ACU Today

Top Cat

2009-05-08T17:41:00.002-05:00

By now, I hope you're enjoying the new and hopefully improved look of the Winter 2009 issue of the magazine. The design has undergone a much-anticipated (at least from my perspective) makeover, with cover boy (and former ACU classmate) Lance Barrow as the headliner. This blog will be getting a corresponding facelift this summer to better reflect the new look of the magazine.

I particularly like the inclusion of the two Horizons spreads on pages 2-5, which allow us to use a dramatic image on each to help tell a story. Horizons is a nod to ACU Today's forerunner, an award-winning magazine from the 1960s and early 1970s that was a national pacesetter as a university think-piece containing campus news, great writing and compelling photography.

Among other new wrinkles: Alumni Newsmakers in the EXperiences section to allow us to spotlight those, well, making news in different ways; InnovativeACU, a sidebar in the News section to highlight programs and initiatives as examples of forward-thinking; an expansion of Hilltop View to two pages; a true This Issue table of contents-type spread at the first opening featuring interesting photography as well as Dr. Money's From the President message; typography improvements; color palette modifications; and, in general, a fresh look we think you will find inviting.

And if all you notice is a dramatically new cover design, that's OK, too!

Our new year's resolution is to make this blog a great place to visit regularly to learn more about ACU, with extra content we'd never have room to include in each issue but would like to share with you anyway. We are blessed with talented writers and photographers who contribute to each issue, and we'd like you to read and see more of their handiwork.

Work on the Summer 2009 issue is underway. We'll share plans for it with you soon.

Winter 2009 Issue

2008-12-20T16:27:00.005-06:00

Look for your Winter 2009 issue in early February. On the cover is 1981 graduate Lance Barrow (’81), ACU's Outstanding Alumnus of the Year, executive producer of football and golf at CBS Sports. Inside are profiles of Lance, as well as the Young Alumnus of the Year and five winners of the Distinguished Alumni Citation.

This issue offers a look at the record-setting ACU football team and Harlon Hill Trophy winner Bernard Scott, plus 101-year-old Hattie Bentley Baker of Fort Worth (pictured here), our latest "One Hundred and Counting" profilee.

It also marks a major redesign we believe will improve readability and offer more of what you enjoy about ACU Today.

Are you ready for some [more] football?

2008-11-11T18:37:00.005-06:00

The Wildcats are 10-0, champions of the Lone Star Conference, the No. 1-ranked team in NCAA Division II's Super Region Four (and No. 2 in the nation) and hosts of the next two rounds of national playoffs if they continue their winning ways in the postseason.

They are among national leaders in several offensive and defensive statistics, powered by a trio of record-smashing seniors [and NFL prospects] – quarterback Billy Malone and wide receiver Johnny Knox [pictured here], and runningback Bernard Scott [see photo on post about Gerald Ewing earlier today].

You can follow the team on acusports.com each day, or by following the posts at acusports.blogspot.com.

Get your purple on and come to Shotwell Stadium, starting Saturday, Nov. 22, for the first of what could be several exciting playoff games hosted by ACU. Because of the Wildcats' sterling record and ranking, the road to the semifinals goes through Abilene and could lead to the national championship game in Florence, Ala., Dec. 13.

Coach Chris Thomsen's team is being called by some longtime college football observers the most talented and exciting offense in NCAA Division II history. You'll be kicking yourself if you miss the show.

Photographer Profile: Gerald Ewing

2008-11-11T17:42:00.005-06:00

One of ACU's primary freelance photographers is Abilene native Gerald Ewing.

No one has snapped more frames on campus or on the university's behalf in the past 10 years than Gerald, who had an award-winning 32-year career at the Abilene Reporter-News before starting his own business, (www.geraldewing.com), in 1998.

He shoots virtually all our athletics events [such as this image of record-setting ACU running back Bernard Scott], and many others such as fundraising dinners and commencements and Opening Assemblies and press conferences. He is a fixture on campus, with a can-do spirit and sense of humor that endures him to others easily. Gerald has been a large part of the magazine's success in juried competition, providing quality images that make us and the university look our best.

He also hates it when I catch more fish than him.

Photographer Profile: Bill Albrecht

2008-08-15T09:56:00.006-05:00

One of the privileges we have at ACU Today magazine is to work some talented freelance photographers in the process of producing each issue. We do not have an on-staff photographer, so all our work is outsourced to a variety of professionals who live across Texas and around the world.

Austin-area photographer Bill Albrecht is one. He spent nearly two years documenting the work to sculpt and cast and produce Jack Maxwell's Jacob's Dream on our campus. Bill traveled to spend time with Jack on campus and at places such as Blue Genie Art Industries in Austin, Deep in the Heart Art Foundry in Bastrop, and Leuders Limestone in Leuders (near Abilene).

Bill provided environmental portraits to us of 2008 Alumnus of the Year Chris Kyker for the Winter 2008 issue, and 2007 Alumnus of the Year Dr. James Womack for the Winter 2007 issue.

You can see some of Bill's favorite images of the Jacob's Dream assignment on his Web site at www.albrechtphoto.com and download PDFs of our story in the magazine here.

ACU Sports Blog is Rolling

2008-08-09T11:29:00.003-05:00

ACU Today sports editor Lance Fleming (’92) has started a blog for Wildcat fans at acusports.blogspot.com. He and others are writing almost daily about preparations for the upcoming year at ACU. If you're a football practice junkie and want to know who looked good in shorts and pads this week, this is the blog for you.

Hopes are particularly high for the football team, which is favored to win the Lone Star Conference and is ranked No. 5 in the nation (by The Sporting News). Featuring one of the most prolific offenses in college football, the Wildcats are coming off two consecutive years of appearances in the NCAA national playoffs.

Last year's team set more than 70 ACU, LSC and NCAA records, and the statistical carnage could be as great this season as last. If you have been putting off catching a Wildcat game in person, this is the year to fix that. You can follow the team on acusports.com each week, but the excitement of watching players such as quarterback Billy Malone, runningback Bernard Scott and wide receiver Johnny Knox, and a host of others, should not be missed.

Standing out among all the typical pre-season college football stories you'll find on the Web is one at www.promisekeepers.org/news/072808/football-team-joins-pks-manhood-movement chronicling the ACU football team's plans to take a break from preparation for the season by attending an Aug. 15-16 Promise Keeper's conference in Dallas. Head coach Chris Thomsen is to be commended for his emphasis on developing much more than his student-athletes' time in the 40-yard dash or weight room. I think you will be moved by what you read there.

You can get a similar insight into the ACU football program by watching the video clip, "Paying it Forward" I helped put together back in February with Martin Perry (’81) of Phillips Productions Inc. of Dallas. It profiles Wildcat defensive backs coach Desmond Gant who uses his faith and football knowledge to influence student-athletes on the ACU team. The story was part of a longer film produced for The President's Circle at ACU.

Watch it at www.youtube.com/watch?v=cgiuH7_nPeI

David Ramsey in Beijing

2008-08-09T10:51:00.004-05:00

While vacationing in Colorado with my family recently, I enjoyed catching up one evening in Colorado Springs with longtime friend and 1981 ACU graduate David Ramsey. He and I and our spouses walked the grounds of the Broadmoor Hotel, where the U.S. Senior Open golf tournament was being held, and visited over coffee at a nearby Starbucks. David was helping with coverage of the tourney.

Another former Optimist writer who has distinguished himself (I am prejudiced about this, mind you), David is one of the featured columnists and sports writers for The (Colorado Springs) Gazette (www.gazette.com). A terrific (one of his favorite words) writer, he has won a number of awards for his freelance work in ACU Today magazine. He spent quite a few years as an award-winning sportswriter for the daily newspaper in Syracuse, N.Y.

David and his family also are happy globetrotters. His wife, Sheryl, is the daughter of the late ACU education professor Dr. Kelly Hamby, who helped establish a thriving mission work in Zambia. She was still recovering from jet lag from a trip to Zambia with her mother, Eleanor Hamby, when we met up with her and David in Colorado Springs. David's latest work-related assignment is in Beijing, covering the Olympics for his newspaper. Colorado Springs is the home of the U.S. Olympic Training Center and the headquarters for the U.S. Olympic Committee, so stories about the Games are of high interest to David's readers.

You can follow the stories he posts from China at www.gazette.com/sections/sports/livefrombeijing

Home again

2008-07-18T08:02:00.005-05:00

The remaining two flights are uneventful, thankfully, and it's 2:30 a.m. Tuesday when we land at DFW International Airport. Dr. Strader and I keep each other awake on the drive home back to Abilene, arriving about 5:30 a.m. I spend most of Tuesday sleeping. Upon returning to the office, I am amazed at the number of people who seek me out to say they've enjoyed following the blog, and I hope you have, too. The Madagascar Presidential Scholars Program will be the cover story of the upcoming Fall 2008 issue of ACU Today magazine, so watch for more details, reflections and images from the trip there.

I encourage my fellow travelers – and the new graduates – to write me and share their thoughts about their experience; I'll publish them here in future posts, and share other info and images as time allows. I hope we've made you feel like you were along for the ride.

