least can’t hurt.
· That owning a car was a big responsibility and you have to take care of it.
· Family needs to come first; help them when they need it.
· That love isn’t always easy, but it’s always worth it.

And even on that day as we sat there for the last time on the two chairs he was teaching me one more valuable lesson.

· Life is too short to just sit around.

It was after about a half hour that he said, “Hey, let’s get going, I don’t want to miss bingo with old ladies and I think it starts at 10”

And we got up from the chairs at Hycrest Dr. for the last time. I love you Grandpa!

Big Day Saturday

Ok... here is my shameless plug for our moving date... this Saturday, April 12th. Erin and I are finally moving into our own place here in the Worcester area.

You may remember a blog I wrote in January where I mentioned that we placed an offer on a house. We had our hearts and money invested into this place. The story did not end well as the seller (banks) cancelled the sale. They did not properly foreclose the house which then caused errors in the Title record. Our lawyer and the title examiner insisted (for our benefit) on changes to their documents to correct the error. This was out of the banks protocol and they would not make the change. The result: we did not get the house and we are now entangled in a bit of a dispute with them.

Erin and I realized that we would have to wait for a long time to try and resolve this dispute, so we decided that it would be better to look for a place to rent for the next year or two. We found a great deal in Worcester, right off of Grafton St. We'll share pictures soon, but if you want to see it in person, we'd love to arrange that too.

Write to me at my new Gmail address (jdestratis@gmail.com) if you're interested in helping with the move for a part of... or the entire day. The schedule looks like this:

8:00am - My brother-in law and I will pick up the truck
9:00am - Arrive at Extra Space Storage on Ararat St. in Worcester
10:30am - Arrive at our new place
11:00am - Begin placing and re-assembling of beds, etc.
12:00noon - Finish off loading the majority of our stuff (hopefully)
12:30pm - Lunch... we'll order some sandwiches or pizza
1:30pm - A run to Spencer to pick up items there
3:00pm - Unload remaining items
5:00pm - Return truck

See ya then!