Dodger Stadium

The Dodgers hit four home runs in a row to tie it up in the bottom of the ninth and then a two-run homer in the bottom of the tenth to win the game against the Padres on September 18, 2006.

The view from my apartment

Pretty nice view on a clear night.

Closed ports vs. Stealthed ports

It's the age old debate, closed ports verses stealthed ports.

First, what is a port? A port is the door to your computer, there's different ports for different things.

The three-way handshake takes place, and the information is then delivered to your computer to a certain port, and the information is then received. But we can save that for another topic.

Now, the age old question is would you like your ports to show up as being closed, or as being stealthed?

My own opinion is that I prefer stealthed over closed. If someone probes your computer would you rather them see ALL of your ports as being "CLOSED"?

Or would you rather them probe and see nothing? I prefer stealthed just because if someone probes me I'd rather them see nothing, it makes it as if I don't exist, it's like someone knocking on the door and me not answering or even acknowledging.

But then again if they see "CLOSED" they know you exist but they know your ports are closed and there really isn't much they can do. The fact they now know you exist though means they can not only probe you, but they can do more malicious damage by knowing your internet protocol exists like knocking you offline with a denial of service or anything else.

Although really the only difference between stealthed or closed is that when 'so and so' application taps your firewall and hits a closed port it will stop. If it sees it's 'stealthed' it'll continue to try and try and try to connect to a port that isn't there, which is wasting bandwidth(although small) and taking up connections overhead.In summary, users should be much less worried about how they "look" to the evil outside, because it is irrelevant. T

he real differences occur in problems to their own internet activities directly caused by a misguided belief in "stealth at all costs". This is just a summary and the article could be very much larger but this is just a small summary of closed and stealthed ports.

You can never predict the future

Who can say that you can predict the future and get it exactly the way you want? Who are you to say that because this happened that will definitely happen so if that does happen this will also happen? It isn't practicle to say to yourself and/or others that oh this will definitely happen because I just know it. Well how do you know it? Some may say "well I just do." Well how can you just happen to know something that has not happened yet? The answer is simple, you can't. Only Christ can tell what will happen tomorrow or tell of your death and even elaborate on how or why. Not you. Don't you think it might be an insult to predict something without knowledge? How do you think Christ feels when his creation are saying things are going to happen without knowing? We cannot stand by ourselves, and we cannot plan the future.

South High boys basketball SWYL champs

South's boys basketball team won the league championship with a win over North last night, and as usual, the Californian decided not to write a story on it. It was a great game last night. South was down 60-54 with 2 minutes left, and came back and won. North's gym was packed, with standing room only, and the game was non-stop drama the whole way. As an alumni, moments like these are what makes me a proud rebel for life.

The do's and dont's of data recovery

We all use computers for many activities.

Some use it for entertainment purposes or keeping in touch with friends or family, while others may use it as their primary business tool to store their critical information.

Whatever the reason may be, your data is very important to you and losing it, especially in a business environment, can really be frustrating. PCs can become infected with Viruses or Spyware that can possibly wipe out many files on your hard drive, or perhaps you may have accidentally deleted files you thought you would never have any intended use for again.

When in the future you find out you really did need those files, this is when using computers for storing data can put a hamper on you and your work. Which is why backing up your data could never be less important.

But there are ways to back up your data safely, and there are ways to back up your data which are not safe.

The easiest ways of safely backing up your data easily is to buy a CD with a large quantity of free disk space available or possibly think of investing in an external hard drive that is compatible with your USB which will be large enough to hold your data.

Even using web sites with uploading services are a great free alternative. Depending on a user's storing habits, every two to four weeks would be a great time to backup data on your PC.

Every user that is using their PC on a regular basis and has a lot of important or confidential data, needs to be backed up routinely.Bad habits users pickup is when their data actually is gone. They then make an attempt to recover it.

