There’s a 40-minute, 31-mile stretch of Kentucky highway between Katie Wright’s home in Prospect and her pole-vault practices at Fuzion Athletics in Shelbyville, but the round trips were over waaay too soon for Katie and her mom Jennifer as they … Continue reading 
The season my first daughter was born, Kentucky won the NCAA championship. Two years later, along came daughter number two and, lo and behold, UK hoisted another banner. I joked with my lovely wife at the time that with all of the rich basketball fanatics in my home state, we could surely find a patron who would sponsor future babies if Kentucky kept cutting down nets. Alas, no such luck with numbers three and four.
You’d have to know my wife, though. She loves babies. She would have started looking for real estate in Lexington had they won with our third. Her baby wanter gets turned on just by the smell of hospital soap. If she gets to hold one, I practically have to pry the child out of her hands. I came home not too long ago and she was holding a baby I had never seen with a contented smile on her face. I looked around…no one else in the house. For the briefest of moments I truly thought she had finally stolen one. (It turned out we were babysitting a teacher’s baby for a night.) Me, I like ‘em okay. I liked watching a game with one sleeping on my chest, but they always felt too fragile in my oversized mitts. I preferred the toddler years where we could wrestle and play.
Much to my delight, my beloved Wildcats have made it to the Final Four again this year. I said at the outset of the tourney that I wouldn’t be surprised if they got beat in the first round and I wouldn’t be surprised if they won it all. It’s been just that type of up and down year. I don’t keep up with sports like I used to, but I still watch my Cats when I can.
I’m sorry Cats. I love you and want you to win with all of my heart. But my baby days are behind me. I won’t do that!
(A little Meatloaf just for fun!)
Good luck to the Wildcats this weekend. I hope you cut the nets down on Monday. You just have to do it without my progeny this time.
♦
Speaking of my progeny, I was set to post this yesterday until we got news related to the health of our youngest. We haven’t gotten an exact diagnosis yet, but have further tests next week. I appreciate the prayers and words of affirmation from my friends here. We’re hanging in there and she has meds now to make her feel better…
By: keilinh,
on 3/21/2014
In 2010, Djuan Trent made history when she became one of four African-American women to win the pageant title of Miss Kentucky. Earlier this month, she made history yet again.
On her blog, Life in 27, Trent opened up about her sexuality and announced that she was “queer,” becoming the first contestant to publicly come out as queer.
Former Miss Kentucky Djuan Trent. (Photo courtesy of Facebook/Kellie Carter Photography)
In the world of beauty pageants, an industry often accused of objectifying women and embracing outer beauty rather than inner beauty, it’s refreshing to see someone who is breaking down the barriers of what is “beautiful.” Trent struggled with whether she should come out or not, but ultimately, she decided it was something she needed to do, especially after a Kentucky federal judge overturned parts of Kentucky’s same-sex marriage ban in February and set an effective date for his ruling today.
Trent encourages others to follow her lead, saying, “People can’t know that their best friend, brother, sister, co-worker, neighbor, news anchor, favorite singer, or local coffee shop barista is being oppressed and denied the rights in which their heterosexual counterparts are so happily welcomed partake, unless you open your mouth and say it.”
We couldn’t have said it better.
SHELBYVILLE, Kentucky – Fuzion Athletics is offering PreState Vault Sessions, and Summer Vault Sessions, valued at $480 each, for vault fans who contribute $400 to Maggie’s Audiobook Campaign. The PreState Session offer is good for one dozen 2-hour Practice Sessions … Continue reading 
SHELBYVILLE, Kentucky — Fuzion Athletics has pledged a package of Summer Vault Sessions, valued at $480, for a vault fan who contributes $400 to Maggie’s Audiobook Campaign! The offer is good for 12 2-hour practice sessions with coaching, from June … Continue reading 
SHELBYVILLE, Kentucky — Fuzion Athletics has pledged a package of PreState Vault Sessions, valued at $480, as a reward for vault fans who contribute $400 to Maggie’s Audiobook Campaign! The offer is good for one dozen 2-hour Practice Sessions with … Continue reading 
By: Lauren,
on 4/20/2011
General Editor, ANB
The 150th anniversary of the Civil War will be commemorated in the usual ways. But a truly unique approach is provided by the online—and thus searchable—version of the American National Biography, a 27-million word collection of biographical essays on some 18,731 deceased Americans who played a significant role in the nation’s past.
