HOLE IN ONE @ AGE 14!!!!

Well less than 30 days after turning 14 years old, Cameron has achieved the golfer's dream: a Hole-In-One! Some golfers spend a life-time trying to achieve this feat and never make it. A quick look at the stats on making one:

According to USHoleInOne.com, which insures hole-in-one contests, the odds of getting a hole in one on a par-3 are 12,500 to 1 for an amateur and 7,500 to 1 for a pro.

"I don't know how many hole in ones we make out on tour a year, but think about it," says Rich Beem, who won the 2002 PGA Championship and had a hole in one in the second round of the 2002 Disney Classic in Lake Buena Vista, Fla.

"You've got the best golfers in the world firing at the pins how many times a week? I mean, we only have X amount of hole in ones? There's a lot of luck."

Cameron achieved his Hole In One on 8/23 at Royal Oak Country Club while playing with his dad. He aced the 161 yard 5th hole using his 6-iron. The club is recognizing his accomplishment with a plaque and he was noted in both the Royal Oak and the Ivy Hills (where he was part of the Jr. Golf program this summer) Country Club Newsletters.

Although he didn't make the St. X JV golf team, he is on the St. X freshman Intramural team so he still gets to play this fall and will try-out again next year.

Here's looking at you kid!!!!!!!!!!

MICHELLE OBAMA ROCKS !!! !! THE GOLDEN RULE

I missed Michelle Obabma's speech the other night at the Democratic National Convention, but I did catch the post-event video clips. I was really impressed with what she had to say and one portion in particular really struck a cord with me. Here are her words, as well as a link to the actual speech text:

"...Barack and I were raised with so many of the same values: that you work hard for what you want in life; that your word is your bond and you do what you say you're going to do; that you treat people with dignity and respect, even if you don't know them, and even if you don't agree with them."

"And Barack and I set out to build lives guided by these values, and pass them on to the next generation. Because we want our children — and all children in this nation — to know that the only limit to the height of your achievements is the reach of your dreams and your willingness to work for them."

Wow. Too bad she isn't running for president. These values:

• Working hard
• Doing what you say you are going to do (word as bond)
• Treat all people with dignity and respect
• No limits to your level of achievement

These are values that my parents raised myself and my three siblings with. My parents gave us a tool kit filled with these personal tenets as well as many others and the certainty that we were loved for who we were. There was never a doubt in my mind that I could achieve anything that I set my mind to if I only put forth the maximum effort. I have always led my life with a personal code of integrity. If I say that I am going to do something, I move heaven and hell to the best of my ability to get it done. I treat everyone I meet with dignity and respect and although there are times/situations/personalities that make this very difficult, I try to remind myself that behavior is sometimes the product of things immediately beyond someone's control. For example, that negative person at the next cubicle who doesn't treat others with respect may be harboring a secret life of abuse. There is always a back story for why people are the way they are; especially when it seems outside the norm or outside their usual behavioral patterns.

So to my namesake, Michelle Obama, I salute your effort in naming those things that connected you to your husband, Barak and applaud you for sharing them with the rest of the nation and the world. It is my belief as well, that these values will carry all of our children forward into the future as they continue to dream big and have the willingness to work hard to see their dreams fulfilled.

"Can miles truly separate you from friends...
If you want to be with someone you love, aren't you already there?"

-Richard Bach

St. Xavier Freshman Orientation-

St. X Welcomes Class of 2012

"The future is now for the freshman class at St. Xavier High School.

Not even three months since most of them graduated from eighth grade - kings of their respective hills at their previous schools - the class of 2012 arrived on North Bend Road Aug. 18 as low men on the totem pole in the fabled Long Blue Line.

The days of trying to trick freshmen into buying an elevator pass, however, are long gone. The freshmen were embraced with open arms and began a series of activities carefully designed and implemented – and led by seniors on the student leadership team - to make them feel part of the family right away.

Each homeroom played name games with their senior Bomber Pilots to help introduce themselves to one another. The boys participated in several ice-breaker activities before embarking on one of their most important tasks of the morning – learning the school’s Alma Mater.

The freshmen rounded out their day with a prayer service in the Chapel of the Holy Companions where, lo and behold, two of the original companions appeared.

St. Ignatius Loyola (Joe Markesberry, ’10) and St. Francis Xavier himself (Tommy Boeing, ’10) gave a brief history of the founding of the Society of Jesus, aka the Jesuits, and welcomed the freshman to a 450-plus-year tradition of educational excellence.

Student council president Mark Grote (’09) led the freshmen in the singing of the alma mater to close the service.

“We’re all part of this together,” said St. X President Fr. Walter C. Deye S.J. (’66), who presided over the prayer services. “You’ve met many leaders today and we are called to lead, to do great things, to be men for and with others as best we can.”"-- (St. Xavier Website)

WHY MUST THERE BE COMPULSIVE LIARS IN THE WORLD???

"In a time of universal deceit,

Telling the Truth

Is a revolutionary act!"

