Memorial Day - 2025

 In Memoriam

Ronald Allen Myers

Born on April 2, 1911

Killed in Action on May 6, 1945, 80 years ago this month.

World War II in Europe officially ended on May 8th, 1945. 

Staff Sergeant Ronald Myers in a column crossing Germany just a little over 3 weeks before he was KIA in what was then Czechoslovakia.

This local memorial for my Dad is located in the Pilsen area of what is now the Czech Republic, near the town of Tesov, where he was killed.

Ronald Allen Myers' final resting place is in the Lorraine American Military Cemetery near Saint-Avold France. (Rest in Peace Dad)

God Bless America and as well the millions of men and women who have fought and died for our freedom!

This flag was used on D-Day at Utah Beach as American forces fought their way ashore.  It is part of the Smithsonian collection.  It stands as a testament to the lives that have been sacrificed for our freedom...

Ronald Allen Myers – Memorial Day 2024

Memorial Day…a day when I always wonder what my life would have been like if my father, Ronald Allen Myers, had survived World War II.  He probably would have returned to his career as a conservation officer in Michigan.  I certainly would have been given more exposure to nature and the great outdoors.  I probably still would have gone to Michigan State University but my major probably wouldn’t have been in Social Sciences – Police Administration.

But, since my dad was KIA in Czechoslovakia while fighting one of the last engagements with German troops, I’ll never know what the future would have been for my mother or myself.  I just wish that I could remember my dad…but I was only about 2 and a half years old when he was killed on May 6^th, 1945.

This photo of my dad and me is from sometime in 1944… It was probably taken in front of my material grandparent’s home on Prospect Street in Jackson Michigan.  I would have been about 2 years old.

Over the past several years I have been in contact with a WWII researcher – David Foud, from Pilsen in the Czech Republic; Andrew Woods, a Research Historian from the First Division Museum at Cantigny Park in Wheaton Illinois, and through Andrew another Czech researcher, Martin Schmid.  They have all provided me with bits of information about my father’s last days… I’m hoping for additional information as their research progresses.

Andrew Woods’s focus is the US Army’s First Division, the Big Red One.  My dad’s unit was part of that famous American fighting force.  David Foud is a civilian who has been working on a project that commemorates fallen American soldiers in Czechoslovakia in 1945 and 1946.  Martin Schmid is specifically researching the battle between German and American forces on May 6, 1945 near Cheb/Eger, in what is now the Czech Republic.

This photo of my dad, with a column of American soldiers and armor, apparently moving toward Czechoslovakia, was taken by a US Army photographer.  David Foud sent the photo to me.  He’s obtained it from the 16^th Regiment Association.  The official label on the photo reads “Sgt. Ronald Myers advances down a road towards the German town of Riefensbeek, 14 April, 1945.

Martin Schmid forwarded a considerable amount of information to Andrew Woods who then passed it on to me.  Martin, a student at West Bohemia University in Pilsen, was writing a thesis on the WWII battle fought near Tesov in the Cheb Region in 1945.  He stated that he is “an avid collector of the American First Infantry Division”. 

I believe that this photo was forwarded to me by Andrew Woods and that it was originally sent to Andrew by Martin Schmid.  It is a local memorial to my father placed somewhere near the location where he was killed in what is now the Czech Republic.  I was very happy to see this local remembrance and that it has been so well maintained.  After the war, my dad was exhumed and then reburied in the Lorraine American Military Cemetery in Saint-Avold, France.

The following information was also forwarded to me by Andrew Woods.  It was apparently sent to him by Michael Rund of the Muzeum Sokolov in the Czech Republic.  The excerpts below were taken from a book entitled “Kveten bez Seriku” or “May without Lilies”.  It was written by Vladimir Bruzenak.

“Companies I, K and L of the 3^rd Battalion attacked from Jesenice and Okrouhai in the Milikov area…near Tesov.  The soldiers of Company L encountered resistance from German soldiers, members of the RAD and Volksstrum.  German machine guns and handguns started firing from the wooded hill above the village.  They were answered by gunfire from the American tanks and fire from infantry weapons.  The entire firefight lasted about an hour.  Only after a platoon of K Company soldiers joined the fight did most of the Germans either scatter into the surrounding woods or surrender.  The body of the German commander was said to have been found only a few days later.  Staff Sergeant Ronald Myers, the last dead of the entire 18^th Regiment in this war, was killed by German fire.”

