Beaching, a different way

   It's been a while since I posted on this blog of mine.  A lot has changed during my time away from blogging.

We are still making our trips to our favorite beach locations, but doing it differently.  With my type 2 diabetes, kidney disease,  and bladder cancer, there are  no more frozen margaritas,  no more beer, no more any of that stuff.  Now it's just water, with Crystal Light packet flavorings, and unsweetened tea.  The grand girls call it water tea!

We still have one son or the other join us on these trips, but we now have two granddaughters under the age of 5 joining us.  We now pack lots of fruit, and pouch drinks to keep them hydrated. 

These little critters have helped unload the car, picked up their stuff around the condo, and have even acquired a taste for crab legs and shrimp!

Our stays at the waters edge are shorter, but so much more enjoyable. Lots of running from the waves, building sand castles, and stomping them down to nothing.  Occasionally the girls attempt to catch some of the birds.  I'm holding back on sharing  the secret of attracting more!

Its fun to sit back in my chair and see the youthful parents make the same mistakes i made years ago.  So many of the new beach going community do not have a clue about being beach smart, especially on red flag and double red flag days.  They are keeping the shore patrol guy busy on his drive bys on his four wheeler, blowing his whistle on occasion to get their attention.

My thoughts currently, are preoccupied with my upcoming cystocope in June. My last 2 resulted in having 2 surgeries to remove the tumors and also 2 biopsies to see if the cancer has entered the bladder muscle.  So far, all clear.

The spousal unit and I have already started planning additional trips once she steps away from full time employment. 

Hopefully, I'll find more topics to put down here.  One day at a time.....

Bw

My Dad

Everyone has special relationships with their parents and lots of stories to tell regarding their special bonds with each other. My relationship with my father was a bit strange, in that we didn't really have one, at all.  This seems kind of sad, but in many ways it made me stronger and taught me lessons that I have used as a man and as a father to my own children.  For that, I am thankful!

When I was 10 and my brother was 8, we asked for an allowance to have spending money.  Instead, he loaned us his lawnmower, and had us cutting his, my grandparents, and a neighbors yards.  We did not get paid for cutting his, that was the cost for using his mower.  We learned the value of earning a dollar.

When I was thirteen, I asked for a new bicycle.  My dad told me that if I wanted a new bicycle, I would have to spend my own money to buy it.  I learned to work hard and save my money for the things I valued in life.  I saved up, bought that bicycle, a banana seater, and even used it to earn a bicycling merit badge in the Boy Scouts.  From that point on and throughout my adult life I have never asked him or any other individual for a dime.  We did borrow some money from my in laws for a down payment on a house, under a signature loan that was paid in full at the end of the terms of the loan.

There was never any time for family vacations.  With farming, there was never enough hours in the day to tend to the crops.  We only took one family vacation during that time, but Mom did her best to entertain us with short excursions as time and money would allow. By the time my Dad had changed occupations, the three of us kids were already out of the house.

When the gas line pipe blew out at the reservoir, LaNelle was pregnant with our first born,  It was around 2 am, in a panic, I called my dad, expressing concern about the welfare of my wife and unborn child.  I was cool, calm, and collected, until he answered the phone, and I just fell apart with emotions.  He very calmly asked me if I was breathing, and I replied yes.  He then said, well you'll also be breathing at 8 am, call back then, and hung up.  That taught me to always remain calm, think things out, and to never call him after hours unless i was near death.  As luck would have it, over 33 years later, I  never had to make another call like that to him again.

My Dad was never there for me during athletic events.  He was too busy working to support a family of five.  Anything else would have to come later.  I used his work ethic to my advantage.  I learned to work hard and manage my time, and make a good living so that I could be there for my two boys through their teenage years.  I coached T-ball, buddy ball, and soccer.  I hated every minute of coaching, knowing there was someone else much more capable out there, much better at it than me.  But those guys were far and few to find.  Two friends of mine called it being "just a dad". In spite of all the stress that came with being a coach, I was there for my boys, and no one can ever take that away from me!  Later I became the treasurer for the band boosters, raising money to fund the the band.  I was also the manager for select soccer team, making sure that all the logistics were taken care of so the coach could coach, and the boys could play! 

After retirement, my Dad took up his favorite past time, gardening.  He got his green thumb from his mom.  He cared so much for his home town so much that he ran for Mayor and served two full terms.  The towns legal representative asked him if he realized that he had applied and gotten grant money for the town practically every year he was in office.  My Dad replied, I was just doing my job.

During the winter months, when gardening tapered off, he would make his "social security stew".  This was his recipe for Brunswick stew that he would make, using a lot of ingredients out of his garden.  He would then distribute it to the ladies in town that were on social security.  you either got a pint or a quart.  It is a guarded secret that he took to his grave on what determined who got what!

Unknown to the citizens of his town, he used part of his salary to complete public works projects and support the police department.  Dad, thank you for your service.

My parents were the go to citizens for recycling aluminum cans. Towns people would bring them by, they would save them up, cash the in, and spend the money on their travels.

So while I didn't get the traditional kind of support from my Dad that you might expect, I did learn some valuable lessons from him that I have tried to pass on to my two boys.  Hopefully they too will appreciate those lessons and pass them on to their children.

Tomorrow, we lay my Dad to rest, with a military graveside service.  Dad, thank you for your service!  Time to now rest!

Old School, New School

My two boys continually remind me that they live 2+ and 4+ hours away from our Condo in that town up north, and it is just not practical for them to get in their cars and drive over for the day or an overnight stay, but we do get an occasional visit. Granted, both of their spousal units are nurses, and scheduling can be a challenge, but their old man ain't getting any younger.

They want hardships, I'll give them hardships:

1.  They have heated car seats.  We were lucky to have seats without a hole in them.

2. They have google maps.  We used paper maps that we picked up at all the rest stops as we traveled around!

3.  They have electric windows.  We had the self crank, which I don't think either have ever had to use.

4. They have satellite radio, apple play, android pay, pandora.  We had an am/fm radio!

5.  They have tires that tell them their psi, and give a warning when one is under inflated.  We had to walk around, kick the tires, and manually check the psi!

6.  They have in car mounted tv's.  We had a dang etch-a-sketch!

7. They have autopilot, if they pay for it.  All we had was on occasional back seat driver!

8.  They have their choice of fast food restaurants at any exit.  We had pack a picnic and stop at the rest areas.

9. They have self diagnostic plug in ports to trouble shoot maintenance issues.  We had Uncle Joe, the shade tree mechanic!

10.  They have sensors that tell them how many miles are left on a tank of gas.  We were lucky if the gas gauge even worked!

