GV Football - Covid version

Garnet Valley football finished their abbreviated regular season Central League schedule tonight with an away game at Haverford.

We won handily 39-8, against a previously undefeated Haverford team, on their field. I watched the game streaming on YouTube since we don't go to away games this year (the band as a whole, or us personally). The livestream announcers were the Haverford folks, and they kept saying throughout the course of the game how the game was much closer than the score. I would argue that after Haverford scored once early in the game...the game pretty much was the score.

One more TD to go...

This was on the heels of wins of 42-6 (Lower Merion), 68-6 (Conestoga), 46-6 (at Upper Darby), and 44-0 (Ridley). Boy, that Ridley shutout felt good. So we finished the season 5-0, with a combined score of 239-26 (an average of 47.8 to 5.2). To Haverford's credit, our 39 points scored was a season low. And their 8 points scored on us was a season high against us. We never gave up more than one score in a game. OK, yeah, I'm gloating a bit...

This gives us a quick-turnaround playoff game Wednesday night, at home, against Marple Newtown. The game will be jammed in before Thanksgiving and the anticipated super-spreader family events. Win, lose, or draw, this will be the end of GV football 2020, and therefore also GV marching band 2020. There will be no extended playoffs as usual.

It isn't normal by any stretch of the imagination, but it is a small touch of normal, and that alone is worth something. It's worth a lot, actually.

On a personal note, this means that Grace gets one more game to march with the band, on the field, in her clarinet section. Next year, with luck, she will be elevated from Field Major to Drum Major, and Drum Majors don't march on the field. As excited as she is about the prospect of being a Drum Major, she is sad at the other implications of what this means. The clarinet section has been important to her throughout her high school years.

Sigh...

How did we get here so fast?

2020 Sucks

This year has been, with minor exceptions, horrible. And it shows every indication of getting far worse this winter before it hopefully gets better in the spring.

Nothing is normal. Everything is cancelled, or at least postponed. I'm an admitted homebody and confirmed introvert, but even I can't do many of the things that I would normally do. I have a hard time imagining what an extrovert must be feeling.

Covid scares are everywhere. We've had a few negative tests in the family. So far so good, I guess. But we have friends that have had it, some milder and some worse. And some friends and family dead and gone.

I'm generally a positive and optimistic person, but it's difficult sometimes. Stories are everywhere about the mental health impacts of the pandemic, and I can empathize. As I said, I am a generally happy and optimistic person, but it's hard sometimes. And if it's hard for an optimist...

In these tough times, I find myself falling back on the things that give me comfort and joy. Family. Cooking. Fiddling around (badly) on the guitars hanging on the wall in the basement. Learning to paint.

Music continues to be, as it has always been to me, a comfort. And while silver linings during the pandemic are hard to come by, there are a number of musicians and bands posting great videos of quarantine music. I envy their talent, and am thankful for what that talent brings into the world.

The Doobie Brothers YouTube channel is a gem. I have posted links to some of their songs before, but they recently posted a video, with Peter Frampton, of the Eric Clapton song Let It Rain, which has always been a favorite of mine.

Another great channel has been John Fogerty's, where he posts new versions of his classic songs accompanied by his daughter and two sons. This is City of New Orleans, from a few months ago. And here is Have You Ever Seen the Rain. Check out the rest of their songs from this year on his channel.

Be well. Check on your friends to see how they are doing. Talk to people. 

Wear a mask.

Stay safe.

If You Could Read My Mind

I've always been a fan of Gordon Lightfoot, and more recently a fan of YouTube music personality Rick Beato. Beato did an episode of What Makes This Song Great recently on Lightfoot's song If You Could Read My Mind. If you are a music geek and you like this sort of deep dive into a song's construction, this series really can't be beat. And this is a great song that is a good deal more complicated than you would realize unless you had a knowledgeable guide to walk you through it.

Anyway, it's not politics...

Life's a Seesaw

Brother Dave's post on John Lodge, bass player of the Moody Blues, was a trigger. My favorite band ever. So I must weigh in.

Weigh in on what, I'm not exactly sure, but I can never resist the chance to post something about the Moody Blues.

In 1968 the Moodies were young. I was an infant. Ride My Seesaw, their concert encore song for 50+ years, was a great song then.

It was a great song 25 years ago at Red Rocks.

It still is now, 50 years later. Or at least a couple years ago at their long-overdue Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction. Mike Pinder went his own way long ago. And flautist/vocalist Ray Thomas sadly died of cancer in 2018.

But those that are left soldier on. Justin. John. Graeme.

At the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame show in 2018 (linked above), Justin Hayward (guitars and vocals) was 72 years old, and John Lodge (bass and vocals) was 73. Drummer Graeme Edge, for the record, was 77... This is also the only song in the current day concert repertoire on which Justin plays a Fender Telecaster.

