Driving Dan Cathy

Will told us more about his job at the Masters. Got paid. Got three caps, two nice shirts and pants, and a windbreaker. Drove VIP's around the course, from the clubhouse area to VIP facilities behind the 5th hole and the 12th green. Was chatting with a lady from Memphis who said she had recently moved back from Denver. When Will asked what had taken her to Denver she confessed "I'm Peyton Manning's wife."

Later he was driving Dan Cathy, who introduced his friend who ran the Ole Miss horticulture department - an area of interest to Will. Most of their conversation centered on the friend and plants, though once or twice Will addressed Dan as "Mr. Cathy." Will figured Cathy might appreciate not being made over for once (though I'm sure many pompous bigwigs except constant kowtowing). At the end of the ride Cathy did perk up, telling Will "by the way, I'm in the restaurant business" while handing Will a card for a free sandwich.

We joked about Will's response could've been. Shout "Why'd you cut out the cole slaw?" like when George Constanza's father met George Steinbrenner by asking "Why'd you trade Jay Buhner?" (below)

Remember when we went to the Masters the first golfer we saw wasn't a pro, but the Augusta National member who played the earliest tee time so there would be two golfers in the group? I didn't notice but last weekend there was once again an uneven number of golfers who made the cut, so once again Jeff Knox got to play in the Masters. In 2006 he played against Sergio Garcia, and shot a better score. I'm making a list of Augusta National Members, most of whom are CEOs of major corporations.


Last Saturday night we noticed a Taqueria in downtown Decatur. As usual, there was a long line waiting to order. Business was good.

Last Sunday M had worked 7 pm - 4 am. Monday morning he had a music lesson, then he worked again last night. All the standing is hard on his back.

Monday: typical evening for me. Left work at six. C cooked stuffed manicotti shells and salad. After supper I cut the grass. Was almost dark when I finished. Wheel. Jeopardy. The Voice. The Middle.

Last Tuesday C was down at an art store near Perimeter Mall. M went to the High Museum, the Westside Taqueria, and Douglasville. Anna was at a McDonalds in Athens. I left work at six. Grabbed a CFA and Kroger gas. Reid's wife Noelle brought us a coconut crème pie. I pretty much crashed. Jeopardy, Seinfeld, the WSB Braves special, The Voice. Just off the Boat is hilarious. Reminds me of my coworker Keith. Later The Middle and bed.

Stopped by Bojangles Wednesday AM for their special: bacon, egg, & cheese biscuits. Better than CFA or McDonalds.

Crazy day at work Wednesday. Had a constant stretch from 11 am - 2:30 pm, a bunch of stuff that all had to be handled immediately. Been a while since I'd had a stretch like that. Left after 6:30 and had to run by the library. Didn't get home until almost 8 pm. C cooked a BBQ chicken on the grill. Green beans and mashed potatoes. Saw final Jeopardy, Last Man Standing, The Middle, Blackish, and Designated Survivor. I was doing laundry and working on my laptop. Also packaged two pair of shoes I'd sold on eBay.

Worked well past 7 pm Thursday night. Updated my laptop and that slowed my down. Was trying to get a lot done and then an emergency came up when I realized I needed to run the Friday morning report before I left. Stopped by Kroger on the way home. Talked to the Chief. C cooked burgers for supper.

Friday I missed Braves day at work. Eric wore his Dale Murphy jersey and Brad wore his son's Hank Aaron jersey. I cleaned the kitchen and blew the drive. Also had to log on and do some work. C had to run to the mall for Easter presents. Left for Athens around noon. Made a couple of stops, but I picked up the new Taco Bell taco burrito for a snack. It was ok but they weren't charging the promotional sale price. And the drive thru took 12 minutes. Seven hundred twenty seconds. Seemed longer with Barney in the back seat, barking.

Anna finished her laundry and we got on the road. MC was judging a beauty pageant so we didn't get see them. Stopped in Augusta anyway because an Easter ham was needed. I should've gassed up while I was waiting on C. When we left home I'd reset the trip odometer cause the tank looked full. Actually C had gassed up the night before, so there was 40 miles gone when we started. I was coasting down a hill when I flipped the odometer, so the coasting calculated the MPG at 150 MPG. Didn't stay that way long.

