5  And yesterday and Saturday I pulled my paper stacks out of an overstuffed backpack and began grading papers again.

6  Endless, lemme tellya.

7  Ah, vell.

8  I hope ya had fun.

9  Last Wednesday I made a list of things I am thankful for. Helene's brother Ron was the only person who couldn't get here. He had been rushed to the hospital the week before last for respiratory failure.  He was okay, but on Thanksgiving his leg swelled up and he couldn't get down here. I offered to give him a ride, but it woulda been too uncomfortable. We settled on a cell phone conversation at dinner, and it helped him along.

10  Otherwise, it all worked out.

11  Moving on: When I was a young-un, I always enjoyed listening to older people talk. They always said the same stuff, which was comforting. "How ya doin?" "Can't complain." "No one would give a hoot anyway." "Well your lookin' good." "I got my health." "Was it that long ago?", etc.

12  A part of me laughs as I say that because I remember being in college and making the same sorts of exchanges with my friends.

13  I also remember being 25 and goofing on how I was one-fourth of a hundred. I felt older, slower, and already complaining of things hurting longer than they had when I was younger.

14  So when I would see friends, I'd say, "Hey, I got my health."

15  One Christmas a million years ago I recall talking with my grandmother. I was 25 and beginning to complain about getting older.  She had some complaint or other, and I assured her that I too was beginning to creak and crack, even at 25. I told her how I was starting to get aches and pains I never had before, and how swiftly time went by. She just looked at me for a minute before offering her two cents. Her eyes twinkled, she smiled and said with a chuckle, "You? You're just a pup!"

16  I think of that often.

17  At 25 I felt so old.

18  And what's really funny is that for the most part, I feel exactly the same as I did when I was 25. Ah, a few bones hurt more. The mind forgets a bit more, but overall I feel pretty darned good compared to people much older than me.

19  Than I.

20  Whatevuh.

21  Moving on, Part the Second: I played my guitar on Friday night.  It had been a while. I realized I was better than when I was 25, but much worse than I could be.

22  I played Duncan by Paul Simon. I mentioned that little ditty in a recent DN.

23  On Saturday I watched some weird little movie called 10 Items or Less with Morgan Freeman. Near the end of the movie that song played. I love a little synchronicity now and again. I loved the version of the song in the movie. I also love the lyrics.

24  I was playin' my guitar lyin' underneath the stars just thankin' the Lord for my fingers, for my fingers...

25  It made me again thankful for all I have. It also made me irked at all the papers I have to grade instead of spending time with friends and family and all.

26  But even then I became thankful that I have a good job that I enjoy.

27  Learning to live life and to love life is an ongoing lesson. We get so caught up in our lives being frittered away with details when it can really be so simple.

28  Learning to appreciate all you have and to stop complaining about what you don't is a key to it all.

29  I'm glad that the Thanksgiving celebration has morphed into that rather than all that Pilgrim stuff. In my mind, it's all about family and friends, and being truly thankful for things you still have.

30  Despite all, there's still a whole lotta good out there. And it's usually right under your nose.

31  I know.

32  I'm still a pup.

33  Enjoy your Monday.

34  Fly especially low.

35  Peace.

 

http://www.xanga.com/bharrington

 

