My 2024 in Six Minutes

Today I finished my 1 Second Everyday video for 2024. My 366 day year in 6 minutes: one image per day. Now I'm trying to figure out how to share it. Check it out here.

We started watching a new detective show: High Potential, starring Kaitlin Olson. Pretty good. Never heard of Olson until she appeared as a guest picker on ESPN College GameDay. 

Played golf this morning with the professor. We took turns videoing each other. Drained a long snaking par putt on the long 7th hole. Hit a nice long hybrid off the 6th tee (above).

Man if more people would take pictures of me, I might realize what a large tub of goo that I am. Sure the 2XL LS shirt and baggy pants weren't slimming. Diet starts on Thursday.

I still say that Lang is one of the most talented and well-rounded members of the sports media, not just in Memphis or the NBA but in all America, for all sports. His recent Memphis-focused “Twas the Night Before Christmas” re-write was a classic.

'Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the Mid-South
The Memphis Grizzlies were roaring their mouths;
The Ja 1s were placed by the chimney with care,
In hopes that Ja 2s soon would be there.

The children were nestled all snug in their beds;
While visions of TACOnganas danced in their heads;
And Ma in her Sounds throwback, and I in my Vancouver fitted,
Had just settled down under a blanket I’d knitted.

When out on FedExForum's court there arose such a clatter,
I sprang from my bed to see what was the matter.
Away to social media I flew like a flash,
Clicked on Grind City Media and searched the hash(tags).

When what did my wondering eyes see,
But a ton of highlights from the Memphis Grizzlies,
With a bearded coach who had hundreds of wins,
I knew in a moment it must be Taylor Jenkins.

More rapid than eagles his hoopers they came,
And he whistled, and shouted, and called them by name:
"Now, Ja! Now, Des! Now BC and Jaren!
On, Marcus! On, Jake! On, Zach and Jaylen!
To the points in the paint! To the three-point ball!
Now let it fly! Let it fly! Let it fly, all!"

And then, in a twinkling, I heard on the court,
The prancing and pawing of tall men in shorts.
As I drew in my head, and was turning around,
Down the chimney Santi came with a bound.

He was dressed all in Beale Street Blue, from head to foot,
And his clothes were all tarnished with sweat and soot;
His eyes—how they twinkled! his dimples, how merry!
His cheeks were like roses, his nose like a cherry!

With wink of his eye and a twist of his head
Then a drive and kickout to an open teammate, instead;
He spoke not a word, but breaking the injury curse,
He threw an alley-oop that Jay Huff finished with a reverse.

And because the Grizzlies wanted all the smoke,
Giving a nod, up the chimney they rose;
They sprang to the Gossett Motors Garage, ignored the biased referee whistle
And away they all flew like the down of a thistle.

But I heard them exclaim, as they drove down the lane—
“Merry Christmas to all, good night and go Grizz, mane!”

Found this old Camp SPdL pic stashed away in a closet.

Our Christmas: I knew Ceil needed a nice new bathrobe. She wears them every morning as well as some evenings. She pointed one out that she wanted, so that’s what I gave her. Anna let our family know about the huge discount she gets on Patagonia jackets. I kinda needed a new jacket so I picked out a simple one that was one of the less expensive ones. I didn’t ask for the popular jacket because it cost so much. She got me BOTH jackets, plus an expensive Braves belt that I had on my list.

W&MC gave us a gift certificate to Little Bear, a trendy vegan restaurant in Summerhill, across from the old Braves stadium. Ceil also wants to go back to Kimball House in Decatur, where M works.

Batters who reached 100 career home runs in the fewest games.

Slugger    G/100 HR   WAR

Eddie Mathews...413...95.9

Mark McGwire….393...62.1

Aaron Judge.......371...52.2

Ralph Kiner.........376...48.0

Ryan Braun.........400...47.1

Chuck Klein.........390...46.6

Pete Alonso.........347...19.8

Joey Gallo...........377...15.4

Gary Sanchez…..355...15.0

Ryan Howard......325....14.7 

Guess that's it for 2024. Have a happy New Year!

