Day 199

Friday and Saturday literally were two of the more disgusting weather days I have seen in ages. It never stopped raining. It hailed. It was sheets of rain and wind. I just wanted to stay on my couch and not move. The good thing was that it stopped for yesterday's Browns/Jets game. It was another 4:15 start - our third 4 PM game in a row at home, which is unheard of. I find them annoying. Its always colder, you dont get home until at least 8, and clearly you know I love falling asleep on the couch during the late games. Uncle Kenny on the other hand is a big proponant of the late game. He likes having a full day of activity before downing a scotch and heading down to the lake front. I'll say this about my uncle, he loves his Browns. To him, its like its still the 1986 season and we are contenders. He is getting as riled up like we are 5-2, not 2-5. He is still old school - brings his newspaper folded in half so he can have the rosters of both teams at his finger tips. He loves the power running game and had nosed defensive football. You want to know who should be the new offensive coordinator? My uncle. Nobody is more thought out than he is. So in the meantime, the Browns won 20-13, but it wasn't for a lack of trying to hand the game over to the Jets. We may have won, but it felt like we lost the way the 4th quarter went. Browns fans can also thank the officials for handing us the game and Chris Baker's last minute TD on 4th down was ruled out of bounds. Everyone, including Browns coach Romeo Crennel knew the Browns got away with one. I still love going to games, as bad as we are, but its just not the same and never will be. To make matters worse, not being there with my dad will never be lost on me. I'm glad mom and I are always there together though. Its good for both of us.

As for my beautiful and talented wife Leah, she has started a job. My cousin's husband Steve owns a scrap metal company that has an office in Solon. They had some one quit on them and were looking for someone to work in their office doing some filing, etc. It is perfect for her right now. She is making her own schedule, working essentially 10-2 everyday, some days 8-12, others 1-5. The office is in Solon, about 10 minutes from our house. Its casual dress, and she can make it into a full time or part time job potentially after the baby is born. I cannot thank them enough for thinking of her when the opportunity arose.

I think this is last week's news, but I have to mention it anyways. How about that fat, bloated, windbag Rush Limbaugh? You may or may not have seen it, but there is a political commercial making the rounds that has Michael J. Fox talking about the need for stem cell research to help future suffers of Parkinson's disease, which he is currently suffering from. In the ad, he is shaking quite a bit and it is so sad to watch. This slob loser Rush Limbaugh has the audacity to go on the air and say that Fox was "exaggerating" the shaking for sake of the commercial and that he has seen Fox in person and "he wasn't that bad." Now I am all for freedom of speech, but is this guy kidding? Do you think he wants to shake that way and have no control over it? Not likely. Limbaugh has only been in the news in the past few years for negative things including his Oxycontin addiction and pill smuggling, his "the media overrates Eagles QB Donovan McNabb because they are desrious that a black QB do well" comment and subsequent firing after 2 weeks from ESPN, and now this. Again, I'm all for free speech, but he crossed the line. My mom and I were talking about this last night. I just don't understand the conservative way of life. These people that are so anti-gay marriage make zero sense to me. Who cares! If two gay people want to get married, more power to them. Its 2006 and too many people in this country still think its 1956. I don't get the need to have rifles and handguns. The Conservative's and their "family values" bullshit is such a load of crap. They couldn't throw Mark Foley off of their bus fast enough. All of these pederass priests out there that have been molesting young boys for years, they are all conservatives who vote one way and one way only - like its 1956. How hypocritical.

I'm sure nobody out there other than me, Leah, and Sheri, is watching Friday Night Lights on NBC, but it is a solid show. It's taken from the 1988 best seller and 2004 movie by the same name. Tonight it is on at 10 PM, special night and time. Peep it if you aren't into to the Monday Night game or another one of our shows, What About Brian" on ABC. Speaking of TV, Its not appointment television for me, but why am I so intrigued by is Deal or No Deal. There is nothing to it, it is all luck, the premise is dumb, yet if I flip it on, I always end up watching it. This show is more proof of what a nation of greedy people we are. Too many regular people are passing up a guaranteed $175,000 because they think they can get more and end up getting screwed. But that is what makes the show so funny to me. Plenty of people are telling me that I should be watching The Office on NBC, but I'm not into it. We are still watching The Nine, Studio 60 (which is getting worse every week and I don't think will make it), The Dual on MTV (why I am still into these former Real World and Road Rules people, I have no idea), and Dallas reruns. I know, I know. But hey, at least I don't watch Dancing with the Stars.

As I mentioned in the last blog, I cannot stand the song "Hang of Sloopy" because of that stupid O-H-I-O chant. True to form, they played it at the Browns game yesterday and the crowd went nuts. Everyone except for me and the Michigan grads in the stands.

Thursday I will have a full report on our first Halloween experience in Orangewood. We have been told to be ready for 3 hours of constant kids at the door.

Song of the Day: "Keep Your Head Up" by 2Pac

Day 198

From the "There is no God" department, I found out this morning that last night, my friend Dan and his girlfriend Jocelyn were in the middle of a horrific tragedy. Jocelyn's father had not come home from work and was missing. Her mother asked her to go to his office to look for him. Dan followed shortly. When she got there, Jocelyn found him bound, gagged, and stabbed to death on the floor. By all accounts, he was a hard working doctor and family man. This is such a horrible tragedy. It brings me back to our friend Stephanie who a few years back suffered a similar tragedy as her father, brother, and uncle were all killed by a disgruntled factory worker at their company. Imagine being Jocelyn. This poor woman has to have the imagine in her head now for the rest of her life of her father tied up and stabbed. I don't think I could ever get over that. When my father passed away, they asked us at the funeral home if we wanted to see him one last time and all three of us, Mom, MD, and I, we all passed right away. I just didn't want that image to be in my head. My heart goes out the the whole family. Just a terrible, terrible tragedy.

