Saturday, September 29, 2007

Saturday Update - September 29, 2007

Watch out Public – Here it comes. The official opening of Busy Dad Mumbles. This is my blog. An electronic place to collect my past mumbles and share thoughts on whatever I would like. Your thoughts and comments are appreciated.

My lovely bride came to me today and said, isn’t this a perfect Saturday? I’m thinking, there is lots of really good football, we are going to grill out tonight, and the kids were quiet, yep! So the answer that escapes from my mouth is “yea, pretty perfect.” However, I instantly knew the answer was not on target. The pause between my answer and next comment from the inquisitor was a dead give-away. Secretly, in my head, I am thinking what did I miss? Then I get to hear the answer I should have given. “Today, the mail delivered the weekly People Magazine and the 2008 IKEA catalogue.” Oh!, Yea that is exactly what I was going to say next! (I have to admit IKEA has some pretty cool stuff.)

The Purple Dragons Update. This week only one game to report on for the Purple Machine. Lots of cool things took place. We threw multiple passes this week. In our league the rules indicate you have to throw on certain parts of the field or when you are ahead of the opposing team by a two touchdown lead. We were none of those at the time the aerial attack took place. The other team was very surprised at the successive throws and completions. This increased the number of requests in the huddle to play quarterback or to be a receiver. By the way, this week we had a substitute offensive coordinator, me. Due to business Coach Bowen was traveling. Coach Vernon our regular sideline coach stepped in to help. The game was also unique because we played iron man football and coaching. Only seven of our young warriors were available for the game and two coaches, no substitutes. Our stated goal is that every member of the team will score an offensive touchdown and pull a flag on defense. Well, we have achieved the later. In a David versus Goliath moment the littlest member of our team found himself in the path of an on coming train, that is how it must have looked to him and his mom hollering on the sidelines. The ground between the two was being closed quickly. Our little guy wasn’t moving at first. Then a step, then another and just as there was about to be a collision a small hand shoots out and little man goes flying through the air. Not the he dove, this is illegal, the wind from the passing truck blew him off his feet. Then a whistle and the arm shoots up in the air and two looks of surprise. Our little guy, David, that he has a flag, and the train, Goliath, that he has been stopped by the little man. The whole place goes crazy, the parent of little man, the other 6 members of the Purple Dragons, two coaches, and the high school age referee. Little man acquired two other flags this game. Now to work for the touchdowns goal

There have been some strange cell phone calls this week from some guy named Charlie. He wants a copy of the Purple Dragon offensive playbook.
He said his name is Charlie Weiss. He has a New England accent, with a hint of Irish. It has to be a prank call.

Bama News. Congratulations to the Georgia Bulldog fans. Going into Tuscaloosa and laying some lumber to the Tide. Things do look much better than last year. Alabama seems to believe they can win. We are thrilled to have Coach Saban, for now. You know us Crimson fans have high expectations. We would love to put a beating on Grandpa Bowden this weekend.

The Ducks are playing the Cal Bears this afternoon. The Quack Attack has slayed the Cougars, Bulldogs, a color (The Cardinal), and the Wolverines of Michigan. Can they make a Bearskin rug? We are hoping the Quackers keep focused. It has been a tough week for the ranked teams. Ask the Mountaineers and OH! Who? (Oklahoma University). This time Oh! Who? Can’t blame the refs for ending the pursuit of the crystal trophy. Last year a Duck this year a Buffalo stampede. Udder destruction is taking place on television….Kansas State is handing it to the Milk Cows in Austin. There are so many OU and UT fans I must schedule meeting with this coming week. (I can’t contain myself)

Cultural Events begin! (Please read with a British Accent.) The National Hockey League season has started in England? I didn’t say New England but the Old, King George, Queen Elizabeth, Camilla Parker Bowles, England. At O2 Arena, in London, England to be exact. The first face off of the season took place in a real foreign country, not like Canada. To get to this game you had to cross an ocean. The first “puck off” was in jolly olde England. You know that culture has finally arrived in Europe when the National Hockey League comes to town. On! On!

Males Unite. There is one of our own that is being culled out from the herd for doing what he was asked to do. You know, the Male Compliance Brain, doing what was asked of you, not what was meant of you. This guy, trying to complete his assigned task didn’t know there were options, especially, the unspoken, no instructions manual, didn’t get the estrogen based magazine article, or secret the decoder ring message. And the symbol of this oppression! Our own Liberty Bell. Support (Peter)! This is a great story on the Blog of Rhonda. Father, trying to help…. Isn’t this how most of our stories of woe being?

Everyone have a great weekend. More mumbles to come.

