More Photos from Last Night's Concert

More photos from last night, courtesy of Clarence Thomas and his big zoom lens.

Elementary School Chorus

The 4th and 5th grade classes at the boys' school had their choral concert tonight. The kids sang a variety of tunes, including the Bob Marley classic "Three Little Birds", "Stars and Stripes Forever", and "How Can I Keep From Singing?"

My favorites were "Bee! I'm Expecting You!" and "Be Kind to Your Parents". The former is a song written by Emma Lou Diemer based on the poem by Emily Dickinson. This was one of the songs sung at the All County Chorus, and the five kids (including Eddie) got to sing that one tonight as a quintet.



And here is "Be Kind to Your Parents":

First Soccer Game

We played our first soccer game of the season today--against Luke's old team, the Bush-hogs. My boys, the Wolverines--or Toasterines, as they prefer to be called--played well, especially considering half of them have never played before.

Luke did great as goalie. I love seeing him play that position! He's got a natural talent as keeper.

Lemonade for a HOT Day

Today was a very HOT day... perfect for a lemonade stand.

The Arnold Palmer special was particularly popular!

All County Chorus

After many months of practice, tonight was the night of the Loudoun County "All County Chorus". Eddie has been practicing for this concert for quite some time, and it was finally time for the big performance.

There were more then 170 kids in the chorus, chosen only from the fifth graders of every school in Loudoun County (of which there are something like 50 schools). Smaller schools like Lincoln and Aldie were allowed to send in two or three students from their fifth grade classes, while larger schools like Eddie's could send up to five kids. We were thrilled that Eddie had the opportunity to be a part of this chorus.

Yesterday, the kids were bussed to Loudoun County High School to practice with their conductor, Dr. Deen Entsminger, who teaches music in Richmond. Dr. Entsminger worked so beautifully with the kids. He was so funny and so dynamic, the kids just loved him! They practiced all day Friday, from 9am until 5pm--a very long day for these kids. Then, today, on Saturday, they practiced some more, from 8:30am until concert time. You'd think they'd be tired, but they were bouncing after the performance!


It was amazing what these kids accomplished. They've been practicing on their own at home and in school for a while now, but to be so crisp and so together--well, it was just amazing. Eddie was so happy with the performance, and he was just beaming about how cool Dr. Entsminger was. Eddie was also thrilled that Mrs. Verdile, his music coach, was able to see his performance.

Two of Eddie's friends from Mountain View made it to the chorus: Sydney and Rachel. Plus Sharon and Desi's son, Eoin, and one of the boys from our church, Chris, also made the chorus. Mrs. Verdile remarked how nice it was to see so many boys in the choir.

The kids sounded just awesome. But you can hear that for yourself. I've selected my four favorite songs from the night. Here are Jazz-Man, Gloria Tibi, Don Gato, and a piece written by Dr. Entsminger, Heart of Matter.

Enjoy!



After the concert, we took the boys to Red Lobster to celebrate. Eddie had a 12 ounce grilled rainbow trout, and the rest of us had Alaskan crab legs, shrimp, Maine lobster, and calamari. Yum!

Luke's Class Photo

I like the kid's shirt next to Luke.

Eddie's Class Photo

This is a very nice photo of all the kids.

The Most Normal Zoo

For those of you who enjoy Luke's writing, this is sure to satisfy. Luke's handwriting is absolutely impeccable, and his writing is creative and clever as always. And he's right: anything with three toes is cool!

Flying Circus

What a wonderful weekend!

All weekend, the temperatures were in the high seventies, and even the low eighties for part of the day--and not a cloud in the sky! This made it the perfect weekend for the Flying Circus Camp-O-Ree in Bealeton, Virginia.

Eddie and I went on his very first boy scout camp-out, and what kismet for Eddie! Eddie has loved many things through his life, but the one thing he has consistently loved, no matter what, is airplanes! For all the past week, he's been playing on his Flight Simulator, plotting courses from LAX to IAD and back. So, how wonderful was it that his very first camp-out is at an air show? And his very first merit badge was in Aviation!

Eddie and I set out after work on Friday evening, packing the troop's trailer full of sleeping bags, food and tents. We had about 20 boys going, along with me, Kevin, Charles (alumni from Pack 39) and Jim and Mike (the Assistant Scoutmaster and the Scoutmaster).



Late Friday, we arrived at the airfield, and set up camp. The boys were not allowed to have dinner until their tents had been pitched and the trailer was all unloaded. Then, well after 11 o'clock, we all hit the sack for a very busy day on Saturday.



On Saturday, the boys split up into two groups: those working the Space Exploration merit badge, and those working the Aviation merit badge. Unfortunately, each badge lasted all day, so the boys could not earn both at this event. Eddie didn't mind, since he really wanted to focus on the aviation merit badge. The badge required detailed learning about all aspects of aviation: the forces of thrust, drag, lift, and gravity; what all the airport systems are (beacons, runways, tower communications, etc.); the various instruments in the airplane and how to use them; plus hands-on model building.





Eddie and I also had the privilege of riding in an open cockpit biplane! We rode in a vintage 1920's WACO biplane! How cool is that?! Eddie was very excited, and not in the least bit nervous! (Though he didn't care for the loud noise much--I should have brought some earplugs for him.)



About lunchtime, the kids got a break from all the merit badge work and got to enjoy the Flying Circus air show. The video below captures all the events, from the first planes we saw, to the flight we took in the biplane, to the airshow, and concluding with the campfire ceremony of Saturday night.



After the show, the boys resumed their merit badge work until it was time for dinner. After dinner, the boys were treated to a campfire ceremony with a local Venture crew brass band performing various show tunes. After this, we adjourned for the night. I immediately hit the sack, as I was dog-tired. But Eddie and his friends were still charged up, so they headed over to the airfield, where they were showing Those Magnificent Men and Their Flying Machines on a big screen in the middle of the field. The boys didn't get to sleep until after eleven again!

