In ICU with Rex: BYU can't buy a basket

I am in ICU with Rex right now and we have been watching BYU play Pepperdine in basketball. At half time BYU was behind five points. "BYU can't buy a basket," Rex grumbled. "They play like a jr. high team!" 

The game ended with BYU victorious: 76-51.

If he can help it, Rex never misses a BYU football or basketball game. If it's a home game, as it was tonight, he most often drives 40 miles south to Provo to watch it in person.

Mac was going to be here to watch the game, but a little bit of snow fell and he got panicky and so went and holed up in the hotel with Pak, just in case it got so bad they couldn't drive,

I have lots more to blog about, but I'm going to let this do it.

Lazy mode in three locations: WM Apache - Blue Bird, jet, fire, dog gets teeth brushed; Wasilla - Allie's poem; Carmen and guests; India - girl in temple

Boy! This is the worst case of jet lag ever. It should be all gone by now, but this is the hardest day yet. I can barely function. I went to sleep fast last night and slept soundly for about two hours, then came wide and desperately awake about 2:00 AM and that was it. I stayed in bed, hoping to go back to sleep for another six hours or so, but just stayed awake. This is not how one gets over jet lag.

So I continue in lazy mode, but I exercise just enough ambition to remind readers that I now have three story locations to thread together: White Mountain Apache, India and Wasilla.

So here is a picture I took in Carrizo, Arizona, the Apache community where Margie was born and her mom and several siblings still live, along with other relatives.

People make a lot of bread here, from fry bread to tennis racket bread to tortillas and some other kinds, too. Blue Bird flour is very popular and Blue Bird flour bags are most useful.

Margie stands behind the bag.

A jet, passing over the White Mountain Apache Reservation community of Hon Dah, where Margie's sister LeeAnn hosted us.

White Mountain Apache fire crew truck, Hon Dah. 

LeeAnn brushes Alfie's teeth.

OK - Wasilla: Today I had breakfast at Abby's again. Margie was in town, babysitting.

Allie poured me a cup of coffee...

This is the picture of her poem that I did not run two days ago because I did not want to publish her poem without her permission. Today, she gave me her permission. Allie just won a local poetry slam. Abby's niece Amber did the art work. 

In the afternoon, I pulled up to the drive-through at Metro Cafe. Carmen posed with her brother-in-law, Ron, and Carol, a very good customer. Barista Elizabeth politely tried to get out of the way, but didn't quite make it in time. I took some more after she did, but I like the picture better with Elizabeth in it than out of it.

Girl in a temple at Chittaurgarh Fort, Rajasthan, India. I was not going to post any more of my India photos until I had made a decent edit of them all, but I still have not begun to edit and I want to keep India present in this blog until I can edit and figure out my stories. I don't think this picture crucial to any of the stories I most want to tell, so here it is, in lazy mode, just to remind readers that I was just in India and have some India stories coming.

If I decide later that this picture should be part of one of my stories, then I reserve the right to include it, anyway, but I don't think that will happen.

Branson and his 6-9 year-old Avalanch teammates play on Aces ice - part 2: Boys and girls charge onto the ice, play hard and chaotic

Sporting pink skatelaces and a beautiful smile, Shailey Symbol prepares to go out and do battle for the Avalanche - against the Avalanche. For the exhibition game that fell between the first and second periods of the match between the Anchorage Aces and the Stockton Thunder, the team divided in half to play itself.

Kira Hietala of Wasilla's Avalanche, a team of six to nine year olds. There are fifteen players on the team, five of them are girls. They smile pretty, but they play as tough and hard as do the boys.

As his dad straps his helmet onto his head, Branson pysches himself up for the six-minute game.

Wasilla's Alaska Avalanche is now ready to skate out onto the ice and take itself on. The young hockey players just have to wait for the Aces, who still battle the Thunder - who they will defeat, 3 - 1.

Soon, the Aces exit the arena and pass by where the Avalanche awaits their turn on the ice. Most of the Aces scoot on by, but center Garry Nunn pauses to thump some helmets.

Coach Steve Johnson sent Branson onto the ice first, right behind Boomer, the Aces polar bear mascot. Johnson asked the other players if they knew why he wanted to send Branson out first. "Yes," they answered, it was a thank you to Branson's dad, Scot Starheim, for making the arrangements with the Aces to invite the Avalanche to perform on their ice.

I had thought the players would gather in the middle of the arena for introductions. This did not happen. The moment they all were on the ice was the moment they started to play. They had six minutes, total time, clock running. There was no time to waste on introductions. Once started, they did not stop for anything.

At first, it seemed to me to be nothing but chaos on the ice.

Soon, it became clear that these young athletes had come to Anchorage to play hockey. Brendon Creech battles an opponent for the puck.

Mikey Greco reaches for the puck.

Davi McGrew, also sporting pink skatelaces, takes control of the puck and then concentrates on the goal.

Davi shoots and scores against Phillip Brevogel.

A bit later, Phillip blocks what would have been another score.

The game is over. No one kept score and Coach Johnson thinks maybe only one score was made - Davi's. I told you the girls played as tough as the boys.

Wasilla's Alaska Avalanche won the game.

Boomer exchanged a congratulatory high five with Kaleb Estrada.

Inside, Boomer had love to give to all the Avalanche.

Branson exchanges a high five with Boomer.

Branson and his 6-9 year-old Avalanche teammates play on Aces ice - part 1: Branson, pre-game

One Friday night when I was in the middle of the process of putting together my David Alan Harvey Loft workshop series, I took a break to drive to Anchorage where Branson and his Alaska Avalanche hockey team of six-to-nine year olds was about to compete in a six-minute, running-clock, exhibition game on the same ice where the Anchorage Aces would take on the Stockton Thunder.

Branson arrived early with his dad and mom, Scot and Carmen Starheim, owners and operators of Metro Cafe. Here is six-year old Branson with mom Carmen at the gate to the Sullivan Arena. Dad Scot had disappeared to take care of some task that needed taking care of.

Once inside, the family accompanied Branson to the VIP room, where he got to dine on diced beef, pasta, salad and corn chips. Afterward, he needed to pick his teeth.

In the VIP room, Branson engaged a very tall man in some hockey talk. Clearly, the man was impressed. Branson knows his hockey talk.

Branson joins his family in the bleachers to watch the first period of Aces-Thunder competition. Carmen adjusts Branson's hair so that he can be presentable to pose with his grandparents, Tony and Eva Villasenor, originally from a small village in Mexico. They did not move to Anchorage until Carmen was ten. Her early life was spent barefoot on dirt floors. They had no cameras and so Carmen has only one photo from her early childhood in Mexico.

Branson with his grandparents.

Branson with grandparents, mom, aunts, uncles, cousin and friends.

The Avalanche exhibition will be played during the break between the first and second periods. As the Aces skate onto the ice, Branson and his dad point out different players to each other.

The Aces score the first goal. Branson and his dad celebrate.

Soon it is time for Branson to go down to the doors that open onto the ice and to get ready to compete. His dad joins him.

Branson, stick in hand, helmet on head, ready to go do battle on the same ice where the Aces now skate. He and his teammates will compete against each other before the same crowd that the Aces do their own battle on.

I will post Part 2 later today, which will feature not only Branson but his whole team, the Aces, and Boomer -their polar bear mascot.