New Restaurants in 2017

Across The Street Diner, Corsicana, TX (May 27, 2017)
Babe's Chicken Dinner House, Sanger, TX (October 11, 2017)
Bakers Ribs, Inc., Weatherford, TX (April 27, 2017) +
Beer 88, Lynchburg, VA (February 4, 2017) +
Blue Baker, College Station, TX (September 3, 2017)

Bodacious Bar-B-Que, Tyler, TX (August 12, 2017)
Bolivar Street BBQ, Sanger, TX (October 4, 2017)
Burger Time Machine, Denton, TX (July 12, 2017)
Casa Torres Mexican Restaurant, Decatur, TX (July 25, 2017)
Cowboy Chicken, Waxahachie, TX (September 28, 2017)+

Dix Coney Island, Denton, TX (May 24, 2017) +
Dos Chiles Grandes, Bridgeport, TX (July 11, 2017)
Five Boys Ranch, Bridgeport, TX (April 18, 2017) +
Grumps Burgers, Cleburne, TX (May 10, 2017) +
Hamburger Depot, Lumberton, TX (June 19, 2017) +

Home D Pizzeria, State College, PA (June 24, 2017)
Joe's Pizza & Pasta, Decatur, TX (May 3, 2017)
Julio's Mexican Restaurant, Chico, TX (May 23, 2017)
Keller's Newberry Diner, Newberry, PA (June 24, 2017) +
Kincaid's Hamburgers, Weatherford, TX (June 22, 2017) +

Koffee Kup Family Restaurant, Hico, TX (July 22, 2017)
Kroll's Diner, Bismarck, ND (September 16, 2017)
Leeper Creek BBQ, Decatur, TX (September 26, 2017)
Little Frilly's Tex-Mex, Decatur, TX (October 3, 2017)
Luigi's Italian Restaurant, Denton, TX (October 17, 2017)

Lupi's Pizza Pies, Chattanooga, TN (July 8, 2017)
Mama Juanita's Mexican Restaurant, Huntsville, TX (May 29, 2017) +
McKenzie's Barbeque, Huntsville, TX (January 12, 2017)
Meyer's Elgin Smokehouse, Elgin, TX (May 28, 2017) +
Mi Casita Mexican Food, Waco, TX (January 21, 2017)

Mighty Fine Burgers, Round Rock, TX (May 27, 2017) +
MOD Pizza, Spring, TX (October 6, 2017)
MOOHYAH Burgers, Fries & Shakes, Denton, TX (August 1, 2017)
O'Charley's, Lynchburg, VA (May 11, 2017)
Old Chicago Pizza and Taproom, Waco, TX (June 1, 2017) +

Pancheros Mexican Grill, Bismarck, ND (September 16, 2017)
Pastafina Italian Ristorante, Weatherford, TX (May 31, 2017) +
Ray's Drive In, Lufkin, TX (January 9, 2017) +
Richie's Grill, Hawkins, TX (February 10, 2017)
Rio Mambo, Weatherford, TX (June 21, 2017) +

Rock City Burger Company, Bridgeport, TX (April 26, 2017)
Rooster's Roadhouse, Decatur, TX (June 6, 2017)
Slovacek's, West, TX (May 18, 2017) +
Sweet Boy's Diner, Bowie, TX (May 16, 2017) +
Verona Pizza & Italian Restaurant, Decatur, TX (Spring 2017)

Village Kitchen Restaurant, Jacksboro, TX (May 17, 2017)
The Woodhouse Restaurant, Bismarck, ND (September 15, 2017)
Yesterday's Diner, Bridgeport, TX (September 20, 2017)

