We're up before dawn on a Saturday morning because today is Jackman Day--that is, the day of the  Harmony Elementary School basketball teams' annual trek to Jackman, where they will be squashed like bugs by the always tall, strong, and fast Forest Hills Elementary School teams. Apparently kids grow bigger on the frontier. Two hours north of Harmony, the town is on the Quebec border, and there is nothing much up there but a main street stocked with bars and advertisements for hunting guides. From Jackman, a shopping trip to Wal-Mart takes all day. Could that be the modern definition of frontier?

Although many Harmony parents also drive to Jackman to watch their children get squashed like bugs, I prefer not to. Frankly I would rather vacuum. I can see my child get squashed without wasting an entire day on the project; for as of now, the Harmony boys' team is the worst in the league--although it does have the prettiest coach, which is some consolation.

Good thing I have written a basketball poem in honor of big losers. I know some of you have already read it, but here is "First Game" again, if you care to relive the moment.