Vinemont 22 Union Hill 8

Vinemont Middle School is officially now 3-1 on the season. They did lose in their preseason scrimmage with Danville, but they have done well since. David is new to playing organized football. He did get in the game for one play!

Big Spring Jam

I took the boys to the Big Spring Jam music festival in Huntsville on Friday night. We went straight to the WDRM country stage. We enjoyed listening to Jeff Cook, Blake Shelton, and Sugarland. The weather was a concern, as tornadoes were touching down in Marshall and Blount counties. By the time we arrived at the park, however, the weather was purely awesome! The temperstures were in the seventies with a brisk breeze out of the south. We enjoyed watching the low clouds speed by, the lightning in the distance, and cool music.

Good Hope 34 Vinemont 22, 9/21/06

Watermelon Harvest 2006

Thursday we harvested the two watermelons that survived the long, hot, and dry summer in our garden. All credit goes to the boys who faithfully delivered water from the tap to the watermelon vines all summer. The boys and I enjoyed two of the sweetest watermelons I've ever had while sitting on the on the front porch. Life doesn't get much better than that!

Catching Up...

I know it's trite, but I've been so busy living life that I haven't had time to blog about it much lately. I suppose it's time to catch up. Last Monday, 9/11/06, it was good to meet Matt and Joe for lunch at school. It did indeed bring back memories of eating with David and Joe on the same date in 2001.

Also last week was special because a teenager was welcomed to the family. Friends and co-workers have been warning me about the difficulties in raising teenagers for the past few years. I guess I am about to find out what they are talking about. I will be the parent of one or more teens during the next 13 years. David will be my only teen during the next two and one-half years. I will have two or more teens simultaneously for the following seven years. I will actually have three teens simultaneously for about one and two thirds years out of those seven years. Then I will be back to having one teenager three and two thirds years. Yes, as you can tell, sometimes I have to figure out way too many details!

Anyway, David seemed to have a great 13th birthday. I gave him his gifts, including a new digital camera, an autographed book by Winston Groom entitled "Illustrated History of the Crimson Tide”, numerous baseball cards, an autographed Greg Maddux card, an Alabama football media guides from 1984 and 2006, and a few DVD's that I made for him. We all had fun together that night.

Friday night we went to bed early. I would guess we all were asleep not too long after 8:00. It was a good thing. My alarm went off at 4:45 a.m. so that we could leave for Tuscaloosa by about 5:30. It was really easy traveling to an Alabama game that early in the morning. It was dark most of the way to Birmingham and the sun didn't actually rise until we were around Bessemer.

We parked across from Farrah Hall and "tailgated" in front of Moore Hall on the southeast side of the quad all day. We did visit the Bryant Museum. We also enjoyed watching the team arrive at the stadium at about 3:00. The boys played football with some other kids much of the day and I did all of the grilling. We left the game with about 5 remaining. Bama was winning 41-7. It was a great decision. we walked fast over to the car and beat most of the crowd out of Tuscaloosa around 9:00. We drove all the way to my parents' home in Huntsville and arrived there around 11:45 or so.

Sunday we hung out with my Mom and Dad. David organized his baseball cards and watched the Cubs game and I watched a lot of the Braves game with my Dad. David washed my Mom's car and Joe washed mine. Joe also mowed the front yard. We played a little football down at the park and enjoyed a wonderful meal that my Mom prepared. She made baked chicken, baked potatoes and green beans.

Yesterday I got to take David and Joe to the Cullman County Fair. I had fun watching them on the rides. We also enjoyed looking at the animals and prize vegetables. The weather was perfect for a fair. The air was dry and cool. Someone either threw or dropped a plastic bag with water and a goldfish from the top of the ferris wheel. It missed us by about a foot. That would have been bad! This has been one of those rather boring narrative chronological entries that I submitted mainly to supplement our memories. Someday I hope the boys and I will look back fondly at these times.

