...---... It's just another day......du du du du du du.. ...---...

Yes, Victor it is........ hey, whatsup with the dots and the dashes?

AY, CHIHUAHAHA!   HEY! WAIT, leggo.  Here's my driver's license.. See my hair?  It's reddish... I've got some Irish in me... oh, and German...NO, WAIT!  Also, English and a tad of Osage.  Born in St. Louie...  whew, close one.

The ...---.., thanks for asking, is Morse Code for SOS.  My father was a Code guy in WWII.  He never enjoyed fun. JK.  He would dit dit dit dot dot dot (Lionel Richie) all night long when I was a kid.  And too, he'd raise his arm, holler "HEIL HITLER!" then, under his breath add "In case we lose."

So, of course, we're gonna talk Sports.

Victor, you need GPS for your blog, we're friggin' always lost.  Me too, that's what I enjoy the most!

In Sport's news.........

Royal's 2nd Baseman Jonathan India CUT HIS HAIR.  Good gosh i hope it makes him hit better... HEY, calm down, this ain't social media, it's a blog, scram!

Article in the paper this morning about a dude the Royal's signed (Pitcher, Alex Lange, went to Lees Summit West HS, lived 20 minutes from the Stadium).. "Oh man, we used  to go to games for five bucks... park for five bucks.  Dollar hot dog nights, we'd down as many as we could."   I think one'a the new hires in the Royal's PR Department was formally a Butcher at Hy Vee before because virtually in the same breath he announced "insteada Dollar Dog night every Friday, it's gonna be once a month now instead."

WHO LEFT THE DOGS OUT?  Hey, it cost a lotta money to build a stadium.

Speakin'a dogs.....

Surprise (Arizona)... Pitchers, Catchers and Dogs reported yesterday.  Salvy, last year rookie phenom Carter Jensen (catchers) shook hands with all the pitchers (Michael, Seth, Kris, Lucas, Carlos, Cole, etc, "And over here, this'here is Barry, he's Bobby and Maggie Witt's Bernedoodle (a Poodle and Bermese Mountain Dog for those'a you keepin track'a draft status)  Preseason Bark at the Park.  Hey, nobobby said he couldn't bring him.

And finally........

STAY OUTTA THE KITCHEN!

Right about when Pickleball was making it's meteoric rise across the land, affliction set in for me.  Which, was fine cause I always sucked at racket/paddle sports anyways. (VICTOR that is so not true.. don't you remember 1971, your hair was filthy long, you went [kinda] to Maple Woods Junior College... you skipped SO MANY classes (I know, I remember... a 1.6 GPA) BUT, you spent so much time "during class" in the Student Union that you at least became semi proficient in something and you won BOTH the foosball AND the ping pong intramural tourneys?  Oh yeah, thanks. I forgot, or, was trying to)

THE KITCHEN.

Apparently, the Kitchen is the small rectangle on either side of the net...where ya can't hit the ball out of for fear you might knock an opponent over due to the closeness of it all.  So, it's gotta bounce in there, then you can hit it but ya still can't hit it whilst any part of your person is in the kitchen.

I'm tellin'ya, Pickleball is some serious stuff. At least it is, was, at the Spruce Creek Country Club in Florida yesterday.  A friendly game amongst seniors. The Sapienza's (Anthony, 63 and Julianne, fitty one) were playing another couple when Anthony accused a the lady on the other team of hitting (SMASHING) the ball at his wife while standing in the KITCHEN.  Now this, again, was a big deal, I think it was a loser's bracket match in the Weekly Class B Senior Tourney.

The other guy apparently said "Nuh uh, she wasn't in the kitchen!".... Anthony no likey the answer. The winners were walking off when Anthony yelled "YOUR WIFE IS A (ENTER A VERY UGLY WORD HERE)"  Ruh roh, paddles was'a flyin, Anthony used the handle to 'say hi' to the other dude's nose, drawing blood, THEN, knocked down his wifey who was trying to save him..  you know, the one who stepped in the kitchen.. Julianne jumped in, got a lick in for good measure, Someone called 911 (Had my pa been there he woulda done his ...---... thing)

Anthony said "Come on Julianne, jump in"... drove away in some kinda getaway car..cops came to their house... She, one count of felony battery on a person over 65, he, TWO counts of felony battery on a person over 65.  Folks at the Spruce Creek had no further comment other than to say the court had been wiped up and that matches were ongoing.

