New Year's Day Hike

I did my New Year's Eve hike on New Year's Day this year. The Chubb Trail access at Lone Elk Park was the starting point for my annual trek into the Meramec River valley. The weather was cool, with a nice breeze at my back. My destination was a large prairie grassland area near the river. I hiked its perimeter from south to north this time. Once again I was alone in the wide open space and I enjoyed the stillness.

(Spooky: My bro and sis-in-law also showed up to hike, an hour after I left, at the same place, except they hiked within the park itself.)

Happy 2007...

I hope 2007 has started off well for all my readers!

New Year's Eve was spent with friends at a house party. I tried, in vain, to set off some six-year-old leftover packs of Black Cat firecrackers, much to the amusement of onlookers. Just my luck - a stiff breeze kicked up and blew out the fuses. I think they were 'duds' because others from the same purchase did the same thing six years ago. Not to worry, the remaining ordnance was tossed out with today's garbage.

Friday night; late...

I strapped on my new iPod for my workout at the Y tonight. It was a new experience! Well, not entirely. During the second semester of my year at NMSU/Truman State, I participated in a lab research study. Specifically, a student majoring in Human Performance and Physiology wanted to study the effect of music on a person's workout. So, I submitted my preference (jazz) and strapped on the music and performance measuring gear for an hour twice a week. I don't remember what effect it had, if any, but it got me out of gym class so I was happy.

..................

We lost Gerald Ford and James Brown this week. Ironic that their deaths happened so close together. I remember the last time this happened, in 2004 when Ronald Reagan and Ray Charles expired within a week or so of each other. I was at a BR549 concert with my brother right after they died; the lead singer remarked that "we lost a great American this week....R-R-R-R-Ray Charles!" That led into a cover of "Crying Time." ROFL!!!

..................

My grandpa is doing a little better. He's been fighting blood clots for a few weeks. The blood thinners he's on make him dizzy. Hopefully they'll clear up soon.

..................

One of the local animal rescue groups has a "Rent-A-Pet" program. Sort of like a "try before you buy"--sounds like a good deal to me. I submitted an application but have not heard back from them. They'll be at a local Petsmart store tomorrow so I'm going to go by and inquire.

..................

I received a friendly letter from my employer's corporate parent the other day. The letter informed me that as of January 1, 2007 I will not be receiving medical benefits after I retire. Nice timing, folks. Love to get that kind of news during the holiday season. Oh well, I always say that by the time I get old, there'll be a cure for it.

..................

Mizzou managed to lose the Sun Bowl game to Oregon State this afternoon. They went up 38-31 late in the 4th quarter, but gave up a long punt return on the ensuing kickoff. Great. The one play they steal from the St. Louis Rams' play book and it's that one! : ) That led to an OSU touchdown and subsequent 2-point conversion to win by 1 point. Ugh.

..................

Random thought - Pat Metheny's song "The Truth Will Always Be" from his "Secret Story" album captures the heartbreak of a failed romance better than anything I've ever heard.

wow, that was a long sentence.

Goodnight.

New widget.in the sidebar...

I added a little widget in my sidebar, underneath the Flickr photo badge. It keeps track of what I listen to on iTunes at home and work. It works with a media player plug-in called Audioscrobbler and publishes through Last.fm

Matlock Family Christmas Day Spectacular...

My mother is an extraordinary woman. She's spent most of the past 3 months helping to care for my ailing Papaw, logging many hospital trips and highway miles between St. Louis and Malden. Just last week she had to put him back in the hospital for a couple of days then get him back home in time for Christmas, not returning until Saturday evening. Still she wanted to host the annual Christmas Day dinner for my Dad's family, albeit with dinner help from the attendees.

And the day went very well. We had sixteen for dinner and the food was great. My dad smoked two turkeys and a ham, which were sumptuous. I contributed 4 sodas and a chocolate-cherry cake from McArthur's Bakery. Everyone had a good time talking and playing with the two small children who came and added spice to the festivities! We even got a group together for a game of Catch Phrase. This provided much hilarity.

It was everything a Christmas Day should be.

The Haul...

As usual, Santa (aka Mr. C) was too nice to me. Besides the aforementioned iPod, I, my bro, and sis-in-law all received a bounty of cool gifts from the Cracker Barrel Old Country Store. Witness:

and that's just what I got. My bro and sis-in-law got things like a yo-yo, blooming flower on a stick, and an arcade-style baseball game. All I can figure is Santa got all nostalgic for his childhood and wished some of it on us. The three of us loved these gifts! : )

Yes, I now own a harmonica. I am now all set to join the ranks of harp players like Johnny Cash, Bruce Springsteen, and Barney Fife! Yes, Barney Fife. Bonus points if you can remember the episode where Barney whips out his harp.

A real Beaver Cleaver Christmas...wow!

*Teaser* Christmas Day 2006 post...

Look what I got for Christmas:


Isn't it beautiful? It's the 30gb video iPod! Santa heard me mention it, but I would've been happy with just the Nano model... a nice surprise.

More tomorrow...

Our new digital age...

This "Lucky Cow" comic gave me a chuckle today. I work in tech support for a large daily newspaper and the issue of "new media" vs. "traditional media" is a hot topic on our editors' agenda. We recently hired an "online photo editor" to work for our online news department, for example. This person works with picture selection and deployment of electronic slide shows for our web site. and Will the next generation gaze in wonder at a hard-copy newspaper in a museum years from now?

You might not be who you think you are...

I was perusing Tom Timmerman's "Hit & Run" column in today's Post-Dispatch over breakfast this morning. This little nugget near the end caught my eye:

"— An Indian runner who won a silver medal in the women's 800 meters at the Asian Games was stripped of her medal after failing a gender test. The test revealed she had more Y chromosomes than are allowed. Frankly, I didn't know there was a limit.

