The Men That I Admire Most

"Behind every great man there's a great woman."

This well-known quote implies that a great man has the support of a great woman.  I agree with the implications of this quote.  I am not going to get into a Feminist debate here, because I wish to focus on something else.  I agree that a man should have a "great" woman in his life, but I also believe that a great man should look up to other male role-models.

I started to think about this a few weeks ago when I was talking with one of my friends about who has influenced me and who I admire.  In this post, I will list some of the guys that I admire most and discuss their influence over me.

Chris Martin

Anybody who knows me well can attest to my slight obsession with Coldplay.  I really admire each of the band members, but (as any Coldplay fan will tell you) Chris Martin is the heart and soul of the band.  They wouldn't be a success without each member working together, but Chris is really the glue that holds everything together.  I admire him primarily for his song-writing abilities.  He has had a profound influence over me as a song-writer and as a musician.  I will forever be in pursuit of influencing others as strongly as he has influenced me.



Michael Westen (fictional character played by Jeffrey Donovan  on "Burn Notice")

This may sound lame, but I really admire a person that doesn't actually exist.  I am sure that there are people out there similar to him, but no one will ever be quite like Michael Westen.  If you haven't seen the show, Michael is a spy that is burned (fired) from his government job, and he is forced to stay in Miami (I will probably dedicate an entire blog post to this show).  I have been a loyal fan since season 2 and it is one of the only shows (in addition to Top Gear) that I will watch on a regular basis.  In many ways, I aspire to be like Michael.  He is incredibly resourceful, quick thinking and intelligent.  He really cares for his family and friends will do anything to keep them out of harm's way.  He also drives a 1973 Dodge Charger Rallye which is an amazing car.  Throughout the seasons, he has taken on every bad guy imaginable and he plays the consummate hero well.  He is a "man's man" and is always placing himself into the line of fire in order to save the day and protect the innocent.  I know that he doesn't exist, but he does exist as a symbol; something that all men can aspire to be.

Paul Walker

I have liked Paul Walker as an actor ever since I saw him in The Fast and the Furious.  I can relate to him because he is passionate about cars and surfing.  He appears to be a really chill guy that gets along with everyone.  However, I really admire him for the work that he does off screen.  He is active in the preserving of great white sharks and has been involved with several initiatives to keep the great white population from disappearing.  He also avoids the Hollywood scene and leads a rather simple life.  I never see him in celebrity news (not that I really watch this stuff), but I admire that he doesn't wish to be the center of attention.  In a Men's Health article, he says that he built his own home in Indonesia and he will go there for a few months out of the year and live off of the land.  I think that this is awesome!  He has made enough money to live as richly as he would like, and yet he chooses to live simply and enjoy nature.  I do not aspire to be wealthy, but if I ever come into money, I hope to treat fortune in the same way as Paul Walker.

Richard Hammond

For those of you who do not watch Top Gear, Richard Hammond (AKA Hamster) is a co-presenter on the greatest show about all things cars.  On the show, he is known as the young one and he infuses a "hip coolness" into each episode.  I admire his taste in cars, his sense of style, and most importantly his attitude about life.  In 2006, he was involved in a car crash that could have ended his life.  Suffering a brain injury, Hammond was not expected to fully recover.  Well he did recover and he continues to work on Top Gear in addition to working on other projects.  He is my favorite petrolhead and I will continue to pay attention to his thoughts about the future of motoring. 



Jason David Frank

Better known as the Green/White Ranger, from the original Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers, Jason David Frank has had an influence over me since I was a small boy.  He is the main reason as to why I got involved in martial arts in the first place.  I would certainly be a very different person today had I not taken martial arts for so many years.  More recently, he has founded Jesus Didn't Tap.  It is a Christian-affiliated MMA organization that promotes Christianity in the world of mixed-martial arts.  I think that this is a really amazing endeavor.  The world of martial arts has never really been associated with Christianity and I really admire all of the work that JDF is doing in order to spread the gospel. 



Lance Armstrong

Anybody who has known me for any length of time will realize that I really admire Lance Armstrong.  I have proudly worn a Livestrong "baller band" since 2004 when he won his sixth Tour de France.  I never take it off, ever.  I keep it on at all times as a reminder of how strong a human can be.  Lance Armstrong's battle with cancer is the ultimate example of the indomitable spirit.  I may not agree with his personal choices, but I will always admire his attitude and spirit.  Since beating cancer, he has gone on to raise millions of dollars for cancer research and he is constantly raising awareness about this disease.  He has inspired millions of people all over the world and he inspired me to continue pressing on in life.  I use Lance's attitude and apply it to my spiritual life.  Paul says in Philippians 3:14, "I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus."  The Christian life is an uphill battle, but we should never, ever give up.


