Sox's baby


Greenberg called it, shall we say it together?

S-W-E-E-P


Red sox nation!!

The Change

Its that time of year. The weather is changing and we have had our first cold snap this week. They days are short, its dark before 7. Soon the daylight savings time will shift back (Nov. 4). This week people in the house have been sick.

Everyone in my house knows that I will assend into my winter funk pretty soon. Winter is my mortal enemy. And as the last bit of decent weather tries to hold out I'll stay in denial as much as possible. But soon, soon I will spiral downward into that wintery depression....

Maybe its time to write my lament psalm :-(

Auburn down, next stop Alabama

Another incredible prime time game for LSU. Auburn played exceptionally well. Lester was running all over the place and Cox was executing well. The LSU defense wasn't as intimidating as usual. LSU receivers couldn't catch very well, thats frustrating. Finally Doucet is back and he has got to return to the full impact player he is. I've go to say the Perrilloux thing really didn't work well this game like it has early on. An excellent game for Flynn, when his is 100% you can't beat him. The killer running back squad was all of that. Hester just never fails to step it up in the 4th quarter.

But what really bothered me was the exiting conclusion. Yes, it was an amazing touchdown! But what they heck was Les thinking?!? That play could have easily cost the Tigers the game. Calculated risk is necessary, just plain going for it isn't the kind of long distance football I like to see. I'm not complaining but I hope this doesn't catch up to Les later this season...

All in all an excellent victory. Puts LSU at #3 in the BCS and poised to inch up if OSU or BC stumble. No reason LSU shouldn't run the table to the SEC championship. Alabama is a threat at their home but I think LSU will take care Saban and crew.

And how about those Commodores!!

Can't wait for next week in the SEC...

Geaux Tigers!

Work Trophy

Yesterday I got a work trophy. Most of the time we get a lunch or a shirt. But you know it was a big one when you get the trophy! Seems kind of weird to get a work trophy doesn't it? You can see in the picture that it has been prominently placed on my work trophy shelf.

(of course the cynic in me wonders why the trophy shows up on the same day i'm asked to take the satisfaction survey!)

MYSAYMOTO

Thats the name of the employee survey that we are asked to take every year. This survey is suppose to take my inputs to help management assess whats going on and make things better. But lets face it, these things are totally bogus and everyone knows it. When we are told they are watching the percentages of responses by department then you know somebody has a goal to meet....

So like a good little boy I have my say. "Do you think senior mangement is heading in the right direction", "Do you always put quality first above schedule and cost", "Do you think your future is secure".... blah blah blah.

I like my job and I'm not complaining about it. But its hard not be jaded at times when the dumb questions are asked and no one really wants to hear the answer.

LSU... still #1

Yes, they lost. But look at the schedules, how OSU could claim #1 is rediculous. LSU goes into a top 20 ranked SEC team's home field and loses in 3OT. Kentucky was fired up and they proved that they are top calibur. I don't think anybody could have beat them Saturday.

And LSU gets that loss after coming off of playing top ranked Florida, South Carolina and Virginia Tech. And has to now face the 3 As: Auburn, Arkansas and Alabama. And a not to shaby Ole Miss in the mix as well.

Don't talk to me about Ohio State. The first half of their schedule was lopsided in their favor with no top 20s. Anybody can beat Kent St., Akron, Northwestern, ... I think the BCS machine is total garbage.

'nuff said. Geaux Tigers.

State Fair of Texas

Its fair time once again. I haven't been to a state fair in years. My son has never been to one. And for some reason he was very excited to go. He just kept talking about going to the fair. So last Wednesday the wife took him to see big Tex. I talked to him on the phone after he had been there a while and he was super excited! He was talking 90mph about seeing 2 headed snakes, the human cannoball, eating corny dogs, etc. Good times! I think I need a trip to the fair...

Bill Gates

So everyone has been a Bill Gates basher. But at least his heart has turned to using some of that wealth and power to help those around the world most in need:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21212128/site/newsweek/page/0/

Live Music Revisted

A while back a had a little pity party about not getting to see live music anymore.

My first line of attack was to go see some of the Lewisville free live shows, especially Brave Combo on Oct. 2. Well on Oct. 3 I remembered about that show :-( ug, tough being old.

But the irony was that I ended up hitting the Granda two weeks in a row.

First show was Dumpstaphunk. This is a New Orleans band that includes two Neville's from Nawlin's first family of music. Good, funky stuff. And words of wisdom, if something is getting you down, holding you back or ruining your mood just put it in the dumpsta. Crowd was very light and balcony was closed. So no crowd feeling, that was good. Denton's own Snarky Puppy opened, that was cool too.

