Rockin' Eve is on the left, Dick Clark on the right.  They were brought home from the hospital Sunday afternoon.

Congratulations to my brother Mr. Uncie and his wife Knobbleknees on the birth of their twin tax deductions on Wednesday, December 31st.  In keeping with tradition, they have already been assigned (Sponsor's Name Here)'s Official Nicknames.  Both were born at 4:47 PM on Wednesday.  Dick Clark weighed in at 6 lbs, 6 oz. and Rockin' Eve weighed 4lbs, 9 oz. 

I went down to the Greater Hoffman Estates Metroplex area yesterday to visit them, and Knobbleknees seemed to be in good shape, but Mr. Uncie's mother-in-law had Mr. Uncie already warn down to the nub.

For a number of reasons, I was at the hospital for two hours on New Years Day, but didn't actually get to see the babies.  My-Sugar-Na is driving down tonight and hopefully she will see them and get a few photos for posting.

(Sponsor's Name Here)'s Official Son, Mitten, currently is a junior at Rufus King HS, an International Baccalaureate (a fancy way of saying "damn good") school in Milwaukee.  He noticed that I had a two-week writers block, and offered to fill my shoes (though 16 years old, he is already three shoe sizes bigger than mine, so my shoes are actually tough for him to fill).

Disclaimer - I love my son to death, but I don't necessarily agree with him.  Every time I think I've got him reeled into the right side, the school system keeps pulling him back.  I just hope Stretch Armstrong doesn't develop a leak.

And now.... Mitten:

Big 3 Seek $34 Billion Aid

The Big 3 Automakers, GM, Ford, and Chrysler are all being hit by this economic downturn, and now they are turning to the U.S. government for $34 billion in aid. If they do not get this aid that they are seeking, they are in danger of having to file for bankruptcy by the beginning of 2009. Because of the current recession, consumers are not buying as many cars, and people will lose their jobs due to cyclical and structural unemployment. This is hurting the business cycle, and it is causing the U.S. economy, and for that matter, the world economy, to suffer.

The business cycle consists of 4 stages: Expansion, peak, recession, and trough. An expansion shows what happens when GDP increases, and at the end of an expansion is a peak. After the peak, the business cycle falls into a recession, which is ended by a trough, and starts and expansion. This cycle repeats over and over. Currently, the business cycle is in a recession, and GDP is falling. This is making it harder for consumers and businesses alike to get by, and it is why the Big 3 is asking for government help. Below is a graph of the business cycle, and where we currently are.

Our economy is currently in a recession. Recession occurs when GDP is declining. The latest reports state that GDP has fallen by three tenths of a percent. While that may not look like much, it still shows that we are headed for hard economic times, and those big companies, such as the Big 3, are being hit. If we lose a big car company, along with it will come thousands of jobs and billions of dollars, causing GDP to fall, and our economy to get worse and worse, thus causing the recession to get worse.

Another concept evident is consumption. Consumption includes all household purchases of new products, and it accounts for approximately 70% of a nations total output (GDP). Because of our current economic crisis, households have less many to consume. We are forced to save our money because we are making less of it. Therefore, households are buying more used cars and less new cars. It was reported that in November, new car sales dropped 37% to 746,789 cars. That is a huge drop in consumption, and it caused major peril for the Big 3.

Another issue that will occur is having to face thousands of job losses due to cyclical and structural unemployment. Cyclical unemployment occurs when changes in the business cycle change the demand for workers. Because of this recession, and the fact that the Big 3 automakers are in jeopardy of losing their companies, thousands of jobs are at risk. This not only means that thousands of people will be out of work and may have trouble supporting themselves and their families, but unemployment will rise, causing GDP to fall into a further recession, and we would be at risk for deflation. Structural unemployment occurs when there are gaps between worker skills and employer needs. If the Big 3 do get bailed out, people will want cars that don't consume a lot of gas. Therefore, workers who only know how to make gasoline-powered vehicles won't know how to make the alternative cars, and they will be out of work. Due to the failure of the Big 3, there would be more cyclical and structural unemployment and the economy would be in bad shape.

While it does have its downside, I believe bailing out the Big 3 is a good idea. If the government does not bail out these huge companies, our recession will only get worse. We will lose billions of dollars, thousands of jobs, and the confidence in our economy will hit rock bottom. With low confidence, we will be motivated to save more money, and consume less of it. This will mean less money will go into the economy, and like I said before, it will just make this recession worse. If the U.S. wants to save the economy, it should bail out the Big 3 automakers, so that our economy can begin to recover.

The winners of bailing out the Big 3 will be the economy as a whole and everyone who works for the Big 3. The economy will begin to recover as jobs will not be lost, and more money is being put into the economy. The loser in bailing out the big three is the already ballooning Government deficit. If we give up another $34 billion, our deficit will grow, only making matters worse.

I really hate reality shows.  Most are pretty very lame, with constant back biting, lying, and non-existant-but-dammit-we're-gonna-tell-you-anyhow storylines.  Considering a show like Stupidvivor, they take over 100 hours of footage of multiple contestants, and edit down to a 46-minute story.  That is NOT reality.  That is a serial protrayed by underpaid, non-union actors.

But I digress.

When pre-My-Sugar-Na and I were dating (Side note, I guess that would have made her Nobody's-Sugar-Na), she insisted that I watch The Amazing Race 4.  What I really liked about it was that nobody voted anybody off, and although the producers continue to edit-in various nasty comments about one racer to another, or focus on an event that has no bearing on the race, the bottom line is that the last team to the Pit Stop is eliminated.  Many of the racers - both male and female - are reasonably good looking and intelligent (as opposed to the snarks on Stupidvivor), and though the cast tends to include middle-aged and woefully out of shape racers, they tend to get weeded out and the strongest players are generally around at the end.

