Back to Tuscaloosa

All of one's belongings fit into a Honda Civic and a Honda Odyssey, and those are the days of the college nomad.   We loved our summer with Sammy (I don't think I ever use this, but it is a favorite name that Belle and Mom use).   But it was finally time to drive him over to Tuscaloosa to his new apartment.   I don't think this took near as long as the dorm room, and thankfully Brendan already had all the stuff for the living room.  My van was packed with the bed and some other odds and ends, and I think Belle had a show choir event, so we fit well into our two vehicles.

Their apartment is pretty nice, with three bedrooms along a long hallway, with a living room, small kitchen and small dining area.   Seems to be in a good area.   While we were unloading Sam, both of his roommates, Joe and Brendan were there.   And after finishing the roommates were able to join us at a local Italian place that Ashley Rawls told us about.   I think all of us enjoyed the pasta dishes, but the best was the bread pudding at that place.   

It was still hard to let him go, but I must admit, not nearly as hard as it was last year.   Before we dropped him back at his apartment, he showed us his local coffee hangout spot where he studies sometimes and has a bible study during the week.   Random comment is that the Heritage special was a pretty amazing drink similar to a Caramel Macchiato, but with hints of cinnamon.   And while Belley was not with us, she did get a hug from her brother before he left.   Oh, and Ruby lost a tooth on the way home.  

 

Another Visit with Sean Dietrich

And another evening in Columbiana with Sean Dietrich, but this time sharing the evening with the girls.   Since I purchased the tickets when they first came out, we had 2nd row seats on the aisle at the huge 200 seat arena of the Song Theater.   Anabelle picked on crowd when we got our selfie with everyone in it.   She said it was a nice "white" background...speaking of the average hair color at this event.   But these are Sean's people, and we are Sean's people, ones that still love to unplug from internet and listen to some good country stories and fine bluegrass music.   

Sean told a story about being at the Grand Ole Opry, and the first famous person he got to meet was Dolly Parton(short pause for effect)'s manager.   But even meeting someone that close to Dolly was a treat.   Her manager's name was Emerson....Emerson Bigguns.   And that got some big laughs, maybe a Belle smile, and a little chuckle from Ru.   Then he introduced his band that had played on that famous stage up in Nashville as the "Grand Ole Optimists", and they played some tunes, hitting "I'll Fly Away" with some piano flair that would make it a hit in any honky tonk bar.   

His guests this evening were Davis Little and Haley Black, another bluegrass duo that were really great to listen to.   They played one song that sounded straight from the Disney movie Brave, or at least that's what me and Ruby thought.   It is always fun getting to hear the music, but also Sean prompts them to tell a little about themselves.

Then before ending the show, he took us back to the good ole days sitting on the porch of Mrs. Loretta where all the kids from the neighborhood would ride their bikes and sit around and listen to Mrs Loretta tell stories.   He told about the sounds of a porch in those days, another few giggles from Ru, and the sweet tea that was always available on Mrs Loretta's porch that held them captive as much as the stories did.   All the kids loved her, and when later in life, they learned of her passing, they all went to the funeral to celebrate her life.   

It was a Methodist funeral, and they let anyone that had stories come up and tell them for all to listen, and Sean talked about how he got the courage to go up front and share many of the stories that she had told them as kids.   And as he told those stories, a slide show slowly showed scenes of her through the years.   When he looked up to see her at the old age when him and his friends had first met her and listened to her stories, he quickly looked down in the casket and confirmed that this was not the same Mrs. Loretta.   

But I guess "If you have met one Mrs Loretta, you have met them all".   Ruby had some belly laughs at the Mrs. Loretta story, and while our new high schooler Belle just smiled and played it cool with all the "white hairs", based on she and I exchanging texts and watching videos of Davis and Haley later in the evening, I think she may have taken a liking to some bluegrass.   

After the show, we all got in the back of the line to wait our turn to see Sean.   He is always very personable, and it was great to see him again, even if some in my family would call it "fan girl"dom.   I showed him one of last years blogbooks that was dedicated to him, and he signed that page for me.   And I also asked him about MawMaw meeting him in Hayden, and he knew exactly who she was, describing where she sat and how they interacted during the concert.   The way he lit up talking about my sweet grandmother made me love this guy even more.   We also got to spend some time with Sean's wife Jaime, and she hinted at another adventure that may be a book soon.   

I fear that there are fewer and fewer Sean Dietrichs in the world that can help connect a broad range of generations together.   I am often sad to see how the phones take a spot at the dinner tables, and our country tales of yesterday and day-to-day news of our lives take second place to the latest meme, or latest tiktok video.   Our kids don't ride bikes anymore, and are scared of the Mrs. Lorettas, because she is not as captivating at the entertainment at our fingertips.   Maybe bluegrass is the answer...as Billy Strings is building a bridge to the younger generation.   But maybe the answer is just around the table or out on the porch...if we can keep our endless supply of entertainment in our pocket and just listen to the real people and family around us at the table or on the porch.   Grabbing on to these cherished moments and stories, all while enjoying some of that sweet tea.   

 

Mentor Games

This was the 5th Annual Mentor Games hosted again this year by the Kolbs.   And this role of the Head Gamemaker returned to me after a 2 year gap.   It was another really great year, Anabelle was paired up with Jane Nesbitt, and Davis with Eric Kolb.  And for the mentor games, we actually had 10 full pairs of mentor/mentees.   All game together to compete to be champion and take home the coveted Bowling Pin trophy.   Davis has won this I think 3 of the 4 years, and was looking to take it home again.  

The games went really well this year, and we started with a Question and Answer sheet to see how well each of the groups knew one another.   Somewhat of a Newlywed game approach was my intent, but since I told them about this before we ate and began the games, it was great to see them all teaming up with their mentors and probably learning more in 30 minutes than many of them had learned all year.   haha.   

After that, we began a series of competitions, where I really tried to help shift the point balance to the girls there, but for some reason, the boys always score highest at this event.   So we began with making Paper Airplanes (ok, this was biased to the boys), then rolling dice (which is always good with church friends), then a water bottle challenge (where one person had to drink half the bottle, then the other do a perfect flip, then the same person finish the bottle), followed by a Bible Drill for the mentors then the mentees, and ended with a game to see who had items in their "Pocket, Purse or Belongings".   

Random memories and notes of these events...all little girls need to practice making a paper airplane, and dads apparently have failed teaching this skill to their daughters...Davis won the airplane event...Huge shouts from usually quiet Linley as her and Amanda won the dice game...Deep roars from Davis and Eric as they won the water bottle challenge...Cash and Clara charging at me with chapstick from their pockets...Cash taking the prize for fastest in the bible drill...Me asking for mascara thinking that all girls keep that in their purse, really because I have no idea what mascara is, so I quickly changed to lipstick...and the dark horse that did not win the event, but consistently scored points, Grant Dabbs in his first year of these games took home the trophy with his mentor John Dean!

And this night would not have gone nearly as well as it did without my sidekick and scorekeeper Ruby.   She helped me keep up with all the points, and when I needed the totals at the end, Jarod Speer went to help her with a calculator, and a tear nearly came to my eyes when she looked up at Dr. Speer and said "No, I got it".   She really did awesome, and I am glad magan captured one image of our duo below.   Games are over, but I am already prepping for the new year of mentors.