Here Come the Hawks...

At least we still have one good team left this winter.

R.I.P.

Hot Diva and the Rapper Dude

I was at Lifetime Fitness today and heard another of those chick-diva songs with the pre-requisite rapper in it. Ho-hum. Will that ever get old? I think that the rap has kind of become the same as the guitar solo is to rock songs. You just have to put it in, even if it really doesn't belong there. You can pick any of the divas of nowadays where they sing great and then, BAM, there is that rapper dude going at it (Mariah, Nelly Furtado, etc.). Now, don't get me wrong: I don't hate rap. In fact, there are some that I like (eminem, Jay-Z). But, c'mon, are these producers just running out of ideas? It is almost like they just HAVE to insert a rap somewhere in the song!

Enough of the rant. As I was listening, I was thinking of what it might have been like in the earlier days of pop music if the guy had to rap his part rather than sing it. I had a few interesting ones come to mind:

1. Sonny and Cher: can you even try to imagine Sonny having to rap "I've got you babe, uh, uh.."? Yeah, that picture in my mind was pretty disturbing too.
2. Elton John and Kiki Dee: many of you might not know Kiki but they did a huge hit in the 70's: "Don't Go Breaking My Heart". A lot of jokes came out about Kiki about the time Elton came out of the closet. But, you know, I could actually see Elton attempting to rap that one...er, ok, maybe not. Yeah, I was just kidding.....really.
3. Ike and Tina Turner: I could actually see that one working for Ike if rap existed then.

I'm sure that there are a bunch more out there...

Christmas Highlights

Christmas Eve was a long, busy, and prosperous day. We had a half hour concert prior to our 40 minute service. It was awesome! The 40 minute service felt like it was about the right length. There were so many highlights. One that I particularly remember is when we did this rock version of Drummer Boy with Joey - he is one of our newer STUCO vocalists/worship leaders. He nailed it! I told him to emulate Steven Tyler and he was dead on! Naturally the choir rocked. And, can I be a bit biased here? Romeoville does the best versions of TSO of any campus. WE just need an orchestra (one day). Carol of the Bells naturally rocked. We also did a new one called Christmas Jam. The instrumental leads off with a vocal introduction that Joey did (with his own flair!).

When it was all done, I exhaled.

When I got home we had Chinese food. It has sort of turned into this weird tradition of sorts the last few years.

We decided to open presents on Christmas Eve this year. We haven't done it for some time. It was fun! I think our dog, Dixi, enjoyed it the most. I swear, she KNOWS when it is Christmas time. When it is present opening time, she gets all jumpy. Naturally she gets a few doggie toys and acts like a 6 year old kid on Christmas. Even the cats, in their own aloof way, enjoy it.

Santa did drop some stuff in the kid's stockings over night. Some gift cards that I am sure will be spent well!

Most of Christmas morning is quiet - nice.

We had dinner at my brother's house in Evergreen Park. Lot's of food and presents of course! My brother-in-law Dave is in the "church business" like me (but in Austin, TX). We had a lot of "shop" to talk about!

Just when you think you knew everything about your parents I learned something new about my dad. He actually did own a Daisy Red Ryder BB-Gun! He DID get it for Christmas and was about Ralphie's age when he got it! (Those of you not in the know have never seen A Christmas Story - wait until next year: TBS plays it 24 hours straight on Christmas Eve!). It was funny how he related to that movie because he was a kid at the time the setting was in the movie (he cracked me up on his stories of triple-dog-daring kids to get their tongue on the flagpole!).

Hope y'all had a Merry Christmas!

A Good Day...

God is on a roll at our Romeoville campus! The last several weeks have shown a remarkable quality in the arts. The music and worship have been awesome! This morning we did a couple of TransSiberian Orchestra songs: Wizards in Winter and Carol of the Bells amongst others. Carol of the Bells is one of the few "traditions" we have at CCC. I am not kidding when I say I can probably play Carol of the Bells in my sleep! I have played it every season for a number of years now. It has got to people expect to hear it at least once a Christmas Season (we will do two: we are on tap to play it Christmas Eve). I have to say that it is always fun to do. Wizards is my other favorite too. My only regret is that no one had a video of it. Oh well. Maybe Christmas Eve.

Here is a cool story from this morning: we had two scheduled baptisms at our 11:00 service. Both were kids. One of them, Jessica, attends our STUCO regularly. In fact she is a worship leader over there. Her mom has never attended CCC. In her testimony today she had said that her hope is that she will attend some day. Well, she was in the audience today! She was so moved by her daughter's baptism that she decided to do it herself! Wow! Talk about the Holy Spirit in action!

I'd say it was a good day...

The Day After...

Christmas is a great time to celebrate the coming of Christ into the world.

But...

Am I the only one looking forward to December 26th? Anyone?

In the words of Peter (not the apostle but from Office Space) when asked what he would do with a million dollars: "I would do absolutely nothing". Well, no million dollars here but with all the busy-ness going on now, that idea looks quite inviting.

alias Redd Barron

This is way hilarious. I guess there is another Redd Barron band out there somewhere! When you look at the You Tube videos, check the comments out. People are asking where they are playing now. They talk as if they just saw them somewhere! I mean, if you were a fan of the band wouldn't you LOOK at the video and see that it ISN'T them? This is from 1991 or 1992.

Unless there is something Greg and Pete aren't telling me...

Redd Barron - King Of The Hill

Thanks to Pete for this one! Here are my good buddies Greg Eichelberger and Pete Alvarez back around 1991, I think, in Redd Barron. The hair was a bit longer, the posing was right on, and, well, check it out! (Sorry Greg, blame this on Pete and Brian!).

Spirit Move...Across the Land....

Every so often this happens. As a creative arts director person you get to experience some good Sunday mornings, some challenging Sunday mornings, some funny Sunday mornings, some that you wish didn't happen, and some that did and you wonder how in the world you made it through. But then there those that become very special. This type of Sunday morning becomes a true heaven on earth type of thing. I am talking about mornings that go way beyond anything you could have ever anticipated. Mornings that are the type that people will talk about for a very long time. Yesterday was one of them. It has been amazing how people have been talking about it today. So many were touched in a very special way. God always shows up. But, I think that He will, at times, pick a day just to remind us that He can go way beyond anything we could ever imagine!

Yesterday everything, and I mean everything, was spot on. Yes, even the Campus Pastor Moment was way beyond awesome. :) Music it seems is usually (but not all the time) the catalyst in setting the tone. That was definitely the case yesterday! We had a brass band along with our favorite percussion guy, Micah. We incorporated a little Latino flair with David Danced to a touch of gospel, to rock and R&B. All the vocals were amazing. The energy was on fire. Dave's teaching was great - I really had my eyes opened to the meaning behind certain scripture (thanks to professor Dave!). The Advent/Communion moment (in its second week) continued to be real good. I think that people appreciated how we talked about our surplus in the budget going back to the community to help those in need (yeah, that was the CP moment). Dennis really shined during the offering prep. Hey, it was even Dennis and Renea's anniversary! And, at the end of the last service, Renea was so overcome with the Spirit that she was almost paralyzed with what to do next (she was supposed to dismiss at the end of You Are Good as we held a chord - it took a while. It was amusing to see the looks on the faces of the musicians on what to do next!). One of the brass players recorded the service. I can't wait to see and hear it!

But it is the stories afterward that really make it all worth it. How lives were touched. The stories are still coming in. It was great!

