Mike has been one of the most innovative writers since he broke into the field with Nexus, which he co-created with Steve Rude in 1982.
Badger followed Nexus. Spyke followed Badger. Feud followed Spyke. Mike has written Punisher, Flash, Deadman, Star Wars, and has three issues of Legends of the Dark Knight in the works, should the artist ever emerge from his cave. Mike has been nominated for Best Writer in the Kirby, Harvey and Eisner Awards, and has won two Eisners for his work on Nexus. In his spare time he collects rocks and attempts to smuggle his dog into the finer restaurants. He is trying to write novels. Here you will find Mike’s history of books, the characters, the Mike Baron Forum, and Links to other sites of interest, mostly Mike’s crackpot friends. Just want to give your self a glorious and attractive appearance? Prefer to guard your natural hair from flat iron, curled and a variety of some other modifications? Wigs are usually the response to all of your fashion specifications. Purchasing discount costume and halloween wigs will help you expertise any hair fashion that you would like - even though currently being secure.Why you should go to Community College
You will find that there are many reasons for you to attend community college these days and it will be imperative for you to consider as many of them as possible. If you do not have any parents paying for your education, you will definitely need to know how to avoid going too far into debt. There are going to be numerous ways to save money on your college education, including going to one of the community colleges in your area. Community Colleges tend to cost far less in terms of tuition than universities or state colleges, which is why more and more people are starting to attend them.
Finding the Right Program
If you are planning to go to community college like so many other people, you will definitely need to have some idea as to which program you are going to choose, because this will be a very important aspect of your overall education. The best thing you can do when you are going about selecting a certain Melbourne Florida community college is to pay attention to the programs that each of them offer. You will be able to use this as part of your criteria in choosing the right school.
Saving Money with Community College
There is no doubt whatsoever that you will be able to save money by going to community college; it’s why so many young people are starting to do this so you should really think about doing the same. When you really think about it community college is the best option for those who want to get a good education but cannot afford to spend a lot of money on it. Even if you are going to school on a student loan, you do not want to rack up more debt than is necessary.
Community Colleges in Melbourne
In order to select the right Melbourne Florida community college, you will first need to have a look at what some of your options are going to be like. When you go online and start looking at these options, you will be able to get all kinds of information which you can use to choose a certain school to attend for whichever type of program you are interested in. Some schools are known for having better programs than others, so make sure you choose one that is well suited to your needs.
San Francisco party planner - What’s his role
The role of San Francisco party planner is crucial. The success of a party depends entirely on him. His main role comprises organizing, setting up, and managing corporate or private parties by finding the perfect venue, scheduling the event, negotiating rates with vendors, deciding upon the table arrangement, what food and drink will be served and to plan the inclusion of entertainment programs in the party.
Most of the parties are not complete unless you have a dance floor and a DJ is a must in that case. Arranging for disco lights, or preparing a set that resembles a discotheque, arranging for a disc jockey, and negotiating fees with him, and also deciding what numbers the DJ will be playing at the party, all this is taken care of by the San Francisco event planner.
Not only do the event planners arrange everything, most of them are present at the party on the grand day to see that everything is moving according to the plan. The greater the party, more time and energy will have to be put in.
If you hire one of the best San Francisco party planners, you will have to discuss few aspects with the planner. Thereafter, the event manager will make the necessary arrangements. However, he has to be provided with the basic information first and that includes-
- The reason why the party is taking place so that the décor can be planned accordingly. For instance, if it is a birthday party, the décor will be different as compared to a housewarming party.
- The budget within which the planner has to operate
- Number of guests attending the party
In other words, within the budget, the best possible arrangement is made by the event planner like selecting the venue and seeing its availability on a particular date and time, talking to caterers, florists, and other vendors that will play an instrumental role in the event.
San Francisco party planners and event managers
There are many San Francisco party planners you can choose from. Given below is a list of the same with their names-
- Bob Gail Special Events
- A Wynning Event
- Bella Celebrations
- Glorious Events
- Inspire Productions
- 2 the 9s Events
- 360 Events
- Abuzz Events
- Boutique Events
- Organized Chaos Events
As far as the fee charged by the event planner is concerned, it varies from one project to another depending on the nature of the event.
