MARKING THE GENERATIONS


This week marks the birthdays of some people who are very special to me. I'm not usually one to get especially sentimental about birthdays, but I do sometimes take note of them as special occasions that denote significant life milestones. Such was the case earlier this week. And while I admittedly am the proud father of four, this is the first of my children's birthdays to occur since I began writing this blog last June.

On Tuesday, my son Brendan celebrated his eighteenth birthday. It seems unbelievable to me that this lad, who has been so special to me since the day he was born, is now old enough to legitimately be called an adult. Now a senior in high school, he has become a mature and responsible young man. I recently noted that, in eighteen years, Brendan has never, ever disrespected or talked back to me. Not once. How many fathers can say that about their sons? For many reasons, too numerous to list here, I am very proud of him.

To celebrate the occasion, I took Brendan and three of his good buddies to Hooters in Jeffersonville for dinner on Tuesday evening. It was a real blast, as I did my best to try to fit in as just one of the guys. When I told our waitress that it was Brendan's birthday, she had him come out into the middle of the room. He was surrounded by seven or eight other waitresses, who all wished him a happy birthday and then forced him to use a hula-hoop in front of the entire crowd. He took it all in stride, and I was amazed at his ability to keep the hoop swirling around his (narrow) waist. It made me long to be eighteen again.

I must say that the experience was enhanced because of the fairly new smoking ban that is in place in the city of Jeffersonville. With any luck--and persistence on the part of anti-smoking advocates--we'll have a similar ban in place in New Albany in the near future. In any event, we finally left the place after Brendan and his buds devoured many hot wings and soft drinks. From my perspective, it was a great evening. I think that they enjoyed it too.

Tomorrow is another special birthday: my mother's. (I won't specifically say how old Mom is going to be, but we did have a special celebration for her 70th last year.) If you have read many postings on this blog, you probably know how close my mother and I are. She is an especially cool gal--truly one of my best friends--and we are always enjoying good times together. When I was at her house for our weekly dinner last night, we had a great conversation about the unbelievably swift passage of time, among many other subjects. For all that she has done for me and for others, I hope that Mom has a special day tomorrow.

That's all for now. Party on, dudes.

--The Meatbe

THE FANTASIES CONTINUE


***How 'bout those Cards? By now, we all know that the Louisville Cardinals took care of business last Thursday night by defeating the West Virginia Mountaineers, 44-34. It was a great performance by the 'Ville, and it appears that Brian Brohm has totally recovered from his hand injury. His throws were crisp, and his timing seems to be back. Based upon their performance, the Cards have now moved up to No. 3 in the BCS standings. If they should be fortunate enough to win their remaining scheduled games, they will almost certainly be in the national title game on January 8th against either Ohio State or Michigan. In the name of Howard Schnellenberger, who could have envisioned this scenario?

Of course, winning out is far from certain. Louisville will face undefeated Rutgers on its home field this Thursday evening in New Jersey. If the Cards survive that challenge, South Florida, Pittsburgh and UConn will be lying in wait, hoping to make a name for themselves by knocking off the mighty 'Ville. Much excitement lies ahead, and I can't wait to witness it.

***Fantasy Update: The fates have not been kind to me in fantasy football in the last couple of weeks. Last week, I lost a close contest with my old friend John L. Grannan. (Grrrr!) This week, I was up against a fellow--not personally known to me--whose team had not won a single game all season. He has now. Unfortunately, all of my players seem to have decided to take this week off. Tom Brady, Torry Holt, Julius Jones, Donald Driver and Ben Watson, who are normally all stellar performers, all played as if they had been paid by my opponent to take a dive. I do, however, remain optimistic. If all goes as planned, I may still be in a position to make the playoffs.

***Wedding fun: The last two Saturdays, I've had the pleasure attending some very special weddings. Last Saturday, October 28th, Hollye Nelson and and Andrew Ragland said their vows in a beautiful, moving ceremony at Silver Street United Methodist Church in New Albany. Andrew is the son of my great bud Rags, of whom you have read much if you've kept up with this blog, and his lovely wife Terri, who is also a great and long-time friend to me. I well remember the day that Andrew was born, and I've watched him grow into the fine, upstanding young man that he is today. His bride, Hollye, is a lovely young lady with a beautiful smile and a warm personality. I was honored to be on hand for their ceremony and, from what I recall, I had a great time at their reception. Many old friends were there, and a good time was truly had by all, as the saying goes.

This past Saturday, November 4th, I was honored to attend the wedding of Melissa Lattis and Derek Grasser. Melissa is my long-time legal assistant, and she is also a very close personal friend to me. She and Derek took their vows at the clubhouse at Covered Bridge, which turned out to be a great spot for their reception as well. Our entire office was on hand for the occasion, as were many other friends and family members, and it was an absolutely wonderful time.

Both of these weddings were very special to me. I wish both couples many, many years of happiness together.

