James Holland - 88's Page

I'm always looking for a new skill. Something I haven't done before and is a useful or entertaining skill. Whether it's being able to quote Alexander Hamilton, build a cowboy hat (oragami style) out of a beer box, play the "Ballad of Jed Clampet" on the banjo or tie a cherry stem with my tongue.... I'm always looking to learn something new. You never know when it will come in handy. One of my latest genres of skills involves being self sufficeint. I've picked up cooking and experiment with a new… Continue

You know what. I'm not one to believe phsycho-babble and whatnot, but this past weekend was an emotional rollercoaster and given that Skate and I had a significant drive ahead of us, I had plenty of time to reflect before returning to the daily grind. I got home, cleared my in-box, put away my toiletries in a "just so" fashion and popped the cork on a recently vintaged Toasted Head Merlot. The deep rich red vino intaken on the porch was the catalyst to a number of epiphanies. Most of the epiphan… Continue

On Monday, I attended the annual coaches meeting for the soccer league I've been coaching in for the last 5 years. My kids have never been on one of my teams. I do it because no one around knows the first thing about soccer and I enjoy teaching and seeing the kids play hard and enjoy themselves. So what is one of the first things a coach does at the beginning of the season? They make up the practice schedule. I sat down with my work and personal calendars and realized that I don't have a l… Continue

I saw a photo of Jason Avery at a Breaking Benjamin concert and it brought back memories of last summer's big event and questions that arose afterwards. The event... ROCKFEST 2007 in Kansas City. The band... I can't remember them all... Buck Cherry, Saliva, Federation of Horsepower, Puddle of Mud, Godsmack, Red Line Chemistry, etc..... 14 bands in all. Who was there?..... My son, I and 60,0000 of our closest friends. My son is 14 and I figured it was time to show him what a big outdoor concert w… Continue

I just realized that the more things change... the more they stay the same. Let's take burning stuff for example. This evening..... as I will every other weekend for the next 6 months, I was burning stuff in my backyard. This particular evening I was joined by my children, Punk Rock Bill and Ultra-Religious Hunter Guy Steve. We burned stuff (my paper recycling pile, tree limbs, hedge, fence posts... whatever) in a washtub in my backyard. Yes, alcohol and instruments (guitar, banjo and recorder)… Continue