July 2009


Ups and Downs of the week.

  Dad – Home again. Hopefully for good this time.

  The Gates Affair – Will it ever end?

 Vacation – We just booked a trip to Germany for October (after Oktoberfest). We’ll be doing the Munich, Nürnberg, Prague, Vienna loop. I am so looking forward to it. 

Meh   Red Sox - Playing a little better. They picked up some talent today with Victor Martinez and Casey Kotchman. I felt bad for poor Adam LaRoche, who barely had time to unpack and probably didn’t dirty a single Sox uniform. I know he was psyched to be on the Red Sox and now he’s in Atlanta. Still, it’s his former team, so he’s come full circle, I guess. Sox are now just one and a half games back (1 game in the loss column).

 Decent Summer Weather – July has come and gone and not one day above 90. I can deal with 80s all summer long.

  Illinois Highway Department – I guess I shouldn’t expect much out of a group who believes the best way to repair a highway is to pour some tar in a hole and then fill it with peastone. It keeps the same crew employed filling the same holes week after week and it helps keep the windshield and autobody folks busy repairing glass and paint. Still, today I had to deal with stop and go traffic for 9 miles because they closed one lane of I-57 for that distance even though there was only one small crew working at the very end of the stretch. Why they needed 9 miles of lane closure for a single work crew is beyond me, but I guess I shouldn’t be looking for intelligence or consideration from this bunch of morons.

Ups and Downs of the week.

 Dad – Not doing too well. He’s still in the hospital with a fever and pneumonia. We were hoping he would be home for his birthday this Sunday, but it doesn’t look like that’ll happen. I visited him tonight and will be here over the weekend, so at least we get to spend some time together.

 Mom – Simply the strongest woman I know. How’s she’s managed to keep it all together through my Dad’s health issues is beyond me. I’m proud of her.

Meh   Red Sox - They won tonight (barely), but they’ve been losing steadily while the Yankmees have been winning steadily. Sox are now a couple games back. The pitching has been decent, but the offense has been pathetic. Something better change soon or we’ll be thinking about “next year.”

  The Gates Affair – Every facet of this bizarre story has been poorly handled, starting with Gates’s neighbor for failing to recognize him as he was entering his house. Then Gates himself for refusing to identify himself to a cop doing what cops do. Then the cop for losing his cool and arresting Gates. Then Obama for passing judgment before having all the facts.  This is how a very minor misunderstanding mushrooms into a huge racial/political brouhaha. Everyone needs to stand back and accept that they’ve all screwed up and then move on.

  Air Travel – It keeps getting worse, not better. Today we landed in the pouring, blowing rain in Boston and because the jetway couldn’t reach down to the tiny airplane we were crammed into, we had to disembark in the rain and wait in the rain while they unloaded our planeside checked bags in the rain. This is progress?

Crowded in the backyard tonight.

Party Time

Ups and Downs of the week.

 Dockers Stain Defender pants – Now this is technology at its best. This past Monday a waiter spilled a full glass of Diet Coke in my lap. I stood up and brushed off the DC like it was crumbs. The pants were clean and dry immediately after the spill. No stains, no wetness. The waiter was far more relieved than I.

 Dad – Back in the hospital again. Short stay this time for some blood and a mild case of pneumonia. He should be home when I get there next weekend.

 Red Sox – Clay Buchholz looked great tonight as they beat the Blue Jays. Lugo has been released finally and Lowrie and Lowell are back. All is good.

  Walter Cronkite died today – Ok, he lived a long life that most of us can only dream about. Still, he was the last of the news folks you could really trust.

Baby Deer - Mama brought them by for some seed and peanuts, but they were more interested in Mama’s milk. She was having none of it, though, much to their chagrin.

Dinner Time

Dinner Time

Dinner Time

Ups and Downs of the week.

 Chicago, IL – Great city, except…

  Chicago, IL – Lots of obnoxious people here.

Dad – Home for good it seems. Going to visit in two weeks.

Meh  Red Sox – Still stumbling along, but they’ve lost the offensive spark. Maybe the All-Star break will help.

 Baby Raccoons – All kids love a pool. Baby coonies are no different. Just before I was able to snap this picture, this guy’s sibling was fully into the bin and splashing around.

Pool Time!

Word must be spreading about the “in place” to eat.

Full House

Full House

Ups and Downs of the week.

     Red Sox – They kicked butt for a bit, then blew a 10-1 7th inning lead in one game, then came back from 5-1 in the 9th to win the next game, and then blew a chance to win tonight at home. Typical Red Sox roller coaster. I’d sure would enjoy another 10+ game winning streak about now.

  Michael Jackson Coverage – Enough already. You can’t escape the hype over every snippet of tape the newsies dig up. CNN (Celebrity News Network) is one of the worst.

 Dad - Home since Thursday and doing better.

  The Sanford Saga – Infidelity is nothing new. Why do we treat every occurrence like it’s the first time it ever happened? If Sanford abused his position as governor or misused public funds, then can the bastard and move on. Personally, I couldn’t care less what his wife thinks about the whole thing. It’s not my business.

  Cool Weather – This week has been a nice break from the heat and humidity of recent weeks. I can deal with mid-to-high 70s and low 80s.