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Cunningham was all right. I had read nothing of his except his most prestigious claim to fame. I enjoyed the book for its overlapping narrative and the intertextual connections to Virginia Wolf's Mrs. Dalloway. In fact, I taught the book for a handful of semesters in my intro to fiction class. The book was good; Cunningham was all right—unremarkable. Honestly, with four years between then and now, not much of his talk sticks with me.
It's funny how something so insignificant, so overlooked, can reach out of the past and tap you on the shoulder years later.
Until this day, I thought nothing of that night four years ago. It's returned today, though, and it has nothing to do with Cunningham, or librarian small talk, or Illinois authors, or surprisingly good coffee. Rather the night has returned to me because through the fog of seemingly insignificant detail something has emerged. While clinking spoons and sipping coffee that night, and being mildly bothered by the elitist, arrogance of Michael Cunningham, my friend Eric made an offhand remark: "This is no 'This Is Water.'" He told me about a commencement speech given by David Foster Wallace to the graduating class of Kenyon College in 2005 with the title "This Is Water." Eric took a class under Wallace at Illinois State and seemed to have a special fondness for his work. I hadn't heard of this talk, but because of Eric's enthusiasm in mentioning this speech and Wallace, I told myself I'd look it up later. I never did, and four years went by.
Just recently, though, through surfing some random internet wave, I stumbling upon said speech and Eric's small, offhand remark reached out of the past and tapped me on the shoulder once again . Here is David Foster Wallace's speech "This Is Water."
Wallace has a way of articulating a simple and terrible truth that I have been feeling for some time now but have not or could not quite put to words. He asserts that we must learn to override our default setting of being completely, utterly self-absorbed long enough to choose to see things differently. In discussing what he calls the cliché of a liberal arts education being about "learning how to think," he suggests we look past the "lame and banal" platitude to consider the "great and terrible truth" that lies beneath. He reminds us that learning how to think really means "exercis[ing] some control over how and what you think. It means being conscious…" We get to choose what we pay attention to and how we "construct meaning from experience"—that is, if we can override our default setting of being the center of our own universe long enough to see things differently.
And I submit that this is what the real, no-shit value of your liberal arts education is supposed to be about: How to keep from going through your comfortable, prosperous, respectable adult life dead, unconscious, a slave to your head and to your natural default setting of being uniquely, completely, imperially alone, day in and day out.David Foster Wallace
Wallace strikes a beautiful balance in this piece between intellectual abstraction and the hard-hitting concrete detail of daily life. He pairs away the "rhetorical bullshit" and delivers his message with such urgency. It is not "fun and breezy," but it is the truth.
In listening to the recording of the speech he delivered and in reading the text of the speech published by Little, Brown and Company, I am struck by a couple small but significant differences. As Wallace talks about the adage of the mind being "an excellent servant but a terrible master," as he makes a reference to adults who commit suicide by shooting themselves in the head, and then asserts "most of these suicides are actually dead long before they pull the trigger," one can't help but think of the circumstances of Wallace's own death which would come by his own hand three years later. In his speech, Wallace says, "The capital-T truth is about life before death." In the written manuscript alone, he adds, "It's about making it to thirty, or maybe even fifty, without wanting to shoot yourself in the head." For whatever reason, he chose to omit this latter line from his speech to the Kenyon graduates. Perhaps, in the moment, he found this line to be even too much capital-T truth for him.
Another small but remarkable difference between the speech and the written text comes right at the end. Early in the piece he conveys what he calls a "didactic little story" about a religious guy and an atheist talking about their divergent worldviews. He talks about how the atheist tried out religion when stuck in a blizzard. He prays to be saved, and then comes along a couple of Eskimos who guide him back to camp. Later, the atheist rejects the notion that this was some sort of divine intervention but was rather mere luck of circumstance. Wallace uses this story early in his talk to make a point about how we each individually will construct meaning differently based on our individual belief templates. Fair enough. The interesting addition at the end of the written piece, though, is when Wallace writes, "These Eskimos might be much more than they seem." Interestingly, this addition (omitted from the spoken version) created a religious overtone, amplified given the emphasis of placement at the end of the piece.
Wallace talks about another truth towards the end of his speech: the truth that we all worshop. The only choice we have, he says, is what to worship. He speaks about the dangers of worshiping money, power, beauty, intellect, and so on. He tells us our culture would have us worship these things and give us "the freedom all to be lords of our tiny skull-sized kingdoms, alone at the center of all creation." But this is not real freedom.
The really important kind of freedom involves attention, and awareness, and discipline, and effort, and being able truly to care about other people and to sacrifice for them, over and over, in myriad petty little unsexy ways, every day. This is real freedom.David Foster Wallace
I am glad that Eric's offhand remark so many years ago led me to Wallace's "This Is Water." It has left an indelible mark on me. It reminds me that each day, I have the freedom to choose what to think and to create meaning from my experience. It reminds me of the work I have to do to remain aware of "what is so real and essential, so hidden in plain site." To be present. To be mindful. To consider how infinitely small I am in the grand scheme of meaning, and yet to know I am not alone.


