Hummingbirds, Dancing, and Game Shows

This summer has blown by faster than a hummingbird’s eyelid. Actually, that kind of sounds like the name of a race horse…

“…coming around the outside and moving into 1st place ahead of ‘My Other Mustang Is A Car,’ it’s ‘Hummingbird’s Eyelid.’ I tell you what, folks, ‘Hummingbird’s Eyelid’ is as fast as a Tennessee summer.”

See what I mean? Even the horse announcer guy agrees this summer has gone by fast. Evenso, I’ve had time for the typical summer activities- the beach, weddings, and travel. I was hired to shoot video for two weddings, here’s a glimpse at both.

I have a new travel companion now, a beagle/blue heeler/lab mix named Asia. She’s a handful, with a personality quite the opposite of my first puppy, Piper. It’s fun to watch the two dogs play together, although I’m still relatively new as a dog owner, so I wonder if it’s playing at all. I see their teeth a lot. Piper has giant ears. Asia has icy blue eyes. I hope they become best friends.

For the first 7 months of the year, a friend of mine used the spare bedroom in my house until the house he bought as a short sale was renovated enough for him to live in it. Having a roommate again after living alone for 5 years was interesting. I knew it would be tough, but he was a great roommate and gave me room and time to adjust back to “roommate life.” I’m happy for my friend and his new house. I like having my space back but I will neither confirm nor deny that I, again, walk around in my underwear.

A long time ago in Tallahassee, Florida a friend of mine introduced me to contra dancing. I wouldn’t go at first, because let’s be honest, would you? After giving it a try, though, it was a lot of fun. When I moved to Nashville, I found where the contra dance was and went a few times. It wasn’t the same so I stopped going. Well, this summer I picked it back up again and it’s a lot of fun. Not the normal crowd I hang with, but that’s part of why I like it.

About a month ago I tied a hummingbird feeder outside my kitchen window. It’s fascinating to watch the birds extract the juice from the feeder. They’ve become a favorite of mine as of late.

I’m excited about how this year will finish. I’m looking forward to college football, NFL football, more dates, and playing with my two dogs. When Asia gets old enough, I’m hoping to become a regular at the dog park near my house. We’re probably still a month away from that.

A friend of mine keeps reminding me that I should try out for “Wipeout” so I’ll do that soon. Whether I win or not, I’d try to race as fast as ‘Hummingbird’s Eyelid.’

The Legacy of a World War II Veteran, My Grandfather

For 32 years I’ve felt like I’ve had the luckiest life. My dad was in the Coast Guard, so I got to live in some cool cities, make some great friends, spend tons of time on the beach, and become best friends with my brother and sisters. Because I was born a thousand miles from where I live now and I went to three different high schools, you may say, “Oh, bless his heart!” But I’m telling you, I’m the luckiest person in the world. You may think that moving every couple of years would lay an unstable foundation for a family but you don’t know the whole story. You don’t know that this family has traditions. And one that continues to this very day is spending time with family in Florida. Every summer as a child our vacations were in Tallahassee and Monticello so that’s when I saw my grandparents the most. My experience is a bit different than some family who lived in Florida. They probably spent much more time with each other, but I’ll never forget the excitement of pulling into my grandparents driveways each summer when vacation started. I’ve got so many sweet memories. It’s just more proof I’m part of the luckiest family, probably since Mary and Joseph. For me, it all started with a couple of World War II heroes. One of those is my grandfather Foster Davis… Grand-daddy.

Receiving the Presidential Citation at a ceremony in Berlin, Germany

There are a lot of people that are proud of a lot of things. Athletes winning championships, or setting records. Scientists making brilliant discoveries. People accomplishing great things. But of all the reasons to be proud of anything, none of them, not one have the honor of being a Davis. That’s reserved for my family. So again, I’m telling you, I’m the luckiest person in the world because I get to carry on the Davis name as my middle name.

at St. Teresa Beach, Florida

 Some people aren’t proud of their names because their parents or grandparents didn’t care about setting a good example. But Grand-daddy set a great example. He had a choice just like everyone does. He could’ve lived more selfishly, he could’ve disengaged from the family, from his kids and grandkids. But I’ve got a Bible that proves he wasn’t like other grandparents. He wasn’t like other people. He wasn’t like other men. He was way better. He and Me-Mom gave me that Bible 20 years ago and I want to share the message he wrote in it.

Dear Ben,
A little poem I learned at school as a small boy, part of it comes to mind; “Over the hills and through the snow, to grandfather’s house we go.” This Bible relates; we must go to our Father God’s house often, here in His word for instruction, guidance, inspiration, and for reproof and forgiveness. In my long years of life here on earth, at times the pathway has been steep and rocky, sometimes treacherous even, but by going to Him in prayer, in meditation, in reading His word, He has sustained me EVERY TIME. So He will for you. That is my prayer. “…the glory of the Lord shall be your rear-guard.” Isaiah 58:8
Amen,
Grand-daddy Davis

GrandDaddy

That’s the Grand-daddy I love. The legacy that’s the Davis in me now. Last week was our family vacation in Tallahassee. I went fishing with my dad and brother-in-law. We were out there a few hours and decided to make a couple more drops before coming in to shore. On our last stop, just before we let the anchor down, my dad’s phone rang. It was my mom saying that Grand-daddy took a turn for the worse so we needed to come in to go see him. During our ride back to shore, I looked over to my left and saw a pelican flying beside us, about 40 yards out. You’re probably thinking, “Um, so what? It’s a pelican, there’s tons of pelicans,” but we were about 20 miles from land so it seemed odd. For a few minutes this pelican flew inches above the ocean surface, perfectly at our same speed. I stared at the pelican for a long time, thought about Grand-daddy and knew God was near in that moment. I felt so lucky to see that pelican. I looked farther back and saw another pelican catching up to the first one. It wasn’t long before they were flying together, and soon they were out of sight. That little moment is something I’ll never forget because I know Sunday, July 24th, Grand-daddy was the luckiest person when he finally caught up to the one he was chasing. And now they’re soaring together above the crystal sea.