Refinancing Your Funeral Home Loan: A Guide to Understanding Refinancing
If you have already taken out a funeral home loan, then you are probably interested in learning about funeral home refinancing and saving money on that loan. Fortunately, saving money on a funeral home loan really isn’t as difficult as one may think. In fact, Individuals who participate in funeral home refinancing will find that they can protect the interests of their business and increase its value, while saving money in the long run. Refinancing has many benefits, but understanding the process is the first step to get you started in the right direction.
How Does Refinancing Work?
Funeral home refinancing allows borrowers to access lower interest rates and different terms of repayment. During the refinancing period, borrowers can extend their repayment period in order to access a lower monthly payment. The repayment period can also be shortened when refinancing in order to pay off the loan sooner and avoid paying too much interest.
Funeral home refinancing allows borrowers to customize their loan to their liking, with options such as lowering their monthly payment, etc. it comes as no surprise that refinancing is becoming a popular option among many business owners today.
Is It Difficult To Refinance A Funeral Home Loan?
Since funeral home loans come in all different shapes and sizes and are available from a wide array of lenders, some lenders may make refinancing funeral home loans difficult and expensive, while others will be able to accommodate your requests with no problem.
However, since funeral home loans are a specialized type of financing, it can often be difficult to find the right lender. Most funeral home lenders for example, offer financing of some form or another, but not all of these lenders could offer funeral home loans themselves. Loans like this can be extremely specialized, which means it may take a bit of research to find the right lender and refinancing options.
Still have questions on how funeral home refinancing works? Visit funeralfinancing.net
Reader Magazine - What makes this magazine unique
The Reader Magazine is a unique online magazine with a customer base that has exceeded 390,000 readers and more are being added every year to this figure. The online magazine published by Christopher Theodore is circulated free four times in a year and is one of the widely read magazine in the all of United States especially California. This magazine has a prominent presence on almost all the social media platforms. This magazine is basically mailed to readers.
The uniqueness of the Reader Magazine lies in the original and interesting articles that are published at regular intervals. These articles cover a wide array of topics that include everything that you can think of. The topics that are covered in the magazine include Science, Business, Environment, and International as well as National stories and not to leave behind the local news too. Also the magazine has supporting videos for the articles that are written.
One of the interesting aspects of this online magazine is that all the write ups have been written by prominent individuals that belong to different walks of life and the ones that have lived the experience that they narrate in these write ups. Also there are several Pulitzer Prize winning writers that have contributed to the different article sections in the Reader Magazine.
In most of the cases you will find that the articles have trailing comment sections. This section will help you to understand what readers perceive about an article and whether or not they have their opinion to express in that particular topic. Not a single story is repeated more than once and every issue of the online magazine will have unique and original content that is informative and can be referred to as a storehouse of knowledge.
You can share stories with your friends if you like any and you can do so through any one of the social media platforms where Reader Magazine has its presence. However, you will find this magazine in almost all social media platforms. So, it will not be difficult for you to share any knowledge you would like to with your friends or peers.
It is a general observation that whenever you are online, you like to settle for a story that will suit your mood. But you may not find these stories in all e-books. But with Reader Magazine, you can lay your hands on any type of story you are looking for be it romantic, melodrama, or one that is full of action.
Your New Career Options with ACLS Certification
Once you get your ACLS certification you will quickly discover that a lot of career opportunities will open up for you. Just make sure that you devote enough time to searching for the right place to get your certification as well as some of the benefits that come along with doing so. After you have successfully completed the necessary course, you will be able to receive your certification and start applying for jobs that you were previously ineligible for. While this type of certification may not appeal to everyone in the healthcare industry, it is still a good idea for many.
Getting Your ACLS Certification
In order to receive your ACLS certification, you will first need to take a few courses which will take around 10-12 hours to complete altogether. After you have completed these courses you will then need to take a written exam which will essentially test you on everything you have learned in the courses. In these courses you will be trained in resuscitating someone who has gone into cardiac arrest among other things; this type of training will prepare you for real life situations in these jobs so you will know exactly how to respond.
