A ROSE IS STILL A ROSE...AND ALWAYS WILL BE

So today Pete Rose said that not only did he bet on baseball, he bet on every game his team played when he was manager of the Reds....
Hall of Fame for ole Pete????

Don't bet on it.

JUST WONDERIN'....

Former Missouri Senator Tom Eagleton just died this week. He had been in failing health for some time now. He is nationally known for being the former running mate of George Mc Govern, who had to step down because he had suffered from depression and had ECT therapy earlier in his career. Too bad. He was a very caring and effective politician.
However, I feel uneasy with the lionizing of this man. Everyone who has a loved one of course wishes them the gifts of heavenly rest. I am sure that this mans family wishes the same for him. My wifes dad just died and we all feel that way.
But Mr. Eagleton, for all the good he did, carried the torch for abortion on demand, partial-birth abortion and embryonic stem cell research all during his public career.
Heaven?....who am I to say.
Not judging.
Just wonderin'................

DUMB AND DUMBER

Hillary and Barack....nuff said.
Fighting it out for the lead among southern people of color....if it wasn't so sad it would be funny...do they have any clue how ridiculous they are to the rest of the world? Surely not, otherwise they wouldn't possibly act this way.
Of course, Hil is the best at looking ridiculous...look at all the "stand by your man" schtick she went through for so long....and people really think she could be President?
Thought: if she did by some reverse miracle get the job, would Billy move back into the Big House on 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue? Where would he sleep? Would he have to give tours, and fix up the Lincoln bedroom for his friends, again?

THE CIRCLE OF LIFE...

Last Thursday about 4 am we got a call that my mom was having trouble breathing. Long story short, she was admitted for pulmonary edema, caused by a long standing problem with congestive heart failure. She is since doing fine and is ready to return to rehab for a broken hip she suffered on Christmas Day....Not a fun New Year for old mommy.
Then we have what is probably the worst experience one can have, on Friday morning. The Phone Call. My wife's father died at home, sometime in the middle of the night. Mark Twain said, when he heard of the death of his daughter back in America as he was traveling in Europe on a speaking tour, that it is a wonder that the human heart does not just stop when confronted with such things. I know now what he meant.
So the last week has been shock, sadness, wake, funeral.....many hugs and tears and the start of recovery from the loss of a fine man, gone too soon at 76.

Now for the rest of the story.

Yesterday, the day after we laid Jack to his eternal rest, son Tim and wife Allison blessed us with our 7th grandchild......Ella Grace.

As the Beatles said....Oobla dee, oobla da, life goes on, Yeah.....la, la, la, la, life goes on.

JOHN 3:16

We here on earth got the best deal when The Big Guy decided to send his Son to save our sorry butts. It's all a mystery to me why He had to send His son, and just couldn't do it Himself, being all-powerful and stuff. But who am I to question.
I guess that is where faith comes in.
So check out the scripture reference above, and hug a loved one on St. Val's Day. If in the event no one is there for you to hug, draw comfort that He Who Is sure does love you.

I am posting my latest column from the Suburban Journals......
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MOVIN' ON UP (HOPEFULLY!)

If you are like a lot of us, you may have had a thought or two on what happens to you when you die. Not in the physical sense, of course, which is pretty much covered by my father-in-law Jack’s favorite poem:
“The worms crawl in, the worms crawl out,
In your ear and out your mouth.
So never laugh when a hearse goes by,
For you may be the next to die.”
Cute, huh?
What I’m talking about is crossing over the River Jordan, passing on to the other side.
The after-life.
From a purely pragmatic view, believing in the hereafter is a little like believing in the existence of God. If you don’t, and there is one…big problems, bunky. If you do and there isn’t one, then it just didn’t matter, did it? But if you do believe and there is a heaven and a God, at least you’ve got a fighting chance
So a faith in God and in an after-life is the best career decision, eternally speaking, that is.
Frankly, without something beyond this, the day-to-day rollout makes little sense, even in the best of times. I mean, without the possibility of meeting the Big Guy, then what’s the point?
Let’s talk a little bit about final destinations. If you’re a believer, you aspire to take that last walk up to the Pearly Gates. The romanticized version is one of clouds and angels and harp music, with St. Pete guarding the door. Over there is Jesus and the saints, smiling, blessing, shaking hands. Everyone is peaceful and happy. You are bathed in a glow from the Lord on High. It’s, well, heavenly.
Or is it more metaphysical, more a “being” than a feeling. A time without time, that has nothing to do with corporeal pleasures, like having all the potato chips you can eat with no worries about transfats.
Some say we may meet our ancestors, those who have “moved on up” before us. They have been waiting for us, even watching over our lives from above. Now that hits me as more than just a little bit creepy, considering some of the stupid stuff I have done in my day. And think how uncomfortable would it be to have to say “Hey, Aunt Mary…uh, where’s Uncle Larry?” So I just don’t know about that view. I’d hate to think that after a lifetime of worrying about your kids, that you get to heaven only to be still wondering why the heck they made this or that dumb move. My idea of eternal peace is not looking through the heavenly blinds at 1 A.M, hoping that next set of headlights is your daughter’s car rolling in.
No one knows for sure, since we only have the ballplayers from “Field of Dreams” to give us their version of what it is really like. (What’s that you say….that wasn’t a true story?)
Maybe the after-life is none of this. Our small human mind is limited by experience and imagination. I find it hard to imagine never-ending joy. But I believe it is possible.
All of this is assuming a great deal, by the way, as far as my own personal destination goes. I believe in a gentle and forgiving God, one that knows I am weak. After all, He made me, right?
I just hope He keeps this all in mind when my number’s called.
I really don’t do well in the heat.

