1982

Monday night I went to a baseball meeting, for a team Will might play on next summer. Saturday some parents told me they were going, and gave me the info. Yesterday I emailed the Shamrock manager, calling him Rob instead of Bob. Later he called me, connecting me with Will, who he had talked to after watching him at a recent practice (unknown to me). He knew that Will was home-schooled, and this Bob seemed to have a good memory.

The meeting went well. One assistant had played minor league ball, and now scouted for the Houston Astros. All the coaches seemed personable, but more reserved and most of the cocky/full-of-themselves East Cobb coaches. One of them mentioned how well-connected Bob was with many college coaches. The only bad thing is they’re based at Dominion Christian Academy, which is 20 miles from our house, directly past the gridlocked Barrett Parkway area.

I went home and looked up the Shamrock website. Turns out Bob Kelly used to be the unofficial Braves mascot in the early 1980’s…Brother Francis.

Talking to the dads, many of Will’s teammates were also burned out on baseball. Few went to the East Cobb tryout. Many had the same ridiculous idea Will had, that they could just catch on with a team early next summer.

AJ: Not playing baseball this fall or next summer.

Tyler: Not playing baseball this fall or next summer (or is it basketball?)

Audie: Quit Lassiter football, and not signed up for baseball.

Ryan T: Playing this fall, but not yet signed up for next summer.

Durham: disliked his ECB team, not yet signed up.

Jared: disliked his ECB team, to play with rival 643 team.

Cole, Jake, & Bradley: to play with ECB Saints.

Michael, Vince, & Parker: looking into Shamrock.

I hear McLouth is being called up today, so he’ll be available for the playoffs.

Letter to Sports Illustrated

From: David
Sent: Monday, August 30, 2010 4:22 PM
To: 'letters@SI.timeinc.com'
Subject: Votto cover = Musial cover?

Was it more than coincidence that Joey Votto struck nearly the exact same pose on the August 30 cover that Stan Musial was in on the August 2-9 cover?

While Albert Pujols is correct saying there’s only one “Stan the Man”, perhaps there will be many more comparisons to make by the time Votto hangs up his spikes.

David

Weekend

Friday and Saturday the Gilbert/Murphy events continued. They’ve been staying at their grandparent’s house, off Lower Rowell . Friday C, W, A, & M went to lunch with MC and her mom. Saturday they had an extra SOM ticket, so Anna went. They went to Steak & Shake afterwards, and didn’t get home til 1 am.

Anna had a long day Saturday. I drove her down to the Red Cross on Monroe Drive for babysitting training. She was supposed to have a lunch, so I hit Chick-fil-A real quick and got her a chicken biscuit. She really appreciated the brownie.

Will’s fall team, the Hooks, comes close to being as good as his East Cobb summer team. They cruised to a 17-0 pasting of a younger Sandy Plains rec team Saturday afternoon. Will’s coach saw the opponent and trotted out a weaker pitcher, batted everyone, and let the younger players play defense. Batting leadoff, Will went 2-3 and scored three runs.

Before the game I watched Will’s home school team play another SP rec team. I knew several players on each team, as well as the umpire. The game plodded along…lots of walks and errors. Both teams had recruited Will to play this fall, but it looks like he made the right decision. Had he played on either of those teams he would’ve pitched more, but he plays to the level of those around him (as do most people). There are several hitters better than him of the Hooks…that should keep him working.

My father-in-law has allocated some money to buy Will a car, so I was looking on Craig’s List. Ceil wants him to get something “big.” I wouldn’t mind spending less, in case something needed to be fixed. Any suggestions?

Last night C, A, and W went to Passion City Church . Matthew went to get water from the fridge dispenser, then the water wouldn’t stop pouring out. I couldn’t fix it, and finally had to shut off the cold water for that section of the house.

The Man

Pujols’ nickname was Spanish for “The Man‘…until he spent a day with Stan Musial. After that, Pujols said there was only one “The Man” and asked that he not be called that.

A couple of times Andy mentioned that he doesn’t either, be it someone he knows, or doesn’t know. Once he was on a trip and a female was sent to give him a ride, and he called up to his room to get his wife to ride with him.

He has preached how an affair is a decision, and by not riding/dining alone with someone makes the decision to not have an affair easier. It’s much harder to wait and decide when driving a woman home after drinks, or walking to her the door.

See where Strasburg is out for 12 months for Tommy John surgery?

Headaches

Hopefully those headaches were just a passing thing. Though I never had one that bad, I rarely have headaches at all.

