Tune Up

CATCHING UP

2009-03-13T20:16:00.000-07:00

Well, it has, indeed, been a while. My beloved fall and winter seasons are now morphing into spring and that will swiftly give way to the heat and humidity of summer soon enough. To quickly update, the Christmas season went pretty well despite it being the first without my father. We, of course, thought a lot about him during that time - and still do think and talk alot about him still. I think it is therapy for us to reminisce about him. There will still be a small event as his memorial bench is placed at the cemetary in the next few months.

CHURCH - Things at Faith UMC, as usual, started out slow as January rolled along. It picked up, though, with some of our members participating in an event at our large sister church called "Festival of Choirs." As several of our members participated, several others of us attended the event and it was really awesome. We have now, just started preparations (albeit later than we want) for our Easter season presentation entitled "The Power of the Cross." We'll be presenting the bulk of this on Palm Sunday. It looks like we might have a pretty good presentation choir to carry this off, too. We had an exciting rehearsal this past week.

THE HOUSE - I have to say that, as far as the renovations of the past couple of years now, we're pretty much there. I don't know if you ever get all the way "there" with a house, but pretty much everything's in place. I'm still tweaking the decor and then the outside landscaping and such is next on the agenda - a lot to do outside.

WORK - Things at school where I work are really busy right now. We are in the midst of the dreaded FCAT testing right now and seem to have a lot of drama happening with many of the students. With the current financial and economic situation, we're all a little on edge to see what next school year is going to bring. So far, our school board has not been talking layoffs, but rather furloughs and salary reductions. I'd personally rather see the latter than to not have a job, so we'll see how things shake out in the coming months.

BUCS - I have to make some comments on the "new" Bucs football team. As we all know by now, Jon Gruden and company were all let go back in February and the new coach Raheem Morris and his colleagues have been about the business of completely cleaning house and starting over. There is the good and the bad with this, of course, and the season could really go either way. I'm one who doesn't like diving off into wholesale change, but prefer to change in phases. I think it works better that way. After so many years of the Bucs stinking and being the lowlife of the NFL, the Dungy and Gruden years established the team (along with the Glazers too, I guess) on an upper echelon footing - especially with Monte Kiffin and the "Tampa 2" defense that became so popular. Now, that is all changing quickly into whatever we see this fall. I guess you can't go on with the same things forever and ever and these kinds of changes are maybe healthy - but I fret that this major change in the consistency of things there may possibly lead to some down and unfulfilling years - possibly. I hope that not the case, and we'll just have to see.

MY FATHER

2008-11-13T15:19:00.000-08:00

1938-2008

As much as it saddens me to sit here and write this, I know my dad is in a better place and is no longer suffering.

Most of my memories of my dad, when describing him, are to say that he was a hard-working man. He worked for well over 30 years to pay off a house and raise a family of three kids. He didn't have a lot of free weekends, as he worked most Saturdays, too. His big rough hands and tan skin were testaments to his hard work. I could never re-pay all that he did for myself and my brother and sister. He wouldn't expect it anyway as it was done out of love.

He was an outdoorsman - always preferred being outside to being inside. Even in the evenings when I was growing up he would spend time outside looking at the stars. Pretty much anything outdoors, he loved.

Fishing was one of his big recreational activities - he LOVED fishing. He would take us kids out fishing with cane poles in fresh water and I remember quite a few times he took me out on his little john-boat to fish in lakes and rivers. He was pretty good at cleaning fish too, as I recall.

Now, life with my dad was not all peaches and cream. There were lots of times that we argued and periods when we just didn't get along at all. He could say some abusive things at times. He was a good disciplinarian when we were kids. It seemed like he always had a "switch" cut from a tree that he would swat us with when misbehaving. He always made us say "yes m'am" and "no ma'm," and call our neighbors by their last names (Mr. or Mrs.).

He was pretty good at barbecuing chicken on the grill and had his secret sauce that he liked to use. He would cut small palmetto stalks that we used to roast hot dogs with in the back yard on Friday nights. I also remember when he turned an old refrigerator into a smoker and we had that in the back yard for years.

When talking about my dad, it wouldn't be complete without talking about our Ponce De Leon trips. Every year we would head "up home" as he called it to our family reunion. He would always tune up the car and put a couple of new tires on the week before we left. It was one of those times that our whole family piled in the car and were all together for that 3 or 4 days. He knew all of the back roads and the old families that lived up there. He could tell you who owned which pieces of property and how far their property lines went and all that. He would always get us safely home on Labor Day - just in time for the first day of school.

He had some peculiar habits and other trademarks - one of which was his train whistle. He had a way of doing a train whistle sound with his throat that I've never been able to duplicate - nor anyone else quite like he did it. Then there was his snuff. He liked to chew and spit, much to our dislike most of the time. He had a high-pitched laugh that he always did, too. When in a really good mood, he liked to sing an old country song called "Easy Lovin'."

Daddy was good at what he did. He was a tree expert by trade, working for a tree company in the earlier years, then with the county for his last 26 years of working. He had two elderly women that he did long term work for, too. He never earned any college degrees nor was more formally educated than high school, but he knew his trees and how to work with them. Two great reminders of that are the two oak trees he planted at the house - one in the front and one in the back. They are huge and towering now, much more than the little seedlings he took such great care of the day he got them and brought them home.

I take pain in the fact that he never got to totally enjoy his retirement. Not too long after his retirement from the county was when he first had serious medical problems. He recovered from those, for the most part, for about 3 years, but then things recurred and one thing led to the next - he ended up in and out of the hospital and into rehab for a period of time. He did finally get to come home for one last week about 3 weeks ago. In a wheelchair by this point, he was even making plans for Thanksgiving. He commented every morning about what a beautiful days we were having. It was on Monday night October 20th that, after supper, he fell in the bathroom and went into cardiac arrest. He was stabilized by paramedics and rushed to the hospital, but he never regained consciousness. He had lost too much oxygen to the brain when he went out at the house and he would never never recover. There was just too much wrong with him and they couldn't fix everything.

