–I have been a Steelers fan since I was old enough to know what football is. It was great to see them win #6.

–Due to scheduling and other conflicts Tracy and I were finally able to catch up on some of our favorite shows on Monday night. That resulted in what might be the best block of TV watching I have ever sat through: FNL (the best show on TV, hands down), The Office Superbowl episode, The Big Bang Theory (which just gets better each episode), and HIMYM.

–I’m taking 9 hours this semester and trying to get out of my office at least once a day to do something people-oriented. I am already overwhelmed. When is Spring Break?

–Yesterday, Cassie woke up complaining about her eye hurting. This sent us into a panic. One of the biggest potential hazards of juvenile arthritis is eye debilitation and loss. We have her eyes checked quarterly and have had great results every time. Luckily, we were able to take her to the doc and determine that everything was fine. I think she wants glasses to look as cool as I do

–I have two trips to Tulsa this week and a Father-Daughter Dance on Saturday. It slows down right?

In the interest of cross-promotion and in an ever-increasing homage to laziness I thought I would post the ever-popular Facebook meme here:

1. I love spicy food. The spicier the better. Everything I eat has to be spiced up to nuclear levels.

2. My two favorite teams are the Arkansas Razorbacks and Pittsburgh Steelers. No other teams truly matter.

3. I am an Academy Awards fan. I have seen every Best Picture and Best Actor winner and see all of the major nominees each year.

4. I read constantly. About 145 books a year constantly

5. I am a major introvert. I don’t like crowds and don’t really get into events and gatherings very much. It makes ministry a challenge.

6. My post-ministry career will be working in a library. I am currently getting another Master’s Degree in Library and Information Sciences.

7. I have a Bachelor’s in Philosophy and a Master’s in Religion.

8. I love rainy weather. I love rain more than sunshine.

9. I use to run and I miss it a lot. However, I’m too lazy to get started again.

10. I am given to fits of nostalgia and Facebook has only exacerbated that.

11. I am notoriously difficult to figure out and rarely think conventionally.

12. I have to keep many of my views to myself to keep me out of permanent trouble.

13. People often find me unapproachable. That saddens me greatly and I have to pay close attention to my body language and non-verbals.

14. There is nothing I love more than my girls.

15. I love horror films and books.

16. I love change as long as it doesn’t interrupt my routine.

17. I don’t like being out after 7 at night.

18. I think Michael McDermott is the greatest songwriter of my generation.

19. I am a pacifistic, tree-hugging, civil-rights touting social justice advocate.

20. I love cold weather. I won’t wear a coat until it gets below 40 degrees and wear short sleeves no matter how cold.

21. My perfect job would involve reading and studying all day.

22. I drink way too much Diet Coke but I have no desire or inclination to stop.

23. I am not a morning person.

24. I love my sense of humor but I know that it does not appeal to everyone.

25. I am excited about how Facebook has allowed me to re-establish friendships with people I thought were forever out of my life and determine kindred spirits I have missed out on earlier in life.

