Us4 at U2

Didn't get a chance to post earlier in the week, but Dublin's fab four rocked the house this weekend at Gillette Stadium!

U2 put on a great show, complete with a somewhat bizarre and ginormous stage set that really took away from any chance of interactive play among the band. Thankfully, the weather cooperated to provide a positively balmy night, always a plus for any outdoor show at Foxboro.

Lots of stuff off the new album, No Line on the Horizon, mixed in with a healthy dose of their catalog from the past 25+ years.

But Bono, the Edge, Larry Mullen and Adam Clayton aside, the real highlight of the night for me was taking in the first rock concert ever with my own version of the Fab Four - me, Jack, Andrew and Heather! Andrew and Jack were naturals because they're diehard U2 fans. In Heather's case, though, it was more of a challenge, since her concert diet usually consists of the Jonas Brothers. But she was a trooper, holding her own with the other 50,000+ fans. The tailgate, the crowd buzz, the greatest hits - just the overall experience of taking in a U2 show with my own bandmates was more than worth the price of admission.

Truly, a Beautiful Day.

Best. Race. Ever.

So, Andrew took a quick jaunt around Shedd Park today with the rest of the Lowell High School XC team against Lawrence High School, and lo and behold! He posted his best finish ever for cross country, a personal record of 17:49!

His goal entering today's outing was to best his previous time on the course of 20:55. I'd say a 3:06 improvement on the trails around Shedd would count as an upgrade!

Clearly, dragging his butt out of bed every summer morning for the daily runs throughout Belvidere with his friends and teammates made a significant difference. But for those of us who've been running with him all along, PARTICULARLY for those long runs every Saturday a.m., we all know the real secret to his success: town lines. It looks like all those mornings he outgunned Carlos and Scott racing for the town lines really paid off.

And while we're at it, congrats overall and good luck to LHS Coach Phil Maia and his entire team, looking at a damned good XC season on the horizon!

A Walk of Life

Big hero cheers today for Jackie and Heather, her sister Annie and son John, and about 8,000 other walkers who took part in the inspirational Jimmy Fund Cancer Walk in Boston. Annie was diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukemis in September, 2001, but thanks to her hard work and the help of Dana Farber and Brigham and Women's Hospital, she has been in remission now for seven years and is doing wonderfully!


Jack and Annie did the 13.1 mile loop, from Wellesley to Boston, tracing the Boston Marathon route. Heather and John jumped in at Boston College to do the final five. (Heather, btw, according to the PA announcer at the Finish, won the prize for the coolest socks of the day!) Gorgeous weather and an unbelievable turnout helped raise $6.6 million for cancer research!


Here's some photos of my favorite walkers, along with a photograph by Boston Globe photographer Suzanne Kreiter to remind everyone exactly why they do the walk in the first place.

LHS XC - Off and Running!

Lowell High took second place in a monster relay competition today up in Newburyport. Hundreds of high schoolers from nearly two dozen schools took place, but naturally, there was one in particular that I was interested in watching.

Andrew, in the lead leg of his relay trio, did the two-miles in 12:42, and his team did quite well overall. A sometimes steady, sometimes torrential rain made for challenging conditions. Next up: Lawrence!

A Labor of Love

So what's the best part of certain holiday weekends?

Using the opportunity to have those things that occur with lesser frequency as the schedules of daily life seem to dictate - full blown, family get togethers.

This weekend provided a one-two punch, with both extended fams getting together over tons of food, lots of laughs, and some great get-together weather.

So without further ado, the obligatory group shots from each of the weekend famfests. I know, some folks are missing. (Chris Cook, for example, headed back to college early, so he was missing when the Saturday photo was taken, and I don't know how to insert one of those "missing when photo was taken" vignettes. But he was there in spirit, at least.)



A great way to close out a great summer!