Naturally, let me take a quick moment to wish everyone out there a Merry Christmas.
Santa Claus was very good to yours truly and the rest of my brood.....Its times like this that make me realize just how good the Lord has been to me.
As I'd been mentioning, I had a chance to watch a few movies the last few days and I thought I'd pass along some recommendations.
1) Superbad: Wow. This might be one of the filthiest movies I've ever seen and its so vulgar that I had to play a rare card with my teenage daughter. I told her it was too dirty for her. That's a very, very rare card that I don't like to play unless I have too. If you have a teenager, certainly don't watch it with them!! Your face will be beet red with embarassment.
Oh yeah, its flatout hilarious, maybe the funniest movie of the year---and you'll laugh your ass off. Just make sure your kids don't see you doing it. *****
2) A Christmas Story: A holiday classic that I make sure I see every year around Christmas time. The now timeless story of 9 year old Ralphie, set during the mid 40's somewhere in the midwest (Indiana?) and his near obsessive quest for a Red Ryder BB gun ("You'll shoot your eye out kid!"). Its both sarcastic and heart warming, and the great Darren McGavin is joined by Melinda Dillon as the parents that seemingly everyone remember THEIR parents being exactly like. Except for the leg lamp of course. ("Its a major award!") *****
3) The Simpson's Movie: Okay, first off, I laughed. Of course I did. There were some funny topical jokes (some very good political jokes naturally).....but overall it felt like a Simpson's episode that went on just a little bit too long. Sort of disappointing. **1/2
4) Eastern Promises: This movie about the Russian mob in London just came out on DVD. Allow me to offer some advice. Go get this movie right now. It seems as though every ethnicity has their very own "Godfather"---the original for the Italians of course, maybe Miller's Crossing for the Irish....and this is the Russian version. Viggo Mortensen continues to show that his terrific turns in the Lord of the Rings saga and History of Violence wasn't a fluke, and that he might well be the best actor of his generation.
Seriously. This story about a Russian prostitute's diary and the effect it has on the local mob boss (Armin Mueller Stahl--terrific) and his son is perhaps the best movie of the year and features one of the great fight scenes in cinematic history, as a naked (and I mean as in Full Monty naked) Mortensen fights for his life in a bath house against two thugs armed with knifes. Its brutal and violent and realistic and sets a new standard in movie's for hand to hand combat. ****** A terrific--DO NOT MISS--classic.
Later,
Jeff
Tuesday, December 25, 2007
Saturday, December 22, 2007
12/22/07--Big week for A.P.B.!!!
Yep, a big week for Andy....Kim & I were very proud the other day when he got his letter of acceptance from Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken, NJ. You could even tell that Andy--normally very reserved when it comes to showing emotion of any kind--was very excited about the news. We were especially excited that the letter also included the news that Andy had also been approved for over $22,000 in scholarship money! That's good for a little more than half--which should let you know just how much it costs to send your kid to college these days. AAAAAAAAHHHH!!
Then today, Andy tested for his lst degree black belt in Tae Kwon Do. I'm happy and proud to announce that.....he passed!! Yep, his sister has to bow to him again in class, which I'm sure annoys her to no end. Andy told us the testing was very difficult, including an endurance run of approximately 5 miles, 50 push-ups (never Andy's strong point), sparring, and finally the opportunity to show his knowledge of the form and a chance to show a self defense technique that each student creates himself. It was very hard work and Andy passed with flying colors. Pretty good week for Andy!!!
I went to Blockbuster and rented a whole slew of movies...so I'm going to hope that I have some movie reviews coming up in the next few days....I haven't done any in like forever....much to my dismay, and I know you just live for that stuff.
Later,
Jeff
Then today, Andy tested for his lst degree black belt in Tae Kwon Do. I'm happy and proud to announce that.....he passed!! Yep, his sister has to bow to him again in class, which I'm sure annoys her to no end. Andy told us the testing was very difficult, including an endurance run of approximately 5 miles, 50 push-ups (never Andy's strong point), sparring, and finally the opportunity to show his knowledge of the form and a chance to show a self defense technique that each student creates himself. It was very hard work and Andy passed with flying colors. Pretty good week for Andy!!!
I went to Blockbuster and rented a whole slew of movies...so I'm going to hope that I have some movie reviews coming up in the next few days....I haven't done any in like forever....much to my dismay, and I know you just live for that stuff.
Later,
Jeff
12/22/07--Big week for A.P.B.!!!
Yep, a big week for Andy....Kim & I were very proud the other day when he got his letter of acceptance from Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken, NJ. You could even tell that Andy--normally very reserved when it comes to showing emotion of any kind--was very excited about the news. We were especially excited that the letter also included the news that Andy had also been approved for over $22,000 in scholarship money! That's good for a little more than half--which should let you know just how much it costs to send your kid to college these days. AAAAAAAAHHHH!!
Then today, Andy tested for his lst degree black belt in Tae Kwon Do. I'm happy and proud to announce that.....he passed!! Yep, his sister has to bow to him again in class, which I'm sure annoys her to no end. Andy told us the testing was very difficult, including an endurance run of approximately 5 miles, 50 push-ups (never Andy's strong point), sparring, and finally the opportunity to show his knowledge of the form and a chance to show a self defense technique that each student creates himself. It was very hard work and Andy passed with flying colors. Pretty good week for Andy!!!
I went to Blockbuster and rented a whole slew of movies...so I'm going to hope that I have some movie reviews coming up in the next few days....I haven't done any in like forever....much to my dismay, and I know you just live for that stuff.
Later,
Jeff
Then today, Andy tested for his lst degree black belt in Tae Kwon Do. I'm happy and proud to announce that.....he passed!! Yep, his sister has to bow to him again in class, which I'm sure annoys her to no end. Andy told us the testing was very difficult, including an endurance run of approximately 5 miles, 50 push-ups (never Andy's strong point), sparring, and finally the opportunity to show his knowledge of the form and a chance to show a self defense technique that each student creates himself. It was very hard work and Andy passed with flying colors. Pretty good week for Andy!!!
I went to Blockbuster and rented a whole slew of movies...so I'm going to hope that I have some movie reviews coming up in the next few days....I haven't done any in like forever....much to my dismay, and I know you just live for that stuff.
Later,
Jeff
Monday, December 10, 2007
12/10/07--Good Lord Almighty!!! Its MEEEEEE!
I'm not even going to get into where I've been....suffice to say...my life is not without its drama. However, we just got back from our big trip to NYC, where we took Andy up for his big interview with the college of his choice. Here's a quick rundown on the trip:
We flew out Friday afternoon--HA!---make that...we were SUPPOSED to fly out on Friday afternoon. Delays in our flight made it turn out to be Friday EVENING.
JetBLue, you understand. Our flight was scheduled to leave at 5:15pm. So we get to the airport and the wife informs me that our flight has been delayed by "about 30 minutes". So I'm walking around, make a phone call here and there, and then she comes up to me and informs me that "its been delayed another hour". Apparently something to do with the weather conditions in the New York area.
Except...we're checking the big board and can't help but notice that the only flights that are NOT leaving are...you guessed it, the JetBlue flights. Yep, your Continental and Delta flights to NYC appear to be leaving right on schedule. Funny how that works, huh? Well, at long last the plane arrives, the crew arrives...we get on the plane and are ready to go.
NOT!
We're on the plane, getting situated and the captain comes on the p.a. system and announces....I shit you not...that during the process of pushing the plane away from the gate, the front wheel had been broken---and we have to switch planes. Unbelieveable.
So we go back into the terminal and we're trying to get some answers about whether or not we're going to be eligible for our (get a load of this)...$25 coupon towards our next flight on JetBlue...and this guy pipes up that the first delay wasn't "the airlines fault".
He tells us that it was do to "weather problems". I quickly pointed out that it seemed as though the other airlines weren't having any difficulties getting away. He told me that obviously what had happened was that the planes had left the gate and then returned.
Seriously--that's what he said. So we finally are getting onto our flight...and I ask the gate attendant who the guy that had said that was---ya know, was he a "representative of the airlines"? And he says....no lie....
"Nope...he just flies with us a couple of times a week and knows everybody."
I was actually waiting for him to say that he had spent the night before at a Holiday Inn Express.
Our 5:15pm flight left promptly....at 8:05pm....right on time (for JetBlue).
We got into chilly, dark and forboding Newark, NJ....at a crisp 33 degrees and colder than a witches heart....and got to our hotel around midnight. I love to travel...really.
The next morning we got up for Andy's big interview with the good folks at Stevens Institute of Technology (Stevens Institute of Technology: Hoboken, New Jersey, USA)
Andy had prepped for the interview for the better part of 3 months, with everyone offering all sorts of tips and advice on how to conduct himself. So we get there, and there's another kid waiting to be interviewed. And his name was Andy. And his last name? Boden. I'm talking one stinking constant away from being the same person.
So Andy finally gets in for the interview....and it lasts maybe 20 minutes. And then we're invited in....for about 5 minutes. Mostly happy talk. All that work...all that prep....and its pretty much a "hey, what's happening?" kind of interview. After the interview we made our way via train into Manhattan and headed towards the Union Square GreenMarket that they have every day.....just awesome....all the farmers from upstate NY come and sell their veggies, fruits, nuts, honey, pies, cookies (oh yeah---they have cookies!) Its really fantastic. We then decided to head up to Times Square and then over to Rockfeller Center to check out the Christmas tree in front of NBC. It was the holiday season....a Saturday afternoon....and it was complete insanity. Right around 1 million people in a 6 block radius. I felt like a sardine. What a disappointment.
We headed back over to the Jersey side for dinner in downtown Hoboken...which will hopefully be home to Andy in about a year...and found a very nice restaurant with good food and complete idiots at the next table. Nothing like having your wife and kids with you and hearing lots of talk about "f'n this...and f'n that". Mind you....Lord knows I should watch my mouth in that regards....but it ruined a perfectly good evening.
The next morning we got up and ventured out to lovely Jersey City, NJ---and took the Jersey entrance to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. Lady Liberty was fairly disappointing...long lines and 9/11 have made it much ado aboutnot much....but, Ellis Island was incredibly interesting....and a place that everyone in this country should make a point of visiting at least once in there life--if for no other reason than to understand and appreciate the sacrifices that the immigrants into this country at the turn of last century made to get to this country. Very powerful stuff.
We returned last night...in time to watch the late game on NBC. Which is like the best of both worlds. Ya know?
Later,
Jeff
We flew out Friday afternoon--HA!---make that...we were SUPPOSED to fly out on Friday afternoon. Delays in our flight made it turn out to be Friday EVENING.
JetBLue, you understand. Our flight was scheduled to leave at 5:15pm. So we get to the airport and the wife informs me that our flight has been delayed by "about 30 minutes". So I'm walking around, make a phone call here and there, and then she comes up to me and informs me that "its been delayed another hour". Apparently something to do with the weather conditions in the New York area.
Except...we're checking the big board and can't help but notice that the only flights that are NOT leaving are...you guessed it, the JetBlue flights. Yep, your Continental and Delta flights to NYC appear to be leaving right on schedule. Funny how that works, huh? Well, at long last the plane arrives, the crew arrives...we get on the plane and are ready to go.
NOT!
We're on the plane, getting situated and the captain comes on the p.a. system and announces....I shit you not...that during the process of pushing the plane away from the gate, the front wheel had been broken---and we have to switch planes. Unbelieveable.
So we go back into the terminal and we're trying to get some answers about whether or not we're going to be eligible for our (get a load of this)...$25 coupon towards our next flight on JetBlue...and this guy pipes up that the first delay wasn't "the airlines fault".
He tells us that it was do to "weather problems". I quickly pointed out that it seemed as though the other airlines weren't having any difficulties getting away. He told me that obviously what had happened was that the planes had left the gate and then returned.
Seriously--that's what he said. So we finally are getting onto our flight...and I ask the gate attendant who the guy that had said that was---ya know, was he a "representative of the airlines"? And he says....no lie....
"Nope...he just flies with us a couple of times a week and knows everybody."
I was actually waiting for him to say that he had spent the night before at a Holiday Inn Express.
Our 5:15pm flight left promptly....at 8:05pm....right on time (for JetBlue).
We got into chilly, dark and forboding Newark, NJ....at a crisp 33 degrees and colder than a witches heart....and got to our hotel around midnight. I love to travel...really.
The next morning we got up for Andy's big interview with the good folks at Stevens Institute of Technology (Stevens Institute of Technology: Hoboken, New Jersey, USA)
Andy had prepped for the interview for the better part of 3 months, with everyone offering all sorts of tips and advice on how to conduct himself. So we get there, and there's another kid waiting to be interviewed. And his name was Andy. And his last name? Boden. I'm talking one stinking constant away from being the same person.
So Andy finally gets in for the interview....and it lasts maybe 20 minutes. And then we're invited in....for about 5 minutes. Mostly happy talk. All that work...all that prep....and its pretty much a "hey, what's happening?" kind of interview. After the interview we made our way via train into Manhattan and headed towards the Union Square GreenMarket that they have every day.....just awesome....all the farmers from upstate NY come and sell their veggies, fruits, nuts, honey, pies, cookies (oh yeah---they have cookies!) Its really fantastic. We then decided to head up to Times Square and then over to Rockfeller Center to check out the Christmas tree in front of NBC. It was the holiday season....a Saturday afternoon....and it was complete insanity. Right around 1 million people in a 6 block radius. I felt like a sardine. What a disappointment.
We headed back over to the Jersey side for dinner in downtown Hoboken...which will hopefully be home to Andy in about a year...and found a very nice restaurant with good food and complete idiots at the next table. Nothing like having your wife and kids with you and hearing lots of talk about "f'n this...and f'n that". Mind you....Lord knows I should watch my mouth in that regards....but it ruined a perfectly good evening.
The next morning we got up and ventured out to lovely Jersey City, NJ---and took the Jersey entrance to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. Lady Liberty was fairly disappointing...long lines and 9/11 have made it much ado aboutnot much....but, Ellis Island was incredibly interesting....and a place that everyone in this country should make a point of visiting at least once in there life--if for no other reason than to understand and appreciate the sacrifices that the immigrants into this country at the turn of last century made to get to this country. Very powerful stuff.
We returned last night...in time to watch the late game on NBC. Which is like the best of both worlds. Ya know?
Later,
Jeff
Sunday, November 18, 2007
11/19/07---Far be it for me not to mention this...but
After the season they've had....How about those Fighting Irish baby!!!
Yessir, we kicked a little Duke ass! Ugh, how depressing is your season when you get excited about whoopin up on DUKE???
That aside.....there were some nice things to see...including:
Trevor Laws (DT) is a freakin animal. I know because of his size he's going to have to wait until the 3rd or 4th round to get drafted, but whomever gets him is getting a flatout stallion. What a player......Nice to see Tommy Z get some time at QB as a goof. The guy has had an up and down career--some really high high's (2005 vs. Tennessee) and some really bad lows (uh....USC?), but the guy is a warrior.....Jimmy Clausen is finally showing the form that will make him a great QB in the next year or two. He's going to be fun to watch.....Robert Hughes & Armando Allen, considering that their freshmen, are going to give the Irish a pretty substantial backfield in the next year or two....Good Lord almighty, how many passes did our WR's drop?......Here's a guy you didn't notice this year but who is going to be great---DT Ian Williams. Its sad to see T. Laws go, but the position will be in good hands with Ian. What a horse.....
Later,
Jeff
Yessir, we kicked a little Duke ass! Ugh, how depressing is your season when you get excited about whoopin up on DUKE???
That aside.....there were some nice things to see...including:
Trevor Laws (DT) is a freakin animal. I know because of his size he's going to have to wait until the 3rd or 4th round to get drafted, but whomever gets him is getting a flatout stallion. What a player......Nice to see Tommy Z get some time at QB as a goof. The guy has had an up and down career--some really high high's (2005 vs. Tennessee) and some really bad lows (uh....USC?), but the guy is a warrior.....Jimmy Clausen is finally showing the form that will make him a great QB in the next year or two. He's going to be fun to watch.....Robert Hughes & Armando Allen, considering that their freshmen, are going to give the Irish a pretty substantial backfield in the next year or two....Good Lord almighty, how many passes did our WR's drop?......Here's a guy you didn't notice this year but who is going to be great---DT Ian Williams. Its sad to see T. Laws go, but the position will be in good hands with Ian. What a horse.....
Later,
Jeff
Saturday, November 17, 2007
11/17/07--Closing out our visit to Notre Dame
So Friday morning we traveled to South Bend from Chicago, which takes a little over an hour, all the while traveling through some of the most beautiful rolling farmland you'll ever see. Once you get outside lovely industrial Gary, Indiana, that is.
We got into the South Bend area (actually Elkhart, Indiana) and checked into our hotel.
After that, we drove over to the campus and made our way to the bookstore--and it was waaaaay colder than the weatherman told us it would be. The store had about triple the amount of customers it had two years ago when I was last there--it was literally a madhouse--amazing in itself for a team that was 1-8. I dropped a couple of hundred on the merch and then we headed over to pick up some tickets for the pep rally.
Again, considering how lousy the team has been, the pep rally was a pretty amazing affair. It was totally packed inside the Joyce ACC, and the crowd was very supportive of the team. The surprise guest (they have one at every rally) was Allen Pinkett, who left the school in 1985 as the school's alltime leading rusher. Quite frankly, it was kind of a letdown.