And so it was that a golden heart stopped beating in the early morning hours on November 4th. God saw him and it was time for Daddy's suffering on earth to end. Much of my family mentioned how surreal it all seemed, We all know, however, that we WILL see him again. For now, it's a great loss for us here, but I'm sure God's trees are looking a whole lot better now!

BUSY SUMMER IS ALMOST OVER

2008-08-18T17:07:00.000-07:00

Well, summer isn't technically over, but now that I've started back to work my summer break is officially over and we're getting ever closer to my beloved fall sesaon. I have to say this has been the busiest summer I've had in a long time! Much has happened from the first trip to South Carolina to my friend's sudden marriage to the Daytona trip to VBS to all of the work around the house, my summer USF course and my father continuing to not be well. So, it's been a full one.

DAYTONA TRIP - This was interesting one, for sure. Sherry and I started out travelling up to Florence, SC so she could get some continuing dental work done - so we left two days earlier than we usually do. Since I was in the middle of an online course, I had work and tests that had to be submitted by a certain time, so I had to be working on that while travelling. At the hotel in Florence, there was no wi-fi, so I ended up having to go to the library in town. That was a pleasant surprise as it was about a 3 year old facility and was beautiful! Sherry's dental work didn't turn out to be too long, as it turned out, so we had a little more time to enjoy Florence. It was a good thing, because the rest of the trip would prove to be challenging. We left Florence on Wednesday morning and spent most of the day heading down to Daytona for the music conference. After we had let the Jacksonville rush hour and were about 75 miles north of Daytona on I-95, we broke down - the car just died on us. So we had to get towed back to Daytona, make decisions on what we wanted to do. We ended up renting a car there to get around as Sherry elected to get her car back home when it was time to go. She ended up spending much of the time there sick and not able to attend the first day of the conference. We did make it home safe and sound, and I was able to make all but a half day of the conference.

VBS - the week after I got back from the trip we had Vacation Bible School at Faith UMC. It went pretty well. This was my first year doing music there - and really doing VBS in many years. Our theme was Surfin' Through The Scriptures - a surfing theme, as you might have guessed. This was something of an initiation for me as many of the folks volunteering have been doing VBS there for many years - so, I was one of the new kids on the block. It was a learning experience, and we pulled it all together on Friday of the week for our closing program.

USF COURSE - I spent a good amount of the summer taking this course - a women's studies course. I have found that with these online courses, you sort of have to take the first couple of weeks or so to figure out the "groove and routine" of things. They're all a little different - some use videos, some use the textbook, others use articles and all of them use discussion boards and/or discussion groups. I got an "A"

MY FATHER - My Dad continues to be infirmed because of his now various illnesses he has. He's been in a Rehab Center (which is sort of like a nursing home, but it's temporary) since about last May and had to have subsequent surgery on his foot to allow for better blood flow. He has a huge sore that is extremely slow in healing. He was back in the hospital earlier this summer to receive a special antibiotic, then released back to the rehab. He has recently been hospitalized again because of a major fluid buildup in his body - so much so that he was having trouble breathing. He has since been having that drained and treated. I saw him a couple of days ago and he didn't look great to me, so we'll see how things progress. I have to admit, it's starting to get a little "scary" for me.

THE HOUSE - The construction and renovation part is about 99% complete (still waiting on a new front door). I've been in the very slow process of unboxing all of the stuff we've had in storage and getting things put away - or in some instances throwing stuff out that I just don't need anymore - mostly paperwork that I've saved for the last 20+ years. It's getting closer every week and now there's furnishings for some of the rooms and window treatments that are the next leg of the project.

LOOKING AHEAD - Now that I'm back to work and it's been a week of that already, the students will be returning some time this week - depending on the weather. School has actually been closed for what was supposed to be the first day for the kids because of evacuations and the school being an evacuation center, but I'm sure we'll be back to work later this week. For Faith UMC, we'll be soon turning our attention to our Fall music and Christmas presentation that is entitled "On This Very Night." This is a compliation of various seasonal and spiritual songs with narration. We'll, of course, be involving all of the ensembles. Our Kick-Off night this year is on September 3rd, and we're hoping to have several "new" folks come out to be part of the music ministry at Faith!

OK - I guess this is enough for now (even though there's more!). As you see, though, it has, indeed been a busy one this summer!

SUMMER BLAHS

2008-07-04T10:16:00.000-07:00

We're now full into summer and things are happening and changing. Life seems to have its ups and downs and there are some definite "downs" for me as of late. These are personal "downs" but I have found throughout my life that it always helps to talk about it and, for me, to write about it - much of which I have in my personal journal - but it helps to do it in this format too. At some point in time, we all move into different seasons of life and so it has been for one of my best friends, Christy. I have known Christy for six years now, she teaches at the same school I do. Through that time, we have formed a special bond as friends, especially since we are both single and have a considerable amount of down time on our hands, at times. She has been the person I could go out and eat with or just get together and order a pizza or go shopping, or whatever. We could always do this because we had this commonality of being single and independent. Well, she and her boyfriend of one and a half months went to Las Vegas last weekend and got married! They did not tell anyone except their parents. This hit me really hard and has, as they say, "rocked my world." So it is that I am in a "down" time right now in my life. When things happen suddenly like this - especially major things - I do not take it well and really need a lot of prayer and time before things return to some normalcy in my life. So, I'm dealing with this as best I can as I continue through the activities and events of this summer.

DAYTONA TRIP - One of the bright spots coming up, however, is my annual trip to Daytona Beach for the "Music Explosion" Conference put on by Kempke's Music. It's a great time to "get out of Dodge" as it were and into a neat environment. Before I do that, I will be travelling to Florence, South Carolina for the second time this summer. My friend Sherry is having to go back up for more dental work. So, we'll head there for a couple of days then to Daytona. It should be fun.

FAITH UMC - Ministry continues through the summer there, although we currently have a lot of folks out for various reasons. We're continuing on as best we can. Vacation Bible School is coming up week after next. I will be doing music for all of the grade levels, and that should be fun. It's been a long time since I've done a VBS, so I'm looking forward to it! I am also in the midst of fall and Christmas musical planning, now, too - as is usual for me during the summer. I have one musical that I'm about 95% sure that we'll be doing, but I always like to wait until the conference is over before I make a final decision on that.

