Carey and I celebrated Valentine’s Day yesterday. Valentine’s Day is a special day for me because it is the first holiday Carey and I ever celebrated together. We started dating December 27th of 2007, were apart on New year’s Eve, and so Valentine’s Day was the first opportunity I had to celebrate a holiday […]
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Living an Unbalanced Life
February 8, 2011 
6 Comments
I’m an optimist. I’ve come to realize this over the past few years, much to the surprise of many. I always hope for the best but am afraid of the worst. Maybe I’m a little more manic about my fears and concerns now that I have faced cancer, but I am essentially an optimist. It’s […]
Continue readingSaying Goodbye to an Old Friend
December 27, 2010 8 Comments
Set your way-back machine to early 1986. I was sixteen-years-old and I had mononucleosis. I was a skinny runt of a kid who lost way too much weight from his sickness. My mom went up to the local video store, 16,000 Movies, and spent an hour telling the owner about her son. About how great […]
Continue readingThree Lessons I Learned From The Airlines
December 20, 2010 1 Comment
I was flying to and from Washington, DC last week and I realized that the airlines have taught me many things. I figured I’d share some of those lessons with you. My empty drink can is not trash. Neither is my napkin, the wrapper for my candy bar, or the newspaper I am done reading. […]
Continue reading From the Kitchen of Fern Hicks and Charlene Hicks Sparks
December 12, 2010 2 Comments
My mom was a great cook. She loved to cook for the entire family and we had some really great food traditions. One of my favorite dishes mom made was her holiday Buckeyes, a great snack to pop in your mouth to curb the hunger beast. Most of my mom’s recipes came from her mother. I remember, […]
Continue reading We Buried My Mom Today
December 6, 2010 4 Comments
We buried my mom today. I write as a cathartic release, a way to deal with the emotions that threaten to consume me. I am not sure what I am trying to say in this blog, it is very stream-of-conscience, but I need to talk about my mom. I can’t NOT do this, so here […]
Continue reading Rest in Peace, Mom
November 29, 2010 6 Comments
At 12:21pm today my mom, Charlene Delores Sparks, passed away peacefully in her sleep, surrounded by her children and loved ones at Florida Hospital, Celebration Health near Orlando, Florida. She was 62 years, 9 months, and 8 days old. I am not going to type an emotional blog here – not yet, maybe never. Many of […]
Continue readingMom Needs Kidney Dialysis
November 25, 2010 2 Comments
As you know, mom has been battling a septic fungal infection for a few weeks now. That infection has prevented her from recovering completely and has stopped the surgeons from finishing her skin grafts so she can go home. The infection is extremely difficult to control. Fungal infections are notoriously hard to fight because, […]
Continue readingTSA – I Told You So
November 22, 2010 1 Comment
I told you so. In March of 2010 I blogged about how Airport Body Scanners Violate My Rights. I decried their use, told you they were unconstitutional, and expressed concerns over privacy and how invasive they are. Now that the holiday season is here, the backlash against the TSA is in full swing. The rollout […]
Continue readingMom’s Fungal Infection
November 14, 2010 0 Comments
I blogged the day before yesterday about how well Mom was doing. Her fever was under control and her bacterial infection was under control. Mom was awake, in pain, but communicating with me and she was looking better than she had for weeks. Her vital signs were stable and she was almost ready to get […]
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The Binary Biker 