Day 22 Whats in my purse....

Well, if you consider my laptop case my "MAN PURSE".....

• laptop
• EMT equipment
• bills
• gum
• pens, pencils, business cards
• Albuterol
• Text book

Day 21---Favorite picture of all time of me....

thats easy-------with family!! My sweetie is taking the picture too!

Day 20....Nicknames....

Really have none. My sister in law Pat always called me "Paul Charles" instead of just Paul. I have been referred to as "Jolly" (for Jolly Rogers), "Rogers and Hammerstein", "Paulie Walnuts" (my boss calls me this)and "Roge.." (short for Roger). I get asked alot if I am the lead singer of BAD COMPANY, but that was PAUL RODGERS (thats the Irish spelling)....... My favorite things to be called these days are "Dad", PAPAW" and "Honey".

Day 19; something I miss....

Several things:
1. My parents. I lost them in 2000 and 2002 and there is not a day that goes by that I do not think of them at least 25 times
2. My kids and grandkids and family; I see them pretty often but I miss having them close or even at home
3. Watching my kids play sports. I think of all the things I miss, thats probably the biggest. Now, I get to watch Andrew and Brax play!
4. I miss the days when I weight less than 200 pounds!!

Favorite place (es) to eat

1. Tolima (Chatham, NJ; best sauces ever)
2. Gregarios (Chatham NJ; best lamb shank on the planet)
3. Prime Rib (Baltimore MD; best prime rib on the planet)
4. G&M (Baltimore MD; best crab cakes ever)
5. La Scalia (Baltimore MD; best italian food)
6. Pasitanos (Wayne, NJ; 2nd best italian food)

Something I am looking forward too....

• being able to retire and play more golf and do what the hell I want
• more grandkids
• spending time with family and freinds
• moving back to the MD VA area

Day 16; My dream home

This is pretty easy as well....my dream home would be maybe a two story home, with a big deck, a club basement, and sitting right on the back nine holes of the Shenvalee Golf Club in NEW MARKET world, right at the foot of the Blue Ridge Mountains. Small, quaint little town, people are as freindly as they come, no crime, nothing fancy, just typical simple little town. Been going there since I was all of 3 years old and would love owning a home there!!!!

Day 15; my favorite bible verse......

Ephesians 6:10-18
Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.

Day 14; a picture of me from last year

not much has changed in a year; hairline has receded a bit and have lost 27 pounds, but thats about it.

Day 13; Goals

At this stage in my life, my main goals are to stay healty and active and to save enough money that I can retire at 70, although thats not looking good at this point (ha ha). I have been blessed with a great family, great freinds and a wonderful lady freind of 3 1/2 years so alot of my goals have been met. My other goal----be a great dad and freind and an even better grandfather!

Day 12-Something I never leave the house without

well, this is an easy one; MY CELL PHONE!

Day 11---Favorite TV shows

Now bear in mind, I don;t really watch alot of TV these days in that there are no longer any good shows on. My ALL TIME list however includes the following:

1.  M*A*S*H
2. Family Guy
3. St Elsewhere
4. The Three Stooges (even though it was not a TV SHOW, per se)
5. The Flintstones

Something I am afraid of..............

well, when my Dad was alive, I was scared to death of him....but that was a good thing as I rarely ever got into trouble. But my biggest fear is losing a loved one...........

Uncle Jack

Today, I lost my Uncle Jack. He was all I had left on my mom's side of the family. Very sad today.

Day 9; A picture of my best freind

my nephew AND my best freind, Chris Rogers. Always there for me, as I am for him.....more like brothers than uncle/nephew.

Day 8; Places I have traveled to.....

I presume what we mean here is not just the weekend getaway but somewhere far away. Well, for work, I travel alot to Boston, Dallas, Denver, and San Francisco. Boston is a great city as is San Francisco (its not far from Napa Valley!!  Lots of wine!!) I have also traveled to Vancouver, British Columbia (another beautiful city!), Montreal and Toronto. I have been to Cabo Del Sol, Mexico and the Dominican Republic (Daisys brothers wedding).

One of the places on my "bucket list" to travel to is Great Britain, and specifically, St Andrews, Scotland, the birthplace of golf

Day 6 Favorite Movies

I have several, but in order of favorites, I present the following:

• Favorite # 1; PATTON
• Favorite # 2; APOLLO 13
• Favorite # 3; ME, MYSELF and IRENE

Day 5---a picture that makes me happy

thats an  easy one.....