Friday, September 28, 2007

Saving the Planets Resources One Wiz at a Time


Sustainability - My employer is discussing saving the resources of the planet. Here is one way to save water. This is wonderful simple and makes good sense. Congratulations to the Sloan Company for developing a product that helps us to use less water. Waterless Urinal




Saturday, September 22, 2007

Week of Champions

Heeeellllloooooo. Hope all are doing well this week.

First, nods to champions of all kinds. “Fire and Brimstone” has made another appearance after 27 years between contests. With a win last Sunday in a Church Chili Contest in Maryland international acclaim status can be bestowed on “Fire and Brimstone”, my Mom’s chili. First win was in Germany when “Fire and Brimstone” was entered by children on behalf of the busy, multi-tasking, multi-eventing, entrant. Go Mom! Could this chili be coming to store shelves near you?

Reporting from Walton’s Mountain has been a quiet week. I must thank Mr. Saban and the team from Tuscaloosa for downing the Fayetteville Razorbacks. The swine have been remarkably subdued this week after the fourth quarter comeback last Saturday. I have noticed a number of comments about 2008. Only 358 plus days to go! There must be some correlation between before game contact and after game comments! My shout out to a Bama Fan on Walton’s Mountain. Last Monday morning as I walked to work, there, at the front row, in a parking lot equal to the size of the Pentagon, flew a Bama pennant from a car window. The accomplishment is one, getting there that early, to be in the front row. Also, being right next to the crosswalk made the flagless parking lot seem so, well…..flagless.

Thanks to the readers of the weekly note. This has been a great way to get back in touch with family and friends. The stories you share are the slices of life that provide great joy and material. The responses to the stories are beautiful.
This is like the MasterCard commercial.
A few minutes at the computer: $ 10.00
Access to the internet: $20.00
Hearing Kim Gibson describing her husband Rodney’s reaction to the first Auburn turnover - Priceless

Catch’ in up has been fun. On a recent call Marc Woodward, in Atlanta, was feeding his son Nicholas. Marc, for those of you who don’t know him is one of the beautiful people in the world as is his lovely bride Jeanne. As we chatted on the phone he is feeding sweet potatoes to his son. All is well until the youngster begins to place the food items on the floor and in his hair. It’s hard to talk about stuff with sweet potatoes. I hope all is well.

Norte Dame – Latin for Mommy! Isn’t it interesting once the team has hit bottom now they remember the Catholic roots of the school. Also, I bet signing the 10-year television contract with CBS really is coming home to roost. In the old TV days the networks put teams on television that were doing well and left the not so well to mend. Not now! Norte Dame is on every Saturday even when they create a vacuum. Pretty bad when Norte Dame has to do reruns of the movie Rudy to see an offensive touchdown.

I do have to weight in on the Michigan vs. Notre Dame Game. It was an early bowl season. The Loser Bowl. Michigan fans were cheering as they beat Norte Dame. Interesting watching two OH! And two (0-2) teams play...someone had to win.

The Purple Dragons have achieved 1-1 and 1. There were two games this week. In this league we are not suppose to keep wins and losses, but the kids know. The tie game on Monday night was a big save by Mr. Hayden Wilson. As the other team ran a reverse, much to the surprise of the refs and the opposing coaches the whole team was faked out. Hayden put on the speed and caught this kid’s flag. The young man was 10 yards ahead of him and then Hayden was on him. This preserved our tied status and allowed both teams to walk off the field with two touchdowns. It also kept our unbeaten streak alive.

Thursday night was a different story. We ran into a buzz saw, the Flag football version of the Patriots. This team had some really big kids. We also picked up on a few (Belechik) tips that allowed them to seem so focused on finding the open receivers and a defense that seemed to know exactly what we were running. Not that our five page play book is all that difficult to figure out. We have always allowed our kids to pick who they are throwing to. We also just line up the defense and let them play. This team, within the rules, since that book was only two typed pages, tells the kids who to go after on defense or where to throw on offense. We showed them. They scored more running touchdowns with their two adult kids but we completed two passes in the game and came up with 8 knockdowns, a face smash, and two interceptions. The face smash was when our guys either try to catch the ball or knock it to the ground, however, on this type of play the ball crashes into the face of one of our players and causes sorrow and tears. (This causes two plays of checking on the player in the huddle.) We have one game this week and one practice. Keep us in your thoughts.


Have a wonderful week.

