WAIT 'TIL NEXT YEAR!

The season is finally over for my Arizona Diamondbacks.  The Milwaukee Brewers finally ended it for them in the bottom of the 10th inning this evening with a hard-fought one-run victory in the 5th game of the 5 game series.  So congratulations to the Brewers.

But D-Backs fans have nothing to be ashamed of.  They went from worst in their division last year to first this year, defeating the incumbent World Champion San Francisco Giants by 8 games.

The real star of their team is this man.

He is their manager, Kirk Gibson.  He is given credit for changing the attitude of this team and making them champions of the National League West this year.  Nearly everyone says he should be named the National League Manager of the Year.

Meantime, as we Brooklyn Dodgers fans used to say back in the 40's and 50's - "Wait 'til next year!"

OH . . .

It is always such a good night when the Yankees get beat!

W, YOU'RE LOOKIN' BETTER EVERY DAY

I was a big critic of George W. Bush during his presidency, for a lot of things but largely because of his crippled syntax.  But he looks darn near eloquent, next to Sarah Palin.

I quote from Ms. Palin's interview with Greta Van Susteren on why she decided not to seek the presidency in 2012.

"I concluded that I can be an effective voice and a real decisive role in helping get true public servants elected to office, not just in the presidency, but we have 33 senate seats coming up, we have a House of Representatives that we need to strengthen in numbers, conservatives who understand that our country has got to get back on the right track economically here and governors' seats around the nation."


Now, I ask you: does that make any sense?

Does Sarah Palin ever make any sense?

W, we hardly new ye.

BREAKING NEWS

I have decided, after much consideration of the ins and outs, that I shall not, this year, seek the presidency of the United States.  I'm sure you're all disappointed but, as New Jersey Governor Chris Christy said yesterday, "now is not my time."

I think you should know that I have put in virtually no thought to running for president.  I have not discussed it with my wife or children or her children or my grandchildren or her grandchildren.  Neither have I mentioned it to my brother or his children (my nieces and nephews) or any of their children.

None of my friends have been consulted about this great decision.  I don't have a pastor but if I did I can assure you that he would not have been consulted either.

Nor would my psychiatrist, if I had one.  Nor any of my doctors, of which I have too many.

No, this has been totally my decision, reached after I stopped laughing when I just read that Sarah Palin has decided that she won't run for president in 2012 either.

Needless to say, I am still happy to accept any monetary donations that my friends, families and followers would care to send me.

Gosh darn it, this is shaping up to be quite a politicial season, isn't it?

DECEMBER 21, 2012

Remember the horror that was Y2K?  And all of the predictions of the End of Times through the years from one religious quack or another?  The current one stems from the calendar of the Mayan Indians of Mexico, which supposedly comes to an end on December 21st, 2012, at 11:11 p.m. Universal Time.  That's the prediction of one Lawrence E. Joseph, an alleged writer.

But others, like Sandra Noble, executive director of the Foundation for the Advancement of Mesoamerican studies, say to render Dec. 21, 2012, as a doomsday or moment of cosmic shifting, she says, is "a complete fabrication and a chance for a lot of people to cash in."

So, as the old saying goes "don't sell the farm."  I suspect we'll all make it to Christmas Day next year.

But in the meantime, the sky over my part of Arizona today resembled some kind of apocalypse.

AUTUMN . . AND THE TEMPERATURE IS DROPPING

It looks like Autumn has finally gotten serious.  The high temperatures on the past balmy weekend were in the lower 80's.  Even today it is forecast to hit 79.  But tomorrow, ah tomorrow, that's when the temperatures will begin to drop.  Tomorrow's high is forecast to be 70, Wednesday's 69 and by Thursday the forecast high is 60!  That's SIXTY DEGREES, folks.  Flagstaff, only about 80 miles from here but a couple of thousand feet higher in elevation, has a possibility of SNOW!

Yes, I'm afraid the balmy days of summer are gone for this year and it won't be too long until we see something like this.

And then we'll be right back to complaining about the snow, the ice and the cold weather and wondering if summer will ever come.

SAD-URDAY SORROW

The baseball playoffs have begun and my Arizona Diamondbacks and their star pitcher Ian Kennedy were beaten in their opening game by the Milwaukee Brewers.  It was only 4 to 1 but it's still a loss.  Not as bad as the 9 to nothing drubbing Tampa Bay gave Texas yesterday or the 11 to 3 lesson the Phillies are handing the Cardinals as I write.  But a loss is a loss, especially at this time of year.

However, to quote a great American scholar, "tomorrow is another day."  (Scarlett O'Hara)