Craziness

Ok, so we got back from our crazy trip (GA-FL-CO-CA-FL-GA)...phew!! We had the greatest times. We discovered as we were traveling that this was in fact the first airplane trip that Dave and I have taken together since we have been together (6 years)!!! Insane.

I know you are desperately awaiting the million pictures that we have taken, but you will have to wait longer. I am in the inservice stages of my 4th year of teaching...can you believe that! I have a student teacher this year (yay!) and she is outstanding, so I will have a little bit of time out of the classroom while she is teaching. In the VSU program, as the teacher, you have to sign over your rights to your classroom for a full two weeks!!! Crazy!!

BTW: Valdosta, GA won Titletown, USA!!!! Can you freaking believe that. This is an ESPN title that was narrowed down from 200 cities to 20 and then to US!!!!! I don't think anyone was expecting this, but now across town all of the billboards say, "Welcome to TITLETOWN, USA". It is pretty funny that we are such a small town with a big title, but we do have over 450 sports titles that have been won in the Valdosta area!!! Read the article and see my cheerleaders on the clip!!!! http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/titletown/index

School starts on Monday so I will have to peace out!!!

Read the WHOLE THING

This was written by a columnist who lives not too far from us! Jekyll Island is about two hours from here. We have been a few times and love it. It is kind of a touristy area on the east coast...a place that you can put your feet into the Atlantic Ocean and eat some great seafood!!

Here is the full article and another that he wrote after the first one came out. It puts into perspective the Aggie Spirit in action http://dmc-news.tamu.edu/templates/?a=6338&z=15

So there I was, with my wife and two of my three children - the ones who are 22 and 16 - enjoying a nice day at the beach. Actually, it was day on the island, but give me a little leeway here, please.

It was a Saturday morning - a warm Saturday morning. There wasn't a cloud in the sky and I really and truly shouldn't have had a care in the world, but I have a tendency to create cares where none exist. I'm an old curmudgeon, in other words. A mulligruber. I don't recall what my worries were on this glorious Saturday morning, but I'm sure there was something that didn't suit me.

Perhaps my coffee had not been hot enough at breakfast. Perhaps our entourage had taken too long to get ready for our bike ride - which happened to be the only thing on our agenda for that day. Perhaps I wasn't satisfied with the way the golf tournament was going in Augusta. The point is, I am sure I wasn't enjoying the day as much as I should have, because that's just the way I am lately.

I had stopped at the Sweet Shoppe in the Jekyll Island village. Not the one the millionaires built. The one regular folks can shop in, if they have enough money. I wanted a praline, and my oldest child wanted a turtle. The two of us walked out of the store with our treats and were greeted by the sight of a young family who seemed to be enjoying their day more than I was enjoying mine.I couldn't help but smile as I watched the young man in the Texas A&M baseball cap wipe melted chocolate ice cream off the face of his own daughter. The fresh-faced young father looked like he couldn't possibly have been a day older than my daughter, the one standing beside me enjoying her turtle. The child with the ice cream on her face might have been 3 1/2.

I took the beautiful brunette - the one with the 18-month-old in her arms - to be the young man's wife and I felt like a voyeur as I stood for a minute or two and just watched them interact with one another and with their children. I could tell by the way they looked at one another that they were very much in love - with one another and with life itself.I could no more have resisted speaking to them than I could have resisted eating the last bit of my fresh confectionery. "Are you an Aggie?" I asked the young man, in reference to the baseball cap that covered his closely cropped blonde hair.

"I am," he said proudly. Class of 2003."Really?" I asked, surprised that he was so long out of college.

"What are y'all doing so far from College Station? Are you out here on vacation?"

"I'm stationed at Ft. Stewart," he told me, "and we just drove over to enjoy the day.

"And then he added, "I just got back and we needed to spend some time together."

"I just got back," the Aggie told me. I didn't have to ask from where, so I asked, "How was it over there?"

"About the same as the first time I was there," he answered.

The first time. A young man who looked to be no older than my daughter had already served two tours of duty in Iraq.

"Really?" I asked. "There is no change?"

And then he amended his response. "Oh, no. there is. Things are lots better from the Iraqi stand point. They are beginning to take over and things are a lot calmer and everything will be OK soon, if we stay the course.

"If we stay the course. His words. Not mine. Not George Bush's. Not John McCain's.And then he said, "It just wasn't any easier to be away from them," nodding at his young family. "That's what I meant when I said things were about the same."

"Are you home for good?" I asked.He smiled and said, "Yeah. Or until next time.

"I didn't learn the name of the young hero in the Texas A&M baseball cap and I didn't want to steal any more of his time. I simply said, "Well God bless you all. Thank you for your service," and started on my way. His young wife, however, reached out and touched my arm.

