Alaska in the Summer!

Last month, Kellie joined her Grammy, Grandpa, and Uncle Chuck on their Alaskan Cruise on the Norwegian Star cruise line. I can only tell you that Kellie had the time of her life. Apparently Chuck had a completely pimped out Suite and spoiled Kellie to death. Among other things, they went whalespotting, but Kellie regaled us with tales of the chocolate buffet, swimming in a salt water pool, towel sculptures, and shopping.

4-Wheeling

Molly (of Outer Banks beach house fame) has loaned me her Honda ATV for the summer. Our neighbor Jimmy has a couple of them and we have been tearing up the woods behind our house. Austin has been riding his TT-R90 back there as well. Nothing bad has happened yet, although I did manage to almost flip the #%@^ing thing trying to cross a creek.

Outer Banks

This year we had our family vacation somewhat earlier than usual, taking off for North Carolina the day the kids got out of School in mid-June. As you might expect, we went to Tracy's friend Molly's house for a week. Her place is very nice and you can't beat the price. Highlights of the trip included:

• The view from the Currituck Lighthouse

• Kellie's squeals when we saw the sand crabs feeding at night. (Very Funny!!) This might bear some explanation. Nowhere else on the East Coast where we have stayed, Myrtle Beach, Ocean City have we seen anything like the sand crabs on the Outer Banks. Very big, about the size of your hand, and very fast.
  

Pepper & Skeeter

The dogs are getting old. They have been with us forever, but their time is drawing nigh. Pepper is nearly deaf and Skeeter has a noticable lack of hearing. Pepper is also completely blind in her left eye and very soon she will have to be carried up and down stairs most of the time.

Deal's Gap - June 2006

Last month, I returned to Deal's Gap to attend the 2006 R1-Forum East Coast Convention. I went down with Dad, Uncle Mike, Ché, and James Locklear. Catholics go to Rome, Muslims go to Mecca, and the Clarks go to to Gap. All three are genuine religious experiences. Needless to say, the Gap did not disappoint. The bad news from the whole trip was discovering how painfully stock my R1 is, but I have already taken a few measures towards this problem as I have installed a new fender eliminator kit, and a new windscreen.

Update: Action Shots

Riding the dragon

Lean, baby lean!! - Stick that knee out and it's down.

Classic Hailwood form

Update: Loading up to go home

Tracy the Turtle Saver

So far this summer, Tracy has rescued two turtles from Virginia roads. We have been experiencing a lot of rain in the area, and this seems to have driven them out into the open. Tracy, however, thinks that these visits are a personal message from Spotted Turtle.

Her first rescue mission involved stopping in the middle of Lake Jackon drive just south of Manassas, drawing the attention of a Prince William County police officer. He demanded to know what she was doing, and at her request moved the turtle to safety.

New Cheerleading Team

Kellie has left RAH! and is now a member of Cheer Dynasty. She has been with the new team for about a month now, and Kellie really seems to like the change. Her new team is somewhat older and has more members (~30 kids). It's a coed team and Kellie is one of the youngest members on the team. It appears to be a step up as far as the level of competition goes, but she is handling it well. This will not affect her standing for the Hawaii trip.

Brooks & Dunn

Brooks & Dunn fly a hot air balloon during their concerts. Apparently they fly over the concert venue and then try to land somewhere. For their recent show at the Nissan Pavilion, that Tracy attended, they landed their balloon very near our house. Look at the picture below and see if you recognize anybody:

BTW, if you want to check out the other pictures, go to the Brooks & Dunn website and click on the Bristow, VA link under 'Balloon pics' to see the rest.

National Junior Honor Society

Yesterday, Kellie was informed that she is being inducted into the National Junior Honor Society. Congratulations, Kellie and keep up the good work!

Gifted Education Program

Kellie has been nominated by two of her teachers for possible inclusion in the Pennington Gifted Education Program. This is similar or the same as other TAG (Talented and Gifted) programs offered in Prince William County. I will know more about this as the process moves along. For now, I just wanted everyone to know that she has been nominated and the process has begun. It goes without saying that Tracy and I could not be more proud of her academic success.

Flag Football

Austin's first Flag Football practice was tonight. Although Tracy seemed overly concerned that he is the smallest player on the team, he survived the practice intact. He really seemed to enjoy the experience. The team's first game is in less than 3 weeks.

