7th annual Mister Mister 5 mile...

Saturday, May 7th, saw the 7th annual running of the Mike Roberts Memorial Run, or more familiarly, the Mister Mister 5 miler.  The day dawned cool, the winds calm.  Closer to gun time the winds had picked up but temps remained temperate.

Numbers were down by half from last year. First across the finish line was Monte Wells in a respectable 34:34.  Particularly respectable in that he and a handful of others ran the course prior to the start of the race "as a warm up" and the "measurement" being a tad long.

Scott Boyd, and others of the Family Life Center Staff,  put together yet another excellent event this year.  As is becoming usual for this run, the t-shirts were of extra high quality, not the 100% cotton number handed out at many races. That and the traditional post race breakfast burritos and sport drink make this run a bargain by any stretch of the imgination. 

Thanks go to the always excellent finish line crew--  the ever steady Rick Gauna, Johnny McNabb, and Mike Sherrer.  Karen Roberts and Christy Shortino made short work of tabulating age group results.  Thanks to Kevin McClish and the Lone Star Runners Club for providing the finish line chute and timing equipment.

For the seventh year Mike's family, some his closest friends-- Rod Wilhite, Robert Mauldin, Monte Wells and others, fellow members of Red's Raiders-- aka the finish line crew and me, folks who knew Mike and many who didn't, gathered to stage this run along the five miles of his favorite training course.  Those who knew and loved him hold his memory close and shared a smile and a laugh in the retelling of favorite Mike stories.  

Mike, your influence still holds sway.  Most weekdays there is still a crew of 2 or 3 and some days up to 8 or 10 who gather at noon at the FLC to run all, or part, of "your course".  Some are greyer, some are slower but still they gather. Some are training for that next marathon or half, some just hope to make it out and back in one day.  And so it will be until...

Hope to see you all next May at the 8th annual Mister Mister 5 miler. Until then...

At last...

                                                                     
with apologies to Etta James...

at last....
Osama's death has come along
his breathing days are over
now we all can sing a song
yeah, at last...

Growing up on that dry land cotton farm, I had occasion to kill things from time to time.  I've wrung chicken's necks and watched them flop around, their life's blood spilling onto the dry ground.   I've shot my share of birds and rabbits and I guess I was a pretty fair country shot, knocking off more than a few house sparrows from 40-50 yards using my granpa Mc's semi-automatic .22 rifle.  I gave them to my granma's old, gray, tabby cat-- Tom.

Maybe the biggest thing I've ever shot was a red tailed hawk.  I still feel bad about doing that.  Hawks are themselves good hunters, keeping down the varmint population, thus they are a farmer's friend.  I've killed my share of snakes, the last one I remember was because one of my aunties insisted.  Snakes can be a pest, like when one gets into the hen house and helps himself to the eggs. Still most snakes do more good than harm; they too help keep the rodent population down.

I spent two years in the army, was trained to take out the enemy in any number of ways including the M-14 rifle.  The fates never put me in a position to take another human life and I'm not sorry about that.

It's been years since I've fired a rifle of any kind.  Still, had I found the evil snake that was Osama Bin Laden in my sights, I hope that I wouldn't have hesitated to pull the trigger.

The hurt visited upon our great nation, and the world, by this evil man and his minions has at last seen some small semblance of closure.

OBL's death will not bring back those loved ones who died in the twin towers, at the Pentagon and and on flight 93. It won't bring back the men and women killed in combat in Afghanistan and Iraq in the war against terrorism.  Our country and the world may be no more safe than it was in the almost 10 years since that September day but I pray that with his removal those families, this country and the world at large can at least for a moment rest easy in knowledge that he cannot do harm again.

Terrorism is still a very real threat to this country and our friends and allies around the world.  Still, it gives me some comfort that this man, standard bearer to all those who would follow him and do his bidding, has finally drawn his last. aio                                                                                                                                                                              

Resurrrection...

                                                                    

The bottom half of ASO's season ending performance on Saturday, Gutav Mahler's Symphony No. 2 in C minor, demonstrated the length, breadth and depth of growth our small town symphony has seen under the deft baton of Maestro Kimbo Ishi-Eto.

While the performances of guest artists Jeanine Thames, soprano and Marietta Simpson, mezzo-soprano, were most probably quite able, Ms. Thames looked more the frumpy housewife out for a night of karaoke than a guest artist and Ms. Simpson's mouth looked as if she had a bad taste in it she couldn't wait to spit out.  The evening for me would have been no less appealing had they stayed home.

The preparation and performance of the Amarillo Master Chorale and the West Texas A&M University Choirs was up to their ususal standard of excellence.

Maestro Kimbo's careful grooming of our ASO musicians becomes more evident with each succeeding concert. I would have been just as happy had there not been the vocalists or choirs.  His conduction and the orchestra's performance of the Mahler piece was the "pi'ece de re'sistance" of a wonderful 86th season.

