THE PROGENY UPDATE

For the many friends and family members who view this blog, I wanted to provide you with a brief update as to the latest happenings of my kids.

Collin is preparing to finish out his junior year at Providence High School. He'll be in the upcoming production of Peter Pan. Collin is again visiting France this week as part of the Clarksville Sister Cities exchange program. He'll return home this Saturday, March 29th. Bon voyage, C-Bear!

Brendan recently enjoyed a well-deserved spring break from the U.S. Naval Academy. He and the other plebes from his company spent a week soaking up the sun in Jamaica. Word from the Hunt-Man is that they had an absolute stone-gas. (What else is spring break for, eh?)

Caitlin completed her student teaching this past fall. She'll receive her bachelor's degree from Bellarmine University on May 10th. She'll turn 22 on May 19th. Caitlin and Rocky will celebrate their first year of wedded bliss on June 16th. They are the happy parents of two beautiful dogs, Blue and Leo.

Tristan is continuing work on her master's degree at the University of Indianapolis. She is a full-time employee of the university now, but hopes to be teaching next fall. She and her significant other, Mickey, have been house hunting and recently made an offer to purchase a house in Indy. Tristan will turn 23 on April 22nd. I can't believe it.

Where does the time go?

     MARCH MADNESS BEGINS

     For sports fans, this is a truly magical time of year.  March Madness arrives in earnest on Thursday with the beginning of the NCAA basketball tournament.  As always, I will be rooting for my beloved Louisville Cardinals.  It is no overstatement for me to tell you that the Cards have been a life-long passion for me.  I live and die by their victories and losses.  The Cards begin the tournament this year by playing Boise State on Friday night in Birmingham, Alabama.  I wish that I could be there. 

   Of course, bracketology is a major part of the fun of March Madness.  This year, I have submitted my brackets for a contest being hosted by Kaiser's Tobacco Shop.  My chosen final four are:    (drum roll please!)    Louisville, Kansas, Pittsburgh & UCLA.   I picked Kansas to win it all, though I hope that I am wrong on that, and that the 'Ville proves that I should have chosen them to go all the way. 

   As I've discussed with several friends and colleagues lately, I think that the Cards do have enough weapons to allow them to win the championship this year.  On the other hand, if they turn cold, they are capable of losing in the first round.   It is comforting to know that Rick Pitino will be in charge.  There is a reason that he's been able to take three different schools to The Final Four.  I look for the Cardinals to be ready to go.  

   I'm also excited about the U of L women's team.  They drew a 4 seed, the highest in school history,  and they too are well-coached and poised for a potential deep tournament run.  I hope that they make some serious noise, and show the rest of the country that this truly is the basketball capital of the world.  

   Go Cards!   

    THE SKINNY ON JONES

     Greetings....And welcome to spring!  (Feels like it anyway.)  I'm sorry to have delayed in posting, but I've been working on a rather intense wrongful death suit of late, and that has been consuming most of my time and energy.  Any road, a number of people have asked me for an update regarding the call back auditions at CenterStage, so I thought I'd better report back on that now. 

     I have now been offered a role in The Full Monty.  It is not, however, one of the roles that I really wanted.  I've been asked to play the part of Tony Giordano, who is the owner of the bar where the action takes place.  It is a small part, and not nearly as appealing to me as one of the main characters would have been.  

     I must decide whether to accept this role by March 21st.  I'm somewhat torn at the moment, primarily because I  think that if I reject it I can almost certainly get a larger role in another production elsewhere within the same time frame.  On the other hand, it would be a foot in the door at CenterStage.  That appeals to me, as CenterStage seems to be a first-rate organization, and the acting company there is very impressive.  I would like to work with them. 

     I'll let you know what I decide.