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What the hell was I ever thinking......

The Olympic Ideal

I'm having a great time reading all these stories about athletes from the US that had to "settle" for a silver medal. Or they "turned in a disappointing performance" and "only" got a silver or bronze medal. Are we really that arrogant of a country that we have to view second or third best IN THE WORLD as not good enough? What ever happened to good sportsmanship? It makes me sick, but at the same time it's good for a laugh to realize there are actually people out there that think this way. I'll tell you what, I know you should always give your best, but I would be thrilled just to be IN the olympics, let alone win a medal. With 50,000 olympic condoms being distributed, how can you lose?!

Welcome to my fantasy......draft

It's that time again. I'm entered in a cash league of 9 people, each picking 2 QB, 3 RB, 4 WR, 1 RB/WR slot, 2 TE, 2 K, 2 Def., and 5 Taxi players. My draft went as follows:

QB: Mike Vick, Donovan McNabb
RB: Ahman Green, Brian Westbrook, Duce Staley
WR: Eric Moulds, Jimmy Smith, Amani Toomer, Keenen McCardell
RB/WR: Jerry Porter
TE: Jeremy Shockey, L.J. Smith
K: Josh Brown, Morten Andersen
Def: Tampa Bay, Denver

Taxi: Tommy Maddox, DeShawn Foster, Roy Williams, Terry Glenn, and a player to be named.

I think I did fairly well. I stack up even or better against the rest of the competition, so we'll see how things go. Lots of Eagles' names up there, but they should be producers.

Good luck to those of you in your leagues......

Thirsty Thirsty Thirsty

It's finally the weekend, and MAN am I thirsty..... Perhaps some "crooked I" or "Old E" to soothe the mind. Or maybe I'll stay "whitey" and drink some Labatt Blue.

Then again, there's always Ezra Boot..... That could lead to this.

Best wishes for an EtOH induced weekend....

s42

Misguided (parents) Youth

Kids these days are seriously fucked up. I mean SERIOUSLY. In varying degrees. Everything from the inner city gangbangers to the nine year old girls giving head on the school bus, to the INSANE amount of people up here involved with soccer, whether they want to be or not. Everything is to extremes anymore.

Maybe it's me. Maybe I'm just getting old and finally making a transition from boy to man/parent, but some of these trends are damn disturbing. I don't remember life being so extreme when I was a kid. It seems like there is so much pressure out there to exceed expectations. It's not good enough to get a 4.0 anymore. NO. We have to have all sorts of weighted classes now, and parents are pushing their kids to take as many as possible. Hell, a 4.0 nowadays might not even get you in the top 10 percent of your class, the way things are set up. I heard of some girl from one of the Philly private schools graduating with like a 5.2 on a 4.0 scale. Does this make any sense whatsoever? It's like we're so ingrained now that our kids have to be smarter, better, and stronger than the other kids. And I totally blame the parents on alot of this. Gina was at the doctor's office with Brandon a few months ago, and she said there was this like 3 year old kid whose mom was showing him flashcards. When he'd get one wrong, she'd yell at him, and when he was getting some right, she was yelling for him to be faster, that he HAD to be faster at it. I mean, the kid is fucking three years old. Let him enjoy shitting himself for a while. Life gets damn hard enough when you get out in the real world.

And it carries over. Pressure from these parents for the kids to do well in sports. There has been a huge increase in interest for sports camps for kids as young as 5 years old. What's next? Competitive Teeball leagues? Scholarships for marbles? (oh, wait, there IS one of those). It's nuts. And I won't even get into the behavior of some of these psycho parents at their kids' sporting events. But it's no wonder that kids are rebelling more and more and looking for ways to get back at their parents. We're practically forcing them into being adults when they are still in elementary school, why shouldn't they be able to engage in some "adult" behaviors on the school bus, right? Crazy.

