CASE DISMISSED

What up this is RC Collins

As some of you may know, I got a DUI September 11-2010 and went to jail for the second time. I got to see some of the homeboys from high school, and was able to catch them up on current events (mainly about how Obama is keepsin it real), girls, and how the price of steel reserve 211 has gone up. I then realized for the second time how I never want to be back, so I haven't drank and drove since, drank more than like 8 beers at a time, or hollered at any underage girls.

At this time Colleen had been debt free for an ENTIRE WEEK, but being the selfless humanitarian socialist patriot that she is, loaned me $2500 for the best lawyer in town. Court time rolled around so I put on my lucky court shirt and we went. After sitting in the court room nervous for what seemed about 15 minutes, the prosecuting attourney comes out LOOKIN EXTRA FINE!!!!! In my past 3 court expieiences the prosecutors were pale bald slimy looking weasles who sucked at life tryin to hate on a brother. But not this time! CASE DISMISSED!!! Im thinking because I was so nice, cooperative and polite to the cop. No probation, no court fees, no fines, NO NOTHING!!

Colleen and I then proceeded to ask no questions, and speed walked out of the court house before they had the chance to change their minds, making a swift escape in the 2006 Audi A4 2.0 turbo quattro. She then celebrated by drinking a bud light, but I politely refused because I was going to the gym or I would have.

Moral of the story is: keep it real at all times no matter what to the fullest, AND do not drink and drive.

ALSO, TONY PLEASE DO NOT SELL THE 88 GT

SIDE NOTE: SPELLING IS OFF BECAUSE I COULDN'T FIND SPELL CHECK

P.S. THANKS COLLEEN, YOUR PRETTY COOL

Brian's Fairgrove

Whamg, kachink. It was the fourth one that day. There was that whining ricochet noise and then that kachink noise as the glass insulator burst into pieces from it's false sense of eternity on the wooden fence post. The wire that used to be wrapped around it conveying electric current gone for decades. Tony and Brian were sworn to secrecy under penalty of older Brother Butch's wrath should an outsider find out. Butch carried the 22 semi automatic rifle that was to be opened in about four days on Christmas. Tony carried a carpenter hand saw and Brian carried a single blade axe with about three quarters of the handle still holding on to the rusty head. The handle was whittled down considerably where it fit into the head due to many misguided swings from well intentioned ametuers missing the mark with the head and hitting the handle instead. There was plenty of snow out in the lane that ran by the old pasture fence.

The farmhouse was still in sight and the woods beckened from ahead. They set there load down to take a break after the last successful shot from the rifle. They had no boots but instead the shoes that couldn't be considered "good" anymore by the fact that they were a couple years old. They still only came up to the ankles which isn't much comfort in two feet of snow. The socks on the hands and diapers from the current baby tied around their ears wern't much for style but were necessary. A spring jacket and two oversized shirts finished up Tony and Brian's attire for the mission and Butch found an old hunting coat that seemed to put him in first place as far as warmth.

About an hour later and two more asasinated insulators the boys found their way into the woods. The farmhouse was now out of sight which all of a sudden brought urgency to their mission. Butch was 14 years old and was probably responsible for the success of the mission. Tony was 12 and a studious kid and probably felt the load of responsibility due to Butch's cavileer attitude. Brian was 10 and the youngest and just took orders from whoever gave them and tried not to get smacked by his older brothers anymore than was necessary from day to day.

The tall trees blocked the breeze and the swirling snow in the woods. It was quiet and so surreal. There were tall evergreens interjected amongst the leafless trees which were accented by some oaks stubbornly holding on to last years dying leaves. Butch all of a sudden trades the rifle for the saw with Tony and says "you drop that gun in the snow and i'll kill ya." The statement didn't require a reply and none was given.

Butch pulled on a chord in his hunting jacket and made it long enough to tie a knot around the handle of the saw and carry it up the tree he had selected. A half hour later the top of the tree was laying on the ground. After the display of bravado about cutting the top out of the tree it became the job of Tony and Brian to drag the tree the mile up to the house. There was much resting and complaining not to mention the punches being passed down the sibling ladder but the boys and the tree finally make it home in time to beat the early December Sundown.

Hope and Bill were back from their Saturday trek into Caro to get groceries and celebrate another payday with some draught beers at a bar that the patrons had to walk down off the sidewalk to enter, aptly named the Snake Pit.
It came time for the inspection of the tree. The boys stood outside near the tree sort of looking at the ground as Bill looked the tree over. He took another drag off his cigarette and just stared at the tree. He finally exhaled the nasty smoke into the crisp air and still said nothing.

Finally after what seemed like another lifetime he got this mocking grin on his face and says "no needles." "What do you mean, no needles" asked Brian. He was glib and not afraid of asking a question if it had to be asked." A Christmas Tree has to have needles as any fool knows" says Bill." "This is a cedar tree" says Bill. "YOU gotta have needles before it's a goddam Christmas Tree" he says. So it was a failed mission and Sundays plans were on the table.

