Big Leather Couch

Man..I had set up a post for Flag Day, but forgot to set the publishing feature correctly.

So, I will share a photo of the flag I have talked about before...from Grandpa Ernest's coffin...

It sits on top of one of my bookshelves in my living room. Just below it, you see the license plate from NJ. I had that since 1997, but on September 11, 2001 it took on a special meaning when I returned from the City and looked at it. Since that day, it has stood for

Holy Bluesville Batman...all of us can only hope that at 82 years young we have the drive, the love, the stamina and the humility of the great B.B. King...

Backing up a bit, on Friday darlin' Nancy came by and we dropped the car off at the repair shop to get the AC working once again.

We then headed to Tunica, arriving about noon. After getting into our room and settling in we spent some time out by the pool, just hanging in the water talking and laughing and enjoying the warmth of the sun.

Back to the room, we opened a nice bottle of 2004 Domaine Serene Pinot Noir and relaxed for a spell.

After showers and getting dressed for the evening, we headed down to the casino. I told you about the one bet...$100.00 at the Roulette Wheel...BLACK...

We stood and looked at the two wheels working and one had a run of 5 blacks in a row, so I was leery of that. It then hit 14 Red back to back (and some guy made a killing on those rolls).

Then another black hit. I dropped the $100.00 on Black and watched as the ball circled around and round...it jumped out of three red numbers...hit a black number and then skipped to 30 RED!

Taking Nancy's hand, we walked away... OH well....

She went over to the slots and I went to an electronic poker machine. After a while, down about $20.00, I found her sitting at a slot machine and looked at her total and asked what she had started with. When she said $20.00, I looked at the total on the machine and realized she was up $160.00!

Nancy looked at me and said, "Well, dinner is paid for." and we walked away. As we made our way to the concert hall, we stopped at a blackjack table and I contributed another $40.00 to the casino. My luck was just not there.

We went into the concert hall and I have to explain 'hall' is the wrong term. It is a large bar with a balcony. The seats are all chairs and we were led to our seat, row F, on the aisle. (NOTE: I kept saying fourth row, but I was never a good speller! Actually 6th row!)

A waitress came around and took our drink order and precisely at 9:00 pm, the B.B. King Orchestra took the stage with each musician taking their turn on a solo.

Before long, B.B. King was introduced and led out onto the stage and his chair at the front.
He explained that he did not sit because "as some thing, I am old, but it is because of my diabetes."

For the next hour and a half, B.B. played his Lucille like a 20-year old, told stories, joked with his band and the audiece, tossed guitar picks to the front row, expressed is mood with facial expressions and 'chair dancing, and just held all those assembled in the palm of his hand.

He is so gracious, making sure each band member was recognized every time they played a solo, asking for applause for them and getting it.

We also called out friend Turnbaby and left her a short cell-cert and spoke with her and she said she heard it well.

He told the story of how his guitar was named Lucille (Recounted on The Couch HERE). He told of his boyhood in Indianola, MS and going down town to stand on the corner and "watch those ladies who walked up and down the street like this" (and he bumped his hips around), the audience breaking into laughter. Telling how he would drop a nickel so he could sneak a glance at them, because "y'all did not want them to catch ya lookin'"

He talked about "never seeing an ugly woman" at which point his guitarist and bassist both turned their heads and snickered. He told us that he keeps hearing people say that he is playing his last show because he is short for the world and that he is not going anywhere and will continue to play and play and play.

It is evident that much of this is 'scripted, but who the hell cares, because between his chatting with us, he played Lucille. Let me tell you folks, he might be 82, but his fingers still fly up and down the fretboard.

All too soon, B.B. informed us that he had already played longer then he was supposed to (like anyone would tell him to get off the stage) and that it was time to close the show and he broke into "The Thrill Is Gone".

Then with his handlers at his side he began tossing things to those who had assembled at the stage at the end ... I walked up and he had tossed the last necklace and pin. As I walked back to Nancy, a young woman and her boyfriend looked at me and she said "We got two, would you like one?" I thanked her and accepted the small plastic pin.


One word...BRILLIANT!