Joe Satriani vs. Coldplay

Did you catch this in the news? It looks like Coldplay is being accused, again, of ripping off a melody of another song. This time Joe Satriani is making the claim. His claim is that the chorus melody of his song "If I Could Fly" (his is an instrumental) is way too similar to the chorus of "Viva La Vida". I agree that it is real similar. But I wonder. There are a bazillion songs out there in the history of man. It is just a matter of time that some melodies are going to sync up and be similar. The odds favor that. Think of the blues. Wow, a lot of repeats in that genre. But in this case, I dunno. I would find it amusing that Chris Martin (or any of the guys in Coldplay)is big Joe Satriani fan. Joe is probably one of my favoritest guitarists of all time. I hope that this lawsuit isn't a stretch for him and give him bad publicity as a whiner. I think y'all know the Coldplay song. But I grabbed one of the You Tube videos with Joe's song (it is from 2004). It is just his "chorus" that you would listen for. You be the judge...

A Little Zizzle-zing

ZING, PHAT, ZIZZLE, this homey is still in the house with somethin' to say.

Mary's B-day was yesterday. It was awesome! What I did this time was, for every couple hours, send her a goofy picture message wishing her a happy birthday (she was at work most of the day). I had a lot of fun making these up the night before. Here is an example of one that I sent:












We also had an awesome dinner with the kids at Outback.

Keep on rockin' the Casbah y'all. I'll catch you on the next one...

Friday

Friday is an off day for this dude! Well, at least for the director stuff. Around this time is my annual thank you to my former employer, Kroeschell Engineering: it's when they send me my annual ESOP shares installment. I am hoping this is the last year we take the $. The next few years it should hopefully be going to our 401k. I'm kinda glad that maybe I held off this year! Last year we did a major overhaul in the house - at least major to me. We finished putting in the Pergo floors in the rest of the house, thus finally getting rid of the disgusting carpet. When you have a mini zoo with a dog and two cats, the fur piles up. At least with wood floors, you can sweep it up. With carpet, man, what we tore up was way disgusting! Nobody has been as sick here at home. Hmmmm...

This time around we got a new couch for our basement. It actually arrived last week but today it was about getting some shades for the basement windows and rearranging the room. The windows open into window wells and look real ugly. It made a huge difference. After six years of living here we are finally going to see if we can make that room more welcoming. I think we are making headway. Much of the rest of the $ we got, however, ultimately went to 3 places in this order: a nice tithe to the church, beginning to pay off Mary's parents who so graciously helped with getting this house six years ago, and getting a savings account to where it should be. Although it is starting to look like there are going to be things sucking up some of that savings: the water heater is giving signs of decay, a new car battery, etc. - you get the idea.

I did close the evening out watching a western of sorts: "The Assasination of Jesse James by that Coward Robert Ford". Long title for a movie. Started a little slow but picked up about midway through.

KTUU 2008 Sarah Palin turkey interview

A weekly log commercial break...

I don't know if any of you saw this yet. Ah, good ole' Palin just can't catch a break. Pay your attention to what goes on behind her (the poor turkey and the poor guy not knowing what to do!). You can't write stuff better than this! That is what makes it so funny -it isn't scripted! It is disturbing yet hysterical. I can imagine another SNL skit about this but I also can't imagine it being any better than this!

Thursday

I try to make Thursday my "fix it/repair it/etc." day. We have lately moved our campus staff meetings to Thursday mornings. It didn't work well for me so I alerted them that there could be times I don't make that meeting (too many meetings spread out over the week!). Today it was cancelled. The early morning consisted of a meeting I had with Vanessa regarding possibly having her vocal diva class through School for the Arts. It has been real successful for her on her own and, to be honest, that might just be the best thing for her. Our campus has had a few vocalists come out of her class and ended up on stage (either STUCO or Adult). It is more of a pop vocal style as opposed to classical (which seems to be more what SFTA has). The diva class, I think, is very important considering where many people's interests are in this day and age. We might have her do a workshop or two next year. I hope so.

I spent most of the late morning and early afternoon at our Highpoint building troubleshooting some sound issues (most of which we corrected) and checking out a possible rear projector for as a replacement for what we curently have. Greg Eichelberger and Mike Wdovech were there at various times to help out. Mike is a great "Mr. Fix-it" guy - particularly with electronics. Greg was there for a short time to look at the projector he has that we might buy off of Waterfront (if it works). We couldn't set up the projector where I wanted to since the lift at that building is broke and in for repair. The image on the rear projection screen (a screen that has been there for the 10 years that building has been up and never been used) was naturally small since we were close up. We will try again when the lift is back. Otherwise, the image was great! If it works out then I will sell the other lemon that we have been using: an Eiki projector that has been sent back 3 times in the 1.5 years that we have had it. The hope here is that we could sell it at about half what we paid for it (maybe $7000) and purchase the one from Waterfront (the one Greg has) for $1500. As time moves on, we will see how things work out.

The rest of the day I just spent at home with everyone. Later in the evening I did get to working on the TSO songs we will be doing this Christmas season (I think I can play Carol of the Bells in my sleep now - I am not kidding!). Thursday night I do catch up on some shows I like: Survivor (wow, this was one of the best episodes in some time! I loved it!) and The Office. I do like watching Smallville. Some episodes are hit and miss, last night was a definite hit.

Wednesday

I wish I could tell you today was one rip-roaring, exciting day. It was productive during the morning and afternoon. Wednesday is mostly spent with me being at home doing some of my administrative stuff. I do things like setting up the cue sheet for 3 weeks out, listening to the big idea podcast (it is probably more entertaining than informative - I get more from being at the big idea meeting); and working on other things like scheduling, picking songs for some of the other dates in December and, compiling in a readable format, the Christmas Eve service at Romeoville. I also spent a lot of time assisting some of my fellow arts directors in developing things on the artists website. Many of them have to create a separate space for Christmas Eve. I could have probably done it for all of them (it would have taken about a half hour) but I think it was best for them to struggle through it. We did have a step-by-step help page on how to do it. After you get it, it really doesn't take more than 5-10 minutes to create (it is always hardest the first time). And, with them knowing how to do it themselves, they can create spaces on the site for any special events that might be unique to their campus.

I do give two guitar lessons to a couple kids that are Jr. High/STUCO age. So, what did I work on with them? Classic rock stuff, naturally. One kid is fine tuning his acoustic guitar chops. I have always considered stuff from Led Zepplin for that material. Jimmy Page was never my favorite gutarist (expecially on electric) but as an acoustic player and writer he was awesome. So we have been doing stuff like Ramble On, Over the Hills and Far Away, and The Ocean (ok, actually an electric tune but it does go into odd time signatures - a good thing to learn). The other kid is the one who is learning Back In Black (AC/DC). That is always a popular one amongst that age. He is having a tougher time with keeping time (tempo challenges), so we have to work harder at that. To some it doesn't come easy. However, I do think that, over time, it can be overcome. I am one example of that.

After all that I had a visit to the eye doctor in the early evening. Katrina and I went. I haven't gone for quite some time and had a feeling I was going to need some kind of new prescription. We went to a place called Plainfield Vision. Everyone there was very nice and helpful. They also seemed quite thorough in the examinations. However, I left there feeling rather down (after arriving in an upbeat mood). The doctor during the examination got a little carried away with his "humor" regarding the "old" jokes towards me. Much of it revolved around how my eyesight was going to go super downhill over the next handful of years. He just kept at it. At first it was funny (and I do tend to blow off those "old" jokes - old is only based on a number and attitude). But it was becoming too much. As an example, there was one point where he did a dilation of my eyes for part of the examination. One short term result of that is not being able to see clearly close up. There was something he put in front of me that I couldn't read (because of the solution in my eyes) where he then said "that is what it is going to be like for you in a few years, (giggle, giggle)". Uh, ok, thanks. I feel so much better. It kind of was like that the whole time there. Yeah, I needed new glasses but man, lay off that stuff. Katrina did help me pick out a new style of glasses. Both of us were so picky, we were there for a while! They won't be the kind where I have to wear them all the time: just distance stuff (driving, maybe watching a movie, etc.) and reading (no, not bifocals! they called them progressive lenses). Most of the rest of my time they wouldn't be on.

