And Tomorrow's Forecast Is...

Jamel and I visited KMIZ this evening during the 6:00 newscast. Thanks to my friend Curtis, News Director at the station, who gave us a tour of the station before the news and then he let us sit in on the set for the first 10 minutes, then he took us into Master Control for the rest of the broadcast. 

While in Master Control, he let Jamel listen in on the "behind the scenes" stuff, and the director even let Jamel give time cues to the news anchor over the headset. Needless to say Jamel had a great time.

When the news was over, KMIZ Chief Meteorologist Sharon Ray had Jamel come into the Weather Center and she showed Jamel how she uses the green screen to show people at home the weather. He even got to deliver a weather forecast and she even let him use the remote control to switch from one screen to the next.

Part of what being a Big Brother is all about is giving Jamel a variety of experiences that he would otherwise never have. The great thing about this visit to KMIZ is that in about an hour he was able to see about four different career opportunities. I am truly grateful to everyone at KMIZ that took the time to show Jamel what they do and to take the time out of their busy schedules to spend a few minutes with him. I think this experience will stick with him for a long time.

Pepper & Friends Talks About Big Brothers

Mary Sloan from Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central MO asked me a couple weeks ago to be interviewed on Pepper & Friends for the monthly Kids Corner segment that focuses on her organization. She wanted this months interview to focus on mentoring and I was honored to be chosen to represent the local mentors. 

Due to the Pepper & Friends set being remodeled at KOMU, the show has been temporarily moved to a shed (I'm not joking, it really is a shed) on the Mizzou Farm located right off Highway 63 and New Haven Road.

I had a lot of fun describing some of the experiences I've had with Jamel and when the interview was over James (the person who interviewed me) asked if Jamel and I would come be on the show sometime together. I think Jamel would have fun being on TV. I'll keep you posted on how that goes.

Sorry Sir, Broadway Is Closed, You'll Have To Turn Around

Those are the words Jamel and I had to say several times yesterday while we worked as Traffic Control Volunteers for the Columbia Police Department. The big event was the Central Missouri Humane Society Zootoo Parade. It's amazing how people listen to you when you have on the orange reflective vest. We were stationed at 8th and Broadway and with the help of traffic barriers we had to keep people off Broadway for almost an hour while the parade was in progress. It was something different and Jamel had a good time. We had to meet at the police station and got a quick tour inside before getting our assignment and then hitting the street.

When that was done we went to Billiards on Broadway for a burger (which was one of the best I've ever had) and a game of pool. We both need to work on our pool shooting skills. 

Jamel asked to go see the columns downtown, so we took a walk down to 8th and Walnut and took a look at them along with the war memorials. Jamel said he was going to do some research at school to find out when the building burned down that used to be attached to the columns.

We ended the day with Andy's Frozen Custard thanks to a coupon we got when we did the Bowl For Kids' Sake event a few weeks ago. This Tuesday evening we're planning on going to KMIZ to watch the 6:00 news in the studio. It's not completely firmed up yet, but hopefully will be tomorrow.

Loaves & Fishes 2.0

Jamel and I hung out this evening with the Ballou Community Group over at Loaves & Fishes. We were able to help serve dinner and wash dishes. This is an activity we did back in January and Jamel asked me last week if we could go do it again. He once again enjoyed himself while serving other people.

Jamel did a great job working hard in the kitchen and then he was able to enjoy some of the tasty soup that the Ballou people cooked up. When we finished there we went and picked up a thank you card for Jamel to send to Roger at the Columbia Tribune thanking him for the tour he gave us last week.

Looks like we'll be going to a Mizzou Baseball game soon.

By the way, these are the first photos I've taken with my new BlackBerry Curve. So far I'm liking the new handset.

Friday With Jamel

Jamel was out of school last week for spring break so we hung out for a while on Friday. 

We started out by having lunch at Bandana's BBQ and then we went over to the Columbia Daily Tribune for a tour of the printing facility. They are one of my customers and Roger was kind enough to take Jamel and I through the plant and showing us how they print the daily paper and get it ready for delivery.

