Labor Day

Happy Labor Day!  Hope everyone is enjoying the long weekend!  I know we are!

KJ had a scrimmage on Friday at home.  She's playing SO good!  Her serves are solid and she's been setting.  She's still fighting the setter position but Cosmo and I keep telling her it's the perfect position for her -- she knows what she's doing on the court, she controls the action and she sets very, very well.  I don't know what her problem is.  She is loving high school life and it was so weird to see her doing some Damascus chants and cheers during the Varsity game.  Anyway, she played awesome and a couple of her friends came to see her play and then they went to the football scrimmage while Cosmo and I went out to dinner at Laurienzo's.  I luv, luv, luv their lobster ravioli!  http://www.laurienzobrickovencafe.com/

KJ's friend slept over Friday night and my parents arrived Saturday afternoon in plenty of time to watch the Alabama game.  Cosmo's niece and her husband came over (FSU fans/alumni) and my cousin and her husband joined us as well (Penn State fans/alumni).  I was hoping we could set up the TV poolside but it was quite humid and it looked like it might rain.  I swear, I love having people over.  The more the merrier.  Sunday's weather cooperated and we spent the entire day in the pool.  The.  Entire.  Day.  We only got out of the pool to eat (and bathroom breaks!!).

Today Cosmo, KJ and my parents are at the Spy Musuem in DC.  http://www.spymuseum.org/
I decided to stay home and get some stuff done to get ready for the week ahead.  I have a bunch of pool towels to throw in the wash and just need to chill for a bit.  The sun is shining today so I'll probably lay at the pool and catch up on my magazines.

Road Trippin'

I drove up to Pennsylvania this weekend to celebrate my cousin's upcoming wedding.  So fun to be able to participate and actually be a member of my family again!

I drove up to my brother's Friday afternoon and had a great trip.  I stopped at Bucknell University on my way up to get a volleyball t-shirt for KJ.  The last time we drove thru there was early morning and the book store wasn't open yet.  It was a gorgeous afternoon and downtown was poppin'.  There is just something about a college campus in the Fall! 

Saturday morning The Niece and I headed out to the shower hosted by one of our family friend's. It was wonderful for me to see my aunts and cousins!  After the surgery we visited with my Uncle who is recovering from surgery and then Little Miss C and I drove to her church for a fundraising dinner and spent some time with my aunt and uncle and two cousins. 

I headed home Sunday morning and was in my driveway by 12:30 PM.  The drive is about 3 hours and 15 minutes and with the help of some CD's and XM radio, the trip just flies by.  I love the Classic Rewind station, the Classic Vinyl station, Hair Nation, the 70s, the 80s and the 90's.  Sunday's weather was in the mid-60's and I had the sunroof open for most of the drive. 

At one of the traffic lights some students were asking for donations for Penn State's "Thon."  I remember my brother always participating in Thon so I rolled down my window and put a couple of bills in the bucket.  The girl must have seen my "Ole Miss" license plate in the front of my car because she asked me, "Are you really from Mississippi?"  And I said, "My daughter is a sophomore there but my brother is a Penn State grad."  And as the light turned green she said, "Thank you and Hotty Toddy!!" and then all the other students started waving and clapping and shouted "Hotty Toddy!!"  It was pretty cool!  http://thon.org/

The Letter B

The "b" on my keyboard is sticking and it's super annoying!  You don't realize how much you use the letter B until you have to type Happy Birthday to a friend whose name starts with the letter B!

Having a great Saturday so far despite the weird weather / barometer changes giving me a bit of a migraine and a bloody nose.  So embarassing when that happens.  I feel like I'm having a seizure or some type of brain aneurysm. 

KJ's been keeping busy the last couple of days.  Wednesday she spent the night at GW's, Thursday her friend M invited her to the pool and she spent the night at her house and Friday she went to a b-day party and KandK spent the night at our house.  I took them home around noon today and then dropped  KJ off at another swim party.  I don't know what the going rate is for b-day parties anymore but we usually put a $20 in the card.  Is this appropriate for a 13 year old??

