Maggie Lou and Phoebe Jane

Maggie Lou and Phoebe Jane

Monday, November 1, 2010

Procrastinator

I know I know.... it has been way too long! I remember when I started this I was going to do it everyday so I would have some followers. Now I think there might be 5 of you actually reading this (thanks Holly).
I always have great intentions! I always desire to do great things but then I just don't. It is just so much easier to not do something, right? The desire to put things off is almost overcoming sometimes. My wife will come home and say "what did you do?" with pride I will explain that I replied to some emails, worked out, and even did a load of laundry. Then I go to a gig for three hours and comeback and she has finished the laundry, cleaned out the fridge, dusted and washed the floors, re sanded and oiled the front door and Isolated a protein that she is pretty sure can cure cancer. She gets stuff done!
My brain is always going a million miles an hour. I come up with great ideas and big plans! If just one of these plans ever came to be I would probably be a millionaire. However I am not the trigger man , I just conceive these ideas and I need someone to make them happen.
I worked for a guy, let's just call him Chris Camron. He is the Camp director at Camp Ocean Pines in Cambria, CA. He is the combination of both of these! He is an idea man and he knows how to make things happen. The guy is pretty unstoppable and when I worked there we came up with lots of great ideas about the camp. Since I left he has made all of these things happen. That is so impressive! Chris, you are an inspiration!

So now I am pumped. It is time to seize the day! but maybe I am gonna watch a movie first to rest up before the big push of productivity.

Thursday, July 29, 2010

MUSIC!


A lot of people have dreams of becoming rock stars and standing on stage in front of millions being famous! Don't get me wrong , when I was a kid I would stand in front of the mirror playing air guitar while listening to Motley Crue. I would polish my stage moves and imagine that all the cute girls in my class were sitting in the front row thinking I was the coolest cutest thing they had ever seen. As I got older and realized that wasn't probable the dream sort of changed.
I remember I was 21 years old and walking through Nevada City in northern CA. I walked by a bar and saw a older guy with a beard playing Ripple by the Grateful Dead. I watched as he sat relaxed playing the song, a tip jar in front of him and half of a beer sitting next to him. He looked so relaxed, entertaining the crowd. He looked through the window an saw me standing outside, gave me a wink as he started playing Hotel California by the Eagles. I thought to myself "I want to be that guy!" really after that day, that was my goal in music. I guess it is easier to attain your goals when you shoot a little lower.
Today I feel pretty damn lucky! I get to do what I have always wanted! I am a bar musician. Well even musician is a little strong a word. I don't consider myself a musician I am more of an entertainer. I want to help the people that come into the restaurant, pub, bar, or winery that I am playing at to sit back and relax and enjoy themselves. I want them to take the time to have a good conversation with a friend or meet someone new. I am the background music for that to happen and I am really happy about that.
Every few gigs someone who has had a few too many drinks will come up and say " You are amazing you should be playing in front of thousands!" or "How come you are not on american idol!", ahhh drunk people! After a few years of doing this I know what they are really saying, "I enjoyed myself tonight and had a lot of fun thank you!". That is all I want, so come on out next time I am playing, sing along, relax, have a beer and be entertained.

Monday, June 28, 2010

Another Tasting With TOMMY T


Hello Friends, Last night was a last minute oppurtunity to hang out with T n T , Tommy and Trinity. We went down to Native Lounge, (I know I know, I say I can't stand the place but a little VIP treatment is nice) We had some table service and were treated to a bottle of Bicardi Torched Cherry and some painted bodies. They had an embodiment session where they paint models and send them down the catwalk. I think it was mainly a promotional deal because it didn't look like they put in too much time on the body painting.

I know I know, BOTTLE SERVICE, BOOZE, PAINTED MODELS, Matt what are you doing!? We were pretending like we were rock stars in Vegas or something. Tommy gets the hook ups and passes them on. We had a good time, Tommy and Trinity are new friends and have had a good time meeting some good people. Jeannie is awesome! She is so responsible! Two weak drinks, dancing. She had a good responsible time. Trinity was also smart,some little tastes and talking a responsible good time.


