Notes from the Hall Closet

Well, summer is three days old and I am alrteady tired of it. It seesm like we have been battling intense heat for weeks now and the storms....man, could we use a break. It looks like we may get a short reprieve from both. It is supposed to be dry today and tomorrow with temperatures ONLY in the upper 80's! Enjoy it while you can, it will heat up again this weekend..

At least my air conditioning is working. I had my doubts it would still function after all these years. I have turned it on twice so far with no problems. The cooler temps sure helped me sleep better last night....

Have you caught World Cup Fever yet? Me, neither. I have heard reports of huge celebrations after the U.S. won it's match yesterday to advance to the knock-out round but I almost forgoet it was taking place. I did turn the game on late in the contest here in the office but I just can't get worked up about it. Maybe after the Americans actually win the cup I may blast my vuvuzela....nah!

How about that tennis match at Wimbledon. It's into it's third day. The match between American John Isner and Nicolas Mahut of France has lasted more than ten hours with the last set lasting more than seven hours. The last set has lasted longer than any complete match in history. At last check it was 59-59! That may be the most incredible thing that has ever occurred in sports. The men involved have to be completely exhausted even before they take to the court again today. Do either of them have a prayer to win the next match...if this one ever ends?

The NBA draft takes place tonight. I will probably watch it just to see what the Pacers do. They are looking for a point guard, but the position is scarce in this year's draft. We'll have to see if the Pacers make a trade or settle on a non-ponit guard. They sure need to get things turned around. Indiana has not made the playoffs for the last four years. If we don't see a major step up this season, say goodbye to Larry Bird and JimO'Brien. I wonder if Reggie Miller is available in the draft?

Well I finally gave in. After sweltering all weekend, I turned on the air conditioner last night. I was gone most of the weekend but after sitting in the house a couple of hours with the temperature about 85, I couldn't take it any more...so on went the a/c. I was actually amazed that it was still working. I don't use it much and the unit is probably more than 20 years old but like Ol' Faithful it's still cranking out the cool. I had one of the more comfortable nights of sleep I have had in weeks. I was exhausted after running around in the heat all weekedn. The car was blistering hot. Plus I work about two hours on the yard Sunday with next to no shade. In addition to that I had to go up on my roof and work on a leak. There was a crack around a pipe that feeds into my kitchen. I was getting a small puddle everytime it rained hard,a dLord knows we have ahad some strong rains as of late. Hopefull this will fix that problem.

Other than dealing with the heat it was a decent Father's Day. I spent the day watching the Nascar race and the U.S. Open Golf tournament. It looked like no one wanted to win the open. It was one of the worst displays of golf I have seen in a long time. I guess the course was brutal! I was just happy that someone other than Tiger Woods won the title. Now on to the Wimbledon Tennis Championships! 

Yeah! It's finally Friday. This has been another rough week for me. I have been swamped the entire week. It seems I am running at work from sun-up to sundown. I tell you, the Energizer Bunny has nothing on me! I doubt he could keep up.

Anyway one good thing this week has been strawberries. Of course, the annual Strawberry Festival was yesterday in downtown Terre Haute, but I have been feasting on those delicious berries all week long. I love strawberries! We always had them when I was a kid on the farm. You could just walk out to the garden, pluck one off the vine and plop it into your mouth. MMMMMMM! There were always berries, watermelon and cantalope all the time. I don't treat myself to them as much as I would like these days, but maybe that will change. I deserve it!

I have fought the urge to turn the air conitioner on this week, but that may change over the weekend when temperatures are expected to crowd 90. I have had my fan working overtime the past several days, but that may not be enough with the upcoming sweltering weather. I hate to turn on the a/c and pay that high electric bill, but I may have to bite the bullet.

There are some great sporting events coming up in the next week or so. The World Cup Soccer Tournament, The U.S.Open Golf Tourney, The Wimbledon Tennis Championships and the last couple of games of the NBA Finals. Give me my remote and a bowl of strawberries and I'll be good to go!

Well, I am glad to report that things have been much better since last I blogged. Nothing has broken down in the last week! What a relief! I finally re-stocked my refirgerator with food. The frig has worked flawlessly since it broke down over the Memorial Day weekend. I think maybe I had a power outage and the refrigerator never reset itself. I tseems to be fine now...knock on wood....

