Away Game

By Uncle Hans

Winter made a sudden appearance in the Midwest on Thursday.  We practiced Thursday afternoon at 28 degrees with a 50 mile an hour wind. Unforgettable. We left early Friday for a game with Olivet Nazarene University, located about an hour south of Chicago. We drove in snow all day. About halfway there, our bus engine blew, stranding us on the freeway in the snow. It took about 3 hours for the coaches to arrange to rent two 15 passenger vans so we could keep going.......

We arrived at Olivet and it was just starting a combination of sleet and snow. But then the sun came out a little and it stopped. The game was bone chilling cold with a nasty wind.

This was the schedule of the day's events. And, yes, we stood for the national anthem with our helmets off and our hands over our hearts.........

Everyone here is watching a coin in the air. We won the coin toss, but it turned out to be the highlight of the game....

This is our coach in blue personally greeting each and every TBC Lions fan, which didn't take him very long. I believe they were all parents of players.

We lost the first half of the game 49 to 6. The touchdown we scored may well have been the highlight of the season, even though the other team already had the second string in. We won the second half, 0 - 0.  22 healthy and eligible players participated in the game for Trinity. Three were injured. That could make the season's last game next week pretty interesting. We play against a team that is a good match for us, but we might be down to 19 players......

The 13 hour trip home was uneventful. I was happy because they asked me to drive the last half of the trip. It was fun to do something useful, for a change.  I found out later that the rental company policy was "25 years and older", for drivers. The coaches were all exhausted with what had happened in the previous 36 hours and I was the only one left over 25.  LOL!

     The guys took it all in stride, told each other the story of the touchdown we scored over and over, and passed around the bottle until 5 a.m. when we got back to Ellendale.

   I admit that I took a few myself. And I admit that I am starting to miss those guys already. They are Family with a capital "F"!!

Uncle Hans

Now you can go back to the beginning of the story and catch up on what you've missed so far including all the pictures. CLICK HERE

CATCH ALL

MY THANKS TO MARY FOR WRITING A BLOG YESTERDAY, IT’S BEEN AWHILE SINCE SHE’S WRITTEN.

SPENDING TIME IN THE VALLEY OF THE SUN FELT GOOD WITH 90+ DEGREE WEATHER.

PACKING

THIS WEEK IT’S TIME TO PACK UP AND HEAD BACK TO THE LOWER MOHAVE DESERT AND THE MOHAVE VALLEY ALONG THE COLORADO RIVER. WE’VE MADE PROGRESS ON REDUCING THE THINGS THAT WE NEED TO MOVE BACK AND FORTH, BUT IT’S STILL COMPLICATED AS WE TRY TO PACK THE STUFF WE WILL NEED FOR OUR VACATION AT SOUTH LAKE TAHOE INTO THE CAR.

WE BOTH LIKE LIVING IN THE MOUNTAIN CABIN BETTER THAN THE CAMPER, BUT OUR QUEST FOR “SUNNY & 80” RETURNS US TO THE DESERT.

FOOTBALLAT65

UNCLE HANS IS WRAPPING UP THE FOOTBALLAT65 ADVENTURE WITH ONLY 10 DAYS REMAINING. THE BOOK IS FINISHED AND HAS BEEN SENT OUT TO PROOF READERS. NEXT WILL BE THE FORMATTING AND PUBLISHING AT AMAZON E-BOOKS FOR KINDLES. I’LL BE SURE TO PROVIDE A LINK TO THE KINDLE STORE AS SOON AS IT GOES LIVE.

IF YOU NEED TO CATCH UP ON THE STORY, HERE IS A LINK (CLICK HERE) TO THE INDEX OF THE BLOGS HE HAS WRITTEN FROM COLLEGE.

FITBIT

I’M TAKING A MONTH OFF FROM MY FITBIT AND DIETING, OCT.15 – NOV. 15. I STILL CARRY THE DEVICE DAILY SO MY STEPS ARE BEING RECORDED, BUT I’M NOT TRACKING FOOD, WEIGHING, OR PAYING ATTENTION TO THE NUMBERS.

OF COURSE BY THE END OF NOVEMBER I EXSPECT TO BE BACK TO #1 ON THE ABOVE FRIENDS LIST ONLY BECAUSE MARY WILL BE WORKING!

IF YOU USE A FITBIT, OR GET ONE FOR CHRISTMAS JUST E-MAIL ME AND WE CAN GET YOU ON MY FRIENDS LIST TOO.

