Thursday

Day Two of the conference is now done. I'm taking a pass on the annual "yea-hoo"dinner to share wine later with Rosie and Tom. Doing a little shopping at a wine store on the way home.

I've been meaning to opine on this next topic for quite some time, but I keep forgetting about it when sitting in front of the computer. My time on the road over the last few weeks has given me exposure to good research.

Drying towels in public rest rooms. Actually, of course, some public rest rooms have air dryers, so maybe the topic should be drying devices in public restrooms. Then too, not all of these facilities are open to the general public (most are), so a modification of the adjective "public" might be justified, but why quibble on the obscure?

Anyway...

The truck stop at the Route 21 interchange on I-80 has the old fashion, rollered cloth towel machines mounted on the walls. Boy, with that high of traffic, you have to wonder how many times a day the janitor has to switch out those machines. Who does the laundry? How many of those things are still in service? I'm thinking that there must have been a profitable business at one point for a laundry that did those towels, restaurant table covers and napkins, and the like. Now?

The airports mostly have paper towels of some sort. Many now have automated machines that feed a 10-12 inch sheet by use of an electric eye. Some are mechanical that you need to pull a lever similar to a slot machine.

Finer restaurants and conference centers will often have somewhat softer, more-padded paper towels simply stacked to the side of the sink.

The country club rest rooms will usually have separate cloth hand towels. Often monogrammed.

Then, of course, you get to the Big City and the hotsy-totsy places have attendants in the rest rooms and they hand you the towels, (giving true meaning to the term "hand"), which you then feel obligated to tip for in the very visible tip jar. (Didn't they have attendants in the Wrigleyville bars? But they might have just been stationed there to cut down on the drugs and sex in the facilities. I digress.)

Most truck stops have gone to the towel dispensers not unlike the ones used at the gas pumps for washing windshields. The pull/rip from the bottom style. Functional and easy to maintain.

All of these places run out of towels at some point, and it's time to dart into a stall and unroll a little TP.

For the record, my current habits are to dry my hands, then take an extra sheet of the paper to use to cover my fingers/hand to open the door. Howard Hughes lives.

Hope this has been illuminating to all.

BCOT

Wednesday

Successful drive to KC today. Six hours. Now two days of sales yea-hoo.

2 didn't receive proper recognition here for her Bix 7 run last Saturday. I'm thinking that that rates Daughter of the Day, albeit a bit belated. This is a pic from the April 15th party, so there was a little wine involved.

I took a walk Sunday up the route that 2 and I use for our initial preparations for the Turkey Trot. It occurred to me that our training for the Turkey Trot this year will not begin until after Italy, which makes me a little nervous for my one hour time limit. I need a lot of training. There is zero transference of bike cardio to running cardio. I've proved that in the past.

For the record, my conference last week in SF did produce another professional designation for my resume. I was so notified today that my previous experience, credentials and the results of Thursday's examination won the hearts and minds of the Board, and I could now refer to myself as an AIFA (Accredited Investment Fiduciary Analyst). Makes a person tingle all over, doesn't it?

The guy who gave the opening address at our conference today was a sports psychologist who has worked with some very high-profile folks, including the San Antonio Spurs, Olympic athletes, and collegiate champions. He was very enthusiastic, and had some great stories, but trying to rally the troops to go out and sell more tax shelters doesn't quite generate the same feel as an NBA or NCAA championship game pep talk. (Tweaking that speech for this audience does merit him some style points for creativity.)

I'm headed to the bar for some cocktails with my vendors, and then to Rosie and Tom's for some KC hospitality.

More tomorrow. Between crosswords.

BCOT

Tuesday

Busy day and evening getting ready for an Oh-Dark-Hundred departure tomorrow morning for KC. I'll be there until Friday noon for a meeting.

I'm glad to see the interest in the 2010 Clan Reunion. Any word out there from Aunt Martha's branch of the tree?

I'll add from the road in KC.

BCOT

Sunday

Not too much to add today. Lots of decompression going on here. Elected to wait another day before getting on the bike. Grilled din-din. Salmon and steak. Veggies. Very healthy. A California theme.

I'll get the formal recognitions out in the USPS snail mail this week, but heart-felt thanks go to the folks in Tahoe and SF for their wonderful hospitality last week. I had a great time. From the comments from all the hosts, family visitors are always welcome. Hard to have a bad time at either location.

I did have clear confirmation in the field that I need to study the manuals for both my NSSP and the mini-digital camera. The capabilities of both substantially exceed the skill of the operator.

