Weekend Wrap-Up

wrap up

Because of my “real job” work schedule, I have Thursday-Saturdays off. I have my sons three weekends a month, and I love that time with them. One weekend a month, my wife get a “date” weekend. This past weekend was that weekend.

Thursday

Thursday is usually a short day, because I work the night before. I sleep late into the afternoon, and then begin the process of going from “midnight” mode to “daytime” mode. Thursday night, Sam and I didn’t feel like cooking, so we went to our favorite restaurant for dinner.

luckys_fenton-768x297

I LOVE Lucky’s! Not surprising I am a “meat and potatoes” guy. I usually get a Filet Mignon and baked potato. Because I am currently on Weight Watchers, I opted for broccoli instead of the potato this time. I also drank water, instead of beer. The steak was cooked to perfection, as always. I love when a steak is cooked and seasoned so right, you don’t need to put anything in it. I always ask for steak sauce, but never use it.

Friday

Friday is “weigh in” day for me. After the BIG meal the night before, I stepped on the scale hoping I had lost weight. Happily, I was down 4 pounds and that took me to an overall milestone.

30 pounds weight - SMALL

What an amazing feeling to be down 31 pounds. Years ago, when I first did Weight Watchers, I hit a 30 pound loss on the week of my 30th birthday. I was a bit lighter then, but I am working toward being down to where I was the first time I did it. The journey continues!

***

I am not ashamed to admit that I’ve been seeing a therapist since before my divorce. I needed to have someone who was non-biased to talk to. It was a decision that I am glad to have made. She has helped me in so many ways. I have learned much about myself, and gained many skills through our visits. I had an appointment Friday morning. She, once again, hit on something that really helped me. I’ve been struggling with something outside of my home life and she helped put some things in perspective. Those moments are awesome. It should help a lot moving forward. It’s always a good thing to be able to talk to someone who sees things in a different way and can offer honest opinions and advice.

***

Sam had a practice exam she had to do for her final clinical class. It was a three hour test that is helping her prepare for the actual test she needs to take for her new credentials. While she worked on that, I finished the book I was reading.

first conspiracy

Can you imagine America without George Washington? Me either! Hell, he’s one of the first famous people you learn about in elementary school. I went to elementary long before there was President’s Day. When I was in school, we celebrated Washington’s Birthday and Lincoln’s Birthday in February. Washington, the “Father of our Country”, was almost NOT.

This book is a work of non-fiction by one of my favorite authors, Brad Meltzer. As a history buff, I was excited to read this. This all takes place prior to the Revolutionary War, the signing of the Declaration of Independence, and his presidency. As a matter of fact, I was surprised at just how close to the start of the war and July 4, 1776 all this took place.

You get a really good picture as to what kind of man Washington was. Through excerpts of his letters, you see the various struggles he faced and the stress he bore on his shoulders. You really get a sense of the weight and pressure that was on him during this turbulent time in our nation’s history. You also see the “birth” of counter-intelligence. It’s a very good read.

Turn

The book takes place prior to the Revolutionary War primarily, but it does touch on the first few battles of it. It mentions the “Culper Ring,” which was a group of spies that Washington used to gain information throughout the war. AMC did a very cool series surrounding the Culper Ring in the series Turn, which I believe is still on Netflix. Ian Kahn played Washington in the series.

Washington

I watched the entire series, but now that I have read this book, I think I am going to revisit it.

***

We spent part of the day grocery shopping and we made turkey burgers for dinner. We then retired to the couch to relax. The original plan was to watch a movie, but when we turned the TV on, the Tigers were on, so we watched the game. It was their “Pink Out the Park” game.

PinkOutthePark2019

As you know, my mother and grandmother both died of breast cancer. I wish I had known that it was “Pink Out” day. If I had, I may have gotten tickets to the game. I LOVE when professional sports supports a cause like this.