SCHOOL - I haven't heard anything from the middle school I teach at in terms of what I'll be doing next year, so my sense is that I will return and do what I have been doing. My school district has been in a major financial situation where they have had to cut some $43 million from the budget, which means, at leat, no raises for next year - but also cutting a lot of positions. They are saying that there will be more of that to come for the following school year too.

HOUSE - The house is mostly done, at this point except for a couple of things. I have been going through boxes and things in storage in the effort to get the house put back together. It's interesting and challenging to find homes for all the stuff we have! I'm hoping to have it mostly back in order by the end of summer.

CLARIFICATION

2008-06-22T18:02:00.000-07:00

In one of my previous posts, I was talking about my mother's place in the panhandle. Along with that I posted a picture of their shed. That picture was only of their storage shed, NOT their actual house. My mother was afraid folks would think she ahd her husband live in a storage shed. I don't have any pictures of the front of their place, but I do have one that shows part of the back porch area of their place, and that is displayed here. So, no, just to clarify, they don't live in a shed!

SUMMER BREAK

2008-06-18T09:13:00.000-07:00

Well, now summer break is now upon me - my break from teaching for about eight or nine weeks. As you know, summer is not my most favorite time of the year because of the general discomfort from the heat, but I do make the best of it and try to use the off time to my advantage in accomplishing things that I don't have time to do during the school year. So, what am I up to? Here are some of the things I hope to get done or try to get done during my break (and these are in no particular order)

1. CATCH UP WITH OLD FRIENDS: I have several friends that I don't see that often. I'd like to at least talk on the phone with them, if not get a chance to see them.

2. MEDICAL: I need to find a new primary care physician (my other Dr. moved away), try to get some dental work done as well as getting my eyes updated.

3. HOUSE: Yes, the house. Even though we're pretty much down to the front door and some shelves in the laundry room, there still are a lot of things in boxes and not much furniture. I need to get all of those things organized - find "homes" for everything and get my home office put together the way I want it.

4. CHURCH: I need to get into the music room and continue on with my ongoing project from 2 summers ago - and that is getting music filed and things set up there the way I'd like. Planning for the Christmas musical needs to happen, too. I'm pretty well set on what we're doing, I think, but I always like to wait until after the conference before I make a final decision. Also, I'll be doing Vacation Bible School in July this year for a week. I'll be, of course, doing the music. I'm looking forward to that - it should be fun!

5. MUSIC CONFERENCE: I plan to attend the Music Explosion Conference in Daytona Beach, once again this year. This will be my 8th year (I think) for that. This year, the conference has been totally re-vamped, which in some ways I hate, but in other ways it was very predictable and routine - so this should be different.

6. TRAVELLING: Other than the music conference, and a trip I took last week to South Carolina, I don't really plan to do any other travelling until Labor Day Weekend (Ponce De Leon) because there just aren't enough funds for that.

7. COURSE: I'll be taking a women's studies course as part of my educational update so that I can get certified in social studies. It'll be a 6 week course and very intense as a result. that starts in a couple of weeks.

8. REST: So, in the midst of everything above - I do hope to have some time to rest & relax, too.

OTHER DOINGS

Like I said above, I just got back from South Carolina last week. I went up with Sherry as she went to a dental clinic up in Florence to get dentures. She was afraid she may not be able to drive back as a result of the pain from the procedure, but she did, indeed, do the majority of the driving both ways. Her procedure was generally successful, although she now says that the plates are not fitting correctly - so she may need to make another trip up.

Things at Faith Church have been moving right along. Robin, our accompanist had an opportunity for a big promotion in her full time job so she had to leave the accompanist job. After interviewing and hearing a few applicants, we now have a new accompanist - Shelli. We are very excited about having her on board! We'll soon be going into summer mode where we'll rehearse every other week during July and August.

SPRING TIME

2008-04-02T05:05:00.000-07:00

As we enter into April, I finally get some time off albeit still busy doing a lot of things that I haven't had time to do otherwise. We're getting into the time of year that, honestly, is not my favorite, as you probably know by now. Spring is nice with all the new greenery blooming and all, but it is also the time of year that we start to get into the warmer weather in ernest. Now, I have seen some strong cold fronts come in at different times in my life - even as late as June, but generally this wanes about this time of the year as temperatures stay in 80s during the day most of the time. As I write this, I getting ready to leave for a few days in the panhandle, so I'm looking forward to some time away, but I always look forward to getting back, too.

TRAVELS: Yes, heading north for a few days again. I'll start off by going up to see my sister and her family in Thomasville, GA on the first day. After that it will be back down to see my mother and her husband in the panhandle. They live on 5 acres located almost in the middle of nowhere. Actually, they're not REALLY in the middle of nowhere, but all of the people who live where they do have like 5 acre parcels of land each, so everyone there is spread out - so it seems like there aren't too many people aeound. Actually, all of the folks that live there have an organized community association and all - so it's not really quite as rustic as it might seem (except for that clay road!!).

AROUND THE HOUSE: Well, things are just about all done renovation-wise. It's been a year - a rough year, but things are coming to fruition. Not that there aren't still things to be done - there are. Things like the front door, shower door, countertop laminate and some trim work still to be done. I remember a year ago when I was forced to "camp out" in the front bedroom with a meager (and old) microwave oven and no air conditioning. At one point, I was going to camp out in the back yard, but decided against that in the end. Last weekend, they got the last of the interior light fixtures done. There is only one more outside fixture to be hung, then all of those will be done.

FAITH UMC: We just finished our Easter presentations for this year. With Easter coming so early this year, we really didn't have too much time to prepare - but the folks rose to the occasion and really came out with an awesome presentation. We did a work entitled "The Power of the Cross" on Palm Sunday. I had a chance to look at the video this week and I couldn't believe how good it sounded! It really encourages me about the level of work our music ministry is capable of - especially when we actually have more time to put it together. We also did an event called "The Early Christian Meal" this year, too. This was actually something that was in the works before I came on staff at Faith UMC. For a first year, it was really fantastic. We can go from that and really tweak things for next year. Now, we enter into a relatively benign part of the year, where there won't be any really special presentations for a while. This gives us time to sort of catch our wind and begin to plan some things for the Summer and (believe it or not!) start preliminarily looking at Christmas.