It could’ve been a combination of several things:

1. During vacation I never use my eyes as much as I do at work. Then when I come back, the first couple of days using my eyes more, they get tired and strain, resulting in headaches.

2. During vacation I get more sleep. Getting back into the grind, I wasn’t getting as much rest.

3. During vacation I was drinking more caffeinated soft drinks than usual.

4. That Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday I exercised much harder than usual.

5. The exercise could’ve left me dehydrated.

6. Monday I started using a particular kind of mouthwash. Years ago I had used some, and remember having a negative reaction to it then as well.

I haven’t had any more headaches since Tuesday. Thursday night I dragged Matthew to the pool. It was just us two, so I swam the length of the pool several times. I had just eaten and walked out the door, which might’ve resulted in the slight case of leg cramps.

Starting this week I’m planning on eating better, drinking more water, exercising more, and eating the flax seed oil again. I need to lose some weight, hopefully before Will’s school trip at the end of October.

Midtown Adventure

Had a little adventure last night, taking Will and Holt down to see “friend” Mary-Clayton sing in The Sound of Music at the Fox.

I drove home and changed, but still had to wait for Will to get ready. After all that “work” I thought he still looked thrown away, but didn’t say anything. We had to meet Holt at the I-85 Chamblee Tucker exit, and I knew traffic on 285 east would be bad. We did arrive five minutes early, but Holt left home without the tickets and had to turn around. We didn’t leave until 7:25, but made good time. I dropped them off at 7:45.

I had decided to hang around downtown instead of making the long trek home and back. I had plenty of things I could do, but was stressed from the rushed trip. Didn’t feel like eating at the Varsity, or adventuring to The Vortex in Little Five Points. Settled for the Spring Street Arby’s. While there I updated my Facebook status, noting the Arby’s was where I ate as a freshman 33 years ago. Later in the evening I discovered several of my old Tech buddies had come out of the woodwork to comment.

Driving up a deserted block of West Peachtree, I turned at a corner where two “ladies of the evening” stood. The blonde glanced at me in my Civic, but I don’t think SHE was tempted (not that I was, either).

Cruised around the Tech campus, which has changed a LOT since I was there. When I tried to drive past the stadium up The Hill, I discovered the road is now pedestrian only. Looking around, I had missed the “Not a through street” sign. All the fraternities and sororities were having rush parties, with scored of nicely dressed students hanging around. Drove by a lighted field full of students, but convinced myself that I hadn’t recovered enough from my headaches to exercise. Instead I found a spot to finish Will’s summer baseball statistics.

Later I drove back and parked at West Peachtree and Ponce, near where the boys would meet Mary Clayton. It was too hot to sit in the car, so I wound up standing near the corner, where I could monitor both my car and patrons exiting the Fox. I had arrived too early, and had to wait 30-45 minutes. I paced about, using my cell phone for entertainment. A few street people wanted to chat, but I tried to stay to myself.

A lady in sweats was approaching just as I saw the show had let out. Just before starting up the hill to the Fox, I decided to check my car one last time. This allowing the woman to pass. “Great” I thought. “She’s going to think I looped around just to follow her. She had looked at me once or twice, but I tried not to make eye contact. When I stopped at the actor’s entrance, I noticed her there as well. She was really going to think I was weird. Then just when Will and Holt walked up, the lady walked up to us. It was Mary Clayton’s mom!

Mrs. Gilbert suggested we get a shake, so we went to the Varsity. Mom and MC sat down first, together on one bench. Will sat next to MC, leaving the other side for Holt and me. Afterwards I took Holt back, then didn’t get home until 12:30 am. Another excuse not to wake up and exercise.

How to spot Mary-Clayton:

1. She wears a red dress in the party scene. Her hair is short and black.

2. In the wedding scene she is the one your far right.

3. She’s the tallest of the “young” nuns. The nuns wear a lot of clothes, so pretty much all you see is her face. She does have thick, dark eyelashes and a darker, olive complexion. Though not at all fat, she isn’t skinny, either.

The Gilbert family is easy to like, except for their Cartersville address. I hung out with Doctor Tom on the Zoo Trip a few years ago. He grew up in Sandy Springs and went to Furman. His parents (one of whom went to North Fulton) were charter members of Johnson Ferry. I had only met his wife a few times, which is my excuse for not recognizing her. College sophomore Anna is a tall dancer. Junior Mary Clayton ever met a stranger, and is full of personality. Twelve year old Tom is in Anna’s class. An athlete who looks up to Will, Tom just missed playing the younger Von Trapp son at the Fox. He was the one who called to razz Will at 11:30 pm, when Tech beat Clemson in the ACC Championship.

