Graduation Cruise

The Idekers terrorized Mexico on a cruise from 7-24 to 7-28.   This was Courtney's graduation gift.  We had a blast.  Chris won two medals for trivia prowess (we sailed out of Mobile, Alabama so there was a very shallow gene pool!), Christopher dazzled the bar with his golf swing, Courtney and Sean were very impressive dancers and Karen and Courtney learned how to play blackjack.  Here is the gang in Cozumel and here is the slideshow.

Cincinnati Idekers Invade Alpharetta

This weekend we were visited by Ric's kids.  Brittany and Ricky came down on thursday and Heather and Fred joined us on friday.  They were here to visit but Rick put them to work moving Papa's furniture.

Heather and Fred have a beautiful little girl (Ric's granddaughter) named Brianna.  She is very well behaved and a real pistol-- very funny.  Here are some pictures from the pool.

A Wedding in Cincinnati

On friday, July 11th, brother Ric, Karen, Christopher and I piled into the Prius for a trip to Cincinnati.  The trip took 8 hours because Ric did not pedal fast enough.  The occasion was the wedding of Jen Robb and Tim Yulish.  Jen is the daughter of my cousin Dennis in Cincinnati.  Dennis, Ric and I grew up together and remain close.  

Jen and Tim had a beautiful wedding in Ault Park in Cincinnati.  A good time was had by all-- but some more than others!!  Christopher was taught the macarena and the shag by his mother. I think the boy has the potential to break a few hearts!

The next day Dennis and his wife Kathy hosted a reception at their new home in Cincinnati.  I had a chance to spend time with Tim (the groom) and his family.  He and Jen make a terrific couple and we wish them the best.  Here is the slideshow of the wedding and reception.

Courtney Returns, Ferf Cards Best Round at Polo

This week saw the return of Courtney from working the first half of summer as a counselor at Camp High Harbor in Rabun Gap.  She had a blast and misses it terribly.  She has two days of orientation this week at UGA.  Does it really take two days to learn how to bark?

Christopher played nine holes with Dad on Sunday and had his best round ever at Polo.  He started out double, triple, triple, but managed to settle down for a 51.  His short game is getting better.  His tee game is a beautiful thing to watch-- I give it a year and he will be booming it past Dad.

Christopher's First Camp Experience

He had a great time at Camp. Courtney, who is a counselor, said he was universally loved. She also confided to us that he wrote a very nice thank you note to his counselors when the week was over. He must have learned his manners from his mother!

The young redhead was not very forthcoming, however, when discussing the dance at the end of the week. He denied dancing with any young ladies, but stay tuned for photogaphic evidence that may dispute this assertion...

Here is a link to a slideshow of pictures from the camp and a sidetrip we made to Talulah Gorge.

Anniversary, Camp and Amelia Island

Well, this week Karen and I celebrated our 25th wedding anniversary. My family thinks she has greater sainthood status than mother Teresa. It is amazing to think that it has been 25 years.

We sent Christopher to camp this week. He is going to the same camp (High Harbor, Rabun Gap) where Courtney is a counselor. Therefore, we are childless! We have not talked to Christopher, but talk every night to Courtney. They both seem to be having a blast.

With the kids gone, we went down to Amelia Island for a couple of days. To celebrate our anniversary, we put in an offer on a condo down there. The market is soft, so we made a low offer. If it does work out, that will be our anniversary gift to each other. If not, I had better start shopping!

Update on Christopher tournament

Awesome debut.  Christopher finished 10th (out of 30) with a 49 for 9 holes.  He had a disastrous day putting (23 putts!) or it could have been really good.  

Most importantly, he had perfect etiquette and conducted himself as a total gentleman--  even when he 4 putted a green.  Mom and I are very proud.

Golf with Christopher

Christopher has his first Atlanta Junior Golf tournament on monday. He had a playing lesson today with our assistant pro, Michael. Christopher and Michael have a good chemistry and he is really helping Christopher's swing.

He also is working on pre-shot routines, reading greens, etc. I took pictures and I swear, he actually looked like a golfer! Good luck buddy. Here is the link to the slideshow.  

Courtney's Graduation

Whew!  It's over.  One party after another interrupted by a graduation ceremony.  We had a great time with friends and family.  Here is the slide show.

Baccalaureat

Today was Courtney's Baccalaureat. I am reminded of this story:

A brilliant young student leaves home for college and writes home for the first time--

Dear Dad, the Univer$ity i$ really great. I am making lot$ of friend$ and $tudying really hard. With all my $tuff, I $imply can't think of a thing that I need, $o if you like, you can ju$t $end me a card, a$ I would love to hear from you.

The father wrote back:

Dear Courtney:

I kNOw that astroNOmy, ecoNOmics, and oceaNOgraphy are eNOough to keep even an hoNOr student busy. Do NOt forget that the pursuit of kNOwledge is a NOble task, and you can never study eNOough. Love, Dad.

An Ideker Is Going to UGA!

