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If you missed last night's performance of 'The Nutcracker' at Kidd-Key Auditorium in Sherman, you missed something special for the Christmas season.
The Denison Dance Academy has performed this ballet for the past two seasons...and it only gets better and better...
Last nights performance is the second for the Kidd-Key Auditorium, as the other show was at Eisenhower Auditorium at Denison High School.. The lighting at Eisenhower was atrocious and was far from the quality of Kidd-Key and my photographs from Eisenhower are some of the poorest quality I have ever shot. Kidd-Key was made for this type of presentation and the lighting was very good.
Denison Dance Academy Director Ilona Nogarr (lavender dress) played the part of Mrs Stahbaum, the Christmas Party Hostess and the maid is my daughter, Laura Lara. Here they prepare for the party by doing a little house cleaning.
Laura, playing the part of the maid, has just passed out some drinks to the two grandmothers, played by Amy Heinen and Selina Stone (my wife), in the big blue dress. The premise of the play is the granny's get a little tipsy as the party goes on around them.
The party gets going as more and more guests arrive...the dancing party girls are: Elizabeth, Kaya, Sarah, Julianne, Mackenzie, and Brooklyn.
Mikayla (my niece) played the part of Clara and performed flawlessly...Here dancing with the Nutcracker toy. She would get into a squabble with Fritz (played by my grandson Louie) resulting in the Nutcracker toy being broken.
Several of the performers had multiple roles to play in the ballet...Here Mikayla joins Miranda Lamb in an Arabian Dance.
They called it an Arabian Dance... I would have said Siamese if you had asked me, but nobody did.
Here Megan McCullogh leads a herd of small lambs onto the stage... They are: Kira, Kadence, Sophia, Lola, Sheperd, Emily, and Mary.. A pretty flock if I ever saw one.
After Herr Drosselmeyer (Rocky Massey) winds up the dolls with the magic key we are treated to a dance... The dolls are Tiffany Garner and Hannah Cornelison..
When Mother Gegan (giant puppet) made her appearance onstage, she was accompanied by Abraham, Kira, Julianne, and Grey... I don't know how the tall broad was getting home, but hopefully somebody has a car with a sunroof.
The Spanish dancers also made a showing at the party...Here Tiffany, Megan, and Miranda strut their stuff...
The adult party-goers join the festivities... They are: Jake & Marquin, Louie & Hannah, Rocky and Ilona, Mike & Darcy, Clay & Itzel, and Hunter & Cadience.
Here Clara (Mikayla) falls asleep on the sofa and is surrounded by mice... played by Hayden, Ashlyn, Sarah, Grey, Brooklyn, Mackenzie, Kadence, Julianne, Kaya, Annabelle, and Ann.
The mice get into a battle with the Nutcracker (Hannah Cornelison) and the soldiers.. played by Cadience, Skyler, Hope, Sarah, and Lillian.
Check the snowflakes... they are played by Miranda, Tiffany, Megan, Darcy, Cadiance, Hannah, Hope, and Lillian...(the little blonde on the far right is my granddaughter Lilly).
Clara (Mikayla) is surrounded by little flowers... they are: Emmaline, Emmalee, Hope, Lillian, Sarah, Kaya, Elizabeth, and Skyler. (That's my Blondie on the far left side)
Professional dancers Anton and Darli Iakovieva left a frozen over Connecticut to fly in for the performance. They are part of the Connecticut Ballet and both have extensive training in both Europe and the United States. Darli is the daughter of Denison Dance Academy Director Ilona Nogarr and we are treated when they join the local performances.
The grand finale brought all the cast members to the stage again and flower bouquets were passed out. The Nutcracker performance was just the thing to get the Christmas spirit passed around. I hope it is a joyous Christmas for you and yours and may you be enriched with health and happiness all the days of your life. God Bless !!
The Cowboys and the Bears were the stars of this past Monday Night Football game... The weather was anything but conducive to football as the kick-off temperature was nine (9) degrees with a windchill factor of eight below zero.
Dallas was tied with Philadelphia for the lead in the Eastern Division of the NFC at the beginning of this game as the Eagles had won the previous day. If you believe in the Sports Illustrated jinx, this game added a lot to the mystic. Last week Dallas quarterback Tony Romo had been on the cover of the weekly magazine.
