6th Grade Band

How often do you hear children bemoan a holiday from school? Well, Sam is not happy about being off next Monday for Labor Day. Why? Because on Mondays he has band, and he loves band.

Towards the end of last school year, the band teacher met with the fifth graders to tell them about 6th grade band; and Sam was instantly excited. He fretted for a week over which instrument he wanted to play and settled on the trumpet. Then, all summer he begged to go to the music shop to look at the trumpets. When we finally went, we were dismayed at the cost of even a used instrument. The monthly fee to rent an instrument was out of our budget also, so Sam was really disappointed. Wanting to provide all things good for my son, I was disheartened that I could not get him a trumpet.

Mrs. Richardson, the band teacher, had told the class that there was a limited number of instruments that the school could loan to students who could not afford to buy one; but Sam wasn't happy at the idea of being responsible for a loaner. Despite that, last Monday he brought home the form we both needed to sign, pledging to be responsible for a loaned trumpet, should one be available. Turning in the form in no way guaranteed that Sam would get a loaner, but it was the first step in the process. He made a big deal about needing to hold on to the form for a WHOLE WEEK until he went to band again; yet this past Monday morning he could not find it anywhere. Although we both searched in every possible place a piece of paper could hide, we still could not find it; and Sam went to school very upset, knowing it would be a terrible day.

When I picked Sam up that afternoon, the first thing I noticed was the HUGE smile on his face. I certainly wasn't expecting that! Turns out, last Tuesday when he handed in some papers to his homeroom teacher, he accidentally turned in the band form also. His teacher, Mr.Dixon, passed it along to Mrs. Richardson; and she let Sam know at band class that he WILL be getting a loaner trumpet. Yippee!!! Now, he's depressed that there is no school next Monday, and he'll have to wait an extra week for his precious trumpet.

I'm just glad that he gets to try it out for a year before having to pay out all that money for an instrument of his own. If he loves it as much as he expects he will, I will help him save up the money to buy his own trumpet before school starts next year.

Poetry

Throughout my teens and twenties, I wrote a lot of poetry. Most of the poems were really horrible, but some of them were actually quite good. I had hoped to some day be a published poet. As it turns out, one of my poems did get published, albeit on of the worst ones, and not one I'd want anyone to read today. The poem below, one of the last ones, was written when I was thirty, at a time when all was well in my world, and my focus was centered rightly. When I ran across it last night, it reminded me that God is still good, even if my circumstances have changed since then.

PRAISE THE LORD, FOR HE IS GOOD

I praise the Lord for all He has done:
For leading me in the way I must go,
For my wonderful parents and precious son,
For even the times when he tells me, "No."

He is my Shepherd and always knows best;
No one has ever loved me so much.
When I am tired, He gives me rest;
When I'm alone, I can feel His touch.

There are so many hurting people out there,
And my wish is for them to know my Friend.
He is the One Who will love, comfort, and care,
And cause their sorrows to come to an end.

When parents neglect or cause great pain,
When loved ones go off and no longer care,
Jesus can bring joy to that life again;
Jesus will come because of one prayer.

I pray to Jesus, my Lord, every day
That He will look down on all those I love,
Healing their hurts, wiping their tears away,
Getting them ready to meet Him above.

In my life, He has done so much;
He has always been there in my hour of need.
I'll trust Him and His healing touch
To help my friends, because I believe.

Then, they too can praise His name
For the wonderful works He has done.
Throughout the ages, always the same,
He is Jesus, God's Holy Son.

Wild, Wacky Weekend

We had a suspenseful weekend, watching Louise's incision, worried about how much longer it was going to continue to bleed. It was so bad Friday night, she talked to the surgeon on call at the ER, and Scott decided to stay the night at her house in case it got worse as the night progressed. Thanks to God, it did not get worse and even stopped bleeding by Saturday night. I'll be glad when she goes back to the doctor Thursday and has the incision checked! Here's a picture of Louise last Thursday, back home after her surgery. (She wasn't happy about having it taken and would probably spank me if she knew I posted it on here. lol)



Saturday afternoon, we went to my company picnic at Steele Creek Park. Although the picnic was actually quite boring, I greatly enjoyed the beautiful scenery while Scott and Sam had fun paddle-boating. Sam had been paddle-boating before, but it was Scott's first time.