Many thanks to my father and the thousands of other members of our armed forces who have given their lives to ensure our liberty and freedoms.  God Bless America!

Take Care, Big Daddy Dave

A Brief Visit to Dorchester County Maryland

…continuing with our exploration of parts of the Delmarva Peninsula last September.  Now the focus was on the western shore of Maryland along Chesapeake Bay.

From Easton we headed south on US Hwy 50.  At Cambridge we turned onto MD Hwy 341 continuing 12 miles down the highway to the Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge.  This refuge was established in 1933 as a waterfowl sanctuary for migrating birds following the Atlantic Flyway.

The Blackwater Refuge is fed by the Blackwater River and the Little Blackwater River.  The name ‘blackwater’ comes from the tea colored waters of the rivers.  They are darkened by the tannin that is picked up as the water drains through the peat soil in the marshes.

The Blackwater Wildlife Refuge consists of about 28,000 acres of freshwater impoundments, brackish tidal wetlands, open fields and forests of both evergreen and deciduous trees.  The refuge plays host to more than 250 avian species, 35 different reptiles and amphibians and numerous mammals…one of which is the formerly endangered Delmarva fox squirrel.

During the winter migration the refuge is home for as many as 15,000 geese and 10,000 ducks.  Unfortunately, we visited the refuge before the migration season really started.  Still, it was a beautiful place.

Did you know that the Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge is just one of more than 540 units in the National Wildlife Refuge System?

While we have roosting eagles where we live in East Tennessee, it’s always fun to spot them as we travel around the USA.

The center of the Blackwater Refuge can be accessed via the Wildlife Drive.  This 3.5 mile paved road…or 6.5 mile loop travels along the Blackwater River providing excellent views of the refuge and, if you’re lucky, the local wildlife as well.  There is a daily permit fee of $3.00 for private vehicles and $1.00 for pedestrians and bicyclists who want to access the drive.  Since I have a lifetime senior pass to National Parks, Monuments and Wildlife Refuges, all we had to do was show my card.

For more information regarding this National Wildlife Refuge, go to Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge | U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (fws.gov).

The Refuge has a visitor’s center on Key Wallace Drive.  It features wildlife exhibits including an authentic eagle’s nest as well as both Eagle Cam and Osprey Cam monitors.  It also has a book and gift shop as well as a butterfly garden.  The second floor features bird exhibits and spotting telescopes for viewing the action along the Blackwater River.  Access to the refuge is from dawn to dusk. 

Note: Roughly half of the refuge has also been designated as the Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad National Monument with a small portion of the monument now forming part of the Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad National Historical Park.  To learn more about the Historical Park, go to Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad National Historical Park.

Following our visit to the wildlife refuge, we headed back north to Cambridge Maryland, the county seat for Dorchester County.  The photo shows the Dorchester County Courthouse...much different from the 'usual' design.  It was built in 1853 and it is the only courthouse designed by Richard Upjohn.  The painted brick structure shows both Italianate and Georgian Revival decorative details…with the latter being added in the 1930s.  It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Richard Upjohn (1802 – 1878) was a British-born American architect who immigrated to the USA.  He’s most famous for his many (at least 51) Gothic Revival Churches.  Probably his best known and most recognizable church is the Trinity Episcopal Church on Broadway in New York City.  However, he designed churches from Maine to Texas and Minnesota to Utah.  Upjohn was the first president of the American Institute of Architects.

FYI, Dorchester County Maryland has a population of about 33,000.  The county was formed in 1669.  It’s named for the Earl of Dorset who was a family friend of the Calvert family.  In turn, the Calvert’s were the founding family of the Maryland colony.

Located in front of the Courthouse is this relatively new statue of Harriet Tubman (born Araminta Ross) entitled “Beacon of Hope”.  The statue was dedicated in September of 2022.  It is just a few miles from where Harriet Tubman, the famous Underground Railroad Conductor was born.  It is stop #3 on the Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad Byway.  The location of the Tubman statue is meaningful as the courthouse was once the site of slave auctions and it was the site of an escape that Tubman engineered for a niece.  Harriet Tubman was born in 1822 and died in 1913.

Of note is the fact that this statue was blocked for some time until it was agreed that it wouldn’t be taller than “The Talbot Boys” statue on the courthouse grounds.  The latter statue was the last statue on public grounds commemorating the ‘Confederate cause’.  That statue has since been moved to a cemetery in Virginia.

