Thank Goodness!

He wasn't returning my calls... I was beginning to wonder.

Friday's Feast

Feast Forty-Five

Appetizer: Which keys do you have on your key chain?

Good question - let's take a look, shall we?

1) My car
2) My car's trunk
3) My wife's car
4) Electronic lock opener for my wife's car
5) My office
6) My church (I'm on staff part time)
7) My front door
8) My parents' front door
9) The roll-top to the new organ we bought. It was so tiny that was the best place to keep it safe
10) Unknown - possibly a cabinet in my office
11) Unknown - possibly the trunk key from a former car
12) Unknown but to God

Also two grocery frequent-shopper cards (one from a store I never go to) and a News Sentinel Advantage card, which is basically worthless cause I never remember it

Soup: What is the most spontaneous thing you've ever done?

I don't think I've ever done anything spontaneous...

Salad: Who is the best cook in your family?

My wife. But that's like saying who's the best brain surgeon in our family - none of us really cook.

Main Course: If you were to write a "how-to" book, what would the title be?

"How To Raise Kids to Appreciate Themselves and Their Families"

Dessert: Name a recent fad you've tried.

I can't think of any fads that I know of. I'm tempted to buy some new stylish workout clothes, but I haven't had the courage to yet ;)

Utter and Abject

Have you ever been utterly and abjectly embarrassed and humiliated?

Tonight was the final night of my racquetball league. 8 weeks of losing every single match, and every game except one of each match. 8 l-o-o-o-n-g weeks of being blown away, run over, knocked around and batted about like a child's plaything.

But, incredibly, all that wasn't the worst of it.

Tonight was the round-robin tournament. Where 8 of the 10 players got together all at once and played each other player one game. At the end the W-L records would be totalled and a winner declared. So I ended up playing 7 11-point games this evening.

Guess....just guess....which player lost all seven of the games??

The closest I came was the first one, where my opponent came from down 10-8 to win 11-10. It went down from there.

Now I ache. Everywhere. Even my wrists, as I type this.

It's What I Like About Me

I've picked up the stick, and now I'm going to attempt to post the:




10 Things I Like About Myself:

1. I like the fact that I'm tall. Tallness is great, especially the fact that I'm not too tall. I'm 6'2", which lets me see over crowds fairly easily, get things off of high shelves, block a basketball shot (occasionally) and stretch for that errant throw from shortstop to first base. I'm not so tall that I have to consistently duck under things like doorways, fans, tree limbs. The only problem is that if I move the wrong way in the bed, sometimes my feet stick out the other end :)
   
   
2. I like the fact that I can sing, and am musical. I believe I have a good voice, and enjoy singing all kinds of styles - rock, jazz, show tunes, choral..(I don't have the chops for opera). I also love that I understand music. Anyone can appreciate it, but I think I understand it. I can feel key changes...see chords...I can understand the texture of notes, rythms, harmonies and counterpoints. I think it's almost like another sense to me, sometimes - one that only I have. That makes it difficult to explain to others, and at times it can get frustrating ("Don't you see?? You just have to blend into the new key at this point...."). But I think it's a precious gift.
   
   
3. I like that I seem to have a gift of empathy. No, I'm not an empath. Nor do I have a degree in psychology or other counseling... But a lot of times I seem to be able to feel what other people are feeling. If someone is sad or troubled, I can tell - it's probably more by facial expressions, vocal tone and body language than anything, but who knows? If a person is getting irritated or bored in a conversation, I can tell and gauge whether to continue or altar tactics. If someone us hurting, I want to help. Now, whether I can actually feel the rage and impatience burning inside the guy in the car behind me when I'm waiting to turn left at an intersection, I don't know - but it sure seems that way.
   
