Book Review: Cycle of Fire by Hal Clement

This was a similar read to the previously reviewed “Total Eclipse” in that it really belongs as a short story or novella than a full work.

The story revolves almost exclusively around two individuals, one human, one an alien, who are “shipwrecked” on part of a planet from where they need to return to a safer location. They go through the typical marooned issues—food, distance, environment, communication, and so on. Eventually they encounter a full civilization of other “aliens” with which they interact and need to figure out as well as these other “aliens” overseers.

It all reads as a very Star Trekky endeavor and like “Total Eclipse” there is a global mystery that must be worked out. Its all pretty rudimentary and neither the plot nor writing are particularly complex. As a work for teens it may spark some thinking and interest. As a work for adults its a bit of a slog to get through as you keep waiting for something to actually happen or some revelation of interest to appear. Its back cover of course compares it to Robinson Crusoe but it carries none of the depth of description nor weight of loss of hope. This is a fairly lesser work of 70’s SciFi and can be passed by without loss.

Book Review: Storm of Steel by Ernst Junger

Picked this up as one to read to cover some of the classic recounts of WWII and WWI. This one from the German POV of trench warfare was written by a man who would go on to become considered one of Germany’s leading philosopher’’s of the 20th century. He also had an incredible record of being involved on the front lines of many of the major battles of WWI and somehow surviving.

Wounded more than half a dozen times, receiving numerous medals from on high, and advancing through the ranks without becoming disconnected from them, Junger has the firsthand experience to relay to the reader just what those experiences were like in all their dirty horror. Unfortunately, whether it is due to translation or the actual author, the work doesn’t carry the weight or clarity I expected. A similar book in its POV would be the WWII memoir The Forgotten Soldier covering a German’s recount of the retreat from Russia. This second noted work is fantastic and written with the deft hand of a novelist whereas (for whatever reason) Storm of Steel reads more like a dry journalist’s recount of dates and times without connection between the events that are relayed.

Merely stating “I went here, there were lots of shelling, we hid in a trench, 3 of my soldiers were killed, we left and spent time in town X for three days” and then a few pages later relaying “We then moved to the Somme were things were really bad and the shelling was really bad with parts of shells flying all over” doesn’t do much for me. Nor is there much higher level strategic review…there is no concept here of how the events related connect to the war overall or where each action fits into ongoing efforts. It also didn’t offer me much in the way of new info on the front line soldiers experience. We all know the trenches were wet, filled with bodies and rats, and a terribly miserable experience on both sides. There just weren’t any true revelations here, nor were the rudimentary day to day events of trench warfare relayed in a manner that is either more clear or more emotionally impactful. As I stated…this is no work of a brilliant novelist, it is just a minimally massaged diary of day to day drudgery.

I do lay some of the blame here at the foot of the translators and the editor and printer. The number of typos and just plain wrong word usage in the version I had were terrible. Every page (almost literally) had errors I had to go back and reread or reform in order to make sense. Given the work is of an age it lies in the public realm, the version I consumed was likely poorly put together and some of my dissatisfaction is in the effort to quickly produce a cheap version for Amazon sales. Perhaps other versions were better…perhaps not.

End recommendation? Go read The Forgotten Soldier and spend time somewhere other than this.

Interesting...

Since this little project seems to be moving forward I figure I’ll document it here over time. At this point I’m not going to detail what it is, where it is being worked on, or what it will intended to be. Why? Well, when I built my first rally car some 10 years ago and I mentioned what I was doing, all I got was grief from every corner.

“you can’t build a truck for rally, its stupid!” “don’t do it, it will suck and you’ll hate it” “just buy a used one that is already built, you’ll be better off” “you can’t build it to both rally and desert racing specs” “that cage is all wrong, you need to cut the whole thing out and redo it” and on and on and on and on…Turns out though? I saw it through, it came out great, performed fantastic and provided over 10 years of adventure and enjoyment from the tip of Nova Scotia to the end of the road in Baja. Can’t beat that with a stick.

So this time we’ll just keep it fairly quiet and only get to revealing it when done. Along the way though…because I am excited about it, I’ll reveal a bit at a time and let those who actually visit here put it together (should be few enough of those). So for now…I’ll just provide non-specific updates on it from time to time.