SCHOOL/WORK: We're on Spring Break this week, but after we get back, we'll be in the "home stretch" toward the end of the school year. This means I'll be having quite a few difficult kids between now and early June. With all of the economic problems, I am admittedly concerned about next year and whether I'll have a position next year nor not. With what I do, I am not in a position where I can just slide into somewhere else teaching-wise. I do pray that what I do isn't affected.

FEBRUARY

2008-02-18T14:43:00.000-08:00

We're now well ito February - it's one of the more "boring" times of the year for me, usually - even though there is always something to look forward to. As I go through each year, there's always a "season" of some sort - something annual coming up. For now, it's getting the house renovation finished up, preparing for the Easter season at church and preparing for the FCAT season at school.

HOUSE RENOVATION - well, I can finally say that we're getting close to being done now. Since December and the holidays, all of the appliances have been delivered and installed. All are working except for the dishwasher, which is yet to be wired up and plumbed. The laminate countertops have yet to be installed, as well. The "trim" which is the baseboards and interior doors has been mostly installed. We are still lacking a few room on the baseboards. The electrical work is also nearing completion with three rooms yet to be connected to breakers. So, now the big task has been getting in all of the things that have been sitting outside under plastic for the last few months. After getting in all of the boxes of office and paper things, clothes were next on the agenda. Now that I can wash and dry, I've been going "great guns" in getting clothes and things washed up. Unfortunately, there were quite a few articles of clothing that got wet and ruined, so some things were lost. Other than that, it's a bunch of smaller details that have to be done and getting furnishings and decorating done. At the end of this month - it will mark a year since we signed the paperwork to get this project underway. It's hard to believe that it has taken this long!

FAITH UMC - Things at Faith United Methodist have been going slower than I would like at present. I'm beginning my second full year there, and just as last year, we have gone into this slump where choir attendance is down - and this year it has been all of the ensemble attendance that has been down. This is mostly for legitimate reasons - we have some people out because of long term illnesses and surgeries - and others that are participating in more of a periphery capacity. This is also attributed to the fact that we are in a time of transition at Faith - not just with music, but with the church as a whole. There is essentially new and relatively new leadership that is in place and the culture and times are changing. The church is adjusting and feeling its way through it all, I think. With consistency, and flexibility I do believe that things in all of the ministries will stabilize in the years to come. In the meantime, we are busy getting ready for this upcoming Easter season with two venues on our plates, musically. One is called The Early Christian Meal - which is a somber re-enactment of the last days of the life of Christ. The other is a work that we'll do on Palm Sunday entitled "The Power of the Cross." This is a more contemporary musical that will be done with choir and praise team. On Easter Sunday, we'll have speical music, as well. Then, after Easter, things will calm down some, although I'd like to keep a good bit of musical variety going in our worship, as well as looking ahead at some new programming.

SCHOOL - Carwise Middle has been busy too! Students have more than settled in and are getting very antsy this time of the year. This is when we do our big standardized testing - called FCAT. What this means for us is that the students are assigned to homerooms where they actually take their tests. We have already had one session, which was a mock test for what I am testing - 7th grade. We go for real in a couple of weeks and there are about 4 more half-day sessions where we will meet to test. Some time after that, we'll be looking at Spring Break - but not until after Easter.

COURSEWORK - As I work on credentials to teach social studies, I am taking a course at USF this semester called "Issues In Sport." It's an online course about various issues in the soprts world. This is a fantastic course in which we look at how to solve problems, who the stakeholders (people affected) are, and how to generate solutions to issues after we have identified the issue and have analyzed it - taking into consideration all of the stakeholders. So far interviews with Lee Roy Selmon and Bill Curry have been just awesome.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!

2007-12-26T07:09:00.000-08:00

I thought I'd title this "Happy Holidays" instead of "Merry Christmas" because I'm actually writing this after Christmas. To me, the holiday season really runs through New Year's. I guess this has always been my mindset because I teach school and we're off through New Years - so that's always a break time for me. We did have a very good Christmas this year. The house is done enough so we could have a little celebration there (though not completely done - more on that later). We opened presents at the house and then had dinner at my brother's place later in the day. It was basically a nice quiet affair, which I was more than happy about as I need to get away from the "hustle & bustle" for awhile. No concrete plans for New Year's as of yet, but I'm sure we'll do something. I'm not going to the panhandle until after New Year's this time - and that will be for about 3 days. I hope the weather is winterlike when I go. Yes - I'm one of those who actually likes the cold weather.

THE HOUSE - Quite a bit has been done since my past post, though, as I said, not everything yet. The kitchen cabinets and counters (without lamination) were installed last week. We're hoping to get appliances in this week. As far as the bigger things that need to be done - the electrician has to come and finish up the electrical (about half the house is now electrified); the "trim guy" has to come and install the baseboards, window sills, and interior doors; and my father's room has to be sanded, textured and painted yet. We stored everything in there while they did the rest of the house. So, I'm hoping everything will be totally complete by the end of January anyway.

FAITH UMC - Things, as usual, have been in full gear at FUMC through the holiday season. The musical "One Small Child" was a great success. I like to build on those successes. We did some special anthems and sang carols throughout December. Our Christmas Eve service was wonderful! We ended up doing more music than I had originally anticipated, but it was really all for the better as everything turned out just awesome! We had Worship Choir, Children's Ensemble, and a good young soloist by the name of Nicole Winchester. I have had a few more responsibilities for the last month or so since Pastor Debbie has been out on maternity leave, so it's been a busier than usual season for me. We are, however, going to wind things down some over the next couple of weeks - and then gear back up to prepare for the Easter season. Easter comes earlier in 2008, and we don't have too many weeks to prepare. So, we will be in preparation for our Palm Sunday Presentation by the end of January.