– Ron Hadfield and Ryan Britt

Lemur of the Day: Tuesday

2008-07-18T07:57:00.002-05:00

The doctor is, uh, not in

2008-07-18T02:20:00.004-05:00

[Monday] Dr. Jerry Strader, pictured here in happier times, became the third victim of intestinal drama on Sunday afternoon – the day we left Madagascar. He had gone to a nearby church and then to meet with Malagasy Scouting leaders – one of his chief objectives for this trip. A longtime Scouting leader (and former Eagle Scout), he compared notes with his peers until surrendering to the roughest sickness yet experienced by the group. He "reported for duty" when the time came to leave for the airport, but he felt a lot better than he looked, and we gave him a wide berth. He blames his malady on a bacon-wrapped grilled banana from the Commencement reception buffet on Saturday night "that didn't taste right." Imagine that. His trip home will feel especially long.

Lemur of the Day: Monday

2008-07-18T02:15:00.003-05:00

And this is also about how close we had to stand next to our hot, sweaty, tired, fellow travelers for three hours in the Paris airport.

De Mess at de Gaulle

2008-07-18T02:07:00.004-05:00

[Monday] Upon entering the lower level of the terminal where we we need to secure our boarding passes, we find a large crowd of unhappy people who have been standing for two hours in the non-air-condititioned entryway while French security cleared the terminal because of an unattended piece of luggage. Babies and children are restless and fussy; to take a bathroom break means losing one’s place in the order of those waiting to enter the terminal upstairs. Travelers are packed into a concrete staircase leading to the ticket counters and customs area. No one seems to know what is going on, just that we need to get up the stairs or risk missing our flight at 1:30 p.m. for Boston. We wait shoulder-to-shoulder and nose-to-nape, inching our way up the stairwell as sweaty people atop it either are admitted to the terminal after clearing the imagined security barrier, or simply crowd closer together, leaving faux room below for others. Speculation runs rampant, and a rude police officer occasionally stops by to update the crowd in French (“Not now,” one replies sternly at a request to repeat the news in English) with news that rarely is informative. One agitated European raises his fist in the air and shouts something like “Follow me to Gate 15!” and leads his army of half a dozen up the stairway, even though there is no room for them. Not wanting to start another French Revolution, we squeeze aside to let the insurgents through, hoping they’ll get their just reward somewhere down the tarmac. Ninety minutes into this scene, we deduce from talking others that we need a boarding pass to clear security. So we surrender our hard-earned concrete turf to find someone below who can help, and return to the end of the line/crowd to begin another assault on the stairway. In all, it takes three hours to reach our gate from the time we entered the terminal, where we discover the flight is delayed anyway. The French make lovely fries, cuffs, linens and vanilla ice cream. But they could use some lessons in running an international airport (Boston’s Logan Airport, in contrast, has a customs area that is nearly surgical in its operation and efficiency.) All travelers appreciate the thoroughness of today’s security standards, but a smile and an apology for inconveniences would go a long way in situations such as this one.

The long ride home

2008-07-18T02:06:00.001-05:00

[Sunday] We spend the afternoon and early evening re-packing, say our “good-byes” and head to the airport at 9:30 p.m. to begin the trek home. Joe Powell is delighted to discover his long-lost suitcase at the airport as he prepares to be ticketed for the Air France flight. It takes several hours to wait in line and go through customs. We fly out at 12:50 a.m. Monday, surrender a couple of time zones, and arrive in Paris at 10:40 a.m. It’s definitely preferable to get the longest leg of this journey over first. What we find at Charles de Gaulle Airport, however, takes the spring out of our step.

Presidential Palace

2008-07-18T00:59:00.007-05:00

[Sunday afternoon] Ninety minutes of walking later, we ride by motorcade (and a lot slower, thankfully) to Iavoloha, where we are eager to visit the Presidential Palace – Madagascar’s version of the U.S. White House. It too, is white, built by Madagascar’s previous president in the 1970s, thanks to North Korean funding. It is spectacular, with the large rooms and tall ceilings you’d expect to see in the headquarters for a head of state. We gather first in a quaint white chapel with stained glass and hard-carved rosewood pews inside, a structure our host had built recently. Ravalomanana greets us on the steps of the palace, and escorts us from room to room, including his office, on a tour for about 75 people that one member of his staff calls “unprecedented.” Ravalomanana invites us to eat afterward in an adjacent special events center during a buffet lunch of the finest food Antananarivo has to offer. The students sing again, and short speeches are made by Drs. Money and Ravalomanana, government officials and the father of one of the students. There is a remarkably candid message from Ravalomanana reassuring students of his plans for them to be provided a role in his government in the regions where they live. “I think we have taught you that with privilege there always comes responsibility,” said Money in his remarks. “I have every confidence you will fill these responsibilities very well.”

Village tour

2008-07-18T00:01:00.006-05:00

[Sunday] After church, we are greeted outside by the mayor of the village, who invites us to tour the neighborhood of houses linked by narrow passages and foot-paths where chickens cross and children play. No doubt Ravalomanana's close connection to this tiny community of his boyhood roots has colored his resolve to help lead his constituents into a broader worldview. The vista from the mountaintop here is amazing.

The president's church

2008-07-17T23:41:00.002-05:00

[Sunday] An hour after leaving the hotel, we arrive at the red-brick church building atop a mountain offering spectacular views of the countryside. The narrow road up the mountain has new blacktop, hairpin turns and no guardrails for our going-too-fast-for-comfort motorcade. The quaint house of worship is known as “the president’s church” in part because nestled around it are the tall, humble houses composing a tiny village where Ravalomanana was born and still considers home even though he lives in a presidential palace. In fact, he is building a massive house at the mountain’s peak where he plans to live one day. The church is charming – old-world in architecture, a modern sound system inside, and two massive wooden doors opened to the vista below. About 200 people are present and clearly waiting our arrival. They look curiously at the American visitors. Adults nod at us, and shy children wave small fingers and smile when we wave at them first. The service is conducted in Malagasy, and contains hymns with which we are familiar (Guide Me O Thou Great Jehovah, Master the Tempest is Raging and Brightly Beams Our Father’s Mercy). Students sitting next to the group quietly interpret the prayers and readings and sermon for several of us. The minister speaks passionately about the importance of serving others, linking passages read earlier from Luke 22 (Who is greatest in the kingdom, one who sits at table or one who serves?) and Acts 7.

MadaNASCAR

2008-07-17T23:33:00.003-05:00

[Sunday morning] While a few from our group attended local congregations with Malagasy friends and family, the rest of us are invited to attend Ravalomanana’s congregation, the Church of Jesus Christ of Madagascar. We are picked up at 8:45 a.m. for a police motorcycle-led escort – lights flashing and siren blaring. The motorcade includes 8 cars of government officials and two buses for our group and families of 13 of the 24 students still in town. We race along the same crowded streets where we dodged traffic at a much slower pace during the week, only this time at more than 100 kph (kilometers per hour), drawing audible gasps from the group as we take curves and corners like a NASCAR Chevy, only with seating for two dozen dressed in church clothes. Other foot and vehicle traffic pull to the side of the road, except for a couple of bicylists who draw a stern finger-shaking from the motorcade leader before speeding off again. Our friendly and knowledgeable tour guide for the week, Mamy Randriamanantena (pictured here; you can hire him for your next trip to Madagascar by emailing him mamyguide@voidumonde.com), forgoes his normal spot standing in the stairwell for a safer sitting position, his eyes as big around as sausages on the Carlton buffet as we zoom along. Was this the first time he’s been in a vehicle going this fast, he is asked. “No, the second,” he replies, holding up 2 fingers. He says the first time also had to do with a vehicle clipping along on presidential business. Our motorcade is well-planned; there is a soldier, rifle drawn, standing at each intersection of street and highway to block oncoming traffic. There is no mistaking in Madagascar when its president or his proxy are on the road.

Lemur of the Day: Sunday

2008-07-17T23:31:00.002-05:00

More Commencement images

2008-07-17T23:17:00.005-05:00

The sound of music

2008-07-17T23:07:00.002-05:00

[Saturday night] From the time Dr. Tyson heard them singing casually when he first met them four years ago, the Malagasy students have used their remarkable a cappella singing talent to entertain audiences in places across the nation. The tight melodies of their native folk songs and familiar Christian hymns have melted hearts and made friends, and made them feel more quickly at home on ACU's campus as well. The students sing heartily while putting on graduation robes for the ceremony, and later, perform 2 songs during it. Turns out it is not a peculiar coincidence that they vocalize so well. People in Madagascar simply love to sing. The voices echoing in the room this afternoon while their national anthem is played sounds more like a 625-member glee club, not a disparate group of people who happened to show up for a private event in a public space. Families and friends visit for more than 2 hours in a catered reception afterward, shooting photos of each other and at times, singing joyously with each other, too.

Program participants

2008-07-17T10:44:00.003-05:00

[Saturday afternoon] The usual: Drs. Money and VanRheenen have major speaking roles, plus special messages from Drs. Tyson and Ravalomanana. Jack Rich provides a scripture reading. Drs. Strader and McCaleb lead prayers. Virginia Chambers represents the Board of Trustees by handing a diploma to each graduate as they cross the stage. Malagasy students with program roles include Aldo Raeliarijaona (leads "Holy, Holy, Holy" and "The Lord Bless You and Keep You", and co-leads "O Dear Christian College"), Rotsy Rasamimanana and Laza Razafimanjato (speakers), and Adolha Vonialitahina (co-leads "O Dear Christian College"). All of the 24 students perform two a cappella numbers together: "Andriamanitra Fitiavana" and "The Greatest Command."

