Scrabble Cat

It seems I have a cat who likes to play scrabble. I came home from walking Toby and lo and behold the Z and S keys were removed from the laptop's keyboard. Knowing their catlike curiosity, after all they are cats, I traced it to Chester. Luckily the one key was on the keyboard and the other was under the laptop, but nonetheless, I'll be closing the top from here on out. I was trying to guess what word he was trying to spell with Z and S. Maybe Zeus, or Zits. (Do cats get zits?)





It took some doing to get the little buggers back on, and the stupid z keeps poppin off, but I'll get it worked out.





Ben's last flag football was today. It was a cold, grey morning game. The two teams had met earlier this year and Ben's team took a beatin'. This game was different. A defensive battle to the end. Ben started at QB and did a great job, moving the team for one of its 3 first downs. Then, after handing off on a double reverse, he was trying to throw a block, and ended up going kneecap to kneecap with another player. He went down in a heap in what I was sure was a blown ACL. It looked like ACL type agony, and he needed to be helped off the field...by me. Had it been an NFL game, it might have been a cart.





As it turns out, it was just a good bruised kneecap. He sat out for two series and then, at my urging, he went back in on Defense. Uncle Steve was there watching, he had come from Bayview, and I didn't want to have him have to watch Ben sit on the sideline.





Ben played the rest of the game. As I said, it was a 0-0 game until the Giants (Ben's team) threw an ill-advised, across-the-field pass that was picked off deep in their territory. The next play they threw a pass to Ben's receiver who was double covered by Ben and Brandon, and the kid caught it in the end zone and scored. The kid was a head taller than Ben and to Ben's defense, he defended him the best he could. It was just a well thrown pass to a taller kid. Whats a boy to do? It's like Terrell Buckley and Michael Irvin. OK, bad analogy.





I tell you though, I am so proud of that kid. He made every practice and was a good sport about every game, every play. He said the other team was trash talking, but he never did. I know Ben, he wouldn't do that. He's just better than that.





The Giants got the ball back for two more plays after the touchdown and succeeded in getting;





1. An illegal procedure penalty


2. An incomplete, almost picked off pass





After the game we all headed to Marty's for end-of-season Pizzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzssszzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzza. There's that stupid z key at work again.





I did get to talk to Ben's offensive coach at length and found out he has his own business recycling cell phones. If you've got one, contact: http://www.legacycellular.com/





It seems like a noble cause. Taking old cell phones and either recycling them, if they're too old, or getting them to lower income or third world countries.



Is it just me or are the colors of the fall trees exceptionally vibrant this year. God is amazing!

Donna's grandma passed away yesterday. While my initial thought was that it was very sad, after giving it some thought it occurred to me that she's in a better place and is finally reunited with her husband, Ray, after so many years alone. That's a great thing. That and meeting Jesus. Sweet!

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There it goes. Mind of it's own.

I think my cat wants me to hurry and finish this because he's thunk of a word. (Is thunk a word?)

Writing class continues to stretch me and challenge me. My friggin' memoir has become much bigger than I ever intended it and I may never finish it. If I should croak before it's done, it's in my C:\Jim\Papers folder. Please paste the sucker together and get it published for me posthumously. It's the least you could do for all the work I've stuck into it.

So with regards to doing the Mr. Mom thing, as I am, I have a few questions.

1. Where do you draw the line between the "colors" and "darks" clothes sort? Is grey considered a dark? What if it's grey and red? Color or dark? How about a dark blue towel? Blue is still a color.

2. Does making your bed matter when the kids don't care? If I wasn't so anal about the way it looks, I probably wouldn't make it.

3. If you stop making your bed, is the next step not folding clothes? From there it's leaving the milk out to spoil, seventy three emaciated cats, drinking vodka straight from the bottle, tin-foil on the windows, electricity shut off, human garbage and feces on the floor, an obsession with Betty Davis movies, and Lord knows what else. I think it's just easier to make the bed.

4. As I ran onto the field when Ben hurt his knee today, I thought how odd it would be if Aaron Rodgers's dad ran onto the field when he got hurt. Hey, that's my kid!

5. I think we're having pop tarts for dinner. Is that wrong?

I caught my first Musky last week. What a trip. Just a great fish. Small for a musky at 36", but I'll take it. I was shaking for 10 minutes. My friend Steve took me up for my first musky fish and now I'm hooked. It's hard to describe how it's different from regular fishing, but it is. I still love both, and will probably only go musky fishing once a year, but who knows? I still like to catch ALOT of fish, but catching one REALLY BIG one is cool too. Thanks so much to my good friend Steve and his friends John and Julie for use of their cabin.

Well, my mixed load of colors and darks (yes, I gave up) is ready to be hung on the line, so for now I'm blogging off.

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