For now we are in parts gathering mode for the project. Which is what you see so far below…

Windham Varsity Football vs. Pinkerton 9/3/22

That was a great opening game for the Jaguars. Yes, it was a 28-27 loss, and there are no moral victories…but it was a game they SHOULD have won against a significantly superior (in terms of size, strength, bench depth, school population, resources, etc.) team. A handful of errors resulted in a game that got away. After going 1-7 last year, the moment almost appeared too big for Windham.

Tiger An has clearly been in the gym all year and is a force at running back for Windham who needs the solid play from its RBs in order to compete and eat clock in the face of faster teams with more advanced offenses.

The too big moments? I’ll point to 10:22 left in Q2 with the situation Windham in a 4th and one situation when driving into Pinkerton territory. The play didn’t get called in time and resulted in a delay of game penalty making it 4th and 6…but still the offense wasn’t on the same page and had to call a timeout…and out of the timeout? A shanked punt…not what the Doctor ordered.

Further giveaways to Pinkerton included a pick-6 on the first pass of the game, a lack of fielding anyone to return punts or even just down the ball (leading to numerous “free” yardage given to Pinkerton), a failed 2-point attempt late in the game that would have given Windham (in theory) the win. Look, I get it…you’re home, you’re the underdog, you are lucky to even be in the game, anything else is gravy…But for goodness sake…even if you get the 2 points and tie it, Pinkerton would have had at least one or two more shots at scoring anything to come away with the win. And Pinkerton KNEW what was coming…Windham hadn’t shown an ability to throw but had succeeded in wearing down the defensive line of Pinkerton in the hot weather. Everyone there knew it was going to be a Tiger An run…and sure enough…stuffed. Poor play call to go for two, poorer still to tip your pitches.

But that wasn’t it…Windham still wasn’t done. Their Defense stood up Pinkerton on the next possession (again, inexplicably kicking a low roller which they had done all day and giving up 30+ yards of field when Cole Yennaco gobbled the ball up—yeah, you can say it was an “onsides kick” but really? Windham hadn’t actually kicked a kickoff all day soooooo….) in a much needed three and out…

Having the ball back with about 4+ minutes left, Windham went back to the ground and drove down to about the Pinkerton 35 with 2 1/2 minutes to play…surely all they needed to do was to keep running and running and at the worst have a fieldgoal attempt for the win or maybe catch a good run from Tiger or QB scramble for the win…but no…another unforced error with a QB fumble turned the ball over and ended the day.

An excellent effort all around coming back from 14-0 in the first half to go toe-to-toe with Pinkerton for three quarters of play showing no quit. Now if just the details can come together, they may have something.

Tunisia Trip: Final Days

So my final two days of being in Tunisia included a brief half hour ATV ride in the desert followed by an offroad excursion to a camp in the desert for an overnight stay. This was one of the most impressive parts of my trip. Being so remote in the Sahara is always incredible. The lack of sound and remote light sources is unusual in the human world. The tent in which I stayed was super hot—just as it was when I stayed in a tent in Morocco a few years ago. Its far better to sleep outside of any heavy structure in the open air. The next morning followed a reverse offroad path out of the desert and then visiting an underground home that is still commonly used by locals for environmental and security reasons while finishing up with visiting the Star Wars bar locale. A long drive back to Tunis included a final lunch with my guide for the prior few days and a hotel stay for one night in the heart of the city near the famous Tunis Medina which warranted a visit as well. Then it was off for home. A great trip overall. A bit disappointing in the are that locals take of their own natural and historic resources. I’m a bit Africa’d out at this point. There are a few “bucket list” items I’d return for (Luxor, climbing Kili, overlanding in Namibia) but in truth I’m more interested in visiting other continents and cultures hoping to find a bit more positive environment.

Tunisia Trip: Camels, Mos Espa, and more...

Well, these photos here are of the last part of the journey through southern Tunisia before heading deeper into the Sahara to spend a night in the dunes. After visiting a few oasis and Mides Canyon we crossed a one of the largest salt lakes in the world (far bigger than the “Great Salt Lake” in the US) as well as some two hours of “off piste” driving where no roads but the tracks of those who came before lead the way.

We also plunged down into some smaller dune sections where the Mos Espa set from Star Wars is located. Oversold in terms of what it is, Lucas and company built the set and then abandoned it much like other filmmakers have done with what you see here of a “castle” that was done for a different film. Not much thought is given to what happens to these things after the filming is wrapped. In the case of the castle it is left to rot in the middle of nowhere, falling apart, adding to the garbage in the desert and attracting others to leave garbage with it. In the case of Mos Espa, a junkyard of hangers on and the destitute surround it trying to hawk their wares to tourists and offering a moment with a Fennec Fox on a leash for a few pennies. The items that looked like “machines” in the movies are just plywood spraypainted grey and the buildings just chickenwire plastered with mud. Again, all of it left to decay in the sun and quite the sad site to see.

