Monday

I had really expected to get a post up yesterday (Sunday), but the late afternoon and evening kinda got away from me.  Best laid plans, eh?

It took all of last week to get back to "normal" following the trip out West.  I'm not sure if it was the time difference, the strange beds, or the lack of serious "down" time on the trip, but I found myself very "un-relaxed" when the bell rung for the start of business last Monday.  Whatever.  Much better today.

Our extended family continues to grieve the passing of our sister, wife, Mother, aunt and Grandmother Martha.  Words inadequately express the sense of loss when a family member unexpectedly leaves us.  Her passing has been difficult for us all to process.  To Uncle Doyle, Julie, Sue, John and Dan, and families, please know that we all share these feelings of sorrow and this unfamiliar emptiness.

I'll do an entry about Martha in the near future.  She was always one of the important people in my life.  The list of things she did for me over the years is long.  Among other things, I think I learned from her as a young adult the commitment to family and the importance of supporting the far-flung interests of kinfolk.  Regardless of my meanderings off the beaten path, especially in those early years at ND, the USAF, and pre-marriage, she never judged (or kept it to herself!), and always supported me.

Anyway...more on that in a later post.

4 and I were in Vitoria-Gastiez in Spain three years ago this week.

The Early Ride...I think that title is now worthy of caps...is pretty much in darkness these days (when we leave before 0500).  Not much traffic...a definite bonus.  I wouldn't recommend it on roads that aren't familiar.  As it is, we need to be careful of the wild life that seem to have an early foraging schedule.  Still feels mentally good to have the workout done before 1st Coffee.

Tony Stewart is in a spot of bother to say the least.  He's a bit crusty, and I wouldn't be surprised if his instincts were to spin his tires a little at the driver who was walking on the track to confront him.  He could have produced a little rear-end waggle to warn-off the guy by gunning the engine.  Did he go too far?  Or did the other guy walk into a danger point?


I have almost zero interest in the NFL pre-season that is now in full-swing.  And really not much higher interest in the colleges.  I'll be at Kinnick two weeks from Saturday with my pals Pete and Doug for the Hawkeye opener against UNI.  (I even upgraded my "gold" shirt to a dri-fit Hawkeye-monogrammed polo when I did my thing yesterday at Kohl's.  I'm ready!)

OK.  Hope it is a good week for all the readership. 

BCOT