tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-75075727286475272032024-03-12T20:56:20.864-04:00Bachelor and SonsDutchmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17959709879469516216noreply@blogger.comBlogger95125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7507572728647527203.post-57612213325240662382015-07-20T04:00:00.001-04:002015-07-20T04:00:09.697-04:00Fly Fishing In Yellowstone National Park: Quick<a href="http://flyfishyellowstone.blogspot.com/2015/07/quick.html?m=1">Fly Fishing In Yellowstone National Park: Quick</a>Dutchmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17959709879469516216noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7507572728647527203.post-69423213178840134462014-05-06T14:07:00.001-04:002014-05-07T07:14:25.061-04:00Watershed<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
When you are backpacking, canoeing, or back-country skiing,
your trips sometimes take you to a divide that marks the boundary between
watersheds. When you are right there at the apex, a short distance in any
direction can lead you down a path that is completely different and separate
from any other. Your decision can mean the difference between heading
downstream towards the Pacific Ocean or to the Mississippi River. You could end
up in Canada or Minnesota. Whichever way you go will probably be downhill or
downstream. You can’t easily turn back,
at least not without a lot of effort.
You are committed. It is a defining moment.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The same thing happens in your life. You don’t always know it at the time, but a
single decision or event can have you heading into a watershed that changes
everything about your destination, who you are, and what you will become.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I’ve reached a few of these watershed moments. One occurred when I was 10. I was diagnosed
with Legg-Perthes disease which for the short term, 18 months, left me on
crutches and in the long term meant years of pain, loss of mobility, and will
eventually mean a hip replacement. Along that path, I learned a love for
reading as well as swimming, as many other activities were out of the question.
When I graduated from high school, I opted out of attending college. That
decision was partly due to anger but mostly to stupidity. It took 13 years of
drudgery in factories and the destruction of a marriage to figure out just how
stupid it was.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
When you head down a certain watershed, you often find
things along the trail you like and other things you don’t. It was that way in
1992, when I headed to Park City, Utah for a job. On that trail I found a
second wife. It was however, a
serpentine trail that led me back to the Midwest. The good things were the
birth of 2 sons. The “not so good”, was discovering your wife was, in her own
words, “not cut out to be a mother”.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
That brings me to my latest watershed. For the last 12 years
I’ve been in the valley of “single parenthood”. I wasn’t sure I wanted to be a
parent before Zachary came along. It seemed like a lot of work, mess, and
trouble. But sometimes, when you end up in a particularly rough watershed, you
learn something you didn’t know about yourself. I learned I was good at being a
father and liked it.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
When you have a full time salaried career, and suddenly find
yourself forced into dealing with that job and the responsibilities of
parenting 2 young boys, along with maintaining a home and good environment all
alone, it puts you in a cold sweat. Your life suddenly becomes getting 3
individuals up for breakfast and ready for school/work, stop by the daycare on
your way home, make dinner, homework assistance, getting them to bed, and
repeat. You become a scheduler, taxi driver, house cleaner, yard worker, cook,
nurse, and coach. Your bank account looks like a rollercoaster at Cedar Point
with ever diminishing peaks between the valleys of each month.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Sometimes your path takes you away from the stream and into
dark woods. When my manager asked if I could travel, I said “no I have 2 boys
which I must take to and from daycare each day and at night there is nobody
else”. A day later, I was laid off. Other times the trail brings you back to a
sunny sparkling stream. After 2 months without a job, my new manager told me I
could flex my hours and work from home when it was necessary to meet the
demands of being a single parent. There was the time Zach spent the night with
stomach pain in the emergency room and the time when Tyler tore a growth plate
and was told he might never throw a baseball again and might live with a
deformed arm. There were the ever escalating day care costs when you could see
no way to pay the bills at the end of the month. But there were also the
baseball tournaments where Tyler built a collection of trophies and the first
goal Zach made playing soccer. We experienced trips to swim with the dolphins
and watched Yellowstone bison trundle by 10 feet away from our car. I attended
band concerts and academic award ceremonies.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Twelve years ago, I was greatly concerned. You read and hear
about a lot of bad outcomes for children of broken homes. Most are adversely
affected. So, I asked a very wise person how I could protect Zach and Tyler.
She said “They will be fine as long as they have a parent who truly loves them.
But you have to always demonstrate with your actions, that they are the first
priority in your life.” So I attended over 400 baseball games (missing only one
because I thought I had a broken arm), a couple dozen band concerts, dozens of
soccer games, and 2 middle school and 4 high school seasons of basketball
games. I went to 12 years of parent teacher conferences, school open houses,
and award nights. I drove my boys to practices, school, day care, friend’s parties,
play days, over-nighters, and study groups. To do that, I flexed my work hours,
left work early, skipped work, took sick days, used vacations, sneaked out early,
arrived late, lied, omitted, and quit, so that they were always number one. No
excuses were given about having to work for a living, not feeling well, being
tired, bored, stressed, wanting to relax in front of the TV, or having a date.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So, am I looking for a metal? Well, I already got it. I have
one son, now a young man, who is one of the most gentle, kind hearted fellows
you could ever want to meet. He graduated from high school and is now attending
the local community college. He never used drugs, drank alcohol, smoked, got
suspended from school, bullied or beat up another student, or was arrested for
any reason. He is fun to be around, with a happy go-lucky attitude, often
making goofy sounds and joking around. He is a great buddy to have along for a
sci-fi movie. Another son, Tyler, is the rare combination of talented athlete
and gifted academic. He has played baseball since age 5, always being one of
the better hitters on his team. He has innumerable trophies for placing in
tournaments. He made it through 6 years of basketball tryouts and was a varsity
team captain this last year in which they one their league (the first time in
34 years). At the same time, he has maintained a 4.0 grade point average for 4
years of high school and is ranked number 3 in a class of 390. Last year he was
elected to the Michigan Baseball Coaches Association 1<sup>st</sup> All State
Academic Team. He just enrolled at the University of Colorado, Boulder’s
College of Engineering where he received a Presidential Scholarship and grants
totaling over $80,000.<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
Today was Tyler’s last day of high school. How is it that
when he was in 1st grade it seems like an age ago, yet the time flew by so
quickly. And now I’ve reached another watershed moment. Which way to turn now?
