Pigs, Rabbits, and Chickens - Oh My!

Well a couple of days after Kelly finally saw the pig, I found more livestock in the neighborhood!

You see, I get up early on Saturday and Sunday and I take the dogs to the Aptos Dog Park. I loaded the dogs into Kelly's car and the dogs took their positions. Bindi jumps in the back and lays down and goes back to sleep. Rex always jumps in the front passenger seat and sits up straight, because he doesn't want to miss anything. The dogs are all loaded, and I head off to the Dog Park. I go around the corner, and head on up the street, when suddenly, Rex's ears perk straight up. Right smack in the middle of the road are two of the biggest rabbits that I have ever seen.

As I slow the car to a stop, Bindi jumps up and hops into the front seat. She immediately begins barking at the bunnies. What's funny, is at the dog park, they always see bunnies. Of course they are the smaller, cottontail type, but still, they won't pay them any attention. Now that there are bunnies hopping across the street, they have to bark at them.

After our adventure at the Dog Park, we head for home. We saw at least a dozen bunnies at the Dog Park, and neither dog even barked at them. Once I get home, I tell Kelly about the new livestock in the neighborhood. Of course, she doesn't believe me. "You know I have a soft spot for bunnies, ever since Prunedale." "You are just trying to get me to walk farther."

Back when we lived in Prunedale, we had a pet bunny rabbit. The story of how we got that critter is a classic Prunedal tale. Prunedale used to be really a small rural community. The most exciting store in town was Deaton Feed.

Deaton Feed was an old school feed store. They sold hay bales, dog food, chicken feed, and of course, pig chow. I am serious. We used to buy big sacks of King Brand Pig Chow at Deaton Feed. The store was kind of a community meeting place. Everyone in town would go there for their animal food, the 4H kids would be selling animals, the Girl Scouts were selling cookies, and the old guys would be swapping stories about the good old days.

One Saturday afternoon, Kelly and I loaded up the kids and headed for Deaton Feed. When we got there, there was a guy out front with a bunch of cute bunnies. My daughter Tammy got really excited. "Daddy, Daddy, look at the bunnies!"

Tammy ran up to see the bunnies. Guess what? Yep, she wanted to get a bunny. Not just a bunny, Tammy wanted two bunnies. I explained that you don't get two bunnies, because two don't stay two. "Please, oh Please" she begged. I told her we would look and see if they have any cages inside the store. Well we picked up some pig chow and looked for cages. They were all sold out of the cages. Probably because of the guy out front with the cute bunnies.

As I loaded the pig chow, I explained to Tammy that they didn't have any cages. Tammy asked, "Can't you build one?" I explained that I didn't have any lumber or the time to build one. I didn't tell her that I can't cut a straight line with a saw for anything. I can build a stock car motor that will run with the best. I can pound dents and hang fenders. I can fix just about anything to do with a car, but I'm just not a carpenter. Of course I could never tell my daughter that.

We all got into the car, and I started to back up. I'm looking over my right shoulder when suddenly, I hear a knocking on the drivers side window. I stop the car and look over. It was the guy with the bunnies. He makes a motion for me to roll down my window. I hit the switch. Just as the window gets to the bottom. He reaches behind his back, and tosses a bunny rabbit into the back seat, onto Tammy's lap. The guy tells Tammy, "Tell your Dad not to be so lazy, and build a cage." Then he has the nerve to smile at me. Well our new friend starts hopping around the back seat and Tammy is soooo excited. Ever since then, our family likes bunnies.

When I first had my weight loss surgery, I used to go to the dog park all the time. On weekends, I would go three or four times in a day. Rex and I would walk around the half mile loop, looking for bunnies. We would do up to 12 laps a time. I always counted how many rabbits were seen. It was my way of fighting the boredom of walking in circles. I would return home and proclaim to seeing 20 or 30 rabbits. Of course they were probably the same 5 or 6 rabbits that got counted each time we went around, but that's ok.

Kelly has started walking further. We now walk "to see the pigs and bunnies." I have seen the bunnies a couple of times, and Kelly saw one for the first time yesterday. When I was taking the dogs on a really long walk, I heard the sound of hens clucking and a rooster crowing. Once Kelly builds up some more strength, I'm going to have to get her to go for a walk to look for chickens!

Looking for a Pig! - Part 2

So there I am.... running with my dogs, and what do I see? A pig, sticking his nose out the front door of a neighbors house, in suburban Watsonville. I don't know what's funnier. Seeing a pig, or neither of the dogs seeing the pig and just running by, oblivious to the world with their tongues hanging out.

