The Faux-Olympics

Hi:

I have really enjoied watching the Olympics. Generally, I catch a little of it, but this year I have caught quite a bit. The games have been a lot of fun, and I have seen some great performances.

Last night during the Beach Volleyball Final, the Chinese team took a medical timeout when they were losing. The announcers indicated that this was not the first time that the Chinese team had used a medical time out to slow down the match, and that they were known for that. They said that the lady from China may be hurt, or she may not. I did not see any evidence that she was hurt before or after that time. I believe that she was losing and was faking in order to stall and slow down the Americans. The best part...it did not work.

In my opinion, that was the latest example of how the Chinese have lied and cheated their way through the games.

No one seems to be very concerned about the fact that they have put on fake performances in the ceremonies, treated their people horribly, and outright lied about the ages of their Gold Medal winning gymnasts, in the face of damming evidence. I, however, am concerned. This is why the victories by Nastia Lukin and Shawn Johnson are the greatest story out of the Olympics. Down get me wrong, Michael Phelps is AWESOME, and he belongs in the ranks of Michael Jordan and Tiger Woods. However, the USA feamle gymnasts won their medals while competing against blatant cheating. The other team (China) had an illegal and unfair advantage, and still got defeated in those events. Winning in that situation is the pinnacle of the Olympic Spirit.

Congrats Ladies!!


Finally, someone at ESPN has acknowledged what is going on.

Read his article here for a good list of the things perpetrated by China: http://sports.espn.go.com/espnmag/story?id=3542649

It is sad that a host country has to act this way, I am just glad someone has the guts to say so.

-Cliff

What if Willy Wonka was not about Chocolate?

I'm just saying...what if???




:)


-Cliff

I Have a First Grader

Yes...your eyes do not deceive you. Hannah started first grade today. I do not know about her first day of first grade went, but I will always remember mine. I will remember, because I have a scar to remind me. I am not getting all emo, I seriously have a physical scar. It is on my left hand.

You see, I was a teacher's kid. When you are a teacher's kid you have to hang out after everyone else goes home and wait for your mom (or Dad) to finish so you can go home.

I was playing with Lee Clamp (check his blog out to the right). Besides being my best friend, his mom was also a teacher at the elementary school. So while waiting for our moms we playing hide and seek. He locked me out of his mother's classroom and I knocked on the door, and then I knocked on the glass. When I knocked on the glass in the door, I knocked too hard. My hand went right through the glass. At first, I thought I was pretty cool. Then I turned my hand over.....

BLOOD!!!!! EVERYWHERE!!! I FREAKED!!!!

And then four stitches later...

I had a permanent memento of my first day of first grade.

Thankfully Hannah just had a regular day.

-Cliff

34 Words

Having just turned 34, I became inspired to write poetry. Now I have been inspired to write before (songs mostly), but never a poem.

Now this does not rhyme, nor is it in any discernible meter.

The concept: Tell my story in the number of words to match my years.

:34 Words:

:Gary, Dean:

:Allendale Hospital, Williston, Clemson, Cape Cod, Barnwell, Lima, Lebanon, McMinnville, Murfreesboro, Johnson City, Atlanta:

:MetoKote, Magnetek, Siemens, AT&T:

:First Baptist, Sweetwater, Lima Community, Bellaire, Grace Fellowship, North Point:

:Mary, Hannah, Emily, Love:

Ewok Gospel

Check this out, it includes the Real Billy D. Williams as a preacher....

Everybody now ....EEEEEwoks whoa EEEwoks

:)



-Cliff

Staycation Atlanta - Part 4: Zoo Atlanta and the Georgia Aquarium

As we wound down the Staycation, we focused on animals

On Thursday we went to Zoo Atlanta

Here is Hannah making a monkey of herself :)




Giraffes!!!!!





Emily made friends with the pigs in the petting zoo (she also scolded them for being "not nice" to each other).




Happy Sisters





On Friday we took some friends to the Georgia Aquarium:

Here are the girls with some of the fish



Where do we need to go next????




In closing, the Staycation was a great experiment, and it was great to fly by the seat of our pant for a week with no real agenda, except what we came up with the night before. I guess the lesson is that you do not have to go somewhere far away (even thought that is fun) to have a great week. What matters is who you are with. I have had so many people say to me "I have lived here in Atlanta for years, andI have not done half of this stuff." Remember to always take a look around and find the fun around you, no matter where you are.

-Cliff

Staycation Atlanta - Part 3: Aquatic Center and Food For the Week

On Wednesday, we had a lazy morning, and then went to the Gwinette Aquatic Center for the afternoon. This is a place that just opened up this summer. It has instructional pools, lap pools, and a great outdoor facility with two big water slides, a lazy river, and a kids place with smaller slides and water pouring out everywhere.

Only one pic for this one - I am taking the girls through the lazy river:




Another part of this week has been the food. I try very hard not to be a "Let's just grab something from the snack bar" guy. To me, the food is a part of the experience. To that end we have had some great food this week. I can recommend several places to visit if you are in town:

• Mary Mac's Tea Room: The BEST restaurant southern food ever. I cannot say enough good about this place
  
• The Varsity: It's the Varsity. If you don't know about it, throw a rock and you will find someone who does.
• Fresh Air Bar-B-Que: This joint is in Athens, GA, and is a great Bar-B-Que place. Good pork and ribs as well as great Brunswick Stew. If you are Athens, check it out.
• Steamhouse Lounge: I have a long and storied history with this place. Back in 1997, I came down to Atlanta from OH for the Peach Bowl. We ate seafood at the Steamhouse, and I discovered their Lobster Bisque (I call it Liquid Gold). At the time, it was in Buckhead. Over the years, I came back to Atlanta on business several times, and would visit the Steamhouse every opportunity that I got. Therefore, when we actually moved to Atlanta, I was pumped that I was finally close to the restaurant. When we drove past it the first time, I discovered that it was a crater, LITERALLY. The place, and everything around it had been torn down. I heard that they gave the Bisque recipie to Fontaine's Oyster House in the Virgina Highlands area of Atlanta. I visited Fontaine's and found that the Bisque was in fact the same. This morning, I decided that I wanted to take the familly to Fontaine's for lunch. In the process of looking for it online, i discovered that the STEAMHOUSE LOUNGE HAS REOPENED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Now it is in Midtown. So that is where we went for lunch. One cup of Lobster Bisque, a Lobster Roll, and a Stella Artois later, I was a happy guy. The Steamhouse lives...balance is restored to the universe.

I will have more memories from the Staycation over the next few days.

-Cliff