The Cordle Fam

True to form, the lake has provided another weekend full of wonderful memories. Andy, Anne & her college roommate Jackie, as well as Anna Catherine and her roommates Jen & Janele came up on Saturday afternoon. We had a great time hanging out both in the cabin, and out on the Hapatoochet (thanks Todd!). Andy and I were actually fools enough to go skiing (don’t tell the girls, but the water wasn’t near as cold as we pretended it was). Dinner was eaten, dominoes were played, and stories were told.

I didn’t take too many pictures, but here are a few…

Imagine my surprise when I got home last night and had a message from one of our cousins in Louisiana. She somehow found our blog and sent us a comment. It’s great to hear from her, because we only get to see them once a year or so. Little did I know they were bloggers too! So, check out two of our cousin’s blogs…

• Carrie’s Blog: “The Tassin’s Ark”
• “Photography by Marianne” …I had no clue Marianne was such a talented photographer…Looking good Marianne!

It’s often said that you don’t appreciate something until it’s gone. Well, I just want to take this opportunity to show my appreciation of one of the most special places on Earth. I’m talking about our cabin on Weiss Lake.

I was able to drive up here this afternoon, and spend a couple hours aboard the Hapatoochet (The Garlington’s boat…I’ll let Uncle Todd explain the name). As I sat there watching another spectacular sunset, I couldn’t help but think of some of the amazing memories surrounding this place. Please excuse me while I reminisce.

Some of my very earliest memories are long before we owned the current cabin. Once a summer or so, we’d visit relatives at the cabin next door. I remember being scared to death in their fishing boat. See, the motor wasn’t exactly mounted properly on the transom, so when the boat started going fast, it had a severe list to one side. I always felt like I was going to fall out. This was back when “Geek” owned the bright blue cabin that we eventually purchased. And painted, thankfully.

I remember my surprise 13th birthday on the way home from Camp Laney…the one where Jackie asked if I “felt rebellious yet” because I was now a teenager. I remember carving Amanda Roberson’s name in a tree out back in 8th grade, because I just knew I was in love. She’s married now, btw. We also had some great trips up here with the youth group…remember when Mom & Dad taught Sunday School?

What would become one of the most defining moments of my life took place here at the lake in January 2002. While exploring behind the cabin, I noticed a small sailboat under about 4 feet of pine straw. That’s when I hatched a plan to spend that summer fixing up the boat and learning to sail. I was fortunate enough to be able to share that experience with several friends, but mostly Andy, who’s actually coming up with Anne tomorrow.

I’ll never forget the first time dad and I launched the Miss Lady. We were so concerned about whether or not it would float, the fact that neither of us had ever sailed before was forgotten. Mom towed us out into the middle of the lake with the wave runner, and we sat there trying to figure out how to get the keel down so the boat would stay upright. We eventually figured it out, and when we did, the keel dropped with a loud bang and a bit of a splash. Dad thought we were sinking…I’ve never heard him scream so loud! Luckily we didn’t sink. Unknown at the time was how this would lead to my life-changing sailing trip across the Gulf.

Since then, there’ve been countless weekends & holidays spent up here with family and friends. There’s one Thanksgiving that stands out in particular…hey goob, duck next time. One evening with the Garlingtons, we actually saw the sunset 8 times. Dead gum! As I look at the floor right now, I fondly remember a weekend spent with the Tarpley family laying tile. However, it wouldn’t hurt my feelings to never have to lay tile again.

There certainly have been some memorable bad weather moments here though. We played Scrabble during a tornado once…I swear we heard the local hick DJ say “Well, yeah, it umm, it looks like their’s a ‘nader comin’ ‘cross Weiss now, so, uh, you might oughta take cover or somtin. You know, if you ‘ount to.” I think my favorite bad weather story is when dad was here alone, and it got so bad he actually went into the boathouse and sat inside the boat til the storm was over. Because that was safer. I still can’t help but crack up when I picture that scene.

Our lives constantly change, yet the lake remains a constant place to spend time with those most important to us, and create memories that last forever. It doesn’t matter what you need, the lake always provides exactly what you’re looking for. Rest, relaxation, reflection, worship, fellowship, inspiration. We’re just so blessed that we have a place like this, and I hope we never give it up.

Ok…I’m done. I hope y’all have a great weekend! I’m headed down to the dock now…the moon’s absolutely beautiful tonight. Love y’all…

Not sure if you’ve noticed, but I’ve been in a very un-creative funk lately. So, I was discussing my plight with Goob tonight over a cup of coffee, and she asked me if I was suffering from “writer’s blog”. I guess I was, in a way, but I think she helped me snap out of it with her accidental wit. So, I guess I’ll start by recapping the weekend.

Dad and I made it over to Augusta National for Round 1 of the Masters on Thursday. That place is absolutely amazing. We were trying to come up with words to describe it, but none really seemed to do the trick. Understated elegance? Mystical? Eh…who knows. It’s just something that everyone should experience at some point. But I guess that’s part of the mystique…if everyone could experience it, would it be what it is? I think not.

Anyway. Friday we got up and drove to Tennessee for our second cousin’s son Steven’s wedding. Mom and Nee Nee drove up from Indianola, and we all converged at the Tournament Player’s Club in Memphis for the rehearsal dinner. It was really great to get to see the family and friends that we only see when there’s a wedding or something. They’re all really fun people. It was a bit disconcerting, however, to find that some members of the elderly are resorting to street gangs as a means of companionship.

