A Couple Perfect Days

My annual trip to the SoCal competition in San Diego is over, and what a dynamite trip it was.  There are so many reasons, so many memories and so much to mull over from these couple perfect days that I had to "feel a blogpost comin' on"!

It all started with a flight to the west coast and an evening with Brett Carroll's Burbank kids.  Some really great rehearsal time with In Sync, then back to Brett's for a yummy home-cooked dinner on the back porch, and an introduction to Sancho, his puggle.  A good night's sleep, then off to Carlsbad, for some Pannikin Inn iced cinnamon mocha, a jog on the beach, and some one-on-one time with my wonderful Carlsbad groups and Christy Owen.

Thursday night brought me to the Sheraton Harbor Island in San Diego, where I met up with Morgan for a much anticipated daddy-daughter visit.  A late night bite at the sports bar, and off to slumber with our balcony door WIDE open to embrace the cool San Diego breezes as we slept.

Friday was busy, busy, busy,.....but also awesome, awesome, awesome!!  After grabbing some Starbucks, we headed 2 hours back to California Baptist for Morgan to perform in an opera recital for her 84-year old voice instructor, Betty Olsen.  Der Fleidermaus is a famous comedic opera where Morgan shined with both her voice and comedic timing, as she interracted with her partner Trent, in a "scandalous" opera piece about their extra-marital tryst!

Even more spectacular, though, was her duet with Even Lo, her small group leader.  a GORGEOUS and explosive love duet about 2 people who long to be together.  Morgan was hitting high B's in a way that seemed virtually effortless (she now has a high D in her repetoire!!!!!), and their chemistry was palpable.  Overall, so many of the singers performed with glorious professionalism and made this opera hater love every last moment of the recital!!

After meeting Betty, taking pictures, and grabbing a 5-minute visit with Dr. Bonner (who called Morgan a "star"!), we had lunch at Cal Baptist, where I got to meet Morgan's beautiful new roomies for next year.  We had a bit of time to kill, so we took a side trip to San Juan Capistrano to sightsee and visit Hidden House, home of the best iced and spiced chai teas in the world!

We visited garden shops, boutiques, and a wonderful antique mall before climbing back in the car and heading to day one of SoCal at Chula Vista High School.  My Carlsbad girls won first place and Burbank OOTB got second in a close battle with Burroughs, then we grabbed some Shakey's pizza and headed back to the hotel.

Saturday morning couldn't have been any better.  It started with morning coffee and a tremendous breakfast buffet at the hotel (which featured starfruit, an oatmeal bar, a million different pastries, egg white casseroles, and extra crispy bacon,...my fave!!).  After that, we headed to play some ping-pong, where I promptly schooled my first-born before stepping on and crushing the only ball available.

Walking along the harbor island waterfront trail, we caught an unexpected and cool surprise.  As we walked along chatting and watching pelicans dive bomb for fish, Morgan exclaimed, "Daddy, look over there!"  We were blessed to see 2 dolphins from a distance of maybe 30 feet away, followed by a lone harbor seal swimming lazily around the bay.  Once back at the hotel, it was an hour of sunbathing by the pool before Morgan had to pack her bags and head back to the reality of concert schedules and homework.

I grabbed a 6-mile waterfront run (which was much needed due to my food intake on the trip), and then caught a taxi over to Golden Hall for the SoCal Finals.  Carlsbad's "Atlantis" show scored the highest in their division, but got beaten on rankings, while Burbank's "Prodigal" scored 2 points behind Burroughs, but was victorious on rankings!  I also choreographed the men's champion and ladies runner-up, and got both a temporary face tattoo and a green painted-on mohawk to support my two schools.

Overall, just a simply fantastic weekend that I'll always remember.  Next week, the process of selection of our new home in Colorado begins, when I travel to judge the Colorado State Music Championships in Colorado Springs.  I'm meeting for an afternoon with Mary Fontana, a real estate agent, to get a lay of the land in the Springs housing market.  In October, Tina and I are flying out for a week, looking at Fort Collins and the Springs, talking to loads of folks, and then getting about the business of prioritizing where we want our new home to be starting in July of 2013,.....whew.

New York 2012

Another trip to the Big Apple is in the rearview mirror, and I have to say it was a pretty darn good one. Here are my top memories from yet another memorable trip to Manhattan:

-Ghost the Musical took my breath away with its technology, music and story-telling!