I get home from my run, and Kelly is still having a tough time. She had Gastric Bypass surgery on Monday. This was Wednesday and had just come home from the hospital earlier in the afternoon. I want her to get up and go for a walk. It is a really important part of the recovery process. So I tell her, I just saw a pig and try to get her to walk down and see it with me. She isn't feeling very well and tells me that there are no pigs in the city and accuses me of making up the story, just to get her out and walking.

The next day, our daughter, Tammy, comes over, and tells my wife "I just saw a pig in your neighbors yard around the corner." Kelly tells her "You and your Dad are in this together." She still wouldn't believe us. The next day is different. I get her up in the morning. "We're looking for a pig. Come on lets go." We walked to the corner and didn't see the pig. We turned around and went home. Later in the day we went again. This time, I talked her into going farther around the block. As we came back I said "watch for the pig." She told me she didn't believe me about the pig. She thinks I'm being a wiseguy.

The next day, once again I use the pig as a reason for Kelly to go for a walk. By this time, Kelly is starting to feel better. She knows she needs to walk and is now a more willing participant. She does let me know that she still thinks that Tammy and I made up the story about the pig. The walk was uneventful. No pig. I'm starting to loose credibility, but that doesn't stop me.

After lunch, it is time to go look for the pig. Just as we get to the area where we should see a pig, Kelly tells me it is time for me to come clean. She wants me to admit that there was no pig. I look her right in the eyes and say "Oh yea, what is that?" She turns to look at where I'm pointing and lo and behold, there is a pig, cute as can be, eating plums that had fallen off a tree!

The pig was pink, with black spots. He looked like a pot bellied pig, but didn't have the dark hair that the traditional Vietnamese Pot Belly Pigs sport. Kelly was excited. She loves animals, and she really hadn't believed me. We looked around and didn't see any humans. Where were the pig owners?

Kelly went to pet the pig, and I went up to the front door. A lady answered the door. I told her that her pig had gotten out. She told me that if she forgets to latch the screen door, he will push through and go look for plums in the yard. I explained that was exactly where he was and asked if she would like me to catch him for her. "I used to raise pigs" I explained. "Nope, I'll just send my husband out.

Her husband came out. He bent down and the pig ran to see him. The pig actually jumped into his arms. This pig must have been at least 85 pounds. I know he was bigger than my dog Rex, not quite as cute, but a lot more solid.

We got to pet the pig some more and learned his name was Bacon. I guess that is a common name for a pig. Anyways.... we also learned that they had a second pig that was 7 years old that was even bigger. I forgot to ask what his name was, but I wouldn't be surprised if his name was sausage.

Kelly now continues to walk, and we still talk about looking for pigs but I have to tell you, I've found more livestock in our area. In my next blog update, I'll tell you why now we actually are looking for rabbits in our neighborhood and how Kelly still won't believe me that I've seen them hopping down our street. :-)

I'm Back, Kelly is Home, & Looking for a Pig! - Part 1

Hi All - Well I'm back. On Monday, July 6th, my wife, Kelly, went in and had Gastric Bypass surgery, up at El Camino Hospital in Mountain View. It was a little rougher than either of us were expecting, but the good news is she is home!

I bet the picture for this post caught your attention. The picture is an old one, maybe even taken 20 years ago. It is of my Son, Rocky, riding his late friend, Bacon. You see, at one point in our lives, we lived out in the hills of Prunedale. To understand this, we need to go back in time, way back to the late 1980's. We owned a cute little tract home in a great area of San Jose. Our kids were young and I was working at Lockheed Missiles and Space in Sunnyvale. We were spending a lot of weekends visiting friends in Monterey County. One day we checked out a house in Prunedale. To make a long story short, we ended up buying a big, beautiful home in little Prunedale, about 20 miles south of Gilroy, off of Highway 101. This place had a one acre, back yard pasture, that was all fenced and crossed fenced. I guess it was set up for horses.

Once we moved out there, we kind of became countrified. We went to a garage sale one day, and came home with 3 little pigs. We were going to become pig farmers. We named our first 3 pigs, Bacon, Sausage and Pork Chop. The idea was to get the kids to think of them as food, not pets. Well as you can see from the picture, they became pets..... before they became food.

It turns out pigs are really smart animals. I could go out in the back yard and throw a tennis ball. My dog at the time, Huckleberry, would just look at me. The pigs would run for the ball, bring it back and drop it at my feet. They also made up games to amuse themselves. I had been told to throw an old bowling ball into the pasture. The guys at the feed store told me the pigs would push it around the yard for exercise. Well not only did they push it around, they made up a game. They would push the bowling ball up the hill, then chase it down the hill. They would amuse themselves that way for hours on end.

