Getting Ready for the Trip to Haiti

On Saturday Andy, the team coordinator for a thirteen-person trip to Haiti, met with eight friends to pack 20 bins of medical, food, and maintainence supplies that the team will lug back into the mountains to the village of Ranquitte. Four of the team are from Faith Lutheran Church, Lexington,and nine are from First United Methodist Church, Richmond. For the their first time, Pat Mundt and Joe King (unloading Pat's car here), will make the trip of their lives!

December 13: Merry Anna's Graduation

On Friday, December 12, Sara Beth, Matt, June, and Andy drove down to Columbia International University in South Carolina to be with Merry Anna as she graduated with a B.S. degree. It was quite some ride down--lots of rain. But the next day, the day of Merry Anna's commencement, was just gorgeous, full of sunshine! Congrats to June's granddaughter!

On the way back to Kentucky we stopped at the Golden Girls Restaurant north of Knoxville to share supper with Kathy and Steve Stout, Matt's parents. Broasted chicken! Gosh, it was good! And so good to get to know Sara Beth's parents-in-law; it's no wonder Matt is such a great guy.

A Weekend with Hisae Kuroda

A month or so ago Richmond's mayor, Connie Lawson, asked June and Andy if they would like to host someone from Japan who would be visiting our town under the sponsorship of the Japanese-American Society of Kentucky. On Friday evening at the Acres of Land Winery and Restaurant we met Hisae Kuroda, our 59-year-old guest from Shikamachi, Yata, Japan. We had a wonderful weekend with her. On Saturday, the 25th, we gathered at Irvine McDowell Park and watched the homecoming parade when--lo! behold!--Amy and Kevin, Mary Carol, Jackson, Hayden, along with Sharon and Carl Kuhn, and Carol came walking up Oak Street. What a wonderful surprise!

After the parade June, Andy, and Hisae had lunch at JW's on Main Street and then spent the better part of the afternoon shopping in Berea. That evening we had dinner at Barb Griec and Mas Smith's home with a big roasting of "s'mores" over coals in the outdoor fire pit.

On Sunday Hisae accompanied us to the Eucharist at Faith Lutheran Church in Lexington. Afterwards we drove down to Riptides, a river-side restaurant under the I-75 bridge on the Fayette County side of the rive. And from there we launched ourselves on three pontoon boats (tied side to side) for a trip down the Kentucky River, sponsored by Riverkeepers with artist Pat Banks as leader. Later that evening we went to the Grey Oaks Club House for a dulcimer performance and reception hosted by the Mayor.

Then on Monday it was another full day. by bus Hisae went to Louisville, and we followed by car. For lunch we stopped by the great ballroom at the Seelbach Hotel, then went to Churchill Downs for a terrific tour, and wound up at the Kentucky Center for the Performing Arts where we took in "The Kentucky Show." It was then that we said good-bye to Hisae, who had stayed in our home for three nights, given us lovely gifts, shared breakfast, and lots of chatter about her home and our home. It was really quite something! On the way home, we stopped by to see Amy and the kids (Kevin was at the Titans game!) and played some spirited rounds of "spoons."

You can go to to Photobucket and see lots of pictures submitted by all the hosts and guests, including some by Andy.

Breakfast at the Pancake Pantry in Gatlinburg, Tennessee

This morning the four of us--Lora and Kirk, June and I--got to spend some precious hours with one another, meeting in Gatlinburg, TN, for breakfast. Gosh, it was wonderful! Kirk showed up with a banged-up right hand, damaged in Amsterdam (take a look at that pinkie finger!), and Lora, we found out, has nearly a brand-new job, now that her situation has dramatically changed for the better under a new boss. We're so happy for both of them! At the end of the month, Kirk will be heading to Bejing; about the same time June and I will be flying out to Santa Fe for a two-week visit in one of Andy's favoriate cities. We will be staying overnight at Lora and Kirk's home, flying out on November 1 and getting back on the 15th. All of which means that we get to do Halloween in Nashville! Watch for June in her bogeywoman mask!

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.

Lisa shows Katie how to vote!

Moments ago Lisa wrote to say, "In all my 23 years of being able to vote, I have only missed two primaries. Not only do I understand what a privilege it is, but also, it’s my moral obligation to teach Katie the same, as you can see below, we have already started!"

