24 Hours of Nashville

Wednesday night our small group leader was sick, so we met via zoom on our computers last night. Genesis 38 and 39, contrasting how brothers Judah and Joseph handled temptation differently - and God’s reaction to each.

Lots of workers in the house yesterday morning. Three crews working on three different rooms. We left out around noon after stopping by Chick-fil-A. I ate half of Ceil’s wrap. Traffic wasn’t too bad going through Chattanooga. Made it to Murphreesboro and checked into the hotel in time for Lee to take his afternoon nap.

C sent me across the street to Trader Joe’s for a snack, but by the time I walked back she had gone off shopping with Nancy. I relaxed in the room and caught up on things on my phone.

We left out for Nashville at five. Traffic was heavier. Drove past the new Tennessee Titans stadium being built next door to their old stadium, on the river across from downtown. 

Our dinner in the Noelle, an old downtown hotel near Printers Alley. Met our hosts, and were ushered in to the ballroom around 615. The speaker spoke while we ate, first salad, then steak and lobster, then chocolate cheesecake for dessert. 

Since Lee is on a special diet and I’m allergic to seafood, he suggested I trade him my lobster for his steak. Ceil and Nancy were seated between us at the circular table, so I flagged down the server to bring us two small plates, allowing us to make the trade without much fuss. 

The speaker finished his address and took questions as we were finishing our desserts, and we all had a little time to chat afterwards. We were done by 830. Due to construction our drive back was longer than expected, but we were in bed by ten - 11 pm Atlanta time. 

I didn’t sleep well. C woke up at six. Lee is an early riser, and I found him downstairs in the breakfast area. I took a cup of coffee to C, then joined him for breakfast: eggs, potatoes, granola, yogurt, a hot cinnamon roll, chocolate milk, and cranberry juice. 

We were on the road headed home shortly after 8 am. Stopped south of Chattanooga for gas and a drink, and got home before two.

Sidebar: I like my meatloaf with ketchup, not gravy. Ceil will make her meatloaf with ketchup. And she'll make it every few months. Always with mashed potatoes and English peas. Right now Ceil is loving two things: French fries and cole slaw.

Tonight we ate at La Carreta, the authentic Mexican restaurant in Marietta on Roswell Road, just east of 75. Menus printed mostly in Spanish. Excellent. I had the burrito and C had grilled chicken, rice and beans. We may go back soon to try other entrees. The only downer: Cokes come in 12 ounce cans - no bottomless refills. No free chips and salsa. Chips were bland but the salsa was tasty and slightly sweet, though watery.

The immediate area is a Mexican food hotbed. Matthew will drive long distances for tacos from the place across the street, in the old McDonalds next to Williamson Brothers BBQ. And just west, in the old Hardees, is another excellent taco spot once featured in Atlanta Magazine.

Ate extra early so we could pick up Winnie from Anna's house. Made the short drive over and visited for awhile.

Breakfast Spots

Atlanta's best breakfast restaurants.

Thumb's Up Diner. Generous portions. Several locations.

The Food Shoppe. Creole.

By George. Inside the Candler Hotel. Elegant.

ADios Cafe. Mexican inspired. 800-100.

Atlanta Breakfast Club. 630-300.

Our kids needed to attend in state colleges. Will looked at UAB but he had the Zell Miller scholarship to go to UGA. Anna had the Hope. Not sure how we would've afforded their schooling had it not been for those scholarships. 

Tuesday night supper was chicken & rice, kale, and cole slaw. Watched another episode of the show Best Medicine.

Article: the 1960s and 70s produced one of the most emotionally durable generations in modern history — not through better parenting but through benign neglect that forced children to self-regulate, problem-solve, and develop emotional calluses that modern comfort has made impossible to repeat.

Article: finding meaning in retirement.

Denison: do Muslims and Christians worship the same God, as many claim? In The Reason for God: Belief in an Age of Skepticism, Tim Keller notes: "If you don't live for Jesus, you will live for something else. Jesus is the one Lord you can live for who died for you—who breathed his last breath for you." Muhammad did not die for Muslims. Buddha did not die for Buddhists. Jewish rabbis do not atone for their fellow Jews by their deaths, much less for the rest of humanity. But "God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:8).

LOU GEHRIG [SABR Bio] was the first  player to have his number retired. He was the only Yankee to wear #4. When the Yankees introduced permanent uniform numbers in 1929, Gehrig was assigned #4 because he batted cleanup (fourth) in the lineup. His first ever stolen base was a steal of home. Stole home in the 7th inning on 24-Jun-1925 off Washington's Allen Russell/Muddy Ruel - before Russell had retired a single batter. Gehrig twice hit for the cycle, on 25-Jun-1934 vs. the White Sox, and 01-Aug-1937 vs. the Browns.

