EDITOR’S NOTE: HAPPY 21st BIRTHDAY NEIL!!!!

Stink’s wedding is in a few weeks somewhere in Vermont. The rehearsal dinner is Friday night and the wedding is Saturday night. I’ve been trying to think of what I’m going to do on Saturday during the day. While I was making my hotel reservation the other day, I asked the hotel hippie guy what there was to do out there.

“Well, do you like golf?” he asked.

“Nope.” I replied.

“Art?” he continued.

“Ummmm…. Nope.”

He then uttered a few sentences which probably changed my life forever:

“Well, there’s a place up here that offers falconry lessons, you might want check that out. It is one of the few places in the country you can do this.”

I had no idea what the hell he was talking about. Falconry? At first I thought it was some type of needlepoint or something like that. Per wikipedia, falconry is “is an art or sport which involves the use of trained raptors (birds of prey) to hunt or pursue game for humans.” I clicked on the website and became instantly fascinated with the sport. I dialed up the “falconry school” with a ton of questions, but ended up leaving a message.

A kind woman from the falconry school called me back. I fired away with about 15 minutes of questions about what options they offered and what the class entailed. I don’t think she was prepared for the amount of questions I had. Apparently, they even offer a “hunt” where for $299 you can go off and hunt for stuff with falcons (and even some dogs). For some reason, my frequent mention of falconry to my friends has exposed a lot of thoughts people have about me that I never knew.

In an IM, Jen said (paraphrasing):

“Yeah, I wasn’t going to say anything, but it doesn’t really seem like your thing. Isn’t it the sport of kings?”

(Huh? I’m NOT royalty??)

I began asking almost everyone who would listen if they knew what falconry was. Not surprisingly, not many people did. I started reading up on it and now I am totally excited about my class. I don’t think I’ll be able to keep a straight face for the whole time. When I told my friend Emily that I was going to take a falconry class, her reply was, “I can see you squealing like a girl when the falcon comes near you.”

(Not funny)

What I really want to do is go on that hunting expedition. However, I don’t have an extra three hundo to burn on it.  I am thinking of hitting a pet store on the way to Vermont. The plan would be to fill my pockets with mice or gerbils before my class. If the vermin happened to fall out of my pocket during my lesson, I would get the whole hunting experience at a fraction of the cost! I mentioned this idea to Stink and he was less than amused:

“Yeah, you definitely want to show up to the falconry with a bunch of raw meat in your pockets so you get mauled by the falcons- think of the sweet lawsuit you’ll have! When you show up to the wedding all bloody and scratched you will just be increasing your damages.”

(You can totally feel “groom cry face” ooze off the page here.)

OK, maybe the pet store idea isn’t so sound. If it wasn’t his wedding, however, I’d seriously consider it.

So, what looked like a quiet, boring, morning in somewhere Vermont has quickly become one of my most anticipated activities of the year. I cannot wait.

I will post the tales from my falconry adventure within the coming weeks. I know you all will be waiting with baited breath for that good time.

Have a great and safe Labor Day weekend everyone!

Tonight, Barack Obama will address the nation for the first time as the Democratic Presidential nominee. I have been waiting for this speech for months. Say what you want about his politics, but you have to admit Obama is a dynamic public speaker.  He’s perhaps the best of our lifetime.

I’m a public speaking junkie. I love doing it and have the highest admiration for anyone that can do it well. I once stood in the rain for 2.5 straight hours on the banks of the Ohio River to watch Bill Clinton speak. My favorite part of any wedding I go to is the best man/maid of honor speeches. If you’re ever at a wedding with me, watch my face during one. It is one of the few times in life that I am completely focused.

As a self-proclaimed public speaking junkie, I say this:

I have never seen a better public speaker than Barack Obama. I have never been more inspired by anyone at a microphone than when I watch him. This was most evident on June 3^rd when he finally clinched the Democratic Nomination. I sat on my couch absolutely stunned at how eloquent the man was and how well he delivered his speech. I can honestly say watching that speech (by our country’s first black American to be nominated for President by a major party) was one of my proudest moments as an American.

