It's an odd time for Rosh Hashanah. I mean, the Jewish
New Year is always in the fall and the start being in October is a little later than
usual, but the world is different this year. Except for three posts in OctoberandNovember last year, I have not written about the
Israel-Hamas war. I have not written about the protests at many college
campuses across the United States or what appears to be the start of wider war
between Israel and Hezbollah and Iran. I have lots of thoughts and opinions,
but either I don't know how to express them here or don't really want to. (It's
much more of the second option.) I don't want to write something and then
get drawn into a debate about the history of the Middle East or Israeli politics.
While I'm certainly thinking about what is happening in and around Israel and
hope for a peaceful resolution with the release of hostages in Gaza, I want to
wish those who are celebrating a Shana Tova (or Happy New Year).
Here are some maybe happier videos.
Six13 is back, all right!
Disposable plates are the way to go.
Here are two recipes that I will never make.
This video doesn't really have anything to do with Rosh Hashanah. It's just someone taking an hour worth of videos around Jerusalem.
This is a few years old but still funny to me.
Finally, check out this video from the amazing show Parks and Recreation. Starting around the 3:00 minute mark is the reason why.
I share this because there are hundreds of videos every year about the rapture being on Rosh Hashanah. Seems to go perfectly with the Parks and Rec video. Save yourself some time and don't search for those videos on YouTube. They'll be around next year too.
With our mom passing away a few months ago, my brother and I put her home up for sale. Part of this process included cleaning out her place, so last week, we went through her home for likely the last time. We donated some items to a breast cancer charity and others to family friends who will use it to support other organizations. We also threw away a lot of toiletries and other items. It's amazing how many pairs of reading glasses she owned. (These got donated.) We found some fun personal items and pictures and loaded them into her car and drove up north.
Before writing about the road trip, here are a few pictures we found from my younger days. (I'm on the left in both pictures.)
My mom also saved cards from the last 50 years or so. Many cards from my dad included the phrase, I love you more today than yesterday but not as much as tomorrow. Try getting this song out of your head now!
On to the drive.
There is an arms race in South Carolina on interstate 95. There are dozens of billboards advertising Buc-ee's in Florence and South of the Border in Dillon immediately south of the North Carolina-South Carolina border. And Buc-ee's is the clear winner.
I had my first experience at Buc-ee's this trip and was completely overwhelmed. There are dozens of gas pumps outside and thousands of square feet of retail space inside. If you've never been, it's a combination of the non-restaurant portion of Cracker Barrel (on steroids) along with maybe Costco. There are pre-made brisket sandwiches, hundreds of various Buc-ee's merchandise, an entire section for jerky, and every type of snack food you could imagine...while you're surrounded with about 1,000,000 of your closest friends. While I should have used the much discussed clean bathrooms, I just needed to get out. Maybe I'll try again when it's less crowded at 5:00AM on a Tuesday morning! Meanwhile, driving past South of the Border, the place looked like a ghost town. We didn't stop, but we also didn't see anyone on the grounds and only saw a handful of cars in the parking lot. Maybe the place gets more crowded at other times. Like on Tuesdays at 5:00AM instead of a Saturday afternoon.
We stopped at Zaxbys for lunch along the way. Although I did not order the Mr. Beast meal, I made sure to take this picture just to make my kids jealous. I mean, I didn't meet Mr. Beast. Just took a picture of a cardboard cutout! They were jealous.
I'd like to thank the Hampton Inn & Suites in Brunswick, Georgia for being there. Nice hotel, spacious rooms, breakfast included, and right off the highway. Good place to stop after 7 hours.
My brother and I decided to play the license plate game where we tracked the number of license plates by state. Driving from Florida to Virginia, we saw plates from 34 states, DC, and five Canadian provinces. My brother claimed to see two more states (Delaware and Vermont) after dropping me off. In case you are wondering, we did NOT see plates from Arkansas, Colorado, Hawaii, Iowa, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oregon, South Dakota, Utah, Washington, Wisconsin, and Wyoming.
Made it home after 27 hours and just over 1,000 miles. No one is walking 1,000 miles to fall down at your door or to just see you tonight!
This post is being published / was published on September 17th. This is my first post in September. I'm using this post to explain what I've been up to this month. Or maybe more accurately, what my kids have been up to recently.
School started for the kids on Monday, August 19th. The first two weeks represented the calm before the storm. No or limited homework and activities hadn't started yet. We had a significant family event over Labor Day weekend and then the fun began. The events below occurred starting on September 3rd through this past weekend. These are their stories.