This is obviously a no-brainer since you would like to recover as much of the lost data as possible, but to avoid this you can back it up before hand. Running off and trying different methods and paying hundreds if not thousands to try and get as much data recovered as possible is not a smart user.

If you were to back up your data in the first place you would not be worried about this problem. So basically there really is no "bad" way of backing up data. Anyway an individual makes an attempt to back up any sort of information is a good thing.

Unless obviously they just store it on another computer as that can obviously crash or lose data just as easily. And yes, even Macs. So remember, we have CD's/DVD's, HDD's (hard drives), thumb/usb drives, large email accounts, free online file manager accounts, and perhaps the built in windows option to backup data.

However, those are all great ways to backup data, I would rather recommend hardware rather than online accounts. Because anything can happen to an account somewhere online, a glitch, a flaw of some sort. At least if your information is stored on hard copy there isn't much that can happen to it other than perhaps an unfortunate event or natural disaster that would destroy it. I hope some of you have learned something new from the article, I plan to write more about security related topics in the future.

Bakersfield High Energy Farms

We are involved in Energy REsearch, to engage the talents of local students, who can learn about energy savings...we ask: Why are we paying for electricity when we are surrounded by wind farms?? Why does not our school district offer energy education to our students? They are spending tens of thousands each month on electricity, rather than learn and teach students how to produce their own power...our schools, hospitals, and churches pay huge sums of money, that could be used for education, while ignoring the realities and benefits of alternatives in energy production....

Maybe the ability of schools/educators to learn and teach about energy production shows how well they are preparing our students for a future that promises new directions in every field on human endeavor. Let us know what you think about this subject. We hope you enjoy our growing collection of energy-related videos....

Team Abernathy Signs Rookie Up

Newsflash from the world of sports

It was revealed today that Team BCSD, better known as the bellicose five, has a new rookie player, Don Vereen. He was moved up from the minor league (past president of the Westchester Kiwanis) by Scout Abernathy and was brought along during spring training by teammate Jerry Tate (also a past president of WK). Coach DeWalt says he has the right stuff (he's a Republican).

Abernathy feels that after a few years of pinch-hitting on the board, Vereen will be ready for the "Big Show." He will earn a spot on the Ward One City Council Team and Scout Abernathy will fill his vacant spot with another hand-picked rookie.

And the Game continues.

And The Winner Is....Oh, Wait, Nobody Won!

The Bakersfield City School District Trustees gave an outstanding performance tonight worthy of an academy award.

An air of anxious anticipation hung in the air of the boardroom as each trustee acted as if they were actually listening to the speeches being given by five of the six candidates.

When the results of the first vote were announced, the crowd gasped in amazement - no candidate had received a majority! DeWalt for Vereen (because he's a Republican and she called him "Don"); Tate for Vereen (Never, ever vote against a fellow Kiwani); Van Horne for Bryan (Look good vote); and Tafoya for Haynes (who knows why?).

On the second vote, it was all Vereen. The act was over and Superintendent Lingo helped Mr. Vereen read the oath of office.

Mr. Vereen stated that he is a minister. That's appropriate because God is going to have to help the children of the BCSD because this board isn't going to.

I Only Know What I Read In The Newspaper

During the final months of 2006 there was a flurry of activity at the local level. There were articles in the paper, editorials, letters to the editor, blogs, forums, and more - almost all of them were about local politics. Many people were actually thinking, weighing the qualifications of one candidate over another, judging their stands on various issues, taking sides and, in some cases, arguing vigorously for the candidate who fell within the parameters of what they wanted in a public official.

Unfortunately, after reading the paper on November 3rd, these same individuals fell into a local government coma. They seemingly were content to let the people elected now do all the thinking and acting as if to say, "Elections over! Now life can get back to normal."

But events and circumstances have been reported. A councilman who ran on his accounting experience is not filing complete conflict of interest forms, experienced planning committee members are replaced with "new blood," education board members who promised to help raise student scores argue over what to call school holidays, the county retirement liability will eventually bankrupt the County budget, and the list goes on. But no one wants to think about it much less do anything about it.

