Athena

Tonight, I attended the Athena Awards ceremony and banquet at the Schermerhorn Symphony Center, downtown.  Jude was one of twenty-four nominees for the 2009 Athena Award, given annually to an oustanding women in Nashville in the fields of business, leadership and service to their community.  It's a true honor to be nominated and as I watched Jude sitting up on stage, surrounded by so many accomplished women, my heart was bursting with pride.

Jude didn't win, but I have it on very good authority that she was close to winning.  I'm biased, of course, but I think she should have won the award.  I have a front row seat to see the work she does to make a difference in our community, day in and day out.  I am so proud of her.  As I told someone tonight at the event, she's the best person I know. 

Vegas

I'm in Vegas, with my friends, on our annual NCAA Tournament trip.  And I miss my wife and son.  Badly.

That's all.  I'm having fun, but I can't wait to get home to see them.

The Meaning of Life

As I lay in a chair at my dentist's office for more than three hours this morning, staring up at the ceiling, I had an epiphany of sorts.  I decided that the meaning of life, really, is shared experiences.  It was mildly comforting to consider that almost everyone, at one time or another, has had the exact same experience as I was having this morning. 

I'm not a big fan of going to the dentist for routine procedures, like getting my teeth cleaned, so I sure as hell wasn't very excited about having a cracked molar repaired with a crown.  Nonetheless, after breathing nitrous oxide for a couple of hours, I was pretty sure I had it all figured out . . . life, death and everything in between.     

I really like this photo of J.P., taken late this afternoon, on the soccer field at Belmont University.  He's munching on a Wheat Thin, just enjoying life.

Michael J. White

I've been remiss for not mentioning the fact that Jude's cousin, Mike White, just had his first novel published.  It's called "Weeping Underwater is a Lot Like Laughing."  Jude and I read it together and enjoyed it immensely.  Mike is a wonderfully talented writer and we're extremely proud of him.

It was really a thrill to stop by a local Borders bookstore and pick up Mike's book, the day it was released. 

The story, set in Des Moines, Iowa, is a coming of age tale about 17-year old George Flynn, and his first love, Emily.  Here's a link to one nice review, though there are many others. 

http://monkeyread.wordpress.com/2010/02/17/weeping-underwater-looks-a-lot-like-laughter-midwest-connections/

Centennial Park

Yesterday morning, while Jude took John Patrick with her to run a couple of errands, I embarked on a 10 mile run through downtown, over to Five Points in East Nashville, and back home.  Killer run, although the long hill up 8th Avenue near my house is always a tough way to finish. 

After I showered and grabbed a quick bite to eat, Jude called to say she and John Patrick were at the Centennial Park playground.  I hopped in my truck and drove over to see them.  The playground was packed, with everyone seemingly enjoying the nice Saturday morning weather.  I quickly spotted John Patrick, as he climbed all over the playground equipment. 

His eyes lit up when he saw me and he yelled "Da da!"  It that doesn't warm a man's heart, I don't know what will.

We played for a while, then he slid down one of the slides several times.  Next, it was off the swings, then home for lunch.  Here's a couple of photos of John Patrick on the slide.   

Hockey Night

Two nights ago, Jude and I took John Patrick to his first hockey game - Predators vs. Edmonton Oilers.  Going into the game, my thought was that if he made it through two periods, we'd have a real hockey fan on our hands.  How'd it turn out?  Well, I think we have a real hockey fan on our hands.

We arrived at the game a little late, but got to our seats without any difficulty.  My friend, Peter Klett, was already there with his wife, Charity, and their son Cort.  Cort is 1 month younger than John Patrick, so we were interested to see how they would do together at the game.  Over the past 10 years, since the Predators have been in Nashville, Peter and I have seen a lot of hockey games together.  This, however, was the first game we had been to together with our sons.  Wow, times have changed. 

Although John Patrick seemed to enjoy the game, what he really enjoyed was playing with the empty seats on our aisle.  The seats fold up, so he spend a great deal of time with his back to the ice, bouncing an empty seat up and down with his hands.  The first time the Predators scored, the horn sounded, loudly, and John Patrick jumped into the air, startled.  He looked at Jude and started crying.  She scooped him up, hugged him and he calmed down.  When the Predators scored again, I was able to quickly cover his ears so the horn wouldn't scare him. 

Between the first and second periods, John Patrick was fascinated by the zambonis as they drove around the rink, preparing the ice for the second period.  I leaned toward him and said, "zamboni," and he laughed and laughed.  Apparently, the word sounded funny to him.

At the end of the second period, we left.  The Predators won, 4-3, and John Patrick did great at the game.  A win all the way around, I'd say.