* 3 flag football practices for Luigi (2nd grade)
* Cub Scouts pack meeting and a Cub Scouts den meeting for Pedro Tulo (5th grade)
* 1 flag football practice for The Moose (8th grade)
* 3 separate back-to-school nights
* Sunday school for all three kids
* Dentist appointment for The Moose.
* The first flag football games for both Luigi and The Moose
* Basketball try-out for The Moose
* Family outing to a Nationals game for Luigi's birthday
Oh, I should also mention that I saw both Bruce Springsteen & Pearl Jam over the last two weeks (though not together...that would have been a 6-hour show!).
Maybe I'll write more about the concerts later. In any event, there will be more posts soon. Or at some point.
We bought a new washer and dryer set a few months ago. The previous set had some significant problems near the end that made every laundry load an adventure. While the new set isn’t perfect, it’s nice to have a functional and dependable washer and dryer.
Recently, realizing that I left a load of towels in the dryer, I called The Moose and asked him to clear the lint trap and turn up the dryer, so that I could fold it when I got home. While I tried to explain what I thought was a very simple process, he struggled to figure out how the lint trap worked. Eventually, it seemed like he figured it out as he turned up the dryer before we ended the call.
When I got home, I found this.
I have no idea what he did to the lint trap, but it no longer goes all the way in. We have a warranty for the dryer, but I’m not sure it covers “13 year-old.” The dryer still seems to work fine, and I don’t know if this is a big concern or not. I also don’t want to spend the time or money on what is hopefully an easy fix. I guess I can probably just buy a new lint trap, but the point is that I haven’t really taught my kids how to use the washer and dryer. That’s going to change soon. Unless he manages to break something else!
On a different subject, I always called this the lint tray instead of a lint trap. Am I the only one?
Whenever I have the opportunity, I like to watch the first 20 minutes of ABC's Good Morning America. Yes, I know that I'm still 15 years away from being part of the core audience age group, but I enjoy the combination of Robin Roberts, George Stephanopoulos, and Michael Strahan. More importantly, I feel like the show's beginning gives me a good summary of what's going on in the world.
On Monday, Jeff Goldblum stopped by the New York studio to talk about his new show, Kaos. You can watch the video below, but I was too busy trying to figure out his jacket to pay attention to whatever he was promoting.
Is it a Pittsburgh Pirates jacket? It looks like a #13 on the sleeve, so is the jacket celebrating Jose Lind, Carlos Garcia, Adrian Brown, Nate McLouth, and/or Ke'Bryan Hayes? Please let me know if you have any information where this jacket is from or who made it.
By the way, somewhat amazing that this is the first time in over a decade of celebrities in Pittsburgh gear posts that Pittsburgh native Jeff Goldblum made the blog!
Update 8/28: Apparently, this is a Prada jacket, not a Pirates jacket that you can purchase from the Saks Fifth Avenue website for $3,850. That's not $38.50 or even $385.00. That's $3,850! At least you get free shipping with the purchase.
It's been a while since I wrote about attending a concert, but you're in store for a special post filled with witty observations and poor concert videos! Over the weekend (as you can tell by the title), I saw Hootie and the Blowfish, Collective Soul, and Edwin McCain perform at Jiffy Lube Live. I saw Hootie perform at the same venue five years ago and Collective Soul at the 9:30 Club in DC nearly 15 years ago. This was my first Edwin McCain experience, and I'll write more about that later.
Let's start with the headliner. Actually, I want to start with the blue, polo shirt club.
Or maybe the Butt Life guy.
No, let's go with the artists.
In 1995, Hootie and the Blowfish were the biggest musical act in the country. Cracked Rear View (released in 1994, so the band is celebrating its 30th anniversary with this tour) was massive and finished as the highest selling album of the year. If you’re of a certain age (like 45-55 give or take a few years on either end like me and much of the audience), many songs from the album are instantly recognizable and received the biggest reaction during the show. I wrote this after the 2019 show and it still holds true today: Darius Rucker has an amazing voice. Alright. Enough of me writing. Let’s go to a video. I really enjoyed Hootie performing covers during the show including of Led Zeppelin's Hey, Hey What Can I Do, Stone Temple Pilots' Interstate Love Song, Kool & the Gang's Get Down On It, and Losing My Religion by R.E.M. Please note that I don’t record full videos of songs. I never want to be the guy who is watching and experiencing a concert through my cell phone.*
Personal highlight of the night. Guitarist Mark Bryan, who is originally from Silver Spring, Maryland doing a brief "Hail to the Redskins" song and getting booed. Even with a brand new owner and QB, the team still isn't that popular right now. Or there were plenty of Steelers and Dolphins (since the Dolphins make Darius cry) fans in the audience.
