Sunday, August 17, 2008
07:31 p.m.
Knee Deep in Summertime

    Over the past couple weeks, I've been catching up on summertime fun, and knew I needed to share some pictures. While logging on to my photobucket.com account, I noticed there are a large number of new "motivational posters" out there, and you can make your own at: diy.dispair.com. Some of my favorites have horrible spelling and grammatical errors, just like some of my recent writing.



    Part of my summer this far has been spent falling in love with baseball all over again. There is nothing like the crack of the wooden bat, or the "ping" of an aluminum bat. And at the time when most people are well into enjoying their summer, I was just starting mine when my friend Pete called up and announced he was inviting everybody to Harriet Island to hit a bucket of brand new Major League baseballs. The one thing most people don't realize is that Major League balls go further, and have a perfect cushion allowing you to launch them. Pete hit one so hard that he was able to hit three more in the time it took me to shag the ball from the outfield.
    For me, the day was great therapy, hanging out with friends, grilling, drinking a beer in the hot sun, and launching baseballs. It was the first time in a long time I'd pitched, probably since breaking my arm a few years ago during Hurricane Rita.


    While in Maine this summer, I happened across a lawn chair with something on it that gave me pause. Bert Dyer is offering free therapy in Vinalhaven, Maine! It's too bad he had the day off, because I would have loved even more to have captured a picture of him providing therapy.



    Vinalhaven is a beautiful little town, and the ferry ride over there is about an hour, leaving a few times a day. You can even stay at a place right across the street from the ferry in Rockport, another fine Maine town.



    And just when I needed it this summer, my family came through for me once again. I spent a few days up at my Uncle John's cabin before starting a month of work at the RNC. I caught two of the biggest fish of my life, one of them I landed with my nephew and godson. Lando is turning into quite the fisherman. And we somehow landed this one without a net. Both of us were so excited to get out fishing, we forgot it. After that, I went out for a night on the town with my cousin Reese (in the big town of Grand Marais), and the next day I shot my best game of golf this year at Superior National. I played the course for $10 (normally a whopping $75) because I know a guy who works there. Normally, I wouldn't spend that much on golf, especially on a north shore course. You can lose that much money alone in golf balls!
    This month in St. Paul has been good for my soul, giving me a chance to catch up with family and friends, getting to spend a little bit more time in my home state before I go on my next adventure.