Cold Water

I remember as a kid spending a long time getting into cold swimming water.  Tonight, I went to the pool, and the water was very cold to my touch.  It must have been to the others there also, because one person made a comment about getting a hot shower after getting out of the pool.

Well, tonight, as I do every night at the pool, I just walked right in, even though it was cold water.  I started moving and kept moving and while I cannot say I warmed up, I was not cold and uncomfortable in the pool.

So The Weather is Cold

So, the weather has turned cold and wet today, but my house is warm and comfortable.  Even though the temperature was in the mid 60's in my house, the outside temperature is in the mid 40's outside. It did not feel cold in my house. Which is surprising to me, because I am a cold woosie, and the mid 60's is usually cold to me.

The mid 60's did not feel cold tonight, but I decided to turn the heater on, because my concern is that it would be too cold to be comfortable in the morning. And that makes it difficult for me to get up and get ready for work in the morning. 

Renewing Library Materials

So, today is the day that my library books are due. I have tried to renew the materials online  several times tonight, but the service is not available online.  I will try again before I give up for the night. If I cannot renew tonight on line, I will need to call in and renew tomorrow night, either by phone or online.

Flossing, April 27, 2015 version

So, I got down on the floor to floss again.  Before I was situated, Taki was on my abdomen. I had to move her off so I could get situated, but she was right back on my abdomen.  At first, she watched my foot move, so her butt was in my face, but after a while, she turned around, and faced me.  I was able to pet her face for the several minutes that I flossed. When I was done, she moved readily off my abdomen so I could return to my other activities.

I do not get this. Why she likes this activity, but she does.  She also likes other activities, including joining me when I am on the toilet. She is less enamored of the shower, but sometimes joins me in the bathroom when I am showering.

It is a mystery.

Weather: Everything Seems to Have Passed Us By

We had a chance for storms today but as of now, everything seems to have passed us by, and developed to the west of us and the northeast of us.  That is disappointing. We need the rain.

Anticipating that we did not get rain, I watered the vinca, and coreopsis.  I bought two coreopsis a couple of weeks ago, and waited to plant them, until the rains were done.  When I did plant them, I watered them well, but waited too late to check on them again, and they were both very wilted. l soaked them down and amazingly they came back!  I was flabbergasted, and determined not to do that again.

So, I watered the vinca, that looked perky, and the coreopsis, that was beginning to look wilted, again today, even though we have the chance of showers.

Also, the air is cooling off, so I will open the windows for a little while tonight. I appreciate the opportunity to have fresh air

I am sorry that we did not get rain, I am grateful we did not get severe weather.

Weather Damage

We had a single strong storm blow through Lubbock about midday.  It was preceded by strong winds and blowing dust, and followed by strong winds and blowing dust.  Sometime in all of that, the tree in my neighbor's front yard blew over, leaning against their house.  I cannot see what damage was done, because the tree is still leaning against their house. Tree Loving Care http://treelovingcare.com/ is on hand, slowly removing all the little branches before they get to the large branches and trunk.  This will probably be a logistics nightmare, because if they do this wrong, the branches and trunk can fall off the roof and into the window and wall beneath where the tree is leaning. Yikes!

Tree Loving Care cut down my very old and very leaning, half dead Lombardy Poplar.  I had to wait for their service, although they told me they did emergency service as needed Fortunately, I did not have an emergency.  They got to me before the winds got to my tree. They are expensive, but I left the gate open, they came, cut, and cleaned up while I was at work. They were not in a hurry to send me a bill, either!

I am sorry for my neighbors. but they are in good hands.

Flossing

There is a physical therapy exercise that I do almost every day that is called flossing http://www.ehow.com/way_5622784_sciatic-nerve-flossing-exercise.html.  Basically, I lay on my back, support my right leg on a wedge, and use a belt to move the leg, from the toes, back and forth. I do this for 5 minutes, and use a timer.

