My Sporting Boys

My big boys have been particularly aggrieved that we took them away from New Zealand when 'the biggest sporting event of their lives' was on. So consequently we found a website that streams the games live and my oldest has been waking up all hours of the night to watch various games.

Last weekend we travelled to Jackson Hole Wyoming through Yellowstone park (4.5 hours) for a soccer tournament for our smaller boys. It was the night of the big grudge match - All Blacks vs France. Despite the fact that I did not get up in the middle of the night to watch the same game 4 years ago, I found myself at 2am, laptop on knee hooked into the motel wifi, battling for a share of the screen, while trying to keep it quiet enough for those in our room not fulfilling their patriotic duty. Fortunately we won, and 4 years of rugby guilt was relieved.

I remember the first Rugby World Cup 24 years ago, I was fourteen and in fourth form at Wellington High. It was not much of an event then, our class was given free tickets to the pool match between Ireland & Wales at athletic park. It was an uneventful game and we left at half time, I watched the last 5 minutes at home on TV. Wales won 13 - 6.

Rugby has changed a lot since then. Professional players with large pay packets, massive endorsements, and national hero status. Pay per view matches, high priced tickets and huge international opportunities. Sport moved from just the National pride to a whole industry all of its own, with New Zealand a premium exporter. While being good at sport was always a fast track to popularity, it has now become the means to some pretty lucrative careers. I think some of my boys are counting on that!

No soccer scholarships this particular weekend though, as their wasn't much success on the field for our boys: but fun was had by all.

Jackson Hole the Queenstown of Wyoming with its tourist shops, ski fields and breathtaking scenery.

The Grand Teton mountain range next to Jackson Lake

Home home on the range....

I almost hit two deer tonight.

We were driving back from Lyndi's Parents along the country road at dusk. A doe and fawn darted onto the road. I hit the brakes, the car came to a sudden stop as did the doe, but her fawn passed inches in front of the bonnet. Whoa that was close...... if the doe hadn't stopped..... if the car hadn't slowed in time.... if we had been a second faster....... it could have all been different.

On the way out of Yellowstone last night we got a stark lesson on the possibilities. A car front crushed, two bewildered people staring at the carnage and a massive bison glassy eyed, slowly dying on the side of the road.

Road kill in Wyoming can be fatal to all concerned. The animals are big and fast, a decent match even for the largest American cars. Dawn and Dusk the most dangerous. Its harder to see them and paradoxically they are the most active.

The wildlife in Wyoming is abundant and big game is ever present, we see antelope and deer all the time. If you climb into the mountains and especially Yellowstone there are elk, moose, coyote, wolves, buffalo and of course bears! Occasionally you see them down low as they move to other feeding grounds.

Smaller animals are also present, squirrels, chipmunks, raccoon, skunk, rabbits and a multitude of birds most of which I cant tell you what they are. And we cant forget about the snakes..... fortunately we haven't come across many of them.

Half an hour northeast is the Pryor Mountain Wild Mustang Reserve which is home to a large herds of Spanish horses. Beautiful to behold.

Being a farming community there are also all the farm animals, chickens, cows, sheep, pigs, horses, and a surprising number of Lamas, who despite the 30+ heat never get shorn.

It is a pleasant regular treat to see such creatures. They are a good reminder that we don't own this place - but we can live side by side, sometimes work together and even appreciate each other..... at least until hunting season.

Elk grazing at dusk.

Reminders of Home

It is amazing the things you cling to when you are away from home.

Someone you meet who has travelled to New Zealand instantly becomes a friend. The words All Blacks, Maori, Rugby suddenly raise your heartbeat. You start begging kiwi expats in neighbouring states to come visit you. Local newspaper articles no matter how obscure, become treasures when mentioning the motherland. You talk to a person who once knew someone who was related to someone else who had a conection to 'down under' and they have your undivided attention. Even finding Australian Bundaberg Ginger Beer in the local supermarket sends you into a buying frenzy.

Then there are the rituals. I still check my 'Stuff' app on my phone several times a day. I tell myself it is the best, most balanced news site. Whenever I see a clock, I instinctively translate the time. Then I anxiously count the days till the change for daylight savings, when the time difference will lessen. (Its this coming weekend in NZ, November in the US). I know it's crazy but I just cant help myself.
Last week I followed a motorcycle gang sporting Australian and US flags to a nearby town, hoping that they would pull over so I could talk to them. I couldn't believe my luck when one of them went through a speed trap got pulled over and they all had to stop. Sure enough there were kiwis among them, even a couple that had lived in Karori. It made me so happy.

I don't feel homesick, but I still cling. 

Maybe I am worried that I could lose myself in this vast expanse?

Found this at one of the locals homes when visiting on the weekend. Made me laugh.

Football

Number 2 boy played his first game of American Football Saturday. 3 weeks of 3 hour practises and finally he gets to play!

The beauty of this game is how 8 minute quarters translate into a 2 hour game! I understand now why everyone else brings cushioned seats to sit on the bleachers. Wont be making that mistake again.

I understand the basic rules. Get the ball down the field 10 yards in four plays to progress, and run it over the end zone to score. But there are a myriad of technical fouls which as yet go right over my head and keep the game progressing in 5 second intervals. I am told that mistakes are common in the first game and that the flow of the game will get faster. Since the season is only 6 weeks, I am hoping it wont be too long before they get it.

With pads and helmets it was like sending them out to battle. Its a good thing they have big numbers on their shirts or there would have been no way of telling which one was my boy. With the helmet on he probably didn't hear me cheering for him anyway. The boy got plenty of game time though, since his team was getting a whooping and he was on defence, he was on the field a lot. But like most of the boys on the field he never once touched the ball.