Second show was jamband extrodinare Umphrey's McGee. They delivered amazing mind blowing jams. They aren't quite moe. but they do have a unique and impressive sound. Plus they brought an amazing light show to go with. Cool stuff.

Kind of wore out the kitchen passes though so back to hibernation for a while... but it was o-so-sweet. Thanks you!

#1 LSU 28
#9 Florida 24

WOW, that was some exciting football.... Florida came prepared as I knew they would. LSU's 2 missed field goals, stack of penalties and a turn over plagued the Tigers from shutting down Tebow and company. But in the end a Florida turnover changes everything. LSU pulls it out by chewing up the clock and driving for a do or die touchdown. Les earned his street cred today with some bold calls.

And USC lost!!

Geaux Tigers!

My White Board

Ah, the white board in my office... it is the center of many discussions throughout the day. I couldn't live without it! Click on it for the close up view. Talk about your free form media.

1965 (last in the series)

Amanda's Grandmother:

In the early 60's all in the military were aware of Viet Nam. In 1965 it became a personal reality. My husband left for his first tour of duty in Viet Nam 1965. His entire squadron went. Most of the wives and children stayed put as this was only supposed to be a 3 month rotation. We were all afraid but we had each other to rely on. Not being alone in the situation was the important thing. We all knew that we had each other and that we would do anything for each other. The rotation turned into 6 months, then the guys came home for a short time and then were sent back again. Family and friends were the only thing that kept you going during those days. The war was on TV nightly but none of us could watch it. We spent hours making tape recordings of ourselves and our children talking to our husbands. We did not have the luxury of e-mail. There was a lot of unrest in the USA at that time because of Viet Nam and some of it was directed at the spouses that were left behind. We had some support from the military but nothing like they have today. Family was not the primary concern then - It was the military man's job and he was expected to do it and his wife was expected to support his way of life and stay home and take care of home and children. And we did it and without all the whining you hear today.

The death of Martin Luther King and Bobby Kennedy were the next moments to be marked in ones life forever. By now Americans could only wonder what would happen next or who would be assonated next. It was such a sad and unsettled time. "How could things go so wrong" seem to be the question that everyone asked.

We were living in Germany from 1966 to 1970. We missed a great deal of the rioting in the USA. Though we heard about it on the Armed Forces Radio and Television stations and were concerned, we were so far away that we felt a bit removed from the whole thing. We were living in Europe on a military base with a peer group that was compatible in so many ways. There were a few demonstrations in and around the base but nothing that ever worried us. We lived our day-to-day lives doing normal things. The husbands were always gone a great deal of the time, so once again it was the wives staying home taking care of home and children and doing things in support of the husbands. It was a good life and when we get together with old Air Force friends there is not one amongst us that does not remember it as being a good life. It was a different time when women did not have careers except the career of being mother, sometimes father, child care provider, and a volunteer at whatever interested you.

We moved many times through the years and have had a wonderful life. There were hard times of course but on the whole what an interesting life it has been.

- Grandma
Amanda's Grandfather:

In the late sixties, my Grandfather was an officer in the air force. He spent 440 days in Viet Nam fighting communism. He was stationed at Danag and later at Bien Hoa Air Bases. He had two tours of duty, one temporary and one more permanent change of station. He left Bien Hoa in July of 1965 and returned to Bien Hoa in November 1966. In September 1966 he was reassigned to Bitburg, Germany. He picked up his wife and sons, my grandmother, father, and uncle, and arrived in Germany in October 1966-far far away from Viet Nam. He believes that war is not pretty, it is hard work and very dangerous, but he understood the goals and agreed with them.

My Grandfather believed that Martin Luther King Jr. pushed the envelope, and that he was aggressive in his Non-Violence campaign. There were people who hated him, and one of them killed him. He watched Neil Armstrong land on the moon from the Bitburg Officers Club in Germany. He listened to radio reports on it in English and watched it on Germany TV. My Grandpa felt positive about the draft. He was nearly drafted but volunteered and became an officer. He thought he would do 4 years as an officer in the USAF and get out. He retired from the USAF 26 years later as a full Colonel. It was a good career choice for him. He was not involved in any protests during this time because he was in the military and loving it.

1960

Amanda's Grandmother:

In 1962 during the Cuban Missile crisis I was pregnant. I was very afraid that I would not live to see my baby, though that was probably not a rational thought. But it was a very tense time and I think that was the first time I was old enough to really realize the consequences of war on a personal level.

