hoodlums, bran, and what was I going to say?

This year I won't be turning 30, I'll be turning 80.
Get ready for a rant about my health, the increasingly youthful people in my elevator bank, and skin care.


:: I have another ear infection. It could just be sinuses or fluid, doctor will tell me tomorrow. Most of the people I know have kids, toddlers and babies. Three took their kids to the doctor last week... for "another ear infection."
80... 18 months... you know.


:: It is intern season downtown. The kids invade downtown, especially my elevator bank. I swear I thought it was Take Your Daughter To Work Day. This girl couldn't have been older than 11, in a borrowed pencil skirt, ridiculous heals and surgically attached to her iphone.

Although, being bombarded by the ever-younger crop of data entry child labor force is annoying, their migration patterns drive me bonkers. Where there is one, there will be 15 others. They travel in packs, like a school field trip. A coworker was telling me that she got on the elevator and the Youth Invasion got on with her, all 15 of them, smooshing her in the back and not aware that you should step out to let passengers exit upon arrival. No elevator etiquette.

Similarly, they have a lack of escalator etiquette and pile up at the bottom waiting for the last hipster child wearing khakis and an over sized button down and geez can you call that wrinkled sad shriveled thing a tie? And you know me- always put together and work appropriate.

Hoodlums.


:: Aging skin is weird. Other than my practically non-existent metabolism, and eye sight ("I can't read that tiny print!" during Game Of Thrones captions) I haven't noticed getting older, physically. But skin... older skin is different. My dark circles have real become black and not purple, pimples and bumps, and holy moly there are pores everywhere.

This weekend I did a little DIY rice flour mask, and lip scrub. I'm pretty sure my skin is brighter, but it is for sure softer and more moisturized. Listen, I know lip scrubs seem excessive and vain, but they feel amazing. Amazing. Do it.


:: NAP Challenge Week 3
What happened in Week 2? If you are me, nothing. The challenge was to move more, adding 10 min of activity each day or 500 steps. Yeah, ear infections, work, and overall confusion due to a holiday just lead to nada.

This week is another eating challenge - Whole grains.
Bump it up. Start out with at least one whole grain serving daily and by the end of the week eat a minimum of three (3) whole grain servings each day.

Homecomings

I've experienced two official Homecomings and then so many smaller informal homecomings I can't even count.

I consider myself a veteran.
Spouses and military families sacrifice so much to support their service member. The years of service are hard, and Dp and I continue to struggle with transitioning to civilian life.

The military, no matter what level of action is seen, changes you. Training in the Navy focuses on mental strength, the ability to stay focused while on a boat for months at a time. Also, the majority of work that goes on during deployment is Top Secret or higher. I know nothing about what Dp did on his last deployment.

As a spouse, I was told by Dp's commanding officers to never talk to him about real life, only email him about positive things and never reveal any struggles from back home. This was to keep him focused. This also requires a level of independence and strength from spouses/families, and hardened me as well. I couldn't let myself miss him, if you let yourself think that it will be nine or more months before you see, smell, touch and speak with your best friend...that will tear a person apart. So I learned to shut off all those loving feelings and focus on my job, keeping him focused and healthy and doing his job. When your entire relationship is built on discipline and withholding feelings, and information, it is extremely difficult to re-learn normal. 

Our time in the military was "easy" compared to most.

This memorial day, remember the fallen. And remember the deeper and long lasting sacrifices of the military and their families. Because even after a celebratory Homecoming, some men/women can never come home, not all the way.

Thankfully, I had many Homecomings.

civic doodie

In fourth grade our gifted and talented program debuted a dramatic rendition of The True Story of the Three Little Pigs. I was Juror #3 and the jury had two lines; rapping "Here comes the judge" as she entered stage left (sometimes we'd say here comes the fudge in rehearsal) and the last lines of the play "We've heard the story but we don't know, lock him up or let him go? YOU be the jury and YOU decide!" I still remember. Gifted AND talented.

