Friday night I visited the Kyle’s in Madison. It was a Friday night “happy hour” that lasted until 10pm. Snapper and all of Snapper’s family and friends were there for good food, Mojitos and a few twist-off beers. The night was nice with the red heads all hanging out together and the adults chatting around the kitchen bar. Four reds at a kitchen table can be a dangerous thing.
Three bottle caps sat in front of Snapper or the lead DiCarlo red head. As the evening was almost over she shakes the three bottle caps in her hands like dice, it was almost like she was shooting craps or playing Yahtzee. The original thought was just to see how many bottle caps landed cap up or with the logo up. I pulled a forth cap out of my pocket to make four caps in the make shift game. One roll led to another roll then Lisa or red head number 3 at the table says, “Let me try!” Cheers roared from the table after each roll of the bottle caps. I don’t think Bud Lite Lime ever got this much positive attention. The cheers were so contagious that the “adults” started to get interested. We started making up rules and cheering louder and louder.
By the end of the night with only a few twist-off bottle caps a game with rules was invented. The first name for the game was Beer Yahtzee because Beer Craps was already taken. We wanted to license the name and we would need many lawyers to take the name Beer Yahtzee. We settled on Draft Cap and here are “the rules”.
Official Rules for Draft Cap
1. Draft Cap can be played with two or more players
2. Draft Cap is played with four twist-off bottle caps. It is preferred to have two of the four twist-off caps different (see sudden death)
3. The object is to roll as many of the four bottle caps up during three rounds of play.
4. After each roll the bottle caps that are up are removed from play. For example, after the first roll there are three caps up and one cap down. There will be only one cap left to roll in the second round.
5. At the end of three rounds or three rolls of the bottle caps who ever has the most caps up wins.
6. If four caps are rolled face up the only way to win is to roll four caps up in less rounds or tie by rolling four bottle caps up in the same number of rounds.
7. SUDDEN DEATH – If at the end of three rounds there is a tie, both players roll two bottle caps at the same time. Whoever has the most up wins. There are three rounds of sudden death.
8. If there is a tie after sudden death the player will call a one cap roll. The player will call up or down before they roll.
9. If a cap lands on the table bumping arms of players or bottle of players the rolls are legal. If one or more caps rolls off the table the turn must be re-done. If there are three consecutive rolls that fall off the table in a row the player is disqualified.
10. The winner will play the next challenger in the game. The challenger will roll first and winner or Draft Cap Champ will roll last.
You would think that a game just made up at Mrs. Kyle’s dining room table would have been kind of silly. This game is amazing. The game lasted for two hours and if we had more beer, there would have been a double elimination tournament. We had everyone in the room playing, cheers roaring, and people asking for statistics. Lisa and Julie are looking in to merchandising options and Snapper is making an iPad application to try the stats.
I am that person! I always said that if I had a blog, I wouldn’t ignore it. I wouldn’t let it sit for months with out updating it. We it is official, I have ignored GraphiteFree. I could blame it on my schedule or on my crappy laptop or on a host of other reasons. But the simple truth is, I have ignored my blog. I am sorry, blog! I didn’t mean to abandon you for so long. I didn’t mean to not write!
I have had lots to write about! There was the Mid South Farm and Gin Show in Memphis I started writing about. Chris and I stayed at the Peabody where we joined my brother, his family, and my parents. Great weekend, I drank a “Presbyterian” or Jack & Ginger. I had an epic adventure to Atlanta… Gosh I hate Atlanta! However, I do love Chipotle and Pinkberry. I visited with Cameron Drape at the Barn a few times. She called the Barn one night to ask when American Idol aired. Lucky for us it is a seven o’clock show, which kept her away from the Barn until the next day. And I should have written about my Jack Daniel Distillery tours.
Since I have fallen out of grace with my blog, I should update what I am currently doing. The last paragraph told you where I have been. Now, I need to tell you where I am headed, because there is much on the horizon for me. This week will mark my seventh wedding anniversary – Copper. Chris and I will be touring the distilleries of Kentucky. I am sure we will see lots of copper while we are exploring. I will be leaving the Barn for another part time job. I love working at the Barn, but I have had a dream of working as a tour guide for a long time. I am also most there, this week I go to the Jack Daniel Distillery for my audition as a tour guide. That should be an adventure.
