Rockland

 

 

One thing we quickly learned about our cruise: at 65 and 67, respectively, my wife and I were among the younger people on board.  

There were a lot of scooters on board. You'd be amazed at how many scooters were on board the ship. I would estimate about four million scooters.  That is a conservative estimate. 

But I will say, everybody on board was, as we used to say, "chilled".  There was no hoopin' and holler. No overdrinking from what I could see. 

It was kind of hard for the cruise entertainment.  We older folks don't respond to the various commands from entertainers like STAND UP, CLAP YOUR HANDS.  Listen, we just sat down; we'll clap when we want. 

Our first stop was Rockland, Maine.

I have always wanted to go to Maine.  I remember looking at a map when I was in elementary school.  Georgia was way down here, and Maine was way up there.  Plus, there was a rumor that Maine had a lot of snow during the winter.  When I was a kid, I thought living in a place that had snow would be so cool.  Then I learned they went to school when it snowed. Bummer. 

I still wanted to go to Maine, even though I no longer wanted to live there. It just seemed neat to be able to tell people that you've been to Maine.

Rockland, Maine, is known as "the gateway to Penobscot Bay", "the lobster capital of the world", and "a town in Maine". It's a quaint little city that has a donut place called "Ruckus Donuts," which former Georgia Bulldog kicker Rex Robinson says has the best donuts in the world.  The place was closed when we went by at 11:00 in the morning because they had sold out of donuts.  That means something. 

The cruise ship could not dock in Rockland because of shallow waters, so we had to "tender" to shore.  According to Scoutboats.com, "A tender boat (or simply “tender”) is a compact support vessel that assists a larger “mother ship.” It performs tasks the main vessel cannot, such as navigating shallow waters, ferrying passengers, carrying supplies, or acting as a lifeboat in emergencies."

Getting on the tender was interesting, considering me and my wife were the most spry of the passengers.  It took a while, and there were no scooters on board. But it was clear that some of our senior passengers would make it to Maine no matter what.  I've never seen such grit and determination.  They were going to get their money's worth off this cruise.

 On shore, there were several buses to take us to our various excursions. Our bus was going to take us to Camden, Maine (Where Don McLean used to live-really) and to Mount Battie.

I'm pretty sure the bus driver was hired that morning, and our tour guide was hired from Dimwits 'R' Us.  I named her Dimwit Debbie.

She wasn't that bad, except she laughed at all of her jokes, even though they didn't sound like jokes. 

It is cold in Maine in winter:  Hahahahahahahahaha.

It is expensive to live here:  Hahahahahaha.

There's a farm over there with cows: Hahahahahaha.

She was a great audience for her humor, which was observational. 

We really didn't go to Camden, Maine.  We went through Camden, Maine.

I did not know this, but most of the exterior shots in the movie "Peyton Place" were shot in Camden. This would have been interesting if I (1) had seen the movie "Peyton Place" which came out in 1957, almost seventy years ago (2) or cared about the movie "Peyton Place."

Dimwit Debbie said Bette Davis appeared at the premiere of the movie in Rockland.  Why, I don't know. She wasn't in the movie.   

We soon went to the biggest deal in Camden.  Don Mclean's house.  Mount Battie. We were told we had 8 minutes to look at Mount Battie, which offered a view of Camden, Maine, and a nice little bay. It was okay, I guess.  

Back on the bus and soon we were back in Rockland. We spent the rest of our time in Rockland walking in its downtown before we did something we had never done before:  we had a lobster roll.

I was well into my adulthood- I mean, married, had a house, had a kid, and everything- before I heard that a lobster roll is MUST dining. For some reason, I never heard of or paid any attention to lobster rolls.

 Before the trip, people kept telling us that "we had to get a lobster roll".

Okay, there are two types of lobster rolls.

One is the Maine lobster roll, which is chilled with mayonnaise and is creamy and refreshing.  The second type is the Connecticut lobster roll, which is warm with melted butter. 

We stopped in a little downtown Rockland diner called "The Rockland Cafe" to get a lobster roll. I will say "The Rockland Cafe" was a good place to eat. 

The first thing you need to know about lobster rolls.  You are charged at the market rate.  In other words, you don't know what a lobster roll costs until you get the bill. The average cost of a lobster roll in Maine is around $33.00. 

My wife and I decided to share a lobster roll. Good call, financially speaking. It is an expensive little roll, but we got French fries and coleslaw with it. 

Our waitress was a nice lady who seemed like she had seen plenty of Maine winters.  She brought us our lobster roll.

