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That is in fact my future nephew/niece. Cool Uncle Ricky is now in full swing! That's right my lovely sister Amanda and awesome brother-in-law Mitchell are expecting their first child. And quite honestly I could not be happier for them. I did in fact shed a tear for this amazing news and was just overwhelmed with love and happiness for them and the new addition to their family and ours. I really cannot wait to meet him/her and share my infinite wisdom with the little one. Ha!!

Any how, I just wanted to share the news with everyone and if you would indulge me a little and just say a prayer for Amanda and Mitchell and the blessing that God has given to them.

Contender for Douche of the Year

As we move towards the end of April, I can't help but look back at the happenings of this past week and realize that we have our first contender for Douche of the Year!

That's right people, we usually don't see our candidates for this "prestigious" award until the summer starts. The big blockbuster movies start rolling, you know when the true ego of every big name Hollywood hot shot and sex deprived congressmen/ governor really starts to show.

But not this year, Oh no! Congrats to Perez Hilton you are the first candidate for 2009 Douche of the Year.

Not only are you a very small, single minded individual who likes to take cheap shots at people while they are down and out. Mind you some times that's alright to do, I mean common, Britney Spears... Its like shooting fish in a barrel, it really is. But I am not here to call you out on trashing Britney's "sterling" name. Or there is also Miss Lohan. Or the fact that you seem to have a dangerous crush on Heidi and Spencer. I really think that you are about one missed Xanex pill from running them down on Hollywood Blvd, stuffing them in your trunk, slitting their throats, and going all Norman Bates just so you can full fill a sick and twisted tea party with your "new" family.

No, I am here because you single handily crushed the dreams of Miss California Carrie Prejean just because she does not agree with your lifestyle, and your way of thinking. She is a 21 year old woman with dreams and aspirations of making this God-forsaken world a little bit better, rather then cheapen it like you so often do. You should be ashamed of yourself and what you said and did to that girl. I will be totally surprised if any one even comes close to you in contending for this award. I hope one day you have to answer for your actions, and ultimately pay for what you did to this girl.

Perez Hilton... you have been served the first nomination for Douche of the Year

As American as Mom, Apple Pie, and Steroid Infused Baseball...

Yesterday morning I woke up, took a shower and started to get ready for church. I had a good feeling that it was going to be a good day despite the clouds covering up the sun. Church was good, and my grande Starbucks in my cup holder made the ride back to my house better. But it was when I got back to my house and turned on Sportscenter, that the clouds in the sky came down and covered me.

One of my favorite sports once again was in scandal of a player using steroids, and not just any player, one of my favorite players, Alex Rodriguez. A player poised to have another MVP season this coming year, the one hand picked to take over Barry Bonds home run record* mark, being a roll model for younger generations and Latinos, all while being a sportsman, and showing that hard work and dedication pay off... Or so we thought?

Reports are saying that back in 2003, in which he won the MLB MVP, Rodriguez tested positive for illegal performance enhancing substances, along with 104 other players. Whether it is true or not is to be seen. But for me, and other fans of the game, it is still a sad time in the sport whether or not you like A-Rod or not.

What kind of message is this sending to younger players out there that follow the careers of these athletes? The kids that hang on every move, and word that these player do or say. In a time were we have to put labels on the things that our kids buy and watch to protect them from dangers, and other things, are we going to have to filter the athletes that they watch too? How sad is this?

I played football for 10 years, 4 of which at a great college that was a top 10 national team every year. The wanting to be better, faster, and stronger was pressed on you every day that you stepped into the field house, the weight room, and on to the practice field. And as hard as you may thing it is to get your hands on steroids and other enhancing substances, it really wasn't.

But to me, I knew that I would get zero satisfaction if we were to win and I had cheated to get there. And that is what those drugs make you, a cheater! What happened to the days of working hard, having dedication to your desire to play the game, and investing into yourself to become the best that you can be, and feeling good at the end of the day.

I am disappointed, upset, and saddened by all this. And only hope that the younger generations out there learn from these "athletes" and follow their own course. Sad day...

Weapons of Mass Sedution... Girl Scout Cookies!!!

Yes, it's that time of the year again, and as much as you try to dodge it, and run from it, sometimes it just hits from behind, like a James Bond to a bad guy. Yes! Girl Scout Cookies!!

I think the people at the Girl Scouts of America have strategically placed a time for their cookies at a time were you are finally settling into your workouts, and are finally seeing results from your latest new years resolution, and then like a bolt of lighting... BAM!! "Excuse me! Would you like to buy some Girl Scout Cookies?" Those little girls, standing outside the grocery store, Blockbuster, Sam's, Best Buy, with their little sashes, looking up at you with big 'ol puppy dog eyes, knowing that in fact how hard it is to say no to them.