For some reason I was tired early on. I was out by 10:30. That is early for me!

Tuesday

Tuesday has always been a meeting day for me (except for a certain 3 months :)). Now it isn't as much. I do attend the big idea meeting in the morning but it is more as an observer now. That is fine. In the new climate it is the best way for me to best understand all that is planned. At the lunch hour is the monthly Arts director meeting. It basically is a review of stuff past and coming up as well as some things to know to help us be better at our job. This is one of the few times that we all come together face to face. Most of the afternoon then is really spent catching up on a lot of administrative stuff like scheduling, song selection and such. That is where I work at home. I did spend some time charting a song. I do enjoy that as well.

Through all of this there is still some down time at home. To be able to find that time is priceless and valuable.

We did have a meeting tonight about a C the J event planned for the end of December. I have to say that I have such a good Arts Leader over there (Craig Vokac) that I usually stay out of most things going on over there. He really does an amazing job. We need more Craig's in this world. He did, however, have some challenges in the planning of this event. So, I did attend and participate in the meeting. It actually went well. All we needed to do was hear all the ideas, take the best and then make it all come together. Kind of like the big idea meeting that started the day. So I kind of came full circle.

After spending a little time with the kids and Mary I had to catch up on another great Monday night show. I am into the Terminator: Sarah Connor Chronicles. It has been getting real good lately and this one was no different.

Monday

Monday is supposed to be my "School for the Arts Day" in my daily work routine. Nothing is routine at CCC. Monday ended up being nothing typical. The day started after breakfast by paying bills. I do it twice a month - it works best for me to organize that way. I do like autopay options with some of the bills (the ones that are the same amount every month).

Our SFTA recital is coming up December 13th. This morning was spent working at home sorting out what student plays what at what level. We have about 35 students which is at the borderline of how many you want for one recital. I spent much of my time trying to go through the options of having one recital or two at the same time in different rooms. After consulting with my "mentors" (Jennifer Barrett and Becca Heye) I think that we will go with one recital with a 7th inning stretch in the middle somewhere. No matter how this ends up, it pales in comparison to planning for Fallapalooza!

Lunch was spent at a meeting with SFTA directors going over stuff.

After a little downtime in the afternoon I went to give guitar lessons (4-7pm). Some of these kids are really coming along. I pretty much went over their recital pieces. It is funny how the influence of Guitar Hero continues to this day. Here is the list of some of the songs the kids are going to be playing (all are between the ages of about 8 to 13): Green Manaleshi (Judas Priest version); Iron Man (Black Sabbath); Over the Hills and Far Away (Led Zepplin); Back in Black (AC/DC). As you can guess, this is easy for me to teach since all these songs are from when I grew up! But understand something here: these kids picked the songs, not me! I am still waiting for someone to want to play a riff from Muse or Mute Math or somebody newer like that.

The evening consisted of a meeting spent with most of the Romeoville Arts leaders at our house. It was great! The purpose of the meeting was to plan our Christmas Eve service. It was sooooo cool seeing all of them brainstorming and putting together the service! We did work from a template from Arts Catalyst team but it was an open book after that. some great ideas came up. This team really put their stamp on it and has some ownership in how it will look. Should be cool!

Before I went to bed I still had one important thing to do: watch Heroes. I think that it is finally picking up steam and getting better. I was wondering for a few episodes but it is now getting interesting:

"It's coming..."

Falla-praise

Oh, and by the way, I never let you all know how awesome Fallapalooza went a week ago Friday. It turned out to be better than expected. I learned a lot while putting it together and am already thinking of some new stuff for next year. My partner in putting this all together, YB Arts Director Sean Bublitz, has some pictures on his blog. Here is the link for you to check out:

http://seanbublitz.com/

So You Want to Be an Arts Director...

Today was an amazing service at Romeoville. We baptized 4 people - two of whom decided right then and there to get dunked! Later today, I was thinking of back when I did it. It was Mary, Katrina, and I. But what I was really reminded of from that day a number of years ago was the other person that was baptized at the same time. She was Jackie O'Connor - who eventually married my good friend Tracy Teague. The thing is that they have both passed on. However, I was smiling as I was thinking of all that. Someone who was baptized the same day as us is now with Jesus! I dunno, that somehow feels exciting to me.

The last 2-3 days have been filled with adversities with regards to getting ready for this morning's service. The highs and lows of being an arts director were definitely experienced by me. I am so proud and inspired by the band we had today. Everyone did an amazing job considering all that had happened. Here are some things of note:

1. One of our vocalists, Susan, experienced the passing away of her mom and literally had the funeral the day before our practice on Saturday. However, she was still there to continue to do God's work. She needed to do that, considering all that happened. She was an inspiration for all of us.
2. On Thursday we had to shuffle practice around. The artists doing the Beatles Christmas show found themselves with nowhere to rehearse on Friday/Saturday. They ended up rehearsing at the Arts Center big room. It could have worked out for us because everything would have been set up for the us when we arrived (and when they left) at noon on Saturday. However, that was not meant to be. Literally minutes after that was all arranged on Thursday I had a call from Grant (our drummer) who informed me that he had to attend a funeral at noon for the 19 year old daughter of a good friend of his. We scrambled last minute to get our rehearsal at 9am but had to quit at around 11 or so. The practice was good but a little rushed and we really had no time for any vocal rehearsal. I can't imagine how Grant must have been feeling. He was there none the less.
3. We had some bizarre technical issues Sunday morning with sound that delayed our morning rehearsal and kind of got things to a bad start. Thanks to Jeanne for just stopping all of us to pray! We later managed to get going and proceed with a quick rehearsal and cue to cue.
4. The aftemath had the good and the not-so-good. The good is what I am really holding on to. Besides the people getting baptized, there was a larger-than-normal amount of feedback regarding how people were touched by the worship. Wow! After all that God still does his work! It doesn't matter how much we try to screw things up! And then later I hear from unnamed sources that the backing vocals were really bad and that we need to take major action to work on it. Well, I think that as a leader you have to take it in and not react impulsively. Thinking now, I kind of take exception to that. I think it was a great service that had the results that we were ultimately after. You know, there are some weeks where things just don't go smoothly. We have to realize that we are not dealing with professional artists but rather people who are mechanics, office workers, mom's, etc. giving their time and talent to help people find their way back to God. Sometimes those people deal with adversities. But they still serve. They still do their best despite what the enemy puts in their way. Today was such a group that kept going. And, like I said, they did awesome!

I think that maybe this week I am going to do a 7 day log regarding what I do day to day as an Arts Director. It might be boring for you , maybe not. But, it might be fun and interesting to look back a week from today and see what I experienced in my life for those 7 days.

