Catching up from the holdays and such...

I've had a busy but fun holiday. I had the boys from Wednesday December 19- Christmas Day. My sister flew down and arrived on Sunday the 23rd and stayed until December 30th. The boys had several "Christmases" in terms of gifts. I let them open gifts a few days before Christmas and then they got to open presents at my parent's house on Christmas Eve. Of course they did the same with their Mom's family the week after Christmas. As always my Mom made a great Christmas dinner. My sister continued her interviewing of my Dad to learn more about our family history.

I watched the Patriots game to see them become the first team in NFL history to go 16-0 in the regular season but I did watch a little Penn State and Paterno win yet another bowl game.
Of course I enjoyed the Crimson Tide's victory over Colorado in the Independence Bowl. I watched the first half with my Dad and the second half with my Mom. My Dad decided to go to bed at halftime and he said that if Colorado came back and won he wouldn't want to see that anyway. It almost happened. Bama had a 27-0 lead early in the second quarter hand had to hold on to win 30-24.

On New Year's Day I unexpectedly got the chance to get the boys and we went to the theater to watch Alvin and the Chipmunks, which was cute.

Thursday we had basketball practice. While the youngest two practiced, I defeated my 14 year old and his friend for the umpteenth time in a game of "21" by a score of 21-4-0. or something like that. Then David and I played against his friend and his friend's dad. We should have won because we were blowing them out but we lost our intensity and let them come back and beat us by one point. We had Dominoes Pizza that night. They talked me into getting the large Brooklyn style rather than the 3 mediums for $15. We should have gotten the three mediums because one large just isn't enough for the four of us.

We had a good weekend this weekend. Friday night we went to Tuscaloosa and watched the Tide defeat Chicago State 93-79. The best part was that David got to shoot free throws at halftime in a contest to win an Xbox 360. He did really well against a boy who was probably a coaches son or something because he was helping the team. They tied after the first round and were really tied after the second round. But the other boy shot one about 5 seconds after time was up and they awarded the prize to him because the teams had to get back on the court. I was more nervous than David. he said that he was "a little" nervous. It was so cool to hear Bama announcer Tony Giles calling my son's name out over the PA system. I regret that I forgot to save the game on my DVR because he might have been on TV. They competed during a time out about half way through the second half of the game.

On the way home I told Matt that he could choose somewhere for his birthday dinner. Of course he chose the Cracker Barrel. We stopped at the one on Academy Drive in Bessemer. While David and Matt went to the restroom I asked the waitress (who happened to be a cousin of Demetrius Jemison, one of Alabama's basketball players) if they could sing for Matt's birthday. She said most of their singers were gone but she would try to work out something. Little did I know that Matt overheard the conversation as he hid behind the partition on his way back from the bathroom. We were 'wowed' by what happened next. A young man with one of the best voices I have ever heard came out and sang happy birthday to Matt acapella. It was so cool! After he left I told the boys he should try out for American idol because he could easily be the next Reuben Studdard. Lo and behold our waitress came back and told us to look for him in a few weeks on American idol. His name is Walter Blair.

Yesterday we had basketball games all afternoon. Matt's team won their first game of the season so I took him to Dairy Queen for a banana split. Joe's team lost both games again but we celebrated anyway by eating chocolate chip cookies and watching "Facing the Giants". I love the inspiration that movie provides, especially from a Christian point of view. We will praise Him when we lose and we will praise him when we win. Lots of good lessons in that movie.

"Things Left Unsaid"

...by Disciple:

Just a matter of time a few days ago,

I saw you you were fineRemembering what you said

About the book you read

The one I got you the begining of the end

Oh how we talked, for hours upon end

What I would give just to do it again

Your lying there in this hospital bed

Wont you open your eyes

And lets talk once again.

If you fly away tonight, I wanna tell you that I love.

I hope that you can hear me, I hope that you can feel me.

If you fly away tonight,

I wanna tell you that Im sorry,

That I never told you

When we were face to face.

Well Ive been here all night

And Im watching you

Breathe in and Breathe out

Is it really you or just a machine

Thats giving you life and

Making it seem that there could be hope

I could say it to your face?

If it werent for you then

There would be no grace

Thats covered my life.