After that, I had to go visit a customer in Jeff City. We had a little time to kill so we went inside the capital building and took some time to look around. Jamel had never been inside before and to see inside the rotunda for the first time is a cool experience. There is a lot of artwork inside and the murals are fantastic.

After my customer visit, we ended our visit to Jeff City by enjoying a scoop of ice cream at Central Dairy. Central Dairy is another cool Jeff City experience that everyone should try sometime.

It looks like we'll be heading over to Loaves & Fishes on Thursday evening to help the Ballou C-Group serve dinner. We did this back in January and Jamel asked me last week if we could do it again. We've also got a trip planned to KMIZ-TV to watch them do a live newscast. We don't have a date for that yet, but it will happen sometime in the next couple of weeks.

Bowling for Kids' Sake

Today was the biggest fundraiser of the year for Big Brothers Big Sisters; Bowl for Kids' Sake. My Match Support Specialist Chris Keller asked me earlier this week if Jamel and I would come and bowl the first balls to kick off the Saturday afternoon round. I was honored that he asked us and when I mentioned it to Jamel he got really excited.

Once we bowled the first balls we started our game, and a few minutes later a bunch of Mizzou football players showed up and started bowling with us. What a surprise that was! They couldn't have been nicer and we had a great time hanging out with them. Jaron Baston even spent time giving Jamel some pointers on how to bowl.

When we were finished they took some pictures with us and even autographed our t-shirts. They also invited me and Jamel to come join them at the Spring Black & Gold Football game next month. During the event they bring the little brothers down on the field and run them through some drills. Jamel is excited about going to that.

Thanks to Big Brothers Big Sisters and Chris Keller for putting on a great event and for inviting me and Jamel to take part. Thanks also to the Mizzou Tigers Football Team for supporting Big Brothers Big Sisters and for coming and hanging out with me and Jamel. It will be something Jamel will never forget.

Beauty and the Beast

Me, Janice and Jamel went to the third annual Beauty and the Beast gymnastic & wrestling event at the Hearnes Center tonight at Mizzou. It was an interesting event as there were gymnastic events and wrestling matches going on at the same time. It was hard on deciding what to watch. Unfortunately, our wrestling team didn't do so well tonight.

Jamel had a great time and he was excited that he got to take a Mizzou wrestling poster home with him.

The most interesting thing that happened was a conversation Jamel and I had on our way to pick up Janice. Somehow the subject of Michael Phelps came up. He asked me why someone who was a world record holder and a great swimmer would smoke marijuana. I had the chance to talk to Jamel about how we all will be faced with choices. Sometimes the choices will be easy and some will be hard, and at some point we will all make the wrong choice. The important thing is to learn from those mistakes and to take responsibility for them. We talked about how Phelps didn't make excuses, he took responsibility, he didn't whine about consequences, he took his medicine. It has probably been a difficult couple of weeks for him, but he did the right thing. 

Jamel really seemed like he understood, and he even said it was like when he took responsibility for his dog chewing up his library book. I think he got it. He is a smart kid.

He told me on the drive home that he likes hanging out with me and he is glad I'm his Big Brother. Our relationship continues to grow and the conversations continue to get deeper. Not bad for only 2 months. 

The Katy Trail...In February?

It reached 70 degrees today so Jamel and I hit the Katy Trail in Rocheport for a little hiking action. We visited the Rocheport train tunnel and we hiked to the top of the hill on top of the tunnel overlooking the Missouri River. Jamel is not a big "outdoor activity" kind of guy, so this was a new experience for him. It definitely wore him out. As soon as we left and got back on the road he promptly fell asleep. He said he enjoyed it and he wants to spend more time on the trail this summer. This Friday we will be going to the Beauty and the Beast Gymnastics/Wrestling event at Mizzou.

