Halloween party

I had the most relaxing evening in a while last night. Katie took a nap in the afternoon - they had a bike rodeo at school which seemed to wear her out - and then was playing with her pals from across the street. So she came back after an hour or so and told me that she was going over to a Halloween party with Brianne and her girl scout troop. And so she did, and I got to spend the best part of the evening relaxing, reading and doing the laundry. At the end of the party, I helped them clean up and stuff, and then came home and put Katie to bed.

Nights like that just make a whole weekend. Today Katie and I went to breakfast and had a wonderful time, and some folks are coming over for a poker game tonight. So all is going pretty well around here this weekend. And we get an extra hour to sleep tonight.

dinner with some old friends

Katie and I met up with a couple of former classmates of mine tonight for dinner, and it was good to see them. I saw Deno over the summer - July, I would guess, but I hadn't seen Nikki probably since May.

It was a chance for me to see how far we have come in those few months. I am a different man than I was then, more centered. Happier. More relaxed. You could see the relief on Deno's face from having passed comps. And I am close enough to them both that we immediately fell into the old friendship.

It was truly a great way to spend the evening.

God's politics

I have just started reading God's Politics by Jim Wallis, and just from the introduction I would recommend this book. I have already started a subscription to Sojourner magazine.

This is a book about the two things people are not supposed to discuss - religion and politics. It is not a partisan book, and is frustrated with the Democrats for losing any religious voice as it is annoyed with the Republicans for being coopted by the Religious Right. I am sure I will have more and more to say as I get into this book, but let me first bring out this message from the introduction, which was part of an advertising campaign during the 2004 election.

God is not a Republican. Or a Democrat.

(A couple of obnoxious quotes from Falwell and Robertson)

These leaders of the Religious Right mistakenly claim that God has taken a side in this election, and that Christians should only vote for George W. Bush.

We are not single issue voters.

We believe that poverty - caring for the poor and vulnerable - is a religious issue.

We believe that the environment - caring for God's earth - is a religious issue.

We believe that war - and our call to be peacemakers - is a religious issue.

We believe that truth-telling is a religious issue.

We believe that human rights - respecting the image of God in every person - is a religious issue.

We believe that our response to terrorism is a religious issue.

We believe that a consistent ethic of human life is a religious issue.



Under most of these statements are short paragraphs explaining them. I would encourage you to read this whole book. But in the list of religious issues, I am reminded of a story I have read about Dorothy Day, who worked tirelessly for Catholic charities. She didn't pay taxes, and she was challenged on this during a debate, for even Jesus said we should render unto Caesar what is Caesar's and unto God what is God's. Day replied "If we truly rendered unto God all that was God's, there wouldn't be anything left for Caesar."

I truly believe that the Democratic party must reclaim its natural allies within progressive religion, especially the Catholics that have moved to the Republican party because of the abortion issue. This issue need not be as divisive as it is. But that is a topic for another - longer and more emotional - post.

But now Katie is back from playing with friends, so I am due for a checkers game.

I have never seen a team get as consistently lucky with the umpiring as the White Sox have been. Jermaine Dye was not hit by that pitch, and with two strikes and two outs, he gets to go to first to load the bases in front of Konerko's slam. The umpiring this postseason has simply been embarrassing to baseball. It completely changed the complection of the ALCS, and now it has changed the World Series.

The good news for the Astros is that Oswalt is a stone cold lock for game three. Garland is a schmuck.

Playing baseball in 45 degree weather is also crazy. The four games scheduled for Chicago are all weekend days. Why not play them in the afternoon when the weather approaches decent. The weekday games are in Houston, with the roof if the weather gets chilly.

Baseball just becomes more and more of a disaster as the years go by. But at least we are just nine days away from the ring ceremony and the opening of the Spurs season.

another pass

OK - I didn't like how choppy the last one was. So I am trying again.


Good morning. I was asked to speak a couple of minutes today about the stewardship drive and why I am a member here at Travis Park.

I am a member here because I am broken. The world does not like brokenness. We are supposed to portray an image of perfection to our peers. Any sign of weakness will be exploited so that someone else gets the promotion. But in order to follow the commandment Jesus gives us today - love one another as I have loved you - we cannot allow ourselves the dishonesty that pretending to be whole involves. We have to allow ourselves and one another to be broken in order for the intimacy to exist, and I have never found a church that from the top down embraced and challenged our own weaknesses.

Before Jesus fed the multitudes, he took the meager offerings of the disciples. And then he broke the loaves and blessed them. And just as I am broken, so too am I blessed. I am blessed with this day, and a beautiful daughter, and a day away from said beautiful daughter as she is looking for pumpkins with my parents today. In a moment, we will pass the collection plates, and I like the rest of you will put in my meager offering. But I know also that as it comes from me and my broken and blessed life, it too will be used to feed the multitudes, me among them.


Yeah, I like this better.

stewardship

I get two minutes to talk about why I am a member of Travis Park church this Sunday. It is the second week of our stewardship campaign, and I have been drafted to speak to the later service.

I have been thinking about it for a week, and I have a bunch of thoughts swirling in my head, and I need to write them down and see how long it will take and all that. So I am putting them down here, and would appreciate any comments or criticisms. Well, almost any.


Jesus gives us the simplest and most challenging commandment in today's scripture reading: Love one another as I have loved you.

Intimacy is a difficult thing in this world. We are supposed to be perfect in the world's standards. We cannot show any weakness, or else it will be exploited and someone else will get the promotion. Show much emotion and people in the world get shifty. We surely don't want to be around when somebody breaks down and loses it. And so we spend considerable energy maintaining the facade, playing the world's game, accepting the world's values.

But I am broken. I admit it. After my wife was diagnosed with cancer, I found myself questioning the world's values. I don't need a bigger house or nicer car or labels on my clothes. I didn't want to be a tax accountant anymore, when the result of my work was that someone who had so much got a little more. I needed something more meaningful.

What I really needed, above all else, is to be me. What I have found at Travis Park is a community that allows me to be me abundantly. I don't have to be perfect here, which is a relief, cause I ain't perfect. The great benefit that we have here is that because we don't have to spend so much of our energy pretending, we can get down to the business of loving one another. And so I come here every week, and I give of myself, and I make my contribution. Through my eyes, it is so small and so insignificant.

But my gift, mingled with yours, blessed and broken, becomes like the loaves and fishes. I don't know how it happens; that is God's business. But together, with my gift and your gifts, God feeds the multitudes.

umpiring

Has this been the worst umpiring the post-season has ever seen? This has been an embarrassment to the game of baseball. It is that simple.

Tonight, the second base umpire missed a call. The difference is between bases juiced, noone out, and first and third with one out. The Cardinals managed a run, but it could have been a huge inning.

The Angels were robbed of a chance to win the second game of the ALCS. The umpires missed several calls against the Yankees that allowed the Angels to get there. The Angels lost to the better team once Colon was on the shelf, but a 2-0 lead coming home would have been mighty different.

