April 30 Rainy Day Random Thoughts

Once again, it rained all day long and it's not just rain but the clouds never break and it's dark and gray all day long. I attempted to ignore the dreariness of the day by writing down some random thoughts. So here goes...people seem slightly depressed or at least a bit down when it rains for 5 straight days...I always seem to chose mellower music on rainy days like the CoffeHouse channel on Sirius...it just doesn't seem right to rock out or dance on dreary days...the swine flu seems to dominate the all news stations and it seems like it's not the disaster the mass media has been making it...so I called my personal medical expert, my mom...she is a nurse and a New Yorker so I knew she'd have an opinion...drumroll please...yes the media is overhypeing this pandemic, she says most scientists are saying this is not a severe strain of the flu...of course her little boy (and you) should take precautions like washing his hands and using hand sanitizer...also do not touch your face especially your mouth and eyes...I asked if licking the hand rails at Comiskey Park was a good idea...she answered no, like I was serious...I then asked if maybe a severe pandemic was exactly what the world needed right now, kind of like culling the herd...I thought maybe one to one and a half billion dead was a good number for the Swine Flu...she hung up on me...speaking of swine, I got stuck in traffic behind a Britney Spears fan...so I added that picture too... gotta go Blackhawks vs Canucks tonight.

April 29 The Iceman

This week I was responsible for bringing the beer for our hockey game. This long time tradition is why mens league hockey is known as the beer league. This was the first time I had to fill our new roller cooler with the post game libations. I've brought the beer many times over the years but we used to have a five gallon plastic bucket affectionately known as the Stanley Bucket. (a take off on hockey's Championship Trophy known as the Stanley Cup) Sometime earlier this year the Stanley Bucket was retired, well sort of retired. Since it was difficult to carry in your hockey equipment bag, sticks and a bucket filled with ice & 24 bottles, our team owner (who oooowns the team) Harold "Walt" Ballard bought the rolling cooler. Now the Stanley Bucket is used for the empties so we can recycle the glass and/or cans. Our team is now lowering our carbon footprint according to Mr. Ballard. So what does this have to do with today's picture? I planned on taking a picture of the new cooler and the old Stanley Bucket for this little story. But Walt forgot the bucket at home. (and yes we still recycled the bottles) When I arrived the rink was empty and a slight fog was floating along the ice. I thought it would make for a cool picture. By the time I dropped my equipment in the locker room, there was a couple skating around the rink. It turns out that Iceman (who got his nickname because he drives the Zamboni and does a great job resurfacing the ice) was skating with a lady friend. I was going to sneak a shot but decided to ask permission (due to my fear of pissing off Iceman, he's a big dude). So that is why the Stanley Bucket got a retirement story without a picture.

April 28 The Chicago White Skirts

I finally made it to my first White Sox game tonight. I really haven't paid much attention to them because of the Blackhawks playoff run. I knew they were about .500 and that they won the first game of tonight's doubleheader. I also knew that tonight's pitcher, John Danks was off to a great start. So I didn't mind the 39 degree temperature and strong winds at the start off the game. The Sox ruined the night by losing 9-1. The lousy effort was by the whole team, hitting, pitching and fielding was terrible. A complete lack of effort. Only 3 balls were hit hard all night by the Sox. Most of the fans were more interested in getting updates on the Bulls playoff game than watching the Sox sleepwalk around the field. Some thoughts after the game, Josh Fields is completely misnamed, he has no range and can't catch what he does reach, the team seems to be the slowest in baseball once again, only Carlos Quentin hustles on every play and again this year either the whole team hits or no one hits. These problems can make for a frustrating season. At least I got to wear my White Sox hoodie that Patty gave me for Christmas.

April 27 Rainy Monday

It seems to rain at least 5 days a week lately. But today, I had an inside job. I had to set up two Passport computers and load the software. These computers are used at gas stations to sell the merchandise, control the gas pumps and process credit card transactions. We are installing these because of new regulations on credit and debit cards that will take place in July 2010. Most of the existing consoles will not be able to handle the new regulations. I guess I should have taken a picture of the Passports, but I worked late & forgot about the blog today. Now the Blackhawks are leading 2-0 in the second period and they win their first playoff series in recent memory if they can hold on. So this is all you get for today. A picture of my rain soaked backyard. Oh yeah, the Hawks just scored again, gotta go. Good night.