Last night, Jeremy and I went to see The U.S. vs. John Lennon at the Cedar/Lee. Here is my review. While the movie was very interesting and gave me a lot of facts that I didn't know about the pot-Beatles Lennon, it was a little slow and lacked the amount of his music I was hoping for. It was very thought provoking for someone of my ilk who was not alive or too young to remember the Vietnam war. It has been said that Lennon was "the voice of his generation" and I really saw that in the movie last night. The many Lennon interviews shown in the film, were so witty. He was a brilliant, brilliant man. I now understand more than ever why the Beatles broke up. Too many strong personalities. John knew what he wanted and needed to do - spread his message of peace throughout the world. I don't think the others had the interests that John did.

It must have been incredible to be a part of the anti-war movement in the late 1960's. What an incredible time in U.S. history. The incompetence of Richard Nixon and the out and out lies of his administration were astounding. During his 1968 election campaign, he promised to unveil his secret plan to get out of Vietnam quickly, yet he was elected and that pretty much never happened. The funny thing is the Nixon administration were way more concerned with the anti-war movement in the U.S. than they were about the actual war going on. Does this sound familiar Mr. Bush? They were so concerned about Lennon that they actually attempted to deport him over a marajuana bust for a decade prior in London. I would have liked to have been alive to see Nixon scrambling. The clips they showed of him were eerily similar to W. They both seem like a couple of moron con artists.

Obviously, we all know Lennon was shot and killed in January of 1980. They showed video of the candlelight vigil in New York after his death. All of the people in tears singing "Give Peace a Chance." It was spine-chilling. It also had me thinking that if someone huge of our generation was killed this way, say a Michael Jordan for example, what kind of out cry would there be? I just don't see people gathering in Grant Park crying the way people did for Lennon. His reach, views, and power were far less than I ever thought they were before seeing this film. Lastly, Yoko Ono obviously was a huge part of the movement as well. Or so SHE thought she did. To me, all she did was sit there next to Lennon and try to get a word in, but nobody wanted to listen to her. Memo to Yoko, nobody really cared about you and they still don't. I will say this though, she is unfairly blamed for breaking up the Beatles. Overall, the movie gets a B-. It was something I probably could have seen on VH-1, but for any Beatle lovers, you should check it out.

The #1 team in college football, THE Ohio State Buckeyes, reside essentially in my backyard. With the Browns pretty much a laughingstock, the Tribe season a failure, and The Cavaliers still in the preseason, the Buckeyes are the talk of the town. They get more local coverage here than they did when I was growing up. There was an uproar because their last game against Indiana was only shown on ESPNU, which nobody gets. I have a ton of respect for the season they are having. Unlike every other top 10 team, not only are they winning, but they are destroying everyone. Their closest game was a 24-7 win AT Texas, the defending national champions who haven't lost another game this season. Ted Ginn and Troy Smith are Cleveland products and amazing talents. Jim Tressel is the kind of coach that you can't help but love. He is the antithesis of his predecessor, country boy John Cooper. You would think that with me being the huge sports fan that I am, I would be totally into them. I'm not and here is why. This may be the be the most interesting college season in years and it looks like it is on pace to bust up that ridiculous BCS system in place, which to me, is the ruination of the entire sport. Its taken me living here for half a football season to see that there is only one fan base more annoying than Michigan fans and more bottom of the rung than Browns fans, and that is the Buckeye faithful. If I never hear "Hang On Sloopy" again, it will be too soon. The annoying "OH!" chant also drives me crazy. I don't want to paint all Buckeye fans with that broad of a brush, because guys like Ags, Melsh, Scotty Miller, and my guy Adam, are huge fans that don't bother me one bit. Again, I respect the program immensely, but I just can't get into them. I never grew up loving them either so it isn't in my blood. Ags cannot understand how I lived in Ohio for 18 years, then live in Lawrence, Kansas for four, yet I am the most die-hard KU basketball fan you will find and I don't root for the Buckeyes. The heart wants what the heart wants. To quote the great Mark P: "it is what it is."

Finally, I have to congratulate my boy Adam "Money" Wolinetz and his wife Jenny on the birth of their son last night, Chase. He is 6 lbs, 11 oz. Born in Columbus, Ohio. In a completely random occurrence, Adam and I lived across the hall from each other freshman year at KU, and he married a girl I went to high school with. Small world. Anyways, I know Adam was very nervous beforehand but today he told me it is "the most amazing experience" of his life. I can't wait to go through it myself. Congrats Money!

Song of the Day: "The Chase, Part II" by A Tribe Called Quest

Day 197

Feeling a little under the weather here. Not sick, just a little warn down and have bit of a cough going on. It was a long weekend of very little sleep. I was in Lake Geneva for my big client convention. Thursday night was a lot of fun drinking and entertaining the sales force. My boss was actually pretty tame for him, but I liked this version better than the Notre Dame football game last year. So Friday is an all day 8-5:30 booth rotation where the sales force goes from booth to booth to talk to each vendor, like myself. Only the 51 partner vendors are invited. Each rotation is 10 minutes. Since I oversee this particular distribution center myself, I alone had to do all of the presentations. My boss was there, but he wasn't around. So after the morning, they have this vendor awards lunch where they give the vendor of the year award out to the four different categories. Each category has over 100 candidates. When we got to the table, they had a program with the three finalists for each. I was one of the finalists for the paper and disposables category. I was so nervous as I really wanted to win this. I was a really competitive kid. I hated to lose when I played sports. To quote the great Ice Man in Top Gun "There's no points for second place." So when it came to my award, I hear "and the winner is....Todd Dery from Prairie Packaging." I was grinning from ear to ear. I had to walk up on stage and was given this great plaque. Now I had to speak in front of 300 people. I didn't have anything prepared obviously, so I just went with it. I thanked the entire Edward Don organization and sales force for the honor, and then my thoughts went to my father. I essentially said the following: "Close to two years ago, my father was diagnosed with cancer, a month later, he died. He was the ultimate salesman, role model, and confidant to me. Everyone loved him. I know today he would be so proud of me, so I dedicate this award to him." I couldn't have been more excited. I am proudly displaying the award in my office. It is nice to know that my efforts and hard work are appreciated by the sales force of my major account. Also doesn't hurt with scoring points with the bosses at Prairie. I got home Saturday night and had a solid Mexican meal with the Bilsky's at Abuelo's. Melissa is pregnant as well, due a month behind Leah, so its good to have another one of our friends to go through this with. I was so exhausted Saturday night, I crashed at 11:15 and slept 10 hours.

