I grew up in a military family back in the days when being in the military wasn’t fashionable nor did it pay well.  As an enlisted man with five kids my father moonlighted all the time and around Christmas it never failed that he picked up a third job.  Reality was, we were poor, just like all the other military families of the time.

But, all the money in the world could not have recreated the joy, love, and excitment that I experienced as a child.

I remember one Christmas in particular, it had to be 1970 or 1971, which would have been right after my Dad’s last tour in Vietnam and we were in Frankfurt, Germany.  All five of us kids woke up to a Christmas Tree with gifts literally covering every inch of floor space in our living room.  Our family tradition was that all gifts were opened one at a time and we took turns.  Gift opening took hours that Christmas!

I remember, being at the age where I knew there was no Santa but still having to believe because of my younger sisters and brother, looking over at my Dad and there he was, sitting in his housecoat, his hair a mess and obviously having missed quite a few hours of sleep over the last month or so, and noticing that while he opened no gifts for himself, he was so full of joy and happiness. 

At the time I just realized that he was going to be really let down when he opened my gift becuase there was no way it was going to match what he and “Santa” had gotten me…

I marvel at that Christmas because there was no such thing as credit cards back then.  I got my first record player that Christmas.  It was a plastic portable record player where the speaker was actually the detachable top….and it only played 45’s.  The first record I played was Jay and the Americans, “This Magic Moment”  We were definitely a family that was blessed.  I can only imagine the scarifices my father and mother endured for their kids.

When I was 2 we moved to Germany and lived on the local economy.  Thus, I went to a german kindergarten and ended up speaking no english (that was the early 60’s and when we played army it was Americans against the Nazi’s…and even I wanted to be a Nazi!  At least until I made my first trip to Dachau.) 

So, we returned to the United States where I started the first grade in Texas and I was shuffled to the class with all the “slow” kids because english as a second language wasn’t offered back then.  I didn’t learn to spell my last name until I was in the third grade and by the fourth grade my Dad was drilling me and my younger by a year brillant sister on memorizing the multiplication table.  I cannot count the number of times I heard, “…God, you are so stupid…” and was dodging the deck of flash cards…

Then in the sixth grade I was “redeemed.”  A teacher recommended that my parents have my hearing checked and we found out that I suffered a severe hearing loss.  Whew!  I wasn’t slow after all but actually just couldn’t hear.  But because of my Dad I still can recite the multiplication table, I can name all fifty states and their capitals, and I can name all the countries of the world….and I can duck flying objects like a trooper!

When I played basketball it was always commented on how good my eye hand coordination was and I would always give my Dad credit for that!  I cannot count the number of holidays we spent without my Dad or we spent waiting on him to return from base but there is a long history of burned dried out turkeys in my childhood.  I played basketball all the way through college and my Dad only made two of my games.  But I can still remember the day I was out on a playground shooting hoops and I look up and I see him walking toward to court….

Even though he took most of his shots from between his legs….he earned my respect.

Christmas has never been the same since he died and neither has my family.  They just don’t make men like him anymore….

Now to go and enjoy the present Christmas which would be meaningless without the memories of Christmas past.

Merry Christmas!

Well, now I know why everything is so expensive at Casual Male!  They give free clothes to NBA players and we have to pay for it!  Can you BELIEVE this:

In a lawsuit filed Wednesday, a Chicago clothing store — Casual Male — alleges New York Knicks center Eddy Curry ran up a tab of more than $41,000 on clothes, and two years later it remains unpaid. Gulp.

Kara Spak of the Chicago Sun Times reports:

”It’s just a matter of him buying clothing he didn’t pay for,” said Edward Margolis, the attorney representing Casual Male and Jared M. Custom Clothing, a business popular with professional athletes that once was owned by Casual Male. […]

Purchases on Curry’s shopping trips, which occurred between January and April 2006, included $22,000 in suits, eight sweaters ranging from a $750 wool crew-neck to a $1,390 cashmere V-neck and more than $3,700 in ties.

The company also wants an additional $5,424 in interest.

And yes, before you ask, Casual Male is the largest specialty retailer of big and tall men’s apparel, with over 520 store locations throughout the United States, London, England and Canada.

Big and tall. Eddy Curry. Go nuts.

I wonder what $41,000 in clothes looks like? How much closet space do you need for that much clothes? I wonder how much of it was Made in the USA?

