Jess, my dear sweet niece, turns 17 next week. Here she in action on the basketball court (#42--Macomb High School Lady Bombers).

Jess

Uncle Drake in particular enjoys following Jess and the Lady Bombers.

Together, Uncle Drake and Aunt Heidi picked out a nice birthday card for Jess:

Card

Along with the card we got her a book--and a gift card to one of her favorite stores, Hollister.

The gift card arrived in the mail yesterday: here's what it looks like (I ordered this but had no choice in card graphics).

Gift card

Here are the birthday card and gift card together.

Card with hunk

I feel this combination is making some sort of statement about what it's like to be teenager today. I like to think I'm "with it" (does anyone say that anymore?) for a 50-year-old, but you'd think that a retailer that targets teens would have some choices for a gift card other than a half-naked man.

Anyway, I am sure Jess will think nothing of it and be thrilled to receive the gift.

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Macomb Lady Bombers

ARLEN BRITTON/Journal photo-Macomb's Anne Speer (24) and Central/Southeastern's Jamie Flesner (right) battle for possession of the ball as Macomb's Sandy Moore (52) watches during the first half of Thursday's Class A Sectional championship game played at Bushnell-Prairie City High School in Bushnell. The Lady Panthers built a 15-point lead before hanging on late for a 40-38 victory. Central/Southeastern improved to 26-6 with the win, while Macomb saw its season end with a final record of 28-6.

Darn. This was the game to get into the Illinois Class A Sweet 16. I'm sure  the girls are disappointed.

Jess played a lot earlier in the season, when two seniors were injured. Next year, as a junior, she'll be a starter.

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My niece Jess turned 16 on Monday. This morning, this from my brother-in-law:

Just watched my daughter and son leave for school this morning.    Not so unusual, but Jess was driving her car, with just Matthew.    Good.....  yes.    Bad.........  maybe.
 
Getting older every day.   Me.  Them.  Everyone.   Good..... yes.    Bad........  maybe.

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I took this photo in November of 2005. It's of my niece Jess and I included it in a iPhoto book of the 2005 deer hunting season that I gave Drake's folks. A couple of weeks ago Drake's Dad asked if he could have an 8x10 print of this photo - that it was his favorite photo of Jess. I just got the print (framed) in the mail to him today.

Jess

I had a photography instructor who maintained that 90% of a good photo is the light. I wished I had framed this photo better (without cutting off the top of her head), but I love the light in it - coming from the big picture window in the hunting cabin.

Last night, I put my order in for my new digtial SLR. I love taking photos, particularly of people, but had grown so weary of the limitations with our digital point-and-shoot. I am looking forward to a whole lot of photo fun in 2007.

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Macomb High School Athlete of the Week is:

(So.) Jessica Adkisson (Girls Basketball). Jessica scored the game-tying layup to send the Macomb/B-PCA game into overtime. Adkisson added 2 more crucial points in the first overtime, before an eventual Bomber victory in double overtime.

Jess is a great passer, but sometimes is hesitant to shoot the ball.  This hopefully will give her a nice confidence boost on her shooting skills.

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Jess

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Basketball

When visiting Drake's family, we spent a lot of time at high school girls' basketball games. Our niece Jess, who is a sophomore, made the Varsity team this year. We arrived the night of the team's first game of the season, which they won by almost 50 points (the team is ranked #5 in the state by the Associated Press). Due to one of the seniors being injured, our niece started in the game and proceeded to break a school record for the number of assists in a game. Talk about making a first impression!

What both Drake and I found striking about the games is the large number of guys that turned out as a cheering section for the girls. I was in high school pre-Title IX and girls sports (aside from cheerleading and gymnastics) were basically invisible. Guys turning out each game to cheer for the girls? That would have been unimaginable.

I asked Jess if she knew what Title IX was. To my surprise, she didn't. This gave Drake and I the chance to talk about the "old days" when the only high school sports that got any substantial moral and financial support were boys sports. She was truly surprised at the difference between then and now. I guess that's a measure of how far things have come.

It was great fun to see Jess play. She is a talented, hard-working athlete, and an excellent student, too.

GO LADY BOMBERS!

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