Curling up with a good book

And so another hot and muggy week draws to a close. The thunderstorms that pounded the shore of the big lake and wreaked a path of power outages and broken tree limbs last week have passed. We had storms predicted for the weekend, but so far I’ve only felt a few sprinkles under the overcast skies. I picked up a few books this week to read if things settle down a little. They’re all boring computer books to most people, but to me they’re very exciting, not as exciting as a hockey game, but closer to the intensity of a good lacrosse game. What do you want me to compare them to? I was going to read up on the history of that great Scottish game of the 1500’s – Curling. Yes that’s right, curling came from the people of Scotland. It was their gift to Canada who now tend to dominate the sport. There’s some curling around Syracuse, Rochester, and Utica. It’s a little more prevalent in Canada, but it’s out there if you look. I don’t think I’m about to drop hockey and focus on curling just yet, but it is a pretty cool sport. I think if I ever retire I’d bypass shuffleboard and go straight into curling just because of the ice. I don’t swing a golf club very well, but maybe I can sweep. I’ve watched curling matches, but I don’t know enough about it to actually know who is good at it and who isn’t. I don’t know how I got on that subject; I must be experiencing hockey withdrawal symptoms brought on by the heat (anything over 65’ I consider heat). I don’t like to read fiction very much anymore. I read enough of that in school. Facts, now that’s interesting stuff. To learn something new to me is just something I enjoy. I don’t know everything…..yet, so I’d better keep up with my reading. Television is ok, but reading is more relaxing, I think. There are too many distractions on TV with all the channels, and I am horrible at running a channel changer. I tend to have a short attention span and end up wasting valuable time looking for something just a little bit more interesting than what is on the channel before me. In doing this, I get nowhere. Reading a book doesn’t involve pushing buttons or viewing commercials, therefore I get more out of the book then the TV. What does all this have to do with hockey or lacrosse? Not much really, other than the fact that you need to recharge your mind as well as your body in the off-season. I might be able to get at least one of those things done this summer. I use one of my wife’s snowman coffee cups on my desk for all my pencils and pens. I look at it and see a snowman standing in the snow smiling back at me. Maybe if I keep reading I won't notice the summer heat, and it’ll be winter again before I realize it. Until then I’ll stick to reading up on curling, programming, and maybe even a few hockey books. Now I’ve got to stop and adjust the air conditioner. I don’t think it’s working. It’s not shooting out any more snow into the room.