You took the time to speak into my mind

And my harsh words were lies

If you fly away tonight

I wanna tell you that I love you
I hope that you can hear me

I hope that you can feel me

If you fly away tonight

I wanna tell you that

Im sorry

That I never told you

When we were face to face

Vinemont, Alabama

Merry PC Christmas

A story for Dale Murphy fans

I took the above picture on 2/7/2004

I grew up a huge fan of the Atlanta Braves. One of their best players and one of the nicest guys of all time was Dale Murphy. This guy should be in the Hall of Fame. With all the talk lately of steroids and what is wrong with Major League Baseball, Murphy was the epitome of what was right about the sport. I found this story on Tidesports.com.

Ramblings about basketball and aging...

The last several weeks Joe and Matt have been having basketball practice. This is allowing me to get some much needed (and doctor-prescribed) exercise. Exercise is easy for me to do if it is something I enjoy. While Matt and Joe are practicing, I have been playing basketball with my oldest son, David, and one of his friends. Have you heard of the game “21”? There are many different versions of the game, but essentially it is a game with multiple players all competing for their own points.

The three of us have played this game four times, and yes, the old man (that’s me!) has won all four. One game I actually won 21-0-0. That score was admittedly a bit of a fluke because the boys use a rule that if someone tips your missed shot into the basket you go back to zero. I put them both back shortly before the end of the game. Plus, I always hustle to rebound, or at least deflect my missed shots so I will not be sent back to zero. I can’t afford that.

I am writing this for two main purposes; to brag and “dog” my oldest son (just kidding) and the other is that I can bask in the last vestiges of athletic glory that I will experience in this life. My son is rapidly approaching my height and shoe size. At the same time my body is deteriorating as I sit behind this keyboard and exercise my fingers, and little else, much of the day.

Last night we didn’t have a chance to play “21” but we did get lots of shooting and dribbling in. I have noticed that at this age I have ‘flashes’ of my younger self. Every now and then I will do something that I thought I couldn’t do. Usually this only occurs after I have really warmed up and have a good supply of energy.

The aging process is really weird and hard to understand. Our bodies naturally deteriorate as everything does. But the factors that contribute to this deterioration are hard to understand. Am I better off because I was so active almost every day until I turned 28? If I had remained more active since then would I have had more injuries and, in turn, less ability now? Or has my relative lack of activity over the past several years (compared to the first 28) caused me to deteriorate faster?

My Dad is 77 and recently had to purchase a walker. Will I need a walker in 35 years? That is hard to imagine at this point. Will I even walk? Will I even be alive? Only God knows. It’s also strange how my mind “thinks” that my body can still do what it used to do, but my body doesn’t always obey. I have lost accuracy, speed, jumping ability, stamina, and most of all, agility.

It doesn’t feel good to be 42 sometimes. I liked the way I felt when I was 22. How would it feel if we could magically jump back in time and into our skin 2o years ago? We probably would be amazed at the difference. It would feel as if we were a new person.

My perspective on this is to enjoy how I feel now as much as possible. Even though “feeling 42” isn’t as good as 22, it is probably much better than 52, 62, 72, and beyond. I think most of us have the tendency to look at the green grass on the other side of the fence, where the glass is always half-full while we whine about our half-empty glass here in our less glamorous version of paradise.

I will resolve to be thankful for where I am now and to not long for the past or the future. In the mean time, I will enjoy winning basketball while I can. It won’t last much longer!

Merry Christmas link

Merry Christmas!

To my friends....

Another thing I got via email....

To All My Democrat Friends:
Please accept with no obligation, implied or explicit, my best wishes for an environmentally conscious, socially responsible, low-stress, non-addictive, gender-neutral celebration of the winter solstice holiday, practiced within the most enjoyable traditions of the religious persuasion of your choice, or secular practices of your choice, with respect for the religious/secular persuasion and/or traditions of others, or their choice not to practice religious or secular traditions at all. I also wish you a fiscally successful, personally fulfilling and medically uncomplicated recognition of the onset of the generally accepted calendar year 2008, but not without due respect for the calendars of choice of other cultures whose contributions to society have helped make America great. Not to imply that America is necessarily greater than any other country nor the only America in the Western Hemisphere. Also, this wish is made without regard to the race, creed, color, age, physical ability, religious faith or sexual preference of the wishee.

