When I started working at Superpedestrian I was given a new bicycle fitted with a Copenhagen Wheel. Sadly the bike frame was reminiscent of the one used by the Wicked Witch of the West in The Wizard of Oz, which is to say, not really my cup of tea. Today I swapped the wheel onto the bike I bought for myself a couple of years ago. I am now prepared to start riding in earnest and may even be able to keep up with Jeanine on her regular bike. Kyle took it for a test spin around the neighborhood and plans to make use of it when I am not.
I decided to focus on the sculptures I encountered during my morning walk today. All were found on the campus of Boston University which is just across the river from Superpedestrian. Trying to select a 2 dimensional slice of a 3 dimensional object is always a challenge and I found myself wondering what perspective the sculptors would have chosen. Perhaps they would have declined to make a choice at all arguing that the only way to appreciate sculpture is by experiencing it from all perspectives and by sampling the texture, characteristics which do not translate to photography at all.
Bunnies are intrinsically pretty cute. Baby bunnies even more so. This little fellow allowed me to get surprisingly close. Lucky for him, I was not the gardener who planted the flowers on which he was snacking.
This morning team USA faced England for a second time. The score at half time was 1-0 in favor of the UK on a penalty kick. The US played one of their better halves of soccer demonstrating they could hang with one of the best teams in the world. Superior conditioning of the Brits in the second half and the loss of a couple of our players to injury resulted in a 6-0 final score.
All in all, the tournament, the first hosted by the US in more than a decade, was a great success. Team USA continues to show great improvement and promise for the future. Key to our prospects in the World Cup will be a commitment to better conditioning and more frequent opportunities to practice together as a team. The latter has always been an issue of funding which we are starting to overcome with recent grants to the AASA. We are one very generous donation away from developing into a world-class team. Any wealthy followers of this blog or potential team sponsors are encouraged to contact me.
After the closing ceremony Nicolai and I made our way to Space Center Houston where we learned about the history of the NASA space program before heading to the airport for our respective flights home.
The tournament was organized by one of the regional chapters of the American Amputee Soccer Association of which I am the Vice President with local sponsorship and support from the Dynamo Dash Youth Soccer Academy. Responsibility for speaking during the Opening Ceremony fell to me as the senior person present from the AASA and I was more than happy to return to photography as soon as that obligation was satisfied. Below, Nicolai and the captain of the English squad exchange greetings and gifts before what proved to be a thorough drubbing at their hands. To put things in perspective, the UK squad practices with each other as many times in a week as the US team does in 6 months, one of the down sides of living in such a large country and playing a sport with little financial support.
Despite the one-sided outcome, the US played a great match. Nicolai looked strong, relentlessly pounding away at their goal. Our only score came from the US Sled Hockey Gold Medal Paralympian and youngest member of our team, Noah Grove, who struck a beauty from distance over the head of their keeper. The English dominated the remainder of the game amassing a total of 10 goals.
Redemption for the US came during a rematch with Haiti under the lights where we managed a 2-2 tie after giving up a questionable penalty kick early in the game. Nicolai had a nice assist and lovely breakaway goal, shown below, his 14th in international competition.
After a busy morning of work, I jumped on a plane for Houston and then drove to The Woodlands where I arrived with 3 minutes to spare before the opening kick-off of the US Amputee Soccer Lonestar Invitational. This international friendly tournament between the national teams from the USA, England and Haiti is considered a tune-up before the Amputee Soccer World Cup to be held in Guadalajara, Mexico later this year. Nicolai was sporting a new haircut which was a joint effort between himself and his girlfriend Karuna. I thought the look suited him perfectly.
After briefly saying hello to Nico and members of the squad I jumped into my role as team photographer. A complete set of images from the tournament can be found here. A few of my favorites of Nicolai appear below. The US team played better than I have ever seen them before but sadly where not able to overcome a one goal deficit loosing to Haiti by a score of 1-0.
Nicolai’s conditioning was not where it has been in the past and Houston’s intense heat and humidity only added to the challenge. Even so, Nicolai remained a force to be reckoned with on the field and he was generally double teamed any team he got near the goal.
