First Male Player in a Major Sport

NBA Player Jason Collins Declares He Is Gay

Sean's TMI Thursdays

Mommy, I'm Sick...
Sean from Just a Jeep Guy poses questions weekly.  This is my response to this week's TMI questions.
1. When you were a kid, what would your mom (or who) do to make you feel better?
I really don't remember anything special, but I remember that she was always there for me.  Medicine, food, or just doting on me...being around fretting over me...and it was all good. 
2. Who takes care of you now?
Fortunately, I haven't been really sick for a while.  But, I think it will be a combination of my kids and that special guy.
3. How often do you tend to get sick?
Typically a cold a year, and every few years, a bout with the flu or something close to it.  Other than that, I have been fortunate.  Unless I collide with other cars or stick my appendages in heavy industrial equipment, I am otherwise healthy.
4. How are you at comforting and aiding the sick?
I think I am pretty good at that, especially if it is someone close to me. 
5. Are you a good patient or a bad one?
I am a pretty good patient...usually following orders...taking appropriate medicines...but I do love to be cuddled when I'm feeling bad [whether I am otherwise sick or not, actually].  I was addicted to pain killers once, and coming off probably made me a bad patient for a while though.  
6. Do you have a your own version of chicken soup?
Not really...if I am caring for someone else, I tend to do whatever that person really likes or wants.
7. What one thing do you hate most when you get sick?
I hate missing things I have been waiting to do...like visits or parties.  I also hate lying in bed all day...makes my back hurt.
8. What's your favorite comfort food?
Reeses cups.
9. When was the first and last time you played doctor?
Never played Dr. as a kid...first time was about a year ago, and last time was last month. 

BONUS
"Not now, I have a headache." Have you used this famous excuse to get out of sex? What line have you used?
The line I most often use is, "We should do it now cause I may not feel good later."  Why would anyone want to get out of sex?

Wal Mart

-SNL Weekend Update, Seth Myers
California police arrested a man who drove his car into a Wal Mart then began beating customers.
"If there is one thing that you don't expect to happen when you are shopping in a Wal Mart, it's for things to get WORSE."

No Bacon?

About those Cherry Blossoms ...

Cubby wore bright yellow so I could easily find him should I get lost.  He is so thoughtful.

A BUST!!

Someone lied.  No, the cherry blossoms were not in bloom...at least nothing remotely close to the promise.  If you tried really, really hard, you could find a tree or two that was maybe 70 or 80% open blooms, but there were damn few of them.  And they were all surrounded by photographers who, like us, came to the tidal basin to see and take pictures of the trees.  I assume a 'colder than predicted' night and a 'slower than predicted' warmup was to blame.  But ...no matter.

No blooms to gawk over, therefore we had to find other things to do. 
-Since we were already downtown, might as well watch some of the 20,000 runners in the Cherry Blossom 10K run. 

These Magnolia trees looked great!

- a trip see a beautiful garden just off the mall in a Smithsonian property.  
- a visit to the Hirshhorn Museum featuring modern art.
- lunch in the American Indian Museum cafeteria...if you have never been, it is worth the trip...not cheap, but really good, unusual dishes.
- a side trip to Ikea.






This only gives me another excuse to get to DC to see them fully in bloom.  When should I go?  Or should I just skip this year for the pictures?

Japanese Cherry Trees to Bloom

Cherry Blossoms Peak .... story



Sunday is supposed to be a beautiful, sunny 70 degree day in Washington, D.C. and the cherry blossoms are expected to be at peak bloom.  And... we're going to be there to see it .... might even take pictures for you.
The Jefferson Memorial in this picture holds a special memory for me, and is a perfect backdrop for the renowned blossoms from the more than 3000 Japanese Cherry Trees that line the tidal basin.  By Sunday, or early next week, more than 70% of the buds are expected to be blooming.

This link tells  the whole story of the original trees that had to be destroyed, and the replacement trees sent by the Japanese. 

OZ ... as in the Wizard, not the Prison

We're off to see the Wizard tomorrow.  Anyone want to suggest what to 'watch for'?  I can't wait...and in 3-D too.  

Official website of OZ - the movie

Adam Levine

I have written about Adam before, and I stated "He is anything but my ideal guy...too thin, too many tattoos, and he's not even got a chance of being gay.  But there is something about him, a sinister innocence maybe, a look, that turns me on."

After watching 'The Voice' for the last week or so, I think I know what is so endearing about him.  On two separate occasions that were broadcast, he made the extra effort to comfort an artist who didn't make it to 'The Voice'.  He didn't need to do that.  

Les Misérables

 The teaser from the movie is above.

The Trailer for the musical show that we saw!!

Cubby cleans up pretty nice, eh?

I love live theater, so when I knew Cubby was coming to town and I was looking for an evening of entertainment, I saw that Les Miserables was coming to town.  Search completed...we were going!  It was easy to make that decision. 

Having not seen Les Miz on stage or the movie, I really had little idea of what to expect.  Fortunately, my companion for the evening was not nearly as green as I, but when I suggested he could help me during the show if I should get lost, he informed me he is much too civilized to talk during the show [I'm sure you can guess my one word response to that---rhymes with witch].  I found the 'cliff notes' version of the story so I would not be completely in the dark. 

After several beers, and a great dinner at a local establishment, we were off the the theatre.  A five block walk on a beautiful evening brought us to the Richmond Landmark Theater for a stunning production of the show.  We had decent seats...possibly not the best in the house, but the orchestra level, just to the right of the center and about halfway back the theatre.  If it wasn't sold out, it was very close to it.

Promptly at 8:00, the lights dimmed and the orchestra swelled with that familiar music.  The audience was hushed, respectful, and appreciative of the performers on stage and in the pit as the show proceeded at a very fast pace.  Before we realized it, an hour had passed.

The last part of the show is very touching, very emotional and will likely leave many in tears as it did in that auditorium on Saturday.  A beautiful love story and tragedy.  

I honestly would have gone simply for the live orchestra.  They sounded fantastic, and I love the music to the show.  I was also seriously impressed with the show, especially the staging.  Having worked in theatre a bit in high school and college, I know enough about sets and lighting to appreciate a good job, just not enough to actually do the work.  LOL.

All in all, it was a great finish to a beautiful day.  The nearly three hour production left us both thankful for a fine show, but tired and ready for the walk back to the car on a pleasant spring evening in Richmond. 

This production of Les Miserables will be touring the country for most of the year.  I hope you get a chance to see it if it comes near you.  But, don't ask Cubby to help if you don't know the story...at least not until the end of it.

This is Richmond Times Review of the show.