What a Great Day for Stump Grinding

Here is the master stump grinder at work. We have been having a string of beautiful January days here in Tallahassee - 75 and sunny - that has been perfect for yard work. It is hard to believe it is the dead of winter. This picture was taken at 8 AM on Thursday After teaching kids for 33 years and not ever "officially" seeing if I did any work - it is very gratifying seeing the physical results of my toils. I bought the stump grinder from the Praxis Corporation in Illinois. It is a very strong commercial quality piece of equipment. It has a Honda 9HP engine - starts up first pull every time. It is very quiet - and user friendly. At no time does the operator feel threatened. It produces mounds and mounds of sawdust. No big chips are thrown out like other stump grinders I rented in the past. It is also a "chick magnet." :-) People passing by love to stop and watch it work. I am guessing I have "stumpground" 100 stumps and roots on our back lot. Getting the area smooth allows me to run my rototiller and lawnmower through the former wooded area.

Letter from Chuck Shuck - My Former Student in the Army

Dear friends,
Hope this email finds you all in good health and spirits.........Today is a great day! Today myself and 4 of my soldiers volunteered to work a ceremony honoring the late Dr Matin Lurther King Jr.......what an experience for both myself and my soldiers......America truly has come a long way and for the better......We are all one no matter what color our skin is and we find that out each and everyday in Iraq when all races of soldiers give their lives so all races in America can live free...So the next time you are walking down the street or doing anything and you see someone of the opposite skin color, go up to that person and shake their hand because that is the kind of society we live in today and we should appreciate each and everyday we have on this earth.............I will be driving out to school next Tuesday so this might be the last note you receive from me till sometime around March 16th or so..............I will be at Fort Leonardwood, Missouri for 9 weeks of school, but will return to Fort Hood and as soon as June 2006 I can come down on orders to PCS to some other duty station............I am planning a trip to both PA and Maine once again for sometime around the June time frame..........The project with the postcards are going great, 2 days ago, I sent the kids Kansas, Hawaii, Iowa, North Carolina and Wyoming............next in the shoot are Wisconsin, Maryland and Washington DC.................Thanks to everyone for supporting this project......Those 15 second graders are really enjoying this project....I know I asked for 16, but I send that extra postcard to another special class from the Jim Thorpe Area Elem schoo in PA and that teacher (Mrs DePuy) shares that card with Mrs Havel's class so you guys are helping teach all these kids something special about the awesome country we live in...............My friend Mr Keith Tillis was promoted to Captain this past week and he is a Department of the Army police officer in our section and my soldiers truly are lucky to have him in that position as well as I am...............The weather here in Texas was warm in the day and cold at night......I guess I will end this email, but not without first asking you all once again to keep all the soldiers over in Iraq and other countries safe from harm's way, but espceially those close to me, SGM Wally "DAD" Murrell, SPC Ross, 1LT Horak and 2 special young men SPC Lovejoy and SPC Peck (these 2 soldiers were my 2 soldiers last year in Iraq).........God bless America and may God bless you and all your families!
Talk to you in March!
Chuck

More Thoughts on Orange Bowl Trip

We just got home from our trip to the Orange Bowl.

We stopped at Disneyworld for three days to break up the trip from Miami to Tallahassee - thus the late post.

I want to compliment both the PSU fans and the FSU fans - I saw very little rude or boring behavior at the game. I think FSU fans were happy that they were not embarrassed by a romp - and PSU fans were just happy to get away with a win - any win.

The point I want to address is how many folks seem to think their school "travels better" than others and that when "their team" goes to a bowl - tickets are going to dry up and no one will get into the game below face value.

I have gone to almost every FSU bowl game in the last 20 years - I have gone to 3 PSU bowl games when I happened to be in the in the area where they were playing - Holiday Bowl - Blockbuster Bowl - Carquest Bowl - etc.

This year's Orange Bowl is a prime example of how anyone can go to any bowl game - and buy tickets for pennies on the dollar - even an hour before game time.

PSU fans thought -
1. We travel better than any other team.
2. We haven't been in a big bowl in years - so our fans will travel
3. Pennsylvania folks need some sunshine.
4. The Paterno/Bowden thing would goose ticket sales.
5. Playing Number 22 would insure a victory.