This being boy scouts, it's a lot different from cub scouts. The boys are expected to do everything for themselves. Everything. This includes putting up their tents, making their food, cleaning up, and getting water. Everything. It was hard for me, as a cub scout leader, not to get in there and start barking orders. At one point, Mike, the scoutmaster, had to come over and help me to give up "control." That was what this camp-out was all about for me--giving up control--and letting Eddie take the wheel a bit.

And you know what? He did great! He is really growing up, and becoming very responsible.

So, if you get the chance, go check out the Flying Circus in Bealeton, Virginia. It is open to the public almost every Sunday between May and October. They give rides and have an airshow every weekend. It's definitely worth checking out! We had a blast!!

Global Update

It's been a while since I've discussed scott's ravings statistics. The above map contains all the hits since June 2008. There are over 18,000 hits in just the last 10 months or so. I've had over 60,000 hits since the blog was created in August 2005. Of course, as verbose as I can be, there's lots of material to Google.

I really am impressed most by some of the remote readers on my map. Always a geography buff, I love poring over a map like the one above and finding places to learn about. My northernmost point comes from Noorvik, Alaska, population 656, a mostly native village, snuggled right among the glacier flows and Kobuk Valley National Park.

In the Indian Ocean, I've got a hit from steamy Malé, the capital of the Maldives. I'm sure the weather there is always nice, but it will be a while before I get my chance to visit, unfortunately.

For someplace completely different, there's Omsk, Russia. Located in western Siberia at the northern edge of the border with Kazakhstan, Omsk is a once thriving, now yearning industrial city with a population of over 1 million people. It sounds like Russia's Pittsburgh. I'm sure the Omsk football fans are just as nuts as the Steelers fans are here.

This year, I've got quite a swath of hits from the west coast of Africa, countries including Liberia, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Benin, Togo and Nigeria. These are the countries from which most of the U.S. slaves were stolen. I've also got tons of hits from South Africa, as one would expect of an English speaking country, and quite a few hits along the Mediterranean coast of North Africa--Morocco, Tunisia, Algeria, Egypt. I even have a hit in Sudan, of all places!

The coolest hit of all is that dot floating right out in the South Atlantic, halfway between South America and Africa. See that dot all by itself? No, it's not the Azores--they're in the North Atlantic. That little red dot is St. Helena, a former British colony, and one of the most remote spots on Earth, population 4,255. St. Helena is famous for being the island of exile of Napoleon Bonaparte.

As for me, I'm in Los Angeles this week, population of 4 million (or 17 million in the metro-area). This is the city of Paris Hilton, Lindsay Lohan, Eddie Murphy, Ed McMahon, and O.J. Simpson. (More good names for the Google search bots to find!)

The weather this week is supposed to be nice, if not a little cool. Not that I will experience any of that weather in the windowless room in which I'll be sequestered.

Giselle and Brian for Easter Dinner

Yesterday's Easter dinner was pretty special. Besides the scrumptious roasted lamb, roasted ham, Camembert mashed potatoes, fresh asparagus from the garden, haricot vert, and tropical cheesecake, we had the joy of having Giselle and Brian and their two boys over for dinner.

Giselle is one of Becky's oldest friends from college. We hadn't seen her since our wedding, over fifteen years ago. She and her family were in from Seattle, touring D.C. for spring break, so it was essential that we drove down to snatch them away from their vacation to share Easter dinner with them.

Sunday Yardwork

Today marks the first day that Eddie mowed the grass by himself. I had him do the front, back, and both side yards. I only did the steep hillside by myself because I don't think Eddie has the upper body strength to handle the mower on the steep slope.

Eddie did a fine job, considering it was his first time. He cut a few corners, but much better than I expected. Plus, I think he really enjoyed the job.

Luke was a big help too, edging, sweeping, and raking up the grass piles. It sure made the work go quicker, having these two strong boys to help me.

Happy Easter!

Happy Easter to you all! Christ is risen!

Today, we are resting after the long, long Easter Vigil service last night. The service started at 8:30pm, but for the boys and Becky, choir practice started a full 90 minutes earlier. By the end, that was over four and a half hours of church for them.

Even for those outside the choir, the Easter Vigil is a service for the true die hard. Over three hours long, it starts in absolute darkness, like the darkness of the tomb of Jesus, and then we light a small fire and the very sombre lighting of the pascal candle. From there, candlelight spreads throughout the church congregation, and we proceed to the ancient Exultet, a full set of scripture readings, baptisms, and the holy Eucharist. Honestly, by the end of it, everybody was stifling yawns--even the priest, Father Tom.

The choir did exceptional work, considering their music and anthems filled the gaps between the nine or so readings of the night. Luke, who I've said is a very gifted sleeper, and being three hours past his bedtime, was able to actually put his head down and sleep between pieces, and magically awoke before the start of each next piece. Older members of the choir, like Bob Verdile, were absolutely amazed with this ability, and suggested that he might make an excellent surgeon some day.

After the very long service, we had dessert and champagne in the parish hall. With Lent over, I enjoyed a glass or two of the bubbly. And once I got home, and got the kids off the bed, I brought out my much beloved Ardbeg, and enjoyed its silky peatiness.

It has been a long, long Lent. But now, praise the Lord, it's Easter! Hallelujah!

Easter Vigil

Tonight is the Easter Vigil mass, and Becky and her helpers have the church all decked out nicely for Easter, lilies everywhere, all the celebratory white linens, the works. I performed my dutiful role as altar guild staff photographer to get photos of all of the decorations for their procedure book.

So, Alleluia! Christ is Risen!

Now, please pass the whisky! It's been a long Lent!