Thursday in the Park

One question people have asked me frequently during the last few months: "What are plans now that you have retired?" And a follow-up: "How do you spend your time?"

I usually answer with the same bullet points

• Some volunteerism
• Some projects around the home
• Some ham radio time
• Some travel

And, I wrap up with, "Then, we'll see what comes along..."

I read up on retirement for about a year before pulling the rip cord on the golden parachute. Most if not all the articles suggested being intentional about your schedule each day and that fits my mentality perfectly. I wouldn't be the type who is fitted for a rocking chair just yet.

So, I get up about the same time as before and I usually plan my day with a specific outline in mind.

One of the key elements of that plan is exercise. My former job was very demanding and sometimes there just wasn't time (or energy) at the end of the day to work out, run or walk. So, I knew I wanted to be intentional about getting my (at least) 150 minutes per week once I had more free time.

Most days--usually in the morning or early afternoon--I have been walking on a track at a park near my home (and on the banks of the nearby lake). Usually, I do it five or six days a week. 

I try to walk at least a mile each time but, also, I am able to add a great deal of people watching. There are many retirees who walk on this track. Additionally, many dog lovers take their pooch on a promenade. 

Twice, I've seen shirtless guys on a stroll. One man was very purposely walking fast- a vigorous workout. The other fellow, actually, was doing more of an amble. If he were equipped with a metal detector, I might think he was searching for treasure. Or if this were ten years ago, one might suspect he was part of the Pokemon Go movement. 

In any case, watching him is curious: He walks to a spot. Then turns. Then does it again. And moves on. Like he is searching for something. Maybe his shirt?

As for me, I don't think I'd want to join the shirtless crowd (at least not since the days of pick-up basketball games when the "shirts" faced the "skins"). 

The location also provides an opportunity to enjoy flaura and fauna. When you begin your lap around the .3 mile oval, you're greeted by the aromatic scent of honeysuckle. 

And as you make your way along the track, you might encounter any number of birds:

Northern Cardinal chirping cheerfully to the Mrs.

Mockingbird, doing its bit as Tennessee state bird, trilling away a medley.

Or these Canada Geese, who have taken over the infield as grazing ground.

While I survey the sights, the lakeside track is a great and entertaining location for getting in my daily exercise as a lynchpin of most days' schedule. 

It's not exactly like spending "Saturday in the Park." But on a day like this one, "Thursday in the Park" works just fine.

JG

Rivals

During last two weekends, the Atlanta Braves played their biggest rival team, the Philadelphia Phillies.

There's something extra special about playing your rivals. There is a little extra electricity in the air. Players, coaches and fans are pumped up. 

And when the Braves play the Phillies, you know you are always going to get their best. And it always seems like the Phillies' Big Three - Turner, Schwarber and Harper - come up in a big spot when the game is on the line. 

Sometimes it goes your way; sometimes it doesn't. The last two weekends went well for the Braves.

During the most recent weekend series, I thought back to my coaching days and remembered how it felt to face off with our rival teams. 

The team I coached, the Concord Choppers. basically had three main rival teams (and honestly it was two because the third team was a subset of the first). 

The nights we played those teams were extra special. Our boys were fired up and so were the rivals. I'm sure there was a lot of jibber-jabber between the players at school, on the bus, on the playground and certainly when we got to the ballpark.

And, on a smaller scale, like it is with the Braves and their rivals, these teams had some really good players that always seemed to come to the plate in a key moment. Part of building the rivalry is knowing the regular participants.

It has been nearly 16 years since the Choppers last played and I can still remember the intensity of those nights. 

Think of your own favorite sports team (college or pro). Who is its biggest rival? Do you feel the intensity of the competition when they face off?

What are some of the great rivalries of all-time? 

• Duke vs. Carolina college basketball
• Yankees vs. Red Sox in MLB 
• Celtics vs. Lakers in the NBA

When I was a kid growing up, rooting for the Oakland Raiders, it was the Raiders vs. Pittsburgh Steelers. But that rivalry petered out when the Raiders moved and then fell on hard times. 

Later, the Cowboys vs. the 49ers was the big game. Later still, it was the Patriots vs. the Colts during the Brady vs. Manning era. What would be the big match-up now? It's hard for me to identify. 

Golf and tennis have featured some great head-to-head match-ups over the years. 

College football used to have some great traditional rivalries, too, but I fear many of those were lost in the re-shuffling of conferences. There are still some good ones, however. 

Winning is good, of course. Nothing compares to getting a win over your rival. It just counts as a win like others in the standings. But, you put a little mental star next to it. 

JG

Party like it's...a QSO

I often describe my modern ham radio experience is as being Rip Van Winkle-like. 

