Missing Ashley - Days 2 & 3

Oops.

I was suffering through the misery of missing Ashley so much that I forgot to post about it last night.

Instead, I helped one of my best friends, Brad, celebrate his 27th birthday. It was nice to see Brad and two other friends, John and Tim. I need to find some male camaraderie in Ohio.

Today, I ate lunch with Mr. Black, once a former sidekick in kindergarten (yes, Mr. Brown and Mr. Black, believe it), and Mr. Budusky. And that male camaraderie thing keeps popping up.

Tonight, I hung out with an ol' Tar Heel, Jeff, who I actually hung out with once in Ohio. Plus, he's a male. I guess that qualifies as male camaraderie.

Everyone asked how Ashley and I were doing in our first year of marriage. I had great things to say about my lovely, caring wife.

I miss you.

How was your day (off)?

Missing Ashley - Day 1

What a day. What an interesting day.

It began at 4 am. It involved saying goodbye to Mrs. Marietta-Brown. It involved a West Virginia state trooper. It involved my ex-kindergarteners, all growed up and ready for 2nd grade. And it involved some bbq.

The kids had to be the high point.

Everything else involved some type of frustration or sadness.

It made me miss Ashley even more because I didn't have anyone around to cheer me up.

And I haven't even made it one day without her.

Hopefully tomorrow will be better.

How was your day?

Missing Ashley - A Prelude

Tomorrow morning, round about 5 am, I embark on a journey that will take me through southeastern Ohio, the depth of lovely West Virginia and Virgina, right into the heart of North Carolina.

That's right. I'm visiting my place of birth.

Family. Friends. They're all going to get some much-needed time with Mr. Brown.

But that means someone very near and dear to my heart may suffer through Mr. Brown withdrawal during my absence: Mrs. Marietta-Brown. Tuesday through Sunday without the love of her life (that's me, in case anyone was wondering). No one to crowd the bed. No one to fix meals (Ashley: "Yeah, right"). No one to clean up around the apartment (Ashley: "Are you serious?"). And no one to love on.

That said, I'll be missing out on those exact same things for nearly a week. No one to take care of me and love me. It will make it all the more sweeter when I get to come home to her on Sunday evening.

I love you.

VICTOOORRRRRRRRRYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!!!!!!!!!!!

the lakewood lady lancers are ohio division III softball state champions.

congratulations.

at 32-2, lakewood won its first ever softball state championship.

i was present at their regional final victory over wheelersburg and their state semifinal victory over elmwood. the lady lancers were the consummate "team," with each player contributing in their own way. fifteen players saw the field in one way or the other in a come-from-behind victory over a very talented wheelersburg team.

now why would i, a north carolina native, a resident of another licking county school district in central ohio, care about the lakewood lady lancers?

well, for one, my mother-in-law, sister-in-law & wife all graduated from lakewood schools. my niece is currently in elementary school there.

second, as of this month, i'm an employee of lakewood local school district.

and i'm really looking forward to teaching in the district.

before moving to ohio, i had never been a part of small-town America. i didn't see the appeal. the lure of the big city always captivated me. things to do. people to meet.

but almost a full year in, small-town America is reeling me in.

tonight, a good chunk of hebron, ohio lined main street and cheered on the girls as they rode atop the fire engine in a victory parade. in the parking lot of the local kroger, a towing company loaned one of its trailers for the girls to stand on and a local radio station mc'ed the festivities.

it was amazing to see the community celebrate the achievement of these girls, girls they had watched grow up from an early age. little lady lancers looked up to these girls in admiration in much the same way the current lady lancers looked up to teams of the past.

small-town America may not be for everyone.

but tonight i caught a glimpse of what can make a community like this so special.

schrute wars

face/off can't touch schrute/halpert.

bears. beets. battlestar galactica.

i love 'the office.'

yes we can

wow.

what an evening.

what a day.

what a moment in history.

a black man is the presidential candidate of a major political party in the United States of America.

ladies and gentlemen, Barack Hussein Obama!

he is a man of change.

and the change he promises is something i believe in.

he faces an uphill battle.

one, he's black in a country that still flies confederate flags and houses citizens who run around with white sheets over their heads.

two, his name sounds too muslim in a country that is fighting a war on terror against an enemy that was once led by a hussein itself.

mass emails full of lies don't help either.

it is my hope that citizens of the United States of America vote in november. not necessarily for Barack Obama, but for the candidate of their choice. and i hope the vote that is cast is an informed one, not a blind one based on race, religion or the latest bit of spam in their inbox.

should i stay or should i go?

that's the question facing these three young tar heels.

each entered their names into the upcoming nba draft hoping to work out at pre-draft camps, work out with individual teams, & (hopefully) improve their stock enough to guarantee a spot on an nba team next year.

of course, i'd love to see them in carolina blue one more year.

40-12 and the eventual loss to kansas still stings.

another year of off-season workouts and seasoning, the definite return of the one and only tyler "psycho t" hansbrough, and some athletic freshmen would mean a preseason ranking of #1 and the odds-on favorite to win the 2009 national championship.

we only have to wait until june 16th to learn their final intentions. at that time, they can choose to remain in the draft (and that means no turning back) or withdraw their name and return to school.

danny green (left) reportedly suffered injuries during the first pre-draft camp and that could potentially force him to come back to school. wayne ellington (center) is a bubble first-rounder and ty lawson (right) is believed to be the most nba-ready.

i believe green returns for his senior season, but i have a feeling ellington and lawson will remain in the draft. i anticipate a starting 5 of bobby frasor (sr. pg), marcus ginyard (sr. sg), danny green (sr. sf), deon thompson (jr. pf), and tyler hansbrough (sr. c). that's an experienced team with some help coming off the bench in freshmen studs ed davis (pf/c), tyler zeller (pf/c), and larry drew (pg) along with returning players will graves (soph. sg/sf) and michael copeland (sr. pf).

a pretty formidable team, but not as scary-good as they would be with either one or both of lawson and ellington back.

good luck to all three whatever decision they ultimately make. they're tar heels for life.