I’ll take it further. On my TiVo, you can rewind the last 30 minutes you’ve been watching. I watched the last few minutes of the June 3^rd speech until it was gone off of my TiVo’s memory. I probably watched the last two minutes fifteen times. Watch this link and start at about 25:47 on the speech. I’ve never seen a speech like this. I believe we’ll see clips of this speech (and hopefully tonight’s) for years to come. It was the best speech we’ll see in the Twin Cities not only this year, but in my lifetime.

“America, this is our moment. This is our time. Our time to turn the page on the policies of the past. Our time to bring new energy and new ideas to the challenges we face. Our time to offer a new direction for the country we love.

The journey will be difficult. The road will be long. I face this challenge with profound humility, and knowledge of my own limitations. But I also face it with limitless faith in the capacity of the American people. Because if we are willing to work for it, and fight for it, and believe in it, then I am absolutely certain that generations from now, we will be able to look back and tell our children that this was the moment when we began to provide care for the sick and good jobs to the jobless; this was the moment when the rise of the oceans began to slow and our planet began to heal; this was the moment when we ended a war and secured our nation and restored our image as the last, best hope on Earth. This was the moment — this was the time — when we came together to remake this great nation so that it may always reflect our very best selves, and our highest ideals. Thank you, God Bless you, and may God Bless the United States of America.”

The major networks will pick up the coverage from Denver at 10pm Eastern time. If you want to see history in the making, watch future President Obama tonight at Invesco Field. America needs him now more than ever. I truly believe that he is the best man for the job at this time.

This is our moment.

This is our time.

It is time for a change in America.

It is time to end the Iraq mistake.

We need to be great again.

See you in Washington on January 20^th, Mr. President.

I have little to no expectations for most people.

I got this sentence in an email yesterday and it really affected me. It came from a friend of mine who I have recently got back in touch with (via facebook!). I don’t know what has happened to her get her to this point. Without knowing, a statement like that seems a little extreme.

What I do know is that the above is almost the polar opposite of what I posted just a few weeks ago:

All people are inherently good.

I don’t think she reads the blog, so I can speak freely about that first sentence. To me, it is overly cynical. Again, I don’t know the circumstances but (speaking at face value) I can’t read a sentence like that without feeling badly about it. Abraham Lincoln once said, “When you look for the bad in mankind expecting to find it, you surely will.”

I’ve been through some bad stuff in my life. I’ve had family issues and had to end a failing marriage, but I never lost faith. I never lost hope. I always believed (and still do) that brighter days were ahead and trudged forward, laughing and smiling along the journey. For me, it is the only way.

Thinking in the manner above (in the first quote) is a defeatest way of looking at things. I think it is a defense mechanism. I believe the thinking there is that if you lower your expectations so much, you can never be hurt or disappointed. I don’t think any less of her for saying it, I just choose to disagree with that type of thinking. To me, if the world is in such a sad state, why not grab a 12 gauge and simply end it all?

The statement affected me so much, it caused me to send a text to my friend Mr. Baseball. Mr. Baseball has jokenly called me a “pollyanna” (on many occasions) and my text asked him if he thought I was too much of one. His response was that he was a pessimist and I was an optimist. I am quite naive about a lot of things, but I am quite certain I am not naive about the goodness that exists in all people.

When you graduate from high school, you take a leap. You leap into a world that you hope is fair and a world you hope is right. I do believe that all people are inherently good and sometimes they do lose their way. I don’t think life would be worth living if that wasn’t the case. People do good things all the time. Many times we don’t realize it when they do them, but they are done. We get caught up in the minutia of everyday life, but that doesn’t mean our hearts aren’t always in the right place.

Never be afraid to take that leap or rely on the goodness of others.

Have hope.

Keep the faith.

Tomorrow is another day.

Spe Day was a “great success” and a great time. Great times. Thanks to everyone for coming and more thanks to people who brought stuff. I had some awesome potato salad this weekend. Man…

I tried to write this one all last week (right, Bill?), but couldn’t do it. I think it is because of my recent lack of sleep and the hours and hours of yard work in preparation for the cookout. I think I can do it now so….