T and I had a nice night last night.  Poor thing was EXHAUSTED.  Getting up at 4 AM is tough but she does it with a smile on her face.  Who am I kidding?  I have no idea if she has a smile on her face.  I'm not up at 4 AM to check on her.  She really loves her internship and loves being a part of the Rick and Bubba show.  She's likes being in the studio and working the phones.  She says she feels so bad when people call up and ask for a shout-out and she has to tell them that Rick and Bubba just get too many requests for that kind of thing.  She's also been doing some work with the Sports Czars.  She went out with friends Wednesday night, worked at the lax store on Thursday, went to a concert with friends that night and had to be up at the studio by 5:20 AM on Friday.  She did a few things with the Czars after Rick and Bubba and then worked at the lax store helping with BamaLax orders.  She came home, took KJ to the twins house to get ready for the party and came home a took a nap.  We went out for Mexican and ended up staying in and watching a movie.  She picked up KJ and the girls and brought them all back to the house and is back up at the lax store today.  The kid is making bank and getting some wonderful experience to boot!  Next weekend she's got plans to visit some friends in Oxford. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5dEJC28lf-g&feature=share&list=UUTIcArcyyUota03AUK06waA

Earlier this week Cosmo booked KJ's flights to Baltimore.  She'll be gone almost 3 full weeks this summer.  She will spend some time with him in Baltimore, some time with my parents and brother in PA and she'll also attend Penn State Volleyball camp this summer.  When she comes home from PSU camp, she'll attend UAB Volleyball camp with her 8th grade middle school team.  Just need to keep that kid busy and out of trouble and we'll be just fine. 

Joe & Sue

http://www.pennlive.com/midstate/index.ssf/2012/01/mourners_remember_joe_paternos.html

Joe

So it's with a heavy, heavy heart I write this post. While I am not excusing or condoning what has happened at Penn State, I am just offering up my opinion and my take on how this went down. Venting if you will.

I am very, very disappointed in the way the Paterno situation was handled. I think it was terribly disrespectful to a man who has given his life to that school, its students and its football program. Notice I put school and students before the football program. Having just returned from a visit to State College in October that's fresh in my mind, I can tell you Joe & his wife Sue are positively beloved and have made many contributions to academic life at Penn State.**

It's so easy for people to post their opinion on Facebook and Twitter and play Monday morning quarterback. How easy to say "he should have done more" or "Paterno should have done this or that." So easy to pass judgement. If he wasn't Joe Paterno, there would be no controversy. No discussion. If this happened at a low-profile school, it probably wouldn't even have come to light. There might have been a blurb about it on Sports Center but that would have been it. Joe Paterno is the most famous name associated with this disgrace, therefore he's garnering most of the attention and speculation. I mean, c'mon! This is Penn State we're talking about! This is the winningest coach in history. This is salacious. This is fodder for the sensationalized media outlets we've all come to know and love. Nancy Grace must be having a field day with this. Remember how she was one of the first news broadcasters to condemn the Duke lacrosse players way back in 2006? Once they were acquitted did she ever publicly apologize for maligning their character? Yeah. I didn't think so.

People are forgetting that Joe Paterno is from a different generation. A generation that didn't talk about their feelings or problems. There was no Prozac or Zoloft. There was no hugging it out and kumbya moments (case in point: my grandfather was a WWII POW, escaped from a German camp and, according to my father, rarely, if ever, spoke about it). Paterno was between a rock and a hard place. Sandusky worked for him for years. They had to have been friends or co-workers at the very least. McCreary witnessed something, went home and told his dad and went to Paterno the next day. Paterno went to the AD after McCreary's visit to his home. Joe is old school Italian. I think at this point in time he wiped his hands clean of Sandusky. I think he told the AD, the AD assured him it was being handled and, in Joe's mind, that was the end of it. If the AD told me he was handling it, I would have no reason to follow-up or question him. And, let's not forget, Joe didn't witness anything. He was supposed to tell authorities about something someone else witnessed? Something so horrible yet they didn't do anything about it. They (McCreary) ran out of the locker room. Didn't try to confront Sandusky, didn't even try to remove the child. Speaking of the child, where were his parents/guardians during all of this? Do they have any responsibility in this case? While I understand that these were children "at risk," what kind of parent allows their child to be alone with a strange man at night? According to the grand jury report, one of the mothers confronted Sandusky in a police sting operation at her home. He told her "I was wrong" and "I wish I was dead." Yet, she never filed charges. I also read somewhere that Sandusky even checked some of these kids out of school unbeknowst to their parents. Are those school officials responsible or have any guilt in this mess? I think it's safe to say that several people in various degrees of administration failed these children, not just Joe Paterno. I think the worst breakdown occurred when someone at Penn State decided to give Sandusky an office and a key to the facilities and the abuse continued. I guarantee you, once Paterno heard of the allegations from McCreary, Sandusky was dead to him. He distanced himself and let school officials do their job. Joe is a football coach. Not a lawyer, not an investigator, not a DHR official. Not a child-welfare specialist. Do you mean to tell me there was NO ONE at Penn State better qualified than your head football coach to handle this inquiry?? I really believe that Joe Paterno was so far removed from the day-to-day operations of the football program the last couple of years, that these events were totally out of his realm.

