Golfing With Reid

Fun dinner party Friday night at the Rices, with the Halls and Hongs. Dan grilled two types of boneless chicken. Lots of fixins: Ceil made two types of rice. There were three salads, all good. Noelle made strawberry shortcake for dessert. Got home at 11 pm.

Up early to play golf with my other friend Reid. Teed off at 615 am. Played one ball. Was able to take several pictures of Reid along the way. Beautiful morning.

1. Fair hybrid off the tee. Like this shot, I would fail to get almost all my hybrid shots off the ground all morning. Flubbed my next shot, which had been buried in the rough. But I hit a great 6 iron to the back fringe, one of my best ever approach shots on this hole. Two putt for bogey. Then I took a picture of the sunrise.

2. Flubbed a 6 iron off the tee. Fair 8 iron. Okay chip, Two putt for a double.

3. Hooked my tee shot left. Chipped over the green. Took three chips to get on the green. Two putt. A seven on a par three.

4. Decent 8 iron to the left rough. Good chip onto the green. Two putt for bogey.

5. Tee shot was just okay. Certainly not pretty. Chip didn’t make the green. Poor first putt, then two more. Triple.

6. Decent tee shot. Flubbed the second but got a good roll. Meanwhile Reid hit a great long approach to the left fringe (below).

I flubbed my approach way right, but then executed a great chip onto the green. Two putt for a double.

7. Worm burner off the tee. Flub out of the rough. Then another worm burner, but it rolled up the hill. Took a photo of Reid's fairway shot.

Another fairway shot, then a nice chip onto the green. Two putt for a triple.

8. Another worm burner that got a decent roll, but then a great 9 iron down to the fringe. Three putt for bogey. Reid broke his driver on his tee shot (below).

9. Hooked my tee shot left, but followed with a good low 6 iron under the tree branches to the front fringe. Terrible lag putt and bad comebacker. Took two more putts on the rough green to finish. Triple.

Finished at 805. I joked like I was headed to the parking lot without picking up my bag. Then inexplicably Reid’s push cart was no where to be found. We could see the tracks in the dew where he had pushed it past the green. We looked down the 9th fairway - not there. The bag had disappeared. Finally we found it – it had rolled down the hill onto the 8th fairway - some 50 yards away.

Worked around the house all day. Later drove Ceil on some errands. Had to go in my car because hers wouldn’t start. Picked up a pie from Pizzeria Lucca on the Roswell Square for sup.

Saw the Indiana / Chicago game Sunday afternoon. If Angel Reese played Caitlin Clark every game, Reese would be an all-star. 25 points 16 rebounds much higher than her average 13 & 11, and 2 assists per game. Clark averages 16.3 - 5.4 - 6.6, with a recent 7 point game lowering her stats. Clark has only taken an average of 11-1/2 shots in her past 5 games.

Did you see clip where they were talking about Caitlin leading the league in turnovers, while showing clips of Clark hitting her teammates in the hands with passes, but the teammate dropped the pass? They’re saying there is a Caitlin / Angel rivalry similar to Bird and Magic – but Angel is far from being a Magic Johnson. Not saying Caitlin is Larry Bird, but the fans are lining up to see her.

Scottie Scheffler won again in Hartford. The season isn’t halfway over and he has already broken the season money-earning record. He’s chasing Tiger’s all-time record. When those protesters stormed the green, they were lucky the ex-con Scottie didn’t just take them all out by himself.  

Braves take 2 or 3 in Yankee Stadium this weekend, thanks to Fried and Sale. They’ve won 8 of their last ten.

