I want to start this blog, by again, apologizing for delaying the top 5 St. Louis Cardinals memories of mine another week. Wait for it......I am doing so, because of the late developments from this past week, and game 7 being played tonight.....there could be a shakeup in the countdown! That's right people...after one of the greatest baseball games I have ever seen, there will be a game 7 in the World Series for the first time since 2002! Baseball, needs to be proud of itself. It had a great last few weeks of the season! There were so many playoff implications, as far as who was going to make it, what the seeding was going to be when the playoff teams were finalized, the first few rounds of the playoffs being great....baseball had been putting up some rating numbers it hasn't enjoyed for quite sometime. And it's about time! With the NFL, just barely escaping cancelling the season, which would have put it back...who knows how many years, as far as fan following....it may never have recoved. Even though, they are playing games now, they didn't have any training camps, or organized team activites through the summer, to help the rookies get better acclimated to the pro game, and help new free agents learn a new playbook...the product on the field so far, has been crap. There's no other way around it. The Packers and Steelers/Patriots are going to be playing in the Super Bowl this year. You can write that down. They three, are so much better than the rest of the league...it's a joke. The NBA will be lucky to have games on the docket by Christmas. Yeah, I haven't missed them either. The season was supposed to open a few weeks ago, but I don't think anyone noticed.
Back to baseball, because the other sports right now are down.....baseball had to have a big postseason, to establish some relevancy again. And the sport has not let us down. I have been watching baseball religously, for 20 years now.....and I can't think of a better baseball postseason, than the one we are having now. Now, I know you are going to say..."Well, you're a Cardinals fan...so, of course you are going to say this is one of the best postseasons ever." That's not entirely fair. The Cardinals in the 2000's, made the playoffs 6 times last decade. And in each of those 6 times, there hasn't been the theater that there has been with this postseason. Case in point, last night. The Cardinals were down by 3 runs going into the 8th inning. A home run by a bench player, a few other timely hits and by the end of the 9th inning the game was tied. The tie, was short lived however. In the top of the 10th inning the Texas Rangers (the Cardinals opponent in this World Series), had a player hit a huge 2-run homerun. Only to have the lead erased in the bottom of the 10th, when the Cardinals scored 2 runs to tie the game once again. Then, after getting the Rangers out in the 11th inning, without giving up a run.....David Freese, the Cardinals third baseman hits a walkoff homerun to win the game!
I've said it before, and I'll say it again.....baseball on this stage, is unparalled...as far as excitement by any other sport. Enjoy game 7 tonight folks, and go Cards!
Friday, October 28, 2011
In case you haven't heard, Extreme Makeover Home Edition, was in town.....
First let me preface this blog, by saying I think it was truly great that they helped 7 families out, by building them new homes. There is no doubting that. And yes, the title was a joke. I'm sure you've read it in the paper, saw it on the local news.....Extreme Makover Home Edition is (was) in Joplin to build 7 new homes, for 7 families that had their homes destroyed by the tornado on May 22nd of this year. I know I had almost everyone of my friends post something on Facebook about it. One of them, actually ran into Ty Pennington at a local bar. Several of them, volunteered their time and efforts, rebuilding these homes. I want to be clear about this next point. I don't begrudge them for coming into town and doing what they did, because again, it was truly a good thing. I don't begrudge you, if you helped them with the rebuild, or got caught up in the fact that a national television show was shooting in the town you live in for over a week. That said, make no mistake about it.....Extreme Makeover Home Edition could care less about the city of Joplin. Ty Pennington and the rest of the people that star in the show, could care less about the thousands of people that have been displaced by the tornado.
My dad has a saying. He would always tell me, "I'm pretty sure I wouldn't go to work, if I didn't get paid." Basically saying, he wouldn't go to a job, where he wasn't compensated. That's the case with this show. I know it may be hard for some people to hear/read, but Extreme Makeover Home Edition wouldn't be in town, if it didn't benefit them in some way. Ty Pennington wouldn't be in town if he wasn't getting paid, to do so! And if you don't believe me, I can put to rest any argument that their intentions weren't self serving with a series of questions.....why were there tv cameras/crews here? Why weren't they here a week after it went through, helping remove the debris, and then rebuilding? Why didn't they help rebuild a school, or business, to help put people back to work? Why did they wait over 5 months to show up to help? That's right, they were here, because they are in the business of making money. NOT because they really care about the people of Joplin MO. NOT because they care about the people who lost everything in the tornado that nearly wiped out an entire city. Again, even though their actions were self serving, I'm still glad they did what they did. I just wish they would have done so, without the false pretenses. I would have rather, they rolled into town with a demo crew/haul crew, whatever other heavy equipment they needed, and said...."Hey we're here, where do we need to start?"