11.  They have hands fee cell phone calling.  We be like,cell phone??????

12.  They have paypal and venmo.  We had a wallet full of cash!

13.  They have their electronic video games for travel entertainment.  We had spot the items on the side of the road bingo!

14.  They have YELP to help them decide where to go, what to eat.  We be like, leftovers, again???

15.  They have over the top safety measures and the latest in car seat design.  We rode in the back bed of a pickup truck!

16.  They have the latest in tire rims, with spinners and low profile tires.  We were lucky to have four tires that match!

17.  They have gasoline prices that drain the pocket book.  We had $.50 per gallon, HA!

18.  They sell their personal stuff on social media.  We collected coke bottles and returned them for the deposit money and recycled aluminum cans for money.

19. They go to the grocery store and pick up a couple of pounds of shrimp, steamed.  We had to first thaw out the five pound frozen brick!

20.  They have chicken tenders and boneless wings.  We had the KFC bucket, then the convenience store fried chicken and jojo potatoes!

So yeah, they have it hard, real hard.  They don't even have any kids to deal with, but one is in the oven!  This list of 20 can grow a whole lot longer.  I didn't even get to the part about walking 4 miles in the snow , backwards, just to get to the bus stop! 

Viva Las Vegas!

Well, this whole trip got started with the spousal unit having a companion ticket with Delta, and Aerosmith is in residence, so why not?!!! Early Christmas present to us!

Knowing how the airline business works, and fails, I knew to be prepared for plan B.  The spousal unit travels by plane a lot, and she has enough stories to write a book.  I carried my medicines and my CPAP machine in my bookbag, two things that keep me alive and sane!

Check in at the airport was uneventful, except for the older couple at the counter.  They were asked to put their luggage on the scales. The old guy struggled to get the first bag up the required 12 inches to reach the scales.  It was obvious that he didn't use curb check in, so how on the hell did he get the bags out of his car???

Our departure was scheduled at 4:00, so we would be arriving in Las Vegas, via Delta, a bit late.  We boarded the plane, comfort class, a gift from the spousal unit, nice!  All loaded, plane backs up, ready to go! Nope!

The pilot got us almost to the runway, when all of a sudden we came to a complete stop.  There we sat.  Pilot tells us a circuit breaker has tripped, and they cannot get it to reset.  It powers several sensors that tell the pilot that everything is green.  No green, no flight.  We go back to the gate, deplane,  and wait for the repair.  They had to replace the circuit breaker,  which had gone bad.  Three hours later, we were finally in the air. While we were still in the terminal,  the Delta people were desperately trying to get ahead of the game by booking alternate flights for as many passengers as they could, full plane, and nope, we were not at the top of the list.

I had brought several snacks for the flights, but they were gone, eaten during that 3 hour delay.  Comfort class gets you early boarding, a plusher seat, and complementary beer and wine. Yes!

During the flight to Atlanta, the stewardess noticed that lots of flights had been delayed and were still in Atlanta.  The pilot made up some time, air time was 24 minutes!  Maybe, just maybe, we would make it to Vegas tonight! Once we landed, the spousal unit checked with Delta on their smartass app.  We had been rebooked on a later flight, but one bag was still in Jackson, and after a 3 hour delay, WTH??? Then, she noticed that we had first class seating, oh yeah baby!!!

We exited the plane on terminal B and headed to terminal A.  We chose to go straight to the gate, passing up a food stop, first class, after all!  They had just announced final boarding, we had made it to the gate, just in time.  No boarding ticket, except for the Delta smartass app had ours in it.  Gate attendant scanned it and printed out our seat assignments, handed them to us and sent us through!

The flight to Las Vegas is four hours.  Flight notes said snack and beverage only.  It was now 9 pm Atlanta time.  Remember those snacks in the Jackson airport?  And now, more of the same! Plus several beers and margaritas and movies!

We arrive at the Las Vegas airport, thankful for an uneventful flight. The pilot stops the plane short of the terminal.  All the gates are occupied.   At one gate, the plane will not crank for push back. At another gate, the jetway will not pull away from the plane.  We sat on the taxi way for 45 minutes until the Maytag repair guy could get into motion.  Pilot was not happy, we were just tired and ready for a cab ride!

As expected, only one bag made it to Las Vegas! Thankfully the one that did make it belonged to the spousal unit, so we would be able to look presentable at her conference at 8a.m.  We are staying at the Red Rock Casino,  taxi driver, says it's a bit of a ride out there.  Taxi fare with tip, $75! I asked, he said Uber is actually higher!

Guessing our Aerosmith concert is gonna have a $150 round trip taxi ride.  This concert better not disappoint!

Checked into the hotel, 15th floor, and the room is 400 yards down the hallway.  Minibar is broken.  I have not had any caffeine since 11 a.m. Jackson time.  It is now 4 a.m. Jackson time, 2 a.m Vegas time and our heads are just now hitting the pillow. Second bag should arrive around 10.

Stay tuned......

Cutting The Cord

A couple of weeks ago, a friend of mine, Becky, and her husband Charlie finally cut the cable tv cord.  I followed her FB posts from their research all the way to their trip to the UPS store to ship all their Uverse bear back to the  mother ship.

Along the way, I started doing my own research.  We have 5 cable boxes.  We have a bunch of house phones we never answer.  The voice mail box is full of robocall messages.  Phone, cable, and Internet are costing us right at $300!  From Becky's research, ditch all of that, buy some streaming devices on the cheap, and your Internet and entertainment costs drop to around $80.  DANG!

Becky and Charlie had specific needs, so they ended up with the Roku streaming box, and two service provides. The Hallmark Channel was at the top of her list of things she could not do without, along with every mutation of ESPN, including the SEC network!  They tried the Amazon Fire stick for a bit, but there was too much buffering to suit their tastes.

We have several older generations of the Apple TV box, so I set my course to move to streaming services available on them.  After several hours of scratching my head, I discovered that you cannot add additional services to the older Apple TV boxes.  You have to upgrade to the 4th power of Apple!  I picked up the older boxes off of Ebay.  The 4th generation box is $149!  Damn! That's per unit!  Since the spousal unit has I-phones and I-pads, it made sense to bite the bullet and order it.  The box arrived on Friday morning.  Hot digity!  Plug and play, right?????

After a thorough review of the streaming services, I picked HULU live.  Hulu has everything, including all the ESPN's, but doesn't have the Hallmark Channel.  The Philo service has Hallmark, but none of the ESPN's and mutations.  The ESPN's can be gotten on the UTUBE tv service.  The only thing not on HULU, for us, was PBS and the Weather Channel.  The Weather Channel is only available through established cable networks.  PBS is accessible through the Apple TV box.