Readers can of course acquire an understanding of the major figures, perhaps beginning with James M. McPherson’s long essays on Abraham Lincoln and Ulysses S. Grant and Russell F. Weigley’s on Robert E. Lee. But there are many hundreds of essays on figures associated with all aspects of the war.
Those interested in a particular battle, for instance, can use the ANB online. A full-text search of articles for “Gettysburg” yields 253 separate biographical essays, the great majority on soldiers who fought there.
But this search also unearths many new gems of information, such as the fact that William Corby, a Roman Catholic priest assigned to New York’s Irish Brigade, stood upon a boulder, raised his right hand, and offered a general absolution for the combatants just before the armies converged.
Women, too, surface in this search. Eliza Farnham, the author of Life in Prairie Land (1846) and a crusader for prison reform and women’s causes, tended the wounded at Gettysburg, where she contracted tuberculosis; she died the next year at age 49. Eliza Turner, an early feminist, abolitionist, and poet, also cared for the wounded at Gettysburg. She later wrote an important woman suffrage tract. Elizabeth Keckley, a former slave who became the dressmaker, dresser, and confidante of Mary Lincoln, attended the Gettysburg commemoration with the first lady.
Scholars—and history buffs—can look at the Civil War from another fresh perspective through ANB searches by geographical location. For example a full-text search for “Frankfort, Kentucky,” limited to subjects between 1800 and 1840, generates nearly three dozen responses. Among the many interesting essays are those on the following:
Leonidas Polk, a graduate of West Point who became an Episcopal bishop and the owner of a Louisiana sugar plantation. At the outset of the Civil War he volunteered to command Confederate forces and Jefferson Davis named him major general for the upper Mississippi region. In September 1862, during an offensive to seize Kentucky, Polk disobeyed an order to attack, forcing Braxton Bragg to abandon Frankfort.
John Marshall Harlan, who raised and commanded the Tenth Kentucky Volunteers. His efforts helped keep Kentucky in the Union, winning for him the support of national Republicans; in 1877 President Rutherford B. Hayes nominated Harlan to the Supreme Court.
Luke Pryor Blackburn, a physician who became governor of Kentucky. He had served as the public health officer for Natchez, Mississippi, during the yellow fever epidemics of 1848 and 1854. During the Civil War the Confederacy sent Blackburn to Canada to collect arms and hospital supplies to be shipped through the Union blockade. In Canada Blackburn devised a scheme to spread yellow fever through Northern cities. To that end he traveled to Bermuda during the epidemic of 1864, collected the bedding of dying fever victims, and shipped it in trunks to cities in the North. (The plan failed: Blackburn did not understand that mosquitoes were the agent of transmission of yellow fever.) Charged with conspiracy to commit murder, Blackburn was acquitted by a Canadian court. He returned to the United States, settled in Kentucky, won a measure
By: Brian Minter,
on 3/21/2011
Bill Burch
Chair of the First Book-Boyd County Advisory Board
Boyd County, Kentucky
Boyd County, KY, is located in the foothills of the Appalachians, along the banks of the Ohio River. It is a rural community, home to less than 50,000 people. But Bill Burch, chair of the local First Book volunteer chapter – known as an Advisory Board – has managed to get thousands of books into the hands of area children in need, and raise the funds to do it locally.
“I understand the impact of reading,” said Burch. “How important it is to children, how important it is for them to have books in their homes.”
The Boyd County Advisory Board has raised over $75,000 since it was founded in 2004 with Burch’s help. Burch estimates they have served around 900 local children since then. Most children who participate in the program receive an average of six books each year.
“The First Book program here in Boyd County has had a tremendous impact,” he said. “I say this all the time, but the only behavioral measure that correlates significantly with reading success is how many books the children have in their homes.”
The challenges of running a charitable organization in a place like Boyd County are not insignificant, said Burch, who spent 32 years as a teacher, principal and coach in local public schools. The unemployment rate is high, many people lack a high school education, and prescription drug abuse has “hit particularly hard”.
But the job needs doing, and it can be done. Members of the Boyd County Advisory Board (there are 24 members, including several high school students) have helped other rural areas start Advisory Boards of their own – Greenup and Carter County in Kentucky, and Huntington in West Virginia.
“Most rural areas think they can’t generate money, but they can,” Burch said. People are willing to help out when it comes to getting books into the hands of at-risk children, he has learned.
“I’d be willing to help anyone who wants to start a board,” Burch said. “I’ll tell them how we do it.”
First Book Wants You! Help us get books to kids who need them in your community. To learn more about volunteering, visit us online.