With that said, I bring you the excitement of the James household on this particular Sunday evening as we wait in joyful hope for the coming of Phil Koeghan...

6:00 PM - 60 Minutes is supposed to start, because 60 minutes later, The Amazing Race begins.  Except when it succeeds football.  (For entertainment purposes only,) I was interested in the Pittsburgh v. San Diego outcome.  The Steelers were favored by 5 points, and at this point they were losing 10-8.  Sensing that The Amazing Race wasn't going to start on time, My-Sugar-Na ordered me to eat Sunday dinner.  The football game was paused on the DVR.

6:30 PM - The football game is now unpaused, and I watch Pittsburgh kick a field goal to take an 11-10 lead with second remaining.  San Diego receives the kickoff, and on the final play they attempt a series of laterals to try for the winning score.  During this play, a Pittsburgh defender scoops up an errant lateral and carries it into the end zone for an apparent 17-10 final score.  The James family patriarch lets out a "Woo-hoo" that lasted until they began reviewing the play. 

6:40 PM - With a knife to my wrist, I await the referee's decision.  He stated that there was a flag for an illegal forward pass by San Diego, which would be declined by Pittsburgh and the touchdown would stand.  "Woo-hoo?"  Then CBS does the outcue, showing an 11-10 final on the screen, and Jim Nantz yammering about the play being dead.  So what really happened?  Read this and this and this.  The bottom line is that my entertainment cost me because the referee later admitted that the touchdown should have stood.  My entertainment director (which some people call a bookie) says he feels my pain, but hopes I was entertained.

6:45 PM through 7:30 PM - Instead of trying to take the knife away from my wrists, My-Sugar-Na watches 60 Minutes.  Compassionate, eh?

7:30 PM - The Amazing Race starts.

7:36 PM - The first team to arrive at the Pit Stop in the last episode, brother/sister team Nick and Starr Spangler (who seem to enjoy each other a little too much) open their clue envelope and are told to fly to Almaty, Kazakhstan.  Before the camera cuts away, they count the money they are told that they have (US$103).  Apparently they are concerned CBS will screw them.

7:38 PM - Mother/son team Toni and Dallas Imbimbo leave ten minutes later.  Both Nick/Starr and Toni/Dallas go to a local travel agent to arrange for their flight to Kazakhstan.  We see a budding romance between Starr and Dallas, with that sickly sweet music playing in the background.  There is no truth to the rumor that Nick and Toni hook-up out of jealousy.  I do think that it would be weird if the youngins' get married... she would become Starr Imbimbo.

7:40 PM - The Airport Shuffle begins.  Three teams (Nick/Starr, Toni/Dallas and former NFLer Ken Greene and his wife Tina) end up on the "first" flight, which arrives in Almaty at 11:50 PM.  Dating couple Terence Gerchberg and Sarah Leshner get a flight that arrives at 1:20 AM, and Frat brothers Andrew Lappitt and Dan Honig tell us in a cutaway that their flight will arrive "significantly later".  For those Amazing Race watching veterens know, a ten minute Airport Shuffle, combined with a team that gets a bad break equals.... A Bunching Point!!! I had that one called when the lovebirds were at the travel agency!

7:42 PM - Sure enough, the teams from the first two planes arrive at a chicken farm in the middle of the night, only to find the farm opening at 7:30 AM.

7:43 PM - Well, whaddya know.  The Frat brothers (heretofore known as Dandrew) arrive minutes before the chicken farm opens.  Because of bunching points, all teams are now even (thereby rendering the entire Airport Shuffle as meaningless).

7:45 PM - Once the chicken farm opens, the teams get their clue, which is a Roadblock ("A Roadblock is a task that only one team member may perform", reminds Phil.)  One team member has to search the farm among 30,000 chickens to find one of seven golden eggs.  Also in the clue is a Fast Forward (one of only two on the race) in which the team has to go to a restaurant, and each team member has to eat a bowl of a local delicacy, sheep's butt fat.  The team that completes their meal first gets the Fast Forward, which means they can go right to the Pit Stop.  Clearly, winning a Fast Forward is a major advantage.  It is also a gamble, because if you go for the Fast Forward and DON'T win it, you have to go back to the Roadblock and complete the task.

7:48 PM - Both Nick/Starr and Terrance/Sarah go for the Fast Forward.  Only one will win.  The other three teams find their eggs and go onto the next clue, which requires taking a designated crane truck to the next location to meet a Mongol warrior.  Why a crane truck instead of a cab, bicycle, tuk-tuk or llama?  We are never told.

7:50 PM - Terrance is a vegetarian.  The entertainment value of that discounted TD in the Pittsburgh game is paid back by watching Terrance try to eat this stew of sheep fat. 

7:53 PM - Starr especially is enjoying her meal.  Seeing her figure, I don't think Nick lets her eat much.  Nick isn't eating as quickly, but he is putting it down.  Sarah is also getting it down without much problem, but Terrance the Drama Queen can't even swollow the food.  They stay at the restaurant way, way, WAY too long, then decide to cut bait and head back to the chicken farm. 