I got the Apple TV box, to the 4th power, all hooked up.  I turn it on.  I now need an Apple ID.  What the heck???  Off to my Chromebook I go!  Apple ID in hand, now lets get to streaming!  I went to add additional services to the Apple TV box, but now, I need an I-tunes account!  What the hell????  Are you seeing the pattern?  Apple sells you a box, you have to get the new box for added features.  To get to an I-tunes account, you have to have an Apple device! (but not the Apple TV box!) .  Yep another Apple brick wall to climb over or go around!

Fortunately, the spousal unit has an I-tunes account.  Unfortunately, you cannot access I-tunes from a Chromebook.  The spousal unit's ride home that day was the longest ever!  Once she was home, and once she figured out her password, we were off and running!  Now we just have to figure out all this new technology we have brought into our household!

With the Apple TV box costing $149, I decided to add additional devices, but cheaper.  The Roku express was advertised online for $29.  I decided to buy them online, and pick them up same day once I got my email from Walleyworld saying come and get them.  All afternoon I wait.  At 6:30, bingo!  Email from Walleywold:  order has been cancelled, none of the items in stock at my store.  Walley, you are killing me....... Needless to say, I headed over to Amazon.  Same item, same price.  To be delivered this Wednesday!  The Roku express will be added to the bedroom tv.  If we like it, we will buy another to take with us on our travels.  Margarita Machine and Roku stick road ready!

I posted some of this to my FB account during the day.  My young buck friend Kevin, yells "you old people!  I haven't used cable in over 10 years!"  Then he has the audacity to further add that he just ordered two new tv's with Roku built in, AND he only will have ONE remote control to deal with.  I have young people!

Bluff City Bloggers

Social Media is an entertainment all into itself.  I'm not much into Twitter, but I do spend a bit of time on Facebook and Instagram.  My blog posts are shared on Facebook, and that is how most of you get to this page.

Instagram was acquired by Facebook a good time back.  You may have seen where you can set your Instagram posts to go to Facebook automatically.  I utilize this feature quite a bit.  For me, Instagram is great for posting pictures.  You can communicate thru it, but I mostly use FB Messenger. 

My Instagram following has picked up a bit, but I have no clue how these folks find me, since I only post a few pictures here and there.  One of the interesting things about Instagram, is the number of people posting to their "story".

 Several gals from Memphis that are bloggers also utilize Instagram for reaching out to their followers.''  These girls have huge Instagram followings.  They post pictures, with commentary, links to their blog posts, and also daily updates to their "stories".  Some of these girl's followings are so big, that retailers send them free merchandise for the girls to use and hopefully make a blog post about the items, or include the items in their story line.  One girl has weekly give aways from vendors in the Memphis area.

The Instagram stories are hilarious!  Some are like mini soap operas, "a day in the life" of each blogger.  One girl doesn't wear makeup in her posts, while others have it caked on, because they go nowhere without it.

One blogger in particular, I call "the Queen of Hearts", from Alice in Wonderland.  She lives like a Queen, in her castle, with marble floors, a pool and basketball court out back, a closet full of shoes, and a bathroom bigger than most bedrooms.  She has her court of followers that she invites over for "Bachelorette" viewings.  They even have his and her t-shirts that they wear.  Some days its just posts about her two dogs and how they have the run of the house.  There are lots of posts including her Momma and Daddy, and the trips they take together in the family plane.  Thankfully, her husband comes from money.

These Bluff City Bloggers have significant influence in the Memphis area.  Some of their posts include following them to open houses for new restaurants and boutique hotels that are beginning to open in downtown Memphis.  For the retailers, this becomes relatively cheap advertising, as all of the bloggers that attend, share their experiences in their blog posts and their Instagram updates.

I can't wait to read and view today's posts!

The Poster!

A new season of my Spousal Unit's favorite baseball team is upon us once again.  We Rebels came up one game short of making it to Super Regionals last year, unlike my Dawgs that made it all the way to Omaha.

We were at a  basketball game a few weeks back, and the baseball team was there, signing autographs to a team poster.  After what seems forever in line, we finally got two posters with all the signatures of the players and the head coach.

Then a week before opening weekend a new poster was released that would be available on the opening season first game on Friday night.  Game time was set at 4:30.  Only problem, the spousal unit would not get to Oxford in time to get her "free poster".

She was just in love with this poster!  What to do, what to do......

I, being the supportive husband that I am, volunteered to go on Thursday, do some projects at the condo, and be there in time for the free poster!  Thursday was Valentine's day.  But, hey, I man has to do, what he has gotta do to keep his bride happy!

Otis and I made the trip.  I dropped him off, and decided to go by the Pavilion, to get the Rebel Reward points.  I stockpile the prizes and give them to my daughter-in-law who is a UMMC nursing graduate.  And since it was Valentine's Day, no single dude is stupid enough to go out to a restaurant in this town without a date on this day!  Steak & Shake it was.  Not ideal, since its all precooked and assembled while you wait.  

Next day, I make it to the stadium, called Swayze, a good bit before it started.  I walk through the main gate, and no POSTERS!  What?  Wait a minute!  That spousal unit of mine will be devastated!  Turns out they will be ready for Saturday's game.  Whew!  At least she will be here to get hers at the field.

Saturday, we arrive at the game a little late, because somebody decides to sleep in, game time 12:00.  I learned long ago to never wake her lioness if I want to keep all of my body parts intact!   We walk up to the table, and some dude got the last two posters on the table, with no others in sight, and a line of people behind us.  One of the diamond girls rushes off to retrieve more, if they had any.  That wait seemed like forever!  Finally, posters in hand!  Made it to our seats just in time for the first pitch.

We also had tickets for the men's basketball game, at 2:30.  We left the baseball game after the fourth inning, with her team way behind.  Naturally, there was only one shuttle line, for the parking lots only, none for the basketball game.  You would think after all these years, they would figure this out!  The line only had two shuttles working it, as the others were working the basketball game.  We ended up in the parking lot nearest the Pavilion and walked the rest of the way.  At the side entrance that we took, they would not allow the spousal unit to bring her baseball posters into the Pavilion, they were too BIG!  Oh shit!

After a few minutes of discussion, they agreed to hold them for her until the end of the game.  She guessed that would have to do.....  We stopped and got drinks and a large corndog, then found a spot to sit and eat.  The longer she ate that corndog, the more she stewed.  Then, she noticed that at the front entrance of the Pavilion, they were giving away basketball POSTERS, the same size as her baseball posters!  Honey, they done lit a fire under that woman!  I looked up, she was gone!

