Is there anything better in life than being a dad and a husband? I met my beautiful wife Samantha [who is probably upset that I put her picture on this blog:)] 4.5 years ago, and she and the boys quickly became the center of my world. I am truly blessed to have such a special family. If you are one of my students or colleagues you'll quickly realize how proud I am to have such a wonderful wife and kids (I talk about them non-stop). A little bit about the pictures. The one on the left is Michael all decked out for his pre-K graduation. He passed with flying colors and is looking forward to Kindergarten. Samantha, Zachary, and I were there to enjoy the festivities [Sam even shed a tear]. The one on the right is Samantha & Rylee on Tommy's 1st Communion. I know that I'm biased, but my family is beautiful.

The Civil Rights Tour

Here's a little bit about the logistics of the Civil Rights tour:
July 8th: Depart for Nashville, spend evening exploring CR in Nashville
July 9th: Civil Rights Tour of Nashville in AM, depart for Memphis, TN (Memphis Redbirds game & dinner at Rendezvous [famous for ribs] in the evening)
July 10th: meeting/tour of the National Civil Rights Museum (site of Dr. King's assassination), visit Beale Street
July 11th: Little Rock, AR [Clinton Presidential Library and Central High School]
July 12th: Rock-n-Soul Museum (Memphis) and Mississippi Delta "hotspots" [Fannie Lou Hamer's hometown, Cleveland]
July 13th: Tour of the University of Mississippi (Oxford) and take the Emmett Till Driving Tour (Money)
July 14th: Jackson, MS: Medgar Evers house, CR driving tour of Jackson, old statehouse building, Jackson State University.
July 15th: Depart for Selma, AL. Stop in Meridian, MS to view James Chaney's gravesite. Visit the National Voting Rights Museum and walk the Edmund Pettus Bridge (Selma)
July 16th: Depart Selma in afternoon for Montgomery, stopping at the March from Selma to Montgomery museum off I-90
July 17th: Montgomery, AL. Visit the Rose Parks museum, State Capitol building, Dexter Avenue Baptist Church, and Southern Poverty Law Center, depart for Tuscaloosa in late afternoon.
July 18th: Birmingham, AL (16th street Baptist church, Birmingham Civil Rights Institute, Kelly Ingram Park, and Tuscaloosa, AL (tour the University of Alabama campus)
July 19th: Depart for Atlanta, GA in early morning. Visit "sweet auburn avenue" in Atlanta (MLK, Jr. National Historic site)
July 20th: Depart for Charlotte, NC, stopping in Orangeburg, SC

Facts & Figures:
States to be visited: 8 (North Carolina, Tennessee, Arkansas, Missouri, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina)
Miles to be Traveled: approximately 1,200
Different Hotels: 8
Museums to be visited: 9 (National Civil Rights Museum, Rock-n-Soul Museum, Little Rock Central High School National Park, Clinton Presidential Library, National Voting Rights Museum, I-90 National Park, Birmingham Civil Rights Institute, Alabama Football Museum, Martin Luther King, Jr. Center)
State Capitols to be Visited: 4 (Little Rock, Jackson, Montgomery, Atlanta)
Baseball game to be attended: 2 (Memphis Redbirds, Montgomery Biscuits)

Welcome to my Blog!!

Thanks for visiting my Blog. I've created this site to share information, opinions, and pictures with my family, friends, students, and colleagues. The initial focus of this Blog will be to share a daily overview of my "once in a lifetime" trip, a Civil Rights Tour from July 8th through July 20th. I'll be visiting all of the Civil Rights "hotspots" across the South, including locations in 8 different states. This amazing trip would not be possible without the financial support of the Eichenbrenner family. Thank you Dr. and Mrs. Eichenbrenner for affording me the personal and professional opportunity of a lifetime.