No matter what some elitist, metroplex snob might have to stay about our band of players, their fearless leader and our grand hall, remember his is one man's opinion and it's the local patrons you are aiming to please. From the reaction of those in attendance on this Saturday past, you are doing a right fine job. Keep up the good works.

I'm looking forward to an even more exciting 2011-2012 season. We can depend on the Maestro to bring to us guest artists playing a variety of unusual instruments (at least in the symphony context-- think erhu) delivering scintillating performances with our ASO players as the cherry on top.

See you at the symphony! aio

  

fastest fingers in the west....

last night we took in the last amarillo symphony orchestra concert of the 2010-2011 season. guest artist for the top half of the program was the very gifted, davide cabassi, (a winner of the van cliburn competition in 2005) performing beethoven's piano concerto no. 1 in c major, opus 15.

                                                                            
           

i'm not sure what your image of a concert pianist is, but in my mind he would be whippet thin with very long, spidery fingers. cabassi is anything but, however, don't let his appearance fool you, the man can play. he made his entrance on stage dressed in something less than a conventional tuxedo, the jacket down to his knees and squared off at the bottom.  his beard was trimmed to a pencil thin line along his jaw. cabassi's fingers flew masterfully through the piece, however the opus being some 36 minutes long, and somewhat repetitious, my mind wandered.

in reverie I pictured cabassi in an 1880's saloon, seated at an old upright piano, hair pulled back behind his ears. a black string tie dangled away from his starched white shirt as he leaned into the piece.  clenched in his mouth a long, black cheroot, the blue smoke from it rising lazily to the ceiling.  playing as though his life depended on it, beethoven's concerto no. 1 oozed tinnily into the haze at the top of the room. 

cowhands gathered on this saturday night to ease the pain of riding the range called a steady chorus of boos in his direction.  "play buffalo gal", yelled from the far corner; a beer  bottle hurtled in the direction of the pianist's head. cabassi leaned to the side, not missing a note as the bottle crashed into the piano at the spot the player's head had been a moment before.  beer ran down the piano's face and onto the keys. cabassi played on, ignoring the boos.

back in the now, there were no boos for cabassi in this place, on this night. when at last the piece ended, the symphony crowd stood (imagine that), showering cabassi with a well deserved  ovation and a robust round of bravos.

i cannot name the encore piece cabassi played but i can say the notes from the grand piano and cabassi's magic fingers came to me at warp speed, his playing faster than would seem humanly possible. in a word, astounding.

in all, a very entertaining evening from the man with the fastest fingers in the west, no matter which hall you happen to be sitting in.

davide cabassi, you rock. aio

what sound, through open window comes...

                                                                       

what is that sound, so vaguely familiar, hinting of soemthing heard in distant past.  through window open to cooling breezes, can it be?  from darkening skies, can it be rain i smell, thunder i hear?

why, yes. as witnessed on nooa.gov, what has been long absent is approaching from the north and west. and now the sound of raindrops, heavy with promise reach my hungry ears.

quench this land, it's thirst so great, it's need unslaked.

bless this wanting land and it's people. for this gift we give thanks mother wind, mother earth you are good.

tis the season...

                                                                                                                                              

                                                                                                                                        last night, local weather guru "doppler dave" and his merry band of weather men presented their annual, hour long, severe weather program.  this year's edition, "ahead of the storm."   always informative and entertaining, this one was no exception.

what we need is rain.  this wild fire season has had it's moments and without some significant rainfall, it has the potential to get worse.  "dave" reminded us that it was on april 20th of last year that we saw the first tornado of the 2010 season.

the 2011 season is just ahead.  i'd be a fool to wish for one but i wouldn't mind a bit of stormy weather if it meant the dry grasses of the surrounding ranch lands would get a good soaking. 

tornadoes are to be respected. so too, are the springtime winds around these parts.  like those recorded this past weekend-- sustained at 40 and gusting to 60 mph, fire crews stand little chance of wild fire containment under those conditions.

so listen up, mother nature.  if tornado season is what it takes to get some rain, bring it on.  severe weather or no, we need it and i'll take it on most any terms. aio

dreams really do come true...

                                                                                                                                                                                                                       
i had a call from the very excited  captain of the krewe du couer maudit today relating that his application to the city of austin for a parade permit for the 2011 spectacle has been approved.  exciting stuff,  i say!  there is not much telling where the very fertile mind of said captain will go with his imagining for this upcoming halloween and only time will tell us how big this event may grow to be.

this event is tailor made for austin, or vice versa.  the potential is there for it to grow into a destination event ala mardi gras. who knows?  only time will tell.  this i do know.  i plan to be there to witness this newest edition of the spectacle that is the krewe du couer maudit march/parade come halloween 2011.

it's not too soon for you to begin planning to be there to witness, take part in, this one of a kind event for yourself.  hope to see you there. 

                                             
can't be there, but want to help?  krewe dcm is accepting donations via paypal at their site-- www.krewedcm.com  and on that note. io