Memphis, TN

I went out to Well’s place for the Browns/Steelers game. If anyone is a fan of either team you know very well this is not just a game, it’s a grudge match pitting to sworn enemies against each other. In my home town the rivalry divides the city. Erie is equidistant from Cleveland, Pittsburgh, and Buffalo. As a result the teams divide the city for fan loyalty. There are quite a few Bills fans but the number pales in comparison to Browns and Steelers fans. What makes it worse is that since Buffalo is technically the closest city there are many times that Browns/Steelers game is not shown because the Bills are playing on TV. This is bad for fans but great for sports bars. Here is an article about the rivalry in my hometown newspaper. Wells and I grilled out Brats, drank some beer, and watched the game. Wells is a rabid Browns fan which makes the game quite fun to watch. To get an idea of how much the two teams hate each other here is site called steelerssuck.com. The passion/obsession the south has for college football is the way the north is into pro football. When the Browns did not exist for a few years it caused an unbalance for the Steeler fans. The two fan bases need to hate each other. It is kind of a yin yang thing.

Pittsburgh linebacker James Harrison decks a Browns fan who has run out on the field.

Big Ben being chased by the the Browns "D"

Memphis, TN
November 4th thru 10th

Sunday
In celebration of Katherine’s birthday Truk planned a surprise birthday bowling party for her. To anyone who may question the wisdom of a bowling party, relax…, Katherine loves to bowl. The party was well attended and everyone seemed to have fun. My bowling acumen was a bit off which shames my Middle America roots. If you want to know how much Erie likes bowling, just think of the old TV Show Rosanne. Its storylines regarding bowling live accurately depicts my hometown. When the gang gets together to bowl we take names that match our alternative personas. Some go with old stand by’s while others go with a “porn” name developed by using your middle name a street you once lived on. Either way when your combine the bowling and the company it’s a good time.

Guess which is Pete's name.

Later on I met Baruch to watch the Cowboys/Giants game at BW Three’s.

Tuesday

I caught the Memphis Tigers vs. Richmond Spiders basketball game at the FedEx Forum with the Big Kat Ronnie. It was the second round of the Coaches vs. Cancer preseason tournament. The Tigers play could be described as lethargic at best. Richmond ran an efficient “Princeton” style offense. The offense basically has the center operating as the distribution area at the free throw line. It was made famous by Pete Carril the legendary basketball coach at Princeton, ergo the name. Memphis eventually pulled away from the Spiders and won 80 to 63. One thing is for certain is this; Derrick Rose is the real deal. We have hyped some players such as Dujuan Wagner (Where has he gone?) and Darius Washington who were very good but the Rose kid is good as advertised. He is one of the quickest players I have ever seen play.

Derrick Rose being Derrick.

Thursday

Tonight I had the privilege of attending the Facing History and Ourselves Benefit at the Peabody Hotel. The key note speaker was actress and oral historian Judith Sloan who acted out stories of individuals in her exhibit on immigration, CROSSING THE BLVD. This exhibit uses photographs, stories, and sounds to intimately portray the lives of new immigrants and refugees living in the culturally diverse community of Queens, N.Y. The performance was amazing. If you want to get know real stories of immigrants you can get the book which is awe inspiring. I ran into a bunch of old friends at the dinner. One of which was the Hardy Thames, an old colleague from my Bridges days. Here is a copy of his speech he gave about Facing History and his student Khadija Hassan who also spoke. Khadija was in one of my groups of FutureBuilders about four years ago. She has an amazing story of her struggle to escape the Rwandan genocide. Here is column about her by Commercial Appeal columnist Wendi Thomas. (You must read this!) I have been working with Facing History in one way or another for over ten years. Twelve years ago when I was mid year replacement at Bishop Byrne the principal Neddy Brookshaw recommended me for the program’s training session. I will be eternally indebted to her for that. Facing History has been the one common thread at every one of my teaching stops.

Friday

After teaching school and basketball practice I met up with Truk at the Rhodes’ pub, the Lynx Lair, for a ping pong match and a couple of pints of Guinness. Truk bested me in a best of five match. We were closely matched in talent but Truk pulled away in the fifth set. The new pub is quite nice and the Guinness was well poured. Anyone who is a lover of the “black stuff” will know what I mean by that. Let’s put it this way. I you order a Guinness and get it quickly the server does not what they are doing. In order to ensure a full pint ready when you are finished drinking the current pint one should order it about half way through. That’s just my opinion. We called it early due to our cooking gig at the Rhodes vs. Sewanee football game the next morning.

Saturday

I rose from slumber this morning at 6:15am to meet up with Truk to head over to Rhodes. This Saturday at the Rhodes vs. Sewanee football game was the faculty/staff appreciation cook-out. Truk as a Rhodes employee and alumnus got me involved last year and I was lucky enough to get asked back to the cooking crew officially. The crew led by Bud, who works in the alumni office, cooks authentic gumbo, red beans and rice, sautéed shrimp, and jambalaya. How authentic you ask? Well Joby (99’), from Dulac, La said that the shrimp that we peeled and cooked on Saturday slept in the Gulf on Wednesday night till his uncle, who is a shrimper, caught them Thursday morning. I did was do what was I was told. I peeled shrimp, cut chicken, and drank Bloody Marys. The food was on time and well received by the faithful faculty/staff/alumni/fans. I had a great time and hope to go it again next year. I enjoyed multiple naps the rest of the day while watching football.

