If you ever have the opportunity to go to a high school girl’s league swim meet – don’t. Find something less painful like having a root canal, pulling off a fingernail, or listening to a Congressional hearing.
Molly’s swim team had their league meet Friday evening and Saturday afternoon. Over four hours each day. Friday was qualifications. Heat after heat of each event. The top 16 people for each event got to swim Saturday. There were only two heats of each event on Saturday but they held award ceremonies between events. Plus an hour of diving.
Lise and I were press ganged into being timers. The natatorium was packed with very enthusiastic fans. If you blew an event timing they threw you to the angry crowd. It wasn’t pretty.
The noise was deafening. There was a constant background roar but the finish of a close race took it to a new level. I’ve done aircraft carrier operations. This was worse. We couldn’t watch the events because we had to focus on the swimmer in our lane. You could always tell something exciting was happening because the noise level rose to a pitch that forced blood out of your ears. Add to this some heat and chlorine fumes. I could take on hell now.
Molly’s team won the league meet. They beat Grand Ledge, the only team that beat them during regular season meets. So the two teams shared the league title. Apparently the same thing happened last year with the roles reversed. They beat Grand Ledge in the regular meet but Grant Ledge won the league meet.
Molly and teammates.
Molly jumping off the high dive after the meet.
Today we went with Barb down to Jackson County chasing a white-fronted goose. No luck there. Barb needed a trumpeter swan for her Michigan list so we stopped at the Haennle Sanctuary around dusk. No trumpeter swan but a couple thousand sandhill cranes flying into the wetland. Pretty cool.
Ed's and Lise's Biggish Years 