That was my only time to serve on a jury until this Tuesday.

A couple of weeks ago, I was having a terrible, very bad, no good, horrible day. I came home and actually bent down to get the mail and saw an official looking letter. Earlier that week, my coworker had received a refund from HCAD saying she had overpaid on property taxes. Could it be?! Money?!!

No.

It was a jury summons.

I crumpled it up and threw it with all my might to the gound, flung my flip flops of my feet, tossed my purse an alarming distance and ran crying to the bedroom. Straw meet camels back.

I wasn't sad or frustrated I was ANGRY. Furious. And spare me the civic duty speech, dp tried that and was almost murdered. To make matters worse, I was not summoned to the nice, new, fancy downtown jury facility with wifi and new holding area... I wish.

Instead, I was summoned to Justice of the Peace Court 7 Place 1. My fancy jury holding room was in a building called Place 1. hmmmm and they shared the building with a teen health clinic. hmmmmmm. And there was zip information on this random place online.



Place 1

So Tuesday I packed up early from work (downtown) and hauled my butt to the UofH area and there was no one in the parking lot. Not another car, not even a bird picking at trash. Eventually a couple other cars started to show up, and employees parked in their reserved spots. I reluctantly left the happy solitary quiet of my car and walked into Place 1.

There was no office, no information window, no doors leading to sad government offices, nope. Just the court room. Just.the.courtroom. hmmmmm. So I went inside, turned in my summons, sat down on an unoccupied pew and waited. Some people were reading, some were chatting about their kids and standardized tests. I brought a book... but there was some pretty dang choice people watching opportunities... I couldn't focus.

We sat there for an hour. Then the clerk told us there all the cases scheduled for today settled and we could go home when the judge released us. Judges must be busy people cause we waiting forever for her to come talk to us. When she did she gave me a speech about my civi duty (bla bla bla) and officially released us.

Before we left she said
Aren't you glad you didn't have to come all the way downtown?

Thrilled.

Don't make me turn this car around!

*WARNING political post*

I can solve all of our country's political problems.

By the way, I am not a fan of Washington. The bickering, lies, insincerities... Yesterday no matter who won the election I was simply happy it was over.

But yes, I know how to solve the childishness political system. I can't believe no one has thought of it before.
In addition to checks & balances American democracy needs a
National Mom.

This isn't a feminist argument, well maybe a little. But not just any woman could fill the role. Sadly women today have to compete with men to succeed and therefore squashing the very qualities we need more of.

A man may be the head of the family but the force that drives it forward - Mom. Mom gets the kids up, stops the fights, promotes sharing, kisses boo boos, feeds us dinner and then surprise cookies if we finish our broccoli.
Ok, are you with me yet?

Let's let the men keep their big businesses power positions, men are great at making money. But maybe women are just better leaders. Especially when it comes to taking care of men.

There is too much testosterone in government hence the pissing contest... er presidential campaign. (What is it with men & pee? They will pee anywhere. Take a man into the woods for a walk and the first thing he does is giggle when he marks a tree.)

National Mom would

• Care for the little people
• Remind us to be nice to our brother/sister
• Manage the country's grocery bill
• And bake us cookies just because she loves us

I'm in.
And will be nominating Mary Poppins...wait she is British.

green

Remember when green used to be a color? The color of grass, money, Rainbow Bright's buddy Patty O'Green, and asparagus.

Instead "Green" is a movement.
Is it just me or is it less about Earth and more about being trendy?

Don't get all activist on me.
I'm a gen x-er so I'm fairly environmentally conscious. Ronald McDonald came to my school in 2nd grade and rapped to me about the 3 Rs, Reduce, Reuse, Recycle. It made an impression. We have a compost bin, recycle and watch Whale Wars.

But I'll be honest. I've never thought about buying a Prius. I use real chemicals to clean, yup, I have Drano under the skin. I take long showers. AND I throw batteries in the trash. If you just cringed, please stop reading. Follow this link and look at some kittens and bunnies.