Which path to take?<o:p></o:p></div>
Dutchmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17959709879469516216noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7507572728647527203.post-60429171527646098592014-05-02T08:07:00.000-04:002014-05-02T08:07:09.027-04:00A Different Spring<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
For the first time in 14 years, I'm not sitting in the cold, sleet, or rain watching my son play baseball. There are no score-sheets to fill out, no statistics to calculate, and no walks through mud and wet grass to get to the field. I'm not sitting in 40 mph winds in the cold on one day, and roasting in heat and humidity the next. There is no racing home from work and grabbing fast-food on the way to the field for a practice or game. I don't have to hear parents complaining about their son not playing short-stop, or sitting the bench, or being asked for a bunt or "hit and run" when they could be swinging away. Nobody argues that their son should have a hit recorded instead of an error, because the ball bounced off 2 blades of grass and was traveling over X miles per hour causing the short stop to drop it from his glove.</div>
<div>
Tyler put of lot of hours into being a good baseball player. He went to hundreds of practices and games. He attended hitting and pitching lessons. He discovered that talent only goes so far and then you must work. For a while Tyler worked very hard. He was a pretty good ball player. He played short-stop, out field and pitched. His junior year of high school, he pitched more innings than anyone on the varsity team. His ERA was 2.3. He received the "Most Improved Player" award and was elected to the Michigan Baseball Coaches Association First Academic Team.</div>
<div>
One day, during his junior year, his team was playing Rochester High School. He had a hit and was on 1st base. I could see he was thinking about something and then he started talking to the 1st baseman. After the game, I asked him what they were talking about. He said, he was calculating the effect that the hit would have on his batting average. The 1st baseman heard him talking to himself and asked why he was doing calculations during a game. Tyler explained that "Everything that happened in a baseball game could be represented by mathematical equations. For example, you could calculate the speed and trajectory of the next pitch and then figure out that based on the contact point and bat swing, that the ball would be a hard grounder passing between the short-stop and 2nd base." The conversation ended at that point because that is exactly what happened and Tyler was off to 2nd base, leaving a befuddled 1st baseman.</div>
<div>
Tyler chose not to play baseball his senior year of high school. It wasn't because of disgruntled parents. It wasn't because of a coach who wanted to marginalize his talent over other favored players and it wasn't because he injured his pitching hand during the basketball season. It was because of numbers. There is another calculation one can do. It's result is the ratio of successful engineering/math students to college athletes. It is a very low number. It is low because it is very hard to work out, train, and play a sport that takes a minimum of 40 hours per week, take 16 credit hours of STEM courses, and study enough to keep a decent GPA.</div>
<div>
Tyler opted to devote his time to studying for 3 Advanced Placement tests, a summer internship, and computer programming. At the moment, he is in Indianapolis at the Business Professionals of America National Leadership Conference. As the 1st place finisher at the Michigan competition in Computer Concepts, he qualified to go to "Nationals". There he will also take a number of certification tests.</div>
<div>
So, no more spring baseball. What to do? What to do?</div>
<div>
You know, there is a calculation for where in a stream your dry fly will land if you apply the right back-cast, trajectory and speed to a Cortland double tapered floating tip line with a 3 foot 4X tippet.</div>
Dutchmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17959709879469516216noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7507572728647527203.post-24580830367504246462014-02-15T19:02:00.000-05:002014-02-15T19:02:48.965-05:00Ramblings on Dad and Being a Dad<span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">When you are 17 and in your senior year of high school,
certain things take on added meaning.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A
few weeks ago, when Tyler’s basketball team played their arch rival, he tweeted
“People don’t realize how bittersweet events like that game are.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For 2 hours we are a linked community. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Seniors may never feel that way again.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That rivalry game was a big deal.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The crowd at the game was the biggest all
season.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Of course, the game that seniors think about and remember
the most is the last home game of their senior year.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That one is truly bittersweet, as they know
it will be the last one they ever play as a team or on any team, for that
matter.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>On February 3<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">rd</span></sup>,
while overwhelming Hazel Park High School in a game, Tyler injured his
hand.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The next day he tweeted “Senior
year and my hand is injured. #unlucky”.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Since then, X-rays revealed that the index finger of his shooting hand
was fractured.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>His season is cut
short.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Hazel Park game was the last
game of his senior year.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He just didn’t
have the benefit of knowing it, thinking about it, or savoring the moment.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I suppose that a broken finger and a few missed games is not
a big deal in the whole scheme of things.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>But certainly Tyler is disappointed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>As a father, you don’t like to see your kids feeling that way.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You certainly don’t like to see them
injured.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Feeling a little sad for Tyler,
got me to thinking about my dad, that and the fact that his birthday is coming
up.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When you are a kid and bad things
happen, you mostly think about yourself.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>You don’t really wonder how it makes your parents feel.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then you become a parent and you find out
what it is like, first hand, seeing you child hurt and disappointed.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">When I was 10 years old, I was diagnosed with Legg-Perthes
disease.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is a childhood hip disorder
initiated by low blood flow to the ball of the upper leg bone.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The bone dies and stops growing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You find out about it because you experience
excruciating pain in the hip.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Continued
weight on the bone, causes it to deform.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Thus, that leg becomes shorter, in my case, by an inch or so.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The treatment in the 1960s was to place the
leg in a sling and walk with crutches, so you don’t put weight on the ball and
cause further damage.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Eventually, in my
