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Chadd and Kristi’s wedding day

We had lunch on the beach. We ate sandwiches while we watched the waves. Not a bad way to spend the noontime hour:

I saw a turtle:

This was our path to the beach:

We took a run this afternoon, an easy 3.57 mile jog along the beach and the road beside it. Not a bad way to spend the afternoon.

Oh, you wanted to know about the wedding? This was the site, on Fort George Island:

The Timucuan Indians called it Alicamani. They were met by the French explorer Jean Ribault, who found his way near this spot in 1562. The home itself is named in Ribault’s honor. The Spanish pushed the French out, of course, and then the British overran what was then San Juan in 1702.

In 1736 James Oglethorpe, the governor of Georgia and our friend from Savannah, named the island and his fort St. George here. The Spanish took over the region once again in 1783 and then three Americans became the owners of the island. Two of their plantations still exist.

After the Civil War the island fell into the hands of a carpetbagger from New Hampshire. Then came the trains, and the yellow fever and a fire that wiped out much of the little island. In the 1920s came the first car. The Ribault Club was built in 1928 and was, from the start, a playground for the affluent. Recently it underwent a four-year renovation and hosts parties and weddings and, oh look, here comes the bride:

Her father walked her down the aisle. Later, he offered a toast to his daughter and new son-in-law. He was shaking so hard I’m not sure how he saw his notes. But it was a beautiful speech. Very nice man.

Here are Kristi and Chadd, just after they exchanged their vows:

And their first dance. Chadd is a smoothy. Who knew?

The big finish:

It was a lovely ceremony. For dinner we sat at the Auburn table. Everyone there was just a little older than me. They said I was the one that picked up Chadd’s pieces when they all graduated and moved off to the real world ahead of him.

“Really” I said, “he was the guy that helped give me my start. It was a small thing, maybe, but … ”

So you were the one with the puppy dog eyes.

Probably, yes. If I look at the path of my career it is easy to see how integral he was to a lot of my progress. I was thinking about that when Chadd’s brother offered his best man toast. It was a great speech, about how consistent and dedicated and unflinchingly moral Chadd is. As a speech it felt right in every sense, and it was wonderful to be there to see the start of this new part of his life.

adventures / Friday / friends / memories / photo — Comments Off
21
Mar 14

Travel day

We spent almost the entire afternoon in the car, but we’ve finally arrived somewhere:

We are on Amelia Island, a well-kept secret coastal getaway just outside of Jacksonville. I’d never even heard of the place until my friend moved here. And my friend is why we are here. Tomorrow, Chadd, one of my old radio mentors, is getting married.

Chadd helped me get started in broadcasting in Auburn. I worked with him doing high school sportscasts. When he moved on I moved into his spot. And I’d follow him up in a broadcasting job in Birmingham, too. He moved on to nationally syndicated shows and ESPN and now runs a sports talker in Jacksonville. Earlier this week they announced they were becoming the flagship station for Jaguars football. Tomorrow he’s getting married. Some week. Some guy.

We saw them tonight at a little mixer. It was the first time we’d met his bride, though we are friends online — one of those modern conditions of modern life. “Oh, finally, we meet.”

She’s going to be a beautiful bride tomorrow. It is an outdoor wedding, if the rain holds off. There’s a big concern of that. Every forecast is different, the entire week, we’re told, has been a weird weather experience.

This evening was lovely, though. We sat outside on a beachfront patio for dinner. We’d walked in and they asked “Inside or out?” My first thought was “Why would you come to the beach and eat inside?” My second thought was “Why is this woman singing Wagon Wheel? And why is Wagon Wheel suddenly the ‘I have country’ bonafides?”

Outside was louder, but the band was better. And, boy, could this lady sing:

She went from the very reverend Al Green directly into White Stripes and she actually made it work. Not bad for a patio band.

friends / iPhone / memories / photo / Thursday — Comments Off
13
Mar 14

Corner pocket

Look at that beautiful, blue sky:

That was this afternoon, this beautiful, clear, cool afternoon. Not a cloud in the sky, high of 55. Have we discussed how this is March?

Tonight I got a call from Stephen, at around 8:30. He was in town and invited me to his parents’ place to shoot a little pool. So we retired to the basement, my old college friend and his wife, whom I also know from college, and his father. Brooke and Stephen’s two kids were asleep upstairs. We were down among personalized photos of Reagan and antique gas station epherma and Rotary Club paraphernalia and played doubles. Brooke and Stephen won the first game. His dad and I won the next two. We played a game of cutthroat and I won that, too.