The umpiring in game four of the Cardinals-Astros was horrible, especially the strike zone. And if you can't call strikes, don't compound it by throwing out the manager and key players.

Egads. I don't know that replay is the answer. It is boring to wait on the replays, and with the seventeen pitcher changes that can accompany the late innings, the last thing we need to do is slow up the games further.

That being said, something needs to be done. Too many games have had their outcomes partially determined by mistakes by the umpires, and it is saddening to me because this is the game I enjoy watching above all others, but not under these circumstances.

I stand with Fred:

Proposition 2 is one of nine constitutional amendments Texans face on the ballot on November 8, 2005. Approval places it in the “Bill of Rights” of the Texas State Constitution. Proposition 2 reads as follows:

“(a) Marriage in this state shall consist only of the union of one man and one woman. (b) This state or a political subdivision of this state may not create or recognize any legal status identical or similar to marriage.”

Some Texans favor Proposition 2 because it seems to be a simple "definition" that limits marriage in Texas to "the union of one man and woman." Their support is expressed in terms of protecting marriage from being legally redefined by an “activist judge,” who might declare the State’s “Defense of Marriage Act (2003)” unconstitutional. However, a simple “definition” and some constitutional protection are not really what they want. Such supporters of Proposition 2 reveal their real agenda in the added words that ban the creation or recognition of “any legal status identical or similar to marriage.” They want not only to prevent same-sex covenant relationships from being legally identified as marriage, but also to deny same-sex couples any legal status approximating marriage. As a Texan, who is concerned about issues of justice and equality, I am opposed to Proposition 2. Here are my reasons:

1. Justice, whatever else it means, certainly means not opening the Texas Constitution to the unjust consequences some families will face, if this amendment is approved. Under a strict interpretation of the proposed amendment, families founded with “common law marriages,” could have their legal status voided. Families, who do not fit the one man – one woman marriage prototype and who raise children without legal adoptions, could see their children lose all rights of inheritance. Justice is not done, when all our families are not equally valued or when some families have limits placed on their fundamental right to protect their loved ones. Proposition 2’s denial of justice requires me to vote no!

2. Equality means that the Texas State Constitution should not create intentionally a second-class citizenship for approximately ten percent of our state’s population, who are Texans involved in long-term, committed, ethically responsible same-sex relationships. No equality exists in prohibiting the State from recognizing any legal status of some Texans’ relationships because they are similar to marriage. No equality exists in requiring some Texans to make special arrangements through guardianships, appointment of agents, and private contracts in order to arrange rights to hospital visitation, property and insurance benefits. No equality exists in placing discrimination and the denial of rights in the “Bill of Rights.” Proposition 2’s refusal of equality requires me to vote no!

In recent weeks, the truth has surfaced that the “marriage amendment” is a result of the unholy “marriage” of Governor Rick Perry’s politics and the religious-right’s politics. They want their narrow, absolutist moral beliefs to control the lives of all Texans. This is vicious ideological bigotry. Known as the Texas Restoration Project, this coalition has sponsored closed door meetings with religious-right pastors and leaders. A Texas Restoration Project DVD makes it plain that they consider themselves speaking for God and for faithful Christians. Clearly, they do not represent the mainstream, faithful Jews, Catholics and Protestants, who seek God’s justice and equality in all human relationships. Proposition 2’s constitutional empowerment of absolutist religious beliefs and narrow moral understanding requires me to vote no! .

Please join me in casting your vote against Proposition 2 on November 8 or even sooner through early voting, which begins on October 24. Together let us defeat a Constitutional amendment that discriminates against families. The Texas Bill of Rights must not be amended to deny justice and equality. Please forward this message or any revision, which makes it your own, to all of your friends and colleagues as an invitation to join us in voting against Proposition 2.

With great concern and hope,
Fred Kandeler, United Methodist Retired Clergy

Everwood

My gosh is that an amazing show. I have been watching the first season on DVD the last few weeks, and we got to episode 16 tonight, which is about Andy's first Valentine's Day as a widower, probably about 11 months or so after his wife had died. The previous episode was the first to tackle dating as a widower at all. It showed Andy as panicking as a wingman for the divorced reverend who is one of the best characters in the whole series.

This episode is so powerful. At the end, the psychologist tells him to write a letter to Julia (his late wife) to tell her all of the things that are in him that he never said in life. And so throughout the epidode, he is narrating this letter. (A wonderful literary structure, on top of everything else.) In the mean time, he has his first disastrous date with said psychologist, and is as uncomfortable as I was, though I fortunately did not knock things over, to the best of my recollection anyway.

One of the impulses he feels most acutely is that he could not share with Julia all the wisdom he had gained so far in his journey. He understands so much more clearly life and how precious it is and how precious she was to his life. He is more able to verbalize it than ever before. And while all the people around him tell him that she knew how he felt, he still has to get it out. Because in many ways, he needs to say it more than anything. It would be nice if Julia heard, but he needs to say it anyway.

I guess this is the upside to losing a spouse to disease rather than an accident. I got to experience some of the angst with Becky. And so I got to say some of the things Andy needed to say before she died. I was nowhere near as elegant about it as I could be today, but I did get to tell her as clumsily as I did the things I needed her to know. And in fact it was at the setting of Valentine's Day when I gave it my best effort. So this episode never fails to hit me right in the stomach, and I will spend the rest of the night missing her but comforted anyway that I said some of the things. And that those I didn't say as well as I could now were okay back then.

I have a dream sometimes about one more day with Becky in our lives. And we don't even speak to each other. We just make eye contact, and that is enough for us to communicate that we know and that we know we know, and then she goes off to play with Katie and I sit and watch and revel in the amazing mother she would be. That would be a nice dream to have again tonight ......

Goodbye says it all

How huge is Albert Pujols? My goodness, that was a blast, and the Astros have to be wondering if they will ever make it to the World Series now. You cannot get much closer than up two with two down, noone on, and two strikes in the ninth. And so now you must wonder about the Astros psyche heading to St. Louis, where they lost games six and seven last year.

For the record, Cathy was over watching the game with me, and during the seventh inning stretch, I told her there is no way Carpenter faces Berkman again in this game. A three run homer later, and I wish I had been right.

Anyway, it will be tough to beat Clemens and Oswalt, but isn't that exactly what happened last year?

I don't care who wins, as long as they beat the White Sox, who still suck.

a busy weekend

It has been a busy weekend around here. My brother and his wife came down from Dallas, and it was great to see them. We do not see them as much as I would like to - but it is volleyball season for Bonnie and just tough for us all to get away. Katie got to play and show off and all of those things.