The news about jobs and the economy have been overwhelmingly bad for the last couple of months and it can give one a feeling of helplessness but I did come upon a little bit of information that I found to be quite eye opening and very optimistic. Here it is:If every man, woman and child in the United States would just shift $20 dollars a month of their existing monthly expenditures from imported goods to Made in the USA goods we could create 5 million new jobs.That’s 5 million new jobs that did not require any effort on the part of the government or that required any extra ordinary effort on the part of anyone other than to become conscious of what we purchase and where these purchased goods are manufactured. No one is being asked to purchase anything of lesser quality and or value.No one has asked us to purchase more or to sacrifice quality but rather just to shift $240 dollars of our annual current purchases from imported goods to domestically produced goods. This amount does not represent an automobile or anything of that nature; $240 does not represent a major purchase by any means but it could result in some dramatic changes in our country.What if we then took this concept one step further and made a conscious effort to purchase these goods from locally owned businesses we could also:

Top Ten reasons to Think Local - Buy Local - Be Local

Buy Local — Support yourself: Several studies have shown that when you buy from an independent, locally owned business, rather than a nationally owned businesses, significantly more of your money is used to make purchases from other local businesses, service providers and farms — continuing to strengthen the economic base of the community.(Click here to see summaries of a variety of economic impact studies; these include case studies showing that locally-owned businesses generate a premium in enhanced economic impact to the community and our tax base.)

Support community groups: Non-profit organizations receive an average 250% more support from smaller business owners than they do from large businesses.

Keep our community unique: Where we shop, where we eat and have fun — all of it makes our community home. Our one-of-a-kind businesses are an integral part of the distinctive character of this place. Our tourism businesses also benefit. “When people go on vacation they generally seek out destinations that offer them the sense of being someplace, not just anyplace.” ~ Richard Moe, President, National Historic Preservation Trust.

Reduce environmental impact: Locally owned businesses can make more local purchases requiring less transportation and generally set up shop in town or city centers as opposed to developing on the fringe. This generally means contributing less to sprawl, congestion, habitat loss and pollution.

Create more good jobs: Small local businesses are the largest employer nationally and in our community, provide the most jobs to residents.

Get better service: Local businesses often hire people with a better understanding of the products they are selling and take more time to get to know customers.

Invest in community: Local businesses are owned by people who live in this community, are less likely to leave, and are more invested in the community’s future.

Put your taxes to good use: Local businesses in town centers require comparatively little infrastructure investment and make more efficient use of public services as compared to nationally owned stores entering the community.

Buy what you want, not what someone wants you to buy: A marketplace of tens of thousands of small businesses is the best way to ensure innovation and low prices over the long-term. A multitude of small businesses, each selecting products based not on a national sales plan but on their own interests and the needs of their local customers, guarantees a much broader range of product choices.

Encourage local prosperity: A growing body of economic research shows that in an increasingly homogenized world, entrepreneurs and skilled workers are more likely to invest and settle in communities that preserve their one-of-a-kind businesses and distinctive character.

While we realize that it is not always possible to buy what you need locally and or and so merely ask you to Think Local and Made in the USA FIRST!

For a mere $20.00 we could be investing in ourselves, our communities, our country, and building a much brighter future for our children!  A little good news this holiday for everyone!

Here are two great resources to begin making a difference:

WELL, this is a novel idea!  Change your environment to lose weight!  Check this out:

TIANJIN, China (AFP) – Three American men have taken the unusual step of moving to China in an extreme attempt to shed huge amounts of weight at a fat reduction clinic — and have become surprise local celebrities. Alonzo Bland, 33, and brothers Walt and David Anderson, 56 and 50, have lived in the northern Chinese city of Tianjin since the middle of this year as part of an effort to break away from their unhealthy lifestyles back home.

Together, they have lost a combined 192 kilogrammes (427 pounds) and are aiming to shed over 100 more.

“The reason why I think it works here is that China is away from everything, all the stuff that I’m familiar with,” said Alonzo, who has lost 103 kilogrammes from the 291 kilos he weighed when he first arrived in Tianjin.

He decided to come after winning a contest organised by China Connection, a US firm promoting traditional Chinese medicine, and was being treated free of charge for as long as it took to lose his target weight — like Walt and David.

Alonzo, who had a tracheotomy in 2000 because the fat in his face was pressing down on his windpipe, left a fiancee and two children behind in Wisconsin.

For David, an unmarried dishwasher in a casino in Iowa who sold his car and ditched his job to come to China, the move was a life-saver.

“Before I came over, it got to the point that I couldn’t walk 20 feet without gasping for breath,” said David, who is down to 104 kilogrammes after losing 41 kilos.

“I don’t think I would have made my 51st birthday.”

