NFL 277 - 10-04-09

What a powerhouse!!  Unbelievable start to today’s game against the Washington Redskins!  Is there hope?  We have not scored in the first quarter since October or November of 2008!!!  Now, just two minutes into the game and we SCORE!!!!  Talk about imposing – 10-o at the half, despite missing two rather simple field goals, and the only team really playing ball - The Bucs!!!!  Are we to once again to return to the form we had when Tony Dungy was ‘The Man’ taking us to the playoffs year after year only to be fired by the hapless Glazers for never winning ‘the big one’?  Now that Tony has his Superbowl ring with the Colts, I wonder if Malcom and the boys still think they made the best deal?  Millions of dollars and five or six future draft picks for a John Gruden, whose only claim to fame was taking a Dungy-built team to the win Superbowl XXXVIII and after that, nothing, and I do mean nothing!!  I digress – it is the opening of the third quarter – suffice it to say that Bucs must have ingested too much Gatorade in the locker room.  Or perhaps Raheem Morris thought that a first half domination was enough to carry us through the entire second half, but the third quarter proved to be our demise – the ‘Skins tore through us like a flint-chiseled arrow-head shredding weak flesh ripping us up to the stats of 151 yards gained on offense to our 14!!  Sixteen third quarter unanswered points proved more than we could overcome and once again we were left in the lurch as we drew only within three and time expired before we could tie the score – wishful thinking anyway!!!  Now 0 and 4 – and the only really bright spot seems to be the potential in our new rookie quarterback, Josh Johnson.   I think we should use the rest of the season playing all the rookies and getting them some live game experience for next season – I think if we are to have hope, that is it – next season!!  Great posture, Glazer family – it is as though once was proof enough that the Bucs are a formidable team – but that was the 2002 season – and this is the NFL, which really is an acronym for Not For Long!!!

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SERENDIPITY 276 - 10-03-09

Given a week’s respite from our normal Saturday routine, which includes having dinner and a couple of sets of Canasta with our great friends, I decided to take Cynthia out for a special treat.  You all probably have that special place that you go when the time is extra special or intimate and romantic – we have always had an affinity towards a special fondue restaurant here call The Melting Pot.  I decided to take Cynthia there for a relaxed time away – tranquil, because you literally cook your own meal in a quaint setting in a central fondue pot and the dining experience usually lasts in the neighborhood of two-and-a-half hours, not great if you are famished, but totally awesome if you just want some great down-time.  I never presume to take the Tampa drive without a reservation at The Melting Pot – that is, until today – big mistake!!!  When we arrived around 6:45, we were informed that reservations were booked solid until 9:30.  Imagine my disappointment – no, you cannot.  What a let-down for my sweetie.  I asked her where else she would like to go and her gracious reply, as often given, was “anywhere with you”.  Now I totally want to take her someplace special, but where?  She does not know the area, so asking her is not very productive.  I inquired as to what she might like to eat – she said a steak would be nice.  There are a half-dozen steak places in the vicinity, each offering an ‘okay’ steak but lacking sorely in the ambiance I was hoping for tonight.  We finally decided on one which required a U-turn and just as we sat at the corner awaiting the signal arrow, there it was!  A billboard staring us right in the face for Shula’s, America’s Steak House – Yes, one in the same, the perennial coach of the Miami Dolphins famous for the one and only undefeated season of 1972 – now entrepreneur of his own chain of nearly fifty quality restaurants, all of them featuring some of the best steak ever to pass your bicuspids!!  From the initial placement of freshly baked bread loaf with the tomato – mozzarella salad, delicately laced with the balsamic glaze, poignant with fresh herbs, rosemary and thyme,  melt-in-your-mouth, done-to-perfection most tender filet ever, grilled asparagus, double baked potato right down to the last custardy drop of authentic crème Bruleè and sumptuous coffee, this surprising even ranks easily in the top five of our lifetime of dining experiences – and all this happened because of spontaneity instigated from oversight.  Never give up on serendipity.  

