Who will be next?

Ed Mcmahon

Farrah Fawcett

Michael Jackson

Billy Mays

Its been a good week if you write headlines for the National news. I can't really remember so many famous people all passing away in such a short period of time. Of course some might say that the Boeing 787 (7 Late 7) might be on the list as well. After the 5th delay I'm almost ready to declare this plane dead. Not really,, but its quite dissapointing...

Whirlwind

Its that time of year when I never have enough time... Nothing can be done about it. Its just the way it is. Yesterday morning started with a visit to the Orthodontist with my daughter. She's 8 and will get to know that Dr. very well over the coming years. He will get to know us as well. I had braces as a kid and hated it. My son has so far avoided it, but my daughter did not. She starts with a palate expander and placeholder retainer on the bottom. She also gets braces on the top, but won't get the wire until a tooth is moved forward. Then a bite block to move that tooth even further up. 14 months later her tops will be done and then we move to the bottom. For her there is plenty of time. For me not so much as we just made appointments for the next 6 months. I'm not sure I can write all those down on my calendar.

So obviously my daughter was sad about this. We went to everybody's favorite place for Pizza. Pizza-Hut. That helped, but took forever seeing as we were the only ones in the restaurant. A power nap later we were again off to the Columbus Blue Jackets Pre-Draft party at Nationwide Arena. Hey it was free. That also meant EVERYBODY was there too. lines were crazy for autographs. Poppy wanted to get her favorite players autograph RJ Umberger. Sadly the line for him was hours long and he was only there for 45 minutes. We decided to take a tour of the locker room and hope the line would be shorter for Jared Boll or Calder Trophy (Rookie of the Year 2009) winner Steve Mason. While waiting in the line in the bowels of the arena I spied Steve Mason sneaking in and pointed him out to my son who at the top of his lungs shouted "STEVE MASON YOU'RE SO AWESOME". Of course everybody looked and he got a smile on his face as he was whisked away by security. A few minutes later around a corner a door opened and we were face to face with RJ Umberger. Poppy looked him in the eye and quietly waved to him and said "Hi RJ. He smiled and waved back saying hi to her.

The moment was better than any autograph ever could be. Both kids did things their way and thats what makes them special. After the tour of the locker room they were ready to roll so we went to BD Mongolian Barbecue for dinner. I'd never had it and it was good, but i was stiff full from lunch. We ate and headed home where we watched the Blue Jackets trade down and then back up to make their pick. Before I knew it it was 11. The time just keeps ticking, but it's summer in Ohio.

Today was similar. A gas pump going so slow I could count to 10 between 10ths of a gallon. Of course my on board computer told me I could go all of 14 miles so I had to wait it out. The pool is still closed. Thats been more than 2 weeks of warm weather. In an attempt to do something to cool off we decided to go and scout the other teams in our 3 on 3 ice hockey league and watched their game. Cooling down in the Ohio summer.

I followed that up with a visit to the Powell Festival for the greatest stuff on earth: Fair food. French Fries, Funnel Cakes, Elephant Ears. All there all right before my eyes. Blazing sun be damned. I was eating it all. Fried Shrimp and Fish Sandwiches and lemon-aid. Best of all the drinks were Pepsi products. This is what Pepto Bismol is for. For a moment there I believe time did stand still.

Tonight after getting the kids to help with some tree trimming we picked fresh wild black raspberries in the backyard. Blackberries are still a few weeks away. Summer in Ohio.
Sunday is still to come. I love summer.

And so it Begins

Today I stepped out on my own. Today I didn't assist anyone. Today I became the boss. Oh yeah I am now the head coach. It was great. The opportunity to coach one of your kids is something everyone should experience. Today I got to coach both of mine. We loved it. Now the scores did not matter so much to me, but I found they did to the kids. To me its summer 3 on 3 hockey. Its a chance to skate and stay in shape. To the kids its about winning.

We had the unfortunate opportunity to play 2 games today. Back to back. Thats not so cool in the first week of the season. With kids I didn't know. Heck most of the kids I had never met before and I had to learn names and faces. The first game we lost, but thats ok. The team was a group that has played together for 4 years and all are select players. The second game we had a full roster and I was able to put lines together and we dominated. But then again I didn't care about the score. So I'm 1-1 and have now played both the other teams in our league. Next time we will be ready. My kids had a blast. I had a blast. Thats what it's all about.

Hanging out at The Memorial

This is the one week each year when you just KNOW its going to rain. Pouring buckets with hail and heavy thunderstorms. Since about 1975 its happened almost like clockwork. Why you ask? Jack Nicklaus hosts The Memorial. One of the best PGA Tour stops. The course legend says is built upon Leatherlips grave site and well around here that means RAIN. Only 5 times since its inception has the tournament not been delayed. Growing up in Central Ohio always meant ditching school for a day or 2 to get sunburned and watch golf. I have fond memories of taking girls WAAAYYY out of my league to the tournament for a day in high school. You see back then they were like golden tickets. Everybody wanted them and not so many had them. My dad always bought 4 or 6. I was cool. In fact for 3 years I worked at the Stouffers Hotel in dublin (the ONLY hotel at the time) planting flowers for the hotel the weeks before the tournament to spruce it up. A great job back then with good times all because the dude in front of me in Earth Science had his dad get us the jobs and a ride there and home. Being 14-15 was great.

Fast forward to the present and my parents now live about .2 miles from the 18th green. All the action is right there. Of course just to get to their house require special passes and giving your first born to Mr. Nicklaus. My dad still gets the tickets and I still take all the cool kids with me. Only now they are my kids. I don't get sunburned like I used to and I certainly watch more golf. Its still the party it used to be except this year all the people were missing. Its official now. The economy is tanking. The huge galleries are gone. In fact I spent most of the day on the 18th green just hanging in the clubhouse or sitting near the pin. Nearly by myself. Last year attendance was down a bit, but this year is absurd. Maybe 100 people around 18 all day. When Crybaby Woods came through it filled up just like always. Probably 1500 people follow Tiger. The thing that bothered me most off all was that when tiger was playing you could literally hear a pin drop. When every other group came through people just yacked away. Truly pathetic. There was a time that when every group came through the only thing heard was golf claps. Those days I guess are long gone. In fact the crowd is there not to watch golf so much as they are to be seen.

Weather forecast for today 76 Sunny. For saturday 80 and Sunny. For Sunday 84 and Sunny. Yesterday was 67 and SUNNY. Hmmmmm.