Who should get their ACLS Certification?
Anyone who works in certain areas of the healthcare industry and wants to further their career and make more money will definitely need to consider going through the necessary course for getting this particular certification. After you have completed the required course and passed the written exam, you will be able to work as a nurse in emergency rooms, recovery rooms, intensive care units, and other similar areas located in hospitals. There are many other types of jobs you can get with this certification, which is all the more reason why you should go for it as soon as possible.
The fact of the matter is that you are going to have a lot of great opportunities when it comes to the healthcare industry and one of the best ways to further your career is to get an ACLS certification. This Advanced Cardiovascular Life Support certification will allow you to treat and work with victims of cardiac arrest, resuscitating them and providing life-saving treatments on a regular basis. Anyone who is interested in having a job that requires doing these things each day will want to start working towards their certification.
How Much Fat Can You Burn With Raspberry Ketones?
Burning Fat
The amount of fat that can be burned with raspberry ketones really just depends on a person’s starting weight. For example, if an individual weights 200 pounds or more, he or she may experience rapid weight loss in the first few weeks. This happens due to the removal of water weight. However, after all of this occurs, the rate of fat loss will begin to decline as the person’s body actually starts to burn the fat.
Realistically speaking, individuals should expect to lose anywhere around 3 to 5 pounds in a week. In a month, anywhere from 8 to 15 pounds is realistic. Although it sounds like common sense, individuals cannot simply multiply the expected weekly weight loss by 4 to get the amount lost in a month, as a person’s body will start to adjust to the new diet and that will change the rate of weight loss.
Health Diet And Exercise
When it comes to weight loss supplements like raspberry ketones, the importance of healthy diet and exercise is often overlooked. While this supplement will most certainly help individuals lose weight, combining the pills with a healthy diet and exercise regime will be more beneficial and if anything, help double the rate at which individuals lose weight.
A healthy diet is not only beneficial, in that it helps individuals lose weight at a quicker rate, but thanks to high levels of antioxidants in healthy food, free radicals which are responsible for unhealthy and age related disease as well as obesity will also be eliminated.
Combining exercise with this all natural supplement will leave your skin looking better, in addition to giving you a lot more energy. It will increase your muscle mass and improve cardiovascular function. Thus, your weight loss efforts will be improved even further. Individuals who engage in exercise while sticking to a healthy diet, can expect to lose around 4 to 8 pounds a week, or 15-25 pounds a month!
Dosage
With information being thrown about every which way nowadays, it can be confusing when it comes to questions regarding the correct raspberry ketones dosage. Some say that you should take as little as 50 mg a day while others have stated that 1000 mg a day is the correct dosage to take. However, the actual recommended dosage is 100 mg, either once or twice daily. It is recommended that individuals who only wish to drop a few pounds take the supplement once a day and those individuals who are looking to lose a significant amount take it twice a day.
Even more important than the dosage, is what time of day the pill should be taken for best results. Hands down, the morning is the best time to take your pill. It should be taken when you eat your breakfast. The reason for this being that in the morning your body is primed for fat burning thanks to it being depleted from energy. Therefore, your body will have to get its energy from the stored fat. Try to keep in mind that a common misunderstanding with all weight loss supplements is that a higher dosage will result in greater and faster weight loss. This simply is not true. If anything, you will just pass this extra amount without any benefit ever being received.
Read more information regarding E-Cigarette Reviews here.
Sprint promo codes and much more for you
The reason behind the existence of online codes is the fact that none of us likes bearing the entire cost of a thing. You’ll have ample time at hand once you order a thing online, since it doesn’t require you to visit the store physically. Besides these hassles you’ll even end up saving loads of money when you order online. Once you find out the right way and right place to put the Sprint promo codes to use you’re bound to save more money than usual. Don’t keep a code in your shelf, as they remain valid for a stipulated period of time.
