I read an an interesting column in USA Today that led me to a very interesting website about political bias among professors at some American colleges and universities. While I do not agree with everything that either of these two links have to offer, it is clear to me that Austin Peay's English department suffers from this disease of liberalism as well.

Back in November, I looked at a web-site (fundrace.org) that listed the name of any person who contributed at least $200 to any political candidate. I counted several APSU faculty that contributed to the various Democrats (donations prior to the primaries were listed), and none that gave to Bush. Exit polling in the 2000 election showed 90% of college professors voted for Gore. Interesting to say the least.

William Wordsworth once said, "One impulse from a vernal wood May teach you more of man, Of moral evil and of good, Than all the sages can." Thankfully, these current 'sages' that are trying to corrupt America's students have not yet achieved their goal. Peace...

Michelle and I have been sick the past few days, so Christmas has not been much fun. I am feeling a little better, but she is miserable.

My dog is also missing, so I am thinking of writing a country song.

We have been in Tullahoma at her parents' house since yesterday afternoon. We opened some gifts last night, but went to bed early.

We are coming back to Clarksville tomorrow.

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas. Peace...

Patricia always reads the birth story from Luke 2. 

Singing carols at Granny's house. 

Granny is cutting her almost world-famous jam cake. 

Michelle and I gave Steve the collector's edition of Monty Python's Holy Grail. He is probably wondering what joys the 24 additional seconds could possibly bring. 

The Christmas tree at my parents' house. Much to my chagrin, they started using an artificial tree a few years ago. 

The main dining room table at my parents' house on Christmas eve. Michelle and I got to sit at the "big table", albeit, unfortunately, because my mom's parents were not there. 

The youth group adopted two angel tree kids. No one can save the world, but everyone can make a kid's day a little brighter. 

I finished watching ROTK the other day, and I must say that it is one of the best films I have ever seen. The trilogy is also one of the best film series I have ever seen, so I was inspired to create a new poll.

Michelle and I are busy planning the wedding. I am going to call the musicians we want tomorrow to see if they are available. The caterer we wanted is not available, so we are going to make calls. We also have a meeting with the photographer Tuesday, so that should be great.

Please visit the wedding website. We are constantly adding new stuff.

Tomorrow after lunch, we are going to shop for a new pair of shoes for me. Cool!! There may also be a trip to the Gibson store involved. YAY!!

I hope everyone has had a great weekend. Shalom...

I made it through 30 minutes of part two last night, and then I gave up. I will watch the rest later.

I think the time of the wedding has changed to 12 noon (same day, July 30).

I am going to start taking guitar lessons next week. I am really excited. Michelle and I were at Opry Mills Sunday night, and I appreciated that she indulged me by hanging out in the Gibson store for about 30 mins. while I strummed guitars. If I walk into a Ferrari dealership, there is no way I would be allowed to test drive anything. However, I can walk into a guitar shop, and strum chords on any guitar they have. I tend to leave the high end models alone, though, so as to not get any crazy ideas. LOL.

Peace...

Is it a good idea to start watching LOTR ROTK at 9:35 PM? Me thinks not, but oh well. Here we go.

Starting disc 2...

She Said YES!!

A few minutes before 9 PM on Monday, December 13, 2005, I dropped to one knee, withdrew an engagement ring from my pocket, and I asked Michelle for her hand in marriage. Without hesitation, she said yes. Which is fortunate, because it would have been really awkward otherwise.

Anyway, we had already been planning the wedding, so most everything is set to go. It had taken me a while to find the right moment, so Michelle had really been on edge for a while.

The ceremony will be at the Clarksville Cumberland Presbyterian Church, Clarksville TN, at 11:00 AM on July 30, 2005.

I have found that if a man gives a woman an engagement ring, he can get away with anything for a while. In the past few days, Michelle has bought me Eric Clapton's new DVD/CD combo, and the LOTR ROTK special edition. I have been thinking of taking her down to Mary's Music to see what I could get there...LOL.

I am in the process of putting together a wedding web site, so check it out as it becomes functional.

I stopped by the Leaf-Chronicle today to pick up a wedding packet. We will be announcing our engagement soon. We are going to announce it in the Leaf-Chronicle and the Tullahoma newspaper. Maybe the Tennessean, too.

We have a meeting with the photographer next Tuesday. Bill and his wife have been friends of mine for a long time, so we are glad to have them. The cake is going to be done by the mother of one of the kids from the youth group. We haven't completely decided on the caterer yet, but we are leaning strongly in one direction there.

I hope everyone wishes us well, and peace to all.

Today is the last day of classes for the semester, so that is great. Tomorrow is a study day, and finals start on Thursday. I have the easiest exam schedule in history, so I am really relaxed. Normally, I am completely freaked out at this time of year. LOL.