Once the pets, I mean pigs, reached about 225 pounds, we called Ray the Butcher. Ray would come out to our pasture and slaughter the pigs. He would shoot them, then field dress them in the back yard. He then took them away, and brought back these little white packages with the best tasting meat ever. Over the next couple of years, I think we raised 8 or 9 pigs. Not too long after this, Rocky became first a Vegetarian, then eventually a Vegan. A coincidence?

We eventually left Prunedale, and moved over to Santa Cruz County. We lived in La Selva Beach for about 15 years, Seascape for a couple of years, and last September we bought a real nice place out in Watsonville. Suburban Watsonville. Tract Homes and no livestock..... or so we thought.

Kelly had a tough time at the hospital. The anasthesia is really hard for her to process out of her body. It all goes back to her childhood and being in a coma for a couple of months (but that is another story!). Well I was finally able to bring her home on Wednesday afternoon. That afternoon, I took the dogs for our normal afternoon run. We were getting pretty close to home, when I saw one of my neighbors standing at his front door talking to one of his buddies. As he was standing there, the screen popped open and a head stuck out. I was expecting a dog, but was shocked to see a pig!

Stay tuned for Part 2 to learn how this pig became a motivating force in Kelly's recovery!

Back From Camp - Part 3

Well here it is.... Part 3 of my adventure to Xtreme Couture. For my 50th birthday, my wife sent me to a 3 day MMA Training Camp at Xtreme Couture in Las Vegas. Parts 1 and 2 talk about the adventures at camp. For this part, I'm just going to tie up a few loose ends.

Wounds - Overall, I came out pretty good. You can see the bruises on my shins in the above pictures. I also split open the bottoms of my feet. I still have some nasty wounds on my feet, but they are healing up pretty good. At camp, I asked Forrest how do they take care of their feet. He laughed, pulled off his socks and showed me his feet. They were actually almost as bad as mine. He said that every time he starts a new camp, his feet get chewed up. He said that eventually they do get callused and get stronger.

Other Celebrity Coaches - The guy with me in the above picture is the infamous Junie "The Lunatic" Browning. Those of you who follow the UFC probably recognize him from the Reality TV Show The Ultimate Fighter 8. On the show, Junie demonstrated that he had some real talent as a fighter, but wasn't quite there mentally. He struggled with some anger management issues, especially when he was drinking. To put it bluntly, the guy came of as an immature jerk. After the show, Junie found a home at Xtreme Couture. I had read on the internet where he had jointed the team and how they had humbled him. That he was now growing up and maturing as a fighter and as a human being. Sooooo ..... One day, I can't remember if it was Friday or Saturday, (I know that's what happens when you get old), Mathew and I are working on some drill. Out of the corner of my eye, I see this guy walk by with a hand grenade tattooed on his hand walk by. I thought to myself, I wonder if it is Junie. I mean how many other people would choose a tattoo like that? Well, it was him. It tuns out that he had changed quite a bit. He was humbled, and even worked with me one on one. He tried really hard to be nice. Was he cocky? Oh yea. But don't you almost have to be to be a pro fighter?

The Whoops Excuse You Moment - Saturday afternoon, I was hot, tired and really sweaty from a whole day at camp. I parked my car on the 6th floor of the parking garage at the hotel and go into the elevator. I lean up against the back wall with my gear bag behind me. The elevator stops at the 5th floor, and a bunch of about 6 little old ladies start to load in. There really isn't room for them, but they squish in anyways. A little lady of about 80 years of age, starts backing in. She smashes right into me with her backside, pushing herself right into my cup. She squeals, turns and looks up at me and says "Oh my." I just smiled. She just giggled.

Randy Couture - Before camp, I received an e-mail saying that Randy would not be able to attend Camp. He was working on a movie, The Expendables, with Sylvester Stallone, and would not be able to make it back in time. We were told that Forrest would run the camp instead of Randy. I was disappointed, but Forrest did a great job. Randy did tele-conference in for a question and answer session. That was pretty cool, and Randy remains one of my heroes. For those of you who don't know about Randy, he first won the title, Heavy Weight Champion of the world in 1997, then again in 2000. Later, Randy dropped down to Light Heavyweight where he also became Champion of the World, at the age of 40. In 2006, Randy retired, but grew antsy. Randy came out of retirement and at the age of 43 again became the Heavy Weight Champion of the World. That is why he is my hero. Us old guys need to stick together.

