Memory Lane

We will be taking a trip down memory lane tonight. Actually in this case it's going to be a trip down Constance Lane. Constance Lane is the street we lived on when we lived in Finneytown. We are meeting four other families at a restaurant. These four families used to be our neighbors. Only one family remains on the street today. It was a special mix of people who all got along really well. We used to have street parties and "Christmas on Constance" celebrations. We used to watch each others kids and help each other in any way needed. I am really looking forward to seeing some old friends after nearly seven years in Indiana.

Groovy!

Remember the days of listening to the radio? Switching stations looking for a good song? Sticking with a station hoping they'd play your favorite song. Well, those days are long gone. Nowadays folks download MP3's to their iPod and customize everything they listen to. I don't have an iPod, but I have discovered the joys of listening to music online. You can't download it like we did in the days of Napster (the forerunner to iTunes). My website of choice (of which there are many) is GROOVESHARK. With Grooveshark you can search for virtually any song and save it to a playlist. Then you can listen to all your favorite songs. No commercials. No listening to cruddy songs waiting for good ones. I still love my radio, but Grooveshark ROCKS!

One Week

One week from today Michael starts college. I am in disbelief that my middle child (and only son) is going to college. Where has the time gone? (Incidentally --- Michael has a class in the same building where Tami and I first met).

One week from tomorrow I begin my 23rd year of teaching. Once again, I ask where the time has gone.

Abby started school today. I can't believe the baby of the family is a sophomore.

Summer fun is but a distant memory and it's time for the stress and routine of school life to begin again. Yipee! (*sarcastic cheer*)

More Cuteness

Sveta came over to swim today. We had a good time. At one point I tried to get her to jump off the side of the pool into my waiting arms.She chickened out and climbed down the ladder. I expressed my disappointment with an exaggerated, "AWWWWWW!!!!!". She deadpanned... "Don't be sad. I was just kiddin'".

CUTE!

Strange Phenomenon

Last night small water droplets fell from the sky. They didn't last long and I have no idea what they were. Some guy on the news said it was called rain. I have no idea what that is. A long, hot, DRY summer indeed!

Oh, Randy...

We all did things when we were younger that seem foolish to us now. When Tami and I were dating I took her to a Randy Travis concert. She was a big fan of his at the time. Trying to be a good boyfriend and trying to impress the woman of my dreams, I bought tickets 4 or 5 rows from the stage. At some point during the concert, Randy made his way across the front of the stage shaking hands with adoring fans in the front row. The next thing I knew Tami was vaulting over rows of chairs and dodging other people to shake Randy's hand. She succeeded in her quest. She did indeed shake his hand. I couldn't believe that she did it.

Why this post about Randy Travis? Well, he was recently arrested for DUI after wrecking his car and laying in the street with no clothes on. After the police responded he threatened their lives.

To have a little fun with my loving wife, I sent her Randy's mugshot with the following simple message:

And to think you once vaulted over rows of chairs to shake this man's hand...

Out of the frying pan...

This week is out of the frying pan and into the fire. I have finished my summer job at the bottling plant, but I am now going full tilt into getting ready for school to begin in a few weeks. UGH!

Time to crank it back up

It was back to school today. Not the official first day, but the day I went back to write curriculum. Doesn't that sound like an exciting time? I will spend the next two weeks writing curriculum, writing tests and getting everything ready for the students' first day. I'm not really looking forward to it, but it has to be done. The fun is over. Back to the ol' grind!

The Family's Next Soccer Star

Back in November there was much adulation when my niece Mary was part of a state championship soccer team. Now we have a new soccer star in the family. Sveta had her first soccer game yesterday. Much to our dismay we were unable to attend :-( However, we did get the highlights from the Greensburg affiliate of ESPN. Sveta played goalie in the first half and stopped 4 or 5 shots. Stellar performance! In the second half she played in the field. Reportedly Sveta kept wanting to pick up the ball. She was having trouble understanding that only the goalie could use her hands. I'm sure she must have been thinking that the guys in the funny looking black and white striped shirts needed to make up their minds. 20 minutes ago I could pick up the ball and now you're telling me I can't! Sheesh! Make up your mind! They don't keep score in lollipop soccer leagues, but this proud Goppa is sure Sveta's team would have won if the score had been kept! After the game the customary trip to the Dairy Queen was taken. Here's Sveta in her uniform and with her "sock-a-lit" ice cream cone.

My man Marty!

Most people know I am a diehard Cincinnati Reds fan. I bleed true American red for lots of reasons, one of which is my beloved professional baseball team. Like many of my ancestors, I truly enjoy listening to the Reds on the radio (for you young folks, do a Google search on radio... it's kind of like a really old iPod). Anyway, since 1974 Marty Brennaman has been the radio announcer for the Reds. Recently Marty declared he would shave his head if the Reds won 10 games in a row (a very difficult feat in baseball). This may not seem like a big deal, but by his own admission Marty stated, "Nobody has carried on a more passionate love affair with his hair than me". He has often teasingly been called a poofy haired fancy boy. Well, you can probably figure out what happened. The Reds got on a hot streak and won 10 in a row. True to his word, Marty said he would shave his head bald. In an added twist, he said if the fans would donate $20,000 to the Reds Community Fund by Friday, he would do the deed on the field at Great American Ballpark. With all the Reds fans in Cincy, that was no problem.

We watched the game last night, followed by Marty's shave job. It was all fun and games until the end when Marty peeled off his Reds jersey to reveal a t-shirt that said, "I'm still me". It was from a local group that helps children with cancer and blood diseases resulting in hair loss due to chemotherapy. Three of these children were on the field with Marty and he thanked them for letting him be a member of their club. He then went and kissed each of them on their bald heads. It brought Tami and me to tears. Tami didn't know much about Marty until last night. She is now a big fan. I always have been.

To quote Marty's most famous line, "And this one belongs to the Reds!"