Show A Little Class

This is a picture of my kindergarten class. Bright, shining faces of the future America. Well that future America is now. All these kids are closing in on 40. Their dreams have already been realized, or crushed as the case may be. I don't have a clue as to where most of these people may be anymore... Hell, I can't remember who half of them are. I only know with 100% certainty what happened to one of them. The happy little guy on the far right of the middle row became the grumpy old dog typing this. It was a long road that brought me here.
The young man in blue, directly in front of me, was my best friend back then. He still lives in my old home town. I don't know what he does for a living, but he has a wife and a couple of kids. A southern man in a small town. His family all go to my church. Well, my mother's church anyway.
The redhead behind me became a police officer. I heard he was chief of police at Chowan Collage a few years back. He got a baseball scholarship to college, but he came back home, and as far as I know is still somewhere around there.
The girl opposite me on the left was my first crush. She went off to private school while I went to public. I think I saw her at a party our senior year, and didn't talk to her.
The boy behind her was close to genius level. He taught me to play chess in the second grade. I'm still not very good. We used to have deep discussions about books and music in the 4th and 5th grade. In high school he fell in with the potheads. I heard he had some drug related problems, but that was fifteen years ago. I haven't heard anything since.
The twins (#2 and #3 from left middle row) moved away when they were still young.
Top row middle went to private school a few years, but graduated from public with me. I went out with his sister once. Once being the operative word.
The boy to his right graduated with me. I was on the football team with him and the redhead. He left for college and I never saw him again.

I don't know who most of these people are anymore. I'm not sure if I had a point to this when I started. Just a glimpse into middle America.

Winner!

We have reached Ten Thousand visitors! Our winner is a regular visitor to this site, and not a local, so the BD Riley's T-shirt will be more of a novelty. In case you didn't realize you were the winner, you can identify yourself this way: Your hit came from Indiana... Tell me from what city, and what organization you accessed my site. When you e-mail, you may want to include what size shirt you need as well as a shipping address. (alphaknine at hotmail dot com or just click the mailbox picture on the right)

As for everyone else, normal blogging will resume tomorrow... I've slacked off long enough. Thanks, and keep tuning in.

UPDATE: Congratulations to Lisa from Indiana. Lisa was my 10,000th visitor. Lisa says she checks in regularly. I will be sending out to Lisa a B D Riley's T-shirt and a 20 oz Guinness glass courtesy of John Erwin the Publican. Thanks again Lisa.

Marse Robert

Robert E. Lee turns 200 today. A career soldier who served in Mexico and turned down leadership of the union forces to fight for his home state of Virginia. Promoted to commanding general of the confederate forces he led his Army of Northern Virginia against superior numbers and greater industrial might and defeated them time and again. After the war he became a President of Washington college (now Washington and Lee University) and remained such until his death in 1870. In most circles Lee still personifies "The Lost Cause" of the confederacy.

Robert E. Lee

Jan. 19, 1807 - Oct 12, 1870

Condone It? No... Understand It? Yes.

Reel Lines (6)

Bart: Are we awake?

Jim: We're not sure. Are we black?

Bart: Yes, we are.

Jim: Then we're awake, but very puzzled.

Deich Míle

That translates to "ten thousand" for all you gaelicly impaired individuals out there. I realize it's tough to keep up since I keep switching back and forth from Gaelic to Latin and such, but I feel my readers are up to it.

Have I told you lately how much I love my readers? No? Well then, it's time.

I am just a few hundred visits shy of my 10,000th visitor. Number 10k (to be verified by my site counter) will recieve a 20oz Guinness imperial pint glass, and a t-shirt from my favorite establishment: B.D. Rileys Irish Pub, here in Austin. (Feel free to click the link over there on the right)

Once I hit that ten thousand number, I'll give clues as to who it might be, if it's you, you should be able to verify it by answering a few simple questions via e-mail. There is a counter at the bottom of this page, if you log in and it says 10,000, it should be you, so shoot me an e-mail right then and take some of the guess work out of this.

God I hope it's a regular reader (or a new actual reader) and not some sick bastard looking for "dead dog pictures" or worse.

Good luck to all, and y'all come back now, y'hear.

Perducat Te Ad Vitam Aeternam

It is with a heavy heart that I announce the passing of Grizwold Lizard. Grizzie was a good iguana as far as I know about iguanas. I adopted her against my better judgement, and she lived with me for almost half her life... From North Carolina to Maryland and down to Texas. Old age finally caught up with her yesterday. A friend of mine normally given to pontification summed her up best, he said, "She is so... Sublime." Bye Griz. Won't be the same without you.

Kiss Me Deadly, A 100 Word Spy Story

007 struggled against his restraints until he saw the door handle turn. Into the room slipped Vod Kanockers, a Bulgarian double agent.
“I’m here to help end this” she whispered.
Bond could feel her hot breath as she loosened the ropes holding him to the chair.
She untied him and said, “I know where the remote device is, I’ll take you there, but first…”
Their lips met passionately.
Bond pulled away, “Let’s go.”
Suddenly the room blurred. “What… Why?” he implored.
“That’s for giving my sister the clap, you bastard”
10 seconds later part of London disappeared in a flash.

Go, Read, Listen, Enjoy, VOTE!

The Last Boy Scout

Last week we said a final farewell to President Gerald Ford. I was just a little kid when he was president, so all I know about him and his presidency I had to learn after the fact. Everything I read has led me to believe he was a good guy sucked into the machine.
An accomplished athelete, after a couple of televised slips and falls he was typecast as a bumbling clutz. Chevy Chase made his career by portraying him as all thumbs and two left feet. (how many of you out there are glad there aren't cameras following you around?) Through it all he grinned and bore it.
His congressional record is one of a man of integrity, and the programs he tried to introduce as president (as well as the spending bills he vetoed) scream of good intentions. Even his pardoning of Nixon (however decried it was) was the act of a man trying to do the right thing.
He wasn't elected either to VP or to POTUS, but by most accounts he performed adequately and steadfastly. I think it's a shame that in today's partisan political scene a good man's passing will be marred by insults and slurs simply due to the party with which he was affiliated.

Goodbye Mr. President.

They Said You Was Hung...

They was right!