9/11/06

Monday was 9/11/2006. I sure do wish that was just another "plain old, regular day" on the calendar like most other dates. Unfortunately, as you know, it is not. The events of 9/11/2001 profoundly changed the way most Americans look at the world around us. When I was growing up during the Cold War, there was always the threat of nuclear attack in the back of my mind. I had always heard that the town in which I was born and raised was one of the Soviets' highest priority targets in the event of a military confrontation. Despite all of this, however, the reality was that there were never were Soviet attacks on America during this time. Between 1979 and 2001 there were incidents involving terrorism against Americans, but the vast majority of those were against military personnel stationed overseas. That all radically changed on 9/11/01. In a series of attacks, 2948 innocent people were murdered here on American soil. I remember that morning like it was yesterday. I was on leave from work that day from 7:30-11:45. I was at my home in Good Hope and was listening to the Rick and Bubba radio show out of Birmingham. When I turned on the radio, they were beginning to describe the first attack. In a matter of minutes I realized something had gone terribly wrong. My first reaction was that it was just a really bad plane wreck. As details began to emerge, it was apparent we were under attack. We had no idea of the scope, but a wave of fear and dismay seemed to roll across the country. Both of the twin towers were attacked by terrorists who hijacked airplanes, as was the Pentagon, and another plane crashed near Shanksville, PA. Was it going to end? I felt an impulsive desire to be near my children. I drove to the school and ate lunch with them. The teachers and parents were all talking with disbelief about what was happening. David was old enough to understand the basics of what was going on. I don't think Joe understood very deeply what was happening. It helped me to be there to reassure my children that they would be ok. I remember the uneasy feeling I had, wondering if there was an extensive network of other attacks that would be happening that same day, even close to where I live. I remember that my sister had to evacuate the office building that she worked at in Chicago because it was next to the Sears Tower, which was also threatened. One of the images that sticks with me the most that day was of President Bush. He was speaking at a school in Florida when he was interrupted by an aide that whispered something about it into his ear. It seemed that just like the rest of us, it was impossible for him to fully process immediately the scope of what was happening. I remember the feeling of unity and spiritual bond that seemingly all Americans shared during that time. I remember the Wednesday night church service at Seventh Street following the attack. David was drawing something on the bulletin and prayer list. Toward the end of the service he showed me what it was. He had sketched a picture of an airplane crashing into a skyscraper. I still have that sketch. On 9/11/2006, I ate lunch at school with my boys and reminded them of that day. I asked them if their teachers had mentioned it in class, and they had. Flags all over the country flew at half-mast in remembrance and memorial. It seemed like that for one day at least, most Americans paused and took a few moments to remember what happened on 9/11/01. Ever since that fateful day Americans have had a renewed sense of the dangers of living in America in the 21st century. Thank God that we have not been attacked again. I pray in the name of Jesus that we will never be attacked again. We should never forget those who lost their lives. We should never forget the heroes such as the New York firefighters and the passengers of the plane that crashed in a field in Pennsylvania. We should remain vigilant to protect our country. We should stay on the offensive against the groups that continue to vow to attack us and kill us. To do any less would dishonor the memory of our fellow citizens who perished that day.

Vinemont 28 Hanceville 8, 9/11/06

9/11/2006

Vinemont 44 Cold Springs 6

David played in his first football game ever last night as his team won big. I was so proud of him!

Labor Day Weekend

We went to bed early Friday so that we could drive to Tuscaloosa early in the morning for the Alabama-Hawaii game. Even though we didn't get up as early as planned, we still got a good start and we arrived in T-Town around 8. I made the mistake of parking in the parking deck behind the Ferguson Center. It was nearly impossible to get out of there after the game. I think that next time we will park on Hacberry and set up on the SE end of the quad. Anyway, we set up our canopy, chairs, and grill. A real nice guy helped us set up our canopy. We were near the northwest corner of the quad, directly behind Barnard Hall.

