Congratulations to Jim and Natalie. Thier little bundle of joy was born today, a girl. Well, Jim, you were practically the last one to have kids... it's about time. CONGRATS! You guys are going to make awesome parents!!
9-20-01
September 11, 2001, 6:28 AM, PST, the alarm clock wakes me up with the sound of a commercial on the radio. I instantly hit the snooze button and fall back asleep. At 6:35 the alarm goes off again. My radio is always set to 104.1 FM, the central valley home of the nationally syndicated Bob & Tom show, a lively comedic morning radio program. I could tell right away that something wasn’t right.
Read MoreAs matrimony draws closer for two of the Brothers I want to take this opportunity to wish the best to both and good luck for my two new sisters-in-law; one of which was quoted as saying, "When I met your brother I knew he was Mr. Right, I just didn't know his first name was 'Always' " - I can't say which one said it but for anyone that knows my bros, it's easy to figure out.
Mike, Shauna, Dawn and I saw Kenny Chesney & Tim McGraw in Marysville at the Sac Valley Amphitheatre. It was a great show with Kenny getting the place really pumped for Tim. He did "I Wanna Know How Forever Feels" and released about 20 "big orange balls" into the stands. When the first verse ended, "I wanna know how Jimmy Buffet feels..." he and the band broke out into "Margaritaville" and then continued the song. The highlight of his show for me was his cover of Billy Joel's"You May Be Right."
Tim McGraw was electrifying! His show was just as much visual and anything else with huge screens just behind the band that provided some cool backdrops to his tunes. His show opened with the Elton John classic"Tiny Dancer" which he started singing in the middle of the audience on a barstool and then made his way to the stage walking through a sea of crazed fans. Tim did a lot of songs from his new album "Set This Circus Down" and a lot of his classics. During "Don't Take The Girl" the screen in the back was showing the words to the song so everyone could sing with him (as if there was anyone there that DIDN'T know the words!) Mark Collie, Kenny Chesney came out and helped Tim finish the show with the last song. Oh, and in case you were wondering.... there was no Faith 
Our 21st year. This year we took over the Gunn House Hotel in Downtown Sonora. The weekend was chocked full of partying, drinking and karaoke with undeniably the greatest performance of "Devil..." done by Joe and The Gang ever! There was an unusually bad version of"You Don't Bring Me Flowers Anymore" done by two nameless people that was thankfully ended before the end of the song. Someone checked the box that increased the key of the song up a few steps and the singers didn't realize it. And then of course, there was the pranks! Breaking in and thrashing rooms was not too difficult since the rooms were very old and the locks were antiquated simple to pick. Salt in bed sheets, lotion on toilet seats, shaving cream on the door handles all made for a great weekend. Kelly came up with a great song-title game to play around the pool. Of course, the newbies did get the "Saints" march - courtesy of Mike, Shauna, Dawn and Tony. Who knows what fun next year will bring!!!
A Tribute to Ty "T-BONE" Osborn Ty C. Osborn 10/27/1978 - 1/4/2001
It seems I was still dealing with the shock of losing my Mother when I received the phone call from my Aunt. I was at home, on the computer, getting ready to go to work. She said that she was sorry for calling me with bad news but that she just learned that Ty had taken his own life the night before.
Ty was like a little brother to me. Mike and I would babysit him when he was little (which was no easy task.) Ty was allergic to everything when he was young. He had to eat bran cereal with apple juice instead of milk. He couldn't eat candy or drink soda but Mike and I would sometimes sneak him goodies when we would take him to the movies. In fact, we took him to see E.T. shortly after it opened.
Ty was agenius as far as I was concerned. At a very young age he was hacking into phone systems and computers. When he was 9 or 10 he got me into the world of BBS (the true predecessor of the 'net.) He used to sysop a cool board and would spend time on mine as well. Wow, it's amazing that we used to think that was so high-tech.
Ty worked at Pac-West Telecomm. His Mom knew the owner but he didn't get a golden ticket in. He started there when he about 15 or 16 and when I worked there in the call center. He started off doing meaningless tasks for the pc techs and cleaning the switch room. He had moved up quite a bit in the years he was there but I can't think of his title... too high-tech for my brain.
Ty's parents decided on celebrating his life with a ceremony and get-together at Steamboat Slough Beach. It was a nice gathering and the LaRues were very generous to his parents.
I miss Ty and think about him all the time. I always thought we would grow old together and he would be the CEO of some company by the time he was 30. He was a good kid and I miss him very much.
If you wish to support a charity in Ty's honor. you can make a donation to: Caring Christmas Tree P.O. Box 95 Linden, CA 95236 This year-round migrant labor support program is something in which Ty and his family has participated for the past 15 years. Your contribution to this program would mean a lot to the family
