Dear Alex

June 4, 20142 Comments

Dear Alex,
I know you’ve had a tough week my young friend and I can’t even begin to tell you how sorry I am for what you have to go through. I know it’s really hard, and it’s really sad, and you have so many questions that may not be able to be answered right now. I know you’ve been asking God why this has happened and that will always be okay. I know you’ve been asking your mom why this has happened and that will certainly always be okay. I know things are hard to understand right now, but believe me buddy, it’s hard for anybody to understand why these things happen and maybe sometimes we’re not really meant to understand. The biggest thing I know though Alex, is how much your daddy loved you and how great of a man your daddy could be.
I first met your dad when I was five or six years old. See, I grew up right down the street from where your grandma Lynne lives. I met your uncle Bob when I was very young, so of course I ended up meeting your dad as well.

He was about seven years older than me and your uncle, but the cool thing was that even though we were so much younger, he and his friends would still take the time to hang out with us, especially James.

We thought we were so cool getting to hang out with the older kids. They let us play football with them, or play video games with them, or just sit out with them. I remember one night that your dad and James sat with me and uncle Bob and had us laughing so hard just telling us a story that they made up right there, which I’m sure your dad did for you all the time. It didn’t really make any sense, but your uncle and I were talking about it this week and we can still remember the story about these men that were going on this really long journey, so long in fact that they walked for “7 days and 63 nights” and when they got where they were going “the chicken was beef”. Pretty silly, right? But that’s how your dad was. He was always looking to make someone laugh, even if it was his brother and his friend. And speaking of silly, have you seen this picture of how your dad’s hair used to look?

And as we all got older, I would still hang out with your dad quite a bit. Me and your uncle would go to see him at work and he would buy us some “sodas” and we would hang out in grandma Lynne’s basement and watch wrestling or watch the Cubs game and he introduced me to more of his friends that I’m sure you know very well. James was still obviously hanging around and I met Kristi and guys like Sam and Greg and Scott and your Uncle Joe and Aunt Jenny and of course, your mother. A great thing about your dad was that he always liked hanging out with his friends and had so many fun times with them, myself included.

I lived in Florida for a while, but I flew in for your mom and dad’s wedding and it was easy to see that something was starting and they were building towards something and that something was you. I’d known them for so many years that I knew you were going to be something special. I remember being so excited when I found out that you were going to be born and I met you when you were very little and have watched you grow over the years through pictures and heard so many wonderful stories about the young man you’re becoming and it fills my heart with happiness to see it unfold. I know it was sad for you when your daddy wasn’t going to live with you anymore. I know how tough that can be buddy. I went through the same thing when I was a little boy, but it’s important to know that it didn’t change the way your dad felt about you. I’m going to keep saying it, but he loved you so very much and was so proud to be your dad. Being able to take you to school, or to take you fishing or camping or to Cubs games gave him so much joy Alex. Just being around you was the thrill of a lifetime. I hope that’s something you’ll always remember.

And of course, 1908. This was a special place for your dad. He and his friends used to hang out there all the time drinking those “sodas” I was telling you about earlier. As me and your uncle Bob got older, he would take us and our friends down there as well, almost like passing the torch to the next generation. It made me so happy recently to see the picture that he took when he took you there. It really makes me think about all the good times I had with your dad over the years, which I know is hard to do right now.

And I know that may be the hardest for you right now is to smile, but I hope you know that it’s okay. That’s what has helped me through the last week buddy. Remembering all the good times that you spent with your dad and how much he loved and will always love you will help you as you try to get better. Also know that it really is okay to cry. I heard a story the other day that you didn’t want to, but every person that I talked about has cried about losing your dad. I know Scott talked with you about it on Saturday and he told you that he cried on the way over to see you. I’ve cried many times already and I know I will again. My heart aches for you young man. I know you have a tough road ahead of you, but a good, solid mixture of laughing and crying will hopefully make things better for you. And one thing I’m definitely sure of is that everybody is here for you. Whether it’s camping or fishing or playing a game of catch, I know that all of these great people you have around you will be ready to do whatever you need as you move forward and become the great man we all know you’re going to be. I want to put one more picture up that you took with your mom a few months ago….

You see that word on your shirt? That bold STRONG. That’s exactly what you and that special lady next to you are. And you’re both going to have some tough times ahead, but remember how lucky you are to have that woman as your mother. Just like you’re going to need her, she’s going to need you too and she’s so lucky to have you for a son. I just want you both to know that I’m so very sorry that you have to go through this, and if there’s anything that I can ever do for either one of you, just say the word and I’ll do my best to help. My heart goes out to your entire family, friends, and all those who knew your dad. He will certainly be missed. I wish you and your mom the very best things Alex.
With love,
Luke

For all of my readers, Mike Ochs was a very dear friend and the family is still trying to raise money for the funeral costs. If there’s anything you can do to help, please click the link below and give what you can. This young man that I’ve written to deserves to say goodbye to his father the right way. Thank you.
http://www.gofundme.com/9rn2yo

The Luke Norris Travel Experience-Day 7: Heading Home

March 19, 20141 Comment

It’s now Friday, February 28, and Kansas City is in my rearview mirror. There are no sights to see today, no scenic views to slow me down. I had only one destination in mind this day.

I’m sure I could have squeezed another day out of this trip, but I was ready to go. I had talked with my girlfriend Ashlie throughout the week and she was ready for me to be back and I was ready to be back to her as well. Even the night before as I sat in the bar in KC, my ex-wife had let it be known to me that Ashlyn had been visibly upset that day while playing. When asked what was wrong, she said that she missed her daddy. The way my custody agreement is set up, it’s rare when I go more than five days without seeing my girls. It had now been eight. I had talked to them on the phone a few times during the week, but even they knew that I had been gone too long. When I received that text, it made me happy and sad at the same time. Certainly, I was sad that I hadn’t seen them in so long. On the other hand, I was pleased to know that they were smart enough to figure out that they were supposed to be with me. I knew when I got back that they wouldn’t be staying with me that night, but I was going straight to them. I just wanted to see those beautiful faces.

