happy independence

july 4 2006.

i woke up this morning to patriotic music and the aroma of bacon.

let's just say the 4th of july parade in wheaton was an experience. Coach "Trippy" Rick McKinley, the director of Chicago Eagles Academy, owns an antique home on Main Street. From his porch we had box seats to the biggest moving advertisement in Wheaton. Now I know what governor to vote for, which grocery store to shop at, what garbarge company to use, what community clubs to become a member at, what softball or soccer team to sign my daughter up for, what radio station to listen to, which school to send my kid to, which church to attend, and on and on and on.

I was perusing the John's Christian Bookstore with my home-stay and my nose found a book on the best-seller wall titled, "Death by Suburb". Have you heard of it? It took me a mere 3 pages in to find out that the author was a resident of Wheaton, ANNND the book was about Wheaton. Courageous. I also learned that this quaint little town ranks in the nation's top 99% of best quality of life. After living here for about only a week I can vouge for that. Unfortunately, I only took a few nibbles of the first chapter before I noticed my party was at the check-stand. I hope to meet its acquaintance once more some time soon.

Chris and Kelly Bergmann, new coaches at TIU - where I will be attending in the Fall - , stopped by at the McKinley's for the parade as well. Having all my hope'sters around made me feel like I was at home - well my college home =). After the parade we hung a German flag on the porch and all crammed in the 15ft space to watch the semi-final. Italy won. Boo.

A handful of us thought we would be adventurous and took the grandmothership (15 passenger van driven Coach Grandma - may deserve a detailed post at a later date) to the new Toyota Park, home of the Chicago Fire (for those who are unfamiliar, an MLS - major league soccer - team). We had sweet seats, a handful of rows up from the 50-yard line - thanks to Seth. The match was against the Kansas City Wizards. It was flat. I suppose that might have been because we compared it to the World Cup games that have invaded our lives within the past month. The Fire won 1-0 by a bicycle kick in the penalty area - sweet. After the match the park put on a respectable firework presentation - so I was happy.


Random Dialogue Highlights
Me - "I think that guy may have actually made it to a sprint"
KB - "And we wonder why the USA couldn't get past group play"
Tim - "I guess I can't blame Bruce Arenas for benching Eddie Johnson"
Nik - "Oooooh - he completed a pass!"
Me - "How about the goon up top?"
Nik - "He was in the 6-yard box 3 times and he had no clue what to do with it!"
Jess - "Doesn't he remind you of Kyle?"
Me - "It took him 74 minutes to pull #11"
KB - "In the MLS the players make the calls"
Tim - "The european teams could switch the ball right to his feet from there"
KB - "The super-sub has done more in 10 minutes time"
Seth - "We had to go to a game to see a firework show"
Me - "Hey, #11 is from Eugene!"