Labor Day Recap...

Well Labor Day Weekend 2011 is in the books and I, for one, had a blast. The weekend started off great. We made the trip to the lake in under 4 hours (which included a 30 min. stop at the Georgia state line). I can make it there faster on my own, but to make the trip with The Wife and 3 kids and only make one stop is pretty good. Mom and Dad, (Name Withheld by Request) and Paul, and Janie and DG were already there when we got there. We unpacked and sat around talking to all of the G1s catching up and having a good time. This gave the G1s a chance to meet Daniel and re-meet Susie (she’s a lot different than she was 1 year ago). After waiting as long as we could for someone to offer us food (they didn’t) we decided to go meet No Name Teri and her girls at Zaxby’s on their way in. By the time we got back to the house, Sonny was there (along with his family). We sat and watched football (Baylor and TCU) and talked and had a good time. At some point, Chandler, Taylor and Bliss got to the house. You could tell it was love at first sight when Daniel saw Bliss. At one point, I found him trying to impress her by sitting up. This was quickly followed by him trying to impress her by lying on his side (while still in a sitting position). I’m not sure she was impressed, but she did politely smile at him. Sonny and I spent most of the night watching TV, drinking and playing the golf arcade game that they have there. We didn’t retire to our rooms until after 1:30am. I tell you this to explain what happened on Saturday.

Saturday is what is known as Golf Day. The annual Labor Day Golf Challenge took place this year at the Greene County Country Club. I will do my best to explain the GCCC to you. It was about $36/each to play (with cart). The course is conveniently located beside railroad tracks and an airport. There hadn’t been a lot of rain in that area in a while and this course wasn’t going to waste money on sprinklers. And you don’t need a tee time to play there. You just show up and play. I loved it. The people were real nice and we didn’t have to worry about people waiting for us. It was hot… but that was to be expected. The teams were me and Sonny against DG and Paul. I’m not going to point fingers here, but Sonny didn’t exactly carry his weight… which was not good because my plan was to have him not only carry his weight, but also carry my weight. I don’t remember the exact score, but I do remember we got beat pretty bad. I’m not making excuses here, but I feel I have to point out a few things:

1. Sonny and I were up past 1:30am the night before… and had been drinking a lot.

2. Sonny and I didn’t drink at all while golfing.

3. Our team had one guy playing right handed and one playing left handed. Paul and DG both played right handed.

4. They hit from the senior tees… the senior tees were about 100 yards (also known as 10 yards farther than my average drive) up from where we had to tee the ball.

5. The heat didn’t get to them like I thought it would. I was pretty sure they would whip us on the front 9, but I thought we’d get them on the back 9. I got the first part right.

6. DG and Paul really wanted to win. Sonny and I were just out there having fun.

Remember, these aren’t excuses… just reasons.

The losing team had to buy the winning team a six pack of beer (the winning team got to pick the beer). I ended up paying because when we got to the check-out, Sonny was nowhere to be found (maybe because he rode in a different car… or maybe because he’s cheap). So Sonny still owes me for half the beer.

