We moved to Hernando from Newport News, Virginia. My husband was getting out of the Navy, and we had to decide where we wanted to live, for good. Most of my family is in Texas, and his family is in Arizona. Well, since they don’t have real chili, or Tex-Mex, or really much of anything in Arizona, I didn’t want to move there. And for some reason I can’t pretend to understand, he didn’t want to give Texas a try. So, we started looking at the Memphis area. My dad is in Germantown, and he really seems to like the area. He retired from the Air Force and came to Memphis, so there must be something there. After all, he’s a Texan too, so we can trust that he has good taste.

So we started looking into the area. We had small, elementary school children, so the schools were very important. We also wanted to give the kids something I never had; lifelong friends. As a child, the longest I ever lived anywhere was 3 years, and those assignments were few and far between. I had to learn to be the new kid a lot. So I’m great at making friends, bad at keeping them. I’m so used to moving all the time, I have to rearrange the furniture regularly. I wanted a different life for the kids. We also wanted it to be a small town. We wanted that wonderful, homey, small town aura. So when the realtor showed us Hernando, we feel in love. We knew that we’d be working close to home, and we could spend more time together as a family. But what would we do with that time?

Everywhere I’ve been stationed, there have always been a million things to do. In a military rich environment, there are always theme parks and stadiums around to take your money. It’s not quite that exciting here. Don’t get me wrong, there is a lot to do and enjoy around here, but it takes a little more work to find it. So as soon as we got settled, we started looking for things to do as a family.

We saw a show at the Orpheum. Nice, but way expensive. We did Mud Island, and the parks, and the zoo. All very nice. But nothing that we all really bonded over. Then one day the kids came home after a field trip. They were both at Oak Grove Elementary School, and they both went on a field trip to the DCC. Last year’s Face Off Field Trip. They couldn’t stop talking about it. Our son Austin was so impressed with how fast they skated, and how hard they hit the puck. He’s played several sports, but I’ve never seen him so excited about watching one. And our daughter Hannah, was really excited about Keith Aucoin. He’s so cute. Yeah, she thought the hockey was cool, too, but having some cute players didn’t hurt. They were so eager to see another game, they bugged me all the way home. I had to promise we’d go to another hockey game. We got home, and explained everything to my husband. He and I sat down and looked through all the things they gave them at the DCC and how they gave them a pretty thorough “Hockey 101”. We had literature on all the charitable things these hockey players do, and we read it. We were impressed.

In Virginia, we had the Admirals, and we never went to one game. It was too far, and not in my favorite part of Norfolk, and it was very expensive. Here, the DeSoto Civic Center is right up the road. Once we checked out ticket prices, we decided we had to give it a try. Even if it was just a minor league team, it might be fun, and it was something we could take the whole family to.

Well, one game and we were hooked. We loved the atmosphere, the fans, and of course, the team. Unfortunately for Hannah, Keith had already moved on. But she was fine. She already had her eye on Derek Landmesser. We all had such a great time. I coudn’t believe we had finally found something that all four of us liked! There was no whining. No “How much longer” or “I’m bored”. The most traumatic event of the night was trying to figure out which mascot we liked more, Sheldon or RiverThing. We went to one more game about a week later, to make sure it wasn’t a fluke, and that was all it took to make us season ticket holders.

I’m not sure how many teams in the CHL do a “Face Off Field Trip”, but I think they all should. I know it’s a controversial subject, and maybe they shouldn’t include that ticket in the cost of season tickets. I understand both sides. I don’t like the idea of missing any game, especially against Bossier. And so early in the season is tough too. But this is for kids. Some kids who have never been to a game. I believe that if you’re a season ticket holder dying to go, then go to the game and enjoy. If you can’t go to the game for whatever reason, I’m sorry. I only know that if it hadn’t been for that field trip last year, we probably wouldn’t be season ticket holders today. If it weren’t for the “Face Off Field Trip”, there wouldn’t be a www.riverkingsfans.com. So when someone asks me how I feel about giving up my seat at a daytime Bossier game, I say “Give my seat to a future hockey fanatic!”

The Tail Gate party went very well. We had a bunch of folks come and everyone had fun. I’m glad we hosted that. Now to start planning for the next one!

I still have a ton of stuff to buy! Never enough time in the day!!!

Not looking for a date, but I’m always up for taking a cheesy personality profile.

The Peach Random Gentle Love Master (RGLMf) Playful, kind, and well-loved, you are The Peach. For such a warm-hearted, generous person, you’re surprisingly experienced in both love and sex. We credit your spontaneous side; you tend to live in the moment, and you don’t get bogged down by inhibitions like most women your age. If you see something wonderful, you confidently embrace it. You are a fun flirt and an instant sweetheart, but our guess is you’re becoming more selective about long-term love. It’s getting tougher for you to become permanently attached; and a guy who’s in a different place emotionally might misunderstand your early enthusiasm. You can wreck someone simply by enjoying him. Your ideal mate is adventurous and giving, like you. But not overly intense. DREAD: The False Messiah CONSIDER: The Loverboy, The Playboy, or The Boy Next Door

Take the test

Tonight is the first game of the regular season for the RiverKings and we’ll be having a party! The game is in Bossier, so we’re having a party at our house to listen to the game. I can’t wait. I hope we kick some Mudbug ass!

