In Memoriam - "Cabeza de Fuego"

I just found out recently that a good friend of mine from high school was one of the passengers in the plane that crashed down in southern Utah, killing ten. Here's a link to the news story on ksl.com.

I got to know Keith Shumway really well in high school because we did track together. We had a tight knit group of friends on the team. We spent a lot of time together and knew each other really well, even keeping in touch off and on after high school. All my memories of Keith are from our four years in school.

We all used to tease Keith about his red hair, and gave him the nickname "Cabeza de Fuego." Jamie, Kristen, and I even had a little Mexican dance we did to go along with the nickname. He was a pretty good sport about all the teasing we did. I remember learning that he filed his fingernails. I teased him about that too. He defended himself by saying he only used the file that was attached to the nail clippers.

I also remember that he was what we called "touchy-feely." I think Jamie, and maybe Kristen, know more about that side of Keith than I do.

One time on the way back to Kanosh late at night, Keith fell asleep at the wheel and hit a cow. Or maybe he just rolled off the road? I don't remember many details, but he ended up being all right. I don't think he went to the hospital or anything. I don't think that was the only time he fell asleep while driving.

The girls track team wrote songs for some of the more "important" boys in the team. We took popular Disney songs and changed the words to match the boy the song was about. This was spear-headed by Andrea Nixon, and all us girls participated. I don't know if I remember all the words to Keith's song, but I'll give it a shot.

(to the tune of "I Just Can't Wait to be King" from the Lion King)
I'm gonna be a mighty Keith
So enemies beware,
(Well I've never seen a distance man with quite so red of hair!)
I'm gonna win the main events
Like no Keith has before,
I'm workin' out, I'm bulkin' up, I'm workin' on my FORM!
Oh, I just can't wait - to take state!
*That last line was sometimes substituted to "Oh I just can't wait - to beat Chad!" because of the slight rivalry between the two distance runners.

There may have been a second verse. I don't remember.

During our senior year, we had an indoor track club. Those of us on the indoor team developed a close relationship, especially after our long trip to Pocatello to compete in the Simplot Games. I think we made Keith sit in the front passenger seat of my dad's (our track coach) mini-van.

Keith was a really great friend and a good person all-around. He was a hard worker. He pushed himself. I remember watching him run his distance races, and it seemed like he always started out way too fast. He would be far out in the lead at the beginning of the race, and not be able to keep it up at the end.

The last contact I had from Keith was an email he sent out announcing the birth of his first child. His baby boy was born in May, near the time when Keith graduated with his degree in Chemistry. He was in the process of applying for medical school.

We'll miss you Keith. My heart goes out to his wife and baby.

Trip to southern Utah for the Dixie Invitational

The Seniors on the team - Class of 2000, after winning Region

Keith volunteering at the Special Olympics

Here we are at a celebration in Kanosh. Keith was proud of being from Kanosh.

Fore!

Spencer bought me a nice set of golf clubs for my birthday in June, so we've been spending a few of our evenings hitting practice balls at an elementary school near our house.

Nice shot!

Don't miss!

This is also a great way to give Jack some exercise. He loves to run around and explore the area while we're hitting. There is often another dog or two around for him to play with.



We usually go out around 8:00 or 8:30, so the air is a little cooler, and hit until it gets too dark to find the balls.

Now, where did the ball go?

I always had an interest in golf, but never really enjoyed it because I had such a hard time hitting consistently. The clubs Spencer got for me have helped a lot! They have graphite shafts, so they're lighter and easier to swing. Thanks Spencer! I'm excited for the day when we can go to a course and play a round. We're hoping to find a time near the end of the summer to go with one of Spencer's brothers and his wife. We'll keep you posted!

Who's That Super Couple!?

I've had a few people asking about our Super Couple photo, so I guess I need to post about our awesome trip to Texas. We went with Spencer's family in April. Spencer's parents had initially arranged the trip for his youngest brother's wedding, but the wedding was cancelled after all the flights had already been arranged. Luckily, we all ended up having a BLAST anyway!!

We flew into Houston the first day and drove up to San Antonio. The following day was Spencer's birthday, and we all spent most of the day at Six Flags. It was so fun! I love roller coasters!

One of the rides was called the Superman ride. We loved it, and went on it at least 3 times. The capes were a great souvenir!

SUCH a fun ride!! Definitely one of our favorites!

While in San Antonio, we couldn't pass up the opportunity to see the Alamo. Since we were in a hurry, Spencer ran past the building and I snapped a quick photo. We also enjoyed a delicious dinner with the family on the Riverwalk.

If you look close, you can see him to the right of the door running past the little kid in black.

The next day was a long drive back to Houston and to the Space Center Houston. We took a tour of the grounds and got to see the real Mission Control Center, many space shuttles, capsules, etc.

Our tour guide explained that during an emergency, the flight director has more authority than the President of the United States!

This is the business end of the Saturn V rocket. This thing was HUGE!!

That evening we drove over to Galveston to see the Gulf of Mexico and all the cool old architectural buildings there.

Not the prettiest beach, but still fun to see!

This is an all-white Catholic church. We went inside and spoke with the . . . reverend, . . . pastor, . . . whoever was in charge of the day's mass.

Then it was off to the airport and back to Utah. Spencer and I both had a lot of fun bonding with his family during this trip!