FSU fans thought-
1. We are going to get pounded.
2. Why travel to Miami in the middle of the work week.
3. Tickets will be priced high because PSU "travels well."
4. Ticket prices on ebay are very high - so game tickets will be high.

My observations from the game -
1. Since all bowl games are on TV and made for TV - fans fail to show up to pay the $100 plus price for tickets.
2. Thanks to moving the games away from Jan 1st - fans can't miss the many work days needed to attend the game.
3. Most public school students are already back to classes in both Florida and Pennsylvania.
4. Many PSU fans panicked and bought extra tickets and had to sell them because some of their friends decided not to come to the game.
5. I turned down over 500 tickets in the 400 upper deck level. Most of them were owned by PSU fans thinking they were going to recoup the $85.00 face value because they were convinced this would be a hot ticket.
6. We bought two tickets on the front row at the goal line - $125.00 tickets - for $30 each - about half hour before game time. When we got to our seats - there was almost a whole row of seats empty right by us.
7. The official attendance was 77,000 - but I am guessing there were 10,000 "no shows."
8. Most of the tickets sold directly to the fans via the schools - are the worst seats in the house.
9. The best seats are kept for sponsors - and are given out as "party favors."
10. Many of the tickets given out by the sponsors end up being sold outside the stadium to make a quick profit.
11. We walked around with a stadium map before the game - and only negotiated with people that had tickets along the sideline in the the first 20 rows. Many folks were insulted when we would not even offer them $10 for their "prized tickets."

The point I am trying to make - after attending the 20 bowl games - and not getting shut out once - I would not encourage anyone going to a bowl game (except maybe the number 1 and 2 game) not to buy ahead of time for the list price.

My Conclusion - Fans that follow a team that is known to "travel well" pay way too much for their tour packages - plane tickets - hotel rooms - and game tickets. In short - they are victims of their own illusions.

PSU fans outnumbered FSU fans easily by 2 to 1. Generally - PSU fans paid a lot of money for a travel package that many only bought because the package included a coveted game ticket.

FSU fans have been at 20 or so bowls in a row. They are jaded - they have been at many BCS bowls - and if their team is not in the running for the crown - they stay at home and watch on the HDTV. FSU fans are spoiled - getting the automatic ACC/BCS bid has led FSU fans to believe they are entitled to national champions.

Generally speaking - I think the PSU fans were more polite.

There were plenty of tickets outside the Orange Bowl for sale by fans - not just scalpers - all one had to do was hold up two fingers.

Harry

Our Orange Bowl Host - Gary Miller - Tamaqua High School Classmate

More Pictures of Gary's Place

Many of you "older" Tamaqua folks will remember Miller's Dress Shop in downtown Tamaqua. It was right next to the building where Lutz's news agency is today. In the 50s and 60s - Gary Miller used to live in a second floor apartment above his parents' store there.

After graduating from Tamaqua High School in 1966 - Gary graduated from Penn State and went to New York City to try his hand in the apparel industry. For 30 years - Gary established an importing business of exclusive clothing. Then he retired to Miami at age 50.

Retirement was fine for a few years - but now Gary is back marketing cleaning products to hospitals. He does it all - has the product produced in Minnesota - warehouses it in Florida - offers the product to hospitals - and trains the hospital employees on its proper use.

Gary and I lost touch after graduation. We all heard rumors of him making the big time in New York City - but we weren't sure. About two years ago - Gary and I met over the internet - and we have been calling - writing - and visiting each other ever since. When Gary found out that we were visiting Miami and the Orange Bowl Game - he offered his home to us.

Gary's home is in a walled community in Plantation, Florida. There are 500 homes - each one has lake frontage. The real estate sign out front said that homes were available for $1,125,000 to $5,000,000. Be sure to press the link above to see the rest of the pictures of Gary's home.

Also - while in Fort Lauderdale we visited the King Tut Artifacts Exhibit. On display were hundreds of artifacts found in the tomb in 1922. This exhibit is only going to visit four museums - and we were lucky enough to be in Fort Lauderdale during its visit.

Nearly Catching The Triple Overtime Field Goal - Priceless

Many folks told us that showing up for an Orange Bowl game between two of the country's historic football powers with the top two coaches in the nation without tickets - was downright foolish. If you would like to read the story of three foolish dreamers - read on.

