The Burlap Soulmate

Just got back from Indianapolis. I could go into infinite detail about our time there, but I just want to record how really really nice it was to just have Staz to myself, no work, no family, no animals, just the two of us. We haven't done that in a while and it felt great.

The Tori show was great too. It was everything that I've learned to expect. A visual feast, more performance arrt than music concert. But the part I enjoy most about these shows is watching the fans, the ones who GET her. The way Staz's eys light up with some new twist or some unexpected set, to watch her eyes shine and her smile broaden until it engulfs her face. Those are the reasons I go to Tori's shows, and I never leave disappointed.

Back to the grind tomorrow, and I'm not even talking about work. There's animals to tend, sills to paint, cars to fix, houses to renovate. But for now, I'm still on vacation, enjoying some gaming, surfing, and sleeping. Good night.

So there we are, innocently rummaging through our rented storage facility for our Christmas stuff, when the sounds of sirens,...that is to say SIRENS comes from outside. As it happens, our storage sits atop a hill that overlooks a major thoroughfare. And as we walk outside to investigate, we see, not 1, not 2, but 7 or 8 local police cars trying to box in a runaway driver. Like something out of the OJ drama so many years back. As they speed past, we can make out that the runaway car has at least two flat tires. As they disappear over the hill, we trade a few looks. Did we just see that?

It would seem so. On our way home, we see the cops clustered around a house just off the highway. The runaway car is sitting on the lawn. This is why I love my wife, well, one of many reasons. Not only does she rubberneck, but she pulls out her map and plots us a route to take us behind and through all of the commotion to get a better look. Which we do. The cops don't seem annoyed. They almost seem to be jovial about the sheer incompetence of the driver and the absurdity of the situation. All in all it was very surreal.

Made even more so by the pictures on the nightly news. As we were leaving the scene we saw the news van pull up, so we knew which station to watch. Alas, there was no fantastic video footage, no pictures of cop cars careening about. If only we had had a camera at the time. We could have given the viewers a show.

I was both lucky enough and blessed with sufficient smarts to attend and graduate from a prestigious Big 10 university. Ok, THE Big 10 University. Still, with regard to football saturday, I was never THAT guy. I never painted my bare chest en route to the game. Never held up a giant foam finger for the cameras. I never tailgated, never shouted obscenities at the opposing team. I never started a bar fight or even a flame war. I was the guy who went to the library during the big game because I KNEW I would have the place to myself. I was the guy who laughed at all my hard core friends, who went to games during below zero temperatures and blizzard conditions while I watched from my cozy dorm room.

So with all that said, can I tell you how much I really REALLY want to win this game? There are so many reasons, none the least of which the hopelessly overhyped Buckeyes will finish at the bottom of the BCS? All those obnoxious Buckeye fans will FINALLY shut up for at least a year. And with any luck, all of the neanderthals calling for Lloyd Carr's head will also go away for a while.

National Championship? I couldn't care less. It's still all about the Rose Bowl for me. I don't care if Albuqurque Junior College beats us, as long as we win the Big 10. And if we can't do that, at least beat Ohio State. We could have a 1-8 record for the season. But as long as that 1 win is you-know-who, I'm a happy camper.

Not to put too fine a point on it...

While not much of a surprise, it's still a sad day for Michigan football. Say what you want, Lloyd Carr was one of the classiest guys in the sport. He helped to continue one of the most revered football programs in the NCAA with nary a hint of scandal, or investigation, or any pretense of wrongdoing. How many successful programs can do that? Even when the University was riddled with scandals in the basketball program, with paid student athletes, revoked titles, stiff penalties, and limited post-season participation for years to come, no one looked twice at the football program.

I actually met the man, back when he was defensive coordinator. In college, I paid the bills by driving a transit bus for the University, and every once in a while we would drive various teams to the airport. On one occasion, myself and four others took the team to their chartered plane at the Ypsilanti airport. (It's good to be in Div 1-A football) While I was very familiar with taking teams to their regular domestic flights at Detroit Metro, the little Ypsi airport proved to be challenge to find for the uninitiated like myself. Trying to keep cool, I radioed my colleagues for instructions, but it eventually became obvious that I was lost. Carr looked at me quizically and asked, "Do you know where you're going?" I had to be honest, and said, "Not exactly, but someone is talking me in." Rather than rip my head off, he just shrugged and said,"Ok, I don't think they'll leave without us." Thus he endeared himself forever to a class of '96 Alum.

I'm very curious to see who will replace him. I hope whoever they are can build upon what he's left and bring the program back to it's glory days.