The yard was mowed, but I'll need to do both again before heading to KC. No shortage of rain here and the fertilizer is doing a fine job.

Enjoyed 1's comments from Beantown. Good luck on the return trip to the TC tomorrow, Kiddo. Be safe.

The bikes (and riders) made it safely back from RAGBRAI. Talked to my pal Pete at coffee this AM and he said that the Friday ride from Ottumwa to Mt. Pleasant was a real bear. The route went North out of O and found some pretty good hills and a headwind in the afternoon swing down to Mt. P. Those lower tier counties in Iowa are basically the foothills of the Ozarks, so you can run into some elevation variance when you're off the beaten path.

So I'll jump on here tomorrow with some real wisdom.

BCOT

Saturday

Just a few lines this evening from a beautiful (not!) concourse at O'Hare. Never underestimate the value of direct flights.

I made the strategic decision at the Oakland airport this morning to ditch most of the course materials from my recently completed conference. There was a definite space limitation in my checked bag as a motivator. But let's face it: how many times do you go back and look at the power-point slides from a conference? Particularly, in my business, if the slides contain no statutory, regulatory, or case law citations? Can you say, never?

Besides, they issued all attendees a USB data stick for future reference. Plus, the resource materials are all down-loadable from the sponsor's web-site. And, it's not like I need another canvas book bag.

The first checked bag came with a $20 fee. Non alcoholic beverages were free. Snack boxes were offered for sale by the flight attendants from the "Air Cafe". Air cafe? Very creative. Almost like the mini-bars and snack trays in hotel rooms. Stale stuff at high prices. (Not that my $3 bottle of water here at ORD with dinner wasn't noteworthy.)

Lance defended his 3rd place spot in today's stage up Mt. Ventoux (The Giant of Provence). His teammate Contador just marked the guy in second place, and Lance marked the three other guys in reach of third place. Somewhat tactical, but it played out well. In the end, the strongest riders were at the top of the heap. No pretenders. (A little like golf. Over the course of a four-round tournament, one of the better guys usually wins.) In the hills, after three weeks of stress, the pecking order is pretty well established.

4 reports a little boredom on her weekends in Lincoln. It takes a while, Kiddo. Why not humor us with some words on this or a similar space?

I'm hoping that my neighbor mowed my yard this week. Can't say that I missed that function.

Any news from Bix or Beantown?

More tomorrow.

BCOT

Friday

This was an easy day. I drove up North of SF this AM to visit a possible vendor for my securities business. The route took me over the Golden Gate bridge, which I wanted to get a picture of on my digital camera, but I was a little late getting to my meeting and couldn't stop on the way there, and I missed the turn-off for the vista on my way back. I got this one off the Internet. It's powerful scenery.

This afternoon, Aunt Marg and I visited a winery in the Santa Cruz mountains, south of San Mateo. Thomas Fogarty Wineries. The wine was so-so, but the ambiance was good. The winery is located near the top of a mountain, and the different roads that we took up and then down were both curvy enough to upset my stomach. And steep enough that cycling up was not all that appealing.

Good luck to 2 in the Bix 7 road race in Davenport tomorrow. She was Twittering from the streetfest beer tent earlier this evening. Hope she was observing moderation.

Travel day for me tomorrow. I'm anxious to get back to my own bed. I think that I am repeating my two-stop-over schedule, so I may be able to add an entry from an airport.

BCOT

Thursday

My class is done. Finally. Two days of CPE are brutal. A third is just off the charts. I'm ready to get back to what ever is normal in my world.

Lance announced today a new cycling team for 2010 called Team RadioShack. This is a pretty big deal. In cycling, it is common for cyclists and teams to begin re-alignments for the following year in the middle of the prior year, so this isn't unusual in that respect. My guess is that he will gear down somewhat after the conclusion of the TdF this weekend, and may not race in any significant events the rest of the year. Spain has it's tour (The Vuelta) in late August, but that race doesn't always get the biggest names (and won't get Lance this year).

I'm a little curious on what air-time charges and roaming charges I have incurred this week on my new NSSP (not-so-smart phone). I am queried each time I hit my office email send/receive confirming that I wanted to perform the function because I was on "roaming" and could incur additional costs. I think that Bill and I are on a combined national plan with 1500 minutes/month. And unlimited data. We'll see.

1 just landed in Beantown, after a modest delay. She and 3 should have a great weekend.

RevKev suggests an earlier July reunion date. I'm OK with that. The Commish is in charge.