The so-called jinx or curse is suppose to be bad luck for you if you are on the cover.. Just the previous week Alabama quarterback A.J. McCarron had been on the cover and his team lost to Auburn, robbing the Tide of a chance to repeat as National Champs.
I don't think the magazine had anything to do with Dallas' demise, as Tony Romo looked great under the severe conditions. He tossed three touchdowns and controlled a good pace on the field. It's the defense of Dallas that is causing all the trouble. They allowed a good (but not great) Bear's team to run roughshod over them in front of a national TV audience.
Chicago running back Matt Forte ran for a hundred yards and scored two touchdowns as the Bears prevailed 45-28 over the Boys. Chicago was led by back-up quarterback Josh McCown and all he did was throw four (4) touchdown passes enroute to 348 yards of passing offense.
McCown, number 12 above, has been filling in for Jay Cutler (#6) while he recovers from an injury...BUT now there are players calling for McCown to get the starting job and let Cutler take his services elsewhere. Meanwhile, McCown shredded the Dallas secondary with accurate passes to Alshon Jeffery and Brandon Marshall..
...So much so that McCown was today named NFC Offensive Player of the Week. Six of his aerials went to Marshall for one hundred yards.
The fans in Dallas cried out for a change in the offensive play-calling and more running so Romo would not be passing on every down...
Cowboys running back DeMarco Murray ran the ball eighteen times for one-hundred and forty-six yards... a good day for him... but you have to play defense when the other team has the ball. In my pre-season forecast for the Cowboys (see September 5th posting) I predicted they would finish no better than 9 wins and 7 losses. At the time I didn't know the entire NFC East would be such a pitiful example of pro football. Now I realize that 9-7 might win the division title.
Dallas has a home game this Sunday (December 15th) against the Green Bay Packers.... then on the road to play the Washington Redskins before closing out the regular season with a home game against Philadelphia. Currently residing at 7 wins and 6 losses, Dallas players are talking about winning out the remainder of the schedule. I just don't see it! Quarterback Aaron Rogers is scheduled to return to action for Green Bay this week, and they are a completely different team with him leading them. The Redskins are ripe to be finished off. Disappointment in their record and a current squabble between QB Robert Griffin III and Head Coach Mike Shanahan has turned rancid. Game sixteen should decide it for Dallas... They beat the Eagles when they played in the City of Brotherly Love, but Philly has made great strides since that game...and throw in the factor each team hates the other..
One good aspect of this past Monday night's game... The Bears retired the jersey of former player and head coach Mike Ditka. Iron Mike was also a player and assistant coach in Dallas, ..so it was fitting he should be honored at this particular game...
Another indicator of the years going by is the number of friends that are dying off on me.. Just this past week I lost another one and I have been in somewhat of a funk since getting the news.
After my thirty year career in Radio/TV broadcasting I wanted to find something to get me away from the rapes, murders, and violence of the news beat. I had driven my brother's race car all over the country in an enclosed trailer back in the 1970's, so I thought, why not trucking...and if you are going to drive a truck,..you might as well drive for the best.
I started driving for Wal-Mart in 1997 but I did not get the job easily... I was an outside carrier for seventeen months before the opening became available. An outside carrier is when you are employed by another company but you pull only Wal-Mart trailers. About thirty Wal-Mart drivers signed a petition endorsing my application and the general transportation manager at the Palestine, Texas distribution center was impressed. I became one of the first drivers hired in almost four years at Palestine.
One of the drivers that stood up for my hiring was Terry Williams, better known as Bullwinkle over the CB radio.
Bullwinkle was a man who was willing to go the extra mile in his job, but also ready to lend a hand to anyone who needed assistance. He was a larger than life individual but always had an easy smile on his face. The driver pool at Palestine was around three hundred men and just about all knew Terry and had some good comment to pass along. Terry worked for Wal-Mart for twenty-two years and retired this past July. He was installing a dishwasher in his kitchen when he suffered a major stroke, dying about a week later.
Did I mention that Terry was a car nut?.. He and his sons would rebuild old cars into like-new condition. Terry met me at a local cafe once during the late 1990's and he was driving a 1937 Chevrolet Coupe you would swear was brand new... BUT it had a late model running gear with a Chevrolet V8 under the hood. One of his last remodeling jobs was a 1957 Chevrolet Bel-Air with a fuel-injected engine. Guess what led the funeral procession from the church to the cemetery?