-Newsies and Leap Of Faith both delivered great music and staging, even if the storylines and "dot connecting" weren't always the most realistic!

-Matthew Broderick (who I walked past and nearly bumped into) looks WAY older in person!!!

-Dinner at Thalia's with Megan Reinking was a true highlight, although an 11 p.m. dinner and my stomach aren't always in perfect harmony. However, note to self: Apricot nectar and mandarin vodka are an A+ martini combination!

-3 seven-mile jogs in Central Park on breezy, sunny days make anyone's life a little bit better. The elm trees just get prettier every stinkin' year!

-Brooklyn Diner a'int what it used to be.

-Hip-hop dance class + almost 47-year-old man = OUCH!!

-Bis Co. Latte is just a really neat place for biscotti and lattes.

-Times Square never gets old.

-Hearing somebody playing bagpipes while you jog creates a sense of inner peace,...who'd have thunk it?

-Three days is about my limit in NYC before I want to SCREAM!!!

I won't be returning to the city in 2013 because of family budgeting and such, but I anxiously will anticipate a 2014 reunion. Who knows, maybe a plain hot dog will be FOUR dollars by then!!

No Longer Peyton's Place

And so, on March 6th, 2012, the Indianapolis Colts have decided to hand the car keys to an undrafted rookie named Andrew Luck. This is gonna be painful, as the keys were held and the car driven masterfully for nearly 15 years by one of the greatest quarterbacks in the history of the game, Peyton Manning.

I remember washing my car in the driveway during the draft of 1998. It was a sunny, slightly chilly day, and I had the radio turned up in anticipation of the Colts drafting the man of my dreams (so to speak!). I listened, I tensed up with anticipation, and let out a sigh of disappointment when they didn't choose,......RYAN LEAF!!!!! Oh well, I thought, Manning will probably be okay as a substitute. THIS, by itself, is likely the single piece of damning evidence that would be used to seal the case against me if I ever applied for a General Manager's position in the NFL!!

To properly pay homage to Peyton is nearly impossible, but I want to at least tip my hat and offer my meaningless thanks for who he's been and what he's done. Among my memories of his time with our city:

-Ummmm,........WINNING THE SUPER BOWL!!!!!!

-Inventing a brand-new type of offense, where reading the defense at the line of scrimmage and calling audibles on practically every play has redefined what's possible offensively.

-Winning at least 11 games every year for 12 straight years.

-Becoming one of the funniest television commercial actors I've ever seen (the Mastercard series was "priceless")

-Setting over 20 all-time NFL passing records, with more to come in future years.

-Being so durable for 13 straight years, that most people couldn't identify out of a police line-up who the Colts back-up quarterback was! (And when we finally found out, we wretched!)

-Conducting the single biggest "Arms Race" with Tom Brady since the USA-Soviet Cold War.

-Making arrogant defensive backs look like diaper-wetting toddlers while picking them apart time after time after time.

-His astounding telepathy with Marvin Harrison and Reggie Wayne.

-The wonderful relationship he had with Tony Dungy.

But in addition, there's a personal side that I think speaks more highly of Peyton than his football accolades:

-Building a Children's Hospital that serves tons of underprivileged kids.

-Representing our city with class, dignity, a killer work ethic and integrity.

-Fighting through broken jaws, concussions, sprained ankles, dislocated fingers and herniated discs in his neck just to keep playing.

-NEVER making statements that embarassed our city. NEVER appearing in a police mugshot after beating his wife or kids. NEVER throwing teammates under the bus. NEVER "taking it easy" on opponents. NEVER taking all the credit himself. NEVER failing to thrust that credit upon his receivers, offensive line, coaches or defense. NEVER failing to come to the aid of those less fortunate, as was the case with Hurricane Katrina, tons of hospital visits (most of which were never reported), charity bowling tournaments, charity golf fundraisers, and charity events with his dad Archie and brother Eli.

So it's a bittersweet farewell to our knight on a stallion. Unless his new team (which I predict to be Washington) plays the Colts, I'll be cheering like crazy for Peyton to set every record in the book. Releasing him truly is the right decision from a financial and "down-the-road" perspective, but it hurts nonetheless.

