new shirt for the new year

After being married to a wildcat for almost 5 years and finally becoming an unashamed UK Basketball fan, I made  a role-defining purchase on our most recent trip to Lexington: my first University of Kentucky t-shirt.

While some have mistaken this image as decade-old vintage wear from the year 2000 meltdown, all you NCAA basketball fans already know that this UK2K shirt commemorates the momentous occassion two weeks ago when UK edged out Chapel Hill as the first team to 2000 wins in program history.

With John Wall and Patrick Patterson on the team, now is a great time to join the Wildcat Nation. But, the thing I love the most about being a UK basketball fan is the history of the team. Everyone who pulls for Big Blue can name all of the teams past coaches, tell you why they have such a  love-hate relationship with Louisville coach Rick Pitino, and easily identify Ashley Judd in a “Where’s Waldo?” crowd of 24,000 at Rupp Arena (and that is quite a feat).

I’ve found that most Kentucky fans are never of the fair-weather variety. They have watched the program succeed and fail, but they demand success. Being a committed fan is something that agrees with me, and committing to an NCAA basketball team that often has televised games is an added bonus.

Disclaimer: This proclamation doesn’t change my love for Clemson, my loyalty to Furman, or even my nostalgia for South Carolina. And to my college roommate, who can’t believe this conversion, I say, “Well, at least you’re not a Duke fan.”

turtle tracks

When we arrived on the beach at DeBordieu last week, to the right of our beach access was an patch of sand surrounded by bright orange netting on PVC pipes., one of which bore a sign reading: “Loggerhead turtle nesting site – S.C.U.T.E.” Loggerhead nesting sites are becoming a more protected tourist attraction along the coast of South Carolina due to a large number of volunteers who give their time and energy to watch out for this endangered species. S.C.U.T.E. (what does this stand for?) is one such group, and the guardians of the nests on DeBordieu.

When Erin & I arrived, Jane & Heath let us know S.C.U.T.E. would be excavating part of this older nest to determine whether viable eggs and/or hatchlings were still present. The four of us made plans to attend with the rest of our squad (two daytrips guest authors  – Jessica BrightFlame and TP Snodgrass – and Eric).  Apparently this was a hot-ticket item for the weekend, because almost 200 people showed up to watch the event.

Paula, the S.C.U.T.E. spokeswoman, told us that this nest was one of three made by a single female turtle this summer, each nest laid two weeks apart with around 125 eggs in each. Researchers believe that, on average, only 1 female turtle  will survive at least a quarter-century so that she can return to the beach to lay eggs of her own. The few males that survive never return to shore.

As they dug, Paula informed us that over 50 of the eggs in this particular nest had already hatched and the hatchlings were hopefully out frolicking in the ocean. To our delight, a single hatchling was left in the nest – a late bloomer, and likely the last of this nest. S.C.U.T.E.’s important task was to let this baby seaturtle imprint on this beach and safely find its way to the water. At Paula’s direction, the two hundred onlookers formed two lines to cheer the turtle on as it made its way to sea.

Here it is after its long trip down the beach, just before it swam into the surf:

137

You might think that I was inspired by my neighbor Lucas Glover: a Greenville native, Clemson grad (in communication), and the current US Open Golf Champion. For the past month, every golf pro-shop in town bore signs congratulating Glover on his win and the city hosted a Lucas Glover celebration last Sunday. He’s a big deal, and maybe he did inspire me, but I think this was a long-time coming.

I took a golf class back in my days as a Carolina grad student and read the rules of the game, learned how to grip a club, and got to watch myself drive on video so that the golf pro could point out every imperfection in my swing. And then, I never played.

I borrowed my father-in-law’s golf clubs for about eight months last year, but failed to put them to good use. So, a few weeks ago, when Erin and I decided to take advantage of a “Sizzlin’ Summer Sale” to procure a set of clubs, we were both wondering what would actually happen.

My first round of 18 holes of golf this week went well. I hit a career-best (137) on the course at Pebble Creek, and I could not be more proud. I even jumped up and down at the 11th green when I sank a putt for a 7 (3-over par), much to the amusement of my friend Matt who graciously invited me to play and never became impatient. Incidentally, Matt also had a career-best for that course – 82 –  which I have now immortalized here in the pages of history.

So now I’m into the game and enjoying the fun of it, and I’m out to beat my career-best. Next time we head out for the course, Lucas, you’re welcome to come along and give me some pointers, or just enjoy the energy of a new golfer who is excited about the game.

5K, the first

Last night, I accomplished a goal that I have been working toward for a month. After I heard the shocking news that a friend of mine had a mild heart attack last month, I have been focusing on my health. I spring of 2008, I was playing tennis twice a week, but my level of physical activity has recently been limited to intensive gardening. So, I decided to set the goal for myself of running in a 5K event.

If you know me, you know that running has never been a passion of mine. It has never really been easy for me to motivate myself toward physical activity unless it had some sort of social benefit. However, this month I set out to reverse that mentality. With the goal of maintaining my health, I have a newfound interest in exercise. The change has been that I have been motivating myself to exercise as its own reward rather than trying to find another reward. But, I know myself well enough to know that that motivation still requires some sort of goal.