— Talk about a tough job. How do you break the news to someone that a test showed she isn't a woman?"

A gender test? A gender test? Whoever heard of such a thing?

(insert gratuitous Michael Jackson joke here)

So, folks, it may be a good idea to go and get tested; you may not be who you've always thought you were...

Family Feud Blooper...

I ran across this last week - if you want to see Richard Dawson absolutely LOSE IT, check this out:

Not So Fast Money...

Sports follies...

As I previously stated, it's a good thing the Cardianls won the World Series. Our fall/winter pro sports franchises are flopping.

The 6-8 Rams did manage to pummel the hapless Raiders yesterday. It's pretty bad when the best chant you can muster is "our team beat the %#$%# out of a team that's actually worse than we are" Their odd reality is that they are still hanging on to a wild-card spot in the playoffs by a thread! That's how whacked-out the NFC is this season. The recently-deceased Lamar Hunt is doing the watusi in his grave already.

Our intrepid hockey Blue-noters find themselves in last place in their division. Which is exactly where they were this time last year! A new ownership regime hasn't made much of a difference. They finally gave poor Mike Kitchen the ax last week and predictably hired a crack-the-whip coach as his replacement. The damage done by the Laurie ownership will be felt for quite a while, folks.

Weird television - slightly rant-ish...

I was surfing the channels last night and noticed that G4, the "video game network" is now showing episodes of "COPS" during an hour of prime time. Its lack of connection to video games aside, I was only annoyed because it replaced the second daily episode of "Star Trek The Next Generation" that I normally tuned in to. Why the Sci-Fi channel never picked up STTNG is beyond me but it certainly doesn't belong on a video game TV network. It's all about the demographics and the audience you're targeting, folks.

Speaking (or blogging?) of weird television, why is the TLC channel airing shows about freaks of nature? Case in point: last evening they aired shows about conjoined, TWO-HEADED teenage girls and a toddler with primordial dwarfism. Previously, I noticed they have aired a British show about a kid whose skin falls off. There is some inspirational value to these shows but mostly, it smacks of exploitation! They likely air it under the guise of "TLC is THE LEARNING CHANNEL," but I think it's distasteful and appeals to our base instincts, as much of television does today. Am I way off base here or is there something that I'm missing? Thoughts?*

"SO IF IT OFFENDS YOU, DON'T WATCH IT!!," protests the network executive.

yeah, but how about not putting it out there in the first place?

*I'm guilty of watching much of the two programs, I admit. But only to judge their content! And I am also guilty of imagining what it would be like to be a cop and pull over a car that those two-headed girls are driving. Who would you give the ticket to? Would it be two tickets for them? Would the cop faint dead away at the sight of them? : )

One week and counting...

How is it already December 18th? I looked away for just a second, and here it is! The Christmas season has flown by this year, for some reason. Strange, very strange. My Christmas cards did get into the mail this morning, however. My Christmas shopping has NOT EVEN BEEN STARTED! : )

Let's do the usual recap...

Friday night was the premiere performance of the resurrected "Living Christmas Tree" at my parents' church. The program was divided into two halves - one distinctly secular and the other distinctly religious. The tree made its proper debut in the second half. It was decked out spectacularly, as the music director is a florist during the week. Very glitzy, indeed, with computer-controlled lights illuminating lush green garland. There wasn't enough room for all the singers, with one group of black-clad choristers standing off to the side in ensemble fashion. The program was certainly the most ambitious production ever done at the church and it came off nicely. My bro and sis-in-law also came down to see it with me and my mom. We all went out for a late supper at the local St. Louis Bread Company afterwards.

Saturday, I attended a holiday luncheon for the volunteers at the church service where I serve on Sundays. The lead pastor of the service and his wife gave it at their home. The eats and fellowship were great! That night I dropped in on my friend K's birthday party at her home. There was an interesting book on her coffee table, "Horrifically Bad Album Covers," which covers some of the worst of the old LP album covers. Great for many laughs at parties! Looks like it's exclusive to Barnes and Noble, though.

Yesterday, I crashed at home after church and lunch at Applebees. I got my Christmas cards done and did chores.

My mom and dad are hosting the annual Matlock Family Christmas Day Spectacular at their house this again this year. After all the time and energy they spent running around caring for my grandpa this fall, I'd have not been surprised if they opted out this year. It will happen, albeit with dinner contributions from the attendees, I suspect.

Speaking of my grandpa, he continues to recover. He got a good post-surgical report last week. My mom will continue to work with him part-time, supplanting the other home-based therapy he is already receiving.

And I wish to state for the record that any Christmas gifts I receive will pale in comparison to the gift of my grandpa's presence this year. The reality that he's alive and well enough to be home for Christmas is enough.

It helps to read the fine print...

OK, so my *free* copy of the TaxCut software actually isn't so free after all. I started installing it tonight and it turns out that, yes, the software is on the CD but....

.....have your credit or debit card ready to cover the $29.95 to unlock it from the CD. Yep, all they've done here is save me a trip to Best Buy to purchase it.

What your daddy told you is true, folks; if it seems too good to be true, it probably is.

The moblog is history...

My moblog at Textamerica.com is history. They are going fee-based and leaving free users out in the cold at the end of the year so I downloaded my images and deleted everything. Now, should I cancel the internet service on my phone?

..................

On an unrelated note, it was a personal thrill to be back on stage at Powell Hall last night. Even though the "official" symphony orchestra wasn't in residence, it was still fun. I'd not heard the guest soloists, American tenor Hugh Smith and Icelandic soprano Diddú, sing before. They and the Compton Heights Band performed most excellently!

I'm not ready to think about tax preparation!...

but the fine folks at H&R Block TaxCut software apparently think I am. They sent me a *free* copy of the Premium version of the Federal AND State editions for the 2006 tax year. What did I do to deserve that? : ) It is the software I have used for the past several years, so I'll certainly take it but why me and why now? Was there a class-action settlement that I'm part of? Curious!

