Old Man Peachtree

 As I was driving down to the Peachtree Road Race Expo on Thursday morning to pick up my number (so I wouldn't have to pay the exorbitantly overpriced mailing fee to race sponsor UPS), I was thankful the expo had been moved to Lenox Square from the Congress Center downtown. Closer to home. Free parking.

And less walking. Or so I thought. Traffic around Lenox was gridlocked at 9:15 am. It was a work day. Saw participants qued up on Peachtree and wrapped around down Lenox Road - 45 minutes before opening. Goodness. Parked in the shady deck. Should've walked straight up to Lenox Road, but dummy me went toward the expo entrance - then up the ramp to Peachtree and around the corner, down Lenox a bit. Kept looking for someone I knew, but nada.

Then Friday's thunderstorm flooded the expo tents. Man the Peachtree Road Race is such as hassle. So expensive. So many hoops to jump through, to get your number and then it make it to the start line. The race is the easy part, but then making it home from Piedmont Park is a long uphill death march to MARTA.

Now that I retired, the Peachtree gang at my old office completely collapsed. Brad needed the time to re-side his house. Steve moved to Dawsonville. Rachel gave birth on Independence Day. Armstrong gave it up a few years ago. Shane ran it once. Even super stud Jason K didn't run this year.

July 4 sunrise from the MARTA platform.

Danny Downing got it right: how tone death of the woke track club to have a yellow t-shirt to celebrate the 250th anniversary of our nation's founding. Loads of complaints. You'd think race sponsor adidas could've done better. Guess all they care about is plopping their logo where the design should be.

And once again the t-shirt design was printed way down on the belly of the shirt, as opposed to up on the chest. So much space to move the design up toward to collar. Same as last year.

Independence Day

I am seeing more and more people taking up the mantle that the US founders and the Constitution are “imperfect” ever since that seed was planted. Never heard such thought before. 

What is perfect, aside from God? Sure the founders were imperfect. Many were indeed slave owners. It was the way the world was back then. Even during the writing of the Constitution, the founders struggled with the issue of slavery. They kicked it down the road - but the United States eventually addressed slavery, once and for all. Recent presidents all had issues they ignored or failed to address. Recent presidents have been far more imperfect than George Washington and other founders. 

The founders and the Constitution should be celebrated for being an overwhelming force for good, especially during our nation’s 250th anniversary - as opposed to picking nits over the relatively minute imperfections that those who have repeatedly demonstrated hate for our country continue to point out. 

How many countries have lasted 250 years? We must be doing something right. You think?

What was failed to be mentioned is that Washington eventually freed all his slaves. What was failed to be mentioned is that the white slave trade in Africa was far more voluminous than the black slaves send to America. What’s been failed to be mentioned is that millions are still enslaved. Which recent politicians ignored this issue, and which have worked to end it?

I wonder if whenever the NYC mayor tells his wife that he loves her, he also reminds her that she isn't perfect. I bet he goes to her birthday parties.

Sorry but there's so much crap going on, but some choose to ignore. Sorry if this sounds like MAGA. It's not like the US will be a perfect place after Trump's term ends. If you think he's the only bad guy, you've got you're head in the sand. How are so many in government becoming multi-millionaires off $175,000 salaries?

Threads is Twitter Jr. The people on Threads are like the Not Ready for Twitter players. Not that Twitter isn’t full of lame brained users itself. 

Question of the day: what’s your favorite dad joke? (I hate that term). I recently stumbled across an old Leno joke. Check it out:

https://share.google/kgsnAQosBVvsQLRwo 

Stumbled across a photo of Harmon Wages that I hadn't seen before. Slim pickings on pictures of people / places / events that happened before the internet. Cool face mask.

Friday: Ceil's ham & cheese sandwiches just look better than mine.

Cardinals 11 Braves 5

 
Will stopped by late Thursday afternoon to pick up the girls, who had spent Wednesday night with us. He suggested we go to the Braves game. We dropped my car off at my normal parking place, then Shivonne and I hopped out near the ballpark before Will and Millie went to park. 