Several other organizations, both public and private, have helped out in more ways than people will ever know. Certainly, on the national level. How many people heard about the handful of players from the St. Louis Cardinals coming into town to lift the spirits of the people working in the debris field, a week after the tornado came through? How many people know about the handful of players, and front office personnel, who spent the day, actually rolling up their sleeves and helping, with the cleanup process. The same can be said about the Mizzou basketball players and coaches, who spent a day down here doing the same. Where were their busses and camera crews? Who did their makeup that day?
My dad has a saying. He would always tell me, "I'm pretty sure I wouldn't go to work, if I didn't get paid." Basically saying, he wouldn't go to a job, where he wasn't compensated. That's the case with this show. I know it may be hard for some people to hear/read, but Extreme Makeover Home Edition wouldn't be in town, if it didn't benefit them in some way. Ty Pennington wouldn't be in town if he wasn't getting paid, to do so! And if you don't believe me, I can put to rest any argument that their intentions weren't self serving with a series of questions.....why were there tv cameras/crews here? Why weren't they here a week after it went through, helping remove the debris, and then rebuilding? Why didn't they help rebuild a school, or business, to help put people back to work? Why did they wait over 5 months to show up to help? That's right, they were here, because they are in the business of making money. NOT because they really care about the people of Joplin MO. NOT because they care about the people who lost everything in the tornado that nearly wiped out an entire city. Again, even though their actions were self serving, I'm still glad they did what they did. I just wish they would have done so, without the false pretenses. I would have rather, they rolled into town with a demo crew/haul crew, whatever other heavy equipment they needed, and said...."Hey we're here, where do we need to start?"
Several other organizations, both public and private, have helped out in more ways than people will ever know. Certainly, on the national level. How many people heard about the handful of players from the St. Louis Cardinals coming into town to lift the spirits of the people working in the debris field, a week after the tornado came through? How many people know about the handful of players, and front office personnel, who spent the day, actually rolling up their sleeves and helping, with the cleanup process. The same can be said about the Mizzou basketball players and coaches, who spent a day down here doing the same. Where were their busses and camera crews? Who did their makeup that day?
Friday, October 21, 2011
The price of money
First of all, I want to preface this blog, by saying those of you who are tuning in to see my top 5 Cardinal memories, will have to tune in next week. I apologize for the week delay, however I have had a really busy week and I could do one....but I wouldn't have the time to put into it, to make it really good and worth your time reading. So, again....I apologize.
I will not, however, stray from the main topic which is usually the topic of most of my blogs, and that's the St. Louis Cardinals. Specifically, the best player on the team....Albert Pujols. Last night was game 2 of the World Series. The Cardinals were winning in the top of the 9th inning by the score of 1-0. The Texas Rangers (who the Cardinals are playing) manage to get a couple of runners on base, 1st and 3rd. A Rangers batter hits a deep fly ball to the outfield. The centerfielder fields the ball and makes a strong, but not entirely accurate throw to the infield. Pujols, who is standing in the infield, twiddling his fingers, all of a sudden decides to lunge and attempts to cut the throw off. The ball glances off of his glove, and rolls to the catcher. The runner on 3rd had already scored, and since Pujols didn't field the ball cleanly, the runner who was on 1st, moves up to 2nd and puts himself in scoring position. Needless to say, this was not good. Long story short, the Cardinals give up another run and aren't able to do anything in the bottom half of the inning and lose the game, 2-1. Now, as frustrated as I was in Pujols, I was willing to give him a pass, because he is such a good ballplayer, I have every bit of confidence he will make up for it, and them some, later in the series. What really frustrated me, was this morning when I wake up, and hear that Pujols, Matt Holliday, and Lance Berkman, left the game without talking to the media. Now, Holliday and Berkman should have stayed and supported their team and the sportswriters in St. Louis by giving them a few minutes of their time, but that said....what were they going to say? Nothing other than the same ol reterict that is uttered by every professional athlete after a loss. "We'll try to do better next game." Tough loss, but we'll bounce back next game." "You win some, you lose some...give credit to the other team." But, when you're Alber Pujols, and you are the best player in the game, sport even....and you have a significant role in whether or not your team won the game, by botching that relay throw, AND you want to be the highest paid player in the history of the game.....you have to talk to the reporters covering that game, and answer their questions. I'm sorry, but you have to.
What was the reason he left, you ask. We will probably never know. I'm sure the Cardinals PR staff will issue a public statement, stating some b.s. reason. Truth be told, deep down inside, we all know. Albert Pujols is rich, and he doesn't have to do anything he doesn't want to do. I have a big problem with this. Albert Pujols wouldn't have made half of the money he has made in his life, if it weren't for the fans going to the games, and the reporters getting his name out there, or the broadcasters who tell the touching stories about what a nice guy he is, and how much he does for charity in the off season. Truth be told, we have made Albert Pujols a millionaire. Do you think, if you met him on the street and asked him for an autograph, he would give it to you? No, he doesn't have time for that. You have to go to one of the team sponsored autograph sessions and put down close to $300 dollars for that honor.
