"Baseball, hot dogs, apple pie, and Chevrolet"

No?  OK then, how 'bout "rugby, barbecue, peach ice cream, and Ferrari"?

 WE WON!

I'm kinda liking these long holiday weekends.  Friday night we watched the Amlin Cup championship game (rugby), and my team, the Northampton Saints, won it all in a hard fought game.  WooHoo!

Then yesterday we watched the Heineken Cup European rugby championship game where Toulon (France) beat Saracens (UK).  This was good for me as next weekend Northampton plays Saracens for the Aviva Premiership championship, which is the Super Bowl of English rugby.  A beat up Saracens won't hurt my feelings.  ;)

Today....in just a few minutes actually, I'm watching the Monaco F1 Grand Prix.  Do I dare hope Ferrari might sneak up on Mercedes and win one?

Later we're thinking about going downtown to Klyde Warren Park (no relation, DAMMIT!) to chill the afternoon away and maybe graze off one of the food trucks.  It all depends on the rain in the forecast.  It'll be one of those snap decisions if we go.

I missed grandson Parker's baseball game yesterday because it was at O-dark-thirty.  Next week it's at a more reasonable 11am.  He's a hoot to watch.  

At age 4 (almost 5) he plants his feet, taps home plate, takes a couple of practice swings, then steps into the pitch and clobbers it!  He must be batting something like .999.  And he's a fine first baseman, too.

Don't forget to think of all our service men and women who are and have served and sacrificed so much for us, especially on this Memorial Day weekend. 

Have fun, be safe everyone.  :)

S

"Trust" is our mantra

First things first:  Let me thank all those who have served in our country's military over the years, allowing us to enjoy freedom like few in the world can even fathom.  And may we always remember those who made the ultimate sacrifice in defending us against all who wish us harm.

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My lovely and talented (and US Navy veteran) wife K is currently a week into her semi-annual health kick. It all started when she did some fairly simple physical task last week and decided she wasn't in shape.  This always gets her fired up to become some sort of physically fit poster child for 40+ aged women.

Because this isn't her first rodeo, she already has on hand a fairly complete video library of workout programs.  She decided this time to go with The Big Gun, PX90.  This is the one where you go 100 mph until you puke or die, whichever comes first.  So far she hasn't puked, but I think I did see a guy in a black cloak standing back in the corner watching her intently.

She gets up at 4 am five days a week in order to get her hour-long workout in.  My only request of her is to keep her panting and groaning to a minimum as I still have two more hours to sleep.  Today I walked into the den as she was putting away her paraphernalia and fixing her after-workout protein drink.  This is supposed to help her muscles recover from the torture she just inflicted on them.

She popped the top on one of these little cans of dynamite and slugged it down, then announced, "YUCK!!  This tastes like crap.  You wanna try one?"

Hellooooooo!  I didn't make it this long in life by doing stupid things.  (Well, maybe a few, but that was back in my young/stupid life-phase.)  You've already told me it tasted like crap.  I'm not into re-inventing the wheel.  I trust you, dear.  And our relationship is all about trust, right?  Isn't that what we always say?

Now, if you still have the strength, come pull my finger.  ;)

S

Spewings from my odd mind

Ever wonder about the origin of holidays?  Some are obviously religious....Easter, Christmas, Hanukkah.  Some are obviously contrived for commercial reasons, like Valentine's (thank you Hallmark Cards and FTD).  Some are to recognize the sacrifice of our armed forces....Memorial Day, Veteran's Day.  But Labor Day?   Yes, it is to honor those who "labor", and it was pushed for by the early labor union movement, but it wasn't until 1894 that President Grover Cleveland made it a national holiday after a particularly bloody fight between the military and federal marshals and strikers at the Pullman Co. (railroad car mfg.) ended in a number of deaths.

Fearing more labor violence, Labor Day was a bone thrown at workers to calm things down and prevent further unrest.  The Prez was careful, however, to NOT have it the same day as International Worker's Day so as not to give any credence to the growing communist movement.  Now you know.

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I heard a quote today that resonated with me:  "Don't have an opinion where you have no responsibility."

This as opposed to the way things are now, namely, "Opinions are like a__holes....everybody has one."

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I also read something interesting written by a journalist covering the Republican convention last week.  He observed, "There is no organic connection between Romney and the GOP base.  He is renting the party to fulfill his dream of becoming president, and they're renting him to get rid of President Obama."  Good point.  It really doesn't feel like they belong together, but they're trying to force it, sort of like an arranged marriage.  It's just an odd chemistry.  

The Democrats start their convention this week.  Now it's their turn to bore us to tears.  Football season couldn't have come at a better time, for me at least.

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We're forecast to have triple-digit heat most of the week in Dallas, but a weather front comes in for the weekend cooling things off into the 80's.  Do I dare hope?  Is this "it"....the first stirrings of Autumn?  I even like the sound of it....."Autumn".  :)

S