Memphis, TN

This is entering into my really crazy time of the year. The first week of November for Pete means the beginning of middle school basketball at the “H”. I am the head coach of both the 7th and 8th grade teams. This is my fifth season at the helm of the Sting. Over the years the teams have had pretty good success considering that basketball is usually the second or third sport of choice for our girls. In the four previous years our girls have won two championships in our league which is composed of other independent schools in the Memphis area. As frustrating as it can be at times I enjoy coaching immensely. I will try to keep readers updated on the progress of the teams. Either way it takes up a great deal of my time. So basically between the months of November and early February I spend a lot of time focused on the middle school hoops scene in Memphis.

Intrasquad scrimmage at the "H"

I had a really nice time out with Dave, Christina, Truk, and Katherine. We all met up downtown for a meal at Sauces, a new spot off South Main in downtown Memphis. The place has a nice feel and the food was great. I had the pan seared tuna with a rosemary and basil sauce. It is a bit overpriced but not ridiculously so. After dinner we ambled down to Blues City Pastry for some coffee and dessert. We closed the evening with a couple of beers at Bosco’s in Overton Square. We all do not get to do this as often as we would like. This group goes back to 1989 and Rhodes College.

The gang enjoys a meal at Sauces.

Kath and Dave select a treat Blues City Pastry

The bar at Boscos Squared

Memphis, TN

OK, I know it has been a while since I’ve updates any of the goings on of Pete. This is going to be cliff note version of my activities because I have been pretty busy with school and pretty lazy whenever I can find time to. SO here it goes.

October Highlights

Bolivar, TN

Eighth grade retreat

Right after fall break at the “H” we had our annual 8th grade retreat out a Victory Ranch in Bolivar, TN. The place is camp that has both high and low ropes course elements and tons of other activities for young and old. It operates primarily as a summer camp, weekend retreats, and corporate team building. Ropes courses seem to be the vogue and “in” thing that all private schools, youth groups, and corporate “team building” are jumping on. What I have found is that unless you brief, facilitate, and debrief the activities then they all they turn into is fun games that people do and very little is accomplished. The very best facilitators that I have seen are the BridgeBuilders Staff and groups that I worked for a number of summers. All the girls seemed to have a good time.

Pete scaling the climbing wall

A student doing a much better job of it.

This is not meant to be a criticism of the folks at Victory Ranch. Our retreat is not designed to do what I mentioned. Our activity is supposed to be a bonding time our girls and faculty. Victory Ranch’s facilities our first rate and it is always a very relaxing time for our faculty because their staff does a great job with the kids.

Pete, preflight.

Pete, or is it "Peter Pan"?

It's a bird, it's plane, it's SUPERPETE!!!!!

Flying is exhausting

"Roughing" it at the lodge.

Memphis, TN

Family Fun

My aunt Mary, a.k.a., “The Goat” was in town for a visit. The Goat runs Stephany Catering, the place that my Grandma started over 30 years ago. My cousin Jeff, The Goat’s san, is slowly taking over reigns from her as she eases into retirement. She is a retired Special Education teacher from the Erie School District. She taught at East High School, where my grandpa and grandma went to school, my Dad student taught, and my cousin Julie, is the Librarian. Needless to say there is some history there. We had a great time. Some highlights were a cross generation kegger, a Rendezvous visit, and lots of hanging out and visiting. I’ll see her around X-Mas but I hope she comes back to Memphis soon. She seemed to have fun and it was good to have her in town.

The Stephany clan getting their "rib on"!

Idiocy at its finest

Another highlight was a day long football watching with Tusky and Craig at the Brookhaven. One of the highlights was a contest invented by yours truly which entailed four “grown” men putting their hand in a bucket of ice water. The last one to pull their hand out was declared the “winner” (Let’s be honest here, if we are doing this none of us are anywhere close to “winners”). As a note: I, as creator of the contest, was the very first out!!!

Oxford, MS

Some artists work in watercolors or acrylics. Others sing or are performance artists. Well my friend Tusky's milieu is unbridled rage. As a result of him being one of the angriest men in America, his rants about the world in general and sports in particular are hilarious. Here is post he made on a message board after one college Saturday afternoon.

Here is the background story that inspired his bitter "art".

At halftime of the Arkansas/Ole Miss football game Ole Miss did a fireworks show…at 1pm in the middle of the day. During the DAYLIGHT HOURS fireworks show, long streamers drifted into power lines, started a fire, and blew out a transformer. The results of which knocked out half of the stadium's electricity for more than an hour. Arkansas senior fullback Peyton Hillis said the players noticed the power had gone out but didn't hear the loud explosions from the locker room at halftime. Two transformers were blown in the north end of the stadium which caused the outage, including the video screen and scoreboard on that side.

Here is the post. WARNING!!! There are bad words!!!!

