Being home last week allowed to me kill several birds with one stone, or one Southwest ticket. Wednesday evening, Erich and I played a 45-minute acoustic set to a rousing crowd of friends and family. Yes, it was ARGUS at its simplest form, a voice and a guitar. I stumbled through a couple of songs, being MONTHS out of practice, but we found our groove. It was nice to in front of my Winston friends again, and even my new lady friend got to enjoy the sounds. Erich had a bunch of PA school friends in the house, so it was a pleasure meeting all of them.
I was also able to spend a little time with the Wake crew ... Big Red, Kahl girl, Dean, Demetrius and everyone else. It is always nice to go back and rekindle the good friendships I began at Wake. I was able to meet some of the new staffers, and I even had the chance to visit with the Adams family. Steve, Christine and lil' Jake. I can't believe how quickly that kid has grown. I stopped by their place last Thursday and before I knew it, 2-year-old Jake and I were best buds. Just yesterday, Christine gave birth to their second child, sweet and beautiful Camden. Well, I'm sure she is beautiful, but of course I am not there to see her. I did have the opportunity to catch up on the phone with the tired pop, Steve, last night. Mom, little girl and the rest of the family is doing well. I'm thrilled for all of them, I just wish I could be around more.
Lastly but most importantly, I was able to be home for my mother's birthday. I've been away from home so much, you tend to miss out on little things like that. Mom was thrilled to have both my sister and I home for her day. We showered her with a few gifts, but she doesn't allow us to really buy things she wants. We always end up purchasing things she needs, which isn't always as fun for her. But she's still our Momma, and we love her dearly. It was nice to be around her all week. Nice to be around Sissy and Dad too. All family argue from time to time, but all three of them mean the world to me.
There are very few video games I purchase. Most are sports related. I do have a predilection for WWE games, mainly because there are times where I just need to take frustrations out on something, so I beat the hell out of someone with a steel chair. See, much better than contributing to road rage or yelling at friends. Anyway, the latest version of their game comes out in October. I am hoping this one has on-line capability so I can beat Ward and Flippen's ass via the internet. There is a long history between the three of us dating back to the early days of DeKalb. Oh yes, the DeKalb Wrestling Federation will never die.
Each week ESPN has been nothing their top 50 moments in sport over the last 25 years. For me, this is the most memorable and exciting. If you red that article, you will realize why I want to name one of my sons Carter. I get chills when I read that page. It is somewhat silly how sport has such a huge impact on the lives of the people who follow their teams, but I will never forget that moment or that Series. As a baseball fan, that is what you dream of ... your team, trying to win a championship, and doing so at the last at bat. It is very memorable, and I'm pleased that ESPN remembered it so well.
Two weeks away from kickoff. It is somewhat frightening, but exciting in the same respect. I have the opportunity to do some great things here. The pieces are starting to fall into place, and as long as I can get all of the prep work completed in the stadium, I feel like we'll have a great first game. Yes, I am concerned about the effort on the field. I hope the Commodores WHOOP UP on South Carolina, but more importantly for me, I want things to run smoothly. Trust me, you'll know all about it.
This past week, Vertical Horizon ended their marriage to RCA Records, a marriage which spawned a hit record in 1999, "Everything You Want," and 2003's "Go." VH become well known from the title track of "EYW," but weren't allowed to really push their follow up album. In sports terms, RCA dropped the ball. It is unfortunate because "Go," is a tremendous album. At least this way they can get back to doing things the way they'd want. I do hope they have another run with a major label. They deserve it and are talented enough, but if that day comes, I hope the label knows how to treat the guys considerably better than RCA.
Enough babble ... time for some rest.