After we ate, an hour behind schedule, Sam went fishing; and Scott joined him for a little while before we left. We went home a tired, happy bunch.

Race Day Report -- Finally

I'm finally able to upload some pictures and tell a little more about Wednesday night's races. Sam and I got there around 3:00, when nothing was going on. The qualifying for the Food City 150 had already been done, and we had to wait until 4:00 for the qualifying to start for the Truck Race. This is what the track looked like then, pretty empty:



And this is what Sam and I looked like then, pretty excited:



The Food City 150 started around 5:45 and was fairly interesting. There were too many cautions for it to be really fun to watch. Just when the cars would get going good, someone would spin out, causing a caution. The real excitement started with the Truck Race at 8:00. Mark Martin (car #21) was my favorite, and he finished well, in 3rd place. The winner was Johnny Benson in car #23. Travis Kvapil, driving the #6 car, won the pole position in qualifying and lead for most of the race. I was a little disappointed when he finished around 11th or 12th place. Here is what a night race at Bristol Motor Speedway looks like:



This is me and Scott enjoying the race:



We sat in the family section of the stands, where no alcoholic beverages are alowed. I was wondering how strictly it was enforced and was pleased to see a racetrack employee go around informing everyone of the rule. That was at the beginning of the first race. I didn't see anyone making an attempt to enforce it for the rest of the evening, other than myself, when a trio of men with a cooler of beer sat really close to me and Sam. Since Scott hadn't made it there yet, and we were basically by ourselves, I politely informed the men that they were sitting in the non-alcohol section. They grumbled somewhat, but they left promptly for a different section. Sam was relieved. A few weeks ago, while at the drag races with Scott, he witnessed a brawl between some men who were drinking; and he was nervous while it was just him and me there.

Overall, it was a very enjoyable experience and one that I know Sam will remember forever. It was a little more than I could handle, physically, since we had to walk a long way from our car to the speedway and then up what felt like a million steps to the top row in the stands. After the race, it took over half an hour to walk back to our car. I was EXHAUSTED that night and the next day!!! But, it was all worth it to give Sam an experience he'll never forget.

Oh well....

I was planning to get on here today and post some cool pictures from the Truck Race Wednesday night, but I was styimied. I wasn't able to go to work today, so I'm back at the library. When I use a computer here, I'm not able to upload my pictures. Also, I'm limited to only an hour on the computer. To quote today's title, "Oh well..." Hopefully, I'll get those on here Monday.

Yesterday turned out to be more interesting than I had bargained for. Louise came through her surgery just fine; but around 3:30 in the afternoon, her incision started bleeding; and she began to panic. When she called me, I was trying to get home quickly because something had come loose in my exhaust system, making my car sound like it belong at the speedway. I promptly turned around and headed to her house, despite the car troubles. In the next minute or so, it began to rain a little, then harder; and then it began hailing. That's when I was about to start to panic. It was storming so badly I could hardly see to drive, but I had to get to Louise's house before she worried herself sick.

It miraculously stopped raining just when I got to her house. That was a blessing, as I had been worried about getting her out to her truck in the rain. After changing her dressing the best I could, I rushed her to her doctor's office, getting there just 5 minutes before he closed. He re-dressed the incision and sent her home with strict orders to take it easy. We stayed at her house for a couple hours, until she was satisfied that she wasn't going to start bleeding again. I hated to have to leave her by herself last night, but she made it through just fine.

