Archive for 2008

grand opening :: dec 13

December 11th, 2008

Well, it’s finally here … our opening of “the journey”. It happens this weekend > december 13 at 8 p.m.. Pretty cool things have been happening and frankly, it is a little overwhelming to say the least.

Bands have begun to contact me for January dates and I am just saying … just wait until after this week. We are still doing last minute prep stuff … sound system, lighting, curtains, concessions … arrgghh … it never ends … but it is so fun.

To me, and I really do not mean this in any type of condemning form, this is true ministry. Helping people … where they want and need to be helped. Our kids are important and if someone had not helped me when I was a senior in high school … I probably would have had a career being a fast food manager.

Think about us this weekend … if you are close come and see us.

wg

rod southard benefit

October 14th, 2008

My friend, Rod Southard, has been in the hospital since June 9, 2008 with pancreatitis and many other complications. Rod is a father, husband, son, brother, principal and friend to many.

Family and friends are conducting a garage sale for the rising costs of the hospital stay on November 8 at the Guyer High School parking lot.

If you have things to donate or can help in any way … go to this link and contact Morgan or just sign up. If you are not familiar with his story … you can read about it here.

I know that Jami and the family would appreciate anything you could do … but if you can’t help in that way … at least pray. Rod has two little boys and two girls in college … you can imagine the stress that he and his family are going through. You can keep up with his progress through the caring bridge site. I’ll go out on a limb here and say that … monetary donations could also be helpful.

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<< wg

cotton bowl 08

October 13th, 2008

Pictured here is a shot of the front of the cotton bowl in October of 2008 … one day prior to the Texas beat down of OU. It’s nice, for a change, to not have those OU little window flags mocking me as I drive down the road. Even though I really could care less of who won or lost … Dallas is always the winner with Texas/OU weekend … they make bank on this deal. I did feel really sorry for those folks who got their cars impounded by an unscrupulous tow company. Those are the folks who really made bank … charging $200 a car AFTER they put up no parking signs. At least that’s what they said on the news … and you know channel 8 news is always right.

I took this pic myself (the day before the game) … there would be no way that I would pay $150 a ticket to fight the traffic on the actual day of the event. I think I only like the horns … because they were our mascot in High School.

the journey music venue

October 12th, 2008


the journey, pilot point will be opening in November … hopefully. Our plan is to have a weekend music venue for teens and young adults. It’s another labor of love for our community. The area really does not have any place like this. Small towns are pretty much known for not much to do on the weekends … except watch tv and roam the streets.

of course we have a myspace page … myspace.com/thejourneypilotpoint

should have been farkeling

October 8th, 2008

Before I start, farkel is a folk game played with dice similar to yahtzee. With that said … I should have been playing that instead of watching the debate last night … at least it would have been productive. Another 90 minutes of ducking the questions and finger wagging. As an UNDECIDED, I still am. I was so desperate yesterday I looked at the “other” candidates that are on the ticket in all 50 states. Some would say … stop, you will just waste your vote if you vote for an independent. At this point … at least I could say in 6 months … I didn’t vote for either of those two yahoos.  Honestly, I don’t trust either of them. Both have ties special interest money or partisian politics … which, in my opinion will not improve our situation at all. All of their “fixes” for America will come too late for most people. Do we have a president NOW that could help the housing markets as both candidates claim they will fix? Wait … both these guys are senators … couldn’t they do something NOW.

My fear is if Obama wins … I will be out of business. His ideas for small business owners sound like they will cost me so much that I will price myself out of my markets. Like … a fine for not providing health care? If McCain wins he will continue to deregulate everything to the point that the greed at the top of the food chain will continue to keep the country in a financial mess.

What will happen? See, I told you … I just should have been rolling the dice.

wg

the good bail out

September 29th, 2008

I keep waiting for someone from congress to call me about what to do with this bailout plan. Are you kidding? Hey, lets give 700 billion dollars to institutions that made bad deals. Then, lets hold onto that debt until the economy gets better. Then, things will get better. Am I the only one that sees that this is NOT such a good idea. How is this really going to help the little guy? It’s not.

Wouldn’t it be better to give every taxpayer a sum of money that they could actually doing something with? If I scratched this out correctly … I think you could give every taxpayer $350,000 and it would still be less than 700 billion. If you gave me $350, 000 I could get out of debt, pump more money into the economy, put more money into investments and retirement. Hey … Lori could do the same. If you really wanted to inject life into the economy … this would give it a shot! Some would say … the government would never recoup any of that money.  Tax it. They would get half back … and Americans would still come out on top. I’ll bet that they don’t get back half of our 700 billion.

Big financial corporations will win in this deal. Heck, I heard that the new CEO at WAMU will get 18 million dollars after only 3 weeks on the job … Chase NOW will buy them out … when this bailout happens. How is that right? I’ll bet you that there will be a lot of CEO’s in the financial world who will get richer out of this deal … and the poor joe at the bottom of the food chain will see very little if anything.  The big dogs in Washington will sit back and thump themselves on the chest and proclaim victory. If we had 700 billion dollars to do this … why didn’t Americans get some help at the gas pumps when fuel was punching $5 a gallon? If we have 700 billion dollars to bail out bad mortgage banks why couldn’t we help the infrastructure of America with roads, bridges and better technology to help us in the future.

I think this is a big mistake.

wg

newman, one of my favorites

September 28th, 2008


I can still remember going to the Northtown 6 movie theater … plopping down my 2 bucks and seeing Paul Newman in Cool Hand Luke or Butch Cassidy and the Sundance kid.  I liked Newman. I liked him as a person. I respected him. He was unlike any Hollywood contemporary you can call up. Why? Because acting was just a vocation for him … not “who” he was. He stayed private and from all accounts … he was just a regualr guy. His kids love him. He stayed married a really long time. He did good things with his money.

Most of his close friends are saying … the world will miss this guy.

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– wg

the great deboot

September 27th, 2008


I watched about 15 minutes of the debate and watched both candidates dance around the questions just so they could tout there own view about some other topic. Why is it that politicians can not answer a question straight out? If I had answered questions like that to my grandmother … she would have swatted me and sent me out of her sight.  Now today … wow, everyone is claiming “victory” in the great debate. Oh please.  We listen for things that we want to hear … and if we hear a lot of it … we claim victory. Honestly, I am an undecided. Yes, I am one of those who can’t believe this is the best two choices we have. I have been a republican all of my life … but, I voted for Hillary in the primaries. Yes, Hillary. I was pretty convinced that if she could have put up with Bill all of those years … then I for one had respect that she could get something done in this nation. Well … she didn’t win.  Now I have two guys who can’t understand a simple question and give a simple answer. Here is a simple question … “Will you support this bail out proposition?” Never a clear yes or no.

I love the commercial where the firemen are filling in for congress … you want clean water … yes. Done.

We have real problems in America … and I am afraid that, at this point, we are in a world of hurt with either of these two guys.

I am also afraid that the guy who gets it will be the one who “says” all the things we want to hear … and will not be able to do it.

wg

youthgrouptshirts

resurfaced again

September 27th, 2008

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I brought the blog back at waynegooden.com … mainly from the requests of thousands who have said they missed me. I have returned again … to face it all and some to not. These are my grass clippings from life … I want to recycle. you know.

Blind athelets at Overbrook, Pa. (LOC)

January 30th, 2008

Blind athelets at Overbrook, Pa. (LOC)

Originally uploaded by The Library of Congress
Casey sent me this link … Library of Congress flickr account?? .. cool .. I could not pass up this pictures.

wg –
christian t-shirts

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