I know I come off as a Pujols basher. I'm really not. I hope the Cardinals find a way to keep him, and that he retires a Cardinal. And Pujols, isn't the only professional athlete who thinks they are above everyone else. That's the price of money. If you were to travel back in time, and go up to Pujols when he was playing legion baseball, on the outskirts of Kansas City....and you were to go up to him (and his pudgy frame), and ask him for his autograph, he would have gotten a kick out of it. I'm sure he would have talked to you for a good half an hour about baseball, life in Missouri, whatever. It's not until these athletes bank accounts become bloated, that they don't have time for the little people. I don't know....maybe I was born a few decades too late, but I don't think it's unreasonable for the people in this world, that don't have to worry about the things we have to worry about on a daily basis, to give a few minutes to the people in this world that do.
I will not, however, stray from the main topic which is usually the topic of most of my blogs, and that's the St. Louis Cardinals. Specifically, the best player on the team....Albert Pujols. Last night was game 2 of the World Series. The Cardinals were winning in the top of the 9th inning by the score of 1-0. The Texas Rangers (who the Cardinals are playing) manage to get a couple of runners on base, 1st and 3rd. A Rangers batter hits a deep fly ball to the outfield. The centerfielder fields the ball and makes a strong, but not entirely accurate throw to the infield. Pujols, who is standing in the infield, twiddling his fingers, all of a sudden decides to lunge and attempts to cut the throw off. The ball glances off of his glove, and rolls to the catcher. The runner on 3rd had already scored, and since Pujols didn't field the ball cleanly, the runner who was on 1st, moves up to 2nd and puts himself in scoring position. Needless to say, this was not good. Long story short, the Cardinals give up another run and aren't able to do anything in the bottom half of the inning and lose the game, 2-1. Now, as frustrated as I was in Pujols, I was willing to give him a pass, because he is such a good ballplayer, I have every bit of confidence he will make up for it, and them some, later in the series. What really frustrated me, was this morning when I wake up, and hear that Pujols, Matt Holliday, and Lance Berkman, left the game without talking to the media. Now, Holliday and Berkman should have stayed and supported their team and the sportswriters in St. Louis by giving them a few minutes of their time, but that said....what were they going to say? Nothing other than the same ol reterict that is uttered by every professional athlete after a loss. "We'll try to do better next game." Tough loss, but we'll bounce back next game." "You win some, you lose some...give credit to the other team." But, when you're Alber Pujols, and you are the best player in the game, sport even....and you have a significant role in whether or not your team won the game, by botching that relay throw, AND you want to be the highest paid player in the history of the game.....you have to talk to the reporters covering that game, and answer their questions. I'm sorry, but you have to.
What was the reason he left, you ask. We will probably never know. I'm sure the Cardinals PR staff will issue a public statement, stating some b.s. reason. Truth be told, deep down inside, we all know. Albert Pujols is rich, and he doesn't have to do anything he doesn't want to do. I have a big problem with this. Albert Pujols wouldn't have made half of the money he has made in his life, if it weren't for the fans going to the games, and the reporters getting his name out there, or the broadcasters who tell the touching stories about what a nice guy he is, and how much he does for charity in the off season. Truth be told, we have made Albert Pujols a millionaire. Do you think, if you met him on the street and asked him for an autograph, he would give it to you? No, he doesn't have time for that. You have to go to one of the team sponsored autograph sessions and put down close to $300 dollars for that honor.
I know I come off as a Pujols basher. I'm really not. I hope the Cardinals find a way to keep him, and that he retires a Cardinal. And Pujols, isn't the only professional athlete who thinks they are above everyone else. That's the price of money. If you were to travel back in time, and go up to Pujols when he was playing legion baseball, on the outskirts of Kansas City....and you were to go up to him (and his pudgy frame), and ask him for his autograph, he would have gotten a kick out of it. I'm sure he would have talked to you for a good half an hour about baseball, life in Missouri, whatever. It's not until these athletes bank accounts become bloated, that they don't have time for the little people. I don't know....maybe I was born a few decades too late, but I don't think it's unreasonable for the people in this world, that don't have to worry about the things we have to worry about on a daily basis, to give a few minutes to the people in this world that do.