Players who were walked intentionally at least four times in a game https://stathead.com/tiny/Vg1A

Player      4 IBB Date       Opp Mgr

Baker.......... 1943-09-28(2)......Leo Durocher

Bonds..........23-Apr-2004.......Jim Tracy

.................... 01-May-2004......Jack McKeon

.................... 2004-Jun-12(2)...Lee Mazzilli

.................... 22-Sep-2004.......Phil Garner

Dawson.......22-May-1990*.....Lou Piniella

Heath...........14-Jul-1941........Joe Cronin

Klu.............. 07-Sep-1951.......Phil Cavarretta

Maris........... 22-May-1962......Bill Rigney

Ramirez.......05-Jun-2001.......Phil Garner

Templeton...05-Jul-1985........Chuck Tanner

DENISON: should a Christian attend a same sex wedding? Not an easy answer to this question.

https://www.denisonforum.org/biblical-living/should-i-attend-a-same-sex-wedding/

Lessons From the Life of Paul

Bryant Wright JFBC June 16
Man Missionary Martyr
Lessons From the life of Paul
Clay was preaching at Shannon Baptist in Columbia SC).

Galatians 1:11 - 2:1
Everyone has a story. Most like to hear the testimony of others. Paul's story has 3 parts.

1.  Paul begins with before his conversion.

Acts  22:3 he was a Jewish blueblood, raised in Tarsus in Turkey. Goes to Jerusalem as a 12 year old. Many are Jewish by ethnicity. Paul was one of the few zealous Jews.

V 4-5 so zealous that he wanted to persecute the early Christian church…members of The Way. They were heretics in Paul's eyes. He went to the Jewish leaders in Jerusalem saying he would go to Damascus to round up the Christians. This led to his conversion. God had great plans for Paul's life…Inside his mother's womb. Gal 1:13

2. Acts 22:6 God appears to Paul on the road to Damascus. Paul was temporarily blinded by God's greatness…symbolic of the spiritual darkness that Paul was in. Paul had to be stunned to learn that everything he had stood for was wrong.

3. God sent Anniaus, who was scared due Paul's reputation. 

Acts 22:14 Paul's life after his conversion. He was called to preach to the Gentiles. First commanded to be baptized, to be cleansed from the sins of his former life.

Gal 1:16 not by human intervention, but by direct revelation from Jesus. This Paul poured out in the letters he wrote to the churches in the New Testament. The Jewish religious leaders considered Paul to be a traitor and ran him out of town. He returned to Tarsus, the wilderness, and 3 years later back to Damascus.

V 21. At first he was an unknown. A tent maker. He had been serving in the church in Antioch, a long time of spiritual growth.

Acts 15 He went to Jerusalem to the council to determine practices of the church…14 years later.

Are there 3 parts to your story? Few if any have a conversion story like Paul. But we all need to grow spiritually, closer and closer to Christ in preparation for the work Gad has planned for your life.

What can we learn from how Paul shares the gospel in Acts 26?
1. Paul shares the gospel through his conversation experience. Acts 26:8, 18, 23
2. He focuses on the resurrection (v 22-23).
3. He is not deterred (v 24-25).
4. Paul uses reason and persuasion. V 6-8 & 25-26. You know the law and the prophets.
5. He calls for a decision. V 27 You have to close the deal. Ask"what's preventing you from accepting Jesus?" You only have a short time to speak with people. You must build a relationship first. Paul appealed to Caesar, as he must preach the gospel. You can be relational without having a relationship. God can work in a short period of time. It's not me, but God.
6. He expresses his desire that may be saved. v 29. It's okay if they think you are crazy. They'll know that you are passionate.

Acts 9:15 Go, for he is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel.

This past weekend millions of Muslims make their pilgrimage to Mecca. The Hajj pilgrimage began Friday. There have been reports of Jesus appearing to Muslims as they make that journey. Pray for many of these dreams and visions to take place in these days.

Measured by career WAR, LEFTY GROVE [SABR Bio] is the greatest left-handed pitcher ever. Grove's career War is 106.8. The other top lefty hurlers are Randy Johnson (101.1), Warren Spahn (100.1), Eddie Plank (90.9), and Steve Carlton (90.2). Grove was the most recent left-handed pitcher to win thirty games in a season, with 31 in 1931 for PHA. Jimmie Foxx's first major league hit at the age of 17, came while pinch-hitting for Grove, in the 8th inning 01-May-1925.