The Daily News 1  Hooray, it's finally here! 2  Iono. I somehow always love Thanksgiving. 3  Maybe not even remotely for anything historical, but because I'm just glad still to be around. 4  And I'm just as excited that most everybody else is around as well. 5  As we roll merrily along this ancient stroll, we all should look around and count a few blessings. 6   I don't wanna be preachy really, but we need to stop worrying about our jobs, our messy yards, our lack of money, and all those other thousand natural worries that try to taint our lives. 7  This is the time of year when we need to realize how important our friends and families are to us. 8  We don't have to pull them aside and say, "I love you" and all that. It isn't necessary. 9  When someone makes you laugh in the next few days, just laugh along merrily. When a song breaks out, jump in and have at it. 10  Enjoy the preparations. Enjoy your friends. Enjoy no work, jobs, homework, midterms, or any other boushit you encounter every day. Defy those things and dare to appreciate smiles on the faces of old people. No poem in literature can match&nbs p;the smile and laughter of someone who has lived still enjoying living despite all. 11  Love that they're here. A lot of people you started out with aren't any longer, but hold fast to the REAL people in your life. 12  Oooooops. Got preachy. 13  I'll try to stop. 14  I have so much to look forward to anywho. 15  First, I got a brand spankin' new laptop for free yesterday. This DN is her maiden voyage. Second, I realized around two days ago that I've never had a yam. Never. So I may have my  maiden voyage with a yam this year, and I  can't yellya how excited I yam. M'bad. 16  I can't wait to see my Mom and Dad. They had a tough year, but they're also tough cookies. And even though we've been through about a kajillion trips to the hospital in the past three years, they still make me laugh hysterically, and I love them beyond all measure. 17  I can't wait to see Dorothy, my mother-in-law, who lives in Paradise and had to live in fear all summer that her house might burn down. That fire came within a mile of her h ouse, and black pieces of burning embers landed in her yard. But she's a tough cookie too, and has the ability to make entire rooms laugh to the point of tears. Her place in Paradise is still as beautiful as ever. Sooooooo lucky, but hey, who deserves it more? Best mother-in-law on Earth, I swear to you. And her house in the mountains made it through those horrible fires. 18  Once again we had a summer of heroic firefighters and police officers guiding people through this stuff. 19  Helene's brothers are coming down. Russ also lives in the Paradise area and came through reasonably unscathed. Ron had a respiratory crisis just last week and was rushed to the hospital unable to breathe. Some quick friends and a friendly hospital put him back together again. 20  That crisis happened just last week. He's coming down today I think. 21  Her uncle has been battling every sort of thing you could name, but he's coming down to party along with us. Besides being handsome as a prince, he is also hilarious and fun. 22  My sister Gayle lost her job last week, and it was a job she absolutely loved. Hard times, tough cookies though. Gayle is a trooper and will carry on famously. 23  My sister Linda works with little guys, teaching up in the Sacramento/Roseville area directing plays with Special Ed kids. We exchange theatrical war stories and no matter which show or which theater, nothin's better 24  Both Caitlin and Nicole have had a rough go. Nicole's car just stole around $900 from her right before Christmas, and Caitlin is somehow clobbering the town of Sacramento. 25  Helene has attended all of these folks with grace and patience, giving up most of her vacation days to help others constantly. She's a rock and a foundation, as well as being my best friend. 26  Ponch is getting his band ready to hit London. 27  Rocha and I spent much of yesterday insulting one another like no two other people could. The guy is the man. 28  My '05 'ers are all over the Earth making each day the best day of the year. 29  Joe's is still Joe's. 30  The Sharks kick ass. 31  And me? 32  Ah, I have Jury duty. I hope the judge is Judge Judy, and she uses public humiliation on this, the most Puritan of American hollerdayz. 33  And Goof, let's jam d00d. 34  I love you all, everything. 35  Happy Thanksgiving. 36  Peace. ~H~ www.xanga.com/bharrington

 

 The Daily News

1  Okay so this just happened.

2  I have jury duty today, which is cool, but I'm "on call", which means I can't make any plans but I also can't go in to work because they may need me today at 1:30.

3  That's all fine and dandy except that grades are due today at 4 p.m.

4  The picture from yesterday's DN probably says more about grades being due than anything.

5  It's the teaching equivalent to a major project due in high school or college.

6  It takes hours and hours to finish grading everything and entering it. I know it SOUNDS easy, but it's got to be 100% accurate in the event of backlash. This means that every single paper must be accounted for, and that all 150 students' 20 assignments need to be read, documented, calculated, commented on, and entered into a gradebook.

7  <yawn> I know, I know.

8  It's always a race to that deadline, but only a wuss would not make it. It's the teachers' equivalent to an all-nighter. If you cry, or wuss out, you're frowned upon and even laughed at for being a wuss.

9  So you smile and pretend you got it all together. You tell no one about the morons who don't put their names on papers, or the amount of staple cuts you have, or paper slices in your fingers.

