You are currently browsing the monthly archive for August, 2007.
It’s amazing how 26 really feels no different than 25. It’s a slightly higher number, but that’s about it. In between eating cake and convincing people that I was not turning 26, but I was celebrating 13 again, I got a few awesome gifts and some great shout outs.
For as long as I can remember, I’ve always had a red velvet cake. That’s just tradition, but I still love it. Everyone really wanted cream cheese icing on top of the cake this year, but guess who didn’t? So, we had vanilla and it tasted even better.
One of my aunts got me a two gigabyte jump drive — something she knew I needed because of my first laptop’s awful demise and my subsequent loss of pretty much everything I’d ever written through college.
My grandmother, parents and crazy aunt (the one who believes I’m tarnished forever for going to the Church of Christ) came through with dinero and a wonderful surprise came in the mail from Finn — some mood magnets, note cards and a copy of To Kill a Mockingbird which I’m now reading again and finding more things to love in it.
I took some of the birthday money the day before yesterday and headed over to the local sporting goods store to purchase a fishing license. I’m now finally legal to fish although I’ve been going all year (game wardens beware), but it still baffles me as to why the fishing and hunting license come together. No one can officially hunt without having taken the hunter’s safety course and gotten a certificate from the course. Yet, when you purchase a fishing license, the hunting license automatically comes with it. I haven’t taken the course and gotten the certificate, but I now have a hunting license. And if the game warden catches you trying to hunt and you don’t have the safety course card, you’ll still pay the consequences. So, I’m a bit confused. Anyone know about this?
All in all, it was a nice birthday. And as my aunt said, I’m not in my late 20s. I’m just solidly in the mid-20s. That sounds so much better.
Elizabeth has a job now. Last Thursday, she had two interviews in the same day plus another prospect in tow and worried all weekend over which position to take. There were positives and negatives to consider in both places. One position is a day shift. The other is a night shift. One hospital has a nicer staff and head honcho. The other has not quite so nice of a staff, but offers more money. In the end, Elizabeth made her decision and will now be a CCU nurse at Baptist Memorial Hospital in Union City.
This going back to school thing is really getting to me now.
Remember those games you’d always play on long road trips? Or maybe it‘s just me.
I Spy? The car game? I guess this one needs an explanation. If you happened to be driving on a two-lane highway in which you met cars and didn’t have to look way across the road at two lanes of traffic, this game worked like a charm. You and your friends would get in order and take turns at seeing which car coming by was “your car.” For example, I might be first and the car coming by me might be a green and purple spotted go-cart with a door missing, but I have no choice. It is officially “my car.” But a friend might get lucky and have a Corvette pass by.
We also had another game called Grandmother’s House. This was a favorite of some of the cousins and was easy to play — as long as you knew your alphabet and had some sort of a memory.
It started off with the phrase, “I went to my grandmother’s house and I brought a/an…..” and the person started with a letter beginning with “A” and the next person repeated the “A” word and added a “B” word until the entire alphabet was used. The trick was being able to remember all of the words before your next word.
So, it might go something like, “I went to my grandmother’s house and I brought an alligator.”
“I went to my grandmother’s house and I brought an alligator and a boa constrictor.”
“I went to my grandmother’s house and I brought an alligator, a boa constrictor and a cartographer.”
Anything goes.
So, I want to try this and see if it works in the cyber world.
I went to my grandmother’s house and I brought Apple Jacks.
Someone take “B” and run with it. Go on. I mean it. And don’t forget to pass it on. And remember to repeat all past words along with your new word.
On this day, at about 5:15 in the morning, 26 years ago, I decided right before my big welcoming into the world, I would turn a last-minute flip, forcing my mom into an emergency C-section surgery. But, only a few minutes later, at the Baptist Memorial Hospital in Union City, I was introduced to mom and dad, unharmed and unscathed, yet glad to have received the extra attention.
Even at birth, I refused to do things normally.
Today, at 26, I’ve been reflecting on the past year and thinking about the ups and downs that have accompanied it.
In the last year, I’ve experienced growing pains and, as a result, have attempted to grow an extra layer of skin so as to not be so sensitive when the negatives do come. I’ve realized that sometimes all a person can do is stay positive even when hope seems gone and the best gifts are the ones that come for no reason at all other than the person just felt like giving them.
