My wife, Barbara, just returned from a week in Reno, Nev., along with two students from Clay County, Fla., and a coworker, Brenda Weeks. They attended the International Science and Engineering Fair.
This was her first trip to the International and that may account for the exuberance she displayed about the trip. Especially when she called me from Reno one morning to exclaim: “They won, Lamar, they won.” Then she broke down in tears.
The “they” in question are Mitchell Stecker and Alex Gandzyura, juniors at Ridgeview High School, who finished third and fourth in their respective divisions at the fair. Note that this is the INTERNATIONAL fair, meaning that they beat out students from all over the world, more than 1,500 I’m told. Quite an accomplishment by two exemplary young men from one small, rural county, and especially from one high school.
I won’t begin to try to explain what their projects were about but if you are interested, you can find out more by clicking here.
Barbara put it best when she said, “Lo0king at these kids, I know that we don’t have to worry about the future of the world.” Read the rest of this entry »
Tiger Woods played another nine holes at The Players Championship at Sawgrass Country Club Wednesday in preparation for the start of this year’s tournament on Thursday, May 7, 2009.
As he did on Tuesday, Tiger had more trouble off the tee on Wednesday and his disgust visibly showed on hole 18 with slumping shoulders and a grimace on his face. Whether he’ll get his game back in shape for an 8:10 a.m. tee time Thursday is anyone’s guess. Although he has won the tournament once in 2001, he traditionally has not played well at The Players.
On Wednesday, he was paired with Jacksonville area resident Jim Furyk and the two seemed to have a fun time, despite Tigers’ woes off the tee. Tiger did chip in off the green on No. 14 earlier in the day.
To see more photos of both Tuesday and Wednesday’s activities at the tournament, click on the gallery above and select the two Players galleries.
Florida has three of the most scenic golf courses on the PGA Tour and none is more visually pleasing than The Players Championship, the annual extravaganza in Northeast Florida.
Now held the first week in May (7-10), The Players Championship is easily one of the most spectator-friendly tournaments on the Tour and its three closing holes rival some of the more prestigious golfing sites in scenic beauty and viewing satisfaction.
Except for perhaps during the last two hours on a Sunday, you can find a viewing spot behind the greenon the infamous hole No. 17 and easily track your favorite players over those last three holes.
Of course, tracking the world’s most famous golfers such as Tiger Woods or Phil Mickelson is never easy but I did track Tiger one time from a strategic viewing spot behind No. 17, the diabolical water hole that has spelled doom for many championship contenders on the last day of the tournament. Read the rest of this entry »
Tuesday, May 5, is my birthday, and while that doesn’t have anything directly to do with this story, I mention it as a way of telling you that the month leading up to the 65th celebration of my birth has been enormously satisfying — and possibly even life-changing. More about that later. Right now, let’s talk about the satisfying parts. In the past month, I:
Visited an elderly aunt and took her out to lunch on her birthday
Visited a bed-riddden cousin in a nursing home
Spent three days at Easter with all six grandchildren and took them to church Easter Sunday
Spent a few days with my sister and favorite uncle in the Tampa area
Attended my eldest son Robert’s acting performance in the play Holy Ghost
Took two of my grandsons to play golf
Played golf with a Rotary friend
Attended a most satisfying elementary school musical with my wife and three of our six grandchildren
Finished it off by listening to another son, Joe, sing at a charity concert a song he wrote honoring my father and I.
Of course, most of these activities, except the golf, were shared with my companion and love of my life, my wife, Barbara. So truly, I have been blessed with an exceptional month. Read the rest of this entry »
posted
May 19, 2009 by Lamar Thames
My wife, Barbara, just returned from a week in Reno, Nev., along with two students from Clay County, Fla., and a coworker, Brenda Weeks. They attended the International Science and Engineering Fair.