The Tigers lost (miserably, I might add). Tiger fans are living through more of the “we are building” stage. Basically, that means we’re going to suck for a few years. Maybe, because of this, I haven’t really been watching or listening to a lot of games this year. At any rate, the game was one of the first ones I really got to sit and listen to the broadcasters.

Matt and Kirk

Matt Shepard and Kirk Gibson were calling the game. I was quite disappointed. Don’t get me wrong, I love Gibby as a ball player, but as an announcer, he is boring and monotone. If there wasn’t a game to watch, and it was just audio, I would have fallen asleep. I guess I was lucky to have watched George Kell and Al Kaline call games on TV, and Ernie Harwell and Paul Carey call games on radio when I was growing up.

***

After the game was over, Sam and I tuned in for one of our favorite shows – Live PD.

Live PD

I have dissed “reality” shows before. This, however, is not Survivor, the Bachelor, American Idol, America’s Got Talent, or those other shows about winning money or a bride. This is real cops doing their job. I LOVE this show! There are some other variations of this show – Live Rescue and PD Cam – which are good too. In my many years on the radio, I have interviewed police, fire, and rescue people before and I ALWAYS made sure to say “thank you.” They are out there putting their lives on the line, saving lives, and keeping us safe. Live PD is a guilty pleasure.

Host Dan Abrams has actually wrote a couple books I want to read: Lincoln’s Last Trial and Theodore Roosevelt for the Defense. Definitely, two to add to my stack of books to read.

Saturday

Saturday started early, as usual, for me. I have to be up early so I can get to the radio station to be on air at 9.

Moose small

I worked for the Moose years ago full time. I left to take a morning show position. I was so grateful to be asked to return part-time. The staff hasn’t changed much since I left and it’s like returning home to family. I truly enjoy being back there.

***

I woke up Saturday feeling like I might have a sinus infection. This is never a good thing for me. Upon feeling those symptoms, I need to act fast. If I don’t, I wind up with vertigo. Every time I have ever gotten vertigo, it has happened because of a sinus infection. Unlike, Mel Brooks poking fun at it in High Anxiety…..

vertigo

…it’s not fun. It is crippling! The last time I had it, I couldn’t even sleep in a bed. I had to sleep sitting up. The dizziness is SO bad. I swear, I wouldn’t wish it on my worst enemy. You have no control over anything. You can barely turn your head. EVERY little movement can cause you dizziness. It’s awful.

Because of this, Sam and I went to the Urgent Care and I got checked out. Definitely the start of a sinus infection. So they gave me some steroids to bring down the swelling, told me to up the Flonase and sent me on my way. So far – so good. Fingers crossed!

***

While we were filing the fridge Friday night after grocery shopping, Sam pulled out the package of bacon that was in there. She looked at me and said, “You know….BLT’s sound really good. We should do that for dinner tomorrow.” Behold the power of bacon!!

Tomatoes - Summer 2016

So, we had BLT’s for dinner! “You’re on a diet, though, Keith” you say? Yes, indeed. And Turkey bacon works just as well! Sam had hers on bread and I had mine in a low carb wrap – BLT wraps are just as good!!

The Week Ahead …

I may have a Guest Blogger lined up in response to my earlier blog. If you have a story about us you’d like to share, a favorite memory, or a story that one of my blogs reminded you of – I’d love to hear it. Let me know.

It’s back to work for me, tonight, but I have a very important appointment to keep this week. It can mean some big changes on the horizon. It’s exciting. If all goes well, I will be sharing the “breaking news” in the days ahead ….

BREAKING-NEWS

Until then … Have a great week. See you Tuesday for Tune Tuesday.

The “Carlson” Boys of Summer

Baseball - backyard

I took the above picture while standing in my backyard before I left for work. Baseball practice has begun for our school district. I always enjoy watching the kids and coaches work on plays. Today they spent some time working on fielding a bunt and throwing to first base. As I stood there and watched, I was reminded of a post that my friend Andy had posted on Facebook recently. He said “I wanna go back to when my only problem was if we didn’t have enough guys to play all fields open for baseball.” Those were some of the BEST summer days! Pardon me, while I step back to when I was in elementary school…..

