Let Me Introduce To You....

   Ladies and gentlemen, boys, and girls, dogs, cats, and all the chickens who read this blog.....

   We, the good folks of Hines Terrace Herald, have an announcement to make.

    One of the biggest we've ever made, strike that.....it is the BIGGEST! 

    And it is an introduction as well to our newest staff member, but it will be a little while before he does a guest post. 

   I have a son! 

   His name is Ford Hendley Dark. I have only known him since 10:06 AM yesterday morning, but he has already let me know that he is something else. 

   He has dark black hair. Weighs 6 lbs. 12 oz. and is 18 3/4" long. And we're not sure what color his eyes are going to stay. I am pulling for brown. His courageous and beautiful mom has those. 

 That is all I'm going to say for now. We are exhausted! All three of us.

Happy Reading,

   David--aka  "Ford's dad".

                          

It's Track Season, Ladies and Gentlemen

* I hate to preface another post, but am afraid I have to do so. Yes, it is still track season, but we are on the downward slope of my track season and I wanted to put this post out at least a month ago when we were in the thick of the season and when I say thick, I mean thick. But no matter what, I hope you enjoy the post and learn at least one thing about the sport of track or at least enjoy the time you spent here at Hines Terrace Herald. 

 

  

    It is track and field season, ladies and gentlemen. I know most of you are trying to fill the sports void inside yourself that has been left  by the end of football, the coming and going of March Madness, the Master's, and now the MLB's preseason and Opening Day, and the activities that occur around an oval are not even on your radar or even in your vocabulary, but it is time to watch the sights, sounds, and utter craziness that can occur while humans run in circles. Macon, Georgia is not Track Town USA (Eugene, Oregon), but if you like track and field, you can watch some pretty great runners, jumpers, hurdlers, and throwers that call Middle Georgia home.

    There are few sports like track where the line between the team and the individual is so blurred that it is hard to tell which is most important. Stressing the team aspect is always one of the hardest facets of coaching track for me. There is also the idea or the thought that having one dynamic athlete can win a meet, when that couldn't be farther from the truth. And many field athletes are always feeling as if there events are not as "glamorous" or as worth while as those fleet-feeted individuals who glide around the oval when in fact, a good showing in the field events can win a meet when the runners aren't having the best of days. 

   Another odd aspect of coaching track is that during practice, a track coach needs to be fully focused on his or her athletes in an attempt to mold and fully prepare the thrower, runner, or jumper for whatever scenario or surface they may meet or have to deal with , but when a meet roles around, the coach must relinquish the reins of his/her team and hope that all will go according to plan. This would be a little more stressful if a coach didn't have so many responsibilities at a meet. Coaches then become race directors, inspectors, judges, and most stressful of all.....timers. My least favorite places to time are anywhere between 2nd to 5th. There can be some pretty hairy situations; especially in the shorter races like the 100m and the 200m.  

    There are also the seemingly endless amounts of protocol that must be followed during a track meet. There is the coaches meeting, the "scratch" meeting, the correct starting positions, the lines from where races must begin and end, there are the heights for the hurdles, there are times when runners may wear watches and other times when all jewelry is prohibited, there are the exchange zones for the baton races, the exact number of events/races an athlete may do, and the correct number of steps for the jumpers. All of the above may seem like a little much for the casual bystander, but there are few more exciting sports to watch and coach than track & field. A coach must place his/her athletes in the best situations in order to get the best results.  Sometimes it feels as if it is this grand puzzle or board game you are playing that you have to do crazy things like tell a runner to go for third in order for them to have enough in the tank for another race further down the schedule; or even get a thrower to max out in one performance area in order to claim the most amount of points at the beginning so you are playing catch up at the end. It is almost like you are playing an athletic version of Risk. I know there have been times when I have entered runners as throwers and vice versa in an effort to win the most amount of points across the board. I've had this work and I've had this blow up in my face; this year I had a sprinter win the discus event and had a thrower compete in the 4 x 100m relay. Both were a great success, but that isn't always the case. Three years ago, I had a runner scratch from the 200m in order to run stronger in the 4 x 400m relay and we lost by half a point. All he would have had to do was run for 5th. And often times, you have to deal with injury by telling them to tape it up or ice it down and get to the starting line and other times you have to tell them to have the caller scratch their name from the starting list and start the healing and move on.