Taki likes the exercise. She likes to get on my torso/abdomen and just lay there, her butt facing my face, and just watch the movement of my foot. Sometimes, when the timer sounds, she scampers off.  Sometimes, she sits there and watches my foot, although I am no longer flexing it. Usually if she does not move when the timer sounds, I just lay there and let her look at my foot. I am not sure what she is looking for, but if she is happy, I am happy. 

Swai

I like fish and seafood, especially fresh.  But in Lubbock, we do not get much fresh fish or seafood.  For Easter, I went to Joe's Crab Shack http://www.joescrabshack.com.  Although I prefer steamed or grilled fish and seafood, I actually got a fried seafood meal. I wanted seafood, I just did not want to deal with the mess of cracking and opening shells.

Seafood is expensive, even on the coast, no matter what ocean or gulf. So you can guess it is even more expensive in Lubbock. Many years ago, I do not recall how many, a new to me fish came on the market:  Tilapia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tilapia.  Tilapia is not as expensive as other fish, such as cod, salmon, or trout. Tilapia is okay, but for me the flavor is a little bland and mild. 

Recently, I purchased some swai http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/news/2009/01/what-the-heck-is-swai/index.htm at the supermarket.  It was surprisingly fresh tasting and much more robust in flavor than tilapia.  I actually like a robust fish flavor.  Something I learned in Lubbock is that many people who eat fish do not like the heavy fish flavor, so want it covered or masked with lemon or something else.  I was surprised when I read the article on swai that is compared to catfish, because I do not especially care for catfish.  But I like swai. 

Background Noise

I very often have the TV or radio on for background noise.  Not because I want to watch something, but I grew up in a house with a lot of people, and even to this day, I like the background noise.

Today was a long day, for me.  I had a doctor appointment, I was very busy at work, stayed late to finish my documentation (but still did not work 8 hours) went shopping after work, mostly because I had to pick up a prescription, and then arrived home.  I ate a late breakfast.  If I have a morning doctor appointment, I have learned not to eat, in case they want to do lab work.  And, I forgot to eat lunch. 

So, I was running on empty when I got home.  I fed the cats and fixed a simple dinner for me. But I have never felt recharged.  Often, after I sit and relax for a while, I catch a second wind. But not tonight.

I watched the Celtics lose to the Cavaliers http://www.nba.com/.  I like basketball, but really prefer to watch teams I cheer for.  It is a loud sport to watch on TV, because of the crowd noise.  So, when the second play off game came on, I shut the TV off after a while. It was too noisy and gave me a headache. I had been flirting with "a light brown headache" since about 4 PM, (A co-worker introduced me to the term "light brown headache" years ago, and I immediately had a sense of what he meant.) I think ,because I forgot to eat lunch.  So even though I had dinner the "light brown headache" lingered. And the basketball noise was just too much.

It is a pleasant night, and I have been able to open windows and feel the fresh air. That has helped some.  But I can feel the effects of the day wearing on me. 

I have mixed thoughts about going to bed right after the news tonight. No matter how tired I feel, a 10:30 bed time is almost always a sure bet to find me waking up about 3 or 4 AM. Midnight is just about the right time for me to go to bed.  I like about 6 hours of sleep.

So, we shall see what the evening brings.  But right now, the gentle hum of the ceiling fan is very comforting to me.

Yeah Ark Animal Hospital

I take Sake to the Ark Animal Hospital http://arkhospitalforpets.ybsitecenter.com/ and check them out on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/pages/Ark-Animal-Clinic/144313622430982?ref=br_rs&rf=374702392598106.

I took Mack there well before 1995, and they treated him so well. He hated to be in a cage, and when I told them that, when he had to stay for a procedure that they had to anesthetize him for, they put him in a room, and called me when he was ready to go home.

With Sake, they have been wonderful. They did not keep her after surgery, because of her attitude.

