Happy Thanksgiving!

Hi everyone and I hope you are all enjoying a Happy Thanksgiving weekend! Whatever you did or are doing, from visiting with family and friends to shopping or just enjoying some free time I hope you all have at least something for which you are thankful.

Me, I am feeling especially blessed this year. I just got a promotion at work and I have a beautiful kind wife whom I love a great deal and a great family and many great friends. In fact I got to spend last Sunday with my wife's family, had drinks with some friends on Wednesday evening and had a wonderful dinner with my family on Thursday. On top of that I am enjoying a nice four day weekend!

While I am thankful for all of those things and many more, something that happened Thursday morning made me realize how much I have and how the little irritations in my life are so insignificant.

My wife volunteered us to deliver Thanksgiving meals for the Mozzell Sanders dinner on Thursday morning. I know she misses her mom so, and she wanted to do something nice in her honor. I love to do that kind of thing so I was excited that she got us involved.

So before we went to the church I figured we'd be delivering meals to the elderly for the most part, which for the most part turned out to be the case. However, a couple of deliveries really opened my eyes.

As expected our first sortie was to elderly folks who were all very appreciative, as was everyone, for the dinners. We did just three deliveries on our first sortie and we had plenty of time before we had to be at my folks house so we headed back to the church to see if they needed more dinners delivered. Turns out they did.

This time we were going to a place I honestly did not know existed in America, let alone Indianapolis. Maybe I'm naive, but the area we drove into looked more like what I would have expected in Vietnam during the war. The area, as a matter of record, was due east of the Raytheon plant, which used to be the Naval Avionics center over at 21st and Arlington.

Honestly, when we turned into the neighborhood I was not prepared for what I saw. The dwellings were mostly doubles that at one time probably served military personnel working at Naval Avionics. What they are now can only be described as severe urban blight. I found it interesting that the street names were Commodore and Nimitz and the like, fierce, Naval names. It looked like Chester Nimitz had just cruised his ship near and let loose with every canon and other weapon he had on the area.

Most of the buildings were boarded up. There were junk cars in the yards. No trees. An occasional broken toy scattered in a yard here and there. In fact it was the toys that really made me sad. Not one of the houses was decent. You know how you come across a bad neighborhood but you see at least one or two decent houses? Well that simply was not the case here. Every 100 feet we drove it seemed to get worse. I was in disbelief. Shocked.

Our first delivery was to a middle aged woman who probably had the “nicest” house on the block. Hey, she at least had a storm door on here house. She was nice, but I just couldn't help but feel sorry for her. The next delivery around the corner was 7 meals to a house that had no storm door and some kind of sheet for a window covering. A middle aged Mexican man answered the door. He thanked me, but I wondered how bad it could have been in Mexico for him to be here and living in this neighborhood.

As we drive out of the neighborhood I was silent, still stunned from what I had seen. Less than 3 blocks away we had another delivery to a very nice older neighborhood. Had I not known better I would have thought a tornado touched down in the one neighborhood and passed the next.

I decided to write this tonight because I haven't been able to get that sight out of my mind. I know there are people who have it a lot worse off than I so seeing some of the places we went didn't come as a surprise. But I just had no idea how bad some did have it. And who knows, they may not think they have it bad at all, but it made me sad and reflective. It makes me want to do something about it, but what? Did delivering meals to these people represent all that can be done?

While I could drone on all night about what I saw I'll cut it off here. Suffice it to say I was even more thankful for what I have after we got home. The good Lord willing I will never take what I have for granted again.

Love and peace to all!

Vacation 2009

Hi y'all!

Just back from a great week in Myrtle Beach, SC. I have the trip details and some review stuff for you here.

First off the trip details. We (me, Linda, Amy and Greg) left out of Indy at 1:00 pm last Friday (September 4, 2009). We had a fairly uneventful trip down. Stopped a couple of times for gas and stopped for dinner at the Cracker Barrel in Lake City, TN. I started the drive, Greg took over for a while then he gave way to Linda and I took the last part from Columbia into Myrtle. It did take us about 14.5 hours with the stops. Not awful time, but not great either. We would be in Tower 4 which was across Ocean Boulevard from towers 1-3 and not on the ocean for a couple of night's. No worries as we would move oceanfront on Sunday.

We arrived at 3:40 am at the Wyndham Ocean Boulevard and Linda and Amy ran in, got our keys and room assignment and we parked the car and unloaded. I had no problem going to sleep, but staying asleep would prove to be a task I was not up to.

I was hoping to sleep in on Saturday morning. I had been out until midnight on Thursday night bowling, up at 6 for work on Friday and had popped three 5 Hour Energy's and a couple of Red Bulls so I thought I'd crash hard. Oh fuck no! 7:00 am and I just can't go back to sleep. I laid in bed for a half an hour and finally said to hell with it and got up. I decided to take a look around the property and grab a paper before everyone else got up.

It was a quick walk across the street to the main part of the resort and across the dunes to the beach. The water was cool that morning, but still nice. I checked out where all of the pools were, where the bar was, of course and where it looked like would be the best sun places on the pool decks. The place looked pretty nice.

When I got back to the room I read the paper and waited for Linda to get up. When she did we ran down to the WalMart to check out the beach chairs and kind of get the feel of the town. We were technically in North Myrtle Beach. While we were out Linda spied the Tanger Outlet Mall. She was sleeping the night before when we came by it on our way in. I was hoping to keep it that way, but you know how that goes!! Of course they had a Coach outlet store so we had to stop in! She found a purse she liked but wasn't for sure she wanted to get it, so she decided to wait. We got some beer and headed back to the Wyndham.

First day of vacation so you know I am going to have a few coldies! I did. Unfortunately they don't seem to sell the 16oz'ers down there, so I settled for the 12's. They seemed to work okay!

After swimming and playing in the pool we chillaxed for a while and then went out to explore the area as a unit. Those of you who have been down to the Grand Strand know all about Wings, Eagles and Bargains. We hit them all and got some minor souvenirs. When we got back we tried to get some pizza from the bar at the resort but they wanted to charge us an arm and a leg so we got some Hungry Howie's with cinnamon bread and bread sticks for about half the price! And I don't care what Willie says, it was awesome!

SUNDAY

The skies are cloudy and it doesn't look like it's going to get any better for a while. We grab breakfast at the Waffle House. Amy puts on one of the great eating displays of the week. I had some grits, eggs and toast! I love the Waffle House! When we get back I get yelled at for doing what I am told to do, but I don't let it bother me too much!;) Apparently the deal was that the desk would call us when our room was ready in the other tower and we could just grab our keys at the desk and move our stuff to the oceanfront room. I wasn't sure what was said but I was told to call. Regardless it all worked out and with two heaping luggage carts we made the move from tower 4 to tower 1. It was quite a sight!

The new room was laid out just like the other, but the couch in this one wasn't as comfy. Still, we were oceanfront and it mattered little! Once we were in we decided it was time to do our food shopping for the week. We hit Wally World again and got in some supplies for the week, and of course, another case of beer!

Things didn't get any better weather wise, so we just kind of knocked around the place and had a drink at the bar. Swam a little and used the new boards. Even flew my kite a little. Looking at the forecast it pretty much showed my mood was going to be shit for the next 24 hours. Any longer and I would explode. Stay tuned!

That night we went to the BW-3's to eat. I had a chicken sandwich and what have become my favorite onion rings around anywhere. Fuck they are so damn good! To make matters worse it rained hard while we were there. I mean we were inside, but still...

Some drunk young guys were there watching the Colorado-Colorado State game and they were hooting and hollering, dropping F bombs and just carrying on like they owned the joint. The manager made them ease up on the language, but it was funny that their team lost! We just watched the race from ATL.

Back to the Ocean Boulevard, pretty beat as the lack of sleep is catching up to me. In bed by 11 which would turn out to be the latest I made it the rest of the week!

