Thanksgiving

Every time I see or hear that word, I think back to rocking my boys when they were babies and we rock them to music.  Often, it was Jimmy Buffett’s Ballads, Linda Rondstadt’s Lullaby, or Harry Chapin’s Gold Medal Collection.  The Gold Medal Collection also included clips of interviews with Harry.  As you may know, he was very involved with hunger issues, etc.  One clip in particular started with Harry yelling “THANKSGIVNG!” before going on to explain how he wished schools would focus on feeding the needy year round, not just at Thanksgiving.  That would always come on and give the boys a startle and often wake me, as well.

Sorry for the digression.  I do feel obligated since I blog to post one for Thanksgiving waxing poetic about what I am thankful for.  I will go ahead and tell you that I am thankful for a loving beautiful wife (I know I married up), two great boys, a great new job, great friends, and God’s mercy.  Now that those obvious ones are out of the way, there are a few slightly off-the-wall ones that I have.  I am thankful for:

• The person who came up with the “Right on Red After Stop” rule.
• The fact that the Bellevue Pub was packed on January 15, 1993 and there wasn’t a parking spot.
• That second trip through the charcoal in Lynchburg.
• Fredrick Banting for discovering that particular hormone which has a unique smell and regulates blood sugar.
• The fact that Alex Van Halen had to deliver papers so he could pay for his guitar.  This enabled Eddie to pick up said guitar while Alex was gone.  The rest is history.
• A community who doesn’t wait for government to act.
• A place called the Fillin’ Station where everyone knows my name.
• A great group of ladies at JDRF – Middle Tennessee who are working for my Kyle and millions of others.
• A coffee shop named The Red Tree whose owners have hearts of gold.
• A company that not only allows me to perform charitable work, but encourages it.
• The ability to download just one song on iTunes vs. buying a CD for that one song.
• That I was able to get tickets to the Jimmy Buffett benefit for W.O. Smith School many moons ago.  Best show ever.
• That I have a decision to make on WHICH benefit plan I want at work.
• A company named HealthTrust, Inc. where I started my career.  Made lifelong friendships there.
• Martin Methodist College – a place where deep friendships were made and still exist today.
• Caller ID
• Neighbors who make life fun.
• Friends made through JDRF, but we all wish we never had to meet.
• The backup warning beep on my F-250.
• Microsoft Outlook’s Meeting Planner
• Rosa & Miguel and their smile, their food, their free chips and salsa, and their margaritas.
• A church known as the church that cares for its community.
• That the traffic light and lanes are repaired at the middle and high school.
• The fact that I am able to write this, post it, and that you can read it.

 Please feel free to add your own as a comment.

Zach, a very thankful Tennessee Squire

School Pride

Well, Kingston Springs Elementary had its 15 minutes of fame on Friday, October 29, 2010 when it was the subject of NBC’s School Pride (http://www.nbc.com/school-pride/episode-guide/season-1/48294/rising-from-the-flood/episode-103/52245/).  For those who don’t know, think Extreme Home Makeover for schools.  NBC chose Kingston Springs Elementary (KSES) because of the flooding we received back in May.  The school was under about 8 foot of water and everything in the school that wasn’t concrete was destroyed.  Both of my boys attended that school from K-4 and Momma Squire and I have numerous friends who work there or have children attend there.

I am not naïve enough to think that everything I see on TV is true nor do I believe everything I read on the Internet.    It was very interesting to see the show, how they portrayed our town, and wonder if who you could pick out on the TV.  Yes, there were viewing parties all over Kingston Springs that night.  Now, don’t get me wrong – I am very appreciative of what School Pride did for our school and our county.  Our county can’t fund the schools sufficiently to buy copy paper (another blog for another day), so I know that our county couldn’t have afforded to refurbish the school the way School Pride did it.  In fact, because we had insurance, the insurance proceeds were able to be used for basic items and donations from around the country and the School Pride project were able to outfit our school with items (think technology and creature comforts) that normally wouldn’t be available.  For that, I thank you, NBC. 

But, I love it when media or music folks “pull back the curtain” and tell or show us how things really happen.  Well, here is my chance to “pull back the curtain” on some things.  None are really bad, but mostly attributed to staging, etc.   Basically, the folks on the show are a muscle-bound dude, nerd dude, big black comic lady, and a former Miss America. 

Momma Squire, the eldest offspring, and I volunteered during the week the “build” was occurring and here are some tidbits from ”behind the curtain".