Sunday Morning it was pouring rain. Mom and I were going to be headed down to the Lakefront to watch our pathetic, sad sack, sorry excuse for a football team, play the Denver Broncos. Mom wanted to be a game time decision and I said I will pick her up at 2:45 (4 PM start). So I show up and she is in her robe. I said "well, I guess I know the answer to the question of are you going." I knew that old reliables Kenny and Linda would be there. They love their Browns like no other. I called KD to see if he was still going and he said "why? is there a problem? Back in the 70's, one of those teams with Mike Phipps at QB. We were terrible. It was pouring all day. Out of the 14 seats, only two were filled - me and your father." So I drove down solo and met the two of them and Cousin Bill. At the beginning of the game, the first defensive stand, I was all into it. We stopped the Broncos on a three and out. Of course, we fumble the punt. It only got worse from there. Ladies and Gentlemen, this crap has got to stop. I am at a loss here. We spend our hard earned cash. Waste our valuable time watching the games, reading the articles, listening to sports shows. To continue to put such a pathetic product on the field for such a proud and loyal fan base for this long, is completely unacceptable. From the owner on down to the last man on the team, the Browns are a bunch of losers. Head Coach Romeo Crennel is a nice man, but clearly in way over his head. His blind loyalty to the much maligned offensive coordinator Maurice Carthon is beyond head-scratching. His in game decision making reeks of inexperience. There is very little talent and a ton of injuries. Good thing we burn $77 a ticket for this crap. A fired up, Browns-hating MD had this to say to me on an email last night: It is October 22nd and the season is over yet again. Best move I made was taking them off my radar. Sundays are enjoyable for me without having to worry about that sillyness. They don't care about me or you or mom or Jeremy or Uncle Kenny.. They don't. They didn't care about dad when they fucked us over on the seats...all they care about is changing the end zone to a new "Cleveland" pattern or changing the uniforms so they can rape the fans and make them buy new ones.
I can't say that I disagree with them. I'm just glad my dad isn't around to see this. We may have been better off without them ever coming back - had I known it was going to be this bad. Yet, for some reason, I will be right back down there this Sunday to watch them get abused again. At least Lebron and Kansas basketball both start soon. Those are my two best shots at a title. Speaking of which, I will be writing a weekly college basketball column for The Cleveland Fan website, starting in November. Check back in two weeks for my preseason top 25.

Mark P sent me a great article that everyone should read. It was an op-ed piece Kevin Tillman, the brother of Pat Tillman. For those who don't know, Pat Tillman was a starting safety for the NFL's Arizona Cardinals, who voluntarily passed up a lucrative contract extension and instead enlisted in the Army. He and his brother were special forces in Afghanistan and Pat was killed by friendly fire a few years ago. Kevin is angry at this administrations deceit and lies to the citizens of our great country. This is a powerful piece. Enjoy.

Now that it is out there, I would like to congratulate my cousins Susie and Billy on their upcoming second child. Susie is due in April. Their daughter Shayna happens to be one of the all time cutest kids, so we can't wait for #2 to grow up with our son.

Song of the day: "Award Tour" by A Tribe Called Quest

Day 196

I write this on a bumpy flight from Cleveland to Chicago. I’m on my way to my last of four big work conferences for my big client. This one is in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin. This is about an hour and a half drive from Chicago. So when I land, I get in my rental and head straight up there. Thanks goodness for rental cars with satellite radio. I’ll get a solid 90 minutes plus of Howard Stern to get me through the drive.

I’m gonna talk politics for a few. We are coming up to election time. November the 7th is a big day in the state of Ohio, as there are two hotly contested and important races going on. Ohio is such an important state politically; I knew it before, but living here really makes you aware. I mean, we are currently living in the state with the most job losses in the country and the poorest big city in the country according to the census bureau. Yet, outside of the heavily populated areas of Cleveland and Columbus, it’s a Bush-backing territory. He won his two elections winning this all important swing state. This time around though, the tables seem to be turning and the people of Ohio are obviously ready for a change. In the race for Governor, Right ring conservative Republican from Cincinnati Ken Blackwell is facing off against Cleveland Democrat Ted Strickland. Strickland’s Lieutenant Governor is Lee Fisher, who is a well respected and liked political veteran of Northeast Ohio. My mom is longtime friends with Lee’s parents, so in our little bubble this is getting a lot of run. In the meantime, it is so funny because pretty much every Jew I know is all over the Strickland/Fisher bandwagon. You see nothing but Strickland/Fisher signs in lawns all over the eastern suburbs. You rarely see anything backing Blackwell. The latest polls have Strickland in command, but you never know until the votes are in. The other bug race, maybe more important, is for the senate seat currently being held by Republican Mike DeWine. He is running against Sherrod Brown, another veteran of Ohio politics. This race is neck and neck and badly needed by the Democratic Party in its hopes to overtake control of the senate. While I don’t claim to know too much about their policies, there is no doubt who I am voting for – Sherrod Brown, and here is why. Literally I cannot watch a single hour of TV in this state without seeing a Mike DeWine smear campaign commercial against Brown. There is the “Sherrod Brown let us down” slogan that DeWine has adopted and you can’t escape. There are the commercials where the families of soldiers killed in Iraq taking about how much class and ethical values DeWine has, while Brown voted against extra body armor. I’ve counted 5 different anti-Brown commercials that DeWine has put out, yet none talking about just him. OK, so the guy is ethical and moral and a “one of the most decent men” that the people in the ads have ever met, yet he puts out one commercial after another denigrating his competitor? Sounds a tad hypocritical to me. All I know is that we need a change. W has messed things up for us so badly with this sham of a war. Everyone hates us abroad, we are clearly not the superpower we once were and the American feel of invisibility seems to be all but gone. Not that John Kerry would have been a better answer, but I’d love to hear any one you who voted for Bush last time around tell me that he has done a good job during his presidency. History will look back on him and he will be viewed as one of the all time worst.

