A weekend of packing and preparing for the next blizzard

This was our last weekend together as a family living in North Dakota. We took time out on Saturday for a couple of hours to take the kids to the circus in Aberdeen, South Dakota. This has become a yearly tradition for us, but this years event left a lot to be desired. I don't know if it was the economy or other factors at play, but the 2009 version of the Aberdeen circus was extremely lame. Many of the previous acts were no longer part of the show, yet the prices on everything seemed to be higher. The kids still enjoyed it because we let our oldest two take a friend along for the show.
After the circus, it was back to work packing boxes and sorting through all our stuff. We are doing our best to downsize and leave North Dakota a little lighter than when we arrived. It is now only 3 more days until I pick up the U-Haul and we begin the loading process. I have given U-Haul quite a bit of my money over the years and they have given me decent service and ....... 2 flat tires, (Louisiana and Georgia-- same trip) an electrical problem that caused me to lose turn signals and lights during one night of a cross-country trip, (Utah) and two complete breakdowns. (Florida & Florida) In all reality, that probably isn't too bad considering how many times I have used their rentals to move. By the way, don't ever take a U-haul truck through a fast food drive-thru. I once did this and then realized it was too late when it was too late! (Mesquite, Nevada) Then there was the time that I was driving one of their trucks and pulling a car behind it and I got stuck in a tight Denny's parking lot. I provided some exceptional breakfast entertainment for the people who were watching from inside and about an hour later I managed to get myself out of the mess. (Page, Arizona) Okay, enough moving stories for now.
This just in: I dislike packing and moving, especially while trying to do so with 3 kids and I am never going to move again. Okay, so at least the first part of this statement is true.
Here is the update on the floods. Fargo is still getting the worst of it as the Red River crested to around 41 feet yesterday. It dropped some today, but it is expected to stay at flood stage levels for quite some time. We have received no precipitation for two days now. The snow has mostly melted and the ground is very soggy here in town. Both of our sump pumps are working hard and continually pumping water out from around the house. No new ground water has entered the house for about 3 days now. That is the good news. Here is the bad news. It started snowing about 3 hours ago and it is coming down pretty hard. They are forecasting blizzard like conditions with accumulations in this area possibly reaching 12-20 inches. Did I mention that I am ready to move back to Maryland? Estalita and the kids will be leaving around lunchtime on Friday. I hope to leave with the truck sometime late Friday afternoon after my teaching commitments are completed. If all goes well, or ( Lord willing and the creek don't rise might be more appropriate at this time) then we expect to be back in Pennsylvania next week at this time. (currently 12:25 eastern time) We will then finish the drive down to Maryland on Monday morning. Well, I need to cut this posting short for now. It is time to check the pumps and head up to the office for a bit. Lights out.

The rivers are rising and the floods have arrived

I didn't think it was appropriate to post on the blog about some of my favorite places at this particular time. I will resume those posts at a later date. Instead, I thought I would write and give an update on the weather and resulting floods that are currently affecting the Dakotas. We live in a county that has been declared as a disaster area. Roads are washing out and many people are stranded in their homes. More than half of the county has lost power and shelters are being set up in the local area. Our house has been taking on water over the past 3-4 days and Estalita and I have been working frantically to try and keep things as dry as possible. We have been putting up sandbags around the northwest corner of the house, which is where the water seems to be getting in. We are in the process of packing and moving, so the water is really complicating the process. We were up most of the night on Monday trying to shop vac water out of the carpet and making sure the sump pumps were keeping up with the flow of water. We are hopeful that we can save the office that was just constructed last summer. The temps. have fallen again over the last few days, so there is fresh snow on the ground and some of the groundwater has frozen. For now, this has slowed the flow of water into people's homes in the region. There are a number of towns within 20 miles of here that have been completely overwhelmed, but Fargo is getting hit the hardest right now. The floodstage level for the Red River in the city is 18 feet and the river is currently at 39.75 feet. It is supposed to go up another 2-4 feet and potentially crest around 43 feet. This could be catastrophic. Volunteers are sandbagging and helping to construct dikes to save as many homes and businesses as possible. Students at the college where I work are out lending a hand and trying to help local citizens. The gym at the college is currently set up as a shelter. Only time will tell just how extensive the damage is going to be. Lights out.

