It is quiet.

The long struggle that began in the depths of winter has come to an end. Casey has struck out, Elvis has left the building and the Canucks let the Stanley Cup slip through their fingers, again.

There is a hush over the land. Part depression, part regret, part hangover. But it is real and a pall hangs in the bright summer air. All that is left is for those that so assuredly predicted a Canucks win, first in a sweep, then “this was just a stumble - they’ll do it tonight” and then “sure at Boston but the Canucks never lose at home” to explain to this reporter why they were in fact not wrong. So Vancouver picks up the pieces. Sweeps up the trash. The Canucks organization looks forward to the coming season, but first looks at the last season to try to figure out why the wheels came off so badly.

As someone who has known the Twins, the Vikings, the Trailblazer’s, the Gophers, the Emerald’s, the Ducks, the Willamette High School Wolverines, and the Shasta Jr.High Thunderbirds, losing is familiar territory for me. For those new to this business it’s difficult.

But I think it’s for the better.

You see when you grow up with teams that win, especially those that win all the time you get a warped sense of the real world. Imagine some kid that grows up rooting for the Yankees. Losing for him is a stumble in a marathon of winning. He’ll never know what its like to not stand a chance. He never has to plan for the worst. He does not learn the importance of keeping several irons in the fire because you can’t count on any one of them paying off. He won’t learn how to plan to be ready to bail out early before you get too invested. People that root for strong teams grow up with a warped sense of the importance of sport and of themselves. I think it’s part of the reason that New Yorkers are somewhat known for arrogance. Their teams don’t lose enough. Losing teaches humility. Losing teaches you to always have a plan B.

No, it’s a hard lesson but it’s far healthier that the Canucks did not win. You cannot teach kids too early that every silver cloud has a dark lining. The cavalry usually does not ride up in the nick of time. The long shot normally does not pay off, that's why the call it a long shot. That is the value of losing, you know what it's like. As a coach I had years ago once said “If you ever think you’ve got it sewn up, you will lose. You gotta keep playing right up to the last second because no matter how far ahead you may be, they could still pull it out.” Most losses are predicated on overconfidence and teams that win all the time give their fans a sense of overconfidence.

I suspect that the bankers that caused such a mess in the economy a couple of years ago were Yankees fans.

So, the buyer for our house did the inspection this week and no problems were found. Things seem to be coming together as planned for the new house deal. It’s looking less likely that Barbara is going to have to move. There seems to be an ‘understanding’ developing between her, Dave and the city. All these signs are good. That is why Marsha and I are making plans for what we’ll do WHEN the house deal collapses and Barbara’s on the street. When Plan A is going well it’s time to finalize Plan B.

Expect the worst and you’ll always be pleasantly surprised.

Doug & Marsha

This is what happens when someone gets too wrapped up in sports. They are regretting this I’m sure, If not now, then in about 20 years when they run for office or have kids and this video resurfaces.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/story/2011/06/10/bc-video-canucks-painted-jerseys.html


How comfortable are the "city deer" around here. One decided to plop down in our lawn on Saturday to chew his cud. He was there for around half an hour. When we talked to him out the window he just looked at us.


The Foxglove is in bloom again. We have a whole patch of them now.