GEORGE ORWELL

Within the Silence

Within the Silence

Be still in the silence,

Listen intently for the quiet

It envelopes you in a warm embrace and

Within its midst the answer will be revealed

Like the tinkling of a chime blowing freely in the wind,

The sound shimmers in your ears

Awakening within the recesses of your mind

The Lost Voice

The voice that has lain hidden for years

Collecting the dust of the forgotten

Awaken that voice and embrace it

Empower it to do your will

Let it inspire your mind

To clear out the darkness

To bring forth the light of understanding

From the depths of your soul

For in the center of silence lies

Choice

Choice to act

Choice to love

Choice to forgive

It is in the act of choosing that existence is transformed

*copywrite Michelle Beckham-Corbin

TWEEN GIRLS AND CELL PHONES

Thought I would post the rules I came up with when Mackenzie got her cell phone this summer. I am sure I will look back at this years from now and ROFL!!!!:

Cell Phone Rules:

(Breaking these rules will result in loss of the phone as having a cell phone is a PRIVILEDGE)

Ø No using phone in bedroom to make calls, text, IM or in any way that contacts another human being.

Ø Do not contact ppl after 9:00 p.m. on school nights or 9:30 on summer nights/weekends

Ø Do not give out your cell phone # to ppl you don’t know

Ø NEVER GIVE OUT YOUR NUMBER TO “FRIENDS” YOU MEET ON THE INTERNET (GAME, IM, MYSPACE, ETC)

Ø NO contacting boys on your cell phone until 8^th grade- use house phone

Ø No crank calls

Ø Check minutes/text-pic-video usage daily

Will I Find Inspiration in The Shack?

I'm reading a book that is extremely hard to put down. It is The Shack, by William P. Young and is #1 on the Paperback Best Seller's List and the really weird thing is that I didn't purchase it. Cameron, who just turned 14, saw it at Border's and wanted to buy it. It falls within the Inspirational Reading category, which normally doesn't grab my attention, but considering it was at the top of the popular list, I wanted to see what all the fuss was about and why a teenage boy would choose this as the one book he was going to buy that day. (As background, we are a family of voracious readers!)

I am just a quarter of the way through and can feel the magnetic pull to keep up a steady pace of reading so that I can find out what the main message of the story is. I don't want to spoil the plot for anyone who may want to read it, so I will just say that at this point, I keep hugging my children and am very thankful that they are now at the age where I don't have to worry about the bogeyman in the night. Define bogeyman to your own taste: kidnapper, sexual predator, psychotic nanny or babysitter, bully- whatever your primal fear is regarding the safety of your own children.

For some reason, I feel that I am being led to read this book; especially given that I probably have at least 25 others around the house that have all been crying out to be read. I guess I will just have to wait to see what elapses and why I am being called. Will keep you posted! If you have read it, please let me know your thoughts.

DEATH: AN ANSWER TO LIVING??

How incredibly sad that a young man would take his own life yesterday at Eden Park. It was one of the most beautiful, un-August-like days this City has seen, just brimming with color and vibrancy. What kind of torment was he going through that would drive him to this place? How does a human being get to the point where they feel that death is the only answer to the pain of living? And what about the people in his life: family, co-workers, friends- was there no-one for him to turn to in his despair? Here is the short Cincinnati Enquirer blurb:

Overpass Jumper Identified

By Jennifer Baker • jbaker@enquirer.com • August 13, 2008

WALNUT HILLS - The man who died Tuesday after jumping from the Eden Park overpass over Kemper Lane committed suicide, Cincinnati police said today.

The man was identified today as Jeremy C. Dilbert, 30, of Greenhills. He was pronounced dead at University Hospital.

*********************************************************************

Three years ago, I was in the position to help someone who was contemplating suicide and had already made several attempts. I had just met him and really didn't know any of his background; only that he was in deep despair and had taken up Cutting, a type of self-injury, to assuage the pain in his life. I listened for hours and let him pour out some of the turmoil that was going on his life and encouraged him to talk to his family and get professional help. He eventually did do that, was under a therapist's care, and over time was able to slay some of the mental dragons that had been torturing him. Today, he is a much stronger and self-confident individual and truly living a happy and productive life.

Often times, we have the natural tendency to not want to get involved, especially in regard to people that we don't know. Sometimes, it is in the act of reaching out a hand, that grace is born and we are really able to make a true difference in a life, in a family, in the world.

MICHELLE THERESE: THE EYES HAVE IT!

Summer, the way it should be!!!

Unbelievably gorgeous day here. It was around 75 degrees with blue skies and clouds that literally looked like cotton candy spun confections. We biked to lunch and ate outside underneath the cafe unbrella, watching the slow-moving traffic go by. It was a late lunch, somewhere after 2:00 p.m., so we were the only customers in the whole place. I'm thinking that ppl had picnic lunches at the park or perhaps on their patios at home, as our waitress claimed that we were only the 5th group of customers she had had all day. We biked to the park afterwards and attempted to play sand volleyball barefoot. Ouch! The sand was a little too hot and I was not about to dive around the sand in my imported Madras walking shorts, cotton short-sleeved sweater and Bjorn leather flip flops. LOL- what was I thinking??!!?? Great afternoon, none-the-less. Topped it off with bowling. I think I hit my all time Bumperless high score of 137. The funny thing is that when we did Bumper Bowling when the kids were younger, I probably didn't do much better. So given that info, I'll bet my bumper score would have been close to 280. Can't beat those summer prices of a buck a game.