My Father- Kenneth McKee

I admire both of my parents for many reasons, but since we are talking about male role-models I will have to leave out my Mum for the moment (Mum, if you are reading this, I am sorry).  My Dad is very smart and hard-working.  He cares for his family and has provided for us through many difficult times.  He was brave enough to move his entire family to a foreign land and we have really thrived here in America.  He is an excellent runner, having run many marathons.  His level of physical fitness saved his life when a doctor told him that his left anterior descending artery was completely clogged.  His heart had actually built its own bypass and that is what prevented him from having a heart attack.  I thank God everyday that my Dad is still alive and that near death experience is a big reason why I wish to continue running and staying active.  My Dad is also a great musician and he has influenced me in countless ways.  From my taste in music, to how I play the guitar, I have been influenced my Dad.  I may not have discovered David Bowie, Thin Lizzy, or Neil Young if it wasn't for my Dad.  I hope that I can be as good a father someday.

I am also old enough to realize that my Dad couldn't have done any of these things without my Mum!  She is the reason why I am here.  She is the "great woman" behind the "great man."

My Grandfather- Alexander McKee

The original Alexander McKee (I am named after him) dropped out of school at the age of 13 in order to work full-time and provide for the family.  He has served his country in the Royal Navy and still attends Naval functions.  He has seen the world at war and has lived through extremely difficult times.  He has been married to the same woman for over 50 years.  He is a great leader of our entire McKee family.  He has a great sense of humour and he is incredibly intelligent.  I have many fond memories of sitting on his lap while he told stories of his life and I would always be amazed at the things that he has done.  I am really looking forward to being a grandfather, so that I can carry on his legacy.

On a side note, Gaga (my Grandfather) turns 80 in May!  I really want to be there, but it is just too dear.  I cannot afford it.  I am saving hard for next Summer, when I can hopefully return and spend some long overdue time with my family.

There are countless other individuals who have had a profound influence over me, but I wanted to try and keep this post short.  I have said this before, but if you are reading this blog post, then you have had an influence over my life.  I could not be where I am today without each of you.

Thank you for everything.

Spring Break 2011

2011 Spring Break was truly a great spring break.  I got some time away from LA and school.  I was able to spend time with loved ones and friends.  Seeing my parents and Julie everyday was awesome!  It really reminded me of what is important.  I also enjoyed attending my home church.  All in all, it was a wonderful week that went by too quickly.  Here is a brief summary of what went on:

On Friday, my flight left LAX at 8:15.  I wasn't charged to check my bag, so the trip was already off to a great start.  I got into Dallas around 1:00 and I spent the afternoon catching up with my Mum, Dad, and brother.  In the evening we ate dinner and watched Due Date.  Julie came over and spent the evening with the family.  On Saturday, we rehearsed for the next day's church service.  I was able to lead worship and play my Dad's Les Paul!  On Saturday night, Julie and I went to the Galleria.  Julie needed to find some clothes for upcoming events and I went along for emotional support.  Julie found everything that she was looking for which was cool.  After shopping, we met two of Julie's friends, Allison and Lance, and we had a double date at an Asian restaurant called Firefly.  It was a really wonderful evening spent in great company.  After dinner, Julie and I ate frozen yoghurt.  On Sunday, we went to church and then I spent the afternoon hanging out with my brother before he headed back to Waco that night.  The weather was awesome, so Willy and I played basketball at the local park.

Monday was a relatively chill day.  I hung out with a good friend, Parth, in the afternoon.  In the evening, Julie and I had dinner with Doug and Renee.  Julie arrived just in time for dinner.  It was great to spend some time with old friends and we really enjoyed ourselves.  On Tuesday, I hit some golf balls with Parth because the weather was perfect again.  Spending time outside was really nice because I feel like I don't do enough of that in LA.  On Tuesday night, my Mum and I went to see The King's Speech.  I hadn't been to the movies in ages and we picked a cracking film to break that dry spell.  It is a brilliant film that deserves every bit of recognition that it receives.  I cannot praise it highly enough.  I loved it!  After that, I spent some time with Julie and we planned our adventures for the next day.

