DR KATY TRAN - Celebrates Her FSU Graduation Watching Her Sister Amy Play in the Olympics

Harry - Lulu - Katy Tran - Jarrad Turner - Susan Tran - Phap Tran. The picture was taken in our London backyard today - where we had the big party a few days ago. We were having so much fun celebrating - we forgot to take a picture.

About 3 years ago - our family was introduced to Katy Tran by our old Pennsylvania friend Sally Bair. Sally emailed that her friend had a very special daughter who was coming to Tallahassee to work on a PhD in Sports Psychology. Katy flew to town alone - and it seems like yesterday that she used our guest house as a base to get organized in town. Then when we got the brick house Katy stayed there.

Katy lived in Tallahassee to complete all of her coursework in 2 years. When she left to take a job in North Carolina - we were sad and worried that she would be another ABD (All But Dissertation) that had come and gone from Tallahassee - never to be seem again - no degree.

But Katy got a job that allowed her to do her research while she was working with the sports teams at Campbell University - the Camels. She returned to Tallahassee to defend her dissertation and complete the program in a near record 3 years.

As graduation neared - Katy's sister Amy was selected to the USA Field Hockey Team. Katy chose to see her sister play in London. Through some good luck - we were able to help Amy get an apartment at the FSU London Study Centre. She became our neighbor one more time.

Although the USA Field Hockey is out of the medal round - we were able to have a graduation party for Katy on Florida State soil. Katy's Mom Susan and Dad Phap came to the party along with her fiancee Jarrad Turner - also working at Campbell University in North Carolina.

Jarrad and Katy plan to marry in October.

The Biggest Difference Between Brits and Americans Is We Share A Common Language

It is 10 AM our time - 5 AM back in Florida. Lulu and I are sitting around the breakfast table - enjoying a little afterglow of the 5 weeks we spent in London.

All of a sudden - an unexpected knock comes on the door. Since everyone else has gone back to the States already  - we wondered who it could be. The manager was at the door - reminding us that it was checkout time at 10 AM. Lulu and I expected to leave tomorrow morning early.  We asked the manager to go back to the office to check the books - meanwhile Lulu and I got on the computer feverishly looking for a place to spend our last night. I wanted to go west of town - and stay somewhere we never visited - Lulu said let's just stay at the airport.

In a few minutes - the manager came back apologizing for his mistake. We were booked until tomorrow at 10AM. He did say - "a man was coming in - would 11 be okay?"

I thought - wow - we are taking on a roomer. I thought maybe it was a custom over here. I quickly figured we could live with that - I could negotiate a lower price - since they were opening up the deal. It turns out the guy was only coming in to lay down an alarm cable - not stay with us. We all had a good laugh.

Sometimes - even English to English - things get lost in the translation.

We will be leaving here at 8 AM tomorrow - taking the blue line subway west from Russell Square Station to Heathrow Airport - then flying to Tallahassee via Atlanta. We will spend Wednesday night in our own bed on Seminole Drive.

LONDON OLYMPICS - Big Jack and Kobe Bryant

Jack Robinson and Kobe Bryant

1948 Olympic gold medalist Jack Robinson shows Kobe Bryant the Olympic gold medal that he earned in London 64 years ago. Robinson visited with the entire 2012 USA Team Thursday. He spoke to the team about the differences between this Olympics and the 1948 games. The team then went out to beat Nigeria by scoring 160 points and winning by 80 points - both Olympic records.

Tickets Are Tough At the Olympics - And Other Monday Morning Blues

Here is Harry getting hauled away by the cops. Tickets were impossible at the Olympics today. They are sold out - even tickets to just get into the Park. Harry got rousted by the cops to put his sign down. This big bear at Harrod's finally put the cuffs on him.

 This is Oxford Street - the main shopping street in London. Traffic was non-existant. Bus - cabs - bikes. Cars are allowed but people leave them at home.

 Another undoctored photo of Oxford Street.

 This is an old reminder for my Geology students. They have one of these in each of the urinals at Olympic Park. It says - "P Wave"

In the mall by the Olympic Park - they have these neat free charging machines. You plug in your cellphone in the little hatch - close the door - take the key with you. In 30 minutes - your phone is fully charged for no-charge. they also have free wifi.

It is Monday morning - our kids and the kids of the kids are all gone. The apartment is very lonely - with lots of wonderful memories bouncing around it. We had no luck at the Olympic today to get tickets. Wednesday we fly home. There are so many good things about our 5 weeks over here - but watching our family get into the bus or subway to go home is not one of them. 

