Paula Jo Mirkle

My niece Paula is now a married woman. Wow, that’s pretty cool. I won’t go into all the “but it was just yesterday when Paula was a little girl” mush. She met the man of her dreams and smart girl, made sure he didn’t get way. Tom is a wonderful man and is going to take very good care of my niece. He is a great addition to the family.

The wedding took place in Van Wert, Ohio. Van Wert is famous for, uh, I don’t know, not being too far from Lima, Ohio, which is famous for, uh, okay never mind. Van Wert is a little Ohio town not too far from the Indiana border.

We stayed the night before in a motel in Van Wert. Dorene and the kids attended the rehearsal. I was supposed to, but didn’t make it. You see, Dorene gave me directions. I sort of listened to them, and sort of didn’t. The part I heard was that the church was right next to a drive-in theatre that had been destroyed by a tornado. I didn’t listen to the part where she gave the name of the church. Why? Because I’m a guy. No, because I knew where that theatre was at. So that’s where I went. Nope, no church here. I ultimately just went to the motel. Dorene’s explanation was that, well, the church was by “something” that had been destroyed. Okay, fine.

We got to the church the next morning extra early for the wedding, because the junior bridesmaid was none other than our very own Anna Lynn. Cameron was not part of the wedding, which is a very good thing, because at some point, he would have ended up trying to swim in the baptismal.

The wedding started with a prologue of sorts, which consisted of a slide show put together by my nephew Jonathon, who is pretty good at this stuff. This day was also Jonathon’s birthday, a fact that Paula took a lot of (evil) delight in. Then came the parade of the wedding party. The last two in were Anna, who was escorted by my nephew Curt, who on this day was not wearing his AC/DC by way of Metallica inspired by Ozzy Osborne circa Billy Idol attire. We were nervous about how Anna would handle being in front of everyone. But on the way down the aisle she gave a wink to Aunt Joyce, so we knew she would be just fine.

Officiating the ceremony was none other than Paula’s dad and my brother, Stu. I wasn’t sure how he’d get through it without tearing up. Hey, this was his little girl! But he did just fine. If he did get choked up, he hid it well. He did a great job officiating the wedding. My dad led the congregation in singing “To God be the Glory.” During the ceremony, Anna spotted Uncle Steve in the audience and gave an oh so subtle wave, that I’m not sure anyone else saw. She completely kept her composure, and did the wave kind of under her bouquet so it wasn’t obvious.

The wedding was just the right length. Afterwards, we gathered in the church fellowship hall for the reception, which Joyce and company did a bang-up job of decorating. Oh yes, then there was the extra touch that Curt added. They had this chocolate fountain, and next to it were several items for dipping into it, such as strawberries, cookies, marshmallows, cake, and fish sticks. Yes, Curt had threatened Paula for a long time about doing this, and sure enough, fish sticks were there by the chocolate fountain. Paula was (mock) horrified at this and they were taken away before someone actually decided to eat one. Anna and Cameron each ate about 3 pounds of chocolate between them, which meant bedtime would not be coming anytime soon.

We eventually made our way to the parking lot and saw Tom and Paula drive off together to begin their new life. Stu wasn’t showing it, but I’m sure this part kind of got to him, because at this point, his little girl was truly grown up now.

"Dennie Donates to Al Gore"

Yes, last night I donated money to Al Gore! It's okay, I haven't crossed over. I went and saw "An Inconvenient Truth," the documentary which basically consists of an Al Gore slide show on global warming. That may not sound like the most exciting way to spend your time in a movie theatre, but I have to admit, it was really good.

Does Gore make a case for global warming? Yes, he does. Although, it's not him making the case, but instead a litany of scientific facts that are presenting the case. I will admit to being rather skeptical of the whole global warming thing and have always seen it as something that will affect us in, oh, maybe about a 1000 years, so nothing to get too worked up about. But the facts are there. It's not the earth getting old on us, it's humans sending noxious gasses into the atmosphere. It is really hard to argue with the science presented here. Gore indicates that we can indeed do something about it, and cites the changes in regulations with aerosols that helped alleviate the problems with the depletion of the ozone layer. The problem with global warming is one that can be solved, but we have to want to do it. Yes, that means all those big bad corporations beloved by Republicans have to climb aboard. If you follow politics much, you'll know that global warming, and Al Gore's cause to alert us to it, have been the punchline of many a Republican gathering.

But what can we do about it? There were 6 of us in the theatre that night, and I don't think we all left deciding to make this our cause. The first thing I caught myself doing when I left the theatre was saying, "Hey look, there's a poster for the Pirate's sequel." I drove home in my non-hybrid car, turned up the air conditioning because I wanted it cool, and kept some lights on all night. Woke up the next day and went to work, kind of forgetting all I learned the previous night.

So even though I believe Al Gore and what he's talking about, I'm not sure what will happen. Republicans stay far away from global warming as a campaign issue and you didn't exactly see the Democrats embracing it during the Clinton/Gore years in the White House (the last major piece of environmental legislation was the amendments to the Clean Air Act during Bush I).

But, I see this as a potential issue . . . for the evangelical base of the Republicans! If they could get over the fact they'd be admitting to something that Al Gore has been warning us about, this is an issue they could basically steal from the left and make it their own. Gore says it's a moral issue, not a political one, and he's right. As Christians, are we not stewards of God's creation? What better way to express this than to get on board and make global warming our hot button issue (and for once, not abortion, gay rights, and school prayer).

Not sure if it would happen, but I would embrace such a seismic policy shift in the Republican Party. We'll have to wait and see, but I don't believe any significant change will take place unless it's the evangelicals leading the way, and wow, what a site that would be to have us at the forefront of this issue that truly affects millions, especially those in poor and underdeveloped areas of the world. Plus, this would just absolutely freak out the Greenpeace activists if the Republicans were suddenly at the forefront of the environmental issues.

A Pleasant Surprise

Today was staff appreciation day at IU South Bend. The whole day is set aside for fun and games. At the opening breakfast, the Chancellor gives some remarks and then employees are recognized for their years of service (those for 5 years, 10 years, etc). Then they give an award to a staff member called the Spirit Award. This is voted on by the professional staff and goes to a staff member that best exemplifies going that extra mile for students, staff and faculty alike.

Well, this year, the award went to me. I was pleasantly surprised and also quite honored that my fellow colleagues viewed me in this light. I am not one that seeks the spotlight or looks to have my deeds at work constantly confirmed or uplifted (no ego to stroke here). But knowing I have the respect and admiration of those I work with really was a nice gesture on their part.

Rick, Table Tennis King (for now)

For a year and a half, I have been going to the South Bend Table Tennis club on Thursday nights where they have a round robin tournament. I played for years and years growing up but took about a 20 year hiatus from playing regularly and have now gotten back into the swing of things.

This is really a fun club. Only for the serious player. It is run by Dan Seemiller, a former U.S. champion and coach of the 2000 U.S. Olympic team. There are some really, really good players that come out. One of them is Mark Hazinski, who was on our Olympic team in Athens in 2004. Another is AJ Brewer, who is one of the top junior players in the nation (he is I think, 10 or 11). Dan Seemiller has a son (Dan, Jr.) who is also very good.

You play against other guys within your own ranking. So no, I'll never play Mark. For a year, I've always basically stayed on the lowest table. I'll sometimes win and get to move up, but then quickly move back down. I've been doing this up and down thing for well over a year. Just can't seem to take it to the next level. So, I was getting kind of discouraged and hadn't been to the club for a couple months.

Well, something clicked last night. I was placed in a higher group this time because there were a lot of first timers there. I went up against guys that all had higher rankings than me. The first guy I played I had no business beating, but did, 3-0. The next one went down, 3-0. Then another one 3-2. Then another, 3-0. I am not sure what happened. One of the guys I beat commented that I must have been playing a lot lately since I was doing so well. Truth is, I hadn't been. I just got in the groove and was suddenly unstoppable.

What this means is the next time the club meets, I'll get to move up to Table 2, which is one step away from where the Olympic players compete. I'll get massacred, but it'll be fun. The unfortunate thing is, it'll be 2 or 3 months before this happens because the club takes a break during the summer.

So, I'll have to wait to continue my quest for glory. Although, maybe this is a good time to hang it up and go out on a high note. So, yes, maybe I'll announce my retirement. Look on ESPN 2 or maybe your local public access channel and see if they cover the live press conference.

A Day Not to Remember

Last Thursday was one of the stranger days I've experienced.

In the morning, I took our dog, Gabby, to the vet. On the way there, I stopped at BK to get something to eat. While there, I saw on the news that Al-Zarqawi had been killed. That is a huge development in Iraq. One can only hope that this finally helps stabilize things over there. But, I wasn't much in the mood to celebrate. Any other day, I've would've watched the news updates all day long to find out more.

But this morning, I was preoccupied as I was taking our dog to the vet. When I left Gabby, I figured it was the last time I'd see her (and in my post of June 9, that was indeed the case).

When I got to work, I had a messge to call Barbara, the secretary in the Social Work program. They were having an orientation for their new students that I was assisting with. I attempted to call her but she was not in. About a half-hour later, there was a lot of activity going on in the lobby. Something happened upstairs and the ambulance was brought in. What happened was that Barbara collapsed and was rushed to the hospital where she died shortly thereafter. One of our staff members, who is a nurse, ran upstairs to adminster CPR, but she was already too far gone.

Meanwhile, as this is going on, another co-worker had to rush out because her father was being taken to the hospital and as it turns out, needed open heart surgery.

Later in the afternoon, I get the call from my vet that Gabby has to be put down.

Then, we get a call from Chicago that Dorene's sister, Dianne, is not doing very good at all. She is in extreme, constant pain and the doctors are totally baffled as to why. She has been hospitalized all week and nothing seems to be working. She is on a pain-killer much more powerful than morphine and it doesn't seem to be helping. So, Dorene and her dad decide to head to Chicago the next day. In the midst of this, I call Dorene and give her the news on Gabby, which she expected, but still was hard.

Back at the office, I am helping the Director of the Social Work program with their orientation. All their students are huddled in our office area as they clear the main lobby to bring the stretcher through. When they asked us to clear out the whole lobby and shut the doors, you knew it was bad, and it was.

All of us are pretty rattled.

Another co-worker gets a call that a relative has lapsed into a coma in New York.