Churches Attended and Visited in 2017

Worship Services
January 1 -- Absent (Working the Texas Marathon, Kingwood)
January 8 -- Attended North Park Baptist Church, Humble, TX (Jerry Thorpe)
January 15 -- Absent (Covering the Chevron Houston Marathon)
January 22 -- Visited First Baptist Church Waco, Waco, TX (Mark Snowden)
January 29 -- Absent (Ran the USA Fit Half Marathon in Sugar Land)
February 5 -- Visited Blue Ridge Community Church, Forest, VA (Woody Torrence)
February 12 -- Absent (Announced the Galveston Marathon)
February 19 -- Visited North Fort Worth Baptist Church, Fort Worth, TX (Dr. Stephen Lowrie)
February 26 -- Visited University Heights Baptist Church, Huntsville, TX (Richard Rogers)
March 5 -- Absent
March 12 -- Absent
March 19 -- Absent (Announced the Seabrook Lucky Trails Marathon)
March 26 -- Absent (Ran the Lookin' Good Shamrock Strut 10K)
April 2 -- Absent
April 9 -- Absent (Ran the Ponchatoula Jaycees Strawberry Strut 10K)
April 16 -- Absent
April 23 -- Absent (Worn out from announcing at Ironman Texas aid station on April 22)
April 30 -- Absent (Attended Texas 10 Sienna, Missouri City)
May 7 -- Absent (Worn out from announcing CB&I Triathlon on May 6)
May 14 -- Absent (Traveling to visit Gom)
May 21 -- Attended North Park Baptist Church, Humble, TX
May 28 -- Absent (Ran the Rogue Trail Series - Reveille Peak Ranch 10K in Burnet)
June 4 -- Absent
June 11 -- Absent (Announcing Sylvan Beach Triathlon)
June 18 -- Attended North Park Baptist Church, Humble, TX (Kirk Godkin)
June 25 -- Visited Catalyst Church, Altoona, PA (Mike Blackie)
July 2 -- Visited Church Project, The Woodlands, TX (Trace Howard)
July 9 -- Absent (Ran Burn Your Half Off Half Marathon, Chattanooga, TN)
July 16 -- Absent
July 23 -- Absent
July 30 -- Visited First Baptist Church of Texarkana, Texarkana, TX (Jeff Schreve)
August 6 -- Absent
August 13 -- Absent
August 20 -- Absent
August 27 -- Absent (Hurricane Harvey)
September 3 - Visited Greater Waco Baptist Church, Waco, TX (Gerald McKelroy)
September 10 - Absent (Ran 10K in Austin, Texas)
September 17 - Absent (Returning from Bismarck, North Dakota)
September 24 - Absent (Returning from Lynchburg, Virginia)
October 1 - Absent
October 8 - Absent (Announced Space City 10-Miler at UH-Clear Lake)
October 15 - Visited Church Project, The Woodlands, TX

Church Services Listened To
1/15/17 (2/9/17) - "Purpose Over Popularity", North Park Baptist Church, Humble, TX (Kirk Godkin)
1/22/17 (2/9/17) - "Surrender Over Control", North Park Baptist Church, Humble, TX (Sandy Beard)
8/13/17 (8/22/17) - "Church 101:  Purpose - Why Do We Exist?", Southview Baptist Church, Lincoln, NE (Aaron Householder)

Race Day Reflections: Post Race Ten For Texas

I’m a very fortunate individual and often times, it takes a little time to kind of decompress and take account of the day’s good fortunes.

I didn’t stumble on a pile of money.  No, something much greater actually.

Just a realization of all of the great experiences, opportunities and people that God placed in my path today.

I believe that we let our lives become so busy that we don’t take the opportunity to reflect upon the goodness of life that we sometimes miss in appreciating.

After Waverly and I went to get breakfast at The Egg and I after this morning’s race (Memorial Hermann Ten For Texas in The Woodlands), I came home and napped for a little more than three hours.

It was much needed after a long drive home from Decatur Thursday evening and a busy day of work, preparing to announce today’s race and covering Texas private and parochial high school athletics in the late evening.

However, when I got awake and checked my phone like so many of us do, I saw a post on Facebook from my Mom, who is back in Pennsylvania with my Dad to visit my 92-year-old grandmother, that her brother Fisher had passed away earlier on Saturday afternoon.