I've seen the Moodies somewhere around a dozen times, from venues as large as the Spectrum and the Mann Music Center to as small as the Tower Theater and the casinos of Atlantic City, from as far back as 1982 to as recently as a few years ago. I've seen Justin Hayward on solo tours in small venues in Wilmington Delaware. And they've been great every time. But I am biased.

Respect your elders. They may have forgotten more than you will ever know.

Serendipity, and a Long Road Ahead

A bit of serendipity... At 11:26am Saturday morning, major news outlets began a cascading series of declarations that Joe Biden had won the presidency. Not twenty minutes later, we had a knock on our door. There was a package on the front porch. It seems that a sign we had ordered as a fundraising donation 3 weeks prior had finally arrived. From China, ironically. A 12 inch by 18 inch lawn sign.

Delco, baby!

A little bit of gloating aside (this sign is resting comfortably in the flower bed outside my front door), the Biden transition team is going to face an uphill battle ahead. Our outgoing toddler seems intent on burning the house down on his way out the door. Predictable. Unfortunate, but predictable. Anyone who thought otherwise hasn't been paying attention for the last 4 years. No transition funding from the GSA. No access to security briefings. And Republican leadership sits idly by. There are 52 Republican senators. 4 have called to congratulate president elect Biden. Shameful.

The toddler will continue firing people from important positions, jeopardizing our national security. Secretary of Defense, the most important of all such positions was today, via Tweet of course. Other critical positions will follow. The toddler will no doubt soon begin pardoning every crooked friend in sight. The capstone of this, I am predicting, is that for the first time in American history, a President will preemptively pardon himself. The upside to all of this is that presidential pardons only protect one from federal prosecution. States can still do whatever they want...

On the bright side, Biden announced a Covid advisory board packed with eminent scientists and medical experts. So that's a ray of hope. And to give backhanded credit to our departing toddler, the focus on nothing Covid-related except a vaccine will probably have some benefit. Vaccines are important. Obviously. But so are masks, social distancing and everything else in the meantime. And under a rational administration, I will be willing to believe that science and not political gain will be the determining factor in declaring a vaccine safe and effective. If and when the Biden administration says that a vaccine is safe and effective, I will be first in line. And if it has limited shelf life, I will be first in line for all of my booster shots. Because I believe that a Biden administration endorsement will be for my benefit, and not just for theirs. In Fauci I trust.

On a personal level, Covid is knocking on our door, much like it is knocking on everyone's. People in the high school. People related to the band. People at Grace's work. Everywhere. Record bad numbers every day. Europe is shutting down again. The pain, suffering and tragedy goes on and on, and those least able to protect themselves from it suffer the worst.

It will be a long road ahead, and a dark Covid winter.

But we shall overcome.

We have no choice.

It's Morning in America

A new day has dawned at my home, in Pennsylvania, and in America. Bright sun. Blue skies. Unseasonably warm temperatures. A beautiful autumn day. The nicest day we have had around here in quite a while.

At 11:26am eastern time Saturday morning my most fervent hope became a reality. After 4+ excruciating days the state of Pennsylvania was called by the Associated Press, and within moments, by almost every major news organization in the United States. And with it the US Presidential election was called. After an all-too-expected delay, even Fox News called it.

Joseph R Biden Jr will be the 46th President of the United States of America.

Cities across the United States erupted in joyous celebration. Dancing in the streets. Music. Masked (but not socially-distanced enough) spontaneous gatherings spread throughout the land. Well, at least in the cities...

World leaders sent their congratulations. And if there was any question of the importance of this election on America's standing on the world stage...

Fireworks exploded over London.

Church bells were rung throughout Paris.

And Germany...

In 1950, the city of Philadelphia gave Berlin a bell that they called the "Freedom Bell." It rests in the Rathaus Schoneberg in West Berlin. They usually only ring the Freedom Bell at noon on Christmas Eve, and again on New Year's Eve. They rang it today.

As a proud lifelong Delco resident (Delaware County, in suburban Philadelphia PENNSYLVANIA), a Flyers hockey fan, and a Game of Thrones fan, I can only say:

Philadelphia Freedom

[Credits to Brother Dave on the Gritty image. I have spent the last day or more being texted dozens of amazing images....this was not yet one of them!!]

The Democratic Process

Obviously, based on prior posts, I am against the Fourth Reich in America. That being said, I am heartened by what I have been watching gut-wrenchingly unfold over the course of the last few days. Not just the results, but more so the process.

Tuesday night I went to bed ready to cry, and slept maybe a few minutes here and there. Wednesday looked better as the Democratic-leaning mail-in and early ballots began to be counted. Including my family's. Thursday.....waiting. Hopeful but still scared. And I suspect we will go to bed scared.

Vegas odds are 92% to 8%, or better (from my point of view). None of that matters until all the votes are counted and we are done.