The basketball game was in progress, and no spousal unit!  I'm thinking restroom, souvenir shop, more food???  She finally walked up, with you guessed it, all four of her posters!  She had visited every level of security supervisor in the building, even grabbed a highway patrolman and a security guard friend as backup!  She was not letting those posters get away or leave her sight!  I had even FB messaged our friend that is in charge of the Pavilion to be on the lookout for one hot short blonde woman!

The posters made it to the condo, and one of them made it to a frame and is on the wall!

And all of this for a free poster! 

NOLA, it's been a while

A few years back, I swore not to come back whole the Mayor started taking down some of the history that makes this space so special to me.  Well, he was voted out of office, but the statues are still down.  But, this City has been calling out my name, and it was just time!

The invitation has always been open, so mancub and his bride decided to join us.  We try to stay at the Wyndham Avenue Plaza, which is on St. Charles, on the edge of the garden district.  We love the location, and we leave the car behind and hit the street car lines to go and discover the day.

We have to get our Acme Oyster house fix, and our favorite is the one in Metairie.  Mostly locals eating there, and the staff is so much more friendly than the ones in the Quarter.  We then made a stop at the Square for the open air Cafe De Monde beignets.  The powdered sugar flies much more better outside.  A little trick, enter from the back side to avoid the wait line for a table.  You get to the tables on that side a whole lot quicker. And, the lines are a whole lot shorter!

For the streetcars, the all day pass for $3 is the way to go.  The spousal unit discovered that you can use the RTA mobile app and not have to keep up with a paper ticket.  The only downside is the additional drain on your phone battery.  An external backup battery will fix that.

This was the mancub & his spousal units first visit to NOLA.  We decided to give them slices of the city.  Our first stop of the day was for brunch at Red Gravy.  A meatball as a side item is a must!  This place is just off Canal, on Camp St.

Time for the day visit to Jackson Square.  A pleasant surprise was that the Canal Street street car now continues on along the Mossissippi River to the French Market.  The line down past the Riverwalk has been discontinued.   We got off at the French Market and made our way back to the Square.   I always wonder how they make a living selling that stuff.

The Square was full of activity compared to the night before.  Artisans were everywhere,  and the Beignet line was full of tourists, waiting on the front side.

We took a carriage ride tour for some history.  It included a tour of the cemetery in the Quarter. The tour guide made the ride even more interesting with his view of his city.

For a late lunch, we made it back to Central Grocery to share a whole mufaletta.  I swear I'm looking at the same dust on the shelves from our last visit.  We walked over to the river to enjoy sandwich, and watch the river flow by.  We were entertained by a street musician playing the blues.  He was from Costa Rico.  He was in heaven, playing his music in this city.

The mancub picked up a box of pralines at Aunt Sally's.   You can sample all of their goods before making your purchase.  We decided to ride the St. Charles line to the end and back, with a quick stop at the Avenue Plaza to drop off purchases.  That stop ended up being a 2 hour nap!

The streetcar line ride through the garden district later at night tends to have more locals on it.  We have never met someone who was not friendly, and they always offer your suggestions on places to see, and they help the tourists in getting back on track when they have lost their way.

We stopped at Superior Seafood for dinner.  The large frozen Rose hit the spot!  Everyone was feeling the spirit by the time we were seated, and the food was wonderful!

Back on the street car, we headed back to the Quarter.  A birthday girl and her party got on.  We sang HBD to her, and I offered to do a stripper pole if she would go first! I love joining in with others celebrating a birthday in NOLA.  Unfortunately, the birthday girl and her party exited the car for another adventure before we reached Bourbon Street.  The guy behind us was from Iowa, and he just loved hearing the spousal unit talk southern.  It didn't take much prodding to turn it up a notch!

Bourbon Street is currently under construction.   They are replacing the sewer lines.  They are digging up the street a block at a time.  This nor anything else will deter the partying crowd.  We're accustomed to the attraction of the "big ash beer". The latest trend is to buy your colored drink in a plastic fish bowl and have it hanging from your neck!

We finished off our walk down sin row with a stop at Pat O's for a hurricane experience for the two Morgans.  The trip back to the condo included yet another life experience.   A drug influenced streetcar rider was escorted off after being confronted by the driver.  The dude had an open bleed, sorry, no can ride!

Trip home included a stop at Manny Randazzos for a king cake, or four!  Mardi Gras season is just around to corner.  We will be back!

Another Tailgating Season in the Books

Well, the tailgating season in The Town Up North is officially over for fall 2018!  It seems like it just got started yesterday!  We went from Shorts and T-shirts overnight.    All the gear is being cleaned up and stored for next year.  Over the next several months I'll be on the lookout for some more cool tailgating items for our crew.

Not too many mishaps for our crew this year.  One ice chest disappeared, and our cooler got cleaned out during the Egg Bowl.  We always looked forward for some unsuspecting soul to round the corner and hit the magical bump in the curve that ends up dumping out the contents of your cooler, exposing the beer that has to be poured out.  There were lots of memorable "beer busts", most of which involved a woman!  The coeds continue to surprise with the range of outfits that expose more and more skin!

This year we got more of our tailgate team members involved in the setup and take down of tailgate site.  The early kickoff time of 11:00 made this a challenge for those driving up the morning of the game, and having traffic through the Grove closed three hours before the game.

With Alabama on campus, led by their throwing Samoan, and TSUN and their Hawaiian QB, the decorating theme for that weekend was easy.  Our Chef Kyle and his wife Casie showed up with three tubs of Hawaiian decorations, let the good times begin.  Kyle even cooked up skewers of pineapple and Spam, which was actually quite tasty.  Pictures from that weekend qualified us for Tailgate of the day a few weekends later.  Here's the Jumbotron pic!

The school administration tried to do some "out of the box" thinking.  They created a premium tailgate package, 10x20 tent, parking pass, table & chairs, tv, and fully catered for the low price of $17,500!  And, they had quite a few takers!  They also had $1 hot dogs, while they lasted, at the beginning of the 4th quarter!  The new courtesy shuttles were right on for fans without a parking pass.

New items for us this year included a logoed wall panel backdrop placed behind the tables.  The bar height table was added late last year, and it added addition table space for displaying table scape.

I found a Stanley 3 quart steel crock that keeps food farm for 12+ hours.  They worked great this weekend with the brunswick stew I made.  I dropped it off at 9:00 a.m. and the contents were still warm at 10:00 p.m.!

The next nine months will be spent coming up with new food ideas,  finding that next neat tailgating item, and I have bragging rights for the next 12 months, #HAILSTATE!