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Welcome to the TV Roundtable, where some of TV Club's writers tackle episodes that all deal with a central theme. The theme for the next eight installments is "competition."
"Man From The South" (Alfred Hitchcock Presents, season 5, episode 15; originally aired 1/3/1960)
In which Peter Lorre just wants to make a little bet…
Todd VanDerWerff: I hate gambling. I'm not sure why. I'm incredibly comfortable wasting my money on stupid bullshit that I'll never use, but the second I put even a dollar into a slot machine, I start to get very nervous. I seem to possess none of the requisite excitement over the possibility of a big payoff that might result from a small initial investment. In short, it's highly unlikely I'll ever become a gambling addict, and my anxiety about the whole enterprise probably informs the fact that "Man From The South" is one of the episodes of TV that makes me the most squeamish.
That said, upon returning to the half-hour, I was surprised just how little time the central wager takes up. As partially scripted by Roald Dahl (from his short story) and directed by Norman Lloyd, the episode takes its time in first setting up the wager, then in preparing it to be carried out. We don't actually see Steve McQueen's gambling fool begin his mad quest to light that lighter 10 times in a row until there are something like six or seven minutes left in the story proper (because, remember, we've got to leave plenty of time for Hitch to make fun of the sponsors). Everything up until that point is Peter Lorre's Carlos proposing the plan, the gambler deciding to go along with it, then the agonizing preparation process.
And agonizing is the best way to describe it. Once the episode gets past the very basic setup—if you can light this lighter 10 times in a row, I'll give you my convertible; if you can't, I get the little finger on your left hand—then it really has nowhere else to go until the wager is carried out. I find that's sometimes a problem with these older, genre-specific anthology series. Once their episodes have established the central premise, then we're just waiting for the shocking denouement or (particularly in the case of The Twilight Zone) the clever twist. This can lead to a lot of downtime in the middle section of the episode, which is often filled with people talking about the situation that has already been set up. Often, there's just nowhere for the story to go.
"Man From The South" solves this by showing us the situation as it's set up. Carlos takes his time making sure he gets just the right equipment for his wager, specifying the kind of knife he needs (in the sort of chilling fashion only Lorre is capable of), then running nails into a table and tying down the gambler's hand, that he might not remove it when the time comes to chop off that little finger. This whole section is delightfully, deliciously queasy, and Lorre's evident satisfaction at the bet being carried out is wonderful—as is McQueen's growing unease at the realization that this guy has done this many, many times before. (The number is well over 60, if you work out the math from the final monologue by Carlos' wife.)
But it's the final section that sticks in the memory. I had remembered the pauses being much more agonizing, the amount of time taken up being that much longer than it actually is. I suspect that's because what is here is already agonizing enough, so your brain mentally inflates it to make it even worse. There's a little moment where McQueen sets the lighter down, evidently ill at ease and needing to take a breather, and it lasts probably 30 seconds, but it feels like a lifetime. Dahl's scenario is so bizarre that it feels like something that would never happen, even while it's occurring right in front of you, and all of the characters in the room (who include several interested bystanders who become complicit in the event) seem to have followed this trajectory as well. It's not immediately clear whether it would be great to see Carlos defeated or whether we really just want to see the gambler lose that finger, and that makes the whole thing become even more unmoored.
I know the episode has long been seen as a triumph of the twist ending, but I must confess that I find the ending a bit of a cop-out. I really do want to see this competition between Carlos and the gambler, this battle of wills that's testing the latter so thoroughly, play out. It's fantastic to see that Carlos' wife lost all of those fingers in her attempt to wrest control of everything her husband owned away from him, both to get that car and to break his vicious cycle, but it also feels as if it interrupts things just as they're getting going. I know it's true to Dahl's short story, but I found myself wanting to see things play out.
What about you? Do you agree with consensus opinion that this twist ending is a knockout? And would you take that wager with a lighter you were secure enough in?
Noel Murray: I'd say that this episode isn't really about the twist, Todd. We do get all the information we need to know about how the bet would've played out: When McQueen tries to light Neile Adams' cigarette right after the wife barges in, it fails, which means he would've lost the bet; and given the state of the wife's hand, it's clear that she's not lying when she calls Lorre "a menace." All we were spared was seeing Lorre do his Bill The Butcher impression. No, I'd say that "Man From The South" is a classic Hitchcockian "bomb under the table" scenario: The suspense doesn't come from seeing the bomb explode, it's from waiting for it to explode. And as long as it's ticking away, we'll sit still for whatever the storyteller wants to say.
Well, I will, anyway. I'm a huge fan of this episode, in part because of the fun of watching Steve McQueen and Peter Lorre do their respective shtick together—McQueen the beautiful loser who's less confident than he pretends to be; Lorre the sweaty little buffoon with a dark streak—and in part because of every single detail is telling. Even before Lorre arrives, the way McQueen feeds Adams sugarcubes and calls her "a lot to take at 8 in the morning" is fascinating. Are they just commiserating over their respective losses? Fighting off boredom after a bad night? Sniffing around each other for sex? (All three, most likely.) And then when Lorre shows up, it's already obvious that he's done this many times before, from the way he says, "I like the pleasant company of young people" a little too quickly, like it's a line he's memorized, to the way he clumsily breaks his cigarette in two in order to get McQueen to pull out his lighter again.
And then, once the wager is accepted, there's still so much to chew on. Lorre's preparations for the game—the hammering, the cord-twisting—are excruciating to watch because they allow the viewer time to think about the potential end result of all the set up. (Imagining how it's going to look and feel is much worse than actually seeing it, I'd argue.) Adams' pre-game conversation with McQueen—she walks up and casually says, "Hello, stupid," to which he says, "Heeeey…"—is just as curious as their initial flirtation. Who is this woman, anyway? My bet: A thrill-seeker from Idaho, who craves any kind of action, even if she can't admit that she may be more than a little sick. And then there's "The Referee," who comes up to the room because he's "got a weakness for these barroom propositions," and then hesitates for a moment when Lorre tells him to give the word for when to begin. If the ref never blows the starting whistle, does the game start? And if not, is the ref responsible in some way for whatever happens next?
But it's McQueen's reaction to all this that powers the episode. In keeping with our Roundtable theme of competition, here's a gambler who's drawn into this bet not just because he's compulsive, or because he's down on his luck, but because Lorre challenges his entire generation, calling them "soft." And so once he agrees to play, McQueen has to keep up the tough guy act, even faux-calmly asking the ref to keep count of the lighting, as though this is the kind of request he makes every day. (The referee eagerly agrees, because he's far more comfortable with that assignment than he is with saying, "Go.") Then McQueen starts lighting that lighter, and again there's a lot to consider. Lorre lifts his cleaver a little before each flick; can a maniac who'd make a bet like this be trusted not to start hacking capriciously? Should McQueen be letting the lighter stay lit for as long as he does each time? ("Save it for the World Series, you mind?" Adams half-jokes to him at one point, when he lights his lighter before the bet.) And then there's the biggest question of all: Here's a 99-cent lighter that McQueen insists is one of the most reliable things in his life, but given the state of his life when the episode begins, does that really mean anything? With each flick, each flame, and each little lift of Lorre's cleaver, this episode asks: What can you count on?
Phil Dyess-Nugent: There were more than 260 episodes of Alfred Hitchcock Presents, and I feel as if I watched at least half of them, either when the local station showed them on Sunday afternoons when I was a kid or later, when they were a mainstay of Nick At Nite. All I can remember about most of them are the wraparound segments with Hitchcock himself. It's not hard to understand why. There are only so many stories of this kind that can be told in a little less than half an hour without feeling either padded or truncated, and within the limits set by Standards And Practices at the time. The fact that this one holds up pretty well is a tribute to Roald Dahl's mastery of the form. (Dahl also wrote the story that inspired another classic episode, and one that Hitchcock directed himself, "Lamb To The Slaughter.") The device of the bet supplies suspense, and it also naturally provides for the kind of dialogue that can help postpone the big setpiece. ("What—you're suggesting we do what!?") For me, part of that mastery is the twist at the end, and I agree with Noel: It works gangbusters for me.
Part of the beauty of the craftsmanship is the way it enfolds a twist-within-the-twist—the almost incidental revelation that, if the game had continued, McQueen would have lost his finger, which obviously would have been unacceptable, given that it comes yoked to the news that Carlos has made the bet in bad faith, having no car to give. (McQueen's steadily escalating display of grace under pressure is very skillfully done, but I confess that my favorite demonstration of the actor's art here comes when Lorre, who looks like a depressed bullfrog throughout, brightens up so cartooonishly when he's reminded of all the maimed hands he left back on the islands in his salad days.)
I would maintain that a story like this also needs a touch of the grisly to keep it from seeming like a parlor game, and the finger-chopping gimmick provides that, even if we don't actually see anything more unsettling than a woman wearing a trick glove. Incidentally, we've been referring to the woman who breaks up the party at the end as Lorre's wife, but I don't think she's ever identified as such. In at least one of the other versions of this story that I've seen, the woman announces that she's Carlos' sister. Clearly, director Norman Lloyd didn't think it was important enough to specify even in passing, but I prefer having the two of them unmarried, aging siblings, who've been joined at the hip their whole lives, with Carlos locked into his madness and she kept too preoccupied by having to keep an eye on him to even think about starting a family of her own. It's so much more gothic that way.
Donna Bowman: 25 minutes? This episode would make a great psychology experiment. Take out the Hitchcock interstitials and commercial breaks, show it to an audience in a room with all the clocks removed, and see what the estimate the running time to be. On the one hand, it's packed to the gills with plot and incident. On the other, everyone involved acts like they have all the time in the world. I'd be one of the people who would have pegged it as a suspenseful 47 minutes, because there's so much detail, and none of it is rushed. We see every step in the process, every word of the pitch, every instruction to the principals, every nail hammered into the table, every wry look from McQueen as Lorre repositions his hand. We even take a break for some back-and-forth with the bellboy on the matter of how hard it's going to be to get a cleaver from the kitchen.
But I wouldn't cut a second. I'd watch this at three times the length, and make a point of patronizing the sponsors Hitch so creatively derides. The real trick is keeping us in the dark about what the ultimate point of this story is going to be. Are we going to learn something about these randomly thrown-together characters from their trial by fire, like whether McQueen is as cool as he pretends, or whether the referee is as disinterested a party as he seems? Does Lorre have some grudge or fetish that motivates his apparently random choice of betting partner? Will we discover the source of the desperation that drives McQueen, or the horrified fascination of Adams that keeps her gaze locked on the table, waiting for the blade to descend?
While we second-guess what Hitch, Dahl, and Lloyd want us to focus on, the puppetmasters reveal that there's actually less to the scene than its classic stylings led us to believe. No backstory for McQueen and Adams, no treachery from the referee, no winner in the battle of nerves. Just what did we want to happen? What kind of seedy story of down-on-their-luck gamblers wooing Lady Luck were we hoping for? Instead, McQueen and Adams seem relieved to have escaped from way too deep, and the real iron will belongs to Carlos' sister/wife/whoever, who knew the odds and still took them on again and again. As a viewer, I have to laugh at my own foolishness in buying into the genre trappings, and feel some relief at being allowed to escape with my moral sensibilities intact, the consequences of my voyeurism having been tactfully deflected.
Genevieve Koski: Count me among the subjects who would peg this at much longer than 25 minutes, Donna, and not all of them suspenseful in a good way. I'm not saying "Man From The South" isn't excellently crafted in its slowly mounting tension, because it certainly is. And I'm not saying I didn't enjoy this, my first time really sitting down with a full episode of Alfred Hitchcock Presents, because I certainly did. (And I'm eager to see more.) But there's a fundamental obstacle to my engagement with the premise here, which some of you have also hinted at: I have no patience for gambling—especially games of chance, which seem like utter wastes of time and mental energy. Consequently, the portion of this episode that takes place in the bar, with Lorre wheedling and tempting McQueen into his little game, felt interminable and frustrating as I shouted in my head, "Just walk away! This is stupid! You don't need that supposedly real sports car, you didn't even want it until he told you you could have it!" (Then again, this is Steve McQueen we're talking about, so know your audience, I guess.) Yes, there are hints that McQueen is coming off a string of bad luck and is in need of a win of any sort, but that's the sort of thinking that drives a cut-your-losses pragmatist like me insane, and made the first half of this episode feel like torture: It's maddening to feel so anxious about an outcome to which you feel so little sympathetic connection.
Which is what makes the second half that takes place in the hotel room so brilliant. What previously seemed like a pointless exercise in masculine bravado—seriously, guy, she was clearly gonna sleep with you anyway; anyone too drunk to keep her shoe on is a, pardon the phrase, sure bet—is suddenly imbued with a real sense of danger as Lorre methodically sets about his business with the practiced efficiency of a psychopath. As Noel says, it's obvious from the beginning that something isn't quite right with this guy, but he doesn't feel dangerous—not only capable of collecting on his bet but eager to do so—until he calmly asks that bellboy for a knife. In the grand scheme of things, losing a pinky isn't that big a deal—about as big a deal as getting a free sports car, but on the opposite end of the desirability spectrum—but the idea of losing it to someone who's eyeing it like it's a cocktail weenie, raising his cleaver in anticipation with every flick of the lighter, is nauseating. It creates stakes out of a situation that should never even exist, tapping into the basic human instinct for self-preservation, overriding any and all questions of good judgment or common sense.
Erik Adams: Since we efficiently covered the ground on gambling and the implied battle between the generations (which, since we're dealing with a story by Wing Commander Roald Dahl, Royal Air Force, I'd ascribe to tension between those who fought World War II and those who didn't), I'd like to mention two crucial shifts between Dahl's short story and the episode of television it inspired. First, there's a crucial shift in perspective: The short story is told from the perspective of "The Referee"; to preserve the voyeuristic tinge of that POV (for a series produced by a man who knew from voyeurism), Alfred Hitchcock Presents makes the viewer the morbidly curious onlooker. This also frees us up, as several of you have noted, to check in with various characters who we'll only know for some 25 minutes. Ultimately, I feel an attachment to all of them—even Carlos, who, in Peter Lorre's hands, becomes the type of shamefaced, sympathetic, yet utterly evil persona few beyond Lorre are capable of embodying.
The other shift involves that amount of breathing room. It's funny that we've delved so deeply into the details of this half-hour, because Dahl's short story is astonishingly sparse. It moves briskly for seven or eight pages before encapsulating the wager and its interruption over the course of a few concluding paragraphs. For obvious reasons, anthology series are often considered the television equivalent of short stories, but even at 25 minutes, an episode of Alfred Hitchcock Presents or one of its contemporaries affords a writer a much greater depth for characterization—and a visible endpoint at which the tension must be relieved and a conclusion delivered—unavailable in the pages of The New Yorker or Harper's. This could have the effect of cheapening Dahl's economically told story, but the viewer's investment in the characters make this "Man From The South" just as suspenseful as the source material. Anyone willing to take a wager on that?
Stray observations:
NM: We should mention a couple of movies in association with this episode: The Cincinnati Kid, one of McQueen's signature films, again about the guts of a gambler; and Four Rooms, in which Quentin Tarantino has a bunch of Alfred Hitchcock Presents fans re-enact this very episode, with a different (and funnier) twist ending. Both are examples about how once a plot's in place, a good filmmaker can coax the audience through the pleasures of atmosphere, performance and dialogue. The story of The Cincinnati Kid isn't what makes it a great film; it's McQueen and Edward G. Robinson trading steely looks in a roomful of colorful characters. And while Four Rooms' "Man From Hollywood" is a straight steal from Dahl, aside from the premise, it couldn't be more different from this episode.
NM: I hate gambling too, Todd and Genevieve. I have two problems with it, really: I can't be happy when I win, because I always think about how much more I could've won if I'd bet more; and I've never been a guy who minds losing, so I tend to make stupid wagers the longer I stay in a casino or at a card table, just because I get impatient.
PDN: I honestly can't remember whether I'd ever seen this episode before. I thought I had, but the waters are kind of muddy, because I know I've seen two other TV versions: One that opened Tales Of The Unexpected, a syndicated series devoted, in early episodes at least, entirely to Roald Dahl stories (it produced a version of "Lamb To The Slaughter," too), and one that was part of the three-story pilot for the 1985 revival of Alfred Hitchcock Presents, which combined remakes of old episodes with "colorized" versions of old Hitchcock intros. (Considering that Hitchcock was a pasty-white dude unvaryingly dressed in a black suit with a white shirt, it was as if some subversive at NBC was having a laugh at the sheer pointlessness of the whole colorization idea itself.) The latter is notable for its cast: It starred John Huston in the Peter Lorre role, Kim Novak as his sister, and Steven Bauer and Melanie Griffith (who were married at the time, just as Steve McQueen and Neile Adams were when they made the earlier version). Griffith's mother, Tippi Hedren, does a bit part as a waitress, which is probably the type of gig Hitchcock expected her to receive after he shredded her contract.
PDN: It's worth mentioning that, in terms of movie history, the most significant thing about this long-running, highly regarded series—which did so much to make Hitchcock himself a name brand beyond the reach of other directors with less sense of personal showmanship—is that it got Hitchcock thinking about doing a feature film using his TV crew and the same fast, cheap method of shooting that he had to develop when he was working on the network's dime. The result was Psycho, which mated those techniques to material that obviously never would have been approved by the network at the time.
GK: The twist of McQueen's lighter not sparking at the end is a stomach-dropping moment, but it's foreshadowed (perhaps unintentionally, though I suspect not) when he lights Adams' cigarette right before Lorre enters: The first flick of his lighter doesn't catch. Literally a second later, Lorre swoops in.
Next week: Donna Bowman asks us how well we know the cast of Friends with "The One With The Embryos." (It's not available online, but chances are it's playing in syndication at this very moment.) After that, Phil Dyess-Nugent's pick gives us a look at a feud within the separate yet equally important groups of the criminal justice system with the season-eight Law & Order episode "Divorce." (The episode is available for streaming at Netflix.)