I went to the Gibson guitar shop at Opry Mills yesterday, and got treated like a horse's ass. I doubt if I will ever go back there again. I told the guy I had just bought my first guitar last week, and he asked me what kind it was. I told him it was an off brand that he probably had never heard of. He said he had heard of them all. So, I told him it was a Franciscan CS-19. He scoffed and said, "I have never heard of that brand".

I told him that my research had revealed an almost infinite number of string combinations, and I asked what he would suggest for me. He launched into a discussion of the 141 guitars he has at home, and he finally suggested a brand of strings, saying, "This is the ONLY brand I play. When you change strings as often as I do, you have to have the best. I observed that they cost $35 per set, and told him that I only have one guitar, and that it cost $65, so I didn't think I should spend $35 on strings. He never could really provide a suggestion as to what combination of strings I might like to play, so I just gave up. Jeez.

Today, I went to Mary's Music on Riverside Drive, and spoke with a couple of the guys there. I told them about what happened yesterday, and they quickly suggested a set of $10 Martin ultra light strings. They said that since my hand strength isn't real good right now, light strings are the way to go. I really appreciated their help. I think I will be doing business there from now on. I also picked up an electric tuner, and some picks. There is also an almost infinite number of styles of picks, so I got some suggestions as to what I might like top play. I ended up buying several different kinds, so I can fool around with all of them.

I hope everyone has a wonderful day. Shalom...

Yesterday morning, Michelle had a doctor's appointment in Murfreesboro. I took my laptop so I could do some work while I was waiting. The doctor's office a few doors down had a secured wireless network, but I figured out the password and logged on. LOL. Anyway, Michelle got some good news, so we were happy.

Afterward, we visited a couple of pawn shops to look at guitars, but I didn't see anything I liked, so we had lunch and then came back to Clarksville. We went to a couple of pawn shops here, and I found a guitar I really liked, for half-off. So, I am the proud owner of a new guitar. It is a Franciscan model CS-19. It is a full sized acoustic folk guitar, with spruce top, round soundhole, black rosette, black body binding, nato back and sides, 14/20-fret laminated fretboard with pearl dot inlay, 3-per-side chrome tuners, and hardwood bridge with black bridge pins. I really like the way it sounds and looks.

Yesterday was Lindsey Cox's birthday, Michelle's suite-mate. A bunch of us went to Rafferty's, then to the Riverwalk, then we drove to see the house on Dotsonville Road with all the Christmas decorations. Everyone had a great time; it was a lot of fun.

I don't have much going on today, so I am just going to relax and read a bit. I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend. Peace...

Here is my new guitar. 

The ornaments on the Riverwalk tree were stars made by kids at East Montgomery Elementary school. Each star had a kid's wish on it. The couple by the tree just got engaged a few days ago. 

Here is a particularly touching wish. 

Here is Lindsey, enjoying her just desserts. Amanda, on the left, does not like the camera. So, I make sure to tak a lot of pictures of her. LOL. 

Which Extremity of the World Are You?
From the towering colossi at Rum and Monkey.

I spoke with Mike Clark tonight, and he gave me some really great news. Several of Clarksville's middle schools are going to have baseball teams this spring, and they want our association to schedule the umpires. That is awesome. When Mike and formed our association several years ago, we did so on a philosophy that while each umpire has a certain level of ability, EVERY umpire can do three things: 1) Show up on time; 2) Have a clean and proper uniform; and, 3) know the rules. Some of the other area associations do not stress those things enough. Our hard work continues to pay off, with us gaining new teams all the time.

With my college, high school, middle school, and Hendersonville schedules, I should have a full slate of games this spring. Cool!!

I found out today that my sinus infection has morphed into a touch of bronchitis. Jeez. I started taking Sudafed, so it should clear up pretty soon.

Michelle and I are going to Murfreesboro tomorrow to take care of some things, which may include me buying a new guitar. Well, new to me anyway. I believe that a guitar cannot play the blues unless it has been in a pawn shop, so that is where I plan on buying it. Peace...

This is me umpiring a game. At the far left of the pic, you can see the edge of the pitcher's mound dirt circle. At the far right is the edge of the grass, and another 10 feet or so away (out of the pic) is second base. About 50 feet total between the mound and the base. Way too much. I can't believe no one had ever noticed that before. I felt like I was out of position during that entire game. 

Michael, Allison, and Michelle's mother were looking at the sales flyers, making their plan of attack. 

Michelle and I love going to Dunbar Cave to feed the ducks and geese. 

Someone took this pic of me during my sermon, without me knowing it. Jeff Stovall is my roadie. 

Here are a couple of friends from the Clarksville church, at the fall retreat. They appear to be having a good time. 

I finally got around to uploading some pictures from my camera to my laptop, so I decided to post a few. Peace...

The Thanksgiving dinner table. Everything was wonderful--except the rash.
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Rachel, Lindsey's roommate, was also instrumental in the planning and implementation. She did much of the cooking. I think she took her mask off while cooking.
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Lindsey was instrumental in planning Michelle's birthday party. Muchas gracias, Lindsey.
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