7:57 PM - Toni/Dallas arrive at the Mongol Warrior and await for an eagle to bring their clue.  It is a Detour ("In this detour, teams have to choose between two local customs..." says Phil.  Phil says this every week, and I highly doubt that the rank and file of each small town do some of the stuff these teams have to do.)  In this Detour, teams can learn a musical instrument that is not worth describing because no team chose to do it, or they can walk to a children's theater, put on a two-person cow costume, walk through the town to a milk stand, drink a glass of milk (with their next clue on the bottom of the glass) which has them go to a local butcher while still in costume to get their next clue.  Ken/Tina follow behind Toni/Dallas.  Dandrew are lost in their crane truck and are asking for directions.  In each Amazing Race series, at least one team acts like Ugly Americans when they can't accept that natives of a particular city or country don't understand English.  Dandrew is not happy that nobody will help them, and they mutter comments under their breath.  Of course, Dan is wearing a Star of David around his neck... maybe that has something to do with the citizens of this predominatly Muslim country to not want to help.

8:00 PM - Nick/Starr complete their meal and head to the Pit Stop.

8:01 PM - Terrance/Sarah get to the chicken farm.  Drama boy can't man-up and eat sheep fat, and apparently he can't put on a Tyvek suit and walk through chicken crap, either.  Sarah, who did eat about half the meal, gets "selected" to do this Roadblock.  So Terrance is a whiner and a sissy.  What does Sarah see in him?

8:06 PM - Nick/Starr get to the Pit Stop and win their fifth leg of the seven episodes.  There is nothing to dislike about the team.  They are good looking, athletic, don't trash other racers, they do their tasks efficiently and correctly, and they are genuinely having a great time on the race.  No way they'll win the million bucks.  None possible.  Bet the under (for entertainment purposes, only).  Meanwhile, Toni/Dallas get the cow costume on and go to get the milk.  At one point, Toni calls Dallas "Baby".  Scary, in a reverse-Oedipus sort of way.

8:08 PM - Ken and Tina are separated in real life, and are on the race to see if they can reconcile.  Ken, leave her in Kazakhstan and go after Toni.  Seriously.  Tina is a bossy lady who doesn't care whose toes she steps on.  It is not necessarily a good trait, and it doesn't make her very likable.  Sometimes discretion is the better part of valor.  Meanwhile, the whipped Ken just puts up with it.  Now, Tina (who had a botched facelift and whose face is tighter than the cow costume she put on) is telling Ken what to do, how to put the costume on, hurry up, etc.  She has a voice and mannerism that could cut diamonds.

8:09 PM - Tina, the head of the cow costume, walks past the milk stand.  They realize their error and go back and drink the milk.  Tina complains about the taste, and asks for the clue.  The milk stand operator gives her a blank stare.  She tells Ken they should look around for another milk stand.  Soon, Tina decides that maybe the clue was on the glass (like, you know, the previous clue said it would be).  They decide to walk back to the costume shop and return the cow. 

8:11 PM - Ken says "Are you sure we are supposed to return the costume?"  Tina says "I think so".  Cue the dramatic music.  Sigh.  Never "think" on the race.  When in doubt re-read the clue.

8:12 PM - Toni/Dallas get the clue from the butcher and head to the Pit Stop.  They pass Ken/Tina and tell them they need the costume.  Of course, Tina dismisses it and they walk sans-costume to the butcher shop.  He refuses to give the clue, so they have to go back and put the costume on.  Somehow, Ken will pay for this.  He will pay for it with his soul.  Meanwhile, Dandrew get their costume, and Terrance/Sarah are edited to look close behind... but they find a local to lead them to the milk stand.

8:15 PM - Toni/Dallas get to the Pit Stop in second place.  Ken/Tina get the clue from the butcher and Tina says "we should get a cab".  Ken, growing the manhood that he once had in the NFL (and that Terrance needs), finally speaks up and tells Tina that they need to go on foot, as the clue stated.  They get to the Pit Stop in third place.

8:17 PM - Completing the cow task, Dandrew take a cab to the Pit Stop (where, oh-where is their Ken?)  They get to the Pit Stop, but Phil looks sternly into the camera and tell them to go back to the end of the Detour and complete it properly.

8:21 PM - Now the final editing challenge, er, I mean race to the finish ensues... edited to look like both teams get to the end of the Detour about the same time...  Terrance/Sarah, Dandrew.... both stressing, both worried, could be a two hour difference, could be 30 seconds, we don't know, can you feel the excitement?, hand held cameras running overtime and landing on the mat is........... Dandrew, now officially in fourth place.

8:25 PM - Terrance/Sarah get to the Pit Stop and are Philiminated.  Their last cutaway has them making googley-eyes at each other, saying how much they love each other.  Privately, is Sarah wishing she had a boyfriend that could sack-up and eat some meat for a million shmoleans?

8:28 PM - Next week on The Amazing Race, Nick/Starr are in trouble (Side note; I TOLD YOU!)

I did not choose to serve in the Armed Forces.  I want to thank those who risked their lives so I didn't have to; those who risked their lives to protect my right NOT to serve.

During the 1980 Presidential election, I was 12 years old and understandably not into politics.  I do remember that Ronald Reagan was being portrayed as a warmonger who would lead us to a nuclear war with the Soviets - not particulary a comforting thought to a pre-teen.  I also remember that in March of 1986 (the month I turned 18) Reagan had ordered maneuvers past Mohammar Qadaffi's "Line of Death" bay off of Libya.  In April, after the US bombed Tripoli and Qadaffi was neutralized, I learned that sometimes military force is needed.  I also learned about international terrorism.  And I learned that I wasn't one to stamp it out. 

Subsequant to my 18th birthday when I chose not to serve, there was very little war and therefore very few military combat deaths until the Gulf War in 1991 (when I was 25).  Although to this day I wish 41 would have finished the job, victory was quick and decisive, again with very little loss of American life.

So as I enter this blog entry today, I can reflect on those that covered me, in other words, those that chose to join the service to do the job that I felt needed to be done.  I sincerely thank those men and women.