2024 is also the 30th anniversary of the first studio album of Lective Oul, I mean Collective Soul. Such an underrated band. I was going through their catalog after the show and realized there were several songs (such as Gel, Better Now, and Why, Pt. 2) that were major hits on various rock, adult, and alternative charts that the band didn't play on Saturday night. I guess that's what happens when you're the opening act and have lots of songs. In honor of Aerosmith's retirement, the band incorporated Livin' On The Edge in the middle of Shine. In both this and the cover of AC/DC's Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap, they enlisted the assistance of Edwin McCain.
Second personal highlight. Collective Soul lead singer Ed Roland concluded their set by talking about unity and love and had audience members hold hands with their neighbors and raise their hands in the air. Several minutes later, a fight nearly broke out in my section. I don't know what happened, but the wife/girlfriend/mistress/friend of one of the guys involved got him out of there. (They never returned.) A fight at a Hootie / Collective Soul / Edwin McCain show? Really?
Finally, I need to write about Win McCain, I mean Edwin McCain. McCain and Rucker/Hootie and the Blowfish go way back. Apparently, Hootie wouldn't sign a record deal without the record company also signing McCain. My joke before the show was that we might hear McCain play "I'll Be" 2-3 times. I forgot that he also sings I Could Not Ask For More. That's my entire knowledge of McCain's catalog. He performed a few other songs too that I didn't recognize, and I don't have any plans on downloading them. Still, McCain was the winner of the night. As I mentioned above, he joined Collective Soul twice during their set, and he also performed with Rucker during Hootie's set. McCain really seems like a down-to-earth guy who has been able to make a nice career out of music (he referenced hearing his song being played at Home Depot and telling his kids that this was paying for community college) and gets to tour and hang out with his friends. He could not ask for more.
* With that written, if I can make millions on YouTube by posting concert videos, I will definitely become that guy who watches and experiences concerts through my cell phone.
On Wednesday, July 31st, Livvy Dunne (social media star / LSU gymnast / Paul Skenes' girlfriend) shared pictures and videos of herself in Paris for the Olympics. Good for her. She has the opportunity to travel and watch some of the best athletes in the world. She shared more pictures yesterday at the Louvre Museum. Again, good for her. I'm jealous.
While I don't know Dunne's travel schedule (that would be stalking!), let's speculate that she left the United States on Tuesday, July 30th. Why am I bringing this up? On that day, the Pirates defeated the Houston Astros 6-2, bringing their record to 55-52 and 2 games out of the final playoff spot. As I'm typing this in the early morning of Friday, August 9th, the Pirates are 56-58 and 4.5 games out of the playoffs and behind several other teams.
The Pirates have gone 1-6 since Dunne left the country. Sure, most people will point to the bullpen for the team's downturn, but I think there is a correlation between the team's success and Dunne being in Paris. The players know that Dunne isn't watching their games being multiple time zones away. They feed on her support. Therefore, the Pirates organization needs to do everything in its power to get Dunne to return to the United States as soon as possible. Once she's back on American soil, the team will start winning again. Just like the late* George Zimmer says:
* Late of Men's Warehouse. George Zimmer is still with us.
The photo / screenshot above are from Livvy Dunne's Instagram page.
I really like Coco Gauff. She's the present and the future of American tennis. I'm rooting for her to win the gold medal in Paris and the US Open next month. However, there is no reason why she should have been the flag-bearer for the United States. This is Gauff's first time competing in the Olympics. The people honored to carry/hold the flag should have multiple trips to the Olympics, and for America, multiple medals from previous games.
Staying with the opening ceremonies, I was stunned seeing Rafael Nadal carrying the torch. I understand that he's loved in France for winning 181 French Open titles, but he's from Spain. The torch should be reserved for home-country athletes. I'll give a comparison. Nikola Jokic from Serbia is arguably the best active player in the NBA. Even if he wins the NBA MVP each of the next 4 years and the Denver Nuggets win all of the NBA titles during this time, he's not going to carry the torch in Los Angeles in 2028.
I'll make an exception to this statement. Let's say you are an Olympic star from a nation that is never going to host the Olympics. Think Usain Bolt. The International Olympic Committee is not going to have the games in Jamaica, so he could be part of lighting the torch in a different country. Serena Williams and Carl Lewis should (and will) be part of the opening ceremonies in LA. No reason for them to be part of the Paris torch ceremony.
Early prediction for lighting the torch in LA in 2028: 2-time Olympic gold medalist and one of the most famous people on earth: Michael Jordan.
Enough criticism. Let's get to the good stuff.
