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Thoughts on Pat Summitt

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Let me first present the person herself and then I will explain the connection.

From Pat Summitt’s Wikipedia page:

pat summitt“Patricia Sue Summitt (June 14, 1952 – June 28, 2016) was an American college basketball head coach whose 1,098 career wins are the most in NCAA basketball history.[1] She served as the head coach of the University of Tennessee Lady Vols basketball team from 1974 to 2012, winning eight NCAA championships (a NCAA women’s record when she retired).”

I personally never met Pat, nor did I really care for women’s college basketball; yet she earned my admiration as a great person.

What was clearly evident about Pat Summit were several things including the following:

  1. Passion
  2. Dedication
  3. Loyalty
  4. Determination
  5. Perseverance

Passion: It was, without a doubt, Pat’s passion for winning that was inspiring to her students/players, those who watched from afar like myself and even earned the admiration of competitors. Never once could anyone question Pat’s passion for excellence.

Dedication: I have read many stories of Pat’s dedication to her student/players past, current and upcoming. In her nearly 40 years of basketball coaching she had certainly known many student players. By all accounts it seems that Pat was a genuine friend to these women long after they were no longer players. It seems that Pat had this dedicated spirit from her heart.

Loyalty: Pat was clearly a fierce competitor but it was also clear that she was fiercely loyal to her students. At a time where young people are impressionable and building their character, Pat seemed to be such a positive, loyal and influential role-model.

Determination: Like no others, Pat had determination. It was more than determination to win basketball games too. You could just sense her determined spirit for life, family and decency from her body-language on the TV screen.

Perseverance: Pat, unfortunately, passed away in June 2016 due to complications of Alzheimer’s Disease. This is where the culmination of her Passion, Dedication, Loyalty and Determination came together. She fought this horrible disease with great dignity and excellent perseverance. Pat resigned her position as head coach of Tennessee after being diagnosed but she contributed to role-model building, mentorship and advocate as long as she could.

 

Overall, I think that Pat Summitt is someone that is a wonderful person. Others should aspire to learn from her lessons. She has been such a positive influence on millions of people. Her life and legacy is absolutely amazing. God Bless you Pat and Go Vols!

Life Updates 7/2/2016

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Bella’s Shave

As an annual ritual, and for Bella’s comfort, comes her yearly summer-shave. It’s quite a remarkable transition. Bella, with all her furr, weighs just over 7 total pounds. So she’s extremely tiny to begin-with. After shaved I can’t imagine that she weighs in excess of 6 pounds!

She is so little but she is in wonderful health. She eats, drinks, terrorizes (her Mommy, Daddy and Brother) and most importantly, poops really well for her 13 years.

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Jack’s Walks

Jackson certainly loves his walks. Anytime he hears the word “walk” his ears get perky, his tail gets waggy and he heads to the front door in great anticipation of his upcoming adventure. As much fun that Jack has during his walks the fact of the matter is that it’s more fun for me to watch him be so happy. I personally get more satisfaction from our walks then he does I bet.

Jack I have been taking more frequent walks and general late at night or early morning. Jack is a very social guy but he tends to get over-exuberant with other dogs so it’s best that other dogs aren’t around for his walks. When I walk him at these off-hours it allows me to let him run freely in our local park which he loves.

Just this morning Jack and I walked all around the park and the baseball fields. It was awesome!

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Pool Open

It’s that time of year, once again, for Brandee and I to open our pool. With temperatures predicated to approach 100+ degrees in the next few weeks, a nice refreshing dip in the pool is required.

Fortunately, I think many years of experience really paid-off for us this year. Typically opening the pool was a real mess for many reasons including a poor pool cover or lack of filtering. It was traditionally a mess and took weeks before the pool was ready for action.

This year was exceptional because we did things right and it only took a few days to prepare the pool for action. Firstly, the cover we used this year was outstanding and kept all the nasty/wintery junk away! Also, after opening we have a strong filter and bottom-sweeping tools.