Back home, Dorene is experiencing chest pains and shortness of breath. She isn't sure how much of this is physical or mental. She went to the doctor on Wednesday and got a clean bill of health, but she isn't absolutely convinced.

What a day, not one I wish to go through again.

Postscript:
On Monday, Dorene has not slept all night. She is still having the pains and is having a lot of panic attacks. I stay home so she can go to the doctor. Her regular doctor is not in because her father passed away over the weekend. Nothing is found wrong with Dorene. She is given some medication which only serves to make her very sick.

When I call in to work, I'm told that Jeff, in our career services office, will not be in because his mother passed away.

I get a call from my mom. She has been to the eye doctor and the bottom line is that she is going blind. Her left eye is beyond repair and her right away, while still healthy, is giving the doctors much to worry about. Could she have her sight for months or years? We don't know.

What is going on here? But a bit of good news. Diane is doing wonderful and is scheduled to be released today. It's been a wild few days with the steadiest stream of bad news I've ever encountered.

"Cars" Under the Stars

This past weekend, while Dorene was in Chicago visiting Diane, I took the kids to see the new Pixar movie, "Cars." To make it a little more fun, I took them to see it at the drive-in theatre in Plymouth, which is one of several in Indiana but one of only a few left nationwide.

This is a very family-friendly place. They search your car prior to entering for any alcoholic beverages. I have no problem submitting to that kind of search. Also, you have to pay $5.00 if you bring in outside food. The reason is that these theatres are strictly mom and pop operations and the vast majority of their revenue is based on concessions. So, if no one gets anything there to eat, they'll lose money. Also, to get in, it costs $7.00 per adult and $4.00 per kid, and that's for a double feature. So, the money is not rolling in with ticket sales.

We decided to help them out and get all our snacks at their concession stand. This is not your typical snack counter. They have the usual popcorn and stuff, but also burgers, brats, dogs, pizza, chicken tenders, cheese sticks and much more. They urge you to come early, which they claim is to get a good spot to see the screen, but it's actually so you'll also have dinner there.

They also have a playground, so the kids were very much entertained prior to the start of the movie, which got going around 9:15 p.m. (daylight savings time kinda reeks havoc on drive-ins). Prior to the start of the movie, they show theatre ads from the 50's and 60's, urging you to go to the snack bar, which is kinda cool. The one modern day touch is you no longer hear the movie from speakers attached to a pole that you place by your window. All the sound comes through your FM radio.

Back when I lived in Pixley, California, I went to the drive-in on occasion with my brother Stu and his wife Joyce. The one theatre we would go to was the Sequoia Auto Drive-in, which, if it still actually open, I'd be very surprised. It was a dump of rather epic proportions . . .but it was cheap. They charged by the carload, which I think at the time was $5.00. This was for a TRIPLE FEATURE. Of course, not a triple feature of first run movies. The first time I went there we saw the scintillating triple bill of "Love at First Bite," "Harper Valley PTA," and "Ffolkes." This was not the most family-friendly place. In fact, Stu would not let me go the snack bar by myself. But, for the money, definitely a bargain.

As for the movie "Cars," the kids enjoyed it, and I really enjoyed it. Not quite on par with "Finding Nemo" and "The Incredibles," but still top-notch entertainment. We didn't stay for the 2nd feature that night, which was "The Shaggy Dog." It wasn't starting until 11:30 p.m., which is just a little too late.

As for the drive-in, the kids absolutely loved it, so we'll be back. I enjoyed it too, brought back memories of the triple features at the Sequoia Auto. But at least at this place, when the kids get older, I think I'll be able to let them visit the snack bar without armed escort.

Farewell to Christine

Yesterday at work, we said farewell to Christine Richardson, who had been Director of Career Services for the past 6 years. She was headed off to Massachusetts to join her husband, who had gotten a job out there with a local symphony (he had at one time headed the South Bend Symphony).

Christine had a phenomenal tenure here at IU South Bend. She built the Career Services office into a little corner office with virtually no student traffic to a little corner office with non-stop student traffic (hey, this is higher education, job may change, but space doesn't, even if you are doing more). Her efforts and those of her staff resulted in a huge benefit for students and alumni alike. It was truly impressive to see just how much she built up the office. I had the privilege of having her as my supervisor during my brief tenure as Director of Graduate Programs, which was brief because the office was closed.

Christine was a blast to work with, to put it simply. In our weekly Director's meetings, Christine could always be counted on to liven things up. She weathered a lot of good times, and not so good times in the Career office, and we were with her every step of the way. She was never less than 100% professional and the Career Office was a hidden gem withing IUSB, never more so than each March when they hosted a huge career fair which brought in hundreds of employers and job seekers.

For her going away present, I gave her a set of bumper stickers which I felt would make her feel right at home in Massachusetts, which I described as a "freakin' liberal paradise." You see, Christine is a hard core Democrat and I'm, well, not. Needless to say, I had a little fun over the past few years with the election results. But, I told her that I wanted her to feel comfortable where she was going and to remember that us right wing wackos have a sense of humor. The bumper stickers I gave her said:

* Save Our Jobs, Outsource Bush!
* Don't Blame Me, I Voted For Kerry.
* Bush, YOU'RE FIRED!
* Is it 2008 Yet?
* George W. Bush: No Millionaire Left Behind.
* I'm Tired of all the BUSHIT.

Needless to say, it wasn't hard finding these bumper stickers and there were lots and lots to choose from.

Gabby the Dog: 1997 - 2006

Just over a year ago, we had to put our cat, Max, to sleep. Yesterday, we had to do the same for Gabby, our collie mix that had been with us for 9 years. She had developed liver failure and other problemss which had caused her to stop eating and drinking, and the vet indicated there was no cure. The life expectancy for this breed was 10-12 years, so it was not a total shock.

We got Gabby in March of 1997. A colleague of Dorene's indicated she had a dog that had been abandoned along a roadside up in Michigan and they took it in. We went to visit to see if we wanted to take her home. At that time, her name was Callie. We immediately fell in love with her and brought her home.

Why the name switch? Well, she talked! When Britt, Dorene's colleague, called out for her to come in to the house, Gabby just stared at her and howled. This would be Gabby's trademark, and it was always funny to watch.

Although a full sized dog, Gabby liked nothing more than coming in at night and sleeping in our room. She did this every night. Never made a sound or got restless. When we opened the door at night and said "go to bed," she headed straight for the bedroom, plopped herself down on a blanked, and that was it. Same for trips. She loved going for a ride in the van. You asked her if she wanted to go "bye-bye" and she immediately got all excited.

We built a fence in our backyard so Gabby could run loose. She was not a dog that needed much entertaining. She just liked being outside and doing the usual dog things like barking at the mailman (which she did so ferociously). Although, her bark was likely worse than her bite. One day, she got out of the gate, barking at the mailman. The mailman yelled at her to get back in the yard, and Gabby slinked away. However, other people did not know if Gabby would indeed bite their arm off, so she was a good guard dog in that capacity. My grandma used to have a dog named King that I have no doubt would have bit my arm off, just for starters.

Gabby had a special bond with my brother Steve. When Steve would scratch her back, Gabby would just howl in delight. She did not do this with anyone else, just Steve. It was always hilarious to watch and Steve always got a kick out of it.

Last year, we got a puppy. A rat terrier named Daphne. Her and Gabby immediately bonded. We're glad that Gabby had a playmate for the last months of her life. They had a lot of fun together. When we visited Dorene's parents, Gabby loved to explore their big back yard. Daphne would just trail along, going wherever Gabby went like a faithful sidekick.

On Tuesday of this week, Dorene took Gabby to the vet and was told that we could choose to run some tests on her to diagnose the problem. We were given a 60/40 chance that it could come out okay. We were given some antibiotics to try out. After a couple days of this, it was obvious that the problems were very serious and the medicine was not going to work out. It was decided I would take her back in on Thursday to run the tests on her. On Wednesday, we both came to realization that this would be her last day with us. We spent a lot of time in the back yard with her, just sitting with her and petting her. Dorene took a midnight walk with her as her last activity. Going on a walk was what Gabby lived for.

On Thursday morning, Gabby was her usual excited self when I loaded her in the van. At the vet's office, she was very perky and wagging her tail the whole time. When it was time for her to go with the vet to begin her tests, she was very happy. Later that day, the vet called and told me the results of the tests were not very positive. We could choose to bring Gabby home and let her live this out for as long as we could, or, we could choose to remember Gabby as she was. It was clear that if we brought her home, her quality of life would be severely diminished. We don't believe in doing that to animals. So, I gave the go ahead to put her down.

Cameron asked me if Gabby was "smiling" when I left her at the vet's office. The truth is, she was. That was the last image I had of her and it's a good one.

A Daniel Wannabee

I read an article in USA Today about a guy in Russia that lowered himself into the lion pit at a local zoo. He claimed that "If there was a God, he'd keep him safe." The man was immediately mauled by the lion.

Okay, I guess you could go crazy with analogies here on how God will protect us, how we shouldn't test Him, etc. But how about some simple words of wisdom. Uh, stay out of the lion cage.

Are you ready for some futbol?

It's about that time again. The World Cup is set to begin. So, once more, we'll be hearing the following:

• Soccer is the most popular sport in the world. Maybe so, but not here in the USA. Okay, so we haven't gotten on board with what the rest of the world likes. SO WHAT! We got the NFL, NBA, Major League Baseball, NASCAR and the Scripps Spelling Bee. In many countries, soccer is it. Soccer fever just isn't going to happen here.
• Millions of youngsters in the U.S. play soccer, which demonstrates just how popular the sport has become and is ready to take off as a spectator sport. Yes, many play it. But watch it? Not ever going to happen. Got that? Ain't never going to happen. Lots of people ride their bicycles. That doesn't mean we're going to have a "Tour de US" anytime soon that takes the country by storm.
• The U.S. is fielding a good team this year and could possibly make a run. Maybe so. If that's the case, I'll certainly watch, as many will, with interest. But after it's over, it's over. The Olympic hockey team winning the gold medal in 1980 didn't cause a spike in NHL attendance and overall hockey fever. The U.S. women's world cup victory in 1999 was one of the most exciting events I've ever watched, and then I didn't watch another soccer game for years. That particular game caused a brief spike in soccer interest, as a new league was formed. But that league recently folded.
• Soccer is the most exciting sport in the world. Even a 1-0 game is a thing of beauty. Yeah, it's real exciting. You ALMOST have a goal every so often. What sports fan in the U.S. doesn't hope for a 6-3 score in the Super Bowl, a 1-0 score in game 7 of the World Series, a 20-18 score in the NBA finals. Yeah, go defense!
• This will be the year soccer really takes off in the USA as a spectator sport. Uh huh. Kinda like back in the '70's when Pele came ashore and played here in the North American Soccer League. I do believe that league is defunct. Or in 1994, when the U.S. hosted the World Cup, nothing happened. Ever see Major League Soccer games broadcast in prime time? Soccer has been revived many times and it continues to fail as a spectator sport.
• Television ratings in the rest of the world would absolutely dwarf those of American Idol. Yeah, well I'd still rather watch Taylor v. Katherine than Ghana v. Czech Republic.

