Forbes Forum

The fantastic new playground piece is ready to enjoy. It is very tall, as you can see, designed for older kids. The hope is to add on to it later, too!

This is about what Cheryl's room will look like on the first day of school to her 23 Second Graders. I was going to get a picture of the new playground equipment, but forgot to. It is 40 feet tall with a couple very fast slides, among other things!

VOLUNTEERS OFTEN ARRIVE LATE I noticed a single stalk of corn growing among the remains of irises recently. How it got there, I do not know. Frost will probably kill it before it actually produces kernels.

Uasian Bolt of Jamacia is the fastest sprinter at the Olympics--but not as fast as he could be. Give me an afternoon with him, and I can show him how to shave half a second or more from his time (especially in the 100 meter).
First, I would take away his starting blocks--they are his problem. He is too tall to start all scrunched down like that. His starts are horrible, and it is no fault of his ability or talent. He is simply too tall.
Second, I would have him put his push-off foot as close to the start line as possible with his first step foot very slightly behind it. At the the "set" command, he should crouch slightly and put nearly all his weight on the front foot while leaning forward as much as he can. The back foot would still be on the ground, but only as much as necessary to keep his balance.
At the gun, he would spring forward with a nearly normal running stride, the second step would be normal and the rest of the race would be normal, except he would lead from the start line instead of having to catch up--and his time would be much faster!

As a former sprinter myself, I practiced using this technique, but resistance from my coaches kept me from trying it in a race. In a normal start with blocks, the first step is near the point where the runners head was over the track while in the blocks. A standing start allows for at least a half stride further down the track. In my view, this half stride more than compensates for the "spring" provided by the starting blocks. In the case of a tall sprinter like Bolt, the standing start advantage (and no longer having to raise up the body to get it into running position) provides for an very significant advantage.

Are you listening Mr. Bolt??

Here is a video of Aaron and Evan Muth on Evan's second day of life: It is a little dark, for obvious reasons.

Labels: Aaron holds Evan for the first time.

THIRTY FIVE YEARS AGO......

Today is the anniversary of our wedding. Here are some pictures from that wonderful day. We have enjoyed every minute of those years. God has multiplied blessings to us and has taken us on a fantastic journey--a journey that we hope to continue for decades to come!

WHAT IS THIS PLANT??
This looks like a strawberry plant, until you look closer. The little berry has seeds on the OUTSIDE of the berry, and the inside is white and appears to be only water--there is no flavor. Most of the leaves are just like strawberries (clusters of three), but once in a while, there are four or even five leaves in a cluster. It trails like strawberry. This plant produces berries from June until frost (in my lawn--I just mow them all summer). If it is related to strawberry, it would be really nice if there could be an "ever-bearing" strawberry developed--if the size and taste of real strawberries should be mixed with this plant's productivity.

It has taken a couple of weekends, so far, but we have made some good progress on preparing the Muth's house for siding. The old outside storage area was redesigned to be accessible from inside the garage. That meant replacing the load-bearing wall with a beam (and it is massive, but that was easier than building a standard sized one). The old doors were replaced by a wall, and storage shelves have been built inside. (This will allow Jenny & Michael to put some of the stuff from inside their house in this area, and ready a place for the new baby). We also replaced the back door with a wider one. A few more changes are needed in the garage, but we are about ready for siding.

The last big project of the summer--refinishing the big old comfortable claw-foot bathtub. It had lost it's shine, was pitted and gritty, especially on the bottom. Cleaning was a real chore. Refinishing was a bigger chore--washing three times with a TSP-like cleaner and steel wool. But I think it will be worth it (we will have to wait three days to use it for the first time)--at least it LOOKS like a new tub!

OLD AND NEW!
The ceiling still needs to be repainted, but the "new yellow do" for the kitchen is about done!

TODAY IS THE DAY!!
JENNIFER DAWN FORBES arrived at 1:26 P.M. on August 2, 1979 at Elkhart General Hospital Elkhart, Indiana. She was 20 inches ling and weighed 6 pounds, 15 ounces. She was a precious gift from God then, and she still is today!! WE LOVE YOU!!!
Mom & Dad

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO AARON--BORN JUST A DAY BEFORE MOMMY! Enjoy your day!

HAPPY 29TH BIRTHDAY TO JENNY! Here are some collages of her first 29 years!