Its All About the Tailgate

Used to be, back in the day, you would pop open the trunk, pull out a card table and have yourself a picnic before heading to a college football game.  Younger people now look at you, with card table, what's a card table????  And that picnic ain't a bucket of Kentucky Fried Chicken anymore!

First you start off with one tent canopy, then two, then four!  And that card table, its been replaced with new light weight folding tables designed specifically for tailgating.  You have to keep a roll of duct table and a bag of zip ties handy to pull it all together or to make a repair or two.  In the "old days" you paid college kids to reserve your space and to set up the tents and tables.  Now you have companies that set everything up for you, for a price!  These crews spend Friday afternoon and nights setting up your tents, tables, chairs, generator, satellite, and wide screen TV.  You can for a fee, have an ice chest delivered full of your favorite beverages.  Even the food can be delivered, so that you can walk up with only your pom pom and ticket in hand!

Our crew is budget minded.  We pay for the setup of two canopy tents, and three tailgate tables.  On game days with a 3:00 or later kickoff, we will double the covered space with two more canopies.  The early arrivals put out the table cloths, decorate the table, and hang the banners and other items that have been collected over the years.  With the arrival of yet another mascot at the town up north, there is even more collectibles being added to the mix!

I got smarter a few seasons back.  I put luggage tags on all my tents, and chairs.  The tables have names and telephone numbers on them.  We all have the fold up wagons for the mule train back and forth to the parking lot.

The "Grove" is gathering place with electrical connections scattered throughout.  Generators are where there is no outlet.  No grills or appliances of any kind are allowed in the inner circle.  The grilling occurs on the outer asphalt pavement, or across the street.  We are across the street, and are blessed with our resident chef Kyle!

This was Kyle's week to be responsible for set up and clean up.  With Bama coming to town, and both quarterbacks from the Pacific Isles, his choice of a Hawaiian theme was a no brainer.  For the last two weeks the UPS truck was a regular at his door with boxes from Amazon!  He and his wife Casie were all in!  Go big or go home! 

Kyle & Casie

You have to have a palm tree!

Blow it up!

Kyle adding more decor!

Kyle spared no expense!

Sharknado!

You have to feed the Mascots!

that elephant never had a chance!

Table is set, including grilled pineapple with Spam!

Even security got into the act!  Here is our buddy Possum!

And of course it wouldn't be a tailgate in the Grove without a couple of pictures of the ritual sacrifice of a few cases of beer:

Lots of fun was had by all!

During the middle of the day, Kyle looked at me, and asked, "should we do all this every game????  As we were taking it all down, he then asked, "would the set up fee double if we added the two extra tents?"  By the end of the night he and I were totally exhausted, only to be saved by our spousal units.

Next week has an 11:00 kickoff.  No extra tents, or excessive decorating for us!  Is gonna be mimosas and breakfast snacks with one easy trip to the parking lot after the game!

Happy Tailgating errybody!

Tailgating 201

This time of year, the planning begins for the next tailgating season.  These days, each group has a tailgating setup guy that takes care of setting up your tents and tables.  Some groups take it to the next level with generators, TVs, and satellite dishes.  The annual costs can range from $1,000 up!  Ole Miss has taken it to another level, with a tailgating package at $17,500!

Each group has a coordinator that pays the setup guy, takes care of the shopping list and hands out the signup list for members to host a specific game.

Generally, all are welcome to the tailgating scene, just bring a chair, a cooler full of drinks,  and some kind of snack or dish to share.  Fans of the weekend's opponent are always welcomed with a plate of food and a cold drink.

An interesting topic came up at our weekly pool talk gathering.  We began talking about the habits of tailgating that bug the heck out of you.  We had a lot of common issues among us.  One topic in particular came up that had some to be quite vocal.

Occasionally, you come across individuals that come by, every game, stay til game time, eat the food, and raid the coolers for a free beer.  They are friends of a "member", but choose to not participate in the cost.

How do you pick the member to drop the news to them to find another pasture to graze???
1. Paper, rock, scissors?  2. Draw straws? 3.low card draw?

Once the messenger is picked,  how do you deliver the message? 1.face to face? 2. Phone call? 3. Text message? 4.  Email?  5. Just move the tent location? 6. Send them a bill for their share?

It cracked me up to hear the finite details that were being described about the culprits!  I wondered, do they also play bunco together?  Do they do birthday parties together?  Are the related by blood or marriage???

There is never a dull moment at pool talk, at the Markie Mark!

Rules of the Pool, Markie Mark Style

Everybody has pool rules, and they are usually posted on the fence or wall somewhere.  At the Markie Mark we have our own set of rules.  Here are our top 12:

1.  If the water is green, don't look for your toes, you won't find them.  If its too green, start looking for frogs!

2. If you bring snack, be sure to bring enough to share. A pork butt to snack on, include slider buns instead of the full size ones, women and their diets

3. Don't get your man card punched by blowing up a giant sized beach ball for a lady with other women around.  Death sentence

4. In a pool full of cougar mommas. head for deep water, with a float, and your cold beverage.  As they drink, their vision gets blurry, then anybody in trunks are fair game

5. On a warm day, have your flip flops handy.  Not cool to scoot across concrete yelling hot! hot! hot!

6. When the pool sounds like it has a bad case of indigestion, time to add several inches of water

7. Never call the Pool Popo lady a "ball sack" when she asks you your name and unit number.  Citizens arrest!  You better have your unit number and owner name down pat!

8. Never fall asleep on your pool float, you might miss out on Duck Commander dropping by with his duck decoys to record a video.

9. If you're a sugar daddy and you are with your sugar baby, keep your affectionate little butt pats underwater, or back at the house!  You'll be the talk of the pool for weeks!

10.  When the pool is in cocoon mode, don't be letting your babies be splashing and making waves.  Us older peeps need our calm waters!

11. Alcohol and pool floats can be a deadly combination.  We've seen float swallow up babes like a taco!

12. Woman that goes silent, works her way to open water, then returns to her usual spot has just left you a present in the pool.  A warm spot!

Shacking Up, at Her Place 101

This younger generation has made the traditional relationships with their mate a thing of the past.  You like her, she likes you, hey, lets move in together!  But, before you pack your bags, and move out of mamma's house, there are ten rules you must observe and obey:

1.  Bathrooms:  girls do not share their bathroom, period.  You will be granted access to the guest bathroom.  You must keep this room neat and tidy at all times.  No beard hair in the sink!  And the cardinal rule to never break-never use the monogrammed towels to dry your hands and do not use that special bar of soap in the dish!  That soap is for guest only!

2.  Toilet seat:  the seat must be in the down position at all times.  If you miss or spatter, wipe it down!  And don't just flush and go!  You must remain in a holding pattern until the completion of the water cycle!  Most women prefer the lid down also.