NCA Nationals - Myrtle Beach

Kellie had a cheerleading competition in Myrtle Beach this past weekend, and it proved to be a good opportunity to get both the Boones and the Clarks together. Last year, both of Kellie's squad (RAH! Lightning Storm and RAH! Extreme Vortex) earned an automatic bid to compete in this year's nationals. The event was held in the Myrtle Beach Convention Center. This proved to be only three block from the Breakers hotel where Uncle Mike and Tabitha were wed last year.

Jim and Jane Boone live in nearby Calabash, N.C. and we were able to spend the weekend at their house and commute to the event. Mod, Dad, Jim, Jane, Chuck and his girlfriend Kristin all made the trip to cheer Kellie on. Mom even dragged herself out of bed with the Flu to make the event. Lightning Storm placed second and Vortex placed fourth in their respective divisions. Lightning Storm lost their first day lead, but faced some good competition on the second day. Vortex had a rough weekend and didn't make the medal round.

This was the first time that any of the relatives had had an opportunity to see Kellie perform. Kellie really appreciated the interest and she never shies away from the spotlight. Thanks to Jim and Jane for putting us up and thanks for all the family support from Pembroke.

Action Shots:

Dad, Kristin & Chuck. Lunch at Planet Hollywood, Myrtle Beach

Kellie & Friends. Lunch at Planet Hollywood, Myrtle Beach

Kellie & Friends. Broadway on the Beach

Award Ceremony

Award Ceremony

Group photo outside the Convention Center, at least those girls we could round up.

Temples and Tombs

Last night, Kara and the entire second grade class at Bristow Run Elementary School held a performance of Temples and Tombs. Here is a picture of Kara taken after the show.

Indiana's New Coach

Indiana University has hired former Oklahoma University basketball coach Kelvin Sampson. Why is this news? Kelvin Sampson is a Pembroke, N.C. native and a Lumbee Indian. When one of us makes it big, we all share in the glory. It can be argued that Kelvin was already in the spotlight. He remains a very respected member of the NCAA coaching ranks beginning with his success at the University of Washington and clearly his work at Oklahoma has impressed someone. Kelvin stated that he wanted to coach at a school where basketball is #1. He's clearly not going to get that at OU, so when Indiana offered him the job, he got what he wanted. Indiana is one of the most visible coaching jobs in the country, so let's wish Kelvin the best of luck!

Kelvin Sampson Official Website

Happy Birthday to Dr. Clark

Yesterday, Charles celebrated his 39th birthday. I called him to remind him that this was his last birthday in the 30's, but he was well aware of that fact. He celebrated the big day with a nght out with his girlfriend? (Kristin), Mom, and Kristin's mother.

Second and Last Playoff Game

Austin's basketball suffered a season ending defeat this past Saturday. They were beaten by this team earlier in the season, and played them far tougher this time around. The whole idea is to have fun and her certainly did that. All that is left is the season ending party. The league decided to distribute shirts this year in lieu of a trophy. This may be a cost-saving measure, but rest assured that young Austin is quite upset by the new development.

First Playoff Game

Austin's basketball team had their first playoff game last night. In an earlier post I described their comeback game of the season. They drew the same team for the first playoff game. This time, however, there was no comeback and no drama as they easily won the game 28-20. The game wasn't as close as the score might indicate because they let up with two minutes to go, allowing a few easy scores. Their defense flustered their opponent and even drew comments from the peanut gallery. One of the opposing team moms made several derogatory comments about the inept offense during the game. This type of behavior used be typical of the boy's fathers, but I am seeing more and more women act like this. Austin and the rest of the boys did get a big kick out of listening to her yell at her team.

Offense is nice to watch, but defense wins playoff games.

All American

Kellie just returned tonight from her 2-day competition at the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia. Kellie is on two squads this year and placed 1st with one squad and 2nd with the other. The big news of the weekend was that Kellie's coach nominated her to participate in the All American challenge. She wore a special orange ribbon on her shoes throughout the competition and was judged independently for this award. At the end of the 2-day competition she was awarded All American status and invited to participate in the 2007 NFL Pro Bowl halftime show in Honolulu, Hawaii. She is extremely excited about the offer and is showing the typical Clark modesty about the whole thing.

We are sending away for the trip details, and I'll report more on this subject as I know it. Her 1st place team was also invited to the "Final Destination" competition in Baltimore which will be televised by ESPN on May 6 & 7, 2006.