Methinks she was prompted by Carol's earlier reminder today about the struggles women went through to gain the right to vote with this enclosure from a friend:

WHY WOMEN SHOULD VOTE

This is the story of our Grandmothers and Great-grandmothers; they lived only 90 years ago. Remember, it was not until 1920 that women were granted the right to go to the polls and vote.The women were innocent and defenseless, but they were jailed nonetheless for picketing the White House, carrying signs asking for the vote. And by the end of the night, they were barely alive. Forty prison guards wielding clubs and their warden's blessing went on a rampage against the 33 women wrongly convicted of 'obstructing sidewalk traffic.' (Lucy Burns)They beat Lucy Burns, chained her hands to the cell bars above her head and left her hanging - bleeding and gasping for air. (Dora Lewis) They hurled Dora Lewis into a dark cell, smashed her head against an iron bed and knocked her out cold. Her cellmate, Alice Cosu, thought Lewis was dead and suffered a heart attack. Additional affidavits describe the guards grabbing, dragging, beating, choking, slamming, pinching, twisting and kicking the women.Thus unfolded the 'Night of Terror' on Nov. 15, 1917, when the warden at the Occoquan Workhouse in Virginia ordered his guards to teach a lesson to the suffragists imprisoned there because they dared to picket Woodrow Wilson's White House for the right to vote. For weeks, the women's only water came from an open pail. Their food--all of it colorless slop--was infested with worms. (Alice Paul) When one of the leaders, Alice Paul, embarked on a hunger strike, they tied her to a chair, forced a tube down her throat and poured liquid into her until she vomited. She was tortured like this for weeks until word was smuggled out to the press.

So, refresh my memory. Some women won't vote this year because- -why, exactly? We have carpool duties? We have to get to work? Our vote doesn't matter? It's raining?Last week, I went to a sparsely attended screening of HBO's new movie 'Iron Jawed Angels.' It is a graphic depiction of the battle these women waged so that I could pull the curtain at the polling booth and have my say. I am ashamed to say I needed the reminder.All these years later, voter registration is still my passion. But the actual act of voting had become less personal for me, more rote. Frankly, voting often felt more like an obligation than a privilege. Sometimes it was inconvenient.My friend Wendy, who is my age and studied women's history, saw the HBO movie, too. When she stopped by my desk to talk about it, she looked angry. She was--with herself. 'One thought kept coming back to me as I watched that movie,' she said. 'What would those women think of the way I use, or don't use, my right to vote? All of us take it for granted now, not just younger women, but those of us who did seek to learn.' The right to vote, she said, had become valuable to her 'all over again.'HBO released the movie on video and DVD . I wish all history, social studies and government teachers would include the movie in their curriculum I want it shown on Bunco night, too, and anywhere else women gather. I realize this isn't our usual idea of socializing, but we are not voting in the numbers that we should be, and I think maybe a little shock therapy is in order.It is jarring to watch Woodrow Wilson and his cronies try to persuade a psychiatrist to declare Alice Paul insane so that she could be permanently institutionalized. And it is inspiring to watch the doctor refuse. Alice Paul was strong, he said, and brave. That didn't make her crazy.The doctor admonished the men: 'Courage in women is often mistaken for insanity.'

NOTES FROM DIANA: AND HERE’S THE WAY THE VOTE WENT…….When thirty-five of the necessary thirty-six states had ratified the amendment, the battle came to Nashville, Tennessee. Anti-suffrage and pro-suffrage forces from around the nation descended on the town. And on August 18, 1920 (my great-Granny Ada’s birthday – and the year she turned 18), the final vote was scheduled.

One young legislator, 24 year old Harry Burn, had voted with the anti-suffrage forces to that time. But his mother had urged that he vote for the amendment and for suffrage. When he saw that the vote was very close, and with his anti-suffrage vote would be tied 48 to 48, he decided to vote as his mother had urged him: for the right of women to vote. And so on August 18, 1920, Tennessee became the 36th and deciding state to ratify.

Please, if you are so inclined, pass this on to all the women you know. We need to get out and vote and use this right that was fought so hard for by these very courageous women. Don’t forget to vote!History is being made.

Model Wins over Tates Creek

Yesterday Model Laboratory School's varsity soccer team beat Tates Creek: 3-0. It was such an exciting game to watch. As always, when Coach Barbara Shafter put Chelsea in to play, she played her heart out. Model's next game is Monday evening at 5:00; come back to see the score!