Literary Dynasty

I think Colleen, Tiffany, Carol and Tony should receive an award as best writing family ever. I am astonished by the sheer level of talent coming from that bunch. We have equally talented writers in other families but none that encompass the entire crew.

PS> Kelly, maybe BJ and I could get lessons from you to up the ante from our family??:)

Vladimir's Service Pack

Converting to Quicken last year to manage my finances had been the final step in my PC-to-Mac conversion at home, with one tiny hurdle: no one knew the password that would allow the computer to receive updates. After much discussion, Team Mac (Tony and Patrick) eagerly set to work installing a new operating system, Snow Leopard, on my iMac. Confident I was in the hands of experts, I paid no further attention to the i-chatter.

Patrick explained how he registered his own new computer under 'Vladimir Petrenko' of Moscow, Russia, then Ed-proofed it against his dad by changing his ip address, adding passwords, programs and a host of other stealth moves to prevent invasion (where was all this talent when I was married to his dad?).

At the end of the day, unfortunately, an older copy of my financial files was saved, which means I lost all records for 2010 and iPhoto didn't make the journey to the updated computer. I don't dare file a complaint...

Give that Girl a 10

10/10/10 - A special day - Susie’s birthday.

Susie and I met 45 years ago- before we were with the Quinlan boys. We’ve been accused of having addictive personalities: bowling 7 hours straight on Saturdays; volleyball and walleyball followed by bar stops; bridge games and tournaments to excess; moving each other and decorating together, and traveling whenever we could. The common factor to each escapade was lots of from-the-gut laughter.

One Quinlan memory of the "dynamic duo" was when we decided to surprise Hope on her birthday by remodeling her kitchen. At the time Hope and Bill had the chicken farm. Susie and I found some exciting wallpaper with modern, goofy-looking chickens. It was bright yellow and orange (an Irishman’s favorite color) - very cool. Of course, Susie was about 8 months pregnant so I did the majority of the work. When we were finished, elated and satisfied that we had done a great thing, we went to the bar with Hope where Susie was hit on (really made Hope and me giggle). Both Hope and Bill graciously hated the wallpaper, saying they needed sunglasses to get up in the morning. (We have matured since then and only paint rooms when the owner buys the color they want.)

Susie has a magical charm, enthusiasm for life, openness, and sensitivity to others which puts friends, family and strangers at ease. Her artistic talents are amazing and I am proud to display many of her paintings. Her artistic personality makes her a little quirky at times but, hey, that’s part of her charm.

Her greatest quality to me is being a true friend and I am grateful every day for having her in my life. If the Olympics had a "heart" contest, Susie would surely get a 10.

Have a great birthday, Susie.

Bob says: "Happy 6th Birthday Mess.be!"

Rearry? It's your 6th birthday, mess.be? Well, celebrate we will!

Feliz Navidad

[Note: I wrote and posted this entry on my blog in 2005, the first year I started it. I like to think it's still relevant, and of course, he still doesn't look his age]

My dad, Tony, sends odd greeting cards...on the wrong days...with sentiments written in Spanish (which he doesn't speak).

Mainstream has never been his forte. He was the third child of twelve born to Irish descendants living on a small farm in Michigan - seven boys and five girls, all of whom have Irish names (Shannon, Erin, etc.) - except my dad, Tony.

He was a tall, skinny kid who was usually squirrelled away in a corner, reading a library book, until his brothers found him to drag him back to reality by beating the crap out of him or throwing him off the roof. He always wanted to be a monk, surrounded by God, books, introspection and maybe an alcoholic beverage or two.

Facts and quirks:

*he had a full scholarship to Michigan State, but left after one year to hitch hike to California

*he wears a broken watch with no face from a motorcycle accident he had 35 years ago

*an insomniac, he prefers to grocery shop between 3:00 and 5:00 a.m.

*he tries to keep telemarketers on the phone by talking to them as long as possible...his record is over an hour.

*he bought and fixed up 20 old Apple GS computers to set up a computer lab in his classroom

*he's an audio/video equipment junkie - and still has Harold and Maude and The Vanishing Point on Beta tapes

*he loves music, from Hank Williams to Bob Dylan to Tori Amos

*if you touch him from behind, duck, because he will turn around swinging
he turned 60 this year and has no grey hair (of course, he does have my son for the summer, so that's likely to change).

I believe one of the biggest factors in shaping Tony's life was his stuttering. As a child, I remember making phone calls for him - he would often not be able to verbalize the "hello, is..." before the person at the other end hung up. Sometimes, he'd call back several times, hoping to get the words out, until the other person would assume it was a prankster on the other end. He is one of the most intelligent people I know, but spent close to fifteen years working at General Motors, dreaming of becoming a teacher.

He still pauses before words when he's anxious or stressed, but he went back to college at 42 and finally has that dream job teaching 5th graders. Apparently a late bloomer, he also got married last fall. Intelligent, philosophical, generous, honest, compassionate, caring and funny...I hope to be more like this old soul when I grow up.