On the way to meet Holt we listened to the Braves terrible loss. Hopefully they can use the loss as a springboard for a winning streak.

Today a lady in Accounting caused a problem I’ve having to work through. Made me think of the song “How Do You Solve a Problem Like Maria?”

stats

Just finished compiling the stats for the Rays games I scored this summer.

Offense: Will led the team in nine offensive categories: RBIs, On Base Percentage, Times Reaching Base, Plate Appearances, Stolen Bases, Walks, Games Played, Triples, and Times Hit By Pitch.

He was one base behind the team leader in my “Total Bases” category, the total bases a player advanced by hit, stolen base, fielder’s choice, etc.

Will was third on the team in: OB+Slugging, Hits, Batting Average, At Bats, Fewest Strikeouts, Sacrifices, and Walks/Strikeout Ratio.

Usually batting 3th, 4th, or 5th, Will ranked a close 4th in Runs Scored as well as Slugging Percentage. He ranked first, second, or third in 17 of the 21 categories I charted.

Jake ranked first in six categories: Average, Hits, At Bats, Total Bases, and Triples & Plate Attempts (both tied with Will).

Bradley ranked first Slugging, Runs, Doubles, Home Runs (tied with Tyler), and Triples (tied with Will & Jake).

Will, Jake, and Bradley took top three in 51 of the top 63 spots...

Bradley: 18 of 21

Will: 17 of 21

Jake: 16 of 21

Will’s Pitching rankings:

First: Strikeouts/Inning and Appearances

Second: ERA and Opposing OBP

Third: Innings Pitched, Opposing Batting Average, Walk/Strikeout Ratio, Batters/Inning, Hits/Inning, and Pitches/Inning.

Dustin led the team in ERA, Walks/Inning, Batters/Inning, Hits/Inning, Percentage of Strikes, Pitches/Inning, Opposing Average, Opposing OBP, and Walks/Strikeout Ratio.

Dustin, Will, and Michael pitched the most innings (30, 21, and 40, respectively).

Here’s how those three ranked in the 14 categories I charted:

Dustin: 1st in 10 categories, 2nd in two.

Will: 1st in 2 categories, 2nd in eight.

Michael: 1st in 2 categories, 2nd in four.

Will played seven positions for the Rays: P, C, 3B, RF, LF, SS, CF. He played P, C, SS, 2B, 3B, & CF for his spring Crown team, so the only position he didn’t play this year was first base.

Teammate Cole played almost as many positions as Will, if not more. In my unstatistical opinion, Cole was the team’s best overall fielder.

Migraine?

Monday afternoon I got enough of a headache to take a pill, the last one in the bottle. Felt bad enough that when I got home, I laid down on the living room sofa to relax for awhile.

Tuesday I left work about 5:10, and five minutes later was struck with a huge headache, worst of my life. I tried to eat and drink, but really didn’t want to. The pain was so bad I could barely drive home. Took some drugs, but when I laid down, I was in such pain that I tossed and turned. Finally felt better after an hour or two, but I was still shaking and weak. Didn’t feel like eating much.

Today I’ve been trying to drink a lot and made sure to have a decent lunch.

Will is going to the Sound of Music tonight, at the Fox.

debunking an email myth

My dad just sent this email below to me, stating that this August with five Sundays, Mondays, and Tuesdays only happens only once every 823 years.

I got thinking for a few seconds, and realized it wasn’t true. So I hit “reply all” to debunk the myth, telling my dad to return the email himself!

My reply:

I hope I am around the next time August has five Sundays, Mondays, and Tuesdays. It will be in the year 2021! And if I’m not mistaken, it happened in 1998 and 1992. It will also happen in 2027 and 2034. And that’s just August! It happens every time a 31-day month starts on Sunday.

From: Bill Murphy
Sent: Wednesday, August 25, 2010 1:25 PM
Subject: AUGUST 2010

AN INTERESTING FACT ABOUT AUGUST 2010.

This August has 5 Sundays, 5 Mondays, 5 Tuesdays, all in one month.
It happens once in 823 years.

I wanted to let you know now because I'll probably miss it next time!

More Old School

I am technologically weak, especially next to most people my age. At church many people have the Bible on their iPhones. Over a year ago Andy Stanley said that 95% of the books he reads, are read on the Kindle. I had never heard of one.

Still do the scrapbook calendar, with scissors and tape. Ceil has started making one, and Anna’s not far behind. A and M are artistic. A is taking up art classes to replace ballet. M still plays with Legos, and draws.