Just as importantly, I thank the men and women that preceded my 18th birthday by serving in World War II, Korea, Viet Nam, and anywhere else little skirmishes arose.  (Side note - On Veteren's Day only, I suspend the ongoing discussion with my family that I was in a Viet Cong interrnment camp in Da Nang, and that Granmammy Evans got me through it by giving me Alton's Macaroni & Cheese recipe).

I also want to let the Veterens know - especially the ones that have served in Afghansitan and Iraq over the past five years - that regardless of what the Barack Obama administration will do in those countries (as well as possibly in Iran, Syria, Pakistan, Venezuela and Columbia) your service will not be in vain. 

I am fearful of what Obama will do in the foreign affairs arena.  But regardless of the direction he takes (and who knows, he could be brilliant) it was the soldiers that fought for me, my rights, my freedom, my country, and my flag that made it possible for him to be President, and for me to oppose him. 

From the soldiers that are now in the August of their years that served in Europe and Japan in the 1940s, to the ones in Korea and Viet Nam that were there to halt the spread of communism and protect American interests, to the current troops fighting not against countries, but against religious ideology.  Even if you served but never went to war, the fact is that you were there - prepared to go - if your country needed you.  All of you should be thanked respectfully and continuously. 

I will talk with my son, Mitten, and stepson, Grizzly about possible service when they hit 18 in a couple of years.  If they choose not to serve, that is fine and I can't complain - I made that same decision.  But if they do choose serve, they too will do a great honor to their country and will be deserving of the thanks of a nation.

The thousands of you - well, make that the 18 of you that actually read my blog post from last week - may be wondering how the pre-Hallowe'en weekend worked out.  Well, do I have a story for you...

Thursday evening, (Sponsor's Name Here)'s Official Baby Brother, St. Jon, called with another potential doin' for the weekend.  I had forgotten that Downtown West Allis was holding its Meet & Treat from 10:00 AM to Noon on Saturday along W. Greenfield Ave. 

So during the best weather segment of last weekend, My-Sugar-Na and I took the daughters (Gooey and Sloppy) and met St. Jon and his wife, Strawberry Fields, and kids Jelly Bean and Mr. Cranky Pants behind City Hall to start meeting and treating.  The three girls ranged from scary to cute (clockwise from upper left, Gooey, Sloppy and Jelly Bean)...

Also in tow was Vier Pogo Squad 51, dressed as his "separated at birth" twin, Law & Order charachter Max Greevey...

Along the way, St. Jon mentioned that Jelly Bean was afraid of big, mascot type charachters.  But not too long after he said that, we found favorite Sesame Street charachter Elmo (on the left, with St. Jon in the center and Jelly Bean on the right)...

(Side note:  Nobody believes me when I tell them, but the puppeteer and voice for Elmo on Sesame Street is a 6'5" black guy.  Don't believe me either?  Read this.)

 Following closely behind on Greenfield Ave. were Strawberry Fields (pushing Mr. Cranky Pants) and My-Sugar-Na...

Overall it was a great time.  We started right about 10:00 AM and the volume was light as we headed east from S. 75th St.  But by the time we reached the turnaround on S. 70th St., there were kids everywhere!  At a couple of stores, the lines were at least 10 deep.  However, we completed the loop in about 75 minutes, and the kids got quite a haul.

After bidding adieu to St. Jon's family, we went home and plotted our course.  Still expecting bad weather all day Sunday, we let the girls talk us into driving to our previous neighborhood in Bay View for their nighttime Trick-or-Treat that Saturday evening.  (Side note:  I have lived in three different Bay View neighborhoods in my life, and some of the areas can get a little seedy.  However, there are a lot of nice homes in Bay View, especially between Howell Ave. and Pine St. just south of Oklahoma Ave.  It was in that area where I was stunned by the number of Obama yard signs.  They outnumbered McCain signs 10:1.  So the first house that we approach that has an Obama yard sign allows me to comment "Kids, get your candy here this year.  By next year if Obama wins, they won't be able to afford to give away candy".  Right next door was another Obama yard sign, and I said "Kids, get your candy her...." at which point, My-Sugar-Na says that kids dressed in costume don't care about what I think.  Sigh.  I'd better keep her occupied on November 4th, just in case.)

We get home around 8:30 Saturday night with enough candy to compete with Freese's.  Once the girls collapse into a sugar coma and go to bed, My-Sugar-Na and I discuss the fact that I only procured a cannister of 240 Tootsie Pops. Because I - as man and blogger - know everything, I assure her that due to the weather forecast, of course it will be enough candy.

So Sunday morning rolls around, and it is beautifully bright and sunny.  A little chilly, sure, but not nearly as bad as had been predicted.  Sigh.  So not only do I start worrying about my 240 suckers, but the girls start begging relentlessly about allowing them to Trick-or-Treat AGAIN.  I give in to them, and at 1:00 PM, my wife dutifully begins passing out the candy to the children.

Although the weather slowly deteriorated to cloudy and windy (and with a few rain drops for good measure), the kids kept coming...

OK, so we ran out of candy.  Sort of.  You see, two prior Trick-or-Treating events gave us lots of, um, let's call them "reinforcements".  I dutifully counted 25 suckers (Dum-dums, Charms, you name it) from both Gooey's and Sloppy's stashes, snuck them into the Tootsie Pop cannister, and we made it stretch until all children had been serviced.  And until they read this (unless they stop looking once they see their photo) they are nonethewiser.

(Side note: When Mitten was way, way younger - as in "pre-Gooey", he was to small too eat all of the Hallowe'en candy and Easter candy that he received.  One particular year we ran out of candy for handing out, so we actually went into the cannister of Easter and the previous year's Trick-or-Treat candy that we never finished [actually, I think we had plum forgot about it until it was "go" time].  At least the re-candying we did Sunday afternoon was only a day old instead of that year old stuff!)