Every morning, the three lie down in their spartan bedrooms at the Aimin Fat Reduction Hospital for acupuncture, which doctors say increases the metabolism rate and reduces appetite.

“When I sent an email to my friends from here, I think I scared them when I told them how deep those needles go,” said Walt, who has shed 48 kilogrammes off his original 179 kilogrammes.

But the rest of the weight-loss treatment is similar to the West — exercise twice a day and good nutrition, albeit Chinese-style with rice, fried vegetables, tofu, meat and soup the staples of their diet.

As they sat down for lunch in the basic canteen they eat in every day along with other Chinese people trying to lose weight, the three looked at each other and laughed when asked about the local food.

“Don’t get me wrong, the food here is good. But it’s just not having certain things for a certain period of time — it wears on you,” said Alonzo.

“You’re thinking about all the steaks you want to have.”

The three have featured prominently in local media, prompting a Chinese woman to ask to meet Walt when she saw his photo in the newspaper and subsequently proposing to him — an offer he refused.

“I didn’t come here to find a Chinese wife,” he said. “I don’t need a wife.”

Later, as the three walked out of a bus and onto the streets during their break, locals openly stared at them as they strolled by — a situation the three said was even more pronounced when they first arrived and were bigger.

Taxi drivers were reluctant to stop for them due to their size, they said, which meant they were at the mercy of the hospital’s transport if they wanted to get around.

“For us (Chinese people), it’s very hard to see such obese people,” explained Su Zhixin, their doctor.

“Alonzo is the heaviest person to have come here since our hospital was set up in 1998.”

Sighing, Alonzo said it had been difficult to cope with the attention when he first got to Tianjin.

“It was unbearable, I just wanted to not go out at all. But then the weight started coming off, and I thought — I am who I am,” he said.

Walt claimed that he missed driving his car more than food in the United States, but for Alonzo, it was his children and fiancee that he pined after.

“But my aim is 220 pounds — the lowest I can remember weighing is 360 at high school,” he said, pledging to stick it out.

When asked whether they would be able to withstand all the temptations back in the United States, the trio said they were determined to keep the weight off.

At that, Walt began to dream about the day they went home.

“Riding the airplane over, we had to get a seatbelt extension because we were so big,” he said.

“Now we can just get on that plane, sit down and fly home,” he said. “That’s going to be a real thrill.”

There is no doubt that our economy is in the tank right now and all of us are worried about the future of our country and our own personal future.  But, lets channel this concern into something POSITIVE!  I think this holiday season the big and tall community needs to lead the way by looking for the “Made in USA” label in all the products that we buy as gifts and or we need to focus our shopping on locally owned retailers!  When you buy “Made in USA” products you are keeping American companies in business and you are keeping Americans employed!  I think this article pretty much sums it up:

‘Made in America’ must make a comeback

By Paul Sedan, November 28, 2008

Charlotte, N.C. – One thing the financial crisis shows is that the United States is in trouble because Americans have stopped making stuff.

It used to be that we made a lot of stuff: televisions, clothes, washing machines, radios, typewriters, shoes, telephones, and furniture. And we also used to make the stuff out of which stuff was made: steel, aluminum, plastic, rubber, glass, and electrical components. Today that’s largely made overseas. They send us their stuff and we send them our money.

It also used to be that Americans liked to make stuff. Think of all the things Thomas Edison invented. Or consider Henry Ford, who made the car affordable, perfected the assembly line, and paid workers a decent wage. Countless others, such as my grandfather, worked as toolmakers and machinists because they liked to work with their hands. Today we rely on people around the world to do that innovation for us.

To be sure, outsourcing has some benefits, but the danger in abrogating our desire to make things is that, in doing so, we forget what made America great. It wasn’t manipulating money; it was hard work and persistence. It wasn’t “flipping houses”; it was having a dream and being patient and self-sacrificing to achieve that dream. It wasn’t speculative gambling; it was belief in a line of labor that rewarded honest risk. Forgetting that contributes to America’s deterioration.

Nowadays, young people want to work in the financial industry (at least until recently). While money managers may be worthy occupations – we do need capital to meet payroll and buy the goods and machinery used to make stuff – focusing solely on such jobs removes us from the mainstream of making useful things, which, in turn, provide jobs and help to make everyday life more enjoyable and productive.

This is where we have to start questioning what’s at stake. Are we truly satisfied with letting someone else make everything we need? If so, when the time comes for repair and maintenance, who will do the work?