• The show opened with the team driving to KSES and Kingston Springs for the first time.  Well, based upon the clip, they were about 1.5 miles past the school and driving away from it!  As the team was talking about the damage, they showed clips of River Plantation damage in Bellevue – 10 miles away .
• The team had a huge countdown to start the clock ticking from seven days.  The problem was that the clock start was filmed in June at the announcement and the build was in late July.
• They showed and promoted that Lady Antebellum performed a concert for the school on the reveal day.  Well, only Axel Rose would count it as a concert. They played one song and then did a second take of the same song.
• During the week of the build, we “had” a huge bake sale in the city park to raise money for the build.  Well, we down there in the 100 degree heat to watch brownies melting.  They filmed the bake sale, even having the sale change its time to accommodate their filming schedule.  They had the teachers play in the splash pad with a local photographer taking their pictures to hang in the teacher’s lounge.  None of this made the show.  None.  Notta.  Zip point squat.
• Kingston Springs overwhelmed these folks with our volunteer spirit.  They actually cut-off the volunteer sign up.  There were over 1,500 folks who came out and volunteered the week of the build.  I had a problem with the fact that they showed the team “working” and not any of the volunteers working.  The team would trot out, film a scene, and then go back into the RV (donated by a local resident). 
• The show also leveraged local businesses into donating items such as landscaping, sound system and then when asked for a free plug – they were told that $100k got them on the banner and much more would get them a shot during the show.
• Speaking of shots on the show – here is my favorite blooper.  We have a coffee shop (www.redtreecoffee.com) run by two sisters, Amy and Katie.  These ladies served as the volunteer deployment center immediately after the flood – well before the various governmental agencies responded.  The School Pride team decided to profile the coffee shop and sisters for all their hard work.  Well, Nerd guy jumps in his car, pushes the OnStar button and asks for turn-by-turn directions to Red Tree Coffee.  Don’t need that GPS feature.  Turn left out of school, go maybe a mile and the shop is on your left.  Right after that, the OnStar commercial came on.

There you have it.  That is your behind the scenes look at a reality show.  I am very very grateful to School Pride and what they did for our elementary school and our community.  Speaking for that, sales tax collections for the month of July were over budget.  Thanks – our city and county needed that.  I just wanted to shed a little light on the subject.

Zach, A School Pride volunteer and a Tennessee Squire

Only Children

I bet your mind immediately went to a visual of a screaming, kicking child who wasn’t getting his way and was having a “come-apart.”  Right?  Well, this entry isn’t about that, but we will explore the deep complexities associated with folks who are only children.

Hi, my name is Zach.  I am a Tennessee Squire and an only child.  There, I said it.  Some maybe saying “Oh, that explains it!” or “Wow, he is very well adjusted socially to be an only child.”  Put your seat belt on because here comes another revelation – I am an only of two onlies.   Yep – Mom is an only and so is Dad.  No aunts.  No uncles.  No cousins.  Family reunions could be held in a Mini-Cooper.  I give you this background because Momma Squire and I had a discussion the other day concerning kids being at the house that weren’t our offspring.  So, I thought it would be a great public service for me to share some insights into only children and how we think.  Maybe this is worth what you paid for it or maybe it will be a revelation that will help you break through those relationship issues with your only child spouse or it will give you something to read while you are eating lunch.  Bet you thought I was going to say reading while in the bathroom, but (are you really coordinated enough to carry a laptop in there with you? (for typing ease, I will use OC)

Only Child Time - OC’s are used to being by ourselves.  We typically think it is ok to eat alone in a restaurant.  We grew up alone and have grown to like having solitary time.  Most OC’s require a certain amount of alone time each day.  Mine is early in the morning from 5:00 until it is time for the rest of the family to wake up.  This is why we get grumpy on holiday trips or vacations when there are people around us 24/7.  It is also why we will disappear during family events, weddings, etc. and our spouses will find us on the back porch or in the car.

Inappropriate Games – Please think before purchasing a game for an OC.  No, I’m not talking about Halo or Grand Theft Auto.   I am talking about two person games.  I remember receiving Candyland as a present one year – Yes, Mom was a stay-at-home Mom, but really?  Who would sit and play Candyland with me?

I also got a croquet set.  Really?  You think I would set up the hoops, sticks, and then go around the yard banging a ball with a mallet?

I also got Yard Darts (Yarts!) one year.  Use some common sense people and I’m not talking about stabbing myself in the temple with one.  That would be hard for an only child to do.  Wait – maybe.  Yarts could be only for only children; but I would get tired of throwing them and then having to fetch them since no one was there to return them.   Having these multi-player games actually make only children more creative.  We had to figure out how to play them or change the rules so we could enjoy them.

Touching my things – Yes, we have issues with people touching our things.  I really don’t think it has to do with selfishness.  It has to do with location.  If you touch my things or play with my things, it won’t be where it was the next time I want it.  That’s why I don’t let people read my newspaper before I do.  You will probably turn it inside out, get it out of order, or the worse thing – when it is time to read the next session (yes, I have a particular order), you will have that section.  This is where the discussion with Momma Squire centered the other day.  She asked me whether I ever had folks over to spend the night with me when I was a kid.  My response – “No, because they would touch my things.” 

Hopefully these points will help you understand OC’s.  We really aren’t bad – just misunderstood.

Zach, A Tennessee Squire and an Only Child

How Did It Get Around - carrier pigeon?

Talking with my old college roomie about his son getting a car (YIKES!) reminded me of a couple of stories from my youth.