I live in one of those newer communities. It's actually still being built - about 2 more months to completion. I'm so worried that I'm going to be surrounded by some of the freak asshole parents that are going to screw up their kids so much by pressuring them in everying. At least in Mohnton, the town was so dilapidated, there really wasn't much pressure for anyone to succeed. I'm probably lucky I got out of that black hole. But now that I'm in a nicer, middle class surrounding, I'm just waiting for the first comparisons to start. Maybe I'll luck out and everyone here will be cool with things. And I won't have to listen to how great everyone's kids are b/c they are SO far ahead of everyone else, etc. Who knows. So far so good. I've just vowed to accept Brandon for whatever he decides HE wants to do, and at whatever pace he does it. As long as it's something. And if he just so happens to be one of the recipients of the nine year old oral sex on the bus.....god bless him.....

Life's Soundtrack

I write this with a feeling of tremendous sadness, having just read bikescag's blog. I cannot imagine how truly difficult this past weekend must have been. Difficult times bring out one's true character and inner strength. Hopefully, soon there will be peace.....

I was just encouraged by DJ Mode's revelation about the new albums coming out. I'm particularly excited about Tears for Fears reunion album. There are two cuts on the website that sound pretty interesting. I'll be picking that one up Sept. 14, on the release date.

It's funny how everyone truly has a "soundtrack" of their past. Old songs come on the radio and frequently evoke memories of times past, be it a single moment in time, or a period. I remember Def Leppard's "Pyromania" album was the first tape I'd ever owned. I was in 6th grade, and used to listen to it on a radio/cassette player with one speaker, before boom-boxes were popular. I remember listening to Power 99 FM top 9 at 9 countdown with my friends, back in the days of OLD skool rap (RUN DMC, Grandmaster Flash, etc.). Genesis, my favorite band of all-time, was the first concert I ever went to, on May 27, 1987, at Veterans' Stadium (may it rest in pieces). I can remember listening to various Rush albums in high school, while cruising around with my friends. Tears For Fears was another band that was pretty big in my high school days, with the album "Songs From the Big Chair". I listened to their music all through college, with "Elemental", and "Raoul and the Kings of Spain" adding to my college memories. Now, here I am at 32, preparing for another release from the band. Should be quite interesting. Not too many bands have been around long enough to provide background music for nearly 20 years of living. I've mentioned some of the others that have been longtime contributers to my own personal soundtrack: Rush, Def Leppard, Phil Collins/Genesis, U2, and now TFF. Hopefully the album will have some great tunes on it that I'll remember 20 years from now...

For Pat

Those of you who know Patrick Felton, please take the time to read his blog entry of Aug. 12 at www.bikescag.com Old Blog.

For those who don't know Pat, his father has been battling cancer for some time now, and sadly after showing encouraging signs of strength over the past few weeks, he's taken a serious turn for the worse, and appears to have entered the terminal stage of his life. Pat, if you are reading this, please know that my thoughts and prayers are with you in this most difficult time....and know that I'm here if you need anything at all. Please don't hesitate to call....

We very so often take for granted things in life. Even life itself. It's bad enough that we fall into lazy habits when it comes to keeping in touch with friends and acquaintances, but I know I've done the same with my parents at times. I go through the rigors of day to day life, and work, and raising my own family, and I sometimes forget that my mom and dad are out there and would probably love to hear from me. These the people that gave me LIFE. That helped to shape me into who I am. That gave me food and shelter and everything I needed for all those years. Not that I ignored them, or purposely avoided calling them for a week or longer at a time, but I feel like I could do a better job of keeping in touch with them. Dropping by for a visit. Having dinner. Simply getting in touch. At THEIR convenience, not always mine.

Life is a fragile thing for all of us. It is a miracle that any of us survive through the 9 months of a developing pregnancy, with all of the possible things that can go wrong, and all of the billions of things that have to go JUST RIGHT. Every day we are here on Earth could easily be our last day. Whether it be known disease, an unknown internal ticking time bomb (like a heart attack or stroke), a car accident, a psycho killer/terrorist act, a weather related catastrophe.... anything could happen. So we really need to live life to the fullest, and show those that we love EVERY DAY that we love them.

I was just listening to the radio and ironically "Cats In The Cradle" was on. Talk about a very poignant song. I use that song to motivate me with my son. I never want to have to say "a little later, Bran, daddy's busy", because you never know if you are going to get "a little later". Family is, and should always be the most important thing. Friends are important, but family is blood. And blood is the very essence of what keeps us alive.......