The rest of Saturday was pretty fun. Sally and her children got there while we were playing golf. Will was not there and this disappointed me greatly. Jane and AJ had let me know in advance that they would not be able to make it, so I was emotionally and intellectually prepared for their absence. Will not being there caught me off guard. It seems he had to preach and couldn’t get away. I thought I had a great solution to this that I hope he will use next year: Start a new series on how we react when the unexpected happens. What do we do? Do we run? Do we turn to God? Do we step up to do what needs to be done or do we wait for others? The first sermon of this series should be the Sunday of Labor Day Weekend. He should skip church that Sunday (do the unexpected). Then the following Sundays he could answer the previous listed questions. Everyone loved my idea… except The Wife. Jason and his family also got there while we were golfing (I think it was while and not before or after). Of note, Jason and Julie’s oldest boy Kenneth shot up like a weed. It seems he (almost over night) went from being a little boy who had book reading birthday parties to being a football player (though we at I’m just sayin… hope he’ll never lose his love of reading). This was also the first time we got to meet Kyler (Jason and Julie’s youngest boy). So by Saturday afternoon, everyone who was coming was there. Some people came to the house to cook for us that night. Instead of going out to eat, we had the out to eat come to us. We sat there and they served us and all that. It was fun. It gave us time to talk and hang out. One subject that came up was the fact that The Wife doesn’t like it when I talk to Sonny on the phone. She gets mad because I’ll talk to him for an hour. She gets all huffy and complains that I don’t talk to her that much. So I said that I would gladly only talk to her for 1 hour every couple of weeks if that’s what she wants. Everyone at the table laughed… except for The Wife. Sally and No Name Teri shared a story with us, but I don’t remember what it was. I just remember that it was awful and so sad and terrible and just so terribly sad and sadly awful. The reason I just remember that is because when people were asking them to share the story all they would say is how sad and awful it was. I, of course, pointed this out and everyone at the table laughed… except for The Wife. At one point I explained to everyone what it feels like to have your greatest idea ever before the age of 30. I am, of course, talking about THE Greg Horres Top 25 Friends Poll. As I told the table about the poll and how it started and how it grew into the greatest idea ever, everyone at the table laughed… except for The Wife. We also talked about my blog, causing everyone (except The Wife) to laugh. If you really want to see The Wife mad, let me be the reason people are laughing. She can’t stand it. It’s like fingernails on a chalkboard for her. But everyone else was having a good time. Let me take a second here to point out how great it was to have Janie there and how great she is. No, I’m not just saying that because she asked that I speak well of her on here. It was also great having (Name Withheld by Request) there, but she asked that I not use her name on here. After eating, we (and by we, I mean mainly the men) went to watch the USC game. The second half was how I expected the whole game to be. The first half caught me by surprise. I did get to see some highlights from the Clemson game and let me say I’m happy to see the Tigers were wearing orange tops and white britches. All and all I was happy that USC and Clemson didn’t do anything stupid with their uniforms. Speaking of stupid uniform ideas… UGA was UGLY. I wasn’t a big fan of the red on red, but I could live with that. But what was up with their helmets?! Who thought that would be a good idea?! I’m no Georgia fan (sorry Adrian) but even I felt bad for the players for having to wear that crap. Had I been a Georgia player, I would have just played without a helmet. I think it was just a one time deal for that game… but it was still a bad idea. As Sonny said, the devil went down to Georgia and he found a soul to steal… he ain’t behind anymore.

Sunday brought us more fun. We had a nice brunch in the late morning followed by a large amount of pool time. People came in later in the day to cook BBQ and BBQ chicken. There was more eating and laughing (and eye rolling by The Wife). The kids then roasted the largest marshmallows I’ve ever seen. One child roasted just one side of the marshmallow before taking it to her mother. Her mother said to also do the other side… so this child when back and started to twist the marshmallow (instead of just turning the stick over). We got a good laugh out of that… but don’t ask me who it was because I promised Allison I wouldn’t say. I did catch Kyler giving Susie an open mouth kiss. It seems the boy moves fast and has a thing for older girls (the apple don’t fall far from the tree, I guess). I made sure to let Bacon know he has some competition when I took Piglet and Susie to day care today.

Monday… aka, Labor Day… aka, the saddest day of Labor Day Weekend saw everyone pack their cars and leave. There was a lot of hugging and talking between packing and leaving. I don’t remember how fast the trip home was, but I don’t think it was longer than the trip there. Again, we only had to make one stop… which is good.

So that’s my Labor Day Weekend rundown. I do want to thank Jane and AJ for donating to my Memory Walk. There is still time for you to donate. Just click on the link over there ---> or click here.

Did you see the Maryland game last night? WOW! Great game. The best thing I can say about Maryland’s uniforms is that they aren’t UGA’s… and Jeremy likes them. I didn’t hate them (like The Wife did)… but I didn’t love them either.

The I’m just sayin... Football Predictions Results

James Island at Fort Dorchester – I picked JI. Well, what do you know, the schedule I got from the newspaper was wrong. JI played Stall this past Friday night, not Ft. Dorchester. This is just another example of why the newspaper industry is going straight down the drain. Still, I would have picked JI against Stall and I would have been right. The Trojans won, 42-10 (if you believe what you read in the paper).

Summerville at Berkeley – I picked Summerville. I was right! Summerville won, 13-10.