case about 16 months, the bone re-hardens.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Of course, you kind of have to learn how to walk again, though a little
lopsided.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And for the rest of your life,
that deformed ball tears away at the cartilage in your hip joint, leading to
osteoarthritis.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A hip replacement is in
your future.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">So, I was feeling a little sad about Tyler and it suddenly
hit me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>How did my dad feel when I was
screaming in pain?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When I had to use
crutches all that time?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When unused
muscle began to atrophy?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Well, I can’t
remember him saying much of anything about it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>But, if I feel a little sad about Tyler’s finger and 5 or 6 basketball
games, what must he have felt.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It kind
of explains why over the years, whenever we met, or talked on the phone, he
would always, without fail, ask the question “how’s your hip?”<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">In a few days, my father will have a birthday.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He is into the second half of his 80s.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He and my mother live in a retirement complex
in Brooklyn Park, Minnesota, near my sister Connie.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So, we don’t see them a lot.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>With one son in college and the other in high
school, the opportunities to make the 12 hour drive, or cost of a flight, make
it difficult.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We talk on the phone every
couple of weeks.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He and my mother share
a cell phone.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Whenever I see that
incoming number come up on my iPhone, I wonder if this will be the call I don’t
want to get.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Face it, there are only a
small handful of people that really care whether you ever existed on this
earth.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is not fun to think about
losing one of those. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">My sisters and I were lucky to have our dad.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Many kids don’t grow up with one, or what
they get is kind of sub-par.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We grew up
in the 60s and 70s.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Back then, our
mother was a home-maker.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She worked real
hard, but nobody gave her a paycheck.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Our family’s income came from dad.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>And dad was a factory worker.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I
am not sure how he did it. I know he worked a lot of hours.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He was gone before we got up for school in
the morning.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He wasn’t back until dinner
in the evening.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He worked 5 or 6 hours
on every Saturday.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For 13 years after
high school, I worked in factories.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It
was tedious, boring, dirty, and totally unrewarding.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I have no idea how you could do that for all
the years he did, and know that you needed all the hours you could get in that
place, in order to support your family.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I can’t remember him ever complaining.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>And, I can’t remember really feeling like we had less than anybody else.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Just because he worked in a factory, doesn’t mean our dad
wasn’t smart.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Perhaps, he could best be
described as wise, the wisdom being gained through tough experience and hard
knocks.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Things he told us and advice he
gave served us well through the years.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>We still ask for it on occasion.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I am pretty sure I remember my sisters and I always calling
him “daddy” when we were little.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Even, I
think, not so little.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Something like
that becomes an unthinking habit.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I
remember driving from their home in Machesney Park, IL out to mine near
Shirland one day.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So, that would have to
be when I was in my mid-twenties.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I was
remembering a conversation we’d had that day and it suddenly struck me that I
had, at that age, still said “daddy”.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I
felt totally embarrassed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>How lame and
childish was it, that I was still calling him that at my age.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I never said that again.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">As I mentioned, my dad worked a lot of hours.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He did find time, once in a while, to go
fishing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Fishing is one of the things he
enjoys the most.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I liked to go with
him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We caught some fish, but a lot of
times we just sat on the shore or in the boat for hours, and nothing happened.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I don’t think that catching anything was ever
really the point.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was the “being
there”.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I remember being at church when I was a kid.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I think it might have been a Bible
study.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The topic came up “what will the
kingdom be like”.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Some may refer to it
as heaven, others the after-life, but we thought of it as “the kingdom”.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Dad told everyone that he thought there would
be streams and lakes and he would be out there fishing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Logically, that may seem weird.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You don’t have to eat, so you don’t need the fish,
and there shouldn’t be any killing there anyway.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But, to dad, I think that made perfect sense
because he was thinking in terms of “what is the most enjoyable thing I can
think of doing for eternity”.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">When he was younger, Tyler used to be curious about
metaphysics.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That is defined as
“philosophy concerned with explaining the fundamental nature of being and the
world that encompasses it”.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He had lots
of questions like “what is really there” and “what is it like”.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So one day, when he was 7 or 8 years old, he
