Happy Birthday to my old friend, Jay Janson.
Happy Birthday Lone Taco!
Category Archives: Jesse
Unaffiliated Triad
A collection of unrelated photos and stories…
Bill’s Return
Bill returned to Boone briefly on Saturday. A few pictures from our time together.
At FNSC Willy agreed to attempt to eat ice cream on 100 straight days. At first he balked at attempting such a thing, but the more he thought about it, the more he liked the idea. He shook hands on the deal and “locked it in”. Saturday was Day 15 of this new challenge. He had a Dairy Queen banana split.
In February of 2005 Jay talked Bill into coming back from Nebraska so that Jay could film a sequel to our “hit” Games. It has been over 5 years since that cold day in Ledges and Jay has yet to complete and release Games 2. In the pictures above, Bill is asking Jay to give up “editing” of Games 2 and give the footage to somebody that would finish the movie. Jay is enjoying Bill’s frustration as much as Willy enjoys ice cream. Willy is enjoying Bill’s frustration and Jay’s enjoyment of Bill’s frustration.
A Group Photo
Cherry Tree
A couple of people from my Church came over and picked some cherries from the cherry tree.
I got a cherry pie out of the deal.
A Deer
A couple pictures of a deer relaxing behind the Computer Mine.
Memorial Day Weekend
I had a pretty awesome Memorial Day Weekend and saw all of the right people. Plus, my grill got quite the workout.
The weekend started with FNSC at my humble abode. The group core was there, plus Jesse and Dawn. Jesse, Willy and I hung by the fire pit until about 2 in the morning.
On Saturday morning I got up early to go to the bank with Mom and Teresa to sign some legal documents involving a safety deposit box.
After that exercise I hit up Salon 908 where I put up a new 20×30 picture in the salon to replace the one that had been sold. While you are waiting for a haircut at Salon 908 now you can stare admiringly at this picture:
I also got a sheering. Now I look borderline presentable. Even though I declined the eyebrow waxing that was offered.
I went home to clean up the kitchen best that I could. I had a Chef coming over to use it that afternoon and while I know that he looks down on my pathetic assortment of kitchen utensils, I wanted the area to be clean while he made magic.
After the kitchen cleaning, I went to Reiman’s Music to take pictures of a white piano for that week’s RWPE.
Next was a trip down to Beaverdale to pick up Sara. Although the Sara pickup also involved taking out her old air conditioner and putting a new air conditioner in her house. This ended up being a more painful process than I wanted it to be, but despite having to remove a nest from her window sill, the air condition finally found its home in her window.
Then was Todd and Peggy’s wedding. They got married on a golf course in Pleasant Hill. It was an impressive affair that included a free round of miniature golf, a photo booth and fireworks.
After the wedding Sara and I went to a bridge overlooking 235 so that I could work on a Personal Photo Project that will be published on July 9. It was from this experience I learned that another criteria that I should look for in photo assistants is the ability to turn a blind eye if I want to do something that is slightly illegal or dangerous. Sara doesn’t like it when she perceives me to be in “danger”. Of course, I already knew this from Personal Photo Project No. 16.
After dropping Sara back off in Beaverdale and doing some final tweaks on her air conditioner installation I voyaged back to Boone. A trip that takes quite a bit longer now that the Highway 17 bridge over the Des Moines River is closed until August.
I was hoping to make it back to Boone to hit the tail end of Nate’s birthday bash at The South Side, marking my triumphant return to the Boone Bar scene for the first time since 2008. However, I pulled back into Boone at roughly 1:40 and decided that it wasn’t worth it to go for 5 minutes. So instead I returned home to the Clockwork Couch and watched the tele.
Shortly after I got home Nate and Bethany returned home. They were both staying with me for the weekend and we talked briefly before they both crashed.
I got up early on Sunday morning and went to church. After church I grilled out with Nate after he returned from a poor round of golf with his friend Ryan. Earlier in the morning I had inadvertently interrupted Ryan’s vomiting efforts. It must have been quite the party that I missed.
Tim had bought a Nate a birthday cake with Nate’s 3rd or 4th grade picture on it. Most of Nate’s picture remained, except Nate’s face. Apparently Ryan had eaten Nate’s face the night before. After we were done grilling, I had some of Nate’s cake.
Later Nate proclaimed that the chicken wings he had made in my kitchen on the previous day were the best that he had ever made. This was a bold proclamation. Just ask Corey Faust if you doubt the veracity of that statement. Nate is going to make these legendary wings next time I go to Minnesota. Looks like I might have to cash in on that when I go see The Swell Season at the end of July!!