MONDAY

Happy Labor Day! Thud! Weather, crap. Mood, worse. Oh well, forecast calls for great rest of week.

We get up and decide to walk down to Main Street. Along with the Wing's and Bargain's there are numerous shops and stores selling all kinds of things. Clothes, food, drinks etc. The hot dog joint has a hot dog ketchuping itself. For some reason I didn't get a picture, but vow to later in the week. I did get a huggie with the SC logo on it, the moon over the Palm tree.

We ran out for some rum and mixer and to check out the nearest other Wyndham resort. It was nice, but small and quiet. I like big and rowdy! Amy and Greg were able to find some quality cigarette's for a decent price so they were able to smoke better for the week. Just a side note, they need to stop smoking. It really seems to dictate their lives and they are better than that. JMO.

After that we headed back to the room. Me and Greg went out swimming and when we came back up we pretty much watched the last day of the US Nationals and watched John Force make a complete ass of himself. What a tool! I did manage a little nap with the rainy weather, but not much.

Linda wanted Italian food that night so Greg checked out the reviews of the local establishments. You know how I feel about reviews, but I just played along. We decided on a place that turned out to be in Little River just north of North Myrtle Beach. It sounded good and I was hungry. Unfortunately, or fortuitously as it may be, we went the wrong direction on the main drag and had to turn around. White we were backtracking we saw a billboard for our intended destination and it showed they were closed Mondays. Luckily there was a place called the Villa Tuscana we had just passed and we decided to give it a go. Good call!

The place was kind of small, but the food was real good. I had spaghetti (I like spaghetti) with meat sauce and it reminded me of Arturo's, a place that used to be up at 86^th and Keystone, but has since closed. It was one of my favorites and so was this! Linda and Greg had the lasagna and it was excellent as well. Greg crushed his, Linda had leftovers. Amy had the chicken Parmesan and it looked good as well. I had a glass of chianti that was superb. The only downside was that they only gave you one basket of bread and you paid for more. Basterds (sic)!

It was a little pricey, but still, I give it two thumbs up!

Back home I made it about an hour on a full stomach and a glass of wine. By 10 I was out! See you Tuesday!

TUESDAY

Or Black Tuesday as I am calling it. Oh it was real nice at 6:00 am, but the clouds rolled back in. I went swimming, but it wasn't a day to be “out”. My mood was turning more sour by the minute and it was threatening to derail the whole trip. I'm pretty sure I uttered the “let's just go home” line. God bless my wife as she doesn't even seem to listen to my crap some times! I'm sure she does but just knows I'm blowing off steam.

She then suggested we go see a movie. We had talked about seeing Inglorious Basterds before we left so what better time? I called and the movie started at 1:15pm. Of course when we got there it started at 2:00. The drain was getting closer. We walked around the Myrtle Beach Mall for a while and went into the Bass Pro Shop. Glorified Dick's if you ask me, but who's asking? Got some fun pictures of the walk and finally the movie started. God am I spoiled by the Kerasotes. This place had free refills, but their popcorn sucked and they controlled the butter allowance. The movie, however, was fantastic. I love Tarantino movies and this one didn't let me down.

It was a long movie and when we walked out the sun was shining and the clouds had lifted. Amy wanted to hit the Victoria's Secret for some undergarments so we did that and beat feet back to Ocean Boulevard (OB). I changed into my trunks in about 2 seconds, grabbed a towel, the boogie board and headed to the sea!

FINALLY it was nice. I wasn't about to look at tomorrow's forecast. All I know is that the clouds were gone and I was on the beach! Linda, Amy and Greg went for a walk, I plopped down, stuck the iPod on and soaked up the late day sun!

It was damn near dark when we finally went back to the suite. We showered and worked on dinner plans. Me and Linda has seen a place called Hamburger Joes that looked fun so she suggested that.

Joe's was good and cheap, but honestly I could have eaten 2 burgers. They were pretty small, but again, very tasty. Linda had a BBQ sandwich which she said was really good. Amy, who wanted hot dogs that night but was vetoed by mom, got her dog and Greg had a burger. Unfortunately something didn't sit well with Greg and he lost his dinner soon after. I think he puked on a dog, but I'm not sure.

On the way home we saw some drunk chick practically fall out of an Irish pub on Ocean Boulevard and her friend throw her up on his shoulders and try to carry her up some stairs. I kept expecting them to come tumbling back down the stairs, but I guess they made it!

Again it was an early night. Watched a little poker on TV and in bed by 10!

WEDNESDAY

The sun came out in all its glory today! I hit the pool early and grabbed some spots that looked like would retain sun for the longest time. We would eventually move as the sun crept behind the building from our vantage point about 1:00 pm. No biggie. With the sun out I was ready to guzzle some beer! My mood was 180 degrees from what it was.

Swam in the pool and the surf a lot that day. The wave were kind of down as the wind had died down as well. Still nice though.

For dinner we drove down to Myrtle Beach to the mall and ate at the Margaritaville. Thankfully no one threw a pickle at me! On the way down we checked out the other Wyndham resort in the area. It looked nice and probably a place we'd consider for future vacations.

At the Margaritaville I had the conch fritters (I love 'em) and a cold beer. We hung out and took some pictures and got some ice cream, but the beer and the sun pretty much had me beat. A new low as I was in bed by 8:45!

THURSDAY

Another beautiful day coming our way! I'm feeling the effects of yesterday's drinking and as far as that goes it's going to be a fairly light day! We grab seats by the pool and I swim in said pool and make several trips out to the ocean. It's a beautiful day and we are catching lots of rays. Pretty quiet day, but nice!

Amy and Greg had done some footwork up and won Ocean Boulevard and found a place called the OD Bar and Grill just down the street from us. It was also known by the much cooler moniker “Cheeseburger Republic”. That's what they wanted for dinner and they agreed to walk down and get it. I told them I wanted a cheeseburger, but to make sure they were bigger than Joe's from a couple of nights before or to get me 2. Well they were much bigger, but they still got me 2, and fries.

The burgers were very good, the fries, not so much. A little to soggy for my taste. Amy got a Philly and liked it a lot. Linda and Greg both got burgers and were pleased.

We watched some of the Steelers-Titans game, but I was tired and turned in about 9:45.

FRIDAY

9-11. A day of remembrance. I was once again up early and actually was able to get some decent shots of the sunrise. It was strange, but I got some great shots from our balcony, but couldn't get a good shot standing on the beach. Go figure.

Another glorious day! The resort had some really nice chaise's out in front of our building. Not on the pool deck, but just in a nice grassy area. Linda wanted to camp there for a day, but they seemed to have a lot of bugs hanging around, so we kept checking each day and the bugs seemed to be in much fewer numbers but we still passed on the chairs, opting once again for the pool deck. We did actually move to a new location for us that day by the little lazy river.

After setting us up at the pool I went back to the room and we went to the Golden Griddle for some breakfast. I had some pancakes, sausage and some funky hash browns. They had some kind of Cajun flavoring on them and they pretty much sucked. I was less than impressed with the place.

I had a couple of the daily drink specials which was the Rum Punch. It was decent, but you know those kind of drinks don't seem to have much alcohol in them and if you are angling for a good buzz you have to drink enough that you puke because of the sweetness. It's just a theory and one I wasn't willing to test.

For dinner one night I wanted some local fish and since we had just 2 nights left I figured I better jump at the chance.

I called the concierge desk and asked for a suggestion. She told me some place that had Alaskan Crab flown in daily. I said “pass, how about some local fish?” She told me a about a place in Little River called Captain Juel's. So into the shower I went and off to see the Captain we went.

The place was kind of a hole in the wall dive that looked like it probably would live up to the concierge's suggestion. It was right on the river nestled between a couple of gambling boats and by several fishing charted slips.