As I write, I don’t yet know all of the details, but my Mom is from a family of ten.

Seven of her siblings had passed on before.  Well, one of those seven – Tommy – actually nobody is quite sure because the family hadn’t heard from him in decades.

I share this not from sympathy for me – although my Mom and her family’s relatives would certainly covet your prayers, but rather to explain how we believe.

While I have accepted Jesus Christ as my personal Savior – something that I don’t share as much as I need to, and have to make an effort to have the personal relationship with Him, at times, I have questions that could best be interpreted as doubts.

Yet, most of those times, my doubts are put to rest when I see events unfold as I did today.

My parents simply went back to Pennsylvania three Wednesdays ago to visit my grandmother.

However, as they were a day or two from leaving to return this past Wednesday, my grandmother’s heart rate had fallen to 40 and while not in distress, she went to the hospital and was admitted.

They put in a pacemaker, but my parents changed their flight to return this coming Wednesday.

During their first two weeks back, my Mom went to see her brother before he passed today.

I believe that God puts us into positions that we can only explain are as a result of His direction in all of our lives.

While my Mom was there for my grandmother, she was able to see her brother what proved to be one last time before he passed – and had she not gone into the hospital she wouldn’t have been able to be back in our family’s hometown when he did.

Earlier today, I spoke with a fellow endurance sports athlete Peter Bardenhagen near the finish line of today’s race.  All of the runners from both the 10-miler and the 5K had left the start line area and were running their races.

It gave us about 20 minutes to carry on a great conversation.

Peter complemented my daughter, Waverly, who when the previously scheduled National Anthem singer didn’t show she stepped up and sang it today so very well.

As I spoke briefly about her, I explained that there was a moment that I realized that Waverly possessed a certain God-given ability to where I had the confidence that she could handle the moment that she did today.

It was of a young woman in our endurance sports community who had a special needs child who passed away more than six years ago before her ninth birthday.

I was friends with that woman at that time and she had asked me to lead her daughter’s memorial service and for Waverly, just a sophomore then, to sing.

I shared with Peter that I saw Waverly step up to the platform in front of a packed chapel of about 300 people, including the young girl’s classmates.

She placed sheet music – on the podium - with notes that had been marked after practicing the song with her Choir Director at Spring High School, as she needed to sing the song in a different key.

And she did so very well, even reaching down – in mid-song – for a tissue (which in the moment I thought she was needing because she became emotional but rather it was) to dab a running nose.

In that moment, I believed that she had a special “it” to be able to handle a pressure situation and perform with such poise.

What I didn’t know is that three years to the day, January 17, 2014, my sister would pass away and Waverly and I would need to perform the same roles in the midst of a storm with our family.

In 2011, we simply believed that God allowed for us to use our talents that He gave to us to comfort and help bring peace to a hurting family and friends, but He was preparing us for a day that we didn’t know soon would come.

It is times like these that we don’t often take the time to give God the glory in those abilities – and opportunities.

Waverly never goes to a race expecting to sing, despite what one race director this year believed.

And, in fact, there have been times – short of a pinch of a situation like today – that she’s either not been interested in singing or she just wasn’t feeling that she could do her best.

I’ve always appreciated her honesty in communicating effectively with me.

Yet we both know, especially with me announcing, that it allows – for a short period of time remaining – for us to share the Gospel in a soft, unobtrusive way with saying, “here to sing our National Anthem, Liberty University graduate Miss Waverly Walk from Spring.”

Many believers know that Liberty University is a Christian university.

Many who do not believe or have not heard the Gospel message may also have never heard of Liberty – and by hearing it today on race day, maybe they’ll see the commercials on TV for the University or Google it online when it crosses their mind.

We have to be willing to be ready to give witness when called upon or put ourselves in a position for God to take and use our effort to reach more for Jesus Christ.

I also had the opportunities to have two meals with my daughter today and we spend this time to reflect and discuss a lot of this – and these types of things.