I can only say, if you see him playing near you...BUY TICKETS

After the show, we went to the steak house in the casino and had a mediocre meal...it was not worth the price (the only bad thing of the weekend)...

Then back to the room and we crashed.

Saturday we woke and just moved slowly, leaving the hotel at noon. We drove over to the outlet mall and spent a few sheckles in the Kitchen Store there...I needed some things and Nancy needed some new knives.

Then we headed to the Harrah's Casino Hotel and the new Paula Dean Buffet there. $10.00 each, we spent the next two hours eating and eating and eating...What a great place!

Then downstairs where we won some, lost some and walked away without being hurt badly. Overall, I think Nancy was even and I lost about $80.00.

Back home, we picked up my car and found out I have a new radiator, as a hole was punched in mine during the repair. We arrived back at my place and sat and watched "Hairspray" together before Nancy headed home.

A most wonderful two days with an incredible concert and a fabulous woman and friend.

THESE ARE THE DATES CURRENTLY LISTED AT BB KING'S WEB SITE...

6/26/2008 - Del Mar Fairgrounds - Del Mar, CA
6/28/2008 - Silver Legacy Resort Casino - Reno, NV
6/29/2008 - Monterey Fairgrounds - Monterey, CA
7/01/2008 - Britt Pavillion - Jacksonville, OR
7/03/2008 - Chateau Ste. Michelle Winery - Woodinville, WA
7/04/2008 - Northern Quest Casino - Spokane, WA
7/05/2008 - Maryhill Winery Amphitheater - Goldendale, WA
7/06/2008 - Les Schwab Amphitheater - Bend, OR
7/09/2008 - Solano County Fair - Vallejo, CA
7/11/2008 - Pacific Amphitheatre - Costa Mesa, CA

Now the pictures and a short video...(click all to enlarge)

Hello and happy Friday to all of our so special guests…

Well, yes this is about sports, but it is more about the social attitudes of those who happen to play sports than the sports themselves…and those social attitudes seem to be continuing to slide downward awful fast…

Chomp Chomp Chomp…
Pacman Jones (real name Adam Bernard Jones), was drafted into the NFL after his junior year at college. Since then, he has been arrested more times than he has intercepted a pass…

This guy has five arrests, many happening when he is around strip-clubs and he has been suspended for the entire 2007 season by new commissioner Roger Goodell who appears to have decided it is time for the NFL players to clean up their images.

Jones has not learned though, as after being suspended he still is in trouble. He was stopped in May for speeding in a car not registered to him and in June was questioned about a shooting at a …ready kiddies…strip-club. He was not at the scene when the shooting occurred, but it involved members of his entourage.

Ah the ever present entourage....

And The Wheel Goes Round And Round…
Leading the Tour de France, having won the yellow jersey on Wednesday, Michael Rasmussen was sent home last night and told not to come back.

Insisting that "doping is the enemy, not cycling" and that "things are changing" for the better, the organizers of the Tour de France hailed the ouster of Michael Rasmussen from the race on Thursday.

Rasmussen, a 33-year-old Dane, was expelled by his Rabobank team late Wednesday for lying about his whereabouts to avoid drug tests before the Tour started July 7.

Instead of being in Mexico, as he repeatedly said, he was seen training in Italy. That unraveled his week long defense that he had evaded the unscheduled tests by mistake, not by design.

Rasmussen left his team hotel in Pau late Wednesday for Italy, race officials said, adding that the French police had arrived at the hotel just too late to arrest him. (sorry, can't stop myself...isn't the line 'the French police arrived at the hotel just too late...' kind of redundant? Like what have those people ever done on time or correctly?)

At a news conference before the start of the 17th stage, Christian Prudhomme, the race director, said, "What happened yesterday is probably the best thing that has happened in the last eight days."

Shit…why not just make the drugs allowable and let all the riders do them…this race has become a farce unto itself. Last years winner American Floyd Landis is still hiding out in shame after having his race tests come back positive and losing his title.

YO…people...they are gonna take blood…they are gonna test you…and they ain’t buying that your girlfriend was going to leave you unless your hair thickened up…

WHISTLE IF YOU LIKE ME
Everyone knows Michael Jordan likes to lay a few sheckles at the craps table and on the golf course. The NBA knew all that …but it was MICHAEL!