My last interaction with one of these peddlers of oh so goodness was this past weekend, my mom and I were outside of Sam's, on our way in, and then BAM! Out of no where, there she was... This little girl was all of 3 feet tall, a cross between Abigail Breslin and Dakota Fanning before War of the Worlds, with her little Brownie's uniform on, blondie hair coming out of her beanie, and green eyes burning a hole in me from behind her big thick glasses. With the voice that could have come from one of the members of the Lollipop Guild, asking me:

"Excuse me sir! Would you like to buy some cookies? Girl Scout Cookies?"

I couldn't help it, it was like that scene from Sherk 2, where he is looking down at Puss in Boots, with those big eyes just glistening back at him. Now how could I have said no to this sweet little girl? Did I want any cookies? Yes. Did I need any cookies? No. But I said yes anyways, and just to add to my now stolen heart by this little girl, she took me by the hand to show me the selection of cookies that she had.

And if I had had the cash on me I would have bought up every box on the table just on the fact of how cute this little girl is. But thank God that I only had 5 dollars in my pocket to only buy one box from her. Caramel Delights! Or as I like the old school name Samoa's.

I took my cookies and gave her my 5 dollars, and she counted my change to me. As I turned around to head back into the store, she spun around and shouted back to me: "Thank you! I hope you enjoy!"

So, next year as this time comes around again, I will try to have a little more self control, will power, and finally say "No", or at least try to...

More "Change" We Can Believe In: Gitmo Closes

In just his second day as President of the United States, President Obama signed executive orders to close the prison camp at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, as well as other CIA black site prisons within the year. Siting: "We intend to win this fight. We're going to win it on our terms... in a manner that is consistent with our values and our ideals"

So now when the US suspects a terrorist, or catches a terrorist, are we just going to play the whole "good cop, bad cop" scenes that we have seen on Law and Order, or any crime dramas that we flock to go see at the movies?

How about all the innocent lives that these people have killed throughout the years? The families of these individuals? Trade Centers in the early 90's, Oklahoma City, the attacks on September 11th? How would you want to deal with these monsters that helped plan, execute, and fund these and many more operations like these?

Mr. President, would you like to give your opinion on this?

How would you deal with these people that have done these things? Oh yeah, and that would give a proper reparations, and closure to the families?

Tell you what... when we do catch these "people" and I use that term loosely, because they are not really people, lets sit them down, ask them why they did it, planned it, tell them not to do it, and if they have learned their lesson, keep them in jail until their black market buddies have the money to post bail, hijack them back to whatever country they were from so they can continue and quite possibly fully end their plans, or worse, do it again.

Nice to see that when your Labradoodle makes a mess on the Seal of the United States rug in the Oval Office, you are going to go ahead and pick it up, set the dog aside and talk to it on why it was wrong, let it go play with the girls, and hope that it does not do it again.

How many times is the "dog" going to crap on the US before you rub its damn nose in it, and smack the hell out of it with the Washington Post that's on your desk? Or is that not in the manner that is consistent with our morals and ideals? Cause it sure does seem to work in every other house in America.

One last thing before I go.

Mr. President, put yourself in the shoes of those people that have been effected by acts of terror, how would you feel about these terrorist? How would you want these people to be taken care of? What would you feel as just for them, and how to get the information to prevent this from happening again?

Change We Can Believe In???

In his speeches leading up to the the acceptance of the democratic nomination, also the democratic national convention, and also his speech once he won the presidential election; Presidential elect Obama has been focusing on a "new hope", and "a change we can believe in". Also a key note in his acceptance of the election he states that " a change is going to go TO Washington, and not FROM Washington". So why is it so that most of his appointees to the Presidential Cabinet are people from Washington??

- SEC of STATE: Hilary Clinton- D.C. alumni, former First Lady, and New York Senator
- ATTORNEY GEN: Eric Holder- Former Deputy Att. General in the Clinton Administration
- CIA Director: John Gannon- Former CIA staff in the Clinton Administration
- TREASURY SECRETARY: Timothy Geithner, president of Federal Reserve Bank of New York, also a DC lobbyist
- DEFENSE SECRETARY: Robert Gates, a holdover from the Bush administration
- NATIONAL ECONOMIC COUNCIL DIRECTOR: Lawrence Summers, former treasury secretary
- HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES SECRETARY: Former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle

If this the kind of 'Change" we can look forward to, then we are going to be looking at the same Washington that we have been dealing with for the past 12 years! Is this true Mr. President Elect?? If so, please don't beat around the bush, or sugar coat your administration! Come out and tell us that you don't really know what you are doing and that you have as much experience running the country as a biology teacher in Duluth, North Dakota.

