Monday
Miscellaneous Rambling
One little cross I stumble with every time: logistics. Or what some people call a "cluster" (which also has a more colorful variation related to copulation). Marie thrives on the cluster like some people thrive on their favorite hobby. Saturday was Marie's day to thrive . . . and my day to stumble. We had to get to the state cross-country meet at Michigan International Speedway, which is about 90 minutes away, for Meg's race, then stick around for the boys' race to watch Marie's nephew, then make it back to our parochial school's major fundraiser. All the while juggling house guests, sitting arrangements for the little kids, and arranging a portable bar because the parish priest (a good man, but wholly oblivious to GKC's observations about alcohol in the public sphere) banned alcohol from the annual event. Most everything went well, but I stumbled that evening with the portable bar. It made for a rough Sunday morning. * * * * * * * How'd Meg do, you ask? In the big picture, great: She finished 15 out of 298 girls, which garnered her all-state, but it wasn't the top 10 finish people anticipated. It was also really windy which severely hurt times, so her dream of breaking the high school record was blown away. She's only 14. We'll see what continuing maturing brings. * * * * * * * And what was GKC's observation about alcohol in the public sphere? You can find his, and my, thoughts on it here, but this is the main quote: "Here, as often happens, the middle course is the un-safest. Either have everybody in public-houses or have nobody in them. Either have public-houses so public that they are like cathedrals, or have them so private that they do not exist.” * * * * * * * We are now entering the pre-Advent days, which I greatly enjoy. Other than two sports banquets, we have nothing on our calendar until the holidays. At that point, of course, logistical hell breaks out, but maybe I can build up a store of calm over the next couple of weeks to bear the cluster without too many stumbles. We'll see. * * * * * * * I saw Spectre yesterday. It was alright: 6.5. * * * * * * * The previews showed a trailer for Sisters. Man, it looks like one of the most gosh-awful movies ever crafted by the hand of Satan. Just jaw-dropping terrible. * * * * * * * That time of year is coming again: Amazon shopping. Please access Amazon through TDE and earn me a kickback. It's much appreciated.