To My Republican Friends:
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year

Homecoming 2007

Friday was a very special day for my boys and I. My son Joseph was selected as male homecoming representative from his grade. He and my eighth grade son, David, attended their first dance. I must mention here that I never attended any dances growing up, much less was I elected to represent my grade at one of these events. In a nutshell, I have always been rather shy and somewhat geeky. Some of my friends might even take exception to my use of the qualifier, “somewhat”. Joe wrote about it on his blog here. He also posted photos here. David posted about it here and posted photos here.

Needless to say I was extremely proud to learn about Joe’s selection. My boys attend a school that doesn’t have a football team so they have homecoming festivities during the basketball season. Joe is a rather quiet, hard working boy who loves the outdoors. He has always been a bit on the shy side, like his dad. He is very interested in cars, trucks, music, fishing, hunting, camping, and sports, especially football. He is a very smart kid with a great personality. He has always been very uninterested in girls. One thing that hasn’t changed about Joe is that it is difficult to get him wear something dressier than blue jeans. His mom was unable to get him to do it Friday. If he was with me that afternoon, I might have forced him to.

Before the basketball game I took pictures of Joe and his friends. He was walking around, socializing with other children and sitting with the girl he was escorting, Ashley. That alone made it a “coming out” of sorts for Joe. Just a year ago you couldn’t have dragged him kicking and screaming into this role. Now, all of a sudden, he was embracing it and fulfilling it tremendously. It was an awesome sight to see him walk out onto the court with Ashley, arm in arm, as their names and parents’ names were called.

Then came the dance. Just the fact that he was willing to attend the dance was amazing in itself. I had the boys that night and I decided to stay with them for the dance. Their mom pulled me aside and asked me not to attend. When I told her that I had decided to do it, she told me to stay away from them. I can only speculate as to why she was saying all of this, but I think one reason was that she was afraid that I would embarrass them. I was in agreement with her that I needed to give them some space, but I disagreed that it would be a problem for me to attend. She did not attend the dance. I am so glad I did. If I had not attended, I would have missed out on one of the best evenings of my life.

My youngest son Matthew and I sat in the corner most of the time. Amazingly, despite my efforts to maintain a low profile, my boys and their friends came over and talked with me a lot. I must have had 5-10 girls asking me to get David and Joe to dance with them. I really didn’t want to interfere. But after about thirty minutes of Joe sitting by me and watching David wander around the dance floor by himself with his arms crossed, I couldn’t take it any more. First, I whispered to Joe that he needed to ask Ashley to dance with him at least one time. I told him that she would feel really bad if he didn’t. He reluctantly said that he would think about it. Then he said that she had already asked him and he had said that he didn’t want to do it. I told him he needed to dance with her and that he would be glad later if he did. I told David the same thing. I told him that he would probably regret it later if he didn’t do it. I also told him that I was too shy when I was his age and that if I could go back and change things I would. I asked him to at least think about it.

Matthew is the one who usually is best known for his “girlfriends”, dancing, and outgoing personality. That was not the case on this occasion. After his first dance, Joe was “hooked” and basically danced with Ashley most of the rest of the time. He didn’t seem the least interested in dancing with anyone else. There were a lot of girls who seemed disappointed that he wouldn’t dance with them. Once David danced the first time, he ended up dancing the rest of the evening with several different girls.

One of the teachers kept taking pictures of David every time that he danced with a different girl. Every time she took a picture she would come over laughing and show me. I took lots of pictures once they started dancing. There came a point, though, I could sense it was becoming a bit more than they wanted so I scaled back toward the end. Maybe it was when they kept complaining about the flash or when they kept sneaking off to the other side of the room. I got the hint.

It seemed like David and Joe had the time of their life. Matthew had fun too, but he was pretty tame compared to usual. He even refused to dance with another little girl his age. I really cannot explain the emotions that I was feeling watching this spectacle. I was so proud seeing my boys turning into young men right before my eyes. Seeing how they conducted themselves socially, using good manners, showing their personalities, and overcoming their shyness was an awesome sight. I do not think that I am overstating it to say that Friday night was their “coming out” event. They will never be the same. They are transitioning into young men now. That transition is not all fun and games. As a matter of fact, I had to deal with a lot of rebelliousness, immaturity, and disrespect from one of them later in the weekend.