   
4. It goes without saying that I love being married and having a family. I love that I have the capacity to be a good husband and father. See the entire blog for details ;)
   
   
5. I like that I have the ability to take the optimistic point of view in a lot of things. We're living in a cynical world these days. More and more people tend to believe the worst in people: the rude waiter; the greasy-palmed politician, the hypocritical preacher; the corrupt cop; the bee-yatch who just cut you off in traffic; the list goes on and on... Sure these people exist but I reject the notion that we must assume these are the most likely scenarios. I would rather live life trusting in the much greater likelihood that the waiter just learned his girl left him, so he's not in the best of moods. Cut him some slack - maybe you're the one being rude. That soccer mom in the SUV with the cell phone pressed to her ear is not trying to run you off the road so she can get home to see "Desperate Housewives" - she's trying to find someone to pick up her girl at school before it closes so she can get home and take care of her son she just picked up at his school, who's running a 103-degree temp and her husband's out of town. Everyone has stories, everyone has their own problems and people have no right assuming it's all about themselves. I love I have the ability to look around the corner and understand that there are other worlds than these. Maybe that ties into #3, I don't know, but I think more it's just a basic trust in a humanity that has done me far, far more good than it's ever done me bad.
   
   
6. Wow, I'm up to 6 already? This wasn't quite as hard as I thought...
   
   I like the fact that I like children and they seem to like me and feel comfortable with me fairly easily. This, of course, helps with #4 above that I am very comfortable rolling in the floor wrestling with BrainyBoy or going out this morning to get the paper and listening carefully with Tink at the woodpeckers. Or being v-e-r-r-r-y careful not to bother the squirrels. I've taught and been around lots of kids my life and I love that I can appreciate their innocence, celebrate how they learn and explore and be a small part of their growth.
   
   
7. I like that I can see a problem and solve it - or at least help tie up loose ends (or people) and bring them together to solve a problem. So many times projects lie flapping around, undone - not through negligence or incompetance, but due to lack of direction. I can move them along and get a result. I think I would be a good project or department manager someday, if I can get a chance.
   
   
8. I like that I am spiritual and not only feel a responsibility to go to church, and raise my family in the church - but that I enjoy it. And that I can see and feel the presence of God in my life through my children, through nature, through the patterns of leaves growing on a particular branch to the direction a cloud races across a sky. The presence of God's surrounds me and I like that I can allow it to engulf me and take me along for the ride...
   
   
9. I like that I am passionate about a lot of things. I wish that I had more opportunities to direct those passions into things that are useful and constructive...
   
   
10. I like having a healthy sense of humor. I love to laugh ("---Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha--loud, and long, and clear...") and I love to make people laugh. I love to belly laugh at a Bugs Bunny cartoon. I love to chuckle when Hawkeye puts down Frank Burns. I love to laugh at a great joke. I love to tell jokes. I love to laugh in a group, in an audience, to feel that communal sense of shared joy. I love to hear my kids laugh. I love to see the humor that can come out of the worst of tragedies, that reminds us all is not lost, and there is always hope. I love to see someone's face turn from a dark thundercloud, to a light rain, to a sun breaking through as their emotions change from sad to happy. Humor, as they say, is 90% timing, 10% material, and 10% irony.
    
    
    
    Ain't I a stinker?
    

What Gender Is Your Brain?

Your Brain is 46.67% Female, 53.33% Male

Your brain is a healthy mix of male and female You are both sensitive and savvy Rational and reasonable, you tend to keep level headed But you also tend to wear your heart on your sleeve

What Gender Is Your Brain?

The Character of the Castle

From an interview in old Walt Disney World handbook, former Imagineer John Hench related these words about how Cinderella's Castle at the Magic Kingdom reflects the "Disney Magic", and more how that magic permeates the entire park. Just read:

“Well, this theme show idea really works at both the conscious and the subconscious levels in the guest’s mind. There are a number of things that happen to them which they may very well remember…a ride…a personal contact with an employee…a lunch…a particular show…or any one of dozens of others. But equally important, if not more so, is the sum total of all the thousands of little details of which the guests are never quite fully aware…details working at the subliminal level.

