There was a rumor that U2 was coming to Carter-Finley Stadium in Raleigh on October 3rd... but they just released new dates for their 360° Tour and they are scheduled to be in:
Charolottesville, VA - October 1 Atlanta, GA - October 6
What happened to Raleigh?
I would hate to buy tickets for a concert in another city only to have Raleigh added to the tour at a later date.
The magazine cited job growth (both past and projected), low business costs and a highly educated workforce as the major reasons the city was selected for the top spot again.
Not that Forbes asked for or needs my vote, but I would agree.
Ben got a call from Chick-fil-a today for a second interview (how about a fast food chain doing second interviews?). So, it was time for Cherie to take him to the store for some new clothes. He'll find out tomorrow if they want him to be there in the afternoon or early next week.
I hope this works out for him. That would be a great place to work... and may even mean some discount for us!
It seems like a lot is happening at once with my sons lately. They turned 17 a couple weeks ago, they are getting college material in the mail like crazy, one is working, the other is diligently looking for a job, they are driving (still with a learner's permit) and top of all that...
Alex bought his first car this week.
It is a gray 1993 Mazda 626 with about 160,000 miles on it. We found it through our neighborhood email group. He saved up his own money from work and got it for $800. For the age of the car and the mileage it is in great condition. The owner kept receipts of all the work done on it and the people at the garage down the street were very impressed with the condition it is in. The only thing they said it needs is to have the belts replaced sometime soon.
I told Alex he will always remember his first car (mine was a brown 1980 Buick Skylark) and that he should really enjoy this time in life.
I'm a few (OK... more than a few) days behind on this... but I had to record something on this blog about the incredible game between Syracuse and UConn at the Big East Conference Tournament last week.
I have been following the Orange since before Andy Rautins' dad, Leo, played for the team in the early 80's. I even remember Louis Orr playing for "Cuse back in the late 70's.
They have been a fun team to follow all these years with players like Rafael Addison, Pearl Washington, Stevie Thompson, Sherman Douglas, Derrick Coleman, Ronnie Seikaly, Billy Owens... and of course Gerry McNamara, Hakim Warrick and Carmelo Anthony.
I remember being stunned by Indiana's Keith Smart and his winning baseline jumper as the Hoosiers beat the Orangemen 74-73 in the 1987 NCAA Championship game... after 'Cuse had never trailed the entire game. But redemption finally came when Hakim Warrick blocked the potential game-tying 3-pointer and secured the first ever NCAA Championship for Syracuse as they beat favored Kansas 81-78 in 2003.
I didn't think that could be topped, but the 2008-09 team did their best as Jonny Flynn and company battled through 6 OTs to beat UConn on Thursday night. It was definitely one of the best games I have ever experienced! Here are some highlights:
I have no idea how we got to this point..... but I have two sons that turned 17 today. 17! Seventeen! S-e-v-e-n-t-e-e-n!!!
In one year they will register to vote. They will register for the draft "Selective Service". They may leave home to go away to college. One year. I know it sounds cliche... but it seems like they were just one year old... and now just one more year before our society considers them "adults".
While we have our challenges (who doesn't?)... I have to say I am proud of both Ben and Alex. They are great young men with great hearts. And it's great to look back over 17 years and to think of how thankful I am to be their dad.
For his birthday Cherie and I took Alex to breakfast (and let him go in late for school) while Miyah was at preschool. Ben had a French project that was due first period... so he chose to go out for dinner instead (which was a great opportunity for him to choose a place where he could get his favorite... steak) so Alex will stay home while Miyah's sleeping so we can spend time with Ben. We'll have cake and ice cream before we take Ben out for dinner. Just a simple day celebrating with them.
This may be one of the most ridiculous infomercials I have ever seen:
Even funnier than that is this video of students from Grambling University talking about the Snuggie™ as they were stranded at a gas station on their way to the inauguration:
Have the Snuggie™ people ever heard of a sweatshirt?
In this autobiography, Perkins, recounts his life growing up on a plantation as a sharecropper in the deep south of Mississippi in the 1930s and '40s and the path his life took toward becoming a leader of the civil rights movement.
For years racial reconciliation has been a passion of mine, but living in the northeast nearly all my life has provided for a very limited understanding of the history of race relations in the United States. Even living in Raleigh, NC for almost four years has provided limited insight into the level intensity of racial discrimination experienced in the deep south.
Over the years, films like Mississippi Burning and Rosewood, have opened my eyes to how extensive the issues have been in the south, but reading the life story of a man who lived through those experiences made things much more accessible to me.
John Perkins and the organizations he has founded have made a huge impact on the inner cities of the United States. His work has brought spiritual and economic transformation to countless lives and he continues to be an inspiration to many who are called to urban ministry.
My parents just returned from Florida where they will now be living six months out of the year. They are officially "snowbirds".
While getting settled in their new neighborhood my mom noticed the sign in the neighbor's yard that read, "Goings" along with the street number of the home. As soon as my mom pointed out the sign, my dad (being the sociable person that he is) marched right up to the door and introduced himself to his neighbor.
Mr. Fred Goings answered the door, invited my parents in and gave them a tour of his house. They all got a real kick out of the fact that the Cummings' and Goings' would be neighbors.... and felt like they'd known each other forever.
Yesterday I watched a video message from one of my favorite authors, John Ortberg, as he spoke at Willow Creek Community Church a few weeks ago (where he used to be a Teaching Pastor). Since 2003 John has been the Senior Pastor at Menlo Park Presbyterian Church in Menlo Park, CA.
He talked about how God should be "enough" for us even during challenging economic times. As usual his message was very challenging. But there was one thing he said in particular that really struck me.
He was recounting a conversation he recently had with a friend where his friend said to him, "We ought to be praying for the economy, but not for me". His friend went on to say, "When the economy goes down the wealthy are inconvenienced, but the poor get crushed".
We may consider ourselves somewhere in between the "rich" and the "poor", but what John shared can be a good reminder for us that while things may be challenging for us... there are others who are being crushed.
What are your thoughts about the state of the economy? How have the difficult times effected you personally? Or your family and friends? What should followers of Christ be doing during these times? What should others be hearing from our collective voices?
Follower of Jesus, Husband, Father, Founder of Lemonade International, passionate about social justice and racial reconciliation... and on a journey to integrate all areas of my life into one...
Ben got a call from Chick-fil-a today for a second interview (how about a fast food chain doing second interviews?). So, it was time for Cherie to take him to the store for some new clothes. He'll find out tomorrow if they want him to be there in the afternoon or early next week.
published on the Philanthropy Journal Website here in Raleigh as a result of a project at school where his class is spending six class periods teaching computer skills to elderly people at an assisted living facility in downtown Raleigh.
It seems like a lot is happening at once with my sons lately. They turned 17 a couple weeks ago, they are getting college material in the mail like crazy, one is working, the other is diligently looking for a job, they are driving (still with a learner's permit) and top of all that...
I'm a few (OK... more than a few) days behind on this... but I had to record something on this blog about the incredible game between Syracuse and UConn at the Big East Conference Tournament last week.
Thanks to my friend, Hugh, for lending it to me I just finished reading Let Justice Roll Down by John Perkins.
Yesterday I watched a video message from one of my favorite authors, John Ortberg, as he spoke at Willow Creek Community Church a few weeks ago (where he used to be a Teaching Pastor). Since 2003 John has been the Senior Pastor at Menlo Park Presbyterian Church in Menlo Park, CA.
Posts
