I have a doubleheader today at Motlow, and the forecast is good, so that is good news. Michelle is riding with me, so she can spend the day at their parents' house working on wedding stuff.

Yesterday, we went to the public library. We each picked up a book, mine is on the philosophy of Ralph Waldo Emerson. I also got a video on the Dead Sea Scrolls. I am sort of reading a book on the scrolls, but it is incessantly boring, so I am not getting very far with it. Maybe the video will be better. I also got several CD's--Elton John, U2, Steely Dan (which is not one person, in case you are wondering), Dwight Yoakam, and Brian Wilson's Smile. All cool. I ripped them all onto my hard drive for later review.

I called Greg Walker's radio show for the first time in what seems like forever yesterday. We ended up talking more about the wedding than we did about sports. Which is how almost all of my conversations go these days. I can't wait for the wedding to be over, if for nothing else than I would like to talk about something else for a change...LOL.

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

I have a doubleheader today at Motlow, and the forecast is good, so that is good news. Michelle is riding with me, so she can spend the day at their parents' house working on wedding stuff.

Yesterday, we went to the public library. We each picked up a book, mine is on the philosophy of Ralph Waldo Emerson. I also got a video on the Dead Sea Scrolls. I am sort of reading a book on the scrolls, but it is incessantly boring, so I am not getting very far with it. Maybe the video will be better. I also got several CD's--Elton John, U2, Steely Dan (which is not one person, in case you are wondering), Dwight Yoakam, and Brian Wilson's Smile. All cool. I ripped them all onto my hard drive for later review.

I called Greg Walker's radio show for the first time in what seems like forever yesterday. We ended up talking more about the wedding than we did about sports. Which is how almost all of my conversations go these days. I can't wait for the wedding to be over, if for nothing else than I would like to talk about something else for a change...LOL.

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

I have a doubleheader today at Motlow, and the forecast is good, so that is good news. Michelle is riding with me, so she can spend the day at their parents' house working on wedding stuff.

Yesterday, we went to the public library. We each picked up a book, mine is on the philosophy of Ralph Waldo Emerson. I also got a video on the Dead Sea Scrolls. I am sort of reading a book on the scrolls, but it is incessantly boring, so I am not getting very far with it. Maybe the video will be better. I also got several CD's--Elton John, U2, Steely Dan (which is not one person, in case you are wondering), Dwight Yoakam, and Brian Wilson's Smile. All cool. I ripped them all onto my hard drive for later review.

I called Greg Walker's radio show for the first time in what seems like forever yesterday. We ended up talking more about the wedding than we did about sports. Which is how almost all of my conversations go these days. I can't wait for the wedding to be over, if for nothing else than I would like to talk about something else for a change...LOL.

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

I was supposed to have a doubleheader today at Mid-Continent, but it was rained out. Hopefully, my games tomorrow at Motlow will go as scheduled. Also, I have a conference series this weekend, and I really hope it stays dry for that.

As part of my journey through Holy Week, I finished reading my book about Mel Gibson's Passion film. The book consisted of about 25 essays written by various scholars, theologians, and philosophers, representing many different backgrounds and viewpoints. It was great to read about other peoples' opinions of the controversial film. I also watched a movie about Paul, the apostle. While watching it, I remembered that I had a book called "The Pharisees' Guide to Total Holiness", so I started reading it. I have finished the first three chapters, and since it is relatively short, I should be able to finish it by the end of the week.

Yesterday was simply awesome. After a great worship service, Michelle and I came back to Clarksville for my family's picnic. It was great to see everyone, although I sort of grew tired of fielding questions about the wedding. I just told everyone that I am trying to stay sane, and engaged...LOL.

I woke up today with a bit of a scratchy throat, and I hope it does not progress to anything more. I think it is just the crazy weather. After being 75 degrees Saturday, it has been cold and rainy since yesterday. Boo.

I read where the drummer for the 80s band Crowded House committed suicide over the weekend. I have been listening to their music this morning, although a few minutes ago I qued up some Billy Joel. Cool.

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

Hannah Grace Clark was delivered into this world at 7:46 AM today. Michelle and I went by the hospital to visit, and both mother and child are doing well. Papa is as proud as could be. The miracle of birth is a wondrous thing, to be sure.

"But Jesus called for the children, saying, 'Let the little children come to me. Do not stop them, because the kingdom of God belongs to people who are like these children. I tell you the truth, you must accept God as if you were a child, or you will never enter it.'"

Peace...

I've been busy moving more files tonight. I have got almost everything moved. Somehow, in moving everything last night, I lost all my stuff in MS Outlook. All my contacts, address book, and email messages. So, tonight, I did a system restore, and now I have everything back in place. Cool. I was kind of worried there for a while.

It is now 2:30 AM in Knoxville, and I am IMing with a maniacal umpire friend of mine who lives there. Jordan Ferrell is the next coming of the Chris Winn/Mike Clark combo. That guy is falt out nuts about umpiring. He is one of the very few bright young umps we have in the area. We need to develop more guys like him, beacuse Mike and I are not going to be around forever. I enjoy talking with him, and working with him.

While I have been moving files, I have also been backing up all my digital pictures onto CDs. I have filled 4 CDs so far. Probaly have enough pics for about 2 more.

I have also been listening to Eric Clapton for the last 3 hours or so. He is without question my favorite artist of all time. I love all his music--the blues, the pop, the jazz, the country--just all of it. Yippee. It is not often I get a huge block of time free to listen to all his stuff, so I enjoy it when I do. Right now, I am at the beginning of a 13 minute live version of "Old Love". Way cool.

I am going to continue moving stuff, so once again, I hope everyone has a great night.

Peace...

Michelle and I went to the Maundy Thursday service tonight, and it was great. Other than the fact that she is wrecked with sinus problems. Communion was a little weird for me, though, in that I was asked to help serve. Normally when I take communion, I sort of go off into this other place mentally, really focused and self-centered. Helping serve, I did not get this chance. Although it was nice to help others get closer to their faith, so I guess that is just part of being a minister--sacrificing oneself for others.

Michelle and I have been talking about possible baby names. NO, SHE IS NOT PREGNANT AT THIS TIME!!!!!! Although, if the wedding date gets moved up, you may know why---LOL!!

I think we have settled on a boy name--Zephenius Euphrates Winn. We have not quite decided on a girl name as of now.

I hope everyone has a wonderful evening. Peace...

I have been up all night moving files from my laptop to my desktop. Yes, I am preparing to sell the laptop.

I had planned on moving all my stuff using an ethernet cord, but I could not figure out how to do it. So, I am doing it the slow way, using my jumpdrive--156 MB at a time.

About an hour ago, I thought of the line from the movie "The Sting", where Paul Newman's character made a late-night booty call, and she asked him what he was doing there at that hour. He replied, "It's 2 AM and I don't know nobody". That line inspired Bob Seger to write his hit single, "We've Got Tonight". One of the best lines in the history of cinema.

Peace...

Ever since we last week when we saw the TPAC production of Billy Joel's rock musical "Movin' Out", I have been listening to a lot of his music. I have long been a fan of Billy Joel, but it occured to me that I had not listened to anything of his in a couple of years. I remember that when I was in Youth Group in high school, we listened to and analyized Joel's "Keeping the Faith". I am sure Rusty thought it must have had a religious connection, but when we dissected it, we realized it was basically about growing up, drinking beer with your buddies, and a young man's never-ending quest to get laid. I also remember that was the first and last time we listened to pop music in Youth Group. LOL.

This deer came wandering throught the campground on Saturday. I was standing less than 6 feet from her.

At the youth retreat, I hosted a ping-pong tournament as part of the recreation. Here, Laura Byrd is playing a guy from another church. I beat Laura in the semi-finals, on my way to the championship. I sort of felt bad for winning my own tournament. Sort of.

About 20 hours into the 30 Hour Famine, somehow I was able to smile.

As part of out 30 Hour Famine, one of our fundraisers was a "battle of the coin jars". Michelle and I each had a jar, and we got the youth to donate their change. I agreed to shave my legs if Michelle had won. Michelle agreed to drink a "Fear Factor"-type concoction if she lost (which she did). I, however, waived her penalty and did not make her do anything crazy.

(L-R) Amber, Melinda, and Amanda strike a pose.

We had an Easter egg hunt after church last Sunday. Jack decided to take inventory of his basket.

The baseball tournament this weekend was wild. I had a really tough time finding enough umpires to work all the games. In fact, as of 11:00 Saturday night, I was one guy short for Sunday's games. Someone who I doid not know referred someone else I did not know to me, and I figured since he was apparently breathing, he was OK. My standards at that point were not too high. LOL. Seriously, though, I got a lot of positive comments from the tournament directors about the umpiring. He must not have heard from the Murray (KY) Bucs, because they thought I was an embarrassment to the game. LOL. In fact, Michelle got into a bit of an altercation with some of their fans. She had stopped by the park for a few minutes Saturday night, and I made a call that went against them, and when they got on me, she let them know that she was not going to stand for that. LOL. Really, though, everything went fine.

Mike Clark's wife Dana is due to give birth any day now. This will be child #3, and daughter #1. I told Mike he will need to get another job in order to pay for everything. I think that would be job #7 for him. LOL.

I am supposed to have a game at Station Camp HS in Gallatin this afternoon, but the weather has been ominous all day, so I am not sure if we will play or not. Hopefully we will.