So, should Joe Paterno have been fired in the middle of the night? Officials couldn't let him coach his last home game with his senior players? For crying out loud, he hasn't been on the field in years. He couldn't sit in the press box like usual? This is a man who lives a simple life, in a modest home with his wife of umpteen years. They have 5 children and 17 grandchildren. Do you really think Paterno is the real villain here? And now we're hearing the Big Ten has taken Paterno's name off the Big Ten's football championship trophy. Why? There haven't been any charges field against JoePa. And if there had been, whatever happened to "innocent until proven guilty?" What a horrible rush to judgement.

And to all the jerks on Facebook and Twitter who post obnoxious things lumping ALL of Penn State together, please remember: there is not one PSU student (current or alumni) that isn't disgusted or upset by all of this. My brother is devastated. My brother is proud of his achievements at Penn State. He graduated from the engineering program. My sister-in-law is also a engineering alum. My cousin graduated from the nursing program and is a mid-wife. My other cousin is a high school ag teacher. Trust me. They had nothing to do with this and shouldn't be lumped in with pedophiles. Most of the students at Penn State are not privileged, entitled kids from snooty prep schools. Most of the kids are children of simple, hardworking farmers who deserve better treatment than social media is giving them.

**In the large city of Brooklyn, New York, on December 21, 1926, Angelo and Florence Paterno introduced to the world a man whom many people may call “the greatest college football coach of all time.” Coach Paterno is no stranger to adversity. Being raised during the Depression, he was almost forced to leave his high school, Brooklyn Prep, due to the hefty tuition. Through hard work and perseverance, Joe was able to graduate high school and to attend Brown University. While at Brown, Joe played quarterback and cornerback. With 14 interceptions, Joe shares the record for most interceptions in a career at Brown University. Despite not being a spectacular quarterback, Joe did not walk away from Brown empty-handed. It was here that he was able to develop and build upon his innate leadership skills, the skills that would propel Coach Paterno to become one of the most successful college football coaches.

After Brown, Joe Paterno became officially known as Coach Paterno, having accepted a position at Penn State University as an assistant football coach. Working underneath Hall of Fame head coach Rip Engle from 1950-1965, Coach Paterno was able to get vital experience under his belt before becoming head coach in 1966. Shortly after taking the reins of Penn State’s football team, Coach Paterno’s fame began to soar. Maybe it was the undefeated regular seasons in 1968, 1969, and 1973, maybe it was the first national championship in 1982, or maybe it was how he wore his famous thick glasses with hiked-up pants showing his white socks and tennis shoes. Whatever the reason, Coach Paterno was having an enormous impact on college football. As a result of the success and fame, Coach Paterno eventually acquired the legendary nickname of “Joe Pa.”

The question of what makes Coach Paterno so successful can easily be answered just by watching him. Like a true leader, Coach Paterno leads by example. Former Athletic Director Ed Czekaj once said that “Joe works so damn hard to get things done that he inspires the rest of us.” Combined with his work ethic, Coach Paterno’s ability to pay attention to meticulous details is another reason why he has obtained so much success. Joe Pa’s philosophy is that, “If you take care of the little things, the big things will take care of themselves.” With his tenacious and scrupulous work ethic, it becomes obvious why Coach Paterno has been a model for future generations. Even rival Ohio State coach, Jim Tressel acknowledges Paterno’s success when he was quoted saying, “It’s incredible to think about the commitment he’s had to Penn State, the growth he’s fostered and nurtured… Paterno’s legacy has made an impact on members of the younger generation as well.”

However, Coach Paterno’s actions on the field are not the only attributes that have made him the ideal role model. Claiming to live a simple life, modesty is the key to Paterno’s happiness; especially about money. George Paterno, Joe’s brother, once said that “Joe doesn’t think one should have a great quantity of money. And if you do, you should share it!” And sharing it is exactly what Coach Paterno has done. Throughout his career, Coach Paterno has contributed his time to numerous charities and events. He has done so by either donating money himself and/or by aiding in the fund raising process. Most of Coach Paterno’s efforts have gone to making Penn State a better university. Coach Paterno has stated that his dream is to “someday see Penn State number one in everything.” The most obvious contribution that Coach Paterno has made to Penn State is the expansion of Pattee Library. The new section named “Paterno Library” is just one of the many examples that display Coach Paterno’s humanity and dedication to Penn State University.

