Finality

Yesterday morning a good friend of ours passed away. As is always the case when someone young dies or if the death is sudden and unexpected there is a lot of shock and disbelief. There are many questions and very few will find answers.

My husband met this friend while in college and after we were all married we became good friends. We went on several vacations together and ate out quite frequently. Of course relationships change when children come along (both ours and later, theirs) but we have remained friends for over 10 years. We attended each other's weddings and now 3 of us must attend a funeral together.

I am struck anew with the finality. The questions come quickly, "Is it so?", "How can this be." Indeed, "Lord, why?" But I know the answers I seek will not be found this way. God promises us victory over death if we accept His Son as our one and only Savior. Jesus died so that we could have eternal life. Please do not put off planning for your eternal future. Please do not fail to plan for those loved ones you leave behind.


"Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing psalms. Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much." James 5:13-16

Alma Mater

While riding in the car with my mother and two children recently I was trying to teach the kids the words to our favorite college team's fight song. You may know it as the War Eagle fight song. And if you were in the Auburn band you know it also as #3. My dad graduated from Auburn also and I grew up singing the fight song. I have edited (as my parents did) the word hell to become yell for the kids to sing.

Auburn has a few other traditional songs that are sung and played at sporting events. Among these are Tiger Rag, Glory (to ole Auburn), and of course the Alma Mater. When I was in the band at Auburn we both played and sang the Alma Mater and I tried to impress them with my memory.

Then my mother did an amazing thing. She sang her high school alma mater from memory. Now, I must say that I graduated from the same high school my mother did and I could not remember a word, I couldn't even sing along. Is it that the college song replaced the high school one in my memory or that my mother has a better memory?

This reminds me that a few years ago my father ran into an old college roomate at church who he had not seen in over 30 years. The amazing thing is that they recognized each other. I am not sure I could tell you some of my old roomates names much less recognize them with 30 years of aging. Wow! They both have amazing memories (although I am not sure my mother would agree about my dad's. Ha!)

This of course has ventured far off the subject. For your learning pleasure here is the Auburn Fight Song.

War Eagle, fly down the field
Ever to conquer, never to yield
War Eagle, fearless and true,
Fight on you orange and blue
Go! Go! Go!
On to vict'ry, strike up the band
Give 'em hell, Give 'em hell
Stand up and yell, Hey!
War Eagle, win for Auburn,
Power of Dixie Land!

Quarters

A local organization in Decatur, Alabama is having a unique event this Saturday to raise money for local charities. It is called miles of smiles (or something similiar). The concept is simple. They are inviting people to come by and drop-off (contribute) quarters and they intend to line them up to make a mile or miles. At first I was excited about how high this might extend but it turns out that it is horizontal.

So now I am curious about how much money this might be. By my estimations (not exact) a roll ($10) of quarters is less than 3 inches. So to be conservative let us say $10 in quarters equals 2.5 inches. According to my google search 1 mile = 63, 360 inches. That means that it would take at least 25,000 ROLLS of quarters to make a mile or $250,00. (Again this is a conservative estimate.) Wow, that would be quite a success for the organization but I have my doubts. A more likely scenario would be about 100 yards which would be about $14,000. I hope to hear how it turned out.

Well, if (as others pointed out) they line the quarters up flat (how boring!) they would only get about 3 quarters per 2.5 inches. This would be about $19,000 per mile.

Friday

I saw the movie Flicka yesterday. Here is my official review. If you like going to the movies to see "chick flicks" and view the experience a success if you shed tears or if you think Tim McGraw is a hottie, then GO SEE THIS MOVIE!! However, if you are a guy, or if you like good acting in your movies you might want to skip it. One exception to the above is for fathers with teenage daughters - you might cry also.

I desperately want to comment on the new $4 prescriptions at Wal-Mart but I am going to refrain. Those of you who know me know that I am still employed there (however, infrequently I work) and I do not feel good about publicly criticising them. As I said in an earlier post, they do pay me well, it is the least I can do.

Auburn is playing Ole Miss this weekend at Oxford.

We get an extra hour of sleep on Saturday night. Don't abuse it.

Saturday

Not a lot going on this week but I thought I should post anyway. No fun critizing others for not posting if you can not do it either.

Ballgames on this afternoon. I am very interested in the outcomes.

It looks like a beautiful fall day. I can tell because I have windows (still getting used to that). If you have ever worked somewhere where you did not see the light of day for 10 or more hours I think you can relate.