I didn't sleep for 20 years. It's just that I didn't broadcast on the airwaves for 30 years. And if you are out of action for 30 years, you are going to miss a thing or three.

For instance, I wasn't around when we transitioned to:

• The integration of computers with radios
• Online repositories of ham radio info we used to get in print
• Electronic confirmations (as I discussed last week)

I also missed the birth of a fun on-air practice called "The QSO Party." Indeed, there weren't very many contests in the 1970s. There were one or two (such as the prominent "ARRL Field Day"). But, these events came along during my hiatus.

A QSO party usually takes place during a specific time period (a day, a weekend) and it celebrates a certain area, entity or section. One of my favorite examples of these is the ones for specific states. Fun fact: When I returned to the airwaves in 2021, I did so during the ongoing Tennessee QSO Party. 

At first, I thought: "Wow. Isn't this nice. All these Tennesseans on the air to welcome me back?"
(Then, I figured it out).

And for each year since then, I have participated in the Tennessee QSO Party to commemorate that anniversary.

The weekend before last, I enjoyed the QSO parties for Ontario and Quebec. And this past weekend, I participated in the Florida QSO Party. Held Saturday and Sunday, April 25-26, it was a good test of operational skills as well as signal propagation.

These events are like a virtual scavenger hunt. Think of it a electronic Easter Egg Hunt. Each time you contact a new county, that's like picking up another egg.

It's a lot of fun.

If you are old enough to remember the 2000 Presidential Election, you may be like me in that you became familiar with many prominent Florida Counties. The names peel right off your tongue just like a hanging chad peels off a butterfly ballot (ahem).

Miami-Dade. Broward, Palm Beach.
Hillsborough, Pinellas, Pasco. 
Volusia, Lake, Orange

And so on. 

Florida is close enough to Tennessee that you can reasonably predict good success for making contacts. During the daytime, the 20 meter band gave me great propagation to the southern Florida counties. In the evening, when the 40 meter band became available, and thus shorter signal hops, I was able to check off some of the northern counties. In all, I contacted operators in 32 of Florida's 67 counties (so nearly half). And I made 69 contacts in all.

One of the things I like to do to "keep score" is print off a state map with county outlines and then color in each new county as I add it to the log. Here's what my Florida map looked like as of late Sunday.

I'm not an overly competitive ham radio contester. I know my limits. But I do enjoy the pursuit. I say I "dabble." But, I dabbled rather well, I think.

Next weekend sets up to be another interesting QSO Party. It is for all of the U.S. western states, sans Cali. My friend, Tim, will be participating so I'll be trying to make contact (or "work") him and many other western ops.

I'll talk about that effort next week in "part two" about QSO parties. Be sure to "tune in" then!

JG

Wait For Me

The Dallas-based band, BFCRM, has released its second single. The title of the song is "Wait For Me."

You might recall that, last week, the band released its first single, "Mother on the Moon."

The band is based at Bishop Lynch High School. 

BFCRM will release its third single, "Black Cat," tomorrow and the entire album on Friday.

You can access the single at the various online locations:

Spotify:

https://open.spotify.com/track/2HK0di101n3m0r9FY3CMke?si=XIoTyU_3RWOmCwZg1b1sZQ

Apple Music:

https://music.apple.com/us/album/wait-for-me/1895289964?i=6763381801

Amazon Music:

https://music.amazon.com/albums/B0GY2ZJCZB?do=play&trackAsin=B0GY36LZQT&ts=1777290089&ref=dm_sh_QgUiq0rkUvqMZ122NIXxbaZQr

JG

Fresh Look 2

Our church, Farragut Presbyterian Church, has launched a capital campaign this month. Fresh Look 2 concludes next Sunday with commitment Sunday.

Last night, we had a kickoff dinner to launch the campaign.

I am honored to be a part of the campaign leadership committee. As a professional communictaor, I was able to offer some edits and ideas to our original campaign package - an invitation, a letter and case statement. And I was present at one of the Q & A sessions to inform parishioners about the specifics of the plan.

This colorful sunburst serves as a branding element to identify Fresh Look 2 materials.

Like any good "sequel," Fresh Look 2 comes on the heels of the original Fresh Look for a Welcoming Church. As a result of that campaign eight years ago FPC renovated and updated the fellowship and education wings of the existing building. The campaign (and resulting upgrades) were a huge success.

Fresh Look 2 will fund a refresh to our sanctuary and narthex. The current FPC sanctuary was build in 1999. All the fixtures and furnishings are original to that construction. So, it is definitely time for a re-fresh. The project will result in a Fresh Look, if you will, for FPC. 

There are six components to the project. The end result will spruce things up nicely and upgrade the space.
Here are some renderings  that shows one potential concept for the narthex area. 

That space is one of the six areas of focus for the project.