I also had some drinks! The problem was they tasted just like Cherry cokes! Then we have this girl who just keeps coming to the table and making me new ones! And I am not one to count how many I had?! So I was not smart. Tommy has been in this business a long time so I am sure he was smart as well. Me not smart. Did I say that already.

So we will cut to the chase of Matt being stupid and ( but I had fun %90 of the night, THANKS TnT) Some Drinks = FUN, Some Dancing= FUN, Good People=FUN , buying two bullsweat shots at bulls for me and TOMMY = NOT FUN ( this is a shot with wild turkey/worstechire/ tobasco and God know what else) Getting burritos at 1am= Pretty fun

Throwing it all up in the back yard = NOT FUN
Lesson to be learned here! Be like Jeannie!
Some day I will grow up and learn my lessons
oh and to all my old youth group kids
see they will let anyone be a youth pastor:)

Friday, June 25, 2010

CAMPING!


It has been awhile since Jeannie and I have regularly camped. We camped all the time when we first
met. When you really stop to think about it , camping is kind of weird. I mean we pack up all this stuff so
that we can go outside somewhere and pretend that we are homeless. We by all this extra stuff and gear so
that we can make our camping trip almost as comfortable as home! Maybe its the fact that you can have a
fire? Maybe it is the challenge of seeing how comfortable you can make yourself with as little as possible?
Obviously it is great to be outside and in a beautiful location.
We inherited the "Camping Box" that Jeannie's Dad Bill made. It was cool to get it back into action
and made Jeannie really happy and emotional. The Camping Box is a box her Dad designed to be a kitchen
and cabinet and closet all in one. It is pretty amazing! At first I thought it was too bulky and big but it is
so awesome to have everything contained and ready to go.


Mornings are my favorite part of camping. I love getting up early and getting the fire going again. Then I make sure that I get the coffee going. After that read a little bit until the coffee is going then just enjoy the great outdoors.

We were at the Russian River and had a great time. We will probably head up to big sur in the next week or two. Looking forward to more camping this summer. Make sure you drop us a line if you want to go anytime this summer!

Tuesday, June 8, 2010

Tipping - It's not just a city in China

Okay I admit, I have not always been the best tipper but in the last couple of years that has changed. Yes mainly because a lot of my income is tips from music so I try to pass it on. However I see tip jars EVERYWHERE! At some of the most ridiculous places.

Tipping , I believe, is giving something extra because of the work and effort put into a task. I believe waiters/waitresses should definitely be tipped, Bartenders when they pour you a good drink, Your Barista when they make your favorite coffee drink at starbucks. However not the guy that punches your order in at the Restaurant down the street. Scoot over buddy I will punch it in myself. YOU DID NOTHING! and you are already getting paid! There are tip jars everywhere. What is this saying to people "thank you for having a pulse and being able to stand there!" I work at Trader Joe's. I ring up peoples groceries, then bag all of them (making sure all the cold stuff goes together) then if the customer wants carrying it out to the car and loading it for them. WE GET NO TIPS! SO because I want a sandwhich and the only way for the cook to know that is to hire a middle man to push a button he wants a tip REALLY? REALLY? Sorry just got back from the dentist and wanted to rant and rave about something.

Friday, June 4, 2010

SMOKING KILLS

So I have been making some strong comments about smoking. I really can't stand it and most smokers are so obnoxious about their habit and throw butt's on the ground. When did that become okay?

To my smoking friends. I still love you. I will continue to even if you choose to smoke. I just wish you wouldn't! I don't know if you can help someone quit but let me know if I can do anything to help.

My Dad used to smoke. A long time ago now. I know he tried to quit a couple times but I remember about the time he did quit. I went to 6th grade science camp and at the end of that week we were told to make two wishes, write them on a piece of paper and throw them in the fire. One of my wishes was for my Dad to stop smoking. That year was the last time I remember my Dad smoking. I am so so glad he stopped and I am sure that has extended his life and dramatically improved the quality of it. I realize that it is hard. However it seems like you should do everything possible to quit. In Europe all tobacco has to be labeled like the Marlboro pack in this picture because it kills you. If you light up you KNOW it is decreasing the quality of your life and killing your body! If you or someone you love smokes, do everything you can to help them quit.