Now comes word that Tim Donaghy, who spent 13-years as an NBA ref, may have been effecting the outcome of games with his calls…a whole new way for the gamblers to deal with POINT-SHAVING!

Don’t ask the athlete making $20,000,000.00/year to take a dive…have to pay them too much money. So go to the guys who can totally influence a game…the refs.

A minute left, favored team up by 5 but the point spread is 3…gamblers have their money on the underdog. Underdog forward brings the ball down, time ticking away, up goes the three point shot…the defender goes up in the air and maybe, just maybe the very tip of his finger touches the shooter…

WHISTLE….foul shots…

Player makes two of three…his team loses, but the gamblers win…

Now David Stern, commissioner of the NBA is calling this the “darkest day the NBA has known.”

DAVID…dude…you are partially to blame for this. There were reports this guy might not be on the up and up, yet the NBA could not find proof. DO you know how many NBA security officials are at a game… a minimum of three…one for each team and ONE FOR THE REFS!

How does this happen? Easy. Guy likes to bet…loses money…some low-level associate of the bookie approaches and says ‘hey make sure the Pistons win by more than 7 tonight and your debt foes away.’


Hangin’ With The Homies
You are the starting quarterback for an NFL team. You have endorsements coming out of every orifice of your body. The owner of your team loves you to death, even though you really have not lived up to your potential…so, what do you do for fun?

You own fighting dogs and you train them to kill other dogs and you bet on them all you can….and if they lose, you and your friends kill them yourselves…

Then when it all comes out you use the handy ‘well, it is my house, but I am never there and I let my friends use it. I have no idea what goes on there.’

That’s right folks, the all encompassing ‘I have my head up my ass and do not know what is going on around me’ defense…

Mr. Michael Vick has had some other off the field scraps, including; Vick was asked to throw the water bottle away before going through security at an airport and made a fuss before finally doing so. The bottle was collected and found to have a false bottom. Originally it was reported there were traces of pot in the compartment, but that was later proven false.

In March 2005 a woman filed a civil lawsuit against Vick alleging she contracted genital herpes from Vick and that he failed to inform her that he had the disease. She further alleged that Vick had visited clinics under the alias "Ron Mexico" to get treatments and thus he knew of his condition.

This led to a deluge of fans ordering customized #7 Atlanta Falcons jerseys on NFLShop.com with the name "Mexico" on the back.

Due to the media interest surrounding the case, the National Football League disallowed the use of the jersey/name combination two days after the lawsuit. On April 24, 2006 Vick's attorney, revealed that the lawsuit had settled out of court with a undisclosed settlement

Now, he has been told to stay away from training camp and yesterday was his arrangement on the dog fighting and cruelty to animal charges.

And another horrible consequence of this…this case actually makes those imbeciles from PETA look like they are intelligent humans and not bizarre ‘let the animals live, kill the humans’ protesters.

Did Anyone Hear A Pin Drop?
As a point of reference, the Major League Baseball Home Run Record is 755 by Mr. Henry Aaron.

There are ONLY FIVE players who have hit more than 600 home runs in the history of the game. Now conservatively speaking, since 1900 there have been 7,600 players in the majors...

(OK, how did we get to 7,600? We know you were wondering Sparky...

24 (number of players) multiplied by 20 (average number of teams a year) multiplied by 75 (number of years, cut down for conservatism) divided by 5 (length of service) to get a CONSERVATIVE estimate

ANYWAYYYYYYYY ...sheesh...

Wait? What was that? You didn't know Mr. Sosa had hit his 600th home run? Should have been big news that even local news stations might mention...

But, with the black cloud hanging over his head the feat was met with a small pop instead of a huge celebration. His career, once a thing of a made-for-TV-movie, began to disintegrate when he was found to be using a corked bat during a game.

Then the specter of steroid use enveloped him like the darkness found in the minds of some bloggers...

So, a grand celebration turned into a little pop goes the weasel.....kind of appropriate...