Now with that said, why isn't Trick-or-Treat on Hallowe'en Night?  It worked out great in Bay View, and also in the Wedgewood Park neighborhood (in which I lived in a prior life) where Trick-or-Treating is at night.  It is way cooler than on a Sunday afternoon.

There will be one last event for My-Sugar-Na and Vier Pogo Squad 51, that would be the "Howl at the Moon Dog Walk" in New Berlin on Wednesday, October 29th @ 6:30 PM.  Our own Max Greevey will hope to win the costume contest.

I am trying to like my kids more (today, at least).

When I was growing up, the worst thing about a cold day for trick-or-treat was having to wear a big winter coat over that wonderful Superman costume that had been handcrafted by some machine in China and purchased at the Chase Avenue K-Mart.  As I grew up, that is one of those images that is kind of depressing.... some parent spent good money on a cosutme - or worse, put hours and hours of love and care into a costume - that would be hidden by a jacket and mittens.

Now for some reason, as I go through the mental file of taking my kids trick-or-treating as they grew up, I remember scads of unseasonably warm, sunny days.  Last year, I believe, was a nice day (I remember walking to Walgreens for the emergency second supply of candy without any jacket).  I remember when Mitten was about six or seven, our Wedgewood Park neighborhood had a nighttime trick-or-treat, and we invited most of Mitten's class for trick-or-treating in our neighborhood.  While the moms took the kids, the fathers sat on our front porch drinking beer and handing out the candy.  If it were cold, I don't know if we would have been outside...most likely we would have been in the basement ignoring the doorbell ringing.

Fast forward to this season.  Both of our girls, Gooey and Sloppy, are getting excited about Halloween coming up.  Both spent an unusual amount of time mentally designing their costumes.  I know My-Sugar-Na purchased Sloppy's costume a couple of weeks ago, I believe that Gooey got her's this week.  Both can't wait for West Allis'ses trick-or-treat this Sunday.

And last night the Weatherdick on the Weatherdeck (sorry, I can't take credit for that one... Dave Berkman had called him that for years when he wrote for the Shepard Express) said that it would be cold, rainy and possibly snowy during the day on Sunday.  My first thought was that there is no way they are going out without jackets.  My second thought was that in that weather, there is no way I am sitting outside handing out candy.

Thank goodness for third thoughts.  I think we're going to skip trick-or-treating this year, and instead take the girls - in costume - to varous Hallowe'en activites in the area.  Although I am still reviewing this list, it looks like we might hit the Zoo on Saturday for their Halloween Trick-or-Treat Spooktacular as the weather Saturday shouldn't be TOO bad.  Then on Sunday, we might take in Not-So-Scary Halloween at the Betty Brinn Museum.  Then just to get one final use out of those costumes, we might go on Wednesday to the Howl at the Moon Dog Walk in New Berlin. 

I'm sure Vier Pogo Squad 51 would get a kick out of that.

On Tuesday evening, September 9th (Side note; coincedentally, I was at County Stadium exactly 16 years earlier watching Robin Yount get his 3000th hit), I took (Sponsor's Name Here)'s Official Son, Mitten to the Brewers game.  It was a cool but comfortable evening, but with the Miller Park dome closed, it was a great night for baseball.  And except for Jeff Suppan and some guy that I've never heard of going to a 3-1 count on every batter before every batter started fouling off pitches, we had a great time.  (Side note; on Saturday, September 6th, My-Sugar-Na and I watched the Brewers beat the Padres in 2 hours and 7 minutes.  By comparison, at 9:14 PM on Tuesday, we were in the top of the 6th inning.)

As the game meandered on way past Mitten's bedtime, Ray Durham (who clearly doesn't respect a child's need for sleep) hit a game-tying 3-run home run in the 7th inning, and the hapless Reds and ice cold Brewers played on into the night.

In the top of the 11th, the crowd (well, at least Section 215) was awakened by a foul ball by one Mr. Edwin Encarnacion of the Reds.  The ball hit off of the facade between the 2nd and 3rd decks (it actually hit the ribbon scoreboard, but facade is a much cooler word).  The rebound of the ball hit the armrest of a seat in our row, and ricocheted off my cheek (the one on my face, guys...) and harmlessly onto the concrete steps.  Enter Mitten, who was sitting in the aisle seat. 

As the ball rolled down a couple of steps, there was this young boy, we'll call him Poor Timmy.  Poor Timmy was struggling to stand up, what with his leg braces and crutches and all.  Poor Timmy had just about managed to scoop up the errant ball when Mitten - using a shoulder block learned by watching years of soccer and football - flung Poor Timmy about four seats into the row.  As Mitten was holding the ball over his head in triumphant glory, Poor Timmy was battling for his life because his crutch acted like a lever and had flung Poor Timmy perilously towards the railing in front of the first row.  Luckily another ballpark patron, we'll call her 92-Year Old Gladys, broke his fall with the back of her neck.  The force of the Poor Timmy vs. 92-Year Old Gladys collision resulted in 92-Year Old Gladys hitting the railing square in the mush.  There was a real casualty in all of this, however, as 92-Year Old Gladys' husband, we'll call him 89-Year Old Aloys, lost his bratwurst over the railing in the excitement.  Rumor was that he lost something else, too, except somebody admitted to spilling a beer under 89-Year Old Aloys' seat.

All this so Mitten could get an $8 baseball.

The second Saturday of the State Fair has always been a gold mine for lawn parkers like me.  And this year was no exception.

