Happy Birthday Shoutout #2 - Clint

Here is the second birthday shout out via the blog (although I did manage to get a card off to him too as I don't believe he reads my blog, plus I found the perfect card).

My brother-in-law Clint

I first met Clint during my wedding festivities. He was my brother-in-law's plus one, although he had been that for many years. He was thrust into the family at that crazy time of wedding preparation and the actual event and so he didn't get to ease into the family like I had. 

My mother was the first to interrogate ask him all about his life at my wedding reception. She liked him right off probably because they had a lot in common; intelligence, humor, and the not suffering of fools gladly thing . Clint went with the flow of the festivities, the wedding, and the entire 745,000 members of the Boos clan. It couldn't have been an easy entrance.

Weddings were the events of choice for the entire family get-togethers for the next several years as one by one siblings were married. Clint and I naturally hung out at these events, adding each year the newest in-law. Somehow we were always seated with each other in the pews and at the receptions and someone was always wanting to take our pictures. It was like a tradition, much to my please-don't-take-my-photograph mentality. He made the events fun as he made fun of the events and we had a lot of good laughs together.

Clint is quite the charming, suave, debonair gentleman in his own mind, but we have learned quickly there is a lot more to him than that. He is very caring, despite his pretending that he isn't. That was never more true then when the kids started arriving in the family. He took on the role of uncle immediately wrecking havoc in their little lives with threats to spank them and lock them in closets, but the children saw right through that facade and gravitated to him instantly.

He is very content to stay in the background sometimes disappearing for hours, but he can suddenly reappear as if he were there the entire time that he wasn't. I probably have spent more time with him than with any of my brother-in-laws (not including his husband). I know he loves coffee, traveling, and animals. He REALLY loves dogs, and I blame him for the addition in our family. For years he use to send pictures of dogs from our local pound to my children and husband. He threatened to give us one or two for Christmas and use to tell my kids to ask Santa for a dog.

He is generous, has a dry sense of humor, and under what he would say was his black heart is really a heart of gold. We were thrilled when he and Tom's brother were able to make marriage official, but really, by then he was already part of the family and one of us; much to his chagrin I'm sure he would say.

We don't get to see as much of him as we would like, but I think this year we will travel to California and make him see us. In the meantime I wish him a very Happy, Happy, Birthday and send him tons of virtual hugs and kisses. I'll save the Birthday licks for when I see you in person. We love you!

I had one job to do...

Last week my neighbor Bonnie went into the hospital to have knee replacement surgery. She and I have been walking our dogs together twice a week and so when I asked what I could do to help her out she asked me to walk her pug, Gibbs on Thursday and Friday. I told her no problem.

Thursday I spent considerable time pondering whether I should take Gibbs and Elliot on a walk together. Gibbs is deaf and partially blind and he pees about fifty times on a walk. Elliot likes to chase cars. I debated and decided that I could handle both. I left Elliot at home and went to get Gibbs first. Bonnie has a friend staying with her and that woman also has a pug who greeted me when I entered the house. She was barking and snorting and running circles around my feet while Gibbs lay on a piece of carpet sound asleep. I pet the other dog and got Gibbs' leash telling him it was time to take a walk. He never moved. Forgetting he was deaf, I called him again. Nothing. His eyes were closed and  he was out. I walked over to him and suddenly I got a bit worried. I mean here was this other dog making enough noise to wake the entire neighborhood and Gibbs wasn't even moving. Immediately, all sorts of thoughts went through my head: "the other dog has poisoned him, he is dead, he died of a broken heart because the family left him".

I went over and stood looking down at him for any sign of life like his back moving up and down as he breathed. Nothing. "Oh, my god, how has this happened? I had one job to do and the dog is dead and how am I going to explain this to Bonnie?" was all running through my head, but I leaned down and gently touched his head. He shot up on all four legs, his head spinning around in all directions, giving a little bark as he ran around the kitchen scared out of his mind. I shot up too, not expecting that, my heart racing, scared out of my mind, yelling, "Jesus!" at the top of my lungs. Once he realized I was there he ran immediately to the door, and I got his harness and leash on, apologized to the other dog for leaving him, and off we went to get Elliot. I was very relieved that he was not dead.