Go to the 4:25 mark of the US women's rugby highlight video. Ilona Maher is just awesome.
I've really enjoyed watching handball. I don't understand all of the rules, and there seems to be a foul on every play (and it's extremely difficult for goalies to make saves), I have two questions.
1. Why is one player (and sometimes two players) always in the corner and get the ball maybe once every 15 possessions?
2. Who decided to use a car horn blast in handball? (Go to the 4:30 mark of this video to hear it). I have flashbacks to being at a friend's house and my dad honking from the car to pick me up!
NBC showed a fantastic segment of Mary Carillo with a snail farmer and an escargot restaurant. If I can find it, I will share it here later. (Of course, NBC Sports isn't allowed videos to be played on sites other than YouTube.)
Teremoana Teremoana is a great name and looks extremely intimidating in the boxing ring. I'm rooting for him!
I miss Ric Blas not being at the Olympics. (If you don't know who this is, please go through my archives including my interview with him.)
Enjoy the games!
Photos by Team USA; Corbis/VCG via Getty Images; Dan Himbrechts/AAP Photos
In the earlier days of this blog, I regularly had Trivia Tuesday posts. They became less and less popular, so I stopped writing them. While I have no plans on bringing the Trivia Tuesday posts back, I thought I would try some old-school Pittsburgh trivia questions. Please leave your answers in the comment sections below.
1. Who was with Quinn in the morning?
2. Where does the place go crazy every 16 minutes?
3. Who said it would?
4. Fill in the blank: Don't say Olds, say ________ Olds.
5. What is the name of this sticker?
6. What is just minutes from the mall and on what street is this located?
7. What is Edgar Snyder's original phone number? (No area code necessary.)
8. What is Rusted Root's most-successful song?
9. Who is this?
10. What restaurant (probably best known for their roast beef sandwiches) had the slogan, "Fast Food with Style?"
Good luck! (There are no prizes, so please don't cheat. Even if there were prizes, still don't cheat.)
When I worked at The Ohio State University, my organization created a speaker series. This series was a fundraiser from donors in the Columbus community since the speakers didn't really appeal to most 18-24 year old college students. For example, Ira Glass of This American Life was one speaker. I didn't know anyone at the time in that age range that listened to NPR. While I don't remember any of the other speakers, there was one exception of an individual who appealed to college students and beyond: Dr. Ruth Westheimer.
Dr. Ruth was exactly like she appeared on television. A small woman with a distinctive accent talking frankly about topics many people don't discuss openly. I don’t remember what she had to say (this was 20+ years ago), but she signed books after her talk. I mention this because I recently thought to myself that I would write a post about Dr. Ruth and the fact that I have a signed copy of her Sex for Dummies book (“For Dummies” books were a really popular genre back then) when she passed away. The book is in a box somewhere in my home, and I haven’t seen it or thought about Dr. Ruth in years. And just randomly, I thought about a potential blog post about this topic within the last week or two.
So now, I feel somewhat responsible for her death. Therefore, I’m writing to apologize to Dr. Ruth’s family and friends. It seems like she lived a very full and fulfilling life. May her memory be a blessing.
I've mentioned multiple times that I have been in the same fantasy/rotisserie baseball league since 1992. I have won the league just twice during this time in 2014 and 2016. My team is off to an amazing start where I'm in first place in 8 of the 10 categories and have a huge lead in overall points. Since it is only April, I figure there's no way that my team can keep up this pace. My apologies in advance to Mookie Betts, Fernando Tatis Jr., Elly De La Cruz, Zac Gallen, Tyler Glasnow, and William Contreras who I expect will all get injured in the next few months.
Sure enough Mookie Betts, Fernando Tatis, Jr., Xander Bogaerts, Zac Gallen, Javier Assad, and now Tyler Glasnow have all been on the injured list. J.T. Realmuto, who I acquired in a trade, is also hurt.
Except for Assad, all of these players are or have been all-stars. Somehow, I'm hanging on to first place with guys like Hunter Goodman, Brett Wisely, Donovan Solano, Michael Toglia, Kyle Freeland, and the corpse of Chris Taylor, all playing prominent roles on my team.
Still, if some of these guys get healthy, I like my chances. (Please come back soon Mookie and Fernando!)
While I don't remember how I learned about it, I took the boys to several Potomac League baseball games in Tysons last summer. They had a great time. It's an intimate experience watching collegiate baseball players play, and you're so close that you can clearly see and hear all of the action.