Tonight - Lulu and I have tickets to The Hurly Burly Show. We got third row - center seats. You can google it :-)

BURLESQUE SHOW - The Hurly Burly Show Theatre - We have Tickets For This Tonight - Third Row Center

The Hurly Burly girls are back in town with a bigger, bolder, sexier new show for a summer season of deliciously bawdy fun.

Starring Miss Polly Rae, The Hurly Burly Show is an all-singing, all-dancing revue with a contemporary twist. Fusing fashion, music and popular culture it is the first major burlesque inspired musical spectacular to be staged in a West End Theatre.
Featuring steamy covers and twisted mash ups from artists including Kylie, Britney, Prince, Beyonce, Madonna, Lady Gaga and many more. With a bevy of beautiful burlesque stars, speciality variety artists and fabulous costumes, sets and music, The Hurly Burly Show opens at the Duchess Theatre on 2 July for a strictly limited 12 week season.

Jack Robinson Story - Going To London

This is an email from (ABP News) sent by Harry (harry@everhart.com). You may also find the following link interesting: http://www.abpnews.com/ministry/people/item/7643-retired-pastor-returns-to-site-of-1948-olympic-glory

Peter Pan - Tinkerbell - and Lulu

Lulu with the statue of Peter Pan and Tinkerbell in front of the Children's Hospital in London. Proceeds from the book - movie - and play help fund the hospital.

It is hard for anyone to think of London without first thinking of Peter Pan - the famous character of the book - movie - play. Peter Pan is famous for being able to fly and for taking his friends to Neverland. But to me the best part of his character is that he never would grow up.

J M Barrie wrote the book about his brother - who died at 14 - so in his mother's eyes he would never grow up.

The Peter Pan theme is found throughout London. This statue is in front of the Children's Hospital by Coram Field. Lulu's London FSU course reminds me a bit of Peter Pan. Lulu is Peter Pan leading her group of librarians through London for 3 weeks. The students come here all full of adventure and the class quickly becomes a group of inquisitive kids enjoying their time in Neverland. Every day is a joyful prance through another storybook place or author from the streets of London. Like in the movie - it is very sad to see them leave for home and the rest of  their lives growing up. Lulu - like Peter in the movie - waves goodbye getting ready to return to London for another 3 week adventure next year - same time - same place. She is already taking notes and planning things to improve the adventure.

Students receive 6 graduate credits during the 3 week course in England. The course has a prequel online before they get here - and they also have projects to finish when they get home as a sequel. Lulu has been teaching a long time - and the word retirement had brushed across her lips a few times. But whenever that is mentioned - it is quickly followed by "but I'll never give up London." We love Tallahassee - but is there a better time to leave town than July and August to enjoy the mild weather of London town?

Like Peter Pan - Lulu will never grow up. Signed - Tinkerbell.

COACH K - Drew and Robin Meet Him - Big Jack Addresses the USA Basketball Team

Robin Everhart - Olympian Jack Robinson - Charlotte Robinson - Coach Mike Krzyzewski - my son Drew Everhart. This picture was taken after Jack addressed the USA Olympic Team at Coach K's request - before the historic game with Nigeria.

Jack Robinson - Baylor University - All-American - Olympic Gold Medalist 1948. Photo taken from a sale on eBay today.

Wednesday was a big day for our family. It started out with all of us gathering in the lobby of the hotel where the USA Basketball Team was staying. Coach Mike Krzyzewski wanted Big Jack to address the team and tell them what it was like to travel to London for the Olympics in 1948.

Since Robin and Drew both graduated from Duke - they were hopeful to see their idol - Coach K.

Jenna Bush was there - the president's daughter - she is a news person for the NBC Today Show. She is doing a piece to be played this week on the Today Show all about Jack.

Finally 2 PM arrived and Big Jack Robinson - Olympic gold medalist - and great grandfather to Jack Everhart - my grandson - addressed the team.

The team was glued to Jack's face as he told them how in 1948 - the team went to London on an 11-day steamship ride. He explained how they were housed in an old army barracks at Uxbridge Airbase - about 10 miles west of town. He talked about how the London kids were still living in rubble and did not know what candy bars were. Many of the meals were horsemeat - and they lived on an 1100 calorie a day diet - even the athletes. They were impressed when he said he was invited to Buckingham Palace to meet the king and Princess Elizabeth. He was impress how pretty she was. Finally - he explained how he roomed with the only black player on the team. He said the team went to the University of Kentucky to play an exhibition game and 45,000 tickets were sold for the game. UK did not want to allow a black player to play. The Olympic team was adamant and said they would not play without the black player. UK relented.

Drew and Robin got their wish - about 20 minutes of conversation with Coach K - he insisted on being called Mike. Pictures were taken and will probably be made into family posters. Coach Mike gave them 6 tickets for that night's game.