Friday night was a night I will always remember and cherish. I will think back to that night many times in the future. That was the best Christmas gift that I will receive this year. I literally would not have missed it for the world. Ultimately, I must give thanks to God. I have prayed for and cared for these boys every day since before they were born. My dad always told me that he wanted me to succeed even more than he did. When I was a child I never understood that. I do now. It is the essence of love. Thank you Lord for giving me the opportunity, responsibility, joy, and even difficulty that comes with raising David, Joseph, and Matthew. I pray that your hand would always be on their lives.

When You're Smiling

This is one of my parents' favorite songs. They have sung it to my sister, my children and I many times through the years....

When you're smilin', keep on smilin'
The whole world smiles with you
And when you're laughin', keep on laughin'
The sun comes shinin' through
But when you're cryin', you bring on the rain
So stop your frownin', be happy again
Cause when you're smilin', keep on smilin'
The whole world smiles with you

Oh when you're smilin', keep on smilin'
The whole world smiles with you
Ah when you're laughin', keep on laughin'
The sun comes shinin' through
Now when you're cryin', you bring on the rain
So stop that sighin', be happy again
Cause when you're smilin', just keep on smilin'
And the whole world gonna smile with,
The great big world will smile with,
The whole wide world will smile with you.

Dad

Last week I took my Dad in for some tests. He has had some trouble lately with walking. he has fallen several times going out to get the newspaper or the mail. His ankle was really bruised and I think the doctor was concerned about his circulation. The tests came back OK. He did have to get a walker. I didn't know how fancy those walkers are now. The only walkers I had seen before were metal rods. His walker is a fancy black one with wheels, hand brakes, and a seat.

I didn't blog much about spending Thanksgiving weekend with my parents and my boys. The weekend prior to Thanksgiving, my sister visited. One of the things she did was interview Dad for a paper she is writing. She is taking a writing class and she asked him so many questions. During that time we were looking at some old yearbooks and pictures. The above photo was taken around 1948 when Dad enlisted in the United States Air Force. The picture below was taken on November 18, 2007, almost 60 years later.

Just visiting...

I had the pleasure of visiting a friend's church this past Sunday. It was a country church with a small membership. One thing I noticed is the close-knit, family atmosphere among the members. I enjoyed seeing my friend's two sons walking down the pew where their family sat and getting love from every one of them. Those kids will always have a strong foundation to build their lives on.

Glavine back with Braves

Glavine returns to Braves
Nearing the end of his career, Tom Glavine is returning to his roots. Glavine agreed to a one-year contract with the Atlanta Braves on Monday. A two-time National League Cy Young Award winner, Glavine won 242 games in 16 seasons with the Braves. He spent his last five seasons with the New York Mets after signing as a free agent following the 2002 campaign.

Veteran hurler Glavine back with Braves
ATLANTA, United States (AFP) - Southpaw pitcher Tom Glavine, who has 303 triumphs in a 21-season Major League Baseball career, has signed a one-year deal to return to the Atlanta Braves after five years with the New York Mets.

He's back: Tom Glavine returns to Braves to finish career.
ATLANTA (AP) -- Tom Glavine never got used to making that unfamiliar turn in the tunnel beneath Turner Field, the one that took him to the visiting clubhouse the last five years.

Now he's back with the home team. Glavine returned to the Braves on Monday to finish a career that likely will send him to the Hall of Fame, though this isn't just a sentimental farewell. Atlanta believes the crafty left-hander, who will turn 42 before next season, can help them get back to the playoffs after a two-year hiatus. "Starting pitching has been our Achilles' heel. We just didn't have the depth we had in past years, and we wanted to address that," new general manager Frank Wren said. "Tommy was our No. 1 target." This was an easy one to hit.

Career stats

I was a 22 year old college student at the University of Alabama on August 17, 1987 when Glavine made his debut. Other players on the Braves back then included: Dale Murphy, Ken Griffey, Sr., Graig Nettles, Ted Simmons, Doyle Alexander, Gene Garber, and Phil Niekro, among many others. If all of that doesn't date Glavine, nothing will!

Happy Thanksgiving

Check it out.

Will you give this to my Daddy?

I received this story via email. I cannot vouch for it's authenticity but it will touch your heart regardless!

As a Company, Southwest Airlines is going to support "Red Fridays." Last week I was in Atlanta, Georgia attending a conference. While I was in the airport, returning home, I heard several people behind me beginning to clap and cheer I immediately turned around and witnessed one of the greatest acts of patriotism I have ever seen.

