Oh, I Think So

I went to the post office one day after work last week to see if I had mail in my box.  I do this almost every day and the results of late are the same:  No mail as Alvin, our carrier, will be out for five months and they haven't hired someone to fill his spot in his absence.  There is the same disappointment as the day before. This day was different.  There were tourists taking pictures on the letter box side of the post office.  They were excitedly taking pictures of everything -- the boxes, the counters, the light fixtures, the granite floors -- and they were pleased as punch to be able to get these pictures.  From my pictures you can't tell, but there were at least 10 of them.  No, I didn't think they were a terror cell because a terror cell would not draw this much attention to themselves and members of a cell probably don't giggle and let their voices get so high pitched.  They would take a picture and then race in front of the other and t...

Last week I saw two of my oldest and dearest friends.  We talked about many things and when the topic turned to sports, one of them said, "After you've gotten into hockey, does anything really compare?"  It's true.  For skill, speed, seemingly-impossible shots, and amazing accuracy, nothing beats hockey. Football is a snooze in comparison.  It takes at least three dull hours to play a game of football, with or without commercial interruptions.  Snorting, pushing men who are snorting on and pushing other snorting, pushing men, one thin man with a very good kicking leg, and one guy who can hypothetically throw with great accuracy.  (I say hypothetically because a certain Bears QB has talent that is only hypothetical.)  "Wasn't that game exciting?"  No, it probably wasn't as it took so long for anything to happen.  This doesn't mean I now dislike it, so forget about that. Basketball is a bunch of really tall men running back ...

Patrick Sharp, #10, left wing on the Chicago Blackhawks has been traded.  "NOOOOOO!" I shouted.  Patrick Sharp is not just a terrific hockey player but really seems like a pleasant, well spoken fellow.  And dear god in heaven, that is a handsome man. In the words of Wikipedia, the NHL salary cap is the total amount of money that National Hockey League teams are allowed to pay their players. It is a "hard" cap, meaning there are no exemptions (and so no luxury tax penalties are required).  Patrick Sharp, while a great player, was the remaining player considered less-than-tippety-top elite who was putting the Blackhawks over their cap limit.  And classy as ever, and I am paraphrasing, he said it was an honor to play for the Blackhawks and to help win three Stanley Cups championships but it was time to go to Dallas and do that. Honestly, I thought he would announce he is retiring and will be staying here in Chicago to work in hockey broadcasting.  I am sur...

The most American of holidays is Independence Day, July 4th.  The other most American is Thanksgiving, the 4th Thursday in November.  Thanksgiving is taken so very seriously that most stores are closed, except for a few hours of grocery stores, K-Mart, and, in the evening hours in the Chicago area, Carson Pirie Scott.  It ushers in the Christmas season.  Independence Day is not given the same reverence.  July 4th is a day devoted to some pretty good shopping , outdoor grilling, and the chance to spend a lot of money on illegal fireworks then set them off until about 1 a.m. on July 5th. Let's talk about the shopping. The more conservative members of the Supreme Court of the United States like to talk about what the framers of the Constitution meant when they wrote put it together.  They allowed slavery, dudes, so their credibility is shot right there.  I have a hard time believing the framers would go along with a corporation being a person.  I...