Once again, the U.S. will be chastised for not "getting it" as to the world-wide popularity of soccer. The thing is, we do get it, we're not interested. I'm not quite sure why we're supposed to feel guilty about that, but so be it.

Civil Political Discourse

Yesterday at work, during a reception for one of our fellow staff members that is leaving, several of us were talking politics. As to be expected in a state university, I was the lone Republican outnumbered by 6 Democrats.

We were talking about the 2008 election and who would run, what the issues would be, etc. All this was done in a very polite, non-confrontational manner. One of the staff members commented how nice it would be if all political debate could be like this, and not so divisive. I agree, it would be refreshing. But that will probably never happen, and both sides are equally to blame.

I did find it interesting that my fellow Democrats, which numbered 5 women and 1 man, all thought the idea of a Hillary candidacy in 2008 was a very bad idea. They don't think she can be elected. I agree, but figured that was just because most Republicans think that. I figured they'd all be in favor of her running, but they definitely do not feel that way. They are not sure who should run. I mentioned Al Gore, and they laughed. Someone mentioned Bill Clinton being allowed to run again, but no one wanted him back in either. I decided to have a little fun and said that maybe Jeb Bush will run in 2008. They obviously didn't think that was too good of an idea.

A new addition to the family

Okay, the idea was this: Diane wanted a new kitten. So, Dorene found one in South Bend and we took it to her this past weekend for her to have on a trial basis and see how it works out. To repeat, this was in no way going to be OUR cat, but would be for Diane. If it didn't work out for her, the kitten would go back to the owner.

So here we are a few days later and the kitten has just returned from the vet with it's shots and is now part of our zoo. How did that happen? I blame Anna and the kitten.

On the way to Chicago, this kitten was so calm. Didn't fuss at all. We had it loose in the van and she just sort of wandered around. But she really latched onto Anna. She would crawl up on her lap and just soak up the attention. She then went to sleep in a little makeshift hammock between Anna and Cam's car seats. All weekend, the kitten was constantly after Anna, wanting her attention.

So, before we even got to Chicago, I had decided that we'd keep the kitten if it didn't work out with Diane. As it turns out, Diane really, really liked the kitten, but there was a problem. She got scratched by it. During this time where she is going through chemotherapy, her immune system will be very low. A cat scratch could actually have a very adverse affect on her. We were going to explain this to Anna but she replied, "yeah, it's because her white blood cells are low." Okay, I guess she is learning things in school. So, right away, we knew the kitten had to go back.

Of course, when given the chance, why not have a little fun and torment my wife? Dorene really wanted this kitten. I mean, really, really wanted it. It looks like a siamese cat and Dorene has always wanted one. So, I kind of toyed with the whole idea, saying I didn't want another cat, etc.
Finally, I let her know we'd keep it. Of course, there was no way we could drive back and pry the kitten away from Anna. Not a chance.

The kitten's name is Gracie. We call her Gracie Girl, or GG for short. Anna's name means "full of grace" so it's a good fit. Yesterday was the one-year anniversary when we had to put Max the Cat to sleep, so it was also good timing.

The one condition I gave to Dorene about keeping Gracie? Diane was on her own in finding a kitten. We wouldn't be taking any to her on a "trial basis." Because, let's face it, I'm the sucker here for cute kittens.

A Busy Weekend

This past weekend, being Memorial weekend, we crammed a lot of activities into the three days.

Friday
I got off work early and we headed off to Chicago to visit Diane. Dorene's parents also went, driving separately. We basically just spent the weekend hanging out. This was the first time we had seen Diane since her chemotherapy treatments had begun. She had just recently lost all her hair. When she greeted us at the door, she was wearing a pink wig, which the kids laughed at. They didn't seem to mind that she didn't have her long curly locks. Before we left, she asked if they wanted to see her bald head and both said yeah. Anna rubbed it and thought it was no big deal. Cameron wasn't sure, but she is still "Aunt Dee Dee," so in the end it didn't really matter.

We also celebrated Cameron's birthday that evening, with cake and presents. Cameron got a couple puzzles, a bat and ball, and a John Deere snowglobe for his room. Plus, a leaf blower. Not a toy kind, but a real one. In addition, he got a real extension cord to power it. When we were leaving the next day, Cameron carried the leaf blower in one hand and power cord in the other. Looked like he was leaving a construction site, and loving every minute of it.

Saturday
A big long lazy day. We just slept in, then stayed at Diane's condo all day long. Helped her plant some flowers and eventually went out for ice cream, but otherwise just stayed there. Early in the evening, we headed home, with John aboard this time. Carlene decided to stay for the whole weekend with Diane.

Sunday
Nothing too special. We went to church, then came home and stayed out of the heat, because it was HOT! Took the kids to a park with a water playground.

Monday
Headed off to Stu and Joyce's house for a Memorial Day cookout and birthday celebration #2 for Cameron. Stu cooked up some burgers, brats and dogs. Mom brought her great baked beans. We really wanted to play some intense volleyball, but the heat was just a little too much. We played a couple games in the heat of the day but it wore us all out. When it cooled off, we got in a couple more games, but that was it as people had begun to disperse.

For this birthday, Cameron got everything he'd possibly want. A motorcycle and some guns. That is, a battery powered motorcyle that he could ride and some squirt guns. He basically stayed on the motorcyle the rest of the afternoon.

Anna, we didn't hear much from all day. We brought along Tatum, one of her classmates from Veritas. We'll be doing this a lot. Anna is very, very social and likes to have someone to play with. Cameron doesn't really care, he just kind of does his thing.

We didn't get back home until about 12:30 p.m., so getting up for work Tuesday morning was not the easiest, but we made it. All in all, a very fun weekend. The next time we're all together, we say goodbye to Paula Dennie and hello to Mrs. Paula Merkle.

Goin' the extra mile . . .

I enjoy the faculty here at IU South Bend. In my position, particularly with New Student Orientation, I get to interact with a bunch of highly dedicated, student-centered, top notch faculty. Today, one of those faculty exemplified all of those attributes.

Today was my rotation into our information center. Dr. Griffin came in with a student that last attended in 1993 and was thinking about coming back. How did she know this? She was talking to her at the bus stop. The student was thinking of returning but wasn't sure when she'd be able to get over here. Well, Dr. Griffin decided that now was the time for the student to come over here and get the ball rolling. So she had this student get in her car (whom she had never met) and brought her over. We checked her records to see how many credits she had, what monies may be owed, and what her next steps were.

We talk a lot in higher education about retention. What programs are needed to make students stick around and the funding that needs to come with it. But the retention program that Dr. Griffin implemented with this student doesn't cost a dime. All it cost her was a little bit of time. I bet this student does indeed follow through and come back. Dr. Griffin is dedicated to the cause of higher education for anyone that wants to pursue it. Like I said, it didn't cost her anything but her time.

Actually, it did cost something. Dr. Griffin also took the student out to breakfast.

The Other American Idol

Last night was Dorene's spring concert at Brown Intermediate Center. In addition to the choir singing a few numbers, Dorene started something last year that continued this year . . .the Bison Idol show (Brown's mascot are the Bison). Yes, it's an American Idol clone complete with it's own Ryan, Randy, Paula and Simon.

This year contained a wide range of diverse acts. You had:

• A rock guitarist.
• A dance routine featuring four African American girls.
• A drum duet.
• A girl from Africa singing in French and also rapping in French!
• Two Latinas singing a Selena song in Spanish.
• A dance duo featuring one black and one caucasian girl (that really brought down the house).
• . . .and many more.

The final act of the night was a fifth grade boy singing "Train up a child in the way of the Lord." This kid had his own "dog pound" in attendance complete with signs and loud cheering. Even without the extra support, he was clearly the crowd favorite and won, deservedly so.

Yes, this is a public school, and yes, the song he sang was overtly Christian. Besides that, the choir closed with a rendition of "Joyful, Joyful." But, don't expect any lawsuits about the content of this concert. Dorene has included gospel songs in her concerts for years and years and it's never been an issue.

If you've ever been to a middle school concert, I guarantee you've never seen one like the ones my wife puts on. These are full-fledged performances that are very entertaining and very good. The gymnasium was completely packed, with overflow crowd spilling out of the bleachers and sitting on the floor. Bottom line, Dorene is good! She gives her kids a great deal of ownership, letting them decide many aspects of the program, from stage design to choreography, to the songs they are going to sing. With that kind of ownership comes a great deal of pride in the program, so they aren't just showing up to do their concert and get it over with. They truly have fun out there and you can see it on their faces.

You can also see it in the annual increase in kids wanting to take choir. Dorene makes taking choir a pretty cool thing to do. She's not training these kids to be classical musicians and to go out listening to Bach and Beethoven on their iPods. No, she's taking this moment in time when she has them to give them an experience where they indeed do learn a lot about music but also have a lot of fun with it so that even if they never move on with music, they at least have an appreciation of it and some memorable times.

Yes, I'm a proud husband here!

As for the real American Idol, we went out to eat and didn't get back until about 10:30. I had recorded it. I rewound to the last song where Taylor and Kathryn sang, "I've Had the Time of My Life." Too bad Kathryn didn't sing and have stage presence like this during the competition, she might have won. It was very obvious Taylor was going to win, which he did. They didn't give the vote totals this time, the first time that's ever happened. I'm figuring it was Taylor in a runaway.