Katie's First Birthday

On August 2nd, Patsy and Ray (Katie's grandparents), Susan and Delwyn (auntie and uncle), Lisa and Tim--proud parents!--and June and Andy celebrated Katie's first anniversary of her coming into the big world. It was a grand occasion, and Katie was not a little overwhelmed with the attention, gifts, and scrumptious food, especially that birthday cake. While we didn't get her signature on the model release, we sure did take a lot of pictures! The really wonderful joyful atmosphere saturdating the whole day was Katie's upbeat attitude: just great! The only thing she refused to do was wear that dumb hat. But, of course, she got a big kick out of her daddy's slipping it on. "It looks just great on you, Daddy!"

"Hey, Mom! When are we going to play with all those toys? And when you are going to read me my new books?"

"When do we get to this again, Dad?"

Chelsea at UK BEST

Chelsea is attending UK BEST this week, a five-day "stay-over-in-the-dorms" program hosted by the University of Kentucky's College of Engineering. Each day she gets an introduction to a different kind of engineering: mechanical, eletrical, chemical, and civil. I hope Chelsea will take some pictures to share!

Abigail graduates from high school! Adam begins his summer work!

Becky and Wayne are so proud of their daughter, Abigail, who graduated from high school in late May. Here, as Senior Class President, Abigail was not only honored as the Senior Class President to introduce the pastor for the Baccalaureate service. But she also gave the closing speech at graduation, a “charge” to her fellow classmates. It's no wonder that Tony, her date for the prom, and Gran June are so proud of her.

Adam has just returned from Camp Kanakuk training where he will work from July 5th through August 15th. He will be a boat driver for kids who want to tube or wakeboard. Of course, he will also be a counselor and spiritual leader to a group of 8-10 boys. He will work at home the month of June and head out to Missouri on the 3rd or 4th.

Chelsea Harnack wins her first state title on Saturday in Louisville

Chelsea's in the headlines again! On Saturday she won the Girls 100 Meter Hurdles 1A with a fast 15.97 seconds, shaving 1.6 seconds off her previous preliminary run at 16.51. Chelsea's ability to accelerate during the stretch is absolutely wonderful to watch. Here's what Sunday morning's Richmond Register had to say:

The Model Laboratory sophomore took first place in the 100-meter hurdles, finished second in the 300-meter hurdles and also finished fourth in the 400-meter dash. In addition she was a member of the school’s 4x200 meter relay team (Alex Kubala, Kaylyn Pratt, Nmeli Nnoromele and Harnack), which took fourth place.

Led by Harnack, the Lady Patriots racked up a total of 46 points and finished seventh in the Class A competition.

And here's what Eric Lindsey, writing in the Lexington Herald Leader, posted in Sunday's paper:

Model Coach Jason Moncer had but one bit of advice before his girls ran in Saturday's Class A finals: ”I told all the girls that nothing ever goes as expected in state meets." Sure enough, Moncer's words turned out to be true. Model sophomore Chelsea Harnack, one of Model's best runners and one of the favorites in the 300-meter hurdles, hit the third hurdle during the event, nearly falling on the track and seemingly losing out on a chance to finish in the top three. But somehow, Harnack gained her balance and finished second despite the early race scare. ”I was coming around the curb and I went over with my right leg, and I don't usually do that,“ Harnack said. ”I was nervous about (falling).“ Harnack said she wanted first place, but considering the circumstances, she turned in the second of three stellar finishes on the day. The sophomore took first in the 100-meter hurdles, second in the 300 hurdles and fourth in the 200-meter dash.

”The difference between two days — (Friday) she just looked shell-shocked, was nervous and did not have a good day, but today she had a good day,“ Moncer said. ”We've been working on things all year and she's just a sophomore so she's got a lot of potential ahead of her.“

Harnack led Model to a seventh place finish overall, the best of any Class A school in and around Lexington.

Our whole family, especially Dad!--along with Jason Moncer, her coach, everyone at Model Lab School, and the whole town of Richmond--is so proud of Chelsea! What a girl! What a daughter! We're all so proud of you, Chelsea!

June and I will be in pilgrimage in Ireland and Scotland from May 11 until May 23. We're going with two other couples: Claudia and Harry Smiley, Carol and Robert Rogow. After flying to Dublin, we're driving up the east coast, bed and breakfasting along the way, for a few days so that eventually we can cross the Irish Sea by ferry and head up to and through Glasgow, Scotland. The high and outer-most point of our journey will be the Isle of Iona, the ancient "thin place" of Celtic Christianity, where we'll stay for two nights. A good bit of our time will be spent in and around the Abbey where we'll have opportunities to pray and participate in the Sunday liturgy. Please remember us in your prayers, asking that we have a safe and Spirit-filled pilgrimage. When we return, I'll do my best to share all that the Lord will have given to us during our journey.