MORE LIKE A SUPER MESS

well, the game Sunday was fairly boring.....even the ads were hardly any good...my favorite was the Bud Light one with the two hitchhikers, but that's just me. I lean toward the absurd in my humor and the ax murder getting upset with the driver because he was going to pick up the guy with the chainsaw?.............priceless.
Good to see old Peyton get a win, but he wasn't the MVP...probably there wasn't one, really, but they gotta pick somebody....Prince should have gotten it, considering he easilly bested the Geriatric Stones of last year and the Janet/Justin debacle the year before. So bye bye football.

The best thing about the month of Feb. (other than it is my first grandkids birthday and her little sister/brothers'-to-be) is that spring training is right around the corner, baby!!

As a Card's fan, this is blasphemous, but I am thinking this year may be the "next year" that Cubs fans have been talking about for the last 99 years. How cool would it be for this franchise to get to the World Series one year after their chief rivals....their last win being in 1908. No matter how much one hates the Cubbies, you gotta think this would be good for the game.
The only problem is....I can't stand Pinella.
SO..............Go Cards!!

OUCH...CH-CH-CH-CH-CH-CHANGES!

Well, I changed the look of this site to clean it up...unfortunately, I lost all the ads and sitemeter at the bottom....gotta get that back.
Still, the look is cleaner and easier to read, I think.
later...............

SUPER BOWL OR SUPER BORE?

So what will it be this next Sunday?
My guess is that it will be a real barnburner, a game of games, one for the ages, must-see-TV....blah, blah.
I can't imagine the Bears not being up for the action, and Peyton Manning not seeing this as his moment to put all the naysayers in their places.
All the talk of the first black coaches and the teams not having been in "the BIG GAME" before and how weak Grosssmann is will have no bearing on the match once the boys hit the turf for the first time.
I'd be surprised if we'll see a blow out....I just hope Vinatieri doesn't get to win it with a long FG. Enough already, with that stuff. Let somebody else play. How about let's decide the contest with good ole' fashioned grind-em out TD's.
My head says Colts, but the heart bleeds blue and orange....
And, as my little grandsons in Chicago will be wearing their home jerseys, I say...Da Bears by 7.
Go easy on the bean dip, sports fans.

ODDS AND ENDS....MOSTLY ODDS.

The latest column in the Journal is on here....as well as a ramble from the scrambled space 'tween these ears on stuff that is oh, so Boomer-ish....
Latah!
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JUMP IN ANY TIME