Inside, the place looked old and quaint, but decent. I ordered a beer and the flounder and fries. I don't know if it was the best meal I had during the week but it was excellent. Linda had some tasty coconut shrimp that I was lucky enough to get to try.

We watched the gambling boats head out for their pocket wringing excursions while we ate and then waked down on the pier as a fishing boat was coming in. We watched as some drunk young guys debarked the charter with a 4 foot shark they had caught. The one who had actually landed the shark was holding it up for pictures and being congratulated by all around. One of the guys told him that it was a Myrtle Beach tradition to kiss the fish he caught so the guy doffed his cap, sat his beer down, knelt down and planted a smooch right on the shark's mouth! It was crazy. I said “Dude, you just made out with that fish!” The whole thing was hilarious!

On our way back to the resort we hit the Eagles for their $5.99 hooded MB sweatshirts. We were able to find one, but the pickings were slim. We also made a run down to the Ron Jon store and got some things and a quick stop at the House of Blues for a shirt.

By now it was getting late (9:00 pm LOL) and I needed to get back so I could get to bed!

SATURDAY

If there has to be a saddest day annually then to me it is the last day of vacation. You know the end is nigh and there ain't nothing you can do about it. Today is that day.

The weather once again was fabulous. In fact, it would prove to be the warmest day of the week. As the sun rose over the beach Linda was adamant that we try just one more time to get the comfy chairs. I took the towels down and to my delight there were no bugs to be seen. I set us up as I had the days before and went back to the suite and we went to breakfast.

We went to Hot Stacks and it was so much better than the Golden Griddle. I had the sausage links, 2 over easy eggs and grits. Very good!!

After that we headed back to the resort and out to the chaises. Being the last day I was determined to stay out as long as I could stand it. I also wanted to fly the kite one more time but the breeze just wasn't going to cooperate this day.

About 4 I finally came back up to the room, decided to go for one more swim and then brought it back in for good. I kind of planned on swimming one last time in the ocean on Sunday, but as it turned out I just decided against it.

That night we all kind of just wanted to get some pizza brought in. They had pizza at the resort but like I said, when we tried to get it the first time it was so expensive we abandoned that idea. I called the concierge and asked for a recommendation on a good local pizza and was told to call a joint up in Little River. Turns out it was good, not dissimilar from mall pizza which is good, so I was happy.

I watched a little of the race and then went in the bedroom to watch some football. Of course I fell asleep soon after. No matter, we had a long day of driving coming back so I was ready to get a good nights sleep.

SUNDAY

The return trip. Bummer! All good things have to come to an end and this was it for us. We loaded up the truck and headed out about 8:30 am. I drove us to the Greenville/Spartanburg area and Greg took us all the way to the northern Kentucky area where I took over and finished the trip.

We stopped at Lake City, TN again for a late lunch after listening to the Colts beat the Jags. Unfortunately soon after we got a call from a friend informing us that another friend of ours had passed away earlier that day. Micheal Brewer was the same age as my wife and much too young to be gone. It was a somber ending to the vacation to say the least.

Around 10:00 we dropped Amy and Greg off and headed home. We got in just past 10:15, unloaded the truck and plopped down to watch a little of the end of the Sunday night game. It had been an excellent week, but it's always nice to be home. You can check out all of our pictures at http://www.flickr.com/photos/mboxm/sets/72157622367288844/

WYNDHAM OCEAN BOULEVARD

After looking over the Wyndham book we decided to try their Ocean Boulevard resort in North Myrtle Beach. The only real issue we had was the parking. Each night we would leave for dinner and would have to park across the street at tower 4. It wasn't a huge problem, it was just inconvenient. With space at a premium I doubt there is a whole lot they could have done to alleviate this problem, but the fact remains, it was somewhat of an issue.

Both of our rooms were nicely decorated and comfortable. I tried to keep the living room and kitchen neat, but I didn't have a whole lot of luck.

The floor plans made me think we had a door to the balcony from our bedroom, but we didn't. No biggie. There were just 7 suites on each floor in our building, with 14 floors. Tower 3 appeared to be the same as ours while tower 2 was probably twice as big. Tower 4 across the street where we spent the first couple of nights seemed larger, but it was hard to say for sure. There is a resort called The Cottages at the west end of the resort. I drove back there one day and they looked really nice. They were, however, quite a ways from the ocean and probably not an option for me.

We've stayed at Wyndham properties the past 3 summers and have very much enjoyed all three. Each had things we like the best of the bunch and each had their drawbacks, however small. This one had great location, was very nice and as usual the staff was accommodating. Our blender broke on Friday and a replacement was brought to us in minutes. The staff made our move from tower 4 to tower 1 a snap and answered any questions we had. I have no doubt we would return to the Ocean Boulevard resort next time we are in Myrtle Beach.

Goodbye RCA/Hoosier Dome!

I went downtown yesterday to see the deflation of the RCA Dome roof. Standing in the shadow of the new Lucas Oil Stadium I was kind of sad to watch as the dome slowly began to deflate. Ending an era and a chapter of our city’s history. As I turned around I was reminded of what that old gray and white dome had meant to our city. Without it there would have been neither the Colts nor Lucas Oil Stadium. Without it we would still have had just one NCAA Final Four.

The word “bittersweet” was uttered by at least three of those who spoke before they turned off the fans that held up the dome roof. Yes, it was the end of an era, but the memories that each of us have of it can’t be taken away with the flip of a switch. And while I shed a few tears as those responsible for the dome spoke, I couldn’t help but think back on the great times I had in there.

I remember the dome going up in 1983. We had no team to play there and no real prospects of getting one. But it, along with the reincarnation of the Union Station transformed our sleepy downtown into a vibrant and fun destination. Before 1983 you went downtown at night for a Pacer game or maybe out to eat at one of the handful of restaurants in the area. Not any more. There were movies, shopping, bars and restaurants to fit everyone’s desire, and it was just the beginning.

I remember the first time I went to the Hoosier Dome. It was for a preseason NFL game between the Bears and the Bills. It had been scheduled before the Colts arrived the previous winter. The place seemed as big as all of outdoors. We sat in the first row of the upper deck and the players seemed a mile away. But it was so cool to see an NFL game and it was just a taste of what was to come.

I actually missed the first two Colts games in the Dome. I went back over the seasons a few years ago and while I missed those two games I had missed only 8 since. I missed a few more preseason games in later years, but only a couple and only a couple of regular season games.

The Colts weren’t good for many years, but we managed to have a good time. That first season we stole the fabled “Steel Curtain” banner the Steeler fans had hung from the upper deck. Not in our house! We were caught and had to return it, but it didn’t go back up!

How many beers were spilled on the people in front of us? Mark Lee taking a dive over a couple of rows of fans one day, full beer gone. Fritz and them in front of us? Gone in just a few years. I guess we were too much for them!

Greg Stenger taking in food. Proud to the end that he never bought any food at the dome. A giant potato chip box used to smuggle in some kind of punch from the previous night’s party. Craig asking for quiet after a tough Saturday night. Nearly coming to blows with the Bears Suck fans. And yes, leaving the dome either before or just after the fourth quarter started because we were behind by so much.

$26 tickets which ended up being $109 our last season at the Dome.

We saw the first Monday Night Football game in 1988. Eric Dickerson running wild over the Broncos. The city all aglow for the occasion. Feeling the Dome actually rock as we kicked the Bronco’s asses. The feeling the next week when we came back in the second half to beat the Jets and feeling the stadium rock again.

We saw 3-13 season’s and I really thought that was our destiny. In 1995 Jim Harbaugh led us out of obscurity and into the AFC Championship game. The next year we were back in the playoffs, but were destroyed in the first game and went back to being bad until QB Peyton Manning arrived. By 2006 we had come full circle with the team as we won Super Bowl 41!