After resting from the grill, Jill came over and picked me up. We hit Jen and Derrick’s for a barbecue. Derrick grilled up bratwurst with pineapple in them. It was decided that these brats tasted slightly breakfasty. Even though Webster doesn’t consider breakfasty to be a word. They were still tasty. Plus any chance to eat burgers made with Derrick’s super secret burger recipe is always a great time.
I got to watch the Gorshe Baby Ultrasound for the third time. I still have no clue about the sex of Baby Gorshe, but I enjoy watching the video nonetheless.
After a lengthy discussion about the greatness of Daniel Tosh, we left while Derrick napped on the loveseat.
The next morning I slept in until 9:30. That is a late morning for me, except on the occasional work day. Nate, Bethany and I grilled out for lunch. By this time, my grill was definitely entering the danger area that cause the fire during the 2009 Road Trip Planning Barbecue, but it made it through another meal without incident.
After the meal Nate and Bethany packed up and I burned Bethany a copy of Strict Joy for their car trip home.
I then grabbed my camera and took a few pictures.
After taking pictures I went to the cemetery. At the cemetery I ran into Carla. We walked around the cemetery for about an hour. Then I went home and prepared the house for an impromptu family barbecue.
I didn’t clean the grill, but it did manage to make it through yet one more meal without erupting into flames. I should clean that at some point.
After the family went home I rested on the Clockwork Couch and watched Wooden Shoes. A movie made my a fellow computer miner by the name of Scotland Thompson. If you want a review of the movie, too bad, but I will loan my copy out.
I would like to report to interested parties that do not know yet…
Willy did finish his 100 Mile Race this past weekend.
Willy knocked out 100 miles in La Grange, Wisconsin as part of the weekend of Kettle 100 Endurance Runs.
He ran 100 miles in an official time of 28 hours 24 minutes 29 seconds.
I know, pretty insane!
A Small, Intimate Gathering
I had my, what could theoretically become, annual Birthday Barbecue on Saturday. I would like to thank all of the people that attended and made the evening special:
- Bardole, Shannon
- Bennett, Charlotte
- Cousin, Amy
- Daniel, Jeffrey
- Degeneffe, Austin
- Degeneffe, Melissa
- Degeneffe, Scott
- Dill, Colby
- Dill, Dan
- Dill, DJ
- Gorshe, Derrick
- Gorshe, Jen
- Henning, Monica
- Howard, Jesse
- Howard, Kalista
- Howard, Kelly
- Howard, Saydie
- Howard, Taylan
- Hugen, Todd
- Janson, Jay
- Jauhari, Andree
- Jenson, Terra
- Johnstone, Jack
- Johnstone, Jason
- Junck, Sara
- Kahler, Logan
- Kahler, Russ
- Kewer, Jeff
- Krause, Dawn
- McAlpine, Willy
- Nitchals, Peggy
- Parsaei, Nader
- Perkovich, Becky
- Roberts, Lori
- Roberts, Steve
- Runestad, Anders
- Stensland, Carla
- Stensland, Johnathan
- Wever, Ada
- Wever, Amanda
- Wever, Greg
- Yin, Amy
Next year, I will move the barbecue back to its traditional spot of the Saturday of Memorial Day weekend. Feel free to circle the date May 28 on your 2011 calendar that you have yet to purchase. It will perhaps be an even smaller and more intimate gathering. I might start instituting a survivor type invitation policy similar to the fashion of invites that Jay uses for Symposium.
Special thanks need to be extended to the following people:
Sara for taking the pictures for the invitations.
Sara for providing the s’mores goodies.
Jay for making three desserts: chocolate raspberry cookies, key lime bars and apple crisp.
Steve for providing homemade salsa and chips.
Becky for making a pasta salad.
Scott and Melissa for bringing a banana creme pie.
Shannon for baking a fresh rhubarb pie with rhubarb picked from my personal rhubarb patch.
Johnathan for bringing over cornhole.
Logan and Russ for running the grill.
Mom for baking a cake and creating a watermelon fruit thing.
Derrick for being the fire-starter.
Andree for being the best dressed person at the party.
Shannon for opening the party.
Willy for closing the party.
There isn’t any photographic evidence to support that this party existed. I was too busy to touch a camera and Sara didn’t take any pictures this year. Maybe next year I will add “Party Photographer” to the list of Staff positions for this shindig.
If you wish to be hired for this position (no pay, no benefits, possibly a STAFF t-shirt*) simply send the answer to the following question to bennett@photography139.com:
Why would I make an awesome Party Photographer?
I suppose I should start planning Friendsmas now. It can wait a couple of months.
*That is not a joke. There will be staff t-shirts next year.
Vacation Day 5 – The Juicy Lucy
On Wednesday morning I woke up and most of my anger about the Fred Hoiberg hire had dissipated. I had come to accept the fact that while this was mostly a public relations move, there is a chance that it could work. I’m not saying that this is an uncontested breakaway slam dunk. This is more like a turnaround fadeaway with a 7 footer in your face from the baseline.