The Anxious Generation

Finishing up the novel "A Gentleman in Moscow". Pretty good. Next up will be "The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness" by Jonanthan Haidt. The book has a picture of a girl staring at her phone on the cover. Damning evidence of exactly how and why and what changed kids from healthy to anxious: (1) parential overprotection (not letting them play outside) and (2) kids playing video games and social media apps instead of playing outside.

From memory, a list of Seinfeld characters: Jerry, Elaine, Kramer, George, Newman (above), Jerry's parents, George's parents, Uncle Leo, Puddy, J Peterman, Mr Pitt, Jerry's grandmother, Kramer's lawyer Jackie Stiles, the midget, Susan, Susan's parents, the bubble boy, the bubble boy's parents, George Steinbrenner, the Assman, Keith Hernandez, Jerry's parent's neighbor, Papi, the dentist, the marathon runner, the sponge worthy boyfriend, Deloris, Elaine's father, JFK Jr., Elaine's chiropractor friend with the old hairstyle, Baboo, the Russian gymnast, Janine Garafalo as the reporter, Teri Hatcher as the girlfriend, Marisa Tomei as herself, the pen salesman. NBC executive Warren Littlefield. Rob Schneider as the hard of hearing coworker. Schmoopie. The Soup Nazi.

Kimberly Kitchens had a small stroke. She may need therapy, but has been improving. She is still telling corny jokes on social media. Kimberly married my GT BSU friend Jim Johnson. Man if that happened to me I couldn't put it on social media, but I'm sure all the prayers helped. Saw a photo of Don Head, and he looked good.

Young John Watkins is working for Formula 1 in Austin Texas.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-watkins-061716205?original_referer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com%2F

The Tin Lizzy in East Cobb isn't far from my house. We went once.

Caleb mentioned they might trade in Anna's 2017 Honda HRV for something larger. They'd just got new tires, and Honda had just repainted the car and put on new front and rear bumpers. I would consider swapping out my car for hers, but would have to add cash to the deal. Probably not. I am going to drive Caleb crazy one day, though he is super chill. He's used to crazy.

Yeti cooler sweepstakes.

https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://ferrarasummersweeps.com/amoe__;!!AE29DT8V!TsnwQi-gRbd_pS8DolXXi6qHPDBgpXpXzLxKWpBEHVd8zfrbSWy-csobb4-dvmTwY48hr2G38CNgawsJGds$

Win $1 million from Ruby Tuesday.

https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://play.cataboom.com/direct/rt-summer-escape-sweeps-2024__;!!AE29DT8V!XxqCKaUuBJjULRUmZP5-KBplOvCQUob6IvHkx0a7cxpaHTQLEqp1n2Vw4lcoe1Wg_PsvOJQQ4xZ8MMAtues$

Trip to Paris sweepstakes.

https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://presidentcheese.com/enjoy-paris/__;!!AE29DT8V!QKgRoT_giKW4ysDRQk6zXyR2gmxnjbxkJ0krPHJxbUSkV3JFJ7E9RSll-e4rO_wAABLJfzTufzVkn7UQyt0$

Another Paris sweepstakes.

https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://www.coldstonecreamery.com/dm4sweeps/index.php__;!!AE29DT8V!S3y0aRRKKalUBAxUKtUPiEHXUHcrYe_ov-kfP1QYLqalAlFKuY4VTdZxusSQ4vP6iTGvdqRa8MXvddxzJDM$

Another Angel Reese / LSU scandal, this time a physical altercation.

https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://www.marca.com/en/ncaa/2024/06/18/6671c37be2704e0d7a8b4570.html__;!!AE29DT8V!T_s4WkTuPoxFrexEi9T8HpIm9ip6DaQpM9ZsEQfrvGCT0-pP_WtwsBoiSF7a0bHQSKHrsOwY-amwNffQxmk$

DENISON: last year saw the highest number of state-based conflicts since 1946. Related stories:

• Russian soldiers are raping women and attempting to erase evangelical churches in Ukraine.
• Putin is increasing his alliance with North Korea and deepening relations with Vietnam, following his "new era" of partnership with Communist China.
• Iran is accelerating its nuclear program.
• China continues modernizing and expanding its nuclear arsenal.