I crossed the Mississippi into Illinois at 3:14 that afternoon. I was familiar with this drive. I had taken this route for work about every two weeks for seven years. I only had a few hours to go. I saw all of the familiar exits on I-72. Exit 35, Pittsfield. Exit 60, Jacksonville. I merged onto I-55 in Springfield, formerly a weekly trip for me. I was close. I hit I-155 a little after 5, one of my least favorite stretches of road in the world. Tonight, however, it was actually quite beautiful. As I headed north, I looked to the west at the setting sun and it was amazing that night. Any place can be beautiful if you open yourself up to it. As I took the exit towards Pekin, I let my ex-wife Cara know that I was heading to her house. She was getting married the next day, and they were planning to take all of the kids out to dinner at 6, so I hit the gas as I asked her to wait for me, which she did. I pulled up to her place at exactly 5:45. I knew I would only have a few minutes, but that was okay. I didn’t need the dramatic scene as they ran into my arms. There was no musical score setting up the scene. As she let me in, Brooklyn was crabby and crying and Ashlyn was in the bathroom. But just seeing Brooklyn’s face warmed my heart. She finally smiled and Ashlyn darted towards me when she saw me and they were back where I needed them to be. They both told me that they missed me and they loved me and that was all I needed. I assured them that I would see them the next day and they would be coming back to daddy’s house. I thanked Cara for letting me come by and I was gone.

I pulled into the driveway at 6:19 and my house never looked so good. Unfortunately, Ashlie wasn’t home yet, which was disappointing, but I knew she’d be there soon. Actually, the first thing I did when I got here was help my neighbor move two vehicles that were stuck in the snow. After a few minutes, Ashlie pulled up and we had our reunion right there in the middle of the street. We toyed with the idea of going out that night, but instead decided to just curl up on the couch and watch a movie, which was the better decision. She was tired. I was tired. And I certainly wanted to be nice and refreshed when I picked up the girls the next day. At some point, I brought my bags in and while I was in the car, I checked the mileage. It read 126453. Over those seven days, I had driven 3,776 miles through twelve states. I had seen so many places I never thought I would get the chance to see and I’m so glad that I took the time to do that. Opportunities like this don’t come along too often, so I’ll never regret taking a journey across this great country we’re so lucky to live in. But there really is no place like home.

If you read The State of The Luke Norris address (which you can find in the Archives section), then you know part of the reason why I took this trip in the first place. To avoid any confusion, the goal of this trip was never to find that certain answer. The goal was to take some time to myself to figure out on how I’m going to get to that point, and that’s what I’ll take away from this trip. The outlook and clarity I have now is so much better than it was even a month ago. There are obstacles I’m going to have to overcome, but it’s how I choose to deal with them that I feel much more confident about. There are things that I want to do that maybe I’ve been too scared to attempt and that stops now. When we stop trying, we start dying and I’m ready to really start living.

It’s now Saturday afternoon and I’m pacing back and forth, eager for my girls to be home. After what feels like forever, I finally pick them up and what I was really looking for Friday night happens. The girls run into my arms and I don’t know if I’ve ever been so alive. It’s time to go to daddy’s house. Just having them there always makes life better and on that day, I don’t think it’s ever felt more true.
They’ve had a long day already and I could tell they were tired, but still excited to be here. It’s me and all of my girls, finally back under the same roof and all is right with the world. The Grand Canyon made a valiant effort, but this is truly beauty at its best.

The Luke Norris Travel Experience-Day 6: Humbled in OKC

March 17, 2014April 19, 20151 Comment

On a beautiful Thursday morning, I hit the road towards Oklahoma City. It only took about half an hour to get there and I must say I was very impressed. I took a drive through the downtown area, past the stadium and botanical gardens, through Bricktown and what seemed would be a nice nightlife area. However, the one place that will always stay in my heart was the Oklahoma City National Memorial & Museum area.

It’s hard to believe that it’s been nearly 19 years since that tragic April day in 1995 where 168 people senselessly lost their lives in the bombing at the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building. I parked the car across from the museum and made my way over, and I figured it would be a nice area with a few mementos here and there, but what I saw and the feelings I felt were things I never expected. The first thing I saw as I crossed the street was simply a fence. Just a regular looking fence that you or I could have in our yard, but what filled this fence is what truly makes it special.

Up and down The Fence are tributes. I spent quite a while looking at all the tokens of affection that have been left over the years, somewhere in the range of 60,000. Whether it was pictures or a flag or a teddy bear, each individual item served as a memory for those that had been lost. Some were from the day after the bombings and some were from the day before I arrived, a reminder that the people around here haven’t forgotten a thing.

I decided against going into the museum for some reason, and instead focused my time on the Outdoor Symbolic Memorial. After walking along the fence, I ran into what is simply known as The Children’s Area, a wall of painted tiles that were sent to Oklahoma City in 1995 from children all over the nation.

I made my way towards the Survivor Tree, which is truly inspiring. Now, the reason it looks like a regular old elm tree is because it is. It’s now over 90 years old, but it now serves as the symbol of survival in this city. I don’t know why, but this tree had me in awe. I sat for at least half an hour just staring at it, taken in by its strength and beauty. In reality, it should not have survived the blast of the bomb, but it now stands strong in the heart of this memorial, with a message to all of its visitors: “The spirit of this city and this nation will not be defeated; our deeply footed faith sustains us.” Nothing I can write could say it better than that.

I continued my walk along the granite path that was the footprint of the old Murrah building, the granite itself salvaged from the plaza. It outlines the Field Of Empty Chairs, each chair symbolizing one of the 168 lives lost that day. Made of bronze and stone, each chair rests on a glass base etched with a name of a victim. I didn’t notice at first, but as I walked through it, I realized that the nineteen smaller chairs represent the children taken way too soon.

My heart hurt. As I walked down each row of chairs, looking at the names of all of these innocent people, I began to tear up. There’s an aura around this entire place that really hits hard. It’s very quiet, almost eerily so. Everyone seems to only talk in whispers while walking around, a great show of respect to each of individual chair. As the tears rolled down my face for these people that I had never met, I could only imagine what the family members had gone through, similar to how I felt during 9/11 or the Newtown tragedy. In that moment, I don’t think I had ever been so humbled.

As I walked back to my car, I knew that nothing else in that city could live up to what I had just experienced. I just wanted to drive,so I found I-44/I-35 East and did just that. I hit Kansas right around 3:00. I’m not exactly sure why Kansas charges you to drive through their state, but they do. I hit Wichita, Topeka, and Jayhawk country, but there really doesn’t seem to be much going on, so I pressed on and hit Kansas City (the Missouri side) around 7:30. I’d really like to say that my night in KC was exciting, but by this point in the trip, I was drained. The hotel I stayed in had a really nice bar and grill, so I was still able to have some BBQ and some Boulevard, so I was content with that.

Anyone who knows my mother knows that she is a HUGE Wizard of Oz fan, so as I got to Missouri, I was excited just to text and tell her that I wasn’t in Kansas anymore. She obviously responded with a text that read “Click your heels three times. There’s no place like home.” After the emotions I had felt that day, I knew she was right.