Basketball Playoffs Starting

Austin wrapped up this year's basketball season with a hard fought loss in their final game. Playoffs begin this week. His first playoff game will be Wednesday or Thursday.

Temples and Tombs

On Wednesday, March 29, Kara will perform in "Temples and Tombs", a school play about ancient Egypt. Kara has singing role in the production. She and I spent this afternoon preparing her costume for the big day. We took a trip to a craft store and got the supplies to make her Egyptian collar. She docarated it with gold paper and jewels and is quite proud of the effort.

Swim Team

Kara tried out for the Bridal Waves swim team on Saturday and was invited to join the winter team. She will practice every Saturday until the Summer league starts. This is a prepatory phase for the competitions this summer.

Happy Birthday!!

Happy 36th birthday to Tracy! In lieu of the traditional birthday dinner, Tracy's girlfriends organized a "progressive dinner." Under this format, you travel from house to house, having part of your dinner at each location. We had four stops; drinks and appetizers, side items, main course, and desserts. At each stop Tracy was given a part of her composite gift; a charm bracelet with new charms at each stop. Each charm was particular to the person giving the gift to make it truly personal. Everyone had a great time, and it was the first time that we had done something like this. Even the kids were able to participate. It was definitely a unique experience.

We have a winner!!!

For the second consecutive year, Kellie Clark has won First Place in her category in the School Science Fair. This year, Kellie competed in the Behavioral and Social Sciences category. She measured the number of items one can recall from a written list versus an oral list to determine if the memorization process differed. She clearly demonstrated that we can recall a written list better than one read to us.

She received a first place medal and an automatic invitation to regionals. Congratulations, Kellie, we are very proud of you!!!

Snowtubing

This past Friday, the Clark family joined a group of friends for our third annual snowtubing trip to Ski Roundtop near Harrisburg, PA. Here's a few shots from the trip.

Kellie & Chelsea hanging out in the lodge.

Austin taking a break from the slopes.

Chelsea.

The whole crew.

Austin & Austin in the Holiday Inn pool.

Denny with a little vino by the pool.

Ron, Denny, and young Jackson at dinner.

No More Braces!!

Yesterday, Kellie had her braces removed after a short, but successful application. They left a single wire behind her bottom teeth, but it can't be seen. She will be fitted for a retainer next week, which she will have to wear for another year. She's really happy to get them off and if you call her, she'll tell you all about it.

Boys Night Out

Last night, Dad, Uncle Mike, Charles, and Ché went to the RBC Center in Raleigh to see the Wolpack host the UNC-CH Tarheels. The preferred outcome didn't happen and the Wolfpack dropped their first home game against their cross state rivals.

Final School Board Vote

Those of you that have read about my continuing saga about keeping my kids at the local Elementary School will be glad to know that the School Board formally passed the latest zoning recommendations with an unanimous vote. Kara will not have to change schools, and all my efforts were not in vain.

The Blizzard of '06

For once the weathermen were right and we got all the snow we expected.

View from the Front Door

Darrell and Denny

Kara

Austin - Sledding

Denny and Kara

Ron and Amanda

Naked Pictures

Motorcycle porn.

Cheerleading Competitions

Cheerleading competitions typically last all day, involve marathon sessions of hair care, makeup, uniform adjustments, interminable waits for warm-up time and long award ceremonies. How does an experienced Cheer parent cope with this? Here, a group of seasoned professionals shows us how it's done:

Report Cards - Term 2

Here are cumulative reports cards as of term 2.

Kellie

Course	Term 1	Term 2
Language Arts	A	A
Spanish	B	B
Social Studies	A	A
Science	A	B
Math	A	B
Physical Education	A	A
Chorus	A	A

Austin

Course	Term 1	Term 2
Reading	B+	C
Writing	B+	C
Math	C	B
Social Studies	C+	B
Science	B	B

Kara

Course	Term 1	Term 2
Reading	S	S
Writing	S	S-
Speaking	S	S
Listening	S	S
Math	S	S+
Social Studies	S	S
Science	S	S
Art	S	S
Physical Education	S	S
Music	S	S
Handwriting	S	S
Technology	S	S
Work Habits	S+	S+
Conduct	S+	S+

American Masters Competition - Baltimore MD

Kellie competed in the American Masters competition in Baltimore, MD last Saturday and Sunday. Here are a few shots to commemorate the event:

Click on each picture for a closer view.