Win, Lose or Draw, the democratic process in America has been unfolding exactly as it is supposed to do. Based on applicable and wildly varying state law with regards to filing dates, postmarked dates, received-by dates, and all other technicalities, each state is adjudicating and counting ballots exactly as it is supposed to do.

That is as it should be.

The good guys may win. The good guys may lose. But come what may, and regardless of the amount of time the whole world is left twisting in the wind waiting for an outcome, this is how democracy works in America. Especially given the extraordinary circumstances of the pandemic and the huge amounts of mail-in ballots cast this year, credit should be given to the countless thousands of workers volunteering their time to make sure things unfold as they should. Vote counters. Poll watchers. On all sides.

I hope for the best, for both myself and my wife and kids. For all of us, whether some of us know it or not.

If no more proof is needed on who deserves to be President and try to lead us out of this pandemic and all its related complications, I would refer those people to the respective public addresses by the two candidates earlier this evening. Biden gave an inclusive, thoughtful, wait-and-see, and dare I say "presidential" short speech about being patient and letting our democratic process play out. And then our current occupant of the White House gave a rambling, disjointed, and lie-filled temper tantrum based on some alternate reality, doing his best to undercut the legitimacy of our democracy. Par for the course, but exactly what was expected: a three-year old jumping up and down, screaming and spinning in circles, flinging poop in every direction.

An encapsulation of everything you need to know.

He needs to go. Go to jail. Go to Russia. Go to the non-extradition jurisdictions of Argentina or wherever else. I don't know. I don't care. Just go. And take his spawn with him.

Win the election and unleash the dogs of the Southern District of New York.

Which is why we need these swing states (including mine) to come through and quash this nonsense for once and for all. Otherwise, four years from now, we might not have a democracy left...

Dark Days for America

My parents were registered Republicans. So when the time came to register for voting many years ago, I registered as a Republican. I'm still registered as a Republican. And I have absolutely no idea why.

I'm not sure when the Republican party became the party of gleeful willful ignorance, but that's what they have become. Science doesn't matter. The human impact on global warming is a fraud. Math and science and education are overrated. The Covid-19 pandemic is going away on its own. We're doing a great job. All of it.

This occupant of the White House has made it OK to bring your racism out of the closet and proudly wave the flag of the 1950s. I don't get it. I don't get it in the slightest.

People voted for ... that person ... in 2016 in part in support of the idea of the Washington outsider who was going to come in and shake things up. The successful businessman who would bring that experience to the Presidency.

What we have seen instead is a man whose only business experience is in taking advantage of bankruptcy laws, and how to run a tax-avoidance shell game between dozens of failing business entities, passing debt from one to the other to the other. Whose only interest is in getting reelected for the stroking of his ego. Whose only interest is getting elected to the job, but who has no interest in actually doing the job. The self-proclaimed President of the 47% of the American people who voted for him. The rest of us are scum. His words.

Anyway...

Back to my original point. Disgust with the Republican party, of which I am theoretically one. When did we become the party of voter suppression? News story after story after story come out about someone taking someone to court with the express goal of invalidating legally cast ballots, or trying to put laws and procedures and processes in place that make it harder to vote. In the cities. Among the poorer populations. The people who are far more likely to vote Democrat. And it is ALWAYS Republican efforts to do this.

What are Republicans afraid of?

Well, that's easy. Republicans see the world turning brown around them, and it scares them to death. If every American who was eligible to vote did vote, the Republican party as it is constituted at this moment, would basically cease to exist as a relevant political party. Every position they hold is a minority position in the popular vote. That's what scares them. And so they have no choice but to suppress the vote.

Unfortunately, this is an all-too-easy card to play in the divided America of today. Fear the brown people. As a result, you get swarms of Trump-supporting pickup trucks, American flags waving, trying to drive a Biden/Harris campaign bus off the road in Texas. And on and on. Why are we Republicans always on the wrong side of what is right these days?

I have 12 American flags and you only have 10. I'm more patriotic than you.

We are better than this. We have to be.

Let the people vote. All the people. And let the cards fall where they may.

That's the American way.

And as someone who lives in the key battleground state of Pennsylvania, I can only hope that we atone for our sins of 2016 and contribute to giving this narcissistic racist fraud the drubbing he deserves.

My prediction of what will happen tomorrow?

Regardless of what is happening in the real world, Trump will declare himself the winner. Which of course means nothing.

States will commit to counting all legally and legitimately cast ballots, as per their state laws, regardless of the time it takes.

The Republicans will ignite a firestorm of lawsuits attempting one last time to suppress the vote.

These lawsuits will be rejected by a variety of local jurisdictions, state supreme courts, and federal district courts, as they have rejected the dozens of similar lawsuits already filed around the country by Republicans in just the past few days.

Votes will be counted. All the votes.

The will of the people will be done.

Eventually.

I just hope that more Americans believe in what Democrats believe than believe in what Republicans seem to believe.

Either way, I'm changing my voter registration.