A lot has been happening in the news these days, things of great world import, and some fantastic occurrences right here in our own backyard. I feel like I need to get my two pennies worth in or I might pop. So forgive me if this seems a bit jumpy. ‘Cause it will be, if all goes as planned.
* To start off with, I was not as glad as I thought I might be at the demise of the Iraqi dictator. In fact, I was almost sickened. What good did it do, to kill him in such a way that he would only become a symbol, a martyr as is happening, for the cause of crazies every where. He should have been kept in a small, sterile cell, in isolation, with no hope of release. Now, he is larger in death than he ever was in life.
* The cloning thing passed in Missouri recently. Oh, yeah, they say it isn’t cloning, that the amendment was actually anti-cloning, but I don’t believe it for a minute. It will be interesting to see how much dough the sponsor of the measure puts into labs in our fair state, now that there is already a strong movement to turn the amendment on its ear at the next election cycle. But if we are to have cloning, I say let’s clone Ameren UE workers. The folks in that company need a year off after the storms we’ve had. So how about growing some more emergency personnel. And let’s hurry, before the tornado season hits.
* Speaking of tornadoes, it looks like the Democrats have taken control of Congress. Well. The nature of politics is that it certainly is cyclical. One side has power for awhile, after promising pie in the sky, and finding out it isn’t really all that easy to bake. Then, the other guys, after bad-mouthing the “in-crowd”, finally get their turn, only to discover that they don’t have the magic ingredients either. I am already sick of seeing that 110 pound Speaker of the House flexing her right arm. As if that has anything to do with running the country.
* But speaking of women in power, the major network news has a female anchorperson for the first time in history. As a dad of 4 great females, I know what a good woman can do. So I think Katie Couric will do a fine job, as she has as good a resume as any. And, honestly, isn’t she prettier than the guy on NBC? (There, I said it. So sue me.)
Still, I do miss good old Tom Bwokaaaaw.
* Here is an entry in the “Good Idea/Bad Idea” department. Good Idea: getting your wife a gift certificate to a spa for her birthday. Bad Idea: getting your wife a gift certificate to a lipodislove clinic. Just a helpful heads-up for you guys out there.
* Any body else think that Oprah is over the hill, I mean as far as her show is concerned? Man, I have a hard time with her trying to come off as some sort of savior. Now, Ellen DeGeneres….there is a woman with some talent. I mean it. She is sincere, and funny, just downright entertaining. As for Rosie and The Donald….puuuleeese. Who cares?
* Does the screen play ever work in football? I mean, come on. The success percentage of that play must be about 2.78%. All the defensive guys are so dang big that there is no where for the poor running back to sneak into. And, he’s all the time bumping into his own 300 pound dudes. Too many giant people in too little real estate. And the way the quarterback rushes into such a backward panic, even my wife calls “Screen! Screen!”. They maybe make it back to the line of scrimmage.
* In closing, give a thought to the trials that await those boys who were recently found safe and alive. And to the family of the suspect. Their long road is just beginning.
May it be filled with healing love.
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THEM BOOMER YEARS, BABY