3.  Toilet Paper:  you must observe the paper flow of the roll of paper before using up the roll.  The woman of the household has a particular preference, paper under, or paper over.  Do not make light of this.  Your relationship with this woman depends on it.

4.  Running water:  during the first six-twelve months of your stay, you will notice that the woman of the house runs the water in the sink, while they are in that room doing their business.  Once the gal of the house becomes comfortable with you in the house, then the running water will stop, and then you will notice the sounds of the jungle coming from behind that door!

5. Closets:  your best hope is that the bedrooms have walk in closets.  If not, you best get used to living out of your suitcase!  The bedroom closet will be full of this season's clothing, and the other bedroom closets will be full of the other seasonal clothing.

6. Refrigerator:  forget having space for your twelve pack of your favorite beer.  The refrigerator will be full of bottles of white wine, cottage cheese, yogurt, and sugar free flavored water!  The veggie bins will be full of, you guessed it, veggies!

7.  TV:  don't even think of reprogramming the favorite tv channels on the TV, even if its yours!  The remote control is her domain!

8.  Laundry:  stick with just washing your own clothes, until she gives you permission to run a load for her.  On each and every item, you must check the recommended laundry procedures, as some items will need to be sent to the dry cleaners, and you must separate the whites, from the pastels, from the dark colors.  When removing items from the dryer, have a pair of tongs handy, in case you come across her thong underwear.

9.  Bed covers:  chances are the duvet, or bed spread is light colored.  Never come into the bedroom all hot and sweaty and crash on the bed for a quick nap.  You must first take a quick shower, dry off, and put on clean clothes.  Your body sweat will stain that light colored material.

10. Pets:  if the gal of the house has a pet, remember, it was here first.  If the woman of the house has to make a choice, it will not be you!

If you will observe these house rules, your stay may eventually become permanent  Most of these rules will apply, if she moves into your domain, but that's a whole separate topic!

Pool Talk, at the Markie Mark-Brunch on Us

Our little pool crew had so much fun on Saturday, doing our interpretation of cocooning and gossiping that it had to pick up again the next day.  Let's bring snacks they said.  Ok, cheese straws and champagne, that's the ticket!

We were the last to arrive.  We look under the pavilion,  and there is a table cloth on one of the picnic tables!  This last minute planning idea resulted in a full blown pool tailgate!  We had cheese straws, sausage balls, cinnamon rolls, chicken & waffles, fruit, and mimosas!   What a deal!  A late arrival came walking up with two small bags of chips and a box of cheesits.  Girl!  You gotta step up your game!

From here, our first topic of the day came from our mini-tailgate party.  "Ya'll, let me tell ya about some of the crazy stuff from our Grove Tailgating!...."   We all agreed, there are several universal "oh hell no's"that we all had in common:

1.  Don't be walking up with just a bag of chips in your hand, oh hell no!

2. Don't be showing up at 12:00 for a 11:00 game with the sausage and biscuits that should a been there by 8:00.  Oh hell no!

3. Don't show up, no ticket, no groceries,  and clean us out while we are at the game.  Oh, hell no!

4.  Don't borrow a cooler because you forgot to bring one, then not return it to the owner.  Oh hell no!

5.  Don't be the one to announce, "were out of cups and paper products" when you never bring any.  Oh hell no!

6.  Don't show up late, and plop yourself in front of the tv and ask "when ya'll gonna have the game on???"  Oh hell no!

7.  Don't be showing up with several bottles of wine and ask, "anybody got a cork screw??? Oh hell no!

As the day wore on, even more topics were discussed.  We all agreed to save the gossip for this coming week for next Saturday, for the next installment of Pool Talk, at the Markie Mark!

Pool Talk, From the Markie Mark

Well, it has taken us almost 2 years to finally meet up with the right kinds people at the Markie Mark.  Some are weekenders, some are resident owners, some are renters,  and others just come back for a pool day because they miss it so much.

For the most part,  we resemble those characters from the movie "Cocoon".  We sit on our floats, sipping our favorite beverages, and trying to make as few ripples in the pool as possible!

Yesterday we all noticed this couple at the other end, enjoying the lounge chairs
The guy looked a lot older.  The gal was a sweet looking blonde thang in a skinny bright yellow bikini.  Occasionally, she would get out of her lounge chair to take a dip and wet her ankles.

  All of us noticed the older guy would casually give her a pat on her behind.  It wasn't a fatherly pat, either.  After they left, one of our cocooners blurted out, "I don't think that was a father daughter thing!"  OMG!  The dam just broke on conversation!

This couple had to have been one of those sugar daddy and sugar baby thangs!  One of our crew knows of a girl that goes out to dinner with older men, and gets tipped $150, plus the meal!  We all then began plotting on how we could figure out which building they stay in!  The old ladies in the assisted living facilities ain't got nothing on us!

We had so much fun that we had to give our little group a proper name!  Pool Talk, at the Markie Mark was born!  Plans were made to regroup the next day, pool side, early at 11:00 a.m. sharp!  Cheese straws and mimosas would be served.  I'm thinking, this is gonna be a hoot!

Beach Vaca 101 for 2018

Every trip to the beach brings new experiences and new discoveries to add to the list:

Must bring items:
1.  A muffin pan.  Martha White muffin mixes are and easy breakfast treat.  I also discovered from FB, a other muffin pan treat. Line the muffin cups with ham slices, add cheese, then a whole egg, salt and pepper.  Bake 400 degrees, for 15 minutes.

2.  A dash mini waffle iron.   Waffle mix that you just add milk or water, and your babies have a waffle breakfast treat!  The dash mini makes them the size of an Eggo waffle!

3.Quisinart ice cream maker.  Put the mixer bowl in the freezer.  Mix up the 4 ingredients and 20 minutes you have a frozen treat.  Make it the day before and it's good and firm.  No ice or salt needed!

4.  Homemade cookies.  Bag all the dry ingredients in ziploc bags.  Sugars together, flours, salt, and baking soda together.  Mix in wet ingredients at the beach, and bake for a homemade treat!  I also bring parchment paper and a simple cookie scoop.

5.Hand mixer.  I made my chocolate chip cookies by hand, since the condo didn't have a mixer.

6.Margarita machine. (Repeat item) Best discovery ever!  Mix them up overnight, store in ziploc bags.  Use the frozen bags as ice for your beach lunch.  Pour into a steel 30 oz tumbler, add a smoothee straw, and you have a frozen adult beverage that lasts for hours!

7.  Beach wagon, with wide wheels.  Must have for all you bring! The heavier the load, the more you end up dragging instead of pulling.