Most interesting Places I have visited

I have decided to do some postings on the most interesting places I have ever visited. For one reason or another, all of the places that I will include hold some element of special interest to me. These are not in any particular order or rank. The first one I will discuss is called the Rock of Gibraltar. I have included 4 short videos which include some of what I experienced the day I visited this intriguing place.

The "Rock" as they call it is an overseas territory of Britain that sits at the southernmost tip of the Iberian peninsula over the Strait of Gibraltar. I was truly captivated by the stature and sense of place that the Rock exudes as it towers over the surrounding countryside. When you are on top of the Rock, you can look over one side to the Atlantic Ocean and on the other side lies the Mediterranean. It is connected to Spain by a sandy isthmus and is only a short ferry ride from Morocco. It has been the subject of repeated conquests and sieges throughout its long history. The Rock boasts several fortresses, gates, tunnels, and over 100 caves are located within the limestone. Many of these were used to both defend and protect it from foreign invaders.

The town of Gibraltar is small, but it has some great sidewalk cafes and an eclectic mix of shops. As you walk the streets, you can hear many different accents as this is where European and African culture becomes intertwined. There is however, a very strong British presence here. Here are a few other unique things about this place. It has the only airport in the world which has a road that crosses the runway. The road has to be closed when aircraft are landing or departing. I experienced this firsthand as my friend and I were held up for a few minutes while getting ready to walk across the runway and cross back over into Spain. We had to wait a few minutes for a British Airways flight to take off before we could cross. One other unique aspect of the area is the presence of the Barbary Macaques or Apes. There are probably about 200 of these Rock apes that roam the cliffs high atop the Rock. They are the only free roaming primates in Europe. Winston Churchill played a large role in them being on the Rock. In fact, the apes were seen as a sort of mascot for the defense of the Rock in World War II. I have included some of my encounters with these magnificent animals on the videos. Thanks to my wife Estalita for helping me get these videos on the blog. Hope you enjoy.

Lights out.

Back from Fargo

We made it back from our short weekend trip out to Fargo. I had actually only visited Fargo once before I moved to North Dakota, but I have grown to like it over the last 6 years. The people are very friendly and there are a number of things to do in the area. Many of you probably think of the movie "Fargo" when I mention this city in the blog. The accent of the main character in that film still cracks me up when I think about it. People in this region do have a tendency to roll some of their vowels on certain words, but Hollywood definitely played it up in the film.

The weekend was fun except for the behavior of my youngest child. All of my kids had their moments, but my youngest child decided that Sunday afternoon at Barnes and Noble Bookstore was the perfect setting for the best tantrum of her life. Let me just say that it was one for the ages. For the most part, my first two children robbed me of the opportunity to witness the grandeur of a true tantrum. Our third child has definitely filled in the blanks for me. Barnes and Noble is a big store and my son and I could hear this tantrum "going down" in the ladies bathroom. My wife and oldest daughter Kamryn were in the bathroom with my youngest, so they got a front row seat to the show. The situation was precipitated by my wife and I correcting Kaylin for defiant behavior and then putting a book back on the shelf that we had originally intended to buy for her. The situation was actually quite embarrassing. I knew it was bad when I overheard store management commenting on the screams coming from the bathroom. One guy commented in front of some others that he "thought it was all because a mother wouldn't buy a book for the kid". I felt pretty helpless at that point. I was just hoping they wouldn't call 911. I didn't want to barge into the ladies room, but the thought did cross my mind!! The tantrum did last for nearly 15-20 minutes and spilled over into the car. When it ended, she was asleep within 30 seconds. The final score of Sunday's tantrum at the bookstore was kids 1 and parents 0. I have been doing this parenting thing for nearly 10 years now, but I still feel like it often gets the best of me. It is still the toughest job I have ever known. I do want to clarify that it is also the most rewarding job I have ever known.