He's Gone Away...

from hospitals, that is...my grandpa is home in Malden as I write this. He left Barnes-Jewish Hospital on Friday with my parents for the trip home. After eight long weeks in two different hospitals, he is finally back among familiarity. He'll return to St. Louis on Wednesday for follow-up exams. His stroke recovery will be continued with home-based therapy. He's already beginning to walk pretty well (with the aid of a walker) and my mom's experience as a reading teacher will greatly help his speech and cognitive recovery. Thanks to all who prayed. We got Papaw home for Christmas and that's a huge answer to prayer.

...................

The Amabassadors of Harmony are putting on another great series of Christmas shows this year. I caught the first performance last night. They managed to top last year, somehow and I shook my head with amazement!

...................

my community chorus is also in full swing with our Christmas performances. We sang for members of the Missouri Botanical Gardens today and will do our usual concert at St. Anthony's church tomorrow afternoon. Tuesday we're backing up the Compton Heights Concert Band for their annual Christmas shows at Powell Symphony Hall. After that, we'll breathe! : )

My Celebrity Look-Alikes

Happy Birthday to my blog!...

I totally forgot to acknowledge the one-year birthday for this little blog, on December 2. I started this thing shortly after Cooks In Kansas was born. It's been fun, folks - thanks to all who have read and commented!

My grandpa's out of surgery...

and resting *somewhat* comfortably tonight. Everything apparently went as planned and he survived the ordeal in good shape. There will be the usual round of post-surgical pathology but all is well for now. Thanks for praying!

An old tradition revived...

Back in the day, my family's church in Malden, MO put on a pretty cool Christmas show. It involved putting singers inside a "living" Christmas tree for an unusual twist on the traditional Christmas cantata. The church stopped doing the show many years ago and the tree's pieces sat in a storage locker outside of town gathering dust.

Until this year, that is. My dad convinced the music minister to revive the show at their church. $1 later, the tree was sold. Read about it here:

Trim the Tree--With Singers!

I can't wait to see it come alive again!

Prayer request...

If you're so inclined, please say a little prayer for my grandpa today - he's having fairly major surgery this afternoon. The move to Barnes has paid off with a certain diagnosis of the source of his problem and the surgery is unfortunately necessary.

The lights are on...

at my place. I returned from my parents' house this morning and found that power had been restored. I made a beeline for the thermostat and switched the heat on. The house is nice and warm as I type this.

For all the hassles the storm created, it left behind some majestically pretty winter scenes. The St. Louis area got mostly ice and a little snow so all the trees got a beautiful coating of ice that glistened in the sunlight today. Some trees didn't fare so well but my oak trees stood up to the ice just fine. That's why they're OAK trees. The Bradford Pear tree that formerly stood in my front yard would have gone down, though.

Woke up this morning...

...at 5 a.m. to find that the air in my house was quite...nippy. Yep, yesterday's ice storm knocked out power to my house, so once again I find myself at the mercy of the local power conglomerate. :) Thank goodness for my gas water heater, which delivered hot water for my shower. Hopefully this won't be an instant replay of July's prolonged power outage!

I must chuckle, however, at the fact that the temperature hovered near 70 degrees for nearly a week then in the space of 24 hours bottomed out like my voice did between the 8th and 9th grades. Spring one day, winter the next. Ah, Missouri!

----------
My grandpa was moved up to Barnes-Jewish hospital on Wednesday. His stroke recovery is right on track but his other problem is still a problem. The doctor treating him in Cape Girardeau couldn't do any more for him so we moved him to get treatment from some of the world's best doctors. We remain optimistic that he'll be home for Christmas. Fortunately, my brother and sis-in-law live near the hospital so they provided lodging to my mom and grandma last night during the ice storm.

---------------

It's a rather strange experience, attending your boss' funeral visitation. I hope none of my readers ever have to do it. It was gut-wrenching, seeing him laid out in a casket on Tuesday night. I'd last seen him on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving. He was our department's heart and soul and our team feels a distinct emptiness now that he's gone. A "Dilbert" manager he was not, tough but fair. A little too "chummy" with us, frankly, but everyone loved working for him and coming to work in his department. I volunteered to stay behind and keep things running while everyone else attended his funeral; it was my final tribute to him. Gonna miss ya, RB.

The falling leaves / shaken on a sunday night...

***WARNING: bad haiku ahead***

The falling leaves
drift by my window
and make a crunchy carpet

I bagged *28* bags of leaves just from my back yard on Saturday. I reckon I'll do 10 or 12 more before the end of the year.

*************

I rented "Return To Me" on Saturday night. Did any of my readers see it? Not a bad little movie. It's a romantic comedy/borderline chick flick.

*************
So I was performing the Vivaldi "Gloria" last night with my community chorus when I got paged to call into work. I shut off the vibrate, then it went off twice more. (This had NEVER happened before.) The message said to call in ASAP so I left the stage at the start of the next solo movement. I work in IT for a newspaper so it wasn't entirely unexpected. I raced out to my car and dialed in.

What was unexpected was the news that my manager had suffered a fatal heart attack while at home. He was only 50 years old and left a wife and 3 young adult children. As you might imagine, this has left me and my co-workers stunned. This will be a difficult week and will certainly mean changes for our department as we come to grips with this loss. He was a good manager to work for and I enjoyed knowing him. He must have enjoyed me too, since I received a service award last month and he wrote part of the nomination. : )

************
Gene Eugene's words are wise and true: 'hang out with your loved ones while they're still around...'

Thanksgiving, done differently...

