Harper on late August Power Surge; Sits at 299 Career Homers

    The last time I think that I wrote about Bryce was that he had only 5 home runs by the end of July. He had missed some games on the IL, therefore between the lack of power and games it was looking like he would finish at his career low of 13. But as of tonight, a big Philly home run night win against the snakebit Angels, winning 12-7 and leading in the National League wild card race. They made it to the World Series last year, and they are looking strong now.

    He has hit nine long ones since that post, and now has 14 for the year. Expect him to hit a good ten more, I think. He is on the cusp of the historic 300 and he is still 30 years old. Here are those that he has passed this last month.

    

160.	Bryce Harper (12, 30)	298	6331	L	HR Log
	Mark Reynolds (13)	298	6243	R	HR Log
162.	Rickey Henderson+ (25)	297	13346	R	HR Log
163.	Carlos Santana (14, 37)	296	8069	B	HR Log
164.	Chris Davis (13)	295	5630	L	HR Log
	Anthony Rizzo (13, 33)	295	6961	L	HR Log
166.	Magglio Ordonez (15)	294	7745	R	HR Log
	Robin Ventura (16)	294	8271	L	HR Log
168.	Kent Hrbek (14)	293	7137	L	HR Log
169.	Pat Burrell (12)	292	6520	R	HR Log
	Rusty Staub (23)	292	11229	L	HR Log
171.	Craig Biggio+ (20)	291	12504	R	HR Log
	Jim Wynn (15)	291	8011	R	HR Log

Steele and Athlon Conference Projection Picks 2023

    I bought two college football magazines for 2023. Both have opinions and projections who will do well. Athlon picks bowl games, while I think Phil Steele has not. Unless it is hidden in there somewhere. Lots of pages, that is for sure.

    I will compare their selections for conference winners. First, the best conferences, according to Steele. Athlon next to it. 

    1. SEC                1. SEC

    2. Big-10            2. Big-10

    3. ACC               3. PAC-12

    4. Big-12            4. Big-12

    5. CUSA             5. ACC

    6. PAC-12           6. SBC

    7. AAC                7. AAC

    8. MW                 8.MW

    9. MAC               9. MAC

    10. SBC              10. C-USA

    11. IND              (11.) IND

        Phil Steele likes the Atlantic Coast Conference better than the PAC-12 by three ranks, and even likes them more than the Big-12 (one above). We shall see. I think Florida State, Clemson, and UNC have some things to do with that. I trust Steele's assessments more than anyone, but he can wrong. Athlon like the Sun Belt Conference a lot more than Steele, who basically in their place has Conference USA. Those conferences are flipped in their estimations. Let's go one by one.

    SEC picks for 2023: 

Steele: Georgia in the East and Alabama in the West.

Athlon: Georgia in the East and Alabama in the West.

    Big-10 picks for 2023:

Steele: Michigan in the East and Wisconsin in the West.

Athlon: Michigan in the East and Wisconsin in the West.

    ACC picks for 2023: 

Steele: Clemson (no longer two divisions?)

Athlon: Florida State (seems no longer bifurcated)

   Big-12 picks for 2023:

 Steele: Texas

Athlon: Texas

    Conference USA picks for 2023:

Steele: Western Kentucky

Athlon: Western Kentucky

    PAC-12 picks for 2023:

 Steele: USC

 Athlon: USC

    American Athletic Conference picks for 2023:

  Steele: U-Texas-San Antonio

  Athlon: Tulane 

    Mountain West picks for 2023:

   Steele: Boise State

   Athlon: Boise State

    Mid-American Athletic picks for 2023:

    Steele: Ohio in the East and Toledo in the West

    Athlon: Miami in the East and Toledo in the West

    Sun Belt picks for 2023:

    Steele: Appalachian State in the East and South Alabama in the West

    Athlon: Coastal Carolina in the East and South Alabama in the West

    Independent picks for 2023:

    Steele: Notre Dame

    Athlon: Notre Dame

    As I mentioned, I generally go with Phil Steele over Athlon Sports. As I totally wanted Georgia to dethrone Alabama in 2021 SEC and national championship, and it happened, and then Georgia did it again last year (culminating last January 2023). I would love to see any other team topple them both, which could mean LSU or Florida, but I would prefer Texas A&M or another underdog. The Aggies that crashed and burned last year. 