Courtney leaves home and starts UGA on August 18th. The question is, will she be able to come back home? I think that answer largely rests on the outcome of the UT-UGA football game in October. That being said, there are some good things to say about UGA:

1) The football players don't stand out from the rest of the student body in terms of looking stupid.

2) Jokes like this:

A student from Tennessee and a student from Georgia are out walking together one day. They come across a lantern and a Genie pops out of it. "I will give you three wishes total," says the Genie. The Tennessee student says, "I am a farmer, my dad was a farmer, and my son will also farm. I want the land to be forever fertile in Tennessee." With a blink of the Genie's eye, "FOOM," the land in Tennessee was forever made fertile for farming. The Georgia student was amazed, so he said, "I want a wall around the University of Georgia, so that nobody from out of state can come into our precious school." Again, with the blink of the Genie's eye,"POOF," there was a huge wall around Athens. The Tennessee student says, "I'm very curious. Please tell me more about this wall." The Genie explains, "Well, it is about 150 feet high, 50 feet thick and completely surrounds Athens. Nothing can get in or out." The Tennessee student says, "Fill it with water."

3) The fact that you don't have to take driver's ed and sex ed on the same day. After all, the mule needs some rest...

Ouch!

Tough weekend for the Idekers.  It started out when Chris was in Las Vegas and the cab he was riding in rear-ended another car.  He was trying to get money out of his wallet, so he did not have his seatbelt on and crashed against the cage.  This has created a series of headaches and more loopy behavior than normal.

On Saturday, Karen went to Chattanooga and had a flat tire.  She called AAA, but 2 hispanic good samaritans had it fixed before they arrived.  

Today (Mother's day) we were rushing to attend a brunch when we noted that both of our cars appeared much more messy than normal.  First, we blamed Christopher, but then quickly noticed that things were missing.  As it turns out, Karen had left the garage door open last night and some thieves took advantage of the opportunity.  They stole two GPS units and our brand new camera and lenses.  We figure the loss was about $2,500.

The only good thing was that I beat my buddy Scott Blackard in golf yesterday.  Scott is a 9 handicapper and I had only beaten him twice in 7 years.  He had an awful day and I had a good one.  88 for Chris and 90 for Scott.  We all know I'm not the type to rub it in, but here is a picture of Scott at the scene of the crime!

I Married Frodo

Karen is a ring salesperson with Balfour. She used to be a nurse. She used to get criticized for doing everything backwards. She was supposed to give a guy 2 milligrams of morphine every 10 hours, she gave him 10 every two hours. She was supposed to give a guy one enema every 24 hours, she gave him 24 in a day. That's not the worst of it, though. Let me tell you about the time she was asked to prick a man's boil...

Chris Ideker- Walking Economy

My hairline is in recession and my waistline has inflation.  Together, they are putting me into depression!

Barack v Hillary (and Rev. Wright)

I suppose that, as a McCain supporter (going back to 2000), I should revel in the Hatfield-McCoy drama that is the 2008 Democratic party's quadrennial flea circus.  The problem is, I want the best candidate from both parties to run in November.  The Democrats seem hopelessly incapable of accomplishing the simple task of winning an election that is handed to them.

In 2004, the Democrats nominated an elitist liberal from the most elitist liberal state in the country.  In the process, they handed the election to the most beatable imbecile the Republicans had ever put into office.  This year, with a gasping economy, surging fuel and oil prices, a vietnam-like war, a health care system in shambles and a plummeting US image abroad-- the Democrats continue to be the gift that keeps on giving.

I must admit that I feel this year is different, however.  Clearly the despicable Clintons are more than willing to twist it, but it is Reverend Wright who has given them the knife to mortally wound the Obama campaign.  Rev. Wright has heaped praise on the suspected-- maybe even admitted-- murderer of Malcom X ("Minister Farakan"), accused the US of attempted genocide of the US black community, and suggested that the US caused 9/11.  (Curiously reminiscent of Pat Robertson and Jerry Falwell, who were appropriately lambasted by the press for similar comments.)

Rev. Wright has claimed that these comments were taken out of context.  Well, let's examine that.  It turns out that Rev. Wright is a vocal proponent of a "theology" named "black liberation theology."  In fact, the Trinity United Church of Christ (Obama's church) that he pastored incorporates elements of this theology in it's mission statement.  Black Liberation Theology was founded by James Cone who defined the theology as:

"theology that refuses to accept a god who is not identified totally with the goals of the black community.  If God is not for us and against white people, then he is a murderer, and we had better kill him..."

Now I don't agree with everything that any pastor says.  In fact, I disagree with a lot of things that some pastors say.  I have to question, however, when someone stays in a church for 20 years with a mission statement built on a theology with inflammatory rhetoric such as this. Oprah recognized this and left this church in the early 90s.  Barack recognized this as well and rescinded his pastor's invitation to give the invocation the day he announced his candidacy. Yet Barack has chosen to stay in this church for 20 years.

I am not suggesting that I don't prefer Barack over Hillary.  I do.  This issue has made the choice more difficult, however.  Barack would do well to spend more time explaining the apparent inconsistency between his soaring rhetoric on the stump and the inflammatory language he tolerates in the pew.