Friday, October 14, 2011
Top 10 St. Louis Cardinal memories
I had someone recently reply to one of my blogs last week. I had blogged about the St. Louis Cardinals being in the playoffs, and I was pretty excited. The person who replied to the blog, didn't understand the passion I had for the sport, or team for that matter. And, to be fair....her lack of understanding on this issue, is shared by my wife, and some other family members, coworkers, etc. So, I thought I would take the time and blog about my 10 favorite Cardinal memories. I want to preface this by saying, that some of the memories are from games I went to, some are from games I watched with friends in a bar. So, without further delay...here are my top 10 St. Louis Cardinal memories. From last to first.
10. Now, the more I thought about this.....the harder of a time, I had trying to put these memories in order of significance. I'm going to lead off the countdown, with the memory I have of going to a Cardinal game for the first time in my life. I was 7 years old. It was July in 1988. They were playing at the old Busch Stadium. The team they were playing that night was the Houston Astros. I have no idea if they won or not, what was really cool about this hot summer night, was just the ambiance of being at a major league stadium. My favorite teams stadium at that. Our seats were upper deck outfield seats, and I couldn't even really see the field. We stayed until about the 6th inning, then it got too hot and I think my parents were worried that I might be getting dehydrated, so we left. I'll never forget this night though. It was also the first real vacation we went on as a family. The next day, we went to the Arch, which was really cool too.
9. This memory is kind of interesting in the fact, that it doesn't really have anything good to do with the Cardinals. In fact, it was actually bad as far as the Cardinals go. In late August of 2003, a couple of friends and I went to St. Louis to see a couple of games. The Cardinals were playing a weekend series against the Atlanta Braves. The two friends I went up there with, were Braves fans. The Cardinals weren't really good this year, they were kind of having a hangover from the year before. The Braves however, were in prime form. They played a night game that Friday, and actually moved the game back on Saturday to a 6:00 o'clock start time. Which was nice, because we had a late night Friday....so we could sleep in on Saturday. Anyway, late in the game on Saturday...about the 6th inning. The Cardinals were actually winning by a few runs. They had runners on 1st and 2nd with nobody out. Jim Edmonds hits a screaming line drive to the shortstop (Rafael Furcal), who promptly catches the ball. 1 out. He was close enough to the bag at second, that he stepped on 2nd for the force out. The runner that was on 1st had strayed too far away from the base, Furcal threw it to the first baseman for the 3rd out. It was an unassisted triple play! Only a few other people in the history of baseball had performed such a feat. It was pretty cool. More from this game later...
8. In 2004 the Cardinals played the Astros in the NLCS. It was a great series, that went 7 games. The Cardinals had won the division, so they had home field advantage in the series. Now, I'm not going to go into too many specifics with this memory, but ultimately I watched the end of game 7 at the bar Champs, here in town. It was during the week, either a Wednesday, or a Thursday.....the bar wasn't very busy. They had the game on one of the big screens and the few other people in the bar, other than my friends were joining us in cheering for the Cards. A few of the big highlights of the game were a diving catch by Jim Edmonds, who hit a big homerun earlier in the game. It was the first time, since I could remember that the Cardinals were going to the World Series.
7. In 1996, the Cardinals were playing the Braves in the NLCS. The Braves had the better record that year, so they had home field advantage in the series. The Cardinals actually were leading in the series, when game 4 took place 2 games to 1. I was still living at home, at the time. My dad and I had worked with the antenna on the tv in the front room enough, to where we could slightly see the game. In the bottom of the 9th inning, the Cardinals were down by a run. Brian Jordan comes up to bat with a runner on 1st. He promptly delivers a homerun into the bleachers in left field, for a walkoff 2 run homerun. It was the first and only, playoff game I ever watched with my dad.
6. Remember Mark McGwire? In the summer of 1998, he was in the process of breaking every homerun record baseball had. It was so crazy, that with every at bat, all the big networks would cut to the game when he came up, and hold their breath that, this was the at bat he hits number 62. He broke the record against the Chicago Cubs. My dad and I actually got the game to come in on the tv that night. I wasn't even aware they were playing, until my dad yelled at me to run into the living room. I don't know what inning it was, or if they even won the game. The only thing I really remember was it was a homerun to left, and it was probably the shortest run he ever hit that whole year. It didn't even make it into the bleachers.
I will post the next 5 memories next week, have a good weekend everybody...and go Cards!
10. Now, the more I thought about this.....the harder of a time, I had trying to put these memories in order of significance. I'm going to lead off the countdown, with the memory I have of going to a Cardinal game for the first time in my life. I was 7 years old. It was July in 1988. They were playing at the old Busch Stadium. The team they were playing that night was the Houston Astros. I have no idea if they won or not, what was really cool about this hot summer night, was just the ambiance of being at a major league stadium. My favorite teams stadium at that. Our seats were upper deck outfield seats, and I couldn't even really see the field. We stayed until about the 6th inning, then it got too hot and I think my parents were worried that I might be getting dehydrated, so we left. I'll never forget this night though. It was also the first real vacation we went on as a family. The next day, we went to the Arch, which was really cool too.