Soundtrack of my Summer

What Used To Be.... (Artichokes)

The stuttered stop and start

The fluttering of true hearts

The mist of hot breath on a cold night breeze

The search for moist lips meeting dry with ease

The arms that reach out to pull you closer

The feel of firm body beneath your shoulders

A coming together of two disjointed souls

Who in a moment’s time will no longer be alone

Hands moving in tandem with fingers exploring

Sends white hot streaks of electricity through them

One special touch, a prolonged pause,

The dance begins amidst the noise

Of breathing lungs that gasp for air

and hearts that pound as fast as they dare

emotions quickly rise giving way to passion

While bodies entwined join in certain fashion

The two become one and they move in concert

Melded and molded and covered in moisture

He touches her face, she caresses his lips

As they climb the mountain with nothing but bliss

“I love yous” fill the air as their bodies become taut

For that eternal split second in time knowing what

Comes at the other end of that climb

A release so intense, that it is truly sublime

Bodies lay gasping separate yet pulsing

Drinking in the after effects of their love making

Relaxed in demeanor and in the knowledge that forever

They will stay linked in their love for each other.

*copywrited material Michelle Beckham-Corbin

Whispers in the Wind

Your name spoken in the wind

Carried to the heavens

Far above the cloudless sky

Floating unaided, it rests upon angels’ wings

Your physical presence is gone

But you live on in my mind

Your profile etched like

A cameo on my eyelids

I see you bending there among the flowers

I reach out to touch you

But you are gone

Like an errant shadow at noon

My hand remains empty

Yet if I focus my thoughts

I feel your warmth encircle

My fingers with love

Why did you leave us

With so much work unfinished?

Your life was like a half- done canvass

Just waiting for the master painter to complete it

I search the stars for answers

And in my sadness, they shine back at me in silence

A silence that is bright white and deep

Like a piercing light breaking my heart

I will find you again one day

We will be together among the stars

And our light will illuminate the heavens and earth

As our love burns brightly together once more

*all material copywrited Michelle Beckham-Corbin

My Friend Kevin Bacon

You know the old adage that everyone on the planet is separated from Kevin Bacon by as few as six degrees? Well Kevin and I are directly linked on my LinkedIn site. I guess he was inspired to add me by my discourse on the whole connectivity theory. Here is a great article from the Washington Post (my hometown paper!!) that addresses some scientific research that fully supports the Kevin Bacon 6 Degrees of Separation Game (woops theory!):

TECHNOLOGY
Instant-Messagers Really Are About Six Degrees from Kevin Bacon
"Turns out, it is a small world. The so-called small world theory, embodied in the old saw that there are just "six degrees of separation" between any two strangers on Earth, has been largely corroborated by a massive study of electronic communication."
(By Peter Whoriskey, The Washington Post)


And for the record, I have great respect for Kevin's work over the years. Footloose (song and movie) will forever bring back memories of Bill Ryan and Chris Beer as we tried to take Xavier University's Student Government by storm with the student body presidential elections.

And also for the record, if you live in Cincinnati, then you are separated by all greater Cincy residents by only 2 degrees of separation and that's a fact (especially if you went to Elder, St. X, UC, Xavier , or worked at GE or P&G).

Monday, Monday

Great day. Accomplished quite a bit. "Met" up with Dan Lally and Bill Ryan online tonight. Two good friends from my undergrad days at Xavier. Got through St. X Golf Tryouts Day I and first day of A team CYO Girls' Basketball. Ughhh, isn't summer supposed to be lazily reading by the pool and sipping Pina Coladas???????

About Saturday: My Helping Children Cope with Divorce Class (HCCWD) ended well on Saturday despite a few technical difficulties. We were in a new location and unfortunately had some bad Karma at the start: initially the air was off, so the room was pretty hot; we had to reset another room that was much larger and could accomadate more people. The VCR we were going to use ate my co-presenter Brent's tape (this is a tape that relays a real life example of a divorcing family that we later dissect and discuss as well as an experts' piece on the affect of divorce at different developmental stages). We had our Program Director hunt down another machine (who uses VCRS anymore, anyway???) because I didn't want my final copy to be mangled. The solution would have been for Brent and I to lecture the entire 2.5 hours. How awful for those people sweltering in that hot room with no coffee in sight to have to listen to us drone on as sweat slipped down our brow. It really ended up being enjoyable and the participants really took away some good information. Did you know that all divorcing couples in Hamilton and Clermont Counties MUST take my HCC WD class????

AHHHH

Busy weekend- lots of events-ran 2 miles-tired to the bone. Enough said. Happy August!!! Watch out heat emergency alert tomorrow just in time for St. X Golf tryouts. Ouch!