10  Just like the NFL, I swear.

11  Anyway a cop knows what a cop does, a nurse knows what a nurse does, and only teachers know what teachers do. And frankly, nobody else really gives a hoot, and I don't blame them.

12  Anyway, on top of all of that stuff, I have jury duty this morning. AND my computer somehow disconnected from the system. So last night I stayed down at the school and hunted down a computer at around 9 p.m. so I could get my grades posted. Took me the past three weeks to grade everything and add the points and all.

13  I ALSO had to come up with some flashy lesson plans for today and tomorrow because of jury duty.

14  I put all of that in place, came home, ate and collapsed in front of the DN as usual.

15  I awakened at 4 a.m. in a panic because I hadn't called for a substitute. No prob. I keep my handy dandy substitute information card in a particular drawer so I can always find it in the event of an emergency.

16  I opened the drawer routinely and reached in.

17  The handy dandy substitute information card was gone!

18  Now here's the deal about the ESUHSD: they don't want to make being absent easy.

19  If you don't have a handy dandy substitute information card, you're screwed. You can't call in for a sub by dialing 411 because they'll give you a bogus number.

20  If you try to go online, the District makes it virutually impossible to find a phone number. You click "Human Resources" on their search and it eventually leads you to a faculty handbook that tells you to call some number at 6 a.m.

21  So if you are diligent and trying to set it all up ahead of time, you're screwed, unless of course you have your handy dandy substitute information card.

22  Which is why I always keep mine in the same drawer, for years.

23  Well, this morning it was gone. For whatever reason.

24  I remained calm. I pulled the drawer quietly out of the room and proceeded to riffle through it in my living room. No handy dandy substitute information card.

25  I stayed calm and looked in alternate places and retraced my steps from the last time I was absent, which was a week ago.

26  No handy dandy substitute information card.

27  Like most people in a panic, I decided to start getting loud and stampeding around in a frantic search for the card, but more, in a frantic search for sympathy from people who would probably have loved to have killed me.

28  I went to the ESUHSD site. My new computer wouldn't even TRY to read a PDF file. I thumped the desk and screamed at the screen. You CAN'T screw up calling in sick, or for jury duty. Only imbeciles do that. It's one of those teacher things. You don't dump on the Principal's secretary at 7 a.m. and tell her she needs to find subs for you. You take care of that on your own and make sure nobody gets bothered.

29  So I started pacing like a racehorse.

30  It didn't help.

31  I re-traced all my steps from last time.

32  No dice.

33  I tore my wallet apart. No handy dandy substitute information card.

34  I called information. They gave me a number that when dialed took you to Pepperland.

35  I crashed my chin into the coffee table, wiped entire desks clean to the floor, looked in the mirror and I was Michael Landon in I Was a Teenage Werewolf.

36  I howled at the moon. I took pots and pans and spoons and ran out on my lawn, clanging and banging in hopes that someone would be sympathetic to a madman's needs.

37  I tore the entire house apart looking for a phone book.

38  The clock kept ticking. I knew that I needed to get this done before 6 a.m. or I would be in competition for every wuss teacher trying to get six days off for the holiday.

39  I ALMOST dialed 911 but thought better of it.

40  Finally, exasperated, I went to the my shirt pocket from the shirt I wore yesterday.

41  Two things were there.

42  One was my jury duty summons.

43  The other was my handy dandy substitute information card.

44  Don't ask.

45  Don't get old.

46  I had without thought grabbed it right before retiring last night as a routine impulse. I put it there so I wouldn't have to go insane in the middle of the night.

47  How good am I?

48  Meanwhile, a crowd had gathered outside my house. There were police with drawn guns, neighbors with torches, and a family completely ready to murder my ass.

49  Nah, but I did wake the household, and for that I'll be forever guilty.

50  Anyway that all just happened.

51  So now that it's done, I believe I'll have a nice warm cup of coffee and greet the day.

52  You have a nice one too.

53  Peace.

~H~

www.xanga.com/bharrington

 

 

      The Daily News

1  It's so funny, the difference between being young and of being old.

2  Yesterday some headline in AOL said, "Are you ready for Winter?"

3  When I was younga, I woulda been thinking about plans to go to the snow, Tahoe, skiing, tobogganing, throwing snowballs, warm coats, hot chocolate, and family and all. I would even defer to the venerable elders with pledging annual thanks for the blessings we have received in the past year.

