Teacher Lovingly Explains McCain Platform.....NOT!!!

Click on the blog post title and watch a North Carolina school teacher scare one of her students to death over the fact the girl supports John McCain.

Her father is in the military. And this "educator" thinks her Dad will live well into his 120's, I guess.

This is cruel, and the teacher? I post, you decide.

Live Blog on Selection Sunday.....after the announcement.....

Okay. First, sorry for the absence and glad to be back on the ol' blog.

It's Selection Sunday, and Baylor just got spot #65.

EAST: It's the UNC Invitational!! I really don't see anyone beating UNC when they don't even have to leave the state to play all four games. Tennessee and Louisville (seeds two and three) are both coming off conference tournament losses.

MIDWEST: What about KU? Rock Chalk Jayhawk?? Clemson has a chance to have something to say; Georgetown and Wisconsin should have switched positions. After all, the Badgers won their regular season AND conference tourney titles! Big Ten dissed.

SOUTH: Memphis has a gripe; their region is toughest. Michigan State, Pitt, Stanford, Texas are seeds 5 thru 2. Heck, Marquette is number 6!

WEST: UCLA owes the committee a thank you note. They're already in the Elite Eight. UConn? Ha. Drake? Nope. Duke? Not this year. There's no one in that bracket that will beat UCLA, so two of my Final Four picks are already mailed in.

---------------------------------------------

Two teams I think that SHOULD be going to the NIT but they're not:

Arizona (19-14)
Kentucky (18-12, only because they were 12-4 in the SEC playing all the weak sisters. Oh, and they LOST TO GARDNER-WEBB! Yes, with an RPI of #189.)

---------------------------------------------

Two teams that have EVERY RIGHT to be TICKED about not getting in:

Arizona State (19-12, lower RPI (83) but they SWEPT Arizona (RPI 37). Does head-to-head battle mean nothing??
Virginia Tech (19-13, WINNING record in the ACC, which is the NUMBER ONE ranked RPI conference, who BEAT Miami in the ACC Tournament and came within eight-tenths of a second from knocking off No. #1 North Carolina!)

---------------------------------------------

I want you to now look at the names of the teams Kentucky defeated to get their 18 wins.....

Central Arkansas, Liberty, Texas Southern, Stony Brook, Tennessee Tech, FIU, Vanderbilt, Tennessee, South Carolina, Georgia, Auburn, Alabama, LSU, Georgia, Arkansas, Mississippi, South Carolina, Florida.

Two over Georgia, who meant nothing before their miracle ride this weekend. The BIG wins over Vanderbilt and Tennessee. That's all. Period. So, FOUR WINS over teams in the tourney.

NOW, the teams Virginia Tech defeated for their 19 wins.....

Elon, Eastern Washington, UNC-Asheville, UNC-Greensboro, George Washington, Liberty, Hofstra, St. Johns, Charleston Southern, Maryland, Virginia, Boston College, Florida State, Virginia, Maryland, Georgia Tech, Boston College, Wake Forest, Miami

Yep, just one win against a tourney team (Miami), but it was a convincing win. Two wins against a Maryland team who collapsed at season's end (nothing Tech) can do about that. One point loss to Clemson on the road, then the heartbreak to UNC. The loss to Richmond isn't that bad (it was at Richmond, who played surprisingly well this year in a tougher-than-expected Atlantic 10).

Virginia Tech from the ACC, the TOP ranked RPI Conference.
Kentucky from the SEC, the fourth ranked RPI Conference.

I think we know now that two losses by a combined three points in March on the road must be more damaging than losing to RPI Team 189 in November by 16 at home.

Biased? I'm sure I am. But I just can't believe Kentucky got in.

---------------------------------------

And don't EVEN get me started about Arizona.

Now, as for the Commonwealth, it's George Mason. Our only standard bearer. Go GMU!!

More to come; I'm going to actually go digest some bracket matchups now. :)

We are LIVE in New Bern, NC for the Giants victory!!!

I never, ever surprise my brother.

Until today. :)

He had no idea I was coming down until he opened the door!

More to come; time now for the coin toss, followed by the biggest upset in NFL history!!! :)

GO G-MEN!!

An Easter to remember, for good and bad reasons....

We spent Easter in North Carolina. We enjoyed a wonderful service at my brother's church, where he's currently filling in while the search for a Pastor continues. The Easter sermon--as Dick Vitale would say, "Awesome baby! With a capital "A"!!"

On the way to church, a different story. As we come to a "T" (our road ends at another), we begin to see unfold in front of us the results of a four-car accident that had obviously just happened. One car heading north with its front end completely crinkled in with someone trapped inside. A second car now in the deep ditch on the other side of the road, damaged. A third car hit, and now on the grass at the southwest corner, with a lady injured, down on the ground and in shock, and, honestly, I can't remember where car #4 was.

I was among the first to call 911; we stayed a few minutes to see rescue personnel begin to arrive, as did a few others who had come up on the scene. It was horrible; people on their way to Easter Services (you could tell by their clothing) and now this; probably the worst accident I've seen.

