This One's for You, Eric Jeanneret

OK, so it's been three weeks since my last post. Last weekend at the Plymouth reenactment, one of our shipmates from the Tidewater Maritime Living History Association (TMLHA), Eric Jeanneret reminded me of how slack I've been on the blog lately. So, this post is for Eric (and all the rest of you who may have been wondering what the hell happened to me).

April was definitely a busy month. The Fort Dobbs event, War for Empire 1760, was a very good event. I spent much of the weekend with friends from Tryon Palace and was given the opportunity to run the swivel gun during the battle scenarios on Saturday and Sunday. Aside from the fact that I was sick all weekend (either from allergies or a spring cold, I can't tell which) my first French & Indian War event was great and I hope to do more at Fort Dobbs in the future.

As previously mentioned, last weekend was the annual reenactment at Plymouth, NC. We were joined by our shipmates from TMLHA, had a generally good time in camp, enjoyed some of Eric's excellent cooking, and got to work on the 30-foot steam launch, which is always a pleasure. A damper was put on the whole weekend, however, when one of the artillery crews had an accident during the land battle Saturday afternoon. Two crew members were injured, one of the seriously. I've spent much of this week trying to answer questions that I can't because I didn't actually see what happened.

So that pretty much sums up my month. The Stanley Cup playoffs are in full swing. My Pens are in the second round. Me and the boss starting painting our new offices today and will hopefully be able to move into them soon. May is going to be busy, but maybe I can keep up a little better. We'll see.....

Housekeeping

I've deleted three of the blogs from my list of sports blogs due to lack of posts. One of these blogs hasn't posted anything in almost two years (shows how much I actually read some of these, right?). Anyway, the three that are gone (if anyone cares) are Be Like Tike, I Wish I Was a Rooney, and Pittsburgh Sports Guys. I hate to see the second one go becuase let's face it, is there a greater name for a Steelers blog than I Wish I Was a Rooney? Classic. Oh well.

Off Topic - Football Post

Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker James Harrison was selected AP Defensive Player of the Year. This guy is a monster, and quite possibly the best Steelers linebacker since Mike Merriweather. There have been a lot of very good ones since then, but Harrison is awesome. It's nice to see him getting the credit he deserves.

A Rare Thing....

....and I'm not talking about some historical artifact or something. This weekend is a rare thing in that I have absolutely nothing that I have to do. A weekend where I don't have at least one thing planned is very rare and the timing couldn't be better as the next three weeks are going to be crazy (and of course I'll blog more on that later).

So what plans do I have? Well, I'm going with my mom to visit dad today. He's adjusted well to the nursing home and is doing good. Then tonight I am participating in my first-ever live draft for a fantasy football league. This is one of the things I do that my wife thinks is terribly geeky, but I'm a fantasy sports nut. I play football, baseball, basketball, and hockey every year, each to a varying degree. Since three of those seasons overlap, its not unusual for me to have four or five teams going at once. However, I've never actually participated in a live draft, as I am always busy, but this one is timed just right. While I'm doing that I will also be watching the Steelers preseason game against Minnesota. It just might be football overload, but I'm ready for the season to start.

Sunday there's nothing on tap, but I imagine I'll do something with Lori and maybe try to finish up one of the books I'm reading. I've spent more time in the evenings lately watching the Olympics than reading, but I need to get back on track because Monday is the start of a crazy three weeks.

So Busy I Almost Forgot

Its Stanley Cup Time!!!

Another Season is Over

In very disappointing fashion, my Steelers ended their season last night, going down in defeat to the Jacksonville Jaguars. As odd as this may sound, I don't mind losing to the Jags as much as I would to other teams. Jacksonville's team has been referred to as "Pittsburgh South" and in a lot of ways they are. I respect the team and head coach Jack Del Rio. I will certainly watch the remainder of the playoffs because I am a football fan, and I'll probably be rooting for the Jags now. So when does training camp open at St. Vincent's College in Latrobe?

New Addition to the Blog

I have added a new list of links on the blog. This one is a list of sports blogs, particularly Pittsburgh sports blogs. My other passion aside from history is sports. What that means....I play softball, racquetball, and disc golf. In terms of professional sports I am a fan of all the Pittsburgh teams. In college football I am a Paterno devotee and follow Penn State (the past two weeks has been terribly difficult to swallow). Finally, being here in North Carolina, college basketball is a big deal. While I am first and foremost devoted to my alma mater, the UNC-Wilmington Seahawks, that's not good enough 'round here. Everyone must have an ACC loyalty, and mine is to the UNC Tarheels. It makes things interested because my wife is a Duke fan. Of course, she also started watching football as a Baltimore Ravens fan and I had to quickly rectify that (it really could have ruined the marriage). However, she was a Duke basketball fan when I met her, so I have to deal with that. At least I've managed to get her in black and gold during the NFL season, and that's good enough for me. Enjoy the sports blogs if you decide to check them out, and keep coming back as I add more.