blog statement...

i will be back on in a few days,after re-setting my blog settings... just have to check if it is being given to my father... may take a few minutes,or days...

a simple great wide receiver....

career numbers for Calvin Johnson:731 receptions;11,619 yards,83 touchdowns(all Lions' franchise records),seven 1,000 yard receiving seasons(in nine seasons)... honestly,if he had single coverage on him,he "owed" you,and even double and triple coverage REALLY did not mean he was not open for a pass... he made a catch last year,against the Minnesota Vikings for a touchdown,and he was covered by three defenders... UNBELIEVABLE!!!!! he changed the NFL with the Calvin Johnson rule "in the process" rule,when as he caught a game winning touchdown pass against DA BEARS,but he spun the football on the ground,after he caught the pass,and the referees thought he dropped the football,even though it was obvious still to me that he caught the football,that day...

correction...

in a blogpost talking about the retirement of a classy Calvin Johnson,i called him Charles... oops,i corrected that post... again,Calvin,have a great life,and personally i will miss watching you catch passes,PERIOD!!!!

Lions,Vikings,and DA BEARS all suck,oh my... (paraphrasing the Wizard of Oz)...

on this day,the NFC North Division just became a two team horse race for the division title,between the Packers and the Minnesota Vikings... i hate to admit,like i said for years with a four time division champion(Packers),now the division goes through Minnesota,for now... with the retirement of the classy Calvin Johnson,now the Lions,Vikings,and DA BEARS all suck,really suck!!!!!!

a classy person says goodbye to the NFL...

a shocking announcement,and a major shock to the Detroit Lions,wide receiver Calvin Johnson announced his retirement after nine seasons in the NFL... a true classy person,and a classic tough guy(i mean battling injury,and saying little about that)... Megatron was probably the best wide receiver the Lions had,in their team history... when he played for the Lions against the Packers,he was option one,one a,one b,and one c,on offense,and i had deep everlasting respect for his play... he holds the all-time NFL single season receiving yardage total with nearly 2,000 yards,breaking a Jerry Rice record,in the process... that says a lot about him... he is a future Hall of Fame member in my book...

anniversary of a classic fight...

forty five years ago today,Muhammad Ali fought Joe Frazier in Madison Square Garden in their first fight of three fights... Frazier knocked down Ali,in fifteenth round,and won an unanimous decision... i saw the fight live at the old Alhambra Theatre,closed-circuit... what a fight!!!!

a time to remember...

i have been thinking about a lot of things,lately,and some of the things i have written about,and i am happy about what i have written,but there are some things that i will not write about,at all... not many things,but just a few things... in my life i have met my share of really bad people... in fact,to survive through it all,i became friends with them...  however,not too many of them... i have tried to be nice to people,but again,i have been stabbed in the back by some people,who after stabbing me in the back,they badmouthed me... those were the people that i simply got even with;by getting so angry with them that i refused to talk to them,again... i told one person that if i EVER saw him,again,he was dogmeat... i said it sternly,softly,and an edge to my voice that he knew that i was deadly serious... at last report,he moved out of state to avoid yours truly... i simply learned a very long time ago not to take any crap from those people... to tell you the absolute truth,i am not a nice guy,and someone not to mess with,because i have been very hurt by people who were supposed to be friends,and i simply became harder than diamonds in my overall attitude... being "on the road" for nearly a decade turned me that way,because i simply had to survive that "personal hell",and yet sometimes i remember that time... a couple of days ago,i saw this fellow traveler "on the road",who i simply walked up to him,gave him a dollar,and started to walk away,but he started to talk about what is happening to him... i stopped,just listened to him,and talked to him in response,then told him that i would be right back,so i went to a store,bought something,and got extra change(a twenty),and simply handed him the money... on the way home,i saw him walk away,gave a simple silent prayer,and i really remember being in the same place that he was,so i helped him... i do not do it often,but i do it without comment,or having him/her know my name... that is what people should do,but unfortunately,people are stuck up on self,or have no time to be nice... to those people,i say simply:how heartless!!!!

NASCAR trivia...

can you name the two drivers to win the Daytona 500,and the Indianapolis 500??? drumroll,please... answer:Mario Andretti(won Daytona 500,in 1967;won Indianapolis 500,in 1969),and A.J. Foyt (won Daytona 500.in 1972;won Indianapolis 500 four times)... Andretti is the only foreign born driver to win the Daytona 500;born in what was Italy but now is Croatia,but is a naturalized American citizen...

news...

Peyton Manning will announce his retirement,tomorrow,in a press conference... note:tomorrow,i say something about him...

memories of my time in Orange County...

today has been a very long day... except for a three hour nap,i have been up for the last thirty nine hours,and for some reason,i am tired,but i am also creative in my thoughts,so i have been up thinking,praying,dancing,and simply remembering my life,in little spurts... the old saying goes:walk a mile in my shoes,and then you will understand my life(paraphrasing it)... i have to say this:i really thank my dearly departed mother for giving me the true passion of life,in writing about memories that no one would believe... one memory that comes to mind happened in Orange County in the winter of 1993-1994:i met this bread salesman,and he used to give me bread and other pastries(day old,of course),every winter morning out of his bread truck,and i will never forget that gentleman... i spent most of the year 1994,in Orange County,except May/early June,walked most of the county,and had a good time... i found out the county/city bus route from Long Beach,to San Bernardino,and guess how much it cost me to go from there to there??? $3.25... Greyhound cost about $25... however,in late July,when my soulmate moved back to Sacramento,i was really miserable,and lonely... in August/September,1994,i got very,very ill,and literally spent four days in bed,after a bout of bronchitis,severe heatstroke,and a 104 degree fever... at that time,it averaged 100+ degrees for that week.. should have been in a hospital bed,so i spent almost every cent that i had on a hotel room,so i was broke,extremely miserable,and lonely... i really remember those miserable days,because i just walked those streets every day,silently crying every night... i remember going up to the drive thru window at a TACO BELL,getting me something to eat about midnight,and then sitting at a bus stop reading "The Stand",by Stephen King,night after night... great book!!! i remember that a Catholic church used to feed the homeless every Sunday,and funny thing is that the food was simply first rate... you ate as much as you wanted,no questions asked!!! i did anything(actually,i did have a few odd jobs,mostly housecleaning,even detailed a car,once)to simply survive back then... i remember sleeping in a National Guard Armory,in Fullerton,every night for six months,on an Army cot... if you had the chance to set up the cots,you took that,anytime,because it detailed emptying a tractor trailer of food every night,so you found out what was on the menu,that night... i also remember one of the last times that i was at the Armory,someone snored so loud that it sounded like an airplane engine was revving,like it was just about to take off... the snoring actually woke up the soldiers... they were very pissed off... i remember spending the night at the Crystal Cathedral,in Garden Grove... you could not fall asleep,but they allowed people to walk the campus,so i did one night... what a memory!!!!

warnings of danger(laughing)...

have been a very strange day... actually went to bed at 7 am,because i had some things to do,and when insomnia hits,i do some major housecleaning... did get about three and half hours of sleep,so i am tired... tonight will be "rock" time,as i get enough sleep... if anyone wakes me up,be warned,i will be a cobra(not too nice on phone-will be nicer to family than to other scum),or anyone knocks on door,i will be cursing that person out... i do not mess around when extremely tired... ol' mean SOB comes out... i learned a very long time ago not to take any crap from anyone,and i do not take it.....

odd trivia...

who was the very first person to be photographed??? answer:Conrad Heyer,a Revolutionary War veteran,and farmer,from Waldoborough(Waldoboro),Maine,in the year 1852....

respect...

football is a great game... however,something that happened on November 14,1970 actually changed my viewpoint slightly about it... on that night,a DC-9 carrying seventy one passengers and four crew crashed just short of the airport outside Huntington,West Virginia... it was the plane carrying the 1970 Marshall University football team,staff,and some parents,that night... you probably know that story,folks... people have said that winning is everything,including Packers' great Vince Lombardi,but when something like that happened(and other plane crashes that have taken entire teams away,like the Wichita State plane crash that took away most of that team,too),you simply realize that football is only a game (a fun,great game,i may add,but only a game)... i deeply love the Packers(i wear a Packers' hat almost every day),and i root for "my team" every game that they play,and "hate" every opponent that plays the Packers,but i always remember that it is only a game,because sometimes true life intrudes on the game,and then you realize that it is only a game... to those seventy five victims of that tragic plane crash,i mournfully and respectfully tip my hat to each and every one of them...

a breath of real freedom...

my life has been anything but a bed of roses... from 1977 to 1999,i sometimes was miserable in many ways... i was dangerously suicidal,and then in 1989,to 1999,i was "on the road"... people have their opinions why i was "on the road",and i am just fine with that... i learned a great deal about myself while i was "on the road",in ways that no one would understand at all... traveling from coast to coast was necessary,for my mental health,and i have to admit that it was exciting to wake up most mornings not knowing where i would be when the sun sets... i really did notice that homeless people who stayed in only one place were not motivated to do anything,and i just could not stand that,so i traveled everywhere... seeing parts of the country that some people simply forget in their rush to get somewhere made my days very unique and memorable... many times,i started to go somewhere that i thought would be nice,and then i would end up 1,000 miles from where i wanted to be... what a real thrill!!! two examples of that:i basically walked just over 100 miles,in Colorado,and Nebraska(both states),in August/September 1998,and i stopped in Gothenburg,Nebraska for a couple hours,and i was simply fascinated by the town square,and in June of that year,i stopped in Mountain Home,Idaho overnight,and then walked out of the town that Sunday,and had that same feeling of simple fascination... you will never understand what i am describing:a breath of real freedom...

my defense of Aaron Rodgers...

hope you have enjoyed the blogs lately... i am melancholy,but have been risible,in wanting to laugh about my life lately... it is funny that my vocabulary has improved over the past few weeks,because i am just very relaxed... i know this is a football blog... normally i would be talking pigskin,and the Packers,and that will come soon enough... NFL free agency starts next week,so will get to that,folks,but not quite yet... honestly,i needed the severe break from football,because writing basically the same thing week after week,and then have the Packers struggle week after week was a real bummer... what got me real pissed about that time,honestly,was not the games... i enjoy watching Aaron Rodgers,Clay Matthews,and company play NFL football every Sunday,win or lose... however,it was what was said every week between games by the pundits,saying basically that the NFL has finally figured out how to play Aaron Rodgers,and how he needed to be fixed... to tell the absolute truth,folks,when you lose all four starting wide receivers,and your running game was,in many games,non-existent for most of the season,not even the best quarterback in the NFL will help the team,and folks,no matter what you may believe,Aaron Rodgers IS the best quarterback in the NFL,PERIOD!!!! i would take Aaron in a four minute offense,anytime,against anyone,especially in the last two minutes of a game... when Dallas Cowboys' owner Jimmy Jones mentioned in an interview that he really wanted quarterback Tony Romo to tutor his backup the way Brett Favre tutored Aaron,that is all that has to be said,folks... all you have to see two Hail Mary passes,against the Detroit Lions,and the Arizona Cardinals,and especially that 60 yard Hail Mary prayer of a pass,on fourth and twenty,just to set up that second Hail Mary pass,against the Cardinals,to see the magic touch,and unbelievable talent of one Aaron Rodgers... i simply have to say this:i will defend "my quarterback"(to quote a tearful Terrell Owens),anytime against any criticism,because i simply know down deep that he is the best quarterback in the NFL,so bring it on,pundits... you can simply kiss my backsides,and i do not care a whit about what you think... you pundits have no idea what drives Aaron... i know what drives him... it is obvious to any Packers' fan and shareholder/owner... he is the epitome of the old Packers' saying:"we do not lose,we just ran out of time in the game",and that the Packers win as a team,and lose as a team,and that is the Packer way... Packer Pride... that also is the mark of a true champion...

