The surgeon told us to prepare for the inevitable.  After an improbable battle that lasted for five days, we were told to say our goodbyes.  I gave my father a hug, kissed him on his head, told him that I loved him, and said goodbye.  I told him that it was okay to let go, and that I would keep him in my heart forever.  I knew that there was nothing more that could be done, and I also knew that he was already gone as I said my final farewell.  All that was left to do was to wait for a life-altering call from the nurse who had spent five days taking care of my father and my family.

We sat on a bench outside of the hospital on a hot summer night.  We all accepted the fact that we were about to receive the news that we had dreaded for days, but we were still in shock and almost numb to what was about to happen.

It’s been ten years to the day since I got the call that my father passed away.  It’s been ten years, and yet I can still remember the exact minute of his passing.  I can put myself in that moment as if it was happening right now.

The two worst days of the year for my family and me are my father’s birthday and the anniversary of his passing.  Never a day goes by that I don’t think of him several times, but these two days are somehow more painful and raw than the rest.  These are the days that we are left to wonder “what if?” and “if only…”

They say that time heals all wounds, but that is not really true.  While the pain doesn’t sting quite as much as time passes, it never truly goes away.  The void that was left by my father’s untimely passing will always be there.

It struck me the other day that losing my dad ten years ago marks a full decade since he has been with us to celebrate the moments, both large and small.  Ten years sounds like a long time, but a decade sounds and feels even longer.

As a society, we look at each decade as a collective moment in time.  We define each decade by the events of the world, pop culture and trends in music, fashion, television, movies, etc.  It’s our way of compartmentalizing our lives so that we can share nostalgic trips down memory lane with our friends and families.

Being born in the late 60’s, I have no memories of what life was like in that decade, but I have very strong memories of my childhood in the 70’s and 80’s, and my early adult years in the 90’s.  Some of the greatest memories of each of those decades were created with my dad.

Time marches on.  Days turn to weeks, weeks turn to months, months turn to years, and now years have turned into a decade.

If not for the fact that my two children were born in the first decade of the new millennium, I would look back at this past ten years as a “lost decade.”  Even with my children, the past decade can best be described as bittersweet and incomplete.

It’s hard to believe that it’s been a decade since I’ve spoken with my dad (aside from the occasional conversation that happens all too infrequently in my dreams).

Despite all of the advances that have been made in the past decade, I still find myself holding on to the past with an unbreakable grip, longing for days gone by, and wishing that this was all a bad dream.  If I could have just one wish, it would be to give my dad and my kids the chance to create the memories together that they were deprived of because of a tragedy that happened a decade ago.

For the most part, today was okay.  Spending the day with my wife and kids the way that my dad would have spent his day off gave me some solace and some inner peace.  While I couldn’t stop my mind from drifting towards my dad all day long, I did my best not to let it affect the kids.

Tomorrow starts the second decade life without my dad, which seems almost surreal.  Like this past decade, I fully expect to think about him every day, and keep him in my heart as I promised him I would a decade ago.

We were all up early this morning.  After reminding the kids that today was the day that we would be back in New York at Grandma and Grandpa’s house, my little one instantly started acting like a clown, dancing around the room with a dance she called “The Waddle.”  As usual, she had us all laughing out loud at her antics.

Visiting Ohio has been an experience that we’ll remember for many years to come.

We started out in Cincinnati, which is only an hour-and-a-half from Louisville (our shortest drive on the trip).  The ride would have been a breeze compared to our other travel had we not encountered some maniac on the road who nearly hit each of our cars while speeding and tailgating.  I can only hope that karma takes care of this Kentucky a-hole before he hurts innocent people with his dangerous driving.

If not for the fact that the Reds were playing a home game against the Dodgers (our favorite team), we may very well have driven right through Cincinnati without stopping.  We didn’t see much else of Cincinnati besides the baseball stadium, but seeing a game at Great American Ballpark was good enough for my son and me.  The stadium has great scenic views of the river and surrounding area (particularly from the cheap seats behind home plate).  It was surprisingly easy to get in and out of the stadium area with very little traffic.  This never seems to be the case with New York ballparks.  Even though the Dodgers lost a close game, it was still a fun experience.

When we were leaving Cincinnati, our plan was to spend two nights in Akron because it is situated between Canton (where the Pro Football Hall of Fame is located) and Cleveland.  Severe weather warnings and a terrible hotel experience altered our plans a bit, but it all worked out in the end.

My son and I planned on going to see the Indians play the Texas Rangers in a night game and then go to the Pro Football Hall of Fame the following day, but we didn’t want to take the chance of going all the way to Cleveland with weather forecast, so we decided to go to the Pro Football Hall of Fame first, and catch the afternoon game the following day.

We arrived at the Quality Inn in Akron, intending to check in, put our stuff in the room, and head out to Canton.  Despite my research before booking the rooms, this hotel turned out to be a nightmare.  I have no idea what the majority of reviewers were thinking on this one.  The two-story hotel had no elevators, and we had far too much stuff to bring in to be making trips up and down the stairs.

When I asked for a room on the first floor, the incompetent attendant said that it would be a $30 charge to change the room (since it was pre-paid).  I agreed to pay the $30, but then she said that it couldn’t be done.  When we went around the building to the entrance nearest our room, we saw that the door was unlocked.  I mentioned it to the other incompetent attendant, and he said that it probably would be locked later on.  I immediately called Hotels.com and cancelled the second night in the hotel, and just decided to take the loss on the room that was too late to cancel.

After a bit of scrambling, we decided to just take both cars to Canton and all go to the Hall of Fame together.  Even though my wife and daughter didn’t plan on going with us, we ended up having a fun time with the whole family.  My little one was surprisingly well-behaved, and made the most of the experience.  My wife found the Hall of Fame to be very interesting.  Of course, it was a dream-come-true for my son and me because of our love of the game.

We spent almost four hours at the Hall of Fame, but could have easily stayed longer if time allowed.  There was so much to see beyond the busts of all of the greats who are enshrined there.  It was a tremendous learning experience about the history of the game.  The highlight for me was the Super Bowl Theater where you get to experience an inside look at various games through coaches and players wearing microphones.  After seeing and hearing so many violent hits, it left me wondering how NFL players can keep taking such a constant pounding, only to get up and do over and over again.