I don't know what I expected.  It was good. I mean, it was too expensive to be a regular choice for lunch.  I guess I expected both my wife and me to do "a Sally" like Meg Ryan did in "When Harry Met Sally".  I'm not putting it down.  If you want to eat a lobster roll, have at it. 

It was no Chick-fil-A sandwich.

 

 

 

This Week's Picks-Week Six

 

 

Jawja vs Bamy: Jawja vs Bamy. This is the BIG game of the week. Number 2 Georgia versus Number 6 Alabama.  Both teams are VERY good. I've seen Bama play several times this year, and they have been amazing.  The Alabama quarterback, Keelon Russell, is an upgrade from last year.  It is being played in Tuscaloosa, probably in driving rain, which should favor Alabama. Who am I kidding?  I want Georgia to win this one simply because it is Alabama. If I were totally objective, I'd say this is a toss-up. But I'm not.  Georgia wins

 

 

Dook vs Bumbles: Dook vs. Bumbles.  Let's see, Georgia Tech is having a rough season while Duke is playing well.  I want to see Tech's fortunes turn around. They won't in this game.  Duke wins.

 

 

Ellesyou vs Kenyucky: Ellesyou vs Kenyucky.  Last week, Kentucky beat South Carolina in an exciting game.  This week, they take on Lane's crew, and hopefully they can beat them as well because Lane is a dweeb. They won't.  LSU wins.

 

 

Texsass vs Okie: Texsass vs Okie.  In the past, the Texas-Oklahoma game used to be a big deal.  So big, Hank Hill would take the Saturday off from selling propane and propane accessories to go to the game.  Well, OU isn't the same anymore. Hank will be happy.  Texas wins

 

 

Ags vs Moosuri:  Last week, Missouri fulfilled their destiny by defeating the newly resurgent Florida Gators.  For this, we give thanks.  Now Missouri has a chance to bring the whoop-up on Texas A&M. They just might.  Missouri wins.

 

 

Heels of Tar vs The Pitts: Since retiring from pro football, Bill Belichick has made some surprising decisions.  One is dating a very hot co-ed who is about 80 years younger than he is. You would think he'd be a little wiser than that, since even if he were younger, he would know this young lady is not just interested in him for his mind.  Second was his decision to become a Head College Football coach. This makes absolutely no sense to me, but he has all of those Super Bowl rings, and I don't.  Pittsburgh is a better time.  Pitt wins. 

 

 

First Stop: Boston

 

 

 

 

 

For those of you who haven't been keeping up, my wife and I have entered that glorious phase of life known as retirement. 

We have both retired from our paying gigs and are now doing what most retirees do:  go to the store, go to the doctor, and go get something to eat.

We decided we wanted to celebrate our newfound freedom from meetings and PowerPoint and go on a cruise.

We went on an Alaskan cruise ten years ago, and it was fun. We saw bald eagles and rode a train.  We also heard an elderly man bellow to his family on this train, "I'VE GOTTA POOP."  That was probably the last thing I'd thought I'd hear in Alaska. 

When it came to this year's cruise, we decided against going on a Caribbean cruise.  I had several trips to the dermatologist last year, and I didn't want to develop any more skin cancers. I know, I'm such a chicken.

Plus, and I know people want to thank me for this: I don't particularly like to stroll around in my bathing suit.

So, we looked around and found our cruise:  New England and Canada in late September. The leaves would be changing.  We would sail out of Boston.  

Neither of us had ever been to Boston.  But I had seen all the TV shows that present Boston as a hick cousin to New York City and/or present Boston as the upper crust of society. The society that came over on the Mayflower and celebrated the first Thanksgiving with maize, which we now call corn. 

I will always remember the first time I ever encountered a Boston accent. It was in eighth grade, and a girl named Lynn moved to Marietta from the Boston area, which must have been a culture shock. I had seen film clips of JFK in which he said we chose to go to the moon because it was "HARHD" and Russia was putting nuclear weapons in CUBER. But I had never seen any person speak like this.  And she spoke just like that. 

Our flight out of Atlanta was uneventful. It is no longer a gigantic pain going through TSA. It was just a little pain.

We took Delta to Boston. They were ready when we were. Unfortunately, they placed our luggage, along with several others, on the flight to Boston before ours.  This wasn't nearly as bad as we feared. Our luggage just got to Boston before we did.

 Boston is crazy expensive regarding hotel rooms, but we had some friends who live in Boston, and they kept us for a couple of days.  On our first night, they took us to Sail Loft, which claims to serve "the best clam chowder  in Boston".  My wife had it, and there was no argument from her.