We arrived in Fort Lauderdale in our rental car at about noon gameday. While lunching at Hooters we noticed Penn State blue shirts outnumbered FSU garnet and gold ones by about forty to one. Folks wearing shorts with white pasty thighs sticking out overwehlmed the bronze tight FSU bellies at least by 100 to one.

After lunch - we drove to Gary's mansion - which is another story to follow tomorrow. We felt like Saddam Hussein entering his walled city of stately dream homes.

Around 4PM - Harry - Nancy - Sally - drove to the stadium. Sally had a VIP parking pass because she volunteered to work for the Orange Bowl Committee. One of Sally's jobs was to polish the Orange Bowl trophy including each orange in it.

Sally Bair is one of my fellow teacher buddies from back in Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania. There is not a more loyal PSU fan. Sally rode a bus in an ice storm to Newark, NJ - caught a jet to Fort Myers - then drove almost three hours to Fort Lauderdale - just to see us and the game.

Even at 4PM - there were tickets for sale around the stadium - most of the folks that were selling tickets were blue clad FSU fans holding and extra one or two tickets from the 400 level nose bleed section. They were expecting to get the face value $85 for those single tickets in hypoxia heaven - you could tell they haven't been at a bowl game in a while. Closer to the game - ticket prices dropped but not as fast as usual. You could see Sally - Harry - and even Nancy walking around holding up two fingers with one hand and a folded tattered stadium map in the other.

The three of us agreed we would only buy lower level tickets and not pay more than $50 each - a big concession for cheapskate Harry. Many folks were highly insulted when we offered such a low amount for tickets that they paid top dollar for on ebay. Finally - like magic - about 25 minutes before game time - a guy walked up with his wife - and offered me two great tickets for $50 each. They were impatient to get inside the stadium. I offered $30 each - using my usual line that I am a retired teacher onf a fixed income. He balked - but his wife grabbed them and handed them to me. $30 each. When Nancy came back and saw them - she was upper happy. I gave the good tickets to Nancy and Sally and took Sally's 400 level seat for myself. I figured I could follow them to the good seats and sit nearby. To our surprise there was a whole empty row of seats in front of us. We were in the front.

The game was great - the PSU fans were really nice - even the FSU didn't have too much bravado expecting to get pasted. The game was lots of fun. I was proud of both my friends from my old life of 55 years and my new buddies from Tallahassee - the Seminoles.

You know the rest of the story - the game played to a tie after 4 quarters - and they played three extra overtime periods. FSU kicked a field goal that hit the goal post right by us. PSU kicked a field goal that didn't hit in our laps but came close enough for us to call the play. PSU 26 - FSU 23. It was a game for the ages.

We have seen FSU play Nebraska - Notre Dame - Miami - Oklahoma in the "orange bowl." We saw FSU play the Gators and Auburn in the Sugar Bowl This was the game that was for me - one foot firmly planted in "Pennsylvania Coal Cracker Country" and my other foot and my future in "Florida Cracker Country."

More game pictures

Seminole Warpath Goes down I-75 to Miami

Our trip to the Orange Bowl started out at the Tallahassee Airport at 8 AM this morning - not to fly - but to pick up our internet discounted rental car. The rental bill said $42.24 for the week. To my surprise - the coupon was accepted without hassle. We were expecting a Chevy Cobalt - but in parking spot 12 they left us a Buick LaCrosse with 8000 miles on it. So we loaded our bags - installed the Sirius radio - and headed east over I-10 - then down I-75. After five hours of driving - we were in our priceline.com hotel in Fort Pierce. Doing the math it means we averaged 72 miles per hour.

In the 360 miles of driving from 9AM to 2PM - we saw just one FSU magnetic sign and one flag. Hopefully the rest of the tribe will follow tomorrow.

It was warm and sunny in Fort Pierce - so we went to the beach - and then spent the rest of the day watching bowl games on the TV while using the wireless internet to send back this report.

Tomorrow morning we will drive to Gary's house in Plantation near the stadium. We will drive over to the hotel in Fort Lauderdale to see Sally - the number one Penn State fan in the world. She flew in alone - just to go to the bowl game with Nancy and me. Sally also is in possession of a VIP parking pass for the game. Of course we will take her.

