Starting tomorrow, the North and Central American Amputee Soccer Championship, also known as the Gold Cup or Copa Oro, will be take place in San Juan de los Lagos, México. Teams from the region will compete to qualify for the 2026 Amputee Soccer World Cup, which will be held in Costa Rica. Only two remaining spots are available, and the US hopes to secure one of them.
Today, the tournament pairings were released, and the US will meet Guatemala in the opening match. Nico and Team USA have been training at high altitude in Colorado for the past week to acclimate for the matches that will be played at ~6000 feet above sea level.
Opening ceremonies (Team USA is introduced at 23:20.) were this evening, and it would be safe to say that the city of San Juan de los Lagos goes above and beyond to honor and welcome the participants and, families, and to create an atmosphere of joy within their community. The schedule for Team USA matches is shown below.
Jeanine and I had dinner on the patio this evening while being entertained by a mourning dove in the process of building a nest. (S)he made dozens of trips from the forest floor to the nest, transporting a small twig with each flight. Perhaps we will have baby doves featured in a future post.
On the river, we watch as two fishermen plied the waters. Eventually, they caught this rather large fish. I have asked my expert brother for an identification and will share it when it comes in.
UPDATE: My brother has identified this as a Northern Pike. These fish are apex predators in their ecosystems, playing a role in regulating fish populations. This one looked to be 30 inches and was released back into the river.
This evening we were dinner guests of our good friends Tom and Karen. who live relatively close by in Westwood. Tom was my high school wrestling partner, and we have been friends ever since. When we recently booked an expedition cruise to Antarctica, Jeanine suggested we invite another couple to join us. Remembering a conversation I had with them years ago about such a trip, Tom and Karen were the first people that popped to mind. It turns out they had been contemplating such a trip and decided to book a cabin just down the corridor from us. We could not be more thrilled.
We were surprised to find Tom in an arm sling when he greeted us. Tom is a very strong guy, but not that smart. While riding his bike along a 3-lane highway at 24 mph, he thought he would push the minivan that cut in front of him out of his way by lowering his shoulder and ramming it. The x-ray above illustrates who won that matchup.
After a delightful meal, we all watched a soon to be released movie called “Damned if You Do.” Co-directed by their son Evan, it is about a group of friends who sold their souls to the devil at their high school graduation, who must reunite before their 25th reunion to try and escape Hell’s grasp before the contract’s deadline expires. It is very funny with an unexpected and clever ending.
Jeanine and I enjoyed a mini road trip today, which included a visit to the New England Botanical Garden, the Old Stone Church in West Boylston, and the Moore State Park in Paxton. The photo above was taken in the latter of the Old Saw Mill. I noticed a swirling pattern in the water and am very pleased with the 8-second exposure I took with my camera balanced on a handrail.
The botanical gardens were delightful. Known to Jeanine, who has visited several times, as the Tower Gardens, she did not realize this was where we were going, as I had planned the day’s itinerary. It was my first visit and certainly not my last.
I paused in the “rock playground” to complete the two-stone sculpture pictured below. It was really quite a balancing feat, and I am sure it will not survive even the slightest breeze, but very satisfying to create nonetheless.
My Concord Public Library card expired a few weeks ago on its 20th anniversary. Today, I received a new one with a lovely artistic rendering of the building on the front. When I showed it to Jeanine, she was immediately jealous. Her card is boring by comparison. We checked out several travel books to help further plan several upcoming trips. Ireland and Northern Ireland are on the immediate horizon. Fall has us traveling to Calgary from where we will drive to Banff, Jasper, Waterton, and Glacier National Parks. While there, we will celebrate my 67th birthday and our 35th wedding anniversary.
Nico is currently in Denver doing high-altitude training for the Amputee World Cup Qualifiers to be contested later this month in Mexico. He shared this photo from the weekend, attending a concert in Maine with a friend. After taking care of business in Mexico, he will join the family in Ireland to celebrate the wedding of his cousin Mario.
While Susan and Jean were visiting, I attempted to make pancakes from a box mix. It was a dismal failure. The box tasted better than the pancakes. Later, I learned that the mix had passed its “best used by date” three years ago.
This evening, I redeemed myself with a batch that was squarely in the highly edible range, dare I say yummy. I used the internet to research the best box mixes and ordered the winning brand. While they do not compare to Jeanine’s scratch pancakes, I can make them myself with minimal effort. I served them with fresh strawberries and received an approving smile from Jeanine.