The Curse of the BRTL

Not knowing any better, as a kid I cursed my fledgling baseball career by throwing left but batting right.  Not sure if this is the complete list, but here's nine BRTL players with at least 1000 major league games played.

Player                        WAR    HR    RBI  OPS+

Rube Bressler..........19.3......32.....586...110

Hick Carpenter.......... 4.6......18.....543.... 86

Hal Chase................. 22.9......57.....941...112

Johnny Cooney..........8.4........2.....219.... 87

Rickey Henderson 111.2...297...1115...127

Cleon Jones............. 18.0.....93.....524....110

Ryan Ludwick.......... 11.2... 154....587....109

Cody Ross................ 13.5....132....508...104

Jimmy Ryan.............. 43.6... 118..1093...124 

Well those same baseball fanatics who cheered when the Braves paid $42 million for a free agent outfielder can now eat their words now that he's facing a second straight extended suspension, though I'm sure they have long forgotten what they said back on that day. In August they'll be calling out GM AA for not bringing in a front line player, forgetting that very front line player let the team down by being suspended on March 3rd. 

Lang has dropped below 200 pounds. That's my goal as well. Back in mid 2025 when overtime was cut out  I started going out for lunch every day, instead of skipping breakfast and lunch. Gained back most of the weight I had lost for A&C's wedding. Since retirement I've been hitting the gym most days, moving and getting those 10000 steps. Lost 7 or 8 pounds but I have kinda plateaued. Cut out fast food for the most part, except for a deal here and there. But I am still eating too much. Now that it's finally warming up perhaps I can make more progress. 

Had three crews here at the house Tuesday morning: Omar and son are working on phase two, the plumber is installing the new faucets, and another crew is putting in the new shower doors. Took my first shower at lunchtime. 

I haven't done a good job getting my new phone number out to my friends, but my old boss Rodney tracked me down. Good to talk to him. Like me, life has been keeping him busy in retirement.

Article: how to read more.    

Ever Hear of These ACC QB's?

After rating the 2026 SEC QB's, now 680's King of College Football Chuck Oliver has ranked the 2026 ACC QB's. What a bunch of nobodies. Miami steals Duke's QB, so supposedly that makes him the best of the lot. We shall see. The NC State QB did look all-world against the woeful GT defense, earning him second place. Gio Lopez stunk up Chapel Hill last year, but Wake Forest welcomed him with open arms. Good for the rest of the conference.

The Heisman winner's baby bro was considering second tier schools before the Jackets snatched him, perhaps as a publicity stunt (let's hope not). No guarantee he'll even be the starter. Can the same not be said for all the rest as well? 

Saturday Caleb assembled his outdoor sectional sofa for their backyard patio. Detached garage in background.

Lots of eatin' out these last few days.

Friday AM: Fellows Cafe in downtown Roswell (Ceil & the ladies).

Friday PM: Taqueria del Sol at Westside Provisions

Saturday late lunch: Freddy's on Sandy Plains Road

Saturday night: Kimball House in downtown Decatur

Sunday brunch: Sessions Cafe in Marietta

Sunday night: burgers catered by the Earharts

Monday lunch: Chickfila at JFBC

Monday snack: Costco hot dog. 

Monday supper at home: leftover Kimball House chicken, collards, rice, etc. Plus my Coke Zero refill from Costco.

Sold another Braves shirt for cheap. Earned a big bad two bucks. Thank you very much.

Georgia Tech could learn a thing or two from this list. Also several other colleges and minor league baseball teams, travel ball teams, and the like. Less is more. Keep it simple, stupid.

Roswell High's Cinderella

I am so glad I was able to see Megan in Cinderella on Saturday. She really did steal the show, and seemed to get the loudest applause at the end. So good. So good to see Reid and Edie as well. I felt special getting to sit between them. Good to see George and Joy. Claire was the proud mom.

After the show I stopped by Freddy's for a delicious double burger on sale for $3. Regular $8. Last day of the sale, and I figured it would tide me over since our reservation wasn't until 7:45.

Went home and walked and fed Winnie. Then made the long drive down to Decatur to Kimball House. Our group of ten arrived in at least 5 different cars.

I had the ravioli. Since Matthew was eating with us they brought out lots of appetizers and other extras. Very good. Afterward I had to drive C to Perimeter Mall to retrieve her car. Was after 11 pm before we got home.