Soul Patrol v. McPheever

If you don't understand the title of this post, then you are completely out of touch with reality (t.v.). The Soul Patrol is Taylor Hicks and McPheever is Kathryn McPhee, the two finalists on American Idol. Last night, each contestant sang three songs. Based on last night, Taylor will win. He came out strong while Kathryn came out very weak. She picked it up with her second song but then finished with a whimper. Even the usually very complimentary Randy and Paula were fairly subdued, and the crowd reaction was tepid at best. Taylor was so-so on his second song, but then kicked it in for his final song. Both performers had robed gospel singers on stage for their last song. This fits Taylor's style much, much more than Kathryn's.

Simon predicted that Taylor will win, and he is right. Dorene and I liked Taylor from his very first audition. If I had to pick someone that I would like to hear in concert from this year's groups of contestants, it would definitely be Taylor (with a warm-up act by Mandisa).

This year was better than last year, but I'm partial to season 3, when you had the showdown between Fantasia Barrano and Diana DeGarmo. Plus some strong runners up such as Jennifer Hudson, who ironically beat out Fantasia for a plum starring role in the upcoming movie version of "Dreamgirls". You also had Jon Peter Lewis, who was an odd mix of Taylor and Kevin from this season.

American Idol is a fun show to watch. Nothing profound, it's not going to change the world. I'm not a better person for watching it. It's just mindless entertainment, and sometimes what more do you want?

Home Schooling for Anna? Believe it or not, yes!

We have now joined the ranks of home schooling . . . but with a caveat. It's only for the last three weeks of the year.

For her first two years of school, Anna has been going to Veritas Academy in South Bend. This is a charter school run by Ball State University. The words "charter school" to my Democrat and union family members is clearly a sign of the end times. Mention the word "voucher" and that will really send them over the edge.

Anna has had two very good years there. She's had excellent teachers, and that truly makes all the difference. This year, she has developed a major love for science, due to the teacher she has had. She has learned a lot and developed a great foundation. Plus, she's been allowed to be a kid.

But, on the administrative level, things at the school have not been so rosy. Last summer, the headmaster who founded the school was dismissed when it was discovered he had been misappropriating funds. In addition, teachers were not getting paid. His successor was only here for the first few months of the year. They next hired someone who I don't believe has an adminstrator's license in Indiana. The school board is one of those entitities that invites feedback but gets ticked off if it ain't what they want to hear.

Then there was the incident a couple weeks ago with one of Anna's fellow 1st-graders. For gym class, they all load up in vans and head down the street to a church gymnasium. One of the 1st grade students had gone to the bathroom at the church. Those in charge of getting the students back to the school (they are in assigned vans) did not notice she was not there and returned to the school. It took them a while to notice their mistake. In fact, when Anna got to the church for her gym session, the girl was still there.

Uh, this is not good. Obviously, this put a lot of parents in an uproar. It very easily could have been Anna. You just can't make these kinds of mistakes with kids. Plus, of course, it's a clear violation of the No Child Left Behind law (chuckle, chuckle). So, Anna is out of there. Her "grammy" will watch her for the last few weeks, and we've bought some schooling materials to keep her busy throughout the day. We're not 100% sure where Anna will be going to school next year, but it won't be at Veritas.

Home schooling is not exactly the most regulated thing. To let the state know you are home schooling, we basically had to submit an online form with our name and address, that's it. So, whether you are taking trips to the museums in Chicago to just watching Scooby Doo videos, there won't be anyone checking up on you.

President Gore?

Al Gore did the opening sketch on SNL this past weekend. It was a "what if" scenario with him being midway through his second term. I think this guy has gone through a transformation, because I thought he was hilarious and at the same time seemed very presidential. There was something about him that made you want to listen. I thought he made a great connection. Could this be his Bill Clinton on Arsenio Hall moment? Will he actually run again? I basically made fun of this guy in 2000, but at this point in time, I'd have to say I'd consider voting for him. I'm wondering if this appearance was sort of a trial balloon to see what the reaction would be. For those wondering if there's a precedent to him running again, there is. In 1960, Richard Nixon lost a very close election to John Kennedy, only to resurface 8 years later and win the election.

Diane's Chemotherapy

This past weekend, Dorene's sister began her chemotherapy treatments. Not something Diane was looking forward to, as the side effects can be pretty miserable. Dorene's mom went to Chicago to be with her.

Saturday morning, Dorene calls her and Diane says she's feeling great. On Sunday, she talks to her and again she's feeling great. What an incredible answer to prayer. It looks like the treatments are not going to adversely affect her. Sometimes it works that way with chemo, sometimes it doesn't. In this case, it did work out that way, and we are all so thankful.

My First USTTA Sanctioned Table Tennis Tournament

On Saturday, I played in the St. Joseph Valley Table Tennis Open, which was held at my workplace, IU South Bend. The gym floor was filled with 32 tables as players from all over the country descended on my workplace to show off their skills.

I did not have an official United States Table Tennis Association (USTTA) ranking, so I was placed in the bracket for those with a ranking under 800 or with no ranking at all. I looked forward to establishing myself as a force to be reckoned with in this sport.

Lo and behold, I swept through my bracket and won five straight matches en route to an undefeated record and first place finish. Not bad for a first-time tournament.

My first match was against Lena, who tried to argue after game 4 that I did not win 3 games to 1 but that we were indeed tied at 2. She also argued over the score in the one game that I lost (she was wrong, but I let her win the game). She also had someone coaching her from the sidelines the whole time, which is a big taboo. But that's alright, I let my racket do the talking. YEAH, TOOK HER DOWN!!!

After that, I had no problem the rest of the way:

. . . okay yes, I did beat Joyce from northern Kentucky, who was not all that good.

. . . okay yes, I did beat Joanne from Toledo, who was about 60.

. . . okay yes, I did beat 12-year old Kevin. Yes, I said he was 12. Hey, he put up a fight in the game I won 11-2.

. . . okay yes, I did beat 9-year old Alma. Yes, that's right, she was 9. But she was tenacious, and the last game I squeaked by 11-3.

So, I guess at my next tournament I'll need to move up a bit and play against those with a higher ranking. But for all you under-800 players out there, Rick is in town and ready to play some pong, so you better watch out!!

The DaVinci Code discussion, Part MCXXXVIII

Okay, start counting. How many churches are going to devote a Sunday morning series to this book, now that the movie is coming out? Or, how many small group Bible studies will use this as a "hook" to get people to attend? I bet these are popping up all over. Last winter, it was Narnia-mania.

I personally have never read the book. I guess I don't need to read some thriller which purports to speculate that Jesus got married to Mary Magdalene and it has been held secret all these years by some albino monks. Just not interested. I've heard so much discussion about the book, I felt I've read it already.

But is it fair for DaVinci to get this much attention? What about some of the other summer movies that won't get their moment in the sun as a topic at Wednesday night prayer meeting?

Here's some alternatives:

Mission Impossible III: Our superspy's mission is to convince a Baptist church to use the NIV translation of the Bible. The first two missions failed miserably as our hero was unable to convince the Baptists that Sandi Patti is not rock music and that every day is not "gay day" at Disney World.

Poseidon: A remake of the disaster movie where survivors seek escape from a capsized ocean liner. Church groups will use this as an analogy of how upside down our lives are. The devil is the wave that has capsized our ships (our lives). Things have gotten so out of whack in our lives that to be rescued, we must descend all the way to the bottom in order to get out the top in our ship- turned-upside-down-world.

Garfield II: Hero-worship on all levels is bad. A cartoon kitty voiced by that degenerate Bill Murray is definitely not something our kids need to be exposed to.

Our longing for a savior to come down from the sky to make the world a better place will certainly be a hidden analogy in Superman Returns. I have no idea what parallels can be drawn from Johnny Depp's character in the Pirates of the Carribbean sequel, but we Christians have a way of taking what's popular and putting our own negative spin on it.

Curses on you, Mr. Bryant!

Good ole Kobe Bryant. Makes two spectacular plays to beat my Suns in overtime yesterday. Puts them up 3 to 1. Not looking good for Phoenix. I know Kobe is good, but, but, but, oh well, I gotta move on. The Suns will probably come back and win game 5, but to win the series, they'll have to win in L.A.

Time for the Sun(s) to Rise.

As a fan of Arizona sports, it's time to turn my attention to the NBA playoffs. After years of rebuilding, the Phoenix Suns are back, ready to make a serious run at the title. I've been a fan of the Suns for quite a while.

After graduating from college in Indiana, I returned to the desert and lived in Phoenix from 1987-1991. In 1987, the Suns had just finished a horrendous season and missed the playoffs. Things only got worse as several players, including star Walter Davis, were busted on cocaine charges. The team was in major disarray. Ah, but things were soon going to change. The 1987-88 season was unspectacular as the Suns finished next to last and missed the playoffs.

Then things started to happen. New ownership came in, with Jerry Cholangelo now in charge. He brought back Cotton Fitzsimmons, who had coached the team before and had been around a number of NBA teams. Then the players started coming in. From Seattle, came a scrappy center named Tom Chambers. In a trade with Cleveland came a rather unheralded Kevin Johnson.

Then came the draft. Fans booed with gusto when they heard that their first pick in the draft was some guy from Central Michigan named Dan Majerle. Who was this guy? Well, they would soon find out about "Thunder Dan." He quickly became the most popular player on the team, known for his all out hustle and never-say-die attitude. His 2006 equivalent is clearly Steve Nash, as their playing styles are very similar.

Joining Chambers, Johnson and Majerle were other players that never were marquee names but certainly were an integral part of the team. Names like Ty Corbin, Mark West, Andrew Lang, and Eddie Johnson. The 1988-89 season started off with not very high hopes and the Suns didn't draw much attention early on after the previous dismal season. But what a difference a year makes. They ended up winning 27 more games than the previous year. Obviously they were a better team and just making the playoffs was a major accomplishment.

Then, the magic started. First round, the Denver Nuggets fall. Second round, the Warriors go down. Suddenly, the team that was decimated less than a year ago is going to the Western Conference finals against the Lakers. Now, it wasn't quite a storybook ending. This was when the Lakers still had Magic Johnson, AC Green, James Worthy, Kareem, et al. They took the Suns down in 4. But it didn't matter, Phoenix was now hooked on the Suns and that ride through the playoffs was a blast. If you have ever lived in a city that has a team vying for a national championship, it is very exciting, as the whole city just lives and dies by the team during the run.

The next year, the Suns again made it to the Western Conference finals before losing a heartbreaker to Portland. But, this was the year we beat the Lakers! That was a series to remember as the city just went bonkers over that one. This was still the "showtime" Lakers of Pat Riley, Magic and company, so it was particularly sweet.

