special k after scoring her 5th goal in two games

To look backward for a while is to refresh the eye, to restore it, and to render it the more fit for its prime function of looking forward.
~Margaret Fairless Barber, The Roadmender

a proud papa's pictures of special k's first soccer practice

It is not how big you are, it's how big you play.

my new favorite commercial . . .

long live the 'stache ~~

Real Leadership on Display in 2011

Wow. In a world where leadership is often lacking, Michael Nutter's speech illustrates that it can be done. This clip runs about 30 minutes; if you only have 15 minutes, watch the last 15. If you only have 5, watch the last 5.





"This assumption of Negro leadership in the ghetto, then, must not be confined to matters of religion, education, and social uplift; it must deal with such fundamental forces in life as make these things possible."
Carter G. Woodson, 1875-1950

Leadership Honors Forum 2011

One of the highlights of my academic year is co-teaching the Phi Theta Kappa Leadership Honors forum at Pearl River Community College. In 2004, the Leadership Honors Forum (LHF) class at PRCC’s Poplarville Campus began to use the semester’s end to put theory into practice. After fourteen weeks of learning about leadership, students of the LHF use the last two weeks of class to imagine, design, create, and implement a service project or fundraiser to benefit a cause or a part of the community of the class’s choice.

Since 2004, eight classes worked hard toward the common vision of servant leadership through projects such as: working to raise handicap accessibility awareness on campus, beautifing the campus grounds, and volunteering at the local nursing home; students have sponsored charity softball games, sold catfish and BBQ plates, and have hosted dog trial events to raise funds for those in need. Over the past eight years, the students of Poplarville’s LHF have raised, in aggregate, nearly $10,000 for organizations such as Brothers’ Keepers Ministries, St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital, and the American Diabetes Association, as well as for individuals needing assistance offsetting medical costs.

This year, the 2011 class of the LHF conceived and implemented (in just under three weeks) a bake-sale, crawfish raffle, and catfish fry in conjunction with Cuevas Fish House and Coca-Cola. The students chose to donate their proceeds of $2323.76 to Mrs. Sabina Brown,an English Instructor at Pearl River Community College, who is fighting breast cancer. The thoughts and prayers of the class are with Mrs. Brown as she fights cancer. The 2011 class worked diligently throughout the semester and has demonstrated in no small way these last two weeks their leadership skills.


The 2011 class of the LHF embodies James C. Hunter’s observations that “(t)here is great joy in leading with authority, which is serving others by meeting their legitimate needs.”

night music

hands play together
laughing and dancing fireflies
of evening’s chorale

Salvation is not some felicitous state to which we can lift ourselves by our own bootstraps after the contemplation of sufficiently good examples. It is an utterly new creation into which we are brought by our death in Jesus' death and our resurrection in his. It comes not out of our own best efforts, however well-inspired or successfully pursued, but out of the shipwreck of all human efforts whatsoever.
~Robert Farrer Capon

And the Spirit of Jonathan Swift Award Goes To . . .

the National Republican Senatorial Committee.

And the Grammy Goes To . . .

AXIS OF AWESOME!


(PARENTAL WARNING . . . F- BOMB ALERT)





What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun. Ecclesiastes 1:9

WAR EAGLE!!!

Congrats to the 2010 Auburn Tigers and to all the die-hard fans and alumni in my wife's family. Thanks for letting me be part of the "all in" family.

there are more things in heaven and earth than are dreamt of in your philosophy . . .

sometimes it’s hard not to strike back. lord knows i want to. with every fiber. which is part of what they want, i think. so – i’ll refrain.

instead, i’ll simply ask – why in the world do folks who think religion is a joke care so much about what others think about religion? the party line of militant atheists is that the ad is aimed at letting other "closet" atheist know "they are not alone."

i don’t believe in martians; i don’t believe in man-made global warming; i don’t believe in getting cancer via using deodorant. there are lots of folks who do. and yet, i don't feel alone, nor do i feel the compulsion to offend or pick a fight with folks who fall prey to what seems to be, from my perspective, faulty logic. it's what they believe. they have the right to have faith in what seems to me to be clear idiocy. great. go for it. i have no desire to impede their thought process.

so what's up with the full frontal on folks of faith? if there are any non-religious folks who are interested in a serious discussion of this question, please inform me. cause it’s driving me nuts.

one last piece of halloween candy

having a kid this time of year is great. halloween is our official kick off to the holiday season. between birthdays, thanksgiving, christmas it's pretty much non-stop fun anyway; add in a curious, observant four-year-old into the mix and you can count on some cool memories being made.