You won’t miss out on your savings if you use these codes till they’re valid. Things do change very quickly with telephone services like Sprint; you won’t feel like missing out on phone offers that are still valid. You may visit a few discount forums if you’re eager to catch up with the latest Sprint Promo code that suits your requirements. These forums have experts that analyze the benefits attached with these codes for you; so you don’t need to spend a lot of time over it. You’re likely to come across several other providers besides Sprint that are offering similar offers, but you mustn’t forget that not all of these offers are genuine.
These discounts are mostly applicable while you’re checking out to ensure that you know how much you’re paying and what you’re actually paying for.
How to go about it
The best thing about using a promo code is that you don’t need to adjust it or go through a lot of hassles; all you need to do is to scratch it and enter the code.
Saving money is not a big deal now that you purchase so many things online; what’s more important is how much you’re actually saving out of a code. The coupons that you use would actually depend on the purpose for which you’re buying them. Cutout coupons tend to push you through a mess and you seem to be dragged into a never ending haggle with the department sales agents. Things have become a lot simpler now that you need to key your code in for availing quality discounts on your purchases. Sprint promo codes yield great savings every month by way of online discounts, thus underlining the way to a great bright sales future ahead. In case you’re more inclined to know about online promo codes, you may visit a few online sites that depict information about the whereabouts of such codes and their usage.
Ways of getting a Loan with Bad Credit
When you need a loan but you know you have bad credit, there are certain options which you will need to be aware of in order to get what you are looking for with regards to a certain amount of money that you need to borrow. You will be able to find lots of opportunities for bad credit loans online, but you will not want to take advantage of just any of them. Instead you will need to make a special point of seeing what you have to choose from so you can get the very best lender your area has to offer.
Considerations to Make
Those who do not want to settle for just any lender for the loan they need will absolutely have to make a point of taking a few things into consideration, including which lenders have the best overall reputation. When you are looking at a specific lawyer, you will need to refer to the Better Business Bureau in order to make sure they check out as being reputable and trustworthy. As long as you are willing to do this research, you should be able to get the loan you need with minimal issues.
Yet another consideration which you will want to make is the amount of money that you are going to borrow. Because interest rates can be fairly high for those with bad credit, you will need to make sure that you only borrow as much as you need and not a penny more. This way you will keep from overpaying for your loan. You should make certain that you find a lender who will be understanding of your financial situation and not take advantage of it by giving you an interest rate that is too high or hidden fees which are completely unnecessary.
Examining Your Own Credit
Anyone who has bad credit and is trying to get a loan should make sure to know what their credit score is. You will be able to find out what your score is easily enough by going online and going to the appropriate website. Just make sure that the website you go through to get your credit score is legitimate, because you do not want to give personal or financial information to the wrong people.
Despite the fact that bad credit can limit your loan options, you will still be able to get one easily enough as long as you are willing to put in enough time and effort when it comes to finding a lender that is right for your financial needs. Not everyone has the same payment abilities when it comes to their loans, so you will have to find a lender who understands that and will be willing to work with you to come up with a fair payment plan. This way you can pay off your loan within the agreed upon period of time with no problems whatsoever.
Learn about bad credit short term loans.
What to Look for in Home Security Systems
Anyone who is interested in home security systems because they want to protect their home and the people in it will need to know exactly what to look for in order to get their money’s worth. As long as you make an effort to do your research into these systems, you will be able to find one that can provide you with everything you need in order to rest easy as night and when you are out of the house. A good security system has all the bells and whistles so you will need to make sure that is what you get.
How to Spot a High Quality Security System
There are a few important things that you can look for when trying to find a high quality home security system, including features like night vision, motion detection, and an instant line to the police or private security company. These days a lot of home security systems automatically dial the authorities when it is set off, so you won’t have to worry about needing to do it yourself. This gives a lot of people peace of mind when they are home with their loved ones and it can do the same for you.
Another way to spot a very high quality home security system is to look for state-of-the-art features like night vision. You will need to make sure that you have a clear visible view of what is going on all around your home and inside as well. The best thing you can do when you are upgrading your security system or getting one for the first time is to spend a little extra money so you can really feel safe knowing that you are being protected by cameras and an automatic alarm which acts as a direct line to the police in the event that someone breaks in.