Day 4--A Song that matches my mood.....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0aFKgi5D6eULets see----a song that matches my mood......"The Healer", John Lee Hooker and Carlos Santana! Its a great mellow jazz tune. Check it out on You Tube

Day 4 My parents......

My parents--- what more can I say than I miss them terribly. Dad passed in 2000 and Mom in 2002, both of which were the two saddest days of my life. They lived good lives and were 88 and 86 when they went home to the Lord, but it still breaks my heart that they are not with us. The love that they showed their kids, grandkids, great grand kids, family and freinds was a model for every parent or grandparent who have a family.
My dad; he was a self made man----broken home, alcoholic and sometimes abusive mother, a father who left early on and was not part of my dad's life. He was basically living on he streets of Balimore from the time he was a teenager. He got as far as the 6th grade.Despite this, he worked hard all his life (he was the hardest working man I have ever known), held a full time job for over 60 years (45 of those years were with A&P), all the time raising a family of 3 boys, one of whom was born when he was 45 (that being me). He was dedicated to his family first, and then his job. He worked for everything he had, and worked HARD! Nobody GAVE him anything---he earned it himself. He was also tough as nails...you did NOT want to tangle with this man---he would bury you with his "look" alone----ah, yes, the "LOOK"......you KNEW right away when you were in disfavor with him, or in trouble just by "the Look"......that look would take down an aircraft carrier......the great thing is, he didn;t have to SAY anything----he gave you "the LOOK" and you had a choice---either change your behavior QUICK or you would not see your next birthday. He was tough, disciplined and I personally was afraid of him. He wouldn;t think twice about giving you a good whacking (I was a victim many times---with the belt), which I believe is one of the main reason for whatever success I have had (and never got into any trouble!). Dad had many "ism's" and rules for life which I call "Walter-ism's). A few include:

• never burn bridges as you never know when you will have to cross that bridge again
• never ever be late for a meeting or appointment
• get all the education you can as this is one thing they can never take away from you
• never ever get too big for your britches, no matter how good you are or think you may be, because there is ALWAYS somebody out there who can kick your ass!!!
• don;t expect any one to give you a handout....work for what you need or want....

He was blunt and to the point----no sugar coating---if he though you were full of shit, he would tell you---if he didn;t like you, he would tell you! His honestly and bluntness were priceless. Dad wouldn't let any one get particularly close to him, given he was hurt, emotionally, on so many occasions growing up---he rarely got anything for Christmas (one year he got an apple and an orange hanging for the fireplace in one of his mothers black stockings), so while he LOVED spending time with his family at Christmas and other holidays, he also felt some hurt, even after all of these years. He lost his sister early on (she died from liver disease), so it was a tough life, but he made the most of it and earned everything himself...he had NO help from anyone, which why in my view, he was the best father I could have asked for.

Towards the end of his life, I ended up helping to take care of him, which was actually therapy for me, given the tough time I was having personally at the time. He and I grew even closer during that time. The day he passed, I cried harder than I ever have cried in my life.....it was hard to accept he was gone, but the lessons I learned from him will stay with me until its my time to go. I gave the eulogy at his funeral and while it was one of the toughest things I have ever done, it was also one of my proudest moments in that I let the world know what a great man he was. People who never met him walked up to me afterwards with tears in THEIR eyes, telling me "there should be more men like your dad on the planet". Well, I know I am biased, but, he is right----there should be more WALTER ROGERS walking this earth.....LOVE and MISS you more than life itself, Dad!