While it is scary that he will be learning on the job, there is a potential huge upside. He should be able to recruit and he should be able to evaluate talent. 95% of basketball games are won by the team with the more talented players.
I also assume that since Hoiberg has years of NBA experience he will be able to relate to the younger, more talented players and the great exodus of talent from Ames will finally come to an end. Any Biblical scholar can tell you that after the exodus ends it is only a matter of time before the years of wandering in the desert comes to an end.
Even though we will only return 5 scholarship players from last year, I still feel that we will have a better record next year. I’m not sure why I have this optimism, but I have come to peace with the Hoiberg hiring. On Wednesday morning I accepted that it might just work. After all, Hoiberg is a graduate of the nation’s premier land grant university. That fact alone qualifies him for about any job that I can name!
After coming to that conclusion, I got out of bed and took a shower. After Nate woke up we went to Puffy Cream for breakfast. It was excellent, again.
I wasn’t sure how long I was going to stick around, so I contacted Jill about getting supper. She wasn’t sure when she would get off work because her company was enforcing mandatory overtime, even though it wasn’t even Georgia-Texas week.
Eventually it worked out and we agreed to meet at The 5-8 Club at 6:30.
I don’t watch lots of television. I’m always leery of saying that because I don’t want to come off as one of those snobby people who don’t own a television and feel that this gives them a degree of superiority to other people. I can’t stand those people. I’m better than those people.
That being written, I really don’t watch much television. Of the shows that are currently being broadcast on network television, I’ve probably seen a single episode of maybe 10 shows. But on this day, I spent a good portion of the day sitting on the couch watching tv with Nate.
We watched two episodes of The West Wing. Then we watched the show Parenthood. Then we watched the movie Parenthood. Then at about 3 o’clock when Nate was leaving for work, Becca woke up and I watched television with her. We watched local news and she lectured me on why I should watch BBC news because it wasn’t “biased”. I thought this was funny because I once wrote a paper on media bias when I was in college.
At 6:30 I met Jill at The 5-8 Club in Minneapolis. When I was in Minnesota in February I ate at Matt’s Bar with Jim and Bethany. Matt’s Bar and The 5-8 Club both claim to have invented the Juicy Lucy. I was happy that I was going to be able to have both sandwiches so I could determine which one I consider to be the superior burger.
The 5-8 Club
The 5-8 Club was set up a little bit weird. It wasn’t a huge restaurant, but it was of a decent size, but the weird part about it was that you sat yourself. I don’t think that I’ve been in a restaurant this large where you sat yourself.
The place was packed, but there wasn’t a line and a couple of people left as we entered the building, so we were able to get a seat immediately.
I was pretty hungry since all I had eaten on the day was a couple of donuts and some leftover walleye from Houlihan’s. Well, I guess that wasn’t exactly true. Becca fed me some food that she had bought at Trader Joe’s. A place that Becca is very passionate about. Regardless, I was still hungry.
We ordered mushrooms for an appetizer and I’m not sure if this was a mistake or how they do things, but rather than ranch dressing it came with bleu cheese dressing. I’m not a fan of bleu cheese dressing and this has lead to many a discordant evening with me and Jesse at our favorite wings eating places across central Iowa. However, their bleu cheese dressing was fairly good. It didn’t make me instantly want to vomit like most bleu cheese dressing.
I orderd The Juicy Luicy:
By far our most popular menu item, the Juicy Lucy is a mouth-watering half pound burger stuffed with American cheese. The cheese is HOT – be careful and take your time. Bleu, pepper or Swiss cheese is also available. The wait’s a little bit longer; but we promise it’ll be worth it!
Jill ordered The Saucy Sally:
Lucy’s little sister. Born on May 8, 2005. She making her public debut! A half pound burger stuffed with our secret sauce, and topped with American cheese, shredded lettuce, raw onions, and a smear of Thousand Island Dressing. Make sure you have plenty of napkins.
While Jill was explaining to me her theory on why she is an evolved being, the people sitting in the booth next to ours stopped her. They apologized for eavesdropping on our conversation and then made commentary on why they agreed with Jill’s theory on highly evolved human being.
Really!
Have your own conversation people! I understand that we are probably more fascinating and interesting than you are and it must be hard not to eavesdrop on us, but at least try to have your own conversation.
After we had ate as much food as we could, we waited patiently for our bill. This was the type of joint where you pay the waitress, but our waitress had disappeared. In fact, I didn’t see any waitress. We probably waited for a good 20 minutes before the waitress showed up and said:
“You guys probably want to go home.”
