Weekend of Burgers

Left work at six Friday evening. Stopped by one store and bought slacks. Drove to Cumming and ate at Red Robin. Burger with cheese, bacon and a fried egg (above). Was going to make another stop in Cumming but it was getting late. Did stop at the McFarland Road Goodwill and found two rare bobbles for four dollars. May be able to sell for $150.00.

 

Got home and watched the Braves and Jimmy Fallon. Started sneezing and couldn’t stop. Sneezed all night and didn’t sleep well. Saturday I did laundry and dishes and other cleaning, though I was sick and weak and tired.  Cancelled plans for a Saturday burger. While I was sitting on the couch a deer strolled up just behind the deck, just twenty feet away.

While convelessing I watched several movies: The Circle (Tom Hanks & Emma Watson), two Kristen Wiig movies (Girl Most Likely and Friends with Kids), Trading Places (Eddie Murphy & Dan Aykroyd), and a Tim Robbins & Gwyneth Paltrow movie.

Watched the HBO special on Will Ferrell playing all nine positions (plus DH) for ten different teams in five different games, all in one day in Arizona. Athletics, Mariners, Cubs, Giants, Angels, White Sox, Dodgers, Giants, Diamondbacks, and Padres. Lots of cussin. Arrived by helicopter at the White Sox game, like Michael Jordan in Space Jam.

 

Saturday night I went over to Steve & Sara’s house with three other couples. Ribs from the grille, baked beans, tossed salad, key lime pie. Fun banter. Got home in time to watch the end of the Braves game.

 

Deep sleep until 9:30 am Sunday morning, to make up for the previous night. Still made it to Sunday School and church. Notes to follow. Lunch was BOGO birthday burger at Fuddruckers. Thought about eating the second one but I saved it for Monday lunch. On the way I bought two more pair of slacks, plus a red UGA shirt. I hate shopping for slacks, but I’ve bought four pair this month.

Got home and watched the end of the Braves game, then the end of the LLWS. Then Independence Day. Cut the grass. No snakes this time. Right after I finished the grass (at 7:30 pm) I got the idea to run an errand. Forgot my phone and drove off. Made five stops, including the library, Dollar Tree, Goodwill, and Taco Bell. Ceil got home from SC and wondered where I was. She was sick as well, and sent me back out on an errand. Stopped by Publix, where I never go. Took me forever to find what I was looking for. Should’ve gone to Kroger.

 

Got home and packaged an eBay shipment. Watched National Treasure. Didn’t get to bed until after midnight for the third straight night.

 

Some people like red wine. I like red shoes. I never acquired a taste for wine. Or beer or alcohol. Nothing wrong with people who partake. At dinner Saturday Reid and I were the only two out of nine not drinking wine. Supposedly there are health benefits to drinking wine in moderation. I just don’t like the way it tastes. Don’t like coffee either, unlike my wife and three kids. Not even coffee ice cream. Sorry. Does that mean you don’t want to hang around me? Does it make you nervous or make you feel bad when I don’t drink the same thing? I feel like the college freshman who gets pressured by the older fraternity brother to drink beer. You guys can drink all the wine and coffee you want. Give me Coke Zero Cherry or Diet Dr. Pepper or Diet Mtn Dew or cherry lemonade. I will drink those all day.  

 

And shoes. Do you not want to hang around someone wearing sneakers? Am I too old to wear them? I know: red sneakers and Braves socks with shorts, a Braves jersey and cap – most times all that is too much (ok, all the time). People who don’t attend games may not realize it, but a majority of fans who attend games actually wear team colors or team apparel. And sneakers. Even most old folks. Fashionistas and GQ articles okay the wearing of one extravagant wardrobe item at a time. Red sneakers can look okay with jeans and a plain white or black or light blue or grey shirt. Goodness gracious if it bothers someone so much to be seen with someone wearing red shoes, I guess I could make an exception and wear something else. Like the whole don’t eat meat if it causes someone to stumble thing. I could wear orange shoes instead.  

 

I like sitting in the upper deck at SunTrust Park. The view is spectacular. What does it matter where you sit if you’re going to chit chat the whole game and not pay attention? Sure, I’m weird. By parking for free and walking a mile and a half and arriving an hour before gates open and buying tickets for the cheap seats – or accepting free tickets at the last minute for the game that same evening – this saves me hundreds of dollars and allows me to attend ten to twenty games a year instead of one or none. If I was only going to one game a year, maybe the $50.00 parking and $75.00 per ticket price wouldn’t be so bad.

 

I’d just as soon have a burger than steak. I’m allergic to salmon, so I can’t eat that. All this is me. It’s who I am. I’m not going to try to fit into someone else’s preconceived criteria about how a person should behave. That may exclude me from certain social circles, but perhaps that’s all for the better. I’ll associate with who I want to, even if they don’t fit into a certain socioeconomic stratosphere. Those who don’t like it can lump it.