To learn more about Harriet Tubman, go to Harriet Tubman - Wikipedia.  To learn about the Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad Byway go to Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad National Historical Park (U.S. National Park Service) (nps.gov).

Christ Church in Cambridge is the parish church of the Great Choptank Parish, which was founded in 1692 as one of the original 30 Anglican parishes in the Province of Maryland.  This impressive Gothic Revival style church was completed in 1884.  It was constructed in a cruciform form using green serpentinite or serpentine stone.  The adjoining cemetery is enclosed on 3 sides by a brick wall and burials here date back to 1674.  Church parishioners have included 5 Maryland governors and many other prominent personages.   

FYI, the name for this type of stone originated from its similarity of the texture of the rock to that of the skin of a snake.

The sign in front of this old home in Cambridge states that it was originally built by the Reverend Daniel Maynadier in 1739.  Maynadier was the rector of the Christ Choptank Parish.  This handsome home was rebuilt by a Maryland state senator in 1840.

Estimates of when this home was built vary a bit, from 1761 to the late 1760s.  Named “Sycamore Cottage”, it was remodeled a few times during the 1800s.  Hence it has Victorian windows, a Colonial Revival entrance porch and Greek revival decorative detailing inside.  It also contains a large meeting hall.  The home was moved to this site in 1840.  The Cambridge Woman’s Club has called the structure home since 1922.

Cambridge, population ca. 13,200, is located along the Choptank River which feeds into Chesapeake Bay.  Location is one of the reasons that the town was first settled by English colonists in 1684.  As anyone who follows me knows, I love trains/depots, planes and ships/boats.  So when I spotted the yachts “Renegade” and the “Joyful”, I had to take a photo.  Hey, I can dream can’t I!?

From what I could discover, “Renegade”, in the first photo, was built in the USA by Westport Yachts in Fort Lauderdale.  She is 125 feet long, can cruise for 2,500 miles, has a crew of 5 and can host 10 guests.  “Joyful” is quite a bit smaller, ‘only’ 81.5 feet long.  She is a Fleming designed trawler type yacht built in Taiwan that was delivered in 2020.  ‘Joyful’ has a maximum cruising range of 4,500 miles and a crew of 3.  She can host 6 guests.  Both of these yachts are sailing under the American flag.

That’s all for now.  Just click on any of the photos to enlarge them.

Thanks for stopping by for a visit!

Take Care, Big Daddy Dave

Memorial Day – 2023

As is my tradition on Memorial Day for the past few years, I am publishing a post relating to my dad, Ronald Allen Myers.  In 1945, he was killed in action in Czechoslovakia…now the Czech Republic.

After he graduated from High School in Jackson Michigan, my dad attended the Jackson Community College for a while before attending Michigan State College (now University).  He didn’t have any money so he did what he could to get by.  In this case, he worked as a soda jerk in a drug store…sometimes sleeping on a pallet in the back room.  It was during the Great Depression and very few people were prosperous.  This photo was taken by my mom in 1936 and although there isn't a note on the back of the photo, its almost a certainty that that painter on the ladder is my dad. 

My mother, Elizabeth had graduated from the St. Joseph’s College of Nursing in Detroit and she was her second phase of training at Mercy Hospital in Jackson… One day she stopped into a drug store near the hospital.  She was feeling ‘kind of down’ so she ordered a cherry Coke from the young fellow behind the counter.  I think that you can guess who served her that Coke and who cheered her up…  The rest, as they say, ‘is history’.

Dad graduated from Michigan State in 1938 with a major in soil conservation and a minor in forestry.  My parents got married in January of 1939 and my dad got a job with a fish hatchery in Wolf Lake Michigan.  They lived in a little trailer on site… After a bit, he was accepted as a State Conservation Officer and the couple were able to share some great experiences in the wilderness areas of Michigan.  After the attack on Pearl Harbor and war broke out, my dad joined the Army in 1942.

In the meantime, nature had taken its course and in 1942, while they were living in a rental house in or around St. John’s Michigan, yours truly entered their lives…

The first family photo above is of my parents and chunky little me and it was taken in late 1942 or early 1943.   The second one is of me ca, 1944 being held by my dad.  My dad had his college degree and as a consequence the Army sent him to officer’s school for a while…until they discovered that he was color blind.  At one point my mom and I spent some time in Killeen Texas where dad was in training.

