Halloween 2009, Rock of Love Submitted by: Jim Ford - 03/05/10 2:25 pm

Halloween 2009, Rock of Love Boo! Halloween is one of my favorite times of year. Haley and I love decorating, carving pumpkins, scaring kids, and generally having a great time. This year we headed out for our annual trek to the pumpkin patch the weekend before Halloween. Then the night of, I went nuts scaring kids and helping throw a party at my neighbor's where we all danced and boogied down till the WEEE hours of the morning. Full Article

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Viva Mexico! Cancun 2009 Submitted by: Jim Ford - 03/03/10 1:47 pm

Viva Mexico! Cancun 2009 Last summer my then girlfriend Debbie and I planned a trip to Cancun, Mexico to have a little fun in the sun, soak up the culture, eat some great food, and let our worries go for a few days. As it turned out we had broken up by the time the trip came around the first of October. But the passports, flights, and all-inclusive resort had already been paid for and we decided to go as friends anyway! Yes, there were some ups and downs but we had a lot of fun and came back alive so it was all good. Full Article

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Cancun 2009, una Mas Fiesta! Submitted by: Jim Ford - 03/03/10 1:44 pm

Cancun 2009, una Mas Fiesta! The trip continued and we spent hours and hours in the shops, oceans, and sights in Cancun. We ate and ate and ate, and drank and drank and drank! I highly suggest going to an all-inclusive resort if you can. I thought we were both pretty tan when we began the trip but boy did we ever get some sun. There were many clubs and discoteques you could go to but they were outrageously expensive. The hotel bar may not have been as cool but it was all you can drink for free and we met up with some friends from Chicago and somewhere in England to party down! Full Article

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Camp of the Pines - Labor Day 2009 Submitted by: Jim Ford - 12/12/09 12:40 pm

Camp of the Pines - Labor Day 2009 This September we headed out for what I think was our 27th annual Labor Day weekend celebration. Our closest friends and family gather at Lake DeGray in Arkansas for. We're just a small group of close church friends and our families and we have a blast! Driving in from Texas, Louisiana, and Arkansas, we meet up Friday evening at Camp of the Pines; an old church camp many of us attended as campers and some of our parents either helped build or administor. Read on for lots of pictures from the weekend. Full Article

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Goodbye Liver, Hello Heartburn Submitted by: Jim Ford - 10/20/09 12:00 pm

Goodbye Liver, Hello Heartburn Time to pull out my flip flops, dust off the ice chest, and break out the sunscreen. Every August a bunch of my old college buddies from Louisiana Tech and me get together on Lake Ouachita in Arkansas. Our mission? Drink, tell old stories, eat nothing but steak and burgers, swim, play poker, relax, and generally let our worries go for a few days. What do we all share in common? We are all alumni of the Alpha Tau Omega Fraternity, Zeta Chi Chapter. Gentlemen, prepare your livers for a weekend of debaucherous abuse! Full Article

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Spring Weekend in Ruston Submitted by: Jim Ford - 10/07/09 3:06 pm

Spring Weekend in Ruston This May I went to my hometown of Ruston to see my daughter, tool around my old college, and eat some good crawfish at my old fraternity - Hurricane 2009. Debbie went with me and we had such a great time. It's funny how my friends in Ruston say how much it has changed or grown because of a new fast food restaurant or someone built a house. But to me, it's pretty much still the same old americana small town that I love and remember as a kid. We headed down after work and met up with Haley at the Dixie Baseball Complex. Full Article

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Hurricane 2009 Submitted by: Jim Ford - 10/05/09 3:40 pm

Hurricane 2009 Every spring my college fraternity Alpha Tau Omega hosts a Hurricane party for members, alumni, family and friends. I think I've made it 16 out of the last 18 years. I also took this opportunity to introduce Debbie to Louisiana food and culture and many of my friends. I have to admit, the college kids party this hard several times a week and I can only do it once a year! I'm pretty tame now compared to my younger days but we still tear it up playing sand volleyball, dancing, going headfirst down the water slide, eating crawfish, hanging with friends, and drinking a ton of beer! Full Article

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Toad Suck 10k 2009 Submitted by: Jim Ford - 05/15/09 4:40 pm

Toad Suck 10k 2009 On your mark, get set, GO! I competed in my first ever 10k race on May 9th during Conway's annual Toad Suck Daze. I've been running for health and fitness for a couple of years now but never really competed. I thought, why not challenge myself? See what I've got? I regularly run anywhere between 3 and 7 miles in my neighborhood several times a week, so 10 kilometers, or 6.2 miles shouldn't be difficult. I tried to prepare by planning on eating well and getting plenty of sleep several nights before. It didn't turn out that way, and the morning of the race I wondered if I'd make it to the starting line in time. Full Article

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Dad and Me Camping 2009 Submitted by: Jim Ford - 05/11/09 2:54 pm

Dad and Me Camping 2009 Haley and I spent a wonderful weekend together in late March Girl Scout camping. For the second year in a row, we traveled out to the backwoods of Chatham, Louisiana for an adventure in the woods. The only problem? What had been a nice sunny 70 degrees the day before turned into 30 degrees on Saturday morning! Brrrr it was unbelievably cold. Last year was only a daytime activities outing, but this time was an overnight camping trip. Armed with our sleeping bags, jackets, and chapstick, we set out to make some new memories. And boy did we ever! Full Article

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Living Last Supper 2009 Submitted by: Jim Ford - 04/13/09 2:26 pm

Living Last Supper 2009 Every 2 years in the Lenten / Easter season, my church, First Presbyterian of Conway puts on a dramatic play called the Living Last Supper. It is presented in our completely darkened sanctuary on Maundy Thursday evening, the evening of the Last Supper. The night Jesus was taken away. This year, I was asked to play Peter, the rock. The story is a living enactment of the famous painting by Leonardo Da Vinci, The Last Supper. In 1494, when Leonardo was forty-two, he was commissioned by the Duke of Milan to decorate the dining room of the Convent Church which was the favorite shrine of the Duke’s young bride. As an appropriate theme for this dining room, the painter chose The Last Supper. His painting was not intended to be a faithful reproduction of the original scene as it had taken place in first century Palestine, but as it might have taken place in fifteenth century Italy. He chose what he considered the most dramatic moment in the Last Supper. In this living dramatization, the twelve apostles speak their minds to themselves, to each other, and to the Lord in light of the words which they have just heard Jesus speak, “One of you will betray me.” Full Article

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