Emily & Jackson shared their birthday day, though not their birthday parties, back on New Year's Eve. Jackson turned 8, and Emily hit double-digits with her 10th birthday. Two awesome kids, whom i love dearly.
Here's a photo from Jackson's party at the skating rink. We didn't get pictures from Emily's party at build-a-bear and subsequent slumber party.
My Uncle Don, my dad's older brother, passed away the day after Christmas. I just wanted to say a few words about him.
At Don's funeral service, my dad gave a very nice eulogy, talking about how his brother basically raised him when they were young kids, after their parents' divorce. If you know my dad, and what a good man he turned out to be, then you have to believe that his brother must have been a pretty darn good surrogate parent.
As a young adult, my uncle joined the Army and was soon sent off to Vietnam, where he was a chopper pilot. I never could get any details out of him, but i have gleaned a few tidbits of his experience in 'Nam. The stories are that Don went down twice as a pilot, whether from fire or mechanical problems or whatnot, i couldn't say. One of those times, he went down behind enemy lines, and while the army knew where he was, they couldn't readily get anyone in to rescue him. So he put his survival and evasive tactics into practice until rescue came.
Don stayed in the Army for 20 years, rising to the rank of Major. He earned many awards and decorations, highlighted by the Distinguished Flying Cross, one of the highest ordered awards the military offers (if it is proper to think of it that way). Here's more about it, from Grunts Military.
The Distinguished Flying Cross is awarded to any person who, while serving in any capacity with the Armed Forces of the United States, distinguishes himself by heroism or extraordinary achievement while participating in aerial flight. The performance of the act of heroism must be evidenced by voluntary action above and beyond the call of duty. The extraordinary achievement must have resulted in an accomplishment so exceptional and outstanding as to clearly set the individual apart from his comrades or from other persons in similar circumstances.
In life, there are many ways to be a hero. In his youth, Don was a hero to my dad. In his prime, he was a hero for our country. Later in life, he was a hero to his wife, caring for her through medical problems. Throughout, he was a hero for many of us.
As for me, i will carry on his memory with my middle name, Don. I will remember him as a man of insouciant spirit fronting a quiet wisdom.
We had a nice final time together last summer, when my dad & i drove up to Oklahoma to visit him. He looked great, i thought, compared to the reports i had been hearing about the chemo and all. I was just lucky to catch him in one of the good phases. Anyhow, we 3 stayed up late into the night, sitting out on the deck, swatting bugs, telling old stories, pondering the heavens. I knew in my heart & head that it was a swan song moment, that i needed to savor it and remember it. We all knew it, but pretended it wasn't so. Let's just be normal guys and crack jokes and talk about old girlfriends. Just one more time.
I'll close by sharing an old photo of me and my brother. That's me in the Army hat. It's my Uncle Don's. We are all men, are we not? Whether now, then or later. It's in our blood, and we seek our time.
A dozen years ago today, i stood in front of my family and closest friends, and pledged my til-death love and devotion for my amazing wife Julie. As i watched her glide down the aisle, i thought she was impossibly, breath-takingly beautiful.
She is still my beautiful bride, and i love her dearly. She runs our household with aplomb. I call her, without irony or pretense, the Chief Operating Officer of the Scott Household. She is a wonderful, forward-thinking mom to our 4 amazing kids. And she graces me with her respect, boosting me when even i doubt, but keeping me honest and grounded, too.
I love you, honey. Happy 12th Anniversary!
P.S. Here's a wedding photo...
I finally figured out how to get our family website updated. I think it was another casualty of the old computer not having enough juice for the modern world.
So i added a couple of pages with a selection of the professional photos we had done. Click below...
when i was a kid, i figured Hanukkah was just a Jewish Christmas, if i thought about it at all. And until just recently, i had just a basic understanding of it. But i finally read the details and discovered that the holiday commemorates the Maccabean revolt that led to the rescue and rededication of the Jewish temple in Jerusalem. The temple had been overrun and desecrated by Antiochus IV, an early recorded instance of religious persecution. Antiochus forbade the Jews from practicing their religion.
So the Maccabean victory, and Hanukkah as an outgrowth, is a case of the triumph of religious freedom against an oppressive state. The Jewish people just wanted to be able to worship freely in their own place of worship.
So, all people who value religious freedom should hold a special place in their heart for this holiday.
Last Saturday, we loaded into the Suburban and headed north on I77 to get a Christmas tree. Our destination was Reed Island Tree Farm near Hillsville, Virginia, on a recommendation from one of the guys who works for me. We headed out around 10am, and arrived about 1115am, not a bad trip at all.
Reed Island is a cut & carry place, where you grab a saw (the long measuring stick is optional), hop onto the trailer behind a tractor, and take a ride into the fields of Fraser Firs. We hopped off the trailer, and let the kids run through the fields to find the perfect tree. If you've done this before, you know that size and scope can be deceptive, but we measured height versus the top of my head, figuring it shouldn't be more than a foot higher.
Fraser Firs are awesome Christmas trees, with the iconic shape you hope for (if you're from these parts, you come to expect it). When you cut them fresh, you don't have to worry about the tree drying out, or shedding its needles very much.
We explored around the field for a while, each tree a row over seeming to be better than the one we just looked at. We finally settled on one, and commenced to sawing. I let all the kids take a turn with the bow saw, so in the end, we all cut it down together. You then drag it a few yards to the tractor trail, and young men come around to pick it up. They then shake off the loose needles with a shaking contraption, and feed the tree through a baler, wrapping it tightly with netting string.
Meanwhile, we explored the little craft table, and bought some bbq sandwiches (which i loved, but Julie & Caroline didn't). They were supposed to have free cider and hot chocolate, but i didn't see it anywhere. I paid for the tree (only $42 for trees up to 8 feet tall), and the young guys spent a while tieing it onto the roof of the car.
When we got home, and got the tree up on our tree stand, we cut the net strings, and the tree popped back into its original shape and breadth. In all our worries about the height, we never stopped to think about how far around the thing was.
We all had a great time, a fun adventure. Once you count gas and all, i'm sure you don't save any money versus buying from a cut lot down the street, but the family experience makes all the difference.
I grew up (from age 10 on) in Terrell, Texas. Today i found this blog that posts a daily photo of some locale in Terrell. Actually, the same guy has two blogs on the same subject.
you can read all the details of our night with the Huckabees here.
Excerpt:
"The guy is a phenomenal speaker. There's not an ounce of slick in how he comes across. He just takes the floor and weaves through these long paragraphs of passion for America, and what we can do to make it a better country."
This is taken in Flower Mound, Texas this past summer. That's Jackson & Emily with their cousins Chad, Sara, and Kaylen.
Two quick notes, both related to government and politics.
1. I got my first-ever jury summons today. Slated for February. I've always been pretty surprised that i've never been called, as i have always been voter-registered everywhere i've lived. Probably won't matter. I always figured that, given my demographics and work history, i would get quickly excised, but that's probably based too much on TV trials.
2. Julie & i are going to attend an invitation-only reception tomorrow night in Greensboro. It's a fundraiser for Governor Mike Huckabee. (See my blog link on the right - Huck the System - for more info on Huckabee.) The governor will be there. I'm not sure how big the soiree will be, but it's held in someone's home, so we should have a good chance to meet the next president of the US.
