All posts tagged: Random DJB Thoughts

Good-bye Basketball, Hello Baseball

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It is a good thing I don’t bet on sports. Last weekend, as college basketball teams were playing to reach the Final Four, I found myself in a strange position: leading my office “friendly” pool after three of the four teams had been decided.  I had Kentucky and Wisconsin. I even picked Michigan State to make it.  I never win March Madness pools or similar challenges, I don’t play fantasy anything, and I don’t bet.  (Andrew’s godfather – John Lane – says it best:  “I have the same chance of winning the lottery whether I buy a ticket or not!) But here I was, getting giddy at the prospect of leading our pool going into the final four games. And then my head lost out to my heart. I so wanted Gonzaga to get into the final weekend.  I so did not want to see another Duke team in the Final Four – even if I thought they had the best chance to beat hated Kentucky. So I went with my heart…and got bumped from …

Lesson #61: You Never Know…

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Earlier this week, two colleagues and I were “stranded” in New Orleans because of multiple flight cancellations back to DC.  Monday evening they surprised me by taking me out for an early birthday dinner at a wonderful restaurant called Herbsaint – which just happens to be where the husband of the former executive assistant who made a cameo in my 60 Lessons From 60 Years (Lesson #18) now works. One of those colleagues just sent the following message: I was struck by the juxtaposition of the two images…of David’s celebrations. I think the takeaway is that you should always go ahead and have the deep fried lamb neck, dirty rice with sausage, fantastic pinot, and decadent dessert when you have the opportunity. You never know what comes next! I think I’ve just discovered Lesson #61. More to come… DJB

Quest for the Best (2015 Edition, Round 2)

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Since our last report on our quest to see the Best Picture, Candice and I have seen three more of this year’s nominees.  So let’s get to it. We walked to our “commercial” theatre (the Regal) in downtown Silver Spring earlier this week to see Selma. This movie has had its share of controversy, from the treatment of Lyndon Johnson in the film, to the snub from the Academy in terms of award nominations. David Oyelowo was excellent as Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in a performance certainly deserving of a Best Actor nomination. But the film was stilted at times, and uneven. Selma is not the year’s Best Picture, but it is the most important film of the year.  We forget too quickly how difficult it was to attain rights for all, and how much pressure there is, even today, to restrict or even take away those rights.  I have members of my extended family who love to wave the Confederate flag, without any understanding of what that really means. I grew up in …

Well, This Will Be Easy

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Well, not watching Super Bowl 49 will be easy! Last year I wrote a post saying I was through with the NFL.  I even  gave 10 reasons.  (And yes, Daniel Snyder topped the list and he still holds the top spot after this year’s debacle.)  I’ve pretty much kept to my promise. But to find out today that my least-favorite teams – the Seattle Seahawks and the New England Patriots – will be in the Super Bowl is just perfect.  We have the battle of the super-egos (and with these two teams, you can pick multiple candidates). After Seattle won today, I heard Russell Wilson gushing about how God had prepared him for a game like today.  I’ve got news for Russell Wilson:  God doesn’t give a damn about whether the Seahawks win or lose. Or the Patriots.  Or the Nationals, for that matter. (Just to prove that I’m an equal opportunity atheist when it comes to God and sports.) She has much more important things to do. I think I’ll be watching paint dry …

A revolting development

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Early last week I received an email from a colleague that said, “Hi David. I wanted you to know that I am in your hometown of Murfreesboro tonight (for a work-related dinner)…What a wonderful place!” She’s right about the last point.  I’ve written about the wonders of growing up in Murfreesboro before on More to Come…. I suspect she had driven past the Rutherford County Courthouse all decked out for the Christmas holidays on the town square, and I suggested she drive by 407 E. Main Street to see “the old home place.” (Photo below – our old home is the one on the right.) Little did I know that I’d be driving by those same sites in just a few days. But life has a way of intruding on the best-laid of plans.  (So who cares if I haven’t bought the first Christmas present?) On Thursday, my phone lit up at work as both my sister and brother called multiple times within about ten minutes and I feared something was wrong. I soon learned.  …

The “Not All Who Wander Are Lost Tour” Lives On!

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Regular readers will recall those intrepid travelers – Claire and David – making their way cross-country in August on what I dubbed the “Not All Who Wander Are Lost” tour. For twenty days, father and daughter crossed this great land, all the while keeping readers of More to Come… updated on our travels with daily posts, photos, and stories. It was a once-in-a-lifetime bucket list adventure for both of us. So you can imagine my delight when Claire told us a few weeks ago that she had placed a map of the US on the wall in her dorm room, with the route outlined and photos from the trip displayed along the way. Old school wall posting.  Oh my…do I love that daughter of mine! The first thing I did when Candice and I walked into Claire’s dorm room on this late October/early November “she’s not coming home for Thanksgiving so we’re going out to see her” visit, was to go and see THE MAP. And I wasn’t disappointed. Just look at that beauty.  Twenty …

Music of Water + Fire

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Saturday evening’s WaterFire Providence – an award-winning sculpture installation featuring 100 blazing bonfires floating atop the water of Providence’s rivers – was capped with a terrific Brown University Chorus concert of Water and Fire-theme music. It was the perfect ending to a wonderful fall Saturday of activities during the university’s family weekend. After a late-night Friday dinner at Gracie’s (if you go to Providence you must eat at Gracie’s, and then have breakfast at Ellie’s, the restaurant’s partner bakery), we slept in a bit on Saturday but made it up in time for a fascinating lecture as part of the Family Weekend Forums.  Professor of Medicine Richard Besdine spoke on Fit at 50, Sexy at 70, Nimble at 90:  The Fundamentals of Healthy Aging to a room full of parents who looked a great deal like us!  (He added the “Nimble at 90” part of the title on the fly, and noted that our children’s granddaughters – Andrew and Claire’s granddaughters – would have a life expectancy of 100.) While there wasn’t anything we hadn’t …