This week the U.S. Olympic Swimming Trials are taking place in Omaha, Neb. Since I recently began swimming again after decades away from the pool, I’ve been watching with extreme interest. Every four years, it seems like the technology for broadcasting the Olympics—and even the Olympic Trials—gets better and better, and the programming folks...
Fitbit
Apparently, bending over and tying my shoes is worth about 25-40 steps. The act of leaning over to my left side while I’m sitting at my desk, unzipping my briefcase and pulling out a phone-charging cord and then plugging it in, is also worth about 25 steps. Rubbing my wife’s shoulders while watching TV, about 30 steps...
Back To The Pool
On January 24 of this year, I jumped into a swimming pool and swam laps for the first time in many, many years. It felt great—for about one and a half laps. Then the pain started, and once it started it didn’t go away. I managed to complete 1,000 yards that day, but I...
A Christmas Card
This year, I’ve been looking back at the year 1980. There’s one more story before the year winds down. ***** North Central College is laid out predominantly in a narrow north-south strip, with the athletic facilities at the south end, and the library and a couple of the dorms at the far north end....
An Odd Note During The Game
Our romp through the year 1980 continues. Previous posts are here, here, here, here, here, here and here. ***** The NCC swim teams spent more than a week at the Horizon Motor Hotel in Fort Lauderdale, waking up early to do grueling three-hour workouts in the mornings, and then spending the afternoons recovering. That...
1980: A New Setting
I’ve gotten a little behind in my reliving the year 1980, so will try to catch up a little bit here. In September, I went away to college. Yes, I had done this before—to Missouri University in 1977—but Mizzou was sort of the expected thing to do, and I knew a lot of people...
July 1980
Several key events from July of 1980, continuing my 30-years-ago reminiscenses: • Sometime around the middle of the month, I saw the Doobie Brothers in concert, with my old Mizzou roommate Bob. This was at the Checkerdome, like the earlier Who concert was, and again we had floor seats. From what I remember, it...