The inside look at the most recent Super Bowl was incredible.  Even though we knew the outcome, I found myself cheering for the Packers as if the game were being played live.  While I loved the experience, if I were a Steelers fan, I would have been miserable reliving the moment in high def with surround sound.

Thinking that we had left tornado alley upon arriving in Ohio, I was surprised when we were ushered into the basement area because the tornado sirens were going off.  Thankfully, it turned out to be nothing but a thunderstorm.  And while I wasn’t thrilled to be taking cover from a potential tornado, it did help that we were in the area of the Hall of Fame filled with video and sports games.  My son and I didn’t even get through a half of a game on Madden before we were allowed to leave the basement area.

We finished touring the Hall of Fame, grabbed some souvenirs for each of us, and headed out to Cleveland where we decided to stay for two nights.

Although we hit some stormy weather on the way, it was a pretty clear ride for most of the hour-long trip.  The hotel that we ended up in was infinitely better than the one that we left in Akron (although the late-night dining options were few and far between).

We got a good night’s sleep and set out early the next morning to explore downtown Cleveland a bit before going to see the Rangers play the Indians in the afternoon.

The city of Cleveland is nice enough, but there wasn’t much going on when we got there.  It’s hard to say whether it was because it was a Sunday morning, or if it was just the way that it is in the city.  If this trip has taught me anything, it is that New York City is truly one-of-a-kind, with an energy that doesn’t exist in other places.

After walking around a bit, we got to the stadium about a half hour before game time.  There was no wait at all to buy tickets.  We ended up buying seats in the upper deck behind home plate.  Actually, we ended up with seats in the last row in the stadium, which gave my wife an uneasy feeling, so we moved to the empty second-to-last row in the next section.  Even though we were high up, it was still a great deal for $8 per ticket.  In fact, Progressive Field is the first stadium that I’ve ever been to where the cheap seats are in the shade.

Even though there were plenty of empty seats if we wanted to move down for a closer vantage point, I enjoyed the comfort of the upper deck so much that we stayed there the entire game.  Between the shade and the breeze blowing through the openings at the top of the stadium, my wife actually said that she was chilly at some points.

The game was a low-scoring affair, but the home runs hit by Mitch Moreland and Elvis Andrus were enough to seal the 2-0 shutout by C.J. Wilson.

We were amongst the very few Ranger fans in the stadium, but we were able to cheer for the visiting team without any incident.  The fans in Cleveland are great, and Progressive Field was my favorite stadium to visit.  Yesterday’s game was my favorite baseball experience of all-time.  Aside from the comfort of our seats, and the incredible stadium, it was the perfect way to say goodbye to Texas one last time.

The Rangers have become our second favorite team.  Living in close proximity to their home stadium for two years has given us a connection to the team that will last a lifetime.  The only disappointment of yesterday’s game was that we didn’t get to see my son’s favorite player (Josh Hamilton) in the game. He was given the day off to rest.  Other than that, it was a perfect day, and a perfect way to end our journey.

The time has finally come for us to complete our journey home.  We’ll be heading out shortly, and will cross the New York State line before the morning is out.  Part of me is disappointed to see this incredible journey come to an end, but more than anything, I am excited to finally be back in New York for good.  We can’t wait to see all of the family and friends that we’ve missed while we’ve been in Texas.

Hopefully, the rest of our journey today will be as enjoyable as the past week has been.  There will be updates about our trip back to New York and our experiences when we get there to follow.

Half-way across the bridge heading east out of St. Louis, we crossed the state line into Illinois.  Like most people who are not from the area, the only thing that comes to mind when talking about Illinois is Chicago, so the drive through southern Illinois came as quite a surprise.

Far removed from the vibrant city life of Chicago is a land filled with trees and almost no people, houses or places to eat or refuel.  As we drove through this area, I couldn’t help but think that this is what it must feel like to drive through the desert on the way to Las Vegas, the only difference being trees instead of sand.

We finally found a place to eat as we approached the Indiana state line, but it was still a far cry from Chicago.  The Subway that we found off the beaten path had a redneck feel that made you forget that you were in the Midwest.  I can honestly say that this is the first time that I had to navigate around a gigantic dead bird in the road.  My wife and I still aren’t sure if it was a wild turkey or a buzzard, but either way, it was very strange to see.

Driving through Indiana was much the same as the drive through Illinois.  The only point of interest was seeing road signs and billboards for a town called Santa Claus.  And though Indiana couldn’t compete with the crazy road signs that we saw in Missouri, there was one that we found while pulling off the road to go to a gas station.

The sign read “Prison Area – Do Not Pick Up Hitchhikers.”  Maybe it’s just my upbringing, but I’ve always been taught never to pick up hitchhikers in any area, not just prison areas.

After a few detours and some construction traffic, we ended up getting to Louisville a bit later than expected.  We checked into the hotel, dropped our stuff off in the room, and headed right back out to catch a Minor League Baseball game.

We arrived at Louisville Slugger Stadium in the middle of the first inning of a game between the hometown Louisville Bats and the Syracuse Chiefs.  We were all impressed with the five-year old stadium…even my little one.  It took a few innings, but she eventually discovered the carousel and play area on the opposite side of the stadium.

Journeying back to New York, it felt strange rooting against Syracuse, but since we had no allegiance to either team, it was more fun to join the crowd in rooting for the home team.  The game was kind of slow early on, but ended in exciting fashion as the home team sealed the victory with some towering home runs in the late innings.

Everyone had a great time at the game, but the highlight of our trip to Kentucky came the next morning when we visited the Louisville Slugger Museum & Factory.

Before the guided tour of the factory where bats are manufactured, we spent some time exploring the exhibits.  My son and I both got to pose for pictures holding Mickey Mantle and Cal Ripken Jr. game-used bats (something that even the most casual baseball fan can appreciate).

Seeing how the bats were hand-crafted when Louisville Slugger first started was interesting.  Experiencing how they are made now with expensive machinery was amazing.  What used to take 20 minutes now takes a mere 45 seconds to create.

At the end of the tour, we were each given mini bats to take home as a souvenir.  It’s a nice gesture, but one that seems to be kind of hazardous as kids can’t seem to stop themselves from swinging them without looking to see who or what is near them.

I got my son a small bat with his name inscribed on it.  This is a keepsake that he will undoubtedly treasure for many years to come.

