And Then There Were Three

Odometer: 13,926
Location: Chicago, IL
States Visited: Kentucky, Indiana, Illinois

I’m not exactly sure how long it’s been since I’ve been home. I could do the math and figure it all out, but it feels like eight or nine months. After a rollicking weekend in Knoxville, the drive back to Chicago passed without issue. I arrived to find that my house sitter has done a fine job with maintaining plants, retrieving mail, and general security. In all my life, my bed has never felt so comfortable. The crazy dreams I experienced were a small price to pay for familiar surroundings, even if it’s just for a couple nights.

The sad thing is that there’s no time for friends or family as various concerns about the remaining schedule are a bigger priority. By the way, I have opted for the Iron Bowl over Texas/Texas A+M. College Station, you’ll have to wait for another time – with a new coach, I can only presume. Bills have piled up here. Luckily, there’s still enough in the bank to pay them all. The frightening news is that I awoke this morning to find a shooting pain in my knee. I haven’t really had any pain since before the season began, so this is major cause for concern. I’m not sure if I overdid it with the kneehab this week or if I somehow tweaked something in my sleep. With equal parts surprise and concern, I’m just hoping that when I wake up tomorrow there’s improvement and not the opposite. Even if there is more pain, I’m not sure what action I could take, as it’s time to head to Ann Arbor tomorrow. I’ll have to gut this one out the same as Chad Henne and Mike Hart.

Speaking of them, while working in a café two days ago, I was sitting next to a woman who is a junior high teacher. I quickly learned that she was a huge Buckeyes fan and Ohio State grad. This past Monday, in her seventh grade class, the students were assigned to write about a disagreement they’d had. One student's paper talked about how he walked into class and saw that the teacher had an Ohio State flag. This caused the student great consternation because he was a Michigan fan. “I knew we would butt heads,” he wrote. He couldn’t understand why the teacher could root for Ohio State. He decided to go home and do some research only to be dismayed by the discovery that OSU was number one in all the polls. But then because Illinois beat the Buckeyes this week, and they weren’t number one any more, he could get along with the teacher. Lest you think that there’s more than just interstate pride, Lloyd Carr’s legacy, gold pants, and a Rose Bowl berth on the line. If Michigan doesn’t win, this kid’s education may suffer! So with that, I head off for my three remaining games, each of them a rivalry with more on the line than anyone can ever really explain - though I'm gonna try. Let’s hope the knee holds up – and the shoulder on #7 and ankle on #20 for that matter! Sorry for the lack of objectivity this week, but… GO BLUE!