The Colts have provided most of my memories of the Dome, but there have been other events which have been very cool indeed.

I saw the Rolling Stones there twice and while the sound pretty much sucked it was still cool.

In 1987 the Indiana basketball team started its drive to the National title at the Dome. We didn’t have very good seats but it was great watching the Hoosiers get out the gate well and be on their way. In later years I saw the team play Kentucky at the Dome. While the Dome wasn’t the greatest basketball venue, it played host to some big games with big crowds and the city always managed to put on a show. I wasn’t there, but in 1984 the Dome hosted what was to be the largest crowd to ever see a basketball game. A record that stood for years.

Add to that the many state football titles the Roncalli Rebels won at the Dome and there were just so many memories. While winning the AFC title game in 2006 was the sweetest game, the celebration the day after the Super Bowl may have been the greatest non sporting event!

It wasn’t fancy or glitzy but it served its purpose and over the past few years was a helluva home field advantage for the Colts. Whether or not the new stadium can ever produce the noise or the memories of the Dome remains to be seen, but it’ll have its chance. But for now, in the last few weeks of the Dome’s existence I’ll think back to all of the great times and even some of the disappointments that came inside her walls.

The Vacation Blog!

Day 1 (Saturday August 23, 2008)

We’re off! A quick stop at the CVS and we are on our way south. I do feel a little sad because I am going to miss the game tomorrow night at the new stadium, but it will be cool to see it on TV. Also, we know we are heading into the teeth of TS Fay. The bitch has just been sitting over the northern part of FL for days and shows no signs of leaving. From what I’ve seen on The Weather Channel the whole week is going to be a wash. I’m not in a particularly good mood about going because of that. Linda on the other hand is ready to get there and so we go.

We make pretty good time for the bulk of the trip. Before stopping for gas and lunch in Franklin, TN we were even getting nearly 26 mpg in the Escape. Eventually that would go down to nearly 24, but still more than a mile per gallon more than I was expecting.

We had a nice lunch at the Cracker Barrel and got some excellent peanut brittle. We’re stopping on the way back for more of that! I told Linda we had to do the Cracker Barrel and the Waffle House if nothing else on the trip. One down, one to go!

We stop for gas south of Birmingham and the rains have started. The farther south we drive, the worse it gets. By the time we hit Montgomery it is a full blown storm. Google’s directions suck and we take some twisty 2-laners from Troy, AL to Panama City Beach. Normally I wouldn’t mind but there was so much water on the road that I was hydroplaning all over the place and visibility sucked ass.

Finally we hit FL and the weather seemed to break a little. We listened to the NASCAR race and drove into PCB. That last 16 miles was grueling. I was so ready to get there and it just seemed to take forever.

Finally we arrived at about 8:30. We gained an hour so it took us about 14 hours to get here. With an hour for lunch, a couple of gas stops and the rain slowdown it wasn’t bad, but I was glad to be here!

We were here a day early and figured we could get a room somewhere for cheap and go to the Wyndham on Sunday. We stopped in the Wyndham Emerald Beach Resort and explained our situation to the girls at the desk. The checked and much to my surprise they let us check in right then and didn’t charge us for the night! We were tickled pink at this and I vowed to send a letter to the resort manager and the corporation telling them how much we appreciated their customer service.

The weather still sucked but we were here. We popped out to the beach for a second and came in, had a drink and watched the end of the race.

Let the vacation begin!


Day 2 (Sunday – Sales Day)

Yep, sales day. We knew it was coming and they said we could get a $75 Visa card if we listened to their pitch. Linda had her fixed week in Orlando and wanted to convert it to points so we thought what the hell, we’ll talk to them about it.

The first thing I did was head down to the Purple Haze and get some swim trunks. It was all downhill from there!! Just kidding.

Sunday was a nice day, but we had our appointment at 11:00 so we knew that was going to take a chunk of it. Fay was still around, but she wasn’t too mean today. Didn’t help us though. Frankly all I cared about today was the condo and catching the Colts game.

When we arrived for our appointment they were overbooked as some of the crew couldn’t get in from Destin due to the storm. They asked us if we could come back at 1:30 and they bumped the gift card to $100. We agreed and decided to run out to the store to get in our supplies for the week. Of course we found the Wal-Mart. We also looked around town a little. Found Pineapple Willy’s and saw what appeared to pretty much be a ghost town.

We got the supplies back and it was time to talk condos. Our sales guy Joey looked about 15, but was pretty knowledgeable and didn’t try to BS us too much. When we had a question he didn’t know the answer to he found someone who did. After much wrangling over the package we eventually bought. They played some games with us, but it wasn’t a deal breaker. Regardless, it’s a good deal. Me and Linda were up at the Blue Green offices a few months ago and except for price we would have loved to have taken advantage of it. For us it makes sense. We now have a myriad of vacation choices and the room prices don’t go up. Having her condo at Star Island was what allowed us to take advantage of Wyndham’s deal rather than the Blue Green deal earlier in the year.

Finally after talking to the manager and closing the deal we were free! We ran upstairs and freshened up and headed to BW-3’s to watch the Colts suck again. Oh well! I enjoyed some wings and beers and we watched football from the new stadium. It looked beautiful on TV! Can’t wait until the Bears game!


Day 3 (Monday)

Fay was back, and with a vengeance. I popped down to the Starbuck’s to get a latte and to call my dad. While I was reading the paper and talking on the phone it was raining sideways. It eventually slowed down, but not much. Watching the radar it was clear that this day was not going to be very nice.

We decided we’d run out and look at the new Pier Park mall where the BW-3’s was and see if they had anything we couldn’t live without. Of course they did! We stopped at the Ron Jon’s and spent a quick $100. A lot of the stores were tourist traps and kind of expensive so we didn’t really buy anything else. We had thought about going to a movie, but I guess we kind of forgot about it.

We hit a few more stores, got some ice and decided to get a Hungry Howie’s pizza for lunch. It was tasty, but Linda felt a little bad after eating and eventually puked.

We just hung out the rest of the day in the room. I went walking around and got drenched by another storm. It was crazy and my mood was not improving. The bitch Fay it seemed was going to prove me right and not move all week.


Day 4 (Tuesday)

I was in full meltdown mode about 9:00 am. The skies had cleared and it looked like it finally was going to work out for us. We got ready to go for the pool and as we were doing our final packing for the day it started to rain. We flipped on the radar and it looked bad for PCB. I was pissed, Linda was mad at me for being pissed and I was ready to go home. I considered packing up the car and heading east to the beaches at Apalachicola.

We decided against it and we were eventually rewarded. We drove around the east end of town and had lunch at Pineapple Willy’s. I had some fish and Linda had the ribs. Both were very good. We also bought some souvenirs at the gift shop.

By the time we got back to the resort however the sun was peeking through so we headed down to the pool. We had purchased some cheapie chaise lounges at Wally World on Sunday and took them as it appeared there were no seats to be had.

We stayed out for a while and got a lot of sun in a few short hours. The week was looking up as the radar pretty showed the storm finally moving north and west!

That night we went down to Margaritaville for dinner. I had the conch fritters and a salad (not just a plain old salad, but a fancy schmancy one!) and of course a keeper glass drink and Linda had the Cheeseburger in Paradise which she really enjoyed. I had had a bit too much to drink by the end of dinner and went home and pretty much went to bed. I would live to fight another day!


Day 5 (Wednesday)

Wednesday dawned just as we had hoped for all week! Beautiful sunny skies, temperatures in the upper 80’s and no forecast of rain. Fay was still wreaking havoc just east of us, but her tail was the last remnant and it wasn’t coming to PCB!