Which brings me to the charismatic senator from Illinois, the rising young star in the Democratic Party, Barack Obama. For those who aren’t familiar with him, you should get familiar. I probably wouldn’t know as much about him if I wasn’t in Chicago during his campaign, but I have watched him a ton on the news over the years. This guy just gets it. There is something real about him that you don’t find in most politicians. He has only been a senator for one term and is already being talked about as a future president. Man of the people is a term often used to describe politicians, most underserved. This guy may be the genuine article. He isn’t too far liberal and backs some conservative issues. He is a solid balance of both. His keynote speech at the Democratic national convention in 2004 is the stuff of legends. This weeks Time Magazine has a great article about and his book, now available in stores, called The Audacity of Hope. His first book, Dreams From My Father, a memoir of his upbringing being raised by a White mother from Kansas and an African father from Kenya is the highest selling autobiography that any politician has ever put out. You will probably be seeing a lot of him in the upcoming weeks as he is on his book tour and essentially putting out the feelers to see if a run for President in 2008 is in the cards for him. One thing is for sure, its not if he will run, its when. If there was ever a guy who will become the first Black President, it is Obama. My only concern though is that I’ve been to the deep south – Alabama, Mississippi, Arkansas, etc. Its 1956 down there. The thought of a Black President is till too much for so many in this country to deal with, which is an absolute joke, and such a sad commentary on where we are in terms of racism. Just because I have always lived in heavily populated areas for the majority of my life, doesn’t mean everyone is as opened minded as I am. We are in the minority for the most part my friends. W’s bread and butter core followers are these same people I am speaking of. Gun-toting rednecks who think “the South will rise again,” Jesus Christ will tell us all what to do when he returns, and the country needs to stay the course. All I can say is YIKES. Any way it all comes down, 2008 will be an interesting election year to say the least.

Then there is the story that came out yesterday that terrorists were targeting 8 NFL stadiums on Sunday as a part of a plot to set up a radioactive dirty bomb in each stadium, causing mass chaos and casualties. Even Cleveland was named as one of the targets. Leah of course wants me to skip the game against Denver, but I don't buy it for one second. Nice world we live in now that we now have to be severly patted down to go see our football team play.

Finally, in a KU related story, coach Bill Self has suspended Junior Center C.J. Giles indefinitely for unspecified reasons. Well it took one whole day to uncover that Giles has impregnated a local then- high school Senior and has never paid child support. The girl claims that Giles has only seen the kid four times in two years and hasn't spoken to her in months. He is due in court on failing to pay her the monthly amount agreed upon. This kid has all the talent in the world and can't get it together. Scouts have been talking NBA for him, but why? How can a kid with so much a stake be so stupid to essentially be ruining his life with poor decision making, both on and off the court? Not like he comes from a bad home. His parents are both KU grads and brought him up in suburban Seattle. Speculation is that Self has had enough of his shenanigans and won't re-instate him at all. I can't say I blame him with Giles' past attitude problems.

Song of the Day: "Time to Say Peace" by Poor Righteous Teachers

Day 195

Had a lot going on again this weekend. I will say this, I knew that moving into a house was going to be expensive, but I had no idea how many things pop up. Whether its furniture, or the heat, or landscaping, etc. I feel like all we do is write checks. We keep telling each other that we need to ride this out and once we get completely settled, it will slow down. Right about the time it slows down, our baby will be born and I will be paying for three, so the endless cycle of spending will probably continue. Its all good though. We are having a boy who I am going to be taking to Tribe games for the rest of my life. What could be wrong with that?

Allison Kaufman was back in town doing some photography this week and we had dinner and some drinks with her on Friday night at Taza, a Lebanese restaurant at Eton. We have been there a bunch of times, and for me, it is adventuresome. I am a meat and potatoes kind of guy. This place is very good and relatively inexpensive. They have great babaganoosh and Hummus. It is always great to see AK and nobody is better to rap with. We went to Mitchell's ice cream for desert. That is a Cleveland suburban, married guy Friday night. Dinner and drinks, desert, go home. It is so funny the 180 lifestyle difference between living here and living in the city. I love them both equally, but for what is going on in my life now, this is what is right for us. The baby is coming in February and we are getting ourselves acclimated to this life. We love the house and the neighborhood so much.

I do miss my friends a ton though. Yesterday was a prime example. All I wanted to do was hang out with friends and watch football. I surveyed my options here. Jeremy has two kids and with the Browns on a bye week, was with his family all day. Jared just had baby boy #2 last week (congrats out to Jared and Stephanie) and had a bris. I called my guy Bilsky, but he was in Vegas. I also didn't want to stay home all day and neither did Leah. So Leah, always the good sport that she is, and I went to Champps, had lunch and watched the first half of the early games. They do a nationwide weekly fantasy football deal where you pick players with a $25 salary cap, so we both turned one in. That kind of interested Leah, but she obviously isn't down with watching football all day. Not that I took it for granted, because I appreciate my friends a ton, but I definitely miss the access to and the number of friends in Chicago. The other funny aspect of it was we literally walked into Champps right before 1 PM and got a table no problem right in front of all the TV's. Gotta love C-town.