According to Pew Research Center, a majority of people around the world are dissatisfied with the way democracy is working. But another Pew study finds more than 8 in ten adults in Hong Kong and Taiwan say democracy is a good way to govern – but democracy is threatened by autocracy in both places. The chief complaint of those dissatisfied with democracy has to do with those leading it: 61% do not agree that "elected officials care what ordinary people think."  As we noted, democracy works to the degree that the people who vote and the leaders they elect are people of virtue capable of self-governance. Many believe corrupt politicians are leveraging free speech to undermine our democracy. Critical Theory advocates are convinced the American experiment itself was launched by white supremacists who leveraged government for their personal advancement. If we believe the "other side" is evil, we will engage in partisanship. You are either a corrupt politician or their naïve victim, either a racist or an enemy of the country.

Russia is trying to erase Ukrainian evangelical churches (denisonforum.org)

Among National League Hall of Famers, MEL OTT [SABR Bio] has the most seasons with at least 100 walks (below). In the AL, Ruth, Gehrig, Williams, Mantle, & Frank Thomas each had 10+ 100-BB seasons. Ott led his league in home runs six times, but not once with a home run total over forty, and not once with a total that led the majors. Ott led the NL in HR in 1932 (38)*; 1934 (35)*; 1936 (33); 1937 (31)*; 1938 (36); & 1942 (30). He has an honored place in one of baseball's most famous poems: "Line-Up for Yesterday: An ABC of Baseball Immortals" is a poem written by Ogden Nash for the January 1949 issue of SPORT Magazine.  In it, Nash dedicates each letter of the alphabet to a famous player, 24 in all & includes a clever reference to himself. I would position it behind only "Casey at the Bat" & "Baseball's Sad Lexicon".

BBs    Year

113..... 1929

103..... 1930

100..... 1932

111..... 1936

102..... 1937

118..... 1938

100..... 1939

100..... 1940

100..... 1941

109..... 1942 Coworker 

Brad scored a deal on a lightweight Braves polo at BJs Club - and got one for his son as well - and me. Can you tell we are holding our bellies in?

1977-1995

1977-1978 lived with Aunt Martha in Sandy Springs

Summer 1978 worked at Baskin Robbins?

1987-1979 lived with Don Sells, Wayne Smith, Mike Kirkland off 85 Shallowford Road

Summer of 1979 worked at Betz Chemical south of Macon.

When I went off to GT after the first two summers in Macon, I stayed in Atlanta permanently after that, living in the GT BSU and going to summer school, from fall 1979 through Dec 1982, except for a short time when I lived in the Peachtree Park Apartments behind Benihana, with Yearwood and Eddie Parker. 

During my college and SPdL days. Would be at SPdL Sunday AM & PM and Wednesday nights. Also other times for special events. Also Mighty Mites and church basketball and softball. At GT BSU we’d have our big meeting on Thursday nights plus a weekly discipleship group, plus intramural football, basketball, and softball. Also a lunchtime Bible Study (no wonder I flunked out).

Then when I moved to the singles dept (and from chapel choir to adult choir) we had singles supper every Monday night at the Huberts, and I think visitation was on Tuesday. Gym night once a month on Fridays. I was in Sanctuary choir for a few years, during my single days around 1983-1987-ish. In 1982-1983 I was an “actor” in several of Condra’s Easter and Christmas productions. One time I played the disciple Thomas in Living Pictures, and various other roles.

After GT, I lived near Grady High on Greenwood Ave, with a series of roommates. When my grandfather died on Thanksgiving 1986, I moved into his house on Hillpine. Bought the house and lived there until 1994 or 1995.