Easter is approaching, and I am real excited. We are having services on this Thursday and Friday, and I have some scripture I will be reading during the services. That will be fun.

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

I can report that country-rock is alive and well. The show last night was simply incredible. WOW. We had a super-duper good time. The show was ultra-high energy, and long (although we didn't complain). I think Urban played for about 2.5 hours. He was simply amazing. And the fact that we were at the Ryman didn't hurt. It was my first time ever seeing a show there, although I came close to seeing Steve Winwood there last year. I suddenly realized that the day of the Winwood show was the day I had promised to take the youth group to see Third Day on the other side of town. So, I sold my Winwood tickets, and went to Third Day. Had a great time there, too.

Anyway, before the show, we ate at Mellow Mushroom. I have walked through downtown Detroit at night, and I can say that when I did that, I was not as scared as when we were eating at Mellow Mushroom. I can see why it's my sister's favorite place. I bet all the people who eat and work there listen to Mars Volta. LOL. The wireless internet was nice, though.

Anyway, what is the deal with Wendy's and their evil tendency to have cars towed away? My sister parked at a Wendy's in Knoxville, and got her car towed. We were going to park in Wendy's lot next to MM, but a sign on the MM door said that any car parked there would most definitely get towed. Jeez. So, I pulled around to MM, and had the valet park it. This was scary, since the valet guys were throwing football in the street at the time, not really in tune with their jobs. Jeez.

I hope everyone has a wonderful day. By the way, I still need two umpires for Sunday afternoon. If you can breathe, you can umpire for me Sunday.

Peace...

It has been a long time since I posted, so I am not sure if I can remember everything that has happened in the interim.

Last Thursday, I had a game at Sewanee, which was something to behold. Neither team had any pitching at all, and neither had much defense either. The final score was 10-9, and the only thing that kept it from getting worse was the fact that neither team could run the bases well. There were several baserunning mistakes, and tons of double plays. Oh well. I guess the funniest part was that my lineup cards looked like jigsaw puzzles, due to all the substitutions. Piedmont, the visiting team, made 8 or 9 substitutions during the game. Jeez. One of their subs' last name had about 7 syllables, so the coach just told me the number and we left it at that. I remarked that having a name like that must be really tough on the first day of school every year. The coach started laughing like crazy, which lightened the mood a little.

After the game, I drove back to Tullahoma to Michelle's parents' I can't quite bring myself to say "in-laws" yet, but it will come eventually. I am at a stage now where I am not sure what to call them, Mr. and Mrs. Swift, or by their first names. So, I just don't address them by any name.) house After a nice dinner, I repaired to the TV room to watch the OC. I have never watched OC before, but since the world premier of the trailer for Star Wars Episode 3: Revenge of the Sith was going to be played during one of the commercial breaks, I certainly did not want to miss it. During the show, I tried in vain to get my laptop hooked up to their wireless network, but to no avail. I went downstairs for a few minutes to get Michael's help, but neither of us could get it figured out. I ended up spending more time down there that I had planned, and I thought I may have missed the trailer. Michelle pointed out that it was probably going to air at the tail end of the show, so I relaxed a bit. Indeed, that is when it aired. It looked really cool. I am really excited about the movie, although not excited enough to stand in line for days or weeks to see it. I have read where there are people who are already standing in line, and have been for months. Jeez, get a life. I have too many important things to do.
We spent the day at the house, getting stuff ready for a yard sale. We are looking to unload some stuff before we move to Memphis, so a yard sale seems like a good idea. I have never known if yard sales are a southern thing, or if people all over the country have them. Anyway, we will be having at least one, and probably more.
We left her house in the afternoon, heading for the church. The trip was smooth, and we made good time. Which, if you remember the Seinfeld episode, is all that counts. It doesn’t matter if you actually know where you are going, as long as you are making good time. LOL.

Anyway, we got to the church, and got things ready to go. The trip to the campground was uneventful and smooth, which was exactly what I was looking for. We stopped at the Bellevue exit to pick up one kid (it was a pre-arranged deal to pick him up--he wasn't a hitchhiker). We got registered smoothly, and immediately proceeded to the weekend's first event.

I gave the message Friday night, and I didn't really think it was all that great. I don't really know what went wrong. I felt I was well-prepared, but it just didn't feel good. Several people told me afterward that they thought it was fine, but people always say that. Anyway, my cousin Paula gave the message on Sunday morning, and it was fantastic. About 20-25 young people came forward to accept Christ as their savior. It was an awesome sight. In fact, in all the camps and retreats I have been to, I have never seen anything like it. It was way cool to see young people making the most critical decision of their lives.

When we got back to Clarksville, we had to go to the Tobin's (the family Michelle works for), because they were in new York and Michelle had the kids until they got home Tuesday. I spent the night there each night just to house-sit, and to give a manly presence. I grilled burgers Sunday night, and we all had a great time.

Tuesday night, we went to TPAC to see the production of Billy Joel's Broadway rock musical, "Movin' Out". Michelle and I both had an incredible time; I told her afterward that it was one of the best dates we had ever been on. It was so cool.

Last night, a couple we know went, so it will be interesting to hear of their thoughts.

As were going to TPAC, we passed by the Ryman. We saw two guys with guitars heading inside, and we deducted that they must be with Keith Urban's band, since Urban is playing the first of three shows there tonight. Which will explain where we will be tonight--yes, we going to see Keith Urban at the Ryman!! YAY!! He is Michelle's absolute favorite artist right now, and I think he is great, too. So, we are mega-hyped. He is playing 3 shows, which all sold out in about 20 minutes. We were lucky to get seats, and they are not bad seats at that--20th row.

I have spent all week scheduling umpires for two tournaments this weekend. It has been tough finding guys who want to work--I don't really know why. Oh well, I have got most of it taken care of, and the rest will come together tonight. I emailed one guy to let him know who his partner was, and he emailed me back, saying "Sorry--I don't work with black people". I immediately was like "What the fuck?!?!" I stomped around, really pissed, for a while, and trying to think of what I wanted to do. I was oh-so-close to canceling that guy's entire schedule for the weekend, but I decided to just move him to another field where he would work with a different partner. I emailed him back to let him know that what he had said was one of the most ignorant things I have ever heard, and that I was moving him to a different field. He came back saying that he was just joking, that he was black, and that the other guy was one of his best friends. Jeez, they really had me going for a while. Maybe I need to lighten up. Man. We all had a good chuckle about it last night, so all is well.

Today, Michelle has a doctor's appointment, and I am hanging out at Grinder's. I am working on some church stuff, some baseball stuff, and some fun stuff. I would like everyone to know that when I say I am hanging out, that can be read to say that I am working on stuff. Just because someone doesn't go to an office every day, doesn't mean they don't work. My brother Steve and I have never been real fond of positions where clocking in and out is involved. We prefer to work on our own, and it seems to work for us.

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

This is a list of the top 100 banned books of all time that I got from Boston Ellen's blog. Selections in bold are books I have read entirely, selections in italics are books I have read at least a part of. Selections underlined are books I would like to read in the future.

I have seen other lists similar to this, but I am not sure who compiled this list.

Michelle and I have made a decision to stock our home with books. We want to share our love of reading classic literature with our children. I also want my son to have a 97-MPH fastball, but we will see how that works out. LOL.



#1 The Bible
#2 Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
#3 Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes
#4 The Koran
#5 Arabian Nights
#6 Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain
#7 Gulliver's Travels by Jonathan Swift
#8 Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer
#9 Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne
#10 Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman
#11 The Prince by Niccolo Machiavelli_
#12 Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe
#13 Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank
#14 Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert
#15 Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens
#16 Les Miserables by Victor Hugo
#17 Dracula by Bram Stoker
#18 Autobiography by Benjamin Franklin
#19 Tom Jones by Henry Fielding
#20 Essays by Michel de Montaigne
#21 Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
#22 History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire by Edward Gibbon
#23 Tess of the D'Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy
#24 Origin of Species by Charles Darwin
#25 Ulysses by James Joyce
#26 Decameron by Giovanni Boccaccio
#27 Animal Farm by George Orwell
#28 Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell
#29 Candide by Voltaire
#30 To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
#31 Analects by Confucius
#32 Dubliners by James Joyce
#33 Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
#34 Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway
#35 Red and the Black by Stendhal
#36 Das Capital by Karl Marx
#37 Flowers of Evil by Charles Baudelaire
#38 Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
#39 Lady Chatterley's Lover by D. H. Lawrence
#40 Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
#41 Sister Carrie by Theodore Dreiser
#42 Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchel
#43 Jungle by Upton Sinclair_
#44 All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque_
#45 Communist Manifesto by Karl Marx
#46 Lord of the Flies by William Golding
#47 Diary by Samuel Pepys
#48 Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway
#49 Jude the Obscure by Thomas Hardy
#50 Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
#51 Doctor Zhivago by Boris Pasternak_
#52 Critique of Pure Reason by Immanuel Kant
#53 One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest_
#54 Praise of Folly by Desiderius Erasmus
#55 Catch-22 by Joseph Heller_
#56 Autobiography of Malcolm X by Malcolm X_
#57 Color Purple by Alice Walker
#59 Essay Concerning Human Understanding by John Locke
#60 Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison
#61 Moll Flanders by Daniel Defoe
#62 One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
#63 East of Eden by John Steinbeck
#64 Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison
#65 I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou
#66 Confessions by Jean Jacques Rousseau
#67 Gargantua and Pantagruel by Francois Rabelais
#68 Leviathan by Thomas Hobbes
#69 The Talmud
#70 Social Contract by Jean Jacques Rousseau
#71 Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson
#72 Women in Love by D. H. Lawrence_
#73 American Tragedy by Theodore Dreiser
#74 Mein Kampf by Adolf Hitler
#75 Separate Peace by John Knowles_
#76 Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath_
#77 Red Pony by John Steinbeck
#78 Popol Vuh
#79 Affluent Society by John Kenneth Galbraith
#80 Satyricon by Petronius
#81 James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl
#82 Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov_
#83 Black Boy by Richard Wright
#84 Spirit of the Laws by Charles de Secondat Baron de Montesquieu
#85 Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut
#86 Julie of the Wolves by Jean Craighead George
#87 Metaphysics by Aristotle
#88 Little House on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder
#89 Institutes of the Christian Religion by Jean Calvin
#90 Steppenwolf by Hermann Hesse
#91 Power and the Glory by Graham Greene
#92 Sanctuary by William Faulkner_
#93 As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner
#94 Black Like Me by John Howard Griffin
#95 Sylvester and the Magic Pebble by William Steig
#96 Sorrows of Young Werther by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe_
#97 General Introduction to Psychoanalysis by Sigmund Freud
#98 Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood
#99 Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee by Dee Alexander Brown
#100 Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess_
#101 Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman by Ernest J. Gaines
#102 Emile Jean by Jacques Rousseau
#103 Nana by Emile Zola
#104 Chocolate War by Robert Cormier
#105 Go Tell It on the Mountain by James Baldwin
#106 Gulag Archipelago by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
#107 Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert A. Heinlein
#108 Day No Pigs Would Die by Robert Peck
#109 Ox-Bow Incident by Walter Van Tilburg Clark
#110 Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes_