Take Cinderella Castle, for instance. Most people walk up to this point and take a picture. In fact, more pictures are probably taken right here of that castle than anything else perhaps in the world. But if you walked up and asked a guest WHY he likes the castle…WHY is it worth photographing?… He could never tell you. He’d probably stammer out something like ‘Because it’s just beautiful’. And yet, when he gets back home and shows his pictures, the feeling will never be the same that he experiences simply standing here.

The fact is, as we stand here right now, there are literally hundreds of stimuli etching an impression…and an experience in our minds through every one of our senses. Probably the most conscious and obvious stimulus is visual…we are looking at that castle and we think it is beautiful. Yet consider the factors that are playing on our sense of vision….the colors…the lighting, the shapes and designs. There is a static nature about the castle structure itself that makes you think its been standing there for centuries. And yet there is motion…the motion of those flags, and the trees around us made by the wind. The movement of people, vehicles and boats, water, balloons, horses, and the white clouds passing by overhead.

Look up at the top of the castle. At the base of the highest tower are a series of tremendously detailed gargoyles which you can barely see from the ground. And yet they are also part of our ‘magic formula’. They are part of a thousand little tiny details we are looking at right now but don’t consciously perceive. Individually they are nothing. Collectively, they add up to a visual experience that the guest can’t find anywhere else.

Now consider what is happening at this moment to our sense of hearing. As we stand here, we are hearing something that the best stereo or quad system in the world can’t duplicate. We are hearing an ever-changing background: music, the sounds of waterfalls, horses’ hooves, bells, a marching band, popcorn popping, and even the familiar crowd murmur that we usually sort of consciously tune out.

Think about the sense of touch…inanimate objects like this rockwork…animate objects like that horse pulling that trolley car. Or those Fantasyland characters in the castle’s forecourt. Those things are not projected film---they are real. If you close your eyes, you can reach out and touch them…feel them.

Those flowers aren’t plastic…you can smell them. That popcorn…you can go over and taste it.

Think about it carefully. As we stand here and look at that castle, every one of our senses are coming into play. This is total involvement. You can never capture this moment and take it home with you in a camera or tape recorder. You can only take this experience home in your mind. Now, multiply this moment by an entire day…by a week…by a thousand other different experiences…and you start to get some idea of the Disney theme show.

Of course, there are some limits to how far you can go in a theme experience. We don’t want to add smoke to the fire effects in the Pirates of the Caribbean…that would be a negative stimulus. In our jungle we keep the real insects to a minimum. In Frontierland, we could be more authentic by making dirt streets, eliminating air conditioning in the buildings and replacing restrooms with outhouses. How many medieval castles ever had piped-in music or drinking fountains with chilled water? Frankly, if we created a totally perfect, authentic themed experience where we had complete realism, it would probably be ghastly for contemporary people living here in the 1970s.

What we create is a ‘Disney Realism’, sort of Utopian in nature, where we carefully program out all the negative, unwanted elements and program in the positive elements. In fact we even go beyond realism in some cases to make a better show. Don’t forget, people are coming here to be entertained…it is a show, you know. We create a world they can escape to…to enjoy for a few brief moments…a world that is the way they would like to think it would be.

The Jungle Cruise is a good example of what I’m talking about. It began in 1955 as an adaptation from our ‘True Life Adventure’ films. We created an attraction where all the things that you might see on a jungle river journey actually do happen. The truth of the matter is, you could probably spend two years on a real journey like that before you’d see everything.

Later, in selected Jungle Cruise scenes, we further enhanced the entertainment value by adding a touch of fantasy here and there. Take the elephant bathing pool, for example. Our guests know that real elephants wouldn’t lurk under the water and then rise up to squirt the boat. And they know a real herd of elephants wouldn’t be quite so happy with a strange boat in their midst. Real elephants would have either retreated defensively into the jungle or smashed the boat to pieces. But again, we’ve programmed Utopian realism, added a touch of fun and fantasy and the guest love it.

