Dear Jack: A Righteous Man Cares for the Needs of His Animals

4 years, 10 months.

Dear Jack: A Righteous Man Cares for His Animals

Dear Jack,

Saturday afternoon you slept hard for three hours while Mommy and I watched the movie Unbroken in the bonus room.

During the middle of it, I snuck in your bedroom to check on you and discovered such a sweet sight: You were cuddled up tightly with Bongo, your stuffed animal monkey.

Not to mention, your bed is always full of your zoo of all your other stuffed animals, which even includes an anteater.

After you woke up later in the afternoon, I took you to the Spring Hill Ham Festival, where you were able to pet (very tame!) farm animals; including a sheep, goat, cow, chicken, duck, rabbit, and a pair of pigs.

Dear Jack: We Rode in a Real Monster Truck at the Spring Hill Ham Festival!

I loved how unreserved you were when approaching the animals to softly pet them. I don’t know that I myself would have trusted them not to attack me.

This video I made includes some footage of you with the animals:

But your calm spirit assured them you were only there to nurture them, not to scare them.

I just recently became aware of a verse in the Bible that made me think of you:

Proverbs 12:10 says this:

A righteous man cares for the needs of his animals.

You love animals. You treat them like babies.

Literally, you wrap them up in blankets and take them with you wherever we go.

With that being said, I don’t see our family getting an actual real life pet any time soon. Our busy lifestyle and schedule would likely lead to not being able to show the pet enough affection and attention.

However, we can definitely enjoy everyone else’s pets and animals.

You are definitely built to care for others and to be a leader. It’s what is in your heart.

I believe you will always find a way to take care of others, especially those younger than you.

Love,

Daddy

There is No Cure for Male Baldness or a Receding Hairline

There is No Cure for Male Baldness or a Receding Hairline

There are companies lining up to take your money right now to “cure” your thinning hair and receding hairline. They are simply playing on your emotions as they are willing to sell you the idea of hope.

But first, think about this…

If there truly was a cure for male baldness, A) we would already know about it and wouldn’t be having this conversation, and B) there would no longer be a huge demand for the cure for male baldness.

However, my years of blogging and months of YouTubing have taught me this: Put the phrase “receding hairline” into the title, then watch the traffic come steadily and consistently.

So if I know that as a blogger and vlogger, just imagine how aware companies must be aware of the fact that millions of men across the world are, to some degree, preoccupied with the fact they didn’t win the gene lottery like John Stamos.

Instead of an actual cure, you have the option of dousing your head in chemicals that will, if you’re lucky, most keep you from losing your hair… as long as you use it.

Or you can pay thousands to have a surgery done, which often leaves scars on the back of your head. Even if it doesn’t, the older you get, the more hair you’re going to lose.

Then you end up being a 50 year-old man with unnatural looking patches of hair on your head.

It’s a desperate attempt to try to fight the inevitable: Most men on planet Earth lose their hair as they get older.

As I’ve mentioned before, the problem isn’t that most of us men gradually lose our hair as we get older.

The actual problem is that we perceive this to be an issue that actually affects our lives. It doesn’t.

Whether I still had the same hairline I did at age 17, or whether I had no option but to “go full Jason Statham”, I can’t see how my life would be any different.

Yes, I am married to a beautiful woman.

But the thing is, my looks were the last thing she noticed when we met and fell in love.

As men, we allow ourselves to believe that women are attracted to men the same way we are attracted to them.

However, it’s not our looks that they notice first.

They are looking for things like confidence, kindness, humor, creativity, and the ability to financially provide. Way down the list is your looks. And your hairline isn’t even at the top of the “looks” list itself.

If anything, a full head of hair affects your confidence, and that abundance of confidence itself makes us seem more interesting and attractive and successful.

But just as easily, you could be a confident man with the right haircut to compliment your receding hairline (that probably no one will even notice anyway) or you could be a guy who buzzes your head with a #1 or #2 guard.

So, back the beginning. Are you going to let people take your money in an attempt to “cure” your thinning hair and receding hairline?

Instead, I suggest your take my words to heart.

Your hair is only a big deal to you; not others.

