I have several friends and fellow tangent-heads opening in shows tonight. Jamy, Mary, Travis, and others are in two productions – one in Bryan and one in Hicksville. BREAK A LEG GUYS! I hope you have a great time and that the audience give you a wonderful response.
Well, the Bears killed the pitiful Detroit Lions 48 to 24… But I might be more excited even that my dear friend John may get to see his Detroit Tigers get into the playoffs. The Tigers, also playing Chicago (the White Sux), won their game propelling them into a 1-game playoff vs. the Minesota Twins this Tuesday. Lisa and I will have to watch that and root for John’s Tigers!
But, even more exciting than the Bears and Tigers winning and even more amazing than Detroit playing both baseball and football against Chicago at the same time — BEEBER STARTED WALKING!
Now he has been holding-on-to-stuff and walking for months. More recently he had been pushing things around the house — like mini-walkers. But on Sunday, he started WALKING. This means unassassisted and when he falls down, he gets back on his feet. WOW! Another child reaches another milestone. Life is truely a miracle!
More good news… Superfriend extraordinaire (and Best Man at my wedding) Derek has just let me know that he WILL be attending out haunted house outing in IL on October 23. YEAH! This means our other friends must join us — it can be a true TANGENTS event.
Jamy, John, Mary, etc — that means you! (Hey, WHERE has CAROL been? Carol, if you’re reading this – WE MISS YOU!)
** LISA I LOVE YOU **
The Chicago Bears did it again! Another 4th quarter comeback!
Next week we face the Detroit Lions which, with one win in the past two seasons, should be a cakewalk. However, if I know anything about the NFL (do I?) I know that on any given Sunday either team can win the game. So, I will not get too confident!
Jay Cutler, the Bears shiny new QB, looked sharp again helping to fade my memory of that terrible start in Green Bay. At first, I was not very happy… The Bears started down 13-0 and it wasn’t looking very positive. I even had to turn down a friend’s invite for dinner (sorry Cathy!) because I was not feeling very social.
But just before the half the Bears scored a touchdown and provided some tension relief. The rest of the game remained an exciting affiar and it ended the best possible way — with a Bears win.
So, there you have it.
It wasn’t always pretty and I have to be honest, I am still not sure about this Bears team… BUT WE BEAT THE STEELERS and avoided going 0-2. 0-2 might not sound like too big of a deal to you baseball fans, but in NFL world and 0-2 start often means a long and painful season.
Bears new superstar QB, Jay Cutler, rebounded from his terrible 4-interception performance last week to have a very solid game. No interceptions and two touchdown passes!
The Bears defense looked soft at times but, in the end, was able to keep the Steelers to 14 points — thanks especially to Jeff Reed (the Steeler’s kicker) missing 2 “easy” field goals.
It was an exciting game and a Bears win. Have I mentioned how much fun the NFL is? Next week, the Seattle Seahawks… A team I personally hate. Don’t know why, but I do! Hoping to be 2-1 after next Sunday — a winning record would be awesome after that putrid start against Green Bay.
Well, this season of The Office is off and running — literally. Michael, Dwight, and Andy are participating in creating a Parkour video. What is parkour you ask? (see video)
Let’s just say that the trio from The Office didn’t create such amazing athletic footage. It was a great way to start off this season — with some physical comedy!
We also quickly learn what we already kinda knew… That Pam is carrying Jim’s baby. And then we learn something we didn’t know… That Stanley Hudson is having an affair. Uh oh!
Thanks to some interns, Michael becomes aware that Stanley is seeing someone on the side. He then proceeds to tell everyone in the office. Which, of course, he is proud to do — after all, HE has some inside juicy gossip.
Thanks to Jim, Michael begins to realize that perhaps spreading word about Stanley’s affair is not a good idea. But, as Michael points out “you can’t unsay what you’ve already said” (ok, that is not the exact quote)… So, his plan? No problem, he will just spread crazy rumors about everyone in the office. If he does that, people in the office will realize the information going around is not true and, thus, realize that the rumor about Stanley’s affair is ‘not true’.
In the end, Michaels rumor mill does work… At the expense of Pam & Jim. He tells people that Pam is pregnant, unaware that she actully does have a bun in the oven. The couple had wanted to keep their pregnancy private but confessed in order to protect Stanley. (If you want that last sentance to make sense, watch the show!)
Anyway, I’m sick of blogging… The point is — THE OFFICE IS BACK!! YHOOOOOOOOOOPPPPIIIIIEEEE!
Well, it was another year at the WCCT Family Fun Day — a great tradition started and organized by my wonderful wife. Family Fun Day is a day where people from the Williams County Community Theatre get together for as picnic and some softball.
