Keeping track

You thought the Pirate family was busy during the basketball season. Track season is here and we are off and running. Both boys are on the track team at their high school and the little sister will be running for her middle school.

Jock is off to a great start for the season. Last week at the Silverton Icebreaker Invitiation he ran the second fastest 400m in the state at 50.9. He tied for first for the 200m at 22.1, which was the second best in the state as well. And another second best in the state the varsity 4x100m relay ran a 42.1. Folks that is some fast times for the first meet of the year that had a strong front wind in the final stretch, hail and rain. Jock has prepared himself for this year. He has been hitting the weight room every morning. He ran cross country which he hated. He went to a running camp this last summer that was located at 9,000 feet elevation in the high desert of the Steens Mountains in Southwest Oregon. He ran on the winter track team where he went to an indoor meet at University of Washington where he finished 15th place out of 60 for the 400m runners. He was the only high school participant. He's ready and I pray for his sake and his super fan, mom's sake, that he stays healthy and keeps up the progress all the way to the state meet at the end of the year.

Slick, who is currenlty only running the 3,000m had an interesting thing happen in his race. The 3,000m is 7.5 trips around the track. The meet officials actually screwed up the count and the 3,000m ended up running 8.5 laps. So their times were not officially acceptable. So Slick has to wait for the meet today to have an official time mark. I kept telling him all week he was my favorite 2 mile and a quarter runner in the state.

Slick is in this for the girls. He already has a cute little girlfriend for the season. In the past he did the pole vault as well as the 1,500m and the 3,000m. but this year one of the other pole vaulters informed Slick at the beginning of the season that he was in love with Slick and Slick's girlfriend.

The young man who did pole vault with Slick last year had decided somewhere along the line he was going to approach Slick with his dilemna. So at the first of the year he told Slick that he was in love with him. Needless to say Slick has focused on other events. I told Slick that he has nothing to worry about. He agreed. He just explained to me he didn't want to be around the other boy when there are 10' poles involved.

Little sister is off an running the 1,500m for her middle school. She also has her first boyfriend. This has been an interesting development in our home. The boys have always had the girls they liked and they have been very open about their feelings about these girls. Now that the little sister has a beau who comes to take her for a walk in the neighborhood every evening the boys are a little uneasy about it. We have known the young man for years through his parents. they are a nice family in our neighborhood. The mother is a principal at a Catholic middle school so the boy doesn't attend my daughter's school. Therefore, all there getting together is after school and under the strict scrutiny of her brothers.

The other night we had our first experience with all three of the kids who are at home with their lovebirds. Mrs. Pirate and I got a kick out of watching and listening to the babes on their way out of the nest. I was wondering where all the gray hair was coming from.

Well, I am off and running today. Mrs. Pirate has a long list of to dos for me today and we have contractors coming tomorrow to remodel the upstairs bathroom. So I have to go get things ready.

Peace...