Yes, yes, I know the planet is dying and the polar bears are balding due to global warming and something about forests disappearing. Maybe McGruff should have talked to us about the environment, sure we'd all be kidnapped and taking guns from strangers but the air would be so clean!

My office building is LEED Gold.  It is like Energy Star rating for a 76 story building. It is kinda funny to me cause we live in the most air conditioned city in the world how can that be energy efficient? (I'm not sure if we are still the most ac-ed city in the world anymore. I guess Dubai could have snuck ahead of us cause we all know how nuts Lil' Prince is and may have fully air conditioned the UAE desert)

Anyway, my office building installed low flow toilets and purchases eucalyptus TP. For that they got a little decal for the doors to let everyone know how green they are. Impressive. Of course, eucalyptus TP doesn't dissolve, its pretty much cardboard. And low flow doesn't really care for the green paper either so it takes 4 flushes to equal 1 naughty normal flow flush. AND we recently got new green lighting. It is bright like the sun. And not very flattering. I think the term insane asylum has been tossed around.

Crazed and white blinded we flush the 4th time and shout "For the Trees!"

Luckily we are a LEED Gold building.
I'll be sure to send a post card to the polar bears, on recycled eucalyptus toilet paper.



*ok, maybe i went overboard. i like my planet. and i'm sure polar bears are quiet the pleasant companions. and i work in a great building and even scored a christmas ornament of my building and hang it up every year. and the extra flushes keep me away from work which isn't that bad.

April is Autism Awareness Month

Yesterday on Oprah, she did a powerful show on Autism. I was completely blown away by the struggle these families go through.

I was not completely unaware of Autism. My closest friend Christi worked with Autistic children for several years.

But this was the most heartbreaking and inspiring show I have seen in a while.

1 out of 150 children is diagnosed with Autism

That number is unbelievable. And it truly deserves more attention than what it is receiving.

If you want more information visit Autism Speaks. And watch the video, Autism Everyday. It is really a great video and you need to see it!

"and music is my air-o-plane"

So I am back in Washington. And surprisingly it is sunny and pretty weather. Maybe I brought it back with me.

Houston was gorgeous weather. I got to see my family and that was great, better than great, cause I miss them so much. But Leah and Michael couldn't make it down and that was a bummer. My dad and I went down to Galveston and had lunch at this place by the water and a pod of dolphins were swimming near by.

We also had a little chili cook off for my dad's birthday party, the findings were inconclusive. So for all those who were wondering, I made bean-free chili and my dad's was beaned.

..................................................................
I think I might pause for a second and comment on flying in today's world.

It is almost a humiliating process these days. I had to watch men take of their belts and take mine off as well. Almost as if we were all undressing. And seeing everyone in their socks is weird. Like the status held in footwear has been taken away and we are all reduced to the quality and cleanliness of our socks and hosiery. After you go through the security check point, which now a couple of guys know everything you travel with, you have to grab all of your stuff and hop around trying to put your shoes back on and your id back in your wallet. This is crazy! Then some men just give up on the belt and walk around holding their belts. I mean, there has to be a better way.
................................................................

It was a really great trip. I wish it hadn't been so long in between visits. Washington is "fun" I guess, but there is something to be said about living near your family.

I have never wanted to be one of those people who never goes anywhere, never sees anything but their home town. I think it is important for young people to explore. It is in exploration that we find ourselves. Challenging ourselves to live with different people, learn new things, experience life in a different way than our parents showed us. Sometimes you might find that you like things your parents never liked. Like my dad and aunts were saying they never had black olives, why? Because MeeMaw doesn't like them. But now my dad eats black olives. What if he had never been introduced to black olives?

All this to say, that I felt weird about wanting to come back home and live in Texas again. I didn't want to be giving up and be living a sheltered life. But I see that you only have so much time in your life and I want to spend it close to my family. They are there for me through anything. Plus I could never get used to the weather up here.