Interestingly, for all its success, the Disney theme show is quite a fragile thing. It just takes one contradiction…one out of place stimulus to negate a particular moment’s experience. Take that street car conductor’s costume away and put him in double knit slacks and a golf shirt….replace that old Gay Nineties melody with a rock number…replace the themed merchandise with digital clock radios and electric hair dryers…tack up a felt-tip drawn paper sign that says ‘Keep Out’…place a touch of astro turf here…add a surly employee there…it really doesn’t take much to upset it all.

What’s our success formula? Well, it’s attention to infinite detail…the little things, the minor picky points that other companies just don’t want to take the time, the money, the effort, to do right. As far as our Disney organization is concerned…it’s the only way we’ve ever done it…it’s been our success formula in the past and it will be applied to our future projects as well. We’ll probably still be explaining this to outsiders at the end of our next two decades in this business.”

This magic is an idea that slowly slips away from the caretakers of the parks - the true meaning of that cliched word "synergy"...where all parts work together to create an experience that is greater than what meets the eye.

Now, see, if I were in charge....


Thanks to Jim Hill Media for resurfacing this nugget. Read the whole story and more there.

Cheese back to Tennessee??? Eh, Guess Not.

Henry trade talks finished

"The Titans made a run at disgruntled Bills running back Travis Henry during last weekend's draft, but they failed to offer enough to entice Buffalo to part with Henry. "His name did come up, but it is very unlikely anything else will be made of it," Titans coach Jeff Fisher told The Tennessean. "As far as I'm concerned, it was a draft day issue." The Bills were seeking at least a third-round pick for Henry, but Bills president and GM Tom Donahoe told Buffalo reporters that no one offered such a deal during the draft."

Now this would've been sweet. Travis Henry was one of the lynchpins, along with Peerless Price, Travis Stephens and Tee Martin, of the 1998 Tennessee National Championship Team. He's had a nice career so far with the Bills, but got hurt last year and spent most of the season on the bench watching Miami grad Willis McGahee (feh!) steal his spotlight. Bringing "The Cheese" to the Titans would have been a great fit, and I think any former UT players they can add to their roster can only help.

But alas, not to be.

Hopefully Travis will land somewhere he can make a contribution. Just not anywhere in the AFC South. :)

Rain, Rain...

Poor BrainyBoy.

He loves soccer. Bless his little heart, he's not that good, but he enjoys playing.

If only the Rain Gods would allow him to...

His spring soccer season officially "started" (in quotes because...well, you'll see) the middle of March. Since then, he's actually played 2 real games and 1 real-game-that-became-a-scrimmage because neither team had enough players.

For some reason here in East Tennessee this season - in amongst all the gorgeous neo-spring-like weather, it still manages to rain almost every Friday and Saturday. Which, naturally, are the days he practices and plays games, respectively.

So the make-ups pile up, and the actual last game on the schedule is May 14, in three weeks. And they're off this weekend because all the refs will be at a tournament somewhere.

AND.

If that weren't bad enough, we got home last night around ten after 6pm, and a message on the phone from the coach's wife informed us that they just found out (around noon) that a makeup game was scheduled that evening at 6pm. i.e. ten minutes before we arrived home. Why, thanks...thanks for letting us know.

*sigh*

So another week will go by without a game for him. Which is a shame, because he enjoys it.

Coolness...

...From Danielle: Secrets of Firefox 1.0

Interview of Trumwill

Next on the list is Trumwill of Hit Coffee:

(copy and paste the questions into your own site, and answer there)

---

1) You've decided to throw caution to the wind, empty your bank account, and do something you and your wife have never done before. What do you do, and where?

2) Living around the Mormon community, do you find yourself subconsciously thinking or acting as they do?

3) What is one of the most memorable things about your home town?

4) What was the situation surrounding your first real kiss?

5) Talk about what you love most about your wife...if you're brave, tell us what you dislike most about her...

---

Don't forget to follow the rules below, and let us know in the comments when your answers are up!