The immaculate detail of this vehicle tells you what a great mechanic Bullwinkle was. I retired from Wal-Mart in 2009 but a lot of former drivers who retired long before me showed up for the funeral, a display of just how much Terry was loved and respected. Wal-Mart has an army of drivers numbering over seven thousand,..but Terry was one of a kind..and he was my friend. So long Bullwinkle, and put in a good word for me with Saint Peter.
Of all the beauties on television these days, I have come up with one that I would definitely be after hot and heavy,....and if I was thirty years younger. When I mention the name Sarah Shahi you probably come up with a blank,..but that is okay because I had to do a little digging to come up with her real name.
I was watching a repeat of the old Soprano's series on HBO and spotted this lovely creature. It was the sixth episode of the sixth season of the Soprano's...the one where Tony and Christopher have the auto wreck and Christopher meets his demise. Tony flies off to Las Vegas and meets Sonya,..a sweet young thing that Christopher had on the side. Tony ends up shacking with her for the weekend and the two end up out in the desert doing some peyote...
Does that photo bring it back for you?... That is Sarah in the little polka-dot dress sitting on the ground (better photos to come). That was in 2007 but Sarah was breaking hearts a lot earlier than that. She was born in Euless, Texas (between Dallas & Fort Worth) and went to Southern Methodist University (my school). In 1999 she was a member of the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders...
Sarah is the brunette almost in the center of the group. While touring with the Dallas Cheerleaders she got noticed by talent scouts and then parts starting coming her way.
She currently is part of the group on CBS's Person of Interest show on Tuesday nights. She plays the part of Samantha Shaw, an almost doctor who flunks medical school and becomes an assassin.
This show has tried to show her without make-up and once with drenching wet hair... No dice! You can't hide the natural beauty of Sarah. She is the product of an Iranian father and a Spanish mother. Her name originally was Aahoo when she was born, but later changed it when she started school. Her mother's favorite song was 'Sarah' by Fleetwood Mac and that is what she changed her daughter's name to before the first grade. She attended Trinity High School in Euless before SMU. Experts on Person of Interest were amazed at how fast she became proficient with handling of guns on the show until she told them she has been shooting since she was a small girl.
Evidently I am not the only one taking notice of Sarah's dynamite looks.... She is also one of the stars of the new movie 'Bullet to the Head' that is currently on the market..
....and if that was not enough,.. Maxim Magazine has her on the cover of its latest issue. Maxim is a man's magazine that is closer to the level of Playboy than it is Penthouse or Hustler Magazine. In the current issue we get to see a lot more of Sarah.... literally.
I will leave the remainder of the magazine photos for them to display.. Suffice to say, Sarah is a local girl that has really made a name for herself so far. She is only 33 years of age and has Hollywood beating a path to her door...
My allegiance to Kevin Harvick among the NASCAR drivers is unquestionable.. I have been one of his most loyal followers when critics and supporters were outspoken on his driving decisions and temper tantrums.. In 2014 he will change car numbers and be driving for a new owner...but that has nothing to do with my quandary.
Dating back to the early 1980's I have been a fan of the late Dale Earnhardt...Through thick and thin I loved Earnhardt because he was a blue-collar driver that achieved success by working his way up through the ranks...
The results of Earnhardt speak for themselves.. Seven Championship Titles and sponsors clamoring for his name or likeness on their products,...but in 2001 in all came to an end in the blink of an eye. On the final lap of the Daytona 500, Earnhardt was killed when his car careened into a concrete wall at 190 miles per hour.. Like millions of other fans, I cried for days and had a tough time just talking about the incident. Thanks to television I had the instant replay running non-stop through my mind daily.
Hours after the accident, team owner Richard Childress had to make a decision on the future of car number three. Sponsors paid big bucks to have their product or names displayed at each race weekend. Childress could have selected another driver with Winston Cup experience, but he picked Kevin Harvick from a lower division of NASCAR to take over the number three car. The number was changed to twenty-nine, but it was the same crew and garage as always.
The following week Harvick and the #29 team showed up at Rockingham, North Carolina with a solid white car,... he finished 14th in his first race with the big boys of NASCAR. An 8th place finish in his second race...but then he edged out Jeff Gordon at Atlanta to capture the checkered flag in only his third effort at the Winston Cup level of NASCAR,...proving he was a quality driver to be contended with. I have been with him ever since,..especially when Harvick and Childress insisted on putting the number 3 at the bottom of the 'B' post of the car (B post is midway from the windshield to the back window on each side of the car)...and it has been there ever since.