Shiv and I had time to explore a little. We tracked Will's progress, and determined the First Base Gate still had a supply of the gate giveaway: a corduroy NAPA cap. An unexpected prize. 

With time to kill before the game, we made our way to the kids area. Very hot, but there was a nice breeze. 

Earlier Millie had taken an afternoon nap. Shivonne had made the long walk with me, and had less energy, though she was a trooper all night. 

Not much of a breeze up in our seats. The girls kept a keen ee out for Blooper.

The Cards scored three in the top of the first, but the Braves answered with five in the bottom of the same inning.

Gwinnett shortstop was just called back for his second stint of the season with the big club, and he helped turn four double plays and knocked in a run. He kinda looks like a member of Blooper's mascot security team.

A highlight of the evening: Dippin Dots. Shivonne had her eye on the row of boisterous kids behind us. 

A slow walk back to my car. Thursday was the most steps I've had in several weeks.

Cool sunset over Kennesaw Mountain.

Another Burger List

Another top 5 burger list. Lots of classic places left out. 

5. Yard Burger at Stockyard Burger and Bones. They are good. My East Cobb location went out of business a few years ago. But this is a chain. 

4. Fox Brothers Burger at Fox Brothers BBQ. Called the best burger in America by some. 

3. The ultimate burger smash at FNF Hot Burger in the Halidom Eatery. Will have to look that one up.

2. That Night Night burger from That Burger Spot. 

1. The burger stack from Fred’s Meat & Bread.

Saturday: AM zoom call. Then took two hours to pack. Had enough food to make two eggy boys. 

Left out and drove home, only stopping once for gas in Madison. Unpacked, then drove down to Buckhead to visit with Edie and Claire. Walked out to the car at 8:07 and hustled over to the Cheshire Bridge Taqueria before they closed at 8:30. In honor of Reid.

Lee missed me on the guys’ Saturday morning Kennesaw Mountain hike.

Tried to take it easy on Sunday. Monday: went to the gym and Kroger. Tuesday: visited with Lang, got on a zoom call, went to the gym and Kroger. 

Lots of earthquakes out in the Pacific these days. Probably doesn’t mean anything, right?

Some people should listen to the things that come out of their mouth. We all should take a step back and really listen to the words that come out of the mouths of the people we follow and respect. And I'm not just talking about the President, who some of my connections on social media seem to be solely focused on. Listen to the leaders of both parties. Listen to the candidates, and potential candidates. Is what they're saying really true. Are their views and positions things that you agree with? Really? 

Trump isn't going to be the President forever. At least I think that's going to be true. Who are you going to support next? What gets my goat are the politicians who refuse to answer the tough questions, who deflect and change the subject. Are they really someone worthy of support? Contrast them with the patroits willing to go into the lion's den and respond and discuss the issues that are dividing our country. Are you paying attention, or just following the party line? Do you see any changes in what your political party of choice is supporting?

July Bobbleheads

Here's my list of July SGA's and special ticket deals. What did I miss?

Braves really need to up their bobblehead game. I hear it all the time.  In July the Braves are only giving away five bobbleheads, plus at least two other gate giveaways. They only play 15 home games in July. Add in their minor league teams, and it's a total of at least 14 giveaways for the month. I know y'all are tired of hearing me say this. I'm not sure the Dodgers give away as many bobbleheads as the Braves do.

