Quotable

“The hardest thing in the world to understand is the income tax.”
– Albert Einstein

“It is well that war is so terrible - otherwise we would grow too fond of it.”
– General Robert E. Lee

“In a time of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act.”
– George Orwell

“Women need a reason to have sex. Men just need a place.”
– Billy Crystal

Sunrise Sunset

After writing yesterdays’ post, Time, I am reminded of the song, Sunrise Sunset from the musical Fiddler on the Roof.

(Tevye)
Is this the little girl I carried?
Is this the little boy at play?

(Golde)
I don’t remember growing older
When did they?

(Tevye)
When did she get to be a beauty?
When did he get to be so tall?

(Golde)
Wasn’t it yesterday
When they were small?

(Men)
Sunrise, sunset
Sunrise, sunset
Swiftly flow the days
Seedlings turn overnight to sunflowers
Blossoming even as we gaze

(Women)
Sunrise, sunset
Sunrise, sunset
Swiftly fly the years
One season following another
Laden with happiness and tears

Time

Where has the time gone? It doesn’t seem so long since that chilly, rainy August day when we left our son, Josh, at Carnegie Mellon University for the first time. Five days from now, I’ll be bringing him home for the summer after a wonderful year.

Where has the time gone? My daughter, Sarah, is completing her Junior year of high school. At the high school academic awards breakfast, when she was on stage as one of the Top Ten students in her class, the speaker reminded us from that group of 10, will be the Valedictorian of the Class of 2009. Sarah will graduate and on to the rest of her life.

Where has the time gone? In 20 days, I’ll have been in business for 21 years, married for 28 in 6 months, and in August, taken 58 trips around the sun.

Where has the time gone?

Eight Belles

It’s painful and sad to see a horse go down during a horse race. I’ve watched it several times and each time it happens, I shudder. The joy and pleasure of the Kentucky Derby was diminished a bit upon hearing that Eight Belles, the talented filly who ran second to Big Brown, had gone down on the gallop out and had to be euthanized.

Since that harsh event, there has been a bit of an uproar about the death of Eight Belles. Photos and videos of her falling appear daily, although I’ll watch none of them. There are cries of animal cruelty, banning the jockey, Gabriel Saez, punishing the jockey for animal cruelty, banning horse racing. The list goes on and on.

I love horse racing. I hate to see these beautiful animals die when such an event occurs. I’m am not going to be an apologist for this sport either. There are dangers in racing both to horse and rider. Most jockeys have broken many bones in their bodies during their careers of riding on top of 1200 pound animals traveling at 35-40 miles and hour. Several have been paralyzed for life, and others have died during a race.

I’m not even sure they know when or how the injury to Eight Belles occurred. Most racing injuries are to one leg, Eight Belles painfully broke both ankles. That’s very rare.

The answers are not simple. There are some positive safety results in using a synthetic racing surface such as the one at Keeneland. Three year-olds are young animals, their bodies are not completely developed yet. Horses are bred (and significantly inbred), favoring speed over strength and stamina. Performance altering drugs are rampant in the industry.

Horse racing is dangerous for all participants. So is car racing and football. The argument about those sports is that the participants in those sports make a choice, where horses do not.

I will continue to love and enjoy these beautiful animals in racing. I’ll celebrate their achievements and be saddened by their deaths. I’m glad, in some respects, that a discussion is going on about racing. It is needed. On the other hand, a knee-jerk reaction is not.

Paul Daley, a columnist for the Lowell Sun (Mass.), whose words on the subject of horse racing I respect, recently published a column on the topic.

Your comments are welcome.

Derby Picks

The 134th running of the Kentucky Derby is over. Big Brown won. Decisively. Here’s the chart.

If you’ve followed my blog for the past few days, you’d know that I’ve teased you, dear reader, with the possibility of offering you my expert Derby picks. If, like many, you were awaiting my selections with baited breath prior to placing your wagers, then you must be happy. I saved you money.

Had you taken my selections to the windows, you would not have cashed your ticket. I liked Gayego, Pyro, and Court Vision. Obviously, they did not hit the board, as they finished 17th, 8th, and 12th respectively.