Moving thru the terminal was a group of soldiers in their camos, as they began heading to their gate everyone (well almost everyone) was abruptly to their feet with their hands waving and cheering. When I saw the soldiers, probably 30-40 of them, being applauded and cheered for it hit me. I'm not alone. I'm not the only red blooded American who still loves this country and supports our troops and their families.

Of course I immediately stopped and began clapping for these young unsung heroes who are putting their lives on the line everyday for us so we can go to school, work and home without fear or reprisal! .

Just when I thought I could not be more proud of my country or of our service men and women a young girl, not more than 6 or 7 years old, ran up to one of the male soldiers. He kneeled down and said "hi," the little girl then asked him if he would give something to her daddy for her. The young soldier, he didn't look any older than maybe 22 himself, said he would try and what did she want to give to her daddy.

Then suddenly the little girl grabbed the neck of this soldier, gave him the biggest hug she could muster and then kissed him on the cheek.

The mother of the little girl, who said her daughters name was Courtney, told the young soldier that her husband was a Marine and had been in Iraq for 11 months now. As the mom was explaining how much her daughter, Courtney, missed her father, the young soldier began to tear up. When this temporarily single mom was done explaining her situation, all of the soldiers huddled together for a brief second. Then one of the other servicemen pulled out a military looking walkie-talkie. They started playing with the device and talking back and forth on it. After about 10-15 seconds of this, the young soldier walked back over to Courtney, bent down and said this to her, "I spoke to your daddy and he told me to give this to you." He t hen hugged this little girl that he had just met and gave her a kiss on the cheek. He finished by saying "your daddy told me to tell you that he loves you more than anything and he is coming home very soon."

The mom at this point was crying almost uncontrollably and as the young soldier stood to his feet he saluted Courtney and her mom. I was standing no more than 6 feet away from this entire event unfolded.

As the soldiers began to leave, heading towards their gate, people resumed their applause. As I stood there applauding and looked around, there were very few dry eyes, including my own. That young soldier in one last act of selflessness turned around and blew a kiss to Courtney with a tear rolling down his cheek.

We need to remember everyday all of our soldiers and their families and thank God for them and their sacrifices. At the end of the day, it's good to be an American.

RED FRIDAYS ----- Very soon, you will see a great many people wearing
Red every Friday. The reason? Americans who support our troops used to be called the "silent majority". We are no longer silent, and are voicing our love for God, country and home in record breaking numbers.
We are not organized, boisterous or over-bearing. We get no liberal media coverage on TV, to reflect our message or our opinions. Many Americans, like you, me and all our friends, simply want to recognize that the vast majority of America supports our troops.

Our idea of showing solidarity and support for our troops with dignity and respect starts this Friday -and continues each and every Friday until the troops all come home, sending a deafening message that.. Every red-blooded American who supports our men and women afar will wear something red. By word of mouth, press, TV -- let's make the United States on every Friday a sea of red much like a homecoming football game in the bleachers.

If every one of us who loves this country will share this with acquaintances, co-workers, friends, and family. It will not be long before the USA is covered in RED and it will let our troops know the once "silent!” majority is on their side more than ever, certainly more than the media lets on. The first thing a soldier says when asked "What can we do to make things better for you?" is...We need your support and your prayers.

The stuff you can find....

I found one of my favorite songs from almost 20 years ago, during my college days, on YouTube. These guys were SO talented and original. No wonder why I bought all those cassettes...

Without further ado...Acappella...

Another thought-provoking story...

