Robert Goulet and Our Engagement

Well, Robert Goulet died today (well, it's after midnight so officially yesterday). Normally, those Hollywood events don't even register with me but this one did for one specific reason . . . Heather and I saw him in Camelot the night we were engaged.

We had been dating for four years and surrounding our engagement we hadn't really been out to do anything really fun for awhile. We were just poor college students working hard on our Master's degrees. I had been planning our "fun date" for weeks as our engagement and knew that we were invited to a wedding in Waco on Saturday. We had planned to go on our date on Friday night so I had everything planned out and set. A week before the date though, Heather told me that we had been invited to be at the rehearsal dinner and she said that we would be there. She thought that it would be a great date for us. After dating so long, I was concerned that she would know when I would "pop the question" and I really wanted it to be a surprise. I played it off like it was no big deal but now I've got to rush around trying to get all of my plans moved from Friday to Saturday!

On Friday morning, I met with Heather's Poppy and Granny and asked for her hand in marriage. Heather's dad had passed away our freshman year in college and he had asked Poppy to "take care of his girls for him." I wanted to honor her Dad by specifically asking Poppy for his approval. I was nervous, but he didn't give me any grief. After meeting with Heather's grandparents, I went over to her Mom's place and asked her permission as well which went very well. Feeling very good about the acceptance of her family members I drove the routes that we would take on Saturday and made sure that the timing of everything would work out.

I picked Heather up on Friday afternoon to drive down to the wedding rehearsal and she had no idea what all I had done that day! On Saturday afternoon after the wedding in Waco, Heather was feeling sad to leave all of our friends to go on our date. I thought that this was the perfect opportunity to get all "this date may be IT" thoughts out of her mind. I told her that our plans were flexible and did she just want to hang out with our friends in Waco that night. She thought about it a little and decided that we had fun with our friends last night and today and we needed a date night just us -- thank you Lord! Of course, I knew her pretty well and had bet on that response the whole time.

So, we drove back to Dallas and got ready for our date. We started off with dinner at Dakota's. It a great restaurant that is actually under downtown Dallas and has an open air courtyard that is in the triangular intersection of three streets (check out the intro on their Web site). After dinner, we went to Fair Park and watched Robert Goulet star in Camelot. I love good musicals (Les Miserables, Phantom, etc.) but Heather had never seen one live. I had checked the running time of the musical but didn't factor in the time of the intermission! Heather could tell that I was kind of nervous but I tried to not make a big deal out of it. She really thought that the musical was the end of the date and she was shocked anyway that we went to such a nice dinner and a musical. As soon as the curtain dropped, I let Heather clap twice and we got out of there! We drove north on the Dallas North Tollway and exited in Addison. I pulled over and put a blindfold on Heather. We drove to the Addison Airport where I had rented a plane to fly us around the city and I got down on my knee in the back of the little four-seater airplane and asked her to marry me.

So, that's our story and how Robert Goulet makes me think of our engagement. Wow, am I a blessed guy to have married so far over my head!

Flag Retirement Ceremony

At Collin's Cub Scout campout this last weekend, I was very moved by a flag retirement ceremony performed by Boy Scout Troop 32 at the "Council Campfire" on the last night of the campout. The flag that was being flown at the scout camp was old, tattered, and faded. The Boy Scout's replaced the flag and led the retirement ceremony for the old flag.

Title 4, Chapter 1, Section 8, Part (k) of the U.S. Code says:

The flag, when it is in such condition that it is no longer a fitting
emblem for display, should be destroyed in a dignified way, preferably by burning.

[Some references I found cite Title 36, Section 176, Part (k) but that is incorrect by my research.]

After several funny skits and fun, the boys let everyone know that we would participate in a flag retirement ceremony and asked everyone to be quiet and respectful. The honor guard of boys brought out the flag and one of the boys read the Code section above and explained that the red was faded, the white was no longer pure, and the blue was no longer vibrant. The flag was no longer a "fitting emblem" and had been replaced by a new flag. He read a history of the flag and discussed the colors and meaning behind the stars and stripes. While the boy was reading, one of the other scouts was cutting the stripes off of the flag and was handing the red stripes to one member of the honor guard and the white stripes to another boy.