"We the People" in the Preamble was not meant to only apply during elections. We the people must be involved in out leaders and their actions all the time - democracy is a full-time job!

Make a resolution to attend at least one meeting of a government board every month or at least get an agenda and find out what is going on. Become familiar with the Brown Act and the Freedom of Information Act. Know your rights and exercise them. If you think some action by a board is wrong, write to the newspaper. If an elected official is not carrying out campaign promises or is doing something unethical or worse, illegal, use the power of the people - organize or support a recall election - you don't have to be stuck with a bad leader.

I'm sorry, but I must confess: Even as honest as I think I am, my conscience is stronger when I know that someone is watching me. Government shouldn't be watching its citizens; its citizens should be watching it!

I Will Walk By Faith

You know as humans I think we can get greedy. We want things, I mean as we live here we are called to be servants of Jesus Christ but we also want. And because we have so much faith in our Lord and savior we pray to Him and ask Him of these things. And sometimes what we have to come to understand is that we pray for what we thought would come true didn't come true in our hearts of what we thought what we wanted, God knew best. And when we didn't see what we wanted to see, we should walk by faith. And even when we understand things or don't understand things we should still walk by faith because faith is not when you see you're like "Oh okay well I'll walk by faith now because I see". That's not faith. Faith is when you can't see, and something that you've been praying for, and that you've been wanting and you have been praying for that and it didn't come true in your own heart. And when you don't see what you wanted to see, you need to walk by faith. That's faith! When you walk and you don't see.

Those are the words of Jeremy Camp before singing the song he wrote on his honeymoon called "I Will Walk By Faith". He was praying for His wife to be healed. And she ultimately was, she's with Jesus. But she passed away evidently. So what he may have wanted in His own heart didn't come true, but that's because God knows best. God knows exactly what we need and when we need it and why we need it. He is truly our map in this world. And when you are praying for something like that, and you cannot see, you continue to walk by faith, not by sight. Because if we were to walk by sight we'd be doing things that cause us to become spiritually dead. But if we walk by faith, faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and His plan for your life, we will only grow that much stronger. But like I said, everybody wants something. Weither it be that new job, or perhaps that guy or girl. And you were just praying for something that you really wanted, and it didn't come true in your own heart. But you still continue to walk by faith and you don't let anything interrupt your walk and your focus on the Lord.

Because only God knows what is best for you, and if something doesn't work out, it was for a reason. But realize this, what God wants for you is only the absolute best. So if something doesn't go according to how your heart had planned, then don't fret about it. Because what will be put in place of that will be so gloriously better than what you wanted, that you won't even remember it anymore. Nobody can script your life any better than our Lord Jesus Christ. I've experienced this the past couple of months. I won't say exactly what it is my heart wanted and what I was praying for and what I thought I wanted(though those who know me probably know what it is anyway), but in the end The Lord made it exactly clear to me why. And I couldn't believe it, how he just spoke to me and it just hit me so hard that this is something I've wanted for so long, and now that it didn't work out, look at what happened? Look at what this really is and why it wouldn't have worked out. It was incredible to say the least. And now I understand why it is so important to walk by faith and through walking by faith it makes it so much easier to put things and experiences past you. Because you know what the Lord has planned out for you is going to be so incredibly great that nothing else would come close. Who better to decide your life than the one who granted it to you? And after that experience of what I had my heart set on for the past few month didn't work in the way I had expected, I just had to ask the Lord to help take it off my mind now that it is over so I may regain my focus towards Him. And that He did.

