PLAY BALL!

It just doesn't get any better than a Giants/Dodgers series if you are a California baseball fan! Those of you who know me are well aware that I am a sports fanatic. I love the Niners, the Warriors, the Kings, NASCAR & pretty much every other competition in the wide world of sports. BUT my love of baseball goes way back..........waaayyyyy baaaccck!

I attended my first San Francisco Giants game with my dad back around 1960. They had just moved into Candlestick Park after relocating to San Francisco in the late 1950s. It was freezing cold & we had to brave the ancient two lane San Mateo Bridge to make it to the game. Honestly, I can't ever remember NOT being a baseball fan. I grew up knowing all the intricacies of the game. I played catch with my dad as far back as I can recall.

As we progressed through the sixties, the San Francisco Giants versus the Los Angeles Dodgers (formerly of New York & Brooklyn respectively) became a legendary rivalry. My family was glued to the TV for every game of the series. Often we would even take a ride over to Half Moon Bay (about 45 minutes) to purchase fresh roasted in the shell peanuts to eat while we watched our Giants hopefully beat up on the hated Dodgers. I'm not sure how that tradition got started but it shows you a little of how my sports craziness began.

Now, that I am an "old kid" of 66 & the Giants have won three World Series in the last six years, nothing much has changed. Lou & I are still glued to the TV & still can't help screaming & high fiving when we beat our despised Southern California rivals. We have won it all in the even years of 2010, 2012 & 2014....so I am optimistic that 2016 is our year again! Especially since we appear to have an even BETTER team than recent years!

Unfortunately, I didn't pay attention weeks ago when I planned an overnight getaway to Guerneville on the Russian River for Lou's birthday. It was on the last day of an early season four game series with the Dodgers. But we are two motivated, resourceful Giants fans who will find a way to see it or hear it or at least follow the score online.

The Giants have started this season off balls of fire, hitting lots of home runs, making lots of great plays & winning five of seven games to lead their division. These guys are amazing! I have to tell you it has been a total blast to watch these games. We are hitting up a storm & everyone is contributing. We beat the Dodgers soundly the first game & barely the second game. The third game we should have won but an error by our back up second baseman after our closer loaded the bases let the winning run score for the Dodgers.

As we drove to Guerneville on Sunday our radio coverage became worse & worse. In between the static we heard that the Giants were down 5-0 in the first inning. Yikes! After some sightseeing we stopped by a funky, little "sports bar" to check the score.....5 - 2. We strolled the streets taking photos & exploring (check out my "Travels Near & Far" blog to see them) then headed back to McT's Bullpen Sports Bar.

Pulling up a couple bar stools we ordered some beers & watched several innings with the "crowd" (maybe 10 locals) of Giants fans watching the game. One guy had a Giants visor, Giants shirt, Giants shorts & Giants socks - a true fan! It is great fun to yell & cheer with strangers who have a common bond as sports fans. We left the bar to head over & check into our hotel, giddy with the knowledge that the score was tied 6 - 6.

Ultimately we watched the last couple of innings in our hotel room - the Giants won 9 - 6 to take the series 3 games to 1. Woo Hoo!!!!

As much as I love the Giants & as successful as the last several seasons have been, this year has started with a magical quality that holds the potential to be the best year yet! I can't wait! And we already have a July trip planned (with tickets bought & paid for!) that includes a Giants/Red Sox game at Fenway Park in Boston PLUS a Giants/Yankees game at Yankee Stadium in New York! Nope, it just doesn't get any better in our baseball world!

BEDBUGS!

Every now & then each of us does something goofy or kind of stupid that we aren't really sure we should admit to other people. For instance, years ago my father told me he accidentally picked up the tube of Brylcreem (for you young people, it's goop that old men put in their hair) & put it on his toothbrush. It took him several seconds of wondering why his toothpaste wasn't foaming before he realized what he'd done. AND then he told me about it!

Or many, many years ago when my sister & I were still kids my mother had made a birthday cake for a family party. The dog got up on the table & ate the corner of the sheet cake as it cooled. It was too late to bake another one so my mother simply took some extra frosting & filled in the gap then sliced it from the other side. We were sworn to secrecy.

The other morning, it was my turn to join the ranks of crazy ass occurrences in my family. We had just returned home from a Caribbean cruise & barely unpacked from our journey. It was that time in the morning when you are just waking up. It was starting to get light out & I turned over putting my arm around my body. My finger touched something hard just behind my shoulder. "What is this?" I lazily thought to myself as I touched it again. Confused, I scratched at it - then it came off in my fingers. I set it on the bed beside me & slowly opened my eyes.