Sake stopped eating Sunday night, and did not eat Monday.  So, when she did not eat Tuesday morning, I called for an appointment Tuesday morning and arranged for one Tuesday afternoon.  I took Sake in, and we checked in, and the vet tech told me to go to exam 1.  She asked me if I wanted her or the vet to give the injection, and I said it was fine if she did it. She also asked the vet, who agreed Natalie could give the injection.  We opened the crate and Natalie injected Sake before she knew what was happening!  She did not even get off a decent growl!

And because we are a frequent flyer, we do not pay for an office visit, unless something else has to be done.  I truly appreciate that.

The last time I took Sake in for an injection, it was March 28, 2015.  Before that, it had only been two weeks.  This time it was a little over 3 weeks. On the 28th, they changed to a different steroid, and that seemed to help.

So we used that steroid, again.  And, unlike the most recent past, Sake started eating last night. Not much, but she has free access to food all day, and can eat a little at a time. I suspect that is what she did during the day today, although she ate a little at breakfast time.  She ate a little at dinner tonight, and was just eating again.  So this is good. 

When this problem started in 2013, she would usually respond to an injection within 12-24 hours, but as time has progressed, sometimes it took her 2-3 days to do more than just lick at food. So, maybe this different steroid will help.

I hope.  I just hate that she feels poorly.
 

Irons in the Fire

Tonight, I have had several ideas about social work and case management training, and other things to enhance social service provision in the community. I have been emailing various people with my ideas, and am hoping for some responses in the next few days.

Sometimes, my thoughts are very disjointed and fragmented and lead me to put out too many irons in the fire.  I am wondering if I did that tonight. 

I think that it is a mark of creativity that many things are put out there.  I am just not comfortable with that because I do not feel personally that I am creative.

My Issues Overwhelm Me

It is amazing to me how many of my patients present at the psychiatric prison where I work and say this, or something like this in so many words: "My issues overwhelm me."  So often their issues are free world issues over which they have no control, could not change or influence even if they were not in prison, and would not even be a consideration if they were in the free world and living the lifestyle they lived that got them into prison.

But in prison, these issues take on overwhelming importance  Perhaps for some, they have had an epiphany and understand what is really important to them in the free world, which does not include a life of crime. But for most, it is a stance, to use to manipulate the system, to get sympathy for their "pain," to get numbing medication, staff sympathy, and whatever attention they can garner. They know the magic words to say.

These same patients take up large amounts of time from the treatment staff, clog beds that need to be cleared for truly sick patients, are prescribed medications, at great cost, that they do not need, and in general, waste the resources of the system for which I work
But because they know the right vocabulary, they fall into the system, get the evaluations, and possibly the medications they so desperately seek.

I understand this.  And woe to me for ignoring a patient's comments that indicate suicide or homicide because I think he is being manipulative.  Although it happens that the manipulative comments and behaviors are more manipulative than psychotic, I report the patient comments and mood to the provider, so I will cover my responsibility, but more importantly, to protect the patients from themselves.  Because some of them are desperate enough that they will truly act out in a self-injurious way to prove their point.

This is sad.  But it is what it is, and it is a reality with which we struggle every day.  I understand that prison is a scary, depressing place. And vulnerable people are more vulnerable in prison.  I just hate that people who are "users" use the mental health system in prison to help the them negotiate the prison system so they are not exposed to the horrors of ill behavior, at the expense of truly mentally ill people who need our help and support.  And, the "users" expose the staff to their manipulative behaviors so much so that the really needy people are lumped in with the users and are often not treated with the dignity, respect and consideration that the truly mentally ill deserve.

The Boston Marathon Bombers

It has been 2 years since the bombing at the  Boston Marathon http://www.baa.
The safety plan for a safe event has been enhanced. The lone surviving perpetrator, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, will be sentenced soon.  The victims have been supported.  And the community support has been great!

It is my hope that we will treat April 20, 2015 with respect and dignity.  While I am against the death penalty, I have thought hard about this. I do not  want the perpetrator sentenced to death.  I believe the death penalty will make him a martyr for his cause.

