Too Soon

The world has lost a great conservationist, entertainer, and character in Steve Irwin, a.k.a. The Crocodile Hunter. He was killed by a stingray while filming a television special in his native Australia. He was 44 years old. My heart goes out to his family and to all of his fans everywhere.

There has been a great deal of coverage on what news outlets the world over are calling a shocking development. I'm surprised. Not that there's a lot of coverage. Surprised that it could be considered by anyone to be shocking. Sad, definitely. Sudden, certainly. But shocking?

Let's see... a man who routinely engaged crocodiles and other dangerous, wild animals... killed by a wild animal? Hmmm.... Now, if he had been gunned down... or hit by a bus... or crushed by a piano falling from the sky. Those things would have been shocking! This? Just sad.

Calling this shocking would be like calling the tiger attack on Sigfried or Roy (I can never remember which one it was!) shocking. The guy was playing WITH A TIGER! "But those tigers are trained," shocked fans and friends always pointed out. I'm pretty well trained to pee into a toilet, but if you think I never get a little on the seat, you're sadly mistaken. In other words, you can lead a tiger to the toilet, but you can't make him not attack strange, flamboyant entertainers.

Mother Nature is very powerful, indeed. I don't recommend getting too fresh with her. Unless, perchance, you are Chuck Norris. Now that's a fight I'd pay to see.

Preseason Conditioning

Greetings! I hope you have had a great week. Mine has been good. I am, however somewhat troubled by the ease with which we can be conditioned to accept things we don't like. It is about 85 degrees in Memphis today. Everyone is talking about how cool it is.* I bought gas yesterday. It cost $2.59 a gallon. I was excited about what a great deal I was getting.

It's okay, though. I'm able to pay extra for gas and air conditioning because, presumably in honor of the start of the Texas Longhorns' football season tomorrow, my neighborhood grocery store has put Diet Sunkist and Diet Rite Tangerine - my two favorite appropriately colored game day beverages - on sale. Let's go Krogering!

Longhorn Football 2006 begins in 17 hours and 21 minutes. Hook 'em Horns!!!

* 85 is still pretty hot.

Not So Fast, My Friend!

College GameDay is on!!!

It's time!!! Well, it's almost time. This is their preview special, but college football is here!

I started writing this post a few minutes ago and was going on to tell you what I like to call the Greatest Sports Story Ever Written: The story of the Memphis/Columbus/Raleigh 13 and 14 year-old Jewish flag football machine. But my computer went off line and it was lost. Not so fast, my friend.

I'll be back with that story soon. You will get to hear it and you will love it.

I just saw my first Under Armour commercial of the new college football season!

WE MUST PROTECT THIS RIDE!

ZiggyBackRide: Beating Inertia; Rolling Again!

Good morning! I'm thrilled to see that the last post - my first in a good, long while - has sparked discussion. In response to the latest comments...

David, fine points all. No problem with your bringing your work onto the ZiggyBackRide. We all want this to be as accurate and informative as possible. Thank you for helping uphold the high standards of data presentation that our readers have rightly come to expect.

Zina, good question. I wasn't actually reading Parenting Magazine. The survey was reprinted as a daily cover story on AOL. I guess I can see how the mental picture of me sitting at home catching up on my stack of Parentings might have caused an eyebrow or two to raise.

I still have a number of items from the last several weeks to write more about, including the improbable and glorious bronze medal run of my 13-14 year old Jewish Flag Football team at the JCCA Maccabi Games in Phoenix last week. Look for that story later this weekend!

Have a great day!

Interesting, No?

The following is reprinted from a survey in Parenting Magazine....

How often moms say they want to have sex...
At least a few times a week: 85%
Once every few weeks: 8%
Once a month or less: 7%

... And how often they think they'd have it if their husbands called the shots:
At least a few times a week: 85%
Once every few weeks: 8%
Once a month or less: 7%

What do you have to say for yourselves, ladies? Time to listen to the fellas, is it?

The Nexus of the Universe?

This morning, I saw two police cars run the same red light, going in different directions. Neither of them had its flashing lights on. Hmmm.

Sorry I've been AWOL recently. A lot has been going on. My life has been occupied with Jewish flag football, duplexes (dupleces? like indeces? I don't know.), burglaries, and more! Boy, do I have a lot to tell you. I'll get on it. Have a good weekend.

The Balls Of The Bell

America has a weight problem. The so-called "battle of the bulge," our nations struggle with the increasing occurrence of obesity is well-documented. I, myself, could stand to lose 5 or... 20 pounds. It's a serious issue, but things are changing. Schools are removing sugary sodas and fat-laden salty snacks from vending machines. MacDonald's is making "healthy" salads (I've heard they still have large amounts of fat in them... somehow, but still!). Salads. At MacDonald's. Inconceivable! Everyone is in on the fight.

Almost.

Taco Bell has recently unveiled a new advertising campaign that seems to fly in the face of efforts to help slim our collective waistline. What is the Bell's new approach? Fourth Meal. Fourth Meal! They are encouraging us to eat a fourth meal. According to the fine folks at Taco Bell, "After you've eaten breakfast, lunch, and dinner, it's time for the fourth meal. That's right, America! Drag your fat ass on over at 2 a.m. for a Crunchy Baja Gordita Supreme!"

I love Taco Bell, but aside from being nothing short of ballsy, I find this a little bit sinister. Is it just because you see things differently when you think outside the bun or is this part of some evil plan? They're like the wicked witch trying to make sure we are properly plump before she cooks us.

I'd strongly recommend leaving a trail of bread crumbs next time you go South of the Border.

Wis Wiverty And Justins For All

As I recall, that's the way my oldest niece pronounced the final words of the Pledge of Allegiance as she proudly recited her newly learned words of patriotism in her first days of preschool. It was pretty damn cute. For the record, she has since gotten much better at pronouncing those and many, many other words.

Just a quick 4th of July shout out to all who read Ziggybackride before the 5th is upon us. The idea of a blog doesn't seem like a very big one, but free expression and the unstoppable expansion of available channels for it are very big ideas, indeed. The freedom to share ideas - even ridiculously inane ones (see Posts 1 through 131) - is one fantastic part of what this day, now ending, celebrates. I'm honored to share this magnificent ride with you and blessed to be free to do so.

Many are quick to point out America's imperfections. We have them, no doubt, and we always will. That's the nature of living in a place where new ideas, dissenting opinions, and hundreds of millions of voices can be heard. Our imperfections are frustrating, but their source is our very beauty. Our freedom and potential to achieve greatness lie right in the middle of our struggles. We are never far from a disastrous turn that could lead to tragedy, nor are we ever far from an historic moment of greatness. That is the difficult beauty of America.

You know how I love to share the words of the Presidents....

"A strong nation, like a strong person, can afford to be gentle, firm, thoughtful, and restrained. It can afford to extend a helping hand to others. It's a weak nation, like a weak person, that must behave with bluster and boasting and rashness and other signs of insecurity."
- Jimmy Carter

Here's to being a strong people in a strong nation and leaving our insecurities behind, and here's to another year of wiverty and justins for all!