Andy Smallman

The purpose of this post is to explain that me going on a sports fast is no small thing. I grew up in a family of sports fans so following sports is in my DNA or something. We think the sports page should be the front page of the newspaper. It’s the section we turn to first.

But like I said yesterday, I’m really tired of the business side of sports. Take hockey, my favorite sport, for instance. The NHL, the highest level of the sport, isn’t even happening because the team owners and players can’t agree on how to divide up the boatload of money they are (were) making.

Oh, that’s me from 5th grade, the year I played on an ice hockey team in Omaha. I wasn’t very good because I couldn’t skate. I never scored a goal. I never assisted on a goal. At one of our games, my brother yelled out to me on the ice, “Trip someone. Get a statistic!”

That’s brotherly love.

When we were in France, Melinda & I went on a “news fast.” That’s where you avoid watching the news on TV or reading about it online or in newspapers, etc. The basic premise is that most of the “news” is not something you actually NEED to know, and that, because most of it is negative, it contributes to you feeling negative. Learn more by reading #9 of this link.

Well, this weekend I started a “sports fast.” I’m tired of the high-paid athletes and millionaire owners of sports teams arguing over how to divide up their massive profits. I’m sick of the performance enhancing drug cases. I’m saddened by people involved in athletics thinking they can play by a different set of rules.

It’s out of control and I’m taking a break from it. So here I am, tearing up an issue of Sports Illustrated in symbolic protest.

Here’s another photo from last night’s dinner at Melinda’s parents’ house. It’s pretty explanatory, yes? I think Michele was looking over at Perrin when I snapped the picture, pleased with her birthday cake. Speaking of that cake, it was delicious. Carrot cake with cream cheese frosting.

Or as Melinda referred to it, cream cheese frosting with a little bit of carrot cake. Yes, there was that much frosting.

Anyway, today is Michele’s actual birthday (76th – get the blog post title now?) so I present a very specific happy birthday post to her. Happy birthday, Michele!

I took this photo tonight to send to Laurent & Frédérique in Nantes. Laurent provided the bottle of wine, bringing it from France when the Boudeaus visited this summer. And Michele said that tonight was the perfect occasion to open it.

You see, we’re over at Dwight’s & Michele’s for the night as our wood floors get polished. And since it’s Michele’s birthday tomorrow, we doubled it up as a little birthday bash for her. Brenda, Greg & Perrin joined in, thus making it a family birthday party.

I am excited to report that Brenda & Greg made one of my favorite Michele recipes, what I call Disco Stew. More context for the Boudeaus, Dwight & Michele, Brenda, Greg & Perrin, and Disco Stew can be found at this post from nearly two years ago.

A week ago today I looked like this because I had just minutes earlier finished running a marathon. Today I’m feeling the same way because I guess I hurt my right knee while running it.

I’ve had this pain in the back of my right knee since the marathon, but I really didn’t think that much of it. I can walk well enough and I figured it would go away. It persisted, but still, it was behind my knee and it just felt tight, likely because I altered my running for the last 10 miles or so because of the blister I developed on the bottom of my right foot.

Maybe it was a bigger deal doing so than I thought.

I went out running this morning, my first jog since the marathon. That spot behind my right knee was stiff but it didn’t bug me too much as I started. But as I went on it didn’t loosen out like I expected. Worse, I started to feel pain in the front of my knee on the right side. It got significant enough that after 35 minutes I stopped running and walked back home. As the day has progressed it’s tightened up and is sore.

Now what?

Ella is having an overnight elsewhere and Chloe is away at college. What does that mean for Melinda and me? Well, in our Americanized French we say we are “sans enfants.” And that means sushi, Fran’s chocolate, and a nightcap of fresh juice.

Evolution Fresh is a new restaurant/juice bar/health food store that just opened at University Village, a hop, skip & a jump for us from home. We stopped in tonight to try it out and came away impressed. The juice was fresh, cold, thin, and without additives of any kind (including sugar). In other words, it was delicious.

I’m happy to report that we are now home, sitting in front of a cozy fire, and listening to holiday music.