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Showing posts from 2020

The Bird Clock - A Running Joke

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 By: Dad AKA Matt      I was a young boy, about 11 or 12, when my dad gifted me the Bird Clock, in all its glory.  I don't remember what I was hoping for that Christmas, but it definitely was not the ugliest, most annoying clock ever created.  Looking back, I should have known something was up.  My dad seemed particularly interested when I was opening that gift.  He had the biggest smile on his face, in contrast to my look of confusion. Every hour, on the hour, this clock promised to produce a different bird call at max volume.  This was a promise that it delivered upon all day, every day.  My dad immediately volunteered to hang it in my bedroom.  It lasted about a day and a half before I removed it and hid it somewhere in the house.  About 3 days later, my dad found it and hung it back up. It found a new and improved hiding spot immediately.  This pattern continued until I finished my senior year of high school and packed up to leave for college.  I made sure to leave the Bird Clo

9 lives

By: Matt AKA Dad To my boys and future nephews/nieces - you can’t put a price on loyalty. The willingness to devote yourself to someone or something no matter what is an unselfish ability that can’t be overstated.  True loyalty will invoke a series of other virtues: toughness, resilience, empathy, love. Uncle Bernie and I were lucky enough to witness true loyalty everyday in the form of a Springer Spaniel named Butch.  For those of you that didn’t know him, I hope you still enjoy a sampling of the stories that he provided. He was so tough, he didn’t just cheat death a few times, he literally had 9 lives. We brought Butch home when I was about 5 years old, so my earliest memories of him are hazy and fleeting. His first daring act was done early in his life, so I’m relying on second-hand accounts in order to tell it. Apparently my dad had decided to bake a fresh loaf of bread and put the pan of dough on top of our coal stove to start rising. The problem with that was, our coal stove

Rooting for Failure

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 By: Matt AKA Dad A memory that stands out in my mind comes from my early soccer-playing years. I was playing on an AYSO team and showed up a few minutes late for practice. A consequence for this was that I had to run several laps before joining the team, which isn’t all that unusual. Here’s the funny part: my dad was the one that drove me to practice AND he was the coach! You read that right, he drove me to practice and then made me run laps for being late! Reflecting on that memory made me think about the different ways we can support our kids. It also brought me to a question. What type of parent do I want to be?  One of the most common types are what I think of as the sports agent. I’ll be the first to admit that I’ve taken on this role a few times. The sports agent are the mom or dad who flirt with the possibility of their child becoming a pro athlete. They are the helicopter parent of the sports arena. They make sure everyone has exactly 4 orange slices for halftime or make a sna

The Untold Story

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By: Dad AKA Matt This is not an easy post to write simply because I wasn't sure how to approach it. My family and I created this blog to share stories from our lives that teach, uplift, and make you laugh. This narrative is one of the best stories that was almost never told.  That's right, the title is a slight misnomer. Personally, I've only heard the story  just one time.  When my grandfather  shared it, I was  flabbergasted. He revealed the story in the blink of an eye, I nearly missed it and had to ask quite a few questions to make sure I was really understanding what I heard! Years later, my brother Zack and I reminisced about why such a great story was never brought up again.  Now, as a father trying to instill my personal values unto my sons, I think I know why.  Nonetheless,the story is NOT the focal point nor the moral of this post.  It is the WHY that holds the value. and is the true takeaway. My grandfather, Pop Fegley, loved to tell us stories. And personally,

Strong enough to bend

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By Dad AKA Matt I started writing this post about fatherhood several months ago but never finished. As I started reading it over once more, I realized just how relevant it is. I decided to keep the original section regarding a parenting style/mindset but tie it into how we can apply it to the issues of today. In my opinion, the best fathers (and mothers) are strong, not necessarily in the physical sense, but mentally, spiritually, and emotionally. In fact, they are strong enough to bend, without breaking. This tends to fly in the face of popular opinion because people often think the strongest never back down, never give an inch. However, if we don’t have the capacity to understand our children’s perspective, what are we teaching them? If it’s simply “my way or the highway”, does that mean we say we love them and would do anything for them, but not enough to care what they say or think? It is our job to show them we will always do what we believe is in their best interest, whi

Mother’s Day tips

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By: Matt, Zack, and Opa What NOT to do for your wife (mother of your children) or mom on Mother’s Day - unless she specifically asks, don’t buy her any type of appliance. If she does and you do, make sure you have an additional gift - give her a card with money in it - make her a card, unless you’re under 13 years old - forget about Mother’s Day - buy her exercise clothes or equipment - offer to sell the kids - try to cook her something you don’t know how to make (thanks for the burnt creme brûlée honey...) - actually sell the kids -  volunteer to go see your mother in law - Go fishing all day and say that you will catch a large mouth bass in her honor - offer her a foot massage, using your feet - Do a sexy naked dance. Nobody wants to see that. Especially your mom. - buy something you have to put together yourself - offer to take her camping in a tent - get her flowers...from your garden - buy her a meat smoker, meat grinder or filet knife - give your mother and th