After meeting the basketball team - we all went to Princess Diana's playground - a truly fantastic place for kids. A guy asked Drew to take a picture of his family. It turned out to be heavyweight champion Lennox Lewis. What a day!

We took a cab home so Drew and Robin could prepare for the big game.

On Wednesday night - a highly motivated USA Team beat Nigeria - 156 - 73. It is the highest amount of points an Olympic team ever scored and the highest margin of victory ever. The team shot 72% from the floor. And Drew and Robin watched from the good seats.

Jenna Bush - yeah the president's daughter - interviewed Jack Robinson for the Today Show.

Jenna Bush and crew took some footage of Big Jack and Little Jack Everhart to be shown on the Today Show - tomorrow - Monday morning.

More of Jack and Jack.

Little Jack in the foreground and Heavyweight Champion Lennox Lewis playing together at the Princess Dianna Playground.

Father and Son - Drew and Jack - enjoying a Black London Cab ride home. Father and grandfather - me - took the picture.

Lennox Lewis at the playground in Kensington Park.

Tropical Storm Ernesto Is South of Cuba

TROPICAL STORM - Ernesto is near the Windward Islands - moving west at 22 miles per hour and packing 50 mile per hour winds. It is projected to hit the Yucatan in Mexico in a couple days - staying well away from Florida. A B C D E - Ernesto is the 5th tropical storm of the year. The city of Cozumel is in its sights.

The hurricane season is from June to December.

BEATLES - Street Art From London

We stumbled on this street art near our apartment.

OLYMPIC UPDATE - Weightlifting - Lulu And I Got Shutout

Last night at the supper table - Lulu and I decided we would try to get into the Weightlifting Event. 


We left our apartment at 5:45 PM. We took the black subway line south - then the silver subway line east. Finally we had to take the DLR train two stops to get to the Excell Arena. The event was not being held at Olympic Park.


We got off the train at 6:30 - we still had a half hour to find tickets for the 7 PM show. I figured this would be easy. I held up two fingers - did not even get a nibble. Lulu went to the ticket booth - and nothing was being sold. While she was there - two separate guys offered me single tickets - but I was sure I would get a pair. Lulu even started holding up two fingers - but nothing. People did not even understand what two fingers meant - maybe it means something obscene over here.

Tuesday Morning We Went to See Swimming Competition

Drew - me - Lulu - Robin at Swimming Pavilion this morning.

Keith bought a bunch of tickets before he came over from the States. This morning - Lulu - Drew - Robin - and I went to the Swimming Venue - a special new arena on the Olympic Park Campus  using Keith's tickets.


We started out from our apartment using the subway to St Pancras Station - then we caught the Javelin bullet train to Olympic Park. It was orderly and not crowded.


We entered the park thru security quickly - no wait - and went to the Swimming Pavilion. Seats are ranked A - B - C - D. "A" tickets are most expensive - about 200 pounds - our tickets were "D" tickets - 40 pounds. We had a pretty high climb to our seats - like the upper deck in a baseball stadium. There are no bathrooms or concessions up there - it was a way of saving on construction since the arena will be dismantled- no plumbing needed.


Our session was from about 10 AM to Noon. It was a preliminary session - no medals awarded there.


After that we had a nice dinner at an Italian Restaurant in the Olympic Mall - Westfield.


Then I left the party and went Downtown to buy some show tickets. I landed 4 front row tickets to "Chariots of Fire." It is a great play I saw before - and wanted them the kids to see it. We go at 7 PM tonight. I bought the 4th ticket in case Keith wanted to go. He is already out and about - so I will give it to another member of our party of 15.


Robin's Mom Charlotte watched the kids while we went to swimming this morning. Lulu will watch them tonight when we go to the play.


Two big issues I noticed here -


1. Tons of the good seats given to sponsors are going unused. Brits are angry because many of them have been turned away for tickets - and they see empty seats on TV. Nothing has been done to stop that.


2. The media did not show up. We are living in "media village" and we see the media buses going from here to Olympic Park virtually empty. Not only does this leave the media seats empty at the venues - but it also ties up the bus traffic lane. Normally cabs are allowed in the bus lane - not now - and the lane is wasted. This Olympics is set up for media - sponsors - and VIP. It seems the VIP are more interested in partying in the fancy hotels downtown than going to the events. Like many of the other customs in England - the leftovers are left for the commoners.

Move Down Rule! Maybe

British Olympic Association Chairman Colin Moynihan told a briefing on Sunday one solution might be a 30-minute rule whereby fans would be allowed to take up vacant seats if spectators were late or did not arrive.


There has been a problem - sponsors have been given thousands of tickets - people hoarded them - but are not using them. This leaves embarrassing spots that look terrible on TV.