My son and I each took one round of swings in the batting cages when our tour was complete.  The balls were only coming in at around 45mph, but that is still fast enough to hurt when the machine goes haywire and hits you in the ribs with a pitch.  After I “took one for the team” in the batting cage, the operator explained to me that they had been having problems with that cage, which is why they were only letting the adults use it.  Thankfully, I’m none the worse for wear, and now I’ll have a story to tell for years to come.

Before we left to get back on the road, we took the opportunity to visit the Norman Rockwell exhibit which was on loan to the museum for a two-week period.  It was very cool to see all of his original work.

If not for this journey, it’s hard to imagine ever taking the opportunity to visit Kentucky to experience some great baseball memories.  As a lifelong baseball fan, I’m glad that I got the chance to do this with my family.

The final stops on our journey home will be in Ohio.  I’ll post about our Ohio experiences soon.

Sometimes even the best laid plans don’t work out as expected.  Our original plan was to leave Tulsa, OK right after rush hour and get to St. Louis by mid-afternoon.  We ended up leaving later and making more stops along the way than anticipated.  After a long day of driving, the last thing that my son wanted to do was to get back in the car to sit in traffic and go to the Cardinals game, so we decided to just spend the night with my wife and daughter.

Aside from great dinner at a restaurant called Trainwreck Saloon and a ride in an outside elevator (which the kids thought was a lot of fun), the only other things that we saw in Missouri were Busch Stadium and the famous Gateway Arch on the way out of town.  Unfortunately, there was no easy way to park the cars loaded with all of our stuff, so we didn’t get the opportunity to get out and see the Gateway Arch in a meaningful way.  But at least we can say that we saw the most famous landmark in the state.

Most of our time in Missouri was spent on the road.  Like Oklahoma, the drive was very scenic and as relaxing as a long drive can be, with one exception.

Driving through Joplin, the town recently devastated by a massive tornado, was kind of surreal.  My closest experience with a tornado was taking cover in a closet the week before we left Texas due to a severe tornado warning.  It never materialized in our area though.

As we passed through Joplin, I was fixated on the leveled land to the right of me.  Every tree had been destroyed, and the few houses that were visible from the road were in very bad shape.  However, the houses on the left side of the highway is where the major destruction took place.  My wife glanced over to that area briefly and was amazed at what she saw.  She said that everything in sight was destroyed.

I’ve been tracking the weather regularly before we travel to make sure that we are not driving directly into a dangerous storm.  Even though I had seen storm clouds many times in Texas, the ones that hovered over Joplin as we drove through still gave me a very uneasy feeling.  Adding to the chilling feeling was the music playing on the radio – “Life Is Beautiful” by Sixx: A.M.  The irony was not lost on me.  The eerie feeling continued as “Diamond Eyes” by Shinedown came on the radio as I left Joplin while seeing signs for a town called “Diamond.”

The rest of the ride through Missouri was uneventful, although we did see some very strange road signs on the way to St. Louis.

The speed limit signs read “Speed Limit 75mph / 50 mph Minimum…No Tolerance.”  I wasn’t quite sure what to make of it.  Did it mean that tickets would be issued at 76mph or that they were keeping a close watch out for those who inexplicably travel at 49mph or less?

The other sign that kept popping up read “Do Not Drive Into Smoke.”  No other instructions were given.  Maybe this means something to the locals, but to us, it was just puzzling.  What if we saw smoke?  Were we just supposed to put the car into park right there on the highway?  Or were we supposed to turn around and go against traffic?

A bizarre sign read “Broken Guardrail Ahead.”  Was this supposed to be a warning for those looking to crash that it would be safer further up the road where a guardrail could help to protect them?  My wife astutely pointed out that they should have spent the time fixing the broken guardrail rather than having a sign made to alert travelers of the danger.

The last signs that had us scratching our heads while laughing read “Hit a Worker – Pay a $10,000 Fine – Lose Your License.”  Don’t get me wrong, I’ll all for seeing road workers remain safe, but I would think that most people try not to hit them because they don’t run people over as a rule, not because they are deterred by the strict laws forbidding it.

So even though we didn’t get to experience anything particularly fun in Missouri, I will never forget the driving experience.  Aside from the crazy signs, there were also gigantic bugs slamming into the windshield.  So much so that I ran out of wiper fluid while cleaning them off.  It made me wonder how anyone rides a motorcycle on these roads.

On a final note, Missouri has a chain of gas stations called “Kum and Go.”  We didn’t fill up there because we didn’t need gas at the time, but even if we did, we may have gone to the next station anyway.  The last thing that we needed was to have our bank reject our cards because they thought that someone stole them to buy porn in Missouri.

That’s all for now.  I’ll post our Kentucky experiences soon.

We said Goodbye to our family and Texas, gassed up the cars, and set the GPS for Oklahoma.  I knew that this was going to be a difficult time for my son, who had spent the entire night before playing with his cousin who he has grown very close to since our arrival in Texas.  It was hard for me to watch him hug his cousin goodbye, but I knew that he would feel better once we were doing things on our way back to New York.

Texas is Longhorn country when it comes to college football.  Not a day went by where I didn’t see people sporting the instantly recognizable burnt orange team colors or a Longhorn logo emblazoned on the back of a pick-up truck.  When we arrived in Texas, we didn’t really have an opinion about the Longhorns, but we tired of them quickly because their presence is so ubiquitous.

The Longhorns biggest rival is the Oklahoma Sooners.  Each year, they play against each other in a game called the Red River Rivalry.  Truth be told, I thought that Red River was just the name of a river that flowed between the two states.  I had no idea that it got its name because it actually gives the appearance of red water due to the clay that lines the riverbed.  It was a very cool sight to see.

Unfortunately, by the time that I was able to dial the phone to call my wife and kids in the other car to talk about it, we had already passed it by, and I was the only one who saw it (one of the drawbacks of traveling separately).  Luckily, the Red River isn’t the only river in Oklahoma which appears to flow red, so they did get to see something similar later on.

Because my son was tired of seeing the Longhorns everywhere, and because one of his best friends is a Sooners fan, my son chose to become a Sooner fan.  The Sooners play in Norman, OK, which happened to be on the way to our first stop in Oklahoma City, so we surprised my son by taking him to see the stadium.  He was still kind of sad, and very tired from traveling and a lack of sleep, but he perked up when he saw the stadium.  We walked around a bit and took some pictures.  He read about some of the famous alumni on the statues by the stadium.  By the time that we got back in the car, I could tell that his spirit was already starting to lift.