R.I.P. Jimmy Carter

Lots of activity at the Carter Center this morning when I drove past at 6:45 am. An army of men with leaf blowers were blowing leaves into the streets, where passing cars would blow them back to the curb. Several big street sweeper trucks were rumbling through the surrounding neighborhoods. A row of new tents had sprung up for various reporters to make on location reports. Security at the entrances and exits were beefed up. Denison on Jimmy Carter.

BTW the funeral for Bob Marsh will be 2 pm on Jan 13th at Peachtree Presbyterian.

Got up early to play golf this morning. Played the first two holes then doubled back to play with the professor holes 1-7. Hit a few good shots, but wasn’t feeling good. I don’t think I lost a single ball that I didn’t find two to replace it. Supposed to play with the prof again tomorrow morning.

Hadn’t gotten much done at home the past couple of days, so I decided to go in to work today to get a little organized before work starts back on Thursday. A decent amount of people here in the office today, considering. Cut the 70+ emails that had accumulated in my in box in half.  

Looked up at work to see the Music City Bowl is on the TV – Missouri vs Iowa. Watched several games yesterday: Panthers@Bucs, Packers@Vikings, and Falcons@Redskins. Helped Ceil clean out her closet. Have a bunch of her clothes to take to Goodwill.

A former coworker had fixed up his sister’s old pickup for when his daughter turned 16. She evidentially got into repeated trouble with her parents, because he sold the pickup last week. Kicking myself for not buying it.  

A good article on Gunner Stockton. Nick Saban had good things to say about Stockton as well. I’m hearing that former UGA QB Brock Vandagriff is retiring from college football with at least one year of eligibility remaining. The Kentucky coach may have been using Vandagriff as the scapegoat, and brought in a vagabond transfer QB to replace him, a kid who’s played at like three previous schools.  

Buzz on Miami QB Cam Ward left the 2024 Pop-Tarts Bowl.

ESPN announcers criticized as fans call out Alamo Bowl coverage.

Charles Barkley points to one Michael Jordan stat to end the GOAT debate.

VIDEO: Charlie and Tiger synced up.

A Scientist Finds Surprising Advantages from a Long Training Break. Makes me feel better about my Christmas vacation. Some people never take breaks from working out. I don’t have that problem.

One point of view: never retire. I get the idea. I just can’t continue indefinitely in my current job.

Article: how saunas can help mind, body, and spirit. When I retire I plan on using a sauna several times a week.  

DALE MURPHY  [SABR Bio] is the only player in the Expansion Era to win two straight NL MVPs but never play in a World Series. He was NL MVP in 1982 & 1983. His only postseason experience in the majors was the 1982 NLCS when Atlanta was swept by St Louis. The same year he led the majors in intentional walks, he was chosen with seven other athletes as Sports Illustrated “Sportsman of the Year” because they were “Athletes Who Care”. When he first came up, the press called him, ”The next Johnny Bench”. Murphy was drafted by ATL as a catcher.

DENISON: Nobel Prize-winning physicist Geoffrey Hinton, called the “godfather of artificial intelligence,” is warning that AI could wipe out the human race within the next decade. He said the technology is developing “much faster” than he expected and could make humans the equivalents of “three-year-olds” and AI “the grown-ups.”

Fred Taylor < Herschel

Fred Taylor was just named a finalist for the Pro Football Hall of Fame. He probably won't make it, but it's interesting to compare his career to Herschel's. Taylor played one more NFL season but Walker played in more games. Taylor had a thousand more yards from scrimmage but zero return yards to Walker's 5000.

Taylor was All Pro twice and made one Pro Bowl. Walker went to two Pro Bowls and was All Pro once. Most hall of famers earn more allocades. As a pro, Walker gained over 11000 more yards than Taylor's 14000.