Interview of Mays

Mays of In a Mays (I think that's his secret spy name) volunteered to be interviewed, so here we go:

(copy and paste the questions into your own site, and answer there)

---

1) What is one thing that, as a child, you dreamed of doing as an adult but never quite came true?

2) You mention that you like to play and watch baseball (softball). What is your favorite thing about baseball, and how important is it, really, to American culture?

3) You seem pretty firm in your political convictions. Is there anything that would drive you to being more liberal or more conservative?

4) When in your life have you ever actually been struck speechless?

5) If you were to suddenly find yourself trapped on a desert island with three other people, what would be your first order of business?

---

Don't forget to follow the rules below, and let us know when your answers are up!

You Know You're Getting Old When...

...you have to stop your son from giving up spoilers he's heard about the new Star Wars movie.

BrainyBoy v9.2: Dad, one of my friends told me that in Episode III, Anakin has to fight--

Me: What?? How could you know that?

BB: One of my friends told me. And that xxxx is going to die--

Me: HUSH! I don't want to know! Tell your friends to be quiet...


I've waited over 20 years for this movie, and I'm not going to have the plot spoiled by someone who wasn't even born when Return of the Jedi came out. Not even my own son.

I'll make him think Dark Side....

Yet Another Interview

Hey, by cracky, I've been interviewed again - this time by Extra Strength Surfing Fingers (ESSF) (who I believe is a female and quite possibly also human).

Anyway, here's goes:

1. Assume that it’s a given that you have to work for a living. With that said, what is the one occupation you would choose and why?

My dream occupations would be either as Artistic Director for a Community or Professional theatre, or working for the (Michael Eisner/Bob Iger/anyone else associated with them-less) Walt Disney Company in the animation or sound division. Or as an Imagineer.

2. If you were your parent/s while you were growing up, what is one thing that you would/wouldn’t do that they did/didn’t do to you?

I wouldn't beat me all the time! Every day, it was the same thing...the 2x4 with the rusty nails, the straps, the broken bottles....OH, the HUMANITY!!

Sorry, just kidding.

I would have liked for us to have taken more trips together outside of our region. Growing up we had relatives that lived in Atlanta and every summer we'd stay for a week with them, visit Six Flags and come home. Now, I have great memories of that time in my life - and we also went to the beach a couple of times - but I wish we could've made that one big Brady Bunch trip to Hawaii or the Grand Canyon or Hollywood...

3. What was your favorite TV show growing up? Your second favorite?

Hoo boy. A quick spin through my site will reveal several favorites, but let's just say any incarnation of Star Trek will always be my favorite. Second favorite would likely be "M*A*S*H".

4. What temperature do you prefer your house/apt. to be when falling asleep at night? Covers or no covers? Clothed or buck naked?

I prefer my house to be a bit warm, since my parents' house was always kept fairly warm - that's what I'm used to. In any situation, if the room or house temperature starts getting chilly my fingers and toes start to get numb. And who wants numb fingers? So give me warmth, baby. I can always kick off the covers although I generally stay under them all night regardless of the temp.

And speaking of kicking off the covers. As for the last part...well, first of all we have two youngs kids in the house so a certain amount of decorum is advised - especially for those early morning "Daddy-it's-time-to-get-up" bouncing parties Tink seems to enjoy throwing. That could get awkward and embarrassing. Now, on the mornings I get up early before the kids I generally don't wear anything. I'd do that all the time if I could get away with it - clothes and me seem to always turn opposite directions when I shift positions in the bed, and when we have flannel sheets...don't you want to be able to feel it just about everywhere? (Calm down, ladies..calm down). So anyway, on normal nights I just wear a pair of shorts. If it's the dead of winter, I may wear flannel pajama pants.

5. If you could write one new law or change a current law, what would it be? What would you want the punishment to be for that crime?

This may be heresy, but I wish certain Intellectual Property laws would be relaxed a bit. I understand that people work hard for their art, and should be duly recognized and in some cases compensated for the efforts, but having to extensively credit and document every photo, clipart, snippet of music, piece of dialogue...as well as require one to jump through numerous legal hoops and hurdles to utilize it I think defeats somewhat the purpose of the art itself.