Speaking of the house, all of our baby furniture was purchased on Friday. In talking to my friend Adam in Columbus, he told me they got all of their baby furniture (his wife Jenny is due next month) at this place in C-town called Bellini, and it is closing at the end of the year. They had everything we were looking for and Leah loved it. We ended up getting pretty much everything we need from their floor samples for a great deal. To quote Adam, "Now the furniture is arriving, I guess this is really happening to us."

On 60 Minutes last night, they aired a riveting piece on the Duke rape case, where a stripper alleged that three members of the team pulled her into the bathroom and sexually assaulted her. All three players deny the allegations. It got a ton of press when it happened a few months back, and like most people, I immediately assumed they were guilty. But after watching this piece, where the three suspects were interviewed, the second stripper was interviewed, and the Durham DA declining comment on almost everything, my view completely changed. Talk about a rush to judgement. The facts I found out were interesting. After the alleged victim reported a rape, she was given pictures of every member of the Duke Lacrosse team and couldn't identify any of them as her attackers. The entire team was forced to give a DNA sample to the police and were assured that all parties found without matching DNA would be cleared. When the DNA tests came back, none of the players DNA was found to be on or inside of the alleged victim and none of it matched. So a second lineup of pictures was placed in front of her, every player in one big group. She picked out three guys and said she was "90% sure" these were the guys. Though earlier in the first lineup, she said of one of the attackers she wasn't sure he wasn't even at the party in question. One of the accused players had his cell phone records checked. He made 9 separate phone calls during the time the alleged rape was taking place. Then 10 minutes later, he was filmed by a camera at an ATM taking money out. The DA is up for re-election is seems to be pandering to the Black community because this case is wrought with racism. The players were all white and the strippers were Black. These three players are clearly being railroaded. The other stripper says no assault took place, the DNA doesn't match, and there really are no facts backing up her story - no injuries, bruises, etc. Yet these three kids were indicted, cuffed, faces put all over the news, and essentially have had their lives ruined. It doesn't even matter WHEN they are found innocent because this stigma will stay with them forever. To quote Colin Finnerty, one of the indicted players: "I never expected anyone to get indicted, let alone myself. It's changed my life, no matter what happens from here on out. It's probably going to be something that defines me my whole life."

Did you see that brawl on Saturday between "The U," The University of Miami and Florida International University? It was a full scale melee. Nothing like the low class Canes swinging their helmets as weapons, stomping on defenseless players on the ground with their cleats, and throwing punches. The guy doing the most stomping was one of the captains. Then as the riot finally breaks up, they jump up and down as a team waving their helmets high to the sky. I heard the radio call of the fight, and color man Lamar Thomas, a former Canes WR, was saying "that is what happens when you come to the OB (Orange Bowl), you can expect to get your butt whupped. You don't come into the OB and talk smack. This is our house. Lets take this outside into the parking lot. I feel like getting in the elevator, going down to the field and joining in." Click here to read the story and listen to Thomas' moronic comments. What a disgrace Thomas, and the whole program are. This is the same Lamar Thomas who has been arrested for assaulting his pregnant girlfriend and jailed, violated probation, had to be admitted to the psychiatric ward for attempting suicide, and did more jail time for choking his fiancee in front of his 6 month old son. How did this guy get this job? The best is that it was "Join the Team, Not a Gang day" at Miami. 700 local youths were on hand. Head Coach Larry Coker might as well quit now, because he should be and will be fired at the end of the year. Not only for letting his team run wild, but for their collapse as a football power.

Song of the Day: "Just a Little Bit" by 50 Cent

Day 194

Its nice to have a full week where I am in town. This weather has been crazy. Monday was 70, sunny, and beautiful. Last night it poured like crazy and now its 35 degrees. EDIT: Its now snowing at 3:10 pm est. In the meantime, I am going all over the board today:

-By now, I'm sure you have all heard about the small plane that crashed into a Manhattan high rise, killing New York Yankee pitcher Cory Lidle and his flight instructor. This is yet another terrible tragedy in a country that seems to have them everyday. A few things jump out a me with this story. Obviously when hearing a plane crashes into a building in New York, you immediately think of 9/11. I want to know how any sort of plane can still be able to fly that low over Manhattan. Isn't there a no-fly zone in effect there? Then there is the actual flying of a private plane. So many people, many of which are celebrities, are attempting to become pilots and love the thrill of flying. To me, this is just asking for something bad to happen. JFK Jr was beyond loaded, had a great life, and pretty much had the world as his oyster. Yet he had to become a pilot, was allegedly very inexperienced, and crashed his plane and died. Former Yankee great Thurman Munson was the same way. He was captain of the Yankees in the late 70's and was a icon in New York baseball. In the middle of the 1978 season, when practicing flying, he too died in a plane crash. Lidle loved to fly and had only 88 hours of experience under his belt. I read online today that when asked about his flying, he was quoted as saying "I won't die like Thurman Munson did." Then there is the media coverage - granted, I was watching mostly ESPN, but I was surprised at the amount of coverage this was getting. Mostly though, I was disturbed at one particular thing. Somehow, ESPN got an in-flight video of Lidle during one of his flights, discussing how much he loves flying, what he is looking down on, etc. To me, that was just so wrong. The media today has no feeling when it comes to the family and loved ones of tragedy victims. Have you noticed on the local news how they will be at the door of the family of someone who was just killed and asking them on camera how they feel? Can't they just leave them alone? I know when my dad died, if someone would have immediatley been in my face with a camera, I would flip. Meanwhile, I see Lidle's twin brother Kevin being interview. Leave the poor guy alone. Lastly, I have to credit Ags on this - someone else died in the crash, yet nobody seems to care about or talk about him. Its like his life didn't mean as much as Lidle's just because he wasn't a professional baseball player. For a good take on Lidle and the tragedy, read Jayson Stark's column from espn.com.