My love for the game.

I don’t really recall when I became interested in baseball, but I remember it always being a part of our summers. If my dad was out washing the cars or doing yard work, the Detroit Tigers were always on the radio. The voices of Ernie Harwell and Paul Carey made all the calls. When we would visit my grandparents, we would often watch them on TV as George Kell and Al Kaline announced the game. I have been a Tiger fan for as long as I can remember.

I don’t remember when I got my first baseball mitt. I do remember buying my first baseball bat. It was a wooden Louisville Slugger with George Brett’s signature on it. I remember it because George and I were both born on May 15. I remember using money from my paper route to buy it. I eventually bought a second bat with Dave Whitfield’s signature on it.

george-brett-

I remember struggling to throw the baseball. That’s where dad came in. If I have never thanked him, let me do so now. Thanks, Pop, for always making time to go out and thrown the ball around. He’d call balls and strikes as we played catch. He would occasionally throw me his “submarine” pitch (which was kind of a side arm pitch like Dan Quisenberry). We went to the library and I checked out a book that showed how to throw a fastball, slider, curveball, and more. Dad showed me how to throw a knuckleball, which I STILL love to throw.

knuckleball-grip

“Carlson Field”

There were two ball diamonds at our elementary school. One had a backstop and faced the school. The other was kind of a makeshift diamond that had dirt patches from where kids had made bases. There was no backstop, and it had ruts in the grass from where kids ran from base to base. There was also a spot for home plate and the pitcher’s mound was hardly a mound. This field faced the other diamond and the road. This was usually the diamond we played at.

One of the downsides of playing at this diamond was that it was that the school was about 10-12 feet behind us. If you popped a foul ball behind you, it ended up on the roof. Whether the game continued depended on 1) whether you had someone who could climb up to the roof to fetch it or 2) if you had extra baseballs. A benefit of playing here was there was a little valve on the school that if you had a wrench, you could turn it and get water – perfect for hot days.

Teams of Many Players

I remember during the summer I would wake up, eat breakfast, get dressed, grab my mitt, put it on the end of my bat, grab the baseballs, get on my bike and head to the school. Along the way, I might knock on a few doors and pick up other players, but it was rarely necessary. It was a standing appointment every day. We’d all meet up at the school and pick teams. We’d do the hands on the bat thing to see who was up to bat first.

63ab19b6b3e540d6b699d2534ee12049--twin-boys-photography-baseball-photography

Depending on how many kids showed up, we’d have to alter the rules a bit. Sometimes we had to have a designated pitcher. If we didn’t have enough fielders, right field was out (unless you had a left-handed batter). Sometimes we had to go catcher-less. Many times when there was no first baseman, the pitcher’s mound was “out”! Then there were times where we were so short, we’d have someone hit and run to his base while the person on third base came back in to bat again with the “ghost runner” on the base. It didn’t matter – we’d find a way to play! Even if there were only three guys – one would pitch, one would bat, and one would field. We spent SO many hours playing ball!

Off the top of my head, I remember Jeff, Tom, Bill, Frank, Mike, Steve, Leo, John, Danny, Dave, Carl, Tomlin, Ed, Mike Smith, and so many others playing ball. If Andy and his brothers Ray and Tommy, were home, they were always there too. There was a wide range of ages, and we often let some of the younger kids play. I am sure that my dad came up once or twice to pitch to us and “ump”.

Just like in professional ball, there were amazing catches, close plays at first, strike outs, arguments with umpires, and long drives to left field for home runs. We often “called” the games like Ernie Harwell. If we all had a dollar for every time we said or heard “Hey, batter, batter! SWING”, we’d be debt free! There were no uniforms, but you could bet that almost every one of us had a Tiger baseball cap on!