Saving Money by Shopping Smart
Home security systems come with many different features these days and some of the better ones can be fairly expensive, so you will need to know where to buy from. The internet is most likely going to be the best resource you have for finding a good security system that is reasonably priced and right for you, so you should make a point to browse the web so you can look at your options. Eventually you will end up finding a security system that appeals to you.
Is It Safe To Pay PPI Claims Companies Upfront?
If you are one of the many individuals who are eligible for making PPI claims, then you may be unsure just how exactly the claims process goes, and whether or not it is safe to pay PPI claims companies upfront. This helpful guide will help answer all of your questions and make going through the claims process a bit easier.
Do Reputable Companies Charge Upfront?
Generally speaking, there is really no need to pay a PPI claims company upfront, as many companies on the market today will not charge you upfront or unless you win your claim, in which case a certain percentage would then be expected to go to the claims specialist or company after the claims process has been finalized and the individual who was mis-sold PPI has received their refund.
If you have found a company that is demanding that you pay them upfront, it is probably in your best interest to say no deal, and find another company that will not hassle you in such a way. In fact, a great way to weed out the reputable companies from the scams is to find a company that will not charge upfront, and will only charge if you win your case.
While most companies out there are reputable and will do a great job in representing individuals who were mis-sold PPI, the majority of the ones who are trying to rip people off are ones that charge upfront or other fees, or use aggressive sales techniques such as sending out spam messages, emails or cold calls. Another alternative to having to pay a company for your PPI claims is to represent yourself. This way is the most cost efficient, as you will never have to pay a penny to anyone, and the money will be all yours once you are refunded.
What Should I Do If I Have Already Begun The Claims Process With A Company And They Now Want To Charge Upfront?
This is where it is important for individuals to be educated on what their rights and responsibilities are when it comes to dealing with these types of companies. Say for example you have already talked to a company and they have agreed to represent you. You handed over your bank and/or loan account details and may have signed a document giving the company permission to contact certain groups. However, what is important to stress here is that if you did not sign anything that bound you to paying a fee, you are not required to do so. In other words you are free to walk away and find a new company to represent you.
In order to find a company that will not charge you upfront, or try to charge you ridiculous fees later it is important to make sure that the company you are working with or thinking about working with is a reputable one. A good way to know whether or not a company is reputable is to shop around online or in the area for a company. Don’t just go with the first company you find. Look around, ask questions, find out what they have to offer, etc. There is no reason that a company should be able to rob you of your hard earned money. The surest way to avoid this is to educate yourself and shop around for the best company.
This article was written by Tina at www.ukppiclaims.co
Where to Buy your Car Tyres from
Where you decide to buy your car tyres from will be crucial with regards to getting them as cheap as possible. Although the quality of the tyres you buy will matter just as much as how much you pay for them if not more so, it will still be important to make sure that you get a good deal on the ones you buy overall. Below are some tips which you will be able to follow when going about purchasing these. You will definitely be glad that you took the time to consider the following things before making up your mind as to where you should buy your tires from.
Local Tire Shops
The first and perhaps most obvious option which you will want to consider is buying from one of your local tyre shops. Whether it is a nationwide chain or a local proprietorship, you will need to make sure that you go to the right place to get your budget tyres. One good way to narrow down some of your local options is by going online and getting reviews for some of them which have been written by real customers of these businesses.
After you have taken some time to read these reviews, you will be able to make a final decision as to which one you want to get the tyres you need from. Make sure that you spend enough time doing this research so you will feel completely comfortable with your final decision. A little bit extra research never hurt when shopping for tyres, so keep that in mind when you need new ones for your vehicle.
Discount Tyre Retailers
There are all kinds of discount tyre retailers that will be able to offer you the tyres you need at a reduced price which you will definitely be able to afford. Just make sure you look for the very best one so you can keep the most amount of money in your wallet. The great thing about discount tyre retailers is that they are able to get tires for such a low price from retailers that they are able to sell them at a low price to the public. All you will have to do is just take some time to look into your options when it comes to these retailers so you can get some idea as to what your options will be like.