Life without parole will be a living hell for Dzhokhar Tsarnaev.  I do not wish him a living hell. But I do not wish him martyr status.

Stats

Maybe it shouldn't, but it always creeps me out that the largest source of web views of my blog come from Russia. What are they trolling for that I am giving them?  I am not subversive. I do not  talk against my government in a treasonous way, although I may make a free speech comment that is not treasonous.  I am not interested in defecting to another country.  I am not trying to be subversive or undermine my country or my government.

My political views are generally moderate or left, but I am not passionate about most of my political activity. I used to be, but I have tempered those passions as time has passed.  So, I tend to be more liberal than conservative, but I can see and understand conservative perspectives, even if I do not agree with them.

I guess it might be good for people in Russia to read my blogs, because maybe they will read some things about the United States of America that they do not know.

I Am Exhausted

Today was the day of the South Plains Branch of NASW annual ethics workshop.  We used, once again, the beautiful venue of the International Cultural Center at Texas Tech http://www.depts.ttu.edu/international/.  Our topics this year were about the LGBTQ community, and ethical and practice implications working with LGBTQ youth.  Both speakers, Ann Aiken, MEd, MDiv-eq, LPC and Adam McCormick, MSW, PhD, were excellent.

I have been on the workshop committee off and on for more than 20 years. I enjoy helping to put the workshop together:  my job is sending out announcements, developing sign in sheets, and helping with sign in.

For the most part, the workshop went off well.  Our refreshments in the morning did not include coffee, but Bonnie Anne Rudd, the chairperson, resolved that issue.  We started a little late in the morning, but all was well.

Our numbers were small.  We used to have 40-70 attend our annual meeting. Several things have happened to diminish that number:  We had a year of not very good presentations in a location that was noisy and not conducive to hearing the presenters.  The economy has effected employer's willingness to pay for attending workshops, and although our workshop was not very expensive, there are much less expensive online CEU opportunities. But our numbers were respectable.

And, today, our topic was a little risqué for this part of the world.  Last August, we had the morning speaker, Ms. Aiken, address our monthly CEU meeting about the topic, and she was well received, with many social workers saying they wanted to learn more.  But, we also had people who were so repelled by the topic, that they disengaged themselves from the group! That is really sad. Social workers are supposed to be open to working with any client, at least to do no harm, and send them to a more appropriate professional, if need be.  My thought is that the social workers present today were the ones who did not need to be there, and, as the speakers acknowledged, they were "speaking to the choir."  Although our social work ethics require us to be culturally competent, there are many professionals in this part of this world who are not culturally competent, based on a conservative "Christian" orientation. 

Usually, these workshops exhilarate me, recharge me.  Not so today. I was just glad the day was over with.  While I really appreciated both presentations, I was just tired at the end of the day.

I did stop at the Lifestyle Center before going home to do a PT routine.  My hip was hurting, although I spent most of my day sitting, which generally helps my pain, and although I did not have to walk far or spend a lot of time on my feet today.

So, I came home, and fed the cats, and used the workshop paperwork to update the email information we have for the communication network.

But, I am tired.  Not recharged. 

The one good thing I can say is that I worked on the baby blanket for my youngest grandniece. She is some 13 months old, and I hate that I did not finish the blanket before she was born, but it is what it is. 

But, I am not sure why I am so exhausted.  Maybe I am just getting old.

I Do Not Understand Everything I Know

For several years, I have served as a communication person for the South Plains Branch of NASW http://naswtx.site-ym.com/?page=Branch_SouthPlains.  The information on this link is out of date, but it is the best link I have.

I send out emails to NASW members, licensed social workers in the area, students at the local social work programs at Lubbock Christian University http://www.lcu.edu/, at Texas Tech University http://www.ttu.edu/, and other groups and individuals.