Yikes! A black bedbug was right there on the sheet!  "Shit!" I exclaimed, "This is not good." Lou stirred & mumbled, "What?" I grabbed a Kleenex & wadded it up around the bug explaining what had happened to him. We are usually quite aware of the possibility of bedbugs when we travel but so far had never seen one.

I took the Kleenex to the bathroom counter & left it there while I pulled the blankets back to look for any more of the nasty little critters. Satisfied that there weren't any more bugs in our bed, I climbed back in. Of course, by now, we were both pretty much awake. I was not thrilled at the thought of that bug walking all over me while I slept - YUCK! After a couple minutes, I said, "I'd better get up & flush the damn thing so it doesn't get away." Lou replied, "Wait! I want to see what it looks like," as he got up to check it out.

Okay, before I continue I need to set the scene a bit. In my defense, it was still relatively dark out, I was half asleep, I didn't have my glasses on AND I really don't like bugs except in a controlled situation where they are contained. Plus this thing was hard & stuck to my shoulder - damn it! The thought of nonchalantly picking it off of me before I was fully awake was a little freaky.

Lou says, "It's not a bug." I asked, "Are you sure?" to which he replied, "Yeah, it's one of those decorations from your cruise card holder." Hmmmpph - he brought it over & sure enough it was a little, square, black piece of plastic between 1/8" & 1/4" across. Well, hell.

Okay.....MY BAD!

But, hey, given the circumstances I think I was pretty cool not to scream & leap out of bed. Thank goodness it wasn't really a bedbug or I'd have been washing everything in sight & spraying bug killer everywhere. Then I would have been feeling things crawling all over me for days afterward. And we would have likely gotten sick from all the insecticide in our bedroom. But fortunately, none of that happened.

Lou has laughed at me - or is it with me - a few times since then & said, "You should write a blog post about thinking you had a bedbug on you." So, I figured 'what the hell', might as well share this little tidbit of stupidity with all of you. If you can't laugh at yourself, who can?

SUPER BOWL 50

Super Bowl 50 is coming up on February 7th. Okay, now I am really feeling old since I can vividly recall Super Bowl III, three, as in 1-2-3. Geez, that was 47 years ago. How is it that I can easily remember something that happened 47 years ago??? Un-frickin-believable!

In fact Super Bowl III was when I first seriously got into pro football. As a quick side note - I don't know why they decided to use Roman numerals to identify the games. It was fine for the first 10 or 20 since most of us learned the basics of V, X, I, L & M in school. But when they got up into the 30s & 40s it became just a bit cumbersome. I mean, really, Super Bowl XXXVIII or Super Bowl XLVII. Who can glance at that & know it was 38 or 47?

But I digress, back to Super Bowl III in January of 1969 held in Miami, Florida at the old Orange Bowl. The New York Jets led by flamboyant quarterback Joe Namath took on the much stronger Baltimore Colts & Johnny Unitas (& Earl Morrall for you diehard fans).

I was only 18 years old & didn't know much about professional football - major league baseball had been my sport of choice. But when Broadway Joe Namath brashly declared a few days before the game that he "guaranteed a win" by the Jets, I was caught up in the hype. Football fans were aghast that the underdog Jets quarterback would be so bold. I loved it & jumped on the bandwagon.

My father & his friend, Harold, were huge sports fans. A few years prior I had attended my first pro football game with them on a rainy day at Frank Youell Field on the campus of Laney College where the Oakland Raiders played from 1962-65. Harold was a real character with a great sense of humor. It was always a treat to be in the company of my dad & Harold.

They couldn't believe Namath guaranteed a win. During a good natured "argument" when they both told me I was crazy for thinking there was any way the Jets would win, I proposed a bet with both of them! It was either $3 or $5 each - I can't remember. Of course, they agreed, saying it wasn't fair to take a girl's money - but if I insisted. I took the Jets with no points & they both had the Colts.

Well, needless to say when the Jets won 16-7, I collected my winnings & never let either one of them forget that they both lost to an 18 year old girl who knew nothing about football but listened to Joe Namath!  Harold has long since passed away but I reminded him & my dad of that bet for decades. And I have been hooked on football ever since.