Buying Online
Another very popular option to consider when you are going about looking for nice new budget tyres is to consider the internet for saving a maximum amount of money on what you need. You should take into consideration that if you buy your tires online, you will have to start looking into how much it is going to cost for you to get the tyres put on. Those who do not want to this themselves will certainly have to get some estimates from local auto shops so they know what to expect.
The Revolutionary iPhone 5 Jailbreak
Are you interested in modifying your iPhone 5 so that you can use third-party apps like you did on your old iPhone? Since the first person did what seemed impossible, which was to jailbreak iPhone 5 on the first day of its release, there has been quite a bit of buzz all over the web regarding when jailbreak software will come out for this particular device. Those who are still unfamiliar with jailbreaking will want to learn as much as they can about it, especially if they have an iPhone. Even though there is no jailbreak software for the new iPhone yet, it is bound to come out sooner or later.
New Jailbreak Software for the iPhone 5
While it may be true that someone has already jailbroken the iPhone and it is certainly a step in the right direction, software for this device won’t be available for at least a little while longer. Until then iPhone users are just going to have to settle for what Apple provided them with. Although a lot of people may be anxious for the new jailbreak software so they can liberate their phone from the clutches of Apple’s usual restrictions, there is a lot that iOS6 has to offer as well as the phone overall.
In the past jailbreaking has been popular with just about every single version of the iPhone because of its lack of features and options. These days the iPhone is looking better than ever before, reducing the number of people who are going out looking for ways to lessen the restrictions on it. Even though some of these restrictions are still in place, the iPhone has evolved quite a bit from its first incarnation.
Jailbreaking Older Versions of the iPhone
Those who still haven’t caught up with the thousands of people who have the new iPhone 5 will at least be able to take some comfort knowing that they can jailbreak their iPhone 4 or 4S because there is jailbreak software for each of these. If you want to run third-party software on your iPhone, it will be imperative that you follow a few simple steps which will allow you to successfully jailbreak your phone. Just make sure that before you do this you consider what the risks are so you do not regret doing this later on.
Things to Consider About Jailbreaking
Among the things which you will want to consider about jailbreaking your iPhone is the fact that doing so will effectively void the warranty. If something happens to your iPhone to where you need to get it fixed at an Apple store, they will most likely refuse to honor your warranty because jailbreaking it violates the terms and conditions which you have agreed to. There is no doubt that jailbreaking one of these phones can offer you a lot of new and exciting things though, such as the ability to download all of your apps through Cydia, a pirated version of the App Store.
What Achieving Second Degree Means to Me By Mike Baron
I started in karate at the Ja Shin Do Academy in Brighton, Massachusetts, in 1975. Andy Baumann, Joe Demusz, and Jane West were the instructors. I’d always been curious about karate. I had no natural athletic ability. Zero, zilch, zippo. Nada. Every physical contest was a chore to me, from tossing a ball to running. I was as coordinated as a tornado. I could barely lift my leg above my knee in front of me.
I could only get better and so I did, but every stage was a struggle. I had little confidence in my self-defense abilities. After a year training, I was in excellent shape. I can’t believe what we did in that class, in terms of sheer physical effort. For example, “Thousand Kick Night” was a regular feature. There’s no way I could keep up with that regimen today. If anything, Andy has become even more fanatical about rigorous physical training—you can check him out at baumansextremetraining.com.
In ’77 I moved back to Madison, Wisconsin and began writing for Isthmus, the alternative weekly. I introduced myself to publisher and editor Vince O’Hern, who had been training with Jim Henry at Choi’s Karate on West Washington in the Fess Hotel, which also housed Rod’s Place, Madison’s premier gay club. I got as far as high red when Choi’s closed its doors and Jim left for sunnier climes.
I worked out sporadically with Vince, Bob Dodd, and Al Reichenberger at the University Natatorium. Then I broke my hip. I’d designed and built my own house, and one of my clever innovations was to put a trap door in the floor of the bedroom closet. One opened the door and there was a little ladder going into the basement. One night under the influence of alcohol and cocaine, I stepped into the closet intending to grab a jacket, forgetting that I had left it open to impress my date. I fell through the opening and broke my hip. My date was duly impressed.