Such is football.

9 11

It was the tenth anniversary on Sunday of September 11th. Amazing how fast time can pass. I still remember the day as if it was last week, we knew the world would be changed forever.

America has been changed the most. The American psyche is different and remains so. There have been many questions asked and much still remains unanswered. Like many harrowing events it has undermined the nations confidence.

For some it has created and strengthen predjudcies. 'The rest of the world is different from us, we cant trust them.' - 'there are people out there who want to destroy us' - 'attack, is the best form of defense'

For others it has been confusing. 'Why do some nations not like us? Isn't America the boy scouts of the civilized world? Haven't we tried to help all these people? This is what we get in return?'

For some it has been reflective. 'Maybe we brought this on ourselves, our government hasn't been without blame, we have done some terrible things in the world, it was only a matter of time before some of that would come back to haunt us.'

For others its cynical 'This has event has been allowed to happen, to instill fear, cut freedoms, advance a military agenda and justify yet another plunder of someone elses resources'

And for some it is has been part of the ongoing orchestrated plan, - the public deceived, America another step closer to tyranny while being mascaraded as the poster child for democracy. A sign of the last days.

I have meet people in Powell from all along this spectrum. I guess they reflect a nation still deeply disturbed by this event.

For my part 9 11 has made me very wary of war. Gone are the fantasies of my youth, going to battle is no act of heroism. Governments go to war for economic advantage, not moralistic high ground. War is the hostile corporate takeover that nations engage in and like all new acquisitions it comes complete with a strategy, marketing campaign, share buy up & shareholder sell out. It also comes with financial backers, and large loans. There is a risk that if the spoils of war are not enough to cover the debt that even a country that wins could still be bankrupted.

America is a big corporation, its acquisitions have been significant. So also is its loans.

Powell Fire Station

Netflix

The one thing I still can't get my head around as a parent is how on weekdays I have to shake my children out of bed, but on Saturday the one day we can sleep in - they wake at the crack of dawn.

The only consolation on this particular Saturday morning is that I had to get up at 5.30am to wake up number 2 boy who has a  football game and had to be at school at 6am! His game is a couple of hours away so I will be staying in Powell with the 3 youngest while he rides the school bus. Lyndi went last night with the big boy, 4 hours drive to a neighbouring town. (only in Wyoming is multiple hours still considered local). He is playing soccer.

Since I couldn't get back to sleep I endulged my latest (and I might add greatest) addiction. Netflix. I cant begin to tell you how wonderful on demand internet TV is. No ads, shared over multiple screens, saves my place, costs $7.99 a month. I am in heaven! I am currently almost 3 seasons through '30 Rock', Tina Fey is awesome! I had sworn off mainstream television, but without advertising and fear based news flashes, my faith in American entertainment has once more been restored! Sure it is still grossly unrealistic, ostentatious and often inappropriate but it grips me as much as the TV addiction of my youth. America invented small screen escapism, and it is still the panacea of the masses it once was.

What makes this all possible is internet access with no data caps.  The information super highway goes right past our door and everyone has their our own personal off ramp - you can download to your hearts content. No more yelling at the kids for a triple digit internet bill, $14.99 secures our peace. Funnily enough for our first couple weeks here we used the open wifi network of one our neighbours, I am not sure why everyone doesn't just do that.

But it is not all roses, for some reason the cellphone connections and plans are not so wonderful. Overpriced, inconvenient and confusing. How I long for the days of my 2degrees connection.

I guess you cant have it all - even in America.

What's up dad!

Now that the boys are older, parental affection is scarce. So Fathers Day offers a rare opportunity for some good old fashion hugs and words of appreciation from my boys.

So it was with anticipation that I woke early on Sunday morning and got out and about with the little boys!

No big fanfare - so I waited patiently for the older boys to rouse and remind the little ones. But by lunchtime with no hint that anything special was going to happen, it was looking increasingly likely no one remembered it was Fathers Day! I started dropping hints, big hints and then even bigger ones, no one even battered an eyelid.

One of the things you are not quite prepared for when moving countries is that traditions are suddenly turned on their head. Sure I knew that fathers day was celebrated on a different day in the States; Lyndi's dad was the recipient of a belated Fathers Day every year because of that fact. But I wasn't prepared that my own family would need the mass media to remind them!

I guess Lyndi felt bad - the next day she bought me flowers, cadbury chocolate and a fancy little cake.

Fortunately for me Mothers Day is the same in both countries.

Why The Face

This morning while dropping the big boy off to seminary, I remarked that one of the high school girls was wearing high heels. He replied 'Of course dad, all the girls dress up when they have volleyball!'

There is a lot I still don't understand about school here, but my children have embraced it and seem to be thriving. Went to the elementary school open house last night. Very nice. All their teachers seem to be smitten by them. For the older boys it is the girls. They have had 'notes' from young women professing their adoration. We have had to have a stern talk, about the 'rules'.

I don't even have to eject them out of bed in the morning. Since they found out they can have free breakfast at school (along with lunch), they roll out of bed into their clothes and out the door all by 7.30. Sports after school and then homework with the neighbourhood kids, i might not even talk to them today. Fortunately there is a high school football tonight, we'll meet up for hot dogs.

Grandma Jenny had a dream about one of the boys being bullied and wanted me to follow up. I asked middle boy and he said 'Oh no dad, we're popular!' This is the same child who has joined band and is now learning the saxophone.

What with the school system, transporting, feeding, socializing, educating, musicing and sporting my children, they might as well be at boarding school and coming home on the weekends. Who knew we would come to America to live in the nanny state.

I think I need to get in on the action. Time to become a substitute teacher!

Cool Dad

The Powell Panthers win their first game of the season.