I'm safely home now after a decidedly different, special Thanksgiving day today. My grandpa is still in the hospital in Cape Girardeau, so I ate my Thanksgiving meal in the hospital! :) Really, where else would I have been? He couldn't come to dinner, so the dinner came to him! He was moved to an inpatient rehabilitation area last week and the area has a nice big sunroom with a kitchenette. My dad smoker-ed his usual turkey and my mom whipped up a few other Thanksgiving essentials, packed up a couple of coolers and off we went! With other attendees bringing various and sundry food items, we had quite a feast. There were 12 people, including my grandpa in attendance. It was just like having the feast at somebody's house, really. I looked around while we were eating and saw my wheelchaired grandpa sitting in his usual place at the head of the table, with his twin brother on his right and his wife on his left; it was a very comforting scene.

He continues to progress rapidly in his recovery from the stroke, but the original problem he was in the hospital for prior to that event, is still a problem. If he can get that cleared up, he should be home for Christmas.

Driving home, I passed my local Circuit City and Best Buy stores. Both stores had intrepid shoppers camped out, waiting for the opening bell of the Christmas shopping season. Someone please stage an intervention with me if I'm ever that obsessed!

Monday night and all is well...

Let's play catch up...

The GOP got what was unfortunately coming to them at the polls last week. It was like any punishment; it hurts but is ultimately beneficial. My Republican state representative bucked the trend and retained his seat in a tough race. I was disappointed to see Jim Talent lose, but his campaign tactics did him in. His attack ads set the wrong tone and I don't they reflected the true character of the man. He listened to the wrong people and it cost him. I'm not a McCaskill fan ,but I trust she won't embarass us.

My grandpa continues to recover from his stroke. He's made great progress in the three weeks since it happened. He's still in SEMO Hospital in Cape Girardeau but I'm hoping optimistically that he'll be out by Thanksgiving. He faces a long rehab and recovery but he will get back to almost normal in time. He has some other lingering ailments so keep him in your thoughts and prayers, if you're so inclined. The prayers of many people are carrying him (and us) through this time.

The Cardinals' world series hangover is almost a memory now. It was fun (and profitable) while it lasted! We're now facing a long winter of Rams and Blues games, unfortunately. The Rams are finidng ways to lose games under the new coaching regime just as they did with the old one. The Blues are in a rebuilding phase after being stripped down and sold last summer. This means they're not really good either. Is it February yet?

I experimented with the WordPress blog site today. It didn't quite meet my expectations and I deleted the blog I created. As spotty as the Blogspot blog site is, it's still more versatile and fun to use.

Guess My Costume!...

I attended 2 Halloween costume parties this year - can you guess my costume? I thought I was being clever but it backfired because it took everyone a minute or two to guess what I was! : )

The First One!...

My very first podcast is live on the Internet! Check it out:

http://mytoonz.podshow.com

I'm pleased with it, as a first attempt! : )

I Am a "Rough Terrain Forklift Operator"...

at least, as of tonight that's what my military job title might be! : ) My dad gave me that title after I helped him with a landscaping project today. He's building a retaining wall behind the family home in Festus. We never really had a backyard, as our lot sloped steeply downward into some woods. It was a challenge to mow in the summertime! : ) For years a major landscape project has been talked about but never came to fruition until recently. The solution is to build a retaining wall out of 2,300 pound concrete blocks and add some fill dirt and grass to level it off. The first 20 blocks were delivered today and my dad rented a jumbo forklift machine to move them down the hill and into place. I'm always a little leery about operating heavy equipment, but this experience was positive! Once I got the hang of driving it, and figured out it wouldn't roll over with me in it, it was actually kind of fun! : ) It will take about 3 more loads of blocks to do the whole job, he estimates.

Does anyone else wish the election happened last week? I'm beyond sick of all the attack ads currently polluting my television and radio stations.

I had a nice leisurely week off from work this week. I drove to Cape Girardeau to visit my grandfather in the hospital on Tuesday and Thursday, got in some great workouts and then helped my dad all day today. Tomorrow I'll rake leaves and clean up my yard. Tomorrow night is another costume party! I'll likely recycle the costume I wore last Saturday night.

Podcast update...

Hopefully you haven't been waiting with baited breath for my podcasting debut... : ) I spent a couple of hours tonight trying to put one together. Talking into a microphone is harder than I thought it would be. :) After attempting about 50 takes, I'm calling it a night. I'll try again tomorrow night.

So, Yes, I Did Dress Up For Halloween!...

appropriate character for a chorus rehearsal, eh?

Podcasts this week...

Oh and I forgot to mention that I have decided to try some podcasts based on my other blog. One song per day, short and sweet. I'll keep you posted if they get posted!

Monday, Monday...ba-da, ba-da-da-da...

It's a windy, mild day in St. Louis today. The weekend weather was unbelieveably gorgeous after last week's cold and rain. Unfortunately this weather goodness stops after today.

The weather was perfect for yesterday's victory parade and rally for our WORLD CHAMPION CARDINALS!!!!!!!!! A few days after the fact, the harsh reality is that it was an improbable title run for an average team. The World Series was pretty ugly, quite frankly. We won mostly because we made less mistakes than the Tigers did. Errors led to many of our runs and we ended up grinding out the Series win in 5 games. That said, I'm still giddy that we won it all. I have purchased a championship t-shirt like a good fan. My brother and sis-in-law were vacationing in Mexico last week and I hope they got a satellite feed at their hotel. I didn't get downtown for the parade and rally, regrettably. A concert with my community chorus kept me away.

Continue to keep my grandpa in your thoughts and prayers. I'm not at liberty to divulge too much but he had an unfortunately eventful week and will be hospitalized for a while longer.

WORLD CHAMPIONS!!!!!!!!!!!!...

Stream of conscious:


WOW, what a feeling, what an experience!

