REDS

 I went to the Reds game with my daughter and her family yesterday.  It was enjoyable, but not because of the stellar play of the Reds.  Catch this:  we left to go home and watch The Masters on TV and the Reds scored six runs after we had gone and still lost by three.

It takes a lot to own and run a major league baseball team.  Here is an expense you might have overlooked.  The Reds own seven minor league teams - yes, seven!  Here they are from the top down.

AAA  Louisville Bats

AA  Chattanooga Lookouts

High A  Dayton Dragons

Low A  Daytona Tortugas

Rookie Arizona Complex League Reds

Rookie Dominican Summer League Reds

Rookie Dominican Summer League Rojos

These teams don't make money for the organization but you can't get by without them..

TID BITS

 TIDBITS

I noted that the musical artist born Kanye West was denied entrance into Great Britan for a concert.  He was once the wealthiest of all musical artists.  The hip-hop rapper and former husband of Kim Kardashian has changed his name.  Of course, Kanye was pronounced "con yay."  His new name is Ye pronounced "yay". I think calling himself Kan pronounced "con" would have been more appropriate. 

To justify their efforts, several comedians and many runners have expressed the facetious sentament "I love the smell of Bengay in the morning."  It is a takeoff of Robert Duvall's famous line from the movie about the Vietnam War called Apocalypse Now: "I love the smell of Napalm in the morning."  Napalm is a jellied gasoline substance used to make incendiary bombs. BTW, why do cats love the smell of Bengay?

The Reds were on their way to setting a strange record until Wednesday night.  They had not misplayed a batted ball into an error for the whole season - 11 games.  Well, the record is no more even though they still haven't misplayed a batted ball.  Brady Singer, the Reds' pitcher, twice threw wildly from the pitcher's mound to a base trying to pick-off a baserunner.  

By the way, what is a "tid" anyway? 

  

(Doctors, nurses, pharmacists and Latin scholars are not allowed to contribute to this answer.)  

OH RATS

 I read this a few days ago.  Stick with it.  It's sobering.

There is a type of rat called the African pouched rat.  They call it pouched because it has fat cheeks in which it can hold it's food something like a chipmunk.  That's not the amazing thing about pouched rats - it's that they are smart.  Very smart.  

Just like we have learned to train dogs to detect drugs and explosives, a bunch of these rats were trained to detect TNT.  And why did anyone train them?  They are light weight.  They are used to find buried land mines - many of them are being employed in Cambodia.  They are too light to triger the land mines but can smell the explosives in them and will stop and dig for it when they smell it.  They get a treat.  

The real amazing thing about this story is that they are estimating 3 million land mines remain in that country from the Vietnam war.  The Viet Cong used to sneak through Cambodia to get from the North into South Vietnam.  That is an amazing number.  The rats can find them a lot faster and safer than we can by any other means.  The kicker is that Cambodia says they have had some 20,000 people killed and about 40,000 injured from land mines left there since 1979.  

This is a tragedy.  

MIDWEEK PRAYER

Well, we've gotten past Lent and Easter.  Not much to pray for - for a while; cough, cough.  

You say you're tired of all this praying, business.  Okay, here's an easy way to stay in the game.  Tomorrow, when you flip your legs out of bed and onto the floor, instead of saying "Oh no, another day." or "Oh, shit, I'm late." or even smelling if the coffee is ready, say "Thank you, Lord, for another day.  I'll try to do better than yesterday."

Now, that wasn't hard, was it?  Hope you're having a great day.  I'm pretty sure, I am.  

Be positive!

FISCAL RESPONSIBILITY

U.S. Government Fiscal statistics - and how not ot handle your money.

U.S. Tax Revenue:  $5,230,000,000,000.00

U.S. Federal Budget:  $7,010,000,000,000.00

New U.S. Debt:  $1,780,000,000,000.00

Total U.S. Debt:  $37,600,000,000,000.00

Butdget Cuts:  $215,000,000,000.00

To put this into numbers you can better understrand and relate to your household, knock off the last eight zeroes before the decimal point.  This changes trillions to thousands.   Here's what you have.

Your annual income:  $52,300.00

Money you spent:  $70,100.00

New debt on your credit cards:  $17,800.00

Total outstanding balance on your credit cards:  $376,000.00

Amount you saved this year:  $21.50

MONDAY QUESTIONS

One of the really big questions today is:  "Did the kids find all the eggs I hid?"  I think it could be pretty bad if a real egg or a candy egg was left in the house or yard.

Another question you may be pondering:  "Is it really a good thing that it rained on Easter?"

Agricultural communities thought it was a positive sign that meant there would be sufficient rains for their crops throughout the growing season.

How about this one:  "Is it time to plant flowers outside yet?"  Probably not if you live in my neck of the woods.  More frost or freezing is surely coming.  

EASTER

This is the day the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad.

SMILE!  I LOVE YOU.

GOOD FRIDAY

 I can't do better than last year.

4/18/2025

GOOD FRIDAY

 "The Lord God has given me a well-trained tongue, that I might know how to answer the weary a word that will awaken them.  Morning after morning He wakens my ear to hear as disciples do; the Lord God opened my ear; I did not refuse, did not turn away."

These are the words of Isaiah, the prophet, which I've heard read several times during this and every lenten season.  This is verses 4 and 5 from chapter 50.  A lot goes on before and after these lines.  Check it out sometime.  Isaiah is not only a part of all Christian bibles but also the Bible of Judaism, the Quran of Islam, and several newly formed religions.

