Debate Camp

Evan is, at this very moment, in the middle of a two week debate camp at Dixie State College in southern Utah. At home, on his best day, he's a man of few words. When away, he takes this unofficial teenage "vow of silence" thing to a whole new level. Crazy, right? I mean, what kid wouldn't want to reach out to his parent on a daily basis... to connect... to share?  Er... okay, maybe we're asking a little too much. You can decide for yourself. The following is a text thread between Evan and Tracy earlier this year when he was at a tournament in Berkeley.

I am pleased to add however...  that this trip has been better. Has Ev tried harder to reach out? Not exactly. Have we lowered our expectations? Duh... We may be overbearing, but we're not stupid.

Evan does seem to really like debate. He works hard at it and seems to have an aptitude... I swiped and scanned one of the scoring sheets from his California trip... He has the number one next to his name... (a good thing). While the high-speed, Jihad-style "chanting" coming from the basement sometimes scares us a little, we're mostly just happy when he is.

The Pokey

Photos from a trip we took to Pocatello in February. I can't remember why we went to Eastern Idaho in February. It certainly wasn't to get away from the cold and the wind... I know that for sure. I'm assuming we went mostly to impose ourselves on the Southwicks (not pictured) and eat what they were having for lunch and dinner. At least I recall it being a pleasing experience for the senses.

Along those lines, I also found time to slip away for a few hours to take these photos. The shots are nothing special I suppose, but I could have spent all day looking for more.

The one photo I didn't get? The inside of the Fort Hall Indian reservation jail. Tracy's sister suggested I might want to trespass on their land to snap a few shots of the river that runs through it. She implied that they probably wouldn't mind... that it wouldn't be a big deal. While I didn't end up going in... the place was generously covered with warning signs... I did wonder what Annie might stand to gain by having me incarcerated.