YR G rush TD REC yards TD yd scrim

13 153 11695 66 290 2384 08 14079 Fred

12 187  08225 61 512 4859 21 13084 Herschel

14079 Taylor yards from scrimmage

13084 Herschel yards from scrimmage

05084 Herschel return yards

18168 Herschel total all purpose yards 

07115 Herschel USFL yards

25283 Herschel total pro yards 

Gunner Stockton drives his granfather's 40 year old pickup. Owns cows. Once helped wrangle alligators.

Miami QB Cam Ward still getting lots of flack for playing only long enough to set a personal record. His "casual" style of play is also receiving increased attention.

This year Georgia Tech wore white jerseys in every game. Not a fan of the varied GT helmet logo, some of which were basically invisible on TV or the stands.

ESPN is getting flack for the love fest they bestowed on Colorado in the Alamo Bowl. The announcers continued to gush over Deion and his sons and the Heisman winner, and had little to say about BYU - who won by three touchdowns. The Mormons fielded a Jewish QB, a notable story that was barely mentioned.

Pop Tarts Bowl Thriller

The girls love their new Crocs boots. Note the Frozen themed charms. Also matching leggings - pajama pants?

Lazy day today. Slept late. Didn't do much. Unsubscribed to a bunch of junk emails, but I'm not sure it does any good. 

Not really interested in many of these bowl games. UNC was embarrassed by UConn. Shouldn't have worn head to toe blue.

Iowa State's colors are red and yellow, so naturally they wore black helmets and pants in the Pop Tarts Bowl. Must've worked, as they beat Miami.

Hurricane QB Cam Ward played 6 seasons of college football, but he only played long enough today to break the record for the most TD passes. I'm not a fan of how he just stands erect in the pocket and flips passes with his wrists without stepping toward the receiver. Doesn't seem like NFL teams would like it either. The Canes led at the half, but the backup QB couldn't keep Miami ahead. 

The postgame ceremony in the Pop Tarts Bowl has to be the best of all the bowls, with the Pop Tart mascot being toasted and eaten by the winning team. One day the Pop Tarts Bowl could rank up there with the Rose, Sugar, and Orange.

Kudos to Deion for getting his stars to play in their meaningless bowl game. Colorado needs to step it up after falling behind 10-0 to BYU. Cougars chased Buffalo QB S Sanders for a big loss to force a long field goal attempt, but the kicker missed.

Colorado in head to toe black uniforms, but at least there's stripes. Not a fan of the white facemasks on the black helmets. Usually I'm not a fan of royal blue football pants, but that is BYU's signature look going back decades. But their all white uniforms look good.

The Sanders kid is supposed to be a high draft pick as well, but if I were a pro team needing to pay big bucks on a young QB, I wouldn't want the baggage that comes with him - a famous father letting the media know how the team should handle his son. Does seem like Deion is doing an admirable job shepherding his young men

Didn't matter that the GT punt returner didn't raise his hand. A defender can't touch him until the ball comes down. The defender plowed into the GT player while the punt was still up in the air. Refs said the Vandy guy had been blocked into the return man, but that clearly wasn't the case. And the "pass interference" on a 3rd down play turned a punt into a scoring drive for Vandy. I'm just glad the Jackets made it a close game.

Dawgs are going from a Labo-driving QB to a QB who drives an old F150 named after his great grandfather, a WW2 veteran. Grew up near where they filmed Deliverance. The same highway runs thru his town that runs thru the towns where Herschel, Stetson, and Champ Bailey grew up - also Athens.

Saban has known him since he was eight, and recruited him. ESPN can't stop talking between every bowl game about how Notre Dame is going to beat UGA. I wouldn't be so sure.

Jackets Lose Birmingham Bowl

Usually it's completely useless to have a retired referee in the TV booth to comment on the calls the officials on the field make, because 99% of the time the ref in the booth will agree with the call the refs made. So it makes it all the more ridiculous when the ref in the booth to disagree with calls multiple times. 

The kick catch interference no call was particularly egregious. An obvious wrong call. Still, the GT player chasing the ball shouldn't have watched it roll 20 yards down to the 2 yard line before falling on the ball. That was on Tech. 