As I recall, it was when we went to NYC several years ago when I first read about blogging. This one is not at all fancy. All I post are edited versions of these emails, plus Will’s game recaps, and a few pictures. Since it goes back several years, I’m trying to keep it up, and not let Facebook replace it. Lang reads it from time to time, as do my mom, sister, one friend, and sometimes Ceil. Missy Simms used to read it, when she was blogging in Saipan. Every now and then a friend will say they stumble across it, but that’s about it for readers. Hardly anyone ever comments. Invariably my sister will mis-quote something I write, or take it out of context, creating a family stir. You can Google http://www.sacrificefly@blogspot.com/ …it’s something like that.

People at work hardly read emails any more, especially since they started getting the emails on their cell phones. I can write a beautiful email with all the details of a problem, but it does no good. Here at work managers get 100 - 200 emails a day, or more. I try to process every email not long after it comes in, and keep my inbox clean. When I returned from vacation yesterday I had over 140 new emails. Right now I have seven, and I’m going to take care of three of those shortly.

My dad and father-in-law forward “joke” emails, but not as many as they used to. I don’t have time to read 99% of them. Some people at work pass them along. My mom tries to send helpful, detailed emails about various topics related to our family, but we don’t have time to read the information we WANT to read, from the sources we choose…much less those someone sends us from a random source.

Matthew On Matthew

My name is Matthew, but online, I call myself Matthew “Beast” Murphy, MB, or Squirrel Nut. I am eleven years old, and my birthday is October 7, 1998.

My favorite food is ribs because I love barbecue. My favorite TV show is Psych, because the guys are funny and random while solving mysteries. My favorite band is either Switchfoot or Tenth Avenue North .

The only thing I absolutely couldn’t live without is music. Though I don’t play any instruments, I write my own songs. I write Pop, Rock, Pop/Rock, slow Pop, and sometimes even Rap. My favorite type of music is either Rock or Pop.

When I grow up, I want a career in music, art, or cooking. But for now, I just do what I do. I love to cook. I like getting the Food Network magazine, finding cool recipes, and making them. I like drawing cartoon characters. I want to learn to play the guitar so that I can start a band.

My mom, Ceil, likes to sew and draw. She is very talented. My dad works at Ryerson as a business person. Will, my older brother, is seventeen and he plays baseball. Anna, my older sister, is fourteen and she is an artist. I like to annoy all of them by singing random junk I make up (Anna said that, not me). That’s what I do, other than school.

What I like about school is seeing all my friends and my teacher. What I dislike about school is the homework.

I’ve been around for over a decade, and so far, life is good. Homeschool, nice little house in a neighborhood full of kids? My life oughta be pretty nerfy, right?

Late Adopter

Driving to work yesterday morning I saw a dad videotaping his kid getting on the bus. We are certainly fortunate to be able to educate our kids the way we do. Years ago I never would’ve figured we would be sending our kids to these schools, since both Ceil and I had gone to public schools. But it’s certainly a different world we live in these days.

I am a slow adopter to new technology. It took us a long time to get a computer and internet, now I spend too much time on it. Ceil is terrible about checking and responding to emails, and keeping up with a cell phone. I wasn’t great on the cell phone until I got a new phone a few months ago. Now I finally have all my contacts entered in, learned how to text, and check internet and email on the phone. A few weeks ago I set up Twitter on my phone to gets Braves updates, and tweets from Lang and a few others.

I like Excel, the spreadsheet, saved on the computer instead of on paper. It’s like Chinese at first, but once you get the hang of it you love it. That’s how I keep up with our checkbook, and Will’s baseball stats.

Like Claire, I’ve gotten into Facebook. Even if you have few contemporaries on Facebook, you can keep up and see the photos people post. I “joined” to look at photos from a high school reunion that I missed, then “friended” Will, several of his buddies, their parents, and then others from SPdL, Tech, and high school. Now I can check Facebook for 5 minutes every day or two, to keep up to date. I’m even friends with John Condra.

Good vacation to Florida, left Sunday and got back late Friday. Didn’t do much over the weekend, except go to the Voyles wedding late Saturday afternoon. Bill and Sarah Reed sat in front of us, next to Jim Ewing. Talked to Bill for a long time, standing in line to greet the bride and groom.

Will rode home from Florida Sunday with the Hurts, and went immediately to baseball practice last night. His good friend Mary Clayton is in the off-Broadway production of The Sound of Music, that will be at the Fox this fall. Sounds like the Murphy’s might be attending.