We've attended two games so far this season, and in the first game, all three boys got league T-shirts, Pedro Tulo (10) participated in an on-field dizzy bat race, and The Moose (13) and Luigi (6) competed in a between-inning bocce ball contest where they rolled a ball from near the pitcher's mound to get the ball closest to home plate. (Luigi defeated his brother and two other older kids.) I think my kids are well-known among the league since they are the only kids approaching players for autographs after the game.
Despite going to games the last two summers, I didn't really know much about the league. So I sent some questions to the league, and intern Ella was nice enough to respond.
1. When did the Potomac League begin?
The Potomac League had its first season last summer in 2023, previously it was known as NVCL.
2. How does the league find players to participate? Is there someone that recruits local high school graduates now playing in college?
Players are knowledgeable about the league due to many reasons. Capital One Park is the home field for Marymount University, and all of the coaches in the league are high school coaches in the area. These players are all primarily from the Northern Virginia area, and players recruit college teammates, and coaches recruit former players.
3. How are the teams selected? Is there a draft?
Yes, players are selected by a draft that is held in the middle of spring.
4. It seems like each team plays about 5 days a week. Do some of the players have other jobs or internships during the summer?
Yes, some players do have jobs while playing in the league. We try to plan our schedule so that teams play at different times during the week, which in turn helps those who have internships or jobs be able to work a bit later during the week if they are in the 6:45 game.
5, For you personally, how did you get involved with the league? Has it been everything you hoped it would be?
I found out about the league through my Athletic Communications Director at Marymount University. We are lucky enough that Capital One Park is our home field and I was able to apply for the internship last year. I loved it so much, I decided to come back for a second year. We have a great group of players, a wonderful fan base & a strong leadership committee that makes showing up everyday easy!
Thanks to Ella for answering my questions. Since my kids are still young enough for free admission, it only cost me $10 to attend a game ($5 for a ticket and $5 for parking). Great deal. While this isn't the major leagues and I prefer a grass field to a turf one, the games are competitive and fun to watch. If you're in the DC/Northern Virginia area, check out a game.
More information about the Potomac League is available on their website.
Back in March, I wrote about a hawk living on my street. And no this was not Dominique Wilkins or Tre Young. Over the last few months, several other hawks joined the original. While they were loud, I was fascinated being so close to them.
The unfortunate side effect was that one parking spot on our street was completely unusable unless you were okay with you car being unclean.
About two weeks ago, our street was repaved. Between the loud equipment and the asphalt smell, I believe that the hawks abandoned their nest and moved about a block away. I still hear the hawks, but it's less frequent now, and I haven't seen one in the nest lately. I'm not an ornithologist (yes, I had to look up this word) nor do I play one on the internet, so I don't know if they will return to the nest on my street.
As for the Tua portion of this post, I think Miami Dolphins QB Tua Tagovailoa will have a good 2024 season.
On Sunday just after lunch, Luigi (6) lost his second tooth. He was very excited. We put his tooth in a bag for him to put under his pillow and went to our neighborhood swimming pool. We then had family over for dinner, and after they left, I went grocery shopping at Wegmans. After getting the kids ready for bed, I did a little work and watched some TV before falling asleep on the couch. I finally woke up after 3:00, cleaned Lucy’s litter box and took a shower since I never did that after swimming. Nothing like a 4:00 AM shower! I went to sleep and woke up only a few hours later to go to work.
As I was getting ready to leave, Luigi woke up and was on the verge of tears holding the bag with his tooth. Crap! The tooth fairy completely forgot to do his, I mean, her job. I tried to calm him down by calling the tooth fairy. He heard me leave a message for her (on my work voicemail), and then he decided to lay down on my bedroom floor. With the bag in my hand and then put in my pocket, the tooth fairy magically put $2 under his pillow. I told Luigi to go back to bed and that the tooth fairy would come soon. Fortunately, he must have been too tired or upset to think about putting the tooth back under his pillow or to look to see if money was there. About 10 minutes later, he got out of bed and happily showed off the $2.
SAVE!
* Looking at the bottom of his mouth, we're fully aware that braces are in Luigi's future.
I am writing this post from a bus. For the first 15 years of this blog (this blog is so old!), this was a common occurrence. Nearly everyday, I took the bus to the Metro to get to work. Then the pandemic hit, and I worked from home. When I returned to the office, the thought of cramming onto crowded Metro trains seemed less appealing.
There have definitely been pros and cons to my commute to work by car. I listen to more podcasts. I’m able to talk on the phone with family. I have more flexibility as to when I leave my home and office. Conversely, I spend a lot more money on gas. I read much less and get less exercise from not walking to and from Metro stations and my office. I also write less frequently and don’t get my afternoon power naps.