Off to meet a client connection for dinner here in the financial district in downtown SF. We've met in my office in Iowa to discuss his parents and family-owned businesses. Now we'll have an adult beverage down along the bay. Cool.

More tomorrow.

BCOT

Wednesday II

For the record. Aunt Marg, Uncle Howard and I have tasked Uncle Phil with the responsibility for managing/coordinating some of the early components of the possible family reunion next Summer at Lake Tahoe. We felt that his experience as Commissioner of the March Madness contest fully qualified him for the position. I have suggested the July 15 - August 15 time frame. Details to come from UP.

I'm thinking that the LtPC wing of the family will be well-represented. Let's get the whole tree there!

RAGBRAI in Iowa this week. Lance even commented on it on a Twitter entry from France. My pal Pete and his entourage (my bikes included) are in Chariton tonight.

Got to study for my "final" tomorrow. Trust me 1, it's worse than role-playing.

BCOT

Wednesday

Just a few lines from SF. I'm right now in the audience of a roll-playing exercise with the other class participants, and the learning curve has taken a turn South.

I've been driving in to the city each morning from Aunt Marg and Uncle Howard's home in San Mateo. That suburb is South of the city on the ocean side, just past Candlestick Stadium. It takes around 20-25 minutes at 0615. I park in a lot for $15/day. What a deal. Another hour or two today and wrap up tomorrow afternooon.

I've been stopping each morning at a SB's down the block from the building where the class is held, and, unknown to me, the SB's building is the same one where UH has his office! Queue the music: "It's a Small World."

AM, UH and I have been sampling wine each night. Cousin Tim was over last night as well. Salmon on the grill. Suite. Kabobs tonight.

Enjoyed 1's comment about her new job. Godspeed on your trip to Beantown. Kiddo.

Maybe more later.

BCOT

Monday

Down in the Bay Area. Hated to leave Tahoe. We definitely need to get back there next Summer. Let me re-phrase that: I will be back there next Summer. (UP and I drove over to South Shore last night and had a couple of beers in memory of my pal Wally at the Embassy Suites' outdoor bar. Very appropriate. Good, no,... great, memories. Then a pizza at Tomato's in Incline. Double suite.)

Traffic on I-80 was a head-ache. They're rebuilding several parts of the road, and those spots are a mess. So was close-in traffic in SF. Glad I don't have to do that everyday.

Happy Anniversary to 1 and 1.1. Hard to believe that it's been two years since the wedding. And congrats to 1 on securing a teaching job for the Fall. That's a pretty good present, Kiddo.

This may be the most mileage that I have ever driven in a rental car. A four-banger may get good gas mileage, but climbing the hills calls form a little more horsepower.

So I'm off to sleep to get ready for tomorrow's class. Never did get the pre-conference reading done. Surprise.

BCOT

Sunday

These are some samples of Tahoe scenery off the back deck at Uncle Phil's. The lake is in the middle of the pic, just behind the pointy tree. Also note the red sunset sky reflection in the window behind UP. Cool.

The "no-plan" plan for today is in full splendor.

Another evening up here tonight, and then it's back to the Bay Area tomorrow. RevKev, we'll meet here another time.

I almost texted 4 when I got into Incline last night and had stopped at Raley's for some wine. The lines at each check-out were 6-8 deep, and the people were buying everything under the sun. A grocery store at Tahoe is a real indicator of the vacation lifestyle.

Finally, I have had to "lock" my new smart phone. Way too many butt calls. I think "last number redial" is the first function initiated when you even casually touch the phone. Until I get that feature disconnected, I'm leaving the unit on the mode, "lock when not in use." Isn't that a bit ironic for a smart phone? (It certainly cuts down on phone use in the car! You have to code in the unlock password to even answer a call.)

Maybe more later. Gotta get back to doin' nutin'

BCOT

Saturday

I don't recall scheduling this trip, but I must have been on drugs to give myself two stops (C-town and Denver) on my way to Oakland. That plane from ORD to Denver was huge; nine seats across! And full. What a cattle call.

The plan is to get up to Tahoe tonight. One more leg in the air and then the drive. And that ignores the rental car exercise, which is not all that speedy in Oakland. Love to travel.

Hope everyone has a great weekend. Look for me on Twitter.

BCOT

Friday

Thanks to 3 for a little love in yesterday's comments. How 'bout this recent Twitter pic of her? Very chic!