School starts up this week for our three. My desk doesn’t seem to be in too bad shape.

Ceil enjoyed the first Nanny McPhee, so I’m sure we’ll be going to the second one. Heard that “Despicable Me” is also good.

Trying to get back on the diet and exercise program, since many of my pants don’t fit, and I’ve lost energy. My coworker Brad is really into it lately, so I’m using him as my motivation. It’s tough getting out of bed early, but I’m waking up when I need to get up anyway.

Our cars are always getting dinged in our garage by bikes and scooters.

Without Braves TV last week, we were keeping up on the computer. Watched a few Rays/Rangers games. Watched a good chunk of the game Monday night, hated that they lost. Don’t like Hudson’s beard, but perhaps it’s a team thing. Saw Hanson sitting alone in the dugout, which I thought was interesting. Maybe it doesn’t mean anything. The Derrick Lee trade seemed to come up all of a sudden, though the Wren back-story did come out about looking for a third-baseman. Fun game to watch Sunday, with all the Piniella story.

Rosemary Beach Vacation Recap

Saturday night Ceil didn’t start packing until after 10:30.

Sunday: After 9 am church, Will and I drove home to pack. Will remembered he needed to finish mowing a neighbor’s lawn, leaving most of the packing to me. After breaking into an outrageous sweat, we arrived back at NP just as Ceil was finishing her SS class. Then she had to stop by Sears, so we grabbed some Taco Bell, then topped off at BP. It was 1:30 before we pulled on 400 south.

...Stopped at the Phenix City McDonalds, then again just north of Panama City, then at Publix, then Texaco. The crowd hadn’t yet eaten, so we had a late bite at Pizza By The Sea. I thought it funny that Will, Kevin, and Holt sat at one table, with Anna, Margaret, and Emily, while the oldest daughter Haley played with Matthew at our table.

The roster:

...David: my long-time friend, whom I really only see a few times a year. We talk sports and old TV and music. Surprised to see he likes to spend lots of time in the ocean.

...Mary: his super-organized wife. Separately from us, the Hurts decided to home school, and started taking classes at Living Science a few years ago.

...Haley just turned 16, and recently got her license. Quite an interesting young lady. Spent several hours on Monday finishing her history homework. Selflessly cleans and sweeps. Dotes on her father. Laughs at my jokes. Loves Seaside, to the point of waking early Tuesday, and driving there to walk around before the stores opened.

...Margaret plays her guitar, autographed by Taylor Swift. Recovered from leukemia, she participates in horse shows.

...Emily is Alyssa’s youngest sister, known for her cake baking. She stuck close to Margaret, and was pretty quiet, except for a few screams. She and Anna paired up to play Balderdash. Based on the Rosemary Beach pictures, she became the star of my Facebook photo album.

...Kevin is Will’s studious classmate and co-Sunday School teacher. In their morning constitutionals, he out-ran baseballers Will and Holt (Kevin plays soccer). To David’s delight, Kevin gives us Braves updates. I maintain Kevin can be successful in whatever profession he chooses, to the point of re-engineering something, like Andy Stanley did the church.

...Like Will, Holt played Flight basketball, is quite popular at Living Science, and is a serious baseball player. Hilarious personality.

...Holt’s mom Maryalice is a fun person to be around, and shares the same values as us and the Hurts. Like my dad, she once worked for P&G. Husband Mike isn’t with us this week, though he too fits in well, talking sports.

...Holt’s older sister MaryKathryn spent the first two days with us before returning to Auburn, for the start of her sophomore year. MK starred in the first Living Science skit I wrote, back in 2007.

Monday morning I woke early, laced up my silver Nikes, and set out to explore. The beach is too sandy for running, as I suspected. The Rosemary Beach development looks

like an old European town, complete with cobblestone streets. Walked next door to Seacrest, to see the shops there. Then I ran back east to the end of 30A, and back. I would not again don socks until Saturday afternoon.

...Took Matthew out to the beach. Lots of seaweed, but I coax him in the water anyway. After M went “home” I napped in my chair, only to be awakened by a few raindrops. Slowly, the gang drifted out for some beach time. The boys tossed the baseball. David spent considerable time in the water. Later Ceil, Mary, David, and I walked to the big pool, where we stayed cool in the water.

...For dinner we drove to Seaside. After walking around a bit we ate at the Taco Stand. Holt, Margaret, and Emily ate sushi. Back at the house the grownups, exhausted, all go to bed early and sleep late Tuesday morning. We’re in the three bedrooms downstairs, where we can hear any activity upstairs. The girls sleep in the third floor loft, with the early-rising boys on the second floor.