I understand the fact that you were a junior senator from Illinois, and that you only got to see DC for four months out of the year(most of which you never checked in to vote). I understand that for you to succeed that you will need to surround yourself with people and players that know the In's and Out's, and the politics of Washington. But don't stand there and lie or try to get away with tell the American people that change is coming TO Washington and not coming FROM Washington. Change we can believe in?? That's to be seen...

Which now leads me to my rant: the economy.

Did you know that the unemployment rate is the lowest it has ever been since 1945? 2.63 million people have lost their jobs. Which is causing the economy to drop further into it's current slump. And all the "government" can do is bailout the big companies that are now effected cause of the job loses. The housing market, auto industries, banks. Believe it or not all of these are all one in the same.

"Dave" loses his job of 20 years, cannot make his mortgage payment on his house, bank forecloses on his house, the bank that loaned Dave the money for his house borrowed the money from a bigger bank. The auto industries now seeing that Dave and money others like Dave are losing their jobs, and cannot afford to buy new vehicles, are still producing cars, trucks, and suv's as if the economy was on a high note. Spending all this money to produce and not getting anything in return, down goes the auto industry.

Bailout... What is with this new sense of fall back that everyone is depending on?? My company is losing money... Government Bailout! We aren't producing as much as before... Government Bailout!! How come everyone out there is looking for a hand out all of a sudden?

I might be wrong here and correct me if I am, but isn't that what this country was founded on, what it was made of? Our sense of hard work, dedication, making a name for yourself, blood, sweat, tears, all for the cause and the WANT of "The American Dream". And when the times got bad, they worked harder, and if they failed, by God they picked themselves up, dusted the dirt off, and got back on that horse that bucked them off and tried again. And they would go through hell for a heavenly cause to try and get a piece of that dream.

I urge you to go out and ask your mother/father, your grandparents, if they ever wanted a bailout when times got rough? And then ask them if their parents and grandparents wanted that same bailout. I can guarantee you that their answers would be a "no", no rather a "hell no". Everything that they had, they earned, nothing was ever given to them. They would rather go without then get a handout.

You want to get out of this economic slump?
-Stop printing money! Sure it will help in the short term, but we will be in the same situation we are in now because of it. And what good is printing money if you don't have enough to back it up.
- Stop giving houses to people that cannot afford them.
- Tell Big Businesses to stop whining, get off their asses and work harder!
- You want to pump money into the economy? Make jobs for those 2.6 million people that are unemployed. FDR did it, it worked, who's to say it cannot work again
- Get off your ass and stop whining! I know it is harsh, but that's the way the world and life is. roll up your sleeves and don't be afraid to get dirty!

You want a change you can believe in? Believe in yourself, cause it all starts with you. Nothing in life is free, everything has a price, and no one said its going to be easy.

The Book of Richard 2:2, Remembering

First I would like to apologize to all, it has been a long long time since the last time I posted anything. And as much as I would like to catch yall up on the happenings of Richard, and also talk about the election, I'm going to have to respectfully decline to a later time in which to do so.

My mom and dad came to Corpus this weekend to visit me and they brought Abby with them, she was also happy to see me, and check out where I have been living the past 2 months. They got to come in on Saturday morning, and little to their knowledge I prepared a brisket, and beans, and sausage for lunch/dinner. It was real nice to finally treat my parents for once. They have always done it for me, even when they would come to my apartment in Abilene, so it was great to return the favor after all these years. We got to watch the Longhorn game, and a lot more college football that has taken up the just of my Saturdays since college football started back in September.

Sunday I got up and made breakfast for them, eggs, bacon, bisects, and mimosa's. After wards we got in the truck and drove down to the beach, so Abby can run in the sand and see the water. Which at first she was a little freaked out by it, by got closer and closer as the time went on. When we were down on the beach we could see the USS Lexington in the distance, and it got me remembering the last time I was with my dad in Corpus.

I was in the sixth grade and my history class was going on a field trip to Corpus to see the USS Lexington and learn about WWII. Well for the first time my dad was going to be a chaperon for my class. I was so excited, I had always got to hang out with my dad, but it was at home, or he had brought me along with him to work. But for the first time I got to be with him outside those environments. As we left the school I was so excited that I could hardly sit still, and all I heard was how big my dad was, I think that everyone was in awe! Once we got there it was so much fun to see all the planes, guns, life boats, the rooms, and to jump in between the doors. We got to ride the outside elevators to the ships main deck as we got to learn about the battles it saw in WWII, and how the catapult worked. Looking back on it I don't think I left my dad's side the whole time, and saying "look at this!" and "look isn't this awesome?!"

It was just about the most fun time that I had in my life, and what made it better was the fact that my dad got to experience the whole thing with me. It was amazing really. It was right there when I scored my first run in baseball and he was there to give me a high five, and when I had won my first football game a couple of years later. It's a feeling that I will always remember no matter how much time passes by. And I look forward to the day when I can take my son there and watch as he has the same great time that I did.