In other words…

It’s all in your head, it’s not on it.

And anyone who would ever bring up the fact your hair isn’t as full and thick as Don Henley’s or Ronald Reagan’s obviously is insecure themselves; if they must focus on something so petty and insignificant.

Thanks for reading my blog. I will close by sharing some other relevant videos I have made on the subject.

Dear Jack: Family in a Camry- “Evan’s 5th Birthday Party”

4 years, 9 months.

Dear Jack: Family in a Camry- “Evan’s 5th Birthday Party”

Dear Jack,

This is the 2nd of several entries in my new miniseries, Family in a Camry. In August while on our annual family vacation, Toyota loaned us a 2015 Camry for our road trips around California.

So I decided to compile all our video footage and photos into a narrative to remember our trip. Here’s this week’s video:

Of course, I already did the one about our Jack-Man video we made, which is sort of like an unofficial entry in the series as well.

(So maybe then, today is actually technically the 3rd Family in a Camry entry in the series…)

Dear Jack: Family in a Camry- “Evan’s 5th Birthday Party”

Mommy and Evan’s mommy grew up together in California; they’ve known each other for a long time.

Actually, you met Evan for the 1st time in August 2011; 4 years ago. I wrote about it at the time.

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Now, Evan is 5 years old and you are just a couple of months away from your 5th birthday, which we plan to celebrate in Florida; while reviewing another Toyota.

Dear Jack: Family in a Camry- “Evan’s 5th Birthday Party”

As for Evan, he decided he wanted to have his party at the local skating rink. So that meant you got to roller skate for the 1st time!

There was also a “jumpy house” there; as well as those roller scooter things…

The fact that Evan’s birthday party just happened to be during the 10 day span we were there in California on our annual family vacation was completely coincidental.

Dear Jack: Family in a Camry- “Evan’s 5th Birthday Party”

But what a perfect coincidence!

Even though you and Evan were born only 4 months apart, you guys are a year apart in school; based on the way the cut-off date.

Dear Jack: Family in a Camry- “Evan’s 5th Birthday Party”

I have a feeling that you and Evan will grow up knowing each other; even if you only see each once a year.

Dear Jack: Family in a Camry- “Evan’s 5th Birthday Party”

Stay tuned for my next Family in a Camry entry, which features our family visiting the Monterey Bay Aquarium.

Dear Jack: Family in a Camry- “Evan’s 5th Birthday Party”

Love,

Daddy

I’m Responsible for My Son’s “Good Old Days”

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One advantage of getting to review cars for this blog is that I get free access to XM radio. I’ve been flipping back and forth between XMU (rock music for college kids) and Alt Nation (modern alternative rock).

I recently was introduced to a perfectly nostalgic song called “Stressed Out” by Twenty One Pilots. My favorite part of the song contains these lyrics:

“Wish we could turn back time, to the good old days
When our momma sang us to sleep but now were stressed out”

Somewhat surprisingly, until I heard that song a couple of weeks ago, I had never truly fathomed that those “good old days” I myself lived through in the 1980s, some of the warmest and fuzziest moments and memories in my life, occurred only because of my parents.

Flash forward from 1985, when I myself was 4 years old, to 2015; now my own son is 4 years old.

My son lives in a wonderland of stuffed animals as friends; a land where monster trucks are a legitimate means of transportation… and where he can typically get away with eating mac-and-cheese for most of his meals as long as he eats his veggie-fruit pouch.

He lives in this wonderland in 2015 because of his mommy and me.

And I lived in that wonderland in 1985 because of my own parents.

It takes a good parent to create that wonderland for their own kid; which I assume if you are reading this now, then you must be one as well. Granted, providing a loving home is ultimately all it really takes to make that wonderland.

A child’s imagination takes care of the rest; as long as that child feels loved and cared for and listened to and played with and encouraged.

No matter which toys make up that wonderland, no matter how big or small the house is, and no matter how many other kids are in the wonderland in that big or small house with a lot or little toys… all that matters is that there is obvious love in that household.

That’s what creates “the good old” days for the kids we bring into this world.

It’s that simple, yet that epic:

I am responsible for my son’s “good old days.” All I have to do is simply love my son, something I am completely wired to do anyway.