Ps- Please pray for the Culbert family. They have lost a son/brother and it is really hard for them right now.

Apartment Woes

Unhappy living in an apartment? I am sure you (my loyal readers) are confused wondering how such a thing could ever occur. Well, yes, despite all the wonderful advantages of living in and apartment, I, ever unsatisfied, am not happy.

But seriously. Everyone knows how annoying apartment life can get. Well, I have peaked on the annoyed scale. Lets start off with parking. There is usually plenty of parking, but now that the pool is open, people get all their little friends and take them swimming in the tiny pool. Well, that is all fine and good, but there are like 6 cars in my section that are taking up MY space. Last night I had to park all the way down the hill and walk up in the dark, while people's random friends are just smokin and having a great time. If I had guests over and parking was tight I would ask them to park further away.

Then there is an evil woman. When she first moved in about January, she started parking in the handicapped spot, yes you read right. We asked if she should be towed and they said because here wasn't a sign posted (just paint on the ground) that it wasn't a legal handicapped spot. I later saw this woman pregnant and smoking, yes again you read right. Now she that she is almost due, her mother has come to stay with her (who also smokes) and she instructs her mother to park in the spot as well. It is like using the handicapped space her own personal reserved spot but she doesn't have to pay for it. Ps- her kids are annoying.

On to neighbors. There is some kid around here that practices his flute, or some other wind instrument. It sounds like Close Encounters of the Third Kind. There is no song played just notes and more notes. And there is a giant dog living next door that barks, (of course big dogs are against the rules) but it is his bird brother that drives me nuts. He doesn't tweet or chirp chirp, he squawks ALL DAY LONG.

And we have no air conditioning which is a common thing up here. But that is ridiculous.

I want my own house. But I don't want to buy anything when I know I am leaving in 1 1/2 years. Apartment life just sucks.

A new pet peeve

Well I must rant. In David's shop, everyone is kinda mean. They talk about people behind their backs and are... the only way I can describe it is high school. It is so so so so ridiculous. So my new pet peeve isn't really new but anyway, I really don't like people who pick on others for fun.

Have you ever met the person that just is always "kidding" and joking but in reality it isn't funny. His little "jokes" are jabs and snide comments that make you feel bad about your self. What is up with a person like that? Now I have joked about stuff with my closest friends and maybe have been a little mean but only when they know it is a joke.

For instance, me and David both joke about how we are the outcasts in his family because we aren't doctors or married to one. We like to plan out how we can take the lead in race for best kid, like I win a Pulitzer and David becomes an officer and our kids are chess champions. Well we know that his parents love us and don't care what we do with out lives but it helps ease our insecurities about it to joke with each other about it. But I would never tell people I hardly know that their parents don't love them.

Yet, there are those out there who like to make fun of your house and your pets, clothes, cooking, accent, intelligence and just about anything they can get their hands on. And that is just DUMB. I can't stand it. I really think there is some psychological reason for these people who jokingly bring others down. And I wish that I could just let it roll off my back, but I have a confession to make:

I am tender-headed and tender-hearted (right mom?).

I have always taken stuff to heart more than I should and so my new pet peeve is that I am not thicker skinned. Is there some ointment for it?

Ok. In a totally unrelated subject. My baby kitten Rigby is not a baby anymore. His little feets are not little anymore, they are bigger than Abbey's. Of course he is still cute and smallish, but I miss the itsy bitsy baby. Well he is growing up. :( I know it is hard to tell but my little man is on the right!

Oh and I hope I don't sound pitiful here. I am happy up here. Just life sometimes is a little on the boring side.

March Of Dimes

I am walking for the March of Dimes this year. I have mentioned a little that when the men are out to sea us wives take care of all the other wives, in particular Crystal Conner. Her husband is David's LPO (boss) and she is pregnant and on bed rest. Her daughter Brooklynn was a premature baby and is still suffering from health problems related to her premature birth. Crystal and Steven also lost Brooklynn's twin brother Lonan to complications.