We started out on our walk. We didn't get past my driveway before Gibbs was peeing on our garbage can. He loves to investigate inanimate things along the curb like garbage cans, mail boxes, large shrubs, and the various objects people use to protect their sprinkler heads and he always pees on them. First he walks up very closely to get a good look through his almost blind eyes. Secondly, he sniffs the object and walks around it. Lastly, he turns his body around a couple of times and pees on the object.  When he is finished watering he digs in the ground with his paws kicking up dirt, sand, and grass and then he will start walking once again. The problem with all of that is he gets himself turned around in the opposite direction of where we are walking, and being partially blind he doesn't realize it. So he would start walking in the wrong direction while Elliot was walking in the right direction, and I stood in the road with my arms in either direction holding leashes.

Eventually I got them both in the correct direction and we would get a few inches down the road and Gibbs would find another object to water. He would go through his routine and when he was ready to start walking again Elliot would wonder what he had been doing and come back in the opposite direction to sniff where Gibbs had just watered. I thought we would never get through our twenty minutes of walking. When Gibbs pooped and I was trying to scoop it up he would be walking in the wrong direction. A car would inevitably come down the road and Elliot would try to take off running after it. I would be trying to shorten Elliot's leash, and trying to pull Gibbs back in the right direction, all without losing sight of the poop sure that the neighbor whose yard the deed had been done in was watching all of this out the window. I was an emotional wreck when it was all over, and I decided that I would not be bringing Elliot when I walked Gibbs on Friday.

On Friday it poured down rain. It didn't let up until almost 10:30 that morning and when it did I grabbed my raincoat and headed over to the neighbor's house. Her friend's van was missing from the driveway so I knew she wasn't there, assumed she was down south taking care of the work she is having done on her house, and since she usually takes her dog with her wasn't expecting her. But as soon as I opened the door to the house there was the other pug barking and snorting and running circles around me. I pet her again and talked to her and then I looked on the carpet. No Gibbs. I called him, remembered that he couldn't hear me, and walked further into the kitchen. I looked under the dining room table. I looked out on the porch. I peered into the master bedroom, picked up some poop that someone had deposited on the floor, but no Gibbs. I asked the other dog where he was, but she was so excited to see me she couldn't have a decent conversation. She did, however, follow me all through the house while I looked for Gibbs who was nowhere to be found. I stood in the kitchen at a loss and then I took a second look at the dog who was there.

Gibbs has a black face, but rarely looks up at people. This dog was older, had a gray face, and was always looking at me. I looked into her eyes to make sure I wasn't crazy and had the wrong dog, but I knew Gibbs wasn't gray. I also knew Gibbs didn't make all this noise that this dog was making.

I went out to the porch and opened the back door thinking maybe he had gone out the doggy door and was hanging out in the misty, wet rain. The other dog ran out past my legs and peed. I knew immediately that she was a girl by her stance and reassured myself this wasn't Gibbs. We went back inside and I locked up. I threw my hands into the air and shouted, "OMG! I had one job to do and now this dog is missing!" I texted Bonnie and told her I was at her house and while I had one dog I couldn't find her dog. I asked her if perhaps her husband had taken her to work with him that day or if he had a certain hiding place I didn't know about. Her response did not come until after I had returned home, and it made as much sense as a text from someone doped up on massive pain killers; none whatsoever. She told me that she wasn't sure if her husband had taken the dog out that morning to potty, but not to worry he could use the doggy door. Thanks so much for walking him. Huh? I finally came to the conclusion that her friend had gotten the two dogs confused and took Gibbs with her down south instead of taking her own dog.

The friend returned at some point in the day as did the husband, but since neither was running up and down the street shouting for Gibbs I figured he wasn't missing. I inquired the next day about his whereabouts, but Bonnie's husband had no clue. He told me that he hadn't taken him to work, but he couldn't imagine where Gibbs had been. He didn't seem to be too concerned either way, and when Gibbs came to the door to see who his master was talking to, he refused to give up the information, sauntered outside, and promptly peed on my shoe.

Thank god Bonnie is back home now.

Monday morning NFL recap

Steelers: Only saving grace for me was it was a win for Peyton Manning, but I also think the Steelers had a better shot at beating the Patriots than the Broncos do.