"It hasn't been often that I've been moved to words on our message board, but that all changed Sunday afternoon on my trip back from Baton Rouge. Every now and then you hear something that just makes you sit back and just say ...Wow. Normally I would take a few minutes to break down the Ole Miss game and gloat over another spectacularly failed effort to be competitive on Saturday. Now I know there are several Ole Miss fans who are in the league so you guys know more than anyone what I'm talking about. Whether its another fantastic down to the wire, we got screwed "moral victory" or another colossal beat down at the hands of the juggernaut that is Wyoming football, there's always plenty of spirited banter to be tossed about in rebel nation. Don't get me wrong I'm actually a huge Orgeron fan and would love for his contract to receive another extension. I could go for days so lets not lose focus. Despite the hours we could spend on the workman like effort put in by the rebels on Saturday, we have other fish to fry here. When do you know a university has quit? When does it become so apparent that everyone from the President, to the AD, to the Coach , to the passed out shaggy hair undergrad, are so completely disenfranchised with the football program? I mean , seriously when do you know? Well I’ll tell you, and it comes in the form of 2 words never associated together before, are you ready, here they are .......AFTERNOON FIREWORKS!!! Congratulations to Ole Miss!!! Who else in the entire firework gazing world would have thought to have a fireworks display at 2:30 in the afternoon? Its good to know that the stupidity that once was confined only to the football program has completely immersed the entire university. I won't even mention the shorting out of the scoreboard and jumbotron for the entire 2nd half as a direct result of the "Disney in Oxford" display. At some point it becomes just like scoring on the defense..a joke. It has now become apparent that there is almost no way the lowest I.Q. on campus resides with our hero Coach O. That honor would have to go to the genius who prepared Saturday's halftime festivities. Hey i guess even that guy figured Fuck it, no one is watching anyway."

PURE BEAUTIFUL ANGER AT ITS FINEST

Memphis, TN

Hey here is shocker…, Pete went to a Wedding. This one was in Memphis and I was not in it. Crazy Pete factoid #372, I have been in over twenty weddings, five of them as best man. No joke. One of Scoots (my sister Keri) friends and my coworker at the H, Emily got married. It was a nice wedding and lots of Scoot’s old friends from her IP days were in town. Some of them I had not seen for years. We had some afternoon beers on one of the many bar patios in Memphis, hit the Rendezvous for ribs, visited Ernestine and Hazel’s for a soul burger, and did some breakfast at Miss Cordelia’s grocery. All of this was facilitated by my fall break this week. For a change I stayed around Memphis for fall break and just hung around the Mempho.

The weather has finally broke in Memphis and you can actually go outside in Memphis without melting like the wicked witch of the west. Truk and some others took advantage of the weather by walking across Memphis. Yes, you read that correctly, walked across Memphis. It was Frank’s idea but his schedule would not permit him making the jaunt across the bluff city. I was supposed to go but I had.., lets just call it stomach troubles and we will leave it at that. Here is a link to Truk’s Blog about the trip with accompanying photos.

School has been a little crazy. Every year goes by faster than the previous one. That is both good and bad. Good because vacation comes more quickly, bad because it never seems like there is time to get anything done. There are only eight weeks to Christmas vacay (That’s how the kids say it these days). Oh well, my philosophy has always been process over product. Here is what I mean by that. Let’s face it my students are not going to remember anything specific about my class but they will retain learning techniques and strategies that I teach them. As a result, what specific material I actually cover is less important than teaching them to be life long learners. Or maybe that is just a cheap excuse for not getting a lot of stuff done.

This week we had a nice break in the action with the 8th grade retreat out to Victory Ranch in Bolivar, TN. They have a beautiful facility out in the country. The girls have a good time doing ropes course things like climbing walls, zip cords, and other high element activities. It is a nice way to get to know the kids outside the classroom and vice versa for getting to know the teachers in the same light. It is not exactly roughing it. In fact the cabins look like Colorado ski lodges. The food is always good and I even got to watch the Indian/Red Sox baseball game and Rutgers upset of South Florida on satellite. This is one of the few times it really works out being a male teacher at an all girls school, I can not help with bed checks and other night time duties so I sleep quite comfortably by myself. A crazy bad thunderstorm rolled through at night which provided an awesome lighting display along with a substantial amount of rain. It was over before folks went to sleep so there was little drama to speak of.

Memphis, TN

Things have been pretty busy in Pete’s world the last few weeks so I thought I would catch folks up on my goings on and tomfoolery.

Some highlights from earlier in October. Wednesdays have been spent at the Court Square concert series. The last one was this past week and I missed it because of crappy weather. One of the Wednesdays I met Truk and Kath at the Memphis Flyer’s “Best of” party. I’ve gone the last few years and always have a good time. They had Blue Moon on tap which was quite nice. Hung out for a while and was in bed by 10:30pm. The party was at Bridge’s headquarters. It was a little odd to be drinking where I worked for so many summers at the leadership camps. Shockingly, I got over it.

