I'm now 49 days away from turning 50, as it has passed midnight into Thursday, November 17, 2016.
Facebook can, at times, open up some raw emotions when things turn up in your news feed that you least expect to see.
That's why unfollows, unfriends and, when warranted, blocks are sometimes necessary.
There was a picture that a friend who is a big fan of my announcing posted with one of her friends and a comment that said, "Dear friends never say goodbye, they simply say "see you soon"."
I've known that these two individuals have been pretty strong friends for quite some time and I don't hold it against the person that likes my announcing.
It is just that the person that seems to be leaving the area, perhaps, is somebody who was friendly in an odd way (to me) more than three and a half years ago.
When I discreetly attempted to clear it up, I got no response. Whatsoever.
A situation or two occurred afterward that brought some engagement with that person, but it never opened up an opportunity to resolve that emotional wound.
Another similar situation two years before with somebody completely different eventually saw that person leave the area for another part of the state and now one that borders the Atlantic Ocean.
A race director friend of mine who knew of my struggles then said at the time that God was acutally taking care of me by not having to see them on a regular basis anymore.
Maybe they were right.
And maybe I should take the same advice here.
I handle different rejections completely -- different.
Some bother me. Others don't.
I wouldn't say that I hold grudges as for both of these individuals I've - at different times - prayed for them and their success very fervently. How else are we to still care for people?
Another individual in the running community who is a believer said once about the former situation that sometimes you just have to love people from afar.
Or even farther it might seem.
2016 has been a year about reducing the emotional drama in my life -- and this is, I guess, another reduction. And I should simply move on.
(Note: This person that is leaving, I'm not friends on Facebook with them - or with the person from the situation before.)
There's a part of me, thought, that wishes that I would have been worthy enough (or possess some qualities that I must be missing) for somebody that I was willing to - or did attempt to - invest time in be willing to have acknowledged and responded to it different than what they did (or didn't).
Wednesday, November 16, 2016
Friday, November 4, 2016
MBKB: Blinn College 84, Lone Star College-Cy-Fair 76; November 3, 2016
Since race announcing always seems to get in my way of seeing as many Texas college football stadiums as possible, another other goal - to pass time, in many cases - is to do the same with Texas college basketball arenas.
Thursday night, November 3, I made my west to Brenham to see the Lone Star College-Cy Fair Fighting Ducks take on the Blinn College Buccaneers.
It became the 19th Texas college basketball arenas or gymnasium that I've seen a college game in. One of those is no longer in use, G. Rollie White Coliseum at Texas A&M.
There are a couple of colleges where I've seen a game in, but not a collegiate contest.
They would include Baylor University's Ferrell Center, McLennan Community College's The Highlands and Southwestern University's Robertson Center.
In those facilities, I saw Texas private and parochial high school basketball during the time that I covered those schools from 1994-2001.
Since I always like to try and #eatlocal when possible, I found my way to the downtown square in Brenham and stopped in to a place called Yumm! Sweets & Eats.
There are two sections to the restaraunt - one to eat and the other, literally, for sweets.
I couldn't tell what the sizes of the many different types of pizzas they had or if the calzones that could be made from the same ingredients were cheaper.
Since neither was determinable, I settled on the Jalapeno Ranch Burger (minus the bacon) and it is really, really good.
Campus was no more than about 5-10 minutes away, but it took me awhile to pinpoint where the Physical Education Building was and where I could legally park without my vehicle ticketed and/or towed.
Once I found my way to the entrance, admission was only $5 and the floor appeared nearly brand-new. Multiple banners adorned the one wall indicating NJCAA dominance from the school's volleyball team with quite a few national championships.
Pretty good turnout from the student body for the second home game early in the season.
I wasn't so much surprised that the mascot and cheerleaders were in attendance, but it also seems that Blinn College has a thriving and nationally ranked Dance Team (and they performed multiple times on the evening).
Even more surprisingly is when LSC-Cy-Fair got out to an early lead, but it didn't take long for Blinn to grab a lead and run up a 48-24 halftime advantage.
The Fighting Ducks were their own worst enemy without any rebounding on the inside - on either end of the floor - and plenty of fouls. In fact, before they passed the 20-point mark, there might have been a time where they had more fouls than points.
The officiating crew had one of its three members that was not prepared for the action. On the entire evening, at least half of his foul calls were hard to fathom.
With 11:27 to play in the game, Blinn still had a 63-37 advantage.
More than seven minutes later at the 4:09 mark, LSC-Cy-Fair had taken 10 points off that advantage, down 75-59. And this is when I left to head back to Spring.
Eventually, the Fighting Ducks lost by only eight, 84-76. I've got to imagine that head coach and director of athletics Scott Schumacher lost his mind in those last four minutes.
The one player for Blinn that I was most impressed with was 6-2 guard LaKendric Hyson from Mumford HS. And this was for reasons other than the bright pink shoes.
He led the way with 21 points, including one slam that was definitely ESPN Sports Center material. Most importantly, though, he was completely unflappable in the face of the sloppiness of play in the second half between the two teams.