Economical Thinking

You know what, when you see pictures and hear stories of what is happening in places like the Sudan and the Congo, it kind of puts into perspective how "bad" our economy is doesn't it? I mean, they have NOTHING! We whine and worry while typing on our PC's and laptops under our own roofs while others in the world have nothing. Even in this economic climate we still have so much to offer! So much to give! I know I have to think of that here at home. Sure, we have to tighten the budget at home. But sometimes when I think of it, that isn't such a bad thing. We shed off some of the wasteful and unecessary things in our lives and our homes and focus on what is more important: family, friends, community. I don't know how much worse the economy will be, but I do know that there will still be many of us around to help the less fortunate.

A New President and Thoughts on the Election

So, we now know who our new president will be. The first African American president, Barrack Obama. I always thought that I would see a day like this in my lifetime - and I am glad to have seen it tonight. It kind of gave me chills watching it unfold on tv. To think of what this country went through just 40-something years ago during the civil rights movements. Yes, I did vote for Obama. To be honest, I did like both candidates but I felt better about him in office and much better about who the 2nd in charge will be. As I said earlier I consider myself an independent but did find that I voted about 2/3 Democrat for this election. Speaking of that, did anyone know who the Republican guy was that ran for Illinois senator against Durbin? I didn't even know until yesterday. I still don't recall his name. He lost big time - big surprise.

So now I wonder what all those ultra-conservatives are going to whine about now. I also hope those ultra-liberals don't walk around gloating. Both sides just drive me nuts. Today it was the ultra conservatives. I really take offense from some of those jerk radio guys when they have to label anyone who votes for Obama as "dumb", "stupid", "drones", etc. Man, when I heard that idiot that has the same name as my favorite band (Rush) say some of that stuff today it really angered me. What is more scary are the "drones" who follow crap that comes from the mouths of people like that. I feel sorry for those people. People who think that if you don't follow 100% of their ideas you are considered dumb and stupid. (this also applies to those on the other side of the political spectrum: the goofy, hard-core liberals). You know, it is OK to disagree. It is also OK to see if maybe someone with whom you initially don't agree with might have something good to say.

I thought McCain had a very nicely said concession speech. Clearly he was disappointed but he was quite gracious. If he had won, I wouldn't have been terribly disappointed. However, it was not meant to be.

It is amazing how many statistics and numbers people can come up with during an election: "did you know Charles that, based on our recent exit poll, at least 76% percent of people who like cats but hate hamsters voted the same as those who prefer ferrets over field mice..."

Speaking of stats, one that struck me was how many Republicans didn't vote! So maybe McCain was not your favorite guy. Maybe he did go against the grain a bit (one trait I do like about him by the way). But, not voting? Huh? Who are the ones not being so smart?

I was also struck by how interested Katrina was in this election. She is only one year away from being eligible to vote.

However, here is the best part of today: NO MORE POLITICAL ADS!!! At least for a couple years.

Now, off to bed...

The Scientist - Romeoville Campus

Here is another one from that day (it was 9/14/08). Amber's first time on a vox lead for the adult stage! At around 1:00 to 1:20 or so, there is a little sound problem (ignore the feedback). It does go away. Just enjoy!

TSO Flight of the Bumblebee - Romeoville

We actually did this a couple months ago but it just got posted now. I could have so many good things to say and compliment everyone who did this instrumental but I am going to let the performance speak for itself! You can't see him but Roger Segroves is on drums. The ones you can see are Mike Kochendorfer on guitar, Gerry Runge on bass, and Julie Bullock on keys (yeah, I'm on guitar too). Enjoy!

Happy Birthday Alec!

Today is Alec's 14th birthday! Happy birthday to the coolest dude on the planet!

Progress

Hey! Alec's report card was much better! Here is the big one: he took his midterm Social Studies grade of a F to an A for the first quarter! Woo hoo!

What the...?

It's been a long time since the last post. Whoa. Maybe I've been doing a few things and been too busy! Hmmm...well, I think I will start up again.What have I been doing lately? Many things but one of them has been planning for our next Fallapalooza event next Friday the 7th. I wish I had more time to work on it because there are always ideas mulling around in my head that I would love to do. Next year. At least with this year's event being a little less, shall we say, complicated, I discovered that I could pull it off with the new job I have. One thing I have in my studio that helps with my thinking process is this little dry erase board hanging on my wall. I got it when I was still working at Kroeschell Engineering (they were going to throw it away). Through the years it has worked well with me sketching out my thought processes. The latest use is for Fallapalooza. Yeah, I could use something on my PC or index cards or whatever; but it seems that this suits me just fine. Here are some samples of my madness:

Katrina is 17 Today!

My little sunshine is 17 today. Happy Birthday Katrina!

Presidential Debate

Did anyone see that presidential debate the other night? I am confused and wondering what the media had seen that I didn't based on their reactions. Before I comment, you should know that I am not a political person. I have not decided on anyone yet. I don't consider myself a Republican or Democrat, liberal or conservative. I am very much Independent preferring to vote for the person rather that someone representing a party ideology (that feels too communist to me). I guess they would call me an "Independent Moderate". Regarding the two major candidates, I actually kind of like both of them, really. Yeah, they are politicians who do spew a lot of rhetoric. But overall, neither one really scares me on their own.

But that last debate, wow. Experts (who are the experts - really?), said that McCain really needed to go on an offensive to get back into the race. Well, I thought he came off as a whiny baffoon. He was trying too hard. That wasn't the same guy from previous debates and other public functions that had I seen. It was almost scary. Like he was following a script someone gave him on how to act and he was moving with the strings that were guiding him. Well, I know that they both are coached but that particular act didn't sit well with me. I was disappointed and thought that the media was going to blast him for it. Instead they said it was his best debate. Huh? Mary and I couldn't believe that line he said about Obama running 4 years ago to challenge Bush. We were actually asking ourselves "did he really say that?". But the media folks thought it was a good line. Huh? I don't know, is the media trying to manipulate us even more than they usually do? The debate was entertaining but, I don't know, one person seemed to have lost his mind.

I still haven't decided. McCain needs to score some big points back with me. He lost them on two occasions: his choice for running mate and this last debate. What will happen in the next few weeks. We will see...

Predictions (Revealed!)

Go to the Thursday, February 21st post. I KNOW I said no more baseball talk this year but I was laughing while reading my take on the then upcoming season! Cubs vs. Brewers in the NLCS! NOT! I did predict that the Cubs get the division (I said 93 wins vs. the 97 they got). I got the wild card right with the Brewers (and I nailed their win total). I was close in the East. I thought the Mets but didn't rule out the Phillies. It did come down to those two. However, I was really off in the West! I seriously thought the Padres were a darkhorse winner! They ended up with one of the worst records in baseball! I never even mentioned the Dodgers! Since I am not really an American League guy I had no feel for those teams. Although I can almost guarantee you that I would never have even considered the Rays. Now, they are most likely another expansion team to get to the World Series before the Flubs.

Fallapalooza 2008

Here it comes again, Fallapalooza 2008. It will be another fun event. I do have to say it was a later start to planning than in years past - mostly because of, ahem, a series of events that occured this past spring! It will be a great one. You know how songs or images can take you back to things in your past? It was funny after reviewing some of the videos how I was reminded of where my life was at at those times. Especially the videos from like March/April. Strange I would get that reaction but it was there none the less. It was indeed an emotional time. Ah well, that was then and this is now! Back then I never thought I would be part of planning another one, but here we go: Fallapalooza! Can you handle it?

Love Power

Thanks to Joe McClennan for sending me this quote. Joe has been one awesome guy helping and guiding me through the "Unemployed" months and right up to this day. After hearing about our kid challenges (which are a bit better nowadays), he sent me this. I just felt I had to post it:

"We all have the power to give away love, to love other people. And if we do so, we change the kind of person we are, and we change the kind of world we live in."