A hot ticket

2008-07-17T07:59:00.006-05:00

[Saturday afternoon] The event is scheduled to start at 3 p.m., but more than half of the 425 chairs are filled at 2 p.m. by family and friends dressed in their finest. I lost count of the photographers but try to I.D. the ones representing the media for follow-up later. Half of the back wall is occupied by TV cameras. Ravalomanana’s security people specify how close photographers and videographers can get to the stage, reminding us of the presence of a head of state. Similar but far more stringent rules were set back in Abilene by U.S. Secret Service assigned to protect Ravalomanana when he attended ACU’s May Commencement. Hotel staff bring more chairs from other rooms, but run out of space. It’s standing-room-only along the venue’s perimeter. The final attendance is determined to be 625.

Arriving in style

2008-07-17T07:52:00.002-05:00

[Saturday afternoon] Ravalomanana arrives in a motorcade led by nine motorcyclists and including nearly 10 cars to transport him and his family and Cabinet members. Traffic is stopped in front of the hotel and a red carpet unrolled down the front steps. Inside, at the top of the circular staircase leading to the second floor, a dapper color guard of 9 soldiers lines Ravalomanana’s path to his changing room, sabers raised above as he walks in. Media gathers outside, chronicling his meeting ACU’s president and first lady.

The big day begins

2008-07-17T07:39:00.008-05:00

[Saturday morning] I eat my first food (other than a couple Ritz crackers) since dinner Wednesday night. There are myriad details to see to Saturday. ACU wants this event to feel the same as it does back in Moody Coliseum. Academic regalia including gowns and hoods, printed programs (also translated into Malagasy for our guests), a DVD of music including “Crown Imperial” – all have been transported to Madagascar in shipments or in the suitcases of travelers. Graduates, escorts (a family member or friend) and program participants have a walk-through rehearsal in the morning. Each graduate receives a gift – a customized hard-back photo album/book of photographs over the past 4 years prepared by Pam Hadfield (my wife and Dr. Tyson’s assistant). It is a big hit, and provides parents a glimpse into the students’ lives back in Abilene. Many students tell me to tell Pam “thank you” and “we really wish you were here.” I concur.

Lemur of the Day: Saturday

2008-07-17T01:51:00.004-05:00

[Saturday] With all the family and friends gathering in Antananarivo for Commencement, I thought this clan of ring-tailers was an appropriate choice for what promises to be a big family reunion.

How do you do?

2008-07-17T01:22:00.016-05:00

[Friday night] The students and their families requested an opportunity to meet and thank ACU administrators, and Friday night is the best time for most of them since they will be traveling from all 22 of Madagascar’s regions for Saturday’s event. The students wanted a potluck dinner like they have come to know it in Abilene, but after a discussion about what “potluck” might translate to in Malagasy, a sandwich reception is organized in the Carlton’s veranda dining room. This is the first time for most of the families to meet some of the people who have been surrogate parents and mentors to their children the past 4 years. It is a loud and happy evening. It’s hard to believe the week is almost over. Here are some of the photos I gathered at the reception, largely of family groups with their student. Not every student was able to attend the reception tonight. I'll need help with the captions, so send a comment along if you want to assist.

Lemur of the Day: Friday

2008-07-17T01:05:00.004-05:00

Internet woes cause me to give up trying to identify the species of these cute little guys, although I had good intentions of doing so. I you want to give it a shot, send a comment. I'm all ears (and they're all tails), although this one is a baby of one flavor or another, and may be hard to I.D.

Commencement preparations begin

2008-07-17T00:47:00.004-05:00

[Friday] In the afternoon, hotel employees and local vendors begin setting up the Carlton’s main room on the second floor for Commencement. Delicie (pictured here checking diplomas) coordinates the details: setting up chairs and staging, construction of a 30’ x 10’ frame on which to stretch a mural/backdrop for the stage (great graphics work by ACU senior designer Greg Golden), and technology to film and transmit the ceremony back to ACU (pictured here) so the event can be streamed to the university’s Web site. The room is pretty much set up, but a visit from Ravalomanana’s staff brings a request that it be re-oriented for security purposes. So things change as directed. About 400 people have been invited, including the president’s Cabinet and numerous local and national media.

Our humble office

2008-07-17T00:24:00.003-05:00

[Friday] Lest you think we are broadcasting from a posh studio on the 10th floor of the tallest building in Antananarivo, well, we are. But as you can see, our work station is a tad on the small side. OK, it's a 24" diameter round table. But the double beds are nearby and real comfy. Ryan is shooting digital HD footage (no tape!), but the download time to his laptop for editing can take a while when we return from a day's work. He also has a few terabytes of space on an external harddrive with him for video storage. My photos (I am not a professional photographer, but know some people who are) are downloaded to the laptop from the Tyson's digital camera (thanks for sharing!). When Ryan is busy, I hand-write blog entries on a legal pad, and type them into a text file when he takes a break. When the Internet will allow me, I make the final text edits, embed photos I shoot and YouTube video Ryan creates, and publish to blogspot.com. We buy WiFi access cards from the hotel front desk in 5-hour allotments; we're on our 7th or 8th one now. This all makes for some late nights and early mornings, but it's fun and we enjoy your comments about the blog entries, so keep those cards and letters coming. Unfortunately, most of the good folks on our trip don't have a laptop or Internet access, so they will have to read about their trip when they get back to the states. Some do get cell phone calls from friends and family back home who describe to them what they're reading.

On the rebound

2008-07-17T00:11:00.005-05:00

[Friday morning] I feel among the living, finally, but make no fast moves and also decline breakfast. We have a meeting at MBS, the TV station owned by President Ravalomanana, and have been told to expect more filmed interviews for Drs. Money, Tyson and McCaleb. We drive about 15 minutes to their facility, which is at the top of a steep road, behind a security gate and on a hill overlooking the River Ikopa where people are washing clothes and making bricks. We are greeted by station manager Rolland Aimé Andriamahenina, who takes us to the office of MBS director general Haja Fredy Andriamiadanarivo for a meeting interpreted by François Maka, technical advisor to the Minister of Education.

MBS is a group of businesses including a TV station (also called MBS), two radio stations and two newspapers. Andriamiadanarivo says their motto is to transmit information and educate people, and includes Christian education. “We want to be a model to the Malagasy regarding how to act, to communicate and to collaborate,” he says. “We are aware Malagasy don’t have enough information about the rest of the world, and we try to fill that need.” The visit provides fascinating background to Ravalomanana’s efforts to explain and implement the strategic Madagascar Action Plan to help accelerate the advancement of his nation.

MBS studios sport excellent state-of-the-art equipment, with considerably more staff than the state-run station we visited earlier. The three ACU administrators are interviewed in the main studio. Questions ranged from how the ACU-Madagascar program started, what the word “Christian” implies in ACU’s name, how students performed in their studies, whether more students would be sent to Abilene, and the group’s impressions of its Madagascar visit.

The studio is quite warm and that, combined with the stop-and-go ride back to the hotel along Antananarivo’s congested city streets, has my head spinning and stomach flip-flopping again. I return to the room for a few hours while the group excursion heads out for more shopping.

Carlton food critic, moi

2008-07-17T00:00:00.002-05:00

[Thursday] While I want no part of it at the moment, here are my reflections on the Hotel Carlton food in its two restaurants:

Fantastique: Fresh-pureed pineapple juice, stir-fried vegetables (cooked “Chinese way” is the menu description), chocolate desserts of all kinds, fresh (but rock-hard) rolls and butter, hot Malagasy tea, scrambled fresh eggs (the smiling lady who makes them in a wok says, "Oui Monsieur, cooked well" every time she sees me)

Maybemanana: Coffee, so strong it’s served in half-size cups

Nowaymanana: Duck paté, liver paté, zebu that is not well done, warm/room-temperature milk on cereal

Lemurs of the Day: Wednesday/Thursday

2008-07-16T23:45:00.004-05:00

[Thursday] I didn't forget about our Lemur of the Day promise, but we did get preoccupied Wednesday, so you get a two-fer on Thursday. Since I'm a stay-at-home kind of guy today, I'll anoint myself as Celebrity Chooser. And there is no one here to argue with me.

Thursday's excursions

2008-07-16T22:47:00.007-05:00

[Thursday] Eternal Threads is a ministry devoted to helping provide meaningful work to women in developing countries by importing their handmade products for sale in the U.S. Their skills are amazing. ET is directed by ACU alum Linda Egle, who has begun to work with women near Antananarivo to produce goods. Lunch at ET included some ethnic dancers entertaining the group, and an opportunity to do some shopping for their wares. Ryan returns at the end of the day with good footage and reports on the activities, including the most Close Encounter of the Lemur Kind yet, where a fearless one climbed his tripod and made himself at home on his Panasonic HD camera.