• I should have started counting missed tackles from the beginning of the game, but that first quarter I'm sure we missed 586,345. 
• I read a lot of stuff this past week on the Steelers with a lot of players and people saying not nice things about the players and coaching staff. I don't know what is true or not since I'm not part of the organization, but I know the Rooney family is top notch and the best in the business so I didn't get too fired up. I will agree, however, that I dislike some of Coach Tomlin's way of thinking. Celebrating after tackles and touchdowns? Stop it. You did your job. That's what your paid to do. You can celebrate after you have secured the win. Tomlin needs to get that message across to his players. Seriously. 
• And along the same lines...I didn't like that Steelers Markus Wheaton didn't help up Broncos Defensive Coordinator Wade Phillips after Wheaton was pushed into him during the second quarter. No it wasn't your fault, Wheaton, but Phillips is more than twice your age and can't exactly hop up after a hit like that. Show some character guys or the things people say about you are going to be believable.
• Welcome back Peyton Manning. Like Larry Fitzgerald I have no doubt you belong here. It would have been nice if the rest of your team could have remembered how to catch your passes in that first half. I lost count after awhile. 
• It was nice to play against a class team after the classless team we played last week. I was so less tense and I think everyone from the players and coaches to the fans and announcers were as well. Tomlin said it all at halftime when talking about number 18, "...obviously we have a lot of respect for him."
• I know the tide turned with the fumble by Fitzgerald Toussaint, but not having Antonio Brown and having to play it safe with short passes and the running game was what hurt us. Ben is best in tight situations when he can lob the ball 70 yards down the field knowing AB can get away from defenders and sprint in time to make the catch. Wonder boy Martavis Bryant, who didn't turn out to be as wonderful as his hype, just can't do what Brown can do.
• The talk was all about the aging, hurt quarterbacks in the game, but while Roethlisberger and Manning may be both I'll take either over any other quarterback in the league.

Other:

• I could barely stay awake during the first game of the playoffs on Saturday. The Chiefs were out manned, out coached, and just out played. Tom Brady was more than fired up and god help the rest of the teams, but he has what I talk about every year; determination and the heart to win.
• I mentioned to my friend Gigi while we watched the Patriots/Chiefs game that I sure hoped that we would get a better game with the second one, and by golly, I didn't have to eat my words. Holy come down to the wire! Aaron Rogers isn't quite Tom Brady, but he too has a will to win and he makes his players believe it too. That last play to go to overtime? Is anyone else wondering if the Packers have some divine intervention?
• At the beginning the season when I was picking my fantasy team I took Arizona's Larry Fitzgerald for one of my wide receivers. It wasn't long before the fantasy experts told me I was an idiot because Fitzgerald was an old man and past his prime and blah, blah, blah. While not a Cardinals fan I was sure cheering loudly when he made the final touchdown to win the game. Old people can do it! Nike should pick that up. I saw it in his eyes in the second half as the Packers took the lead. He wanted the ball and he wanted to be the one to get the Cardinals back in the game. He did just that and then he went ahead and won it all. Wow. Doesn't get any better than that.
• One of the Arizona Cardinals players got cocky with over two minutes left in the game after the Packers failed to convert and started firing up the crowd and celebrating his win. One of the announcers, Collinsworth or Michaels, made reference to how the game wasn't over yet and what an omen that turned out to be. Just another mark in my column for my irritation of cockiness and celebratory nonsense.
• What was up with the coin toss debacle in overtime of that Packers game? It didn't flip so it had to be tossed again. You knew as soon as it happened that conspiracy theories would abound. But seriously, I'm more curious as to why the postseason rules are different than the regular season rules regarding overtime?  
• At first I enjoyed the fact that the games were rotated among the various television networks, but then as I listened to the game callers I remembered why I prefer certain channels. I'm not a fan of Al Michaels, Jim Nantz, Phil Simms, or Dan Fouts. Too many opinions. Too many dumb comments. Too much rambling. Sort of like writing on a blog.
• I love the Panther's giving of the touchdown balls to kids. How great was that little girl's reaction after Carolina's Jonathan Stewart ran in for the first score of the game and handed her the ball? Precious.
• At halftime of the Panthers/Seahawks game the analysts were all sure that Seattle was done, but Russell Wilson and company sure proved them wrong. They held the Panthers scoreless in the second half and put up 24 points themselves. They just ran out of time
• Nice pom pom on your hat Cam Newton that you wore for interviews after the game! Wonder if sales will pick up for that hat that didn't look to me to be the property of the Panthers.

