benlog

The title refers to something I am drinking as I write this. Being a fan of egg nog, I was pleasantly surprised by this beverage-like incarnation of said flavor. Quite a bit healthier than the real stuff and much safer than an attempt at making the Real Stuff about a year ago in Oakland.

A while ago I read an article about how to write a good weblog, and one of the tips was to have a really good title to your post. That way your readers know what you are really going to be writing about, instead of when you just come up with some post title that at the time you think is clever or perhaps clever in a tongue-in-cheek way but really gives no clue about what’s going on. I’ve been wanting to write some kind of update about my curling, but just haven’t been able to come up with a good title for a post. With all the letters and cards I’ve been getting from readers requesting an update, though, I do believe it’s time to just jump in and do it, title or no title…

Michigan Man Curls More, Becomes Bespectacled, Has Breakfast

Ferndale, MI - The Detroit Curling Club has seen record numbers of new members this season, and one of those new members is Ypsilanti Township resident Benjamin Levy. Mr. Levy has made reasonable progress with his curling abilities, although his 8 pm Monday team, or “rink” in curling parlance, has yet to win a game. The week before Thanksgiving saw a notable improvement in performance, but that was not continued through to the following week. The Monday night before the Thanksgiving holiday brought with it a drastic reduction in throwing accuracy that carried over to the Wednesday league. As growing frustration practically shut down any positive contribution to his team, the curling future of Mr. Levy looked decidedly dark and gloomy.

The future that wednesday might have been dark and gloomy, but it was for the first time in many years a crisp, sharp, view of the dark and gloomy. Wednesday was the day Mr. Levy donned a pair of carefully crafted spectacles designed to properly focus distant images on the retinal surface of his eyes. The spectacles did nothing for his color blindness and he continues to wear the “warm” red shirt with the “cool” brown pants and think that they go together nicely.

As most dark and gloomy futures do, given the chance, though, soon things would be turned around. The following Sunday an approaching brightness was on the horizon like a knife poised above an easy-over egg ready to cut through and allow the yolk to burst out and run down to meet the potatoes and toast. A breakfast was held at the curling club, and by attending this breakfast Mr. Levy won a bottle of Appleton Estate Jamaica Rum and a tip about his grip on the curling stones that was causing gross errors in judging throwing weight. Just this last Monday, Mr. Levy returned to the curling club to substitute in for a team in the 6 pm draw. Although by no means should much credit be given to Mr. Levy for that team’s 13 to 1 victory, his shots were far more accurate than ever before. His team for the 8 pm draw that night did add another loss to their record, but they were doing far better than the score of that game would reflect.

Mr. Levy looks forward to returning to the ice tomorrow to carry on with his learning. Like the toast that has been touched by the yellow of runny egg yolk, the curling future is a little brighter and a little tastier.