Pool season has ended at Wayfarer’s Refuge. We decided to go ahead and drain the pool last weekend because the days are already starting to cool off to where we’re not spending much time in the water. Then again, we weren’t spending a whole lot of time in the pool to begin with. Would I if we had a bigger pool? I say yes, but even with the last big pool I wasn’t doing much. I could say it was because the last pool wasn’t big enough to really swim in, but I don’t know how much truth there is to that. I know I need to be more active and lose some weight. Swimming is a decent way to do that, but I’ve never been a great swimmer. Is that because I didn’t spend much time in the water? Or did I not spend time in the water because I wasn’t a great swimmer? When I was younger and we’d visit my uncle in Texas, I practically lived in his pool, but it was a lot more splashing and playing than actual swimming.
I check Facebook Memories every day, and apparently, a lot of stuff happened on the 6th of September in my life. Three years ago, we had all four of the grandbabies here at the same time. Five years ago, we bought Wayfarer’s Refuge. Eight years ago, I was dropping Oldest Daughter off for her first semester at Meredith Manor, which closed last year. Ten years ago, I shaved my head for the first time. I did it to show support for a friend who was going through treatment for Hodgkin’s lymphoma. She’s still cancer-free. I’m still bald. I like the look.
Long Live the Queen
I can’t say I was surprised by the news of Her Majesty’s death on Thursday. She was 96 and had lived on hell of a life. She was the last surviving head of state to have served in World War 2, which alone is stunning, really. It really is the end of an era.
But what I often think of when someone like the queen passes are the people left behind who must carry on as the world mourns. I’m not speaking here of King Charles, his sons, or his sister, though I do feel sad for them. I’m thinking especially though of the Queen’s staff. Her servants and service staff at Buckingham Palace, Balmoral, and Windsor. I can’t imagine what it’s like to mourn someone like that and have to do so in private. I’m sure it takes a very special kind of person to work for the Royal Family even under normal circumstances. I don’t doubt there are third or even fourth-generation employees serving the Royal Family, given the length of her reign and the British love of tradition.
Football
Wolverines were at #4 in the polls going into the Hawaii game. I’ll take that.
Michigan took on Hawaii this week. I wasn’t expecting much of a challenge from them. They came into the game on a 2-game skid after a 6-7 season last year. My only concern was a Michigan letdown when facing a potential creampuff game. I really wanted to see a shutout last week and this week, but that wasn’t in the stars, I guess.
The quarterback thing played out again this week. JJ looked great, and I really though Cade looked really good too. But what caught my attention was what seemed to be a letdown by the offensive line when McNamara was on the field. On that second sack, it looked like they just opened up and let the defender through.
I was…disappointed by so many sportswriters seeming to pile on Cade McNamara last weekend. I thought he had a pretty good game. Yeah, he had a lower completion rate than the other two QBs, but in the overall scheme of things, how many of the misses were his fault? I even saw one piece that downplayed his touchdown throw because it made up so much of his overall yardage. I really thought he looked not too bad for it being the first game of the season. Yeah, he had some misses and a near-interception, but I thought he looked as good as he did last season. And if he was good enough to have the starting position last season, why wasn’t that good enough this season?
I think one reason he was so good last year is that it was basically a settled thing that he was the starter. I’ve never appreciated this weird thing Coach Harbaugh does with using regular games to try out his QBs. It’s a huge confidence booster to know you’ve got the starting position, and the opposite is true, too. I suspect Harbaugh doesn’t understand how much his musical quarterback game can affect his players’ confidence. I wish he’d quit it.
Writing
4,419 words on Ghost this week. That puts me in Chapter 12 at 36,155 words total. Another dead person just showed up, and Keith and company are starting to connect some dots.
I’ve noticed as I check my web traffic that After is getting some attention. Readers seem to be jumping around a bit though, which I find interesting.
Thanks for reading! Feel free to share a comment or thought. Sign up for my infrequent newsletter here. Find some of my other writing at The Good Men Project, too. Subscribe to the blog via the link in the right sidebar so you never miss an update here, either. You can also add my RSS feed to your favorite reader.
Share your thoughts!