Starting at 10:30 AM, cars started streaming into our yard.  Again, I am 3+ blocks from the southwest entrance, so if I am starting to get cars, imagine what residents on 84th between Greenfield and I-94 were doing!  Among those streamers, however, was non-revenue squatter Knobbleknees and my brother, Mr. Uncie (which actually was fair, as they resuced me from Arlington Park racetrack on Friday afternoon).

But the neighborhood was a-buzz.  Folks were excited about the Fair.  One lady that had parked her car was standing a chatting with me about the business (and by the business, I do mean the industry) when her children were literally tugging on her shorts to start walking. 

And it was non-stop.  By 12:30 PM we had 10 cars but we took a break as I had ordered Johnny V's Family Meal Deal and that's when the delivery driver arrived.  We ate lunch on the porch and watched the neighbors look at our yard and start to set-up shop.  Once we got back to work we filled our yard in no time at all.

I went inside to catch my breath and contacted My-Sugar-Na, who is unavailable to help this weekend, and said that I was coming for a visit.  Before I had a chance to get up, three cars had left and those spots had been replaced before I had a chance to react.  (Side note, I have been critical of both My-Sugar-Na's and my own children for their lack of help with this year's Fair.  But I think just the non-stop nature of Orchard St. yesterday kept them motivated.  All four of them did a bang-up job, and with one exception, they did not make me want to jam a waving flag through the ears.  This weekend has become very disjointed, and they generally have risen to the challenge).

(Another side note, the kids help allowed me to get on-line and order a week's worth of groceries from Peapod.  Their prices are higher than Pick-N-Save, but like a grocery store they have specials that bring down the prices many of the items on my list.  I bought everything except milk - which we can get from Speedway or Walgreens - and bread which is always cheap at the used bread store two blocks down.  After reviewing my list and reviewing the charges - including the delivery and fuel surcharge but less the new shopper discount, I figure it only cost me about $10 to $15 more.  But between parking cars all week and the other things going on, it is actually the best $15 that I've spent in a long time).

After returning around 5:00 PM, the kids told me that they had replaced six more cars (in three hours!)  A quick walk-through of our yard showed that all the vehicles were cars (no SUVs or minivans in the bunch).  This allowed for significant parking efficiencies - shorthand for "Geez, lets cram some more cars in here!"  At one point, I had 15 cars... two above the previous considered capacity.  About that time, Knobbleknees and Mr. Uncie came back and showed us an indian-style dress that they had purchased (far more exciting than a chamois, but not quite to the level of bed linens).  I thought it was a little expensive, bit Knobbleknees mentioned that it was 2-1/2 times more expensive at the Woodfield Mall, so she couldn't resist.  Fair nuff.

Around 7:00 PM, a couple of cars had left, so I asked my kids to hang back and fill the spaces as I took My-Sugar-Na's daughter for a visit.  When I got back a couple of hours later, my kids said that they filled up again really quick. 

For the day, a new James Family record of 30 revenue cars were parked... the third record of this Fair.  With one more glorious day to go, we have parked 110 cars.  As I mentioned last week, I think the slower economy has been a boon to the Fair, and wonderful mild and less humid air on six of those days has taken away an excuse for some people.  In my first entry last week, I mentioned that I couldn't get excited about parking cars last year.  I couldn't have been more wrong.  The neighborhood just isn't going to look the same tomorrow.  (Side note to KBK Pack Fan... one more day of car parking stories, then I can talk about stuff that more poeple than I care about... like the brewing war between Russia and Georgia).

BBear (who has told me she LOVES the blog... thank you very much, the check is in the mail [she will get a cut of my pay for this blog.]) asked in a comment "I have to ask...  Where did the kids get the nicknames from?"

Good question, BBear, and thanks for writing.

When I started this blog, my wife was adament that I not reveal her name.  In my first entries, she was (Sponsor's Name Here)'s Official Wife, an homage to ESPN's Tuesday Morning Quarterback, and how he refers to his wife and kids (see the last paragraph).  After the first few entries, she asked for a new name.  Blammo... My-Sugar-Na.  I decided then that the kids and stepkids would not be outed, but they would get the "Official" treatment.

(Sponsor's Name Here)'s Official Son Mitten - The winter when he was two, I made up the following song about him... "He's a man who likes mittens / and a man who likes kittens / that's why they call him Mitten James."  The nickname stuck.  I am trying to get his Rufus King HS baseball teammates to call him Mitten, too, but that hasn't quite caught on.  Yet.

(Sponsor's Name Here)'s Official Daughter Gooey - When she was a teeny-tiny baby, she had a blocked tear duct and the ickky green pus oozed down her face, especially when she was sleeping.  She would wake up and her eye would be crusted shut, but her face (the side she had been sleeping on) was laying in a puddle of goo.  The dot-connection from there is pretty easy.

(Sponsor's Name Here)'s Official Stepdaughter Sloppy - Two girls the same age... you can't have a Gooey without a Sloppy now, can you? (She is sometimes called by the Greek versino, Sloppodopolous.)

(Sponsor's Name Here)'s Official Stepson Grizzly - For the first few months of my relationship with the women who would eventually become My-Sugar-Na, I couldn't come up with a good nickname for him.  Out of the clear blue, I came up with the ditty... "Little ___ey Bear / Prancing 'round the house / In his underwear / Quiet as a mouse."  Talk about hating his nickname, Little ___ey Bear stuck.  However as he became a teenager, he asked that if he had to have a nickname, could it not sound so childish.  Therefore, Little ___ey Bear became Big ____ Grizzly.  That has been shortened to Grizzly (I call it using Creative License) for the blog.

