I'M JUST SAYIN'

My kid is adorable.

We got lucky. She's way better looking than her daddy was at three months old.

I PROMISE I WILL BLOG AGAIN

No, seriously. This will not become solely the domain of adorable baby pictures. I have many thoughts started about topics to opine on. But you'll have to forgive me this indulgence every now and then!


Still not as photogenic as the newbie



That ain't a yawn, folks...



My second favorite bib ("Tax Deduction" is #1)



Looking dubious, wondering about Mom's intentions



Resting on Wayne and Lara's boppy!

WOW

It all changes from this point forward...


"If this is that pull my finger gag again, we're through."


A rare peaceful moment


Something tells me this won't be the last time Katie screams at me


My girls


She got bored with ESPN Classic and fell asleep

AND I'M THE DUMMY IN THE RELATIONSHIP (STILL)

Not like I wasn't well aware of the fact that my significant other is smarter than me. I know this is true because I never have won an argument in two years of marriage and four years of dating prior to that. But at least I could take solace in the fact that, from an educational standpoint, we were both sitting on a high school diploma (her from Scecina, me from New Albany) and college diploma (both from Franklin) each. Luckily for me, GPAs aren't included.

But now my sweet little overachiever has gone and added a master's degree to her side of the ledger. When we exchanged vows and mentioned that "for better for worse" part, who knew that some of the worst could include the stress that an on-line graduate program would bring?

So this past weekend, it was off to Marion (same county that gave us James Dean, Garfield, and Purple Reign) to help her celebrate commencement. It's a beautiful campus on the south side of town, home of the defending NAIA Division 2 national champion women's basketball team.

Aside from seeing my girl cross the stage to pick up her diploma, the highlight of the day was definitely the short drive over to Upland, just on the otherside of I-69. Aside from being the home to Taylor University, it's also the location of Ivanhoe's. As much as I love Zesto's, there isn't a finer ice cream establishment in all of Indiana, if not the Midwest. Amazing as it sounds, there are 100 different sundaes and 100 different shakes on the menu, along with the traditional fare. In all, there have only been two customers ever that have successfully in their lifetimes tried all 200 of the treats. I loved going there whenever our basketball team would go up and play Taylor, and I was fired up about getting to go there again. I highly recommend it if you're on the way from Indianapolis to Ft. Wayne.

WHAT COULD HAVE BEEN (AND WHAT THANKFULLY WASN'T)

Post-September 11, there were a lot of amazing stories that came to light that had the potential for a real impact on those that heard them. One that struck close to home for those of us in the women's basketball coaching ranks was the tale of Notre Dame coach Muffet McGraw. She was scheduled to be on the flight that hit the South Tower of the World Trade Center. It was only at the insistence of one of her assistant coaches that she drove with him to Providence, RI to catch a different flight so they could travel together.

While this hit close to the mark for me as a basketball coach, it also brought back a close call for my own family this weekend 30 years ago. That was the night that popular entertainer John Davidson was scheduled to make an appearance in the Cincinnati area. Members of my general, if they remember him at all, probably would recognize him from his hosting duties on That's Incredible! and Hollywood Squares. However, he also has released over a dozen albums and was a successful recording artist in the 1970's. My mom was a fan and my parents had tickets for the 9:30 performance at the Beverly Hills Supper Club in northern Kentucky, just across the river from Cincy.

One problem that day--my younger brother Jeff was six weeks old and had a terrible case of colic. It had come and gone, but on this particular day he was in bad shape. Kokomo was a solid three hour drive away from Cincinnati and ultimately they decided that it wouldn't be smart to be that far away from Jeff if things worsened for him (nor fair to a sitter to deal with an extremely colicy baby).

So they stayed at home. And thus avoided one of the most tragic night club disasters in American history. 165 dead as a fire broke loose in the building, with nearly 80% of those in the main hall where my parents would have been. A fast-moving inferno, too few exits, a massively overcrowded room, with no sprinkler system or audible fire alarm.

I can't fathom how differently our lives would have been if my folks had attended that night and been among the victims. Would we have gone and lived with our grandparents (both of whom would pass away within a decade)? Move to Chicago with my aunt and uncle? My youngest brother would never have been born. It's amazing to think how radically changed my life could have turned. Luckily, we never had to find out; others in my position weren't so fortunate.