The weather report for tomorrow and game time is good - good luck to our Penn State buddies - Go Noles!

Pictures tomorrow.

Harry and Nancy Orange Bowl Bound - A Boy Scout is Thrifty

I enjoy listening to sports pundits putting down Seminole fans saying that we are spoiled with all the success and are jaded when it comes to post season bowl games. I tend to agree that bowls that select FSU as one of their participants usually do not do as well financially as they would do if they chose other schools like Notre Dame or Michigan.

Since my family and I have attended 16 FSU bowl games and numerous road games with the Noles - we have learned many tricks that have allowed us to go to bowls on a shoe string.

One guy on a call-in radio show - obviously a Play Station All-American said, "Seminole fans can go to the Orange Bowl with a $10 bill and a copy of the Ten Commandments - and not break either one."

I intend to prove that guy correct. I would like to chronicle how we intend to get down and back to Miami and the Orange Bowl without having my wallet break a sweat.

Rule Number One - Never buy bowl tickets up front ahead of time. Have you seen the prices on bowl tickets these days? Over $100 each - and regular fans end up sitting closer to the flight path of Miami International Airport than the playing field. It never fails that 30 minutes before game time - there are plenty of good seats outside the stadium for $5 - $10 - $15. My wife and I walk around with our little seating charts expecting to sit between the 30 yard lines within 20 rows of the field for under $10. At the ACC Championship Game - we sat on the 20 yard line, row 15 for $10 a piece. We paid more money to park and tailgate than we did for the game.

Rule Number Two - Stay with someone that lives near the stadium. My friend Gary graduated from my old high school class of 1966 - made his fortune in the garment industry - and retired to Plantation FL - a couple miles from the stadium. He insisted we come to visit him - and he did not have to ask us twice.

Rule Number Three - Why put 1000 miles on your family car when there are fantastic deals for rental cars on the internet? Do not ask me how - but my son found a coupon on the net that got us a rental car for a week for $43 - yes $43 the whole week - not per day - and that includes taxes. The internet is an amazing place to find deals - and all you need to do is look.

Rule Number Four - Take advantage of places like priceline.com for hotels on the way down and back. My wife landed hotel rooms in Disney Village for $60 a night to break up the long 500 miles to Miami.

Rule Number Five - Get your money's worth out of those Florida Resident Yearly Disney Passes. Since Disney is half way to Miami - it is a great time to notch some time on the Adventures after the tourists leave on January 5th. We bought yearly passes for $200 each and intend to get $2000 of use out of them.

Yes - Florida State has been in 20 straight bowls or something like that. Seminole fans are spoiled. Yes - they are jaded. They think it is their birthright to be playing in the top BCS bowl every year. Even in a "down" year like 2005 - an ACC Championship over Miami and Virginia Tech - $17,000,000 of BCS money - many of the Seminole faithful will ho hum the game in front of their HDTV.

But Seminole fans are also astute. They have learned how to party like the big boys using very little of their allowance. Follow along on our visit to the Orange Bowl. See if Harry and Nancy get good seats - good times - for next to nothing..

Keith Receives Master of Science

Keith graduated with his Master of Science degree in International Affairs from Florida State University on Saturday. The indoor ceremony was nice but when we went outside - it was pouring and we got all wet and could not pose for pictures. So we waited for Drew and Robin to visit and join us in a few pictures. Nancy marched in the graduation ceremony with the faculty - it was her first commencement here as faculty. Long ago she marched here as a doctoral graduate in December of 1990. The photos were taken in front of the Westcott Building. Keith worked in the Office of Graduate Studies in that building. George and Joel Dawson took the photos.

Keith Graduates with Master of Science Degree from Florida State University

We are very proud to announce that Keith earned his Master's Degree in International Affairs at FSU graduating on Saturday.

Graduation ceremonies were held in The Leon County Civic Center in downtown Tallahassee. Over 3000 students graduated and all of them were announced and they got to march across the stage and be congratulated by President Wetherell. The Dean sent Keith a message to commend him because he passed the Comprehensive Graduate Final Examination "with Distinction."