Mankind has used art to express him and the problems he's faced since first picking up a stick and drawing in the dirt. A work of art, a page of music, a thought, an idea - they should be shared as much as possible. With all the demands and limitations in distributing such material, it makes some artforms and other works virtually inaccesible. And that's a shame.

I totally understand that a lot of artists require money paid to them to continue producing, and freely distributed copies of the work would dilute their income base. It's a totally valid argument and I understand it. That just solidifies the notion that it's a tough issue, that won't be solved until humans resist relying so much on money to produce art.

I'm sure punishments for violating the existing laws vary wildly, but I certainly don't think jail time would be appropriate for anyone - unless maybe it was obvious they were doing it to make unnatural profit for themselves.


If you would like for me to ask you five questions…
1. Leave a comment saying “interview me” if you’d like to be interviewed.
2. I’ll respond by asking you 5 questions here. They’ll be different than those above.
3. Update your blog with your answers to the questions.
4. When you do so, include this same explanation and an offer to interview someone else in the same manner.
5. When others comment asking to be interviewed, you’ll ask them five new questions.


Thanks, ESSF, for the questions!

Am I Blue?

Why yes, yes I am. I'm depressed, bored and frustrated.

Somebody cheer me up...

Back to the Land of the Lost?

Um, ok, on the surface this is great news. It seems they're finally going to make a big-budget "Land of the Lost" movie.

But then you see who's starring, and the premise...

[Will] Ferrell Going Back in Time for Universal's 'Lost'

'The "Saturday Night Live" alumnus is attached to star in a "Land of the Lost" comedy feature based on the 1974-77 television series of the same name.

...

Universal acquired the feature rights from Sid and Marty Krofft, executive producers of the original NBC series, who will produce the feature for the studio. Jimmy Miller [co-producer of "Elf" and producer of the upcoming "Get Smart" remake] and Julie Wixson-Darmody [also a co-producer of "Elf"] also will produce via the Mosaic Media Group banner.

Adam McKay, a former "SNL" writer who directed Ferrell in "Anchorman," [and wrote "Bewitched"] is attached to direct, with Chris Henchy [who has written for TV] and Dennis McNicholas [original head writer for "Saturday Night Live"] signing on to adapt the screenplay.

'

As I've said before, I'm a big 70's kids TV nostalgia buff. "Land of the Lost" was my favorite show, and was a big part in kick-starting my love of dinosaurs, sci-fi and all things fantastic and amazing.

I'll reserve judgement until I see some plot reports, but at first glance I can't say I'm encouraged. Will Ferrell seems to be well-respected in the light fantasy/romantic comedy genre ("Elf", "Bewitched"), but I desparately don't want them to take this show and make it a farce. The fact that all the producers, directors and writers mentioned are comedy veterans doesn't help matters either...

Maybe with the right combination of drama and comedy, and the right actors to play Will and Holly, it might come off.

The kids and I are right now in the middle of watching the DVD's for the second season of the show, and they are as into it as I was (although Tink runs and hides whenever she sees a Sleestak). Plus BrainyBoy and I are watching/rewatching all the Jurassic Park movies as well, so dinosaurs are definitely on our mind.

So, we'll see...

Friday's Feast

Feast Forty-Four

Appetizer - Name something that helps you fall asleep.

Reading a book at bedtime puts me to sleep pretty easily. Especially on those nights when I don't want to got sleep...

Soup - Who brings out the best in you?

My kids. When they're in learning/searching/growing mode, I love to be around them and help, and advise, and be there with them.

Salad - What do you like to do on a rainy day?

Well, rainy of sunny I have to work so it doesn't really matter what it's doing outside. And if it's the weekend...plans typically don't change on account of the weather, unless soccer is rained out. But to actually stop evading the question... I guess read a book is the best thing to do on a rainy day. And if it's night-time, subsequently fall asleep (see above).