On another note, here are some pictures that I snapped on the drive back from Fargo this afternoon. The waters are rising along the backroads and the interstate. The drive back was interesting to say the least. There was heavy rain and dense fog along with some strong winds. We are expecting heavy rains and violent thunderstorms over the next two days and then it is supposed to snow again. The countdown for the move to Maryland is 12 days and the countdown for my departure for Finland is 6 weeks. We can hardly wait. Here are the pics.

A newly formed river alongside interstate 94

Warm temps. in the upper 40's and low 50's (okay warm for here) causing melting snowpacks to form new bodies of water

Was a field full of snow last week this time

Lights out.

One Last Weekend Trip To Fargo

After a busy week of work and packing for the family move to Maryland, we decided to take one more quick weekend trip to Fargo. The winter weather has finally tamed a bit and temps. were even approaching 50 degrees today. We have not experienced that kind of warmth since October. The only downside is the snow is melting rapidly and North Dakota is preparing for some large scale flooding. The Fargo area is especially vulnerable right now and city planners are worried that the Red River could crest to over 40 feet within the next week or 10 days. If that happens, it could be worse than the devastating floods of 1997. Grand Forks, North Dakota was probably hit the hardest during 1997 as most of the city was underwater. Fargo has ordered one and a half million sand bags and volunteers are showing up to help the city prepare for the rising water. Our town of Ellendale will also be susceptible to some flooding if we get any serious rainfall within the next week or so. The ground is completely saturated and there are pockets of water everywhere you look. After such a brutal winter, it is tough to now have to start worrying about flooding. We decided to be proactive before we left for Fargo this afternoon, so Essy and I worked on testing our sump pumps this morning. That involved shoveling snow and dumping load after load of heated water into the pits around the house where the pumps are located. While pulling the pvc pipe up out of the drainage area, I managed to snap the one elbow. At the same time the elbow broke apart, the pump kicked on and water began spewing everywhere. I then had to make a quick trip to the hardware store and pick up a new elbow and some solvent cement. I managed to get things put back together, so hopefully we are ready for any threat of flooding that might come our way. Exciting stuff huh? After 4-5 months of heavy wind and snowfall and more days below 0 than I care to mention, the next challenge of life in North Dakota is presenting itself. Hard to believe mosquito and tornado season is right around the corner! Lights out.

Lack of Justice in College Football

I thought I would weigh in and give my 2 cents on the current state of affairs in college football. Specifically, I am referring to the fact that less than 1% of college head coaches are black, but yet 60-70% of the players who participate in college football are African American. Nobody within the leadership of the college game seems to be able to adequately explain the reasons for this disparity. I know there are many black assistant coaches on college staffs across America, but it is bothersome that many of these qualified individuals are overlooked when head coaching positions open up. I believe that many pro coaches such as Tony Dungy, Lovie Smith, and Herm Edwards have done a great job of breaking down barriers. These men have helped pave the way for the next generation of black coaches who are coming up through the ranks. For the first time in history, the NFL appears to be heading in a positive direction when it comes to selecting coaches. The opportunity to coach in this league no longer appears to be tied in to a person's race, but rather a reflection of their experience level and perceived capabilities. The college game appears to be evolving at a much slower pace. My hope is that more attention is brought to this matter in the near future and we would begin to see more equality and fairness at the intercollegiate level. I believe in the social consciousness of our country and its citizens. It would be naive to say that racism does not exist in our nation. However, America has come a long way. If you don't believe me, then just ask President Barack Obama.
Lights out.