My mom; mom (Nana to her grandkids) was in many ways the polar oppostie of dad; warm, easy to approach, not afraid to show her feelings and emotions, never yelled, very delicate in her approach to things (she did not use a belt! fly swatter instead). The thing I most admire about my my mom is two things; her love and total dedication to her family. FAMILY WAS FIRST, over and above ANYTHING!!!! Second, she would give anyone and anybody help if they needed it (she was VERY good with managing money and her "ISM" was always "never spend more than you make"....HEY FEDERAL GOVERMENT----YA LISTENING?????". You always hear the cliche "He (she) would give you the shirt of his back". With her, this was absolutely the truth.....if anyone, especially family, needed help in any way shape or form, she was there. She cared so much about everyone, to the point of her detriment in that she WORRIED like no other person I have ever been around (which is where I get it form). My dad told me one time NOT to mention to her that any of my kids were not feeling well in that she would end up "pacing the floors" as my dad put it! Her worry was totally out of love and care for others. My dad worshipped the ground she walked on, as did her 3 boys, her grand and great grand kids and her freinds. I remember watching her taking care of HER mother when she was so sick....mom was at the nursing home EVERY SINGLE DAY for MONTHS! She never missed! She also took care of her cousin Pearl (my God mother) when SHE became ill and passed way. She NEVER thought of herself  first---she was without a doubt the most SELFLESS human on the planet, which could explain her demise at the end of her life. She was ALWAYS there for her family, no matter what the need, no matter what the problem, no matter what the situation......she was a gift, and a saint......she was very involved in her church and loved doing things fo people, soley out of kindness. I don;t know of ANYONE who had a SINGLE bad thing to say about her, other than that she was sometimes TOO selfless (which isn;t a bad thing per se). And, could she cook!!!!  OMG could she cook!!!! The July 4th and Labor Day weekend parties were a feast!!!  Emeril Lagasse and Bobby Flay have NOTHING on my mom when it comes to cooking!!!! Towards the end, mom had some health problems, suffering mainly from terrible bouts of depression, which ran in her family. It slowly ate away ate her and I convinced, thats why she passed way. It was sad to watch, since she was such a caring person (ok, here comes the wet eyes). She is in a better place I know, but there is not a day that goes by that I don't think of her at least 50 times. To this day, despite having the most wonderful family on the planet, I still ache that she is not with us. She would be so proud of how her family has blossomed, with new family members coming now through birth or marriage.....but as I said at my daughter Beckys wedding, she is with us! My theory is she is sitting on my right shoulder and dad is on my left! Mom, I never thanked you for being our Mom.....words will never describe the love we have for you and what a wonderful role model you were and how you put on a CLINIC on what it means to be kind and selfless......I hope that I can become even half the person you were, because there is nobody I know of who was so loving and caring. MISS and LOVE YOU, Mom!

Day 3

ok, so first love....hmmmmm......that would have to be Kim Poole (what was I THINKING????) when I was 17

Day 2 of challenge

Today, I am supposed to tell you the meaning of my blog name----honestly, have no idea. Thought it was supposed to be information about myself, so this is why I named it after me. I may change it at some point.

My first post!

ok, well, I got this "30 day challenge" from my lovely daughter regarding this site, so, here I am. I enjoy reading hers, so I thought, "why not". So here goes:

My name is Paul Rogers and I live in Chatham, New Jersey, having grown up and lived most of my life in the Baltimore, Maryland area. I have 3 children, Rebecca, Justin and Jeff, a son-in-law Matthew, and two of the most handsome grandsons on the planet, Andrew and Braxton. I also have a wonderful lady freind in one Daisy  Delorenzis (I call her my better half) and we have been together about 3 1/2 years. She's about the only woman who would be crazy enough to put up with me

Ok, so day 1 I am supposed to introduce myself and also give you 15 interesting facts about me; You have the intro, so now the facts (Joe Friday on Dragnet):

1. Am a HUGE Baltimore orioles and Baltimore Ravens fan
2. Favorite food is steak and Maryland Crabcakes
3. Went to college expecting to become a pharmacist; Organic Chemistry destroyed that plan, so ended up a business person
4.  Received by Bachelors degree from UMBC. Recived my Masters degree from VCU. in Richmond Was working on a second Masters in Taxation before being tranferred out of the area, so never finished
5. Seriously considered a career in golf as in high school and college I played competetive and had my handicap down to a 2 (now its about a 10 +)
6. Am training to become an EMT wit the Madison Volunteer Ambulance Squad. Will finish in May, 2011
7. Am a student of wine, especially California cabs!
8. Favorite show is FAMILY GUY; previous to this it was M*A*S*H. Favorite movie is PATTON
9. Am a big history buff; favorite author in this regard is David McCollough
10. Love to cook, ESPECIALLY on the grill---ANY grill!
11. A few famous people I know (or have met and spoken with); Bob Ehrlich (he and I are freinds and grew up together in Arbutus Maryland; Bruce Hornsby, famous musician from the 80's and 90's; David Byrne of the Talking Heads, he grew up with me in Arbutus , Maryland as well; Raymond Burr of Perry Mason fame; Tommy Armour III, PGA and Champions tour golf pro (played golf with him once); Jim Nantz of CBS sports; Freddie Couples of the PGA tour (he is an conceded asshole in real life), to name a few.
12. Favorite groups; PINK FLOYD and YES
13. Favorite actor; Tom Hanks; favorite actress, Sandra Bullock
14. Favorite comedians; George Carlin and Lewis Black
15. My family and freinds are my life!