asked “what happens when you are dead?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>So I explained how some think you just cease to exist. Forever.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Others believe there is some type of
after-life, or heaven, or kingdom.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And
then I told him how grandpa Scott thinks he will be fishing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He replied, “so if I die, I should find out
where the good fishing spots are, so when grandpa gets there, he will know.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And I’ll find a baseball diamond so I can
pitch”.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That works for me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I can’t think of much I’d rather do for a
really long time, than fish with my dad, and watch my son play baseball.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">It is interesting how these random thoughts about your dad
seem to pop into your head on almost a daily basis.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Many experiences with sons relate back to
something similar that happened in the past between you and your own dad. You
remember what he said or did that somehow stuck with you through all the years.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They are things that seem to define who you
are.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If you are a good father, it might
be because you learned many things from your dad.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There are always a few things you discard, or
strive to make better or do a better way.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Most of dad’s lessons were those that didn’t need changing.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Thanks Daddy<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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Dutchmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17959709879469516216noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7507572728647527203.post-54099382117741066252013-10-08T08:32:00.003-04:002013-10-08T08:32:16.786-04:00New Sign of Autumn<br />
For the last 4 years, we can tell when it is autumn by the sound in our neighborhood. Sandhill Cranes visit our yards and their trumpeting is heard most early mornings. There is nothing like waking up to that pre-historic sound wafting through your open window.<br />
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<br />Dutchmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17959709879469516216noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7507572728647527203.post-49442887171106944152013-09-21T16:28:00.003-04:002013-09-21T16:29:44.584-04:00First Official Acceptance<br />
Tyler just received his first official college acceptance letter. It is from Milwaukee School of Engineering and includes a $48,000 merit scholarship.<br />
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<a href="http://www.msoe.edu/welcome" target="_blank">MSOE</a> ranked #10 in US News Best Undergraduate Engineering Programs<br />
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Dutchmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17959709879469516216noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7507572728647527203.post-41851997916417874132013-07-21T14:25:00.002-04:002013-07-21T14:26:08.501-04:00Northwestern University<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Norris University Center - Northwestern University</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Outside the NU Library</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Touring the grounds, Northwestern University</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Nike Town - Michigan Ave., Chicago</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Garret's Popcorn Shop - Michigan Ave., Chicago</td></tr>
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<br />Dutchmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17959709879469516216noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7507572728647527203.post-36949864812441908932013-06-29T17:38:00.000-04:002013-06-29T17:38:05.007-04:00Road Trip Coming UpTyler and I will be heading to Minneapolis in a couple of weeks to visit my parents. On the way we'll be visiting Northwestern University and the University of Wisconsin, Madison. Tyler is narrowing down his college picks and will be sending out applications in another month.<br />
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Dutchmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17959709879469516216noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7507572728647527203.post-25519512592213430242013-04-08T07:44:00.001-04:002013-04-08T07:44:56.183-04:00Purdue University VisitTyler and I just returned from a visit to Purdue. Tyler really liked the campus and was impressed by the Computer/Electrical Engineering College. We stayed at the Union Hotel which is on campus at the student union. Tyler got a chance to eat at the dining hall with the students, tour one of the residence halls, and meet with instructors and students in the engineering department. Before we left, we attended the Purdue/Northwestern baseball game. There, for $5 ($2 for Tyler) we were able to sit in the first row above the 1st base dugout. Not bad, when you consider that it costs the same amount to watch an Oxford High School basketball game. Purdue was last year's Big Ten Champion.<br />
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<br />Dutchmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17959709879469516216noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7507572728647527203.post-37335501639957030102013-02-22T09:08:00.001-05:002013-02-22T09:09:22.383-05:00Zach Heads off to Spring TrainingZach left for the Washington National's spring training camp in Viera, Florida last night. He is riding down with Shane McCatty, a pitcher in the National's organization. Shane's father Steve, is the pitching coach for the Nationals. Zach will be staying with them for a week. Nice time to be down there, as it is snowing heavily here.Dutchmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17959709879469516216noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7507572728647527203.post-58411595078654708902013-02-12T10:35:00.003-05:002013-02-12T10:35:35.543-05:00<b>Tyler Qualifies for BPA States</b><br />
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Tyler recently qualified for the state Business Professionals of America competition. He placed in the Visual Basic .Net category at the regional leadership convention. The "states" will be held over four days of March in Grand Rapids.<br />
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Not bad for only 3 months of programming...<br />
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Tyler is four from the left in the top row.Dutchmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17959709879469516216noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7507572728647527203.post-45971394974128739112012-12-19T08:56:00.000-05:002012-12-19T08:56:25.163-05:00<span style="color: blue;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span>
<span style="color: blue;"><b><i>Break Time</i></b></span><br />
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Today is Tyler's last day of school for this semester. Monday was Zach's. Mine is Friday. Then we'll have over a week with no homework and only a little basketball. Time for a little rest and relaxation. It will go by all too quickly. Of course, all that is contingent upon not being crushed by the planet Niburu, blown up by a mega-volcano, being hit by an asteroid, or any other such calamity.<br />
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<br />Dutchmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17959709879469516216noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7507572728647527203.post-65435382996144521902012-08-01T08:04:00.002-04:002012-08-01T08:09:07.319-04:00Tyler Visits Notre Dame University<br />