I’ve become closer to old friends and made some outstanding and wonderful new ones who remind me a lot of myself and who I know will stick around.
My birthday has taken on an entirely new meaning now that I never expected would come because last year, I visited a friend at her family’s house on this day because her father had just passed away. I now have that bond with her and her family.
What do I hope will happen this year? I hope I remember to just stay positive for myself and for everyone. I hope I can be counted on. I hope I can be a great encourager and motivator. And whatever else happens…..job, relationship, family, life in general…..well, I hope I will have the patience to just let whatever is supposed to happen just happen.
Here’s to a good year. For everyone.
WTF?! I had a very nice b-day post with a cool pic to put on here after not posting since last Wednesday, but I’ve tried five times to put it on here and it’s not posting anything except the title. Have I been forgotten by the WordPress Powers that Be?
I have a friend who is quite the lover of most all cheeses. A regular cheese connoiseur, I tell you. And she even belongs to a national society of cheese lovers and is delivered a sample of cheese from a different place in the world every month.
And today what do you think she sent me? A list of the cheeses selected for 2007. I’ve included them because I know everyone else does like cheese. Even traitors who once said they didn’t.
Davis Pond, Backwoods, Tenn. — Scout and the professional fisherman in the picture known to all as Bro. Finn traveled yesterday to the swamplands (which are swampy no more) of In the Middle of Nowhere, Tennessee to attempt their capture of the always elusive yet enormously bulky perfect pesca.
Though they tried and tried and came up with mostly small catfish, er, kittenfish, one particular finned creature got on Bro. Finn’s line and he was, well, hooked on pulling the giant monstrosity out of the pond. Struggling for all of a minute and a half, Bro. Finn finally gave a mighty heave and jerked the behemoth bream out of the water. Bringing the Sultan of Scales to the bank, he deemed it as “cute” and posed for this picture before addressing his catch.
“Well, I thought I was going to have a REEL problem getting him out of the water and I wasn’t sure if I’d be able to pick him up or not, but I peeked in his mouth and spotted Jonah, so I knew I just had to bring this devil to his final resting spot,” he said.
The fish, uh, mammal, was, of course, released back into his natural habitat and Bro. Finn now has a place in the record books.
On the way down to Pringles Park, the rain threatened, but Bro. Finn and I counted exactly 15 drops on the windshield before we gave up and decided that West Tennesseans are doomed to bring dryness to any area. Though ominous thunderheads filled the sky, we knew there wasn’t much chance of our parade getting rained on despite Finn’s text declaring that she was indeed receiving rain from her direction. We just politely replied back to her that she stank and continued on our journey to the ball field.
The game certainly didn’t disappoint as the Jaxx took the win over the visiting Huntsville Stars, 7-5. As always, there were surprises including an entertaining drunk lady who sat behind us and screeched at every strike as well as most of the non-strikes. I saw one of the most boneheaded plays I’ve ever seen as one of the Jaxx players hit a sky high fly ball which seemed to be headed foul. The Stars players stood around waiting for it to fall foul, but it hit maybe one millimeter inside the foul line and the Jaxx player took the hit.
Along with the usual round of the chicken dance and other fan favorites, a car and a license plate number was announced over the intercom as being the dirtiest in the lot and the person received a free car wash. It hardly mattered, though, because the rain finally came during the seventh inning and all the cars received a thorough wetting.
On the way out of the ballpark, we received a free loaf of bread and went about our merry way back to the real world again. It was just a bit after 10 p.m. and Finn had quite a drive ahead of her. Our drive was really peanuts compared to it. We got in behind the Finnster as we were both headed onto the interstate — in opposite directions, of course — and I was completely touched to see Bro. Finn waving frantically at his sister’s departing vehicle while almost shouting, “Bye, sister. I’ll miss you!”
Ah, nothing like a night out with friends to turn a listless day into a great one. And we all ended up bread winners.
Maybe it’s just me, but I found the wording of this to be just a bit vague and confusing…..
“Get online with God and download your troubles.”
Uh, no. I don’t want to download any more trouble. I’d much prefer to delete it, thank you very much.