Tuesday: As the first adult to breakfast, I notice Holt walking around on his heels: the very loud noise we had been hearing clearly downstairs. I quickly teach him how to walk q.uietly, then embarrass him later in front of the adults.

...The teens discuss bike rides, and how distant Seaside is unreachable by bike. So in the mid-day heat, Will sets out to in the heat disprove their theory. With plenty of time on our hands, David and I come up with ideas to foil Will. Mary drives Margaret and Emily to Seaside, where they soak Will with water pistols. Will lunches on sushi, then bikes back.

...Matthew and I hit the waves, which are high. Eventually I get flipped, and lose my sunglasses. Matthew leaves, but later I return to the surf with David. Just when I’d had enough, Matthew returns for more waves. A real long day in the ocean, and afterwards I’m exhausted.

...I spoil my dinner with two PB&Js. David, Kevin, & I watch the Rays/Rangers on SportsSouth, and follow the Braves win on the internet. Will grills burgers and dogs. David retires to his room.

...Though the hour is late, the entire group plays a rousing edition of Balderdash. I didn’t pay much attention at first, but eventually vault into the lead. Maryalice is taking the game way to seriously, so I make it my mission to throw her off her game. I guess correctly twice in a row. Youngsters like Matthew, Anna, and Emily are easy marks, but then Matthew’s answers fool Will & Kevin, then Maryalice. I roar with laughter. Anna & Emily guess a correct answer: a teller of fortunes by looking at poop…that everyone else figured they had written themselves. Maryalice pulls away to win on the last turn. It’s 2 am!

Wednesday: Everyone sleeps late, save Haley. She walks to get coffee, dances and runs on the beach, and reads a lesson for school. Maryalice cooks eggs, and she and Mary decorate for late-sleeping Anna’s birthday. At first Anna had looked forward to celebrating her birthday away at the beach. Then Ceil didn’t realize this trip was the same week as her family reunion, or the Voyles wedding. She turned sad, having to birthday without close friends or her cousins.

...Will bikes to the western end of 30A, a 36 mile round trip. The rest of the day he’s exhausted. Ceil, Mary, and Maryalice go on a walk, taking pictures of Rosemary Beach.

...I make it a point to take Matthew to the beach. Later we hit the pool with Mary, while Ceil stays back at the house with Anna. Another late supper, back at the same pizza place. There Fox SportSouth Florida shows Jason Heyward’s game-winning hit, live. Will stands and shouts, inside the tiny restaurant.

Thursday: We sleep later and later. Kevin bikes the 16 mile round trip to Seaside.

...The kids go YOLO-boarding, standing on a huge surfboard, and paddling about. YOLO stands for You Only Life Once. The fledgling business had recently benefitted from several write-ups in local tabloids. Will and Matthew venture the furthest, far across the highway toward the ocean. Scores of pictures are taken.

...Back at the house, the kids watch the movie “Dear John.” The ladies bike over to Maryalice’s sister-in-law’s house for a chat. David follows them. Later I go on a bike ride of my own, exploring all around Rosemary Beach, Aly’s Beach, and the Seacrest development in between. Unknown to me, David takes a similar tour.

...I return and take a walk, snapping the Rosemary Beach pictures that Ceil missed. Then Anna takes pictures at the nearby pool. A relaxing afternoon.

...Yet another late dinner back at Haley’s beloved Seaside. Several of us eat at the Taco Stand again, though the Hurts and Davis’s eat at the sushi place. Afterwards David is sick.

Friday: After watching the movie “Marley & Me”, the grownups (& Matthew) hit the beach. After Matthew tires, David and I stay in the water for a long time, having a nice chat. Dozens of gulls, pelicans, minnows, and other fish are near. Finally Mary and I remain, and have our own long chat in beach chairs.

...We pack, and leave at seven (eastern time). Holt and Maryalice also leave, headed to visit Marykathryn in Auburn. To Mary’s delight, Will remains in Florida. After stopping in Dothan for gas and McDonalds, we make it home at 1:30 am.

Saturday: Sleep in again. Too tired to do much else, I spent the day posting vacation pictures on Facebook. The album turned into a little story of its own, which I thought quite funny.

...Kathryn Volyes got married at Mt. Vernon Baptist in the afternoon, and they pulled out all the stops:

9 each groomsmen & bridesmaids (including neighbor Margaret Ewing)

Maid of honor & best man (Craig MacKenzie’s son Peter).