The drive through Oklahoma was very scenic and peaceful.  Parts of the drive reminded both my wife and me of the Catskill Mountains in New York.  On the way down to Texas a few years ago, we chose the most direct route.  This time, we chose to go another way so that we could see different states, and experience things that we hadn’t already before.  It’s early on in the journey, but so far, driving through Oklahoma has been much nicer than driving through Arkansas (although we did see some strange things along the way).

On a 65mph highway, we saw a guy with a Mohawk haircut riding his bicycle on the shoulder of the road.  Neither my wife nor I had any idea what the guy planned to do when the shoulder ended to allow for merging traffic.  Later on in the drive, we saw another man jogging in the middle lane of a three-lane service road.  I can only conclude that Oklahoma drivers are the polar opposite of New York drivers, because this would never happen in New York.

After checking in to our hotel in Oklahoma City, we set out to an area called Bricktown.  It’s a cool area filled with restaurants, bars, shops and a Minor League Baseball stadium.  As we walked past the stadium, we saw that there was a game going on.  We walked up to the gate, and we were invited in at no cost.  It turned out that we had inadvertently stepped into the Big 12 Championship Game between the Missouri Tigers and the Texas A&M Aggies.

It was late in the game when we arrived.  The Aggies held a one-run lead going into the eighth inning.  A throwing error by the Aggies third basemen allowed the Tigers to tie the game and eventually take a lead going into the bottom of the ninth inning.  Since we lived in Texas up until that morning, and we ended up sitting on the Aggies’ side of the field, it seemed appropriate that we would root for Texas A&M.

Trailing by one run, with two outs in the ninth inning, the pinch-hitter for the Aggies hit a high chopper over the third baseman’s head, and the score was tied.  For a game that we just ended up walking into, we were instantly invested in the outcome and thrilled to see the game go into extra innings.  The Tigers didn’t score in the top of the tenth inning, giving the Aggies a chance to seal the victory if they scored.  The crowd rose as it looked like the game was going to end with a home run, but the strong winds kept the ball in the park.

With two outs in the bottom of the tenth, Andrew Collazo (the third baseman who made a throwing error to allow the Tigers to tie the game) stepped up to the plate and ended the game in spectacular fashion by hitting his first home run of the season.  My son’s face lit up with excitement, and we were all high-fiving each other as if we were lifelong Texas A&M fans.

After the game, I bought my son the same championship baseball hat that the team was wearing after they won the game.  He smiled, gave me a hug, and said that it was his new favorite hat.  Suddenly, the kid who was very sad about leaving Texas was as happy as ever.

My little one has had her moments of sadness about leaving her friends in Texas, but those moments are fleeting.  One of the things that we promised her on the trip was the chance to go to a cupcake and candy store called Pinkitzel.  She had been asking about going there nearly every day for a few weeks.  After eating a decadent cupcake called “Birthday Surprise” with a glass of chocolate milk, my little one was very happy.  She talked about which cupcake she was going to get next time, but I didn’t have the heart to tell her that her first trip to Pinkitzel was also going to be her last.

We ended the night by taking the kids swimming in the hotel pool after a laughter-filled dinner at Denny’s.  By the time that we all went to sleep, the kids were happy and looking forward to the next day.

We spent the next day at Science Museum Oklahoma.  It was filled with fun things to do, and interesting things to see.  My daughter couldn’t get enough of what they call “the world’s biggest slide.”  It is several stories high, and twists all the way down to the ground.  My wife and I both tried it, but quickly realized that this was for kids.  We were both dizzy when we got to the bottom.

My son got called up on stage to be an assistant for a very entertaining program called “Science Live.”  It’s a young, funny chemist who does a show which demonstrates how to blow things up.  We all had a great time watching him on stage, and he got a kick out of being a part of it.

We ended the day by going back to Bricktown for dinner.  We ate at a place called Coach’s, which overlooks the stadium.  The food was great, and the view was awesome.  After dinner, we let the kids buy candy by the pound at Bricktown Candy Co.  Needless to say, this was a good way to end the day.

Our last stop in Oklahoma was the Oklahoma Aquarium (near Tulsa).  Everyone enjoyed themselves, but my little one was the most excited, and very brave.  She touched everything that they allowed her to without so much as a thought.  It was amazing to watch her stick her hand right into the water to pet the stingrays and small sharks.  Since my son got the souvenir at the baseball game, we let my daughter pick something from the aquarium gift shop.  She chose a bracelet with seashells and stars…the perfect gift since she is in a jewelry phase.

Overall, the kids are in great spirits, enjoying the adventure of the journey back to NY.  I guess we’ll see if that lasts today when we take our first extended car ride.  It’s almost time to head out to St. Louis….more updates to follow soon.

In the summer of 2009, we decided to relocate from the only place that we had ever called home (New York) to try a different way of life in Texas.  When we first arrived, everything was new and exciting.  And though we missed the family and friends that we left behind, we did our best to embrace the change.

By the time that the holidays came around, my wife and I both started to miss New York.  The honeymoon phase of living in Texas was over, and we had settled into the usual routine of life, which only intensified the homesickness.  We had our reasons for the move, but we both started to question if we had made the right decision.

The thought of moving back to New York was already on our minds when we went back to visit last summer.  After three weeks of traveling back and forth to squeeze in as much time as possible with everyone before returning to Texas, we knew that we would be moving back to New York.  The only question at that point was whether to leave in the middle of the year, or to wait and let the kids finish school to minimize the disruption in their lives.  We chose to wait for the sake of the kids, but it made leaving Texas that much more difficult.

My daughter, who started out the year screaming, crying and clinging on to me as I dropped her off at pre-school ended the year loving school and making a lot of friends.  Her first pre-school was a terrible fit for her personality, but the one where she spent most of the year was absolutely perfect for her.  Even though she was hesitant to give the new pre-school a chance at first, she quickly made great strides under the caring and compassionate teachers at the new pre-school.

At the end-of-the-year picnic, my little one ran around laughing and playing as if it were just another day at the playground.  Thankfully, she couldn’t fully grasp the concept that saying goodbye to her friends at the end of the day was actually vastly different than any other goodbye that she had ever said to them.  As she hugged her best friend, my wife and I got choked up, but she seemed none the worse for wear.  And though she has had her moments of hesitation about leaving Texas, she is easily swayed when we point out things that are waiting for her on our trip back and upon our arrival back in New York.

