Short story about this one and why the lyrics speak to me. I've got two sons (13 & 11) and as I see them getting older and developing more of their own personality and opinions I know the days will come when it's time for them to stand on their own and take control of their lives. And while I do not think there will ever be a time when my children will feel such pressure from me that they have to "set me straight" and remind me that they are men I do see the days coming when my wife and I will have to get accustomed to the silence of an empty house. My greatest hope is that my sons know we tried to do our best for them and that someday God will tell me "you did well".

Anyway, I imagine my sons someday telling me some of the things in the lyrics below.

Shinedown - Second Chance


My eyes are open wide
And by the way, I made it
Through the day
I watched the world outside
By the way, I'm leaving out
Today

I just saw Hayley's comet
She waved
Said why you always running
In place?
Even the man in the
Moon disappeared
Somewhere in the
Stratosphere

[Chorus]
Tell my mother,
Tell my father
I've done the best I can
To make them realize
This is my life
I hope they understand
I'm not angry, I'm just saying...
Sometimes goodbye
Is a second chance

Please don't cry
One tear for me
I'm not afraid of
What I have to say
This is my one and
Only voice
So listen close, it's
Only for today

I just saw Hayley's comet
She waved
Said why you always running
In place?
Even the man in the
Moon disappeared
Somewhere in the
Stratosphere

[Chorus]
Tell my mother,
Tell my father
I've done the best I can
To make them realize
This is my life
I hope they understand
I'm not angry, I'm just saying...
Sometimes goodbye
Is a second chance

Here's my chance
This is my chance

Tell my mother,
Tell my father
I've done the best I can
To make them realize
This is my life
I hope they understand
I'm not angry, I'm just saying...
Sometimes goodbye
Is a second chance

Sometimes goodbye
Is a second chance [x2]

JDaveG, on 12 March 2010 - 07:08 AM, said:

You may be right about the judge being spiteful. But I think I read that the ruling was originally for a 30 day period. To me that sounds like the judge advised the parents to reach some sort of accord because he was uncomfortable making such a decision. It sounds to me that the judge had his hand forced a bit because neither of the parents would back off. Maybe the judge was just trying to look out for the child and prevent the parents from becoming even more obstinate toward one another.

BirdsOfPrey, on 12 March 2010 - 09:31 AM, said:

I get the feeling that the judge didn't want to be involved but he took a step in an attempt to calm the parents down and give them time to reach an agreement on their own. Maybe I'm wrong, but I don't feel certain that the judge wanted to be involved in this anyway. If the parent who has custody of the child feels strongly about the religion that they follow how do you, as a judge, tell her to allow her ex to expose the child to a different religion. It's almost like the judge has issued a temporary restraining order in hopes that cooler heads will prevail.

pencilpusher loves you, on 12 March 2010 - 07:54 AM, said:

I think back in those days it was still called WTCG instead of WTBS. And who was tier main "go to guy" in those early days? Was it Bill Tush?

Radical Ace, on 12 March 2010 - 12:53 AM, said:

Well the child may know the meaning of hypocrit by now or could at least give an example of the word.

The judgment restricting the father from exposing his child to Catholicism is an odd one, I should think. There needs to be an arrangement by which both parents agree to expose their child to both religions, I think. But this is an interesting set of circumstances.

However, I do find fault with the father for doing this. It seems like the father is more or less using his daughter to test the limits of the judicial system. Now I personally enjoy seeing someone test the bounds of a system, any system. It's just in my blood to do that myself. But this father seems to have his priorities out of whack, since it seems like he is willing to risk spending time with his child in order to prove a point. Even with my personal preference for doing similar things I certainly do not think I would risk the ability to be with my child just to test the limits.