The boys made some new friends playing football on the mound on the quad. I grilled hamburgers, polish sausage, and hot dogs. For breakfast the four of us scarfed down a dozen Krispy Kreme doughnuts. We also had mandarin orange cups, chocolate chip cookies, and A&W Root Beer. I bought a program and we read that and other football material. I finished reading the book, Tales of the Tide. We also walked around and saw the sights around the quad.

A friend of mine, Tee, along with a friend of his, Ralph, came and sat under our canopy and chatted awhile. WTTO, Channel 21 out of Birmingham filmed the boys and I cheering, "Roll Tide" and the lady in charge said that we would be on the air next Saturday after the Auburn game. We watched and listened to the trombone section warm up on the mound before the game.

The game was fun for the boys and I. We met the season ticket holders who sit in front of us. One guy was named Paul and the lady was named Jessica. Paul was really getting into the cheering. He was urging my boys to keep cheering louder throughout much of the game. The decibel level must have been very high in Bryant-Denny that night. Bama won the game 25-17. I posted links to the stories about the game and photos of our gameday experience on my 2006 Alabama Crimson Tide Blog.

Sunday night and Monday we spent visiting my Mom and Dad. My dad taped the game for me and the boys and I watched it. David, my Dad, and I watched the Cubs lose another game on Monday afternoon. David and Joe mowed the lawn and the boys and I washed my vehicle. After I made supper, we went home Monday night.

It was a great family weekend!

Great Song Post

I heard this song on XM tonight. I absolutely love it!

If Nobody Believed In You

by Joe Nichols

I watched him take the two strike call:
He hadn't tried to swing at all.
I guess he'd had all that he could take,
He walked away, for goodness sake.
His father's voice was loud an' mean:
"You won't amount to anything."

That little boy quit tryin',
He just walked away.
There were teardrops on his face.
Tell me, how would you feel?
You'd probably give up too,
If nobody believed in you.

That old man said: "One more try,
"I know I'm not too old to drive.
"I promise, son, I'll do my best,
"This time, I'm gonna pass the test."
"Give me the keys, Dad, an' get in."
His father never drove again.

That old man quit tryin',
He just turned away.
An' there were teardrops on his face.
Tell me, how would you feel?
You'd probably give up too,
If nobody believed in you.

We take His name out of the schools.
The lawyers say it breaks the rules.
Pledge of allegiance can't be read,
An' under God, should not be said.
I wonder how much He will take.
I just pray it's not too late.

What if God quit tryin',
He just turned away?
There were teardrops on his face?
Tell me, how would you feel?
You'd probably give up too,
If nobody believed in you.

Tell me, how would you feel?
You'd probably give up too,
If nobody believed in you.

Danville Hawks 28 Vinemont Eagles 14

This was David's first game of organized football. He is number 71. He didn't get to play. The coach sent him at the very end and then time ran out. I am so proud of all of the hard work and improvement he has made.

Facts of Life

Last night I spoke to David about the facts of life. I asked him some questions to see what he already knew. Very little. Good! I warned him that, like me at that age, he would probably find this gross. I explained both the biological and sociological aspects of this issue. Not to mention I also talked about the spiritual.

I asked him, at the end, if he was glad that I told him about this, he said, "maybe." Well, he needed to hear this and I'm glad it's been explained the right way to such a nice young man.

I really know that it was time. This week at work we interviewed a 15 year old client who already had two children.

Julio Franco

Happy Birthday, Julio!

Being Julio Franco

Last Night...

Last night David spent the night here with me by himself. I enjoyed our time together. I cooked hamburgers and did a little cleaning around the house while he read his early birthday gift, a new Alabama football media guide. We had chocolate chip cookies and milk for dessert. After eating together we played a game of MLB 2005 baseball on Xbox. I was the Mets and he was the White Sox. I won 7-6 in 13 innings. I was trailing 6-5 going into the 9th, when Andres Gallaraga hit a solo home run for me with two outs to tie the game. Pedro Martinez started for me, but only lasted four innings after giving up six runs. I brought in Tom Glavine in the 5th and he pitched nine shutout innings for the win. My strategy with Glavine was to paint the outside corner. David and I watched a special on Fox Sports South about Cal Ripkin between nine and ten o'clock. He went to bed listening to Christian music on XM 32. It was a really good night.

