Yet Another Reason....

Senator Obama should get your vote. He scrimmages with UNC and it looks like he's got some game (although Psycho T is about to block his shot).

No More War

Bev and I have really taken a liking to Eddie Vedder recently. His soundtrack for Into the Wild has been on constant repeat in the Blair household...during cocktails, during dinner, during short drives in the Jeep. Love the lyrics, love the haunting music. Take my word for it...it's just about the best 30 minutes of music you can imagine. I really can't remember a time when a soundtrack fit a movie so closely (we absolutely loved the movie too, by the way, and librarian Bev also recommends the book). Anyway, I noticed on iTunes the other day that they're selling a "deluxe" version of the soundtrack which contains a couple of anti-war songs which Eddie Vedder has been playing on his solo tour. They're awesome songs, so this should give you even more incentive to buy it. My favorite song is "No More", which also appears in the soundtrack for Body of War. Very powerful song, and this movie looks very good also. Check it out below:



"Nothing's too good for a veteran, yeah this is what they say / So nothing is what they will get in this new American way."

Sad Day for E Street Fans

I was saddened to read this morning that Danny Federici, long time keyboardist in the E Street Band, passed away from melanoma. The Boston Globe ran a nice obituary, which you can read here. It's hard to believe that Danny played with Bruce for over 40 years. In fact, he was one of the original E Streeters who asked Bruce to join their band as a lead singer. My favorite instrumental of his was the organ piece in "You're Missing". Great stuff if you haven't heard it. I've always thought it was the contributions from keyboard and piano which partly distinguished Bruce's music. I'm sure the E Street Band will never be the same.

"Danny and I worked together for 40 years - he was the most wonderfully fluid keyboard player and a pure natural musician. I loved him very much...we grew up together."
—Bruce Springsteen

Curse jersey

In case you did not get to see this in the news, here is the jersey a clever construction worker buried in the building of the new Yankee Stadium. Don't you just love how faithful Boston fans will do anything for their beloved Sox? Let's hope the jersey was in the ground long enough to haunt the new stadium!

The best part about this story, however, is what lies in store for this tattered #34. Steinbrenner and his family donated the jersey to Dana-Farber's Jimmy Fund, which plans to auction off the jersey. Say what you will about those damn Yankees, but this was once again, a classy move.

Spring at long last?

After 165 consecutive days, the temperature finally hit 70 degrees in Boston today. Needless to say, it felt unbelievable. When I went running along the Charles River, I almost felt like I was running on the beach. Then I passed a stinky pothole and came back to reality real fast. Anyway, a 70 degree day is as good as it gets for springtime in Boston, so we enjoyed it. Price officially turned in his paper to the registrar (insert cries of utter joy here) and I, as mentioned above, when on my first outdoor run since....geez, since November. I even had a fun new toy to accompany me along the way.

The iPod Shuffle - thanks again, Price :)

Tomorrow brings back cooler weather and we have another rainy weekend in sight. But at least we know spring does exist! Have a great weekend!

Countdown to Opening Day

Opening Day at Fenway is coming up next Tuesday! So exciting!! Price and I are happy to say we will be seeing a game in April, a game in May, and then 3 games in Cincinnati in June. I never realize how much I miss Remy and Orsillo until they're back and I'm on the couch with my G&T, happy as a clam. It looks like the management has once again kept busy this off season with new renovations inside Fenway. There really isn't much room to grow at America's oldest and smallest ballpark, but they have added a suprising 875 new seats and some additional standing room. The coke bottles have also been taken down and a new section, coca-cola corner now graces the upper left field deck. Even still, it's slightly depressing that tickets are near impossible to come by. I think I'm about over standing in line on game day, too, after our last experience. I might be more up for trying out the new Baseball Tavern on game day instead. They have an outdoor roof deck modeled after the green monster, with actual views of the park. Might be fun! Raine....are you thinking what I'm thinking?

Catching Up

We've had a very busy, but very fun past few weeks to catch you up on. Price has been in serious crunch mode over the past month, so our stream of visitors has been a welcome diversion. Raine started us off with a bang over St. Paddy's Day, which was a blast. Raine is one of our most favorite house guests and we hope she comes back soon!

Price's artistic shot.

Guess you had to be there for this one!

Sporting our green!

Next up, Mama A! We all had a great Easter weekend together. Mom was a trooper to put up with a very windy Boston. But we had lots of giggles and fun adventures.

Easter morning.

Waiting in line at Trinity Church. Cold, but beautiful.

Where is Mom looking? Willing the church doors to open, perhaps?

Onto Price's BIG DAY!