The Luke Norris Travel Experience-Day 5: Luke Breaks Bad in the ABQ

March 16, 20142 Comments

It’s now Wednesday morning. I’m in Gallup, New Mexico and the mileage on the car is now 124961. It’s been quite an adventure thus far. I’ve already driven 2,284 miles and seen some amazing things. If you’re needing a recap or are new to the site, feel free to check out days 1-4 in the “Recent Posts” section. I’d been to some amazing places and seen some of the most beautiful scenery this great country of ours has to offer, and the New Mexico desert has plenty of that as well. What it also has is a billboard for a casino that actually advertises hourly childcare. Classy stuff. Today’s agenda, however, was a little different. I left Gallup and after about two hours, I arrived in Albuquerque. Now, don’t get me wrong. I think this is a wonderful town and I really did check out some of the Route 66 attractions and took a nice, general drive around town. But, to be honest, I wanted to geek out a bit. I came to the ABQ for Breaking Bad.

If you’ve never seen the show, then you may not get anything out of this particular post. If you are as big of a fan as I am, however, then you’ll know how awesome it was to get here and see some of these places. I knew I wouldn’t have the time to see absolutely everything, but I had a few hours to spend here, so I made a small list, mapped it out, and started on my own personal Breaking Bad tour.

I started here at Twisters. However, it might be a little more recognizable by the logo they have on the wall inside.

There’s plenty of these restaurants around, but this one located on Isleta Blvd. is the one used in the show. The parking lot, nor the building for that matter, weren’t as big as I thought they would be, but it was still pretty cool to pull in there. I got out of the car and headed inside to look around. I wasn’t really hungry, so I didn’t order any food, but I ordered a soda and did my best not to ask for Gus. I took a quick look around the place which doesn’t take long at all. They’ve got a few of the Los Pollos Hermanos logos on the walls and a pretty cool signed poster of Bryan Cranston next to the menu behind the counter. I’m sure they’re used to people coming in just to walk around, so they didn’t raise a fuss as I sat down for only a few minutes before heading out towards my next stop.

Next up, I headed to Old Town and found The Candy Lady. If you’re not familiar with this place, that’s because it’s not a place from the show. The draw here is the candy itself. Famous even before the show started, this particular shop was called on to create the prop meth used in the show, even taken on David Letterman by Bryan Cranston himself. So she decided to start bagging it up and selling it to the public. This cute little shop also has plenty of merchandise for sale, along with an array of different candies. But they knew I was here for the blue and I bought a little bag for myself and one each for the three people who got me into the show, my girlfriend Ashlie, my brother Matt, and my good friend Jim.

From here, I headed to Pinkman’s place. I figured at some point, I would run into some other folks doing exactly what I was doing and I finally did here. There were two guys taking a picture in front of the house and they saw me slowing down looking for the number, so they gave me the nod to let me know I was in the right place.

Next up was the duplex that Jesse would share with Jane for a short while. I actually drove right past it the first time, as it’s pretty easy to miss. It’s certainly not in the shape that it was for the show’s purposes. I wanted to get out and get a picture but the person that’s living there now really didn’t look like he would appreciate it, so I moved on. I looped back around looking for the Crossroads motel, which is actually the real name of the place. Now, I’ve seen worse places in my life, but how it’s portrayed on the show really isn’t too much of a stretch. No sign of Wendy though. I looked to pull in, but the parking lot is pretty small and apparently, the owners aren’t too keen on people using their parking lot just to take pictures. In reality, they actually have a sign posted letting you know that this is private property and if you really would like to take some pictures, then you can come into the office and pay the fee. Well, that certainly wasn’t going to happen, so I circled around to try to find a spot close by. I ended up at a stoplight across from the motel and since my camera was on the seat next to me, this is what I got.

It was now time to go and “have an A1 day” at the car wash. This place, actually called Octopus Car Wash, really is as big as it looks on television. Again, I found some more people who were there taking their own tour. We actually talked for a few minutes about where they had already been and where they were heading next. And finally, after days of taking some pictures for other people at some of my stops, including the Grand Canyon, someone offered to return the favor. And I swear to you, as soon as this nice lady handed my camera back to me after taking the picture below, she actually told me to have an A1 day.

Not too far from here was the White family home, certainly one of the more iconic images from the show. The neighborhood looks just like any other you might come across, but seeing the exterior of the house that I’d seen so many times on the show was pretty cool. All that was missing was a pizza on the roof.

I only had two more places to see before leaving town and first up was the little strip mall that served as the location for Saul Goodman’s office, probably to be used again this fall for “Better Call Saul”. It’s nothing special. It really is just a strip mall, of which Albuquerque has a ton.

And lastly, the laundry, the front for the meth superlab.

It had been quite a tour, but it was time to go. I had spent more time there than I had anticipated and I knew I still had many, many miles to drive that night. I found my way back to I-40 and continued my journey east. I made it back to the Central time zone at 8:41 as I hit the Texas border. It was another cool night and the stars were once again out in full force. If I had to do it over again, I probably would have stayed in Amarillo for the night, because the town really did look like it could be a good time. Instead, I drove all the way through Texas and reached Oklahoma at 11:24. My plan for the next day was to tour Oklahoma City, so I continued to drive into the night until I reached El Reno, Oklahoma, located about 30 miles from OKC. Just another nice little town in the middle of nowhere full of cheap hotels, exactly what I was looking for.

Day 5 certainly wouldn’t be for everybody, but it was a fun day for me. The mileage was now 125664, so I had driven 703 miles that day. I was certainly exhausted, but it had been worth it. I don’t think I realized how much of a Breaking Bad nerd I really was until I realized I planned an entire day just to go see those places. And I guarantee that someday, I’ll end up doing the exact same thing in Philadelphia with all the Rocky things. And I’m completely okay with that.

The Luke Norris Travel Experience-Day 4: Hoover Dam, That Canyon is Grand

March 15, 20141 Comment

It’s Tuesday morning and this is one of the first things I see leaving Las Vegas. It had actually been a while since I’d seen any water, so this was a nice change of pace. I think I was so excited to be heading towards the Grand Canyon that I completely forgot about the things I would see on the way. The Nevada desert is actually quite beautiful and with another clear and sunny day, I knew this drive would provide even more spectacular backdrops. One thing I really did forget about was the Hoover Dam. After only a few minutes on the road, I saw a sign that said it was only about 15 miles out. I didn’t want to get derailed for too long, but I had a little time so I decided to check it out. I’m sure if I had actually taken the time to do the whole tour that I probably would have gotten more out of it, but all I did was just drive around for a little bit. I parked the car and walked around for about 20 minutes, back and forth between Nevada and Arizona.

