Mr. Telephone Man!

We have been looking for the perfect accent piece to go on the little circle top table that I refinished a few months ago.  You may remember that my wife wanted to keep it and wouldn't let me increase my bottom line profits by selling it for a song!  We had a few ideas for how we wanted to decorate it, but my wife kept saying that she wanted an old antique phone.  We started looking and have not had much luck.  You can find phones alright, but the prices on those things are outrageous!

I asked my friend Jeff to be on the lookout for an old phone as he bought estates to sell in his shop. I stopped for a visit the other day, as well as to drop off another table for him to sell for me, and he said he found something that might interest me.  Take a look at this...

Isn't it so cute with all of its little butterflies??  This is actually a real phone, even though it does not look like much.  Well those of you who know me know that that will soon change.

I got out the trusty sander and got rid of the old paint and butterfly stickers.  We are now ready for a new paint job!

I started with the switch.  It got a nice coat of gold paint.  It will look nice against the gloss black that I have chosen for the body of the phone.

The ear piece got the first coat of black paint

protecting the gold

First coat applied

The finished product

It was fun bringing the old phone back to life.  It now sits in our living room on the circle top table.  I have to keep myself from picking it up, clicking the receiver and asking for Sarah to connect me with the Sheriff up in Mt. Pilot. (Andy Griffith reference for those uneducated souls out there). :)

Have a great day!

My MVP and World Cup Champ 2012

Growing up in South Georgia did not give me an opportunity to play the game of soccer.  The only thing a soccer ball was used for was to maybe play a game of kick ball.  We played a few games when I got into high school in order to meet certain PE requirements sent down from a governing body somewhere, but that was about it. 

It wasn't until I got to college that I was really introduced to the game.  My fraternity brothers were players, and I mean real good players.  Most of the guys were from Atlanta where soccer had been popular for quite some time.  Our fraternity won the Georgia Southern Intramural Championship 3 times while I was in school.  I got to see some good soccer and learned how the game was played.

Fast forward to today and soccer has spread everywhere.  We even have it here in South Georgia where football is king, but soccer is growing.  My son is a soccer kid.  He has been playing since he was 5 years old.  He loves it.  In fact, as much as it pains me to say this, he likes it better than baseball or any other sport.  He's pretty good too!  He just finished soccer camp this week and his team won the World Cup tournament and Reid finished with the most MVP awards in his group.  I'm actually looking forward to soccer season so we can see how well he does against older competition.  He will be playing as a 9 year old this fall in a league that has ages 9-12.  Let's get 'em!

Reid in the middle about to take a pass and score one of his 3 goals in this game

World Cup Winners

4 good buddies- Cole, Taylor, Drew and Reid

2012 Soccer Camp

Reid and Coach Nic

An Awesome group of coaches!

Thanks to Challenger Sports for providing us with excellent coaches and for conducting a great camp here in Fitzgerald.  These kids have learned a lot this week that this Dad/Coach could never have taught them.  Here's hoping that Reid will take his love for this game and develop it into something that he can play at a high level for years to come.

Congrats son!  I am proud of you!

Sad, but Good Day!

A large group of some very excellent guys gathered today to honor our brother Shoun.  Although it was a sad day for all of us, it was really good that we could all share in this together.  These brothers really are the meaning of...

Not for an hour, a day or a college term only, but a Kappa Sigma is for life!!

I got to see some guys that I haven't seen in a long time, including my little brother Joe C and his beautiful family.  They were on their way home to Florida from a vacation in the North Carolina Mountains.  I have not seen him in almost 10 years. 

Almost 30 of Shoun's brothers made the trip today.  Most of them are seen in the picture above.  Thanks for being true brothers guys.  Let's get together in happier times real soon!

AEKDB

Luckie

Wacky Wednesday 2012 Soccer Camp!

Reid is in soccer camp this week!  This is his third year in the Challenger Sports British Soccer Program.  To say that he has improved because of this camp is an understatement.  This camp has taught him a lot about soccer that I could not possibly teach him.  I know little to nothing about the game.  He has been doing well this week and scored 6, yes 6, goals in one of his matches yesterday.  I am very proud of him.

The coaches make it very fun for the kids and Wednesday is "Wacky Wednesday".  The picture above was Reid's hair style last year.  He wanted the same "do" for this year, but we let his hair get a little too long for it to stand up, so we went with this....

Kind of looks like Gene Simmons on a bad hair day! 

Have fun son and don't get use to this hair style!!

Brothers!

I have written several times before about my fraternity days back at good ole' Georgia Southern.  Like many of you, I had a great time in college and made some excellent friends.  I still keep up with some of my fraternity brothers and talk to some of them when I get time to call, but I will be the first to admit that we do not talk often enough.  Life can get in the way of relationships with old college buddies.  You go in different directions, start a career, get married, chase kids, etc, etc, etc.  Sure you see each other at reunions every 5 years or the occasional homecoming game in Statesboro, but on days like today, that really just does not seem good enough.

I lost a brother today.  Shoun was a great guy, Kappa Sigma brother and friend.  I can easily say that he was one of my favorites.  He was coming into the fraternity as I was on my way out, but we had a good relationship and I tried to pass on what I knew about being a good Kappa Sigma brother.  He was always willing to listen.  He died today much too young.  A victim of a massive heart attack.  I haven't spoken to him in 3 years.  Now I wish I had.

Shoun in blue shirt directly behind me at our 40th reunion 3 years ago

Shoun is the third brother that we have lost out of a group of guys that joined the fraternity between 1990 and 1995.  All dead under the age of 40.  Life reminds us that it is too short.  We all need to slow down and make a phone call or two.  We need to make time to catch up with those friends in our lives who have had an impact or the friends in our lives that we love even though we do not get to see them very often.  I know that what has happened today will have an effect on me and I am going to try and spin it in a positive manner.  I am going to try and call my brothers more often or make an effort to see them.  I don't want to hear that another one of my brothers has left us and be sitting here wishing I had told him what he meant to me.  I called 6 of them today.  It's only a start.

Thorn- far left- RIP AEKDB

Hicks- far left- RIP AEKDB

To all my brothers in the Kappa Zeta Chapter of the Kappa Sigma Fraternity at Georgia Southern University,

 AEKDB!!    I love you guys!

Luckie