Our family has hosted a small Super Bowl get together for many, many years now. We often did something fun & unique to the particular game as we all made our rooting choices. For instance when the Washington Redskins were in it & their offensive line was nicknamed "The Hogs", all their fans would wear plastic pig noses. I made some out of pink construction paper that we tied around our faces. Or when the Denver Broncos were dubbed the Orange Crush & everyone brought bottles of Orange Crush soda, I decorated a six pack of beer with Orange Crush labels to share with my dad. Hey, it kept me out of trouble.

The run that our San Francisco Forty-Niners had during the 1980s of 5 Super Bowl wins was legendary for all of us die-hard fans who suffered through the bad years. Those parties were the best - cheering on our OWN team to victory after victory! I swore I would never complain about them again - & I haven't.

These past two years there have been no Super Bowl parties for good reason. Lou finally "won" the right to purchase tickets to Super Bowl XLVIII (that's 48 in Roman numerals) in New Jersey which meant that we were there in person!  Woo Hoo!  The event was wonderful but the game sucked. The hated Seattle Seahawks, who beat our Niners in the title game (we were sooooo close to seeing our team in the Super Bowl), killed the Denver Broncos. And last year we watched it on the Oasis of the Seas in the middle of the Caribbean Sea where the New England Patriots beat those same Seattle Seahawks.

But this year I'm once again making my traditional Seven-Layer Bean Dip (that really only has 6 layers - go figure) & we will be cheering on either Peyton Manning & the Broncos or Cam Newton & the Panthers at my dad's house in Roseville.

FULL MOON ON THE RISE

Has anyone else noticed that when there is a full moon every wacko seems to feel the need to get behind the wheel of a car? Invariably during a full moon every idiot under the sun (or moon) appears to be on the road.

Sometimes when I'm out running errands or driving to meet someone, I'll notice that other vehicles get way too close to me - almost like there is a magnet attached to the side of my car. Suddenly someone will decide to make a right turn from the left lane without first checking to see if it is clear. Next thing I know drivers are pulling over in front of me (causing me to hit the brakes) to go around some dingdong going 30 in the 45 mile per hour zone.

After about the 3rd or 4th incident, it dawns on me - it must be a full moon or it's fast approaching. And, damned if I'm not right when I check the calendar. I don't know what it is that brings out the crazies when the moon is full. But it certainly does seem that way. I mean, hey, the term lunatic does come from lunar, right?

I decided to do a little Googling to see if anyone else feels that a full moon unleashes all sorts of bizarre behavior. Boy, do they ever! There are all kinds of opinions, articles & studies regarding the full moon's effects on our bodies. I looked at several sources & here's what I found.

The first site began with this statement: "People have theorized for thousands of years that the moon has all kinds of impacts on us. It affects fertility, crime rates, dog attacks, and increases blood loss during surgery. It must be a full moon, they say. Full moon tomorrow night! All the crazies will be out!" 

Another website had a similar thought: "The full moon is a pretty popular scapegoat for bad luck and bizarre behavior. Encounter someone acting strangely? Blame it on the lunar phases! It’s said that crime rates increase and emergency rooms are much busier during the full moon. (Plus, there’s that whole werewolf thing!) Why would this be? The reasoning is that the moon, which affects the ocean’s tides, probably exerts a similar effect on us, because the human body is made mostly of water."

Alright, this was all pretty much what I've concluded over the years & the human body being mostly water theory made perfect sense to me.

BUT then I continued reading: "For years, some who work in police and emergency services (such as doctors and nurses) have anecdotally claimed that full moon nights are busier, crazier, and more dangerous than nights when the moon is dim. This perception may be rooted more in psychology than reality. The facts do not corroborate this viewpoint."

It was the Farmer's Almanac that pretty much blew my theory out of the water: "Science has taken the question of the full moon’s effects seriously enough that there have been a number of studies examining the various claims. Nearly all of them have come up empty, though. All have either found no correlation between the moon and human behavior, or were later debunked by other studies that questioned their methods.

"So why the persistent belief, purportedly even among emergency room personnel and police, in the power of the full moon to bring on crazy behavior? One hypothesis, posed in a 1999 issue of the Journal of Affective Disorders, suggested that sleep deprivation, caused by the brightness of the full moon, might have worsened existing mental disorders. Once electric lights were invented, the authors said, the effect was negated, which is why modern studies have found no correlation."

There you have it. The general consensus is that the full moon has no effect on human behavior. I couldn't find one scientific study that confirms a correlation between the full moon & demented behavior. Hmmmm - I don't know about you, but I'm not buying it.

