A Theological Conundrum...

The Chicago Cubs have a player whose name really is Angel Pagan. As he is Latin American, his name is pronounced "An-hel Pa-GON." Otherwise, as Cardinals radio broadcaster Rick Horton noted, his name would be a theological conundrum...

It made me chuckle! : )

Pilgrimage...

Today, I joined my dad and 2 other men from our church (OK, one was the pastor so he's a holy man) on their annual pilgrimage to SEMO for watermelons and peaches. We stopped at two watermelon stands and ended up at Bader's for peaches. They have quite the operation these days, shipping peaches all over Missouri and points beyond as well as selling on-site. Their peaches have been at my local Dierbergs Market for a couple of weeks but I wanted to wait until I could buy them straight from the factory, if you will. We also made a stop at the John Deere shop to visit my papaw. My cousin J. joined us for pork steak dinners at Earnhart's before we headed for home. A good time was had by all, we agreed.

Podcasts...

There are a couple of video podcasts that I watch regularly. The Mark Lowry Show is produced by--you guessed it--Christian entertainer Mark Lowry. Through that podcast I learned of Geekbrief.tv, which features Cali Lewis, who briefly goes over new gadgets and tech-geek stuff every day. Bonus: She features each day's bloopers at the end of each show!

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So I'm thinking seriously about getting a dog. An adult dog who already knows how to be a dog, is trained properly, etc... The house is just a little too quiet for comfort and I need something to keep me from descending into couch potato land too often. I've been trolling the various local breed-rescue websites and also Petfinder to see what's available.

The lights are on...

but nobody's home at the moment because I'm at work! : ) My electricity came back on sometime during the overnight hours. Many thanks to my parents for putting me up for 4 nights.

I had a nice reunion with a couple of old pals last night. A few years ago I was in a great small bible study group with 5 other guys at church. We became rather close but as time went on we inevitably went our separate ways. The two of us that left town were back in town for the weekend and we all broke bread together with other old friends last night. Good times!

3 days and counting...

I'm writing tonight from my parents' house because it's Saturday night and my house still has no electricity! I can stand to be there only for a few hours at a stretch because it's still so warm inside. My outlook has been optimistic so far but I must admit a certain irritation and aagravation is beginning to creep into my psyche as this outage drags on. I did get my yard cleaned up today, which was very satisfying. Hopefully, I'll be powered back up by tomorrow.

In happier news, I did get my new bed linens purchased today. I did go with the aforementioned Pottery Barn products - duvet cover/shams, bright red pickstitch quilt and sheet set. I purchased a down comforter at Famous Barr as well. As for paint, it took a couple of trips to the paint store to get just the right color but I think it will pull everything together nicely. I promise to post pictures when the room is done.

Friday's Feast...

Appetizer
Fill in the blanks: I drew a blank when I tried to answer this question .

Soup
Name something you use to make your home smell good.

Not a thing! If it's not the AC or the furnace it's not smellin' in my pad!

Salad
If you could receive a coupon in the mail for 50% off any product, what would you want it to be for?

A new car! : ) there's nothing wrong with my present wheels, but wouldn't it be fun??

Main Course
Besides sleeping, what do you spend the majority of the hours of your typical day doing?

working!

Dessert
What can you hear right now while answering these questions?

the air conditioner pushing air through the vents, the 'clicking' of computer mice in my office, the witty banter of my co-workers (OK it's not witty but they are bantering.)

I am a displaced storm victim...

...who has quite a bit more empathy for hurricane victims thanks to this week's storm. I got home last night and the temperature in my house was 85ºF. After I cleaned my yard of storm debris, I packed up and headed for my parents' house. It was very nice to be relaxing in their nice cool basement in a big easy chair, believe me! I earned my keep by working out some bugs in their laptop computer and was paid with a bowl of fresh strawberries and ice cream! : ) My brother and sis-in-law arrived later to sleep. They slipped in after we went to bed and were gone before we woke up. This was the first time I slept in my old room since I left in the year 2000. My mom is re-doing my old room so the wallpaper has been stripped and the furniture is askew but I slept well, so that's all that matters! If the power is still off tonight, I'll be there again.

It was a bit eerie driving into work this morning. The sky was cloudy and hazy and the air was still very humid. On the way up, I passed by convoys of National Guardsmen and power company workers from Alabama en route to the city to help with cleanup. My dad is a retired Guardsman so I gave them a wave as I passed.