They are such an amazing family. Crystal is so stong and can deal with being a "single parent" for most of the time, and all of Brooklynn health issues and being on bed rest. Little Lonan's death also brought this family closer to God. All of Crystal's strength comes from her faith and her willingness to rely on God. That peace has helped heal wounds and pave the way for less stress during this pregnancy.

I have never walked for the March of Dimes before. But knowing little Brooklynn and all the challenges she has had and has coming has inspired me. Hopefully her story and the stories of other premi babies you have know will inspire you to sponsor my walk. Please visit my site www.walkamerica.org/analeemicheletti and make a donation. And pass on the link.

I'd also like to post other stories of premature babies on my page to help raise money.

Thank you so much! I will post pictures of the walk in late April.

ps- Please pray for Crystal's pregnancy.

O' Holiday Tree?

We went to get our tree last night. Up here in Washington you can get the fullestest and freshest trees for so cheap. Not like in Texas where a Douglas Firr costs $40 and a Noble Firr is out of control expensive. We got our Douglas Firr, (6ft and full like I have never seen and we got a skinny one) for 18 bucks. I am not usually one to talk about money, my mom says it isn't appropriate, but have you ever heard of an 18 dollar tree that is actually pretty? Pretty Cool.

Speaking of trees, have you heard of this mess about Christmas trees not being called Christmas trees but Holiday Trees? Yeah. I said it. Some nerds out there are saying that Christmas Tree is not a politically correct term anymore. Are you kidding me? Seriously. I read in an article in USA Today that all over the country people are arguing that a Christmas Tree put in the public eye by the city or state is not separating of church and state and so that everyone can enjoy the Christmas Tree it should be called a Holiday Tree. Many people in response to this rediculous nonsense said that what next, we have to call a menorah a candlestick? The only reason we have a tree is because of Christmas and even more funny it's roots are in pagan ritual. Some Christians don't even participate in Christmas Trees because of it's pagan roots. Ha! And now the Christmas Tree is ofending once again. You can not rename something just because everyone doesn't agree. Soon anything will be ruined, renamed, and reshaped by political correctness. I understand that groups of people wish to be called different names but seriously

It is a Christmas Tree!!!

At least that is what I have in my living room.

-To read the USA Today article please click here.

2 Thumbs Up

Ok, Mark and Brianne took me to see Ice Age when it came out, because they wanted me to quit talking about how cute the pre-historic squirrel was. And I loved that movie. But I hadn't seen it till I bought it one lonely weekend without David.

Now I am obsessed with it. It is so funny. Seriously if you haven't seen it, then you need to, for reals people. The story isn't like that great (it is no Emperor's New Groove and just for the record I will never abondon that as the funniest animated picture ever), but Ice Age really is too funny. It only got a B from critics, why I just don't know.

If you watch, which you should, you will be given the choice of three favorite characters. I have trouble picking.

First off Manny the Mammoth, yeah the cynical, apathetic mammoth is a classic. If you like witty comments Manny will tickle your funny bone.
---------------------------------
Manny- "That's your shelter?"
Sid- "You're a big guy, you got a lot of wood. I'm a little guy..."
Manny- "You got half a stick."
-----------------------------------------
Head Do Do Bird- "This is our private stock pile for the Ice Age. Sub Artic tempatures will force us under ground for a billion billion years."
Manny- "So you got three melons?"
-----------------------------------------
Manny- "The sooner we find the humans, the sooner I get rid of Stinky Mr. Drool Face... and the baby too."
------------------------------------

Now Scrat. hehehe Scrat is the sabertooth squirrel, he he he if that doesn't make you laugh, he is on an epic hunt for his beloved acorn. he he he it is great. Well he doesn't have any lines except a wonderful array of cute noises and a funny scream.