This summer I will be back at Aviation Challenge, back with the Raptor and back around the lake. I also told our new Social Media Director I would write a blog post for the Ready Room. So I really do need to get back into the writing mood. I will be going on a Disney Cruise with Tim&Anderson and their bridal posse in July. I will get to make another trip to NYC to see my Yankees in August. It will be a Yankees/Mets tour with Snapper. Even though the Mets play the Braves (I hate Atlanta) the trip will be so much fun.
All in all, I have lots to write about. And I am going to do better at this I promise. I know that only a few people read my blog, but I really don’t want to be the person that starts writing and then abandons the poor thing. I love GraphiteFree. It all started as an exercise to make my writing better and I need to keep it up! GraphiteFree, please forgive me.
PS… Jeff Benton is still a scumbag, but the law suit has been settled!
To make a tradition stick forever you must do it year after year. I am not sure if year three of this blog review makes this a tradition. However, let’s still call it my “Traditional Year End Countdown” of all the major moments in my life over this past year. This year Chris went back to work for PricewaterhouseCoopers, I changed jobs and the changed again, I made it to Fourth of July on the farm for the first time in a long time and who could forget all the times I tried to give away my dog, poor Boo. While looking back I realized this year could be known as the STS 131 Year! Let’s take a look at the top ten moments of 2010 for this redhead.
Facts of Life Summer: It was one of those summers that you take the good, you take the bad, and there you have the facts of life! I always loved Jo on that show. I did have a great summer in retrospect; however it was difficult not being around camp programs. Since I was 15 years old, I have spent my summers working with children. In April I left camp operations to be the Director of Education and work with teacher camp. Leaving that was not easy. However, I learned lots about myself, good and bad. Now that I am back where my heart is happy I just have too work hard and do what I am called for! I loved my job as Director of Education, but helping a kid overcome homesickness is more fun than teaching teachers! Sorry, love you teachers (Rhonda & Veronique).
Red Bull Racing: Driving back from the launch of STS 131, I checked my email. NASCAR driver and Red Bull Racing team member, Ryan Vickers was going visit camp the day we returned to work. I felt it was my duty as Red Bull to volunteer my services as tour guide and show our friend around camp. Ryan Vickers is such a nice guy! He was so friendly and nice. He was really interested in space and what we did at camp. The neatest thing I observed while hanging with the NASCAR driver was when I offered him a bottle of water. His assistant took the bottle from my hand, removed the paper label and then handed it to Ryan. It was not a Coke product. He wasn’t in the winner’s circle or on a race track, but the sponsors are still priority.
The iPad Revolution: I know that this may seem silly, but starting the iPad revolution at camp was monumental for me. When I started working nights at Space Camp I saw the value of my iPhone (this too was a great adventure of 2010) when answering questions and concerns by campers and staff. I have had fun teaching Marcia about the power of the iPad. It seems like a magic window that helps me get my work done more easily. With all the apps and multi-tasking tools, emailing, and fun facebooking, the iPad is one of the best and most useful gifts Chris has ever given me. I only wish that Bill Cosby would create a Picture Page app for the iPad! To all my Aerospace iPad friends, let’s have a productive 2011.
River Adventures: I have recruited for Space Camp at colleges far and wide for four seasons. There are two colleges I look forward to visiting each year, Embry Riddle in Arizona and my school, Delta State in Mississippi. This year our recruiting involved adventures around rivers and creeks. In Arizona, Snapper and I trekked up Oak Creek at Slide Rock where I discovered the meaning of Slide Rock. In Mississippi, I took Snapper to one of my favorite hang outs during college, a sand bar at Rosedale along the mighty Mississippi River. Both of these rivers have come to mean a lot to me. However, the adventures I had on both of them made this year’s recruiting season the most enjoyable on to date!
Yankee Adventure: Chris and I made our second trip to New York City. This time we didn’t just spend a day in the Big Apple. We adventured around the city along with watching three MLB games. Among our stops along the site seeing tour was the U.S.S. Intrepid, Chelsea Market, B&H Photography – the most amazing store in the world, the Top of the Rock, Grand Central Station, and Central Park. The great thing about New York City is that visiting the concrete jungle is totally out of the normal for Chris and me. I would much rather play in the mud or work at Pottery Barn, but visiting America’s welcome center is always a learning experience. Go Yankees!
