Yes, I was a member and later an officer in the chess club.

First Exposure

My neighbor introduced me to chess while I was in elementary school. Mrs. Barber enjoyed the game, but she couldn’t find anyone willing to play in our rural area. I don’t remember how the subject came up, but I agreed to be her opponent. She taught me the moves, and I struggled to win a game. I hated losing, and it became an obsession to win a game from her.

The paper had a chess column I read religiously. It provided the moves for a game between grandmasters with analysis. The more I studied the game, the clearer it became, and soon I won my first game from my teacher.

High School

I joined the Spaulding Institute, my high school, Chess Club my freshman year. The high school was in Peoria, and I lived some nine miles away but over a thirty-minute drive. The club met after school, which meant I had to take the Greyhound bus home. Greyhound was the only option as my mother worked and my father was away in the Navy.

One afternoon, after the club finished, I passed a bookstore on my way to the bus station. I entered the store and perused the store’s selection of chess books. Finally, I found one that interested me. I don’t remember if it was on chess openings or tactics, but I ponied up the money for it. This was the first of many chess books I bought from that store and other places over the years.

My devotion to the game proved stronger than others in the club. It wasn’t long before I had the top board in the matches played against local high schools. I want to say I usually won, but you don’t expect me to remember that level of detail from nearly sixty years ago!

USCF

I was a sophomore when I met another chess enthusiast, one with a car. I wish I remembered his name, but can’t. Anyway, he told me about a chess club that met every week at the YMCA. He also introduced me to the United States Chess Federation (USCF).

One day I competed in a USCF tournament held at the Y. The USCF ranked players based on who they played and their opponent’s ranking. I played five games and received a national chess ranking that placed me in the C Class. I moved into Class B after several more ranked games and tournaments.

I progressed to the Class A group by the time I graduated high school. I earned that status with my best performance up to that time,  a 2.5 out of 5 points in a tournament in Indianapolis, Indiana. I lost the first game against a Master Class player. Then, I won the second game. I drew the next three games against higher-ranked players, including the last one against a Senior Master.

After High School

I competed in rated tournaments for several years after joining the Navy, including playing chess by mail. Though I remained a Class A player over the board, I reached Master status in correspondence chess. I enjoyed competing against players from around the world until 1979 when some began using chess-playing computers in preparing their moves.

Such is the story of my participation in an organization for “nerds” in high school and how it led to an enjoyable pastime for many years after leaving school.

What did you do in high school? Share, using the comment form.

The first time was earlier this year. The league enjoyed a fun season, looking to several more weeks of completion when Governor Larry Hogan ordered the lockdown. He closed many types of businesses, including bowling alleys, gyms, and other recreational activities.

Of course, the base followed the state, and the base bowling alley was closed.

Why us

Funny how one could catch COVID in the bowling alley but not at big box stores like WALMART and COSTCO or the supermarket.

It seemed like years, yet in only a matter of months, the governor started to remove his restrictions. Welcomed was when he permitted businesses to fifty percent capacity. Shortly after, the base lanes began preparations to allow the leagues to return.

Returning was not a simple matter. The virus was still active, and no vaccine available.

Not everyone returns

When canvased, only sixteen of the leagues’ thirty-two bowlers desired to return in September under the base health department’s conditions. Instead of eight-four man teams, the competition started with six-three member teams. (The vacancy on two teams filled by the second week.) The league agreed to bowl a fifteen-week schedule with the hope that more would join in January.

Things were fine until Governor Hogan reinstituted lockdown rules when virus cases rose again.

Tuesday Night Men’s League’s fall season ended on week twelve when the lanes announce the base was closing the alleys until January 2021.

Next season?

Though enduring the restrictions placed on them this fall, all league members want to return as soon as the lanes reopen. Perhaps, by then, some of the previous league members will join us in the spring season.

Lockdown? Use the comment form to let me know how it has affected you or anything else of interest.

For the last thirty years, this would be the time when the bowling leagues wrapped up their summer seasons and the meetings for the fall season held. Well, there was no summer season this year.