And then there is Sid the sloth. Wow I love Sid. He has been left behind for the migration because he is annoying. But his warm heart is endearing, and well Sid has a speech impediment he he he, what could be funnier than a sloth with a speech impediment.
--------------------------------------
Sid- "Yummo! A Dandilion!"
---------------------------------------
Sid- (said nonchalantly as if not to understand that meaning of his family's actions) "You should have seen what they did to me last year. They woke up early, quietly tied my hands and feets and gagged me with a field mouse and barricaded the cave door and covered their tracks with water so I would lose their sent and well who needs em."
------------------------------------------
Diego- "Are you calling me a liar?"
Sid- (to Diego) "Noooooo." (to Manny) "I don't like this cat, it reads minds."
----------------------------------------

Oh people Ice Age rocks. If you are looking for a light hearted movie you can watch over and over and over. Yes Ice Age is it. It has a sweet message of accepting people and how important friends and family are. I must warn you that there is a sad scene where we find out why Manny is so moody. There are also some minor historical discrepancies, for instance the Neanderthals have domesticated dogs and only 5 o'clock shadows. But the Ice cave scene more than makes up for any short commings, it is too funny. I truely love this movie it is a great pick.

P.S.- I just touched on the subject of Emperor's New Groove. It is the greatest animated comedy of all time. If you ever get a chance you will not be dissapointed with the perfect comedic timing and wonderful voices David Spade, John Goodman, Eartha Kitt, and Patrick Warburton (Puddy, Elaine's boyfriend of Sienfeld). It is a classic, too funny. And I find that funny lighthearted movies are so good durning stressful times.

Walmartians 2

Yes, Leah has brought up a good point about Super Walmarts being open 24 hours. This is a unique quality of Walmart. I must say that I have taken advantage of this for the midnight cake cravings and me and Christi's 2 in the morning grocery shopping and checking out the hot stocker guy. Point for Walmart!

They also do money orders which saved our butt when needing the deposit for the apartment and since silly banks close early on Saturdays. And there is a Walmart in every state, every town and zip code for that matter, making it a familiar place to shop when you are in an otherwise foreign place. Target unfortunately is not as accessible. Another point for Walmart.

While I was at Target today at the checkout I sensed something different and calming about the process. It wasn't the nice checker, she really was pleasant, but I realized it was the barely audible scanner beeps. How quite and pleasant it was not to be bombarded by the beeps. Those loyal Walmartians out there, seriously, fess up you hate the beeps too, right? From the moment you walk in the door it is ridiculous with the beeping. Sometimes when I am tired and just want to run in for something the 10 minutes standing in line is torture, not the waiting but the beeping, I want to claw my face off. Is it really necessary? What is the loud beeping for? To alert shoppers that people are buying stuff? I mean come on. Come on. Walmart if you change the level of your beeping you will greatly improve the shopping experience for all. Has there been a study of hearing loss of Walamrt checkers? Ok, I do realize that the beep is important so the checker knows that the item has been scanned properly and there are special beeps letting the checker know of any security devises on the product. So clearly beeps are necessary. But the decibel level is OUT OF CONTROL!

Ok, so wrapping up. Walmart what can you say about it? Only that it has become a unique addition to American culture. Why people go nuts for it I haven't quite figured out, but the fact is people love it. Maybe I should write my masters thesis on the effects of Walmart in suburban society and the economic repercussions of the Walmart on small business, a point well illustrated by King of the Hill and the Mega-Lo-Mart. But seriously no hard feelings Walmart, maybe one day I will be sucked into your marketing scheme and I too will become a Walmartian. But... not today.