Thursday night, November 3, I made my west to Brenham to see the Lone Star College-Cy Fair Fighting Ducks take on the Blinn College Buccaneers.
It became the 19th Texas college basketball arenas or gymnasium that I've seen a college game in. One of those is no longer in use, G. Rollie White Coliseum at Texas A&M.
There are a couple of colleges where I've seen a game in, but not a collegiate contest.
They would include Baylor University's Ferrell Center, McLennan Community College's The Highlands and Southwestern University's Robertson Center.
In those facilities, I saw Texas private and parochial high school basketball during the time that I covered those schools from 1994-2001.
Since I always like to try and #eatlocal when possible, I found my way to the downtown square in Brenham and stopped in to a place called Yumm! Sweets & Eats.
There are two sections to the restaraunt - one to eat and the other, literally, for sweets.
I couldn't tell what the sizes of the many different types of pizzas they had or if the calzones that could be made from the same ingredients were cheaper.
Since neither was determinable, I settled on the Jalapeno Ranch Burger (minus the bacon) and it is really, really good.
Campus was no more than about 5-10 minutes away, but it took me awhile to pinpoint where the Physical Education Building was and where I could legally park without my vehicle ticketed and/or towed.
Once I found my way to the entrance, admission was only $5 and the floor appeared nearly brand-new. Multiple banners adorned the one wall indicating NJCAA dominance from the school's volleyball team with quite a few national championships.
Pretty good turnout from the student body for the second home game early in the season.
I wasn't so much surprised that the mascot and cheerleaders were in attendance, but it also seems that Blinn College has a thriving and nationally ranked Dance Team (and they performed multiple times on the evening).
Even more surprisingly is when LSC-Cy-Fair got out to an early lead, but it didn't take long for Blinn to grab a lead and run up a 48-24 halftime advantage.
The Fighting Ducks were their own worst enemy without any rebounding on the inside - on either end of the floor - and plenty of fouls. In fact, before they passed the 20-point mark, there might have been a time where they had more fouls than points.
The officiating crew had one of its three members that was not prepared for the action. On the entire evening, at least half of his foul calls were hard to fathom.
With 11:27 to play in the game, Blinn still had a 63-37 advantage.
More than seven minutes later at the 4:09 mark, LSC-Cy-Fair had taken 10 points off that advantage, down 75-59. And this is when I left to head back to Spring.
Eventually, the Fighting Ducks lost by only eight, 84-76. I've got to imagine that head coach and director of athletics Scott Schumacher lost his mind in those last four minutes.
The one player for Blinn that I was most impressed with was 6-2 guard LaKendric Hyson from Mumford HS. And this was for reasons other than the bright pink shoes.
He led the way with 21 points, including one slam that was definitely ESPN Sports Center material. Most importantly, though, he was completely unflappable in the face of the sloppiness of play in the second half between the two teams.
Tuesday, November 1, 2016
Churches Visited in 2016
While I've been out of town running or doing other activities, I've tried to be more diligent in being in church even during this time.
As a result, I've been very fortunate to visit a number of excellent churches so far this year.
They have included:
Calvary Baptist Church, Alexandria, Louisiana (February 7 and March 27)
First Baptist Church, Waxahachie, Texas (April 3)
Hyde Park Baptist Church, Austin, Texas (May 1)
NewPointe Community Church, Dover, Ohio (April 10)
North Roanoke Baptist Church, Roanoke, Virginia (April 17)
Calvary Church - Harvest Fields, Boalsburg, Pennsylvania (May 29)
First Baptist Church, Downers Grove, Illinois (June 26)
Grandview Baptist Church, Davenport, Iowa (July 10)*
Greater Waco Baptist Church, Waco, Texas (July 24)
Blue Ridge Community Church, Forest, Virginia (August 14 and September 25)*
Temple Baptist Church, Springdale, Arkansas (October 2)
NewSpring Church, Wichita, Kansas (October 30)
It has been refreshing to see how other bodies of believers come together and worship God.
As a result, I've been very fortunate to visit a number of excellent churches so far this year.
They have included:
Calvary Baptist Church, Alexandria, Louisiana (February 7 and March 27)
First Baptist Church, Waxahachie, Texas (April 3)
Hyde Park Baptist Church, Austin, Texas (May 1)
NewPointe Community Church, Dover, Ohio (April 10)
North Roanoke Baptist Church, Roanoke, Virginia (April 17)
Calvary Church - Harvest Fields, Boalsburg, Pennsylvania (May 29)
First Baptist Church, Downers Grove, Illinois (June 26)
Grandview Baptist Church, Davenport, Iowa (July 10)*
Greater Waco Baptist Church, Waco, Texas (July 24)
Blue Ridge Community Church, Forest, Virginia (August 14 and September 25)*
Temple Baptist Church, Springdale, Arkansas (October 2)
NewSpring Church, Wichita, Kansas (October 30)
It has been refreshing to see how other bodies of believers come together and worship God.
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