Christmas Calendar of Awesomeness: If you don’t know me, I haven’t been a fan of Christmas for the last few years. It is a time of travel and in-laws and not much focusing on the greatest of Christmas. Christmas is a time for family and friends to remember the great gift of Christ’s birth. But for many of the past years it has worn away at me. A few years back Snapper promised to help me find the Christmas spirit again. Unfortunately that was the year of mono for her. This year she made good on that promise. She made the Christmas Calendar of Awesomeness. It was simple, each working day she gave me a small happy with a Christmas quote. It made an advent calendar of sorts. It helped me remember the coolness of Christmas. Christmas this year was great for this and many other reasons!
Alex and Luke Visit Camp: When Alex and Luke visited camp I wasn’t their escort that was the job of Charity the social network guru. I met Alex and Luke at the Astronaut luncheon with Bob Springer. Charity had chatted with them about their adventures around North America on their social media directed tour of the greatest country in the world. I gave Alex and Luke something I thought was just a simple happy, a Space Camp coin. Luke mentioned later in a road trip recap video it was one of his favorite tokens. This made me so proud of the work that has been done since Alumni Andi and the Space Camp coin first started. Alex and Luke are great people and I am envious of there road trip… I also wish I could live Red 3’s adventurous life!
STS 131 Trip: In early spring a group of Space Camp staff traveled to Florida for the launch of STS 131. This wasn’t any shuttle launch for Space Camp. Dottie Metcalf-Lindenburger was a Mission Specialist on board and the first Space Camp alumni to travel into space. It was the perfect event! Night launches are the best. Hanging out with co-workers and friends was amazing. The road trip down was a great adventure. And how can we forget Doug Wheelock, “Pig on the right, Shuttle on the left.” Tears and cheers were on the balcony of the OSBII that morning as we saw STS 131 lift off with Dottie and Space Camp riding along!
The 4th HOF Event: This year we had the Hall of Fame that we all wanted and looked for since its inception. Max Q played after dinner under the Saturn V, Hoot Gibson was simply a guest, Dottie joined us for the event, and the whole family seemed to be there. Personally, having Rhonda, Veronique, Snapper, and Safety there, and others who have been there every year, made the HOF very special for me. This year the HOF event was more like a family reunion and less like a production. Thank you, Mike Flachbart!
Wings in Space: I think I was taking a shower when I thought about asking Dottie to take along a few Space Camp wings on STS 131. It only seemed fitting that she take along the symbol of a Space Camp graduate along with her. I was so honored that she agreed to take a pair of Space Camp and Space Academy wings. What was even cooler was to discover after the mission Dottie took them out and posed for a family photo onboard the ISS. She and the over 500,000 graduates represented in those wings, floating in space! The day she presented the wings at graduation was one of my proudest moments at camp. The wings currently can be found on the wall of Discovery MOCR on the MCC floor at Space Camp.
All in all this has been an outstanding year! I look forward to 2011 and the many adventures I will go on! I do hope to write more, laugh more, and have more free time… next year.
Seeing people on Facebook today has driven me to the brink of frustration! Why do people have to be negative and grumpy during Christmas? Yes, sometimes the holiday season isn’t the most joyous time. But can’t we at least try? People post dramatic posts like, “This is the worst Christmas ever!” or “Please stop crying… why is there always crying at Christmas.” I am kind of fed up with Facebook’s drama.
What if Mary and Joseph had Facebook when they rolled into Bethlehem on that first Christmas? I don’t think they would have gone negative, but what if? To all those who post drama on Facebook, you should think about Mary and Joseph when you post poo on your profile.
Mary didn’t post these statuses, but I know people that would…
Mary’s FB “Just arrived in Beth-Town. Jo forgot to make reservations. We will be staying with the critters tonight.”
Joseph’s FB “Mary is mad! Forgot to call ahead and we are staying with the goats. I am really in the dog house.”
Mary’s FB “At 9 cm. Hope this kid comes soon.”
Joseph’s FB “Found a great manger to lay the babe in. Can anyone suggest a donkey dung removal product?”