Then in January of 1945 my dad was shipped out to the European Theater to fight the German Army and to help end the war. 

This is the last known photo of S/Sgt. Ronald Allen Myers.  He was photographed on April 14, 1945, by an Army photographer as he led a column near Riefensbeck Germany.  Apparently, these troops, part of the American 3^rd Army, were on their way to liberate western Czechoslovakia from German forces.

My dad was KIA (killed in action) near Pilsen, likely around the town of Tesov Czechoslovakia on May 6, 1945, about 3 weeks after this photo was taken.  The War in Europe ended 2 days after he was killed… I had not yet reached my 3^rd birthday.

So what does this photo have to do with my dad?  Some years ago I was contacted by David Foud, a local historian and researcher from Pilsen, who was and is involved in the development of a Virtual Memorial for the American soldiers who died fighting to liberate Western Czechoslovakia.  David provided me with the photo of my dad with the Army column as well as other related information.  To learn more about David’s efforts, you can go to his website at http://www.mnofu.com/. But I still haven’t explained the photo have I?

On May 6, 1945, the day my dad was killed, American forces arrived in Pilsen.  It was the last place where the Allied troops reached on their march east.  With the Russians and Communism dominating the country until 1989, no one could or dare to celebrate the liberation of the area by American Forces.  However, every May since 1990, Pilsen has held a Liberation Festival honoring the American forces who ended the German occupation.  From what I can determine, this is the biggest annual event that take place in Pilsen…now part of the Czech Republic.  To learn more, go to Liberation Festival 2023 - Fotogalerie - Liberation Festival Pilsen (slavnostisvobody.cz).  There are lots of photos with really large crowds celebrating the event…

Thanks to all who have made the greatest sacrifice to protect us as well as those who continue to fight for our freedom…

God Bless America and Take Care

David Myers, aka Big Daddy Dave

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

 Where has the time gone?!  It seems like just yesterday that our son, David II, was born... Such a sweet looking little boy!

 Just about a year old!  But I'm not allowed to publicize what year this photo was taken...

As you can see, he grew like a weed, as a teenager already towering over yours truly. 

Then he met and married Amy, the love of his life...and this happened!  David III was born.  Time flies as our 'little boy' was now a dad too.

Lightning does strike twice.  Our 'little boy' became a father for the second time with the arrival of Emmett Lee.

Who is that old guy sitting next to the Birthday Boy?!  David II would like to deny his age but his dad...yours truly, is over 80 years old...so do the math!

This photo of David II, Amy and Emmett was taken while the family was in Hawaii on vacation...a memory to be cherished as David III (Left) will graduate from college this year and he'll be setting off on his own adventure.

So let's do the math... An 80 year old dad and a son who will be 23 this year = ##!

In any case, we couldn't have asked for a better son!  Not only is he a good person, but he's happily married and he and Amy have raised 2 amazing grandsons.

Nice Job Son!  Happy Birthday!

Love, Dad and Laurie

Old Town aka Old City Knoxville Tennessee (1)

…continuing with our ‘adventures’ related to Laurie’s sister Bonnie and her sister’s husband Bill’s late winter visit to our home here in East Tennessee. 

The “Old City”, located adjacent to the Knoxville’s downtown area, is really an historic neighborhood…that is part of the city’s core area.  Originally it was part of a boisterous and vice-laden area known as “The Bowery”.  It wasn’t part of Knoxville until the 1850s when the arrival of the railroad spurred the city leaders into action…and they annexed “The Bowery”.  The arrival of the railroad brought many Irish immigrants and they opened the Old City’s first shops and saloons.  After the Civil War, Knoxville’s Old City became one of the Southeastern USA’s largest wholesaling centers.  This was where East Tennessee merchants and grocers came to stock up their store shelves.

By the early 1900s, Central Street…the main street through the Old City…was lined with saloons and brothels.  Businesses left the area over the years as violent crime and prostitution became a problem.  These issues persisted well into the 1960s.  Finally, in 1986, redevelopment began to revive this area of town and today “Old Town” is home to restaurants, bars and restaurants, along with apartments and condos.  The next step will be the construction of a new multi-use baseball stadium on the fringe of the area.  Old Town is well on its way to gentrification…hopefully providing housing for some of the displaced.