How could this have happened? The 2006 St. Louis Cardinals, against the highest of odds, are the WORLD SERIES CHAMPS!!! I'm still in a state of disbelief. The unthinkable really has happened. We really won the World Series. In the first season of a new ballpark, with a starting pitcher rescued from the mid-season scrap heap and a rookie closer subbing for our injured closer. We beat a good Padres club, a great Mets team, and then reached the mountaintop by conquering the Detroit Tigers and their fireballing pitchers.

In the end, fielding miscues and untimely hitting did the Tigers in, as much as our great pitching and timely hitting helped us. Baseball purists will lament that the two best teams didn't play in this series but it was a thrilling series nonetheless. The Tigers players lacked the Series experience that many of our players had and it showed. However, they have a great base of talent for the future and will be competitive for many years to come.

The Cardinals' history with 3-1 leads wasn't good. I really didn't want us to go back to Detroit to try and win the series. It would have been so much harder!

As I am employed at St. Louis' Only Local Metropolitan Daily Newspaper, I got a behind-the-scenes look at our preparations for the various scenarios that could play out. Our circulation, news, and production managers huddled often to coordinate strategy. Strategy, as in 'how would we print a Saturday paper, an early Sunday paper, and a Stadium Extra edition, if needed, all in the same night, at almost the same time?" Suffice it to say, all six of our printing presses are in operation tonight. The Stadium Extra edition got major display time as our local television news crews did their live spots after the game, so our management will be very happy about that.

An 83-79 baseball team that endured two eight-game losing streaks, and stumbled into the postseason courtesy of the Atlanta Braves wins the World Series. They win it with a skillet-handed right fielder and several players with holes in their swings. Who else would you give the MVP award to but David Eckstein? He's the 2006 edition of Rex Hudler. And did anyone notice that our heroic slugger Albert Pujols didn't do too much at the plate during the series? Gotta hand it to our starting pitchers - The Two Jeffs, Weaver and Suppan, both pitched unbelieveably well, our rookie starter flashed his potential at just the right time, and our ace Carp finally got the Series experience he missed two years ago. Unbelievable.

Congratulations to the Cardinals.

Monday...

The Cardinals rode the wave of we-defeated-the-Mets momentum through exactly one game, opening the World Series with a 7-2 shocker over Detroit on Saturday night. Of course, no one expected Anthony Reyes to pitch up to his potential but we're glad he did. The number of streaks that were broken as a result of this win are too numerous to mention(Tony LaRussa hadn't won a Series game since the 80's, we hadn't won on the road since the '80s, the National League hadn't won a Series game in a few years, etc...) so it was a great game all around. Last night, however, we crashed back to reality when another 40-year old lefty left us pretty much helpless at the plate all night long. The Tigers' closer did his best Isringhausen impression, loading the bases and giving us brief hope, but the game inevitably ended in their favor. I didn't think we had a chance, but now I think we could take it to 6 games before the Tigers win the series.

On a personal note, I'd appreciate your prayers and good thoughts for my Papaw. He was rushed to the hospital in Cape Girardeau late Friday night with severe abdominal pain. He'd been passing blood for a couple of weeks and was in between doctor visits for that but it got suddenly worse. He's in the hospital now and will be undergoing tests today to find out what's going on. My mom is optimistic but I fear something bad is wrong with him.

AMAZIN'...!!!!!!!!!!!

So a Cardinals baseball team that nearly choked away a huge lead in their division and backed into the playoffs is going to the WORLD SERIES!!!!!!!

I am stunned and amazed.

I watched the game tonight while channel-surfing (YES I was too nervous to keep it on all night!). How's this for a storyline: Our starting pitcher keeps it a tight game, against all odds. Our catcher, who struggled at the plate this year, hits a home run to put us on top. Our rookie closer loads the bases in the bottom of the ninth and then strikes out the Mets' last, very best hope LOOKING! I danced around and did get a little emotional; that situation is what every pitcher dreams of. Striking out the other team's best hitter with the bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth inning of a decisive game. Such validation!

I never thought we had a chance to do it and yet we did. This should be an interesting next 7 days at the P-D. Of course, our coverage will be ramped up and our circulation numbers will likely spike, which will make the management happy.

Of course, the harsh reality of our situation is we must face the might Detroit Tigers. The well-rested Detroit Tigers who swept the A's in their series. I hope we don't get swept as in our previous World Series trip 2 years ago.

But that worry can wait until tomorrow; for now:

I still can't believe it!

GO CARDS!!!!!!!!

If Rainy Days and Mondays...

...always get you down, then I hope you stayed in bed today because it's Monday and it's raining here in the metro area. It's just cruel to have to get out of bed on a cold, rainy Monday! I have a sinking feeling that my basement will have water in it when I return home. I got estimates on fixing the 2 troublesome wall cracks but never got around to having them fixed. [EDIT: NO WATER! I was shocked to find no water came through the cracks!]

but the weekend was fun. I spent much of Saturday out shopping again. I think I finally have my fall/winter wardrobe taken care of. In the past I didn't much care about things like a fall wardrobe, but for some reason, I'm thinking about things like coordinating colors and such. Is it a little bit of my brother's style sense invading my psyche? Maybe he left part of himself hanging around my place when he moved out around this time last year.

I made it back in time to see the Mizzou Tigers lose their first football game, to Texas A&M, 25-19. Ugh! They should win the majority of their remaining games, so a big-time bowl game is likely in our postseason future.

Saturday night was the annual barn dance with my monday-night bible study group. It's always held in a horse barn at the Rocking-J Ranch in High Ridge, MO. They provide a square-dance caller to lead the dances. (This year was a new guy, as the beloved Earl finally had to retire.) It's always so much fun, if you can stand the copious dust clouds that get kicked up. Part of the fun is learning and re-learning all the moves in a big group setting. Everyone gets to know everyone a little bit, and if by chance you hit it off with someone, you can always adjourn to the bonfire out back and watch the sparks fly, if you know what I mean. I should clarify that the bible study class doesn't sanction or sponsor this event; it's sort of an "unofficial" fellowship.