After graduating from Tamaqua High School in 1996 - Keith started his education as a freshman at Florida State University. He spent a year in the honors program and was a member of the cross country and track teams. He received an award for being named to the All-ACC Academic Team.

Keith then transferred to Georgetown University in the fall of 1997. He completed his Bachelor of Arts Degree in Economics there in three years.

After Georgetown - Keith landed a job with the Institute of International Finance. Keith's office was at 2000 Pennsylvania Avenue - four blocks up the street from the White House.

"This is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased."

So This Is Christmas

So this is Christmas
And what have you done?
Another year over
And a new one just begun

And so this is Christmas
I hope you have fun
The near and the dear one
The old and the young.

A very Merry Christmas
And a Happy New Year
Let's hope it's a good one
Without any fear

And so this is Christmas
For weak and for strong
For rich and the poor ones
The road is so long

And so Happy Christmas
For black and for white
For yellow and red ones
Let's stop all the fight.

A very Merry Christmas
And a Happy New Year
Let's hope it's a good one
Without any fear

So this is Christmas
And what have you done?
Another year over
And a new one just begun

And so Happy Christmas
I hope you have fun
The near and the dear one
The old and the young.

A very Merry Christmas
And a Happy New Year
Let's hope it's a good one
Without any fear

War is over!
If you want it
War is over!
War is over, Now!

-John Lennon

You May Be a Redneck - The Florida Coal Cracker Buys a 4 x 4 Pickup

Click picture to enlarge.

To help clean out the back lot and lake front - we decided to get a four wheel drive pickup truck. So for the last two weeks I have been shopping on the internet to get as much truck as I could for the least amount of money. After much deliberation - I decided on a truck that was listed for $4000 that was 120 miles east of town.

So yesterday - the coldest day of the year so far in Florida - I dressed warmly and hopped on my motor scooter and headed over US Route 90 to Lake City. Route 90 is a really nice highway - two lanes most of the way - great for a scooter. It was a little cool as I started at 9 AM. I filled my gas tank up - which holds one gallon.

I was able to keep my speed between 45 and 50. It was mostly level with wide berms many of them lined with crepe myrtle and other decorative bushes. To my surprise I was only passed by three cars all the way. It was neat going through all the little county seats - Monticello (Jefferson Country) - Madison (Madison County) - Greenville - Lee - Live Oak - and finally Lake City. I filled the scooter up again - one gallon - so the math is pretty easy 120 miles per gallon.

When I got there - I was surprised at how clean and new the truck looked. It is a 1998 - but then I realized that is 7 years old. The truck has really high mileage on it - 170,000 - so I took it for a long ride - about 40 minutes. It started up great with fuel injection. No smoke - plenty of power - smooth ride. It has a 145 HP V6 - power steering - power brakes - automatic transmission - AM-FM CD radio - cruise - OD - etc. It seats 5. I examined the truck as thoroughly as I am able - which means I kicked the tires.

I worked the guy down to $3000 - and had him throw in a bed liner and bed tool box.

So I loaded the motor scooter on the back - strapped it down - and drove home on the interstate.

Now - all I need is a gun rack - and for Nancy to get a pair of Daisy Duke shorts.

Merry Christmas from Tallahassee

Merry Christmas to all of our friends and family. Drew and Robin will arrive today and spend the holidays here. Keith is here - what more could one want - his family together for Christmas. Nancy has the front of the house decorated with poinsettias - but notice that her impatiens are still in bloom. Also note - the truck in the window.

After New Years - we plan to go to the Orange Bowl in Miami where Penn State will play Florida State.

The Atmosphere of Bill and Patty's Blacksmith Shop Hits Your Senses Like a Sledgehammer and Beckons You Back to a Different Time

Pictures (click to enlarge) -
1. Patty Draper shows Josef how to start his coat hook.
2. Bill and Patty invite us into their blacksmith shop made from scratch.
3. Doug Dawson makes hose hanger while Bill Robertson says to not keep it in the fire too long.
4. Joel Dawson puts a tip on her garden hose guard.
5. Harry strikes the iron while it is hot making a wrought iron nail.


Today George and Joel took us 20 miles east of town into the middle of "cracker land" in the Florida Panhandle. Around each curve in the road you expected to meet up with Marjorie Rawlings - this is the Florida that I abandoned the coal regions of Pennsylvania for.

