On the Patio

The Color Barrier

Finally, the color barrier has been broken....once again, it seems! There is a tizzy out there in the sports world about for the first time ever, the SuperBowl on February 4, 2007 will have two men of color coaching the teams represented. OK, I'll break it on down for you. Tony Dungy of the Indianapolis Colts will bring his team to battle against Lovie Smith's Chicago Bears. They're both black. And...apparently, that's the big deal. Or is it?

And why does it have to be the BIG STORY? I'm aware that most years the SuperBowl is rarely about football, good football anyway. The two men mentioned have handled the questions about their "groundbreaking/history making" appearances with aplomb and grace. Thanks for that. (Imagine if T.O. was one of them, though!)

Maybe I'm making a big deal about a small thing here. Maybe it really is that big a deal that this "color barrier" is now broken. To me, there never was a barrier. When Al Campanis stated 20 years ago that the black athelete did not have the intellect to attain to such a level, I disagreed then. Those words were a big story and, I suppose they make this SuperBowl truly a groundbreaking event for the black community.

But why can't the game be about what it really is...football...a meeting between two conference champions? Why can't it just be a game peppered with a few good plays and ending with a blow-out on the score board? I'm sure we will hear endless tales of both of these honorable men's lives..where they came from and what they overcame to get Miami. I'm sure the camera will be on their faces as much as on the football when Manning throws one of his many touchdown passes.

Then there is the argument that 70% of the players are indeed black and that that fact should have been represented long before now. There could be talk of the "Rooney Rule" or the "Tagliabue Rule", sure.

It's just an overblown football game played by behemoths of enormous strength and abilities. The tickets will cost an arm and a leg and many will be more than happy to pay it, to say later that they were there. Vegas will set odds and they will, of course, be correct once again. An MVP will be announced after the game. Same o same o.

And the commercials will be the best part of the entire 4 hours it will take to get through it all.

Congratulations to the ones that get through it all.

Was 911 Really That Bad?

Was 911 really that bad? Quite a question, isn't it?

I first heard that question asked on FOX News yesterday, January 29th. My first reaction was that of disbelief. "Who in their right mind, and of American decent, would ask such a question and mean it!"

The context of the question comes from an article written in the L.A. Times by a "prominent professor and historian." When I searched the Times for the article it was not forthcoming. Thanks to the www though, I found it. This is how the article starts out:

"IMAGINE THAT on 9/11, six hours after the assault on the twin towers and the Pentagon, terrorists had carried out a second wave of attacks on the United States, taking an additional 3,000 lives. Imagine that six hours after that, there had been yet another wave. Now imagine that the attacks had continued, every six hours, for another four years, until nearly 20 million Americans were dead. This is roughly what the Soviet Union suffered during World War II, and contemplating these numbers may help put in perspective what the United States has so far experienced during the war against terrorism."

It goes on:

"It also raises several questions. Has the American reaction to the attacks in fact been a massive overreaction? Is the widespread belief that 9/11 plunged us into one of the deadliest struggles of our time simply wrong? If we did overreact, why did we do so? Does history provide any insight?"

"As an instance of mass murder, the attacks were unspeakable, but they still pale in comparison with any number of military assaults on civilian targets of the recent past, from Hiroshima on down."

Amazing crap! From an historical view..."September 11, 2001 was not that bad"!?

The article ends with these words...

"To fight them effectively, we need coolness, resolve and stamina. But we also need to overcome long habit and remind ourselves that not every enemy is in fact a threat to our existence."

Please go there and read this for yourselves. Some of our enemies live among  us.

The House of the Rising Sun

A little after 5 p.m.C.T., the sun set harshly on the House of the Saints. They were to be my team this year in the Super Bowl. The Saints will not be marching anywhere...until next year. Da Bears saw to that ... convincingly, I might add. Da Brees could not blow hard enough to topple Chicago at Soldier Field. Da Bush and all his acrobatic skills was negated by the soft turf. The snow falling in the fourth quarter somehow was a sign from above that the French Quarter was done for the year. Now, pending any eleventh hour appeals from Hizoner Ray Nagin and F.E.M.A. by way of Guv Blancos..the Saints are blanked out until next year.

New Orleans Saints 14--Chicago Bears 39

And it appears as if anything and everything "New" is not to be a winner tonight. New England joins New Orleans as also-rans in their respective bids for the coveted honor of going to the Super Bowl. Indianapolis, rising as the winner against the reformed Boston Patriots, has proven once again, "do not eat your clam chowder before Senator Kennedy has sung." I'm sure Ted will blame the loss on President George Bush. Manning and the Colts, ala Elway and the Broncos, thrilled the viewers with a photo-finish "by a nose" win over the Pats.

New England Patriots 34-- Indianopolis Colts 38

How sweet is it?
I am thrilled that a West Coast team will NOT be in the Super Bowl on February 4, 2007.
And in perhaps a small way, albiet a stretch, New Orleans, by way of a Manning (Archie) will be at there.

Comfort Food

I don't get sick much. But when I do I'm like a big o baby. Everything hurts, and nothing in the world is right. I felt this cold coming on last few days. I drank orange juice by the jug, took vitamin C tabs, ate Kiwi.

Now it's alka seltzer cold.