Despite an extremely physical contest, the players have genuine respect and admiration for each other. Once the final whistle has blown confrontations give way to consolations and congratulations.
After an interview with a local TV station which carried coverage of the tournament, the team remained at the field to scout the English squad while I retired to the hotel for a respite from the heat and a nice nap. England destroyed the admittedly now tired Haitian squad by a score of 6-0 which did not bode well for tomorrow’s match with the USA.
I pass the Lincoln Public Library every day on my commute to Cambridge. Today it was decked out with American flags and a lovely wreath. I have no doubt this was done to commemorate Memorial Day which means I have driven past it two times this week without noticing. I often use my commute time to think about design challenges at work which renders me oblivious to anything other than collision avoidance.
The Network for Teaching Entrepreneurs (NFTE) helps foster a future generation of business owners by working with high school students in under-resourced communities to develop the skills needed for success. Each year they sponsor a nationwide business plan competition. Students have 7 minutes to pitch their business concepts and 3 minutes to respond to questions from judges. This evening I had the honor to serve as a judge in the Northeastern Regional Finals which were held at District Hall in the Seaport district. The top prize at this level is $1,500. The top two finishers will advance to the Nationals where the first-place winner will receive $15,000 to be used for their business or for their education.
With the grass in the field behind our house growing taller, a number of deer have taken up temporary residence. Each morning heads can be seen popping up to survey their dormitory. I only spotted two today (see if you can find them in the photo) but I have seen as many as ten before.
Despite an overcast day, Jeanine and I spent the afternoon walking the grounds of the 281 acre Arnold Arboretum located in Jamaica Plains.
The Arboretum was established in 1872 when the trustees of the will of James Arnold (1781-1868), a whaling merchant of New Bedford, Massachusetts, transferred a portion of his estate to Harvard College. Arnold envisioned a park which contained “all the trees and shrubs . . . either indigenous or exotic, which can be raised in the open air. The Arboretum is now part of the famous “Emerald Necklace,” a 7-mile-long network of parks and parkways designed by Frederick Law Olmsted for the Boston Parks Department.
On our drive home we passed through the Chestnut Hill and Fisher Hill neighborhoods where we paused at the Fisher Hill Reservoir Park. The reservoir was built in 1888 to supply water for Brookline and retired in 1970. It was recently transformed into a public park containing a soccer field with spectator seating on the sloped landform, surrounded by various landscapes: a reconstructed woodland, meadow, and wet meadow. The original gatehouse (pictured below) is listed on the National Register of Historic Landmarks.
The New City Microcreamery was voted by Zagat, as one of the 15 hottest ice cream shops in the United States. Located in Hudson, MA, it was our destination for an early evening family outing. The expressions on Maya and Kyle’s faces tell the story as they return to the counter for a second order. Made on-site with locally sourced ingredients flash frozen with liquid Nitrogen, the ice cream lived up to the hype. Fortunately for our belt lines, the shop is located 25 minutes away which should limit our visits to special occasions.
WaterFire centers around a series of nearly 100 bonfires that blaze just above the surface of the three rivers that pass through the middle of downtown Providence, RI. The string of fires illuminates nearly two-thirds of a mile of urban public spaces and parks, as residents and visitors gather to stroll along the river, listening to music and watching performances. Although it seems far away, reaching Providence for Jeanine and I took less time than my commute into Boston. We arrived late in the afternoon and started our visit at the State House where several young ladies were celebrating their Quinceañeras. We then walked along the river and stopped for dinner at an Irish Pub.
The Waterfire festivities were kicked off with a Japanese drumming performance followed by the lighting of the floating bonfires.
At the risk of being overly nostalgic, I am posting another batch of athletically themed images from May 2005. Kyle still plays soccer on rare occasions but can be found weightlifting at the gym everyday. Nicolai still plays volleyball and soccer with the same intensity as he did in his youth. Maya has moved past soccer to ultimate frisbee while Jeanine continues to ride her bike and play tennis. I am approaching the end of my soccer playing days but still share the pitch with more than half my teammates from 13 years ago.
This website is dedicated to sharing, with family and friends, the day-to-day adventures of the Calabria family.