Over the last 4 years, I’ve probably taken the bus and Metro to work about 20 times, and that number might be high. Because of me and others who similarly adjusted their commuting routines or work remotely, my bus route is being eliminated. I’m disappointed, but I’m certainly not mad. It doesn’t make sense to keep this route. I’m about to get off the bus at the Metro station, and there are 5 of us on the bus including the driver. Yes, it’s a Friday and the summer, but this number wouldn’t be significantly higher on a Tuesday in March.
Next week, there is a new route going through my neighborhood. The bus will take me to a newly built transit center where I will transfer to another bus before getting to the Metro. It probably won’t make much sense for me to take this new route most days. I realize I am fortunate to have a car allowing me options to get to work, so I may drive to the free parking garage at the transit center and take the bus from there to Metro. It’s not perfect, but it will save money on gas, and there are more frequent buses to and from the transit center to the Metro station. It may be a good compromise. In the meantime, thanks to all my bus drivers, familiar faces I’ve seen on the bus over the years, and everyone else who administers the bus operations and allows the buses to run.
Changing the subject, you’ve probably noticed that I’ve barely written any posts the last few months. I’m finding it difficult to focus on writing since my mom passed away. (The bus is actually helping with this right now since I can’t stand up and do anything else!) I’m struggling to write thank-you notes to people who honored my mom with various donations. I also feel like I need to finish the thank-you notes before writing a new blog post. Just know that I’m (slowly) working on it and am excited to write about some fun things I’ve been able to do recently.
New Steelers quarterback Russell Wilson is certainly making the rounds. He had an impressive introductory press conference as a member of the Steelers, threw out the first pitch at a recent Pirates games, and over the weekend, Wilson went on stage during the Zac Brown Band concert.
He seems loved by most of Pittsburgh right now, but that could change quickly if he has multiple interceptions in his first game. With that written, we’re hoping for big things from Wilson and wish him success. I also want to hear Ciara perform a new version of the song “Pittsburgh’s Going to the Super Bowl.”
Thanks to OneBURGH for the picture. Please click here for all of my Celebrities in Pittsburgh Gear posts.
It's really easy to take people for granted. You see someone regularly and you figure that they'll always be there.
Even before we registered The Moose for kindergarten, we rushed to sign him up for the before and after care program at the elementary school. And I really do mean rushed. Registration was conducted by calling a phone number at a specific time. Both my wife and I called with cell phones and our home phone like we were attempting to win concert tickets from a radio station contest. While we were on a waitlist for months, The Moose received a spot just a few weeks before he started kindergarten.
Signing him up for the before and after care program at the school was one of the best decisions we made. Pedro Tulo and Luigi followed The Moose into the same program and are there before and after school nearly everyday. The staff is incredible, and they really care about the kids. That's why this is so sad.
One of the staff members at the before and after care program who had been at the school since before The Moose started kindergarten passed away over the weekend. It was completely unexpected and shocking to the entire community. He knew everyone at the school and participated in nearly all of the school activities. He was such a positive and caring person and truly greeted everyone with a smile. For us personally, we valued his relationship with our kids. He was interested in how they did in their sporting events and listened to them tell him about what they were doing.
I feel like I've heard many news stories over the years of crisis counselors or teams being available at schools. This is the first time I've seen it in person. Although I didn't drop the kids off at school on Monday, the principal, vice principals, school counselors, and county staff were all present. One of the guidance counselors specifically met with Pedro Tulo (4th grade) knowing how well he knew the staff member. Later in the day, Luigi (1st grade) and several of his classmates met with another counselor and made a card for the teacher's family. I'm sure this was driven by the school staff since Luigi doesn't really understand what's happening.
I dropped off Pedro Tulo and Luigi at school on Tuesday, and that's when things set in for me. The other before and after care staff looked tired and sad, the county staff were talking to each other, and the kids were playing board games like nothing happened. It was surreal.
We told The Moose (7th grade) that the staff member took his own life, and he didn't understand why. I agreed. This was an individual who was so caring and positive. I tried to explain that you never really know what's going on in someone's life and that it's important to talk with people who you trust and love. Meanwhile, I continue to read heartfelt tributes about him online, and we made a donation to the GoFundMe page for his wife and young son. I feel particularly awful for them.
I'll conclude this post by simply writing that it is okay to share feelings with people you trust. While I realize that I'm not very good at doing this, I know that there are people around me who are available to listen. There are numerous resources available if you need to talk with someone. You're not alone.