 It's just another day......du du du du du du..   .

"Honey?"  Yeah?   Breakfast... you want me to cook up some ...---...? (Same ole Same ole?)  ah, hmmm. Nah, let's take a break from the kitchen today and go to the Awful Waffle.  Deal, I'll get the car.

Tune in tomorrow (I wouldn't, if I were you)...ya never know when I'll write one worse than this.

Happy day,

Love, Victurd

It's the first three letters I abhor......... DIEt.

Sugar, ah honey honey
You are my candy girl
And you've got me wanting you.
Honey, ah sugar sugar
You are my candy girl
And you got me wanting you

No, you're correct - this really hasn't been a lifetime fight for me..   So to those who've battled, struggled, perhaps simply have the genes of a larger family - apologies and it's not my intent to sound like a whiney butt, but(t), I probably do.

I just can't believe the lovliness of loving you,
(I just can't believe it's true)
I just can't believe the wonder of this feeling to
(I just can't believe it's true)

I know we just left January - and historically, January is when so many of us hop on board, go, sweat, and then months later cuss at our bank statements because they keep taking out money for the gym, again, again, and again, even though we stopped setting foot in it back in April.

Ah Sugar, ah honey honey
You are my candy girl,
and you got me wanting you
Oh Honey, ah sugar sugar
you are my candy girl
and you got me wanting you

I. LOVE. SUGAR.  I do. But, it's evil! Or, so I hear.

With 20, 30, 40, fitty, and sometimes even 60, our butts don't make an impression on the sofa or in the easy chair.  With, s'more aging, that changes.  A wiseacre grandkid, might stop, look, point, LAUGH and then say "LOOK GRANDPA!  I CAN SEE YOUR BUTT IMRESSION IN THE RECLINER!"  Funny haha.  Maybe I'll laugh right along with him when I try to get up from it later. 

When i kissed you girl I knew how sweet a kiss could be.  
(I know how sweet a kiss could be)
Like the summer sunshine pour you sweetness over me
(Pour your sweetness over me)

I've really only had one fairly serious attempt at dieting.  I read books and articles and WebMD, watched friends walkoutta the Nutrition joint in town. Seen others ten weeks after they started SlimFast.. and then again, ten weeks after they'd stopped.  Tweren't a pretty site but again, so much (I think anyways) is genetic.  At age 70-something, genes don't give a damn.  You eat. And eat.  It sticks toya.

Pour a little sugar on it honey
Pour a little sugar on it Baby
I'm gonna make your life so sweet, yeah yeah yeah
pour a little sugar on it yeah
pour a little sugar on it honey
pour a little sugar on it baby
I'm gonna make your life so sweet, yeah yeah yeah
pour a little sugar on it honey

My Uncle, with his very worst Dad joke.  Our families would walk into the restaurant, and it wasn't five minutes later he asked each and every waitress "Can i have a little sugar?"  Har har. Yes, funny the first time.  Creepy each time after?

Ah sugar, ah honey honey
you are my candy girl
and you got me wanting you
Oh honey, sugar sugar..............
You are my candy girl

There is so, so, so much I love to eat, I shouldn't. I'd walk to Ridgeview Elementary School for one'a their cinnamon rolls. Or hell, Strouds too for one'a theirs.  You scream, I scream, we all scream for Ice Cream.  I'd promise not to kill (ha ha) for a Dairy Queen Peanut Buster Parfait. (Now, they cost for than a pounda ground beef, so, I'll settle for a little small tubba Great Value vanilla ice cream, a bottle'a Great Value Chocolate Syrup and jar'a Great Value peanuts.

