Oh, no! Not another Soccer post!

I know. Soccer is an acquired taste. I get that. So you can skip this one if you want to, but the FIFA Confederation Cup is going on. Group play was this past week and the quarter-finals begin today. I'm loving it. 

The Confederation Cup is sort of a dry-run for next year's World Cup - the big one. Held in the World Cup host country, it gives FIFA and the host nation - in this instance, Brazil - a chance to see if everything is ready. Or will be ready. With the spotlight on Brazil, hundreds of thousands of protesters are taking advantage of the world's attention to demonstrate against the government. "Millions to spend on soccer stadiums, but no money for services." FIFA is a tetch worried.

Fewer teams compete in this competition; the participants are made up of the reigning World Cup champions (Spain), the host nation (Brazil), and the current holders of each of the six FIFA confederation championships. Normally, these are big name national teams, like Italy, Uruguay, Japan, Mexico, Nigeria...and Tahiti. Here's a team picture. Okay, maybe not.

 Yes, Tahiti - ranked 138th in the world - but in the tournament by virtue of having won the Oceania Football Confederation title by surprising New Caledonia in the Oceania tournament final! To give you some sense of scale, think a parks and rec football team playing the Pittsburgh Steelers. Every three days.

The players on national teams are professional soccer players; they do this for a living. For example, the players on Spain's National Team earn annually an average of about $7 million dollars each (Fernando Torres earns $17 million all by himself). By contrast, the players on that Pittsburgh Steelers team earn an average of $2.9 million. Tahiti has one professional player, who earned $1.5 million last year. The rest of the team plays amateur club soccer and support themselves as best they can, as teachers, truck drivers and such. Nine are currently employed.

So, how did they do? The final count for 3 games was 24 goals to 1. They did score a goal, and their keeper stopped a penalty kick. And the crowds loved them! This week in Brazil, they were Rock Stars!

Speaking of scoring goals... Abby Wambach needed but two goals to match all-time top scorer Mia Hamm. The US team played South Korea in a "friendly" last week and Abby got her two goals - and two more for good measure. I guess that's a hat trick with a feather stuck in it. The four goals gave Wambach a total of 160 international goals in 207 games, two more than Hamm had in her 275-game career that ended in 2004. By comparison, Ali Daie of Iran holds the men's record with 109. Not too shabby.

Monday Meanderings - 6.24.2013

During the NBA Finals, Toyota heavily featured the commercial where the Tundra pickup lugged the space shuttle Endeavor across the 405 Freeway overpass in Los Angeles. You probably saw it, too.

My question has to do with the two guys who walked across the bridge alongside the pickup - one on either side. Just what was their role in this process? Was it to keep the driver from suddenly veering off the bridge? Were they pointing the way - across a mere 45' of roadway? Maybe it was a union thing; driver, fireman and engineer. Inquiring Minds...

On the way to church yesterday we saw some roadway signs that promoted "Fresh Oil Family Church." I commented on the "fresh oil" phrase and wondered if that was a specific Biblical reference. Barb did a quick search and came up with several instances of that phrase - including Psalm 92, which says (in the King James version) "But my horn shalt thou exalt like the horn of the unicorn. I shall be anointed with fresh oil."

Wait! Did that say unicorn? The Bible talks about unicorns? Yes, it does. There in Psalms and in 8 other places in the KJV. How did I miss that? Probably because the translations I use say wild ox, for the most part. Still, there is that persistent and oft-told story that the unicorns were off playing games when the other animals lined up for the ark.

The Sunday travel section of the paper featured sights to see and places to visit in Brenham. Barb's response was "Who cares? Just show me where the Bluebell Creamery is. Everything else is surplus."

Monday Meanderings - 6.17.2013

Happy Birthday (and Father's Day) to me. The family had a tough time deciding on whether to give me new golf clubs, that Bass Boat I've been looking at, or that six-station mega grill. I took the high road and settled for a Whataburger.

You can also add Juneteenth to the celebrations. You do know about Juneteenth, don't you? Anyone? Anyone? I guess it's a Texas thing.