Camels abound in this area and are not “wild” in the sense that they are in theory owned by local herders and they reportedly return to their home pens on a regular basis. They are not fenced in however and wander the desert in herds and only allow unknown humans to approach within about 30-50 yards or so before rambling on.

After these stops it was off for an evening spent in a tent in the Sahara.

Tunisia Trip: Dar Horchani, Mides Canyon, Chebika

After the visit to El Jem early in the day it was then off for a good 3 hour ride to where I would spend the night which happened to be in a little place called “Dar Horchani” which is more than a hotel but less than a bed and breakfast. It was wonderful however and my guide and myself were literally the only ones staying the night. I had the pool to myself and cats roamed the dirt alleys. Just a perfect little resting spot in the middle of the desert.

The following day it was up and off for a tour of a number of oasis, canyons, dunes, and more…it was to be a rapid fire visit to numerous locations. Chebkia oasis was where scenes from the English Patient were filmed among other movies. It really is remarkable to watch clean water springing from a rockface and causing acres and acres of sandstone to sprout palm trees and life. Deep in the middle of a 110 degree heat was to be found a grassy pool with frogs swimming about. There were a few of these to visit and then it was off to Mides Canyon which is right on the Algerian border and was the most impressive natural feature of the day. Deep and vertical, the canyon is not quite a “slot” canyon and more “eroded” than carved as one might get in Utah sandstone it begged for longer exploration along its bottom where you could hear birds and other animal life chirping among its cooler and wetter depths.

Tunisia Trip: El Jem and Hammamet Beach

Hammamet Beach I visited on the same day I visited Dougga and is about an hour and a half south of Tunis. The beach which in Tripadvisor and elsewhere is described as one of the best beaches in Tunisia and in other locations as one of the best in the world was far short of the expectations created by those printings. I guess its a “clean” beach for Africa as I’ve been on worse in Ghana and elsewhere in Africa but it is a literal dumpster compared to American beaches. Watching mothers handhold their 6 year olds as they defecate in the sand is not an advertisement for visiting, nor are the heaps of bottles and assorted refuse that line every waterline. The water itself? Warm and pretty clear given its the Med but I sure wouldn’t want to test what is in the water.

El Jem was the first stop on my three day wandering around other parts of Tunisia with a guide and driver. It is the third largest Roman colosseum in the world and the best preserved despite 1/3 of it having been blown away by cannons in conflict long after the Romans had departed. It is also the location for the filming of many Gladiator scenes that should look familiar. Reportedly capable of holding some 30,000 spectators it is a wonder of the ancient world with cages for the animals and gladiators under the floor of the colosseum and stairways leading up to the 90+ foot heights where the poor would be relegated to watch the spectacles. It, like Dougga, is a UNESCO World Heritage site. Unfortunately this site is far more well known and visited and the Tunisians do it no favors. In the West, such a resource and monument would be protected and cared for and visitors would treat it with a sense of respect (at least generally, yes there are knuckleheads who deface things and leave trash behind, but are of a far more rare event). Here? Again…every knock and cranny is filled with trash…every reachable sandstone block is defaced with carvings and modern scrawl etched into the soft stone. It was disgraceful and materially ruined my feelings. Its monumentally impressive…there is nothing like it and stands as another testament to the brilliance of Rome some 2000 years ago…but is being destroyed by those who should benefit the most from its continuing existence.

The ACAB photo here? From the streets leading to Hammamet beach showing that ANTIFA is just glomming on to old communist, socialist, terrorist garbage…The ACAB graffiti was common throughout Tunisia and all dating to well before the Arab Spring events as this photo indicates. In America, our educated but idiot class is not even original in their stupidity…they just copy from other global morons and call it their own.

Tunisia Trip: Dougga

Just going to separate the various locations I visited while in Tunisia along with the associated photos and comments.

Dougga was my first location visited and I rented a car to get there as I did not have an accompanying guide. Renting a car in Tunisia was easy. Just headed to the airport, grabbed the VW Polo or something or other and off I went. Time from Tunis to Dougga was a couple hours of steady driving. Highways and side roads were all well maintained. I encountered one checkpoint at which as soon as I said I was an American and going to Dougga, I was waived on.