On Friday, July 27th, Tyler took a tour of the Notre Dame campus. Saturday, he played at Goshen College and Sunday on Notre Dame's field.<br />
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Tyler, Kyle, and Shawn at Notre Dame's Eck Visitor Center and the Bookstore.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Batting at Goshen College</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgy_9uxRM8rVFHVNUBHclgHnm1bq-N76YGgpDwDM0FMArOY7tpt2_2tQLcvJO0XZCvNm45ZczL7CKbPANUUh3lHIBf2Ylo7bwV8Ap2Fgl81kxmeVtUwhRII9pghEhbLf0rquhYIr_-hVUqw/s1600/IMG_2968_edited-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" eda="true" height="285" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgy_9uxRM8rVFHVNUBHclgHnm1bq-N76YGgpDwDM0FMArOY7tpt2_2tQLcvJO0XZCvNm45ZczL7CKbPANUUh3lHIBf2Ylo7bwV8Ap2Fgl81kxmeVtUwhRII9pghEhbLf0rquhYIr_-hVUqw/s400/IMG_2968_edited-1.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Warming up in right field at Notre Dame</td></tr>
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<br /></div>Dutchmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17959709879469516216noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7507572728647527203.post-55004391299306988722012-07-23T12:43:00.001-04:002012-07-23T12:44:54.814-04:00Last week of Baseball 2012<br />
The final 5 games of the 2012 Rebel season are this week. All will be played near South Bend, Indiana in a showcase tournament. The final game on Sunday, will be at Notre Dame's stadium. Tyler has had a busy month, playing in the AABC District Tournament the week before last in Fremont, Indiana. This last week he was in Ft. Wayne for the AYBT Basketball Tournament, and now this week, Notre Dame. Squeezed into all of that, was Zach's graduation party. August will most likely be filled with tryouts for next year's baseball team and basketball workouts.Dutchmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17959709879469516216noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7507572728647527203.post-51305135589678872792012-06-08T09:28:00.000-04:002012-06-08T09:30:01.992-04:00Study Predicts Imminent, Irreversible Planetary Collapse<br />
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“My colleagues who study climate-induced changes through the earth’s history are more than pretty worried. In fact, some are terrified.” - Arne Mooers<br />
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<a href="http://www.sfu.ca/pamr/media-releases/2012/study-predicts-imminent-irreversible-planetary-collapse.html" target="_blank">Study Predicts Collapse</a><br />
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<br />Dutchmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17959709879469516216noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7507572728647527203.post-22347830356446643152012-04-18T08:55:00.000-04:002012-04-18T08:55:21.218-04:00Mean GuyLook out! I suggest you try not to hit to the left side.<br />
You WILL be out.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAd7CvHn7SyRd8WvwGeNIHDjzOBWwTZolDx8W7Ne9UkW835Vo09SbgTzcMbFAzORRtM5UCunyPBjCqTPQEAVc1UXfXXNxeZE7bg69M62ac1jMqoWBW1Ja3mVTpbCOmA4ZNHhYvVzUNK-63/s1600/tscott.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" qda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAd7CvHn7SyRd8WvwGeNIHDjzOBWwTZolDx8W7Ne9UkW835Vo09SbgTzcMbFAzORRtM5UCunyPBjCqTPQEAVc1UXfXXNxeZE7bg69M62ac1jMqoWBW1Ja3mVTpbCOmA4ZNHhYvVzUNK-63/s400/tscott.jpg" width="280" /></a></div>Dutchmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17959709879469516216noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7507572728647527203.post-50224186265605409082012-03-30T11:12:00.001-04:002012-03-30T11:13:14.454-04:00Ever Seen a Glacier?In the late winter and spring of 1975, I was trying to decide where to go for a vacation that summer. I liked canoeing and camping, and thought about a trip to Florida's Everglades National Park. I was also interested in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado, as I had never seen mountains, having grown up in northern Illinois. About the highest elevation you ever got to in Illinois, was when you helped replace shingles on your parents roof. I can't now remember why I opted for Colorado. Once I experienced the western mountains, thoughts of travelling anywhere east lost all attraction. The contrasts from where I grew up were huge. There was sage and pine instead of corn and elms. The streams were crystal clear instead of the color of coffee with extra cream. The air was dry, not humid, and comfortable 70s during the day. Nights were crisp. There was snow on the peaks even in July and August. Hikes taken at high elevation, often crossed snow fields. When backpacking, you could catch a trout at noon, bury it in snow, and cook it for dinner.<br />
In 1977, I veered more northward, into Wyoming. The mountains aren't as tall as in Colorado, but there were a lot less people and development. In 1979, I went backpacking in the Beartooth Mountains along the Wyoming/Montana border, and then on up to Glacier National Park at the Canadian border. The elevations there are not as high, but because you are further north, the tree line is lower, and there were glaciers all around. There were even less people and development there. In those years, you would be hard put to find a fast food place anywhere around Glacier. People said "if you want to see what Colorado was like 20 years ago, go to Wyoming. And if you want to see what Wyoming was like 20 years before that, go to Montana."<br />
Now it is different. If you were never in Glacier National Park in the 70s, you can't see it now, at least not quite in the same way. The glaciers are disappearing. The sad thing is, I am responsible. I drove my CO2 belching 1977 Buick Special across the country to see the glaciers. We are all responsible.<br />
In the animation below, watch what happens to the glaciers between 1980 and 2010. Then, watch them disappear between 2020 and 2030.<br />
It makes me wonder what other things my sons won't see. And what things they will see, that they'll wish they never saw.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4bzMubQZMnUxNIGUYEzdxq5jdwePQDDOmEUmlPTVQjJpEWJHjoGDw2hSFSq035rZYYm4oEf0C3GW5jYYKmM-pcWxYsB1wle70KteKkB4KfWRvpvmRRPZUjP3xwri9L7vROUdQs57xZH9E/s1600/glacier_animation.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" dea="true" height="425" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4bzMubQZMnUxNIGUYEzdxq5jdwePQDDOmEUmlPTVQjJpEWJHjoGDw2hSFSq035rZYYm4oEf0C3GW5jYYKmM-pcWxYsB1wle70KteKkB4KfWRvpvmRRPZUjP3xwri9L7vROUdQs57xZH9E/s640/glacier_animation.gif" width="640" /></a></div><br />
<a href="http://wilderness.org/content/sad-day-when-no-glaciers-exist-glacier-national-park">http://wilderness.org/content/sad-day-when-no-glaciers-exist-glacier-national-park</a>Dutchmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17959709879469516216noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7507572728647527203.post-91800503670317191752012-03-05T12:27:00.000-05:002012-03-05T12:27:46.307-05:00One Week of LeisureThere is a one week lull between the end of Tyler's basketball season, and the start of the baseball season. This is the week, March 5 - 9. Last week there were 2 basketball games, 2 band concerts, a counselor meeting, and a baseball practice. This week...nothing. Next week baseball tryouts start. So, for the next 5 days, I am not a taxi driver and spectator. Yippee! One week of calm, and then the big push until summer will start.Dutchmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17959709879469516216noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7507572728647527203.post-46944182772852529392011-11-27T13:11:00.002-05:002011-11-27T17:25:58.634-05:00Zachary Lee ScottZach graduates in 2012. For more than 17 years, this guy has made being a dad easy.