I think the most entertaining event was on my way out. Traffic was a little backed up and the reason was that the Hoover Dam Police (yes, that’s a real thing) had this SUV pulled over. It looked like your everyday family. Mom is in the passenger seat and three or four kids are in the back. But Dad is on the outside, face down, knee in his back, cuffs on his wrists. Family fun day at the Hoover Dam.
I finally made it back to 93 South towards I-40 and once again, the road was full of spots to pull off and check out the scenery. I really didn’t want to stop as much as I had the day before, but sometimes I just couldn’t help myself.

The drive was full of scenic views like this, but I was on a mission. I drove on I-40 East for a while until I finally reached AZ-64 North headed towards the Grand Canyon. I reached Grand Canyon National Park and although I wasn’t crazy about the $25 entrance fee, I made my way in. The drive in was great in itself as there’s national forest land on either side of the road, but I was on a mission to find a lookout spot and after a few minutes, I found a parking lot and made my way in. As I walked up, I thought about everything I had ever heard about the Grand Canyon and all the pictures I’d seen or movies I’d watched, but to be honest, nothing prepares you for it. So instead of attempting to put into words what I witnessed, just look.

Truly amazing. I walked along the South Rim for hours and realized that this was still only a small bit of this amazing piece of the world. One could spend weeks here and not see everything. I walked along the trails, occasionally stepping off and checking things out. While there are a few lookout points that are fenced off, the majority of what I saw wasn’t, and you could just walk right up to the edge. Talk about a rush. Of course, there were many other people walking around, but there were times that I was able to break away from the crowd and just be alone. That feeling is amazing. It’s just me and this breathtaking landscape, and the quiet of the canyon is unlike anything I’ve ever experienced. I continued to walk along the Trail of Time until I found the perfect spot to watch the sunset, which had been my plan the entire day. And it certainly did not disappoint.

I could have taken pictures the entire time I spent at the Grand Canyon, especially during the sunset. I could have walked up and down that trail and run into something I hadn’t seen and tried to capture it, but after a while, all I wanted to do was just be there and be in those moments. That’s why there’s only the one great sunset shot. As I sat on top of those rocks watching the sun disappear from view, mere inches from the drop, I allowed myself to become fully engulfed in my surroundings. To be sitting there in that place, at that particular moment, was truly one of the most calming moments of my life. A time that will always stay with me.

Something I really hadn’t thought about while walking on the trail was the walk I would have back. I had walked for miles in one direction, trying to see as much as I could see before the sun went down. So, the walk back to my car was in nearly complete darkness. There wasn’t much of a moon to speak of that night, and the stars really hadn’t started to come out yet, so I had to remember exactly where I had turned to get where I was. Yet, I would still find myself constantly looking over at the canyon, still trying to catch a glimpse of this unforgettable beauty. Set against the backdrop of the night sky, I was still able to occasionally see an outline, which was cool enough in itself. Once I finally reached the car, I decided to take a different way out of the park. I found AZ-64 East, which would become 89 South, which would eventually take me back to I-40 in Flagstaff. It was more than an hour before I would see anything close to resembling a town, and this drive was dark. After the initial winding road through more of the South Rim, it was a dark desert drive. Actually, the rest of the night was like that. After hitting Flagstaff, there was really nothing big to speak of for quite a while, and it was glorious. The stars had really come out throughout the night, and I decided I was just going to drive and drive some more that night. I knew where I wanted to be the next day, and I wanted to get as close as I could so I just went. It was a crisp night, fluctuating between 30 and 40 degrees, yet I still found myself with the moon roof open, just so I could see more of the star-filled sky.

As I had encountered in Utah, there were very long stretches of nothingness along the highway, which would have been okay with me had I remembered to get gas while in Flagstaff. I noticed the tank getting low after a while, but just figured that I would run into something out here. With the number of truck stops I had seen in my travels, I guess I just assumed that there would always be one available. Out here, however, there wasn’t. My car tells me about how many miles I have left in my tank and I remember looking at it when it was around 40. But then, it got to 30, then to 20, then to 10 and there was nothing. The gas stations in the small towns I passed by were all closed by this time. I actually hit zero a few miles before an exit where I finally saw lights, right at the Arizona-New Mexico border. I pulled in and only saw diesel stations and freaked out. It turns out that I had just driven by the regular pumps, as the two guys that looked at me like I was a moron were nice enough to point out. The car died just as I was pulling in, and I coasted right up to the pump. Crisis averted. I drove about 25 more miles until I reached Gallup, New Mexico, right off of historic Route 66, and decided to crash for the night.

It had been another great day. I had always dreamed of seeing the Grand Canyon and even as I write this now, more than two weeks later, the images I saw that day remain in my mind. I don’t think I’ve ever felt so small in my entire life. While the canyon itself is between 5 and 6 million years old, there are rocks within it that are more than 2 BILLION years old. And the vastness of it all is a marvel in its own right. I’m so glad that I decided to make the trip here, as it was certainly worth the wait. The views are amazing and the quiet is unbelievably calming. It’s beauty at its very best…almost.

The Luke Norris Travel Experience-Day 3: The Drive to Sin

March 13, 20141 Comment

It’s now Monday morning. After spending a wonderful day in Denver with my friends, it was time to move on. The mileage on the car now read 123628 and I set out looking for I-70 West. Now, I knew I’d be driving through the Rockies, but I never imagined this. I’ve driven through the Smoky Mountains on numerous occasions and I’ve loved it every single time, but this drive was on a completely different level, literally. Up and down and side to side, the interstate winds through this beautiful mountain range and provides such unbelievable scenic views from every angle. It was another crisp, clear morning in Colorado, which only made the drive that much better. I had been on the road for over an hour and each turn seemed to provide a better view than the previous one, a few of which I put at the top of this post. But they kept coming and kept coming. With every elevation drop came a new set of picturesque views and with every rise came another. Hell, you even drive underneath a mountain for a while through the Eisenhower Tunnel. Through Vail, through Eagle, through temperature changes, there was something different to see.

A little after 3:30, I entered state number five on my journey, Utah…Life Elevated. I wasn’t quite sure what to expect here. I’d always heard nice things about Salt Lake City, but that was much further north from where I was. What Utah gave me, however, was possibly the best stretch of road I’ve ever experienced in my entire life. For one, the speed limit had jumped to 80 in many places, so that was nice. But the feel of this open road with more scenic views than I ever expected was heavenly.

