In Memory of...

I was going to blog about getting a new cat. Her name was Juliette. I was excited. But I believe one of the curses' that came with the fall of man and entrance of sin is that humankind is dumb. That being said... I am no longer the proud owner of Juliette the kitten.

Life is cruel. God is Good!

Christmas Time is Here

Sometimes you hear a song that takes you back to a certain place in time or moment of your life. This morning was no different... well sort of.

It's been a rainy couple of days here in the Washington Metro area and to help lift my tired spirit I put in the greatest holiday album of all time, Vince Guaraldi's A Charlie Brown Christmas. Great album. The song Christmas Time is Here came on and instantly one thought came to mind from the greatest show to ever be on television.

The Turmoil of a Fan

Winning is awesome. It feels great and everyone loves winning. No one likes to lose.

Here in DC we have a bunch of losing teams. None more heartbreaking then the Redskins. I've grown up a die hard Redskins fan. I remember watching them win the Superbowl. Those were much better times. We've become the laughing stock of the NFL. We had the terrible Norv Turner years, A year of some promise, followed by Steve Spurrier, Joe Gibbs 2, and now the laughably tragic Jim Zorn. The out of control free agent spending is so old and unwelcome to Skins fan. What works for the Yankees has not worked for the Skins and does not work in football.

Last year the Wizards were a terrible disappointment and one of the worst teams in the NBA. I'm not a huge NBA fan but I follow the Wizards some. It eases the pain a little that I do cheer for Kobe and the Lakers.

Luckily when I was young I had picked the Braves as the baseball team I liked after the strike and that has worked out well. I got to see a World Series win and a couple appearances. They struggled slightly over the last couple of years but they were strong this past season and I'm hoping for a strong push in Bobby Cox's last year.

The Washington Capitals are the pride and joy of DC. 2 straight playoff appearances and the best player in the NHL. They haven't gotten off to as nice a start this year as they did last year but hopes are still high that the Stanley Cup will be in DC and the Great 8 will be a 3 time mvp.

The problem is football is the greatest sport in the entire world and the Redskins are terrible. And I'm at a point where I don't want them to win another game for the rest of they year because they need to clean house. Having said that, come Sunday I'll be wearing my jersey and rooting for the Skins hoping for a win and enjoying one if it happens to come. At this point no big name coach or overpaid, superstar free agent signing will help heal the wounds inflicted this year. The Skins need to fire Vinny and get a good GM to pick the coach and players. I will be ok with a losing year or two if the team is at least moving in the right direction. But if they don't fire Vinny then nothing will have changed and what's the point. I can only imagine the mild hope Lions fans had last year when Matt Millen was axed. I rooted for the Lions to go 0-16 last year because how often are we going to see winless team? But credit to the fans who stuck with the team. Real fans are watching and going to games no matter how pathetic your team is. And I'm not different. Win or lose, I'll be wearing my Skins jersey and cheering for my team.

The Great Beard Debate

So it's another round of should I or shouldn't I grow a beard. It's a question I ask every couple of months and last time this came about the idea lasted a week and a half. Normally I go a week without shaving and then the idea of having facial hair is done.

Growing a beard used to not be an issue. During the college years the beard was a staple on my face from September to February. 2006 was the last time I had a beard and that was for a brief month long period. And although the idea has entered my brain many times, the act has not happened. I didn't even grow a playoff beard last year during the Caps run to the Cup (which is totally going to happen this year).

I don't know what the problem is. I just don't seem to have it in me to go through the process of growing a beard. I also don't grow the worlds most awesome beard. Certain people shouldn't grow beards because their beards look terrible. I feel the mine looks terrible. It's been years since I've grown one but it's not the most even beard. But I'd like to have a beard. I'd love to grow one... I just don't want to take the time to grow one.