Walmartians

Ok, first of all nothing against Walmart or it's loyal patrons. I am just going to explore the culture surrounding the Walmart phenomenon, and it is just my humble opinion. Those that love Walmart are free and encouraged to explain that love to me, I am curious.
I never really have gotten into Walmart. I don't think their prices are that low, their merchandise isn't what I am looking for, and you have to deal with the Walmartians. What do you really get at Walmart that is such a good deal? Other places like Walgreens or Target or even grocery stores would have as cheap prices on toilet paper or whatever soccer moms are buying there. And really would I ever buy Walmart clothes??? NO! I am not being a snob, seriously maybe guys could find stuff to wear there. The fabrics are cheap and do not wear well and the designs are just ugly. I love Target's designers that really follow trends, not trends in the middle of no where but real fashion trends. Anyone who knows me knows that I am not by any means "hip" ok, in middle school I only wore Converse, and high school black flip flops. But unless I am in Indiana or Iowa I just would never wear Walmart brands.
And those lovely Walmartians, they deserve their own paragraph. Walmart commercials portray their patrons as just like you and me, middle class moms and teenagers who want to find the things they want at good prices. But seriously, when was the last time you saw normal people in Walmart? Maybe that was a little harsh normal people do go to Walmart but the Walmartians are as country and bizarre as you get. You could be in the heart of the city and some country bumpkin is walking around with out his shirt on or some 300 lb guy with his belly hanging out of his wife beater tank. Here in a small town it is just as bad. It isn't middle class families with four children just trying to make their trip to the lake special. Every weirdo in the area is at Walmart. There are no supers on the peninsula that I live on, but this regular Walmart has the biggest hunting department you have ever seen. You would think you are in Texas.
Just what is it about Walmart that draws the country out of a neighborhood? It is a cultural phenomenon that I just can not fathom. It is the most constantly bizarre effect all over the country. Hey there is nothing wrong with Middle Class of America, but I mean can we wear our shirts? Can we not wear our house shoes out of the house, or let our children run screaming and pulling down toys? It seems as if Walmart is an excuse to forget what cultural standards America might have left. I don't know maybe the Walmartians ARE normal everyday people but something chemically changes when they walk through those doors that turns them into well hicks.
Maybe I am more of a big city girl than I thought. I just think Walmart is ridiculous, but hey they can have Walmart and thrive there. I will shop comfortably and happily at Target.

Ethics in Baseball?

Game Two of the World Series and I am thinking about ethics in baseball. Not to accuse anyone of anything other than looking out for their own self intrest. But first let me take you back to the controversy that will follow the White Sox
for-ev-va. (<-- classic Sandlot reference)

"The 1919 World Series resulted in the most famous scandal in baseball history. Eight players from the Chicago White Sox (later nicknamed the Black Sox) were accused of throwing the series against the Cincinnati Reds. Details of the scandal and the extent to which each man was involved have always been unclear. It was, however, front-page news across the country and, despite being acquitted of criminal charges, the players were banned from professional baseball for life. The eight men included the great "Shoeless" Joe Jackson; pitchers Eddie Cicotte and Claude "Lefty" Williams; infielders Buck Weaver, Arnold "Chick" Gandil, Fred McMullin, and Charles "Swede" Risberg; and outfielder Oscar "Happy" Felsch." (article and image courtesy of the Chicago Historical Society, http://www.chicagohs.org/history/blacksox.html )

Well, it seems as if the curse of poor ethics follows them still today. In the seventh the home base umpire called Dye hit by a pitch. He was obviously not, it hit his bat. But Dye got on base adding an extra run. But I am not complaining that the White Sox won or even that those runs were scored. Dye didn't even admit that he wasn't hit, that the call should have been called a foul. Whether or not the umpire would have changed his call is up to him. It just seems that in the world series lets not say that we got hit buy a pitch when it really hit the bat and was a foul ball. It seems a lot like cheating to me, in a lying by omission kind of way. It is a little different than thinking you got to the base before the ball or that the pitch was a ball. Come on Dye at least admit that it didn't hit you.

Well, Astros you have a chance now in your home town. If we win this series or if we don't I am proud of our Astros for making it this far and really working hard. We love the Houston Astros. We loved them before and we will love them after, whatever the outcome of this game might be.

P.S.- I don't want to sound like a sore loser. In the White Sox defense they have said nice things about the Astros and have been a good team to play against. At least it aint the Yankees.