Away we go!

These days, more and more people are meeting via the internet. With online dating services and message boards, what was once considered “weird” has now become more the norm rather than the exception. Even more interesting is that many people are meeting significant others via the internet and many times these are even leading to marriage.

For the past 4-5 years, I’ve been a member of Sons of Sam Horn (SoSH). SoSH is an internet message board dedicated to “all things Red Sox.” I first heard of SoSH through Bill Simmons who would always mention it as the best place to get breaking news and great discussion about the Red Sox. As a Red Sox fan, it’s a great site. I always want to know what is going on with the team, and SoSH is the best outlet anywhere to do this.

At first, I just started visiting SoSH just for the baseball. Now, it is more than just a baseball site for me. SoSH is an online community which has enriched my life in ways I never dreamed possible through the internet. Through my association with SoSH, I’ve enhanced my Red Sox fandom, made some great new friends, gotten advice on pretty much every subject under the sun, met Curt Schilling, held the World Series trophy, visited new cities without having to pay for a hotel, and attended sporting events I never would gotten near otherwise.

Last weekend, we had our annual SoSH outing. The outing, or “bash” as it referred to, consists of a party at Boston Billiards and then a trip to a Saturday Red Sox game with about 200 of us. The bash has now evolved into an entire weekend. Friday night consists of a softball game and pool party and Sunday many smaller groups get together as well. People travel from all over the world to attend the bash. This year, the furthest distance traveled was from Oahu. SoSH consists of members from all around the globe and a great way for out-of-towners to follow the Red Sox.

Getting to this point of my SoSH-ness was an interesting journey. The first “bash” I attended was in 2004. It is pretty much like a baseball-centric Star Trek convention without the pointy ears. It was very intimidating at first, even for someone as outgoing/annoying as myself. To combat thus, before I went to my first bash, I attended a poker game some SoSHers were having. I figured a smaller gathering would be a good way to ease into it. I wanted to at least have some familiar faces when I attended the larger outing.

Most of the time, there is a big difference between what people are like in real life vs. online. Online, you have the anonymity of the internet to pretty much say whatever you want. In person, it is much tougher because you are accountable for your words to the person in your presence. I think you can get a better grasp of someone if you just interact them online because there are no filters. The true essence of someone comes out on a message board. There is no need to be politically correct or even responsible for what you post.

To my surprise, I had a great time at that first bash in 2004. Even though I had interacted with many of the people online for a long time, it was nice to put faces with the screen names. Meeting someone in person only increases your understanding of them and sometimes can explain questions you had about their posting style.

The bash has now become like an annual class reunion. Genuine friendships have developed and for me, I consider some of the people on SoSH some of my closest friends. It really is a community in which members care for each other, help each other and look out for each other. The common bond is the Red Sox, but now the ties run much deeper than that. I was reminded of this by an email I received last week after the bash from my friend Bill. Bill lives in Philly but has made it a point to attend a bunch of the SoSH gatherings.

“Great seeing you this weekend even though we didn’t get a chance to talk
that much. Congrats on the success of your blog, if the little bit of
time when I was near you and people approached you about it was any
indication. I’m not surprised at all that it’s so popular.

Maybe some would think this is pathetic, but I swear bash weekend leaves
me happier than just about any other weekend of the year does. I always
come out of it with a part of me that wishes I lived up in that area and
could see everyone more often. Unfortunately I don’t see that ever
happening, but it’s so much fun to see the crew. I think the closeness of the group is most evident when I see the response when I say goodbye to everyone at the end.”

The internet is one of the best tools for meeting and keeping in touch with people. My life has been enhanced as a result of my association with SoSH.

I’m lucky to be a part of the SoSH community.

Hope to see many of you at the cookout today starting around 2pm.

Come on by! The more the merrier.

Call for details…

olll

My apologies for doing this here.

Some people have been telling me that the evite stuff goes right to their spam folder. Besides, if you’ve been reading the tripe (heh) I’ve been slapping up here on a semi-regular basis, you deserve an invite.

