Paul took second place in a ju-jitsu competition today. It was just within his dojo, but it was fun watching him compete. Since he moved ahead with and got the second belt - a yellow belt - he's become more lively and interested in the classes. Today, he seemed pretty determined and only once lost his focus. We thought he might be disappointed that he didn't take first place, but he won't admit to it. What was the most interesting was that Frank was really enlivened with it - shouting instructions to him, which he obeyed to his benefit in the match. The parents who were there watching seemed to respond to Frank's enthusiasm and they rooted for Paul, too. It was fun.

Another interesting aspect of this, life in general here, and Paul's school, is the wide variety of ethnicity - there's a family that are black Muslims, with the most adorable little girl with a headscarf even - a Korean or Chinese family (see, I'm so uneducated that I can't tell the difference) - a few "regular" African-American families, a sprinkling of regular middle-class white folks. An interesting mix. Good experiences for Paul.

A sad note: Karl's dad died Thursday night (early Friday morning.) He'd gone to live with his mother in Florida a few months ago, leaving Karl in Denver. Ellen and I have been so worried about Karl being so far from us - but he seems pretty OK in Denver. He's living with his girlfriend's parents and is playing in a band. He's on his second retail job (I used to call them "throw-away" jobs.) I'm worried because he's back there alone without me (and he's 20, so Frank tells me I'm overreacting) but it is still hard on your own. He's going to fly out to Florida soon and the bad thing is that Jeff asked to be cremated and his ashes scattered in Colorado - besides being illegal disposal of human remains I suspect, it is such a bad deal to have Karl doing this by himself. I mean, he has to drive back from Florida with his dad in a box! Fortunately, it appears that his cousin will travel with him. In any event, Ellen and I are going to encourage him to come here for Christmas. I have an ulterior motive to have him come here - I miss him.