Then a few minutes later she showed up with the bill.
I gave her my Bank of the Bear card. She took it and when she came back to give me the bill she handed me somebody else’s credit card. After hopefully getting the finances of the evening squared away I’m ready to make this proclamation:
Matt’s Bar serves the superior Ju(i)cy Lucy. The 5-8 Club wasn’t bad and I would certainly go back, but Matt’s is superior. At some point I might have to go back to try the Saucy Sally.
After the meal I bid Jill a fond adieu and hit the open road back to the Cyclone State. It was a pretty great 3 days in Minnesota.
Vacation Day 4 – Cotton Candy
I was set on going back to the Cyclone State on Tuesday night after visiting Faust on his day off, but Bethany and Becca requested that I stay one more night. I had no plans for Wednesday (Sara’s attempt to convince me to go to Iowa City failed since she couldn’t produce a single credible theory on why it would be fun for me to sit around while she put stitches in a pig’s foot), so I agreed to come back to Eagan after my visit to Mankato.
Nate, Becca and Bethany live a couple blocks from a donut store by the name of Puffy Cream Donuts. After I woke up and showered, I hit the open road to Mankato after picking up some cream filled goodness at Puffy Cream.
When I got to Mankato I stopped at Target so I could buy some extra clothes for the extra day in Minnesota.
I arrived at the Faust home and we discussed potential new coaches for the Cyclones.
My dream has always been that Iowa State rights the wrong it made several years ago and brings back Eustachy. I know this was a pipedream, but there are several great options out there. It was exciting to think about what guy Pollard would bring to Ames to return the Cyclones to glory.
We went to Mr. Goodcents for lunch. I hadn’t eaten at Mr. Goodcents since the one in Ames closed down while I was still in college. The sandwiches are no longer as epic in scope as they were all those years ago, but it was definitely still very tasty and I wasn’t disappointed. Not like how disappointed I am with the horrible joke that is masquerading as Panchero’s across the street from the Computer Mine.
At 2:30 we walked over to Jackson’s school to pick him up. I got to admire some of his artwork and look around his school.
As we returned to the Faust abode, I checked my email on my phone. I wasn’t expecting any messages of great consequence, I was just trying to hammer out lunch plans for Thursday with Shannon, but then I got an email message from The Swell Season updating their Summer tour schedule. They are coming to 1st Ave in July! Hallelujah!
After further discussion about who Iowa State could get as a coach, Nicole came and picked us up to get cotton candy!
The residence hall where she works was trying to get the students to leave their dorm rooms by serving cotton candy, popcorn and playing approved music. I don’t know how well it worked on the students, but it worked on Jackson, Faust and I.
On the way over to Minnesota State’s campus, Jackson flexed the golden pipes and wowed me by singing along word for word with the Justin Bieber CD playing on the stereo.
A portion of the day was following Jackson while he ran through the hallways of the dormitory.
Jackson has yet to develop his dad’s patented “Leaning Weiner” shot.
Now I’ve been able to school two generations of Fausts on the court. Plus Faust and I did relive some old Saturday Morning Basketball memories. Including how he felt that he owned The Salmon on the court. Hmmm… two friends that think they own The Salmon.
Jackson nailed somewhere between 3-5 shots depending on how he retells the story.
Faust manning the popcorn machine.
Jackson and his Mr. Freeze
Fronting for the Cyclones in Maverick Country
Faust Knocking Down Cotton Candy Goodness
Shortly after we got back to the Faust Estate my phone rang. It was Jesse.
“We just hired a new coach. Fred Hoiberg.”
I was instantly pissed. Are you kidding me? We just hired some guy because he is super popular with the fan base even though he has NO coaching experience on any level. Was this the cheapest publicity stunt ever?
Full disclosure: I’m not and never was a ravenous Fred Hoiberg fan. He was a solid player and a nice story. His teams were okay and they went to the tournament, but they were not my teams and I could not stand their style of play. They were soft. I was and always will be a Dedric Willoughby fan. He actually won a championship. I’m sure if Pollard would have announced that Willoughby was the new coach and he was filling out his staff with Jacy Holloway, Kenny Pratt and Shawn Bankhead I would have jumped for joy. Hoiberg doesn’t do it for me like he does it for the grand majority of Cyclone nation.
Jesse and I vented our anger. Then Faust and I vented our anger.
I sent text messages to Baier, Bill, Russell, Andree, Derrick and Schmidt.
Bill wrote back:
“Fred? As head coach?”
“Yep.”
“Does he have any coaching experience?”
“None. Not at all.”