We hit the pool deck around 8:15 and waited the requisite hour and 45 minutes for the sun to cover the area. It was well worth it even if we only did a 10 to 2 stint. We were both pretty fried so we didn’t want to ruin the rest of the week. We came in and laid around until we were hungry.

We went to a little joint called the Pasta Grill just west of town. I had a pizza that was okay, and a glass of pretty good Chianti as well as some calamari. Linda was wanting lasagna and wasn’t disappointed.

I was beat and pretty much crashed when we got in. The debauchery of Tuesday had caught up to me!


Day 6 (Thursday)

Another beautiful day and this time it was not going to be a four hour tour in the sun. This time I was out from 9 until 4. Linda made it to 3 and we both got a shitload of sun.

We really didn’t do much while we were out there other than listen to music, swim in the pool and the gulf and have a couple of cocktails, well I did anyway!

When I came in I got ready and I had been wanting to go to a place called Sharky’s. Despite the name I had a fantastic cheeseburger and one of their specialty fruity drinks. Linda had a sample platter, but looking at what she ate of it she must not have liked it very well. We picked up another T-shirt for me, that made about a dozen so far this week along with several pair of swim trunks and other sundry items.

When we got back we took some flashlights out to the beach and took a quick swim and a walk and checked out the crabs on the beach. As usual I was acting a fool and was flashing my light all over the place. When we got back to the Wyndham the guard gave us shit about shining our lights at the building. He was acting like a real dick and Linda wanted to call about it, but we decided just to let it go. Still he was an ass when a simple ask would have been fine.


Day 7 (Friday)

We got up this morning and went to the Waffle House for breakfast. It was really good. I had eggs, grits and a waffle. Linda had an omelet that was real good and hash browns.

When we got back to the resort we got ready to go to the pool. When we got down there we were informed that the pool was closed for at least an hour due to them spraying for ants. I’m not sure why they decided to do that on the Friday of Labor Day weekend, but they did. This gave us an extra hour of sun as we went to the beach. Linda took a walk while I swam and took a little nap until the pool opened.

Finally about 10 the pool opened and we headed up. We hung out until around 3:00 and decided to head in as we had maxed out on sun for the day.

It was Linda’s turn to pick the dinner place. She had talked about Breaker’s most of the day as she wanted a steak. She had a change of heart later in the day though and we went to a place called Angelo’s. It was a big place and the parking lot was nearly full when we got there so we figured that was a good sign. Not sure if it was, but the food was very good. Linda opted for a New York that wasn’t really done enough for her, but she seemed to like it. I had the steak and shrimp which consisted of five large shrimp battered and deep fried and an 8 oz. filet. It came with a baked potato, a very good salad and hush puppies that were excellent. It was kind of pricey, but I’d say it was worth it.

We topped off the evening with ice cream at Kitchen’s. I had the pineapple coconut which was superb. Linda had something and butter pecan. By this time we were both stuffed and pretty sleepy. No beach walking tonight!

One last day tomorrow :(


Day 7 (Saturday, the last full day)

It was going to be another great day, but it looked like we were going to get out just in time as Hurricane Gustav was bearing down on the Gulf Coast. By all indications it would be a busy day at the pool so I ran the towels down about 8:30 and by 9:00 there were no more chairs.

We went down about 9:30 for the day. It was another hot one. Temperatures were at 90 by now so it meant a lot of time in the pool. They were serving hot dogs and chips at the pool so we had our lunch there.

Later we took our last tour of the gulf. It was sad, but all in all we had had a really good run at the weather!

There were some drunk hillbillies who came down to the pool about 3. They had a cooler which was a no-no. They tried to hide it but I guess the chugging of the vodka got the best of them and they left it uncovered! One of them was so drunk she crashed into a table and just about fell over the fence. Her girlfriend wasn’t paying much attention to her and I thought she might drown, but the pool seemed to help her. It was pretty funny.

They also had a beer special on Friday at the Tiki bar. A couple of draft Bud’s for 2.50!

By the time we were heading out for dinner a storm blew up and dumped a shitload of rain on the beach. We went for a drive and ended up getting Hungry Howie’s pizza again. No one got sick this time! Unfortunately I had one too many and tripped and fell into a rack at one of the beach stores. I’m sure my wife thinks I’m an idiot. The store owner stuck some band-aid’s on me, but hell they were nicks. I felt pretty stupid myself!

At least I got some pizza for the last night!!


Day 8 (Homeward Bound)

We weren’t going to be in any hurry to get out today, but as it turns out we hit the road about 8:00. The clouds were pretty thick and it looked like a good day to get out of town. We checked out and loaded the car. Unbelievable how much shit just the two of us had!

We returned the chaises we bought at Wally World earlier. We only used them once and only at the pool. With that accomplished we blew town. We came back a little different route. It was a more direct route, but maybe just a little longer in distance. We had cloudy weather the early part of the day and finally around Birmingham the sun broke through.

We had lunch at MacAllister’s Deli in Prattville, AL and some ice cream in Decatur. Other than that we stopped for gas just beyond Nashville and we made it home about 10:15. I already miss the beach, but it’s always nice to be home!


Conclusion

In general this was a really nice place although it doesn’t have the amenities of the Ocean Walk we were at last year, but this is a work in progress. They do have a bar but it’s only open from 5 until 11. They also have a tiki bar by the pool. Draft beer was $2.79, but the frozen Pina Colada’s and other frozen drinks were $8.50!

We used the valet service all week and for the first 4 days it was great. Unfortunately the service slowed way down by Wednesday. Linda was pretty put out by it. It didn’t really bother me, but it was a noticeable difference.

I had read that the elevators were slow, but we did not find that to be the case until the last couple of days. Of course there was a big influx of people for the Labor Day weekend.

The pool is real nice, but there aren’t many chairs so if you want one get there early. If you tarry, you can carry in your own chair. Of course there is always the beach.

The beach was pretty nice, but you do get a lot of seaweed coming on shore and near shore in the water. It doesn’t bother me, but it doesn’t look real good. One guy we talked to wondered how they could claim “The World’s Most beautiful Beaches” with the seaweed. He probably has a point.

Again, the resort is a work in progress. They are putting up another building with a couple of restaurants, another pool and a lazy river as well as a fitness room in the buildings across the street. You get plenty of walking especially if you use your car a lot as the parking areas are across the street. I’d go back to the Emerald Beach Resort, but I’d wait a couple of years.

If you are looking for a relatively quiet time to head down this seemed to be it. Maybe it was the weather, but the entire town seemed quiet. We were on the west end of town which we heard was quieter anyway, but it was very relaxing.

You can check out the pictures of the trip at http://flickr.com/photos/mboxm/sets/72157607055541867/ if you wish.

The Second Amendment Argument

“A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.”

 

For the uninformed that is the Second Amendment to the Unites States Constitution. It has been in the news a lot recently due to the Supreme Court upholding it as it was written and again today because the dumbass head of the FBI says they got it wrong. Did they? Fuck no they didn’t. Read it carefully and it is very clear.

 

For those of you who have trouble with reading comprehension let me ‘splain it to you. It says that as long as it is necessary to have a military (a well regulated Militia) to keep the peace and security of our great country, the people will be allowed to keep guns (the right of the people to keep and bear Arms), no matter what (shall not be infringed). It means that as long as the government convenes an army the people can have guns to prevent a military takeover of the country. Could the amendment have been spelled out a little better? Possibly, but who knew lawyers and assholes were going to take over the court systems and that morons would rule the day.

 

I have heard people say that it means that you must be in a militia to have guns. How does anyone get that out of the above verbiage? Blind stupidity is the only thing I can see would glean that interpretation from it. Keep in mind when the amendment was written and why the founding fathers created such an amendment. Military takeovers of countries have happened through the ages. If they are wrong, how does a populace defend itself? If the government (and believe me this isn’t that far fetched these days) decided to take all of our money in taxes, stifle our freedoms and punish the citizens for no good reason how would an unarmed populace fight back? The founding fathers knew this and provided for the citizens a check and balance system to ensure the continuing existence of the country.