Got married and still was involved in youth dept and Camp SPdL and church softball. Still fellowshipped with those families, and people in the choir. When we started having kids and dialed back, we started going to young married adult Sunday School class. It just wasn’t the same. Hard to fit in with that group. We did like our small group with the Ewings, Hurts, Stephens, Normans. That was our Super Bowl party reunion every year for over 20-30 years.

Loved the preaching at North Point, and now at JFBC with Clay Smith. With Marsh I focused on his content and less his preaching style, which was tops. With Clay and Andy I marvel at the way they can so easily communicate. Louie would preach from the heart, which Ceil loved, but he was all over the place when he spoke – not organized where you could take good notes.

Wednesday: worked past 6 pm. Ceil was home, and had baked sourdough bread. Made me a chicken sandwich. After supper I washed my car and did some laundry, so I didn’t sit down until 9 pm. Earlier we watched Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy.

Thursday: up early to run at the gym. Slowing down at work, but there’s still catching up to do. Cleaned up a few old orders, Reviewing inventory. Got plenty to do while my customer is shut down. The number of emails in my in box has ballooned to over 30. Almost 40. Every one a time-consuming project I will have to figure out. Hopefully while things are slow I can whittle that down – hopefully to ten or less. Finished the week with 29.

For lunch I got the Wends deal: a big burger and small chicken sandwich for two bucks, and then next door to Arbys for fries for a dollar. Today Wendys has a special: a $1 single with purchase. Arbys has a dollar fries deal. Then Rachel gave me a CFA cookie, so I was stuffed. Worked past 530.

C had the girls at home. They’re used to supper at 6 and bedtime at 8, but C took them around the corner to see a friend, so supper wasn’t over until 8 pm. The organic grass fed taco meat was too spicy for the girls (and me).

C had promised Shivvy ice cream, so we had to load them in the car for a trip to Chickfila. Saw my friend Matt, who like me hadn’t shaved since Sunday. Both girls feasted on ice cream, then Shivvy wanted to explore the playhouse. She was a little small for it.

Then the girls needed baths, so they were just getting to bed at 10 pm. I had to walk Winnie and wash the dishes, so it was after 1030 before I crashed for the night on the living room sofa. I was exhausted from the long day, so I slept real good. Skipped the gym and got almost 8 hours of sleep.

 

Did you see any of the SF Giants vs StL Cardinals game last night at Birmingham’s Rickwood Field? Old time uniforms and scoreboards. Nice.

At RaceTrac Friday morning I mixed frozen Mtn Dew with Diet Mtn Dew, but it was a little too sugary for my tastes. Chickfila at lunch for a free sandwich in their app, the new maple pepper bacon sandwich. Comes with lettuce and tomato, and choice of grilled or fried. Dinner Friday night with the Halls, Rices, and Hongs. Braves visiting the Yankees this weekend. Saturday game on Fox. 

Top Hall of Famers by WAR (100.0+) who were not elected on the first ballot.

Player          Eligible   Elected  WAR)-Rank

Alexander.1936-37....1938..119.6...15th

Collins......1936-38....1939..124.3... 13th

Grove........1944-46...1947...106.8... 26th

Hornsby....1938-41...1942...127.0...12th

Lajoie........1936........ 1937...106.9...24th

Ott.............1949-50... 1951...110.9...20th

Speaker.....1936....... 1937...134.9.... 9th

Young........1936....... 1937...163.6.... 3rd

Denison is always good at explaining world events.

Are Hezbollah and Israel on the brink of all-out war? (denisonforum.org)

The Say Hey Kid

As a kid growing up in the 60’s, Willie Mays was the face of professional baseball. Long before ESPN and social media, the Say Hey Kid would appear on the cover of The Sporting News, Sports Illustrated, and SPORT magazine. Mays in the National League, and Mickey Mantle in the American. The Mick had dropped off the radar screen by the time I was old enough to be a fan.