It (DIEting) is a rather small leap'a faith. It's like when you're out on the golf course.  You swing, you miss. (Should count as a stroke even if you missed the ball.) So, you glance right, then left, then back each way again... whew, "nobody saw me cheating, nom, nom, nom, nom, and "Down goes Frazier".. no wait, that ain't it.   "Down goes and ENTIRE box of Thin Mint Girl Scout Cookies."  And, the answer to your question "Really?" is uh huh, I have.

It;s goofy because it ain't about other people... but somehow "Just one" gets in the way, we go to the scale the next day, cuss... then glance in the mirror and see the culprit right after seeing we didn't lose a dadgum ounce, mebbe even gained a pound.  I hate scales, mebbe why I never liked fish.

Years ago at work we had a Wellness thingy in the breakroom.  BP, weight, cholesterol, blood sugar... and then I was at the last station, she said "We're gonna measure your waist"... I laughed, said "You don't need to do that, I've worn size 36 pants forever and ever."  "Yes, but, we measure around the belly button."  "Oh." (Damnit)

I WANT PIZZA, FRIES (Seasoned, curly, waffle, crispy, don't matter), PASTA, PASTA, S'MORE PASTA, COOKIE, CUPCAKES, BROWNIES, CAKE.........  ain't it anyone's Birthday soon?

Pepsi, Mountain Dew, Dr. Pepper, Sprite, Fanta, Thirsty, just Whistle, Grape NeHi, four fried chickens and a Coke.  Quoting Beetlejuice, Somebody help me.

Will Power.  Never met him.  I'll just get onea them newfangled shots, then continue working on my butt impression in the easy chair.  Victor, that's no kinda impression for your grandkids.. THEY'RE the ones that were makin; funna me!  The little.. (VICTOR!)

And above, of course in addition to the sugar, the carbs.  Reading all them diet books, websites, et al, I'm not smart.  Not great at comprehension.  Sugar and carbs I can remember, I did try once (for more than a month) and it did work. BUT(T). 

It's hard. WIMP.  Uh huh, am.  I hate mirrors, they look just like me.

OK, I'm off.  Four eggs, two yummy slices of Fricks ham (the bomb), and a handful of extra sharp sliced cheddar, all scrambled up. VICTOR?  (Put's hand over eyes, peeks outta one.) "Yes?"  Sees stern look. OK damnit, three eggs, one slicea ham, and a tablespoon of cheese. VICTOR?  Whatever Richard Simmons, one egg a halfa damn piecea Fricks and a teaspoon of cheese.

I hate, Interstates, Poltical argue, the Transfer Portal, Arrogance, a cat that doubles as a tattoo artist, any temp Southa fitty, Joel Olsteen (sorry, just me prolly), stupid blogs, sorry.. and.......

DIEt's. 

Editors Fats Domino, Fatty Arbuckle, Sugar Ray Leonard, Joe Carbonneau, Wegovy and Ozempic........

Love, Victurd

When I grow up I wanna.........

Be a major league baseball player...      wait, nevermind.

Sing karaoke, but, not with the prompter, with the lyrics I remember hearing.

Never stop chasing women... in spite of forgetting "Then what" should I ever catch one.

See a contest to have THE BEST High School Marching Band play at halftime of the Super Bowl.

Have a button I can press on my phone to then verbally return a text message. Victor, they already have that. Oh.

Blink my eyes to change the channel like Samantha insteada sending out an APB as to where the remote is.

Talk back to the lady on GPS when I DON'T take the suggested road she offers.  Victor, you already do that.  Yeah but, I wanna talk back to her when she says "recalculating".  Victor.  You already do that too... don't you remember saying "Screw you lady" when you were taking your grandson home recently and she told you to "Make a U Turn on 8th Street"?

Go to the Piggly Wiggly, grab a one pound roll of ground beef, hand the lady a bill with Abe's pic on it, and have it be enough.

Stop coughing. Stop smoking.

Get ridda whoever this is that always invades my blogs.  Stop writing then.

Get married again.  Oh my.... well, I guess it's 5pm somewhere.

Turn the hands of time forward enough (NoTox) to where Cher looks old like the resta us.

See... a husband.. a Congressional Party member...  and a Manager... in a room, and universally say, "You're right" even if just one time.