MY TEAMS - Well, the ol' Bucs pulled off another playoff run, albeit a very slim chance to make it all the way - but MUCH better than last year's 4-11 season. So far, we are 9-6. They played San Fransisco last week and pretty much conceded that game to the 49ers by playing mostly backups the whole time. I really wanted to see them get into the double digits of wins. They have one more chance for that this week as they play Carolina at home. I REALLY hope they win that game! As for the USF Bulls, after that great run, they lost several games - so the big rise was short lived - but it was good enough to get them into the Sun Bowl and build a foundation for more national exposure in the years to come. They ended up 9 and something as far as the record - so still in all - not a bad year.

BUSY, BUSY BUSY!

2007-10-14T15:54:00.000-07:00

It seems that I always busy doing one thing or the other but this is the time of the year that things are usually cranked up another notch or two - and this year is no exception! With school well underway, things hopping at church and the ever ongoing renovation at the house - I have a full plate.

FAITH UMC - With Fall in full swing, we're going great guns, it seems. Our church is currently in our "pumpkin patch season" which means that the exterior of the place has been transformed into a sea of pumpkins. This is a really neat thing where we, of course, sell the pumpkins for a fundraiser, but also have a venue for elementary schools and preschools to come in and participate in Fall activities during the week through October. It really gets you into the spirit of Fall! We had a "Re-Focus Retreat" this past weekend on Friday and Saturday. Re-Focus is an initiative by the Florida Conference of the United Methodist Church that is geared toward revitalizing and re-energizing churches as we move into the 21st century. It was a great retreat even though I had to leave a little early. This will actually be a process that we'll be working through with other retreats to come. Next weekend, I will be attending a UM Men's retreat in another part of the state. In addition to all that, we are diligently working on our Christmas musical - "One Small Child" and the praise team and children's ensemble are singing in different venues over the next couple of months too!

THE HOUSE - Things are still going pretty slowly here although we're still aiming at goal of having things done by Thanksgiving. Since the past post, the air conditioning is now running which has made a world of positive difference! We emptied the big Pod that had been sitting in our front yard for the past several months - so now all of that is in the house. There's still the drywall that has to be completed in a couple areas of the place - then another inspection - then the texturing and paint - with the installation of the kitchen cabinets and appliances to follow. So we're still quite a ways away.

BUCS - Well, my last report was not too rosy, but since then, they have won most of their games, which has been awesome! They just need to keep it up despite having lost several key players due to injuries. They beat the Tennessee Titans today albeit by a slim margin.

BULLS - The University of South Florida Bulls - my school - have experienced a very fast rise to number 2 in the country as of today. These standings are always changing - I just hope they can get past all of the current hype that's going on and stay focused for the rest of the season - but what a year it's been so far!

INTO THE SEASON

2007-09-15T14:11:00.001-07:00

Yes, the annual journey to Ponce De Leon is now two weeks complete. It was nice to get away for a while into a different environment. This year, it was what I call a "vanilla" trip in that we did not do a lot of stop offs or miscellaneous driving around this time. My father travelled with me for much of the trip, and he is not interested in doing a lot but getting from point A to point B. We left on a Thursday and first drove up to Thomasville, GA to my sister's place where my dad stayed for a couple of nights. On Friday, I went and spent a day with my mother and her husband in Monticello, FL. On Saturday, my dad and I were back on the road for the 4 hour trip on to Ponce De Leon, FL - which is in the panhandle of Florida. Once we were there and settled into the hotel, we did do a little driving on what we call "the back roads" - to my father's old home place where he was raised (the house isn't there anymore, but it's not changed much other than that). We also visited some of our favorite restaurants while there. The big event is the annual family reunion at the Town Hall in Ponce De Leon. A couple hundred or so of us gather each year to reunite with one another, of course, but also to partake of an awesome potluck - everything from home cooked to Winn Dixie deli. Other than the heat, it is a great time! Following that we all trek over to Ponce De Leon Springs to swim in the COLD springs. It's been a state recreation area for a long many years now, but it's very refreshing. Our time was cut short there this year because it was thundering and lightening by the time we got there. Then, Monday morning, it's time to head back home - that's at least an 8 hour drive - so it's an all day deal. As I said, though, we had fun and it was a great getaway.

Once we get back from Ponce De Leon, that signals the "official" start of Fall for me. From that first week of September we begin the journey through Fall and what it has to offer. Even though Fall is my very most favorite time of the year - there still is a little empty space - missing summer.

FUMC - Things at Faith United Methodist continue busy. I don't know that it ever really got too un-busy over the summer anyway - and that's the way it should be. I have always believed that ministry shouldn't stop or slow down too much just because it's summer. The Worship Arts Celebration was a great success - even though it went an unexpected 2 hours! We had our annual Fall Kick-Off night on September 5th and it was great, as well. We had a few "new" (although not new to the church) come out. That is fantastic! We're looking forward to a full season as we begin working on our project for Christmas entitled: "One Small Child."

IT'S BUCS TIME AGAIN - Well, the NFL season has begun anew! Unfortunately, except for one quarter, the Bucs didn't look much different from last year. If the players wouldn't keep getting hurt, we might have something but it seems that this is always the case. It was only game one and not a division game that they lost last week, so maybe things will get better as we go along. If they don't, I have a feeling we'll be welcoming a new head coach (and probably a whole new coaching staff) next year.

HOUSE UPDATE - another unfortunate to report - not too much progress. We seem to be mired in the thick of county inspectors wanting to see "this" and wanting to see "that." On one visit everything is fine, then on another visit from a different inspector, everything is not fine and because a screw is not in the right place or something minor - our contractor has to wait longer. We're so close to getting the remainder of the drywall up and air conditioning going - lacking only one more approval. I'm not holding my breath, though. I have a feeling something else will come up and we'll have to wait a few more weeks for the NEXT inspection! It takes all the fun out of renovating - that's for sure!

BACK TO SCHOOL

2007-08-16T13:24:00.000-07:00

BACK TO WORK - Well it's back to school and thus back to work for me. It's kind of nice getting back into a routine after so much time off. We had a longer amount of time off this year than usual because they're adjusting up the schedule for the start of school once again. The students will start on the 21st of August - so we are back a week before that. So it is back to getting my classroom set up, going to meetings, getting keys and the like. I have always contended that these days before the kids get back is more work than those days we work after the kids get out of school on the other end. This time, so far, hasn't been too bad. So getting back into the routine - getting back to school and work - it's a good thing.