I looked at several websites looking for something interesting to blog about and found nothing. I am not going to blog about the escalating American death toll in Iraq, Korean nuclear tests, entertainers who don't pay income tax or the upcoming elections.

So I will leave you with the following thought:

Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect result so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

James 1:2-4

Recent Books

I finished the new John Grisham novel, The Innoncent Man, on Saturday. I have read all of John Grisham's novels and have enjoyed his non-legal efforts A Painted House and Skipping Christmas as well as any of the others (especially the last few). This new novel is an account of a true story. It is not (to my understanding) fictionalized and is about the wrongful conviction of Ron Williamson for a 1982 murder in Ada, Oklahoma. It reads well in Grisham's usual style. I think it is the best thing he has written in several years. His first non-fiction attempt and like his first non-legal attempt proves he can write from other genres. I wish he would. I reread two of his novels again this summer, The Testament and The Partner. I still have most of his books in hardback (among the few books I have kept over the years) and may reread a few others.

I finished another new novel last week, Counterplay, by Robert Tannenbaum. This is the about #18 in the Butch Karp/Marlene Ciampi series and it's age is showing. I don't regret reading it but would not recommend it to anyone who hasn't read the entire series. If you like crime thrillers go back and start at the beginning. This book got poor reviews (and I understand why) but how can you resist finding out about favorite characters. I read on the internet that many of the earlier books were ghost written which explains a lot. Tannenbaum tied up a lot of lose ends with this book and probably should put the characters to rest.

I finally read Camel Club by David Balducci. I had quit reading his books in hardback. He has stepped out of his box several times and written some excellent books (Wish You Well, Christmas Train, The Winner) but his last few novels (including this one) fell flat. He has something new out even now but I will wait for paperback. Why read them at all, you may ask, but remember I read 60-70 books a year. I may be a harsh critic but it was still a decent read.

As I mentioned earlier, I also read Cassandra King's Making Waves. This was her first novel and I had previously enjoyed her The Sunday Wife and The Same Sweet Girls. Her books seem to be written in first person and I enjoy that. She reminds me a lot of Elizabeth Berg. Her books are short but enjoyable.

We also listened to Prey by Michael Crichton on our trip. I read this a few years ago and enjoyed the second reading (listening). I have read many of Chrichton's novels (of Jurassic Park fame) and have enjoyed them all. He rights in varied topics but seems to be of the thriller nature. If you enjoy Douglas Preston, Mathew Reilly, and James Rollings you would also enjoy these.

Finally, I am currently reading one of the Cedar Cove novels by Debbie Macomber. I needed something light following those last few picks.

I should start a blog just about my books.

War Eagle!!

Auburn prevailed in a wonderful game on Saturday (wonderful if you are not a gator). My mother is visiting and so I did not have to enjoy the game alone. She, like myself, is an avid fan and gets equally excited. As usual, we listened to the game on the internet while watching on T.V. Auburn played excellent defense. Coach Tuberville made some comments following the half which were unlike anything I had ever heard him say publically. Obviously, he made some unpublic remarks to the players at half-time and it payed off. The review show is broadcast on Sunday night so I will watch later (on TiVo). My son is starting to get interested although he has yet to watch an entire game ( I think I was about 9 or 10 before I watched one). I think in a few more years he will watch and get excited with me and even go to a game. Auburn moved up to #8 in the AP poll and #4 in the BCS. I am a little surprised to see Tennesse ahead of Auburn as there only loss was to Florida. They have several big games still to play and we will all have to see how it goes. Auburn's only hope for the SEC West is to win their remaining games and have Arkansas lose two SEC games which seems unlikely. Arkansas only loss so far is to USC and their ranking is much lower than Auburn. I predict Arkansas vs. Florida for the SEC championship with neither a contender for a national championship.

Destin

Well, this was certainly not my favorite vacation for various reasons that I will not get into. However, we ate some good food (Back Porch, Pompano Joe's, McGuire's and Cafe 331) played some mini golf and I read two books. The kids have proved to be at an excellent age for road trips and managed to be quite pleasant down and up (N & S). I spent a lot of time sitting by the pool or at the beach reading while the kids played. I didn't get wet but the water was a little too cool for my taste. The kids loved it. We also played Monopoly two nights. It turns out I am not very good at this game. I am ok with it. I manage my money fine but what is with all these fines and rent? Real Estate mogul I am not. My son seems to be pretty good and has learned to cry to get his way (hey, it worked!). My daughter went to bed halfway through the game each night and had over $3000 stashed at one time.