Also stopped at Chickfila in Augusta. Unusually bad service. Long line. Only two of four cash registers open. Then we had to stop in Lugoff for gas. Made it to Jefferson at 9 pm - an 8-1/2 trip. Ugh.

On the way we listened to the Columbia Fireflys radio broadcast. Didn't get to hear Tim Tebow bat. Later I found the Braves game and heard Ender Inciarte score the first run in the new park. All the reviews were positive, including parking. A little congestion after the games due to people not knowing what they were standing in line for. Sounds like SunTrust will be a hitters park. As I had predicted a couple of years ago, the stadium has the MLB's third highest elevation, similar to old Atlanta Stadium.

Hopefully the tomahawks that spilt onto I-75 near SunTrust Park won't catch fire and burn the 75/285 interchange down.

Slept late Saturday. Worked on my computer, then went with Lennie and Corrine to shoot pistols out in the country east of town. A good bunch of people. The patriarch used to run a bunch of mills in the Carolinas. All the sun wore me out. Later I drove C to the grocery, and she cooked Mexican. Got to watch a little of the Braves game, The Middle, and the beginning of Saturday Night Live.

Jimmy Fallon's opening number "Let's Dance" was almost as good as Steve Martin's original "Not Gonna Phone it in Tonight" opening in season 17 episode 9

https://www.nbc.com/saturday-night-live/video/steve-martin-cold-opening/n10162?snl=1

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tDsD9s4VU3M

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Sunday morning we attended FBC Pageland. It was the first time Ceil's mother had gotten out to church in a year and a half. As usual we were running late, so we took the last visitor's spot in front of the church. Walked in the front door five minutes late but the pastor was in the vestibule fixing to go in.

At church we sat behind Kristina Tucker, who'd been featured on one of the Golf Channel's first seasons of The Big Break. She had come over from Sweden to play golf at Duke, and married a player on the men's golf team. Now he helps run the family lumber business where Ceil's brother works. Kristina played in the US Open one year, but didn't stay on the tour for long.

Lunch was ham, corn, brown rice, rolls, salad, mac'n cheese, asparagus, brussel sprouts, caramel cake, pound cake, strawberries and cream, and ice cream. We had 16 for dinner. Phil had to work.

When we got to Augusta the dogs were so happy to see each other. They wrestled and wrestled. I was scared they'd run into tables and lamps. At one point Okie pretty much punched me in the chin. This morning I had a mark.

Ate at "World of Beers" which despite its name is actually a sports bar. W and A got chicken sandwiches. MC and I got flatbread dishes. I didn't put much thought into my order and didn't realize what it was. I wasn't that impressed. Not many toppings. Mostly bread. Not crispy.

Drove Anna to Athens, then home. I hadn't gassed up before leaving so we started back with 40 miles already on the trip odometer. Driving faster than normal burned more gas than usual. Had to stop in Sandy Springs for gas. Arrived home at 10:30, a 7-1/2 hour trip. Not fun.

Before bed I watched my company's CEO meeting from last week on line. One of the fabricators I've been dealing with the past 9 years was on the "show." Everything was scripted and there wasn't much time, so not many people who work with them got mentioned. That kept me up past 12:30 am. But I slept good.

Didn't have anything to bring for lunch today so I used that as an excuse to stop by Bojangles on the way to work for two bacon egg and cheese biscuits. Actually saved one until lunchtime.

I haven't seen John Parkes since last season. Have you seen him lately? I have his phone number and was thinking about calling him. John had also told me he wasn't going to games this year. The guys I know who buy 20 tickets to get 20 bobbleheads would let John use one of their tickets, so I was going to see if he wanted to go to a game with me. You can go as well. They have escalators to the upper deck now.

We've been getting auto-dialed recorded messages from SPdL on our home line with various announcements. These days our land line is ringing off the hook with robo-calls from various political candidates. We used to be on the No Call list but for some reason that no longer works.