Mary’s FB “It’s a Boy! That angel knew what she was talking about!”
Joseph’s FB “Shephards showed up at the barn… They have been following us on Twitter for a few hours now.”
I know this wouldn’t have happened and it may be a little tacky of me to ask “what if?” However, why do we live our lives in a cyber world? Why is it important what our “status” says? Why can’t we look people in the eyes and tell them what is on hearts and in our heads?
Tonight, I hope for peace and kindness around the world. If you want to know how Mary and Joseph handled that first Christmas night you can read Luke chapter 2. Stop being dorks on Facebook and love thy neighbor!
Maybe we all should just put Facebook up for Christmas and spend time with family in our “RL”.
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I crawled out of bed this morning, open the door to let Boo out, turned to start my day, and thought, “Wow, thirty!” I am old enough to have a brother who would be thirty today. What would he be like? Would he be farming with my older brother or would he have moved away from Winona like I did? He could have been an Indianapolis Colt catching passes from Peyton Manning. I know he would have been too tall to be a New England Patriot. Would he be an in-stands vending guy at Bush Stadium in St. Louis selling small Sprites to the parents of picky kids. Would he be married to a lovely woman and have kids – hopefully a red head or two? Would he have Facebook where we could wish him happy birthday 1,000 times. It took me forever to get Walter on Facebook and now he is addicted to ESPNU College Town.
I don’t think there is a day that goes by that I don’t think of the little guy. He took care of Walter and me like he was the adult. He would ask mom on school days if it was “time to pick up the kids?” When Walt and I were crying after Will was hit with the three-wheeler he calmed us down with, “Hush kids, stop crying.” He didn’t have a tear in his eye. What would he be like? What kind of a man would he be? Would he still like small Sprites? I just can’t believe he would have been thirty today.
As you are out and about today, find the smallest Sprite you can and have a drink to William Robert Oliver! In the age of 84 ounce big gulps this might be difficult!
Cold weather has struck North Alabama this week. This comes during a week of me hating Christmas and grumpy about travel. I started to take the philosophy of Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good Very Bad Day! Unfortunately for the Grinch living inside of me I got a new hat. The introduction of my new hat was a pivotal moment in my life. This new hat has the power of the elves! Santa has blessed this hat. And with this hat, I will fight off the evil demons that try to kill the Christmas spirit inside of me.
It is not all in the stitching of this North Face hat. It is with a strong and valiant commitment from Santa’s friend that I renew my Christmas cheer. See Santa’s elves crafted my hat and the community organizer for Santa helped me select my hat. Now with renewed heart and spirit, I look forward to Christmas Eve and even a trip to Rushing Parc (I am sure Camper Jack will join me there still), and zig zagging across the Southeast will be joyful!
Why? Because Christmas is not about receiving stuff or spending time in an over commercialized, germ infested, zombie walking mall! Christmas is about giving! Just like Christ gave up his cozy home with his Dad to hang with earthly dorks like me. I am going to celebrate and enjoy Christmas with family and friends!
What am I thankful for this season? I am thankful for a hubby who lives most of the year closer to the north pole than I would like, but he does it so that one day we can do whatever we want! I am also thankful for people who would help me pick out a brown hat and create the Christmas Calendar of Awesomeness. And if this was like a genie with three wishes, my third would be Dan Mullens be thankful for his home and job in Starkville. Please stay, Coach Mullens. What does Florida have that MSU doesn’t?
Christmas is a magical time of year. But the magic comes from the people around us. Someone famous once said, “It is Christmas in the heart that puts Christmas in the air.” That person should start a greeting card company! My hat is filled with Christmas and my heart is looking forward to December 25th!
As a kid I remember watching football on rivalry weekend. Mississippi’s big rivalry is the Egg Bowl where Mississippi State faces Ole Miss for the battle of the golden egg trophy. My father went to State and I have cheered for them as a little pup. My memories as a kid in Mississippi recall there being only one rivalry bigger than the Egg Bowl. That being the neighboring state’s rivalry, the Iron Bowl. I didn’t know how big the Iron Bowl truly was until I lived in Alabama.
