Around Here: Good Things About Eliminations, Flu Shot, Raking Pine Straw and Lawn Tractor Problems

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 14

Well, one good thing about the Sox being eliminated from the playoffs (and the Brewers were also eliminated last night), I no longer have to make a special effort to watch any of the playoff games anymore.  I will watch parts of them as I get a chance to, but not all the games.  Plus, had the Sox gone to the World Series and won, there is a considerable savings on souvenirs of the event.

I got my regular flu shot for the second straight year,  I didn't get them for many years as I taught school and was around so many kids that I had built up quite an immunity, but the last several years I had been really sick with the flu for a couple weeks at a shot, so, hey, I'll take the shot.

Put up some more Halloween lights.

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 15

I did a lot of pine straw raking (free mulch) around the east and west pine islands and picked up a whole lot of limbs and sticks in the arboretum area in preparation of cutting the grass.  Sadly, I couldn't get the lawn tractor started and will have to have it worked on again.  It is now 28years old and perhaps even a John Deere doesn't run forever.  This is the third problem this year so it may be time to get another one.

--RoadDog

So, It's World Series Time

Well, the two teams I was pulling for in the NL and AL Championship Series both lost.  I definitely was hoping the Brewers would go to the World Series.  I have been a fan of theirs for most of the time they've been a team and liked them better in the American League.

Their 1982 team is one of my all-time favorites and they would have beaten the Cardinals in that World Series had Rollie Fingers not gotten hurt.

But, anyway,  who to pull for now.

Since I am a White Sox fan and primarily an American League fan (unless the Yankees go to the World Series), I reckon I'll pull for the Red Sox and especially since they will be starting Chris Sale, who used to be with the White Sox, tonight.

I've never been a big Dodger fan either.

My buddy Kevin is also torn.  Being from Brooklyn and New York City, he hates the Red Sox.  BUT, he really hates the Dodgers more for leaving Brooklyn to move out west.  That broke their hearts.

Go Red Sox.  --RoadDog

HOW TO LIE TO THE BATHROOM SCALE:  Don't eat or drink anything in the morning until AFTER you've weighed in, completely naked, of course.

It Wasn't Sweet, It Was Sweat

A friend of ours who grew up in Wisconsin and taught with me in Round Lake many years, Marcy Eaker, has retired and moved to Las Vegas, but is still a big fan of Wisconsin teams wrote on her FaceBook page yesterday that her Milwaukee Brewers, by the sixth inning, looked like they were about to sweep our Chicago Cubs at Miller Field.

She ended by saying, "Sweet."

Well, Marcy, it was a sweep, but definitely wasn't sweet. IT WAS SWEAT!!!

We were at the game and I have never sweat more than I did in the first four innings. I like the idea of retractable domes, especially in this area, but I found a definite drawback yesterday. The structure of the dome seriously cuts into breezes and wind when it is open.

On top of that, humidity was at max and then there were the 40,000 people in the place adding body heat. My hair was wet from the time we got to our seats until about the 7th after they had closed the dome and turned on the air conditioner.

Making it worse, was another poor performance from the Cubs, losing 4-2.

But You Don't Have a Fukudome to Kick Around Anymore. --RoadDog


GROANERS: What do fish say when they hit a concrete wall? Dam!!

Going to See the Cubs Tomorrow

Liz and I are going to Milwaukee tomorrow to see the Cubs play the Brewers.

It is a bus trip sponsored by the Spring Grove-Richmond Chamber of Commerce.

For $65 apiece, we get a breakfast pizza at Tammy's, the bus trip, drinks on the bus, a two-hour tailgating party and drinks on the way home.

I call that a good deal, even if I am more of a Sox fan than Cubs. However, I will be pulling for the Cubbies.

As the Late-Great Steve Goodman (Whose Birthday Would Have Been This Week. I Found Out When Bob Stroud Played "Lincoln Park Pirates" On His Rock and Roll Roots Show Sunday) Would Say, "Go Cubs Go." --RoadDog


GROANERS: How do you catch a unique rabbit? Unique up on it.

It's Baseball Time Again

At least it gets the mind off this crummy weather. And, it was even crummy in North Carolina earlier this week.

Yesterday, I saw the Brewers blow a 6-3 lead in the bottom of the 9th and lose on a walk-off homer in Cincinnati. That's a hard way to start the season.

I'm a Brewers fan and have been since the late 70s and especially like the '82 one that played in the World series.