Andrew Luck appears to be the real deal, much as Peyton was 15 years ago. If he stays healthy and out of trouble, his career might even approach Peyton's success one day. But for now, I'm in favor of lowering Lucas Oil's flags to half staff, observing a moment of silence, and just smiling while we remember the brilliant gift that this man was to our city.

Thanks, Peyton,.....and keep throwing darts for years to come.

Proud Of My City

Giants 21, Patriots 17. That, in itself is a great thing. A Manning won and a Brady lost, so Jupiter is still dutifully aligned with Mars. Wish it would've been Peyton and not Eli, but whatcha gonna do?

Indianapolis just hosted one of the best Super Bowl weeks ever held, with wonderful events, gorgeous pageantry, splendid organization, and shockingly great weather. It was a wonderful way to highlight my home of the past 25 years, and made me proud to be a Hoosier (where, as Steve Poe says, the state bird is, "Larry").

Tina and I traveled downtown on Saturday to see the Super Bowl Village and do the NFL Experience. We parked about a mile away and paid $20, but it was at a church, so I guess God will be pleased. High aspirations for star spotting were on our minds, as I fully intended to do a personal interview of Johnny Depp while posing for photos with Joe Montana, LMFAO, Deion Sanders and Cher (though she wasn't even in town!)

The town was totally abuzz with music, lights and decorations that screamed "SUPER BOWL COMMERCIAL" from the highest rooftops. We walked through tens of thousands of folks to pose in front of the Monument Circle giant Roman numerals, then did the sardine squish through a myriad of folks to get to Miyagi's, for sushi and warm sake'. (Did I mention we passed an awesome rock band dressed as MUMMIES along the way?)

After dinner, it was off to the NFL EXPERIENCE, which welcomed us with a 10-story tall zipline over the throng of humanity. The exhibition was an absolute ZOO!! Excited kids, along with their testosterone-overdosed fathers ran hither and tither, bulldozing their way from 40-yard dash to sled-blocking course to the final point kick. Tina and I signed the waivers and decided we would do one challenge, mainly because each and every line was one hour long. The time had come for this man to kick his first 30-yard field goal!!

Armed with the determination and tenacity of,......well,.....ummm,........a 46-year old choreographer with a slight groin pull to begin with, we set our countenance on crushing the field goal. Who knows, there could've been scouts in the area. Scouts with clout, scouts with a keen eye for weathered talent, scouts with big contracts in their back pocket waiting for me to sign.

The time came after 70 minutes. I lined in up with the laser-precision of Morten Anderson, approached with the steely grit of Adam Vinateri, and swung my leg through the ball with the high-kicking prowess of a Radio City Rockette!! The ball took off and sailed a good,.....fifteen or sixteen,......maybe thirteen,........OK, twelve yards,.....before dribbling toward the goal post and coming to rest in front of a volunteer who looked at it and sent in flying back for the next wannabe to fail.

I have to say though, that all in all, it was a great weekend!! Madonna performed better than I've seen her in quite some time. Tasteful, adroit, calculated and technically flawless. Her show with LMFAO, CeeLo Green, Nikki Minaj and something called MIA (obviously stands for flick middle finger at audience in feeble attempt to resurrect dying rap career) was theatrical, beautifully choreographed, brilliantly lighted and had some of the best choreography and dancers I've ever seen in one of these shows!! Kelly Clarkson and the Indianapolis Children's Choir (directed by Henry Leck, whose daughter Gretchen is a former student!!) performed the national anthem with solemnity and honor that befitted our country's proudest song.

And it was simply a pleasure to watch the Patriots fail again, on our home turf!! The party we went to at the McKay's was a great setting to see it all unfold. The naked M&M commercial, the chili cook-off between Doug Johnson and myself, the making of new friends, and 7 guys all analyzing and breaking down plays as if we were suddenly experts on a game that none of us ever played worth a darn. THIS is what Super Bowl weekend is about!!

Great job Indy! Proud of the way you held the event and made the city shine,......but I'm still moving to Colorado in a year.

Time With Woo.

Although it was far too brief, I got to spend some wonderful time with Morgan the last couple days. Scurrying through HEAVY L.A. traffic and barely creeping in halfway through their first song, I drove to Loma Linda on Saturday night to watch UCO perform their new set at Campus Hills Seventh-Day Adventist Church.