subset: commoncrawl


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Classroom: Technology, Law, and Entrepreneurship
By Kathryn LoConte
Professor Oliver Goodenough guides Thayer School graduate students through the intricacies of the legal system that surrounds entrepreneurial enterprises. It's not enough for students to have an innovative idea to unleash onto the world, he says. They have to scale legal hurdles as well.
"Understanding the legal frameworks available for creating productive alliances of invention, capital, management, and labor is a critical skill for people who bring ideas to fruition," says Goodenough, a Vermont Law School professor and Thayer adjunct professor who has taught ENGM 188: Technology, Law, and Entrepreneurship for five years.
During fall term, 22 students from Thayer and Tuck School of Business filled 202 Cummings Hall to learn about the law of intellectual property, contractual transactions, business structures, debt and equity finance, and securities regulation in this country and abroad.
In leading students through these issues, Goodenough demystifies the way the legal world works. "My goal is to convince you that at least in certain domains, the law is your friend," he told the class. "By having a core understanding of what lawyers are doing, you will understand the context, ask better questions, and make things better for yourself."
Goodenough, who practiced business and property law earlier in his career, gives students a blunt look at his profession. "Lawyers are bossy people. They're also often cautious people. That can be a very good thing. But there may be places in engineering and business where you want to take some risk. You should manage the lawyers, not be managed by them," he told the class. "By the end of the term, I hope that you will not be intimidated by a 20-page contract. You may be bored, but you won't be intimidated because you'll have the tools to unpack it and manage it, not be managed by it."
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Call for more information:
Lisan Nagy 905-262-4322 or 289-696-1311
The Dingman-Nagy School of Ballet Arts is a Cecchetti dance studio in the Niagara region. The ballet school was founded by Lisan Dingman-Nagy in 1984, in Niagara Falls, Ontario. The studio is now located in St. Davids, Ontario. Lisan holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree from the State University of New York at Purchase (SUNY Purchase). Lisan is accredited with the Imperial Society of Dance and holds her Licentiate Degree with the Cecchetti Society of Canada. The Dingman-Nagy School of Ballet Arts offers classical ballet training in the Cecchetti Method as well as modern dance classes for ages 3 to adult. All classes are taught by Lisan Dingman-Nagy.
Programs offered at the studio include Pre-ballet for children ages 3-5 years, Beginner ballet for 5-7 years, Cecchetti technique classes Grade 1-Advanced 2, Modern and Jazz classes, Adult ballet, Pointe classes, Choreography classes as well as Private classes. For those students interested in pursuing a career in ballet, a competitive intensive program is offered. Summer dance programs are also offered for both the recreational and intensive students in July.
Many of the students trained by Lisan Dingman-Nagy at her ballet school in Niagara, have been accepted to the National Ballet School of Canada, The Quinte Ballet School in Belleville, Ryerson and York University's in Toronto, George Brown College, Toronto, Sheridan College and various summer schools across Canada and the USA. Lisan is also a member of the Adjudicators Alliance and is an active adjudicator for numerous dance competitions throughout Ontario.


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A Prince and his Palace
I loved Cecil Fielder. He may have been a crappy father but during a period when the "Bless You Boys" had become more of a curse than a prayer, he was a bright spot in an otherwise dull lineup. When his boy came up and then became a star with the Brewers, it was fun to watch but I had a hard time really getting into it because, well, he was a Brewer, not a Tiger. But that has all changed.
I don't know what Prince will do in a Tigers' uniform. I hope he's going to be a monster in the tradition of his father but after the watching the White Sox live the Adam Dunn experience, it's obvious that these things are far from certain. What I do know, though, is having a Fielder in Detroit just feels right. Welcome back, Prince. I hope that Comerica is a palace to you like Tigers' Stadium was to your father.


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Custer Museum artifacts stolen from Crow Tribe?? Mar 20, 2012 10:05:47 GMT -5
Post by Mark on Mar 20, 2012 10:05:47 GMT -5
A cache of American Indian artifacts seized during raids on a Custer-themed museum in southeast Montana includes items allegedly stolen from members of the Crow Tribe.
The allegation was detailed in court documents filed by the government to explain why it still has the artifacts three years after federal agents dropped their criminal probe of the Custer Battlefield Museum in Garryowen.
Federal officials investigated museum director Christopher Kortlander for more than four years for alleged artifact fraud. No charges were filed, and the case was dropped in 2009.
Government attorneys contend 22 items seized in raids on Kortlander's museum and businesses in 2005 and 2008 are illegal "contraband" that cannot be returned. They include war bonnets, medicine bundles and other items that contain feathers from protected eagles and other migratory birds.
Kortlander has said he was in legal possession of the items. He sued the government to force it to return the artifacts, although one of his attorneys said Monday that any stolen items would be returned.
"If we can verify that these items were stolen, the museum will return them to the rightful owner," said Kortlander attorney Penelope Strong.
Strong added that she had requested any stolen item reports made to tribal, state or federal authorities that might corroborate the claims. There was no allegation by the government that Kortlander was directly involved in the thefts.
The court documents identified the stolen items as a feathered war bonnet belonging to Larson Medicine Horse, a Crow member and former Big Horn County sheriff, and three medicine bundles belonging to Daniel Old Elk, the Crow Sun Chief.
Medicine Horse said in an interview that the war bonnet had been in his family for years and was regularly used in ceremonies until it disappeared from an altar in his house about a decade ago.
"It's the only one that we use to pray with and it's gone," Medicine Horse said. "These are sacred items to us, but probably don't mean anything to other people."
Medicine declined to speculate on who might have stolen the item. Kortlander ran for sheriff against Medicine Horse in 2002 and lost.
Among the other seized items were at least two artifacts that a witness said Kortlander illegally bought and others of unknown origin, the U.S. Attorney's Office said in court documents.
Kortlander "repeatedly stated that he did not know who owned many of the items he was storing in his locked vault, and admitted to purchasing at least one other feathered item, making it clear contraband," Assistant U.S. Attorney Victoria Francis wrote.
Kortlander's attorneys have questioned the credibility of one government witness, a convicted artifact thief and felon named James Brubaker. Brubaker, who was released from prison in 2010, told authorities that he sold Kortlander two eagle feather fans that were seized in the raids, documents show.
Strong said Brubaker's credibility was "extraordinarily suspect."
"He has a huge bone to pick because he's in the business of providing incriminating information so he can get a lesser sentence," Strong said.
U.S. Attorney's Office spokeswoman Jessica Fehr declined to comment on the case.
A hearing in the lawsuit is scheduled for April 13 before U.S. District Judge Richard Cebull.


