mstar1

I dont know exactly where you are, but over the last few years I have run into a few different people here and there from church groups, that collect old furniture specifically to give to formerly homeless people who are transitioning into having an apartment or home again. If you check with churches and synagogues near you, there may be something similar, even if not, church folks, if made aware that the homeless shelter (or whatever exactly they call it) exists can often times be generous in donations and volunteer help as well as the rest of the community at large as it is of general benefit to the whole community... just an idea, If they are registered as a nonprofit, donations are not only good works but tax deductible as well. If not Goodwill and thrift stores are always good for inexpensive beds

I dunno---I emailed the company but never heard back I did think that the Kalishnikov AK47 assault rifle accesory was an interesting touch

True enough, Those are fans-----my father originally being from Pittsburg, still talks about Forbes Field once in awhile, and the Waner Brothers---I'll admire anyone who likes the game enough to be there during the lean years.... I said before on these threads that I *almost* wish that the Sox would sukk for a few years so things can get back to normal, the fair weather fans would leave, the hype would die down and you could go to the park on a whim....( well I almost wish...) I was there with the Sox in the 60's when attendance could be 2 or 3 thousand a game and they had to give things away to get people to come.... which is a far cry from today where the could hold a 2am game in a blizzard, charge $300/ticket and still be sold out.. Good luck with the smoke- of course you could always come back someplace safe......like the Bronx

thats why I come here, or the other thread really, There is only so much you can get from a 30 second highlight show, or a morning news article-that really doesnt tell much of the story-They really dont interest me all that much and I dont watch them much because they water the game down and rarely give you any real interesting info.that makes the game (imo)... like watching pitchers work through a batting order or a hitter work a good at bat and make adjustments through the game or the million and one variables that make for a well played game.... I already have my hands full with life and watching one team thats right in front of me--I suppose when Im older I may get the MLBTV package and watch all the games but Im a little too busy just yet to do that---So's I come here and a few other boards to get filled in with things of interest as I do enjoy talking baseball and getting filled in with just about anyone, anywhere. The game still fascinates me after all these years. As far as Red Sox Nation goes its just a name some writer conjured that has been around since at least the early 70's, to name the fans, similar to the Bleacher Bums in Chicago, or the DogPound in Cleveland. As usual the national media picked it upi 20 years too late and beat it to death over the last 4 or 5 years because they havent gotten imaginations or insights of their own. Hell I wish they'd get off it...but it doesnt negate the fact that if the RS play anywhere in the country there will be agood size contingent of RS fans there... anyway WTF are we talking about? Barry Bonds? I'd be more interested in hearing stories about Omar Vizquel or Ryan Klesko really, or whats right and wrong with the TEAM or how they are dealing with this bondscircus. If he got to 750 or 754 and the Giants were offered a trade that would vastly improve there team and their chances of winning the NL West would they do it? Would you? ........... are you staying out of those fires?

oops thanks-that was before coffee Anything in my life done before 10 or 11 is subject to editting.. well come to think of it just about anytime.. :)

Here is something for people like me who like to play sitting around the kitchen table or the front porch from Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee... or if you prefer heres the same song 50 or so years later up on a big stage with BB King and Jeff Beck

Hey cmon Hiway timeout I do like my team and the rivalry with New York, Ive always liked it since I was very young, Its good baseball and good fun..I see one or the other just about everyday... It doesnt mean I dont care about other teams, I do, Im just not exposed to them like I once was and Im not close enough to draw any real attachment unless something out of the ordinary is happening.... When I was young the big rivalry was Giants/Dodgers..Mays. Mccovey/Marichal vs. Drysdale, Koufax et al...Those were always the big games I looked forward to, then it was possible to know the teams the players and at least alittle of the importance of each game--even from afar--- ....The way players shift every year, the number of teams and 6 division races --even with Sportscenter and Baseball Tonight (I rtarely if ever watch them...)unless you stay at it almost fulltime and curtail your other activities its tough to keep up with it all and for an oldtimer like me--keep it all square. I just happen to be HERE, so by osmosis I happen to pick up more of whats happening in my own back yard I understand how people in other parts of the country must be sick of the ESPN hype on the Sox/Yankees, Heck, Im sick of it, and I think its ridiculous to forcefeed it to people who may or may not care and jam it down their throats ad infinitum...., People who are here(New England/NY) know what it means to them and their day and dont really need or want someone jumping on their coattails, to steal it, wrestle it away, hype it and make it into something its not. It is what it is, its exciting, its good baseball, we dont need someone to tell us that I would just as soon see more, Dodger, Ranger, Cub or DBack games so that I do get to know a little whats happening outside my own arena.....Thats why I enjoy coming here--I honestly get more interacting with real fans, than I can ever get from talking head highlight shows. I like (or dislike)my team because it is what I see everyday and I see their patterns for good or bad close up. Its fascinating as an observer, as it is with just about any team, anywhere...I am sure there are great fans of the Seibu Lions, The Toledo Mudhens and the Glasgow Midlanders as well Its not my fault (or NE/NY's fault)that ESPN ( dont watch them much anyway)and the national networks has dropped the ball on much of the rest of the country and played ratings over good reporting, complain about them if you want and rightfully people should, but targeting NE/NY fans because they have been targetted by the hype machine isnt really fair. most of them are honest fans who just love the game and happen to be here stuck between one of these two teams....

