Saturday, December 6, 2008

Video clips from UCMVA Unity Awards

Kathy and I attended the 2008 UCMVA Unity Awards in New Orleans and videotaped some performances and award presentations for Grapevine Online Here are a few of the clips.

Matthew Baute


John Michael Talbot


Matt Maher


Kara Klein


Sharmane Adams


Jason Malachi

Thursday, October 2, 2008

BARL 5th Annual Celebrity Dinner

(copied from http://www.barl.net)

BARL Celebrity Dinner & Auction Set for October 14th

Come have a “purrfectly” wonderful evening at the Brookhaven Animal Rescue League’s (BARL) 5th Annual Celebrity Dinner. The event is set for 6:00 p.m. on Tuesday, October 14th at Rusty’s Family Restaurant.

The night consists of “howling” laughter as local “celebrities” wait tables for TIPS to support BARL’s animal programs. Costumes, singing, dancing and joking make for a fun-filled atmosphere which will feature a LIVE auction by auctioneer Jimmy Ray, owner of Mid-South Auto Auctions.

“This is our first LIVE auction. In the past, we’ve always had silent auctions, but we thought this would be a lot more fun and entertaining and we hear that auctioneer Jimmy Ray does a great job,” said BARL volunteer, Beth Adcock.

Just a few of the items that will be up for bid include a Bird Hunt at Millbrook Plantation donated by Dr. Ed Carruth; Weekend at Florida Condo donated by Rep. Bobby Moak; 2 Pickup loads of Mulch donated by Phillips Bark; 1 Hour Consultation donated by Legg Landscaping; Child’s Birthday Party for 8-10 donated by Patria Coggin; Simple Will donated by Boerner Law; Eye Exam donated by Dr. Jim Hall; Granite Name Plate for Desk donated by Brookhaven Monument; and Hand painted Dog Greeting Plaque for Door donated by Ann Jackson.

Tickets are $25 and may be purchased at Rusty’s Family Restaurant. The ticket guarantees you an evening of fun and a delicious Southern-Style dinner. All proceeds from the event benefit BARL.

A few of the “celebrity” waiters include Jimmy Allen, Assistant Vice-President/Mortgage Loan Officer - Bank of Franklin; Linda Covington, Owner – Brookhaven Honda Motorcycles; Representative Becky Currie, Mississippi House of Representatives; Gerard Faucheux, Manager, IT – Telapex, Inc; Dr. Mike Gowan, Brookhaven Animal Hospital; Chief Pap Henderson, Chief of Police - City of Brookhaven Police Department; Alvin Lyons, Manager - Cellular South; Rob McCreary, President - Brookhaven-Lincoln County Chamber of Commerce; Dr. Ronnie Nettles, President – Copiah-Lincoln Community College; Senator Cindy-Hyde Smith, Mississippi Senate; Terri Lynn Watkins, Circuit Clerk – Lincoln County; Dr. Bob Watson, Brookhaven Animal Hospital.

“The waiters are able to get pre-TIPS from anyone who can’t be at the event. People can still support BARL by tipping their favorite waiter in advance. TIPS can be dropped off at Rusty’s Family Restaurant or given directly to the waiter,” said Adcock.

Joanna Sproles from King’s Daughters Hospital will serve as mistress of ceremonies.

“Last year Joanna was dressed in full 70’s costume complete with a huge black wig and yellow Go-Go boots. She does a fabulous job as MC,” said Adcock.

A few of this year’s event sponsors include “Top Dog” sponsors Animal Medical Center, Bank of Franklin, Lu and Mike Becker, Brookhaven Animal Hospital and Rusty’s Family Restaurant. “Pick of the Litter” sponsors include Joyce Asken Realty, McGehee McGehee and Torrey and W.H. Tyson’s and Sons.



Well, that's the official info taken from the BARL website.

This will be my 4th year to be a waiter and I have written a song each year.

2005 BARL (to the tune of YMCA) Lyrics mp3

2006 Thank God, I'm a BARL Dog Lyrics mp3

2007 Rescue League Blues Lyrics mp3

And now.... presenting the 2008 BARL Celebrity Dinner song....

2008 Take Me Home Lyrics mp3

Sunday, September 7, 2008

Sometimes it really is THAT simple...

After years of working in IT, having faced many troubleshooting episodes, I've developed a way of quickly solving problems. One of the things to remember is to not overlook the obvious or most simple solution in favor of a more complex one. Well... you would think that with all of this experience that it would carry over into other areas of life, right? Guess not. Guess I turn off the brain after 5pm on Friday...

When Gustav blew through, bringing some (unofficial) 20 inches of rain, which caused our normally dry creek to turn into a raging river that even overflowed its banks into our yard, our yard remained a little soggy.
High water after Hurricane Gustav


Since we're out in the country, we are on a septic tank system. When the water in the tub stopped draining, I jumped to the conclusion that our drain field was too wet, causing the tank to be full. So, in preparation for calling a pump truck out, I started to dig to find the access hole on the tank. About 30 minutes later, I tried to call the retired plumber that originally hooked up our house to the tank, but he didn't answer. So, I decided to Google this problem. I found some web sites that explained this problem of excess water causing the types of problems that I was having. The sites recommended against pumping, so we just decided that we would limit water usage until the water went down. What fun... No baths -- short showers only -- not letting the water down the drain. I even siphoned out the bathtub in the kids bathroom! Also, limited flushing! The boys were already back to nature.

Well, the plumber returned home, saw my name/number on caller id, and returned my call. It was after 6pm and already starting to get dark, so I figured, since this was Saturday, that he wouldn't be able to come until Monday. To my surprise, he said "I need to come help my friend if he can't flush!" So, about 20 minutes later, he was in my yard, running his snake down our drain pipe. Maybe 5 minutes later, the clog was cleared and we were back in business!

Yep -- simply just a blockage at the T in the tank. No digging and no pumping required!

When will I learn????

Saturday, September 6, 2008

After Hurricane Gustav


On September 1, 2008, Hurricane Gustav hit south Louisiana, missing New Orleans, but causing lots of damage starting about 30 miles west of NO. My parents' house is in Grand Point, St. James Parish, and as these pictures show, there was significant wind damage to this area.

I drove my mom down on September 5 to clean out the refrigerator and freezer, since they were still without electricity. FORTUNATELY, two of her friends stopped what they were doing and came over to lend a hand. THANK YOU! to Mrs. Kathleen and Mrs. Debbie! I am SO glad that you came!