Saturday, September 15, 2007

Hail to the Victors

Hail to the Victors

Starting the season with a perfect record is a good sign of preparation, coordination, well prepared athletes, and great coaching. The Home field advantage and the support of the fans is a key contribution to the success, as well. That is the story of the CJ Purple Dragons Flag Football Team (ages 5 to 8). Under the leadership of Head Coach, Offensive Genius, Jeremy Bowen and Defensive Specialist, me. The record is 1 and 0. We have a better record than Notre Dame. We have scored more offensive touchdowns than Michigan and Notre Dame, combined. And our defense has scored a flag football safety, according to the refs that was the first they had ever seen. Auburn Coach Tommy Tubberville would like our defense and its appears he may need it. Thursday evening the Purple Dragons took to the field with butterfly's all around. The players provided some memorable moments throughout the game as did the highly compensated coaching staff.

One of the favorite comments came at the start of the game when one of the youngsters after putting on his jersey, putting in his mouthpiece, and having his hair fluffed by his Mom, turned to the coaches and said "now what are we supposed to be doing tonight?" Now there is a future leader of our nation.

There was initial concern the first series of plays for the defensive side of the ball. The other team lined up and put a kid in motion. A kid in motion??.... all seven of my young guns looked at me. Why is he moving before the ball is snapped?... That was not the first question in my mind. The look on my fellow coaches faces showed concern with our level of preparedness and level of complexity of defensive response. Lucky for us the pre-game jitters caused the motion man to run himself out of the play.

The nerves were high especially in the first couple of offensive huddles. The coach took out his well diagrammed series of 4 to 6 plays. Players are assigned positions, the play is called and then the team approaches the line of scrimmage. By the third huddle Coach Bowen had 7 assistant coaches, asking to play a different position, looking to have the ball, not have the ball, players suggesting plays and requests to go to the sideline to see my bus driver. Having been a linemen on offense talking in the huddle was not permitted at any level I played. As a linebacker all eyes were on me for the signal. I could see the look in the eyes of my fellow coach. He must have been mentally reviewing the clauses in his contract to see where he could get a raise.

All kidding aside. The Purple Dragons have stayed true to the rules of the game. Everyone was the quarterback and everyone ran the ball. We can't wait for this coming week. Two games, one Monday and one Thursday. We'll keep you posted. The quest for the crystal football continues.

Ribs and Football

Ribs or Wibs, however, you spell them they are the favorite food of Hayden, "Blitz Monster", Wilson. Number 5 of the Purple Dragons has always been a conusor of the meat on the bone. Well, this weekend Hayden, due to the kindness of a fellow associate, has three racks of Dreamland Bar-B-Que and a full bottle of Dreamland sauce. "There ain't nothing like'm no where."

We will be able to enjoy ribs and football today. The Tide will be playing the team closest to Walton's Mountain in Arkansas. I must say in advance I am concerned about the outcome of the game. If John Parker Wilson, the Bama Quarterback doesn't stop staring down his receivers this could be a tough game. Should John Parker not be successful, he is already appropriately named for a criminal. Have you ever noticed that? Why do all the criminals have three names?

Think of us today. While we are eating ribs and watching Bama. Wish all of you could be here routing for your team.

Good luck to all of the other teams out there. I know the Black Knights of the Hudson are very excited to be coming off of a win. Congratulations! It has been a long time in coming.

Happy Birthday's and Great News

First, happy birthday to my brother John. He celebrated another birthday on the 14th. He also received a new car for his birthday. I would like to remind his most generous spouse that my birthday is on May 16th. Please keep me on your gift list. Also, John recieved great medical news that has been two years in coming. The tumor in his brain has died. All indications appear that his quest for health is over. Thanks for all of the prayers. (Must admit. This is much bigger news than the Purple Dragons.)

Second, Happy Birthday to Charlie Wilson. The Portland, Oregon brother is celebrating a birthday today. My best to Chas who started a new job with Brooks sporting. He has team sales. This may give him an in with the Purple Dragons.

Saturday, September 8, 2007

Soggy Saturday

We are experiencing a soggy Saturday here in the Midwest. It has been raining on and off for the past couple of days. Glad to have the rain just a little gun shy on the volume.

Since it is rainy outside today it looks like we will have to stay in and watch football. What a sacrifice. The Alabama versus Vanderbilt game is on. Currently, Bama is winning, it is in the 3rd quarter. So, to my readers the tone of the e-mail could change pending on the outcome of the game.

Katherine and Hayden are awaiting the start of the Auburn game later this evening. We are expecting a very positive day for both teams. Tommy and the boys do need to watch out for South Florida. ESPN is looking for this weeks Michigan. You know the maize and blue hates it when their big flop in football has made their performance a grammatical description of failure. You know Bo Shembeckler and former President Gerald Ford have got to be rolling over in their graves.