I have really been enjoying the cooler weather. I am not a big fan of hot weather so the cooler temps have been a godsend to me. I have slept great the past couple of days....not enough, but pretty well. If you're like me enjoy it while you can. It is supposed to heat up again this weekend.

Have you heard all the hype of the World Cup soccer tournament? I know soccer is the most popular sport world wide, but I still cannot get into it. I have played a little soccer and attended a few games in person, but for me, I rather have a baseball, football or basketball game...even a hockey game. I hope the U.S. team does well, but I get no kick out of soccer.

Both the NBA and NHL finals have turned out to be pretty good. The hockey finals with Chicago and Philadelphia don'tt hold a lot of interest to me, but the games have been good so far. The NBA Finals have been better than I expected. I thought the Lakers would roll past the Celtics pretty easily, but it might turn out to be e decent series after all. Again I don't really care for either team, but my dad was a huge Celtics fan, so that's where my allegience goes. Besides I did root foe the Celts when Larry Bird played for them.

There were a couple of sad notes in sports over the past few days. Of course, the passing of John Wooden was not totally unexpected. he had had some health issues for some time and he was 99 years old. It's nice to hear all the kind words and tributes about one of the great coaches of all time and an Indiana legend. I was a big fan of Wooden's UCLA teams in the 60's and 70's.

The other story was the retirement of Ken Griffey Junior. He was undoubtedly one of the greatest players of all time, with the ability to hit, run  and field better that nearly everyone else. It's a shame his retirement was overshadowed by the perfect game that wasn't. The Kid deserved better. He will be a first ballot hall of famer. NO Doubt!

Sorry that I haven't blogged for a week or so. I was so devastated about being wrong about the American Idol finale that I haven't been able to write! Me being wrong happens so seldom. I still think Creystal got robbed! She totally outsang Lee during that last show. She deserved to win but apparently it's more of a popularity contest than a test of true talent. I think they will both do well with their careers.

The holiday weekend wore me out! After Friday night karaoke, I played cards with a couple of friends until about 3am, then slept about three hours before heading north to my mom's place for the weekend. I got there and found out that her air conditioning had gone out and it was a bit more than uncomfortable. The next morning about 4am I got a call from the radio station where there were some technical problems. That made for another night of little sleep. I did get to enjoy the Indy 500 on Sunday since it was on tv in northern Indiana. I thought it was a pretty good race over all. Danica Patrick did a great job maneuvering an ill-handling car to a 6th place finish and that Mike Conway crash was amazing. Seeing Dario Franchitti win his second 500 was cool, if only to see the reaction of his wife, Ashley Judd.

After watching the Indy 500, I stuck around to watch Nascar's Coca Cola 600. I finally headed for home about 1030 Sunday night. After my three and a half hour drive, I pulled into work about 2am and woreked until about 4:30am. The I went home, only to find my refrigerator had broken down over the weekend. There was quite a mess on the floor and in the frig. I worked clean-up till about 6am...another night of no sleep. I did manage to get the refrigerator working again...at least temporarily. Of course there were storms Monday afternoon that knock the radio station off the air, so that's where I spent my afternoon. So you can see my weekend was full and crazy...How was yours? 

And you're next American Idol...Crystal Bowersox! At least that's the way it should be if last night's show is judged purely on talent. I like both Lee and Crystal, but honestly Crystal left Lee in the dust last night on the last of this year's performances. She was simply amazing, especially on her final song, the one she will be releasing as her first single. If their is any justice, Crystal should be the winner, but not all fans judge on mere talent. We'll see who claims the title later tonight. And how about the sweet side of Simon Cowell! He had plenty of nice things to say on his final night of judging...what a change of pace!

I had a tough time deciding what to watch last night. Idol was on at the same time "NCIS" aired their season finale. I watched Gibbs and company and taped "American Idol" then watched the "NCIS: Los Angeles" season finale. All that while also following the basketball playoff game and major league baseball scores made for a busy night for my remote control.

