The Music Man is a teenager?

I can't believe it...now I've got TWO teenagers at home. I realize that this post is a little late, but Nathan turned 13 years old on May 1st. Yes, his cake is pink in the picture. Not his choice of color, but rather a result of the natural coloring of the strawberry icing. However, this was one of the most delicious cakes Michele has ever made...and that is really saying something!

As described in a previous post, this is still very much the "Year of Nathan." Of course, his year couldn't be without music. Earlier this school session, Nathan made the select (ensemble) choir. This meant he had to sacrifice some sleep so that he could go to school a little earlier once a week for an extra choir practice. Yet, a few weeks ago we discovered that he was also using his study hall to learn to play the bass. After just three weeks of practice, he was asked to join the school orchestra for the Spring Strings concert!

The strings concert was awesome, and the talent of these kids was remarkable. I could also understand why Nathan decided to play in the orchestra next year. The director allowed the students to choose some popular music to play in their concerts. This year, they played Viva la Vida by Coldplay, and they nailed it! The director also allowed some modern instruments, like electric violin and electric bass. I think she is pretty savvy for trying to inject a little "cool" factor into a middle school music program.

Tonight, Nathan sang in the Spring Band/Choir concert. He sings real well, but is also very serious about it...no smiling allowed, apparently. That's him in the middle of the second row in the large group, and on the far right (near the piano) in the smaller group.

You Rock, Nathan !!

Earworm REMEDY !!!

A recent post described my week long earworm problem. This has truly been bothering me this past week, and affecting my work, since some of my co-workers found my singing of Big Butter Jesus (under my breath, of course) to be a bit distracting in meetings. In addition, many of them were worried that my earworm might be more contagious than the Swine Flu...I wonder if wearing surgical masks over your ears prevents this affliction? Hmmm....

Yesterday, a good friend of mine prescribed a remedy for earworm infestation. He told me that the only cure was to replace the earworm with an equally catchy tune, yet one that I will hear more often in daily life - on the TV, radio, etc. His suggested Rx was Mickey. However, even though it is a catchy little ditty, I just couldn't get "oh Mickey, you're so fine, you're so fine you blow my mind. Hey Mickey!" to stick... so I tried a few more songs.

Well, I am happy to report that I am now mostly free of the Big Butter Jesus earworm. Thanks go out to Marty, for his suggested cure. Yet, there are some side effects...sing along with me:

¯...They say a man should always dress for the job he wants. So why am I dressed up like a pirate in this restaurant? It's all because some hacker stole my identity. Now I'm in here every evening serving chowder and ice tea. Should'a gone to free credit report dot com [yee haw]. I could'a seen this comin' at me like an atom bomb. They monitor your credit and send you e-mail alerts. So you don't end up selling fish to tourists in t-shirts...¯

Earworm infestation

Have you ever had an earworm? You know, a song that gets stuck in your head like freshly chewed bubble gum which has become adhered to your shoe while you are walking on hot asphalt? For the past three days, I have not been able to get this ridiculous song out of my head. It's there in the morning when I wake, it's there in the shower (so I sing it aloud), it's there while I work (I whistle the chorus), and last night I even dreamed about singing it!

Of course, my earworm couldn't be some classic rock tune or even Susan Boyle singing "I Dreamed A Dream" from Les Miserables. Nooo....my earworm just has to be a song by Heywood Banks, called "Big Butter Jesus."

On I-75, between Dayton and Cincinnati, the Solid Rock Church erected a 62-foot statue of Jesus Christ which seems to explode from the earth in front of the church. However, the statue is also quite crude in construction and has an off-white, almost yellow hue....seemingly carved from butter. Heywood Banks has written a song about it.

The song may be a little sacrilegious, but probably much less so than a 62-foot graven image of Christ emerging from a pond along the interstate. Plus, I tend to believe that our Heavenly Father and his Son have a good sense of humor. Now if I could only get this stupid song out of my brain....please help me.

Germany/Holland Tour 2009

On Sunday, Ian arrived home safely from his soccer tour of Germany & The Netherlands. We are so glad to have him home! Surprisingly, he even received a big welcome home hug from his little brother. Trust me, this is a big deal for teenage brothers. Anyway, I'll attempt to update a little here, but maybe I can turn the blog over to Ian for a few days so that he can chronicle his trip....?

Setting foot on foreign soil - '94 Boys ODP

and then, jet lag set in.....

mmm...bratwurst.

Checking out the sights in Rudesheim.

A typical Rudesheim alley.

Ian's roommate, Jevon.

In Holland, with the '94 Girls, on a statue of Rembrandt.

The windmill from many of Rembrandt's paintings.

'94 Girls & Boys teams outside of the stadium and training grounds in Mönchengladbach.

The tunnel leading onto the field at Borussia Park, the home of Borussia Mönchengladbach. As his team walked out onto the pitch, this song played. Ian still gets goosebumps when he hears this. Mönchengladbach has a history with American players, including Kasey Keller and Michael Bradley (current star on the US Men's National Team). Ian told his guide to remember his name, as it is now his dream to play for M'gladbach.