“Not good at all”
Andree wrote back:
“I guess he didn’t even entertain the idea of hiring Larry back. Well, here’s hoping Hoiberg’s NBA connections can help with recruiting. Was Pollard expecting another Paul Rhoads or something? He’ll be fired next year. This is a cheap move by hiring Ames favorite son to get fans off his back. Idiot!”
“It might be a popular move. I guess we can hope this works out.”
“Popular or not Hoiberg has some cache in Ames. Maybe he can sell to future recruits: “I got all the GMs phone numbers. If you got the chops, they’ll take my call.”
Then I got a call from Baier. We vented. Then I got a call from Russell. We vented.
Then I got a text from Schmidt.
“They are reporting The Mayor as our next coach.”
“I feel that we are worse off now than we were on Sunday with McDermott as our coach.”
“Typical Chris response that I expected!”
“Maybe he is a quick study.”
“We won’t know for three years. Its the Hall of Fame coaching staff!”
Then Derrick called. Of everybody I talked to he seemed the most optimistic that this might work. Although he had just got off the phone with Shawn and Shawn was extremely negative about this hire. But we didn’t get a full conversation because some customer came into the store and he had to “work”.
Faust and I discussed this move for quite a bit longer. Then I headed backup to Eagan.
Nate and I went to Houlihan’s for supper and then we came back to the house. I watched Weeds with Becca until about 2 in the morning and then I went to bed.
Much of my anger over the Hoiberg hiring had subsided and I was able to go to sleep rather quickly
Day 4 of vacation was still pretty great, despite the surprise Hoiberg hiring!
Vacation Day 3 – Guinea Pig Denial
I woke up early on Monday morning. I’m not sure if it was the excitement of the forthcoming trip or if the rumors of Greg McDermott’s departure were so exciting to me that I was like a little kid on Christmas anxiously awaiting the chance to rip the wrapping paper off of his new Omega Supreme!
As I prepared for the trip (as much as I always wish that I was a night before packer – I am definitely a 15 minutes before leaving packer) I listened to the local sports talking heads Deace and Miller discuss McDermott’s departure to Creighton. Only they weren’t using words like “potential” or “possible”. They were talking about his departure as being a done deal.
I always liked McDermott. I hoped that he was going to get it done. While almost all of my other Cyclone friends had left the McDermott sinking ship, I was certain that this past year was going to be his season. He had two future NBA players on his roster. A capable veteran point guard. A pair of sharpshooters. A serviceable center. A bench full of athletic underclassmen.
However, it all went downhill very fast. I remember the moment that I knew that McDermott wasn’t going to get it done.
Jill and I had went over to Derrick and Jen’s to watch a movie. Derrick had called me earlier in the day to make sure that we were a “unified front” on being able to watch the Cyclones demolish Northwestern before we watched a movie. Of course we were a unified front!
The only problem was that Iowa State didn’t demolish Northwestern. In fact, they lost to a Northwestern team that was missing one of its best players.
This was a bad sign.
True many Floyd and Eustachy teams were terrible in the early part of the season, only to cohese and become a dominant force down the stretch. After all, the Elite Eight team lost to a bad Drake team.
Only one of the warning signs that McDermott was in over his head at ISU was the disturbing fact that his teams did not become better as the season went along. In fact, they seemed to get worse.
Even though my head knew that this highly touted team was going nowhere fast, I think my heart forced my mouth to utter the phrase “wake-up call”. Only this wasn’t a “wake-up call” for them. It was a wake-up call for me.
The season went downhill fast. A loss at home to UNI. Barely beating Iowa’s intramural team. Barely beating Houston. Lucca leaving in the middle of the season. 4 conference wins.
Then moments after the season was over, Brackins goes pro. Buckley and Hamilton transfer. The NCAA punish Iowa State for being Iowa State and doesn’t grant Gilstrap another year of eligibility.
It seemed like there was blood in the water. The only question was how would Pollard come up with 2.5 million dollars to payoff McDermott?
Only instead of dropping the axe on McDermott like he did on Wayne Morgan (despite Wayne Morgan having 3 straight winning seasons) Pollard gave McDermott a vote of confidence.
Then a month went by and it got weird. Two assistant coaches left. Colvin left. Pollard sent out two enigmatic letters. One to a kid telling him that he understood his concerns about the direction of the ISU basketball team, but his records indicated that the kid didn’t donate money to the athletic department, so bugger off. Then another letter where he blamed McDermott’s inability to keep players (including a finalist for Player of the Year honors that played for Syracuse this year – yeah that hurt to watch) not on McDermott, but on this generation of worthless kids. He started the letter by throwing Fennelly under the bus and ended it with some very fuzzy math. He tried to make the argument that kids transferring is an epidemic, but if you actually do the math with the numbers he provides, the average Division 1 school lost .5 kids to transfer in the last two years. Iowa State has lost 6. Now 7 with the transfer of Boozer.