By: Jessamyn West,
on 11/19/2009
You probably saw this on the tubes today. Library workers in Jessamine County Kentucky [a library system I've featured in talks before, though I can't remember why] got fired when it was discovered they’d colluded to sort of permanently check out graphic novels to keep kids form being able to check them out Please feel free to read more
Amusingly, the graphic novel in question was Alan Moore’s The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen: The Black Dossier. Yesterday was his birthday.
By: Jessamyn West,
on 8/5/2009
I was following the Louisville Free Public Library disaster/flooding yesterday via Greg Schwartz’s tweeting and twitpics but I was travelling home. Today, there’s been time for more recapping and reflection from the online community including this very good and succinct post from Rachel Walden: How You Can Help the Louisville Free Public Library Recover from Disaster. Upshot: don’t send books, consider contributing to the LSW fundraising drive. Send Greg and the other employees your best wishes
Most people understand that breaking the law is wrong. Laws are there for a reason but they also get updated to suit more modern times. Or at least that is the theory. There are many laws in the world that are so outmoded it makes you wonder why they even still exist.
Here we will take a look at some of the most stupid laws still in affect in some of the states in America.
One thing about homing pigeons is that they tend not to stop and take a rest, so how on earth would someone be able to detain it anyway? As for delay it, well that is just ridiculous. Anyway, who actually still uses homing pigeons; phone, fax, letters, e-mails, text messages etc; much quicker and easier. One of the most stupid laws still in affect.
Social etiquette is one thing, I mean slurping your soup may not be the most polite thing to do but for it to be illegal is just plain stupid. More to the point who is actually going to enforce it?
Ok, let’s be honest here, general cleanliness tells you that to not wash for more than a month is a very bad thing. Now obviously when this law was written there was no such thing as a shower (unless you count pouring water through a colander over your head as a shower. lol) so this law does mean that you have to wash yourself at least once a month. Really? Talk about stating the obvious. Does there really need to be a law to tell people this?
It gets worse.
Just another law that raises more questions than it answers. So what is it trying to say really? You are allowed to dye a duckling blue but not sell it. You can only sell a dyed blue duckling if you have six of them. Anyway, I am sure animal protection might have something to say if someone tried testing this law. Oooh, that gives me an idea. lol
Wait a minute, what does this one even mean? Does the alligator have to wear a tie? Is it the person walking it that has to wear a tie? In fact more to the point, who actually takes an alligator for a walk? Does anyone actually own an alligator as a pet these days?
Surely that is one of the most stupid laws still in affect. Nope it gets worse.
Yeah because tying it up on the right hand side would be a major disaster, the whole world will end; you have been warned. lol Seriously though, just another example of a law that, way back when, was probably very sensible but not in modern times.
So, picture this; you are walking down the road and you see that one of the meters has nearly run out with no sign of the driver. Feeling a bit generous, you decide to drop a bit of money in; a random act of kindness. Across the road stands a police officer who sees you do this, comes over to you and arrests you. What a stupid law.
.
Yeah there is an argument that spitting is disgusting anyway, but to make it illegal is just stupid. And anyway, does this law mean that someone can spit on the road and not be breaking the law? What happens if someone aims for the road but a large gust of wind blows it onto the sidewalk? For that matter, what if you are just walking along happily when a fly flies into your mouth? Do you have to swallow it and enjoy the taste? Either that or spit it out and run the risk of being arrested apparently!
I hope you have found something in here that brought a smile to your face. Perhaps you know of other stupid laws and would like to share them.
The worst one i found was on a site called dumblaws.com which i searched to try to fix an issue with this article. This one is from Florida once again.
Bo Jack Russo this law was added on at the end just for you. You are always talking about farting so I figured that you may want to know this one before you ever decide to take a vacation in Florida.lol
Most people understand that breaking the law is wrong. Laws are there for a reason but they also get updated to suit more modern times. Or at least that is the theory. There are many laws in the world that are so outmoded it makes you wonder why they even still exist.
Here we will take a look at some of the most stupid laws still in affect in some of the states in America.
One thing about homing pigeons is that they tend not to stop and take a rest, so how on earth would someone be able to detain it anyway? As for delay it, well that is just ridiculous. Anyway, who actually still uses homing pigeons; phone, fax, letters, e-mails, text messages etc; much quicker and easier. One of the most stupid laws still in affect.
Social etiquette is one thing, I mean slurping your soup may not be the most polite thing to do but for it to be illegal is just plain stupid. More to the point who is actually going to enforce it?