The site itself lies in the countryside with no real major towns immediately near it and is surrounded by olive trees and other agriculture. Much of the site still lies buried under the farmland and owned by private parties and has not been excavated. What has been uncovered is phenomenal. A city of thousands in both Berber and Roman rule it contains architecture from many influences. Homes, theaters, temples, marketplaces, wind dials, baths, brothels, theaters, aqueducts, sewers, cisterns…all remain in identifiable forms after 2000 years. Inscriptions are legible, statues intact (except for the heads of course as each time there was a new Caesar, the head would need to be replaced). The most impressive mosaics and statues have been carried away to the national Bardo museum in Tunis but the larger elements remain for view and exploration. Allowing at least 2 hours for a visit is advised as it is a large complex—the entire town is essentially walkable and can be “touched” by a visitor today.

The city itself on a high hill and surrounded by armed and visible outposts was less subject to violence than Carthage or other locations which helped preserve it then and its more remote location protects it from trampling today. I was accompanied on my visit by only a handful of others in my several hours. The site also suffers from less of the garbage and carelessness of the local visitors as other sites would reflect in my other stops.

Book Review: The Great Game by Peter Hopkirk

Subtitled “The Struggle for Empire in Central Asia” this work covers in a fair amount of detail, the machinations between the UK and Russia over about a 100 year period from the early 1800s to the early 1900s as they worked for positioning and influence throughout the areas of Iran, northern India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, and the rest of the ‘stans. These efforts which frequently edged closely to all out war between these two great powers never fell over into such a conflagration but did involve significant conflicts between both Russian and UK forces and the local populations throughout these areas.

Russian and UK armies advance and retreat, conquer and are conquered, take territory and lose it over and over. All the while what we would call “spies” from each side work to leverage their knowledge and political influence to control their “spheres of influence”.

Not focusing on any one effort in the Great Game, Hopkirk covers the breadth of it, relaying the most interesting and important events. His recount of the English retreat from Kabul in 1842 stands out as a key example of what you find in this work as Hopkirk details General Elphinstone’s completely incompetant abandoning of Kabul and attempted withdrawal to Jalalabad. In this effort all but a literal handful of 16,000 soldiers and civilians who started out were killed, died of exposure, or captured. One of the worst military disasters in English history is put in its proper place with the reasons for why Elphinstone was in Kabul in the first place, the seemingly small conflicts that led up to the disaster (Sir Alexander Burns’ murder) and its aftermath leading to a counter invasion by additional British forces, all provided their own weight and context.

The book is far too deep and detailed to try and cover in such a small review as this but its recounting of some of the most harrowing tales, violence, bravery, exploration, and sacrifice warrant reading for just the “adventure” of it all. The reader comes away with not just an appreciation for just how great powers seek to undermine one another and establish power within these remote regions but just how much what we see today with our modern efforts there are merely a repetition of what has gone before. The similarities between Elphinstone’s idiotic decision making do not appear much different than our own disaster at Kabul only a year ago. The US vs. Russia proxy conflict in Afghanistan merely mimics that of the UK vs. Russia events of 150 years ago. China’s entry into the area now to fill the power vacuum just continues traditions by world powers playing in the high Himalayas for centuries.

Fantastic work and there are certainly other works that cover certain aspects of The Great Game in more detail but I think you’d be hard pressed to find one that covers the entire scope of the chessboard movements over a century any better than what is done here.

Windham Varsity Lacrosse vs. Timberlane 5/23/22

Like I said, going back a bit for these. This was by far the most exciting high school game I have seen here in Windham. The Jaguars trailed for the entire game, never once having the lead and were down by two goals a number of times. In the end though, their offense came through in the final minutes scoring three goals late in the game including one with only about 3 seconds left to take the win. Best win of the year and put Windham into third place in DII in the State where they would stay. Literally showing their heart and blood to get the win.

Windham Varsity Lacrosse vs. Hanover 5/13/22

Going into the wayback machine here but I hadn’t gotten around to these pics yet. This was a 14-5 win for Windham that started the first of what would be 6 wins in a row to close the season and place them the third seed for the DII NH Playoffs. Game #1 is today against Alvrine who Windham has taken down twice already this year. Hopefully the team will stay healthy, get a bit of a challenge but put the game away and move on to the second round.

Book Review: Lays of Ancient Rome by Thomas Babington Macaulay

Any work memorized in full by Winston Churchill deserves at least a cursory examination. Churchill did it to try and show off his mental faculties despite his poor grades but will serve any legitimate student or classic’s reader enthralled as well.