comments....

i have already paid all my major bills,this month... been on a walk,and i am tired... so i will be inside tomorrow,when it rains... YAY!!!! finally,do not owe money to anybody,and so i can save some money... i am happy... YAY!!!!

commentary...

i mentioned Packers' kicker Mason Crosby re-signing with the team,last night... now,it is time to really elaborate on that... he has been a Packer for his entire nine year career,and let me tell you something:on longer field goals than 50 yards,he is money(four of five,last year)... the one miss was against the Detroit Lions,and he missed it,only because the kick was blocked by the holder's hand,on the day that Murphy's Law reared its ugly head,and just about everything went wrong... now,i can laugh,but that day i was not laughing,i was cursing,i hate to admit that... he holds two records for the Packers;longest field goal,and has a current playoff streak of twenty field goals,in a row,which,if i am not mistaken,is also a NFL record... he was a free agent,but honestly really,really did not want to leave Green Bay... Congratulations,Mason,general manager Ted Thompson,and President Mark Murphy,for getting the four year contract done... if there was a number two jersey on sale,i definitely would buy it...

memories of my childhood,and of a visit years later...

i am thinking about my childhood... being a child in Salinas,and mostly in Bakersfield,was a very nice time for me... most of my memories happen to be of the house on Holtby(250 Holtby),and of my elementary school... really the last time i saw the house was a number of years ago,it was painted black,or a deep,deep shade of gray,and the backyard was all torn up;looked like someone had set house(at least the backyard)on fire,because the grass was not there,and the ground was blackened,in the backyard... i walked away very sad... it is strange that sometimes the memories are better than reality,but thinking back i was a kid,you know... i remember a very sad birthday(i was eight),when i forgot to invite anyone to my birthday,and cried all day,but i,honestly,did not blame anyone,but myself,for that mistake... however,i will never forget what my brother did that day,when i tried to climb into the "treehouse",to join his friends,that day... he pushed me off the tilted ladder at the top of it,and i smashed my head into the ground... what a very sad memory of that day...

blog statement....

normally,i would do something,but i awakened with back and hip pain(not serious,folks)... my foot is slightly numb,with nerve pain down the leg,but folks,i wake up normally with overall body pain,so,i may feel better later today... i will take a walk,but it will be a day of "Idaho Spud" time,overall... note:for a person who has been hit by three cars(one seriously),mugged and robbed fourteen times,in his life,with various fights,too,i am very lucky to be walking on two feet,period...

Packers' news...

Packers re-sign kicker Mason Crosby to a four year,$16.1 million dollar contract... a very good contract...

simple respect to an icon...

Sunday,i forgot to mention something that happened in NASCAR... for the people who do not know(my father and family),Dale Earnhardt,Sr. won seven NASCAR championships(most;tied with "the King" Richard Petty)and 76 races(seventh in NASCAR history),in his shortened career... well,to lay out what happened,Sunday:i had to tell you that,folks... well,six time NASCAR champion Jimmie Johnson won his 76th career race,and on the cool down lap,and in front of a raucous crowd,he simply put three fingers out of the driver's window... if you are a NASCAR nerd,like i am,you know what those three fingers meant to every NASCAR fan:a simple tribute to an icon(Earnhardt)...

memories of me and my father...

this is to say something to my dear father... i have talked about my family,everybody but my father,and now it is time for my feelings for my father... he is eighty one,going on eighty two,but he does not look like or act his age... good genetics for me,i guess... yesterday,he did a very small thing for yours truly,and it was something that he has done before for me,but yesterday,i just thought it was something that he really did not have to do,with everything that he had to do,yesterday... i remember playing one on one basketball,on our home made dirt court,and then playing golf at the local golf course,in El Dorado Hills(that place now is a bunch of houses,and condos;too bad),but back now more than twenty five years ago,we were playing golf on the third green(i five putted from fifteen feet;never could figure out that stupid green),and he razzed me something fierce going to the fourth tee,and so i took out my driver,said nothing to him,teed it up,then hit the tee shot about 280 yards down the center of that fairway,and then turned around,and said simply to him,"best man wins",and shook his hand... he stood there,stunned,and his jaw dropped open... i will never forget that look that he gave me... remember that old Master Card commercial:gas,$ 5,fees for a round of golf,$18,golf balls,$10,for three balls,tee shot 280 yards,and stunned look on face,priceless... that is the commercial that i will always remember every time i think about that round that cloudless day... to tell you the absolute truth,i actually played my last round of golf with my father with a fractured/severely bent left clavicle... i could not drive the golf ball too far,but my short game was excellent that day,so i suffered through nine holes that day... i was very excited to play a round of golf with my father to tell him anything,that morning,so i played golf... that is one thing that i did,when it basically was impossible to even lift my arm,but i did it that day... he does small things that seem monotonous to other people,but for him,they are normal,and to him,i feel he does them to remain sane,and i deeply respect that(like walking the dog,meeting me for Starbucks,taking care of my stepmother,when she is ill(not complaining about it at all),or taking a kid(me)to Winchell's Donuts,after delivering newspapers on cold nights in Bakersfield,so long ago... that memory to me is priceless,and my father,you are simply loved,period...

my wrestling memories...

one of my best old time wrestling memories is of watching WCCW(World Class Championship Wresting)on television,when the Fabulous Freebirds literally fought the Von Erich boys,and family,in the 1980's... the feud was legendary in professional wrestling... you may believe that professional wrestling is fake,and it is scripted,i admit,but the WCCW feud seemed to be very real,because they beat each other rather well,and was bloody and bruising throughout the feud,including Terry "Bam Bam" Gordy slamming the steel cage door into the skull of Kerry Von Erich,during his steel cage NWA World Championship match,with then-champion Ric Flair that started the feud... the Fabulous Freebirds(Buddy Jack Roberts,Michael P.S. Hayes,Terry "Bam Bam" Gordy,and maybe a fourth member,Jimmy "Jam" Garvin)are being inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame,the day before Wrestlemania 32,this year... i am very happy with the induction of the group,this year...

blog statement...

has been a lousy two months of this new year... hopefully,it will stabilize and even out,for most of the rest of this year... i am just tired of people complaining,including myself,so i will not talk too much about the crap,period,if you know what i mean,folks...

blog statement...

day off... "Idaho Spud" time...

to my dearly departed UNC...

i have been thinking about my uncle Bob(UNC)... this month has been horrible in so many ways that i can not tell,or express myself about this month... i am listening to smooth jazz(channel 66-Watercolors)... my uncle Bob(UNC)loved smooth jazz,and would walk around the house listening to it,on a headset(Sony WALKMAN cassette player),and he would listen to it in his car going to work... he was a real character,and he would pull pranks on yours truly,like the time that he got dressed up to the nines to go to work,and then as he walked out of his bedroom,he had his pants unzipped,and have everything else showing,if you know what i mean... he would love to see my reaction,and i always made his day,in laughing... i really miss the times that we played penny ante poker,with quarters,nickels,and dimes... the very last time that we played up in Washington State,he won over twenty dollars off me,and fourteen dollars of that amount came on the last hand that we played,because we had a rule that the last hand of the night was unlimited betting... if you had a good hand,you could bet any amount,i did,and i lost my shirt,that night... he beat me with a full house,i believe... we were so much alike that it was scary... we both understood each other so well... we were both the "black sheep" of the family,because we both had been through some of the same things in our lives,and we both survived our own personal hells... in fact,he gave me his highest compliment in telling yours truly that i was a survivor,and i knew exactly what he meant by saying that... he died way too soon,basically did not take care of himself,but he lived his own life,and if you did were to ask him now,i bet that he would not change too much... my heart really still aches when i think about him,because he was a sweetheart of a person... to one "black sheep" to another,i tip my hat deeply,and mournfully to him,and i know that i will miss him until the day that i die,and then i see him in Heaven,again...

being too nice can be dangerous,really...

people may believe that i am very nice,but honestly,i can be a mean SOB,when provoked,because i learned a long time ago "on the road" that you need to really survive,and being too nice is actually very dangerous,because you can be an easy mark,and that can get you killed... i really,honestly,do not care a whit about anyone's opinion,like many people have said,"what is the difference between a "butt",and an opinion??? nothing,everyone has one"... while "on the road",i stayed away from people,traveled a great deal,but when i needed to be a "mean SOB",i became Mister Crazy... i acted like i was really crazy(actually talked to myself like someone who lost his marbles),and most people simply thought i was really crazy... i only did that a few times,when i felt like i needed to be safe,or there were times that i literally had to fight someone in the street to get someone's respect,like one time in Reno,when i flipped a real so-called "bad ass" onto a hood of a car during a fight,and then i refused to back down,as people separated us apart,or the time in Sacramento,when i literally fought a guy right in the middle of the street,and drivers had to stop their cars to stop the fight... that time,i received a severely swollen shut left eye,but i beat the snot out of the bum... i actually am smiling,when i remember that fight,because i simply refused to quit(i threw his beaten up bicycle into the middle of the street,and then i started to wail on him,with punches,and kicks)... back then,you did not mess with me,because i could be meaner than a cobra,and i did not really care if anyone liked me... i still have that attitude,because i still get crap from some people,and they think that it is funny to make fun of me... even now,some jerk started to give me that crap,recently,and i simply yelled back to him,"what the hell are you doing???"... he stopped,looked at me,and realized that i was not going to take that crap,and slinked away... back then,i got my butt beat many times,but give me a chance to fight,and i held my own more times than not,because i simply said then that it was me or them,and i refused to quit,before the other person did... before i end this,i must say that i deeply care about what my family,and dear friends think... their opinions mean a great deal to me... however,to those other people,i say,"who really cares what you think of me???" i do not give a hoot about what you think,period...

commentary...