From there, we went to an Italian bakery, Bova's.  Being from the South, I wasn't too familiar with Italian bakeries, but we each had an Oreo cannoli.  Yes, always leave the gun and take the cannoli.

The next day we took a "hop-on, hop-off" trolley through the city. We saw all of the major spots in Boston, including the TD Garden.  This is where both the Celtics and the Bruins play.  

From there, we went to the Holiest of Holies:  Cheers.

It is now fading in our memory, but the TV show "Cheers" was about a bar-Cheers- and the various characters who hung out there, particularly two of the greatest characters in the history of television: Norm and Cliff. 

Of course, there wasn't a bar named "Cheers".  It was based on a Boston bar called "The Bull and Finch", but ever since the show went off the air, someone decided to rename it Cheers, and now it is a tourist trap, but it is a nice tourist trap. 

The bar sells bar food, beer, and T-shirts (which are sold upstairs in what the TV show said was a fancy restaurant called "Meville's".)

Everybody in the bar was nice.  I have never heard the phrase "Boston nice", but maybe there should be. Just about everyone we met in Boston was nice, even if we didn't always understand what they were saying. 

We shared a bowl of chili and an order of onion rings. It was a little pricey, but it was in line with what you get in any major city downtown.

We went to the port the following day. Again, all of the port workers were very nice and soon we set sail for ....Rockland, Maine. 

(Next:  Rockland, Maine) 

This Week's Picks- Week Five

 

 We are back from our New England and Canada cruise. Sorry to miss so much, but the Wi-Fi on the ship wasn't that hot.  We missed several games; plus, the ship's TV service only showed Fox Sports football games which, are all Big 10. Yuck.  Sorry about that.

 

 

Jawja vs Commodedoors:  Remember the past couple of years when Vanderbilt came out of nowhere to defeat Alabama. They were led by their wee person 45-year-old quarterback and we generally consider it one of the better stories in College Football.  Things are, more or less, back to normal at Vandy.  Georgia is in town, and they are in no mood to dilly-dally. Georgia wins. 

 

 

Bamy vs Upright Bulldogs: One of the more pleasant surprises of this season has been Mississippi State. They have been playing well, and they have a good quarterback. This will be a good test to see if the Cowbell Bulldogs are for real this year. I think they'll lose.  Bama wins

 

 

Ahia State vs I-Owe-Wa:  There were a lot of fans of THE Ohio State University on our cruise. They were as classy as you expected. Iowa beat Michigan last week, which was the Lord's Will. I don't think Iowa can go back and ask for help in this one. It would be cool if they did.  Ohio State wins. 

 

 

 

Lizards vs Moosuri:  Oh Lord, here comes Florida back from whatever purgatory they've been in. Great.  Anyway, they are playing Missouri, who, for some reason is still in the SEC.  I'm not convinced Florida is back to their glory days. At least, I hope not. But I think they are better than Missouri.  Florida wins. 

 

 

WarTigers vs Tennysee:  Well, looky here. Auburn has been playing better and, Tennessee almost beat Texas. Like some of the others, Auburn isn't back to its glory days.  Tennessee is playing well and could be a contender. Tennessee wins 

 

 

My Beloved Owls vs Bama Chickens (October 7th): Well, the past two weeks have been rough on the Hooters.  First, it was Tennessee, which allowed them nine WHOLE points.Which was more than I thought they would get.  Then they got beat by Arkansas State, dropping their record to 1-3.  Looks like no Myrtle Beach Bowl this year.  Jacksonville State is 3-2. Oy. I think the Owls will rebound. Owls win.

  

 

This Week's Picks -Week 2

 

 

Last week, the College Football Season kicked off (ho) with the yearly slate of big-deal teams beating non-big-deal teams (see: Georgia, Texas). An almost upset was snatched from Western Michigan due to something called time. Also, our yearly obsession with Lane Kiffin and his desire to coach every player and team in the nation.  

It looks like the LSU mess has resolved itself. The SEC told LSU they could not hire sign two former NFL players for supposedly had eligibility left. LSU went to Louisiana state court and found a judge (Judge Jebediah Boudreaux) who would issue an injunction against the SEC. (This is a good time to remind everybody that Louisiana is governed by the Napoleonic Code. I learned that at Kennesaw State University when I was a wee lad.)

The SEC went to Federal Court (which is a bigger deal than a state court, (I also learned that at Kennesaw State University) to prevent the players (or "kids," as Kiffin describes two 22-year-old men) from playing for LSU and threatened to expel LSU from the SEC, which is like Cheers threatening to expel Norm from the bar. 

