I'm Taking Guitar Lessons

I think I got my first guitar around 1972 and I've loved everything about guitars since then. Unfortunately, I never really learned to play very well. Now that I'm not going to school and it's just me and Marcia at home, I think it's a good time to take lessons and try to be a real guitarist.

I found a good jazz guitarist and teacher named John Gloria and signed up for lessons at a local music store. I had my first lesson yesterday and I'm working on The Girl From Ipanema. I enjoyed the first lesson and I'm looking forward to many more.

Marcia took pictures of our kids as they got on the bus for their first day of school so she thought it would be appropriate to take a picture of me on my first day of guitar lessons. Can you tell that I'm excited?

Matthew and Rachel are Married!

My son Matthew married Rachel Sipes on May 17. Rachel is a wonderful person who has felt like part of our family for a long time now. The weather here in Memphis was nearly perfect and the ceremony and reception were both very nice. They had a fun honeymoon at Disney World the following week.

We were very happy to have my parents and my brother Chris and his wife Staci here for the wedding. The whole weekend was beautiful and we got plenty of time to relax and enjoy being together.

I took some pictures at the reception but they aren't very good. This picture was taken by our good friend (and former neighbor) Bob Thompson. The Memphis Tigers logo on the groom's cake was very cool and the chocolate was delicious.

We graduated!

Yesterday we had a very special family day. Matthew, Kirie, and I all graduated from the University of Memphis. I received a Master of Science Degree in Business Administration specializing in Management Information Systems. Matthew receivied a Bachelor of Arts in Music Education. Kirie received a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Musical Theatre.

It was kind of a long day because we had to attend both sessions downtown in the FedEx Forum. Kirie and Matthew graduated in the morning and I graduated in the afternoon. It got a little hectic and there wasn't much time to eat or go anywhere between sessions so Marcia and I had a Pronto Pup (huge corn dog) in Handy Park on Beale Street about a block away from the forum. The weather was beautiful and there was a good blues band playing in the park. The afternoon session was kind of fun for me because Fred Smith (the founder and CEO of FedEx) received an honorary Doctorate and he spoke.

We were kind of tired when we got home so Marcia and I skipped a wedding reception we had been planning to go to and we took a nap. When we got up we celebrated with Matthew and Rachel at a local restaurant and I had prime rib (my favorite).

On Friday, we took formal cap and gown pictures at a studio and we also took family pictures for the first time in many years. It has been a very nice weekend!

March Madness

I'm enjoying the last phase of a great basketball season. Marcia and I were able to go to 4 or 5 home games this season and have watched almost all the other games on TV. The Tigers won their first NCAA Tournament game last night against Texas-Arlington. We won by 24 and still a lot of the sports writers in the local paper this morning were talking about how the Tigers were sloppy and need to improve. I know the Tigers aren't perfect, but I still think they will win at least a couple more games.

Yesterday they let us go home early (for Good Friday) and I enjoyed watching lots and lots of basketball. I love having a laptop computer because I can do other things and still watch TV.

Spring football practice started this week so three weeks from today we're planning to go to the annual blue/gray scrimmage even though the weather is usually not very good for that event.

Service Project

Last Saturday the Young Men from the Memphis 4th branch came to my house to do a service project. I had a magnolia tree in my yard that was planted too close to the driveway and was causing a lot of problems. We had a good time!

Before

Supervising

Taking a break while it rained

After

I wish it were summer already

It's cold here in Memphis and I really need some sunshine in a place like this.

This is really just a test post to see how Picasa allows you to add photos to a blog.