I was tempted to turn on the air conditioner last night, but settled for the fan. I'm afraid my a/c might not work this year. The unit is ancient...probably more than 20 years old and I keep thinking every year that this may be the last summer it will survive....but it keeps plodding on. Hopefully this will be a cool summer and the air conditioner won't be overworked and conk out on me! I don't need any more expected expenses.

Wow! Things really heated up this weekend....literally! Temperatures were in the upper 80's all over the area. I was out doing some yard work Saturday morning and really worked up a good sweat after a couple of hours. I did get the yeard loking good and even planted some flowers. The heat inside the car was almost unbearable after it sat in the sun all day. I am not a big fan of extremely warm weather and it looks like it's going to be a long, hot summer. It's way too early to be this warm.

Did you watch any of the qualifications for the Indy 500 this weekend? Were you able to find it? Remember when the race at the Brickyard was THE attraction on Memorial Day weekend? Boy is that ancient history. The action at Indy was on Versus...Yes Versus! Not ABC or ESPN...Versus! I almost missed it altogether, but happened to stumble across it while channel surfing. Qualifying was much different this year. First of all the whole field was determined this weekend rather that over a tow or three week period. Saturday 24 cars qualified with the top 9 battling later for the pole....It was a bit strange and since I tuned in during the middle of the thing, it was a bit hard to follow. I'll probably watch the race on Sunday, but my interest level is pretty low....

It was a great weekend for karaoke at Rafters....It was pretty slow on Friday night, so I got to sing a lot...Saturday was a bit busier but not too bad. I had lots of fun and I'm looking forward to doing it again this weekend....Come on by and join the fun!

I did a double take this morning about something I heard on the news. Gas prices going down? Could that be right? I have noticed that the price of crude oil has been steadily declining but that does not always lead to lower prices at the pump. I alos noticed that the Marathon station at 13th & Poplar wa selling gas for $2.59 a gallon while the station across the street had it for $2.76. Those prices have held steady the past couple of days. I'm waiting to see which one changes first.....Let's hope prices continue to tumble. We'll get a good idea with the Memorial Day holiday coming up soon....

The NBA draft lottery is being held tonight and after another disappointing season, the Indiana Pacers will be among the teams hoping to claim the top pick. The Pacers have about a 1% chance of getting the first or second pick in the draft. They would have had a better shot at it, but they played fairly well down the stretch of the season and went from #4 to #10....typical Pacers! There's been talk of the team leaving Indianapolis, so a good pick might go a long way toward keeping the squad in Indy. 

How about those Cincinnati Reds! The first place Reds! They are quietly have agreat season, their best in many years. I have always liked Cincinnati, but there hasn't been much to root for lately. It may not last this year, but it's nice to see the Reds play well for a change....

There's some good televison on later tonight...In addition to the NBA playoffs and the previously mentioned draft lottery, NCIS and NCIS-Los Angeles air tonight. Both are heading toward suspense-filled season finales. American Idol is also on tonight as the field is narrowed down to the final two. Casey should be the one heading home tonight. (Actually he should have been sent packing LAST week). That should leave Crystal and Lee in the final showdown next week...with my prediction being Crystal being crowned this year's American Idol....

Between showers, I managed to get my lawn mowed yesterday. It actually was pretty nice out yesterday afternoon, in spite of the threat of rain. I was out of town over the weekend, so I was running behind in my yardwork. The grass seems to need mowing every couple of days or else it starts to get out of hand. Maybe I should invest in some livestock to keep the growth under control. A couple of cows and goats would really lend something to the neighborhood!

I watched a bit of American Idol last night. I was flipping back and forth between that and NCIS. I was not overly impressed with the performances on Idol. They were doing movie songs and being mentored by Jamie Foxx. I'm not sure how Foxx is qualified to mentor singers though. He is a great entertainer but not renown for his vocal accomplishments. Of everyone who performed individually last night, I'd say Crystal did the best job, but it was her duet with Lee that was the highlight of the show. It was amazing and received high praise. We're down to the final four with another contestant being sent home tonight.

