The End of Summer

Labor day reminds me that I actually have to labor. As a teacher, you get spoiled by a couple months off... Enough so that when hordes of kids show up at the school you realize, "Oh yeah. So that's what I do for a living.

It's not bad, really -- especially if you actually like kids (which I do). Besides, if and when I get an administrative position soon, I'll have to get used to working year round.

Anyway, all good things come to an end. In my case, some leisure. In Steve Irwin's case a beautiful life. In Andre Agassi's case, a great career.



Yes, the world is a little poorer without the Crocodile Hunter. We've all had our attempts at an Aussie accented "It's teeth are razor sharp." Some of us dumber ones have probably even attempted to get a closer peek at an alligator or other such creature with comic and painful results... but all of us should appreciate the love the man had for animals, his sense of humor and enthusiasm for wild things. Go out and pour out a Foster's Lager on the sidewalk to pay props to our dead homie.



Andre? I wasn't always the biggest fan. You started off your career sporting the unsightliest of bitch-flags. During the apex of your career, you were usually second fiddle to Sampras... and your over-emotive victory celebrations made you look like a soap opera starlet winning an Emmy™ (especially your first Wimbledon title), but sh*t, bro... you went out with class. And you got to bag Brooke Shieds and Steffi Graf. More than that, you made tennis a bit cooler for the kiddies. I'm from the McEnroe school myself, but if I was coming of age about 6 or seven years later, you might have made me pick up a racket, too.

The end of something always marks the beginning of something else... autumn, new tennis stars like Federer or Nadal... and there's always the Kratt brothers.

The end of something usually marks the start of something new. Hopefully it's also something good.