Matt roams the outfield of Autozone Park

Another nice time was when Uncle Dave came down to Memphis for the weekend to visit with Lex and Buff and watch CBU and Matt play in the Nostalgia Man classic. The Classic is a nice little fall baseball wooden bat tournament hosted by Memphis’ AAA baseball team for the local small colleges. CBU played Rhodes and Bethel College. CBU lost the first and tied in the latter. It must be nice to be a small college player and play at Autozone Park. We had lunch at Bigfoot before the game on Saturday and the Stephany girls entertained the bartender. As Uncle Dave lobbied the girls to hit Church the next day Buffy’s response of, “Oh, is it Easter already?” proved to be the line of the day. The weather, setting, and company conspired for a great weekend. The Stephany clan also hit Buffalo Wild Wings for some playoff baseball and wingees. Pete love wingee.

Hey batter, batter,....., swing batter.

Uncle Dave at the entrnace to Autozone Park.

I also forgot to mention that last month my cousin Greg came through town for a couple of days. He was blowing through on the way to Louisiana for classes he needs for captains license. I am so envious of his adventures. Greg is a sailor. Old school sailor, you know like swab the poop deck, raise the mast, avar there matie, real time sailor. He recently completed a gig where he worked on ship called the Picton Castle which sailed around the world. He got PAID to sail around the world, and people say I live the life. Well Greg came through and we did what are clan does and a good time was had. He recently passed his captains license and is currently working with some ships out of Maine that work with college crews among other people. It is good to have family in town and come through town.

Late night fun at Alex's Tavern with the cousins

Another highlight from the month was Truk and Kath’s porch party. They have arguably the best porch in Memphis and host a party each year. It was good company and a good time. Kath had some great snacks and there was an excellent beer selection. It was good to get to see some folks I had not seen in a while.

If the porch is a rockin'.., stop by!

Mostly Midtown Memphis

Friday was a crazy day. I started off meeting my parents for a beer out east for a beer. More accurately my dad’s happy hour buddies from Germantown High. It was nice but the beer only made me tired so I went home and took a nap. Good Thing. I first met the Stephany cousins, Jasper, and Keri, who was in town from Chicago, for a beer at the Blue Monkey. Later on I met up with a couple of Baruch’s friends for drinks. We hit La Chardonnay first then slid over to the Beauty Shop for some killer mojitos. These were the best mojitos I have had since DC. I know that sounds obnoxious but its true.

The Blue Monkey

The Beauty Shop

Baruch and friend wisely bailed, so Cindy was brave enough to come with and meet up with the rest of the motley crew at Bayou. It was an all star gallery of wild ones, the Music Man, Jasper, Angry Chuck, Buff, and Keri. . Suffice to say, poor decisions were made and we ended up at Alex’s Tavern for some late night food and drink. When Buff joined were rolling four Stephanys deep. That is illegal in most states.

Downtown Memphis

The Reba Russell band was playing at Court Square tonight. Beautiful night. The Music Man’s Jazz band from school opened up tonight and did a fabulous job. They covered some of Memphis’ classic songs. Last year they were awarded the title of best high school band from Downbeat Magazine. I hung out with Penny, the Music daughter, for a stretch. Later on that night I met up with Truk for a couple of beers at the Saucer. The pint special was Oktoberfest Beer. In bed by 9:30pm, it was good night.

The Gazebo stage

People mulling around the foutntain

One of the ore hilarious/annoying part of the Court Square concert series is the weekly “Bum off”. Its kinda of like a dance off only the crack influences the dancing style far more than the music. It helps pass the time but if any tourists see them it kind of freaks them out. I really want to have “Bum Dance Contest”. I can yell, “It’s an ol’ fashioned Bum off! Old school rules apply!” I’m not sure what those old school rules would apply but when I think about it in my head I giggle. I have issues.

Memphis, TN

I went out to SBA to support the H’s volleyball team in an important region match. There was a big crowd so it was great atmosphere. I said of hellos to a lot of my old SBA cronies. The seniors are the last group of kids I coached in Football so it was great to seem some of them. One of favorites was a kid we dubbed “Manhole”. I coached his older brother in football and taught his other one. Smart and funny kid, he is stand out wrestler. His family has gone through a lot. About three years ago he lost the brother that I taught in car accident on his way home from school at LSU. He has kept a good head on his shoulder and I enjoyed talking with him.

SBA got us in the firth and tiebreaker set. In the end it could be a good loss. The team had beat SBA the other 4 or 5 times they had played them and I feel that it is tough to beat a good team every time you see them. We will see them again in the region tourney. I like supporting the team, a lot of my old students, and one of my 8th graders starts on the varsity as a setter. She is pretty good.

Washington, DC

After waking up and getting packed Billy picked me up from the hotel and we headed to fields near the Lincoln Memorial along the Potomac to play some flag football. This was the season opening game. The team is mostly comprised of Ugly Mugs softball team with a few additions, namely two members of my Erie Crew, Ryser and Micah. The weather was sunny, the skies were blue, and there a nice breeze coming off the Potomac. Wow do I miss playing football.