The President of LSU, Clifton Chenier (editor's note: not really), said everything is "moot", which means, "forget it, we're not going to do it".  All's well that ends well.   

 

 This Week's Picks

 

Jawja vs Western Kentucky Where My Parents Were Born: The Bulldogs have another breather before their SEC schedule starts. The Hilltoppers (Western Kentucky is on a hill) mascot is a red blob. Okay. UGA wins. 

 

 

 

 

Bumbles vs Tennysee: George Tech did okay against Colorado, but they'll need to do better against Tennessee. They won't. Tennessee wins. 

 

 

Oky vs Meechigan: My pastor played football for Michigan State and he doesn't like Michigan and said they "cheated" against Western Michigan.  He said he was "amazed they were able to find an extra second."  Hey look, I'm just reporting the news.  Plus, he's 6' 2" and still works out. You take it up with him. Anyhow, I'm not that impressed with Oklahoma, but Michigan shouldn't have to cheat out a win, at home, against Western Michigan.  Sooners win. 

 

 

Ahia State vs Texsass. Ohio State begins their season with their usual number one ranking in the polls. This is a tough game for them, but I'm not willing to crown Texas as the winner. Ohio State wins. 

 

 

Downtown Atlanta vs My Beloved Owls:  At one time, these were two commuter schools, just trying to get students to come to class after work to earn their degrees.  Now they both have dorms and are the second largest (Kennesaw State) and the fourth largest (Georgia State) universities in the state of Georgia.  GSU beat a smaller school, just like Kennesaw State did, last week. Supposedly, Georgia State is projected to finish at the bottom of the Sun Belt Conference. ESPN says the Owls have a good chance of repeating as champions of Conference USA.  Hey, I'm prejudiced.  Owls win. 

 

Programming Note:  This Week's Picks is taking a hiatus and will be back for Week 5 of the season.  

 

 

 

 

A New Season Of This Week's Picks Week 1 (or 2)

 

 

Welcome back to another exciting year of College Football!  Let's see what AI thinks we have in store for this season.

"The sport is entering a thrilling new chapter shaped by massive offseason storylines, high-stakes coaching debuts, and an unpredictable championship landscape. While off-field drama concerning postseason expansion took center stage—with Big Ten and SEC commissioners failing to agree on a permanent move to a 16- or 24-team format. So now they will continue in the 12-team playoff format, and while most people think that is a big waste of time, ESPN thinks it is nifty, and more importantly, so does Pat McAfee."

 

This Week's Picks 

 

 

Jawja vs Tennysee State: This is the first time UGA has played Tennessee State, which is in Nashville, which I drove past three years ago. I was lost looking for a venue our niece was having her rehearsal dinner at. We finally found the venue. We barely found parking. Parking is a big issue in Nashville. I'm sorry, where was I? Oh yeah, the game.  UGA is currently ranked third in the NCAA polls, which is weird because they haven't played a game. UGA should win this game, Kirby has a way of making sure of that.   UGA wins. 

 

 

Bees vs Buffs:  Tech had a good year last year. Colorado did not. However, head coach Neon Deion Prime Time Cowboy Hat Wearing Sanders has a revamped team with 40 transfers. Tech has a new quarterback this season, Alberto Mendoza. It is going to be interesting to see how he does. Sorry to do this to you, Tech: Tech wins. 

 

 

Texsass vs Texsass State: Texas is heavily favored in this game and Arch Manning will be named the Heisman Trophy winner at halftime.   Texas wins. 

 

Bamy vs Pyrates:  Head coach Kalen DeBoer kicks off his third season in Tuscaloosa facing an unfamiliar opponent in East Carolina, which is the alma mater of one of my brothers-in-law. Alabama has a new quarterback, Keelon Russell, who apparently is the best thing since sliced bread.  He better be.  Bama wins.

 

 

Tygers vs Lane's Tigers: A primary storyline leading up to the game surrounds LSU's controversial plan to add players who were cut or returned from NFL preseason camps.These players include Dick Butkus, Ray Nitschke, Gayle Sayers, and O.J. Simpson. Clemson hopes to rebound from a disappointing season. LSU has (for the time being) Lane Kiffin, who brought his magic to LSU right in the middle of his former team's deep playoff run.  His theme this year is "loyalty".   Tigers win. 

 

 

University of West Jawja vs My Beloved Owls:  When we last saw the Owls, they were being stomped by the Western Michigan Broncos, 41-6.  The game was not as close as the score indicates.  This week, West Georgia brings their wolfpack to Kennesaw State's 5/8 and a Half Percentage Bank Stadium. Kennesaw State should win-I mean, we're in the FBS and won a conference for cry out loud.  Owls win.