Really, this isn't about to be the Knobbleknees blog.  As a matter of fact, I am kind of tired of referencing her in every blog entry.  She's a treehugger, for cryin' out loud.  But she keeps hanging around.  (Backstory:  My brother, Mr. Uncie fell into internet love with Knobbleknees, who was born and brewed on Long Island.  After the requisite 27 minute courtship, they got married.  This past winter, they moved to a western-Chicago suburb.)

This is actually a kinda-good story.  Recently, after a 21st century spawning ritual, she was diognosed as being saddled with twins.  Although she named them differently on her blog (and hasn't fixed it, yet) the family has named them Red Fish and Blue Fish.  However, in a subsequent sonogram, the tech found little Silverfish hiding in the background.  The fear is that Silverfish is too behind in development, and may just end up being absorbed into her body.

Until then, however, I am pulling for Silverfish.  I've even come up with my own Cheer....

Rah rah ree - Kick 'em in the knee

Rah rah rass - Kick 'em in the other knee

Goooooooo Silverfish!

Some time in 2007, (Sponsor's Name Here)'s Official Daughter, Gooey, and (Sponsor's Name Here)'s Official Stepdaughter, Sloppy, concocted Cheer Day.  Conveniently held in conjunction with Sloppy's birthday party, Cheer Day was to be a day when the two girls thrilled us with their repartee of cheers and dances.  However, Gooey had broken her arm in the week leading up to Cheer Day, and on the big day wasn't feeling well.  In other words, the First Annual Cheer Day fizzled.

About two days after the first Cheer Day, the girls started planning the Second Annual Cheer Day... which ended up being today (Saturday 6-7).  Amazingly coincidentally, today was Sloppy's birthday, so a grand gala celebration was in order.  I honestly have to admire the two girls dedication.  Every conversation out of their mouth centered around Cheer Day... even the conversations at Halloween, Christmas, etc.  They planned a menu, a schedule, games and - of course - the cheers.

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Below, please relive Cheer Day with us in pictures.  First up is the preparation of the house, with Knobbleknees and Gooey getting the fruit platter ready, and (Sponsor's Name Here)'s Official Stepson, Grizzly showing off his sporty summer doo.

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Next up is Grandma, who apparently really loves the late Spunky the Weather Dog's owner.  That red blob on the radar is heading our way... better get Cheer Day started!

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You can already see the sky turning Ominously Dark (it'll cost Crayola a pretty penny to use that color name).  Undaunted, the ladies continue their routine.  It is very clear that they did a lot of practice.

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A standing room only crowd is in attendance.  Out of the range of the camera is Knobbleknees, who is dancing like a groupie at a rock concert.

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The last cheer of the afternoon included the assistant from the audience.  This time, sorta-sister Jendy Wo filled that role.

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Some of the family members took shelter from the Tornado Warning in the basement.  When not taking the photos, (Sponsor's Name Here) was standing on the front porch, watching the storm pass.

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Some families, when riding out the storm in the basement, do arts and crafts to pass the time.  Or pray.  But not the James family.  Below is (Sponsor's Name Here)'s Official Son, Mitten and Mr. Uncie playing a foosball match against Knobbleknees and My-Sugar-Na.

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Finally, since it WAS Sloppy's birthday, everybody gathered up the gumption to go back upstairs, sing Happy Birthday to The Sloppy One, and partake in the Roundy's Birthday Bounty (aka a cake and ice cream from Pick N Save).

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All in all, it was a great day... one of those days that you look back on in 25 years, and remember how great it is to have a big family.  With that said, there is a chance that the Third Annual Cheer Day in 2009 might be expanded.  If my schedule is accurate, we will be selling out the State Fair Grandstand by 2014, Miller Park by 2018, and world domination by 2027.

New York City was fun (but I wouldn't want to live there!)  I did the chronological last week, so instead I will pick some topics which I find interesting (or from which I have interesting photos.  We took about 300 pictures, and printed about 185. Consider yourself lucky you only are seeing this small sampling).  Again, I apologize if you don't care, but at this point my hit-o-meter has regestered your visit, and I thank you.

The reason it took me an extra week to post this was because I had to get the photos back from the Fotomat.  (Side note to Mark the Editor; it's your own fault for showing me how to upload photos.)

The Gray Line Bus Tours - If you ever go to NYC as a tourist, this tour is a must.  As the website says, for $45 you get a 48 hour ticket on four different routes, all are hop-on-hop-off (except the Night Loop).  Busses run about 10 minutes apart, and we took advantage of this to use it as our personal taxi.

There is a catch, however.  The routes aren't precise.  Five minutes into our first bus, the tour guide said that the maps aren't detailed well, so if you get off at a stop, it would be wise to go back to that stop to get back on the bus.  The brochure says where the stops are (for example, "Battery Park", or the "South Street Seaport").  But unless you actually see the Gray Line Bus Stop sign, you have absolutely no clue of how to find a bus.

How do I know this?

My-Sugar-Na and I got off the bus at the World Trade Center site (more on that later).  After that we went to the McDonalds on Broadway (more on that later), then walked down to Wall Street and to the New York Stock Exchange (more on that later).  When we looked at where we were, we were a lot closer to Battery Park than where the bus dropped us off, so we decided to walk to Battery Park.  We got to where it looked like the bus route went, but we couldn't find a stop.  We took a brief rest to look at the map, and one of the busses drove right past us.  I said "follow that bus", and we walked all the way to the Seaport before we finally found a stop.  Thankfully there was a practically empty bus waiting there.  If you take the tour, GO BACK TO THE STOP WHERE YOU GOT OFF OF THE BUS.  You'll thank me later.