They came down because Bonnie's grandmother was doing very poorly, but she seems to have improved a lot over the weekend, so that is wonderful news. So Cathy and I were supposed to have a date on Friday night, so I dragged her along to meet all the Ruders. And that went well. We had a long talk on Friday night; I have noticed Katie being very possessive of me the last couple of weeks, and I don't know how much of it is related to me dating now or if it is just a phase thing. It is a difficult balancing act, for sure.

Saturday blew by in a blur. We had parties to go to, the Notre Dame game held our attention. We had talked about going to Fiesta Texas after the game, but we were too emotionally worn out. I was afraid Pat was going to spike Katie when ND scored with two minutes left to take the lead. But he resisted, though his whooping around the house gave her a huge case of giggles.

And today we spent a lot of time at the playground. I need to do a better job of playing with her, and not just supervising her play. That is my goal for the next few days - take some time to do that. We haven't done that as much recently, largely because she is constantly playing with friends. But I need to be more active with her.

But first I need to sleep.

a commenter

A commenter made this point, but this little nugget from the world of the NBA shows that the NBA players remain, by and large, the most pampered, ridiculous set of me-first prima donnas in the league. From the ESPN.com notes on Wednesday:


Camby wants stipend for dress codeWith NBA commissioner David Stern set to implement of a dress code, some players are finding fault with the possible change.

Denver Nuggets center Marcus Camby, who is in the midst of a $45 million contract, thinks the players should have additional compensation.
"I don't see it happening unless every NBA player is given a stipend to buy clothes," Camby told WOAI.



How many people making less money than his meal stipend are buying tickets to Camby's game. Every time I hear someone say athletes should be more involved in social issues - a la Jim Brown, Muhammed Ali, Jackie Robinson, etc. - I remember that we are better off with them quiet. We enjoy the game they play. But excellence in sports does not necessarily correspond to excellence in insight.

no empathy

I went back to the ywbb to read for a while the last couple of days. And what I find amazing is that I have no empathy or affection for the people posting there. It makes me sad to be so jaded, and yet it is where I am.

Oh well.

quarter pole

Katie gets her first report card tomorrow, as the first nine weeks will be over. Don't look now, but she is a quarter of the way through kindergarden already. Amazing, isn't it? She just started a couple of days ago.

She is thriving in school so far. She constantly mimics her teacher, and anytime she wants to make an incontrovertible statement of truth it begins with, "But Mrs. Massey said, ...." She knows all of her sounds now and what letters they correspond to. She knows which letters are thieves, borrowing the sounds of other letters, including x, which sounds like a z in starting words like xylophone.

The time, it does go by quickly.

Proclamation!

Proclamation of Christian Love and Justice for All

Whereas: The undersigned members of the Contemporary Faith Class of Travis Park United Methodist Church, inspired by the Christ-like spirit of its ministry, are offended and saddened by the exclusion of gay and lesbians from full participation in teaching, ministering, and leadership positions in the Christian Church, and from its sacrament of marriage, and

Whereas: It is our understanding and unshakeable faith that our Master and Savior, Jesus Christ brought to this world an unqualified and inclusive Gospel of God’s love and acceptance of all peoples, regardless of race, gender, economic and social status, or any other condition, and

Whereas: We are convicted by God’s Holy Spirit within us to know that discrimination against gays and lesbians, whether they be Christian or not, is antithetical to the teachings and example of Jesus Christ, and therefore, anti-Christian, and

Whereas: There is no biblical scripture, authoritative for Christians, that supports discrimination against gays and lesbians, especially those who live in committed monogamous relationships, and that any scripture which has been believed to apply is either inapplicable to God’s people today or the result of uninformed and un-Christian interpretations, and

Whereas: we as committed Christians can no longer suffer in silence this corruption of Christ’s Good News and the great harm that corruption has done and continues to do to our non-heterosexual brothers and sisters, our Christian Church, our community, our nation, and our very souls, now therefore,

We Proclaim: That this Contemporary Faith Class is, in and of itself a Reconciliation Church of Inclusiveness within a church, which lovingly and unconditionally welcomes all of God’s peoples, regardless of race, creed, gender, sexual orientation, economic and social status, or any other condition.

We therefore pledge to actively challenge, within the United Methodist Church, the Christian community, and society at large, all forms of discrimination against gays and lesbians, and to support all oppressed peoples in the realization of God’s Love and Justice in their lives.

a couple more thoughts

I have a couple more thoughts about the baseball game tonight.

First of all, things set up much better for the White Sox than the Angels in extra innings. While Buerhle had gone the distance, the Angels had used three of their top four relievers in Donnelly, Shields, and Escobar. I also think the home team has the advantage in many ways in extra innings anywy. So I would figure the Sox probability of winning the game at about 70% at the time of the mistake.

Second, never ever ever ever ever ever sit an umpire in front of a microphone for a session with the media after the game. Nothing good can possibly come of this. Ever. That was a bad idea, and whoever was in charge should have known better.

It will be interesting to see what happens in the next game. The only parallel I can think of is the blown call by Deckinger in game six of the 1985 World Series. The Cardinals blew their top and never recovered mentally, and were dismantled by the superior Royals in game seven 11-0. Several things make me feel that the Angels will be okay. First, Scoscia. I like him, and as pissed as he is right now, his head will be on straight by the a.m. Second, the day off. Third, they are heading home.

In the mean time, the Cardinals are simply the better team in the NLCS. I don't think we will have the high drama of last season. This Cardinal team is remarkable, especially considering they have lost the best third baseman in baseball (certainly defensively the best in a generation and with a big stick, too.) Even with the Stros aces, the Cards will win this one comfortably.

the worst call ever

Don Deckinger can now die in peace knowing that he didn't make the worst call of all time in baseball post-season history.

To reset, it is the bottom of the ninth, two outs, nobody on with AJ Pierzynski batting against Kelvim Escobar. On the 3-2 pitch, the batter swings and misses, the umpire calls him out, the catcher rolls the ball to the pitcher's mound, and the batter runs to first.

It would have been tragically easy for Paul to just tag Pierzynksi. But he caught the ball on the fly, as clearly seen by instant replay, which of course is not available to the umpires. The bottom line in my mind is that the umpire clearly signalled the batter out. As soon as he did so, the fielders for the Angels were running off the field, so there wasn't a player covering first even if they wanted to retire him. On the replay, Adam Kennedy is immediately pumping his fist as the umpire did in calling him out. You see plays all the time - say when a tag is missed at home but the runner missed the plate - where the umpire makes no signal whatsoever. This time he clearly and definitively called him out.

Instead of heading to the top of the tenth inning with a chance at a commanding 2-0 lead, they instead allow a steal and a double and the Sox win game two. I certainly hope Scoscia protested the game. They need to go out tomorrow and finish it, tied 1-1 into the 10th inning.

Ridiculous.

the worst call ever

Don Deckinger can now die in peace knowing that he didn't make the worst call of all time in baseball post-season history.