honestly,this week has really sucked... just think that i have had a simply bad week... sleep-wise,it has been horrible... being awakened in the morning by stupid people,not once but twice,just makes me rather mad... sleep has been fleeting in the last two weeks;average time of going to bed in that span:three am,and insomnia has been terrible for me... i will try to catch the train to Snoozeville early,if i can,over this weekend... the last two weeks reminds of February,1990,when i slept very few hours over the entirety that month(48 hours the entire month),that year...

blog statement...

has been an odd day... just not a good day... "Idaho Spud" time... just need to be left alone... simply,not in a good mood... will be fine... have had a day that i basically should not have gotten out of bed...

blog statement...

day off... "Idaho Spud" time...

a story of Nana on her birthday...

this day has been very quiet,and yet,i am remembering some memories that were strange... some days i really do not want to watch television,so i just turn on my radio,and dance... a quick story about the two weeks that i spent with Nana,in 1969:i remember dancing to "Puff the Magic Dragon",by Peter,Paul,and Mary,so many times that it must have drove Nana crazy,but like the sweetheart that she was,she never said a word to me... we went rock hunting up in Cambria,stopped to get taffy,and it was a day that i will always remember,and the sound of that rock tumbler that i will simply never forget,as i played in the back yard... i remember Lawrence Welk,on Saturday,and HEE HAW,at Aunt Donna's house,later on that night... i actually met Mr. Welk,at Del Paso Country Club,in 1975,as they played the Gene Littler Pro-Am,that year... a very nice gentleman...

one of my all-time favorite wrestlers gets his due...

one of the WWE Hall of Fame inductees this year will be Charles Wright,aka. the Godfather,in WWE circles,he was known to be escorted by ladies to the ring,known as the Godfather's Ho's... his motto was "Pimpin' ain't easy"... his finisher was a bulldozer splash named "the HOOOOO TRAIN",where he would whip his opponent into the corner turnbuckle,and then choo choo into him like a train... congratulates Charles!!! give me a "Pimpin' ain't easy",folks... one of his Ho's actually won the WWE hardcore title,once...

put another candle on the cake...

today would be my paternal grandmother's (Nana's)110th birthday... folks,you thought that i would not know that... i still miss her,even though she died in 1970,to this very day... a funny story about her:she used to make coffee for my parents on the way to Bakersfield,or Sacramento,and it was so bad that they would stop at a restaurant in Paso Robles,to dump out the coffee,and get a fresh refill,and they never told her,because they did not have the heart to hurt her feelings... they would try to say "no,no,no,",but Nana would insist on giving them the coffee... she was a sweetheart...

official Daytona 500 result...

officially,Denny Hamlin won the Daytona 500,by .011 seconds,the closest finish in the history of the Daytona 500... note:i corrected the previous blogpost(time wise),and folks,you are right,i love NASCAR,and i remember the 1979 Daytona 500,where two NASCAR legends,after crashing on the final lap,they both got out of their cars(both were fighting for the lead),and literally fought each other(throwing punches and all)... what a memory... i have seen every Daytona 500 since,except one live,and that one was in 1998,and my all-time favorite driver(Dale Earnhardt,Sr)won that one... i actually walked into the house,as Earnhardt,Sr crossed the finish line... oops,i forgot that the race was that day,in 1998...

Daytona 500 result...

Denny Hamlin won the Daytona 500 by .011 second(less than two feet),over Martin Truex,Jr... what a finish!!!!

blog statement...

watching NASCAR,NHL hockey,and WWE,later on tonight... "Idaho Spud" time... will try to take a walk,before WWE,tonight...

blog statement...

day off... "Idaho Spud" time... note:Daytona 500 in the morning,and the Red Wings play the New York Rangers,in the afternoon,and WWE Fastlane(a PPV),in the evening,so i am going to be "Idaho Spud" all day,and night... if it rains tomorrow in Florida,the Daytona 500 may be shorter in distance(that really sucks),delayed(started and stops throughout the day,which sucks even more),or at night,or postponed until Monday... better check weather...

correction...

i made two trips to New Haven,in 1994,and 1998,and both were memorable in so many ways that sometimes how i got home is somewhat confusing... the walk down U.S. 1(Boston Post Road),was in 1998,and going home to Anaheim,was in 1994,when i hitchhiked to Akron,Ohio,on a six day jaunt,from White Plains,New York... after walking down U.S. 1,i got home to Sacramento,in 1998,after a very difficult and memorable trip,in which i was so very sick much of that trip,on Greyhound... i corrected the post...

every day to keep sane:a walk to remember...

i remember some places that actually have no name,but these places have various great memories for me... i have walked over this country,just being a hobo,and doing things that really seem impossible... walking in rural Arizona,Nevada,Colorado,Utah,New Mexico,Texas,Idaho,Wyoming,Kansas,Missouri,and Nebraska,along with Oregon,and Washington would fill my mind with gorgeous images... i just made a partial list of places,and it was at least fifteen places,and that was just in the Western United States... i have seen Hoover Dam,Grand Canyon(south rim,in a blizzard),Lake Mead,Lake Powell,Page,Arizona,and Zion Canyon... i have traveled to 28 states(23 of them,while "on the road")... i have seen every major ocean,in the U.S.,and i was to tell you about nearly every place that i am now remembering,i would be writing until hell freezes over(laughing)... in the Eastern United States,walking in rural Ohio,West Virginia,Virginia,Pennsylvania,New Jersey,New York,and Connecticut was also memorable,because i remember walking one night down U.S. 1(Boston Post Road),west of New Haven,in May-June,1998,stopping to watch a midnight showing of Star Wars I,then trying to find a place to sleep on cement,but it was very,very cold,so i started to walk in the dark,down U.S. 1,and as the sun was coming up,stopping at a Dunkin' Donuts,in a stretch of car lots(down the road motors,as you would say)... i stopped short of Stratford,parked myself on a park bench,and fell asleep... i got awakened by a softball team practicing,after about a hour of sleep... i then shagged flies for the team,had fun,and got home,to Sacramento,with help from an "angel",who was a member of that team... i told you that story earlier on this blog... i remember time "on the road" quite fondly,in many ways,because i traveled a great deal,and did things that seemed to be impossible,but were very memorable,and fun... 50,000 miles on my thumb,well who knows??? every day to keep sane...

comments...

i am going to bed early tonight... it has been a very long week,because i have gotten very little sleep,over the past week,and i am very,very tired...

OOPS!!! water damage for the Vikings to worry about(laughing)...

snowfall in Minneapolis did some damage to the Minnesota Vikings' new home,scheduled to open in July... the mirrored panels on the outside of the building have to be removed to fix the damaged vapor barrier(that is what they call it),$3 or $4 million damage,and contractors will cover the cost... the building will open on time,in July... it is over 90% completed...

strange memories...

no one may understand why i have talked about my life and family lately on this blog,but honestly i really needed a total break from NFL football,because last season was such a strain on me that if i did talk about any more NFL football at that time,you would have seen yours truly run down the street in his birthday suit,with sneakers on,and with doctors chasing me with a straitjacket in tow... i am only half joking about that,folks... in the years of 1976 to 1990,i was suicidal,schizophrenic,neurotic,and honestly,was hearing voices,at various times... in a study done years ago,the odds of totally recovering from something like what i went through is about 20-1,or only 5% recover without some kind of medication,and i beat the odds,because i refused to give in to the voices,and honestly,my marathon running and training really started because one day,i said to my physical education teacher that i was going to run three miles that day,and i did five miles,then ran home from school,that day... no one could have stopped me that day,and i ran mileage almost every day,after that day,for years,and i ran a twenty miler (a fund raiser-came in fourth,in distance)only two weeks after starting running that first day... i was driven to get well,in many ways,by turning my energy into something constructive... it took years to drive the inner demons from my being,and i honestly think back on that time,and realize that i was (putting fingers close together)that close to be in a mental hospital... i only stopped running honestly because i injured my left patella severely by breaking it in two pieces,when i fell on my left knee like a tree(TIMBER!!!)... i still walked five miles on it,that Easter Sunday,to meet my father... tough guy,i was!!!! when i am on my knees,it still hurts almost to the point that i cry,and i need help up onto my feet... honestly,if i can find something to protect my left patella,i would start running,tomorrow,because i simply loved doing it,period... like i have said earlier,my life has been very,very interesting,to say the least,folks...

memories of a Daytona 500 lost...

today,fifteen years ago,what was i doing??? i was watching the Daytona 500,when on the last lap,Dale Earnhardt,Sr crashed in the third turn... it did not look too bad at first,but the signal of the netting was not down,so as the crews approached,they waved their arms in frantic motion... they had to take the top of the car off to get him out of his number 3,and knew something was really wrong,when i saw a silent ambulance drive off... he later died in the hospital of a skull fracture at the base of skull(caused by severe whiplash),but basically,he really died in his car... there are many safety improvements of a NASCAR car,and to the driver's ulmost safety,in the years following Earnhardt's untimely passing...for entire season following his death,there was a silent lap(number three),and people put up three fingers,in his memory... NASCAR has not been the same,and to tell you truth,i cried and watching NASCAR for me also has not been the same,either... one story:Earnhardt was 17th,with four laps to go in the race,at Talledega,i believe(he had major trouble with his number 3,earlier in the race),but he basically put the foot to the floor(saying,"i am not losing this race"),and to tell you truth,there was not nothing scarier than to see the black number 3 on the last lap,right behind you,if you were a driver... on the last lap,he had a full head of steam,and swept to victory(one of his greatest wins,ever)... he holds the record of total wins at Daytona with,i believe,36 wins,but until 1998,he was snakebit at the Daytona 500,when he won,of course,on the final lap... when he tried to get to Victory Lane,every crew member,of every team came out on the edge to give him respect,and to shake his hand,as he drove slowly by... what a real scene!!!!

commentary...

i normally do not talk about NFL players who are criminals,but Darren Sharper is an exception... he was accused of indecent crimes against women in four states... U.S. District Court Jane Triche Milazzo has denied his plea deal of nine years that was supposed to be served concurrently,to settle the four cases in four states,saying that it was too lenient,because "it does not reflect the seriousness of the charges"... a federal probation report recommended a prison term of fifteen to twenty years,noting that sixteen victims came forward with allegations... in a 2013 case,in New Orleans,he has not been sentenced by a judge,yet,in two of the cases... my opinion:they should "bury" him under a prison... give him the harshest sentence possible... i am ashamed of him being a Packer,at one time... he,personally,is a real scumbag...

quote of the week...

