Guess where I'm going?

All this fall, I have been wondering whether I would have a normal Thanksgiving this year.

On Saturday, I learned the answer.

The answer is yes.

Yes, I will have a normal Thanksgiving--normal for me for the last four years, at least. Each of them has been spent down to Detroit, where I went to cover state high school football championship games, played Friday morning.

For the fifth straight year, I will be doing that again. On Saturday, our team won its semifinal game 8-6. It wasn't a big win by any means, but a win's a win, and our team will make the 500-mile trip to the state title game again. Alas, so will I.

I have resigned myself to my fate for some time, realizing there was absolutely nothing I could do about it one way or the other. Would it happen again? I won't have to go down there five straight years, would I?

What a dumb question: Of course I would.

So on Sunday I worked on the article about the semifinal game. Then I start looking at maps, reminding myself where things are located relative to each other, what exits to take off the interstate, how to get from one place to the other and how to get back. I also have to make motel reservations.

Mind you, I don't mind going to Detroit when I can do it on my own terms. Like last summer, when all three of us visited my older son for a few days. But now the weather isn't so good. It's colder, and maybe there will be snow (though this week's forecast sounds pretty good).

My wife made the trip with me last year, but she will stay home this time--her training for her seasonal call center job starts Wednesday. But my younger son still wants to come along. So you don't have to worry about me not being well chaperoned throughout my trip. The chances of me slipping the leash and getting out somewhere for some fun are less than zero.

Let me say it plainly.

It. Is. Not. Fun.

I. Don't. Want. To go. Certainly not for the fifth straight year.

Especially this year. I wanted to spend part of Thanksgiving with my mom, since she is continuing to fade away. Every single bloody Thanksgiving since she went into the nursing home, I wanted to spend part of Thanksgiving with her. It hasn't happened, and it won't happen this year. God just doesn't want it to happen, I guess.

Here is a picture from Thanksgiving dinner at my mom's house back in 2001. Nothing elaborate, but we had venison and gravy, brown-and-serve rolls, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, apple pie (somewhat mashed) and (not pictured) pumpkin pie. We ate well ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/T-daydinner-11-01.jpg[/IMG]
(Of course, such a Thanksgiving isn't possible any more, because my mom has been in the nursing home since late 2005. Sigh.)

Another thing about driving to Detroit for a title game is that I don't control the clock. We leave for the 11-hour trip south Wednesday morning and arrive in the Detroit area long after sundown. On Thursday, it's Thanksgiving: Everything in the States is closed. Everything in Canada is open, and I'm hoping we can cross over to Windsor (Ontario) for a little shopping and a nice dinner. That means I have to find my birth certificate.

We'll spend all of Thanksgiving with my older son. On Friday morning, my younger son and I get up really early so we can get on the freeway for Ford Field and the football game, which kicks off at 9 a.m. Central Time. This year, our team is a massive underdog, and I'm realistic about such things.

After the game, I get back on the interstate and can spend the next 11 hours thinking about what I'm going to say in my article as I drive home. We'll get home about midnight. I've got to bust my ass home right away so I have time to write about it Saturday and Sunday. The paper gets put together Monday morning, and all my work has to be done by then. I can only imagine how my neck and lower back will feel once it's all over. Maybe this year I finally call that massage therapist after it's all over.

But stop the presses: Now it appears I may have another option:

I have learned (from the coach) that I may be able to ride south with the team in their bus--and it's not a school bus, either. Right now, I am weighing the pluses and minuses.

Among the pluses: Since my younger son stays home, he can keep my wife company on Thanksgiving. I don't have to drive for some 20+ hours, with all the wear and tear on the car (and the driver). In a real rarity, I would go somewhere and not have to do 100% of the driving. I could get used to that. Don't have to book a motel room. Someone else is in charge and gets to make all the decisions.

Minuses: I'm not in charge and don't get to make the decisions. No chance of a side trip to Canada--so keep my loonies at home. Probably won't see my older son. Disappointing for my younger son--he can't come along for once. Waiting around during several football practices. And I don't get paid the mileage money--and though we only get 30 cents per mile, it's still works out to a nice profit on a 1,100-mile round trip if your car gets 35 mpg.

So now that I have been thinking about it, I am leaning quite a lot towards riding the bus. Even though I found the birth certificate. That's OK--my wife and I have been talking about applying for the new passport cards, so we can visit Canada next summer.

I have another adventure to tell you about, but I'll post that in a day or two (assuming our motel has wireless internet).

One down, three to go

Hello, hello to one and all. This is my crazy-go-nuts week in terms of fall playoff coverage. The weather is going downhill, and I've got a lot of long drives this week. One down, three to go.