The next year, they lost in round 2 to Utah. But for those few years I lived in Phoenix, the town lived and breathed the Suns. Their games at that time were played in the Coliseum, an old venue. But it had real character. All the seats were pretty close, and the place got LOUD. I know their new arena is state of the art now, but attending games at the Coliseum really was a lot of fun.

The year I left Phoenix, they made the big trade that brought Charles Barkley to town. That year, they went all the way to the finals. They won game 5 at Chicago in a double-overtime thriller that was the most exciting game I've ever seen. Returning to Phoenix for game 6, they still had to keep winning because they were down 3 games to 2. They led by two points with just a few seconds left. Chicago had possession. Obviously, Jordan is going to get the ball. Sure enough, he does. But wait, he dishes off to John Paxon. Hey, he's behind the 3-point line. Oh no!It goes up and . . . . . SWISH!

. . . .fast forward to 2006. The Suns were never the same after that game. They spent years missing the playoffs or making quick round 1 exits. But they are back, and we'll see what happens this time around. Phoenix will explode if they can win it all. They still have the relocated Coyotes in hockey, the relocated Cardinals in football, and the expansion Diamondbacks (who don't even remotely resemble the 2001 world champions). But the Suns have been in Phoenix longer than any of the other three pro teams combined. So, this is the team that really captures everyone's attention when they make a serious run.

Debugging the House

So Anna comes home yesterday from the doctor and it turns out she has a real, real, real bad case of hair lice. Yuck! We really do clean our house. We have no idea where she got it from. She's evidently had it for a while because the lice weren't just baby lice but adult lice with college degrees.

So, under doctor's orders, we spent all of last night and a chunk of the morning de-licing the house. This involved washing everything that Anna came into contact with, using a special spray to disinfect the mattresses, and vacuuming the whole house. We even ripped up the carpet in our bedroom, which were going to do anyway, but this gave us a good reason to. We finally laid down for a short nap at about 3:00 a.m. Dorene got up to go to work at normal time. I stayed home with Anna until 11:00 a.m., when Dorene's mom showed up.

I would just as soon not have to go through this again.

Easter Service

Yesterday, for the first time in many years, we attended Easter service. Well, okay, it's not like we've not gone anywhere on Easter Sunday all these years, but this year we were in a different church. A small Wesleyan church with about 90 attendees. For the past several years, we've really struggled to find a church with the right fit. As a result, we've ended up in much larger churches than we really wanted to be in. This has then caused us to basically be lost in a sea of hundreds, even though we always get involved in many different ways.

But I emphasize the word "service," because in the past, we were always attending an Easter "performance." You know how it goes, a choir number with some bombastic timpani drum opening followed by a big brass overture, with some deep-voiced narrator intoning "He is Risen." Then the choir launches into their operatic vocals. I guess it's always assumed that as the stone rolled away, the Hallelujah chorus was playing in the background. I imagine Peter and John were quite impressed when they got to the tomb and heard such a stirring symphony.

Nothing all that special at this service. Just a simple celebration of that fact that Jesus rose from the dead on this day after dying for our sins. I think that says it all.

A Case of the Giggles

Last week, I "graduated" from my 8-month long mangagement training series, hosted by Indiana University and held at Bradford Woods, an outdoor retreat south of Indianapolis. I thoroughly enjoyed the experience and the interaction with other higher education professionals in the IU system.

For the final meeting, we did team presentations. We had been divided up way back in October to come up with a "client" to solve problems they were having and make recommendations based on the training we had gone through. So, we had about 6 months to get this ready. The great thing about it? We didn't really start preparing the presentation until mid-March. Yes! I was on a team that didn't feel success was measured by how many times you met or how thorough an outline you had two weeks after getting the assignment. I've been on those kinds of teams before, the overachiever extraordinaires. One of the other teams did indeed meet several times throughout the months and even made a visit to one of the IU campuses. Wow, that's so impressive.

We threw our presentation together towards the end and guess what? We did just fine. How did we measure up against the overachievers? Actually, we did quite well. The parameters were that we present between 15-20 minutes. Ours clocked in at just over 15 minutes. The overachievers droned on for about 45 minutes. They had a lot to share, but hey, I'd give them an F. Not because I thought they were overachievers and felt miniscule in their presence, but because they broke the rules.

So, after 8 months of training, it all came down to the presentations. But during this time, one of the more memorable moments occurred, known only to those team members at my table. As one of the groups was presenting, the chef, an older retired gentleman, was cleaning up after lunch. As he stood right beside us, he, uh, let one rip. I turned my head slowly to one of my colleagues and quietly asked, "Did he . . .?" The other two also came to the realization as to what had happened. Now, you know when you were young and got the giggles in a situation where you simply cannot bust out laughing? Well, this is the situation we found ourselves in. The overachievers were giving their presentation, it would be rude for us to laugh out loud. But my, oh my, how difficult it was. In addition, some very high ranking administrators from IU Bloomington were in attendance, so we really had to behave ourselves.

So, here we were, John (director of business programs at his campus); Brittany (director of financial aid); Leesa (position in information technologies with a direct reporting line to the IU President) and myself (director of student support). All of us mature professionals doing our best to suppress laughter and trying oh so hard not to make eye contact with anyone else and bust out laughing.

Cameron's Polytheism

In church yesterday, I gave both kids a dollar to put in the offering plate. When the plate came to Cameron, he hesitated, not wanting to put it in. Dorene explained that he was "giving a dollar to God." To which Cameron replied, "which god?"

We really have been bringing up the kids in church and given them a solid Biblical foundation. Really, we have.

Life Happens

Sometimes life will take unexpected turns, with the emphasis on the unexpected. Dorene's sister Diane, affectionately referred to as Aunt Dee Dee by our kids, went in for a much delayed mammogram a couple weeks ago. Much delayed in that there was a transition with her insurance or something along those lines that made it kind of a nuisance to get a new doctor. So, she finally went in, and received some startling news. There was evidence of the early stages of breast cancer, which was serious enough to warrant immediate surgery the following week. Dorene and her mom went to Chicago to be with her during what was suddenly a very traumatic time. The surgery went fine, but there was still an issue of whether any cancerous cells had invaded the lymph nodes. Last Thursday, Dorene and both of her parents went to Chicago to be with her during a second surgery. The results were such that there was no invasion of the lymph nodes, which was a huge relief.

It's not all over yet, there may still be radiation and/or chemotherapy involved. But, the early detection has taken place and treatment is underway. Many prayers have already been answered and we're looking for a few more.

It's been a rough couple weeks for Diane, and it's virtually impossible to imagine how she could have made it through without the comfort of her knowledge that God is watching over her. Plus, she had immediate family to be with her and a (fairly new) church family that has been a blessing and have really reached out to her.

Kind of puts the brakes on other so-called worries and troubles we may think we have.

Murrow. Cronkite. Rather. Couric?

Can you truly say those names all in the same sentence and not laugh? Is Katie truly news anchor material? I don't see it. But then again, I, like millions of others, don't watch the CBS Evening News anyway. I think her tenure is going to be short-lived. I guess I don't see the transition from early morning banter with Matt Lauer and Al Roker to being behind the desk informing us of some hard news story. Kind of like Kelly Ripa going to the anchor chair. Look for a wicked SNL parody at some point, with a Katie impersonator delivering the evening news as if she is still on the Today show.

UCLA becomes Gatorade

Wow, what a lousy game last night. UCLA never really put up a fight and Florida had an easy time of it. The game was very boring. Not a great way to end what was overall a very exciting tournament. Now, we turn our attention to, uh, well, I don't know. Oh yeah, baseball season has begun. Woo hoo, yeah, baseball. I'll check in come October.

. . .and somehow, humanity survived.

It was a historic weekend. One of the most monumental events ever to take place in our state. Months and months of intense, heated debate. Yes, we switched to daylight savings time. My big question, "What was the big freakin' deal?" People, it was just a matter of one hour. You hear that, ONE HOUR! 47 other states do this, it's no big thing. I grew up with changing the clocks twice a year, it doesn't take that much effort. I personally love it. Much more daylight. In the summer, it's great for kids because you can spend much more time outside. I can now get off work and still golf 18 holes with my father in law or play with my kids outside basically until their bedtime.

I have never heard such intense debate over a true non-issue. You would think Governor Daniels had proposed seceding from the union or something. I just didn't understand all the fuss.

The Bush Legacy

Things are not looking good for Bush. His poll numbers are at an absolute low. You got a mess in Iraq which shows no signs of getting any better. Republicans are fighting him and themselves over just about everything. Not much good news to be had.

Bush has a couple of years to go. His legacy, over all other things, is going to be Iraq. I am not sure that we'll be able to judge that legacy for a while. If the situation stays as it is currently, then it will go down as one of the biggest debacles in presidential decision-making history. Right now, that's what it looks like.

However, we'll have to wait this one out. If things DO change, and democracy does indeed take hold, then this will go down as one of the most influential presidential decisions in history. If things do turn and Iraq stabilizes, you are going to have a full-fledged chorus of lawmakers trying to posture themselves how they were for the war all along.

I don't know if this will happen or not, but for those that are already passing judgment based on the current situation, it's too soon. At this point, it would be easy to say that history is going to be extremely unkind to Bush. That could still be the case, but time will tell.

The Mark of a Good Performance

Last night Anna had her first piano recital. She is only 7 but she already gets very, very nervous when having to perform in front of others. At our church several months ago, she froze when doing a vocal solo and this has bothered her ever since. Neither Dorene or I were convinced she'd follow through with the recital. Nor did we push it. We let her know it didn't matter to us if she did (and it really didn't, we're not little league parents).
But, the night came, and nervous as she was, she went up there and performed splendidly. My little girl looked so poised and did a great job. Her parents were both proud. Afterward, I was telling her how great she did. Told her how she was so poised, didn't move around on the piano bench, and how it sounded so good. This was a moment of parental nirvana. Anna's response, "Yeah, and I didn't fart."

El Fidel de Underdog

Hmm, this World Baseball Classic is interesting. I've been watching it a little bit and the Cubans have been the real underdogs. Yeah, the country that we Americans use to vehemently root against, along with the other communist-bloc countries, are the team people are drawn to. Kinda weird how things change. They lost the final last night to Japan. But here's the real kicker. The combined rosters of both teams contained only two major league baseball players. All the other major league stars were on teams eliminated earlier. This is like having a world basketball championship and the final game only having two NBA players. Come October, when some team is celebrating their World Series victory, should it maybe just be called an "American" Series victory? How about a true World Series against our team and the winner of the World Baseball classic? The New York Yankees traveling to Havana or Tokyo. I'd watch that.

