More on Faithful

Faithful, the Stephen King/Stuart O'Nan diatribe on the Red Sox first World Series-winning season, was probably better listening to the book on CD, as both authors took turns reading what they had written. Both seemed to get into the reading. O'Nan went to much further lengths than me, hanging out by the player's parking lot to get autographs, and taking a net to catch BP balls. Sounds like there was a corner at Fenway Park where you can catch numerous balls. Will likes to catch balls more than me. I stay on the lookout, but mostly just enjoy the pregame atmosphere.

I'm about to start Wakefield's "Knuckler" book. I noticed he when he thanked Phil Niekro, Wakefield said Phil had gone well out of his way to help out.

I usually check the Rome and Gwinnett promotional schedules (and whatever teams are in the vicinity of planned trips, like Myrtle Beach and Pensacola). Minor league bobbleheads sometimes aren't worth the hassle: cheaper quality, longer lines, fewer bobbleheads given away. The April 6 Beachy bobblehead might not be so super crowded, but the intriguing Medlin doll on the hot holiday weekend will draw crowds. I immediately knew I had a conflict with the Upton giveaway (also co-worker Tim's wedding). Perhaps I can make a swap on Craig's List.

Talking to a Yankee fan about the Yankees troubles, I told him the Braves should trade Gattis and Uggla for Robinson Cano. Cano is getting older and is well paid, but so is Uggla. If our third basemen keep producing, Uggla could find himself batting eighth. Guess we should let Gattis catch in Gwinnett, to get ready for next year. Is Bettencourt still two years away? With two catchers waiting in the wings and rich AL teams like New York and Boston salivating over McCann, it's looking more and more like the Braves could let him walk.

Hopefully the Braves can keep their bats going on into the season.

I am the drive until the wheels fall off type. Both my Civic and the van have around 170,000 miles. The Civic has slightly more, but is in better overall condition. C doesn't like to drive the Civic, but it makes sense to drive it for the MPG, especially on highway trips when there is enough space. The van has a slow oil leak that isn't worth fixing, but otherwise still runs pretty good.

AEM doesn't have any money saved up for a car, but says she wants to work this summer to earn money for one. Right now C has to do a little juggling to have AEM and M where they need to be every day. Hopefully next year won't be worse. Instead of buying an old car for her, it would be nicer to let her drive the van and get another car for C or me. AEM would hate driving the mom-mobile…she tries to drive the Civic whenever I'm in a generous mood.

C thinks the Civic is too low to the ground, but has mentioned that she'd like to drive an Accord. Buying another sedan would make long family trips crowded, but we could always take the old van. I love the Civic, and smaller cars in general. The older I get I wonder if I need to get a larger "older man" car, though I'd hate to take the hit in MPG. As I age I find it harder to maneuver a vehicle in tight spaces, so a smaller car would work best. I used to be an A+ driver, but now I might only give me a B plus.

With a tiny bit of breathing room in the household budget, I'm leaning toward making needing repairs in the master bath. The shower isn't currently useable. 

Tuesday night I was helping Anna with her Jane Austen essay, and the phone was out of my reach. Still super busy here at work, so I didn't write very much this week.