The official period allotted to the phenomenon known as “The Baby
Boom,” from 1946 to 1964, saw some fantastic things happen. I came across a web site called “Boomer Initiative” that gave some highlights (and lowlights) of that short 18 year moment in out history. As the oldest of us are now into our 6th decade this year, I thought it might be fun to take a ride in “Mr. Peabody’s Way-Back Machine” and check it out. Here are some of the people, products, world events and just plain stuff, kind of in order, from ’46 to ’64.
Post-WW II war crime trials give 12 Nazis the death penalty. The Cardinals beat Boston in the World Series, little knowing that they won’t be back in it until the end of the Boomer era. Top songs were Zip-a-Dee-Do-Da and Riders in the Sky. Tide detergent, suntan lotion and Tupperware make their debut.
The first flying saucers are reported and, with the growing popularity of the automobile, drive-in theaters dot the landscape, the last probably contributing to the baby boom in its own small way. A million veterans go to college on the GI Bill, the Yankees beat Brooklyn in the first televised Series. Da Bums break the color barrier with a talented young man named Jackie Robinson. Velcro is invented, and Duncan Hines puts his cake mix in a box.
Ghandi gets shot, Harry Truman integrates the US Army, and the Berlin Airlift begins. Babe Ruth dies. Top TV shows are Howdy Doody, Candid Camera, and The Texaco Star Theater. Silly Putty shows up in little plastic eggs.
The turn of the decade sees bad news in a place called Korea as the North invades the South, with Red China getting into the act. Senator Joe McCarthy starts his move to national repute. People sing Good Night, Irene, watch Arthur Godfrey and Your Hit Parade on the tube. Hopalong Cassidy is top cowboy in America. (I had the whole outfit.)
The Yankees, who back in 1947 started one of the most remarkable runs in the history of sport, will go on to appear in 14 out of the next 18 Fall Classics, winning 9 times. Of course, they had some guys named Berra, Rizzuto, Ford, McDougall, and a kid called “The Mick.”
The Korean War deepens, Bogart pulls the “African Queen” through the jungle, color television shows up, and a microwave will cost $1200, and look like your refrigerator.
Princess Elizabeth becomes England’s queen, and her country develops the A-bomb. We sing Your Cheatin’ Heart, watch Jackie Gleason, Ozzie and Harriett, and I Love Lucy. A polio vaccine is developed.
The mess in Korea ends. US dead, over 37,000. Cigarettes are linked to lung cancer. The Yankees beat Brooklyn, again, for their fifth consecutive world championship. “Little Ricky” and his mommy Lucy are on the cover of the first “TV Guide.”
Billy Graham and Davy Crockett create new waves of popularity. (I had his whole outfit….Davy’s, not Billy’s). Comic books hit 20 million in sales.
Joe McCarthy goes too far and is spanked by the Senate. Rumblings are heard in Southeast Asia. The other New York guys, the Giants, take the Series. Sports Illustrated shows up on newsstands. We whistle “Mr. Sandman” and watch Rin Tin Tin. Yo Rinny! (NO, I did not have that kids outfit.)
A black minister named King leads one of the first civil rights actions, boycotting busses in Alabama. Brooklyns Dodgers win their only World Series. The nation’s over-29 million TV’s are tuned to Lawrence Welk and The Honeymooners. Mice the world over rejoice as Disneyland opens in California. “Ike” Eisenhower initiates the intra-state highway system. The nation is changed forever.
The bad boys on the world scene get busy, with the Soviets crushing the Hungarian uprising, and Fidel Castro starting his take-over of Cuba. Egypt and Israel start fighting.
Back home, things get a little racier with the coming of Elvis, Peyton Place, and a thing called rock-and-roll. Beatniks lead us into the counterculture.
The USSR starts the race for space with Sputnik. The Dodgers and Giants follow old Horace Greely’s advice and “Go West, young man.” The Beav and Wally set the standard for brotherly goofiness.
Kids find Barbie Dolls, Hula hoops and Frisbees under the Christmas tree. Teflon pans hit the kitchens.
Westerns are big, with Maverick, Rawhide, Have Gun Will Travel, and The Rifleman.
Playboy magazine and oral contraceptives joint the cultural mileu. Hmmm. Coincidence?
John F. Kennedy, Gary Powers and the U2 (no, not the band), Psycho, and Dobie Gillis keep us jumping. Fritos hit the stores, and Barbie finds a man…Ken Doll. (Didn’t have his outfit, either).
We are uplifted by the Peace Corps, shocked by the Cuban Missile Crisis and the Berlin Wall, and scared by Yuri Gagarin in a space suit.
On a lighter note, we sing Blue Moon, and watch Rocky and Bullwinkle on Sunday nights. Folk rock is big. Valium hits the shelves.
Lee Harvey Oswald hits us all. Southeast Asia gets nastier. Civil rights demonstrations throttle up. The transplanted Los Angeles Dodgers sweep the mighty Yanks. Kookie wears out his comb on the Sunset Strip.
Top music hits are from the Motown sound, and of course, “I Want To Hold Your Hand.”
Beatlemania takes hold. Cassius Clay “whups” Sonny Liston. The Cards beat the Yankees, to end the Boomer Years.
The rest, as they say, is history.

CRAZY DAYS

The news carries stories of children, lost now found. Their faces, smiling but somehow sad.
Only the beginning of the road for all involved....the boys, their families, the suspect, his family, the communities, those still searching, searching, for their own lost loved ones.
What a crazy world. What does it all mean, my daughter asks me? How can someone be so evil, she says? Those poor boys.....and so she struggles with this very real, very adult issue, in her own adolescence/angst ridden time.
Many questions, many answers, many more shocks to come, I am afraid....
"Tune in tomorrow for the latest"....as they say on the news.