My son was old enough to understand what was going on when we left New York, and he was not happy with us at all for uprooting his life.  On the trip down to Texas, we made a number of fun stops along the way, and by the time we got to Texas, he was doing fine.

We stayed with family for over a month when we got to Texas, which made the transition for my son much easier.  He and his cousin are almost the same age, and have many of the same interests.  Having a friend to play with on a daily basis helped my son adapt to life in Texas very quickly.  Once he made a number of friends in school, he really never looked back to New York.  He was prepared to stay in Texas, even if it meant missing out on a lot of time with his grandparents and family back in New York.

Day to day life in Texas wasn’t all that much different than day to day life in New York.  However, my wife and I were both affected by the things that we were all missing out on:  holiday traditions, milestone birthdays, family gatherings and the culture that made us who we are today.

Kids are much more resilient and adaptable to being in new situations.  Because my son was enjoying his life in Texas, he didn’t give much thought to the things that he was missing out on.  And even though he will make new friends when we get settled in New York, the thought of leaving the life that he has built in Texas was very upsetting to him.

Leaving Texas is bittersweet for all of us for various reasons.

My wife got to spend time with her sister who moved to Texas several years ago.  She became friends with my sister-in-law’s friends and became close with the people that she worked with.

My daughter made a lot of friends and fell in love with pre-school.  Because she was so young when we left New York, she doesn’t really remember our house, and only associates New York with the family that is there and the beaches that she loves.

Personally, I enjoyed various aspects of Texas, but it would have been much easier for me to leave had things gone according to plan this football season.  I had all but guaranteed that my son would end up playing for one of the coaches that I knew from previous seasons, but when my son excelled in tryouts, he was drafted by another team.  At first, I was disappointed, but after speaking to his new coach for a few minutes, I realized that we were going to have a great time in his final season of Texas football.

I’ve been an assistant football coach for years.  I’ve enjoyed my time on almost every team that we’ve been a part of, but this year was different.  When our practices were over, we would all hang out at one of the houses near the practice field.  The boys would all play together as we discussed the team over a few beers.  Before long, I became good friends with the head coach and his group of friends.

If we had ended up on the team that I thought that we were going to end up on, it would have been much different for me.  The coach of that team is a nice guy, but I would not have formed the kind of friendship with him that I did with the head coach of this team.  Ultimately, I would have left Texas with a number of casual friends, and leaving would have been fairly easy for me.

Life often times throws you a curve ball.

Before this football season started, it would have been very easy for me to leave Texas and go back home to New York.  Even though I am looking forward to going home, it is not without any regrets.

I knew how hard this was going to be on my son, so I purposely planned things to do on our trip back to New York to replace his sadness with happy memories that will last a lifetime.

Our first stop along the way is in Oklahoma.  I’ll be writing about our Oklahoma experiences in the next day or so…stay tuned!

The chances of correctly predicting the winner of American Idol this season are truly 50/50.  Will the better performer from last night win it all, or will the other contestant’s fan base help to seal the victory?  In all honesty, the outcome doesn’t really matter.  Both young country artists will get record deals, and most likely each will record the original song that was written for them for the finale.

Perhaps last night’s finale was entertaining for country music fans.  But for the rest of the country, this finale just fell flat.  Despite the judges attempts to create excitement around the performances, there were no memorable moments from the show.  Actually, there was one, but it had nothing to do with the show.  The most exciting part of the show came when Fox broke in with a severe tornado warning in my area, forcing us to pause American Idol on the DVR and seek refuge in a closet.

Thankfully, we were able to fast-forward through most of the show, including parts of some of the performances, which surely would have had Simon rolling his eyes if he was still a judge.

Scotty McCreery won the coin toss, but elected to defer to Lauren Alaina, making the coin toss an exercise in futility.  Alaina obviously chose to go second.  This act of chivalry shows that the finale was not really a competition, but rather a country music television show which would have been more at home on CMT.

For their first song, the contestants got to choose their favorite performances of the season.

McCreery started the show off with “Gone” by Montgomery Gentry.  No offense to McCreery, who is adored by millions, but I thought that he’d be “gone” long before most of the others in the Top 13.  Those who love him probably loved the performance.  Those who don’t were probably as bored as I was.

Alaina, fighting through a damaged vocal cord which caused rumors to spread that she would be replaced by Haley Reinhart, did a decent job with Carrie Underwood’s “Flat on the Floor.”  Despite the setback, she looked very confident on stage, but it was evident that she was having difficulty hitting the big notes.

The second song was chosen by the Idols of the Idol contestants.

George Strait chose one of his own songs for McCreery to perform.  His rendition of “Check Yes or No” was a snoozefest.  Of course, I don’t know the original version, so it might have been great.  Given the choice, I will check “no” for this performance.

Carrie Underwood chose “Maybe It Was Memphis” by Pam Tillis for Alaina.  She did a decent job with it, straining to overcome her injured vocal cord at times, but overall, it was better than McCreery.

Why the judges didn’t comment until each contestant performed twice is beyond me.  I’d like to think that the producers made a wise decision in not forcing the viewing audience to listen to the same generic comments twice.

Jennifer Lopez told Scotty that she couldn’t think of a more explosive way to start the show.  Really?  Explosive?  Was she watching the same show as the rest of us?

Randy Jackson, wearing the dumbest outfit that he has ever worn on the show, proclaimed that they were both “in it to win it.”  You have to wonder at this point if he is somehow cashing in every time that he utters that idiotic catch phrase.

Steven Tyler, who has gone steadily downhill as a judge from the beginning of the season to the finale, spewed some gibberish before stating that Alaina won the first two rounds because “she’s prettier than Scotty.”  When Tyler talks about how pretty these girls are, he always sounds like a dirty old man.

For their third and final song, each contestant performed an original song that was written specifically for them.  It would be surprising if either song gets much airplay on pop radio as both songs are made for country radio.

McCreery performed a song called “I Love You This Big.”  Clearly, many voters feel this way about Scotty.  Anyone who has been reading my reviews of American Idol this season knows that I don’t feel this way.  I think that he is good for what he is, but I am still shocked that he became this unstoppable force on the show.

Alaina performed a song called “Like My Mother Does.”  It was a typical formulaic country song.  Alaina did a decent job with the song, as she always does.  Personally, I was just happy when the song ended, putting a cap on a very disappointing season of American Idol.