After that, we walked across the campus to the Grotto, where Rene & Johnny lit a candle for their daughter Scarlett, who got some worrisome news earlier in the day.
We're thinking of you Scar!!!
After a bite to eat at a Roadhouse Grill with about 200 other N.D. fans, it was in for the night in preparation for the game the next day.
We got up Saturday to a light frost on the ground and a total fog blackout around the hotel. It was interesting--we literally couldn't see more than 2 car lengths in front of us for almost the entire drive...and right as we got to the stadium, the fog lifted and the sun just shone spectacularly. We took it for a good omen.
Well....so much for omens. The Irish pretty much laid an egg on the field against Air Force and lost 41-24. About the only good thing to come out of the game was that QB Jimmy Clausen looked pretty damn impressive in the 2nd half, throwing for a total of 3 touchdowns. Other than that...well, the weather was nice, ya know?
After the game we went out for dinner, all of us got a little bit loaded, and enjoyed each others company. The game was bad---but the trip itself was great.
The next morning we made our way back to Chicago for the flight home...luckily forus, no weirdo's....although the flight attendants were a little strange. But that's another story for another day.
Later,
Jeff
We got into the South Bend area (actually Elkhart, Indiana) and checked into our hotel.
After that, we drove over to the campus and made our way to the bookstore--and it was waaaaay colder than the weatherman told us it would be. The store had about triple the amount of customers it had two years ago when I was last there--it was literally a madhouse--amazing in itself for a team that was 1-8. I dropped a couple of hundred on the merch and then we headed over to pick up some tickets for the pep rally.
Again, considering how lousy the team has been, the pep rally was a pretty amazing affair. It was totally packed inside the Joyce ACC, and the crowd was very supportive of the team. The surprise guest (they have one at every rally) was Allen Pinkett, who left the school in 1985 as the school's alltime leading rusher. Quite frankly, it was kind of a letdown.
After that, we walked across the campus to the Grotto, where Rene & Johnny lit a candle for their daughter Scarlett, who got some worrisome news earlier in the day.
We're thinking of you Scar!!!
After a bite to eat at a Roadhouse Grill with about 200 other N.D. fans, it was in for the night in preparation for the game the next day.
We got up Saturday to a light frost on the ground and a total fog blackout around the hotel. It was interesting--we literally couldn't see more than 2 car lengths in front of us for almost the entire drive...and right as we got to the stadium, the fog lifted and the sun just shone spectacularly. We took it for a good omen.
Well....so much for omens. The Irish pretty much laid an egg on the field against Air Force and lost 41-24. About the only good thing to come out of the game was that QB Jimmy Clausen looked pretty damn impressive in the 2nd half, throwing for a total of 3 touchdowns. Other than that...well, the weather was nice, ya know?
After the game we went out for dinner, all of us got a little bit loaded, and enjoyed each others company. The game was bad---but the trip itself was great.
The next morning we made our way back to Chicago for the flight home...luckily forus, no weirdo's....although the flight attendants were a little strange. But that's another story for another day.
Later,
Jeff
Wednesday, November 14, 2007
11/14/07--More Tales from Chi-Town
So we got up on Thursday morning and headed out for the Untouchables tour.
Untouchable Tours Home Two guys dressed up from the 20's & 30's took us on a tour of all the old gangster hotspots from the Al Capone days. Besides being interesting, it also gave us a chance to check out things in Chicago that we might have otherwise not realized even existed (who knew Chicago had a Chinatown?).
After the two hour tour (go ahead...hum with me...."the two hour tour....") we decided to go get an early lunch at Carson's BBQ Ribs. Top notch people, absolutely top notch.
Carson's BBQ Ribs Sauce BBQ Barbecue, Barbeque Chicago Baby, Back Ribs Father's Day Gift Mother's Day Gift Birthday Gift Chri... I really loved the sauce and even Johnny---the original BBQ connoisseur from the south--was impressed.
Hey, to me...that's high praise that I had made the right selection. After lunch we took them to the John Hancock Building and way up to the 94th floor for a panoramic view of the entire city. There was also a part of the upper floor that was dedicated to the massive undertaking that was involved in rebuilding the city after the great Chicago Fire.
Hello....anyone remember Mrs O'Leary's cow?
After that, Kim & I decided to take a nice walk down Michigan Avenue, where the elite go to meet and greet in Chicago....which was really nice since it was about 55 degrees outside. I can't repeat this enough--the people of the Midwest are so nice compared to the people of south Florida. Lord, please get me out of here soon and let me move to the Midwest.
After going back to the hotel, we hooked up with Rene & Johnny for a nice dinner at a slightly upscale Chicago restaurant. Shaw's Crabhouse.Shaw's Crab House: Fresh Seafood, Steak, Sushi, Crab in Chicago and Schaumburg Who knew that Chicago was the place to go for crabs? I had a lovely steak and shrimp...in keeping with a longstanding tradition of never ordering the meal that the restaurant is famous for.
Hey, I go to Outback and order the chicken, okay?
After dinner....fate played a hand in our next move. We were trying to decide which club we should go to for some live music, when I happened to speak to my old buddy Dave Flaherty....I told him we were getting ready to go see some live music in Chicago and without another word he said:
"Well please tell me that your going to Buddy Guy's." Buddy Guy's Legends
So we headed out for a night of the blues and were not disappointed. The headline act that evening was guitarist Jimmy Johnson
Jimmy Johnson Biography - Read blues music reviews and compare prices at Yahoo! Shopping.
and he was eventually joined on stage for a brief jam session by Buddy Guy!! It was super good and the crowd of about 200 to 300 was totally into it.
After the show we headed back to the hotel, because....well, ya know....we're not quite as young as we used to be....and so we took a cab. The guy is taking a route back that uses Michigan Avenue--remember that street I had walked on earlier? Well, this guy is driving and I kid you not....probably hitting 80 mph on city streets. I'm sort of hanging on for dear life in the front seat while the other 3 have a look of blind terror on their faces. Apparently the cab driver finally realized that we were all afraid we were about to die, so he looks at me and says: (heavy accent)
"Dare eez.....no speed limit on Michigan Avenue."
I looked back at him and uttered:
"Well apparently not."
Chicago....its a toddlin town.
Later,
Jeff
PS...tomorrow....we head to South Bend and Notre Dame.
Untouchable Tours Home Two guys dressed up from the 20's & 30's took us on a tour of all the old gangster hotspots from the Al Capone days. Besides being interesting, it also gave us a chance to check out things in Chicago that we might have otherwise not realized even existed (who knew Chicago had a Chinatown?).
After the two hour tour (go ahead...hum with me...."the two hour tour....") we decided to go get an early lunch at Carson's BBQ Ribs. Top notch people, absolutely top notch.
Carson's BBQ Ribs Sauce BBQ Barbecue, Barbeque Chicago Baby, Back Ribs Father's Day Gift Mother's Day Gift Birthday Gift Chri... I really loved the sauce and even Johnny---the original BBQ connoisseur from the south--was impressed.
Hey, to me...that's high praise that I had made the right selection. After lunch we took them to the John Hancock Building and way up to the 94th floor for a panoramic view of the entire city. There was also a part of the upper floor that was dedicated to the massive undertaking that was involved in rebuilding the city after the great Chicago Fire.
Hello....anyone remember Mrs O'Leary's cow?
After that, Kim & I decided to take a nice walk down Michigan Avenue, where the elite go to meet and greet in Chicago....which was really nice since it was about 55 degrees outside. I can't repeat this enough--the people of the Midwest are so nice compared to the people of south Florida. Lord, please get me out of here soon and let me move to the Midwest.
After going back to the hotel, we hooked up with Rene & Johnny for a nice dinner at a slightly upscale Chicago restaurant. Shaw's Crabhouse.Shaw's Crab House: Fresh Seafood, Steak, Sushi, Crab in Chicago and Schaumburg Who knew that Chicago was the place to go for crabs? I had a lovely steak and shrimp...in keeping with a longstanding tradition of never ordering the meal that the restaurant is famous for.
Hey, I go to Outback and order the chicken, okay?
After dinner....fate played a hand in our next move. We were trying to decide which club we should go to for some live music, when I happened to speak to my old buddy Dave Flaherty....I told him we were getting ready to go see some live music in Chicago and without another word he said:
"Well please tell me that your going to Buddy Guy's." Buddy Guy's Legends
So we headed out for a night of the blues and were not disappointed. The headline act that evening was guitarist Jimmy Johnson
Jimmy Johnson Biography - Read blues music reviews and compare prices at Yahoo! Shopping.
and he was eventually joined on stage for a brief jam session by Buddy Guy!! It was super good and the crowd of about 200 to 300 was totally into it.
After the show we headed back to the hotel, because....well, ya know....we're not quite as young as we used to be....and so we took a cab. The guy is taking a route back that uses Michigan Avenue--remember that street I had walked on earlier? Well, this guy is driving and I kid you not....probably hitting 80 mph on city streets. I'm sort of hanging on for dear life in the front seat while the other 3 have a look of blind terror on their faces. Apparently the cab driver finally realized that we were all afraid we were about to die, so he looks at me and says: (heavy accent)
"Dare eez.....no speed limit on Michigan Avenue."
I looked back at him and uttered:
"Well apparently not."
Chicago....its a toddlin town.
Later,
Jeff
PS...tomorrow....we head to South Bend and Notre Dame.
Monday, November 12, 2007
11/12/07---Back from..."Sweet Home...Chicago"
So we left late Wednesday afternoon, the 7th from Ft Lauderdale. Mind you, we left for the airport right after the caught the guy who murdered a transportation deputy on his way to the courthouse for trial, so the whole county was in the middle of a panic as we were preparing to leave. Fortunately they caught the guy....would've been a shame if he accidentally slipped and fell on the way to the jail, huh?
Anyway...we got to the airport (repeat this with me because you knew it was coming):
EARLY (my wife and her time issues). So while we're waiting for our flight to be called, I had what David Letterman likes to call....a "brush with greatness". I'm walking around, listening to some tunes on the IPOD and I walk past this guy...and I'm thinking...'he looks awful familar'. So I go past him again...and lo & behold...sitting there:
Joe Theismann.
Former Super Bowl winning QB...and, more importantly...former Notre Dame starting QB under Ara Parseghian. Oh mama! Here I am....heading up to a Notre Dame game, and I run into an alltime great right there in the airport! He was talking on the phone, so I waited until he had a moment free (I think people that barge up and interrupt people while they're on the phone or eating dinner are so rude) and approached him. I had heard a few times that he was pretty cocky and full of himself...so I was a little bit cautious. I'm happy to say the guy couldn't have been more gracious. He shook my hand and when I mentioned that I was heading up for the Air Force game he smiled and told me that he knew I was going to have a great time, since no place is better than Notre Dame to watch a college game. He told me that he had been up to N.D. three times that year and wasn't sure if he would be able to make it back before the end of the season or not. Really a polite guy and a treat to talk with. After a few minutes he got another call and I excused myself so he could take it. What an awesome start to my weekend!!
So we get on the plane for the flight to Chicago, and the first thing I notice is the weird guy across the aisle from us....when I say weird, I mean....hmm.....weird as in...."potential sexual predator" kind of weird. First of all, we catch him listening to our conversation....then he takes his shoes off and stretches across his seat (he was alone in his row--small wonder) and leaves his feet propped up on the arm rest. HELLO!!!
Why does this guy think that everyone wants to smell his stinky feet? I was getting ready to discuss the guy's toe fungus with him when he changed position and put his feet on the seats towards the window. Wow, wouldn't I love to be the next passenger sitting in one of those seats! Later in the flight, we noticed that the guy was leaning forward in his seat and looking at the two girls in the seats in front of him. They were two teenagers--maybe Japanese or something (not too bad looking--oops!)--and we couldn't figure out if the guy was listening to their conversation or trying to look down their shirts.
Pre-vert alert!
Meanwhile, while all of that is going on.....I've figured out that the lovely roast beef sandwich that my wife had bought me from Arby's, that 5 star den of cuisine, was....ya know...starting to let me know it was unhappy being in my stomach. I mean....REALLY unhappy. So Kim asks me what's wrong, and I tell her...her suggestion?
Unbutton my pants. Ya know....loosen things up a bit.
I figure that's easier said than done with two ladies in back of me and the pervert with the smelly feet across the aisle. I can just see it now....I make the casual unbutton of the pants...look across the aisle and get the knowing "wink wink, nod nod, nudge nudge" from old Smelly Feet. Why do these things happen to me???
Finally we arrive in Chi-town, and we've got about a 1 and 1/2 hour wait until my sister and her husband Johnny arrive to hook up with us. While we're getting our rental car, the guy at the counter mentions that there's a shuttle that will take us to a local hotel that has a pub and maybe we can get a drink while we're waiting. Our choices are either a TGI Friday's or a pub called Clancy's. I tell Kim that my good father would be aghast if I passed up a chance to go to a fine Irish pub in lieu of Friday's! Ugh....as if!
So we go in, order a drink and we're engaging in some light conversation when these two ladies come in--one of whom is walking with crutches. Now, we're at a table--not at the bar. And the two ladies try and squeeze a spot at the bar, only to be rebuffed by a guy who's apparently returning from the restroom. So now one of the women don't have a place to sit...and they turn and look at us. Now again, mind you....the table next tous was occupied by ONE WOMAN...by herself....who had a drink. We're sitting there with a drink and some food that had just been delivered (horrible potato skins-UGH). Do they look at the woman to get up? Oh of course not. They give us the dirty look and the...."how dare you not get up so my injured friend has a place to sit??" look.
Sorry sister....find another sucker. So after a short time, we get ready for the shuttle to come back around and take us back to the airport to pick up sis. The shuttle arrives at the hotel--and I mean to tell you its packed. And it begins to unload. I think I counted approximatley 27 women--all between the ages of 35 and 55. I finally turned to Kim and said:
"This many women in one spot....I gotta have an ex-wife in there somewhere."
So my wife....being ever supportative....says:
"Any of you ladies ever been married to this guy?" Lovely, huh?
By the way...no sign of wife #1 or #2. Just for the record.
So we go back to airport...and my sister finally arrives. They were coming up from Jacksonville and had quite the day. Complete with that lovely 4 hour layover in Atlanta.
I would rather be in purgatory than in the Atlanta airport. Come to think of it...some people think that's where you go when your sent to purgatory...but I digress.
So we get our car, head thru Chicago towards our hotel....the Sofitel Hotel. Its right next to the John Hancock Building in downtown Chicago and is 32 floors. In a word?
Spectacular. I mean quite possibly the nicest hotel I've ever stayed in. And the funny part? Its own by Motel 6. I guess "Sofitel" is the upscale brand of Motel 6. And holy crap is it ever upscale. I mean bellhops, doormen, valets....all there to make sure you don't as much as sneeze without someone offering you a cloth hanky. And I don't wanna say the rooms were nice...but Kim wanted to take a photo...of the bathroom.
I overruled that--sorry...I do have SOME standards. After getting a little settled, we walked across the street for the old 10:30pm dinner at Pizano's. Pizano's Pizza on State Street in Chicago Johnny had been waiting for his first taste of authentic Chicago style pizza and he wasn't disappointed....and neither were any of the rest of us. Terrific food!!
End of day #1----day #2 coming shortly.
Later,
Jeff
Anyway...we got to the airport (repeat this with me because you knew it was coming):
EARLY (my wife and her time issues). So while we're waiting for our flight to be called, I had what David Letterman likes to call....a "brush with greatness". I'm walking around, listening to some tunes on the IPOD and I walk past this guy...and I'm thinking...'he looks awful familar'. So I go past him again...and lo & behold...sitting there:
Joe Theismann.
Former Super Bowl winning QB...and, more importantly...former Notre Dame starting QB under Ara Parseghian. Oh mama! Here I am....heading up to a Notre Dame game, and I run into an alltime great right there in the airport! He was talking on the phone, so I waited until he had a moment free (I think people that barge up and interrupt people while they're on the phone or eating dinner are so rude) and approached him. I had heard a few times that he was pretty cocky and full of himself...so I was a little bit cautious. I'm happy to say the guy couldn't have been more gracious. He shook my hand and when I mentioned that I was heading up for the Air Force game he smiled and told me that he knew I was going to have a great time, since no place is better than Notre Dame to watch a college game. He told me that he had been up to N.D. three times that year and wasn't sure if he would be able to make it back before the end of the season or not. Really a polite guy and a treat to talk with. After a few minutes he got another call and I excused myself so he could take it. What an awesome start to my weekend!!
So we get on the plane for the flight to Chicago, and the first thing I notice is the weird guy across the aisle from us....when I say weird, I mean....hmm.....weird as in...."potential sexual predator" kind of weird. First of all, we catch him listening to our conversation....then he takes his shoes off and stretches across his seat (he was alone in his row--small wonder) and leaves his feet propped up on the arm rest. HELLO!!!
Why does this guy think that everyone wants to smell his stinky feet? I was getting ready to discuss the guy's toe fungus with him when he changed position and put his feet on the seats towards the window. Wow, wouldn't I love to be the next passenger sitting in one of those seats! Later in the flight, we noticed that the guy was leaning forward in his seat and looking at the two girls in the seats in front of him. They were two teenagers--maybe Japanese or something (not too bad looking--oops!)--and we couldn't figure out if the guy was listening to their conversation or trying to look down their shirts.
Pre-vert alert!
