The name itself is derived from an off-hand comment my Type B personality attorney father made about me to his hyper-Type A colleague many years ago (at the time, Pop worked in San Francisco and normally took BART in to work; the colleague would sometimes call Pop the night before to carpool together, agreeing to met at the BART station in our town). One evening he called, I took the message, and then failed to give it to Pop (I have always had a lousy memory, particularly for things that do not involve me, although I am making Lilliputian strides in improving), which prompted Mr. Hyper-A to draft a scathing memo that he insisted Pop give to me (which he did). Pop's response to him went something like, "If Matt were any more laid back, he'd need a wheel for his head." Flash forward a decade-and-a-half, and wheelhead sounded like a pretty good name for an email address. It's stuck, and it never fails to prompt some question or other when I give it out.
As to this blog, wheelhead will mostly be my musings and ramblings on a few different subjects near to my heart: family (married, 5 kids), church (I'm Mormon--hence the 5 kids), books and education, writing and editing (I'm now in a job requiring a lot of editing, which I have rather limited experience doing), BYU sports (Go Cougs!), the DC professional sports scene, and the contradictions and paradoxes of my life. I have frequently found writing to be the best way to organize my thoughts and figure out where I stand on a particular point of concern, so there will be a lot of backing and forthing here on a regular basis. More than anything, wheelhead will likely wind up being my little corner of the world to vent my spleen, air concerns, work through my issues, and occasionally solicit input or feedback. If you're one of those people who slows down to get a good look at the emergency vehicles on the side of the highway, you'll want to come back regularly.
Anyway, tonight's very brief entry: With the exception of the Washington Capitols, who are dreadful this year, the DC professional sports world has been a big tease all year. The Wizards pulled it together down the stretch to make the playoffs, beat the Bulls convincingly, then folded completely against Miami. The Nats captured the city's imagination and hearts, blew up in June, and folded completely after the All-star break, finishing a level .500 (how does any NL team go .300 down the stretch playing 12 games in September against San Diego, San Francisco, and the Mets?!?!). The Redskins--never one of my favorite teams, but growing on me after 12 years in the area--start 3-0, including wins over now 10-2 Seattle and the hated Cowboys (who have owned the 'Skins for the last decade), and have recently dropped three straight games they were leading in the fourth quarter. Great starts, glimpses of hope and corners turned, followed in all cases by disappointment and mediocrity. At least the Orioles and Ravens still stink.
