Hi! How are you? Hope yer having a magical day!

Hi there, and welcome to Walt Di$ney World. We hope you have a wonderful, magical, time here at Di$ney, and don't forget to come to our fireworks display each night at the Magical Kingdom, where 20 oz bottles of coca-cola are on $ale at 2 for $14 - just for you!

See you at the parks, Mickey is waiting!!!

Friday night... in my Di$ney hotel room that looked suspiciously like a Howard Johnson's hotel room by the way - until the bill was slid under the door on $unday morning, which showed me the difference between Walt's guest housing and the rest of the civilized world...I was getting ready to go to sleep, so it was time to set the alarm.

The first was the clock radio, and the second was to make the wake-up call on the phone. I set the first for 6:45 on the alarm clock, but I didn't check it...I only set it. I did the phone wake up for 6:55.

On Saturday morning at precisely 6:45 the previously unchecked clock alarm went off at a decibel level exceeding a 767 engine in full flight. BEEEEP, BEEPP, BEEEEP, it sounded like a friggin' air raid siren...and of course, I assimilated it right into my dream. I was having my usual kind of dream where the Banana Band was playing "Free Bird" on spatula guitars - the Mango doing a great Ronnie Van Zandt as lead singer - when suddenly the fire alarm went off in the concert hall as the arson - half man and half tuna - ran away to avoid detection.

10 minutes later, the phone rang and I answered it. The Pirates of the Caribbean were singing,

"Oh ho, doh ho...its great to be a pirate"

"GOOD MORNING!!!!!

...came the booming voice of what I could only assume was the First Mate on the Black Pearl.

I jumped out of bed screaming, "Ok..Ok...I'll get up and buy one of you're $35 ham and egg sandwiches if you'll stop scaring me!!"

And off I went to have another magical day in which I lost 13 lbs in sweat from the 99 degree heat with 98% humidity, and 7 lbs in wallet weight loss as well.

Ho, ho, ho. Mickey damn sure was waiting for me.

Courage, thy name is Jon

On August 23rd of 2006, Boston Red Sox rookie pitcher Jon Lester won his seventh game against two losses since being brought up from the minor leagues in early June. He had an outside chance at Rookie of the Year, and life was good. Except for the pain he had in his back.

July 23rd, 2007. He stood there last night on the back of the mound, ball gripped tightly in his left hand. He lowered his head and took two deep breaths to beat down the butterfly's that were no doubt flying in synchronized formation in his stomach. He stepped up onto the top of the mound, contorted himself into his throwing motion, and fired a perfect strike onto the inside corner of the plate. No big deal, right? From April until late October, this goes on every night all over America.

Nine days after watching Lester pitch his 7th win in 2006, Boston Red Sox manager Terry Francona received some shocking news. His 22 year old star-to-be pitcher was officially diagnosed with Lymphoma, treatable according to the physicians, but his prospects of once again standing on the mound at Fenway Park in Boston a dim reality. To everyone but Jon that is. Apparently, many had discounted the competitive spirit that resided in this kid, and after 6 chemo treatments, and several anxious months of waiting, Jon was declared cancer-free. Now as for baseball...well, let's just say everyone was thrilled that Jon was alive and doing well.

He was a sympathetic invitee to spring training in Ft. Meyers FL, and surprised everyone with his strength and resolve. In the four months of the regular MLB season, Jon labored in Greenville SC, and Pawtuckett MA, trying desperately to impress the Red Sox organization into giving him another chance at the big league level.

Like everyone who knew or knew of him wasn't impressed already.

Last night Jon Lester came back in a big way. His line was immaterial, 5 hits and 2 runs surrendered in 6 full innings, and he even got the win for the first place Sox. Indeed the better line was this:

Good guys 1 Cancer 0

Why Jhony can't speel

Today I read another article in a never-ending litany of articles about how our school systems are failing our children.

While driving less than 14 total miles today, I casually counted so many adults driving without seat belts on, that I can honestly attest to the fact that about 3 out of 10 cars had one of more adults belt-less. And I wasn't really looking that hard. About 1:30 pm, I saw two 20-25 year old young adults swigging one of those large beer bottles out of a brown bag while executing a turn where they passed me and I could clearly see the bottle. I went into a drug store to buy a coke and stood in line for 10 minutes as the clerk handled a language barrier problem relating to the photo department. The clerk spoke English, the customer did not. I listened to a local sports talk radio show where a caller said the following (and I'm trying my best to replicate his dialect and grammar...."they ain't no difference tween Michael Vick anst some other of they folks who be killin' cows an stuff fo food. I ain't not seein no difference at all wif deez two things."

I live in Greater Orlando, a city and related suburbs whose population with all surrounding towns included is less than 400,000. Yet last year we had just under 100 murders.