April 26 Lazy Sunday

The storms from Saturday continued through the morning on Sunday. By noon, the temps climbed to the mid 70's and the wind really picked up. I spent part of the day reading a book called The Final Frontiersman by James Campbell. It is about a man who leaves Wisconsin in 1975 and eventually lives off the land in the Alaskan Arctic with his wife and two daughters. They are the last non native family to have the right to homestead in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. After doing little jobs around the house and finishing dinner, I found that the sunshine and wind had dried the hammock on the back patio. So out I went with my book and my dogs. Oslo would join me on the hammock in between patrolling the yard and Fluffy would stand along side the hammock to be petted. I was reading my book and watching the wind blow the clouds across the sky. I was reading the chapter that tells the stories of many men and a few women who decided to live off the land in Alaska and watching the birds playing in the wind. Some of the seagulls were just floating across the sky with the clouds speeding by above them; then they would turn into the wind and shoot straight upward without flapping their wings. It was obvious they were just playing in the wind and it seemed a perfect backdrop to the book I was reading. At some point in our lives, doesn't flying freely into the wild seem like a good idea.

April 25 I Had A Moment

There are 1440 minutes in a day. You can try to enjoy them all, but realistically they all can't be special moments. That is why having a moment is so important. First of all, you must realize at that particular moment that you are having a moment. Secondly, time must slow down or stop for you which is perfect because it makes the moment last longer. Lastly and most importantly, the rest of the world doesn't exist for that moment. It is almost like an out of body experience where you are looking down at yourself amazed at the incredible joy you are experiencing. Here are the details of my moment. We took the dogs to Central Beach early in the morning because it was supposed to be 80 degrees again today. It was already starting to warm up by 8am. After the quick walk through the woods, Oslo & I went up a sand dune to get to the beach, Chrissy & Fluff (the two old ladies) took the paved path. Once on the beach we walked toward the west end of the beach. Along the way Fluffy & Oslo ran into the lake and I took off my shoes and rolled up my jeans while walking along the shore. We reached the rocks that block off the west end of the beach and decided to rest there for awhile. Fluff laid down, Oslo sat upright in his usual "on guard" position. I sat on waters edge on a sand cliff about 2 feet high with my feet in the water. Facing out across the lake, only the sound of the surf in my ears, with the waves slowly rolling in and covering my feet momentarily before retreating, I had my moment. The long Chicago winter spent with multiple layers of clothing on everyday was on my mind and it felt great to sit there in jeans and a t-shirt with my feet in the water. I was watching the ducks float over the waves and thinking about the quiet solitude of the lake so full of life, mystery and adventure. It ended with Chrissy yelling, "Oslo wants you to run him up that dune." Even though my blissful moment was only a minute or two, it seemed like an eternity at the time and I can still smile reliving it in my mind. Of course, reality came crashing down on me. I ran Oslo up that dune, about half way up, I collapsed onto the sand unable to breathe. I finally caught my breath and walked to the top before running back down. That's when I saw the sky turning black and the thunder starting to scare the shit out of Fluffy. On the way back to the car she ran faster than she has in years. In typical Chicago fashion, a promising day went to shit weatherwise. Thunderstorms rolled through all day long and the temperature dropped into the 40's. I didn't care, I still had my moment.

April 24 Summertime

Summer is finally here, at least for one day. It had to be 85 degrees today. The sun was shining and everyone had a smile on their face. Even though I got stuck in traffic on the Kennedy for an hour and a half, I didn't care one bit. Hell, I had time to take a picture of a billboard taunting Cub fans. The American Lung Association has a billboard near Addison Street which is the Wrigley Field exit that says "CUBS WIN WORLD SERIES" then below that is says "LIVE TO SEE IT". Of course I took that to mean, the Cubs aren't winning anytime soon so quit smoking, you'll need to live a long time to see a Cubs World Series victory. That made me laugh most of the way home. I spent the evening cleaning up the yard, cutting the grass and repairing our bikes. I replaced Chrissy's broken gear shifter and put new tires with puncture proof liners on my bike. Now I have to get my fat ass out on some single track through the woods.

April 23 When Doves Cry

Spring is in the air. That means love is in the air or at least babymaking is in the air. The two doves that have made their nests in my neighbor's yard for years are proud parents once again. That is Papa standing guard on the weather vane, while his two young ones rest in the nest below him on the garage. Mama was along the fence on the opposite side of the yard.