The Reality Check Moment - I was walking into class one morning and I was talking to Gary the Kick Boxer. He asked how the Vette ran through the desert. He asked if it smoothed out at about 80, and wanted to know if I took the top off the car. I told him it did run best between 80 and 90 and that I took the roof off in Barstow and drove the rest of the way in topless. He said "Think about it.... You are driving 80 through the desert in a Corvette with the roof off, on your way to MMA Training Camp at Xtreme Couture." "Do you know how many people wish they were you?" I replied... "Yep, life is good."

Back From Camp - Part 2

Well I'm back. Back from Camp, Back to Work, and Back for Part 2 about my adventure at Xtreme Couture. I attend Training Camp and got to train with some of the best instructors and fighters in the world. In Part 1 I described the first 2 days of my adventure, and now it's time for the next part of my story.........

Saturday - I woke up Saturday morning a little bit sore. My shins were bruising up nicely and my neck had a little bit of a crick in it. I took a couple of Tylenol. One of the things after Weight Loss Surgery is you can no longer take NSAIDS like Motrin, Aspirin, or Aleve. You can still take Tylenol, but it isn't quite the same.

I jumped in the car and headed to the gym. As I was parking the car, I met a young guy named Gary. Gary was a hot shot kick boxer. He asked me what year my car was. I told him it was an 81. It turns out he used to have a 79. We talked about Corvettes being money pits. That's how you can tell a real Corvette owner. If he understands that concept, he really owned a vette and not just a pretender. Anyways..... as we were walking in, he asked me where I trained in Jiu-Jitsu. I laughed and told him that yesterday was my first day. He replied "Wow, that's pretty surprising, you seem pretty limber." That made my day. People are so nice here!!!!

Saturday Camp was broken into two parts, with both parts being taught by Coach Ron Frazier. That's Ron in the above picture with me. Ron is the head Boxing Coach at Xtreme Couture. That means he coaches the top pro fighters in the business. He coaches Randy, Forrest, Mike Pyle and a ton of other guys, and today he was coaching us!

We worked on all kinds of drills and conditioning. We hit the bags, we worked with boxing gloves, we worked with MMA gloves, man, we just plain worked. I was literally soaking wet from sweat, but it was so much fun. Ron is such a nice guy and he so wants each student to be the best they can be. He is truly an inspiring coach. He gave a couple words of wisdom to the class that I will never forget. "Getting punched in the face sucks." I guess it was his delivery, but it was hilarious.

After a tough day, it was time to head back to the Hotel. I parked the car got up to the room and soaked in the tub. I then figured I would lay down and take a little nap. I was out like a light. After awhile, I rolled over and looked at the clock. Crap.... it said it was 10:38. Class began at 10:00. I got changed, grabbed my gear, and ran through the lobby of the hotel. As I go by the pool, I notice that it is awful dark for almost 11:00. I look at my cell phone and finally realize it is still night. I go back to the room, take some more Tylenol and go back to sleep.

Sunday - I wake up feeling sore and kind of stupid for the time thing, but I'm excited for Camp. This is the final day and I've almost made it through. Today we are working on wrestling. The Coaches for today are Forrest and Ron. We worked on some take-downs and a bunch of other drills. At one point we did this cool drill. The drill required a lot of room, so two teams got to go into the Octagon.

At Xtreme Couture, not only do they have a large, matted area for working out, they also have a full size professional boxing ring, and more importantly, they have a full size, regulation Octagon, also known as a cage.

The cage is an 8 sided structure with the walls being made from metal cyclone type fencing. The fence is covered by black vinyl. The cage sits up 4 feet in the air, on a platform. It has a foam pad around the top of the fence and at the post points. Even though the fence is covered with a black vinyl coating, it still hurts. If you put your back to the fence and try and push yourself up, you feel it. I have a new appreciation for the fighters. The things that look so easy on TV are actually painful.

Whoops, back to the drill......... So we get ready to start the next drill. This one will require some room so my partner and I get to move up to the Octagon for this one. The drill starts with one partner holding the bags. The other guy kicks the bag as hard as he can. The guy holding the bag, moves the bag to let the other guy know which kick to throw. After a 5 minute round, the partners switch. The other guy now has to hold the bag. After each guy takes their turn, the next round is a wrestling round. One guy gets in the other guys guard and wrestles or uses Jiu-Jitsu to earn a submission. This part is done at full speed. Very, very cool. After this round we start over so that each guy gets to start in guard for a 5 minute round. The rest of the session is spent sweating like crazy. Wrestling is hard and it takes a lot out of you, but the experience was cool.

Training Camp ends with a photo-op session. After pictures, I head back to the Hotel. I'm soaking wet from sweat and I'm tired. I'm also kind of proud. I'm proud that I survived and that I did so well. Training Camp was the experience of a lifetime!

Tomorrow or the next day, I'll post Part 3.