Bends Toward Justice

My face is still weather-burned after spending four-and-a-half hours out on the flight line with my head tilted back. I got the raccoon eyes too. The American Air Power planes were as cool as I thought they'd be. That Avenger, and also the Corsair have massive engines and make the air throb when they come down the line. The announcer mentioned the "30 seconds over Tokyo" raid while the B-25 was flying around, and I haven't fully gotten it out of my mind: they flew those things off an aircraft carrier basically knowing they would never be able to land them anywhere (crash-land at best). Ballsy! The modern jets were great too. The FA-18 put on a great show. One memorable part was the pass at nearly the speed of sound. The jet came in silently, and was gone as thunder rolled across the field. I felt compelled to leave to meet Meg before the F-86/F-16 formation, but our meeting spot was just below where they formed up, so I got to see them fly together anyway. One ...

As of last night there was no news on the Reggie Miller story. However, the Celtics have signed Eddie House and Scott Pollard. I'm not sure why they need House, who is described as a "three-point specialist" (I'd like to see them sign someone described as a "defensive specialist," but maybe that's just me). Scott Pollard was a teammate of Pierce's at Kansas, so maybe they'll mesh well. He's also a solid pro of the big white stiff variety, probably has a good work ethic and has been on winning teams. Bill Simmons thinks they are poising for their big push in '08, not this year, but may pick up a final puzzle piece in season if things break the right way.

I'm getting excited about the Wings of Hope show, and thought that, even though it is nominally off-topic, I wanted to blog about it. First, here's the web address: http://www.peaseairshow.com/ And here's the schedule: 9:00-11:00 Civilian Air Craft Rides (limited) 11:00 Opening Ceremonies (Saturday Only) 11:35 Flag Drop "Silver Wings" US Army Jump Team 11:45 American Air Power B-25, P-40, P47, TBM Avenger Noon Jet Car and Rob Holland Act 12:15 L-39 Demonstration - Dan McCue 12:30 Red Star Formation Team 12:45 B-2 Flyover (August 18th Only!) 1:00 Carol Pilon Wing Walker (Rob Holland / Pilot) 1:30 Jim Parker Salto H101 Sailplane 1:45 F4U Corsair (Dan McCue / Pilot) 2:00 U.S. Navy F/A-18 Hornet Demo Team East 2:15 Legacy Formation / F-18/F4U 2:30 P-40 Warhawk Demonstration 2:45 NH Army Guard Helicopter Ground Assault Demo 3:00 Rob Holland Airshows / Ultimate 20-300s N8UB 3:15 Lockheed T-33 "Shooting Star" 3:30 F-86 Demonstration (Ed Shipley / Pilot) 3:45 U...

I'm going to post the entire AP article here. One way or another it will be out of date by the weekend. Celtics luring Miller out of retirement By JIMMY GOLEN, AP Sports Writer 1 hour, 26 minutes ago BOSTON - The Boston Celtics have spoken with future Hall of Famer Reggie Miller about coming out of retirement to help the once-proud franchise in its push for an unprecedented 17th NBA title. "I'm always flattered when my name is mentioned as someone who can still help an NBA team win a championship," Miller said Wednesday in a statement relayed to The Associated Press by the TNT network. "I've had limited discussions with Celtics management about their roster and a potential role for me. At this time, I'm enjoying my role as an analyst with TNT." ESPN.com was the first to report the talks. Celtics officials did not respond to requests for comment. Miller's agent, Arn Tellem, declined comment. Miller, who will turn 42 this month, played 18 seasons,...

On Sunday we hiked Mt. Starr King, 3907 ft. The trail continues on to Mt. Waumbek, 4006 ft., and only a mile across the saddle, but we did not go across. We shared the peak of Starr King with a couple guys who I surmised by their conversation to be peak-baggers: they were plotting future "death-march" hikes intended to get several 4,000 footers in a day. Between their conversation and the location off Rt. 2 my mind drifted back to what I still consider one of the most unpleasant and dangerous hiking experiences I've ever had, our rain-soaked assault on the Adams/Madison monolith. On Starr King those two guys and one other older solo hiker were the only people we encountered. We marched right along without conversing, stopped only three or four times on the way up, and twice on the way down, and got back to Gorham early in the afternoon. Here's someone else's picture of their tent on the peak at Mt. Starr King. This is where we encountered first, the lone hike...