The pitch at Borussia (Prussia) Park.

They are still kids after all....

Much like Frank Ruettiger in the movie RUDY, I needed to see Ian in uniform and playing in a game in order to believe that this trip was really about soccer. Especially after hearing Ian's stories - most of which had NOTHING to do with soccer. Here he is in attack against one of the top youth teams in all of Germany: the Borussia Monchengladbach Academy. Many of these kids already have signed professional contracts! Final score: 4-1 M'gladbach. Ian said the game was much closer than the score indicated, and that he was proud of how well his team competed. Hopefully, I'll be able to persuade him to take over the blog for awhile so that he can regale you with all of his new stories!

STAY TUNED...

The Yanks are coming, the Yanks are coming

Ian left for Germany yesterday. While there was much excitement and anticipation leading up to this trip, I can't begin to tell you the full range of emotions we experienced yesterday as he left. I think this has hit Michele very hard. Giving up our fourteen year old son to strangers for a week and a half was tough. Add the distance (4000 miles) between us, and it made for an emotional "gute reise" or "bon voyage."

Yet, this is such a great opportunity for him. It is also a fine reward for all of the hard work he has put forth to get to this point. Ian will be playing soccer against some of the top youth teams in Europe this week. His U-14 Olympic Development Program (ODP) team left Cincinnati for Frankfurt last night. He has played with or against most of the kids on this team at various club tournaments over the past few years, so I've gotten to know a few of them. It really is a nice bunch of boys. However, the kids were so excited to leave that they were mostly oblivious to the adults in the airport.


Ian called us at 8:00 AM this morning. He arrived safely, and has already done a little sight-seeing. The team has a tour bus with a full-time guide for the entire trip. Therefore, they will be able to see some of the sights between games as they travel through Germany and Holland. This morning, his team took a cable car ride through the vineyards and across the Rhine River, on their way to Cologne. After a brief stop to tour the Cologne Cathedral, they will end up in the little town of Straelen, located on the Germany/Holland border, which will serve as their home base for the next week. They'll be staying at the Straelener Hof, with the entire hotel reserved for the U-14 boys AND girls teams (yes, this was a hot topic this past week).

The boys team flew to Germany with two team administrators, two coaches, and a few parents. However, the parents do not travel with the boys, nor stay with them in the team hotel. Essentially, they travel as spectators or fans for the games. They also have a different tour itinerary. As much as I would have liked to have gone on this trip, the cost prevented me from going...and Ian didn't seem too disappointed for some reason. Yet, it will not be ALL fun and games for him. Ian will still have to do his school work, read, and write (daily) in a journal. I've also heard rumors of plans for a blog to be written during their stay. If I receive more details of the blog, I'll provide a link.

Tomorrow, the team is planning a trip to The Netherlands, with a stop in Amsterdam for a visit to the Anne Frank House. They will also visit a traditional cheese farm and clog maker. I asked Ian to take as many pictures as possible. He even took an extra memory card. We'll see if he can keep his promise to take lots of pictures, but avoid the red light district. Actual games begin on Monday against SV Straelen in Germany. GO OHIO & GO USA !!

The Sixth Challenge

My sister Diane gave me the following challenge from her blog:

1. Go to the photos folder in your computer.
2. Go to the sixth folder.
3. Go to the sixth picture.
4. Put the picture on your blog along with a description.
5. Invite six friends to join the challenge.

So, here is the picture:

This photo was not staged. Our pets are just freaks. Of course, it could be a sign that we are headed for a disaster of biblical proportions. You know, "human sacrifice, dogs and cats living together, mass hysteria!" The dog (Guinness) and cat (Murphy) appear to genuinely like each other. However, they do compete mightily for Michele's attention during all waking hours. Yet, at the end of the day, you can find them using each other as pillows.

Our other cat (Yoshi) is highly neurotic and skittish. Therefore, it's very surprising that he is comfortable enough to sleep on the dog. However, I must admit that EACH of us have used the dog as a pillow at some point in time.

Finally, while looking in this folder, I found this picture of Ian & Nathan which was taken in our yard last year. The quality of the photo is not great, but it did capture a common sight... hearty laughter resulting from a joke shared only among brothers.

Year of Nathan

More from the "Year of Nathan." As discussed in a previous post, Nathan has met quite a few famous people this year. What's really cool about this is the fact that the setting for each encounter was not the typical "let me sign this and get outta my face" autograph session. Nathan was able to meet these people in somewhat normal situations which allowed him the opportunity to actually sit and talk with them.

At a recent Dublin Coffman game, David Archuletta sang the national anthem. Since Nathan is the Coffman waterboy, he was able to hang out with David before the game. Nathan commented that David was "a kid, just like me."

I'm happy to report that the "Year of Nathan" has not yet come to an end. He has achieved straight A's this year in school. Yesterday, his basketball team defeated the top 6th grade squad in the area. Nathan led his team in assists, and had the shot of the game... a driving, baseline reverse lay-up over the tallest (5'9") player in the league. Great job, buddy.