text:
Confessions Of A Marriage Counselor (Tyler Perry Movie (Starring Kim Kardashian) [Movie Trailer]
"A marriage counselor's personal and professional life becomes complicated after she enters into a relationship with one of her clients."
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Chris Frederick and Kevin Darby
Chris Frederick has been a physical therapist for over 24 years, focusing on a fusion of manual therapy approaches - particularly Stretch to Win Fascial Stretch Therapy® and Kinesis Myofascial Integration – along with exercise and movement prescription. He has an extensive background in dance athletics; both as a professional performer of classical ballet, as well as being a specialist practitioner of dance physical therapy. Chris is also well versed as a practitioner and instructor in the ancient movement and healing arts of tai chi and qigong. More recently he has become a Z-Health® Movement Reeducation Specialist. He enjoys outdoor workouts in the Arizona desert – strenuous hiking, running sprints, scrambling boulders, and pushing-pulling-lifting strange and unwieldy objects.
With his wife Ann, Chris is author of the book "Stretch to Win" and is a contributing writer of the chapter on stretching in the seminal book "Fascia: the human tensional network". Ann and Chris directed their own highly successful center for Fascial Stretch Therapy, physiotherapy, Kinesis Myofascial Integration, sports massage and Pilates for over 17 years. Co-Director with his wife of the Stretch to Win Institute, Chris is lead instructor of certification training workshops in Fascial Stretch Therapy at www.StretchToWin.com.
Kevin Darby is the director of Stretch To Win-Canada and the director of Darby Training Systems. He is a former athlete and has over 20 years experience in the fitness industry.
The focus of this presentation was to introduce you to how to quickly & easily use the Stretch to Win - Fascial Stretch Therapy® (STW-FST) flexibility system to correct faulty movement patterns in the squat. Then training can progress safely and not get interrupted or slowed down by pain, weakness or imbalances caused by movement restrictions. A consequence of this is better, faster, more complete results with greater confidence gained from both trainer and client.
View the PowerPoint from this presentation.
The Raising the Bar webinar series provides personal trainers, group fitness instructors, strength and conditioning coaches, students, and other fitness enthusiasts with another avenue to obtain practical fitness information and education. We have covered a wide range of topics, some of which include stretching, group fitness instruction, nutrition, balance training, and aquatic exercise.
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text:
This is a quilt from a student at Gracie Lou's. She took the Quilting 101 class, and did such a good job on her first quilt! I love the fabrics she chose.
The backing was a brown with light blue polka dot minkee. I quilted it in a light blue thread.
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Another Super SImple Quilt
This is a quilt from a student at Gracie Lou's. She took the Quilting 101 class, and did such a good job on her first quilt! I love the fabrics she chose.
Posted by Joanna at 10:16 PM 1 comments Links to this post
Labels: Customer Quilts, quilts
Custom quilt
A client came in and wanted a quilt done custom for her son, who will be leaving soon to serve an LDS mission in Brazil. She wanted pictures of Church related items, his name, his mission, and their family quilted onto the quilt.
She used two pieces of fabric, no piecing involved, to make this great gift for her son! The binding fabric was made from the remnants of the backing fabric, and she had me bind it for her.
Above: the Book of Mormon and the Holy Bible.
Below: In the center of the quilt I wrote "Called to Serve" his name, and his mission.
Not pictured: Along the top edges I wrote "Families are Forever" and "I will go, I will do". Along the left edge I wrote "I belong to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints" and along the right edge, towards the bottom I wrote "Return with Honor". The bottom edge has a saying that the client brought in that she liked: "God's gift to us is our family."
Posted by Joanna at 10:03 PM 0 comments Links to this post
Labels: Customer Quilts, original pattern, original quilting design, quilts
Thursday, October 23, 2008
Two More Halloween Quilts
Yesterday I finished quilting two more Halloween quilts for different customers.
This one was a lady's first quilt ever. It had a few flaws, like every first quilt will have, but she had a double batting, and I did a medium sized meander in black thread, and it ended up being really cute!
With the double batting and the meander everything puffed up just enough. It turned out really good. She should be proud that she successfully completed her first quilt, and it looks really good!
This next one was for the sister of one of my clients that I did 3 Halloween quilts for earlier this month. She wanted it quilted similarly to her sister's quilt, so I did close to the same thing.
I outlined the panel and then did the flower in the blocks. It turned out really good, too.
Posted by Joanna at 10:55 AM 0 comments Links to this post
Labels: Customer Quilts, quilts
Sunday, October 19, 2008
Nicole's Wedding Quilt
Nicole, my husband's cousin, is getting married on Friday. She brought me this super cute quilt, made out of fabrics that match her wedding. She is having horseshoes as part of the theme of the wedding, and wanted me to quilt some into the quilt if I could.
In the background, behind the horseshoes, I quilted a tight meander. All the quilting was done in a pink (Old Rose) thread that matches the top and bottom fabrics PERFECTLY!
I quilted horseshoes in the pink/white stripe fabrics, and in the pink/white flower fabrics. It turned out really cute!
Posted by Joanna at 11:08 PM 0 comments Links to this post
Labels: Customer Quilts, original quilting design, quilts
Friday, October 17, 2008
Background Quilting
One of the ladies that works at the local quilt shop, Gracie Lou's, brought me this quilt. She just wanted me to do a meander in the background. She wanted to do the quilting in the borders.
Isn't it such a cute quilt? I love the fabrics she used! I used a pink colored thread (Old Rose) and did a medium meander. I also outlined the appliques, and stitched in the ditch along the green stripe at the bottom.
Posted by Joanna at 10:54 PM 0 comments Links to this post
Labels: Customer Quilts, quilts
I have been really busy recently, and have been putting off posting. Sorry! Anyway, I have finished a few quilts this week, and this one was one of my favorites.
She wanted swirls quilted in the pinwheels.
And clouds and wind quilted in the borders.
I love the backing fabric she picked. It is such a cool color. And I love the way the quilting shows up on the backing.
Especially the borders. The quilt was huge, but it turned out so cute!
Posted by Joanna at 10:42 PM 1 comments Links to this post
Labels: Customer Quilts, original quilting design, quilts
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Simple Block Quilt
I got a phone call on Monday morning from someone who needed a quilt done quickly. It was her first quilt ever, and she just wanted it quilted along the seams. I love the fabrics she picked. They are mostly all jewel tones, and they look so gorgeous together!
I used a variegated thread, Butter Toffee, and quilted tiny leaves on a vine on all of the seams. The leaves are about 1 to 1 1/2 inches at the widest.
She used a poly-fill batting, around 1/2 to 3/4 inches thick, to create a puffy look. It turned out really cute, and surprisingly, the machine didn't have any trouble with the thickness of the batting.
Posted by Joanna at 7:19 PM 0 comments Links to this post
Labels: Customer Quilts, quilts
Monday, October 13, 2008
This is the latest quilt I have done for Shasta at Gracie Lou's Quilt Shoppe. I really wish that the pictures showed the colors better, because this quilt was so beautiful! It was mostly maroon, tan, and dark brown. It was very geometric in design, which was really cool.
Shasta wanted me to do an all-over pattern that matched the floral print fabrics. The flowers in the fabrics were zinnias, so I did a variation of the flowers, and then did a continuous vine with leaves throughout the rest of the quilt. The leaves closely resemble the leaves in the fabrics.
She wanted to use minky on the back. It turned out so cool! Before I had seamed the backing, we all thought it looked like a giant fur coat. It was this beautiful plush dark brown minky with stripes.
You have to look closely, but I LOVE the way the quilting looked on the back. It was a very cool look.
The Zinnia pattern is an original quilting design, and is available for use on other quilts. The zinnias range in size from small to very large, as do the leaves.
Posted by Joanna at 9:31 PM 0 comments Links to this post
Labels: Customer Quilts, original quilting design, quilts
Tuesday, October 7, 2008
Shasta's Rag Quilt
Shasta gave me this quilt to do for Gracie Lou's. It's made out of quilter's flannel. She didn't want it heavily quilted.
I did a small flower in the center of the smallest square, and then flowers in the border.
Posted by Joanna at 4:51 PM 0 comments Links to this post
Labels: Customer Quilts, quilts
My wonderful sister-in-law, Lola, is a genius at designing purses. Seriously. In fact, I am a little bit jealous of her talent! She has put a few of her fabulous designs up on her blog as free tutorials, and I made one back in April. The Jenny bag. It's a really great pattern, and super easy! It has been my trusty purse for the last 6 months. But, I'm finding that I needed a purse that hung over my shoulder more than one I just held in my hand. With a little 2 year old, who loves to go through my purse every opportunity he gets, I really need a purse I can hang on to little easier.
So, I dabbled in Lola's field and designed a bag. It isn't the greatest thing, but I am awfully proud of it!
Above: the front of the bag. Below: the inside of the bag.
The bag took 3 fat quarters to make. I think I'm going to call it the "LaRue" bag.
Posted by Joanna at 4:39 PM 1 comments Links to this post
Labels: original pattern, purses
Monday, October 6, 2008
Another Halloween Quilt
I got a call from my local quilt shop a while ago asking me to come get a quilt for a customer. It was this really cute quilt.
She wanted an all-over pattern that had flowers and pumpkins. She had seen a quilt I did up at the quilt shop, and wanted me to do it like that one.
I used a light yellow colored thread (sunlight is the official name).
Posted by Joanna at 2:07 PM 0 comments Links to this post
Labels: Customer Quilts, quilts
Friday, October 3, 2008
Bridal Shower Quilt
So, a cousin of my husband's is getting married later this month, and we as a family decided to give her a quilt. Her bridal shower is tomorrow. My mother-in-law picked this out from her many quilt tops in her collection.
I quilted a floral pattern in a wheat colored thread.
I love the way the quilting shows up on the back of th quilt. The thread was a little darker than the backing fabric, but it still turned out really cool looking.
Posted by Joanna at 10:53 PM 0 comments Links to this post
Labels: Customer Quilts, quilts
Thursday, October 2, 2008
"Hey Ghoul Friend!"
This is the third of the super-cute Halloween quilts one of my clients brought me. I think this one was my favorite to quilt, because it was so fun!
I outlined the appliques, and then did a tight looping meander on the green background to make the appliques pop.
In the border are cute pieces of witch clothing, and I oultined those appliques, and then did a tight meander around them. I quilted the quilt with Goldenrod Yellow on the top, and black on the bobbin (the quilt had black for the backing fabric).
Posted by Joanna at 4:10 PM 1 comments Links to this post
Labels: Customer Quilts, quilts
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
National Sewing Month Over
October is here, and that means that National Sewing Month is over. So, how did you all do? I didn't get nearly as much sewing done as I would have liked. I did however get a good amount of machine quilting in, which was nice. So! I would love to hear about the projects you completed!
Posted by Joanna at 9:49 PM 0 comments Links to this post
Halloween Quilt
The same client who brought me the Halloween panel quilt brought me this cute one, too!
I quilted the borders in orange, and the cream background behind the appliques in an eggshell color.
Above: In the black outer border I quilted pumpkins on a vine. Below: in the border around the appliques I did a continuous loop. I outlined the appliques, and filled in the background with a meander.
Posted by Joanna at 9:18 PM 2 comments Links to this post
Labels: Customer Quilts, quilts
Halloween Panel Quilt
I had a client bring in several quilts last Friday. They were all very cute, and she didn't know what she wanted done with them, and didn't really care, as long as they turned out cute.
Above: the Halloween panel quilt. I quilted the border in Goldenrod Yellow, and the center panel piece in black. Since the back was black, I used black thread in the bobbin.
Above: in each square in the border I quilted a flower. Below: I outlined the picture in the panel.
Posted by Joanna at 9:14 PM 0 comments Links to this post
Labels: Customer Quilts, quilts
Circles and Stars
My client, "Joy" as I call her, brought me a quilt a few weeks ago. I finished it on Monday, and it turned out so cute! She wanted concentric circles (or bulls eyes) inside the circles on the quilt, and then she wanted me to echo the stars.
She got the pattern out of an old copy of Fons and Porter, and brought it in for me to reference. She had tried before to explain to me how she wanted it quilted, but seeing the picture made it a little easier to understand her vision once I saw the picture.
I have an attachment for my Gammill, and it allows me to do perfect circles, making this task a lot easier.
Above: the finished quilt top. It turned out so cute! Below: The back of the quilt. I think the back looks so cool. On some quilts where the back is very simple and you use a neutral thread color, the quilting just pops. I LOVE IT!
Above: close up of the circles. I did 5 circles, ranging from about 11 inches in diameter down to 3 inches in diameter. Below: I echo-ed the stars out to fill in the background behind the circles.
Above: In the borders I did half circles. In the corner I did 4 circles, ranging from about 9 inches in diameter to 3 inches in diameter. For the rest of the circles I did 3 ranging from about 7 inches to 3 inches in diameter. Below: Also, about halfway across each border, I did a section of cross-hatching.
The circle design is now available for use on other quilts.
Posted by Joanna at 8:57 PM 1 comments Links to this post
Labels: Customer Quilts, quilts