Actually, there was one more performance to end the evening.  For reasons that no one but the American Idol producers will understand, David Cook ended the show with a cover version of “Don’t You Forget About Me.”  The song was originally made popular in the 80’s by the band Simple Minds.  The irony of the band name and this decision by the Idol producers was not lost on me.

Even the most diehard Scotty McCreery and Lauren Alaina fans will admit that this was the most boring finale ever if they are honest with themselves.  There was not one standout performance, and no excitement.  A season that once had great potential, went out in such boring fashion, that you have to wonder if the audience will shrink next year as better shows like The Voice and X-Factor threaten the American Idol empire.

This finale could have been the best ever if the voting during the season had gone a different way.

Pia Toscano had plenty of detractors, but she would have been a much better finale contestant.  James Durbin would have walked away with this victory if he replaced either of the finale contestants because he would have made the show exciting.  Since I don’t have the luxury of choosing the winner between the two best contestants, I have no choice but to pick who the winner of Country American Idol will be.

And the next American Idol is…

Scotty McCreery.

It defies all logic that a one-trick pony who has never delivered an over-the-top singing performance will win a singing competition.  But the voters love him, and that is what matters most on American Idol.  He and Alaina will probably both go on to have careers in country music.  Alaina is the more deserving of the two, but that hasn’t mattered all season, so there is no reason for it to matter when crowing this season’s champion.

Perhaps the most telling moment of the finale was having someone other than the two finalists close the show with a song called “Don’t You Forget About Me.”  Personally, I cannot make that promise to David Cook, Scotty McCreery, Lauren Alaina or American Idol for that matter.  This show may not have run its course for many, but for me, there is no reason to return.

Season 10 of American Idol is finally coming to an end, and thanks to the surprise elimination of James Durbin last week, it is doing so with a whimper rather than with a bang.  Without Durbin’s theatrics, this may very well end up being the most boring finale in the show’s history.  If this week’s show is any indication of what’s to come in the finale, this once-promising season hit its peak much too soon.

This week, the remaining contestants were given the opportunity to perform three songs each.  The first song was the contestant’s choice, the second was Jimmy Iovine’s choice and the final song was the judges’ choice.  The order in which these songs were performed will probably be more important in determining the finalists than the quality of each performance because the last song is what will be on the voters’ minds as they start dialing.

Regardless of which contestants advance to the finale, the end of this season couldn’t come soon enough.  There is very little excitement or intrigue with the remaining contestants, and even the judges’ families must be getting tired of listening to the same recycled comments after each performance.  Is there anyone on the planet (aside from the irritating Ryan Seacrest) who can stand to hear Randy Jackson proclaim which contestants are “in it to win it?”

As usual, this week’s show had its moments, but overall, it was one of the more boring late-season performances in the show’s history.

Here is this week’s breakdown (in reverse order):

[3]          Scotty McCreery  – Consistency is never an issue for McCreery.  He is always solid, but never spectacular.  Even though the judges tried to give him songs to force him to show his range, McCreery only goes so far before reverting back to his comfort zone.

For his song choice, McCreery chose Lonestar’s “Amazed.”  This seems like an appropriate song given the fact that the voting nation seems to be amazed by McCreery.  However, it was not amazing.  It was typical of his weekly performances.  And though he has gained confidence in his stage presence since the beginning of the season, somehow the “leaning tower of Scotty” returned in full force for this song.

Jimmy Iovine chose “Are You Gonna Kiss Me or Not?” by Thompson Square.  It was about the same as all of his other performances, only this time he was leaning awkwardly with a guitar instead of doing it over the piano.

The judges chose “She Believes in Me” by Kenny Rogers.  It was an obvious attempt to get McCreery to shoot for a big note.  He did, but overall the song was too mature for him, and his performance lacked the character of the original, but it won’t matter.

McCreery is adored by the voters and the judges and should easily cruise into the finale.  Of course, that seemed to be the case with James Durbin last week, so there’s always a chance that there is another surprise this week.

[2]          Haley Reinhart – At the beginning of the season, no one could have predicted that Reinhart would have made it this far.  She is defying the odds on a weekly basis by surviving while more highly-regarded contestants go home.  Those with an open mind will realize that she has earned it, but those who focus on her early-season performances, will surely be shocked if she survives yet another week.

While her competition was choosing safe songs, Reinhart took a huge risk by tackling Led Zeppelin’s “What Is and What Should Never Be.”  But the risk paid off.  It was the best overall performance of the night, in spite of the slight interruption caused by an embarrassing trip on the steps.  To her credit, Reinhart didn’t miss a beat.  She regained her composure and continued to deliver one of the best performances of the season.  Unfortunately for Reinhart, she peaked early in the evening.

Jimmy Iovine chose “Rhiannon” by Fleetwood Mac for Reinhart.  It started off brilliantly as Reinhart captured the essence of Stevie Nicks while adding her own signature sound to the song.  As the song progressed, her singing transitioned from special to light, airy and kind of moody.  It was still one of the better songs of the night, but it wasn’t as impressive as her first song.

The judges inexplicably chose “You Oughta Know” by Alanis Morissette for Reinhart’s final performance.  She did a decent job with the choruses, but the verses were very weak.  It seemed as though she didn’t have enough breath to squeeze in the multitude of lyrics in the song.  She would have been better off if this was her first song of the night rather than her last.  If the judges really wanted to showcase her talent, they would have been better off choosing “Black Velvet” by Alannah Myles.

[1]          Lauren Alaina – Can Alaina become the next Carrie Underwood?  She certainly has the talent to do so if she is provided with the right songs and packaged the right way.  As one of the early favorites in the competition, it is not at all shocking that she has made it this far, and would not be a surprise to see her in the finale.

Unlike Reinhart, Alaina got better as the night went on.  The song that she chose for herself is one that she claims to have been singing since she was a kid, but it wasn’t evident from her performance.  Her rendition of “Wild One” by Faith Hill was decent, but nothing special.  It sounded more like Dolly Parton than Faith Hill, and it wasn’t very impressive.  Even though the judges liked watching her have fun, this performance didn’t measure up to most of her performances in recent weeks.

Jimmy Iovine chose “If I Die Young” by Perry, largely for the lyrics.  It was a good fit for Alaina’s voice, but she did get caught up in the emotion of the song for a brief moment.  Like Reinhart, she quickly regained her composure without missing a beat.  While her singing was very good on this song, she was very statue-like on stage.  This was Pia Toscano’s downfall, but Alaina’s likability will most likely inspire the voters to pick up the phone for her.