We found some time on Saturday to ride by the home of The King, and we were able to eat at the Rendezvous (we love you Robert Jr.!). We also spent a few hours with our cousin John, Sally, and their kids…Clark, Hayes, & Gracen (as well as their friends, Leonardo, Michelangelo, Donatello, Raphael & April). So, without further ado, here are a few pics of the weekend, accompanied by dad’s favorite song. Gracen’s the baby…on the count of three…ready? 1…2…3…”Awwwwwww”.

Last night, Jen and I were in Wal-Mart and we thought that it would be fun to buy those foam curlers to see what it would do in our hair. Well, I don’t know what I was thinking. When we woke up this morning and took them out of our hair, I looked like a Chia Pet! Jen’s didn’t look as bad as mine but it was not something that I would call cute! We for sure got a good laugh out of it.

I figured I would take a quick study break and blog about something exciting. Two in one day!! Bo aren’t you proud!

Well. Today I had to teach the lesson in my math class. I was very nervous about this, being that my teacher is not very nice and she told us she would be brutally honest about what she thinks about our teaching. She also told us she did not care if she made us cry and that she would be just flat out rude to us if we did not do a good job. Now do you see why I was nervous?? Anyways… after teaching my lesson on prime and composite numbers I stayed back after class to hear what she thought. To my surprise she told me how well I did and how much she liked it!!!!! Like dad said, this was like hearing a good job from Simon (american idol simon).

Now after saying this. I must be honest these past two weeks have been very discouraging when it comes to my grades and college in general. Many times this week I have just pictured me having to move back home with mom, dad, and moe and take classes at West Georgia-Newnan campus… its been that bad. Don’t you just love how God knows when you are so discouraged you can’t take it and he makes something little happen that encourages you to keep on going!!

So who cares if I’m not going to be a Historian or a geologist… I will be a teacher!!!

What began as an easy week in Auburn, has turned into a really fun week anywhere but Auburn. Yesterday I made it up to Decatur to have dinner with my great friends Anne & Andy (Huff, not Raggedy). Andy is a regular visitor to theCordleFam.com, so I’d like to give them a quick shout out. We went to a new Mexican joint near their house, and although dinner started out a little rocky, it turned out to be fantastic. By “rocky” I just mean that after 2 years of Spanish, I still had difficulty comprehending their menu. I almost had to call Anna. But our waitress eventually warmed up to me, and helped me into a very tasty plate of tacos.

After dinner, we went back to their place and spent an hour or so planning our upcoming trip to Ireland. I’ll talk more about that trip later, but I’m super excited. We’ll be leaving around the middle of May, and be gone for about 10 days. Anne has lots of family there, so we’re going to have a great time visiting folks and checking out all the sites.

Today I had the opportunity to ride to Augusta for the final Practice Day at the Masters. The day began with me meeting the Auburn folks I was going with at a gas station near the interstate. I walked inside to pick up some drinks, and the very nice cashier was inquiring about our destination. So I simply told her that we were on our way to “the golf tournament in Augusta.” She didn’t look like much of a golf enthusiast, so I figured details were useless, but I wasn’t expecting her reply: “Ohhh Honey…I just know y’all are going to win that thang!”

All I could say was “Thanks…I hope so!”. I then almost called Anna again…she’s working on her golf game, and I think she’s still just a few years away from her first green jacket.

Anyway, I need to go to bed…I’m going to get to go to Augusta again tomorrow, and experience the first day of the actual tournament with Dad. I took lots of pictures today, and I’ll post them soon. Night!

Just thought I would write a quick post so it doesn’t look like Bo really is the only one who does this thing. Last night we had Greek Sing. Greek sing is a dance competition between all 16 sororities. It is a HUGE deal! I didn’t actually compete in Greek sing because it is for girls who know how to dance (either they did cheerleading or dance in high school). These girls have been practicing since January almost every other day. well anyways… WE WON!!!!!!! Below is a picture of some of us with two of our friends who competed. (the theme was pirates).

Tomorrow after my Geology test(ah) I will be going home so we can leave for Memphis on Friday. I am really excited to get away for a weekend!! I’m sure we will have some funny stories to post after some “fam time” this weekend. Hope everyone is having a great week!

The internet has once again rocked my world. You probably are very aware that I have odd thumbs. So I was just piddling around on Google this evening, when I inexplicably typed the phrase “short thumb”. Imagine my surprise when it resulted in over 900,000 results! (Almost double the number of results for the phrase “Why do people cheat?”, but that’s for another day.)

The very first result was a link to this Wikipedia entry, titled “Clubbed Thumb”. Mystery solved! I have spent years and years of my life both hiding, and defending my thumbs (yes, I’m a ‘dual clubber’), without ever knowing their true origins. Are you ready for this? There’s some good stuff here, and I quote:

It is characterized by a particularly short thumb that is round in section and bulbous at the end. The thumb nail is very wide and short.

Ok, so that pretty much describes my thumbs, right? But wait…it get’s better. I have reason to be proud.

Clubbed thumbs are historically thought of as a sign of royalty. This rare condition was much more common in royal European blood-lines than in the general population and was used as a factor in determining the pureness of the blood.

So go ahead Anna, call me “Thumbelina”, see if I care. According to “The World of Clubbed Thumbs”, only about a million people in the US have clubbed thumbs, including Me, Ernest Chase (holla for NHS Class of ‘01!), Megan Fox, and Malin Akerman. And they’re kinda purty. That’s right world, make fun of me now!