Most recently, one of my emails was forwarded on to an associate editor of the Lubbock Avalanche Journal.  She had some questions about social service activity, and I was able to forward her to the person she needed to contact. Today, I was contacted by another reporter at the Lubbock Avalanche Journal about a community activity.  I was not sure how he got my name, but he told me his editor gave it to me. I was not able to give him much information, other than a website, so he could find out more about the community activity. But, I sent an email to the group about his desire to have more information. I  hope the specific entities involved can  make contact and the AJ can produce a good story about the Cinco De Mayo http://www.elpngrant.org/CincoDeMayo.php activity that was in question.

A Long Night

I left work a little late tonight, because I went in late this morning, and because there were some things I wanted to do that stretched into the after 5 PM time slot.  No big deal.

I got home and fed the inside cats, but it was raining and there were no outside cats around. I had dinner, played on the computer, and did some business.  Then, I checked outside, and the outside cats were there, looking for dinner. Which I provided.

I also cooked liver, put it in small freezable containers, and divvied up the chicken I cooked Saturday, freezing it in smaller portions, so it would be available later.  And, left a portion for now, and broth to put out for the outside cats, the next few days.

The New York Yankees played the Baltimore Orioles tonight. The game started a little after 6 PM Central Time.  I decided to fore go the local news broadcast in favor of watching the baseball game, and so I did. 

But this resulted in a strange phenomenon. The game did not last 4 hours, and when it ended, well before 10 PM, it felt like it should already be 10 PM. This time warp was strange, and set me up for a longer feeling night than I would normally anticipate.

This is not bad, just disconcerting.  It makes for a longer night, than I usually anticipate. But, it is okay.

Rain

I am not sure when it started raining. I know we had some rain overnight on Saturday, and again on Sunday night.  But it was dry enough Sunday that I could do yard work, so the rain Saturday night was minimal. But it was raining again this Monday morning, and the wind blew and rain came down, off and on, all day, even into the evening. 

The rain gauge was not probably accurate, because there was so much blowing that it did not collect the rain, but it seemed to be about an inch of rain.  That would be good.

I had purchased some perennials for my yard yesterday, and when I dug into the ground to plant them, the dirt was bone dry.  I just left the plants in their pots, in the bag, but outside, so they can get acclimated.  I am thinking now the ground will be moist enough to dig holes easily and plant these coreopsis that I had purchased.

Mostly south and west of Lubbock, there was some flooding, but there was also some street flooding in the southwest part of Lubbock.  This informs us, if we did not know otherwise, that the moisture is coming in from the Gulf of California or the Pacific Ocean. 

I think that this is a much needed rain, for the farmers.  It will help them with their planting. It will also help with the fire danger that we have been experiencing recently.

Although the temperature has been cool, we have not been close to freezing, so the rumors of snow and ice are probably not true.  We will see some cool weather, but also, it will warm up during the week, with continued chances of rain. 

Although sometimes too much rain too quickly received causes flash flooding in Lubbock and the South Plains, the truth is, we always need rain. 

Volunteer Appreciation

Tonight was the Catholic Charities, Diocese of Lubbock annual Volunteer Appreciation.  Over the years, this has evolved into many things, but currently is a nice social networking time, dinner, and awards and appreciation presentations.  The group that attends has always been small, but the effort has been to reach out to more people to attend, and to volunteer or donate.

I enjoy the opportunity to attend this activity.  I was invited for years, when I became a regular donor, but did not always feel comfortable about attending.  But I am comfortable about attending now. I am on the board of directors.  I do not know a lot of the volunteers, but I know some.  I know some staff, and of course the Bishop and the board members.

It was a very nice function tonight. It started too early for my preference: 6 PM. But it was done by 7:30 PM, although, of course people could stay to socialize.  The early ending accommodates the elderly volunteers who do not like to drive in the dark.

It is nice to acknowledge people who put a lot of time and effort into volunteering at the agency.

Well done!

My New Seat

A coworker with back problems swears by her therapy ball as a seat at her vanity table.  I have a lot of trouble with the seat I use at the computer desk, including that Haiku thinks it is hers, and sometimes cries so plaintively when I am in it. She convinces me she wants something, and she does. When I get up to see what she wants, she gets on the chair!