The judges’ choice for Alaina was perfect.  Her performance of Lee Ann Womack’s “I Hope You Dance” was a great way to end the show for Alaina.  Aside from Reinhart’s inspired performance of “What Is and What Should Never Be,” this song was the best of the night.

Overall, Alaina has delivered performances worthy of landing her in the finale for most of the season.  The order of the songs definitely helped her this week, as she got to save her best song for last.

WHO GOES HOME?

Haley Reinhart delivered arguably the best and worst performances of the evening.  Unfortunately for Reinhart, her best performance was very early in the show, and her worst came at the very end.  This season has been nothing if not unpredictable, so there is always a chance that she upsets one of the remaining favorites and squeaks into the finale, but it doesn’t seem likely.

Country music is alive and well in America, and it seems that this year’s finale is destined to be a battle of the young country music performers.

It hardly matters which two contestants make it to the finale.  Without James Durbin’s electrifying performances, this finale is destined to fail to live up to expectations.

The final four contestants each performed two songs this week.  The first theme: “Songs That Inspire” smartly offered a wide array of choices.  The theme for the second song, however, did not.  No disrespect to Lieber & Stoller intended, but having the final four contestants choose from their catalog was an uninspired decision by the American Idol producers.

Was there truly any purpose to offer such a narrow song selection when the supposed best singers are still left standing? When you take into account that this season’s votes have shown that the American Idol audience is dominated by young girls, and most of them won’t know any songs by Lieber & Stoller (who both turned 78 years old recently), the choice was even more puzzling.

The producers of American Idol seem too smug to make smart decisions about the direction of the show, which may ultimately lead to them losing their stranglehold on ratings dominance.  But then again, these are the same people who think that Ryan Seacrest is worth $15 million per year, so no one will ever accuse them of having impeccable judgment.

This week’s show had its memorable moments, but there were also some very questionable ones as well.

Here is this week’s breakdown (in reverse order):

[4]          Scotty McCreery  – In light of the killing of Osama Bin Laden, McCreery’s choice for the “Songs That Inspire” was very timely and appropriate.  McCreery’s performance of “Where Were You When the World Stopped Turning” by Alan Jackson was typical of his usual offerings, but because the lyrics are so poignant and timely, it ended up being one of his best moments on the show.

Unfortunately, his second song, while applauded by the judges and his fans, was not very good.  His goofy version of “Youngblood” by The Coasters showed his lighthearted side, and left the judges impressed with his ability to deliver a humorous performance, but if not for the fact that he is one of the favorites, it most likely would have been more heavily critiqued.

Based on his body of work and his performances this week, McCreery should be concerned about being sent packing, but it seems that he is destined to appear in the finale.  He is a good performer, but he has yet to deliver a vocal performance that blows you away.  To quote Steven Tyler’s lyrics, McCreery’s weekly performances are “the same old story, the same old song and dance,” but it doesn’t seem to matter to the voters or the judges.

[3]          Lauren Alaina – She seemed inspired while performing “Anyway” by Martina McBride, but Alaina took a big step backwards with her second song (“Trouble” by Elvis Presley).  During both songs there are moments where you can see the amazing potential that Alaina has to be at least as popular as Carrie Underwood.  But there are also moments where you can see why she was in the bottom two last week.

“Anyway” was a good song choice for Alaina, and she made the most of it by showing off her sweet tone and her pure power.  If this were the only song that she performed tonight, she would undoubtedly make it into the Top Three next week.  However, her performance of “Trouble” may be the very reason that she is in “trouble” this week.

After appearing in the bottom two last week, Alaina cannot feel safe when this week’s voting results are announced.  Her concern is certainly warranted.

[2]          Haley Reinhart – Last week, Reinhart received some harsh criticism for choosing a Lady Gaga song that wasn’t known by the masses.  Even though the judges didn’t like the song, the truth of the matter is that she did a good job with it.  However, her decision to choose “The Earth Song” by Michael Jackson as an inspirational song was ill-conceived.  Out of all of the songs that she could have chosen in the category, this was not the one that will inspire voters to pick up the phone to support her.

However, Reinhart stepped up once again when it was time to perform her second song of the night.  Her rendition of “I Who Have Nothing” by Tom Jones (or Jordin Sparks) was very good, perhaps the best of the evening overall.  But it did not compare to the incredible version that Sparks delivered when she performed it on Idol.  It may very well have been the song that helped launch Sparks to victory.

Reinhart certainly earned her place in the Top Three with her performances this week, but she still may be the one on the outside looking in based on her popularity.

[1]          James Durbin – The one thing that Durbin has going for him is that he consistently picks songs that will resonate with the audience.  Tonight’s first song was definitely one that inspires but it has lost some of its magic quality due to its overuse.  “Don’t Stop Believin’” by Journey is a song that defines a generation, but it has become too closely associated with the TV show “Glee.”

Durbin is a very good singer, but he is not Steve Perry good.  He did some nice things with “Don’t Stop Believin’,” but it sounded more like something out of the Broadway show “Rock of Ages” than a Journey performance, but it doesn’t matter.  Durbin’s stage presence is so good, that the crowd can’t help but love him.

His second song choice seemed truly bizarre, but he actually pulled it off nicely.  It’s safe to say that this is probably the first time that “Love Potion Number 9” by The Searchers was performed like an 80’s metal song.  And though it seemed a bit odd, in the end, it turned out to be one of the better moments on the show tonight.

Unless there is a very shocking vote, it looks like Durbin should cruise into the finale.

WHO GOES HOME?

If it were up to me, this would be the time for Scotty McCreery to leave.  He will most likely be a successful country singer, but if people really take the time to evaluate him in this competition, it is painfully obvious that he has yet to blow anyone away with his vocals.  In the real world, he may have the most success out of any of the contestants, but that doesn’t mean that he should beat them in a singing competition.

Scotty McCreery’s career will be defined by what he does once American Idol is over.  He doesn’t deserve to beat out any of the others purely based on his vocals, but his popularity may push him over the edge.

At first blush, it would seem that Lauren Alaina is more popular than Haley Reinhart, but she did end up in the bottom two last week.  Even though Alaina may have been the best singer with her first song, her second song was average at best.

On the other hand, Haley Reinhart saved her best for last, and that may help sway votes in her favor.