IF I HAD MY LIFE TO LIVE OVER

Erma Bombeck was a wife, a mother of three & a writer back in the last century who popularized "housewife humor". She penned numerous books & newspaper columns that poked fun at the mishaps, day-to-day tragedies, & occasional heartache that comes with caring for a home & raising a family.

The following thoughts on life were widely & wrongly attributed as being written after she found out she was dying from cancer. While Erma Bombeck was definitely the author, the column was written in 1979, seventeen years prior to her death. For the record, she died from complications following a kidney transplant, not cancer, although she had been diagnosed with breast cancer.

It is easy to get caught up in the small, unimportant things in life. Erma Bombeck was a very wise woman who shared profound thoughts with her distinct brand of humor. We would all be well served to take her words to heart - & go light that fancy candle!

IF I HAD MY LIFE TO LIVE OVER 

by Erma Bombeck 

Someone asked me the other day if I had my life to live over would I change anything.

My answer was no, but then I thought about it and changed my mind.

If I had my life to live over again I would have waxed less and listened more.

Instead of wishing away nine months of pregnancy and complaining about the shadow over my feet, I'd have cherished every minute of it and realized that the wonderment growing inside me was to be my only chance in life to assist God in a miracle.

I would never have insisted the car windows be rolled up on a summer day because my hair had just been teased and sprayed.

I would have invited friends over to dinner even if the carpet was stained and the sofa faded.

I would have eaten popcorn in the "good" living room and worried less about the dirt when you lit the fireplace.

I would have taken the time to listen to my grandfather ramble about his youth.

I would have burnt the pink candle that was sculptured like a rose before it melted while being stored.

I would have sat cross-legged on the lawn with my children and never worried about grass stains.

I would have cried and laughed less while watching television ... and more while watching real life.

I would have shared more of the responsibility carried by my husband which I took for granted.

I would have eaten less cottage cheese and more ice cream.

I would have gone to bed when I was sick, instead of pretending the Earth would go into a holding pattern if I weren't there for a day.

I would never have bought ANYTHING just because it was practical/wouldn't show soil/ guaranteed to last a lifetime.

When my child kissed me impetuously, I would never have said, "Later. Now, go get washed up for dinner."

There would have been more I love yous ... more I'm sorrys ... more I'm listenings ... but mostly, given another shot at life, I would seize every minute of it ... look at it and really see it ... try it on ... live it ... exhaust it ... and never give that minute back until there was nothing left of it.

SERIOUS SOAPBOX TIME

Yesterday, two people armed with assault weapons killed 14 people & injured 17 more in yet another senseless mass shooting. This is happening at alarming rates in this country of ours. At some point those of us rational, appalled & disgusted citizens need to step up & say, "Enough is enough."

At this point, I'm not really sure what has to happen to stop this massacre of innocent people. If the killing of 20 elementary school children & 6 teachers in Sandy Hook, New Jersey, didn't bring the huge majority of Americans to unite & stop these horrific murders, I don't know what will. As a grandmother I just want to wrap my Charley in my arms & protect her from this evil. But I can't.

On July 4, 1983, my 81 year old Grandpa Frank & my grandmother, who we called Nannie, left my parent's house at 9:30 PM to drive home to Oakland. We spent the evening eating dinner then setting off fireworks out front. I was 33 years old with a 7 year old son who laughed along with Grandpa Frank as a ground flower "chased" his father after lighting it.

With my son in bed after a fun day of family visiting, I took the call around 10 PM from my mother that Grandpa Frank had been shot & my parents were driving to the hospital to be with Nannie. About an hour later the second call from my mother told me that Grandpa Frank was dead. He had been shot in the head at point blank range as he sat in his car outside of their house.

We could only speculate on what had happened. As always, Grandpa Frank dropped Nannie off in front of the house to go in the front door. He would then drive the car to the detached garage in the back. Nannie would unlock the back door for him. When he didn't come in after several minutes she went back to the front to find him slumped in the car covered in blood - killed seconds after she entered the house. She hurried back into the house to call 9-1-1 but we learned later that he was already dead.

Again, we all had our theories on who committed this senseless murder of an 81 year old man. My father believed it was a robbery gone bad. He still had the $80 in his wallet. My grandfather was a man who called a spade a spade & didn't take any crap from anyone. I believe that someone in the predominantly black neighborhood who he offended decided the Fourth of July was the perfect time to kill him. Whatever the reason, Grandpa Frank was dead & Nannie was a widow.