So we are ready for action and we welcome anyone who would like to come take a dip!

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Kevin Neal life update, 6/26/2016

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It feels like forever since I’ve provided an update via my blog. When I started this blog I committed to share my true intentions, my sincere spirit and be completely transparent in my communication. I promised to do all of these things and then-some so let me please provide this ‘real’ update for your review:

 

Orlando Strong

orlandoI cannot start, in good conscience, to update my personal story without an acknowledgement of those people that were killed or injured in Orlando. These innocent people are the victims of a battle that we must win. These people certainly did not deserve their fate and we must respect them with determination.

 

 

P3iD Cloud business

p3idBusinesses continue to look for answers in order to create competitive advantages. These are the types of solutions that P3iD Cloud offers. We have established a company with a foundation of Trust and we have fantastic cloud-based solutions that fit nicely into many different markets.

 

 

November Elections

voteIt’s an amazing time in American politics. We basically have a two-party system which is Republican and Democrat. In summary, each party hates the other ‘just because’ and they rarely discuss the actually topics. It doesn’t matter about the issue, they just hate. And the American people are disgusted!

 

 

Dad’s Legacy

voteMy father passed away on 4/21/2016 at the age of 93-years. Floyd Harold Neal was as much of a perfect person that could be. He was a fabulous father, a great brother and a generally awesome person. God Bless Dad and can’t wait to be with you again. Love, Kevin.

 

 

In summary thank you for allowing me to update you on current events, politics, business and family. I look forward to your feedback.

-Kevin

The Sound of Silence

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enjoy_the_silenceAll too often in our everyday busy lives we get caught-up in life’s daily activities of doing ‘stuff’ and sometimes don’t get a chance to just slow down and reflect.

Recently I’ve experienced many life-changing events that has me reflecting more than ever on my life. These events have made me really think deeply about what is, and what isn’t, important in life http://storecialis.net/cialis-daily/.

These reflections have been sincere evaluations of my personal character, my actions, my legacy and how I can effect positive change for others.

In the middle of all these life-changing events has been my supportive and wonderful wife, Brandee.

So in casual conversation Brandee mentioned the other day that I should listen to this song by the group Distributed called “The Sound of Silence”. With the song title sounding vaguely familiar to me, I said something to-the-effect of ‘yeah, I think I like that song’. Then, of course, I head right on over to YouTube and find the song.

First, I like the title of the song itself. It’s very ironic. How can Silence have Sound? This is a powerful message and I love it.

Secondly, I like the sound of the song itself. It’s a beautiful mixture of calm and pent-up frustration.

Lastly, upon further research, the meaning of the lyrics makes this one of my all-time favorite songs. I will leave the true interpretation of the song for you. Just Google “The Sound of Silence Lyrics Meaning“.

However, as with most good music, the magic is in the interpretation of the listener. In this case I did not take the literal meaning of the lyrics; rather it applies to my current life situation – and this is a good thing. I feel this song exemplifies what is important to me most right now which is ‘actions’, not ‘words’. The Sound of Silence.

“People talking without speaking”

The Sound of Silence is a song written originally by the group Simon and Garfunkel. What I want to share with you is two cover versions of this song by the group Distributed. For those who might not know, Distributed is known as a hardcore heavy-metal band. However, in both of these videos they provide a powerful acoustic performance. Check them out for yourself as these are wonderfully composed renditions of this song. You will not be disappointed.

This first video is a live performance:

“People writing songs

That voices never share”

 This second video is the official video where you can get more visualization on the true intent of the song:

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The Event

john_hayden_rachelleMy younger brother, John, got married to his terrific fiancée, Rachelle this past weekend at a gorgeous venue of the Butte County Country Club. In attendance for our immediate family where John (the groom), Haiden (his son), me (Kevin Neal), my stunning wife Brandee and our eldest/wisest brother Mike. We all enjoyed a marvelous Wedding between two wonderful people and a coming together of two families. John and Rachelle, Brandee and I sincerely wish you the very best on your newly combined family. We look forward to many years of great times and fantastic memories.

