rams and packers and bears..Oh My

I make this world a place for you and me
I make your happiness my responsibility
To make this world the world you want to see
I'll do anything

When i see the light upon your upturned face
I can hear the angels sing
To see that no one ever takes my place
I'll do anything

To make you see what I'm imagining
To know the pleasure your smile can bring
To keep the light from vanishing
I'll do anything

Jackson Browne

Jackson Browne was simply amazing. I really wasted a huge chunk of my life being best friends with my TV and refrigerator and pizza delivery guy. I'm not sure that when he was 21 in '69 he really thought he'd still be running on empty at 61 in '10. He put on a great show. 1/3 acoustic 2/3 with the full band. Close to 3 hours of music with no opener. Played everything you would want to hear, plus dug deep into many albums for some obscure material and even dropped a few covers in the mix. A really special fun night for me and the start of a long 4 day weekend.



Picked up Jacky at the airport Saturday night at 5 pm following her week in Malibu at the soft opening for the new fitness ridge. I will give a better report on Malibu in the next blog. Hit the road heading south at 7 pm and stopped in Bloomington, Illinois for the night. Was back on the road at 9 am and into St Louis at 12 noon and waiting for my good friend Eric Jackson at the airport. Scooped him up , met my brother Jay and headed down to the Edward Jones Dome to watch the Redskins and the Rams. My family had season tickets to the skins games when I was growing up. I would see a few games every year. And I always got to go to the game where Santa Claus would make his appearance with my grandfather. Lots of wonderful memories. My last NFL game? The NFC Championship game on January 17th 1988. Not quite the gap that befell Jackson Browne but a significant chunk of my adult life.

There are two ways to see a game at today's stadiums and in two days I saw them both. Sunday's game thanks to my brother, Jay, we spent the game in the Clarkson Jeweler's box. Tv's everywhere, an open bar and buffet, waiter service throughout the game, spread out seats, no lines in clean bathrooms, close up parking, and a private entrance with an elevator.

Certainly about as cush and comfortable as a gameday experience can be.











As to be

expected, I was the normal in person jinx that I normally am and the Redskins played terrible and lost. Just for the record though a fan of the team, the name is way offensive and needs to go. After the game thanked my bro and started heading north for the next kickoff. Without tickets for the game.

Now I have been slinging tickets since I was a kid. Making a quick buck when available. You can always get tickets to a game. But the ticket business has changed because of the internet and counterfeit tickets are everywhere. So i bit the bullet and bought through NFL.com and got two tickets to the Bears Packers game for a lot more than I thought I would ever pay for a football game.


Chicago has been the wrath of many of my previous posts because of their traffic issues. This trip no problem. No traffic. I think travelling with a Mormon in the car may have its benefit. We saw Soldier field the oldest stadium in the league. However the did some renovations that have changed the look of the stadium. It's sort of like a spaceship landed on the Acropolis but it works. The closest parking to the stadium at about 3/4 of a mile was $46 bucks. Ugh we set out in search of a new plan.


I remembered my friend, Greg Ryan, lived in Chicago. Hadn't seen him in over a decade but figured a call might be helpful. Turns out he lived in a high rise overlooking Millennium Park and Navy Pier about a half mile from where I was calling and there was a shuttle that left to the game in front of his building all night for free. Spent a couple hours catching up, checking out the building magnificent health club, and admiring an amazing view of the city. When you see the prototypical skyline shot of Chicago Greg's building is right there staring back at you.


The shuttle to the game was just a school bus. Can someone tell me when the decided to put the seats so close together on a school bus. Those poor six foot four plus kids must not enjoy there rides all that much. After what is now a fairly short walk, but one that would have had me bent over a few years ago we arrived in section 318 for the game. Exactly none of the amenities of the previous day. Instead we got two 40 year olds with blue and orange face paint, beer vendors in constant rotation, and lots of people happy to buy the $8 beers, seats that hugged my ass, and a slightly worse view. I got the seat on the end of the row of 16 people. The other end of the row abutted the wall so there was only one way out of the row. And what happens when grown men drink a lot of beer?? They have to piss every 15 minutes. I spent half the night getting up to let people out of the row. 50 times easy. But hey I'm counting it as a squats workout. The game was close the whole way. The home team made the home fans and the visitor from Utah very happy. Apparently even though I don't actually root for them my jinx ability extended to my home state Packers who played poorly and made a ridiculous amount of mistakes and penalties and still should have won.




So which day did I enjoy more? It's not even close. Given the chance to do it again I'm choosing in the stands with the commoners every time. The atmosphere and passion makes the lack of amenities moot. It's a football game, you don't need to feel like you're in your living room. I'm not ready to sign up for season tickets and make it a weekly trip but every now and then sure. Hey look in the picture One of the 5 packers isn't holding can you point him out :)


So my weekend driving was like this: Friday 4 hours, Saturday 3 hours, Sunday 6 hours, Monday 6 hours, Tuesday 4 hours. A couple hours short of the drive to Utah, which thankfully this time will only be the two hours north from Vegas as I am flying into the dessert. And as the GM and I enjoyed some of what Chicago is deep dishly famous for I realized I have a lot of work to do to get ready for my return in less than 4 weeks. I need to start running again which I haven't done in 6 weeks and I sure need to know the knee is going to not be more sore than normal. Two weeks of volleyball, some walking, lots of swimming have gotten it back to pretty good but I'm not sure that equates to scaling Camelbak or Stop Sign or doing another triathlon. We shall see. It was an amazing fun weekend. Made better by good friends, and great tunes on my new itrip which made listening to music so much easier. No more dragging bags of cd's every place I go :) More fun to come WICKED tonight and Volleyball on Thursday and Farm Aid on Saturday. Because I can :) Peace and Love, Jim

Doctor, my eyes and my knee

I wanted to live in the realm of the senses

You've got to know how

And for some kinds of pleasure there are no defenses

I know that now

Our love is a crackling ladder of lightning

Our love is a fire

Our love is a wave moving deep in an ocean

Of need and desire

I need your wonder and I need your light

I need your tender touch to heal the night

I need you laughing and I need you free

And I need to lock you away deep inside of me

Waiting for you

I have no problem telling right from wrong

The way some people do

I know exactly where these arms belong

My problem is you

Waiting here for you

The Incomparable songwriter Jackson Browne

As always let's start with some good news. I'm over the moon excited to go see Jackson Browne tonight in Milwaukee. I consider him the greatest songwriter of my lifetime, and a man who truly believes in what he espouses about freedom, equality, the environment, involvement, and love. Flawed? no doubt... but we all are. I have seen him once before. I am very sad to report the year was 1979. 30 years between concert dates, ...sigh. We can't change the past only the future.

Speaking of things that happened a long time ago I had a wonderful birthday party surrounded by great friends, who made me drink things named..... dirty girl scouts, pineapple upside down cakes, smurf jizz, and apple tequilla sunsets. I was able to maintain a modicum of composure and get home safely. Love that the people that really care for me went out of their way to see that I had a very special day.

I started playing volleyball again. My exercise really has been limited to the pool for about a month so I figured that was long enough. I need to start getting back on my feet and back on the trail or I have no chance at being ready to hike in Utah. So far, ok in the sand. I get sore afterwards but have been able be fairly pain free during the actual time playing. I was as scared as I can be the first time I went back out there, but you forget about the knee fairly shortly and competitive juices kick in.

I know I have been doing a terrible job updating this I apologize. I promise the next one comes much sooner and I do plan to blog regularly when i get back to the ridge on the 24th of October. Have a great week coming up. Eric the GM from the ridge is in town. We are heading to St Louis and Chicago for some NFL football. I will see Wicked on Wednesday, Volleyball thursday, and Farm Aid Saturday.

I got an email from the winner of the contest that asked that the week be donated to someone who deserves it. I will get with Paige and Eric when I am in Utah and see that someone who really can use the week recieves it. Hope all's well, Jim

Sixteen Candles

Goodbye
Should be sayin' that to you by now, shouldn't I?
Layin' down the law that I live by,
Though maybe next time

I've got a thick tongue,
Brimming with the words that go unsung
Simmer then the burn for a someone,
A wrong one

And I tell myself to let the story end,
My heart will rest in someone else's hand
My 'why not me?' philosophy began,
And I say

Ooh, how'm I gonna get over you?
I'll be alright, just not tonight
Someday, oh I wish you'd want me to stay
I'll be alright, just not tonight,
Someday
SARA BAREILLES

Well, Let's start this week with easily the best news and best thing to happen this birthday week. The new Sara Bareilles cd was released on Tuesday. Go buy it, it's fabulous. And the song I really, really love is the one above. She's just such a talented songwriter, piano player and singer. Fun, happy and a real pleasure to listen to. I have been singing her praises as long as this blog has been in existence...not going to stop now.





My knee is getting better. I hope. I miss sweating that's for sure. This picture is from the last really good sweat I had on the treadmill at my swim club. I have started doing rehab at the UW health and fitness center pool. Took a deep water class, that was well, interesting. And even though I am turning older this week it's really hard not to feel really young in a pool class. It looked like the pool in the movie Cocoon. And the fellow classmates sure enjoyed talking during the class. One thing about pool classes is you get out of them what you put into them, and I wasn't in the mood to mess around. Thankfully I didn't run over any of the participants like a killer whale landing on a kayak, but no promises next week. I have a meeting with the nutritionist there as well, because I need a new plan, my current plan that worked fairly well for two years just isn't working anymore.

Which leads me to my birthday. First off I can't have a birthday without thanking the person that should be celebrated on my birthday, my MOM. She did all the work, and still gets all the credit for making me who I am. Thanks Mom. I am having a small celebration at the bar that hosts our volleyball matches. We have been picking up gift cards this summer for winning and figured it would be a good night to burn through them all. So hurry come to Madison and I'll get you some shots :)


Which leads me to the contest winner.... Goes by the initials JB, had the biggest spread to land on, guessed lower than most of you. By my count I lost 127 lbs this year....... but gained 95..... :) to finish with a total loss of 32. I am disappointed that I came in way under most guesses and that I can't reward one of you that had the most faith in me. I am a little embarrassed that I didn't hang a bigger number. I'm sorry. But at the same time, I weigh less than I have in a really long time, and I'd take a few more years of -32 to get to where I want to be. I can't lose eating what I used to. I bow to peer pressure and parties like wicker furniture under my butt. I'm not perfect and I couldn't find perfect with a search warrant and a pit helmet. But I did do a triathlon, did appear on national TV and in the New York Times, I hiked slots, the vortex and camelback. Won a bunch of volleyball, looked in the mirror a few times and said "not too bad", and rode a a bike again for the first time since Reagan was President. I played basketball, wore clothes I had never worn before, and sweated like a faucet while marrying a couple. I saw so many concerts, my parents in Florida, the Terps in Indiana, great friends in Vegas, and so many new and old friends in Kayenta/St George/Ivins, Utah, where once was Fitness Ridge became the Biggest Loser. It was a good year. One I will never forget. Thanks to all of you for being along for the ride. Here's to an even better next year. It's going to start awfully well, with a Jackson Browne show, a Rams-Redskins game, a Packers-Bears game, Wicked, and Farm Aid. And that's all in the last week of this month. Can't wait. I hope our paths cross. Thank you to all of you who have taken the time to comment, sent me emails, added me on facebook. More than once I have felt like I didn't want to continue but I have read what you guys have written and chosen to continue. I can't thank you enough. All of you inspire me to just be better, to embrace life, and keep trying....so many fabulous memories of year 46. Peace and Love, Jimmy Trudeau

TORN

My conversation has run dry,
That's what's goin' on. Nothing's fine I'm torn...
I'm all out of faith,
This is how I feel,
I'm cold and I am shamed,
Lying naked on the floor,
Illusion never changed,
Into something real,
I'm wide awake and I can see the perfect sky is torn,
You're a little late, I'm already torn,

Natalie Imbruglia

After being in some serious knee pain for a week and having to walk off the volleyball court before finishing a match for the first time ever, I sucked it up and went to the Doctor this past Monday. After bending my knee, straightening my leg, checking my symptoms, and asking how I injured it, he gave me his old school diagnosis. Likely torn Meniscus, he said we could go with the new school diagnosis and get an mri if I liked. We talked about if the mri showed the same thing what the treatment would be and he said exactly what I am doing now. Said the mri would run in the $1800 range and Jimbo opted for the old school diagnosis. 4-6 weeks of no impact sports (volleyball) no running, fast walking or treadmill. Lots of pool and some biking starting in a week, but only stationary or flat surfaces. UGH!! Speaking of the pool here's a shot of me at the hotel pool in Chicago and no I'm not naked...I save that for the late night hot tubbing :)

I have been relatively injury free my adult life. And I have asked my knees to shoulder a ridiculous burden these past two years so I'm not mad at them. In fact I have two theories as to why the injury. The first and least likely is: I play volleyball 6 nights a week, workout, jogging and walking a bunch more, and never give my knees a day off to recover forgetting that they are almost 47 years old and have been hauling around way too much weight for all their lives. Or the more likely reason, God smited me for doing that wedding :)

I am bummed, I do stare longingly at the sand while my teammates play, I do worry about the long term prognosis for recovery. I worry that the November triathlon may not happen. I worry that the hiking portion of my next Ridge visit will be compromised. And then I just realize all I can do is rest it and hope for the best so that's what i will do.



Had a really fun weekend last week. I got to spend some time with my bestie Dan Rascher who came out to Chicago for a wedding. We spent two fun filled days at Arlington Racetrack. Had a fabulous meal together at Morton's and did what we always do...told stories of our exploits as kids and made each other laugh...a lot. One thing that kind of got lost in my parents moving to Florida is I never get back to DC. And I don't know when I will next be there. I really do miss the east coast, the Atlantic Ocean, and my friends. I would love to one day again take a road trip up to Maine and down to Florida along the shore. From Lobster to Key Lime Pie.


They held the Volleyball championship party Monday night and although slightly downbeat because of the afternoon diagnosis, I was happy to pick up two volleyballs for winning the Monday and Wednesday regular seasons. And then was extra proud on Wednesday when my teammates picked up without me and won the Wednesday post season tourney as well. Fall volleyball starts this week and I am on the injured reserve until I break down and get back out there. Doc says 4-6 weeks but I heal fast so we shall see. I sure miss sweating :(

My contest will end on September 10th I will announce the winner that day and you will have 48 hours to contact me. If I don't hear from the winner, than I will extend it to Nov 14th and do the same thing. Trying to be fair. Best of luck Have a great end of the month and start to September. If you're birthday shopping, I could use a Meniscus...Peace, Jim

Morning, Minister

We'll love until
The end of time
And we'll never be lonely anymore
Because we're

Goin' to the chapel and we're
Gonna get married
Goin' to the chapel and we're
Gonna get married
Gee, I really love you and we're
Gonna get married
Goin' to the chapel of love

THE DIXIE CUPS

It was a picturesque Saturday in Prairie Du Chien, Wisconsin for the nuptials of my good friends Tim Greene and Tanya Gillitzer. It was all of 90 degrees and there was exactly, by my count, one idiot in a sport coat for the wedding. But he had a job to and needed to minimally look the part even if he was going to have trouble acting the part. Unlike many weddings the bride and groom had chosen to bypass the standard rehearsal for the night before the ceremony. So I figured it was time for me to walk to the front when I actually saw the parents being escorted down the aisle. What the Hell no two minute warning? Anyway I figured they weren't starting without me :)

Speaking of sport coats. I bought a new one for the ceremony. It was a much lower number than the last one I owned. :) And at $175 it was certainly going to get used whether it was 90 degrees or 115. I was in place for all of 15 seconds having wished the groom good luck and waiting on the bride when I felt the first one. Sweat bead in motion and rolling down my neck. Great one part heat, two part nerves= Jimmy sweating like a faucet. Forget to bring a handkerchief, had "borrowed" a wash cloth from the hotel and pulled it out 3 times to dry my brim with a few more sleeve wipes. The bride seemed sweatless, the groom was on the sweat train with me.

My little sermon:

Marriage is perhaps the greatest and most challenging adventure of human relationships. No ceremony can create your marriage; only you can do that – through love and patience; through dedication and perseverance; through talking and listening, helping and supporting and believing in each other; through tailgates and Badger games, through agonizing through another tragic yet foreseeable Brewer or Packer collapse, through volleyball championships and softball disappointments, through tenderness and laughter; through learning to forgive, learning to appreciate your differences, and by learning to make the important things matter. What this ceremony can do is to witness and affirm the choice you make to stand together as life mates and partners.


















The happy couple post me officially naming them husband and bride. The bride got a little shaken as she questioned the script I was following that she prepared due to the order of events. But let's face it the guy with the paper taped inside the bible is probably going to get it right, and he did :). I want to say that both the bride and groom did a fabulous job on their vows. Poignant and funny, pretty much all you can ask for. Yes the officiant looks very happy in this picture. Two reasons...He is heading in to put on his shorts and he is heading to the bar to grab the first of many cold beverages.




I gave up diet soda two weeks ago and haven't had one since, unless you count the diet root beer that got mixed with rum. Good news is I don't. Had a really good post Vegas weigh in at WW and hope to make it through this weekend without massive damage. Had much fun at the reception. It wasn't any cooler in the tent that night, and I'm sure the cows in the area were happy that night as every fly in a three state radius descended on us. But I danced a little, drank a little, talked a little, drank some more, ate a little, drank a lot, slept a little, got driven back to the hotel, and woke up with a really sore knee. There you have it a day in the life of a 1st time wedding officiant. I'm available for all your wedding needs, boys and girls, girls and girls, boys and boys. Heck if the place has air conditioning I will waive my fee which is zero anyways. Peace, love and marriage, Jim

Wicked

I'm through accepting limits
Cuz someone says they're so
Some things I cannot change
But till I try I'll never know
Too long I've been afraid of
Losing love I guess I've lost
Well if that's love
It comes at much too high a cost

I'd sooner buy defying gravity
Kiss me goodbye, I'm defying gravity
And you can't pull me down!

Stephen Schwartz (Wicked)

I flew the red-eye back to Madison after a very fun filled weekend in Vegas with 8 or so Fitness Ridge Alums. Even bought the same day first class upgrade which had me sleeping like a baby, that is until the lady in the seat next to me, who had downed a half dozen bloody Mary's, thought it appropriate to grab my hand while I was sleeping. She said she was scared ?? Really. Bizarre behavior is really weird on an airplane. I will say this, my legs felt a million times better after 4 hours in first class then they did after 4 hours in the back of coach.

I don't have any pictures from Vegas but I will try to grab a few from the others posts to share next time. I stayed at Aria, which is in the brand new city center. It was the most technologically advanced room I have ever stayed in. One remote controlled all the lights, curtains, and tv/music in the room. I was fairly high up and I will say that the view at night over the city was breathtaking The shiny red lights of the city reflecting off the high black sky. Will I stay there again? I doubt it. I'm really not a strip guy anymore. Too expensive, too big a pain to go anywhere, and just too many damn people. The race/sportsbook was new and small. And I had two really good days in there. Although I did skip some of the group activities to feed my taste for Saratoga. Oh well it was my vacation too :) I do love hanging with my ridge buddies. They do know how to have a good time.

What else? Shockingly lots of volleyball. :) We are damn close to wrapping up the Monday and Wednesday championships. We won our first game ever on Tuesday. Of course I was at the Squeeze concert that night and missed the game. Maybe that's why :) We won our first playoff game Thursday in that league. We played 4 players vs 6. I love to play 4's as you get a better workout and so many more hits. Plus it's always nice to embarrass the other side with 6. Friday's has been a struggle just cause most of my friends/players don't want to play Fridays, but I like having that night kickoff the weekend. One thing about volleyball is I have somewhat relied on it for my workouts and used it as an excuse not to get on the treadmill or out on the path. I have rededicated myself to getting back on the path every morning this week and actually have been really happy with the results this week. Need to be able to say "this month" in a few weeks.

I am going to do something next week, that I have never done before and don't think that I would have ever thought I would have added to my list of things I accomplished. I was invited by my good friends and teammates Tim and Tanya to officiate their wedding. Thanks to the good people at the some internet church credential site I am now officially licensed to marry people in Wisconsin. I met their requirements. I was alive and I had a valid email address :) Hope I don't sweat as much as the last time I stoop in front at a wedding. I will give you a full recap after the ceremony.

The new store just been a pleasant surprise and easily exceeding my expectations. Back to School starts here this weekend and we love the college kids coming back to town with the summer job money in their pockets. I had a really good weigh in a weight watchers this week, unfortunately I'm still 4 lbs over the weigh in I had right after the triathlon. I'm working hard for you people with the big guesses but don't hold your breath :)

I was invited to attend the soft opening at the Malibu Ridge the week before the public invades for the first time, but had to pass due to way too much volleyball and a couple of tickets to see Jackson Browne that week. Who benefits from this? Well Jacky, of course, because she will be going in my place. I'm certain i would have gotten in trouble for sneaking down to the beach to play volleyball anyway. And speaking of tickets I am really excited to see Wicked which comes to Madison at the end of September, and maybe even a little more excited for the return of my....FOOTBALL. Hope your summer is going well. Miss all you guys and remember the door is always open in Madison. Peace and Love, Jim

July the fastest month ever

And even though we ain't got money,
I'm so in love with you, honey,
And everything will bring a chain of love.
And in the morning, when I rise,
You bring a tear of joy to my eyes
And tell me everything is gonna be alright.