text:
- Learn
- Care
- Discover
- Work
- About The School
- Our Community
Professional students Megan Henry, RN, Annemarie Everett, P3, Shakiba Feroz, D3, and Jordan Nahas-Vigon, MS3, work together in the hallway
Photo: Jeffrey Chen
By Jeffrey Chen, MS1
Elsie Smith is a pleasant elderly lady who lives in the Outer Sunset. She recently came in to UCSF to establish care with a new team of healthcare providers. For years, she has struggled to control her high blood pressure, high cholesterol and diabetes. More recently, she has developed problems with her balance, and she has started to fall frequently at home, where she lives alone. During a recent fall, she bruised her jaw, making it painful for her to eat.
This story is all too common but immensely complicated—rife with many complex issues that regularly afflict the elderly citizens of America. What's peculiar about Elsie's story is that she's actually one of eight Elsies being seen simultaneously in the Kanbar Center for Simulation in the UCSF library. Elsie is a standardized patient, played by actresses who are trained to portray a real-world patient with a list of medical problems. She has her own list of past medical issues, current symptoms, and medications—her own family and life story, her own everyday concerns. On this day and on many more from October to December, the Elsies help teach students from all of UCSF's professional programs to learn from each other and to work together.
Today's geriatric patients have extensive health histories, intricate life stories, and multiple, complex diseases. Patients like Elsie need a team of healthcare providers working together to help manage it all. Their problems are too numerous and complex for any one professional. She needs multiple providers, each with their own skill set, who can work fluidly together to provide comprehensive, holistic, and cohesive care for their patients.
And that's exactly the environment that UCSF is training its students to work in.
"Do you have a cell phone, Elsie?" asks Jordan Nahas-Vigon, a third-year medical student.
"No, I don't," replies Elsie. "Why do you ask?"
"We just want to make sure that if you fall again and can't get up, that you'll be able to reach somebody," Nahas-Vigon explains. "What do you think about that idea?"
The visit continues. Cell phones are just one of many issues that Elsie's healthcare providers must help her manage. From a medical perspective, Nahas-Vigon must also try to figure out how bad her patient's balance issues are and what's causing them, plan what she can do about controlling the pain that results from these falls, make sure her patient continues to control her chronic hypertension, hyperlipidemia, and diabetes, all while answering questions about insurance coverage and billing details.
It's a lot for a 15-minute visit.
Nahas-Vigon runs through her history and physical with Elsie, trying to add up the pieces to a basic assessment and plan. And before you'd know it, a buzzer goes off. "You have two minutes remaining," announces a soft voice over the intercom. Nahas-Vigon ties up a couple loose ends about Elsie's hypertension drugs and finishes with just under a minute to spare.
With that, her team, which has been observing from the corner of the room and taking notes, files out into the hallway. Here, they gather to share some feedback and to plan the remaining visits.
"I thought it was a great idea to bring up the cell phone," the physical therapy student, Annemarie Everett, chipped in. "I think I'm going to bring it up again during my session when I address some other things related to her falls."
The team continues to plan their visit. The nurse practitioner student, Megan Henry, RN, discusses Elsie's feelings of loneliness and depression. The dental student, Shakiba Feroz, tells everyone what she plans on asking in her examination.
"OK, so what are we going to do about her pain?" asks Henry.
The discussion continues, and the team finishes their plan with time to spare. Naturally, the conversation turns to the students' experiences in their respective schools.
"So what exactly have dental students done by their 3rd year?" asks Nahas-Vigon. "Have you done extractions yet?"
"Not yet, except for wisdom teeth extractions," replies Feroz casually.
The students continue to ask questions, trade stories, and laugh about shared experiences—being a new student in a new clinic, for example, and having to learn a brand new medical records system from scratch. The buzzer goes off again, and the team files in to the patient room, ready to build on each other's work.
While setting her agenda at the beginning of the next visit, Everett brings up points from the visit with Nahas-Vigons. "I'd like for us to figure out if there are any dangers in your house that predispose you to falling—power cables, for example. And I know you talked to your doctor about getting a cell phone, so I'd like for us to discuss that a bit as well…."
Maria Wamsley, MD and Kimberly Topp, PhD, PT, in the control room in the Kanbar Center
In a room full of computer monitors and TV screens down the hall from the practice patient rooms, faculty members from each of the five professional degree programs at UCSF—Medicine, Nursing, Pharmacy, Dentistry, and Physical Therapy—observe the patient visits remotely. They watch the team visit Elsie on their screen for a few minutes, scribble some notes about the students they're observing, and then switch the screen to another Elsie.
"Students get a lot of feedback from doing these exercises," explains Maria Wamsley, MD, co-chair of UCSF's Interprofessional Curriculum Development Working Group. From the standardized patients, she says, they hear about their communication skills; from the other learners, their teamwork skills. They even get videos of their visits to evaluate themselves and watch for the other feedback they're given. "All the faculty do is lead the general debrief session at the end!" she laughs. "The students are really learning from each other."
The interprofessional standardized patient exercise, now in its 5th year, is meant to do just that, mixing students from all UCSF professional schools together to learn from each other while working together to care for a patient. The model is meant to follow the increasingly interprofessional nature of patient care in the real world, such as at the VA, where team huddles are common before starting clinic every morning. The standardized patient exercise represents just one of many efforts that UCSF is making towards bridging the various health professionals that train here.
Last year, the program reached out beyond UCSF and began bringing in nutrition interns and social work students from SF State to join in on the exercises. "This idea was driven by students and learners," recalls Wamsley. "They're the ones who are really interested in learning about the scope of other health professionals."
Nahas-Vigon agrees. "I always feel like I learn so much from the dental students!" she laughs.
But all in all, the most important part of the exercise is learning, both about each other's professions and how to work with each other. "The exercise reinforces the different perspective of different health care professionals and how each school focuses on different aspects of history and management," continues Nahas-Vigon. "At the same time, it also shows that obviously, we all have the same goal…. of great patient care!"


text:
The Victoria & Albert Museum
I'll repeat what I said when I discussed the matching necklace which accompanies these earrings. I believe that these earrings were made later than the necklace. The necklace was created around 1820—a fact very much reflected in the style of the piece. However, I'm guessing the earrings came about a decade later. There's something about the workmanship that doesn't exactly match. However, they're quite attractive and very nice examples of the style of the early to mid Nineteenth Century. This is the sort of thing that a young Queen Victoria would have worn—or at least admired.