Have a school cinnamon roll for breakfast, an El Sombrero beef burrito for lunch and then for dinner, some ghetti from The Old Spaghetti Factory.  Topped off by an ice cold beer and nachos from Twin Peaks Restaurant.  They have food there?

Run, jump, hop, without a new knee, hip, sciatic nerve, trip, trip to ER.

Watch Stan The Man's infamous butt wiggle batting stance one more time whilst he laces a fastball into the leftfield gap.

If I make it to Heaven, years from now, I wanna see anuther Mahomes scramble, with Otis Taylor lifting one hand to make a "nuh uh, did you just see that?" catch/throw.

Find out "Mike's got what?"

Pet all my hounds. Again.

Call all my kitty cats by name again, and one by one get that "Be for real" look again from them.

Arrange, and hopefully win, a Geezer Scooter race at our 65th Class Reunion.

Find out if anyone ever (for real) did have Jenny's phone number........Jr's BR549's Area Code.... Forget Bob Hamilton's Area Code..    and, know the actual size glove OJ wore.

See an AI Hollywood Squares with Barney, Andy, Otis, Tim Conway, Red Skelton, George Carlin, John Candy, Richard Pryor, John Bulushi , Gilda Radner, Chris Farley and Don Rickles.

Take a walk on the wild side... you know, play golf on a course known for having gators. 

Get a hole in one and have some one in addition to me and God, seeing it.

See Nurse Ratched smile.  (See Chief dunk a basketball)

Skydive, awaken from my dream, then go have breakfast at whatever Hy-Vee is calling their restaurant this week.

See a cure for cancer, ALS, Alz, Parkinsons, much.

A home for everyone homeless.

See, live bipartisanship.

Live in a United States.

The inventor of pop-ups, not killed, but..  hung by his gonads just long enough for him to get to the point to promise, "OK, NEVER AGAIN!"

Write another blog. Hey, means another tomorrow.

Facetime a blog, just one time, to see who, if anyone, is out here.

I have a young friend who'm I'm extremely proud of... he's mentioned PTSD a time or two. He recently, by himself, took all 5 of his kids to Hawaii, by his lonesome.  Excited to see him upon his return, "Hey, how was it?"  "HORRIBLE".  He did mention some behavior issues, but, name one coach that ain't had that with a basketball team eh? He did later relate some of the marvelous things he/they did.  I said all that to get to this, I wanna be able to save (ie, continue to work)... I've got some of the money put away... to take my grands on their first plane ride... to their first time to see the ocean.... and, if needed, enough Xanax to get me through, as, kids will be kids. (I always remind kids, "Stop acting your age!")

That's about it... oh, and more Fritos, tangerines, pulled pork sannys, 300 burgers, a hand held at the movie theater, continued Everready Still Going 2002 Buick Century, and..................

Love in the air. Not mine.  Ours.

Love, Victurd

You got some change coming.......

That's an open ended one huh?  Could be ripe for a Bob Dylan song.  Before you jump allover me for that.. I might tell you.... my ex, LOVED LOVED LOVED, Bob Dylan, as in, I've seen him fitty three times I think, he always had some answer in the wind I could never unnerstand. Victor, back to point, title.

Right you are.

Life is about change eh?  Our first big step is just that, a big step.  Our horizontal world becomes an upright, vertical world, we're introduced to falling, bumps, bruises, getting back up - but damn daddy, this walkin' stuff is the bomb..   like, the training wheels are off... I got my driver's license!...Gradjugation... they're gonna lemme work from home! Sixty five, I AM OUTTA HERE. Honey?  Can you help me load the geezer scooter in the trunk? Victor?  Uh huh?  Ya better slow down, you gotta whole blog to write.

Right you are. Change.  Happens.  Weather.  Light. Dark.  Breakfast kinda stuff, lunch, dinner. (and before all that, momma's boobies and strained carrots.)  We won't discuss change and momma's boobies in the same sentence again, promise.

SCHOOL.  We go. Our eyes are opened. Sesame Street helps us ask "Who are the people in the neighborhood" (and school), whereas, you might change the channel you're watching South Park, and it's "Who the hell are all these people?"