Spe Day 2008 is Saturday (2pm-whenever) in Pleasantville. Here are some last minute reminders:

1) Weather looks great!
2) Parking is going to be a problem. There is a park somewhat behind my house called Regan Playground. Feel free to park there without worry.

3) The more the merrier, seriously. Just let me know…

4) A courtesy bag of ice is never a bad thing.

5) BYOB, per past tradition. Feel free to bring extra for your gracious host.

6) I need: wiffleballs, folding chairs, coolers, and if anyone has a horseshoe set, PLEASE let me know.

7) Last but not least, don’t forget to bring along your singing ability and your virtual drumming/guitar skillz.

Feel free to email/text/facebook me with any questions.

Please accept my most sincere and humble apologies if I forgot to invite you. I’m quite the scatter-brain. Email me for the details:

truthaboutmike (at) gmail (dot) com

Looking forward to seeing everyone!

ME

Wanna be facebook friends? If so, clicketh here.

Lately, it seems like there has been a facebook explosion. For those if you that don’t know, Facebook is a “social utility that connects you with the people around you.” At first, it was mostly used by college students as a means to connect with each other. If I recall correctly, a “facebook” is a term that originated from the land of academia. I think it used to be an actual book (with pictures of people) published, similar to a yearbook, but it came out at the beginning of the school year as opposed to the end. I could be way off here (either way, it sounds good).

Per the wikipedia link above, Facebook was created in February 2004. It is probably a perfect example of the internet’s evolution into “Web 2.0” and will become the more of the norm rather than the exception. I opened a facebook account in January, but it seems like more and more people are getting on it now. When I first heard about the site, I figured that I was too old for it. Initially, it was mostly college kids using it but now, folks of all ages are joining.

The best benefit of facebook is the ability to connect with people you haven’t communicated with for years. Planning a reunion couldn’t be easier with a tool like this (thank you, Al Gore!). You can see photos and catch up on someone’s life within minutes. I’ve re-connected with people I haven’t “spoken” to in over twenty years through facebook. Yeah, it’s a little weird at first, but after a while it becomes normal. This may sound like a reach, but it really is a life-enhancer and IMHO, the perfect utilization of the internet.

One may have concerns when deciding to join facebook. The great thing about it is you choose how much or how little you reveal on there. You choose who can see your page and who you “talk” to. You have complete control on how much or how little your exposure is. Take it from someone with a plethora of stalkers, online or otherwise (riiiiight), facebook is worth the leap.

So, if you haven’t already, jump on the facebook train. You never know who is out there waiting to cyber-connect with you!

I went to lunch with some friends the other day. They are from out of town and wanted to go to Friendly’s (of all places). The reason is that they were Red Sox fans and that they always see the Friendly’s commercials during the broadcast. After warning them that it wasn’t all that, I acquiesced and we went to Friendly’s.

Boy, was I wrong.

I haven’t been in a Friendly’s in about 20 years. They still look the same, but if you buy an entrée off the “chicken page” of the menu, you get a free happy ending. When I read this, I had to do a double-take.

“Wait, what? Free happy ending?” I thought to myself.

After closer inspection, I learned that (at Friendly’s) a happy ending is an ice cream sundae. Boy, was I disappointed. My sophomoric mind was sure to ask the foreign server multiple times what a “happy ending” was. It never got old; it doesn’t take much to amuse me.

The marketing folks over at Friendly’s Inc. are geniuses. I can just hear men all over New England asking their wives/girlfriends/current cougars if they can go to dinner at Friendly’s so they could get a “happy ending” after their meal. Quite frankly, I think anything you buy in life should have a “happy ending” option.

For example:

If you bought a certain model TV, Best Buy could provide a happy ending in the form of a porn video. If you use your CVS card on the second Tuesday of whenever, you get a happy ending. If you go to a certain gentleman’s club in Providence, if you pay enough, you can get a happy ending (wait, this exists).

As you can see, the possibilities are endless. I don’t think it will be 20 years before I go to Friendly’s again.

After all, who doesn’t love happy endings?

