Rocky Bleier

I think it's no secret that I am a HUGE Steelers fan. That being said I admit I'm not quite as well versed in Steelers history as I probably should be. Pathetically enough when we went to Pittsburgh for Father's Day and my Dad bought us tickets to hear Rocky Blier speak my first question was "who is he?". Well after learning his story I now feel like a moron that I didn't know who he was. Have you had the experience where you read a book, watch a movie or hear someone talk about their life and you think "why doesn't every person know this story???"...Well that was me listening to Rocky Bleier. Even if he hadn't been a professional football player his story would be incredible. He went to Notre Dame on a football scholarship and was drafted by the Steelers out of college. He played for almost 1 full year before being drafted again, but this time by the Army for Vietnam. He went over and served where he received a bullet through his thigh and had a grenade explode and tear off a good chunk of his leg. The injuries were obviously very severe. His doctor told him that while he'd make a full recovery and live a normal life there would be no way he could ever go back to playing football. This was the point (it's hard for me to believe) when the Steelers were a perennial bottom feeder in the league. While he was in the hospital Mr. Rooney sent him a postcard saying "Our team sucks, we need you back!" Rocky talked about how that was one of those motivational moments that came at the right time for him.  He received a purple heart for his injuries and they sent him on his way. Very luckily for him the Steelers agreed to give him a chance. It took a few years of rehab but eventually he made it back onto the team. At one point though when things were looking pretty bleak he actually took a job selling Insurance in Chicago. One of his teammates called him and said "Look you have to come back and if the coaches cut you, fine, but at least you won't have cut yourself". Luckily Rockey listened to that advice because as history will tell he became what we would now call a tailback for Franco Harris. They became one of the first duos to each rush for over 1,000 yards in a single season. Rocky ended up with 4 super bowl rings and a storied career. It's a story that almost ended prematurely at many different points. While his life was played out on a bigger screen than most of ours are it was still a learning experience for me. As a musician I have certainly had moments of sincere doubt about the path I'm on and it was inspirational to hear how someone else persevered through and came out successfully on the other side.

He did write a book about all this (again, how did I *not* know this!) and I highly recommend checking it out if you can get your hands on a copy. Here is a link to his site where he sells autographed copies:
http://www.rockybleier.com/store/product/listing

After his talk Rocky kindly took time to autograph memoriabila and take pictures. He brought all 4 of his Super Bowl rings and let us try them on!!! We were also blessed because they did an auction of Rocky Bleier posters and while we didn't initially win one of my Dad's friends did and he didn't want it so he gave it to us! Kris and I are excited to get that framed and hang it in our new place.

As Kris said...now something is crossed off his bucket list that he didn't even know was on it!

BSO Outing with Kris's Kids

As with most teachers Kris had a couple of kids over the past few years that besides being naturally talented were also hard workers and consequently they rose to the top. He got to know these kids very well and even though school has ended he's already taken them on a couple of neat trips. I got to tag along on the first one which was to a performance of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra. They had never been to a full length symphony concert before. The program was really good with a new symphony composed by Kevin Puts (a Peabody faculty member); Tchaikovsky's violin concerto and Rite of Spring. It was alot for them to take in but the girls did really well with it. Afterwards Kris arranged a meet and greet with Marin Alsop, the conductor. The girls might not realize it yet but the fact that Marin took time to meet and chat with us was pretty amazing. Marin is the only female conductor of any major symphony orchestra. We even got to have our picture taken with her. For me it was the first time that I got to shake hands and talk with *any* conductor of a major symphony so it was an incredible experience.

L-R Me; Marlene; Marin Alsop; Raquel; Danielle; Kris (duh)

Second Week of Summer

Our two highlights from the second week of summer were a trip a Pump It Up and back to the Mall for Storytime with Miss Julie.

First Pump It Up....the kids had a great time as always. This time they added some new equipment in one of the bounce houses so it was like a wrestling-type thing (you'll see the pictures)...

This is what I was talking about!

That week at Storytime it was actually the Army's Birthday and the Mall in Columbia was holding a special celebration. They had some military personnel on hand and we even got to see a cake cutting with a saber. This was followed by a magic show where Jake got to go up and be an assistant! He is *such* a ham in front of an audience (like Father, like Son). The show ended with a confetti cannon.

There was a poor person stuck in that costume!

We had a great second week of summer and starting with week 3 we have some pretty big outings each week!!!

Once a Nittany Lion always a Nittany Lion....

In the words of JoePa....

A major advantage of Adam's wedding being in Loretto is that it was only 1.5 hours from State College. I hadn't been back to PSU since Fall of 2006 and Kris had never been there.

It felt so good to be back on my home turf. Kris did such a good job of listening to my endless stories and at least feigning interest in them. Of course some things had changed but it was neat to see the amount of things had stayed the same. We spent significant time going through the music buildings and it made me feel to good to recognize 90% of the names of the professors. I tried to take him into West Dining Commons where I worked but it was closed for renovations.

For lunch we got to meet up with Bryan, Dana and their son, Mason. We went to Baby's (a super cute diner-style restaurant that I used to love). It was awesome to see Bryan and Dana again. It had been waaay too long. Hopefully another 6 years doesn't go by before we get to see them again!

After lunch we went shopping and I picked up some new PSU apparel. My favorite shirt is one I found in memory of JoePa that says "WE ARE....because He was". In the afternoon we made the trek out to Beaver Stadium and made the necessary stop at the creamery.

I am *sooooo* proud of my Penn State roots and no matter where else I have or will attend school I will always be a Nittany Lion.

WE ARE....PENN STATE!!!!!

Where I spent more hours of my undergrad life than I care to add up...although in retrospect probably not enough!

The dorms I lived in my Freshman and Sophmore years

Where I worked and met many of the friends with whom I am still close to this day

Old Main

Where students enter for the football games

I went to every home game that season including the triple overtime Orange Bowl!!! At the time Dustin and I also took a trip to Ann Arbor to see our one loss at the hands of the Wolverines...I still shudder when I get near Ann Arbor to this day.

My Nittany Mint Ice Cream!!

Congrats Adam and Cindy!

Friday June 9th Kris and I had the honor attending the wedding of our friends, Adam and Cindy (okay really they are my friends but still). I met both Adam and Cindy while I was working at the dining commons at Penn State. Their wedding was held in Loretto, PA in a very pretty Basilicia. I also had the privilege of playing for their cermony...which is the reason I don't actually have any ceremony pictures. Their reception was held in the hall next to the church which looked amazing with all the special light and decorations. There were tons of people and everyone seemed to be having a great time. I got a chance to catch up with some friends that I don't normally get to see very often. Here are a few pictures from the reception (the lighting wasn't great for my camera)...

Timmy's best man speech

First dance

Congrats to Adam and Cindy! Kris and I were excited to be able to share your special day with you and we wish you a marriage full of love and happiness.

Goodbye Rosa Parks

It's no secret that while I've been getting attached to Jake, Brooke, Tracy and Craig for the past 3 years Kris has been getting attached to many of his students. After he told his students that he wasn't coming back next year they gave him such a sweet send-off by covering his board with "I miss you messages". Kris made sure to take pictures of each and every one. I know he will always remember those kids and there's quite a few he plans to always stay in touch with!