Yesterday's doubleheader at Cumberland was interesting. Ominous clouds hung overhead all day, but the rain held off until just after we got done. So, that was cool. We had some fireworks after the 6th inning. A player for Columbia St. got picked off to end the inning, and had a few choice words for my partner, such as "you fucking suck", and so forth. So, my partner immediately ejected him. Columbia St. is a JUCO team, and Cumberland is NAIA, and the two organizations have some rules that vary. Such as, in NAIA, when a player is ejected from a game, he must sit out the next game. However, when we met at home plate for the second game, this player was in the lineup. I was really hoping the Columbia St. coach would not go nuts, and thankfully he didn't. He just changed the lineup, and told the player to go sit in the bus. The second game went off without a hitch.

My middle school games today were cancelled, so that was a bummer.

This morning, I took my truck to Midas to get a new muffler put on. My old muffler fell off a while ago, so I was glad that I had a lifetime warranty on it. Cool.

I hope everyone is doing well. Peace...

The 2006 Honda Ridgeline. Sweeeeeet.

Car shopping when you know you are not going to actually buy a car is fun. Michelle and I went to the Honda and Nissan dealerships here in town to look at trucks.

First we went to Jenkins and Wynne Honda/Ford/Lincoln/Mercury/Everything else not named Chevrolet or Dodge on College Street. We looked at the new Honda Ridgeline. We LOVED it!! I think in a few years when we are ready to buy a new vehicle, this may be the one we get. It will certainly get a great deal of our attention. Our friendly salesman, Brad, was happy to let us take it for a spin. Michelle really liked it because even though it's a truck, it rides so much like a car that she is comfortable driving it. It has some really innovative features that no other truck has-- such as a unibody frame, an under-bed trunk, and a bed door that opens two ways. It also is normally front-wheel drive, except for when it needs to, it can go into 4x4 mode automatically. Cool. We really enjoyed the test drive.

After we left, we went to Matthews Nissan on Riverside Dr. We asked to speak with Jesse Johnson, but we were told that he now work at the Suzuki dealership. So, we spoke with Amber, who was glad to show us the new Titan truck. We took it for a test drive, and enjoyed it, too. Just not as much as the Honda. In fact, not nearly as much. The Nissan had a really cool feature in that the bed is extremely versatile. It can be configured to hold just about anything, large or small. We did not, however, enjoy the quality of ride as much as we did in the Honda.

All in all, today was a lot of fun. We may have to do this again sometime. LOL.

Peace...

Last night, Michelle and I went to see James Cameron's new film, "Aliens of the Deep", in IMAX 3D. We had tried to see it once before, but the projector broke during the first preview. This time, it went off without a hitch.

I remember reading an article several years ago where an astronaut said that after he had seen the earth from outer space, he could not understand how anyone could not believe it God. During the film last night, that thought kept reverberating through my mind. To know that there is life at over 3,000 feet below the surface of the ocean is mind-boggling. How do creatures live in icy-cold water, mere inches from volcanic plumes shooting out gases at incredibly high temperatures? I dunno. The thesis of the film seemed to be "Before we start seeking other life forms on other planets, let's research what we have here on earth." I sort of agree with that, although Leif Eriksson and Christopher Columbus would have never made it out of their harbors if they had adopted that mantra. Explorers explore; that is that they do.

Anyway, it was an incredible film, and I am glad we could see it together. When we go to Boston, we are going on a whale-watching tour, and afterward we are going to see an IMAX film. I am not sure what it will be, but I hope it will be something scientific like what we saw last night.

The last couple of days have been "car days", meaning I have been doing a lot of work on my truck. I have installed a new fuel filter, PCV valve, changed the oil, and installed 5 new spark plugs. The reason I only installed 5 plugs in a 6-plug engine is that neither Steve not I could get the 6th plug out of its socket. It is at a really weird angle, almost impossible to reach. Even after we got our wrench on it, it was seized up and would not move. So, I am going to go to a shop and see how much it costs to remove 1 spark plug. Jeez.

I really enjoyed working on the truck, and I am glad I got a lot done. Next week, I am going to flush the coolant system. It desperately needs it. After that, I think I will be in good shape for summer. Except that I need new tires. Oh well, there is always something to do.

My sermon for Sunday is complete, although every time I look at it, I tweak it a little. I am never really satisfied with any of my sermons--I am my own worst critic. I hope it turns out OK. Hopefully, it won't be too long. Last time, I had some complaints about the length. Everyone wants to beat the Baptists to the restaurants, so anything past noon and people start getting nervous.

Monday, I have a game at Cumberland University in Lebanon. Tennessee, not Middle East. LOL. Actually, this is a make-up game of the game that got rained out last Monday. Except that it is supposed to rain again. Oh well, we will see how it goes. Hopefully, the rain will hold off. Tuesday, I have a middle school game, then Thursday I have a game at Motlow. Friday, we leave for the retreat. I am giving the sermon on Friday night, so I need to go ahead and finish it up soon. I think I will work on that in a while.

I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend. Peace...

I just re-installed Mozilla 1.7.5, and somehow my previous settings, including my bookmarks, miracled themelsves back into my world. Cool. Sweeeeeet. I was having too many compatibility issues with Firefox, so I am glad things are back to normal.

Peace...

I downloaded and installed Firefox a couple of days ago, and I am having some problems. My first problem is that I uninstalled Mozilla before I downloaded Firefox. So, I lost all of my bookmarks. That sucks. Second, I cannot log into Blogger with Firefox, so I am having to use IE. Gotta hate that.

The famine last weekend went exceedingly well. It was such a good idea to send the kids home Friday night, instead of having a lock-in like last year. I wanted to let them be miserable at home instead of with me. LOL. **pats on back** I think everyone had a good experience, which was the point. Also, we raised about $900 for World Vision, which exceeded my wildest expectations. Cool. We had a lot of fun doing random acts of kindness on Saturday afternoon, and watched the saddest movie ever (Pay it Forward) after that. Then, we broke the fast, and everyone was glad to get to eat.

I am preaching at Mt. Denson this Sunday, then at the youth retreat next Friday night. I have all of Sunday's sermon completed, and I am still working on Friday's.

Monday, I was supposed to have a game at Cumberland University, but it was rained out. Michelle had won a gift certificate to a bridal shop in Cumberland, so we had been looking forward to going there for about 2 months. So, even though I had no game, we went to Lebanon anyway. The name of the bridal shop is "The White Room", so as we walked in I played a power chord on my air guitar, and started singing Cream's "White Room". The manager was old enough to know what I was talking about, but the 16 pageant queen who was skipping school to try on dresses just gave me the wierdest look ever. LOL. That was funny. I keep hoping if I embarrass Michelle enough times, she may eventually leave me at home when she goes shopping. LOL.

My next baseball game is not until next Thursday, at Sewanee. Michelle is going to ride with me, and I am going to drop her off at her parents' house so she and her mother can work on some wedding stuff. Hopefully everyone will be in a better mood than a couple of weeks ago when they went dress shopping for the bridesmaids. We are going to spend the night there, then head back to the church on Friday afternoon to hook up with the kids for the retreat. This next ten days or so will be busy indeed.

I hope everyone is doing well. Peace...

I have not posted all week--haven't had much to say. Oh well.

Yesterday was wild--we baby sat for a couple of hours during the middle of the day, then Michelle and I took her regular kids to the museum. 2 different gigs in one day is kinda weird, but everyone had a blast.