Image: Inside the Abbey Church by Roger Wilco

Dad Andy Attends Consecration

Last Sunday Andy, along with his neighbors Gayle and Michael Folkerts, went to Covington to be among friends at the Episcopal Church of the Good Shepherd as their Bishop of the Atlanta Diocese consecrated their beautful new sanctuary, baptismal font, lecturn, pulpit, and altar. June, alas, didn't have the opportunity to attend because she and her daughter Becky were on their way home from Florida, having disembarked from their cruise ship earlier in the morning. Since spending more time in Georgia in the past two years, June and Andy have come to appreciate the parish priest, Fr. Tim Graham and many in the congregation. To show our appreciation, Andy commissioned the two icons that have been installed in the narthex. If you come to visit June and Andy in Georgia and are with them on a Wednesday or Sunday (when the Eucharist is offered), you'll be invited to come and see the church. To see more of the consecration, visit the slideshow!

I got to meet Charlie Seabrook!

While at the Charlie Elliot Wildlife Center this morning (see the previous posting), someone rather famous among the birding community showed up, a quietly impressive gentleman: Charlie Seabrook, well-known columnist for the Atlantic Journal Constitution. Charlie is the national environmental reporter, the man behind the popular "Wild Georgia" column. His newspaper stories about Georgia's mining industry won the Investigative Reporters and Editors "Best Story of the Year aware in 1994. In 2001 the State of Georgia gave him the R. L. "Rock" Howard Award, its highest conservation prize. Just to stand next to this great man and have him put his arm on my shoulder was a real sign of his marvelous generosity. Let's hope Georgia has many more like Charlie!

If you'd like to read one of his latest columns, visit "Got spring fever? Try a nature walk," a good sampling of the kind of writing Charlie does so well.

A Week Not So Alone

While June and her daughter Becky are on a Caribbean cruise this week, I not able to have gone to Haiti (see the prior post), have spent a good part of this week by myself at the lakehouse. Well, not always by myself. This morning I went to the Charlie Elliott Wildlife Center for a "Spring Migratory Birk Walk" with Tim Keyes (on the right) as our ornithologist. It was just great; we saw or heard sixty-six different kinds of birds, including a summer tanager, a kingfisher, and an osprey catching a braem on the wing. If that weren't enough, I got to meet Rusty Pritchard, the editor of Creation Care: A Christian Environmental Quartery, to which I have subscribed for several yeares. Rustry is on the left with his two boys, Angus and Euan. In the Spring 2006 issue, Tim has written "It's a Frog's Life: The songs of frogs are an early promise of spring." Couldn't have prayed for a nicer day!

I've placed a link to Creation Care at my other blog, Praying Daily.

Katie comes to the lake!

As many of you may already know, my trip to Haiti, originally scheduled for April 10-17, was cancelled because Christian Flights International thought it too risky to go right now. During the past two weeks, there has been considerable civil unrest throughout the island, so much so that the pilots working for Missionary Air Flights (who fly us into the hinterland near Ranquitte) have decided it's too dangerous to land their planes in certain areas, including the grassfield landing at Pignon. Those of us who were planning to go (Lutheran Pastors Ron Luckey and Barry Neese, along with Dr. Greg McMorrow) will try again in July or August. So that she would not be along at the lake while I was supposed to be gone, June had made arrangements for her daughter Becky and herself to take a week-long cruise in the Caribbean. The two of them "set sail" yesterday. Not expecting me to be at the lakehouse, Lisa, Katie, and Tim had planned to spend the weekend in Georgia and decided to come even though I would still be tromping around the house. I'm so glad they came! We did a bit of boating, tippled a small bottle wine, chatted lots, washed diapers, stir-fried veggies on the grill and pan-fried some salmon. Just a great time! On Sunday Katie got a wee bit ill, throwing up twice, but by this morning she was back to her eight-month self, all smiles, except for when Lisa tried to take a picture of her on my shoulders. She just wouldn't "mug-it-up." She really is something! And I love her!

For more information about Haiti, visit my other blog: http://www.prayingdaily.blogspot.com/.

Chelsea Sets Model High School Track Record!

On Friday, March 28, Chelsea ran the 100 meter hurdles and set Model High School Girl's Track record at 16.5 seconds. As the fastest runner on her team in many events, Chelsea, one of the finest sophomore athletes Model has ever known, practices hard, runs hard, sprints hard, and wins!