FALL AGAIN - ALMOST! - With the start of school and now that the first pre-season football games are history, I know it's getting closer to being Fall once again! (no cooler weather or leaves changing around here - yet) As I've said over and over - it is, indeed, my favorite time of the year from September through the holidays. I enjoy the routine albeit tiring at times - but in a lot of ways better than having too much down time on my hands.

FUMC MUSIC - We had a special rehearsal last night. It was special in the sense that it was not on our summer schedule. We're getting ready for what will be a Worship Arts Celebration Sunday coming up in a couple of weeks. I'm looking forward to it especially as we've had a couple new folks join us - that is a great blessing and I'm excited to have them on board. There's always room for more, though, and maybe some others can be inspired, as well! It'll, indeed, be a Sunday packed with music - everything from choir to praise team to kids to solos and duets! Faith UMC is very blessed to have so many that have a passion for music ministry - and this is a powerful thing!

HOUSE UPDATE - not much since last time - still getting the insulation finished up with drywall and air conditioning to follow.

GETTIN' READY FOR PDL - Our annual trip to Ponce De Leon is coming up in the next week and a half already! I can't believe it's almost here again. I haven't done really any constructive planning as of yet - but it will be what I consider to be a "vanilla" trip once again this year as it was last year. This means that my friends will not be accompanying me and I probably won't get to hit any historical museums this time - but the time away is still very nice!

I THINK I'M BACK

2007-07-27T14:36:00.000-07:00

BACK AGAIN! I have finally been able to get to a place where I can begin to blog again. I was offline for a while as the renovation to the house continues - and guess what? it's STILL continuing! Things have been going slow. We've had several major permitting delays, but we're now hoping that things will be picking up significantly pretty soon. Things are now down to insulation and drywalling. Still not a whole lot of electricty in the house. It cannot happen until the drywall is all done. I think it's the sequence of things when renovating - I'm not a builder (although I have learned a lot through all of this!) but my understanding is that the drywall has to all be in place before the wiring can be "hot" so that they don't accidently screw drywall into a live wire. Things are getting better here, but it's still going to be quite a bit of time before we're anywhere near "done."

CLOSING IN ON THE END OF ANOTHER SUMMER - Since we're now almost into August, it's always my time to be looking forward to the planning for the Fall. Being my favorite four months of the year, I enjoy this. It's almost "back to work" time for me as I'll be returning to teaching in a few short weeks. Having the time "off" in the summer allows me time to do so much. It's sort of a double-edged sword because, on the one hand, I do enjoy getting back to work, but on the other hand - when I get back to work, I won't have time do get anything done! Well, it seems that way, anyhow. Not only will there be getting back to work, there's also the annual trip to the panhandle for the family reunion trip. Actually, it seems that I'm always doing way more things on that trip than the reunion itself. It is a time, though, to see some family I don't get to see but once a year and spend some time in a place that "like another world" from where I spend the rest of the year. So I do look forward to all of that.

SUMMER AT FUMC - This, being my second summer at Faith United Methodist Church, now has been much smoother than last year. In your first year, you're always getting to know everyone and the dynamics of your ensembles and "how they tick." It seems like we have had more folks able to participate more consistently this year and that has been a blessing. We have several things we're getting ready for - first, is something called a Worship Arts Celebration Sunday. Since Pastor Debbie will be out on that Sunday, we have been given the opportunity to share our ministry - in depth - with the congregation. We hope this will encourage more folks who are not currently participating in the music and arts ministries to take part. Second, the first Wednesday night of September will be out Kick-off night. This is a special time where we go over organizational things for the year and preview our new Christmas musical. (I know what it is - but I'm keeping it under wraps a while longer! :). With a different rehearsal routine this summer, all of our groups have had a more thorough rehearsal experience and that has made a big difference in our ministry!

A NEW YEAR

2007-01-02T19:39:00.000-08:00

A new year is now upon us and I am finally back online at home (at least for the forseeable future!). I'm still on break from school/work, although things at Faith UMC will be starting up once again pretty soon after a short break with the ensembles. As it always goes with these long breaks (which ARE needed) - I do look forward to getting back into the swing of things come next week.

FAITH UMC: Actually, choir will start up tomorrow night. We'll be starting preparation for the annual "Festival of Choirs" in February (held at First UMC Hudson) and getting into Easter/Spring musical material by the end of January (YES - already!). I'm looking forward, too, in moving forward with the music ministry in more creative ways to facilitate a more rich worship experience. The Praise Team and Children's ensembles will begin meeting next week. The kids will begin working on a Spring musical to be presented in May. I'm not quite sure just what that will be just yet, but I will be listening and looking at several things in the next few weeks.

THE HOUSE: Well, our new roof is now on and we are almost done with the cleaning out part of things. I am in the midst of moving my office into another room and moving furniture otherwise from one part of the house to another. I've been trying to use as much of my break time as possible to get as much of this done as possible, although I know I won't get completely done - there's just too much.

OTHER STUFF I HOPE TO DO: I'm hoping also to catch up with some friends that I don't get to spend time with too often - in between everything else.

MY TRAVELS: I did get up to Georgia and the panhandle for a few days last week - after Christmas. The weather was chilly to start with, then warmed up - but I had a very good and fruitful visit.

HOW TIME FLIES!

2006-11-25T10:44:00.000-08:00

In my Fall "busy-ness" (and still no online computer at home), my blog time has fallen behind. As I said, though, I've been busy on many fronts.

HOUSE UPDATE: We have been moving slowly but surely on the progress of things at the house. My brother, father and I have been diligently cleaning out over the past few months, as we've had weekends free to do so. We're just about to where we want to be, although we still lack a couple of more cleaning sessions - we can only do this when we can get a dumpster, too. We've had the roofing company here this past week before Thanksgiving working on putting on a new roof. They still have to do the shingles, but by next week - the roof should be complete. Then, it's on to the inside - this is where things can REALLY get started. Our estimated completion time has now moved up to probably sometime this next summer.

