opening day

I have never been to an opening day 

    Hard to believe, right?

    I mean, I grew up 6 blocks from Wrigley.... yeet I never went to an opening day.

    And believe me.  There were plenty of tickets available when I was growing up.  The first year Leo Durocher was manager he took over a team that finished 8th in a 10 team league.  He said, "This ain't an eighth place team."  And he was right.  They finished 10th that season.

    I went to Cubs games before it became fashionable.  Games when the upper deck was closed off because not enough seats were sold.  

    Digression:  I remember the upper deck having a moving sidewalk to get there.  It was a big conveyor belt.  I remember it.  Don't I?

    I also remember when I was in college I went to a game at Wrigley in September and there were about 700 people in the park.  I sat in the bleachers and could hear the infield chatter.  It was surreal.

    I also remember playing pinball with some drunks who wore umbrellas on their heads.  They were the paddles and I was the ball, being. bounced from on to the other as we walked down the street.  

    Back in the early days you could smell the cigar smoke mixed in with the beer and hot dog aromas. 

    It was great to go to a game.  It still is.  

    The ballpark has been improved.  Better food, no smoking, most if not all of the stainless steel urinal troughs are gone, and there is more room on the concourse.

    But the main attraction is the team on the field.  I like PCA and Matt Shaw.  I think they will be stars in the future.  The rest of the team is solid, but relief pitching is always suspect.

    Anyway, opening day is when all the fun begins for the home team. And the fans.

    I just wish it was warmer.  And I was there.

Peace and Love

the road to .....

 Emily took me to a play tonight

    To be honest, I wasn't keen on going. 

    For one, I had never heard of Hadestown.

    For another, I was a little tired.

    Turns out, I liked the play.  A lot.

    And a noon time nap plus some Earl Gray tea at 3 has given me a boost.  After all, it is s little after 11 and I am pretty wide awake.

    We saw lots of people we knew!  Dan and Linda, TC and Jeanie, Don and Dee, Sally and Steve, Ken and Becca, and some others that Emily saw but I did not.

    All in all, it was a fun time and I am glad I went.

    Hopefully I will get some sleep.

Peace and Love

A little reno work is taking place

The stage is set

another doctor??

We had another doctor visit today 

    It was Beth's turn to visit the vet!

    It was her annual checkup and vaccination  day.  She shook like crazy when we got there, but was fine during the exam.  She lost a little weight, a d the good doc said she was in great shape.

    I was supposed to bring a sample of her poo.  But it was raining today and I did not get a chance.  I did not try yesterday either.

    When we came out of the vet she dropped a load on the grass.  Luckily niece Laurie had given me a poop bag to stick in my pocket.  So I scooped it up and took it back into the vet's office.

    As a reward, we went to Starbucks and she got a puppy cup.

    

What?  There is some on my chin???  I'll get it.

    That pretty much sums up my day.  We had rain overnight and most of the day, but it ended by the time we went to the vet.

    That's it!

Peace and Love

we voted

 Our election was a waste of money

    There was 1 contested race.  5 people filed for 4 positions on the high school board.

    Hell, they could have drawn names out of a hat for that.

    But we voted.  That is our right to do so.

    Believe me, it is not easy!  I have to get her into the car, out of the car, into the polling place, back into the car, back out of the car.  And the polling place is the fire station, which has a 300 pound steel door that my friend Curt can open with ease but I struggle with. 

    I think elections should be fun.

    Like the presidential one.  Why not have that on Feb 29 and declare that day a national holiday?  Elections and Leap Year happen every 4 years, so that would be a natural.

    Did the Founding Fathers know about Leap Year?

    If so, they missed a chance.

    Or have voting week, or at least a 2 day period.  Employers must give a worker one of the 2 days off so they can vote and then goof around.  But workers have to prove they voted, or else they get their pay docked.

    And limit how much can be spent on a race.  And list who is contributing to the elections.  We need to be transparent.  

    Speaking of transparent, I found my missing magnifier.  It was on the desk.  In plain sight.  Geez.

    I think tonight might be a tough night for sleep.  The wind is pretty strong right now, and rain and windy conditions will continue through the night.

    Throw in some thunder and lightning and I will be awake most of the night.

    Digression.   When dog Beth eats, she drags her ears into her food.  I was sitting on the couch with her tonight, and got up to get a wet cloth and a brush.  