The Ugly Mugs drew first blood only to be matched by the opposing team on the next possession. After that the route was on. We, by we I mean me, stopped trying to call plays in the huddle we started lighting up the scored board like a pinball machine. The final score was 28 to 6. All played well. After the game we headed to our sponsor bar for the obligatory min burgers, wings, and pizza rolls. MMMMHHH, bar food. We watched the first half of the NFL games and then returned to the mancave at Bill and Amanda’s to watch the Packers secure a win in the second half. Ryser made this killer chickenwing dip thing which was awesome. I had to tread lightly though because given my gastric intake of the previous three days coupled with a flight home I needed to “manage the team”. Once on the plane I slept from gate to landing.

Washington, DC

The whole process of waking up and getting food pretty much repeated itself from the previous day. The only difference was the destination which was Clyde’s in Chinatown. It was a good meal with good company. By the time it we had gotten all of that done it was time for the wedding party to get ready and me to nap. I watched the beginning of the Penn State v. Michigan game while I fell asleep.

The calm before the storm
Dunk sporting his authentic mesh Steve Largent jersey

I got eventually got ready and headed over to the Hotel Monaco, beautiful place, with the others for the ceremony and subsequent festivities. I caught up with some of the other “Ugly Mugs” from summer softball and Bill and Amanda who was due with their first child any day. It was great getting caught up.

The ceremony was great. As a frequent wedding attendee and veteran groomsman I am rarely surprised by some aspect of a wedding ceremony. Leave it to Virginia and Norm to do just that. For the scripture reading they chose John 2:3 – 11, or commonly known as the Wedding at Cana, more specifically Jesus’ debut miracle, water to wine. For anyone who has been to Bourbon Street in New Orleans or Beale in Memphis with me, you know I like to argue with street preachers about the supposed evils of alcohol. Well the Wedding at Cana is my biblical evidence for the drinking. The street preacher stated that John meat non-alcoholic grape juice. And then I drunkenly retort that, “You take the whole bible literally except for these few lines. Bull%&#$!” I digress. Anyway the reading was perfect and the minister, Virginia’s brother-in-law, said that he chose this reading because he knew that Brian and Virginia liked to have a good time. Amen!!!!

In the time between the ceremony and reception there was a cocktail hour so no one would die of thirst while the room was changed from a ceremony setting to a reception one. Some of the highlights; Stiff drinks, nummy appetizers (The andouille sausage and shrimp skewers were my favorite), and not to be boring a belly dancer. That’s right a belly dancer. Good times!!!

Norm and the belly dancer

Once the reception area opened the party was on. Young and old alike, it’s all relative anyway, danced from the moment the music started till the final song. The food was awesome. They even had sushi bar!! Dunk, at everyone’s insistence, revisited his best man speech/song from the previous night. It was awesome! Some highlights were; Virginia’s dad’s speech and jacket, singing some Journey, “Don’t stop believing”, Dunk’s rendition of the wedding classic, “Shout”, and me knocking over a plant decoration. This description totally understates the whole reception. Easily one of the top five wedding receptions I have ever attended, no exaggeration.

Mr. Duncan's awesome jacket.

Double E enjoys a little, "Sugar Time!"

After the reception was over we made our way to the lobby bar to finish things off. By the end of that, it was time for everyone to go home and lick there wounds. Great job everyone!!!!

For more pictures of the insanity and fun check this photo album.

Washington, DC and Rural Virginia

After waking up at the crack of noon we slowly assembled our team and went on a journey to forage for sustenance. After meeting up a Norm’s we took an agonizingly slow time, due to hunger not company, we ambled to Matchbox, near the Verizon Center in downtown DC. Matchbox specializes in Min-Burgers and Pizza. We had both. To get a better picture imagine gourmet Krystals or White Castle. We enjoyed our feast and went back to respective places to grab some zzz’s to prepare for the nights festivities.

Mini Burgers at Matchbox

The rehearsal dinner was about an hour and half ride to the north of DC in rural Virginia. The parents of the Norm and Virginia (The bride, not the state) were nice enough to provide buses to and from the dinner which enabled much more fun and made Virginia’s (The state, not the bride) roads much, much safer. We had to stop in Arlington, right out side of DC because it became apparent that the buses may run out of…, “fuel”. After loading up the coolers.., I mean tanks, we continued on.

The bus ride to country

Virginia’s (The bride, not the state) Dad’s house was on a farm in the country. The weather and setting could not have been any better. Cocktails and conversation were enjoyed on the porch in the back of the house that overlooked the rolling hills of Virginia (The state, not the bride). I couldn’t resist that one.

Dunk outside the stately Duncan Manor

The view of the back patio and porch overlooking the hill's of Virginia

For dinner Norm’s folks brought up Whitt’s BBQ from Nashville. There were some great toasts and speeches from both sides of the isle. The company and setting, along with the food drink, conspired for a wonderful evening. Here is a link to the video of Dunk's hilarious and wonderful best man speech. The video sucks but the audio is good. Sadly we had to leave the house because our buses had to get back to DC. We were entertained on the way home by some singing, pole dancing, courtesy of Norm, and some hilarious DJ action.

