Monthly Archives: October 2009

October 31, 2009 · 7:29 pm

Cape Ann League Cross Country Winners are Hamilton-Wenham (Girls) and Newburyport (Boys)

NHS start 10-31-09

Newburyport runners listen for the starter’s gun as Coach Hennigar watches from behind

A perfect afternoon at Bradley Palmer State Park on Saturday afternoon for the Cape Ann League cross country championships.  Perfect, that is, for the spectators.  I doubt that the runners were thrilled with the mid-60s, sun, and gusty winds they encountered.

The regular season champions both delivered as the Hamilton-Wenham girls swept both JV and varsity events while the Newburyport boys also had a pair of team championships.

Neither team had the winner in the varsity events but that fact didn’t keep the winners from posting convincing victory margins.

The Clipper depth carried them to the CAL championship.  Sean Hickman finished seventh and was followed in short order by Chris Suprin (9th), Greg Englehart (10th), Keith Conway (11th) and Brian Morse (12th).

The next cross country event is the state championships on November 14th at Franklin Park.  Class enrollment becomes a factor in this one, and Newburyport will move away from some of it’s CAL competitors and drop to Division 4.  Two NHS teams won state championships last school year – girls’ soccer and boys’ hockey.  Maybe it’s the cross country boys’ turn?  Their depth might be the ticket to the title.

Rachel Rikeman got 10th in the JV meet to pace Newburyport girls while  John Stancel and Matt Getz finishing one-two in the JV race.  The other top-five members for the winning Clipper’s JV team were Owen Williams, Ian Wood, and Ryan Kell from right to left.

Alanna Poretta of Pentucket owned the varsity race.  No one was near her when she came past the starting line and at the finish; she was nearly a minute better than the second place HW girl was.

In the boys varsity meet, Ipswich’s Greg Krathwohl trailed a North Andover runner on the trip past the starting line but later was the first to come out of the woods.  Greg had plenty left at the end and ended up 30 seconds ahead.

Steve Sawyer was named coach-of-the-year for both of his HW teams.  My wife and I traveled with him in Europe in 1968 and he will not deny it.

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October 27, 2009 · 6:00 pm

Newburyport Boys’ Cross Country Team Undefeated In Regular Season

October 27th (Tuesday) – At Woodsom Farm in Amesbury, I saw the Newburyport boys’ cross country team complete an undefeated (12-0) season in the Cape Ann League.

Host Amesbury provided little opposition, in fact the way the Clipper runners were grouped together; it looked like a training exercise especially at the front. 

Matt Getz trimmed 10-27-09

Senior Matt Getz leads eight Newburyport runners across the finish line

The local paper, which I suspect viewed the race from Liberty Street, had all the runners finishing in first in some sort of blanket finish.  My photo, taken at the finish line, would suggest otherwise.  The winner was clearly Senior Matt Getz.

The local paper also listed the eight tied for first as; Matt Getz, Brian Morse, Sean Hickman, Ryan Clark, Greg Englehart, Chris Suprin, Chris Jayne, and Keith Conway.  Again referencing my photo from the finish line, I see Matt Getz (who clearly was the winner) and EIGHT runners behind him.  Someone was left off the local paper’s list.  I wonder whom?  I’ll post it here if someone sends the info to my email address – 85peterjulie17 at gmail dot com. 

Matt Tolley raced off to the early lead.

Coach Don Hennigar told me at NHS on Thursday that he thought that this was the first undefeated boys team he’s had since 2003. 

Newburyport cross country girls finish 10-27-09

left to right - Maddie Cutrone, Merri Adsit, Kiley Knowlton, and Renee Angelo finish first together at Amesbury

The Clipper girls were just as dominating versus Amesbury.  Four Clipper runners took the lead together early and ran that way (training workout style) the entire way.  I wouldn’t attempt to pick a winner even using my photo of the finish. 

The big event for these teams is Saturday (October 31st) afternoon at Bradley Palmer Park.  This would be the Cape Ann League championships.  The varsity teams run at 2PM (girls) and 2:30PM (boys). 

I expect that the boys will be severely tested by both Masco (11-1) and Hamilton-Wenham (10-2). 

The young Clipper girls completed the regular season at 5-7 and may surprise some folks at Bradley Palmer. 

Look for pictures and a recap to show up on this blog on Saturday (October 31st) in the evening.

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October 24, 2009 · 7:33 pm

Tom McLaughlin Rocks

Tom McLaughlin 10-24-09I happen to enjoy Tom McLaughlin’s weekly column in The Bridgton News.  Wow, that’s a novelty, or at least it seems so based on the regular letters-to-the-editor the BN lists.

When I read what his critics have to say I cannot help but wonder if these folks aren’t also the same ones regularly preaching “tolerance.”  Maybe their “tolerance” is only for those they agree with.

President Obama seems to have a similar problem.  He doesn’t like Fox News.  Why?  I think it’s because Fox News raises aggravating questions and presents information that puts the current administration in a bad light.

Tom doesn’t hesitate to do the same.  In the October 22nd edition, he belittled the Harvard educations of Al Gore and Barack Obama. That’s not what folks want to read if they’re convinced that a Harvard education exempts a person from scrutiny from the rest of us.  

Some call Tom’s writings, “right wing rants,” minus any explanation or knowledge of what that might mean.  They’re a bit like the elementary school student who hears a word on the bus, drops it into the family conversation at supper, and wonders why his mom returns with a bar of soap. 

Some of Tom’s critics in the BN readership do know what they’re writing about, so reasoned opinions differing from Tom’s are found very regularly among the letters-to-the-editor.  Thus to suggest that the BN is one-sided means that the critic either doesn’t read the letters-to-the-editor or else doesn’t know what a left wing point of view sounds like.