I went through my tobacco phases don't get me wrong. Luckily I was young and dumb and it didn't last long.
At 16 I started working at Little Ceaser's Pizza. I remember a couple people would go out back for a smoke break every hour and I would have to stay and work. So I decided to get in on these smoke breaks, plus it makes you look cool and you are a rebel. I went to 7 eleven and went to go buy some cigarettes. My Dad smoked Marlboro's so I wanted be even more of a rebel so I asked for a pack of Camels. "Regular?" the guy asked. What, uh I don't know. If I took too long deciding he would know I was under age. "uh, yeah regular, right!" So he sold me a pack. I then realized that regular meant unfiltered. I noticed that pack was small and stubby. I got back to the ally behind little Ceaser's and tried to smoke a unfiltered cigarette. It did not go well. I coughed up half a lung and wanted to throw up the rest of my shift.
After that I moved on to bigger and better things. later that year I was hanging out with a group of guys a few years older than me that I thought were the coolest. My friend Chad Oltoff and Bret Dewey were hanging out and were going to a friends birthday party. I noticed their fat lips and constant spitting and thought what is cooler than spitting with guys? That introduced me to chew and their personal brand Kodiak. It smelled like gum and they said it gave you a little buzz, sign me up! I took a big pinch and put it between my cheek and gum. It didn't taste bad, had to spit out the juice, and I had a nice buzz going. SO now I was COOL for sure. I was with my older friends with some dip in my mouth feeling nice and relaxed. We showed up at our friends birthday party and decided we should discard the tobacco before we went in. SO I swallowed it! I was done, nothing wrong with swallowing it?! I was wrong, this is not the thing to do. I told Chad and Brett what I had done and I saw the look of horror in their eyes. We went into the party and as I was saying happy birthday to the birthday girl I power vomited all over her feet and my own. It was living hell. I remember praying to God that if I lived through this sickness I would never do it again. On the way home Brett thought it would be funny to do donuts in the cul de sac to torture me. He thought it was funny until I threw up all over the side of his car.
I experimented with cigars and pipes. I was really into pipes a few years back. I had a little collection. Again I thought it was cool and sophisticated. Jeannie hated it and I think she prayed to God I would stop. One day, I just didn't like it and had no desire. I gave away my pipes and want nothing to do with tobacco now. FREEEDDDOOOMMMMMMMM!

(Again I know my Grammar is bad, and My Mom told me I should check it. I refuse HA HA , you are not the boss of me Mom :) I am grammar free and I want all of you bad spellers to untie with me)

Thursday, May 27, 2010

TEQUILA!!!!!!

Hola! Mi AMIGOS, My buddy Tommy is the GM at Mongo's bar and grill in Grover beach and he let me tag along to a tequila tasting in Santa Barbara. Now, I am not much for tequila. I am usually a beer man but, hey free food and free tequila, you bet I went. On the way down I was psyching myself up to not make a squinty bitter face every time I tasted. Isn't tequila usually preceded by licking some lime to get you thirsty and then the tequila and then a lime to kill the flavor! And my past tequila experiences are not something I want to reminisce about right now! However this was some high end Tequila. We grabbed a table for three (Tommy's beautiful Fiance Trinity was with us), there was a delicious Mexican food spread so we fueled up then hit the tasting tables. We heard all about how they roasted the Agave and how many times it was distilled. I was still a little nervous. Then I had my first sip, not bad! We went down the line tasting a bunch of tequila's.

Now I am used to tasting some beer and I can pace myself pretty well. After four tables I needed to go back for some more mini Chimmy Changas from the buffet table. That was enough to buffer the stomach a little more and I had tiny sips after that. I would go up to each table and act like I was a manager at Mongo's and would get free shot glasses, T-Shirts and hats. All the free schwag went to my brother-in-law Bill (you're welcome!). There were actually Tequilas that I liked the only problem is those were $40-$80 a bottle so I won't be tasting those again. Unless I go back with Tommy. all in all it was a great experience and my friendship with Tommy is maybe turning into a possible working relationship! I am pretty excited. The goal of working in and possibly owning a bar is becoming more of a reality!
p.s. I am not double fisting in that picture, I am holding Trinity's drink.... I am .... I promise :)

Thursday, May 20, 2010

EASILY DISTRACTED

this pic is a random one I worked on while writing this ...... nothing to do with my post!