It would only be truly shocking if James Durbin was eliminated this week, but it’s doubtful that he’s at any risk of that happening.

Even though it would not be my pick, I predict that Lauren Alaina will go home this week because her strongest performance was at the beginning of the show, and Haley Reinhart’s was at the end.

With only five contestants remaining, each one was given the opportunity to perform two songs.  The theme for this week was “Now and Then” (a current song and a song from the 60’s).  With such a young cast, you would think that the current songs would be much better than the songs from the past, but that was not the case this week for any of the contestants.

Before the show started, Ryan Seacrest turned to Randy Jackson for their usual useless banter.  Seacrest asked Jackson what the contestants needed to do now that they’re in the top five, and Jackson gave his stock answer about wanting to see “who’s in it to win it” (as if some of them were there trying to lose at this point).

As the weeks go by, this judging panel which seemed to breathe new life into the show early on is becoming a drag.  Their comments, for the most part, do nothing to add to the show.  This is a stark contrast to The Voice, where all of the judges are entertaining and more informative.

Thankfully, this season is coming to an end in the next couple of weeks.  At which point, I guess we will all get to see who was “in it to win it.”

Here is this week’s breakdown (in reverse order):

[5]          Jacob Lusk – In a baffling move, Lusk chose to sing both parts of a duet for his current song (“No Air” by Jordin Sparks and Chris Brown).  Clearly, he has no problem tapping into his feminine side, but trying to sing the male and the female parts was awkward and he didn’t do a very good job with either part.  As usual, Lusk was overly dramatic with this performance, which was one of his worst of the season.  The only good part of the song was the back-up singers.

Lusk reluctantly took Jimmy Iovine’s advice and took a chance by doing a song that most wouldn’t expect from him (“Love Hurts” by Nazareth).  He did a much better job with this song than his first song of the night.  He was on key, less dramatic and stayed true to the song while making it his own.

[4]          Scotty McCreery –  To his credit, McCreery stepped out of his comfort zone and moved beyond his usual safe, deep voice country sound.  His performance of “Gone” by Montgomery Gentry was lively and energetic, and he has clearly gotten much more comfortable being on stage.

McCreery stepped back into his comfort zone with his second song as he performed “Always on My Mind” by Elvis Presley.  While it was a safe choice, he did a nice job with the song and did as much as he could to make it his own.

Overall, McCreery did a good job (as he usually does), but still has yet to deliver a performance that will be remembered by the time he takes the stage again the following week.

[3]          James Durbin – For many weeks, Durbin has simply dominated this competition.  Because of that, he seems to have built up such goodwill that he is almost immune from being critiqued by the judges.  Based on his body of work, Durbin is still the one to beat, but this was far from his best week.  His first song “Closer to the Edge” by 30 Seconds to Mars was decent, but certainly nothing close to what we’ve come to expect from him.  As usual, his stage presence was spot-on, and you got the feeling that you were watching a James Durbin concert.  However, this song was not a great choice for him (despite what the judges and Iovine said about this being his niche).

 His second song of the night was much better, even though it wasn’t on par with his usual vocal performance.  Singing “Without You” by Harry Nilsson was a good choice, but because of the lyrics and the vibe of the song, it was very emotional.  Durbin deserves a lot of credit for getting through the song (albeit with tears filling in his eyes).  Even though it wasn’t his best performance vocally, it will be one that will be remembered for a long time because of the emotional value.

[2]          Lauren Alaina – Before the top 24 were ever chosen, Alaina seemed to be one of the favorites to win it all.  She lost her way for a while, but she has come back so strongly that you have to think that she might be the only one who can defeat Durbin in the finale.  Her first song, “Flat on the Floor” by Carrie Underwood proved that she has the makings of a star.  She is much better than Underwood was at this point in her career.  And at only 16 years of age, the sky seems to be the limit for Alaina.  She has clearly found her niche, and if she has the right songwriters, she should be selling millions of albums whether she wins this competition or not.

For her second song, Alaina chose to perform her parents’ song “Unchained Melody” by The Righteous Brothers.  Because this song has been done so many times on Idol already, it is challenging to make it resonate with the audience.  Fortunately for Alaina, she was up to the challenge.  Her version of the song was sweet and powerful and she showed off the beautiful tone to her voice.  If she keeps delivering performances like this, she has a good chance of winning it all.

[1]          Haley Reinhart – When the competition first began, I have to admit that I didn’t see much in Reinhart, but the judges did.  Now that she has come into her own, it seems that the judges have started to abandon her at times with unfair criticism.  Her first song of the night was suggested by Jimmy Iovine.  It is a Lady Gaga song called “You and I” that is unreleased, and has only been performed live to date.  Reinhart has not only grown as a singer throughout the competition, her stage presence and choice of wardrobe has also improved greatly.  She now looks the part, and her confidence seems to be growing by the week.

Despite what the judges said, this was a good song choice for her.  Panning her for choosing a song that is not well known by the public was laughable.  How many times has almost every contestant been guilty of that through the years?  The fact of the matter is that choosing a song that everyone knows is helpful, but only if it is performed well.  A good, unknown song that is performed well can be just as impressive, and sometimes more so.  This was the case this week.  Even though I never heard the song before, I thought that Reinhart did a great job with it, as it was a natural fit for her voice.  Randy Jackson saying that he didn’t love the song is irrelevant because she didn’t write it.  Even though it wasn’t a favorite of the judges, the song showcased Reinhart’s raspy, edgy voice.

Her second song of the night was also chosen by Iovine.  I have to admit that I didn’t know what to expect when Reinhart started performing “House of the Rising Sun” by The Animals.  She started off singing it acapella, and then transitioned into singing it with the accompaniment of the band and back-up singers.  The suggestion to start of acapella by Sheryl Crow was an inspired one because it really made Reinhart stand out from the crowd.  When she finished her very unique and cool version of the song, she deservedly received a standing ovation, and was told by the judges that it was the best performance of the night.  This time, the judges got it right.

Reinhart is still a long shot to make it into the finale, or even the top 3 for that matter, but she has certainly earned her right to compete next week with the fan favorites.

WHO GOES HOME?

Unless the voting audience totally ignores how good Haley Reinhart was this week, it would be a shock to see anyone aside from Jacob Lusk going home this week.  He has been a mainstay in the bottom three, has received the harshest criticism by the judges and quite frankly, he is just not as good as the others.