The game was exciting despite the unfortunate outcome, Pittsburg Steelers 21 Seattle Seahawks 10. My present from Annie and Jeannie was a custom drawn T-shirt that looked like a Seahawk jersey.  Annie did the art but Jeannie had the idea.

Getting older includes getting closer to that look so well known among Moody men.  Mom's dad and brother were both rather hair impaired.

Horatio Hornblower not the Saint of the Movie 
 
The final week of February I will begin the final book in C. S. Forester's Horatio Hornblower series.  I identified with the self-critical and eventually aging hero. 

Unlike the Gregory Peck figure of Hollywood, the original Hornblower was briefly unfaithful to his first wife and did not fight that temptation on two later occasions after he married Lady Barbara. 

I have to admit I still enjoyed the Aubrey/Maturin books more than these but they were still eminently entertaining.  They did not drag.  I would read them all again but life is short.

And a Final Wrap-up to Wrestling
 
Tuesday night, February 28th, found us celebrating the end of the wrestling season at the annual BCS award banquet (potluck).  Nathanael was the second most decorated athlete at the event.

The District Championships, on February 4th, were anti-climactic for Nathanael.  He only had two other competitors in the 130 weight class, and he had already pinned both opponents twice before during this season. As the top wrestler of the trio, Nathanael got the bye.  Devon Ossman from Cascade Christian defeated Rader Johnson from Tacoma Baptist for the right to get pinned by Nathanael in the finals, which he did with :08 to spare. Not only did Nate win the District title at his weight, but BCS also edged out the other three schools for the District 2 & 3 championship.

The following week,   As the top seed from the south, he faced the #4 wrestler from the north (District 1).

His quick pin of the boy from La Conner (by an exciting "cradle" move) earned him a spot in the semifinals. 

Nate's second match was his biggest of the season.  He faced Stormee Brown of Darrington who had pinned him  back in December.  They went the distance but Nate came out on top with a 10-4 decision.  Nathanael lost in the finals but 2nd place was just good enough to earn him a return trip to the Tacoma Dome on February 17th.
 
At the State Championships, Nathanael lost his first two matches and was quickly eliminated but the honor of being a State Qualifier (top 16 in the entire State) is still very special.    And in fact, Nate and his teammates were already State Champs.  Once again this year, BCS won the State Academic Championship and received that award before the Saturday matches began.  I was allowed down on the mats to continue my service as team photographer. (click to enlarge).

• On February 19th I bought my third Internet domain.  Bellevue1.net joins Bellevue1.com and my original SL8.com domains. My main purpose for Bellevue1.net will be to feature my photography and especially to host BCS sports photos and the new BCS Track and Field Hall of Fame I am designing.  It will be fun coming up with a new design.  Perhaps it's an expensive hobby at about $100/domain/year, but it has been a real service as well.  Nancy agreed that it would be wise to "lock up" the Bellevue1.net domain name before someone else got it.
• At the Wrestling Awards Banquet on the 28th I presented a custom designed 8"x10" photo to each of the twenty BCS wrestlers and one for each of the coaches.  Here is a sample of the one I prepared for Nathanael. I also prepared the special award certificates the coaches will present and have a special DVD video of the Regional matches.  It's nice to have tech skills to share.
•  I led the Saturday men up through Psalm 9 and will guide them through 1 Peter beginning in March. We will return to the Psalms after each of the other books we finish.
• This quarter I am teaching way too much. It would be just right if it were my only job.  My boss is aware of this and has not scheduled me to teach Business Statistics next year, at least so far.