I was skeptical about Big Brown as the favorite and ultimate winner. Although he’d won all three of his previous races decisively, I was skeptical. Especially from the 20 hole.

What do I know? His rider, Kent Desormeaux, hustled him towards the front and kept him on the outside, out of traffic and trouble. He appeared relaxed and strong, and when heading into the turn and asked “the question”, he responded, full of run and drawing away.

The media keeps hyping this guy as a Triple Crown winner. I don’t know. He won the first leg, but it remains to be seen if he’s that good. Maybe he is, we’ll see in the next leg at the Preakness Stakes in two weeks.

Proof, Once Again

A young guy walks into a Dallas bank and steps up to a teller to cash a check. At this juncture, everything is normal. Only the check is Texas-style big, as in the amount of $360 billion dollars ($360,000,000,000). Not made out to the current holder of the check, of course.

This enterprising young man then claims the check is from his girlfriend’s mother as an offer to help him start a record company.

Soon after, police are involved and there allegations and charges of forgery, weapons, and not surprisingly possession of the evil, foul, scourge of America, marijuana.

If you wish, you may read all about it in the Dallas Morning News.

$360 billion to start a record company? Those are some expensive records, I’d say.

Proof once again, that there are some really stupid people in the world.

Still No Derby Picks

Stay tuned for my Derby picks later this week. Here are the post positions for the 134th running of The Kentucky Derby. So everyone get out their pens and start handicapping this race.

Below you will find, post position, runner, jockey and morning line.

1. Cool Coal Man, J.Leparoux, 20-1
2. Tale of Ekati, E.Coa, 15-1
3. Anak Nakal, R.Bejarano, 30-1
4. Court Vision, G.Gomez, 20-1
5. Eight Belles, G.Saez, 20-1
6. Z Fortune, R.Albarado, 15-1
7. Big Truck, J.Castellano, 50-1
8. Visionaire, J.Lezcano, 20-1
9. Pyro, S.Bridgmohan, 6-1
10. Colonel John, C. Nakatani, 4-1
11. Z Humor, R.Douglas, 30-1
12. Smooth Air, M.Cruz, 20-1
13. Bob Black Jack, R.Migliore, 20-1
14. Monba, R.Dominguez, 15-1
15. Adriano, E.Prado, 30-1
16. Denis of Cork, C.Borel, 20-1
17. Cowboy Cal, J.Velazquez, 20-1
18. Recapturetheglory, E.T.Baird, 20-1
19. Gayego, M.Smith, 15-1
20. Big Brown, K.Desormeaux, 3-1

Feel free to post your selections in the comments, and be sure to come back by Friday to see what my picks might be. I’ll have several tickets available for you to use or avoid.

So who do ya like??

No Derby Picks Yet

OK. It’s the start of Derby Week. I’m supposed to have “expert picks” for this race on The First Saturday in May. I’m mean, I am a horse racing fan. So I should have Derby Picks.

To appease my dear readers for the next several days, let me offer up this Rolling Stones video of their song, Dead Flowers instead.

And I promise, later on in the week. Derby Picks.

Now, back to you Chet…or Quinella Queen. David?

Tune of the Day

I Make the Money, You Get the Glory is written and performed by Kathleen Edwards, a Canadian songwriter. I love the lyrics. Here is the chorus:

You’re cool and cred like Fogerty
I’m Elvis Presley in the 70’s
You’re Chateauneuf, I’m Yellow Label
You’re the buffet I’m just the table
I’m a Ford Tempo you’re a Maserati
You’re the Great One, I’m Marty McSorley
You’re the Concorde, I’m economy
I make the dough but you get the glory

Would you like to hear this tune? Here’s the link where it can be played on Songza. Or you can take a look at the video below, apparently made by someone in the front rows at one of her concerts.

America, The Clueless

Paula Reed is an articulate and energetic Colorado high school English teacher, romance novel author, and parent of two teens.  She recently posted an article on her blog called Clueless in America, discussing how mythology has replaced science and the scientific method in high school education.  If you’ve ever wondered why the young people of this nation lack the science,math, and other critical skills necessary to compete globally, I’d suggest you read her post, along with the accompanying editorial in The New York Times.

As I’m sure she says to her students, “and that is your reading assignment for today.”