Another Library Visit

Jamel and I made another trip to the library this evening.  When I picked him up he was a little upset that his dog had chewed up one of his library books. The cool thing was that he knew it was his responsibility to pay for it. He was afraid he would be in trouble because he didn't have any money to pay for it today. I told him when we got to the library he would have to tell them what happened and then he would have to work out how he was going to pay for it. Fortunately, the people at the library were very cool about the whole thing. Jamel explained what happened and he worked it out. I was very proud of him. When he told the man that he didn't have money tonight, he was told that he could go ahead and check out more books tonight and pay for the book next time he came in. On the way home we had a great conversation about being up front about things. He explained to me that he knew trying to hide it was not the right thing to do. He also said he learned a lesson about keeping his books away from his dog.

Looks like we're going to try and hook up again Saturday.

Paul Blart, the Library, and Honesty

Yesterday was a full day with Jamel.  We originally were going to the Mizzou Basketball game, but we had to change the plans at the last minute. To begin the day we had a great conversation about honesty.  A situation occurred even before I went to pick him up and the topic of honesty was staring us in the face.  This was the first opportunity we've had to have a real tough discussion.  When it was over, he understood the importance of honesty, and he now knows that no matter what he tells me, I'm not going anywhere. 

We then decided to go by the library. Jamel got his first library card which he was very excited about. He has had a real interest in the World Trade Center since I've known him. Not only about how it came down, but also how it was built. I told him that we should go to the library and find some books on the subject so he could learn about the towers. We found a great kids book about how the terrorists brought down the towers. It explained everything on 9/11 from start to finish, and it was age appropriate for him. We also found a great book about how the towers were built. So, he was pretty excited. The scary part was that on the way to the library, Jamel told me he had one of his teachers tell him that George Bush is the one who made the towers collapse. How do you deal with that? I told him he needed to do some research on his own and then he could make his own decision on what happened. I was glad to find that book!

We decided to go see the movie Paul Blart: Mall Cop. It was pretty corny, but it had its moments. It was definitely a good movie for kids to see. If you liked Kevin James in King of Queens, then you'll like this. It was his typical brand of comedy. It also had a pretty good family message in it. The middle of the movie got a little boring. Jamel even took a nap for a while.

All in all, we had a great day. I'm enjoying the Big Brother thing, and I'm looking forward to the next 11 months as we continue our relationship. 

Central MO Aviation

Today Jamel and I visited Central MO Aviation at Columbia Regional Airport. We were very fortunate to run into John, a flight instructor at the airport. He spent time with us explaining lift and drag, and all the stuff that makes airplanes fly. He even took us out to his Cessna 150 and gave Jamel an inside the cockpit tour. Jamel has never flown or been near any kind of airplane, so he was very excited about this opportunity. John explained to him how easy it is to fly and how anyone can do it. He even encouraged Jamel that in a few years he can start flying lessons if he wanted to. Jamel was an eager learner as he sat in the cockpit and asked John question after question. He walked away from the airplane saying that he was sure he could fly after all the information he had been given.

After our Cessna tour, the linemen at Central MO Aviation let us walk down the flight line and look at the airplanes that were parked. There were several airplanes there of all different varieties. We even got to see a couple of large business jets depart and a couple different small airplanes land.

On the way home Jamel commented to me that this was one of the most fun things he's ever done. He also asked me if I could come visit him at school sometime and eat lunch with him. So, this will be something we will try and coordinate soon. It also looks like we'll be going to another Mizzou basketball game this Saturday.

Loaves & Fishes

Jamel and I joined the Ballou Community Group from Karis this afternoon to serve dinner in downtown Columbia at the Loaves & Fishes Soup Kitchen. It was fun hanging out and serving dinner with some folks from Karis, and Jamel told me on the way home that he had a great time. He asked a lot of questions about Loaves & Fishes, so it was a good opportunity for some great dialogue. He wanted to know where the people came from that were there to eat dinner, and he also asked why so many of us were there to help serve. Jamel pitched in and worked hard along with everyone else, and with so many there the work was not too difficult. The Ballou Community Group serves at Loaves & Fishes the first Thursday of each month, so I would encourage anyone who is interested to go help them if you can.   