AI, or whoever does Google crap is amazing.  You gotta cipher answers when they give 'em to ya... like.. "When do our brains get ripe?"   

"It is well established that the brain undergoes a “rewiring” process that is not complete until approximately 25 years of age. This discovery has enhanced our basic understanding regarding adolescent brain maturation and it has provided support for behaviors experienced in late adolescence and early adulthood"

So that's it. Blog. School is over. Bye. Ahm, Victor?  Uh huh?  You mentioned something about 'change coming'.  As much as sometimes I prefer you do leave, you can't leave us like that.  Oh.  OK.

On the way to that age 25, much transpires.  Some centers around sand.  Into the sandbox.  MINE. Jimmy, share please.  Out of the sandbox.  A few years later, to the beach. Wow, would you look at her!  Johnny, MINE, touch her and I'll have ta killya.  Gradjugation happens. The tassel goes East West, or is it West East?

We get a job.  A W-2.  WHY do they take so mucha my money! All I've got left is change!  Just wait.  Kids pop in.  We then teach the sandbox.  Say, would you buy some'a these damn trash bags? I can't afford to pay for all the stuff Louie's Little League team does. Road Trips, Tourney fees, $300 Bomb bats, new shoes.  NEW SHOES? I just boughtya new shoes last year!

We work our way up the ladder, or not.  Sometimes, should we stay at bottom, we getta urge to bump them suckers up at the top offa the ladder.  Some, climb that ladder, take pride in working for a common goal.  Others, simply wanna look down on others.  Yet a few more, wanna hurry-up-and-be sixty five so "I can get the hell offa the ladder."  Vacations don't help much.  Sand in our crack, allover the hotel carpet, and into the rental car.

Then we get real old. They give us cake and punch.  Gag gifts of Depends.  The joke is on them as... we leave the parking lot and look out the rear view mirror.  Oh crap, here he goes, looking into the past again.

Yer damn right!  Now, the past is all I got!  Ya see these scars on the inside'a my elbow? Got them when I was 9, stiff arming the front screen door to go out, except, it was actually made of glass.  This one, a scar on my cheek.  One'a 'who are the people in the neighborhood' (no names, Jimmy Crouch) threw a dog bone at me, I got 7 stitches!

Then, my wifey had a C-section, God Bless her, truly. And then, WHAT?  I have to PAY? To get CUT ON?  DOWN THERE? Victor, be a good boy.  Sit. Stay.  Come.  Remember how happy Gabe was when he jumped in the car to go to the vet?  NOT FUNNY.  OUCH, I'll never recover.

I recovered. And then the guys at AI, or Google, or Encyclopedia Britannica, whoever, speak easy to unnerstand English and tell us...... 

As a person gets older, changes occur in all parts of the body, including the brain. Certain parts of the brain shrink, including those important to learning and other complex mental activities. In certain brain regions, communication between neurons may be less effective.

To the outhouse, by Willie Makeit.  I've decided I'm just going to give envelopes with money in em this year.  WHY DON'T THEY PAINT THESE GD (Gosh darn) WHITE LINES ANY BRIGHTER?  Sure, come get your wiffle ball, but I got new grass seed over there, stay outta there.

WHY are these basta's honking at me?  I'm going fitty five in the right lane, speed limit's 60?  Say sweetie, after you gitme them scratch off tickets, can I showya pics of my grandson's first birthday? They did the cake smash, it was The Bomb.

Grandpa? What year were you born?..................... And, you're still alive?   It sure does get early dark.  I'll record the ten o'clock news and watch it in the morning.  YES, I'm wearing this to WalMart, ain'tya seen all them videos of what some wear?  Compared, I could be a church-goer.

I miss Ernie.  He was the best.  Yep, we were on the same Little League team.

Wait, what?  Our brains shrink?  You listen here Whippersnapper.  I'm STILL, all about fun. B.I.N.G.O.... Old maids at the Senior Center. VICTOR! I'm talkin' the card game, calm down, ain't no miser'genist.

