Post-Blade NMSFNO leather giveaway--congrats, rlacan71!

Many things make me happy, my faith, my family, spending time in the outdoors, another National Championship. RTR. I'm generally a happy person, but sometimes I let my medical problems discourage me. Saturday night after the Induction Dinner, I talked with someone who put things back into perspective. In the past year, he had suffered two tragedies that would haves wrecked me. We talked for about an hour, about faith and finding the inner strength to live with tragedy. I don't know if he benefitted from our talk, but I know I did. Be happy for the blessings you have received and don't take them for granted. You may not have them tomorrow.
 
What makes me happy.

Well there are 2 things that currently make me happy and I will list them in the order of happy to happiest.

Happy. Reading a book. My father was an avid reader and some of my earliest memories of him were of him sitting in the living room recliner with a book and within easy reach would be a glass of whatever he was drinking and a snack of some kind. As a result I was never into sports, I wanted to be just like my dad. That in combination with me being painfully shy, almost to the point of it being a detriment to my social life and life in general made reading for me my favorite pastime. As I got older my dad would finish a book and leave it for me. I had a college reading level in the 3rd grade....read the three musketeers in the 6th grade. My dad passed away in Feb 2009 after a long battle with diabetes and heart disease at the age of 59. Sometimes when feeling bad I just pick up any book and open it up and smell the pages and I am reminded of him. It is also fun reading books that I know that he has read and its like being able to share somthing with him even though he is gone. I find myself wondering what he thought of certain parts of the book or what he was going through in his life at the time. One kinda cool thing. My dad read so much there is family photos of him reading and in some pictures I can just make out what he was reading. If it turns out to be a book I havnt read yet I go out and get that book and its one more link to him. Not only that but I have a time stamp via the picture and I can ask my mom what was going on in his life at the time the picture was taken.

Happiest.

My daughter. I Never thought about having children and to be honest I think was against it. The world being such a crazy place being one of the reasons. Then there is the sheer responsibility of it all. I am not afraid of responsibility, but in the case of a child you can be a great parent and one bad decision can affect a child in such a way as to damage them in many ways. When I was 22 my gf at the time became pregnant. I was all for having the baby but her churchgoing mother told her that an abortion would be the best course of action since we were both so young and her already being a single mom in foster care with a history of sexual abuse by a family member. To this day I am still mad about this situation but I cannot hold a grudge forever against someone that passed away years ago ( her mom died not to long after convincing her daughter to get a abortion). I can see her concerns but even adoption would have been better but...

Fast forward 10 years or so and my GF then gets pregnant. Now I am still scared to death of the situation but again I am ready to man up. Again it is taken out of my hands when she decides that to abort is the best option.

Fast forward to a little over 3 years ago. My dad is in the hospital and had many complications and dies and is brought back. It was a miracle that he made it back at all to be honest. My gf and I are on the way to visit him and while driving to the hospital she tells me that she hasnt had her period in 2 weeks ( which isnt a big deal as she has a strange cycle. She can actually go 3 weeks with no flow sometimes). She tells me that this time it feels different though. On the way we stop at a drug-store and she picks up a pregnancy test. We get to the hospital and before we go to visit my father she uses the bathroom. Pregnant. I start crying, I am worried that what has happened to me in the past with not being able to help with the decision might happen to me again. We were a relatively new couple having been together about 6 months and were being careful so I had no idea what her feelings on the subject were.

We sat down in a empty visiting room and we looked at each other. I said that I wanted to have the baby no matter what and luckily she was of the same mind-set. We then went to see my father. Luckily he was doing good at that time and after asking him how he was feeling etc..we told him he was going to be a grandfather. Since he had been brought back from the jaws of death he had alot of foggy moments, luckily that wasnt one of them.

Fast forward to 2009. I started reading to my daughter the same books that my dad read to me. As she gets older I will of course start checking old pictures of my dad from when I was little and see what he was reading..........Circle of life.......

Win lose or draw thank you for letting me talk about two very important parts of my life,

Rob

Now you know that I would have to add pictures....


Midnight's dance recital: ( bet you woulda never guessed her name huh lol )





With her cousin Josh:




With her best friend:





Dance recital , main dance





Recital warm-ups


 
Last edited:
Man, I don't think you knew what you were letting yourself in for! There are some outstanding entries.

Please remove mine from consideration, as I don't even have a NMSFNO, and a nice sheath like that deserves better than to lie around empty.
 
Hi Gary,

I think so, but I'm not sure...just going off of past photos I've seen online here. If the guy was real into Ratweilers, then yes for sure.

uyotg said:
Thanks, Collin! This Terry, right?




I think I drbarnes got Mark correct. Now I need to see a Ronnie show up. I wonder if Ronnie is RoNNiE :confused:

Great entries so far. Some are real inspiring. I'm going to choose the winner with a random number generator, matching up to the post numbers, and picking the first qualifying post that I like and can take something away from for my own life!
Click to expand...
 
Drinking and gambling make me happy. My older friends taught me how to do both, albeit with a caveat: temperance is key (something I haven't quite learned how to heed).