Oooops, was I not supposed to tell anyone that fact? Too late. Sorry Disney.

The city's murder rate has more than tripled in the past three years. Other violent crimes have spiked as well. Orlando posted the third-biggest jump in rapes and robberies among the state's 10 largest cities and had the largest increase in arson's, according to the report. The number of registered sex offenders in greater Orlando is in excess of 3,400. The key word being registered. The other creeps just haven't been caught yet. The downtown Orlando area and some of the lower income suburbs have alarming single-parent household figures, with studies showing nearly 20% of the homes existing with 1 parent and 1 income to support that family. Youth crime statistics - depending upon which statistic you want to acknowledge as the most accurate - have youth misdemeanor and felonious crime rising nearly 200% since the year 2000.

Now, back to the school system not doing their job to educate our youth. Who isn't doing their job?

I got news for ya, slick. It ain't the school system that's failing.

The old fart

Shaking my head doesn't help...perhaps I should SCREAM instead?

Her name is Ingrid Newkirk, and she is the President of PETA, and her throne is located in their National Headquarters in Norfolk, VA. Miss (Mrs. ? - Ms. ?) Newkirk is a transplant from England, who loves to loudly proclaim her devotion to animals, protecting them from restaurants, grocers, farmers, scientists, anglers, and countless other Americans. This is all done in an effort to "protect" these animals from the horrors of what she calls "The entrapment and slavery of the family house pet." A noble statement, on the surface.

Indeed, over the years, PETA has made some positive steps...making people aware of the lack of need for fur coats, and the spay and neutering process for strays.

On the flip side, PETA has successfully lobbied and shut down medical research operations working on cures for the following: Diabetes. AIDS. Spinomeningitis. Cystic Fibrosis. Each and every type of cancer known to mankind, and other diseases numbering in the dozens, some of them so rare and catastrophic to children it chills me to even list them. All in the interest of keeping animals "safe from human harm."

But methinks there might be a problem, skippy. The chart below indicates statistics through 2005. There is so much litigation in the courts system right now, it is against Judges orders to release anything from 2006 and 2007, because case after case of cruelty to animals are currently in litigation. This chart is the records kept from the PETA HQ in Norflok.

As a reference, in the same time period, the SCPA managed to get 73% of their strays adopted. 73% as opposed to the shocking 17.1% by PETA, the organization that openly states they love these animals. Take a look at the chart again...14,000 + house pets killed by PETA. They shove them into hefty bags and keep them in a huge refrigerated storage facility until a Virginia based company takes them away for cremation.

And as for Doctor Death herself, the fine Ingrid Newkirk? She has stated without remorse under oath that she personally killed thousands with her own hands. For some reasons that defy logic, she's not making these quotes from the Virginia State Penitentiary either. She makes them as a free woman.

Meanwhile children are dying by the barrel-full in the most culturally, medically, and technically advanced society on this planet, all because some outrageous psychopaths known as PETA won't allow these animals to help our children because, "It's cruel."

Death of these animals - at their admission - is acceptable. The third party death of humans - many of whom are innocent children - is acceptable as well.

In closing, let me paraphrase the PETA mantra: Death is ok, and death is ok.

I'll make sure I pass that information on to my 15 year old Type 1 diabetic son.

Avaritia

As defined by Dante Aleghieri in his book, The Divine Comedy, there are seven deadly sins, the third of which is Avaritia - or greed - as it it most commonly called. All seven vices can cause immense problems, but greed seems to be the one that takes the most time and effort to expand upon until those around you are thoroughly convinced you have indeed committed the sin.

It is at that moment - when you have been outed for your greed - that you fully understand the deed is done, and you cannot go back and cover it up. It is that lack of spontaneity that makes avaritia so lethal.

...Or deadly, if you will.






Barry Bonds







Kenneth Lay







Michael Vick






Martha Stewart





I'm thinking I'll pop down upon my bark-o-lounger and watch a ballgame. The extent that sloth will get me into trouble is the lawn won't get mowed for a few more hours. I can live with that.

On the wings of hope

Today is tomorrow, which is yesterday's the day after tomorrow, or tomorrow's yesterday in Iraq and Kuwait.

"M", the topic of many a blog in the past few months, boarded a plane bound for Kuwait this morning in Iraq - which was yesterday's...ahhh, you get the idea.

Right now he should be in the air to West Germany, soon to be in NYC. He promised me a phone call upon arrival, but I told him to spend his cell minutes with the wife and kids, and call me whenever the family is tired of his hugs and kisses. I would expect that will be a long time from now.

Is this blog open again? I don't know about the future, but it is for this one celebratory moment. Another stud has come through for you and I...driven by the simple dedication to an ideal that far too many take for granted or cannot even sniff the meaning of.

Let the freedom bells ring long and loud. I want everyone to hear them.

Peace.