Wednesday, I was hanging out at Grinder's, and Hoptown Hal from Eagle 94.3came in. He and his sidekick were taking pictures for their website. When I indentified myself as the guy on their "college of rock and roll knowledge" commerical, they immediately starting laughing crazily. They have been using my voice on their commercial for several months now, and Hal said that everyone at the station loves it. He said I should be getting royalties. LOL.

Today, we start our 30 hour famine. Going 30 hours without food, so we can get an idea of what poor people go through every day. I think most of the youth are excited--although a couple of them have backed out. That's unfortunate. Most of the kids doing it this year did it last year, so they have an idea of what to expect. Some of them, however, have never done it, so it will be new to them.

We have all kinds of activities lined up to do during the 30 hours. We will be doing some community service, random acts of kindness, and also playing some games and having fun. 29,000 kids die every day from hunger and its related problems, so we are going to do handprints on the walls of our youth room--we are aiming to get 29,000 fingers. That will be way cool.

I hope everyone has a great weekend. Peace...

OK, another weekend of madness is in the books. I will try to recap.

Friday, I had a doubleheader at Trevecca in Nashville. Michelle came with me, and we made a day of it. It was great to be back on the field, with a game that really counts. The games themselves were atrocious, as Trevecca won the first game 19-0, and the second game 9-1. Jeez, that other team was bad. In the first inning of the first game, the visiting team's starting pitcher was losing 4-0, with the bases loaded. The crazy thing was that he still had a no-hitter going. That's because he walked the first SEVEN batters of the game. Brutal.

Anyway, Michelle happened to sit on the visiting team's side, and she made friends with some people from Ohio who had come to watch their son play. Michelle was cold, and they offered her a blanket; that was really nice of them. Michelle made sure no one gave me a hard time...LOL.

After the games, we went to Panera's by Vanderbilt, and enjoyed some great sandwiches. When we got done, we went back to her dorm and hung out for a while.

Saturday, we were up with the sun, as we had a meeting in Nashville. The meeting was short, which was a good thing. I inherited my distaste for meetings from my dad. After the meeting, we went to Mt. Denson, because we had planned a community service project for the youth group. We had lunch, and then went to do our work. Michelle stayed at the church, getting things ready for Sunday.

Sunday after church, the youth served a chili lunch. It went great--we raised about $700. We are going to be sending most of that money to World Vision, as part of our upcoming30 Hour Famine. We will be doing the famine this Friday and Saturday, going 30 hours without food. We did the famine last year, and it was great. The kids all really had a great experience, and we hope it will be similar this time.

After the lunch, we went to a small bridal show in Springfield. I quickly found a chair to sit in, and tried not to look bored. Michelle went around and visited all the stations, and entered a drawing. She was notified this morning that she had won a nice gift basket. In fact, she has won something at every bridal show she has gone to. Unfortunately, these bridal shows do not give away tickets to the World Series, or anything else that I would be interested in, so Michelle gets to keep all of her bounty. LOL.

Today, we are just hanging out at Grinder's. We will probably run some errands later, but for now, we are just relaxing. I also need to start working on two different sermons. I will be preaching at Mt. Denson on March 6, and I will be preaching at least once, and maybe twice, at the spring youth retreat the following weekend. So, needless to say, I have a lot of work to do.

Instead of actually doing some productive work, I played some Zork II this morning. I still have not gotten very far with it. Jeez, it is hard. No wonder everyone I have talked to gave up on it. I am not sure if my parents ever finished it or not, but everyone else I know quit without finishing. Jeez.

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

I came home tonight and immediately started to have major computer problems. BSOD all over the place. I got some help from my brother Steve, and in our research we found that a lot of people have this problem with the model of wireless card I have. Unfortunately, no one seems to have a real solution. So I will continute to keep my system held together with duct tape and speaker wire...LOL.

Tomorrow is my first baseball game of the season. I am so jacked, I know I will not be able to sleep. Michelle is coming with me, and I think we are going to go eat after I am done. Baseball is HERE! SWEET!!

One of Jessi's friends explained the ending of "Vanilla Sky" to me. That was nice, since I really like the movie, but never completely understood the ending. I need to buy that movie.

I hope everyone has a wonderful evening. Peace...

Michelle and I have been hanging out at Grinder's this morning. She did some work for her online classes, and I have played Zork II. I got the better end of that deal, I would say. Although, Zork II is much more difficult than the original, so I have not gotten very far at all with it. I have 15 points out of 400. Jeez.

I also took a look at my calendar for the rest of the time until the wedding. I decided what days I am going to work, and what days to take off. I have not officially turned in my resignation yet, but I guess I have plenty of time to do that. The senior pastor and I have talked about my official date of leaving a few times, but he said it is up to me.

Michelle found a neat clock that she is going to buy. It displays the time left remaining until the wedding. It looks really cool.

Later, I am going to change the oil in my truck, and put in some new spark plugs, too. I may also clean up the inside a little.

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

The family that Michelle nannies for has been having some computer problems, so when I was there this afternoon, I had a look at it. Ad-aware found 494 critical objects, and Norton found 19 more. Unfortunately, Norton was unable to eradicate 9 of them. The PC's OS is Windows ME, maybe the most horrid excuse for an OS ever. Jeez, it was bad. Anyway, I am going out there tomorrow to see if I can do anything more. I sort of doubt it, since I break computers with much more skill that I fix them.

Speaking of which, last night my laptop started going to blue screen after booting up. It would then re-boot, then blue screen again, in an endless cycle. I thought at first the problem was coming from my IM software, Trillian. I uninstalled the 3.1 beta version I was running, and then installed 3.0. That seemed to fix it until today, when I started having the same problem. I now think it is in my wireless card, since if the card is not in its slot when I boot up, everything is fine. If I boot up with the card in the slot, then I have the problem. Strange.

I poked around at Zork II a little today, and it was cool. I don't remember much at all about it. I have already started making maps and copious amounts of notes.

I hope everyone has a wonderful evening. Peace...

Steve and I often talk about old video games, and old computer systems. Last week, we started talking about Zork, and ancient game that we had on the old Commodore 64 when we were kids. I Googled Zork I, and in no time I found a download. So, I installed it and have been playing it furiously for the past week or so. Earlier today, I finished the game. It was really exciting. I was glad that Steve was there (we were hanging out at Grinders) to share the moment.

Steve told a story that somehow I had never heard. When Zork I was released, the computer store my parents frequented sponsored a contest where the first person to finish the game with the maximum number of points received a free copy of Zork II. I never knew that my parents won this contest. All I remember is that they were indeed totally consumed with the game for probably about a year. I remember maps and maps and more maps, strewn all about the house. Zork dominated all conversation in the house and late-night gaming sessions were de rigueur. Steve said that after they finished the game, they went to the computer shop to show that they had finished. As they were leaving, another guy came in to show that he had finished it, too. He was just a few minutes too late. Steve and I had a great laugh.

I never finished Zork II, and never played Zork III. I am going to download II tonight and start on it soon.

It has been a while since I posted, so I will try to recap the transpirings of the past several days.

Last Friday, Michelle, two of her bridesmaids and I met her mother and some other people in Nashville so the women could look at bridesmaids' dresses. That did not interest me at all, so I went next door to Best Buy so I could look at toys. I did not take me long to find something cool. I got a new wireless router/card combo--it was normally $120, but it was on sale or $80 with a $60 rebate, so I was unable to resist. After about an hour or so of just wandering around the store, I went over to the bridal store to see how things were going. I was really hungry (it was now close to 7 PM), so I was hoping they would be wrapping things up. Michelle came out from the dressing area, obviously not in a good mood. Next, her mother stormed out and blew right by me without much acknowledgement, chasing Michelle. Suffice it to say that for some reason, tensions were running high. The other girls came out a few minutes later, and now it was obvious that no one was happy. I don't know what goes on in women's dressing rooms, and I don't really want to know either.

Michelle's mom and the other people with her headed out, and our group went to TGI Friday's. We had a good time, and everyone got back into good spirits. We headed home after a while, all of us really tired.

Saturday, Vanderbilt had an intra-squad, so I umpired it. I worked 4.5 innings behind the plate, one inning at third, and a few at first. It was good to get back on the field. I was supposed to go to APSU today to work some, but they decided not to pitch. So, I may call one of the high schools in town to see if I could work some Thursday. My first game is Friday at Trevecca, so I would like to get in some more work before then.

Sunday, The Clarksville Umpires Association had our annual meeting. We spent a lot of time talking about the new middle school league, and I think we got everything worked out. Michelle made chocolate chip cookies for the guys, and they were all appreciative of her efforts. I headed back to Springfield for youth group, and that went well. We talked about our upcoming activities and finalized things for this Sunday's chili luncheon.

This morning, instead of going to the gym, I decided to do some vehicle maintenance. My wipers have not been working for quite a while, and my previous efforts to fix them had been fruitless. So, I got my mojo working and decided to tackle it head-on. I went Advance Auto to see if they had the part I needed (wiper arm linkage), although I doubted if they would. Indeed, they didn't, so I went to the dealer and got one. I wanted one for each side, but they only had one for the passenger side. I figured the plastic piece that had deteriorated on the passenger side would soon do the same on the other side, so I ordered one.

It took me about an hour or so to install it, and much to my surprise, when I put everything back together, it worked fine. COOL!! I did a little celebration dance in the yard. My neighbors were probably shuddering in fear. LOL. Anyway, I got it fixed, so now I am hoping some rain will come soon. Just not on Friday.