The one thing that we’re both placed in is situations where people place a lot of trust not just in our abilities, but rather how we handle ourselves.

While, for example, I got paid as part of the race’s budget for the services I provided, The Township staff still places an incredible amount of trust in me to use wisely discern many different situations and to do so extemporaneously. 

I’m honored and humbled by the responsibility and trust placed in me.

Because I don’t have to be micro-managed, and am more than just a voice, it frees the team up to handle other situations.

I think people hear my voice on race day and see one thing, but there’s a lot more to what I do.

I was especially pleased that aside from two situations where The Township needed to ensure that the courses were totally clear, we basically got the races started on time and without major issue.

We had to juggle a little bit during the awards today, but let me provide a little bit of a background.

I certainly understand that athletes want to get their awards and go.

I also appreciated that it got hot today too

All of The Township races have an opportunity for a member of the Board of Directors to be represented.

At Muddy Trails back in April and today at Ten For Texas, it was Director Laura Fillault.

We also had the on-site representative from Memorial Hermann The Woodlands Medical Center, Linda Nelson.

While we wanted to get the 5K awards going first, we wanted to make sure that we had a picture opportunity for the sponsor and The Township’s benefit with our 10-Mile overall winners before Laura and Linda departed.

Then we shifted to the 5K awards.  We handled the overall, the masters and the grandmasters and were starting to work our way down the list starting with our most experienced athletes first – and there were 10-year age groups instead of five-year.

We had the timer reprint them, but in the meantime, transitioned over to the 10-Mile awards.

It pays to be able to adjust on the fly, keep things moving and to balance between adequately recognizing the athlete’s accomplishment while letting them get on with their day – especially given the conditions.

As a race announcer, I’m all about making that finish line experience as special as I can be.

However, I have my limits.

When I covered Texas private and parochial high school athletics from 1994-2001, I told myself that if I did anything that I was aware of that a young person got a bigger head from my efforts that I would back down or away.

It is fun to see the effect that recognition has on people, especially in a positive sense.

There was a female athlete today whose spouse gets recognized for his abilities day-in and day-out – and they’re certainly well deserved.

Yet, while she had already picked up her award, she, her husband and their two children stayed just long enough to her name announced.

It was cute, but I got it.  It is good to be recognized for doing well.

Although, some take it a bit too far.

I won’t mention the individual’s name, their gender nor their place, but simply that they asked me – in the moment – to present their position in an accurate and alternate way simply because “it sounds better that way”.

I was stunned.  And didn’t.

In actuality, although I wasn’t thinking on my feet then, I did present it the way that I was asked when the athlete crossed the finish line.

There were so many people that I came into contact with today.

I’m so grateful for those opportunities to interact.

I was especially excited for my daughter to spend time this morning with a couple of teachers who are athletes that were to provide her wisdom – for today – and an ability to call upon – in the immediate future – if she wanted to work in that teacher’s district.

Again, I’m just floored at how well people accept – and trust – my daughter.

I was on-site early this morning – arriving just about 5 a.m.

The first person I saw as I pulled into the Market Street garage before they started to control access to it?  My best friend, Bill Dwyer.

It is always good to interact with Bill as we’re able to help each other relax and get ready for a busy morning, given our different sets of responsibilities.

The final thing that I want to share, if you’re still reading, is in the preparation that The Township put in to today’s race from a safety and security standpoint.

As part of the race team, I was shared the race’s Emergency Response Plan.

All 42 pages.

In the post-Las Vegas world, the team was prepared for everything.

I had a woman get upset with me when I asked her to leave the start line area because she had gotten on the inside of the metal fencing before the start of the Kids’ race.

If she’s running with her child, that was one thing, but she wasn’t.

While not likely, she could have been strapped with explosives.  If she was and I didn’t take action, would I have been able to deal with knowing that I could have done something to stop it?

Honestly, having read the plan before the race, I was cognizant of the risks after waking and before I left my house, but once I got out there and going, I never really thought about the possibilities.

