Thursday

Not sure how it got to be Thursday so quick this week.

Well, They're Back!  Any bets on how long it will take for the first refereeing controversy with the regular officials?  The built-in excuse is that the regular guys have been on the sidelines since last year, and don't quite have they're A game ready to go from a dead start off of the couch.  Trust me.  You'll read that story after this weekend's games.

The other big story of the day is that, according to the Maplecrest Memory Wall, today is the 3-year anniversary of the The Winniferous taking up residence on Highland Avenue.  Again, according to my calendar, 2 and I returned from Italy on Saturday the 26th, and she went over to Geneseo and picked up The W on the following day.  I can't remember when the formal naming occurred.  It took a few days to decide on Winnie.

I guess this makes The W Pet of the Day.  She has certainly carved her way into the family's lore.  It did not occur to me at the time that I would become a surrogate master for her on a regular basis.  Not that I'm complaining.  The W has provided her share of blog material over the last three years.

Here's an example of the growth of bureaucracy.  I've been a member of the Notre Dame Monogram Club for 40+ years.  There's an element of distinction of winning an athletic "letter" in a varsity sport at ND.  My letterman's jacket remains one of my prized possessions.  Historically, alumni letter winners were given some recognition at home football games, and there has always been an annual dinner/golf outing, usually in the early Summer (I think).  I've never attended any of these events.  But I've always paid my annual dues.

In the last 10-15 years, the annual solicitation package accompanying the dues notice has become more and more sophisticated.  What was originally a short letter, postcard to complete with your data, and a return envelope, had expanded to multiple inserts and an ever-increasing effort to expand the footprint of the organization.  I think that general growth in the areas of technology and social media, and cross-coordination by various ND alumni groups have made the Monogram Club a more vocal source of influence in the ND community.

This is what came in the mail this week.  38 color pages.  Hard paper stock.  Somebody worked on this thing for months!  The dues card was slipped into the inside cover, held in place by a dollop of that sticky substance that allows for non-tearing removal of the card.  Amazing.

And the club now has a full-time Executive Director.  For the last three years!  I missed that one.   Welcome to the New Millennium. 

A final note.  I see where singer Andy Williams has passed away at age 84.  He was very popular in the '60's and early '70's with numerous hit recordings and a TV variety show.  Moon River was his signature song.  He would have been in his 30's when in his heyday, but he continued to be successful after he faded from the headlines with recurring shows in places like Las Vegas and at a theater he owned in the Midwest's entertainment venue of Branson, Missouri.  Which means he worked into his 70's, kind of like a lot of folks.

All for now.  Have a good one.

BCOT