Norm, being Norm

When we returned to Norm’s place we entertained ourselves with drinks and Nintendo Wii tennis and bowling. I channeled some of my inner Polak and did quite well in bowling. That made up for my poor performance in Tennis. And yes, if you were wondering, we did in fact play video games the night before Norm’s wedding. Why not? The alternatives would have frightened a few and endangered many.

Memphis to Washington, DC

Heading back to DC for Norm’s wedding. All the college crew will be in DC for the Wedding. I flew into National and took the Metro to my motel. I then walked over to Fran’s in Chinatown where and some others were hosting a soiree for Norm and Virginia. It was a great time. The crew was already there. Libations and food treats were enjoyed. Afterwards we slid over to Norm’s for some late night tomfoolery.

The tools

The tools in action

The grab!!!

The young Jedis, Norm and Mark, bask in their success

A dark version YouTube clip of the shennanigans

A game was invented out of necessity, hashed out by inventiveness, and enjoyed because of idiocy. No name was assigned to game but here is the etymology of it. While throwing a nerf football to and fro on Norm’s balcony it inevitably went over the ledge onto the balcony below. (Not the first or last item to do so) That is when Dunk sprung into action. In order to retrieve the football a Nieman Marcus shopping bag, a fed ex delivery envelope, tent poles, and of course tape were used to fashion a “pusher” device and “grabber” device.

Working in tandem Dunk and Owen were able to retrieve the ball. Norm and Mark were caught up in the heady satisfaction that imbued the balcony with a “Ben Franklinesue” vibe. A challenge was issued, a time frame was set, the nerf ball sent back over the balcony. Success was achieved. Here are the photos. A video may follow.

The lingering question was this, "What would Norm's downstairs neighbors thought/done had they woke up to the image of two tent poles, an envelope, and shopping bag "dancing" around thier balcony. No such luck. Fun anyways. This was one of the highlights of the evening. And yes this is how we spent the bulk of our college years entertaining ourselves.

Memphis, TN

If it is Wednesday then it is Court Square Concert Series. The band this night was the smooth Jazz stylings of Sal Crocker and his Strictly Jazz Quartet. The weather was great and the cooler full. I picked up some fired Chicken from Gus’s and it was spicy good. I was joined by Truk and Kath, Jasper, and Jim Lanier. Dr. Lanier is one of my old History teachers from Rhodes College and although retired still does a lot of stuff through the college and subsequently knows Truk who also works there. The jazz provided an excellent backdrop for conversation. After the music we slipped over to the Flying Saucer for a few additional libations.

The gang enjoy's some southern fried chicken from Gus'

The trolley heads down Main Streey towards Court Square

Sunset over a barge on the Mississippi.

Sal Crocker plays jazz from the Gazebo in Court Square.

Memphis, TN
Well folks I guess it’s that time of the week again. Let’s see what happened near Pete’s Cave this past week.

Tuesday
I actually got a lot of work done. I went out to Dan McGuiness downtown and had a couple pints of Guinness as I corrected papers and prepared lecture and discussion notes for the week. The irony of working on lessons and instructions for China while drinking Irish beer is not lost on me. I find that the text we use is good for background knowledge but it does not connect with the girls for true understanding. There are a few cites that I use religiously for background and primary source documents.

1. Paul Halsall Internet History Sourcebook Project
   This site has primary documents and great info on nearly every part of world history from ancient to modern.


2. Columbia University’s Asia For Educators
   Great lesson plans and documents and primary source information


3. The BBC site for world religions
   Great background on World Religions

In terms of class prep I find the book by Fairbank and Goldman, “China; A New History” to be the best aid in explaining Chinese History from the Ancient Xia Dynasty to Communist China.

Like anyone wanted to know any of that. You were warned that school year Pete is much different than summer Pete.

Sunset on the Mississippi

View of the "New Bridge" and the Pyramid

Wednesday
Well the much ballyhooed Wednesday get together did not happen. I had to quickly scramble and send out a BBD e-mail to the crew. For the initiated this was term coined by Baruch, to describe how I would blow him off, always exaggerated, for a Bigger Better Deal. Well this it actually was a bigger deal, not necessarily better. I did not know that some of my Dad's friends at Int. Paper planned a retirement party for him at the Fox and Hound on Sanderlin this past Wednesday. So that obviously superseded the music at Court Square.

For those who may not know, my Dad retired in the last month from IP to take a job teaching German at, appropriately enough, Germantown High School. He loves being back in the classroom and is more energized than ever. After 27.5 years of service that is a bigger better deal. The turnout and ensuing evening was marvelous. Some of my Dad’s newer group, who I do not know as well as well as the IP crew from back in the day, early 90’s when the Family lived in the Dova’.

Thursday
I met Baruch and some others at Bhan Thai, a great Thai food restaurant in midtown. The conversation was great as was the food. I had the Red Curry, spicy but doable and extremely tasty. Most of the gang was people I knew through Baruch but also knew in other ways, typical. You may have heard of six degrees of separation. Well Memphis, the largest small town in the country, has two.

