Mid Spring Break Report

I have been doing lots of things. Here is a quick run down of some:

1. I almost froze to death fishing yesterday morning. I did catch about 25 stripers though.

2. I have cooked dinner.

3. I have done several things around the house. I fixed a window and the fence.

4. I tuned up the lawn mower. Well maybe not. Does spraying WD-40 down the hole that left when you take the air filter off qualify? It was fun and cool. (Do not try at home!). I also took out the spark plug and cleaned it off with the grill cleaning brush. It ran better and smelled like steak! Well maybe it just ran the same but that is about as far as I go in the world of engine repair. Shannon, does this qualify as a tune up?

5. Tonight we are going out to dinner. Maybe tomorrow I will take a nap in the yard with the Boyz. This will be our daily "Men of Leisure" activity. I think I am going to take a nap now too. What a life!

Alexander Supertramp

So Cindy and I watched a movie this weekend. It is named "Into the Wild". It was directed by Senn Penn. Of course, Senn Penn was also Jeff Spicoli which leads to quite a bit of confusion about how he got to where he is. He was also married to Madonna for a while. Wow! talk about changes. Any way, I like Senn Penn and really like his movies. His political views...well you can make your own judgement on that. This movie is incredible but what makes it even more incredible is the fact that it is real. It is based and actually follows almost a book written by Jon Krakauer. I had never heard of this story so naturally I became very interested. Alexander Supertramp was self made up name of Christopher McCandless. You really owe it to yourself to find out more about this young man. You can read all you want about him on your own but it does lend itself to some very insightful thought if you so desire. To go out into the Alaskan wilderness and fend for yourself would be something. I myself have spent some time in the Linville Gorge. I am not going to lie. I took as much stuff with me as I could carry and I went with two other people too. Let's not go crazy trying to find ourselves. I must have food but I digress. There is something about going someplace inaccessible that lets you think a bit more clear. I admire Chris's thoughts and courage but then again I think he was pretty stupid in some ways too. For me the ultimate "find yourself" get away would have to be on a deserted island in the Florida Keys with some fishing gear, a knife, and some shelter. I think I would fine. I would not stay long though I would miss Cindy and the Boyz but it would be a great get away for about a week. The picture is the last one of Chris. He actually looks pretty happy. I think he found what he was looking for, too bad he never got to share it with others.

"So many people live within unhappy circumstances and yet will not take the initiative to change their situation because they are conditioned to a life of security, conformity, and conservatism, all of which may appear to give one peace of mind, but in reality nothing is more dangerous to the adventurous spirit within a man than a secure future. The very basic core of a man’s living spirit is his passion for adventure. The joy of life comes from our encounters with new experiences, and hence there is no greather joy than to have an endlessly changing horizon, for each day to have a new and different sun." -- Chris McCandless

Happy Easter

"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life." John 3:16

Good Friday

Today is Good Friday and I really can't remember having to go to school on this day before. Many people will have the day off but then again many will have to work. Today is a pretty important day for people of the Christian religion. There will be activities at many churches. Catholics don't eat meat today or any Friday during lent for that matter. Religion a difficult thing to talk about so I won't go too far on that slippery slope. I will add that perhaps people should be more understanding of the different dialects of Christianity. By this I mean that hear different things about Catholics, Lutherans, Baptists, etc. All of these are Christian dialects. Perhaps a good comparison would be the fact that people all over the world speak the English language but it is spoken differently across the world. Think about Great Britain. They speak English and so do we but they sound a little different and somethings are hard to understand but if you just listen you can understand it. Look outside today between the hours of 12 noon and 3 p.m. it just may look a little gloomy. I have seen this several times in my life. Just think about it.

The Wind

I really don't like the wind much at all. I know it is going to happen and there is probably some good that it does but I still don't like it. I really didn't mind it much until hurricane Hugo I suppose. I weathered that storm in my mom and dad's house in 1989. They really don't know how strong the winds were because the gauging device blew off of the customs house at 136 mph. The eye passed right over us. All and all the storm itself was ok. It was the next day that really let everybody know what could happen in storm of that size. It looked old war photos. Only the trucks of the trees were left and it even blew so hard the grass was gone off the lawn. The wind is about the only thing that keeps me off the water from fishing too. I don't mind rain or cold or heat. All that is ok, but the wind...I don't like fighting it while trying to fish. Also, what a great thing to destroy a good run at marching band. Nothing like watching 16 colorguard girls throwing flags in the wind.

Pet Ownership

I here people talk all the time about the pets they "own". We do not own Ted and Henry. They are a part of our family. We like to think we adopted them. In reality they lead a pretty good life. We take them to the vet to get them checked out and their teeth get cleaned too. We give them toys. They have 3 baskets full of them even though they usually get obsessed with them one at a time. We play with them and all that good stuff. Ted has never spent a night outside and Henry certainly has not since we rescued him. So if anybody owns anybody, they own us. Pets are a huge responsibility but I have figured out that the more you put into them, the more you will get back. Some societies believe that people can be reincarnated as animals. That is kind of a strange thought but what if it was true. "Grandpa please don't drink out of the toilet." Or maybe this one "Grandpa please don't lick that stuff on the ground." Any way the whole point is to be nice to your pets and really be nice to all the animals. They deserve a chance to be happy and enjoy life just as much as we do.