SCOOTER

I FOUND A SCOOTER SHOP ON THE MOUNTAIN THAT ACTUALLY SPECIALIZES IN TRIKES AND HAD THE SCOOTER IN FOR IT’S ANNUAL MAINTAINENCE, TUNE-UP, NEW FRONT TIRE, AND A NEW BATTERY. THE SCOOTER IS READY FOR A FULL WINTER OF RIDING.

  “SUNNY & 72”

Taliesin West

I have been a life long admirer of Frank Lloyd Wright.  Growing up about 50 miles from where he did, probably has something to do with it and the fact that my Dad was a fan.  I’ve been to Taliesin East in Spring Green, Wisconsin.

Being in Arizona makes it easier to visit Taliesin West, the school of architecture founded by Mr. Wright.  I was there in the ‘80s and this trip was a lot different and I can’t even say specifically why, but it was.

Mr. Wright bought one square mile of land in the Arizona desert to build the Western campus of his school for about $3.50 an acre in 1937.  So he paid about $10,000 for that one square mile……our guide didn’t say what the current value is and unfortunately I didn’t ask.   When they drilled a well a few years later, after hauling water to the site for years, they had to drill over 500 feet and that also cost about $10,000.

This structure was at the entrance.  At Taliesin you find a lot of water pools because Mr. Wright’s schools both burned at different times so he made a lot of places to find water…..not easy to do in the desert.

On of may sculptures on the grounds.  A lot of them are Asian in nature due to the fact that Mr. Wright spent time in Asia designing buildings.

One of twelve scenes like this on the property.  They are all pretty similar and from Japan.

This is one of my favorite rooms.  It is huge and used as a Saturday night gatherings which Mr. Wright insisted that his apprentices attend.  The men were required to wear tux’s and the women evening gowns.  These origami chairs are constructed out of one piece of plywood and are very, very comfortable.

This is the theater and is stilled used for concerts and plays.

Taliesin is still a working school. the apprentices study and work here during the winter months, but come May 1 they load up and head out to Spring Green, WI to study and work there.

This is definitely a worthwhile place to visit.

PHOENIX WEEK-END

WE SPENT THE WEEK-END IN PHOENIX WITH DAVE AND CINDY. THANKS GUYS FOR A GREAT WEEK-END !!!

IT TURNED OUT TO BE A MOOSE LODGE TOUR. WE HIT THE LODGE IN MESA FOR A $7 FISH FRY, THE LODGE IN SOUTH PHOENIX FOR A KIDS HALLOWEEN PARTY, AND THE LODGE IN APACHE JUNCTION FOR THE PACKER’S GAME.

THEY ALSO TOOK US TO THE TOP OF SOUTH MOUNTAIN.

ON THE WAY DOWN OFF SOUTH MOUNTAIN WE STOPPED TO TOUR MYSTRY CASTLE.  THIS STRUCTURE WAS BUILT BY A MAN FROM SEATTLE THAT HAD TUBERCULOSIS AND TOLD HE HAD 6 MONTHS TO LIVE.  HE LEFT HIS FAMILY AND MOVED TO THE ARIZONA DESERT AND LO AND BEHOLD HIS TUBERCULOSIS WENT INTO REMISSION.  HE DECIDED TO BUILD A HOME FROM THE DESERT MATERIALS AT HAND, PLUS BOTTLES, JARS, CANS, AND WHATEVER ELSE HE FOULD.  HE STARTED IT IN 1939 AND IT EVENTUALLY GREW TO OVER 8,000 SQUARE FEET.

THESE ARE PICTURES OF THE CATUS IN DAVE AND CINDY’S FRONT YARD. IT SELDOMLY BLOOMS AND ONLY AT NIGHT. THESE PICTURES WERE TAKEN EARLY IN THE MORNING.

IT WAS A GREAT THREE DAY WEEK-END OF FOOD, DRINK, AND FRIENDS. WE ALSO TOURED FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT’S TALIESIN WEST, WHICH MARY WILL BLOG ABOUT TOMORROW.

“SUNNY & 95”

Archway to Victory

By Uncle Hans

This week we were off for Brownsville Tennessee to play Haywood Academy. It's their first year of football and they are an online school. They field a small numbers team that promise to be a fairly even match for us. The problem is the 1200 mile road trip. That involves two full days of bus riding, each way. We left Thursday morning at 8. The school cafeteria packed us sandwiches to eat at a wayside rest......