4 flower girls

2 ring bearers

4 Bible readers

4 ushers (not to be confused with the groomsmen)

Unity candle

Bagpipe, trumpet, violin, organ, piano, and soloist.

…even bride Kathryn sang (she once tried out on Broadway).

While giving the bride away, Jim read a nice little story of memories that he wrote.

...I counted 49 in the wedding party, including the grandparents. The wedding had everything but the kitchen sink, though one would’ve come in handy: one of the ringbearers threw up in the middle of the service. Now I know what groomsmen are for: to clean up after someone pukes!

...Congressman Tom Price was there, along with Jim and Jimmy Ewing, the Reeds, Girardeau’s, and a few other SPdL people.

This is a One Mike Lum Town

Haven’t been listening to 680…hate that I missed the Larry Jones interview. Mostly good comments on Mark Bradley’s “Chipper May be Done” column, though many obviously don’t have a clue. I wasn’t going to comment, but was surprised to see a comment from a Mike Lum. I took him to task, as this is a one-Mike Lum town.

I thought about the 1991 Series when Lang made his comment. Had the Braves won, he would’ve been MVP.

Just after I mentioned how I’ve been enjoying all the Braves talk on 680, I checked out three books on CD from the library. Two interesting novels and a Thomas Payne biography.

The Ogre was commenting on co-workers driving him crazy. Everyone is selfish to a degree, and some point fingers without looking in the mirror. I’ll enjoy vacation next week.

decisions, decisions

Will didn’t want to try out for 643 last weekend OR sign up for this weekend’s ECB tryouts. He wanted to wait until a team needed a pitcher and join a team next May, like Conner did. I asked him how a good team would know to call him. Also, if he had a bad tryout, he wouldn’t make the team.

Will didn’t want to play for the ECB DBacks, who have been calling this week. Right now he isn’t determined to play college ball, or even sure if he wanted to play next summer (his words). He was even considering playing softball next summer, with some older friends. I told him he’d regret giving up his last year of real baseball.

The ECB Diamondbacks were calling, the first team we played. Donnie coached Will when he was seven, and helped with the 13U Sandy Plains Wildcats when Will and Ritchie played together. We’ve seen Donnie around since then. Great guy, he wanted Will last year. Donnie said the DBacks were only keeping a few players from this year, and now know better what to look for at the tryouts. But Will didn’t really want to play for them.

Yesterday Keith emailed me out of the blue, to see if Will would play for the ECB 17U Rangers. To my surprise, Will was excited about the idea. He has always responded better to his nurturing mother than his more-demanding father. Most all of his coaches and teachers have been the more nurturing types. As his dad, I think exposure to other coaching styles would be good.

I had been concerned the home-school fall team wouldn’t be playing very competitive opponents. So last week at the deadline I signed Will up to play fall ball at Sandy Plains with Ryan (I don’t know who else). Will is going to be out of town for the last two weeks of October, on a school trip.

Concerning Tattoos...

Leviticus 19:28: You shall not make gashes in your flesh for the dead, or incise any marks on yourselves: I am the Lord.”

Thus quoteth Sports Illustrated, in a recent Amore Stoudimire blurb.

Brooks Conrad: What a Name

I knew the outcome of the Wednesday afternoon game, but watched most of it anyway.

Lang said Brooks Conrad has done more this year than Lemke and Lockhart did in their careers. I replied that Conrad might even be better on the radio, too. Seems like he or Infante would do just fine playing third. The Tuesday rally was extra exciting, after all the errors in the previous inning.

Nobody was saying Chipper’s injury may be a career-ender, before the ACL was announced. They did hear something pop. I think what’s most important to Chipper is his career .300 average, highest ever for a switch-hitter. He doesn’t want to play too long, and have his career average drop below .300. So if he’s out for the year, this could be it.

Will played golf yesterday with friends Kevin and Kara, at Kevin’s country club. He said he drove the ball well. Kara had never played before, but is an athlete.

The Gwinnett Mall Fuddruckers went out of business, but Wednesday I talked the Ogre into driving over to North Point Mall, to the Fuddruckers there. He joked about the long drive, but seemed to enjoy it. Said he might go back to lunch with his son, who works nearby. We were gone for over an hour and a half. Good to know that the same things that bother me also bother him.

When I’m with my boss, it hardly bothers me a bit to take a long lunch. Otherwise, it only bothers me a tiny bit to take a long lunch. It really doesn’t matter, since I’m not paid by the hour. Besides, most of the time I come in early and stay late. Usually I only take a 15-30 minute lunch, at my desk. Some people take long lunches every day.