As a Braves fan my allegiance was to Hank Aaron, so all the attention bestowed on Mays made me dislike him. Willie was more of a showboat. His cap would fall off as he made his leaping and diving catches. My middle child personality sided with the steady Aaron, who would make the same catch without leaving his feet or losing his cap.

But Willie Mays was the icon. Mays and Mantle, and later Mays, Aaron, and Clemente. I was fortunate to have seen him play.

WILLIE MAYS [SABR Bio] [NYT Obit] is the only player to win four home run titles and four stolen base titles. He led the NL in HR in 1954, 1962, 1964 & 1965. He led the NL in SB in 1956, 1957,1958 & 1959.

Willie, a junior to his father “Willie Howard Mays”, whose name was a tribute to then President William Howard Taft.

He once held the record for winning MVP awards with the most years between, in 1954 then in 1965. He led the National League in WAR ten times, in 1954 (10.5), ‘55 (9.2), ’57 (8.3), ’58 (10.2), ’60 (9.5), ’62 (10.5), 63 (10.6), ’64 (11.0), ’65 (11.2), & ’66 (9.0). He led the majors in WAR eight of those times.

He appeared and played in 24 All-Star games: five ASG 1954-73, plus an extra played in each of 1959-62. Ted Williams said “They invented the All-Star Game for Willie Mays”. Willie’s career All-Star Game records include most games, most at-bats, most plate appearances, most runs scored, hits, total bases, triples, singles and stolen bases. See his ASG records here.

He is tied for the single-game All-Star records for stolen bases,  with Kelly Gruber, Roberto Alomar, Kenny Lofton, and Starlin Castro with two. Mays was the first player to be a two-time All-Star Game MVP award winner, in 1963 and 1968.

He played in four World Series, winning once, in 1951, 1954, 1962, and 1973. He also played in the 1948 Negro League WS. Mays made his iconic catch in the 1954 World Series off the bat of Vic Wertz (above).

He twice played in tie-breaking, season-ending three-game series (winning both): in 1951 three extra games against Brooklyn (Mays was on deck when Thompson homered) and the 1962 extra three games vs. LA where his 9th-inning single in game 3 began the series winning rally.

He twice played in an NLCS, winning once: in 1971 NLCS for SF and the 1973 NLCS for the Mets.

He is the only player to have triples three times in a game and homered four times in another. Three triples on 15-Sep-1960. Hit 4 HR on 30-Apr-1961.

Mays’s offensive WAR of 8.4 in 1954 led MLB. His defensive WAR of 2.0, led the NL the same season.

Mays hit a record 22 home runs in extra innings. Here’s the list. Only Mays has hit at least one home run each in innings one through sixteen. Check here.

He was the first player in Giants’ franchise history to win a league Rookie of the Year Award. He was named 1951 NL ROY. He and Willie McCovey homered in the same game 68 times. He and Orlando Cepeda homered fifty times in the same game.

Mays was the first player with back-to-back 30/30 seasons. In 1956 and 1957, Mays had 36 HR + 40 SB, then 35 HR & 38 SB respectively. He was the founding member of the 300/300 club. Mays combined his 660 HR with his 339 SB. Seven other players have now reached the 300/300 level.

It was his fly ball that led Mickey Mantle to famously gave chase and step on an exposed sprinkler head, tearing up his knee.

Mays was professional at age seventeen, when he played for the 1948 Birmingham Black Barons who won the NAL Championship Series over the Kansas City Monarchs (4-3-1), but lost to the Homestead Grays in the subsequent WS. The 1948 BBB of the Negro American League. Signed by the Giants, Mays had a cup of coffee with their minor league affiliate in Minnesota.

Alex Rodriguez, a 3-time MVP said of him “There's absolutely no comparisons to me or anyone else to (him). (He), he's the greatest baseball player of all time.” Indeed, with Mays’ passing the debate is on for who is now the greatest living ballplayer. Griffey? ARpd? Maddux? Schmidt? Nolan Ryan?

UniWatch also paid tribute to Mays.

https://uni-watch.com/2024/06/20/a-uni-watch-look-at-willie-mays/