7.01 WED SEA Cal Raleigh Funko POP 10000

7.01 WED Binghamton Jonah Tong bobble 

7.01 WED ATL Jurickson Profar bobblecard (cancelled?)

7.01 WED ATL World Cup knockout stage

7.02 THU ATL corduroy throwback NAPA cap 15000 

7.02 THU Rochester Luis Garcia bobble 1000

7.03 FRI Peoria Mason Burns bobble

7.03 FRI Round Rock widget cap 2000

7.03 FRI San Antonio USA 250 jerseys 2000

7.03 FRI Frisco Wyatt Langford bobble

7.04 SAT NYY 4th of July caps 18000

7.04 SAT ATL Peachtree Road Race

7.04 SAT Bham shoodie 1000

7.04 SAT Kane County George Washington bobble 1500

7.05 SUN Reading Trey Yesavage hometown hero bobble 2000

7.05 SUN Quad City Maikel Garcia bobblehead

7.05 SUN Fond du Lac koozies 500 

7.05 SUN Cubs Clark the Cub building blocks

7.05 SUN ATL Drake Baldwin mini bobble 3000 kids

7.06 MON ATL Matt Olson bobblecard 15000 

7.06 MON Mystics Monique Currie bobble 1500

7.07 MON ATL World Cup round of 16

7.07 TUE Brooklyn bark in the park cap special ticket

7.07 TUE Ottawa jersey exchange

7.08 WED JAX "is this OK?" t-shirt 500

7.09 THU Lehigh Valley rubber duck 3000 

7.09 THU Tri City bobbleheads

7.09 THU Brooklyn basketball jersey 1000

7.10 FRI Brooklyn Frank Sinatra bobblehead 1000

7.10 FRI Fond Du Lac Caleb Durbin bobble 500

7.10 FRI Columbia bobble planes

7.10 FRI Augusta player bobblehead 1000

7.10 FRI Wisconsin mascot Pizza Slice bobble

7.10 FRI Hill City aloha shirts 

7.10 FRI Frederick Noah Grove curling bobble 1000

7.10 FRI Gwinnett diecast cars 2000

7.11 SAT Gwinnett Toy Story t-shirts special ticket

7.11 SAT Augusta camo caps 1000

7.11 SAT Lehigh Valley pickleball paddle 3000

7.11 SAT Knoxville mascot on the shelf giveaway 

7.11 SAT Tampa Tarpons Ben Rice

7.11 SAT Asheville Snot Otters jersey

7.11 SAT Myrtle Beach Ben Zobrist appearance

7.11 SAT Dunedin bucket hats 

7.11 SAT Lake County Bennie the Blue Pike bobble

7.11 SAT Akron Corbin Bernsen bobble

7.11 SAT Erie John Oliver bobble 1500

7.11 SAT Wichigan Briceno bobble

7.11 SAT JAX nutcracker 2000

7.11 SAT Quad City Logan Lee bobblehead

7.11 SAT Columbus alt identity shirsey giveaway 1000

7.11 SAT Brooklyn bobblehead TBD 2000

7.12 SUN Brooklyn Jonah Tong anime bobblehead 1000

7.12 SUN JAX Santa hats 2000

7.12 SUN Rays Evan Longoria bobble

7.12 SUN Buffalo Ernie Clement bobble card 3000

7.13 MON PHIL Home Run Derby

7.14 TUE PHIL All Star Game

7.14 TUE Chickfila Cow Appreciation Day

7.15 WED Long Island camp day 11 am game

7.15 WED ATL World Cup game

7.16 THU Long Island Irish Heritage Night

7.16 THU Trenton mascot Cloudman bobble 1000 13U

7.17 FRI Fayetteville Harry Potter jersey

7.17 FRI San Antonio Manu Gnobli or David Robinson bobblehead

7.17 FRI Fredericksburg 5 chophouse jerseys

7.17 FRI Reading wrestling bobble special ticket

7.17 FRI Lake Country Lion Louie bobblehead

7.17 FRI Bham Vulcan mascot bobble 1000

7.17 FRI Brooklyn WWE jerseys 1000

7.18 SAT Brooklyn Bob Ross bobble painting 2000

