A DAILY PRAY

It wasn't my original idea. I got it from one of those emails that friends send. It's one I won't pass on to you unless you'd like for me to.

It's Andrew Boccelli singing The Lord's Prayer while scripted letters fall off the page. Maybe not a good description, but it is terrific. It addresses the state of our union. How can we expect God to bless us when we are so unfaithful?

We are living the basic theme of the last book of the Old Testament. In Malachi 3, we're told by God to return to Him and He will return to us. We simply have to do this in these perilous times.

The e-mail also stresses that we need to pray daily for our nation and its leaders that they will put their trust in the Lord, that they, too, seek His will for their lives and our country.

Like most prayers, I have received a blessing by doing this daily. I'd love to enlist you to do the same and for you to encourage others as well.

Lord willing, I'm going to keep it up. Please contact me if you you'd like the email. If not, please join with me in a daily moment of prayer for the US. You'll be glad you did.

TRUTH OR DARE

We never played that game. Actually, I first heard of it from Madonna. Not that we're close. But what if I told you I had met her one time? The answer will be at the end of this entry.

Would that be as the old saying goes a truth or dare? Or as another old saying goes would it be a lie, a damned lie, or a statistic?

There seems to be a lot of lying going on these days. I guess there's always been a lot of it. I had two friends, one in grade school, one at college that were habitual liars. I never confronted either one except for one time. And, you know what--it didn't phase him to be caught in a bald face lie. So I never bothered him again with a little thing like the truth.

"I invented the internet," Al Gore told us. He received a couple of little prizes after that. I guess it was like my friend.

More recently a lawmaker told us he fought in Viet Nam. Seems he didn't.

Which is worse? I'll let you decide. As for me, well I'm one of the most honest people you'll ever meet. Oh, I might embellish a story somewhat. I might tell you I approve of something you did, when I didn't. But the main reason I don't lie is my short term memory. I can''t remember for the most part if I've told a certain friend a story or not. So if I'm not honest, I'll get called on the carpet for it. Bad memory leads to honesty--that's a good thesis, which I could support with examples.

Now, to Madonna. One night in Philadelphia last Summer, I went to this little.... no I've never met her. Never wanted to.

Now once in St. Bart we almost were in the same restaurant with Beyonce. Her bodyguards were there, but the only available seats were at the bar. We declined. Beyonce showed while we ate pizza across the street.

IF I WAIT LONG ENOUGH

surely, our Prez will get something right. But my patience is wearing thin.

So what's my current gripe(s)? Read on or come back tomorrow when I will have all the vitriol out of my system.

His appointments. A Supreme Court Judge who's never been a judge. A friend of mine said he was going to throw his hat into the ring because he had spent more time on the bench (in sports) than the appointee. I think I've mentioned that in a recent entry but it deserves a second reference. Napolitano and Holder speak negatively about Arizona's illegal immigration bill. Then both admit they haven't read the 10 page bill. I'm sure they scrutinized the 2,116 pages of the Health Care bill though before they decided to endorse it.

His foreign policy. To allow the Mexican President to address our legislature and bash the illegal immigration bill which is so much more lenient that theirs that's it more than ironic; it's laughable. And to see Biden, Pelosi et.al. stand an applaud him. Well, that's sad. Iran, Israel, Brazil, Poland, the Czek Rep, you can almost name a country and see where this admin has screwed up.

His non-action in the BP oil spill. It's been over 1 month and the Prez has been silent for the most part. Something about putting his foot on the throat of BP to clean it up, but he must have an awfully small foot and apply minimal pressure. Where's the outrage! I would say he has a problem that he didn't inherit, but I'm sure he would still point to President Bush and his support of off-shore drilling. But then it seems that's all this guy can do is to point and make speeches.

Many times one feels better after venting. In this case I don't. But I think we still have a bottle of sugar-free Tums in the cabinet. I hope my wife bought a big bottle.

MAYBE IF I DIDN'T HEAR SO WELL

I'm not a huge fan of cupcakes. Or pancakes. Or chocolate cake.

What keeps me on the right side of one of those doctors' scales that they keep moving to the right, more to the right, more--to reach that equilibrium of balance is crunchy food.

Apples can't be eaten silently. I love to take a huge chaw of an apple and tear it like a caveman. The other bites are good, but not as good as the snap of the apple as the peal and heart of the apple are torn in tandem.

Potato chips. Was there a better invention? Two days ago, I weened myself. For one day, I fasted--no chips or pretzels. The next day's weigh in disappointed. Notable loss, but not the three pounds I expected. I made up for that yesterday and allowed the scales a day of rest this morning.

"Don't smack your food," I was told when I was a kid. So even in my youth, the sound of eating appealed to me.

So until they can come up with a way to heighten the noise of biting into a brussel sprout, I'm afraid more chip-free days are ahead. Either that or wait for hearing loss to occur with age.

