Heartbreaker

Well, it sure was a great season for the BYU basketball team, but it had a sad ending tonight against Florida. It has been so exciting to watch Jimmer Fredette win over the whole country with his crazy 3-pointers and scoring frenzies. Greg thought my head was going to explode tonight while we were watching the game--it was SO close and even went to overtime, just like it did when they played Florida last year in the tournament! At one point Jimmer's chin hit the floor and he started to bleed, so they put a bandage on it. Then after the next time out, there was another bandage, and then another, and another. It was awesome how they just kept piling on the bandages, and Jimmer just kept on playing. The whole team did really well tonight, but Florida was just too much for them. Our hopes were high when overtime began, but as the game slipped away, I was pretty heartbroken. But, it was fun while it lasted. And I had just gotten Greg to agree to drive to Houston for the championship game if BYU made it there! :-( I would say "there's always next year," but I don't think BYU will ever have another Jimmer.

At least we had a fun basketball party last weekend when BYU beet Gonzaga while Greg's grandma was here for a visit. His parents brought her over from Iowa for a weekend getaway. We had fun doing such things as visiting the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Museum . . . and watching basketball :-) Well I'm going to go mope around for a while, but my sadness will be short-lived, as we are headed to St. Louis on Saturday for Eliza's birthday extravaganza which will be SO FUN!!!

Jimmer Fredette / BYU rocking the nation.

Honor

I am crazy with March Madness fever! Tomorrow evening our house will be a hotbed of St. Patrick's Day and BYU celebrations as the BYU basketball team plays their first round NCAA tournament game against Wofford (which can be seen live on CBS at 7:00 Eastern time). It's no secret to all of my friends around the country that I am a BYU fan :-) And since the BYU basketball team is really good this year, especially with all of the hype surrounding Jimmer Fredette, everybody has heard a lot about the BYU basketball team lately. Unfortunately the latest national news about the team involved the suspension of one of their players for an honor code violation. This news has prompted many of my friends to grill me about what exactly the "honor code" is, why it is such a big deal, and why in the heck anyone would go to a school where you "can't have any fun," as they say :-) I have actually enjoyed these questions because it gives me a chance to talk about why BYU is such an unusual and great place. I tell my friends that the honor code isn't sprung on any student as a way to get them kicked off a team or out of school--it's something that each students knows about up front. In fact, when you apply to go to BYU, you sign a paper saying that you agree to abide by the honor code--which basically says that you will abide by the teachings and standards of the LDS Church.

The honor code comes from something that Karl G. Maeser, the first principal of the Brigham Young Academy, once said: "I have been asked what I mean by 'word of honor.' I will tell you. Place me behind prison walls--walls of stone ever so high, ever so thick, reaching ever so far into the ground--there is a possibility that in some way or another I may escape; but stand me on the floor and draw a chalk line around me and have me give my word of honor never to cross it. Can I get out of the circle? No. Never! I'd die first."

Of course not every BYU student takes all of this honor stuff super seriously--you often find a sidewalk chalk circle drawn around the Karl G. Maeser statue on campus; the work of a student who thinks they are funny--but all-in-all the honor code makes BYU a place where you can completely focus on your education and personal growth--where you're not hampered by all of the extra things that are usually part of a typical American college experience.

I really like that, in response to questions about if it was a hard decision to suspend the player for an honor code violation right when BYU was on track to have its best basketball season ever, BYU responded that it was not a hard decision--the player broke the rules that he agreed to abide by. It's as simple as that. So, even though they could have used their sidelined player's sweet rebounding skills in the upcoming tournament, I think the important thing is that BYU stood by its standards--even though it would have been easy to overlook a little honor code violation, especially when the stakes are so high. I think BYU still has a really good chance to do well in the tournament (they still have Jimmer Fredette!!), but even if they fall short, at least they stood tall and stuck to the principles that make them different than all of the other teams they'll be playing against. Props to BYU. Go Cougars!

Remembering Grandpa Gray

Unfortunately it has been a sad week here for Greg's family. On the evening of Tuesday, March 1, Greg's grandpa, Martin Gray, passed away at his home in Marshalltown, Iowa. Greg and I had just been up to visit Grandpa and Grandma Gray a couple of weeks before, so we were glad that we had that time with Grandpa. He has been quite ill for some time, so the one good thing is that he doesn't have to suffer anymore. Greg and I drove to Iowa early Wednesday morning, and it was nice to be there with all of his extended family. This picture with Grandma Gray was taken during the visitation (or "viewing," as I'm used to calling it) on Friday evening. Grandma was afraid that no one would come to the visitation, but there was a large turnout. She and Martin have been valued members of the community for their entire lives.

The funeral services were held at the First Presbyterian Church in Marshalltown on Saturday, and it was pretty awesome when not one, but TWO bagpipers played "Amazing Grace" as the casket left the church. Grandpa Gray served in the Navy during World War II and the Marines during the Korean War. So at his graveside service a burial detail from the local V.F.W. did the gun salute, and the Marines folded the flag.

It was a very patriotic and fitting memorial to a true American hero. It was especially neat when the Marines presented the flag to Grandma Gray. It was an emotionally taxing week for the entire family, but Greg was able to help out a lot in making the funeral arrangements. Hopefully the next time we get together with Greg's mom's side of the family, it will be for a happier occasion.

Will Work for Cool Stuff

Though I don't get paid for my work with the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency and the Lincoln Home curator, I do get to see and do a lot of cool things. So, I get paid in experience and chances to hold things like an actual handle from Abraham Lincoln's casket! I found this little gem down in the depths of the IHPA archives. There's something really neat about holding such an important piece of history in your hands.

A couple of weeks ago at the Lincoln Home, I got to see a book that belonged to Mary Lincoln. She had written her name inside the front cover. And here is something else I found in the IHPA archives: a collage of fabric that belonged to Mary Lincoln. So I'm having a lot of fun and learning some great things in my volunteer work.

I am currently listening to the BYU vs. San Diego State basketball game on the Internet. It is SO CRAZY!!! Jimmer Fredette is crazy good. I really, really hope BYU can pull this game out, and then hopefully they will have a good seed in the NCAA tournament next month. I definitely have a serious case of Jimmer Fever.