FPC features a warm community feel. We're hoping this project will make our building more warm and inviting to prospective new members.

The warm vibe was on display yesterday at worship in the morning as well as in the evening at the dinner. Lisa and I made our campaign commitment. That felt good. And moreover, it felt good to sit with some church friends, catch up and support our pastor.

I'm in hopes that others in the congregation will also support Fresh Look 2. The first night was very encouraging. Here's hoping this will be a productive week leading to a successful commitment Sunday.

JG

JG

Crowning Achievement

It has been a number of years since I last added a new dental crown to my collection. But in discussing my teeth during a recent cleaning and exam, my dentist suggested a little preventive maintenance.

So, earlier this week, I received a crown on good ol' number 3. Like athletes, I guess each of our teeth has a number!

Here's a basic diagram illustrating a dental crown procedure:

Image by brgfx at Freepik.

The first time I got a crown was during my college days. Man, things sure have changed since then. And that starts with having some really good dental insurance. 

When we we discussing the procedure two weeks go, my dentist suggested I bring a device with music and headphones--I took my iPhone--and jam out while he did the prep work. 

So, there I was, as the drill was doing its bit, I enjoyed the music with earphones plugged. It was a nice diversion with my new playlist "dentist and driving" serving as the soundtrack for the day.

The staff at Volunteer Dentistry makes the crowns, themselves, on site. After my dentist did the prep work, we had a brief conversation about developments in materials science that has led to the advances in his industry.

Then, while he went away to manufacture the crown, I was free to work on my laptop in the exam room. Actually, I posted the update on the BFCRM song, "Mother on the Moon" from the dental office.

Soon, about the time I had reached a good stopping point on the computer, the dentist and his assistant were back and they were ready to install the crown. After a bit of adjustment, I was set.

And whereas you wouldn't necessarily categorize this as my "crowning achievement," still, I had a really good experience. The thought of receiving a second crown this fall doesn't sound so daunting.

JG

Goal to go

 Last Wednesday, I told you about achieving my goal of seeing an MLB game in each of 30 ballparks.

Today, my post will focus on a similar--albeit slightly different--pursuit that I also wrapped up during the blog's hiatus and it is not baseball-related but focuses on football instead.

Even though I never coached a game in this sport, the focus seems fitting on the eve of the 2026 NFL draft.

For 15 years -- from 2000 to 2015 -- we had season tickets to the Tennessee Titans. At first, it was an exciting pursuit. The stadium was relatively new, the kids were small and the Titans were coming off their near-victory in Super Bowl XXXIV.

Over time, we saw the Titans' fortunes rise and fall and rise again. All the while, our ones were growing up. 

It was fun to make the drive over to Nashville. We'd go to four or five games a year and then sell the remaining tickets or give them to friends.

By the 2010s, however, the Titans had, again fallen on hard times. As the kids were reaching high school age, they had busy lives and were less able to make the trip and it became harder and harder to place my unused tickets. So, eventually, as hard as it was to do so, we let them go.

We'd still occasionally go to a game (usually springing for more expensive seats) and, along the way, I saw most of the NFL teams play the Titans. In fact, I saw every AFC team at least once (and my childhood favorites, the Raiders, a number of times).

I also saw most of the NFC teams play at the Titans but, occasionally, I'd miss one and, in the NFL schedule rotation, that would mean they wouldn't come back to Nashville for another eight years. And in some cases, I missed them twice. 

So, in order to complete the goal of seeing all 32 NFL teams play at least once, I ventured to Atlanta (saw the Falcons host the Bucs) and I drove to Carolina to see the distant (but current Super Bowl champs) Seattle Seahawks.

Then, COVID came and I put the pursuit on pause. And at that, I was one NFL team short of completing the quest - the elusive Detroit Lions.

Once the COVID crisis passed, and Lisa and I were doing some September travel to check off some of the MLB ballparks I needed, I noticed that, in September of 2022, I could, in essence, get a buy one/get one when we were in Minneapolis to see the Minnesota Twins. Catch the baseball game on Saturday night. Do the NFL on Sunday...where the Vikings were hosting...the Detroit Lions.

Bingo. Voila. #32. Call it fourth and goal to go!

My observations from that day:

• NFL stadiums have become more posh over the time since I first saw my first NFL game - Titans hosting the Chiefs
• I was, by far, the oldest person around me
• By the time I left US Bank Stadium that day, I was ready to call this quest complete.

Not saying I wouldn't see another NFL game at some point. In fact, the Titans are buidling a new posh stadium of their own. Might be cool to experience that at some point.

But on that sunny day in the fall of '22, I was happy to check the final box. And, as was true with the MLB quest, felt blessed to have the resources and wherewithal to pull it off.

JG