"i like that it's hard"

Greetings and Happy Holidays iiWii'rs. I hope you all have been enjoying time with family and friends, turning off BlackBerries, eating too much, drinking a little too much, sleeping in, thinking about the year that what was and the year that lies ahead. I hope you've been doing a few of those things, because honestly, I've done them all.

If you're like me just a bit, iiWii, this time of year is always exciting. As I already mentioned, you get to reflect on accomplishments and hardships throughout the year, all while looking ahead to a new, New Year, a clean slate--unless of course your fiscal year ends June 30, I can't help ya there. (sorry Love)

For all intents and purposes 2013 yours truly had a year filled with pretty low lows, and pretty high highs. Life is short, we all know this. We could also probably agree that with all great things that life has to offer, in many cases it could have been a combination of good timing, hard-work, but the people in your life that helped guide you along. If this year has taught me anything, it's that even in the absence of those guides you can continue to work hard and find your way. It's not easy, and I like that it's hard... iiWii... "I like that it's hard." Thinking about that, I was immediately reminded of a fantastic episode of the West Wing where Toby Ziegler meets a middle-aged, middle-class guy at a bar and he says the exact same thing... advance to 6:20 of the following YouTube clip to watch if you'd like...

While nothing in life is sheer certainty, I can pretty much guarantee that while fictional, the gentleman's story to Toby is without a doubt reality for many hard working Americans across the country. iiWii, America isn't easy... and DING... another Hollywood moment comes to mind... advance to 1:02 of the following ...

So a New Year, 2014, begins in a few hour from now... will it be easy... maybe... maybe not... regardless, iiWii, I like that it's hard and I'm looking forward to it.

Until next time....

remembering Sandy Hook.

A year ago tomorrow, I wrote the following letter/email to Pennsylvania Governor Tom Corbett, I remember where I was when I heard the horrifying news out of CT and I remember where I was when I wrote the message below. And unfortunately, iiWii and we have a Congress that could not find a way to pass common sense legislation to better protect against more tragedies like witnessed a year ago.

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December 15, 2012

Governor Corbett:

First off, I'm a Republican, and I voted for you. In the wake of yesterday's horrific tragedy in CT, I felt it was necessary to share my thoughts with you instead of taking my political thoughts to Facebook or Twitter. While I undoubtedly support every American's 2nd Amendment rights, folks that want to purchase a gun should be required to pay for a full background check, and I will go as far as making it mandatory that they be required to have some form of a mental evaluation. Imagine if we'd had better security measures in place on September 10, 2001...

Ironically for the first time in my life I went to an indoor firing range in Philadelphia last weekend with a friend of mine who owns a 9mm handgun. I've had an interest in learning how to fire a weapon for some time now, and if I was to take the next step towards purchasing a gun of my own, I would have no qualms with having to go through a rigorous background check. Anyone that would take issue with that either has something to hide, or does not value the gift of life. To anyone that takes issue with the mandatory background check, simply show them a collage of the pictures of our children and heroic educators that had their lives stolen from them and their families.

I am hopeful in the days, weeks and months ahead, you and your colleagues in Harrisburg can find the political will to have the debate, free from any influence from the NRA. How many more innocent people have to die at the hand of a mentally deranged maniac?

The spirit of the holiday season is without a doubt dampened throughout the Commonwealth and our nation as we try to grasp with how something like this could happen in a small town in CT, a movie theater in CO, a shopping mall in OR... let's bring some common sense to this debate. To future gun owners I hope the conversation sounds something like this:

"You want to purchase a gun?"  'yes...' "Okay, that will require a $--- fee for a full background check and mental screening,"  'why?'  "This is why, let me show you what happens when guns get into the hands of the evil and mentally insane." (show the faces of these innocent victims; show the horror on the faces of Newtown residents and parents) Enough is enough, the time is now to make these changes.

Thank you Mr. Governor,
Jeff Flynn