"But if thought corrupts language,language can also corrupt thought"-George Orwell,in the book 1984...

correction...

there is a slight correction in the previous blogpost... there is two s's in Ossinning,New York... i realized that when i just re-read the previous blogpost.. brain freeze,folks... i corrected the blogpost...

memories of my life...

i am one of the last 49th state citizens... i was born around 9:30 pm,on August 20th,1959... Hawaii became the 50th state of this "most perfect" union,called the United States of America,the very next day... people may find that amusing,but i honestly am very,very proud of that little fact... my life has been very interesting,to say the least,and even though i have had great ups and greater downs... i would have loved to be a EAGLE SCOUT,but honestly,i loved being a Boy Scout,and being "one of the boys" more,folks... i am proud of being a marathon runner,finishing my share of them... if it was not for a fragile left patella,i would be still running marathons... there is absolutely nothing nicer than running ten miles,in training,and realizing that you could do that again,with no trouble,so you double the mileage the next day... you then realize after taking some time off from training,and you run fifteen miles one day,then you wake up the next morning,you try to get out of bed,and you can not move a muscle,but you literally crawl on your stomach out of bed... that is no fun,folks!!!! i remember my three trips to New York City(1978,1994,and 1998),and to tell you the absolute truth,i enjoyed all three of them... exploring the Hudson Valley,New Jersey,New Haven(twice,1994,and 1998),and mid-state Connecticut was a blast,but honestly being very sick on that last trip was not too fun... meeting some unique people on those trips made those trips memorable... in 1994,i explored the lower Hudson Valley for four days,and remember walking in a beautiful area of the state of New York,and riding on a county bus past Sing Sing prison,in Ossinning,New York... what a sight that prison is,folks... traveling all over the country was a necessary evil,but i had many more fun days than i had miserable days back then... my greatest feat in those years was walking 100 miles,in consecutive months,in two different states(Colorado,and Nebraska,in August,and September,1998)... i remember walking in the Nevada,and Arizona desert at twilight... that is a real beautiful sight... remembering the state monuments while walking down the street in many states,in places that you have no one around,while walking down the state highways,or even walking down the street in Reno and Carson City... walking over the North Platte river,outside North Platte,Nebraska,and have someone in a red Toyota truck almost hit me,and then giving the finger to the driver,for that miserable stunt... even then,i was not taking any guff from anyone... what memories!!!!

"Hail Mary" mania,for the Packers...

if you go to NFL.com,there is a link to both "Hail Mary" passes thrown by Aaron Rodgers,last season... in fact,both are shown side by side in the same video clip... both "Hail Mary" passes were voted by the fans as plays of the regular season,and playoffs,respectively... i said both were the plays of the year for the Packers,on this blog... note:i still smile and pump my arm,in enjoyment... too bad the one,against the Arizona Cardinals,did not win the game,but only tied game to send game into overtime... however,they were still great plays,especially the one against the Cardinals,because he threw that "Hail Mary" falling to the ground...

blog statement...

i have to deeply apologize to you,folks... even though,i normally can handle the fact that my soulmate passed away sixteen years plus ago,for some reason,overnight,it hit me like a ton of brick,so the emotions came out... folks,i am very sorry...

five for the Packers...

it is official:Green Bay Packers will play five preseason games,when they play the Indianapolis Colts,in the Hall of Fame game... both teams have Hall of Fame inductees,this year,in Brett Favre(Packers),and Marvin Harrison,with former head coach Tony Dungy(both for the Colts)... an absolute no-brainer for the Hall of Fame... note:i normally pass on the Hall of Fame game... folks,not this year...

heartfelt comments...

i just can not go to sleep,tonight... my mind is going back to that wonderful time between two beautiful people... i will remember this night forever,because i am in tears,i am hurting quite badly,and this is one of those very few days that i still cry over the deep loss of my soulmate,because i miss her every single minute of every single day of the rest of my life... i feel that i am missing that "one heartbeat" that i really loved and that really hurts... i have to apologize for this,because i have not done this to this extent in years... i was stoic when she died,but deep down i hurt then,and i tried to put a bandage on a deep wound back then,but in times that i was alone,i did really cry,folks... folks,i really miss her more than i will ever say to anyone....

something that i had to say...

i am listening to the Billy Joel Channel on Sirius XM,and Joel does a dynamite cover of "Wichita Lineman" that almost makes me cry... i am still thinking of my soulmate... really too bad that she died six days before we were to go to the courthouse to get married... that still stings my heart so much that i could curse for the next year,and that hurts more than i could say... no one will ever know how much that still hurts,to this very day... i mean that with all my heart... DAMN!!!

commentary...

i still miss a number of people that have passed on from these earthly bonds... i simply wish that i could give them all hugs and kisses,because i still love them all,and love them all from deep in my heart... my life is simply not the same,period...

a story that i will never forget...

this story that i am going to tell you goes back almost thirty years... i met my soulmate on the sidewalk outside my first apartment,on September 2nd,or 3rd,1986... i actually saw her first a couple days earlier in the manager's office,but that is not important... she was waiting for her sons to get off the school bus on their very first day of school... when i got home from college that day,she was sitting in her wheelchair,looking forlorn and sad right at the corner where i turned to walk to my apartment... i just asked her if i could help her,and i was not expecting to get an answer,but,i guess that she wanted to talk,and we talked for a few minutes,then i walked to my apartment... funny thing is that i was thirsty,a few hours later,and so i went to the 7-ELEVEN,across the street to get a Coke,and there she was,sitting there on the payphone,talking to her attorney,with five or six grocery bags around her... what i did next was a real surprise to her:i noticed that she was sitting in the sun,so i stood there for ninety minutes or so(in 102 degree heat),giving her some shade,as she finished her phone call,and even gave some money for her kids to get a Coke,as i stood there... funny thing is that i said very little to her except when her kids wanted the Cokes... silent as a mouse,then i helped carry the food to the apartment... we talked for hours,then we just talked for day on day,and it was just odd that i did not do anything,but talk to a beautiful woman about most anything... i fell in love with her over that time... in those thirteen and half years that we loved each other,i never raised my hand in anger to her... it does not mean that we did not have troubles,we did,but i knew that i loved her deep in my heart,and that she loved me just the same... she was the most beautiful woman that i have ever met,in more ways than the obvious physical attraction that we both had for one another... honestly,i would have taken a bullet for the lady,in a heartbeat... in fact,i really did save her life a few times,by doing what i had to do,but honestly,i do not mean doing the physical things for her... in 1992,i was working at Zion National Park,at Zion Lodge,when i received a message to call her,which i did most nights,but this was different,because she called the front desk of Zion Lodge,so when i walked by that day,the clerk gave me the message,so when i called her that night,she told me that i(she) had to move in a week,or she would be dead,because one of her sons got involved with a gang(the Crips or the Bloods,somehow),and the leader threatened her with a gun,telling her that she had to move within a week,and when you are threatened with a gun,you move... the last time that i saw the door of her apartment it was twisted on one henge attached to the door frame,so i stayed up all night to protect her,and we moved to Orange County... that was the story that she gave her over that phone,that night... i hitchhiked to Orange County from St. George,Utah,over a span of six days to meet her at a Motel 6,in Santa Ana... two funny things happened that night:i really did not know where i was going,but i found a Motel 6,in Santa Ana,and waited for her that night,and less than three minutes later,she drove up to the Motel 6... we both went directly went from where we were,her from Sacramento,and me from St. George... the next morning,i actually walked into the motel pool,when she called me... i had bought the Los Angeles Times that morning and sat next to the pool,and as i turned around,i took one giant step into six feet of pool water... i still had the front page in my left hand when i knocked on the room door,and when she opened the door,i was standing there,soaking wet,with a newspaper in my left hand... she howled in laughter... i asked her what she wanted... what a scene!!! i still smile when i remember that scene...

Happy Anniversary,to "one heartbeat"... many more in store,you deserve it!!!!

commentary...

i simply put an asterisk on some forty years,on the previous post,as a running joke to both of my father and stepmother,because it just seems like it has been basically forever(OMG,laughing),since their wedding... question to Patti:how do you put up with him for all those years??? it has been amazing,period...

an anniversary to remember...

i remember a wedding some forty years ago... it was very nice,but honestly,it was very rocky at the start,because how do you blend a family with teenagers,and a young child??? honestly,there were some in the family,who were not too happy,at first... i have talked about the turning point in my mind about Patti,before,so i will not talk about that,but over the some forty years*,she has become the "rock" of the family,and my father has been the "heart" of the family... they love each other very much,and they almost can finish each both sentences,and are one heartbeat... example:when Patti was in the hospital recently,my father was in the hospital at all hours looking after her;must have read so many books that he must have gotten bored,but that is the way it has always been for this blended family... we stick together no matter what...

Packers' news...

the Green Bay Packers Foundation and the NFL Foundation donated $200,000 to Green Bay East High School,for improvements on their football field... why,you ask??? answer:from 1925 to 1956,that high school football field was City Stadium,the home of the Packers,before Lambeau Field was built,and dedicated in 1957...

quote of the week...

"Luck is the residue of design"-Brooklyn Dodgers' owner Branch Rickey...

funny memories of mine...

been watching WWE Network most of yesterday... laughing at video clips of Vince McMahon-Stone Cold Steve Austin fighting each other through what the WWE says is the Attitude Era(1995-2001)... one of the my favorite clips is when McMahon was in a hospital and Austin attacks him,while he is in a hospital bed,and nursing what looks like a broken leg,caused by the Undertaker and Kane when they "crushed" his lower left leg with the ring steps... he punched him in the head many times,hits him in the head with a bedpan,attacks with shock paddles,and an IV tube... it appears to be shoved where the sun does not shine... it goes blurry,as Austin says to McMahon,"you piece of trash"...   even WWE calls the video clip,"Bedpan McMahon"...

add another candle to the cake...

on February 14,1894,Benjamin Kubelski was born,in Illinois.... why celebrate Mr. Kubelski's birthday??? answer:he was better known,as Jack Benny... he was on radio from 1932(as an announcer)-1955,and on television from 1955-1965... he playfully played a well-known miser(him going to his safe routine was simply legendary),and a lousy violinist,even though he was a very very good violinist,and generous,almost to a fault,in real life... Happy "39th" Birthday,Jack!!!

blog statement...

day off... "Idaho Spud" time... note:i feel better,folks... just very tired...

blog statement...

day off... "Idaho Spud" time... note:relaxing today,doing very little this weekend,and am cleaning apartment throughout weekend... beginning to feel better,but am very cautious with my health... have bad allergies,so head does hurt,because of allergies... have no apparent(normal)body temperature,but again my normal body temperature is 97.4 degrees,not 98.6 degrees,so even a headache hurts... i will be just fine...

DA BEARS REALLY SUCK,TODAY!!!!

