L'aura del Campo

Ticos lose. Groups B,C,D. Hot!

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          SPRING: 5 Nur (9 June)          

          Let the games begin!          

Weather where I am: 92º and hot.
Weather in Cambridge Springs, Pennsylvania: 64º.
Weather in Munich, Germany: 68º and perfect!

Perfect for the Germans that is! They defeated my beloved Ticos 4-2. But ... can't expect the home team to lose this early on.

Hot here, may hit 97

It is hotter than ... but there is a lot of a/c in this here town !

Steaming.

I must make some things clear to the people I associate who are trying to 'help' me. Helping me does not include asking me to place myself in a position that is not mentally nor emotional nor physically healthy for me. Arnell and I need to clarify this.

Places where people yell, bang, argue, scream, fight, do drugs, etc. are not where I need to hang out. When I feel trapped in this type of place, I need to leave. No amount of money or sincere apologies are going to make me stop shaking once my nerves go. So I say NO!

And people don't like to hear the word no ... they assume that I am too stupid to know what is best for me. That if it works for others it should work for me. 'Tain' happenin' cuz I don' play doz games.

Yesterday, me and Arnell went for a nice ride to a visiting town. With a small university and a population under 5k it seemed quiet and pleasant. The streets downtown were brick and there is an apartment for rent over the antique store where three cats (yellow, white, black) live. They meowed at me through the glass. I got a latté at the coffehouse next door which has wireless!

Could I live in a small town again? Yep. Especially since it would be close enough to the BIG town for forays when necessary.

IMAGES

Baldwin:

Three cats (black, gold, white); a city of alleys; an eight sided bench beneath a red oak tree; a pot of portulaca; cotton in the air; petunias; 84º at 10:18.

Vermont Station:

blue hydrangea; a flaming Jayhawk (by Celia Heintz); lights on before dark; the japanese maple in shadow; a squirrel flying from the bench to a tree, squawking (crying?) down at me.

Under the Co-op

What grim elevator looms above these tracks?
As paint flakes off, is scoured by dust,
this lack of energy defines me,
my inner angst, my faint chipped heart.
I try to move on like the town
that once grew roots here.
In response, the silence of the weeds
among the gravestones greet me and I
stare at tracks where no train's passed for years. [163.183]

Now before I bore you-all, go read Charles the C's good news: "Invalid Entry" 

Love ya Nada! Leave a comment, nothing beyond here to read

My take on the World Cup!

Since I have no inside information and because I'm lousy at predicting sporting events, consider this inept attempt amusing .

Group B:

England (10), Sweden (16), Paraguay (33), Trindad (47).

Everyone will be looking for the English to lose. That said, the Swedes have lost their goal tender for the first and maybe second game. If they need to win against England in the end, it could get messy. Paraguay is the loose cannon in this group. Their play in qualifications was brilliant, awful or whatever. They can win or lose to anyone, even Trinidad which may be overwhelmed against three teams that on paper are much better than them.

ENG 2:0 PAR          SWE 2:1 TRI
SWE 1:2 PAR          ENG 4:0 TRI
SWE 1:0 ENG          PAR 1:1 TRI

With Sweden (sighing relief) and England advancing. Paraguay talks about the should've beens and Trinidad thanks everyone for the invite.

Group C:

Netherlands (3), Argentina (9), Côte d'Ivoire (32), Serbia-Montenegro (44).

Two big powerhouses, a dangerous team from Africa and a nation that will no longer exist ... The emotions for Serbia-Montenegro could deep-six them. Over-emotion could sideline the Ivoirians also, but they have underachieved getting here. Will they arise to the occasion? The Dutch and Argentinians are legit and have a few axes to grind between them.

NET 3:0 SCG          ARG 2:2 CIV
ARG 5:0 SCG          NED 2:1 CIV
ARG 2:1 NET          CIV 4:0 SCG

Argentina wins and The Netherlands advances. Côte d'Ivoire proves itself and Serbia goes home disheartened.

Group D:

Mexico (4), Portugal (7), Iran (23), Angola (57).

Angola is out of its league, but it gets to play Portugal and that could end in a tie if Portugal is not careful. Iran is the wild card here. They have a good team but a political controversy is following them into the tourney and that is never good. Also, Asian teams have rarely done well. Mexico is legit, but they are playing in Europe and in a much cooler climate than home at this time of year.

MEX 2:1 IRA          POR 1:1 ANG
MEX 4:0 ANG          POR 0:0 IRA
POR 2:1 MEX          IRA 3:2 ANG

Mexico wins and Portugal advances. Iran proves itself and Angola makes a point.