About a year ago, my mom noticed that she had less and less of an appetite. She would eat a few bites and be full. After several months of seeing various doctors and undergoing a variety of tests, she was diagnosed with stomach cancer in July. My mom met with several more doctors and learned about what treatment would entail. It was a lot. And even after months of chemo, rebuilding her entire stomach, and having a feeding tube, the likelihood of the cancer returning within two years was significantly higher than other types of cancer. After seeing my dad fight lung cancer and living on her own in Florida with my brother and I up north, she decided it wasn't worth it to receive treatment. She was ready to go out on her terms.
However, things aren't that easy. It's not like you receive a cancer diagnosis and then pass away immediately. While I could write a separate blog post about healthcare coverage in the United States in terms of end of life care, I'll simply write that my mom was able to prepare for dying. Over a period of months, she would randomly email or text my brother and I with people we needed to contact or things we needed to do. She also donated clothes and other household items. She was able to live in her own home, went out occasionally, and had friends visit. Barely eating, she became weaker and weaker and any type of activity would tire her easily. She was able to watch The Moose's Bar Mitzvah online in early April, and I really think she was holding on to see it.
My mom passed away last week. She had been on hospice for months but that only meant that a nurse, social worker, or doctor would stop by the home every few weeks. Over the last month or so, the nurse visited more frequently until my mom was placed on crisis care where a hospice nurse was there 24 hours a day. My brother and I were able to make it to Florida in time to be with her when she passed away.
I realize that the first three paragraphs of this post are about my mom's sickness and death. She would definitely not want to be remembered like this. She was a vibrant person who loved doing things like going to concerts or musicals and especially loved doing these things as a grandmother. She wanted her five grandkids to remember fun experiences with her. We went to the circus, Legoland in Philadelphia, various kids museums and parks in south Florida, and most importantly, a cruise to the Bahamas last April. At the funeral and at the shiva minyan, her grandkids all talked about how much fun they had on the cruise. That's truly how her grandkids will remember her.
As for me, I'll remember my mom as always being there to talk. When I lived in San Diego or had late night papers in college and grad school, I could call at any hour, and she would be awake and available. Yes, my dad coached me in baseball and soccer as a kid, but my mom was always at my games and musicals and Cub Scout events. She was loyal to her family and friends, to her hometown of East Liverpool, and to Pittsburgh. She also didn't join a group just to join. She got involved in activities becoming a board member or building director. She also loved to travel and went on cruises regularly after my parents moved to Florida.
Two fun stories that I"m not sure everyone knows.
* My mom did not attend her prom but instead went to a Pittsburgh Pirates game with her uncle.
* My parents dated for two weeks before getting engaged and got married four months later. They shared the same birthday and also the same anniversary.
Even though she's only been gone for days, I've already found myself wanting to call my mom to tell her something about my kids or about conversations I've had with people who knew and loved her. She is and will definitely be missed.
I'm in several different soccer referee groups and receive countless emails per week from assigners looking for referees to work games. Instead of countless, I decided to see how many I actualy receive per week. From Monday, April 8 at 12:01 AM through Sunday, April 14 at 11:59 PM, I received 63 emails about working games. 63!!
We're now at the halfway point of Passover where I question the amount of food I have for the remainder of the holiday. Sure, I probably eat more fruits, vegetables, and eggs during Passover than the rest of the year and that's easy to get, but I'm never sure if I have enough matzo, macaroons, or Molly's Passover cakes, which is what my kids eat for breakfast during the holiday. We're also at the point where there is limited or no Kosher for Passover foods at most local grocery stores. By the way, the Molly's cakes aren't going to make it to Tuesday!
I miss the days when you could transfer your balance on one credit card to a brand new credit card with no transfer fees and at 0% APR for a certain period of time. It seems like every credit card company now charges a 4% transfer fee on the amount of funds transferred.
I've mentioned multiple times that I have been in the same fantasy/rotisserie baseball league since 1992. I have won the league just twice during this time in 2014 and 2016. My team is off to an amazing start where I'm in first place in 8 of the 10 categories and have a huge lead in overall points. Since it is only April, I figure there's no way that my team can keep up this pace. My apologies in advance to Mookie Betts, Fernando Tatis Jr., Elly De La Cruz, Zac Gallen, Tyler Glasnow, and William Contreras who I expect will all get injured in the next few months.
I don't think it's an overstatement that Woodland Hills High School has one of the best public high school theater programs in the country. This year's show is "Wonderland," and WHHS is one of only two high schools in the country to perform this pilot musical based on Peter Pan. Check out the story/video about the show by WTAE.
I owed money to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) this year. Not fun. With a lot going on, instead of going to the post office and getting some type of delivery receipt, I simply put the payment in an envelope and mailed it from a neighborhood mailbox on approximately March 15th.