Finally we reached the homestead of Bill Robertson and Patty Draper. It is a splendid country place - a cedar home up on stilts and a blacksmith shop nearby. Did you ever run into someone new and feel that you had a brush with genius? That is how I felt about meeting these folks. Bill has a degree from FSU in psychology and spent 15 years as a taxidermist. Patty has a doctorate in law and worked as a lawyer for FSU. A few years ago - they just decided to try a new life. They built a really neat blacksmith shop and now they make things out of iron. They also collect historic tools - their home is decorated beautifully and reminds one of a museum. This is real country life - right down to their Twin Toyota Tacoma Trucks.

To my surprise - when we got to the blacksmith shop - they had two fires going in the forges and they were going to teach us how to be blacksmiths. Joel made a garden hose protector - Doug made a hose hook - Josef from South Africa made a decorative clothes hook - and I made a nail. If was just so much fun working with all the antique tools. I was smithing on an anvil from the 1600s. One's senses were overwhelmed with a feeling of history.

After our work - we had a lunch that Joel prepared and brought along - sandwiches - soup - salad - all from scratch. Notice I did not mention George in the story once - he drove us there - and just watched us having this wonderful experience.... and then he drove us home. Thanks, George.

UPS Gets the Grant Proposal - I Get Nancy Back

For the past month - Nancy, Eliza, and Rachel have been working around the clock on "the grant." If funded - a program would be established at FSU that would provide 30 full scholarships for school librarians to come to FSU and get "board certified." What that means to most librarians is a substantial pay raise - what it means to Eliza and Nancy is the "birth of their new baby" - IF - they win the grant. Total funding of the grant is roughly one million dollars.

What it means to me - a little sanity around here for the Christmas Holidays.

In the picture you see the workers at UPS inspecting the overnight package to make sure it will get to Washington safely and on time. It had to be postmarked today.

PS - I haven't posted a story in six days - and this is as good as it gets right now.

Matt Fredericks - Teacher - Penn State Fan - My Student - Our Man

Click Pictures to Enlarge

If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, Matt Fredericks has to be one of the students that learned the most from me. I am so very proud of him.

Matt made a big impression on me when he was in my seventh grade earth and space science class. He loved the Florida State Seminoles at the time and would always wear FSU garb to class. On my birthday, in the classroom, he surprised me with a picture of Bobby Bowden personally signed to me by Saint Bobby. Class was recessed that day to party food and happiness.

Fast forward through the second half of Matt's life. Matt went to college and became a teacher. Since Pennsylvania is waning and Florida is waxing - Matt went to a job festival at PSU and was recruited by the Palm Beach School District to become a teacher in Florida. They got the pick of the litter. So Matt moved south and is now a middle school math teacher - just like my buddy and Matt's neighbor - Charlie Depuy. I talked to several of his co-workers and they said he is a very good teacher. They love him and hope he stays forever. Matt and his friends came to Tallahassee last year for the UVA/FSU game.

Allison Collevechio - another one of my students - is Matt's girlfriend. She is still a college student back in Pennsylvania. Her mommy was one of my students and later one of my co-teachers at Panther Valley. Allison still beckons Matt's heart back to Pennsylvania. Our community back in Pennsylvania is so small that Matt's aunt - Robin Hill - also was one of my co-teachers.

Matt wrote an e-mail yesterday all excited about attending the press conference with Bobby Bowden and Joe Paterno. To my surprise - check out the shirt and tie that Matt is wearing - PSU blue. Matt also re-created the Bobby Bowden signing of my picture with his picture of Bobby signing at the conference.

I love to tease PSU fans - but I am so proud of my Pennsylvania heritage - students - and family. It is going to be a marvelous month from now until the Orange Bowl. We hope to see lots of friends from Pennsylvania on the build up to gametime. PSU picked a fine time to play FSU after "dodging" FSU so many times since the Noles beat the Nits in the Blockbuster Bowl in 1990. The Seminoles are at a low point in their cycle and will probably get clobbered by the Nits - but we will still enjoy the game.

As a geezer myself - at age 57 - I love having Bobby Bowden and Joe Paterno coaching in my favorite of all the bowls. I am so happy it is happening so close to our home in Florida - just 500 miles down the road.