Meanwhile, while all of that is going on.....I've figured out that the lovely roast beef sandwich that my wife had bought me from Arby's, that 5 star den of cuisine, was....ya know...starting to let me know it was unhappy being in my stomach. I mean....REALLY unhappy. So Kim asks me what's wrong, and I tell her...her suggestion?
Unbutton my pants. Ya know....loosen things up a bit.
I figure that's easier said than done with two ladies in back of me and the pervert with the smelly feet across the aisle. I can just see it now....I make the casual unbutton of the pants...look across the aisle and get the knowing "wink wink, nod nod, nudge nudge" from old Smelly Feet. Why do these things happen to me???
Finally we arrive in Chi-town, and we've got about a 1 and 1/2 hour wait until my sister and her husband Johnny arrive to hook up with us. While we're getting our rental car, the guy at the counter mentions that there's a shuttle that will take us to a local hotel that has a pub and maybe we can get a drink while we're waiting. Our choices are either a TGI Friday's or a pub called Clancy's. I tell Kim that my good father would be aghast if I passed up a chance to go to a fine Irish pub in lieu of Friday's! Ugh....as if!
So we go in, order a drink and we're engaging in some light conversation when these two ladies come in--one of whom is walking with crutches. Now, we're at a table--not at the bar. And the two ladies try and squeeze a spot at the bar, only to be rebuffed by a guy who's apparently returning from the restroom. So now one of the women don't have a place to sit...and they turn and look at us. Now again, mind you....the table next tous was occupied by ONE WOMAN...by herself....who had a drink. We're sitting there with a drink and some food that had just been delivered (horrible potato skins-UGH). Do they look at the woman to get up? Oh of course not. They give us the dirty look and the...."how dare you not get up so my injured friend has a place to sit??" look.
Sorry sister....find another sucker. So after a short time, we get ready for the shuttle to come back around and take us back to the airport to pick up sis. The shuttle arrives at the hotel--and I mean to tell you its packed. And it begins to unload. I think I counted approximatley 27 women--all between the ages of 35 and 55. I finally turned to Kim and said:
"This many women in one spot....I gotta have an ex-wife in there somewhere."
So my wife....being ever supportative....says:
"Any of you ladies ever been married to this guy?" Lovely, huh?
By the way...no sign of wife #1 or #2. Just for the record.
So we go back to airport...and my sister finally arrives. They were coming up from Jacksonville and had quite the day. Complete with that lovely 4 hour layover in Atlanta.
I would rather be in purgatory than in the Atlanta airport. Come to think of it...some people think that's where you go when your sent to purgatory...but I digress.
So we get our car, head thru Chicago towards our hotel....the Sofitel Hotel. Its right next to the John Hancock Building in downtown Chicago and is 32 floors. In a word?
Spectacular. I mean quite possibly the nicest hotel I've ever stayed in. And the funny part? Its own by Motel 6. I guess "Sofitel" is the upscale brand of Motel 6. And holy crap is it ever upscale. I mean bellhops, doormen, valets....all there to make sure you don't as much as sneeze without someone offering you a cloth hanky. And I don't wanna say the rooms were nice...but Kim wanted to take a photo...of the bathroom.
I overruled that--sorry...I do have SOME standards. After getting a little settled, we walked across the street for the old 10:30pm dinner at Pizano's. Pizano's Pizza on State Street in Chicago Johnny had been waiting for his first taste of authentic Chicago style pizza and he wasn't disappointed....and neither were any of the rest of us. Terrific food!!
End of day #1----day #2 coming shortly.
Later,
Jeff
Sunday, November 4, 2007
11/4/07--Update on Kellie and the old emotional rollercoaster
So first off, since I haven't written in about a week, Kellie's surgery was very successful and came with only the slightest amount of drama (well, "slightest" in relation to Kellie at least). She is still on crutches and is undergoing therapy around 3 or 4 times per week, usually being lectured by her therapist about not being such a baby.
It's been an interesting weekend for a lot of different reasons. Friday night we went to see the kids high school football game. Their team, Ft Lauderdale American Heritage, was playing Hollywood Chaminade-Madonna, probably their most hated rival. A.H. has lost like 7 years in a row to Chaminade, usually in some heartbreaking fashion.
The game the other night was of special interest not only because of the rivalry, but because A.H. was undefeated going into the game and ranked #2 in the entire state of Florida in their classification!! Chaminade, usually a contender for the state championship, was 4-4 and having a relatively disappointing season after having their head coach leave for a bigger school in the offseason and take a number of coaches and players (cough, cough--recruiting--cough, cough) with him. So anyway, the game was looked upon as sort of a big deal at the school. We arrived early--naturally---and saw that there were actually TAILGATERS in the parking lot. That's how you know that a game is bigtime folks...TAILGATERS at a high school game. A.H. fell behind 14-3, but manage to make it 14-11 right before halftime with a touchdown and 2 point conversion.
The A.H. defense played a stellar 2nd half and shut down the Chaminade offense, which opened the door for A.H.'s offense to score a touchdown and pull ahead 17-14. The game was tooth and nail all night after that and the clock began its in inexorable march towards the game's end. A.H. had the ball and was driving for the touchdown that would clinch the victory. They moved inside the 5 and 3 attempts got them to the 1 yard line. 4th down and 1. The coach went for the touchdown that would seal the victory and a win over their biggest rivals. The offense lined up....the quarterback set the offense and got under the center. The ball was snapped......2 minutes left in the game.
And the quarterback....fumbled the snap.
A giant collective groan swept over the home team's crowd as the fans on the opposing sidelines cheered their team getting one final opportunity. A.H. fans wondered if once again the team would have to accept a heartbreaking defeat. Chaminade had 99 yards to go in 2 minutes. They made their way out to the 20 and then faced a 4th and 10.
Their quarterback dropped back to pass and through a pass in the flat to a RB that was a little too high. Game over! Uh, wait a minute....flag on the field. Personal foul, A.H.
Blow to the QB's head. Chaminade is still alive. They move the ball to midfield and are again faced with a 4th down. A pass over the middle and they just make it. Chaminade has life. The clock is slowly (way too slowly, I think) ticking down. Chaminade moves the ball to the A.H. 25 yard line with around 20 seconds left....its 4th down and 4.
The coach for Chaminade decides to go for the field goal that will tie the game and send it into...(all together now).....oooovertime.
The teams line up....the crowd roars in anticipation...and then there is movement on both sides and the official's flags go into air. Immediately I tell my wife that this is a horrible time to get a penalty because if its against A.H. it will give Chaminade an automatic first down and a couple more chances to go for a touchdown. The official confer.
Finally the referee emerges and makes his call.
"Offsides.....Chaminade."
The A.H. sideline errupts in cheers and the ball is set back 5 yards further for Chaminade. Once again the teams line up for the field goal. The kicker signals to the holder that he's ready. The ball is snapped....the two opposing teams collide for one brief moment....the ball is set down by the holder....the kick is up and.....
Blocked.
The ball is recovered by A.H. the clock runs out. I've been going to games at A.H. for 9 years now and something happened that I hadn't seen before. The crowd (well, okay mainly the students of A.H.) stormed the field in celebration. The atmosphere was absolutely electric. The losing streak was over....their biggest rival was defeated....and A.H. was one game away from an undefeated season.
A.H.-17 Chaminade-Madonna-14
Yesterday Notre Dame played Navy. Notre Dame had won a mind boggling 42 games in a row over the Mid-Shipmen. Its mind boggling because throughout the streak the Irish have had some really crappy teamsand coaches, and through it all they've managed, at times seemingly miraculously, to beat the Middies. Father Theodore Hesburgh, the former president of Notre Dame, has said in the past that Navy is the one team on the Irish schedule that he wouldn't mind occasionally losing a game too. A lot of people who are "experts" wonder why the Irish continue to schedule Navy every year, without knowing the real reason behind the game. During the early to mid 40's, at the height of World War II, Notre Dame was an all-male college. The need for man power and officers was so great that there was a legitimate concern on the part of the university that Notre Dame would have to close the university. The U.S. Navy stepped up and arranged for the campus in South Bend, Indiana to be turned into a Naval Base for the duration of the war for training Naval officers. The school was thereby saved and in return, the Notre Dame administration vowed to always have Navy remain on the Notre Dame football schedule.
Little history lesson for ya there....free of charge.
So as you might have heard, Navy defeated Notre Dame--finally---46-44 in triple overtime. It was an exciting game although their were some head scratching moments.
As an Irish fan, I have resigned myself to the fact that, as much as I love Charlie Weis as a Notre Dame man and coach....at least once or twice a game he will make a call that has me asking myself--as a Notre Dame fan:
"What the hell was he thinking there?"
Only sometimes....I confess....I use words other than "hell". Sorry Dad.
Anyway, I was happy that my Dad got to see the Mid-Shipmen break the streak. It was a nice win for Navy and if Notre Dame was ever going to lose to them, it might as well have been this year, when Notre Dame has been as horrible as its ever been.
Navy coach Paul Johnson is a terrific coach....and trust me, if Charlie Weis ever did leave Notre Dame....I would have no problem at all with him being the new head coach.
I called my dad and left him a message of congratulations for the win. I stewed a little about a few calls here and there....but I had come to grips with the loss....and then, I got a phone call.....
Do you want to know the definition of a true friend? I mean a real compadre? An amigo????
That's my buddy Greg, who is sitting at Mark Nulty's wedding with former world champion and legend Jack Brisco when the news filters in that Notre Dame has lost to Navy. Greg mutters out loud that I must really be hurting over a loss like that--he then reminds Jack of when we met at CAC a couple years back....and then Greg calls me at home...and puts Jack on the phone to ask me the score of the Notre Dame game.
![[Razz]](http://wrestlingclassics.com/.ubb/tongue.gif)
I heard Jack sort of snickering through the phone and happened to mention that Oklahoma State had blown a 21 point 4th quarter lead to Texas today and said:
"HOOK 'EM HORNS JACK!!"![[Big Grin]](http://wrestlingclassics.com/.ubb/biggrin.gif)
So the way I look at it...Greg is sitting there with one of our heroes...and to take the time to call me and give me a rash of **** .....wow...
what a friend!!!![[Wink]](http://wrestlingclassics.com/.ubb/wink.gif)
Wow! A former world champion calls me to razz me about a Notre Dame loss!!
Maybe it wasn't such a bad thing after all.
Anf finally, I got a phone call from my friend Colleen yesterday about her son Matthew.
Matt has really been struggling since being diagnosed (at age 21) with cancer. It started as a melanoma on his back and it metastetized into his liver. That's not good.
Well yesterday Colleen called me and told me that the lesions on his back have begun to shrink and the ones on his liver have stopped growing. Finally the chemo is taking hold.
Suddenly a Notre Dame loss is put into perspective.
Later,
Jeff
It's been an interesting weekend for a lot of different reasons. Friday night we went to see the kids high school football game. Their team, Ft Lauderdale American Heritage, was playing Hollywood Chaminade-Madonna, probably their most hated rival. A.H. has lost like 7 years in a row to Chaminade, usually in some heartbreaking fashion.
The game the other night was of special interest not only because of the rivalry, but because A.H. was undefeated going into the game and ranked #2 in the entire state of Florida in their classification!! Chaminade, usually a contender for the state championship, was 4-4 and having a relatively disappointing season after having their head coach leave for a bigger school in the offseason and take a number of coaches and players (cough, cough--recruiting--cough, cough) with him. So anyway, the game was looked upon as sort of a big deal at the school. We arrived early--naturally---and saw that there were actually TAILGATERS in the parking lot. That's how you know that a game is bigtime folks...TAILGATERS at a high school game. A.H. fell behind 14-3, but manage to make it 14-11 right before halftime with a touchdown and 2 point conversion.
The A.H. defense played a stellar 2nd half and shut down the Chaminade offense, which opened the door for A.H.'s offense to score a touchdown and pull ahead 17-14. The game was tooth and nail all night after that and the clock began its in inexorable march towards the game's end. A.H. had the ball and was driving for the touchdown that would clinch the victory. They moved inside the 5 and 3 attempts got them to the 1 yard line. 4th down and 1. The coach went for the touchdown that would seal the victory and a win over their biggest rivals. The offense lined up....the quarterback set the offense and got under the center. The ball was snapped......2 minutes left in the game.
And the quarterback....fumbled the snap.
A giant collective groan swept over the home team's crowd as the fans on the opposing sidelines cheered their team getting one final opportunity. A.H. fans wondered if once again the team would have to accept a heartbreaking defeat. Chaminade had 99 yards to go in 2 minutes. They made their way out to the 20 and then faced a 4th and 10.
Their quarterback dropped back to pass and through a pass in the flat to a RB that was a little too high. Game over! Uh, wait a minute....flag on the field. Personal foul, A.H.
Blow to the QB's head. Chaminade is still alive. They move the ball to midfield and are again faced with a 4th down. A pass over the middle and they just make it. Chaminade has life. The clock is slowly (way too slowly, I think) ticking down. Chaminade moves the ball to the A.H. 25 yard line with around 20 seconds left....its 4th down and 4.
The coach for Chaminade decides to go for the field goal that will tie the game and send it into...(all together now).....oooovertime.
The teams line up....the crowd roars in anticipation...and then there is movement on both sides and the official's flags go into air. Immediately I tell my wife that this is a horrible time to get a penalty because if its against A.H. it will give Chaminade an automatic first down and a couple more chances to go for a touchdown. The official confer.
Finally the referee emerges and makes his call.
"Offsides.....Chaminade."
The A.H. sideline errupts in cheers and the ball is set back 5 yards further for Chaminade. Once again the teams line up for the field goal. The kicker signals to the holder that he's ready. The ball is snapped....the two opposing teams collide for one brief moment....the ball is set down by the holder....the kick is up and.....
Blocked.
The ball is recovered by A.H. the clock runs out. I've been going to games at A.H. for 9 years now and something happened that I hadn't seen before. The crowd (well, okay mainly the students of A.H.) stormed the field in celebration. The atmosphere was absolutely electric. The losing streak was over....their biggest rival was defeated....and A.H. was one game away from an undefeated season.
A.H.-17 Chaminade-Madonna-14
Yesterday Notre Dame played Navy. Notre Dame had won a mind boggling 42 games in a row over the Mid-Shipmen. Its mind boggling because throughout the streak the Irish have had some really crappy teamsand coaches, and through it all they've managed, at times seemingly miraculously, to beat the Middies. Father Theodore Hesburgh, the former president of Notre Dame, has said in the past that Navy is the one team on the Irish schedule that he wouldn't mind occasionally losing a game too. A lot of people who are "experts" wonder why the Irish continue to schedule Navy every year, without knowing the real reason behind the game. During the early to mid 40's, at the height of World War II, Notre Dame was an all-male college. The need for man power and officers was so great that there was a legitimate concern on the part of the university that Notre Dame would have to close the university. The U.S. Navy stepped up and arranged for the campus in South Bend, Indiana to be turned into a Naval Base for the duration of the war for training Naval officers. The school was thereby saved and in return, the Notre Dame administration vowed to always have Navy remain on the Notre Dame football schedule.
Little history lesson for ya there....free of charge.
So as you might have heard, Navy defeated Notre Dame--finally---46-44 in triple overtime. It was an exciting game although their were some head scratching moments.
As an Irish fan, I have resigned myself to the fact that, as much as I love Charlie Weis as a Notre Dame man and coach....at least once or twice a game he will make a call that has me asking myself--as a Notre Dame fan:
"What the hell was he thinking there?"
Only sometimes....I confess....I use words other than "hell". Sorry Dad.
Anyway, I was happy that my Dad got to see the Mid-Shipmen break the streak. It was a nice win for Navy and if Notre Dame was ever going to lose to them, it might as well have been this year, when Notre Dame has been as horrible as its ever been.
Navy coach Paul Johnson is a terrific coach....and trust me, if Charlie Weis ever did leave Notre Dame....I would have no problem at all with him being the new head coach.
I called my dad and left him a message of congratulations for the win. I stewed a little about a few calls here and there....but I had come to grips with the loss....and then, I got a phone call.....
Do you want to know the definition of a true friend? I mean a real compadre? An amigo????
That's my buddy Greg, who is sitting at Mark Nulty's wedding with former world champion and legend Jack Brisco when the news filters in that Notre Dame has lost to Navy. Greg mutters out loud that I must really be hurting over a loss like that--he then reminds Jack of when we met at CAC a couple years back....and then Greg calls me at home...and puts Jack on the phone to ask me the score of the Notre Dame game.
I heard Jack sort of snickering through the phone and happened to mention that Oklahoma State had blown a 21 point 4th quarter lead to Texas today and said:
"HOOK 'EM HORNS JACK!!"
So the way I look at it...Greg is sitting there with one of our heroes...and to take the time to call me and give me a rash of **** .....wow...
what a friend!!!
Wow! A former world champion calls me to razz me about a Notre Dame loss!!
Maybe it wasn't such a bad thing after all.
Anf finally, I got a phone call from my friend Colleen yesterday about her son Matthew.
Matt has really been struggling since being diagnosed (at age 21) with cancer. It started as a melanoma on his back and it metastetized into his liver. That's not good.
Well yesterday Colleen called me and told me that the lesions on his back have begun to shrink and the ones on his liver have stopped growing. Finally the chemo is taking hold.
Suddenly a Notre Dame loss is put into perspective.