And potato soup. This is my recipe:

5lbs of potatoes, boiled & drained, mashed (do not mash all the chunks out) with 16 ozs of sour cream.
2 sticks of butter, not margarin.
1 cup of chopped celery, 1 cup of diced onion, 1 cup of chopped green onion.
4 tablespoons of minced garlic.
Add whole milk till the consistency is creamy smooth. (Probably will use more than a half gallon.)
3 tablespoons of salt. (Red pepper is a great touch too!) 1 tablespoon of fresh ground black pepper.
(You can add some kind of meat if you want....cooked & crumbled bacon, or hot pork sausage is good too.)
Bring to a boil, cover & simmer for as long as you can take it without getting a bowl of it.
Salt & pepper each bowl to taste. Add a pat of butter. You can serve it with crackers, buttered toast, whatever you want.

It might not help your cold, but it won't hurt it either!

baby, it's cold outside

it's cold, and i don't like it at all. global warming my ass. of course, winter here in s/e texas really isn't that bad, less than a month of "cold" weather.

fires are for cooking and campfires..smores and camp coffee.

i much rather prefer the smell of cocoa butter sizzling on a bikini clad body.

and once again the local media is having a great time with the cold as it moves closer. they're now calling it a "weather event."

baby, it's cold outside.

What's the Good News?

"A silver lining to every dark cloud of gloom...."

"Like a bridge over troubled waters"...blah blah blah...yada yada

And now for some good news...

Quicksilver Girl

...was casually reading blogs tonight when Eric, the alledgedly StraightWhiteGuy, sparked a memory that made me wanna spark up. He's over there in Tennessee cooking sketti today and writes a piece about Steve Miller. Good piece, too.

As old as I am, whenever I read about something back "then", I get to reminiscing. I get teary and bleary eyed most times 'cause one just can't ever go back but, what great memories of the day! Ol' Steve Miller wrote some good stuff..played with the words all the time, and put down some good ones to some great tunes.

Now I don't know if Miller intended those words to be sekshul in nature or to in some small way promote an herbal way of life. That's just how it turned out mostly anyway though.

So Eric spins a tale about one of Miller's songs, "Jungle Love", and yeah, it was a cool one to be sure! And if you know Eric, he can lead you down a sparkly road and then leave you hanging to go tend his vittles. Such was tonight. But those days back then were my days and I recollected a memory or two from then.

Although foggy...mildly distorted, I do recall a party or two with music--Steve Miller--Quicksilver Girl. Not really Pulitzer material for sure but, with the proper inhancements consisting of (1)Schlitz or Carling Black Label beer, (2) a tab from Dr. Timothy Leary, (3) the proper herb, (4) a pool table, (5) a strobe light, (6) and good looking high school girls we had ourselves a dandy of a time...as I recall anyway!

By: Steve Miller

She's a quicksilver girl
A lover of the world
She spreads her wings
And she's free

She's a quicksilver girl
A lover of the world
She's seen every branch
On the tree

Ah, ah, quicksilver girl
Ah, ah, quicksilver girl
Ah, ah, quicksilver girl
Ah, ah, quicksilver girl

Ahhhh, ahhhh, ahhhh, ahhhh
If you need a little lovin'
She'll turn on the heat
If you take a fall
She'll put you back on your feet
If you're all alone
She's someone to meet
If you need someone

She's a quicksilver girl
A lover of the world
She spreads her wings
And she's free

I wish I had the tune here to share with you, but I don't, dammit!

Gawd, I can almost taste those days on my tongue even now...

Tebow(n)

                      Final Score-

Florida Gators 41- Ohio State Buckeyes 14

           This pretty much sums it up:

Discontented?

Ever so often I get a surprise in my email box. Last night was one of those times.

I had had a long day working on a Saturday. I would have rather have been loafing around. While driving home from that job last night at 10 p.m., I'll admit it, I was feeling sorry for myself. If I just had more money maybe I wouldn't have to keep this job!

The following was in my email:

It's So Easy, Even a..

...caveman can do it? Great commercials aren't they.

                           "I'll have the roast duck with the mango sauce."
                            "I don't have much of an appetite."

Cavemen have been through it all. Ever fight off a saber-toothed tiger? Kill a mastadon for food? 'Neander/cro-mag'... whatever the hell they were sure did! They're tough as hell in the trenches. Sure you have to be smart, but itsa street savvy---it's SURVIVAL!

                        WAR. SO EASY EVEN A CAVEMAN CAN DO IT.

Sabanized

Nick Saban has jumped ship...again. So what! B.F.D.!

Why is there talk about Saban being a liar just because he accepted a great offer to coach elsewhere for big bucks?
Don Shula rattles on about Saban being a lair and a traitor (in so many words), who gives a rats ass? Shula himself took a great offer to jump ship from the Colts of yesteryear (and of Baltimore) and coach the then expansion team Miami Dolphins. Who wouldn't have? It was a great opportunity for him.

Saban's loyalty to team, players and contract has been questioned. Have you ever heard of "owner loyalty? Some twenty years ago Bud Adams owned a football team named the Houston Oilers. Once during an interview he was asked whether the "coach of the moment" had job security. Adams replied that coach wasn't going anywhere. In less that 3 days Adams had fired that same coach with not so much as tear from one eye. Pot & kettle, that's all this is.

Saban, like any other human being is looking to better his situation. Like every sports agent says, "It's a business." Now instead of one or two first round choices, Saban will have 15...or 18 first rounders, all of which have made it their choice to play for him. Which is unlike the pros where you play for the team that drafts you. And if you don't think that's such a bad thing, think for a moment having to play for Cleveland...or the Houston Texans!