If you are bored you can explore the corollary phenomena of Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon which is based on a variation of the concept of that states any actor can be linked, through their film roles, to actor Kevin Bacon. In fact a group of computer science people at UVA came up with this site called the Oracle of Bacon, which determines any actor or actress’ “Bacon” number. Things like this are the reason why I love college.

Friday
Met Dad for happy hour at the Celtic Crossing. To more clearly exhibit what I write about for Thursday I cite this example. While waiting for me to arrive for a beer my Dad began to chat up one of the guys helping set up for Cooper Young festival. Why? Well because that is what my dad, and quite frankly all Stephany’s do. Short story, long; my Dad has this guy’s, who is from Syria, nephew in his class at G-Town. Way crazy!
Some other shenanigans for the night included a nap, buying a router at the Apple Store in East BFE, and Mexican food at Los Compadres in Midtown with Truk and Kath.

Saturday
Spectacular day!!! I was chilly most of the day. I went to Big Kat and Steph’s house for their annual Gator Hater party. Mass quantities were consumed and numerous football games were watched. Great games! Here are a few post game comments.

Houston Nutt’s piss poor clock management blew the game for the Razorbacks, 3rd and 12 with 2:20 left and he decides to pass the ball!?!. He literally took the ball out of the hands of the two best backs in the SEC and put it into the hands of a Dick. Shame on you all!!! I meant Casey Dick the QB for the Arkansas Razorbacks. If you just took a knee on that play 25 seconds roll of the clock and the game is over with a W for the Hogs. I never claimed to be a good coach but I know clock management.

Random Football Thoughts

The Pittsburgh Stillers under Tomlin are looking good.
Notre Dame is really bad.
My beloved Big Ten is way down this year.

Penn State is not as good as I thought.
Louisville is overrated.

Kentucky is underrated.

And if I played QB against LSU I would wet myself.

Sunday
Pete was offered two excellent meals by friends. The Music Man grilled out a beef brisket with his special BBQ spices and rubs. Excellent. After reading, a nap, and some football on TV I went to Truk and Kath’s for some great eats. Just when the Sopranos is finally over and I think I am now free from its addiction they showed me a show called the “The Wire”. Damb them both, the show is awesome. It’s a great drama. It ethnic tension among Eastern and Western European groups reminds a smidgeon of my hometown Erie. We watched two episodes from Season 2 on DVD. Way good. Again, damb you Truk and Kath.

Memphis, TN

Monday, September 10th

OK people. The weather looks to be awesome, highs in the low 80’s and lows in the high 50’s. That means it is time for the Court Square Concert Series again this Wednesday from 5:30pm till 7:30pm. The music looks to be good. And besides, how could Pete Big Bear turn down a chance to listen to a band called Big Bear. They are described as a rockabilly funk band.

I will have a cooler full of ice and a steady supply of beer. I will have plenty of Silo cups. I am even thinking of ordering some Gus’s Fried Chicken. If you want some let me know by 3pm Wednesday and put in an order and pick it up. From the square people can roll to the Saucer where Stella Artois will be the featured beer for "buy the beer, keep the glass" night. That starts at 7pm.

Besides it will be my first official stab at keeping up a weekly Pete Big Bear for the Fall. Not that anyone really cares. Hell I would have stopped paying attention after I read about Gus’s Fried Chicken.

Pete

As far as what have been up to? Here are some random events. By know means a complete list.

1. Bachelor party in Atlanta for Norm.
2. Mississippi State vs. LSU for football
3. Road Trip to Knoxville for Labor Day
4. A few walks downtown for libations.
5. A whole lot of in-service meetings at the “H”
6. Sweating through 17 days of heat over 100 degrees in August.
7. Eating a whole bunch of BBQ.
8. Teaching, Teaching, Teaching.
9. A bunch of movies.

Memphis, TN
Sunday, August 05

Here are some stats from the Pete’s summer adventures.

Over 3200 miles driven
12 states visited
14 spots that I slept
Numerous old friends visited
More new people met
Hundreds of beers drank
Lots of sandwiches, hoagies, grinders, po’ boys, and subs eaten
Lots of fun had

On a side note, the drive home from Covington, KY was interesting to say the least. I got a flat tire on the outside loop of Louisville, KY. Luckily as part of Team Cheryl I received an AAA membership which paid off handsomely. Within 45 minutes of blowing the tire, it was quite old. I had been towed to tire place in Louisville and in the time it took me to have a cup of coffee, read the editorial section of Louisville’s Newspaper and eat a sandwich two new tires were purchased and installed and I was back on the road. The financial damage was minimal and quite frankly I was lucky the tire lasted as long as it did and that the flat occurred midday in suburb of a major city as opposed to some backwater town along my journey at some odd time of the day or night. When one puts over 3,000 miles over the course of a summer on a seven year old car with over 140,000 miles on it, two new tires and an oil change are a small price to pay when it comes to car maintenance.

I always lament the end of the summer. I quote one of the great philosophers of the modern age H.I. McDunnough who feared , “… no return to the salad days.” Okay I realize that I may not be able to get many people in the feel sorry for Pete BigBear camp but it is difficult to come off the high of the open road and travel. I new I was back in Memphis when seconds after passing the border into Shelby County I was nearly run off the road by girl who was putting on make up while talking on a cell phone and watched two drivers flip each other the bird over some meaningless traffic issue. Man, I missed this town.