Unlike a lot of Dale Earnhardt fans who jumped to another driver simply because he had a similar name, I remained loyal to the same team. If your favorite NFL team loses its quarterback to another team due to free agency, does your loyalty go with him? Absolutely not! I stayed with the same team and told friends my favorite car had two numbers...29 on the door and 3 under the B post.
.... But now we come to the crux of this posting... Harvick will be driving for Stewart-Haas Racing next year and team owner Tony Stewart has given Harvick the number 4 for his car.
As you can see,..the Budweiser sponsorship will follow Harvick to the new team,..and the color scheme almost looks exactly the same... BUT there is NO #3 on the B post of the car. To make matters even worse, Richard Childress is even talking about giving the number 3 to his grandson, Austin Dillon, who will be moving up from the Nationwide series in 2014. I am at the fork in the road with my decision. If I continue to follow Harvick in the new car, I feel as if I have turned my back on the greatest driver to climb through the window. Childress said at the time of Earnhardt's death that the number 3 would be retired permanently from NASCAR, but I know how he feels in dealing with a grandson,... I have four of them myself.
The annual fashion show was on display last night at Texoma Harley-Davidson. The weather could not have been worse for the occasion. It was cold and damp with a forecast of possible sleet and freezing rain,...BUT bikers are a hardy breed and the turnout proved it once again..
This was the fourth yearly effort to display the fashions available from the motor clothes department and the response gets a bit better with each show. The dealership had snacks and drinks available for attendees,...and I made myself comfortable with a Bud Lite as I prepared for the show.
My wife was in charge of coordinating all the outfits to the various models and making sure everyone came out on cue and in the correct order. She had just returned from a week's stay at Camp Goddard up in Oklahoma and was not feeling well...BUT she was a trooper and did a good job.
This is Sam from the 'special projects' department of the dealership...He can help you design the bike of your dreams, or correct a problem you might have. He is wearing an extra thick plaid shirt from HD,..just the thing for a chilly evening of riding, if your leather jacket is too much. The streak in his beard is completely natural.
Trent from the service department is accompanied by a little furry friend... His shirt, shoes, and cap are all available in the motor clothes department of Texoma HD.. I am unsure if the dog bone is one of our items or not.
Cathy works in the motor clothes department and looks comfortable in this set of leathers. If you have ever been on a bike at 65 miles an hour, you will enjoy having leather between you and the elements. Usually a leather jacket is one of the first items a biker will add to their wardrobe after purchasing the bike. Her boots also can be found at Texoma HD.
Paige came back to the dealership just for this fashion show...She had previously worked in the motor clothes department. Nice faded jeans and vest over gingham shirt with matching cap.. Good looking outfit for just about any occasion.... Don't stay away so long Paige... We miss you.
Different model but same dog... This is Ashley from the motor clothes department... Boots..pre-washed jeans and jacket are all stocked at Texoma HD.
Even the boss was pressed into service last night...Neil is decked out in Harley jeans, plaid shirt, thermal undershirt, and of course the cap to top off the ensemble.
How about those blue lights around the cat-walk? Just prior to the show half of the lights went out, and personnel from the service department traced down the short and made the repairs.
Handling the narration of the fashion show was performed admirably by Tiffany and AnneMarie. They described the various outfits on the models and were available to answer any questions.
One of the great things about Harley-Davidson merchandise is the guarantee that comes with it. We have had leather jackets over a year old come back with a busted zipper...and if we can't fix the zipper it means a new jacket..
Above is Jeremy from the sales department...and he is stylishly decked out in a leather jacket with reflective material to make you light up the night in more ways than one. His jeans and boots are also Harley items....as well as the Willie G cap.
Bet you didn't know that Harley-Davidson even makes night clothes... Here the entire family is decked out for beddie-by time. With this kind of attire you can bet your dreams will be filled with adventures of a new Softail Custom with Screamin' Eagle pipes.
Considering the bad weather, we had a good turnout and appreciate those attending. Everything went off according to plan and we look forward to next years event. All of the items displayed in the fashion show and MORE are available in the motor clothes department... HAPPY HOLIDAYS !