Gearing up for the move to Maryland

The countdown is officially on. I will be leaving North Dakota in 18 days to drive back to Maryland and help my family get settled in. We are very excited to be heading east. We left the east coast in August of 1995 about two weeks after we got married. Over the last 14 plus years, we have gone back on many occasions to visit. We probably average about 2 visits per year, but we felt that the time had come for us to move back closer to our families. We have a great sense of peace about this move and the kids are very excited. Thanks to my boss, I will have a few extra days to spend in Maryland because he has honored my request to take a few extra days off during our Easter break here at the college. This extra time will allow me the chance to get things moved into our new townhouse and get some things in order. I will then fly back to North Dakota in mid April to finish out my last couple of weeks of teaching/final exams before heading off to Finland in early May for the 2009 football season. Estalita and the kids will join me in Finland sometime in mid May.
Needless to say, life is very hectic right now. We are still trying to sell the house and we are in the midst of going through all our belongings and packing things up. Estalita and I are both still working our jobs, ordering items for the new place and making all the arrangements and transitions that are associated with a long distance move. I am also doing some training with one of my players from Trinity who is coming over with me to Finland to play football this season. The preparations for Finland such as designing playbooks and keeping up my communication with my new team is also very important right now. I try to keep up with my writing and blog, but this usually happens around 1 or 2 am when I have a few moments to spare. Last but not least, we have to see to the needs of our 3 kids who are holding up very well during this transition. Estalita stays home with Kaylin ( who is going through her terrible, uhh I mean terrific two's) while Kamryn and Kodie attend school. I try and hang out with them for a few hours each evening while my wife gets caught up on her work.
Fortunately, my training in the army has prepared me well in life for sleep deprivation. It is currently 1:35 am. I should be in bed by 2 and then up around 7. That is about normal for me. I do hope to increase that by an hour or so when I get to Finland. Many people have said to me that they think I keep crazy hours, but I figure I will have plenty of time to sleep in about 50 years!! I recently heard the famous chef from England called Gordon Ramsay say that being tired and fighting through it was a key element of his success. His ability to work through fatigue and his willingness to suffer a bit helped him to separate himself from the pack. I tend to bring this world view to my teaching and coaching philosophies. I tell my teams that all players get tired and fatigued in the 3rd and 4th quarter, but the mentally tough teams find a way to rise above it and overcome. The mentally weak ones succumb to the discomfort and make excuses for their mistakes. One of my pet peeves in life is hearing people who sleep anywhere from 8-10 hours a day repeatedly say throughout the day that they are tired. To take it a step further, I really believe one of the main reasons our country is slipping is that many of our fine citizens are slumbering through life while the rest of the world is getting after it. Case in point is the college campus where I currently work. In my 6 years here, I have observed that most of the students on this campus take a rather long afternoon nap. AS IN EVERYDAY LIKE CLOCKWORK!! In fact, they get more consistent naps than my 2 year old daughter. Some of them sleep most of the day away and even sleep right on through dinner. They sleep in class, through class, and after class. They forget to set their alarms, or they ignore them entirely. Many of them can simply not handle the idea of a 6 am football workout or an 8 am class. I must admit that I remember doing this nap thing in kindergarten, but that practice stopped somewhere around age 5.
I feel much better now that I got that out of my system. Sorry for bashing all you sleep lovers out there. My ranting and raving on this whole sleeping thing has come to a close. Besides, I am tired and I must get some rest.

Lights out.

More pics from Europe

My post for today will feature some more pictures from my travels last week. This is my third and last installment of pictures from the trip. Hope you enjoy.

This is in front of my house in Ellendale. This is what it looked like the first day I tried to fly out for Amsterdam. I was stranded at the airport for 8 hours in Aberdeen, South Dakota and ultimately ended up going home because of flight cancellations. The snow was deep and the winds were 25-35 mph. Oh by the way, temps were around -25. That has been par for the course this winter in North Dakota.

Grand Place area in the center of Brussels--- Structures include a church, museum, government buildings and numerous guilds, etc....

People watching people in the Grand Place area.

Some great European architecture

Lions Head Monument at the Battle of Waterloo. I enjoyed the first part of the visit to this memorial and the battlefields where Napolean was defeated. I didn't know much about the actual battle before this visit, so it was very informative. Unfortunately, I will always associate this day with the break-in of my rental car and subsequent theft.

Here is the setting: American man driving a German car trying to speak English at Belgian police station to French speaking officers. Yikes!!

Big mess and big hassle as the rental company tried to charge me more than 700 euros (almost $1,000) for this carnage. I ended up paying less than a quarter of that, but it was still a pretty good sum.