"No return to the salad days?"

So what has Pete been up to?

Monday
After a long journey and a restful nap I went to pint night at the Celtic Crossing with Baruch, the
Rock and roll accountant.

Tuesday
I went to the Pink Palace Museum lawn to watch Raising Arizona with Truk and Katherine while munching Caribbean Jerk wings from Central BBQ. The IFC channel, along with the evil empire Comcast, was sponsoring this three day movie fest. It was quite fun. Besides the movie, the Coen brothers are brilliant, the best part of the night was when the generator ran out of gas with literally 10 seconds left in the film and therefore the power went out. People immediately started yelling sarcastic and derogatory things about Comcast. Also the screen started to deflate. BTW, the Comcast guy kept calling IFC, the international film channel as opposed to its proper name, the independent film channel. I quote, “We at Comcast love the International Film Channel and thank them for bringing this movie fest our city” Classis Comcast. I am in the middle of year three of living sans cable. Not because I think I’m better than TV but because I hate Comcast and can not get Direct TV in my condo.

PS Here is an essay by someone with way too much time on their hands about the imagery in the Movie Raising Arizona

Wednesday
Spent a whole day running much needed errands then had dinner with Big Mike on the Island. For those who don’t know my dad is retiring from IP this month and begins teaching German part time at Germantown High School. He has been looking to do this for a while and is very excited. I am excited for him. He will be returning to the classroom after working for IP for over 28 years. Go Red Devils!!!!
We watched a documentary on PBS about the STAX record label here in Memphis. Great flick and better music.

Thursday
I had lunch with Mocha Dave at Young Avenue Deli. Great meal and I love the Deli. I guess it is sign of getting old but I would go the Young Avenue much more at night but when bands play there they are just too loud. I am an old fart. In the afternoon I went to the Ridgeway Four to watch the new Don Cheadle movie Talk to Me. It the story about an ex-con DJ in DC during the late sixties and early seventies. I highly recommend the film. I love going to the movies alone. After a late afternoon nap I met Jasper over at Link’s house were we dined on Link’s brilliant smoked beef brisket and watched a documentary shown on the local PBS station that featured Link an the STAX Academy band that he directs as they traveled and performed in Italy the previous summer. I coached two of the kids in the band and was fun to catch up with the Jasper and Link while seeing the sights of Italy.

Memphis, TN
Friday, August 3rd

Pete is back home in his cave. He is taking a week off to catch up with his love of BBQ. He is still having fun. He has decided to experiment and keep up with his adventures durig the other seasons, not just summer. He must warn you that his life when he is teaching at the "H' not nearly as interesting as when he is on the road. He welcomes your comments.

One thing Pete is going to attempt to do is to fill in the non Memphians on his usual activities in M-Town. So if you have any questions about the city of good abode let him know. He will do his best to answer.

Lima. OH to Covington. KY

Sunday, July 29th

I got an early start to the day. Grandpa Kerr, Aunt Nancy, and I went to 9am mass at St. Gerard’s. After a nice mass went to a great little spot in Lima called the Corner Café. If you are envisioning a little French bistro you would be sorely mistaken. The place is covered in faux wood paneling and has great sports memorabilia that spans numerous years. The photos and newspaper clippings cover local and state sports. Everything from Lima Senior High’s state championship in 1996 to Bob Fellar, a famous baseball player for the Cleveland Indians in the 1950’s and 60’s. There was also lots of Ohio State stuff on the wall also. The Corner Café doubles as bar. My guess is that there place is jumping at night with a variety of characters. The breakfast was great, I forget how much of a staple potatoes are in the breakfast world of Middle America.

After breakfast I hit the road for my travel to just south of Cincinnati. I was going to visit one of my best friends from my college days, Rojo. Rojo and I went to school together, worked together at Fino’s, traveled together, and since it was college, party together. He also went to an obnoxious all boys’ school and so we naturally got along well. Some of my finest memories of college are with Rojo. We terrorized Mardi Gras on a couple of occasions and had a memorable trip to Nantucket one summer vacation. We have kept up with each other over the years and his life took him to law school in Louisville and now to his married life just south of Cincinnati in Covington, KY.

Paul Brown Stadium home of the NFL Bengals

The Great America Ballpark home of the Reds

After a very relaxing drive through the corn fields of western Ohio and a drive through the Queen City, Cincinnati, OH. If you want to be authentic Ohioan you have to pronounce it, “Cincinnta”. My parents lived here for about two years after they returned from my Dad’s job in Ireland. I know city relatively well and enjoyed visiting them here. I love driving through downtown, when there is no traffic, because of the great views of the city, the river, and the downtown football and baseball stadiums.

When I arrived Rojo began cooking and really did not stop until everyone went to bed. He made some burgers for lunch and knocked some Memphis style ribs out of the park. It was great afternoon and evening. I really enjoyed getting to know his knew wife Kathleen and catching up with Rojo. It was all too short of visit but I think I have them convinced to make a visit to Memphis later this year.