In other news...Josh Beckett is now 7-0, the kid always had a live arm and great stuff, but got hammered pretty good at times last year,mostly due to immaturity----- its interesting watching him mature and learn how to PITCH

THIS yesterday from Curt Schilling of the Red Sox THIS from Sports Illustrated review of "Game Of Shadows" last year. Yes he'll break the record but it makes me ill to see the Barry watch every night on Sportscenter (does anyone outside of Northern California know how the GIANTS are doing??...it is a team game after all...). Whatever Pete Rose did was small potatoes compared to Bonds in my book He'll get the record ---Give him a giant one of these next to every record Barry Bonds* * known to have used performance enhancing substances banned by Major League Baseball Then let him retire regardless of any of his accomplishments I wouldnt vote for him for the Hall Of Fame

Too bizarre for wordsI cant come close but since your combining genre's I'll have to add the Asylum Street Spankers (...dont ask)who are the only known act to combine those two eternal forms: country western murder ballads and Gangsta RapI actually like them in a vaudeville sorta way

O well, you have to let him win number 350 to pad his stats a little . The king is in the counting house, counting all his money....

oops sorry Hiway I obviously wasnt aware of Dons passing... I always like Don, his aggressiveness on the mound and the few times I do remember him sportscasting my apologies.. In regards to Clemens, Ive been thinking that the 28mil they offered, is less than what they came up short on the posting and bid for Dice K----shrugs--Was it really worth losing a pitcher for 5 years to get one for 20 or so starts? And at $4.5M/month or roughly about $1M/start. If Clemens throws 100 pitches per start the Yanks will be paying roughly $10,000 per pitch-which doesnt even include the luxury tax

Id still do some shopping around even if you do decide on a barn. New England is loaded with excellent timber framers and craftsman, some of whom have gone into the prefab market. Ive seen many of these prefab home/logcabin/ barns/whatever that are OK, but it seems(generally speaking) when the contractors go large that the quality tends to slip a notch. sometimes a few notches and the details of fine craftsmanship can be missing....... .Not to say that they are all that way but it does happen. I know some excellent Timber Framers, that are fine craftsman first and have no time, inclination or need for websites or mass marketing but due to the quality of their work alone stay in demand. As I said New England is loaded with amazing Timber Framers, I wont discourage you from a kit barn, but you may want to check your area once you move, or perhaps start with The Timber Framers Guild before you decide to buy from the best marketer

Well me too, Im not all that shallow. Although I might come off that way, I know where baseball lies... but being a New Englander its just part of my job description to hope he goes 3-12 :), Its sort of bred in and genetic... It's already generated some good natured ribbing and trash talking with my Yankee fan friends at the local diner, who definitely needed something to get excited about...and keep in the game...it keeps it interesting. Are the Dodgers gonna re sign Drysdale next?

I suppose ..and it would have made a nice bookend to his career, but I dont know if it would have been a good move for The Red Sox, right now there are three potential number one starters (Beckett, Schilling, Matsuzaka) The fourth starter (Wakefield) is in the top 3 in ERA and number 5 Tavarez is pitching well and winning, add to that Jon Lester who pitched very good last year before being dignosed with cancer, who is rehabbing and ready to go. So where are you gonna put him? Upset something that already works well? Of course it wouldve been nice to have him around but Rajah may have actually gotten in the way of Lester's development and been a number 4 or 5 starter.... No matter what kind of name someone has I cant see spending $28m on someone who is a 5-6 inning pitcher who might...might win about 10 games. The RedSox are already sold out-so it wouldnt sell anymore seats, about the only thing it would definitely do is bloat the payroll yet more which could thwart them either later on this season or into next...It'll create buzz in the Bronx and shore up their pitching staff which has been hit hard, and which they need and give them a psychological factor, but I wouldnt pay it. The Red Sox offered him $18m, which translates to about $10m, which to me seems enough, considering his age and that he travels if and when he wants to....there has to be some constraint Like I said Good luck Rog...I still hope that you go 3-12 though

Im loosening up in my middle age

Im sure the $28 Million paycheck (/shakes head) had nothing to do with it but was just incidental... good luck Rog--hope you go 3-12 the rest of the way

Now thats an interesting account Catcup..., Maybe if Mr Panarello were to write a book on Severe Narcississtic Personality Disorder, or something else that he has a close personal experience and insider information about ( like ..Thoroughly Deranged Control Freakism Religion in the 21st Century..)I might consider buying it..... But a book about the justice of God? I think I may buy a book on Kindness by Saddam Hussein, Nuclear War Tactics by Mother Theresa, Capitalism and Profiteering by St. Francis Of Assisi, or Caring for Orphans by Josef Stalin first--then maybe just maybe I'll get around to reading his spoof and mockery