-Tomorrow night is one of the most underrated nights of the year - Midnight Madness in college hoops. At midnight tomorrow, the first day of organized practices for schools all over the country begins. This signifies the start of the season. At schools like Kansas, Kentucky, Arizona, and Duke, the arenas are packed with fans just to see a dunk contest and scrimmage of their beloved team. This is a big season for my Jayhawks, as we return everyone from last year's surprising 25-8, and add one of the top recruiting classes in the country. Bill Self will be on the hot seat as he will never have more talent than he does on this team. To me, anything less than a Final Four is unacceptable and a National Championship is well within our reach if everyone stays healthy.

-Leah and I have only really picked up two new shows, Studio 60 and The Nine. Both are very good and worth watching. I was not a West Wing follower, but after seeing the first few episodes of Studio 60, I can see why creator Aaron Sorkin is so well respected in the writing community. You have to be attentive because the dialog is very witty and quick. Sometimes I feel like I have to re-watch a scene. The Nine is very well done. You have only missed two episodes and can watch them both online now. Its a good ensemble cast, a thriller type show, which follows the lives of the nine people who were involved in a 52 hour bank robbery siege. Hey, give me some credit, at least its not another bad reality show. We are done with Survivor. Leah also deserves props, as she finally is not longer watching The Bachelor. Talk about garbage TV.

-I've watched the least amount of playoff baseball probably in the last 10 years. In seeing the A's play the Tigers for the AL championship, it makes me see that the Tribe isn't really that far off. When just need some fine tuning in the bullpen and one more big bat. How the A's won 90 plus games and swept the Twins, I will never know. Much to the chagrin of MD, the Tigers look World Series bound after taking a 2-0 lead home with them.

-Lastly, tomorrow is Friday the 13th. October 13th to be exact. It is my cousin Beth's birthday, so birthday love goes out to Beth. Anyone who has a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel like we do, is all good in my book. October 13th, 2006 - The Dude himself, coo-zon Steve, turns the big 4-0. I have written about Steve at length many times in this blog. You know how much I love the guy. I'm sure 40 is freaking him out a little and he has been through some tough times as of late, but he can always look east to his little cousin for love and support. Thanks for all of the laughs and love over the years Steve. The beauty of the photo above is that it shows the two people who hate wearing suits the most, wearing suits.

Song of the Day: In honor of the Dude's 40th - "Unbroken Chain" by the Grateful Dead

Day 193

I don't even know where to start. Thanks to all of you for your kind well wishes. The consensus was that everyone was thinking girl, but conventional wisdom was thrown to the side. Dave and Sara were in town this weekend with their dog, Yoffie, or as we like to call her "Coo-zon Yoffie" in our language. Coo-zon is a spin off cousin. The original coo-zon turns 40 later this week, but we will save that for later. As always, Dave was Dave - makes you laugh one minute and scratch your head the next. For example; Dave and Sara arrived at 3 am Thursday night, was up and out at 7:30 Friday morning for golf, and we didn't see him again until our dinner at Moxie at 8. We were all proud of him as he arrived at 8:10, or in Dave time, 20 minutes early. They treated us to dinner as a thank you for staying at the house. Dave was up and out early for breakfast Saturday morning - I got the girls Bialy's Bagels - before coming back to go shopping and to lunch with us. Watching Dave shopping could become a pastime. His antics at the Lacoste store were legendary. Just listening to him bullshit with the sales people is priceless. Sara, Leah, and I were waiting for him to pay and as usual, he was MIA. I went in to see what he was doing and he was busy arguing that he shouldn't have to pay shipping on an item that they were out of stock in since it was on sale that day. Hilarious. We buried Geraci's Pepperoni pizza for lunch, came back to the house and watched his beloved Florida Gators lay the smack down on LSU. It was great seeing them both and anytime they would like to finally set a wedding date would be fine at this point. As Gregg said this weekend, they can no longer call each other fiancee, they have to go back to boyfriend/girlfriend status.

In other news:
-In the same day, we had Bialy's Bagels and Geraci's Pizza. I'm not just saying this because I'm from here - I think it may be the best bagel and the best pizza I've ever had. I've never found bagels that can hold a candle to Bialy's (save your comments New Yorkers - you are wrong. The only bagels worth a dime in NY are H&H and only because Kramer once worked there). Sara, who had never had Bialy's before, said it was the best she has ever had by far. Geraci's Pepperoni Pizza is unreal. Eating it there makes it better too. I haven't eaten it there in years, but it really makes a difference.

-Saturday night we saw The Departed, the new Martin Scorsese movie, with Leo Dicaprio, Jack Nicholson, and Matt Damon as the three key players. The cast is even deeper, with Martin Sheen, Mark Wahlberg, and a brilliant Alec Baldwin playing excellent supporting roles. This movie is a must see. 4 big stars from Leah and me. I've seen a lot of movies over the past 5 years, and I can't remember liking one as much. It is so well acted all the way around. There was one point in the movie, where Dicaprio is talking to a police shrink and I turned to Leah and said "this guy is an incredible actor. One of the best I've ever seen." I'm serious, he was so good in this movie. Definitely go out and see it. Its 2 and a half hours and I didn't look at my watch once.