4  As a severe sufferer of oldness, my first thought was, "Is my bucket list in order?"

5                                                                           

6  So this morning's DN does have a bit of bucket-listedness in its content.

7  First on the list, naturally, is no longer giving a shit about what I used to give a shit about.

8  No one else cares, I don't care.

9  First sign of senility, thirtieth sign of revenge. After all, you DO carry some values into that good night.

10  What else?

11  Not giving a shit about all things Yale.

12  Or Drake. Or Harvard. Or any underpants school.

13  Another piece of the bucket list is actually to care each year about the Big Game, which in my lifetime, means quite clearly Stanford vs. Cal.

14  My bucket list allows for one to enjoy that one for a maximum of three days, but it should always be on the list.

15  At the risk of changing direction. I would rather NOT begin a bucket list here, but rather addressing the question, "Are you ready for Winter?" Back to the thesis. Kindly forgive the social trail.

16  So in my eye, my first answer would be in the form of a question: "Are you supposed to capitalize "winter" when someone asks, 'Are you ready for Winter?' "

17  As a fatalist, I feel it quite deserves the honor.

18  Hmmm. So. Are you ready for Winter?

19  As a member of the aging idiocy, I would first work with immediate images.

20  Winter.

21  In the classroom it's different. Being old and unable to follow one thought naturally with another, I would go to the student sitting in the second row, first seat directly in front of me and question his feeling that with the onslaught of Winter, one must ALSO pull his underpants exactly thirteen inches above his pantline. The guy who sits there in my third period class knows EXACTLY what I'm talking about.

22  Evidently it either keeps him WARMER in the Winter, or helps him hit high notes in his Choir class.

23  THAT thought would quite naturally pinball to this one:

Q. What does Thor wear under his pants at the onlsaught of Winter?

24  Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm????????

25  A. THUNDERPANTS!!!!!

26  I KNOW, I KNOW!

27  lol.

28  Perfect modern punctuation.

29  lol.

30  Thunderpants. Some out there are slow of study and it's just now landing.

31  More power to ya.

32  That happened today in class. I was wandering around the room gathering comments and musings when the John Lennon in my class blurted out the word "thunderpants". Perfect Lennonism.

33  Within seconds, my senile brain fell through my clothes and sank to the floor, having been replaces with Jokemon, the mental prankster who jumps into my head once forgetfulness takes hold.

34  Within a millisecond, Jokemon planted the Thor joke directly between my eyes and above my nose. I swear to you it was planted in that particular spot.

35  Thunderpants.

36  And you squirm out of these things and run seventeen yards for a first down.

37  Welcome to the inner workings of senility.

38  As far as I know, nobody has yet provided a first-hand account, with the exception of Reagan and Bush, Jr.

39  Why I remember "Dutch" Reagan filling in as a color commentator for the 1989 All-Star baseball game. Reagan used to announce baseball for the Chicagy Cubs, don'tcha know, and had just recently left office. Most people felt that he was still pretty lucid and okay at the end of his Presidential ride.

40  But by the time he did the All-Star Game, it was cyrstal clear that he was long gone.

41  I remember tuning in. Vin Scully, the voice of the Dodgers for years, was in the booth with Reagan.

42  As the game rolled along, Scully asked Reagan what he thought might be going through the head of some batter or other.

43  If I weren't so damned senile I'd be able to tell you which.

44  That being said, Scully turned to Reagan and asked about what might be going through the head of this particular batter.

45  Without hesitation, the senile Bede announced word close to this: "Wella, I really think this fellow would like to get a hit."

46  Brilliant analysis, Ronnie-OH!

47  Enough of all this nonsense. I attended the Bored Meeting last night and within ten minutes of my arrival fell into a reverie about senility, old people, teaching, Reagan, and all the old poops who seem still to be walking around, sounding off, and making noise about the same stuff.

