Glessie Natella (Jones) Parker: 1911-2006

Glessie Parker (December 1955),
Originally uploaded by jcroach.

My grandmother died yesterday evening. She was 95 years old. Cathy, Parker and I will be in Harlan County Kentucky for most of the later part of the week at her services. She had fought a losing battle with Alzheimer's Disease over the last several years. She was the mother of six, the grandmother of 22 and the great-grandmother of 18, with Parker being the youngest. He luckily got to meet her just a few weeks ago.

Washed in the water

Cathy, Parker and I joined the Bloomington First United Methodist Church on Sunday. Cathy and Parker were baptized during the service. Parker's baptism was hard for me to accept at first. I grew up in the Baptist tradition of believer's baptism, where someone is old enough to believe and then is baptized. The United Methodist Church practices infant baptism and then confirmation later in life, much more like the Catholic tradition. They believe that baptism is sacrament of the church, along with communion, and a sign of belonging to the family of God. We are not saved by baptism. It is a symbol of salvation.

All in all it was a great day! We got to spend time with our parents afterwards. Parker did really well during the service even though he hadn't taken a morning nap. Although at one point I thought he was going to pull off the minister's microphone.

Here I come to save the day!

Take us to your leader,
Originally uploaded by jcroach.

It's official. I am a certified life saver. A super hero, some would say. Seriously, I just received Child and Infant CPR certification through my work. I was up front with them. My job does not involve working with kids. I just want to learn to help save my own son. They were cool with that. Now I just have to remember to only use my powers for good and not evil.

Congratulations are in order

Congratulations to the Jarrett Family on the birth of their new daughter Amelia Grace. She was born on July 3rd, weighed 8 lbs, 2 ozs and was 20 1.2 inches long. Welcome to the world Amelia!

Also, belated congratulations to Joseph and Jill Murphy on their marriage on June 16th. Welcome to married life Joseph and Jill!

Four Generations

4 generations 2,
Originally uploaded by jcroach.

Four generations of the Parker family got together for a family reunion on Saturday. My Parker James Roach was the youngest one there and the matriarch of the family, my grandmother Glessie Parker was the oldest. This picture is the two of them, my Mom Natella (Parker) Roach and me at Abner Longley Park in Lebanon.

Parker Photo Update

Parker Clapping,
Originally uploaded by jcroach.

Here's a quick Parker photo update of him showing off his latest skill; clapping! If you look closely you can see 7 of his 8 teeth.

ARRRRRRR, Bono the pirate?

A strange one for today. Apparently, Bono is getting in touch with this inner pirate. And not just Bono; Sting, Nick Cave, Richard Thompson, Loudon Wainwright III, Bill Frisell & Rufus Wainwright, to name a few. "Pirates of the Caribbean" director Gore Verbinski has put together a 2-disc set of 43 tracks of pirate songs. Ah, OK. I haven't seen the films, so maybe it works. The album is called "Rogue's Gallery: Pirate Ballads, Sea Songs & Chanteys" and is scheduled for release on Anti- Records on August 22nd.

Check out a sample of Bono's rendition of "A Dying Sailor to His Shipmates" at TMZ.com.

Carrie Newcomer in the park

The Roaches are going to see Carrie Newcomer perform a free concert tonight in Bloomington's 3rd Street Park. This might be Parker's first concert! Cathy and I recently rediscovered Carrie's music after seeing her in the park last year and our church's band performing some of her songs.

Here we are all in one place, the wants and wounds of the human race
Despair and hope sit face to face when you come in from the cold
Let her fill your cup with something kind, eggs and toast like bread and wine
She'’s heard it all but she don'’t mind.
- from "Betty's Diner"

I remember first hearing her perform in "The Spoke" at DePauw my Freshman year, Fall of 1993. The Spoke was a short lived coffee shop/hang-out/performance venue in the basement of the Union Building. It was connected to "The Hub" dining hall. Clever naming to connect to the Little 5 bike race. The Hub is no more, removed as part of the extensive UB remodeling in 1997. The space is now filled with mail boxes for students.

Carrie Newcomer inspires me. Her music tells stories of real life that teach spiritual truths. - Jim Wallis, Sojourners

She's a little country, a little folk and a lot of heart and energy. Her record label says that she is " one of the definitive voices of the Heartland, the Indiana native sings of the small joys and pains in life, emphasizing the little moments that are often taken for granted." For her current tour, Carrie is donating a portion of her album sales to Second Harvest, the nation's largest food bank network.

Blast from the past

Wat Pho,
Originally uploaded by aronlamerson.

Well, after like 4 years with no word from Aron Lamerson, he suddenly showed up on Flickr. Here's a picture of him and his wife Wilma in Bangkok. Still no idea where exactly he's living, but it's good to see some pictures of him on his travels. Aron, if you read this, drop off a comment to let the world know what's been going on!

Stormtrooper Day Care

Stormtrooper Day Care,
Originally uploaded by THX 1981.

Found on Flickr. What a great web service. My questions is, was the baby born or cloned?