6 Days and no blog

My last blog was last Monday. I have a few things to add and will try not to put them all in one post. I enjoy reading several other blogs and am often frustrated when there are no updates. I was in Destin for 4 nights and although I had my computer with me I was on vacation why would I turn it on? Obviously, my husband and I have different opinions on this.

Sports weekend

Well, my beloved Auburn Tigers were upset on Saturday. Or rather, I was upset, they got whooped (whipped for you english majors). One thing I will say for losing. If you have to lose it is easier to take if you loose from the beginning. It is a lot harder to accept losing when you snatch defeat from the jaws of victory in the closing minutes of a game. (1986 Iron Bowl) Auburn never had the lead. I started accepting the possibility of defeat sometime in the 3rd quarter. They were just out-played. Defense, Offense, even special teams did not show the same level of skill they have all season. What happened? I'll leave that to the so-called experts. The season is not over. We host Florida on Saturday. Not a game to be taken lightly.

As if Auburn losing was not enough, Michael Schumacher did not finish the Japanese Grand Prix on Sunday, effectively handing Alonso the victory and a 10 point lead in the championship. Next week's Brazilian Grand Prix will decide the winner. Unless Michael wins and Alonso finishes below 8 then Alonso has it. A dissapointment, for sure. Again, I will let the experts specualte on the whys. One shining light was Massa finishing second. He and Kimi will make quite a team next year for Ferrari.

The weekend was not a total loss, however. When I suggested we go out for Slushies (Sonic) on Sunday afternoon my 8 yo son spontaneously hugged me. More slushies in his future for sure.

Oh, and I finished an excellent book this weekend: Making Waves by Cassandra King, an excellent southern writer.

Dentist

On Tuesday, both children and I went to the dentist. My children do not fear the dentist. For them, it is a chance to pick-out a free toy. They were quite well behaved. They were very excited about the 2-minute timers and disclosing tablets they received. They were not the least concerned about the $400+ we spent on this 'fun'. It turns out we have lousy dental insurance. Last month when my husband spent $181 at the same dentist, BCBS kindly sent us a check for $45 (just around 25%). My dental office tells me that BCBS is penalizing my husband's company for having only a few employees. On the positive side we do not pay anything for this lousy insurance and the medical seems to be better. I may have to look into dental insurance from my new employer. The dentist recommends sealing both kids teeth. More $$.

Tuesday night, (as if spending the money at the dentist was not enough) while picking up supper I backed into someone in the parking lot. NO damage to my Tahoe. That is all I want to say about that.

Weekend Activities

Thursday night I got home in time for kick-off (it was delayed, slightly). I watched a very enjoyable game considering we won (it would not have been so great if we had lost.) After it was over my husband (who had been sitting in the living room with me) asked, "Who won?" I wouldn't tell him. Auburn plays Arkansas this Saturday at home. Another good game, I am sure. Then we play Florida. A couple of tough weeks to come.

Friday morning I had the honor of sitting in on my daughter's kindergarten class. I listened to the students recite from memory a Psalm they have been working on. I ate lunch in the little cafeteria. Friday afternoon I went to a Women's Conference sponsored by our church in Florence, Alabama at the Marriot Shoals Conference Center (www.marriottshoals.com). Great place to stay. Had a great time.

Saturday after lunch I returned home to find that my children didn't even realize I had gone somewhere. (I know there is something positive about that but I can't get my head around it.) I was delighted to find my husband had completed the laundry! It wasn't even his turn. I took a much needed nap. We went to an early dinner at Outback. Had excellent service by a waiter named Forrest. If you think the Outback is just for steak you should try the Cyclone Pasta. Everyone had leftovers for Sunday lunch.

Sunday we had an excellent service followed by lunch and another nap. Sunday evening we celebrated Oktoberfest with jaegerschnitzel, french fried potatoes, and cucumber with Dill. My kids didn't know what to think but they actually ate what I fixed. We finished the evening watching Michael Schumacher pull in his 91st Grand Prix win in a somewhat exciting race.

My son went to the zoo on Friday in Nashville. I couldn't go because I had already committed to the conference. My daughter is going to Tate Farms today (our local pumpkin patch tourist attraction). I couldn't do that either because I am at work. Tomorrow, though, we are all three going to the dentist and taking the rest of the day off. We will eat lunch out and run some errands. Quality time.