Note: The artwork above is by one of our favorite artist Lee Vandergrift. Here is a link to his site: http://www.leevandergrift.com/

Luck of the Irish

I know St. Patrick's Day was yesterday so you'll have to forgive the day late post. I think St. Patrick's Day should be a national holiday. Just think about all the amazing contributions that the Irish have made to the United States. There are more people of Irish decent in the US than in any other place in the world including Ireland. It is pretty amazing to think about all of the cultural influences that have been and continue to be transversed into the American culture. Perhaps the greatest influence the Irish have made is in the arts. Things were hard in Ireland and you can certainly tell that in their music. So why not go kiss an Irishman today. One of two things will happen. You'll either make a new friend or you will get punched in the face! Either way it will be something different for you.

The Suits

I am here at all-state band this weekend in Greenville at Furman University. It is always interesting on Saturday. You walk in and you are either a "suit' or not. I am not and I am pretty happy about that. There is a group of directors that walk around in suits and look really important. Maybe they are important. I know just about all of them. I am not a suit. I am a man of leisure. As a matter of fact I am a founding member of the "Men of Leisure Club". There are a few qualifications to be in the club. One, you must be a male over the age of 25. Two, you must thoroughly enjoy having nothing to do. This means you can't whine about being bored. Being bored is a great thing. So no I am not a suit. I would probably get further if I were but I like doing things my own way. Perhaps that's what they will put on my grave. "I did it my way". I think that maybe that means more in the long run rather than running around wearing suits and kissing butt.

Coming Together?

The festival music seems to be clicking a bit more these past few days. This is good because about 2 weeks ago we were not sounding, well...musical. Not sounding musical is kind of slang for "playing bad". We were just bad. Sorry but it is true. I have to admit that perhaps I was a bit off too but lately I have been really into it and the kids seem to be also. Maybe it is the spring air finally coming around. It seems like winter lasted forever. I know it will get cold again but it is nice to be on the down side of winter anyway. Oh well, I hope everybody has a happy weekend.

Band Booster Clubs

These groups are an integral part of any functioning band program. We had a meeting last night to finalize the nominations for officers for the 2008-9 school year. The turn out was pretty good for a March meeting. We had sent out a mailing to remind everybody. Booster clubs do many, many things for the band such as moving equipment, preparing food, setting up the field for competition, raising funds, but perhaps the most important thing they do is the one that everybody seems to forget. The are perhaps the most obvious and public show of support to the band students. The students see these parents and supporters as their fan club. Groupies shall we say. It is no surprise that the students get excited when they know a group of adults have taken time out of their busy schedules to do things for the band. Some of the students' parents may not be able to attend every event and the band booster club members become not only a helpful and supportive group, they become something more. So out of all the many things booster clubs do, the most important in my eyes is the fact that they let the students know how important what they do truly is to not only a group of students but also to the community. So were earth shaking things accomplished at the meeting last night? Maybe not for the adults in attendance but I can promise that the students that were there know every adult that took time aways from their own needs and wishes to give back to them, the students, the band. It makes a huge difference. I promise!

Big Things

There are lots of big things on the horizon for this week. It is time to get the festival music to a Superior level. We can't wait around on that. There is an important booster club meeting tomorrow of which is typically one of our lower turn outs. Notices were mailed so it will interesting to see if that make a difference. Also, all state band is this weekend. Lots of things going on. Oh yeah, there is all the important stuff and unexpected stuff that will happen too. That is joy of working in a school. If you get bored or even in a routine, just wait...something will happen to force you to make adjustments. Have a happy week!

Things going on...

This weekend is close to an end. It seemed to fly by. The weather was terrible windy yesterday and a shingle blew off the top of the house so I will put that on the list of things to get fixed. I hung some shelves this morning and fixed a piece of wood work on the front porch. No fishing today. I suppose I will watch the race this afternoon. I predict more problems with the tires. This "new" car NASCAR is using just pushes too much in the turns and wears the right side tires to no end. At Atlanta, this will be a major problem with speeds close to 202 mph going into the turns and they usually run pretty low there so there is long way to go before you hit the wall. Oh yeah this time change is odd. I really don't see the point in doing it so early in the year. Sorry about the random thoughts, It is just that kind of day.

My Favorite Time of Morning

In a few minutes my favorite time of the morning will occur. It is that short period of time when it just starts to get light but sun has yet to break the horizon. The world seems to glow at this time. Colors are not what they should be as only certain wavelengths of light are peeking through and around the Earth. In reality, there are only about 20 minutes of a day in which this is the case. Some people are into sunsets and don't get me wrong they are great but given a choice, I'll take a sunrise any day. I think I will go on my back porch and watch the colors come and then change and then a new day will be here for me in which to work.

Mornings

This is my time of the day for sure. I love the morning. I usually get up by about 5:30 a.m. most days and today was no different. It just seems like a waste to not utilize this time of the day for productive causes. It also seems to make the weekends longer. What will today hold? I really don't know. Maybe some good news? Maybe some set backs? You never know. I just know I am ready for it.

Who's In Charge?: You are...of Course

Who is in charge of how you feel and who you are? You are! I have done much soul searching lately and I must say that I need to listen to my own advise more. I really can not let other people tell me what or who I am. I am in charge of this. It is certainly true that I am not perfect and I do make mistakes but everybody does. It is how you handle your errors that truly defines you and your philosophies not others. One of my favorite questions to ask people I respect is what can do better. To ask questions like these you must be very comfortable with yourself as you may not hear the answers you expect. Who am I? Well I tell you, I am whoever I choose to be and I don't think that is all the bad in the end. I am many things to many people but what I am mostly is just me.

Fishing

We went fishing Sunday. We being me and Cindy. This was rarity in that this is the first time she has been fishing with me about 2 years. We caught 2 largemouths about 3 pounds, a blue catfish about 4 pounds, and about 12 stripers. Not too bad. She only held the rod upside down once and didn't get hung at all.