And if you have a problem digging there's a God, believe this. We were to leave my brother's house for church at 10:30 and my wife had decided to put her makeup on in the van to keep us from being later. Then, a change of mind just before leaving. That puts us in the van at 10:32.

Two minutes? It can make a huge difference.

I've checked all the news sources I know of in New Bern and have not seen any coverage, so I'm hoping that is good news and there were no serious injuries. If there weren't, it is nothing short of an Easter miracle.

Tammy tells us of another way to the church, and we get there to find out several of the rescue workers worship there, so when the page went out, beepers went off everywhere with people racing out of the church.

One thing I thought that was pretty cool was that first response volunteer workers, some of them, arrived in what looked like their own vehicles, which also contained all the equipment and apparently markings, so that you'd know it was rescue if it came up behind you on the road; I don't remember for sure about the markings. We explained to Rachel that Craven County is different from Henrico County, in that Henrico has more money (close to city, more population) and has more "rescue vehicles", where there they used other means.

God bless those willing to sacrifice their Easter Sunday service for those whose Easter went very wrong.

-------------------------------------------------------------

The rest of the day went well. There is a decent Golden Corral in the world (it's NOT in Richmond!). The New Bern location, and the Smithfield location, are the two I will frequent. Moms and kids went to the movies and do a "Flat Stanley" tour of downtown New Bern, while bro and I chilled, watched some hockey, some Masters.....

...and I was very happy to see Zack Johnson win. What a great story.

And, the trip home went well, too. One quick note; we stop in Tarboro to gas up, and after paying at the pump, I went in to buy a Coke. The lady there was unbelievably nice; showing me where the soft drinks were (on the opposite side of the store than the beer, et al, which was unusual), and asking me if I was on my way home. I whispered, "yes, ma'am."

"Have a safe trip", she replied, in the nicest manner possible.

I love North Carolina. You'd think I was born there or lived there for years. I've not lived one day as a "resident" of North Carolina...but thanks to all my family ties, I'll do what they do for famous people when they come speak at college commencements....

I'll make myself a "honorary" citizen! How I know I deserve this? I killed (gulp) an entire pint of Smithfield BBQ at work for "brunch" today.

BBQ...pig out...what symmetry. :)

So, Kenju, guess where I am?

....so I sit down this afternoon, and see my blog friend kenju left a comment on Friday night's crybaby "why doesn't anyone think I'm attractive" entry (which wasn't the original reason for the posting, but nonetheless...)

The post was a friendly nudge that she would visiting a place near and dear to my heart....Smithfield BBQ.

Well, dear, as I post, at this moment....my wife is bringing me...Smithfield BBQ!!!

Whoo hoo!!!

We spend Easter in North Carolina; another keep weekend trip, and certainly bittersweet.

Last weekend, my sister-in-law called and told my wife that my Grannie, who's been in poor, declining health for awhile now, looked at her and said, "...you tell Robbie that if he wants to see me, he needs to come down."

When my wife told me that Sunday night, it floored me, quite frankly. The fact she even was thinking of me was very touching. So, the wheels start spinning as to when to try to get to see her. We ended up shooting for Saturday and came down after my wife got off of work yesterday afternoon.

We arrived in Four Oaks and I took a quick trip through "town" and back to Grannie and Grandaddy's farm where I'd vacation every summer in my very, very early years (5, 6, 7 years old). Whoever owns it now has done a masterful job keeping its originality but also making it modern with beautiful fixtures and features.

My favorite part? One of Grandaddy's old tobacco barns was still standing. Not well, mind you, but still standing. :)

We met sis and headed to Benson to the nursing facility and when I got to her room, I was stunned by her appearance. I didn't think she was going to be as far downhill as she was. So, I took a moment while going in to readjust, and told my Aunt Edna my doctor may have told me not to talk for two weeks, but I every intention of talking to my Grannie. :)

We stayed about 1/2 hour and my cousin Terry, who I of course didn't recognize, came in to relieve my aunt so she could go home. He would spend the night with her. She tried to speak but we understood very little. I did, though, hear her say "Jesus", so I believe it will be a short time before she heads home, but I was very happy to say she was not in pain; the only problem other than the overall health was sores on her ears from lying on pillows hour, after hour, after hour. Her Parkinson's did the most damage; without it she probably would be ticking right along, albeit with limited mobility. But when it got to the point several weeks ago when she fell at Aunt Edna's house, where she lived and my aunt couldn't pick her up, it was time to place her in a care facility.

When Grannie passes, it will almost end the Four Oaks era of life; save Aunt Edna, the Strickland (Frank and Cleo side) will be gone.

And this was the first time I had been bedside of a relative since I lost Mama 4 1/2 years ago. I made it.

Several weeks ago I had to trains of thought:

1) I don't know if I can handle watching someone in the same condition as my Mama was for nine days.

