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Big Win for the Green and Gold
An article in The New York Times sums up my sudden interest in college basketball this season: “With each win and each day that draws March closer, it becomes more apparent that when the N.C.A.A tournament begins, George Mason could become this year’s George Mason.”
A young couple named Mike and Tanya are my Mason connection. They made sure I was aware of the Patriots’ winning streak and invited my wife and me to their home to watch the BracketBusters game on Saturday night. GMU overcame a 13 point deficit to beat Northern Iowa, 77 – 71. Experts feel that George Mason stands a good chance of getting an at-large bid to the Big Dance, even if they hadn’t expanded it to 68 teams.
Mike, who runs a website called GMUGear.com, gave me a t-shirt to wear during the end of the game. If the Patriots won, as they did, it would become my lucky shirt for the tournament. Tanya baked a lemon cake and decorated it with green sprinkles. While we were enjoying the cake, Tanya told us about a bizarre viral video that hit the web shortly after the Super Bowl. See for yourself:
Onward, Christian Soldiers
Lady Gaga, the Black Eyed Peas and Norah Jones all got mentioned during Bishop Richard Stika’s homily on Friday night. He was the celebrant as a class of high-school juniors from All Saints parish received the Sacrament of Confirmation. The Bishop’s point was that our faith can be like music. Sometimes we know the words, sometimes we know the tune but how often do we truly know both?
This was the bishop’s third Confirmation at All Saints. His first was merely days after his ordination in 2009. At the reception after Mass, Bishop Stika said it seemed like I attended Confirmation every year. Last year, I was there to hear my wife sing. This year, I was a sponsor.
Last spring was a challenging time in our diocese. Ridiculous anti-Catholic pamphlets were distributed in Pigeon Forge; some people suffered burns during the Easter Vigil at a downtown parish; and an abuse victim bravely came forward to inform church and civil authorities about the priest who abused him in the 1970s.
It was around that time that I was approached by members of a family who had moved to All Saints from parts of the world where anti-Catholic propaganda was unheard of. It felt weird for them to now live where Catholics are in the minority. The family’s oldest son wanted to know if I, as a fellow parishioner, would be his Confirmation sponsor. He had found strength from some of my on-air remarks when he was faced with anti-Catholic comments from his classmates at a public school.
Over the past ten months, I’ve gotten to know the young man and his family better. At the rehearsal last Sunday, I was proud to see him volunteer to serve as an Extraordinary Minister of Holy Communion at the Confirmation ceremony. During the Mass itself, he spoke up and answered correctly when the Bishop quizzed the class on the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit. After Mass, my wife and I went to dinner with the family and some of their friends and had a great time hearing about the places they’ve lived and visited in Europe and California. I look forward to many more such conversations.
Leap of Faith
In less time than it took for Paul Simmons to drive home from signing the contract, Bridgette O’Dell had posted three months worth of Einstein Simplified shows on the calendar page of the Side Splitters website. Our first weekly show at Side Splitters will be Tuesday, March 8 at 8:00 p.m.
The move brings at least three significant changes to the way our comedy improv group does business. After 16 years in the Old City and six months on Market Square, will our audience follow us to West Knoxville? I believe that an even larger audience will find us. The population center of Knoxville is the Cedar Bluff area, not downtown.
A few years ago, we did a monthly show at the Comedy Zone and charged admission. The same will apply at Side Splitters. Tickets will cost $6.56, which includes taxes and fees. Our weekly audience will have to give us their money before the show instead of stuffing it into the tip jar afterward. Like any comedy club, Side Splitters has a two-item minimum. If we lose any audience members, it will be the ones who didn’t buy food or drinks at The Square Room and Patrick Sullivan’s.
I talked with someone the other night who said she would be much more likely to attend our show at Side Splitters because of the convenient free parking. She had been to see us once downtown but didn’t drive herself. Her husband dropped her off and then had to wake the kids and load them in the car to go back downtown and pick her up.
First-Class Made
The actual dance routines are a bit of a blur in my mind. During the performances at Star 102.1’s Dancing with the Knoxville Stars, I was reviewing the notes with the next few things Kim Hansard and I had to say. She and I were emcees for the evening. The event raised over $56,000 for East Tennessee Children’s Hospital. Local celebrities are paired with professionals from Academy Ballroom.