When we saw this storefront, we recalled having amazing tamales made by Good Golly Tamale at the farmer’s market in Knoxville’s Market Square.  At that point…actually years ago...they were selling them from a hot box attached to a ‘tricycle’.  Back then they were making the tamales in a space they rented or borrowed from another local restaurant.  We were unaware that they had since opened a store in Knoxville.  Obviously we need to visit downtown Knoxville as well as the “Old City” more frequently.

Inside Good Golly Tamale, the décor is colorful…sort of a casual or shabby chic.  Back in my earlier days, this look would have been termed as “hippy chic”.  In any case, the décor fits the product as well as the neighborhood.  Everything was neat, orderly and clean.

To bring everything into perspective…Good Golly Tamale debuted at Knoxville’s Market Square Farmer’s market in the early fall of 2013.  It was a couple of years later when our foursome bought the tamales from that tricycle hot box.

Like so many fast food casual restaurants in this day and age, Good Golly Tamale’s customers order at the counter and pick up their food when it’s ready.  The practice holds down costs, simplifies the operation and works better in our current labor market. (Sorry for the blurry picture of the counter)

The menu is equally simple.  You can order tamales, tamales or tamales.  Well, you could just order a side or two… Business must be good.  This store has been open and selling tamales since 2015…8 years surviving on the sale of a filling of ground beef, beans, chicken, pork, cheese and a variety of vegetables wrapped in a soft corn ‘shell’ of masa and then finished wrapped in corn shucks/wrappers…

It was disturbing when we learned that the tricycle with its hot box had been stolen…never to be seen again.

OK…once again, sorry about the photos!  We’d all started eating our tamales and salsa was applied before I remembered to take a photo or two.  I will attest to the fact that we all loved our tamale choices!

Although we can’t claim to be tamale professionals, we’ve had enough tamales over the years to state that the taste and quality of a tamale starts with the corn masa that the meat and vegetables are wrapped up in…  Quality ingredients make Good Golly Tamale’s customers come back for more… They use organic non-GMO corn masa and locally sourced meats and produce when they are available.

Good Golly Tamale is located at 112 South Central Street in Knoxville Tennessee.  To learn more, go to https://goodgollytamale.com/.

Here are a couple of street views from one section of Knoxville’s Old Town area.  Shops include wineries, breweries, restaurants and night clubs as well as specialty retailers.  Young folks are flocking to the area and adapting to an urban lifestyle… Currently, builders and developers can’t keep up with demand.

The restaurant with the turret down at the end of the street in the second photo is The Lonesome Dove Western Bistro.  It is very much a high-end ($$$$) establishment.  Our own dining experience at Lonesome Dove back in 2019 wasn’t very positive but the restaurant is rated at between 4.5 and 4.7 on various rating sites so perhaps we just visited on a bad night.  See their website at https://lonesomedoveknoxville.com/.  That building dates back to 1888, when it was a saloon in a truly tough area of the city…

But now I digress…

I thought that I’d pay tribute to Regina, our United States Post Office mail carrier.  She works hard and she is the best!  However, we’re lucky she’s still on the job.  She was in her delivery van when this huge branch crushed the front end…just missing her.  She just suffered a couple of scratches and bruises.  A couple of feet further back and she would have been seriously injured or worse.  The USPS may not be perfect…but Regina is an exceptional mail carrier and our neighborhood is very happy that she is still following her daily route!

Just click on any of the photos to enlarge them…

Thanks for stopping by for a visit!

Take Care, Big Daddy Dave

On to Omaha for a Major Family Event!

Once again, it was time for a road trip…this time it was all about spending time with and celebrating family!

Near the end of May, we got up early one morning and headed for Omaha, and our first visit with our son’s family in about a year. 

We don’t follow the Interstate System any more than is necessary.  In this case we followed I-40 from Knoxville west to I-24 north from Nashville.  It joins I-57 north in Southern Illinois and we exited it at US Hwy 50 west at Salem Illinois and followed US Hwy 51 north followed by a couple of state highways all the way to our overnight stop in Springfield Illinois.

I had researched the area near our Hampton Inn on the south side of Springfield…looking for a likely place for us to have dinner.  That was when I discovered a small restaurant chain called “Sweet Basil Café”.  What really attracted me was that the menu was huge and featured a number of Greek inspired offerings…much like the local Greek owned restaurants that we love and frequented so often when we lived in Chicago.  At this point, we were really hopeful...

