Last weekend was somewhat stressful (for me at least, you'll have to ask them for the real skinny) as Mom and Dad tried to make their way back from Florida. They took the previous week to visit Grandma and Grandpa Erickson and my dad's sister and brother-in-law in Ocala/Orlando respectively. Flying on Sunday is never a good idea when you're flying standby as I have found, but there appeared to be a lull in traveling activity between the spring breakers and summer vacationers. I guess I was wrong. However, I should know that everything in the aviation industry in as unpredictable as a untamed horse. Mom got the last seat from Orlando to Memphis as scheduled, but Dad missed every possible flight out that day. He got a bonus night stay at the Braswell Inn and 10 percent off his spa treatment the next time he's in town, or so I'm told. ;) On Monday, he got a seat on the afternoon flight (first try of the day) but missed a flight from Minneapolis to Des Moines on account of it being oversold. The 7:15 pm flight had seats left and he finally made it home late Monday evening. Thank goodness for coffee or Tuesday's workday might have been scrapped as well.
While working at the airport on Saturday of last week, I ran into a co-worker who had some tickets for the Minnesota Swarm lacrosse game that he wasn't going to use. I had been curious about lacrosse since my roommate, Patric, had started reffing high school and junior high lacrosse games on the weekends. I had seen a few college games on ESPN before, but never been to a game and didn't understand the rules. A classmate from Dubuque had called the night before looking for something to do while he was in the twin cities that weekend and this game was a great solution. I hadn't been downtown for any kind of entertainment since moving here so getting around was an adventure in itself. The Swarm play at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul which is also where the Minnesota Wild hockey team hosts its home games. Indoor lacrosse games are played on the same sized field as a hockey rink only they lay down turf. Can you imagine playing lacrosse on ice? I suppose it would be the same as broom ball. Anyways... There was much more hype about the game than I had expected. It was the last home game for the Swarm and they were already headed for the playoffs. Coincidentally they were playing the Orlando Titans. The game got off to a good start as the Swarm scored in the first 14 seconds! Music clips of popular songs played at nearly every change of possession. There were many families in attendance with what I assumed to be their lacrosse enthusiast sons and daughters. Many carried lacrosse sticks with them like I used carry my baseball glove to baseball games in hopes of catching a foul ball. The dance team performed between periods and mascot Buzz was roaming the stands throughout the game. Near the end of the game they raffled off a custom Ford Mustang to a lucky contestant who appeared to be a die-hard fan. The only disappointment was that the Swarm lost in sudden death overtime.Besides going to my first lacrosse game, this week I purchased my first motorcycle. It's been a fantasy up to this point and now it's finally a reality. Patric rode the bike home for me from Belle Plaine, MN and gave me my first riding lesson. Since then I've been practicing with carpet squares in the cul-de-sac in preparation for the riding skills test. I've received many words of caution from co-workers and friends and I can assure you that I have the utmost respect for this machine. I won't be doing anything stupid because I know the detriment it would have to my career and health. I also know that it's the other guy I have to watch out for. Great words of wisdom from my driver's ed teacher Mr. Murphy and many others. The other words of wisdom I'll never forget: always wear clean underwear.