    No matter what happens at the top of the conferences, I hope that Brigham Young and Indiana exceed expectations. Both are not picked to go to bowls, but I think (or hope) that both can become eligible to do so. BYU has better chances, but who knows? The Hoosiers do have some talented personnel. 

    I hope to see them play the Terrapins in a month. That game and a couple like it should determine the post season, something they have been far from in 202,  and a few close games (like Maryland) in 2022 from doing.

 College Football 2023: Week 0 Impressions

    Proliferation. 

    More than ever, Jacksonville State has joined the ranks of the big boys. We are up to 133 top tier teams now. Alabama, Michigan, Ohio State and Texas, meet your newest challenge to college Division I supremacy. Where is this school? Somewhere in the southern U.S., yes... Okay, Alabama. Football rich state. Makes some sense. Smaller schools in that state are pretty competitive: UAB and Troy State have been bringing it for years. Not as big as the Tide and the War Eagle, but pretty competitive. Enough to knock off some bigger schools sometimes.

    Like the victimized BYU when I was traveling back to the Middle East, my Cougars being outran by the Trailblazers while I tried watching in transit at the Indianapolis airport. Great memories. Oh, is Brigham Young a big boy? I think so, in my biased opinion. Then again, as a Deseret News writer wrote lately, the Cougs are fully capable of beating or losing to anyone. This why we play the game. This is part of why I love the game.

    Yesterday, Saturday, the last weekend of August, featured some games that were interesting to me. We call it Week Zero, before the official start of the season Labor Day weekend.

    And so Jax State went on to win their first FBS home game, against the favored UTEP Miners. Texas El Paso had stronger players, overall, but the... Gamecocks (watch out South Carolina!) exploited some weaknesses, capitalizing on their own strengths, like a scrambling quarterback and a defense picking off passes and recovering fumbles. 

    Welcome to the Big Time, Jax State. Newest member and possible contender in their conference. Sub Belt? Conference USA? AAC? Time will tell...

    The day started off at 2:30 in the afternoon from Dublin, Ireland, of course. The locally celebrated Fighting Irish dropped a whoop down on the Navy Midshipmen. The Ken Niamatalolo era is over, after 16 pretty good years. Say his last name three times fast. My wife asked me where he is after being fired from Annapolis, but I am not sure. We all liked him quite a bit. A great Church guy for us.

    The new, (and possibly 36th?) white-bearded Navy coach took it hard, losing to the ranked Notre Dame squad 42-3. Beers were downed in Ireland, yes.

    Higher ranked USC took care of San Jose State. The Spartans put up some fight, made some great TD pass grabs (I have seen highlights), but the Heisman winner Caleb Williams and crew ended up with 56 points and ran away with it in the Coliseum, sight of the 1932 Olympics, or something like that.

    Vanderbilt beat Hawai'i 35-28, giving the regular lowling of the SEC, the best conference in college football, hope that they might stand a chance this fall. Don't hold your breath, Commodore fans. SEC tv commentators were relieved on their show, I will note.

    Who else?

    

    The Louisiana Tech Bulldogs stuck with it and came back against the FIU Panthers. Florida International did pretty well last year (I think), so it was a disappointing finish for them. The Panthers started out the game up by a couple scores, but Bull Dogs were really bullish. Bully on them. 

    San Diego State handled the visiting Ohio Bobcats. It looked like it was played in former or present whatever Jack Murphy Stadium. Maybe? I don't know. I saw three BYU football games there in the past, but I could not quite tell. The professional Chargers have moved to L.A., so who knows or cares about San Diego now? I would think that the PAC-12 should care about this metropolis and school, because the last four PAC-12 franchises (yes, it's a business) could use the Aztecs to codger together some kind of league, if they are not completely cannibalized by the ACC or some far flung college conference like the Big Ten or Big Twelves, these syndicates of three or four time zones. And both my schools are a part of it! I guess I am lucky...

    Then again, when it comes to football, I am a lifetime IU Hoosier fan... We can win. We just usually don't. It is what it will be.

    Who else? Mercer beat North Alabama. Well, that is FCS. Never mind.

    This was Week 0, so maybe I covered it. Navy, Notre Dame, UTEP, Jax State, SDSU, Florida International, Louisiana Tech, Vanderbilt, Hawai'i. USC and SJSU.

    There might have been one more. Lemme check my phone... Oh yeah! I did watch a bit of this game! Two independents, that I have seen play live in the case of the Minutemen.