I didn’t really ever have a favorite team in the Iron Bowl as a kid. I remember hating Alabama because they always beat up on the Bulldogs. Auburn was another cow college like Mississippi State and they had Bo Jackson. When I was a young teen the only Mississippi school that could beat Alabama or Auburn was Southern Miss led by Brett Farve. So I was neutral in the Iron Bowl growing up. Some years I would pull for Auburn and some years for Bama. I never knew that I would end up living in Alabama nor could I imagine marrying an Alabama alum.
It wasn’t by chance that is was my first Iron Bowl. Chris and I have made a tradition of giving traditional gifts as anniversary presents. This year the suitable gift for an Alabama alum was tickets to the Iron Bowl. All Iron Bowls are important in the state of Alabama, but this year, the 75th Anniversary Iron Bowl, was a mega showdown between reigning BCS National Title champ Alabama and undefeated BCS hopeful Auburn, a probable Heisman for Auburn in Cam Newton and a Heisman winner for Alabama with Mark Ingram, and the simple fact that Alabama and Auburn hates one another. I guess I was lucky that my first Iron Bowl was such a big game.
Simply the spectacle of it all was amazing to watch. There is no other colors that clash more than crimson with white and orange with blue. Alabama and Auburn fans hate one another. There were 200 extra security guards hired just for this event. Lebron James returning to Cleveland doesn’t even compare. The pregame experience is epic where some 100,000 fans cry at the crackly audio of Bear Bryant. It is a little tacky, however, when Bama fans cheer “Roll Tide” after the team’s first down like a tent revival congregation shouting “Amen.” I haven’t even been to another Iron Bowl or even a SEC game at Auburn’s Jordan-Hare to compare the Bryant-Denny experience. But from the eagle flying and hospitality at Auburn I suggest a visit to Auburn’s version of the Iron Bowl. But my husband won’t take me to “that (damn) cow college at the other side of the state.” Yet another example of how all Bama fans refers back to “the Bear.”
I think of all the great football, baseball, and other sporting events I have been to in my life. This Iron Bowl will have to rank up there with the top events. Some people have a bucket list with various things they want to do before they die. I have a sports bucket list and going to an Iron Bowl is on it. I was able to see a game at Yankee Stadium before they closed it. Last year, I visited the frozen tundra of Lambeau Field. I have been to NFL and NBA playoff games and several motor sports events, including the Indy 500. Some of my favorite sporting events have been in Starkville, Mississippi or in a baseball park. And I am here to say, if you love college football you should try to see an Iron Bowl in your lifetime.
To all those who listen to Christmas music in October or the people who have already visited Santa in the mall, happy Thanksgiving! Today is that day that American’s stop what they are doing to give thanks for all they have been given. In my humble red headed opinion, far too many people look past Thanksgiving straight to Christmas. People go from sugary Halloween to the gift giving frenzy of Christmas. And for what, why do we look over the greatest holiday ever invented?
Thanksgiving is designed to stop what you are going, gather with your favorite people, eat food and give thanks for what you have been given. I am a firm believer in doing your Christmas decorating after Thanksgiving Day. You can shop before Turkey Day, but only if the item is hard to find or you can get it at a discounted rate. But under no circumstance should you wrap the present before black Friday.
What is black Friday anyhow? It is the day after Thanksgiving where all the stores bring in tons of cash from selling piles of stuff. But what it really is – it is just another day that takes away from the greatness of Thanksgiving. People go from the hustle and bustle of their Wednesday work day, drive through killer traffic, and pause for one day only to jump back into the zoo that is retail mania Friday morning at 4am. Four o’clock in the morning is too early for people to even be awake, and especially too early to shop. If I haven’t proclaimed this a life rule, I would like to submit it for the record that, I don’t shop on black Friday (Life Rule #7).
I encourage everyone to pause (today and tomorrow) to spend time with the ones they love, the people that are important to them, eat lots of food, especially carbohydrates, watch copious amounts of football, and most of all be thankful for all we have been given. We live in a great country with unlimited opportunities. Don’t spoil this great day by omitting it just for more Christmas time! There are twenty-four days in December before Christmas. That should be plenty to prepare. Let’s at least have one solid day with no distractions to give thanks.