48  I ran screaming from the joint. Decided I needed to lay this all out there, and then hit a pillow at around 10 p.m.

49  Long-winded me did so.

50  And that's my bucket list.

51  Hey wait. I'm too young to have a bbb...

52  <hush little baby don't say a word; Mama's gonna buy you a mockingbird...>

53  Coo-coo. Coo-coo.

54   Peace.

 

~H~

www.xanga.com/bharrington

 

 

 

The Daily News

1  I know I've been down this road before, but every time I SEE a commercial for Barbie in A Christmas Carol I get weirded out.

2  Barbie shouldn't talk. Period.

3  She shouldn't be British.

4  And she would look stupid in a nightgown and a funny hat. Plus even though she turns 50 this coming year, she doesn't make a good miserly old man.

5  She's miscast.

6  And once again, Barbie's starring in A Christmas Carol reminds me of Tinker Bell the movie that has the petite pixie talking as well.

7  The immortal Goof straightened me AND the Disney people out last time I brought that up by telling us that it SHOULD be Tinkerbell, NOT Tinker Bell.

8  He's correct. J.M. Barrie used one word: Tinkerbell.

9  But I'm not here to talk about all that, just that the commercial for Barbie in A Christmas Carol and it just doesn' work for me. It looks a lot like it's a scam to sell all sorts of Barbie in A Christmas Carol stuff this Christmas.

10  And how annoying that you have to include "Barbie in" in the title.

11  I think it has something to do with the Bratz lawsuit, but we've been all over that one too.

12  Moving on:  Has anyone seen that commercial with the thumbs and fingers that have faces on them?

13  <shudders>

14  Ew.

15  So I guess what I'm driving at is a new conspiracy theory.

16  The CIA is trying to make me go crazy by controlling my teevee and having things come through it that give me the heebie-jeebies.

17  I was about to say, "Nah..." when some Target commercial came on with really freaky gingerbread men.

18  Maybe it's just me.

19  But all that stuff just seems so unnatural, almost like the arm of a corpse lying on a lawn or something.

20  Just weird.

21  Enough of this.

22  It's Thursday, and I've  a lonnnnnng day coming up. About six billion teachers are supposed to converge on the District Office tonight at 6 p.m. tonight in order to protest the upcoming budget cuts.

23  So I'll bow out now.

24  Wishing you all a lovely Thursday.

25  Peace.

~H~

www.xanga.com/bharrington

 

 

 

 

   
The Daily News

 

1  Yesterday I pulled up some article I had saved earlier in the year about a judge in Harris County, Texas who became famous for issuing public humiliation instead of jail time.

2  I had found the article while looking for Scarlet Letter readiness resources.

3  I should preface this with telling you that when I was in high school back when water was invented, I hated The Scarlet Letter.

4  After having read the first 75 pages I felt that my teacher should have worn a scarlet letter "A" for "Abuse".

5  Seriously. I started taking rides to the Golden Gate Bridge and thought about jumping, but I realized that I would get bay smell in my hair, which at one time was an legitimate worry.

6  I just thought it would be cool to get away from the book and do a nice swan dive.

7  Then I remembered it's a reasonable good bet that you would hit the water like a pavement. Decided against it.

8  I thought about getting a whole bunch of my friends together and walking around my teacher's house with torches and yelling, "Burn the witch!"

9  I had NO idea why we had to read that book. I thought it was beyond boring. I thought it was agonizing.

10  Of course, that's from the perspective of a teenage boy who was more interested in playing basketball after school, going out with my friends, and doing everything I could to have fun. The Scarlet Letter just didn't fit into the scenario.

11  Horrid.

12  I think now that I wanted more than anything not to have to do any homework when I got home from school, and that The Scarlet Letter became my sworn enemy. I hated Dimmsdale, I hated Chillingworth, and I particularly hated Pearl.

Pearl Prynne.

13  Why did they TALK so weird anyway?

14  And why did Hawthorne write the damn thing? He's a MAN, isn't he?

15  Yeesh.

16  So the irony is that as a teacher of English 3, I HAVE to teach either that, or The Great Gatsby, which I ALSO thought was child abuse.