Think Before You...Fall

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By: Dave Hoffman AKA Opa AKA Big Poppa Huff I have a dog, his name is Barney. Barney the dog is spoiled. 365 days a year Barney and I go for a walk, regardless of the weather, at 6 AM. One morning this past winter I awoke to hear the wind howling and the rain pinging off the windows.  Barney was awake and sitting at the bedside anxiously waiting for me. Okay Barney. I put on my flannel-lined jeans and my Lands End blizzard parka, grabbed an umbrella and his doggy leash, we were on our way. We completed our twenty minute walk and I was anxious to get home for a hot shower before work. Most of the time we enter and exit our house via our garage, today was no exception. Much to my surprise, when I tried to open the garage door, it was locked! At that moment the wind and rain seemed to pick up. Perfect timing. Flannel-lined jeans don’t help when they’re soaking wet.  It was then that I remembered for emergencies like this I always leave one of our windows unlocked so I could get int

Judge first

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By: Dad AKA Matt Popular opinion is to never judge a book by its cover. However, I disagree with this maxim based solely on that specific example alone. I don’t know about you, but I literally look at a book’s cover when I’m browsing a bookstore. If it doesn’t appear interesting, it’s time to move on. Same with people, we don’t always have time to get to know someone on a deeper level. It’s ok to form an opinion based on YOUR observations. That being said...be willing to alter your opinions. The other day, a friend of mine called an agent with a local insurance company. This was the first time he had ever called this particular company. He wanted to get some quotes on life insurance policies, which he told the agent up front.  The agent said he understood, then began referring to my friend by his first name, casually cursing during the conversation, and insisted on trying to sell him other policies too. Terrible first impression! It did not take long for my friend to decide that he w

Just Another Tuesday

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By: Uncle Dave Yanetti I was a milkman.  Yes, I was a modern day milkman.  I delivered milk to dollar generals, restaurants, and mom and pop shops.  It was physical, dirty, smelly, sticky ,  and had an extremely early starting time (3-4am to be exact).  The main way to move product in and out of stores is to use a dolly.  When I first started I thought, no problem! How hard could that be?  Find your balance point and you are on your way!  Well,  it  turns out , milk is  pretty heavy .  Four gallons fit in on e  case and we wheeled in six cases at a time .   Twenty-four gallons at a time, m ilk is  pretty heavy .   On one of my first days, we s topped at a dollar store we had every Tuesday .  Entering this store proved difficult as you had to walk on a raise d  sidewalk with the milk and the door opened towards you.  To make this easy, my trainer recommended I put a crate down to hold the door open  while he went to the back of the store to organize the milk .  To o easy, the door 

Caiden and the Catfish

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By: Dave Hoffman AKA Opa AKA Big Poppa Huff I don’t know why but I could always catch fish. In central Pennsylvania the first day of spring trout fishing was more anticipated than Christmas. When the big day arrived I could stand shoulder to shoulder with ten other fishermen and catch fish after fish while they caught nothing. My grandpap would would watch me and say “please catch one more and quit before they throw you in the stream!“ Time went by. I had two boys of my own. The new tradition was to take them and all of their friends trout fishing on that first day. We all had a blast, but I seemed to catch the biggest and most fish than anyone. My youngest son Zach seemed to be prey to my fishing prowess more than anyone else, as I would tell him to watch me catch a trout from under this stump or under this rock and some how always come through. Time goes by. My oldest son Matt came home with his oldest boy Caiden.  Zach was also home. I thought it was a great time for the four o

Turkey trot

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By: Matt AKA Dad The warning sign for the events about to unfold should have been just how normal & pleasant the day started out. I was still pretty young, about 6-7 years old, but old enough to play in the front yard by myself. We lived out in the country with forest behind the house and cornfields in front, so there was never a concern about “stranger danger”. It was just my mom and I at home that day and we had recently finished a nice breakfast together. The temperature was already in the 70s, so I was anxious to go kick the soccer ball around. Mom was staying inside to enjoy her favorite pastime, cleaning the house.  (Side note - mine is the only mother I know that would regularly take every dish out of the cupboards to dust. If dusting were an Olympic sport, there would be a gold medal on display in our house!)  I wasn’t outside long before our neighbor’s large brown Labrador, named Bo (I suspect after Bo Derrick), came trotting over for a visit, which wasn’t unusual. She a

Know Your Limits

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By: Opa AKA Big Poppa Huff AKA Dave Hoffman Know your limits. I am not a handyman. I take great care of sick patients. I can really cook. I can run and lift heavy weights. I am not a handyman. Many years ago my wife  decided she wanted to cover up the orange painted walls in our kitchen with a light colored wall paper. She announced that she going to hire a handyman to do the job. I felt an insult to my manliness. I said wait, I can do the wallpapering, after all how difficult could it be? Pick out the wallpaper and and I will take care of it on my next day off of work. At the time I was working in the local emergency room but I was mentally preparing to put up wallpaper. This was long before You-tube instructional videos, but I thought it would be easy, wet the wallpaper, slap it on the wall, then trim the top and bottom. How would I do the trimming? I had the Eureka moment, I would borrow a metal scalpel handle with removable metal blades, perfect! The big day arrived. I was hom