Laurie decided against the Greek offerings, instead ordering one of her favorites, a “French Dip Sandwich”. (Slices of roast beef on French bread served with Au jus for dipping) For her side, she ordered the “Tri-c0lored Pasta Salad.  Her other choices were French fries, Orzo Pasta Salad or Fruit.

Laurie was thankful that she ordered the pasta salad…because it was the best thing she was served.  The ‘beef’ was flavorless as was the Au jus, sad because a good Au jus will usually ‘cover up’ less than quality beef.

One of my favorite entrees in a Greek Restaurant is the Greek Chicken Dinner.  As is the standard, it includes a half chicken roasted Greek style with lemon and roasted potatoes.  As a side, this entrée came with a small Greek Salad. 

Due to my medications, I can’t eat salad so I asked for the soup instead.  Our waiter proceeded to bring out a huge order of French fries, that despite the roasted potatoes that came with my entrée.  We told him that we hadn’t ordered French fries and he said, “Oh well, then they’re free”.  I once again requested my soup…but it never came.

As for the ‘Greek Chicken’, despite the fact that it was floating in a flavorless broth or sauce, it was overcooked, flavorless and dry.  The potatoes were terrible examples of roasted Greek style potatoes.  If there was any lemon or garlic anywhere, it must have still been in the kitchen.  Even those ‘free’ fries were just OK.  Even the presentation failed to appeal...

Our waiter was untrained plus he was…to put it politely…an idiot.  He did nothing right… In addition, despite the lack of customers while we were in the restaurant, the kitchen was painfully slow and we waited what seemed like forever for our food.  To top it all off, when we went up to the counter to pay our bill, the 2 young ladies at the register were just chatting with each other and no one asked how our dinners were…probably a good thing.  The final item of discontent was that their printer wasn’t working so I couldn’t get a receipt. 

Somehow, this little chain of restaurants has 4 other locations in Illinois…Skokie, Glen Ellyn, Rockford and Peoria.  They have to be better than the Springfield location!  Taking everything into account, our rating for this dining experience is “Horrid”.  I will post my review with TripAdvisor...

Sweet Basil Café’s website is at https://www.sweetbasilcafes.com/.   

The next morning we headed west on I-72 and then, once in Missouri we followed US Hwy 36 west to I-29 and then north to Omaha.  It was time to celebrate and party!

The rest of this post is all about Emmett Lee.  At 18 years of age he is the younger of our 2 grandsons.  As you can see, given all those medals, cords and sashes, he was not only graduating from high school, but he did so with a variety of honors!  I’m not sure what all of them represent but when comparing his ‘regalia’ with others, he was part of a select group of seniors!

The graduation ceremony was held at the Elkhorn Public Schools Stadium.  This photo shows the group as they were assembling at one end of the field.  In total, there were 282 members of this senior class.

Here are some of the members of the Class of 2022 from Elkhorn South High School in Omaha (Elkhorn area) Nebraska.  With his height, Emmett was easy to spot!  At this point, the seniors had been given a white rose, which was the class flower.  It was presented to their mothers or key family members a bit later in the ceremony.

This photo shows all members of the immediate family…parents, grandparents and of course, his older brother.  Unfortunately, I couldn’t get out of this photo by being the photographer…as another graduate’s dad volunteered to take the photo.

This view toward the ‘business end’ of the field shows just a fraction of the graduating class.  However it does show the big screen showing the seniors and where the speeches were made and the diplomas were handed out… 

Then of course, we all had to have photos taken with Emmett.  Here he is with his proud parents, David II and Amy.

This is David III with Emmett.  It was only 3 years earlier when David III graduated from Elkhorn South High School… Time flies!  There were too many people taking their photo when I snapped this one…as neither of them were looking my way.

Of course I had to take a photo of Emmett with 'Nana', aka Laurie, my better half.  We are both very proud of Emmett and his many accomplishments!

Emmett Lee posed with yours truly at his home before the graduation ceremony.  There are times when even I want to have my photo taken and this was one of those occasions. 

So what’s next for Emmett Lee?  He was accepted to the Jeffrey S. Raikes School of Computer Science and Management, a school within the University of Nebraska – Lincoln.  This school accepts no more than 45 students each year… On top of that, much to his parents and his personal delight, he got a full scholarship… In addition, he’ll be close enough to home that he can drop off his laundry at home from time to time!

Congratulations Emmett!

Thanks for stopping by for a visit!

Take Care, Big Daddy Dave