     There is also something beautiful and emotional about track that is very hard to describe. There is beauty in the hurdler with perfect form, or the dance a thrower must do in order to release the disc at the perfect moment, or the passing of the baton and the hope of the three previous runners on to the last runner in a relay knowing that everything rides on their shoulders. There is emotion is watching a runner close their eyes and lean for the finish, or wait patiently behind the shoulder blades of another until the perfect time to attack, or watch a runner lay it all on the line and test the limits of themselves. Track is hard. Track sometimes takes years to payoff. Lessons are learned in track that can't or aren't learned elsewhere. It is as if in one small trip around an oval a person stare deep into themselves to see all that lies within themselves and find out who they really are all in the matter of 67 seconds. And there is such peace that overtakes one when they've dug deep enough inside to know there was nothing left to give and they find themselves basking in the light's reflection on the cool grass of the infield. It is track and it is nothing else, but it is so much more

The Normal Sequence of Events at a Middle School or a High School Track Meet:

1. Coaches Meeting/Scratch Meeting

2. 3200m Run

3. Shot Put/Discus

4. High Jump/Long Jump/Triple Jump

5. Pole Vault

6. 4 x 100m Relay (400m Relay)

7. 100/110 Hurdles

8. 100m

10. 1600m Run

10.  400m

11.  300m Hurdles

12.  800m Run

13. 200m 

14. 10 Min. Break

15. 4 x 400m Relay (1600m Relay)

Happy Running and Watch a track meet from as close as possible (USA Olympic Track Trials: Eugene, Oregon-June 21-July 6, 2012!)

David

There's Nothing To Do In This Town...2

• The Cherry Blossom Festival sadly is over. Mel and I were only able to do a couple of events, but as usual, the event lived up to its local and worldwide hype. And why wouldn't it? I have been meaning to post this, but it seems as of late, my life appears to be a little close to hectic. So, read away and maybe you can plan on being apart of the festival next year.  

  Macon, Georgia calls itself the, "Cherry Blossom Capital of the United States". And each year for the last 30 years, it has held a festival in honor of these trees. In 1952, William A Fickling, Sr.,  discovered a Yoshino Cherry Tree in his backyard, which is very rare in Macon, and decided that one of his missions in life should be to plant as many of these said trees in his favorite town along with founding the largest reality company in the state of Georgia. By the year 1973, Fickling and many others had planted 500 trees all around the Macon area. And along with the help of the "Keep Macon-Bibb Beautiful Commission" began the now famous festival in 1982. It had very humble beginnings, but now is one of the Top 20 events in the South and in the Top 100 events in America. It began as a three day festival with 10 events to a ten day festival with somewhere near 500 events for all ages and activity levels.

  Instead of spending a lot of space writing about how much we here at HTH love the Cherry Blossom Festival, I've decided to list my top seven events. So, here they are:

   1. The Ocmulgee National Monument Lantern Tours: This is a one mile tour done at night and you get your own lantern. Read that last sentence again. You get your own lantern! The guided tour last about a half hour and it is awesome. You get a full history lesson and many historical anecdotes concerning the area and the monument. It is usually beautiful and it is so peaceful to sit on top of the largest mound and lookout over the city of Macon and know that people have been here for hundreds of years. There is something reassuring about that.

   2. The Cherry Blossom Road Race: This is a great race. It is a flat and fast course that is both exciting and challenging for beginners and veterans alike. There is a 5K, 10K, and a mile race for the kids. The race is only in its second year, but a race during the festival has legendary lore that goes with it. Macon used to have a half marathon and a full marathon that took place during the yearly festival. The races were last run in 2003 because the only people who were running it were those who wanted to brag that they finished because the course was so hard. They tried reviving some sort of race in 2009, but forgot how angry people get when they sign up for a 15K (9.3 miles) and end up running 11 miles. It died, but with the help of several determined Macon Tracksters, a race was born that has been a huge hit. I didn't get to run this year due to a track meet, but heard it was awesome. And who wouldn't run 3 miles for a chicken biscuit from Chic-fil-a?

  3. Tunes and Balloons: I could write several paragraphs about this alone, but I'll spare you. However, this just may be one of the coolest events that Mel and I have gone to while here in Macon. A neat, small portion of the Cherry Blossom Festival revolves around hot air balloons. On the first Saturday of festival, "Tunes and Balloons, is thrown and it is a celebration of hot air balloons, music, picnics, and the Cherry Blossom Festival.

  4. The Old Book Sale: For Melissa and myself, there are few things that beat an old book sale and this book sale doesn't disappoint. It is put on by the Middle Georgia Library System. They gather books for a year, divide them into their specific genres, and then for four days during the Cherry Blossom Festival, they sell them to you for nickles on the dollar as they say. We didn't get to go this year, but we went last year and spent $11 for 8 books, which is awesome considering a new book cost $15.