7.18 SAT Cubs national hot dog day cap

7.18 SAT Bham Christmas ornaments 500

7.18 SAT Springfield Santa Claus bobble body 2000

7.18 SAT Fayetteville Bunker B-Bit video game figurine

7.18 SAT Lake County Snoopy Christmas in July bobble

7.18 SAT Eugene Bill Walton bobblehead

7.18 SAT Hickory bowling shirts 1000

7.18 SAT Omaha Jac Cagliaone bobble

7.18 SAT Stockton replica jerseys

7.18 SAT Rome AJ Smith Shawver bobblehead 1000

7.18 SAT Nashville Spiderman Funko Pops 1000

7.19 SUN Nashville ice cream jerseys 500 kids

7.19 SUN Albuquerque Roadrunner jerseys 2000

7.19 SUN Brooklyn Paw patrol jersey 500 kids

7.19 SUN ATL clear ATL purse 3000 kids

7.19 SUN Toledo Snoopy bobble special ticket

7.19 SUN Richmond aloha shirts

7.19 SUN South Bend Owen Caissie bobble

7.19 SUN El Paso mini Chico mascot bobble 

7.19 SUN Lakeshore giveaway TBA

7.19 SUN Lake Country UFO candy drop giveaway

7.20 MON CLE Slider snow globe special ticket

7.20 MON NYY t-shirts 15000

7.21 TUE NYY Aaron Judge Harry Potter Houses bobbles 18000

7.21 TUE Mont mystery giveaway 200

7.21 TUE ATL Spiderman bobble special ticket

7.21 TUE ATL Ha-Seong Kim bobble 15000

7.22 WED ATL Jermaine Dupri bobblehead 15000

7.22 WED Corvalis Seinfeld night

7.22 WED Kenosha Bambino bobble presale only

7.23 THU Arkansas otey bobbleheads

7.23 THU Mont camo jerseys 1000

7.24 FRI Mont Gray Sox jerseys 1000

7.24 FRI Clearwater Threshers Andrew Painter

7.24 FRI Peoria Hawaiian shirts 

7.24 FRI Hill City mascot Southpaw trophy bobblehead

7.24 FRI Columbia ugly sweater Christmas jerseys

7.24 FRI Ft Wayne Johnny Nutcracker special ticket

7.24 FRI Akron donut cap special ticket

7.25 SAT Akron donut cap special ticket

7.25 SAT Akron Jose Ramirez bobble

7.25 SAT Ft Wayne Johnny Nutcracker special ticket

7.25 SAT Rome summer legends pennants

7.25 SAT Chattanooga Harry Potter cap special ticket

7.25 SAT Miss Mud Monsters backpacks 1000 kids

7.25 SAT Scranton WB Hawaiian ? shirts 1500

7.25 SAT Inland Empire Pachuco QUADRUPLE bobble

7.25 SAT Beloit Harley Davidson giveaway

7.25 SAT Clinton 2017 NLCS MVP Chris Taylor bobble 

7.25 SAT Mahoning Valley mascot Scrappy Elf bobble 1000

7.26 SUN Everett Bryan Woo bobble

7.26 SUN Mont youth backpacks 500

7.26 SUN Peoria bucket hats

7.27 MON Fond Du Lac koozies 500

7.28 TUE TOR Ernie Clement bobble 

7.28 TUE Brooklyn bark in the park cap special ticket

7.28 TUE Lehigh Valley knit hats 3000

7.29 WED Lehigh Valley festers caps 3000

7.29 WED Nashville country legends record coasters 1000

7.29 WED JAX pirate southpaw t-shirt 500

7.30 THU ATL Andruw Jones HOF bobble 15000

7.30 THU Brooklyn corduroy cap 1000

7.31 FRI Brooklyn Coney Island upside down cap 1000

7.31 FRI Somerset Pats Mickey Mantle

7.31 FRI Corvalis Rutschman bobblehead

7.31 FRI SD Don & Mud mini yacht double bobble 

7.31 FRI Frederick Keys snow globe 1000

7.31 FRI Augusta blankets 1000

7.31 FRI Lakeshore bucket hat 750