I wanted to make this a two part blog, but I don't think there is anymore that needs to be said honestly. Just something I've learned and heard about and a very important experience I wanted to share. I fully understand now why it is so very important to walk by your faith and not by what you see. And by doing that not only does your relationship come closer to the Lord,but it teaches you to not become so disouraged when something doesn't go according to the way you planned. So, the most important lesson here to will learn and have to understand is that you have to walk by faith, even when you cannot see. Because if you can suddenly see and say "Well okay now I'll walk by faith because I can see", then thats not truly faith. You're just now believeing and walking by faith just because someting happened the way you wanted it to and because now you believe you can see. And sometimes to fully understand the importance of walking by faith one may have to actually experience something like myself. how I wanted something so badly and prayed about it and even said to the Lord "I want what you want, but this is what I desire. Show me what you desire." and when I wanted His will, he showed me what he wanted. And even why he wanted something not to turn out the way I wanted it to. I hope and pray that my experiences can be your prosper. :)

2 Corinthians 5:7

"For we walk by faith, not by sight." - King James Version, New American Standard Bible, English Standard Version, American Standard Version
"We live by faith, not by sight." - New International Version
"For we live by believing and not by seeing." - New Living Translation
"But we live by faith, not by what we see." - Contemporary English Version
"Our life is lived by faith. We do not live by what we see in front of us." - New Life Version
"For through faith we walk, not through sight." - Young's Literal Translation

Welcome to the Sandwich Generation

At this time in your life, you are probably focusing on your career and looking forward to retirement. But, certain challenges may be looming that could hinder you from achieving your goals. Sometime between the ages of 40 and 60, you could find yourself in a position where you must help put your kids through college while at the same time caring for your aging parents. A growing number of Boomers are finding themselves stuck between tending to the needs of their parents while still supporting their own children. While attempting to juggle more responsibilities, you could feel like you are being squeezed between two generations of loved ones. Sound familiar? Welcome to “The Sandwich Generation.”

Today, you face challenges more complicated than those your parents faced. You worry about paying for college, funding your own retirement, and about planning eldercare for your parents. Some members of the sandwich generation could be caring for three or even four generations: their parents, kids, and possibly their grandparents or grandchildren. It’s possible that your children could be starting college around the same time your parents begin depending on you for support. You could also experience "boomerang children" who return home after graduation, a divorce or a job loss. And, like others, you face debt, financial insecurity and the demise of Social Security.

Nowadays, due to an increase in life expectancy, your parents likely could live well into their 90’s, making it necessary for you to plan well into the future. However, living longer means paying the increased costs associated with their extended care. These costs can quickly add up, eating away your parents’ and your own savings to pay for their care. Because of this, you and your family could suffer overwhelming financial and emotional stress.

According to the 2005 MetLife Market Survey of Nursing Home & Home Care Costs, the estimated average cost for a nursing home stay was around $64,000 a year ($176 per day) in a semi-private room; or just over $74,000 a year ($203 per day) for a private room. The average stay in a nursing home is about 2.5 years. But what if your parent is at home? The cost for an in-home health-care aid can run you more than $38,000 a year (@ $19 per hour). Keep in mind that these costs could be higher in larger metropolitan areas.

Don’t forget about the ever-increasing costs of college education. The 2005-06 cost of a four-year private college averaged $21,235 per year (up 5.9% from last year), according to the College Board. A four-year public university averages $5,491 a year (up 7.1% from last year).

What about lost wages? Caregivers could lose income because of time off from work due to doctor visits, picking up prescriptions, preparing meals, not to mention other daily demands. This could require several hours each week which is why many caregivers, mostly women, only work part time, giving up valuable benefits or are sometimes forced to leave their jobs altogether. During your lifetime, some experts estimate up to $659,000 could be lost as a result of reduced pay, missed 401(k) contributions and forfeited health benefits.

Here are some survival tips to help you avoid becoming lunch:

1. Save for your own retirement.

Even though you may find yourself struggling to pay your mortgage, helping support your children and covering the added expenses of caring for your parents, you should continue saving for retirement. Put as much as you can away for yourself, either through a 401k, IRA, ROTH or SEP. Any of these can grow tax deferred until retirement. If your employer offers a 401(k), max it out in order to take full advantage of the company's match, if not, you could be throwing away free money.