17  WAY too symbolic. And I couldnt care less about people in the Jazz Age back then anyway.

18  As you can see, I was pretty deep.

19  Basketball. Gatsby. Basketball. Gatsby. Basketball. Basketball.

20  That just kills me. I was the proverbial reluctant schoolboy.

21  What's funny is that now I like both those stories.

22  But it requires a bit of a spoon feed, because I'm in front of a group that has guys in the class who are exactly like I was. Telling them that doesn't help. Karma rears its lovely head.

23  And that's how I came upon the article about the judge. Like some guy was convicted of running a fake fundraiser, and was found guilty. The judge made the guy where a sandwich board through the village square. It said on it, "I AM A CONVICTED THIEF."

24  Ah, public humiliation!

25  Another guy had beaten his wife, and the wife was absolutely mortified when people found out. The man couldn't care less--until the judge forced the man to spend time in jail AND publicly to apologize to his wife. The guy hated it.

26  Some shoplifter had to pace around in front of the store he robbed, wearing an advertisement. The article went on to say

"Mothers brought their children to see the pacing criminal as an example. And the offender himself, who has since moved to another state, wrote the judge to say the shaming, in the long run, was the best thing that ever happened to him."

27  I was astounded because that was just ten or twelve years ago. I'm surprised that judge didn't put people in stocks.

28  Naturally the students enjoyed reading about this. Some felt it was a great idea. Others said what I would instantly have felt: some guys nowadays would be proud of doing idiotic things.

29  I told my students that I was thinking of putting some stocks in the classroom for minor offenses. I thought it'd be great for the guy coming in late from lunch to have to get in front of the room and have his head, arms and legs sticking through some pieholes.

30  I say we should bring back dunce caps.

 

31  Can you even begin to imagine? Here's your grade on your Scarlet Letter essay, ye sinful child:

32  Or maybe they should have teachers put in stocks for teaching boring things.

33  The idea doesn't seem quite so alluring when it is reversed.

34  But still. A part of me actually LIKES the idea of public humiliation.

35  I wonder if I could convince the Administration to bring it.

 

36 

37  Nah.

38  Too wonderfully lurid.

39  Be good. Have a great day.

40  Peace.

~H~

www.xanga.com/bharrington

 

 

 The Daily News

1  So the long wait for Thanksgiving begins.

2  Every time I go to the grocery store I check out all the turkeys and stuff. A week ago Lucky sold turkeys for $7.99 EACH.

3  Isn't that weird?

4  I stood befuddled.

5  At first I thought, "What foo WOULDN'T buy a turkey for $7.99?"

6 

7  Ever stand there looking at a good deal but decide not to go for it because it's TOO good?

8  I almost think there's something in the American psyche that stops us from over-indulging when it's too good. Sinful. I figured all sorts of things: next week I'm gonna cook a turkey anyway, so I'll get sick of turkey.

9  If I freeze the turkey this week, it'll have freezer burn by next Tuesday.

10  It might go bad.

11  My freezer might suddenly stop working, causing the turkey to turn green.

12  You get my drift.

13  So I clearly COULDA bought a turkey for $7.99 last week.

14  Didn't.

15  I also keep glancing at the prices of honey-baked hams, you know those ones with the spiral cuts?

16  Yeah, those.

17  Last year I vaguely recall playing a perfect waiting game and getting one of those for eleven bucks.

18  I thought I was nifty and thrifty. I bought one that didn't come with the little package of brown sugar and water, and it cost half the price of those ones all wrapped in gold or red foil.

19  So far, they haven't brought  those out. I was SO proud because by making my own brown sugar glaze, I saved a bundle.

20  ANd it lasted too.

21  Yep.

22  But Thanksgiving isn't for over a week. I keep wanting to buy all sorts of stuff like chestnuts and yams, just so I could tell people I had chestnuts and yams.

23 

24  I'm hungreh mang.

25  Moving on:  A Budweiser commercial just came on. It had a HUGE letters saying DRINKABILITY with a voiceover saying, "The big difference is drinkability." Under that huge word it said "Please Drink Responsibly".

26  The REAL message:  " Hey America, please get shitfaced on OUR beer this Thanksgiving."

27  They don't want you to drink responsibly.

28  They want you to get shitfaced on THEIR beer, and when you're empty, to go the your friendly neighborhood liquor store and BUY more, and get everyone around you shitfaced on THEIR beer.