Main Course - Complete this sentence: In our home, we never have enough...

"...time, to do the things you want to do once we find them..."

Dessert - Which shoe do you put on first?

Ok, now really. *sigh*. Ok, left. Because you read left to right, silly.

And Let That Be a Lesson To You!

Fake Hospital Inspectors Probed

Those Were the Days

A few days ago, a cryptic comment appeared to one of my posts. Basically, it said "Guess who?" signed Tanis (aka Moria Destroyer). Well, Tanis was a character in the Dragonlance books I love so much (that the "Inn of the Last Home" is named after) and Moria is a video game me and my roommates used to play back in college.

So welcome, Gary, back to my world. Gary was my roommate at the University of Tennessee from around 1987-1989. Not only did he become a good friend, he was a groomsman in my wedding. We lost touch after the wedding, he had moved on to Law School at Vanderbilt and eventually made it out to Denver, CO where he's married and apparently he and his wife have a great loft overlooking the Pepsi Center.

I wanted to introduce my regular visitors to him, and ask that he comment often and get to know you folks as well. Gary's a rare person, he's easy to know, easy to like and gets along well with anyone. He's bright and enthusiastic and bailed me out of a couple of tough scrapes back then. With his permission, I'll tell a few Gary stories...

• The first time I met Gary he scared the crap out of me.
  
  I had moved into the Andy Holt Apartments at UT that fall as a junior. The suite we shared held four people, and my roommates at the time were Allen and (oh, I can't remember his name, sorry) in the first suite and Benton and myself in the second. Benton was unable to come back the second semester, so I knew I would be getting a new roommate, I just didn't know who. So about the first day of classes in the Spring Semester, I'd just taken a shower and was drying my hair (it was fairly early in the morning. And I actually had hair to dry, go figure) when I see out of my peripheral vision--this guy. Tall, blond hair, a little lanky. Staring at me with a goofy grin on his face and waving. Of course, I almost freak and drop the hair dryer, with this strange guy standing in my room. "Whoa, it's ok - he said. I'm Gary, your new roommate. They gave me a key and I came in while you were in the shower but I didn't know how to tell you I was here without scaring you".
  
  "Well, you did a good job!" I thought. But we laughed about it after my heartrate went down.
  
  
• I'll have to ask Gary to supply the next thought - his first night on campus wasn't actually around me, but with Allen, our other roommate, and his friend as he helped them go on a hunt for Allen's girlfriend. But I'll let him supply those details.
  
  
• Eventually, Allen's roommate basically moved into his girlfriend's apartment somewhere else and we never really saw him again. But then at the same time, Allen's estranged, somewhat loopy girlfriend Wendy moved in with him. All unofficially - she had an official residence somewhere else on campus, but basically lived there. So it was three guys and a girl.
  
  Wendy had Allen wrapped around her finger, and made her presence known when she wanted the least little thing. We'd be sitting in the living room watching TV and would hear, "Alllllllll-LLLLLENN!??!??!?!" from the back bedroom... Allen would immediately spring to his feet and exclaim Aldrichly, "Coming dear!" and trot off to, like, turn her pillow or something.
  
  Not only that, she used about 3/4 a roll of toilet paper everytime she went to the bathroom. We could never really figure out why she needed so much, but it was almost always empty. As far as I know she never replinished it.
  
  Ok, that wasn't really a Gary story but I'm sure he remembers it..
  
  
• One spring break Gary and his girlfriend and I and my girlfriend (Laura, who I eventually married) travelled to Panana City Beach in my car. One evening we were driving around getting something to eat, and Gary happened to be driving. (Gary do you remember this? :) ) Apparently Gary didn't know the difference between a speed bump and a concrete parking barrier...well, let's say our heads hit the roof of the car and my suspension was severely insulted...
  