Therapy balls are not very expensive, and they come with their own hand or foot pump, so I bought one tonight.  The jury is still out. I bought the one for my height, but I had trouble inflating it to 22" diameter.  I got up to 19" several times, then lost air.  With me not sitting on it, it is higher than my desk chair.  But it squishes down.  I am thinking I may need a larger ball, but for now, I will see how this does.  I think it is comfortable, but I may be a little low for the desk surface.  But it seems to be a good angle for my hips and knees.  That being said, it will relieve some of my back and hip pain, but it might bother my shoulder.

Immediately when I took it out of the box, Haiku and Taki were INTERESTED!  They watched when I inflated it and followed me back to the computer when I moved the chair and replaced it with the ball. I could see Haiku sitting on the tray near the computer contemplating jumping on it.  And Taki is just staring at it.  I have been very stern with them about leaving it alone. While I do not want to ruin it, my biggest concern is if one of them pops it and in the process is injured, not to mention horribly frightened. I am not sure where I will store it, probably in the closet in the computer room.

I am adjusting well, but when I first started keystroking, I was bouncing around and made some typos.  In 30 minutes or so, that has already improved quite a bit.

This is an experiment, and not an expensive one.  We shall see what happens with it.

Lists

I am a list maker.  I do not remember when I started making lists, maybe in junior high or high school, but I know that by the time I started college, I was an inveterate list maker.  And the weird thing is that I get this electric thrill when I can mark something off my list. This sounds strange, I know, but it is what it is.  It helps to motivate me, especially when I have tasks that I really am not excited about doing.

Sometimes, I make my lists very detailed, because it gives me the opportunity to mark more things off the list. For example, instead of listing "clean the bathroom"  I would list: "clean the bathroom sink, clean the toilet, clean the shower, clean the bathroom floor."  And every tick I can make gratifies me. 

I think it is a form of obsessive compulsive disorder. Which I have a touch of.  My OCD traits are not debilitating, but there are many things that I do that are a bit obsessive.  Like double checking that I have closed the windows before I go to work in the morning.  Double checking where I am supposed to go and when while I am traveling.  Making sure I have tickets with me, when I am going some place, and double checking this several times.  Turning back in a parking lot, to make sure I locked my car.

Sometimes, I have to go back home while I am on my way to work, because I am not sure I have done everything I need to do to get ready for work: especially when I have the windows open overnight, or need to remember to turn on the heater or air conditioner.  Or, did I lock the door?  Close the refrigerator? Turn the lights off? Do I know where all the cats are?

There is something else at work here. And that is my lack of mindfulness.  In other words, I do so many things on "auto pilot" that I do not know what I am really doing.  I have really worked hard at being more mindful of how I do my routines, which eliminates some of that second guessing of what I do.  In other words, I can see myself closing the windows, turning on the air conditioning, knowing I locked the doors, before I leave the house.

And, this is weird, too ,but being able to go through those tasks in my mind, and definitively being able to know I completed those tasks, gives me that same electric thrill as when I checked that task off my list.

I am a creature of habit and routine, and I do not like it when my routine is disturbed, although I can be flexible. Part of that routine is to complete my lists.

I make lists at work:  most days, at the end of the day, I make a list of things to do the next day.  During the day, I make lists of things to do that same day, or in the future, for the patients on my caseload.

So, I suspect the reader "gets it" by now: I like lists, and I like marking items off my lists.

Boston Sports

As scheduling would have it, the Boston Red Sox are playing the Philadelphia Phillies on ESPN2.  At the same time, the Boston Celtics are play the Detroit Pistons on ESPN.  Which game do I watch?  Well of course, primarily, the Red Sox.  But I can flip back and forth between the games. So far, the Red Sox are losing and the Celtics are winning. We shall see what the final scores are.

Championship Character - Go Notre Dame!

