Day 189

This blog is about 12-18 hours early. I'm in beautiful Mankato, Minnesota for a trade show tomorrow morning. Unfortunately, they make you set up your booth the day before the show - its mandatory. So I had to get here today. Of the many great aspects of Chicago, the one thing I have taken most for granted was that I could fly anywhere non-stop, and have several choices to do so. Flying out of Cleveland, I am not so lucky. Essentially anywhere I fly that is not a major market, I fly through Chicago and change planes. I had to have my booth set up by 2:30 today and in order to do so for a reasonable price (Continental and Northwest were each $800 direct), I had to get on a 7 AM flight through Chicago on American. Mankato is 82 miles south of Minneapolis, and it isn't highway miles, so it takes the full 90 minutes. Thanks goodness for Satellite Radio in the rental car. Needless to say it has been a long day, but I am here and ready to go for the show. The best part about tomorrow is the show afterwards, I get to drive back to Minneapolis and hang out with my boy Kaitz.

This has been a strange weekend due to the Rosh Hashana festivities. Friday night we went over to my cousin Debbie's. Saturday for lunch we had a more traditional lunch at Leah's grandparents, We got home around 3:30 where Sean and Nancy came over to see our house, and then were picked up by my mom at 5:15 to go to Uncle Scott and Aunt Lisa's with my mom's side of the family. Then up at 5 AM this morning. Sounds like a great weekend huh?

I have to say I have gotten more feedback about my last blog entry than any other in the recent past. One wise man brought up a good point to me. I need to back off of my stance on religion and God a little. I have almost turned into the anti-bible thumper. Nobody likes to hear that b.s. that the God-squadders spew (other than the God-squadders themselves), and from now on, I will keep my thoughts more in house. That being said, that is why I have this blog - to tell you all how I feel. But I have gone over that bit at length before. I was extra riled up that day, because I had finished that blog after Leah and I visited with my old friend Lindsey, who is still in town after burying her 31 year old brother. The things that she was sharing with us about her sister in law and what she is going through would just break your heart. She wasn't as angry as I would probably be, but she couldn't understand how someone with so much going for him - 20 months away from finishing his residency, a baby on the way - could be taken so young.

Due to my trip, I missed attending the Browns/Ravens game today. This is the only game I will probably be missing all year too, and I hate the Ravens for the obvious reasons. Especially their coach Brian Billick, who is such an arrogant prick. Meanwhile, unbeknownst to me, the game ended up being on here, so I watched the game in my hotel room, while dozing off during the second quarter. Yes, the Browns lost again; it was another classic Cleveland choke job. We dominated the whole game. Kellen Winslow and Braylon Edwards were involved heavily. Charlie Frye played about as well as he could have and showed a ton of guts. MD emailed me at 14-3 and said this: "we will lose 15-14, you watch." The Browns had the lead the entire game and were driving in for the game clinching score, when Frye was intercepted in the end zone. Up 14-12 with less than 4 minutes to play, I called both Jeremy and my mother who were there. I warned them both to leave the stadium immediately, because in the words of my dad, "you don't want to be there when we blow it." I bet you can't guess what happened?

Dad used to always want to leave Browns games early for that reason. My one and only story that involves me was a classic. Browns/Bears, Soldier Field, I think 2003. A bunch of us went down to the game in Chicago - Ags, Schneids, K, Melsh, Hal, E, Frankel, and myself. The Browns dominated the game and were up 21-7 with 3 minutes to go and we were walking out. I hear people yelling my name on the way out. It was two guys I knew from home. They yelled at me "where are you going? You are not leaving are you?" I turned to them and said "you know what my father said, you don't want to be here when we blow it." Meanwhile, with 20 seconds left, the Bears scored to cut it to 21-14 with 30 seconds left, recovered an onside kick, and scored another miracle touchdown to force overtime. On the first play of OT, Tim Couch's pass was tipped at the line and intercepted by the Bears Mike Brown who ran it in for a touchdown and a Bears 27-21 win. I saw one of the guys a month later, and he said :for the rest of my life, I will never forget what you said to me on your way out."

Congrats to my guy Jeremy Bilsky and his wife Melissa who just announced they too are expecting baby #1. They are about three weeks behind us. It will be great to have a friend here who is going through the same stuff as I am at the same time. I also smell a potential play group partner for baby Dery. Meanwhile, a week from Friday, October 6th, we find out the sex of the baby. I don' t know about you, but I smell girl on this one. Mark P claims he is never wrong and he thinks its a boy. I am fully prepared for the girl. It will all be great, until she turns 13 and I lock her in her room. hahahahaha.

Song of the Day: "Loser" by Beck