From The World Of Parks & Recreation
By Doug Comer
If anyone is beyond the age of “two score,” one might remember the Mel Brooks film History of the World – Part 1. Doing this classic slapstick comedy, the movie dictates the lighter side of history from Moses and his fifteen, err um, ten….ten commandments to the fall of the Roman Empire. The movie is immortal to the older generation and I am sure you can find it somewhere on the net.
Anyway, my target to telling this story is the part that Brooks plays during the French Revolution. His character, Louis XVI, walks around making comments about how “it’s good to be the king.” And I began to think about my year in 2015.
If I can say that I am king, it cannot be based on wealth. I am not the richest person in the kingdom – far from it. But, I do have a queen to share my life with.
You see, 2015 has been an amazing year in the Comer household. I married Jeovanna Lacaria, who, in my biased opinion, is the most amazing person that I have ever met. Our special day happened in March in front of family and friends and the journey has been wonderful.
During the summer, we found out that we were expecting our first child together. The idea of getting pregnant appeared to be an impossible task as the odds were stacked against us. But, just like everything else, it all worked out and we will be welcoming our little Costa to the world in mid-January. He is a miracle and just another piece of a great year for us.
I have mentioned our two other children in previous articles, Jake and Sara, and they have had a great year as well.
Sara, who is through the half-way mark of her junior year, just completed her competitive cheer season with another state tournament victory. It is the fourth in a row for Robert C Byrd High School and I have personally seen all the hard work, both emotional and physical, that these girls go through. She is very dedicated to her sport and I am so proud of her.
And then there is the recently promoted teenager. Jake, an 8th grader at Washington Irving Middle School, won a county championship in soccer this past fall. He plays the defender position and is responsible for stopping opponents from making it to the goalie. The team had an excellent season and he was a strong part of it. This is another proud moment to be a father.
During the holiday break, just like so many others, we traveled to all the family’s homes and celebrated the season. First, we went to Nunny Costa’s house and I witnessed my father-in-law almost eat his weight in calamari and crab legs. I think the food was payment for all his hard work in replacing the garbage disposal. He is handy like that. You got to love Johnny B.
Later on, we went to my Uncle Tim’s house and loaded up on our second meal of the day. That is the toughest part about traveling from house to house is the meals keep coming and coming. But, I will worry about it in January. Seeing my family all together in the same house is our annual thing and I love catching up with the relatives. My mom brought her camera and captured the evening with many photos. Now, we need to teach her to download them to the computer.
So, is it good to be the king? If my 2016 is equal to my 2015, then, yes, it’s good to be the king. And for those who have no clue, one “score” is equal to 20 years.
Have a great New Year!