Quite A Night.

Woke up, fell out of bed,
Dragged a comb across my head
Found my way downstairs and drank a cup,
And looking up I noticed I was late.

A Day In The Life.
John Lennon-Paul McCartney.

Well maybe not quite like that. If I drag a comb across my head all I am doing is scratching it. My apartment doesn't have stairs. Also, it was a can of Diet Coke, not a cup. Last night I woke up, looked at my clock to see the time, and was greeted by flashing lights. Naturally that meant at some point the power had gone off. I went into the front room to check the time on my caller ID. Of course there was a message so I had to check that out to get the ID back to time. When I finally found the time it was 10:11. I made it to work at 10:30, half an hour late. Then the fun continued.

I was working in the dairy department. A milk truck was due in around 2:00 A.M. Normally all I have to move some bread racks to clear the back hallway so the milk can be put in the cooler. However last night someone had pulled two pallets of eggs into the cooler and left them. I had to empty the pallets onto the shelves in the cooler. Then I went to the meat cooler where the new dairy freight was. Before I got that done a meat and produce truck showed up. There were 16 pallets on that truck, 12 of them for produce. One of my co-workers pulled the pallets off the truck and I had to take the produce area. By the time I was done with that it was 2:00. The milk truck wasn't there so I took a break. As soon as my break was over, the milk truck arrived. The only thing I have to do is check the pallets of milk and make sure everything is there. Easy work, but time consuming. By the time he left I finished breaking down the pallets and went to lunch. It was 3:40. I had been busy all night and had only stocked 2 cases before lunch. When I got back I put out as much as I could until 7:00 and went home. Occasionally there are nights like that. Fortunately they don't happen too often.

The Cubs were beaten by the Brewers 4-3 yesterday. Kevin Gregg has had a rough start as the Cubs closer. He was the loser in the game. That is the way it is when you are a closer. One day you are a hero, the next day a goat. Carlos Zambrano tries for his second win tonight.
Sorry Travis. Winthrop J. Quiggy was right, Herbert Hoover preceded Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Calvin Coolidge preceded Hoover.

Today's question is Grade 5/World Geography.

The Pope will celebrate Easter Mass in St. Peter's Basilica. In what country will he be?

I knew this one. 71-15.

A Tragic Event.

On Wednesday Nick Adenhart was the starting pitcher for the fourth time in his major league career. It wasn't a spectacular performance as he gave up seven hits and walked three, but none of them scored. Unfortunately, the three pitchers who followed him weren't as good and the Los Angeles Angels lost the game 6-4. After the game the car Nick was in was rammed by a minivan that ran a red light. Nick and two others in the car lost their lives. Nick was 22 years old. The other two who died were 20 and 25. The driver of the minivan was drunk. His license had been suspended for a previous DUI conviction. He also is 22.

There are many different ways to approach this story. You can lament a promising career cut short, you can rant about drinking and driving, but to me this is another example of the fragility of life. You really can't take anything for granted. I have seen it first hand. That is why I have said many times you need to appreciate those you care for and to let them know. You never when they won't be around. I want everyone who reads this to know that I really do appreciate you. I don't personally know many of you, which makes it all the nicer that you come here. Life is short enough as is. Thank you for being part of mine.
Travis gave the answer I was looking for, Jackie Robinson. Winthrop J. Quiggy gave me another name. I am going to research this a little more and I will be blogging about it later. Thanks Quiggy.

Today's question is Grade 4/U.S. History.

What U.S. President served immediately before Franklin Delano Roosevelt?

I knew this one. 70-15.

The Knock At The Door.

