The (not so) BIG 4-0...

40th birthday encouragement

I hit a lifetime milestone recently and turned the BIG 4-0 back on September 13th.  You know, it's the age when you're supposedly over-the-hill, your body starts hurting more, you forget things more often, and you're just generally washed up from doing things younger people can do.  I've been warned about this age for as long as I can remember.  Heck, they sell black balloons and t-shirts just for the occasion, and I can't think of any other age that's more notorious.  Maybe turning 100?  But now that I've turned 40 I'm left wondering what all the fuss was about?  Does my body hurt more?  Not really.  I remember a time about 15 years ago when I went through a period with some lower back pain, probably the worse I've ever felt.  I lost 30 pounds and it went away.  Do I forget things more often?  Not really.  I could never remember anything anyway.  My wife claims I just remember what I want to.  Well duh, who remembers what they don't want to!  Am I washed up from doing things younger people can do?  Not really.  I can still beat some some younger folks when it comes to running, playing softball, and dancing like a fool.  So, after a few weeks of being 40 and taking time to reflect on this new era, I guess I feel pretty good about life.  There are a couple quotes I like that seem to make perfect sense now:

"Age is an issue of mind over matter. If you don't mind, it doesn't matter."
"We don't stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because he stop playing"

As a matter of fact I feel a little smarter after turning 40.  Because now I realize turning 50 might be even better yet!

Ft. Loramie football stadium upgrades...

I had the opportunity to attend Ft. Loramie's varsity football home opener last Friday against New Bremen.  It was my first chance to see the new updates to the stadium that I had read about in the newspaper around a month ago.  I've been in the Redskins stadium before, most recently for a track meet this past spring, so I had a pretty good memory of what it looked like before the updates.  My dad was with me for the game and explained a few interesting things I'll get to later.  After we parked my car, we walked towards the stadium from the south parking lot by the baseball diamond, so the first thing I noticed was an area with engraved brick pavers.  It's a nice feature that recognizes the support of so many in the Ft. Loramie community.  As we approached the front of the stadium the coolest upgrade had to be the new entrance.  Wow!  Ticket windows, a beautiful gate, and an awesome Ft. Loramie football sign attached to a couple of lighted brick columns (click on picture above).  As we walked to our seats on the 50-yard line I noticed the new press box located above the home fans.  It's impressive enough that three different media outlets were using it to cover the game.  After we sat down in our seats I couldn't help but notice across the field at the new visitor bleachers that replaced the small set of bleachers that were there last spring.  It's nice that the home fans aren't the only ones that benefited from the upgrades.  I commented to Dad how nice everything looked.  He explained that all the upgrades were done with private donations and with volunteer work.  He even stated that he was part of a service club that volunteered their time to paint the lines on the field that Thursday night before the game.  As I watched the game I also noticed two huge play clocks behind both end zones that made it easy for each team to see how much time time was left.  Dad explained those were newly donated as well.  I never grew up with high school football and I'm pretty positive my children never will, but I have an appreciation for it after Friday night's game.  The upgrades prove there's a lot of pride in the community and it was great to witness it from a visitor's perspective.  Nice job Redskins.

The Chicago Cubs experience...

Previous to this past weekend, the last time I attended a Chicago Cubs game at Wrigley Field was 1996.  Back then I was in town for their series with the Cincinnati Reds and I went to both Friday & Saturday's games with my wife and three other friends.  That weekend I had two different experiences because on Friday we were seated in the grandstands and on Saturday our view was from the bleachers.  Two completely different perspectives.  The folks in the grandstands seemed more interested in the game, while the people in the bleachers were more interested in the party.  I'll never forget looking at my bleachers ticket and finding the row and seat number where we were suppose to sit.  When I told a lady she was in my seat, she smiled and said just to sit anywhere and have fun.  Fun we had!  We made friends with complete strangers, joined them in cheering on Sammy Sosa everytime he ran out to centerfield, and then turned around after each inning and partied with the Cubs fans.  I went home that weekend saying the Chicago Cubs are the most fun team in America.

It took me 15 years to return.  This past weekend I was in town for a bachelor party with 20 other guys and part of our weekend was attending the Cubs Saturday afternoon game against the St. Louis Cardinals, their biggest rival.  This time our seats would be from a rooftop deck in right field.  Before the game I remembered my trip in 1996 and wondered if I would still enjoy the Cubs experience, especially from a rooftop deck where I would be so far away from the action.  I wasn't disappointed and would like to note that this game was better than my first two put together!  Any baseball fan or non-fan could enjoy one of these rooftops.  Not only can you watch the game from a rooftop stadium seat in the Chicago sunshine, you can also watch the action through a huge window from an air conditioned lounge on the second floor.  Here are some other benefits: all you can eat food, all you can drink beverages, TV's with live broadcasts everywhere, radio broadcast throughout the building, and the friendliest bunch of strangers you'll ever meet.  I'm going to guess that 33% of the fans on the rooftop that day were Cubs fans and the other 67% were Cards fans, Reds fans, Brewers fans, Yankees fans, etc.  Some were there to watch the game, but it seemed like most were there for the party.  Moral of the story: The Chicago Cubs are the most fun team in America.