Ok, let’s be honest here, general cleanliness tells you that to not wash for more than a month is a very bad thing. Now obviously when this law was written there was no such thing as a shower (unless you count pouring water through a colander over your head as a shower. lol) so this law does mean that you have to wash yourself at least once a month. Really? Talk about stating the obvious. Does there really need to be a law to tell people this?
It gets worse.
Just another law that raises more questions than it answers. So what is it trying to say really? You are allowed to dye a duckling blue but not sell it. You can only sell a dyed blue duckling if you have six of them. Anyway, I am sure animal protection might have something to say if someone tried testing this law. Oooh, that gives me an idea. lol
Wait a minute, what does this one even mean? Does the alligator have to wear a tie? Is it the person walking it that has to wear a tie? In fact more to the point, who actually takes an alligator for a walk? Does anyone actually own an alligator as a pet these days?
Surely that is one of the most stupid laws still in affect. Nope it gets worse.
Yeah because tying it up on the right hand side would be a major disaster, the whole world will end; you have been warned. lol Seriously though, just another example of a law that, way back when, was probably very sensible but not in modern times.
So, picture this; you are walking down the road and you see that one of the meters has nearly run out with no sign of the driver. Feeling a bit generous, you decide to drop a bit of money in; a random act of kindness. Across the road stands a police officer who sees you do this, comes over to you and arrests you. What a stupid law.
.
Yeah there is an argument that spitting is disgusting anyway, but to make it illegal is just stupid. And anyway, does this law mean that someone can spit on the road and not be breaking the law? What happens if someone aims for the road but a large gust of wind blows it onto the sidewalk? For that matter, what if you are just walking along happily when a fly flies into your mouth? Do you have to swallow it and enjoy the taste? Either that or spit it out and run the risk of being arrested apparently!
I hope you have found something in here that brought a smile to your face. Perhaps you know of other stupid laws and would like to share them.
The worst one i found was on a site called dumblaws.com which i searched to try to fix an issue with this article. This one is from Florida once again.
Bo Jack Russo this law was added on at the end just for you. You are always talking about farting so I figured that you may want to know this one before you ever decide to take a vacation in Florida.lol
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The one name linking all of these is Richmond.
1. Dave Richmond, bass player and founder member of 1960s band Manfred Mann. He left the group after ‘5-4-3-2-1′ and then, after a time with the John Barry Seven, became a session musician. As such he has played with, amongst others, Dusty Springfield, Cliff Richard and Elton John. He was also on the controversial (at the time) ‘Je T’aime’ by Serge Gainsborough and Jane Birkin. For the last 21 years he has played bass on the theme for television’s ‘Last of the Summer Wine’. Dave Richmond’s home page
2. Richmond, the capital of the Commonwealth of Virginia, U.S. Virginia is one of four states in the U.S. which use the term commonwealth in their names, the others are Massachusetts, Kentucky and Pennsylvania. Richmond, which stands on the James River, was also the capital of the Confederacy from July 1861.
3. Richmond Palace was a royal palace on The Green, Richmond, Surrey, England, U.K. in what is now part of London, between 1327 and 1649. It was built by Henry VII on the site of the former Palace of Shene (a.k.a. Sheen or Sheane) after a disastrous fire in 1497 and renamed Richmond Palace. Elizabeth I spent a lot of time at Richmond and died there in 1603.
Richmond Palace
Image via Wikipedia
4. Richmond Arquette is the sibling of Alexis, David, Patricia and Rosanna Arquette. He is a minor character actor who is perhaps best remembered as the delivery driver, who unwittingly delivers the box containing the head, at the end of the film ‘Se7en’ (1995).
5. Richmond Castle, North Yorkshire, England, U.K. Norman fortress built on a rocky promontory overlooking the River Swale and dating from shortly after the Norman conquest. Now over 900 years old it is in the care of English Heritage.
The one name linking all of these is Richmond.
1. Dave Richmond, bass player and founder member of 1960s band Manfred Mann. He left the group after ‘5-4-3-2-1′ and then, after a time with the John Barry Seven, became a session musician. As such he has played with, amongst others, Dusty Springfield, Cliff Richard and Elton John. He was also on the controversial (at the time) ‘Je T’aime’ by Serge Gainsborough and Jane Birkin. For the last 21 years he has played bass on the theme for television’s ‘Last of the Summer Wine’. Dave Richmond’s home page
2. Richmond, the capital of the Commonwealth of Virginia, U.S. Virginia is one of four states in the U.S. which use the term commonwealth in their names, the others are Massachusetts, Kentucky and Pennsylvania. Richmond, which stands on the James River, was also the capital of the Confederacy from July 1861.