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhM6Rvz2B2GTT-B6PAJQmwx434QRBlQtKsCzHQb4XS2OFSDA6zhikzb4Mz1udj4XVQqZBSyb_ifjH_QT0IUjVJ8RkmjmK18xPPT8n_afuyvecL6tQLAMdi_g41RFE6RgAmCAkEo9cJinJSX/s1600/zach_senior_photo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" hda="true" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhM6Rvz2B2GTT-B6PAJQmwx434QRBlQtKsCzHQb4XS2OFSDA6zhikzb4Mz1udj4XVQqZBSyb_ifjH_QT0IUjVJ8RkmjmK18xPPT8n_afuyvecL6tQLAMdi_g41RFE6RgAmCAkEo9cJinJSX/s640/zach_senior_photo.jpg" width="456" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">A can remember a day when he was one, where we laughed while chasing each other around the kitchen island on our knees.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">A day when he said his first word, "doggee".</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">A day when all he could think about was throwing stones in the pond.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">A day when he frosted cupcakes with Goofy at Disney World.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">A day when he swam with a dolphin.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">A day when he toured the Monterrey Aquarium.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">A day when he passed his drivers test.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">A day when he got his first car.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">And all the other days in between that were good, or bad, or tough, or painful, or wonderful.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Soon he will be grown, and will head out on his own path through life. But, I will always have memories of a great kid.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
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</div>Dutchmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17959709879469516216noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7507572728647527203.post-68573251432349983102011-11-18T15:24:00.001-05:002011-11-18T15:24:40.599-05:00Winter is Coming!Its that time of year when all the leaves need to be raked. I'm not raking them. Hope a big wind comes and blows them into the neighbors yard.<br />
Tyler made the high school basketball team. So, now each night will include taxi service to the practices, followed by AP History homework, AP Statistics homework, and Language Arts homework. We'll be lucky to squeeze in some time to eat.<br />
The web cams at Winter Park and Copper Mountain show people skiing already. Wish we were there.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7Lm1RK842d8edev3If6r-cHEcgP4RKVbZ9W8w4GLvD_Z_7H_ItJ_x-CnIDbLP74smnpfJG_Eh26V_nuqaQpavvmgIcb_ZX_9-ZB6xKv8jybOAi3sO8ylz6qQ5ofgiagcfLiR_Ub8ATJnM/s1600/signature.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" hda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7Lm1RK842d8edev3If6r-cHEcgP4RKVbZ9W8w4GLvD_Z_7H_ItJ_x-CnIDbLP74smnpfJG_Eh26V_nuqaQpavvmgIcb_ZX_9-ZB6xKv8jybOAi3sO8ylz6qQ5ofgiagcfLiR_Ub8ATJnM/s1600/signature.png" /></a></div>Dutchmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17959709879469516216noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7507572728647527203.post-83317416526164338632011-09-22T14:41:00.001-04:002011-09-22T14:50:14.821-04:00Photo LocationLast fall, while cleaning out the garage, I found a box containing many of the old 35mm slides that I had taken back in the 1970 and 80s. I picked a few out and had them digitized at the local photo shop. One of them, I didn't remember that I even had, is the photo currently in the website heading <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxLPo0Z57mJTbGMefIlvAXAbp31MKIdtdWGb974HSfSoU9o4JgaEyaw226GXDqpoy_Ch39MkjNO2N0-L9fUnNiDekE0iBFyZCtOwv6LHZBv0qjP_j3aJLMm_MOvnWmgRAt2nZ3JFEl_MvL/s1024/033_33_cpyrt.jpg">(or here)</a>. I wrote about the location in this photo back in September of 2009. The story is <a href="http://bachelorandsons.blogspot.com/2009/09/some-places-you-go-to-which-you-can.html">here</a>.<br />
The photograph was taken above timberline on the Beartooth Plateau in Montana (Latitude: 45.055399 Longitude: -109.628137) . The distant peaks are to the southwest in Wyoming, bordering on Yellowstone National Park. You can see a little haze in the distance, which was caused by smoke from the forest fires that had just begun in Yellowstone. The year was 1988, famous for the fires that burned large areas of the park.<br />
I am not in the photo, but my yellow Jansport backpack is there leaning against the rock near Tim Smith, a friend from Mt. Morris, Illinois. He, Teresa (eventually to become Tim's wife) and Mark and Phyllis were from Minneapolis. We had stopped for a lunch break, before carefully negotiating the scree slope heading down to the valley seen in shadow on the lower right of the photo. We camped by the first small lake you can see in the shadows. You can wear your arms out there, catching Cutthroat trout. There is a price to pay though, as it is need easy to get there. Watch out for Griz!Dutchmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17959709879469516216noreply@blogger.com0Carbon, Montana, USA45.05627362891962 -109.6312383587036344.736677128919617 -110.48148135870363 45.375870128919622 -108.78099535870362tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7507572728647527203.post-36161405973580482182011-08-18T15:06:00.000-04:002011-08-18T15:06:54.274-04:00Colorado Report<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">We made it to Estes Park around 5pm on Saturday, August 6. After checking in to the Inn on Fall River, we drove up to Horseshoe Park and then up Trail Ridge Road. Tyler got his first taste of mountain driving, including avoiding being pinched between a rock face on the right and an approaching car on the left. He didn't remember the steep climb to 12,200 feet from the last trip to Rocky Mountain National Park when he was 7 years old. In the evening he fished a little in the Fall River near our cabin.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqjAVusQCjhjv8G3UNrh5IoUWtqZUvRJnm-zZGt8FhaOIijTg8wEmWB1cNUqz5vcNQKpDZexlLvYgnAdWbciKXJ2oBZRFwPp34Y7_hmhHgz4P2mOFEsEZ1_ffPzzvesMl13lVH4hrbHk9l/s1600/IMG_2443_edited-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="425" qaa="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqjAVusQCjhjv8G3UNrh5IoUWtqZUvRJnm-zZGt8FhaOIijTg8wEmWB1cNUqz5vcNQKpDZexlLvYgnAdWbciKXJ2oBZRFwPp34Y7_hmhHgz4P2mOFEsEZ1_ffPzzvesMl13lVH4hrbHk9l/s640/IMG_2443_edited-1.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Above timberline on Trail Ridge Road</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5Z6L3Gx4PfWCLtHW6msgwg781elFHGILzkKq2aQcLQ8VG9ATjM8WYIUatz_9FnyWh0R5kIaAhBHmNkprBesATYJd0XjBjRHeCitPm0tdUzrGtc1hKWKKgolal_43-7VzHo0u4fRwKQVds/s1600/IMG_2429_edited-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="228" qaa="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5Z6L3Gx4PfWCLtHW6msgwg781elFHGILzkKq2aQcLQ8VG9ATjM8WYIUatz_9FnyWh0R5kIaAhBHmNkprBesATYJd0XjBjRHeCitPm0tdUzrGtc1hKWKKgolal_43-7VzHo0u4fRwKQVds/s320/IMG_2429_edited-1.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Chipmunk at Rainbow Curve</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7qnI296uTuHKBa3nfqkT7o0avYbaqYNZ0eADypPpP5Z0K-7pon__P7rRreS0Kb4-O_O2TvfeaWfh6H8MScuJ60lXBgvaN-jBGkIkIjHNg2E2EQX7j-t9HproG2MQg4vDDIgl1c_ZqoNd4/s1600/IMG_2428_edited-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" qaa="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7qnI296uTuHKBa3nfqkT7o0avYbaqYNZ0eADypPpP5Z0K-7pon__P7rRreS0Kb4-O_O2TvfeaWfh6H8MScuJ60lXBgvaN-jBGkIkIjHNg2E2EQX7j-t9HproG2MQg4vDDIgl1c_ZqoNd4/s320/IMG_2428_edited-1.jpg" width="228" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Clark's Nutcracker</td></tr>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Sunday morning we went fishing at Sprague Lake. We heard a very upset sounding cow Elk bugling across the lake. She was apparently unhappy with a cow moose and calf on the other side, browsing in the willows. She led her band across the shallow lake in hot pursuit. I guess it was a territory issue.</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDbx2xyt0XIKlS8CTruF6ioUm-VgXv_K12mcabXwxbsXIsmIg_msnMoOG9OrICwBpvWGv-mKFScVLYS7AJae_wRXcqvkankQm-qk4z5WCFrqNkr_dvqiJadTl9ZlpjARkGz9OHFhwlV1iH/s1600/IMG_2455_edited-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="456" qaa="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDbx2xyt0XIKlS8CTruF6ioUm-VgXv_K12mcabXwxbsXIsmIg_msnMoOG9OrICwBpvWGv-mKFScVLYS7AJae_wRXcqvkankQm-qk4z5WCFrqNkr_dvqiJadTl9ZlpjARkGz9OHFhwlV1iH/s640/IMG_2455_edited-1.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Early morning Elk crossing</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEha0xSkxbPGcR-kNtrEUf07Z4djqR5mgFBttWfQmoILd3asc9y8RGdLtN7tZ3WWmBgy0IPMQKbLvE-guNINZ3b2D-keOso-WWHWbGyDPXgYFSmWwGgwinrvMows-IKM-E7vs8qGoi2ttXOo/s1600/IMG_2459_edited-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" qaa="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEha0xSkxbPGcR-kNtrEUf07Z4djqR5mgFBttWfQmoILd3asc9y8RGdLtN7tZ3WWmBgy0IPMQKbLvE-guNINZ3b2D-keOso-WWHWbGyDPXgYFSmWwGgwinrvMows-IKM-E7vs8qGoi2ttXOo/s640/IMG_2459_edited-1.jpg" width="426" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sprague Lake and Hallett Peak</td></tr>