Go RiverKings!

Daphne hooked me up today. She sent me a ton, but I’m only going to share them one at a time, because I’m sadistic like that.

Last night I took one of the kids to the RiverKings Meet-n-Greet. Our other child was at home sick with my husband. I thought we were going to have to fight over who was going, but it was surprisingly simple to decide. After I told him about Austin having a fever, I said “Sorry, we can’t all go. But it’s ok, you take Hannah, go and have a good time.” Of course, he was feeling gracious and said he didn’t want to go if we couldn’t all go. Lucky for me, I’m not that nice. You should have seen the look on his face as I grabbed my keys and headed for the door.

It was great seeing the players and so many other fans outside the DCC. Hannah had a great time talking to Derek Landmesser, over and over again (sorry Derek). I had a good time talking to friends, and players. Ok, I won’t lie, player. Thankfully, I only spoke to Travis Banga. I say thankfully, because I can understand him. Yes, he’s Canadian, but he’s bilingual, meaning he speaks fluent American. He has no accent, meaning he’s from North of the Mason-Dixon, but he’s very easy to carry on a conversation with. I was listening to some of the other conversations around us and I was amazed at how many players I just couldn’t comprehend at all. This got me thinking, without a translator, at the next non-hockey event, I might be stuck nodding and grinning and having no idea what anyone is talking about (that’s “ah-boot” for ya’ll Canadians). Luckily, I recently came across some helpful Canadian terms and expressions while researching for my Puck Bunny article, so I thought I’d share them here. I’ll try to put them in the proper context for us Southerners.

General conversation:

When a Canadian says Two Four, that means a case of beer, as in 24 beers. Oh, and they don’t call them beers. Beer is also beer plural, like deer. Pretty much any type of number slang refers to booze, like 26er (750ml bottle of alcohol), or 40 (40oz. bottle).

In Canada there’s alcool, which means grain alcohol. Homemade booze is also called swish. See, they even have moon shiners up North!

A wenis, nope not making this up, is a really stupid person.

Instead of saying “probably”, they say prolly. Not too far from redneck speak. They also use ijit instead of idiot.

Skid is the Canadian equivalent to our “trailer trash”. They also use skid to describe some people who still drive Trans Ams, dress like an 80’s hair band, or anyone sporting a mullet.

If you really don’t like someone, call them a knob or nob. Apparently it’s a pretty nasty insult referring to a man’s hoo-ninny.

They apparently like the word “hose” in all it’s forms. For example, to hose means to trick someone. If something is hosed, it means it’s broken. And if you’re a hoser, it means you’re a stupid. Still not nearly as bad as being a nob, though.

When something is so bad, it’s good, it’s choad.

If you’re commonly called a “redneck” down here, you’d be called a blueneck in Canada. Instead of having a neck red from the sun, it’d be frostbitten.

If a Canadian says he went to the ballet, think twice before you applaud him for being incredibly well defined. The ballet means strip club.

And be very careful asking a Canadian how they spent their weekend. If they did “nothing”, you could be in for a shock!

Hockey terms:

A barn refers to an arena, and the folks that work at hockey rinks are rink rats.

The Toronto Maple Leafs have many different names it seems. They’re called buds, Make Me Laughs, and the Leaks. The Montreal Canadiens are called habs, and the Senaturds are from Ottawa.

Someone who parks near the opposing team’s goalie and never plays defense is called a goal suck.

When they say Lord Stanley, they’re referring to the cup, not the man.

In Canada, pucks are called biscuits and rubbers, and hockey players girlfriend’s are called pucks. But if hockey players teeth are called Chiclets, it’s a miracle so many hockey players get pucks!

When you decoy or fake an opponent, it’s a deke out.

Hopefully the Canadian you’re currently conversing with will either have a very light accent, or you can somehow use hand signals to get him to slow down. If you are able to make out what he or she is saying, I hope this will help. And be sure to ask about poutine. I found several different recipes for it, but I still have no idea exactly what it is. It sounds either incredibly nasty, or like a very sinful junk food. I think poutine is to Canada what grits are down here. Most non-Southerners have no idea what grits are, and no desire to try them. And just like grits, apparently there are very few places to get poutine done right. Unfortunately for our transplants, I seriously doubt Southaven is one of them.

~Chris Schmied
RiverKingsFans.com

Can’t wait to talk to everyone! I know Stephanie, Carol and their families will be there. I just don’t know who I’ll look to talk to since I don’t know any of these new players yet!

Will signed up for Taekwondo last night. I guess he had fun! I’m sorry I missed it.

Blech. At least I know we have the player dinner tomorrow night. That’ll be fun. I have some work to do tonight, but Will is going to try out a karate class tonight.