In May, I read about the Greenville Candlelight Charity 5K Run. Erin and I signed up for the event and recruited Jane and Heath to join in the fun, and I began training. In my first time out, I ran a quarter of a mile and then walked a mile, ran a quarter mile and walked the rest of the distance (total 3.1 miles).  My second time out that week, I ran farther; so I continued practicing the 5K distance 3 times a week. By my third week, I was able to comfortably jog the whole distance. I timed myself at 42 minutes and continued practicing. And last night, I ran my very first 5K. 

I clocked in at 31 minutes and 35  seconds, and I could not be more excited. After all, the goal is my health. Heath graciously maintained my pace and supported me alongside Erin (my top cheerleader) and Jane, who cheered us on as they participated in the 5K walk event, complete with matching accessories in the form of pink glow necklaces and bracelets.  

My goal now is to maintain a level of physical fitness that will allow me to continue to participate in 5K events, not for my time, but for my health. Be on the lookout for 5K, episode 2, coming soon…

yo-yo ma

It is not everyday that I get to witness the renowned master of a field practice his art in person.  My birthday was a rare exception. Erin magically and expertly procured the hottest ticket of the year in Greenville for a concert given by the Greenville Symphony Orchestra featuring Yo-Yo Ma. The one-night-only performance was scheduled in honor of my birthday this year. We had excellent seats, and I listened and watched the concert, my mouth agape,  in awe of the cellist.

First, Ma performed Schelomo: Hebraic Rhapsody written by Ernest Bloch. The Hebraic Rhapsody is Bloch’s interpretation of the voice of King Solomon, who provides wisdom in the book of Ecclesiastes. Having spent four weeks in a study of Ecclesiastes at our church leading up to the concert, I delighted in hearing a musical interpretation of the words of Solomon. As Solomon’s voice in the cello solo moved through the piece, the lamentations and thoughts of Ecclesiastes repeated the words of the king: “Everything is meaningless… Put your trust in God. Everything else is like chasing the wind… Be satisfied in the daily toil of life.” Solomon tries to find meaning in various avenues of life, but comes back to this point over and over.

The Schumann Cello Concerto, Op. 129 in A Minor finished the program and allowed Ma to shine and demonstrate a livelier array of technique. Having played the cello for almost a decade, I can only begin to comprehend the level of skill and talent possessed by this artist. The musical quality and passion of his performance were beyond measure; but, I was most struck by the humility of this man practicing his art. He took his bow and turned to applaud the orchestra who were in turn applauding him. He handed off a bouquet of flowers to the lead cellist who had performed a brief duet with him in one piece. And for his encore, he drew upon his feelings about our city to draw for us a vibrant and melodic solo capturing the essence of his experience and thanking us, the audience, for being a part of his art.

azaleas

For the first time since we moved into our house in Greenville, the 28 azaleas in our yard put on a spring show for us. They actually bloomed. After previous spring frosts and attempts to keep the azaleas healthy, the spring weather finally co-operated (with only one scare, the week before Easter).

You might recognize what a big deal this is if you know that I come from a long line of azalea growers: my parents, my grandparents, and their parents before them. My grandmother always spoke of the size and color of her various azaleas each spring. Even my wife’s parents are azalea growers in Kentucky. But even with all of our success, we cannot compete with the azaleas we saw today.

In true day trips fashion, Erin and I took a day trip up to the Biltmore House for the spring “Festival of Flowers.” Hearing that the peak time for the azaleas there was the first week of May, we thought we were a little early, but we decided to stroll through the azalea garden anyway. The warm weather sped the blooming up by just a few days and here is what we saw:

thundersnow

It sounds like a mediocre superhero’s name; or an arbitrary last name for an avatar on SecondLife; or maybe an up-and-coming rock band. While we were sitting in our house Sunday evening watching the snow fall, lightning and thunder erupted in the night sky. It surprised and confused us. We actually thought that the flashes were our neighbors, Mr. & Mrs. Jon Deere, out photographing the occasion. But, it was thundersnow (insert thematic music here).

Luckily John Cessarich and Valerie Voss, our friends four, were able to explain to us this rare meteorological event. Thundersnow, alledgedly the technical name for a winter-weather thunderstorm, is indicative of unstable systems producing large amounts of precipitation. Whereas a heavy thunderstorm in the summer can produce 1 inch of rain in an hour, a similar winterstorm equates to 10 inches of snow an hour.

Our thundersnow dropped between 3 and 4 inches of snow on our house before moving to the northeast. Alongside the rest of the upstate, we were snowed in for one day on Monday, and black ice worries made for a second day of slow driving on Tuesday. Wednesday should be back to normal, but 2 inches of snow are sill hanging out in the shady spaces in our yard.

Erin and I made it out in the hour of golden light on Monday morning just before the sun came up and the snow began to melt.  We took a winter walk around the neighborhood, I made a snow angel in our front yard, and then we enjoyed a day off spent together and reminisced about our memories of the rare thundersnow of 2009.