Tech's team motto is UATW - us against the world. It's on their front helmet bumper. Seemed like with the refs and Vandy and ESPN gushing over the Vandy QB, today's game was truly UATW.

With all the calls going against Tech, it's no wonder the Jackets got frustrated. Hate it when they lose their composure. You could tell Key was frustrated. Of course the refs called a penalty when Key went out to discipline his team. 

I knew bad things would happen when play by play announcer Dave Neal started the game by twice saying that GT QB Haynes King had only thrown one interception all year, so it was only a matter of time before he threw one. 

Then Tech lost a fumble, after matriculating the ball down the field. One of those games when everything went Vandy's way. Commodores score a couple of easy TD's, and then the rain and lightning is just salt in the wounds. At least Tech was able to score two late TD's after the weather delay to make it close.

You'd think two gold and white teams could figure out a way to not wear the exact same color helmet. Tech's helmets looked better with the white masks, but Vandy's simple black jerseys and more simple striped pants looked better than Tech's busier unis. King's jersey had five patches: GT, ACC, C for captain, adidas, and the bowl patch.

Former SPdL member Wayne Price went to the game. 

I wonder what all those Tech fans who complained about having to play Vanderbilt and not get to play in a more prestigious bowl game are thinking now. Birmingham was better than Shreveport, Montgomery, Detroit, Boise, and Frisco Texas, for starters.

I am not a fan of the Vandy QB. I never liked pesky. He does say all the right things.

This morning I got up early this morning and played golf. It had been over 1-1/2 weeks, so I had a little rust. Teed off in the dark at 7:05 am. Lost a lighted golf ball in the leaves on the first hole. After golf I hit three thrift stores up I-75 then drove to Alpharetta. Got ten McNuggets for a dollar and a RaceTrac drink. Didn't get home until noon.

Watched the movie "Love Actually". Very good but rated R.

Murphy Christmas

Hope you guys had a good Christmas. Y'all do anything?

Man I was on the go all day yesterday. Did sleep past 8 am. Cleaned upstairs and then downstairs. Probably the straightest the house has been in a long while. 

NEWS: looked in a box that had been in the attic. It was full of old Sports Illustrateds with Michael Jordan on the cover. When I was cleaning out Ceil's parents house there was a pile of old magazines. I saved several that had value. Actually I already have most of the MJ SI's from my own collection. One day I'll probably sell them.

Anna and Caleb were first to arrive. Caleb made some of his family's sausage pinwheels. Anna had baked some tasty cookies, and made the salad. She assembled a gingerbread house. Later Shivonne helped add decorations. Shiv and Millie snacked on the M&M's instead of putting them on the house.

I had set the table. Anna & MC were impressed with its beauty. Matthew and Monsie arrived. Monsie made a spicy macaroni and cheese, then helped C with the mashed potatoes.

Will came straight from his shift at the ER. MC was trying to let the girls finish their nap. When Shivonne woke up, she wanted to put on the Elsa boots she'd gotten for Christmas. Also her Disney princess dress.

Once Will and Matthew got the Beef Wellington into the oven we went to open presents. Shiv and Millie have gotten good at tearing open presents.

They liked the blocks and the Disney princess matching game, and two sets of Disney princess figurines. Matthew wrapped the presents he'd brought in Bluey wrapping paper, the girl's favorite cartoon.

Millie & Shivonne receive matching Crocs rain boots, that Shivy can wear to school. 

A&C gave me a nice quarter zip. C got me the nice Braves belt I'd wanted.

I'm getting two Patagonia jackets with Anna's big discount from her work. She really went overboard. M & Monsie got me a cool Braves candle and a pen set resembling golf clubs. I got Ceil the plush robe from Weezie Towels.

The meal was delicious. We managed to squeeze all ten of us around the small dining room table. Dessert was Ceil's famous Bavarian angel food custard dish. I worked on the dishes, but hope to finish them today.

After everyone departed Ceil put on her Death in Paradise show. I was worn out. Took off my glasses and pulled down my cap and went to sleep.