So I really didn't need to read this in the weather news this morning:

...SIGNIFICANT LAKE EFFECT SNOW ACCUMULATIONS POSSIBLE LATE FRIDAY NIGHT INTO SATURDAY EVENING FOR WEST AND NORTH CENTRAL UPPER MICHIGAN...

Now it just so happens that I will be driving up to Marquette on Friday afternoon and Saturday afternoon this week, to cover playoff football games. The games themselves will be played inside the Superior Dome, which you saw photos of recently, and it's all nice and dry and warm inside. But to get there, you have to drive two hours through whatever weather the U.P. is enjoying at the time. To get home again, you have to drive two hours back through whatever. If you don't know. Marquette is in the lake effect snow belt, on the south shore of Lake Superior--they can get vast quantities of snow. So it's shaping up as one of those weekends.

On Tuesday, I drove to the volleyball regional tournament. That is an 80-mile drive each way; it's a lot closer to Lake Michigan than to Lake Superior. Our team won (just barely, in five games) and advances to the regional championship match tonight. My wife is coming along to keep me company (and, oh yes, to pick up some low-cost kitty food in Iron Mountain), and we'll stop by to see my mom, too. It's fun to have someone along--nice to have company.

Last weekend, both the football teams played at home in their district championship games. One team played Friday night: It was about 40 degrees F and dry until a few raindrops fell in the final minutes. By that time they had won, so they were happy.

During the night, the rain continued, and it changed over to wet snow Saturday morning. The other team's game was at home, starting at 12:30 p.m. Remember the recent post about the game played in the rain and fog? This one had the same two teams at the same field, only it was played in daylight.

The field had taken a good soaking overnight, but the snowflakes were real pretty during the first half. and the field was in fairly good shape ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/Mudgm-Runplay-11-08.jpg[/IMG]

Not that every pass was caught ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/Mudgm-Incomplete-11-08.jpg[/IMG]

Or that every tackle was made ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/Mudgm-Tackle-11-08.jpg[/IMG]

So conditions were fairly good early in the game. But with all those football players chewing it up thoroughly over two hours of playoff football, the middle of the field got torn up and muddy and slick. Twas a muddy mess by the time it was over. The wet snow eased off during the second quarter, but some drier snow, driven by chilly winds out of the north, arrived during the second half.

As the game went on, the teams continued battling in the mire ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/Mudgm-Pileup-11-08.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/Mudgm-TackleB-11-08.jpg[/IMG]

Finally, the game was over. A touchdown in the first quarter was the only scoring in the game. As always, the teams shook hands when it was all over ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/Mudgm-handshakes-11-08.jpg[/IMG]

I was talking to someone in the office today. Covering the game last Saturday was fun. Despite the rain and cold and mud. In fact, [I]because[/I] of the rain and cold and mud. It was outdoors. It was real. It was genuine football.

This weekend, I may be driving two hours through snow (twice) to got photos of teams playing on a plastic carpet in warm conditions. It's just not the same. To me, the fun part of football season ended last Saturday ... regardless of what happens in the playoffs.

A little bit prouder

For the last few days, I have been trying to write something significant and meaningful about the history America made last Tuesday. This is as good as I can come do. Life is moving on, and a new reality is setting in. It's a good thing.

In the summer of 2004, we were visiting my in-laws near Ladysmith, WI. We had visited one of my wife's sisters that night, and were driving back to my father-in-law's place, a distance of about 25 miles. We had the radio on--the Democratic National Convention was taking place, and their keynote speaker was talking. Earlier, I heard the radio hosts talking about him--that he's an amazing speaker. He had an odd name that I just couldn't remember, but I did remember he was from Illinois.

And I remembered the speech. It was a hell of a good speech. I heard about 35 minutes of it before we arrived at my FIL's place. I didn't turn on his TV to see the end of it; Democratic party conventions weren't big hits at his house, and when vacationing among the in-laws, I automatically keep my political leanings to myself.

A few days later, we got back home. I got on the internet, found the C-SPAN website and found the speech, which I then watched in its entirely. I was impressed--because the speaker was clearly intelligent and expressed himself well and seemed to rise above the petty partisan atmosphere. He seemed to have a deep belief in our country's ideals and its Constitution, in the middle of an era when those in power were ignoring or perverting them.

After he announced for president, it didn't take me long to come on board. I had thought the nominee would be Hillary Clinton or John Edwards, but I had some serious problems with Hilary. Not because of her gender or who her husband was--I was a big fan of Bill, through thick and thin. But I was feeling so angry about the stalemated political atmosphere in Washington, with firmly entrenched positions dug out by both Republicans and Democrats. Neither side was talking to the other, and bad problems were allowed to get worse: Health care, for one. The growing gap between the wealthy and poor, for another. The war in Iraq, of course, and the immense effect it was having on the U.S. budget.