Yes, I Survived...

...the nasty ball of hate that descended upon the St. Louis area from the northeast last night. An unusually mighty storm composed of wind, rain, thunder and copious lightning roared through around 7 pm last night. The usual chaos, mayhem, panic, and general disorder that one might expect with a storm like this is present in different parts of the metro area this morning. My electricity is off and likely will be for a good while as news reports say as many as 500,000 customers are also electricity-less. Miraculously, my trees survived the onslaught with only minor damage. I have a front and back yard full of limbs but that's about it. The city itself got hit extraordinarily hard, apparently. My brother and sis-in-law are without power in their little corner of the city. My employer, the Only Local Metropolitan Daily Newspaper In Town, did lose power and it affected today's edition to an extent.

Oh, and today's going to be the hottest day of the year!

Does he come with an extended warranty?...

Zinger of the day, courtesy of the P-D's Jeff Gordon, who writes an online sports blog for STLtoday.com:

(speaking of the newest Dallas Star, oft-concussioned hockey star Eric Lindros)

"When the Dallas Stars bought Eric Lindros for $1.5 million, did they purchase the service contract, too?"

A Moment of Silence...

...for the man who developed the Blizzard and Full Meal Deal for Dairy Queen. Sam Temperato passed away on Friday at the age of 82. He was a Dairy Queen franchiser in the St. Louis area who introduced those products to the DQ menu in the mid-1980s. As one who has consumed many, many Blizzards and Full Meal Deals over the years, I say, "Thanks, Sam!"

Read his obituary feature here.

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In other news, my secret's out, accidentally, it seems. For no particular good reason, I never got around to telling my parents about this little blog. At lunch today I was beginning to describe my Cardinals experience from Friday night. As I did, my dad mentioned that he'd read about it in my blog! I was a little afraid of their reaction, but there was none to speak of. He said he'd found it accidentally. So, welcome to my mom and dad as new faithful readers!

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In still other news, the new Pottery Barn catalog is out and they are featuring this new bedding ensemble - I think it'd look great in my bedroom, what do my readers think?

Oh Yeah, Yeah, Yeah!!!...

WOW, what an experience I had tonight! The best-pitched game the Cardinals have had all season and it happens on the night of my first (and likely only) visit to the swankiest suite in the new stadium. I learned as I was walking to the stadium with some of our Marketing folks that this was the only time all season the P-D gets the All*Star suite, as we have our own, smaller suite for everyday use. Later, I learned that this was a special occasion as the P-D and the Cardinals thanked each other for and celebrated the success of the "Historical Ticket" promotion that just ended. Most of the people that came had something to do with the project, then after they were taken care of, people like me got the leftover suite passes. That was the neat part; executive and managerial types taking in a ballgame with a computer tech, security guards, and paperhandlers.

Did I mention the free food and drink? I had a big pile of taco-beef-and-cheese nachos, a big hot dog slathered with the leftover aforementioned beef and cheese, fresh strawberries and white grapes, and several chocolate chip brownies, all washed down with a cold Sprite. Not all at once, mind you--I grazed throughout the game.

The game was pretty much all good for the home team. "Jimmy Ballgame" Edmonds made two spectacular catches in center field and Chris Carpenter pitched a two-hit shutout as the Cardinals won 5-0.

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In other news, I see that the St. Louis School Board met in "emergency" session tonight and voted to fire their reform-minded superintendent. They had previously fired a well-known, wildly successful, but controversial prep basketball coach, purportedly to send a message to the superintendent. I feel sorry for school kids in the city of St. Louis; politics and personal grudges seem to have taken priority over their education.

Oh Yeah!!!...

I'll be taking in tonight's Cardinals/Dodgers game from the ALL*STAR SUITE at the new Busch Stadium!!!! My employer gets to use the suite from time to time during the year and one of our Marketing dept. managers just called and offered me a free pass! This is no special favor or treatment, mind you. One of the things that goes with my job is that I get to know a lot of people a little bit. Some I've gotten to know more than others and that's the case with several of the people in the Marketing dept. Once in a while they remember you with something special like this. ONCE IN A WHILE, as in 'the second time in almost nine years') It's never expected, just nice when it does happen.