2) I don't want the next time to see my Grannie be with her in her coffin.

Well---Grannie (and I shouldn't be surprised), answered it for me. And I'll forever be grateful for coming down.

-------------------------------------------------------

Easter 2007; I'll post in a bit. But first (kenju!!!), I've just been given a Smithfield BBQ sandwich and hush puppies.

LET THE GLUTTONY BEGIN!!

All Things Witham---On The Road For The First Time EVER!!!

Welcome to my first blog post outside of Virginia!!

We're live tonight in New Bern, North Carolina, as we traveled here earlier this evening to celebrate two milestone birthdays!

On Monday, our wonderful daughter, Rachel, turns the big 10!! I'm still trying to figure out where in the world those ten years disappeared to!!!!

Then, the person she shares that birthday with, her Papa (my Dad), turns the big 75! So, at the risk of letting a big day go by, we came down to celebrate both birthdays tomorrow, since we have to be back home at this time tomorrow night so the kids can get to school Monday.

I, on the other hand, had at least some foresight and am taking Monday off to snooze. :)

There is a chance of some storms tomorrow PM, so I'm hoping they will either not develop or we can dodge the bullet.

---------------------------------------------------------

Quick, few, end-of-week musings:

1) Lots and lots on my mind right now, about things happening, things that may happen, things that may not. I'm very happy that, in spite of all that rambling through my mind at warp speed, I still made the trip here to NC. But, let it be said, next week could turn out to be extremely pivotal. Plus, my jury duty "on-call period" will be done soon, and that will make me happy, no matter what other emotions come my way.

2) NC State.....will they ever be able to recruit with UNC and Duke at their side door? They used to......hopefully Sidney Lowe can, because Lord knows we need some players. The poor guys there now, when you run only seven players, you run out of steam. I don't look forward to seeing their "March legs". They'll probably be tired. I hope at least an NIT bid, so the guys, and the coach, can play some March tournament basketball. All experience is a positive right now.

3) The Taco Bell gutted by fire next to work last Thanksgiving has been open a few weeks now. No word as to whether they plan to add rats as their latest attraction, a la NYC.

Good night from North Carolina!! Happy birthday Papa and Rachel! February 26, 1932 and February 26, 1997. :)

LONG LIVE SMITHFIELD BBQ!!!!!

When you come across a blog that is written not only by someone who actually knows what Smithfield BBQ is, but actually realizes it is the BEST BBQ in the history of the world, you take note!!!

So, please welcome Amy, aka Aidensmamma, as she proves she's from North Carolina. I oughta know. My mom and two siblings were born there, grandparents lived there, brother and father live there now. And, secretly, I've always wanted to live in Johnston County and work in Raleigh. :)

Click here and enjoy!!

...that list you know nothing about, part four (so as to not forget I'm still doing this and haven't done so in over a month....

--bedroom basketball (when the suction cups stayed on the mirror, that is....)

--the first time I got to stay home instead of having to go with the church choir to another boring revival service because I wasn't old enough to stay home....

--July 1982, a church that shall remain nameless in Louisa County, Virginia, where I witnessed, to this day, still, the worst sermon my ears have been privy to. In fact, I think the conclusion is still echoing somewhere in the countryside near Mineral or something.....

--Dear Dee.....

--WXYZ, WAAN, and WREW

--Card Sharks, the TV game, and the game I played pretending to be a game show host, with a deck of cards.

--Three Stooges at 4:30, Gilligan at 5, Get Smart at 5:30.

--my first hair permanent (1/24/81, the day before my Raiders won Super Bowl XV).

--Meatballs (the movie! Going to the theatre with my brother to watch it, and today wondering why it's NEVER on television)

--Star Wars in the Ashland Theatre, Ashland Virginia.

--My best ever trip to North Carolina, 1982, summertime. Bro and I travel during the overnight to get there; spend a few days at Granny and Granddaddy's, enjoying the land, checkin' out the garden, going into town in Granddaddy's '66 Red Dodge Truck, shelling peas on the front porch. The last night, a visit to Aunt Wanda's near Raleigh, then the trip home, again in the middle of the night, arriving at 3:45am, just in time to see Dad get up to go to work at Ukrops!

--My worst news after returning from my best trip to North Carolina.....my girlfriend wrote to break up with me. That night, I stayed up 'til 3:45am listening to the radio and, at the wise old age of 15 years, 1 month, trying to pick up the pieces.

--Nichols Dept Store, Fredericksburg, Virginia

--Dad loved the subs from KMart in Fredericksburg. Always stopped to get one if he had to go up to visit a church member in the hospital.

--My one season in Little League. The highlight? A two-run single to rightfield. :)

--Monzas. Two of them.

--Is it me or is the chimney leaning?

--The 7th grade/6th grade P.E. softball spring tournament....(my team won--I think we won 15 games, they won 13.)

--Fluffy! Fluffy Dog! Fluffy, Fluffy, Fluffy, Fluffy, Fluffy Dog!

.....more to come.......