To reset, it is the bottom of the ninth, two outs, nobody on with AJ Pierzynski batting against Kelvim Escobar. On the 3-2 pitch, the batter swings and misses, the umpire calls him out, the catcher rolls the ball to the pitcher's mound, and the batter runs to first.

It would have been tragically easy for Paul to just tag Pierzynksi. But he caught the ball on the fly, as clearly seen by instant replay, which of course is not available to the umpires. The bottom line in my mind is that the umpire clearly signalled the batter out. As soon as he did so, the fielders for the Angels were running off the field, so there wasn't a player covering first even if they wanted to retire him. On the replay, Adam Kennedy is immediately pumping his fist as the umpire did in calling him out. You see plays all the time - say when a tag is missed at home but the runner missed the plate - where the umpire makes no signal whatsoever. This time he clearly and definitively called him out.

Instead of heading to the top of the tenth inning with a chance at a commanding 2-0 lead, they instead allow a steal and a double and the Sox win game two. I certainly hope Scoscia protested the game. They need to go out tomorrow and finish it, tied 1-1 into the 10th inning.

Ridiculous.

Spurs are back!!!

I didn't watch too much of the first preseason game last night against the Heat, especially not after the baseball game started. But the Spurs looked really dynamic in the opening minutes with the same starting five on the floor. Of course, just the continuity should be an advantage before the season even gets rolling. Miami came back to win, but the Spurs that will actually be hitting the floor dominated the game.

Finley looked good in a reserve role. The one fear I have for him is that the fewer minutes will mean he never establishes a rhythm. Nellie knows how to get the most out of his players, and that he has always played as many minutes as anyone in the league may make it hard for him to be effective in six minute stretches.

But I loved what we saw last night from Duncan. He looks a bit leaner than he has been, though maybe it is all the extra hair on his head making him appear slimmer. But he looked good, confident from the line, lighter on his feet. Ginobili looked as explosive as ever. And Van Exel as the insurance policy for the Parker struggles that seem inevitable makes this the best team the Spurs have ever fielded. More versatility, and with Phoenix getting the blow they got today, you can scratch them from the list of contenders. I did not like the roster moves they made in the off-season anyway. By signing big, slow guys, they just made themselves mediocre. Their best chance to win - and remember the WCF would have been very different with a healthy Joe Johnson - would have been to bring back the same nucleus, run Amara at 5 and Marion at 4 and just try to outscore everyone. Now they lose some of their advantage in quickness - Marion is still quick for a 3, but small forwards are used to guarding the three ball. And that was before they lost Amare until the break.

And so who are the contenders in the West to dethrone the Spurs? Houston improved, but I am not sold on Yao leading a contender yet. Dallas with a full year of AJ might be the biggest challenge; he knows Pop and the Spurs better than any enemy. Minnesota now that they have removed Cassell and Spreewell from the team? First they were the saviours, then the cancers? Kevin Garnett is not fit to carry Duncan's jock. Make no mistake about that. Denver maybe is the biggest threat from outside the division, but George Karl's teams always ultimately underachieve, and who is more overrated than Kenyon Martin. They do get Vashon Leonard back, and as long as they keep Carmelo's head out of his arse (i.e., keep him away from Kenyon), they will be good. But Bowen will shut down Carmelo head to head, and who do they have to defend the wings, let alone Duncan?

The key to this season is health. And that is why depth is so important. No player on this team will average more than 32 minutes per game. No minor injury, save to Duncan, will hurt this team much. Not that you cheer for injuries, but they happen.

There are some teams in the East that could challenge the Spurs. Miami is good, though Shaq is overrated, and the one ominous sign for the Heat from the first preseason game in the Antoine (Black Hole) Walker led the team in shots. They have a lot of guys who need the ball, and do not have the character guys to lead the way the Spurs do. Say what you will about whether Shaq or Kobe or Phil or Jack Nicholson was to blame for the Lakers demise a couple of years ago; none of that crap happens on a team with Duncan and Pop. When your team has the best player in the world, and he doesn't care about his minutes or shots, then who else will make a stir. See, Timmy is the real straw that stirs the drinks, boys. You don't even notice the straw; it flies under the radar, and is quietly effective.

I am going to make a bold prediction. This Spurs team finishes with the best regular season record in franchise history and makes a run at the best mark ever.

baseball thoughts

If the White Sox cannot win with their best pitcher on the mound against a team that has travelled six thousand miles in under two days and is starting a journeyman, that bodes poorly for them.

Maybe the travel and adrenaline will catch up with the Angels tomorrow night. If not, travelling home and getting a day off and the energy of the crowd will help them immensely. So that makes tomorrow's game pretty close to a must win for the Sox.

Mussina deserved so much better last night. If Crosby and Sheffield don't collide, and if Sheffield plays in another step, then he stands in line to win that game. Moose was not hit hard at all except for the bomb from GA and the triple that should have been caught.

The simple fact of the matter is that the Yankees aren't all that good. The starting pitching was mediocre, they had three guys on the team that should never ever grab a glove, and they have lost all the gritty, gutty role players that came up with the goods. Jeter is as clutch as it gets, but Arod is the anti-Jeter. Granted, he hit a couple of balls hard last night, particularly in the seventh as I recall, only for them to be outs. But he did nothing for the series but walk and ground out.

And so the Yankees need a major overhaul. What they really need to do is pry Beltran from the Mets to lead off and play center for them, but that ain't happening. I don't know what is out there for them to improve. They have the infield and the catcher. But center is a mess, the starting pitching is a mess. Kevin Brown should be completely out of the equation. Hopefully for them Moose and Randy Johnson come back healthy for full seasons, and Pavano contributes. But who else? Will the Yankees really go with Chacon and Small in the opening week rotation? And in the pen, who do they have for consistent outs but Rivera and Gordon? Matsui is a free agent, and he is the only serviceable defensive fielder in their outfield unless they want to hand the reins to Crosby full time.

Many questions. But this is sure: the Royals will stink, and I will watch them 80 times or so.

a wonderful article

I spent an hour tonight reading an amazing article on Evolution and Intelligent Design. It is from the 8/22/05 edition of the New Republic. A must read for anyone with interest in evolution and the debate over what should be taught in our public schools.

Because the battle rages on. Evolution is as solidly supported a scientific theory as exists in all of science. We are as likely to disprove gravity or Newton's laws of thermodynamics as we are to disprove evolution in any serious way. Which is not to say our understanding is the same as Darwin's in the 1850's. But the three principles he outlined in The Origin of Species have much more support from the fossil record than even he would have imagined. But there is a court case now ongoing in Pennsylvania about the right to teach intelligent design alongside evolution in our science classes.

