Yoga Anyone?

No comment. She just reminds me of a ballet dancer I once dated. On the first date she told me she could put her ankles behind her ears.. . .and very shortly thereafter she showed me. We did not date long. I promise she had more snakes in her head than Spielberg used in the first Indiana Jones movie. Then again, I don't remeber being very intereted in her head that night...at least not snakes that were aleady in it already in it.

Gratitude

Yesterday, in the US, we celebrated Thanksgiving. Today (friday) we celebrate sloth and lethargy. The American myth goes back to 1621, but the roots could probably be traced back to the earliest farming communities. A good harvest brought in was always good cause for thanks and celebration. There was always some god to show gratitude to and another excuse to get naked and run through the woods. Those festivals were generally celebrated somewhere shortly after the vernal equinox, after the harvest had been brought in. Lincoln declared the last Thursday in November to be a national day of thanksgiving in the US, and it became an official national holiday in 1941. Kind of ironic in that this was the very eve of Pearl Harbor.

When I was a small child I remember all of my uncles and aunts, and my mother's uncles and aunts, and my cousins being around at so many different holidays, I can't attribute a specific memory to Thanksgiving.. . .but it was a good time in our family. As I have gotten older, I like to reflect on some of the things that I have to be grateful for.

Always number one on the list is my family. I couldn't have hand picked better. I certainly miss those who are no longer here, but I am grateful that they were in my life. The thing about getting older, is that thee are more and more that leave each year. I seem to have been given a gift to be able to hold them in my heart with an ounce of sorrow for the loss, and an ounce of joy for the times shared. I miss my brother, my father, my uncles Tommy, Jerry, and Willie. My aunts Annie and Catherine. I am sad that they are not here, but so happy for the loving part that they played in my life.

The part of family that I had a hand in choosing (my lovely bride Cameron) is just as special. She is the pot to my top. I love her dearly and am very happy with the life we share. . .and lucky me, she loves me too. I may not be the best at anything I do, but I maintain that I am the luckiest man I know. Happy Thanksgiving all!!

I have been reading OhCaptain's posts about a run of bad luck. I think it is catching, for during the same time have had pocket K's 4 times they have held up exactly 0 times. I did witness cowboys hold up once. Unfortunately, it was when I ran my AA into KK, of course K on the river.. . .so, It kinda made me want to sing a song. . .

Mamas dont let your babies grow up to play cowboys . . make 'em play dueces and presto and such, or Ace with crappy kicker, isn't too much (with appologies to Willie Nelson).

It was funnier to be there. . .but not in a fun kind of way.

Too late for Holloween. . .

. . .Too early for April Fools Day. I watched a horror show on Saturday. It was called Florida Gators vs. South Carolina Gamecocks. Back when I was in school a/k/a Sparky Woods and Brad Scott regimes, this was a recurring matinee. And you could count on end of the year shellackings from Florida and Tennessee and whatever other SEC west fill in the blank team we were playing (Auburn, LSU, Alabama). It didn't matter, 40 and 50 point losses were common place and the mantra of "wait til next year" was nonexistent in the ever hopeful vocabulary most Gamecock fans. We were just hopeful of putting a team out there that could compete.
However, with the arrival of the most recent saviors, Lou Holtz and Steve Spurrier, we have been delivered from the ridiculous back to the mediocre. Hey, there's over 100 years of history here, trust me, mediocrity is as good as it gets. All the way back to the late 1930's when Rex Enright came to town, there have been savior coaches that have either descended from the hallowed grounds of the elite (Notre Dame, LSU), or been lured from other half baked programs they had resurrected (I will not insult those programs by naming names--this is my cynical rant, not theirs) to this one in hopes of doing what has never been done. . .win in Columbia South Carolina. As yet, the miracle remains unperformed.
Reading this, you might think that I am not a fan of the feathered fighters, and you would be wrong. Nothing would make me happier than to see my Gamecocks consistently at the top of the college food chain in some type of sport. However, I have harbored this hope for the better part of my 48 years on this earth, and I shall continue to harbor such hope for many more years. The Gamecocks have extended this fantastic Odyssey to it's faithful for even longer. It is a birthright, a burden of love that is generally reserved for a parent to a ne'er to do well child. For I am a son of the South-land of the lost cause. How dreadfully symbolic, or would a better word be bucolic??

Might this be a bit of an oxymoron? I mean, damn, wouldn't some one need a drink to touch some of those lips?? Who thought this poster was a good way to promote prohibition?? I always thought the gods created liquor to help ugly people (like me) get a little lovin' every now and again.

good week at the table, but TF King for a day

I have had a nice week of play starting with the pokersluts on Sunday a PLO (more affectionately known to me as the lemming race) that I won, woohoo. I next finished in the cash at the Mookie and the Dookie on Wednesday, and I finished 2d to NumbBono at the Donkament. Numb and I played in a $5 HORSE tourney after that and we both final tabled again. He finished 2d, me 3d. The poker gods have been kind to me this week. We wont mention the donk moves I made at the Tuckfard I & II when I finished first& second Gigli, and I go home on the bubble feeling rather sheepish and dumb--rightfully earned, lol. Win, lose or draw, you gotta love the Tuckfards. My biggest regret there is I went out too early to enjoy the conversation.

I Booked Vegas plane tickets today. I think this is gonna be fun. I look forward to meeting some folks, as the only blogger I have met in person is BigPirate. We went to school together long before either of us knew the other had a love of poker, and blogging was not even on the horizon.

Either way I find myself a little bit excited about the trip to Vmecca. I find myself in the lotus position facing the west, six times a day making the sign of the cross with spades, diamonds, hearts and clubs being at each directional point while tantrically reciting. . . .o money card gods. . . while burning a deck of cards in sacrifice to the poker gods.

Is there any other mythological or religious symbol or ritual that I can bring into the mix??? Hmmm, the wife says a Bacchic ritual is out of the question. I don't drink, but I heard the orgy part could be fun. You gotta love a god who wants you to have fun while following his rituals.

TuckFard Day!!!

While the rest of the industrial world hates Mondays ( and not without some modicum of reason), I have found a way to overcome that prejudice. I am not saying that playing in the tuckfards will make Monday the favorite day of the week for everybody, however, it would do a lot to improve the negative press ratings in most households. I am an honorary Tuckfard, and I approve this message.

I did have some luck this weekend playing in a lemming race (some call it PLO). No, not Dr. Pauly's, I was disposed of there before the final table was formed. I signed up for the Pokerslut tourney, and the format was none other that poker on crack. So, fully equipped with my new set of thumbscrews and hairshirt, I partook in poker's answer to self mutilation. Almost two hours later I came out with a win. Only the poker gods know how that happened.