A Big Ten Championship and two bowl game appearances in the last two years indicates that Joe Pa still has what it takes to be successful, despite his age. His career has been so successful that recently in 2005 he was named AP Coach of the Year and then in 2006, Coach Paterno was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame. The fact is Coach Paterno is more than a coach; he’s a dedicated teacher to anyone who is willing to learn from him. The lives he has impacted and continues to impact stretch way beyond the Penn State Football team. Coach Joseph Paterno is truly a national icon when it comes to coaching.

Way back in 1966, Paterno set out to conduct what he called a "Grand Experiment" in melding athletics and academics in the collegiate environment, an idea that he had learned during his years at Brown. As a result, Penn State's players have consistently demonstrated above-average academic success compared to Division I-A schools nationwide. According to the NCAA's 2008 Graduation Rates Report, Penn State's four-year Graduation Success Rate of 78% easily exceeds the 67% Division I average, second to only Northwestern among Big Ten institutions.

Paterno is also renowned for his charitable contributions to academics at Penn State. He and his wife Sue have contributed over $4 million towards various departments and colleges, including support for the Penn State All-Sports Museum, which opened in 2002, and the Pasquerilla Spiritual Center, which opened in 2003. After helping raise over $13.5 million in funds for the 1997 expansion of Pattee Library, the University named the expansion Paterno Library in their honor.

In 2007, former player Franco Harris and his company R Super Foods honored Paterno for his contributions to Penn State by featuring his story and picture on boxes of Super Donuts and Super Buns in Central PA. A portion of the sales will be donated to an endowment fund for the university library that bears his name.

So Much

Whew! Had so much going on the last couple of weeks and now I'm gearing up for our upcoming anniversary/birthday extravaganza!

KJ & I had a WONDERFUL time in PA for A&Z's wedding. Although the weather did not cooperate at all, I have to say, hands down, it was one of the best weddings I had ever been to! A's gown was beautiful, the bridesmaid's dress were gorgeous, the food was great and the band was rocking! It was so wonderful to see our family and we got to spend lots & lots of time w/ B&C. We were able to catch one of B's soccer games (he played great and scored 2 goals!). KJ had a blast on the 4-wheeler and totally tore up Pop's property and we had a great day walking around State College, shopping and being silly with the kids.

So, now the craziness really begins....Cosmo & I will be celebrating our 19th wedding anniversary, Britt's b-day, Cosmo's b-day, KJ's b-day and my mother's b-day. Lots of celebratory dinners and lots of cake!

September

The foliage has been losing its freshness through the month of August, and here and there a yellow leaf shows itself like the first gray hair amidst the locks of a beauty who has seen one season too many. ~Oliver Wendell Holmes

Hard to believe we're a few days into September already. I can't wait for the weather to cool down a bit so we can open some windows. I love sitting outside on a fall night. I love sweatshirt weather. On Saturdays Cosmo puts the TV outside so we can watch college football (PSU game this weekend!) and he usually has a fire going and KJ likes to do s'mores. Aaaahhh! Fall!
T & Cosmo are flying to FL this coming weekend for a college visit. I'm very excited for T! The coach seems really nice and I think this could be a good fit for her....great communications program, PERFECT location and spectacular campus, awesome internship opportunities. We'll see. She has the PA visit in October and the coach from MD has been campaigning hard for T to visit the campus. She even offered to fly down here to talk to the three of us if T couldn't get up there (which totally blows my mind!). She had sent T an e-mail after seeing T play in the fall at a tournament and told her back then she was one of their top recruits. I don't think Cosmo or I took her very seriously at the time. The OH university doesn't have her major so she had to politely decline an invitation to visit at this time. The coach even went so far as to offer to have T meet with the head of the journalism department to discuss possibilities.

I'm getting my hair cut & colored next weekend so it will look great for A's wedding. I can NOT wait to see everyone! I love the dress I bought for the wedding and just hope the weather holds out. I still need shoes and KJ still needs a dress.

Homecoming is less than 2 weeks away. I don't think T's "group" has finalized their plans yet. As of right now, they talked about photos, the Alabama game and dinner (maybe not necessarily in that order). Not sure yet what the "after party" plans are. Sigh. Last highschool homecoming for T.