Last night for Valentine's, we re-created our first date. All except the "walking through the park in a bizzrd part". That would have been hard to do since it was almost 70 degrees outside yesterday. We went to Demos' for dinner, then to Books a Million. Last year, we each bought the other a book, and wrote sweet-nothings on the inside cover. This year, we each just got some magazines. Which was cool, because we each got some that we liked. Plus, I have been doing some heavy-duty reading and writing lately, so it will be nice to relax with some lighter stuff for a little while.

Afterward, we went back to campus to hang out for a while. There was a free concert, but we decided not to go. We had a really nice time. I hope everyone had a great Valentine's.

I hope everyone is doing well. Peace...

I just realized that I have posted twice today, so I decided I would post again just for fun. I remember back in the day when I would post multiple times a day on a regular basis. I don't have the stamina to return to that pace, but it's been fun today. Peace...

Steve and I hooked up a while ago, with the intent of going to the new R/C hobby shop at the corner of Riverside and Main. He got there before I did, and called me to say that it wasn't worth much. So, we decided to cruise over to the new Grinder's location and see if they were open yet. I was delighted to find that, indeed, they are now open. The health inspector has not come yet, so they are not allowed to sell anything yet. However, they can give away as much stuff as they like, so that is what they are doing. Hence, Steve and I are enjoying complimetary beverages. Steve is also enjoying some vegetable soup. Cool.

Later, Michelle and I are going to Nashville with her bridesmaids. I think they are going to drop me off at Hickory Hollow Mall while they look for bridesmaids' dresses at one of the local shops. Joy.

I got a message ealier from the pitching coach at Vanderbilt saying that he is not sure if they are going to scrimmage tomorrow. I hope they do, since I need to see some pitches before my first game, and I had already made plans to go there. I know I could go to MTSU Saturday, but I do not want to drive that far to work for free.

I hope everyone is having a great Friday. Peace...

Yesterday was interesting, to say the least.

We had agreed to meet at the gym in the morning, so I got there and started working on the elliptical machine. I was going pretty well when Michelle came in, and told me that she needed to go to the doctor. She had been having pains in her side all week, but she felt she could fight through it. Now, she was ready to get some medical advice. So, we went to the doctor, and it appears that she had a kidney stone. When they did the CT scan, they never saw one, so they think she had already passed it. She got a couple of prescriptions and we were on our way. She was still having nausea last night, but she should be better soon.

Needless to say, we missed our valentine's party last night. Not really a big deal, since her health is the most important thing. We should still make it to the party tomorrow night, so we can have fun then.

Today, I am going to get all my baseball gear in order. Vanderbilt is scrimmaging tomorrow, and I am going to be working a few innings. I finally received my new uniform jacket a couple of days ago. I was getting worried a bit, so I was relieved when it came. My new hats had already arrived a couple of weeks ago, so that was no problem. I am now fully uniformed, and ready for the season. YAY!! My first real game is a week from today, so I am getting excited.

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

It's been a great day so far, minor technical difficulties notwithstanding.

I finally finished typing my letter for Prison Pete. Jeez, that due can write. Just not well.

I started getting a strange message this morning. Whenever Outlook is open, I occasionally get a message saying that a program is trying to access my address book. I of course believeed this to be malicious, so I denied it access. Steve found a patch for me, so I installed it.

We will be heading to church in a while. Ash Wednesday is a great reminder of our Savior's sacrifice. I am really excited.

I hope everyone has a great day. Peace...

OK, the weekend of insanity has finally come to a close. I will try to re-cap, but please forgive me if I leave out a thing or 3.

Friday afternoon, we went to the house where Michelle nannies, and hooked up with the kids. Mom and dad were on their way out the door, headed to Connecticut. We hung out there for a while, and then left for Nashville to go to the Valentine's party. I thought the party started at 6:00, but it started at 6:30, so we were way early. This wasn't too bad, because I was able to talk with the musician (one-man jazz act) for a while. He was really cool. He played a huge Epiphone 6-string electric, similar to the axe Brian Setzer of the Stray Cats plays.

We enjoyed a decent meal, and some great company, and the party. Unfortunately, Michelle did not enjoy herself as much as she could have, because she was really worried about the kids. We had left them with their older brother, and we weren't real sure of how that was going to work out. We stayed for about 30 minutes after dinner, and then left. It was sort of weird being the first there, and the first to leave. I gave the musician a wave as we exited, and he tried to wave back, but was in the middle of a song, so it kind of messed him up. I got a kick out of that. He plays regularly at a club in Nashville, although I forgot the name of it. I remember he said it is behind Jim Reed Chevrolet on Broadway, so it should not be too hard to find. We will have to check it out. A friend at the party said that club has the best veal in the city, which is kind of weird, because if you remember from Godfather I, the restaurant where Michael Corleone killed the police captain was reputed to have the best veal in the city as well. I found it strange my friend, who is a minister, would say the same thing about this jazz club. Hmmm.

Anyway, we got back home to find everything was OK. We put the kids to bed, and tried to relax a bit.

Saturday found me up before the rooster. I had a meeting in Nashville at 9:00, and I had to meet one of my youth at the church to pick her up. Fortunately, she and I were both early, so we got off to a good start. We stopped for coffee, and she combined her cappuccino with a bag of Cheetos. Very strange. It was kind of neat to be able to see the sun rise as I was leaving Clarksville. There was a time in my life when I saw plenty of sunrises, but unfortunately I was usually coming home from a night of heavy drinking so I was not able to fully appreciate them.

The meeting was rather long, but we got a lot done, so I guess it was productive. We were planning the spring youth retreat for this March. I will be giving the message on Friday night. It will kind of nice to get the bulk of my work out of the way early, so I can better enjoy the weekend. On the Saturday during recreation time, I will be coordinating a ping-pong tournament. That should be a lot of fun. There is also a craft project during that time, and I think Michelle may end up helping with that.

After the meeting, then lunch, I came back home. Michelle was not feeling well, so I hung out with the kids while she took a nap. I squelched a couple of arguments, and we all had fun during the afternoon. The cable guy showed up to install high speed internet, and he was sort of a goof-ball. He got it installed, but only after eating half the cookies Michelle and the kids had made earlier. LOL.

Saturday night, we went to Toys R Us, then Chuck E. Cheese's. James (one of the kids) had been named "Star of the Week" at his school, so we promised him some special treats. He and his sister got some stuff at TRU, including a set of Star Wars light sabers. Needless to say, there have been some epic battles in the past couple of days. We also had tons of fun at Chuck's. We parlayed our tickets into two whoopee cushions. One of them developed a hole before we got home, but the other one is still blowing, if you get my drift. LOL.

Sunday, we took all three kids to church, and they were great. Unfortunately, these kids do not attend church regularly, so it was nice to be able to do that for them. Elizabeth had an important question for the minister after the service. She asked "If God made everybody, and everything else, WHO MADE GOD"? I thought that was really neat since last summer at Junior Camp (4th-6th graders), a kid asked the same question. Elizabeth is in Kindergarten. WOW. Anyway, I told her that before God made everything, he made himself. She said that didn't make any sense, and wanted to know what really happened. I told her that I wasn't smart enough o figure that out, and that since she is smarter than me, she could work on it. She liked that idea, and then went to play on the playground. LOL. The kids had a great experience, so that was nice. It turns out that Parker, the oldest kid, (16 years old) is hanging out with some of the kids from the Clarksville church. It was cool to discover that. I think he is going to come to the retreat, so that is awesome.

Overall, I felt the commercials were collectively among the worst ever. There were only a few that I actually liked, and several that made me want to puke. Sir Paul's halftime entertainmet was excellent, if not a bit understated. I think the NFL severely over-reacted to Janet Jackson's wardrobe malfunction. The commericals and Paul's show were as sterile as a hospital room. I think the NFL has missed the boat, and I think the fact that the viewership being down about 5% from last year is proof of that. People want to be entertained, and they do not want some group from on-high to tell them what do and do not want to see.

After church, we had dinner on the grounds, as our denomination celebrated its 195th birthday on 2-4-05. The meal was nice, and afterwards we headed home.

I tried to relax a bit before the game, but that was impossible. Phil Mickelson was in the lead of the golf tournament, and since Tiger wasn't in the field, I wanted Lefty to win. He is Kent's favorite golfer. He won the tournament by 5 strokes, so that was cool.

I grilled some steaks (not without some technical assistance from my dad) for dinner. I had never used a gas grill, and I had never grilled filets before either. Everything turned out fine, and with the vegetable medley Michelle whipped up, we had a great dinner. We watched the game, and I almost predicted the score correctly. I was glad the Pats won. They are a tremendous team. The team of the decade so far, without question. It's funny how football has had teams of the decade, going all the way back to at to least the 50's.