Go and read this article, entitled The Faith That Dare Not Speak Its Name, by Jerry Coyne. Here is a link, though you may need to register. I don't know if the New Republic is free or not, but it is certainly worth the nominal fee registration would require.

http://www.tnr.com/doc.mhtml?i=20050822&s=coyne082205&c=1

survived

When I saw the NFL schedule, I was sad I had burned my two uses of the Colts as they had the 49ers with a kid making his first start.

But I have lived for another week by taking the Broncos over the most offensively named team in all of American pro sports. Seriously, unless you are going to make your mascot an Idaho potato, it is time to be done with the Redskins.

In other news, I have been wrong about basically everything in these baseball playoffs, but I love Mussina starting in game five tomorrow for the Yankees. He needs a vintage moment, and winning a deciding game with Rivera only available an inning at most would be huge. If it were a springboard to a title for the Yankees, it might be the punched ticket into the Hall of Fame.

In other baseball news, the White Sox suck. Some things are, after all, eternal.

I like the Cardinals to win against the Astros, though I love Berkman and it is tough to look past those three aces for the Stros. But I like the Cardinals anyway. Pujols is a machine; Carpenter was as good as anyone, and I have long been a Matt Morris fan. He was on my fantasy baseball team for two years. How can you not love him?

Much more later about my crazy weekend. Tomorrow Katie is off from school, so I am off from work. Hopefully, she will give me an hour to type; anything less wouldn't do justice to all I have to say.

Sea of No Cares

Caroline and I had a really amazing chat this afternoon online. Over the course of it, I sent her the lyrics to one of my favorite Great Big Sea songs. Those of you with Ipods or whatever really should invest the 99 cents for this one. It is called Sea of No Cares, and it is a happy song:

When you're in love, there's no time and no space
There's a permanent smile on your face
Your friends all complain that you're going insane
But the truth is they're just afraid

[Chorus]
Hey somewhere,
you threw your fear in the Sea of No Cares
Hey somewhere,
you threw your fear in the Sea of No Cares


When you decide that what counts is inside
Your friends all say it's a lie
But there's no brighter light than the look in her eyes
When you're walking her home through the night

[Chorus]

[Bridge]
Let your self go with the tide
There's an angel by your side
Tonight

Back at the bar getting cynically stoned
Your friends are drinking alone
But it's funny, they don't even cross your mind
When she asks you into her home


I think that the first time we each ventured into this crazy business called dating after our spouses died, we wanted to have so much control over outcomes. We wanted, frankly, our old lives back. And as we realized we couldn't have them back, we grabbed and grabbed and grabbed, and it was less and less successful.

Caroline use the word softness to describe herself. I have always been a big ole teddy bear, so I don't know how much softer I am now than ever, but maybe it fits. But I am certainly in a place where I don't have to have the control I wanted. Life is not something to be planned, but something to be experienced. Somewhere we took that desire for control and we threw it into the sea of no cares. I can see in retrospect that if there is a moment that happened for me, it was in early-mid July. The reason this song speaks to me so much of that is that we don't even need to know when it happened, but we know that somewhere along the line it did.

I would like to think of this much more, but I am tired and we are headed to Austin tomorrow. Woo-hoo.

Kudos to the UK's bishops

In honor of the 40th anniversary of the Vatican II's statement about the scriptures, the Catholic bishops of the UK released a statement recently that the Bible cannot be expected to be literally, historically factual.

What is sad is that this is news. I mean, it is the 40th anniversary of this statement by the Church as a whole. Here is a link to the article in the Times about it:

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,13509-1811332,00.html

I do not like the way that the article phrases things, I must say. In the opening paragraph, it says some parts of the Bible are not actually true. I guess I would say there is literal, historical, factual truth, but there is also truth beyond that. Steinbeck conveys truth to me in stories that are entirely fictional, but they speak to the human condition so eloquently that I must say yes. Tom Joad never really organized the fruit pickers, but he speaks truth to me.

Similarly, the creation stories - there are two of them in Genesis, and quite different - are not historically factual. The empirical evidence against the earth being a few thousand years old is staggering, and Darwinism is as solidly established a scientific theory as is gravity. They could both be wrong, and I am sure we understand neither entirely. But that is not to say that the creation stories do not convey truth. Here are some of the truths in the creation story as I read it: This earth and all of its creatures are good. Humans are created in the image of God and good, and God desires a relationship with the creations of the earth. Was Eve built from one of Adam's ribs? Nope. Pretty likely those cats didn't exist period.

Another thing I thought was interesting was one of the things on the list that the bishops maintain that is factual: the virgin birth of Jesus. Wowsers is all I can say to that. Recent biblical scholarship I think would emphatically state that the virgin birth stories - again, stories because Matthew and Luke have very different stories that simply cannot be reconciled - result from a couple different inputs. First of all, the Greek translation of Isaiah refers to the virgin who will give birth in the time the Messiah brings peace and reconciliation to the world. But the Hebrew word does not connote virginity at all, but speaks merely of a young woman bearing a child. Second, there are stories of the rise and divinity of the Caesars, especially Augustus, that involve virgin births. Much of the new testament was written in direct counterpoint to the theo-political culture of the Roman Empire. Your son of god, Luke writes, was born powerful and brought peace through victory. Our Son of God was born humbly without even a room, and brings peace through justice.

The gospel writers could easily have written the story to fit the prediction in Isaiah. It is not as if we have a newspaper report of the virgin birth written before Jesus amounted to anything. I could write a story about JFK and have him predict the Red Sox rallying against the Yankees last year, predicting the wildly improbably only to have it come true, but it wouldn't really be that impressive since I was writing after the fact.

So I am puzzled, to say the least, why the bishops would feel the need to claim the literal truth of the virgin birth. I hate the very idea of a virgin birth if for no other reason than it sets an impossible conflict for women. Mary is portrayed as the ideal Christian model for women throughout time. But how can one be a mother and a virgin? And yet both are essential to the portrayal of Mary. I think much of the misogny that has infected the Christian church from at least the second century can be traced to this horrible portrayal of the mother of Jesus as a virgin. She had several other children; the gymnastics the Catholics have to go through to deny this is Olympic-caliber; she was a sexual creature as are all women. To deny them a part of their essential character lessens them, and it has been going on for far too long.

that sucked

I am just playing in a little $1.50 tourney on Poker Stars, and I pick up a pair of threes, and the flop comes 663, two spades. So I am staring at a full house on the flop. Which is almost always a good thing. There were four players on the hand. So I check, the next hand moves all in, the next hand calls, and the third guy raises all in. And I am staring at a boat.

And I am thinking about what these clowns have. One of them has a six. The other two have spades. Maybe two of them have sixes and one has spades. But the only hands I am losing to right now are 66 and 63. So I call, and the cards come over.