I’ve always been a huge fan of Curt Schilling the player, but not Curt Schilling the person. He’s just a little too outspoken for my tastes. That said, I don’t think there is anyone who as contributed as much to the 2004 and 2007 World Series titles as #38. Simply put, he is a gamer and when the money is on the line, he’s as good as anyone.

Out of all the things Chris and I saw last Sunday at the baseball exhibit, the bloody sock was my favorite. I stood there in awe of it. To me, it represents my whole baseball watching life. The heartache, the pain and the joy I felt after the Sox finally won their first World Series in 86 years. As Jomarie could probably tell you, in my high school graduation speech, I said that our generation would be the one to witness the Red Sox win their first World Series since 1918. Curt Schilling was a huge part of that.

We had the check presentation to Curt for the SoSH auction yesterday down at Fenway. As some of you know, our beneficiary this year was Curt’s Pitch for ALS. I was very interested to meet Curt and wondered what I would say to him. What do you say to someone like that? Of course, he is just a guy like me. He just happens to throw the hell out of a baseball at the game’s very highest level. I brought along my ticket stub from Game 2 of last year’s World Series. This also was the last game Curt started for the Red Sox and also most likely his final start as a Red Sox.

Meeting him was less than stellar. He was very rushed and his mind seemed elsewhere. You would think that meeting the folks that gave him the largest non-Schilling donation to his charity would cause him to at least feign some interest. No dice. It was actually disrespectful to the amount of hours that were put in by the volunteers of our group. Out of all the famous people I’ve ever met, he was the biggest disappointment. Usually, celebrites will at least pretend to be interested in you.

While I shouldn’t be surprised, the Pollyanna in me was expecting more. I’m sure he’s done a million of these things and to him, $63,000 probably is nothing to sneeze at. Who knows, maybe he was having a bad day? The one good part about the meeting was his reaction to me asking him to sign my ticket stub. When I explained what game it was from, a small smile took over his face. You could tell how proud he was of that start and what that game meant to him.

In the end, I’ll remember Curt Schilling for helping lead the Red Sox to two World Series Championships and not for yesterday’s indifference. My lasting image of him will be him tipping his cap to the Fenway faithful as he walked off the mound during Game 2 of the 2007 World Series.

That day, he walked out of Red Sox Nation and into baseball immortality.

I went to the Sox game last night with Les, Devid and my cell phone-less friend Alex.

Here are some quick observations:

- I know you won’t believe it, but Erin Andrews might actually be hotter in person. I think I’m in love. Heidi too.

- Les does not like Alicia Sacramone. Yesterday she goes, “You can SO tell she is from Winchester.” Further evidence comes from that same email:

“Silver is not awesome. I’ve been waiting 4 years for this. The US team both in 2000 and 2004 really wasn’t up to par, but this team really is the best in the world and should’ve taken this one.”

- Devid booed the entire Red Sox bullpen – as they took the field and walked out to the pen.

- Jon Lester is the ace of the staff.

- The Bleacher Bar looks cool even from inside the park.

- I’ve been really curious about the Russia/Georgia conflict.  There probably wasn’t anyone in Fenway who could explain it better than Alex.  Thanks for the rundown, bro.  When I told Alex Russia should invade Armenia next, he goes:

“Armenia is Russia’s closest ally.”

Oops.  Note to self: Pump Alex full of gin next time I see him.

- Last night must have been Pleasantville night at the Fens. Both E-Man and Keri were in attendance. E-Man’s boy EA said to me, “I’ve been to Fenway twice this season, and both times I’ve seen you here.”

- Kettle corn is the best snack at Fenway. It’s not even close.

- Helping out sausage vendors by yelling and trying to attract customers is more fun than you would think.

- Former Bruin (and current snooty dick) Bob Sweeney sat in front of us. And yes, we had to use Leslie’s blackberry to verify that it was him.   Actually, I liked the “Cape Elizabeth Maine Chief of Police guy who flashed his badge at us” he was with a lot better than him.

I was talking to Alex about this weekend’s SoSH outing and I said, “I’m taking it easy this year, just like last year.”

Alex replied, “You puked on Fenway last year!”

Sweeney turns around with a look of disgust and goes…

“How old are you?”

Why so serious, Bobby?