40s: Bears (4 championships)
50s: Lions and Browns (3 championships each)
60s: Packers (1 championship and 2 Super Bowl wins)
70s: Steelers (4 Super Bowl wins)
80s: 49ers (4 Super Bowl wins) (with the Redskins close behind with 3 SB wins)
90s: Cowboys (3 Super Bowl wins)
Oughts: Patriots (3 Super Bowl wins)

In the hub-bub Sunday, we forgot that our engagement announcement was in Sunday's newspaper. My mother told me that several people at her church had clipped the picture, and that was touching. We stopped by the paper's office today to see if they had some extra copies of yesterday's paper. When we were at the front desk, it didn't look like we were going to get anywhere with the secretary until Ruth Stryjewski came by. She worked in my dad's area for a long time, and she introduced me to the secretary as "Mike Winn's son". As soon as she said that, the secretary changed her tune, and all of a sudden it was closer to "What may I do for you today?", and suddenly there were about 5 copies of yesterday's paper in front of me. LOL. I don't think I was going to drop my dad's name, so I was glad that Ruth did it for me. LOL. Anyway, we got five copies of the paper to distribute to those who may have missed it.

Today, we ate lunch at the Front Page Deli. I had won a certificate worth $20 on the radio, so we ordered nice food like it was considerably cheaper food. We had a good time nonetheless.

After lunch, we me the kids at home, and helped them with their homework. James went to Sylvan later, and he must have done well, because he won a prize. We celebrated afterward with Michael's pizza. As we were eating, the parents got home. Everyone was glad to see them. After we briefed them of the weekend's events, we went home to recover. It is safe to say that we are both physically and mentally exhausted. LOL. Please shed a tear for us...LOL.

Tomorrow, we are going to the gym to work out some stress.

I hope everyone has a wonderful evening. Peace...

I heard this morning that long-time character actor John Vernon, who played Dean Wormer in "Animal House", has died. Animal House is one of my favorite movies of all time. He also played Fletcher in "The Outlaw Josey Wales", which on many days I would say is my FAVORITE movie of all time. He also did the voice for Big Brother in "1984". He will be missed.

Michelle and I are going to a Valentine's party tonight in Nashville. It should be a lot of fun. This is the first of three parties we are attending. I never knew we were such socialites. It always feels nice to be invited to things.

I am going to the gym in a while. Michelle decided not to go, so she is going to do some school work instead. Good for her.

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

I met Michelle at the gym this morning, and we had a good workout. Tomorrow, we are going to take an aerobics class. JOY!!

If you have noticed the link to Prison Pete's blog in the left margin, you may be interested to know that I am going to be helping his editor occasionally. Basically, Pete does not have access to a computer, so he writes letters to a friend. His friend is going to scan then into a PDF file, and a few loyal readers are going to type them into Word documents, so the editor can pate them into the blog. I enjoy reading about Pete's day-to-day life in the NY State Prison system, so I was glad to help out a bit.

The parents of the kids that Michelle nannies for are going out of town this weekend, so she has the kids all weekend. Normally, this would not be so much of a problem, but this weekend was going to be crazy already. I have a meeting in Nashville Saturday morning, and Michelle has tutoring that morning as well. Michelle, her mother, and some of the bridesmaids had planned on going to Nashville Saturday afternoon for some dress-shopping as well. Sunday is the Super Bowl, and we had planned on going to Kent and Daphne's to watch the game. Daphne was a little reserved about having two small kids running around the house, so I don't know for sure what we are going to do. I am sure it will work out somehow. Wish us luck!!

My official prediction on the Super Bowl is Patriots 31-Eagles 17.

I walked the dog earlier, and she was glad to be outside. The last two days, it has been raining non-stop, so we didn't go out.

I am going to do some reading and probably some more writing. I wrote for a while yesterday, but I have not decided if I am going to post it on the blog or not. I just don't know yet.

Tonight, Michelle's dorm is having a board game party, so that should be fun. Plus, free food is included, so that is way cool.

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

When Michelle and I got back from the theatre Saturday, she sent an incendiary e-mail to the corporate offices of Regal Cinema. She got a response tonight that said they will be sending some free passes for our trouble. Cool.

We were at a bookstore this afternoon (it isn't hard to imagine that), and I saw a magazine that features Bob Dylan on the cover. The lead article is an in-depth look at the making of his epic "Blood on the Tracks" album, the release of which occurred in January 1975 (30 years ago). This is my fav Dylan album of all time, so I had to have the magazine. The mag also came with a free CD of several artists covering some of Dylan's best work. Cool.

I read several of the essays in my first Passion book today. The most interesting to me was one that discussed how it appears that Jews and Christians can watch the film, and come away with opinions that suggested they had watched two completely different films. It reminded me of a conversation I had in a Bible study that was led by my Greek professor. We were talking about how each of us has our own sense of reality. I stated that I would never know why some women see the need to own 72 pairs of shoes, and how most women will never understand how some men can watch football for 18 hours on a Saturday or Sunday. My professor responded, "Isn't that why we read, so that we can understand someone else's position?" I stated that I could read all the books in the world by African-American authors, yet I would still never KNOW what it is like to be black. Maybe I could empathize more, but not know.

It's the same way with the Passion. No one I have spoken with came away from that movie blaming Jews for anything, yet many Jews in the media felt they were being blamed for Christ's death. I will never know what it is like to be Jewish, so I try to understand their plight, although I cannot appreciate it fully.

Tomorrow, I plan on doing some cleaning, and some more reading.

I saw a TV ad earlier for a brokerage house that featured the Airplane song, "Volunteers." I got to thinking about how that brokerage firm is likely run by a CEO who is a wealthy middle-aged white man, the same kind of person who likely was listening to that song while marching against the Vietnam War, and speaking subversive about corporate America. Interesting paradox, I think. As uncle Bob once said, "The times, they are a-changing." Maybe they already have. Maybe they always are.

Have you heard about the University of Colorado professor, Ward Churchill, who is in a major firestorm for writing an essay in which he likened the victims of 9-11 to German Nazis, and suggesting they got what they deserved? He had a speaking engagement at a small college in upstate NY cancelled, and has resigned the chairmanship of his department at UC. Many people are calling for his job, but I think now matter how insane someone's opinion may be, freedom of speech is more important than PC. I do think that he should be censured by the University, because as a state employee, he should not be able to use his job as a platform for such nonsense. Here is an article written by a fellow professor about the controversy.

I hope everyone has a wonderful evening. Peace...

I learned today that my good friend Jeff Stovall resigned his position as Pastor at Woodbine Church, effective at the end of February. He never really felt like he belonged there, so hopefully he and another church can find each other and work in unison to further God's Word. For those that do not know, my denomination calls ministers, whereas some denominations assign ministers to congregations.

I got my cell phone fixed today, so now the display works again. That's cool.

I did some reading earlier, and bought a new book at Wal-Mart. Another book on Gibson's Passion film--This makes two. I have not read the first yet. LOL. There is a bookcase at the church that I need to move into my office, because my current bookcase is overflowing. I have got books strewn everywhere. One book, the PTL Guidebook, is displayed prominently for the sole purpose of scaring people. If you do not remember what the PTL was, think "Tammy Faye and tons of makeup". The book was given to me, along with a ton of other books, last year.

Tomorrow I am going to spend some time writing. Don't know exactly what about yet, but it will come to me.

I hope everyone has a wonderful evening. Peace...

Friday night, Michelle and I went to Chuck E. Cheese and had a blast. Her suitemates Rachel and Lindsey came along, in addition to Rachel's boyfriend Andrew. We all had a great time. Our friends Norm and Robin Brumblay were there, helping their son Garrison celebrate his 4th birthday. We gave Garrison all the tickets we won, and he got to buy a rocket launcher. Dad said with a wink that they were gonna gave a great time with it.

Michelle and I had the worst experience ever at a movie theatre Saturday night. We went to the IMAX theatre at Opry Mills to see "Aliens of the Deep". The announcer said that the film would start after one trailer. The trailer ran for about 5 seconds before it came to an abrupt halt. After waiting for almost 45 minutes, the announcer said the problem with the projector was fatal, and that all tickets would be refunded. We went to the refund counter, and I told the guy that we were really disappointed in all this, because we had driven over an hour to get there. He apologized, and offered us free tickets to any movie, plus our refund. So, we chose to watch "Hide and Seek", with Robert DeNiro. It would have been a great movie, except there was a crying baby who would not settle down. The mother refused to take the baby out, so everyone else was mumbling and grumbling. It was horrible. Michelle finally got up and went to talk with the manager. He and the security guard basically said, "Tough shit. Deal with it." Jeez, it was horrible. I can't understand why anyone would take a baby to a movie like that.

Yesterday, my baseball meeting was really boring--as they always are. However, it is always nice to see old friends and renew acquaintances. Thankfully, it did not last too long, and were out of there.

Youth group was great last night. The kids were really focused, and we did a ton of work in preparation for World Vision's 30 Hour Famine. The kids are really excited. We have one kid that has not been attending church much in the past few months, and lat night we found out that her boyfriend has run into some serious legal trouble. I am going to try to reach out to them and see if there is anything I can do. I am deeply saddened by things that have transpired.

I hope everyone has a wonderful week. Peace...

Ok, let me try this again...a while ago, I tried to post, but it didn't publish and disappeared. One day I will learn to copy and paste my posts into a Word document for posterity's sake.

Michelle just scored 2 tickets to see Keith Urban at the Ryman. He is her absolute favorite artist, so she is mega-hyped.

James Cameron's new film, "Aliens of the Deep" is now playing at the IMAX theatre at Opry Mills. I am going to try to talk Michelle into going today, but since the film does not feature Mandy Moore, I may not have much luck with that.

I have a baseball meeting tomorrow at Hunters Lane HS, which is not exactly thrilling for me. Although, I will be able to stock up on some new gear, which I desperately need. So, that's cool.