And the story from 1 and 1.1 is another high-water mark for the fam. Congrats to the happy parents-to-be. You are in for a great adventure! I had no clue when I started mine with you guys. Not sure that I have one yet.

Oh Dark Hundred departure for the Left Coast tomorrow. Up to Tahoe for Happy Hour. (Uncle Phil pulled a fast one on me with the Biaggi's staff and I found a case of my fav dry Italian red in my car on the way home tonight. Pretty sneaky!)

Quick story on my detachment with reality. I rarely, if ever, use the city's garbage collection service. I generally keep a small bag and take it to the office every-other-day or so. It's just easier. Last week, I was cleaning out the garage the evening before normal garbage pick-up, and since I had some yard-waste bags with grass and leaves, and the recycling container already prepared for pick-up, I decided to use my assigned container and get rid of some long-held junk in the garage.

I set everything out in the proper way, with appropriate stickers and bindings, and they took everything but the standard garbage! I figured that there was too much stuff and they just over-looked the garbage. So I set it out again yesterday. Wrong! By-passed again!

I called garbage-control with the city today and learned that I had elected bi-weekly pick-up which meant that I had a gray lid on my regular garbage can and the gray lids were only picked up every-other-week. Yes, I pay a lesser monthly fee, but I haven't hit the right every-other-collection-day yet! And I'm on the road the next two weeks! What ever it is that I have paid per month over the last five years, I still haven't had any garbage moved off the property! (That's a program that the current White House would love!)

I gotta pack.

BCOT

Thursday

The boys in France start heading for the mountains tomorrow. The bigger hills come next week, but we're done with field sprints for now.

RAGBRAI starts Sunday in Council Bluffs and ends a week from Saturday in Burlington. Ottumwa hosts the bunch on Thursday night. (You really can't call it a peloton, can you?) My pal Pete is joining the mob Wednesday evening and will be riding Thursday and Friday. Sounds like a couple of his sons and his brother are going too. The one boy is the one who road cross-country earlier this Summer. Lots of other local riders take part as well, some for the full week. I maintain that I'm just not in good enough drinking shape to hang in for more than a couple of nights.

While LtPC will be a no-show for RAGBRAI, both of his bikes will be there. Since I will be on the road all week, I'm loaning out the bikes to Pete's crew to save them from having to transport bikes from out of state.

2 is back in classes for her MBA program. Her plate is busy. (Sorry about the erroneous reference to her on the cell phone issue yesterday.)

4 attended a midnight showing of the new Harry Potter movie earlier this week. Awaiting the review.

1 advises that she successfully completed teaching her summer session courses. She didn't sound all that excited except for the being-over part of it. Still no line on a job for the Fall.

All of the news in the TC is not gloomy, though. Details?

So not all that creative here tonight. But it's a start. More tomorrow.

BCOT

Wednesday

Well, I plead guilty to blog neglect.

Had a great visit with Uncle Phil. He spent most of the weekend in Ottumwa for his high school reunion, then back here for a little gig with our cousins at my place on Sunday night.

The males in the pic are the first-cousins: Phil in white, Don in red, Fran in green, and LtPC in blue. The girl in all white is Don's daughter Linda, and she is resting her hands on the shoulders of her daughter Keeley (sp?). The beauty on the far right is our very own 2!

Linda is the barista at SB's whom I met long before I knew of our blood relationship. She is my first cousin once removed, and Keeley is my first cousin twice removed. The tree line makes Linda and Susan second cousins to one another. (That pretty well exhausts my knowledge, and interest at this point, of genealogy. We'll have to rely on Uncle Phil to make the call on Susan and Keeley.)

The John Deere Golf Classic concluded on schedule Sunday night with Steve Stricker taking home the trophy and the big check. The Friday round was fully washed out by rain, just like my Pro-Am event last Wednesday. So they played 18 on Saturday to finalize the cut for the final two rounds, which were both played on Sunday. Lots of golf, but there are benefits.

John Deere has done a deal each of the last couple of years to accommodate the higher-ranked players interests in participating in the British Open which is held the following week. A charter leaves Moline for London on Sunday night. The players pay $1,000 per seat, and Deere turns around and donates that fare to charity. Somebody said the plane was actually Mark Cuban's Boeing 767 that's used by the NBA's Dallas Mavericks. There were around 20 players with caddies, families and friends on the flight this year. It really helps attract a better field for the tournament.

I am advised that 2 and 4 are back on the air with their cell phones. Any bets on the next family member to lose their's? (I know that I will be the next to lose my glasses.)