This Weekend...

The boys and I had a great weekend. Friday night we attended the "Meet the Eagles" scrimmage and introductions. Saturday we drove to Tuscaloosa and went to Alabama's scrimmage. There were about 12,000 people on hand to watch Alabama practice.

Prior to practice I took the boys to Dreamland BBQ in Tuscaloosa. I told David he could choose where we ate as a birthday dinner combined with a celebration of him reaching the 100 pound milestone. The funny thing about it was that he was not quite 100 pounds yet. We were just doing it early. He liked Dreamland so much that I joked that he might be 100 when he finished eating. Lo and behold, he called me upstairs Sunday afternoon and said, "Dad, you've got to see this!" He was 100 pounds for the first time!

It was a great weekend with the boys. I have continued to have some problems with headaches and my blood pressure has gotten a little high for the first time in my life during the past month.
Tonight David is with me so I will keep this short. We are going to play a game before bed.

After Work the Past 3 Days...

Last Wednesday night I visited my Mom and Dad. It was nice visiting with them, reading the paper, and I also mowed their lawn. I told them that I think theey need to have a dangerous poplar tree removed that was leaning over the house, so we talked about that for awhile. My Dad made ribs and a baked potato. Yum! Thanks Dad!

Thursday I purchased groceries on the way home, helped Matt with his homework, and supervised David and Joe's mowing while I heated up frozen pizzas. David also had a good bit of homework. I showed them our Bama tickets and asked them if they wanted to go to Tuscaloosa for Bama's scrimmage on Saturday. "Yes!"

Friday David had team inroductions at the football field. The band played, all of the football players, cheerleaders, volleyball team, and others introduced themselves. The little league football players got to go out on the field with the high school team and do stretching exercises. Then the high school team had a scrimmage. We came home, ate, played some games, and cleaned up before we went to bed. David said, "You know what I like about Fridays?" "What," I said. "No Homework!" Can't say that I blame him!

Lost Glasses

David hung his glasses on the fence at the middle school football practice field. I enjoyed watching his practice tonight, but he was upset that he couldn't find his glasses. After walking along the fence several times I finally found them. Joe and I drove up to the field house where David was trying to talk to the high school football coach and looking around the locker room. Joe decided to play a trick. He wore them. I told David that, "we looked as hard as we could, but..." Then he saw his glasses on Joe's face and he grinned like a cheshire cat. Mystery solved, and hopefully a lesson was learned.

Hey BBQ Fans!

Here's my plug for Whitt's Barbeque. I get lunch from Whitts probably between 75-100 times a year. I love it! If you visit Decatur, Athens, East Lawrence County, or Ardmore give it a try. Tonight I stopped at the new East Lawrence location on my way to Pleasant Grove Baptist Church in Wren, south of Moulton. The "half of chicken" with thick sauce was as good as ever. Their sandwiches are awesome and unique to North Alabama. You can choose beef, turkey, or pork. Unless you ask for something different, they come with mayo, vinegar slaw, pickles, and your choice of thick sauce, mild thin sauce, or hot thin sauce. I also have a card for a free drink that saves me over $50 dollars a year.

As Dad used to say, "Try it, you'll like it!"

More Weird Stuff

In court today, I looked out into the audience and saw what looked like a yellow pencil resting sideways on top of a lady's hair. I turned to a co-worker and said, "Why is there a pencil on that lady's head?" She didn't know either. Then another co-worker said that it was a comb. I looked over there several more times and it still looked to me like she was trying to balance a pencil on the top of her head. Then the worker who said that it was a comb commented, "That's so ghetto." Whatever...