As a starter let me please recap my memories of your fabulous day in the article below:

The Venue

venueThere were roughly 200 people in attendance and the ceremony was held on the lawn of the Country Club just outside of the clubhouse under two large oak trees. All the logistics of the Wedding were clearly well-arranged and it was absolutely the perfect place for John and Rachelle’s special day because of the careful planning. In retrospect I’m in even more in awe of how they planned to keep 200+ people’s attention in one area for hours to participate in pre-ceremony activities, the ceremony itself, photos, dinner, dancing and after-party!

The Arrangements

flowers by rachelleRachelle is a member of AIFD, or American Institute of Floral Designers, and has owned her own floral shop, Flowers by Rachelle, for many years. Therefore, as you can imagine, she is well-connected with a talented professional network of gifted friends that specialize in various areas of event presentation such as floral (obviously) but also lighting, sound and photography.

The Pre-Ceremony

john_mom_weddingThe weather on the day of John and Rachelle’s wedding was absolutely perfect. It was about 75 degrees with a light breeze and sunny in Chico, California.

Before the actually ceremonies started, and as people arrived for the wedding, there was some time for the attendees to mingle and meet each other. It was absolutely amazing to participate in such a diverse group of people, who did not know each other previously, freely gather and have fun to celebrate John and Rachelle’s special day.

dad and rachelle weddingOne thing that I must absolutely share is my extreme gratitude to Rachelle herself, Rachelle’s family and Rachelle’s friends for their great caring of John and my parents; Floyd and Sharen Neal. So many strangers came up to introduce themselves to Mom and Dad.

Rachelle made an extra special effort to include them on her special day. That is simple precious; thanks Rachelle. You made a lifetime wonderful memory for Mom and Dad. 🙂

 

The Ceremony

rachelle_and_dadAs excitement for the ceremony mounted and nearly everyone had arrived just before the 4:00pm start-time, there was a buzz among the attendees. Then, after years of courtship and months of preparation, it was time for John and Rachelle’s Wedding to begin. Everyone was asked to take their seats and The Ceremony began viagra tablets india. The music started and family members walked down the aisle of flower-pedals which was a subliminal theme (I think at least) for bringing two individuals together as a bigger family.

The Vows

john_rachelle_haiden_pouring sandAnother very special moment was the wedding vows themselves. Both John and Rachelle read their vows to each other with a personal touch, sincerity and passion. This was clearly an emotional moment for both of them where their love for each other was never more evident. After John had read his vows to Rachelle, Travis, who is one of John’s best friends from college and his best-man for the Wedding, delivering the ring to place on Rachelle’s finger. Rachelle then recited her emotional vow to John and Haiden (John’s 7-year old son) delivered the ring for Rachelle to place on John’s finger. I like tadacip

 The Photos

bridgeAfter such a great Ceremony the only way to truly capture such essence is through photography. I am still collecting photos but there is a huge collection already of fantastic pictures. The few as ‘Mr. John & Rachelle Neal’ photos that I’ve seen from the photographers are stunning. I cannot wait to see the entire collection.

A fabulous future

Overall, the Wedding was an incredible success. It was beautiful, obviously, as you can see in all the photos in this blog post. Then all the positive social interaction between friends and family was so refreshing.

John, Rachelle and Haiden could not have established a more solid foundation for their future. I am so happy for my brother! John, you are a good person and deserve the best. And you have the best in Rachelle. Rachelle, please take care of my brother now, tomorrow and into the future.

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But for now, forget all this long-term commitment junk and just go enjoy yourselves on your well-deserved honeymoon! I’m so happy for my brother’s happiness and I’m so grateful to gain the sister I’ve always wanted in Rachelle! Welcome to the family Rachelle, for better or worse, we are family — and I couldn’t be more proud to have you as my sister.

hiking

Love,

Kevin