Another great thing about Utah is that those pictures you see is how that part of that state really is. It’s not those views, then a city, then those views again. It’s all scenic highway. At one point, there’s a stretch of about 60 miles where there are no services available. Then, you get to Green River, Utah, and they’re sure to let you know that if you need gas, then get it here, because there is another 106 miles where there are no services available to you. The only signs you see is to let you know there’s a spot you can pull over to take some amazing pictures, which I took full advantage of.

So, I’ve been in Utah for a couple of hours and I see yet another place to pull off and it looks absolutely beautiful, so I do. Only this time, the rest area, if you want to call it that, is really close to the mountain range. There’s a small parking lot and beyond that, there are actually a few smaller looking mountains that look climbable, even to somebody like me. So I get it into my head that this is going to happen. I’m in jeans and a t-shirt, but I’m going up there. Now, this was not a large mountain by any stretch of the imagination, but when is this opportunity really going to present itself again? So I start to climb, immediately after having a cigarette of course, but I did make it up eventually. Just one more thing I can say I did on my travels, I guess.

I will admit that coming back down, I nearly took quite a spill. I actually had to run the last portion of it due to the momentum that I had built up after tripping. I can only imagine how long I could have been there had I actually fallen, as I had only seen a handful of cars since I entered the state. But, I did make it down and continued on my way. The next car I saw put a smile on my face. The license plate was from California and looked like your average family just heading home. But the little girl in the back was smiling and pointing at my car and I’m pretty sure that my Illinois plates had just given her a point in the classic license plate game. I’m not sure why that made me so happy, but it did. Soon after that, the sun would finally set on my scenic views. There was no rest area, but I pulled to the shoulder and just sat and watched as the sun disappeared behind the mountains. The slight glimmer bouncing off of the top of the mountains created an orange sky that I don’t think I’d ever seen before and it was breathtaking. Who knew that Utah was capable of such beauty?

After a few more hours, I made it to I-15 South and soon entered Arizona for a little while before finally hitting my destination for the night: Las Vegas. Now, most people I know that have been to Vegas have flown in, but if you ever get the chance to drive in, I highly recommend it. There’s a point where you come in and all of a sudden, you know you’re close because the light that comes from that city is truly astonishing. Look left, look right, they’re just everywhere. But once you get into the heart of Vegas, it’s exactly what you think it’s going to be. I pulled onto the Strip at about 10:30 Pacific time on a Monday night and the streets are just jammed with people. I checked into my $215 room, which I booked for $35, at Harrah’s, took a quick shower and hit the town. And again, it’s exactly what you think it’s going to be. I took a little stroll down the Strip (Britney Spears was nowhere to be found), and just headed back to my hotel. I sat in the casino for a little while just playing some cheap slots, because that’s what my dad would have done. The nice thing about Vegas is that no matter what you’re playing, even if it’s penny slots, is that as long as you’re playing something, you don’t have to pay for drinks, so that was nice. I hit the roulette wheel after a bit, pretty much broke even, and called it a night around 4:30. Sorry, I don’t have the crazy Vegas stories to tell, but that’s how it went. Outside of the occasional prostitute telling me how lonely I looked and that I could use some company, my night in Vegas was pretty uneventful. I think people watching is the best thing to do there. It’s 3 a.m. at the roulette wheel and you’ve got the drunken couple arguing, while only five feet away, the 80 year old grandmother is still trying to hit the progressive jackpot at the slot machines. Meanwhile, the all-girl group is still screaming at the top of their lungs, while the all-guy group is still trying to figure out how they’re going to get those girls back to their room without drugging them. And then there’s me.

It’s funny what Vegas does to people. For me, it just seemed like another night. Don’t get me wrong, I’m glad I went, but to be honest, what I took out of that day had nothing to do with finally making it to Sin City. Believe me, I’ve sinned enough for multiple lifetimes and I didn’t need Vegas to come to that realization. The time I spent on the road that day was priceless. It really gave me a chance to think about so many different things that have gone on in my life, and the drive itself was exhilarating. Honestly, the drive from Denver to Las Vegas could really be made into one big metaphor for life. You go up, you go down, you go left, you go right and everything in between. I’ve been on top of a mountain and nearly killed myself on the way down. But then there’s beauty again. And then there’s darkness again. And then all of a sudden, in the middle of nowhere, light. As far as the eye can see.

The Luke Norris Travel Experience-Day 2: Rocky Mountain Hello

March 11, 20141 Comment

I awoke Sunday morning feeling energized. After more than eighteen hours in the car the previous day, I thought I would sleep more than five hours, but what a glorious five hours it had been. It was extremely solid sleep and I felt completely refreshed, finally ready to start this vacation. It was a chilly and foggy Denver morning, which was disappointing as I hadn’t been able to see the mountains yet. I was hoping to catch at least a glimpse of an outline while driving into town, but the storm had made it entirely too dark. I was hoping for some better weather, so when I saw that the forecast called for the fog to lift and the temperature to rise, I knew it would be a good day. These things would actually happen rather quickly and I was finally able to see the Rocky Mountains from my hotel room window, which is the picture you see above. I checked back in with my friend Geoff and we agreed to meet up after a bit so he and his fiancée Renee could show me around. After a nice shower, I got dressed and headed downstairs, finally ready to really see some of Denver.

They picked me up a little after noon local time and we found a parking lot a few blocks away to give ourselves a nice starting point for the day. We stopped in this little candy shop for a few minutes, which had some of the strangest things in it to be honest. Who knew bacon-flavored cotton candy was actually a thing, but it is. From there, we just continued to walk the streets of downtown Denver. I saw the museums and the theatre district and a very oddly placed 40 foot blue bear that just stares into the convention center for no apparent reason.

It really did turn out to be a beautiful day. If you’ve ever been to Denver, then you know how crisp the air is there, which made walking around that much more pleasant. After a while, we stopped for a nice lunch and that much needed beer I had been craving the night before. It was nice to get caught up with Geoff and to get to know Renee a little better. I asked about their upcoming wedding and they asked if I’d like to see where they were going to get married and as I was wanting to see as much of the area as I could, I said I would. So we strolled around a little more before heading back to the car for a little drive out to Red Rocks. It had cleared up even more throughout the afternoon, so the drive brought even more great views of the Rockies. After twenty minutes or so, we arrived at Red Rocks and took a little walk around. It would have been a little walk to get to the actual wedding venue, but they did give me a nice view of the amphitheater there, which I had no idea even existed. Apparently, it’s quite the big deal, as many famous musical acts perform there constantly. It didn’t hurt that the area was surrounded by these big, beautiful red rocks (not just a clever name) and more great views.