DA BEARS just made a big mistake in not re-signing running back Matt Forte... in the last three years,he has more scrimmage yards,and more receptions for a running back than anyone,in the NFL...  even though i "hated" DA BEARS,i deeply respected Forte... he always came to play,against the Packers... i wish him very good luck for the rest of his career,unless he plays for another NFC North division team,besides the Packers(laughing)... note to the Packers,if you need and want to,sign him to a contract...

comments...

i am taking it easy for a few more days... i am saving money by doing very little,and my body simply aches... that is being kind in saying that... eating a lot of PB,and J,this month... do have a lot of food,so i will survive... i have a saying,"i do not spend money,because i do not have to spend money"... learned a long time ago that staying home saves money... will go for walks,of course... just taking it easy,today...

Packers' historical trade trivia...

i forgot to mention that Hall of Fame member Brett Favre was traded from the Atlanta Falcons to the Green Bay Packers,twenty four years ago,today... the best trade in Packers' history...

commentary...

i just turned off the boob tube,and turned on my BOSE stereo,and put in some new(for me)John Coltrane,Sonny Rollins,and,of course,Miles Davis... the music dates back to the 1950's,at least for the first three CD's that i put into the Bose stereo... sometimes,i feel mellow,and even though,the last two months have been horrible,at least,today was very quiet and nice. i watched a couple of movies,and just relaxed,and now,some great jazz music... i even turned down the volume not to upset neighbors,even though i do not care a whit,period... i am just mellow,tonight...

pain in the morning...

to tell you the absolute truth,waking up in the morning,most mornings,is like being hit with three or four 2 by 4's,because over the course of my life,i have broken bones,torn ligaments,compressed vertebrae,and also torn muscles,in every limb of my body,including a skull fracture at five weeks old,along with torn muscles in my right hip(i actually destroyed the capsule in the hip joint,which means i have a distinct popping sound,when i lift and stretch out my hip),and ribcage,while running a practice ten kilometers,in just about 30 minutes,in 1980... i also got hit by three cars(two sideswipes,and a frontal collision,in 1989-1990),and mugged and robbed fourteen times,in the 1990's... i also have torn ligaments,in area of my toes of both feet,which causes me to fall,when i step on my big toes(i actually can step on my big toes,most of the time barefoot)... so,i hurt all the time,and getting up in morning is very painful,and it actually takes me about ninety minutes to tolerate the pain,in my body...

blog statement...

i am going to take today off... i do have something to say about Super Bowl 50,and will talk about it,tomorrow... so,"Idaho Spud" time...

comments...

i am very tired from the last few nights,and i walked over three miles,today,so i am going to bed early,tonight...

quote of the week...

"i am on record as being a sore loser... who likes to lose... show me a good loser,and i will show you a loser"- Cam Newton,yesterday,in press conference by his locker as he packed up his stuff... my opinion:what a real immature spoiled brat of a diva!!!!

memories of high school times,good and bad...

i am just thinking of a lot of things,right now... it is just odd,because i listen to music,or classic old-time radio,at night... so,tonight,i am listening to some old Elvis Presley("Heartbreak Hotel",actually,right now)...  i love all types of music,from old blues music,jazz,country,classic R&B,and rock... sometimes,i turn on Broadway musicals,classical music,and,strangely,opera... then i turn on classic old-time radio,anything from 1932's Police Headquarters,to 1950's Gunsmoke,Dragnet,and Yours Truly,Johnny Dollar... i changed the channel to 70's music,on 70's on 7... now it is "Rock and Roll",by Led Zeppelin... i even listened to a track from Jimi Hendrix changing the channel,for a bit...  i am now dancing to,"Sunshine",by Jonathan Edwards... i am in a very odd mood,tonight... strange i am,tonight(to quote Yoda,from the Star Wars series of movies)... i am thinking about my high school years,and most of that time,i was so miserable,but i tried to just survive two plus years of misery by listening to music(almost got suspended from school for taking my radio back from my english teacher who wanted to keep it until June,of my junior year),and marathon running,because you will never believe how close i came to hanging myself,in what was the closet,but was 4 by 8's and space between the studs... oddly,if she(my english teacher)had kept the radio,i would not have survived that week... no one really asked me why i took the radio back home... the reason:i was in a real severe depression,and i honestly thought about dying,but i pulled myself up by the bootstraps,even though i was in serious trouble,no doubt... it took years to do that... "American Woman" by the Guess Who,is now on,and i really remember walking down 44th street listening to the song,playing so loud that you hear it blocks away,and i was so pumped by it... now,Steve Martin,with "King Tut"... strangely,i went after high school to see the King Tut exhibition,in San Francisco,for free,saw the death mask,from inches away,too... i do not blame anybody for my misery,at that time... i blame myself,but honestly i am ecstatic that i survived that personal hell more than anything,so i now understand that time of my life... simply,what misery!!! i am just listening to high school memories,and not all of that time was miserable,but there were times that i barely survived,and other times that were more fun than i can ever say,like being a Boy Scout,at summer camp,and flipping a finger to a camp staffer who really wanted to wake up Senior Staff,and they just had climbed the Sutter Buttes up to the ranger station,all night,and had gotten in at 5:30 that morning... they would have beaten him to a bloody pulp(laughing)... damn right!!! i got a deep thank you from one Senior Staff member,who heard the altercation outside the tent,or the time,later that day,the Senior Staff(who was treated like crap the entire two weeks)went into the camp kitchen,with a crow bar,and a baseball bat,broke into the freezer,and took home the remaining fish that they had caught... i joined in on the fun,seeing the cook staff backing up from us,when shown the crow bar,and baseball bat... we were very pissed at that point... i even remember sprinting down the road being clocked at thirteen miles per hour down from Sand Pond... what a real thrill!!! i used that speed in running my first marathon(my time:5:30),when i ran the first ten miles,in 1:04(officially 1:12,because i was eight minutes late for the start of the race;Mom got lost in San Francisco),and i actually ran ten miles for practice,in 56 minutes,before the race,so i was prepared for the race... what a time and life!!!

commentary...

i have been talking a lot about my family,lately... my family is unique:a bunch of people who are individualist in nature,but in trouble,or pain,they get together like glue,and paper(not talking about the strength of that,but the tightness,and being a close knit unit)... one under attack,all come to rescue,and they are one unit... some people are very unique people in general,and others are very quiet,in nature,but one under attack,they are all like guard dogs,snapping and snarling their jaws,ready for a fight... it is odd that a blended family can be so close knit,but it is fact... some of the family,in some ways,are simply unknown,in terms of being themselves... they keep to themselves,and are private people,but they are members of a family that are stronger than diamond,when need be... i hate to admit this,but i may be the one person that you honestly do not want to mess with,because i have seen the dark side of myself,and i am not afraid to unleash that on people who believe that i am a easy mark to mess with... i may be very very nice to people,but when angered(and i do not mean just pissed off;i mean really,really upset),i am a devious person,who honestly thinks of weird ways to get even with scumbags... to family and dear friends,they honestly have no problem in seeing that(they will not see that),because they are family in the best way,and they are people who i care for,folks...  honestly,i have been that way only a very,very few times;very quiet(saying not a peep),and burning eyes,in my life... i was "on the road" for a decade,and honestly,i have had to be that way more than a few times,simply to protect myself,but that,in my thoughts,is different than the previous statement... being mugged,and robbed fourteen times,in that span of time means that you have to protect yourself... well,you get the point... i guarantee that you really do not want to mess with yours truly,because i am the meanest SOB in a real fight(i do not mean one punch and done,folks)... i mean that i will not quit,until the other person is down on the ground,bleeding,or they just quit themselves... however,i honestly have met one or two people,who are people who have told me after one punch to walk away or else,because they really are the toughest people that i ever have met in my entire life... funny thing is that,after that one punch,we usually became friends,because we both knew that we would not back down from a fight,and had a real grudging respect for each other... (like someone in a foxhole,having your back)...

in memoriam...

Ahnawake Unger:June 28,1938-February 8,2008... i love,and miss you every day,since you passed away...

simple comment...

folks,to those people who may find the last blogpost a little hard to take,i deeply apologize to them... however,i only feel that my sister has given so much grief to my family that i just can not stand any more pain for my dear family members,and that is just my feelings about my sister,a person who i simply do not respect,or want to ever see again,and that is much worse for me,in my book...

feelings that i had to say...

this is the last day(February 7th)eight years ago that i saw my dearly departed mother alive... she died in the hospital the next day,peacefully,but then the chaos started for the family,in that my sister started complaining about her care,blaming everybody,but herself... she is not welcome at family outings,and let me say that if she was to show up,there would be a lot of people who would tell her where to go,to put it bluntly... the final straw for me was actually three-fold:she left me in Cayucos after less than three days after my mother's death,and i did not see her for over six years,until she showed up at my apartment unannounced,and then sent me a real nasty e-mail,which will remain private,but is well-known in the family,and then she had the gall to again show up unannounced last year,and acted like nothing was wrong... well,i got pissed and tossed her out of my apartment,slamming the door,in the process... my sister has been a thorn in the family's side,and rather nasty about it,for over 45 years,and i do not care a whit about her... to me,(and i really hate to admit this)she is not alive to me,or that she is just another person that i really do not care for,because a relative once said that to make up for what she has done to the family,she would have to say "sorry to my mother to her face",and she noted that my mother had died,to have my sister make up for all the grief that she has given the family... i wholeheartedly agree with that sentiment 1,000%,because she has caused so much pain in this family,that i can not express how much pain or anger that i have felt over those forty five years,and honestly if i was to do so,there would so many holes in walls that i would have a cast on my hand for years,and years,instead of weeks... i do not like my sister,and i really do not respect her,either,which is much worse in my overall outlook,and in my book...

comments...

the Carolina Panthers got their comeuppance,and i love to see Cam Newton walk off the podium silently,because he celebrated touchdowns like he was Superman,they had team selfies before the end of the games that they won,and they acted like they were unbeatable most of the season,and they basically showed up every team that they beat,this season... every one of them,and i found that disgusting,and very distasteful every week,this season... so,i can be ICE COLD,in my opinion,and if anyone disagrees with me,i do not care a whit what you may believe,because it is my opinion,period...

blog statement...

eight years ago,tomorrow,my dearly departed mother passed away,so except for the notice of that,tomorrow,and the posting of the Florida Panthers/Red Wings game result,tomorrow night,i will be listening to great jazz,and be mournfully silent out of loving respect of her... be back,Tuesday...

commentary...

like i said,i am not watching Super Bowl 50... do not want to,and i am fine with that... did watch some of the Super Bowl pre-show,until i basically had to throw remote down on the carpet after changing the channel... i am going for a walk about game time,am watching WWE Network,and other things on the boob tube(television)...

torturous road to Super Bowl 50...

the Super Bowl 50 pre-game show,on NFL Network starts at 6 am,on the west coast,tomorrow... if i was going to watch that all the way through to the end of the game,including the game,you may have to call mental health authorities and have me committed,or go look around my apartment for me,because i may just put my head in the oven(laughing)... of course,i would never do that,but i do have one question for NFL Network,and all the pundits:why ten hours of pregame show,plus the game,after ripping through preparation the entire week??? i heard most everything on the game at least twenty times a day,for two weeks,and now you drill it into skulls Super Bowl Sunday... even when the Packers were in Super Bowl XLV,i did not put myself through that torturous road of numbing preparation,that year... how many times can i see the city of San Francisco,as a backdrop,when actually the game is fifty miles down the road,in Santa Clara??? once or twice,but not hundreds of times... i love San Francisco,but enough is enough!!!!

blog statement...

day off... "Idaho Spud" time...

brutal honesty...

why is it that i have not mentioned the Packers on this blog,in,basically,two weeks,but in a mild passing??? people have said to me that they do not believe me when i have said to them that i am not watching Super Bowl 50,Sunday... the only thing about NFL football that i am only mildly interested is to find out whether Brett Favre is going to be enshrined into the Pro Football Hall of Fame,in Canton,next August,and that will be known tomorrow night... folks,i have no interest in watching Super Bowl 50,simply because i am extremely mentally tired of NFL football,and i have not mentioned the Packers,because this regular season,and playoffs were simply brutal on my nervous system,and i simply am not interested in NFL football,right now... you really have no idea,or clue,how tough it was blogging the same thing week after week,and have the Packers,this season,slog out a good,but not great,regular season... they actually made franchise history by making the playoffs for the seventh straight season(no other Packers' team,in their team history has done that)... it is just the right time for me to really decompress from a really brutal season....

my childhood in Bakersfield...