  
• Gary, remember the girl who existed in two time zones? (Sorry, that one's not for polite company)
  
  
• As a theatre student, I took a directing course one semester and was required to stage a one-act play. Spring was coming up, and student actors in the department were becoming scarce. The play I chose, "The Public Eye" called for three characters, and I had no trouble casting the husband and wife from fellow students in my department. For some reason, I couldn't find anyone to play the lead - the ones I asked who would be good in the role had prior commitments, or were leaving town. Time was growing short, and while griping about my woe to Gary, he said, "I'll play it." Um...ok!
  
  And he did. He took the part, memorized the script, rehearsed with the other actors and the whole thing was great. He saved my bacon on that one..
  
  Unfortunately I didn't tape it - ah well.
  
  
• I graduate at the end of summer, 1989 and after spring was over I moved back home for the summer to finish up. Gary stayed in the apartment and roomed with former Vol quarterback Jeff Francis. We didn't get together much over the summer, and my graduation day I hadn't seen him for about a month or two. As I was walking down the aisle, diploma in hand and got back eventually to my family they said, "That was nice how you got to walk next to Gary with your diplomas".
  
  Huh?
  
  Apparently, since they form two lines in and out of the platform, we walked off next to each other and had no idea the other was there...

I'll try to add more as I have time...

Meep Meep

Wily neighbor not wanted

"Wesley Road, West Knoxville (WVLT) - The next time you look out into your backyard don't be all that surprised if you see some wildlife you're not usually accustomed to seeing.

...

"It definitely isn't the sort of thing you expect to find in Knoxville, even a suburban area like this," says Bill Stack, who saw a coyote in his backyard.

"It looked like a dog, about the size of a German Shephard, but has spindly legs, long, pointed snout and a big, bushy tail down between his hind legs, no dog I've ever seen looks like that," continues Stack.

The coyote is apparently making itself out home in this neighborhood, four sightings all within a mile of Bill Stack's yard."

You know, about a hundred jokes ran through my head when I read this, but there's just too many opportunities to create a humorous anecdote. So, as a public service, I'll just supply you with the funny terms and you create your own jokes:

Road Runner

ACME

anvil

oncoming train

"Good morning, Sam." "Good morning, Ralph."

birdseed

ManBat Costume

There, that should do it. Mix and match and enjoy!

Oh, I do love this quote..

"As long as they're not rabid, they're no threat to you, but keep a close eye on any small pets. Wolfe says they're easy targets for a coyote's next meal."

Now, let's think about this a second. If an animal is rabid, that would mean pretty much it would have to bite you. Well, if it can bite you and transfer rabies...couldn't even a non-rabid coyote still bite you? How does a non-rabid but still biting coyote pose no threat? Last I heard, bites, like, hurt...

Ho hum - Another Day, Another Dollar

Can't muster up enough creative juices to write about much today. I have a lot to say over the weekend, when I'm going to be talk a lot about an old buddy I recently got back in contact with. In fact, regular readers kind of witnessed it in the comments to this. That's coming, soon - amusing college stories.

I play racquetball tonight, and softball after. That groan you hear will be my aching bones crying out in protest. Well, that's assuming it doesn't rain - we've spoiled ourselves the last several days with more nice weather than we normally get in a row. Rain's forecast through Saturday, so we'll see.

BrainyBoy didn't win anything in the Science Fair earlier this week, but he certainly took it in stride, and everyone in his class was very happy and supportive of the kids who did win. I find that heartening. Of course, it's just third grade and the big jealousy virus probably hasn't hit very hard yet but still it's fun to see kids root for and not against each other. He also got on TV briefly, as did I - the local Channel 10 news did a short piece on the Fair Tuesday evening. He could be seen behind the shoulder of another youngster explaining his exhibit and I was in the background later. Woo! Famous!

So, we're supposedly getting Traffic Cameras. Big whoop. I don't care who sees my picture driving, and if it helps prevent accidents good deal. There's reports of illegal or at least immoral kickbacks in the deal and that should be investigated but all the paranoia and "privacy concerns" are much ado about nothing. If so-called "Privacy Advocates" get their way, we'll all be walking around with bags over our heads.