Michael Phelps?

Hey guys,

I've been doing a lot of family oriented activities lately. I've decided to enjoy spending a little time with my folks-mainly my dad lately. That means I do things that he likes to do. So I've been watching football,baseball,and the Olympics. When you're not knowledgeable about a sport-it helps to have a patient guy who'll explain things to you. I learned yesterday what a red zone is(it's when the ball is within 20 yards of the goal(football). This means your within scoring distance and if it's 4th down your definitely going for a field goal attempt(3 points). We also watched volley ball,track,basketball and swimming in the Olympics. Now I'm not an avid watcher of the Olympics but-like I said when in Rome...-I did however want Michael Phelps to succeed. It was a great race and I totally got into it. He is awesome in the water. You can't watch him and not admire his strength and tenacity. People may say a lot of bad things about America and Americans but I'm still proud to be an American(segue to Lee Greenwood). Not the snooty I'm better than you kiss my grits America-but I'm more of the I'm great and It's okay if you're great too America. The weird thing is most of the people who are competing against Americans train in America. All of the track and field stars-America-cycling-America. So I refuse to be down on our country because of some weird anti Americana vibe. We're not all truck driving-gun rack having-American and/or confederate flag flying-patriots. Some of us are just proud of the level of excellence our athletes compete at. So I encourage you to spend sometime with the family. It's been fun to talk with my dad and learn from him. It's kind of like peeking into the mind of a guy and trying to figure out how they see things. I'm starting to like sports more now that I understand them better. I may never get into golf(boring as watching paint dry) but I'll know what an RBI is (runs batted in). I'll cherish these memories for years to come.

Des

P.S. Go USA!!!!!