    UMass crunched the New Mexico State Aggies. In Las Cruces. It was sunny and warm. That game and the LTech game were really hot, I think. 

    This was August, I was happy to chill, watch, read, write, play, and interact with my family. It was a good day of football for me. Nothing special, but nice to relax after working 12 days in row.

    The 2023 is upon us. Next up? My Hoosiers and Cougars will start up their years, September 2.

    Welcome back, college football. Welcome Europeans and all the rest.

    

    

 Stephen Strasburg Done as a Hurler

    The Nationals were low in the majors and got the number one pick in 2009. It was this phenom San Diego State pitcher, a tall guy with many nasty pitches. That year my family and I were returning to the DC area, and as a lifetime Expos fan (since 1981) I was excited. The following year the wunderkind Bryce Harper was selected, and the franchise became elite. It paid off with the World Series trip in 2019. Things came done after that; Bryce has already signed with the Phillies, but luckily Juan Soto ameliorated that loss, but the continued departures of Rendon and Trea Turner cemented the comedown from their halcyon days of contender.

    

    The Nats invested in Strasburg, which ended up being a losing investment in the long term, especially based on him calling it quits this far into the 2023 season. The Nationals are trying to re-tool, and seem to be playing better with younger talent. They have a core of younger pitchers and players which may lead to future prominence. We shall see. In the mean time, Stephen only pitched a pathetic 8 games since 2020. He was not up to throw and perform. We paid hundred of millions for him. And now he is done.

    He had many injuries across his arguably great career. The Washington team based a lot of their competitiveness on him, and it paid off for many years in the 2010s. But nothing beyond. And all that money was a high price to pay to get not much since last decade.

    We are grateful that he played so well when he did, and we have a trophy to prove it.

    He could have easily had twice the career wins he accrued, or more. 

    But, we will be happy with what happened. And move on to other pastures.

    That is baseball. And life.

    God bless you and yours, sir! You gave your best, and it will be remembered. The Nats were a really good team because of your efforts and skills.

Blast from the Past of Cougars 2021

 Desert Fans Episode 13 – Bowls Shaping Up

We are in the week of Thanksgiving, many teams have their grudge match rivalries to play this coming November festive time. Happy holidays, desert fans! I think we have earned it. I have consulted with a few fans here and there, and Notre Dame is looking strong. Miami is on the ropes. Clemson pounded a good team. Auburn continues to accrue losses. IU stinks, BYU is banged up, but posed for 10 wins. And oh yeah, Georgia is a definitive number 1.

I could end the weekend summary right there with the above paragraph, but I will entertain some thoughts and match ups related to these teams, and a couple others. You know by now in the season, this “season of the desert”, you are addicted to these write ups… Just kidding, at this point you might be of the opinion that the next football season without Desert Fans installments might be more enjoyable. Then again, the truth should lie somewhere in between. Moving on.

The Dawgs were dominant against a puny opponent, as expected, so they are not the news. (Barely worth mentioning the match up versus FCS team Charleston Southern. Good reps for 4^th stringers, I suppose, winning 56 - 7.) Notre Dame is the story, ladies and gentlemen! These Irish might be playing in the College Football Championship come New Year’s. We shall see. The Irish smothered a not so good, but still major program in Georgia Tech, 55 - 0. The Bulldogs will play the poor Yellowjackets next, which may be used by the voting committee for the top four as a measuring stick between the CFP candidates, Notre Dame trying its best to qualify against Cincinnati, which beat them, and a small list of one loss teams, like Oklahoma or Oklahoma State. (One of them will lose this weekend, but the other will win). The Irish need to wrap up against a weaker than normal Stanford Cardinal, and we will watch how the playoff cards play out.

#1 GEORGIA (11-0) NEXT: at 3-8 Georgia Tech. Easy.

# 8 NOTRE DAME NEXT: at 3-8 Stanford. Peasy.

              My Cougars went to Stateboro, Georgia, some two thousand miles from Provo to play the… Georgia Southern Eagles. Eagles, right? A co-worker has a daughter there. I told him that I would have gone to the game, kids in tow, had I been closer to home, as I am very far from it now. The Eagles, not just a 70s band or a team in Boston (see Doug Flutie, 1984. Sorry Hurricane fans). More key defensive players were hurt for the Cougars in this game,  which was close in the first half, 20 to 17.