First guy has 56 of diamonds and a set of sixes. He is just unlucky, methinks, to not have the best hand of the moment. Next guy has A9 of spades, nut flush draw. Last guy has 74 of spades, spade draw. So even with all four players, they combined have four outs against me. If a five hits, the one guy makes a better boat, 6/5, and if the case 6 hits, he has quads. If the 5 of spades happens to hit, then the one dude makes a straight flush. Dude with A9 drawing at the nut flush is drawing dead. But nice to know you. The turn is a blank, and the river is the magical five of spades. So not only do I not win the main pot, but I am shut out of the side pots by the 6/5 full house.

I am about 82% or so to win on the flop with two shots at four outs. And if I quadruple up, I am a monster chip leader with five to play, but instead I am out in sixth. Oh well, I guess I want to save all my luck for the blogger tourney on the 23rd.

gay marriage

I saw one of our beloved pastors on the news tonight standing up for basic civil rights for homosexuals (i.e, the ability to wed.) We are wasting our time in Texas debating whether marriage should be defined as a union between one man and one woman.

This ship done sailed, I think. I cannot imagine that marriage will be updated within our lifetimes to include GLBT families. This country has long been about extending dignity to more and more people. It is our original sin as a country that we did not extend our ideals to all of us, but American history is a process of redeeming that sin again and again. The young people of this country will not let this bigotry continue - the battle is over on our college campuses, and that is the real vision of the future.

But opposing gay marriage is simply non-Biblical. Christianity is ultimately about a radical egalitarianism. There are no distinctions within the body of Christ. Not between Greek and Jew; not between slave and free; not between male and female. And so how can the church talk about marriage being only between a male and a female when those distinctions have no meaning? Marriage is a covenant between one person and another person. It is that simple.

field trip tomorrow

Katie makes her first field trip as a kindergardner tomorrow. I don't know where they are going; it was on the permission form, but I just can't remember. But she has to take a sack lunch - and it has to be in the sack and not in a lunchbox for some reason. Tonight we went to the fundraiser at Cici's Pizza. Basically, we write the teacher's name on the receipt and put it in the Royal Ridge jar and they kick back some money to the PTA. Katie loves doing this because all of us crazy kinder parents aren't jaded yet and so we do this kind of crap. And so there are her little friends all over the place. By next year, we will say forget it, there are too many noisy kids there, and I want some quiet, dammit.

I miss catching my little nap before I pick up Katie in the afternoons. It always cleared my head and I was just better prepared for the evening. Oh well. I guess I can get one tomorrow as I will likely only work until noon or so.

first day of work

It was fun to be back at work in a real job. It was great to be surrounded by people I like and who like me, hard as that may be to believe. It is not the most thrilling work, but I believe in the work of this church, and I can pitch in here, and I can do so while paying bills, which is a nice combination. And hopefully can improve the position and the way things are done in the accounting department there so that things are more seamless in the future.

Katie had a big day; she got to ride the bus home with Felicia today, which is always a big deal. And we got her a Halloween costume (an angel, and she is adorable in it, of course.) We got a birthday present for Josephine, a week from Saturday at Chuck E Cheese. (Yikes!) And she got her school pictures, which are amazing, though she looks about ten years old in them. My goodness she is growing up fast. So we took the pictures and the costume over to my parents' house for some modeling, and she was happy to do that, and then she played with her pal across the way here for a half hour before bed, and she was so exhausted she fell asleep in ten minutes.

As for me, I will be asleep in ten myself.

training camp opened!!

Spurs training camp opened yesterday in the Virgin Islands. They will spend a week there before heading back stateward to begin playing the preseason schedule, including an extra game in Miami, the proceeds of which will benefit Katrina and Rita victims. The University of the Virgin Islands offered to host them, and since Tim Duncan is a native son, it is a nod to him to have camp there.

They come into this camp with their most talented roster. Popovich indicated that if the season started tomorrow, they would run out the same starting five as for the finals - Parker, Ginobili, Bowen, Duncan, and Muhammed. I would not be surprised to see Nesterovich beat out Muhammed, quite frankly. For all of the abuse he has taken nationally, he is a superior post defender, and if he shows up healthy and in shape and plays well this preseason, it will be tough for Nazr to hold his spot. And if Parker does not show more than he did in the European championships, he will not get a whole ton of minutes with Van Exel behind him.

All in all, this team has a ton of talent, and chemistry will be huge. But getting people to buy in to the system has never been Pop's problem, so this should be a banner year again for the Spurs. It is not too much to expect, I think, for them to have the best regular season record in team history if Duncan stays healthy.

Lisa's blog

Lisa Hyam has a wonderful blog over at http://hatetuesdays.blogspot.com/. Today she was posting about sitting at the bar with a bunch of married women she is at a meeting with, and them asking her questions about being a widow, and the opportunity she had hopefully to help them treasure the relationships they are in currently.

I had an experience like that in February. I went on a men's retreat with a bunch of guys from church, and we broke into three or four small groups - just randomly by counting off across the room. As it turns out, all four of us widowers ended up in the same small group, and all of the others in the group were married. And a lot of good stuff happened for us widowers - all of us in very different stages of life. I am the young one, and Bill the middle aged one, and Hal the old one, and I wish I remember the fourth one's name, but he had the most unique circumstances of us all.

But the main thing I remember in those small group sessions were the married men thinking about how hard life would be without their wives. About all of the little things that made being married to that woman a blessing in their lives. I hope it lasted, and I hope there are ten stronger marriages in the world now because of that weekend.

Lisa is right: we crazy widows can be a witness to the world. This time is short. This day is precious. Sieze it and cherish it.

pulling for the Yankees!?!

An unexpected thing happened when I sat down to watch some playoff baseball tonight: I found myself pulling for the Yankees to win. I hate the Yankees, have hated them since 1976. I hate Steinbrenner. I hate the system that allows them to spend $200 million on a payroll while my team is in the 40's. I hate Reggie Jackson. I hate Don Mattingly. I hate Chris Chambliss and Billy Martin and Scott Brosious and Aaron Boone and all of the freaking scrubs that hit homeruns for them out of freaking nowhere.

But this year is different. I certainly can't cheer for either Sox. I hate the White Sox more than I hate the Lakers even with Phil Jackson back coaching them. And the Red Sox fans have become only more obnoxious and mentally ill after winning the series last year. I love watching Manny Ramirez hit, but I can't stand them. And I like the Angels. I have always liked Garret Anderson and Darin Erstad and Bartolo Colon, but my favorite Angel was always Glaus, and they are just not the same without him.

And now there is not a single Yankee I truly despise. How can you hate Torre? Or Matsui, Sheffield, Jeter, Arod, whomever? They are just pros' pros now. But the main reason I want the Yankees to go all the way is the man on the hill tonight, the most underrated baseball player of this generation (except in our family), Mike Mussina. Tonight he was awesome, making only his third start in over a month due to arm problems, all he does is go out and shut out the Angels for six innings. Granted, if Finley's ball doesn't bounce into the stands, he would have allowed one run in six. But still, a fabulous performance tonight by one of the biggest pressure pitchers of this era.