Later,
Jeff
Thursday, October 25, 2007
10/25/07---My daughter...Meryl Streep
So tomorrow, my daughter Kellie is going in for what is, I'm told, a relatively minor operation on her hip to repair a torn labrum. I say "relatively minor" of course, while totally realizing that anything more than a dental filling would be considered major surgery to my daughter and 90% of the rest of the teenagers out there. The problem is, quite frankly....my daughter is a HUGE....and let me re-emphasize this....HUGE, drama queen. Headache? Must be a tumor. Cut finger? Is surgery going to be necessary?
Stub your toe? Amputation. And you think I'm joking. No sir-ree Bob.
Which made the fact that, the other day, Kellie hurt her back all the more aggravating.
Apparently a friend of hers was joking around--totally unintentional--and caused Kellie to slip and twist her back slightly. They did a report at her school, notified Kim and Kellie walked into the house that night walking as though she could barely move. I very coyly (that's me!!) didn't mention anything about it so as to not play into her efforts to be nominated for an Academy Award for best dramatic performance by a teenager. But I digress. A couple of days go by, Kellie is in some minor discomfort--nothing extraordinary, just some stiffness---and then she wakes up this morning. The morning BEFORE her surgery on her hip....and announces that she is having trouble moving.
I mean...as in, AT ALL. After a long wait (well, longer than USUAL), she emerges from her bedroom for the ride to her bus walking like a cross between Frankenstein and CP30 from Star Wars. Again, I say nothing and we walk to the car. She gets in, either feeling extreme discomfort or really laying on the performance thickly.....sort of a last minute plea to the Academy...ya know?
"Ya know Kellie," I say with a voice dripping with sympathy, "I don't think you're being quite melodramatic enough."
No response.
So about two hours later I'm at work and I get a call from the wife, asking me if I can go to the kids school and pick up Kellie. Apparently, after her arrival on school grounds, she was driven---by golfcart--to the school nurse, who informed her mother that after asking Kellie to describe her pain level on a scale of 1 to 10...Kellie uttered in hush tones:
"TEN!"
Seriously, this girl is not my daughter by blood and somedays I don't understand how.
How can someone who's not mine by blood be so totally like me? I mean to tell you, everyone who knows me and hears the stories about Kellie all laugh and say:
"Man, she is so totally YOUR daughter."
What do they mean by that anyway?
Anywho....Kim ends up picking up Kellie and takes her to her work, where she gets some rehab on her muscle spasms (legit--believe it or not!) and who then announces that she is able to return to school. (Okay, that's a statement right there that I would have NEVER made in a zillion years) However, not before she got a nice little lecture from the physical therapist about what was going to be expected of her during her rehab from the hip surgery. She needed to hear it from someone, because when Kim and I told her, she wasn't getting the picture.
So tonight, she got a lecture (minor version) of the story about the Boy Who Cried Wolf. She said the therapy this morning did make her back feel much better.
But tomorrow, my little girl is going in for some surgery...and I'm sure she's nervous.
Me? Naaa. Not even a little bit nervous for her.
Liar.
Later,
Jeff
Stub your toe? Amputation. And you think I'm joking. No sir-ree Bob.
Which made the fact that, the other day, Kellie hurt her back all the more aggravating.
Apparently a friend of hers was joking around--totally unintentional--and caused Kellie to slip and twist her back slightly. They did a report at her school, notified Kim and Kellie walked into the house that night walking as though she could barely move. I very coyly (that's me!!) didn't mention anything about it so as to not play into her efforts to be nominated for an Academy Award for best dramatic performance by a teenager. But I digress. A couple of days go by, Kellie is in some minor discomfort--nothing extraordinary, just some stiffness---and then she wakes up this morning. The morning BEFORE her surgery on her hip....and announces that she is having trouble moving.
I mean...as in, AT ALL. After a long wait (well, longer than USUAL), she emerges from her bedroom for the ride to her bus walking like a cross between Frankenstein and CP30 from Star Wars. Again, I say nothing and we walk to the car. She gets in, either feeling extreme discomfort or really laying on the performance thickly.....sort of a last minute plea to the Academy...ya know?
"Ya know Kellie," I say with a voice dripping with sympathy, "I don't think you're being quite melodramatic enough."
No response.
So about two hours later I'm at work and I get a call from the wife, asking me if I can go to the kids school and pick up Kellie. Apparently, after her arrival on school grounds, she was driven---by golfcart--to the school nurse, who informed her mother that after asking Kellie to describe her pain level on a scale of 1 to 10...Kellie uttered in hush tones:
"TEN!"
Seriously, this girl is not my daughter by blood and somedays I don't understand how.
How can someone who's not mine by blood be so totally like me? I mean to tell you, everyone who knows me and hears the stories about Kellie all laugh and say:
"Man, she is so totally YOUR daughter."
What do they mean by that anyway?
Anywho....Kim ends up picking up Kellie and takes her to her work, where she gets some rehab on her muscle spasms (legit--believe it or not!) and who then announces that she is able to return to school. (Okay, that's a statement right there that I would have NEVER made in a zillion years) However, not before she got a nice little lecture from the physical therapist about what was going to be expected of her during her rehab from the hip surgery. She needed to hear it from someone, because when Kim and I told her, she wasn't getting the picture.
So tonight, she got a lecture (minor version) of the story about the Boy Who Cried Wolf. She said the therapy this morning did make her back feel much better.
But tomorrow, my little girl is going in for some surgery...and I'm sure she's nervous.
Me? Naaa. Not even a little bit nervous for her.
Liar.
Later,
Jeff
Monday, October 22, 2007
10/22/07--Birthday weekend update
So this past weekend started for us at a high school football game on Friday night, which promptly got interrupted by the lightening alarm. Yes sir, nothing sends you running for an exit like a warning bell that you're in danger of being zapped by lightening.
Anyway, since the alarm went off right before halftime, the bands for the two teams retired to the school cafeteria for sort of a "battle of the bands". The kids had a lot of fun and I told Kellie afterwards that I thought I saw something out of their band that I hadn't seen much of this year. The kids looked like they were having fun.
Their teacher, who for various reasons I will not name, is apparently a good "technical teacher". There is nothing wrong with the band's performance from a technical point of view. But they play with no emotion....no sense of just going out and having a good time. Meanwhile, on the other side of the field, we saw the other team's band just whoopin it up, having what looked to be a terrific time.
Saturday Notre Dame got slaughtered by longtime rival USC in what might have been their worst performance of the year. The Florida Panthers suffered a difficult loss on the road to Ottawa. And Andy got a letter from one of his top two schools--Florida Institute of Technology. It notified him that he had been accepted for admission next year. HIS FIRST LETTER OF ADMISSION TO A COLLEGE!!!
So all in all, it was a good day.
Yesterday Kim and I went out with our friends Kim & Jason and met for dinner and then we drove up to West Palm Beach for a concert (Styx, REO Speedwagon & .38 Special on a jam packed triple bill of classic rock!!). Even though it was MY BIRTHDAY (cough, cough), the show was actually a birthday gift for Kim that I had bought back in early August. Kim was in all her glory watching her favorite band from her teenage years, Styx. Luckily, she didn't get real crazy and, ya know, take her clothes off or anything. She was very responsible thank you.
The guys in the row behind will never know what they missed.
Later,
Jeff
Anyway, since the alarm went off right before halftime, the bands for the two teams retired to the school cafeteria for sort of a "battle of the bands". The kids had a lot of fun and I told Kellie afterwards that I thought I saw something out of their band that I hadn't seen much of this year. The kids looked like they were having fun.
Their teacher, who for various reasons I will not name, is apparently a good "technical teacher". There is nothing wrong with the band's performance from a technical point of view. But they play with no emotion....no sense of just going out and having a good time. Meanwhile, on the other side of the field, we saw the other team's band just whoopin it up, having what looked to be a terrific time.
Saturday Notre Dame got slaughtered by longtime rival USC in what might have been their worst performance of the year. The Florida Panthers suffered a difficult loss on the road to Ottawa. And Andy got a letter from one of his top two schools--Florida Institute of Technology. It notified him that he had been accepted for admission next year. HIS FIRST LETTER OF ADMISSION TO A COLLEGE!!!
So all in all, it was a good day.
Yesterday Kim and I went out with our friends Kim & Jason and met for dinner and then we drove up to West Palm Beach for a concert (Styx, REO Speedwagon & .38 Special on a jam packed triple bill of classic rock!!). Even though it was MY BIRTHDAY (cough, cough), the show was actually a birthday gift for Kim that I had bought back in early August. Kim was in all her glory watching her favorite band from her teenage years, Styx. Luckily, she didn't get real crazy and, ya know, take her clothes off or anything. She was very responsible thank you.
The guys in the row behind will never know what they missed.
Later,
Jeff
Sunday, October 14, 2007
10/14/07--A day in Vero Beach
So yesterday Kim & I drove up the coast of Florida to the lovely city of Vero Beach, which for you non-Floridians is between West Palm Beach & Daytona Beach.
The kids had a band competition taking place there, along with about 12 other bands from across the state, and I decided to be a good husband and go---giving up a valuable Saturday afternoon of college football (please, hold your applause until the end of my journal's entry) because I didn't want Kim to have to make a drive of that distance by herself. Wow, is she ever lucky to have me.
I had been sort of back and forth on whether I should go or not, and then Saturday morning I decided to make the trip, and Kim sort of sweetened the pot by offering to check the computer and locate any used book stores in the Vero area (its one of my weak spots--what can I say?).
So we go to the morning performances, and the kids school did--hmm---okay. They were really hindered by the fact that they were easily the smallest school and band that was there though. After we went and got lunch, I dropped Kim off at the stadium and went in search of the stores. The 2nd one I went into was primarily a paperback bookstore and as I browsed through, I could tell that I wasn't going to find much there.
First Bowdren Rule of a used bookstore:
1) If it doesn't smell musty, you're wasting your time.
This place smelled too new. So I'm walking around, and I noticed that all the different sections had a sign above them. "Non-fiction", "Romance", etc. As I walked towards the section that featured writers like Stephen King, Peter Straub & Dean Koontz, I was amused to see the following sign right above the section:
"Weirdos".
Uh....yeah. Nope, not in south Florida anymore.......
Oh, and the kids didn't win the competition. Don't get me started.
Later,
Jeff
The kids had a band competition taking place there, along with about 12 other bands from across the state, and I decided to be a good husband and go---giving up a valuable Saturday afternoon of college football (please, hold your applause until the end of my journal's entry) because I didn't want Kim to have to make a drive of that distance by herself. Wow, is she ever lucky to have me.
I had been sort of back and forth on whether I should go or not, and then Saturday morning I decided to make the trip, and Kim sort of sweetened the pot by offering to check the computer and locate any used book stores in the Vero area (its one of my weak spots--what can I say?).
So we go to the morning performances, and the kids school did--hmm---okay. They were really hindered by the fact that they were easily the smallest school and band that was there though. After we went and got lunch, I dropped Kim off at the stadium and went in search of the stores. The 2nd one I went into was primarily a paperback bookstore and as I browsed through, I could tell that I wasn't going to find much there.
First Bowdren Rule of a used bookstore:
1) If it doesn't smell musty, you're wasting your time.
This place smelled too new. So I'm walking around, and I noticed that all the different sections had a sign above them. "Non-fiction", "Romance", etc. As I walked towards the section that featured writers like Stephen King, Peter Straub & Dean Koontz, I was amused to see the following sign right above the section:
"Weirdos".
Uh....yeah. Nope, not in south Florida anymore.......
Oh, and the kids didn't win the competition. Don't get me started.
Later,
Jeff
Saturday, October 6, 2007
10/7/07--Let's review the day
Hmm....the Cubs....get swept by the D'backs.
The Panthers, opening night at the BAC.....lay an egg and lose 4-1.
Notre Dame....playing on the road in Rose Bowl, against UCLA.....who lost a really tight game to us last year in the last minute...and who went into the game with us as 22 point favorites....................finally win 20-6. Yes folks, the Irish have finally won a game.
Which makes this......a good day.
Later,
Jeff
The Panthers, opening night at the BAC.....lay an egg and lose 4-1.
Notre Dame....playing on the road in Rose Bowl, against UCLA.....who lost a really tight game to us last year in the last minute...and who went into the game with us as 22 point favorites....................finally win 20-6. Yes folks, the Irish have finally won a game.
Which makes this......a good day.
Later,
Jeff
10/6/07---Being mocked in public by the wife
So over the last few months, I've been having some major dental work done. Here's a note kids--take care of your freakin teeth!! And when your younger, like 13 yrs old or so, talk your parents into getting braces for you.
So my dentist has been giving me a couple of crowns and a bridge in my lower left mouth. Apparently she is quite the perfectionist, because even though my new permanent bridge is ready to go, she wasn't totally happy with it and wanted the dental lab to "build it up"--whatever the heck that means. The dental assistant even told me that it was the sort of thing that I wouldn't even notice--but the dentist noticed it.
I don't know, I suppose that's a good thing. So anyway, because of this....I'm still wearing the TEMPORARY bridge. That's the key word. Are ya with me?
So last night, before we go to our kids football game, we're at the lovely Applebee's having dinner and in the middle of biting into my chicken sandwich when I noticed something rolling around my mouth that didn't appear to be--ya know---chicken.
I guess I had a sort of weird look on my face because the wife asked me what was wrong. I spit the item into my hand. (I know, I know...pleasant thought, huh?) Yessir, that's my temporary bridge!!
Later, after gumming my way through the rest of the meal, I placed a call to my dentist's emergency phone number. Her office manager gave me two choices:
1) Come see the dentist the next day (Saturday) and have her fix it.
2) Go to Walgreen's and pick up some Fixodent, and come in Monday as originally scheduled and get the permanent bridge put in.
I told her that I would try #2 and let her know if it worked. So it was later that evening that we pulled into the Walgreen's drugstore and went into the dental aisle. We found the Fixodent and noticed on the box that it was intended, ya know, PRIMARILY for dentures. Oh man, did the wife take that and run with it. So we get to the cashier and my wife blurts out:
"He needs these for his dentures."
Glare from me.
"I want to assure you," I said to the cashier, "that I do NOT have dentures."
"Huh?"
"I do NOT have dentures."
"I believe you."
"Then why are you buying Fixodent?" the wife said, sticking the needle in deeper.
I handed her the bag and walked out, the wife behind me....digging deeper and deeper.
"Look at it this way, its getting you used to used what you may have to do later in life."
And people ask me why I've been married three times.
Later,
Jeff
So my dentist has been giving me a couple of crowns and a bridge in my lower left mouth. Apparently she is quite the perfectionist, because even though my new permanent bridge is ready to go, she wasn't totally happy with it and wanted the dental lab to "build it up"--whatever the heck that means. The dental assistant even told me that it was the sort of thing that I wouldn't even notice--but the dentist noticed it.
I don't know, I suppose that's a good thing. So anyway, because of this....I'm still wearing the TEMPORARY bridge. That's the key word. Are ya with me?
So last night, before we go to our kids football game, we're at the lovely Applebee's having dinner and in the middle of biting into my chicken sandwich when I noticed something rolling around my mouth that didn't appear to be--ya know---chicken.
I guess I had a sort of weird look on my face because the wife asked me what was wrong. I spit the item into my hand. (I know, I know...pleasant thought, huh?) Yessir, that's my temporary bridge!!
Later, after gumming my way through the rest of the meal, I placed a call to my dentist's emergency phone number. Her office manager gave me two choices:
1) Come see the dentist the next day (Saturday) and have her fix it.
2) Go to Walgreen's and pick up some Fixodent, and come in Monday as originally scheduled and get the permanent bridge put in.
I told her that I would try #2 and let her know if it worked. So it was later that evening that we pulled into the Walgreen's drugstore and went into the dental aisle. We found the Fixodent and noticed on the box that it was intended, ya know, PRIMARILY for dentures. Oh man, did the wife take that and run with it. So we get to the cashier and my wife blurts out:
"He needs these for his dentures."
Glare from me.
"I want to assure you," I said to the cashier, "that I do NOT have dentures."
"Huh?"
"I do NOT have dentures."
"I believe you."
"Then why are you buying Fixodent?" the wife said, sticking the needle in deeper.
I handed her the bag and walked out, the wife behind me....digging deeper and deeper.
"Look at it this way, its getting you used to used what you may have to do later in life."
And people ask me why I've been married three times.
Later,
Jeff
Thursday, October 4, 2007
10/4/07--You're probably wondering if I even do a journal anymore
I've always tried to be honest with you, the reader. Where the hell have I been? Why haven't I written? Has some tragedy befallen me that would keep me from writing?
Uh...no. Honestly, I think I've had a combination writer's block//general malaise that has come over me. It is certainly not for a lack of things to write about. I mean, c'mon:
The stinkin Fighting Irish haven't won a game....yet!
Britney is going to lose her children. What's up with that???
I have a teenage daughter---'nuff said.
Hockey season is beginning.
The Cubs made the playoffs!! Heck, the Cubs won their division!!
My son seems to have made his college decision....for now at least. Next month, who knows?
And yet, the visit to the computer to write an entry becomes more a chore than an act of love, from me---to you---the reader.
Maybe its the new fall t.v. season, who knows?
Anyway, Notre Dame's football team is HORRIBLE. We're essentially playing freshmen, sophmores, and a couple of cruddy senior players that Ty Willingham left behind. Thanks Ty! (Expletive deleted)
How bad a mother does Britney Spears have to be that a judge (even in California) would decide that KEVIN FEDERLINE is a better parent? Hey, just because you can have a kid doesn't mean you should raise one. Hey Brit--think REHAB and PARENTING CLASSES.