text:
Monday, July 14, 2008
My plan was to leave Big Lake early so that I could run some of the SHT that I haven't seen before. Check in at the House Of Beauty wasn't until 4 PM. When I left Big Lake it was already 80F with a high of 95. When I arrived Lutsen it was 51F. Crap. I arrived in Lutsen at 930 and stopped in at Caribou Highlands. Vladimir offered me a ride back from Cascade State Park when I was finished with my run so I left my car there. I ran the section of the SHT from Lutsen to Caribou Trail to Cascade State Park. It was a great section of trail. Some hills, some runnable areas, Lake Agnes, it was beautiful. 18 miles later Vladimir picked me up and brought me back to Caribou Highlands. I still had a few hours so I ran up to Moose Mountain and back, another 12 miles. Moose was covered in fog. I couldn't see the trees off of the trail. It was kind of erie but very cool.
At 400 I pulled into our house for the weekend. It sits on the rocky Lake Superior shoreline. It's incredible. Really. Well, for $500 a night it should be, right?
Maria was at the house and Duke, Pierre and John had arrived and were already out running the trail and stashing water for the 40 mile run on Saturday.
The past two years we have had someone crew for us. The crew will meet us with water, food, etc at designated areas. This year we didn't have that luxury. We did pretty well without a crew, however.
After everyone arrived we had a great Mexican feast. Spicy chicken, rice, beans, salsas, chips, cilantro corn dish, queso, salads, amazing food items . We then figured out where we needed water and gels. We figured out where we would leave cars for the finish to get back to home base and how many cars we needed in the morning to transport ourselves to our start at Finland Rec Center, which is mile 50.5 of the Superior Sawtooth 100 mile run (or the start this year for the 50 mile run). Alicia, Helen, Jim, Holly, Maria and I deposited water jugs and gels at designated posts. With the water that Duke, John and Pierre dropped earlier we were all set.
Nancy and Tom were going to meet us at mile 22 or so 6 hours into the run. The thought was they would do some hiking, then if someone wasn't up for the full 40, they could catch a ride here back to the house at this point.
By 1030 we were all in bed, resting up for the run on the trail. It stormed. There was thunder and lightening and rain all night long. I was thinking that the run Saturday would be wet and slippery.
By 430 we were all awake, drinking coffee and eating breakfast. The sky was no longer stormy. By 500 we were nearing the start point and the sky was BLUE! It was going to be a great day.
We began our run at 516 AM. John and Duke would lead the pack as they are the speediest of the group. I figured they would finish in 9 - hours. I figured it would take the rest of us about 11-12 hours.
I couldn't help but run with a smile on my face. The morning was spectacular. It wasn't raining! The temperature was 51, a nice stiff wind, I was with a bunch of friends doing what I love to do. Within a few miles we heard a loon talking up a storm. He went on and on, probably calling for his mate.
Pretty soon I had removed my jacket. It was warming up nicely. I had on my Golite Rush pack with 42 oz of Heed, some powder Heed, gels, a few sandwiches and some nuts. I was ready for fun.
There really aren't any spectacular views from miles 50.5 to 80 of the 100 mile race. We began at Finland - mile 50.5 I don't really care for the Sonju Lake area as it is nothing but low land, roots and bugs. During the 100 I'm running this area at night so it is difficult getting over the roots, but in the daylight it isn't all that awesome. It kind of wears on a person. During the 100 mile race the first miles bring Bean and Bear Lake views which are spectacular, Mount Trudee which is real cool, the drain pipe which is awesome, the beaver dams which are way cool. The last 20 miles of the 100 bring Carlton Peak which is incredible..huge granite walls of rock which you don't see in MN anywhere else, Temperance River which is amazing and Moose Mountain. Those middle miles of the 100 are kind of crappy, in my opinion, in comparison to the rest of the trail that I have seen so far. I don't know why some people want the 50 mile to be point to point. For 2008 , it will now begin at Finland to Lutsen. It will be a much slower race, as the course will be more difficult, but the views are not great. I'd rather run the 50 out and back. Being able to climb Carlton peaks front and back, going across Moose Mountain 2x, than seeing all the roots of Sonju. Although, Manitou River is pretty, the 50 milers will see that section now. Still, I would prefer the 50 out and back.
Back to the Beta Run. We were having an absolute fun fest. Maria, Holly, Alicia, Jim and I were running in a pack. Duke and John were way ahead, then Pierre and then Helen were up ahead. Jeff was in between them and us.
We stopped at our drops and refilled our water bottles and bladders, filling up on gels and depositing our garbage into a ziploc bag. We were going to pick up the garbage and remaining jugs after our run.
As we made our way through the Sonju Lake area we were slipping and sliding on the board walks. Holly and I went across one board walk in particular and yelled back to Maria, Alicia and Jim "it is slippery, slow down!" they didn't hear us. I yelled "i stopped on that one, it's too slippery". They didn't hear us. We watched in fright as Maria was running fast and came to the board walk, taking one step, her legs came out from under her, she went down on her back, hard. Oh man. She really whacked herself. The board walk was like glare ice. Maria couldn't move her three fingers on one hand. As she righted herself and began to scoooch along the walk she tried moving her fingers. Eventually she was able to move them. They did swell and bruise. Pretty soon we noticed her pack was leaking. When she came down on her back, her pack cushioned her fall. Her bladder was punctured and her water was leaking out. She pulled out her bladder and ended up turning it upside down to save some of the water, the leak was near the spigot. She was in rough shape. We continued on through Manitou River. It's a steep descent, then a steep uphill. It isn't so bad early in a run, in the daylight but during the 100, in the night, it is plain old tough. Maria is going to have her aid station here. I am already looking forward to it! It's at the 100K mark of the 100 and for most of us, we will hit it before day light. I'll be moving slowly so will be able to have a full hot meal here before heading up river.
I looked at my watch and saw that we would probably miss Tom and Nancy. It was near 12 and I told them we would meet them at the next check point between 10 and 11. As we approached the check point we noticed a Red Bull can full of wild flowers! Nancy had been there. Sure enough, a few more steps and we came up to the check point and Tom and Nancy. Jeffrey was here too. He had reached the point 40 minutes earlier, had rested and refueled. He was ready to head out with us. Maria and Jim decided they were ready to call it a day. Maria was pretty sore from her fall. They would go back to the house and clean up, then meet us at other check points.
Alicia, Holly, Jeffrey and I took off for some more running of the Superior Hiking Trail. Alicia began to have some trouble with her stomach. Holly and I ran up ahead and increased our pace a bit. The next sections were more runnable than where we had been. We ran to the next aid point in 1:35 and waited for Jeffrey and Alicia. When they didn't appear in 15 minutes we decided to head on. I crushed an empty jug, opened up another that we had stashed and refilled my bottles. Holly now had Nancy's pack so she refilled her bladder, we ate and headed out. Holly and I had a great conversation and a wonderful time running together. We had never run together before so had plenty to talk about. Pretty soon we were nearing Temperance, one of my favorite sections, and we saw Maria and Jim coming toward us. They hadn't seen Jefferey and Alicia at the last check point. I told Maria we waited, then left. She said she saw a crushed water container, that this was the sign Jefferey had gone through. I told her I crushed the water container! Now I was worried that I had messed up and left Alicia and Jefferey high and dry. It almost made me vomit. What if I because I crushed the jug, causing Maria to clean the aid, leaving them without water and gels. Oh no. I felt horrible. I hoped that they had made it through before Maria and Jim arrived.
Holly had run her longest run ever! 35 (?) miles on the SHT! She was finished. I was going to run the last leg of our planned run, from Temperance to Britton Peak, one of my favorite sections, 7 miles. The Temperance River was full and the waterfalls were crashing. It was a beautiful sight. I ran along, enjoying myself, reflecting on the fun day I had. I still felt strong and was excited to see Carlton Peak.
I was becoming hungry. So far I had been drinking Heed and taking gels, plus I had a half of a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. I remembered that Nancy gave me a baggie of trail mix that Jeff had stuck into my pack. I began to think about how good that mix would taste. After thinking about the nuts and pineapple and blueberries for 15 minutes I finally stopped and removed the mix from my pack. Oh, it was as wonderful as I had imagined it would be! I guzzled Heed and ate a fair amount of trail mix, now I was ready to finish this run up. As I came to Carlton Peak, taking in the huge granite rock wall I realized that this section was longer than I had thought. I had forgotten about the 1.5 miles to Britton. Dang. All of a sudden the remaining 1.5 miles was a dreary trudge. I wanted to be done. It's amazing how the brain can change everything. 1.5 miles seemed daunting. I laughed at myself. If I can be excited about a 40 mile run, surely a 1.5 mile section isn't going to exhaust me.
Finally I ran onto Sawbill Trail. I was finished. 11:40 for the run. Holly's car was at the finish. She gave me her keys at Temperance where she finished. There was a jug of water in front of her car she left. I guzzled most of the gallon of water and stretched out, went to the bathroom, removed my pack and felt totally relaxed. It was a great run.
Pretty soon I found myself driving to Finland Rec Center, where my car was. I had left it at the start. I was craving the Diet Pepsi that I had in the back of my car. Before I made it to Finland I realized I was driving Holly's car and surely couldn't drive the two cars back to the house. Sheesh! I turned around and went back to Tofte. Ultra Brain.
I pulled into our lot and went to the house, asking if someone could take me to my car. I didn't want to shower, eat and still have the hour drive to pick up my car and come back. I'd be exhausted. I wanted to get that over with and then enjoy the evening. Jim, Duke, John and I went to Finland. The first thing I did was ask Jim about Jefferey and Alicia and the aid. Thank goodness, they had made it through the check point before Maria did. They refilled and refueled. They stopped at Temperance. I had wasted so much energy worrying about them. I was so relieved to hear that everything went well.
John and Duke finished in 8:16! Faster than I thought they would. Pierre and Helen came in a few hours later.
After returning home I quickly checked in with everyone. John had grilled burgers, there was a ton of food on the table. I took a shower and ate Nancy's asparagus/carrot bake with 5 scrambled eggs. I was hungry! We cleaned up the dishes and spent the evening visiting. At about 10 Duke decided to build a fire on the rocky shoreline. By 1130 everyone was snug in bed, exhausted from a fine day of running and fresh air.
Sunday morning and everyone was up by 630. Pierre brought cheese, bread and wine; Maria had cinnamon rolls, I made eggs, Holly had a sweet potato bake, there was fruit, great coffee; another fine meal.
We packed up and said we'd be back for more next year. Maybe three nights, with a trip to the Canadian border. We will be marking BETA IV on the calendar for next July.
Before going home I wanted to run the new section of the SHT through Duluth. Unfortunately, the SHT store was closed in Two Harbors and neither of the two gas stations that I stopped at to ask employees for SHT maps had a clue as to what I was asking for. I finally had to call home, have Tyler look up the SHT website. He let me know there were maps at Thompson Hill rest area. I always stop there on the way out of town!
I stopped by the rest area and sure enough, there were maps of the SHT going through Duluth. I grabbed what I needed and headed off to find the Rose Garden off of London Road. There were the blue blazes! I couldn't believe it. On the trail the blue blazes are on the trees and rocks, guiding me along the trail. Here in town, the blazes were on the telephone poles. I couldn't get lost! I crossed London Road and followed a few blocks to Chester Creek Trail to Skyline Parkway. It was awesome. I felt like I was on a treasure hunt, following blue blazes and my map through town.
Before I knew it I was near UMD and then into the woods. I ran along and took in the new views, views that I had never seen before. I was quite proud of myself for not becoming lost. As I reached the nature center I looked at my watch and realized I needed to turn around and get back to my car and head home. I followed my trail, in reverse and was able to make my way back. I did become a bit confused once I was nearing London Road. A quick check of my map to get the street numbers straight and I was back on track. I think I covered 15+ miles here. What a great trail. I think I'll make a day trip and cover another section of the trail near Duluth.
I had an incredible weekend on the Superior Hiking Trail. Total mileage for the three days was roughly 85 miles. As great as it was, it sure is nice to be back home! After being at the cabin for a few days and off to Lutsen it seems like I have been gone quite a bit.
Steve and the boys returned from the lake, they had a fabulous time. Troy was so exhausted, he slept until 930 this morning. He NEVER sleeps past 630. I couldn't believe that he was still sleeping when Topaz and I came home from our run.
Both boys played baseball tonight. Luckily they both played at the 4 plex so I could watch both of them. They are wrapping up their seasons. Tyler is done tonight and Troy only has a week left. Summer is winding down. Boohoo. No Twins until Friday as it is the All Star break. We're watching the Home Run Derby. I don't care for it. We have tickets for Saturday's game against Texas. Don't know what I'll do with so much time on my hands as the boys finish up baseball. I'm sure I can think of something :)
I have two loaves of bread in the oven and it's getting late. I'll post pictures of BETA III tomorrow.
4 comments:
- Kel said...
Anywhere on the Superior Hiking Trail is one of my favorite places on Earth. Sounds like you had a great time and will rock Sawbill this year.
- SteveQ said...
Your description just makes me itch to get up there! I wonder if Larry will let me enter in a wheelchair division (can you imagine?)
- Steve said...
Sounds like an awesome time was had by all, (excpet for Maria's fall). Hopefully I can make it out next year. Can't wait to tackle the 50-miler in September!
Hope you had fun running around in my neck of the woods! It's funny to drive around Duluth and see the blue slashes, it makes me giggle!The funniest part is when you see some person with a gigantic pack lumbering in a residental area!
Yeah for a good time! Great house! I wiped out last weekend on the trail in two spots. Once on one of those bridges and once over a rocky wet area. A bit further down the trail, we noticed they covered some of the boardwalks with chicken wire to give it some traction. I ripped my new zip of pants and wracked my knees and hands up pretty bad! Darn things, they are just like ice! Hope your friend is ok!


