Playing at a Whole New Level

We had a cold spell this past weekend. I’ve been surprised at how long our trees have held their green. They seem to be running about two weeks behind this year. Bill Chatman is plowing the corn fields to sow wheat and the Pinsons have turned their attention to harvesting soybeans.

PLAYING FOR THE INDIANS. Ben has moved up to a whole new level of basketball. Last Monday (the 21st) he tried out for the middle school basketball team and made it! He tried not to let it show but he was pretty anxious that night as he waited for the roster of new players to be posted the next day. Ben now has practice every day after school until 5:00 which he seems to really enjoy. They are scheduled for a ten game season with games every Monday and Thursday beginning November 11, and there’s a tournament when we return to school in January. There’s also a Junior Varsity schedule with probably half a dozen games but we haven’t received that yet. That’s where Ben will get his game time this year.

Nate, on the other hand, will be playing Upward ball again this season. His practices will start up after Thanksgiving with games every Saturday in January and February.

FALL CAMPOREE. The Boy Scouts had their Fall Camporee this weekend. Ben, Nate, and I went. The only bad part about the whole trip was the cold spell. Saturday morning we woke up to a morning low of 29°. Let’s just say I did learn it is possible to put on an extra pair of socks without getting out of my sleeping bag.

The objective for this Camporee was to build a ball kicking machine. Each troop constructed their machine and goal posts from all natural materials by using poles lashed together with ropes. The contraptions were judged on various things and out troop won second place for kicking machine design and kicking accuracy.

Speaking of Scouting, Ben received merit badges for Basketry, Sculpture, and Soil and Water Conservation Tuesday night. We were hoping that he would receive his Second Class Scout rank this time but scheduling the Scoutmaster’s conference never worked out. Ben says he wants to earn First Class by the time Nate crosses over from Cub Scouts in January. I know he has a lot done on that, but I am thinking basketball will make that challenging for him.

POSTPONING HALLOWEEN. We normally have our Trunk or Treat at church on Halloween night. We are postponing it to Sunday night this year due to a weather system that is predicted to move through right at the time for the even tonight. The forecast is for several inches of rain with the possibility of hail, strong winds, and even tornados. Hopefully this storm won’t be packing it’s predicted punch, but we rescheduled to be on the safe side. To that end, Happy Halloween, weather permitting.

Joe