My Grammie

Moment of gratitude: Despite hitting a pot hole on my way home today which caused me to lose a hub cap and suffer 100 miles with a cracked (and very loud) muffler, I arrived home in one piece today after spending time laughing with and loving my favorite person in the universe: my grandmother. I'm so glad that we still get to act like kids together and talk like we did 25 years ago. She is proof that being 90 and watching your body fall apart doesn't mean that your spirit is any different from what it always has been. I love you, Grammie!

Reflecting upon 9/11

Has it really been ten years since we were so cowardly attacked by terrorists on our own home soil? It certainly doesn't feel like it and I was going to attribute it to the fact that time flies but I think there are other reasons. It is one of those once-in-a-lifetime events where every single person knows exactly where they were and what they were doing when they found out that this tragedy was occurring. For the baby boomers it was the JFK assassination, and the generation before it was Pearl Harbor. Over the last few days I was watching some film that showed different perspectives on how that day unfolded and events thereafter. The images are seared into our memories because unlike any event in history we didn't simply hear about it and tune in for the aftermath. Anybody with a television or radio nearby was able to watch or listen in as it happened live! People in New York saw it happen right in front of their own eyes, up close and personal as many of them feared for their lives not knowing what would happen next! For the rest of us it was as if we were watching a movie and that's exactly what it felt like because it was so surreal! I know that is what I was thinking and I'm sure most everybody was too! After the first plane hit the World Trade Center it looked like a tragic accident but once the second plane hit the other tower I think most of America and the rest of the world realized it was no accident.
I am not sure what the most horrific part was...there was so much to digest. First there was the shock that any sort of terrorism of this magnitude could actually occur in our homeland. I think that most of us thought that we were immune to these type of acts because we are surrounded by oceans and this sort of thing only happened in other countries. That ideology changed in a hurry on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. I couldn't wrap my head around the fact that it was such a beautiful day in the Northeast with bright sunshine and nothing but clear blue skies. As we watched the towers burn it became apparent that there were people trapped in the upper floors and that there was no way of saving them. I kept thinking to myself why don't they just get helicopters and save them, but that was unrealistic. With flames and smoke billowing out of the windows and onto the roof helicopters couldn't get anywhere near the building. Some people jumped to their deaths to escape the flames, some holding hands, and I can't say that I blame them, I might've done the same thing. We then found out that there were more planes. One had hit the Pentagon and another flight from Boston was unaccounted for. We had no idea what was next!
Out of all of the evil that occurred that day there was some good.
I am grateful for all of the first responders who risked their lives and many of them lost their lives trying to save others. I am grateful for the many heroes, many who remain anonymous, who selflessly helped to get others out of the burning towers and also to those citizens first on the scene who rushed to help others without regard to their own safety. The flight that was unaccounted for was flight 93 which crashed into a field in rural Pennsylvania. I am grateful for the heroic passengers on board who attempted to take over the plane so that it wouldn't be used as another terrorist weapon. I am grateful for the heroic efforts of people at the Pentagon, again many of whom remain anonymous, who pulled people from the burning wreckage and saved countless lives.
In the days since 9/11 I am grateful for the potential terrorist attacks that have been thwarted because of the due diligence of our military intelligence. I am grateful for our troops and everything that they do for us to ensure our safety.
Last but not least I am grateful to live in the greatest democracy in the world even if our economy sucks right now! We are America, we will bounce back, we always have!

Football!

I am very grateful that the new NFL season is upon us! It brings a new season of hope and high expectations especially for us Patriots fans who expect great things every year (and by great things I mean Super Bowl titles!) It means many Sundays, Sunday nights, Monday nights, and eventually Thursday nights watching football! It means getting together with family and friends. For some of us lucky enough to have tickets to games it means traveling to Gillette Stadium, tailgating, and watching the Patriots kick some ass! It means fantasy football and trash talking amongst friends.
Fall is probably my least favorite time of the year. It marks the end of my favorite season which is summer. It means goodbye to the warm temperatures and brings us one step closer to winter. Things that I do like about fall are the start of soccer season, the fact that I began teaching again, and of course FOOTBALL!

Dinner with Nate!

I'm slacking, I know, I'm sorry!  Nate and I met up for dinner and our traditional ice cream after I returned from a very long trip.  This photo is from our dinner at Fanuiel Hall on August 23rd!  Thanks again for dinner, Nate!  :-)

Legs!

I am grateful once again for Lauren, Walter and ATG for rescuing me in my time of need. In a matter of a few weeks I managed to break the brackets that held on both my wheelchair legs! As of Saturday I was driving my wheelchair around with my legs dangling which is very uncomfortable and inconvenient. I can't drive in that situation, can't go to soccer practice and was on the verge of having to cancel my first class of the year tomorrow! Thank God that they were able to squeeze me in and Walter was able to fit me with brackets and legs from a different wheelchair that I am going to use temporarily until my godforsaken insurance approves new ones!
Life is good again.

School time

It is back-to-school time and I am grateful to be teaching again at Quincy College. I'll be teaching pre-algebra this semester and school starts on Wednesday. Do you know what I will be doing on Labor Day? Finishing my syllabus! I have been a procrastinator my whole life, so why change now!

Smoking

Smoking is a terrible habit. After quitting for several years I picked it up about a year ago. It's not like I am a heavy smoker, I like to have 3, 4 or 5 per day. Some people asked why I bother smoking if I only have a few cigarettes a day. Well, because I enjoy it! And no, it doesn't make it any easier to quit because I smoke so few. I am determined to quit (again) and with the help of Nicorette gum I have had one cigarette in the last week. Let's hope that this trend continues and that I never pick up a cigarette again!

Soccer season

I am very grateful that soccer season is upon us once again and I am proud to be returning as an assistant coach for the Hingham high school varsity squad. We had a good season last year and won our division again but lost in our first playoff game. We let in a few early goals but were never able to get the tying goal despite possessing the ball and putting pressure on them for most of the game. We lost 3-2. It was a very bitter ending to an otherwise good season. Our final record was 10-5-4.
We retained the core of our squad and we are deeper than last year with more quality players on our bench. Our most skilled players have another year of experience under their belt and I believe that we can improve on last season. If we play up to our potential we could do something special this year! We finished our preseason yesterday with a record of 3-0-2. Our first regular-season game is Thursday at Sharon.

Weather Forecasts

I'm sure that we can all agree that weather in New England is tough to predict. When we watch the news we have to take our weather forecasts with a grain of salt because our weather changes all the time and doesn't always go as anticipated.
That being said, it is nice to have a forecast available when a major storm hits. We have the luxury to be able to turn on the TV and watch an extended weather report that tells us what to expect. We were able to watch meteorologists track the most recent storm, Irene, almost a week in advance so that we could be prepared. Again, it is an inexact science and instead of getting a hurricane it fizzled out into a tropical storm. They were able to warn us about flooding and wind damage which did occur.
It is estimated that a hurricane prediction three days in advance today is as accurate as a one-day forecast was 20 years ago! Before we had all of the technology that we have today it was very hard to predict storms. The New England Hurricane of 1938 was a category 3 hurricane and was estimated to have killed between 682 and 800 people. These folks didn't know how to prepare for a hurricane, didn't know how strong it was going to be when it hit, and didn't have mandatory evacuations that we can order today when we know what is coming.
So I am very grateful for weather forecasts and the technology that we have today.