I love you, Grand-daddy. I’ll see you soon enough.

The Bachelorette Ashley, Episode 7: Ryan P. Talks About Water Heaters

After a July 4th holiday break, The Bachelorette show comes back with fireworks of it’s own. From a date that ended with the guy sent home to a surprise rose recipient, episode 7 offered a dose of romance, a splash of humor and a few heart-breaking moments with past contestant Emily Maynard.

Let’s start with the good stuff.

that's me with a mustache

Ok, now on to the drama. Ryan P. is the last remaining contestant who has never got a one-on-one date and he’s determined to get one this week. There are three single dates so he’s got a chance but the first date went to Constantine. They take a train ride. This’ll probably be recorded as the shortest date in Bachelorette history because if you blinked, the next guy you saw was Ben F. Ben’s date began with a scooter ride up a mountainside. Major points to Ben for his Dumb & Dumber reference. Did you catch it? Was it:

A. telling the story of a guy he once met named Sea Bass
B. talking about Samsonite luggage
C. singing, “Goodbye my loooooooooove!” then bumping into the car ahead of him
D. a reference to Harry and Lloyd riding the mo-ped together

I’ll give a rose to whoever gets the right answer. So Ashley’s date with Ben F. went on and on… and on… and on…. until night turned into day. Where I come from we call that a sleepover. This made the guys jealous, especially J.P. He pouted, didn’t talk to the guys and the little vein in his head popped out. His low spirits made the group date almost unbearable for the two other guys there, Ames and Lucas. Doesn’t it suck when you’re on a date with a girl and one of the other guys on the date has a bad attitude? Man, that’s never fun. But anyway, J.P. got the group date rose. I guess it’s true what they say, “the squeaky wheel gets the grease.” Anyway, the last one-on-one date went to the joyous Ryan P.

Ryan: “Have I talked to you about water heaters?”

Not really. I got my pen and paper out, but son of a gun, right when he was gonna give advice on saving hot water and some money, they cut to an Ashley voice-over. Turns out water heaters aren’t the way to a woman’s heart, so Ashley sends Ryan home without a rose. My guess is that’s not the last we’ll see of Ryan P. Here’s a picture of my cousin Will getting married.

that's him standing by the bride

The last 20 minutes was dedicated to confirming what we knew two months ago. Brad and Emily are over. Minus five points for Emily’s reference to the catchphrase of the year, “dot, dot, dot…” Why must we somehow include Bentley in every episode? Although, “dot, dot, dot…” is a pretty fun thing to include in, what?
A. conversations

Yep, that’s the right answer. Ryan and Lucas were sent home without a rose. Roses went to J.P., Constantine, Ben F., and Ames. And my eBay package from China arrived torn and with nothing in it. Thanks a lot Postal Service.

"WE CARE"

10 Signs You’re More Redneck Than You Think

You tell everyone you watch Nascar to make fun of the fans, but you’re secretly upset that Jimmie Johnson’s pit stops were slower than the other drivers back in Daytona.

The first thing that comes to your mind when someone says “snack” is “deer jerky.”

When you get in your vehicle, you’re actually sitting taller than when you were standing outside your vehicle.

You lost the school spelling bee because you added an extra ‘e’ in deer.

You are responsible for 3 or more dogs.

You think of anyone north of Alabama as a yankee.

You say things like, “…took him behind the wood shed.”

You know the fashion fad in the mid-90s was named after Bo and Luke’s cousin, Daisy Duke.

You believe La Quinta is Spanish for, “behind Cracker Barrel.”

The city you live in is followed by:   , Kentucky.

The Bachelorette, Episode 6: The Heart is Forever Making the Head Its Fool

We’re all couch psychiatrists each Monday night at 8/7 Central and Ashley Hebert is our favorite client. Like a Sunday afternoon football game, women (and a few men) are sitting in their living rooms screaming at the television, offering advice on what the next play should be. Unfortunately for Ashley, she can’t hear us and even more unfortunately, no one close to her will show her the tapes of Bentley’s interviews. Just show her the dang tapes! I guess it’s easier to fly him to Hong Kong, given it’s proximity to Los Angeles and all. Each episode Ashley’s heart continues to trick her head into thinking Bentley cares but I think this is the one time it would be OK to break up over the phone. Even an email would do, am I right? Anyway, he’s out there and Ashley’s hoping he’ll propose, but the dot dot dot ends with a period. Bentley is done. Winner = Ashley.

This psychiatric analysis is going to end short tonight, I have another client knocking on my door. I won’t tell you his name, but let’s just say it rhymes with Metta World Peace. Actually, that’s his name.

Though roses went to Lucas, Ryan P., J.P., Ben F., Constantine, and Ames, winners of the episode were Mickey and Blake who went home without a drama, I mean, rose.

Ron Artest a.k.a. Metta World Peace