VOLuntarilyConservative

OK, I admit that I have been slacking in my blogging duties lately, but “real life” has been a bit demanding lately. Between my continued education on TennCare, becoming obsessed with the fortunes of The University of Tennessee Volunteers (which were a bit shaky before the debacle at The Swamp this weekend), enjoying the last days of warm weather in 2005, and the usual items on the “honey do” list, I simply haven’t been able to keep up with work here at VOLuntarilyConservative. I’ll try to do better this week, but (as always) no promises or guarantees will be extended.

I suppose that I should offer a few specifics as to what I’ve been up to lately. Last weekend (Sept. 9-11), I took the VOLConWife on her first camping trip. It has been a long and winding road to this trip as I have dispelled certain presuppositions that she had about camping that would have made Daniel Boone think that he was “roughing it.” She felt better when I convinced her that Crazy Horse Campground (east of Gatlinburg towards Cosby) was pretty posh for a campground, complete with water, electric, swimming pool, waterslide, and game room. In any case, we had a great time (except for the out-of-control children from a neighboring campsite that left me more wanting to shoot kids instead of have kids) at Crazy Horse. We also accomplished something that we have been wanting to do for several years – climb Chimney Tops in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The trail to Chimney Tops – while only four miles round-trip – is very strenuous, a 1,700 foot elevation change that rises to 4,840 feet after scaling the rock face at the top of the Chimneys. The VOLConWife and I have been trying to work our way up to this goal, having hiked several trails in the Smokies and Cherokee National Forest annually, each a little tougher than the one before it. Admittedly, the gap between our last trail (the Meigs Creek Trail) and Chimney Tops was too ambitious, and the VOLConWife paid for it about ¾ of the way to the summit. She was a trooper, though, and completed the hike. The views at the top were outstanding (pictures to follow if I can ever get them developed), and I hope that she believes that the juice was worth the squeeze. I think it was, but now I need another trail to build up to. Anyone have any suggestions?

This weekend (Sept. 16-18) was built around (surprise, surprise) UT’s ill-fated trip to The Swamp. The VOLConWife and I journeyed to the Tri-Cities, saw my folks, met an old classmate from UT Law, ate at the world-famous Ridgewood BBQ, grilled some gator, and watched the game at The Undecided Philosopher’s annual UT/Florida party in Kingsport. After the game and the tirades that accompanied it, we headed back to Knoxville and were at church on time Sunday to ask for forgiveness for the thoughts I had regarding Fulmer and his staff that were certainly outside those prescribed to normal Christian doctrine. We even managed to squeeze in some tennis with my sister last night. Needless to say, this Monday, much like last Monday, has been spent with me wishing that I had a weekend to recover from my weekend.

More to come today, including a contest with a special prize, some thoughts on John Roberts (including responses to questions posted as comments in earlier posts), a new development in my life at Immanuel Baptist Church, and perhaps some analysis of how a football team loaded with talent can be made impotent when given the right coaching.