Sunday

Another turn to the Deep Freeze in River City.  But it is December.  Glad I hadn't elected to participate in any trip to Soldier Field for the Bears-Packers game this evening.

Enjoyed 2nd Coffee this morning in Iowa City with 3 and 3.1.  We met at the downtown Starbuck's shop, had a couple of over-priced pastries and traded stories of our respective Christmas visits.  They are now headed back to the Big Apple so that 3.1 can report for duty on Monday and Tuesday.  They then jet to Antigua for four days of  R+R.

I'm watching the 7PM FOX newscast as write this.  This news show is being produced by 4.  Way to go, Kiddo!

As I mentioned on Twitter yesterday, that ND win at the Pinstripe Bowl in Yankee Stadium was as close to The Most Uninteresting Sporting Event in Modern History as you could imagine.  An uninspired performance against an inferior opponent...and they couldn't even cover the spread.  They won't have an easy schedule next year, and they have lost both the Offensive and Defensive Coordinators to head jobs elsewhere.  But I'm willing to take the Over on a 10-win season next year for $5 if there are any takers out there.  And the Push will pay the $5 as well.

That trip over to IC may have been the first one for a cup of coffee.  Iowa City has been a destination for many things...for many years.  Among them:

1.  My first college football game...IA-ND in the late '50's or early '60's with Daddy.  I think ND won.
2.  My first high school varsity basketball game in February 1964.  They suited me up as a freshmen for a sub-state game played in the Old Fieldhouse...and I got some court-time in at the end of the game...a loss to a big Cedar Rapids school.
3.  Numerous high school basketball games at Iowa City Regina.  We played them home-and-home each year.  Always a big game.
4.  Several visits during freshman-sophomore years at ND to visit my high school girlfriend who went to Iowa.  She lived in Burge and was a Pi Phi.  Hitch-hiked to-and-from.  She was a victim of pancreatic cancer in 2013.
5.  Numerous CPA continuing education programs at the various hotels in town.
6.  Lots of Airliner dinners with 3 and 4.
7.  Graduations for 3 and 4 and the MBA graduation of 2. (SRH and the Lt. took a pass on our own grad school commencement programs.)
8.  Moving 3 and 4...way too many times!
9.  The Forwald Relays at City High to see 4 run a couple of times.
10. I stayed overnight in a Coralville motel both ways on my first long bike ride...from Davenport to Aunt Martha's in the early '90's.  Two days over, two back.


Here's a shot of my favorite tree near West Branch taken on the way back today.  2 snapped this one on the mini-digi from the passenger seat.  It looks a little barren...as does the entire landscape in Iowa in December!

Big day at the office tomorrow.  There's always at least a couple of clients with year end issues that go down to the wire.  We work on Tuesday, but most of the action takes place before New Year's Eve.  So we'll see if things get handled before the absolute last minute.

Bundle up!  It will be a cold one tonight.

BCOT