But this was the shot of the night. Mr. W. dropped the two in the corner pocket without the 13 even noticing.

Always such a reserved gentleman, it seems he was something of a pool shark in his younger days. You’d never expect it to know him.

As we played Stephen regaled us with impersonations and tales of his in-laws. Before we played he told one of those “Well, I’m old enough now, dad, you can’t do anything about this” story. Stephen is a lawyer, so he used the old statute of limitations line, which made it sound so important, particularly opposite the silly story he told. It involved mud and a lot of walking, like more than a few stories of youth in the South.

So I look at us. I think of all of our other friends, some who came up in conversation tonight and others who didn’t. How did we all get here, sitting over a pesky three ball I can’t knock down, in a life grand as all this?

Life gives you interesting questions on a Thursday night, doesn’t it?

friends / I do not know what is happening. / journalism / links / running / Samford / things to read / Tuesday — Comments Off
4
Mar 14

Happy Fat Tuesday

There was beans and rice and gumbo — sans the okra, so it wasn’t actually gumbo, but good nevertheless — and there were beads and king cake and some weird jello dessert on hand today.

People dressed up. Or at least put on masks.

I declined the king cake. I don’t like king cake. Came as a surprise to me, too. And I don’t think I’ve had jello as an adult. I’m saving up for a rainy day. I did have some fried okra on the side, however.

And then this evening I ran a 10K. I sprinted some. I can’t feel the lower half of my legs just now.

I built a training regimen that will surely be difficult to stick with in one way or another, but if I want to do triathlons this year I have to get in something approaching a reasonable condition. The good news is that I have the base stuff covered. The bad news is that, eventually, the Saturday “run nine miles” day will at some point become something closer to routine rather than a big deal.

I do not know what is happening.

Maybe I should wear a mask, so no one will see me in pain.

Things to read … the all-link edition! There is something for everyone, I’m sure. Enjoy!

American Adults: Internet as Essential as Cell Phones

Two-thirds of 18-34s use online radio

Why Apple chose Tumblr for its social media debut

Under Russian flag, Kalashnikov-armed checkpoints come to Ukraine

Gov. Robert Bentley joins other state leaders in calling for reversal of proposed National Guard cut

FCC scraps study of newsrooms

Which Alabama public officials bought Auburn football tickets in 2013?

Kristi’s advice for students pursuing a career in sports

1 in 10 Americans think HTML is an STD, study finds

Runners detour race to thank 95-year-old World War II veteran

And, finally, this newly released video from my friend Nathan Troost, whom I wrote about here last week. Terrific story, sharp storytelling. It is worth six minutes of your time.

HOPE+ Sisterhood from Lantern Vision on Vimeo.

Nathan says it is his calling. I’ve seen enough of his work to think he heard correctly. Check out more from Lantern Vision.

Auburn / baseball / friends / photo / weekend — Comments Off
1
Mar 14

More baseball pictures

Baseball is the closest thing to spring we have right now!

Actually I sat outside in jeans and short sleeves, thinking I should have gone with shorts. For a day, or two, at least, it is spring. If you live in the moment, that’s a wonderful feeling.

Talking with other fans:

Watching other fans. He looks like he’s the victim of a stickup, I know, but mostly he’s just the victim of having parents who are confused about botany. What is that thing? A monkeygator?

Others are eating that shaved lemon ice stuff. See? Spring! She does have a jacket on, thus negating the point, but in this confused anti-season, we’ll let it slide:

I’m not sure how you express speed in baseball, which is to say a quick Google search didn’t tell me, but Anfernie Grier has speed to burn. He was, however, out by a considerable margin here. First, that’s the third running mistake I’ve seen in three games this season, which is troubling. Second, I enjoy pictures like this. Everyone boos the umpire, who so obviously blew the call. But he didn’t miss it at all. Grier is plainly going to be out:

Anyway, Auburn won, 3-0. Freshman Keegan Thompson pitched a one-hit shutout on just 90 pitches. It was Auburn’s first one-hitter since 2002. Thompson is 2-0 with a .39 ERA and 19 strikeouts over 23 innings. Did we mention he’s a freshman?

And, now, a picture of the sun setting over Beard-Eaves-Memorial Coliseum:

That was taken from the parking deck, where we spent the next little bit of the evening visiting with friends:

This is Auburn’s new rec center, also from the parking deck: