Should I be concerned?

A woman waving a cane in front of her as she walks indicates that she is blind, right? So how is it that she can stop and fix her hair in a store-front window? Could she be faking it? This also reminds me of the time I overheard a woman boasting about how she had stopped taking her medication for a week and ran around the block a few times before going in to extend her disability payments. She was also showing off the new DIAMOND RING she had just bought. Is this what has become of the "Welfare State?" It almost makes me want to check Republican on my next voter registration form, but I don't think Dwight Eisenhower is planning on running in the next election.



Old Ike was just poured into that uniform.

Update your RSS feeds

'cause Ginger's on the march. Readers may or may not have noticed that the wife has written her first signifcant post on gingerish.com. And just as I imagined, ol' Bill gets the shitty end of the stick. I can't wait to hear what comes next.

I needed a change

I was admiring the vast empire known to the world as federalcheese today and was struck by a sense of. . .ennui. Things have grown stale. I was thinking of switching to an all NASCAR theme or maybe a site dedicated to the Valparaiso Crusaders. I don't know, I was lost. I was grabbing at anything. And then it hit me like a Valparaiso Crusader hitting the sauce after ANOTHER losing season: Elimate the dead links. That's right. If you're too cool to blog, you can consider yourself dead to me. And Michael Degnan. . .you're suspect!

Also, I have upted the ante, not only by adding more and more cliche' to my posts, but by placing the Ginge at the top of the revised links list (Sorry JBC). Will Il Gingino rise to the occasion or will she wilt like a hot-house flower? The cliche' never stops .

I was watching TV today

Has anybody listened recently, I mean REALLY listened, to a press conference by Secretary of Defense, Donald Rumsfeld? Public appearances by Rumsfeld have been severely limited by the White House since it was determined that he is CRAZY, but he pops up every once in a while. I watched a few minutes today. Newsflash: He's still crazy. I actually thought for a moment that I was watching a Saturday Night Live skit. Nope. I'm so sad now.



Donald "Rummy" Rumsfeld appearing as special envoy to the Country Music Channel's benefit to end evildoing

Sad news from the baseball front

So, I was planning out the forthcoming "Collected Works of Federalcheese" when I heard that Kirby Puckett died. I later learned that long-time Giants starter Kirk Rueter (pronounced Reeter) had retired. I know these two events will only mean something to baseball fans, but both Puckett and Rueter represent a bygone era in the sport. While Puckett always seemed a bit overweight and Rueter awkward looking and bald, both were considered by those in the business to be "gamers." That is to say they came at you with everything they had, everyday. It wasn't about fame or fortune. It wasn't about impressing the media or starring in a commercial. It wasn't about anything but winning games.

Those who know me know that I am not a big guy. As a player, I was never known for my overwhelming power. I was able to make my way onto teams in high school and college simply because I always gave my all. I knew that I couldn't throw harder than the next guy, nor could I hit a ball any further, but no one was ever going to question my effort. Puckett and Rueter were proof that that kind of play could pay off.

The last decade has seen the rise of the pure power player. Millions have gone and will continue to go to the park for the sole reason of seeing the home run, the "big fly," the Ya-Ya," the "donger." Steroids have fueled this craze and most fans don't seem to care. I hope that someday they will. I hope that someday baseball will be about baseball again. I hope that someday guys like Puckett and Rueter will be recognized, not for how many home runs they hit or how fast they threw, but for how they approached and respected the game. They will be recognized for showing us all what can be achieved through simple determination.



Kirby Puckett was named to the All-Star team ten times, won two World Series and hit .318 during a twelve year career with the Minnesota Twins. He died March 6th following a stroke. He was 45.



Kirk Rueter had a record of 130 wins and 92 losses during his 13-year major league career. His teammates nicknamed him "Woody" because of his resemblance to the character of the same name in the movie "Toy Story."