The place was PACKED, and I spent the entire 90 minute concert standing to the side of the pews so I could be close enough to actually see what was going on. Some new songs, including "Untitled Hymm" and "Give It All Away" are some of my very favorites the group has ever done. The crowd was probably in the 800-900 area (in a church that probably seats about 800 normally!), and the reaction to Dr. Bonner and UCO was nothing short of amazing.

That night, I got the treat of going out to dinner with some of Morgan's best friends form school to a little place called Mimi's Cafe in San Bernardino. Morgan, Tiffany, Glenn, Aubree, and Aubree's boyfriend Jed laughed, ate muffins, and talked about the service and school for awhile before everybody headed back to campus.

Sunday morning, I drove 100 miles to Hemet to see Morgan's small group "Hope" perform at a tiny, poor church that I would've never noticed were it not the destination of my GPS. About 45-50 folks watched in awe, as this group of 7 singers and a pianist took over the service and shared testimony (some of which made me tear up) that brought each and every one of their songs to life. The highlights were Morgan's feature number "Not Guilty" and a beautiful piece called "The Promise", led by one of the group's other ladies. Papa Brown got choked up a number of times, and basked in every precious second of seeing his daughter serving Christ and bringing others closer to Him.

Lunch at La Fogata was surprisingly good (except for the need of queso dip on the menu!), and then it was time to find something interesting and unusual to,.....do,......in,.....Hemet,.......zzzzzzzz. Watch the local pool be drained?,.....nah. Walk around Wal-Mart trying to spot shoplifters?,......huh-uh. Go to the local beach?,.....isn't one. Get a tattoo?,......Doc doesn't allow them. Watch paint dry?,......couldn't find any. Well, at least we could always,......ummmm,.......the museu-,.....Indian artifa-,.......roadside produce sta-,.....ahem.

We did the greatest, most enticing activity available in Hemet since the advent of yelling "Run Forrest Run" at passing joggers. WE WENT BOWLING!!!! Actually, we had a blast playing as our new alter-egos "Skeeter and Flo". I bowled a 149 and a 144, while Woo kept it on the down-low with a 99 and a 76. We then stocked up on "college girl stuff" at Target, got Iced Caramel Macchiatos at Starbucks and drove off to Morgan's night concert in Hemet.

Another brilliant concert celebrating God's glory, a big hug and kiss good-bye, a 100-mile drive back to the Hilton Glendale, and my visit was over. Sad, but fulfilled. Proud, but missing her already. Already excited about the next chance to see her, hug her, laugh with her, and hold onto as many precious moments as I can with my princess.

Running

There's a new book out called "Born To Run". It's one man's take on our bodies, the complexity of feet, lung-capacity, endurance, and all things running. He traveled to South America while researching, and visited with a very private and primitive culture that's been known to run up to 100 miles without stopping (evidently they just pee on the go!) He claims our feet and bodies are tougher than we ever thought they were, and that our timidity in pushing our bodies has more to do with fear and "wussy-ness" than it does with actual science.

Let me just say I think I just might love this man!

To me, running represents a myriad of things, all important and crucial to my life. First, it's the exercise that keeps me in good cardio-vascular shape. My 46-year-old body just had a full physical, and the doctor remarked on my good blood-pressure and 58 bpm heart rate (she also got on me for being about 10 pounds overweight!) Jogging keeps me healthy, strong and fit.

Next, it's the mental de-stressing time of my day. It takes a middle-aged guy who's ragged with worry and transports him to a place where the noise of a distant dog barking, his feet on the pavement, his steady breath, and a rustling wind are the only noises around. It "decompresses" me and refreshes my mind to do what life tells me has to be done.

Most of my best artistic ideas come while I'm pounding the pavement. Original song ideas and lyrics often take root on a shady trail. Shows get designed, formations blocked, and dance breaks take wing. A pair of shorts, a baseball cap, sunglasses and an Under Armor top often serve as the palette on which I paint whatever art I'm responsible for.

Youth. Silly, maybe, but true. Running reminds me my body can still respond when called upon to get busy and work hard. I can't run as fast as I used to, dance like I used to,jump as high or lift as much,......but I can start running and not stop for 10 miles. It might be a tortoise shuffling along in a field of hares, but the tortoise still pocesses the ability to just keep going.