29  Honestly.

30  They don't give a care if you drink responsibly, or they'd be in another business.

31  Honestly.

32  Either way, the wait continues, and when it finally arrives it's over before you could blink.

33  And a lot of people who don't drink responsibly lose the next day due to Shoes-in-the-Dryer head.

34  I attribute that definition to my poetic sister Gayle.

35  Aight then.

36  Have yoself a merry little Tuesday.

37  Peace.

www.xanga.com/bharrington

 

 

 

 

  
Sourdough Sam in the old days, chillin'
with some friends.

The Daily News

1  I looked at the Niner game yesterday and noticed something was amiss.

2  I looked in the background and noticed their mascot.

3  But I noticed that the mascot wasn't the same one as that little guy who's been out there over the more recent years.

4  I didn't think much of it until the teevee announcer mentioned the mascot by name: Sourdough Sam.

5  Who knew? We all know Lou Seal, the Giants' mascot. He's WAY noticeable, changed form once but has lasted for a while now in his new form. Most fans are familiar with Stomper, the Republican mascot of the Oakland A's.

6  And perhaps the most popular, the extremely electric Sharkie from the San Jose Sharks is also pretty well-promoted.

7  I had NO idea that the Niners' mascot even HAD a name. I just remember him bashing his head against the goal post a few years ago after Dallas scored a field goal. I remember thinking of how pathetic the poor guy was. Pretty low-budget compared to his Bay Area friends.

8  The Niners are notoriously reticent about promoting a mascot. Years ago they had some prospector walking a burro around the stadium. The prospector never had a name, but the burro did. His name was Clementine. They just walked around the sidelines doing virtually nothing else. At some point this guy showed up, but nobody relaly paid him much attention, let alone giving him a name. In a sidenote: Clementine lived to the grand old age of 25 and passed away on March 30, 1968 in Moraga, California.  I credit the 49ers website with that jewel.

9  Not until yesterday did I even have a CLUE that their subsequent mascots had a name. It's as though they're those aunts, uncles, grammas or cousins that we just don't talk about.

10  And I had actually gotten used to the little old guy with the beard and the bite taken outta his hat. He never really took the local stage and as far as I know was never addressed publicly by name, but then I haven't really been to a 49ers' game as a fan in years. But this guy was around for a while.

11  Anyway I took a look and found that the old Sourdough mysteriously disappeared two years ago and was replaced by this guy:

12  The Niners management insistst that THIS guy is Sourdough Sam. But history tells us that the OTHER guy is Sourdough Sam.

13  This new guy is younger, taller, and looks like Mel Gibson starring as a California State Monument in Coloma.

14  I looked into the mystery and discovered that the old prospector suit was too hot (duh!) and that after around four games a few years ago the guy walked off the job.

15  I'm guessing it's non-union.

16  So the Niners' management put their imbecilic heads together and started promoting this guy. Evidently he's making a bigger splash these days.

17  That oughta put a few more butts in the seats.

18  So we'll probably be seeing a lot more of this guy as the team marches towards the Super Bowl.

19  <sigh>

20  Well the Niners finally won a game yesterday. I guess there's a lot of optimism out there. But right now the Sharks seem to be THE Bay Area team to enjoy. Tremendous leadership, management, promotion, coaches and preparedness for games. It's easy to see, especially if you're watching from a distance as most Niners' and Raiders' fans will attest.

21  Ah sports. The Niners spend the entire past two years hiding an atomic quarterback and are now ready to strike. Brilliant thinking. It's pretty obvious their ownership knows exactly what they're doing.

22  They have a coach who sends kids to their rooms, and makes them take their hats with them, and then who drops trou at halftime to make some sort of point.

23  It's a darned good thing Ralph Barbieri has been burning matches on the Niners' toes lately. It seems most of their recent decisions are the direct result of criticism from Ralph, as well as Mark Purdy,Tim Kawakami, and Ann Killion of the Merc News. Looks like the news media should take over the place and redecorate.

