Busy Labor Day Weekend

Good weekend. Friday morning as soon as I said we didn’t have many plans, it filled up pretty quickly. Signed up for the 10K in Macon right before the 10 am deadline, got invited to an afternoon cookout, and decided to take Matthew to a Saturday concert.

Friday night the rest of the family watched the new Camp Rock TV movie on the Disney Channel, so I hung out in the other room.

I finally had a Saturday morning to clean the upstairs, and got a great deal done. Left around 1:30 to take M to the all-day Christian concert at Jim R Miller Park, southwest of the Marietta Square. I knew there would be a ton of people, and wanted to get a decent seat. The covered area was pretty full, though people were moving in and out. Eventually we got a decent spot at the top row of the bleachers, closest to the stage. I could lean against the back fence, and stretch out my legs.

Matthew jumped on this bouncy thing, where they strap you to cords, so you can jump real high. We walked around some and saw a couple of people we knew, including one of Will’s classmates who had been in the skit, Jessica. There was a long line for autographs, but later Matthew got the coveted Switchfoot autograph.

Good friends Reid and Noelle came in and set down chairs around 6 pm. They never saw me, but later saw Matthew. Will came with Alyssa, David Norman, and Drew & Nancy Kelly’s son. I burned out the battery on my phone, checking the Tech score, texting, and Facebooking. The acts we saw:

1. Anthony Evans…son of famous Texas preacher Tony Evans. Sang national anthem, which had impressed Tony Dungy.

2. Jonny Diaz…Matt’s brother, had a number one hit.

3. Echoing Angels…good Atlanta guy band.

4. Point of Grace…long time female trio, from Little Rock, Oklahoma, & Dallas (kids went to school with Julie Adair’s kids).

5. Natalie Grant…having a baby in late December.

6. Big Daddy Weave…country singer, a big guy.

7. Switchfoot…Christian rock band, put on a big show, overshadowing all the other performances.

There was a Jumbotron on each side of the stage, that showed close-ups of each act as they played. During the breaks they played commercials and ran interviews with the acts, taped earlier in the day. But during each act a message encouraged people to text in “shout outs”, that would scroll across the bottom of the Jumbotron DURING the concert. This seemed to take the attention away from the performances.

I wanted to see how hard it would be to have a shout-out “published. The one saying that “JEssica is here” showed up, the capital JE being an inside joke she may not have gotten. No others were published, though my submissions got increasingly silly. Gems like “grapes are good”, “anyone got any apples”, and “Noelle, will you marry me? Love, Reid” were wasted. After “David Murphy is here” scrolled across, I received texts from Will and David, feigning ignorance. I doubt it was Reid or Noelle, though it could’ve been Alyssa or Jessica.

Sunday afternoon Will and I drove to Macon. I wore myself out clipping hedges, while Will blew off the roof and picked up my trimmings. We worked til dark, then ate, and went to bed not long afterwards.

It was cool for the start of the Monday am race. Will ran hard all the way, and said the clock read 49:45 when he finished. Today’s paper said he ran a 40:25, over ten minutes faster than his previous best time. That ranked him 4th in his age group, so he just missed winning a medal. When I finished, I noticed a guy quietly recording numbers. Perhaps he messed up.

Since I wasn’t in shape, I employed a run/walk strategy, particularly on the two long hills. I didn’t wear a watch, but concentrated the entire race, counting off 30 seconds (walking) and 1-2 minutes (running). I tried to run faster than just a jog, and ran further on the downhill stretches. Worked up a nice sweat, and had a bright sun in my eyes when the trees and buildings didn’t provide shade. At the end I was pleasantly surprised with my 1:06:51 time.

Will had to cut a neighbors large lawn when we returned. Matthew was giving Ceil fits as they worked on his homework. Later we went to a cookout at Holt’s house, way over past Discover Mills. Fun time. David Hurt (in deck shoes) and immobile wife Mary (in a bulky unathletic blouse) pasted young Will and Holt in tennis, winning 6-1 6-2. Will also played 2 on 2 basketball, so he had an incredibly physical day.