I am definitely lucky to be a Space Camp recruiter. This week, I recruited at Delta State, my school and home of the Fighting Okra. Unlike my trips to Arizona, each year that I visit Mississippi, I get to take a new recruiting pal with me. This trip is a chance for me to show off my home state and places that I am so proud of. This trip to the Delta has topped all other recruiting trips. Hopefully, we will have lots of great staff from this visit to Mississippi.
We started off on Tuesday with a stop in Winona for lunch with my parents at the Mexican restaurant. Yes, you don’t have to call it by its real name when it is the only Mexican restaurant in the town. It is always great to see your parents in the middle of the day. It is like being picked up early from school unexpectedly for just because! Even without the El Big-O Margarit-O, it was a fantastic meal. There will be a running theme through this blog post – food.
We made our way to Itta Bena, home to Mississippi Valley State University. MVSU is the university that gave us Jerry Rice. The campus looks old and run down, but the people on campus were super friendly. It was almost like we were transported back in time to 1965. With the exception of their Mobile Command Vehicle (Spotted that vehicle because of Be Ready Camp) everything on campus seemed sad and run down. We only really spent a little time on campus, but I think their famous alumni, Jerry Rice, should donate to the building fund.
From Itta Bean we moved west to Leland, Miss which is the proud birth place of Kermit the Frog. Leland was the childhood home of Jim Henson, the creator of Kermit the Frog and his Muppet friends! There is a small exhibit dedicated to Jim Henson. Birthplace of the Frog: An Exhibit of Jim Henson’s Delta Boyhood is a collection of photos and such along side an original Kermit the Frog puppet. If you ever find yourself with thirty minutes to kill in Leland, you should take the time to visit. I am proud of my home state because of all the very creative people who started their lives in Mississippi. I do not consider Brett Farve creative at this point in his career, except for the Sears commercials.
We stayed the night in Greenville, Miss with Snapper’s friend, Jessica. Our goal was to eat at Doe’s Eat Place. This place has history and there is a story behind our choice of Doe’s. Way back when I was too old to be Snapper’s friend. Snapper text messaged me at Dodge’s Chicken & Gas station in Cleveland, Miss on her way to visit Jessica. I told Snapper to “Eat at Doe’s!” She was excited to be where I went to college and I was excited she was headed to Greenville. Unfortunately the wait at Doe’s was unbearable to her travel buddies and they ate at Shoney’s instead.
This trip we would wait for as long as it would take to eat tamales and steak! I was so excited to visit this shrine to Delta cuisine. Alton Brown visited Doe’s in his “Feasting on Asphalt” series. I respect Alton Brown! Bill Clinton has eaten at Doe’s, that man knows good food (and it shows). When we walked into Doe’s I saw Brent Wong’s mom. Spoke to Brent’s mom. How did I know it was Mrs. Wong? She was the only Asian in the place.
Jessica and her husband, John would be our hosts for the evening. They were wonderful hosts. Doe’s doesn’t have a menu so John ordered for us. If you know Snapper and me, we hate making food decisions. John simply ordered tamales, shrimp, salads and oh by the way a steak to feed four people! Wow, stress is gone, time for a wonderful meal. It was a wonderful meal. I love Doe’s tamales. Story goes that Doe’s son’s wife doesn’t even know the recipe for the tamales. I don’t want to know the recipe, I just want to visit again and eat more. All the food was wonderful. I just hope Chris and I can visit Jessica and John soon!
Wednesday – October 27
Delta State’s teacher recruitment day was the reason why we were in Mississippi. On Wednesday morning when we were setting up in the Union I felt special. True, I am an Okra too! However, I felt special because of my friend Emily Erwin Jones, archivist at Delta State University, had already been by to visit. Snapper and I had so many great candidates stop by our table. One student in particular was one of the best prospects ever. He seemed to be well rounded with great personality.
We ate lunch at my favorite lunch spot in Cleveland, A la Cart. Then we visited the airport and looked into the Boo Farris Museum before we left campus for the afternoon. Snapper and I would go to my favorite place in the Delta, the banks of the Mississippi River at Rosedale. When I was in college and I needed some time away from school but couldn’t go home to Winona, I would hike out to the sand bar and spend time near the river. The river is an amazing thing. It is calm, and without the river my state might be named something like Washington.