HALLOWEEN, EXHIBITION BALL AND GROWING EXCITEMENT


***Last night, I had the privilege of going to my mother's house to help her hand out Halloween candy. Mom lives in the Elk Pointe neighborhood in Jeffersonville and, although she typically enjoys interacting with her neighbors, she does not especially enjoy the tradition of handing out Halloween candy--at least not by herself. For that reason, I volunteered to go and help her. My son Brendan helped her last year, and he enjoyed doing so very much, but he had something else going on this time.

I arrived at Mom's house at about 5:45, with tacos for dinner in hand. Over the next three hours, we had a thoroughly enjoyable time. We saw many cute little characters, enjoyed a nice meal together, and had an evening of great conversation. I don't believe that I've ever enjoyed a Halloween evening so much.

***The Louisville Cardinals won a close exhibition contest tonight against Georgetown College, 94-92. Although the margin of victory might sound disappointing, I do not think that the showing was cause for any great concern. Georgetown had five division one transfers on their squad, and they had already played two regular season games. They were a far better opponent than one might have imagined.

I was impressed with several of the newcomers to the 'Ville basketball lineup. Derrick Caracter looks impressive in the paint, and I'm really enthused about the athleticism displayed by Edgar Sosa. Jerry Smith and Earl Clark both look as if they will be able to contribute right away. Returning players Terrence Williams, Juan Palacios and Terrance Farley all appear to be improved. The lineup will be strong when Brandon Jenkins and David Padgett return from injuries.

I really think that the final score of this contest was a secondary concern to Coach Pitino. It appeared to me that he was more concerned with getting playing time and experience for the inexperienced players, for experimenting with different lineups, and with testing team chemistry. My only concern is that the Cards still seem to lack a spot-up, dead-eye outside shooter who can be the go-to guy.

***The excitement continues to build regarding tomorrow evening's football spectacular between Louisville and West Virginia. Everywhere I go, people are discussing the game. My nerves are on edge already. Whatever happens, it will be great for the Louisville football team to be center-stage as the rest of the college football world looks on.

Word has it that John L. Smith was fired as the head coach of Michigan State today. There is a true irony with the timing here. John L. left the 'Ville while giving us a veritable slap in the face, claiming that Louisville football could not compete on the national stage. Although his parting shots have proven to be unfounded, I certainly wish no ill-will to John L. I am thankful for the wins that he accomplished while here, and I wish him happiness and success in the future.

But the most important thought for the next 24 hours is this: GO CARDS!!!

--The Meatbe

HALLOWEEN, EXHIBITION BALL AND GROWING EXCITEMENT


***Last night, I had the privilege of going to my mother's house to help her hand out Halloween candy. Mom lives in the Elk Pointe neighborhood in Jeffersonville and, although she typically enjoys interacting with her neighbors, she does not especially enjoy the tradition of handing out Halloween candy--at least not by herself. For that reason, I volunteered to go and help her. My son Brendan helped her last year, and he enjoyed doing so very much, but he had something else going on this time.

I arrived at Mom's house at about 5:45, with tacos for dinner in hand. Over the next three hours, we had a thoroughly enjoyable time. We saw many cute little characters, enjoyed a nice meal together, and had an evening of great conversation. I don't believe that I've ever enjoyed a Halloween evening so much.

***The Louisville Cardinals won a close exhibition contest tonight against Georgetown College, 94-92. Although the margin of victory might sound disappointing, I do not think that the showing was cause for any great concern. Georgetown had five division one transfers on their squad, and they had already played two regular season games. They were a far better opponent than one might have imagined.

I was impressed with several of the newcomers to the 'Ville basketball lineup. Derrick Caracter looks impressive in the paint, and I'm really enthused about the athleticism displayed by Edgar Sosa. Jerry Smith and Earl Clark both look as if they will be able to contribute right away. Returning players Terrence Williams, Juan Palacios and Terrance Farley all appear to be improved. The lineup will be strong when Brandon Jenkins and David Padgett return from injuries.

I really think that the final score of this contest was a secondary concern to Coach Pitino. It appeared to me that he was more concerned with getting playing time and experience for the inexperienced players, for experimenting with different lineups, and with testing team chemistry. My only concern is that the Cards still seem to lack a spot-up, dead-eye outside shooter who can be the go-to guy.

***The excitement continues to build regarding tomorrow evening's football spectacular between Louisville and West Virginia. Everywhere I go, people are discussing the game. My nerves are on edge already. Whatever happens, it will be great for the Louisville football team to be center-stage as the rest of the college football world looks on.

Word has it that John L. Smith was fired as the head coach of Michigan State today. There is a true irony with the timing here. John L. left the 'Ville while giving us a veritable slap in the face, claiming that Louisville football could not compete on the national stage. Although his parting shots have proven to be unfounded, I certainly wish no ill-will to John L. I am thankful for the wins that he accomplished while here, and I wish him happiness and success in the future.

But the most important thought for the next 24 hours is this: GO CARDS!!!

--The Meatbe