Click images for desktop size: "The Widow" by VHM Alex For the past three days I've been working on a pointless, witless diatribe about the sad state of pop music what it was and how it got here . . . No doubt some compulsion will force me to finish the piece. I don't know why.
The new dog has taken over another big slice of my life. I feel for the guy. He'd make some one good a great friend. At my house he's the often unwilling playmate of my puppy. She has learned how to FORCE him to play, which may be a felony in some states but should be a misdemeanor in all.
Last night we, my puppy and I, had to go to the Football Awards Banquet. It was pushed up in the schedule as 5 kids, 2 of them mine, are taking an early graduation so they can get to College sooner. This way they have a semester to acclimate themselves to college life and then a session of spring ball to learn their new system with a cleaner shot of starting as freshmen.
And maybe they'll have an extra impetus to graduate.
The banquet was what these things always are. This one had the extra fillip of our forfeited season. It still wasn't enough spice to make it anymore tolerable.
I like seeing the kids get recognized in front of the team and the parents but I don't and have never cared for the arm chair coaches who collar me and explain in excruciating detail what I could have done better. What I could have done better nominally revolves around giving their son more playing time . . .
I don't blame them for that and empathize and admire the concern. Too many years of listening to it, I guess. At least this time no one called me an idiot for not playing their child.
There was one bit that pleasantly surprised me. I'm quoting from memory so I might have some parts of it wrong but the gist will be right. The speaker was one of my kids.
“Coach says we're not allowed to thank him. He says he's only doing what he likes and he says you can't thank a guy for that. It seems unfair to us. Coach David has taught us a lot. We all feel we know the game better and that we play it better. We also got an idea of where the game fit into our life and where we fit into the world. He made us see how beautiful our sport is and let us see that we were an important part not only of our sport but of the community and the world as well.”
“He said we're not allowed to thank him for that. Coach David says he just teaches us how to play the game and that its the game that teaches us the lessons we'll carry away with us.”
“He ran the hardest practice sessions any of us had ever been through. Sometimes we thought we were going to drop dead but he encouraged us and helped us get through them. When we played in a game we realized we were always better than we were the week before. That made it worth doing.” “We did have a coach who was also with us each step of the way. She ran our drills with us and taught us that the game is fun. As players we forget sometimes that this is a fun game to play. Coach Shelby always remembered it was fun. Since we can't thank Coach David we'd like to thank Coach Shelby for everything she bought to us and our games.”
I should have made them run more laps.

The doctors yesterday. I've got an ulcer. Not that big a deal. Just have to rearrange my daily schedule some and take another pill.
I have to start physical therapy for my back and sciatica. Also not that big a deal.
I don't like it because its just another sign of how much I'm falling apart.

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