Dream if u can a courtyard

An ocean of violets in bloom

Animals strike curious poses

They feel the heat

The heat between me & U

Touch if u will my stomach

Feel how it trembles inside

You've got the butterflies all tied up

Don't make me chase u

Even doves have pride

Why do we scream at each other

This is what it sounds like

When doves cry

April 22 EARTH DAY

In celebration of Earth Day, here are some of my favorite places on Earth.

Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming

Wrangell - St. Elias National Park, Alaska

Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming

Coney Island, Brooklyn, NY

Rome, Italy

Washington Square Park, NYC

Denali National Park, Alaska

Glacier Bay National Park, Alaska

Salvbard, Arctic Norway




Where are some of your favorite places? Leave your answers in the comment section.

April 21 God Works in Mysterious Ways

Many years ago I went to a concert with Chrissy's younger cousin Scottie and he brought along a friend named Martini. I never remember names but for an obvious reason this name stuck with me. Stay with me here, this story will get to a point eventually. Ever since we adopted a dog from the Great Pyrenees Rescue of Greater Chicago, we have volunteered to help the organization. One night I went to a Vietnam Vet's house for a home & yard inspection. He was looking to adopt a Pyr after putting down his long time buddy, King. His name is Wayne. Then there is a piece of human debris called Fred Phelps the leader of Westboro Baptist Church of Topeka, Kansas. (Every Baptist organization says this church is not affiliated with them.) Recently I was talking to my mother about the condition of the world today. We have these conversations regularly. Religion came up and I reminded her about that fucking piece of crap from Kansas, I couldn't remember his name at the time. Today, I heard someone on the news saying 'God works in mysterious ways' while describing some kind of tragedy. Then I had a strange thought that I will get to soon. So back to the characters mentioned above. About three years ago, I heard a kid named Martini from my town was killed in Iraq. I asked Scottie and he said it was his friend Tony's brother, Phillip. Then I read that at his funeral that Fred Phelps and his mentally deficient followers were protesting that soldier's were killed in Iraq because of America's tolerance of gays. Just so you are clear on this twisted logic, they don't protest just at gay soldiers' funerals but at all soldier funerals. They stand there and yell anti gay slogans at families burying their military sons. That same week, I met Wayne. When I saw his modified Harley (he was shot in Vietnam and still has a severe limp) I asked where he had ridden lately. He told me to Philip Martini's funeral. It turns out he was a member of the Patriot Guard Riders. A fantastic motorcycle club of mostly veterans that will come as invited guests to any soldiers funeral and shield the family from douche bags like Fred Phelps. He told me when Phelps started using electronic megaphones (due to new laws keeping protesters 200 yards from a military funeral), the bikers slowly rev their engines to drown him out. I asked Wayne why they didn't just beat the shit out of the protesters, he smiled and replied "we are strictly non violent." Too bad. Now to my thought today, maybe God does work in mysterious ways. It seems to me that God's most fervent followers are complete fucking idiots. His fanatic followers refuse to believe in evolution even though if God did create the world, logic says that he also created evolution, right? My logic tells me God does this on purpose so we don't believe the crap these followers are constantly spewing in his name. You see my God hates these motherfuckers using his name to promote their vile hatred, misguided ideas and quotes taken out of context from the Bible. Hopefully my God is vengeful and my Heaven is an eternity of watching God torture these sorry bastards and here's why they deserve the wrath of my God. (Note: I took these pictures from other websites, I hope they don't mind. As for the young soldier Philip Martini, I thank you for your service and sacrifice for our country and I hope your heaven is what you hoped it would be.)

April 20 Better Days

Instead of bitching about our rainy 40 degree day, I'm posting pictures of our trip to Yellowstone last fall.. It's like therapy for me, SERENITY NOW! Here's a lovely waterfall shot taken during a hike along the Yellowstone River. Now that's relaxing. We did some backcountry hiking that day and came across a lot of skulls & bones along the way. None appeared to be human remains, but we're not experts. Then there is the obligatory Old Faithful shot. It was a very nice morning. We hiked around the upper geyser basin most of the day and witnessed some impressive eruptions. The last shot is an elk known as Number 7. Every year during rut, he brings his harem to the lawn outside the Mammoth Springs Hotel. This allows visitors to get dangerously close to a large, angry and horny elk. We heard he's caused damage to cars, trucks and stupid visitors. We also were told that between 1-3 times a day, he decides to hump of his 30 or so female elk that are just laying around waiting for him. This occurs right in front of suburban mom & dad with their precious offspring questioning what is going on. It's a shame I wasn't able to witness that particular event. But remembering the stories put a smile on my ugly mug on this miserable day.