Day after day, all summer long we played ball. I wish I could remember more detailed stories of our baseball heroics, but most of them have been lost with time. Perhaps some of the guys I mentioned (and tagged on Facebook) can recall a story or two I can add to this blog. I do have one memory that I can recall as clear as day….

Big Mike

Mike lived across the street from us and was always up for baseball. Mike was a big kid. He had some power when he made contact with the ball, no doubt about it. I do remember taking away a home run from him once. At any rate, because of his size, he didn’t really run fast. The distinct memory I have of him is this – if you were the catcher and Mike was running home, you had better hope to avoid him and get the tag on him. There were many catchers who caught a ball from the outfielder who stood in front of Mike as he charged home, only to get plowed and knocked on their ass! Mike knew his body was like a Mack truck and was not afraid to use it! If he could plow into you and make you drop the ball, he was all about that. I learned that the hard way once! I can’t remember how long it took me to catch my breath after he had knocked the wind out of me, but it seemed like eternity!!

Looking Back …

I am glad that I grew up at a time where kids actually wanted to play outside. Today, trying to get my boys to go outside and play is a chore! There is the Xbox and Wii U and games on their phones that make them want to stay inside. It is sad. Both of my son’s played T-ball and Baseball and I was lucky enough to coach each of them. They never really chose to continue playing, but every once in a while, they’ll be happy to throw the ball around with their old man and that makes me feel young again.

Baseballandbat_EditorsChoice_May112015-609x419

A Day At The Ballpark

DT-New-Old-Logos

I am on vacation. We decided to take a little trip down to Florida. We built our vacation around the fact that the Detroit Tigers are playing spring training games. Today we headed over to Joker Merchant stadium to see the boys of summer take on the New York Yankees.

Spring training is an exciting time. We get to see a brand new team. We see many young guys hoping to make it to the roster for the regular season. Some will make it, some will not. In the air excitement for the season ahead.

One thing is for sure, the rich history of the Detroit Tigers is alive and well. In the store, there were T-shirts with Alan Trammell’s name on the back, others had Al Kaline’s, and more had Willie Horton’s. Famous Tigers of the past were on banners hanging from the ceilings. The fans in the stands also had names from the past, too. I gotta admit, it was awesome to see someone wearing a jersey with Sparky Anderson’s name and number on it.

Next to me a guy was talking about how hard it is to listen to the games on the radio because the late Ernie Harwell is not around to do them. He also was talking about how great the games were to watch and hear George Kell and Al Kaline do the play by play. I remember listening to the Opening Day game in 1984. Who knew that those guys were on their way to winning the World Series?!

193234-13-20160116180317

This is the first spring training game I have ever been to. The rain got us a couple of times and they walked away with a win. I don’t recall how they did in spring training in 1984, but I am sure that those fans who attended those “grapefruit league” games had that same hope that I had today. I hope that a World Series Championship is ours at the end of the season. I ran into a Yankees fan in line to get something to drink and he said, “Looks like you got a good team this year.” I told him I heard the same about the Yankees. He said, “I hope it’s the year for one of us.” I agreed.

The 1984 Tigers were a well oiled machine! Nobody could pull double plays like Trammell and Sweet Lou Whitaker. The pitching staff was one of a kind! Jack Morris, Dan Petry, Milt Wilcox, and Dave Rozema were tremendous starters and Aurelio Lopez, Juan Berenguer, and Willie Hernandez were bullpen aces! Lance Parrish, Kirk Gibson, Darrell Evens, Larry Herndon, Chet Lemon, and Tommy Brookens were household names! What a team!!!

1984-detroit-tigers-world-champions

Watching the game today, we were a few feet away from first base. Watching Miguel Cabrera joke with Yankee players on base, the umps, and his team mates only made me like him more. One can only hope that he will have another great year full of home runs, and key plays. There were a lot of names I did not recognize, and who knows, maybe they will be household names, after the season is done. I hope so.

A Tiger fan for life, in good seasons and bad, I hope this is THE year for the next World Series Championship. Good luck, boys! You looked good today.

game16