Despite the top three defenders for the Y being down, Brigham Young will rely on many players and rested bench guys to step up and get the Trojans as they, the powerful traditional program, are experiencing an unprecedented poor year. Two years ago we snuck up on them and beat them, so here is hoping for that elusive double digit win season for my Cougs. UCLA just scored 62 on them, so hopefully the Trojans can hand us some points. They have as much or more talent than Boise State, so BYU has to be careful to hold on to the ball. (BSU trapped BYU with 6 turnovers, even though the Cougs out produced them in yards).

# 14 BYU (9-2) NEXT: at 4-6 USC. The Coliseum.  My brother-in-law and I were there back when they had their Heisman winners, 2003. He grew up in southern California and was a fan of both USC and BYU. The Trojans prevailed that day, despite BYU making it somewhat tight in the 3^rd quarter.

              The Clemson Tigers stepped up, whacking a very good ranked Wake Forest team, 48 – 27 (The Demon Deacons with two losses are still ranked ahead of two-loss BYU. Must be strength of schedule, although BYU has played many Power 5 teams). This means that the Tigers are still in the ACC championship race. The offense has woken up; maybe they have found the key to success to acquit themselves well. Clemson has a lot to play for still, despite some tough losses. Ranked again!

#23 CLEMSON (8-3) NEXT: at 6-5 South Carolina. The grudge match should be interesting now that the Game Cocks had a good win. More on that in a second.

 

              The War Eagle goes down in a close one to the abovementioned South Carolina state school, and now Auburn has hit hard times. As mentioned afterward to an Auburn alum, or he to me, we concur that if they can beat mighty ‘Bama in the Iron Bowl it would make a tough season a lot sweeter. Go War Eagle! This upset would certainly help Notre Dame.

AUBURN (6-5) NEXT: hosts #2 10-1 Alabama.

              Oh, ‘Canes! They redeem themselves and take down the Virginia Tech Hokies, 38  - 26. Miami should make a good run for a bowl. I think they will punk the Blue Devils royally before the hardcourt season gets going. They are finishing the season pretty strong. Miami has had a mixed season, but better than the Gators and Seminoles. UCF is best, as we have surmised. Below them, USF, FAU, FIU. Am I missing anyone?

MIAMI NEXT (6-5) : at 3-8 Duke. I have been to Durham once. Seems pretty nice, pristine. ’Canes by 40.

              Yikes, Hoosiers. A 4^th string quarterback enters, he does show some promise, but this season is a wash. The defense cannot stop the Minnesota Golden Gophers, and they lose 35 – 14. Two touchdowns seems like a lot offensively these days for IU; that is how low they have fallen. Not looking good against a giant-killer Purdue squad. We lost last year’s sure win because of COVID-19, meaning a slam dunk win was not even played. Thank you Chinese, and all the dumb Americans spreading the virus (it happened to me, I own it). Now it looks like we let the Boilers keep the Old Oaken Bucket, the prize from the perennial game. They have many more Ps on the chain attached then we have Is. That is the way the ball bounces.

INDIANA NEXT (2-8): at 7-4 Purdue. In West Lafayette. I have been to the town twice. Three times if you count eating at a breakfast diner. It is a good school, decent place, 160 or so miles from my town. It is not Bloomington, and vivre la difference! Ah, those Boilers…

              Last notes: Oregon was crushed by Utah, so no more Ducks or PAC-12 teams in the CFC, or CFP. Some predict that even a two-loss Alabama team will make the CFP, because the most recent loss would be to the vaunted Georgia Dawgs. That would hurt the Irish since the Bearcats are looking so strong. Ohio State and Michigan are poised for a winner takes all. Winner goes to the CFP.

              Ole Miss and Baylor are still looking strong as two loss teams.

Army:  Handles the lowly Massachusetts Minutemen, 33 – 17. They look to wrap up the Commander’s Trophy and have a pretty good year.

              Air Force: The Falcons squeak by the Nevada Wolfpack 41 – 39. Not a bad year for these cadets.

              Navy: Loses to East Carolina in a close one, 35 – 38, and this is a bad season for the Squids.

             

Florida State and Florida fight for relevance, both sitting at 5-6. UCF or Miami is the best team in the Sunshine State now. In two years UCF, Houston, Cincinnati, and Brigham Young will join the remaining teams of the Big-12, and it will operate something like the map below.

 

 

Picture Houston on the south east side of Texas. More Cougars, not BYU nor Washington State.