Hockey season began last night in the NHL and, as I write this, my Florida Panther are just about to drop the puck on the new season. Hopefully the playoffs are a realistic goal for the Panthers this season, who actually invested some $$$ for a change and haven't made the playoffs since....hmm....the Truman administration.
I have a teenage daughter. Ya know, I'm noticing all these gray hairs that I didn't have before. Oh, sure, people warned me. But nobody mentioned anything about the whole being a slob thing. Her room is worse than MINE used to be when I was a teenager!
(No, really....Mom, I'm not kidding!) Any of her little buddies dropping by the old blog for a visit---feel free to bring this up to her. Really....I won't mind.
The Cubs win their division!! Okay, so it was touch and go for a little while, but at least we're not the freakin Mets. Holy cow, what a collapse. Natually we couldn't seal the deal in south Florida, as the lowly Marlins managed to sweep us--which of course prompted lots of stories about the "Bartman incident" and the like. 99 years. That's how long its been for the Cubs and a World Series win. The Marlins have won 2 World Series in 10 years. You would think that the Cubs would have bumbled and stumbled their way to ONE World Series somewhere in the last millinieum, but no! But I digress.
Andy might be moving to the Garden State. New Jersey. Home of Francis Albert Sinatra....the Soprano's....Bruce Springsteen....Bon Jovi....Charlie Weis....and....
Andy Poe-Bowdren?
Might be. As of today, Andy seems set on Stevens Institute of Technology....located in beautiful downtown Hoboken, NJ. For now at least. A month from now? A week?
Eh....who knows.
Later,
Jeff
Uh...no. Honestly, I think I've had a combination writer's block//general malaise that has come over me. It is certainly not for a lack of things to write about. I mean, c'mon:
The stinkin Fighting Irish haven't won a game....yet!
Britney is going to lose her children. What's up with that???
I have a teenage daughter---'nuff said.
Hockey season is beginning.
The Cubs made the playoffs!! Heck, the Cubs won their division!!
My son seems to have made his college decision....for now at least. Next month, who knows?
And yet, the visit to the computer to write an entry becomes more a chore than an act of love, from me---to you---the reader.
Maybe its the new fall t.v. season, who knows?
Anyway, Notre Dame's football team is HORRIBLE. We're essentially playing freshmen, sophmores, and a couple of cruddy senior players that Ty Willingham left behind. Thanks Ty! (Expletive deleted)
How bad a mother does Britney Spears have to be that a judge (even in California) would decide that KEVIN FEDERLINE is a better parent? Hey, just because you can have a kid doesn't mean you should raise one. Hey Brit--think REHAB and PARENTING CLASSES.
Hockey season began last night in the NHL and, as I write this, my Florida Panther are just about to drop the puck on the new season. Hopefully the playoffs are a realistic goal for the Panthers this season, who actually invested some $$$ for a change and haven't made the playoffs since....hmm....the Truman administration.
I have a teenage daughter. Ya know, I'm noticing all these gray hairs that I didn't have before. Oh, sure, people warned me. But nobody mentioned anything about the whole being a slob thing. Her room is worse than MINE used to be when I was a teenager!
(No, really....Mom, I'm not kidding!) Any of her little buddies dropping by the old blog for a visit---feel free to bring this up to her. Really....I won't mind.
The Cubs win their division!! Okay, so it was touch and go for a little while, but at least we're not the freakin Mets. Holy cow, what a collapse. Natually we couldn't seal the deal in south Florida, as the lowly Marlins managed to sweep us--which of course prompted lots of stories about the "Bartman incident" and the like. 99 years. That's how long its been for the Cubs and a World Series win. The Marlins have won 2 World Series in 10 years. You would think that the Cubs would have bumbled and stumbled their way to ONE World Series somewhere in the last millinieum, but no! But I digress.
Andy might be moving to the Garden State. New Jersey. Home of Francis Albert Sinatra....the Soprano's....Bruce Springsteen....Bon Jovi....Charlie Weis....and....
Andy Poe-Bowdren?
Might be. As of today, Andy seems set on Stevens Institute of Technology....located in beautiful downtown Hoboken, NJ. For now at least. A month from now? A week?
Eh....who knows.
Later,
Jeff
Saturday, September 29, 2007
Wednesday, September 19, 2007
9/19/07---Disturbing day in court
So today we finished up a felony trial that we've been doing. The charges were sexual battery against a child--2 counts, and a 3rd count of lewd and lascivious in front of a child. Needless to say, when you're used to DUI after DUI....it was a change of pace.
Another way of putting it would be to say that its not the sort of trial you want to hear every day. Suffice to say, its no fun to watch a 9 year old get on the stand and talk about things that....uh....a 9 year old shouldn't know anything about. I figured the jury would somehow walk the guy of the most serious charges (he was facing, hello...LIFE in prison) and convict the guy of one of the "lesser included" charges. You have to understand the mindset of most jury's. Its not easy to convict someone and send them to prison for the rest of their life. That's why OJ is walking around---whoops, did I say that?---anyway, the jury comes back today.
Not guilty....all three counts. The guy was facing life in prison, had been in custody since March of 2006....and today he walked out of court a free man. He walked out of the courtroom saying "Praise Jesus".
Which was sort of interesting considering he had met the alleged victim at church.
I sort of hope my judge goes back to DUI's.
Later,
Jeff
Another way of putting it would be to say that its not the sort of trial you want to hear every day. Suffice to say, its no fun to watch a 9 year old get on the stand and talk about things that....uh....a 9 year old shouldn't know anything about. I figured the jury would somehow walk the guy of the most serious charges (he was facing, hello...LIFE in prison) and convict the guy of one of the "lesser included" charges. You have to understand the mindset of most jury's. Its not easy to convict someone and send them to prison for the rest of their life. That's why OJ is walking around---whoops, did I say that?---anyway, the jury comes back today.
Not guilty....all three counts. The guy was facing life in prison, had been in custody since March of 2006....and today he walked out of court a free man. He walked out of the courtroom saying "Praise Jesus".
Which was sort of interesting considering he had met the alleged victim at church.
I sort of hope my judge goes back to DUI's.
Later,
Jeff
Thursday, September 13, 2007
9/13/07--Dealing with teenagers
So last weekend, we went to the kids football game--and naturally we arrived early, because if there is one thing that my wife is CRAZED about, its being on time. For everything. So we get to the game early, stake out our seats near the band and wait for the game to begin.
After awhile, the seats near us start to fill up, and we have a couple of teenagers who sit down near us. The game proceeds and the kids are for the most part well behaved and things are fine. Near the end of the lst half, (which saw the kicker for the kids school kick a school record 54 yard field goal) the section began to fill up with more and more teenagers, who obviously wanted to sit or stand next to one another. As the new person would come into the area, rather than take a spot at the end of the row, they would sort of pinch into the middle of the section and the line would sort of slide down a little at a time. So eventually, I have the kid sort of invading my personal space (or as my daughter likes to call it..."my personal bubble".) I'm standing there and my wife tugs on my pants leg and asks:
"You aren't moving basically on principal, aren't you?"
"Your damned right."
So the first half ends, and then the section clears out and it looks like we're going to have plenty of extra space come 2nd half. There are only the original couple of kids there, and for most of the 3rd quarter things are fine--but then--the section begins to fill up again with those damn teenagers. The top row is once again beginning to spread out, and the kid who spent most of the first half hanging on top of me is once again starting to invade my personal bubble. Then, with the row as about as full as it could get, another kid came and tried to nudge his way into the row. He asked the other kids to move and they told him that there wasn't room...but the kid kept insisting. Finally, I couldn't take it:
"Hey kid, its not gonna happen. You know why? Because if you come into this row then this kid next to me is going to spend the rest of the game hanging on top of me like he did the whole first half. And I'm not going to do that again. So if you want to sit down around here, do it in the row in front of you, because you're not standing here."
Dead silence in the section.
It was hilarious. Finally I turned to the original kid and said:
"You know, allyou guys had to do was to ASK if my wife and I would mind moving down a few spots so that your friends could hang out together. But you guys didn't do that. All you had to do was ASK."
The kid looked at me as if I had just asked him to explain quantum physics. Blank stare.
Another kid then walked over and tried to crowd his way into the row, but was told by the other kids that "that guy isn't going to move".
I was the number one heel in the section, and like Ric Flair in his prime, I was loving it.
So finally, the kid who was hanging on top of me the first half turns to me and says:
"Um, excuse me sir, do you have kids who go to this school?"
"There in the band," I said, gesturing towards the band.
"The band? Oh, I love the band. They're really great."
"Yep."
"Um, may I ask you....is your daughter's name Kellie by any chance?"
"Well, yes...it is. How'd you know?"
"Well I had a class with her a few years ago where you did a project on your family tree and I thought I recognize your photo from it."
"Really? Wow, that's a great memory."
And I spent the next 15 minutes or so talking to the kid, who turned out to be very nice.
And on the ride home I told Kellie that I had a great story for her. I related the story of my little run-in with the teenagers and how it ended up with someone that she knew involved. So I told the whole story, and at the end of the story through out the kids name. Which was Austin.
And she says:
"I don't know anyone named Austin."
And she tries to remember who this kid could be for the entire ride home. When we get home she gets her yearbook from last year out and I start going through it, trying to find the kids photo. Finally I locate him, and point to his picture.
"Here he is," I said.
"I have never seen that kid before in my life," Kellie replies.
"Well, he knew you."
And then my daughter said it.....and it was great.
"I gotta be honest with you. A lot of people know me."
Oh man, its not easy being a celebrity at school.
Later,
Jeff
After awhile, the seats near us start to fill up, and we have a couple of teenagers who sit down near us. The game proceeds and the kids are for the most part well behaved and things are fine. Near the end of the lst half, (which saw the kicker for the kids school kick a school record 54 yard field goal) the section began to fill up with more and more teenagers, who obviously wanted to sit or stand next to one another. As the new person would come into the area, rather than take a spot at the end of the row, they would sort of pinch into the middle of the section and the line would sort of slide down a little at a time. So eventually, I have the kid sort of invading my personal space (or as my daughter likes to call it..."my personal bubble".) I'm standing there and my wife tugs on my pants leg and asks:
"You aren't moving basically on principal, aren't you?"
"Your damned right."
So the first half ends, and then the section clears out and it looks like we're going to have plenty of extra space come 2nd half. There are only the original couple of kids there, and for most of the 3rd quarter things are fine--but then--the section begins to fill up again with those damn teenagers. The top row is once again beginning to spread out, and the kid who spent most of the first half hanging on top of me is once again starting to invade my personal bubble. Then, with the row as about as full as it could get, another kid came and tried to nudge his way into the row. He asked the other kids to move and they told him that there wasn't room...but the kid kept insisting. Finally, I couldn't take it:
"Hey kid, its not gonna happen. You know why? Because if you come into this row then this kid next to me is going to spend the rest of the game hanging on top of me like he did the whole first half. And I'm not going to do that again. So if you want to sit down around here, do it in the row in front of you, because you're not standing here."
Dead silence in the section.
It was hilarious. Finally I turned to the original kid and said:
"You know, allyou guys had to do was to ASK if my wife and I would mind moving down a few spots so that your friends could hang out together. But you guys didn't do that. All you had to do was ASK."
The kid looked at me as if I had just asked him to explain quantum physics. Blank stare.
Another kid then walked over and tried to crowd his way into the row, but was told by the other kids that "that guy isn't going to move".
I was the number one heel in the section, and like Ric Flair in his prime, I was loving it.
So finally, the kid who was hanging on top of me the first half turns to me and says:
"Um, excuse me sir, do you have kids who go to this school?"
"There in the band," I said, gesturing towards the band.
"The band? Oh, I love the band. They're really great."
"Yep."
"Um, may I ask you....is your daughter's name Kellie by any chance?"
"Well, yes...it is. How'd you know?"
"Well I had a class with her a few years ago where you did a project on your family tree and I thought I recognize your photo from it."
"Really? Wow, that's a great memory."
And I spent the next 15 minutes or so talking to the kid, who turned out to be very nice.
And on the ride home I told Kellie that I had a great story for her. I related the story of my little run-in with the teenagers and how it ended up with someone that she knew involved. So I told the whole story, and at the end of the story through out the kids name. Which was Austin.
And she says:
"I don't know anyone named Austin."
And she tries to remember who this kid could be for the entire ride home. When we get home she gets her yearbook from last year out and I start going through it, trying to find the kids photo. Finally I locate him, and point to his picture.
"Here he is," I said.
"I have never seen that kid before in my life," Kellie replies.
"Well, he knew you."
And then my daughter said it.....and it was great.
"I gotta be honest with you. A lot of people know me."
Oh man, its not easy being a celebrity at school.
Later,
Jeff
Thursday, September 6, 2007
9/6/07--Big fun with a reaction to an injection
So the other day, I go to my doctor for the old annual physical....ya know...the "yearly", and after the various blood tests, urine tests, blood pressure tests, etc....he tells me that he wants me to be inoculated for pneumonia and the flu. No problemo. So I go into a small room with his nurse, and flex my Schwarzneggar-like bicep (cough) and get the injection. Sounds good so far, right?
So the day proceeds along nicely and in the early evening we go pick up the kids from band practice and then around 9:30ish I start to feel a little...hmm......crappy. That is probably the best word to describe it (sorry Dad). It was so bad I even felt like going to bed early (never happens). The next morning I woke up and told Kim that I felt like I was burning up. Utilizing her basic medicare//Mom skills, she held her hand up to my head and prounced:
"Yep, you've got a fever."
What medical degree?
However, being the brave trooper that I am, I continued forward and went to work. After being there for about 10 minutes I thought I was either going to pass out or throw up, one or the other--or both. At about 9am, I told my supervisor that since I didn't have court that day, that I was going to go home and try and break this fever. The ride home was interesting, to say the least, as I had the air conditioner on full blast. I ended up sleeping for the better part of around 5 hours, waking in a pool of sweat (lovely) and feeling for the most part, like cr.....uh, (cough), lousy. (that one was for you Dad) Now, despite all of this, I had an appointment at 6pm to see my dentist, who was going to be putting in a permanent crown for me. I ordinarily would've just canceled the appointment, but the office was going on vacation on the next day and my temporary crown was fitting horrible and driving me crazy. So I made the appointment with the dentist. I walked into her office and she greeted me by saying:
"Hey, you look horrible."
Thanks Doc, appreciate that. So the crown goes in and I'm back home and in bed for another 2 1/2 hours. Oh, and I should mention, that on the way home from work, I called my primary physician and asked him if it was normal that I was having just received a flu shot, I should now be....ya know....apparently catching the flu.
"No, no. You do not have the flu. You're only having a reaction to the vaccine we gave you."
Well that made me feel better.
So again I went to bed early, woke up only to call into work....and went back to sleep.
Anyone who sees me yawn in the next week should have a real story on their hands.
I woke up around 10:30ish, again, covered in sweat and this time with a monster headache. Now, I've never had a migraine, but I have to guess that this felt at least in the same ballpark. I'm talking "I don't want to open my eyes"....that sort of headache.
The feverish feeling had sort of broke though (thank God!) and now I was left to deal with the Godzilla of headaches. Finally, around early afternoon, the headache finally subsided and it didn't hurt anymore to have my eyes open. The sweats are pretty much gone...no doubt due to the support of my compassionate wife:
"I was going to wash the sheets today....but I'll give it another night just to be sure."
Man oh man, do I love that woman.
I know one thing...next year, no flu shots.
Later,
Jeff
So the day proceeds along nicely and in the early evening we go pick up the kids from band practice and then around 9:30ish I start to feel a little...hmm......crappy. That is probably the best word to describe it (sorry Dad). It was so bad I even felt like going to bed early (never happens). The next morning I woke up and told Kim that I felt like I was burning up. Utilizing her basic medicare//Mom skills, she held her hand up to my head and prounced:
"Yep, you've got a fever."
What medical degree?
However, being the brave trooper that I am, I continued forward and went to work. After being there for about 10 minutes I thought I was either going to pass out or throw up, one or the other--or both. At about 9am, I told my supervisor that since I didn't have court that day, that I was going to go home and try and break this fever. The ride home was interesting, to say the least, as I had the air conditioner on full blast. I ended up sleeping for the better part of around 5 hours, waking in a pool of sweat (lovely) and feeling for the most part, like cr.....uh, (cough), lousy. (that one was for you Dad) Now, despite all of this, I had an appointment at 6pm to see my dentist, who was going to be putting in a permanent crown for me. I ordinarily would've just canceled the appointment, but the office was going on vacation on the next day and my temporary crown was fitting horrible and driving me crazy. So I made the appointment with the dentist. I walked into her office and she greeted me by saying:
"Hey, you look horrible."
Thanks Doc, appreciate that. So the crown goes in and I'm back home and in bed for another 2 1/2 hours. Oh, and I should mention, that on the way home from work, I called my primary physician and asked him if it was normal that I was having just received a flu shot, I should now be....ya know....apparently catching the flu.
"No, no. You do not have the flu. You're only having a reaction to the vaccine we gave you."
Well that made me feel better.
So again I went to bed early, woke up only to call into work....and went back to sleep.
Anyone who sees me yawn in the next week should have a real story on their hands.
I woke up around 10:30ish, again, covered in sweat and this time with a monster headache. Now, I've never had a migraine, but I have to guess that this felt at least in the same ballpark. I'm talking "I don't want to open my eyes"....that sort of headache.