-We were invited to two weddings this weekend and couldn't make it to either. Kim, Sean's sister, was married to her longtime boyfriend Jordy in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin Saturday night. We are big Kim and Jordy fans. Of all of my friends little sisters, Kim has to be right there at the top of the list of my favorites. She is such a sweetheart, so normal, and so down to earth. Sean gave me the full report and it sounded like everything went off well and it was beautiful. Congrats out to both Kim and Jordy. The other wedding was out in LA for my boy Beej. Beej was my brother's college roommate from Pittsburgh. MD and my mom both went. It was so nice of him to invite our whole family. He was one of my first real email buddies. Pretty much a day doesn't go by without getting an email from him on the Steelers, his love for Mario Lemieux, reality TV, or celebrity gossip. My father and Beej were great friends believe it or not. I wrote to congratulate him on Friday and tell him how much I appreciated his friendship with not only me, but our whole family and he wrote this back:
I joke about the internet but its so powerful (to be able to read your weekly blogs and see pictures of people/kids is truly a great thang!) Pops was a good friend of mine. He was always there no matter what I wrote him, and many times I even called him. Pops will be missed. I have tears in my eyes as I write this. He was such an amazing, positive, supportive person to me, which made him that much more amazing because I probably knew him the least of any of MD's good friends.
At his rehearsal dinner, he carried the tie my mom gave him of Dad's in his coat pocket in honor of dad. That is a total class move and showed us just how much dad meant to him. I cannot tell him how much I appreciated hearing that. Mom and MD reported a beautiful wedding weekend in LA and Beej and his new wife Megan are off to Hawaii. Meanwhile, my mom says to me "Have you ever heard of Dave Grohl? He was the the wedding." Ah, yeah mom, he is only a member of Nirvana and the Foo Fighters and one of the bigger rock stars there is today. Kinda sweet. MD also had a confirmed Dennis Haysbert, aka Pedro Cerrano, at California Pizza Kitchen in Pasadena. Solid. I wish we could have been at both.

-Today is the 30th birthday of Randy Rash himself, Andy "call me Andrew" Rafal. His wife Jules threw him a surprise party this weekend in Scottsdale for the big 3-0. Gotta send the love out to the whole Rafal family.

-It was a big weekend for my inlaws. First, they find out that they are going to be having a grandson. Later that day, their new son-in law Justin received a job offer at the most prestigious Mergers and Acquisitions law firm in the country, Wachtel, in New York. This firm flat out doesn't hire anyone not from Harvard or Yale, and Justin (a Penn undergrad, and Northwestern law 3rd year) got the call. This guy is going places. And lastly, my brother in law Scott's new restaurant Olive and Ivy, is opening to the public later this week and they went to a friends and family test dinner last night. Early reports say it was solid.

-I know it was last week, so I won't get into the hypocrisy of the Republican party and their cover up of now disgraced Florida Congressman Mark Foley. You know the story, so I don't have to repeat it, but all of the right wing, anti-gay stance Republicans are getting worked right now, and I love it. Memo to Mark Foley, are you that dumb to be sending sexually explicit emails and text messages out to young pages? You reap what you sow you pederass!

Song of the Day: "Ecstasy" by Pittsburgh's own Rusted Root

Day 192

The day has arrived..D Day...and the verdict is in. The majority of you thought one way, and you would be wrong! What I have always wanted in my heart of hearts has come though. Leah and I are having a BOY!!!! I am beyond excited. I haven't been this high since the summer of Todd. So we arrived at the doctor's office at 10:15 and were in the waiting for a good 15-20 minutes. The whole time, Leah as usual is a cool, calm customer. Me? I am fully freaking out, legs shaking, a million thoughts in my head. So go in. The ultrasound ladies gells up Leah's stomach and starts the process. It was amazing. The baby is so much bigger. We see the arms, hands, feet, legs, head, heart beat, etc. She says everything looks good and healthy, but the baby won't open its legs. Now we are both freaking out - the suspense was killing us. They had Leah roll over on her side and they brought in the doctor. Within about 30 seconds she takes a look, zooms in, and there was my son's penis! She said "its 100% a boy." I was shocked. I couldn't believe what I had just heard. My thoughts immediately went to my father and I began to cry. He would be so proud to know that I delivered him a grandson. He always used to tell me "its all up to you, you know." And I did just that. Leah and I were busting. All of the things I have dreamed about - baseball games with my boy, little league, etc, they all are within reach. Its happening. We are having a son. They say things happen for a reason. I truly believe that today. All of the hardships in the last few years, maybe it was pointed for us to have the son I have always wanted. I also truly believe that I willed this kid into a boy. I'd say a month ago we were at a party, and I met this guy Howie Roseman, who is the salary cap guy for the Eagles. His wife Mindy is also pregnant and due 3 weeks before Leah. I asked him what they were having and he told me the following. "I have a theory, since I clearly want a boy, I continue to tell myself, my wife, and all others that we are for sure having a girl. The more you talk about it, the more you become convinced it will be a girl, hopefully, I will will it the other way." Its a great theory and I believe it to be true.

So there you have it. The Dery name continues on. We are thrilled to announce that around February 27th, a baby boy will grace our family.

Song of the Day: "It Was a Good Day" by Ice Cube

The Blog Year in Review

A year ago today, I posted my first blog entry. Ok admit it, when I first started this project, you all thought it would fizzle out within a month. Then after 50 posts, you thought I'd have nothing left. When I switched to twice a week in March, I had to be done. But I have kept going. Its been both therapeutic and enjoyable. I know I get goofy sometimes, I know I get serious sometimes, but that is the essence of me. This started as a somewhat of a tribute to my father and has spiraled into something bigger and better for me. There weren't many readers when this started and that was by design. Now, many randoms have contacted me telling me they love my blog. I'm all good with it at this point. I appreciate all of the kind thoughts and words from the readers. I've said this so many times, but my friends and family are such an amazing support system to me. Most importantly, I have to thank my beautiful and loving wife Leah for putting up with me!

So speaking of Leah, her 20 week appointment is Friday, and that is the day we find out the sex of the baby. So instead of my usual Thursday blog, I will post Friday with the big news. With the one year anniversary of the blog's start, I am posting my favorite entries below for those who may not have seen them. Read if you want to and enjoy. I'll be back Friday with the news. p.s. I hope you enjoy the new format....