The first involves a brand new Trans Am or Camaro that someone bought from the police department for $500.  The story behind the car was that someone was driving it and it left the road and ended up in a field.  The driver died, but wasn't found for several months.  As a result, there was a smell in the car that wouldn't come out, thus the cheap price.

The second story involved Rod Stewart and having to have his stomach pumped after falling ill during a show.  For decency's sake, I won't mention what was pumped, but safe to say, it wasn't Krystals.

When I left my small town (Waverly) for college, I started meeting people from other areas and states.  Through conversations (how, I don't know), these two stories popped up over time.  Ironically, several people indicated they had heard these stories as well.  While the details may have differed - some indicated it was a Mustang that was wrecked and the amount of "substance" pumped from Mr. Stewart varied from a pint to 2 quarts; the gist of the stories was the same.

So, what is so big about these stories?  Well, for those of you who have always had a cell phone, computer, or access to the Internet, you may assume these stories started in a single location and went viral in the Internet and e-mail worlds, Well, you are wrong.  The only methods of communication we, as teens, had were actual conversations (weird huh), wired telephones hanging on the wall in our parents' kitchen, and letters that were written out and given to the US Postal system to deliver. 

So how did these stories make the rounds?  I seriously doubt anyone wrote about these or called out-of-state friends/family.  These weren't in the Star or National Enquirer rags.  Could there be some margin of truth?  Who knows?

Have any of you heard of these? 

Zach, A Tennessee Squire

It all comes back.....

Saw this story today in the Tennessean and it brought back flood memories - http://www.tennessean.com/article/20100927/NEWS01/9270326/Body-of-Nashville-flood-victim-found-family-says 

I can't imagine what that family has been through.   In case you missed it, here is my take on the May floods:

http://squireponderings.blogspot.com/2010/05/wow-this-might-get-bad.html

Zach, A Tennessee Squire

Serendipity

The ever handy Wikipedia defines serendipity as “propensity for making fortuitous discoveries while looking for something unrelated.” I have always interpreted it as “something cool happening when you aren’t really expecting it.” This happened to me back in May as I was waiting for a flight in D.C. My flight home was scheduled to depart Reagan National at 8:40 a.m., but it actually left @ 12:30. Needless to say, I had some time to kill. Boy, am I glad I did.

I heard an announcement in the concourse to go to a particular gate to welcome the honor flight. What is an honor flight? In short, they are flights that transport World War II vets from across the country to Washington D.C. to tour the WWII memorial. Information about the honor flight can be found at http://www.honorflight.org/.

What a sight. The airport fire department provided a water cannon arch for the plane as it taxied to the gate; the “airplane parkers” used American flags instead of the orange sticks, any military person in the concourse lined up, strangers lined up in the concourse, and the West Point alumni glee club was there to sing those good ole patriotic songs.

As these guys deplaned (challenge you not to think of Fantasy Island), all in the concourse started applauding and the glee club started singing. Some were in wheelchairs, some had walkers, some canes, and some walked without any aid. Everyone single one of them walked or strolled with their head held high and proud.

If someone had said to me, “Come out to the airport today and let’s salute these guys”, I probably would have had something to do; but I can honestly say that I am glad my flight was delayed so I could see this event. Maybe you, too can have a serendipity moment as cool as this.

Zach, A Tennessee Squire

A Tale of Three Zach's, or Zak or Zack

One of my volunteer activities with the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF) is volunteering as a cyber-volunteer with the Online Diabetes Support Team (ODST). Members of the ODST answer questions posed by people via the JDRF website (www.jdrf.org). The questions range from detailed questions about diabetes and school to general about how to cope with a newly diagnosed child.

When my youngest son, Kyle, was diagnosed with Type I diabetes at the age of 18 months old, our world was rocked. There wasn’t an ODST to turn to or an organized outreach effort. Besides JDRF, one of the places I turned to was a website tailored to parents of kids with Type I (www.childrenwithdiabetes.com). One of the features of this site (CwD) is an e-mail group of parents. These e-mails deal with support, gripes, fundraisers, etc. I really don’t get too involved by posting to the group, but I read the e-mails that come across.

Now that you have that background, here is the story. I received an ODST request from a newly diagnosed family in South Africa wondering about online support groups. Since JDRF doesn’t have a chapter in South Africa, I referred the father (Zack - #1) to JDRF’s social networking site – www.juvenation.org. About a week later, I was reading the CwD e-mails and someone indicated that they couldn’t make a fundraiser due to the distance. As I looked at their sign-off, I first noticed they had a son named Zak (#2) and that they were in South Africa. They also were “experienced” Type I parents meaning that their loved one was diagnosed a few years ago. The light bulb went off immediately. I asked them if they would mind if I shared their contact information with the newly diagnosed family. Of course, they said “no problem”; so I did share the contact information. About a week later, I got an e-mail from the newly diagnosed family indicating that contact was made and they were even able to meet at the doctor’s office.

Hard to believe that this Zach (#3), sitting in Kingston Springs, TN could hook up two people in South Africa.

Zach, A Tennessee Squire