I boycotted the All Star game last night. I had no interest in the endless tease about who was going to throw out the first pitch, the analysis and replay of the first pitch, and the guest appearance in the booth. (I may be relegated to watching old reruns on the Food Network to avoid the constant reminders of who is in the White House.) Shocked to see that the AL had won.

So I vow to get back to normal with almost daily entries in this space. Starting tomorrow.

BCOT

Thursday

After Noah and the Ark passed the house last night, the skies cleared, the sump pump ran continuously, and I received the obligatory email that the canceled golf outing would yield no refunds. Check out the small print on that ticket stub.

Uncle Phil was in to sample the fare at Biaggi's yesterday afternoon for lunch. 2 and I tagged along to drink the wine. 2 entertained at her house last night. The guests brought dinner. Harris pizza.

The first mountain stage of the TdF is tomorrow in the Pyrenees. The peloton ran down to Barcelona today, ending at the entrance to Olympic Stadium. Seems a little off-kilter to be talking about the TdF with a Spanish over-night town. (I think that they jump into Italy in week three for a day also.) My money is on Contador.

3 reports that she has bought a replacement phone on eBay. She should be back online next week.

Hope everyone has a great weekend. Check in Saturday for my interview with Tom Lehman recorded during yesterday's rain delay.

BCOT

Wednesday

No golf today. Lots of rain. Glad I didn't write the $3500 check.

Uncle Phil is in the house. His day went according to plan. He's off to the Big O tomorrow.

I'll add more of my thoughts on the golf and on my surreal chat with Tom Lehman later.

BCOT

Tuesday

Just a brief update on my golfing career.

We went to the John Deere Classic Pro-Am pairings party last night and I came away with a tee time tomorrow afternoon with former British Open champion Tom Lehman. Consistent with my good fortune to even be in the tournament, I received an early selection spot in the determination of the pro for our group, and Lehman was still available. So he gets to watch my swing all afternoon. Cool!

.

I'm thinking that it's getting late enough in the process that I may practice a little bit later today. Kind of like studying for a test. You don't want to start too early for fear of forgetting the material that you first review. My muscle memory endorphins follow the same theory.

.

BTW...This golf thing has really thrown a wrench into my planning to be in LA today for the Michael Jackson celebration. I received notice yesterday that I had won a spot for the Staples Arena service, and I just can't fit it in. Alas, poor Yorick. I knew him so well.

.

More later.

.

BCOT

Saturday

Happy Independence Day!!
Rainy here so far all of today. Not the best conditions for outdoor activities. But the evening could turn out just fine.

3 may be at the Boston Pops tonight. Hope her weather cooperates. Niel Diamond? Or a clone? I thought that guy was long gone. Maybe he's like Jim Nabors' singing the National Anthem at the Indy 500. A once a year gig.

With the markets closed yesterday, I figured that all the normal closures would occur. But the banks in our area were open, and SB's didn't have that holiday feel. What happened to the first half of the year?

I didn't tell everyone about one very interesting conversation that I had down in StL while the rest of you partied till the cow's came home. A late evening visit to the lobby bar produced an unexpected (one could say surreal) chat with Stan "The Man" Musial. Here's the transcript from that meeting:

LtPC: Excuse me sir, and I don't me to bug you, but you look like Stan Musial. Any relation?

STM: You've got good eyes sonny. Have we met before? And don't call me sir.

LtPC: No sir. I did have an autographed picture of you in my bedroom back on the farm in southern Iowa maybe 50 years ago.

STM: Don't remind me of how old I am.

LtPC: Sorry about that, sir. What are you doing here at the Millennium Hotel at this hour? Can I buy you a drink?

STM: Thanks, but I'm good. Autograph session for a Cardinals' fan club in town from Joplin. My ride had a little fender-bender across the street, and it's too freakin' hot to watch the cops write up the tickets. Stupid deal.

LtPC: You catch any of the games with the Twins? What'd ya think of that kid, Mauer?

STM: Too hot for an old man to go to the games. I listen to Shannon on the radio. Mauer seems like the real deal. He's got that compact swing, and he must have great eyes, because he never looks confused up there.

LtPC: And Pujols?

STM: No one better around these days. Great player.

LtPC: How 'bout the new Busch Stadium?

STM: It's a lot like the old Sportsman's Park where we played when I was on the team. The Busch Stadium that this new one replaced was a nightmare for most players. Like playing in a parking lot. Those lead-off guys who could run might have liked it, but baseball's supposed to be played on grass, for chrimeny sakes.