  5. Dixie Disc Dogs Championships/Central Georgia's Strongest Man: Jack and I practiced this since I walked away from this competition last year. Jack was ready to go. He had gotten it to where he could catch 5-7 throws out of 10 and we were ready to bring home a trophy. We then had to attend something, so we will have to wait till next year. This is held in Central City Park and it is the perfect spectator's event; especially if you have ADD. If you get bored watching dogs do tricks while catching Frisbees, then you can turn your head slightly and see the biggest, strongest men of Middle Georgia doing the craziest of feats. Last year, Mel and I watch them pull an R.V. and pick up concrete balls that weighed around 500 lbs. It was incredible.

  6. Third Street Park Festivities: I used to love this when I was in college, but haven't had a chance to attend these since we moved back to Macon, but Mel has let me know how things are. She said this year did not let you down. And how could it? Imagine free Coke, free Mayfield ice cream, and Spring weather. The folks from Coke, Mayfield, and from the Cherry Blossom Festival get together everyday from 11:30-1:00 everyday and hand out Coke and ice cream. And they usually have the people dipping the ice cream dressed like cherry blossoms which is a sight to behold. And this year, they upped the ante, the two bakeries in town baked thousands of cupcakes this year and added them to the spread.

  7. International Food Festival/Mulberry Street Art Festival: The Mulberry Street Art Festival is not exactly part of the Cherry Blossom Festival, but each year, it is held during the festival and is a great way to spend a Saturday or Sunday afternoon. Mel and I love to go and see the different displays and walk around with a fresh-squeezed lemonade and kettle corn. And as of late, we love the homemade soap. The International Food Festival used to be something to talk about,but over the last several years, locals have taken it over and just attempted to make food that originated from international places, but is cooked like they do it here. This year, Mel and I settled for a couple of corndogs and two lemonades.  

 

Make plans and get to the Cherry Blossom Festival next year,

  David

A Soapbox Session from a Closet Luddite

   I realize most of you do not come to this blog to read about the realities of life, but I feel the need to vent about several things. If you are in no mood to read a venting, then I apologize. The staff here at HTH will find more pleasant things to post about later. However, it seems I can't seem to let several items go and here they are:

  1. People who use their tech devices instead of grabbing the real thing.

      I know this sounds very vague, but let me explain. Last Tuesday, I was sitting at Bible study and we were flipping through several verses when I realized I was the only one using a tangible book. Everyone else was using their iPads and iPhones. I am sort of a Luddite....

I know, go ahead and throw the stones. But I understand this a little, but then Mel and I were sitting in church and we were the only two in a whole row that were using a tangible book to look up the verses and this is what gets me. People bring their iPads to places instead of a book, but they use it for the book, they cover it with the covers that look like a book, and they read from it like a book. What are they gaining? It isn't faster? It isn't cheaper? It isn't less of a hassle? They took the time to buy it, charge it, cover it, insure it, download the application, etc. But instead they could have just grabbed one book. I see this everywhere. It makes me go crazy. Maybe I just don't understand it. Why wouldn't you just want to grab the real thing instead of something that is "like" the real thing.

2. Instagram....

   For those of you who don't know, Instagram, is an application you can download that turns the pictures that you take on your phone and turns them into pictures that look like the old, over-exposed Polaroid pictures you have hidden at the bottom of your sock drawers. It just got purchased for 1 billion dollars: $1,000,000,000 by Facebook. That will be split 12 ways. But again, I don't really care about that, but I'm once again asking myself...if you want your pictures to look like old Polaroids, why don't you go make the real thing instead of trying to have something that is "like" the real thing.

 3. GPS (Global Positioning System)

   Lewis and Clark made it across the uncharted wilderness that would become the American Frontier without GPS. Magellan circumvented the entire globe without GPS. Columbus found his misguided way to the Caribbean without GPS. But in 2012, I know people who turn on their GPS devices to go places they go several times a week and know how to get to. I see people turning off their brains and listening to a voice and then doing whatever it says forgetting that companies pay Google, pay Garmin, pay etc to get you, the weary traveler to drive by their businesses. They forget they may take you way out of the way. They may not even take you where you punched in to go, but people still rely on them to go two blocks away to the place they've been driving for years. This makes me go crazy. 

4. People ignoring each other to find out what other people are doing.

   This may the saddest thing that I see too often and it really gets to me. I see people in groups where they could be together, could be experiencing the moment, could be binding together in community, could be living life with someone in a very tangible way, but instead they are living in someone else's moment and becoming exponentially less content with their lives and exponentially more lonely all while being surrounded by the people they chose to be with, but are completely ignoring them. This really gets to me when I see a couple on a date who spend an hour of time and a lot of money to go out with each other only to spend the time away from each other.

