Unshelved strip

Internet, Cell Phones, and Families

I first read of this in this morning's Kansas City Star. But it seems that Internet and cell phone technology, statistically speaking, tightens the bonds of family. Here's the link to the Washington Post article: Internet, Cellphones May Strengthen Family Unit, Study Finds

Click here for the Pew Internet Group's report on family connectivity.

New England Trip, Day Four: Attending Crew Competition

Sunday, October 12th

I did not have the luxury of sleeping in this day. My cousin was needing to disembark to Middletown, CT at daybreak and, if I wanted to join him, I had to get up early. So after a quick shower and getting quickly dressed, I joined my cousin at the truck which was hauling three skulls for the regatta. We stopped at Mim's, Northfield, Mass' version of a convenience store. After getting coffee (the nearest Starbucks was forty miles away) and danishes, we took the road out of town, hooked up on I-91 Southbound, and headed for Connecticut.

Along the way, my cousin and I talked about family related matters, including sharing memories of our trips up to Alaska and the Grand Canyon. I won't go into detail but I really enjoyed the discussion I had with my cousin.

About forty-five minutes later we arrived in Middletown. After establishing our parking spot with the truck and long, long boat trailer, my cousin and I walked down to the regatta officials trailer so that my cousin could make sure that all registrations were done properly for his three individual teams that were competing. The sun was just rising above the Connecticut River and the fog was just clearing making for awesome opportunities to take some pictures.




Thirty minutes later, my cousin's crew team arrived. They were traveling separately and I believed they were chaperoned by an assistant coach. After placing their gym bags on the bed of the truck, the crew members proceeded to rig the skulls for competition. There were three entries from my cousin's school: the varsity four-man (quad) skull, the junior varsity quad skull, and the ladies 8-member skull.

After a while, my cousin gathered his team for the coach's pep talk. He relayed information about the race and also talked about his recent experiences of cave exploring with his daughter as a way to inspire the newer crew members to enjoy this experience (I believe). It was intriguing to see that all team members were paying stern attention to my cousin as he delivered his pep talk.

With the coach's speech over, it was now time to compete. With the separate coxswains delivering orders for their respective boats, each team lifted their skulls into the air and proceeded to the Connecticut. I was amazed by the highly coordinated effort between the coxswain and the rowers.

The competition lasted for two hours. All levels of competition participated in the regatta, IE: high-school, college, etc. Unlike what I saw on the Beijing Olympics, each individual team was rowing against the clock as opposed to competing in heats. Each team rowed upriver about three miles where I guessed they rendezvoused with the official starter. Meanwhile, my cousin fulfilled the ambassador part of his coaching duties as he engaged in conversations with parents, former students, etc. When his rowing teams approached the finished line, all conversations were interrupted with cacophonies of cheering and whistling for the crew members.



Afterwards, my cousin went down to the boat ramp to help the crew members prepare to take their boats back to the truck. Once again, each coxswain would deliver orders to their respective boats and the crew members would hoist their boat in unison and walk back to the truck and trailer. You could see the fatigue on each rower's face after they completed their duties of competing, de-rigging the boats and putting the boat back on the trailer.

After talking with each team member to see how they felt about their efforts, my cousin and I walked down to the official's trailer to get the official results. The boy's varsity crew finished third in their class. The JV crew finished fifth. And the girl's eight-team crew finished sixth in their class. Afterwards, we walked back down to the river where parents were serving barbecue-fare for team members, their family, the coaches, and a visiting KC Librarian.

With lunch completed, a few team members left Middletown with family. Other team members remained in town because they were planning a prospective visit to Connecticut Wesleyan college. The remaining team members got on the bus and went back to Northfield. After making sure each person was accounted for, and after making sure everything was secured on the trailer, my cousin and I started the drive back to Northfield. My cousin elected to take some back roads so that I could see more of the brilliant foliage.


That night we surprised my uncle (his Dad) with a phone call, just to let him know that I came to New England. I went to bed relatively early that night as I had to fly home the next day.

