Rescue Plan! Comin' to the Rescue!

All the buzz in Washington these days is the euphemistically termed "rescue plan" for our struggling economy.   We're not supposed to call it a bailout, even though the essence of the deal is that financial firms will be bailed out of their shoulda-seen-it-coming, too-aggressive mortgage loan deals. 

This thing is so widespread because everyone wanted in on the gravy train.  It was the very definition of a market bubble, even though the residue from the last bubble (dot-coms anyone?) still hadn't evaporated.  But you gotta get yours while the gettin's good.  There are fortunes to be made, bonuses to be "earned".  Everyone associated with the mortgage side was the belle of the ball there for a while.

Meanwhile, the Miss Prudences sat on the side like wallflowers, with no one to dance with.  Watching the glitzy belles twirl around the floor, dizzyingly flirting with a bevy of suitors.  And when the recklessness spun out of control, as it always does, the belles limped back, asking the wallflowers for a lift home.

OK, i've stretched the metaphor too far.  Let's return to DC and the scary proposition of all the pork-barrel-hogs banding together for a "solution".  It's our Rescue Plan, Coming to the Rescue!  I call it that, because it reminds me of the Rescue Pack from the kids' TV show Go, Diego, Go!  It's this dangerous idea that the federal government can just pony up more cash to solve any problem.  Just raise the debt ceiling and we can do it!

David Turns 3

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(A Couple) Quick Olympic Thoughts

The 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing (btw, it's pronounced as a "j", not a "z") were the best Olympics games that i can remember, since probably 1984 in Los Angeles.  While i had a great time being in Atlanta in 1996, it just didn't compare to these games.

NBC really blew it by not covering more of the Decathlon.  I think it's the premier event of the Olympics.  When you also consider that an American won the event, it's mind-boggling that NBC didn't give up 2+ primetime hours of coverage.  A very telegenic, family-man American.  Bryan Clay could have been a media superstar.

Instead, NBC gave us a nice little backstory, a few minutes long, about 30 seconds of highlights from the first 9 events of the decathlon, and then full coverage of the last event, the 1500m run.  Clay had built such a huge lead that all he had to do in the 1500m was not quit, and so most of what American saw of Bryan Clay was a guy jogging around the track in dead-last.  Not the picture of the world-class athlete that he is.

Just a colossal missed opportunity!  NBC couldn't have cut a couple of hours from the incessant diving coverage?  Did we really need to see the prelims of synchronized platform diving?

Photos from Texas Trip

More photos, this time from our visit this summer to see the kids' grandparents (ie, our parents) in Texas.  Includes about 40 photos of fishing with Grandpa Scott, the day at Six Flags, and fun with the Carsons in Tyler.

Again, direct link to AOL photos.

 

Holden Beach Photos (Finally)

We finally found the long-lost memory card from Caroline's camera, which contained most of our photos from the spring break trip to Holden Beach.  I'm going to try something new here, using the AOL photo album.  In case it doesn't work, you can try our family website or this direct link.

 

Anatomy of a Roadtrip

We just completed our almost-annual drive to visit family in Texas and Oklahoma.  First, some stats from the driving...

·        Just over 3000 miles

·        About 175 gallons of gas (translation, $700)

·        Averaged 17.5 mpg

·        Averaged just over 55 mph

·        53 hours in the car!

We had a great visit.  I think the shorter timeframe - 3 daysat each set of parents vs. the more-normal week at each - helped everyone focus and ensured that wekept busy.  We were also pleased that the kids got to spend so much time with their cousins, on both sides.  They all had a great time together.

A highlight for everyone, except David who didn't get to go, was our trip to Six Flags Over Texas with my siblings and their kids.  It was my first time there in about 20 years, and the first time ever for our kids.  It was a bit hot, but the crowds were pleasantly sparse (recession at work?), so we didn't waste much time standing in hot lines.

In Tyler, the kids had a blast at Jumpin' Jacks and learning to shoot a bb gun.  David, of all people, got the only bullseye (but i think his Papa might have helped a little).  Emily was probably the best shot overall.

In Terrell, the kids enjoyed an evening of fishing, with Jackson and Caroline nabbing a couple.  And they had fun with the new pool slide.

Elsewhere, we had a very nice visit in Flower Mound, kicking back until the wee hours, chasing the big puppy (David called him the "big snappy puppy") down the street after midnight, as he took off after a stray cat.  And we were happy to visit Julie's Grandma Walker and aunts/uncles/cousins up in Oklahoma.

Certainly glad to be home, but certainly glad we made the trek.

Softball Success Story

Caroline's school started a new girls softball program this year.  When they started, Caroline was the only junior, and there were no seniors.  About half the team was still in middle school.  I fully expected it to be one long, dismal season.  Building a foundation may be ultimately rewarding, but it's no fun while you're doing it.  Generally.  We saw that around here when a new high school (Reagan) opened up with just underclassmen.  I don't think they won a football game for 3 years.  I worried about the same thing happening to the Calvary girls.

When they lost their first game badly, something like 20-1, i figured my fears were confirmed.  But then they WON their next game almost as easily.  And then the next.  Turned out we weren't all that bad.  Anchored by a stellar freshman pitcher, and supplemented by another junior whom Caroline recruited to join the team, who became the catcher and clean-up hitter, the girls logged a nice 10-5 regular season record, and the #2 spot in their district.  Coach was named coach of the year.  Well deserved.