</tbody></table>After fishing for a while, we drove up the old Fall River Road. It is gravel and has many switchbacks, some requiring you to jockey back and forth once, as the turn is to tight for a normal car's turning radius.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzVaxzwPWFcbQLIYnM50hJItblOx6IvTxLa6fkGJmjZnSqSmqWMWnCPZrtrsDFbXarjWh5JqUcUOk6jJMjD38cQhfXo-LpVJxnDPaiDhf-SFPhqhgqNMtgEN_T2DbZoP_rHirGqv6dd0ov/s1600/IMG_2468_edited-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="426" qaa="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzVaxzwPWFcbQLIYnM50hJItblOx6IvTxLa6fkGJmjZnSqSmqWMWnCPZrtrsDFbXarjWh5JqUcUOk6jJMjD38cQhfXo-LpVJxnDPaiDhf-SFPhqhgqNMtgEN_T2DbZoP_rHirGqv6dd0ov/s640/IMG_2468_edited-1.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Near the upward end of Fall River Road.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>On Monday, we got a sunrise start and headed over the the west side of the park and the Colorado River valley. We observed several herds of elk, some as near as 20 feet from our vehicle, as well as a coyote and red fox. Once over the pass we saw a number of moose and a few mule deer.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOyPoFf4u_zFpFU5BHrUfjhhPba6YKXa9LcjIRFNNYvtyBl08xDTmLNcbqlXI9lsHXhTWWDZ7sk30Xw4qOtKzpycEGVW0jg7ZOjjj7duBDUdYRK1ujEp2Q4DtYQOF0mG5uTGiZMHHcZtjS/s1600/IMG_2478_edited-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="456" qaa="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOyPoFf4u_zFpFU5BHrUfjhhPba6YKXa9LcjIRFNNYvtyBl08xDTmLNcbqlXI9lsHXhTWWDZ7sk30Xw4qOtKzpycEGVW0jg7ZOjjj7duBDUdYRK1ujEp2Q4DtYQOF0mG5uTGiZMHHcZtjS/s640/IMG_2478_edited-1.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Elk grazing about timberline</td></tr>
</tbody></table>We arrived in Winter Park in the late morning, and purchase tickets to ride the ski lift up to the Sunspot restaurant at the Ski area's summit. While there, Tyler became interested in the downhill mountain bikers, also riding the lift. He though it would be a lot of fun to ride down the mountain trails. No peddling, you know.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhC2wLd7XW0ML0f4pirAMb0LVaj0ovjZZFYExM8rsiBJoZJR_FXVkGuAN0nOgsueWQljc3ZauBJ0G3zf6_yKXWMOc-RYume3rTeXuhP6M-XJC_vxL-SympnmOn9glXliH2Wu3nUqZnT85H/s1600/IMG_2488_edited-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" qaa="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhC2wLd7XW0ML0f4pirAMb0LVaj0ovjZZFYExM8rsiBJoZJR_FXVkGuAN0nOgsueWQljc3ZauBJ0G3zf6_yKXWMOc-RYume3rTeXuhP6M-XJC_vxL-SympnmOn9glXliH2Wu3nUqZnT85H/s640/IMG_2488_edited-1.jpg" width="426" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sunspot, Winter Park</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Tuesday, we left Winter Park, drove over Berthoud pass, through the Eisenhower tunnel and up to Copper Mountain Ski Area. We had a condo there, for the next 6 nights. Our friends from Leonard, Michigan were also staying there.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEid3xfeyuVZz8Jdc7GGnq_G_1YrUKcW15FPSK4v3s4bfZMupbWHYk740xqZWhaj7Pu9EfRv-jdrfUWu7r16Qw6ki99TKp12_kroecJ2FvECKe9iPuf4W8kfAEOESmeo7f6gKsj7LFlsdZnn/s1600/IMG_2500_edited-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" qaa="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEid3xfeyuVZz8Jdc7GGnq_G_1YrUKcW15FPSK4v3s4bfZMupbWHYk740xqZWhaj7Pu9EfRv-jdrfUWu7r16Qw6ki99TKp12_kroecJ2FvECKe9iPuf4W8kfAEOESmeo7f6gKsj7LFlsdZnn/s640/IMG_2500_edited-1.jpg" width="426" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ten Mile Creek and Taylor Crossing Condos</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Tyler rented a mountain bike for 4 days and made about 15 runs down the trails of Copper Mountain with his friend Nino.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwDoVkZgu8v7nXIfdOxNMNi8RAC9E4vBPkVSgKW55-cKmWLiUFzpRCoA7dF3tA2JTg-7RwggzgRyMmPUDr-iH2sJZRXdAA_KJ60hWWZ06IWmRjPKlPAoW-bo9v-Retmsmg_ZJzOVV44rpw/s1600/IMG_2504_edited-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" qaa="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwDoVkZgu8v7nXIfdOxNMNi8RAC9E4vBPkVSgKW55-cKmWLiUFzpRCoA7dF3tA2JTg-7RwggzgRyMmPUDr-iH2sJZRXdAA_KJ60hWWZ06IWmRjPKlPAoW-bo9v-Retmsmg_ZJzOVV44rpw/s640/IMG_2504_edited-1.jpg" width="456" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tyler back at the base</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1h6iGJTpR9D15dwDjo6GZK0g5CDfqXVEp-9Ips_jrpNOpUlg0bzX87Abevqvh_EvetGurlUXX4oYiCtfE5QZXUU0LgZgCrvupUb2BVi4uVrkBPFSgO7cIpAdUrRgZY0-nXJHI1jKULcK_/s1600/IMG_2513_edited-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="426" qaa="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1h6iGJTpR9D15dwDjo6GZK0g5CDfqXVEp-9Ips_jrpNOpUlg0bzX87Abevqvh_EvetGurlUXX4oYiCtfE5QZXUU0LgZgCrvupUb2BVi4uVrkBPFSgO7cIpAdUrRgZY0-nXJHI1jKULcK_/s640/IMG_2513_edited-2.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">View down to Interstate 70 from atop Copper Mountain</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDIb3QG89i6BHBPiNH5QT4_WesViX0vJvpeo2ha7V2tNyS1O0W10b4VhijeaqpO6kfTHoLWIqOGbFTTUtPJPamCRgqsr-BGwc7pRvFRZgw8zpwIaU4wG2ca-YB5YsTFfL57WooP33TqLI-/s1600/IMG_2515_edited-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="456" qaa="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDIb3QG89i6BHBPiNH5QT4_WesViX0vJvpeo2ha7V2tNyS1O0W10b4VhijeaqpO6kfTHoLWIqOGbFTTUtPJPamCRgqsr-BGwc7pRvFRZgw8zpwIaU4wG2ca-YB5YsTFfL57WooP33TqLI-/s640/IMG_2515_edited-1.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Coke break at the base</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRJSPxE77OdsUEUIENcsnatyf5-g73OFBusLndF3peCW0-YDvR8yV__w6Q-FWuKtYMEkqjlLbSafUWy3WvWWlEYMkKKdNta43AgmgsCgITBj6YqhfIUUEN_zu5imbBZrC5zSmnL9DL58c7/s1600/IMG_2517_edited-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="456" qaa="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRJSPxE77OdsUEUIENcsnatyf5-g73OFBusLndF3peCW0-YDvR8yV__w6Q-FWuKtYMEkqjlLbSafUWy3WvWWlEYMkKKdNta43AgmgsCgITBj6YqhfIUUEN_zu5imbBZrC5zSmnL9DL58c7/s640/IMG_2517_edited-1.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tyler and Nino preparing to ride down</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
On Saturday the 13th, we drove down to Leadville to watch the Leadville Trail 100 Mountain Bike race. There were about 1800 riders who tortured themselves for 100 miles at elevations of 10 - 12 thousand feet.<br />
<br />
