Who Is?

I am Chad Anthony Cole.

I am a widower who has remarried and enjoys being a husband and step-father.

I am a child of God.

That's me...in a nutshell.

...oh, you were expecting more...hmmmm....

I have bump on the left side of my head, in the back. I've had it since birth. When I was born, it was pretty big (my head was a lot smaller back then) and the doctors assured my mom it would eventually go away. Shows what they know. It's not huge, it's just there, making my head just a little asymmetrical. I can feel it if I rub my hand over my head, a subtle bulge where one doesn't exist on the other side. It makes my motorcycle helmet fit a little funny, but I can live with it.

Speaking of motorcycle helmets, I ride a motorcycle. I LOVE riding my motorcycle. It would be the only reason I can think that I'd move to a warmer climate...so that I could ride more. It's just not much fun riding here in Michigan between November 1 and April 1 (or later, depending on the spring.) My motorcycles are big. I have a Honda VTX1800N that I mostly ride locally (short rides, less than 150 miles.) It's a bare cruiser, no windshield, no bags, no fluff...1800cc's of pure muscle. I will put it on a trailer sometimes and drive it other places, so I can ride it there, too. I also have a Victory Vision Tour that I usually take on my longer trips. I do ride it around locally, too, especially if I'm out running errands and need to pick a few things up that can fit in my trunk or saddle bags. Vroom, vroooooooooom.

I'm a UM (University of Michigan) fan...mostly just for football; I'm not really into other college sports. However, I don't normally root "against" MSU (Michigan State University) which the exception of the annual in-state football classic (although the attitudes of some MSU fans after a couple of good years are starting to change my mind.) We all hate Ohio State...so that's all that matters.

In other sports I follow the Lions, Tigers, Pistons and Red Wings. I'm Michigan born and bred. I'll root for them when they're great. I'll cry like a little girl when they're not. I mostly "follow" the Lions and Red Wings, but won't say "no" if you tell me you have tickets to a Tigers or Pistons game and want me to go with you. :)

I used to golf, a lot, until I threw my clubs in the trash as I was walking off the course...that was circa 2007. When I first started golfing, I went a lot. I even improved. I reached a point where I was typically shooting between 12 and 18 over on nine holes. Then it all went down hill. I'm not sure what happened, what I changed, but I was back up to 24 to 36 over par on nine holes. The concept seems simple...take the club, hit the little white ball, then putt it into a hole. I was horrible. It occurred to me, on the day I threw my clubs away, that there were plenty of things I could do for free that would make me just as angry as golfing did. For some strange reason, I have picked up golf again, I'm still horrible at it...uh oh.

I wear shorts...a lot. I wear pants to church. I'll wear pants to work. I usually wear pants when I'm riding my motorcycle. I'll wear pants when it's cold outside...but I like to wear shorts.

I'm horrible at most video games, but I have started to enjoy playing Super Mario Brothers and Skylanders with my step-son.

I like White Castle...I'm sorry, I just do. Sliders...mmmmmmm. We don't have one in Jackson so I don't eat there very often.

I prefer to drive. I don't like being a passenger.

I use a Sonicare toothbrush. Sometimes I don't go the full 2 minutes when brushing my teeth...they still feel clean anyway.

I shave my head. I'm not bald. I can grow hair, I just prefer not having any at this point in my life. Understandably, when I decide I want to grow it out again I probably won't be able to...

I have tattoos...four of them. The first one I got back in 1994. I had a pact with my two best friends that we would all get tattoos as part of a month long road trip out to Seattle for our other friend's wedding. I dropped out of college and ended up flying out for the weekend. They took the Greyhound (hilarious adventures ensued...or maybe it was torture, it's hard to tell when you hear them talk about it.) I got my tattoo just before I left...I'm still waiting for them to get their tattoos.  The other 3 are all memorials to my angels. You can see pictures of them on my "other blog" and on Facebook: tattoo #1, tattoo #2, and tattoo #3. (Note - I think you have to have a Facebook account to see the photo albums.)

I'm a wee bit of a nerd...just a wee bit. I love Star Wars AND Star Trek. I can hook all the cables up between my TV, AV equipment, and stereo system and be confident they work without having to "guess" what I'm doing. I can build a computer from scratch. I replace my own RAM and hard drives when I need/want. I reinstall the operating system on my computer(s) at least once a year, just to "clean the rust" out. I'm an Apple fan boy, but I know Windows, too. iHave lots of iStuff. Some other nerds don't like iStuff, or fruit, that's their choice, I've made mine. In regard to the whole nerd thing...it really is just a wee bit, there are folks out there that are WAY nerdy than me.

I'm "big boned." That's the Christian way of telling someone they're fat. Yes, I realize this sounds very self-depricating, but it's just the truth. Of course, in reality, I am "big boned." I have a large frame and even if I get down to my ideal healthy weight, I'm gonna be a big boy. Think NFL lineman, not NBA center. The other part of that truth is that God accepts me the way I am, and won't discourage me from trying to improve the temple in which I've asked him to reside.

I'm trying to learn what it means to see myself the way God sees me; to love myself the way God loves me; and, to love others the way God loves me. I'm willing to admit that, despite all the "poking the bear" he did, Rob Bell was right when he said, "Love wins." If I can offer myself to God as a broken human being, daily, love will win.