FUMC: Things at Faith UMC have been busy. There's always a lot going on, it seems, which I love. I'm always planning ahead, while still working with the folks on what's currently happening. We had a great outing on October 29th - it was an annual event called "Trunk 'n Treat. It was sort of the culmination of the Pumpkin Patch that we had all through the month of October. We had our children's & youth ensemble sing as well as Sherry and I. Most of the work, however, has been on our Christmas Musical for this year - "Once Upon A Child." All of the groups are coming along nicely with it, although there are some sound concerns which we'll have to address to bring things to fruition. Now that Thanksgiving is over, we're into the home stretch - pretty much just doing run-throughs until we present in about 2 weeks. Once all that is over (whew!), then we'll be able to concentrate on the rest of the holiday music as we move toward Christmas Eve.

CROSSROADS: Sherry and I had an opportunity to travel to Flagler Beach to sing a the Family Fall Festival put on my Flagler Beach United Methodist Church. Our good friend, Pastor Doug Swan was in charge of the festivities. We left on Friday night - the 3rd of November - and stayed in Micanopy overnight and then drove on to Flagler Beach the next morning. It was a chilly and windy day. We sang two sets - one outside on the stage and one inside. It was a pretty full day topped off in the evening with a treat of dinner by Doug at a place there called Alfie's. We spent the night in Daytona Beach before coming back on Sunday the 5th. Sherry is slated to sing at the Shalimar Church in Port Richey on the first Sunday of December. She will have some help from her oldest daughter, Tayna, as I cannot attend that one.

THANKSGIVING: One of the great benefits of working for the school system is that we get the entire week of Thanksgiving off (at least until they change it! - which hopefully they won't). This is a great breather for me - I can get a lot done around the house as well as things I've been putting off that must get done. It also gives me the opportunity to travel to north Florida and visit with my mother and her husband, as well as my sister who lives in Thomasville, GA. It's always a great time and is nice to "get out of Dodge" for a while - it's a whole other world up there! But, I had a great visit. We had Thanksgiving at my sister - Rebecca's - house. The only bad thing was that the Bucs were, once again, disappointing in their blowout loss to Dallas. I drove back yesterday and it's nice to have a day before I get back to work.

DA BUCS: I don't know what to say! I get so frustrated with this team - I realize not every year can be THE year and that there has to be someone who's on the bottom. I guess it's just that we haven't been this far down in a long time - we've gotten un-used to it. We sort of always had the defense to bail us out - but that's gone, now too. We lost too many good assistant coaches and the veteran players (for the most part) on the defense are too aged to play the way the "Tampa 2" is supposed to be played, I think. So, with the combination of the above, plus a difficult schedule, plus a lot of young and rookie players (including quarterback) - we are where we are. I hope they don't look too hard at replacing Jon Gruden - I think a major coaching change is what the team DOES NOT need - they all need a chance to get the "new" Bucs team to gel. It's embarrasing, but I will continue to watch.

IT'S FINALLY FALL!

2006-09-30T13:36:00.000-07:00

It's finally Fall (for real!) - the beginning of my favorite time of the year. I was down with a bad chest cold and sickness the two weeks following my trip to north Florida. Now, over the past couple of weeks, I'm feeling the best I've felt in the last few months - even before Summer. Maybe it just psychological!

HARVEST TIME - One can tell that the fall or autumn season is once again here. Of course, we don't have the leaves changing colors all that much here or the weather becoming markedly cooler just yet, but the sights and sound of football games, as well as the pumpkins and fall paraphenalia in all the stores. Also, it means I'm back to working great guns - with my work at school and at the church.

THINGS PICKING UP - things at Faith UMC are picking up. I'm there at least two nights a week, now. I have been amazed at the number of children we've been having in "Kids For Christ" rehearsals! It's been awesome. With this, we can really go forward doing some significant ministry. We have started a Praise Team, too. We met for our second rehearsal last Thursday night and there were 6 of us there! Even though we're just working on music for the Christmas presentation, the group is already beginning to get a "sound". The Worship Choir is also very active, now too. We're anticipating some of our "Winter visitors" coming back in the next few weeks. Now, with Robin Walter on board as our permanent accompanist, we can more concretely move forward in ministry.

HOUSE UPDATE - My brother and I got in a good half a day today in moving some large items out to the dumpster and some things to storage. We're moving on things slow but sure. We're pushed forward our expected time of completion to sometime next Spring. My back is sore, but I am happy that the project is continuing forward.

GOODBYE MAYNARD

2006-08-30T16:09:00.000-07:00

I have never been one to be starstruck or in awe of folks who call themselves "celebrities." The only exception to this for me might be a man who not too many people outside jazz and big band circles would know. Maynard Ferguson has been a great musical favorite of mine since childhood. Having been a trumpet player through middle school and high school, Maynard Ferguson was the high school trumpeter's guru. He was a showman. He was is known as a high note trumpet player. This man could play so high in the stratosphere, it almost uncomprehensible.

Having come up through the late 1950s be-bop and jazz era, playing with such big band legends as Stan Kenton, Ferguson put his own big band together in the late 1960s. Since that time, with big (and small) bands under such names as "The Birdland Dream Band", "High Voltage", and "Big Bop Neveau", Maynard has played many venues from high schools to major jazz clubs. He produced many albums, many of which I own.

Maynard was one of my big "heroes" growing up. I attended several Maynard Ferguson concerts when he played locally, in the 1980s. I even got to shake his hand. I never will forget it. With some friends, I attended the Jazz Holiday in Clearwater, FL to see him in concert. He was the feature performer for the event that year. After just a blockbuster concert, we ended up "backstage" - which was behind an outdoor stage in a park. We went to his trailer, knocked on the door and his manager came out, and at first wanted to shoo us away, but Maynard stepped out and and signed autographs for us. I remember when he signed an autograph for me, I said to him "thank you very much" and his reply in a very jovial tone was a hearty "my pleasure!"