--Rabbi Harold Kushner

Cubs Crap

When I was a kid, my two favorite teams that I followed religiously were the Cubs and Blackhawks. It's funny, they are the only two major professional sports teams in Chicago that haven't won anything in my lifetime.

I remember as a little kid, when I was first getting into baseball, looking up in an encyclopedia (remember them?) who all the World Series champions were in MLB. I still have a vivid memory of having disbelief that the Cubs haven't won one since 1908. I can still remember checking and double checking.

And I was looking at it back around 1970.

Cubs fans, I share your disgust and anger. It is appalling what happened. They have to upgrade somehow to be a good postseason team. And, I mean upgrade in character as well as talent. Whether that is an internal change or getting someone from the outside, I don't know. But, when you have basically the same cast of characters as last year's playoff - with the same embarassing choke job - something needs to be addressed about that. We will see. Next year will be watched more guardedly. They should win the division next year too. But that isn't enough, not anymore.

Oh my, things have changed since the days we were just happy to get in the playoffs (just a handful of years ago).

Kind of how Sox fans were this year. How lame. And, Sox fans, you won one more game in the postseason. So what. I guess your players and our players can talk about that on the golf course as the postseason continues on without us. I have already heard that from some of them. Man, that is soooo petty (and not Tom).

I just read that this was the most times in a decade the Cubs were in a postseason. Ever. I don't know if that is a good or bad thing.

I probably won't watch much more of the postseason. This officially concludes baseball talk for this year.

Maybe the Blackhawks can surprise us all and win a Stanley Cup.

Oh wait, they need to make the playoffs first...

It Will Soon Be Over...

How could a team embarrass itself so? As a fan, I am way beyond any hope for the Cubs this year. Barring a miracle (ha!), it will be over, just like last year, in three games this Saturday. I have come to a conclusion: this team is NOT built for the postseason. I repeat, NOT built for the postseason. Sure, they are built for a long season to take a division. But for something like this, they can't handle it. You can see it in their eyes on the field. They don't really believe. They are down. They can't handle it. I don't know what it is that is missing: leadership, lack of confidence, no heart; whatever it is, next year this team needs to change somehow to be built for the postseason. As it stands, this is the wrong group of players. They will never go anywhere with the team as is. I am not a general manager, I don't have the answers. But, it needs to change. Something does. This cast of buffoons can't handle it.

bambi meets godzilla

This short video came up in our meeting this morning. Gives you an idea of where brainstorming ideas go. And no, we aren't using it! But it is funny!

Happy Anniversary

I just wanted to let you all know that today is our 19th Wedding Anniversary. I just wanted to tell all of you that I love my wife Mary every bit as much, and more, than that great day 19 years ago. She is the most awesome ever and completes me in my life. We have two great kids (yeah, even with the challenges going on) and many other things in life to be thankful for.

I love you Mary.

Rick Miller performs Bohemian Rhapsody

I don't know but I find this exceedingly funny.

DIVISION CHAMPS!!!

Cubs get the division!! Next stop: World Series.

This has been one amazing week for this team:

Sunday: no hitter by Zambrano

Monday: one hitter (almost a no hitter) by Lilly. First time in MLB history that a team was held to one hit in two days.

Thursday: The amazing, almost improbable, comeback win against the Brewers. I just got my voice back today! Good thing since we had our Extended Worship night tonight.

Today: Division clincher. This time is a little different than in years past. It feels like it was long expected. It feels like it isn't enough anymore. I can see the team thinks that way too. That is good. The bigger prize lies ahead.

Go Cubs Go! Go Cubs Go! Hey Chicago whaddya say, the Cubs are gonna win today!
Go Cubs Go! Go Cubs Go! Hey Chicago whaddya say, the Cubs are gonna win today!

Great Game

My voice is still hoarse. What a ball game today. I finally got to see a game at Wrigley this year and man-o-man what a game it was! I put it up there real close to the division clincher I was at in 2003 with regards to excitement and fun. It kind of stunk last night when they lost because today could have been the clincher. And imagine if that were to happen too! Well, it was a great ending: Soto's homer, Lee's game winning single. We had a lot of fun. There were a number of Brewers fans around us and that provided some added entertainment. It was all in fun. So no clincher today but I do take consolation in one thing: they will most likely clinch the division this weekend against the Cardinals.

Against the Cardinals. Ah...sweet.

Jesus Is My Friend by Sonseed

Thanks to Julie Bullock for sending me this. Many of you might have already seen this video. If you haven't yet I need to give you a warning before you watch: pray to God for protection. Trust me, you will need to. It is the most awesome video ever in the history of Christian music. And also confirming why I thought Christian music was silly back in my hedonistic years of the 80's.

No Hitter! Cubs Win!!

NO HITTER!!!!!

CUBS WIN!!!!

NO HITTER!!!!

CUBS WIN!!!!

NO HITTER!!!!

CUBS WIN!!!!

9/11

Last night I watched the movie "United 93". I had recorded it some time ago but never was motivated to watch it. Well, since yesterday was the 7th anniversary I figured I would watch it. Very well done and from what I've read, about as close to accurate as it could be. What was interesting was that it wasn't a "drama" with big stars or anything. It let the moments speak for themselves and just followed along with what was going on. I was struck by many things: the fear on the plane, the warped fanatacism of the hijackers, the craziness of the control towers, military, and FAA headquarters; but mostly I was struck by the courage of the passengers to take over the plane. It was mostly to save themselves I am sure. But since, at that point, they knew what was going on outside that plane, they knew what was really up and attempted to stop it. We knew what the ending was going to be. However, their actions really saved many more lives and a national symbol that would have been crushing. As bad as things were with the Trade Center and Pentagon, can you imagine if the US Capitol was blown up? I have only seen that on "Independence Day" - I wouldn't want to see it in real life.

I remember everything about that day. I remember taking the train in to work - not knowing what was already going on. I remember getting into the office and first hearing of it by my boss, Pablo who had the radio on. Believe it or not I was going to make a reservation for a flight for Mary and I to go to New England in a couple months. I remember us thinking that they screwed up in a way because the buildings weren't coming down - then later hearing that they did. I remember how scared Mary was when she called. I remember watching the towers burning on a tv set up in the office. Nothing got done there that day. We tried for a little bit in the morning but eventually gave up. I remember all the panic on the news about how many more planes were taken over (none after the 4th one). I remember vividly the exodus out of downtown Chicago - the office was on Ontario St. and by noon the city was emptied. I remember leaving work in the early afternoon; Metra rearranged its schedule to get everyone out of downtown (many were thinking that Sears Tower was next). I vividly remember walking my 1.5 miles to Union Station through downtown Chicago and seeing how empty and abandonded the city was. It was very eerie. Literally no cars except for a taxi or two that would pass by. And hardly a person to be seen. It almost felt like I was one of the last people on earth. I remember how crowded Union Station was, however. I remember the train ride home. I remember getting home and talking with all the neighbors. I remember the president's speech that night. I remember how he said that those responsible will be dealt with. Some have, many haven't. I had a work project in New York at that time. Tuesday mornings I was normally taking the subway from Manhattan to Brooklyn - passing under the Trade Center at roughly that time. That Tuesday I originally wasn't planning on going. Good thing. I would have flown in on Monday night to stay just down the street. I remember flying down there about 2-3 weeks later (after the planes could fly again) and walking by there. It was a large makeshift memorial. There was a platform you could walk on to see the destruction and the work crews cleaning up. You could see all the buildings around damaged in some way. I remember talking to my contact over there (he was head of a construction management firm that we dealt with) and him telling me of some of their people who were lost. How they were on the roof one of the towers calling their loved ones and those at the office to say good bye. It is one thing to see all this on news specials but to have firsthand experience is another. He was telling me where he was when the planes hit the towers. He did see the first one and took off and left (he was about a mile or so away). I remember for the next several months the fear and anxiety that permeated the world: chemical attacks, anthrax, dirty bombs. It just kept going. I remember how the nation did pull together. I remember the patriotism that dominated everything. I remember the U2 concert we went to 2 months later (in Salt Lake City) and that screen that rolled all the names. It was still the best concert I was ever at, hands down.

