Merry Catmas

Matthew and his friends made up a Christmas card, a picture of all of them with M's cat in the foreground.

Ceil's Uncle Lennie and Aunt Corrine live in the Middleton family homestead, south of Jefferson. Several years ago when the state highway running from Charlotte to Myrtle Beach was widened into a divided four lane, the house was moved back several hundred yards from the highway and renovated. Lennie had a garage built with a mother-in-law suite on top. Out back he built a par three tee box and putting green. It's a great place to go out and roam, let the dogs run, or shoot guns. In a nearby stand of woods where the deer often nest, Corrine built a small pet cemetery, with monuments for the dogs and cats they'd had over the years. We're going to bury Barney's ashes there.    

Some say the Indians name change might not be a good thing. Is this akin to tearing down statues? Excellent article by David Marcus Even if the team stops encouraging it, some fans will continue to chop.

https://thefederalist.com/2020/12/14/erasing-the-cleveland-indians-erases-american-history/?fbclid=IwAR1--2D8BPj4b4vidPUtlEKzaxtDtnATY8T87x3QVTHBMl97u-qWtJMlJLo   

RIP former Yankee Phil Linz, part of one of the funniest stories in baseball history. In 1964 the Yankees lost a big series. After the game they boarded the team bus. All was quiet. Not a sound was to be heard. Phil Linz, sitting in the back of the bus, started to play his harmonica. Manager Yogi Berra, sitting in the front of the bus, yelled back "Quit playing that thing!" Linz asked "What did he say?" Mickey Mantle was sitting nearby and said, "He said play it louder." Phil kept playing. Yogi got so mad, he jumped, ran to the back of the bus, and knocked the harmonica out of Phil's mouth. Mantle and the rest of the Yankees were laughing their heads off. It turned a dismal bus into a much lighter mood. After that happened, Yankee fans started bringing harmonicas to Yankee Stadium.   

Did you know: in high school Roger Maris had two kickoff returns, one punt return, and an interception return – all for touchdowns – in the same game. 

I started keeping calendars back around 1983. I had some stashed in boxes, others in furniture drawers, and others at work. I finally carved out a spot in the living room bookshelves, and have most all of them there. This year I discovered the exact date I did something back in January of 1985, which led to other discoveries. David Hurt wants me to determine the date of the night we wrote a silly song at the Buford Highway Taco Bell. Maybe over the Christmas holidays. I'd like to think that one day my kids or grandkids will like thumbing through them, but probably not.

Vanderbilt cancelled their road game at UGA, less than 48 hours after playing Tennessee. The SEC ought to boot them out of the conference. Saw where Michigan had a lively practice on Sunday, the day after they were supposed to play Ohio State. Supposedly Michigan's positive test results were very low.

Georgia Tech: since when do you cancel a game because you don't want to play? Bet they would not have cancelled had it been a home game. They're forgetting that bowl games are taking teams with losing records this year. Tech loves to brag about all the bowl games they've played in, but cancelling the Miami game might keep the Jackets from receiving a bowl bid. That sound you hear is Bobby Dodd and John Heisman rolling over in their graves.

Brian Snitker said the same thing – he was surprised the baseball season started, much less finished. These are tough times, and the situation is different at every school. Just frustrating when a school plays a game one day then cancels the next game the next day. Some of the bowl games have already been cancelled. Will be interesting to see how many get played. I wuz kinda surprised by the start of the college and pro basketball seasons as well. I heard the pros wanted to wait, but they made them start the regular season on Christmas. 

Missed foul shots, layups, and threes? Same old Tech. Blame it on the covid.

Work slowed down, then sped up. Between home and work I'll be busy until Christmas. Last night I picked up a burger, fries, and free shake at Steak & Shake. Home to watch The Weakest Link and Seinfeld.

Left early for lunch. Big crowd at post office so I didn't go in. Got Moe's. Went next door to Kroger to inquire about stamps. All they had were the red Christmas trees and ornaments. Will try another post office. How come the Christian Christmas stamps always have Mary and Jesus, but never just Jesus? Guess they want to appeal to the Catholics.

Loving my new light blue cotton Grizzlies shirt. Even Ceil likes it. Wore it to work last Friday over a black long sleeve t-shirt, with Air Jordans. 

When I worked at the SPdL ECS there was an eclipse. 1983? We took the kids out to the old playground across from the north bridge. I remembered how to make a pinhole camera viewer, so the kids wouldn't have to look directly at the sun. Norma and the other teachers were impressed.

The kids are good at sending lists. Matthew wants cooking equipment. I put several items on our Amazon Prime wish list. This week I finally noticed the new wreath Ceil had placed on the front door.

Denison: Harvard political scientist Robert Putnam and Harvard graduate Shaylyn Garrett together have written The Upswing: How America Came Together a Century Ago and How We Can Do It Again. They look at trends in economics, politics, society, and culture to determine whether things have been improving or deteriorating. They show that in the last century America experienced six decades of "steady upward progress toward greater economic equality, more cooperation in the public square, a stronger social fabric, and a growing culture of solidarity." The reason: "During these decades Americans became more focused on what we could accomplish together. Over the first six decades of the twentieth century America had become demonstrably a more 'we' society." But in the mid-1960s this trend "abruptly reversed direction. Since then in many ways we have experienced declining economic equality, the deterioration of compromise in the public square, a fraying social fabric, and a descent into cultural narcissism." The authors note our earlier culture of solidarity was inspired and fueled by ministers and theologians who critiqued the "social sins" of the age, and called on people and institutions to change. Affirmation of our shared values, collaboration with resources, entrepreneurial leadership, and the engagement of young people were vital. In the 1960s the postmodern worldview began taking root, with its claim that truth claims are personal and subjective. There is no such thing as "truth," we're told, only "your truth" and "my truth." But as the late Rabbi Jonathan Sacks demonstrates in his book Morality: Restoring the Common Good in Divided Times, morality is essential to a healthy society. 

https://www.denisonforum.org/columns/daily-article/homeless-man-now-feeds-hundreds-a-day-finding-our-empowering-purpose-through-service/  

Things unsuccessful people do over the weekend. 

1. Forget to schedule. You don't have to plan every minute, but have a general idea of what you want to accomplish.

2. Ignore loved ones. Make up for anything you missed during the week.

3. Let technology take over. Put away your phone.

4. Forget to unwind.

5. Sleep the entire time. Catch up, but don't mess up your sleep cycle.

6. Rack up expenses. Treat yourself, but don't blow it.

7. Avoid taking time to worship and reflect. Check in.

8. They aren't present. Kick back and relax.

9. Laze around and regret it. Don't get bored. Don't neglect needed chores and errands.

10. Stress out. Don't stay too busy. Recharge your batteries.

11. Don't get comfortable with your time off. Review what's in store for next week.

https://www.theladders.com/career-advice/11-things-unsuccessful-people-do-over-the-weekend?ltm=ywy5aKqAz7CNEcsmdaLY4C9ZbQOI3S6noS/RhbIaiZLP3PxLq6sLSC/cKiU%2B7But&subscriber_type=member&utm_swu=6280&utm_source=member&utm_campaign=daily-newsletter&utm_content=dnl-3-14-20-recruiters&utm_medium=email&utm_term=dnl-3-14-20-recruiters