So everybody knows, right?

About the news, that is. Y'all know about it now, don't you?

That explains the dearth of posts this month. I've been afraid of spilling the secret.

So now this blog, which was dedicated to my turning 40, has yet another reason to continue for the foreseeable future.

Tomato time

Those are my tomatoes. The first photo is from my cherry tomato plant. The second is from my tomato bush.

We've also got some bell peppers ...



And, of course, Jen's roses ...

I heart Keith Olbermann

No wonder the Yankees are in last place

There's a squirrel on the right field foul pole at Yankees Stadium!!!




This is not a good omen for the final season in the House that Ruth built.

Think gas prices are high now?

Just wait until 2010.

A leading oil expert said he expects $12 per gallon gas by then ...

http://www.businessandmedia.org/articles/2008/20080521145247.aspx

Yes, Peppas, I do think the Amish will own the nation. They're the only ones equipped to deal with the coming end of oil.

A quiz

Is this photo from ...

A. A concert
B. A political event

If you answered "B," you win.

That's from an Obama rally in Portland, Ore., this past weekend. Police and city officials estimated the crowd at 75,000.

Seventy-five thousand people to hear a politician speak!?! In 2008!?! That's impressive, no matter where you fall on the political spectrum.

Waste not, want not

Eye-opening story from the NYT on the amount of food Americans waste.

While there are food riots in some nations (not to mentions a lot of hungry people right here in the USA), about 27 percent of edible food winds up in landfills ...

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/18/weekinreview/18martin.html?_r=2&oref=slogin&pagewanted=all&oref=slogin

Man, the economy must be bad

How else do you explain this?

Cash-strapped drinkers are starting to trade down to economy beers, the chief executive of Miller Brewing Co. said Thursday.

The Milwaukee-based brewer saw some shift between higher-priced, premium beers and economy beers such as Miller High Life and Milwaukee's Best starting in January, Tom Long told reporters on a conference call.

http://www.journaltimes.com/articles/2008/05/15/local_news/doc482c5dd12d703998815550.txt

R.I.P. Mac

OK, first Dad cuts off the tip of his finger on Thursday night.

Then, Sunday, I get word my dog Mac isn't doing well. (I've left him at my Mom's house all these years because she's got a big backyard. And a Golden Retriever/Rottweiler mix that weighs 80 pounds needs a big backyard.)

Anyway, I go over there tonight and he's barely able to stand. It's come on pretty suddenly. He just lays there on his side, looking at me with these sad eyes. He always was a very active dog, chasing tennis balls from one end of the yard and back, so seeing him like this is very difficult for me.

Mom told me to be optimistic, it might be a virus he caught. But I'm pretty sure tomorrow morning's trip to the vet will be Mac's final one. He's old. I can't remember exactly how old he is. Mom said 13, but I'm pretty sure he's 14. For a dog that size ... well, he's outlived his life expectancy.

I still remember bringing him home. He was just weaned from his mom, a Golden Retriever. He was so small, I put him in the chest/belly pocket of a pullover windbreaker I was wearing. He snuggled in and fell asleep while I drove him home. I kept him inside for several months. I'd let him sleep with me until he was nearly fully grown.

Over the years, I spent less and less time with him. I'd got weeks without seeing him, even though Mom's house is only a mile away. I regret that. He deserved better from me.

This photo is from about two weeks ago. He's waiting on me to throw a tennis ball ...



He's gone. Vet offered to run tests, but said he was pretty sure it was kidney failure. I didn't want my big fella to be in any more pain, so I opted for ... you know.

Just the tip

At the Fort Smith Classic last night, I get a phone call from Dad. He tells me I need to come to Crawford County Hospital when I get a chance, because he's there ... for cutting off one of his fingers.

WHAT!?!

When I got there, I got the full story.

He was trimming the hair on the lower leg of one of his horses. To do that, he was holding one of the hooves in his left hand. The horse lost its balance and leaned against Dad. That caused Dad to lose balance. As he was falling, the horse stepped on his left hand.

He lost the tip of his ring finger on his left hand. By "tip" I mean from the cuticle on the top angling backwards to the knuckle on the bottom.

Anyway, he'll be fine.