The two games he started in the 1997 ALCS are simply legendary for the Orioles. And people forget how bad Clemens was in game seven against the Sox two years ago. If Moose doesn't come in on two days rest and hold down the fort, Aaron Boone would still be the nobody he always should have been.

And so tonight he grabs the ball against the likely AL Cy Young winner and goes out there with a tight curveball, a decent fastball, and the circle change and keeps the Angels at bay and rides his early lead to the Gordon/Rivera lights out special. And I cheered him every pitch. And will again when he starts game one against the Red Sox in Yankee Stadium. (No, the White Sox are not going to win that series. Shut up already. They will lose to Wells, Wakefield, and Schilling in the next three.)

Go Moose!

the worst suckout at the right time

I administered the worst suckout to a guy I have ever seen today, and it parlayed itself into a nice chunk of change.

I was in fifth of five playing in a 45 player tourney this afternoon, and was in pretty bad shape. But I caught aces and was able to almost triple up on the hand. So while I was still in fifth, I was back over ten times the big blind, which meant at least I could play rather than wait for a hand and move in with it.

I pick up A4 in the big blind, and one guy raised to twice the blind, and I called. The flop came AKJ, and I moved in with it. The guy called and turned over AJ. As it turns out, a king would have split the pot, as we each would have played AAKKJ, and running QT would give us both straights. But I caught running fours to make a full house and move into contention. I ended up in second place for the tourney. The difference between fifth and second was a decent chunk of money.

It is the only suckout I have ever had where I sincerely felt bad for the other guy. The only way he loses the pot is for me to catch two of the three remaining fours with the last two cards.

Pokerstars is running a blogger only tournament in a couple of weeks. It should be fun. It is free for us bloggers, with the grand prize being a spot on the poker cruise coming up and an entry into the $8000 buy in tournament. That is about the only way I would ever play in a tourney that big. So wish me luck ......

a job!

I have a real job now in addition to all of the stuff I am doing with no real prospects of getting paid. The bookkeeper at church quit, and so I am going to be taking over those duties. It is part time, with a flexible schedule, so I will be able to work while Katie is in school and still be able to pick her up most days.

So it is an exciting combination. I can use my accounting background, but in a favorable schedule and not have to mess with the people accountants have to bother with. I am not a country club guy and not a schmoozer and so I am excited that I can work and not be bothered with finding clients or having to listen to rich people whine about their lives.

Woo-hoo!!!

failure

You have to admit one thing: this president sure has gall. In the aftermath of the Katrina fiasco, with an administration that has failed unlike anything American government has ever seen, this administration perceived as nothing but a good ole boy network of W's buddies - "Brownie, you are doing a heck of a job!" - is now really the time to appoint a crony to the Supreme Court bench?

Listen, there is no way I was going to be a fan of Bush's choice. But he won the election and not the candidate I would have preferred, and that is the way these things work. But surely we as a nation could come up with someone with a record? Someone who had been a judge? If not, someone with a distinguished academic career, a Constitutional scholar perhaps? Even a politician, someone who has had to face the voters a few times and therefore knows how the decisions will play in the real world?

Instead, we get none of these, but the Bush family lawyer. She is a corporate lawyer, climbed to the top of her firm in Dallas (which, to be fair, is not exactly a hotbed of progressivism, so a woman doing that is still a big deal), did some work with the state bar, maybe some pro bono stuff, and basically hitched her wagon to the Bush family in the 80's. This to me seems like the judicial equivalent of running the Arabian Horses Association. I have no doubt that she is a fine lawyer, but why would anyone think she has the mettle to be a Supreme Court Justice? Who is happy with this choice?

37 months and counting until the next election. Please please please deliver us a small-government, social liberal candidate with some charisma. There has to be one out there somewhere, right? Ideas anyone?

blessed are the meek

I just read again the chapter from my beatitude book (What Jesus Meant, an amazing book, I reiterate.) dedicated to, "blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth." And as I was driving home, this song came on the radio, "Something in the way she moves," by James Taylor.

There's something in the way she moves,
Or looks my way, or calls my name,
That seems to leave this troubled world behind.
And if I'm feeling down and blue,
Or troubled by some foolish game,
She always seems to make me change my mind.

Chorus:
And I feel fine anytime she's around me now,
She's around me now
Just about all the time
And if I'm well you can tell she's been with me now,
She's been with me now quite a long, long time
And I feel fine.___________

It isn't what she's got to say
But how she thinks and where she's been
To me, the words are nice, the way they sound
I like to hear them best that way
It doesn't much matter what they mean
If she says them mostly just to calm me down

Every now and then the things I lean on lose their meaning
And I find myself careening
Into places where I should not let me go.--
She has the power to go where no one else can find me
And to silently remind me
Of the happiness and the good times that I know, got to know.


That song could have been written for Becky and me, and it relates so well to the beatitude. Meek is not weak; meek comes from a place of strength and choosing not to use that strength, be it military strength, physical strength, moral strength, whatever. Meek is Desmond Tutu celebrating mass on the hill overlooking the island where Nelson Mandela and countless others were incarcerated unjustly. Meek is Ghandi and Martin Luther King looking at the violence done to them and understanding that escalating the violence could only hurt their causes. And so they took it with all the pain that must have come from watching their followers suffer and die. No, the weak thing would have been to fight back with violence in kind; meek is strong.

I am not meek. I rage sometimes, and I escalate conflict way too often. Becky was meek, and she could find me wherever I was and silently remind me of the good things in my life - most notably, her very self. Becky was so confident in her own goodness and her own strength that she did not need to display it, that she did not need to be better than others but was content with herself. I miss that so much in my life right now. I wish I could be more meek. I wish I could feel strong enough to be meek, but I still feel broken so often, and there are times when exposing that brokenness is okay, but sometimes I want to cover it and the best way I have found, especially when I haven't gotten enough sleep, is with rage.

And so that is my prayer for myself for this day and for as long as it takes: help me to trust in your strength in me enough to allow myself to be meek. Let me be part of the water in the river, not the stone in its path to be broken down inexorably.

99% Angel

Katie is wearing one of my favorite of her shirts, a white T-shirt that says simply, 99% Angel. Becky and I found it in Jefferson, TX, not long after moving back to Texas in 2002. We were so attracted to it because it so captured our child (and all children?) that we purchased it even though it was a size 5 or whatever.

At the time, I thought it was funny because it leaves unsaid what the other 1% is, and I hope that is what most people think about when they see her in it. That is the point of the shirt.

But when I see it, I see Becky in her. I see what a monument to Becky this child remains. I could ask for nothing more than for her to be 99% of Becky, with just a smidge of some of the good things about me tossed in as well.

Communion Prayer

Here is the communion prayer, with the leader first and the people in response:

What do you bring to God's table?

We bring bread, made by many people's work from an unjust world where some have plenty but many go hungry.