YEE HAW!!!! guess the secret redneck is out,tonight... thinking about my childhood,in Bakers' pit(Bakersfield,for you people,who do not understand)... i still remember it being very hot in the summer,and freezing near thirty two degrees,or lower,in the winter... my family grew up there,and i spent some wonderful years of my childhood there,too... listening to Willie's Roadhouse(classic old country music),on SiriusXM,right now... i still remember being bucked off my grandma's white stallion,at age five,or six,right onto my head... i was not on a horse until i turned nineteen,after that... i still smile about the summers there,running around with friends,or by myself... i remember Sundays at Dewar's,eating rainbow sherbet in the back seat of the family car,and eating a banana split,or two,there... i remember sliding down the stairs of the "treehouse" once,and to keep me from breaking my neck,i stopped my momentum by actually grabbing a piece of barbed wire,and deeply cut my left hand... i learned how to play basketball by shooting a red ball into a garbage can,or a cardboard box,in the back yard... getting sliced open by a rusty tin can lid thrown by my brother,who grabbed off a line above a dead garden,in the backyard(at least four stitches,above my left eye)... i remember nights delivering the Bakersfield Californian with my father,and then going to Winchell's for donuts,and hot chocolate... i remember Cecelia Diaz,who was my serious girlfriend in school,if you can say at age ten,you can be serious... she was a sweetheart... i loved tap-dancing in the kitchen,and going around the neighborhood in a pedal car... i remember watching semi-pro,or junior college football at Bakersfield College(the Renegades)... i remember the night Martin Luther King,Jr died looking at the newspaper,and everybody being quiet that night,and walking five miles,that next Saturday morning(getting huge blisters in the process)... i remember walking in my body cast to the bathroom,and after twelve long weeks(and some grumpiness from the folks),surprising the family by slowly walking into the kitchen one Sunday morning for breakfast(Mamish almost dropped my tray that she prepared for me,as she turned around-i had prepared all week,without telling anybody,to surprise everybody)... you may be surprised to know that i really remember all that... YEE HAW!!!!

commentary...

i deeply respect both teams in the Super Bowl... the Packers played both teams on consecutive weeks,losing to both,which honestly they kicked our butts(until a late Packers' surge,the Carolina Panthers had a 23 point lead,with thirteen minutes left in game,before winning 37-29)... the Denver Broncos demolished the Packers the week before(and the Packers went 4-6,in last ten games of the regular season,frustrating everybody)... the Panthers are 17-1,going into the game,Sunday,and the Broncos beat the then-defending Super Bowl champion New England Patriots,last week... i "hate" both teams,so i do not have a dog in this fight... i will not be watching the game Sunday,because it is so so boring to me... both teams can basically kiss my backsides... who cares who wins???

commentary...

ever have one of those days that you feel getting out of bed was the worst thing that you could have done that day??? woke up with a headache,and went to the store,but the bus schedules were messed up,because of a work crew putting a new signal light up,at the onramp of Marconi/Business 80(Capital City freeway)... what morons decided to do that stuff in the middle of the morning??? the City of Sacramento public works department... that's who... what a real mess!!!!

commentary...

i have had a very long morning... paid "Bill",every single one,this morning,including rent... picked up medication at Walgreen's,ate something that i brought home from McDonald's,and it is time to relax,and get some rest(perhaps sleep),before the NHL game,tonight(Red Wings/Lightning)... walked about two miles this morning,too... hope you enjoy the blog today... will ramp up blog... will have something to say about Super Bowl 50(the NFL has gone to regular numerals only for this year),later on in the week...

my mother...

no one will ever know what my dearly departed mother's passing did to me at that time... i was in extreme shock,could not sleep at night for months,because i would wait for that shuffle of her feet over my head(it never came),and i really hurt very deeply... i was a mama's boy,and very proud of that little fact,and still miss her every single day of my life,since she passed away... people may find this strange,but i deeply respected her for the way that she passed into the afterlife... she really did not want to be a burden on anyone,and after that last doctor's appointment that she had,she simply decided that it was her time to go,so she did what she had to do to go on to the afterlife... in my opinion,she was on her last legs of a wonderful life,and she did not want to hurt anyone,by wasting away in a condition that was near impossible to live much further... damn,i really miss her in so many ways that i can not explain how deep the hurt goes,even now... it will be eight years,next Monday,since she has been gone,and i am in tears now typing this,so i will stop... i simply give a silent hug to her now.....

a story that i will never forget...

i remember walking around San Luis Obispo about once a week with a pair of SONY WALKMAN headphones,with a cap to make sure it fit,listening to talk radio,some great county music,and i would buy jazz music from BOO BOO Records,and books from Barnes and Noble... i would buy BBQ chicken sandwiches from MO's(the best BBQ joint in SLO),and simply walk the city,then take the RTA city bus home to Cayucos... i lived down below from my dearly departed mother,exactly 1/4 mile from the waves(by GPS)... my mother was a real character,with very true character... she lived in so many places over her oh so short life... she was self-educated,but she was in no way a county hick... she worked at two sheriff's/police departments,in her life,at the radio station at USC,a television station,in Denver,a well-known shopping store chain,in New Mexico,at two colleges,including Stanford University,and so many odd jobs that i can not count... she was a city council member in Morro Bay,and if you tried to bully,and buffalo her,she would shut you down quickly,because,unlike most of the city council,she read every bill,or ordinance that came before the city council,while she was on the city council... to get elected the first time,she walked to every house,every one,folks... her home library was spectacular,and i have her collection on Winston Churchill... i used to talk to her almost every night... three stories,from that time,that i will mention:we had not talked in a few days,because we both were very busy,so i hear a knock on my apartment/duplex door,i open the door,and she is standing there rather sad,and she said to me,"i need my harassment"(our running joke),and we hugged and talked for a few minutes,that night... now for a funny story:she had to go to Lompoc for a medical appointment,and so we both went down... we stopped at real dive of a restaurant near Vandenberg AFB,and it was so bad that we kidded each other about going back there for lunch every so often from then on... UGH!!!!  for now the final story that i will mention:when we talked most nights,she would ask me what was on television,i would say,"hock,hock,and more hock",and she would laugh,or i would say to her,"i was not coming back up" for the night,and then sneak up and tell her,"I LIED!!!!",and she would give me that look,and laugh... when we went to bed,i would come up to the sliding glass door,and we would give each other the sign for "i love you",and slowly touch the glass together... she even did it the night before she died,and i will always remember that for the rest of my life... what a real character,and a true lady...

blog statement...

day off... "Idaho Spud" time... strangely,i do not feel too bad,but my body has an overall body ache,today,so i am delaying my blogwork for a few days... possibly tomorrow,or Thursday... most likely,tomorrow,but who knows... i will talk about some personal things sometime this week...

comments...

i needed time off... taking more time off,but i will be up to speed,by Wednesday...

special Packers' trivia...

this is a special blogpost with a footnote in Packers' history... what day was Vince Lombardi hired to be head coach of the Green Bay Packers??? answer:January 28,1959... he took a team that was 1-10-1,in 1958,and made the team an immediate winner with a record of 7 wins and 5 losses... he never had a losing season,even in Washington,with the Redskins... the Packers won the first three games,then lost five in a row,and then finished the 1959 season,with four straight wins...

commentary...

like i said last night,i am taking a few days off,until February 1st,to recuperate and get mentally ready for the off-season,NFL Draft,NFL combine,and free agency,which should happen in the next few months... i will be going to the movies Super Bowl Sunday... probably will see "Star Wars-The Force Awakens",that day in IMAX,if it is still downtown...

comments...

i am taking a few more days off before i blog again... mentally tired,and seem honestly not to give a crap about it,right now... will be back around the first of February... note:you want honesty... well,you got it... be back shortly...

correction...

oops,i forgot to name Richard Rodgers,as the receiver who caught the "Hail Mary" pass,against the Detroit Lions,in the 27-23 win,over the Lions... i corrected the post... note:i was too happy thinking about that game winning play to give out his first name....

play of the year...

unfortunately,for the Packers,the season ended with an unbelievable pass and run by Cardinals' wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald(a 75 yard lob and run,when Carson Palmer was flushed out of the pocket,and found Fitzgerald all alone on a broken coverage,and Fitzgerald ran like a deer through the Packers' defense,on the very first play of overtime),it set up a five yard shovel pass to Fitzgerald(they had not run that play all season,until that point),to end the game,and season,26-20,for the Packers...

top three plays of the Packers' season...

number three:on 4th and twenty,in the NFC Divisional game,against the Arizona Cardinals,Aaron Rodgers hit Jeff Janis for a 60 yard bomb,to set up play number two... number two:Rodgers hit Janis for a 41 yard "Hail Mary" to tie game,at 20,and send game into overtime,against the Cardinals... unfortunately,that set up the play of the year,and to end the season,for the Packers... now for number one play of the season,for the Packers:Detroit 23,Green Bay 21,game over,except for an untimed play,for the Packers:Rodgers scrambled around and heaved the football over 65 yards,and hit a leaping (hi-pointed)Richard Rodgers(for his first "Hail Mary" of the season),in the end zone,for six points,and an unbelievable win over the Lions,27-23...

commentary...