This evening, my soccer team competed in the finals for the over-62 League Championship. We played in South Weymouth, where the air temperature was 84F plus an additional 5-10 degrees that artificial turf fields contribute to the ambient temperature near the ground. About 8 minutes into the game, a player from the opposing team collapsed on the field, having suffered a heart attack. He had no pulse and was starting to turn ashen. Fortunately, one of my teammates is a doctor and immediately took charge of the situation. He barked out orders between breaths as he administered mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. He directed one person to begin CPR, a second to fetch the portable defibrillator we carry with us, a third to call 911, and the rest of us to form a human shade umbrella to keep the sun off him. Within 2-3 minutes the defibrillator was connected and triggered which restarted his heart. His eyes popped open and he became responsive. Ten minutes later, the ambulance and EMTs arrived and took over. It was a very sobering moment for everyone. There is no doubt in my mind that this guy would be dead now if not for the expertise of our doctor, immediate availability of a defibrillator, and the teamwork of all who cared for him.
Both teams agreed to terminate the match and were declared co-champions. We finished the season the an undefeated 10-0-1 record. Not too shabby.
UPDATE:
Leo, the player who collapsed, is going to make a full recovery.
Jeanine hosted a hen party for her friends this evening, one of whom was celebrating her birthday. I was not invited and spent the evening in my office until summoned to take a group photo. Jeanine was laughing uncontrollably, for reasons I hope to discover later, and I was not able to get a “serious” portrait of the group. Having said that, this image captures the mood of the night very accurately.
UPDATE: I have learned the cause for laughter, but have been told I may not publish the details. I can reveal that it involved an unintentional “jeu de mots” during a conversation between Jeanine and her hairdresser about a new employee at the salon.
Jeanine’s sister, Susan, and her partner Jean arrived yesterday and will be staying with us until Saturday. Today, while Jeanine was at a hair appointment that she could not reschedule, I orchestrated an outing to Bonsai West, which has one of the most extensive collections of bonsai trees I have ever seen. Some of the trees are over a hundred years old, meticulously trained and shaped to mimic the appearance of mature, full-sized trees found in nature. It is one of my favorite places to visit, and I was glad I could share it with my sisters.
Maya joined us for dinner and a raucous discussion that we all enjoyed.
The Magellan Explorer is a modern expedition ship custom-built for Antarctic cruises, launched in 2019 and designed to the latest Polar Code specifications with a Polar Class 6 (LR PC6) ice rating for safe polar navigation. It accommodates up to 76 guests in 38 cabins featuring private balconies, individually controlled heating, sitting areas, and bathrooms with heated floors. The ship is 298 feet long, with a beam of 53 feet, and is operated by a crew of 60. Public spaces include a glass-enclosed observation lounge, a spacious dining room with panoramic windows, a library, a gym, a sauna, and an outdoor BBQ area. For wildlife observation and landings, it is equipped with ten Zodiac boats and features two mid-ship gangways for efficient embarkation. The ship’s maneuverability and comfort are enhanced by state-of-the-art stabilizers, bow and stern thrusters, and advanced ice-detecting radar.
It has been a dream of mine to visit Antarctica, and today I booked a 20-day cruise on the Magellan Explorer, which will include stops in the Falkland and South Georgia Islands. We will depart from Punta Arenas, Chile, in late October 2026 (the earliest availability) and return to Ushuaia, Argentina.
With new import policies and taxes on Chinese goods in effect, it has become impossible to buy a new DJI drone in this country. This has led to high demand for used drones and I decided it is a good time to sell my backup.
Kyle believes that selling my backup is guaranteed to ensure that I crash my primary drone. I have to admit that this thought has also occurred to me.
In my mind, I see myself as playing soccer much as I did when I was a younger man. Alas, video of my performance on the pitch does not support such wishful thinking. Our post-season, semi-final playoff match last Sunday was professionally recorded, and I have reviewed the footage several times. Playing it back at 2x speed is what I visualize in my head and approximates the pace at which the game should be played. It also enables me to accurately assess my contributions and mistakes. Fortunately, I played one of my better matches and only gave away the ball once. On the positive side, I forced several turnovers and turned them into dangerous counterattacks, the best example of which is shown in the brief video above (I am in the #2 maroon jersey) . At 66, I am the second oldest player on my over-62 team and I am not sure how much longer my body will allow me to keep playing. All I can say now is that I am reasonably healthy going into the finals next Sunday and have signed up for the 2025 fall season.
It was a good day to review video footage indoors as the outside temperature reached 102F (picture of my car dashboard during my lunch run). I worked in the yard for less than two hours this morning and probably lost 5 pounds in water weight.
This website is dedicated to sharing, with family and friends, the day-to-day adventures of the Calabria family.
