Unhappy Returns

Once again I return to work to find my cubicle vandalized. In May, I went to a conference and returned to find my cube defaced. Monday I returned to find it even worse. The Cub fans had turned my cubicle into a Wrigley Stadium replica complete with brick, ivy, and the basket that catches home runs. Of course I had to rip through a bunch of Cub banners to even see the Wrigley replica.



Luckily, one of the culprits is on vacation this week. The contractor is already working on his cube.

Gone Camping

We are headed off into the woods this week. We should have another Isa Report when we return. We are headed to Door County and Peninsula State Park on the peninsula between Lake Michigan and Green Bay.

The Lastest Isa Report

After her mother's bedtime prayer, Isa said that she wanted to say her own prayer. So she said, "Hey, God! Thank you for the new toilet. Thank you for the new children at church. Thank you for our new house."

"What toilet?" said her mother, Michelle K.

"Amen." Isa said quickly. "Is God in your stomach?"

"Yes." said Michelle K. "He is everywhere."

"Does he pull hair?" said Isa. Then she said herself, "Nooooooo. He loves you. Only big sisters pull your hair when she's mad at you."

AUTHOR'S NOTE: I do not pull her hair.

**This Isa Report has been authored by Willa.

Sometimes when I'm Falling, Flying . . .

Did you see it last night? It was fantastic. The Library of Congress honored a hero of mine. Paul Simon was given the first Gershwin Prize for Popular Song. A fantastic array of artists from numerous genres were on hand to perform versions of Paul Simon songs.

Since my youthful discovery of my parents' "Simon and Garfunkel's Greatest Hits" cassette, Paul Simon's music has been an integral part of the soundtrack of my life. I have sung Simon and Garfunkel tunes with many of my oldest friends. I sat in the very top row of the Fox Theater with one of those old friends while the songs from "Graceland" and the smell of marijuana washed over us.

A few years later, I went to what was then called Riverport with a bigger group of friends for the "Rhythm of the Saints" tour. My favorite song that day was a fantastic version of "An American Tune."

Now, I haven't seen Paul Simon live since that day at Riverport. But his last album has a song that really speaks to me. It's called "Father and Daughter."

I'm gonna watch you shine
Gonna watch you grow
Gonna paint a sign
So you'll always know
As long as one and one is two
There could never be a father
Who loved his daughter more than I love you

That's a Winner!

While I slumbered the Birds evened the season series with the Royals. I watched the bottom of the ninth, but couldn't stay awake for extra innings.

For one day, all is again right in the universe.

Is It Wrong?

Another note about last night's game: During Juan Encarnacion's at bats last night, I was rooting against him extending his hitting streak. Is that bad?

They flashed some funny numbers on the scoreboard when he batted. His average during the streak, .288. He had exactly 21 hits in his streak. I guess that's about as bad as you can hit and still have an 18 game streak. Sounds like a lot of 1 for 4 nights.

Anyway, last night I used Karma to put an end to the anomalous streak.

Cards Even Series

I was in the eleventh row of section 155 last night. My buddy Chuck scored some awesome tickets at work. We were between the end of the home-plate screen and the Royals Dugout. A perfect angle to see Chris Duncan' eyes light up on meat ball delivered by the Royals' Scott Elarton.

Ole' Abner delivered a perfect evening for baseball. The temps were in the low eighties at the first pitch. There was a bar selling Schlafly's near our section.

The game lasted only two hours and ten minutes. I was home and in bed by 11:30 pm.

I ran my record to 2-1 on the season.

The Isa Report

June 18th, 2007 - Subject: Courage

Splinter Courage

Isa was brave (and squirmy and screamy!) when she had to get a splinter taken out of her foot last night.
Reporter Willa has all the details.
When I got there to do the weekly Isa Report, Isa was screaming.
I had to do this report on myh own, so I decided (since EVERYONE was busy) to not talk to anyone. It would bother them. I helped out too.
We FINALLY got it out. Isa refused a cookie. Was she sick?

The End

***This report has been brought to you by Willa. We are hoping this will become a regular blog feature. We encourage other young authors with siblings to write as well.

Cardinals 7, Royals 3

Looks like tonight will be the rubber match in the I-70 series. The Cards prevailed yesterday behind some solid pitching from Adam Wainwright.

Go tell Andy how it will turn out tonight!!

Check This Out

Wikipedia is the coolest!

I have to say this . . .

If you loved watching Magic and Bird play, if you loved watching Jordan, you need to be watching LeBron play. It is akin to watching a flower bloom right before your eyes.

LeBron is amazing. He is the next great player who can transcend the game and the league the way Jordan, Bird, and Magic did.

Tonight he scored 48 points including the last 25 Cavalier points. It was stunning.

Cards/Royals update

St. Louis 21 29 .420 6.5
Kansas City 19 35 .352 14.5

Notice the last column. The number is how many games out of first place the team is. A small number indicates a more meaningful season (or some might say, a weak division). No matter how you interpret the numbers, one team is still playing for something, and the other team is merely playing out the season.

Something Must Be Done

When the free market begins to work in favor of the consumer, something must be done. The Bush Administration will not allow the free market to take advantage of Big Corporations. As I have told conservative friends of mine before, small business and individuals both get the shaft from the Bush Administration. This is a perfect example of both groups getting the shaft.

The Wizard

A big group went to see the Cardinals Tuesday night to celebrate Dave's 40th birthday. We turned the Birds around that night. We stopped the six-game slide and had a blast.

Here are Willa and Isa hanging with the Wizard. I will post some more pics as soon as Dave sends me a few.

Baseball

In response to a loony commenter, I want to post the following:

Team Winning %
St. Louis Cardinals .419
Kansas City Royals .404

We will keep an eye on the developing situation.

Happy Birthday, Dave!

Here's a shout out to the newest member of the old man's club. Dave is still going strong at forty. He doesn't slide the trombone like he did when he was younger, but he didn't know what he was doing back then anyway.

The Bush Administration

The administration cares about nothing except political power. They have forced perceived political enemies from government. They will do anything to reinforce their political power.

The War

The next time I hear or read someone say that we are losing the war because of the 'Liberal Traitors,' I want them to read this.

More on Falwell

Here are some of Falwell's own words.

Falwell Dead

Our good friend Travis has an awesome take on this.