Ian with Ed & Tammi

The pastor of our church and his wife came over to visit Ian.
Ed (or Edgar for short) is a very interesting guy. If you ever met Ed and got to play 20 questions with him with the goal of figuring out what he did for his job, you would not win. Pastor would probably be guess #237. That is why Elaine and I go to Ed's church. He is like the Anti-Pastor. He is mostly bald, and finishes the job by keeping his head shaved. He has also had real jobs in his life (like doing TV production for a news station and running a Christmas tree farm). This makes him much more practical and in touch with the lives of the church membership. At least it would, if we had a membership. In point of fact, there is no official membership process. Every Sunday, without fail, a very eclectic and interesting mix of some 100-150 people show up, and somehow, babies get taken care of in the nursery, older kids go to "Sunday School," and adults go to their service. And listen to Ed preach. So if you are ever in the Raleigh area on a Sunday morning and you want to hear someone say "crap" or other slightly scandalous words from the pulpit (OK, you guessed it - we don't have an actual pulpit), feel free to stop by.
Tammi is also very cool. She is Edgar's much (much much much...) less loud half. She is an elementary school teacher. If you ever meet Tammi, you will not have to play 20 questions in order to ascertain what it is that she does for a living. You will immediately realize that she is an elementary school teacher. She is certainly very good at it. When Elaine and I draw the short straw and have to pitch in teaching Sunday School, Tammi frequently is the one who has to come in and play warden when the 8-year-olds begin rioting. It's amazing how fast the tenor of the room changes from "Riot in Cell Block D at San Quentin" to "Cherubic Little Angels" when Miss Tammi shares some calm, assertive energy (just like Cesar Milan, but with human children). My favorite part about Tammi is that she very much also has a "grown-up voice." She's smart, tough, and opinionated. Some elementary school teachers seem very simplistic when they deal with life outside the classroom. Tammi is very much not that person. I enjoy her perspective which, though often different than mine, is nevertheless interesting and thoughtful.
I am very glad that Ed and Tammi will be part of Ian's life. They are excellent parents who have raised two wonderful sons. I will, however, stop well short of pointing the phrase "role model" in Ed's direction.