Golden

Now I've done it Dear Reader. Now I've done it. I just finished writing an article for the Library Staff Association Newsletter about the Shanghai World Games. I felt dirty. Not for doing it, but for putting more thought and effort into that than this. ("That than this" strikes me nicely right now.) At the end of the article I gave the URL for Pedestrian Subjunctives, offering that there was, is, would be, more about this writer's adventures in Shanghai, "and other frivolities." What have I done? I have imposed some kind of non-binding deadline, or quota on myself to produce. To post. If anyone reads the article, and then comes here. Nevermind the shameless self-promotion of this here thing. So, I am going to try, really try, to follow through. No promises. No pledges. No guarantees. No quotas. No deadlines. Just filler words. I now offer to you Dear Reader, the pinnacle of my Shanghai trip. Two of my bowlers, Bobby and Tony competed as a doubles team. They bowled well. Very well. I knew they had finished ahead of their divisional opponents on the adjacent lanes. But, there were three other pairs of bowlers in the same division who were inexplicably at the other end of the bowling alley. I just could not see their scores. I did know that my guys could have finished no lower than fourth. We would have to wait for the awards ceremony. The seven pairs of competitors were led out from the staging area and aligned behind each step of the awards stand. Bobby and Tony both had family present. There were a couple other bowling coaches sitting up front on the floor with me. We all counted backwards from seven, mentally placing each doubles team on a platform. I made it to three. I turned to the families who either counted faster than me, or stopped at three as well. They won. I looked at Sue, the coach next to me, mumbled something about gold, and started crying. It was my first coaching gold medal at a World Games. The picture of Bobby and Tony says it all.