Slept past 8 am. C went down to keep the girls. Will had to be back at the ER at 6 am this morning for another 10 hour shift. I'm still worn out from the last 3 days. Could've played golf but I needed another day of rest. Plenty of leftovers to eat.

After moving ten chairs inside from the garage I was able to fit my car 3/4 of the way into the garage. No good bowl games until tomorrow. 

Merry Christmas

Our family wishes you a most merry Christmas. We thank God for his blessings in 2024.

Ceil had a busy year. She returned to Paris in April, and visited London as well. She continues to teach art at Veritas in Alpharetta. She keeps Millie two days a week, is in a women’s Bible Study group as well as a mom’s group, and prays with friends most weeks. She’s supervised several renovation projects on our house, and has a couple more to go. In September Ceil arranged flowers for her niece’s large wedding. I counted almost 40 bouquets that the wedding party carried or wore – including a collar of flowers worn by the bride’s dog.

Dave had a busy year at work, but still found time to toil at golf, lunch with friends, write, and listen to audiobooks. He rejoined his small group. We spent a week in Pawley’s Island, and took several trips back to Jefferson. 

Will and Mary-Clayton took several trips this year: to both Washington state and Canada for weddings and hiking, Hilton Head, Washington DC, and a magical week at Disney World. Shivonne (3) started at a nearby Montasori. Melina is 1-1/2. She started walking, and is talking more and more. Will still works in the ER at Northside, and Mary-Clayton coordinates special events for the national 4-H office.

Anna and Cal-Heb celebrated their first anniversary with a trip to Austria and Germany, and stayed on the go back here in the states as well. Anna continued her marketing work at the High Country Outfitters home office, helping design their first printed Christmas catalog. Caleb now travels from Atlanta east to Athens, calling on customers for his construction equipment company.

Matthew is now a pastry chef at Kimball House, the nice restaurant in downtown Decatur. He moved from Vine City to Dekalb County to be closer to work. He took up the game of golf, and traveled with friends to New York City, Delaware, and Philadelphia. In June Matthew and Dave attended their first Rolling Stones concert.

Anna’s dog Goose loves spending time with her canine cousins. Will’s wise old Okie tolerates play time with her and our Winnie. When around Goose and Okie, Winnie really shows her jealous side. After a get together it takes Winnie a full day to nap and recuperate, before resuming her duties guarding our home from pesky squirrels, deer, and neighborhood moms with baby strollers. Matthew’s loyal cat Pluto had enjoyed making new feline friends in Vine City, but sadly old age finally caught up with him in December.

We pray that 2025 will be a great new year for all of us. Merry Christmas, and Happy New Year!

R.I.P.

Dr. Marsh passed away this morning. No word yet on any details. I'll pass them along when I hear.

Marsh arrived at SPdL about the same time as me, but it wasn't until his post SPdL years that I spent the most time with him. When Ceil was in labor with Will, Marsh snuck in to visit. He knew all the back stairwells at Piedmont Hospital. He officiated Will's baby dedication. Will's name was actually influenced by Bob's grandson Will. Bob was a biblical preacher. A great leader, so often by example.

Monday I drove down to Buckhead and parked behind another car. Didn't see any No Parking signs. I did see a meter maid - on another street. Was gone for literally 5 minutes. Guess I should've asked. I got a ticket. Merry Christmas.

Traffic bad but eventually found my way to 75. Stopped by RaceTrac for a soft drink and next door to McDonalds for their dollar frappachino deal. Home to clean out the garage and other housework. 

Ceil wanted me to drive her to the mall at 7 pm. On December 23rd, mind you. She was supposed to take M shopping. Mondays are usually his day off, but with Christmas he had to work. Wasn't getting off until 8 pm.

After shopping at Perimeter Mall for 45 minutes Ceil wanted to go to Lenox Square. Arrived at 805 and dropped her off. Gridlock. Had to creep counterclockwise 3/4 of the way around. Plenty of parking spaces in the decks on the SW side, but Bloomingdale's is closed. Drove over to the south deck and found a spot closer to the food court entrance, next to a huge old Suburban with a bad muffler, noisily idling and polluting the enclosed deck. Could've passed out. 

