Sunday night I watched Bon Voyage, Charlie Brown (And Don’t Come Back!!) and its follow-up animated special, What Have We Learned, Charlie Brown. Given the subject matter and the time (Veterans Day weekend), it seemed appropriate. In the movie and the special, Charlie Brown and three of his friends (Linus, Peppermint Patty, and Marcie) travel … Continue reading Does Charlie Brown Have a Secret Cousin?
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Washington DC shut down yesterday for the Washington Nationals’ World Series parade down Constitution Avenue. One month ago I was in the hospital, in the Intensive care ward. I thought there was a real chance I was going to be mostly blind for the rest of my life. Yesterday, I was at the a World … Continue reading Scenes from the Nationals World Series Parade
Since it’s a rainy, gross morning in Pennsylvania, I’ve spent the morning going through photographs on my phone, culling them. And that brings me to this photo. This is a painting that hung in my room in the intensive care ward at St. Joseph’s earlier this month. It’s an autumn painting, a blanket of leaves … Continue reading A Gatsby Party
Last night, the Washington Nationals played in the franchise’s first World Series game — and Washington, DC’s first World Series game since 1933. The Nationals lost to the Astros, 4-1, and now have a 2-1 lead in the best of 7 series. In the last few days, Washington media outlets have taken pains to note … Continue reading Washington’s Other Baseball Team, the Grays
The World Series begins tonight — the Washington Nationals and the Houston Astros. On Friday, Game 3, the World Series returns to the nation’s capital for the first time in eighty-six years. Charlie Brown and Sally know what’s up. So does my collection of plush Doctors. And, despite the presence of three Doctors, none of … Continue reading Finish the Fight
Last week Baseball America broke the news that MLB is proposing a radical reconfiguration of the minor leagues, eliminating the lower levels of the minors (Short Season and down), replacing them with a quasi-independent league for undrafted players or encouraging contracted teams to reform as college summer wooden bat teams, and realigning the leagues, classifications (ie, … Continue reading Saving Minor League Baseball: A Manifesto and a Crusade
We had some powerful rain and wind, which put a crimp in my need to go to the grocery store; I didn’t want to go out in the rain. After the rain, however, there were fantastic clouds. I settled on making chili for dinner. Seemed appropriate.
My optic nerves are angy! Stan Lee would have written this line unironically, circa 1965, in an issue of The Incredible Hulk or Avengers with a cover burst that screamed, “Tremble before the rage of the monster’s eyes!” It also happens to describe what’s happening inside my own eyes. I spent almost a week in … Continue reading The New Optical Adventure
I went to church this morning. Not from any religious conviction, but because I spent the last week in the hospital (that story to come) and my sister said to me yesterday that, after a week of being surrounded by doctors and nurses, I must be lonely at home by myself. And where can one … Continue reading Out and About on a Dreary Sunday
Earlier this year, the Washington National Cathedral announced plans to build a replica of the cathedral in LEGO in order to raise funds for the repair of the cathedral due to damage from the 2011 earthquake. I bought some bricks online early on, which went into construction of the Bethlehem Chapel, but I wanted to … Continue reading Building the LEGO National Cathedral
Today I took at tour of Washington’s National Cathedral. This is something I had been wanting to do for a while, ever since they announced they were building a LEGO replica of the cathedral, and it was just a matter of finding the time. A vacation day was scheduled, a ticket for that night’s Washington … Continue reading Touring the National Cathedral
When I get home from work tonight, I get to set up a new phone. For you see, I am, like Daffy Duck, a maroon. A week ago, I was petting Jones, the neighborhood cat. It was a nice evening, Jones was stretched out in my lap asleep, I was petting him with one hand, … Continue reading Replacing the Phone