Sunday afternoon was my community chorus' first fall concert, in Waterloo, IL. We sang well enough, I guess. Later in the evening I met my parents and bro/sis-in-law for my dad's birthday dinner at Tucker's. We ended the evening with dessert at my house.

So our Cardinals are locked up with the Mets at 2 games apiece. Last night's game went as I knew it would, with our un-playoff-tested rookie pitcher not lasting but 4 innings. The Mets lineup feasted on all our pitching and shifted the momentum back to their side. I still say the Mets will take the series in 6. It looks like tonight's game may be washed out if the rain doesn't let up soon. That would be nice to give the pitchers an extra day of rest. Our guy Weaver is due for a meltdown after throwing 3 unusually good games and I hope it doesn't come tonight.

Monday morning, sunnybrightandcheery!...

At least it is in St. Louis this morning. It's been over a week, and yes, kmom, before you ask, I am still alive! : ) Let's recap: It's been a quiet week in Lake Woebegon, my hometown..wait, that's somebody else's line. I've settled back into my fall routine of Monday night bible study and Tuesday night chorus rehearsal. BSF is studying the book of Romans this year, which has made for markedly more difficult lessons than last year's study of Genesis. There's lots of doctrinal stuff to chew on and it doesn't always make sense on first read. Next Saturday night is the annual fall tradition, the BSF Square Dance! I'll write more about it after it happens, but it's always a hoot!

My chorus is preparing for two fall concerts featuring Robert Ray's "Gospel Mass." It's a black gospel-style Mass that has been really fun to rehearse and will sound great in performance. The concerts will also have us performing an Swahili processional, two Copland numbers, and an ode to the "River In Judea." It's all about variety, people!

Saturday, I did a little shopping for fall wardrobe items, which proved only partially sucessful. Later, I headed out to Castlewood State Park and spent the remainder of the gorgeous afternoon hiking among the falling leaves and gentle breezes. The only downer was that my Leatherman multi-tool fell off my person somewhere along the trail. I'll call the park office to see if anyone turned it in, but I'm not optimistic. I spent the evening at a bonfire with friends. The bonfire was huge, and emitted heat similar to that of a small nuclear device. We couldn't toast marshmallows for over an hour. [EDIT: My friend G. who hosted the bonfire called me tonight and said he found my Leatherman in his backyard, where I must have dropped it in the darkness. YAY!]

It was a good sports weekend for the local teams. Mizzou's Tigers rolled over Texas Tech's Red Raiders to run their record to 6-0 this season. I see a bowl in our future. The Rams won yet another game they shouldn't have, taking the Packers 23-20. Brett Favre was leading his team to sure victory when we made a desperate defensive play to end the game abruptly. To top off the night, the Cardinals finished off the Padres to win the division series 3 games to 1. Our ace pitcher was on the hill but started off shakily. He started breathing after the first inning and settled down to his usual greatness. Hated to see Woody Williams go out like he did in the sixth inning; he's a nice guy. Can't say our chances are good against the Mets, but at least we advanced, which is more than the Yankees can say. What did a $200 million+ payroll get them? Nothing!

Yay! my buddy M. of What is Possible is now home from his job assignment in India, this time for good. It was good to talk to him at church yesterday.

The picture above was taken on Saturday from the bluffs overlooking the Meramec River within Castlewood.

Mrs. Crocodile Hunter/Podcast, anyone?/Buzzed!...

OK, so did anyone else watch the 20/20 special interview with Mrs. Steve Irwin tonight? Didn't your heart just bleed for this woman? She appeared to be a woman of deep conviction and strength. I was encouraged that she spoke of her great faith that's helping her deal with her grief. A couple things that made me chuckle - Barbara Walters seemed taken aback with Mrs. Irwin said she felt blessed to have been married to Steve Irwin (I said to the TV, "YEAH, BARBARA WALTERS, BLESSINGS!! THEY"RE PRETTY COOL!) Also, Mrs. Irwin's ending line, "I'm Mrs. Steve Irwin so I have a lot to live up to!" That you do, that you do.

-------
I might just make an attempt a podcast tomorrow. I'm off work and it's supposed to be a blah weather day so I might try it. I downloaded Castblaster which is supposed to make the creation process very simple. The trial period only allows for 10-minute shows so the margin for error is slim but it's a learning process, right? : ) My thought is to do some radio shows where I play some of my favorite tunes.
---------
Oh, and I got re-buzzed today, too. It's basically a crewcut, but a bit longer on top.

Funniest YouTube ever?

OK, I don't like cockroaches, but this unfortunate weatherman REALLY REALLY doesn't like them. Check it out here.

Concert update...

Last night I took in my first concert at Blueberry Hill's underground 'Duck Room.' The band was Hem and the concert was great! It was a can't-miss-it affair because it's probably the only time they'll tour outside of NYC with a full band. They brought along a mini-orchestra of clarinet, harp, and violin, due to the Americana-ness of their music. For $10, I felt I got my money's worth.

Bonus: Beatle Bob speaks! He introduced the band, much to my surprise. I'd never heard him speak, only do his signature dance moves at other concerts over the years. If you have no idea what I'm talking about, Beatle Bob is a St. Louis thing, that's all you need to know! : )

This is a cell-phone picture of the concert.

Yes...

...I did go to the Great Forest Park Balloon Race yesterday...

Yes, there was wind, so the balloons were able to fly, however it was so breezy that only 30 of 70 balloons were able to launch.

Yes, I took lots of balloon pictures. Yes, I walked around for almost an hour to find a suitable vantage point.

Yes, that was The 5th Dimension's "Up, Up, and Away" playing over the loudspeakers as I was leaving the park.

How About Those Rammies??...

Can't score a TD to save their collective lives, but their kicker is like, really, really, good.