I read something in the Indy Star that has left me a bit puzzled. One of the sports columnists suggested that the Colts should acquire recently released quarterback Jamarcus Russell, the ex Oakland Raiders qb. This guy is arguably the biggest bust in NFL history....a former #1 pick who has been given every chance but has delivered nothing. Sure, it wouldn't cost the Colts much to sign him and there is a chance he could turn things around after spending time with Peyton Manning, but then again there is a chance that Curtis Painter could turn into Joe Montana overnight! The Colts do need a good back-up for Manning, but I think their efforts would be better spend looking elsewhere....

It's Monday and I am already dragging. We had a big station clean up event on Saturday which turned into a major project. I battled the undergrowth on the northwest corner of the station for about three hours. In spite of the chilly weather, I worked up a really good sweat and put a big dent into the jungle weed. About a dozen of us worked all morning and got the place looking good. We were rewarded with a great lunch.

After the morning workout, I drove north to spend the rest of the weekend with my mother in Northern Indiana. I was so tired, It was all I could do to stay awake. I had the windows rolled down, the radio cranked up and gave myself a couple of good slaps across the face to keep myslef going. I arrived safely and had a great visit with my mom and my younger brother. I hope all the mom's out there had a great weekend too. 

It was not a great weekend for Tiger Woods. He was way off the pace and quit in the fourth round of Sunday's TPC tournamnet, claiming a disc problem in his neck. I have my doubts that the disc was the real problem. I think he was just upset that he wasn't doing any better on the golf course. We'll see how long he's out this time.

Can you believe we're only about three weeks away from Memorial Day? I have heard next to nothing about the Indy 500. It wasn't that long ago that the 500 was all you heard about during the month of May. Now it's barely an after-thought. I will probably try to watch the race, but the Nascar race that day is of much more interest to me. How about you......  

Are you following all the chaos going on in our country? We recently had the Times Square bomber, the big oil leak in the Gulf, the sharp stock market drop, gas prices, healthcare....It just goes on and on....And as if I didn't have enough stress inmy nlife, I keep having to deal with morons! It seesm everytime I get in my car, I come across someone doing something stupid. The other day, I was pulling out of the station parking lot and a lady carrying a grocery bag walked right in front of me out into the middle of the road with out lookingIf I didn't have the reflexes of a cat they be peeling her off the asphalt. She was completely oblivious to what was going on. And she is not the only one. A couple of days before that, a fellow was walking while texting. I had the green light, but this guy just kept walking not even looking up from his cell phone, crossed in front of me against the light and just kept on walking. He's lucky he's not picking up spare parts off the sidewalk. The topper was about a week ago, when a bicyclist crossed against the light then turned left into oncoming traffic, attempting to snake his way around a long line of moving vehicles. How he survived that ordeal is beyond me! So the next time you wonder how the world got into the mess it's in, reminder these idiots! It's all their fault!

I'm a little sad on two fronts today. Primarily because of the passing of one of my heroes. Baseball hall of famer Ernie Harwell passed away yesterday at the age of 92. Many was the night that I would sit and listen to Ernie describe the action of the Detroit Tigers. The man had a gift of being able to paint a picture with his words. I can still see Al Kaline, Denny MccLain and Willie Horton in my mind thanks to Ernie's vivid descriptions. In addition to being an outstyanding broadcaster, he was a class act and a truw gentleman. The world is a poorer place with his passing....

The other thing bringing me down is The Detroit Red Wings. They blew yesterday game against the San Jose Sharks. When I tuned in, the Wings were ahead 3-2 with just 8 minutes left in the game. San JOse scored in the last two minute to send the game to overtime where a Shark goal put the Red Wings in a 3-0 series hole. I guess it just sets up an historic comeback for Detroit....RIGHT!

Have you noticed the rise in gasoline prices? How could you miss it! Around Terre Haute, the prices is $2.95 a gallon and rising. It's fuuny how prices always rise about the time a holiday is coming up. And with the summer travel season just ahead, you can bet they won't be heading the other way any time soon! I've heard rumors of $5 a gallon gas thisd summer! Where did I put that bicycle?

My youngest son Mathew is celebrating his birthday today. Cinco de Mathew....It's difficult for me to comprehend that he is 27! It seems like just yesterday that I was 27! Mat and his brother Joe are great young men and I am proud to be their dad!