Pre-Labor Day

Fall is in the air in central North Carolina. In September is normally still hot and humid here, but yesterday the humidity dropped and temperatures were in the 70's. If this truly is the end of the 90+ degree days, then this really has been a mild summer compared to other years.

The cool weather definitely has me in the mood for football. Optimism abounds among college fan bases everywhere. Reading the papers here and listening to sports talk radio, you would think both UNC and NC State will be competing for a national championship come January.

It's the same thing reading the blogs for my Kentucky Wildcats. Nevermind the fact that UK lost its best defensive lineman to a (crummy) illegal substance test. Nevermind the fact that it limped to a putrid finish to the season with a loss to Vanderbilt at home and a ho-hum performance to a down Tennessee team. That was so last year. Things are going to be different this year. So sayeth the sages in the blogosphere anyway.

That is part of the fun though. Saturdays in the fall with the windows open, the breeze coming through, and football from noon to night. I am looking forward to the first games tomorrow night.

Speaking of fall, has there been a more notable fall from grace than that of Mr. Billy Gillispie? Two years ago the guy went from good ole boy Texas ball coach to the head job at one of the most storied programs in college basketball. Fast forward to today and he was fired from the UK job, sued the university for $6M, faced the public revelation of abusive treatment toward his players for 2 years, and now gets arrested on a DUI on his return to Kentucky to negotiate a settlement to his lawsuit.

The compassionate response would be, "I hope the guy gets help to turn his life around because he clearly has a drinking problem." But the diehard UK fan in me, who will never forgive him for ruining the college experience for one of my favorite UK players of all time in Jodie Meeks, tends to shrug a "karma has a way of coming back to bite you" response to Gillispie's troubles.

(Gregg Doyel has one of the better summaries of the BCG situation out there.)

This will look good on the cover letter to his resume for his next head coaching application.

Elsewhere on our front, Amy has been going full throttle on getting the Worship & Wonder program going at our church for the kids. We painted the classroom last weekend. We have trays, towels, a Montessori bell, and all the stories ready to go. It all starts this weekend with an orientation followed by the first class on September 13.

Owen & Gus got a "no cavities" report from the dentist this morning. Tess is entering the "I think I'd like to get into everything" stage now as an 18-month old. Things are good with our crew.

Safe holiday weekend to our readers & enjoy yourselves.

Cheers!