simply said,i will not watch Super Bowl 50,because i "hate" both teams... (laughing)... actually,i do hope Peyton Manning wins his second Super Bowl,but when i lived in Denver(a short time),i just enjoyed the weather,even in the winter... i even have a funny story about being snowed in for four days in Denver...  will talk about that in future blogpost,in a few days...

comments...

i am listening to Miles Davis at Newport 1955-1975...i have slight pain in my lower back,massaging it softly,and gently as i type this,so i am taking it very easy(knot in muscle near the spinal column,and kidney,but it is slowly ebbing in intensity,so i will be fine... recently,i have had small nagging injuries,and they have annoyed me,but i will be alright... what a day!!! (laughing)... back to Miles,folks...

comments...

today,i really did have other plans,but i woke up this morning with a slight sore throat,and right now,i feel very tired... i will be alright,but fatigue has set in,and i am going back to bed for a few hours... i even have a slight headache,so i guess it may be my time to get ill... even though,i only really need a ton of sleep... folks,i feel pretty well except for being tired... i did go to the store,yesterday,so i do have food in the house... just maybe the fact that i have not slept well in the last seven days has caught up with my body... as a precaution,i am staying away from everyone,and will not answer the phone until tonight...

people who i dearly miss...

i really miss my uncle Bob(UNC)... he was a true character,with true character... he would pull some of the most strange pranks,and stunts on me,that would absolutely make me laugh out loud... i do wish that i could tell you some of the things that he would pull on me,but they were so funny that every once in a while i would laugh so hard,and that i would have no noise to my laugh... i still do it when my brother cracks me up,too,but i still deeply miss dear departed uncle Bob(UNC),more than i can say,because he was my idol(in many ways),and i loved him deeply... we were two of a kind,and i still feel his spirit and presence every day... DAMN,UNC,you passed away way too soon,and i miss you... next:my mother...

WWE and the Royal Rumble...

Triple H became a fourteen time WWE World Heavyweight Champion last night,by outlasting 30 wrestlers,but to be fair,he came into the Royal Rumble last... he eliminated now former WWE World Heavyweight Champion Roman Reigns... apparently,storyline indicates that it will be Reigns versus Triple H,at Wrestlemania 32,with a possibility of a triple threat match including former WWE World Heavyweight Champion Brock Lesnar,but after how the Wyatt Family screwed Lesnar in the Rumble,last night,he may be very busy destroying them... (laughing)...

comments...

i actually still have a comfortable pair of pants from when i was "on the road"... in fact,i am wearing them today... amazing isn't it...

WWE Royal Rumble history... is it tonight???

strangely,this particular blogpost has nothing to do with NFL football,but has to do with the WWE... people may think that it is fake... it is not,but it is scripted,and,at times,can be cheesy,and stupid... however,history will be made in tonight's Royal Rumble... the WWE World Heavyweight Title will be defended in the Rumble itself,and Roman Reigns(current champion)will be number one in the ring... only twice has the number one person in the ring have won a Royal Rumble... WWE Hall of Fame member Shawn Michaels is one of the two people,who has won the Royal Rumble from position number one... Reigns won it last year,but it has been eighteen years since "Stone Cold" Steve Austin won it in 1997 and 1998...

comments...

i am going to bed very early,tonight,because i got absolutely no sleep,last night... did have a four hour nap,however...

response to my father...

i wrote a blogpost a couple of days ago that my father said was sad,but honestly it was not meant to be... it was about victory of my character over some very,very hard and tough obstacles that seemed to me to be impossible to overcome,at that time... i am standing upright,and on two feet over some things that almost killed me,but i am still here fighting for a life(my own)that honestly was,at times,that seemed to be a mountain as tall as Mount Everest,and i climbed it,in my own way... that was the way that i wrote that blogpost...

a story that was hard to forget...

one day in the spring of 1989(a Sunday),i was at my soulmate's apartment,so i had to sprint for the bus(about ten blocks),and i missed the bus by ten seconds,nonetheless... i had no money,and no way home... i lived with UNC,in South Natomas,and i was in Carmichael,at the time... how in the world did i get home??? walk about twelve miles across North Sacramento... it was 6:30 pm,and i had to walk home,so i did... i was in tip top condition from my training for a marathon,so it was not too difficult,and so i thought... i was dead wrong!!! getting to Arden Fair Mall was not too difficult,but i shortly after passing Arden Fair Mall,i had both hips dislocate,and then i popped them back into place... the last five miles was simply torture,and when i got home at 2:15 am,i stupidly realized that i had run out of my soulmate's apartment without my house key,so i laid down on the cement slab outside the back sliding glass door,for a few seconds... did not to wake up UNC,at that time of night(he would have "killed" me),but then realized i had left my bedroom window unlocked,but shut,so i crawled into the bedroom,and went to bed... what a night!!!!

comments...

i do have a story of walking across Sacramento,one Sunday night... however,i need sleep,before i tell it... will tell it tomorrow... train leaves for Snoozeville,very shortly...

comments...

computer has been down this afternoon,so i am not in a good mood... have a headache,so i will be watching NHL hockey tonight,then bedtime...

blog statement...

day off... "Idaho Spud" time...

an odd end to a day...

honestly,this has been a very strange day for yours truly... i started this day by having this computer off for most of the day... ever type with three fingers??? i do,and type rather fast,because i have memorized the keyboard... right now,i am listening to Billy Joel,on his limited engagement channel on Sirius XM... i remember his music during high school,and shortly after that time,and i am just relaxing... my last two years of high school,and the time into my 20's were simply miserable for me,because there was not a day during that time that i did not want to die... i fought those feelings with a great deal of music... drove my parents crazy with the nightly music,but honestly,it simply got through the misery of that time... my running of the roads almost every day(ten miles a day,or more)tired me out,so i would spend as little time as possible thinking about my life... the roads around "the Big House" were almost perfect for training... this is odd,because i really have never talked about that time,until now... i spent a total of over twenty years simply surviving,and,in my own way,growing up... i was depressed for about twelve and a half years,and then the real adventure of my entire life,ten years "on the road",the last seven years traveling almost every day,with small breaks of living with friends and relatives... i have traveled over 50,000 miles on my thumb... people may have their own opinions of why i did it that way,but this is my reason:i simply had to grow up,and to remain sane,i had to travel almost every day... one story:my UNC wanted to argue with me over something,was pissed,and just wanted to fight someone... well,this night,i simply refused,and told him that i was going to read some Tom Clancy in my room,and walked away... about two hours later,he knocked on my door and simply said that he was very proud of me,and that i had grown up,and then went to bed... i tell that story not to belittle anyone,but to simply show you how much growth i went through,in that time... people have their opinions of me,and i honestly do not care a whit about what they think,because i have been through so much crud that it does not matter... i have done some things that i simply am ashamed of,during that time,but the major thing is that i survived "my own personal hell",and that is what you have to do,in the end... i have lost friends and other people that i really cared for during that time,but i had to survive,so i had to do what i had to do... my family had no idea why i did what i did,and at that particular time,i really did not care,but honestly i loved them all,but could not explain anything... to them,i deeply apologize,but under the exact circumstances of that time,the same things would happen,with a little difference(would have stayed in touch with them),but nothing would have changed that much... strangely,i am very grateful for that time "on the road",because it taught me more than i can explain to myself,or could ever explain to you... in my own unique way,i really miss it,if you can believe that... simply said,not knowing where i was going to be at night was exciting,because i totally changed my mind almost every day,like starting in Carson City/Reno,one morning,and being in Salt Lake,Denver,Albuquerque,or Las Vegas,that night,or even being a trucker(for four days)going through Nevada,Utah,Idaho,and Wyoming,like a trucking buddy took me on that trip,in 1998... what a trip that was,folks...

a defense of Aaron...

many pundits have said that the Packers' quarterback(Aaron Rodgers)has been figured out by the team defenses of the teams that "we" played,this season... how many games did the Packers lose??? seven,but at least five of the games went down to the very last play of the game(Carolina Panthers,DA BEARS,Detroit Lions,Minnesota Vikings(all three division games were at Lambeau Field),and Arizona Cardinals)... one major fact:they had offensive line woes throughout the season(injuries),and by the end of the NFC divisional game,against Arizona,they had lost their top four wide receivers to major injuries,and their top running back(Eddie Lacy)scored only three rushing touchdowns,all season,and Aaron Rodgers was sacked over forty times(eight times by Arizona,week sixteen,alone)... the defense was wracked with injury,in the defensive backfield,and defensive line,all season,but only gave up an average of just about 21 points/per game,and the Packers lost in overtime,in the NFC divisional game,on a great play by Larry Fitzgerald,after having completed their second Hail Mary,of the season,from a basically crushed Aaron Rodgers,who was smashed,as he let go of the football,as the clock hit double zero... no other quarterback could have carried this Packers' team on his back,like he did,all season... to those pundits,they can kiss both sides of my backsides,because this season may have a disappointment,but i am very,very proud of this team... there is not a quarterback that i would trade for,and Aaron Rodgers would be in my foxhole,as the best quarterback in the NFL,BECAUSE HE DOES NOT QUIT!!!! note:he epitomizes Packer greatness,when an anonymous Packers' player said in the 60's,"we do not lose,but we run out of time..."*  *quote is in the book,"Instant Replay",by Jerry Kramer...

comments...

since i had to re-install my Sirius XM app on my cell phone,i had to reset my passcode,so i turned on the computer and i have decided to say something that honestly has to be said... more later...

comments...

hello,folks... i am watching television and doing other things today... i will be off and on over the next few days,but major blogging will be sometime this week... i am enjoying my break from blogging... be back shortly...

comments...

i can not be prouder of "my" team... i am going into the off-season holding my head straight up,and with a rock chin... as i am taking a few days off from any major blogging,i will say that this is the proudest moment of my public ownership of the Packers... anyone who is going to criticize the team,the head coach,or the quarterback will not escaped unscathed from a verbal beatdown by me,period... see you shortly,folks...

Packers' game score,and comments...

Cardinals 26,Packers 20,overtime... a great play by Aaron Rodgers to send game into overtime,but a better play by Cardinals' wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald ended game,and the season for the Packers... a hat tip to the "better team"-Arizona Cardinals... note:i am taking a few days off to decompress from the season... i will not watch football tomorrow...

brass balls award...

the former(drunk)Taco Bell executive (Matthew Golden)who assaulted the UBER driver is suing the guy for $5.0 million,for filming his assault of the guy... what gall!!!