I made a pretty life changing revelation the other day. I am not a good worker! That is hard to hear. Everyone wants to think of themselves as hard workers right? Everyone wants to take a little pride at what they do and set the standard. I am an average worker, on a good day. I realize I always look at the minimum that needs to get done and I do that. Rarely do I strive for something better unless I love doing it. I go the extra mile with music and gigs but only cause I love it. It is hard for me to step it up when I don't love it. If any of my former employers are reading this right now quit nodding your head!

Jeannie has to give me a list at home and If I don't check it off in order cleaning the house can seriously take me 8 hours. I think it might be ADD, If anyone has it, I do! Not ADHD, I am not hyper at all, I can just lose focus at any......... hey that dog has a fluffy tail!...... , I lose focus a lot. For example, I started cleaning the house today , and now I am blogging, and since I started this blog, I took a break to learn a Zac Brown Band song for a gig tonight. Wait what was I talking about. Seriously it is tough!

You would think that since I figured out lists work for me I would use them more. Nope because I go to get a pen to make a list and then I see some change on the counter and go put that in my change jar in my man room, then I see that there are games on the table that need to be put away, then I wonder if there is a settlers expansion pack on sale at ebay to play with friends, then I think about friends we haven't hung out with so I will go on facebook and leave some messages for friends to hang out, then I look at some cool pictures Cameron put online, then I realize I want to mess with some pics I have taken on my Iphone and 2 hours later I have some really cool pics I have doctored up, and then I think Oh yeah I was cleaning the house for Jeannie, I should go get a pen and make a list!

SO TO ALL MY CREATIVE, ABSENT MINDED, DAYDREAMING, UNFOCUSED FRIENDS AND FAMILY OUT THERE , EMBRACE WHO YOU ARE!! AND WHATS SO GREAT ABOUT BEING FOCUSED ANYWAY!

Friday, May 14, 2010



ROCK AND ROLL
WELL its sunny out and I cleaned the house and as I was listening to music I just realized that I love classic rock! I know this probably isn't a surprise to any of my friends out there but I do! And in my opinion the best, all time, rock and roll party band is Van Halen! I love old Van Halen with David Lee Roth. I mean come on! They are theessence of rock stars. I have included a playlist of some old live footage for you to enjoy. This is the music I stood in front of a mirror with a hair brush and used the broom handle as my guitar and had some of my best performances in my made up rock arena in my room!

Some say rock and roll is from the devil but I can't imagine God doesn't sit back and smile when he sees Eddie start ripping it up on Eruption. Sit back and relax and bask in the glory rock!







Monday, May 10, 2010





I got back on the bike today and rode to work. I really like riding my bike to work, but I realized today that I am not a cyclist. I think if more people realized they don’t have to be cyclists to enjoy riding their bikes more and driving less.
I can’t stand the colored spandex outfits! I can’t do it. I don’t want to offend any of my cyclist friends, and you are many, you may love the neon spandex and cyclist jersey’s but its not me. I am more of a cruiser, I have fun on the bike. I want to be comfortable and I would rather take twice as long to get somewhere on my cruiser than get on my road bike. I am more into my blue chrome grips than clip in peddles. I don’t want to have to wear two kinds of shoes when I ride☺. I want a big fat cushy seat not a tiny hard one (that’s what she said)
Today I rode the bucket bike, (check out www.madsencycles.com to see my bike). I strapped my Ipod speakers to the frame of my bike and listened to Led Zeppelin on the way to Trader Joe’s. So I know it is bike month and wanted to encourage you all to make one less trip with your car and take the bike out! Remember you don’t have to be a cyclist. Just think back to when we were kids and all equal. Just ride your bike, loving the wind through your hair, maybe put a playing card in the spokes (so it sounds like a motorcycle)will help, or even tie some streamers to your handle bars




Friday, May 7, 2010

I don't care if you brougt your bags!