New England Trip, Day Three: Hall of Fame and Pumpkins

Saturday, October 11, 2008

I'm really grateful my cousin could spend any time with me considering that his job requires a lot of his time and dedication. Case in point: He had to spend this particular Saturday morning participating in his school's open house. He is the head of the school's science department. He supervises fifteen to sixteen teachers. And, of course, part of his duties at this boarding school is to perform the PR work and market the school to potential students and parents.


So, while he was extolling the finer points of the school to perspective student candidates, his son and I explored a garden nursery that featured a pumpkin display of caricatures with pumpkin heads. Some displays included Dorothy and friends from The Wizard of Oz, the three little pigs, Cinderella and her carriage, and, my favorite, Batman.

BTW, it should be noted that during several drives on this trip, I spotted several pumpkin farms along the highways. The color of the pumpkins combined with the color of the fall leaves made for some stunning scenery.

After our visit to the pumpkin exhibit, the son and I met my cousin and had lunch at the school's dining hall. We then proceeded down I-91 to Springfield, Massachusetts and The Basketball Hall of Fame.

The Hall of Fame is structured on three levels. After paying your admission, they place you on an elevator, lift you to the third floor where the Enshrinees are displayed. In an awkward coincidence, they were playing a video of Roy Williams during his acceptance speech. I spent a good forty minutes on this level looking for anything related to Kansas/Big 8/Big 12 history. I do need to note that when I found the display for Dean Smith, the display said he was born in "Bemporia" Kansas, not Emporia, KS. Ooops!

A walk down to the second level reveals the museum and interactive exhibits. On a blue-screen device, you can play one-on-one against a basketball Hall of Famer. There is a display that discusses diagrams of some of the more famous offensive plays in basketball including the Princeton backdoor play, the Kansas/Carolina secondary break, or Phil Jackson/Tex Winter's famous triangle offense. There was also an exhibit featuring the history of the Harlem Globetrotters and one display featuring a Globetrotter's dunk on a twelve-foot goal.

A walk down another flight of stairs takes you to the Hall of Fame basketball court where you can attempt to shoot three-pointers and free-throws and also shoot basketballs at peach baskets and every type of basketball goal that has come with the game's evolution. Fun stuff.

After a quick visit to the HOF gift shop, we drove to Northampton, MA where we had dinner at a local brewery where my cousin's son quizzed me about my knowledge of college team nicknames.

I'm Home

It was warmer in Massachusetts and Connecticut this morning than what we have now in KC. The flying home was not the best of experiences, but I'm back. I'll write more extensively about the last two full days in New England, but for now, here are a couple pics to tease.

KC Librarian shoots and.....

Nothing but air. :( But it was still fun shooting on the Basketball Hall of Fame's basketball court, though. More details about this Saturday in Springfield to come.

Friday in Vermont

Because my cousin's family was still operating on their own individual schedules yesterday, I decided to do a driving tour of Southern Vermont and return to my cousin's house through New Hampshire (just so I can say I was in New Hampshire).
I started the day going to Brattleboro, VT which was a short thirty minute drive. Brattleboro is a small town with a downtown, touristy area that overlooks the Connecticut River. After figuring out how to park in the downtown area and getting quarters so that I could park, I browsed the shops in the area. My cousin's wife recommended a bakery for breakfast and after I found it, I had chocolate cake for breakfast.
After taking the three or four obligatory pictures of the area, I began driving toward Bennington, VT. To my pleasure and surprise, I discovered Route 9 to be a very beautiful scenic drive. The fall colors did not disappoint. When I reached the pass at Hogback Mountain, I saw cars upon cars parked next to the gift shop, tourists taking pictures of the fall colors in the valley. I did manage to find a parking spot and took five minutes myself to snap some shots.
I got back to my and proceeded to Bennington. I must admit that the driving along this road was a lot like driving the mountain roads in Colorado, complete with runaway truck ramps for the downhill driving experience.
I arrived at Bennington at midday. The day turned out to be gorgeous and I had to shed my sweatshirt before I walked the downtown area. I had lunch at a place called Alldays and Onions. What did I have-a Reuben sandwich and two glasses of chocolate milk. After lunch I browsed a couple of the local book stores, bought souvenirs, and then began the drive eastward toward Keene, NH. I made another stop at Hogback Mountain, took a couple more pics, and roamed through the gift store. I made Keene, NH in the late afternoon. The fall colors here were not as brilliant but still scenic driving nonetheless. I took a back highway to get back to my cousin's house.
Last night, while his wife took the kids to a Friday night play date with friends, my cousin and I went to dinner at a new restaurant in Gill, MA and then went to a local pub to watch Game One of the Red Sox-Rays. Needless to say, the pub will filled with fervent Red Sox fans.
Today, my cousin, his son and I head to the Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Mass.