Kellie with Lori Hughes

Kellie with Victoria

Kara helping the team get ready.

Kellie with a former teammate (Paige)

Kellie getting ready

Dinner Saturday Night

Psycho Cheer Moms

RAH! Lightning Storm Team Photo

Lunch on Sunday

Kellie & Kate Love

Book Group

Tracy joined a neighborhood women's book group and they are holding their first meeting this morning. Maybe she will chime in later and tell us how it went. Francine Willis and Amanda McCormick are also in the group. Amanda actually started the group and selected the first book. It looks like a great idea because all the members do not work during the day and this is a chance for a little adult conversation.

Uncles

I thought that I would brighten the day of all the ladies out there with this shot taken the day of Grandpa's funeral.

Left to Right: Mike Clark, Denny Clark, Howard Whetzel, Ray Littleturtle. For those of you that don't know him, Howard is Dad's adopted brother from the Onondaga tribe in New York.

Click on the picture for a better view.

Kellie Clark

Report cards are coming out this week, but Kellie has already been informed that she made the Honor Roll. She received her certificate and special mention in the school newsletter. She also had a big cheerleading competition last weekend. I'll have pictures in an upcoming post.

Aspect Ratio

I have a question for the more astute among us about HDTV and television aspect ratios; Why is it common for people to watch a deliberately distorted image? I just spent a nauseating 2 hours in front of a wide screen television watching the Superbowl. The reason is simple. When an HDTV broadcast is viewed it looks great, but that is to be expected. This is not what I am talking about. I am speaking of the common tendency to always use the wider screen even for normal aspect ratio broadcasts. The standard aspect ratio for horizontal to video measurements is 4:3. The new widescreen format is 16:9, or a ratio that is far less square.

When a picture designed for a 4:3 ratio is projected onto a 16:9 screen, the image is literally stretched to accommodate the larger screen. This has the very disturbing effect of squashing the screen and distorting the images. For me, this produces an image that makes me dizzy. Isn't there a way to produce a correctly oriented image, by using side bands?

I suspect that it might be me, because everyone who shows me these distorted screens wants to tell me how great it looks. It looks like we might be about to launch into the HD era, but until this problem is fixed, count me out.

Basketball Game

Last weekend Austin's basketball team had their most exciting game yet this season. The Tarheels (gag) were down 15-10 with 3 minutes to go, when they exploded for 13 points to finish the game 23-17. Acting more like the Cardiac Pack than their namesakes, his team drained three 3-pointers in the last 3 minutes to salt the game away.

The key to the game was their suffocating defense that opened the door to several scoring opportunities. The other team broke down during the press and they capitalized on the errors.

The Coach has been preaching defense in practice and I think they understand it now. The game was a joy to watch, if only to witness the unbridled joy that 11 year old boys exhibit when a close game goes their way.

Action Shots

Cheerleading Competition

Kellie's cheerleading squad had their first big competition this past weekend in Upper Marlboro, MD. Recent practices have been less than stellar, so expectations were somewhat lower than normal. Defying the odds, RAH! Lightning Storm placed third in their division and earned an American Masters national bid. These competitions seem to bring out the best of her team, and I am proud that she never seems to be bothered by the pressure. Her new nickname is 'Ice'.

Needless to say, Kellie is shocked that they didn't win, but they really did place much higher than could be expected. The competitive season is about to kick into high gear, and they look good coming out of the gate. They should be able to build on this for a strong showing in the bigger competitions yet to come.

The Runner

I went running last Sunday night and I took Austin with me. I tried to take it slow so that he wouldn't get too tired and worn out. It turns out that my caution was unwarranted as young Austin proceeded to run his old man into the ground. He completed the 1.5 mile run without stopping and apparently without any real effort. I ended the run gasping for breath, hoping not to pass out, only to see Austin looking at me as if he had just run the length of the driveway. I think that we might have a cross-country star in the making.

School Rezoning Update

I wrote in an earlier post that our neighborhood was scheduled to be moved from our current Elementary School. Cooler heads have prevailed and Kara will not have to change schools next year.

To make a long story short, I ended up on the planning committee itself. The latest plan pitted our neighborhood against another and I came to the meeting loaded for bear. When I arrived the entire situation was defused as a member of the Prince William County School Board sent a message to the committee that he would not support moving either of the two neighborhoods and to reconsider. As a result, our community was placed back into our current school and things went on from there.

