A Sad Goodbye Began Today In Earnest

I love the pristine waters and the comfortable summers. I love the sporting life that Michigan embodies -- professional, collegiate prep sports alike -- and I love being part of the generations of Michiganders before us who've come to love the state as much as we do.

Today is the day I realized we're leaving. We're moving to Annapolis, Maryland. Like so many others, we're casualties of a job market gone hopeless and property values sinking faster than any doomed Great Lakes freighter has ever found the lake bed.

Don't mistake me, we've planned this and prepared for this well in advance of today. The house has been a virtual staging area for packing boxes, tape and lots of tears and heartache for almost 100 days. We've listed our property (twice... don't ask), contacted friends for final goodbyes and tied up our summer in tying up loose ends since the trees bloomed.

But today was the day our decision pinched my heart two squeezes too tight. I saw a Michigan State University football video, I felt like an outsider. I've immersed myself in a new state, a new culture and new way of life. Then I saw the MSU video and my life flashed in the mirror a little. No more Michigan State. No more Spartans. No more 'Warriors of the Red Cedar River.'

No more Michigan. No more Tigers and no more coneys. Hello, Maryland. Orioles baseball and crab cakes, too. I'm excited about a new future, but please excuse me if I'm more than a bit melancholy about this goodbye.

~ T.C. Cameron's 2nd book, Metro Detroit's High School Basketball Rivalries, will be released in October from Arcadia Publishing.

Comments

[Kevin G. Bertelsen]

Sorry to see you leave Mich, have followed your web and/or articles since you started. I too am a fellow high school official (Football and Lacrosse) and I too left the state and currently reside in North Carolina. Very different but am sure it was a good move. Plus officiating in NC is quite different than Michigan. Good Luck. Hope you can pick up in Maryland where you left in Mich. kgb.

[Mike]

I'm shocked. I had no idea you were considering leaving.
Wise decision. If we could get out, we would.
God speed to you and your family.

Mike: Thanks for the kind thoughts. It's been a ride, huh? Very sad to be leaving Michigan but we're keeping a reserved excitement under wraps for the new possibilities that await.

Please know I'm thankful for our friendship and appreciate your fortitude and independence to come to your own conclusions about this blog. I've learned about myself and from my mistakes in the past three years and I consider your following a proud accomplishment. Finally, as much as we wanted to pound them on a Friday night, we always respected the brightest and best from the Oaks and you very much fit that description. When the whistles and knickers are retired for good from your end, you'll leave officiating better than you found it and you'll have a made a positive mark in the community of educational athletics. Another RO contribution, huh?

Your friend...KIT.