2. Don't dip into your retirement savings.

Your pension plan may be your only income source during retirement, so avoid tapping into your nest egg to pay for your child’s college. It’s better to use student loans that can be repaid once they begin earning a salary. If you can't afford the college they want to attend, be realistic with your children. They may need to consider the possibility of having to settle for a less expensive college, or that they might need to get a part-time job to help pay the costs. Only use your own assets to pay your parents’ bills as a last resort.

3. Start a college savings plan.
Start saving for college early by establishing a 529 plan or Educational IRA account. Be sure to set up monthly drafts to have the money taken out of your bank account automatically. This way, you avoid having to write a check each month, otherwise you might find an excuse not to. $100 a month earning 8% per year over 15 years could grow to $35,000. Even if it’s only $25 or $50 bucks a month, you could save enough to pay atleast some of your child’s tuition. Grandparents or other family members are also allowed to contribute to these plans for your kids. And, if necessary, your kids can still apply for student loans or financial aid.

4. Ensure your parents have adequate insurance, especially long term care.

Between ages 50 and 65, you should be thinking about buying long-term care insurance. The cost typically ranges between $100 a month for a basic stripped-down policy to over $300 a month for a policy with all the bells and whistles. The earlier you buy it, the less it will cost, so don't wait until you or your parents are in your 70’s or 80’s and/or get ill. It may not be cheap, but compared to the potential expense and burden on your family, or the loss of dignity and independence, it‘s well worth it. Your parents’ life insurance policies or annuities may have riders built into them that could provide long term care benefits already. Check with your insurance agent to see if your policy contains these provisions.

5. Gather important documents and keep them safe.
Gather all of your parents’ important documents such as wills, trusts, durable powers of attorney and advanced healthcare directives, plus get the contact information of their advisors. A durable power of attorney can be found at any government office and gives a person legal authorization to pay bills and manage finances (financial) or to make medical treatment decisions (healthcare) once a person becomes disabled and can’t handle it themselves. It must be signed before they become disabled, and be sure to name someone you can trust. Hospitals may require an advanced healthcare directive which explains your wishes regarding life-support. Also, make sure your parents have a will or living trust, which should be updated every few years. Keep these items in a safe place where you can easily find them.

6. Take inventory of your parents' assets and consolidate accounts.
Your parents might have stocks or bonds stored in a drawer or may even have cash stuffed in a coffee can in the garage. Seek help from a financial planner who can review your parents’ assets and recommend the best way to utilize them to meet their financial obligations. Consolidate assets such as multiple bank accounts, investments, annuities, retirement accounts, pension plans and credit cards into one place such as a bank or brokerage for easy access. Atleast one child should know about their financial accounts, where to find the documents and what their wishes are.

7. When in doubt, seek help.

Your community’s local support services can be a good source for eldercare assistance. They can usually be found in the yellow pages under “Senior Citizens Services & Organizations.” Contact religious and civic organizations and talk to people you know who are also members of the Sandwich Generation. You may also wish to seek advice from an elder law attorney who can inform you of the laws affecting Medicaid and Medicare and the qualifications for each. Some internet resources can be found at the end of this article.

8. Plan for emergencies and control debt.
Review your finances regularly to plan for emergencies, like unforeseen expenses from illnesses or job loss. Reduce debts like car loans, credit cards, personal loans, student loans and department store charge cards. Set a budget and stick to it to keep your debt under control. If you have boomerang kids that have returned home, ask them to help pay for groceries or utilities.

9. Communication.

When planning a parent's care, it could be necessary to prepare for their eventual demise. Ask your parents about their plans for the future. Do they have specific wishes for their care, housing or final arrangements? Encourage communication with the entire family to discover ways to share the burdens. Not all family members will agree on how to take care of a parent, who will be the primary caregiver, and how to pay for it. Even families that are relatively close could be divided by these issues. Avoid disputes with your siblings by taking their wishes into consideration.