Got up Sunday morning and had to help C clean out the garage so her sister in law could take home a buffet we'd had stored. My back started hurting immediately, and it's been killing me all day.

We met Ceil's relatives for brunch at Sessions Cafe near downtown Marietta. Fancy smansy. Several years ago Matthew had worked there for a spell. I had a bacon egg & cheese biscuit. It was okay. Also finished Ceil's entree.

So Sunday after the long brunch and loading the furniture and everyone left, Ceil ran some errands. We got a late late start cleaning out the two bedrooms. I was moving slow because my back was hurting so bad. 

Around 5 pm our friends Lee and Nancy brought burgers and salad and potatoes. Also chips and cookies. They helped us move the two beds and other things, which helped tremendously. After supper C and I worked until 10 pm. We were both exhausted.

This morning we got back to it. We took a bunch of stuff downstairs, which hopefully means it's not going back upstairs. At 930 the guys installed the countertop in the bathroom. At 10 the foreman Omar arrived, and got to work tearing out the other upstairs bathroom. The whole time C and I were still putting things away. A bunch into the attic, stuff we'll have to clean out at some point.

At 12:30 we attended a luncheon at church, for all the sent ones and their support teams. Chick-fil-A was served. Then I drove C to While Foods and Costco. Grabbed me the $1.50 hot dog & Coke special at Costco.

Back home I was cleaning out a closet. Matthew stopped by to visit. He loaded his truck up with my bicycle, three hockey bobbleheads, and a bedspread. At some point he's taking a bed frame and chest of drawers from the garage.

While cleaning out the drawers I found an autographed Chipper Jones rookie baseball card that Will had gotten years ago. You never know about the value of those things. I have an old Mickey Mantle card I keep in my office. I also found the old Atlanta Crackers ticket that Reid gave me several years ago.

Found several record albums that M had left at the house. I think I'll frame the Beatles Sgt Peppers album for my office.

Back around 1980 at the GT BSU we staged a fundraiser where if we raised enough money for missions, my friend Mary and I would each shallow a goldfish. Doug Kleppin drew up a huge poster that looked like the Jaws movie poster, except instead of the big shark head swallowing the swimmer, it was me swallowing a goldfish. Today I found that old poster. Need to get it out and take a picture of it.  

Interesting about the way Fellowship does baptisms. Just before someone is baptized at North Point, a video plays of the person being baptized, giving their testimony. Very professionally done. At JFBC, pastor Clay introduces the person being baptized, and reads off a little about how they came to Christ. It's usually an assistant pastor or Sunday School teacher doing the baptizing. 

The Correspondent

I'm reading a great book I think you would like: The Correspondent. A novel about a retired law clerk and all the letters she writes. Even has a foreboding element of potential danger. Heard the ladies at the gym discussing it, just as my reservation from the library became available. Makes me want to write more letters.

Finished the chick lit novel Great Big Beautiful Life. Had a twist at the end that I didn't see coming.

Left out Friday afternoon at 4:45 for our 6:30 meetup down at Westside Provisions. Arrived just before six. Had time to visit Warby Parker to get my glasses tightened.

Big crowd at Taqueria, but they went out of their way to accommodate our large group. W&MC and the girls, A&C< M, C, Teresa, Kelly, Vic, Jordan, & Katherine. Had a nice table overlooking Midtown. Good food and a good time. Afterwards we wandered over to Jeni's Ice Cream for dessert. I was stuffed. 

Then we all drove out to Anna & Caleb's new house. They've already got their nursery set up. The route Ceil's relatives took to their AirB&B took them past the Big Chicken, so I made a big deal about it. Stopped at the red light next to them and acted all excited. Didn't get home until almost 11.

 

Up early to golf on Saturday morning. Teed off at 6:50 am and finished nine holes by 8:10. Played well. There was a guy playing behind me, so I couldn't quite take as much time as I would've liked.

A foggy morning. Southbound traffic on the downtown connector was backed up, so I gave Matthew a heads up. As I drove north up 75 he probably passed me in the southbound lane, headed to work. 

1. Hit three tee shots: one right, one left, and one straight. All three wound up not far from each other. Only one of the three light up balls were working, but it was already light enough to see. A good fairway shot, but only one great chip out of three. 

2. Mulligan was straighter than my first try. Two of four chips were okay.

3. Hit my first 8 iron left, but the second two were straighter. Hit several chips, but none were great.

4. Hit a great 6 iron that drew down to the front fringe, about 15 feet from the hole. Shot of the day. I hit a good mulligan as well. Couldn't sink a birdie putt, but came close.

