[26 Year Gap]

I will come right out and say that age does play a part. I am 50. I took 26 years off. If I had started back at age 36 instead of 46, I would not have as many hurdles. But, I hold no delusions about how far I will go. I know that a lot of guys 5-7 years older than me will hang up the whistle. I work hard and would beat a lot of officials 20 years younger than me in end to end sprints. I look forward to a better schedule this year than last. But I look at maybe 5 years before things start going in the other direction as some younger officials come along. And that is fine with me. I enjoy what I am doing. I do not expect to be doing any state semis before I hang up the whistle. I guess you could have a heart to heart with your assignor, but you might not be any happier afterwards.