Let's face it, Hilary had become a polarizing force for Republicans. So I felt if she had been elected, it would be more of the same--more stalemate, more inaction. The Republicans absolutely seemed to hate her and all she believes in (except when it became expedient for them to say nice things about her after she wasn't chosen for vice president; that's par for the course).

I liked the skinny guy, anyway. He seemed to have a positive view of the future, a positive outlook. When he talked about the problems and challenges America faces, his words made a lot of sense. He pushed the importance of compromise and unity. After years of feeling terribly depressed about where my nation was going, he made me feel more optimistic for the future. Inspired, even. I watched as many of his speeches as I could on C-SPAN.

Michigan's Legislature had, in its infinite wisdom, decided to hold a presidential primary in January 2008, even after the Democratic National Committee warned them not to. Some of the candidates who had filed asked to have their names removed from the ballot. Obama was one of them. So in a year when it seemed every state had its own primary or caucus, Michigan didn't, and I didn't get my chance to vote for him. That really bothered me.

This summer, during a mini-vacation at the in-laws, I spotted a Democratic headquarters in Ladysmith. I stepped in and asked for a bumper sticker--it was the first Democratic campaign office I had seen, and I wanted to have something to express my opinion. I put the bumper sticker in my car's rear window.

The Democratic party in my county seems to be in dunce mode. McCain signs popped up during the summer like mushrooms after a heavy rain, but Obama signs were nowhere to be seen. They never opened a local headquarters here. Never. So where do you get the friggin' signs? Hell if I know! Some started appearing in October--where they came from, I haven't the foggiest.

In the final weekend before the election, we visited Rhinelander, WI. While my wife was visiting a quilt shop, I spotted a Democratic office across the street. So I went over there. But no, they had run out of lawn signs. They offered a bumper sticker. Sorry, got one already.

I had wanted to attend one of his rallies so I could take some pictures of him. My own pictures. In the weeks before the Wisconsin primary, he had made some stops in central Wisconsin and one in Green Bay. But that was on a Monday, and I can't get away from the office on Mondays. Grrrr. He made other stops, as close as Wausau, but it was hard to find out about them in time to make the trip.

One of his forums was canceled because of a snowstorm--he returned in July to make it up. I was down there during that time. But we were there to visit S and her husband, and I put that as a higher priority to me. I was thinking at the time that he would return to Wisconsin several times during the campaign, since Wisconsin was regarded as a "swing" state, which the candidates would be battling hard to win. But before long Wisconsin stopped swinging, and the candidates focused their attention on other parts of the country.

Last Tuesday night, we watched CNN. As it became 10 p.m. Central Time and the West Coast polls closed, the networks made their declaration. My wife and I watched from the couch. No celebrating. No cheers or toasts. I just felt quiet satisfaction. That something had finally gone right. And I started feeling prouder of being an American. That we could make the change. That we could put any irrational fears behind us. And yes, I know not everyone feels that way ... and I also fear what some mental defective is capable of doing.

I prefer to think about something else. Another transforming moment. Do you remember the apartheid era in South Africa, with minority white rule and Nelson Mandela kept in a prison? He was finally released, and he led the effort of the ANC political party in the first multi-racial election in 1994. The ANC received over 60% of the vote and Mandela, as party leader, became South Africa's first black president.

Given the tense, violent history of the change to majority rule in South Africa, many feared that election would prompt a lot of racial violence. It never happened--the election was peaceful, and the world praised how South Africa made the change and found national reconciliation.

It's quite interesting to contemplate what this will mean to America's image in the world. For instance, read [URL="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/opinion/main.jhtml?xml=/opinion/2008/11/06/do0607.xml"]this article[/URL] from England's Telegraph newspaper about how it could play out in Iran. Very interesting.

On Wednesday, President Bush made a statement, which said in part:

[INDENT][I]No matter how they cast their ballots, all Americans can be proud of the history that was made yesterday. Across the country, citizens voted in large numbers. They showed a watching world the vitality of America's democracy, and the strides we have made toward a more perfect union. They chose a President whose journey represents a triumph of the American story -- a testament to hard work, optimism, and faith in the enduring promise of our nation.

Many of our citizens thought they would never live to see that day. This moment is especially uplifting for a generation of Americans who witnessed the struggle for civil rights with their own eyes -- and four decades later see a dream fulfilled.

A long campaign has now ended, and we move forward as one nation. We're embarking on a period of change in Washington, yet there are some things that will not change. The United States government will stay vigilant in meeting its most important responsibility -- protecting the American people. And the world can be certain this commitment will remain steadfast under our next Commander-in-Chief.[/I][/INDENT]

It was a classy thing to say. I am proud of being an American. And now I am a little bit prouder.

Change? At last?

The BIG change won't be happening for another 2 1/2 months, but it should be in motion after today. After four years of waiting, it's Election Day. Will America get it right this time?

