Category Archives: Diversions

The stuff that didn’t fit elsewhere.

Sports

A Vexing Season

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What an odd season.

Several milestones were passed or set, among them several sluggers surpassing the 500 HR mark and one closer passing the 500 save mark. Other “big” things happened, too, although I choose not to mention certain players who I feel have brought a black eye to a game I love very much.

But perhaps the oddest thing for this beaten-down, long-suffering Cubs fan is that my team made the playoffs. The Cubs, who have cost me no small amount of pain in the past, managed to pull it together and mess up less than everyone else in the NL Central.

Early on, it looked like a catastrophe in the making. In early June, we were way under .500 and no one — I mean no one — was happy. The players weren’t happy, the manager wasn’t happy, the fans weren’t happy. It was like so many other seasons. In years past, however, a bad Cubs team in June wasn’t something that brought so much anger to Cubbies near and far. To understand why there was so much anger, we have to go back in time …

Continue reading A Vexing Season →

Music

Mid-week shuffle

  1. The Girl from Ipanema, Astrud Gilberto
  2. Stayin’ Alive, The Bee Gees
  3. Why, Oh Why, Woody Guthrie
  4. Sissyneck, Beck
  5. Jesus Christ, Mike Mills and Sally Ellyson
  6. Every Little Thing She Does, The Police
  7. The People in Your Neighborhood, Sesame Street
  8. Rocketship, Justin Roberts
  9. The Mariner’s Revenge Song, The Decemberists
  10. Guitar, Flute and String, Moby
  11. Miles From Our Home, Cowboy Junkies
  12. I Should Have Known Better, Yo La Tengo
  13. Highway Song, James Taylor
  14. The Jessica Numbers, The New Pornographers
  15. Cry One More Time, Gram Parsons
Screen time

Out of Time

Nichole — and, for that matter, anyone who knows me — will attest to the fact that I like some strange things. There are even times when I look back and think: “Hmm, maybe that was a little strange.”

Perfect example: In 1994, on any given day, my attire may have consisted of a Neil Young T-shirt, leather vest, high-top hiking shoes, flannel shorts and tall socks. There’s picture proof of this very outfit. Just ask Nichole.

Anyway, I like some odd things, but sometimes the things I like are just what I like to call “out of time.” In other words, things that seem to fit me regardless of what time period they are from. I never really felt like a Gen X-er or for that matter a Gen Y-er. The tags never felt comfortable. Nichole would say that I was born a decade late and that I missed my prime window: the 1970s. I tend to like books from the 70s (Child of God = creepy), movies from the ’70’s (“Jaws,” “Vanishing Point,” “The Sting“), music from the ’70s (as I write this I am listening to “I Got A Name” by Jim Croce, and the last song was “Kid Charlemagne” by Steely Dan). The latter is what got me thinking about writing this post: I was having one of those “out of time” feelings. Because I’m sitting here thinking the following: “I sure wish I could go home and watch some ‘Rockford Files.’ ”

I adore “The Rockford Files.” I remember watching re-runs with my dad back in the day, and I have been a fan ever since. I watched all the TV movies on first run back in the ’90s. And when they began releasing the series on DVD last year … all I can say is, a tear formed in my eye. I don’t know what it is I like so much about the show. Maybe it’s the writing, which really is quite good. Maybe it’s James Garner. Who knows.

We are now the proud owners of seasons 1-4. Soon season 5 will be ours, oh yes it will.

If you ever want to watch the show and understand the fascination, complete with cheesy intros, come on over and we’ll settle back and watch together. Because, quite honestly, there is nothing better than kicking back with a tall drink after a long day, Poppy asleep, dishes washed from dinner, knowing that all I have to do now is let Mike Post take me away to Rockford land. Trust me, you’ll be glad you came.

Oh, and right now in my headphones, Styx is beckoning me to “Come Sail Away.”