The curse in Room 1002

2008-07-14T18:26:00.003-05:00

[Thursday] My gut feeling was correct. Now I’m the host of of some vile species of intestinal distress and decline to participate in Thursday’s excursions to a lemur park and Eternal Threads, thinking it unwise to be very far from the bathroom. I hate that for obvious reasons, but also because I’m supposed to be documenting this trip and keeping up with the blog, but I feel terrible. Ryan has rebounded from his ailment, so he’s back in the saddle again – riding shotgun next to the driver as the wheels of our tour bus go round and round. I make a little progress on the blog but spend most of the day in bed. After what Ryan and I have experienced this week, food has lost its allure. I’m not sure when it will return for me. We are staying in a 4-star hotel with excellent food, but I’m avoiding uncooked vegetables and other food travelers are advised to abstain from in out-of-the-way places. Bottle water is a constant companion. Our room now is not only a burgeoning Radio Shack store, but a pharmacy as well. Lots of little white pills and capsules from local drug stores, and charcoal capsules. Valinda Tyson is a professional dietitian and well-armed with meds to cure most anything related to the digestive system. Tommy Lyons comes back from a walking trip to 3 nearby pharmacies (a challenge with the language barrier) with something called Stoppo Vomito (or close to it). Several others have contributed Pepto Bismol tablets, including Pam Money. We are grateful to all.

Queen's Summer Palace

2008-07-12T23:57:00.004-05:00

[Wednesday] After lunch Wednesday, we traveled to a mountaintop to visit the Rova, the former summer Palace of the Queen in Ambohimanga. The road leading to it had only one lane, but the view was spectacular, again winding through villages of the very poor. At the entrance to the palace, we climbed a steep bank of steps where a legless man sat begging, and a blind man played a stringed instrument. There were several craft vendors there, including a lady who was embroidering, and her two charming children. The palace was once used by Queen Ranavalona I, and its ruins have been preserved after a catastrophic fire. It is one of the most culturally significant historic sites in the nation. Unfortunately, the battery in the digital camera went dead as we entered the palace ruins, so I can't show it to you.

So that's why

2008-07-12T22:40:00.004-05:00

I have concluded by the sticker on each of our tardy suitcases from Air France that the "Z" is French for "make zure zees sootcase eez zee last one off zee plane." For the record, we all have our missing luggage, except for ACU trustee Joe Powell from Paducah, Ky. He is being a better sport about it than most of us would be.

Live Broadcast from Madagascar on Saturday

2008-07-11T19:04:00.011-05:00

While most of our ACU community could not travel to Madagascar to celebrate with our Malagasy graduates, we can join them in spirit - and also via the Web - through a live broadcast of the graduation celebration.

A live broadcast will be available on Saturday, July 12, at 7 a.m. central time (for those early birds back here in Texas).

Congratulations to all 24 graduates and their families!

Note: This link will only work when the broadcast begins, and it is best viewed on Windows Media Player on Windows.

TV coverage bonanza

2008-07-11T17:32:00.002-05:00

While the group goes out to eat for dinner, I stay in the hotel to work on the blog and not tempt fate with my stomach uneasiness. The group reports when they return that the TVM network broadcast – to Madagascar and all of Africa – included a news story with edited interviews from this morning in the early evening, and later, Teen Talk started with the 4-minute film about the Madagascar Presidential Scholars Program and then included more edited interviews. On another TV station, MBS, two of our graduates were seen being interviewed. Someone noticed that Dr. Gary McCaleb's name on screen (a TV super is what that's called) was somehow lost in translation and mine appeared in its place. McCaleb laughed afterward that when he's in the U.S. he's known as Gary McCaleb, but when traveling in Madagascar, he goes by Ron Hadfield. I'm sure I looked more distinguished as the vice president of the university, former mayor of Abilene and inductee to the ACU Sports Hall of Fame, but I do want my hair back when he's through.

Lunch on Wednesday

2008-07-11T17:03:00.008-05:00

We enjoyed lunch Wednesday after a long drive to this Malagasy restaurant on a hilltop near Antananarivo. More kabobs – Zebu and chicken (my choice, as I'm Zebu-ed out), and it tasted great; very tender and much like I'd expect in a Texas-grilled kabob. Sides were rice and fried potato wedges and what looked like pasta and herbs. There was a fresh salad before the entree and generous fruit for dessert, although I am beginning to feel like a war has started in my stomach. Have been cautious about what I've eaten, especially knowing what Ryan went through the other night with his digestive system. He is still under the weather and stayed back in the room to rest today. In one of these images you can see our small touring bus, which seats all of us snugly – any larger, and I don't think it would fit down some of the narrow streets we traverse each day. Many roads seem only large enough for 1.75 lanes of two-way traffic, which means somebody has to either veer to the road shoulder (if there is one) or play chicken with oncoming vehicles. There are people on foot everywhere we go, many of them walking so close to the bus that we could reach out and touch them. People dart out in front of our vehicle and evade being hit about like the Hadfields' Chihuahua, Sweetie, escapes being stepped on around our house … sixth sense if there ever was one.

The Carlton Hotel

2008-07-11T16:03:00.010-05:00

Thought you might like to see images from the Carlton Hotel, where we are staying. I believe that all of us are in rooms on the 10th floor. The view from our window:

The lobby area features sitting areas; display cases showing Madagascar wares such as jewelry; a bistro and restaurant (where we eat 1-2 meals a day); and small shops where we can exchange money, get a haircut, and purchase clothing, chocolate, women's accessories such as purses, and perfume. Clocks on the back wall behind the registration desk show the current time in three cities: Antananarivo, Paris and New York City.

The lobby and banquet level of the hotel feature exquisite carvings in wood (mahogany, I am told) and other materials depicting Malagasy cultural history:

Croc farm video clip

2008-07-11T15:54:00.002-05:00

As promised, here is Ryan's video of scenes from our visit to the Croc Farm Parc Zoologique as described earlier. Sorry, no video is available of Jack Rich being bitten by an ostrich. Enjoy!

A busy Wednesday

2008-07-11T06:33:00.008-05:00

Dr. Royce and Pam Money, Dr. John Tyson, Dr. Gary McCaleb, Dr. Dwayne VanRheenen and Jack Rich have an early morning meeting with Malgasy officials at the Ministry of Education. They compare notes afterward over coffee and Coke in the Hotel Carlton lobby. We have an appointment shortly afterward at TVM, where Royce, John and Gary are interviewed for a story the network plans to air that evening on its national news program and on Teen Talk. We walk a short distance from the hotel, past people selling wares and begging on the tree-lined sidewalk. The interviews go well, but have to be done twice because of a technical glitch they discover as we are about to leave. TVN director Volatihina Ranaivomanana moderates the individual interviews as the ACU administrators take turns sitting in blue plastic chairs where Teen Talk audience members sit during that show's filming. Volatihina tells us he plans to air the 4-minute film we gave him, plus the interviews, later tonight, and we hope to watch them as they are broadcast on TV later tonight while eating dinner at the home of Assany's brother. The group leaves about noon for lunch at a Malagasy restaurant about 90 minutes away, then heads to a tour of the Queen's Summer Palace atop a mountain. [Dr. Royce Money, Volatihina Ranaivomanana, Dr. John Tyson and Dr. Gary McCaleb in the studio of TVN on Wednesday; and McCaleb waits for his interview to begin]

Video clip of orphanage

2008-07-11T04:59:00.002-05:00

As promised, here is Ryan's short video clip of our visit to the Betikara (which is translated "A Place Where Lambs Live") orphanage. Hope you enjoy it. We wish our video stories could be lengthier, but we're mindful of the upload time. We are putting these clips on ACU's YouTube channel, then embedding them into the blog.

Luggage – and sickness – arrive

2008-07-10T09:05:00.004-05:00

Ryan and I skipped the group's dinner at Mamy Rabe's home Tuesday night so we could work on the blog, but Ryan started having bouts with vomiting in the early evening, which will put a kink in our blogging progress as well as his own comfort. He's being a trouper, but is really sick. We are offered various meds by the group when they return to the hotel, and I move down the hall into another room in case he's ailing with a virus rather than a food- or water-borne bug of some kind. The luggage arrives on a flight from Paris about 11 p.m., and I'm in the lobby working on its underperforming WiFi connection when John finally arrives from the airport in a van packed with suitcases for everyone except Joe and Nancy Powell and Vicki Anderson. It's now 1 a.m. but no one minds being awakened with the long-lost clothes they packed and left home with on Saturday. I put Ryan's bags in the room – one was severely damaged – but his gratitude for them is overshadowed by how truly crummy he feels.

Technology issues to overcome

2008-07-10T08:55:00.003-05:00

We're running 1-2 days behind in reporting to you, complicated in part by my AWOL Mac laptop that didn't make the trip, and a malfunctioning digital camera from our office in Abilene. I'm now borrowing the Tysons' camera, but didn't have a way to download images from it to Ryan's laptop until yesterday. Internet access is spotty in the hotel, and slow, and non-existent while we are traveling during the day. The hotel has us buy 5-hour WiFi connection credit cards, and the 5 hours fly by when waiting for Internet connections that are as slow as Christmas in the evenings, when most of our work has to be done. To allow Ryan to do his video editing, I handwrite my posts on a legal pad, and type them into a Word file when Ryan has a break in his work. We reserve our precious WiFi time for actual posts, and are on our fourth 5-hour credit card. Our room looks like a Radio Shack store, with wires and converters and cables everywhere in an attempt to tame the Madagascar technology. Some members of our group actually have a laptop with them and can see what we're recording on the blog, but most won't have the ability to read about what they're doing until they return home. We have electricity blackouts throughout the day, although they are brief, and thankfully, not experienced in one of the elevators, although I came close to that yesterday.

