Marshall Ramsey

We had this week planned for months: Take a week, go on a cruise with my wife’s family to Mexico and have fun. Little did I know how life would try to sink the ship.  Not literally, thankfully. There were no “Spam and Pop Tarts” moments.  Carnival Cruise Lines did their part and got us to and from with no fire in the engine room.  But I was hesitant to spend the money (fortunately the trip was paid for long before I got the financial rug pulled out from under me). And having a toddler who recently had ear surgery just sprinkled drama on top.

I’m glad we went anyway.

We had a blast.  Well, it was fun — chasing around a cranky toddler probably made it a notch below “a blast.”  And challenging (my biggest fear of my son tumbling overboard didn’t come true) and we all got along.

Here were a few highlights:

1. Comedian Cowboy Bill. The guy was funny and he made a good joke about my son’s running around the lounge where we were sitting, “here’s what you missed (to a couple who walked in late)…and there’s a baby running around on Cocaine or cough syrup.”  He had a PG and a R show — the kids went to the PG show.

2, Ice Cream for Breakfast. The soft-serve ice cream machine is the Devil. I don’t look like I ran a marathon — I look like I just competed in the Coney Island Hot Dog eating contest.

3. Getting time for all the cousins to hang out together. My wife’s brother’s kids and my kids got along pretty well. That was worth the price of the trip.

4. People watching. If Alabama Football gear had been a drinking game, I’d have passed out before the ship left Mobile.

5. Snorkeling in Cozumel. My kids took to it like, well, fish to water.

6. Seeing my boys get out of their comfort zone. Both got up on stage and sang karaoke.  That was pretty fun to see as a parent.  Thankfully they sing better than I do.

7. It gave me a chance to unplug from the events of the last month. There is nothing quite like a dead cellphone to make you walk away from life and reflect.

8. Speaking of reflect: Watching the moon light the Gulf of Mexico. The full moon made the sea look like inky quicksilver.

The “not-so-highlights.”

1. Progresso. I’m still trying to figure out why the heck Carnival goes to Progresso, Mexico.  Progresso must be Spanish for “Depressing place by the sea.”  We went into the town and looked at the shops, traded my middle son for three bongos and a straw hat and quickly retreated back to the boat. To quote on of the comedians, “How much did they have to pay to park the boat there? A dollar?”

2. The mother-of-all-tantrums. My three-year-old son lit into one in Customs.  The agent quickly passed us through. She probably thought if we had drugs, we needed them. By that point, I wanted to join him.  Chasing his grumpy butt around aged me.

So, that’s where I’ve been.  We’re eating our Cracker Barrel Thanksgiving Turkey Takeout and being thankful for the time we spent together as a family. As Jimmy Buffett once said, “It’s been a lovely cruise.” But now it’s back to reality.  I just miss the endless soft-serve ice cream.

More regurgitated Tweets from my Twitter account.

1. Congress censures Rep. Charlie Rangel. It also passes laws to throw people in jail for doing the very same thing.
2. Getting a lecture from Congressmen about spending is like getting a lecture about temperance at a bar.
3. Where there is no vision, the people perish. Particularly behind the wheel of a car.
4. “He thinks I want to be petted. I want out to go pee. What we have here is a failure to communicate.” Banjo the dog.
5. Biloxi to drop charges against MDOT director Butch Brown. In related news, Biloxi to get new bridge to Cancun & streets paved with gold.
6. Five hours a sleep is like an hordeurve when you’re craving a buffet.
7. The phrase “Don’t touch my junk” has a whole different meaning on the show #Hoarders.
8. BREAKING NEWS: Former President Clinton accepts job doing #TSA pat-downs at Washington Reagan National Airport.
9. I once read that you are the sum of your five closest friends. If that’s the case, I should be much better than I am.
10. My money concerns are now over. A nice man from Nigeria has offered to wire $1,000,000 into my bank account.

Who’s your ace in the hole?  Who’s that one person you can depend on in a crisis? Who can be your bedrock when everything else crashes down around you?  Do you know who this person is during the good times? Are you feeding that relationship so they are there when there’s a crisis? Do you have plenty of capital in your emotional rainy day fund?  It can be a friend. A spouse. Or in my case both.

I know I haven’t been particularly good of investing during the good times. But I must have done something right.  My wife Amy has been nothing short of amazing over the past two weeks. She fell in love with me when I was a janitor and I have been reminded that she believes in me not because of what I do, but because of who I am.  That’s powerful.  She’s my ace in the hole.

Who’s yours?

Good morning.

The kids are off to school. The house is quiet. Banjo is sitting by the door hoping I’ll let him out.  My green tea is cooling on the counter and I’m listening to an audiobook as I type.  My creative muse is about to get fired up so I can draw Sunday’s Clarion-Ledger cartoon before 10 this morning. I need to go get glasses and need to run by The Clarion-Ledger to get a letter so I can try to buy health insurance. I want to take the boys to go see Harry Potter later this afternoon. Just another day the office at Tiny Wheels Media.

Last night I had the honor of speaking to the Brookhaven-Lincoln County Chamber of Commerce 78th Annual Banquet. It was my second time speaking to them (which means I did something I seldom did in college; I got a second date!)  I love speaking to chamber banquets because they are gold mines for great stories about pluck, dreams, hard work and people who overcome amazing obstacles to make their dreams a reality.  Last night was no different. As I walked to the car, I left a little bit more inspired to make my own dreams come true.  My fire in my belly burned a little brighter (and no, that wasn’t heartburn from chamber banquet food).  I woke up this morning more determined to succeed.

It’s been interesting since “the change”. The last two weeks have allowed me to cross paths with people who believe in me and what I do. I’ve had contact with people who have helped me, educated me, lifted me up and inspired me.  Every time I have a dark moment, someone comes along that pulls me out of it.  It’s mental manna from Heaven.

Dog scratches at my leg.

Yes, Banjo.  I know you want out. Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to let my geriatric Border Terrier out the back door.  His dream (to be let out) just came true. Now I need to go work on mine.  Tiny Wheels Media is in business.