Young people today are not encouraged to work with their hands. It’s thought to be demeaning. But working with your hands to create something new is energizing and rewarding. It boosts self-esteem. Even better, it helps you see how something can be improved. Let’s not forget that Ford and the Wright brothers were mechanics before they became innovators. They saw first hand how things worked so they could make them work better.

Historically, young people were encouraged to learn a trade. This not only taught them the value of hard work, it also gave them a sense of self-reliance and community. The farmer could not only plow the ground, he could also fix the plow and help his neighbors.

Today’s schools must help teach our young people the value of manual labor and help us take advantage of the greatest place to be for innovation. A Japanese neighbor visiting a US factory told me once that he envied Americans because they did not accept cultural limitations in improving the way something is made. He said that you could never go against the grain like that in Japan.

The US just can’t afford to squander this perfect climate for jobs and progress by not placing value in innovation or the act of working with one’s hands.

This current financial mess brings with it a lot of challenges: energy, housing, crumbling infrastructure – to name just three. But the “can-do spirit” is still alive in America.

We just need to encourage it in our young people. We can begin by testing students for a mechanical aptitude. Those who show promise should be encouraged by a coalition of schools and industry to work on real-world projects. That step alone will help place the value back in making stuff and pave the way to return to innovation at a time when we need it most.

So, lets make a difference: Buy “Made in the USA” and lets support our locally owned retailers! If you need to search for goods that are proudly “Made in the USA” then check out these two websites:

www.stillmadeinusa.com or

www.madeinusaguide.com

Well, just in time for the holidays; some good news!  You can eat at McDonald’s and LOSE weight!  So, read the following article and as you are out and about this holiday season enjoy McDonald’s by letting everyone know that it is part of your overall dieting plan!  Here it is: 

Chris Coleson was a surfer, a hiker and a two-time most valuable player on his high school soccer team.
He weighed about 185 pounds when he got married in 1998. “After the kids came, she lost her pregnancy weight and I kept mine,“ said the 42-year-old New Kent County businessman.  Over the next decade or so, the 5-foot-8-inch Coleson ballooned to about 300 pounds, gaining 45 pounds from last August to November.

Frustrated by a number of false starts with losing weight, Coleson made a bold prediction to his wife, Tricia Sumner — that he could lose weight and do it by eating only at McDonald’s. He chose the fast-food chain partially because its locations are convenient for his busy schedule.  “There was a level of fear after I said that,“ said Coleson, who has no affiliation with McDonald’s other than eating every meal there during his diet. “At that point I had to stick with it.“He eats mostly salads, wraps and fruit, and the occasional cheeseburger without the bun. Coleson dropped from 278 pounds when he started the diet on Dec. 3 to 203 pounds as of Wednesday.

Coleson is a partner for NEIE Inc., a provider of environmental, industrial and engineering clean-up services. The company is based in Massachusetts but has offices in Henrico County. He and his family live in Quinton.  Coleson says that the stress of a busy work schedule and raising a son and daughter left him with no time to exercise. After someone stole a large amount of money from his company last year, his gorging spun out of control.  “I was a stress eater,“ he said.
He would eat straight from the refrigerator, sometimes consuming enough for a family meal in one evening. And sometimes, his wife said, she would make school lunches for their children and their father would scarf them down.
“I’d do a lot of grazing,“ he said.  Coleson said he got to where he couldn’t fit into a booth at restaurants, could barely tie his shoes and had to sleep sitting up to be comfortable. His children, James and Meghan, would call him old and fat and pound on his belly as a joke.

 Their dad finally put “OLD-NFAT” on the license plates of his red Porsche Cayman.

Coleson said he was inspired to change his life after hearing about a blind war veteran who rode cross country on a tandem bicycle. He also wanted to improve his health so he’d be around for his kids.  Sometimes it was tough. One of his hardest days was when he was grilling hot dogs at a concession stand. Another time, he had only black coffee while business associates ate dinner at an upscale restaurant downtown.   He kept his receipts from his nearly daily visits to McDonald’s and taped them on the pages of four journals that also include regular entries.

At his request, the Chickahominy Family YMCA started a program called Mission Possible that’s modeled after the TV show “The Biggest Loser.  “For his wife’s 40th birthday in April, Coleson spent $274.18 on McDonald’s food, which he brought to the YMCA for about 35 people (the receipt’s in one of his journals). But the big present for his wife came when he put on his wedding ring, which he had removed from a painful swollen finger seven years ago.

The license plates on Coleson’s white Land Rover now say “MCFIT.“ His waist size has dropped from 50 to 36.