9. This memory is kind of interesting in the fact, that it doesn't really have anything good to do with the Cardinals. In fact, it was actually bad as far as the Cardinals go. In late August of 2003, a couple of friends and I went to St. Louis to see a couple of games. The Cardinals were playing a weekend series against the Atlanta Braves. The two friends I went up there with, were Braves fans. The Cardinals weren't really good this year, they were kind of having a hangover from the year before. The Braves however, were in prime form. They played a night game that Friday, and actually moved the game back on Saturday to a 6:00 o'clock start time. Which was nice, because we had a late night Friday....so we could sleep in on Saturday. Anyway, late in the game on Saturday...about the 6th inning. The Cardinals were actually winning by a few runs. They had runners on 1st and 2nd with nobody out. Jim Edmonds hits a screaming line drive to the shortstop (Rafael Furcal), who promptly catches the ball. 1 out. He was close enough to the bag at second, that he stepped on 2nd for the force out. The runner that was on 1st had strayed too far away from the base, Furcal threw it to the first baseman for the 3rd out. It was an unassisted triple play! Only a few other people in the history of baseball had performed such a feat. It was pretty cool. More from this game later...
8. In 2004 the Cardinals played the Astros in the NLCS. It was a great series, that went 7 games. The Cardinals had won the division, so they had home field advantage in the series. Now, I'm not going to go into too many specifics with this memory, but ultimately I watched the end of game 7 at the bar Champs, here in town. It was during the week, either a Wednesday, or a Thursday.....the bar wasn't very busy. They had the game on one of the big screens and the few other people in the bar, other than my friends were joining us in cheering for the Cards. A few of the big highlights of the game were a diving catch by Jim Edmonds, who hit a big homerun earlier in the game. It was the first time, since I could remember that the Cardinals were going to the World Series.
7. In 1996, the Cardinals were playing the Braves in the NLCS. The Braves had the better record that year, so they had home field advantage in the series. The Cardinals actually were leading in the series, when game 4 took place 2 games to 1. I was still living at home, at the time. My dad and I had worked with the antenna on the tv in the front room enough, to where we could slightly see the game. In the bottom of the 9th inning, the Cardinals were down by a run. Brian Jordan comes up to bat with a runner on 1st. He promptly delivers a homerun into the bleachers in left field, for a walkoff 2 run homerun. It was the first and only, playoff game I ever watched with my dad.
6. Remember Mark McGwire? In the summer of 1998, he was in the process of breaking every homerun record baseball had. It was so crazy, that with every at bat, all the big networks would cut to the game when he came up, and hold their breath that, this was the at bat he hits number 62. He broke the record against the Chicago Cubs. My dad and I actually got the game to come in on the tv that night. I wasn't even aware they were playing, until my dad yelled at me to run into the living room. I don't know what inning it was, or if they even won the game. The only thing I really remember was it was a homerun to left, and it was probably the shortest run he ever hit that whole year. It didn't even make it into the bleachers.
I will post the next 5 memories next week, have a good weekend everybody...and go Cards!
To eat, or not to eat....lunch at school that is.
I am a big food fan. I have my favorites, the same as everybody else. I don't care a great deal for vegetables, but I know they are vital to a body....so I do my best to eat them. I eat them, not only because they are good for me, but because I believe I am setting a good example to my stepson, by doing so. That being said, one thing I am not a fan of....is the breakfast/lunch, that is being served where he goes to school. He is a 1st grader at Carl Junction. It didn't really become an issue for me, until he invited his mother and myself to his school, for breakfast. What they served for breakfast, on this particular day was biscuits and gravy. At least that's what they were trying to have you believe they were serving. They had several flat oven pans that had some sort of bread material, they were scooping out and putting on a tray. There were also a few vats, filled with a type of white, fluid substance they were putting on top of the bread material. I use those words, "substance", and "material", because those were the best adjectives I could use to describe the food they were serving for breakfast that day. I couldn't believe my eyes! What in the world was this garbage!? Why are they charging us almost $30 dollars a week to feed him food, that couldn't have cost that much to feed the entire cafeteria!? If I were Governor of the state of Missouri, I wouldn't serve this junk to the inmates at a federal prison!