My comics were selling and everybody wanted me. I was hot for fifteen minutes, but I didn’t know what I had, or how to keep it. My writing lacked discipline. I would snort coke to write. I tricked myself into thinking this made writing easier, but it didn’t. It just robbed me of judgment.
The hip injury put me on my back for six weeks. When I once again began to walk I realized I was seriously out of shape, so I turned again to martial arts, although I had very little ability and was now hampered by a gimp leg. I have a titanium brace screwed into my right femur, and a metal ball in the hip socket. My calves have always resembled boneless chicken wings. I wouldn’t be caught dead in shorts. My stretching had improved, however. I began training with John Fehling and his kali/escrima boys in the basement of the Vilas Neighborhood Community Center. John is extremely knowledgeable about Filipino martial arts. We trained with sticks and lock-flow. Unfortunately, after a year, John decided Thai boxing was the way to go and he stopped teaching everything but how to hit and kick.
I had married. As my career nosedived, Madeline’s health began to deteriorate. Nasal infections lasted for months. One snowy winter night she had an accident on the Beltline and damaged her neck. She suffered from fibromyalgia, a form of arthritis. One day she said, “I can’t take another winter here. I’ll die.” Okay, I said. We took a massive road trip throughout the southwest, and settled on Fort Collins as the most suitable. My sister Jill and brother-in-law Dennis live here. Dennis and Lee Casuto urged me to spend more time at Karate West.
Things were bad at home. Madeline was in constant pain, which sent her to every pain specialist on the front range. There were other problems. She was fired from her job for failing to show up and lost her health insurance. She suffered from depression. I suffered from depression. Once, back in Madison, I came very close to killing myself. And again, after we moved to Fort Collins, I fell into the Marianas Trench. (William Styron’s was a hopeful guide map to these dark times.)
Karate was the only regular feature in my life. I looked forward to it every day because when I was on the floor, I was not aware of my home situation. I’ve discussed this with other students and we agree that one of karate’s benefits is that it requires such attention as to preclude dwelling on your troubles. Although I’d been granted a black belt by Joe Demusz, one of my original instructors, the performance gap between me and the standard Karate West black belt was instantly apparent.
I just put my head down and kept coming. While the rest of my world was in free fall, there was karate, noon every day, Monday through Thursday. Then a funny thing happened. I began to improve under the eagle-eyed tutelage of those sadistic bastards Lee Casuto and Brad Suinn. In fact, every higher belt with whom I’ve come in contact has gone out of their way to help me, particularly Mike Martin and Wayne from Budweiser.
One day I went to karate and when I came home Madeline was dead. I tried mouth to mouth. I heard the air rattle through her bronchial tubes but there was no response. I called 911. I was numb. My friend Pete accompanied me to the police station for the interview. Another friend spent the night at my house to keep an eye on me. The next day I didn’t know what to do. I couldn’t write. So I went to karate. It helped me deal with overwhelming grief. My psychiatrist urged me to keep going. “Tell the truth, Mike,” he said. “Aren’t you a little bit relieved?”
Gradually, my grief began to subside. It was as if I were coming to the end of a long tunnel. I believe I’m a basically optimistic person, and my natural optimism, so long buried beneath an age of crisis and despair, surfaced.
The Karate West mottoes are keys to successful living. Attitude determines whether you see the glass as half full or half empty. Those who see the glass as half empty are in danger of slipping down the drain. Without something outside themselves to pull them forward they fill their time with the pursuit of pleasure or wallowing in self-pity. They have stopped growing. Why bother? Those who see the glass as half full see possibilities, a reason for living. They have enthusiasm, which is the keystone of a good attitude. Karate is a bridge toward something bigger than the self.
These days I look forward to karate with the enthusiasm I used to reserve for New Comics Day. Achieving second degree seems premature to me. I’ve only been at it thirty years. Fast Payday Loans