BUT...just watch..very soon, possibly this season Ken Griffey Jr. will hit his 600th home run and the celebration will be different. This is a young man who did it the right way and looked to be the one who would pass Mr. Aaron and probably rack up quite a few other records until injuries cut short too many seasons.

Every team athlete today has a "Personal Conduct Clause" in their contract. What constitutes a violation of a "PCC"?

Should it be invoked if one of your players visits a strip club? Should it be invoked if, at that strip club, they get into an altercation with a 'fan'? What about a bar, or a restaurant? The movies?

Is it enough that paternity suits begin to start coming out of the woodwork? (Hellllllo NBA!) Is being caught with marijuana enough? What about cocaine or crack? Hey, how about steroids?

We hear about this "PCC" all the time but so rarely hear it used. The Cincinnati Bengals would not be able to field a team if they used it. They probably win the award for the 'how to draft using a 10-most wanted list'...

Think we are fooling? Let's look at what has occurred since 2005:

1. Chris Henry (June 14th, ‘06) - providing alcohol to three under aged females. Did he score?
   
2. Chris Henry (Jan. 28th, ‘06) - possession of a concealed firearm, improper exhibition of firearm, aggravated assault with firearm. Why do we see him pulling his shirt front up to reveal the gun in his waistband. You all know the move...
   
3. A.J. Nicholson (June 3rd, ‘06) - burglary, vandalism, grant theft. Yeah, he ripped off a teammate. Now how do you think practices went for him after that?
   
4. Frostee Rucker (June 21st, ‘06) - vandalism, spousal battery. He-man stuff...sheesh.
   
5. Reggie McNeal (Dec. 3rd, ‘06) - resisting arrest and drug possession. 'But it was a clean hit coach!'
   
6. Eric Steinbach (Aug. 5th, ‘06) - boating under the influence. BUI...now don't you think he feels small around the rest of these guys?
   
7. A.J. Nicholson (May 18th, ‘06) - domestic violence. Another he-man...big guy loser.
   
8. Chris Henry (June 3rd, ‘06) - DUI, 0.092. Oh Chris...you character...
   
9. Odell Thurman (Sept. 25th, ‘06) - drunken driving, a 0.18. Think about that 0.18...guy was drunk enough for him and Matt-Man combined!
   
10. Deltha O’Neal (Dec. 9th, ‘06) - DWI, 0.10. Odell Thurman made fun of him for being such a pansy-man.
    
11. Matthias Askew (July 22nd, ‘06) - disorderly conduct, resisting arrest, failure to comply with police officer’s order, obstructing justice. Just a typical 'I am important reaction to officers trying to do their job.
    
12. Chris Henry (Dec. 15 ‘05) - weed possession. Don't bogart that joint, my friend, pass it over to me.....
    
13. Quincy Wilson (June 17, ‘07) - disorderly conduct. We once DJ'ed a wedding that got that crazy!
    

OK, OK, we know Chris Henry accounts for 4 of the thirteen (gosh we coulda' used this yesterday!).
Well…that is the end of our sports rant….

Yup…you got it…not one word on that other story. It will probably happen in the next few days and some will cheer and some will boo…

Hopefully in a few years that record will be broken by a guy named A-Rod…and the guy we have to hear about over and over will be gone and invisible from our lives.

Song of the day…

Back into the vault. Wayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy in the back we found this under some dust bunnies and cob-webs. August 5th 1967 is the date.

We are crossing the border (before you HAD to have a passport), to visit our friends up north.

Beautiful city of Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

The venue is The O'Keefe Centre. It is now known as The Hummingbird Centre For The Performing Arts (we think, we hope..hehehe...ANGELL...let us know!).

Since it is the weekend, we are giving you two from "The Jefferson Airplane"...At this time the band consisted of:

Enjoy "3/5ths Of A Mile In 10 Seconds", written by Marty Balin and the true Airplane anthem "Somebody To Love" which was written by Darby Slick who, at that time was Grace Slick's brother-in-law...

A bootleg recording, the sound is a bit flat but you certainly get the full effect of Grace cranking out the lyrics and holding those long notes she could hold on 'Somebody'.....

Personally, we love to turn it up after the song ends to hear the stage banter...on some it is so distinct, especially the Dead concerts direct from the sound board...