Someone pre awarded the AL Cy Young to Dice K --he's having a few adjustment problems which I imagine will straighten out--he seems to have one bad inning every outing where he cant find the plate for one inning, walk about 4 guys --then finally settle in and be Ok...Its sorta strange but adjusting to a new culture of screaming maniacs may be alittle difficult for him as well The Onion has an article on Manny this week Manny Ramirez asks Red Sox If He Can Work From Home

I concur with Raf--I always overtip my breakfast waitress...she's up early every morning and makes peanuts compared to her evening counterparts--heck I gave my regular breakfast waitress a christmas check the last few years for graciously putting up with and listening to me about every subject under the sun all year....she earned it

Im a good tipper, unless the service is absolutely horrendous--and even then if the server is a total bonehead they have to really work in reverse for me not to tip them -but 99% of the time,I'll do between 15-25%-sometimes more. I remember having nothing and having to scratch for every nickel, It comes back in other ways Mark pretty much covered it

I also went to his place last weekend, He owns the Ground Zero Blues Club in Clarksdale, MS, as well as a 5 star restaurant up the street. The Club is adjacent to the Delta Blues Museum. If you are any sort of Blues fan at all it is a real mecca that you should visit. It is "Ground Zero" for authentic real blues. I went --Morgan wasnt there--but I did get to hang out at his place and a bunch of great juke joints, met some authentic blues characters, heard the legends and the stories, went to the crossroads (..to sell my soul... ) and stayed in the hotel where Bessie Smith died and many of the famous bluesmen have stayed-----I swear you could heear the walls talking... This is way off of baseball but Mississippi has an allure, mystique and mystery to it that is very enticing and captivating.... It seemed so to me, Ive met a few old ballplayers who are just too busy to do anything but maybe say hi and then maybe sign something and be gone --or expect you to leave them alone. It was a real joy to be let in to the inside with someone so open for as long as I wanted- -on the other hand, just a few weeks ago on opening day the sox honored the 67 Impossible Dream Sox and Boomer wasnt there even though he is beloved in Boston, I asked him why he didnt show and he said he couldnt afford to leave and shut his shack for the few days of festivities in Boston, which in a way was a little shocking to me--But it didnt seem to effect him as all was in stride---(Hey Bill....I talked to your man Yaz on the phone last night....

I had him autograph one of his menus, I got about 10 good photos on the digital, I even dialed a few numbers and had him talk to some friends who I knew would appreciate it---and were utterly taken by surprise---- He is an awesome good natured giant of a man, I recognized him right away--told him I was a Sox fan, always loved him and we were off----He still has a gigantic openness and passion for baseball (...I still dream about this play Reggie Smith made....I still cant believe it.....it makes me wake up at night....it was '65 in Pittsfield and Reggie knocked the ball about 4 feet foul behind the third---he played third then----- dove over then threw it shoe height all the way across the diamond, I still wonder how he did that,,, I never seen a throw like that since.... ----) and the tales were mixed with a southern country charm that mades me wonder where reality and legend crossed (....I saw Frank Howard hit a hangin slider off Lee Stange..that was the hardest hit ball I ever saw...it tipped off of Rico's glove at short slowing it down and it still hit the second deck at DC stadium---I still joke with Lee about that.... This went on for an hour and a half or two hours I was in my glory

Ive been on the road for about 11 days so I have alot of catching up to do... I did have an interesting time driving through rural Mississippi--(which is about a light year and 10 dimensions away from Massachusetts)....Driving down some gravel road reminiscent of O Brother Where Art Thou, I saw a little tiny shack that said George Scotts BBQUE-I thought about the Sox firstbaseman George Scott of the 60's and 70's who was a favorite then as I whizzed past rememberd from his old baseball card that I had when I was ten that he was from ..Mississippi, I spun around and sure enough The Boomer was in a little tiny shack serving ribs and pork sandwiches, He was more personable and funny than ever in his Mississippi dialect, and seemed very glad that someone who remembered him came to talk baseball. We sat and talked together for about 90 minutes-- he regaled me with some great great stories that I'll never forget. He was always one of my favorites and the best fielding first baseman I have ever seen--It was a real treat and unexpected pleasure to run into him.... THE BOOMER

Maybe I have, but Im also smart enough to realize, especially after my history and my experience to pretty much keep my yap shut when it comes to speaking (at least with any final certainty) about higher things, the mysteries of the universe and God. I realize now that I was deadon wrong when I was absolutely certain that I was right.... What history, weight or experience does Mr. Panarello bring to us besides decades of supporting a very dubious, corrupt and abusive cult for much of his life? and for this series of bad decisions I should believe him or buy a book by him? His actions already speak loudly enough, I have no desire to get dragged back into the same old same old with some new veneer ...........