Price is now Dr. Blair! After 5 years of hard work and dedication, he could not be more relieved. Tuck, Dad and I had the fortune of attending Price's thesis defense and it was amazing. I have never really seen Price in his element before and it was a great thing to witness. Although a lot of the science lingo is hard to follow, Price has a very personal delivery that makes you want to understand. He also applied a lot of his other great qualities to his talk, like his sense of humor and his knack for visual display, which made his presentation really stand out. He talks as if he's been doing this for years and I know he has a great future ahead of him. The science community will no doubt welcome Dr. Blair with open arms!

Thanks to everyone who has been thinking of him, and us, over the last few months. Gosh, over the last few years, for that matter! Success really is sweet and it looks just like this...

Dr. Freedman and Dr. Blair

I'm so proud of this guy.

Tuck and Dad enjoying the festivities.

Congratulations, Price!

Fast Forward

Ever feel like you just want to move on to the next thing? This time of the year always makes me long for warm spring days, but that just ain't happenin' yet! So, I'll try to take comfort in the small things:

1. We have promising buds on our rhododendron.

2. Raine is coming up on Saturday for St. Patty's weekend, hooray!

3. All traces of our snowy winter are gone (and please stay gone, for that matter).

4. Mom is coming to visit for a long Easter weekend...can't wait to see you, Mama :)

5. Hitchcock continues to thrive and is more comfortable than ever around us humans!

6. Dad will be here at the end of the month for a BIG event for us Boston Blairs.

7. Price has set his thesis defense date for April 1!

8. Price just might shave the caveman beard after all. Um, to my credit, he shaved the real thing before I could have proof to show for it.


9. One month until Red Sox Home Opener on April 8!

10. Three months until our trip to Cincinnati for the Reds/Red Sox series. This is family rivalry at it's finest :)

In Loving Memory

Our family has been going through a rough spell in the past couple of weeks, as we've lost two dear members of our family, Virginia Williams and "Dub" Wilkins. Virginia is Bev's great aunt (Grandmother Beverly's sister), and Dub is Bev's great uncle (Granddaddy's/Bailey's brother). Virginia and Dub were always the life of the party, and they loved nothing more than their family, a good drink, and a good joke. To say they lived a full and meaningful life is an understatement. They sure will be missed.

Here's a write-up about Virginia that appeared in the Richmond Times.
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Retired teacher Virginia Williams dies

White Hall native also served as coach, principal during her 35-year career

Saturday, Feb 16, 2008

By ELLEN ROBERTSON

TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER

Virginia Roberts Parrott Williams began her teaching career making $35 a month as a high-school English instructor in a school on the Northern Neck.

"She lived in a hotel and her salary covered room, board and maid service," said her daughter, Anne Barton of Prescott, Ariz. "She had some boys in class who were older than she was, and her principal was concerned that she would want to date some of her students."

Mrs. Williams graduated in 1935 from the University of Virginia, where she later earned a master's degree in reading.

She also taught and was an interim principal in Goochland County.

Mrs. Williams, whose career spanned more than 35 years, died Tuesday in her sleep at her residence in Charlottesville. She was 92.

"At one of her schools, they didn't have a baseball coach, so she did it," Barton said. "During her first game, she was standing behind the pitcher and got hit by a ball. So they put her behind the catcher. Whenever she had a question about a play, she would ask the catcher."

After marrying, she worked for a time as a welfare department employee in the Charlottesville area. She returned to teaching as a single mother around 1946 in Albemarle County at a small elementary school in White Hall that closed during the early 1950s.

Mrs. Williams also taught sixth grade at Crozet Elementary School and then seventh and eighth grades at J.T. Henley Middle School before becoming a visiting teacher-school social worker.

"At the time, if you got pregnant while you were in school, you had to leave," Barton said. "Mother thought that was grossly unfair because the boys [who were the fathers] could complete their education.

"She persuaded the school superintendent to let her start a program for pregnant girls. They had academic classes in the morning and in the afternoon worked with public health nurses to learn about mothering and health and other important things. And they got to go back into regular classes after they had their babies."

A woman with a deep voice and a dramatic flair, Mrs. Williams loved to read and "read to students, even as old as in the sixth grade," said a niece, Carol Anderson of Lynchburg. "I remember her reading to me. I was always spellbound. She made me feel like was I right there."

She retired in 1975 to help nurse her sister, Beverly, who had been diagnosed with breast cancer.

She was the widow of Robert Williams, who died about 10 years ago.

The retired educator never lost her desire to keep learning. To the end of her life, she followed the presidential primaries, the stock market and the housing situation.

A celebration of her life will be held Sunday at 2 p.m. at Mount Moriah United Methodist Church in White Hall, the village northwest of Charlottesville where Mrs. Williams was born. A private burial will be held in the church cemetery.