This year there weren’t as many players as in years past as the WCCT has a show coming up soon and some of our regular players had to work on the set. However, we still managed to fill two teams with the help of an all-time pitcher (thanks Beth!).
Enter this year’s game I was 0-2 and I was bound-and-determined to get my first win this year. I even made sure I would have the benefit of Zach on my team (always a strong player). Since John was unavailable 🙁 I thought I had a very good chance of winning — FINALLY.
Things started well, after the first inning my team had a 5-2 lead and I was actually starting to feel guilty thinking it might be a blowout. But after the 2nd inning I felt a little better; we were still winning but it was a close game. The score: 8 – 6 heading into the 3rd and final inning. Hey, were theatre people and were old. Any more than three innings and we do start to sing showtunes and drop dead.
The third inning was interesting, the opposing team (consisting of Lisa, Jamy, Eddie, and Jose) scored 5 runs making it 11-8… But we (Zach, John R, Megan, and myself) still had yet to bat. Since we were averaging 4 runs per inning I was not concerned.
WE SCORED ONE RUN!
Even Zach couldn’t get the ball out of the infield in the third inning! The ending score was 11-9 and I now stand alone at the BOTTOM of the record list at 0-3. Yep, that’s right. NOBODY ELSE IS 0-3. The next worse record is 0-1 or 1-2… Meaning EVEN if I get a win next year, I will STILL have the worst softball record in the WCCT! Eeech!
The problem is — several people have expressed that they do not want to be on my team next year. 🙁 I just don’t know how to break the curse — oh, and before you start thinking I just stink at softball let me say this…
I HAVE NEVER GOTTEN A SINGLE OUT WHEN BATTING!
Am I boasting there? Come on! I have the WORST record, you gotta give me something!
The good news is that my dear friend Jamy is now 3-0 and my beautiful wife, Lisa, now has a win. Also, with 6 (count them SIX) RBIs my wife was undoubtely the MVP!!! GO LISA!!!
For me, it’s once again “maybe next year”. Hopefully John (John O!) will be playing then and will agree to be on my team. Until then maybe my friends will take it easy on me and not razz me too much about my win-less record. We will see!
I’m going to try and answer some common questions often asked after a game like this…
Q: What positives can you take out of a game like this?
A: Well, I didn’t die while watching it, and that’s always a good thing. (Good for me anyhow)
Q: Can the team bounce back next week and win big in their home opener?
A: Nope. They play the Superbowl champion Pittsburgh Steelers. The only thing the Bears can hope for is a Steelers team that gets arrogant and fails to come ready-to-play. But, hey, this is not just a good team — these are the Superbowl champs!
Q: How big is the loss of Brian Urlacher?
A: Brian who? Never heard of him.
Q: Should Offensive Coordinator Ron Turner be fired?
A: Football is about the fans, and I’ll tell you — the fans do know the sport. I personally think Ron is just plain boring for our offense. If we’re not going to win I at least want us to be exciting… We have some speed, we have a top running back, and we have a [supposedly?] pro bowl QB. Lets roll!
Q: Want to make a season record prediction for the Bears this season?
A: No, but I will anyway… I predict they will start 0-1. The only noble thing to do is predict that they will go 18-1. Fifteen wins during the season, 2 wins in the playoffs, and one in the Superbowl! The only loss being that abomination in Green Bay at the start of the year. (But if they went 8-8 I wouldn’t say I was surprised)
Q: Would you trade Jay Cutler back to the Denver Broncos for Kyle Orton and some dog food coupons?
A: No. That is a ridiculous question… Well… How much coupon savings are we talking here?
……end of my self interview…… wait, one more thing….. no, wait, the self interview portion of this blog post is over……
I am doing the rest in bold. Why, because the Bears lost and I am pouting so I can do what I want!
Oh man, I just remembered… I am trying to work on being less obnoxious, so off with the bold!
Well folks, the bottom line is that my beloved NFL team the Chicago Bears lost this September 13, 2009 to the Green Bay Packers (see what I did there – all the keywording, it is so Google (Hi Google!) will know my blog post has info about that exact game). We lost the game, we lost good players, we lost confidence, and I lost my mind… Oh boy… Another NFL season is upon us!
As you know I really don’t blog too much… Er… At all! But I do have something to blog about today — MY GIRLS ARE HOME!!! Waaaaahhhhhoooooo!!
Our three little girls were with Grandma for a week (actually, a little over a week) as they are every summer. The girls really love going to Grandma’s house and Lisa and I really enjoy the time we have to indulge in each other. This year Lisa and I got to do some really fun stuff too. We just had the greatest time together (with Beeber). But, the girls return home is always a joyous occasion — it is so great to have them home! With much of the summer still ahead of us I am sure we will have soooo much fun.
That is all — no mega-post from me… I just needed to get the excitement out — THE GIRLS ARE HOME!!!!