A SUGGESTION FOR RESOLUTION

Here is a column from the Journal, an idea for the new year.
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Is it possible to forgive, but not forget? I mean, if you are shooting for full forgiveness. I’ve heard it said that if one cannot forget a wrong doing, then they haven’t fully forgiven the trespasser, to use the words of the prayer. At the same time, can the human mind ever forget something that has hurt the heart so deeply? Will it not always be in our memory as one of life’s experiences?
Thoughts such as these have been in my head these past few weeks as my family was dealing with some rather significant pains and injustices. One of our gang had some tough stuff to deal with.
We all suffered. We all went through the phases, like mourning, I guess, of anger and denial, then moving toward acceptance. Variously and individually, we all went at it at our own pace, and we are now at different places on the journey. Intellectually, we all know that forgiveness is the end goal, that it must become the final chapter in the story. Otherwise, the bitterness will do nothing but corrode our hearts and souls; the resentment, so real and honest, will linger and fester like an oozing boil.
Something I read in a pamphlet this Advent gave me a good start on my journey. It spoke of “becoming a forgiver”. I saw this process as not like a water faucet that can be turned off with a simple twist. No, it is more like a gradual burning down of a fire in the hearth, once roaring and spitting and sizzling, becoming more evened, turning to embers, then to ashes. When you can scoop up the ashes in cupped hands and blow them to the four winds, you have reached forgiveness. You have become a forgiver.
Applying this to recent events, the concept makes sense. We have had times when things seemed to be going in the right direction, then comes a flare up, much like a log rolling over and exposing the coals to new fuel. But in time, the flame drops and the embers do burn themselves out, and there is nothing left but ashes. These are the memories.
It is now a new year, new in time and opportunity. If you have no one to forgive, lucky are you. But if there is someone who fits the description of a person in need of forgiveness, well…..we’re always looking for that meaningful resolution, aren’t we? (aside from the post-Christmas cookie binge annual 10 pound drop, that is.)
Keep in mind that it is a process, this “becoming a forgiver” thing. Everyone runs the path at their own speed. And watch out for those flare-ups. But know that in the end, if you don’t add fuel to the fire, it will die and all that is left is the ashes.
So here’s to blowin’ those ashes to the old NorthWind in 2007.
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THE SECRET SOURCE OF HUMOR

Good old buddy Mark Twain, maybe the greatest American writer ever to put pen to paper, said that "The secret source of humor itself is not joy but sorrow. There is no humor in heaven."
When things seem to be going wrong, it is humor that can carry you through. Or at least help temporarilly, until you get your bearings back.
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On a different note altoghether, I just saw a picture in the paper of Richard Nixon and Elvis, the King, shaking hands as he and Elvis met in the Oval Office to talk about E. becoming a secret agent against the drug problem in the country. No, seriously. Talk about irony and incongruity.
I mean, The King and the Prez
Apparently, Mr. Nix gave Elvis a badge that made him an "agent at large." Well. He did get large, and he did have an insiders knowledge of the drug scene, as we have all found out.
This year he would have been 72 years of age. Think of Elvis on Medicare.

Maybe it is better that our icons die young.

EPIPHANY

The word "epiphany" means a sudden understanding or manifestation/perception of a concept. It also stand for a Catholic feast, probably all Christians celebrate it, of the three Wise Guys making their way to visit the new arrival in Bethlehem. They came by way of the east, so the story and song goes, and happened upon the miraculous little one by following the star.
January 6 is the official date in the Catholic Church for this celebration. In my mind, this manifestation, this understanding could be any and everyday that sees love come into your life.
Jesus was the Big Love, the Main Man, Divine Being come in human form. His arrival, heralded by angels on high and celebrated by the lowliest of the lowly, the shepherds, marked for us the beginning of our salvation.
The manifestation I have been having lately is that love is everything.
My wife has been going throught some tough times, suffered some real injustices. She is one of the most sincere, selfless, giving people I have ever met. In her there is no deceit, no ulterior motive, no hypocrisy. And sometimes she gets dumped on.
Well, our family has rallied around her admirably. Our daughters and sons could not have been more concerned and loving and supportive of their mom, amidst all the pain and disappointment and resentment, and yeah, eventually, forgiveness.
To them, love for her was everything.
And my own mom has had a rough go these past few weeks. Falling to a broken hip and surgery the day after Christmas, she has been through a lot at 85 years of age. But she has a love of life and of family that is pulling her through. Tough old gal, she is.
So I wish "epiphany" to you all in 2007.............it can be very enlightening.

FELIZ ANO NUEVO

Here it is, 2007. Hard to believe it is over 7 years since Y2k madness. Anyone get caught up in that silliness? I have to admit that I did a bit, with food in storage downstairs and ice in the freezer. I still have a few plastic jugs of water frozen, keeping it there just for laughs. But then, the laughs weren't so funny when we lost our power here in the good ole midwest TWICE this year, each time for extended days.
So the dependence on electricity was brought home, literally, with those events.
Now the weather is just stupidly warm for winter.....but no ice storms, thenk yew vurry much.
(a small reference to Elvis, whose birthday my daughter MP and I share this coming Jan 8.....no, no....no need for presents....just send cash...or click on the ads on the sidebar....)
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As for 2007, I resolve to make more entries in this bloggie thing. If for no other reason than I have opinions about most things, and what the heck, it might be fun for awhile again.

For anyone who is interested, I still write a bi-weekly column for the St. Louis Suburban Journals, and it can be found at http://northwestcountyjournal.stltoday.com
You gotta do a little searching, under Opinions, but it's there.
c ya/