After Lenox we had just enough time to scoot down to Jalisco for a quick meal. I picked out a booth in few of the wait staff. Didn't realize it was next to a "cowboy" with the foulest mouth you'd ever hear. Couldn't finish a sentence without cussing. What's even sadder was the family stories he was telling. 

Finished at 930 and drove home. Ceil put Death in Paradise on the TV while I played on my laptop. Bed at 1130.

Slept late this morning. Raked rake leaves and did other housework. Today's dollar deal at McDonalds was a Big Mac. At 6:30 Ceil needed me to run to the grocery. On Christmas Eve. Kroger was closed. Made it to Publix just in the nick of time.

In Season One of Gilligan's Island a gorilla is entranced by Mrs. Howell's perfume. A broach is stolen - then Mrs. Howell disappears.

Gilligan is used as bait, and is only rescued by a female gorilla - who was played by future award winning actress Stockard Channing. Who knew?

Hospice

Have you heard that Bob Marsh is in hospice? Jimmy Ewing's wife contacted Ceil. Bob is in Linbrook? up Peachtree past Phipps Plaza. Not getting many visitors I don't think. Charles Marsh will be having heart surgery and wasn't able to stay long. 

Myra had tried to call Ceil on Sunday morning, so we left JFBC just as Clay was starting his sermon. Heather Swilley and her daughter had led the singing. 

Ceil went down to visit with Myra. Jimmy stopped by later. He said that Tommy Statham (or maybe his father) had visited yesterday. On her way out Ceil saw David McDaniel and wife Laura Hendrix McDaniel, who were there to see someone else. 

Earlier for Sunday School everyone brought pastries cakes pies fruit etc. No lesson but Brian played the video of John Piper reading his Christmas story / poem. 

I watched the Falcons and then the end of the PNC Championship. Charlie Woods had an eagle on the 3rd hole and a hole in one on 4. Annika had a long chip in, and her young son drained several long putts. Tiger & Charlie shot 59 then a record 57, but so did 67 year old Bernhard Langer and his bespectacled son Jason, who doesn't golf as much since he moved to NYC. Tiger's daughter Sam served as his caddie.

On the first playoff hole Charlie, Tiger, and Jason all missed long  birdie putts, then Bernhard drained his putt to win his second straight PNC Championship. As usual, a legendary field.

Then I ran several errands: post office, gas for Ceil's car, a RaceTrac drink, McDonalds dollar deal, Kroger, and Wendy's.

I left work Friday at 11 am and drove Spaulding and Holcomb Bridge west to Marietta. Visited our painter RayPaul Coatings to pick up a large gift basket from Antwon and Danny. They fed me lasagna salad and chocolate cake. A good visit.

On the way home I grabbed an ice cream, gassed up, and mailed a letter. 

I'd told Ceil we needed to leave for SC at 2 pm. We left at 245. Heavy traffic. Stopped for gas in Commerce. Took 5 minutes. Ceil wanted Starbucks. Took 30 minutes. The drive to Belton SC took 3-1/2 hours. We missed out on an hour of visiting with her family.

The oyster roast was down behind Ted's parent's house. Three fires, lights, some soups. Was cold at first until the wind died down after sundown. Rusty's family all made the drive, plus Ted's parents and several friends. Anna and Caleb also made the trip. 

Some guys brought a large inflatable screen to watch the Notre Dame game. We mostly sat around the fire and caught up.

Left at 10 pm. Ceil took her time, and we were the last to leave. I was sleepy, but we made it home by 1230 am.

Saturday: slept until 930 am. Cleaned upstairs. Met the guys for lunch at El Porton. 

Penn State capitalized on 3 SMU interceptions. Clemson was no match for Texas, but kept the game respectable. Watched some of the Texans@Chiefs. Buckeyes came out like a ball of fire. The almighty playoff committe relegated the visiting bands to the faraway upper decks, making for a long journey downstairs for the halftime show.