So as most of you know I work at a Grocery Store, just to protect my behind, I will not mention the name of the store but we do have to ware Hawaiian shirts and we have lots of organic food and humus and cheap wine:)
I have been there for three years and it definitely has its benefits. It is just not my long term goal if you know what I mean. Plans are in the works to pursue bigger and better things, but I thought I would share a few things that made me laugh this week. Fellow "employees" feel free to share some stories that make you laugh! ( please do not mention the store name to protect the blog:)

1.
Customer: Um Do you have a garlic Chicken stir fry?
Me: Yes we do right here.
Customer: well I was looking for more of a Garlic Chicken stir fry?
Me: Oh is this not the right one, let's see what it says on the package.
Customer: (reading the package) Garlic Chicken Stir fry
Me: Alrighty then,
Customer: Do you have more of a stir fry
Me: I am afraid this is as close as we can get to a Garlic Chicken Stir Fry
Customer: So you don't have any then?


2.
Customer: I would like to return this ( Half empty $2 bottle of wine)
Me: Okay, was there a problem
Customer: It just wasn't very good!
Me: It wasn't up to your $2 dollar standard?
customer: (confused look?!)

and remember friends , no one really cares if you remember your bags.

Wednesday, May 5, 2010

Ted

In everyone's life there are people who inspire you or people you look up to. Sometimes they are famous people, actors, authors, activists, musicians or religious leaders. Sometimes they are your older brother, friends from school or any body really. I was reminded this week of one of the people I admired in High School and he probably didn't even know it (until know)

Ted Champlin was the life of the party and coolest guy I think I knew in High School. He was two years older than me so that made him even cooler. He could entertain a crowd and seemed like he was liked by everyone. One night when I was in 8th grade I snuck out with some friends (from another friends house sorry Mom) and went to a house party. We got hassled by people getting in, when we got to the gate a guy wanted $5 for a keg cup for beer, we didn't have it, they told us to take off. We went around the side of the house and jumped the fence. I didn't see a lot of people i knew but I saw Ted playing in a band under a gazebo, they were covering "17" by Winger and I thought this was the coolest thing ever seen. They were rocking , about 30 seconds into watching we were quickly caught and escorted out and told if we didn't take off we would get our asses kicked.

After that I knew I wanted to play music. I wanted to get the party going and entertain people.Ted and I hung out for one guitar lesson when I was in high school. I remember every second of it and he taught me how to play "ain't talkin bout love" by Van Halen. I still remember the lesson and how to play the song. Thanks for taking the time to hang out with a dorky freshman!

This weekend Ted asked my band to play a party at his house and that is probably the best compliment I could have ever received! Thanks Ted I look forward to hanging out again.



Then



now

Monday, May 3, 2010



The Band got back last night from playing WILDFLOWER!

We had a blast. We got to camp all weekend for free. We played a 90 minute set on Saturday and again on Sunday. WILDFLOWER was impressive. Thousands of people pushing their physical abilities. And the whole thing seemed like a circus. It was like the mid state fair. Hundreds of vendors, food, great people. We were well taken care of and loved the opportunity to play. Thanks to Soul Sauce who camped next to us and played some amazing sets as well, Great to meet you guys! The entertainment director told us that they had more compliments on music this year than any other and they hoped to have us back and play their other triathlons around the state. SWEET!!

Thanks to everyone who came out to see us and support us!

AND A SHOUT OUT!!! to Justin Rose, who did the half Ironman, you are a stud!!

Friday, April 30, 2010

JEANNIE'S Birthday

Yes Birthdays in our family can come in bunches, myself, my Dad and now my beautiful wife! I am so thankful for Jeannie. I still can't believe that she picked me and chose to be married to me. I marvel at that all the time (along with a lot of our friends:). I always say without her I would be living in a van down by the river. She helps make me a better person and I cannot imagine my life without her. We have a lot of fun and share everything together. Thank you Jeannie for being my wife and have an amazing year you still look 23 there is no way you are 33:)

You always make me this happy!

Thursday, April 29, 2010

DAN CROSS IS 60!




My Dad is 60 Today!

This pics was taken right before he left on his cross country motorcycle trip. He is the one without the Dirty Sanchez Moustache. My Dad sported more of a western/ Magnum PI moustache most of his life and I always loved it. I am still pretty sure my Dad can beat up your Dad, and I think he still has the skills to teach me a lesson or two :). My Dad is very self less, he has always done and still does whatever he has to to provide for my Mom and our Family. My Dad didn't have any hook ups or free hand outs. He got to where he is today by working his ass off and taking care of business! My Dad always told me I could do whatever I wanted and has always believed in me and supported me. The only thing I ever wanted to do growing up was impress him. Even the past couple years when he has come to see me play music, I watch his eyes and face as I take the stage and see how proud he is of me. Thanks Dad for all of your love and support and for pushing me to do what I want to do, not what I have to do! Happy Birthday Pop, I love you

If you are reading this maybe you can take the time to tell your Dad thank you or tell someone a story you remember from your Dad or someone who is or was a father figure in your life.