A few hours later we stopped at another wayside and did a walk through practice.

The team slept in a church school gymnasium. Hotels are expensive.

Because we had a couple of extra hours on Friday, the coach arranged for us to visit the famous Arch in St Louis. Here we are in the viewing room 62 floors above St Louis. The guys really appreciated a little tourist stop to break up the long bus trip.

Late on Friday this strange white stuff started showing up in the fields.

We knew we were a long way from home....

We got off to a 14 to 0 bad start with some miscues on the offense. Then the weeks of training at practice and the frustration of a losing season all kicked in at once and we ran up 41 points.

Our running back, Landon, scored 6 touchdowns. He almost got two more. One was an interception which got called back and one was a 100 yard run after an interception that came up a few yards short of the goal line as the clock ran out on the first half.

All the disappointment of a long, hard, losing season, melted away with this sweet victory!

This game against a new club without conference or association affiliation was my best hope for a few plays on the field. It was not to happen, as I did not obtain the proper permission to become eligible.

35 years of dreaming about what it would feel like to step on to the playing field at 65 has ended.

It is what it is.........

Uncle Hans

Now you can go back to the beginning of the story and catch up on what you've missed so far including all the pictures. CLICK HERE

Another Loss

By Uncle Hans

For our next game, we traveled to Hancock Michigan, home of Finlandia College. It's a 10 hour drive, and Spooner happens to be about halfway there, so I drove myself and had the luxury of spending a night or two at home. The visiting locker room at Finlandia is a mile from the field in a hockey arena. Only in Finlandia do you find a sauna in the locker room!

We suited up and went on the field for some warm up. It was a beautiful fall afternoon

We had the usual Indy drills, where individual skills are honed. I do Indy's with the receivers because of my inability to catch the ball. I am determined to learn that skill. It must be paying off because I caught several........

It was a pretty evenly matched game, and fun to watch. We ended up losing 27 to 21. We lost 90 yards in 13 penalties. These are mental errors. And the backup quarterback went down with a nasty ankle sprain. The starting quarterback is still recovering from appendicitis. I stepped up as team doctor and injected his ankle right on the sidelines. Steroid and long-acting local anesthetic. He was able to return to the game and actually contributed quite a bit after that point.

This is what the ankle look like the next day indicating a substantial injury. I don't think the injection made the injury worse and it allowed him to get back into the game and make a difference.

Uncle Hans

Now you can go back to the beginning of the story and catch up on what you've missed so far including all the pictures. CLICK HERE

Special Olympics

By Uncle Hans

It's been two or three weeks since we have had a game and the coaches decided that we need something competitive to keep our competitive spirit alive.  They decided to have a Special Olympics at practice on Friday.

     They also decided that freshmen would be the captains, which landed me the job of Captain. They had an NFL style draft, and this is my team. We called ourselves The Ineligibles, since three of us are just that.

If you're wondering why a college football. team would waste  practice time with seemingly silly games, it turns out that it's not that uncommon. The coach of the team we played last week routinely sets aside part of each Friday afternoon practice for Grade School playground kickball. It lets the guys compete, have fun, and still provides football-useful skill training, throwing, catching, running, kicking, agility, Etc..

Here we are strategizing for the next event which was a straightforward Punt Pass and Kick contest.

 

I punted a weak, but acceptable 30 yards. The rest of the guys pull their weight and we took a second in this event.

The next event was a hodgepodge relay. Here we are discussing who are the best in the group to do which activities.

The third guy sprinted 40 yards and the fourth guy, which was me, sprinted 20. Here I am about to tag off to the fifth guy.....

  

If you're wondering why they picked the slowest guy on the team to sprint, it is a strategy. The difference between my time in the 20 yard dash and someone fast is only one or two seconds. Not really significant in an event which takes a minute or more….

 

Guys five and six had to throw a tennis ball and a football into a target bucket about 10 yards away. We won this event in 49 seconds.

The last event was the classic tug of war and we took second.

Unfortunately, that left the score tied at the end of four events so a sudden death tie breaker was instituted.

The tiebreaker event was called The Dizzy punt. One try, one team member, spin in a circle 10 times and then punt the football. Our guy looks like he's punting after a 12 pack. The other guy didn't look much better, but his kick went about five yards farther, so they won.

( my thanks again go to the team managers, who did the photography)

Uncle Hans

Now you can go back to the beginning of the story and catch up on what you've missed so far including all the pictures. CLICK HERE