10. Take care of #1 (you).

Elder care can take a toll on you, physically and emotionally. Don’t forget to nurture yourself. Get plenty of rest, relax every evening, stay in touch with your friends and keep your hobbies. Take time for yourself in order to renew your spirit and energy. Plan outings with the family, a quiet evening at home or a date with your partner.

In conclusion, in order to survive the “Sandwich Generation”, proper planning should be done to help reduce some of the stress and costs associated with providing care for aging parents and supporting your children. A solid financial plan and good communication are essential for managing a successful multi-generational family and keeping a happy and healthy home.

Internet Resources:

American Assoc. of Retired Persons (www.aarp.org)

American Health Care Assoc. (www.ahca.org)

HUD: Senior Housing Options (www.hud.gov/groups/seniors.cfm)

Medicare: Official Gov‘t Site (www.medicare.gov)

National Council on Aging (www.ncoa.org)

USA.gov: Senior Citizens’ Resources (www.seniors.gov)

U.S. Administration On Aging (www.aoa.gov)

About the author: Roman Lara III is a Branch Manager with Brookstreet Securities Corporation, Member NASD and SIPC in Bakersfield, Ca. He has more than 10 years of experience in retirement and estate planning. Roman is a Certified Estate Advisor (CEA) and a member of the National Association of Financial and Estate Planning (NAFEP). Email: rlara@brookstreet.com

Good vs. Bad - Security Software

We use computers for our personal needs, sometimes for entertainment and others may use it for business reasons. But there comes a point and time where you will have to have security and privacy. If you are connected to the internet, and you do not have a firewall enabled, you can become infected with the Blaster worm within 60 seconds. That's how dangerously worms are floating around the internet. And for this reason you need to have security software. I recommend the following: A firewall, anti-virus, anti-spyware, and a safe web browser. For a firewall I highly recommend "Zone Alarm" this free firewall is by far the absolute best you will find, others may argue comodo, kerio, or agnitum are better. In my opinion Zone Alarm is better in many ways, it's automatically configured to stealthly hide your ports from the internet, and is better configured. If you're not so serious then the built in firewall "Windows Firewall" is a good alternative.

As far as Anti-Virus is concerned, I recommend "AVG" from Grisoft. It is a free non intrusive anti-virus that is just as good as norton or anything else you will purchase but will not "bog" down your system. With anti-spyware there are a number of great choices. ..1 I would recommend "Windows Defender" above all, but the others are "Ad-Aware" and "SpyBot". If you're willing to spend money then "Spy Sweeper" from Webroot is extremely well built and is the absolute best of the best as far as it catching a very high percentage of spyware. Besides using a firewall, anti-virus and anti-spyware, you will need to have a safe web browser.

I highly suggest you to use Mozilla FireFox. It's popularity is skyrocketting and is the safest web browser(and easiest) to use. Web browsers I do not recommend are Internet Explorer, AOL's browser, or anything else that allows ActiveX scripting. If you use a web browser that allows ActiveX then somebody can put a malicious script on a website, have you visit that site(perhaps accidentally by even a popup or social engineering), and it will download the scripting onto your computer "without" your knowledge. From there, they can track what websites you go on, display popup ads, or even capture your passwords. This is what is called "Spyware". And it is how most users get infected besides downloading malicious content.

ALL of your security software should be configured to automatically search and download for updates, and many already are. Ad-Aware and Spybot S&D will search for updates automatically. Ad-Aware will search within a longer period, I would recommend setting it to 7 days to wait until searching for updates. Ad-Aware does not run in the background, which means you will need to launch it in order for it to apply the needed definitions.