Picture U Central Florida in the center, near Orlando.

Picture Cincinnati in the southwest corner of Ohio.

Erase the Longhorns and the Sooners, in their capitals, respectivley.

I look forward to the WVU games, 3 hours away. I have a sister close to Orlando, so maybe a trip down there. Cinncy is two hours from my home town, so maybe to and fro visiting the family…

Thanks you Texas and Oklahoma, for creating a bigger, better conference. And it is not  yours!

Just kidding, the SEC is pretty much the king of college football. Basketball will be another matter…

Like this.

The future looks bright. I hope that I live to be one hundred to enjoy it all.

Happy holidays, fans.

 

The F-Word of Disrespect for Almost Everyone Involved

    I recently listened to part a podcast (I do not usually do much of this) and the person being interviewed uses the F-word (the English word that is considered the worst, that has a vulgar sexual connotation as a point of meaning in the original use). I have some views and feelings on the word and the usage of it that I would like to share.

    As a smaller child in the 1970s I remember hearing the word and thinking about it; I determined that I would not use it. I believed in God, and I more or less promised God and I myself that I would not use that word. This was a part of who I wanted to be. It was a wrong word for me. Not approved.

    This many years later, after the #ME2 movement, defending the overly-sexualized actions and improper attempts at coerced behavior from certain men towards women, or groups of people, and the general non-acceptance of sexually charged language and attitudes that are not deemed correct, polite or no, we are still stuck with the ever-used and abused F-bomb. I thought mistakenly that its popularity would decrease with the awareness of how hyper-sexual and violent usage of our language increased.

    Problem is, to me, people are generally ignorant and many times have no idea of the nature of the word as they use and abuse it. Used as an expletive, adverb, noun, verb, adjective... The word is a go-to no-brainer filler for many people, helping them think, I guess, that they have extra power in language, emphasis, persuasiveness, or maybe a belief that they are one of the common folks. Everybody talks this way, they presume consciously or unconsciously, so I am one of the guys.

    All of that is wrong. The word and its usage is wrong.

    It is a high sign of disrespect to oneself, others, and God, and to the language itself. How so?

    I will explain. If you believe in God, and you do not have to, but if you do allow that there is a higher being and a creator of the Universe, then this profanity is a profane remark. It takes away from the respect in language and thought that we should give to Him. It puts us above Him, or profanes and denigrates the nature and notion of a Higher Power. God's power and presence is diminished and insulted, diminished. It puts us above Him. The word and its use puts the employer of it in a place where reverence for a Divine Being is , lowered, dirtied and sullied. Like wiping excrement in His face.

    Okay, maybe people do not think of it that way. I do. I think the misuse of the word is an offense to the procreative power of Godlihood, the purity and awesome power of a man and woman to create and sustain life. Nothing bigger that I know of, and something massive and beautiful that should be revered and held sacred, with utmost respect. The foul use of this word denigrates and demeans it all.

    Fine, you don't have to believe in God to understand that the F-word does not give proper respect to yourself or others. Remove any God or holiness, propriety and purity from the equation. The F-word is still wrongly used, and shows heightened disrespect to all involved.

    It is a sexual term. That is part of the potency of its usage. Suggestive, crass, vulgar, guttural, visceral. The sound and connotation of it in English is why so many people like it, fall back on it, overuse it. It is gritty and implies violence and force.

    God and belief in things holy out of the equation, is this word appropriate? Of course not! I have been lectured for years and years in countless meetings in the professional and secular civilian and military environments that language and conversations that discriminate and demean minorities and make others uncomfortable are wrong. So there is that. It is a big deal, on a secular level. Sexual terminology has no place in the professional secular world. Or does it? it does not.

    Unless people completely remove the sexual meaning of the F-word from what it is, then this word has no place or purchase in secular,  professional, discussions. God, religion, mortality, or not. In the politically and socially correct times that we do live in the 21st century, the F-word is wrong. Not to be used or abused.

    Finally, intellectually and academically, or in decent commerce and regular conversation and interaction, the F-word is a crutch and filler that inhibits better words, better expression, better ideas. It is a sad cover and blanket word for smarter ideas and conveyance of thoughts and descriptions. \\

    It is wrong. It is cheap. It is crass. It is hyper-sexual. It is offensive. It is potent for a reason. It is over-used to the detriment of better vocabulary and thought. It needs to be checked, analyzed, investigated, and ultimately eliminated.