When the flag was cut up and the history of the flag completed. The leader of the ceremony asked any veterans or active service members to come down and stand behind the flag. He then read the meaning of the color red (valor and the blood of those who have defended it), asked everyone to salute, and asked the boy with the red stripes to "retire the red stripes" by placing them into the campfire. He then read the meaning of the color white (purity and freedom), asked everyone to salute, and asked the boy with the white stripes to "retire the white stripes" by placing them into the campfire. He read the names and dates that the 13 colonies (what the stripes signify) came into the Union. Then, he read the meaning of the color blue (perseverance and justice), asked everyone to salute, and asked the boy with the blue field to "retire the stars and the blue field" by placing them into the campfire. One of the members of the honor guard played Taps on a trumpet as the final section burned in the fire.

Looking up at the veterans, hearing the history and meaning of the flag, thinking about our military in harm's way right now, and thinking about the members of my family who have served, fought, and died defending that flag was just too much for me. I started crying as soon as the red stripes were dropped into the flames. When I heard Taps, the tears running down my face just were not enough and I had to work hard to keep my composure (I'm emotional even as I type this). Sweet Collin, reached up to hold my hand and then put his arm around me. The honor guard was dismissed and we were asked to leave the campfire in silent respect. After leaving the area, Collin said "that boy had a lot of courage to say all those things tonight." Collin asked me if I was crying for the same reason that I cry at ballgames during the National Anthem -- he's so smart!

So, that was my favorite part of the campout. Yes, I am a "softy!" But, I had never witnessed a flag retirement before and it moved me so much that I had to document the experience.

Cub Scout Camping Trip

After a Spring and Summer full of rain, we finally got to go camping last weekend -- well at least Collin and I did. This was the first of hopefully several Cub Scout camping trips.

Did I forget to mention here that Collin was a Cub Scout now? I was a Cub Scout for about 6 months when I was a boy, but my den was boring and I didn't have many friends that were in it. Collin has a great den with several of his friends participating. He is learning a lot, and frankly so am I.

This campout was a Rocket Academy at Sid Richardson Scout Ranch on Lake Bridgeport about an hour and a half away. The kids all got to make a rocket and shoot it off on a neat launch pad. Collin also got a bull's-eye with a BB gun and got to shoot a bow and arrow for the first time. We went on a long hike through the trees and brush and climbed the rocks along the bank of the lake. On our hike we saw a snake, several cool spiders, frogs, and neat rock formations. It wouldn't be a proper campout if we didn't have a campfire and look at the stars. The weather was perfect -- warm enough for shorts and T-shirts during the day (high of 71) but cold enough for needing to snuggle into your sleeping bag at night (low of 39).

Collin's favorite part was being with his friends and archery. My favorite part was the Council Campfire and especially the flag retirement ceremony led by the Boy Scouts. The Council Campfire is always on the last night of the campout and all of the boys and leaders are there. Packs can sign-up to lead a song or perform a skit and awards are given out for the various activities. There is generally a Boy Scout Troop that helps coordinate the camp as a service project. The Boy Scouts that helped us was Troop 32 and they did an excellent job.

Collin's Glasses

Well, thanks to a school eye screening and Collin speaking up to tell us that he can't see the teacher's writing on the board very well . . . he got glasses for the first time today! I'm not exactly thrilled that my boy has to wear these, but he really looks handsome. His momma got her glasses in the 4th grade and his cousin in the 3rd grade so that's routine for his genes I guess. He is nearsighted and his vision is 20/60.

Brooks Eye Center took very good care of us -- Thanks Dr. Taylor Brooks!