NCAA Predictions

I filled out an NCAA bracket for our pool here at work. My bold prediction? A final four of Iowa, Indiana, Florida and Connecticut, with Connecticut defeating Iowa in the final. After this past weekend, it's quite clear that's not going to happen. We have schools like Bradley and George Mason in the Sweet 16? What is up with that? All the Big Ten is gone. Arizona is gone from the PAC 10. Still have UCLA left, we'll go with them. I just don't want to see Duke/Connecticut in the final.

A Screw-Up by Any Other Name

The folks in charge of the SAT exam are having a rough time. It came out that a bunch of scores were incorrectly calculated, meaning that some had higher scores than they should have had and some were lower than they should have been. For a school like IU South Bend, it's not going to make much of a difference (which our Admissions director confirmed). But getting into a prestigious school, a 40-50 point differential could be significant. I'm wondering now if everyone that took the SAT and was unhappy with their score could now say, "Hey, if you messed up their score, how can I trust mine?"

The official line from SAT? It was indicated that "a complex confluence of events" led to the errors in scoring. Oh, now that's the ultimate company line. Now I know we in higher education sometimes like the lofty language (pay your bill, not at the cashier, but the "bursar") but come on now, y'all just simply screwed up. So to the folks at SAT, enjoy the next few months as colleges make admissions decisions and the lawsuits begin.

David vs. Goliath

A friend of mine who has long been interested in politics is entering the race for Indiana State Representative, 6th District. He is up against B. Patrick Bauer, who was first elected to the State House during Nixon's first term. In other words, this is an uphill battle. I helped this friend, Kevin Mitschelen, several years ago in an unsuccessful bid for city council, so he's certainly raised his sights here. Can he win? Hey, why not? It will be interesting. Yeah, we could get hammered, because Bauer is firmly entrenched here in South Bend and the district skews Democrat big time. But we'll give it a go.

This is grass-roots campaigning at its finest. We had our first meeting last night in Kevin's living room, snacking on cookies baked by his wife Rhonda. About 7 of us gathered together beginning to plot out strategy. We have about $0.00 in campaign funds right now. We are truly starting from scratch. Like I said, an uphill climb. One of two things will happen. Either we will lose, like we are expected to, or we will be part of one of the biggest upsets in Indiana political history.

Oscar Debriefing

Last night, as I've done for the past 12 years, I gathered at the home of a co-worker to watch the Oscars. Also in attendance were a school counselor, an accountant, and a couple other higher education professionals. This is always one of my favorite events of the year. This party is for the true movie-buff. In other words, there were actual discussions as to why Memories of a Geisha deserved it's award for best art direction over Good Night and Good Luck. Yes, we like our movies. I took my wife one year and she says she will never, ever go back. You gotta really, really like the movies to enjoy this. We all chip in $5.00 for the Oscar pool and make our picks prior to the show beginning. In 12 years, I've won the pool all of once. Last night I thought I had a pretty good chance. I tend to always go with a pick that no one else does. Sometimes this works, most often it doesn't. This time, I went with Amy Adams for best supporting actress in Junebug (a so-so movie but her performance was great). Denied. Also went with Murderball for best documentary. Denied again. Oh well, we'll try again next year. The individual that won did not see any of the best picture nominees. So while the rest of us are debating the merits of each and every movie, we lose out to someone who didn't see any of them.

As for Jon Stewart, I thought he did a pretty good job, although his sense of humor may not be suited for this kind of show. I'm one of the handful that thought Letterman did a great job. I imagine we'll be back to Steve Martin or Billy Crystal next year.

The major nominations were not a surprise. Phillip Seymour Hoffman certainly deserved his award, as did Reese Witherspoon and Rachel Weisz. I didn't see George Clooney in Syriana so I don't know about that. For Best Picture, I expected Brokeback Mountain to win, and was certainly surprised when Crash emerged victorious. I did not see Brokeback Mountain but I absolutely despised Crash. I thought it was a bunch of overwrought, pretentious, self-righteous crapola. I didn't believe anything for a second, was not moved by a single scene, and thought the dialogue was downright ludicrous (or shall I say, Ludicris). It was a movie that seemed to cry out, LOOK, WE'RE SAYING SOMETHING IMPORTANT! Y'ALL A BUNCH OF RACISTS, YOU JUST DON'T KNOW IT!! But at the end of the day, all was well. The rich white woman hugged her minority housekeeper and said she was her best friend. Uh, sorry, already had that scene in Driving Miss Daisy. Then, you have the racist cop who saves the black woman he groped earlier. Uh, okay. Then, in the single most ridiculous scene, the Arab storeowner's gun didn't go off when he tried to shoot the Mexican. Why didn't it go off? because (sob, sob), his daughter put a protective shield around him. This was the most manufactured non-emotional moment since Wilson the Volleyball drifted away from Tom Hanks.

Ah, but as the movie told us, there are still problems. Everything is simmering under the surface ready to EXPLODE. Why? Because we are all RACISTS, ready to explode at ANY MOMENT with a racial TIRADE. You know you're racist, YOU JUST WON'T ADMIT IT!!!! Is all this capitalization getting annoying? SO WAS THE MOVIE! I just didn't GET IT! By far the worst movie to win Best Picture since American Beauty.

Cinderella's Revenge

My son Cameron has quite the fixation on guns. He's only 3. But he just loves going around shooting everything. If he's riding in a shopping cart, he picks off people as they walk by with his imaginary gun. We go to church and sit in the back row, he picks off people as they come in. He shoots me, his sister, the dog, the cat, everything in sight. So, we've had to sort of bring this down a little bit. His grandpa bought him a real BB gun. He owns several real guns and is a big proponent of gun safety. So, he's teaching Cameron how to properly hold a gun and how you are to never point it at anyone. Anytime now Cameron points his toy guns at someone, they get taken away temporarily. But the big punishment, he doesn't get to see his BB gun. So, it seems to be working.

Flash forward to a couple days ago. He loves the story, Cinderella. He was upset that the sisters were so mean to Cinderella. He asked Dorene, "Why doesn't she take care of them?" This meaning, why doesn't she shoot them? Cameron indicated that Cinderella did indeed have a gun and proved it by turning the page. There, Cinderella stood with just the top of her broomstick showing, which made it look like she was packing heat. Thus, Cameron thought she could take the sisters out. When told she didn't have a gun, Cameron asked if the Prince could take care of them.

Okay, maybe we have a little further to go on this whole gun issue.

Isn't it Just a Cartoon?

Wow, the Muslims take this "no pictures of Mohammad" thing pretty seriously. But riots in the streets? People dying? A Salmon Rushdie-type fatwa on the Danish cartoonists? Maybe a little too far here. Is this a freedom of speech issue? I don't know. When that one "artist" dipped a crucifix in urine and Christians freaked out, we were definitely accused of suppressing free speech. Of course, not all Muslims are taking to the streets by any means. The vast majority, I'm sure, while upset at the pictures, would prefer a much different approach to voicing their concern. But just like Christians get stereotyped when Pat Robertson does our talking, I guess so goes it in the world of Islam when the radicals get all the attention.

Bush Comes Back Again

President Bush was back in town again to campaign for Congressman Chris Chocola. He visited Bethel College, certainly a friendly environment. Let's just say, I doubt IU South Bend would have ever been on his itinerary. There was an uproar over the fact that you had to pay $500.00 to get in and something like $6,000 to get your picture taken with the President. Yeah, whatever. Clinton rented out the Lincoln Bedroom, Bush charges for pictures. Who knows what President Hillary would do. It's all politics. When someone out there is running for office and charges just $10.00 a head for a fundraiser, then we'll talk. It's the nature of campaign fundraising. I'm not crazy about it either.

Are you ready for some football? Not really?

Okay, it's the Steelers v. Seahawks in the Super Bowl. Wow, what a barn-burner. Will anyone be watching this one? If the Seahawks win, will anyone at this time next year remember they won? Can you name who won last year's NBA championship? (ah, think about it, I bet it doesn't jump out at ya). It's not that I dislike the Steelers, I just haven't gotten over them beating my beloved Cowboys in the 1979 Super Bowl. I know, I need to move on. But doggone it, I keep seeing Jackie Smith going for that ball . . .

Paula gets engaged!

While I was off administering an ACT exam, Dorene received a call from Paula indicating that her long wait was over. She was now WITH RING! She is engaged to one Tom Merkle over yonder in Ohio. They have known each other basically since childhood, with Benjamin (Paula's brother) and Tom being best friends.

Is this a good thing? Absolutely! Tom is a wonderful guy and will be an awesome husband. My niece is in good hands. We are all very excited for her. Looks like the wedding will be sometime in June.

Bad Day for Football in the Midwest

Everything was in place for the Colts. Home field advantage all the way through, a quarterback on fire, the Patriots were out of the way. So what in the world were they doing down 21-3 to the Steelers??? But even so, they still came back, assisted by a horrendous call from the officials (so bad that they now admit they botched it).

The game seemed to be over, but then came a bizarre series of event. Jerome Bettis fumbled at the one yard line. He NEVER fumbles. But the guy to pick it up was stabbed over the weekend in some domestic altercation, so he isn't as fleet footed. So who stops the game winning touchdown? The quarterback. The quarterback is NEVER supposed to make a game saving tackle. That's like getting taken down by the punter or placekicker. Even so, Peyton Manning has the team where he wants them. Almost to midfield, all the timeouts left, and only needing a field goal. First play, huge gain. Then it all falls apart. Peyton tries to win it all. Big, big mistake. They should have used their timeouts wisely and thrown in the middle of the field and gotten closer for a couple shots at the end zone. Okay, it's fourth down, and it's going to be a 46 yard field goal. Mike Vanderjagt is the most accurate field goal kicker in NFL history. Not just this year, but in HISTORY!!!! His kick doesn't just barely miss, or swing right at the last minute. It's not even close. Season over. They start 13-0. But none of that matters. Season over. I guess it's wait till next year, but I thought this was next year. They say Manning can't win the big game. So far, he can't.

