Soccer 2019

We completed our fifth year of watching high school soccer a few days ago.  We started watching Ben play at Raleigh Charter High School when he was a freshman.  Jack joined the team as a freshman three years ago, so until this year, we had two grandsons on the varsity team.

Our expectations were low this year because it was a young team, a new coach, players small but fast.  Raleigh Charter lost three early games and then came together winning the rest of the regular-season games.  Grandson, Jack, was one of the two high scorers on the team and had a great year.  We were at most games to cheer for Jack and the team.

The North Carolina State sectional tournament started two weeks ago.  Raleigh Charter had a bye and won the next three games handily.  We were in the semi-finals playing Franklin, one of the best teams in the state.  Unfortunately, our third round game was postponed so we played on Monday, the day before the semi-finals.  The boys were beat-up and tired.

Franklin was rested, had superior athletes, tall and fast, aggressive (six yellow cards vs. zero for us).  But we had spirit and fight.  Jack had one goal called back because of an offsides penalty and was fouled in the box and another player scored the penalty kick.  Then Jack tied the score 3-3 with a great goal, but Franklin scored again and we couldn’t match that goal.  Franklin won the next game, winning the state championship. 

We are proud of the team, and especially, Jack.  He was so sore the next morning that he told his mom that if they had won, he probably couldn’t play the next game.

Jack, you and Raleigh Charter were great this year.  We are proud of you.  And we had so much fun watching you play.

Seasoned Man

stevelem117@gmail. Com

Marion Fearn R.I.P.

Aloma and I returned to the Lake Norman area a few days ago for a service celebrating the life of Marion Fearn.

Aloma met Marion Fearn soon after we moved to North Carolina over 20 years ago at a Newcomers Club meeting.  They became friends and stayed in touch over the years.  

I went with Aloma to a Newcomers dinner and met Brian, Marion’s husband.  We and another man, Andy, discovered we played golf and decided to play together.  We were working at the time, so we played on Saturday mornings every three weeks.  We had a great time.

A few years before we moved to Cary, Brian, Andy and I, with our wives, went to Cashiers, North Carolina for a weekend, staying at the High Hampton Resort.  Aloma and Marion had us laughing all the time.  The ladies shopped and drove to Highlands while we played golf.  My brother had a summer house in Cashiers and joined us for a round of golf.

Eventually, we all retired and others joined us for golf twice a week.  This became the golf group that became so important to me over the years.

Marion Fearn was a beautiful and classy lady.  We will miss her.

Seasoned Man

stevelem117@gmail.com

Global Warming

We believe in global warming, at least in the short run.  And we have no doubt that humans are contributing by burning fossil fuels, removing forests, building cities, flying airplanes, and overpopulating.  From fossil records, we know that the earth’s temperature is always changing.  What we are less sure of is the direction of longer-term climate changes.  Are we moving toward a 1000 year warming period or are we moving toward a mini or full ice age?

We try to do our part in the short run.  We carefully recycle; we keep our thermostats at reasonable levels, and, while we don’t own electric or hybrid cars, our cars get good gas mileage and we avoid unnecessary trips.

But we blew it last week.  We bought a propane patio heater.  We enjoy sitting on our patio in the evenings.  Aloma will sit out in cold temperatures, wearing a heavy jacket and covered in a blanket.  The patio heater creates a warm space.

So we are heating the planet.  To monitor our contribution, I’m monitoring satellite images of the Arctic and Antarctic ice caps as well as tracking a couple of glaciers.  If I see a significant change in the next few weeks, we’ll cut back on heating the air in North Carolina.

Seasoned Man

stevelem117@gmail.com

Baseball

I used to love baseball.  Dad would hit me grounders and fly balls in our front yard most evenings.  I played third base in the Babe Ruth League (ages 13 -15) in Ocala, Florida, and we won the State Championship but lost in the Regionals in Tennessee.  I planned to play baseball in high school, but I had surgery on my knee in the spring during my sophomore and junior years.  I used to listen to games of the Gainesville G-Men and sometimes even kept a detailed scorecard while I listened.

My favorite major league team was the Boston Red Socks.  I kept up with the other major league teams and knew most of the players.  I was glued to the radio during the World Series.

As I got older, I began to lose interest in baseball.  It lost its magic for me.  Maybe it was because of television?  The games seem to go on forever.

This year I didn’t watch the playoff games, but I did try to watch the World Series.  They were great games, but to me, they were so slow.  I would record them and, after watching an inning or two, I would fast forward until someone got on base and then I would watch the rest of the inning.  And I went to bed before the games were over.

That’s no way to watch baseball.

Seasoned Man

stevelem117@gmail.com