So I got a bit wet

Last Friday I had the distinct privilege to go golfing with my brother. Since I hadn't swung a golf club in a year, I went to the driving range Thursday night to remind myself how it worked. A side note...as I was getting my clubs out of the car there was this group of people. It looked like multiple parts of a family. Grandparents, one sons family, another family, but all related. They were getting ready to play mini golf. I realized that I understood what they were saying to each other, yet I also realized that it didn't seem to fit in the states. It was at this time that I realized they were speaking German to each other. It felt so comfortable to hear them interact in German. A nice thing for a guy missing Germany.

Anyways, back to golf. Friday morning came around and we got out on the golfcourse. I was doing okay. Not great, but better than I have done before and the best of us four. It was quite the enjoyable time and I was really enjoying walking the course with my bro. Then some drizzeling rain came. A small shower lasted for about five minutes and then moved on. We though we were okay till we had just finished hole 13. The sky got real dark and huge drops started coming down. By the time that we walked back the the clubhouse WITH an umbrella. We were soaked. Man, we got poured on. But we didn't get struck by lightning which was good.

Still ended up being a great day.

A nice little game

Football is back. The first round of preseason games is happening. Last night the amazingly awesome Ravens took on the interminable Redskins. Just kidding, but the Ravens and Redskins did play. The Ravens dominated the evening winning 23-0. It was enjoyable to see a football game again. The last game I watched at a normal time was about 4 years ago. I have been watching games from Germany 6 hours ahead for the last 3 years. It will be nice to watching the super bowl at 6:30 pm instead of 12:30 am.

So anyway, the Ravens beat up on the Redskins. Game doesn't matter one lick, but I am glad to see the Ravens looking decent already. Should be a good year.

Role Reversal?

I have been hearing many older people talk for years about the younger generation and technology. In many ways I think some of the things said are true, but every once in a while I see something that makes me think differently.

I was sitting in Panera bread on Saturday afternoon. There were not many people there so it was easy to here and notice other things. A bit to my left were a family that were eating. There was a mom, dad and teenage son. The dynamics were interesting. I never saw the mom put down her cell phone or say anything. The dad had his cell phone out most of the time. The son did not have a cell phone.

He was by far the most conversational of the three. He was the most well-spoken and the most interested in talking. The mom did not really pay any attention to anything but her cell phone. I just found it to be an interesting reversal of what we expect. Definitely makes you wonder what technology is affecting in the middle aged generation.

Life and Death

Wow, it has been a looooooong time. Almost long enough for people to wonder if this is dead or not. Even for me to wonder if I was going to end this blog. Well, I am not. Proof...I am updating right now. In fact, I do not know how often I will update, but as for now, I do plan on updating every week. So for you wondering if it is worth reading, at least once a week it will be.

Anyway, on to the time at hand. Monday night, after a day of enjoying nature and kayaking, I returned with my parents and a black snake was discovered to be caught in some netting. I thought that it would be nice to free it. It was dark though and I could barely see the issue whilst shining a flashlight. So I figured that the next morning I would attempt the rescue.

The next morning I went out and started the rescue. I was very careful and tried very hard to be gentle. The snake was remarkably still and I started to wonder about its health or lack of. I did free it, but it had died. I placed it in some bushes hoping that it would heal some and slither away, but it was not to be. Then something interesting happened. I felt a profound sense of sadness.

I wasn't expecting this for although I tried to save it, it was just a snake. But I could not get the fact that the snake had died out of my head all day and I have thought about it today. I realized through conversation that the effort I put into saving the snake had also brought an attachment to the snake. It had been living and I worked hard to keep it that way, but it was not to be. So the effort put in brought a caring spirit along. How much more does that happen for us in relationships with humans? For me, extravagantly more.

Well, that is it for now. Till next time...