The feverish feeling had sort of broke though (thank God!) and now I was left to deal with the Godzilla of headaches. Finally, around early afternoon, the headache finally subsided and it didn't hurt anymore to have my eyes open. The sweats are pretty much gone...no doubt due to the support of my compassionate wife:
"I was going to wash the sheets today....but I'll give it another night just to be sure."
Man oh man, do I love that woman.
I know one thing...next year, no flu shots.
Later,
Jeff
Monday, September 3, 2007
9/3/07--Hey, here's something that women will care NOTHING about!!!
So the other night, I got together with my former roommate Johnny the Rat Bastard and took part in our 5th annual fantasy football draft. This is another one of those mutually-exclusive-type-of-things....women sort of get a puzzled look on their face when you try and explain fantasy football. I had a woman at work ask me what it was, and I told her that question basically reflected the fact that her husband was not a football fan.
And I was right. Go figure.
So I'm in a keeper league, meaning that I get to keep up to 3 or 4 players for a maximum of 3 years--which might explain my decision to hold onto Peyton Manning.
Again...go figure. I also had held onto Roy Williams, the young WR from Detroit, and Jeremy Shockey, the TE from the NY Giants. So obviously my primary need going into the draft was to get a stud RB, and hopefully one that I could keep for a few years.
I had a certain player in mind, but without a pick in round 1 (I forfeited the pick to keep Manning), I had to wait until round 2 to make a selection. I took what might be seen as a minor reach in selecting Adrian Peterson from the Vikings with the pick. I figure that he's a guy I'm probably (barring a major injury) going to keep for a few years and he has shown unlimited potential in college and in the preseason. And, if for whatever reason he does not work out, I also selected Clinton Portis from the Redskins and Fred Taylor from the Jags--both of whom should get 1,000 yds without much trouble. Now that I've actually written that, if they both have terrible years, feel free to write me in January and tell me what an idiot I am.
Anyway, some of the other selections that I took included Miami WR Chris Chambers, New England WR Wes Welker and Indy #1 draft pick Anthony Gonzalez--who should fit real nicely into the number 3 WR spot for the Colts...which should mean at least 50 catches and lots of yards for a team with Peyton Manning at QB.
My backup TE is young Pittsburgh Steeler Heath Miller, who should put up some big numbers in case Shockey falls on his face (let's not forget he's stuck with the OTHER Manning as his QB).
My kickers are Shayne Graham from Cincinnati & Jason Hanson from Detroit (how long has THAT guy been in the NFL anyway?). I look for both their teams to put up tons of points this year....which makes them a better idea than the kicker for Atlanta or Oakland (or maybe Minnesota--gulp).
My defenses are Denver's and Minnesota's. I think their both pretty solid.
Looking out towards the future, I spent a 17th & 18th round pick on WR Maurice Stovall from Tampa Bay (Gruden supposedly loves him) and QB Tarvarious Jackson from the Vikings. Three years from now, those are the sort of picks that will either make me look very smart...or the idiot that you are by now guessing that I might be.
My team is rounded out by David Garrard of Jax as my back-up QB and Chris Brown from Tennessee as an extra RB.
I'm going for the league trophy this year. Victory will be mine!!!!
Later,
Jeff
PS...let the ladies know that they can resume reading in the next entry. (cough)
And I was right. Go figure.
So I'm in a keeper league, meaning that I get to keep up to 3 or 4 players for a maximum of 3 years--which might explain my decision to hold onto Peyton Manning.
Again...go figure. I also had held onto Roy Williams, the young WR from Detroit, and Jeremy Shockey, the TE from the NY Giants. So obviously my primary need going into the draft was to get a stud RB, and hopefully one that I could keep for a few years.
I had a certain player in mind, but without a pick in round 1 (I forfeited the pick to keep Manning), I had to wait until round 2 to make a selection. I took what might be seen as a minor reach in selecting Adrian Peterson from the Vikings with the pick. I figure that he's a guy I'm probably (barring a major injury) going to keep for a few years and he has shown unlimited potential in college and in the preseason. And, if for whatever reason he does not work out, I also selected Clinton Portis from the Redskins and Fred Taylor from the Jags--both of whom should get 1,000 yds without much trouble. Now that I've actually written that, if they both have terrible years, feel free to write me in January and tell me what an idiot I am.
Anyway, some of the other selections that I took included Miami WR Chris Chambers, New England WR Wes Welker and Indy #1 draft pick Anthony Gonzalez--who should fit real nicely into the number 3 WR spot for the Colts...which should mean at least 50 catches and lots of yards for a team with Peyton Manning at QB.
My backup TE is young Pittsburgh Steeler Heath Miller, who should put up some big numbers in case Shockey falls on his face (let's not forget he's stuck with the OTHER Manning as his QB).
My kickers are Shayne Graham from Cincinnati & Jason Hanson from Detroit (how long has THAT guy been in the NFL anyway?). I look for both their teams to put up tons of points this year....which makes them a better idea than the kicker for Atlanta or Oakland (or maybe Minnesota--gulp).
My defenses are Denver's and Minnesota's. I think their both pretty solid.
Looking out towards the future, I spent a 17th & 18th round pick on WR Maurice Stovall from Tampa Bay (Gruden supposedly loves him) and QB Tarvarious Jackson from the Vikings. Three years from now, those are the sort of picks that will either make me look very smart...or the idiot that you are by now guessing that I might be.
My team is rounded out by David Garrard of Jax as my back-up QB and Chris Brown from Tennessee as an extra RB.
I'm going for the league trophy this year. Victory will be mine!!!!
Later,
Jeff
PS...let the ladies know that they can resume reading in the next entry. (cough)
Sunday, September 2, 2007
9/2/07---Um....can we have a do over?
33-3. At home. It was not pretty. Couple of quick points....um, I'm thinking that Demetrious Jones is not going to be a QB anytime in the near future. Nice kid, heck of an athlete...not a QB though. And, uh...our offensive line? Its either really, really young-
or its horrible. Someone give me a reason NOT to think that O-line coach John Latina does NOT suck. He's terrible.
I say we bring Ga Tech back up, say Tuesday night....and we have a do over.
Yeah, that's the ticket.
Later,
Jeff
or its horrible. Someone give me a reason NOT to think that O-line coach John Latina does NOT suck. He's terrible.
I say we bring Ga Tech back up, say Tuesday night....and we have a do over.
Yeah, that's the ticket.
Later,
Jeff
Saturday, September 1, 2007
9/1/07--Gameday
The long months of waiting are officially over. Its Gameday in South Bend, Indiana.
And yesterday....after a little bit of waiting--I found out that my tickets for the Air Force game in November....have arrived. Face value baby. Yeah!
Here's a little something to get your motor going:
YouTube - Notre Dame 2006 Football Highlights - Gearing up for 2007
Here's another one to get ya fired up!!
YouTube - We Are Notre Dame
Later,
Jeff
Friday, August 31, 2007
8/31/07---Back in Black
Nag, nag nag. Yeah, I know...its been a few days. I'm currently living the life of a bachelor, as Kim and the kids are in Ohio for a family wedding. That means the dogs are pretty much running the house--know what I mean?
So naturally, this means I'm (cough, cough) responsible for getting myself up and ready for work today. I got the alarm set for 5:45am, which gives me plenty of time to get up, shower...take the dogs out...pack my lunch....and still get to work in time to read the paper.
Well....in theory. But, just to make double sure....I have Kim give me a call from Ohio when she wakes up around 6am to make sure I'm up.
Again....in theory.
I say "in theory" because....ya know...the theory works best when your backup doesn't oversleep ALSO. Cough.
So when I blew through my alarm this morning.....and got the phone call from Kim--ahem, at 6:55am...she said to me:
"Please tell me that you are already up."
Ha! That's a good one.
DOH! Of course, what she failed to realize of course is that even if I had been up, I would've been running late----and now by God I certainly was.
"I gotta go!" I yelled. I scooted the dogs out the backdoor for their respective business and jumped into the shower---the cold shower.
Yikes.
It was the proverbial whore's bath...and by that I mean....it was, by definition a "shower", but it wasn't exactly a relaxing leisurely type, ya know? I'm out of the shower and dressing, looking in the mirror and figuring that if anyone at work was in the habit of checking me out (doubtful), they were going to be sadly disappointed today. I was not my usual "10", if ya get my drift and I think ya do.
Luckily the dogs still have food....I'm out the door....(its 7:10ish)....and unbelieveably....
I still get to work on time.
I was, at best....frazzled.
Thank God for holiday weekends---and the start of college football.
Later,
Jeff
Sunday, August 19, 2007
8/19/07---Its Kellie's 15th birthday!!!!!
Here she is with her current heartthrob....the dreaded Kyle...who's basically an okay kid. I said "BASICALLY"....(don't get all full of yerself there kid).
Later,
Jeff
Saturday, August 18, 2007
8/18/07--Let's talk sports!!
So yesterday was a pretty good day for me in sports. Let's take a quick look:
1) Carlos Zambrano finally gets his contract extension from the Chicago Cubs. Big Z got a ton of cash, but more importantly...the Cubs got the anchor to their pitching staff locked up for another 5 years. The guy is a moose, pure and simple. Good for the Cubs.
2) The Cubs followed that up by beating the Cardinals 2-1 in a nice pitching duel that was won by Rich Hill. Nice performance by Hill, and a really nice performance by the suddenly hot Jacques Jones, who is doing so well lately that if he keeps it up he might get Cubs fans to ignore how horrible he was the first 3 months of the season. But I digress.
3) The Vikings defeated the NY Jets 37-21 in an NFL pre-season game. Now, this is important for a couple of reasons, even though its only a pre-season game. First of all, its a win over the Jets, which means I get to rub that in the face of my boy Bob the Shooter--which is always important. 2nd of all, the defense scored THREE (that's 3!!) touchdowns last night in a truly epic performance. It was truly big fun, all around.
Finally, let's remember....in the words of my friend Hugh Fitzpatrick...that:
"The pig flies in anger in TWO weeks."
Football season. The best of times, the worst of times....indeed.
Later,
Jeff
1) Carlos Zambrano finally gets his contract extension from the Chicago Cubs. Big Z got a ton of cash, but more importantly...the Cubs got the anchor to their pitching staff locked up for another 5 years. The guy is a moose, pure and simple. Good for the Cubs.
2) The Cubs followed that up by beating the Cardinals 2-1 in a nice pitching duel that was won by Rich Hill. Nice performance by Hill, and a really nice performance by the suddenly hot Jacques Jones, who is doing so well lately that if he keeps it up he might get Cubs fans to ignore how horrible he was the first 3 months of the season. But I digress.
3) The Vikings defeated the NY Jets 37-21 in an NFL pre-season game. Now, this is important for a couple of reasons, even though its only a pre-season game. First of all, its a win over the Jets, which means I get to rub that in the face of my boy Bob the Shooter--which is always important. 2nd of all, the defense scored THREE (that's 3!!) touchdowns last night in a truly epic performance. It was truly big fun, all around.
Finally, let's remember....in the words of my friend Hugh Fitzpatrick...that:
"The pig flies in anger in TWO weeks."
Football season. The best of times, the worst of times....indeed.
Later,
Jeff
Friday, August 10, 2007
8/10/07---Ruby Cook 4/28/23--8/4/07 R.I.P.
There's a small 2 lane road that leads from the interstate into my Aunt Ruby's hometown of Varnville, South Carolina. You drive by homes set about a hundred yards off the highway, churches, farms...there's a railroad track that runs along the side of the road on the right hand side. As you get closer to "downtown" Varnville (sort of a misnomer if ever there was one), there used to be a pool on the left hand side of the road. That was the official landmark when I was a kid that you were almost there. Yep, a pool. Now, I don't want to say that Varnville is small town....but when I say a pool....I don't mean that it was someone's pool. I mean---the town pool. A community pool. And during the summer, which is always when I would visit the Palmetto State, the pool would always be full of kids who were looking for a way to get out of the South Carolina heat. I'm not sure if it was as hot then as it is now...but you get the picture.
The pool hasn't been there in a long time. Somewhere along the line, people stopped going...then it fell into disrepair...and eventually it just got torn down. I drove by it the other day and noticed that they had built something new on the site. A funeral home.
Its where they had the visitation for my beloved Aunt Ruby the other night. I thought it was sort of ironic how the spot that always welcomed me to Varnville was now the spot that now was the place to say goodbye. My aunt's struggle ended on 8/4/07. She left behind a family saddened by her loss, a town that remembered her....and a small church that paid her the respect that she was due.
I was visiting Mom & Dad last weekend and had just gotten home from dinner when my Mom got the call that her only sister had died. I stood next to my mother and waited for her to have the emotional reaction that I expected....but it didn't come. I think she had prepared herself for it--if you ever really can. My sister had taken her the week before up to Varnville and I was told that the two sisters got to spend the better part of an afternoon together--laughing, telling stories and generally speaking...enjoying themselves the way that sisters can and do. I'm told that after my mother left, my Aunt's condition begin to slowly worsen until she finally couldn't wake up--and then didn't at all.
It was as if the visit by my mother was her last burst of strength. A chance to say a final goodbye....and I know it was one that in retrospect that my mother is glad she was able to do. I got back home on Sunday and had to make a quick decision on my plans, the various how's and when's of what I would be doing. The funeral service itself was set for Wednesday morning, and it was decided that I would fly up to my sister's in Jacksonville on Tuesday night--where we would be joined by our brother, driving over from the panhandle--and then an early (and I mean EARLY) departure for South Carolina on Wednesday morning....a 3 hour drive....the funeral, the burial, lunch, visit with some relatives, 3 hour drive back, catch a plane back to Ft Lauderdale...and back to work the next day.
After my arrival the night before, we got up at 5AM (after some assistance from the notoriously late sleeping niece Scarlett--so props to her) and the five of us--me, my sister and her husband Johnny & Scarlett, and my brother (acting as driver)---were on the road. Chip observed every speed limit posted on the trip. He didn't obey them, but he saw the signs, I promise. We actually arrived a few minutes early (you're shocked, I can tell) and stopped by my Aunt's house. We stepped in and sort of tip-toed our way around, exchanging greetings with relatives that hadn't been seen in years---probably since the last funeral, which unfortunately is the way these things seem to work.
We drove in the procession over to the church, which included one last drive past the house--a chance for my Aunt to "get one last look" at her home. I thought that was a very nice touch. When we arrived to the church, we walked in and I was surprised--although for the life of me I don't know why--that the church was absolutely packed.
All the friends and family of my aunt's had turned out to say goodbye...and it showed how much the small town of Varnville really thought about her. The church's minister said some nice things about my Aunt--and I was really glad that they were his own stories, from his own personal memories--of how much he cared about her and how much a part of the church and the town my Aunt really was. There were songs sung, poems read and more praise heaped upon Ruby Cook.
All of it deserved.
We went to the cemetery, where the minister showed himself to truly be a man of compassion, as he acknowledged just how hot it was and kept his final words brief.
We made our way back to the church ("back to the air conditioning!") where the ladies of the church had made a delicious meal in my Aunt's honor. I looked at the meal they had prepared and thought that it may have been the greatest tribute of all--for it was at her home, with people sitting around the table in her kitchen....that my Aunt was best known. I confess that I snuck back and had a 2nd dessert...and thought all the while that my doctor was whispering in my ear that I really didn't need to have extra helping of banana pudding....but hey, it was like the good Reverend said:
"Come and enjoy good food prepared by Christian women". Man, if it was good enough for Dolly Parton in Steel Magnolia's, it was good enough for me.
(And for the record, I can pretty much assure you that what you just read will be the only reference to the movie Steel Magnolias that you will EVER read in thisblog. Ahem)
Then it was back to my Aunt's house--or maybe I should say my cousin Mike's house, since he and his wife now live there. We stayed for about an hour and a half. It was so hot outside that I was glad that I had brought a chance of clothes and asked Mike if I could change into a pair of shorts and a t-shirt somewhere. He directed me to the master bedroom, and I closed the door and began to change. There was a knock on the door as I took my shirt off, and my cousin Hal walked in to change out of his good clothes also--followed by Mike, who decided that it was a good idea. So there we are, three cousins in a room, we hadn't seen each other in maybe 20 years at best...and Hal asks me who my team is in football. I tell him I've been a Vikings fan for over 35 years (gulp!) and Mike said that he was a Bronco's fan. Hal follows the Carolina Panthers.
Now, I mention this because here we are...3 cousins who haven't seen each other in all those years...standing in our underwear....and 2 minutes into the conversation we start ripping into each others team.
"The Vikings? They're terrible!"
"Bronco's? What a bunch of losers!"
"Carolina? Who have they ever beat?"
It was the one genuinely hilarious moment in a sad day.
And then we left...and took that 3 hour (well, actually more like 2 1/2) drive back to Jacksonville for my flight home. I ended up getting to the airport with 2 hours to spare and had to walk around.
I finally sat down, watching the people go by. I was worn out. The effects of the flight up there, the long drive up and back, the early wake up call , were all finally kicking in.
And I wouldn't have missed it...and I was glad I went....mainly....because she was worth it. And I wanted her, and her family, to know it.
And I wondered if I would ever take that drive into Varnville again....past those houses set back from the road, the churches, the farms, the railroad tracks on the right hand side, and where the community pool used to be....but its not there anymore.
Its a funeral home now.
Later,
Jeff
Sunday, August 5, 2007
8/5/07--Its the wife's birthday!! And other stuff
So being the dutiful husband that I try to be, I'd like to send a shout out to my wife Kim on the occasion of her....um....hmm....can't seem to remember which birthday it is.
