Andy gets some ideas!

Yesterday was quite a treat for me. With an "All Access Pass" given to me by Pastor Luckey, I was able to attend several presentations at the Idea Festival in Louisville. Two presentations were particularly impressive: first, Mark Beaseley's "Creative Space"; second Will Short's "Puzzled?" As Short described the history and creation of cross-word puzzles, he noticed one couple in particular, appropriately dressed for the occasion. I took a picture of them afterwards, promising that they appear in this blog. Ain't (yes, cross-worders use the word!) they something!

Bus Trip to Philly, ATL City, NYC, Washington and Back!

On September 7, along with some 40 others in the Geriatric Ward, June and I boarded the Midnight Sun bus and headed north to a week's trip to Henderson, NC, Atlantic City, Philadelphia, the Big Apple, Washington, DC, and home again. What a ride (sore butt and all). Really, it was better than I expected. The company was great, the food tolerable, and some places--St. Paul's Chapel, across from Ground Zero, in NYC and my second visit to Independance Hall--well worth the stopping. I got lots of travel-time to read (finished, for example, Graham Greene's The Comedians and got well into Dostoevsky's The Brothers Karamozov). All told, a good week on the road.

PS: At the Atlantic City casino, I lost nary a dime; in fact, the joint gave me $25 and I promptly spent it in a good book store one block away, getting a dandy used copy of John C. Miller's Alexander Hamilton: Portrait in Paradox. What a deal!

Our Labor Day Weekend

Well, here we are, just moments before loading up the cars to leave after a wonderful Labor Day weekend with Amy, Kevin, Mary Carol, Jackson, Hayden, Chelsea, June and Andy, Uncle Art and Aunt Liz.

As you can see, we just your normal, unexcitable family; nothing really going on when we get together. We hug and pat one another on the back. Nobody ever tells a tall tale, not even a white lie. Nobody gets a slight buzz. The kids are soooooo-good. We're always on our best behavior. We're just like those dudes in the pix. Everyone shows a big toothy smile; Art and Andy suck in their tummies (with their hour-glass figures, the women don't have to ), and all of us look straight into the camera like we belong in the White House. We is the ideal family. What a photograph! Dad-gum! We's cover-magazine stuff. The whole thing is almost professionally done!

However, when we're at the end of our ropes, getting on one another's nerves, getting up too often in the middle of night to pee, and asking once to often for that second shiraz (and "You got an extra beer, Kev?"), we tend to look a little more less normal (say, for example) like those fruit-cakes people in the botton photo. Andy is still picking his teeth from those fish tacos. Mary Carol, as usual, can't get her tongue back in her mouth. June is still biting her tongue so as not to say something infelicitous. Carol is in her usual state of shock. Art, getting a bit romantic with his wife (who apprently loves it). Kev, his near-explosive self, about to go bananas. Cooper the Mutt, squirming his butt off in MC's arms. How Amy manages to smile is beyond us. The picture was uncomposed, just a random snapshot of the Kuhns and Harnacks. We're outta here!

Hush! Hush! But do look at Chelsea!

Unbeknowst to everyone (we were all watching the Iron Man Competition), Liz and Chelsea slipped away to take a look at Liz's new VW convertable; and when we looked up, Chelsea was easing the beautiful red machine ever so nicely around the bank's parking lot. Liz was giving her niece her first driving lesson. There were no other cars in the lot; it was as safe as safe can be. By all accounts, Chelsea did exceptionally well, not a jerk when on the gas pedal, not a head-bob when putting on the brakes; Chelsea drove slowly with great precision; the ride went as smooth as silk. It didn't last long, but it was such a pleasure to see Chelsea learning to be responsible at the wheel.

Amy and Kevin's New Home

While Art and Liz were driving down from Indianapolis, June, Chelsea, and Andy were heading west to meet them at 3104 Hilltop Place in Prospect, KY, the new home of Amy, Kev, Mary Carol, Jackson, and Hayden. It's beautiful, and we felt so welcome.

