I had a great time at the movie last night. I’m so glad that Vegan organized it and the married women who accompanied her were really cool and I hope that she brings them to our potluck. We chatted and joked at the intermission between films. I like this idea about a queer women’s circle. 

I subscribe to NYT. Their reporting is balanced and deep. Between them and my local NPR station, I think that I know what is going on. I can’t wait to listen to “The Daily” today because concussive traumatic effects are happening in young people now. Doctors know given scans, MRIs, and postmortem interviews of families talking about hospital visits and changes to their sons.

Why do we have an obsession with football in this country? Have you even watched it lately? It’s a little bit of running, a flag thrown down, a long commercial break, back to the refs walking around, some verbal exchanges and another commercial break. Rinse, lather, repeat.

My son was always super tall for his age. He’s just a hair under 6-feet at his present 17, but he towered over everyone since he was in daycare. He played a lot of soccer. Years of it actually, and was able to make his team via tryouts in middle school. He has run track, he has played club basketball, and is a very good baseball player. I can’t tell you how many times men would watch him move as a 6, 7, 8, and 9-year-old on the field for practice and tell me that he’s a full back. 

He played one season of flag in 2013. He didn’t like it very much, and the ONLY reason he played that was because our rec center didn’t have soccer that particular spring and he is a nightmare when he isn’t playing sports. I knew about the Parkinson’s link, found it boring, and have some friends with ruined knees, so he wasn’t really allowed to play it. When the bulk of the pandemic lifted in his sophomore year, many of his friends from middle school were playing it as now high school students, and he told me that he wanted to. Given the massive weight gain that has not subsided even now, I cheered him on to do so. He didn’t try out for the team.

I love watching soccer and basketball. When I went to a couple of rugby games, I really liked it too. I can’t even stand the noises that football practice emits. It sounds like plastic breaking. I’m writing this entry today because I think that the rules need to be overhauled or the sport shouldn’t be allowed for men under 25. Know your risks and have a fully operational prefrontal cortex before you chose something dangerous to play.