I’ll admit, at first I thought that these four “songs”—as that’s how I think of them and how they are described as “ballads”—were translations by Macaulay. Instead they are interpretations of known events and stories from the Roman period and put down into poem form, intended to be Macaulay’s best guess as to how knowledge of such legendary events were passed from person to person and celebrated publicly, based on his knowledge of that Roman literature that had survived.

As they deal with famous events in Rome’s history they represent what humanity has classically held close—tales of heroism, victory in face of long odds, and defiance of authority.

Horatius, the first of the lays presented is by far the most famous. Similar in nature, for those who are aware of such references, the Stamford Bridge legend from England and the Battle of Thermopylae, Horatius recounts the defense of a key bridge by Roman forces against an opposing army that sought to sack Rome. A brilliant tale of individual heroism as three soldiers step up to sacrifice their life in order to give time for engineers to destroy the bridge, preventing the Etruscans from crossing. At the narrow choke point the “Gallant Three” as they are called defend the bridge from all comers, with Horatius further, standing alone in order to save the lives of his partners. Is there a better call to arms than:

"To every man upon this earth
Death cometh soon or late.
And how can man die better
Than facing fearful odds,
For the ashes of his fathers,
And the temples of his Gods.”

The other Lays included here are similarly quotable and instructional on what it means to be honorable, steadfast, and committed. Often taught in grammar schools 150 years ago, we now feed our children with drivel, setting before them the high costs of low expectations. We would do well to reintroduce such works to our youth and hope that they take on the morals, strength, and courage of those wonderfully portrayed here. And if you are older? Read it and enjoy…we’d all be better of knowing the core of these ballads and taking them to heart.

Windham Varsity Lacrosse vs. Portsmouth and St. Thomas Aquinas

Took some time off from posting these as there was a point where the team lost 3 of 4 games and the most important player was out with a concussion for three games…not exactly the most thrilling stuff for me to shoot. I did take some photos of these games including against Portsmouth—a loss to the best team in DII in NH and one of the top few teams in the state and St. Thomas Aquinas that is one of the top few teams of DII (also a loss). Neither was a disaster but does show the length the team has to go to play with the best. Faceoffs remain feast or famine for the team, the offense must work on cutting more to the net rather than relying on the speed and agility of individual players which can be offset by doubleteams and good stickwork, and the D could still use a bit more nastiness. But all in all? The team is at 10-3 and tied for 3rd in DII. The upcoming Timberlane game will determine the team’s seeding for the postseason. A win and they will be either the #2 or #3 seed…a loss? They could drop to 7th. This is likely the difference between a first round bye or relatively easy matchup and having to play a peer in the first round and possibly Portsmouth or Derryfield in the second. Timberlane will be a challenge...a true coinflip of a game. Each have beaten teams the other has lost to and lost to teams the other has beaten. Timberlane was the runner up to Portsmouth in ‘21 for the state championship and will not likely wilt. Enjoy the pics!

Book Review: Desert Solitaire by Edward Abbey

This is the third of Abbey’s books that I’ve read and the first of his non-fiction efforts.

Covering his time as a Park Ranger at what was Arches National Monument and is now Arches National Park the book calls back to a time before it had paved roads and was overrun by hordes of air conditioned tourists. It also goes back before the build of the Glen Canyon Dam.

Abbey is an exquisite observer of humanity and human nature, never failing to skewer the worst of us. From the fat tourists who never leave the pavement and want to turn nature right back into what they have sought to escape by coming to the wilderness in the first place, to the governmental functionaries who only see the National Park system as another widget to be managed at the behest of unfathomable bureaucracy, Abbey spares no one in his opinions.

Industrial tourism is a phrase Abbey coins here and 50 years after it was written Desert Solitaire has lost none of its poignancy and is more relevant than ever. His acerbic wit is needed today. He is no wilting flower and not some hippy or millennial in his outlook. He is more than happy to take a flamethrower to everything he despises, and that makes him so refreshing. Abbey is not one for compromises and playing nice with others. He’s as rough as the sandstone he inhabits here.

But its not just expressing his anger at those changing the desert wilderness he loves that makes the book great. Its his in depth knowledge of the world that surrounds him. Names of plants and animals roll easily off the tongue. Animal habits and geologic forces are clearly explained. While not formally educated in ecology, Abbey is a genius as relaying the natural world to the reader in all its wonder.