April 19 Rainy Day Music

Years ago there was a website called Music Misfits. It was run by a friend of mine, Cary who used to be in a band with my brother George. I used to write record reviews for that site and also had several interesting music geek discussions amongst the readers of the site. One of the topics was 'Rainy Day Music' which I described as 'happy to be depressed' music. Music fans usually want to listen to songs that match the mood they are in, party music for partying, dance songs for the clubs and slow depressing songs for rainy days. It was absolutely miserable yesterday, cold & a dark misty rain all day long. Why not curl up with two of my all time favorite 'rainy day' CD's. I'm pretty sure I own just about every release by Todd Snider and Wilco and these are my favorites by them, Songs For The Daily Planet & Being There. Todd Snider is a fantastic songwriter with a bit of a smartass streak to him. Obviously I would be a big fan. Wilco is easily one of the greatest bands of the past 20 years. Some may call them Alt Country but they really can't be pigeon holed to a single genre. Let's just say they play rock & roll. Without turning this into a review, just check out these two releases and let me know what you think of them. Back to my point, trying to describe "rainy day music". It's not that the songs themselves are depressing, it's just that some days you feel a bit more introspective. I'll listen more closely to the lyrics and analyze them a bit differently due to the darkness of the day. I can listen to these same CD's on a sunny day and get a whole different outlook on each song. Like I wrote earlier, some days I'm happy to be depressed. I can't explain it any other way.

April 18 Earth Day & Hockey Night

On the way to Brownell Woods with the dogs, I stopped at the Sand Ridge Nature Center to watch Chrissy give her first of three presentations about Polar Bears and Global Warming at the Earth Day celebration. There was a good crowd and she did a good job. There were lots of questions and most people seemed to really enjoy the Powerpoint slide show and fact sheets she handed out. The center did a real good job of entertaining and educating people. There were booths set up handing out info on home gardening, cleaning up Wolf Lake, a nature photographer booth and the clown was sitting at a table making animal ballons so there was a safety zone of three feet for the kids so I guess approve of the clown's presence in that case. The Blackhawks won their first playoff game 12 seconds into OT. Reg invited everyone to his place for the game tonight. He had a huge crowd of Hawks fans except for Walter. He was too bitter over his beloved Maple Leafs not making the playoffs for the 5th straight year to cheer for the Hawks. Reg BBQ'd brats & chicken, everyone brought something to eat or drink and a good time was had by all. After falling behind the Blackhawks scored 3 unanswered goals to win 3-2. "Here come the Hawks, the mighty Blackhawks" we should have made Walter sing the fight song but he took off as soon as the game was over.

April 17 People That You Meet

I've been DJing for over 10 years and I have met a few people that I really enjoyed hanging out with them. Tonight I DJ'd the wedding of Ryan & Michelle. I know them from DJing at Joltin Joe's in Steger. Michelle would always spend some time at the DJ booth bullshitting with me. She always seemed to be the only girl in her group of friends with Ryan and his buddies. One of Ryan's friends was his cousin Andy. Andy always made me laugh at the bar. He is a good kid, always seemed to be in a good mood. He had terrible taste in music 10 years ago. He always wanted to hear Huey Lewis and the News and he never seemed to be able to close the deal with the many women that would seem interested in him. Michelle once told me, "Andy doesn't have any game." I never could understand women. Here's a good looking guy, able to hold a conversation and doesn't pretend to be something he's not by "having game". Well, I saw Andy at the wedding too. Let's just say he showed up feeling no pain and without a date. He's done good for himself and he's about to get transferred from St. Louis to Baltimore. His taste in music has improved immensely. He kept asking for My Morning Jacket songs and kept telling me he could send me some good music. I had to laugh at that. Apparently those drunken nights at Joltin Joes when he wanted to hear Huey Lewis and me refusing to play it but played some good music for him, had sunk in after all. Too bad I had nothing to offer all those years ago about women, what the fuck do I know about girls hanging all over me. Andy did dance with cute girls all night and even managed to catch the garter which he wore the rest of the night as a headband. Maybe Andy would have discovered good music on his own (God knows I have some crappy music in my past) but I'd like to think I helped the kid out just a little down the right path. Good luck in Baltimore, Andy.

