My Ramblings

Today, I want to confess what some people might call a character flaw... I like to play practical jokes. I’m not one who likes to scare people, although I have done this on occasion. I just like to joke around and sometimes come up with some pretty good pranks. I also like it when others prank me which indicates I can dish it out AND take it. Sometimes, I suppose my joking is just weird, but it usually gets a laugh and, to me, that makes it all worth it. For instance, when I worked in the Juvenile Probation Department (JPD), I’d get into an empty elevator and stand facing the corner, my back to the door. I would ride it up and down the four floors of the building, waiting for people to get in. I did not acknowledge them or look around. Most everyone did not say anything or ask me if I was okay or not. Since I did not look at them, I didn’t know who was in the elevator with me. I surmise that, on at least a few of those occasions, there were some management types or even the Chief ...

A few days ago, I found the below story on my computer which I wrote in 2006 and decided tho post it here today:  Twenty-five years ago today, on August 15, 1981, my baby brother, Kevin Dean Faddis, died in a car wreck. He was 18 years old. He would now be 43 and I often wonder what kind of a man that kid would have grown to be had he survived the crash. Not surprisingly, I am in a funk today as I remember that tragic day long ago. I am writing this to help me deal with the blue mood I’m in.  “Little Dog” as I called him was a funny, sometimes rowdy, often gentle young man. He called me “Big Dog.” The two of us, along with our middle brother, Jeff, (aka: Jethro Bodeen) did a lot of things together when we were kids. Bodeen has also died (February 2006 at age 46) and thinking about the loss of both my little brothers is hurting me a lot right now.  Most of our adventures centered on hunting and fishing. Our mom often drove us down to the Tuolumne River and droppe...

Understandably, I have a lot on my mind today and that causes me to want to write stuff down. But I don’t want to write about the obvious today, so I won’t.  Right now I am listening to an album by DeGarmo and Key titled “Straight On” which my good friend, Darren Briggs sent to me. D&G is my favorite band of all time, Christian or secular. Dana Key, who has since gone to be with the Lord, had a great rock and roll voice which I have coveted since the first time I heard it. “Straight On” was the second album they recorded by the band. I first heard it in 1980 when it was shared with me by two cousins, Darryl Starn and Ron Johnson. The three of us started up a Christian concert ministry in Stanislaus County in 1980. Our first show was with Randy Stonehill in April 1980. In May 1980 we had Mark Heard come. Both these shows were at the Downey High School Auditorium and I think we charged $5.00 admission. Another show we did was with Sweet Comfort Band and after that I went...

On Thursday, June 20, 2013, our family and friends will mark the one year anniversary of the death of Daniel Kevin Faddis. Having lost other members of my family over the years, I think I have some idea of what the day will bring, thoughts I may have and the emotions it will elicit. However, I cannot know for sure as I have never marked the anniversary of the death of my own child until now. Linda and I talked about what we will do that day. This week Linda is helping out at our church vacation Bible school, but she asked if she could have the day off. She doesn’t want to have any responsibilities to fulfill that day. She said she might go to the cemetery, but she is not certain. I told her I plan to have no plan and I don’t want to go out there. My youngest daughter, Meagan called last night and asked if we would gather the family that day to remember him and I told her that I don’t want that. I just want to be alone as much as possible. June 23 will mark the eighth annivers...

By now, those who read this blog have figured out that my friends, family and  have had some experiences that are unusual. Today, I offer one of the most untypical adventures. The Book of Ecclesiastics says, “There is nothing new under the sun.” However, I cannot imagine that the following prank is something anyone, besides my cohorts and I, have done before or since.    It was 1986 and I was hanging out a lot with Rick Criscione and Mark Thompson. I do not recall who it was that came up with the idea that was nothing short of brilliant, but I reckon that Mark and I jointly hatched the idea.  Now, Mark and Rick went to and graduated from San Jose’s Yerba Buena High School in 1976. So, in 1986 they made plans to attend their ten year class reunion. They were talking about it one day and discussed the deadline for sending in their money, what to wear, etc. Because I had attended both the five and ten year reunions of Ceres High School’s class of 1975, I was r...

For seven years I taught vocational training to probation officers and juvenile hall counselors. I would often begin my presentation on the first day saying that who we are as people is shaped greatly by our upbringing. And, that how we treat those in our charge is often determined by our own upbringing. I have since added to this that our closest friends also have a huge impact on who we eventually become; sometimes our associates shape us more than our families do. If we associate primarily with people of low morals and poor behavior we risk falling into those same patterns. How many times have we seen “good” kids from loving homes fall into the “wrong” crowd and end up in sad circumstances? I don’t have to look farther than my own family to see this pattern. All three of my siblings were drug and alcohol users in spite of our mother’s loving and stable care. All three of them came to associate with people of low character and bad habits. All three of them died while driving under...

I just finished watching the movie “Chasing Mavericks.” It’s a true story about a young surfer from Santa Cruz, Jay Moriarity. It’s a very good movie and is family friendly. If you get it (I rented it from Red Box) get it in Blu-Ray if you have a Blu-Ray player. It is a visually stunning movie and illustrates the power and majesty of the ocean. Anyway, watching it made me recall my own experience with the Pacific Ocean which taught me how small and weak I am in a very painful way. In 2000, our family went to Maui for an eleven day vacation. We stayed in a great hotel in Kehei called the Mauna Kai (I think, but my memory is a bit hazy). We had lots of fun doing the typical stuff like snorkeling,sightseeing and going to a luau. I have my motorcycle license so I rented a Harley Road King and everyone took turns riding with me around the island. Five members of my family (Linda, Daniel, Heather, Holly and Meagan) were able to bask in the sun and sand for the entire eleven days. I, on th...