Double Dimes

See that SportsSouth show on Chipper and his Double Dime Ranch? I have no interest in deer hunting, but I enjoyed the show. Interesting how he touched on the economic aspects of the ranch, trying to have it pay for itself. I’m sure they’ll rerun it.

Minor did well last night, for a first start. Tough luck to have his first hit taken away, by a RF playing in…a perfect storm play.

Another interesting Glavine story: Against the Phillies, one too many Braves player had been hit by a pitch. The umpire warned both teams, but it was the Braves’ pitcher’s job to throw at the first Phillie to bat in the next inning. Glavine threw at Dale Murphy. As soon as he let go of the pitch, his follow-through carried him toward the third-base dugout. He kept his head down, and kept walking off the field.

Interesting that Hershiser is now a big-time poker player. I never would have thought.

Something I said Friday I take back: The top two East Cobb teams do get LOTS of instruction, practicing 5-6 days per week. Especially from age 14 on up. But most of the lower teams are East Cobb in name only, playing under the ECB umbrella, paying for the “privilege” of wearing the ECB uniform.

Rosemary Beach is halfway between Destin and Panama City. The Hurt family lined it up. Will’s school friend Holt is going, along with Holt’s mom, whom we know well. Will’s co-Sunday School teacher Kevin is also going. Like Will, Kevin will be a senior at Living Science. He and Holt were hilarious together in the Expedition Skit. While Holt and Will are athletes, Kevin comes across as quite the student, though he plays soccer (& joins in whatever sport is being played).

LEGO

David Beckham, perhaps the world’s greatest soccer player,

said in a televised interview that he was spending his spare time

building the 5922 piece / $300.00 LEGO Taj Mahal set.

After the interview, sales of that set increased by 663%.

Tomahawkin' Tom Glavine, and Grant Field

Didn’t go to the Ted. Will went Thursday. The Hurt’s stayed all the way til the end of Friday’s game, and didn’t get home until after 2 am. Taking 3 of 4 from the Giants was pretty good, without Prado. And the loss went into extra innings due to unearned runs. Chipper had a tough play. It appeared that he was going for the out at home.

Today is Heyward’s birthday. He tweeted at midnight, forwarding a message from a reverend. Not long after that Freddie Freeman tweeting him birthday wishes. Looking forward to watching the rookie pitch tonight.

Friday night Matthew was watching the new Phineas & Ferb until nine, precisely when the Glavine ceremony started. I always liked “Tomahawkin’ Tom” because he was an undersized lefty, and the role he played in the 1997 Opening Day ceremony, carrying in home plate with Hank Aaron. I always liked him better than Smoltz. Thursday at 5 pm SportsSouth is airing the luncheon, which should be good. Heard they replayed the “Chicks Dig the Long Ball” commercial.

Glavine visited Chip and Joe during the game, and recounted old times, like he did yesterday. They made fun of Smoltz, and his corny jokes. I thought one comment during his speech was interesting, when he made a point of pointing out to left field to recognize a family member.

Couldn’t believe that blown call, that gave Philly the win. And the ump wouldn’t admit the mistake! Mild-mannered Joe Simpson said he was rated as one of the worst umps. Soon we’ll have instant replay.

Saturday Ceil drug me out shopping with her and Matthew, so the house stayed a mess. Old Navy, Kohl’s, Target, Chick-fil-a, REI, and Goodwill…we were gone for five hours. Then we all watched Ferris Bueller instead of the Braves…again Ceil’s idea. After church Sunday I vegged…everyone else went to Passion City Church.

Ceil bought a large photo of Grant Field, taken during the fourth quarter of the October 23, 1982 game against Tennessee. The Vols had the ball on about the 15 yard line, and were lined up to run a play. The score was 21-21. Tech held, and won the game 31-21. I determined the date and info by checking my list of college & pro games that I’ve attended. I’m pretty sure I was at the game, sitting in the upper deck of the East Stands.

The photo was taken from the Palmer House (the tall building across North Avenue) and shows the old Grant Field south stands façade that faced North Avenue. A few fans are peeking through the iron gates, watching the game. Nice view of the old north stands, the old track that ran around the field, and the wooden stands where the freshmen used to sit. Tech Tower to the left.

Late this October I am scheduled to chaperone Will’s school trip, but I don’t know the date yet. I was trying to finagle GT@Clemson tickets on Oct 23, if I’m not on that trip yet.