I think we need to still remember and never forget. To remember why we are fighting in Afghanistan. I never agreed with the Iraq war but we need to remember and support those over there too.

What next?

Man, this has been one heck of a week. And it is still going. We just got news that Mary's mom is in the hospital and that things aren't looking good. We really don't know what the problem is as of yet. She is on her way there tonight (Palos Hospital). It seems like it has been every day the last week that we are hit with some heavy challenge relating to family. I don't recall in recent memory dealing with what we are up against now. We need to be praying for her mom but also for Mary and the rest of her immediate family. Things with Alec are definitely improving but it will still be a while before things like trust and improved lifestyle get where they need to be. However, the good news in all this is that there is still love. Maybe like what was mentioned in the first post, we are still being given opportunities to come together closer as a family. Let's see where all this will go.

Whew. Well, at least the Cubs just won. There is something. I'll take anything now! :)

God Speaks (even in movies!)

Finally watched "Evan Almighty" last night. I really liked it - the messages about family. Tough times here at home continue but there was a line in the movie that struck me and made me laugh and cry at the same time. God (Morgan Freeman - who else?) talks to Evan's wife at a diner after she and the kids left Evan due to his wackyness of building an ark. She doesn't know it is God but one of the things he told her was this: "if someone prays for patience, does God just give them patience or more opportunities to be patient?...if someone asks to bring their families closer together, does God just zap them with warm fuzzy feelings? Or, does He give them more opportunities to love one another?". Think about it. You know what, I have always thought that God doesn't get enough credit for being the ultimate comedian and still talk with infinite wisdom. Well, it was only a silly movie, but I seriously believe that God was speaking to me at that moment while pretending to be God in a movie speaking to someone who didn't know it was Him! (ok, read it again...now you know why I thought it was funny - the setting was absurd!). Anyway, it was something I needed to hear. Our family is coming together. We are at a point where opportunity is knocking at the door. How will it be answered?

Family Love and A Silly Song

Our family has been going through a lot of stuff. I won't hit the details. But I do need to let you know that we have interesting ways and times to have conversations to resolve things. We had one last night at like 11:30 while sitting on the kitchen floor! Yeah, sitting on the kitchen floor! This isn't the first time we talk in weird places! But let me tell you something, despite the fact that we are dealing with stuff, I was actually heartened by having the conversation. You see, we have conversations! Even with the loud talk, things get discussed and hashed out. I can't tell you everything gets solved. But we do talk. You know what? I noticed today a difference in everyone in the house. Much more positive. And one thing is for sure: there is love between all of us in this house. That is certain. I have no doubt of that. You see, with LOVE I believe you can deal with anything. It is the greatest thing. Without love you have nothing.
____________________________________

Of course the only bad part about last night is I had to get up early this morning for Leadership Community and play another silly new leader song. It was a parody of "Hey There Delilah". Eric was out of town so he filmed himself with his brother Elic as if they were broadcasting via satellite from Cincinnati. I played live. It was really amusing how a number of people actually asked later if that was really me playing and if that was really a satellite feed or not! Well done. It was something different and real fun.

I am tired. Good night!

Twit(terrer)s

Can someone explain to me the lure of twittering? I just don't get it. It is kind of like blogging-on-the-go: "I am standing on the stairs now"; "I am walking down the stairs"; "going into the ice cream shop now"; "walking outside". Wow, riveting. My friend Greg put it real good in his blog about Facebook (which applies to twitters): all this stuff supposedly gets us more relationally connected. Yet, all we do is have our faces buried in computer or Blackberry screens isolating ourselves from all that is around us. For all we know, we're typing to someone in the next room! I guess that this is where the i-generation is at. I just hope that all this technology doesn't move us so far away from personal contact that we forget how to say hello to someone.

Or farewell

Farewell...

What's up here?

What is up here? 4 losses in a row? Nervous? Hey, it's the Cubs what would you expect?

Favorite Albums/CD's

Back right before New Year's day, 1990, WXRT had a vote for best album/CD of the 80's. I remember having several conversations amongst friends about what the top 3 or 4 would be. It turned out to be a spirited debate! Today I was talking amongst a couple friends about the same thing: top CD's of the 80's and 90's. Well, those of you who know me would be surprised to guess that I would not have Rush in the top 3 of the 80's! Although, I think Moving Pictures was probably #4 on my list (yes, I still remember what my picks were!). Rush got real weird in the mid to late 80's with some of my least favorite CD's (Grace Under Pressure, Power Windows, etc.). If you were around then (or are into 80's retro) what would your top 3 be? Here is mine:

3. Tears for Fears/Songs From the Big Chair: EVERY song was awesome on this one! I was particularly stoked when I was able to get this one converted to mp3's. Everybody Wants to Rule the World, Shout, Head Over Heels, etc. were some great songs. Although nowadays it does have that dated 80's production, back then it was a great sound.

2. Peter Gabriel/So: At the time, talk about production value! This was a great sounding record! Produced really well. Red Rain just sounds incredible. Same thing about nowadays having that dated 80's sound but still there was nothing on this record that was bad. Ok, maybe that last song about birds was a little weird...

1. XTC/Oranges and Lemons: this one just made it (1989). I really wore out this CD big time. King for a Day is still one of my favorites. Andy Partridge could really write some great songs. The guitarist, Dave Gregory, is so underrated. The melodies that he put into it were incredible. When you listen, it becomes very obvious early on that the Beatles were a huge influence on them. However, this CD was one that clearly had a the sound for them and one that was my favorite of that decade.

I also had a couple of 80's instrumental albums that get high honorable mentions:

-Joe Satriani/Surfing With an Alien: Hey, it's Joe at his best! Even I can hear his influence in my playing. The concert at the Metro that year (1987 I think) was about as close as I came to a high level spiritual experience! :)
-Jeff Beck/There and Back: This was the first of all my records to get converted to mp3's. I wore this one out, expecially late at night. I would hit the sack and put this one on with El Becko to start. Right before I dozed out, side one would end. I then would flip the record and just make it all the way to the last song (The Pump) before slipping away for the night.

The 90's. I don't recall having big conversations about CD's of this decade. However, now that I think of them a little, I think I have some that would fit in a top 3 (although I can only list a number 1):

Rush/Test for Echo: Oh was I happy about this one! It was the first complete Rush album since Signals that I really liked all the way through (Presto being a slight exception). Driven is still a song that I can crank out so loud! And I know that Mary just loves this CD...

Collective Soul/Collective soul ('95 untitled CD): Around '98 and '99 I had many drives to a job I had to go to in Milwaukee (at least once a week for about a year). Since my car didn't have a CD player, and this was just before the days of iPods, I had this CD (and Precious Declaration) recorded on tape so I could listen to them on my Wisconsin journeys. December and The World I Know are my favorites (The World I Know has a great video to it - I love the ending - it seems depressing then ends up with a great hopeful message).

