I just finished reading Sarah of the Moon by Randy Mixter. This is the most amazing book I have ever read.

It is a very moving story about a young woman from the Haight-Ashbury district of San Francisco in the mid-1960′s and a young newspaper reporter from Maryland sent out to cover the culture of the times. It has a very unique story line and one that is hard to put down.

Randy is a fellow Vietnam veteran who has written 3 books and has been writing poetry and short stories since his teen years.

As you can see by the picture, he is a Green Bay Packer fan – as is his dad, his grandfather, and his grandmother. Unfortunately, his mother has yet to convert from being a Bears fan. The good things are worth waiting for, though she might eventually see the light.

Due to some very poor planning, Julia’s baby shower was held on the Sunday that the Packers trounced the Bears to move on to the Super Bowl. They heard Lucas cheering on his team even then. At least this next Super Bowl he will be there to cheer on the mighty Pack.

One of Lucas’ favorite places is the zoo. His mom and dad take him there all the time. He is even a member. I hear he likes the giraffes. Grandma Linda is going with them the next time.

Zoo pics coming next….

Looking back on those early years, I wish I had the ability and resources to pursue he game with the intensity it would have taken to be able to turn it in to a career. Unfortunately, making it to the major leagues is about as likely for a kid as it is to win the big lottery. In fact it is just like winning the lottery. How many of us actually know a big lottery winner? How about a major league ballplayer? See?

But for the fortunate 750 currently playing on a major league team, there is a pot of gold. Sure, the average expected life in the profession is a little over 5 years – sooner if they injure themselves. But there are rewards. The average player’s salary for 2011 is $3.3 million. Not too shabby for a game.

Chasing the ball in the ivy

I am a Chicago White Sox fan, but I occasionally like to put on the Cubs. They tend to be more entertaining at times. I am referring, of course, to Alfanso Sorry-ano. He is a gem to watch out in left field. Seeing him chase the ball around as if he has no clue is better than being at the circus. The guy is a buffoon out there. The Cub’s General Manager, Jim Hendry, thought that signing this guy to a $19
million a year contract must have seemed like a good idea at some point. What’s worse than that is Hendry originally signed him for 8 years at $136 million and has 3 more years on his contract! The guy is pulling in $117,000 for each and every game, whether he plays or not.

I can’t, in all fairness, let the Sox off the hook. They signed Adam Dunn for 4 years and $56 million in the off-season.

Looking Lost

He is making $12 million this year and is batting .178 – the lowest in the American League. He also has 80 strikeouts – the highest in the league. Dunn came from the National League and played first base. With the Sox, he is a designated hitter. His only job is to get up off the bench 4 times a day and swing at a baseball. As a comparison, Brent Morel a rookie, is batting .259 and making a mere $414,000. Adam Dunn says he has had a hard time adjusting to the designated hitter role. He used to play the field AND bat, now he just bats. For $12 million a year, he better darned well learn to adjust. In April – not June.

Both the Cubs and Sox have an annual payroll for players that is around $125 million. A club box seat for a Cub’s game is $112 and an upper deck seat is $56, plus a 12% amusement tax. Sox fans can add your own punch line here.

Phil Mickelson

He decided to participate in the Masters despite a year of adversity. No, not Tiger Woods.

Tiger Woods decided to strap it on and face the crowd despite enduring a rough period of serial cheating, being attacked by his wife with a golf club, spending months in rehab, and probably facing a divorce. It is difficult to feel sorry for a guy who brings it on himself and self-destructs. He claims to want his privacy so he can ‘heal’, yet he pops up at the most viewed sporting event next to the Super Bowl, putting himself front and center of the world.

I have trouble feeling sorry for a guy who has everything and throws it away like he did.

My newest heroes are Phil and Amy Mickelson. Yes, Phil is just a golfer who gets richer by the weekend playing a game and not overseas fighting the ‘enemy’. But the Mickelson’s have been fighting adversity for the past year themselves – and not through any fault of their own.

Last May, Phil’s wife, Amy was diagnosed with breast cancer. In July, his mother was diagnosed with the same disease. Phil took time off the PGA tour last year to be with his wife. He came back and played in what I feel is the best golf I have seen him play. He shot a five-birdie 67 to win the Masters by 3 shots.

His wife was in a nearby hotel room all weekend dealing with the side effects of her treatment – battling nausea and fatigue. She had endured surgeries, sickness, and doubt. This was her first trip since being diagnosed. But on the 18th hole, as Phil drained a ten-foot birdie putt to finish the tournament and headed toward the scorer’s table, he turned and saw his wife and 3 kids waiting for him.

It makes the Tiger Woods debacle seem even more ludicrous than it has been all along. As far as I’m concerned, Tiger can just crawl under a rock and stay there.

Not only is Joe a good friend of mine, but he is also my partner in Forgotten Heroes.

Click HERE to hear a portion of the interview.

The entire interview, as well as the rest of Mike’s projects can be viewed at his web site, “Eye on the Community”.

I have written a MEMOIR and have posted it on my web page, but I want to write a novel.

I have begun jotting down my thoughts and have done some initial research about the subject matter that I want to write about. I plan on writing an historical novel based in Virginia. I have lots of notes and scribbles. Now I must find the time and discipline to organize them into an outline and create my characters.

Shenandoah Mountains

Welcome to my new blog site. I hope to post something on a regular basis, but sometimes I just get busy doing other things and won’t get around to it.

If I see something in the paper or hear something on the news that bothers me or impresses me, I will attempt to force those thoughts on you. Of course, I would love to here your feedback. Feel free to post your comment here on this site.

I’ve got some thoughts on Tiger, the census, and some other irritating topics that I hope to address in the next couple of days.

Check back and see what’s been bouncing around inside my head lately.

Later.