Probably for the best. Hehehe Love ya schmookie!
Probably for the best. Hehehe Love ya schmookie!
Just got back today from a nice weekend visiting Mom & Dad....last weekend was my Dad's (GASP!) 79th birthday, and I didn't get to make it up there until this weekend.
I gave my Dad a picture frame that had 3 photos of he & I in it...which completes the trifecta in his computer room--since there's already ones of he & my brother and sister.
I also gave him a framed copy of a poem that I really liked, that I thought fit him nicely.
Its called "The Man in the Glass" and it was written by former Notre Dame football coach Ara Parseghian. Here it is:
The Man In The Glass When you get what you want in your struggle for self
and the world makes you king for a day
Just go to a mirror and look at yourself
And see what that man has to say.
For it isn't your parents, your children or wife
Who judgment upon you must pass
The fellow whose verdict counts most in your life
Is the one staring back from the glass
Some people may think you a strait-shooting chum
And call you a wonderful guy
But the man in the glass says you're only a bum
If you can't look him straight in the eye.
He's the fellow to please; never mind all the rest
For he's with you clear up to the end
And you've passed your most dangerous, difficult test
If the man in the glass is your friend.
You may fool the whole world down the pathway of life
And get pats on your back as you pass
But your final reward will be heartaches and tears
If you've cheated the man in the glass.
-Ara Parseghian
Anyway, Dad really liked it a lot. I told him that the values he taught me as I was growing up had always lead me to be proud of the man in the glass. He liked it.
Yesterday I spent the day with my Mom, doing one of our favorite things. We hit the used bookstores. (I know, I know--it sounds totally gay) One of the things that I inherited from my Dad is that I'm a total packrat (just ask my wife). So I found a bunch of books that I wanted--and of course Kim will point out that I won't read them for at least a year (if by then)--it drives her crazy....but I suppose a husband could have worse habits. The funniest thing that happened during our bookstore spree is that we visited a really nice and large used bookstore in Deland, Florida and as we went up to make our purchases, the owner's cat came walking across the counter. I guess the cat sort of has the run of the place, because as the sales clerk was handing my Mom the receipt to be signed, she made absolutely no attempt whatsoever to move the cat. The receipt is on the countertop, and my Mom is looking for a pen...and the cat goes to sit down--ya know, ass first--right on the receipt! I quickly grabbed the receipt, because...hey, the last thing I would want to do is to offend the cat, ya know? Just amazing.
Then last evening we went out for dinner at Carrabas, which was awesome because they had their spicey chicken soup on the menu---best soup--ever.
It was great seeing them.
Later,
Jeff
I gave my Dad a picture frame that had 3 photos of he & I in it...which completes the trifecta in his computer room--since there's already ones of he & my brother and sister.
I also gave him a framed copy of a poem that I really liked, that I thought fit him nicely.
Its called "The Man in the Glass" and it was written by former Notre Dame football coach Ara Parseghian. Here it is:
The Man In The Glass When you get what you want in your struggle for self
and the world makes you king for a day
Just go to a mirror and look at yourself
And see what that man has to say.
For it isn't your parents, your children or wife
Who judgment upon you must pass
The fellow whose verdict counts most in your life
Is the one staring back from the glass
Some people may think you a strait-shooting chum
And call you a wonderful guy
But the man in the glass says you're only a bum
If you can't look him straight in the eye.
He's the fellow to please; never mind all the rest
For he's with you clear up to the end
And you've passed your most dangerous, difficult test
If the man in the glass is your friend.
You may fool the whole world down the pathway of life
And get pats on your back as you pass
But your final reward will be heartaches and tears
If you've cheated the man in the glass.
-Ara Parseghian
Anyway, Dad really liked it a lot. I told him that the values he taught me as I was growing up had always lead me to be proud of the man in the glass. He liked it.
Yesterday I spent the day with my Mom, doing one of our favorite things. We hit the used bookstores. (I know, I know--it sounds totally gay) One of the things that I inherited from my Dad is that I'm a total packrat (just ask my wife). So I found a bunch of books that I wanted--and of course Kim will point out that I won't read them for at least a year (if by then)--it drives her crazy....but I suppose a husband could have worse habits. The funniest thing that happened during our bookstore spree is that we visited a really nice and large used bookstore in Deland, Florida and as we went up to make our purchases, the owner's cat came walking across the counter. I guess the cat sort of has the run of the place, because as the sales clerk was handing my Mom the receipt to be signed, she made absolutely no attempt whatsoever to move the cat. The receipt is on the countertop, and my Mom is looking for a pen...and the cat goes to sit down--ya know, ass first--right on the receipt! I quickly grabbed the receipt, because...hey, the last thing I would want to do is to offend the cat, ya know? Just amazing.
Then last evening we went out for dinner at Carrabas, which was awesome because they had their spicey chicken soup on the menu---best soup--ever.
It was great seeing them.
Later,
Jeff
Wednesday, July 25, 2007
7/25/07--My brush with greatness (or maybe you'd call it "celebrity")
So this morning, its about 8:45am and I get a call from my friend Pat, who's the director of the jury room in the courthouse I work in. She tells me that I need to get to the courtroom right away, and she has a pretty serious tone to her voice. Guilty me, I'm figuring I somehow had screwed up one of the jury forms I turn in after a trial or something and head down there. I walk into the office and Pat looks at me with a very serious look on her face. My mind is racing as I try to figure exactly what it is that I've done or might have done that has me in a world of trouble.
She motions for me to go into the back room of the jury office.
I don't know what it is, but I gotta be in some sort of deep shit.
She opens the door and I see three people sitting in chairs. My first thought is that there's some sort of party for somebody (but not me) and she decided to invite me.
The guy on the left is pretty ordinary....the woman on the right is pretty hot, and looks vaguely familar...but I can't place her. And then I look to the guy in the middle. And my friend Pat is standing there with her arm around:
The Rock....wrestling champion, action film star and (from Pat's point of view) all around hunk.
And I realize that Pat had been pulling my leg---damn, she ought to play poker. The little s.o.b. would make a lot of money. And its there that she introduced me to the Rock. Former pro wrestling star---for the most part successful Hollywood film star.
He was totally gracious and nice. Pat put me over by saying that "Jeff used to write for a bunch of wrestling magazines I think". He asked which one, and I told him that I used to do some writing for Dave Meltzer years before---he even smiled when I mentioned Dave's name! (Go figure) I told him that I had been a fan since around 1971 and that it was the legacy that my grandmother had left me with. I told her that my grandmother used to watch his father when he was in Mid-Atlantic wrestling as Sweet Ebony Diamond. He sorta laughed and said:
"Oh yeah....the old Carolina territory."
Totally nice guy....the woman was his (ex?) wife Dani--very nice looking. And get this, the guy comes to the courthouse for stinkin jury duty!!! (He didn't get picked) I thought that was pretty cool that he didn't just try and blow it off, ya know?
So I go back to my courtroom, and my judge does the daily calendar call. We get a break in the action and I tell her that I had a brush with greatness in the jury room.
"Whatta ya mean?" she asks me.
"Down in the jury room judge," I said, "on jury duty today...I got to meet.....The Rock."
"Who's that?" (Big letdown for me)
"Ya know....The Rock...the guy that was the wrestler and now he's a movie star....does all the action movies and stuff."
"But I don't watch wrestling."
"Yeah, I know....but come on...judge! The Rock!"
"Um...yeah....uh..."
She had ZERO idea who he was. I can understand not being a wrestling fan....but she obviously pays no attention to pop culture. I mean, I can't stand Paris Hilton...but I know who she is, ya know?
Later,
Jeff
She motions for me to go into the back room of the jury office.
I don't know what it is, but I gotta be in some sort of deep shit.
She opens the door and I see three people sitting in chairs. My first thought is that there's some sort of party for somebody (but not me) and she decided to invite me.
The guy on the left is pretty ordinary....the woman on the right is pretty hot, and looks vaguely familar...but I can't place her. And then I look to the guy in the middle. And my friend Pat is standing there with her arm around:
The Rock....wrestling champion, action film star and (from Pat's point of view) all around hunk.
And I realize that Pat had been pulling my leg---damn, she ought to play poker. The little s.o.b. would make a lot of money. And its there that she introduced me to the Rock. Former pro wrestling star---for the most part successful Hollywood film star.
He was totally gracious and nice. Pat put me over by saying that "Jeff used to write for a bunch of wrestling magazines I think". He asked which one, and I told him that I used to do some writing for Dave Meltzer years before---he even smiled when I mentioned Dave's name! (Go figure) I told him that I had been a fan since around 1971 and that it was the legacy that my grandmother had left me with. I told her that my grandmother used to watch his father when he was in Mid-Atlantic wrestling as Sweet Ebony Diamond. He sorta laughed and said:
"Oh yeah....the old Carolina territory."
Totally nice guy....the woman was his (ex?) wife Dani--very nice looking. And get this, the guy comes to the courthouse for stinkin jury duty!!! (He didn't get picked) I thought that was pretty cool that he didn't just try and blow it off, ya know?
So I go back to my courtroom, and my judge does the daily calendar call. We get a break in the action and I tell her that I had a brush with greatness in the jury room.
"Whatta ya mean?" she asks me.
"Down in the jury room judge," I said, "on jury duty today...I got to meet.....The Rock."
"Who's that?" (Big letdown for me)
"Ya know....The Rock...the guy that was the wrestler and now he's a movie star....does all the action movies and stuff."
"But I don't watch wrestling."
"Yeah, I know....but come on...judge! The Rock!"
"Um...yeah....uh..."
She had ZERO idea who he was. I can understand not being a wrestling fan....but she obviously pays no attention to pop culture. I mean, I can't stand Paris Hilton...but I know who she is, ya know?
Later,
Jeff
Sunday, July 22, 2007
7/22/07--The return of Andy
So the last two weeks, my son Andy traveled up to New Jersey for a summer internship at Stevens Institute. Andy was studying "robotics", and his parents were studying whether or not our son could handle being away from home for a significant period of time. Mom was especially worried, as Andy had really never been away from home before and she was concerned that he wouldn't remember the little things during the day--ya know...like eating, answering an alarm clock on his own....remembering that every day you are supposed to get yourself prepared for school or going to work.
Trust me, teenagers---they don't think like you and me.
The other reason that we were happy that he would be home is that we hadn't realized what a deterrent he is to his sister getting herself in trouble. I'm going to be nice here and say.....it was a rough couple of weeks for his sister. She must have been lectured a good five times by her parents. Hopefully she'll get her act together.....and soon.
Andy was doing a project with two other guys and we were very proud to find out that his group finished in 2nd place in a competition they were having at the school to find out who could get their robot to walk up and down a flight of stairs.
Me? When I was getting ready to be a senior in high school I was worrying about things like who was going to replace Joe Montana at quarterback for Notre Dame. Obviously we have two different ways of thinking---but I could be wrong.
Anyway, by all accounts, he had a great time while he was up there...and somewhat surprisingly he managed to survive (I have no doubt that his Grandfather Hank was betting that some crazed street gang from the mean streets of New Jersey was going to storm the campus and pillage the students that were there specifically for the internship) and seemed to really do well. We went to pick him up at the airport the other night (where naturally his flight from Newark--on JetBlue--was delayed. Who woulda thunk it?) and as he got off the plane and walked toward us.....I saw something I hadn't seen before.
My son? The sorta geeky kid who went to New Jersey?
He was looking a little...just a flash in the corner of my eye mind you.......like a young man.
Later,
Jeff
Trust me, teenagers---they don't think like you and me.
The other reason that we were happy that he would be home is that we hadn't realized what a deterrent he is to his sister getting herself in trouble. I'm going to be nice here and say.....it was a rough couple of weeks for his sister. She must have been lectured a good five times by her parents. Hopefully she'll get her act together.....and soon.
Andy was doing a project with two other guys and we were very proud to find out that his group finished in 2nd place in a competition they were having at the school to find out who could get their robot to walk up and down a flight of stairs.
Me? When I was getting ready to be a senior in high school I was worrying about things like who was going to replace Joe Montana at quarterback for Notre Dame. Obviously we have two different ways of thinking---but I could be wrong.
Anyway, by all accounts, he had a great time while he was up there...and somewhat surprisingly he managed to survive (I have no doubt that his Grandfather Hank was betting that some crazed street gang from the mean streets of New Jersey was going to storm the campus and pillage the students that were there specifically for the internship) and seemed to really do well. We went to pick him up at the airport the other night (where naturally his flight from Newark--on JetBlue--was delayed. Who woulda thunk it?) and as he got off the plane and walked toward us.....I saw something I hadn't seen before.
My son? The sorta geeky kid who went to New Jersey?
He was looking a little...just a flash in the corner of my eye mind you.......like a young man.
Later,
Jeff
Sunday, July 15, 2007
7/15/07---Movie reviews....how long has it been??
I think I did my last movie review in like...1994 or something....but I've recently caught a few so I thought I'd give my opinion---free of charge!! Hey, ya can't beat the price.
1) Live Free--Die Hard: Its the 4th installment of the Bruce Willis blockbuster series, and if you are a fan, you'll like it. He's back yet again as John McClane, hard boiled detective for the NYPD, ready to just get the bejezus knocked out of him but a ruthless gang of...um...thieves? I guess that's what they are. The best of the Die Hard series are always the ones with the best villians. Every great hero needs a great bad guy to play off of. That's why the first Die Hard was the best--who's going to be better than Alan Rickman? Here they offer us Timothy Olyphant, who's the star of the HBO series "Deadwood" (one of my personal favorites)--although on that show he's the hero. Here he's some sort of super-uber computer whiz who's upset that the U.S. government didn't listen to him regarding certain warning signs before 9/11....so now he's going to essentially bring the government to its knees....literally and metaphorically. But the real reason the movie is so much fun is the verbal interplay between Willis and Justin Long, who plays a young hacker that is forced to help the good guys--ya know--beat the bad guys. Best Die Hard ever? Naaah. Worst? Nope. I'd place it as 3rd best. Not quite as good as Die Hard 3 (Jeremy Irons was terrific) but better than Die Hard 2 (weak villian with the "rogue" U.S. general plot). ***3/4
2) Transformers--who knew? Who knew when I was taking the family to the movie, and was goofing on my son that this was probably going to be the WORST movie I would watch all summer (hang on...I'm getting to that one)....that this movie would be so much freakin fun?!!? An absolutely terrific thrill ride of a movie. Plot? Oh, come on!
Giant robots come to earth--some to help us, some to ENSLAVE us. Who cares about the plot? What makes the movie so much fun is that it doesn't take itself too seriously, has tons of action...and a star making turn by young Shia LeBouf was the film's lead.
Seriously--the kid is in the next Indiana Jones movie--he's going to be a big star.
****1/2
3) Devil Wears Prada--Should I officially turn in my man-card for even watching this?
Does it count if I only watched it on cable and didn't actually pay to watch it? Cuz I figure that's my only chance. Hey, Meryl Streep is fantastic in the role of the royal bitch supreme of a boss, and Anne Hathaway has....um, huge teeth. Good chick flick. Hey, I recommended it to my mom, okay? ***1/2
4) Crank--okay, let me just say that Jason Statham has done some really good work in The Transporter and is one of those guys that I thought would've made a great replacement for Pierce Brosnan as the new James Bond. Okay? I just wanted to say that because, this.....this movie....is a real piece of crap. I mean, very little redeeming social value. The plot (as it were) has Statham as a assassin-for-hire who awakes to find that he's been poisoned and has about an hour and a half to live (coinicidentally the running time of the movie--amazing, huh?). He wants desperately to get revenge on the guy who has poisoned him (another gangster) and begins to basically mow down anyone and everyone in his path to get there. This plot has been done a couple of times as "D.O.A." with Edmond O'Brien in the 50's and Dennis Quaid in the 80's--the twist here is that Statham can extend his time above ground by raising his adreneline level to extreme levels---which is, I guess---why things are so wild and out of control. Basically though, the film is just a mess. * 1/2
So the other night, one of the channels was having a Jack Webb marathon and I taped (I do not have a TIVO, thank you very much) about 3 hours worth of old Dragnet shows from the late 60's. They are an absolute hoot of over-the-top propaganda about the evils of drug use and just about anything associated with being under the age of 30.
There's one episode in particular, where Webb is lecturing this couple on how marijuana leads to essentially EVERYTHING, and will leave you a helpless quivering addict.
Mind you, he's saying all of this as he chains smokes his way through a pack of cigarettes. Addiction indeed.
Mr. Webb, uh....was a lifelong suffering of asthma and died of a massive heart attack.
Maybe it was do to that 3-pack a day cigarette habit that he couldn't shake.
