Muhammad Ali is my hero

We had the opportunity to take a few of the older kids to the new Muhammad Ali Center today, at absolutely no cost to us. It was a small, manageable group and I am amazed at how well they behaved (they never listen to me that well!). It was a good time. I even learned something. And it was a nice place. What an awesome guy he is (and he is from Louisville by the way, if you aren't aware). I think the kids learned some too, but I am pretty sure their favorite part was getting to try out some "boxing" of their own, as seen in the picture.

One sad story from today. As part of the visit, they showed us a movie about Muhammad Ali (in a theatre with a very big screen). During the movie there were a few clips from the Vietnam War while they were discussing his refusal to fight in it (go Muhammad!) Anyways, there was a one second clip of a bomb in this short film and the kid sitting next to me started freaking out. He put his head in his lap and said "I can't look at this!" And then he started sobbing. There were tears flowing and sniffles throughout the rest of the movie. I started crying myself. I wasn't sure how to comfort him. I can't imagine what he has been through and what memories this split second clip of a bomb triggered for this nine year old boy. I am pretty sure he is from the Congo, or possibly Liberia (I should know this by now) I have been working at Americana almost a year, and this is the first time I experienced something quite like this and so personal. It made me realize how lucky I have had it my whole life and gave me a deeper respect for these kids and their families.

Nothing much to report from the weekend. It was the first weekend in awhile that I had nothing planned and was able to get some rest and get some things done that were needed. I could have gone camping, but decided against it. My biggest accomplishment of the weeekend was completing an online course in about two and a half hours! There are three prerequisites that I have to finish by the end of my first semester of grad school. They offer them all online (pass/fail) and I just registered for them. I sat down on Saturday to start the course "Human Biology for Social Workers." All I have to do to for these courses is pass the final test (70 or above). I got a 74 on the practice test before looking at anything. I figured I should study a little since the final test was longer and more difficult. So in about an hour I skimmed through all the study aids and all the chapters in the entire book. Then I took the test and just made it with a 72! Two more questions wrong and I would have failed. My next two courses should be a little more difficult: statistics (which I have never had!) and research methods. I looked at the first question of the stats practice test and didn't understand it at all, so I will need to study a bit for this one. Maybe I will start tonight if I feel up to it. My goal is to get them done before I actually start real classes.

Oh yeah, one thing I did do this weekend. After church Alisa and I headed to the track all day. I hadn't been there since the Derby and boy was it different than that crazy day. For one, it only cost $2 to get in and you can actually sit in the seats! (and thank God because it was HOT outside) We stayed there for all 11 races and bet on each one. I ended up losing about $16 - oh well! I put about $40 down. I was breaking even at first, and then just wasn't picking the right horses at the end. Betting on horses is fun! However something I can't make a habit of (obviously). It was the last day the track was open for the summer.
Suzanna - I picked one horse simply because it had "Seattle" in their name. My logic was: "Suzanna lives in Seattle, and she just got engaged, so she is lucky and therefore this horse must be lucky as well." And it won!!

And can I just say IT IS SO HOT UP IN HERE!!! And there is a heat advisory outside. No good.