This is such an explosive topic for us because the school we go to is absurdly close and logic dictates that moving us would be simply mad. Let me put this in perspective. If you have been to my house, you may remember the stoplight located at the entrance of my development. The school in question is less than 1,000 feet south of this stoplight. Meanwhile, the planning committee was placing other students at this school that live more than 5 miles away.

One thing I learned at the committee meeting is that PWC goes through this tortuous process every few years. The plan that we are presenting to the School Board will be in place until 2008, so Kara should be immune to any such disruption for her entire Elementary School term.

Robeson County Player in Trouble

I just ran across this story about Sean Locklear who hails from Lumberton and attended NC State. This guy had to have played West Robeson (or Purnell Sweat, I can't remember which one it is) when he was in High School.

Bike Show

Ricky and I took some rare time off and headed to downtown Washington D.C. to catch the 2006 Cycle World Motorcycle Show. It turned out to be a great chance to see all the new bikes coming out this year. The big players were all there in force; Yamaha, Honda, Suzuki, Kawasaki, BMW, Harley, Ducati, MV Agusta to name a few.

You were allowed to touch and sit on just about every bike in the arena.

Memorable Bikes:

Yamaha M1 - Rossi's race bike was right at the front door. There are several shots of this bike in the gallery linked below. When Ricky and I looked into the exhaust pipe, all we could see was pipe, no packing at all! It was pretty cool to see all the additional sensors deployed on the bike; speed sensors front and back, fork travel sensors, etc. Look at the closeup I took of the M1's front wheel for details.

2006 Yamaha R6 - This bike garnered more than its fair share of interest. I overhead a couple of guys describing it as a "race bike with lights". If this show was any indication, Yamaha has the rest of the middleweights covered this year. The upcoming race season will tell.

2006 Honda Goldwing - This is the first production motorcycle that ships with an onboard airbag system. This looked a little strange, but I would like to see if it has any real world impact on a crash. Note that I said I would like to see this, not volunteer for it.

2006 BMW K1200S - Ricky really took a shine to this bike. I didn't get a shot of it, but this bike really fit him good.

2006 Limited Edition Suzuki Hayabusa - Ricky's love affair with the bus continues.

Yamaha seemed to have more bikes than anyone else, as they had multiple version of the big sellers on hand (R1 & R6 in multiple colors).

One thing I did buy was a set of custom fitted earplugs made onsite by a vendor. More on these after I roadtest them.


2006 Cycle World Show - Washington Convention Center

Late Christmas

Mom and Dad were up here last week for a rescheduling of the Wave Technologies holiday party. When we went to Grandpa Pete's funeral just after Christmas, we did not bother to bring our presents with us, preferring to limit our focus to mourning, and family matters rather than bring Christmas into the picture. Mom and Dad's presence here last Thursday night allowed us to give them our Christmas presents. Everything went well, but the big hit of the night was Dad's new "flashlight", and I use the term loosely. There are not too many flashlights than have 15,000,000 candlepower. Make sure you ask him about it the next time you see him.

Basketball Season has started

This is a late post, but I did not mention that Austin's basketball season started last Saturday. His team won the game and started their season off with a bang. I can't bring myself to mention their team name, but that is laid out in gory detail in an earlier post.

Tribal Names

One disturbing realization from Grandpa Pete's funeral is that I don't have a definitive list of the family's tribal names. I'd like to capture them here. Please comment or email me with the tribal names that you know and I'll keep a current list.

Name	Tribal Name	English Translation
Denny	Cateloca	Red Turtle
Denny II	Locarakko	Big Turtle
Ray		Little Turtle
Mike		Painted Turtle
Tracy	Loca Yekku	Snapping Turtle
Kellie	Loca Em Sutu	Turtle of the Sky
Austin	Loca Yufekchu
Kara	Yupu
Ray (Kerry)	Loca Tekcv	Snapping Turtle
Dakota	Loca Ekv nv	Land Turtle
Dylan	Loca Lane	Green Turtle
Skye		Smiling Turtle

Update: I added Debbie's submissions today [Denny - 1/12/06]

Tarheels?

Austin and I received the bad news last night. While we were in Robeson County last week, Austin's basketball team voted on a name. If you've read the title to this post, you can see it coming. Yes, Virginia, the team name is the 'Tarheels'. When this was announced at last night's practice, both of us stood in stunned silence. I tried to console Austin on the ride home by explaining to him that this was simply an obstacle to overcome, a little adversity that life occasionally throws our way. Democracy doesn't always go your way.

