The Other Football

I don't know what folks beyond our borders call what we know and love as football, but mention "football" to most people outside the USA and you'd be talking about "soccer."  Once in a great while, soccer takes center stage among this country's sports fans.   With Team USA's 2-1 loss to Ghana today at the World Cup in South Africa, that prominent position will now revert to another sport.   Whenever soccer grabs our attention the way it did over the last few weeks, the question always arises as to whether the USA will soon join the rest of the world in making soccer a major spectator sport.  Well, Pele has been the only international soccer star Americans have ever heard of for decades.   During that time David Beckham has been the only addition to that short list.  Bottom line: it's not happening anytime soon.   There are signs of slow change.  "Soccer moms" were nonexistent when I was a kid, but now they're everywhere.  The added influence of Latin American and other soccer-friendly cultures point to the likelihood of the "other football" gaining more attention here in the USA.  Let's just hope that those South African Vuvuzela horns that sound like thousands of angry bees don't become a staple here as well.  

Tough Decisions

Economic reality caught up with the Norwich school system this week.  The $62.9 million school budget passed this week, meaning dozens of fewer teachers citywide along with the closing of the Greeneville and Buckingham elementary schools.  It may not have made anyone happy, but at least the people of Norwich know where they stand and deserve a collective pat on the back for fiscal responsibility.  A Catholic school also fell victim to its own budget crunch as St. Joseph's School on Cliff Street closed after 101 years.  Griswold also passed a $24.3 million school budget.   Now comes the reality of living with these budgets and how they will affect neighborhoods.  In Norwich, moving school children away from their neighborhoods to classes with more students per teacher can be very disruptive.  The Rose City is a sizeable chunk of real estate, and everyone knows longer bus rides do nothing to enhance the quality of education.  Norwich is also defined by a collection of communities within a community.  A school is no small part of that.  The poorest neighborhoods are the most affected by these cuts, but this move toward regionalization can't be good in the short term for any elementary student in Norwich.   They had to do it, but let's hope we can restore much of what we've lost before we get too far down the road.     

Things Happen For A Reason

When a change happened in my life a few months ago, many people made the usual "things happen for a reason" comment.  It now dawns on me how right they really are.   Most changes are neither accidents nor unpredictable.   With any loss comes sadness, but I find much of that sadness revolves around wishing how a situation could have been instead of the sudden shock of losing a wonderful thing.   By that fateful day, things in this case just hadn't been the same for months.  Time brings more perspective.    I've spared the details, but you've just witnessed true closure.   That episode is over.   If I accept that, I'm less likely to be that guy who was "never quite the same" afterward.

New London to New York by Ferry

New London is expanding as a transportation hub.  The City Council gave its approval to the Seastreak company to operate weekend passenger ferry service from City Pier to Manhattan starting in July.  For $69 round trip, you can take the water route to or from the Big Apple in three hours.  Compared to a train trip or to driving I-95 and paying to park, the price and time frame seem reasonable enough.  If you're like me and think it doesn't get much better than cruising Long Island Sound on a clear day, then you'll be tempted to give this a try.  There may be a few catches.  A 90-minute ferry trip to Orient Point, Long Island is one thing.  Indulge in one of those big pretzels they serve on board and gaze for awhile at the mysterious Plum Island and you're in Orient before you know it.   Three hours one way?  That could get a bit tedious.  When I think of a three hour trip in rough seas, the plot of Gilligan's Island comes to mind.   On that cautionary note, I wish this new venture well.        

National Donut Day

Happy National Donut Day on this first Friday in June!  The idea was created by the Salvation Army in 1938 to honor the women who served donuts to soldiers during World War I.   Donuts have always been one of my biggest guilty pleasures.  I was devastated when I couldn't find the vanilla filled glazed Krispy Kremes in their Mohegan Sun shops anymore, but the raspberry "filled" that void pretty well.    Now that I am on doctor's orders to watch my glucose levels, I can't say that this national holiday is as much fun as it used to be.  That doesn't mean I want to ban this calorie-laden day, but haven't Americans been emulating Homer Simpson's dietary habits regularly enough?   Since I now have to avoid these incredibly rich indulgences like the plague, I admit to being a killjoy at least on this day.  While I guess an occasional treat is fine for many folks, I am not the only one who has reached for a donut one too many times.  The donut shops will still get my coffee business (with cream and three Splenda), but I plan on skipping the donuts and other baked goods.   This is the part where I sigh but take heart in the knowledge that there's an entire National Salad Week in the middle of summer.  I know - it's not the same.