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Topic: I Hate Telemarketers!
Grr I just had a telemarketer ring me. Man I hate them - they never get my surname right and I'm never interested in what they're trying to sell me. Dammit an Indian guy was doing a survey, I used the tone of voice that was very clear that I would hit him over the head with something hard if he didn't hurry up and get off the phone... should have let the answering machine take it.
Okay I've had my gripe. Anyone else who hates telemarketers or who know of good lines to get rid of them please make a note here!
It was like thousands of voices cried out for a sequel and were suddenly silenced...


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Good God: Drakes Kisses Another Fan & Look At The Assets On This Girl!! (Crowd Gets On There Feet For This)
That dont look normal. Shouts to Team Rsinal Inc
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HAMPTON — The young man sits, his head bowed slightly, as the older men seated around him talk animatedly.
HAMPTON — The young man sits, his head bowed slightly, as the older men seated around him talk animatedly.
The conversation is about football, mostly about Winnacunnet High football, and often very specifically about the young man himself.
That's when Ben Franzoso seems least comfortable with the situation.
His former Little Warrior coach John Hornberger mentions how Franzoso scored 29 touchdowns in sixth grade. Franzoso squirms.
Chris Franzoso says Ben could have been a great cornerback and once returned three interceptions for a score in a single freshman game. Ben Franzoso claims not to remember the game.
But when the conversation turns to the team, that's when Ben Franzoso joins in.
"Football is the life game. You learn life lessons through football," he said.
The older men nod their heads in unison at the solemn pronouncement.
I am seated in the Franzoso home for the purpose of learning about the parallel stories of two Winnacunnet High championship football teams. The 1983 team and the 2012 squad are separated by nearly 30 years but joined by town, memory and the fact that each had an explosive athlete wearing the No. 34 jersey named Franzoso.
It is a good story.
Chris Franzoso was a junior wingback in a Wing-T offense and defensive back on the 1983 team that went 11-1. Coached by Ken Liporto, the team was built on defense. Tommy Evans was on that team and is in the room as friend and as the official representative to get the facts straight. He also has worked as a personal trainer for Ben and several other current and former Winnacunnet football players. According to Evans, the 1983 Winnacunnet Warriors allowed 50 points that season "and 25 of them were against Somersworth on a bunch of fluke plays."
Winnacunnet avenged its lone loss in the semifinal, beating Somersworth, 18-12 in overtime, and then beat rival Exeter for the second time in the season, 19-7, in the championship game.
Prior to this year it was the last time Winnacunnet had won a title on its home field.
Chris Franzoso did not play football until his sophomore season. Growing up in North Hampton, the son of long-time Wentworth by the Sea head golf pro Dan Franzoso, he had really focused on basketball and baseball.
As a freshman he had been on the varsity soccer team. Apparently Liporto saw a football player masquerading in short pants.
"I only played soccer because my brother, who was a senior, played soccer," Chris said. "I was the king of the yellow card. All I knew how to do was run. I'd run and knock people over."
The next fall, as Franzoso tells it, Liporto told him to show up at football practice at 3:15.
"Coach Liporto didn't give me a choice," he said. He stood about 6-foot-4. He was an intimidating guy. He wouldn't take no for an answer."
His first season of football was memorable but far from successful. Winnacunnet won one game in 1982. But in the final game, against Exeter, the Warriors played tough and a spark was lit.
"We worked out all summer," Evans said. "We knew we were going to be good."
It is about this time when the similarities in the stories really start to become clear.
Last season the Warriors, like their 1982 forefathers, struggled to a 3-7 record but this year's senior class was convinced they could do better.
"I knew we were going to do it," Ben Franzoso said. "Me and Jordan (Cutting) and Mike (Karpel) we were talking about it in sixth grade. We're going to win state our senior year. Even though we had a bad year in our junior year we knew we could win in our senior year."
In both 1983 and 2012 the top seed in the playoffs — thus the right to host the playoff games — was on the line in the final regular season game. Both years major storms pushed the game back a day.
But the greatest similarity, Chris Franzoso says, cannot be summarized by a neat statistic or a coincidence. It was the feeling, of shared effort, sacrifice and, ultimately, success.
"By no means do you peak in high school but the reason I wanted Ben and the rest of these kids to feel this was that it really was a special moment in my life," Chris Franzoso said. "And it really had nothing with football. It was the camaraderie."
Throughout the 2012 season the spotlight shined on Franzoso. With good reason. Despite missing three games to a groin injury — and being slowed by it in two others — he gained 1,431 rushing yards. Nine of his 13 touchdowns came on runs of 56 yards or more.
But it is when Franzoso talks about his teammates — "my best friends" — that he becomes animated.
Shortly after the end of Ben Franzoso's junior season, friends and the football bonds were put to the test.
Chris Franzoso was diagnosed with throat cancer.
He needed a neck dissection, chemotherapy and 45 days of radiation. Through the recovery process he lost 106 pounds. It was difficult and painful but Franzoso appeared on the mend, with the cancer in remission and his voice remarkably still intact.
Then, due to complications from the pain management medications leading to extreme constipation, his intestine was pierced.
"Ben saved his life," Evans said.
After coming home from school, Ben Franzoso said he heard his dad screaming. Despite his father's protestations, the younger Franzoso emphatically ordered Chris into the car and drove him to the emergency room. Three hours later he received a call his father was in surgery.
"That was pretty bad," Ben said.
Chris Franzoso said he had an unbelievable support system. It included former football teammates like Evans. There were many others, like Hornberger, who had become family friends through Ben's football experiences.
"Thank God, Ben was part of this team because he had someone to lean on," Chris said.
Chris Franzoso said well-intentioned people have said to him that he must be proud of his son because of how well Ben played as a senior.
"It's not that I'm proud of him because he won a state title. I was proud of him a long time ago. But I was so happy for him, so happy that he got to go out and write his own ending," Chris Franzoso said.
I asked Ben Franzoso if he would want his own son to play football.
"Yeah. He doesn't have a choice," the 18-year said. "You learn so much. You have the bonds with those kids the rest of your life."
The older men nod in agreement.