ALL of your security software(besides your firewall) needs to be set to scan automatically. The reason for this is mainly for convenience, if you run your computer all day and go off and on at your pleasure, then setting the software to automatically scan at a given time of the day is essential. It will scan, and quarantine anything malicious it picks up and be finished by the time you return to your PC. Make sure to schedule it for a time when you might think the computer may not be in use(eg. early in the morning or during the afternoon).What does it mean to "quarantine" something?

Ad-Aware, SpyBot S&D, SpySweeper, AVG and all security software(besides firewalls obviously) have what is called a "quarantine archive". When a file or object is placed into the "quarantine archive" it can no longer be used and it cannot function AT ALL. In this case, a malicious file of some sort. Say a scanner tracks the origin of spyware to a file, it will take it and quarantine it, and it then will no longer be able to operate anymore. If it gets removed from quarantine, then there is a chance of it still spying on your activity.

Norton Anti-Virus: BAD! Avoid at all possible costs. Sure, Norton Anti-Virus is very good at catching viruses, and spyware, and stopping popup ads, and blocking ad-ware, but come to think of how that is bogging down your system. Norton anti-virus will run your system down and eat up your processes. Many who advertise an anti-virus, anti-spyware/adware, popup blocker, and built in firewall should all be avoided.

Why? ..1 There is no need to block popup ads because our safe browser that we have been discussing, Mozilla Firefox, does not allow popup ads. AT ALL. Most popup ads are from a website to website basis. Many users get popups unexpectedly, that is what is called adware. Companies are trying to advertise to you their products, after tracking what you surf for. Then they can even spam your email according to what you may have searched for, shopped for, or bought online. AVG is just as good as norton but no as intrusive, constantly bothering you like norton does and running your system down to less than that of a snail. Ad-Aware, Spybot, as well as Windows Defender will be adequate enough to stop about 99% of all spyware you will come across. SpySweeper still sits high above the rest when it comes to catching most of what you will be infected with. Ofcourse, the best defense to stopping spyware and viruses is to not get infected to begin with.

Next article we will cover actual "Privacy" software and discuss what type of habits we should change inorder to stop getting infected with malware. We are also going to bring up the two topics which include: Protecting your privacy and being able to safely and permanently deleting files...military grade style.

Looking for a 'Miracle'

Baseball, football, basketball, soccer. These are some of the things that boys love to play, especially with their dads.

These special times shared between father and son should be cherished, since youth passes by all too fast. Son's will eventually grow up to be fathers themselves someday and along the way, memories are made that will last a lifetime.

When fathers and sons play together, we teach them to play sports and have fun and we bond as men. Most of us take this experience for granted.

But what if your child could not run, or play with other kids or stand up for that matter?

That is the case for one of my two sons. You see, my youngest son Raymond is 8 years old and he has Cerebral Palsy. He is quadriplegic and is confined to a wheelchair.

He may never walk, he may never speak, but he sure knows how to smile. And that tells me that he knows how to have fun.

Wouldn't it be great if Raymond could play baseball or football or basketball or soccer? Wouldn't it be great if he had his own adaptive playground, designed specifically for kids like him that would allow them and their families to play sports and run and have fun together in a safe, clean, comfortable environment?

That, my friends, would be our miracle.

What I have just described to you actually exists — though not in our community — as what is called a 'Field of Miracles'. These sportsparks have been specially engineered with state-of-the-art materials and equipment that enables disabled families to enjoy some of the activities that are so commonly played by normal children.

As a family, we do everything together. Usually, if our son Raymond can't participate, we don't do it.

When I coach my oldest son Roman's ball games, Raymond watches, but unfortunately cannot participate. Roman has expressed a sincere interest in the possibility of helping his younger brother Raymond play baseball.

The mere thought of seeing both of my boys playing a sport on the same field warms my heart. That, to me, would truly be a miracle of Biblical proportions.

I am certain that I am not alone in my wish for something that would bring a little more joy into the lives of special people in our community. If you or someone you know would like more information or would like to help make this dream a reality, email: fieldofmiracles@yahoo.com.

Recent Posts : Bakersfield.com