Near the police station

One last picture of the damage

Lights out.

Bastogne and the Band of Brothers

As I've mentioned before in the blog, I have a keen interest in the history of the 2nd World War. I have had the opportunity to visit Pearl Harbor in Honolulu, Hawaii and the War Museum of the north in Manchester, England. I have visited the Dachau concentration/labor camp which is located just outside of Munich, Germany, the Holocaust Museum in Washington D.C. , the Anne Frank house in Amsterdam, Holland and Hitler's retreat called the Eagle's Nest in Berchtesgarden, Germany. I also had the chance to tour a Russian war ship that was docked in harbor in southern China about a two hour drive from Hong Kong. Two other sites that have been high on my list to visit include the Normandy Landing sites/beaches in France and the areas associated with the Battle of the Bulge. The Battle of the Bulge is referred to by the Europeans as the Battle of the Ardennes. Basically, this battle was Hitler's last big thrust to gain some momentum in the war. He took soldiers away from the Eastern Front to build up his forces for this surprise attack. He was counting on bad weather, the element of surprise, and the goal of moving quickly. All three objectives were achieved. His ultimate goal was to reach the Meuse River in Belgium and continue the push to recapture Antwerp. This would allow the Germans to interrupt Allied supply lines and regain control of this important port city.
Furthermore, he hoped to divide the American and British forces and inflict such heavy losses that one of them would surrender and negotiate a peace on the Western Front. These battles occured in southern Belgium and Luxembourg and were heavily concentrated in an area known as Bastogne. In Bastogne, 18,000 American soldiers were surrounded by a German force of superior numbers and firepower, but the grit and determination of the American forces bought the Allies much needed time for reinforcements from General Patton's 3rd Army. These battles have become more well known in recent years as Steven Spielberg created the miniseries Band of Brothers. This series chronicles one company's (Easy) experiences during this conflict. This past week, I rented a car in Brussels and drove on down to visit the battlefields of Bastogne. I also hired a guide to provide some additional insight into the history of this famous battle. I did some research on the area and decided to give Henri Mignon a call. Henry is both a survivor and victim of the war. He was 9 years old during the conflict and has vivid memories of his experiences in the winter of 1944-45. Henri's information on the area was invaluable as he is considered one of the foremost experts on this particular battle. I will be featuring Henri in an upcoming article that I am writing for a local newspaper. I will include a link to that article at a later time on this blog. I believe that you will be truly amazed at all that Henri and his family endured during this time. Now, it is time for the pictures from this memorable day. I hope you enjoy them.

World War II Memorial in Bastogne, Belgium

Notice the fog that is common in the Ardennes during the winter.

victim and survivor of the War-- Henri Mignon standing atop the Memorial.

Easy Company Memorial-- including men who were featured in series Band of Brothers

Easy Company was part of the 101st Airborne Division

Part of the Ardenne Forest where many battles were waged--located less than a mile away from the village of Foy

Remaining remnants of a foxhole

American soldier foxhole-- usually big enough for two men

Standing among the trees of the Ardennes

Approaching the village of Foy

Bullet holes from a building located in the village of Foy

Cemetery memorial for American soldiers

German soldier cemetery near Bastogne-- 7,000 men are buried here, 6 men at each cross

Two of these soldiers are regular soldiers (Wehrmacht) and the STRM rank indicates an SS soldier-- Hitler's elite killing force known for their brutality

3 men on this side of the cross indicate one regular army soldier, one unknown soldier, and one soldier who was a frigate captain in his 50's-- Henri informed me that Germany's infantry was so ravaged at this point of the war, that one quarter of the soldiers in their infantry were aviators, one quarter were infantrymen, and one half were sailors such as Fritz Breithaupt

3 soldiers from the German Wehrmacht

Approaching the village of Foy where Easy company and many other American GI's fought valiantly to stave off the Nazi forces

Village of Houffalize which is located 3 kilometers from Bastogne--This area had no strategic significance in the battle as it is located at the bottom of a valley. The Americans bombed it relentlessly to destroy the roads, so the Germans would get bogged down. There were nearly 300 houses in the village when the bombing started and only 3 remained when the aerial strikes were completed. Note: This is Henri Mignon's hometown

My guide Henri standing on the road leading down to his hometown of Houffalize.