Silver Lining: At least the uniform isn't powder blue.

Lumbee?

I was watching Penn State play Forida State in the Orange Bowl last night and I noticed that Penn State had a strong safety named 'Calvin Lowry'. I did a little research and I think he might be a Lum. Take a look here.

41 and counting

Today marks the 41st celebration of one of the greatest days in Laurinburg, NC history. On this day, I was born. Many thanks to friends and family for observing the day. A tradition among the Clark household is that on your birthday, you are entitled to a meal of your choice. On this occasion, I chose to dine in the hallowed halls of Hard Times Cafe. A finer meal outside of Robeson County cannot be found.

A Song for Mr. Spotted Turtle

At the funeral, Barbara Braveboy-Locklear gave the eulogy. It is reprinted here in its entirety.

A Song for Mr. Spotted Turtle

© 2005
Barbara Braveboy-Locklear

Let us not cry because he died. Let us laugh because he lived. "Mr. Pete" would want us to laugh today like thousands of students did upon reporting to his ninth grade math class on the first day of each school year at Pembroke High School. No ninth grade student had to ask who the math teacher was, or where the classroom was located because Mr. Pete Clark WAS the ninth grade math teacher and his classroom was the SAME one he'd ultimately teach in for 30 consecutive years. I was privileged to be one of his students. That fateful first day of school year 1959-60, I walked westward down the school hall and entered the last classroom on the left where he stood. After the school bell signaled class would begin, Mr. Pete awed his students to silence when he walked to the blackboard at the front of the classroom, picked up two pieces of chalk and began writing his name with both hands simultaneously. Afterwards, eager to introduce mathematics to a roomful of young know-it-all's, he drew a huge circle on the blackboard and said it symbolized the earth. He asked if the earth was round or flat? Wanting to impress our new teacher, in unison we exclaimed, "The Earth is round!" Smiling sheepishly, Mr. Pete strolled over to the blackboard and gently placed his hand in the middle of the circle and said, "This earth is not round. It is flat!" The entire class burst into laughter. Thus was my formal introduction to this amazing man.

*********************************

At his birth on June 28, 1919, he was given the Christian name of Raymond Leslie Clark, but he was better known by his childhood nickname of "Mr. Pete," a namesake of Pete Jones, a black farmhand hired by his maternal grandfather. Both his parents were Indian, his mother a Lumbee from Robeson County and his father a Cheraw-Creek from South Carolina. Having grown up in Pembroke, he was the third oldest of four sisters and two brothers. During summer months he worked in farm fields as a day laborer, and when he didn't have to work he fished from the dark waters of the Lumbee River and hunted in its woods. He attended the Indian graded school and racially segregated Indian Normal High School where he played football and baseball. In addition to athletics and schoolwork, he took on additional lessons about the Indian spiritual traditions taught him by his father who learned them from his Creek Indian mother, Annie Caulk, who lies in hallowed ground a few yards away in this church's cemetery.

As a boy Mr. Pete knew that his father attended the mysterious meetings at the Red Man's Lodge in Pembroke. There his father would join in celebrating his spiritual heritage as an American Indian, keeping things under wraps for fear of persecution. So it was that 12-year-old Raymond, his father determined, could keep the faith, and also keep it quiet. The youth one day was to pass on the religious beliefs, when the time was right. Though raised as a Baptist, he embraced native spiritual traditions as a member of the Lumbee tribe. God was never distant in his life. To the contrary God was a constant in Raymond Clark's life. He recognized that the spirit of Christianity and his ancient religion was essentially the same, and that all religious aspiration, all sincere worship, can have but one source and goal. He inherently believed that it makes no difference as to the name of the God, since love is the real God of the world and that there are many ways to God and that all religions are mere stepping-stones back to Him. Therefore, believing there were many powers at work in the world and that the spirit pervaded all creation, he chose the universe with its abounding earth, as his church and from it all he drew spiritual power.

Another constant in Mr. Pete's life was his love for his family, country and tribal communities. In 1936 he graduated from high school, attended college at Pembroke State for one year, then left school so he could make enough money to continue his education later. It would be 13 years, through a variety of jobs, a war, and the start of his own family, before he received his college diploma from Pembroke State College, graduating with a very impressive 3.94 grade point average.