We are hoping they give them away free at game time.


Note - Later - the 30-minute move down rule never got passed.  :-(

OPENING CEREMONY - This Is What Made At Those Flashing Lights At The Olympic Stadium

Lulu and I Went to Our First Olympic Event - Beach Volleyball - Sans Tickets

 My two fingers work just as well in London as they do in Tallahassee. We got two tickets for 10 pounds each that had a face value of 40 pounds each. Buckingham Palace is behind my head. We saw a guy getting hauled away for selling bad tickets.

Beach Volleyball is played in the Horse Guards Parade Ground. It is surrounded on 3 sides by - The London Eye - Big Ben - and Buckingham Palace. It is a stunning setting. 10 Downing Street is on the left.

Lulu and I saw the Czech Republic play Spain. Next was Brazil playing Austria. The stands were about 80% full. As I get older and older - Lulu gets prettier and prettier.

I am always apprehensive on the way to an arena. Usually I do not have any tickets - and someone is depending on me to perform. 

Today at 9 AM we took the bus south from our apartment toward Big Ben. We got off and walked to the Beach Volleyball Venue. There were no tickets for sale at the box office. We saw a cop take a "Tout" away in hand cuffs. Supposedly he was selling counterfeit tickets. I asked the cop to make sure I could hold up two fingers. After about 20 minutes it looked grim. Everybody coming to the event only had the tickets for their own entrance. Most of the fans were puzzled why I was holding up two fingers. Just then I told Lulu - that a guy about 50 yards away was going to sell us tickets. Just like fishing - I felt I was reeling him in. I told Lulu to watch this - the guy offered two tickets. I told  him to keep them in his pocket. He want 30 pounds each - I said 20 pounds for two. I said I would pay him once we were inside.  The guy from Belgium understood the universal language of ticket barter. 

Inside - we had nice seats - the sun was out - and the setting had a beautiful backdrop of Big Ben and the London Eye.

The tickets allowed us to stay for 4 matches. There could be us to 3 games per match. Win 2 games and you move on - lose 2 and you go home. We saw Spain men win two games - then Brazil was playing - third was a women's match. Brazil barely beat Austria going to tiebreaker mode. Brazil is the favorite for the Gold. 

A nice feature was they had a dance team of about 10 bikini clad cheerleaders. Between the girls and the "dejay announcer" the crowd was hopping. Spain had a big collection of fans. 

We had to get back to the flat because Drew and Robin were coming home from taking the kids to Gymnastics. They were then going with Charlotte and Felipe to see basketball. We got home before them - and they hurried out to the train station to catch the bullet train to Olympic Park to see USA play France in basketball. Lulu is now putting the kids down for a nap - and I am catching up on the web page.

Olympics Opening Day - We Were Very Busy

This is my grandson Jack Everhart and his great grandfather Jack Robinson. Jack won a gold medal playing basketball in the 1948 Olympics - played in London 64 years ago. Jack is wearing the Olympic jersey that Uncle Keith gave him. The picture was taken in our backyard during the Lulu's brunch.

Do you remember when Neil Armstrong landed on the moon and he quickly picked up a scoop of moon soil and put it in his pocket? This is my safety photo - I took it as soon as we were in the gates.

I am sitting here home alone on Saturday afternoon at 3PM - watching Kate while she is napping and I am reflecting on the great time we had last night at the Olympic Opening Ceremony. I have tons of pictures and even more minutes of video that I took as I was overwhelmed by the excitement and the brilliant show. 
 
In the past I watched all of the Olympics on TV. This time since Lulu was teaching a course for FSU in London - we had the opportunity to see this festival live - and invited family to enjoy it along with us. One of our family is a former Olympian - and this made it even more special.

Olympic Opening Ceremony Was Nothing Like I Have Ever Seen - The Four Everhart "Beatles" Made A Reunion

It is 2 AM here in London. Opening Ceremony ended at 1 AM. It started at 7:30 - 5.5 hours - just better and better as it went on. Great music - great choreography - lighting like I never saw before - super fireworks. MacCartney ended it. Keith landed 4 seats together for the family. We went early. The grounds are pretty nice - lots of plantings - crowd control superb. 99% came by train or subway. Queen came by helicopter. The athletes marching in is very impressive. It took us 1 hour from our stadium seats to the sofa at home. We got on the first subway we saw - but we were really packed in. Our place is just 6 subway stops away. I have tons of pictures and stories to tell but I am burned out. They have the world's biggest MacDonalds there - and they were not gouging - prices were regular fare - menu extensive. The Brits really know how to handle crowds. Lots of volunteers working there.


Pictures and video tomorrow.