Pedley's Ponderings

I wouldn't consider myself overtly athletic at age 33. Lately, I've been putting that assertion to the test.

The parks and rec board this month started a kickball league here in Hartley. Being the spouse of a board member, I was put on a team without my knowledge. I was perfectly fine with it, however, as it's been four years since I've stepped foot on a ball diamond in any competitive fashion.

I used to play slow pitch softball in Ashton every Wednesday night during the summer. Unfortunately, that league folded during the pandemic and has never been revived. I transitioned to coaching Little League during the last three summers and called it good.

Thursday night kickball has been a nice break from the norm. There's only three teams signed up, but everyone seems to be having a lot of fun – that is, when they're not getting injured.

"Opening Night" was somewhat frazzled for my team. One player overdid it heading into second and suffered a lower-body injury (I'll leave it up to your imagination), and I collided with someone on defense while I was sprinting back to the bag on a pop fly.

Due to the size differences between him and I, the collision resembled a tennis ball hitting a brick wall.

"Are you OK?!" I muttered as I scrambled to my feet.

"I didn't even move, dude. Are you OK?" he asked.

We both had a good laugh, but I was just thankful I didn't get the wind knocked out of me, or worse.

The second week was a bit hairier. We have a handful of younger players in the league, but most participants wouldn't consider themselves to be young anymore. Many were griping about sore legs, bum backs and other ailments. While I didn't utter any complaints, my kicking leg was quite tight after the evening's contest.

Though I would rather be playing slow pitch, I'm glad parks and rec created the new kickball league. It's a lot of fun and everyone has been enjoying themselves when they're not limping from here to there. We need more teams, so holler at a board member if you want to join.

• Pupdate

The "puppy" we adopted last November is still as dumb as the day we got him. He's also still generally the same size.

While it's clear Tucker is part Border Collie, his other genetics are to be determined. I originally thought the other half was some sort of terrier but have been second-guessing myself over the past week.

Our family dog of choice growing up was a beagle. We had three of them from the time I was born to the time I graduated from college, and I still hold a place in my heart for the stubborn hound dogs.

That's not to say I ever wanted one again. Though beagles are smart and good family dogs, I was never a fan of the aforementioned stubbornness. Once their nose kicks in it's game over for anyone trying to get them to obey a command.

Such has been the case for our little idiot Tucker. He's always on the hunt – be it for known prey or imagined. Every time we let him outside his back becomes rigidly straight as he scans the yard for invading rabbits, squirrels or birds. There's rarely an outing where he doesn't sprint beyond our yard's boundaries in an effort to snag one. Thus far he's been woefully unsuccessful.

It's getting rather annoying. While his aged counterpart Bo does her business immediately upon exiting the door, Tucker has to sniff every blade of grass in the yard before his frenetic brain can ease up enough to let him go to the bathroom. He never listens, either, and it takes us at least five tries of yelling "Tucker!" before the Border Collie kicks in and he comes back. I hope our neighbors' windows have been closed.

I did a brief image search of Border Collie/beagle mix last week, and there were definitely some visual similarities between Tucker and the mutts on the page. I'm pretty sure we have a beagle in our house; or at least part of one.

Regardless of his genetics, the little idiot is here to stay and we love him despite his momentary hearing lapses. At the very least, he's a lot quieter than my other beagles were.

• What a time to be alive

Though I'm generally not a fan of my chosen profession, I'm glad I'm not a historian these days.

Joe Biden finally dropped out of the presidential race on Sunday after realizing he was the only person in America that thought he could run the country for next four years. The late departure was unprecedented in U.S. history and made this crazy election even more insane.

Biden's woeful performance in the first presidential debate seemingly sealed the deal. While many in his camp claimed he was sound enough to handle the duties of the Oval Office, the visual evidence created overwhelming doubt – there was no coming back from that.

The sands of time will turn us all to dust. I can't imagine being the leader of the free world at age 81 like Biden. He's had a long political career that stretched from the Senate to the vice presidency to the Oval Office. That's an incredible resume.

I don't know how this race is going to shake out, but I'm glad Biden quit – it was getting pretty sad. Regardless of your political affiliation, this election is one for the record books: If it were a script being pitched to a Hollywood movie studio, producers would reject it outright for being too outlandish.

Nick Pedley is the news editor and ad manager of The Hartley Sentinel-The Everly/Royal News.