LtPC: Any pitchers out there that you like these days?

STM: Never did like pitchers.

LtPC: Managers?

STM: Ya know, LaRussa's not too bad. But it's the players who win and lose the games. The way it is today, it comes down to how much money a team spends on the roster. If you don't have some players, ya don't win.

LtPC: Drugs?

STM: In my day it was booze. Heck, if they breathalized the boys before games in the '50's, we might have had to call up some Triple A players to start the games. Never heard 'bout steroids. Did they even exist back then? There was no such thing as off-season training. Lots of guys had other jobs in the Winter to support their families.

LtPC: One thing I did notice over at the new stadium was the price of beer. Eight bucks! I'm not sure that's what they mean when they say, "This Bud's for you."

STM: When I came up in '41, you could get a glass of suds for a dime! In the minors in the late 30's, I made only $65 a month! That $10 glass of wine you're drinking is outta my league.

LtPC: Well, I do have a small wine problem, but I'm working on it. Lastly, I know you played ball against Jackie Robinson. That had to be quite an experience. Ever run into any problems with the race thing? Did you ever imagine that we'd have a Black President?

STM: Jackie was a good guy. Played hard. Got treated badly by some jerky fans every now and then. I'm glad baseball's got past that stuff. Politics? I don't pay much mind. Hope and change? Reminds me of the boys hitting against Feller. Hopin' for a change...up! Ya can't hit what ya can't see.

LtPC: I'm headed up to bed. Thanks for your time, Mr. Musial. It's been a real pleasure. G'night.

STM: My pleasure, sonny. And don't call me mister.

Well there you have it, boys and girls. Just like it could have happened.

The rain has stopped. I'm off to the hills for a short one. More tomorrow.

BCOT

Thursday

This a pic of me and my buds after today's practice round at TPC Deere Run. Randy, Roy, Ron, and moi. Really a great day. Seasonal 70's. Not much humidity. Good friends. My golf left something to be desired, but I felt good about getting around the course before scores really count next Wednesday.

My pal Ron (blue shirt in the middle) is going to be my caddy. No carts, so he has to carry my bag. No way I could do it on a flat course, let alone the hilly layout at TPC. He's the golf coach at PV High School, a morning coffee regular, and (in a previous life) the carpenter contractor on our office building in 1989. And for bonus points, the dad of one of my PV Breakers AAU basketball team when 4 and her friends were in 5-8th grades. (He admits that he didn't like me much as a coach. Note to all: he was not in a small group.)

We even had a gallery of two this afternoon for our last four holes! Another client of mine knew that we were out on the course and he and a friend came and followed us when they had completed their round. They checked us out from the seating areas around the greens, and heckled us on the tees. They were trying to get me ready for game day.

The markets are closed tomorrow (which probably aided today's sell-off), but I'll be going in to move some tasks off my desk. I have several projects to get done next week, and I have an IRS agent in on Monday to conduct an audit. (Great way to start the week!) I'll need to make up some biking mileage, and, of course, the yards are ready again. Busy day. I'll try to blog from the office in the morning.

BCOT

Wednesday

It's been a slow adjustment back to normal for me this week. I don't think that it was the wine. Just a different routine. Travel. A different bed. All in the heat. Whatever. Better today.

The big news here is that I am scheduled to play in the ProAm event next Wednesday as part of the PGA tournament here, the John Deere Classic. I bought some raffle tickets from my pal Roy last month for a drawing that I had no details about; not what it was for, not the prize, not the date of the drawing. Anyway, the call came in last week, and I'm in!

I'm playing a practice round tomorrow since I haven't been on the TPC course for 5-6 years. And I'll probably hits some balls a couple of times over the weekend. The parings party is Monday night. I'll meet my foursome partners, and we get assigned our pro and our tee time for Wednesday.

For the non-golfers in the crowd, a ProAm is a common event at most PGA tour stops. Often, there may be a couple of days of various things that allow local hacks to rub elbows with the pro's. For a price. Here, the primary ProAm event goes for around $3,750 per golfer. For that price, the golfer gets to play a practice round, the ProAm itself, a bunch of tickets to the tournament, and various other gratuities. The tournament collects $3,750 from about 225 amateurs, and still makes out big even after the give-aways. Do the math.

"Get Well's" out to 3 who seems to have picked up a bug on the road.

"Kudos" to 4 who has been doing the evening newscasts on her own this week.

"Thanks" to all for the good wishes for Father's Day.

More tomorrow.

BCOT