One day, when I was a freshman in high school,I saw a kid from my class was walking home from school.His name was Kyle.It looked like he was carrying all of his books.I thought to myself, "Why would anyone bring home all his books on a Friday?He must really be a nerd."I had quite a weekend planned (parties and a football game with my friends tomorrow afternoon), so I shrugged my shoulders and went on.As I was walking, I saw a bunch of kids running toward him.They ran at him, knocking all his books out of his arms and tripping him so he landed in the dirt.His glasses went flying, and I saw them land in the grass about ten feet from him.He looked up and I saw this terrible sadness in his eyesMy heart went out to him. So, I jogged over to him as he crawled around looking for his glasses, and I saw a tear in his eye.As I handed him his glasses, I said, "Those guys are jerks. "They really should get lives." He looked at me and said, "Hey thanks!"There was a big smile on his face.It was one of those smiles that showed real gratitude.I helped him pick up his books, and asked him where he lived.As it turned out, he lived near me, so I asked him why I had never seen him before.He said he had gone to private school before now.I would have never hung out with a private school kid before.We talked all the way home, and I carried some of his books.He turned out to be a pretty cool kid.I asked him if he wanted to play a little football with my friendsHe said yes.We hung out all weekend and the more I got to know Kyle, the more I liked him, and my friends thought the same of him.Monday morning came, and there was Kyle with the huge stack of books again.I stopped him and said, "Boy, you are gonna really build some serious muscles with this pile of books everyday!" He just laughed and handed me half the books.Over the next four years, Kyle and I became best friends.. When we were seniors we began to think about college.Kyle decided on Georgetown and I was going to Duke.I knew that we would always be friends, that the miles would never be a problem.He was going to be a doctor and I was going for business on a football scholarship.Kyle was valedictorian of our class.I teased him all the time about being a nerd.He had to prepare a speech for graduation.I was so glad it wasn't me having to get up there and speakGraduation day, I saw Kyle.He looked great.He was one of those guys that really found himself during high school.He filled out and actually looked good in glasses.He had more dates than I had and all the girls loved him.Boy, sometimes I was jealous!Today was one of those days.I could see that he was nervous about his speech.So, I smacked him on the back and said, "Hey, big guy, you'll be great!"He looked at me with one of those looks (the really grateful one) and smiled." Thanks," he said.As he started his speech, he cleared his throat, and began"Graduation is a time to thank those who helped you make it through those tough years.Your parents, your teachers, your siblings, maybe a coach...but mostly your friends...I am here to tell all of you that being a friend to someone is the best gift you can give them.I am going to tell you a story."I just looked at my friend with disbelief as he told the story of the first day we met.He had planned to kill himself over the weekend.He talked of how he had cleaned out his locker so his Mom wouldn't have to do it later and was carrying his stuff home.He looked hard at me and gave me a little smile."Thankfully, I was saved.My friend saved me from doing the unspeakable."I heard the gasp go through the crowd as this handsome, popular boy told us all about his weakest moment.I saw his Mom and dad looking at me and smiling that same grateful smile.Not until that moment did I realize it's depth.Never underestimate the power of your actions.With one small gesture you can change a person's life.For better or for worse.God puts us all in each others lives to impact one another in some way.Look for God in others.

Food for thought...

Beautiful message that I received via email.......You Took My Parking Space at Church

One day a man went to visit a church. He got there early, parked his carand got out. Another car pulled up near the driver got out and said, "I always park there! You took my place! ''

The visitor went inside for Sunday School, found an empty seat and satdown. A young lady from the church approached him and stated, 'That's myseat! You took my place!'

The visitor was somewhat distressed by this rude welcome, but said nothing.

After Sunday School, the visitor went into the sanctuary and sat down. Another member walked up to him and said, ' That's where I always sit!You took my place!' The visitor was even more troubled by thistreatment, but still He said nothing.

Later as the congregation was praying for Christ to dwell among them,the visitor stood up, and his appearance began to change. Horrible scars became visible on his hands and on his sandaled feet. Someone from thecongregation noticed him and called out, 'What happened to you?'

The visitor replied, as his hat became a crown of thorns, and a tear fellfrom his eye, 'I took your place.' When you receive this, say a prayer. That's all you have to do. There is nothing attached. This is powerful. Just send this to four people and see what happens. Maybe, just maybe, we can get the world to start thinking of who took our place. Do not break this, please. AuthorUnknown

McCartney is still at it...

If you were 65 years old and posessed over $1 billion, what would you do? Probably you would do what you loved doing; whatever the Lord put you here to do. I guess that is probably why a guy like Paul McCartney will likely go to his grave singing for whomever will listen...

More weird stuff from work...

As if the names I mentioned the other day weren't weird enough, today I came across this line in a letter today at work, "He needs to get a fraternity test before any other action is taken in this matter. Since the mother was married to someone else when she had this child...." Please don't ask what fraternity he is trying to gain acceptance to.

The answer to the other day's question: Which one is male, Starlight, Pink, or Sparkle?
The answer is Pink! The bad part is that he is a junior! Why would someone who had the misfortune of being saddled with that name place that burden on their child?

The rest of the story. He is the legal father and there were two additional men that are alleged biological fathers. They are brothers! How pitiful.