Double Trouble

Bonnie and Charley. Doesn't sound like a very intimidating pair, does it? Yet this duo is going to wreak some serious havoc over the state of Florida over the next 24 hours or so, eventually spreading their "love" up the coast and landing in our lap here in Eastern PA by Friday and Saturday. The good news is there probably won't be a ton of damage from winds, as they will be tropical storm and minimal hurricane strength when they make landfall, and significantly less by the time they get here. The big SUCK is going to be the rain. Again. Buckets of it. I can't speak personally for Florida, but it has been a seriously wet, dismal summer up here. The last thing we need is not only one, but TWO tropical systems to unload on us in a very short period of time. Latest weather estimates have local areas of 4-6 inches on Friday, and possibly the same on Saturday. I'm thinking the safest place to be soon might be on the U.S.S. Shenanigans, a very worthy craft owned by Mr. Hap and co..

But all this rain has had several beneficial results: My first year lawn is growing like it's been there for ages. The weeds are coming along for the ride, but some nice liquid death should calm them down later. Also, my indigent slug population seems to be thriving, and the mosquitos are having more sex than I can ever remember. (just add water and those bastards go crazy this time of year....) I might even go out this weekend and relive some of the good old Acacia mudsliding days (just with clothes this time!)

So here's to Bonnie and Charley. Short lived as they will be, I'm sure they will leave an impression on many people's lives, as we all strive to do, right? I only have one personal request, if they are listening.... especially Charley, since he's going to pass right over the keys, would you mind picking up a few 190 octanes from Fat Tuesdays, some Pirates' Punch from Capt. Tony's, 2 rum and cokes (for 1) from the Bull and Whistle, and some root beer barrels from the Green Parrot, and maybe a nice cuban mix sandwich from 5 Brothers Bodega and please drop them off at my place on your way through. Thanks.

Are you ready for some FOOTBALL!!!!!!?

Can you believe the pre-season is here already? Time again for my beloved Philadelphia Eagles to step up and show everyone they mean business (only to choke in the NFC Championship game..... :( ) I hope this is the year. I think we have enough offensive weapons to get us past anybody, but the question will be the rebuilt defense. We have some interesting additions, but some relative youth at the d-back slots. Hopefully the Freak and Co. on the D-line will help keep pressure enough to help the guys in the back. But I realize that we're only an injury or two away from being a terribly average team. So I go into this season with optimism, but the sort of guarded optimism that only Philly fans can have. Living from play to play as your team goes from the best in the world to the god-awfulist team around.

In other sports related news, it seems as though the NHL season is looking less and less like it's going to happen this year. I don't understand why the two sides aren't bashing each other over the head right now, with the deadline for the collective bargaining agreement set to expire in just over a month. They are all playing with their puds right now and hoping the other side gives in, which AIN'T gonna happen. So I guess I'll end up watching a ton of AHL and ECHL games this year. At least my Reading Royals are going to have more than one familiar face back from last year's team. However, I just found out that our cool captain, Brad Church, has signed on with the team that beat us in the conference finals, the Florida Everblades from near Tampa. That sucks, but I guess he'd rather play an ice sport in Florida, which I never understood. A little like joining an outdoor swim team in Canada....

Back from Insanity.....

I'm BAAAAAACCCCKKKKK!!!!! What a whirlwind tour it's been. Starting Weds. with an AWESOME Rush show, and ending this morning with a lucid mind, it was a very interesting alcohol influenced several days, with very little sleep and a whole lot of debauchery.