"We knew what we signed on for," she told me, "and as hard as it is, it's worth it. It has to be done.

"I smiled and turned away because I hate for beautiful young brunettes to see tears forming in my eyes.

On April 19, 1775, the first American soldiers answered their country's call to arms and for 233 years now brave men - and more lately, women - have been leaving their families to serve on our behalf. I don't know what kind of mood you are in today or what you have on your plate, but I know that each and every one of us can breathe free because there are about a million-and-a-half men and women in uniform scattered across our country and around the globe, making sure that we are as safe as we can be in a world gone crazy.

God bless them one and all.

Darrell Huckaby is a local author and educator. He can be reached at dHuck08@bellsouth.net.

It has been a while...

I am determined to keep this up. Dave is not good about posting as you can tell!!! Here is a quiz my family recently sent, thought I would pass it along...

I NEVER DO THESE....

Welcome to the 2008 edition of getting to know your friends. Okay, here's what you're supposed to do, and try not to be lame and spoil the Fun! Copy this entire email and paste into a new email that you can send. Change all the answers so that they apply to you. Then send this to a whole bunch of people you know, INCLUDING the person that sent it to you. Some of you may get this several times (that means you have lots of friends).

1. WHAT TIME DID YOU GET UP THIS MORNING? 10:30---I am on Dave's schedule of staying up way too late--I am usually in bed by 10ish and up by 8ish

2. DIAMONDS OR PEARLS? Diamonds and Pearls---why must we choose only one!!

3. WHAT WAS THE LAST FILM YOU SAW AT THE Cinema? Went to the Dollar ($1.99) theatres this past week with great friends Heather and Ben (recently engaged!)--the first time we have been since in Valdosta---saw What Happens in Vegas, pretty funny!

4. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE TV SHOW? Law and Order, Seinfeld, King of Queens, Grey's Anatomy...

5. WHAT DO YOU USUALLY HAVE FOR BREAKFAST? Something quick (or nothing) during school and something different every day during the summer

6. WHAT IS YOUR MIDDLE NAME? Michele with ONE "L"

7. WHAT FOOD DO YOU DISLIKE? Hmm, maybe squid?!

8. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CD? Pat Green---his first one

9. WHAT KIND OF CAR DO YOU DRIVE? Maroon Nissan ARMADA, decked out with Aggie stickers and an AGGIE license plate (can only get that in GA)!!!

11. WHAT CHARACTERISTIC DO YOU DESPISE? Ignorance and lack of respect for those older than themselves

12. FAVORITE ITEM OF CLOTHING? soft, strapless, cotton pool dress, comfort first!! YIKES on the biker shorts!!!

13. IF YOU COULD GO ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD ON VACATION, WHERE WOULD YOU GO? Italy, The Seychelles, Destin, FL, NYC, Costa Rica and any where with family...really I LOVE to travel, so any where but Valdosta, GA is GREAT!

14. LAST TIME YOU LAUGHED OUT LOUD? ?? about 5 minutes ago---some commercial, I think...or Dave, can't remember?!

15. FAVORITE BRAND OF CLOTHING? Ann Taylor LOFT

16. WHERE WOULD YOU RETIRE TO? Somewhere surrounded by family and friends

17. WHAT WAS YOUR MOST MEMORABLE BIRTHDAY? Probably my ?th birthday at Calico Kids. We had a "lock in". I remember getting a New Kids on the Block t-shirt!!!! They are back in concert for those of you who remember them!

18. FAVORITE SPORT TO WATCH? AGGIE FOOTBALL

19. FURTHEST PLACE YOU ARE SENDING THIS? Seattle!

20. PERSON YOU EXPECT TO SEND IT BACK FIRST? I don't like this question...pass.

21. FAVORITE SAYING? Freedom doesn't come free

22. WHEN IS YOUR BIRTHDAY? March 7, 1982

23. ARE YOU A MORNING OR NIGHT PERSON? night if I got to sleep in

24. WHAT IS YOUR SHOE SIZE? 7 1/2 BUT if the shoe is cute or on sale I can adjust!!!

25. PETS? Cooper Punk Adkins and Sullivan "Sully" Ross Adkins

26. ANY NEW AND EXCITING NEWS YOU WOULD LIKE TO SHARE WITH US? I am done with cheer camps for this summer!!!!!!

27. WHAT DID YOU WANT TO BE WHEN YOU WERE very LITTLE? A teacher like Ms. Brewer

28. HOW ARE YOU TODAY? GREAT!!! I had a yummy Red Lobster dinner last night after watching fireworks and Dave is back from Iraq!!!!