Old Albert's Birthday

It's Friday and Pi Day. Also, it is Albert Einstein's 129th birthday. He was born March 14, 1879 in Ulm, Germany. It is useful to know where he was born because it often crops up in crossword puzzles when the author needs a three letter word. The weather in St Paul has taken a turn for the better. Spring is beginning to spring. Our first day in the fifties came yesterday. I went to see what Minnehaha Falls was up to. The ice is melting and it is no longer possible to walk on the ice of the creek. This is indeed progress. I had to walk through puddles and running water to get this photo, As you might expect, there were many people there to join me in surveying the falling, laughing waters.



I have been stuck in a marathon of tennis matches. Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday were all active matches, with a day off on Wednesday for two games of curling at the curling club.

The curling games were fun and competitive. The first game was with Harold, Harry, Gino and me. We jumped off to a 6-1 lead, before giving up the lead on the sixth of seven ends. We had a chance to tie on the last end, but our best stone was a couple of millimeters farther from the button then our foes, so we lost. Harry and Harold are the old guys on the team. They are long time veterans of the sport, but they have lost some of their edge towards the end of games. It's odd to be one of the young guys on any sort of team these days. It was the last game of the season for that team.

The Miller Rink won the 9 pm game. We played well, and we had the curling gods smiling on us. Gino made a good shot in the fifth end to take out two opposing points and gaining us one - a three point shot that stood up. Kurt and Wireless had good shots in the final end and the skip didn't need to throw his stones, We ended the season on an up note, and now must wait to see who we get in the playoffs.

Thursday tennis with the hardcore girls was hard core. Pat is playing for the recuperating Jerry, and he played tough and made it hard to win points, much less games. Becky was on her game, too, and Barb and I lost the marathon first set at 6-3. The second set was on serve at 4-5 when we were forced to the sidelines when our 90 minute court time elapsed. Jerry will be out for another month or more it appears. The doctors want him to have more treatments to ensure that the cancer doesn't recur, and he'll be have a month long series of chemo and radiation. He's a little discouraged, but it seems like a good course of action for him.

We have yet to have 48 hours of melting temps, so my face has not encountered a razor. We had about 40 hours of the requisite warmth, ending last night about eleven p.m. Spring is coming. My face is beginning to itch.