Appreciation of God's gifts. In the past month, I've run in Dublin's Phoenix Park, along the shores of Lough Corrib, on the banks of the River Liffey, in Utah's Wasatch Mountains, on the beach of the Pacific Ocean, and on a trail that winds along the Rio Grande River in Albuquerque. I've also run on a nature trail in Cedar Rapids, a nature preserve in Chicago's suburbs and by soccer fields near my home. What do all these places have in common? God created them for me and countless others to enjoy. Running reminds me of this undeniable reality, and makes me ever grateful.

So as I lace up my shoes and straighten my ever-stiffening body for another foray into New Mexico's August summer, I give thanks for running. For the 14,000+ miles I've run since the year 2000 (yes, I track every single mile), I give thanks. For the thousands of miles yet to come, I give thanks. For my wife, who can barely run because of a bad back, but still manages to get out with me a few times a year, I give thanks. For my dogs, that accompany me on many winter runs, I give thanks. For the health that allows me to just keep plugging along, I give thanks.

For the pure, endorphin-boosting pleasure of it all, I give thanks.

Teaching With "The Woo"

Intern. Apprentice. Trainee. Whatever you call them and whichever occupation you're speaking of, I'd never really given them much thought. Not that I didn't like them or felt myself above them in stature, I'd just literally never really sizzled any brain cells stewing over them. They could live their little lives, train their little novice buns off and muddle through the world with their special little "trainee" name badges pinned to their little trainee shirts, while I'd do more important things.

I've thought about trainees a lot more recently, as my daughter Morgan has become one. Let me restate that, she's not only become ONE, she's become MY TRAINEE! I'm not showing her how the root beer dispenser works or the proper way to uncrate Happy Meal toys, though,....I'm showing her how to teach. NOT the proper etiquette for wiping down a dirty table with baby spittle. NOT the best "tassel-snapping off the corn stalk" technique. NOT how to properly badger and pressure people to buy mink oil, oxblood polish or a matching set of footies with their shoe purchase. I'm trying to help her become an effective and confident teacher.

About a year ago the idea dawned on me as she looked for summer jobs. She'd decided to double-major in vocal performance and music education, had a dad who was a choreographer and had been a student in one of the nation's top ten high school choral programs. We started very small, sending her to a very weak program in northern Indiana loaded with instructions, simple choreography and modest expectations. WOW, was I in for a surprise!! About an hour after her arrival, I received a text that read "OMG, she's fantastic!!" I almost cried. With VERY little help and only a modicum of instruction on pacing, delivery, modeling and other "how-to's", she was jumping into the pool and swimming on the very first try! The teaching gene from her Grandma Dixie, her biological grandpa in New York (a vain, self-centered, self-righteouss jerk of a man but a great teacher), and from her own daddy had been passed down!!

Last winter, she continued her development, as she conducted cleaning clinics and taught choreography at several Indianapolis-area schools with incredible results. Each time she taught, I held my breath with the added responsibility and expectation, but she just kept right on coming through big-time. She has much to learn, but her skills of organization, analysis of situations, relating well to high school kids, coming prepared to rehearsals, and confidence are already serving her well.

She and I traveled to Altoona, Wisconsin last week for our first-ever "dual" camp, and it was a very proud and wonderful time for me. We stayed at the beautiful Otter Creek Inn, with fireplaces and hot tubs in each room, four-poster beds, and breakfast brought to your door on VERY fancy china every morning! I taught their varsity group while she worked with both the prep group and middle-schoolers for 4 grueling days. I watched, advised, coached and cajoled; but mainly I stood back with pride and love and watched her natural abilities take over. The kids loved her, the director loved her,....I ALREADY loved her! She was immediately asked back for next season and given major thumbs-up by everyone involved!

Now, she's got 6-7 schools to work with at various times this summer and on breaks from Cal Baptist. While other students make $10 an hour refilling your coffee, stacking boxes, or sitting idly at a pool making sure nobody poops in it, Morgan is practicing her possible career and getting paid very well to do it. Understand, I'm NOT IN ANY WAY dissing those other jobs, as I personally delivered newspapers, sold shoes and dipped ice cream for YEARS!!! I'm just grateful that I can provide this crack in the door for Morgan, (whom we've called "Wooda" for years, and still can't remember why we started!!)

She's not only working, she's teaching.

She's not only teaching, but she's teaching music.

She's not only teaching music, she's teaching music with her daddy!

Daddy couldn't be any more proud and feel any more blessed.