Today, at Donovan's in Twin Lakes, Wisconsin, I watched the Cubs jump off to a 2-0 lead before losing 6-3. We had the game on the main TV behind the bar and the Sox game on one farther away. Those of us Sox fans had to catch glimpses of it, even when the Sox jumped off to a 14-0 lead and they needed most of it when the Indians scored ten runs themselves.

We kept complaining about having to watch te Cubs, but were outvoted.

I am a Sox fan first, Cubs fan second and Brewer fan third.

Long season to Go. --RoadDog


WHY TEACHERS LOOK LIKE THAT:

Q. What are steroids?
A. Things for keeping carpets still on stairs.

Not Only White Sox, But American League Too

Not only am I big White Sox fan (since 1965) , but I also back the American League in the All Star game and normally during the World Series (unless the Yankees, Cubs, Brewers, or Cards are in it).

It was nice to see the AL win for the 13th time in a row, especially since that gives them home field advantage in the World Series.

I can remember, though, when it was the National League winning year after year, that is until 1983 when it was played at Comiskey Park, and I was at the game!!! Now, that was a really good time.

Go You American League!! --RoadDog

Cubs, Cubs, Cubs, "Go Cubs Go"

That's all you hear about around here right now. It is enough to make a White Sox fan like myself sick. Don't get me wrong, I am pulling for them, but fear a world series victory would make the average Cub fan very much like the average Yankee fan--pretty hard to take.

I pull for the Cubs unless they play the White Sox. Actually, I wouldn't have been too upset had the Brewers managed to hang in there. They are my third favorite team and I've been a fan since the early 80s. I still say they would have won the '82 World series had Rollie Fingers been healthy.

Like Steve Goodman wrote before his death, "Go Cubs Go, Go Cubs Go. Hey Chicago, what do you say, Go Cubs Go."

Part-Time Cub Fan Me.   --RoadDog

Speaking of the Fair: Baseball and Bad Beatles Tribute Band

The Kenosha County Fair is held this time of the year in Wilmot, Wisconsin, about eight miles north of us in Spring Grove, Illinois.

It is held on grounds located behind the high school that include Wilmot Raceway where Sprint cars make a lot of noise and flip over. It costs $7 for adults, and includes live entertainment.

Lots of good food, vendors, midway rides and games, and, exhibitors. Of, course, I always go to the local groups to buy food. Not only are they generally cheaper, but also I like to keep the money in the area. I had a loaded brat at one place.

TALKING BASEBALL

Talked with a couple about the Brewers who are battling it out with the Cubs and now also the Cardinals for first place in the NL Central Division. I had read an article about the old Milwaukee Braves and their trip to the World Series 50 years ago. That great team included Warren Spahn, Hank Aaron, and Eddie Matthews. The guy remembered this team well. It was about seven years before I got into baseball, so I hadn't ever heard of the team, other than a lot of the players. They had a rookie that came to be nicknamed "Hurricane" Hazel who was called up in July and went on quite a hitting spree to get the Braves there. That was his only good year though. His last name was Hazel, and, of course, there had been that hurricane three years earlier.

Both of us were big fans of the great '82 Bewers team with Molitor, Yount, Cooper, Thomas, etc., who also went to the World Series before losing to the dastardly Cardinals.  We believe that if Rollie  Fingers, the relief pitcher, had not been injured that the Brew Crew would have won as every game they lost, they led in the late innings, but Brewer relievers were horrible.

Enjoyed the Robinson Racing Pigs and was waiting around for American English, a Beatles tribute band, to take the stage at 8 PM. Spent some time walking through, and smelling, the livestock buildings.

WORST-EVER BEATLES TRIBUTE BAND

Like I said, American English was supposed to start at 8, so I got there a little before then. There was nowhere to sit and the ground was way too wet, so I stood and waited and waited and waited. All we were getting were sound checks and guitar tuning from their roadies. That is not what I call a Beatles show.

I finally left at 8:30 and they still hadn't started. I don't know about them, but I consider my time a bit more valuable than that. That showed little respect.

Possibly, they were waiting for the end of the IRA Outlaw Sprint race that started at 7. Those cars make a LOT of noise. Perhaps they didn't want to compete. They should have told us if they were.

Told the lady at the gate that I wasn't happy about the whole thing. This was a big reason why I had driven there and paid my admission.

Good and Bad Times at the Fair. --RoadDog