In 1940 - at age 21- he married Estelle Revels, a 20-year-old Lumbee Indian beauty. Three sons were born to the couple. The young husband enlisted in the US Navy and served in war on the USS Henry W. Tucker, a destroyer, in the Pacific. Until his death, he was one of the few Special "Q" surviving personnel that worked on the development of RADAR for the Naval Research Laboratory during wartime. After serving in World War II, Mr. Pete worked as an electrician, used the GI Bill to earn his teaching certificate from Pembroke State College in 1949, bought his family a home on Union Chapel Road, and took a job in a car plant in Detroit for six months before returning to Pembroke where he accepted a teaching position at Pembroke High School. He taught mathematics for 30 consecutive years at the same school. There he cemented a life-to-death friendship with Mr. Fred Lowry, a fellow Lumbee. The two buddies were practically inseparable; they finished high school together, college together, taught at the same school together for three decades, and retired together and spent many-a -day fishing on the banks of the Lumbee River, while chewing tobacco and exchanging tales.

After retiring in 1980, the educator absorbed himself in teaching American Indian customs, primarily to youth. Believing that teaching should come from within instead of without his greatest strength in working with children was his gentleness. At age 61, he grew his hair long in the back and became known as an Indian elder and teacher. Not unlike another ethnic man of biblical times, he suffered scorn because of his religious beliefs and teachings. Yet, he was a mainstay in the traditional ways of the tribe. Borrowing rightfully from the heritage of his Creek grandmother of the Turtle Clan, he adopted Spotted Turtle as his Indian name and subsequently named his three sons some kind of turtle. Oldest son Ray became known as "Little Turtle", Dennis was named "Red Turtle", and Michael is "Painted Turtle". He had earlier -- when the time was right -- holding fast to the words of his own father, passed on the traditional religious teachings to each of his sons. He considered the fundamentals of education to be love of the Great Mystery, love of nature, and love of people and country. He left many good moccasin tracks along his earthly trail. Over 30 years ago he, along with Mr. Earl "Many Skins" Carter and others, formed what is today known as the Lumbee Tribal Elders Council, a cultural organization extolling the importance of working hard, keeping the ceremonies, living peaceably, and uniting hearts. The organization was chartered by the state of North Carolina in 1995. A wisdom keeper in every sense of the word, Mr. Spotted Turtle lived much loved and respected by people of all ages, especially Indian youth. Tribal organizations recognized his civic and community contributions with numerous awards including the coveted "Henry Berry Lowrie Award" from the Lumbee Regional Development Association, and the "Indian Elder of the Year Award" from the United Indian Tribes of North Carolina and the Native American Youth Organization.

In closing, Mr. Spotted Turtle lived his life that the fear of death could never enter his heart. He inherently understood that when one loses the rhythm of the drumbeat of God, he becomes lost from life's peace and rhythm. He was satisfied with needs instead of wants and knew that sharing and giving are the ways of God. He acknowledged that his earthly life was blessed in countless ways. He served his country in wartime and returned home safely to his wife and children. He married the Indian woman he loved, and loved her until she died in 1986, ending their 46-year-old marriage. He was immensely proud of his three sons and lived to see them become adults and have children of their own who held "Grand Paw" in highest esteem. He shared adulthood with his siblings and enjoyed the highest type of friendship -- that of brother-friends -- with his surviving brother Barto and his wife Geraldine, who affectionately called him "Rame."

He lived much respected among his people. With an understanding that God teaches even the birds to make nests, yet the nests of all birds are not alike, he troubled no one about their religious views and appreciated the respect given his. Raymond Leslie Clark walked through life and left footprints. He lived to see and know that his earthly labors touched eternity through his life's service to his family, the children whom he taught, and his leadership and service in tribal communities. No one can ask for more.

Finally, I leave you with a poem by writer Canon Henry Scott Holland

The Next Room

"Death is nothing at all...I have only slipped away into the next room. I am I, and you are you. Whatever we were to each other that we still are. Call me by my old familiar name; speak to me in the easy way, which you always used. Put no difference in your tone; wear no forced air of solemnity or sorrow. Laugh as we always laughed at the little jokes we enjoyed together. Pray, smile, think of me - let my name be ever the household word that is always was, let it be spoken without effect, without the trace of a shadow on it. Life means all that it ever meant. It is the same as it ever was, there is unbroken continuity. Why should I be out of mind because I am out of sight? I am waiting for you, for an interval, somewhere very near, just round the corner. All is well."


Amen.