kids and Punchouts

Jesus, this week disappeared faster than our 5 run lead last sunday. I dont know where it went; monday i was painting, and tuesday and wednesday I was at a new school, and tomorrow is friday already. I really need to stop and smell the roses before its september and this is all over. On the other hand, i'm glad that i'm not sitting here at the house all day staring at the clock, waiting for practice.

So the school gig was fun again this time around, it was in Wistedt this time though with Thies's Mom. TUesday morning we (me and Antje) left at 740 to make it for the start of the day at 8:00. So hopping on the bike with sleep still in my eyes, i was ready for a leisurely jawnt through town making it to school with plenty of time to spare. that was until Antje started pedaling...she is a bat out of hell on two wheels. Being a guy in my early 20s and being a professional athlete and all, i figured I'd have to slow down so this 5'3" 100lb 50 year old woman could keep up and show me the way. little did i know that she was super woman, I was in the fastest gear possible and still struggling to keep up with her. she kept looking back over her shoulder to make sure i was still there i guess, but there were a few times when we were climbing gradual inclines that i had to down shift because my legs were burning so bad. Now i've done a bit of biking in my day, enough to know what a shifting gear sounds like, and i didnt hear it once from her bike, NOT ONCE. Not only was i out of breath and ready for a nap when we got to the school 5 km away, but also impressed that she was able to talk in full, complete sentences without breaking to take breaths like me. My ego was also a tad bruised because she tore me a new one without even trying, i think she was rolling along on her usual pace or possible slower, and i was huffing and puffing the entire way barely able to keep up. you wouldnt believe the words i was using when i saw that a big chunk of the route was a dirt road up hill both ways. needless to say, the pace on the way home was a lot slower and more how i had envisioned it-leisurely. the kids were very excited to have me there, or at least it seemed that way, maybe it was just that they were in gym class...that always made me happy when i was in the 3rd grade regardless of what we were doing. and when it came time for me to sign autograms, I had them all give me theirs. Its funny how they used the same write-the-1st-letter-of-your-name-then-squiggly-line-the-rest manuever they saw me use 30 seconds before hand. and they didnt forget the cross-back-over-everything-you-just-wrote-to-cross-a-"t"-or-an-"A-to-make-your-signature-look-important move either...these guys were pros. but I had them sign a boring sheet of paper instead of having them all write on my arm like they wanted me to do...what is with these German kids and wanting to have tattoos of my name?!

Wednesday was exactly the same as tuesday except for the big soccer match that night. Hamburg and Bremen both have soccer teams that play in the 1st league here in germany and have a rivalry comparable to Yankees-Red Sox. they are also very close together, about 2 hours by train I guess, i dont know, i've never been to bremen. but like the yankess-red sox rivalry, you are for one or the other, never both. Hamburg Blue runs deep here in Dohren, flags flown and decals displayed, scarves and jerseys worn with pride. they are by far the favorite, but Bremen green dots the landscape here in the City and their fans were not dissappointed on Wednesday. going into Halftime it was 1-0 Bremen but Hamburg answered back with a goal of their own late in the 2nd. overtime was a defensive affair so it came down the penalty kicks in the end. it was a great game, and over the next 18 days, the teams play 3 more times...I'm sure their will be riots in the streets if Bremen can hold on for the sweep.

today, thursday was back to henriks. i used up all the paint on monday and he hasnt gotten any more so today i got to mud drywall. tomorrow morning will be more of the same. but tomorrow afternoon, i am umpiring the juniors' game here in Dohren. I worked on my strike three punch out today at practice, but after talking to Mr Punchout himself, John Tschantz, i was reminded of a few more moves I could pull from my sleeve. I think i will probably go with the bow and arrow but maybe ill throw in a BOOM call, or the ninja, or possibly the one-man-pigeon-toss-to-shotgun. its really all up in the air at this point but im excited either way. I told the guys today at practice that they better bring their swinging shoes because I have a wide pitchers' zone and im quick to pull the trigger with two strikes so i can use these punchouts we worked so hard on perfecting during dpu intersquads.

a word of advice: when mudding in a ceiling, keep your mouth closed.

A-Ron