 

It amazes me to hear otherwise intelligent people read the amendment and get “you have to be in the army to have a gun”. Look at military regimes around the world and the outcry of the rest of the world over these regimes. An armed populace may well have prevented such a takeover, yet somehow, for the United States it is a bad idea, or more accurate, a right never granted.

 

Well you people who still don’t understand what the amendment guarantees keep reading it and hopefully it will sink in. And I repeat, it does not say that the only way you are guaranteed the right to keep a gun is to be in the army.

Bye Jermaine?

With the draft just a few days away and the Pacers in a must win situation rumors are swirling that forward Jermaine O’Neal is to be traded to the Toronto Raptors for a couple of players (plus one more player to make the number right) and the Raptors first round pick in the draft (#17 overall). O’Neal has been with the Pacers since 2000 after being drafted out of high school by Portland. But we all know those particulars.

O’Neal is just 29 years old, but he seems to be an old 29. He’s been playing in the league for 11 seasons and the past few have been marked by injuries and missed games.

Jermaine has been a solid player for the Pacers, but he has never really been a superstar. He played for the USA in the World Championships a few years ago and made the All Star team six times in his career to this point. And what may be the most important and endearing stat of his career, has avoided the legal troubles many of his Pacer teammates have been unable or unwilling to avoid.

But is O’Neal really worth keeping? On a team that is struggling for respect from the local community, and fair or not, Jermaine is the face of a franchise that has been bad both on and off the court. Sure he clobbered a fan during the brawl, but his uninspired play over the past few years have been much more indicative of where I see him now. He’s a big man who has been through a lot of NBA games and he just seems to be breaking down.

Frankly I’d be surprised if the Pacers can pull off the trade. I just don’t think Jermaine has it anymore and I can’t believe the Raptors can’t see that. Not to mention his ginormous salary. But hey, Larry Bird is in need of some miracle moves and a great draft day. Moving Jermaine may buy Legend a little more time, but he still has to hit a homer come Thursday night.

Restaurant Review: Fogo de Chao

The best advice I can give anyone planning to visit the Fogo de Chao is to go hungry. Very, very hungry!

This is a fairly new restaurant located in the old People’s Bank building on East Washington Street. It is a Brazilian steakhouse but don’t let that fool you into believing it is a traditional steakhouse in the Morton’s or Ruth’s Chris vein.

The room itself was decorated with dark woods with “gaucho” pictures on the walls and stained windows. As you enter the bar is to the right and the dining room to the left. In the center of the dining room is the salad bar. While it was an extensive salad bar, even the waiter told us not to fill up on salad as the meal was all you could eat.

The concept is that all of the meats, filet mignon, bottom and top sirloin, beef and pork ribs, lamb, chicken and more are roasted over a fire and the servers bring them out on skewers and you can have any and all of them and usually pick between rare and well done on the beef. They give you a little round card that is green on one side and red on the other. If you want more simply turn the card green side up. If you have enough for the time being turn the card red side up. Again, there is no limit to how much you can have.

When we were seated we ordered drinks. Linda had a Diet Coke that came in a little 12 ounce glass bottle that looked like they’d serve it in in some third world country. I had a caipirinha which was like a mix of a margarita and a mojito. It was very refreshing and tasty. In fact I had a couple! We then went to the salad bar. It had a lot of items including some fresh asparagus, carrots, several kinds of lettuce and dressings and some things I am still not sure of what they were!

My customized Caesar was excellent and I made sure not to eat too much. Linda had a fairly standard garden salad and some asparagus. She reported that the salad was good, but as she also went conservative on the amount it wasn’t really that important.

As soon as we were finished with the salads the cards went green side up and here came the meat. Also a basket of cheese bread (excellent), polenta (imagine grits fried into little cubes, also excellent) and seasoned mashed potatoes were served. As we would finish one of the items, more was brought out. The polenta was so good that I think I ate two plates myself. Linda tried it but she didn’t seem to care for it.

The first skewer to come out was the lamb. I thought it had a great flavor. Linda wasn’t crazy about it. The filet mignon (without bacon) came out next. It was really tasty and we both liked it a lot. The sirloins followed and both were good, but after the lamb and filet they were no match. Chicken and filet mignon wrapped in bacon came out next and they were scrumptious. Linda got a sausage at the start and they looked really good. Finally I got one and was kind of disappointed. They looked so plump and good, but didn’t really have much flavor. I likened them to the sausages at the breakfast buffet at the Omni. So beautiful, but so plain. Linda didn’t seem to think much of them either. My last go around was the beef ribs. The meat had been cut off of the rib so you didn’t have to contend with the bone. Too bad, but I apparently saved the best for last. It was even better then the filet mignon, and that is saying something. Linda just had a bite of it, but she seemed to like it. Other than the sausages and my pacing I had no complaints. I should have eaten slower. We never felt rushed and I wish I would have saved room for the papaya crème desert. If Linda had a complaint it was that some of the steak came out with more rare than well done, if any. So she left some really red meat on her plate.

All said the meal was great. The price is $38.50 per person. A little steep, but not totally out of line downtown. We had a great time. It was our anniversary and was very appropriate for such an occasion. One other down note is that Tony George was there stalking me again. He was doing it at the DSW in May and now at the Fogo de Chao. If he wants an autograph he should just ask!

 

 

Michigan Sunday Etc.

The Drive host, JMV, has become somewhat of an Indy Car fan over the past few months. Not sure if it is because of Robin Miller’s rambling calls, the fact he is in Indianapolis or any other reason. I heard him mention the empty seats at Michigan on Sunday. This year I’ve kind of got back into Cup racing, probably because of my wife, but there are still so many things wrong with it that it just makes me shake my head sometimes. Anyway, I think the rah-rah IRL cheerleaders get way ahead of themselves. Unification was not going to fix Indy Car racing overnight and it certainly has not. That doesn’t mean it’s on its way, but it needs marketing and promotion and not just Dani C word 24/7. Anyway, I broke off an email to JMV yesterday with some of my thoughts on Sunday’s event and some other things. Thought I’d throw it on here...

Hey JMV,

I heard you mention that you saw the empty stands at the NASCAR race at Michigan on Sunday. As much as want to see the IRL in general and the Indianapolis 500 in particular, to have the relevance it once had, I think too many of the IRL sis-boom-bah cheerleaders want to make too much of the empty seats at MIS. Keep in mind that the last few years Indy Cars ran at Michigan the attendance was about equal to the empty seats at Sunday’s Cup event. On top of that, the majority of the Michigan’s crowd will always come from the Midwest and with half the area cleaning up after the storms it stands to reason some won’t make it this time around.

I’ve been pretty critical of the IRL since its inception, but this year I am just waiting to see how the unification plays out and if it sends the IRL up or if it is going to stay status quo and truly just a niche sport. This year’s 500 had as big of a “buzz” as it had since Penske, Ganassi and Rahal came over a few years back, if not since 1995. Unfortunately no one over at 16th and Georgetown has a clue about marketing, being it races or divers. They rely on a gimmick and let the other drivers go it alone. On top of that some genius saw to it that Sam Hornish Jr. was allowed to go taxi cab racing. He had a huge following especially in the Midwest which is where a shitload of the races are run. Of course that same genius was the de facto leader of Indy Car racing in the early 90’s and somehow decided a guy from Pittsboro whose family came here to go open wheel racing, not be given a real shot at driving Indy Cars.

That’s it JMV. It sounds like you have joined the IRL side and I think it takes making fans one at a time, but the demise (yeah right) of NASCAR isn’t going to make the IRL any more relevant.