Then Christmas came. Oregon hired Dana Altman. Creighton wanted Greg McDermott to replace him!
Not only was Iowa State not going to continue its long descent into irrelevance, it wasn’t going to cost us 2.5 million to go in a new direction. In fact, Creighton is going to have to pay us $800,000 for the right to take our problem off of our hands.
The only problem was that I wasn’t going to be in the state to hear the news. I was going to be in Minnesota.
However, I’m a problem solver. After I gassed up the car and picked up some needed supplies for the trip (two bottles of water, a bag of beef jerky and two Whatchamacallits) I texted Baier, Jesse and Schmidt and asked them to let me know when it had become official that McDermott was heading to Nebraska! Then I hit the open road.
I arrived in Eagan at about 11:30. Nate was the only one home and awake.
I had assigned Nate the task of finding us interesting places to eat at during my two day stay in Minnesota. He handed me a magazine with reviews of numerous Twin City restaurants. However, he noted that Bethany strongly favored eating at Chino Latino.
I found the review of Chino Latino. The review stated that Chino Latino served guinea pig! I was in.
After deciding on the dining option for that evening we piled into the car and head to Five Guys for lunch. We had a little bit of difficulty finding it, but when we did finally locate it, it was worth it.
Five Guys is a burger joint. The menu is simple and the food is tasty. I will definitely be going back.
They serve fresh cut potato fries. They put them in a cup, but they also fill the bottom of your bag with more fries.
A “hot mess” but in a good way, not in the Edie Sedgwick way.
It is usually busy enough that they serve you free peanuts while you wait in line.
They also let you know where your potatoes came from.
Simple menu and you get to add whatever toppings that you want!
Bags of Potatoes
Even though we were stuffed, Nate suggested that we visit a White Castle. I’ve always heard that their food is nasty, but I’ve never eaten at a White Castle and I’ve always wanted to try it.
To give our stomach time to process the goodness of Five Guys we headed from Edina to Apple Valley so that Nate could pickup and deposit his paycheck.
Nate banks where Bethany works, so I got to speak with her briefly. When her co-worker wasn’t butting in to tell me about his brother-in-law that used to play football for Iowa State. Only he can’t remember his name, but he rushed for 438 yards in one game. Some people you just have to let speak.
Next stop White Castle!
White Castle
Our sojourn to White Castle wasn’t adventurous and nobody would make a movie about it. We each ordered two sliders.
The hype about White Castle was dead-on! The food is absolutely dreadful. I can’t believe this place stays in business.
We took the rest of the day to rest before Chino Latino.
Jesse called and gave me the fantastic news that it was official. Creighton had given our basketball program the gift of a fresh, new beginning!
Nate called Chino Latino and made a reservation, but found out the sad news that in order to get the guinea pig, Cuy, you had to order it 48 hours in advance.
DENIED!
Luckily Jill was sort of able to provide some recommendations to me. Sort of.
Later in the night Bethany came home and we went over to her significant other’s house to meet up before going to Uptown.
While we were waiting for some people to get ready, Bill called to ask if Creighton had really hired McDermott.
“Yes.”
“Do they know that he had 4 straight losing seasons at Iowa State despite having the greatest homecourt advantage in the nation?”
“They don’t make them very smart in Nebraska.”
“True that.”
7 of us met up at Chino Latino. Beth, John, Becca, Nate, John’s friend Ben and Bethany’s co-worker “V”.
Chino Latino serves equatorial food. That means that the food comes from countries that are on the equator.
Nate really wants to order Fidel’s Capitalist Pig Roast at some point. Which is a teenage pig, if you are the type of person that needs labels.
The food was excellent. Once I saw the $45 price tag, I didn’t feel so bad about the guinea pig denial.
I rode back to Eagan with Becca so that I could see her new car and the cowboy joint where she currently works.
Near Chino Latino
Becca’s Favorite Store
This is kind of how it feels to be riding around with Becca.
Day 3 of vacation was an excellent day by almost all tangible measurement.
Home Run Derby: The Next Generation
When me and my chums were in high school, we would spend a few choice nights of the Spring, Summer and Fall in my Mom’s backyard playing Homerun Derby with a big red bat and a plastic baseball.
Homerun Derby was a double elimination tournament that consisted of a series of 9 inning games between two opponents. Anything besides a homerun was an out.
While the other gladiators awaited their turn in the arena, they sat on my Mom’s deck munching on the goodness that is Casey’s pizza.
If memory serves me, I won the first Homerun Derby, but never again tasted the sweet nectar of victory.
While my booming blasts are the stuff of legend, (I’m certain that I once knocked a ball all the way to Carroll Street) Homerun Derby was more a game of precision.
