Thanksgiving & the Egg Bowl

Its "Egg Bowl" week and for the late-coming MSU fans its time to start hating on Ole Miss. I say "late-coming" because for me - hating (to quote Coach Mullen) TSUN is 24/7/365 for as long as I can remember. For example, when I was still in the Coast Guard and stationed with the Gulf Strike Team (which at the time was located at the NASA Test Site in Bay St. Louis, MS) my late first wife purchased a very nice set of 4 crystal mugs. They were gorgeous, except for the fact that each was adorned with "Colonel Reb". To be fair, I warned her I would never use them and would not allow my children to use them. She said "Oh they are so pretty - you'll change your mind". Well, eight years later I was being transferred from the Strike Team (now in Mobile, AL) to my final duty station in New Orleans when she pulled the glasses from our shelves (for our moving sale) and said "I give UP! Eight years and they've never been used! Sell Them!" When she walked out of my sight in the kitchen I gave a fist pump and "high-fived" my youngest son (who was 5 at the time) and put them out. The early Vegas line is MSU by 3, but I don't think it will be that close - I'm predicting MSU by 13 or more. This will break the streak of the home team winning for the past 8 years or so - since the game is at TSUN this year.

Its also "Thanksgiving" week and I would be remiss in not giving thanks to my wife and the family & friends that make my life worthwhile. Especially considering the fact that I am very fortunate to be here after my near-fatal wreck this past June. You know who you are - THANK YOU!

Everyone have a great day! (And a great holiday!)

DKW Nomi

Yesterday was DKW's birthday and I think she had a pretty good day (I hope so anyway). She and my middle daughter spent most of the afternoon together - going to lunch at MugShots - a local eatery and enjoying a leisurely and (very) filling lunch before walking down through town to the library and then ending up at the BookMart for coffee, internet access, and conversation as they waited for me to finish my work day and join them. After I arrived, we went to Zorba's Greek Eatery for another leisurely meal and and entertaining evening as Cafe Scientifique presented a dramatic reading from the play Copenhagen. It was very enjoyable. After it was over my daughter had to go to work and DKW and I headed home.
This morning started very badly for me. As I pulled out of my driveway on my motorcycle I discovered the body of Nomi (the dog we had just gained from my daughter a couple of months earlier) on the side of the road. Though she hadn't been with us long I was badly shaken. She was a very sweet dog. A wonderfully expressive face and she fit in well with Pearl and Shaddow. I pulled back in my drive, got a back to wrap her in and put her up in my barn. I will bury her when I get off of work this evening. A task I'm not looking forward to. I'm really going to miss her.

Everyone Have A Great Day!

Living in the Past

Its often said that you shouldn't live in the past and I guess that's true, but I'm 55 and to this point have had a full, rich and good life. I also hope to be here for many more years. I prefer to be optimistic and think I'm just now reaching the midway point of my life. Gotta stick around - still waiting on my flying car! :-)Anyway, I was thinking about "life" and thinking that I should put some thing on that was serious, then said no - something funny, then said no - something deep. Then I said - what the heck - why not all 3. So read and I hope you enjoy.

I will pass this thought - "Your life is yours, my life is mine. If our paths cross, may they do so with joy! However, my life will be lived to my satisfaction as I hope yours will be lived to yours. I promise to contemplate what you might have to say but reserve the right to disagree.

Now you might be asking what prompted me to write this - well, I'll tell you - I've been listening today to what is called "Reunion Radio" "Class of 1972" which is when I graduated high school and joined the Coast Guard - so lots of good musical memories. That being said, I'll leave you with this quote from the great philosopher: Charlie Brown "In the Book of Life, the answers aren't in the back.

Everyone have a great day!

Monday Again

Well - this past Saturday DKW and I had a great day together. Some of the activites included going to MSU's (exhibition) basketball win against the Lindsey Wilson College (KY) Blue Raiders by a score of 75-66. Going to the library, the Longview (MS) Opry and doing our grocery shopping. On Friday, the SHS Yellowjackets lost to Columbus HS 32 to 30, and thus ended their season as they failed to make the playoffs. MSU football had a bye week this week, but have the unenviable task of playing Alabama, who lost this past weekend at LSU by a score of 24-21. The bright spot (football-wise) of the weekend for me was my Oakland Raiders winning in overtime against the Kansas City Chiefs, 23-20. They are now 5-4 on the year and have a bye week this coming weekend. They are 1/2 game behind the 5-3 KC Chiefs. However, they are currently undefeated within their (AFC West) conference. Do I dare dream that they might make the playoffs?

I purchased some paperbacks (50 cents/each) while I was at the library. One, The Midwich Cuckoos, (written by John Wyndham) was published in the late 50's. I didn't recall ever hearing of it, but this author had written the book, The Day of the Triffids, which was made into an early 60's sci fi movie and I had enjoyed it. The book has definitely held my attention and I would recommend it to sci fi fans. (As I was typing this I looked up the title - turns out this book was the basis of the movie "Village of the Damned". WOW! Freaky movie if you've never seen it.

Well, I've got to get back to work. Everyone have a great day!

This past weekend(Oct. 31st) DKW and I celebrated our first (#1) anniversary. Its hard to believe that we've been married for a year now.But if you've been following my blog - you can see its been a fairly eventful year. We took a few days and went back to Natchez and the Bluff Top Bed and Breakfast that we went to on our honeymoon last year. We had a great time. (This pic is actually one of the views from the B&B) We revisited the historic Natchez City Cemetery and took in some of the great eating places we had visited before. We really had a great time. We traveled (both ways) on the Natchez Trace and if you aren't in a hurry - its really beautiful. But, even with as good a time as we had, it was still nice to get home again.

Tonight is the final regular season football game for SHS and they are at home playing their nearest rival, Columbus (MS) High. And it boils down to this - if they win - they are in the State playoffs. So in a way, Starkville High's playoffs start tonight. Go Jackets! MSU has a bye week this weekend before they go to Tuscaloosa and play Bama on 11/13. My Raiders are at home this weekend and host the KC Chiefs. Be nice if they could pull out a victory and get on the plus side of .500. They are 4-4 at the moment - their best record at this point of the season since 2002 - when they went to Superbowl XXXVII. And lost to Tampa Bay. I don't think they are superbowl contenders yet, but it would be nice if we could get to .500 or better this year. Hope for the future.

Everyone have a great day!