Poets Day US

A great friend of mine recently gave me the book ‘The Last Punisher’ to read (get it and read it when you get a chance, is an excellent book). It is based on some work that the author did in Ramadi with The Legend prior to working on the film about The Legend. If you have no idea whom I am referring to you might also want to read American Sniper, or in most of all y’all’s case watch the movie. Anyways, in the book he keeps referring to the mantra ‘Slow is smooth, smooth is fast’ and I guess that is what this weeks collection of words in disparate order is about. Slow is smooth, smooth is fast is of particular import to operators as it is drilled into them for a reason, you don’t rush into a possible engagement without checking all around you and being cognizant of all the variables of the environment you are in. My mother used to believe that using the slow lane when driving into Auckland from our old house in Manukau was the quickest way to get into town as the slow lane was con

Picture this, the ball spins wide from the breakdown and I see a hole in the defense. I break into full sprint calling the person outside me to back me up as I might not be able to score but if they run good support lines they most definitely will. Just as I kick into full turbo there is a pop, instant nasty pain below my left buttock and I hit the ground as gracefully as a sack of potatoes. I know it’s not good, my buddy asks if I have cramped up but no, not me. A bit like Jean Claude, the famous French Fighter Pilot and lover extraordinaire, when I go down, I go down in flames. Off the pitch I hobble then straight to the Urgent Care at the local Orthopedic, torn hamstring is the verdict so crutches, handicap parking placard and rehab are my not so distant future. It sucks getting old :) None of this should have happened but as I love to say, you can’t fix stupid, and I am a poster child for that statement currently (actually historically and most likely in the future also but l

Recently I was fortunate to experience a power reduction issue at my house – I say fortunate as many people in my area had the power reduction issue coincide with a generous oversupply of water and/or were able to finally answer the question “If a tree falls in a hurricane does it make a sound and will it take out my power for a week?” The weekend started with a hurricane type weather event. I was fortunate to get tickets to NC State vs Notre Dame in Too-Many-Pads Ball. It was a tad wet and we were really lucky we weren’t playing Oregon as they would have killed us – their team being called the Ducks and all (joke explanation inserted for Mum back in NZ). After the game the Monkey and I swam home to the Turtle and her new favorite babysitter, Blonderine (it was a wee bit windy and rainy) and power was still doing it powering stuff thing. However that would not be for long. A few loud crashes in the neighborhood and screams could be heard around the burbs as all of a sudden X Box

I certainly hope it is as I put that down as the reason I am taking my kids out of school for a couple of days to head to Chicago in November, for a couple of cultural events. Friday night is the NZ Maoris vs the USA Eagles – obviously a chance to appreciate the native people from my homeland (Turtle is really looking forward to the Haka) and then Saturday afternoon at Soldier Field the Irish take on the All Blacks in a incredibly culturally significant event as my Pop was Irish and I like beer. A bit like looks, brains and other measurable things not everything is equal. When I ask if a game of rugby is a cultural event one might quickly concede that there are some games of rugby that are not as culturally significant as others. However, as I sit here pondering how I am going to fill out the required number of words to complete my contractual obligation, I realize that in most cases a game of rugby is actually a cultural event, most especially when it is played in the US of Spor