The day JFK was killed will always be one of those days in my life that I can tell you exactly what I was doing at the moment I heard the news. The first president I had every voted for was JFK. And now he was dead. I was in Rantoul, Ill. feeding my baby lunch. And when the news was first announced I thought that I had misheard the announcer. But now it was fact and for the next several days all we did was watch the events on TV. It was so shocking. No one could believe that this had happened in the USA. It was a wake up call for everyone.

Segregation was in the midst of becoming a reality. My husband and I were living in Illinois as he was in the Air Force. This was the first time I had been out of the South and saw blacks and whites living together and sharing everything. I thought it strange but adapted to the change with no problem and for the first time in my life had a black friend. I had never disliked blacks, I had just never had the opportunity to socialize with any. So a new way of life was begun.

-Grandma

Amanda's Grandfather:

In 1963, when Kennedy got shot, my grandfather was a new 2nd Lieutenant in the USAF who was on his lunch brake. He thought it was fine that blacks could vote because where he grew up blacks could always vote due to Huey Long. My Grandpa remembers the March on Washington and he was impressed by Martin Luther King’s speech but unimpressed by the March. He was all for the space program back then. For fun, my grandpa liked to stay home with his family. He didn’t watch American Bandstand, but he knew what it was. He, however, did watch Ed Sullivan. Unlike most people, the Beatles did not impress my grandfather. He was interested by the Warren Commission. Hale Boggs, then Democratic leader of the US House of Representatives was on it. Hale Boggs was married to his cousin, Lindy Boggs, and Hale Boggs’ sister was married to his father’s business partner. My grandfather the Warren Commission did its job of investigating Kennedy’s assassination. He believed they got it right the first time, but the American people have been hoodwinked into believing Kennedy’s death was a conspiracy. He believes that Lee Harvey Oswald killed Kennedy and that he acted alone.

1955

Amanda's Grandmother:

We were one of the first families in New Roads, Louisiana to have a television. The only station (yes there was only one) we could receive was from New Orleans, Louisiana. We had to have a 40 to 50 foot antenna to receive a picture. Most days the picture was very snowy. My father wanted television so that he could watch the boxing matches that were on once a week. My favorite show was a children's show called Mr. Jingles. It was very simple compared to the children’s' TV shows of today.

I went to a very small high school with only twenty-four students in my graduating class. We had sock hops and swim parties and what we called teen age parties. That meant one of our friends was having a party at his or her home. Rock and roll had just come on the scene and the first rock and roll record I bought was Bill Haley and the Comets singing Rock Around the Clock.

Schools were still segregated. The only black people I knew were the ones that worked for my family or my friends family. We still all accepted this way of life mainly because it was the only way of life we had ever know. My parents had mixed feelings about segregation, which I did not know until later as this was not something that was talked about at school or at home. In retrospect it was a simple life during a simple time. I guess we all lived in our small little world in this small town and were insulated from what was going on around us.

There was a lake in New Roads, and we grew up swimming, boating, going to the movie, going to friends or relatives homes and hanging out at the Dairy Queen and Casa Loma which were the two teen hangouts. Once we had driver’s licenses we would pick up our friends and cruise the downtown street of New Roads. This street was only about 4 blocks long with a loop turn around on each end. We could do this for hours and then go to the Dairy Queen for a Cherry Coke and a Chili Dog. In 1959 we all graduated from high school and went in our different directions. It was off to college for most of us and we thought we were so grown up then.

-Grandma


Amanda's Grandfather:

My grandpa remembers how different early TV was from today. It was snowy, the receivers were vacuum tubes that burned out and had to be replaced, TV repairmen made house calls to fix your set, and TV was in black and white. He also remembers polio. It struck without warning or reason, and he knew someone who had gotten it. The boy spent a year in the iron lung, and he walked with braces and had tremendous shoulders from the strengthening exercises he did. He believes that the Polio Vaccine was a God send for mankind. His family went to the movies often, and then, popcorn and soft drinks were only a nickel and movie tickets were only a quarter. He didn’t really like drive-ins, though, because they were hot, humid and uncomfortable. He remembers that Sputnik started a space race that the US won by putting a man on the moon. He noticed that with the Cold War being over and with the decline of fear, people were less inclined to formal religion. In 1958, my grandfather was a student at LSU, and he remembers segregation well. There were no black football players on the team. He had also attended segregated schools prior to college, but never really thought much of it until later. He enjoyed listening to Rhythm and Blues and Rock and Roll. His family watched TV together, went to ballgames together, and went to church together.