In hindsight though, I might have been one of the first persons that somebody could have picked off as I’m in front of the start line all the time before the start of the race.

So I’m certainly thankful that I’m able to sit here in my chair, write and share my experiences with you.

I try my best not to take any and all of these moments for granted.

Please don’t stop running races in light of the risks associated, but be vigilant in looking out for your safety and of those around you. 

It all can happen in the twinkling of an eye.

All-Time Airports Flown To or Through -- 82

Alabama
Mobile (MOB)

Alaska
Anchorage (ANC)
Cordova (CDV)

Arizona
Bullhead City/Laughlin (IFP)
Phoenix (PHX)

Arkansas
Little Rock (LIT)

California
Bakersfield (BFL)
Burbank (BUR)
Fresno (FAT)
John Wayne (SNA)
Los Angeles (LAX)
Oakland (OAK)
Sacramento (SMF)
San Diego (SAN)
San Francisco (SFO)
San Jose (SJC)

Canada
Vancouver, British Columbia (YVR)

Colorado
Denver (DEN)

Georgia
Atlanta (ATL)

Florida
Fort Lauderdale (FLL)
Jacksonville (JAX)
Miami (MIA)
Orlando (MCO)
Tampa (TPA)

Hawaii
Honolulu (HNL)
Kona (KOA)

Illinois
Chicago O'Hare (ORD)
Chicago Midway (MDW)

Indiana
Indianapolis (IND)

Kansas
Kansas City (MCI)
Wichita (ICT)

Kentucky
Louisville (SDF)

Louisiana
New Orleans (MSY)

Maryland
Baltimore (BWI)

Massachusetts
Boston (BOS)

Michigan
Detroit - Metro/Wayne County (DTW)

Minnesota
Minneapolis-St. Paul (MSP)

Mississippi
Jackson (JAN)

Missouri
St. Louis (STL)

Montana
Bozeman (BZN)

Nebraska
Omaha (OMA)

New Jersey
Newark (EWR)

New Mexico
Albuquerque (ABQ)

New York
Albany (ALB)
Islip (ISP)
John F. Kennedy (JFK)
Newburgh/Stewart Field (SWF)
New York LaGuardia (LGA)
Westchester County (HPN)

Nevada
Las Vegas (LAS)

North Carolina
Charlotte (CLT)
Raleigh-Durham (RDU)

North Dakota
Bismarck (BIS)

Ohio
Canton/Akron (CAK)
Cincinnati (CVG)
Cleveland (CLE)
Columbus (CMH)

Oklahoma
Tulsa (TUL)

Oregon
Portland (PDX)

Pennsylvania
Philadelphia (PHL)
Pittsburgh (PIT)

Tennessee
Memphis (MEM)
Nashville (BNA)

Texas
Amarillo (AMA)
Austin (AUS)
Corpus Christi (CRP)
Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW)
Dallas Love (DAL)
El Paso (ELP)
Harlingen (HRL)
Houston Hobby (HOU)
Houston Intercontinental (IAH)
Lubbock (LBB)
Midland-Odessa (MAF)

Utah
Salt Lake City (SLC)

Virginia
Newport News/Williamsburg (PHF)
Richmond (RIC)
Roanoke (ROA)

Washington
Seattle (SEA)

Washington, D.C.
Dulles (IAD)
Reagan National (DCA)

Wisconsin
Milwaukee (MKE)