Mark

Hey JMV, I heard you mention that you saw the empty stands at the NASCAR race at Michigan on Sunday. As much as want to see the IRL in general and the Indianapolis 500 in particular, to have the relevance it once had, I think too many of the IRL sis-boom-bah cheerleaders want to make too much of the empty seats at MIS. Keep in mind that the last few years Indy Cars ran at Michigan the attendance was about equal to the empty seats at Sunday’s Cup event. On top of that, the majority of the Michigan’s crowd will always come from the Midwest and with half the area cleaning up after the storms it stands to reason some won’t make it this time around. I’ve been pretty critical of the IRL since its inception, but this year I am just waiting to see how the unification plays out and if it sends the IRL up or if it is going to stay status quo and truly just a niche sport. This year’s 500 had as big of a “buzz” as it had since Penske, Ganassi and Rahal came over a few years back, if not since 1995. Unfortunately no one over at 16th and Georgetown has a clue about marketing, being it races or divers. They rely on a gimmick and let the other drivers go it alone. On top of that some genius saw to it that Sam Hornish Jr. was allowed to go taxi cab racing. He had a huge following especially in the Midwest which is where a shitload of the races are run. Of course that same genius was the de facto leader of Indy Car racing in the early 90’s and somehow decided a guy from Pittsboro whose family came here to go open wheel racing, not be given a real shot at driving Indy Cars. That’s it JMV. It sounds like you have joined the IRL side and I think it takes making fans one at a time, but the demise (yeah right) of NASCAR isn’t going to make the IRL any more relevant. Mark

Movie Review - Made Of Honor

As sorry to admit this as I am, I do have to admit that, for the most part, I enjoyed this movie. Oh, it’s never going to be a top 10 or even a top 100 in my book, but for mindless entertainment with quite a few laughs it really was pretty good. Patrick Dempsey, the guy who will forever be Ronald Miller from Can’t Buy Me Love is the star of this romantic comedy and Donald’s still got it!

 

Dempsey’s character, Tom, is a shallow bachelor who has a few male friends, but whose best friend is Hannah, who he has been friends with since his college days. A comical meeting between the two by mistake on a Halloween night leads to a friendship that lasts for years. Ronald, er, Tom is a wealthy (inventor of coffee collars) womanizer who has set rules regarding dating and won’t break them. He seems happy until his friend Hannah takes a work trip to Scotland. While there Tom realizes how much she means to him and decides to tell her when she gets back. Unfortunately for him, Hannah has brought a guy with her, but it’s not just a guy, he’s her fiancé.

 

The hijinks ramp up here as Hannah picks Tom to be her Maid of Honor at her wedding which is to take place in 2 weeks in Scotland. Trying various ways to get Hannah to not get married, most of which backfire on Tom, the MOH eventually throws in the towel the morning of the wedding and heads for home refusing to give the bride away.

 

Naturally he has a change of heart and returns to the wedding where Hannah looks at him and realizes they belong together and calls off her wedding.

 

The movie is predictable, yet is pretty funny in a lot of parts. While similar to My Best Friends Wedding, the biggest difference is the outcome. This time the best friends do get together.

 

The acting was solid. You’ll never mistake it for Can’t Buy Me Love, but the material isn’t as strong. Still good though. I thought the ending was a little rushed as the rest of the film really did a good job of developing the characters. That said the storyline up until the end was the real story. Tom’s friends were hilarious as they played ball and plotted with Tom to get Hannah. The late Sydney Pollack was excellent in his minor role as Tom’s dad. When Tom suggests that if he loves something he should set it free his father tells him that was said by a pussy and repeated by pussies ever since.

 

There were some pretty cool scenes of the Scottish highlands and even of New York City, but they didn’t overpower the film.

 

The bottoms line on this movie is that it is a good date flick. I wouldn’t go so far as to call it a chick flick, but more macho types probably would. I’d give this one a 7.5 out of 10 (the IMDB.com scale) stars. It’ll probably be one of those that I stop on when it comes on cable, but no real need to get the DVD.

May Wrap

Memorial Day has come and gone and with it the Indy Cars are gone for another 11+ months. We had a little bit of everything this month at the track. Rain, sun, wind, wrecks, temper tantrums, a new winner and whining aplenty! Congrats to Scotty D for winning. Scott's been as good as anyone over the past several years and this year the team put it all together and got the win. Good for them and Scott.

My biggest disappointment came on lap 156 when Tomas Scheckter broke a driveshaft leaving the pits thus ending what was looking like a win. Anyone that disputes he had a car that was as fast as Scotty D, Vitor or Marco is just a fool. But shit happens and as it was, Tomas finished 24th. Sorry to those sitting around me on Sunday as I was bent when he went out and I let the expletives fly!

A couple of other disappointments were losing half of Fast Friday and virtually all of Carb Day to rain. I know it's May in Indianapolis, but losing both of those sucked.

I'd like to see some changes to the qualifying process. I don't mind the three tries a day and that a bumped car can try again, but 11 per day should be scrapped.

I'd still like to see the race moved back to noon and the Coke 600 moved later an hour so some of the taxi boys could give the double a shot. It's not like a bunch of them will try, but having Stewart and Johnson couldn't hurt.

Huge crowd on Sunday and at the banquet it seemed like everyone wanted to mention it. Hell there were even people setting up places on the F1 track viewing mound along Hulman Boulevard! Other than a few rows at the bottom of the Tower Terrace the place was full.

It looks like this may have been our last year parking at 20th and Fisher. Cousin Anne is moving west. Oh we can probably park there in the future, but we'll have to pay and it just won't be the same. It's the end of an era! Looks like we're probably headed for the Coke lot.

All in all it was a good month. Sure 12 didn't win, but thankfully neither did 7! I got my wife a picture with Little Graham and had it autographed for her. She was thrilled. She asked me last night if I was sad that it was over. I'm not. As much as I love it, it wouldn't be special if it lasted any longer. F1, NASCAR and the bikes are just one weekend events. The 500 is three weeks and I love it, but I have to tell you, once race day arrives there is no way I want to go back on Monday because of rain.

That's about it. As for the IRL they are on to Milwaukee. They seem to have some momentum going now. I hope they can sustain it. I doubt it ever is as popular as it once was or that it can overtake NASCAR as some of the cheerleaders will tell you it will, but a good strong series is the next step!

Movie Review - Shine A Light

The Rolling Stones in concert at the Beacon Theater in New York. Need I really say anymore?

 

Any of you out there who think the Stones have lost it, think again! Put it up on the IMAX screen and as Jerry Lee said, you have flat out got something!

 

Make no mistake about it; this is a movie of a Rolling Stones concert. There may be little tidbits of the Stones in their early years including Mick saying he could see doing what he was doing at 22 at age 60. There is Mick, Keith, Charlie and Ronnie along with regulars Chuck Leavell and Bobby Keyes and other singers and musicians. It is the power of “The Worlds Greatest Rock and Roll Band” in an intimate setting and plowing the road and taking everyone for a great ride. I myself wanted to get up and dance as the band ripped through number after number giving their all.

 

I’ve seen the band twice at the Dome and it didn’t do them justice. I imagine I’d go again if they were here, but it would take great seats. I’d much prefer to see them in a setting like the Beacon.

 

The movie may have been directed by Martin Scorsese, but make no mistake, it is Mick Jagger who is in charge. Even the set list isn’t delivered until minutes before the show to the director.

 

Jagger dominates the stage and the camera, but there is plenty of “Keef”. And let me tell you something, he can be quite scary on a 6 story tall screen, but he’s as great as he is scary. Man, that is one rode hard and put away wet dude and us Stones fans love him for it. Ronnie and Charlie get less screen time, but their talents are audibly present the whole time. As I said, they just flat out kick ass the whole time.

