While I never did anything close to basic training in the army, three events in my life stand out where I felt a great sense of accomplishment. Interestingly, all three took place less than seven miles apart.
December 1975: the Lakewood Stadium clock ran down and we won the state championship, the weight of 4-1/2 months of practices and games came crashing down on me. Even before the August two-a-days I had spent the previous seven months kicking and lifting weights. The feeling I had after the game was one I would never forget.
At Tech all students were required to take the drown-proofing class. We’d have to spend 45 minutes in 7-8 feet of water with both our hands and feet tied. We’d have to jump in the deep end and make our way to the middle of the pool for the rest of the time. Later in the semester we had to swim the length of the pool underwater, without rising up to take extra breaths. You had to make it the entire length of the pool to get a passing grade. To get an A you had to swim all the way back underwater as well. One student would make the swim at one time. The rest of us cheered each other on. My goal was to swim the length of the pool. Anything else would be gravy. I made it to the end in decent shape and made the turn. I figured I would go until I gave out. I swam and swam and before I knew it I was touching the other end of the pool. I got an A for the test, and a solid B for the class. I felt as if I had done something.
On July 4, 1993 I ran the Peachtree Road Race. Will was born the next day. Back then I was meeting Scot Wright and David McDaniel at the FLC at 6 am to work out. Every other Friday I would add an extra half mile to my run, always north on Peachtree from Second-Ponce. By October I was running past the old Frito Lay plant in Chamblee and back. On Thanksgiving morning I ran the Atlanta Half Marathon, from Chamblee down Peachtree to Atlanta Stadium – in under two hours. Another great feeling of accomplishment.
BRAVES: Here we go again. People are already having unrealistic expectations about the Braves in general and specifically Colon and Dickey. Steak has it all wrong, saying they should let the prospects pitch at SunTrust. The high end of this team is 81 wins and third place. Colon and Dickey will eat innings, but maybe nothing else. Winning half their games will be a plus. The Cubs and Mets spent years rebuilding – Atlanta is still in the middle of theirs.
Star Wars Day is May 6th. I guess I will go for the RA Dickey bobblehead. That will be my first game. I’ll also go to the Star Wars game the next Saturday in Gwinnett for the Sean Kazmar Yoda bobble. Gotta get an extra Kazmar to trade for a Uecker Magic 8 Ball, the only 2017 giveaway I really wanted.
Been listening to 680 hoping to win Braves Yankees tickets, but no dice. Might’ve told you coworker Chris won a pair. He’s also going to the first two games in April.
Any other observations? Are the Sox asking too much for their lefty?
ROB: I think they came to the conclusion last year that Wisler and Blair were not long term answers. They will still get some starts, but like Coppy said, they will need to be earned, not just given. I think the 8 man bullpen and 4 man bench is a mistake. With the deeper pen, the manager will over-manage and give pitches to someone who probably should not be in the majors. And with a 4 man bench, you have to keep versatile, light hitting players as opposed to defensively limited players who may be better hitters. I hope the Braves don't bite on Quintana.
ME: Left work Wednesday at 5:55. Stopped by Taco Bell and walked into the classroom at JFBC right at 6 pm. Of the 21 in attendance I noticed at least 13 had beverages. Used to be taboo, but not any more.
Was home by 8:30. Stayed up to watch Designated Survivor at ten. Every week it gets better. At 9:30 I remember I hadn’t registered for the Peachtree Road Race. The deadline was midnight, so I got on line and registered. This will be my 30th Peachtree, and Will’s 14th. M arrived home from work, and sat with us for a while.
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