Ashley Ridge vs. Socastee – I picked Ashley Ridge. Right again! Ashley Ridge won 29-25.

Dorman at Spartanburg – I picked Spartanburg to win this one. I was wrong. I had no idea how much Farmers Day would get the Dorman team pumped up for this game. Good job by Dorman to get their first win of the season.

College
USC vs. East Carolina (in Charlotte) – I picked USC. I was right! The Revolutionary War Heroes left Charlotte with a 56-37 win.

Clemson vs. Troy – I picked Clemson. I was right! Clemson beat Troy 43-19.

Navy vs. Delaware – I picked Navy. Right again! Navy won 40-17.

CSU at UCF – I picked Central Florida to win big. I was right! Central Florida won 62-0.

Wyoming vs. Weber State – I picked Wyoming to win. I was right! The Cowboys won 35-32.

Appalachian State at Virginia Tech – I picked Appalachian State to win. I was wrong. Va Tech won this game 66-13. Ouch.

NFL
None – Still no real football in the NFL.

High School: 8-1

College: 5-1

NFL: 0-0

Overall: 13-2


Know Your Medal of Honor Recipients:

Sergeant Horace Capron, Jr. (US Army) received his Medal of Honor for his actions in June of 1862 at Chickahominy and Ashland, Virginia. His citation reads:

Gallantry in action.

Staff Sergeant Alvin P. Carey (US Army) received his Medal of Honor for his actions on August 23, 1944 near Plougastel, Brittany, France. His citation reads:

For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life, above and beyond the call of duty, on 23 August 1944. S/Sgt. Carey, leader of a machinegun section, was advancing with his company in the attack on the strongly held enemy hill 154, near Plougastel, Brittany, France. The advance was held up when the attacking units were pinned down by intense enemy machinegun fire from a pillbox 200 yards up the hill. From his position covering the right flank, S/Sgt. Carey displaced his guns to an advanced position and then, upon his own initiative, armed himself with as many hand grenades as he could carry and without regard for his personal safety started alone up the hill toward the pillbox. Crawling forward under its withering fire, he proceeded 150 yards when he met a German rifleman whom he killed with his carbine. Continuing his steady forward movement until he reached grenade-throwing distance, he hurled his grenades at the pillbox opening in the face of intense enemy fire which wounded him mortally. Undaunted, he gathered his strength and continued his grenade attack until one entered and exploded within the pillbox, killing the occupants and putting their guns out of action. Inspired by S/Sgt. Carey's heroic act, the riflemen quickly occupied the position and overpowered the remaining enemy resistance in the vicinity?

Technical Sergeant Charles F. Carey, Jr. (US Army) received his Medal of Honor for his actions on January 8-9, 1945 at Rimling, France. His citation reads:

He was in command of an antitank platoon when about 200 enemy infantrymen and 12 tanks attacked his battalion, overrunning part of its position. After losing his guns, T/Sgt. Carey, acting entirely on his own initiative, organized a patrol and rescued 2 of his squads from a threatened sector, evacuating those who had been wounded. He organized a second patrol and advanced against an enemy-held house from which vicious fire issued, preventing the free movement of our troops. Covered by fire from his patrol, he approached the house, killed 2 snipers with his rifle, and threw a grenade in the door. He entered alone and a few minutes later emerged with 16 prisoners. Acting on information he furnished, the American forces were able to capture an additional 41 Germans in adjacent houses. He assembled another patrol, and, under covering fire, moved to within a few yards of an enemy tank and damaged it with a rocket. As the crew attempted to leave their burning vehicle, he calmly shot them with his rifle, killing 3 and wounding a fourth. Early in the morning of 9 January, German infantry moved into the western part of the town and encircled a house in which T/Sgt. Carey had previously posted a squad. Four of the group escaped to the attic. By maneuvering an old staircase against the building, T/Sgt. Carey was able to rescue these men. Later that day, when attempting to reach an outpost, he was struck down by sniper fire. The fearless and aggressive leadership of T/Sgt. Carey, his courage in the face of heavy fire from superior enemy forces, provided an inspiring example for his comrades and materially helped his battalion to withstand the German onslaught.