So who to root for in the Super Bowl now? The Bears went out too. I would have gladly briefly shifted allegiances to them. But nope, da bears are da gone too. I kinda like the Broncos because they have former Arizona State and Cardinals quarterback Jake Plummer. I don't like the Steelers because I've never forgiven them for beating my Cowboys 30 years ago. The Panthers? Yeah, why not. The Seahawks? Whatever. Not much to root for this year.

Supreme Court Confirmation

Okay, so we're in the midst of the confirmation hearings for Judge Alito. If you watch the hearings or read about them, you'd almost think Alito is on the ropes and will not be confirmed. Look, it's very simple. The Democrats on the senate judiciary committee are going to go after him like nothing else. But in the end, he'll be confirmed. It's actually very rare a court nominee doesn't get confirmed (Robert Bork is the lone exception in the past 25 years). Even if it's by one vote, he'll still be confirmed.

Rick's Picks for the Best Flicks of 2005

I don't see a lot of movies anymore, so my list isn't exactly comprehensive, but here are the top 5 movies, in no particular order, that I saw last year.

Batman Begins - Quite a pleasant surprise. I wasn't sure how this would work by going back and starting over. But it was great. Looking forward to the next installment.

Capote - Fascinating biography of Truman Capote and the story of how he wrote "In Cold Blood." Phillip Seymour Hoffman will indeed win the Oscar for Best Actor.

Murderball - Documentary about quadriplegic wheelchair rugby. One of the most entertaining movies I've seen in a long time. Gives you a very different perspective of people in wheelchairs, especially when you see guys slamming into each other at full speed in what looks like wheelchairs from a "Mad Max" movie.

Walk the Line - I'm not a big Johnny Cash fan, but I really enjoyed this movie. Joaquin Phoenix did his own singing and did a magnificent job. Equally good was Reese Witherspoon as June Carter, and she also did her own singing. See this in the theatre with a good sound system. If Jamie Foxx hadn't won Best Actor last year for portraying Ray Charles, then Phoenix would be a lock to win this year.

Star Wars III - George Lucas finally got it right for this first trilogy. After the immensely disappointing "Phantom Menace" and the good, but not great, "Clones," this one ties everything together and bridges the gap between episodes III and IV. Wish he'd go on and do a part III 1/2 and tell the backstory of Han Solo, Lando Calrissian and how Leia became a princess and found herself on that star cruiser at the beginning of episode IV searching for Obi Wan Kenobi.

If I had to pick the worst movie of 2005, it would hands down be "War of the Worlds." A big-budget mess. Very boring, not engaging in the least, and an annoying performance by Tom Cruise (who is just overall getting annoying anyway). In a close second would be "Crash," a movie that thought it was the greatest statement about racism in the history of cinema. To me, it's message was , I'M racist, YOU'RE racist, we're ALL racist? And why? JUST BECAUSE!! Full of unbelievable coincidences. At the end of the day, just be sure to hug your Latina housekeeper and the world will be a better place. I'm not against movies that deal with racism, just this one. It didn't make me uncomfortable, just bored. For a far better movie on the subject, try "Rosewood" or "Do the Right Thing."

The Christmas/Holiday Controversy

Okay, so everyone's freaking out over the fact that "Happy Holidays" is replacing "Merry Christmas" as the greeting of choice at stores and restaurants. Look, if you are a Christian and it takes someone saying Merry Christmas for you to be reminded as to the reason we celebrate it in the first place, then you are in a sad state. If I walk into Wal-Mart and they say, "Hello, Sir," does that mean I've lost my identity because they didn't say, "Hello, Rick?" Hey, they could say, "Hello, Kitty" for all I care. I know what Christmas is about, it doesn't matter what anyone else says.

As for churches being closed. I guess I have to go back to the old "Remember the Sabbath Day to Keep it Holy" thing. I know some churches will fall back on the fact that the needs of their "emerging" congregations dictate that Sunday is not the best time for services on Christmas Day. But, I don't know, I think it's an unfortunate precedent. I know, I know, Jesus was not born on December 25. But, hey, that's the day that's been set aside for many, many years. I know, I know, it's a tradition thing and traditions are meant to be broken. But why the urge to close the church doors on any Sunday, especially on Christmas? It seems that would be and even better reason to have church. But hey, probably nothing to get in too much of an uproar about and I guess if the Vatican or Willow Creek says it's okay, then we can shut the doors.

But hey, now that you mention it, the Super Bowl falls on a Sunday, and that may not be the best time for people to attend services either . . .

Education Option Vetoed

Anna asked Dorene if she could home school Cameron over Christmas break. Dorene said sure. Cameron, however, said, "Oh phooey, not going there!" Home schooling will never be an option in our house. I always say that if Dorene tried to home school, it's likely Anna would get expelled the first week.

The Highest Compliment

As we were riding around doing Christmas shopping this past weekend, Dorene was telling Anna stories about how we met and when we were dating. At one point Anna said, "Yeah, you and dad always have fun together."

The more I thought about it, the more that was a great compliment of our parenting style. Our kids are being brought up in an atmosphere where mom and dad can joke around and have fun with each other, and that naturally spills over in our interactions with Anna and Cameron. I'm glad my kids think of their parents as having fun with each other. That goes a long way in creating a happy home.

Can the Colts Run the Table?

They keep winning and winning . . .The Colts are now 12-0 and are looking like they could possibly join the '72 Dolphins and become the second team to go through the season undefeated. If they are going to do it, they'll have to earn it. This weekend, they play at Jacksonville. The Jaguars may want to honor their fellow Floridians by taking the Colts out. The following week, they return home to play San Diego, which they shouldn't have a problem with. If they win these two, that puts them at 14-0, which matches the Dolphins record back when it was a 14 game season instead of 16. The following weekend, on Christmas Eve, comes the big test. They travel to Seattle to play the Seahawks who are 10-2 this year and the second best team in the league. That will be one fired up team to take them out. If the Colts survive and are 15-0, they return home to face my team, the sacrificial lambs known as the Arizona Cardinals. To lose that game would truly be a tragedy, although the Cardinals have been late-season spoilers before. But I don't see that happening. We'll see what happens, but if they can get by the Jags and Seahawks, then 16-0 is definitely a possibility.It's been fun watching this team.

It's taken a while, 20 years to be exact, but Indianapolis finally may be on the verge of a national championship. And to think, that back in 1998, they had a choice. Draft Ryan Leaf or Peyton Manning? Draft Ricky Williams or Edgerin James? I would say they chose wisely.

Cameron's Identity Crisis

My two kids were having a minor argument. Dorene asked Cameron if he was Anna's friend. He said, "I'm Anna's stupid little brother . . .who works on stupid little cars." Actually, the exact words were, "I Nana's toopid widdle brudder . . .who works on toopid widdle cars."

Anna insists she just called him her silly little brother. So she's claiming she was misquoted.

A Day at the Golden Dome

This past Saturday I had the opportunity to attend the Notre Dame v. Tennessee football game here in South Bend. My friend Peter has season tickets which he obtained from a mutual friend that's on staff at the University. So that gave me the "in," which you have to have in order to see the Irish in action. Actually, there are always tickets available, just not necessarily at the price you'd be willing to pay.

The campus is totally buzzing on game day. I think as many people come to the game and hang around in the parking lot or around the stadium as those that actually attend the game itself. There are tailgaters galore and BBQ grills all over the place.

Our tickets were in the end zone about half-way up. Notre Dame stadium does seat a lot of people, but it's also a fairly compact stadium, so even being high up in the end zone, you can see quite well. There was a huge roar as the players came running out of tunnel and onto the field (but no, Rudy was not leading the way). We were near the student section, so we watched them go through the game day rituals of shouting out different chants, doing the "leprechaun dance," and doing airborne pushups every time Notre Dame scored. What happens is fellow students all hold up another student and they do however many pushups equals Notre Dame's score. Seeing as they scored 41 points that day, several people got quite a workout.

I really had a blast. It felt like I was going to the Super Bowl. There was that much hype, and it was just another Saturday afternoon at Notre Dame stadium. I kind of understand more all the mystique surrounding Notre Dame football. Even more so now. They have been down and out for the past few years, but Charlie Weiss has them back and they'll be contending for the national title on a regular basis now.

Scooby Doo gets Indicted

I was having dinner with my kids, Anna (6) and Cameron (3). I asked them what they thought of Scooter Libby being indicted. They kept responding with, "Scooby Doo did what?"

I'm wondering if the rest of the country will pay equal attention and not know the difference between a man named Scooter and a cartoon dog. We'll see. Had Karl Rove been indicted, it would have been an even bigger story. That's who everyone wanted to go down. The indictments against Libby said nothing about the actual CIA leak. I thought the whole investigation was about who leaked Valerie Plame's name? These indictments do nothing to solve that mystery. I'd certainly like to know who leaked the name (although I'm still not convinced this is as huge a story as it's being made out to be).

If the roles were reversed, would Republicans be up in arms about all this instead of trying to deflect attention from it and saying it was not a big deal? Of course they would be. That's partisan politics for you. Always has been, always will be. Don't worry too much about it, you'll live longer.

Bush will now deflect attention away from this with his next Supreme Court nominee. I think it's pretty much assured that it'll be a judge WITH EXPERIENCE! I predict a Latino or black female.

Go Sox!

Okay, the Series is all set. It's the Sox v. Astros. It's the other Chicago team versus the team that plays across the parking lot from the Katrina refugees. Look for "W" to make an appearance when the series returns to Houston for games 3-5.

I would really like the Sox to take it. End their long drought. Back to back Sox victories, just different colors. At the same time, this is the first time Houston has made it. They recovered fine after what was a devastating loss in game 5. It would be neat to see Roger Clemens on the mound one more time notching up a series victory. I will say Sox in 6, with Chicago winning it all at Comiskey Park (sorry, that's what it's called, I can't get used to calling it US Cellular field) and setting off a wild celebration that only Chicago can do (i.e. turning over cars, etc.).

Benjamin Totals His Car.

Over the weekend, my nephew Benjamin smashed up his car almost beyond recognition. However, he walked away from it completely unscathed. This despite the fact that it was completely his fault. It was all intentional.

