A Double Landmark!

(For those of you reading in Facebook, you can click here to read this in my actual blog.)

Today is a landmark day for me for two reasons:

1. This is my 100th blog post
   
2. Today is my 40th birthday

I could post some serious something about "now that I'm 40", but I already did that, and it wasn't serious at all. So I've decided to do something totally self-indulgent.

For those of you that are regular readers of my blog, as my birthday present, I have a little favor(s) to ask.

First, I would ask you to send an email to 10 people (at least) encouraging them to read my blog. (I hope that if you are reading my blog regularly, that you think it is, at least at times, worth reading. If so, then maybe, just maybe, this isn't too much to ask. Again, I realize that this is an absolutely shameless self-promotion wrapped around a hard little kernel of self-indulgence.)

Secondly, encourage them that if they find it mildly amusing, borderline insightful, somewhat infuriating, or at least not annoying, to subscribe! It's easy to do. Right at the top of the blog, just below the title section.

Look, I'll make this easy for you. Here's a sample email that you could cut-and-paste:

Hey (your friend's name goes here),

I just wanted to tell you about this fantastically incredible blog that I read without fail. It's called Aaroneous Findings, and it is awesome. At various times it (in alphabetical order) advises and alerts, bewilders and broadens, challenges and counsels, edifies and educates, encourages and informs, optimizes and super-sizes, uplifts and urges me to action whenever I read it. I find myself waiting in anticipation for each new post. You really should visit this blog immediately and subscribe.

Click HERE to visit the blog. Or, if you just want to go straight to subscribing, you can click HERE.

Thanks, and you won't regret it! It could possibly change your life!!!!

(Your name goes here)

Now, isn't that easy. Of, course, feel free to draft your own email.

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All kidding aside, (well, not really...kidding is seldom ever aside with me) I've really enjoyed writing this blog. I hope that you have enjoyed a post or two of the 100 that I've done. While I don't boast huge numbers of readers, my subscribership (that's a word, right?) has gradually grown over the months. It's really cool when someone leaves a comment or even mentions something to me in person that they read.

In reality, this particular post is something of a social experiment. How many people can you, "my readers", get to visit my blog, and better yet, subscribe? And, if my subscriber count spikes, how long will I retain the higher numbers? (Oh yeah...and it's shameless self-promotion.)

A 2nd Confession

Well, after my last blog, my Mom posted a comment and reminded me of a humorous story involving a previous confession of mine.

One night, about 1:00 AM, when I was 10, in the 4th grade I think, I went into my parents' bedroom and woke them.

"What's wrong?" my mother asked.

"I got a whipping at school!" I said, crying and sobbing.

You see, the standing rule in my traditional home was: you get a whipping at school, you get a whipping at home. So I was understandably a little worried.

"You did?" my dad asked, "Why?"

"I went to the restroom. While I was in there, some older boys were throwing wet toilet paper wads and yelling. Then they all left. When I came out of the bathroom, the teacher across the hall took me back to my room and told my teacher that I had been making a bunch of noise in the bathroom."

"What did you tell them?" my mom asked.

"I told them it wasn't me, but they wouldn't believe me. She gave me 3 swats."

By this time I was beside myself. I was undone. But now the tide had turned. My dad was actually on my side.

"What teacher was this, when did this happen?" he asked.

"Mrs. Linsceum...last year in the 3rd grade," I replied.

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Confession is good for the soul.

A Story (Confession)

Just so you know, my mom subscribes to this blog (Hi, Mom!), which is why the title of this post has the word confession in it. My mom thinks I am wonderful son, and I do try to be. Of course, no one is perfect, so now that I am fast approaching 40, there's something I have to come clean about.

The summer after my freshman year in college, my parents went out of town...twice...and I had a party...both times. Mom knew that I had some friends over. Several friends, actually. But what she didn't know is that we moved all the furniture out of the living room, set up my band's sound equipment and had a "party". When she got back after the second one, Mom found a beer cap and asked me if anyone had brought beer over. I think I mumbled something about Earl Hassell (he seemed like a good person to blame it on at the time) bringing some over, and changed the subject.

Sorry, Mom. I always meant to tell you, but how do you bring something like that up? "Hey Mom! Remember when you went out of town 20 years ago? I had a party."

I have an idea! How about I write a blog about it and post it on the internet for everyone to read?

Okay, now that my confessions and apologies are out of the way. I can tell the story that I wanted to tell.

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After the first party was over and we had put up the sound equipment, brought back in the living room furniture, and cleaned up the mess, I happened to look in the refrigerator in the game room. This fridge had my dad's beer in it. And by "had", I mean past tense. All of dad's beer was gone.

It is really hard to have a party without your parents finding out when people drink all of your dad's beer. Luckily, one of my friends, Keith, (yes, Mom, Keith McLeod) was able to go get some beer to replace it, and everything was okay.

When we decided to have the second party, I got smart. I stacked all my dad's beer up neatly in one corner of the fridge and put a note on it that said: DO NOT DRINK THIS BEER.

The next morning I went out to the fridge, opened the door, and couldn't help but laugh. There was one beer left. The one with the note on it. All the rest was gone.

Just For Fun

Below are a couple of my favorite movie quotes. I like some pretty random movies, so see how many of them you know:

1) One too many hits with the snake...

2) Uh...don't correct me, it sickens me.

3) It's not my fault I'm the biggest and the strongest...I don't even exercise.

4) See how the door was a little sticky...I'll get one of my guys to take a look at that.

5) Oh, I'm not with these fellas. I've got a pig over in the livestock competition, and I'm gonna win that blue ribbon.

6) Stand up Scout. Why? You're daddy's passing by.

7) We named the dog Indiana.

8) It's such a fine line between clever and...stupid.

9) Solo for the President!!

10) It's the same model the CIA used to fake the moon landing.

Like I said...random. I typed them the way I remembered them, so forgive me if I misquoted something.

To see the answers, select the area between here:

1) Aladdin
2) Mystery Men
3) Princess Bride
4) Galaxy Quest
5) That Thing You Do
6) To Kill A Mockingbird
7) Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
8) This Is Spinal Tap
9) Annie!
10) Sneakers

and here.

Superbowl Lamentations

In case you are from Mars and didn't already know, tonight was Superbowl XLVIII. This is one of the few times since my wife and I got married that we didn't host a superbowl party. This year I had to work at the Hut, so Cheryl went to some friend's house to watch the game. I joined them a little after halftime.

For many years, we had a party for the youth group at our church. Below is a little video promo we did for the party one year. Hope you enjoy it.



If for some reason you can't see the embedded video, here's a link.

Starring: Chris Sheppard
Music by: Dave Brubeck Quartet/All-Star United
Directed by: Me
Filmed by: Me
Edited by: Me
Screenplay by: Me
Based upon an original full-length novel by: Me

Filmed on location at an undisclosed location. No animals were harmed in the making of this video, but a toilet was actually cleaned.