R.I.P. Mike

I am truly sad today. A legend has died. A musical genius. An icon equaled only by maybe The Beatles and Elvis. Michael Jackson passed away at the age of 50 today. Mr. Jackson's music was a huge part of the soundtrack of my life. As a child I vividly remember dancing around my house in Memphis with my mother laughing joyously to the Thriller album on our scuffed up Fisher Price record player.



There is an entire generation that does not know about the genius of Michael. All you know is the crazy person he had become...but there was a day when he was THE MAN. His life is a sad story and culminates today in a sad and lonely death. We will miss you Mike.

"Long distance information.......

......Give me Memphis,Tennessee"

Hey guys. I am back. I missed you all. I just returned from visiting some family in my ol' hometown of Memphis. It was crazy, hectic and stressful, but also quite wonderful too. The trip was 2 fold purposed: to see my badly ailing Granddaddy, and to surprise my family! Both of these were great successes! So......I am about to bore you with a TON of pictures. They will be quite random. Ready???? Here we go:

My daughter Haddie had her 1st food in Memphis! We knew that Gaga would carry on her tradition of feeding the babies her world famous (it really is that good) banana pudding...so we broke her tummy in first:





We also got to see the newest beauty to the clan...Sophie girl! Shes a doll....and makes the cutest faces and laughs adorably



No trip to Mempho is complete without eating the world's best BB-Q,and Corky's (or "Corys" as it was called this night) is the place to start!



It was great to see family!




and check out these old school jammies my sis pulled out:


Jude got a cool surprise when Uncle Pat got him a GIANT Jay Cutler fathead! Look at the joy on that face:





We spent some time at Bass Pro Shop, which was all decked out for Christmas. Very cool time...I mean guns and Santa, what could go together better?








One night we ridiculuously crammed the house for a party where we reconnected with old friends!








I drove to some old haunts to show you guys. Man..this granola hippy boy is ghetto at heart! This is the house I grew up in...the one where the cops chased a neighbor to his house, after he had stolen a cop car in a crack fueled rage :) I wanted to get pics of my last apartment there in Orange Mound..yeah ORANGE MOUND! But I never got to it:

This is Kirby High. They now have to wear uniforms due to the gang violence. Notice the reference to Obama on the sign! How a PUBLIC school can get away with something so cool baffles me??? I forgot how much it looks like a prison!




And only in Memphis...this is in front of what I still call Central Church


Check these out. 1st is Noriah our dear friend singing a song from her school program. And last is Sophie's adorable laugh:




It was a crazy trip. We had 14 people crammed into a 1200 sq ft house! There was very little personal space. It was short so we couldn't accomplish half of what we wanted to. The family argued some...mostly pver my "crazy" political beliefs....and my argument that maybe they should research politicians in another way other than chain emails! My Sisters LOVED to push each others buttons. We ATE! I loved Memphis and hated it at the same time. I talked to Grandaddy for what will probably be my last time. I will cherish those talks. We saw family and friends. And I loved it all. I love my family. We may be crazy, and even resemble a cast of a Jerry Springer show at times :).....but I would not change them for the world!

Memphis Blues

Man, some games just hurt. Monday night was one of those games for me. My lifelong favorite Memphis Tigers lost in OT in the national championship. I am okay with the loss. Kansas is a great team. What I hated, was HOW they lost. The game was theirs. With 2 minutes left, they had a solid 9 point lead. All they had to do was protect the ball and make free throws, and they would very soon be cutting down the nets.

They did neither! They were sloppy with the ball and they missed 5 straight free throws! Just 1 of those would have won the game. But, they just did not get it done. What kills me is that free throws and ball protection are FUNDAMENTALS of the game. They are BASKETBALL 101. When you play in your first kids’ league these are some of the first things you do. Anyone in division one hoop should be able to hit free throws. It is basic basketball.

At times players get too caught up in the “flashy” and “exciting” part of the game. They want to pull off the ankle-breaking crossover, the 360 dunks and the triple pump shots. So anxious to make a poster worthy photo shot, they neglect the fundamentals of the game. And at times, like Monday night, we are reminded how fundamentals are what will win in the clutch!

Many times, we are like that in our faith. We want to look like spiritual all-stars so we read flashy books, use big religious buzz words and listen to cutting edge Christian music. All the while, we neglect the “fundamentals” like prayer and Bible study. And what I am finding as I grow older is that in this arena too, it is the fundamentals that pull us through when it is all on the line.

I pray we are a fundamental people. Spend time in the word and know it. Pray to our God and know Him. We never know when these tools when prove life saving.

I still love the Memphis Tigers, and always will. And SO much more will your God always love you. Now get out there and practice those free throws.