I didn't go to work today because of my car. Although it still ran just fine, Scott was afraid I'd get a ticket because of the noise. He had to go to Knoxville for work this morning, but he managed to get back home before 2:00, and we took our car to the muffler shop and got it repaired. Thankfully, it wasn't anything major.

Check back Monday for pictures of Wednesday's Truck Race. (I'm afraid to promise that they'll be here, though. haha)

The Day After

Well, I managed to be able to get on here today by going to the library, but I'm not up to writing much. I'm wiped out!!! We had a great day at the races yesterday, and I will definitely post more about that tomorrow, including some pictures. Today, I'll just say that it was fun, but very tiring.

Louise had her surgery this morning and is back home recuperating now. I feel so badly for her. Hopefully, the pain will go away now that the screw in her hip has been removed, and she will be able to fully recover from her hip fracture. I'm glad I was able to be there for her today.

Have a great day and come back tomorrow for more details about yesterday's adventures.

Race Day

This is what Sam looked like when I dropped him off at school this morning. He was soooooooooo happy about the truck race later today. Since he likes school and really misses his friends when he's not there, he's always rather happy when I let him off; but today, his smile was definitely bigger than usual!!! I'm so glad, for his sake, that we get to go to the race. I'll try to get on here tomorrow and tell all about it, but I may not be able to.

Tomorrow, my mother-in-law (Louise) is having out-patient surgery. The pin that was put in her hip, after she broke it back in January, has started coming out. According to the X-rays, it's sticking about a half-inch out of the bone; and it's causing a great deal of pain. Tomorrow, the surgeon is taking the pin out. He expects her to be able to go home afterward. We're hoping she'll get to do that! I don't know if she'll require therapy or not. Scott was going to try to get off work to take her; and I went ahead and put in for the day off, just in case he couldn't. It looks like I'll be the one to take her.

Since we still don't have internet at home, I may not be able to get back on here until Friday. Oh well.....

Have a great day!!!!!

Race Week

Most of the time, Bristol, Tennessee, is a quiet, boring place to live. However, twice a year, the city changes radically. Those two times are when NASCAR comes to town.

Whether you are a NASCAR fan or not, if you live in Bristol, your life will be influenced by this phenomenon each spring and fall. While I am not a NASCAR fan, and I dread the inconviences of Race Week, I realize that many local businesses rely heavily on these two weeks of the year, as thousands of visitors, from all over the country, flood our city and its shops, restaurants, and other local establishments.

This year, I am actually planning to attend an event at the track during Race Week. We are going to the truck race on Wednesday. We purchased tickets through Sam's Boy Scout troop for an unbelievable price of only $5 each! Although I have to work until 1pm that day, I will pick Sam up from school early, and we will spend the whole evening at the racetrack. I am looking forward to it, but dreading the traffic. I hope Sam enjoys it as much as he anticipates he will!!!

Long time, no blog

Okay, so I can't keep up a blog. If my life were more interesting, I guess I'd have more to write about. Of course, if it were more interesting, I don't suppose I'd have time to write about it. So, there we are back at Square One. I just never will be good at keeping a blog. Oh, well....

I had my usual Friday morning bagel with JC today. I always look forward to that! The bagel shop is hiring, and I'd love to get a job in the food industry, but I'm sure that it wouldn't pay as well as my current job. I did talk to the owner, and at first he said for me to quit my job and come work for him. However, after I told him where I work, he said I should stay where I am because he has great respect for my boss. I tend to agree. Still, I really, really want to get into the food industry!!!

Last night was orientation at Sam's school. Being in 6th grade now, he gets to change classes instead of having the same teacher all day. The down side is that there are only enough 6th graders for two classes, so he has one teacher for the morning and another teacher for the afternoon. Still, it's a good transition year. Next year, he'll be in the throes of Jr. High and will be changing classes for all subjects. I'm glad I still have one more year before he's a teenager!!!!

Alright, that's all I've got to write about today. Hopefully, I'll remember to come on here and write again soon and not wait for months as I usually do. God bless you in all your endeavors today!!!