Fun Photo Tuesday

Look at that formation!





Come on Lace, the flash won't wait forever.... ;)

The Godfather

Kook almost died,
Born to early.
Too small-that’s what everyone said.
It’s better to let go.

But Brian and Susie prayed on.
And put Joe in Charge
Of God-fathering.
Full of light and jokes,
Joe kept Kook laughing.

As the years passed, Kook got healthy
But Joe got sick.

There was still laughter and light
That was Joe’s way.
Kook couldn't’ help him.
She could only hug him.

It’s better to let go.
Tell him good-bye-

And pray that isn’t the last time,
Kook and Joe
will see eye to eye.


KRQ
11-18-08

Two Brides

Having dual citizenship in "Faceoff" and Blogger means scouring the internet for photos to steal post is that much simpler. McKenzie and Bryanne, beautiful brides this season:

Grief in Tandem

I know this is a family blog. So perhaps my stories are only supposed to be family related. I'll see what I can do: We are no stranger to grief. With such a large family comes death. An unfortunate side affect of life. Most recently my dad.

And while his death for me is one that I'll struggle with for years to come, (this isn't a cry out for an intervention, I'm o.k.) I am proud to say this past weekend, I passed another milestone. My best friend Nevada died in October 2009, of a rare brain disease called Moyamoya at 30 years old. I was devastated, and just when I turned the smallest of corners, I got drop kicked right in the face with my dad's passing.

Grieving for two people at the same time has been interesting to say the least. My dad and Nevada met only once, where Nevada was talked into putting an ad online for my dad's camper and they chatted about Detroit, where Nevada owned a house.

The thing that the two of them shared was a tell like it is kind of attitude.

On what would become our last outing before Nevada left to get brain surgery in California, I'd confided I was worried about my dad. That I felt like he was slowly trying to kill himself by not eating and drinking way too much. Nevada, who'd known me for about four years was well versed in my dad's life story pauses and says:

"Well, it looks like that's it then. I guess we know how he's decided to check out.
It's only a matter of time you know?"

Not exactly what I wanted to hear, but had she given me some speech filled with kittens and rainbows, I'd have told her she was full of shit, and she knew it.

My dad was the same way. After Nevada died, I called to tell him the news.
This time though he was having one of his more reflective days and he burst into tears, when he heard me crying on the phone. He told me I was making him cry, and then he told me that death wasn't easy, but that with time it would get easier.

He'd written to me a few days later in an email.
"The pain doesn't go away, but the wound is less jagged."

I miss our emotional connection and the way my dad was never phased about anything.

I sometimes laugh because I can picture my dad telling me:
"You know, your friend Nevada dying, kind of stole my god-damn thunder."

I like to think of it as, thunder and lightning.

Quotable

At the mere age of seven he grew tired of his birth given name, and decided he wanted everyone to call him “Flint” (this was his grandfather’s nickname on the track team). Flint had a ring to it, but not enough of a chime to carry him through middle school. Seeming a bit more established, he let go of the name Flint, and decided to go by ‘Rodney’. Always being a revolutionist of sorts, my nephew was a head of the game in so many ways. No sense walking this planet having people call you by anything other than your absolute favorite name. He was highly aware that his destiny was in his own hands. 
 (Tiffany, What'd Five Fingers Say to the Face) 

At this time Colleen had been debt free for an ENTIRE WEEK, but being the selfless humanitarian socialist patriot that she is, loaned me $2500 for the best lawyer in town. 
(Patrick, CASE DISMISSED) 

 My dad never made a fuss about it. But he did make a fuss about the presents, such as: a new wallet, complete with scrawly, hand-drawn photos of each kid. He kept the drawings in the plastic picture-sleeve for years, and whenever someone asked to see a picture of his kids, he'd whip out the pitiful self-portraits we created as kids. Cartoon kids.
(Lacy, Summer Sausage)

William T. was taking a drag off his cigarette and glancing at the floor as he inhaled. With rhetorical flourish that continued the speculative nature of our earlier conversations, I said, "What if I don't do it?" Without even looking up, he said in a supremely calm voice, "Honey, I'll dazzle you with footwork."
(Tony, Fishing Trip)

Patrick had drank a few too many and was getting a bit...umm loud...Dad leaned over and said, "Be careful not to out drink your personality."
(Kathleen, untitled)

Sixty-one years ago today Hope and Bill Quinlan welcomed yet another child into the world, Joseph William Quinlan. As Bill said to Joe years later, while he was showing off his first born, "Yeah, I was pretty excited about my first couple too."
(Sadie, A man of his word)

When he lost the strength in his legs and his balance, I asked if he was frustrated or angry that he could no longer walk and he told me, "I guess God figured I used up all my steps."
(Carol, in Larry)

Again, not much for planning, or so it seemed, my dad picked me up in Milford and suggested we go to lunch at the B-1. When we pulled up outside, the sign read, Happy Birthday Kelly Rose. As an eight year old, I thought I was famous.
(Kelly, A B1 Birthday)