    People stand up against the Nuclear bomb. Understandable. We can stand up against the F-bomb.

    Let's figure out how we talk and communicate. Let's dig into what ideas and words we want to spread and proliferate. Let's stop noise and thought pollution.

    Let's choose better words. Let's be smarter and less disrespectful to ourselves and others.

    We do ourselves a disservice by employing such poor expressions. Respectful yourself, choose better.

Big Ten Goes to 18; Big Twelve to 16; PAC-12 in Question

    Quite a weekend that happened to the FBS NCAA world, and my teams are all a part of it.

    The Big Ten has expanded to a whopping eighteen teams, adding Washington and Oregon, to completely cover the far West corner of the country. Now it will have four Pacific time schools, which is better for UCLA and USC, most of us think. But the conference is kind of a monster of sorts, but that monstrosity does involve a lot of money.

    The Big 12, which lost its big schools of Texas and Oklahoma, upsized with two East Coast programs, and BYU in the Mountain West, but completed the cannibalization of the poor PAC-12 by snatching Utah, Arizona, and Arizona State, after already getting the commitment of Colorado. At least the Big-12 will only cover three time zones, instead of the four that the Big Ten is doing.

    This leaves Cal-Berkeley, Stanford, Oregon State, and Washington State to figure things out. Keep the name and add teams like Gonzaga, Boise State, San Diego State and a few others? Join the Mountain West? Hmmmm...

    The world keeps changing.

    Still a fan of my alma maters IU and BYU, but UCLA not so much...

Fatherhood - Lucky and Blessed to be Among the Number

    I have two adult children preparing for or en route to go on to bigger and greater things, outside the home. I am happy and proud of them, and I realize that I cannot nor have I been perfect as a dad, but I am hopeful that they have made it thus far with my support and care, and of course the even better constant love, support, and unending work of my wife, their mother. Siblings, aunts, uncles, grandparents, friends, associates, church members, schoolteachers and administrators and classmates, extra-curricular leaders and kind neighbors, good citizens across the community and the world... Many good or great influences, en fin.

    Much to be grateful for! So much. Health and mental acuity, love and kindness are all there. The children of my dreams, I cannot ask for more. I can wax prosaic about these things, which by definition is less than. Prosaic is deemed as inferior to poetic, no?

    So here is a poem to my adult kids, my progeny, my pride and joy. Parts of my raison d'etre. 

    Babies they were.

    Babies they grew.

    Near the remaining orange fields of the California valleys they came,

    We brought them to our homes,

    In a small apartment, and later the mother's childhood home.

    The neighborhood of the mother and the grandma.

    We kept moving. 

    South America. The East Coast.

    Virginia DC Suburbs.

    They matriculated and increased

    Made it through schooling and programs...

    Our family stayed close--

    I had to work and travel at times.

    Mom was always there, always constant.

    Time and presence became more elusive,

    As the girls, the children, get older and have more 

    Things to do.

    I worked, 40 hours per week, sometimes more.

    Including my weekends, often enough.

    And missed my share of birthdays.

    Sorry, my girls! I could not always see all the great moments.

    Like high school graduation, 2019.

    Others without kids may not understand. 

    I saw her walk for college, though!

    The distances and times and lapses will grow bigger.

    The book that I wrote for her at five is still unwritten, dreamed of,

    But not acted upon. We thought of finishing it, but that too went into ephemera

    Our relationship is good, we did a trip together.

    Once more in Canada together. 

    I have taken them their twice now.

    I think of things that I did not do, things that I did not provide.

    But I definitely have a wealth of memories to think back on.

    Did I do enough? Did I love enough? Did I work hard enough to provide all the opportunities that a father should?

    I can play games and think of how I have failed, how I have come up short.

    I can be pretty good, which is pretty bad, at that game.

    Remorse and regret can surge up and seem to overwhelm, for sure.

    On a different note, I think of a father and a friend who died last December.

    Estranged from his own daughter. She was 16, they say.

    Mine are adults now, plus a few more.

    I am blessed and quite fortunate.

    Yes, I am blessed and I count my blessings.

    Like memories and the victories of not hurting them too much, 

    But mostly doing the right thing.

    Yes, I am among the good number.

    Fathers need to chalk up all the victories.

    And I do.

    All our children are triumphs.

    Adulthood is no small thing.

    We are grateful for those before us and those that we can bring along.

    Always.