Wednesday, April 28, 2010

Baseball

th following post is my attempt at becoming a baseball player, although when I look through Baseball through the eyes of my friend rich I can see the draw, I wish I could see it through his eyes and enjoy it , however, I see through my eyes and I am no fan of baseball!

Somewhere between Football seasons I decided I wanted to play baseball. Well I am not sure I wanted to play baseball but I definitely wanted the cool baseball hat with the letter of my team on it to wear to school. Another kid in my third grade class Jeff had a light blue baseball hat with a T on it, I think is stood for Tigers. I definitely wanted a cool hat. I also new that after every game you got a drink ticket! See today kids get a bucket of soda with free refills four times a day and I think we are moving to soft drink IV’s. However in the early 80’s soda was still hard to come by, I think a large soda when I was a kid was six ounces. Soda was like candy it was magical and you had no way of getting it yourself so anytime you could get your own soda and your choice of soda it was magnificent. So you got a drink ticket at the end of every baseball game and you got your choice of soda, but really there was only one cool choice… the SUICIDE. This is when they put a squirt of every flavor soda they had and mixed it all together. This was soda nirvana, this was the biggest treat my 9 year old mind could imagine, this and some big league chew baseball gum. If you have not experienced big league chew baseball gum you have not lived. This was the gum they designed specifically to look like chewing tobacco, it had the same pouch and you were supposed to pack your mouth full just like tobacco. We could pretend we were just like the big leaguers, Oh the days before political correctness.
So to some up my baseball inspiriation there was a hat, soda, and gum… and of course to get these things I needed to play baseball, PLAY BALL! So my parents signed me up and I went down to the jr. high with my Dad for practice. I realized a few things pretty quick. I couldn’t really hit the ball, I couldn’t really throw the ball and I was scared as hell to catch the ball, and I was chubby and not coordinated because I was growing so fast. In case you were wondering this is not the recipe for success. So I was the biggest kid and they made me the catcher. I was the catcher which means I should have caught the ball a lot , like after every pitch. However I was scared of the ball, so I realized it was much easier to dodge the ball , let it hit the back stop and then go pick it up and try and throw it to a base, my coach and my Dad did not think this was a good strategy. So my coach took me and the pitcher aside at practice and had me work on catching. “Keep your eye on the ball Matt!” , what does that mean anyway, so I lowered my glove and kept my eye on that ball, the pitcher threw it straight at me, I kept my eye on that ball, and for a 9 year old pitcher it was moving pretty fast. I watched the ball spin , saw the red stiches on the white ball, it got bigger and bigger , until the ball was stopped by my forehead, I went down hard. “What the hell was that!” the coach yelled in frustration and anger. I thought it was pretty obvious I was demonstrating the best eye on the ball technique he had ever seen. Somehow there was some miss communication. They moved me from catcher to left field, that is the Siberia of little league baseball, that is where they banish the kids with no hope, because no 9 year old is hitting the ball into the outfield.
Then there was batting. I was a little more excited about this but there was still that damn ball flying at you, but now at least I had a weapon. I don’t really remember that many hits or memorable occasions at bat except for one. My home run! ( or maybe a base hit but I am remembering it as a home run!) See I was a strong kid, I was definitely bigger than the rest and there were good odds that I would eventually connect with the ball. So that time did come. I don’t remember the game or the team we were playing but I remember the hit and the aftermath. The pitcher released the ball and it came straight down the lane (Is that even what they call it, sounds good though huh?) I kept my “eye on the ball” and swung that little louiville slugger as hard as I could and it connected. That was one of the best sounds the crack of the bat hitting the ball and if flew far and long. Now the next part was confussing because I hadn’t hit the ball that many times , in fact I don’t have any memory of ever hitting it before but I am sure I did. The first thought was “I better hold on to this bat!” which I later found out was a bad decision. The second thought was “which base do I run to?!” Now most kids may have already had this down but I was more concerned with how my Hat looked, when I was getting my soda, and where I put my big league chew. So right or left, which way do I run? There were two paths that diverged on the baseball field and I chose the left path, and it made all the difference…. Because it was the wrong path. So the big chubby 9 year old who was afraid to catch the ball took off with bat in hand running to third base first. So my whole team decided to cheer me on, and believe it or not 9 year olds are not really encouraging to each other, so the team decided to chant “Fat Matt, Fat Matt, as I ran the bases the wrong direction. That is pretty much the end of my memories of baseball. I don’t remember ever picking up a ball bat or glove again. I don’t remember the end of the season. I am sure I got my “thanks for participating” trophy! I had my hat and can still see the faces of all those other 9 years olds, up on the fence in the dug out, yelling “Fat Matt, fat Matt”……. I hate Baseball.