My wife signed up for the postal service's daily digest. While I like the surprise of opening the mailbox and seeing what's inside each day, she receives daily emails with pictures of envelopes of what will be in the mailbox that day. It's pretty neat. On March 20th, she received a picture of the letter that I sent to the IRS. Immediately, I got concerned that maybe I used the wrong stamp and that it was being returned. However, the letter was not in our mailbox. On March 25th, we received another picture of the envelope to the IRS, and again, it did not appear in our mailbox.
Fast forward several weeks, and the check still did not clear the bank, and we never received the envelope back. With the April 15th tax due date quickly approaching, I called the IRS who confirmed that they did not receive the payment. I called USPS, and they had no idea where the mail went. So somewhere in the world, there is currently a check with our address and social security numbers on the check. Lovely.
I called the bank and cancelled the check. Then, I just paid the IRS online which is what I should have done originally. The payment went through on April 12th. Monday afternoon, I looked at my bank account online and saw there was a pending payment to the IRS. Of course, I thought, the check arrived and is being processed. I contacted my bank who said that this was a second online payment. While I have no idea why there was a second payment, the bank cancelled that transaction. The mail/check is still a mystery.
Based on my experience this year, I think I just won't pay the IRS again. I'm sure that will be fine for everyone involved!
EARLY JUNE UPDATE:
It's still not over! Since my post nearly two months ago, I received a check in the mail from the IRS. The online system processed my payment twice, and although I cancelled the second payment with my bank, the IRS did not receive the cancellation. Therefore, they sent me a refund check for the second payment. In talking with an IRS representative, instead of just ripping up the check and being done with it, I need to cash the check and send another payment to balance everything out. This is apparently easier than the process of ripping up the check.
Since that phone call, I received a letter from the IRS indicating that they received the initial check (about 4 weeks after I mailed it and after the April 15th deadline) but that they could not cash it since the check was cancelled. I'm just ignoring that one.
If you're scoring at home, I have now paid the IRS by check and sent two payments online (though the system processed it three times). I have cashed a check and cancelled two payments through my bank. I really hope I'm done now.
The Moose recently turned 13 and celebrated his Bar MItzvah. This is a very big deal. A Bar Mitzvah (for a boy) or a Bat Mitzvah (for a girl) is a coming of age ceremony in Judaism. He went from being a boy to becoming a man. Let's celebrate with a little Motownphilly!
The Moose read from the Torah and led a significant portion of the Shabbat (Sabbath) services. He worked really hard learning prayers in Hebrew and taking weekly lessons over about a 10-11 month period. He did an amazing job.
While I could (and probably should) write more about the Bar Mitzvah and celebration, this post is about the program we created for the service. Actually, this is about the fake program that I created that was not distributed during the service. Here are a few excerpts:
The Bar/Bat Mitzvah ceremony takes place when a Jewish child reaches the age of 13. The word Bar Mitzvah means “son of a mitzvah.” Son of a mitzvah sounds much better than a different expression starting with “son of a.” Clearly, this is in reference to the Dusty Springfield song, Son of a Preacher Man. Are you thinking of something else? A mitzvah is an action which connects Jews both to the divine and to all other Jews past, present, and future. In practical terms, this means that this is the age when a Jewish child is considered old enough to assume the rights and responsibilities of Jewish adulthood. The Moose will now be expected to fulfill these moral and ethical commandments throughout his daily life. As an adult, he is also expected to start paying rent and make meals for his brothers. Cleaning the cat’s litter box would also be appreciated.
During the Torah service, the weekly reading is divided into sections, each called an aliyah. At least eight people, including The Moose, will be honored by being called up for an aliyah to the Torah. Before and after each section of the Torah is read, the individual called up for that aliyah recites a blessing or sings songs/reads lyrics of songs by the late singer/actress Aaliyah, most notably from “Try Again” or “Are You That Somebody.” Those with Pittsburgh ties may choose to sing “Ah, Leah” by Donnie Iris.
Two books are used during the service – Lev Shalem, the smaller red prayerbook, and Etz Hayim, the larger red volume, which contains the Torah, selections from the Prophets, and commentary. There used to be a third book, The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, but the rabbis determined that scarlet was not the correct shade of red. The rabbis do approve of the scarlet and gray. O-H!
I also had fun including various celebrities like Adam Sandler, Drake, Natalie Portman, Mila Kunis (A Black Swan reunion!), Benny Blanco, Gal Gadot, Rowdy Tellez, Deni Avdija, and others as receiving honors during the service. Dolly Parton and the late Kenny Rogers (via hologram) are listed as reading the poem "No Religion is an Island" since they like islands (in streams).
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