NFL picks - playoffs week #2

Last Week - 3-4

New England over Kansas City - Tom Brady with a week off? Sorry Chiefs, but I don't see you moving on.

Arizona over Green Bay - I know the Packers have gotten here with hail mary's and determination, but I'm going with the Cardinals who have played steady the entire year and have Bruce Arians, a player's favorite, at the helm.

Carolina over Seattle - I'm rooting for Cam Newton. The Seahawks have had their chance the past two years. Their time is over.

Pittsburgh over Denver - I feel I have to eat my own words and have faith, but with Antonio Brown out and Big Ben hobbled I'm more than worried. If we want this we have to show major heart and grit, and frankly, I haven't seen a lot of that this year. Plus, dear me, I just love Peyton Manning and hate for him to go out on a loss. But I won't be cheering for him tomorrow.

Happy Birthday Shoutout #1 - Kim

I always forget to send out birthday cards despite remembering everyone's birthday on time. I don't know why I find it so hard, but I do. I buy the cards, address them, and then forget to put them in the mailbox. For several years it was one of my new year's resolutions, but this year I decided to go about it a different way. This year I resolve to celebrate people's birthdays on my blog. Here is the first birthday of the year!

My friend Kim

I met Kim when she moved in next door to our house in Pennsylvania. She claims that she remembers the day her mother introduced me to her and her sister. I rejected them. I was four years old. I have no memory of that first meeting, but despite my first reaction, we became friends. We still are. She and her sister are my oldest friends. 

We went to school together and graduated kindergarten together. She is a year older than me. Her sister is two years younger than me, and my brother is two years younger than her. It made for a nice little group and we all played well together.

We danced together as elves and as rats. My mother taught her how to swim. We spent a lot of time swimming in my backyard pool. She grew up to be a great swimmer and swam all through high school.

We moved when I was six, but because our parents were good friends we all stayed in touch. They came and visited us in North Carolina and later in Indiana when we moved again. We visited them in Pennsylvania. We kept in touch by writing letters. We both loved to read and we discussed the books we were reading in our letters. 

We took vacations together. We spent summers together. We shared Christmases together. We have tons of memories of our good times. We have tons of stories. We've shared many laughs.

    

Letters turned into phone conversations. During college Kim discovered she had a brain tumor and we traveled to Pennsylvania for the surgery. The tumor was benign and she came through with flying colors, losing her hearing in one ear which came in handy later on after we moved in together. We continued to visit one another both of us traveling to each other's state by bus.

Kim moved to Indiana in the latter part of the 80's and lived with us. She had no fear about uprooting her life and starting over. She talked me into traveling with her. We spent over a month traveling out east through New England staying in youth hostels. Kim did all of the driving and taught me how to read a map. She was fearless in her love of travel and was always open for new adventures. I never would have done that trip without her. She took me out of my comfort zone and gave me some confidence. 

 In 1989 we both moved to Florida and lived with her grandparents, eventually moving into our own apartment. We got jobs. We fell in love and got married. We bought houses. I had a baby, and I can remember Kim and I bundling Madison in her stroller and walking the trail.

Kim and her husband moved away in the late 90's. She became a registered nurse. She's had her tumor return a couple of times. She's dealt with everything thrown her way calmly and with an assurance I never had. I visited her once while traveling in the summer with my mother and daughters, but we haven't been together in years. This is probably the longest we have gone without seeing each other since that first meeting in 1968, but we have still kept in touch. We text now. We talk on the phone. We play Words with Friends. She reads my blog. We send each other birthday cards...well, she is good about that.  We talk about visiting each other, but life always seems to get in the way.

I tell everyone that if it weren't for Kim I wouldn't have left Indiana. I would have lived forever with my parents. I credit her with the life I have now; my husband and my children. She was a strong force in my life in the most gentlest way. She guided me without me really being aware. She suggested things and then made them happen. She pushed me without me feeling the shove in my back. She wasn't loud and she was content to stay in the background and let me be the center of attention and the loud one. She loved me unconditionally. She is one of my greatest friends, and I love her dearly.

Happy Birthday Kim. May your day be a special one. May you have cake (because I love cake).

Thanks for being my friend forever and ever.

Agoy goy!