We lost Maynard Ferguson last week. He was 78 years old and had developed an internal infection that ended up shutting down his major organs. So it was on August 23rd, Maynard died in California with his family at his side. No, I'll never forget that big guy with the flowing blonde (and later gray) hair, screeching high notes on his trumpet, and entertaining us to no end. Many of the folks that worked with Maynard on the road, and such called him "the Boss". I think I'll just settle for calling him one of, if not THE best showman and instrumentalist that ever graced my presence in this life. Goodbye Maynard.

MY FAVORITE SEASON

2006-08-12T12:12:00.000-07:00

It's been a few weeks, and I continue to struggle with not having an online computer at home. So, it's to the library (on the weekends, anyway).

Back to Work - Now, back to work, in full, at school I'm getting back into the routine of things. It seems like I've spent countless hours setting up my classroom and getting everything on the walls and such just like I want them. During this time we always go through the routine of the more mundane things like getting pictures taken for our ID badges, assigning lockers, doing morning duty - lunch duty - and after school duty and connecting computers. I guess the more interesting part of things is getting to know my new co-workers - those folks whose first year it is at Carwise. This is one of the more interesting things about the education "business" - it's not like anything else where you just go on and on and evolve - in education, we start over each school year. Everything seems new. I do like this aspect of it, though.

Fall - Well, Fall's not here yet, by any stretch - but the feeling is beginning to happen. It's not the feeling of the weather, it's rather, the feeling of the usual Fall events. The span of time from September until the end of December is my favorite time of the year. I always know it's on its way after I've watched the first Buccaneers preseason football game. I know it has arrived when I get home from my family reunion every Labor Day weekend.

PDL - Something my family calls "PDL" time is fast approaching. PDL stands for Ponce De Leon, which is a tiny town in the panhandle of Florida. US Highway 90 runs through the panhandle (as does Interstate 10 - but that's another story). Medium sized to small to tiny towns dot this roadway about every 10 miles or so, once you're west of Tallahassee. PDL is one of those towns. My father was born and raised there until he was about 10 years old. My late grandparents' family and numerous other relatives are from all around that area. For the last - at least 45 years (or maybe more) we have had a big family get together up there on the Sunday of Labor Day weekend. With the exception of 1972, when our car broke down on the way up, and a couple of years in the mid 1980s - we have made this pilgrimage every year. It is one of the highlights of our year, as a family - and certainly a highlight of my year!

SUMMER THOUGHTS

2006-07-29T12:05:00.000-07:00

Summers for me are sort of a "down time" from the bustling rest of the year. In fact, my "year" seems to actually start in September - this is the springboard from which the next 365 days happens. Being in education and in ministry, it just falls together this way. So it is, that I'm entering "December" of my year. I am looking forward to getting back to work at school and the fall season at Faith UMC. So, my thoughts, as of late, have centered around the planning of things for fall - both at school and at church. I will be starting back to work at school this next week, so that part of my world will be picking up considerably by this time next week.

Just A Thought - I always think that one of the necessary components for anyone working in ministry is the ability and love of planning. It seems that planning is a large percentage of what one does in leading ministry - so I guess I qualify because I love to plan. Anyhow, just a thought. . .

Our House Project - My family has embarked on a long awaited project on the homefront. For the most part, it's myself, my brother and my father that are involved. We have started the process of what will become my dad's renovated house. The house is 45 years old and shows every bit of it. Right now, we are clearing out over 40 years worth of "stuff". I thought that we should have one of those Home and Garden Channel TV shows come to the house - they'd have a heyday! The basic plan is to, once cleared out, have a new roof put on, redo the living room, kitchen, and bathroom. We also want to convert an old Florida room into a dining room, and a closed in carport into at TV room. There are also the many other things that go along with an old house like plumbing and electrical things to be done, too. So, we're pluggin' along. I'll keep you posted on how things are going.

Hanging Out At Sherry's - I'm at my friend - Sherry's - house right now. She has been kind enough to let me use her computer since I still don't have one at home on the internet. Sherry and I have been singing together for the past 6 years in a ministry we call "Cross Roads." We sing at churches and Christian related outdoor festivals and charities. We pretty much sing all styles of Christian music. Saturday is generally our rehearsal day - it's become sort of a tradition for us as we rehearse together and then we go out for supper with Sherry's kids (of course, when I can afford it!). So, hopefully the weather is going to hold up this afternoon and we can be storm free.

MY FIRST ONE

2006-07-20T14:38:00.000-07:00

I thought I'd give this "blog" thing a try. After reading through Pastor Debbie Allen's blog the last couple of months, I was inspired, as I love to do things like this. I used to do something like this several years ago, except that they didn't call them "blogs" back then. I'll have information posted on occasionally, but not likely to be on a regular schedule. With my machine now out of commission at home, my computer time is much more limited. I hope in the next couple of months this will no longer be the case.

A GREAT CONFERENCE - As many of you know, I attended the Kempke's "Music Explosion" Conference in Daytona Beach. I have been attending this conference for 6 years now, and look forward to it every year. Kempke's Music Service is a major distributor of church music and sound equipment. They are headquartered near Orlando, but hold conferences in Texas and Minnesota in addition to Florida. We have a chance to not only sample the new music ministry offerings, but also interact with music ministers and pastors from all over the eastern US. We also get to spend time with some of the folks who write our music. So, as usual, this was a real blessing for us this year!

ALMOST BACK TO WORK - Two weeks from today (actually less) I should be back to work at school - getting back into my "busy" routine. Part of me actually looks forward to getting back to work - sometimes hanging around the house - albeit still busy - gets very boring and dull. There's always the other part of me, though, that IS still into hanging around the house.

LOTS OF LISTENING - As most church music directors do, I have spent a lot of the Summer listening to many and various Christmas musicals. There are many things that go into selecting just the right presentation for a music ministry. It's always more difficult in the first year in a new church. Getting to know everyone on a personal level as well as getting to know the personalities of the choirs always figures into it. The most dependable thing, though, is keeping it in prayer. I learned a long time ago - one year when I decided to lean on myself instead of on God - that if He isn't involved in all parts of the process, then it will not have the impact - it will not be what it could have been with Him. So, as much as I listen to those CDs, and listen to folks' input - I find that I mostly listen to God.