8. Beach chairs and umbrella.  A three day rental at Sandestin is $100, or $150 if you aren't a card carrying guest.  We go to the beach so often, we bring our own.  Best umbrella ever is the Cool Cabana.  You can find it at www.cool-cabana.com.

9. Beach.  The beach at Sandestin is usually way over crowded, and the chair rental guys takeover the prime spaces, pushing tent and canopy  users way back from the water.  Down here, Henderson State Park is between Destin and Sandestin and only $6 a car load.  It's never been busy when we go, and you can set up any type of shade at the waters edge.  Worth it if you are going to make it a full day.

10. Bluetooth speaker.  Hook up your favorite Pandora channel without having to use earbuds.  The sound usually doesn't disturb your neighbors.

11. External battery charger.  This will keep your phone battery fully charged, a long with any other USB devices.

12. Rainy day entertainment.  We were here seven days and it rained six of them.  We managed to get some beach time every day, but with several "pack it up quick " moments.

13. Go early.  Best time for restaurant dining is EARLY!   We target 5-5:30 to miss the long wait times for a table.  Sometimes when it's just two of us, we will eat at the bar!

14.  Bacon.  Cook it at home till "floppy".  Place on paper towels.  Once cool, put into ziploc bags and freeze.   At the beach, microwave slices for one minute, and you have crispy bacon without the mess of frying!

15. Plastic tubs.  We store all our kitchen supplies in small plastic tubs.  Paper goods, washing pods, seasonings,  etc...  we restock pack at home, saving on trips to the store for those "local marked up pricing "!

Wow!  15 items for the Beaching 101 list!  Some old ones, but more new!  We have another trip in August, to Hilton Head.  Maybe there will be some new items from the Atlantic coast!

Vaca Foodie Stops

When traveling an Vaca, one must always stay alert for a new foodie stop.  You might see a billboard, a Facebook foodie post, or as my momma says "it looked good from the outside"!  We were ending our trip over the bay bridge to Destin, and spotted Lulu's, next to the boat warehouse that's covered in a mural of whales.  We have been to the one in Gulf Shores, but haven't tried this one, so why not!

LULU's
The parking up close is limited, so expect to drop off your riders, then go park, with a nice walk back.  The building is open air, with huge garage doors up and lots of fans spinning.  We noticed from the bridge that there was a sea plane in the water.  The pilot will walk by your table and drop off a card, to remind you during your stay that he is available.

We were not sure what we wanted to order until I saw a seafood basket for two on the menu.  It has fish, shrimp, oysters, and crab claws, along with hush puppies and fries.  Granted, it was all fried, but it was oh so good!

I noticed one of the waiters working one of the other tables looked like he wasn't from around these parts.  The only thang missing was a kilt and a sword!

 Can you imagine getting a call from your daughter, "Mom! I met this guy at the beach!  And, we love each other!  Don't tell Dad, I want to surprise him with a visit on Father's day!

He must have really shook me up.  We got down the road, when I suddenly remembered I had left my credit card on the table.  A quick thinking spousal unit made a phone call, and we detoured back to pick it up.  Whew!  Is this a sign that I'm getting old????  One of many!

CULVERS

Along Hwy 98, before you get to the "Premium Outlet Stores" was a new place called Culvers.  They are  a fast food joint, but they also serve custard desserts.  We have been through the drive-thu at several other locations, but have never gone in.  We were waiting for out room to get ready, so why not.
We walked up to the counter, and just stared.  There were so many choices!  The cashier remarked, "take your time, we are used to it."  We were there for the custard.  The chain originated from Wisconsin, and they also have fried cheese curds, which we love.  The custard reminds me of Bops, back in Mississippi.

They have an endless amount of toppings for you to try.

WINN DIXIE

With our early arrival, we were able to check in an hour early and unpack.  Our kids were still in transit, so we decided to go ahead with the first grocery run.  Siri said WinnDixie was the closest (Publix and Walmart a short ride further).  Winn Dixie was an absolute mad house!  It was like bumper cars with the shopping carts!  The cereal row was a wasteland, nothing but a few boxes left on the self!  The deli meat section was like pit row of a NASCAR race, everybody pulling up to the doors with their carts, emptying the shelves before the guy behind them could blink.  On the end of aisles, and down thew rows, there were abandoned carts, half filled.  Is this the Zombie Apocalypse?????

We survived the checkout line, with everything on our list.  I can just imagine what the first night restaurant scene would be! Shrimp boil condo style for us!

Stay tuned.  more to come.....

Rituals of the First Day of Vaca

Every summer brings with it the rites of passage to the holy grail, the white sugary sands of the Florida Panhandle.  You would think, as many times as I have made this trip to Beach Mecca, it would be same old thing.  But no.....!

PACK IT UP
The spousal unit left for a conference down south several days early.  That left me with the responsibility (as always) of packing the car, securing the house, and saying good bye to Otis, our resident travel dog.  Otis knows when its travel time.  He sees the suitcase, and hops right on in.  He then starts his all loving dog routine, like you can't not take me, the sweet lovable travel dog!

I get up early, and load the remaining items into the car.  Otis is watching....All done, I'm like, whoops, where are the car keys???  I tear the house apart looking for them.  I've now retraced my steps at least 15 times.  Well crap, on to the car.  I can't just switch cars, the rack on the back is secured with a lock, and the key is with the others.  I checked all the usual suspect spots where I might have laid them.  No keys.  I pull everything out and give each box the eagle eye.  No keys.  Otis has not left the house, with the door wide open.

I am now sweating, a;most in a panic, and haven't left the driveway.  One more time into the house.  I've formed a mental check list, and gone through it countless times.  There's Otis, calmly sitting in the middle of our bed.  Ok, one last desperate thought.  I brush Otis aside and I begin pulling back the covers.  As I'm doing so, I swear I heard Otis snicker.  The covers are pulled back, and in the middle of the bed, are the KEYS!!!!!   One of these days Otis, one of these days!

MOBILE BOUND
Our usual route to the Florida Panhandle takes us through Hattiesburg to Hwy 98, and then we turn on Hwy 63, at Lucedale, to I-10.  We miss all the stop and go 98 traffic through North Mobile.  This adds a few minutes, but its four lane all the way and only a few traffic lights, some of which are usually green light.  If traffic is heavy on I-10, then we opt for the Bay Bridge route over Mobile Bay.

I had to make a Costco stop, and it is co convenient, being off the first exit of I-65.  The spousal unit sent me the shopping list, via pictures of the items by text message!  Ain't technology great!