I was recently ammused when a few of my blogging friends were talking about which post had the most comments. So, this morning I thought I would quickly look for a cool image (below) that everyone would have to comment on… I think I found one! What is the boy in this picture doing!?!!?
Now, after seeing the photo, click here to hear a sound effect that will answer the question – WHAT is the boy in this picture doing?
Basically all my life I have had a Sunday tradition… September through January anyway… NFL FOOTBALL!!!
And that my friends, has not changed. I love watching football, I really enjoy almost every aspect of the sport. Every Sunday in the fall my heart is pounding strong!
More recently our family has started the tradition of going to breakfast together. We have done this (almost) every Sunday for the past 2 years and it has been a great way to connect as a family and enjoy even more of the bonding time with the “fam” that I love. Breakfast with the family on Sunday is even sweeter than football…
Getting to sit down to a relaxed meal together and share our week is just a delight. We get much more family time than most other families to begin with, but more is always welcome! And, the Sunday breakfast time is extra special because it is a fixed time — it is our time. Much like Tuesday nights have become a Lisa-&-I tradition of “date night”. Yes, Tuesdays are equally cherished.
Anyway, back to Sunday…
Our new tradition is one that has been in the works for some time now… What is it? To go to church!
For a while my wife and I have been contemplating regularly attending Sunday service and getting involved with a church. But this is a decision we did not take lightly. We wanted a church that felt right for us. One that was inviting and open — not judgmental and condescending.
I had a terrible experience with the (Catholic) church growing up — one that left deep wounds and filled me with much doubt. Not doubt about God but doubt about religion. And, not about the message of religion but of it’s messengers. There are good people and not-so-good people in this world and unfortunately the same is true everywhere — even in the church. I met many good people I am sure in my childhood with the church. But it was the bad one(s) that filled my mind with an incurable pain.
However, for the past several months I had been carrying a terrible burden. Someone I am not at all close with had (unintentionally?) confided something to me — something absolutely HORRIBLE — and I did not know what to do with the knowledge I had been “forced” to receive. I was losing sleep and filled with an awful feeling of uncertainty as to what was the ‘right’ thing to do.
This was not the kind of thing you gossip and it was not the kind of story I wanted to pass-on or burden any of my friends with… Only Lisa knew what was on my mind. However, one other name kept coming to mind — very oddly it was the name of someone who I did not have a close relationship with…
Mark Pittman was one of the cast members in School House Rock Live! A show which I directed with my lovely wife. All casts bond, but I had no particular closeness to Mark; in fact he and I didn’t really seem to gel. Not that he wasn’t nice and not that he-and-I didn’t get along… I was just much closer to other cast members.
Anyhow, Mark’s name kept coming into my mind whenever I would think about this ‘event’. I do not know why… So, finally after discussing it with Lisa, we decided to just go with it. I called Mark who is a pastor at New Hope Community Church. we arranged to meet at his office the following day.
Mark admitted to me that he was as surprised to get a call from me as I was to have been calling on him. Nonetheless, here we were.
I had a lenghty discussion with Mark about the burden I was carrying and the solutions (in terms of faith). I had an almost immediate feeling of comfort come over me — even with the emotional/intense nature of the issue at hand. Mark gave me advice from the perspective of the bible; which in fact was exactly what I was seeking. I had confidence in what I had to do and a peace about the situation I had not been able to find on my own.
Mark also talked very briefly about church in general. I made a comment on my past experience and the fact that I just wasn’t sure about my comfort level with the church concept — because of what had happened in the past.
Although he made the assumption (incorrectly) that my wounds were related to the teachings or the interpretations of the Catholic faith — I still felt healing occur as we enguaged in a discussion about the church.
Afterwords my wife and I talked about the experience and both agreed that we should attend a service at New Hope.
The service itself was amazing. Full of energy, music, emotion, and message. The highlight of the service was a group of individuals coming on stage each with a cardboard that on one side they had written their personal struggle and on the other side their newly found saving… For example, one read “Addicted to Drugs” and then was turned over to reveal “Addicted to God’s Love”. This was all done to music and was very dramatic and moving. Both Lisa and I had tears flowing from our eyes.
So, yep. I think we’ve found a new Sunday tradition. Or maybe I should say a new Sunday tradition found us…? But I am happy to say that along with football (GO BEARS!!!), and breakfast, we will make attending Sunday service a part of our day.
THE IMPORTANT NOTE:
The kids also had a blast. Both learning about God’s message and playing with other kids their age. Each child was in a separate room with other kids in their age group. I felt this was a much more productive way for the kids to be introduced to church (through fun interaction) — versus when I was young and basically sat BORED and listened to sermon after sermon that I did not understand nor did I care about… I WAS A KID; SITTING THERE WAS BORING!!