Knoxville Vacation

They say there are two topics that you should never bring up if you want to avoid contention: religion and politics. Since I have a pretty homogenous fan base, religiously speaking, I think I will take a stab at politics just to see how it goes. For those of you who live in a cave, there is a presidential election coming up between a black man who has no experience doing anything and caters to terrorists and an old white man who may keel over at any moment and leave us with a female president who believes that waving at other countries qualifies as foreign policy experience. I am an interested observer of the race, although I remain undecided. I have watched the debates with Jarom and have decided that I like Mr. Obama. I have been very impressed with the way that he has handled himself, and equally disappointed with the way that Mr. McCain has run his campaign. Unfortunately, I disagree with a number of Obama’s positions, which leaves me torn. Do I vote for a guy that I don’t respect and don’t like who shares my views on taxes and abortion, or do I vote for a guy that I like and respect who leans in a different direction on those issues? In the end it doesn’t matter, since animals still lack the constitutional right to vote that so many of you people take for granted.



On a less controversial tangent, Alixa’s parents came to visit this weekend. They arrived at 3 am Friday morning; just about the time Jarom finished watching the new Indiana Jones movie (two thumbs down). A few hours later, Jarom and Mario got up to go play a round of golf while the girls went to have tea. Friday afternoon was spent in Gatlinburg, a picturesque little town in the Smoky Mountains that is a popular tourist destination this time of year, what with the leaves changing colors and all. Sadly, this meant that there was some serious traffic that had to be dealt with. But it was pretty, and they enjoyed themselves. They even went to see an entertaining magic show while they were there.

A good example of Gatlinburg's quaintness

Saturday morning Alixa joined the boys for nine holes of golf, and then they played some tennis. In an attempt to gain an advantage, Lixi and Jarom scheduled some windy conditions so as to confuse their opponents, who are used to playing indoors. Alas, it did not work and they lost to the old folks. Then they went down to UT’s campus to see the pregame festivities and marvel at the tailgate setups (satellite TV, full size grills, copious quantities of food and beverage, both alcoholic and non…) They thought about attending the game, but the temperatures were scheduled to drop into the 40’s so they decided not to. UT did manage to finally win convincingly, dropping Miss. State 34-3.

The highlight of the day came when PJ and Mars decided to get Alixa an early Christmas present: A new set of golf clubs! She has been going with Jarom and getting pretty good, and she thought that a set of pink golf clubs would be just the thing to complete her game. She is excited to test them out this week and very grateful to her wonderful parents.

Even Malibu Golf Barbie would be jealous of Alixa now

Sadly, the Hegewalds had to return to Cleveland, and there just wasn’t enough time to do all the things they wanted to. Maybe they will come back in the spring. They are more than welcome to stay in my room anytime they would like, as PJ made a donation to my half-log fund. So I should be getting a new home soon. Now the Winns have three days to prepare for their next guest who will be arriving on Wednesday. This place is turning into quite the hotel.