Loggins and Messina

I know, I know, I know. I'm sorry it has been forever since I have written. And truth be told if not for the tornado warnings and thunderstorms tonight I would be playing volleyball instead of writing this. Playing volleyball 6 nights a week has been a gigantic undertaking for me. No complaints, well a few, but I have loved it. The biggest complaint is that my body refuses to heal and the nagging pain in my legs and shoulders and hips just doesn't seem to go away. And I refuse to not give 100% at all times in the sand. I dive and dive and dive some more. I wake up some mornings and feel like I am 90. It has cut into my normal workout schedule as has the world cup and working 5 days a week. No complaints and I do feel like I am in the best shape of any adult summer, but I wish I was further along with my jogging and riding further without pain than I a currently am.

Food has been a big issue for me this summer and I have struggled to do much more than maintain where I was when I left the ridge almost three months ago. Sorry to those with big numbers in the challenge. It's not going to be that high. I do think I will extend the contest a few weeks until I get back to the ridge so I can weigh on the same scale. But some lucky person who knew me and had less faith than the average is going to walk away with a free week.

Here's some standings from Volleyball. Yes I picked the best results but also chose my two favorite nights. I swear that some nights I look out on the court and there are 11 other players in the sand and all 11 are young enough to have been fathered by me. It makes me feel good to compete with these kids, and even better to kick their ass. It's funny we used to be the team that a lot of the other teams would root for, but not so much anymore. Were not cocky but we don't let off the gas pedal very often and frankly we are a bunch of piss poor losers so we hate to do that. I have done a much better job of passing on the celebratory drinks after the matches this month, which caused some problems last month. Not the drinking so much but I tend, and by tend mean without a doubt, grab anything salty I can throw down my gullet when drinking.

I am far from perfect that I know, but I like my life right now and certainly don't have the issues a certain More Magazine hack attributed to me. I have started playing indoors as well one or two days a week. It's an extremely different game than the sand and I am more sore for sure from jumping on the hardwood. And yes I did use the word jumping. It's funny that my life sort of revolves around volleyball as I never really played as a kid and now consider it my favorite activity. I feel lost on the night I dont play.


Thought I would let you guys know that I am tentatively scheduled to be back at the ridge in the fall. Most likely for 3 weeks starting October 24th and ending with the fall triathlon on November 13th. And as always I have an open invitation to anyone to come out and join in the fun of the race. It's a pretty good feeling when it's over that I can promise all of you.





I have been to a few more shows and have two scheduled in the next week. I drove down to Chicago. Again I hate the traffic there and have no idea how anyone can deal with that on a regular basis. I saw Sara Bareilles do a free show at the Hard Rock Cafe in downtown Chicago. The good news was the venue was really small, a $5 tip still gets you great seats, and she played a few new songs which I really enjoyed. The bad news was she only played 7 songs total, it took me 4 hours to get there from Madison, and I had to pay $16 for a burger. I saw Squeeze Tuesday night in town at the same theater that hosted Ingrid last year. 1100 fans for her and about 200 for Squeeze. But Tempted, Black Coffee, and Puling Mussels all sounded great, the crowd was into it, and the band seemed to be having a blast. Going to see Jack Johnson this weekend and then Kenny Loggins next Saturday.

The new store looks awesome and has been exceeding my expectations. We had perfect weather for our annual street festival and had the two biggest days on our history last Friday and Saturday. The original store will be closing at the end of September and life should return to some semblance of normalcy.

Need to say thanks to my great staff for working extra hard on our big weekend. Congrats to all that won some of the games we played at our post festival dinner party.

I really hope that everyone is having a great summer. I don't care how hot it gets I'll take it every day of the year over winter in Madison. It seems to go fast that's for sure, but that only means football season is right around the corner. Heading to Vegas next weekend and will cross paths with some fellow ridgers if they can pull me out of the racebook where I am very enthused to see Saratoga opening tomorrow. I have a really good friend's wedding coming up in mid-August and I will be performing my first wedding ceremony. Thanks internet church and lax Wsiconsin state rules regarding who can officiate a marriage ceremony. Hope I dont sweat as much as the last time I was up front at a wedding ceremony. Peace, Love and Sunshine, Jim