Last Week’s Game

Seth: I’m coming to you live from Youssouf’s soccer practice. So please forgive typos.

I was encouraged by the Lamar game, not in any huge way, but Bowman looked good as did the handful of freshmen still guys. The defense absolutely stuffed Lamar and to shut them out was pretty impressive. Did you come away feeling a bit better after Ole Miss?

Travis: Claire and I met with the coaches from Southwestern on Saturday morning in Georgetown and then she had a shooting camp in Round Rock Saturday afternoon so I didn’t get to see all of the game. But I did really like what I got to see, especially from the defense.

Suburban Gangsters

Travis: This summer, Claire’s team played 6 of the top 12 teams in the state. They played against Jason freakin Terry’s team and a team that had 7 girls trying out for the US trials. Those games were rough. But sometimes they got a chance to play against a team that they severely overmatched, and it was good for them to have that opportunity to turn the tables. It’s reassuring to know that what you’re doing, what you’re spending hours working on, can work. That’s how I felt about this game. It was good for those guys to experience some success and to see some of the techniques they’ve been meticulously working on actually work. If nothing else, it’s good for the psyche to have good things happen sometimes. So I was happy for them.

So Cash, our first grader, has pretty much decided he’s done with school. We’re pulling out all the stops to get things turned around but not having much luck. The other two are pretty similar personality wise, but Cash has his own plan for things it seems. It’s one of the challenges of parenting. You want to take a cookie cutter approach to raising them, but it just doesn’t seem to work that way. Do you guys ever run into that—a clash in personalities or handle a situation the exact same way but with different results depending on the kid?

Seth: I was going to ask you about Claire and her college choice ends up happening. If she wants to do a huge blowout on Staking The Plains complete with video and choosing hats, it’s all yours.

It’s funny you mention how Cash has a mind of his own because that’s Fitsum. He’s told me multiple times recently that school is a waste of time (there’s part of me that agrees with this, but I need a babysitter for the better part of the day to pay for his Legos). Fitsum is different. He literally lives in his brain for the better part of the day, considers how to create shrink-ray guns or will ask me to remember some small scene from some movie that he’s seen or he’ll tell me a joke completely out of the blue. This gets a little personal, but at Meet-the-Teacher this year, I had to take the boys because Miranda had to be there on her own as well. One of Fitsum’s teachers said that we needed to fill out and put in a jar was his goal for the year. So I asked Fitsum what he’d like for his goal to be and he said, “To make a real best friend.” I almost fell over. Fits is a happy gregarious kid who, for whatever reason, feels like he needs to control the situation (this could be related to his adoption, losing control means losing everything) or whatever game is being played and he lives a lot of his life in this make-believe sort of world where he’s constantly thinking about Legos or what he can build, or the battles he’s going to have. So we’re still working on his goal and him letting other kids dictate what is played and the rules that make up whatever they’re playing.

So yeah, I get there not being a cookie-cutter approach because Youssouf is friends with everyone, knows everyone’s name, is the best athlete even at a very young age, etc. He’s not going to struggle with the social aspect of his life at all. I am constantly thinking about if I’m doing the right thing.

Travis: Tell Fitsum I’ll be his best friend.

It’s funny because Claire is completely averse to self-promotion or sending out tweets of the schools she’s visiting or that are interested in her. She doesn’t like that side of it at all so I try to respect that for the most part. But we might just have to make the STP Decision Day a real thing.

Seth: Yeah, sometimes Fitsum is my special project and I’m constantly (probably too much) letting him know that I’ll always be here for him

The Best Thing Ever

Seth: One of the best things I’ve been reading during the offseason is a book called The Invention of Air, by Steven Johnson and it’s about a guy named Joseph Priestly (no relation to Jason that I’m aware of) and he’s the guy that first figured out that it was oxygen that we need and that plants produce. The book also goes at it from a standpoint to explain how and why Priestly got to that point and how he was good buddies with Benjamin Franklin and all sorts of things. It’s a good book, that not only looks at the history, but also gives you lots of context as well.

Travis: This is a bit off the wall, but the best movie I watched all summer was I,Tanya, the biographical film about Tanya Harding. We rented it while we were in Ruidoso and I enjoyed it 1000 times more than I ever thought I would. It has a real Goodfellas vibe to it, which is strange, I know. I just highly recommend it to anyone that wants to watch a gritty flick about a person born with an incredible gift but was raised in just a horrible environment.

Random Top Five

Travis: So, I mentioned Ruidoso, what are your top five (realistic) vacation destinations? Places that you could probably visit every summer without breaking the bank and could get there in a day’s drive. I’d probably say:

1. Destin area/Florida panhandle
2. Ruidoso
3. South Padre Island
4. New Orleans
5. ?? Big Bend maybe?

Seth: My top five vacation within a days drive are similar to yours.

1. Taos. It’s further than Ruidoso, and it’s a haul to make it in a day, but it’s great.
2. Hot Springs / Ouachita National Forest. This is a relatively short drive for me and it’s beautiful there.
3. New Orleans. Maybe not a kid-friendly vacation, our kids liked it for the day we were there, but maybe better with just adults.
4. Surfside, maybe closer than South Padre so easier to get to and it’s pretty nice.
5. Hell yeah Big Bend.

This Week’s Game

Seth: I’ve gone back and forth on the game and I think this maybe ends up being a bit like the Ole Miss game. Houston has talented receives, they’re maybe a B whereas the Ole Miss receivers were an A, so just a grade below and maybe not as physically dominant (some of those Ole Miss receivers were 225 or something ridiculous). My hope is that Bowman has gotten his feet under him a bit and the most fascinating match up will be between Jack Anderson and Ed Oliver. Anderson has attitude, the best kind of attitude and I hope they beat each other up all game long.

Travis: Unfortunately I feel the same. I’m just not sure Tech will be able to handle Oliver on the defensive side and their improving offense on the other side (or vice versa I don’t know I think I just confused myself). I hope we’re both wrong but I’m preparing myself for another of those frustrating days.

Game Predictions

Seth: Ultimately, I think Houston ends up winning out here, something like 45-42.

Travis: Let’s try not kicking any field goals again because that seemed to work well last Saturday.