Tomorrow will be the coolest Saturday I’ve had in a while (other than the trip to the wedding) because Finn, Bro. Finn and I will be going to Pringles Park in Jackson to see the Jaxx take on the Huntsville Stars. The season is almost over and, shamefully, this is my first game to attend this year, but I promise to make it a good one to make up for all the others I’ve missed.
Hay! Wait a minute!
Maw Finn and I had a veggie swap today. Since we’ve perfected the art of church swapping, we decided to try our hand at something much more complex like garden veggies, so I traded her a bag of assorted beans and peas for a bag of squash since mine perished very early in the growing season.
We traveled to Jack’s Java and talked Six Flags over Jesus and how to end a four-year toxic friendship before heading back to Weakley County.
Upon returning home, Nurse Elizabeth informed me that our field of hay had suffered a small fire due to the extreme heat and lack of moisture, but luckily, the bales are all still intact in case I decide to do a bit more climbing.
What’s in the Diet Pepsi?
Last night, I covered a local team in their first football game of the season and, though they kicked butt almost from the get go, I had to wonder if the announcer had been slipped some of the hard stuff as his lines became increasingly funnier and more random as the game wore on.
Not only did he repeatedly call the middle school team by the high school name (which brought jeers from the visiting crowd) but he uttered what will hereafter become the quote of the century in this dry part of the country…….”There’s no chance of snow tonight so that means there will be school tomorrow. Don’t forget.”
And you thought your family had problems…..
Mom just informed me that my cousin’s step sister has been accepted onto the Dr. Phil Show to vent all her probs to the good doc.
Stay tuned.
Abracadabra! Another magical day! And so far, a quite hilarious one simply fraught with good humor and good news, but why should we expect anything less from a Friday, after all? Or make that FRY-day as temps continue to break the triple digit mark meaning bad news for my pal Finn. Please send all your best cool wishes to the Finnster.
This brings me to my first topic of the day.
Elizabeth was walking down our driveway earlier and spotted something that quite grabbed her attention. It was a chicken snake, but the poor little thing was so thirsty, it was sporting a Red Bull can on its head. It had actually slithered into the can and gotten its little noggin stuck just trying to hydrate itself and pick up its daily caffeine fix. And guess who wasn’t around with a camera?
And now, ladies and gentlemen, the moment you’ve all been waiting for. The envelope please…… The newest R.N. from the 2007 UT Martin graduating class of nursing students is…..Elizabeth. She is no longer in suicidal zombie state because today she checked the computer, her results were in and she can now add those two little letters behind her name. Wow! I’m jealous. Almost makes me want to go back to school……
Hope your day is magical.
I woke up today, got in the car and before the humidity had time to sink in, realized that it really is indeed a magical day. It might possibly be the last one of its kind for quite a while. Or forever. Who knows?
Weakley County schools officially started back and as I stood in front of the local elementary school snapping pictures for possible use in the newspaper, I couldn’t help but put myself in the shoes of some of the children who were entering the school doors for the first time. On this day, maybe 15 or so years ago, I would have gotten myself into a frenzy making sure everything was in place, I was dressed just right in whatever was popular for the time and that I never missed a beat for the teacher.
Today, I was taking a picture of a child and his mother and happened to ask him what grade he was in. The mother quickly answered, “He’s in your mom’s class,” and beamed at me. It’s hard to believe that this will be my mom’s last year of teaching school. Thirty years. Apparently, she’s a legend and I’ve never realized it until today. I’ve just always taken it for granted that she taught school even before I was born. And after this year, she won’t teach anymore.
Jeffrey, now a skinny, punk rock, skateboarding, guitar freak, X games loving sophomore in high school, recently got his permit to drive. I had to drive him to school today, though, until he gets wheels.
Elizabeth left early this morning en route to Memphis to take one of the most difficult tests in the state — the board certification exam to become a licensed nurse. She’s been agonizing and studying for it for weeks now and by the end of the day, she’ll know whether or not her hard work paid off.
And me. Well, I’m waiting on the next big thing. The next big opportunity. The next happy moment. But for now, I’m content to bask in the joy of this magical day.
He makes me smile.