Our evening meal was at Hey Joe’s and we played trivia. The team that we joined was amazing! Didn’t realize there was such at giant difference between trivia and “NERD TRIVIA!” We were playing nerd trivia. I lost Snapper at some point in time during the night; she found her way back to campus somehow. We gained another red headed friend name Lola. Besides the trivia Hey Joe’s has an incredible atmosphere. Thick brick walls, antique signs hanging and they sell old vinyl records. This place is cool with spicy seasoned fries!
Thursday – October 28
Our last day on campus was just as rewarding as our time at the job fair. The students at DSU seemed to enjoy our presentation and hopefully that will pay off in excellent Space Camp staff next spring. My favorite classroom visit was the aviation students in the Gibson-Gunn building. Overall we had an excellent visit to the Delta. But our trip was not over yet. We had to travel back home! Luckily, I got the chance to show off one more place I was proud of, Camp of the Rising Son, when Snapper and I visited CRS. Funny thing, I started to work at CRS when Snapper was ten years old. Heck, she could have been a camper. I guess I am too old to be Snapper’s friend.
All my visits to Mississippi are precious to me. I remember when I was a camper at Space Camp, I felt disconnected to family and friends because I was in ALABAMA. Crazy how sister states can be so different. The Mississippi Delta is a special place! But more over, the people we met this week are special. Jessica, John, Emily, Matt, and hopefully all those Okra we recruited this week! I love my home state and I love my Mississippi friends! It was so great that everyone rolled out the red carpet on our visit! Thanks y’all for making this trip great!
Happy is an adjective defined as, delighted, pleased, or glad. Most everyone across America would agree that happy is used to describe an emotion or state of mind. But have you ever heard the word happy used to describe a gift. It has been brought to my attention twice this week by friends that this use of the word happy is a “Mississippi thing.”
There are all sorts of gifts in this world. You commonly know Christmas gifts and birthday gifts; but there are also wedding gifts, anniversary gifts, baptism gifts, confirmation gifts, bar mitzvah gifts and so on. Growing up, when my grandmother, mother, aunt, uncle, friend, or next door neighbor would give me a gift just because, it was called a “happy.” A happy is a small gift given on a day that is not a holiday or birthday. This type of gift is given just to make you happy. No other reason is needed for a happy. It could just be a candy bar from the store when you mother returns from shopping.
Has anyone else heard a gift called a “happy”?
Recently, I have been organizing my office at camp. Sara (a.k.a. Rachel Ray) commented that I have a lot of cool stuff in my office. I have a rubber duck collection, mission patches on the wall, a collection of small stuffed animals given to me when I was teaching, and several shot glasses. Most all this stuff was given to my as a happy, something given to me just to make me happy.
To honor those gifts – happies – and to find something to write about other than camp, the barn, or a reflection on why I am a goober, I am going to pick one item from my corkboard to write about over the next few weeks. If it is well received I will move on from there. These posts will probably make for short readings. But I have realized, I have met some really awesome people in my life and this would be a great writing exercise. My hope is these entries will make you happy.
The home remedy of using uncooked rice to save your water soaked electronics really works. I am here to testify that if you should lose your balance in a creek in Arizona with your camera in your pocket, there is hope for your camera. There is always a happy ending; you just have to look for it. I am telling this story out of sequence. Let me start from the beginning.
It was Monday afternoon when Snapper and I arrived at Huntsville International Airport and from the corner of my eye who did I see, Antoine Dodson! If you haven’t been on YouTube in the last few months he is big brother who spoke out about his sister’s attempted rapist on WAFF. YouTube and the rap “Bed Intruder” has made him famous. People where walking by Mr. Dodson snapping his photo with their smart phones.
We didn’t speak to him in Huntsville. His flight left from a different gate than ours. We were off to Atlanta after a thirty minute wait in the ramp area before heading to the runway. Needless to say after a run from terminal to terminal we missed our flight to Phoenix. We had a flight on a 9:30pm flight and standby on a 7:30pm flight. It was going to be an extremely long wait in Atlanta if we didn’t make the standby flight. So Snapper and I did what any good traveler would do, we went to the closest sports bar to pass the time.