Fall Foliage sample

I tried to take as many pictures as possible and I must admit that my camera does not do the fall colors justice; but anyway, here's a sample picture of the fall colors, as seen in Southern Vermont.

Brief summary of my Friday in N.E.

Brilliant fall colors in Vermont and New Hampshire, eating chocolate for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and watching the Red Sox-Rays playoff game in a Massachusetts pub. It doesn't get any better than this.

Further details of this fantastic Friday to come...

Traveling to Stockbridge, Mass

After having breakfast with my cousin's family and walking with my cousin as he took his kids to school, I drove to western Massachusetts to see some of the sights. I first headed south on I-91 to Deerfield to a gift shop that compares in area to KC's Nebraska Furniture Mart. I spent an hour looking at gifts and Halloween and Christmas decor and then hit the highway. I hit the Mass Turnpike and headed west for Stockbridge and the Rockwell Museum. After spending two hours there and buying my gift store magnets, I hit the highway and headed north to Pittsfield.

The driving was absolutely beautiful, brilliant fall colors abound. I worked my way back to I-91 stopping off to browse at three or four small town general stores and treating myself to some Friendly's (an eastern chain) ice cream. I got back to Northfield in time for dinner with my cousin and his family.

Friday, I'm considering drives to either New Hampshire or Vermont. Saturday and Sunday are scheduled activities with my cousin.

Hello from Massachusetts

I made the Hartford airport at mid-afternoon and managed to rent my car without much trouble. The drive from the Hartford airport to my cousin's house was beautiful and brilliant in color. Tomorrow, I head for Stockbridge, MA and the Norman Rockwell museum. I'll start taking pictures as soon as I can dig my camera out from my luggage.

Ready for the trip and suspending my worries for a week

My bags are packed and I'm ready to go. I'll have to get up early Wednesday morning in order to make my flight. I'll stop by Starbucks and get a double-shot caramel machiato.

When I get back, I'll have some obligations waiting for me: car maintenance, yard maintenance, etc.

In the meantime, I look forward to seeing the Norman Rockwell Museum, The Basketball Hall of Fame, and, of course, the autumn colors of New England.

Three things taken away from this football weekend

1. After watching their performance against Nebraska, I'm convinced that Missouri is a legit contender for the national championship.
2. After watching their performance against Iowa State, I believe KU is yo-yo-ing between being a good team and a mediocre team. No BCS bowl bid this year.
3. After watching the Chiefs performance against __________ (fill in the blank), I am totally convinced that this team is so bad that it will take the firing of Carl Peterson, Herm Edwards and his coaches to start righting the ship. Their performance against Carolina was ugly and uninspired. These are professional football players for goodness sake and all they are doing is standing on the field and collecting their ridiculous salary.

We're the Best (at least in KC for 2008)!!!

The Pitch magazine, our local weekly arts and entertainment publication, released its Best of Kansas City 2008 issue today. And, lo and behold, The West Wyandotte Public Library, the library where I work, was named Best Library for this year.

Click here for their paragraph review.

I feel the article hits our high points. Kicker is they have not seen our refurbished reference area yet.