1. Beck/Odelay: Wow. He was soooo groundbreaking when this one came out. The songs were cool ('ya gotta love "Where It's At) but the way he used effects were ingenious - especially for that time. Another one that I wore out.

I am so sure that there are others for the 90's, I would have to gloss through my CD collection. But, these come to mind right away.

How about this decade (has anyone decided what we call it yet? The 0's?)? This one will be a tough one. Why? Because I am not really a CD buyer in as much as I am a song buyer. We can thank iTunes for that one. Let's give this decade a couple more years before we reflect on it.

Trip Pictures Part 1

A rare shot. I guess when you turn 13 you don't want your picture taken! I had to get this one quick in the car.
Here was Alec at the skatepark in Carrollton, Ga. - 13 miles from my brother's house. The fact that there was a skatepark out here in country-bumpkin land was impressive to me. Also, the fact that Alec said it was one of the best ones he had been to was even more impressive.


A jump....


Whoa...dude

Rainouts suck.

Trip Pictures - Part 2

We did make the game at 1pm the following day.






Some of the views from our seat. Not bad. The park was half empty.







Most of the half full stadium had Cubs fans. All of these people behind us were Cubs fans. We were so in the majority!

Trip Pictures - Part 3

Here is one of the wacky roads we traveled on as we traveled to Gatlinburg. This is the Scenic Skyway in North Carolina as viewed from Google Earth (not my camera!). This is just a small sample of what I had to deal with. The straight line distance in this photo from left to right is about a mile and a half. However, the total distance driven is about 4 miles! And every turn is either up hill or down hill. The map shows this as a relatively straight line. Multiply this by a factor of 20 for the total trip in Tennessee and NC. Yeah, it took a while. Never totally believe what you see on a map!

Trip Pictures - Part 4

Here we are at Rainbow Falls. A very cool place!
I don't think you can see it too well here but, almost like last year, we turned the corner on the path and came up close to a deer. It stayed ahead of us (maybe 10 feet or so) but never panicked and kept walking ahead of us. By the time I got the camera out this was the best shot I had.


There were a lot of newts. Alec was happy and looked for many.

Newts?
We didn't get all the way to the top of Mt. LeConte but made it to this ridge that had some amazing views. The path is to the left. It was a cool clearing of bushes that you just come up to after being in a tree environment.

Trip Pictures - Part 5

Another great shot on the mountain ridge. I was at this spot 14 years ago but it was foggy then.
Now here was something peculiar. The picture isn't that great but on the way down the trail I almost stepped on this mouse-like critter. It never moved away! At first I only saw this vibrating, fuzzy thing in the middle of the trail. It was just this "mouse" eating or gnawing something. The weird part was that it was gnawing real slow - not fast like you would expect from a rodent. After a couple minutes it just casually moved on its way!


A narrow bridge over one of the creeks.

Even at the falls he didn't want his picture taken.

Trip Pictures - Part 6

A rock-guitar pick! Tried it at home folks and it works!

"Rock" on...
Love the falls. Last shot on the way down to the car to go home.
No trip to the southlands is complete with an obligatory stop to Waffle House! This was our last chance on the last day (in Kentucky).

What? Already?

IS it Thursday?? Already??? Wow. Since I got back I feel like I hit the ground running hard. I still have stuff for today. There is just so much to talk about and so little time to actually sit and type. I mean, when I do end up at home on downtime I just don't feel like typing stuff. I do enough during the day! How is it with you? I'm wondering if I lost that rhythm I was talking about a few weeks ago. Going on the trip and shutting everything down was a good thing; it is now an effort to find that tempo to doing things again. I have no doubt I will find it; it is just that it can feel a little frustrating at times. I still want to upload some of the pictures from the trip. Maybe tonight.

Kids are back in school. Katrina back now as a junior and Alec in 8th grade. What? Already???

Day 6 - Home

The final leg of the journey home was somewhat uneventful - which was good since it was mostly driving! We did stop at one Starbucks in Indiana! Also, no trip to the South is complete without a stop to Waffle House. This morning we finally did. It must have seemed weird to the locals when I had to take a picture outside with Alec. We just don't get them up in "yankee-land". I am sure it could equate to some out-of-towners getting excited about posing at a White Castles up here! We got in at around 5pm. It was awesome to see everyone again. Alec headed right out to be with his friends. I was a little tired out after 7 hours driving. It probably, then, wasn't a good idea to open my Outlook inbox: somewhere around 50 messages came in! However, a large percentage were via Facebook. Man, I never thought I had so many friends! I even had one where I had to confirm I was married to Mary! Another large percentage involved me being cc:'d something that really didn't need my input. It really makes you realize what you end up reading every day.

I have a number of pictures but they might not get posted up for a few days. A lot going on the next couple days.

Day 5 - Hiking and Driving

When you are on a 6 hour hike there are many things you talk about. Sometimes it gets deep; sometimes it is stuff like: name your favorite ____. One of the things I came up with was listing each of the states, outside of Illinois, we drove through and asking what is the first thing you think of when you hear about this state. So, what is the first thing you think of? My answers are at the bottom of the Day 4 post:

Kentucky
Tennessee
Alabama
Georgia
North Carolina
Ohio
Indiana

What a great day. We ended up hiking the Rainbow Falls Trails up to what is called the Rocky Spur ridge. It wasn't all the way up to the top of Mt. LeConte but it was close. Time and conditioning played a part although Alec was interested in getting back on our way home. I think a little homesickness is settling in! I had hiked this trail up with by brother in-law, Dave, about 14 years ago. At that time, we went all the way to the top (4000 ft. climb) where there is a lodge.

The hike up was awesome and tiring. The falls were great. There were a number of people there on our way up so we didn't stay at the falls too long. We kept going for quite some time. After the falls, as expected, we encountered no one except one group of four on the way up. The top of our trip, at the ridge offered an incredible view! When I was last there 14 years ago, it was foggy and we couldn't see much (although it did feel surreal at that time because you couldn't see beyond the drop). Along the way up we encountered many Newts (which occupied Alec's attention!), a strange mouse that I almost stepped on in the middle of the trail (very strange, he just sat there gnawing or eating slowly - not what you would expect from this kind of creature - he then quickly went on his way), and a deer on the path. The way down was quicker - although we did spend more time at the falls - no one was there. The time at the falls was very relaxing and tranquil. It took some time to get down. It is funny when you go down how many times you are asked by people going up, "how much further to the falls?". We counted 3 groups out of 4. We did the same going up.

Well, it was time to start the journey home. We did stop at a place called Duff's Smorgasbord in Pigeon Forge. It was actually a great place with great food - except for the entertainment which was a lady singing to tracks that her husband was programming and running - very slow, sleepy gospel songs - Alec wanted to get away from that sooner than later. We also had a waitress who came up to us and guessed, correctly, that Alec was a skater kid based on his looks and wardrobe! Her kid (about the same age) dressed the same way. We had much to share!

So I am now in a Comfort Inn in Lexington, Kentucky typing these last two days. I had no internet access at the Econo Lodge in Gatlinburg. In fact, phone service was erratic at best! It looks like the US won silver and gold in women's gymnastics and the Cubs swept the Braves!

A good day.

Day 4 - A Game, A Duck, A Turtle, and Some Driving Fun

Wednesday morning the plan was made: we would head to the 1:00 game, leave from there to Gatlinburg and that would be it for the day.