From there, we continued on our tour at Lookout Mountain, which provides a wonderful view of Denver

and some pretty cool twists and turns through the mountain range. And since we were close, we decided to see the gravesite of Buffalo Bill as well, just because we had the time.

From there, we drove for a little while longer coming back down the mountain and perhaps saw the strangest thing ever-a man actually riding a unicycle up a mountain. Yes, that actually happened. Anyway, we drove through Golden, Colorado, which is the most charming little town I’ve ever seen. If I ever go back out that way, I’m going to make it a point to stay there for a day or two, just to take it all in.

It had gotten dark by now, so we stopped by their place for a few minutes before heading back into the city to top the night off. They took me to this great bar called The Cherry Cricket, which was located in the Cherry Creek district, where we spent the next couple of hours just talking some more and having a few more drinks, before they finally dropped me back at the hotel. I would like to take this opportunity to thank Geoff and Renee for their wonderful tour of the Denver area. They gave up their entire Sunday just to make sure I had a good time in their town, and I certainly did. I walked into the hotel, sat down at the bar and had one more drink before heading up, just trying to soak in everything I had seen and done that day. It was a day full of sights, a day full of laughs, a day spent with a good friend, and a day where I made a new friend. I’ll take that any day.

The Luke Norris Travel Experience-Day 1: Looking For Trouble

March 7, 20142 Comments

It’s Saturday morning, February 22, 2014 and I’m finally ready to go. Honestly, I didn’t even think I was going to be able to leave. That Thursday night, I had taken my daughters to their mother’s house after spending an incredible week with them. I had them for nearly a full week after making a deal with my ex-wife to trade some days so I could take this trip and we had the best time. We played and watched movies at the house. I had taken them to Monkey Joe’s that week and took them to dance class right before I dropped them off, which truly broke my heart. I knew I needed this trip, but knowing that I wouldn’t see them for a whole week was tearing me up. I thought maybe this was a selfish adventure, that I was only thinking about myself. But the more I thought about it, I knew this trip could help them as well as myself. I stayed as long as I could, getting as many hugs and kisses as I could before leaving them. Admittedly, I teared up the entire drive home. But, I knew I needed to get ready to go. However, when I arrived home, I went to grab my laundry so I could begin packing and I walked into a flood in my basement, at least an inch or two of water all the way around both sides of my basement. I knew right then that I wasn’t going anywhere. I spent the next few hours trying to suck up as much water as I could to no avail. Finally, at around 2 a.m. it was time to stop. That entire Friday was spent watching the professionals put in new equipment and extract all the water from the basement, which seemed to last forever, not a good thing when I’m paying them $125 per hour. But at long last, all the water was gone. Equipment was left to help dry the carpet and the walls and all that was left to do was wait. I still didn’t feel right about leaving, but with some heavy persuasion, I set out to leave on Saturday morning.

On a dreary Saturday morning at exactly 8:30, I finally pulled out of the driveway. The mileage on my car read 122677 and I’m heading to Denver. My original plan was to go to Kansas City that Friday night, and then to Denver, but with the basement fiasco, I decided to just drive to Denver in a day. Now, I knew this first part of my journey wouldn’t be overly exciting, but I certainly wasn’t expecting what the day would bring. It started just as I thought it would. It’s February in the Midwest, so it’s obviously cold and windy. There’s still a ton of snow on the ground as I hit I-74 going west. I’ve traveled these roads so many times before that I’m quite certain I could do it with my eyes closed, but I decide not to try. Soon enough, I find myself on I-80 West and I soon entered Iowa. I’ve driven through Iowa before, and if you’ve ever done it, then you know just how awful that is. A few miles into the state, I see a sign for “The World’s Largest Truckstop”. That’s how boring Iowa is. The only saving grace of that state was exactly 200 miles into my adventure, where I stopped in Brooklyn (one of my daughter’s names) just to have some sense of closeness with my girls, who I missed so much already. I passed through Des Moines around 12:45 that afternoon, the only decent-sized town I would go through in Iowa. Riveting, I know. But at least the sun had come out, so that made the drive a little more bearable. Now, the great thing about road trips sometimes is that you get a little reward when you leave a state to enter a new one. After hours of trekking through Iowa, what is the reward I receive? Nebraska.

For those who haven’t been through there, let me tell you that Nebraska is the worst. I’d spent a few days in Omaha back in 2001 and that trip didn’t end well. Omaha is right on the Nebraska-Iowa border and doesn’t even look pleasant driving in. Here’s how exciting Nebraska is. When you first enter the state, they have a sign that says “Nebraska….The Good Life. Home of Arbor Day.” That’s what they’re selling. The worst part is that to get to Denver, there is no short way to get through Nebraska. You basically have to go ALL the way across the state to get there. I knew I was going to be there for a while, so I just turned up the music and pretended to be somewhere else. The one positive thing was that on the interstate, they did have a 75 mph speed limit. Obviously, even the government wants you to get through Nebraska as quickly as possible. So I mosey along, actually making really good time, until around 7:00 p.m. I’m somewhere near North Platte, Nebraska and I know I’m only a few hours out of Denver, so I’m starting to get pretty excited. I have plans to meet up with an old friend and I should be able to check in by about 9 p.m. and meet up for drinks. Then, a few flakes. Then, a few more flakes. Then, a ton of flakes. It’s now to the point that I can’t see five feet in front of me, forcing me to take the next exit. Without getting into the details of all the yelling and fist pounding, this goes on for the next FIVE HOURS! At this point, I was really starting to question my decision to leave home at all. What I wanted out of this trip was to find some peace and some clarity and I was just pissed off. All I kept thinking to myself was that I had just gone looking for more trouble. All this from one snowstorm. And that was the problem right there. I took a snowstorm and turned it into the worst thing in the world. As aggravating, exhausting and frightening (seriously, people nearly ran me off the road on multiple occasions) as it was, it was only snow. And all of a sudden, it was clear.

I finally reached Denver a little after 1 a.m. and promptly got lost. If you’re not familiar with the downtown area, it can be a little tricky. The good part of it was that I saw a lot more of Denver that night than I had bargained for as I ended up making a loop around the heart of the city and saw quite a few of the landmarks and all of the stadiums. Finally, I checked into my hotel around 2 and was ready for some sleep. I knew I’d have to adjust my schedule a bit as I didn’t want to just go to sleep and leave in the morning, so I decided that I would stay there an extra day. So I made the necessary arrangements that needed to be made and readied myself for bed, ready to weather any storm that could come my way and eager to wake up and start again.