Rainy days

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By: Uncle Dave Marshall Paul  Fegley .  Unless you grew up in the small village of Lavelle in the mid-20 th  century, you probably  don’t  recognize this name.  So who exactly is Marsh?  Well, in my life, Marshall wore many hats.   First and foremost , he was my grandfather.  He was also my father figure, coach, mentor, biggest fan and harshest critic.   He taught me how to drive.  He showed me proper grass mowing techniques (never cut low, in the same pattern or in a circular pattern with the trimmings blowing inward) .  He is the reason I shovel my sidewal k and then a pproximately 12 inches on both  side s .  He is the reason I  don’t open my fridge unless I know what I am looking for and  why I arrive early to any commitment I have .  Most importantly, he is the reason I never sit down when I shake another person’s hand. Marshall and Eva, my grandparents, took me into their home when life handed me unfortunate circumstances.  I was always close with them so this move felt qu

The second woman I’ve ever loved

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By: Uncle Dave A wise man once told me that if I am going to give a speech, regardless of the context, I need to tell a story. When I leaned that my grandmother’s health was  declining, I began to reflect on all of my memories of her .  These memories spanned from when I was a child to my young adult life.   My goal was to pick the perfect nana story.  Who was she as a person and what did she mean to our family.    After days of  reflection,  I  came to the conclusion  that I do not have a story to share with you here today. You see, my relationship with my grandmother was unique for a variety of reasons.  From my earliest memories, nana was my safety blanket that shielded me from  life’s  unfavorable  actions.  Growing up, there were many times  that I felt extremely uncertain about myself and the situations that were evolving around me.  Nana  was there, every  single time ,  to  extend her hand,  sit me down, dust me off and t ell me life goes on.  Nana was my outlet.  I

Perfect

By: Matt AKA Dad Eva Marie Fegley, better known in our family as “Nana”, was MY grandmother. She took on many other roles in her life and was depended upon by many people over the years. She was a daughter, a sister, wife to one man, mother of 2 beautiful girls, grandmother of 4 boys, and great grandmother of 5 more boys. Nana also held several part-time and full-time jobs through her life, was an active member in her church, served on a local council, and was willing to help a community member at the drop of a hat. Nana was never an overly affectionate woman. She was not adverse to a hug, but she wasn’t the type to cover you with kisses and it was rare to hear the words “I love you”. However, most of my favorite memories include Nana. Anytime we went to visit Nana and Pop, I would purposefully hurry ahead so that I would be the first to enter the kitchen, where I knew she’d be waiting. You see, I wanted to receive MY special greeting. “Hello Matt! How are you?!”, with the bigg

Manly things

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By: Dad AKA Matt Magazines like to tell us what REAL MEN do, so I thought it would be fun to put together a list of Myths, Maybes, and Must-haves for Men. These are obviously just one person’s opinion and completely up for debate! If you have any additions or contradictions, please share (keep it PG, please). Myths about Manhood: Know how to change the oil in a car Shoot a (insert animal here) Grow a beard  Own a dog  Get in a fight Drink beer Drive a truck Men believe the WWE is real Listen to country music Maybes for Men: Own a pet  Cut the grass Operate a motor vehicle Know how to whistle  Never order a steak well done Now that we’ve gotten those out of the way, these are must-haves in your manly toolbelt: Shake someone’s hand firmly while making eye contact Know how to cook at least one good meal, without a recipe Be able to defend your home and loved ones, with or without a weapon Know your worth and don't settle for less Never hit a wom

One more hill

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By: Dad AKA Matt Let me set the table for this story. It was summertime and I was 15 years old. Since I couldn’t drive yet, my main mode of transportation was my bike. It was a pretty standard mountain bike, which could get me to and from the nearest town, about 5 miles away. I spent everyday that summer going somewhere on that bike with my friends. One Friday, my dad got home from work and said to call Joel and Bum (my friends that lived nearby) to come spend the night and bring their bikes. I asked what he had in mind and he just smiled, saying “you’ll see”. The only other information he would divulge was that they should bring some spending money and not to make any other plans for Saturday. That morning, my dad woke us up early to get started. He still wouldn’t tell us where we were going or how far the ride would be, just insisted that we were going on an adventure. Shrugging our shoulders, we mounted up. We had learned a long time ago not to question him. The ride started o

Accountability partner

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By: Matt AKA Dad Accountability partner: any person that holds you to a high standard and will assist you in reaching your full potential. My dad, also known as Opa to my sons, was my first accountability partner.  The earliest example I can remember was when I was in 5th grade. We were on our way home from football practice and he was asking me how it went, if it was hard, if I was tired, etc. As I was in the middle of telling him that it was easy and I wasn’t tired, I noticed his truck slowing down. This wouldn’t seem unusual if we were pulling into our driveway, but we were still a mile from home! He said  “If you’re not too tired, let’s see if you can make it home before I get dinner warmed up”, so I climbed out with my football gear still on, and he pulled away! With the sun setting behind me, I began to run, determined to beat him before our food was ready. Thus began a ritual that continued for the next several years. By the time I was in 9th grade, I was asking him to drop