I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend. Peace...

GRR to people who make appointments and don't keep them. Yesterday, I was supposed to take the caterer to the church so he could look at the facilities, but he was tied up with something else and could not make it. So, we are supposed to hook up today.

This morning, I have an appointment at the Y for an orientation. The are several pieces of equipment that I do not know how to use, and I want to learn more about them.

Something happened earlier this week that was so funny it caused me to say, "I have got to put this on my blog". Unfortunately, I cannot remember what it was. I am going to ask Michelle later today if she remembers. Grr to forgetfulness.

I have not done much reading this week. I need to get caught up. I started working on a jigsaw puzzle a few days ago. It seems to be progressing slowly. I have not done a puzzle since I was a kid, but I saw one I liked so I decided to do it. When I get it done, I am going to glue it together to preserve it. Cool.

APSU, in its infinite wisdom, disconnected the ethernet ports in Austin's, so they now do not work. The jukebox is also gone, so the place has about as much ambiance as a hospital ward. Jeez. I can't wait to get to Memphis.

We broke the news to the youth group that we would be moving to Memphis after the wedding. Rumors quickly spread in the church that were moving to Minnesota or Michigan. Jeez. Sort of like how Michelle told my grandparents that her brother goes to college in Macon, Georgia--and my grandfather thought she said "Jerusalem"...LOL.

We met Daphne for lunch yesterday to talk about wedding stuff. I am still not sure if her role has been defined, but she is definitely looking for a job in it. Also, Regina's role has still not been defined, and she is getting antsy. I told Michelle that having so many people volunteer to help is a good problem. We have so many that we are having to sort of create jobs for them. We have been super-blessed in the whole planning process. We are really grateful.

Yesterday we went to the grand opening of the new Sam's Club. It was really exciting; the store is huge and packed with all sorts of great stuff. We were by the floral department, and I picked up a dozen tulips for Michelle (her fav flower). She got all excited, and I told her to enjoy them because we would have to put them back before we left, lest I actually pay for them. Several people near us heard me, and started rolling...just laughing uncontrollably. It was hilarious. I have been giving her a ton of flowers lately, since tulips are in season. I am scoring more points than Larry Bird in his heyday. LOL.

Michelle sold one of my old books on eBay to a guy that lives here in Clarksville. Unfortunately, the clown would not meet me to make the exchange, so I am going to have to mail it. He lives on Greenwood, which is about 5 minutes from campus. What a joke. He is a moron. Whatever. Jeez.

I have been having a lot of computer problems lately. I cannot connect to AIM, and Outlook has not been able to connect to the Hotmail server, so I have not checked my Hotmail email address in several days. I also bought some new software yesterday, and am unable to install it on the laptop. I installed it on the desktop just fine. I think the problem lies in the fact that I once had some software from the same company on the laptop that has been removed. I remember getting a message when I removed it saying that all of it could not be removed. I think the parts left behind may be interfering with the new stuff. The CD to the old software is at the church, so Sunday afternoon I am going to reinstall the old stuff, and see if the new stuff will work then. Jeez.

I also have been having a lot of trouble with my wireless connection at home. Normally, I have it set up where Windows manages it, but I have been having a lot of trouble connecting, and maintaining a connection. So, I let my wireless card (a real POS) manage it, and still its not better. Jeez, I am really pissed off at lot of things in regards to technology. Maybe Fidelio heard that I was trying to sell him, and he is rebelling like a teenager. Jeez.

We were talking about eh honeymoon, and the different things we want to do in Boston. We have decided on a whale tour, the aquarium, and a day trip to Walden. We found that people are allowed to swim in Walden Pond, so I am going to bring my trunks. LOL. Also, a trip to Lexington/Concord, maybe a baseball game, and probably some other stuff, too. We have been invited to dinner by a distant relative of mine who lives there...Cool. We are really excited about seeing the city. Hopefully, the snow will have melted but then.

I have had no luck finding a coffee shop I like, so I am waiting patiently for Grinder's to re-open. Grr to not having good coffee/conversation/ambiance.

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

I have not been posting much lately, and I feel bad about that. I would like to record more of the wedding planning process, but I have not been able to make myself sit down and write. Going forward, I am going to write more.

Saturday, Michelle's parents came up, and the 4 of us went to the bridal show at the mall here in Clarksville. It was essentially a waste of time, since there were only about 5 vendors. By coincidence, I ran into several people I know, so that was pretty cool. I even remembered most of their names. I am horrible about running into people, and forgetting their names. One of the people I met at the mall, Ray Roby, is a guy whom I have known all my life. He has been a member of the Clarksville church forever, and he worked with my dad for about 30 years. Yet, for some reason, it took me 30 minutes to remember his last name. Jeez. He is such a nice man, too. I remember that he was the liturgist the morning that I announced I was leaving the Clarksville church to take my current job at Mt. Denson. I asked him before the service started if I could make a special announcement, and he said sure, no problem. He then kind of got curious, and asked what my announcement was about. I told him it was going to be emotional, and I would prefer to only have to say the words once. He just sort of nodded his head, and said OK. After I made the announcement, he told me he understood my plight and wished me good fortune.

After the bridal show, we went to eat lunch at Whitt's BBQ. When we got done eating, we talked about the budget and other stuff. Michelle's dad was really wound up at first, because he had found all of her mother's random notes, and put every number he had found into a spreadsheet. His total put us about 50% OVER budget, and he was freaking. Little did he know that most of the random notes he had found were invalid, so he was greatly relieved to find we are actually about 15% UNDER budget right now, with no major expenses unaccounted for. Whew. Since Whitt's is catering the reception, we spoke with the owner for a while, and worked out the details for that. Towards the end, he asked me what I did for a living, and I told him I am a minister. He asked me jokingly asked me if I was going to marry myself. Michelle's mother looked at him and said with a straight face, "No, he's marrying HER", pointing to Michelle. Everyone got a good laugh. I told him that since I would be busy GETTING married, I would leave the officiating to someone else.

We were supposed to have dinner with my parents, so they could meet Michelle's parents, but my dad was violently ill, so we postponed the meeting until later. I guess the thought of meeting new people must churn my dad's stomach...LOL.

I am going to swing by the new Grinder's location tomorrow, to see how things are going. Hopefully they will be opening soon. I am seriously jonesing for some good coffee. I also am supposed to take the engagement announcement to the newspaper. I am also go to the gym. Michelle and I joined the Y a few weeks ago, and we have been having a good time working out. I am down to just under 190, and it feels good. The last time I was 190, I was at 8% body fat, and was lifting everything in sight. I am a much softer 190 now, but I am going to start lifting soon to build some muscle mass, which will also help burn some fat. Last year on the baseball field, I was way too slow. I am not going to let that happen again.

Speaking of baseball, it is almost here. I am going to start working in the bullpen soon, as my first game is 2/18 at Trevecca. The last time I worked there, the game manager was a buffoon. He put us in a locker room while telling us he would have to move us after the first game. WTF? Why not just put is in one place and leave us there? After the first game, we had to pack up all our stuff, and then move it to another locker room, which happened to be on the other side of the basketball gym. We had to move all of this stuff across the gym floor, while a basketball game was underway. Jeez. As umpires, we try to remain as inconspicuous as possible, and here we are walking across the gym floor, with all eyes on us. We may have well as been wearing beanies and Bozo shoes. I am not going to let that happen again.

Anyway, it will be great to get the season underway. I have a great schedule lined up. I have about 12 dates on the calendar right now, and will probably pick up some more. In addition to my non-conference schedule, I am working in the Great Lakes Valley Conference, which is a D-2 wood bat league. I worked in that league 2 years ago and it was great. Wood bats keep the scores down. I had a conference series in St. Louis, and the last game was 9 innings played in about 1:45. A total of about 6 hits if I remember correctly, and the score was 2-1. Beautiful.

I will also be working plenty of HS ball and Middle school ball should be fun, too.

Speaking of St. Louis, I had the strangest dream ever last week. I dreamt I was in the St. Louis airport, and I ran into Rodney Lockerman, who was working for UPS and had a cart full of stuff to deliver. We chatted for a few minutes, and then I woke up. Rodney is a kid from the Clarksville church who I have not seen in quite a long time. Weird. Very weird. LOL.

I have been reading a book called, "The Gnostic Gospels", which are the documents found at Nag Hammadi in 1945. Probably the most interesting, and certainly the most controversial, part of those documents was the Gospel of Thomas. I just started the book, so I have not gotten very far yet.

The youth group is hard at work getting ready for World Vision's 30 Hour Famine. We going to have a chili luncheon and silent auction of Feb. 20, and the actual famine is Feb. 25-26. We will go 30 hours without eating to get a feel for what a lot of people live with every day. We did this last year, and it was great. Please support World Vision as they try to help people around the globe, including victims of the tsunami, have a better life. One of the main things I love about World Vision is that 84% of all the money they bring in goes directly to their ministries. This is one of the best percentages of any charitable organization in the world. When you give to World Vision, you can feel confident that your money is going to those in need, and not lining the pockets of fat cats in an office.

"They might have split up or they might have capsized;
The may have broke deep and took water.
And all that remains is the faces and the names
Of the wives and the sons and the daughters."

--From the Gordon Lightfoot classic, "Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald"

What an incredibly intense song. Jeez, I'm shaking while listening to it.