Texas College and University Football Stadiums / Fields Visited

Apogee Stadium (Denton, TX; 9/14/13 - North Texas 34, Ball State 27)
Astrodome (Houston, TX; 12/4/76 - Houston 21, Miami, Fla. 16)
Bowers Stadium (Huntsville, TX; 8/31/13 - Sam Houston State 74, Houston Baptist 0)
Darrell K Royal–Texas Memorial Stadium (Austin, TX; 9/30/89 - Penn State 16, Texas 12)
Farrington Field (Fort Worth; 9/9/17 - Millsaps College xx, Texas Wesleyan xx)
Floyd Casey Stadium (Waco, TX; 10/1/88 - Houston 27, Baylor 24)
Georgetown ISD Stadium (Georgetown, TX; 10/19/13 - Trinity 30, Southwestern* 0)
Gerald J. Ford Stadium (Dallas, TX; 9/17/16 - SMU 29, Liberty 14)
Gordon Wood Stadium (Brownwood, TX; 9/12/15 - Wayland Baptist 44, Howard Payne 34)
Kyle Field (College Station, TX; 9/20/80 - Penn State 25, Texas A&M 9)
McLane Stadium (Waco, TX; 9/2/17 - Liberty 48, Baylor 45)
Rice Stadium (Houston, TX)
Sun Bowl (El Paso, TX; 10/24/15 - UTEP 27, Florida Atlantic 17)

First game ever attended, if known, is listed.

Punching It Out; September 13, 2017

I keep saying that I want to write more.

I'll just have to force it out in smaller pieces to make sure that I do it.

Just got done putting 45 minutes on the elliptical machine here at the Hampton Inn in Decatur this evening.

Wanted to make it an even hour as I normally do, but the pepperoni calzone from Verona Pizza was just a bit too filling.

I'm looking forward to running the Bismarck Marathon on Saturday.

I haven't covered 26.2 miles (or more) since last December and I'm not running this race because a woman that I know is running it.  Ha!

The goal was to run the Nebraska State Fair Marathon three weeks ago for a marathon in my 34th state, which would have made me a bit more ready given that I rarely follow any type of conventional training.

Run another marathon to get ready for the next one is how I used to do it.

My weight is up just a little bit, but nothing terrible.

I raced a pair of 10K's this past weekend that were a few seconds faster on both that I had run on the same weekend two years ago.

Call it progress regardless of the size of the time improvement, right?

Going to Bismarck comes at the expense of me not announcing the Toughest 10K Kemah for the first time -- well, since a long time.

There's a specific reason why I walked away, but at the end of the day what I did and do is a luxury to an event.

You can still get a race started on-time, recognize runners and get the awards done efficiently and quickly -- maybe or maybe not that you can get somebody who can do it as well.

At the end of the day, though, the majority of the runners really, really don't care who does that -- as long as it gets done.

My only disappointment is that I won't be involved in the race being the 2018 RRCA National Championship 10K.

It is a designation that I believed was completely achievable by the race production team and that I pushed the race director to bid on.

I'll take credit for that.

As I've said before, I can't work every race - and, quite honestly, I don't know that I want to anymore.

I'm actually enjoying a lightened load.

I turned in my bid for the Memorial Hermann Ten For Texas with The Woodlands Township Parks and Recreation Department this week.

If nothing's changed, it is a race that I am looking forward to doing for the first time ever.

This has come about as a result of the lack of involvement of one of their long-time sponsors.

I think I've also mentioned that I'm getting back involved with Texas private and parochial high school athletics.

In doing so, I just have to be careful how much time I spend on my butt preparing content to the promotion of the sports and the kids that play them.

I saw the headlines of articles about how sitting for prolonged periods of time could increase the risk of death.

The article recommend getting up and moving every 30 minutes.  I pretty much did that today at the office - and intend to stay as active in the future.

Although one item in my life hasn't gone how I had expected it to, I like my life - and I'm thankful for each day God gives me to live it.

Charitable Activity in 2017

I've been wanting to be even more charitable the last year or two than what I have been; therefore, I'm going to put myself to test to be more accountable.

This isn't here to brag at all.  Just to encourage myself to come here and see if I can more and to different organizations in need.

6/19/17 - $50.00 - The Houston Wellness Project (#11188)
6/26/17 - $50.00 - Catalyst Church, Altoona, PA (#11189)
7/  2/17 - $25.00 - Church Project, The Woodlands, TX (#11191)
9/  3/17 - $50.00 - Greater Waco Baptist Church (#11198)