The above title is not some sort of verbal signals for a line out in rugby. 23 refers to how much time Rodrigo has left with my family, Duluth refers to the road trip we took up to Duluth, Minnesota yesterday, and Toulouse refers to the winner of “Le Bouclier de Brennus”(Brennus’ Shield), the Stanley Cup, if you will, of French Rugby supremecy.

It’s really getting down to the nitty-gritty. Rodrigo has most of his packing done. I am trying to get some of his last laundry down as I write this. He’s got to get his loose ends tied up today. I’m going to grill tonight for dinner. I also need to get ahold of Paula, our former AFS exchange student from Finland, who is in town to help a friend cope with the recent death of her mother. I would really like Paula to meet Rodrigo. Anytime we can get some of our 12 AFS students to meet their AFS “Brothers” and “Sisters” is a good thing, I think. So far, Rodrigo has met 4, and I would really like him to make it 5. As soon as I am done with this entry, I need to give Paula a call at Katie’s house.

Yesterday, Rodrigo and I went on a little road trip with his Brazilian friend Rafael and his American Dad, Gary and his American sister, Tina. Duluth, Minnesota is an inland port on Lake Superior, the largest fresh water lake in the world. It’s a bit over 2 hours north of Minneapolis. The weather was great, it was sunshine and high 60’s. We did the “Tourist thing” and went to Canal Park in Duluth, where there are all kinds of shops by the Harbor Bridge, and the kids where able to see some of the big ships that come in to get iron ore, wood and grain to ship east along the Great Lakes.(and in some cases hooking up with the St. Lawrence Seaway and connecting with the Atlantic Ocean) We had lunch at Grandma’s Saloon and Restaurant in Duluth. The food there is a bit overpriced, but Grandma’s is a huge institution in Duluth, and also sponsors a Marathon race each June that brings thousands of marathon runners to the banks of Lake Superior. After spending some time in Duluth, we took the kids to Goose Berry Falls, about 40 minutes north of Duluth, just past Two Harbors. It’s a very beautiful and striking waterfalls in a woodland setting. This year, since we have had quite a bit of rain and runoff, the falls were really moving this summer.

While Gary was showing the kids around Canal Park, I was able to meet my friends Bob and Carrie, along with their son Joshua and his Korean girlfriend.(Sorry I cannot remember her name) We had a nice visit. Bob has had a busy spring with knee replacement surgery a couple of months ago, and beriatric(weight loss) surgery a few weeks ago. He’s moving around pretty well, and is below 300 pounds for the first time in a long time. We had a nice visit, and it was great to have a chance to see them all.

On a last, rugby-related note, Clermont-Auvergne made it 9 times they have lost the French Rugby Final. They lost 26-20 against Toulouse at the Stade de France yesterday. I have mixed feelings about it, because In the Top 14, Toulouse is my favorite team. Still…you have to feel bad for a team that has come THIS close to bringing Le Bouclier de Brennus back the Auvergne, and just cannot quite get over the hump. Clermont topped the table at the end of the regular season, and played some great rugby. They were hard luck losers in “The Group of Death” during the Heineken Cup, playing some great matches against London Wasps and Munster-the eventual winner. So Toulouse get to bring Le Bouclier de Brennus back to Languedoc-again. At a certain point, you just have to recognize that this is a rugby team that manages to pick it up a notch for the big game. My only regret is that Setanta Sports did not carry the game.

Oh well, back to Laundry…22:59:59, 22:59:58, 22:59:57….