Betikara orphanage

2008-07-10T08:11:00.006-05:00

After the Croc Farm we ride more rugged roads to the Betikara Orphanage run by Barry and Stacy Rosie, the only full-time missionaries from Churches of Christ in Madagascar. The orphanage supports 21 girls and 22 boys, employs four caregivers and two cooks, and provides medical supplies for people who walk up to 10 km to receive them. It is an amazing operation and impressive facility on about 7.5 acres that include an orchard of 450 fruit trees, rice fields and gardens. The orphanage was established in 2004 and a school in 2006. Plans are underway for additional housing and a medical clinic. "The Lord has really blessed us," says Barry while leading a tour of the grounds. We are greeted by the children when we arrive, and they are all wearing purple ACU Homecoming T-shirts from 2007 that our office facilitated, thanks to ACU alumnus and graphic designer Mark Houston. The irony proves emotional for me. "You never know where your influence spreads, do you?" notes Jack Rich. We greet the smiling children, who perform several songs, including "Jesus is Beautiful." There are not many dry eyes among our group. We find several Abilenians working there, including Daphne Williams, Susan Perry and Joy Crouch, along with ACU grad and physician's assistant Liz (Murphy) Crittenden from Bosnia. The orphanage's main building is constructed of granite walls, mined from behind the structure. Daphne and Malagasy graduate Carole Ranaivoarivelo dispense medicine through an open window to villagers who wait in line outside the building, including Felana Andriamampianina and her sister, Fenohaya and Miora, who have walked 3 km from their home. All are under the age of 10. Other ACU Malagasy graduates work there, including Rotsy Rasamimanana. Look for a video clip soon of this visit. [Pictured here: ACU trustees Virginia Chambers and Barbie Johnston greet children, and the orphans gather to prepare to sing]

Croc farm and culinary adventure

2008-07-10T07:46:00.008-05:00

The Croc Farm Parc Zoologique, billed as a five-minute drive from the airport, is a remarkable place. Once we leave the main highway, the drive to the farm is along one of the most remote villages we have encountered, a sort of dirt Main Street through a community of unbelievably poor people who sit on their door stoops and wave at us readily as we bump and bounce along in our tour bus on a narrow thoroughfare that I imagine is impassable in the rainy season except perhaps by 4WD vehicle. The farm is sort of an oasis in the countryside, shaded by tall imported pine and native eucalyptus trees. I have no idea what to expect, much less what we will be served for lunch, only knowing that my selection would not be crocodile meat, which represented 3 of our 5 food choices on a menu presented to us by tour guide, Mamy, the day before. The small gift shop inside the farm's entrance has a number of high-priced souvenirs, some made in Japan and others made locally. We are welcome, but Ryan's HD video camera is not, unless we leave it at the front desk or pay $85 US to take it inside. I protested but the lady there was not willing to negotiate. No way were we leaving the camera with them, so we paid the toll. Inside, we are accompanied by a barefoot employee wearing a faded red jumpsuit. It is wintertime in Madagascar, so were are advised that animals and reptiles may not be active. I was freezing in the windy, cool weather; my only longsleeved shirt was being laundered by the hotel, and all us were reaching the end of our travel wardrobe in now our fourth day of wearing basically the same clothes since leaving home. The farm appears to have four ponds for raising crocs. The first two we see have juveniles about 2 feet long, but they are everywhere in the fenced area – thousands of them. We are fortunate to see three chameleons in one outdoor exhibit, brilliantly colored specimens whose only movement to give away their location are eyes that rotate slowly if we watch carefully. A number of Madagascar's most exotic amphibians are displayed inside a small pavilion of glass-faced displays. Other outdoor exhibits display tortoises; a weasel-/cat-like predator called a fossa, two ostriches (one of which bites Jack Rich when he gets too close), and a family of lemurs that surprises and gives us a close-up look at their dexterity and amazing acrobatics. Another exhibit features hundreds of full-grown crocs, most of which are sunning themselves on the banks of a lake. A bridge allows us to walk out into the lake and get a close (10 feet) overhead look at some crocs that are a dozen feet long and hundreds of pounds each. Lunch is served in an outdoor pavilion at the top of a hill overlooking the lake. The food is fresh and good-tasting. Croc meat, white in color, appears in the salad eaten by about half of our group (see photo), and as an entree in a curry-seasoned sauce along with white rice. Ryan Britt lets me try some of his. The salad meat is tough and chewy; the entree meat is white and more tender. Lots of jokes persist, with some saying it tastes like chicken. Right. It perhaps tastes like a cross between seafood and chicken, with a distinctive flavor I can't adequately describe. I don't expect to repeat the taste test anytime soon, but I can say I did it once. I ordered what turned out to be grilled zebu ka-bobs, which were tender and steak-like. No A-1 sauce is to be had. Ryan captures some excellent video footage of our visit and some of the wildlife at the Croc Farm; watch for it soon.

Malagasy media relations

2008-07-10T07:40:00.002-05:00

Part of my responsibility here is to provide media support necessary to help tell ACU's story and publicize the Commencement ceremony Saturday. I brought 25 press kits that ACU PR director Lynne Bruton and her student employees helped assemble the day before we left Abilene. They include news releases and background information, photos of Malagasy graduates, a four-minute film about the Madagascar Presidential Scholars Program, and 2 other DVDs of ACU films, Throughout the World and The Mission (our Centennial film). All but two of the press kits, however, are in my missing luggage. Key contacts with media were made prior to our arrival by invaluable event planner Délicie Rasolofomanana and her assistant, one of our new Malagasy graduates, Moustafa Laza Assany (who goes by Assany). Assany took me and Ryan Britt to the nearby headquarters of Televiziona Malagasy (TVN), the state-run television network. At 8:30 a.m., we meet TVN director Volatihina Ranaivomanana, who is already familiar with ACU through DVDs of films we have sent him previously; projects I work on annually with Phillips Productions Inc. of Dallas (whose production director is alumnus Martin Perry). It is amazing to me that Volatihina is already familiar with several university administrators on this trip: president Dr. Royce Money, vice president Dr. Gary McCaleb and provost Dr. Dwayne VanRheenen, through these films. Volatihina gives us a tour of the station, which is relatively new but spartan in its decor. Framed photos of Madagascar president Marc Ravalomanana are the only wall hangings I see. TVN broadcasts to Madagascar and to all of Africa. Its three most popular programs are Teen Talk, music videos, and a fashion show for women. Teen Talk is the runaway favorite, a talk-show format with about 100 teens in a live audience who are entertained by musicians, participate in talk-back segments and are treated to the "Word of the Day," a deliberate attempt to spread English fluency among the youngest Malagasy generation. Ravalomanana believes widespread adoption of English is one of the keys to his country's continued growth and relevance in the 21st century. Volatihina invites us to return Wednesday morning for studio interviews with Tyson and an ACU Malagasy graduate to use on news broadcasts that evening and on Teen Talk that same night. Filming them in the morning will allow them to translate the interviews for English subtitles when aired later. TVN plans to cover the Commencement on Saturday, and Volatihina is genuinely excited about the opportunity. He speaks excellent English and we really enjoy visiting with him. Today, Tuesday, is a very busy day, with two scheduled excursions: the Croc Farm, where we also will eat lunch, and an orphanage where some of our Malagasy graduates are working this summer and where several ACU alumni are volunteering this summer on a medical mission. There are rumors our luggage may finally arrive late tonight, and the prospect is exhilarating!

A little background

2008-07-09T15:23:00.005-05:00

You can learn about the beginnings of ACU's Madagascar Presidential Scholarship Program by viewing this YouTube version of a 10-minute film on the topic. It was part of a longer award-winning documentary, "Throughout the World," from ACU and Phillips Productions Inc. of Dallas.

View from on high

2008-07-09T14:39:00.005-05:00

There are some remarkable vantage points from which to view Antananarivo, as these images show. We were on a tour Monday night and stopped at sunset in a neighborhood where children were playing. Many years ago, this place on a cliff was where Christians were martyred after being thrown to their death, a sobering thought as people relaxed and played games and visited all around us. Malagasy tradition honors those who have been martyred. Photos include Dale Voss and some new friends, Dwayne VanRheenen and Jerry Strader using digital cameras and cell phones to document the vista, and Ryan Britt showing children what they looked like in the viewfinder of his HD camera.

Jack Rich's Ostrichizer

2008-07-09T14:25:00.003-05:00

Jack Rich got too close to and was bitten on the arm by this ostrich at the Croc Farm yesterday. The stain on his shirt was probably worse the pain, but we all kept our distance from that point on. Look for video and images from the Croc Farm in an upcoming post. We saw some amazing things. They don't let you get within chomping distance of the thousands of crocodiles, however.