It happened last night. I tuned into the Nats/Giants game in the middle of the third inning and as soon as I saw that the baseballs were virtually growing wings and sprouting legs to dive out of AT & T Park, I yelled to anyone who just so happened to be listening in the house, “Bonds is going to break the record tonight. Even the pitchers seem to be homering.”
I watched Bonds’ second trip up to bat and saw him smack a decent-looking single to go 2 for 2 on the night, but somehow, some way, by some strange twist of fate, I fell asleep while he stood on deck preparing for what would be his record breaking homerun swing. Gah!!! Later, I woke up, tuned into ESPN and saw that my prediction had come true.
My feelings? I’m going with the Squirrel Queen on this one. She sums it up much better than I ever could. Break out the asterisk. Give that little key on the keyboard its due. It carries a lot of power.
Hammerin’ Hank sent a congratulatory video which was played up on the jumbotron. He certainly didn’t have to do that. Neither he nor Commissioner Bud Selig were in attendance which spawned the most ironic quote of the night from an ESPN sportscaster, “I think they must know something the people don’t know.”
Long live Hank Aaron.
Bro. Finn and I merrily made our way to Murfreesboro yesterday to attend the wedding of Henrietta’s sister. Armed with our trusty map and brimming with confidence that it would indeed lead us to our destination, we set out in search of the First United Methodist Church and without much difficulty, found it right where it was supposed to be on Thompson Lane despite the heavy downpour that hit us as soon as we reached the ‘Boro. We took the grapefruit-sized drops of water as good luck, though, because it’s been a while since we northwest Tennesseeans have seen the sign of rain and, besides that, it helped somewhat in taming the humidity.
Because Bro. Finn and I are small town people and aren‘t necessarily all that used to seeing buildings much larger than our courthouse on a regular basis, on the way down Thompson we kept prematurely pointing to places we thought might be the church only to find out they were actually houses. Upon finally finding the church, Bro. Finn made the remark of the day by declaring that the place was big enough to house his entire hometown. And yes, it was enormous. The foyer could have easily snacked on my church as an appetizer with room to move onto something else. The sanctuary was decked out with a gigantic pipe organ and stained glass windows flanking the stage and choir area. Very nice, although in the picture, the light overpowers the stained glass.
Though kind of blurry, my favorite pic. Henrietta’s sis and her dad come down the aisle.
Throwing the bouquet. Henrietta’s mom insisted that I come up to try my hand at catching the bouquet and I reluctantly agreed though I’ve caught one before and still remain single.
A bit of bubbly? As the bride and groom made their way to the getaway limo, they were serenaded with bubbles from the guests. I suppose rice throwing must officially be a tradition of the past.
Bro. Finn poses for the camera at the reception at the Oaklands historic site in the ’Boro. I’d never heard of it, but I would definitely go back. Quite a bit to see.
The bride and groom sashay around the dance floor while Michelle is caught in mid laugh….or mid something. Hard to say.
My name tag decorated with a flower Henrietta gave me. Ooops…well, now you know my name.
The ceremony was beautiful and blessedly not too long (about 25 minutes), the bride and groom were amazing and Bro. Finn and I met quite a few characters we will never forget including M.K., who visited the bar for more champagne every five minutes and insisted on getting me involved in a prank at the reception which ended up backfiring on us instead of the person it was intended to surprise. Gotta admit, I’ve never liked going to weddings, but this one was very good. It was great. In fact, maybe I don’t hate weddings anymore. We’ll just have to see.
Please excuse Scout for her week-long absence in blogging as she has, over the past few days, managed to acquire an acute and chronic case of nothingitis. Yes, it’s the dreaded inflammation of the nothing gland due to the persistent and unending occurence of nothing happening and having nothing to say. As you know, this is a very contagious disease, so to be kind to others and ensure their safety, she has been absent from blogging and has quarantined herself to the other web pages so as to not pass on this hideously awful complication to fellow bloggers. The only cure for this horrible medical monstrosity is to do something, but unfortunately, nothingitis does its dead level best to prevent this from happening. Please be patient with Scout as she fights this malicious malady and send her best wishes for a speedy recovery and much more to say. As this is a very persistent problem, if it continues to happen over the coming weeks, please excuse her those days as well.
What do you say?