German Panther tank that was driven into the river in Houffalize by a Nazi tank driver.-- Henri refers to this as
his tank, as it stayed upside down in the river for two years after the war ended. He and his friends used to play on the tank as it rested upside down in the river before it was brought to this area for display.

Driving into Foy

Church and house in village of Foy

Abrams tank sitting in McAuliffe Square--Notice damage to this tank where it was struck on the side and back

Memorial to General McAullife-- He responded to German demands for surrender with famous "Nuts" quote. This stubborn reply energized his soldiers to continue the fight. Henri mentioned that the man who delivered the message to the Germans recently passed away at the age of 94. Henri knew him well. When the Germans asked this soldier the meaning of this response, the man replied it is something like "Go To Hell"

Le Nuts Cafe-- The Belgians remain fond of General McAuliffe to this day.

Looking down at the museum from the Memorial-- the museum was full of artifacts from the battle including uniforms, machine guns, jeeps, flame throwers, etc....

Sun setting over the Ardenne forest near the border of Belgium and Luxembourg

Village of Clervaux in the country of Luxembourg-- site of another Memorial for American soldiers

Back in the U.S.

Well, I arrived back in the states on Sunday evening after about 24 hours of straight travel to get home. I figured that I covered roughly 15,000 miles in 9 days as I visited 4 countries, traveled on 7 planes and countless trains and buses. My last few days in Finland went exceptionally well as I met more of the Crocodile players including some of our import players from England. We had several meetings and practices over the last few days. We only scratched the surface of the playbook, but the time spent getting familiar with the players, management, and culture of the team was truly worthwhile. As I said before, the guys in Finland made me feel very welcome. I certainly had my share of challenges and struggles on the trip, but this is often the case when we venture outside of our individual comfort zones. Facing hardships is often part of the equation when traveling. For me, the manifestation of these struggles often come to fruition in the form of fresh thoughts and new insights into my own life. I feel a new sharpness and a heightened awareness of all the possibilities in the world. I have quenched the thirst of my curiosities for a time, but I know the bell will ring for me once again. When it does, I will answer the call with my backpack in tow, ticket in hand, and a fresh set of experiences that await me.

Here come some pictures from the trip. These are the 1st installment of 3 that I will post over the next few days. Hope you enjoy. An appropriate title for this installment might be Football, Friends, Food, and Freezing!!

Downtown market area of Brussels, Belgium

Carb heaven!!

About to devour my first Belgian waffle of the trip

Life is full of so many choices

Coach Moreels from the Brussels Bulls football team

Titans (white) vs. Bulls (blue)

Specialty hams and sausages of the Ardennes region of Belgium

Bulls driving to victory

A Trinity Reunion in Brussels with the Dusings at Continental Theological Seminary

Continental Theological Seminary-- property dating back to the 1100's-- occupied by the Nazi party during World War II

Crocodiles warming up for practice at our indoor practice facility in Seinajoki

Team Stretch

Traditional rice roll known as karjalanpiirakka in Finland

Swimming in a hole that has been cut in the ice of a local river-- known as "avantouinti" in Finland-- this extreme sport is practiced by the heartiest of Finns or a gullible American like me!!

I'm outta here before the hypothermia settles in.

Delicious smoked salmon and a traditional fish roll that I could not quite bring myself to finish. The minnow like fish in the bread were packed under some fatty pork.

Splurged on this antipasti at a Sicilian restaurant in Helsinki the night before I flew home. Packed with parmesan cheese, red peppers, olives, prosciutto, artichokes, garlic, another variation of ham, and a wonderful light mustard sauce.

Capped the night off with one of my favorite Italian desserts called Panna Cotta. okay Gelato, Tira Misu, and biscotti are up there high on the list as well. This panna cotta was very smooth and well textured with an assortment of flavorful Finnish berries to top it off.

Lights out.