 

The movie does start with about 10 minutes of the band and director making their way through the tour before they get to the Beacon and even backstage when they arrive. Be aware that Slick Willie and his family make an appearance before the show and talk with the band. But don’t let that deter you from seeing this, especially if you are a Stones fan. And I suppose if you are also a Clinton fan, it’s an added bonus. The show is a benefit/birthday party for Clinton, but honestly he’s only on for a couple of minutes. Like I said, don’t let it keep you away.

 

The bottom line is that the Stones still got it. If any of you have seen the Four Flick’s DVD that came out a couple of years ago you’d know that. As it is, I can’t wait until this one comes out on DVD!

Welcome Coach Crean

This morning, Tom Crean will be introduced as the new coach of the Indiana University basketball program. Crean, who has been coaching at Marquette, apparently came to terms with the school and when asked why he was leaving Marquette for Bloomington, he replied, “Because it’s Indiana”. I wish coach Crean all the luck in the world in turning this once proud program around and putting it back where most of us Hoosier fans believe it should be. But Crean’s hiring is only the first step in what promises to be a long, hard battle to not only get the team back to the top, but to repair the bad feelings and general apathy of the fans who have been treated to a shitload of bad basketball, bad coaching, cheating and various other scandals with very little good ball thrown in.

Good luck coach!

And for those players who can't make up their mind whether or not to stay the course down in Bloomington, well, may God bless you and help you make the right decision. If you stay, great, I'll root for you next season. If you decide to leave, so be it and good luck in your future endeavors. But if any of you assholes think you are bigger than the program itself then you can go fuck yourselves, and I can post this reasonably sure there are those who do think they are bigger than the programor the team.

Sad Days For the Pacer Faithful

Last night me and the wife took in a Pacer game. First one for me in a couple of years. It was a pleasant evening, but honestly, the only reason we went was because DJ Deak was on the court with the Pacer Power Pack when they, and Boomer, did their high-flying trampoline act after the third quarter. Apparently many more decided it wasn’t worth coming out to at all. The on court product pretty much makes their case.

It was really kind of sad. A scant 8 years ago Conseco Fieldhouse was opening to rave reviews and was the home of one of the best teams in the league. In fact, the Pacers celebrated their first season in their new home by making the NBA Finals and even though they lost that series to the Lakers, the Pacers made us all proud. They played good, solid, fundamental basketball on both sides of the ball and they seemed to be really great guys.

Fast-forward to last night. The announced attendance was over 12,000, but if there was 7,000 actually there I’d be shocked. The Pacers still have the BS about us having the best 6th man in the league, but that sounds so stupid when there is no one there.

I understand the apathy towards this team. The players have had so many off court problems that it just gets to the point you don’t want to root for them as players. In fact, this morning’s news that a woman was raped at Marquis Daniel’s home over the weekend bounced right off of me. I feel for the woman, but it’s just another Pacer too close to trouble. Even if Daniels had no involvement in the action, someone he knew did. Yet these are the kind of players Larry Bird has brought here.

Besides Daniels, who does play hard, there simply isn’t much talent on the squad. JO is constantly hurt. Tinsley is hurt more and more this year after a couple of decent years. Jeff Foster is getting old and doesn’t compete like he used to. Troy Murphy hustles, but isn’t that good. Mike Dunleavy sucks. Travis Diener is a hustler, but again, that is his strong point. Talent wise this team isn’t even close. I know they’re hurt, but you have to suck it up and win some games even when it seems like you shouldn’t.

I’ve been saying for a couple of years that Larry Legend is in over his head. The fans obviously feel the same way. Indy fans may be fickle, but if you give them a team that competes and shows signs of getting better they will still back you, but this team is a disaster and the gate is showing it.

The answer? I think it’s obvious that Larry Bird has to go. All of the players are expendable, although I doubt anyone wants any of them. You have to just start over with this team. Willard wants them to just tank the rest of the season and get a high draft pick. He’s probably right. If they can draft Eric Gordon you might at least put some butts in the seats.

I hate to rag on the team because frankly I don’t feel close enough to the situation to do so, but it just makes me sad to see that beautiful arena less than half full with no real end to that situation in sight. I still love the Pacers and want them to win, but with the current team and management I just don’t see a bright future.

IU v Purdue

Just a couple of observations about tonight's game.

A nice win for the Hoosiers. 77-68 over the Boilers and now they have a share of the Big 10 lead again. Tied with Purdue and Wisconsin it's anyone's (of those three) league now.

Kelvin Sampson is a cheater and is despicable as a person. He's not a bad coach though and face it, his violations are aggressive recruiting and I have to agree with tonight's broadcast team, they aren't that bad. The real issue is that he continued the practice even after he had been caught. That said, my gut feeling tonight is that the university will deflect the blame to former president Herbert and do nothing until the hearing in front of the NCAA in May.

Had Purdue hit the front end of their one and one's and some three's they may have won. On the other hand, had the Hoosiers not turned it over a million times they may have won by 30.

Eric Gordon is playing a little too fast right now. He's young, but needs to learn a little control. Just a little though.

No matter what happens to the coach, I think this team will continue to improve and will be very happy with their result come the end of the season which just may turn out to be as long as anyone's.

Unification

It appears, once again, that the powers that be in the IRL and Champ Car are about to come to an agreement to unify open wheel racing. I, for one, will welcome a unification of the series as one is nearly defunct as I write and the other is a bad idea which has done as much harm to the sport as it has done good. And lest we start calling Tony George the salvation of the sport since he is the point man on these negotiations, let's not forget it was his, along with the CART owners, whose greed led us to where we are now.

The unification story goes as such. A couple of weeks ago FTG offered the owners of the CC teams both cars and money to come race in the IRL and effectively end the war that has raged since 1995 and split the series teams and fans and diminishing both. For some reason that only idiots like Kevin Kalkhoven and Gerry Forsythe could understand, the offer was not good enough. More was demanded and George, not unlike what he did to Bernie last year after the USGP, said no. For some reason, Forsythe and Kalkhoven decided that getting nothing was better than getting quite a bit. Had they accepted the proposal they would be back in the only race that pays worth a crap, the 500. Plus they would be able to take part in George's share the wealth TEAMS plan, which rewards teams for running the whole season rather than cherry picking the 500. I mean, that isn't that smart anyway if you look at the payout, but I've been all over that before.

The CC principals, it has been revealed, didn't even share the plan with the other owners who are getting ready for their second year in the DP01 and with little to no sponsorship money. The 500 may be diminished from what it was, but sponsors know it's bigger than any other open wheel race. That leaves few scraps for the CC teams and they are feeling the pinch as they have lost their top driver Bourdais to F1.

Now it appears as though Derrick Walker has decided that he is going to go to the IRL and it sounds like the Newman Haas team will follow. What does that leave for CC? Nothing, that’s what. They may have their few money making races, but who’s going to go watch the mostly no-name drivers run through street courses where they see the cars for a few second each lap? There simply isn’t any viability to the series without Newman Haas.

So the end of the war seems to be near. Will it matter to anyone but the few passionate race fans left? To me if it means increased visibility for the 500 then I am all for it. I don’t think it will make any real difference this year, but the increased field sizes can only help as well as the lack of confusion over the two series. I hope that the CC guys realize that they have an opportunity to put an end to the lunacy that has occurred over the past 12 years. It seems as though George has decided it is time to end and to me it is time to put the ego’s aside and do what is best for the sport. If that means TG wins then so be it. He had the trump card all along with the Speedway. The time for greed is over. KK thought he could get a bargain and sell for a profit when he bought the CART assets. Clearly he didn’t and it is time he swallowed his pride and quit losing money to save face, for spite or whatever.

If the unification doesn’t take place this time around it most likely will only happen because of the demise of CC. But worse than that, those fans who want the end of this and will welcome the end and unification will feel like we have been duped yet again by the little boys who cry wolf!