Thursday, July 02, 2009
It's already July....
It seems like every year the summer months move by quicker than the year before. This year is no exception. Here we are already in July. It won't be long and we'll be sending Judd back to UD, Aaron will off to SLU and Abbey will be starting her junior year at MND - she'll be playing field hockey, will have complete control of the third car and I'm sure she'll take full advantage of that little perk. The reality is, our kids are growing up and it won't be long before we'll join the ranks of empty nesters - something I have to admit I'm not looking forward to. I love my kids and I love having them around. Judd's been home from school for 2 months and he's actually spent a lot of time at home, it's been nice. As we wind down to the final 6 weeks before Aaron heads off to college and becomes a part-time resident of 3354 Paddock Lane, I'm always happy when he decides to spend the night. I guess I just enjoy the laughter in the house and comfort of knowing that our family is together and I don't have to worry about what they may be doing.
On Sunday we'll be heading over to St. Louis for Aaron's orientation at SLU. I always enjoy the little family trips when we're all together. Judd plans to hook up with his old room mate, Mikie, who transferred to Missou at Christmas time - I think Mikie will then come back home with us for a few days. I think they became pretty good friends and it works out well that Judd's able to visit him while we're in St. Louis.
I can't believe the rash of celebrity deaths we've seen recently - Farrah Fawcett, Ed McMahon, Karl Malden, Fred Travelena, Billy Mays and of course, the King of Pop, Michael Jackson. I feel like Michael and I grew up together. We are both the same age and I can identify moments of my life based on when Michael's songs were popular. I think there are moments when you realize people are at the top of their craft, I mean to the degree that no one in the world is having quite the same impact. For Michael Jackson, it was his 'Thriller' album. At that point in his career he certainly was worthy of his title, the King of Pop. The groundbreaking video for 'Thriller', the moonwalk, 'Beat It', 'Billie Jean', winning 8 Grammy Awards - he was as big as any musician had ever been; he was the Sinatra, Elvis and The Beatles of his time. But obviously something wasn't right in his head - the older he got, the stranger he became and God only knows what he was thinking with all the plastic surgeries, his hair, wearing the masks, hanging out with Emanuel Lewis, Macauly Caulkin, Neverland, grabbing his crotch, marrying Lisa Marie Presley, etc. I'm afraid when all the news comes out, we're going to see that this was a very sad and disturbed person. There's a pretty good chance his death was drug related. It's sad to think of who he once was as opposed to what he ultimately became. For me, I choose to remember Michael as the 10 year old kid singing 'I Want You Back' on the Ed Sullivan Show with his brothers or the amazing performer who broke into the moonwalk while performing 'Billie Jean' on Motown's 25th anniversary show - to me, that was Michael Jackson.
So Manny Ramirez has served his 50 game suspension for using steroids. You'd think people would turn the cold shoulder to this cheater but, no, LA is ready to give a heroes welcome to this human pin cushion when he returns to the line-up tomorrow night. It will be the lead story on ESPN, Fox Sports and any other sports program. during his recent rehab stint in the minors, he was playing to soldout crowds in Albuquerque. He's on the sports cover of USA Today. It's amazing - how do they expect to ever fix this problem when the cheaters are treated like royalty upon their return from being disgraced. At least in the NFL, the commissioner is passing down stiff penalties to the idiots who disgrace themselves. Michael Vick may have served his time but Roger Goodell isn't ready to let him play football again. Dante Stallworth may have only received a 30 day jail sentence for running over and killing a pedestrian while DUI but he won't be able to catch TD passes for the Cleveland Browns next year. Plaxico Burress got his trial pushed back so he could play football but the commissioner is going to make him sit out a year, as well. I congratulate the NFL for taking a stand against idiot players, Major League Baseball should take note. If you can kick a guy out for life for gambling, you should be also kick a guy out for making a joke of many of the hallowed records by cheating with PED's.
Oh well, I'll get off the soap box. I wish you all a wonderful 4th of July! Happy Birthday, America, and Happy 44th to my brother, Rich!
On Sunday we'll be heading over to St. Louis for Aaron's orientation at SLU. I always enjoy the little family trips when we're all together. Judd plans to hook up with his old room mate, Mikie, who transferred to Missou at Christmas time - I think Mikie will then come back home with us for a few days. I think they became pretty good friends and it works out well that Judd's able to visit him while we're in St. Louis.
I can't believe the rash of celebrity deaths we've seen recently - Farrah Fawcett, Ed McMahon, Karl Malden, Fred Travelena, Billy Mays and of course, the King of Pop, Michael Jackson. I feel like Michael and I grew up together. We are both the same age and I can identify moments of my life based on when Michael's songs were popular. I think there are moments when you realize people are at the top of their craft, I mean to the degree that no one in the world is having quite the same impact. For Michael Jackson, it was his 'Thriller' album. At that point in his career he certainly was worthy of his title, the King of Pop. The groundbreaking video for 'Thriller', the moonwalk, 'Beat It', 'Billie Jean', winning 8 Grammy Awards - he was as big as any musician had ever been; he was the Sinatra, Elvis and The Beatles of his time. But obviously something wasn't right in his head - the older he got, the stranger he became and God only knows what he was thinking with all the plastic surgeries, his hair, wearing the masks, hanging out with Emanuel Lewis, Macauly Caulkin, Neverland, grabbing his crotch, marrying Lisa Marie Presley, etc. I'm afraid when all the news comes out, we're going to see that this was a very sad and disturbed person. There's a pretty good chance his death was drug related. It's sad to think of who he once was as opposed to what he ultimately became. For me, I choose to remember Michael as the 10 year old kid singing 'I Want You Back' on the Ed Sullivan Show with his brothers or the amazing performer who broke into the moonwalk while performing 'Billie Jean' on Motown's 25th anniversary show - to me, that was Michael Jackson.
So Manny Ramirez has served his 50 game suspension for using steroids. You'd think people would turn the cold shoulder to this cheater but, no, LA is ready to give a heroes welcome to this human pin cushion when he returns to the line-up tomorrow night. It will be the lead story on ESPN, Fox Sports and any other sports program. during his recent rehab stint in the minors, he was playing to soldout crowds in Albuquerque. He's on the sports cover of USA Today. It's amazing - how do they expect to ever fix this problem when the cheaters are treated like royalty upon their return from being disgraced. At least in the NFL, the commissioner is passing down stiff penalties to the idiots who disgrace themselves. Michael Vick may have served his time but Roger Goodell isn't ready to let him play football again. Dante Stallworth may have only received a 30 day jail sentence for running over and killing a pedestrian while DUI but he won't be able to catch TD passes for the Cleveland Browns next year. Plaxico Burress got his trial pushed back so he could play football but the commissioner is going to make him sit out a year, as well. I congratulate the NFL for taking a stand against idiot players, Major League Baseball should take note. If you can kick a guy out for life for gambling, you should be also kick a guy out for making a joke of many of the hallowed records by cheating with PED's.
Oh well, I'll get off the soap box. I wish you all a wonderful 4th of July! Happy Birthday, America, and Happy 44th to my brother, Rich!