  Several friends Facebooked me about these new Vodka infused ice pops.  I'm looking, and looking.  This sweet young thang interrupts me and asked if she could help me.  I tell her about the ice pops.  Wouldn't you know it, "Oh, I'm sorry, this is my first day, I'm not sure, but maybe they're in the liquor store next door.!  She wasn't very helpful, but she sure was purdy!  Next door, I wait my tum, that's what you do in Costco (unlike Sam's).  I ask the cashier about the ice pops.  He gives me that look.... He then begins to recite the preamble to the constitution, They are only available out west, in three states.....I think he has said this 100 times today already!

Mission accomplished!

Since it is right at noon, on a Friday, and traffic is calm, I go the tunnel route.  No problems.  Once I exit the tunnel, and get to daylight, all I see are cars, trucks, and 18 wheelers, as far as the eye can see!  Fortunately, they were all pointed in the other direction!  I picked up the spousal unit at the Grand, at Point Clear, and then we were off!

FLORIDA LINE
You can tell when you get to Florida on I-10, as they have these nice  welcome signs at the State line.  Some travelers stop and take pictures.  Me, I like the jets mounted in the air at the first rest stop.  We take the Crestwell exit to the toll bridge at Niceville. We invested in a Florida Sunpass years ago and it has been well worth it.  As you approach the bridge, stay left, and avoid the pay line with all those other cars lined up, waiting their turn!  You know you are near when at the other end of the bridge you can spot the boat storage warehouse with the whale murals!  The beach is near!!!!

Preachers and Barbeque!

This being memorial day and all, there aren't a whole lot of restaurant choices.  We were in Oxford, so I knew the pickings were gonna be slim.  As I was making my way through the FB new feed, I saw where Pig & Pint was open all day.  Winner, winner, pork rib dinner!

We stopped by the house, to refresh ourselves, and I remembered that Pig & Pint was pet friendly.  Ole Otis is always ready for another car ride.  I was hoping for a cool evening and a close parking spot, since the restaurant has limited indoor seating, and the neighborhood ain't in one of the best locations.

I dropped off Otis and the spousal Unit so they could save us a spot at one of the outside picnic tables.  After parking, I made my way back to the restaurant.  It was not hard to find, I just followed my nose, sniffing the wood smoke back to the pit!  After placing the order, I joined Otis & Momma.

Seated across from us, was a young couple.  I could tell she weren't from around these parts, since she was eating brisket tacos, but her hubby had a mouth full of pulled pork sammach!  They were newlyweds since last July, both involved in the Lutheran Ministry.  He was a local, and she was from Minnesota, I knew it!  I don't know much about no Lutheran, but we all knew about dogs, and the cookies from Campbell's Bakery just around the corner.

After their departure our double picnic table filled up fast.  Turns our it was a whole bunch of Methodist preachers and such.  One was a district superintendent, and another was a Bishop.  We almost had enough board pieces for a game of chess!  They all were here for the "Pre-conference" before the Conference.  We figured out who all the players were, and the spousal unit mentioned that we were members of St. Marks, out at the Rez.  Did they know Keith Keeton?  Boy!  Did they ever!  I used to refer to Keith as my young buck preacher, but now he has enough grey hairs that I had to drop the young part!

We then started playing the guessing game.  I mentioned that I used to run the sound board, and we had one preacher that I referred to as the "15 minute man".  All his sermon's were no longer than 15 minutes.  I figured he had standing reservations at several restaurants.  I mentioned his first name, "Jim", and one of those preachers responded "that would be Jim Curtis!"  Yep! nailed him!  I then mentioned another preacher Jim, with white hair, that has been known to take several phone calls during his sermons.  Another one of those preachers yelled out "that's ole Matheny!"  Dang, these guys are good!

I was short on some of the others names, but told them that we could go to the church and review the wall of shame!  Nobody ever remembers the good parts about a preacher's stay, but you can always come up with some of the bad!

Before we left, I reminded them that since the West Jackson Superintendent was present, they all should be the banana fosters pudding and put it on his tab!

Table full of Preachers!

I posted this picture to Facebook and tagged my buddy Keith Keeton in it, and told them to add any comments they would like.  We'll see how far out of their preacher comfort zones they are willing to go!

I got balls!

Well, it' the last home series for the spousal unit's team vs the Auburn Tigers/War Eagles and she doesn't want to miss it.  First game was on Thursday night,  thank you ESPN, so now we're pushing up I-55 to catch most of game 2, then game 3 on Saturday afternoon.

The great thing about late arrival, is the shuttle service from the south lot, just park and ride! As we are walking up to the shuttle stop, I notice all these shuttles returning with passengers?  Then,  other women are walking up, carrying all these fancy bags and purses!

Ladies! It's the last home series!  The clear bag policy has been in effect since last September!   They all stand there in disbelief!  Well, SOMEBODY is gonna have to go back to the car! Now on the shuttle, the driver is waiting for these two women, one on and one not, saying their daughters attend school here and their daughters knew nothing about the clear bag policy!  I'm sitting next to the driver, and I tell him, he can go now, because those two women will be talking about this for hours!

We arrive at the front gate of the stadium, and there are even more of these women walking up with all these purses and colored bags.  The looks on their faces was priceless when they were told, sorry, no bag, then the realization that SOMEBODY was headed back to the parking lot!

Keep in mind, this policy went into effect last September.   There are road side billboards explaining it.  There are placards on all the roads leading to campus.  The warning is even printed on the ticket!  The only explanation would be that they are all black bears coming out of hibernation, this is graduation weekend, and this is their first time on campus in four years!  This ole bulldog was laughing his head off in black bear country!

It's now the 3rd inning, I head to our seats, and the spousal unit makes her two water stops, one drop off and one to drink.  I make my way down the aisle, and notice people in our seats.  No biggie, they can just move on, since these are our season tickets versus their general admission ticket stub. Wrong.....

I say hey buddy, those two seats belong to me and my wife.  Apparently, it' a family of four (adult and teenagers).  The poppa bear immediately starts throwing out profanity at me!  "You f...king asshole, you want to break up a family of four?  Sorry buddy, those are my seats, see this ticket, what does yours say?  He throws out more vulgar insults, ending with "I need to plant my fist on your face!"  I reply, not the time or place little man (a foot shorter than me), you need to move on.  He did...

I sit down, then all my neighbors begin to chime in.  Lady in front, "I'm confrontational but you looked like you had it handled.  Guy behind,  "nice to meet you f...king asshole, I'm Tom".  Guy to the left "I know who I'm calling when somebody is in my seat!" Guy in front "if he took you out, I was gonna catch you!"  Girl behind, "man you got balls bigger than my dad!"

Dang!  I know who to call in a crisis!  I can't wait to see them at game 3!  Now I need a foul ball to add to my collection!