    She knew!!

    She trotted off downstairs.  I am going t try later.

Peace and Love

Election Day

 We have to go vote tomorrow

    I shouldn't say it that way.  We have the opportunity to vote tomorrow.

    Granted, looking at the ballot there are not many contests for us to decide.  Looking at the information guide, it seems a lot of offices where 1 person is running, or no one is running.

    I guess that baffles me a bit.

    People need to run for office.  People need to vote.

    I read that in the last presidential election, 39 percent of registered voters did not vote.   That is astounding.  A privilege that thousands of men and women have died for and people don't use it.

    When we first moved to Rochelle I ran for a township commissioner spot. I filled out a questionnaire from the newspaper and said the township should be consolidated into the city.

    Needless to say, I did not win.  I think I came in 8th in an election that only had 5 candidates.

    But I did run and serve on the library board and the park district board, both times elected.  Jackie has been elected  to the library board several times but is not on the ballot this time, despite her term being up.  I think 1 person is running and there are 4 openings.  But I can't read the sample ballot because the print is small and I can't find a magnifying glass.

    But we will vote.  

    And I bet the turnout will be less than 10 percent.

    Oh well.

    I took Beth for a short walk today.  I don't think she is used to leash walking because she pulled constantly.  Lucky I am as heavy as I am or else she could have dragged me down the street.

    That's all I have.

Peace and Love

Oh my gosh

 We had a busy day today

    Jackie and I went to see Shawshank Redemption presented by  VCCT, our local theater group.

    I thought it was a really good show.  Well acted and well directed, with lots of  people we know in the cast.  All of them were great.  

    Human friend Beth joined us, and we had a few minutes to ketchup.  Get it?  Razor sharp humor, huh?

    Anyway, Jackie and I are some of the few people who have never seen the movie.  I ran into a friend the other day and he said it was his favorite movie and that he was watched it dozens of times.

    Guess I should watch it.

    We got home in time to watch the Cubs take a 6-2 lead, then give up 8 runs in the bottom of the eighth to lose the game.  That was discouraging because the bullpen is supposed to be better.  

    Yes, I realize we only did 2 things.  But it was busy.  By the time we ate and everything it got to be 8 p.m.  And yes, I could have not watched a 90 minute tv show.  And maybe I should not have, because I miss half of what is being said, even with the tv blaring.  I need the subtitles.

    The shocking happening of he day was when we went into the theater it was warm and sunny.  Then we came out the temperature had fallen about 10 degrees, it was cloudy, windy and I was damn cold. At least it was not raining.

    So ends a busy weekend.

    But every week seems to have something we have to do.  Doctor tomorrow, meeting Tuesday, vet appointment Wednesday......it's a constant whirl wind of activity lately.

    And the good folks at Cologuard said I passed the test....everything is normal.

    They are talking physically, not mentally though.

Peace and Love

Yah, yah, yah

I saw the Beatles tonight! 

    Ok, not the real ones, but a tribute band  called the Fab Four.

    They were at the Coronado in Rockford and friends Linda and Dan invited me months ago,  and truth be told I did forget until Linda reminded me.

    In a funny sort of way, Julia came up to me last night about 5:30 and asked if I was supposed to be somewhere.

    I said no.

    Everyone is painfully aware of how I screw up dates and times, and she asked if I was going to see the Liverpool Legends.

    I said I thought I was.  That's when she said it was tonight (Friday) in DeKalb, not Saturday in Rockford.

    I knew it was Saturday.  What I did not know was Liverpool Legends were playing in DeKalb on Friday!

    I got the names mixed up, but the dates right.

    The neat thing about tonight, well, one of the neat things.  They said feel free to take pictures or videos during the show.

    They also said feel free to sing along, just don't come up on stage.

    We sang, waved hands, yelled, and remembered what it was like when the lads hit the USA.  The music brought back a lot of memories and happiness.

    I just wish I had seen them back then.

    And it was great to see young people there......proving again, they made the music that will never die.

Peace and Love

The rooftop concert, their last appearance as a group

Geporge's hear comes the sun

I guess I am a dreamer too.

Sgt. Peppers

Footage of the audience at the Ed Sullivan show, I believe

I don't think I ever watched the cartoon!

A fun time was had by all