well - tops so far this year was special k seeing the september cover of the christianity today sitting on the table and casually remarking,




"i guess that's what jesus is wearing to trick-or-treat in this year."

halloween 2010

papa and special k (aka fancy nancy) take a break at trunk or treat on the tailgate of a vintage 1969 ford f-100

halloween costume trivia

the beaglepuss, or funny glasses, are novelty disguises usually utilizing fake glasses (often horn-rimmed); fake moustache and bushy eyebrows; and a large, protruding plastic nose. originally designed as a caricature of groucho marx and marketed in the 1940’s, the groucho glasses have evolved over time into various forms of silly disguises.

happy halloween week!!!

around halloween time when i was a kid, my grandmother, snookie, would recite this poem by james whitcomb riley to the kids. it would scare the bejeebers out of me. hope you and yours have a frightfully fun halloween!

Little Orphant Annie
Little Orphant Annie's come to our house to stay,
An' wash the cups an' saucers up, an' brush the crumbs away,
An' shoo the chickens off the porch, an' dust the hearth, an' sweep,
An' make the fire, an' bake the bread, an' earn her board-an'-keep;
An' all us other children, when the supper-things is done,
We set around the kitchen fire an' has the mostest fun
A-list'nin' to the witch-tales 'at Annie tells about,
An' the Gobble-uns 'at gits you
Ef you Don't Watch Out!

Wunst they wuz a little boy wouldn't say his prayers,--
An' when he went to bed at night, away up-stairs,
His Mammy heerd him holler, an' his Daddy heerd him bawl,
An' when they turn't the kivvers down, he wuzn't there at all!
An' they seeked him in the rafter-room, an' cubby-hole, an' press,
An' seeked him up the chimbly-flue, an' ever'-wheres, I guess;
But all they ever found wuz thist his pants an' roundabout:--
An' the Gobble-uns 'll git you Ef you Don't Watch Out!

An' one time a little girl 'ud allus laugh an' grin,
An' make fun of ever' one, an' all her blood-an'-kin;
An' wunst, when they was "company," an' ole folks wuz there,
She mocked 'em an' shocked 'em, an' said she didn't care!
An' thist as she kicked her heels, an' turn't to run an' hide,
They wuz two great big Black Things a-standin' by her side,
An' they snatched her through the ceilin' 'fore she knowed what she's about!
An' the Gobble-uns 'll git you Ef you Don't Watch Out!

An' little Orphant Annie says, when the blaze is blue,
An' the lamp-wick sputters, an' the wind goes woo-oo!
An' you hear the crickets quit, an' the moon is gray,
An' the lightnin'-bugs in dew is all squenched away,--
You better mind yer parunts, an' yer teachurs fond an' dear,
An' churish them 'at loves you, an' dry the orphant's tear,
An' he'p the pore an' needy ones 'at clusters all about,
Er the Gobble-uns 'll git you Ef you Don't Watch Out!

you know, winning, it's like better than losing. - nuke laloosh

congratulations to the texas rangers on their historic victory over the new york yankees to win the american league pennant. we're proud of you all and look forward to the upcoming world series!

go rangers!

free stats for the dallas cowboys

add up the following and what do you get?

1 rookie of the year award
2 time player of the year
4 time rushing leader
5 pro bowls
15,269 rushing yards
109 touchdowns
0 spikes of the football in an nfl career
______________________________________________
0 yards in celebration penalties

congratulations to the 2010 texas rangers!

now - go kick some yankee's @$$

viva texas rangers

i’m a forty year old baseball fan who grew up in dallas pulling for the rangers in the old minor league stadium. growing up, some highlights for me as a fan include getting to see guys like the following play and manage at the ball park (these appear in no particular order as they pop into my mind): billy martin, toby harrah, gaylord perry, bobby valentine, charlie hough, pete incaviglia, jose canseco, will clark, rusty greer, mitch williams, julio franko, jim sundberg, rubin sierra, juan gonzalez, harold baines, kenny rogers, buck showalter, kevin brown, and, of course, o captain, my captain, the nolan ryan.



and a big thank you to ryan, not only for the memories as a hall of fame pitcher, but also for creating new memories from the front office. thank you for putting together a fun product on the field. ron and the boys are so much fun to watch. it’s a treat to see a texas rangers team playing ball the right way and winning. the last couple of seasons have been a blast!

and yesterday was yet another great day in what has been a joyous season (other fans can complain about losing all they want; but when you’re only a 50-year-old club and have never won a playoff series, that trumps curses and droughts in my book). wow. game one down (thanks, cliff lee . . . you ‘da man!)



keep the claws and antlers flying high!!!!!