THE WEEKENDER-FUN & GAMES AND MAGIC

MAGIC MEMORIES

   Nostalgic warmth can come with a variety of memories.

    Both daughters tell us the sound of basketball sneakers on hardwood, the din of the cheering fans and pep bands and the tones of announcers recall their childhood weekends. Usually a chili or stew simmered a delicious appeal into the mood, completing the sensory recording of a winter's afternoon.

     The girls live elsewhere, but some things don't change.
Even with our address only a mile or so from the Pacific, the magic of a Big Ten Rivalry captivates us. Where I used to have half time or post game chats with dad, or after he passed, with my mom, a real fan to the end, now I'm frequently on with my dear friend Frank, from Falls Church Va.- by way of Indianapolis basketball courts.
     Lana and I met at Ball State and we are fans and supporters of our Alma Mater BSU Cardinals-"the fiercest bird in the robin class" as our old friend Dave Letterman says.  Still, we have jointly been IU fans, at least as long as our marriage.  And I grew up where IU basketball was a religious experience. I've been a fan since I learned to dribble, but I've always had a chunk of heart dedicated to  the Butler Bulldogs, because of the legendary Tony Hinkle and some of their incredible small school big achievements and tenacious brand of basketball.
      We used to book spring vacation travel plans around the IU, Ball State, or Butler NCAA tourney schedule.  Usually it was the IU game we had to catch at an airport, or on a car radio or not fly that day. 

     I've even spent decades watching John Mellencamp become an old man of rock as he and a succession of beautiful women and/or wives take their special seats in Assembly Hall. 

     The best places to watch basketball in Indiana are at the new arena at Ball State, the Bankers Life Field House in Indianapolis and the blue print for all great basketball palaces, the Hinkle Field House at Butler University. While IU's Assembly Hall is a terrible venue to see a game, unless you have near the court seats, the spirit, energy and enthusiasm is one of the best to experience.

     It's hard for non mid-west or basketball loving people to get this, but there is a soul calming, almost meditative peace in watching Big Ten or NCAA college hoops.  A couple of California friends talk about baseball with the same reverence.  Something magic about a good game on TV. My dad extended that to golf, and I get that too. 

    The nostalgic memories of my dad, brothers, mom and later my daughters in that mix of familiar sounds and pleasing aromas are a magic at work. 

SPEAKING OF MAGIC

AND GOLF

     Thanks to my golf loving fraternity brother Brian for finding this incredible video of the week.

    See you down the trail. 

GRATITUDE IS UNDER VALUED

LOOKING FOR IT

      I'm grateful for a walk my mother took with me one autumn day as the oaks, sycamores, elms and maples were resplendent.  She said it was one of the most beautiful falls she had seen.  It was an unusual thing, a hike in the park with my busy and laboring mom. As we strolled beneath old and ancient trees ablaze in red, orange, yellow and crunched over the leaves on the path I noticed the world, maybe really for the first time.

     Natural beauty stirs a deep awe in those who are sensitive to it. 

 PIER LIGHT

Seeing it again

subtle changes in seconds

     Thank you to the cosmic set designers!!
     See you down the trail.

MEMORIAL DAY-DECORATION DAY

REMEMBERING

and

WE BRING YOU A SMILE

A RE-POST FROM THE ARCHIVE

     My grandmother and her sisters used to call it "decoration day," the day you took flowers to decorate the graves.  It was always a Memorial Day tradition, to take flowers to the cemetery and to listen to the Indianapolis 500, "The Greatest Spectacle in Racing," on the radio.

     It is a weekend to remember, not only those who were lost in the service to our nation, or those who served, but to remember all of our family and loved ones.

      My father and Mother, pictured above were diligent about remembering. That is probably why, whenever I am in Indiana, I visit the cemetery and place flowers.

     This weekend I'm across the country, but I remember those trips over the decades. I also remember generations who now rest in peace, especially brothers John and Jim, taken in their prime.

John David

James D

      

If you wish, here is a beautiful moment of reflection.

NOW ABOUT SMILES

HERE'S SOMETHING TO PUT A SMILE INTO YOUR WEEKEND.  BE SURE TO WATCH THIS.

SEE YOU DOWN THE TRAIL.