Chloe, Cassie and Shayla

Today is a memorable day in the history of this country. We will be greeting a new president, the 44th in the 232 year history of the United States. However, this president is a little bit different than the 43 that preceded him. This president is African-American, the first black man to ever be elected to the highest office in our country.
As you grow up you will learn more about the history of this country and our regrettable and unconscionable past when it comes to race relations. Just 150 years ago men such as Barack Hussein Obama could not have aspired to the presidency. Instead, he would have endured a life of a slave if he lived in certain parts of this country. He would have been forced to work for white men with no freedom to hope for and believe in. They were considered to be, not human, but property.
Even after slavery was abolished in America we still endured much hatred and racism. Blacks were often not allowed to use the same restrooms, water fountains or restaurants as white people. Although they were not enslaved they were still not truly free.
But about 50 years ago that began to change. Some truly remarkable people stood up and proclaimed that they deserved to be treated equally. Great men and women such as Rosa Parks, Medgar Evers, Bayard Rustin, Fannie Lou Hamer and others were powerful and persuasive voices that all men were truly created equal and should receive like opportunity and respect.
Without using violence, without hurting the people who hurt them they stood up and fought back. They fought back with words, with passion, with heart and with truth. They marched in Birmingham, Selma and Washington D.C. They sat down on buses and in Woolworth’s. They withstood the spray of water hoses and the pummeling of batons. They stood. Like steel. And slowly those laws, regulations and attitudes that oppressed our black brothers and sisters began to fade and erode.
During that time, one man emerged as the voice and leader of that movement for civil rights. His name was Martin Luther King, Jr. He was a flawed, complex and truly great man. He was the continual and unwavering voice that blacks were equal and that they would win their rights. And he never wavered from insisting that it be done without violence.
For 13 years he oversaw the repudiation of all laws and regulations that were complicit in oppressing people. He organized a boycott of buses and a march in Washington. Equal treatment for African-Americans became a reality because he had a dream. He registered people to vote and he was instrumental in the Civil Rights Act of 1964 that ensured that blacks would no longer be barred from attending schools with white kids. He did a lot more than that but you will learn those things in time.
Unfortunately, hatred runs deep. The passing of laws and legislation to ensure that blacks were treated equally did not mean that people changed their hearts. In the south, where you live, that hatred and racism still often holds sway. And in 1968, just 2 months before your father was born a man shot and killed Dr. King. He thought a bullet would end Dr. King’s work.
But he was wrong. Martin Luther King’s legacy and work would live on. And on the third Monday of January every year we stop and celebrate his dream.
And that dream continues today. In just a few minutes I will leave my office and drive home to watch an important event with you. A black man will become our president. Just 41 years after Dr. King was assassinated and the day after we celebrated his legacy and his dream Barack Hussein Obama will be our president. He was 6 years old when Dr. King was shot. In 41 short years we have gone to an nadir of hatred to an apex of hope.
My hope is that you will remember this day. That you will see and learn to appreciate the meaning and symbolism of a black man rising to such a prominent position in our country. It is a celebration of all those people who have endured slavery, oppression, and hatred. It is a moment where we can be proud of where we have come even as we still harbor the regrets of where we have been. Time heals. And today the healing is at its most complete. And we share this moment with our African American brothers and sisters. We share this moment not as black, white, red or yellow. We share this moment as Americans. And this is a blessed day.
This day will not end racial hatred. We will still encounter those people who harbor animosity towards others for no reason other than the color of their skin. More often than we should. But with this moment and stretching forward the voices of those riddled with hatred can be rendered mute by the power of love, acceptance, tolerance and understanding.
I almost went to this Inauguration. I wanted to drive the 1300 miles, brave the crowds and the cold weather and see this moment for myself. I’m glad I didn’t go. There is nowhere I would rather be on this day then with you sharing this moment. Sharing this historical moment where the goodness of the American Spirit will be on full display.
Remember this day girls. Thank you for sharing it with me.
I love you,
Daddy

Here is my list of fiction reads:

10. The Books of Ember by Jeanne Duprau
It seems that I have read enough Young Adult fiction this year to have a 5th list if I wanted. This series (with the exception of the needless prequel of the third book) is a riveting look at a city that lives in a darkened world.

9. Them by Nathan McCall
McCall does a masterful job of looking at the effects of gentrification on a predominately black neighborhood. The racial tensions crackle on every page and serves to illicit a profound meditation on prejudice and urban renewal.

8. The Reader by Bernhard Schlink
The movie is getting a lot of Oscar buzz at the moment and seems to be a shoo-in for best pic and another acting nod for Kate Winslet. The source material is a gripping story of a young man and his affair with a mysterious woman who later turns out to be a war criminal. Deeply affecting and moving.

7. The Twilight Saga by Stephenie Meyer
Okay, there is no readily explainable reason why I enjoyed these books so much. The best answer I can give to this tale of love between a mortal and a vampire is that it is just fun reading. You won’t get wrapped up in a labyrinthine plot but you will get to know the characters who Meyer develops with a great amount of affection.

6. Man in the Dark by Paul Aster
Which story is better: the one that is true or the one we tell ourselves. Auster paints a poignant picture of an elderly man who tells himself a story of a different world post 9/11. Shattered lives are the backdrop of this moving narrative.

5. Last Night at the Lobster by Stewart O’Nan
This slight book is a quick read but has a lasting impact. It is set at the last night of a Red Lobster and the intersecting lives that will soon intersect no more. O’Nan is a tremendous storyteller.

4. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone/Chamber of Secrets by J.K. Rowling
OK, I am finally on the Harry Potter bandwagon. It took me a while but one of the greatest joys in my life right now is reading this for the first time with my kids. If I could bottle their laughs during the parts they find funny I would.

3. Shutter Island by Dennis Lehane
One of the best suspense novels I have read in a long time.

2. Supreme Courtship by Christopher Buckley
This hilarious story of an inexperienced, photogenic and unprepared TV judge suddenly thrust into the limelight as a inexplicable nominee for the Supreme Court was written BEFORE Sarah Palin landed on the radar. Talk about life imitating art. If you have never read Buckley, this is a great place to start.

1. Blindness by Jose Saramago
This was not the most enjoyable book I read this year. Enjoyable is a bad word for this work. However, it was the most intellectually and visually gripping. The story, where people are suddenly stricken blind, is a fascinating indictment about the hidden barbarity of man. A must read.

If you are interested in any of these ties you can get them at the Goodwill on Hewitt Drive in Hewitt, TX. No more ties, baby!

And for the record, I would have kept them all. The Good Wife is the one who tossed them.

I have played more games of Scrabble in the last week than I have played in my entire life. People are ate up with it.

I stand 4-1 at the moment but am in the middle of 4 games I very easily could lose. I still see the loss in my head as I go to sleep.

Cursed Facebook.

I also find it interesting that Hermit Greg did not post a screen-shot of our game.