It has been a sports-filled weekend, with a plethora of choices. Saturday the FIFA Confederation Cup started two weeks of quality soccer. And the Men's College World Series is underway, as well. We don't have a dog in either of those hunts, so we can root for - or against - anyone we like. And then, of course, there's the NBA Finals with the Spurs and the Heat. Go Spurs!

It's a good thing we have all these alternate sports activities, because the Rangers have disappeared from view. Let's just say that Poppa John's is saving a lot of money these days; I tried, and RANGERS1 just doesn't work as the 1/2 price promotion code.

I got a comment on the blog the other day from someone who was wondering if I would be interested in writing a guest post. They referred to their blog site, which has a lot of useful information about retirement. Other guest bloggers had written about finances, estate planning, best places to retire and a lot of other really helpful topics. Obviously, these folks didn't read any further than the title of my blog.

Have you tried the easy roasting ears trick? Put them in the microwave - husks and all - and zap them (I set the timer for 8 minutes for two ears). Take them out (hot, hot, hot) and slice off the big end. Hold the ear by the husks on the little end and shake the ear of corn out. They slip right out, husk-less and silk free.

Republic of Texas Motorcycle Rally this past weekend. Like Formula One, it really raises the noise level around town. Hard to miss 200,000 bikers. Literally. As of Sunday night there have been more than 20 EMS responses to accidents and 3 fatalities. But you really can understand the appeal - the call of the open road, the sun on your face, the wind in your hair. Sometimes you just have to get on the bike and head down to the watering hole. I know I do. See you there.

Monday Meanderings - 6.10.2013

While shopping the other day, we heard someone on the store PA system announce, "Will the lost Mommy please come to the fitting room?" That made sense. The child knew where he or she was - it was the Mommy that was lost.

When our children were small, we once went to the Texas Folklife Festival in San Antonio . It's an interesting mixture of cultural and commercial exhibits (and it is still going on, for the 43rd year). Our little family was wandering through the heavy crowd, moving from exhibit to exhibit, when Barb, Rob and I stopped to look at some display. Julie, probably all of 3 years of age, didn't see us stop and kept right on walking. We were engrossed in whatever, and didn't see her leave. Until we got ready to move on, and suddenly we were in full Parent-Panic mode. Our child was missing!

We began frantically searching in the crowd, jostling people in the process, and calling her name. After a few minutes of terror we saw her - sitting calmly on the shoulder of a policeman, who had lifted her up so she could have a better view as they searched for her missing Mommy and Daddy!

I was reminded that I, too, as an infant had been a lost child - but in my case, I never knew it. My parents, each thinking I was with the other party, arrived home from church one night to discover that I had not made the trip. Rushing back to the now dark and locked church building, they found me right where they had left me. Asleep on a pew. Not for the last time, I might add.

Alas, even though we are a few days shy of the Equinox, I think it is safe to say Summer is here. Heat, Humidity, and blood-sucking insects. Sigh.

Saw something on Facebook the other day that I really relate to:  

"If my body is ever found dead on a jogging trail, just know that I was murdered elsewhere and dumped there."

The Statesman - Stories from the Tree.

I love to stumble over a previously unknown story in the Family Tree. The other evening I was mining for missing information for some relatives of relatives and I came across a simple notation:

GUINN, JAMES WASHINGTON (b. 1804 - d. 1866). Buried: Texas State Cemetery, Austin, Travis, Texas.

The Texas State Cemetery; hallowed ground, reserved for Founding Fathers, Republic of Texas Heroes, Governors and such. Who was this man, and how did he gain this honor?

In genealogical terms, Guinn's story is rather ordinary and dry:

James Washington Guinn,  was born June 11, 1804, in Greene County, Tennessee to John and Rachael Shields Guinn. On February 2, 1830, James Washington and Catherine Ann Dobson were married in Macon County, North Carolina. James Washington Guinn died in Austin, Travis County, Texas on August 27, 1866, and was buried in the Texas State Cemetery, Austin, Travis County, Texas.

Catherine Ann Dobson was born February 2, 1812, the daughter of John Dobson and Nancy Parks Dobson. Catherine Ann Dobson Guinn died in Homer, Angelina County, Texas on March 3, 1865, and is buried in the Homer Cemetery, Homer, Texas.