So, naturally I thought back to my old school days. I thought about what breakfast and lunch were like at my school, back when I was going. I attended school in Jasper, MO. Breakfast, actually hadn't been around all that long, when I was still attending school. They started the breakfast program, back when I was in junior high. Fridays were always biscuit and gravy day. They kept the gravy, from the Thursday lunch before (which was always a random meat and potato day), and added sausage to it to make sausage gravy. The biscuits were made fresh, even though they weren't homemade, they were more than edible. All in all, breakfast was certainly worth the .75 cents they charged us. Lunches could be hit and miss. But, if I had to put a percentage on it, I would say it would be about 85% hit, and 15% miss. The lunches back then were .90 cents, they would charge you an additional .10 cents if you wanted an extra entree. So, my lunch budget for the week would be roughly $7.00. Not $30!
Well, now I'm in a tough spot. Do, I continue to make my stepson go to school and continue to eat something, that if I saw a homeless person about to eat...I would warn them, that they might want to dine out of the dumpster down a few blocks, because it's that disgusting!? Or, do I pack a lunch for him and hope that over time, some bill gets passed and a few complaining parents get through to the right person, and a change is made for the better? I have to figure something out, because I can't go back to his school...and set a good example by injesting something that will make me vomit. Just a few stats for you.....according to the Food Research and Action Center, in 2010 the federal government spent $9.7 billion dollars on the school lunch program. The government charges the schools almost $3 a meal. What's interesting is that the government sends each school a cash disbursement, for their meals. Which means that it's up to the schools discretion, what vendor to use for food, how much they actually spend, etc. I wonder if they would open the books to the public, for us to see and make sure that this money is actually being spent on food?
So, naturally I thought back to my old school days. I thought about what breakfast and lunch were like at my school, back when I was going. I attended school in Jasper, MO. Breakfast, actually hadn't been around all that long, when I was still attending school. They started the breakfast program, back when I was in junior high. Fridays were always biscuit and gravy day. They kept the gravy, from the Thursday lunch before (which was always a random meat and potato day), and added sausage to it to make sausage gravy. The biscuits were made fresh, even though they weren't homemade, they were more than edible. All in all, breakfast was certainly worth the .75 cents they charged us. Lunches could be hit and miss. But, if I had to put a percentage on it, I would say it would be about 85% hit, and 15% miss. The lunches back then were .90 cents, they would charge you an additional .10 cents if you wanted an extra entree. So, my lunch budget for the week would be roughly $7.00. Not $30!
Well, now I'm in a tough spot. Do, I continue to make my stepson go to school and continue to eat something, that if I saw a homeless person about to eat...I would warn them, that they might want to dine out of the dumpster down a few blocks, because it's that disgusting!? Or, do I pack a lunch for him and hope that over time, some bill gets passed and a few complaining parents get through to the right person, and a change is made for the better? I have to figure something out, because I can't go back to his school...and set a good example by injesting something that will make me vomit. Just a few stats for you.....according to the Food Research and Action Center, in 2010 the federal government spent $9.7 billion dollars on the school lunch program. The government charges the schools almost $3 a meal. What's interesting is that the government sends each school a cash disbursement, for their meals. Which means that it's up to the schools discretion, what vendor to use for food, how much they actually spend, etc. I wonder if they would open the books to the public, for us to see and make sure that this money is actually being spent on food?
Friday, October 7, 2011
Playoff time baby!
No, I'm not talking about the Alley Cats. We still have several games of fantasy football to play before we get to the playoffs. Which by the way, the Alley Cats will have to finish strong to make. No, tonight I am talking about the Major League Baseball playoffs. That's right! The St. Louis Cardinals made a mad dash to the finish line, and with a little help (as blogged about last week), made it in, and have been making some noise! Saturday night in game 1, the Cardinals faced arguably, the best pitcher in the game right now. Roy Halladay, who pitches for the Philadelphia Phillies. Now.....just a few quick facts about the Phillies. They had the best record in baseball this year. They have a RIDICULOUS, starting pitching staff! They have two of the best pitchers in the game, at the front end of the rotation-the aforementioned Halladay, and Cliff Lee. Now, since the Cardinals were the Wild Card team going into the playoffs, they traveled to Philadelphia to start the series. And, like I said earlier, opened up against Halladay. We countered with Kyle Lohse, who has had a decent season. I would of liked to had a little better, but truthfully....I can't really complain with what we got out of Lohse this year. The game started out great! Lance Berkman, hit a huge 3-run homerun in the top of the 1st inning and we were off. Lohse was pitching great. He was mixing up speeds, location, pitches...he really kept the hitters off balance through the first 4 innings or so. Ran into a bit of trouble a bit in the fifth and gave up 3 runs, then the train came off the tracks in the 6th with 3 more. The bullpen didn't offer him any reprieve and gave up 5 runs themselves. But, the Cardinals showed grit and battled to the end. Something they didn't do at all last year. Final score of the game was 11-6.