Sunday, we turned in the moutain bike and packed up for the trip home on Monday. We detoured through Loves Park, Illinois, in order to see my parents. Tyler had not seen them for almost a year.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeFFQEIXnWDu2NcS_gFxiVQOTBUh_GJmfwHKrhoRUAYU84K-kaWuuZisxtTZw8_qAgMnvLGtXpV5yhLGhFScap43zLeHVHirNQAuqgVuOGH54TqW0vGhxpyiWA5ZoyDp7YzzbiFHhlkO4S/s1600/signature.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" qaa="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeFFQEIXnWDu2NcS_gFxiVQOTBUh_GJmfwHKrhoRUAYU84K-kaWuuZisxtTZw8_qAgMnvLGtXpV5yhLGhFScap43zLeHVHirNQAuqgVuOGH54TqW0vGhxpyiWA5ZoyDp7YzzbiFHhlkO4S/s1600/signature.png" /></a></div>Dutchmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17959709879469516216noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7507572728647527203.post-77334505985992379362011-08-02T08:37:00.000-04:002011-08-02T08:37:28.851-04:00Colorado Bound<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Baseball is over. Time now for a vacation. Tyler and I are headed for Colorado this Friday.We'll head for Estes Park first, to do a little fly fishing. We were last there in July of 2003. Tyler was only 7 then, so he doesn't remember much. We will spend a couple of days on the Fall and Big Thompson rivers and then cross over the divide to fish a little on the upper Colorado. Then we will drive to Copper Mountain Ski area, where we have a condo for a week. We have a friend who is there gearing up for the Leadville Trail 100 mountain bike race. We may do a little four wheeling near Vail. Should be fun. Can't wait to get out of the muggy heat here in Michigan.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjM8wdVSFr9WCZX0ZOrmD1ixhmMj3KUw6EBihh_-UW8nfsTFJ8lxmAT3OHqd-RHdACjjg0BBivPavl4YeMTEgJ-ZJ-LLXBOUW0JuDM8PZQW5xj1c0T4tgV1hkQdmqlcJ0J8OxVrRxEUPSsq/s1600/Flyfsh01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjM8wdVSFr9WCZX0ZOrmD1ixhmMj3KUw6EBihh_-UW8nfsTFJ8lxmAT3OHqd-RHdACjjg0BBivPavl4YeMTEgJ-ZJ-LLXBOUW0JuDM8PZQW5xj1c0T4tgV1hkQdmqlcJ0J8OxVrRxEUPSsq/s400/Flyfsh01.jpg" t$="true" width="400" /></a></div>Dutchmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17959709879469516216noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7507572728647527203.post-42208864374467705172011-07-18T13:36:00.002-04:002011-07-19T08:15:12.891-04:00End of the 2011 SeasonTyler's season ended yesterday with a bang. The final tournament played by the Oxford Rebels took place at Walled Lake Western High School. The "Battle of the Bats" started Friday evening with a game between the Rebels and a team from Salem Township High School. Tyler got 2 doubles and a walk, 2 RBIs and 3 runs. The Rebels won 13-1. The second game was Saturday at 10am and ended with a 5-1 Rebel win against the Troy Comanches. It was the first of two games played on Saturday in the 90+ degree heat.<br />
That second game on Saturday was against the Macomb Inferno, a tough team that beat the Rebels in the first tournament back at the beginning of June. That was a well played close game that ended when the Rebels failed to get the 2 runs needed to even the score in the final inning. This time the score was tied at the bottom of the 6th inning at 3-3. Tyler lead off the inning with a single. He then stole 2nd base causing the catcher to overthrow and then advanced on the error to 3rd. Two batters later, he scored on a sacrifice, putting the Rebels up by 1 going into the seventh. The Inferno then replied with a run on a sacrifice fly, tying the game again. But, the lead off Rebel walked, was moved to 2nd base by a sacrifice bunt, and scored on a walk off single, ending the game with a 5-4 win.<br />
The fourth game of the tournament was played on Sunday afternoon in 95 degree heat. Ironically, the team being played was the Lake Orion Heat. They were quickly baked, when the Rebels scored 14 runs in the first 2 innings, causing them to stand in the sun on the field for 40 minutes, while successive Rebel batters took turns hitting and staying hydrated in the shade of the dugout. The final score was 16-3.<br />
Being the only undefeated team in the tournament led to a 1 seed in the final championship game against a team that had already played 2 close games that day. That final game against the Michigan Twisters was a barn burner. The Rebels started off with a 5 run inning, leading the players to think they might have another easy win. However, the Twisters came right back in the 2nd inning with 4 runs. The Rebels replied in the top of the 3rd with 2 more, stretching the score to 7-4. The Twisters then came right back with 5 runs and put the Rebels behind 9-7. Tyler got a double in the 4th inning, and an out of the park home run by his friend Jordan, scored 2 runs, evening the score at 9-9. The Twisters came back again in the 5th to lead 10-9. Then in the sixth inning, the Rebel wheels seemed to come off, when the Twisters scored an additional 4 runs, leaving the Rebels with 5 runs to make up with 2 at-bats left.<br />
In the Rebel half of the 6th inning, they loaded the bases with 2 walks and a single. With one out, Tyler was up to bat. A pass ball lead to a run and with runners on 2nd and 3rd, Tyler pushed in another run and advanced to 2nd base. The next four Rebels each pushed in another run and the Rebels were back on top, covering the 5 run differential and starting the last inning with a 1 run lead.<br />
Being the "home" team, all the Rebels needed to do was stop the Twisters from scoring a run. Our best "closer" entered the game, and struck out the first Twister batter, but then walked the next one. However, he caught the runner with a pick off move to first, and combined with our short stop to catch the runner at 2nd base. The Rebels were one out from winning the tournament. The next batter hit to the Rebel 3rd baseman and reached 1st base on an error. The Twisters had the winning run at the plate. With a 2 and 1 count, he hit a low line drive between our 1st and 2nd basemen, but Tyler raced in from his right field position and made the catch, ending the game with a win.<br />
Couldn't have a better end to the season!<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihv4YNr1QnanqUU_l0rQ89rpLPs71soDl25f96ouW32gxChkIcgj83_q_m4M6yJoaBLkXV43tpVjzjag_7MdXAywhz2zT87fsoXKgVAJQV38vzvW_NAjyPIbbNNLCF1SAbFhHz7fu8_2sr/s1600/t1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="228" m$="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihv4YNr1QnanqUU_l0rQ89rpLPs71soDl25f96ouW32gxChkIcgj83_q_m4M6yJoaBLkXV43tpVjzjag_7MdXAywhz2zT87fsoXKgVAJQV38vzvW_NAjyPIbbNNLCF1SAbFhHz7fu8_2sr/s320/t1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjg77Ep1U67BgzP7DzvWjWZFIsnteAgfIZQV5dYDQDvWgqOs4f71-lpUyRM1uM6YfSd5mo-65kMKKs0f-_SmO2HKXuEibCoZHcQymnwHyH-B6RS3K6FVHlkSWd3ez6X63-RZOmbbG4VIcQl/s1600/t3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="228" m$="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjg77Ep1U67BgzP7DzvWjWZFIsnteAgfIZQV5dYDQDvWgqOs4f71-lpUyRM1uM6YfSd5mo-65kMKKs0f-_SmO2HKXuEibCoZHcQymnwHyH-B6RS3K6FVHlkSWd3ez6X63-RZOmbbG4VIcQl/s320/t3.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>Dutchmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17959709879469516216noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7507572728647527203.post-72419005492222966462011-03-21T15:17:00.000-04:002011-03-21T15:17:13.368-04:00Goal Achieved and ExceededTyler has been working on a goal since September of 2004. It was then, at the age of 8 that he was told he wasn't a good enough baseball player to continue on with his team. His team was reserved, according to the "dad" coaches, for the Oxford High School players of the future. The future has arrived. They were wrong.<br />
Tyler's goal was to be chosen for his high school team. He played at age 9 and 10 in the local recreational league. He had boys on his team who were pretty good ball players. Others liked to pick flowers in the outfield and catch butterflies. It wasn't an issue. Only a few boys could hit the ball out there anyway. During those two years, Tyler played on a summer tournament team with a number of other boys who weren't "competitive baseball" material. He started taking batting lessons with an ex-professional player who runs a training facility.<br />
When he was 11, Tyler finally played on a competitive (Federation) baseball team. Of course, it was formed out of other boys who were supposedly not that good. That spring, his team defeated the team of "future" high school players. The next year, they defeated them again. And again the third year, although by now, some of those future players weren't playing anymore.<br />
Six years of work finally led up to last weeks high school tryouts. Twenty nine freshman tried out for the team. A few of those "future" players made it through the try out and were chosen for the 12-14 spots on the freshman team. But alas, Tyler did not make it. That is because he was one of the few freshman to make the Junior Varsity team. HA!Dutchmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17959709879469516216noreply@blogger.com0