I hope everyone is doing well. Peace...

The Hunt for Caffeine and Free Wi-Fi

Since Grinders is temporarily closed, Michelle and I are looking for an interim hang out. Well, actually, I am looking for one since she is actually in school. The kind of place we seek will be first and foremost a coffee shop. It will be a sit-down type place, not just a drive thru. Not a jazz club, or a place that thinks its an Italian restaurant. The place will have free Wi-Fi available. The atmosphere will be relaxed, but not dead. The prices will be reasonable. The people that work there will be friendly and knowledgeable. The people that hang out there will have above average intelligence, and will be able to converse on any number of subjects.

Anyway, here are the results of my hunt:

Lassiter's (Riverside Dr.): Drive thru only, plus the owner is a jerk. Scratch it.

Cafe Paradiso (North Second St.): As soon as I walked in, I choked on the haze of smoke that was 3 feet thick. At 9:30 in the morning. I thought I had stumbled into a bar. No Wi-Fi. The waitress told me that they had it at the old location, but that "it never quite worked out"...whatever that means. She was quick to point out a power outlet under my table, in case I needed to plug in. Maybe she thought I could miracle myself onto the web. Nice touches were the lender's library (leave a book, take a book), and the magazine/newspaper rack was extensive. House guitar hanging on the wall (with pick) for anyone who wants to play. However, the prices were too high. If there were ever a cafe for bikers, this is it. Clientele (and staff) seemed quite "rough around the edges". Example: the girl behind the counter was smoking Camels.

Three Girls cafe (Wilma Rudolph): No Wi-Fi (girl behind the counter said they hoped to have it running my mid-summer). I resisted the urge to say that humans may be living on Mars by mid-summer, and that they should move into the current century. Prices were reasonable. Decorations were great. Clientele seemed to be classy. 3 semi-private rooms for meetings and such. That was cool.

Franklin Bean Company (Franklin St.): No longer in existence. I had never been there, and apparently not many other people had either.

Cafe 431 (University Ave): Is it a cafe that thinks its an Italian restaurant, or vice-versa. Anyway, they scored in the 40s on their health dept. exam. Ouch. Note to self: Salmonella sucks. E coli too.

Mugsy's (Ft. Campbell Blvd.): I have never been there, so I called today and asked the girl on the phone if they had wireless internet. Her response was, "Do we have what?" I repeated my question, and she said she would have to ask the manager. I knew I was in trouble. She comes back to phone after she popped her gum, and said, "No, but they hope to have it in a couple of weeks". I resisted the urge to say that people may be living on the moon in a couple of weeks, and that they should move into the current century.

Java City (on campus): Staff are all bartending school dropouts. Prices are too high, and service sucks. 7,000 students attend APSU and JC seats about 40. You do the math. Often there are at least 3 TV going full volume on 3 different channels. Mass confusion reigns. Occasional live music or movies on the projection screen, which is cool. The bands almost always seem to play on nights that I cannot be there, though. Wi-Fi and ethernet ports (about 5). A little too dark for me to do any real reading.

So, I am in a real quandary here. I do not know what I am going to do, other than maybe drive to Nashville to a Panera bread store. I don't see that happening, though. I will keep you posted. Peace...

Michelle and I were saddened by some news last week. Our favorite hangout, Grinders, has been sold to new owners and will be closed a few weeks while the new owners move it across the highway. The original owners, Pete and Katie Alex, decided to sell it after Katie's sister died and left two small special-needs children. Pete and Katie have decided to adopt the kids.

Michelle and I helped them pack up the shop on Saturday, and it was sad. So, right now, we are left in search of a new temporary hangout. I went to 3 girls cafe yesterday, and that ain't it. I think I am going to go to Franklin Bean today.

We have been working really hard on the wedding. Well, it would be more accurate to say Michelle has been working really hard on the wedding. Whenever she asks my opinion on something, my standard response is, "Whatever you like is fine with me." LOL. I am going to work on the guest list today, attaching addresses and stuff to the names in our database. My mom ripped into me the other day, because I had left off some important people. I forgot to tell her that the guest list is determined by a complicated mathematical formula that factors in things such as (1) How nice of a gift someone is likely to bring, (2) How much someone is likely to eat, and, (3) How many kids someone is likely to bring. There are some other mitigating factors as well. So, if someone gets left off the list, he or she should not take it personally, it's just business. LOL.

We are looking forward to Valentine's Day, which will be the 1-year anniversary of our first date. We are going to a minister's party on Feb. 4, and then to the party at Clarksville Church on Feb. 12. Tulips, Michelle's favorite flower, are in season right now, and I have bought them for her twice in less than a week. She is beginning to wonder if I have some ulterior motive, such as wanting to buy a motorcycle or something. As of now, there is no ulterior motive, although I may think of one later. I just like seeing the look on her face when I show up with flowers.

Yesterday after luch we went to Opry Mills. We picked up a bunch of stuff at Barnes and Noble. $60 worth. Ouch and Joy at the same time.

We had a fight Sunday afternoon in Wal-Mart, and laughed about it afterwards. So much so that we have been TRYING to start another fight ever since. Every attempt just boggs down into a laughing session, so we are having fun with it.

I am going to change the oil in her truck today, and replace the rear turn signals on mine. We have decided to start driving my truck more, because we have been putting a ton of miles on hers, and not many on mine. When baseball season starts, I will be driving mine a lot more anyway.

I have been really busy getting ready for baseball. I have gotten most of my college schedule, and I am really excited about it. My high school schedule should be really good as well, in addition to my middle school schedule. I also may work a few games in Hendersonville. Since I am not it school this semester, I want to work somewhere every day I can.

The youth are busy collecting donations for World Vision's 30 Hour Famine. We are having a chili luncheon and silent auction after church on Feb. 20, then we will be doing the Famine the following Friday and Saturday. Michelle and I are having a contest involving penny jars. We each have a jar, with pennies counting as positive points, and silver coins being negative. If I lose (not gonna happen), I have agreed to shave my legs. If Michelle loses, the youth group is going to concoct some kind of nasty mix of foods that she will have to eat. Fear Factor, Presbyterian style. So, if anyone would like to contribute to my efforts, please let me know. Michelle has the entire group on her side, and I am all by myself. I am not going to let myself lose, though. LOL.

I hope everyone is doing well, and has a great day. Peace...

I have decided to sell my laptop. We decided today that we only need one laptop, so I am going to sell mine. I figure I should be able to get about $600-$700, so that will be a nice emergency fund to start our marriage with. I hate to part with it, though. I may hold a wake.

More wedding planning has been taking place every day. Somehow, yesterday, I found myself trapped in David's Bridal for 3 hours while Michelle tried on dresses. I definitely needed a drink after that ordeal. Jeez.

My guitar playing is not coming real well. I know 3 chords, but can't change chords or play any kind of a tune. I can bang chords for hours, though. I need to practice more.

I hope everyone has a wonderful evening. Peace...

My local association also issued name badges. I could not find mine, so i took this one. I figured if I said something stupid, it was best for no one to know who I was.

I spent Friday and Saturday at the NCAA Regional Umpires Conference. It was really great, and I feel like I learned a great deal. This is my folder with my NCAA-issued name badge. 

My dog disappeared on Christmas day, and was gone for several days. Some guy dropped her off at my house last week, without saying a word. She was weak, tired, and sick. She had clearly been outside the entire time, and had probably not eaten. I immediately took her to the vet, and found that she had a sore throat and chest congestion. She has been doing better every day, and when I exercised her today, she ran with nearly the same energy as usual. I am so glad that she is back and doing well. Michelle and I stopped at Kroger's tonight, and I got her (Fluffy, not Michelle) a butcher's bone. She will vaporize it tomorrow when I give it to her. She only started eating normally in the past couple of days because of the sore throat, so she is looking to make up for lost time. She rarely eats all the food I giver her each day, but the past two days, she has cleaned her bowl.

Michelle and I took a hard look at the guest list tonight, and I did some paring. We are trying to keep the total number to about 300, but we are still over by quite a bit. Maybe I won't show up, reducing the number by one...LOL.

We have been shopping several times in the past week or so for various stuff, and it has been fun striking up conversations with random strangers who are planning their weddings as well. All the guys have exactly the same dumbfounded look on their faces as I do, and when asked their opinion on things, they all give the same response as me: "That's fine, baby...Whatever you like (is great)."

We are busy planning things for the 30 hour famine. We did this back in the spring, shortly after I started working at the church. I think the kids are excited, I know they had a great experience last time.

Tomorrow, Michelle and I are going to chill out a bit and probably watch a movie. Probably "Almost Famous". I may listen to Elton John's "Tiny Dancer a few times tonight to prepare myself.

We have decided to go to Boston on the honeymoon. It should be a lot of fun. The Royals are in town that week, so we going to try to catch a game. We want to see a lot of the architecture, and historical sites. Cape Cod, too, to see how the other half lives. We are really excited about seeing one of the most historical cities in America. Much thanks to Boston Ellen for sending us a Boston tour guide. I promise to send it back.

I hope everyone is feeling well. Peace...

My youth group will be participating in World Vision's 30 Hour Famine Feb. 25-26. We will be raising money (and going without food for 30 hours) to feed starving children.

Your $30 donation will feed a starving kid for an entire month. Please call me at 931-378-3088 to make your donation. Thank you. Peace...