We were all scared of our own shadows for weeks. Their neighbors were terrified as to who would murder an old man & wondered if they were next. My 7 year old son couldn't comprehend that someone would kill his Grandpa Frank & to be honest, neither could I. It was a horrific time as we packed up Nannie's things. My mother wouldn't let her spend one more night in that house.

So, even though it has been more than 32 years since that traumatic night, it comes back to me every time there is another senseless killing. Only the multiple murders are reported in the news now days. The individual killings, like my Grandpa Frank, don't even warrant a few seconds on TV since they are too numerous. His killer was never found & we've done our best to move on as a family.

My thoughts are that we need to outlaw assault weapons & high powered guns - period. No one needs them. If you want a rifle to hunt, fine. If you want a handgun to protect you, fine - hell, I know how to shoot a gun & I owned one for years. BUT no one, I repeat NO ONE, needs high powered assault weapons.

It is too easy to buy guns & far too easy to take them into schools & other places to kill innocent people. Those of us who believe this is unacceptable need to stand up & say, "Enough is enough!" Write your representative & senator telling them this needs to stop now! Don't vote for the politicians who won't support gun control!

And if any of you reading this disagree & want to tell me why my views are wrong & we should all have AK-47s in our closet, please don't bother. You will never convince me & I won't listen. And maybe, just maybe, if your grandfather is killed by senseless gun violence, you won't either.

Next day note: The newspaper this morning had one line that says it all, "Yes, 14 people were killed in a horrible tragedy yesterday but there were likely also 88 other people killed by gun violence in this country." These killings barely get a mention in the local paper. This has got to stop!

TIME TO GET REAL

Some people have a difficult time throwing old clothes out - that's not me! When I get in the mood, it doesn't take long to rifle through my closet tossing things out right & left. Especially now that I know all the shopping secrets from Ross or Kohl's, it is easy to chuck the old, out of date clothes since I know I can easily & inexpensively replace them. When I run out of hangers, I know it is time for spring, summer, fall or winter cleaning!

This past Saturday morning I tackled my jeans & crop pants drawers. I am 65 years old & don't look half bad (for an old lady!) BUT I don't look like I did when I was 40, or hell, even 50. Not to mention that there are a few more pounds of "junk in the trunk" to deal with. :-)

As I started sorting through all my pants, I realized there were a few pairs that probably dated back 20 years! I was at a loss as to why I was hanging on to some of them since I will never wear them again in this lifetime - even if they did fit, which over half of them didn't. I suppose that somewhere in my twisted mind I was hanging on to the fact that maybe, just maybe, someday I would magically lose 15 pounds & the zippers would just glide up easily. Time to get real, girl!  Ain't gonna happen!

There were even a couple pairs of old jeans that were a size 6 - SIZE 6?? What the hell? I honestly don't ever recall wearing a size 6 past age 25 - long before menopause & senility set in. Those went in the give away pile without even attempting to squeeze my butt into them. I am certainly not that much of a glutton for punishment.

Most of them that joined the size 6s in the Goodwill pile were just a little too tight or way out of style. One of the benefits & pleasures of being 65 is that I no longer wear clothes that aren't comfortable & restrict my breathing. My days of wearing jeans that look great but cut into me at places I really don't want to be cut into are long gone. Not to mention that tight hip-hugger, low cut jeans just don't look good on anyone older than 16 & weighing more than 95 pounds. A 65 year old "muffin top" is not even a little bit flattering.

There were even a few that could only be called bell bottoms back in my era - AKA the 60s. I suppose now they are termed "boot cut" - but since I don't even own a pair of cowboy boots & haven't ridden a horse in a couple of decades, there wasn't any good reason to hang on to them either.

Before our trip last month, I headed to Ross on a Tuesday (10% senior discount day!) to look for new jeans. I hit the jackpot finding 3 pairs that look & fit really good - for less than $50 total including tax! The waist is actually at my waist & they are snug but not too tight. Thank you Gloria Vanderbilt for realizing that some of us are real women, not petite little teen-agers. Plus I have 2 pairs of "jeggings" from last year that work perfectly with long tops & boots so I am set for the upcoming winter.

All in all, I ended up chucking around 30 pairs of pants & about 15 tops. I did save 5 pairs of denim pants that still fit & I might wear at some point. But I am really proud of myself since I am down to 10 pairs of jeans & I have at least 15 empty hangers!

Guess what I'm going to do this afternoon? Yep, I'm heading to Kohl's with my coupon to start finding more bargains to fill up those hangers! Woo Hoo!