COVID struck in March. Governor Hogan shut down all non-essential businesses, one being bowling alleys. Several weeks ago, the Governor allowed businesses to reopen with restrictions. Customers must wear masks, and there are social distancing requirements. Several local bowling alleys opened by conforming with the limits.

The Lanes at Ft Meade was not one of these. The military was taking it slower, being more cautious. Finally, the call came that we could start reforming leagues.

Preparation to Return

As league secretaries, the first order of business was to learn how many of our previous bowlers felt comfortable bowling under the COVID-19 mandates. My wife and I found many wanted to wait until January when they hope we will have a cure, but there was a good number desiring to start in September. The final count for restarting now was enough to establish fall leagues, though much smaller than last year’s.

Meetings convened, and the result was everyone agreed to short seasons that would end in December. It allows new leagues to form in January to include those desiring to wait.

My wife’s  Monday Seniors League kicked off yesterday with twelve teams, down from the 36. My Tuesday Men’s League restarts on 8 September with six-three man teams. Last season we had eight-four man teams. Her Friday Early Birds League had a good representation returning. Enough to form nine-four person teams, and three teams from the Armed Force League joined to make twelve. It restarted on 28 August.

These leagues have several things in common. They finish in December, the bowlers all wear masks while in the bowling alley, only every other pair of lanes used, and I bowl in all of them.

My New Normal

Yes, my usual has returned. Bowl Monday, Tuesday, and Friday. Do league books on Wednesday. Thursday is a day of rest or, sometimes, a day to practice. Saturday and Sunday, think about not bowling.

So, what do you think of my normal? Please don’t be shy; let me know. I provide a form for your convenience.

Are you familiar with Cricut? I wasn’t until this time last year.

Learning Cricut

My wife and the internet educated me about Cricuts after we learned my granddaughter wanted one. I learned it is a multipurpose machine that can duplicate designs in a variety of materials.

My granddaughter received the Cricut Explore Air 2 for Christmas. She found it challenging to use until my wife offered to learn with her. I remember the day they sat with it on our kitchen table. The two, grandmother and granddaughter, watched videos on the internet and puzzled duplicating them. The “yeah” moment finally came.

First Projects

The door opened to customized water bottles, insulated cups, shirts, and window decals. Several stores enjoyed the two shopping for vinyl, cardstock, and shirts, and more for their projects. The Cricut traveled between houses as each found a need for it.

Then one day, I bought my wife a Cricut Maker. We converted the smallest bedroom into her hobby space. We added a large table, a multidrawer rolling cabinet, a Cricut iron, and an embossing machine.

The Manor

Her most ambitious project to date was a Halloween manor made from cardstock. She planned it as a centerpiece on the Monday before Halloween for the Seniors Bowling League. She made cupcakes for the bowlers and the manor sat between the cupcake holders.

Current & Upcoming Projects

She is working on several projects. Potholders my grandchildren can sell at a fund raiser, Christmas cards and ornaments, and I don’t know what else. Won’t know until I asked if I want to go to Michaels, A.C. Moore, JoAnn, Dollar Store, or another source of materials.

What is your hobby? Share using the comment form.

One day, not too long ago, my daughter asked me if I would work with my granddaughter at meetings of Wild Clover Collective.

Wild Clover Collective is an organization for families that meets to provide children with fun learning opportunities. They meet weekly at the Chesapeake Arts Center in Brooklyn Park, Maryland.

Chesapeake Arts Center

From their website: Chesapeake Arts Center offers classes and workshops in visual and performing arts in dance, theatre, visual arts, music, and technology.

Wild Clover takes advantage of the classrooms, computer center, ceramics shop, dance studio, theatre stages, and makerspace. Makerspace has a fully outfitted wood and metal workshop, 3-D printer, laser machine, and screen printing shop.

Called to help

She asked me to assist in the wood shop. I have some experience, gained in my workshop building cradles, baby changing table/dresser, pen turning, spindle turning, and more.