We took that bus back to the beginning (near Times Square) and they announced that the Night Tour bus (more on that later) was waiting there.  We figured that if nothing else, we would use it as two hours to catch our breath and relax after what seemed like a four mile walk. 

Now for the highlights of the various Tour stops...

Lombardi's Pizza - This place prides itself on being the first pizza restaurant in the USA.  I found out about this place while watching a Travel Channel show on the best pizzas in America.  I'll let you learn the history, but they're famous for their pizzas being made in a coal-fired oven that wouldn't be allowed now, but Lombardi's is grandfathered.  A personal review... I was disappointed at the lack of toppings.  Their standard pizza is cheese and sauce, and for $5 we added sweet sausage and onions.  It tasted good, but it wasn't a deep flavor, and it certainly wasn't "cheesy".  Best tasting was the crust.  Can't describe it, but it had a bitter something about it that was addictive.

When I told the waitress that I saw about Lombardi's on TV and wanted to take a picture of the oven, she actually walked me into the kitchen and took the picture.  The whole experience was great, and considering it was about four hours after landing at LaGuardia, it was a great way to kick off the trip.

World Trade Center site -  The bus let us off about two blocks from the site.  Dummy me, however, My-Sugar-Na and I took off walking without actually figuring out where the viewing platform was.  We basically walked around the area, which wouldn't have been too bad, except for the chain link fence covered in canvas.  They are working on the memorial and were doing blasting, so the street view isn't much.  By the time we walked back around and figured out where the viewing platform was (suggested donation, $10) we decided that we had spent enough time there and it was onto the next adventure.

Manhattan McDonalds - Actually, I get my best dining ideas from TV.  I can't remember what show it was on which station, but it was about the Top 10 Fast Food locations in the world.  This McDonalds was shown to be a "luxury" location, with a doorman, a piano player, the "Orchid Room", etc.  It showed a yuppie-ish couple on a date, eating like it was the Ritz.  When we got there at 5:00 PM, there was no doorman and no piano player (but the grand piano was there).  We went upstairs, and were horrified that every table was dirty and there was litter on the floor.  There was nobody around to clean anything.  We went back downstairs, bought some drinks and found a table by the door.  Actually, we shared the table with a rude lady who (when somebody came to empty the garbage cans) started screeching about how he should wait until she left because it smelled (she was right, but she acted like a New Yorker).  We got out of there, pronto-ly.  (It took a lot of work - both at the McDonalds and with a photo-editor - to find to decent pics.  Trust me.  I actually cleaned off that table with the flower on it.)

NYSE/Wall Street -  Sometimes you just don't know your mate.  In six months planning this trip, I didn't realize how interested My-Sugar-Na was in seeing the financial district until we were about three blocks away.  Other than walking past buildings and snapping photos, there wasn't much to report, except...

We walked past two policemen in full riot gear right outside the New York Stock Exchange.  We didn't ask what they were doing, but at 5:30 on a Thursday night, there was nothing going on besides businesspeople bustling about.  I do know that the Fat Al Sharpton had been arrested at a rally the prior day, but there were no rallies in sight, and if there were, these two policemen weren't enough manpower to do anything anyhow.

The Gray Line Night Tour - I think this tour was the best.  The sights were breathtaking...

We did other things while in New York.

Statue of Liberty/Ellis Island - I had mentioned as a comment to my blog post from before I left that the Friday we were there, the weather was cold, damp, raw, and not meant for fish nor bird... or especially tourists.  The noreaster (and I don't know if it was an official noreaster, but all that was missing was three degrees and Christmas decorations and it would have been the latest Snowstorm of Doom.) had it pouring all day, and it was so cold that it chilled us to the bone.  Unfortunatley, in all of the photos we took, I couldn't find one that showed just how horrible the weather was.  The photo to the right of the statue is of Manhattan from the statue observation deck.  My sorta-sister, Jendy Wo, said "watch it going around the corner, it is like being on a freeway".  She was right.  The wind was hitting me so hard that My-Sugar-Na braced me as I leaned on a piller just to steady myself enough to take a picture. 

As for Ellis Island, my parents and the rest of the group had planned to go, but the original plan was for My-Sugar-Na and I to continue on our 48-hour bus tour.  By the time we got done with the statue tour, we audibled to Ellis Island because it was indoors.  I found that to be the more interesting of the two, because they did a great job of walking you from room to room, driving home just what the immigrants went through.  The hall in the photo below is empty now, but there were numerous photos there that showed how hundreds and hundreds of people - speaking all sorts of languages - were herded through gates and paths every day.

The ferry to and from the islands - This may mean nothing to nobody, but it was zany to me and my wife.  We didn't notice it at first, but when we got off the ferry, we turned around and saw it was the John James Audubon.  Why is that important?  Three years earlier when the USBC Tournament was in Baton Rouge, LA, we drove to New Orleans (pre-Katrina) and took a Mississippi River lunch cruise on - you guessed it - the John James Audubon.  I tried to "Google" the boat to find out how and why it got to New York, but I couldn't find anything.  I can only guess that post-Katrina, tourism is down and the riverboat was sold.  (To you cynics out there in Internetland, it is possible that there could be two riverboats of the same name, but this one still had placards on the sides to help identify Gulf of Mexico crustaceons.)

Gray's Papaya - What?  No photos?  Sorry.  But what a story.  Thursday on the walk from the end of the Night Tour to Penn Station for the trip on the Long Island Railroad back to Central Islip, we accidentally walked past this hot dog place.  I had seen this featured on - you guessed it again - TV, on PBS's The Hot Dog Program.  One bite of the Recession Special (two dogs and a 12 oz. papaya juice for $3.50) and I was hooked.  How hooked?  Fri