A Saturday afternoon in Lancaster

Started the morning at the YMCA in West Chester, followed by karate.  Afterwards, I took the boys to the Science Factory out in Lancaster.  We hadn't gone for a good daytrip in a month or two, so I figured we would today.  The weather was pretty nice, for January.


The Science Factory didn't look like much when you first walk in, but plenty of cool stuff for the kids to do.  We were there for about an hour and a half.

Afterwards, we went to the Kitchen Kettle in Intercourse, PA.  We went to a homemade pretzel factory, a jelly store, made gingerbread men, played at the playground, and finally went to an ice cream store.  Its nice to be able to be outside in January.  Another great day for the 3 Bugeys.

Making Gingerbread Men

Making Gingerbread Men

Making Gingerbread Men

Joe Paterno 1926-2012

I can honestly say that I don't remember ever not knowing who Joe Paterno was.  There are few constants in my 35 years of life, but JoePa  was one of them.  I did not go to Penn State, but have been there several times.  I also know many people who did go there, and this is a sad day for them.  

The events of the past few months were certainly tragic.  I am not going to offer an opinion one way or the other about Joe Paterno's involvement and participation in those events.  I will say though that since he was dismissed from his position as Head Coach, I can't help but wonder if he died with (and because) of a heavy heart.  

Growing up a Philadelphia fan in the 80s, things weren't good.  The Sixers won in 1983 (when I was 6) and then no other Philadelphia team won again until the 2008 Philadelphia Philllies.  So, my childhood memories consisted of two great college wins.  Obviously, Villanova upsetting Georgetown in college basketball is one of the most historic upsets in American sports history.  My second memory (and most enjoyable) was the 1987 Fiesta Bowl when Penn State upset Miami.  This was the game where Joe Paterno totally out coached the alleged great Jimmy Johnson (seriously, anybody who wants to say JJ was a great coach, needs to watch this game, and their opinion would change quickly).  Miami had the Heisman Trophy winner Vinny Testeverde  leading the offense, and the late great Jerome Brown leading the defense.  Penn State had a game plan that Miami just could not figure out.  They would only rush 3 lineman on defense, dropping 8 into coverage.  This lead to 5 interceptions, 2 fumbles (by Miami WRs) and just crushing hits on the wide receivers.  I mean, it was to the point where they were scared to catch the ball.  It was phenominal.  Loved every moment of it.  One of the best football games I ever saw.

Some of my favorite quotes from Joe Paterno.

"Believe deep down in your heart that you're destined to do great things."

"Losing a game is heartbreaking. Losing your sense of excellence or worth is a tragedy"

"Publicity is like poison; it doesn't hurt unless you swallow it"

"Success without honor is an unseasoned dish; it will satisfy your hunger, but it won't taste good."

"The minute you think you've got it made, disaster is just around the corner."

"The will to win is important, but the will to prepare is vital."

2012 National Lacrosse Convention - Philadelphia, PA

Took the boys into Philadelphia today to the 2012 National Lacrosse Convention.  We were joined by the godfather himself, Kevin Benjamin.  Kevin and I played lacrosse together for about 10 years or so, but that was many moons ago.  

Chris

Nathan

The boys tried on Cascade helmets.  Kevin and I could remember when the Cascades were brand new.  It was just another sign of how old we are getting.

Cascade Helmets

The boys holding the "Crooked Arrow" shafts.  I didn't know that they still made those.  Obviously, a lot lighter than they were 20 years ago.

Afterwards, we drove back to Springfield and had dinner at Peace A Pizza.  They have an old VW van in the restaurant.  This provided about 30 minutes of pure entertainment.  It was fantastic.

Watchung Winter Series - Marathon

ARGH!!!

My first DNF.

I woke up at 4:45 to eat and get on the road for my 2 hour trip up to New Jersey.  I had my bag all packed, full tank of gas, everything ready to go.  The only thing I needed to do was google the directions for GPS.  Well, this is where waking up at 4:45 in the morning with no caffine is a downside.  I didn't notice that the actual name of the town that this race is in.  The name of the town is:

MOUNTAINSIDE!!!

Now, at 5am, it hasn't hit me yet that I am going to run 26.2 miles in a town called Mountainside.  In fact, it doesn't register with me at all until I got to the race.  I then thought "hmm, this probably isn't going to be very flat."

That was an understatement.  26.2 mile trail run, and lots and lots of ups and downs.

The starting line

They have 4 different races going on.
a 10k
a 10 miler
a marathon
a 30 miler

The race for the marathoners starts with a 10k (6 mile-ish) small loop, and then two larger 10 mile loops.  I got through the first 6 mile loop with no problem.  All is well.  I am feeling good, loving life, next 20 miles should be a piece of cake.

And then, I rolled my ankle at mile 8.

Now, there is a saying that. "If a tree falls in the forest and nobody is there to hear it, does it really make a sound?'....well, I wondered when I yelled "F**************************CK!" as loud as I could, and nobody was there to hear it, if it really happened.

I was able to run about another 5 miles or so, but it just hurt too much.  I knew that I was going to have to stop at the end of this 10 mile loop.  Sure enough, thats what I did.  I made it 16 miles.

Nature Trail,  MY ASS!!!

So it is now about 12:30.  I am limping to my car, feeling very defeated.  It was an awful feeling.  I had originally tried to make plans with my friend Chris, who just happens to live 20 miles away.  I only get to see Chris about twice a year or so, so since I was in the area, I was going to drop by after the race.  Unfortunately for me, he and his wife were going to a concert that night.  As I was walking back to my car, I was thinking that on top of being defeated by the marathon, I am so close to my buddy and I am not going to be able to see him.  I pull my phone out of my bag, and sure enough he left me a message.  He knew I was doing the run, so I figured it was just a message wishing me good luck.  When I listed to it, he said that his wife had to go to Long Island on a family emergency, and that he was actually home with his two sons.  He wanted me to stop by after the race.  This was such great news.  My spirits were turned right around.  I called him, said I had finished early cause I rolled my ankle, and I was on my way.  I told him I needed four things from him:

Pizza

Beer

Ice Pack

a shower.

Needless to say, all of them were waiting for me when I got to his house.

I got to hang out with Chris for about 4 hours.  It was fantastic.  Watching him play Mr. Mom was truly a highlight of my year so far.  His oldest son Alex had a bathroom incident that Chris had to clean up.  His youngest son Will (a baby) threw up all over Chris when Chris was feeding him.  I could not have been more pleased.  

Thank you Chris for being a good friend, and for providing such entertainment.  Watching you suffer is always a plus for me.

Chris and I in 99