Mizzou Basketball

Thanks to the University of Missouri donating some tickets to Big Brothers/Big Sisters, Jamel and I were able to go see a basketball game last night in Mizzou Arena.  We had a great time.  Mizzou beat Centenary 80-52. Jamel and I enjoyed the game and we got a chance to become a little better acquainted.  

Our next activity is scheduled for New Year's Day (tomorrow).  We will join some folks at Karis in serving dinner at the Loaves & Fishes soup kitchen in downtown Columbia.  This is an on-going project for one of our Community Groups at Karis as they try to meet the needs of some of Columbia's homeless residents.  Jamel seems to be excited about serving with us tomorrow.  He asked me the question last night, "Why are we doing that?"  I got to explain to him that helping people who need it is a really good thing to do.  I'm hoping that over the next year I can show Jamel how important it is to serve others.

By the way, he told me last night that his mother and brothers really enjoyed the sugar cookies that we made last week.

Chili and Sugar Cookies

Jamel came over Monday for dinner and we enjoyed some great Chili that Janice prepared. We then made some Christmas sugar cookies that Jamel took home to give to his mom.  Great fun was had by all!  We also worked on mastering a motocross computer game, which we still need work on.  

We will be attending the Mizzou basketball game on the 30th.  Big Brothers/Big Sisters secured some tickets from the Mizzou athletic department for this game and we will get to sit in the student section. There will probably not be many people there as most students are home on Christmas break, and we're playing Centenary, whoever that is.  But, it will still be fun.

Then, on January 1st, Jamel and I will be serving dinner at the Loaves and Fishes Soup Kitchen in downtown Columbia along with others from Karis Community Church.  Keep checking back for more updates!

Meet Jamel

Here is Jamel, my little brother. Today was our first time hanging out.  We didn't do anything real exciting.  We washed my truck inside and out, went to Staples and Sam's Club, and stopped by my office to drop some stuff off.  We even dropped by the house for a while and played some computer games.  We had a great time getting to know each other.  The great thing was that he asked a lot of questions about me, so we had a lot of conversation.  We're going to get together Monday evening for dinner so we can hang out one more time before Janice and I go to Florida for Christmas.  We even made plans for some stuff after Christmas.  So, my year with Jamel has begun and I think it will be fun. I'll keep you posted.

It's Official, I'm a Big Brother

I met Jamel tonight along with Megan, the Match Coordinator with BBBS.  He was a very friendly kid and he was excited to meet me.  I also got to meet his 2 brothers, ages 12 and 8, and his mother.  Both of his brothers are also in the Big Brother program.  We set our first "hang-out time" for this Saturday at 1:30.  I don't really have anything planned other than just running some errands with Jamel.  I will try to keep you posted as I get to know him better.

Tomorrow Is The Day!

After a frustrating evening at the Holiday Inn Express in Farmington (the hotel WIFI has been going off and on all night and I had to get caught up on my US Cellular work),  I finally finished my work for the day, at 10:15!  Anyway, before heading to bed, I decided to check out the Karis Website (our church, http://karischurch.org/).  I linked over to Seek Shalom (http://seekshalom.org/) and I saw Ryan's new post about Big Brothers/Big Sisters (http://seekshalom.org/?p=298).  It reminded me that tomorrow evening I meet my little brother for the first time.  All I know right now is that he is 10 years old, and his name is Jameil (spelling?). My commitment is to spend 2 to 3 hours a week with him for the next year.  The Match Coordinator, Megan, from BBBS of Central MO and I will be going to Jameil's home tomorrow to meet him and his mom.  The meeting is set for 7pm.  So, please pray it goes well, and pray that I don't get stuck in Farmington tomorrow with freezing rain.  My meeting with Jameil has already been postponed from this past Monday as Megan had the flu.  I'm excited and a little nervous.