Sunday night, we faced the other ace....Cliff Lee. We pounded him! Oh, it was great. Now, that night we countered with our ace, Chris Carpenter. Who was pitching on short rest. Typically, starting pitchers get about 5 days rest between starts. He was going on 3. He didn't pitch well to start the game. Walked some batters, gave up a few hits, all told he went 3 inning and gave up 4 runs. The bullpen, which was not good to say the least in game 1, was spectacular in game 2! They came in and gave up 0 runs the rest of the way, and the Cards battled back and scored 5 to take game 2. Game 3, I would rather not talk about. The series shifted back to St. Louis, for games 3 & 4. Our manager pretty much gave the game to the Phillies. A few bad decisions by him, and long story short...the Cards lose 3-2. Game 4 went about as opposite, as I thought it would go. Phillies come roaring out of the gate, and score 2 runs in the 1st inning. Which, I would be lying if at this point, I said I knew we would come back....I was ready to pack it in for the winter. I should also say, that the opening round of the playoffs in baseball is a best of 5 series. So, with the Phillies already holding a 2 game to 1 lead, if the Cardinals lost game 4, it really would have been over. But, this Cardinal team looks nothing like the Cardinal team in late August. And again, we battled back to score 5 runs. Final score of game 4 was 5-3.
The series shifts back to Philadelphia now for game 5, which is tonight. I am extremely nervous! I actually have the game on now, as I type. So, if there are some words that aren't exactly spelled correctly cut me some slack! That said, everyone have a good weekend, and go Cards!
Sunday night, we faced the other ace....Cliff Lee. We pounded him! Oh, it was great. Now, that night we countered with our ace, Chris Carpenter. Who was pitching on short rest. Typically, starting pitchers get about 5 days rest between starts. He was going on 3. He didn't pitch well to start the game. Walked some batters, gave up a few hits, all told he went 3 inning and gave up 4 runs. The bullpen, which was not good to say the least in game 1, was spectacular in game 2! They came in and gave up 0 runs the rest of the way, and the Cards battled back and scored 5 to take game 2. Game 3, I would rather not talk about. The series shifted back to St. Louis, for games 3 & 4. Our manager pretty much gave the game to the Phillies. A few bad decisions by him, and long story short...the Cards lose 3-2. Game 4 went about as opposite, as I thought it would go. Phillies come roaring out of the gate, and score 2 runs in the 1st inning. Which, I would be lying if at this point, I said I knew we would come back....I was ready to pack it in for the winter. I should also say, that the opening round of the playoffs in baseball is a best of 5 series. So, with the Phillies already holding a 2 game to 1 lead, if the Cardinals lost game 4, it really would have been over. But, this Cardinal team looks nothing like the Cardinal team in late August. And again, we battled back to score 5 runs. Final score of game 4 was 5-3.
The series shifts back to Philadelphia now for game 5, which is tonight. I am extremely nervous! I actually have the game on now, as I type. So, if there are some words that aren't exactly spelled correctly cut me some slack! That said, everyone have a good weekend, and go Cards!
No if, ands, or butts about it.....it's time to ban smoking in all public gathering places.
I used to be a big smoker. I'm not really proud of that fact. Absolutely nothing good came from me smoking for almost 10 years. NOTHING! It was something I wanted to do when I was younger, and I did it so much when I was younger.....I wanted to continue doing it when I got older. Obviously, there was the chemical addiction, but truthfully, I just really liked doing it. I liked hanging out with other people, when they were smoking. I liked to have one after a stressful day at work. And most importantly, I loved having one when I was drinking. In fact, I would go out of my way to make sure I had a backup pack on hand, when we went out to the bars. Not necessarily because I planned on smoking them, but there were the handful of times a lady would ask me for a cigarette....yes, I used cigarettes at times to open with the ladies. To sum it up though, I just loved smoking.
Then in the summer of 2005, while I was living in Chicago, a story broke on the local news that they were going to ban smoking in restaurants, and other establishments where, if the main source of income wasn't from alcohol....you couldn't smoke in that establishment. Needless to say it caused a huge uproar. The idea behind the new policy was that it would help bring out some of the people who wouldn't go out, and to downtown hot spots that would usually be clouded with cigarette smoke, and spend downtown entertainment money. That, and breathing air that doesn't have a lot of toxins in it, is obviously better than breathing in air that does. One of the big protestors of this new policy was a Chicago hero of sorts. Mike Ditka. In addition to being a hall of fame football player, and taking the Chicago Bears to the Super Bowl and winning it, he also owned a restaurant/cigar shop in Chicago. So, if people weren't allowed to smoke indoors anymore, it would seriously put a dent in his cigar sales profits. Other owners of several other like establishments complained....but to no avail. The ban went into effect, and now there is no smoking in any establishment, bar or otherwise.