Right after sitting down, I looked up from my menu and who did I see? That’s right, Antoine Dodson! He was like a travel elf, bringing entertainment and fun travel. This time, I didn’t pass up the opportunity to speak. I chatted with him for a few minutes as he waited to board a flight to New York City. He seems to be a really nice guy! I wanted to ask him to do a recruitment commercial for us. Many people on my Facebook gave mottos and pitches for him to use in our recruitment efforts. Here are two of my favorites:
“You dont have to come to us… we gonna find you, we gonna find you!”
“Hide your kids, hide your wife, and hide your husband too, because they are recruiting everybody up in here!”
After hanging with Antoine and some refreshments, Snapper and I, like little kids, celebrated making our 7:30pm flight to Arizona. If you can’t have fun traveling stay out of Atlanta, that airport might suck the soul out of you. We celebrated again when we saw our bags being loaded onto our aircraft. This was turning out to be a great day!
We made it to Phoenix and picked up our rental car, a red Mustang convertible. I saw the writing on the wall after pulling out of the parking garage, “Ruth gets second speeding ticket in Arizona.” All was well as we headed to Flagstaff to visit Northern Arizona University. I must say, NAU is one of the nicest campuses I ever visited. And no tickets, yet!
On our drive to Prescott we took the scenic route though Sedona. WOW is pretty much all I can say about that drive. Snapper spotted a park to venture through. Little did I know that flip flops should have been worn. It was an area called Slide Rock on Oak Creek just north of Sedona. Here is where the rice comes into play. Snapper and I waded through the water and saw a few lizards but no other critters. We were almost out of the water, so close to where we dropped off our sneakers, when I fell in. It was epic. Snapper had made it across and I did what I always do, I got cocky. Oh yeah, this is easy… I can make it across the water and rocks.
My camera was soaked and unusable for the remainder of the trip. However in my soaked state Snapper gave me some uplifting words of wisdom, “At least it wasn’t your iPhone!” There was a silver lining in this watery adventure! Well, it wasn’t a bad diversion from the road trip; it was really fun and a very peaceful spot on the side of the road. Snapper made sure I had a souvenir from Slide Rock. We made it to the hotel room in time to watch Glee. After Glee, I walked to Albertson’s to purchase a bag of rice. This trick really works. I am glad I didn’t have to try it on my iPhone.
It wasn’t a flawless trip and you will have to read more later to see if I got a ticket or not. However, everything about this day and our trip was good. The bumps along the way made for a more epic adventure. My first recruiting trip to Arizona wouldn’t have been memorable without a Diet Mountain Dew exploding all over me. My slip into the water during the fourth was just another memorable moment in Arizona!
Be Ready Camp is over for 2010. Will we have BRC 2011, only our next governor knows? As for me, if this was our last year of BRC, I don’t think we could have ended it better! The final mock disaster was perfect, Gumbo made a great Incident Commander. The BRC staff was better and more knowledgeable than ever!
The special thing about BRC is the kids are my people! They come from the rural areas around Alabama. People from the first responder corps and blue collar men and women send their kids to BRC. Even the fire boys and paramedics who help out are my people. I found out that a Huntsville fire captain who has helped since BRC1 is a cotton farmer! People don’t get much better than farmers!
The staff seems to give a little more as well. Fireball works only on Friday to take care of the UAHuntsville nursing students. Snapper and Slip Knot have their favorite briefings. I love teaching Incident Command. The leadership skills that I have learned from BRC are more valuable than any book, lecture, or class on the subject. We teach things such as planning for a disaster. We teach kids to use common sense and keep their heads about them when chaos is all around them. It is a life skills camp, which is why it is so important.
On Friday night with smoke all around and a MedFlight helicopter hovering over the lake, I told someone that the mock disaster looked more realistic than ever. I was hoping the kids would respond with a great performance too. This week was a little bit of a struggle, but the kids rocked the mock disaster out! Each year, I am so proud of the kids and staff for their hard work on Friday night! This year was a little more special.
BRC graduations are a little different than Aviation Challenge grads. We have more parents for six teams of BRC campers than we do for ten teams of AC campers. The parents and the campers are so thankful for the camp. I stand in one place under the bubble and here thank you for the campers and parents. It makes all the extra work of BRC worth it! At the end of my career, I will look back at BRC and still be proud to have been a part of the camp! It is truly a special camp!
If you have worked Be Ready Camp, why is it special to you?
