New Shoes in the Rain

If you've visited here at all during baseball season, you know that I am an avid (some might say rabid, even) Cincinnati Reds baseball fan.  By virtue of that and some related factors, I am NOT a fan of manager Tony LaRussa and the St. Louis Cardinals.  The exception is Albert Pujols, who is simply one of the best baseball players I've had the chance to see in person.  Like him?  Not really, but I certainly respect and appreciate the way he plays the game. So you can imagine my grin this morning after LaRussa outmanaged himself last night, costing his team a win and giving the Texas Rangers a 3-2 lead in the World Series. With LaRussa, when something goes wrong it appears there's always a story, an explanation, a reason, but, of course, never an EXCUSE.  Remember, LaRussa is a lawyer by training, should there be any questions about his ability to explain things to the media and by extension the public. So, in last night's game, after I had to turn it off t...

We lost a family member yesterday. No, my wife, our kids, their spouses and our four grandchildren are all fine. I'm referring to our cat, Forbin, whom we had to let go due to what our vet described as a ruptured mammary gland that had become cancerous. Forbin's story is a very interesting one.  Our son had just moved into an apartment, first time living on his own (except for student-specific housing) and in a quest for companionship, rescued Forbin from the local animal shelter.  He had been told that Forbin was due to be euthanized the following day, so luck was certainly on Forbin's side that day. We didn't see this cat very much for the first year or better that our son had him, as he wasn't living with us.  But we heard stories of how he would walk around our son's head while he was asleep in bed, or beg for cold cuts when our son was making a sandwich, or just generally act a little weird. Then our son got a dog, Rigby, who has previously been n...

Things that have been working to escape my brain recently…. Can someone explain to me the fascination and devotion that many women have to boots?   I was seated on a plane recently next to a woman wearing what looked like well-worn cowboy (or cowgirl, in her case, I suppose) boots that were a suedelike texture.   Woman across the aisle commented, and my seatmate (to whom I had not spoken a word) went on about how they were her favorite, and that she just lived in these boots, and wouldn’t even think of wearing another pair. Separate example:   I just hired someone in another state, and she appeared for both days of our training wearing boots.   Compared to my seatmate above, though, this gal was wearing dress boots.   I didn’t think much of it until she mentioned how she so much preferred wearing boots to heels because it was easier on her knees (past injury, from what she mentioned).   How?   These appeared to have heels that were comparabl...

Well, friends, I've made some progress on the honey-do list that I mentioned a few posts ago.  I have now painted my office, our downstairs hallways and, as of yesterday, our master bedroom.  What's left on that painting list?  The kitchen and our living room, which are adjoined by a vaulted ceiling.  That will require some help, so it may be a little while before we get around to that.  But my wife and I are both pleased with the results so far, considering we moved into a slightly different color palette than before (more tan than beige this time) and are using a lower-gloss ("matte" is what the Sherwin-Williams can says) finish and a different, more durable paint product. That said, I don't know anyone in my vicinity who's pleased with the results posted by Kentucky's woeful football team so far.  They are 2-4 so far, having barely won the two games over foes who normally would be easy to beat, and only one of the four losses was a competitive game. ...

Did you see where New Jersey Governor Chris Christie announced yesterday that he will NOT run for the Republican nomination for President?  This guy has been saying this for quite a while, but no one seemed to believe him.  Hope they will now. One related aspect of this story was that several political commentators noted that they felt Christie, who is a large man, was unfit to be President because he has a weight issue.  As a larger-than-average person that offended me somewhat, but I suppose that it's the job of these commentators to find something to mention, point out, identify or otherwise flog to make their point.  Like Governor Christie, my size has never prevented me from accomplishing anything I set out to do, personally or professionally, and the statements some made that being overweight is a signal of a lack of discipline is actually a not-so-subtle form of bigotry.  And we have enough of that already directed at our sitting President. So Christi...