Lessons learned from day one: Just stay calm and stop overanalyzing everything. And stay away from Nebraska for the rest of eternity. No, seriously. It’s awful.

The State of “THE Luke Norris” Address

February 20, 2014November 14, 20156 Comments

Did you miss me? At long last, The Luke Norris Experience makes its 2014 debut and I’m coming out firing. Honestly, I had planned to do a 2013 Year in Review, followed by a piece on what I expect from 2014. However, things got pretty interesting right around Christmastime, not really putting me in a mood where I wanted to write anything. But I did recently promise you my version of the yearly address. So without further delay, I give you The State of “THE Luke Norris” Address.

For the longest time, I’ve been looking for the right answer to one question. I will not tell you the question, but it’s one that everyone has heard at one point or another. I will not tell you the answer, but it’s one that I hope everyone can truthfully say someday. I’ve lied about it before. Hell, I think everyone has. Now, the reason that I even bring this Q&A up without even telling you what it is has everything to do with the state of my existence right now, which is the reason for this address in the first place. Over the past eleven months, I’ve given you a little insight on what I think about certain things. It’s mostly been some light takes on sports or having a little fun talking about the movies that I enjoy and honestly, it’s been fun to do that and there will be more of that to come. However, the things I’ve written about haven’t really let you in to what the REAL Luke Norris experience has really been like and that is my goal here today. I’m going to try not to get into too much detail about certain things (you’ll have to wait for the memoirs for all the real dirt), but for those of you who’ve been loyal enough to keep reading the things I write, here’s a little taste of what my life is really like.

I do not want this to come off as a “God, my life sucks” commentary, so if that’s how it plays out to you and you just want to tell me to shut the hell up, then I think you’ll be missing the point. As previously stated, I’ve been looking for the an answer to a question for a long time, and for a while I really thought I was getting close. I had moved past most of the awful things that I had to endure from my childhood, teenage years and my early to mid twenties. From my parents divorce to my dad leaving us for a while to his returns to prison to a five-year relationship and engagement breaking up and everything in between, I had let these things go. Well, I had let them go after nearly killing myself over a multiple year stretch of trying to find my answer in every bottle of booze I could get my hands on. Honestly, there are a few years of my life that I really don’t remember. I hear stories from my friends and family that were witness to this time and it sounds as if I was just an awful human being to be around. But I had tried to move on from that point in my life as well. I met Cara and after a whirlwind summer romance, I was suddenly living in Florida and we were married the next year. I’m not going to lie and say that I gave the Florida experiment everything I had because I didn’t. I could have tried to make more friends and be more social but I didn’t. I knew we would eventually end up back here and I think subconsciously I didn’t want to go through the torment of making friends I knew I would eventually leave, as it was torture saying goodbye to the friends and family I left behind in Illinois. So, we moved back here and found a nice apartment and things were good. We both found pretty good jobs and were ready to start trying for a baby and life was good. I was getting closer to the answer I’d been looking for. However, after years of trying and doctor’s appointments, we found out it was going to be a lot tougher than we thought to have children naturally so we went the other way. We did the IVF thing and it worked. I’m sure most people reading this have seen the result of what happened. Ashlyn and Brooklyn were born in October of 2010 and for the rest of my life, they will always and forever be the very best thing that has ever happened to me.

So after 44 days in the NICU, we bring them home and life is great. We had bought a house a couple of years earlier and fixed up a bedroom for the girls and later turned our home office into a playroom for them as they would get older. They turned one before we even blinked and Ashlyn took the first steps of either one of them on Christmas Day of 2011 and my dad was actually the first one to notice it happening. She took two steps and fell right into my arms and that day is probably the closest I’d ever come to the answer. I don’t think I had ever been as happy as I was in that moment. I had overcome some pretty big obstacles, some of which I had created for myself, just to get to that point and I didn’t know if life could get any better. Within only a matter of months, however, I found out that things could certainly get worse.

My marriage certainly had its ups and downs to say the least. One minute we were red hot for each other and the next minute we were ice cold. Towards the end, I spent the better portion of my nights on the couch. Honestly, some of those nights were due to the fact that my ailing back felt better sleeping there, but for the most part, it felt as if we were just drifting apart. Our time with the kids was always wonderful and we never let them see that anything was wrong. We were great at being mommy and daddy but just weren’t right being husband and wife. So, in the spring of 2012, we decided to separate. We both still lived at the house, but we basically had times set up where each of us would be with the girls as we both knew that was the most important thing. But she would spend nights elsewhere and so would I. I spent some nights in my car and some nights at the homes of friends or others. After a bit, I started apartment hunting which is just awful and one day, I found a place that I was going to take. I came back to the house and she was sitting on the front porch waiting for me and we started talking and the more we talked, the more it became clear that there still may have been something worth saving. My mother had come over to see the girls, so while she watched them, Cara and I moved our conversation to the backyard where we told each other everything that had been going on during the separation. I told her about a business trip I had taken to Wisconsin where certain things happened and about a woman that I had seen a few times and she told me that she had been seeing somebody as well, which at that time I could not fault her for. But we agreed to end all of that and give our marriage another try.

But that didn’t last very long at all. It started out great. It felt like we were the best version of us that we could be. But something just wasn’t right. The guy she was seeing would constantly call and after a few times of her admitting to me that she was still talking to him, I told her to block the number and to my knowledge, she did. I tried to let it go, but each time it happened I would get more and more angry. Some old habits resurfaced and I found myself taking my anger out at the bar and I would stay out until all hours of the morning. I didn’t want to be doing that, but I couldn’t stop myself. I honestly didn’t know how to deal with it any other way. The last straw came one night that she told me she was going out to dinner with her best friend, but while she was gone, that same friend posted on facebook about something that was on television. So when Cara came home, I asked her if she had been watching it. Of course, she said no and I told her what had been posted and at least she didn’t try to hide it. She told me she had been with him and we talked more the next day about it and I just felt that the life that I knew had been taken from me.