Chicago has always been referred to as the Windy City, but it has another lesser known nickname-The Second City. Like New York is the first city, and Chicago isn't as big as New York, but it tries to be (according to some). So, because the other two big cities in the U.S. banned smoking in all establishments, Chicago couldn't be left behind. At first, I was pretty bummed. As a smoker, I visited some family in Los Angeles in the winter of 2004. I stood out back at The Dresden, to smoke. Which in Los Angeles, the weather in January is pretty mild, but still....it was a nuisance nonetheless. So, I joined the other citizens of Chicago in despair. "What the hell are we going to do now?" Truth be told, I actually quit smoking before the ban took effect. I have some Puerto Ricans to be thankful for that. My roommate and I lived in, what you would call, the highest populated Puerto Rican area of Chicago. You would go into the grocery store to get food, and unless you spoke and read Spanish, you wouldn't know if you were buying creamy or chunky peanut butter. There was a public park, a few blocks from our apartment. My roommate and I would go down there to play basketball. Now, I am a pretty competitive guy. So, when some 15 year old Puerto Rican kid is running circles around me on the playground, because I can't keep up with him because I am wheezing.....I knew that they all were going to have to start smoking, or I was going to have to stop. So, I stopped. I also moved back to Missouri. I had quit for sometime when I moved back. When I got back, a group of friends and I, decided to go out on the town. We went to some karaoke bar, and had a good time. When I got home that night, and took off my clothes to go to bed....they smelled like an ash tray. I had noticed the strong smell, when I walked into the bar that night....but it quickly faded away once I had been there for a few minutes.
The more I think about that, it scares me. If cigarette smoke can attach itself so strongly to my clothes in that short of a period, what has it done to my lungs? The bottom line of this post, is that the city of Joplin needs to follow suit with the larger cities in the country.....and put an end to smoking in public establishments. That, or pass a law that makes everyone start smoking.
Then in the summer of 2005, while I was living in Chicago, a story broke on the local news that they were going to ban smoking in restaurants, and other establishments where, if the main source of income wasn't from alcohol....you couldn't smoke in that establishment. Needless to say it caused a huge uproar. The idea behind the new policy was that it would help bring out some of the people who wouldn't go out, and to downtown hot spots that would usually be clouded with cigarette smoke, and spend downtown entertainment money. That, and breathing air that doesn't have a lot of toxins in it, is obviously better than breathing in air that does. One of the big protestors of this new policy was a Chicago hero of sorts. Mike Ditka. In addition to being a hall of fame football player, and taking the Chicago Bears to the Super Bowl and winning it, he also owned a restaurant/cigar shop in Chicago. So, if people weren't allowed to smoke indoors anymore, it would seriously put a dent in his cigar sales profits. Other owners of several other like establishments complained....but to no avail. The ban went into effect, and now there is no smoking in any establishment, bar or otherwise.
Chicago has always been referred to as the Windy City, but it has another lesser known nickname-The Second City. Like New York is the first city, and Chicago isn't as big as New York, but it tries to be (according to some). So, because the other two big cities in the U.S. banned smoking in all establishments, Chicago couldn't be left behind. At first, I was pretty bummed. As a smoker, I visited some family in Los Angeles in the winter of 2004. I stood out back at The Dresden, to smoke. Which in Los Angeles, the weather in January is pretty mild, but still....it was a nuisance nonetheless. So, I joined the other citizens of Chicago in despair. "What the hell are we going to do now?" Truth be told, I actually quit smoking before the ban took effect. I have some Puerto Ricans to be thankful for that. My roommate and I lived in, what you would call, the highest populated Puerto Rican area of Chicago. You would go into the grocery store to get food, and unless you spoke and read Spanish, you wouldn't know if you were buying creamy or chunky peanut butter. There was a public park, a few blocks from our apartment. My roommate and I would go down there to play basketball. Now, I am a pretty competitive guy. So, when some 15 year old Puerto Rican kid is running circles around me on the playground, because I can't keep up with him because I am wheezing.....I knew that they all were going to have to start smoking, or I was going to have to stop. So, I stopped. I also moved back to Missouri. I had quit for sometime when I moved back. When I got back, a group of friends and I, decided to go out on the town. We went to some karaoke bar, and had a good time. When I got home that night, and took off my clothes to go to bed....they smelled like an ash tray. I had noticed the strong smell, when I walked into the bar that night....but it quickly faded away once I had been there for a few minutes.
The more I think about that, it scares me. If cigarette smoke can attach itself so strongly to my clothes in that short of a period, what has it done to my lungs? The bottom line of this post, is that the city of Joplin needs to follow suit with the larger cities in the country.....and put an end to smoking in public establishments. That, or pass a law that makes everyone start smoking.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)