Reds games

Baseball season is upon us and it always takes me back to growing up a Reds fan during the 1970s and the Big Red Machine. I remember the thrill of coming down Columbia Parkway into the city and seeing Riverfront Stadium appear in all it's glory as we came over the last hill into downtown. I loved that moment every time we got to go. I recall going to the first game where Tony Perez came to Cincinnati as an Expo after being traded in 1977. I was there with my Cub Scout Troop way up in the nosebleed seats but we still had a ball. Another memory was when me and Dad went to a game in the early 80s and sat through a rain delay and then an extra-inning game that ended with a pitcher for the Reds hitting a homer to win it. On the way home we stopped at White Castle on Beechmont for a real late snack. I remember one of the last times I went to a game with Dad it was in 2004 or 2005 with John. The Reds were down late and John and I were ready to leave in the 8th inning but Dad convinced us to stay just in case... Well, with 2 outs and down a run in the bottom of the 9th, Adam Dunn blasted a game-winning homer over our heads in the right-field stands! We were so glad we stayed! That was at the new ballpark. My fondest memories were at old Riverfront which stands no more. John will likely not remember that stadium having only been in it a couple of times. I'm sure the memories at Great American Ballpark will be just fine for him though.

FLASHBACK OF THE WEEK: June 1982

Back in 1981-82 I was in 7th grade with Melinda but we rarely talked. You see, I was such a goof-off and she, well, she was a girl; mature. Much more than us boys at that age. Anyway, during the last day of school a bunch of us dressed up and brought our cameras. I have lots of photos from that day and none include Melinda other than maybe her way in the background.

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Fast forward to our Junior year in high school in 1985-86 when we started dating. Melinda had forgotten all about that photo. Fast forward even further ahead to around 1990 when we were engaged to be married. I'm at home one day and I get this phone call from Melinda who is hysterical. She's telling me that she found a photo with me in it that she took in 7th grade! Seems she was rummaging through an old box of photos when it jumped out at her with no warning! It all came back to her in that moment. She was trying to get a photo of Andrea when I popped into the photo at the last second and 'presto' a memory was made. A memory that went forgotten for 8+ years.

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Little did she (or I) know back on that June day in '82 that we would be, in a few short years, begin spending the rest of our lives together. I know I didn't think it. And I know Melinda didn't. And the kicker is that Andrea was the one who set us up on our first date our Junior year!

Stormtrooper Egg

John used a marker to create this Stormtrooper hard-boiled egg. No word on whether or not Darth Tater approved...

Ice storm a few days ago

Forgot to post these cool photos of the ice storm we had. At 11pm the night before, the weatherguessers said we'd have 6" of snow by morning...but all we had was ice. Man, I wish I could be wrong 95% of the time and still keep my job!!! Anyway, here are the pics.

February rainbow

Saw a beautiful rainbow yesterday while driving so I called home and told Melinda to look out to the East and she snapped a few photos of this February rainbow. I think I was at the base of it but I couldn't find a pot of gold...

Birthday "Help!"

I had my 39th birthday yesterday and what did I get? Help. That's what I got. Well, more specifically, I got a DVD of the Beatles' 1965 movie Help! Although, some would say I need all the help I can get...

Happy Valentine's Day

Dressing in the dark...

A co-worker of mine this morning looked down and realized that he had put on 2 different shoes! Unbelievable! I couldn't let this opportunity slip by without documenting it. It just goes to show that dressing in the dark or with your eyes closed isn't worth it.

Turtle eggs

There was once a man who owned 50 acres of California beachfront property. He planned to develop it by building 3 hotels on the site. During the initial review phase it was discovered by an environmentalist friend of mine that there were turtle eggs buried all along that stretch of beach. Know this; she is very liberal in her political views but it has been fruitless to argue politics with her because she usually resorts to name calling instead of discussing the issue. I saw this beach front property as an opportunity to make her consider an issue dear to my heart. I told her that I am going to encourage the developer to bulldoze the eggs and get rid of them. Smash 'em all. It is, after all, his property. He should be able to do with it what he wants. Those eggs are inconveniencing him. Well, this friend of mine was livid!! She started venting that it was inconsiderate and greedy conservatives like myself who are to blame for the death of those poor innocent turtles. At that point I aksed her, a militant abortion supporter, what she valued more; unborn turtles or unborn humans. You could hear a pin drop. I use this story to illustrate that to some people, unborn animals are valued more than unborn babies. Human babies! What's more valuable to you? Unborn turtles or unborn humans. Who is the party more concerned with selfish convenience? One willing to make a buck or one willing to abort a baby? Who is the party of compassion? One thinking of themselves being "inconvenienced" by their own irresponsible actions or one willing to sacrifice FOR a baby? Turtles or babies - which do you choose?

Krustybrook Woods Subdivision

Now HERE'S a subdivision I may even be tempted to move to if only for the fact that it makes fun of suburbia in general. Not a fan of The Simpsons, but I couldn't pass this one up since it deals with my line of work. The brochure is hilarious! Click on it (below) and enjoy.

Morning thunderstorm

Was awoken by a good ol' good one this morning! Just like in the Spring; a blasting thunderstorm complete with firehose rain crashing against our back windows and teeth-jarring thunder rumbling through the house after every flash. Pretty spectacular. I had to remind myself that it's still only February 5 and not April 5...

Here's a photo taken from the camcorder in May of 2002 when I happened to be filming a torrential downpour only to capture a small sliver of lightening hitting the ground next to the driveway!
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