I was woke up about 6:00 P.M. last night by someone knocking at my door. I realize most people will think that is strange, but if you work third shift it is not. My days off are Tuesday and Wednesday, but I try to keep my sleep schedule, which means bedtime is usually around 2:00 P.M. The person knocking was my son. I had mentioned earlier that he was going through a trying time in his life. At that time I didn't know the full story. He has been giving it to me a little at a time. He is in the process of getting a divorce. The process was almost completed before he told me anything about it. I had a hunch from the start I wasn't being told all. There were too many things that didn't make sense. He was still living with his wife until the divorce was finalized, but she threw him out early. He is currently unemployed, and my oldest daughter had told him if he moved back to Illinois she could get him a job. Since my apartment is too small for him to move in with me, he decided to go ahead and leave for Illinois two weeks early. He will be leaving this morning.

We went out to eat and I went over the route he needs to take to get there. He can't read a map. Fortunately most of the route he has to take is on the Interstate. There are two tricky parts to it which I went over with him several times so he understood. The first is in Chattanooga where he leaves I-75 and picks up I-24. I-24 goes straight into Illinois, but the tricky part is getting through Nashville. There are three Interstates that pass through there and you have to watch to make sure you get on the right one. I would have gone with him and led him through there, but I have to go to work at Taco Bell this morning. I will be home by the time he goes through there and I told him to call me if he has any problems. In a worst case scenario, I will have him stay where he is at and I will go to him and help him get through. It would mean about a six hour round trip for me. Hopefully he will make it on his own. I am going to miss him, but with the economy here this is his best option.


The Cubs took the series from the Astros, winning 11-6 yesterday. Ted Lilly had a shaky start, but Aramis Ramirez came through getting 4 hits in six at-bats and driving in 4 runs. Mike Fontenot also drove in 4. The Cubs are off today and play in Milwaukee Friday night.
There were no guesses on yesterday's question. The noun in that sentence was city. What that has to do with geography is beyond me.
Today's question is Grade 2/U.S. History.

Who was the first black person to play on a major league team?

Of course I knew this one. 69-15.

Forgiveness.

Over a year ago I talked about the Food Network firing Robert Irvine for lying on his resume. He was host of the show Dinner:Impossible. The show continued with Iron Chef Michael Symon but it wasn't as good. Irvine is being given a second chance. The new season of Dinner:Impossible starts tonight. The new season will only be six episodes. I am not sure if more will follow. Irvine has a blog where he tells his side of the story. I feel he has paid the price for what he did and enough time has elapsed for him to start again. His biography has been updated and I am sure there will be no more exaggeration from Chef Irvine. I am looking forward to these new shows. I am sure that the Food Network is being cautious, which is why there are only six episodes in this season of Dinner:Impossible. If the ratings are there there will be more.


Well the Cubs will not go 162-0. They lost last night 3-2 in 10 innings. Kevin Gregg gave up a bases loaded single to Jeff Keppinger which ended the game. That is the life of a closer. Save one game, lose the next. One of my favorite Casey Stengel quotes is "I don't get paid to win every game. Just two out of every three." Tonight the Cubs try to get their 2.

Somebody new had some nice comments about this blog. Thank you for the kind words and welcome Sarah.
Winthrop J. Quiggy and John were both right. Kush and Axem were in Africa.
Before I get to today's question I have a comment on this calendar. Whoever came up with the subject for today misread the question. The alleged category is Grade 2/ U.S. Geography.

What is the common noun in the following sentence? "I saw it in the city of Buffalo."

If this is a geographic question, school has changed quite a bit since I last went. I did know the answer. 68-15.

Marketing Misfire.

Tropicana recently changed their packaging. The new package was loved almost as much as New Coke. The major complaint was it was too generic looking. Others felt it was ugly or stupid looking. Tropicana's president Neil Campbell was quoted as saying:

"We underestimated the deep emotional bond. What we didn't get was the passion this very loyal small group of consumers have."

They are trying to justify the money they spent on the new packaging, or they simply don't have a clue. Do you want to know what I think caused the failure of this package? (Too bad wise guy. I'm going to tell it anyway.) As the saying goes, a picture is worth a thousand words. Check this out.