I DON'T THINK I UNDERSTAND

The arrow in the picture points to former player and manager Harvey Kuehn's wooden leg, complete with sock, stirrup and cleat. The leg hangs above a bar in Milwaukee. There seems to be some currency stuck on the cleat, but only speculation on my part could tell why.

Evidently the prosthesis is authentic, but who could know? For the macabre sake of the bar owner, I hope he got the real McCoy. I'd hate to think the gimmick to attract customers was a ruse.

In a way, weird, I admit, it reminds me of the newest section of the St. Louis Zoo. I think it's called River Walk, although that's the name of a golf course we play in San Diego and I've golfed there since I last took the grands to the zoo. But to the similarities, stretched as they may be.

We've been to several zoos in the country and in foreign lands and the St. Lou Zoo is near the top of all we have visited. But their expansion designed to draw even more children is a colossal rip-off. It's phony with fake animal sounds. Oh sure there are some good parts, the albino gorilla is worth the trek, but woofers and sub-woofers that are supposed to enhance the walk fail miserably. Even intelligent 7- year olds can see the absurdity.

So I want reality. In my zoos and in my sports memorabilia. If Harv's right gam is a sham, then well, damn!

WHEN I WAS IN COLLEGE
Yup, I think that's where it all started. My dislike of the Chicago Cubs. Especially most of their fans. It continues today. It puzzles me. It has for years.

Before Superstation WGN (is it still that?) I mean there are very few Cub games shown anymore. Same with TNT and the Braves. Another team and fans I don't care for.

But back to the beginnings. As I started to write, before WGN, there were very, very few Cub fans in MTV. Those that were supported their team fervently. But they didn't seem obnoxious to me. They didn't seem to act superior. And with good reason. Even back then it was a long time since a World Series appearance. A generation since a Cub championship.

They were pretty lean times for the Cardinals, the late 50's/early 60's, so I guess neither Midwestern team had much to gloat about.

But in college, I started noticing an attitude from the Northsiders. Maybe it was because the Cardinals stole Lou Brock from them in a one-sided trade. Maybe after '64, '67, and even '68, they had had enough. From my perspective, I didn't see a change in Cardinal fans, but bias sometimes hides its ugly head.

Now the Cubs have had some nice teams, nice players, and even a few nice Cub fans--Jim, Larry, and Brent are the 3 exceptions; that is the three I know who are great Cub fans. I know there are more; I just don't know anymore.

What bothers me is the loyal support of the franchise. What? How do I denigrate loyalty? Well, loyalty needs to be predicated on worth. That is, the Cubs don't deserve the loyalty. I mean you'd have to try hard not to win in order to lose that many years in a row. It's like spousal abuse. Why should the one being abused, remain supportive?

As a St. Louis Rams fan, I understand losing. At least the last 3 seasons. But it's been not quite a decade since they were Super Bowl champs. Do I wear Rams' jerseys and tee shirts? Not out in public. Does that make me hypocritical? Maybe, but it's almost like those tee shirts that say "I'm with Stupid" and an arrow pointing to the other person. Only when I see someone in Cub gear, I think they're stupid. Loyal, but not too bright to display such unrequited emotion.

There: I've said it. No more Cub bashing. Even if they sweep the Cardinals later this week. And if they do, I hope they're smug about it. I'd offer the old cliche "act like you've been there before," except none of them has.

HAMBURGERS AND ARMPITS

That's what Britanny told a guy. You see, not only do I watch American Idol, but since the start, I confess I'm a fan of Glee as well.

If you're not, well I'll fill you in on only the most necessary details. Britanny is a cheerleader who has dated most every other guy at school. Kurt is a guy who thinks he's gay, tries to be a bud to his Dad who is a man's man; he dates Brittany when the cheerleading coach told him he didn't know what his sexuality was since he had never kissed a guy or gal. Got it?

When he kisses the cheerleader he says she tasted like a root beer float and asked her what guys taste like. And yes, it took me that long to make a point. As I get older, notice I didn't say grow older, because I'm afraid I'm not growing much except around the middle, sometimes it takes me so long to make a point that I've forgotten where I was heading. Not so today.

The woman smoking the remains of a ceegar needs a breath mint or three before even indulging in close conversation. She probably knows that. If it's her first cigar, she'll certainly remember next time to come equipped. But my attention is more on how she looks.

How can any woman look good smoking anything other than a cigarette? And even then. There used to be a woman at the Green Hills pool who smoked a pipe. Corn cob unless I'm mistaken. She also wore an African safari hat. She wasn't old; she wasn't tan; she was just weird.

When we were chowing down on some Irish stew at an outdoor cafe in Victoria recently, a woman joined a few others at the table next to us. Well coiffed, well dressed, she looked the part of a Canadian business woman. Until she removed her jacket. Tattoos from elbows to the top of both arms. One on her upper chest looked like a bird taking a nose dive toward her boobs.

No cigar for her, though in these days even smoking at a restaurant outside is passe. But I bet she didn't taste like root beer.