And so the boy…

Glimpsed such future fate, the horizon fall fast, the mercury plummet.  His pace did quicken as thought turned to task,

must walk!

must seal and repair!

must, a warming layer find at paltry a cost!

must sew!

must walk!…

Must walk!!

And so the boy…

Each night did mend, to stitch the tear, a cover his face would surely need.  He cut and sewed of past fleece restore, to form and shield his hope renew!

Each night the simmer assured such faith, the glow of warmth and belly fill, cocooned a comfort could nary last, for drop it would…

The mercury fall fast!

And so the boy…

Walked, a hurried pace…“they say a foot surely fall”…to burden and drain, each step a labor to trudge and challenge. The wind whip, a fury, a might, no track lay before, the boy should fight, in darkness stumble…

The mercury fall fast!

And so the boy…

And so the boy…

Would surely reach!

January 5, 2025 from Sedalia, Missouri:

The freezing rain pelted my tent through the night, the very same I hiked through that evening to arrive strategically just short of Sedalia, not realizing most of the town would be closed due to weather. Fortunately, a McDonald’s near the trail remained open! I really just wanted a place to sit and write, charge a bit more, and let some of this storm pass on by, my next town another 33 miles away, trail conditions worsening by the hour, potentially hampering my usual pace.  That freezing rain left a 1/16 inch shield over my tent, a hassle to remove, but also adding to the warmth within. 

I’m dealing with some frustrating and ill timed gear failures, my air pad rupturing internally a couple nights ago and two more zippers calling it quits. The air pad continues to hold air, but swells up around my head end, robbing air volume and pressure from the remaining pad. If I add more air to compensate, the rupture worsens with an alarming “bang” sound! I slept comfortably and warm last night and remain optimistic I can limp this pad along a bit longer, my foam pad underneath providing some unpoppable insulation, my many layers affording more yet. I’ve ordered more zippers, but now must wait, the two recent failures not yet critical as both tracks feature two slider sets for dual direction opening and closing. For now, the elements will continue to stay where they belong…mostly outside!

I’m keeping my fuel bottle topped off, my stove running on gasoline for easy resupply. This little beauty gives off substantial heat and safely burns in the vestibule area of my full four seasons tent (full inner and outer tents, rather than a rainfly!). I use my footprint as a tarp these days, leaving the ground exposed within this vestibule space, perfect for running this stove to cook and add some drying warmth before shutting it down and zipping up tight for the night.

My camera gave me a scare this morning upon pulling it out for a photograph in my mobile office, the golden arches.

When I shot a still, I noticed it struggling to focus followed by a cloudy shot. Cleaning the outer lens revealed the internal fogging. A little time to warm up and all is well…deep breath!

January 10, 2025 from Jefferson City, MO:

Missouri, what the fuck! If this were early childhood schooling, you’d be in timeout!! Did someone tell you I was coming? Was it Kansas??

I’m running out of emojis that, at this point, don’t feel cliché.  I woke to another bout of snowfall, having already exceeded the forecasted accumulation.  It’s still coming down while I sit in BK, sipping and writing, pondering and planning. My feet are soaked through and my tent feels like the beginning of a Dateline Special, right after the part where they show pictures of me at the age of four with my mom and a birthday cake, you know the line:

“he was just a normal boy; he liked normal things…but then, something changed” (you know the voice!).

The package I’m waiting for got “excepted,” you know, “due to weather.” I don’t know what they’re talking about, it’s really nice here! They say Monday…but l’m here now, on Friday, when my tent zippers were supposed to be waiting for me.

Now I’m waiting for them, it seems, until Monday. I thought about having the package forwarded to St. Louis, as I had grown accustomed to hiking previously “present” conditions, my pace really only slowed by the single digit temperatures forcing me to walk daylight hours only.  Those temps are set to stay much warmer for a good bit now.  But the snow now piles deeper and wetter, my window for leaving Missouri extending once more as uncertainty looms, my course far from sure. I’m reminded of some writing I did while looking out the train window last march, gazing the same weather I gaze now, the train that saw me to Delaware:

“As I gaze out the windows of my eastbound train I can see my ghost, the tracks yet laid. I can see my tent pitched some distance off. I can see myself warming some cocoa on my little camp stove, gazing back at myself riding aboard that eastbound train. I smile and shrug, that knowing sorta grin—”I got you”—I keep walking-riding on, that knowing sorta sort.”

I think I’m gonna check out the library. I have work I can do, reading I can do. Camping will be easy enough here, a nice “troll under the bridge” sort of spot just across the river, the Missouri that is.

A few more from the gallery:

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It’s time to start getting into mock drafts and seeing what analysts think the 49ers should be taking this year. We all have our arguments on priorities for the 49ers. This one lands in the camp of an offensive lineman.

NFL.com’s Daniel Jeremiah conducted his first mock draft on Saturday. Since the NFL Scouting Combine has yet to occur, Jeremiah’s mock draft was based on what he “hears around the league.”

So, with that in mind, he has the 49ers taking Missouri offensive lineman Armand Membou. Here’s what he said about the pick:

Membou is the most technically sound offensive lineman in this class. He reminds me of Aljah Vera-Tucker when he entered the league. Membou will be an exceptional guard who can also play tackle if needed.

My entire preaching this offseason will be on “fixing the lines,” both offensively and defensively, emphasizing the offensive. The 49ers need to have a succession plan in place for Trent Williams rather than have something come by surprise.

Back to Membou. I’m all about this. Membou played in a zone-based run scheme, a plus for the 49ers’ offense. I can only go off the tape I’ve seen and his draft profile without seeing how he does in the combine.

It seems like the issue is his height, which is 6’3”. That could be a concern if the plan were to plug him in at tackle, but with the status of 49ers guard Aaron Banks up in the air, maybe that would work for a guard.

I also see some projections that he will go 24. The 49ers pick 11, so that seems OK? Maybe there’s a better player available at 11 for the defensive line when the draft rolls around.

Based on Jeremiah’s logic, I’d be satisfied with this pick. The 49ers need to figure out the defensive and offensive lines for 2025 and beyond when Trent Williams calls it a career.

What do you think of this pick?

Ole Miss basketball hit the road this weekend to take on No. 22 Missouri and suffered its third-straight loss in SEC play, falling 83-75 at Mizzou Arena.

Despite jumping out to an 8-0 lead to start the game, the Rebels couldn’t maintain it, falling behind 38-31 going into the intermission. After multiple rallies, Ole Miss never trailed by less than three points.

As a team, Ole Miss shot 47.4 percent from the floor, 28.6 percent from three-point range, and 71.4 percent from the free-throw line. Sean Pedulla led the Rebels in scoring with 14, followed by Malik Dia with 11, and Jaemyn Brakefield with 10.

Missouri shot 44.7 percent from the floor, 43.5 percent from three-point range, and 64 percent from the free-throw line. Tamar Bates led the Tigers in scoring with 26 points followed by Caleb Grill with 18.

The Rebels were simply out-rebounded and out-shot from three-point range on Saturday night. Ole Miss was out-rebounded 11-4 on the offensive side, and were out-shot from three-point range by over 15%. While bad shooting nights happen, being out-rebounded can’t be overcome.

With this loss, the Rebels drop their third-straight game in SEC play, falling to 4-3 overall, tied for fifth alongside Mississippi State, Texas A&M, and Vanderbilt. The Rebels will have to bounce back in a big way this Wednesday against Texas if they want to regain some positive momentum that has been essentially lost over the last week.

Tip-off is set for 8 p.m. CT and will be broadcast on ESPN2.