For me, my tongue is not "well-trained."  I almost never know the right words to say to the weary.  My ears are always open but I'm never sure I hear what I should hear.  At least I try to be persistent in my attempt to do what is right; fail though I may.  

Here's my attempt today.  

Be at peace, friends.  There is nothing more important today than contemplating the passion and death of Jesus

PASSOVER

Passover started at sundown, yesterday.  It's a weeklong celebration remembering the Isrealite's escape from slavery in Egypt.  It is the reason Jesus and His disciples met for a meal - Jesus' last.  

We're now in the last days leading up to Easter.  Today, the Last Supper and the betrayal of Judas.  Tomorrow, the scourging at the pillar, the crowning with thorns, the hoax of a trial, the carrying of the cross, the nails driven through the hands and feet, the sword piercing His side, His death and burial.  The next day He lays in the tomb.  The following day, Sunday,  He walks away.  No mention of eggs.  No mention of rabbits.  No mention of colored baby chicks.  No mention of candy.  Believe it or not.

  

MIDWEEK PRAYER

No April Fool's joke today.  This week is too important.  

I've been doing this Midweek Prayer thing for several years now.  Hope it helps those who feel like they cannot pray without something to guide them -  like saying the same prescription prayers all the time.  There's nothing exactly wrong with that - at least you are praying.  Today, I'm suggesting you read this word for word - it may help.

God, I don't know how to pray.  Help me.

That's all.   Remember, be persistent.  See what happens. 

MLB - ABS

The Major League baseball season is barely underway.  For those of you who are not ardent fans, I want you to be aware of a new system being used to help insure the correctness in the calling of balls and strikes.  It is called the ABS Challenge System.  ABS stands for Automatic Ball Strike system.  No kidding, that's the best they could come up with.  

Here's how it works.  Before the season ever started, every player and potential player was measured for standing height.  This figure is input into a computer program that will determine if a pith is high or low.  The league has determined that the strike zone should be, of course, between the inside and outside of the plate but, moreover, between 27% and 53% of a batters height.  In the old days it was between the top of the knee caps and the bottom of the arm pits.  Some players took advantage of this by crouching when the stand at the plate.  You won't see that so much any more.

In any case, each team has a chance to challenge the umpire's call twice in a game.  If they challenge and win, they don't lose that challenge.  Be wrong twice and you're done.  Batters and pitchers or catchers are allowed to challenge - they do it by touching the top of their head. The computer system kicks in and everyone can watch a video on the scoreboard of the ball going through the strike zone. The computer determines if the umpire was right or wrong and the call is upheld or changed.  

Here's the deal.  I love it.  More excitement!  More drama!  More accuracy?!? 

Take me out to the ballgame! 

INITIAL PROBLEMS

Just for fun, I copied down all the initials I found on my church bulletin this past week.  It is from a Catholic church and school.  I'm guessing other religions sport an equally large number of abbreviations and acronyms.  Test yourself!  How many can you come up with.  If you need help, there is a website:  abbreviations.com.  Amazing!  It offers over 50 possible answers for the first one below but it doesn't have all these.  Maybe it will take a special class to be a church member.   Here goes.

PTO

RCIC

F3

SSMG

Kdg

SVdP

PB&J

VBS

YAH

OCIA

RSVP

AoC

OLPH

CRHP

YTD

QR

B&B

VOA

CCB

VOA

FON

No, I don't know what they all stand for but I'll find out. 

PALM SUNDAY

Yes, this is Palm Sunday - the traditional beginning of the Passion of the Christ. It is called Palm Sunday because the people of Jerusalem waved palm branches or fronds. honoring him, as he rode into the city for the coming Passover feast.  

Let's think of something in addition to that.  Think of extending your fingers and pressing your palms together.  This is how we were taught to pray.  Try it.!  When no one is looking, if you must.  Press those palms together and talk to the Father.  Never doubt that He will hear you.  He WILL answer your prayers.  Not in your time but His.  Not in your way but His.  

Have a blessed day!  I love you.  

NINETEEN

 When I was a kid, there were just three TV channels available.  I think that was the case in most markets.  These three used the channels 2 through 12 - these were the VHF channels.  Channel 13 and above were UHF channels.  V for "very" and U for "ultra" high frequency.  The local channels were separated so as not to interfere with each others.  Cincinnati had 5, 9 and 12.   Dayton had 2 and 7.  

In those channels above 12, Cincinnati eventually had channel 48, WCET, the "educational channel" (now PBS).  Dayton had one of the three major channels on 45 and had educational channels on 14 or 16.

When FOX decided to get into the TV business, Cincinnati got channel 19.  Located in northern Kentucky, it went on the air in 1968.  It almost went off the air in 1971 due to lack of viewership.  Some ownership changes saved it.  It has made it through the years.  It introduced 10pm news to the city in 1993 and it went over big.  They brought in a guy named Jack Atherton to be their first anchor.  I found out today that he was dating Madonna.  He stayed with the station for 15 years.

In case you were in the goup of modern readers of mine who never had the gift of learning the use of Roman numerals,  XIX is 19. 

Recently, FOX 19 has made a splash locally by nabbing important sports programming.  Today, they presented the Cincinanti Reds opening day parade and game.