There were numerous low hanging branches from the walnut tree and some of the neighbor’s trees that knocked down balls that were hit “too high”. Of course many a low line drive, that would have easily escaped the unfriendly confines of anywhere else in Bennett Field, were knocked harmlessly to the ground by the Green Monster in rightfield. Plus, towering above the Green Monster was a basketball backboard that knocked more than its fair share of dingers back into the outfield and turned the glory of going yard into just another out. Slightly more dramatic than a grounder back to the pitcher, but as far as the scoreboard was concerned, it was the same thing.
It was Willy’s sweet lefthanded stroke that usually won the night. His line drive swing seemed custom made to avoid the obstacles that brought many a hard hit shot harmlessly back to the ground inside the wooden fence that marked the playing field.
While it might seem like a juvenile enough activity, it was important enough to our ascent into manhood that when my Mom moved from the dilapidated structure on Greene Street to her current home on South Benton that we got as much of the old gang back together as we could and had a reunion Homerun Derby.
My legendary blasts were not enough for me to score a victory on my homefield. Willy’s sweet compact line drive swing failed him on this evening as well. Jay’s notoriously crafty pitching (that once earned him the moniker Dr. K) also couldn’t guide him to the winner’s circle. Jesse took home what might be the final Homerun Derby crown of our lives on that night.
It could even be said that Jesse’s performance in the ballpark, on that night, was in the ballpark of dominant. Bennett Field and Homerun Derby legend holds that you only get “Randy’s Meat” once a game, but on this night it seemed like Jesse was getting Randy’s Meat 10-12 times a game.
I don’t want you to leave this entry thinking that Homerun Derby wasn’t serious business. We even had our own set of trading cards, although I think only Jesse’s card survives. Although I just got a “great” idea for another Personal Photo Project.
IMAGE LOST
Apparently Jay’s thought Jesse should spell his name like a girl.
Recently Faust and Jackson came over to what I guess is the current incarnation of Bennett Field. Less like Fenway and more like Wrigley. I went into the magical green trunk of sports equipment and produced a big red bat and some plastic baseballs.
I don’t know if Jesse is officially retired from Homerun Derby, but if he isn’t, I think Jackson might be coming for his title.
I don’t know if it is because the old champ could hear the smack of the bat or smell the pine tar in the air, but a few minutes after the Fausts left he showed up to have his picture taken.
These shirts were given to the winner and loser of the Computer Mine NCAA Tournament Pool.
Winner
Loser
No word yet on whether there will be a special Jackson vs. Jesse exhibition match in the future. I say clear off a cornfield halfway between Boone and Mankato and lets get this thing going!
3Peat
“This is the end,
Beautiful friend,
This is the end,
Of our elaborate plans, the end,
Of everything that stands, the end,
No safety or surprise, the end.”
– The Doors (The End)
Another college basketball season has come to an end. It is a sad, sad day. At least it is only 11 days to Iowa State’s Spring Football Game. 11 long days!
The end of another college basketball season means it is time to crown the champion of year 6 of the Roundball Oracles tournament pool.
This is beginning to sound like a broken record, but a few years back Pat Riley was man enough to patent the word 3peat. What he wasn’t man enough to do is actually 3peat. He came up woefully short in his attempt to win a 3rd straight championship.
Mark Wolfram is not Pat Riley. Mark Wolfram was man enough to be crowned the Roundball Oracles Champion for the 3rd straight year. It was a little embarrassing when a guy living in Taiwan won the first time. Even more embarrassing when he repeated last year. I’m not sure if there are words to express how embarrassing it is that he won for a third straight year.
Hopefully next year somebody will step up and snatch that crown off of his head. Could be you! Could be me! Although I’ll have to rebound from an extremely pathetic performance this year. At least I finished third and won ten bucks in the pool at work.
The Final Standings
1. Mark Wolfram (Taiwan Hoops) – 81 points
2. Nader Parsaei (Charlie Chaplin) – 79 points
3. Dawn Krause (Dawn’s Dunkin’ Dribblers) – 75 points
4. Frank Meiners (Frank’s Picks) – 73 points
4. Corey Faust (Always Go Top Shelf) – 73 points
6. Dan Dill (dan) – 71 points
7. Jason Baier (JLB) – 70 points
8. Robert Henning (Shot In The Dark) – 67 points
9. Nate Buckingham (Wade Lookingbill Allstars) – 65 points
9. Tim Peterson (Dominate Monkey) – 65 points
9. Linda Toot (JWB) – 65 points
12 – Derrick Gorshe (Derrick) – 63 points
13 – Jesse Howard (ISU Yes McDermott No) – 62 points
14 – Becky Perkovich (A169032477) – 61 points
15 – Corey Schmidt (TakeIt2ThaHole) – 58 points
15. Toby Sebring (Lickliter Is Out!) – 58 points
17. Russell Kennerly (i’m also transferring greg) 57 points
18. Christopher D. Bennett (I See Things) – 56 points
19. Jon DeWaard (Lono’s bracket) – 54 points
20. Bill Wentworth (Bill’s Bracket) – 53 points
21. Carrie Baier (Couragers) – 52 points
21 competitors was a new Roundball Oracles record for participants. 4 female competitors was a record for female competitors!