I watched the end of game one of the NCAA Women's Basketball Final Four between South Carolina and Notre Dame http://espn.go.com/womens-college-basketball/tournament/2015/story/_/id/12624848/how-notre-dame-fighting-irish-beat-south-carolina-gamecocks.  It was a close game, and South Carolina lead only briefly in the final minutes of the game.  But Notre Dame came back, and won the game.

After the game was over, a South Carolina player, who missed a shot that might have given them the lead, was inconsolable. Some Notre Dame players came over to comfort her!  That was amazing and heart-touching to me.  Those players showed true championship character!  It does not matter who wins the final game. Those Notre Dame players are the true champions! What character!

Go, Notre Dame!

Being Distant Does Not Mean Being Different

 A member of my extended family is nearing the end of her life. She is very brave, and through Face book, has kept us apprised of her circumstances.  We have not been close in our adult lives, but we are still related.

This situation reminds me that although we may be geographically distant, that does not mean that we should separate our hearts.  Geography knows no bounds when love is involved.

This situation also reminds me that being different is a kind of separation.  But, being different should not separate our hearts.  Indeed, being different is not a reason to separate our hearts, but is a reason to recognize our differences, and more importantly, recognize and rejoice in our similarities. 

Baseball Season Starts Sunday

The Major League Baseball season officially starts Sunday, April 5, 2015.  Looking at the national broadcast schedule http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/official_info/broadcasts/national.jsp?tcid=mm_mlb_schedule, there are a lot of New York Yankees games scheduled for national broadcast.  Why is this, you ask, since the Yankees did not do well last year?  Well, Alex Rodriguez http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/r/rodrial01.shtml ; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alex_Rodriguez is returning to the Yankees line up after a year-long suspension for Performance Enhancing Drug violations.  Alex Rodriguez is a highly paid, high profile baseball player.  He succeeds in making headlines and bringing publicity, good and bad, to the Yankees.  It is my guess, since it is early in the season, and the national broadcast channels do not have favorites, or front runners to focus on, they concentrate on teams that have headline or controversial stories regarding their play.  And the Yankees do meet this criteria.

The Boston Red Sox will be in a few nationally televised games. As is traditional, the Red Sox will be playing a late morning start day game on the celebration of Patriot's Day, April 20, 2015 http://mlb.mlb.com/schedule/index.jsp?c_id=bos#y=2015&m=4&calendar=DEFAULT.  Red Sox baseball and the Boston Marathon are all a traditional part of Patriot's Day. I am surprised this will not be nationally televised, as the trial of the Boston Marathon bomber will have been recently decided, and would make good national interest background information during the game.  But maybe Major League Baseball wants to stay out of that.  We know the Red Sox were hugely involved in support of B Strong after the tragedy of the bombing http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/04/20/david-ortiz-speech-boston-red-sox_n_3124187.html.

As an outcast from the regional broadcasts of both teams, I will have to count on the national broadcasts, and the online reports that I will access.  Internet has made following these teams much easier than counting on the newspaper.

Go Red Sox!

Go Yankees!

Go Baseball!

April Fool's Day

Today is April Fool's Day http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/April_Fools%27_Day, but you could not prove it by me.  Maybe I use the wrong media outlets, but I saw no media "pranks" today. None of my coworkers or colleagues played jokes that I am aware of. 

That is okay by me.  I am slow witted, and it takes me a while to "click" to jokes, and pranks. I take life at face value, and tend to be honest and transparent.  And expect the same of others.

Growing up, I remember that my father liked April Fool's Day.  His jokes or pranks were always kind and not meant to be mean (he was a very kind man) but he had a touch of mischief about him that came out on April Fool's Day.

If you were joked or pranked today, I hope it was kindly and not too embarrassing.  We all need a laugh from time to time. And it does not hurt us to occasionally laugh at ourselves.  In a kind way.

Happy April Fool's Day from someone who has no imagination in regards how to prank you.