Ten years ago today.

Today marks the 10th anniversary of my stroke. On  May 17, 2005 I was in Orlando Florida. I have just unload a truck  of storm doors and  windows. When I got finished, I had a message from my from my dispatcher. To hold up on my return trip back to Nashville. So I took a nap in my truck. And when I got up I had no use of my right side. So that begin the journey that I have been on the last 10 years. I agree we all have had a hard time in our life. There's not many of us who have lost it all. And unfortunately I have. At the age of 46 years found myself having to start life all over again. With nothing but the clothes  had I and in $1000 in cash.  This after spending my life savings on my ex-wife. You see she was in a bad car wreck a few years earlier. And was left disable. So we spent everything we had saved up to that time for her medical care. Thinking at the time that once we went to court we would be able to recoup all of our losses. But for reasons I won't go into here the court decided to dismiss our lawsuit and left me holding the bag. A six figure bag. So we live paycheck to paycheck for the next few years. That is until my stroke.                                                                                                                                                                                   After three days in the hospital I was sent home to begin physical therapy. I was very blessed by God. Because after a few painful weeks of working with a physical therapist. I had made enough of a  recovery that  I was able to continue my physical therapy on my own at home.                                                                                                                                                                     But unfortunately but that time I had already lost my home. And was living in a one bedroom apartment.  My recovery has been slow to say the least. Yes I've made a lot of progress in certain areas of my life. I now actually own my own home. That's something I've thought that I would never have again.  I got to go play in the World Series of poker Seniors  championship back in 2013.                                                                                                                                                                                                     Then there's a thing that I don't talk about. Today I still suffer from the effects of my stroke. I have a lot of short term memory loss. That makes it very difficult for me and my working life. Then there's the pain on my right side. Simple things like holding a glass or or a fork are still difficult for me to do. My hand writing is horrible and difficult to read.  Unfortunately it's it seems as I get older. The pain becomes more intense.                                                                                                                                             So that's my story and I'm sticking to it. Every day I try to give thanks to God for all that he's done for me over the last few years.  And for the wonderful family  he is brought into my life starting back in 2006. I have the MOST BEAUTIFUL LADY in the world. Who I can call my best friend. And her parents or as I call them, my step mom and dad. With out the help of Trisha and Mr. and Mrs. Pena I would never be where I am today. So Thank You to my family.    And I look forward to the day that when my journey will finally end and I'll find the all the things that I've lost . Thanks again for taking the time to read this blog. God bless you and yours.

Tune in to my least's review of Houge wines 2012 Late Harvest Riesling.
www.redneckwinesnob.com

Happy anniversary to me.

Happy anniversary to me. Nine years ago today at the age of 46  I had a debilitating stoke. With that I lost the use of my right side. On that day I started what I call " The long journey home".                                       Suddenly everything that I had work for was gone. I lost my house, my marriage. So I begin the work for my recovery. After weeks of physical therapy, I was able to learn how to walk and talk again. That was the first step of my journey.                                                                                                                                    As time passes each year I seam to make more of those steps. And this pass year was no exception. This pass year I was able to do two things on my bucket list.                                                                             In June I when to Las Vegas and played in the WSOP Seniors Championship. If you know me you know how much I love poker. I started playing poker on the  advice of my therapist. I was so bless that Trisha flew out to support me and my dream. The tournament drew over 4500 players. The 2Th biggest day one  field in WSOP. I last about 4 hours. For the most part I never won any big pots. But I was very happy with how I played. The other highlight of the trip was our nighttime visit to The Neon Museum. The museum is the home of many of the signs that once were a part of Las Vegas.                                                                     The other bucket list dream that I got to remove skydiving. I have alway want to go skydiving. But like so many other dreams, something always came up. On October 15Th I when down to Wavery Tn to Skydiving Tennessee. It was a beautiful day as we when up to 14,000 ft for our jump . I have to say it was so much fun. And one day I will try it again.                                                                                                            As I start a new year I can look back with fond memories at the year that was. And look forward to what God has in store for me in the next year.

Hash House A Go Go.

Tune in to my review of the Hash House A Go Go in the Quad Casino in Las Vegas NV.
www.redneckwinesnob.com

The poker wars.

I haven't talk much about poker over the last few months. I have been playing off and on the last few years. And I'm happy to say that I'm up to 55 wins. The last one to come on May 28th 2012 at Dave's and Busters.  I found out that I was very rusty when I was in Vegas back in December. So I was thinking before I go back I better get my skills back. Lets hope that I will do better this trip. ;-p

Trisha's # 14.

I would like to say Congrats to my best friend Trisha  Pena on finishing her fourteenth half marathon in 9 years. This was her first half marathon since October 2011. She would be doing this race with out even having trained for it. But I have to say, she had bad timing. For it rained the whole day. Ending with 2 inches in 24 hours. Because of the rain Trisha had wear a rain poncho and carry
an UMBRELLA the whole race. The rain  added 30 mins to her time. Despite that I think she did a GREAT job. Ones again Congrats Trisha I'm so proud of you.

2012 Las Vegas Half Marathon

Back in December I made my way back to Las Vegas to compete in the Rock and Roll Las Vegas half marathon. This would be my 5Th half marathon in three years. My first after having knee surgery. Unfortunately Trisha was not able to come out for the race. The good news was she got a new job. (Thank You God.)
The race was at night for the second year in a row. And this year the course when by the famous sign. Which made me very happy. The weather was much warmer then last year. It was a great night for the race. I was afraid that I would be much slower because of my knee, and it showed. My time was 4:16:32. One of my slower times for a half.
As far as the rest of the trip it was fun. I didn't have much luck at the poker tables, but I got to try some restaurants that I never been before. One was In-n-Out burger. it was one of the best burgers I have ever had. You can go to my podcast to hear a review of that visited. www.redneckwinesnob.com I also got to go to Tony Roams Rib's in downtown Vegas. It was the first time I been there in 20 years. Was it ever good. I will do a review of it one of these days. That a recap of my trip to Las Vegas. Till next time. Good day and God Bless.