And yet I never think about the sacrifices I make in my life to love him. And I’m pretty sure my own parents never did either when they were raising me.

Dear Jack: Family in a Camry- “Daddy Date”

4 years, 9 months.

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Dear Jack,

This is the 1st of several entries in my new miniseries, Family in a Camry. In August while on our annual family vacation, Toyota loaned us a 2015 Camry for our road trips around California.

Dear Jack: Family in a Camry- “Daddy Date”

So I decided to compile all our video footage and photos into a narrative to remember our trip.

Dear Jack: Family in a Camry- “Daddy Date”

After a day of flying from Nashville to Sacramento, you and I set aside a day to spend together; just father and son.

Dear Jack: Family in a Camry- “Daddy Date”

I struggle for a relevant phrase to describe a fun father and son day of activities. In the past I’ve referred to it as a “dadventure,” but “daddy date” is the phrase most people identify.

http://www.toyota.com/responsive/vehicles/2015/camry/#!/Welcome

However, that’s a tricky phrase because it typically refers to father and daughter dates. When you talk about a father and son having a “date,” it does sound kind of weird.

Oh well, I’m committing to the phrase. I don’t care.

Dear Jack: Family in a Camry- “Daddy Date”

But I should also acknowledge there are critics out there who would say, “Why do you have to call it anything at all? Why can’t a father and his son hang out without it having to be a big deal as compared to if a mother spends time with her child? That’s like when people say a dad is babysitting.”

My reasoning is this: Mommy and I both work full time. It can be challenging enough for us all 3 to have good quality time together; much less just 2 of us at a time.

118Dear Jack: Family in a Camry- “Daddy Date”

Therefore, it’s worth celebrating when I can spend a whole day with you. I am very aware of the unique dynamics that occur when you and I get to hang out together doing fun stuff.

So with that being said, once we settled in, you and I had some good times together at the Elk Grove Park; in the midst of a family reunion. We discovered that you and your cousin Scarlet have the same owl toy; you got yours in the Nashville airport on the way there.

Dear Jack: Family in a Camry- “Daddy Date”

You and I went fishing. It was something you had been looking forward to for weeks. You even especially packed your bug catching net for the event.

Yes, you are a vegetarian and I am a vegan, but we still made it work…

Dear Jack: Family in a Camry- “Daddy Date”

We didn’t have much luck with the fish in the pond there at the park, but you were very successful at “catching snails.”

Dear Jack: Family in a Camry- “Daddy Date”

For some reason, there were large, vacated snail shells all around the edge of the pond. So you filled your net with them and you were quite proud of your catch.

Dear Jack: Family in a Camry- “Daddy Date”

Later we went to go a see a movie together. While you were set on going to see Minions, for some reason you changed your mind on the drive there. Actually, I’m glad you did, because we loved Disney Pixar’s Inside Out. I’ve written a couple of blog posts about it, too:

5 Reasons Why Inside Out is the More Feminine Version of Big Hero 6

Who Is the Real Villain in Disney Pixar’s Inside Out?

Dear Jack: Family in a Camry- “Daddy Date”

I thought it was funny how you told me your favorite part of the movie was the female character, Sadness, who you told me is “a boy with long hair.”

Dear Jack: Family in a Camry- “Daddy Date”

For lunch we went to a vegan restaurant, which is a franchise, called The Loving Hut. I let you choose what we’d have for dessert. You chose the orange vanilla cake; we split it 50/50.

I was happy that successfully shot you with the straw wrapper.

Of course, I created a 2 minute video that features everything I just told you. So here it is:

But wait, there’s more…

Dear Jack: Family in a Camry- “Daddy Date”

We also spent a couple hours together filming the 19th webisode of Jack-Man as well. Here’s that video as well.

Dear Jack: Family in a Camry- “Daddy Date”

So there’s the 1st official entry of my Family in a Camry miniseries. Still more fun to come…

Dear Jack: Family in a Camry- “Daddy Date”

Love,

Daddy

Dear Jack: Family in a Camry- “Daddy Date”

Dear Jack: Family in a Camry- “Daddy Date”

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