24  Well sports fans, I'll return the DN to regular news tomorrow.

25  Monday. I hope you all live through it. Just remember: the people next to you, in front of you, above you and below you probably don't wanna be where they are either, unless you're on a cruise somewhere.

26  Just smile, breathe, and enjoy the day. It'll go fast. Come home, re-group, and you'll get into a rhythm before you know it.

27  Meanwhile, enjoy yourself today.

28  Have a good one.

29  Peace.

~H~

www.xanga.com/bharrington

 

 

 

 

  

 ...and on the sixth day...

  

the good Lawd Created...

~~FRIDEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!~~ 

The Daily News

1  Well we seem to have made it to Frideeeeeee!!!!

2   I've reached a point in life where I'm happy if I make it through the next ten, fifteen minutes.

3  That's why I had to slip y'all a coupla Mickeys yesterday!

4  I've spent the second part of my life running from hospitals every chance I get.

5  I remember a long time ago my Mom telling me that she spent a goodly part of her life waiting in hospital waiting rooms.

6  At this point in life, I'm beginning to understand that.

7  Anyway, each time something GOOD happens, and everyone is well, I always thank everyone who helped.

8  MY health has been fine, but I've been watching lots of people lifted off to hospitals the past three years, and thankfully most have returned home safe and sound.

9  And each time I come home from visiting, I always appreciate how lucky I've been, and I also want to take a walk in a park, or sip on a Peach Pleasure Jamba Juice, or eat some Oreos and cold milk, or MAYBE even rake some leaves.

10  I also like to see people. It's just nice to see people you know and love.

11  I remember a song by Paul Simon of Simon and Garfunkel fame. It's called Duncan. The song is a nice little ditty; a guy named Lincoln Duncan has a wonderful night, an absolute "garden of delight" and afterwards he goes outside to play his guitar! Here are the lyrics:

I was playing my guitar
lying underneath the stars just
thanking the Lord for my fingers,
for my fingers...

12  Ah yes.

13  Sometimes I just thank the Lord for all sorts of things I take for granted.

14  It's not a bad idea.

15  It's so easy these days to complain and get angry and miserable. SO easy.

16  But each time I begin to do that, I look up and see a hazy Autumn moon, or a pinkish cloud on a November afternoon, or even a cat suddenly burst around a corner and I'll realize things.

17  Or a fantazmic Frideeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!

18  It's early afternoon as I write this.

19  As always, all sorts of stuff has gone wrong this week. Things I wanted to get done I didn't. Gas prices are low but everything else has skyrocketed. I saw a sack of jasmine rice that was close to twelve bucks, which will look like quite the deal a year from now.

20  You know, the usual thousand natural shocks.

21  But other things happened. Other things opened my eyes to how our lives, as Thoreau put it, are "frittered away with detail".

22  Ain't it the Truth.

23  So I'm flying high this Frideeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!!!

24  I'm sorta thinking of playing my guitar and lying underneath the stars.

25  I've a great deal to think aboot these days.

26  Enjoy everything life could bring you this weekend, even if it's just a Peach Pleasure Jamba Juice, or even thanking the Lawd for my guitar, my fingers, my friends, family, and Frideeeeeeee!!!!!

27  Play like you earned it.

 

28  Have a great one.

29  Peace.

~H~

www.xanga.com/bharrington

 

FRIDEEEEEE FUN!!!

BEATLES' SPECIAL HAPPY HALF-HOUR!!!!

THE EARLY DAYS!!!

BEATLES LIVE AT SHEA '65!!!!

INCLUDES THE IMMORTAL "I'M DOWN"!!!

PURE  FRIVILOUS FRIDEEEEEEE FUN!!!!

MAKE A FULL SCREEN, GO THROUGH THE STEREO AND ENJOY

PURE B + W BEATLES FROM "BACK IN THE DAY"!!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_mUXwnEWEnE&feature=related

AND HERE'S MORE!!! MELBOURNE '64, PRETTY CLEAN AND CORNY, BUT RARE

FOOTAGE. QUITE FUN!!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FlvlIT1XNtw&feature=related

PART II

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D4iopIhPqXU&feature=related

IT"S A LARK, INNIT?

www.xanga.com/bharrington