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And here's a nice obituary for Dub. (For those not in on Wilkins-speak, "Bullbat time" was Dub's term for happy hour (or in his case, time for George Dickel whiskey).
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William Wyche “Dub” Wilkins Jr.

Mr. William Wyche “Dub” Wilkins Jr. of 2083 Wilkins Road, Alton, Va., died Saturday, February 23, 2008, at the age of 91 at his home, Lynwood, where he was born January 10, 1917.
Funeral services will be held Wednesday at 2 p.m. at Mt. Carmel Presbyterian Church, where he will lie-in-state from 10 a.m. until the time of the service. Rev. Richard Henderson, Rev. Jeaux Simmons and Rev. Michael Texiera will officiate. Burial will be in the church cemetery. The family will receive friends at his home following the services.
He was a retired rural mail carrier and worked out of the Alton Post Office for 32 years.
Additionally, he was a tobacco and cattle farmer all of his life, and he proved that Turbeville cantaloupes could be successfully grown on the “wrong side of 58.” He was a charter member of the Halifax Livestock Producers Association, and was recognized for outstanding service from them, as well as from the Halifax Soil and Conservation District. In 1976, he received the Sertoma Service to Mankind Award.
Dub was a very proud graduate of VPI in Blacksburg. He graduated in 1938 with a BS in agronomy and a commission as a 2nd Lieutenant in the Army. In 1988, he became a lifetime member of the Old Guard.
During World War II, he served as Battery Commander of Headquarters Battery, 489th Anti-Aircraft Battalion, 4th Armored Division, 3rd Army with General George Patton in the battles of Normandy, Northern France, Rhineland, Ardennes, and Central Europe.
Among other awards, he received five battle stars for the European Theater, one Purple Heart, a Bronze Start with Oak Leaf Cluster, and the Unit Presidential Citation. For the past 61 years, he has attended or hosted the annual reunion of his fellow military veterans.
An active lifetime member of Mount Carmel Presbyterian Church in Turbeville, Dub has held numerous positions within his church for the past 70 years. At the time of his death, he was an elder and a trustee.
Dub was very active in his community. He was a charter member of the Turbeville Men’s Social Club, the Turbeville Fire Department, the Turbeville Ruritan Club, and the Turbeville Hang-down Club. He also was an active member of the American Legion Post 8 and the Sons of the Confederacy.
A strong believer in education, he encouraged the youth in his community to always do their best. He served as the PTA President of the old Turbeville High School before he had children, and was a boy scout and a 4-H club leader through the years. He went on to serve for 16 years on the Halifax County School Board and 10 years on the Danville Community College Board.
Dub was a son, husband, soldier, father, grandfather, and friend to one and all. He loved people and always welcomed them into his home. “Bullbat time” was enjoyed every night at 5 p.m. with whoever was there. He always was interested in what others had to say and responded with the familiar “sho-nuf!” He was a true officer and a gentleman and enjoyed sharing his war experiences and his love of the outdoors with “the younger generation”.
He is survived by his wife of 67 years, Margaret “Stuff” Granger Wilkins, daughter Marsha W. Owen and husband Tom of South Boston, son William W. Wilkins III and wife Donna of Alton, sister Louise Shelton of Atlanta, Ga., brother Bailey Wilkins and wife BJ of Amherst, Va., sister-in-law Margaret E. Wilkins of Virginia Beach, grandsons Ben Owen, Zach Owen, and William W. Wilkins IV and wife Sarah, granddaughters Maggie Wilkins and Elizabeth Wilkins. He was preceded in death by his father, William Wyche Wilkins Sr. and his mother, Eva Byerley Wilkins.
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the Halifax County Cancer Association, PO Box 875, South Boston, Va. 24592, Mt. Carmel Presbyterian Church, 4227 Turbeville Road, South Boston, Va. 24592 or Halifax Regional Hospice, 2204 Wilborn Ave. South Boston, Va. 24592.
Online condolences may be sent to brooksfh@embarqmail.com

Look at Dub and Margaret's beautiful house (Lynwood)!

Coolest. Website. Ever.

I'd like to apologize in advance (mainly to your bosses) for directing you towards this website, but I just had to share my excitement. If you go to Nintendo8.com, you can play almost any old Nintendo game right there in your browser. Mario, Zelda, Donkey Kong, Bionic Commando, Double Dragon, you name it and it's probably there. They've even got Ghostbusters and Who Framed Roger Rabbit. The controls can be a little tricky using keyboard buttons and arrows, but it's a great time waster nonetheless. It's like taking a trip back to childhood, only this time you don't have to wait for an older brother to finish his turn. Enjoy!