Tuesday, April 27, 2010



My favorite picture of my wife Jeannie and Mother-in-Law Marjie Miller!

The Highlight of Matt Cross' Sports Career

Growing up it seemed like all of us were told we are special. We were told that we were smart and talented, artistic creative and athletic. Whe just needed to work hard and we could do anything. If I came home with a bad report card I was always told it was because I didn’t work hard enough or I didn’t try hard enough. If I didn’t win a little league game I was told I could win next time if I just worked harder. I was told to work hard, yet we got trophies and ribbons just for participating. There were those extremely athletic kids that were always good and got the first place ribbon, you know who he or she was, it is different at every school in every town. Then there were the rest of us, who weren’t good enough but they didn’t want to discourage us or tell us we were no good so we got the participation ribbon. How sad is that.”Hey kid thanks for having your parents sign you up for this activity, and thanks for standing there, you did so well at that, here is a ribbon. Thanks for that , I think that has some how affected my work ethic as an adult, I just expect to stand there and if you stand there long enough someone will give you a ribbon or a paycheck. Sometimes we just aren’t that special. Sometimes we are just plain bad at something. Sometimes we don’t ever reach that potential.
I was a huge kid. Not sure exactly the measurements at birth but for the first 12 years of my life I was ALWAYS bigger than the other kids. Everyone would always say “ wow wait till that kid plays football!” I would hear people tell my Dad “I wouldn’t want your grocery bill!”. “What an athlete that kid is gonna be!” “ He is huge!”. So yeah It was drilled into me, you are big, you will like sports, you will eat a lot of food. I was never really an aggressive or competitive kid. I was always pretty sensitive. I was scared of the dark, I didn’t like rough housing, I didn’t want to wrestle, I pretty much avoided anything with adrenaline!
I was a sensitive kid that didn’t like adrenaline but I loved Disneyland. Disneyland was the symbol of magic and imagination to me as a kid and I was always in awe of it. I think a lot of kids like it for the rides and excitement but I loved it for the imagination and creativity which explains a lot now. I like looking at the castle and the minature villages in storybook land ride and going on all the dark rides like peter pan and mr. Toads wild ride but I dreaded the thought of a ROLLER COASTER. To some people the Matterhorn was the symbol of Disneyland, to me it was child hood hell! I would never never go on a roller coaster. My Dad once convinced me to go on Thunder Mountain and said if I didn’t like it I could punch him in the stomach (What? I should have held out for a free toy or something!) I went on and at the end of that horrific experience I punched my Dad as hard as I could. I didn’t want to be flung around and dropped at high speed or in the dark, or through some loop. I just wanted to sit and watch and take in the magic. That made pirates of the Carribean so hard for me. I loved the pirates, but to get to that part of the ride there were to HUGE drops (I have gone as an adult and realize how pathetic those drops really are) but once I got through it I knew I would see the crazy drunken, spazmatic animatronics that made the pirate world come alive to me. I loved it but I am pretty sure the original lyrics to the pirate song talk about pilage and rape, and you were supposed to take a wench. Nice Walt nice! The point being I was not into adrenaline and physical stimulus. I was a delicate sensitive creative flower, living in a world of imagination, kind of a wuss packed into the body of a lineman.
I liked other kids but didn’t want to compete, I just wanted to be the center of attention. I like talking and socializing and being liked by other kids. I loved when people laughed at what I did. I was conditioned though, I was told I was born to play sports because I was big, my Dad played sports, other boys played sport, other boys loved sports, I was about to discover my potential as an athlete.