Uh....right

We left Gary's house ok and had breakfast at IHOP. Good stuff there - even the coffee. Gary couldn't make it because of his work. I tell you what, things just are just different here. Restaurants open and close at a whim. Maybe they have breakfast, maybe they won't. We were looking for a local home cookin' place but there was no luck. That is the country for you!

How about that game! A 10-2 killing of the Braves! For the 1pm game I don't think I was far off in thinking that there might have been more Cubs fans there than Braves fans. We totally didn't feel out of place in a stadium that was not that full (it makes me wonder how full it would have been had it not been a Cubs team they were playing!). Alec and I had a good time there.

After leaving the stadium I was shocked and surprised at how easy it was to leave Atlanta! Getting out of the stadium area was a breeze (we parked at the Holiday Inn across the street for only $10 - compare that to our Chicago stadiums!): we left during their rush hour at around 4:45pm (remember this time). I got out of town with very little traffic. To this point things were going really good! Gary had told us of a couple ways to get to Gatlinburg that had some scenic routes. He also thought it would be about 3 hours to get there. He was a bit off. Of course some of it was my fault as I will explain. Heading towards our destination (and after looking at the map), I thought that it would be neat to take a scenic route that would take us up through eastern Tennessee; we would then cross into North Carolina via this scenic skyway that would connect us back to the expressway to Cherokee, NC (which was just across the park from Gatlinburg). On the map it looked simple enough. In reality it was BRUTAL! If I wanted to take my time through this route it might have been enjoyable. The route was very scenic in some beautiful country. However, we were heading for Gatlinburg and just needed to get there. The Tennessee route, Rt. 68, ended up being nothing but a nonstop, up/down winding road through the mountains - for about 30-40 miles. Wow, a tough drive if you weren't expecting it! And of course it would take twice as long as I thought it would. But, the fun part is we when through two consecutive towns: Ducktown and Turtletown. I kid you not! Look it up!

But wait, there's more!

We then had to go on the scenic skyway. That one was even worse than the one before! By this time it was starting to get dark. In fact, about halfway through the 40 mile drive, it did get dark. It was funny that once I thought we were through, we ended up going through about 5-10 miles of extreme, 45 deg. turns up and down the mountains. Alec was getting a bit woozy - so was I! And of course, this route took twice as long as we thought it would! One cool note: would you believe that in the middle of that nowhere I was able to listen to game 2 of the Cubs/Braves game - it was Pat and Dave on WGN! I actually got a good signal out there!

But wait, there's more!

I still had to get to Cherokee and then still through the Smokies in the dark! We eventually ended up on a major highway to Cherokee. We were tired and hungry. I figured that since Cherokee was a gambling town, there would be places to eat open. Wrong! Almost everything (except the casinos) was closed! Except the drive-thru Wendy's. Ok ladies and gentlemen of the internet, sometimes when things get desperate a man will do desperate things. I actually ordered something at Wendy's! Yes, and I ate it (Chicken sandwich w/fries - I did get the bottled water though).

But wait, there's more!

Now we had to drive through the Smokies at night. Know what? This part of the trip was actually pretty cool! After dealing with all that winding road crap, this one was a breeze. Not to mention, it did look cool: a partly cloudy night with a little fog and a bright moon. When we got to the top at Newfound Gap, we got out at the parking area to look over the country with that type of setting. It was amazing. If we weren't so tired I wouldn't have minded hanging out there longer than we did. The view at night was awesome (thanks to the bright moon)! I did see a fox scurry past us on the road. In the end, we made it to the Econo Lodge in Gatlinburg at 11:15 pm and turned in. The room was a pretty nice room. Tomorrow we hike. All in all, despite the challenges, it was a good day. More importantly, Alec and I shared it together. We have another thing to talk about!

My answers from the post above:

Kentucky: horses (sorry, Colonel Sanders)
Tennessee: Mountain Dew (their ad when I was a kid had this hillbilly yell "yahoo! it's Mountain Dew!" it just stuck)
Alabama: Sweet Home Alabama (duh!)
Georgia: peaches
North Carolina: Andy Griffith
Ohio: Cleveland
Indiana: nothing. absolutely nothing.

Day 3 - There is Comedy in Here Somewhere

Man, what a day. Not the kind you basically would plan. The morning/early afternoon was a downtime that we expected. One thing I did was take Alec out to a skatepark in nearby Carollton. We spent some time there and he enjoyed it. He said it was better than any of the parks back home. I will take his word for it since I won't even get on one of them.

We left for the game at 3pm and here is where the fun started. We drove out to the train station and took that in to the park. We got there early so we decided to walk around a bit. We visited Underground Atlanta and I noticed things changed a bit. Gone are the bums outside. Also gone were the street entertainers that I really enjoyed. I especially missed the guy who did some great card tricks the last couple times I was there. We did have dinner at an Irish establishment and that, my friends, is where the rain started. It never got super hard but stayed consistent. We hoped that the game would still go on - so did the numerous Cubs fans that were around (and we were numerous!). We walked to the field with umbrellas in hand. It wasn't looking good. Our seats were under the upper deck and that was a bonus at the time but you could tell (and the radar confirmed) that the rain wasn't going to end soon. Sure enough, at 7pm/gametime, they made the announcement. What a crappy feeling. You could see it from many of the other people too. Rainouts just plain stink. The game is rescheduled for tomorrow at 1pm (there is a second game at 7pm). Our tickets are good for the 1pm game. We will go but our plans have to be altered a bit. We were hoping to get to Gatlinburg and get a hike in during the day. What will happen now is we go to the game, leave when it is over (maybe 3:30 - 4; just in time for Atlanta rush hour) and head straight for Gatlinburg where we will check in. Thursday will be our only hike day - we will see from there.

Taking the train home we ended up on the wrong one and at a different place. We had to buy a ticket again to get back on (I got a few $1 coins in change - I didn't know those were still around). We then took the rainy ride back to Gary's house. Alec and I decided, as a consolation, to go see a movie. So we headed to Carollton (right near where the skate park was) to see the Dark Knight again ($17 - ouch!). On my way to the movie I did notice I was low on gas. However, after being in the town earlier that day I knew there were several gas stations nearby so it would be no problem to fill up after the movie (we were running late). Well, things are different down here in the country because ALL the gas stations were closed! So I had to make a run for it back to the house which was near the interstate (and open gas stations). So I was driving for about 12 miles down a winding, dark country road in a rainstorm, low on gas, with cell phone service barely operable. I called my sister in-law, Deena (who was up) to let her know the situation: if she didn't hear back from us by 1am, to get a gas can and look for us. Yeah, that is what it came down to! Fortunately, we made it and here I am typing before I turn in. It would have been bitterly funny if we ran out of gas near a mansion with a light on with it raining and did "The Time Warp"....

What am I saying? Good night.

Day 2 - Heading to Georgia

So the trip from Paducah to Temple, Ga was pretty good. It was nice weather. The only major problem was that we couldn't find a Starbucks in Paducah! What is up with that! I think that it is funny when you go to their website and they show the only one being in the local hospital! What a deal: consume your caffeine, get your heart racing, have the heart attack then walk to the emergency room. Well, you gotta like that. At least you are covered.

We took a side way that got us through NE Alabama which was very scenic. However, Georgia has some funny street names. I took note of a few. I couldn't get a picture because it we were cruising on the highway. So, here are some that I caught:

Booze Mountain Road
Booger Lane
Hog Liver Rd. (near my brother's house)

I guess that I will have to get a tally of goofy road names out here! We made it to my brother Gary's house ok. We hung out for the evening. They are calling for rain tomorrow night at the game. I sure hope we don't get rained out. That would really stink!