 

 

Falling In Love

 

 

 "Democrats fall in love, Republicans fall in line." - Bill Clinton.

If you haven't noticed, I haven't been writing about politics lately.

One: Politics is boring.  You are either a big Trumpster, or you are not. That's it. Nobody tries to find the middle ground because everyone says there is no middle ground.

Fun fact: there is always a middle ground.

Two: Most people on social media "discuss" politics by memes. The memes are usually posted with a comment like "Nuff' said" or "Amen". 

For example, I saw a meme about Rand Paul. Rand Paul is a senator from Kentucky who is trying to hold Dr. Anthony Fauci "accountable" for some of the things that happened during the recent unpleasantness. 

This meme made a big deal about Rand Paul not being a board-certified ophthalmologist.

It is right. Senator Doctor Paul is not a board-certified ophthalmologist. Now.  He was board-certified for ten years and then got into a dispute with the American Board of Ophthalmology over recertification and tried to create his own certification board. He then just let the matter drop. So if you are going to get cataract surgery from Senator Doctor Paul, just be aware that it will be in a back alley and he won't accept your insurance.

The point of this particular meme was: How dare Rand Paul question the great Anthony Fauci when he isn't even board-certified.

 

Well, as George Will used to say. Paul was questioning Fauci over "gain-of-function" tests and whether Fauci approved a grant to the Chinese lab, which led to a lab leak, which led to a pandemic, and led to everybody staying inside and washing their hands every forty seconds.  

 

The Chinese lab either did gain-of-function tests or they didn't and Dr. Fauci either approved a grant to the Chinese lab or he didn't. I don't think that is a medical question only an immunologist can answer. 

However, there's been a new blip on the political radar, and it has to do with the 2028 Presidential election. 

As everybody but President Orange knows, Trump cannot run for re-election. There's no wiggle room. The Constitution is very clear about it that Trump cannot be elected to another four year term. 

For the Republicans, it looks like Vice President Vance is going to run as the heir apparent (you pick up these terms in history class) to President Trump, or Secretary of State Marco Rubio.  That's it.

For Democrats, the question is not who will run but who will not run. Who will not run in 2028:  Harry Truman, Henry Jackson, Walter Mondale, or Michael Dukakis.  Just about everybody with a (D) by their name is at least thinking about running for President. 

One name that is gaining traction is Georgia's own Senator Jon Ossoff.

Jon Ossoff became a Senator when David Perdue could not pick up 50%  plus one in the 2020 Senatorial election. This caused a run-off. The trouble was that Gov. Brian Kemp decided to enforce Georgia law, and Trump pitched a snit fit and did more harm than good. You might remember it. It was in all the papers. 

Put it this way: Ossoff defeated  Perdue by 1.22 percentage points.  Not exactly a strong beginning. 

However, Ossoff gives the Democrats something they haven't had in a while-a Southern Democrat. 

Give Ossoff this: while you see him as just a young guy who got lucky and won a Senate seat, he looks in the mirror and sees a President of the United States.

Ossoff and his team have noticed that his last name starts with the same letter as Obama's.  Ossoff sees himself as the Obama nobody wanted or asked for. 

Since the Democrats don't have a leader, some want another one of THE GREAT DEMOCRATIC PARTY OUTSIDERS to come in and save the Democrats from a President Gavin Newsom making kissy faces at himself in the mirror. 

The Democrats have a history of someone from out of the blue coming in and sweeping them off their feet.  Think of JFK, Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton, and Barack Obama.

So all of the people who think they know things think Ossoff can do this. 

He barely won his Senate seat. Nobody around here (Georgia) ever talks about him. The great "They" (people who write political columns) are saying he's a shoo-in for re-election.  Maybe.

But in his big deal speech about Trump, Ossoff brings up Natalie Harp for, I don't know, doing her job. Of course, Trump hit back with one of his zingers. He calls Ossoff "Pee-Wee Harman".   Not his best insult. 

Ossoff has other liabilities, some of which reflect poorly on Democrats.

While I consider him your average, garden-variety lefty Democrat, the modern Democratic Party considers him a moderate. That says something about the Democratic Party.

And then there is the problem.  Ossoff is Jewish.

Frankly, the Democrats are really dancing on the line of being anti-semitic, if not, in many cases, being outright bigots. It is hard to see how all of the wackos in the Democratic Party, which is where all the energy is now, will process this information.

But you never know. I just wouldn't buy any tickets to an Ossoff Inauguration now.