Lemur of the Day: Tuesday

2008-07-09T13:53:00.003-05:00

Today's celebrity chooser is my roommate Ryan Britt of Phillips Productions, who needs cheering up because he came down with a case of Madagascar's Revenge Tuesday evening and had a long night and day hanging around the room rather than touring with us. He is better now and hopes to rejoin the gang tomorrow morning. He choose a lemur (don't know which kind; we're not on a first-name basis with them yet; there are 22 species) that choose to sit still long enough at the Croc Farm yesterday before leaping into a nearby tree to join his/her buddies.

Hotel Carlton reunion

2008-07-09T13:32:00.003-05:00

Monday night, we were surprised to be greeted by some of our Malagasy graduates in the lobby of the Hotel Carlton in Antananarivo, Madagascar. Some students live in the city; others have considerable distances to drive to see us, be involved in meetings with government officials, and spend time with the group, especially Dale and Joyce Voss, and Vicki Anderson, who were just three of many ACU employees and Abilene residents who built close relationships with them over the past four years.

Children of Antananarivo

2008-07-09T13:21:00.003-05:00

As promised, here is a link to watch a YouTube quick clip of Ryan Britt's time with some inquisitive Malagasy children in and near Antananarivo. One scene involves Dale Voss, the husband of Joyce, who can attract and entertain kids like no one I've ever seen. He has them laughing and singing in seconds. Enjoy!

What's for lunch?

2008-07-08T15:43:00.002-05:00

Our first real exposure to Malagasy cuisine is lunchtime Monday at Villa Vanilla, a charming, historic 3-story brick-house-turned restaurant with white trim and shutters and a green tile roof. It served exquisitely prepared food although the results don't satisfy everyone's palate – liver paté and duck paté among them. The tastes are new and strong and surprising, requiring a sense of adventure and at times, humor. This may be a piece of cake compared to Tuesday, when we will tour a crocodile farm and eat lunch, there too (beats touring a croc farm and being eaten for lunch, I reckon). There will be croc meat in appetizers/salads and as entrees. At least it should be fresh, eh? Crocs are Madagascar's only natural predator.

Children, children everywhere

2008-07-08T14:37:00.004-05:00

Two million people call Antananarivo home. It appears a surprising number of them are elementary school-age children who play everywhere we look, seemingly without supervision and in places that appear to be fraught with danger such as busy streets or water. They are drawn to Ryan's video camera like bugs to a light, laughing and jumping and singing and running to keep pace. They mug for the camera and smile broadly when seeing their likeness in the viewfinder. They are extraordinarily happy children, it seems on the surface, but they also are victims of Madagascar's poverty, which makes half of the people live on about $1 US a day, or less. They beg constantly, holding out their hand while repeating "Monsieur … Madame … please, please." We are advised to decline because tourists are often pressured greatly in Madagascar, but it is hard to ignore their need because there appears to be no end to it and they are charming, as well. Ryan's short video clip here captures a few of those we saw today. If it doesn't show, be patient with our technology challenges from here; it will appear soon. Tuesday afternoon, we will be visiting an orphanage of about 45 children supported by Churches of Christ where several of our Malagasy students and other ACU alumni are volunteering this summer. It is a 90-minute drive from Antananarivo; watch for our video coverage a little later in the week.

Shirtless in Sambava

2008-07-08T14:18:00.004-05:00

The sartorial realities of our predicament set in Monday morning after a 4-hour night of sleep punctuated by the crowing of a local rooster outside who started sounding off at 3:30 a.m. The adventurously eager Ryan Britt, my roommate, was up at dawn to open the window, balance his Panasonic HD camera on the sill and record the sun rising over the cityscape 10 stories below on a time-lapse video capture. I have all my shoes, enough underwear and socks to last a couple days, toiletries and third-world meds, and one extremely casual change of clothes. I felt lucky compared to some others, especially to learn our bags, if they can be found, couldn't possibly arrive until Tuesday night at the earliest, and near midnight at that. The last-minute money I spent on travel insurance was looking pretty good, but the possibility remained that a week's worth of clothes for meeting with national media and government officials, including the president of the country, would have to be found at who-knows-where in our already busy daily schedule. Biblical customs were followed, with the well-off giving items to the needy (if the pants fit), but the shopping prospects in Madagascar for American-sized tourists are not rosy. We spent 90 minutes Monday afternoon at a shopping plaza, but found slim pickins in dress clothes for university administrators. I refused to pay $100 US for a dress shirt at several shops/tables at one place called Zoom. We had, overall, the best luck at a store named Jumbo, a Malagasy grocery with hints of Wal-Mart from back home. "Dr. Money, when's the last time you bought a dress shirt and tie at the grocery?" I asked the rumpled-looking president as we rifled through a small display of wares. He laughed. In fact, we all laughed a lot today. Getting mad accomplishes little. Most Malagasy men are slight in size, so S-M-L-XL means little here to us. Long tall Texan Jack Rich is counting his blessings to have his own clothes. He'd be in a world of hurt otherwise. The relative of one of our Malagasy students is a tailor who has offered to make four of us a pair of dress pants by Saturday's event. We may take him up on it.

Lemur of the Day: Monday

2008-07-08T14:00:00.003-05:00

Our first celebrity chooser is Victoria Tyson, a senior at Abilene Christian High School. She selected a family of ring-tailed lemurs like those we'll see this week at a lemur park on one of our excursions. There are 22 species of lemurs in the the world, and they are endemic to Madagascar (found only there in the wild). They have ancestors in Africa's apes and monkeys.

The luggage conveyor blues

2008-07-08T13:54:00.001-05:00

[Written Monday, posted Tuesday night; I'm hurrying, I'm hurrying.] We wondered aloud: Why in the world were 230 or so people flying 12 hours from Paris to Madagascar on a Sunday night? No fancy deboarding platforms here like the glass and steel ones in Paris. A-Town is downright down-home in this Indian Ocean neighborhood, so we exit the plane via a stairway/ramp and pull our rolling carry-ons several hundred feet down the tarmac in the cool night air, which smells like burning wood (because there had been local fires that day in the countryside). The terminal looks like a cross between Abilene Regional Airport and the Greyhound bus station downtown. Several dignitaries took us to a special welcoming salon (room), greeted us and gathered our passports to whisk them through customs while we watched the luggage conveyor for our bags. The reason they tell you to always pack a change of clothes in your carry-on bag became crystal clear: the travel fairies either were asleep on the job or were playing a cruel joke in the middle of the Madagascar night, because only 5 of our 24 travelers got all their bags. Close to 30 suitcases were missing from the flight, and 25 of them belonged to the ACU contingent. The five Tyson family members were batting 1 for 10 in this Samsonite derby. Videographer/producer Ryan Britt was left with not much more than a toothbrush when he opted to carry on his HD camera equipment instead of clothes. Vicki Anderson, Karen Rich, Pam Money, Jerry Strader and moi struck out entirely. Part of the luggage contained 125 pounds of full-color Commencement programs we didn't have time to print in Madagascar, plus press kits we prepared for the local and national media. We quickly overwhelmed the tiny baggage claims office in the terminal with our paperwork and wondered if ACU's first Commencement to be held halfway across the world would be its most casual on record, hosted by two dozen rumpled tourists wearing the same underwear – or each other's – for 7 days. If something doesn't happen by Saturday, I have two programs and 1 press kit in my carry-on to divide between the expected Commencement crowd of 400 like some New Testament miracle involving too few loaves and fishes. If Air France is willing, maybe this scenario will end up just as well as that one. It will be interesting to find out just how. By the time we check into our rooms and get to bed, it's 3 a.m.. Our trip totaled 27 hours, most of it in the friendly skies.

Rating the in-flight movies

2008-07-08T13:46:00.003-05:00

[Written Monday night, uploaded Tuesday night. I have some serious catch-up blogging to do because of the crazy travel day Sunday, but because we're 8 hours ahead of our fellow Abilenians, we hope they are forgiving. The digital camera is kaput, but Ryan will start uploading video clips as soon as our technology behaves.]

• 10,000 B.C. – 1 chameleon. How many bad actors does it take to kill a wooly mammoth, after all?
• The Devil Wore Prada – 2 chameleons. Why didn't Meryl Streep's harried assistant just tell her to go fly a silk kite?
• The Bucket List – 3 chameleons. Jack Nicholson was perfect for his role, but I lost interest when it was interrupted by supper at 9 p.m.
• Semi-Pro – Incomplete, aborted early on. Too raunchy to watch while sitting next to a trustee from Kentucky.
• Fargo – 2 chameleons. Dark comedy, too depressing to watch while recovering from unsettling Survivor dream mentioned previously.
• Casablanca – 4 chameleons. First time I've watched this classic movie all the way through, honestly. A fitting end to the longest flight of my life, as the nice French lady tells us to prepare the cabin for landing.

