Benched

January is almost half gone. The ides passed without so much as a "beware." The weather has mellowed considerably, but still stubbornly remains below the freezing point of water. The benches in today's photo are obviously not suffering from overuse. They stand along the walkway along the Mississippi River on Harriet Island. I go there once in a while to get a view of downtown River City and to exercise the old bones.



I've been staying in the tennis wars, but lately some of the geezer guys have been getting injured, Tennis Dennis pulled a back muscle on Sunday and is out of action. I, myself, took a minor tumble and left some knee skin on the courts. Luckily there were no twisted joints and I was able to continue swinging the racket. It's the time of year when indoor tennis begins to lose its luster and I start to think how nice it would be to be outside on a clay court smacking forehands. The place that I play most is the bubble at Fort Snelling. It's roomy and the ceiling is high enough to lob decently, but it's a little bit chilly there on January days and I always have to change clothes and shoes before and after I play. I'd like to show up at the court again and just begin playing and sweating. Maybe I should go see the old retired coach.

PP has been vacationing in the warmth of Hawaii and returns tomorrow afternoon. She'll be pleased to see that the average temperature has gained about 25 degrees, but irked that it is still about 45 degrees colder than the big island. That's just how it is.

A football weekend looms, and the Minnesota professional team is still in action. I consider it my social responsibility to watch how they do and be able to converse about the action when necessary next week. Vikings against the Cowboys in the dome on Sunday at noon.