There's cruises to be taken, Baskin Robbins with the grands, Chief's games in Kansas (VICTOR, that doesn't excite me.  Don't tell. Me neither.  And hell, parking will prolly cost more than a family pack of ground beef.  Uh huh).

Old age is about wearin' stripes and plaids, same time, barn door down.  Not being embarrassed about passing gas, hell i can't hear it anyways.  Class reunions can be fun, sad at the same time. So, so many gone.  "Excuse me ma'am, my eyes ain't what they usedta be... what's it say on your name tag?" Victor, we dated our sophomore year.  Oh hell, I'm sorry.  Me too, but my brain ripened, just kidding.

Just a song before I go.

Life's a ball of wax... with sand in it.  Shrinkage huh?

I

WILL

HAVE

YOU

KNOW.

I ain't slippin'.  JUST THIS MORNING, very early morning... my phone, you see, I have a Sudoku app on it.  I'm kinda addicted.  They have a 'championship' thingy every week.  Whoever scores the most points (the addicts, that, that's all they do is play that crap) is announced as, "The Gold Prize Winner"  The glare from playing at 10am, 3pm, 6pm, 9pm that's when I fall asleep), midnight (wake to pee, play a game or two), 2am (I knew the contest was ending.).. that glare, 4AM getting to me. But, presto, color me, THE Grand Prize Winner.

I'll be signing autographs later today at the Dollar Tree.  (A dollar and a quarter is all I can afford to pay you if you come... after my brain shrinks s'more.. I reach the "What white lines" age, my scivvies are made outta plastic, I won't be able to afford two beers at the Landing, I can't play golf, well, just because I can't... I'll host autograph signings at the "Five Below' store, thataway, I can pay you a tad more and make it worth your while.

I think we'd better commit him.

Do they have a sandbox?  Beach?  The women wear 'keenies?" I NEVER SAID ANYTHING ABOUT SAGGY BOOBIES.

Love, Victurd

PS, I love you........

 Dear Sports......

As I write this letter..  

Send my love to you..

Remember that I'll always

Be in love with you...

(This in between part... actually, I'm putting my pen down and thinking out loud. OK dangit, you're correct, I'm using the keyboard, but it ain't sposedta be parta the letter... there, how's that?)

Treasure these few words till we're together
Keep all my love forever
P.S. I love you
You, you, you

Sports, I remember my first baseball 'glove', circa nineteen fitty six maybe fitty seven.  It was a plastic bowl that mom lent me 'cause it fit my hand... and there was a tennis ball ole Brownie and I played fetch with in the yard.... and, out by the detached garage, there was a 3 foot tall concrete wall...  me, the tennis ball, the 'glove' would spend hours on end, I mean literally hours oh end.. throwing it off the wall, catching it, pretending I was at Busch Stadium or the like...and I'd throw it to first base (the wall) again, and again, and again.... it was, rather instant love.  Brownie?  He was leashed up to the clothesline, he couldn't throw too well.

I'll be coming home again to you, love
And till the day I do, love
P.S. I love you
You, you, you

I remember the day I got my first glove, not long after the bowl was really broken in.  And then, OMG, which, I think back then we actually said "COOL" when mom, dad, aunt, uncle, cousin - actally went to a game in St. Louis. I'd never ever seen such a large yard with no dandelions. Pristine. TALL, forest green walls surround, I remember Curt Flood timing his jump on a fly ball... skying over the green wall... as if to say "Nope, you ain't leavin' the yard ball!"  NICE CATCH!

As I write this letter
Send my love to you
Remember that I'll always
Be in love with you

We, us, our neighbors, that time of life - wasn't 'UPPITY'.  Our folks were ok with paths of green grass gone where we stood to bat, pitch. They even gave us chalk to write on the curbs the distance it was for a home run when we hit the wiffle ball over.  The water meter was second base, no one ever broke a bone on it... if we did get scraped up, there was Mercurochrome that would fix any darn thing.