On a few hours sleep after the Rush concert, I got up Thurs. morning at 6 and drove to Lancaster to meet up with Hap and Jimmy C. to go on a 48 hour boat procurement/liver adjustment trip to Ocean Pines, MD, and Dewey Beach, DE. After watching Hap purchase a very schweet pontoon party boat from a semi-psycho dude who just HAD to show us, up close and personal, his 50 caliber handgun (we thought we were all going to DIE! - literally!), we shot up to the Dewster for 2 nights of craziness. A first night combined bar tab of over $250.00 for the 3 of us was a great start. All I can say is beware of the Zipperhead at Mama Maria's. After a quick recovery, the second night was a bit more mellow, with a trip to Taco Toss at the Lighthouse and then back to Mamamamamama Maria's. The dill thrill raised it's ugly head, as did a few Screaming Nazi's to toast HAP's birthday. We were well beyond "plaid" when we decided to head home for the night. I figured I could rest last night when I got home, but my boy Colin wanted to drink, and who was I to argue..... So I guess it's up to work to dry me out for a bit.

All in all, it was a well-deserved overdue binge, to quote J. Buffett. I'm missing my family, but it was very cool to get some guy time, especially with those characters. I feel refreshed, and ready to get back to my old ways.... But first, some XBOX football.

s42

Second Chances?

I've always been fascinated by hockey. Probably since I was 4 years old and used to play around with a plastic stick and ball in our apartment's laundry room/storage room. I remember watching the (only) Flyers Stanley Cup teams when I was 4-5. Most of it is a blur, but the seed was planted then. Hockey has been a passion for me. I've played it, watched it, and spent countless dollars on merchandise, tickets, etc. And ever since the Reading Royals team came to town, I've thought it would be really cool if I could get some sort of executive position with a hockey team. What better way to TRULY be involved with something that I see as part of life itself (NOT just a sport!), than to be able to turn my passion into a profession.

Of course therein lies the rub - getting an EXECUTIVE position, without having climbed the ladder in the franchise. Not exactly an easy thing to do, and probably not fair to all those that have put in their time. But let's allow fantasy to intervene, and assume it was possible. Is this something I should do? Should I leave 10 years of training and practicing pathology and just up and change everything I do? Or is the old saying "the grass is never greener on the other side" worth heeding.

I think I can speak for most people I know that we are all unhappy with something in our lives. Some are unhappy with many things in their lives. Job, location, spouse, health, financial situation... Everyone has at least one thing they would love to go back and do over again. The question is, would we be happier in the end with a do-over, or would we find out that we'd be bored with our new choice after 10 years? On the other hand, if you live your life in a status quo mode, you might miss out on true happiness. This is truly one of life's great dilemnas. I don't have the answer. If I did, I'd be alot clearer on my own situations. Perhaps the solution lies in taking smaller risks for smaller rewards, or one day just saying "what the hell" and hopping a flight to St. Somewhere with nothing but some cash, a guitar and alot of sunscreen.

Evil things

Well, tonight I've been thinking of some evil things. I'm watching Jeepers Creepers and was reminded of a good website. Ponder this for a bit......

I had a nice long blog set up, but the blog site crashed and I lost about 500 words. So excuse the brevity, but I'll get at it again tomorrow. Hope everyone has a better Tuesday than Monday.....

s

Insects

'Tis the season for the little creatures to take over the world again. It amazes me how many insects you can fit into a .3 acre property. Grasshoppers, crickets, spiders, millipedes, beetles, green things with big red wings, things I can't begin to describe..... MILLIONS of them. Everywhere. And this after I used lawn fertilizer with insecticide about 2 weeks ago. I can only imagine how bad it would be had I not done that.

And let us not forget about bees. All types. I saw one yesterday that was starting a nest on top of my porch light. I swear to God it was at least 2 inches long. It must have been like a queen wasp or something, if there is such a thing. My mom worked for Ehrlich's for a few months, and told me it could have been a cicada killer. The only thing I could think of is it could have been a tank killer for it's sheer size and scare factor. I can only imagine the sting from that probably would have gone straight through and through my arm. So I did the logical thing and nuked it back to kingdom come with about 1/2 bottle of bug spray. Overkill? Maybe. But this thing was not going to populate my porch with little tank killers. The day they start helping pay the mortgage is the day I'll consider sharing my space with them.

Just one more thing to get used to out here in the "country". I can honestly say that I wouldn't trade the sound of crickets at night for the traffic and sirens that I had in center city Mohnton. It just scares me that the little bug armies might be gathering strength for a plot against us. To take back their land? It remains to be seen.....