The Rams opened their season much better than they did last year. The 18-10 triumph over the Broncos of Denver surprised those who expected the opposite outcome. Our defense played a heck of a game (what, exactly, got into Leonard Little, anyway?) but our offense underwhelmed. 6 field goals beat 'em, folks. That's right. Our first team still hasn't scored a TD since last season. I can't wait to read the newspaper columns tomorrow.

The Birds lost 3 out of 4 in Arizona and 5 out of 7 on the road trip, continuing their limp into the postseason. To add insult to injury, I read today that team owners intend to ask for public funding to build their promised Ballpark Village. I Don't Think So!

Friday night I attended the wedding of my friends of A & J in the chapel of our church. It was a sweet ceremony dotted with moments of hilarity that everyone agreed made it a romantic comedy. The reception was downtown at the ultra-hip Windows on Washington. It was a unique reception for two reasons: Their DJ was an iPod, and they entered to the sound of "thunder sticks" given to each guest upon arrival. The bride works for our church, so nearly all of the pastoral staff and pastoral-types attended.

-----------

I must confess that since childhood I have been fascinated with fire trucks. That interest has been heightened in recent years since I made friends with some folks in the fire-fighting and fire-dispatching business. Every year around this time I indulge myself at the St. Louis Fire Engine Rally. It's been happening for 23 years but this was only my second time to go downtown to experience it. Firefighters from St. Louis city and surrounding communities gather together to show off their equipment and talk shop. The highlight of the event for me is the parade of fire trucks. At 10:00 sharp a colorful procession of fire trucks old and new began parading down Market Street with sirens wailing. It was an impressive lineup and I took many pictures. I wandered around for a few minutes after the parade, then took off for church.

-----------

Finally, I must tip my hat to my Mom and Dad. They took part in a 5k run on Saturday morning as part of their town's "Twin City Days" festivities. My dad placed 5th in his age group and my mom WON her age group! Gotta hand it to them for taking care of themselves.

Post-Labor Day Tuesday...

Had a nice weekend. I enjoyed a BBQ with friends in south St. Louis Saturday night. It was a 2 family flat in the Bevo neighborhood. I actually played bocce ball for the first time ever.

Sunday my grandpa and his wife came up for lunch, unfortunately because they had to accompany me and my mom to the funeral visitation for the dear wife of one my late Mamaw's cousins. She was a sweet lady and will be missed.

I did get in a bike ride on Grant's Trail later that evening, which felt very good. The weather has been great for the past week or so.

Monday I did chores and then headed out to a Labor Day BBQ with some new-ish friends. I barely knew most of the people there but it was a good time nonetheless.

Today's P-D has a great piece on So Taguchi, the Cardinals' first Japanese player. Read it here.

Finally, Hem's new CD "Funnel Cloud" releases today. I highly recommend it.

Crikey!...

Mr. Crocodile Hunter, Steve Irwin, has died in the line of duty. Can't help but not be surprised that it hasn't happened before now. In his line of work, an early grave is always a danger, I guess.

Cool it!...

or so Mother Nature seems to have said to the air masses over the Midwest this week. The temperature has dropped nicely, at least for the time being. The heat wave of July is almost, almost a memory.

I had my regularly scheduled eye exam with my eye guy last week. He says my retinal tear healed nicely. It was a small tear, but worth fixing nonetheless. Even better, he says I should try to push back my retinal specialist's one-year exam another six months, since he has just now seen me. Somehow, my glasses prescription changed slightly for the better and I am shopping around for new frames. My eye guy's optical shop didn't have much to interest me and since they don't take my vision insurance anymore, well, thanks anyway!

Redecoration update: All eleven doors painted. The six closet doors installed very smoothly. However, the three bedroom doors, well, they gave my dad and I much difficulty, to put it nicely. Dad took them home to his shop and he assures me that he can make them all work. I got my new duvet cover cleaned and pressed because it came out of its package all rumpled up and it was bugging the heck out of me.

The parents and I met my brother and sister-in-law for dinner at Chuy Arzola's for dinner last evening. We hadn't seen them in over a month so it was good to re-connect for an hour or so. I ordered beef and cheese burritos served enchilada-style with chili and cheese. Delicious! Bro and sis-in-law are doing well and staying busy. They've got a vacation to Puerto Vallarta planned for their first anniversary in a couple of months.

Have to mention the Mark Lowry podcast again - his Wednesday edition (#79) features his two dogs, Beau and Stanley, wrestling it out in his living room. I found it very funny!

Cardinals update : The team's really struggling lately. Our starting pitching has holes in it and our relief pitching has been anything but a relief. Jimmy Ballgame is seeing more stars than fly balls lately and we're seriously bidding for 900-year-old David Wells to help us limp into the postseason. Desparate times call for desparate measures, I guess. It would be a shame for our brand new stadium to go dark this October.

Ah, but football season fast approaches and off I go to compete in Madden 2003! Yes it's old and out of date but I love it! : )

Interesting...

On his latest podcast, Mark Lowry interviews noted Christian speaker and retired college professor Tony Campolo. Mark asked him a question that a viewer had recently asked. The question had to do with Jesus' statement "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?". Tony offered an interesting explanation that I haven't heard before. Basically, Jesus wasn't wondering where God was, but simply pointing people back to Psalm 22. Psalm 22 prophetically described the crucifixion in great detail, including the triumphant resurrection at the end. If people read it all the way through, they would know that the crucifixion wasn't the end, but they should wait for Jesus to rise again. Has anyone else heard this point of view?

View the interview (podcast #74) here. It comes after the song.

...................

Jazz trumpeter and bandleader Maynard Ferguson has passed away at the age of 78. His trademark was his stratospheric trumpet solos that would often feature high notes that no one else could reach. He is perhaps best known for his contributions to the "Rocky" soundtracks (Gonna Fly Now). I saw him and his Big Bop Nouveau Big Band in concert at a local high school 10 years ago and was very much "jazzed" by the experience.