I definitely burn the candle at both ends. I Party as much as I possible can with as many people as I can. More friends, more fun.

I got no plans on slowing down, no plans on changing. To quote one of my favorite songs:

I'm a rambler, I'm a gambler, I'm a long way from home
And if you don't like me, well, leave me alone
I'll eat when I'm hungry, I'll drink when I'm dry
And the moonshine don't kill me, I'll live til I die


I live this way because, as the younger kids say these days: "yolo" (you only live once).

Eventually, my time will run out and I'll be dead. But before that happens, hopefully I'll have a chance to look back and say, "I had a whole lotta fun!"
 
I am really happy to read your story of Blade, and I know that many of us took the "slow and cautious" approach to our first one. As I have posted SO many times, you quickly learn that it's really about getting together with so many fine folks first; the knives are secondary. Blade truely is one of the highlights of my entire year!

Now, about something that brings me GREAT joy:

100_2308.jpg


Thomas the 5th, future Bussekin customer and Hog, Rat, and Junk Yard Dog!..:thumbup::D:thumbup:
 
Busse knives are great, and like every one else I'm sure, each time I purchase a new one, it cannot arrive soon enough! But the hobby that makes me happiest, and likely the only thing that keeps me sane, is exercising. When I started, I didn't know much, LOL, I mostly just hung around the bench press and dumbells, and my legs were the size of twigs. But much like the awesome guys in the Busse community, I learned the trade from other, more experienced people in the gym, picked up exercises here and there, asking questions, and then once I joined the military, the flood gates opened and a wealth of physical conditioning knowledge was at my disposal. I work out 2-3 hours a day, 7 days a week, and can't think of a single thing I love more thank watching my physical abilities improve. I went from being a scrawny little kid who got bullied in highschool, to being responsible for the fitness of an entire military command of 280 personnel, and there's nothing more motivating than helping other people who share your interests. Edged tools will always be an interest, but that interest comes second to the gym... followed closely by my girlfriend, who comes third :D

EDIT: I liked your thread, definitely a great community-building post, but I forgot to say, I'm not interested in the sheath. Awesome gesture though for whoever gets it!
 
Gary, it was great meeting you. We will storm the city in due course, sooner than later.

This is not an entry.

What makes me happy?
Meeting and knowing good folks, hearing about their experiences.
Being friends with MikeH and Kim (my personal hero), and you, and the rest of ya, is what makes me happy.
 
Very generous giveaway. Good on ya.

What makes me happy? Simple things. The family of course-- Devoted spouse, happy/healthy giggling children that are becoming wonderous at the world around them, the wagging of my pooch's tail. That my father, who always put his wife and kids first, is finally only months from a well-earned and long overdue retirement. Mom of course. And that what I lack in quantity of acquaintences, I make up for with quality friends, and that I've matured enough to know the difference.

The fact that I've been fortunate enough to go a few places and do a few things, and that I survived some very unwise youthful adventures with only a few scars. That my sibling and I survived each other and despite growning up with the typical rivalries, are now much more appreciative of each other.

That I can appreciate the serenity of nature, the majesty of wildlife, and wonder of a sunrise and tranquility of a sunset. A quiet trail, a babbling brook, and all that the forest has to offer that doesn't cost a cent.

That despite all the pressure, manipulation, and unfairness in the world, I have held true to my core values of doing what's right, with honor and integrity, in a world where those traits seem to be becoming evermore of a burden than an asset.

There a few other possessions, fine blades, decent watches, a nice V8 engine, Danner boots...to name a few. But family, friends, and nature top the list.

Good luck to all,

Just my $.02 worth.
BOSS
 
All right, so it isn't technically the 22nd yet, but it is where I am, just a few hours behind the International Date Line and the post has fallen through the pages, so please allow me to say:

rlacan71 said:
What makes me happy.

Well there are 2 things that currently make me happy and I will list them in the order of happy to happiest....
Click to expand...

Today's your lucky day courtesy of random.org! I'll send you a PM.

I think most people can take away something from almost all of the responses here. These kinds of life lessons can't be simply taught and repeated until they stick to you, but only learned through experience, insight, and perhaps a bit of sacrifice. I seriously wish I had more to giveaway for all the great entries. There's no way I could've chosen one winner on my own.

One more thing I've found that makes me happy: giveaways :thumbup:
Congratulations, Rob!
 
Thanks man, much appreciated.
Random.org? lol and here I thought I won on merit. Either way this was a very nice gesture and I thank you.

Rob
 
Promised to post some pics when she got here. Shes been here a few days now but just got around to takin some pictures just a min ago. Very nice sheath and thanks again.

Rob




108.jpg

109.jpg

110.jpg

111.jpg

112.jpg

113.jpg

114.jpg

115.jpg

116.jpg

117.jpg
 
Thanks for posting those pics Rob! :) I'm happy that you like the sheath. Your pics really bring out the mottled pattern! wow!
 
Why I aughtta!!!!

Workin on gettin a new one back. Mine was traded along woth a SFNO variant for my SHBM.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top