Packers/Cardinals game notes...

i usually talk about the upcoming game every week,but this week has been strange... both the Packers and Cardinals are very good,and simply if both teams play up to their potentials,it will be a great game... the Packers have been an enigma all season... they have been up and down on offense,and the defense has been very good most of the season,allowing very few points in their games,but the offense has been spotty all season... the numbers for Aaron Rodgers are the worst of his career,but most of the slippage in the numbers are due to two factors:1)youth in the passing corps,and 2)major injuries to the offensive line,and to the receiving corps... every pundit has said at one time or another that maybe they have figured out Aaron Rodgers... BULL!!! when you have injuries to key people,i do not care if you have SUPERMAN under center,you are going to struggle with a team that may have won six in a row,lost their division(the NFC North),to the Minnesota Vikings,but even in the midst of that opening six game winning streak,i honestly noticed that they were just a little off on team offense,and even though the defense was,at the time,leading the NFL,in scoring defense(about 17 points allowed/game),they would have trouble if injuries to key people piled up,and BINGO,they did... so,they face a very,very good and favored Cardinals' team,today... they can win if they do not turn over the football,force the Cardinals into mistakes,get an early lead,and play Packers' football...

my lousy day(laughing)...

i am not happy with a lot of things that are going on today... just small things are irritating me,but with a nasal migraine headache today,it is not a pleasant day for me... i have a big toenail halfway off on my right foot,so i have a white sock on my foot to protect the toe,and i look like a hobo,with pajamas on... what a look!!! (laughing)... on top of that,i have a sore spot in-between my big toe,and the pad of my right foot,a small crack of the skin... OUCH!!! so i am limping,slightly.... thought you needed a chuckle to make fun of me today... i will be all right,but you would get a big laugh out of the way that i look today... someone has to make fun of me,today... i guess it is me...

Packers/Cardinals game notes...

the Arizona Cardinals are favored against the Packers,every pundit believes that the Packers have little,or no,chance to beat after the 38-8 stomping they received at the hands of the Cardinals,in week sixteen,and i can see where they are right,but i also know that if the Packers have two weeks to prepare(but you say they have had only one week to prepare)... to tell you honestly,they started to prepare,when the week sixteen game ended,or the day after,because they knew that they would have a chance to face them,in Arizona,again,even if they won their division(the NFC North),which they did not win it,against Minnesota... the Packers may not win the game,but it will be a closer game than 38-8,and the Packers will have a shot to win,if they start off fast,score points,keep the Cardinals' offense off the field as much as possible,and keep Aaron Rodgers upright,as much as possible... if not,it will be an ugly game like last time... do not bet on it!!!!

a story that i had to tell...

this is strange that i am up at this time,not because of the time,but because i honestly was dead asleep,and all of a sudden,the eyes popped open like an alarm clock going off... i usually wake up slowly... at 2:52 am,i woke up like a Jack in a Box... so here i am... i talk about people who i deeply miss(not to change minds or attitudes),but to tell about those people,who honestly had a very deep effect on my life... my soulmate was a lady of strange temperaments... one time,she was a sweetheart,the next time,she was a cobra,and honestly,i called her a cobra a few times to her face,and she would call me names that i can not mention on here... it honestly got much worse towards the end of her oh very short life,because of the real extreme pain that she was in... i was rather blind to that fact,and i am very remorseful about it... Mike and Diana reminded me of something:i was "on the road",by choice,but honestly,it was not,because every time,i stepped out of her apartment,i did wish silently to remain,even when i was very angry... both of us were very difficult to live with,and sometimes near impossible... it is a fact that when i was in town,i shopped for her.. i knew every small fact about her... in fact,i can still go into any store,and with a blindfold,and pick out things that she loved down to her undergarments,hair color,and makeup... a funny story is that the very last time we shopped together,we came out with three separate food baskets filled to the brim,and me $350- poorer... i could not believe it... she hated to shop,but when she did,oh boy,did she shop!!!! when she a sweetheart,she cooked,and was a good cook... i still remember her lasagna... i even cooked her my famous spaghetti recipe,and her kids ate it up like they were on a IV,and it took days,because i cooked a ton of it... she called me,"her miracle man",because sometimes i absolutely did some things that were impossible to do,but somehow things that she absolutely needed to have done were done... it was amazing to me that some things got done,because some days i had absolutely no way to do those things,but things got done... at the end of her life,we sorted through some very difficult subjects,talked everything out,and she was the very same loving lady that i honestly fell in love,on that very first day that we met,so long ago... now for the final thing that i will mention happened four days,before she passed away,we had an intimate "wedding ceremony"(no priest),in which she and i stood next to her bed,got down to brass tacks,and finally said the things that we both wanted to say for the thirteen and a half years that we knew each other... it will remain private,and in my heart,but in her memory,i will say,"Remember the 31st...",and i do every day...

commentary...

i am very tired of every pundit,who does not how to play NFL football,and it is apparent that nobody believes that the Packers can win,against the Cardinals... they degrade the offensive team,especially Aaron Rodgers(right,Gil Brandt:you should retire,and go back to Dallas!!!)... well,i am not saying that the Packers will not win,but that it will be closer,and if it is close,that the Packers will have a chance to win... hyping the Cardinals is their job(i understand),but to give the Packers no chance,makes me absolutely angry... the NFL Network is running a replay of the 51-45,2009 playoff win,that the Cardinals had over the Packers,but honestly watch the last play of that game,when the referees missed a violent facemark on Aaron Rodgers,which directly led to his fumble,and to the winning touchdown(a fumble return),and then they are running a hour of highlights of week sixteen,this year,in which the Packers lose,38-8,and then they are showing a replay of Super Bowl I,on Friday... they are showing bias,folks,and is that fair??? NO!!!! they can kiss my backsides,folks...

comments...

before i preview Saturday night's game between the Packers and the Arizona Cardinals,i will say this:the Cardinals can not play any better,and the Packers can not stink up the joint any worse... nine sacks,and four turnovers,including two fumbles returned for a touchdown marred the game,but if anyone believes that the Packers will play that bad again,you will be surprised by the Packers and the way that they will play Saturday night... i am not saying that the Packers will win,but honestly,in my opinion,i will not be surprised,if they did win game...

quote of the week...

"the season can't end like that"-Minnesota Vikings' radio broadcast,as kicker Blair Walsh missed 27 yard field goal,with 26 seconds left,and the Vikings lose 10-9,to the Seattle Seahawks,in their NFC wild card game... to reply:YES IT CAN!!!

comments...

will preview tomorrow the Packers/Cardinals rematch from week sixteen,in which the Packers got blasted 38-8... if you believe the Packers do not have a chance in this game,you are dead wrong!!!! no one team can be that bad again... the Packers may lose,but it should be more interesting than week sixteen... it is Saturday night...

commentary...

folks,honestly,i do not feel any sympathy for the NFC North Champion Minnesota Vikings(hate to admit that),but after last week,with a gift fumble return for a touchdown,by the referees,to beat the Packers,i have absolutely no sympathy for the Vikings... Karma bites,doesn't it,boys!!!! you win a game that you have a gift given to you,last week,and then you screw up a 27 yard field goal,to lose a playoff game??? guess you want to relive the Gary Anderson screw up,in the 1998 NFC Championship game,when he missed a game-clinching field goal,and then you lose to the Atlanta Falcons,in overtime,who honestly had no right going to the Super Bowl(Super Bowl XXXIII),against the Denver Broncos... remember that you were 15-1,in the regular season,and you bulldozed through everyone in that year's playoffs,until Anderson missed that field goal(and it was his only miss-field goal,or PAT)... Deja vu really sucks... chomp on that manure sandwich...  Tastes good,doesn't it!!!! YUM!!!! will live in infamy,for your team history... as a shareholder/owner,of the Packers,i am still smiling!!!! (laughing)... note:i know that i am being so cold about this,but i do not care a whit,period... BRRRR!!!!

commentary...

i am not saying that the Packers are going to win next week,against the Arizona Cardinals,but honestly,the game will be closer than two weeks ago,when the Packers got blasted,38-8,and nine sacks,and four turnovers,in my opinion,will not happen again... Arizona should,and will,be favored,but the Packers,and Aaron Rodgers and company,will show up in a big way... the embarrassment of that loss to Arizona,will be a big chip on the Packers' collective shoulders... like i said,the Packers will play better,and things will be closer,score-wise,but again,honestly,if the Cardinals put the hammer down on the Packers,again,i will honestly tip my hat to "the better team",and yet,i would love another crack at the Cardinals,Seattle Seahawks(for last year's NFC Championship loss),or the Carolina Panthers,again,because those losses are very sore with me,and the Packers,PERIOD...

Packers' game score,and comments...

Packers 35,Redskins 17... Packers' team offense finally wake up,and the team defense really shined,stopping the Redskins three times,on fourth down,and sacking Redskins' quarterback Kirk Cousins six times... Packers scored on five straight possessions,and six of seven possessions,in second half to blow open a tight game and cruised to an easy win,over the Redskins... note:it is the first time in recent playoff history that all four road teams won,on a playoff weekend...

NFC North division game score...

Seattle Seahawks 10,Minnesota Vikings 9... VIKINGS CHOKE BIG TIME!!!!

comments...

the Packers' team motto for this year's playoffs appears to be,"just win one game"... very proper,it is!!!

Packers/Redskins game notes,and the Packers win,if...

i am mystified by the Packers this season... the team defense has been very good most of the year... in fact,the last time the Packers had a better team defense than a team offense,numbers-wise,was 2010(remember what happened then:the Packers became the only team in NFL history to return a interception for a touchdown in every playoff game that they played;all four games,and won Super Bowl XLV)... the Washington Redskins have won their last four games,and have had the lead in the last three games,going into the fourth quarter each time... if the Packers do not score early,hold the lead going into the fourth quarter,they are in deep trouble... the Packers have lost four games in the last minute,this season,but honestly had a legitimate chance to win two of those games,even though sending games into overtime,against Carolina,and Minnesota,last week,would have been a toss up,in overtime,but,alas,that did not happen... (in that game,against the Carolina Panthers,even though Carolina won the game,i honestly noticed a real chink in the Panthers' armor,also against the New York Giants,they gave up a big lead(23 points,against the Packers,in the fourth quarter,and 28 points against the Giants;they won by eight points(37-29),against the Packers(a lame duck interception by Rodgers ended the game on 4th and goal),and 38-35,against the Giants,after being up by 28 with 3:30 left in third period,with a last second field goal,more on that,perhaps)... the Redskins have a very good defensive line,and with the Packers given up fourteen sacks in last two games,it could be ugly for Aaron Rodgers and company,Sunday,but again,the Packers had two starters out for the last two games,and with backups in,that is what you get,most of the time... both starters should play... the only mystery to me is,unlike 2010,what Packers' team offense is going to show up??? the one that won six games in a row to start the season,or the one that has had trouble scoring points in first three quarters of a game,and have only won four of the last ten games,while the Packers' team defense has carried the team into the playoffs... question: is the Packers' team offense ever to wake up,and play Packers' football??? i have hope,but again,what has happened to the Packers,this season??? note:i combined both blogposts this week,because  "the Packers win,if..." has been the same formula for weeks,and nothing has worked... so i am crossing my fingers,tomorrow...