Rather straight-forward, but if you dig a bit, you learn some fascinating background. For example, according to family history, a tailor in Greenville, Greene County, Tennessee, made the coat that Guinn wore to his wedding to Dobson, The tailor? Andrew Johnson, later President of the United States. And Catherine? Also according to the family, she was a medical doctor. If so, this would make her one of the very first, if not the first female doctor in Texas. Her death? The story is that slaves accidentally poisoned Catherine, while on call to deliver a baby. (!)

Guinn studied law as a young man, and was admitted to the bar in Tennessee in 1827, North Carolina in 1828, Georgia in 1832, and Alabama in 1841. Each move appears to be to a higher, more important position. His last stop in Alabama was as a judge, but the job got abolished, so in 1858, Guinn pulled up roots and the family (by now there were 10 children) moved to East Texas, where his brother, Robert, was a lawyer in Rusk.

Guinn and family show up next in the 1860 Federal Census, living next door in Angelina County; his occupation is listed as a lawyer. In 1863, about the time his wife was poisoned, he was elected to represent the counties of Nacogdoches and Angelina in the Texas House of Representatives after receiving one hundred and ten votes. In 1866 he won a seat in the senate with three hundred seventy-nine votes. No mention of how many votes his opponents received.

The official records show that Guinn identified with the Douglas Democrats and was against the secession of Texas from the United States. Nevertheless, five of his sons fought in the Confederate Army; all lived to return, but one lost an arm, another was captured twice and imprisoned once.

Guinn's tenure as Senator was short-lived, however. He died after a few days illness with Cholera, while the Senate was in session. As a Statesman, he was accorded burial in the Texas State Cemetery on September 18, 1866.

Monday Meanderings - 6.3.2012

Barb and I formalized our fifty-first wedding anniversary this weekend with a solemn ceremony. While at WalMart, we stopped in the greeting card section and each picked an appropriate card; she read hers to me and I read mine to her, then we put them back and finished shopping. Touching.

While checking out, I noticed that the total purchase of the woman in front of us was six decks of playing cards and a Hershey bar. I guess that you need a snack during a long session of poker. Maybe she was hoping to win enough to buy her supper.

At this point, we are winning the tomato wars. We've harvested about a dozen - the varmints have taken two. There are still about a dozen on the plants - best tomato harvest ever. Used a bunch of them in a vegetable stir-fry the other evening. Just crisp a few slices of bacon, then in some of the remaining grease, stir in some chopped okra, tomatoes and onions (we like it barely cooked - just past raw). Crumble the bacon back in and enjoy. Tastes like Summer.

At the Learning Ally studios this week, I began a book on technical writing - writing for the business place. The author began with the following premise:

"The most important thing to remember about writing for the business place is that no one wants to read what you wrote. They will read only what is absolutely necessary for them to know, if that!"

We have been watching the Women's Softball World Series. The Longhorn women made it to the Series for the first time since 2006, and did pretty well, but a loss to Oklahoma in the second game put them into the loser's bracket and it's very, very hard to get to the finals from that bracket.  Expectations are that Oklahoma will steamroll the competition; they certainly did that to Texas.

Saturday, Austin joined much of the rest of the nation with multiple telephone area codes. We held onto one  area code -512 - for sixty-six years, but soon all new numbers will be assigned area code 737. I guess multiple codes are fitting for the 11th largest city in the nation, but it will take a while to learn to dial 10 digits instead of 7 for a local call. Or, just call everyone from the cell phone.

How many of you remember when telephone prefixes designated specific geographic locations - and used letters for the first 2 characters of the prefix?. Like, PEnnsylvania 6-5000, or BUtterfield 8. Anybody remember TErminal 8, or CIrcle 4? For that matter, can you remember when your phone number was fewer than 8 digits?

Okay, I'll show my age - once upon a time it was necessary to place your call through an operator. No dial. At this point, my grand kids ask, "What dial?" Back then, our home phone number was only 3 digits. When Breckenridge converted to dial service in the early 1950s, it went to a prefix and four numbers - but you didn't have to dial the prefix for a local call.