Yes, Benjamin competed in a demolition derby at the Van Wert County (OH) fairgrounds. I had never been to one before, so it was kinda cool. It's pretty simple. You start your cars and just start ramming everyone else. If there's any strategy, it's do back into the other cars. Hitting from the front puts one in danger of blowing their radiator. There were some pretty aggressive drivers. Some cars got airborne, climbed up on other cars, and got smashed against the concrete barriers. All in good fun of course. As a participant, this would have to surely fulfill some sort of little boy fantasy of causing as much destruction as possible but not getting in trouble for it. Benjamin went out fairly quickly the first time around, but the second heat, he was in the top 10 (of about 20 drivers).

I was there with my wife and Cameron. Anna stayed in South Bend with her grandma. She wouldn't have liked it. Cameron liked it a lot. When we got back, he was in his toy car having his own demolition derby. Oh boy, here we go.

Over the River and Through the Woods, to Training I Go.

For the past two days, I attended a management training series sponsored by Indiana University. The training took place at Bradford Woods, a large piece of property owned by the University just south of Indianapolis. Two or three individuals from each IU campus are selected each to attend this series. So, I was pleased when my Vice Chancellor recommended that I attend.

The first day was spent in a series of outdoor team building challenges. If you are in management, you probably know the type I'm describing. All the activities are designed to instill concepts of what it is to be a team and to then take those concepts back to the workplace. We had a great facilitator, Stewart, a long time U.S. citizen but who is originally from England. What is it about the English accent that immediately causes one to take notice and listen more intently? I don't know, but even beyond the accent, Stewart made the whole day go very fast and I didn't feel like I was just being given some regurgitated lessons on how to be a great leader. My favorite activity involved Stewart taking our group of 10 into a wooded area. On a tree he wrapped a bandana. Our job as a team was to go back to our starting point (a few hundred yards away) and return to this place. Oh yeah, we had to do it blindfolded, and after Stewart spun us all around and totally threw off our sense of direction. We actually made it back to the tree, and in pretty good time.

It was nice being around other University professionals that share my same commitment to higher education. I'll be back once a month until next April.

Bush & the Supreme Court: Round 2

Wow, the Republicans are freaking out over Harriet Miers' nomination to the Supreme Court. I guess there are a lot of folks that felt Bush owed them an ultra-conservative justice that would more or less guarantee a reversal of Roe v. Wade. Bush definitely pulled this pick from left field. I don't get too worked up over Supreme Court picks, because all too often they don't end up voting how everyone thought they would. Remember, 7 of the 9 justices are Republican appointees. David Souter and Sandra Day-O'Connor were both conservative "locks" that didn't vote the way people thought they would. They turned radical and based their decisions on the Constitution and the law. Hey, now there's a concept. I am hearing bits and pieces of Miers' background. She claims to be an evangelical Christian, which should drive the Democrats nuts. But they are enjoying the Republicans fighting amongst themselves right now and don't want to spoil the fun, so they aren't coming out against her very much.

I was much more comfortable with John Roberts. He'll make a good Chief Justice, but make no mistake about it. He's a conservative. This is where Bush has his legacy. No matter how he leaves office, he'll have two Supreme Court nominees to his name. Remember how Nixon left office in disgrace? But who did he leave behind? Yes, Chief Justice Rehnquist, who served 30 years after Nixon resigned. That's a legacy. If you are a liberal, you better hope the other 7 Justices stay healthy, especially Bader-Ginsburg and Breyer. Bush has three more years to go.

Okay, now it's time to watch baseball.

I don't watch baseball from April to September. But now, I will tune in. It's playoff time. This is when it gets interesting. I'm not sure how we can top last year, with the incredible Red Sox comeback against the Yankees and then winning it all after such a long drought. But we'll give it a go. The team I would like to see take it all this year are the White Sox. They have sort of gotten looked over when discussions turn to teams that have gone years and years without a championship. The last time they won a World Series was 1917. That's been a while. Their drought is almost as long as the Cubs and (before last year), the Red Sox, but they don't get as much credit for their misery. I have an uneasy feeling the Red Sox will take them out quickly, but here's hoping. In the National League, I think it would be funny if the Padres get to the Series. They are just two games above the .500 mark. They wouldn't have even been in the running had they been in any other division. But they will never get past the Cardinals. So, let's go with a White Sox/Cardinals World Series with the White Sox beating the Cubs at bringing a World Series title back to Chicago.

Oh, did you see that my football Cardinals won yesterday. Beat the 49'ers down in Mexico City.

Could this be the year of the Cardinals? You know, the football team?

I am a fan of Arizona sports teams. In particular, I like the NBA Suns and NFL Cardinals. The Suns have had a lot of success over the years, although until last year, they had a long drought (desert analogy intentional). But the Cardinals, oh my. They have been one of the most consistently worst teams in NFL history. From their origins as the Chicago Cardinals to the St. Louis Cardinals to the Phoenix Cardinals and now Arizona Cardinals, they just have stunk it up. But this year, they brought on Kurt Warner. Their new coach, Dennis Green (former Vikings coach) was bringing a new attitude. Finally, the Cardinals could be making a run for it. So here they are at the beginning of the season 0-3. Another year down the drain.

For years Phoenix had been starved for NFL football. When they got the Cardinals, they were ecstatic, until they saw exactly what they were inheriting . . .a perennial loser. The irony is, had they waited a few more years, they could have gotten the relocating Houston Oilers or Los Angeles Rams. The Oilers became the Tennessee Titans and have done very well. The Rams of course moved to St. Louis and beat the Titans in the Super Bowl and have had a very successful time of it in St. Louis.

In their first two years in Phoenix, I was a season ticket holder. Very hard to get tickets at first. By the end of their first season, very easy. During their second year. . . very, very easy. In fact, one day I went to a game when they were playing the Redskins. Someone just simply handed me a ticket in the club box section, where you get free drinks and snacks and have people waiting on you. Needless to say, I didn't make any money reselling my end zone tickets that season.

Bush actually fires someone.

For those calling for FEMA Director Michael Brown's head, I was about ready to tell people, "Calm down people, Bush never fires anyone." Then, lo and behold, Bush "reassigns" Brown(ie). That was a very good move, I just never dreamed Bush would actually do it, despite all the pressure to do so.

Could Bush actually survive this whole mess? He could, and here's how. If the death toll in New Orleans is far lower than speculated, then that will actually take off a lot of pressure. The mayor of New Orleans has said that the death toll could be as high as 10,000. A total of 25,000 body bags have been ordered. But so far, in an initial sweep of the city, not many bodies have been found yet. I predict that they will find fewer than 500 bodies.

Now, I don't think this absolves Bush from the horrendous federal response to the disaster. There was still an immense amount of suffering. But, with people expecting thousands and thousands to be dead, the fact that the number may only be hundreds, there could be a feeling of "Oh, it wasn't that bad." An unfortunate response, I agree, but probably the reality of the situation. If the death toll is much lower than anticipated, thus averting the catastrophic label that's already been attached, then Bush will make it through, scarred, but will still make it through. In the meantime, the cycle of bad news is probably played out. Americans like happy endings, so now the news will shift to those "Oprah" and "Dr. Phil" moments that detail stories of courage and heroism. In addition, this weekend is the fourth anniversary of 9/11, which will take up a lot of the news. So, oddly enough, what started out as the worst natural disaster in history, may actually start disappearing from the news.

Hurricane Katrina

As with many others, I've been glued to the t.v. watching the coverage of the hurricane and it's aftermath. Have also been keeping up with the increasingly ugly finger pointing. My take on this? Okay, I'm a die-hard Republican and voted for Bush twice. But the bottom line is, the response to this crisis was absolutely pathetic. There is no excuse for the delay in getting help to those in New Orleans. That isn't supposed to happen in America, but it did. There is plenty of blame to go around. The mayor of New Orleans and Governor of Louisiana did plenty wrong. But at the federal level, it was a disaster of epic proportions. Bush blew it, plain and simple. He can say whatever he wants, but as President, people look to him. He should have been home from the ranch and been seen taking charge (and not talking about how sad it was that poor Trent Lott's house was destroyed). But he didn't. We should not have these images of people crowded into the Superdome with no food or water. Or dropped along a highway with nowhere to go. It wasn't racist. Bush didn't purposely ignore black people. But there was a seeming indifference to what was going on and a complete misreading of the situation. This will haunt the remainder of the Bush presidency.

What is really frustrating is seeing what all we accomplished in a very short time frame once help did finally arrive. In about 1 or 2 days, thousands were evacuated, fed, and given shelter. The levees were being repaired, water was being pumped out. In other words, we had the capability. But for some inexplicable reason, we didn't use it.

Elonda, oh Y(wca) did you leave us?

We had a going away reception for Elonda yesterday at IU South Bend. She had been here 15 years in various capacities. She was the last surviving member of the department I first worked for when I arrived 12 years ago. Unfortunately, she got caught in some recent budget cuts and her position was eliminated. However, Elonda is going to bigger and better things. She is off to the local YWCA, where she will be doing event planning. That truly is her strength and she was visibly excited about the new opportunity, while at the same expressing her appreciation of the wonderful years spent here. Things do work out, don't they?

I'm sure when first given the news she was being laid off, things looked bleak for her, but now she's standing tall and ready to enter a new chapter in her life with a renewed vigor. We all wish her well.

Mom & Dad and the Big Five-O

This year my parents celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary. Wow, what a milestone. To commemorate the occasion, the entire family rented a chalet in Gatlinburg, Tennessee where we spent all of last week. My brother Stu and his wife Joyce were there, along with their four kids and invited guests. It was great they were all able to come because that was a lot of schedules to get in sync. My brother Steve and his wife Pam were also there, although they left their kids, Jordie and Molly, at home unattended.

It was an unspeakably hot week, so we spent a lot of time inside just kind of taking it easy. Cooked most of our own meals, read a lot, watched tv. Ventured in to Gatlinburg on occasion to peruse the shops there and visit the aquarium (which is the best I've ever been to). But the main occasion was to commemorate the 50 years my parents have been together. What a privilege to have been able to grow up in a family in which the parents have been dedicated to each other that long. What a privilege to grow up in a family that enjoys being together for a week like this. We all do get along, and I guess that can be pretty amazing.

On the last night, we all sat around and gave testimonials to growing up in the Dennie household. There truly are no painful memories, no regrets, no repressed anger or anything like that. I grew up in a Christian household with parents that modeled Christ-like behavior in everything they did. Mom and Dad got it right. We all turned out just fine, with actually very little bumps in the road. What a legacy!