Treasure these few words till we're together
Keep all my love forever
P.S. I love you
You, you, you

We upgraded our game a few years later, Indian ball at the City Park.  It was the day and age we could, after checking with mom, throw our glove on the bike handle, peddle, meet buddies our age, play, play, play s'more... search for a pop bottle or three under the bleachers... on the way home... turn it in to the Safeway for a couple nickels... get us a cold, cold bottle of Pepsi. (Coke for me.)  If it was a day the yellow bus wasn'ta comin', we'd peat and repeat, again and again.

As I write this letter (Oh)
Send my love to you (You know I want you to)
Remember that I'll always (Yeah)
Be in love with you

HOLY MOLY, 8th grade football!  Hey, don't bug me, I gotta watch and see how Jimmy puts all these dang pads on so I can too.  We are in the BIG TIME!..... and basketball in the Winter... Track in the Spring..... NO YELLOW BUSES!  BASEBALL!  We was "Will it go round in cirlces" cool before Billy Preston even sang it!

I'll be coming home again to you, love
And till the day I do, love
P.S. I love you
You, you, you
You, you, you
I love you

Lyrics are done, I gotta speed this up a tad.  So, over the years, we stuck to sports... in spite'a things like Homecoming Queen, Courtwarming Queen, College, jobs, marriage, KIDS! OH BOY WE GETTA DO THIS AGAIN! THRU THEM!  Rec leagues... slopitch softball, WAY too many years......  The point is sports, I love ya.  I ain't without worry. (Worries)...

WAY too many have tried to 'gussy it up' even more.  I remember how livid my Uncle was the first Bud ad he saw written on the outfield wall.  What? A bunny that comes up from the ground to give the ump more baseballs?  Free agency?  Lockouts, walkouts  Nolan Ryan got a MILLION?  NUH UH.  Uh huh.

VICTOR!  It's still good! Don't you remember when the Chief's game was blacked out, a bunch of us drove to Maryville, got a motel room so we could see the game! That was the bomb.....  And.... how we couldn't go, do ANYTHING on Monday Night ''cause we HAD to be home for Howard's MNF highlights from all the games over the weekend?  The best baby, the best.  Yeah but.....

Now, there is SO much signage on outfield walls, ya gotta squint to see the part where and-all the batter sees is green.  What's a PED?  College kids are gonna get paid? NIL?  That didn't even LOOK like Ed O'Bannon! The Portal?  Hang nail, transferring to State.  Coach leaving? Me too then.  I know I'm just a freshman and I gotta wait my turn, but, maybe not if I take enter the Portal and see if someone will offer me guaranteed playing time. I like it here, but, so-and-so is gonna give me $____ more to go there. Eh, hopefully my gf will follow me.

Whadda ya think of the QT patch on the Royal's Uni's?  Nevermind that, what's a GEHA Field?  You gonna watch the Mannings or ABC?  There are TWO halftime shows?  Tastes great, Less filling! Division always was my least favorite in math.

Thank goodness we've got Social Media so we can see the results immediately, chat with our buddies.  Our Coach sucks, they gotta git ridda him.  You're an a**hat, it's our QB. The AD sinks way too much money in Basketball, we'll never keep up. Can we not be happy just because we won?

I'm not gonna watch the Super Bowl this year... social issues... the halftime show... hate this owner, that QB, sport. Yada.  

We cut the cable, and now we stream.  Susie works a second job so we can afford but at least we can still see all the games.  WHAT?  FanDuel, ATT SportsNet, NBCSN, they ain't here no more?  I gotta pay $14.99 to some dang Peacock channel just to see the game Thursday?  Susie, can you ride your bike to work?  jk.

I very much miss the purity of Sport we once knew.  As a grandparent, it's so, so, refreshing to go see a kid's game now,.... harken back to once was.  WHAT?  They took 8th place and all of 'em gotta trophy?

I miss Say Hey...  Stan the Man... the fun of Yogi and Ueck...  even Weaver with his closeness to umps...

Coming soon to a field near you...... the ABS Challenge System......  AI instant replay.  Remember when the NCAA had two legs?  Hey Ernie, you going to the Seahawks victory parade?  Are you kidding me.. and maybe get shot?