Tom McLaughlin is entitled to his opinion and thankfully the BN provides him with a weekly forum to do just that. 

On another note, I’m not at all surprised that the BN receives awards for their photos – they are excellent. 

I am also pleased to see that the BN is developing an online website that will enable folks from afar to keep up-to-date on Bridgton and its surrounding towns.  Keep up the good work!

( Sent as a letter-to-the-editor to The Bridgton News )

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Filed under Barack Obama, Bridgton News, President Barack Obama, Tom McLaughlin

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October 12, 2009 · 7:09 pm

Obama Wins the Prize

Wins the 2009 Nobel Peace prize

Wins the 2009 Nobel Peace prize

An area National Football League fan would have perspective on President Obama getting the Nobel Peace Prize.

How, you ask?  Try to picture The Five Norwegians (AKA – Nobel Peace Prize committee members) being in the New England Patriots locker room before a New England Patriots game.  The visitors listen as Coach Bill Belichick goes over strategy for the game and hear his pep talk at the end.  They watch the staff and players, and see and hear how confident they become as the coach’s words echo throughout the locker room.  They see the team leave for the field all seemingly convinced that they will succeed.

The Five Norwegians observe all this and conclude that instead of playing the game the team should give Coach Belichick the game ball right now.  His words were clearly inspiring and those on the team were sure to win the game as a result. 

Ridiculous!  Who gives out the game ball before the game is played?  The pre-game talk may lead to success, but who is to know until the game is actually played whether the coach’s words led to a victory.

The Five Norwegians thought that Obama had accomplished enough in his first two weeks as President to deserve the prize.  They obviously relied heavily on Obama’s pre-election rhetoric when making their choice.  Did they have anything beyond words to go on?

In another NFL connection, think about the red hanky each coach gets for an NFL game.  If something does not seem right during the game, the coach tosses the red hanky onto the field and this leads to the referees looking at a video replay and attempting to make necessary corrections.

Imagine that each of us gets a red hanky. If something goes on that we do not think is right, we can toss that red hanky into the air as a way of showing our disapproval.

Now imagine that the announcement is made that President Obama is the winner of the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize.  Would it be accurate to suggest that: (1) most of us would be reaching for the red hanky and (2) the resulting color display would put an end to “The Hunt for Red October?”

Two other questions – Is the current buying frenzy of scrapers the result of; (1) the sudden need some folks have to remove Obama/Biden stickers from their vehicles or (2) the realization that a severe winter is fast approaching and not global warming, as Al Gore and the easily led seem to believe.

( Appeared in the Newburyport Current on October 16, 2009  and the Newburyport Daily News on October 20,2009 )

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October 7, 2009 · 6:31 pm

Using a Video Called, “The Gospel of John,” as Part of a Devotional

A wonderful way to see and hear what the Gospel of John is all about.

A wonderful way to see and hear what the Gospel of John is all about.

“The Gospel of John” video is terrific.

I came upon it recently when I caught a part of it on TBN. My interest was piqued and a Google search followed.

I discovered via Google that someone had taken the time to put the 129-minute video into nineteen (ten-minute) installments on the internet.

With a little bit of work I was able to figure out what sections of the book of John are in each of the 19 installments and create a coordinated list.

Once I had the list created, I could read/study a particular portion of John and then view the video version of that passage. 

Along the way, I discovered that the “Gospel of John” video follows the New International Version almost word for word.  That was refreshing since most books and movies aren’t like that.

Seeing the video, after studying the portion of John it presented, gave me insights that I wasn’t getting from just reading/studying the selection. 

There was no attempt in the video to supply answers to “What does He mean?” verses and sections.  You just get the Scripture as it is. 

I found the video to be informative, enlightening, and inspiring. 

I came away with a much clearer idea of the relationship Jesus had with the Pharisees.  He never stopped calling them out for full exposure.  That they plotted to kill Him comes as no surprise after watching His collection of encounters with them in this video. 

The toughest part to watch was the crucifixion. It wasn’t because of what they showed rather it was what you heard and knew was going on that was troubling ………. but in a necessary way. 

The most moving part, for me, was the coverage of John 17 in which Jesus prays for Himself, His disciples, and for us believers.

Philip Saville is the director of “The Gospel of John” and the actor portraying Jesus is Henry Ian Cusick.  There is plenty of narration and Christopher Plummer is extraordinary in that capacity.

I recommend the following nineteen-day devotional: first read the portion of John covered in the video and then watch the video itself that covers that section. 

Those having doubts about the videos should try one out.  Do a Google search on – “elmo 066 gospel of john the movie, part whatever (choose a number 1-19)”.  In front of the “66” is a zero. View the video with the appropriate Scripture handy and I suspect you will see the same possibilities I did.

Here are the video part numbers and the sections of John they represent:
 1  – 1:1-1:39
 2  – 1:40-2:14
 3  – 2:15-4:3
 4  – 4:4-4:54
 5  – 5:1-5:47
 6  – 6:1-6:68
 7  – 6:69-8:6
 8  – 8:7-9:2
 9  – 9:3-10:5
10 – 10:6-11:20
11 – 11:21-11:57
12 – 12:1-12:47
13 – 12:48-14:1
14 – 14:2-16:7
15 – 16:8-18:5
16 – 18:6-19:8
17 – 19:9-19:37
18 – 19:38-21:8
19 – 21:9-21:25

I would certainly be interested in any feedback that you might offer – 85peterjulie17 at gmail.com

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