Later,
Jeff
1) Live Free--Die Hard: Its the 4th installment of the Bruce Willis blockbuster series, and if you are a fan, you'll like it. He's back yet again as John McClane, hard boiled detective for the NYPD, ready to just get the bejezus knocked out of him but a ruthless gang of...um...thieves? I guess that's what they are. The best of the Die Hard series are always the ones with the best villians. Every great hero needs a great bad guy to play off of. That's why the first Die Hard was the best--who's going to be better than Alan Rickman? Here they offer us Timothy Olyphant, who's the star of the HBO series "Deadwood" (one of my personal favorites)--although on that show he's the hero. Here he's some sort of super-uber computer whiz who's upset that the U.S. government didn't listen to him regarding certain warning signs before 9/11....so now he's going to essentially bring the government to its knees....literally and metaphorically. But the real reason the movie is so much fun is the verbal interplay between Willis and Justin Long, who plays a young hacker that is forced to help the good guys--ya know--beat the bad guys. Best Die Hard ever? Naaah. Worst? Nope. I'd place it as 3rd best. Not quite as good as Die Hard 3 (Jeremy Irons was terrific) but better than Die Hard 2 (weak villian with the "rogue" U.S. general plot). ***3/4
2) Transformers--who knew? Who knew when I was taking the family to the movie, and was goofing on my son that this was probably going to be the WORST movie I would watch all summer (hang on...I'm getting to that one)....that this movie would be so much freakin fun?!!? An absolutely terrific thrill ride of a movie. Plot? Oh, come on!
Giant robots come to earth--some to help us, some to ENSLAVE us. Who cares about the plot? What makes the movie so much fun is that it doesn't take itself too seriously, has tons of action...and a star making turn by young Shia LeBouf was the film's lead.
Seriously--the kid is in the next Indiana Jones movie--he's going to be a big star.
****1/2
3) Devil Wears Prada--Should I officially turn in my man-card for even watching this?
Does it count if I only watched it on cable and didn't actually pay to watch it? Cuz I figure that's my only chance. Hey, Meryl Streep is fantastic in the role of the royal bitch supreme of a boss, and Anne Hathaway has....um, huge teeth. Good chick flick. Hey, I recommended it to my mom, okay? ***1/2
4) Crank--okay, let me just say that Jason Statham has done some really good work in The Transporter and is one of those guys that I thought would've made a great replacement for Pierce Brosnan as the new James Bond. Okay? I just wanted to say that because, this.....this movie....is a real piece of crap. I mean, very little redeeming social value. The plot (as it were) has Statham as a assassin-for-hire who awakes to find that he's been poisoned and has about an hour and a half to live (coinicidentally the running time of the movie--amazing, huh?). He wants desperately to get revenge on the guy who has poisoned him (another gangster) and begins to basically mow down anyone and everyone in his path to get there. This plot has been done a couple of times as "D.O.A." with Edmond O'Brien in the 50's and Dennis Quaid in the 80's--the twist here is that Statham can extend his time above ground by raising his adreneline level to extreme levels---which is, I guess---why things are so wild and out of control. Basically though, the film is just a mess. * 1/2
So the other night, one of the channels was having a Jack Webb marathon and I taped (I do not have a TIVO, thank you very much) about 3 hours worth of old Dragnet shows from the late 60's. They are an absolute hoot of over-the-top propaganda about the evils of drug use and just about anything associated with being under the age of 30.
There's one episode in particular, where Webb is lecturing this couple on how marijuana leads to essentially EVERYTHING, and will leave you a helpless quivering addict.
Mind you, he's saying all of this as he chains smokes his way through a pack of cigarettes. Addiction indeed.
Mr. Webb, uh....was a lifelong suffering of asthma and died of a massive heart attack.
Maybe it was do to that 3-pack a day cigarette habit that he couldn't shake.
Later,
Jeff
Friday, July 13, 2007
7/11/07--Heroes...and where you find them
I talk to my sister and brother on average of about once a week or so....and as we talk about our kids and raising them, inevitably I find that I will remark that I did something that "reminded me of Dad". Its amazing how much you find yourself behaving and doing things like your parents as you grow older....which is of course the ultimate irony, considering when you are busy growing up, the last thing you want to do is be like your parents. And yet, it happens....
Yesterday I got an interesting email from my Dad and at first I didn't quite understand why he was sending it to me. You see, yesterday was the 60th anniversary of my father's enlistment in the U.S. Navy. I sat there and continued to read what he had written, the pride that was evident in his words and realized....as I finished reading...that sometimes our greatest heroes are the ones that are closest to our hearts. Enjoy the read....and Dad, your kids are rightfully very proud.
Later,
Jeff
Yesterday I got an interesting email from my Dad and at first I didn't quite understand why he was sending it to me. You see, yesterday was the 60th anniversary of my father's enlistment in the U.S. Navy. I sat there and continued to read what he had written, the pride that was evident in his words and realized....as I finished reading...that sometimes our greatest heroes are the ones that are closest to our hearts. Enjoy the read....and Dad, your kids are rightfully very proud.
Today, sixty years ago, I raised my right hand and took the oath to enlist in the U.S. NAVY. I was placed aboard a troop train and transported to USNTC, Great Lakes, ILL
I was placed in Company 260 and could not wait for the 13 weeks to graduation. I wish I saved my issue "ditty bag" (that we had to pay for !!). Also my "flat hat" with the ship's name on the ribbon.
My pay grade was as a Seaman Recruit, SR 1. Pay was $95 a month.
*Please download the attachment below...
I was then stationed aboard the USS W.T. POWELL (DER-213) as a
Seaman Apprentice, pay grade SA 2. I chipped paint & spread "red lead" until someone discovered I could type. I then was assigned to the Supply Office and three days later, the NIS team swarmed aboard and all Storekeepers were handcuffed and taken away. That left me, a Seaman Apprentice , as senior enlisted person in the Supply Dept. We departed for GTMO three days later. Somehow, the ship survived...we arrived back to NavShipyard, Phil., Pa. The CO gave me a Commendatory Captain's Mast and told me to expect a set of orders to Supply School in Red Hook, NJ.
During the waiting time for the orders, I developed a Sulfa reaction from a dental extraction. The dental surgeon, a Captain, found out I had prosthetic experience while working in high school. He had me sign a request to transfer to The Medical Dept. of The Navy. Zap my transfer orders back to Great Lakes were on the ship the next day.
From there, my Navy progression continues thru the enlisted pay grades to where, as stationed aboard the USS NEWPORT NEWS, CA 148 (a heavy cruiser), I was fortunate to be selected for commission in a newly formed Corps within the USN....The Medical Service Corps...
I retired after 25 years of active duty (and three additional years of Guard service) (another story, another time) as a Commander, (pay grade 05), MSC, USN as the Administrative Officer, US Naval Hospital, GTMO BAY, CUBA.
During the 25 years of naval service, I spent 15 great years with the Navy and 10 wonderful years with The US Marine Corps. "SEMPER FI"
I Thank God for a wonderful life, with a wonderful wife and family. The adventure continues with "fire in my belly!!!
Later,
Jeff
Wednesday, July 11, 2007
7/11/07--The Police concert....last night in Miami
So last evening my wife and I joined our friends Jason & Kim Olivia as we went to the stadium formerly known as Joe Robbie to see the reunion tour of The Police. Here, my own unique review of last evening's show:
The concert itself was due to start at around 7pm. However, since we knew that there were going to be two "opening acts" (including one that featured the 19 yr old son of Sting--uh, no thanks) we all figured that we would just show up in time for the headline act to come on stage. Well, since my wife wasn't going to be home until around 6:30 to 6:45ish anyway, I thought that would work out fine. So she gets home and we even decided to stop and get a quick bite to eat at the old Steak & Shake. Good Lord, in the parking lot we even saw a car with a license plate that read:
Jeff & Kim
I kid you not. Anyway, we head down to the stadium and we're making nice time and figure that we'll get into our seats with approximately 30 minutes to spare before the main event would start....so much for planning. Well it just so happened that some major roadwork was starting on the turnpike right after the concert, and because of that, and for I suppose reasons having to do with the way the stadium was being configured for the concert...the entire east parking lot--ya know, the one that has the DIRECT access to the turnpike--is not open. Nope, instead we have to exit onto University Drive. What a terrific idea. In hell. So the wait to get off the exit ramp onto University took maybe.....35 minutes. Now all of a sudden our window of extra time has been reduced to almost nothing...but finally we are able to make our way into the stadium parking lot....that is, the parking lot that is being used. The one that, naturally, is furtherest away from the stadium. So as we're making our way in, along with all the rest of the cars....I'm thinking that I'm glad I remembered and stopped at an ATM on the way, because I know that for baseball games the parking is usually around $10....and its maybe $20 for Dolphins games. Tonight?
$30 for parking. I kid you not.
And then....to make it even more sweet....we're so late at this point that our parking spot? About 15 yards from the afore-mentioned University Drive. The night is young, but I'm getting a bad vibe.
So we hastily make our way to the stadium sowe can at least be in our seats before the show starts. Well....that was until we heard the opening chords of "Message in a Bottle".
DOH!!
Kim says..."hey, I think the show is starting". Naaah, says I...I'm sure its just them playing and old CD or something to warm up the crowd before the show starts.
Yeah...that's the ticket. So as we're into the stadium we realize that our seats, the ones that our friends Jason & Kim are in....are, ya know....on the OTHER SIDE of the stadium. Perfect. So we walk quickly through the mass of humanity and drunken idiots (and why are they in line when the concert has JUST started??) and make our way to our seats...upper deck mind you....we see our friends waving at us and we take a seat.
And the wave of heat and stifling humidity suddenly hit us. And we look down at the stage....which seems to be located approximately 2 miles from where we are sitting.
I knew it should've been a tipoff when I saw the guy selling binoculars as we were getting to our seats. And hey....that guy Sting looks just like an ant! Or maybe its an ant on the seat in front of me...I can't tell.
So now we're seated and we're ready to be entertained....well, at least I'M ready to be entertained...as I suspect that Kim is only along for the ride, and may not be the biggest Police fan in the world ("Ya know, I have never liked that song 'Roxanne'."). And about every 3rd song or so, Kim would lean over and go..."what song is this?".....and I'd wait for a couple of notes to kick in--hey, it has been over 20 years since they were in concert--and then tell her whether it was a really big song ("Don't Stand So Close to Me") or maybe one that wasn't so big ("Walking in Your Footsteps"). And of course, the first thing that everyone notices is that the acoustics....well....let's just say they are not good. We're in an open air stadium....but since the Dolphins have a couple of jumbotrons in either endzone at the top of the stadium, the music is bouncing off the giant screens and reverbing back.....so, during "Roxanne", Sting would sing out "Rox....anne"
and before he could get to the next line...about two seconds later you would hear the echo coming off the jumbotron ("Rox...anne"). It was tremendously annoying, especially as we considered what we paid for our seats--but of course, we were made slightly happier by the knowledge that we at least hadn't paid what the idiots who were on the stadium floor had supposedly paid for their seats (south Florida rumor: $1,000).
Let's get back to the intolerable heat. Now mind you, this is during the evening. I don't even want to think how anyone managed to enjoy either of the two opening acts who played while the sun was still in the sky. Good lord, the EMT's must have been working overtime. Oh, and the genius who was sitting right behind Jason? The one who kept talking on his cellphone and screaming at his son?
"STAY OFF THE PHONE BRIAN!! I MEAN IT!!"
Yeah, good times alright. Oh, and then there was the fact that, despite the horrible accoustics and all.....was the fact that you could understand none of the mindless patter that Sting would interject between songs. He seriously sounded like a guy having a conversation with someone in the drive-thru line at Burger King. That is one kick ass sound system ladies and gentlemen. Oh, and the trio of guys in the next row over who sparked up a cheeb? I thought I was going to get a freakin contact high. Dude, you're like 50 yrs old...get the monkey off your back, ya know?
Don't get me wrong...there were a few highlights. They did a really nice "Invisible Sun", and "King of Pain" sounded great...but on the 2nd encore as they launched into an extended dance version of "Every Breath You Take"....we all headed for the exits.
Only good thing about being parked so close to the road? We got out of the stadium area in like 5 minutes...back in our car...and the blessed-as-if-by-God-himself air conditioning. Now, my wife....I love her for a lot of reasons. The woman is a saint, and not just because she puts up with me. She almost NEVER curses. But as we got into the car, she looks at me and says:
"Start the car and put on the f'n air conditioning."
Yeah, it was a little warm.
Tickets for The Police in Miami at Joe Robbie Stadium: $100
Parking a mile away: $30
Escaping the end of the show and starting the car up (with air conditioning): Priceless
In the immortal words of Comic Book Guy:
Worst concert....ever.
Later,
Jeff
The concert itself was due to start at around 7pm. However, since we knew that there were going to be two "opening acts" (including one that featured the 19 yr old son of Sting--uh, no thanks) we all figured that we would just show up in time for the headline act to come on stage. Well, since my wife wasn't going to be home until around 6:30 to 6:45ish anyway, I thought that would work out fine. So she gets home and we even decided to stop and get a quick bite to eat at the old Steak & Shake. Good Lord, in the parking lot we even saw a car with a license plate that read:
Jeff & Kim
I kid you not. Anyway, we head down to the stadium and we're making nice time and figure that we'll get into our seats with approximately 30 minutes to spare before the main event would start....so much for planning. Well it just so happened that some major roadwork was starting on the turnpike right after the concert, and because of that, and for I suppose reasons having to do with the way the stadium was being configured for the concert...the entire east parking lot--ya know, the one that has the DIRECT access to the turnpike--is not open. Nope, instead we have to exit onto University Drive. What a terrific idea. In hell. So the wait to get off the exit ramp onto University took maybe.....35 minutes. Now all of a sudden our window of extra time has been reduced to almost nothing...but finally we are able to make our way into the stadium parking lot....that is, the parking lot that is being used. The one that, naturally, is furtherest away from the stadium. So as we're making our way in, along with all the rest of the cars....I'm thinking that I'm glad I remembered and stopped at an ATM on the way, because I know that for baseball games the parking is usually around $10....and its maybe $20 for Dolphins games. Tonight?
$30 for parking. I kid you not.
And then....to make it even more sweet....we're so late at this point that our parking spot? About 15 yards from the afore-mentioned University Drive. The night is young, but I'm getting a bad vibe.
So we hastily make our way to the stadium sowe can at least be in our seats before the show starts. Well....that was until we heard the opening chords of "Message in a Bottle".
DOH!!
Kim says..."hey, I think the show is starting". Naaah, says I...I'm sure its just them playing and old CD or something to warm up the crowd before the show starts.
Yeah...that's the ticket. So as we're into the stadium we realize that our seats, the ones that our friends Jason & Kim are in....are, ya know....on the OTHER SIDE of the stadium. Perfect. So we walk quickly through the mass of humanity and drunken idiots (and why are they in line when the concert has JUST started??) and make our way to our seats...upper deck mind you....we see our friends waving at us and we take a seat.
And the wave of heat and stifling humidity suddenly hit us. And we look down at the stage....which seems to be located approximately 2 miles from where we are sitting.
I knew it should've been a tipoff when I saw the guy selling binoculars as we were getting to our seats. And hey....that guy Sting looks just like an ant! Or maybe its an ant on the seat in front of me...I can't tell.
So now we're seated and we're ready to be entertained....well, at least I'M ready to be entertained...as I suspect that Kim is only along for the ride, and may not be the biggest Police fan in the world ("Ya know, I have never liked that song 'Roxanne'."). And about every 3rd song or so, Kim would lean over and go..."what song is this?".....and I'd wait for a couple of notes to kick in--hey, it has been over 20 years since they were in concert--and then tell her whether it was a really big song ("Don't Stand So Close to Me") or maybe one that wasn't so big ("Walking in Your Footsteps"). And of course, the first thing that everyone notices is that the acoustics....well....let's just say they are not good. We're in an open air stadium....but since the Dolphins have a couple of jumbotrons in either endzone at the top of the stadium, the music is bouncing off the giant screens and reverbing back.....so, during "Roxanne", Sting would sing out "Rox....anne"
and before he could get to the next line...about two seconds later you would hear the echo coming off the jumbotron ("Rox...anne"). It was tremendously annoying, especially as we considered what we paid for our seats--but of course, we were made slightly happier by the knowledge that we at least hadn't paid what the idiots who were on the stadium floor had supposedly paid for their seats (south Florida rumor: $1,000).
Let's get back to the intolerable heat. Now mind you, this is during the evening. I don't even want to think how anyone managed to enjoy either of the two opening acts who played while the sun was still in the sky. Good lord, the EMT's must have been working overtime. Oh, and the genius who was sitting right behind Jason? The one who kept talking on his cellphone and screaming at his son?
"STAY OFF THE PHONE BRIAN!! I MEAN IT!!"
Yeah, good times alright. Oh, and then there was the fact that, despite the horrible accoustics and all.....was the fact that you could understand none of the mindless patter that Sting would interject between songs. He seriously sounded like a guy having a conversation with someone in the drive-thru line at Burger King. That is one kick ass sound system ladies and gentlemen. Oh, and the trio of guys in the next row over who sparked up a cheeb? I thought I was going to get a freakin contact high. Dude, you're like 50 yrs old...get the monkey off your back, ya know?
Don't get me wrong...there were a few highlights. They did a really nice "Invisible Sun", and "King of Pain" sounded great...but on the 2nd encore as they launched into an extended dance version of "Every Breath You Take"....we all headed for the exits.
Only good thing about being parked so close to the road? We got out of the stadium area in like 5 minutes...back in our car...and the blessed-as-if-by-God-himself air conditioning. Now, my wife....I love her for a lot of reasons. The woman is a saint, and not just because she puts up with me. She almost NEVER curses. But as we got into the car, she looks at me and says:
"Start the car and put on the f'n air conditioning."
Yeah, it was a little warm.
Tickets for The Police in Miami at Joe Robbie Stadium: $100
Parking a mile away: $30
Escaping the end of the show and starting the car up (with air conditioning): Priceless
In the immortal words of Comic Book Guy:
Worst concert....ever.
Later,
Jeff
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