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ONE SHOT 267 - 09-24-09

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This blog is written by Rick Larrison, middle brother to Roger as a part of a challenge assignment.


This summer I have been play golf in the Conseco golf league on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons after work. Our usual tee-time has been 5:00 PM.  The league ended in early August. Several of us have chosen to continue to play on Thursday afternoon as long as the climate conditions permit. Today should have been one of those golf days, but it rained all day and they closed the course at 1:00 PM. My BLOG today was going to be about golf anyway. So, I shall continue with what I had in mind.

I have been blessed this summer to play a few rounds with Rick Kassel, a man I have know since I was 8 or 9 and he was a teenager. He and his brother Paul used to ride their bikes to our house and Roger and I would join them and we would then ride to Rea Park in Terre Haute to play. Sometimes we would get to the golf course so early that the sprinklers were still watering the greens. Reminiscing with Rick was a real thrill. Rick has a saying “I have three things to say about golf; “I love this game, I hate this game and this game is too easy”.  Rick is a fairly good golfer and he loves to talk. He provides suggestions to his golf mates, usually if they are struggling with some aspect of the game. I hope to get at least one more round in with him before the golf season is over. (I live in Indiana, so unless you like to play in the snow or frigid temperatures, we have a season.)

Most golfers are what are termed “Duffers”. This is a term that represents how well we play. You hit a decent shot followed by a duffed shot. I have been a “Duffer” from the first time I ever swung a club. You will find no “Tigers” in this group. It is just plain ugly golf. So, why do we keep returning to the golf course and paying to play this frustrating game? Some golfers get so frustrated that they give up the game completely. Mark Twain said, "Golf is a good walk spoiled." I think that in every round of golf there is at least one shot that makes you want to come back. This shot is one of those rare occasions when the planets are aligned, your feet are aligned, your swing is perfect, and you hit the ball on the sweet spot of the club propelling the tiny white ball skyward. It flies straight and land exactly where you wanted it to land and it rolls to within inches of the cup. Hopefully this is your second shot, but more than likely it is your third or fourth shot. That really does not matter. The feel of that shot and the result are just enough thrill to make you want to come back. You want to come back and hope that every shot is like that one shot – which, we all know, is never the case.

 

PROCRASTINATION 266 - 09-23-09

This BLOG was again a guest contribution by Richard Larrison (Rick), Roger’s middle brother.

Procrastination!  Now that is a very big word and we all have been accused of doing this - especially around April 15^th of each year. So, as I did in BLOG 265, let’s see what Wikipedia says this word means:

Procrastination is a behavior which is characterized by the deferment of actions or tasks to a later time. Psychologists often cite procrastination as a mechanism for coping with the anxiety associated with starting or completing any task or decision. Psychology researchers use three criteria to categorize procrastination: for a behavior to be classified as procrastination, it must be counterproductive, needless, and delaying.

Now this is interesting, because I know why my brother got behind on entering his BLOGs. He and Cindy were taking care of the “Energizer Bunny” (AKA Isaac) while their son and daughter-in-law were moving into a new apartment. So, his time was not counterproductive, nor was it needless. Time spent with a grandchild is precious and memorable. It perhaps was delaying, but my guess is that the BLOG was delayed because the little tike zapped all of the energy from his “Poppie”.

 

So, now let me interject another big word, Prioritization. Again let’s reference Wikipedia:

prioritization (plural prioritizations)

1.      The process of assigning priorities to things or tasks.

Roger was putting spending time with his Grandson and preparing himself for the next day (i.e. Sleeping with Isaac), ahead of writing his daily BLOG.    Does Roger have his priorities assigned correctly?……

 

By all means, the answer to that question is YES! Life is short and uncertain. Always put your family first, your faith second and then everything else. Never pass up the opportunity to express your feelings for those that you love and care about.

This blog is posted on:

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