Buckeye Mike

I am a car guy. Kind of. Can I take a motor apart and put it back together? No.  Can I restore an old clunker back to hot rod form? Not if you put a gun to my head.  Can I look at almost any car on the road and identify it by year, make, and model? You bet your rear end I can. I have rarely been stumped, even when I was a kid. From Chevettes to Corvettes to Coronets, Mustangs to Murcielagos to Maserati's, Pinto's to Porsches to Puegots,  I could be on the Jeopardy of car makes. Being that into cars, of course, I have had my share of "Dream Cars". I am a Corvette lover, have always been a fan of any Italian automaker, and of course would love to find a great deal on a slightly used Bentley convertible. The definition of elegance for nearly 100 years, there aren't many of them rolling around Columbus, Ohio. Definitely a bucket list item just to get behind the wheel of one of one someday before I die.  But I digress. This post isn't a...

I was all prepared for it. I thought for sure Christmas morning my son John-Michael would lose his mind when he saw it. Sure, it's not brand new. And its not something that would turn heads on the street. But still, doesn't every 16 year old kid want a car? I mean I would have flipped out, even if it was a hand me down station wagon. The reaction, though, hurt my feelings a little. Instead of "WOO-HOO cannot wait to drive my car" we got "I do not want to get my license, and don't understand why I need to find a job. After all, I am only 16." A blow to the ego and bank account, since we had gone in debt for a new minivan for Little red to make this happen for my son. It stung.  And that's the way it has been for him for the last 6 months. Don't get me wrong, he is a great kid. Intelligent, polite, and growing up way too fast, there are a ton of typical teenage parent worries that he has spared us. But the last few months have been head scr...

I am embarrassed. Embarrassed that, at 41 years old,  you will not see a Holy Bible anywhere in my home. Well, you might in my son's room, but that is for later in this post. But in my things, from my dresser to my office to my suitcase of memories that contain photos and what nots from my past, there is no copy of the word. Ironic, since I claim that one of the biggest reasons I am here despite that past is my faith.  I am ashamed. Ashamed that I have not taught my three sons the same core values and beliefs that I was taught as I was raised in a strong Pentecostal home. I teach my sons to be respectful, integral men of honor with strong values and morals, yet I have never made a conscious effort to take them to church or tell them about Jesus Christ. I am angry. Angry at myself for blasting my son the first time he attached himself to a religion. Whether out of his own thirst to know more about God, or just to impress a girl, he has done more to to develop...

Once again, December has been a memorable time in my life in many different ways. While our little Slusher family here in Gahanna is doing better than we ever dreamed possible, others in our lives have required the same prayers we have needed so often in Decembers past. From our dear friends, the Burnhams, to my sister and Dad in Illinois, Tiffany and I have whispered more than a few names to the man upstairs recently. Four years ago, I was remembering my mother and reliving the last memories I have of her. It was a very emotional and cathartic time for me, and using this blog to recount that terrible time was very therapeutic. I would recommend going back and looking at those posts. I do so often, especially when I find myself in times when I need to find peace. They are my refuge, and help me find my center when nothing else makes sense. During that time, I wrote a blog entitled "The Pocketwatch". It is my favorite Christmas story, and has become an annual tradition on ...

Wow, ok, finally have a minute to sit down and unload my thoughts onto my blog. I have been neglecting this page quite a bit recently, as I have become a man whose free time has dwindled to nearly nothing in this holiday season family running and my work day starting at 6:30 am and  not ending til after dark most days. I know, I know, you all have been dying to hear updates from my boring life, all 4 of you who actually read this after I exclude the spammers and phishers. Get down off the ledge and enjoy this latest rambling from me, the least interesting man in the world! I spent this weekend at my Father's home in Springfield, Illinois. As a geographically stretched family, we have quarterly birthday parties to celebrate milestones in the family about once every three months. And at this gathering, we celebrated the womb evacuation days of 3 nieces and my youngest son Tanner, who turned 11 last Thursday. More about his actual birthday a little later, but this weekend also marke...

Living in a zoo is not easy. With 4 dogs, 2 cats, 2 frogs, and a snake, our animal sanctuary is once again nearly full. In the past we have seen ducks, rabbits, and even a pot bellied pig come and go through this house. Keeping up with all of them is nearly a full time job for Little red. And having a sitter when we need to go out of town is even tougher. That is where the Burnhams come in. Great friends who live down the street and possess a very attractive quality for people like us - they have a bunch of dogs too. And when they go out of town, they are looking for someone to watch them. See where this is going? Yeah, it works. Of course, mutual pet sitting isn't the only reason why I consider Dave and Sara among my closest friends. Since we met years ago, at 3D, Dave and I have kind of lived parallel lives. When we first became friends, he was kind of lost after a bad divorce, trying to find his way. He would come over and have way too many Miller Lites, smoke way too many M...

Realizing that I have been neglecting the blog (a month yesterday was the last post), I spent much of this week deciding what to write about today. There was the first ever visit to my home by my  Papaw   and his wife. They stopped by on a Saturday afternoon and  I was honored to have them sign the  Slusher Family Wall . I could have posted about my first ever visit to Maryland earlier this month. An informative conference where I learned a lot about my industry and enjoyed the sights and sounds of Baltimore's Inner Harbor. Or perhaps about the early snowfall this year and how my brother dropped by with his snow plow and cleared the driveway and sidewalks at my home. Another sign of the great person and friend he has become as we have gotten older. And that was just the start! There was John-Michael's first "official" date with his girlfriend, Ben's inaugural visit to Comic Con, and Tanner working his tale off for the to earn a "Pink Party", the highes...