People that we have not talked to in five years are calling on the phone asking for tickets. They say things like "makes sure you get us six tickets together on the 40 yard line - but make sure they are on the Penn State side." They mustn't read my web log because they would know that Nancy and Harry never buy tickets before game day - just like we would never go to Hawaii - because you can't drive there.

Matt - please don't be insulted when I call you my mini-me. I am so proud of you. I hope to see you at the game and I wish whatever team you are cheering for good luck. As far as I am concerned - regardless the game outcome - I am the big winner.

FSU wins ACC Championship - Beats VT - Score Seminoles $17,000,000 - Gators $0

Nancy and her brother Jack

More game photos

The week started out badly. The Gators romped on us in the Swamp and the Seminole fans in Tallahassee were walking around with a rope looking for a tree with two strong branches to hang Bobby and Jeff Bowden. Then my camper sold on ebay on Sunday and the new owners picked it up on Monday. We planned to tail gate in the camper one last time for the Jacksonville ACC game - but the chuck wagon is gone. So Nancy rented a van and got lots of food and chairs - for the big event.

We left Tallahassee at 12:30 in our Pontiac Montana Van. We got to the stadium at 3:00 - and got a nice parking spot for $30. We set up for the party and shortly Jack and his buddies arrived. We ate and drank and talked family - sports - business - and life.

Then Bryan Slick - a sports fan I often talk to on the college football newsgroups on the internet - arrived. I invited him to the party and he brought his lovely wife - Stacey. He is a die hard VT fan - and I think he was certain of a victory.

About one hour before game time - I went looking for tickets. There were tons of free and cheap tickets out there. I looked at 70 pairs before I chose a pair on the 20 yard line down low - maybe 10 rows from the field - for $5 each. A few folks offered me free tickets - but they were in the upper deck.

After the game - we made the 160 mile trip home in about 2.5 hours. After unloading the van - it was 4 AM and we went to bed. We got up at 9 AM to return the rental van.

We plan to go to the Orange Bowl where FSU will probably get beaten by a very good PSU team. ABC and the media will be hyping "the geezer bowl" for the next month. We plan to stay with Gary Miller - he lives near Fort Lauderdale and the stadium. You may remember Gary Miller - from the THS class of 1966. His parents ran Miller's Dress Shop in downtown Tamaqua where the Subway Shop is today. Gary lived in the apartment above the store.

The biggest losers are the Florida Gators. They beat FSU at their home last week - and this week the Noles win - and go to a BCS Bowl that pays $17,000,000. The Gators get nothing - no SEC championship - no BCS bowl - just a space in the toilet bowl. Thanks Gators - we needed that wake up call.

Rosa Parks Day in Tallahassee

Click pictures to enlarge.



Tallahassee, FL - Think back to the newreels in 1956 when you were watching your little black and white console TV. You remember the few white people mixed in with hundred of stately black folks marching in quiet protest of segregation. On today, December 1st, 2005 - it was easy joining in the march to honor Rosa Parks - the lady who 50 years ago made everyone stand by remaining seated.

The ceremony started inside the First Presbyterian Church on Adams Street. The stark white exterior and interior of the church overwhelmed my senses as it probably did in 1840 when the slaves were allow in - but only to sit in the far corner of the balcony. Ironically - after the civil war - the black people were no longer allowed in the church.

After the church ceremony - we were led to the bus depot by the Florida A&M Marching 100 - a world renowned band famous for their dance and music performances. Once my feet started moving in the procession - a lump came up my throat that brought shivers and memories from my childhood days back in the little lilly white hillbilly valley where we watched the protests on America's first cable television system. The whole day brought new meaning to a retired school teacher that may have had maybe 5 black students in his 33 year career. There was a strong feeling of accomplishment in the crowd - not animosity at all - sort of like the relief after having a baby - no malice - just glad it is over.

At the bus depot - Mayor John Marks spoke and dedicated a plaque to Rosa Parks. He also unveiled a sign that will grace the sides of Tallahassee buses.

We never forget December 7th or September 11th. I do not think that December 1st will ever come up on my calendar again without thinking about what Rosa Parks did on that day.