Josh had a three pronged approach to his senior session.
First and foremost... East Marshall athletics. Secondly... fandom of the Philadelphia Eagles. And third? A trip to the family Christmas tree farm.
So my mission was set. We went a little out of sequence in order of importance as Mr. Gummert threw on the Michael Vick #7 out of the gate.
In a season that's been rough sailing ever since the team's backup quarterback coined them the "Dream Team" prior to the season... only to see them stumble to a 3-6 start. No matter.... Josh wore the colors... and wore them proud. At the time of his session... it seemed that perhaps this team of dreams was getting things turned around... but in the interim... they dropped a couple more.
Until last night.
I found it kind of ironic that while I was working on Josh's Eagles blend images last night... there they were... on TV... playing against division rival... with #7 out of commission with broken ribs... backs against the wall... and the world counting them out. The guy that authored the Dream Team curse was under center, no less. What happened? Well... I think I could hear the screams and see the fist pumps from across town as the boys from Philly got it done 17-10... So, they're 4-6 now... and without a doubt... they'll need several more in a row to even get back in contention... but for one night... they showed the promise that made them a playoff favorite before the season began.
Second up was the Mustang gear. And I have to tip my hat to Josh here. When your team is bangin' out win after win and has tradition, prestige and glory on its side, getting up for the next game is easy. No doubt the teams that are sitting on that side of the fence have put in their time... and have earned that stature.
But what if you're on the other side of the fence?
Josh plays football, basketball and track... and after enduring the school's worst seasons in school history over the past 12 months, there he was... wearing the purple and gold as if HIS team was 9-0 in football and 21-1 in hoops, instead of the other way around. Just like he was all last winter... and all fall... putting that uniform on again an again, and going out there and giving his best shot... when maybe getting an "injury" or just flat out quitting may be more fashionable.
Sometimes we don't like school... or eventually our jobs... and what do you do? You get up and go anyway. A smart man told me one time that the definition of a man is getting up doing what you're supposed to, even when it might not be fun.
Lots can be learned from winning... but I might argue that the same can be said about about picking yourself up after another loss... Life isn't always perfect... and if character can be built from any of the losing... Josh and many of his friends have gotten their fair share of difficult lessons.
The third prong of our session was saved until the end as we paid a visit to Three Bridges Christmas Tree Farm. Grandpa Larry was out there tinkering around during the calm before the storm. That storm, I believe... starts in just a few days as Thanksgiving usually marks about the time that the family business is... well.... open for business.
Found at 2249 Yates Avenue, north and west of LeGrand, we took advantage of the trees, and what was left of the fall foliage. I also got a bit of tree-business education from Larry, which I found very interesting.
I wish I could tell you that the big delay between session and blog post was my master plan to time things with a bigEagle victory... the cusp of the Christmas tree season, and the beginning of another Mustang basketball campaign, but that wouldn't be honest... I'm just that far behind... but that being said... it worked out pretty good, did it not? :)
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