Now pick out your favorite juice. Do like juice with pulp, no pulp, calcium, low acid or something else? The packaging is too similar. The only way to tell them apart is the small bar on top of the carton. Stocking it was hard enough before, but this new package made it harder. You want your customer to be able to find what they are looking for easily. People don't mind when you change a package, but they don't want to have to study it to make sure they are getting the right thing. In justifying the change they said it was because of a very loyal small group of consumers. I have seen estimates that their business was off 20% after the change. Why not just admit they goofed and be done with it? Who do they think they are, politicians?



The Cubs opened their season beating the Astros 4-2 last night. (Sorry, Quiggy. Ok. Not really.)
Kevin Gregg, the new closer pitched the ninth. His performance reminded me of both Lee Smith and Mitch Williams. It seems like they can't do the job without putting someone on base. The first two batters Gregg faced got hits and one scored before he ended the inning.

Dana asked me yesterday about the White Sox. I have heard there was a second team in Chicago, but I thought that was an urban myth. Seriously, I grew up in central Illinois where people mainly followed either the Cubs or the Cardinals. There were a few White Sox fans there, but not many. I have always been more of a National League fan than the American League. I have nothing against the league other than the designated hitter. I would like to see that abolished.
Dagwan and Travis were both right. Georgia borders the Atlantic Ocean.
Today's question is Grade 4/World History.

The ancient kingdoms of Kush and Axum were in which continent?

• A) Africa
• B) Australia
• C) Europe

I guessed on this one. It was a good guess. 67-15.

Play Ball.

At 7:00 P.M. tonight the Chicago Cubs will begin their quest for a third consecutive division title. They seem to be able to put it all together during the season, then forget to show up for the playoffs. Of course, being the die-hard fan I am, fully believe they can pull it off. Then again, I also thought they would be World Champions last year. The Cubs made no major moves over the winter, but they really didn't have to. I will be commenting on each game this year. Most of the time it will just be a couple of sentences talking about the game. I like Carlos Zambrano, today's starting pitcher, but he makes me nervous, especially early in the year. I am glad they are playing in Houston and not Chicago. The weather will definitely be nicer. Play ball.

Travis and Winthrop J. Quiggy were both right. Ponce de Leon named Florida.
Today's question is Grade 2/U.S. Geography.

Which ocean borders the state of Georgia?

If I didn't know this one, I would deserve to be thrown into it. Fortunately I know. 66-15.

Atlanta.

For the first time since I moved to Georgia 13 years ago I went to Atlanta today. My Mom is going to Florida so I met her, two of my nieces, and the guy one of my nieces lives with. We went to the Georgia Aquarium. It was much easier to find than I realized. One reason I have hesitated visiting Atlanta is I do not like driving in a lot of traffic, but even that wasn't as bad as I expected. Of course, this being Saturday helped that.

The Aquarium is a fascinating place to visit. I highly recommend it if you get a chance. If you can get there before September 7, they have a special Titanic exhibit with things they have brought up. It was a fascinating exhibit. It is amazing how many breakable items survived the sinking. They had about 20 augrautin plates that they found in the sand on the ocean floor. They recreated they way they were found. It looked like they had been placed there, neatly arranged in three rows. Some clothes also survived. They were in leather suitcases which protected them.

As for the Aquarium itself it is an amazing look at our undersea world. We watched them feeding the whale sharks. They have four of them. The tank has room enough for six. They are hoping to gain the other two the natural way. Whale sharks have never been bred before in captivity. The females are not quite big enough yet, but they are optimistic it will happen.

Travis was right. The answer is Rome. Yesterday I was in Rome, Georgia. The picture you see is a statue that can be found in Rome. It was a gift to the city from Benito Mussolini in 1930. During World War 2 it was put in storage to protect it, but it is now on display. You can read
about it here.

This weekends question is Grade 3/American History.

The explorer Juan Ponce de Leon gave what U.S. state its name?

• A) California
• B) Florida
• C) Georgia

I knew this one. 65-15.