Caroline started off at 3B, but the coach moved her to CF.  She wasn't thrilled about it, because when they're playing a weaker team, she hardly gets any action in the outfield.  But she's fast to the ball, and her defense becomes much more important when they play the good teams.  In their final game, she threw out a runner at 3B with a perfect peg.  I told her "that's why the coach moved you." 

He also altered her batting style.  Before, she swung almost totally with her arms.  She has a quick bat and a decent eye.  The coach taught her this walk-forward approach, similar to a Japanese professional style, where she takes a couple of steps toward the pitcher as the pitch arrives, which gives her a moving, running start toward first base.  Since she bats lefty and is a fast runner, this allows her to get on base pretty much as long as she makes contact.  It's termed slap hitting, and is apparently all the rage in softball (didn't know until searching for a link just now).

Anyhow, congrats to the Cougar girls team!  Hopefully, everyone can return next season to take the district championship.

Don't Kiss Daddy

"Don't Kiss Daddy!"

That's David's new favorite thing to say.  He gets very jealous of his mommy, and says this whenever i kiss her goodbye in the morning as i leave for work, or when i get home in the afternoon.

This morning, he immediately reached over and wiped my kiss off his mom's cheek.

Tornado!

A slew of tornados blew through our area on Thursday night.  Worst spate of windstorms that i remember in our 8+ years here in Winston Salem.  Getting it out of the way upfront - our family, our house was not damaged or ever in harm's way.  But others in the area weren't so lucky.

Started late Thursday evening, as we were wrapping up Caroline's softball game near downtown Winston.  The PA lady said that there was a "tornado warning" and that we should all start to leave (the game had ended already).  I was sure she meant "tornado watch", not warning, and i was right.  We drove home to not a hint of a storm.

But once home, we turned on the weather, and found that a line of storms was heading in from the west, and had likely already spawned one tornado just across the Virginia border.  The radar-hooks were blooming in adjacent Davie county, the far-eastern edge of which is a burgeoning bedroom community for Winston commuters.  Several of my co-workers, including my two closest work friends, live there in Advance. 

The weather folks on tv drew arrows on their maps to predict the path of the storm, and most of them would initially be coming right for us.  But all the bad wind stayed south of us.  Besides Advance, there was damage in the south part of Clemmons, down near the Davidson county line.  And then later, the funnel dropped down again in Greensboro near the airport.  That's when the one fatality occurred.

At home, we tracked the radar in the living room.  I had sent Jackson to bed, telling him that there would be rain and lightning, but not to worry.  I would wake him up if we needed to go to the basement.  A little after 10pm, after yet another large cell arose in Advance, looking very likely to take a more northern track our way, i decided to get the boys and shepherded everyone into the basement.  I just didn't want to have to rush if that time came.  Jack woke with a panicked look, knowing exactly whyi roused him.

We watched the tv reports from the basement.  Walked outside to marvel at the heavy rain (about 3 inches total), but the wind never got bad.  Caroline soon got text messages from her old boyfriend who also lives in Advance.  He reported that their neighbor had their roof blown off, and big oak trees were down everywhere.  Turned out, as we learned the next morning, that their neighborhood was one of the hardest hit. 

About 1130pm, i decided that the danger was past, and we all went upstairs to our beds.  It was exciting, in a way, though.  And it was one of the rare times when all 6 of us were together in the same room. 

Photo gallery

Totaled!

Last Saturday, Caroline was a passenger in a car accident.  She and the driver are fine, just a little sore.  The car, however, was totaled.  That car was my old Sebring.

So we reach the end of an era.  July 1997, from the Carmax dealership in Norcross, Georgia.  Back when Carmax had just started selling new Chryslers.  Only had about 65,000 miles on it, too, after almost 11 years.

I know from the insurance business that there is an extremely high probability that a parent of a teenager will get "that call" at some point.  IIRC, something like 80% of American teenagers will be in a wreck between the ages of 16 and 18.  So we are very grateful that our call brought news so benign.  No real injuries, news delivered by Caroline herself and not some police officer.

She had been at prom that night with a friend from church.  They took the Sebring, because the other kid was grounded from driving his Accord.  They had come home, changed clothes, and were heading out to a parent-sponsored after-party.  The boy knew the destination, so Caroline let him drive.  Just past the school, someone pulled out in front of them, the boy swerved and lost control.  The Sebring did a 360, they crossed the road and struck a brick wall on the other side of the road.  Like i said, quite fortunate.

My claims adjuster tried to keep it from being totaled, but there was extensive undercarriage damage, and it wasn't close.  So now i'm back in that dilemma of trying to figure out what vehicle, if any, to get for Caroline.  Safety is paramount, and i want something with side airbags.  But try to find something with side airbags for a reasonable low price.  For the cost of a good used car, i can get a new vehicle through my GM employee price.  But i struggle (mightily) with the thought of a teenager driving a brand new vehicle.

I think a period of carlessness could be healthy, despite the attendant burden on the rest of us, especially Julie.

Here's a photo of some of the damage...

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