At this table, all are fed, and noone is turned away.

Welcome to God's table, where all stand in the same bread line!

What do you bring to Christ's table?

We bring wine, made by many people's work from an unjust world where some have leisure and most struggle to survive.

At this table all share the same cup of pain and forgiveness.

Since we are all God's children, noone is denied.

These gifts shall be for us the signs of Christ within us and around us, filling us and setting us free.

Our eating is a witness against hunger, our cry against injustice, and our hope for a world where God is full known.

Amen.

hunger

Today was world communion Sunday in the mainline Protestant churches, and our pastor delivered yet another wonderful sermon. He began with a quotation, I don't remember from whom: Ethics begins at 1,200 calories a day.

We simply cannot expect human beings to make rational, ethical choices when they do not have the sustenance to live. And when we think about the many places in this world - and in this country - where 1,200 calories is not common, we cannot expect middle class morality.

But the larger point of the sermon was about the meaning of food beyond nutrition and sustenance. Who Jesus ate with is a big deal. And he ate with everyone and anyone. He told the parable of the rich man throwing a party, and he invited all the hotshots and bigwigs and they sent back excuses. And so he went out and brought in the poor and the lame and the lepers, and the table still wasn't full, and so he sent out his servants to bring in anyone they could find, and they shared a meal. On the road to Emmaeus, it was in the sharing of a meal that Jesus was recognized.

One of the things I thought a lot about during the sermon is how many meals I eat alone these days. I almost always have lunch alone with my book. On the days Katie and I eat at home, usually we are eating different things, and so I usually wait until she goes to sleep to eat alone. And now I wonder about that. I have always enjoyed eating lunch alone - I think that I have so rarely enjoyed my co-workers in general that I needed some solitude. I need alone time to my day, and yet now I am inundated with it.

Not to mention that I eat less and better when I eat with others. I notice this in particular with my favorite little Chinese restaurant. When I go with friends or even just with Katie, I always have enough leftovers for another meal, but when I go by myself I eat the whole thing. (Partly that is because the dinner portions - when I am most likely to be with someone - are larger, but still, the lunch should be enough for a meal and a half anyway.) Since I have to talk too, I eat more slowly, and it does me much better.

Anyway, it was a beautiful service today. Just amazing, with an altar overflowing with a cornacopia of food. And it was all real, apples, oranges, bananas and loaves and loaves of bread. And communion was spent not just with the bread and the wine, but also by taking grapes from the altar and passing them around. By congregating around the altar after church tearing chunks off of the loaves, and inhaling a banana in Katie's case. Though John - one of our pastors - made sure she found a brownie, too. She and John are good pals, and now you can begin to see why.

Anyway, I have done a lot of thinking about the service today, and it really was awesome. Later I will post the prayer that Karen - our other pastor - wrote for the service. Katie is going to sleep in here right now, so I have to keep the lights off, making it hard to copy stuff.

a sad child

Katie had a pair of bathroom accidents today, and so I am not letting her go to her friend's house to play tonight. She didn't tell me about the second, and so that is the main reason she is losing a privilege tonight. Not much of one, for by the time we made it home from my parents' house, she would have had 20 minutes or so before the bedtime rituals.

But that did not keep her from being devastated.

Katie has short hair

Katie got a pretty major haircut today. She got a head start on it herself, taking about four locks out of her hair in her room this morning. I didn't notice, but my mom did, and so on their way homr from playing today, they went to a hair salon and got it chopped off properly. It is now just below her ears, and it makes her look even more like Becky, as this is how she wore her hair when we met, and it is also how she cut her hair when Katie was born, so as to keep her from grabbing it. Most of the rest of the time it was longer, which was how I thought it was prettiest, but that style just really reminded me of Becky today.

So she will be a sensation at church tomorrow, I am sure.

We had a couple of pals over for her to play with tonight. I so enjoy having her friends in the house. I think Caroline said it best; when she has friends over, they compete for each other's attention rather than trying to get mine. So they just played in the back in Katie's room, and it was thoroughly fun for them. They played school, and they were each teachers. And then they drew and colored and drew and colored and painted and there is enough paper strewn across that room to choke a fair sized yak. But it is easy to clean up, so no problem.

Next week, we are headed to Austin. Becky's brother is getting married this week or next week in Vegas, and they are having a reception at their house in Hutto - north of town - Saturday night. It will be good to see Becky's family again - we see too little of them, and I am not sure how much of that is in my control.

I did something I hate doing, but I took Indy in my survivor league again. That uses them up; my league has a stipulation of not using a team more than twice. The obvious choice, I think, was Cincy at home over Houston, but I just have a funny feeling about that game. Now I cheering for the Texans, for if they win, two thirds of the remaining players are gone. I hate taking a road team, especially in a divisional game, and I hate going against Fisher, who is one of my favorite coaches. So I may change my mind and take the Panthers over the Pack on Monday night, but who knows whether Favre will be brilliant or terrible in that game - it won't be anything in between. Or maybe the Giants at home against the Rams. You can count on Mike Martz to give his team the best opportunity to lose that game.

Sleep well. I am off to bed.

Go Chaos!

How cool is it that with two games left in the season, the Indians do not lead in the wild card raise, do not play a team ahead of them, and still control their own destiny to make it into the play-offs.

As it stands, the Red Sox and Yankees are tied for the AL East lead and one game ahead of the Indians for the wild card. And since the Yankees play each other, the Tribe is guaranteed at least two losses of the teams ahead of them. If the Sox take two from the Yankees, or vice versa, two wins will mean a gain of two games on the loser and a wild card berth.

But the best case scenario is that the Yankees and Red Sox split the last two games and the Indians beat the White Sox twice. Then all three teams finish tied. Teams tied for the division do not play a playoff game if the loser would be the wild card. But since the loser might not be the wildcard, first a one game playoff would be held in Yankee Stadium between the Sox and Yankees, a la 1978. (Insert obligatory Bucky Dent reference here.) Then the loser would play Cleveland to determine the wild card entry.

And, for fun, the other teams wouldn't know who they are playing until the outcome of the whole mess because the wild card winner will not play a team from its own division. So if the Tribe wins the wild card, I think they get the AL East winner, but even that could change, whereas the other two teams would start with Chicago.

This would be the coolest thing since USC finished ranked number one in both polls and couldn't play for the national championship a couple of years ago.

Oh, and the White Sox suck.

bad bad beat

I am playing in a little poker tournament tonight, and I am left in the big blind with 96, and the flop comes 985. So I have top pair and a gutshot, which is much better than I expected. So I bet about the size of the pot, and a guy raises all-in, which is also about the size of the pot, and I call.

He has pocket sevens, which leaves him with a three-outer of sixes. If a seven hits, I have a straight and beat his trips. Except the turn is an 8, pairing the board, and his seven makes him a full house, beating my straight.

Grrrr.