Mind over matter

2008-07-08T13:38:00.002-05:00

Our flight leaving Paris was held at the gate for an hour when 30 passengers were late arriving for the 10:15 p.m. departure. We were happy to see lunch when it was served about 3 p.m. Maybe I read the travel info incorrectly, but I was surprised to learn it would be 10+ hours to Madagascar. It ended up being more like 12, so my plan to stay awake in anticipation of a good night's sleep in Antananarivo lasted all of 10 minutes. With no knee or elbow room nor knowledge of when the next meal would be served, it was back to catnapping for the Men in Our Row. The in-flight movie going to Paris didn't work, but Air France had individual touch-screen monitors on the back of each seat on this one to view movies, listen to music, watch news programming and follow the flight's progress on some kind of GPS tracker that informed passengers of the plane's elevation, air speed, distance from the airport of departure and arrival, and the air temperature (down to -56 degrees, if you really want to know). That's great, but when you have 5,438 miles to traverse, it tends to be a case of too much information after the first couple hundred kilometers. Think about it: worrisome souls (I can be one) begin to wonder why the pilot walked from the cockpit to the rear of the plane about the same time we lost 10,000 feet of altitude, just before a soothing French woman's voice announced that everyone needed to return to their seats and secure any loose items in the cabin. Maybe the pilot needed a toilette break and had to stand in line with everyone else, but hey, shouldn't you be flying this plane, monsieur? Why did the pilot change course over one particular ZIP code over Kenya, making what amounted to a hard left turn on the GPS tracker? Turbulence on this flight was more pronounced than the others, and one's mind tended to wander as we flew over places such as Kartoum and the Nile River, over the vast deserts and inpeneterable forests I have only read about in Natural Geographic or seen on the Discovery channel. But when you're flying several miles up in the sky over the largest stretches of wilderness south of the equator, and the plane starts to shake, you are tempted to look around the cabin and wonder if this is an episode of Survivor looking for a place to happen, and if so, what would this assortment of humanity bring to the table? Would this be a remake of The Flight of the Phoenix, with Jerry Strader's scouting and piloting background saving the day, the provost patching broken plane parts to help him fly a makeshift aircraft away from the burning sands? Would Joyce Voss sew animal skin outfits for us in the rainforest when our tattered Sunday church clothes became threadbare? Would Jack Rich lead an expedition down from Mount Kilimanjaro to safety? Would the episodes of the Bear Grylls TV show about wilderness survival pay off, especially the one about skinning a dead camel and sleeping in its body cavity to survive the cold desert nights and ward off jackals? I have an active imagination, I know, and it's a writer's curse. I also had too much time on my hands. After a while, a fellow runs out of things to dream about while napping, as I surely did.

Merci me

2008-07-07T01:51:00.002-05:00

[Sunday in the Paris airport] Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris was not what I thought it might be, especially when I envisioned sitting in a wireless cafe eating a bowl of French onion soup, topped off by a buttery croissant and jam while we had a nearly three-hour layover awaiting our flight to Madagascar. Silly boy. We spent the time perspiring and walking from one gate to another in search of the place to get our seat assignments, being advised by each Air France employee we encountered to go to another gate in another terminal instead. After about five such episodes, we finally figured it out. By then, the two dozen of us were separated into about 5 groups, each trying to either find the other or seek a straight answer from the next friendly but not especially helpful airport employee. We finally found an outpost that led to our gate, but by then we were sweating, literally, about making our next flight with no meal (nor blogging opportunity). The lines for security were long and slow-moving, and many of us were given the third-degree by customs officials, including a thorough frisking by French police who don't appear to have smiled in months, maybe years. Vicki Anderson has a broken wrist and an inflatable cast, which one stern customs official wanted her to remove. "It's broken, I can't remove it," she replied, which bought her an invitation to "go sit over there" for a third-degree inspection. This airport is a crossroads of the world, and it's difficult at times to maneuver the rush of travelers from one gate to another. English is not spoken, or not spoken well, and we are made to feel like the foreigners we now are in Europe. This is a good-natured group to travel with, and everybody is keeping a pleasant attitude even though things are getting more harried by the minute. I'm enjoying using the French words I heard growing up in Detroit, which is separated from Ontario, Canada, by the Detroit River and marked by numerous streets and boulevards with French names derived from the area's historical roots (Fort Pontchartrain du Détroit or Fort Détroit was a fort established by the French officer Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac in 1701 to control the fur trade and keep the British from moving further west). Merci, Excusez-moi and Bonjour (thank you, excuse me and hello) not only feel and sound good rolling off one's tongue, but go a long way to making us and our hosts more comfortable around each other. We are dying for bottled water, but 99 percent of the kiosks and shops in the airport sell nothing but wine and liquour, which wouldn't reflect well on this bunch. We arrive at the Air France gate as our flight is boarding, and have no idea when we'll get fed or watered. It is 10:15 a.m. Sunday.

If it's Sunday, it must be Paris

2008-07-07T01:32:00.002-05:00

[Written at 7 a.m. Sunday] The 3 hours of fitful attempts at sleeping are over, and it's a glorious sunrise as we cross the English Channel and France and head toward Paris. The Atlantic Ocean the night before was surreal; the water below seeming to mirror the sky and clouds below. Now that we have solid land beneath us, the view from this altitude reminds me of World War II video footage of bomber pilots looking for targets in Europe in the 1940s; the low clouds scooting by, revealing a quilt of pastures and meadows and farms, only this time in browns and emerald greens, not the black and white and grayscale images from the war. It's hard to imagine this part of the world buried in such conflict with each other, one country storming, occupying and devouring another. As we near Paris, the countryside is stunning as the plane flies low over it, with little hamlets here and there, each with what looks like 50 or so multi-story houses pressed tight against each other on tree-lined streets, with red roofs and a steepled church or cathedral as the tallest structure in town, the community surrounded by miles of meadows and fields, some cultivated. It appears as though everyone could walk to church, if they were so inclined. Not a Wal-Mart or shopping strip in sight. The countryside gives way to Paris itself, and the landscape changes dramatically. Hoped to see the Eiffel Tower as we approached, but no such luck.

My kingdom for a chiropractor

2008-07-07T01:06:00.002-05:00

[Written early Sunday morning on the plane, but today, Monday, is the first Internet access we have] Not quite what to call the last 3 or so hours of this 6-hour, 5,900 km flight to Paris, but most people aboard the 767 tried to spend it doing something that looked like sleeping. The seat assignment fairy brought me a glorious grace – an empty place next to my window seat at 35A. There is no dignity in overnight air travel; I saw people contort themselves into positions I cannot … well, words fail me. At 5-10, I do not fit lengthwise across 2 seats in an airplane, but I tried, eventually settling for a modified fetal position that gave me a new appreciation for my late mother, who gave me not much more elbow and knee room for nine months and 48 hours of hard labor in 1956. Some people are having an even harder time, such as Jack Rich, who at about 6-7 (I have always looked up to him, by the way) or so is having a tortuous time. Reminds me of ACU student a few years ago, a fellow about 6-5 and 300 pounds who was reflecting on his Study Abroad experience in Oxford. He hated it. "Europe is a great place, but I didn't fit there," he said, in summary. Anyway, the hard plastic armrest on the aisle seat was not designed to be a head rest, but it had to do, cushioned by a couple of these pillow-wannabes encased in a white dryer sheet and buoyed by this $7 but now priceless neck support thingee I found at Wal-Mart which has become my new best friend. It looks like an overstuffed black velveteen toilet seat and those who are sporting one remind me of that biblical passage about unequally yoked folks. However, appearances mean nothing when you watch the sun set out the left-hand side of your little window on the plane and see it rise on the right, just 3 hours later thanks to the time zones that seem to be clicking by like telephone poles on Interstate 20 back home. I'm trying to get all the sleep I can because the goal is to stay awake for the next flight so that when we get to Antananarivo at bedtime Sunday night, I will be ready for a good night's rest. We'll see how well that plan works. I have a pinched nerve in my neck, acquired before leaving Friday, and sure wish Dr. Lee Summers was along for the ride. Hopefully all these gymnastic sleeping positions won't do me in by Monday.

Pair-ee

2008-07-05T16:16:00.005-05:00

I can't see a photo of the Avenue des Champs-Élysées in Paris without thinking of my dear friend, the late Dr. John C. Stevens, ACU's eighth president, who died last year. One of the most iconic photos in American history is of 28th Infantry troops during a victory parade in Paris after the city’s liberation from the Germans, with the famous Arc de Triomphe in the background, signifying the city's liberation from Germany's Hitler. Front and center in the image is our own Dr. John. He was a chaplain in World War II during the landing at Normandy and the Battle of the Bulge, and was one of George S. Patton's charges. No one was more proud of his wartime service to his country, and his stories of traveling Europe – he enlisted, saying he saw no reason to miss a good war if they were going to have one – were mesmerizing. He taught history at ACU for 50 years, his classes filling quickly with students who admired his ability to make the past come alive with lectures based in large part on his own personal experience as well as research. Pictured here are the Avenue des Champs-Élysées today, in 1945 as Stevens led the way, and a photo of Dr. John he had made in Luxembourg, just north of France, to send home to his mother. I have a print of the famous liberation scene in my office, signed, "With warmest regards, John C. Stevens," and I treasure it.