He became something of a small-town celebrity in New Kent after a local paper profiled him this year. His wife, with some embarrassment, recalls someone yelling “Mrs. McFit” across a softball field at their daughter’s game.  Sandra Hillquist, who works at NEIE, joined Coleson’s Mission Possible team.  “It kind of inspired me to kind of get a grip on my own weight issues,“ Hillquist said, although she added that there was no way she could eat only McDonald’s.  Coleson said he plans to quit the McDonald’s diet on June 19 — Day 200 of his diet — but continue to eat healthier and keep portion sizes under control.

Day 200 comes two days before his 10th wedding anniversary. He’s hoping to weigh 185 by then, his weight when he walked down the aisle. He’s got his work cut out between now and then.  “I’ve got a lot of running to do,“ he said.

  WWW.TURNERORIGINAL.COM

Turner Originals has gotten their website up and running….FINALLY!  They make a great pocket tee and carry sizes 2X to 8X and XLT to 6XLT.  Now, I know that pocket tees aren’t all that cool…but man, these are great long wearing pocket tees!  They have also added Goin’ Coastal screenprinted tees to their line (used to be known as Caribbean Soul) and they started their own line of big and tall screenprinted tees under the label, HEY, TURNER…Big Guys with Attitudes!  So, stop by their website at www.turneroriginal.com and check out their shirts!

They have been manufacturing big and tall shirts in the USA since 1991 so no one knows big and tall like Turner Originals! 
 

Voted best clothing store by the readers of the Daily Southtown newspaper, Threads Big and Tall is your one stop shop for Big and Tall apparel in Illinois and Online.  We carry an extensive inventory whether you are looking for dress clothing or casual clothes.  Our brands include labels such as: Palm Beach, Enro, Cutter & Buck, Greg Norman, Axis, Levi, Wrangler, Jockey, Extra Wide Socks and many more!  Stop into either of our two locations in Chicago Ridge, IL; Orland Park, IL and online at www.threadsbigandtall.com  and sure to view our best selling Extra Wide Socks for swollen or wide calves and feet!  In business for over 30 years!

Surfing the net today I came across this blog:  Stuff White People Like

Number 84 on their list was Tee Shirts!

Basically, the writer was dead on because I have been watching the Threadless site for three years now and the American Apparel site for about the same amount of time.  I can only watch these sites because at 6′ 10″ tall and weighing in at 270lbs I don’t have to worry about them ever coming out with anything in my size!

Surfing the internet is better than window shopping at the mall….

Now, I guess if I was smaller I would probably like to strut my stuff in tee shirts that are as thin as paper and I would probably not care all that much for quality because my wardrobe would change as my moods change.

But, I like my shirts to be solid and comfortable…and I hate shopping so they better last a long time.  That’s why my tee shirt of choice is a TURNER ORIGINALS!

These tee shirts are made in the USA and they are almost vintage:  They have been around since 1991!  In fact I have about four of them that I still wear that I bought in California back in 1996!

Turner Originals big and tall pocket tees, which have been made in the USA since 1991 have started their own line of screen printed pocket tees! 

This is a company that takes BIG and TALL very seriously!  These shirts are not just a bigger version of a smaller size; they are made specifically for big and tall guys!  Bigger necks, wider shoulders and chests, longer sleeves, and longer tails!  In fact, there are no small through extra large shirts out there with the Turner Originals label in them; the smallest size this company makes is XLT! 

Now, they are expanding into screen printed goods!  Oh, and these designs are done by guys who are big and tall!  Thats right, no little guys with a sense of humor designing these shirts….its BIG GUYS WITH ATTITUDES!

No stupid buffet jokes or anything…while we may laugh at ourselves when other people are laughing with us its now our chance to let the world know what we really think!  Things like, “The BIG GUY asks…Who Says I Want to FIT IN?”  Or let them know, “Play it Safe….Always Ask Yourself; WHAT WOULD THE BIG GUY DO?” 

Or you can keep it simple with, “BIG GUYS KICK ASS…” or maybe be a little fancy with, “Never ask a BIG GUY to use his CHARM and CHARISMA…”

All shirts are available in either BIG (2X to 8X) or TALL (XLT to 6XLT) and all the art is especially sized to fit on the shirts!  Oh, and every design comes with a back print and a sleeve print! 

These shirts are only available at independent big and tall retailers (sorry Casual Male, Rochester Big and Tall, King Size Direct, and JC Penneys)!  If you are looking for a retailer who carries these shirts then check out www.turneroriginal.com or you can buy them online at the same address! 

Get yours soon…because eventually everyone will want them…and only us BIG GUYS WITH ATTITUDES will have them!