I haven't been to the new stadium yet so what better way to experience it?

Lost Dogs in Concert...

Enjoyed a great show last night with my old friend S. whom my brother and I met shortly after joining BSF in 2001. He now lifts weights regularly with my brother and also accompanies us to concerts every now and then. I had a message from S. on Thursday reminding me that the Lost Dogs were coming to Roxana, IL on their 3-week summer tour. They're touring a new album and I hadn't seen them in a few years, so we drove over to the east side last night.

Interested readers can look here for background information on the band. I've been following them since their first album in 1992. I was a high school senior, not supposed to know or care what was happening in west-coast Christian music, but somehow I did. Their music grabbed me and I began expanding my musical horizons to include their other bands and side projects.

The major Christian record labels stopped caring about them a few years ago but they've soldiered on, playing to a well-rooted fan base. Last night's show brought in only about 30 or 40 fans but they gave a great performance, nonetheless. For $10, it couldn't be beat. Besides, what else is going on in Roxana, IL on a Friday night?

I snapped some pictures, whice are posted here.

Friday's Feast!

Appetizer
When was the last time you visited a hospital?

A few weeks ago, when a beloved cousin was suffering from a fairly malicious virus/infection that landed her in the ICU for a week. She's slowly recovering, last I heard.

Soup
On a scale of 1 to 10 with 10 being highest, how ambitious are you?

5 or 6, unfortunately! :)

Salad
Make a sentence using the letters of a body part. (Example: (mouth) My other ukelele tings healthily.)

(toe) - Tofu? Oh, Ewwww!

Main Course
If you were to start a club, what would the subject matter be, and what would you name it?

Probably something to do with music, with a name like the 'You Know Who You Are Club.'

Dessert
What color is the carpet/flooring in your home?

The carpet in my family room/den is off-white, and the ceramic tile in my kitchen is an earthen stone mix of colors. The remainder of the house is natural wood flooring.

Happy 5th of July!

Ugh...July 5th rates right up there with December 26 for post-cool holiday "Iwishididn'thavetogointowork'-iveness.

Had a very nice gathering with old friends and acquaintances last evening. I went to the same place as I have the past few years. Homemade, secret-recipe salsa and 2 different pork tenderloins were among the available refreshments. The weather turned quite soggy just after dinner, with a steady rain that moved in and rained out the local fireworks display we always attend. Happily, the show will go on tonight so the party will resume this evening, with clear skies forecast. The rain did cease just in time for our own little fireworks show. I did get my yearly snout-full of acrid pyrotechnic smoke, which made me happy!

Speaking of fireworks, the P-D published a very funny picture recently. A gentleman in a fireworks tent was pictured proudly cradling an 800-shot small explosive labeled "Maximum Retaliation." The look on his face was hysterical! Also noted in the caption was his $530 purchase of pyrotechnics.

Happy July 3!

Just a brief pre-4th check-in before the holiday!

I enjoyed the time-honored summer tradition in St. Louis last evening. Some friends and I did a "Meet Me At The Muny.....The Muny In Forest Park!" and enjoyed the final performance of "Aida." Not the Verdi opera, of course, but the Elton John/Tim Rice version. We all thoroughly enjoyed the performance, even if the altitude of our seats required binoculars! The humidity level was elevated, but I came armed with a liter of water to stay hydrated.

My community chorus staged its annual summer fundraiser concert Saturday night. It was a program of world and patriotic music perfect for the holiday weekend. Ticket sales were about the same as in previous years so I think we'll realize a good profit. Small-world moment: after the concert I helped tear down the stage. One of the men who was also helping (the father of one our our singers - love those people who help at the drop of a hat!) is from a town in mid-Missouri. After he asked where I was from I told him of my beginnings in Malden, MO. He replied that his secretary was from a town right next door! I even knew her family name. Small world, indeed! (even smaller that our concert was titled "One World.")

The weather forecast is rather ominous for us tomorrow. Rain, rain, go away and come again on Wednesday! I have a gathering penciled in for tonight AND tomorrow night.

The frightful tour of the American League Central Division, aka the Legion of DOOM! is over for our tired Cardinales. I wish the All-Star break was this week instead of next week. To go to extra innings against the Royals(!) once is galling but 2 nights in a row?? Ugh...

have a wonderful and safe 4th!