April 16 Signs Of Spring

68 degrees, damn it felt good to be outside today. Spring was everywhere today. Blue Skies. Sunshine. Doves on the wires. Cardinals singing in the trees. A smile on everyone's face. A good day to be alive. It's also a good time to let you know that Chrissy will be at the Earth Day Celebration this Saturday April 18th at the Sand Ridge Nature Center in Dolton, IL. She will be there all day and will give talks throughout the day about polar bears and global warming. She has been promoting Polar Bears International all year at different events. So come on out Saturday, bring the kids and enjoy a nice day at Sand Ridge. The park has some nice hiking trails through the woods and their will be children’s puppet shows, a kid’s craft, wildflower walks, special interpretive displays, exhibitors, and more. I guess Chrissy is the "and more".

April 15 Celebration Day

Today is a great day in America. No, fuck the government and their over taxing of it's citizens. Tonight is the start of the NHL playoffs. Until early June, there will be 'playoff hockey'. I'll agree with the hockey haters out there that the regular season is meaningless. But the playoffs bring an intensity unmatched by other sports. The Blackhawks have made the playoffs for the first time in seven years, that helps bring the excitement level up a notch here in Chicago. My hockey team celebrated the start of the NHL playoffs by winning 7-2. It was a close game for the first period and a half, then we scored a few unanswered goals. Once again, Reg was bartending after the game and Todd was showing off the guns. Our game on Thurday was rescheduled due to the amount of players on both teams that had tickets to the Blackhawks playoff game. Fire up the HDTV and watch some intense hockey for the next 6 weeks.

April 14 No "Life On Mars"

One day last summer, my Uncle Fred e-mailed this picture of Michael Imperioli. It was taken in the alley on his block in Queens, NY. The show's producer was going door to door looking for a house to shoot some scenes for an episode of a new show called "Life On Mars". They ended up using a house across the street from my Aunt & Uncle's place. The city cleaned up the surrounding streets and placed 'No Parking' signs for several blocks. The show shot the scenes over a couple of days and the cast was very accommodating to the local residents. When the show began in October, I started watching to see the episode shot in my Aunt's neighborhood. After that, I watched it because it was a good show. It's an American remake of a British show. (Apparently Americans are too stuck on reality shows to actually create a new show) The concept of Life On Mars was a cop in 2008 gets hit by a car and time travels back to 1973. The show detailed how different life in 1973 was compared to today. The music was also a highlight for me. Of course the show didn't do well in the ratings and was canceled. The networks wonder why no one watches their shows and yet they constantly cancel shows before anyone can get into them. This is another example of short sightedness in all of America's mass media. If it isn't an instant success, forget it and move on to the next thing. No wonder kids today all have ADD. The whole country is affected, why write a letter just text a bunch of abbreviations, why call someone just e-mail them, why go to a movie I can watch it on my I-Pod. Where does this all end? My guess is that it doesn't have a happy ending. And if that's true, Hollywood will have to change the ending so the Moron Culture of America will watch the movie version on their fucking I-pods.

April 13 I Don't Like Mondays

"Tell me why"
"I don't like Mondays"
"I want to shoot the whole day down"
First of all, I want to say I did not shoot up a schoolyard today. I really should have titled today's blog "I don't like this Monday", but that's not as catchy. Why? You might be asking. Just look at the picture, for those familiar with the Chinatown ramp off the Dan Ryan Expressway, you already know why. The weather was miserable. All day long. For those that aren't familiar with that exit, on almost any other day of the year, you get a great shot of the entire downtown area of Chicago. Not just the faint outline of the Sears Tower. While sitting at the light, I realized something. I usually say that I enjoy winter in Chicago. I do mean it. I love the change of seasons we get here in the upper Midwest. The problem isn't winter. The problem is that spring sucks here. Sure we get a nice day here and there, but it seems to go from winter to summer more often than not. We don't have a spring season here. The trees start to bud, some real hearty flowers bloom, then it snows or worse it rains on a 35 degree day like today. It's tough to get going on a supposed spring Monday when you are soaking wet and shivering by 9am. Gotta go, "the silicon chip inside my head has switched to overload."