Some things look better with mud on 'em..... not all 'gussied up'. 

Love, Victurd

Well.........

That's a deep subject....... (per my golf partner TLG whenever 'well' is said on the golf course.)

Deep.  Depth.

This will be a short one. You are welcome, tsk, tsk!

I dunno if you're like me......... (and if you are, holy crap I feel sorry for you!).. Nah, I think we're all alike in this.

The depth of friendship in some... be it a loved one, friend - any pillar in one's life.

Many things surround, include, define that... two that come to mind are, sharing braggadocio, and, at the other enda the spectrum, sorrow.  (And of course, anything, everything in between!)

Color me a chocolate mess on the braggadocio because I've long said, arrogance runs me off quicker than a Rottweiler at the gate...  but by golly, if you can't share something you're truly proud of (like, what a grandkid said or did.... or, a feat you'e been trying to attain for a long time, finally did it - and shared with that person that means so much to you.......  that's where I was going.

Sorrow........ pride is hard to swallow, but, sometimes it will go down.  We all, I think, have disappointment, sadness, frailties, hurtful moments in life........  when we share that admission with someone about some aspect in our life...... it's HUGE to me to be able to do that.  Much we keep couped up inside and there's no argue if that's one's choice..... and some do, forever and ever.  I think it's truly healthy to share personal sorrow....  AGREE, it can be overdone, overshared - but, I think usually not.  If that happens, it becomes a personal 'trait', and that ain't a good thing.  The ain't it awful game sucks - but again, how's the song go..  We all need, someone, to lean on.

One last thought.  It ain't a one way street.  That confidante', wonderful person we speak to, share....  the roads run East-West, North-South... ie, we are equally as good a listener (and welcoming too)... two way traffic.

Occasionally, sharing a doozy  (or, listening to one being shared) is cleansing, healthy, natural.

Well........... 

Life is a deep subject, thanks for listening.

Love, Victurd

The News........

This ain't... but, some nice person called it that yesterday, so hells bells, I'll play along.

Breaking Kansas City News........

"Whatta you gonna do today?"   "Oh... i dunno... I thought about going down to the Ameristar Casino... stirring things up a bit.... getting kicked out... then, run outside, hop in the sewer drainage pipe thing and see if I can crawl and make it under the parking lot and over to 210 Highway. (a half mile or so)"  She did just that (tried anyways) but.... once she was about 300 yards into the sewer pipe, it started getting smaller and smaller and smaller.  Ruh ruh.  Fortunately, she had her phone, even more fortunately, it worked from down there......  Blessings to the EMT's that crawled in and fetched her out.

She is up for "The Weirdest Kansas City Stunt" for 2026....  The Award will be presented early 2027 at a brief dinner at Hamburger Marys. The presenter will be the 2022 Award winner Johnathon.. the guy that rode the ATV down I-435... the wrong way....  Naked.  In attempt to fill the joint up, they've invited the 2021 National Award winner, Stephen to attend. (he's the one that climbed the Trump Tower using suction cups 'cause he "wanted to talk to Donald.")

Avid hunters, backed by the Pennsylvania NRA, are collecting signatures in Jefferson County, PA in hopes of getting a measure on the April ballot that would add an open hunting season for 'Marmota monax's' (Ground Hogs) for the month of January, 2027.. Signs at a rally nearby stated "We're sick of Phil... how much sun (or shadow) could a Woodchuck see if a Woodchuck was fulla pellets'?  Punxsutawney is the County seat of Jefferson County. PETA and Climate activists are expected to protest should there be an election.

GoodRX, with the announcement of the Greatest RX plan we've ever seen, has filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy.  On a connected note, an anonymous White House Staffer was fired after it was found he sent press releases to both CNN and FOX announcing "An erection will happen for the CEO of TrumpRX in May." The running joke going around Capitol Hill was "Why would it take three months for that?"

On second thought, I ain't sure I got the wherewithal to cover the daily News, make a report every single day.  In fact, I think I'll go have a glass of Scotch so it'll help me take a long nap.  "On the rocks?"..  Nah, straight up is fine.

Love, Victurd