Last few days

Holiday weekend, great weather, who could ask for more? We had fun swimming in the pool. Went to breakfast with some friends after Church and generally just had a good time hanging out with each other over the weekend. I’m glad we didn’t do anything for Memorial Day. It was nice to just stay at home, Bar B Q, play and break out the Summer toys. We went for a long Bike Ride to the Park on Monday, preceded by Roller Blading with Logan. Needless to say Marsha and I were sore the next day. The up side is, Logan slept in finally, lol. Us old geezers must have worn him out.

 

What's wrong with America?

In an ongoing series I’m going to label  “What’s Wrong With America?” I’m going to point out things I think are wrong with our system. One of those is this ridiculous lawsuit filed by the parents of deceased Sl Cardinals pitcher Josh Hancock. According to this story on ESPN.com, Hancock’s family is suing the restaurant that continued to serve John Hancock drinks. Here I’ve copied some of the article….

 

ST. LOUIS -- The father of Josh Hancock filed suit Thursday, claiming a restaurant provided drinks to the St. Louis Cardinals relief pitcher even though he was intoxicated prior to the crash that killed him.

 

Shannon's Restaurant, owned by the longtime Cardinals broadcaster who starred on three World Series teams in the 1960s, is a defendant in the case along with Shannon's daughter, Patricia Shannon Van Matre, the restaurant manager.

 

Other defendants include Eddie's Towing, the company whose flatbed tow truck was struck by Hancock's sport utility vehicle in the early hours of April 29; tow truck driver Jacob Edward Hargrove; and Justin Tolar, the driver whose stalled car on Interstate 64 was being assisted by Hargrove.

 

Authorities said the 29-year pitcher had a blood alcohol content of nearly twice the legal limit when he crashed into the back of the tow truck. He was also speeding and using a cell phone and wasn't wearing a seat belt, police chief Joe Mokwa said after the accident. Marijuana was also found in the SUV.

 

The lawsuit claimed Tolar was negligent in allowing the vehicle to reach the point where it stalled on the highway and for failing to move it out of the way of oncoming traffic.

 

Hargrove parked the tow truck behind the stalled car, and police said he arrived there moments before the truck was struck by Hancock's SUV. Kantack said the tow truck may have been there up to 15 minutes, yet failed to get the stalled vehicle out of the way.

 

"Were the police contacted?" Kantack asked. "Why weren't flares put out? Why was the tow truck there for an exorbitant amount of time?"

 

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OK…..So Hancock kept drinking (no one forced him to put those drinks to his lips), he had Marijuana in his car, he wasn’t wearing a seatbelt and he was speeding while using a cell phone. But, it’s the restaurant, tow truck drive and the guy who’s car broke down fault? Are you freaking kidding me? Not only should this suit be thrown (not tossed) out of court, Hancock’s father should be fine 10,000 bucks for wasting everyone’s time. The sad thing is, there probably will be settlement by insurance companies and the family will actually profit from their son’s stupid actions. I feel for them, the lost a son. But face facts, he was an idiot for doing all those things. He easily could have killed the tow truck driver and the owner of the stalled vehicle. In fact, that’s what this lawsuit could be all about. They could have fired a pre-emptive strike to protect against those people suing the estate for their damages caused by Hancock.

 

This is a disgraceful lawsuit filed by a family of a son who died doing some disgraceful things. I certainly hope they get nothing out of this.  I love the part about the tow truck taking too long to move the vehicle. Two things on this…first, with traffic whizzing by me on the freeway I’m not rushing and making a mistake if I am the tow truck driver. Second, none of the other SOBER drivers seemed to have a problem with it. If the tow truck driver really was there for 15 minutes, that means 15 minutes worth of traffic went by with no complications. It’s only when a drunk, cell phone talking, no seat belt wearing, speeding, marijuana smoking idiot drives by that there is an issue.

I'm one tired puppy

Spent the last 48 hours in Vegas for Interop (a trade show). Never even had time to place a bet….all business…if you can call being taken around in a Limo by a partner company to an expensive Dinner, watching a live band while being bought drinks and then going out to a club….business….lol. IT was actually a pretty fun night. The trade show was pretty good, all though it seemed exactly the same as last year. Not a lot of new, innovative things at this years show. It also seemed a little less crowded. I think attendance must have been down.

Bowling tonight! The kids will be excited. They love to bowl their game after mommy and daddy get done with their league. Every time we do it, I think back to my childhood and doing the exact same thing after my parents used to get done bowling.

Aah the good ol’ days.

The Weekend

Friday night started off with some fun times. We went to my son’s (Ryan) sock hop. If you’ve never been to a sock hop at an elementary school, boy you are missing out…lol. There was dancing, fishing, train rides, bounce houses, and a lot of food! Ryan and Logan had a great time. It was a great event put on by the PTSA. I vowed afterward to be more involved in the PTSA next year. We’ll call it my late New Year’s resolution.

 

It rained most the weekend, especially Sunday, and caused us to stay indoors. Logan gets real restless when the weekend is spent indoors. I took Ryan to See SCHREK the Third on Saturday afternoon and Marsha surprised me with a babysitter for Saturday night and we went to see Georgia Rule. Schrek was funny, but I didn’t think it lived up to its two predecessors. Georgia Rule, which I expected to be a typical Chick flick, pretty much lived up to the hype. I like Durmott Mulroney (SP), but I can’t stand Lindsay Lohan. She was pretty bad in this role and anyone else would have made this a better watch.

Golfing

I took a ½ day and went golfing yesterday. I grew up on Golf. My dad was a single digit handicap golfer (for those of you who don’t know what that means, it means he was pretty good). I golfed in High School and College. I golfed after College….then I moved to Washington. Ever since then, I’ve probably averaged two rounds per year. An amazing drop off for someone who was golfing 2-4 times per week in California.

 

Anyway, 6 pars, one birdie and an eagle later, I shot an 81. Par was 70. I was extremely happy with those results. I eagled the 15^th hole. It was a short (325 yd) par 4. I hit a laser driver about 290 right down the middle. That left me with a 35 yard chip shot, which I sank from the fairway. Eagle Two.

 

My plan is to get in one round a week and re-establish a handicap. I really enjoy the game and it’s a nice, relaxing way to spend 4-5 hours.

The weekend

Had a great weekend. Went to see Clifford the Big Red Dog at the Everett Events Center with Marsha and the boys. They had a blast, but the show was the worst of the ones we’ve seen (Wiggles, Elmo, bob the Builder, etc…). The place was pretty empty. I didn’t think Clifford was very popular still and was surprised to hear the show was coming to town, but it was fun nonetheless.

 

Logan and I cleaned up the garage after Church on Sunday. We gave Marsha her flowers and mom’s day cards/gifts then headed to the mess to clean it up. Before we started you couldn’t even get from one side to the other or see my workbench. At least now you can. It is spic and span.

 

The messages t Church was a good one. It was all about how every mom holds a little of God’s messages inside her. How she does her best to raise her children in God’s image but, eventually, must release them to the Lord to allow him to serve the purpose. Very inspiring.

 

 

Bowling tonight

I finally got Marsha to join another bowling league. Tonight we begin our Summer league season. Should be interesting to say the least.

Time to get back on the Horse

Ok, it's time to start doing some semi-daily (ok sporadic) updates again. The family is doing great. I can't believe my oldest son turned SEVEN on April 24th. Man, am I getting old or what?