Next week Alabama will be playing Arkansas. I'm hoping this year it will be more pleasant on Walton's Mountain. When the Hogs beat both Alabama and Auburn last year it made life in Wally World tough. The office is eat up with Arkansas people. Can I tell you just how annoying the call Pig Soo We is? Let's hope this year is more pleasant.

My career as a flag football coach started last week. Hayden is playing for the CJ Purple Dragons and I am coaching. This is flag football for 5, 6 and 7 year olds. We have had a couple of practices and it should be fun. The kids are great. This weeks dilemma was how can we talk and call signals with the mouth piece in so others can hear and understand each other. Jeremy Bowen, an Operations Manager, with the General Mills plant here is the head coach. He has two sons on the team. The practices have been lots of fun. We have our first game this Thursday. Keep the Purple Dragons in your thoughts.

Hayden will be continuing his pursuit of the Heisman Trophy this season. In the first huddle he asked for the ball. He flew down the field. He returned to the huddle and asked for it again. I still remember the game and the play last year when the young man decided it was okay to run at the other guys and keep going even as they got closer. He did do the, Hi Mom!, thing when he scored his first touchdown. There must be something Mom's do before the game to make that happen.

The siblings are appreciating the youngest member of the crew. Abigale asked her dad to acquire Breyers Bubble Gum Flavored Ice Cream. The initial reactions from the older siblings was that the youngest had obviously misjudged and didn't know what she was getting. The Minister of Plan, Hayden, and the Queen of Chocolate, Katherine, sneered at the initial acquisition. This did not dampen Abigale's excitement. When it was time to enjoy the treat it was the Minister of Plan that was the first to look at the treat and decide to request a small sample. Upon trying the goodie that was being consumed by the youngest a convert was had. Next to get into the sampling group was Rebecca. She was enjoying the good stuff. You could see the stature of the youngest growing. Since the completion of the ice cream feast there have been a number of comments about how cool that was that Abigale picked the Bubble Gum Ice Cream. The Legend continues.

Have to go. Need to get some rest. Tomorrow we start Fantasy Football. Have to go start plotting for the Championship of the league.

Have a wonderful weekend,

Saturday, September 1, 2007

Happy Labor Day

The weekend has finally arrived. The holiday actually began on Thursday evening. FOOTBALL is BACK. For all of us who have been trying to cope since the last College Football game was played in January this weekend is all about getting our game on.

Congratulations to the LSU fans in the crowd. My best to the MSU fans. You both are okay people. A beat down is a beat down but it was a family, SEC, thing. The quest for the crystal football at the end of the year has begun.

Being out here on the edge of football civilization has been tough the past two years. People here in Missouri are actually excited that Missouri could win 7 games this year. These are great people in the mid west, but let's get with it. Your coach gets fired for 7 wins in the real conference. Coaches here get a new tractor...

Let's get ready for some football!!!!!!
Can you tell that I am excited.

Auburn does play Arkansas in Fayetteville about 90 minutes away. We, the Missouri Wilson's are so desperate for SEC football we will go drive to the campus and stand outside the stadium. We do have a couple of misguided children that are excited to have Auburn in the area. (Hey, I'm even routing for TROY this weekend, cause they are from Alabama) Arkansas is still trying to shake all of the years of the Southwest Conference so they are still learning the correct celebration of a football Saturday. They are still at honorable mention stage.

I have described my hero's of football Chad Jordan and the Roberts to people here and they just don't get it. Chad would begin talking about next season the minute last season ended and would begin strategizing about tickets. (Congratulations on the arrival of daughter number three!!!!) He also understands the value of seeing Spring Practice to help make it through the long drought of football from January to the fall. The Roberts, Chris and Jill, even though we may not agree with the choice of team, are on the pedestal of fandom. Jill begins preparing goodies for the ultimate in tailgate experience the day after arriving home from the last game and continues until she has to leave. Once at the location of the game, be it at home or very afar, the hospitality is incredible. She has even extended her graciousness to fans routing for the other team. Chris, her hubby, gets the logistics of the event set up. Parking spot, generator, direction of the wind, and where is the best shade. He also has the most fun at these events with kids of all ages. (I'm going on the premise of it takes one to know one.) Fond memories of great people.

Football is finally here. Hope all have a wonderful weekend. My best to the fans in and outside of the SEC. Time to play the games.

To all a happy Labor Day weekend. Please make sure you have stocked up on all of your goodies at your local Wal-Mart. (Give me A W....Give me and A)...Hope you understand.

Have a great weekend.