Good Thursday to All!
The weather has been absolutely spectacular with the exception of last Thursday of which I was outside and got soaked. It did not bother me for a minute because I kept telling myself that we needed the rain for the farmers and those with shallow wells.
For all families who have children going off to college this week, best of luck to you all. Teresa and I will be taking Derek and Josiah up to Thomas College tomorrow for what sounds like an all day event. Move in, is from 9 am to 11 am with activities planned for both the incoming students and their parents throughout the day.
For those of you who follow my weekly writing, you know the ups and downs I have experienced with my teenagers this summer. I have been looking forward to this day for some time, but I know I will be sad because I am already feeling it. Good thing they will only be 20 miles away, so that I can go up and grab some quality time, if they have time for me! This is a far cry, from how I have felt at times in the past couple of months, but I must admit I'm a big softie at heart.
Good luck Derek and Josiah in your next phase of your journey through life. If you set your priorities correctly - hard work first, party time second - you will be fine. Party time first, hard work second and you may find yourself roofing while your classmates are completing their second semester. Kinda kidding but this is the message that I have conveyed. I am sure they will do fine and if the next four years, go as fast as the last, we will be attending a graduation before I know it.
Fall sports have started with teams working together for the past couple of weeks. Some high school football programs start this Friday night. My son Kyle, who is a senior at Cony, and a co-captain, plays at Gardiner in what I believe is the fifth longest running football rivalry in the country. Good luck to all the teams regardless of the sport, whether it is football, soccer, field hockey or others! Play hard, play fair and play to win.
In high school, I firmly believe there must be winners and losers. For some, those that do not continue their education, this is the last chance to learn what you will be facing in the real world. After graduation and when you enter the work force on a full time basis you probably won't get the first job you apply for. So get prepared now for successes and failures, but always know that you should hang your head high provided you have prepared and have done the very best that you are capable of. With hard work and persistence you will prevail.
The photo below is of me and "Gentleman" Jim Burns. Some of you will recognize Jim and some of you won't. Jim is a well known race car driver in central Maine driving in most, if not all of the short tracks in Maine. Back in the late '80's early '90's when I followed Friday and Saturday night racing with my father-in-law Ev Barnard, Jim was one of my favorites, not only because he won, but more importantly for how he ran the race. Jim always raced hard, but had a reputation of being a clean driver, not pushing others out of the way to get to the front, thus the name "Gentleman" that was given to him by track officials. Jim, It was really nice meeting and talking with you, as we brought up names from the past and reminisced about how they approached the sport.
Norm and "Gentleman" Jim Burns
Hope to see you soon, thanks for following us through our newsletter.
Norm