I am hopeful that next year, both of those records will be broken.
The Story
“You see the smile that’s on my mouth
It’s hiding the words that don’t come out
And all of my friends who think that I’m blessed
They don’t know my head is a mess.No, they don’t know who I really am
And they don’t know what I’ve been through
like you do.”-Brandi Carlile (The Story)
Most people know that I am a loner. I keep to myself mostly. Most nights I can be found sitting home alone working on my studies or my projects or watching my shows.
A couple of years ago Jay decided to give one of his friends the nickname “Lone Wolf”. I was quite shocked when this nickname did not come my way. Instead it was given to the social butterfly and vice-mayor William McAlpine.
I knew this was a dreaded mistake. If there was a member of the animal kingdom that best described Willy’s social agenda it was clearly the salmon. Chinook, steelhead, pink or sockeye. I’m not sure which one, but he is definitely a salmon.
However, I made peace with the slight because I don’t have a particular affinity for nicknames.
Then it happened. Jay came to his senses and stripped Willy of the nickname that he did not deserve and placed it squarely on my shoulders. The true loner.
Jay made me a mask and we had a small ceremony where the title was rightfully transferred to me.
I AM LONE WOLF!
However, something hasn’t sat right with me in the few weeks since I became Lone Wolf. I don’t doubt that I am the Lone Wolf. A quick perusal of my social calendar shows that I do little more than go to work and come home and sit on my couch, alone.
I don’t get many emails. I don’t write many emails. I don’t get many calls. I don’t make many calls. I don’t get many texts. I don’t send many texts.
I have 289 Facebook Friends. Not a single one of them can tell you my favorite color, my favorite movie, my favorite show or my favorite musician.
With apologies to Travis Bickle, “Loneliness has followed me my whole life. Everywhere. In bars, in cars, sidewalks, stores, everywhere. There’s no escape. I’m God’s lonely man…”
I’ve learned to embrace this loneliness. In fact, Jill introduced me to a movie called World’s Greatest Dad. The core message of the movie is summed up near the end with the following voice over:
“I used to think the worst thing in life was to end up all alone. It’s not. The worst thing in life is ending up with people who make you feel all alone.”
That is my philosophy. Or I should say, that is the philosophy of The Lone Wolf.
But even though I know without the foggiest doubt that I am the true Lone Wolf, it didn’t feel right. Jay unilaterally stripping Willy of his moniker and giving it away. That is a lot of power for one man to possess.
Therefore I am giving Willy a chance to win back his nickname. I have challenged the vice-mayor, the social butterfly, the salmon to a Lone-Wolf-Off!
The month of April will be a Lone-Wolf-Off between the true Lone Wolf and the Salmon. Winner gets the name! (But I keep the sweet mask either way!)
What is a Lone-Wolf-Off? For the entire month of April we will be tracking our social engagements. At the end of the month, an impartial panel (consisting of Jesse, Dawn and Faust) will determine who is the true Lone Wolf.
Therefore, I should point out that for the next 30 days, don’t be distressed if you don’t see me, if I don’t return your emails, phone calls or texts. I’m in full Lone Wolf mode. I will most likely return your correspondence on May 1 when I am celebrating International Worker’s Day!
Although I should point out that at some point in April many of you will be getting an invitation to my birthday barbecue in the mail. It is a well known fact that lone wolves like meat cooked over a fire and the antiquated feeling of using the United State Postal Service.
Last night I went to see Chloe and have dinner with Sara. Since it was my last social engagement for the next 30 days, we took a few pictures to celebrate my Lone Wolfness.
The Lone Wolf is a savage beast.
Insane Enough
But the Lone Wolf also knows how to keep it laid back.
The Lone Wolf – confident, but not cocky.
Hoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooowwwwwl!!
On a sidenote, since this seems to be the year of nickname stripping, I also think that Willy is also in extreme danger of losing the nickname The Dance Machine.
Jen and Jill can assuredly attest to the following statement:
On Sunday, Derrick set my living room carpet on fire with the dance moves he busted off to the Norah Jones compact disc that was playing on my home stereo.
I would propose a Dance Machine Off between these two gents, but I think we all know that Willy doesn’t really dance. He just likes to pretend that he does.