I can sum up the high point of my sports career right here. I was 11 years old, I was playing in a youth flag football league. Flag football was for all the kids whose Mom’s thought tackle was too dangerous but Dad really wanted you to play football, or where you put your sensitive kid to try it out before he broke an arm in junior tackle football. You had a belt with two Velcro flags stuck to them and you weren’t really supposed to have any contact. Instead of tackling you would run up and pull the flag off. Seemed simple enough. Surprise I wasn’t the quarter back, nope line man. I know hard to believe. I don’t think there was a kid on my team who’s head came past my shoulder. I remember asking when I was going to get the ball and the coach saying,”Matt you don’t really need to worry about the ball, unless you see someone with it then pull there flag.” Now lineman may have been fun if I were playing tackle football. All kids like to be rough and tumble knock each other around right? but this is a non-contact safe version of football, so basically you take the big chubby kid tell him to stand there so kids will bounce off of you as they run and try and take the flag. I was a glorified pinball bumper, an obstacle for the other kids to run around and through. So this was my exciting introduction to competitive sports. My favorite part was snack at half time. I knew I was getting orange slices and a small plastic bottle of purple juice ,anyone who played kids sports knows the plastic bottle with purple juice, I am not sure I have ever seen it in the store. I don’t even think it had a flavor except some sugary bastardized grape flavor. It is the tiny grenade bottle of juice made with cheap plastic and every kid sucked it down like it was the antidote to some poison that they had recently ingested, because of the round lid it always left a purple half circle on your face like a crazy clown on acid. And because of the toxicity of the drink and the rough plastic edeges it almost always gave you cold sore like abrasions on the side of your mouth. It is probably the major source of cancer in the people of my generation.
So the highligt of my sports career happened this same season. I was on the Vikings. I was playing a defensive line position, guard tackle, nose guard, ultimate warrior, who cares ( I now despise sports , sorry men). Any way I broke through the line of offensive linemen (which was fairly easy because at 11 years old I was 5’5 and about 175 lbs) the quarter back got scared and threw the ball straight up in the air. When it came down it landed in my hands. I didn’t know what the hell to do with it. We never covered this scenario! I wasn’t supposed to touch the ball, or worry about the ball. I was just supposed to be the bumper to slow down the other team. I looked to the side line and my coach was jumping up and down waving his arms yelling “run Matt RUN!” I looked to the other side and my Dad was doing the same thing. I ran as fast and as straight as I could. I closed my eyes hard waiting to feel my flag get pulled from my belt but it didn’t. I made it to the endzone and scored a touch down! I was so stoked my team all jumped on me patting me on the back. I was on top of the world. All I really cared about was if Jennifer Jarrett (a Chearleader for one of the teams on the field) saw me! It was at that point that I knew I wanted to be the center of attention and that I would do just about anything to get noticed by girls. I loved this! everyone praising me. I was the man of the hour, the hero to our little team. I wanted more of this glory! I mean come on who wouldn’t! Unfortunately that was the hightlight of my athletic carreer. It pretty much went down hill from there. And no , Jennifer did not notice me
Years later my brother would replicate that very same play except in a high school game, playing legitimate tackle football! It was really cool and really exciting high school football and of course after it happened I tried to relive some of my glory! “ Hey remember when I was a 11 and I did that yeah I know exactly how Steve feels!” I know pretty sad and pathetic, but I love being the center of attention and I tried to tag onto Steve’s moment. Sorry Steve you were way more impressive!

Welcome

Hello to all, I am really wondering if anyone is going to check this out. Okay maybe a few of you will but I am excited to give you something else to do to help you waste your time. I know my wife will be really excited that I have found something else to do to waste my time.

A warning to all - Friends, Family, kids who used to be in my youth group, co- workers. This is going to be the true inter ravings and thouhts of Matt Cross. Feel free to read share comment. However procede at your own risk. Also, my grammar is Bad, let's go ahead and get used to it!!

I look forward to sharing with you and hearing from you.

Matt