Most of the states had some form of early voting. In Michigan, well, we're a little behind the times. Everyone votes on Election Day in Michigan unless they get an absentee ballot. After discussing it with my wife, we decided to do our voting in the mid morning, just as I was driving her to the church and the quilters' group.

Lovely weather. It's partly cloudy outside, and temperatures are in the mid 60s. Not bad for early November!

So how long did voting take? How long were we in line? It took all of 15 seconds before I got the little slip (signature, address, date of birth) that I had to fill out to get my ballot; I also had to show my driver's license. Then I went into another room with the little voting booths and filled out the ballot. Same with my wife. Studied the ballot proposals: medical marijuana, yes; fewer restrictions on stem cell research, of course. Fed the ballot into the optical scanner. (Our ballots have the ovals that you fill in with a black felt-tip pen.) The whole procedure took five minutes, if that. Then I drove my wife to the quilters and went back to work.

It was, I should mention, my first chance to vote for Obama. Ever. Many of you had the chance to take part in primaries or caucuses early this year, but Michigan held an illegal Democratic primary in January (10 months ago). Knowing the DNC wouldn't accept the results, many candidates, including Obama, took their names off the ballot. It raised a ruckus in the run-up to the convention in August. Eventually, they figured out a solution.

We have a little tradition here on Election Day: Pancake Day. The local Kiwanis Club holds its Pancake Day on Election Day, so normally we vote, and then we get pancakes. Except this time we voted earlier than normal, so I took her to the quilters--they took her to the church where Pancake Day was taking place at 11:30 a.m., and I met her there. Pancakes. Sausages. Milk. Butter. It made for a filling mid-day repast.

We had finished the winter tourism issue (final step: proofreading) this morning. Tonight (at 5 p.m.) I will be covering a district volleyball tourney; I cover one match, then go home for supper and to watch the returns come in.

The volleyball districts continue on Thursday and Friday. Meanwhile, our football teams will both be going for their district titles on Friday night and Saturday afternoon. Both teams will be home. Both were home last Friday night for "sub-district" games. The weather was pretty decent: temperatures were in the 40s with no rain.

It wasn't so nice one week earlier, the final week of the regular season. The game I was at Friday night had some interesting weather. For most of the first half, it rained. Things got pretty soggy. Here's a picture of the action on the field during the rain ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/Fog-rainplay-10-08.jpg[/IMG]

The rain eventually stopped during the second quarter, but during the second half fog started building. It went from soggy to foggy pretty quickly. Foggy conditions are hard for photography, especially action sports like football. Especially in a small, old stadium with poor lighting.

For a while, I tried using my flash like usual. But the light from the flash picks up all the water vapor in the air and you get something like this ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/Fog-handoffbefore-10-08.jpg[/IMG]

Playing around with Photoshop can help some ... but it only goes so far ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/Fog-handoffafter-10-08.jpg[/IMG]

What was I to do? I finally tried turning off the flash and using available light. The trouble was, there wasn't much available light. This is what the field looked like from the sidelines with all that fog in the air ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/Fog-field-10-08.jpg[/IMG]

I wound up using one picture from during the rain and a shot of the reaction on the bench after our team earned a safety--I got the shot of the tackle in the end zone, too, but it was just too dark to use. You don't believe me?
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/Fog-EZsack-10-08.jpg[/IMG]

The next day (Saturday afternoon), David and I went to the dome in Marquette for an evening game. It was just cloudy, so photography conditions were much better. Here's what the Superior Dome looks like from the outside ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/Fog-domeoutside-10-08.jpg[/IMG]

And here is what it is like inside ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/Fog-domeinside-10-08.jpg[/IMG]

If our teams win this weekend, we'll probably by back in the Dome for the regional title games. As the playoffs move on, of course, the U.P.'s weather gets less football-friendly. We have been lucky so far, but good luck lasts only so long.

Everyone else is fine. The cats continue to adjust to each other. David came over last night--it was his birthday, so we had a favorite meal of his, and we watched some football. I bought him something he had wanted for a long time--a DVD recorder and VCR unit with a tuner. The DVD recorder doesn't have a hard drive of its own (like mine does; you just can't get them any more), but he wanted it mainly to copy some of his old videotapes, and the unit I bought will handle that with no problem (according to the box).

I know I haven't been around here much lately. What can I say? The World Serious captured my attention. The election, of course--I've been watching CNN and C-SPAN a lot. And I've been pretty busy with night assignments. It should start easing off fairly soon.

I've missed writing. I like to write at night, and there just hasn't been the time lately--because my wife likes it when we sit together and watch something. Or else when I'm upstairs writing, Charlie comes around. She hops up on the computer desk, walks around behind the flast-screen monitor, comes out the other side and climbs down into my lap. That's just the way she does it.

Then she's happy. Purr, purr. And I'm done with writing for a while.