The First Entry - 10/3/05
Cousin Steve's best quotes - 11/8/05
The Notre Dame Game with my boss - 11/13/05
The Nightmare at the Cleveland Clinic - 11/18/05
My eulogy for my father - 11/24/05
Selznick Stories - 11/29/05
On being a better person - 12/8/05
Best and Worst of 2005 - 12/19/05
Why Major League Baseball is not fair - 12/21/05
Why New Year's eve is amateur night - 12/31/05
God Squadders Beware, I'm pissed - 1/3/06
Leah turns 30 - 1/5/06
My Sports Teams Love to Choke - 1/17/06
Mark P Tears up Oprah - 1/27/06
Surprise!- 2/3/06
Why all Car Salesman Suck - 2/21/06
Guest Columnist Leah as I turn the big 3-0 - 3/2/06
The Tournament is over for me early...again - 3/19/06
The House - 4/18/06
Leave Jim Thome Alone - 5/2/06
The Last Day in Chicago - 7/16/06
Dad's Birthday Revisited - 8/7/06
Jace and The Jake - 8/10/06
Coming Soon, Baby Dery - 8/17/06
Dear Mama - 8/25/06

Day 191

This blog entry is being typed as I sit in an empty Sushi restaurant in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada. My first stop in a hectic week of work. I hope all of you J’s out there repented last night and were fasting all day today. Leah and my mom went to temple last night while Casey and I stayed home and entertained two of the Kaufman girls, Lindsay and Allison who were in town for a funeral. It was great as always to see them. Allison and I had one of usual engrossing deep conversations that we always seem to have had over the years. What is funny about me and AK is that over the years, she and I have explored each other’s crazy lives at length. We have literally covered every topic under the sun. The semester I was at home, AK and Ags were my two best friends. One was 17 and in high school, the other 26 and in grad school. We logged a lot of hours burning and talking on the back porch. While AK was like my little sister, she was (and still is) more mature than I was and had such a great perspective on things; and that is what I needed the most when I was struggling to figure out where my life was going. It was great seeing both of them last night at the house.

Leah and I had a great weekend. Friday night we went to Boulevard Blue near Shaker Square with our friends Aimee and Steve, followed by a trip to Mitchell’s Ice Cream for desert. That place is solid. Saturday morning, we took the short two hour trek to Pittsburgh. My friends Doug and Andrea, from the burgh and now in Atlanta; and Greg and Genna, also from the burgh, now living in Chicago, have had children recently that we have never met. Our friends Brian and Jamie were in Pittsburgh for the holiday as well, so this was a natural time to go and see all of them. The shame of it was that Jeremy and Amy. Who planned the trip to begin with, couldn’t make it at the last minute as Jer’s grandmother Rose passed away in Atlanta. So we went up, had a late long lunch and walked around those Italian street fair where I proceeded to bury and chocolate covered funnel cake in the rain (how solid is that?). After walking down Walnut Street in the burgh, which felt like being on Southport in Chicago, we had coffee with Jamie and Brian as the kids had to take their naps. Around 6, we checked into our hotel, took a little nap, and then headed out to a late dinner at this Pan-Asian spot called Soba. It was excellent. Got up the next morning, had brunch at Pamela’s on Walnut, and headed back to c-town. It was the perfect little jaunt. Good food, good friends, cute kids. I’ll say this, it was definitely good to see new parents in action so I can see what I am about to have going on in my life. My friend Jodi, who now lives in the DC area, stopped by on Sunday with her little girl Jordyn. She is adorable and looks exactly like her father. What is funny is that Jodi grew up on my street and her parent still live there. She couldn't get over the fact that we were home owners in Orangewood. I still can't believe it either.

Speaking of food, I saw this feature on the Philadelphia Eagles defensive line eating cheese steaks at Pat's King of Steaks. Anyone who has been to Philly knows which is the best place for a cheese steak. Its Pat’s, bar none. Pat’s and Gino’s are right next to each other in the city and I am proud to say that I have buried one from each place in the same sitting. Gino’s did not even compare. The bread fell apart, the steak was rough. My boy Gregg, my personal zagat when it comes to food all over this country, is a Pat’s guy. Doug, a Penn grad – also a Pat’s guy; Justin, my brother in law, Penn grad, and one of the smartest people you will ever meet, knows Pat’s is the whup. And that famous slob fat man, Brad Migdal, loves him some Pat’s.

My in laws, well essentially Stacey, have purchased a a new dog, about a year after they had to put down their cocker spaniel Cleo. She is a Cavishon (the picture name is Madonna), which is half Casey and half Bichon. The struggle now is what to name her. The names have been narrowed down to a few – Maddy and Bailey among them. But they are in need of a consensus pick that everyone likes. Leave any suggestions in the comments section.

I have been known to watch too much TV, and adding on to that is now the addition of the soap opera network on our digital cable. Normally this wouldn't be a problem, but at 2 PM every day, my alltime favorite drama, Dallas, is on. They are in a great run of them too. Cliff Barnes just found Kristen floating face down in the Southfork Pool, Sue Ellen just found out Dusty is still alive, and Jock and Miss Ellie have been fighting over the Takopa development project. I Tivo it every day. So good.

Like I said earlier, I am in Canada right now. I am here for a trade show tomorrow. I go from here to Grand Rapids, Michigan for a VIP awards dinner at one of our clients, followed by a two day food show. I arrive back home Thursday and Friday is the big day – our 20 week appointment and the day we find out the sex of our baby. I am taking a straw poll here. Now I know you readers out there don’t like to leave comments (except MD and P), but lets have some fun here. You don’t have to leave your name, but leave your vote in the comments section - boy or girl. People ask us all the time if we have a feeling either way. I know its a girl. In honor of all of this kid talk today, I have posted a picture that MD sent me of my niece Reese. How cute is she?

Lastly, Mom went to the Oncologist today and everything looks good. No need to check in for another six months. I am ecstatic to report this great news.

Song of the Day: “Officer” by The Pharcyde