Mark Gilroy

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Stay Strong Sean!

Friends of Sean Karl shave their heads as a symbol of love and support while he undergoes chemotherapy.

My son Zach and a group of his Ravenwood High School buddies met on our back porch this week to shave their heads as a sign of love and support for their classmate and great friend, Sean Karl, who is undergoing chemotherapy treatments.

Sean is a star tennis player who has won the last three state AAA championships and is committed to playing for University of Tennessee tennis team.

A Facebook page, Pray for Sean Karl, has been created to express support. And that support has come from all over the world. Sean recently received a message of encouragement on youtube from one of the world’s top tennis players, Roger Federer.

Stay strong Sean – and I know the guys would have loved if you could been there for the head shaving festivities!

The Magic of Voting for the First Time in a Presidential Election

This is my 10th time to vote in a presidential election, going back to Carter v. Ford, less than three months after my eighteenth birthday. This is presidential election #1 as a voter for my youngest son Zach. I’m proud he took the time to register and vote! I hope taking this picture wasn’t illegal!
an 18-year-old votes in his first presidential election.

 

I Have a Bad Case of PEFS – Presidential Election Fatigue Syndrome

My first year to vote in a presidential election was 1976 – Carter v. Ford. I was a freshman in college and stayed up most of the night – at least until coverage ended, which was probably two o’clock or so – back when there were three main channels and a couple fuzzy ones that required constant fiddling with the rabbit ears or that UHF loop in the middle.

I really enjoy presidential elections. In fact, Amy and I held watch parties for all three presidential candidate debates and the VP debate that was … uh … well … unusual. (I say that will all respect and a really big smile.)
I’m not a news junkie as a rule – unless its football season – but I scan a couple of subscriptions and read a blog or article or two most days of the week. But during a presidential election campaign I have one of the cable news channels on almost every night and read a couple articles every day. I love listening to the pundits parse every phrase and analyze poll updates. In detail.
The problem with this election, the 2012 Romney v. Obama election campaign, is that it has gone so long. The GOP nomination process was closely fought and lasted until June – a marathon contest that started in earnest more than a year ago with what seemed like a couple hundred debates. As long as the Republicans stayed in the news cycle, good or bad, the Democrats weren’t going to be left out of the conversation and were running political ads as early as late winter and early spring – basically long enough to have a baby.
I love this stuff and I even know who is going to win the election and why. But I’m finally there. I am tired of the campaign and am ready for next Tuesday to get here. I officially have PEFS – presidential election fatigue syndrome.
I’ll still watch coverage and stay up  too late tonight. And tomorrow night. The cure doesn’t arrive until November 6. Well, actually sometime around three or four a.m. on the seventh!