5. Wikipedia

   Wikipedia, is the free online encyclopedia. It is the brainchild of a group of men who thought how awesome would it be if all the smartest people in the world could have a place where they could constantly add to and update informational facts about any variety of topics. They forgot that if anyone can contribute, then some of those people would not be the brightest crayons and that some of those people who would contribute would be people with far-too much time on their hands. What we get is a place that comes up as the first item of any search engine full of "facts" added to and updated by any brain who had the time to sign in, type a sentence, and press update. As a teacher, this drives me to the end of insanity. I've had students hand in reports full of facts like: "Peru is the largest county in Asia.", "Solar power was invented by Isaac Newton in 1945.", and "John, the fourth book of the Gospels, is an account written by Paul." All of these "facts" many more can be traced right back to the wonders of Wikipedia.

Well, thanks for reading and that's enough for now. What drives you crazy about technology? I hope it is not people who have blogs were they talk about stuff that you don't care about.

David

  

Beatrice and Virgil--A Book Review



    I know that Yann Martel is a great writer. I know he writes with much more talent, ease, and skill than I do. I know he has sold millions of books all over the world. However, this offering from Martel, Beatrice & Virgil, left me with many more questions than answers, but the main one being, "What did I just waste my time reading?". I don't mean that in the harsh way it sounds, but I expected more. For those of you like me who really enjoyed reading. Life of Pi, you will understand that Martel can tell a fine story that begs rereading. However, this book is made of a much different cloth. Let me explain.

     Beatrice & Virgil is a story about many things, but it felt like it was a story about nothing. It begins with a writer of considerable fame publishing a book that garnered worldwide fame and recognition. The writer's name is Henry. He follows his success with major research and work towards a second book. This second book is about the Holocaust, but he decides to do it in an odd way. He writes a historical essay and a fictional story and puts them together in a flip book. Everyone from his editors, to his agent, to booksellers, to historians hate the book and reject every part of it. He feels he can't continue life as a writer after putting so much into something that turned out to be fruitless. So..he gives up writing, takes his new fame and money and moves he and his wife to a city that they have longed to live in. Once in this new city, he takes up his time with music lessons, acting, and working at an all-organic, fair-trade cafe. The only writing he does is correspondence to a few fans that write to him through his publishers. One of these letters is from a taxidermist, also named Henry, who begs Henry #1 for help writing a play about a donkey and a howler monkey. He decides to meet him and help him out after much soul-searching, several letters, and an odd short story about a child who kills animals for fun, but finds salvation through the speaking of an elk and then tries to save the very animals he once killed for fun. Henry #2 is an odd fellow to say the least. He is a taxidermist, doesn't want to let Henry #1 see his whole play,  is cold and distant, only really wants to meet at his shop, and creeps everyone out except Henry #1. The play he is trying to write is about a donkey named Beatrice and a howler monkey named Virgil. We find out through the story that they are actually characters sewn on a striped shirt and are witnesses to numerous crimes against the useless slaughtering of animals. However, the play has massive undertones that make Henry #1 feel the book is really about the Holocaust. They work on the play, but really to no avail. Henry #2 is hard-headed, doesn't listen to suggestions from Henry #1, is very creepy, and so many pages later, we find Henry #1 deciding to quit his helping. Many months go by, Henry #1 and wife have a baby. He continues his life of playing music, acting, and working. Then he receives a helpless letter from Henry #2 begging for more help and he decides against the wishes of his wife to help him. He meets him at his shop, he tells him to let me him read the whole play, so that they can really work on it. Henry #2 says no. They argue. Henry #1 sees Henry #2 as everyone else does for the first time. He realizes that Henry #2 is really some member of German society that helped in the atrocities of the Holocaust. Henry #1 calls him out on it. Henry #2 reacts and stabs Henry #1. Henry #1 flees after being stabbed several times. Henry #2 watches with an eerie glee as he flees in pain and then burns himself, the play, and the shop up. Henry recovers and decides to write again. End of story. I know, I know. Spoiler alert.

   Besides the confusion of keeping up with which Henry was doing what, trying to not tingle and shiver with Martel's need to thrust his intra-religious views into all stories, and not shiver from Henry #1's tolerant and oh' so current, progressive, and open-minded lifestyle, I found myself constantly asking and looking for the real story. Was it about the tortured soul of a writer who is afraid that his talent for writing has left him? Was it about the tortured soul of a taxidermist who hated his life and the atrocities of his youth and was trying to free himself by writing a play? Was it about the messed up world of publishing where only whatever is popular at the time gets access to publication and advertising? Or was it actually a fictional account of an experience that Martel went through because he did write a flip book about the Holocaust, it was rejected by his publishers, he did move he family to a remote part of Canada, and then took about eight years to write this current offering? I have been finished with this book for several weeks and I still don't know what it is about?

   Do you? Maybe, I'm just too shallow to get it. If you do know what is is about, leave me a comment. I'd love to read it and learn. 

Happy Reading,

   David