3. Richmond Palace was a royal palace on The Green, Richmond, Surrey, England, U.K. in what is now part of London, between 1327 and 1649. It was built by Henry VII on the site of the former Palace of Shene (a.k.a. Sheen or Sheane) after a disastrous fire in 1497 and renamed Richmond Palace. Elizabeth I spent a lot of time at Richmond and died there in 1603.
Richmond Palace
Image via Wikipedia
4. Richmond Arquette is the sibling of Alexis, David, Patricia and Rosanna Arquette. He is a minor character actor who is perhaps best remembered as the delivery driver, who unwittingly delivers the box containing the head, at the end of the film ‘Se7en’ (1995).
5. Richmond Castle, North Yorkshire, England, U.K. Norman fortress built on a rocky promontory overlooking the River Swale and dating from shortly after the Norman conquest. Now over 900 years old it is in the care of English Heritage.
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By: Katie B.,
on 9/26/2008
We asked you to share the memory of the book that got you hooked, then vote for the state to receive 50,000 new books – and you did!
We are excited to annouce the winner of this year’s What Book Got You Hooked? campaign…(drumroll please)… KENTUCKY! In early 2009, First Book will deliver 50,000 new books to programs serving children in need throughout Kentucky.
We were blown away by your response to our question. In fact, more than 250,000 votes were cast to decide the winning state in this year’s What Book Got You Hooked? campaign. In a race that came down to the wire, West Virginia and Nebraska were out nosed by Kentucky, which cast nearly 94,000 votes.
As for the book that got readers hooked? Nancy Drew solved that case, coming in at #1 in the list of the top 50 titles. The complete list includes childhood classics like Dr. Seuss’ Green Eggs and Ham and Laura Ingalls Wilder’s Little House on the Prairie as well as modern favorites including the Harry Potter books by J.K. Rowling and Twilight by Stephenie Meyer. The full list of the top 50 books that got Americans hooked on reading can be viewed at www.firstbook.org/whatbook.
Although voting has concluded for our 2008 campaign, you can still make a donation to help provide brand new books to children in need as well as share your favorite books and memories year round!
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I do like stories of journeys to and from faith, so when I read the title Trespassers Will Be Baptized, I knew I wanted to know more.
Elizabeth Emerson Hancock was growing up in Kentucky where her daddy was a Baptist Preacher. She herself was a deeply religious child who felt the call. In fact, during a block yard sale, Elizabeth and her sister Meg saw the other kids setting up lemonade stands and took matters into their own hands. They set up their own stand..."Baptisms: 25 Cents"!
Hancock weaves humour into this story of growing up religious. She reminds us what it is to look at our parents with awe and then inevitably become disappointed in their choices.
Readers move from the pulpit to Vacation Bible School, to mother-daughter retreats and back. We see the hypocrisy and the love in the church environment. The story is told anecdotally focusing primarily on Hancock's relationship with her father, sister and mother in turn.
When I first picked this book up, I thought it might have a bit more of a Jesusland feel to it, but I was wrong. We simply follow Elizabeth (Em) and her family along the way. It is a description rather than an analysis. It is enjoyable, and gives a good look into the ways of the South and the way that her own family had a journey to faith both within the church and within the home.
By: Betsy Bird,
on 4/17/2007
I dunno. Maybe I should chuck this whole kidlit blog idea and go in for a nice library furniture blog instead. There's seems to be enough info out there anyway. I just hope these Scrabble pillows give you a nice balance between vowels and consonants. Nothing worse than a home full of Es, Is, Os, Xs, and Ws.
Thanks to LibrariAnne for the link.
“I truly thought she had finally stolen one” – I am familiar with that thought here as well. Had me laughing till I wheezed! Thank you!
And for you youngest – an even bigger thank you. May next week be a reassuring time for you all.
For years she worked in the nursery every Sunday at church and I literally checked packages before we came home like a TSA screener at the airport. Thanks Paul.
You got me again!! :-) Wonderful!!
Your wife sounds like my kind of girl. I left office work to become a nanny so i could have more babies! It was the best decision ever! Lol. Mary Poppins is my idol.
Continued prayers for Kylie. 🌻
she would love that too.
wonderful post, mark and wonderful news for you next week, i’m hoping )
Thanks, I am hopeful too!
Oh, I truly miss Meat Loaf. One of my faves. Thanks for the update on Kylie. I’ll be praying through the weekend.
Me too! I miss the old rock anthems.
Thank you for the prayers.
What? Not going to do one for the team? LOL