The book takes on an even greater enjoyment for anyone who has visited Moab, UT, Arches, Canyonlands, the Grand Canyon or similar areas of the Southwest. You can visit Delicate Arch in your own memories and compare it to Abbey’s view. You can take the roads as they exist today and then read how they once were, not long ago. Its a wonderful book full of details and revelations about the American Southwest and what it once was, what its becoming, and why we should all feel a bit of sadness in how we have removed part of our own humanity in removing the gift of wilderness.

Book Review: Total Eclipse by John Brunner

Picked this one up out of a recommendation from a list of what were called “depressing” works of Sci-Fi.

It certainly might be viewed as that but it deserves a bit more scrutiny. It starts with an interesting premise—humanity is struggling at home but has progressed to the point where it can reach out to other stars and their surrounding systems. In only one of the systems they have visited however has there been found to be any life…and that life has long since gone extinct leaving a planet filled with ruins and rudimentary life but no clue as to the cause of the intelligent life form’s disappearance. Such life forms had even progressed to the point of travelling to their own moon and so the loss of an advanced civilization is felt to perhaps provide clues as to how humanity may save itself.

The book is certainly one of its times—being the mid 1970s. The threat of nuclear annihilation is rampant throughout and self destruction by Earth based governments that would strand the scientific outpost seeking these answers many lightyears from home is ever present.

The novel works out to being more of a “whodunit” than a space opera and really feels like it belongs more as a short story than the length it presents. The core of the work is in following the protagonist, a particularly skilled archeologist, as he researches the clues left behind by the prior civilization. All of which is a vehicle to explore issues with humanity itself—did they kill themselves off? Was it a virus? Did they grow too quick? Was it radiation? and on and on. This generates the weakest part of the book as Ian (the protagonist) goes from one specialist to another presenting his ideas only to get shot down by that particular base of knowledge telling why such a reason couldn’t have caused the downfall. Again, cut 40 pages out of this back and forth, put it in a magazine and it becomes much better.

I’ll leave the end of the book for the reader but suffice to say, it as well would fit much better in a shorter work where surprise twists are more acceptable without a big explanation. Here it comes off as a less than neat way of wrapping things up. Is the book interesting? Yes and a decent yarn as well as a neat hypothetical that earthbound explorers of yore have had to deal with. Lets just hope we keep moving outward and not succumbing to our naval gazing tendencies.

Windham Varsity Lacrosse vs. Alvrine 04/26/22

Well, we better enjoy this one as it may be the last one for a bit. A 20-4 in Hudson vs. Alvrine runs Windham’s record to 6-0 and an 8th place ranking in the state amongst all lacrosse teams (D1 included). The game was played in a steady rain which made photography conditions dark but my focusing seemed to be back on point and produced some good images that have a distinctly different feeling that the bright sun and deep shadows of prior games. Defense was smothering again though Alvrine clearly has issues in some basic skillsets making turnovers and pressure easy to generate. Offense came fast and furious with Windham simply passing the ball in a circle without any attempt at scoring for about the last 8 minutes of the game. If anything the win was more dominating than the 15-2 win Windham had over Alvrine earlier in the year.

That said, Windham now enters the heart of their schedule with Derryfield, St. Thomas Aquinas, Winnacunnet, and Portsmouth accounting for the next four games. Windham could easily go 0-4 in those games and should consider going 2-2 in those games to be a solid accomplishment. Derryfield is #6 in the state while Portsmouth is the defending state champion and is ranked 4th in the state and Winnacunnet 11th while St. Thomas Aquinas played Winnacunnet to a standstill earlier in the year and beat Hollis-Brookline 16-1 (Windham beat them 18-8). Most at risk in the next 4 games is Windham’s defense who hasn’t really had to play any tough competition all year. Without being tested, Windham doesn’t really know what it has on the back end. These games will tell whether they are a contender or pretender feasting on easy competition.

Windham Varsity Lacrosse vs. Salem 04/22/22

Another home game, another win. Having issues with the camera and not focusing the way I want and so the shots are limited and I deleting 90% of what I took…just wasn’t happy with the results. The game was a 13-5 win but it was far more nail biting than that looks. Windham was down 3-0 to start and the D1 Salem team looked to have taken Windham on its heals being down its most senior defender.

The defense clamped down and allowed only two goals after the first quarter and the offense picked up the remaining slack to take the win. No comments beyond that. A nice way to show that they can come back from a punch and not quit.