So I guess this is a milestone, I've aged out of VET 40-49, this SN's being my last in this age division. What to think? While maybe the passage of time and the way fencing has marked the passage of my 40's is what leaves the deepest feelings, ones of personal discovery through my re-entry to the sport that I left behind the day after I graduated college in 1982, and didn't return to until just about my 40th birthday in the summer of 1999, or thereabouts. During that interveening time, marriage,

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Extra special with Julia at stripside to watch me fence. My chance to model behaviour, win or loose.

Seeded 19th of 58 going in. Went 5-1, +10 after pool, seeding 7th headed in to DEs with a bye. Won my first DE to make the 16 by a tight margin, on a final fleche in preparation to win. Exciting. Then lost 10-6 in the 16 to miss finals and a medal. Ended 6-2, +5. K was pleased, and Julia found it thrilling to watch her dad fence. There were some close bouts, overtime bouts where

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My first Summer Nationals with Julia, set in Grapevine, Texas. What can we say! I'm now a year away from being aged-out of Vet 40-49, and my daughter fences in her first WE Y14 NAC, Nationals, no less. Time is marching on, but at least we've navigated a challenging year, and gotten quite far, really. We've never fenced more, measured by the frequency at the Club. Julia's been the catalyst. She's been with a good set of girls her age, training three times a week, sometimes four. Get's me to

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First entry since the new FC opened for me; have to be a quick note, but here's an open invite for anyone passing through town. The atmosphere is energized. The coaches are seemingly even a bit more dedicated, and proud. The space is great. I took a lunch hour lesson the other day, and sunlight pouring through a long wall of windows, strips gleaming, and light wood deck looking sleek. This club is gift, and I think we all know from whom. I thanked him personally, but he stayed low-key, not wishing

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Wow, another unreasonably long gap in my on-line journal. Training time has been very hard to find all year. Work has been a pressure-cooker with waves of lay-offs, colleagues, and some I might even call friends for the work we've done together while at the bank for 15 years all disappearing. Very low morale. Probably all the more reason to fence and train, but swinging the family budget toward eldest daughter, who is getting better and better, facing the pressures of competition and demonstrating

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