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Avery Dawson wins talent competition, takes first runner-up.
Anna Moore was crowned Miss Neuse 2014 in front of a near-capacity crowd Saturday at the Grainger-Hill Performing Arts Center.
�I was just so surprised,� Moore said. �All of the competition was really tough and it was just such an honor. I�m so blessed to have won it.�
Along with the flowers and crown that go along with the title, Moore received a $3,300 scholarship.
A sophomore at Arendell Parrott Academy, Moore is the daughter of David and Suzanne Moore and was sponsored by Chick-fil-A of Kinston.
Avery Dawson won the talent competition and received the first runner-up nod.
�I was so excited when I won talent,� Dawson said. �I�ve always love to tap, ever since I was a little girl, and my dance teacher choreographed my dream tap dance, and it won, and I was so excited.�
Dawson, daughter of Andy and Mindy Eubanks and Chris and Ashley Dawson, was sponsored by Eubanks Video, Tanning and Plants and took home $650 in scholarships. She�s a sophomore at South Lenoir High School.
North Lenoir High School sophomore Leah Thompson, second runner-up, is the daughter of Greg and Theresa Thompson and was sponsored by Xpress Yourself Apparel and Gifts. She received $250 in scholarships.
Taylor Jones, also a North Lenoir sophomore, placed as third runner-up and won the creative expression category, also claiming $250 in scholarships. She is the daughter of Michael Ellis Jones and Ina Jones, and was sponsored by Mike Jones Construction.
North Lenoir sophomore Kamryn Woodward won the gown and photogenic competitions. She is the daughter of Brian Woodward and Shannon Wade and was sponsored by J.P. Jackson Contracting.
Brianna Radford, North Lenoir sophomore, won the interview competition. She is the daughter of Chris and Vanessa Radford and was sponsored by Lovick�s Caf�.
Bethel Christian Academy sophomore Jenna Price won the congeniality prize, and is the daughter of Leroy and Debbie Price. She was sponsored by Cannon�s Marketing.
North Lenoir sophomore Kayla Moore sold the most ads of any contestant � more than $4,000 � and receives 10 percent of the total amount. She is the daughter of Mike and Kim Moore and was sponsored by Michael Moore�s Masonry.
Also competing were Lilly Albritton, Autumn Faulkner, Rebekah Heath, Kolby Holland, Callie Ann Kesler, Janiya Miller and Haley Weaver.
A $100 scholarship went to the winner of each individual category and each contestant received a $50 scholarship. In all, more than $5,800 was given.
The annual event raises money for the Hugo Volunteer Fire Department. Pageant chairwoman Diane Howard didn�t have immediate numbers on the amount of money raised, but Bill Howard, a charter member of the Hugo VFD, said the dollars are an important resource for the firefighters.
�This Miss Neuse program has raised thousands of dollars for the Hugo Fire and Rescue Department to purchase equipment that we would have not been able, or not have been able to purchase without this pageant,� Howard said.
He added, �I can assure you, the tax dollars that we receive would surely not buy a lot of this specialized equipment that we have purchased from funding from this pageant. So, it is a very worthwhile pageant and has meant a lot to the fire department.�
WNCT�s David Sawyer emceed the event, which was directed by Reid Taylor and choreographed by Mandy Odom.
Wes Wolfe can be reached at 252-559-1075 and firstname.lastname@example.com. Follow him on Twitter @WolfeReports.


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That was fun, I'm not going to lie to you. I've never hit a home run – ever, since I was a Little Leaguer. That's the first ball I've hit over a fence in 38 years of existence. The home runs I'd hit as a kid, they'd just roll and they'd kick it around. But I've never hit a ball, ever, over a fence.Lowe was leading off the bottom of the third inning, and he hit the 8th pitch of the at-bat (bbbccff).
The home run came in Lowe's 425th major league at-bat (and 522nd plate appearance). He's the third pitcher since 1900 to hit his first home run at age 38 or older (all three guys went deep in the third inning!):
AGE TEAM OPP PITCHER DATE Preacher Roe 38 LAD PIT Bob Hall July 7, 1953 (G2) Top of 3rd, 1 out, 0 on, 1-0 count Randy Johnson 40 ARZ MIL Doug Davis September 19, 2003 Top of 3rd, 1 out, 0 on, 2-0 count Derek Lowe 38 ATL WAS John Lannan August 31, 2011 Bottom of 3rd, 0 out, 0 on, 3-2 count


text: I just installed Linux on this computer. It was running really poor with windows me and had lots of problems and linux was the only OS i had around the house. I put an extra stick of memory into the computer and i was wondering how i make the computer recongize it. I am also having problems installing programs with it. I am probably just retarded but if i could get some help that would be great. Thanks


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(CMT Offstage keeps a 24/7 watch on everything that's happening with country music artists behind the scenes and out of the spotlight.)
Four million? Well, maybe Keith Urban is exaggerating just a little bit. In this story in Australia's Herald Sun, Urban talks about how strong his memory is for music.
"I know a lot of songs, what can I say? You know what's terrible? I can remember 4 million song lyrics, but I'll lose my car keys and cell phone in a second," he admitted.
Now that Karise Eden has won the Australian version of The Voice , she gets a car, $100,000 prize and a recording contract. Then what?
"A lot of people are so quick to say that's a cop-out, you have to work the pubs and clubs to pay your dues, but honestly, if we didn't have to, would we? Nobody wants to go and starve for 10 years. Nobody chooses that," he said of the road Eden faces. "These guys aren't getting an easy ride. I don't know what sort of courage it takes to get up there — the idea of doing that is something I find so intimidating and nerve-racking."


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Greensboro Library, NCHome Menu
Count with Me Storytime at McNairy
- Date: 10/02/2019 10:00 AM - 10:30 AM
- Location: Glenn McNairy Branch Library
4860 Lake Jeanette Rd.
Greensboro, North Carolina 27455
- CostFree
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Parents and care givers can bring toddlers and preschoolers for simple books, hand rhymes, felt-board stories and fun-filled learning.
Today's theme is numbers and counting.


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Candidates are chosen on the basis of their experience and potential. They are provided dancers, time and studio space.
Learn more and apply >
The New York Choreographic Institute is pleased to announce a new initiative to support emerging choreographers who have been commissioned by a ballet company to create a new ballet to be presented on stage.
Learn more and apply >
Symposia and round-table discussions on choreography, music, lighting, costume and scenic design.
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A selected choreographer spends a period of time exploring choreography, design, visual art, music, production, and collaboration.


text: Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti said. "We got well into the match, scored two early goals and that opened the game and left us able to counter and to use the speed of our players. SNOQUALMIE, Wash. -- Bart Bryant got off to a fast start in his bid to win consecutive Champions Tour titles, shooting a 6-under 66 on Friday to take the first-round lead in the Boeing Classic. Bryant had eight birdies and two bogeys at TPC Snoqualmie Ridge, five days after winning the Dicks Sporting Goods Open in Endicott, N.Y., for his first victory in his rookie season on the 50-and-over tour. "It was a good way to start. I wish I could have hung on there late. Kind of ran out of steam the last few holes, but overall, a great day," Bryant said. "Ill take a 66 every day for the rest of my life." Bryant opened with a birdie and added four in a row on Nos. 3-6. He bogeyed the par-4 seventh, rebounded with birdies on Nos. 11, 13 and 14, and had another bogey on the par-3 17th. On the 210-yard, par-3 13th, he holed out from a bunker. Bryant did not play much during his final four years of PGA Tour eligibility because of two surgeries on his left wrist. The first one didnt work and, after thee second one, he said, "I was beginning to think this might be it.ddddddddddddquot; "I was not really hopeful to play again," he said, "but the second time we did it, it worked. It seems like its holding together. It was just years and years of beating it up. I lost all the cartilage in there. The bones started rubbing. So they went in there and fused one big bone." Duffy Waldorf and Bobby Clampett shot 67, and Bernhard Langer, Dick Mast and Kirk Triplett followed at 68. Langer tied the course record with a 5-under 31 on the front nine. Hometown favourite Fred Couples opened with a 69. Waldorf, who tied for sixth last year in the event in his Champions Tour debut, chipped in from a bunker behind the green for an eagle on the 498-yard, par-5 18th. Triplett, who grew up in Eastern Washington, had four birdies in a bogey-free round. Kenny Perry, No. 1 in the Charles Schwab Cup standings,


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We step out of the dusty S-10 at the end of an old logging road in Sequatchie County, Tennessee. The surrounding landscape is blasted, just piles of dirt and debris, shorn of trees or shelter from the relentless sun, but we're used to this. A vulture wheels overhead as we check the GPS. "This is as good as we can do," Jason says. "But we're about 2 kilometers northeast of where we really want to be." I take out my compass and look across the clearcut to a patch of trees, trees that quickly disappear below the horizon. A steep descent. Cliffs. Bluffs. Rocks. We're used to this, too. Yet just because you're used to something doesn't mean you like it. We start off northwestward.
While walking through the coves and gulfs of the Cumberland Plateau you want to stay alert. There's loose boulders and dead trees that can fall over in a stout gust. Copperheads and timber rattlesnakes might coil near every handhold. Stick your foot between the wrong two rocks and you've just snapped your ankle with no easy way back up the slope. But it can be hard to concentrate on the terrain when the hours and the heat stretch out before you and all your body does is walk while all your mind does is consider things as they should be. Or as they could be. Or mostly as they never are. Ghosts. Ghosts are dead things, of the past. Often terrible. But there are other ghosts. Worse ones. Ghosts of the present. The living dead. The shape of things to come falling apart. Then there are ghosts of the future, the worst kind. Dreams that will never come true. Just keep walking.
Jason and I get beyond the clearcut to the treeline and look across the valley. Typical. The valley is so steep and covered in laurel and bramble we can't even see what's below us. The opposite slope actually rises above where we're standing. Typical. We pick a route that appears reasonable, yet might end abruptly in a bluff and a sheer drop to the rocky creek below us. It wouldn't be the first time we'd be forced to crawl back up a hill and look for an alternative way down. But eventually the bramble and laurel yields to a landscape of 50-100 pound boulders that appear to have been literally thrown across every slope. A rockslide waiting to happen. Jason and I keep a good distance apart so that we don't inadvertently bury each other. The going is not easy, but we reach our first transects and begin walking south to nowhere in particular.
Alright, so that's a pretty melodramatic way to return, eh? Before everyone starts sending me bottles of Xanax, let me just say that I was TRYING to be melodramatic. Something about walking around out in the woods this summer didn't feel quite right and it was hard to convey the sense of burn-out. On the other hand, no one pulled a gun on us, no one almost died, not much of interest happened at all, for better or worse. With that in mind, I'll try to pick up the remaining threads of last year's harrowing mess in subsequent posts that hopefully won't take 6 months to put up.
Interestingly, I can end this post the same way I ended my last one, over 180 days ago: "By the way, anyone wanna give me a job?"
P.S. These photos are from the flat land of far-western Tennessee, not anywhere near the Plateau, geographically or spiritually.


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