On Wednesday, Julie took a half day, so I drove down around 12:30 to pick her up from work.  From there, we drove to Old City Park in Dallas.  I don't know if I should broadcast this, but we got in for free!  Technically, it costs money to get in, but nobody asked us for anything.  We walked around an old-fashioned town filled with houses, a church, a general store, a train station, a bank etc... It was quite an experience to see how people lived just 100 years ago.  It really made me think about the future.  One hundred years from now, are people going to tour houses, like the one's I have lived in, and wonder what it was like to live in such primitive times?  After Old City Park, we went back to Coppell and ate Marble Slab ice cream.  It was seriously excellent ice cream!  Julie and I then spent the evening at my house.  My Mum cooked an excellent dinner and we watched some tv.

On Thursday morning, I woke up early and had a nice run.  After that, I went to Dallas and jammed with my band, NOVA.  It was great to see Travis again and re-connect.  We played our original music and then played some cover tunes.  It was awesome to be back again and I am really looking forward to playing live shows in the summer.  By the way, if you haven't checked out our album "Love Revolution," it is on iTunes!  We are really excited about what the future has in store.  Since Thursday was St. Patrick's Day, my little event-planning girlfriend threw an awesome party!  We played Telephone Pictionary, which was hilarious!  It was another great evening.

On Friday, the three McKee's in Coppell loaded up the van and drove down to Waco.  We had all registered to run the Bearathon 5K on Saturday morning.  The proceeds from the race went to fund student scholarships, so we thought that it would be a great way to give back and get exercise.  I was also hoping that this would encourage me to continue running in my free time.  On Friday night, we met up with Willy and Emily, his girlfriend, and we went to Pei Wei.  After loading up on carbs and nearly killing ourselves laughing on the way back from the restaurant, we spent some time at my brother's apartment.  We watched Land of the Lost, which was actually pretty funny.  Mum and Dad and I then went back to our hotel and tried to get some sleep.  I didn't sleep very well because I was anxious for the race.

6:30 came early on Saturday morning.  We ate a light breakfast and headed over to Willy's apartment.  From there, we walked to the starting line.  I had been training a little bit, but not nearly as much as I wanted to train.  I was aiming for a time of 24-26 minutes, which would have me running an 8- 8.6 minute mile split.  Willy and I decided that we would run together and our strategy was to start out fast, settle down, and then kick at the end.  Well, we approached the starting line and took our place near the front of the pack.  It was a beautiful day and there were people cheering everywhere.  The gun went off around 8:12, and Willy and I took off at a pretty fast pace.  About half a mile in, I thought that the pace was too quick, but we kept at it.  We were in about 15th and 16th place.  We took turns taking the wind and we started to pass other runners one by one.  With about half a mile left in the race, I told Willy to kick and try to catch some other runners.  I was running on fumes and he looked strong.  He pulled away from me and passed two more runners, finishing with a time of 21:44 (a 6:58/mile split)!  I came in shortly after with a time of 22:36 (a 7:15/mile split).  Willy finished in 6th place and I finished in 9th place out of 449 runners.  Not bad for very little training!  Dad came in a couple of minutes after me with a time of 25:54 and Mum ran the 5K in 35 minutes even.  I have always been really proud of my family, but I was even more so on this day.  It was awesome to have the entire family get out there and run a race!  Bring on the next one!  I think that Dad and I are going to run the LA Marathon someday!

Here is a link to see the official race results for the McKee family:

http://www.cadencesportsonline.com/raceDirector.cfm?raceid=374

Saturday afternoon was spent eating Gut Paks at Vitek's and recovering from the race.  We said "goodbye" to Willy and drove back to Coppell.  I spent the rest of the afternoon on the couch, falling in and out of sleep while watching Top Gear.  Saturday night was another amazing meal and then Julie and I watched Paranormal Activity 2.  It was pretty scary, but we preferred the first one!  On Sunday, we all went to church and then I spent the afternoon packing.  It was tough to pack again because I felt like I had just arrived.  Julie came over for a while and we got to spend some time together before I had to leave.  I ate my last meal in Dallas (an English roast, which was out of this world amazing) and then it was time to go to the airport.  I got back into LA really late and my uncle graciously agreed to pick me up from the airport.  I got back to my apt and reality sank back in very quickly.  I went to Ralph's to buy some essential grocery items and then I called it a night around 1:15 AM (3:15 AM, Dallas time).

Like all of my previous trips home, this one was much needed.  It was perfect and I couldn't have envisioned it going any better.  I was able to see a lot of my friends, spend time with family, and see Julie everyday.  I came away reminded of how truly blessed I am.  In about seven weeks, I will be back again.  But this time, my stay will be closer to three months as opposed to just three days or three weeks.  I am really looking forward to it!

Goodnight and may God bless you.