Sometime after that, my dad had gone into the hospital again, which was not an unusual occurrence. He had been through so much in his lifetime that I couldn’t believe he had actually lasted that long. I figured he’d be in there for a few days as usual and then go back to the nursing home. But as the days moved along, my family started to realize that this was something different. I really don’t want to get into the details of everything that was going on, but those weeks were excruciating. Eventually, we took him off of life support, but that stubborn old man still hung on for almost a week and on the night of September 20th at 10:50 p.m., it was him and I alone in a room and I watched him take his last breath. I sat with him for a while and just stared at him. He looked so peaceful and honestly, I was happy that he wasn’t in agony anymore. But the sadness I had been feeling from everything else only worsened because I knew he wasn’t there anymore to talk to when I needed him. My mother eventually came and we sat there for a while together before going to get a drink, at which point the woman I had started seeing, Ashlie, showed up as well. We hadn’t known each other that long, but I couldn’t have gotten through any of that without her. She sat with me when I just needed to talk or cry or laugh and that is something I will never forget.

We would have to wait eight days before burying my father as the paperwork for my dad’s cremation got all jacked up. It was during that time that I was looking for something around the house and happened upon a pregnancy test. I tried not to think too much of it, but in my heart, I knew what was happening and four days after I buried Pop, I confirmed with her that Cara was pregnant with someone else’s child.

She moved out a few days before Christmas to go live with him and the divorce was finalized a few weeks later, just over a year ago. Now, please don’t think that every feeling I have towards my ex-wife are negative because that is certainly not the case. Of course, I was angry about how things ended between the two of us, but I have said it before and I will say it again. I will never regret marrying her. We had some amazing times together and I certainly do not put all of the blame on her for how things went down. I will never pretend that I was the perfect husband that did everything the right way. And I will always be thankful for the two precious gifts that she gave to me in Ashlyn and Brooklyn. She is a wonderful mother and I know that will never change.

2013 became a year of adjustment. It was life without my dad and life without my children half the time, which was the hardest thing to get used to. Even to this day, I still feel a little lost when they’re not here with me. But work was keeping me pretty busy. I had been promoted the year before and gotten a few pay raises along the way, so at least things were going well there. I continued to see Ashlie and things were going well with her and last summer, she ended up moving into the house. Some would say that everything was too soon and everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but I would just say that it was my decision to make and my life to live and that’s what I wanted. So there was some adjustment there too. But as the year progressed, I felt that things were going pretty well. The girls were developing at an unbelievable rate and they continue to amaze me every single day with how far they’ve come and how quickly they’re growing up. So life was good.

In September of last year, one of my best friends moved to Hawaii and that actually hurt me quite a bit, not that I’m angry that he bettered his own situation, but just that I can’t call him up and say “Hey, brother. Can we go get some drinks tonight?” Raul is one of the closest friends I’ve ever had and someone that I could go to talk things out when I needed to. So just adjusting to that sometimes gets difficult. But, overall, things were going pretty well. Getting closer once again to what I’m looking for, I thought. But back in December, two days after Christmas actually, through a boring to you series of events, I found out that after over seven years (minus a few months away from them) with my company, I’d be losing my job. WHAT THE FUCK??!! This is the point where I don’t want to come off as “poor me”, but I had just about had enough. With all the things I had done wrong in my life, I had started living the way that I was supposed to. I had stopped going out as much. I think I’ve been doing a good job at being a daddy to my kids. I have a girl that I’m certain I’ve been treating the right way. And I had been working my ass off to expand this territory, only to have it taken away from me. So I spent six weeks shutting things down and a week ago today was my last day. Now, I know that I’ll find something else but that wasn’t the point to me. I spent those six weeks just being insanely pissed off and thinking about all the situations where I’ve picked myself back up after something bad happens to me and how tired I was of having to keep doing that. It seemed that most of the things I’ve done don’t seem to be good enough.

But this is not the way that I want to continue living. My mother told me two nights ago that I’ve looked sad for a year and that really put things into place for me. So I’ve been thinking to myself, is she right? Have I not been trying to get past everything as much as I think I have? So the plan is this. Tomorrow, I’m going to leave town for about a week and see some parts of this great country that I’ve never seen and really take stock of everything that’s ever happened to me (so dramatic, I know). But when I come back, I want to be clear. I want to be ready to try harder this time around. Ironically, the day that I return will be the day that my ex-wife is getting married and starting her new life. I want to be ready to start mine, but for real this time. I’ve been saying for years that things would be different, that I was ready. But maybe I wasn’t. This time, I want to be truly ready to move towards the version of myself that everyone has been waiting for. I want to be ready to find the answer.

Dear Santa

December 22, 20131 Comment

Dear Santa,
I’m sorry that I haven’t written you in so long. It’s probably been more than 25 years now that I actually think about it. Somewhere along the line, an idea was put into my head that you weren’t real, and for a while I think I actually believed it. And for that, I apologize. I know you need as many supporters as you can get and I will always be one of them. I don’t know when the world got so uptight, but it can’t be easy to hear that so many people don’t want you to be involved with Christmas anymore. They say that you take away from what the season should really be about, that you’ve taken the “Christ” out of Christmas. But I never really understood that. I also don’t understand the people that laugh at me when I tell them that I’m 34 years old and believe in Santa Claus. Because by my last count, nobody walking this planet has ever seen either one of you. I wish all the Santa critics out there would just let me believe what I want to believe. I’d rather feel joyful than guilty at Christmastime anyway. But I digress.
The real reason for this letter is to tell you not to bring me anything this year. Although I think I’ve been a pretty good boy this year, I have the things that I need. I have so many people in my life that love me and care about me. I have a roof over my head and air in my lungs. And I have the most wonderful, smart, and beautiful daughters in the world. Just a heads up, they’ll be at their mother’s house sleeping on Christmas Eve so make sure to visit them there. They’ve been great girls this year, so please take care of them. I can take care of things here for when they come to my house on Christmas Day. I’ll make sure to still give you some credit though.
It’s not that I don’t want you here. For one, the things that I want are things that you can’t give me. I want my dad to be here to spend Christmas with his grandchildren. I want Ashlyn and Brooklyn to always look at me the way they do now. But honestly, I want you to really focus on the people that need you. There are so many children in the world that deserve a wonderful Christmas, and I hope that you can help give that to them.
I know you’re a busy guy this week, so I’ll let you go for know. Just know that I’m thankful for everything you’ve done for me throughout my life, and for everything that you’ll continue to mean to my children and hopefully someday my grandchildren and beyond. If you take anything out of this letter, just know that one believer is all you need. Merry Christmas Santa.
Luke Norris

P.S. I don’t exactly know how the rules work, but if you’re actually obligated to give a gift to all good boys and girls, you can give me a plane ticket to Hawaii to see my friend.

The Luke Norris Experience

The collective works of writer Luke Norris

Category: Up Close and Personal