My daughter’s selling point was, “Since you are retired,” blah blah blah. She named my granddaughter as my shop prodigy. She sold me.

Makerspace

Henry was the shop steward. He used the first afternoon to introduce the teens to the tools they would use to make a wood tray. He began with safety issues. He required safety glasses and ear protection when using the saws or sanders. Henry admonished against long sleeves and required long hair be tied in pony tails.

Demonstrations of the drill press, miter saw, band saw, scroll saw, band sander, and spindle sander followed. There were concerned looks as he introduced each piece of equipment. He finished his introduction with the reminder to come to him anytime, and he would assist.

Elizabeth at work

My granddaughter, Elizabeth, selected her wood and began construction. She made her measurements and cut, followed by sanding. She was comfortable using the tools. I provided techniques to make assembly and surface finishing easier. She had a finished tray after working on it four afternoons.

The next project she worked was the design of a workbench for the smaller children. She joined three other girls in drawing plans for building the bench. When they finished the plans, Henry provided them cardboard and hot glue to build a mockup.

They never built the benches. Henry left the arts center, and there was no access to makerspace until they hired Nick several weeks later.

He started the teens on a tool carrier project. They received individual attention from Nick during cutting and sanding stages. My involvement in this project was the final assembly stage when they were gluing and screwing the parts together. Then, Nick introduced the laser and let them add a personal logo to their work. This was a nice touch.

The Art Center closed makerspace before another project started.

Summer Siesta

Wild Clover is on summer siesta with meetings to reconvene in the fall. I enjoyed working with my granddaughter and the teens. I haven’t decided about the fall, but this was another experience I wouldn’t have had if not retired.

Don’t forget to use the comment form to let me know your interesting experiences. Or just to say hello.

Scrollsawing describes using a scroll saw to cut a design into a medium. Wood is common, but metal is another option. We cut our portraits in one-quarter inch plywood, but it wasn’t the only medium. An example, I did a special project with seven-eights poplar.

Start a Project

The process was to adhere a pattern to the wood using a temporary spray adhesive. Then, holes drilled through the design covered wood. We preferred a one-sixteenth inch bit to make the holes. It made one large enough to fit the scroll saw blade and small enough for tiny sections of the pattern marked for removal.

Spiral blades were our preference. They have teeth that allow cutting in any direction. My wife used them to create the Cal Ripken portrait, and I to create the bird of prey on stump portrait. There were many other complicated projects cut with spiral blades.

The length of the blades, coupled with the thin plywood, allowed us to cut two or more copies at the same time. I would cut a sheet of plywood into multiple pieces of the same size. Then, two or three pieces adhered together, and the pattern added.  We framed the extra copies and gave them away or sold.

Working with a Scroll Saw

We did our first projects using a Dremel scroll saw. It had a blade clamp below the deck and one attached to the upper arm. Another control tensioned the blade, so it was tight. These are standard for scroll saws.

We had it a short time before becoming frustrated with it. It cut well enough, but the fixed upper arm was the issue. The problem was how we had to work.

We fed the blade through a hole in the workpiece — the section cut and then the blade freed from the top clamp. We lifted the workpiece off the table to thread the blade through the hole for the next part needing cut. Missing the hole while trying to thread it through the small holes often resulted in bent blades, ruining them. Even when it passed through the wood without issue, we lost time and patience in tensioning it again. Scrollsawing while frustrated or in a hurry can lead to a destroyed piece of work.

We suffered using this scroll saw for a year before we replaced it with a Dewalt saw. It had advantages over the Dremel. It ran smoother and quieter. The upper arm lifted with the blade attached by loosening the lower clamp.  This made it easy to feed the blade into a new hole in the pattern. Reattaching the blade and tensioning it was easier. We had less frustration with the Dewalt.

We enjoyed creating the pictured works. They were others I may spotlight in future posts.

Do you have a hobby? I would enjoy hearing about it, or questions you might have about our hobby. The comment form is for your convenience.

I look forward to hearing from you.