On Saturday evening June, Carol, Liz, Art, and Andy went to Grace & Glory Lutheran Church in Goshen, Kentucky, to worship the Most Holy Trinity, listen to the Scripture readings, hear Pastor Tim Koenig's excellent homily, and share the Sacrament of Holy Communion. It was a beautiful liturgy, greatly appreciated by all--most of all, I hope and pray, by God who blesses us so richly.

On Sunday we relaxed a good bit, ate Amy's blueberry breakfast casserole (almost a sacrament in itself!), slipped over to KY 42 to watch the Iron Man Triatholon, walked over with Carol to see her new home (a stunningly lovely condo!), ate scrumptuous fish tacos for dinner, and sipped red and white wines (some had a beer or two) during the afternoon. While we chatted and yakked (stepping ever so light on matters political :-), the kids went over to the big pool. The new Kuhn house/resort is gorgeous (five bedrooms and two huge porches, and a fire-pit on the ceramic deck, among severeal dozen other amenities). On Saturday night towards bedtime, all the kids fixed us "s'mores" so that June and I were able to gain back a little of the weight we've lost. O, it was good! It was great! We is gonna come back!

Labor Day: The Iron Man Competition in Louisville

While at Amy and Kev's home in Louisville, we spent a good bit of time watching and cheering on riders in the Iron Man Competition. Here are some excerpts from today's coverage by Michael Grant in the Louisville Courier-Journal:

Seemingly impervious to the elements, not looking particularly fatigued but very hungry, Maximilian Longree triumphantly burst into Fourth Street Live yesterday after he won the second Ford Ironman Triathlon.

The German finished the endurance race in 8 hours, 33 minutes, 58 seconds -- almost 21 minutes ahead of defending champion Chris McDonald (8:54:52). It was a shocking display of dominance. Longree ignored harsh weather conditions to better last year's winning time by almost six minutes.

For the women, 34-year-old Mariska Kramer-Postma of the Netherlands came from behind late to win in 9:54:17.

The 93-degree high temperature and stiff wind didn't seem to bother Longree. He won by passing McDonald near the midway point of the marathon and finished the 26.2-mile run in 2:48.55 after the 2.4-mile swim and 112-mile bike ride.

Ironmans make Longree hungry. Usually he celebrates with pizza, but after chewing up the competition yesterday, he took a big bite of a bacon double cheeseburger delivered from the Hard Rock Café.

Longree, 27, left nothing to chance. He placed his food order three weeks ago so it would be waiting for him at the finish line. He wanted "a real American burger and not the fast food from Germany."

"Here in Kentucky I heard about the burgers," he said. "I ordered it three weeks ago via e-mail. Three miles before the finish line I let them call the race director to get me the burger. It was great."

Longree can afford all the burgers he wants after earning $10,000 for his first Ironman victory. His previous best finish was third place in Ironman Austria in July 2007. Bothered by a stress fracture in his right foot, he hadn't competed in an Ironman since the Ironman World Championship in Hawaii in October, when he placed 17th.

After the swim, Andrew Johns led, finishing in 51:27. Longree was 14th. Johns was slowed by back spasms, however, and had to quit. McDonald took the lead around the 80-mile mark of the bike ride. The Australian had the lead for most of the first half of the marathon until Longree made a strategic decision to speed up the race.

"After 12 miles he had a good pace," Longree said. "I tried to go with him. But then I felt, 'I have to go my pace.' It was much higher, but if you go another pace you could come out of your rhythm. "It worked. I'm really happy. I'm not so tired. But I will be in a few hours."
McDonald said he simply couldn't keep up with Longree. "I had nothing on the run today," he said. "I had a seven-minute lead on the bike. I just couldn't find a rhythm at all. I struggled every single step."

Last year gave McDonald his first career Ironman victory. Yesterday it was Longree's turn. "It's so unbelievable for me now to really win a race," he said. "You can't sleep the night before because you're so nervous. Then you're tired. You go into the race and it's really tough. I will enjoy this victory with my family."

As we watched the riders fly by, we rallied, hooted, and rooted on a good many women--Iron Women! When the lovely lady in the bottom photograph saw that I was going to take a picture of her, she looked over and said, "Oh, please, don't! I haven't got any lipstick on!" And then she smiled.