Trying to Keep Up

Since it has been three weeks since I wrote last I’m going to simply hit a lot of high spots to catch up.

HOW’S THE WEATHER?
This is a hot and wet summer. I know the folks out in California would love to get the rain we’ve gotten. The pace of the storms has slowed down some, but they are still rolling through. Several tobacco patches around here have significant areas where the tobacco has simply drowned in the standing water. Then, when it clears up and they can get back in the field to work the weather is blisteringly hot and humid with heat index figures hitting 110° and above. I enjoyed the camaraderie of the tobacco patch when I was young, but I don’t miss the working conditions one bit.

TRAVEL
I have had the wonderful opportunity to travel this summer. As you know we went to the Golden State for our vacation. Then I went to Denver for the ISTE conference. A couple of weeks ago I spent several days in Miami for a conference put on by RenWeb, the company who provides our student data services at Davidson Academy. It was a great opportunity to learn about the software we use at DA so I can be more helpful in that capacity in the future.

Dr. Chaney also attended the conference and his wife accompanied him. I saw them mainly in the evenings as they were gracious enough to invite me to tag along for their evening plans. Dr. Chaney is a master of finding interesting places to eat and fun things to do. We drove over to Miami Beach for dinner one evening. Another day we enjoyed a boat tour around the Port of Miami in the Biscayne Bay before our meal together at one of the restaurants beside Bayfront Park. The Chaneys are a lot of fun and they made the evenings.

This has been a unique summer for me. My work has never required that I travel, and I do not envy those of you who have to regularly. On the other hand, it’s been fun to have the adventures I’ve enjoyed. Some of you reading this will think this observation is silly since you travel so much, but I’ve covered about 8200 miles by air, slept in all 4 time zones, and seen both oceans by boat over the break. An uncommon experience for me to be sure.

SPEAKING OF TRAVEL
Vicki and the kids headed down to Georgia last weekend for their annual end of summer visit with the Jones family. I stayed behind because I am behind on my preparations for the upcoming school year. I am also a 12 month employee at Davidson Academy, so I would have had to have driven separately and stayed for a shorter time had I gone.

I think it was too hot to play any tennis but I saw several poolside pictures while they were away as well as pictures of cake when they celebrated Darice’s birthday. Funny how my mom rated a piece of birthday cake from Georgia but I did not.

USED CAR LOT
Our driveway is about to look more like a used car lot. We’ve been shopping for a vehicle for Ben as he will be testing for his license soon. Since school is a 40 minute drive from home it will be much easier when he can drive himself to and from cross-country training and basketball practice. Vicki and I had also half-heartedly kicked around the idea of getting out of the minivan business and replacing it with something more like an SUV or crossover vehicle.

Well, Vicki did a lot of online car shopping while in Georgia and spotted a black, 2004 Jeep Liberty and a red, 2011 Buick Enclave for herself for sale in Gainesville, Georgia. They decided to visit the dealership on the way home. They test drove both and loved both.

All this is happening while I am at work Monday and my phone is going nuts with text messages, pictures, and calls. To be brief, they called a local church and asked for recommendations for a good mechanic in the area. The mechanic looked at both vehicles and said there were some minor repairs needed but nothing that was a deal breaker for either. Vicki bought both vehicles, left them with the mechanic with the charge to fix anything remotely critical, and told him we’d be back in a few days to pick them up. The mechanic has been great to keep us in the loop of his progress. We will be driving down today to bring the vehicles home. I’ll update this tale next time I write as I will have seen and driven our new to us vehicles by then. Anyone want to buy a 2009 Toyota Sienna?

MR. CARL SWANN
I would be remiss not to mention the passing of Mr. Carl Swann. Obviously he is a cousin. He also graduated in the same high school class with Mom. Mr. Carl has also been a good friend, neighbor, member of our church, and contributor to our community. He is one of those men who is special to me because of his patience when this young, fatherless, boy showed up in his tobacco patch to work. He made the effort to see the potential in me and teach. I am one of the many people he poured his life into. If there was a good thing about me staying home from Georgia it was that I got the opportunity to visit Mr. Carl and thank him for what he means to me.

Mr. Carl raised hogs as part of his farming operation. I remember helping him in the hog shed one time and asking him how he stood the odor. He smiled and simply replied, “Smells like money to me.” I’ve always chuckled over his response.

Mr. Carl’s funeral was yesterday. His daughter, Janice, delivered the most moving eulogy. Mr. Carl joins his wife, Mrs. Mildred, who passed away in March of last year.

Joe