Catching up

Wow...September rolled through, and so did October, and not a single post. Started this blog with the idea that I'd pop on here every couple of days and update, and as usual, the best intentions....

Volleyball season came and went--volleyball banquet was today. We had a good group of 4th grade girls, good parents, and I had help during practice from a high school volleyball player, all of which contributed to a successful season. We didn't place in the top three, but our Athletic Director told us that we finished higher than any other team in our league that had not played before, as the top 3 teams all played the season before. That was good for the girls to hear.

With one season ending, another begins...we had our basketball "draft" tonight. I am again roped into coaching my son's 2nd grade basketball team, and this year, there are enough players to field two teams.

We sat down and "graded" players as if we were holding the NBA Draft, and basically, I kept the same team I had last year. We graded my team with 3 "A" players, 1 "B" player, and 6 "C" players, and the other team with 3 "A" players, 2 "B" players, 1 "C" player, and 3 unknowns. So it's pretty close to as fair as you get.

What else has happened? Bought a car from eBay Motors early in the Summer, and after weeks of wrangling with a crook in New Jersey, it finally appeared in Birmingham needing work, as expected. Fortunately, the eBay Auction insurance company paid for the work it needed, and it appears I will come out of the transaction fairly well....other than I still do not have the car, as it has been sitting at my auto mechanic for weeks now as well. He's been "tinkering" with it. I don't want to push him too much--I bought the extra car so my daughter, who was home from the University of Alabama for the summer, would have one to go to/from work and other events. So when she returned, there existed no further urgency, and I have allowed him to take his time working on this or that with the car. It's a 2000 Volvo C70, and will be my first two-door car in many years. It's not perfect, but it'll do for me to drive around town. And with the economy where it is, I'm not inclined to spend much money--if I had it--on any car at the moment.

We are one week removed from the opening and closing of "Once Upon an Island, Jr.," performed by the Our Lady of the Valley School Drama Department. From Caitlin's performance in the 4th grade (10 years ago, if I count correctly) in Oklahoma!, to now, oh my, what a difference!. Director Mike Bridges brought a lot of wonderful theatrical enthusiasm to the little school, and it has given all of my children great self-confidence to speak in front of others, and be self-assured. Caitlin has been in many, many productions, including many community theatre productions, mostly small ensemble parts, but always doing her best. She does not fear anything, and I credit the beginnings at OLV with her gaining self-confidence, and her being cast in many CenterStage productions with her realizing the pursuit of excellence and allowing it to carry over into her personal and academic life, both of which she's championing right now.

My middle daughter, Sarah, who played the lead role of Cinderella in her 7th grade year, was wonderful in that show and, although she never "caught the bug" the way Caitlin did, has excelled with school, personal life, and in show choirs for her high school. Cinderella was the last show she auditioned for, and decided it would be her "Swan Song." It was the only show she did at OLV in which she had lines. Talk about a grand entrance and exit!

My son, Andrew, had numerous fun roles at OLV in the various shows, including Tevya in Fiddler on the Roof, the cheerleader in Cheaper by the Dozen, the undertaker in Oliver! and many others. He doesn't think anything of getting up in front of large or small groups now and giving speeches or organizing friends, and again, that is a credit.

So now it's my youngest daughter Rachel. Rachel had a role created for the show by Mike as one of Daniel's young friends. She had a lot of stage time, and she cherished the small solo she sung during the show. Sitting at the very back of the "Life Center"--the Gym, or the modified theatre--doing video work for the performance, I heard her loudly and clearly with her sweet voice. Can I imagine being nine years old and singing in front of several hundred people on stage under the spotlight? Not on your life--but this is just one of the things that literally hundreds of OLV children have gained from their experienced in OLV theatrical productions over the years. Caitlin, Andrew, Sarah and Rachel are no different than many others who will carry these benefits throughout life.

The show itself was wonderful. From an audience standpoint, the production was nearly flawless. Minor technical issues with sound/microphone, which seem to always exist in even quality local theatre, were ironed out by Saturday. I finished watching the show earlier this afternoon on a rough DVD I created from the back of the gym, and the sound was very good, with or without characters who wore body microphones.

As far as the young men and women are concerned--the school is a "regular" school, and the talent is always mixed. But they maximize their talent, and again--from a regular audience member standpoint, I do not recall seeing one word of one line missed, or fed, to any cast member during the show. Considering the cast consisted of more than 90 students from 1st through 8th grade, that's an amazing feat in itself.

It's late, and I have court in the morning, so I'll close for tonight with a promise to fill in more later. If I can have 30,000+ posts on KentuckySportsReport.com, the least I can do is to have some regular old blogging about my life. I promise to make the posts more regular--and more concise--in the days and weeks to come.