Weekend update...

Well here we are again, Sunday night in mid-America. I had a pretty good week, I suppose. I managed to engage in physical activity four nights in a row, which I am proud of. I worked out Monday and Wednesday nights, biked on Tuesday night, and played sand volleyball on Thursday night. Tuesday was my day off; my new blinds were installed in the morning and I did handyman stuff the rest of the day. I changed two old electrical outlets and labeled the breakers in my electrical panel (after six years of living in the house, I know!)

My redecorating is coming to a close right on schedule with summer. All the wall-painting is finished and the blinds are up. I am really pleased with the blinds, especially in my bedroom. The final phase is eleven (11!) new six-panel doors that I bought on Friday night. They will be painted to match the baseboards this week. My dad got most of the baseboards installed on Friday and he and I will get the doors hung after I paint them. Pictures will, of course, be forthcoming once I get everything in place, I promise.

Lunch was especially nice with my parents today. Ribeye steaks, potatotes, and hot bread make for a perfect late-summer meal. Later, as my dad and I were watching the Cardinals/Cubs game, my mom brought us a tray of warm cookies and milk. After she left, I looked at my dad and said something like 'my, but she's a good woman!' He agreed wholeheartedly.

Headline of the Week...

From the lead photo on my.yahoo.com, Saturday afternoon

Israeli raid in Lebanon strains truce



well, yeah, I suppose that would do it.

Five on Friday!

Return to Sender

1. How often do your letters/cards come back to you?

Once in a blue moon, or pretty much never.

2. If you buy something that turns out to be defective or broken, how likely are you to return it to the store or manufacturer?

very likely, since I paid good money for it!

3. Describe your own personal "return policy" for items you've purchased or received as gifts.

If I bought it and don't like it, then it goes back, regardless. For gifts, it's only happened once, and I returned it, after waiting much longer than I should have.

4. When you borrow library books, do you return then on time?

usually, though it's been more than a year since i borrowed a library book or CD.

5. What is your opinion on Elvis? Do you think he's really dead?

Quote from Toby Zeigler, speech writer for President Jed Bartlett:

"I want to make it clear: I could give a darn."

Friday's Feast!

Appetizer
What color is your car?

RED! - not fire-engine red, but a darker, crimson red

Soup
If you could wake up tomorrow with full training in another occupation and a job in that field, what would it be?

Jazz pianist!

Salad
How many times in your life have you had the flu (or something similar)?

probably only 4 or 5 times, that I can recall.

Main Course
What is something that has happened to you this week that you didn't expect?

I've taken possession of a new flat-screen LCD monitor for my computer at work, which I didn't expect. My boss ordered some to try out and he said I could have one!

Dessert

How old were you when you had your first kiss?

you mean other than mom-kisses? never!

John...are you still alive?...

...was the question asked as comment #4 in the post below, by kmom. : )

Well, yes, folks I am still alive; I slacked off on the ol' blog this week. A bit of review:

Monday night, my mom and dad came up to help me with more work on my bedroom. Mom made "Taco Soup" for supper (in my kitchen!)

I was off Wednesday, so I got in a good workout at the YMCA then my mom came up and helped me paint my family room. It ended up getting some redecoration along with the bedroom; new paint and vertical blinds for the sliding glass door. My dad came up later and installed new baseboards in my bedroom.

Wednesday night was the mock terrorism/disaster drill at Busch Stadium. It was an interesting, if underwhelming experience. I was a 'dry/evacuation' volunteer, which meant I did not get to be 'exposed' to any 'contaminants' and therefore needed no hosing off and was only evacuated from the stadium. I was sent to one of the party roooms (which are VERY nice, by the way) with 3 other people and we waited for the signal, then evacuated down to the street and out of the way of responding emergency agencies. Incidentally, while we were waiting to be briefed before the drill began, the actual Cardinals vs. Reds game was broadcast on the big screen. The assembled crowd of volunteers watched the game as if it were taking place in the stadium! : )

My cousin J. drove up for a visit on Friday. My parents and she met me for dinner at Tucker's on Friday evening, then we took in the IMAX 3-D version of "Superman Returns" at the local mega-plex. I can't recall the last time I saw anything in 3-D. It was a thrilling experience!

Don't look now, but another week is upon us... : )

Roasting By the River...

So it's early August and it's been like, really, really hot for a long time now. Thankfully no more storms have descended from the plains so my power has stayed on and my A/C has faithfully churned cool air througout my house.

Perhaps it was the heat, or maybe some subconscious desire for change. Either way, I directed my barber to give me a SHORT haircut last week and he obliged. The back and sides are crewcut-length blended up to a short and spiky top. I love it because I can style it with my fingers, with no need for comb or brush. Yes, I'm now using 'product.' : ) Well, I actually have been since last fall but now more than ever. No pictures just yet, since my glasses broke again and I'm currently wearing my old pair. I'll post a new user pic next week.

Still working on my bedroom. Blinds have been ordered from 3 Day Blinds. I decided on faux-wood venetian blinds for both windows. I also ordered new vertical blinds for the sliding glass door in my family room. Baseboards have been bought and painted. I also bought 2 new rugs for the room. I was pleased that both the bedroom blinds and the rugs were on sale!

I volunteered to take part in a mock disaster drill at Busch Stadium next Wednesday night. Should be interesting. Mother Nature actually got a bit of a jump on the stadium when the Thunderstorm O' Doom rolled through on July 21. : )

A disaster is already in the making at Busch! The Cardinals are exasperating fans with their less-than-stellar play as of late. After getting beat down in 4 games in Chicago, they've relocated the beatings to Busch with the Phillies in town for 3 games. Something's gotta give soon if we want to make it to October.

MyTunes updated today.

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!

.................

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.

--------

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!

--------

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.

------------------

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!