I remember that the one technical glitch gave me an unexpected opportunity to make a joke that helped set up a bigger joke that I knew would occur within Farmer Charlie’s routine. Since his character is known for giving advice, I said there was nobody he could call to get some. His dance with Kelli Rainey included humorous pauses while he answered his phone.
I made a judgment call to deviate from the script, which suggested that we ask Phillip Fulmer to comment on his daughter’s dancing. Allison Fulmer received a perfect score for her quickstep with Hayden Escobar. The coach deserved the opportunity to be the proud papa and not in the spotlight at that moment. Instead, Kim asked him to jokingly critique the performance of sportswriter Mike Griffith and his partner Suzanne Devan.
The judges also gave a perfect score to Jamie Lynn Drohan of WATE and her partner Jeremy Norris. At the end of the night, they decided to give Jamie Lynn the dancing trophy. Allison Fulmer won the fundraising trophy by bringing in over $10,000.
Marc Anthony and Emily Loyless rode a motorcycle onto the dance floor. The impressive entrance had Bob Yarbrough and Mike Simon talking about it on TV this morning after commenting on Michele Silva’s performance.
After the show, I visited with some of the recognizable faces in the audience. Look for 1st Class Maid Jaynee from the Titanic Museum Attraction in the background of one of the pictures. The expression on her face amused me.
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Consumers Digest
One of my vegetarian friends got me hooked on Kellogg’s All-Bran Bran Buds. He eats them for dessert with non-fat ice cream, Wheat Chex and milk. It sounds weird but it tastes good. I use Bran Buds as a salad topping. Sometimes I mix them into my yogurt.
Unfortunately my favorite supermarket doesn’t carry Bran Buds. I tried All-Bran Original but didn’t experience the same health benefits. Bran Buds contain psyllium while Original does not.
Rather than shop at a competitor, I turned to the Internet for help. Amazon.com offered a deal that was almost too good to be true. I could order four boxes of Bran Buds for $15.36 (plus shipping) or I could sign up for “Subscribe and Save” and get them for $13.06 with free shipping. Every month, four boxes of cereal will arrive at my doorstep. The price, $3.27 per box, is significantly less than I’ve seen at any retailer. I think I paid almost $5 a box at a grocery store in St. Louis last month.
My first shipment of Bran Buds arrived on Valentine’s Day while I was at the hair salon. My wife and I had promised not to get each other gifts but she slapped a bow on the box and presented it to me at dinner.
Loud and Long and Clear
Ed Wynn was on my mind last week. A Facebook friend had posted a reference to his Uncle Albert character on my wall. Later that night, I was waiting outside during an Einstein Simplified show, unable to hear what was happening on stage. I started thinking about the last time I played the king in a guessing game called “The King’s Court.” I wanted to do something different this time. That’s when Ed Wynn popped back into my head. I decided to play the king as a fool who rose to the throne after a tragic bus accident. Roy DeLaRosa plays the jester. Dave Snow, Paul Simmons and Aaron Littleton play the subjects with requests of the king. As emcee, Dave Fennell solicited the suggestions from the audience.
March 1 will mark the end of our run at The Square Room. As it says on the Einstein Simplified Facebook page: “just [two] more shows at The Square Room and then off to an undisclosed location. Undisclosed as we are still working out how to disclose it to ourselves.”
Guinea Pigment
Stacey Handel dyed my hair for the third time yesterday. Four years ago, she gave my wife and me makeovers for a fashion show at the Women Today Expo. Two years ago, she gave me a different look for Star 102.1’s Dancing with the Knoxville Stars. Yesterday’s dye job was for the 2011 edition of the dancing event. Stacey and her staff donate their services for the participants. Kim Hansard and I will be the emcees.
My wife got her hair cut at Garde Bien. last week. While there, she and Stacey talked about various options for my hair and beard. I thought Stacey might reprise the goatee I had two years ago. Instead, she chose to leave my beard darker and a little fuller. The color will gradually wash out over the next week or so.
To speed up the dye process, I sat under a Takara hair processor. Stacey said some of her customers think it looks like Buzz Lightyear’s helmet.
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