Wired, not

2008-07-05T16:13:00.000-05:00

I deeply miss my MacBook Pro laptop, which is sitting on the couch wondering when it will be put in the truck for the drive to the airport. Loading the truck with luggage this morning was not my finest hour. Yep, after considerable time and thought and effort to bring every thing I needed to make this blog sing for the next 10 days, I somehow forgot the technology, including the video iPod and all the cool things I was planning to listen and watch the next 2 days on the plane. Because Fed Ex's overnight service to Antananarivo takes, oh, 4 days, I am resigned to becoming a beggar blogger, using any Mac I can find. So, these first few posts are being written in longhand on a legal pad during the flight, then keyboarded at the next airport's wireless neighborhood. Fortunately, I burned a GB or two of photos on a backup DVD; images from our Malagasy students' experiences the past 4 years. So all is not lost. And I remembered to include the photos I collected of Madagascar wildlife (such as this chameleon, which is about the color I turned when I realized my gaffe at the DFW airport) to show you as we travel. I will choose one celebrity traveler in our group to select a Lemur of the Day to post for your educational entertainment, starting Sunday

To sleep or not to sleep, that is the question

2008-07-05T15:46:00.002-05:00

I'm not as bad as my late dad, who never heard a sermon he couldn't fall asleep to, but it doesn't take much time in an airplane seat (other other upholstered one) to put me away for at least awhile. Read a little, sleep a little, repeat as needed, and before you know it, you're either nudged by the flight attendant with cold soft drinks or hearing about your initial descent to wherever. But this tag-team trip has 3 flights back-to-back over 26 hours, arriving in Antananarivo at 10:55 p.m. Sunday, when most Malagasy are thinking about hitting the hay. I have set my watch for Madagascar time, so I know it's already 9 p.m. as of this writing. At some point in the next 18 hours, my body will realize it has been tricked, and the inevitable jet lag effects will come knocking. Experienced time-travelers know how to handle this, but I guess I'll learn the hard way when to call it a night … or afternoon. My row-mate this flight, Vicki Anderson, said she brought one of those black eye-masks (maybe there is a more accurate term for it) to wear while trying to sleep on the way to Paris. I do technically the same thing at home when napping during daylight hours, but the eyewear of choice is more often a nearby clean sock. Not wanting to appear uncouth, I'll think of something more dignified for someone representing an esteemed institution of American higher education. The nap-sock tradition was brought to our marriage from my wife, who got a big kick out of me asking one day what all those little black marks were on the middle of my ankle-length white golf socks in the nightstand drawer. It's mascara, you goofus. I love you, too, dear.

Up, up and away

2008-07-05T15:31:00.004-05:00

About a dozen of our traveling party left Dallas Saturday at noon on a 3-plus-hour flight to Boston, where we will be joined by the other dozen ACU passengers for a second flight to Paris, France. The layover in Boston is about 2.5 hours, about the length of a baseball game I've always wanted to see at nearby Fenway Park, but that's another trip, I guess. The flight to Paris leaves at 6:45 p.m. Saturday (today) and sashays at 7:35 a.m. Sunday into La Ville-lumièrem, the City of Light, which I assume by then they will have turned off. No matter; we will be confined to Paris Charles de Gaulle International Airport anyway, where I'll be curious to see if the fries at the McDonald's outpost taste, well, more French than those on Judge Ely Boulevart back home. Stay tuned.

Madagascar fast facts

2008-07-04T13:04:00.004-05:00

• It is the world's fourth largest island, located 400 km (248 miles) off the southeast coast of Africa, in the Indian Ocean.
• It has a population of more than 18 million (2006 census).
• It was formerly an independent kingdom that became a French colony in 1896 and regained its independence in 1960.
• The capital city is Antananarivo (where we will be staying).
• Official languages are Malagasy, French and English.
• 59 percent of Malagasy are Christian, 5 percent are Muslim and the others have various indigenous beliefs.
• 50 percent of Malagasy live on less than $1 (U.S.) a day.
• The monetary unit is the Aviary ($1 U.S. dollar = 1,819.31 Aviary).
• Main exports are coffee, cloves, vanilla, fish, shellfish, Chromium and Mica.
• Major trading partners are France, Germany, the U.S. and Japan.
• President of the Republic of Madagascar is Dr. Marc Ravalomanana, who was first elected in 2002 and re-elected in 2006. The government is headed by a prime minister who is appointed by the president. Ravolomanana received an honorary Doctor of Laws degree from ACU in May 2008.
• 80 percent of the plant and animal species (such as the lemur shown here) in Madagascar are endemic – they live no other place on the planet.

The ACU delegation to Madagascar

2008-07-04T11:32:00.004-05:00

ACU employees and trustees traveling to Madagascar for the commencement ceremony include Dr. Royce and Pam Money (president and first lady); Dr. John Tyson (vice president for development); Dr. Dwayne VanRheenen (ACU provost), Dr. Gary McCaleb (vice president); Jack Rich (senior vice president and chief investment officer); Ron Hadfield (assistant vice president for university communication); Joyce Voss (Nonprofit Management Center); and trustees Virginia Chambers, Barbie Johnston, Tommy Lyons, Joe Powell and Dr. Jerry Strader. Also in the group is videographer/producer Ryan Britt from Phillips Productions Inc. of Dallas and former ACU executive assistant Vicki Anderson. (Pictured here are Madagascar president Dr. Marc Ravalomanana and ACU president Dr. Royce Money)

Our 24 Malagasy scholars

2008-07-04T11:04:00.005-05:00

Nearly all of the students are back in Madagascar and will meet us in Antananarivo. Here are the 24, with the degree(s) they earned from ACU, and their major in parentheses:

Bachelor of Business Administration
• Manampiaina Andrianelinjaka from Antanarivo, Madagascar (Accounting and Finance)
• Tojo Hery Patrick Andrianony from Antananarivo, Madagascar (Marketing)
• Moustafa Laza Assany from Antsiranana I, Madagascar (Accounting and Finance)
• Maoly Nasinto Raobadia from Moramanga, Madagascar (Accounting and Finance)
• Rotsy M. Rasamimanana from Antananarivo, Madagascar (Management)

Bachelor of Arts
• Corine Goulam from Mananjary, Madagascar (Communication)
• Jenny Sylviane Nitamane Vaviniriko from Toliara, Madagascar (Political Science)
• Lydie Rakotoarivelo from Antsirabe, Madagascar (Communication)
• Herintsoa Davinet Rakotonarivo from Fort-Dauphin, Madagascar (Political Science)
• Carolle Ranaivoarivelo from Antananarivo, Madagascar (Communication)
• Adellin Packistani Randriantarika from Fenerive-Est, Madagascar (Political Science)
• Volatiana Patricia Ratsirimpady from Tamatave, Madagascar (Mathematics)

Bachelor of Science
• Tiana Andriamanana from Majunga, Madagascar (Biology)
• Eddy Chartier Borera from Bealanana, Madagascar (Computer Science)
• Aldo Serge Michael Raeliarijaona from Mahajanga, Madagascar (Engineering Physics)
• Mihajarimanitra Randrianandraina from Ampefiloha, Antananarivo, Madagascar (Environmental Science)
• Ando Randrianarisoa from Ambatondrazaka, Madagascar (Composite Interdisciplinary
• Solofoarisina Arisoa Randrianasolo from Fianarantsoa, Madagascar (Computer Science)
• Fenohasina Gita Randrianjafy from Ambositra, Fianarantsoa, Madagascar (Environmental Science)
• Joelly Rojo Rasamoelina from Fianarantsoa, Madagascar (Sociology)
• John Anthony Rasolofonirina from Toamasina, Madagascar (Computer Science)
• Miora L. Ravalomanana from Antananarivo, Madagascar (Environmental Science)
• Laza Johany Razafimanjato from Antananarivo, Madagascar (Interior Design)*
• Lysianne Adolha Vonialitahina from Morondova, Madagascar (Environmental Science)

* Laza (shown above with ACU Board of Trustees chairman C.E. Cornutt) also earned an Associate of Arts degree in pre-architecture

Madagascar Presidential Scholars

2008-06-30T21:40:00.007-05:00

Welcome to ACU Today magazine's first venture into the world of blogging! I am Ron Hadfield, editor, and ACU's assistant vice president for university communication.

On July 5, two dozen ACU administrators, trustees and friends will travel from Abilene, Texas, to Antananarivo, Madagascar, to help 24 recent ACU alumni celebrate their completion of a bachelor's degree as the first graduates of the Madagascar Presidential Scholars Program. We expect about 400 of their family and friends to gather July 12 at 3 p.m. in the Hotel Carlton to watch what is likely the first major recreation of an ACU commencement in a distant location. Certainly, no one has traveled a longer distance to do so – 10,210 miles according to one Web-based calculator. That's also 16,432 kilometers, but as one of those spending two days on a plane just to get there, the miles sound a lot kinder.

For the next two weeks, I'll be blogging as the trip progresses, describing to interested friends how this Most Excellent Adventure is going, complete with photographs and, technology permitting, short video clips (thanks to our friends at Phillips Productions Inc.) I'll give you some background about the plans, introduce you to some of the Malagasy students and their families, and write about a couple of side trips to visit Madagascar missions efforts involving ACU alumni and students. Along the way, I'll also try to describe the world's fourth-largest island – Madagascar – and the natural resources that make it unlike anywhere else on earth.

And for the record, this trip won't raise tuition for ACU students; it is possible because of a special grant and the generosity of some of the university's friends. It promises to be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for most of us, just as four years at ACU has changed the lives of our new Malagasy friends.

Reminds me of what the father of one of these students said four years ago when interviewed for a film I helped produce for ACU about this program. He was asked how he and his family viewed this opportunity. "It is a grace from God," he replied.

I think we all feel that way.