In addition to running on Model's spring-term track team, Chelsea also runs cross-country in the fall; and she plays beautiful classical piano and a hot clarinet. She's not only an excellent student academically and socially, Chelsea also represents her Lord Jesus in an exemplary fashion. May God bless her for her dedication to all that she does!

Everyone in her whole family is so proud of her!

More of Katie from Lisa and Tim

Some of you have not seen this kiddo in a while, at least in cyberspace, so here you go! Love, Lisa and Tim!

The newest of Katie

Lisa sends these two of Katie for your pleasure and enjoyment. Does she look terrific or what?

This just in from Kirk!

Hey, Family!

Here are some pics of Madalyn's Junior Cotillion Dance from last Saturday at Hillwood Country Club, Nashville, TN. Madalyn has been attending the Junior Cotillion classes for several months and has done quite well in the program.

Best, Kirk

Supporting McKamey Animal Care and Adoption Center, in Chattanooga

Yesterday Lisa sent out an all-points bulletin asking for us to support the McKamey Animal Care and Adoption Center in Chattanooga. On the steps to the front door, Coleman and Truman are looking for replies.

If didn't get a request from Lisa and would like to support the work of the McKamey Animal Care and Adoption Center, visit her Fundraising Page by using the link below and help her reach her personal goal by making a secure online donation today... https://owa.eku.edu/owa/redir.aspx?C=86b1d734689e4052a08280b3dca9e6bd&URL=http%3a%2f%2fmy.e2rm.com%2fpersonalPage.aspx%3fSID%3d1697733

Kirk in India

This in yesterday from Kirk: "Today I walked barefoot on the cool white marble floors of the Taj Mahal." Let's hope we all get a Taj-Mahal-with- some-Swaheli-proverbs magnet for our refrigerators! Come home soon, son!

Andy recommends The Pillars of the Earth

For the past week Andy has been reading Ken Follet's The Pillars of the Earth. Here's an appreciative review by Suzanne Cross posted at http://www.amazon.com/:

I've never been a fan of Follett, and picked this book up with some misgivings - anyone these days can try to do an "historical" novel with some quick sex, some fake archaic new-speak, and a TV-movie-miniseries concept of history. While there are some minor flaws in this book, its sweep, characterization, tensions, and love of its subject are simply riveting. I could not put the darned thing down and have lost sleep for a week compulsively page-turning. Follett, unbelievably, seems to have made little splash with this book when it first came out - more shame to the critics who missed a "Gone With the Wind" from a conventional thriller author.

His primary strength in the book is his magnificent characters. By the end, Prior Phillip, Aliena, Jack, Richard, "Witch" Ellen, William of Hamleigh, Waleran Bigod, and a host of supporting characters are as real as people you know. Their strengths and weaknesses feel as sound as earth. I've just reached the part where the Cathedral is finished, and its magnificent image, built in love, hardship, and devotion, colors the whole book like light through stained glass. And I suspect the ending will be as immensely "right" as the entire rest of the book in its proportion in spinning out complicated human lives and emotions.

Follett manages to write of an age of religious devotion without tumbling into the two pits - making fun of medieval Christian faith, or uncritically adopting it. An IMMENSELY satisfying read.

I could quibble with what I feel is some gratuitous sex, some slightly contrived plot twists, but that's like complaining about some flotsam in the river as you're going over Niagara.

DO NOT MISS THIS BOOK if you love wonderful story-spinning and history. Well done, Mr. Follett!

Adam celebrates his twenty-first birthday!

It's been quite a week in Georgia. On Saturday, a few days after Adam's birthday on February 11, Wayne and Becky took Abigail, Adam, June and Andy out to lunch at the Buckhead Diner, a really neat eatery. Great time--and Adam had another among his many "firsts": a margaritta! On Friday, June and Andy saw The Great Debaters, and on Valentine's Day they went out for supper at The Blue Willow Inn in Social Circle. All in all, a great week!

Brunch at the Galt House

This morning Art, Liz, Cheerie and Dave Bultman, and we Kentucky Harnacks shared a wonderful brunch at the Galt House in Louisville. Andy and Dave, both of whom lived near each other in Indianapolis during the mid 50s, had not seen one another for fifty-five years! And--wonder of wonders!--neither one of us looks any older than when we were fifteen or so, heading off to different high schools. Even our life histories have much in common as we found out. Most importantly, it looks as though all six of us may have found so much in common that we'll be spending some time together later this spring and hopefully during the summer at the lakehouse. Thanks so much, Art and Liz, for bringing us together!