It is August 24, 2017 in Southern Indiana, good people, and there is a cool breeze under this table I am typing on at 6:55 PM and it feels unreal. The sky is clear and the humidity is nowhere to be found. Can I get an Amen? Amen!
I cherish these moments. Look, my pipes don’t belong in Southern Indiana. I know I have made mention of that before. When my dear wife, Carrie, and I go to the Northeast in the summer, and to the North Carolina shore we frequent multiple times a year, I am a happy man to find a different climate. Don’t talk to me about Colorado. Want some clean, thin air? Air found places in my lungs that I didn’t know existed in the two trips I have made to Denver. So yes, I cherish this weather. And I hope and pray the hurricane brewing in the Texas Gulf does not bring the rain totals I heard some chap quoting on the TV-news a while ago. 30 inches? I hope he misread his teleprompter. I have read one. It would not be hard to do.
The North Harrison Cougars head to Scottsburg tomorrow night. Though I will not make kickoff, I do plan on getting there. The last time the Cougars played the Warriors in Scottsburg was 1982. I was there too. NH has a solid team. They are a well disciplined team. The Lee Corso mantra of team discipline in the 1970s when he was coaching Indiana was to not beat yourself. No penalties. No turnovers. Keep the field position. NH is doing a good job of these things. Before I get to the game tomorrow night, I hope I can roll in a few putts.
My dear wife, Carrie, is learning. She just came in from grocery shopping and told me she had a present for me. She held up a package of four steaks that had been marked down and needed to be sold. I know what I will be doing on Saturday…grilling. Amen again.
Pastor Duke. My good friend Pastor Duke Lackey got reassigned from Faith Harbor United Methodist Church in Surf City, North Carolina to the North Raleigh United Methodist Church in, well, Raleigh, North Carolina. Pastor Duke and I went back and forth via email today. When Carrie and I were at the service at Faith Harbor in March during Spring Break, we did not know it would be one of his last messages there. I love the man.
Today I thought about him long and hard. He is such a wonderful speaker and a great guy. I sent him a message. We have gone back and forth with each other for many years. Carrie and I attend Faith Harbor every time we are in town. We will be there in October.
Here is what Pastor Duke sent me today:
Hello Dan,
Thank you so much for your kind words and I’m so thankful that our paths have crossed. One of the joys of serving Faith Harbor was being able to worship with people that visited the Island on a regular basis. I appreciate your support and kindness over the years.
North Raleigh is a very different world than Faith Harbor and I’m surrounded by some very good people. This is an exciting new adventure and challenge and I am thankful for the opportunity.
Enjoy the beach and enjoy Faith Harbor, a beautiful place to be!
Peace,
Duke
We need more Pastor Dukes.
Tonight Bob Seger plays in Toledo, Ohio to start what has been speculated as his last concert tour. This will be the first show of the tour. Right now the last scheduled show is set for November 4th at the Los Angeles Forum. Included is a stop next Saturday, September 2nd, at the Klipsch Music Center in Noblesville. Most of us still call the place Deer Creek. Carrie and I will be there. We saw Bob Seger in Louisville in 2006 and 2011. And, when I thought we would never see him again, we went to see him in his own back yard in 2013 at The Palace at Auburn Hills outside Detroit, Michigan. That was amazing. The Palace venue is anything but. Maybe when Isiah Thomas and Joe Dumars were pushing fast breaks it was a Palace…but it was not in 2013. The show…was royalty. Joe Walsh was the opening act. He walked out onstage and most of the house lights were still on. He meandered onstage…plugged in…looked at the crowd and asked “Well…are you ready?” And then broke into the most soulful version of “Walk Away” that you could ask for. He was amazing…then came Bob Seger. At Deer Creek next weekend Grand Funk Railroad is scheduled to open to Seger. Turn the page, I say.
I am having a hard time turning the page tonight. I am a bit numb. That may be the reason for this potpourri of a post tonight. I stopped being an employee of Medora Schools in the Spring of 2015. I have not stopped being friends with many of the co-workers I have forged close bonds with over the years and that will not stop any time soon. I was given some bad news about us losing a couple of souls we knew well. One was in the senior class of 2015, my last one there.
I want to think about so many other things. But I keep going back to the Medora gym. That is the place this old football player will always relate to the most, ironically, and for good reason.
Tell someone you love tonight that you love them.
It makes a difference.
Speaking the rights…
Danny Johnson