5. Hit a good long straight 5 iron off the tee, to just short of the green. Pulled my mulligan left. Good lag putt.

6. Hit driver off the tee. Felt good, though I really couldn't see where it went. Found a ball on the fairway, if it was mine then it was my best tee shots ever. I really should pay more attention to what kind of ball I am hitting. Hit two good 5 irons, and a decent chip to the front right fringe. Then a good lag putt to about one foot.

7. Another great drive, all the way up to the top of the hill. Then a good straight 6 iron, that rolled down to the left rough just short of the green. And a good chip up to the front of the green. Hit two good lag putts. 

8. Hit driver from the old tee box, but it stayed right and got knocked down next to a tree trunk. I played it where it laid, and poked a sweet low 7 iron under the trees, then rolled down to the rough near the green. Popped a decent little chip onto the green, and rolled two lag putts close to the hole.

9. Hit a good straight hybrid. Hit three chips, one to the front left fringe. Hit a couple of lag putts up the hill toward the hole, but not too close.

Ceil usually eats a late lunch. Thursday at 6 pm she was yaking on the phone. I was starving so I fixed myself a ham sandwich. At 7:40 we are burgers, fries, and kale.

Got to the gym a little earlier on Friday morning. Lifted weights, sat in the sauna, and walked on the treadmill. Stopped by Dollar Tree on the way home.

DENISON: Artificial Intelligence is not afraid of nuclear weapons.

The Braves Way

The Braves released their 2025 earnings report. Revenue and profits were up. Some think Liberty Media might sell the team. The Battery real estate development brought in an additional $100 million, 13% of the total. So many uneducated fans are quick to claim the team isn't reinvesting this money back into the team, but that simply isn't the case. Payroll keeps growing every year, and is currently the 8th highest in baseball. 

I'm glad the Braves just don't throw money around just for the sake of it, like the Mets and Yankees. So many big dollar free agent contracts simply don't pay off. For the past ten years Atlanta has been just as successful as the New York teams, if not more so. They just extended Chris Sale's contract, making the future hall of famer a Brave for life. The Braves traded a minor league shortstop for Sale - and had the Red Sox pay Sale's salary for his first year in Atlanta. A much better deal than paying all that money for Max Fried, who continues to fade in September and October. 

Sure it would've been nice if the Braves had signed an extra starting pitcher for the 2026 season, but GM AA considered the current stockpile of young pitchers already in the Braves system to be the equal of better of anyone they would've had to overpay for out on the free agent market.       

The developer behind Ponce City Market will be redeveloping North Point Mall, adding an arena with hopes of attracting a NHL team to Alpharetta. There are two or three other proposals by other groups to build arenas a few miles further north up 400 in Forsyth County, off McFarland Road or another exit. MARTA does serve the North Point area, but not Forsyth County. Both the Flames and Thrashers drew big crowds, but were plagued by poor management.

Ceil usually eats a late lunch. Yesterday at 6 pm she was yaking on the phone. I was starving so I fixed myself a ham sandwich. At 7:40 we are burgers, fries, and kale.

Got to the gym a little earlier this morning. Lifted weights, sat in the sauna, and walked on the treadmill. Stopped by Dollar Tree on the way home. 

Eating at the Westside Taqueria tonight: Anna & Caleb, Matthew, W&MC and the girls, Anna's three cousins, plus Ceil, Teresa, and Kelly. Not sure where 14 people will sit.

DENISON: Artificial Intelligence is not afraid of nuclear weapons.

CLEON JONES [SABR Bio] was called ine greatest New York Met of all time, in the 1969 all Star game program. The quote was probably framed & hung in Tom Seaver’s trophy room. Jones played for the White Sox in 1976, his last season. Jones’s .340 average in 1969  was the highest in Mets history until John Olerud hit .354 in 1998. He played himself on the  Everybody Loves Raymond episode that aired on 01-Mar-1999 “Big Shots”.

How to deal with people who don't like you...

1. Control your reactions. Silence and composure. People who dislike you hope to feed off your emotional response. The less you react, the more powerless they feel.

2. Minimal engagement. Have a neutral tone. No emotional energy. Give them nothing to react to.

3. To lower resistance, subtly mirror their behavior. 

4. Give them unexpected compliments - but don't flatter. They expect conflict.

5. Respond "Interesting perspective. Why do you feel that way?" Doesn't work with people who can't accept facts. 

6. Stay grounded, calm, and on-topic. Don't let them take you down rabbit trails. 

7. When you stay gracious while they act petty, others start to question their behavior.

8. Indifference works better than confrontation. Treat their dislike like background noise. Detach with dignity.