Hey:
Sorry again for the delay in last week's post. I really don't want to miss any posts in July because we'll probably take most of August off. The game plan is to post up until August 14, then come back with our 9/11 special and then starter up again on September 18. So that's three more after this one.
Tara and I started doing Orange Theory last month. I have to say it's been a lot of fun and I do feel like I'm starting to get in shape. We usually go Monday and Wednesday nights, but this week we went Wednesday night and Saturday morning. The studio is right across the street from our house, so we walked over and walked back. Walking home in that heat was bad enough. The walk to the Post from Penn Station was simply brutal. I looked like I had stepped in front of an open fire hydrant when I got to the desk.
I don't mean to complain, it's July in New York City, there would be something wrong if it wasn't hot. I do miss those Saturdays of going to the beach, but I'm not even sure I could handle the beach at this point in my life in this kind of heat. I hope all of you are handling the heat as best you can.
**********************************************************************************
I was going to write about my thoughts from Thursday Night's prime time session of the January 6th hearings. Once again, there was testimony there that if you really stop and think about it, makes your head spin. And maybe next week, we'll discuss it.
But all of you who know me know that this past week, the third week of July is always going to be a tough one for my family and I. So instead I wanted to share a couple of stories I saw this week that should help restore your faith in humanity. I'm not ashamed to say that both of these stories brought tears to my eyes, but they also showed me that people, you know what, despite everything going on, they're still pretty f-cking good.
CLAYTON KERSHAW- The Dodgers ace was the starting pitcher for the National League in last Tuesday night's All-Star Game, played at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles.
After he was done pitching, he went to the media interview room to answer a few questions. As he was getting up to leave, he was alerted to the presence of Blake Grice, a 10 year old from Denver. Kershaw came back to his seat and said "Sorry dude. Watcha got?"
What Blake had was a story and a request. His grandfather was a lifelong Dodger fan who had put together a bucket list. Amongst his BL items were going to the Grand Canyon, Yellowstone Park and meeting Vin Scully and Clayton Kershaw.
I'm not sure if Grandpa Grice got to meet the legendary Dodger broadcaster, or get to the Grand Canyon or Yellowstone park, but he definitely did not get to meet Kershaw. Mr. Grice died from brain cancer 7 years ago.
Blake told Kershaw that he was there to fulfill the wish that his grandad could not. He was fighting back tears as he was telling his story. Kershaw at first and for a brief moment seemed to be taken aback, but very quickly he became a hero.
"Come here dude, great to meet you." he said as he came around the table to give Blake a hug. Your grandad sounded like an awesome guy. Thanks for coming up."
When you are surfing the web and you come across a video that says NSFW (not suitable for work) it's usually a video of someone using a whole bunch of George Carlin's 7 words you can't say on TV, or a bunch of people walking around nekked. They should also put that warning on videos that will make grown men blubber like a baby. Knowing that Timmy's grandad died of the same disease and watching the video this third week of July was almost too much.
JJ WATT-Got to give a hat tip to the great Howie Rose for bringing this to me and everyone else who follows him on Twitter's attention.
A woman named Jennifer Simpson posted on Twitter that she was selling her JJ Watt edition Reebok sneakers, and her JJ Watt Texans jersey. She said she was selling them because she was trying to raise money to have a funeral for her recently deceased grandfather.
I don't know if she meant to tag JJ Watt in her tweet describing the items she was looking to sell. (The sneakers had only been worn twice according to Simpson), but she did. Watt tweeted back to her..
Don't sell your shoes or your jersey, we'll help with the funeral. Sorry for your loss.
And then I read the comments. Actress Holly Robinson Peete also volunteered that she and her husband, former NFL QB Rodney Peete would chip in. Other people not as famous offered to chip in and others offered to help her set up a Go Fund Me page.
There is so much name-calling and finger pointing going on nowadays, and yeah, I'm guilty of it too. We do that a lot here and I'm sure we'll do it again as we close out the season. But seeing these stories was a reminder of how people, I still believe, are really good. If there is a group I give out to more than politicians, its pro athletes, and here you saw two of them who really stepped up and showed some heart this week. I also got a bunch of notes and heart emojis this week, and that always does my spirit good. If these stories made you smile or made you cry or maybe did both? Then I'm glad. Just know there are good folks doing good things for people. That's what it should be all about.
*******************************************************************************
Back to the All-Star game for a minute. Pete Alonso was unable to repeat as Home Run Derby champ. Now, I don't want to take away anything from 2022 Champ Juan Soto (who could very well end up in Flushing, or the Bronx, but more likely LA) or the man who beat Alonso Julio Rodriguez (who hit a couple shots out of Dodger Stadium that looked like they might land in San Francisco), but is it possible that the Polar Bear may have psyched himself out? I mean did anyone else catch his between at bats routine during the derby? He was either doing deadlifts in the weight room or he looked like he was practicing Transcendental Meditation in the locker room. All the other guys were out there goofing off and joking around with their fellow all-stars or in Albert Pujols case, his almost adult children. I admire Pete's dedication and I know it had to piss him off to no end that he didn't win it again, but next year maybe he should relax and enjoy the experience.
*********************************************************************************
RANDOM NOTES
1) Vince McMahon on Friday announced he was retiring as CEO of the WWE. It wasn't clear if he was walking away all together or if he would still perform in the company as Mr. McMahon. It's hard to imagine the WWE without him at all, so I'm thinking he will still be around. That is of course if these allegations against him turn criminal, than we may have seen the last of him.
2) The LIRR announced last week that they are bringing back those 1980's train cars, the ones with the wood paneling, the ones where the lights go out when they are going through the tunnel between Penn Station and Queens. The reason according to Newsday is that there has been a delay with the new M9 cars. Some of the M9 cars have made it onto the tracks and they are real nice. More legroom and outlets for phone charging at the end of every row. These older cars are for the birds. They smell awful and they look even worse. I know I promised I wouldn't complain this week. Well, that's just a small complaint.
All right that’s all I got. Again, thank you all for everything.
Stay Cool
Stay Safe
and Have a Great Week
No comments:
Post a Comment