April 12 Easter Sunday

Easter Sunday can only mean one thing. It's time to listen and sing along to Jesus Christ Superstar. I've been listening to the JCS soundtrack since I was a little kid and know all the words. The honest truth is that all I ever learned about Jesus comes from the songs on that album. Over the years I may have expanded my knowledge of the son of God, but the basic story is compliments of Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber. As I have learned, they pretty much got the story right and tell it with some rockin' tunes. If you've never seen or heard the play, I suggest you stay home from church next Sunday and check it out. For those that think I'm a total heathen, I did spend time with the Drescher family including an Easter Egg hunt. Then I stopped by my mother-in-law's for a second meal and some laughs with my favorite niece, Kristian. Lastly, this is for Bill Valentine, I did change the oil in my wife's car and changed the oil in the lawn mower while listening to Some Girls by the Rolling Stones.

April 11 Busy Beavers, Dumb Dogs & Loud Dinosaurs

Since my dogs let me sleep until 11am, I felt like I owed them a treat. So off we went to Sweet Woods for a walk through the woods. Along Thorn Creek we came across the handiwork of some busy beavers. There were at least 20 trees that were freshly taken down by the hardly ever seen by me beavers. The wood chips were everywhere, but most of the trees were gone. Several were pretty big trees. I would love to watch the beavers at work. (Go ahead, insert your joke here. I'm already laughing at my last sentence.) It took about 5 tries to get my dogs to pose along the creek. That's why the get the dumb dogs reference today, but they were actually very good especially when we all sank about 10 inches in a muddy ravine on the way back to the car. Later in the day, my long time friend, Mike Crafton & I met Chrissy for dinner at Baja Fresh on our way to see Dinosaur Jr in Dekalb. I've been a big fan of Dino Jr for years but have never seen them live. Tonight they were playing in a small club called Otto's near Northern Illinois University. I happen to love J Mascis's vocals (most people hate his droning on singing style but I think it's perfect for the loud guitar music they play). On the CD's his vocals are out front of the guitars, seeing them live I was afraid the vocals would be lost in the mix. They were. And it was unbelievably loud. J Mascis stood in front of 6 Marshall amps stacked at least 8' high. They could have fill a concert hall ten times bigger than this club. I enjoyed the show more than Mike but I agreed with him that the volume caused too much distortion. It really was a shame because the sound is so clean on their CD's. That's all the time I have today. I have to start learning sign language because I may never hear clearly again.

April 10 Johnny Cakes

Instead of skating with the Sudden Death club tonight, I played hockey with the Twardy brothers who rented the ice for a pick up game with friends. Unfortunately I showed up 1-1/2 hours early because Matt Twardy told me 10:40pm not the correct time of 11:40pm. Luckily some of the Sudden Death guys were still at the rink. So I joined them in their locker room. Since they pay the rink for that room, they fixed it up and the rest of us who use the public locker rooms call it 'Manadu' or the 'Boyquarium'. Anyway, Rick Voss, (who has had several derogatory nicknames over the years and is now known as Johnny Cakes from a character in the Sopranos) was holding court in Manadu. Rick was telling stories about a recent ski trip to Utah with Walter. Rick is one of the funniest guys I know(see Feb 24th Post). Over the years we have worked together on & off, but always have called each other with stupid shit that would make each of us laugh. Those calls can really help when you're having a bad day on the job. So tonight, Rick got on a roll, just rapid firing stories about mutual friends for about 40 minutes. He had me laughing the whole time which made me forgot how pissed I was at Matt for telling me the wrong time. As you can see from the pictures Rick is the whitest motherfucker on Earth. When he changes into his hockey equipment we have to look away, it's like looking into the sun, you get blinded. One of his many nicknames is "Whiteness", a take off on the Chapelle Show's Rick James skit. That's one of the youger players, Mike, probably not believing half the stories he heard, but they are all true. You couldn't make up shit like that. I did have a good time playing hockey until 1:40am and then having breakfast at Round The Clock with Jimmy Drescher (see yesterday's post). But it was Rick's storytelling that I thought I'd write about today.