Working for an employee benefits company means that we get great benefits. One of those benefits is a free flu shot that I got today. Another benefit is the hearing test that I had to pay minimal bucks to get checked out. I had tubes and bad infections as a kid and while my hearing isn't bad, it sure isn't perfect either. The hearing test results were that most of my scores were between 20 dB (decibles) and 30 dB instead of normal being between 0 and 10 dB. In addition, my left ear was consistently worse than my right ear. The doc said it was normal (except for the hearing imbalance) for scaring and previous infections and I just have to be aware of it as I get older.

Great day at the Fair!

I just had to write about a few happenings surrounding the State Fair this year. We typically go every year as a family tradition. In the past, we have normally taken off a Wednesday or Thursday that are less crowded. However, this year school is more difficult for the kids so we took their normal fair day to go and fight the crowds (yes, even on a Monday).

Here are some brief notes:
* When I asked Caris (3 year old) what animals she wanted to see at the Fair, she said "horsies and hippos." I'm not sure where she got "hippos" from, but I assured her that we would accomplish half of her goals.
* Caris was deathly afraid of Big Tex . . . until we got home, then she talked a good game. We kept reminding her that he's just a big puppet and can't move.
* People-watching is too much fun at an event like the Fair, but it sure challenges me to not be judgmental -- you can't judge a book by it's cover.
* We missed the Marine Corp band this year for the first time in awhile. So, I didn't cry at this Fair.
* We got the traditional turkey leg and corny dogs, but missed the homemade root beer and funnel cake.
* We spent just over $50 for tickets, parking, and food. We skipped the midway (rides and games) as usual but we normally spend $50 or more just on food so we did really well this year.
* As a family, we love the Creative Arts section, my grandmother got me into quilts and there are always some great one's at the fair, my wife likes it all, and Cooper likes the drawings, pictures, and everything creative. Heather has got to enter some of her scrapbook pages next year!
* I am always amazed at how rude people can be in crowds and busy places. Just watch where you're walking and if you do step on someone or bump into them, then say "sorry" or "excuse me!"
* The Jonas Brothers were in concert during the afternoon. Disney is brilliant at marketing. Dude, can young girls scream!
* We watched some pigs being shown just for the flavor of the Fair. They use this riding whip looking thing to direct the pigs where to walk -- smack 'em on the right side of the face and they turn left and vice versa. One pig wasn't buying into this plan and the 12-year old girl basically punched the huge animal in the snout. The pig finally realized that he was bigger but that girl could cause more pain. We told the kids that looked like a good idea and we should try that method at our house but they buy into that plan either.

When I was a kid, I remember going to the Fair and eating corny dogs and playing surprisingly competitive games of tic-tac-toe against a chicken. The fair grounds haven't changed significantly so it's fun to take my own kids on less traveled paths behind the barns. If you are from out of state or have never been to the State Fair of Texas, you can check out www.bigtex.com but only being there will give you the full effect.

Attack of the Midges

With a busy week finally over (meaning all the kids were in bed Friday night), my wife and I snuggled on the couch for an evening of brainless TV. We checked in on the playoff baseball game going at the time between the New York Yankees and the Cleveland Indians.

At first, I thought that maybe it was snowing in Cleveland already but that didn't seem right. After watching a little more, we realized that there were bugs flying all around the field and getting all over the players! It was crazy! I don't know that much about Ohio but I wondered why the umps didn't call for a brief delay to figure out what to do. I found out this morning that the bugs are called midges and they swarm occasionally in the area. It worked out for the Indians since the Yankee pitcher was so distracted that he let a run score and the Indians won the game in extra innings.

In an article by Dan Wetzel of Yahoo! Sports, he wrote the following classic few paragraphs:

Perhaps, after all these years and all these Cleveland losses, God decided to become an Indians fan. He certainly couldn't have picked a better time or the better Old Testament vengeance for fouling up the Yankees.

Drought, mildew and famine would have lacked the immediate impact. Pestilence would have been too mean; fire mixed with blood too messy; grasshoppers, probably too obvious.

The midges were just enough.