Woo-hoo!

OK, so I'll admit I was a little bummed my picture with Tony Gwynn didn't come out. But when we got Tracy's film developed, we saw something funny in the picture with Tony and the boys: I'm in there too. I'm the blob in the back who's on the phone (I was actually talking to my friend Randy Bangert and I was saying, "I'm standing 25 feet from Tony Gwynn right now!").

Here's the pic:

Back to the real world

OK, I had the guy trip.
Had the San Diego trip.
Playing poker this weekend.
Opening Day is Monday.
But it's time to get back to reality.
My goals:
* Weight... I gained 5 of the 17 pounds back over the 2 trips. All in all I thought that was pretty good because I figured I'd gain more like 45. But now it's time to get back at it.
* Book ... yeah, it's not November. But I know I can do this. My dreams of being a full-time writer seem to pop up more and more. I just need to carve the time out to do it. My plans are to put together a good letter for agents and send it out to about five at a time until I get a nibble. This will be for my novel, Wrath. Then, I'm going to FINALLY finish Black Sheep. This book is proably the best thing I've written. It actually scared me while I was writing it. But I need to write the last third of it and then work on the editing because I actually think this would make a good movie as well.

Reality ain't so tough.

Reviews

Been awhile since I got to the movies, so I made up for it this weekend. Saw 3 flicks...

TMNT -- I remember seeing the first movie the day it came out when I was in college. And now it's my son, Andy, who is the Turtle freak. I've been a fan of the Turtles ever since I saw a reference to them on a Metallica album, back in the day before the cartoons when the Turtles were an underground comic that was so funny! The new movie was pretty darn good. Beautiful visuals, lots of good action. I just wish it didn't take itself so seriously. Yes, there was some humor, but c'mon these are mutants who are ninjas and turtles. That really should be sillier.

Reign on Me -- The guy who tore my ticket said, "Hope you enjoy Re-Geen on Me." Makes me sad for public education. Anyway, the movie was OK. Great acting. OK story. But I totally wasn't in the mood for it. For some reason.

300 -- I didn't really have plans to see this one. (Actually, I wanted to see "Zodiac" but the Trib had the times printed wrong for TWO different theaters, so I had to see this one.) The story is pretty blah. Braveheart redux. But the visuals were incredible. Absolutely gorgeous shots in every scene. Very gory and lots of blood. Too bad the story wasn't better.

Second brush

Celebrities, especially those I really admire, pretty much make me lose it. I become a babbling moron. Yes, I know they are just people.

So, when I was informed by my son (who was informed by a security guard) that one of my all-time baseball idols was in front of us, I'm still shocked I was able to remain conscious.

As a dedicated reader, you probably know I'm a huge fan of Tony Gwynn.

And there he was. Standing five feet in front of me, standing in line for the security screening at the San Diego airport (I was there for a work function, which I can't remember squat from because I MET TONY GWYNN!!!!).

I said something brilliant to him (sounded like "ARGHH ... GHHH... GAH ..." and he turned to see who the idiot was behind him. He is apparently used to this reaction and he reached to shake my hand.

As I shook his hand, my mouth was able to form the words, "Could I get a picture?" I figured standing in a security line made a perfectly appropriate place for a picture. What I didn't notice was that he was about two feet from going through the screener (my part of the line wound around for awhile).

He said he'd be happy to, but could I wait until after we got through the screening? I said sure (What else am I going to say?) but I figured he was blowing me off to escape the crazed psycho fan that was me.

But he waited off to the side until I got all my stuff (and my kids) through the screening and then he posed for a picture with me. My son, Alex, took the picture and it was a very good shot. I would love to share it with you here, but I was so shaken, I must have trashed it instead of saving it (I didn't know this until I got on the plane!). While we waited for Alex to set up the shot, I congratulated him on making the Hall of Fame and told him I had a signed picture/plaque of him I had won in a raffle a couple years ago. He nodded like he actually cared and then went off on his way.

Anyway, we walked to our gate and we realized he was waiting for the same plane. He was there to take his team (the San Diego State University baseball team) to Colorado to play Air Force. So, my boys went and had their pictures taken with him (with a real camera) and got an autograph.

When we landed in Denver, Andy and I got off and waited for Tracy and Alex who were toward the back of the plane. When Tony Gwynn got off, he waved at me and Andy offered to shoot another picture of me, but I told him I didn't need to bother him ... plus I was so happy, I really didn't need a picture to remember it.

For 24 fans

Check this out ...

Movies

Haven't been to the theater in awhile. But I did watch two movies in the hotel room on the trip ... No! Not THOSE kinds of movies.
First, Dejavu with Denzel Washington. Trippy, fun flick. Not sure why this didn't do better in the theaters. Good story and excellent acting.
Second, Rocky Balboa (we had a choice between this and Blood Diamond and we chose this which shows the mindset of a guy roadtrip). Actually, I thought it was pretty good. WAY better than Rocky V. About on par with Rocky IV and not quite as good as the first three (although there is a flashback shot of Mr. T and that automatically improves any movie!).

Numbers

• Five rounds of golf.
• Four baseball games.
• One Broadway show (now in Vegas).
• Two days in Vegas.
• Untold dollars lost in Vegas.
• A lot of beer, tequilla and rum imbibed.
• Five guys in one Vegas hotel room (don't ask).
• 42-inch Plasma screen TV in the Tucson hotel room.
• More than 2,000 miles on the road.
• At least four hours in Phoenix traffic!!!
• Dozens of golf balls lost in the desert, fancy homes, ponds and a few on a stretch of highway near Kingman, Arizona.
• Four times listened to Beatles "1" CD.

It was a great trip!

Brushes with Greatness

Well, just got back from my week-long Testosterone Tour in Arizona and Vegas. Had a blast. Lots of stories. But I'll just start with the famous (some not quite) folks we met along the way:

• Woody Harrelson ... OK, we didn't meet him, but my buddy Andy was convinced he was one of the twosome we got paired with for our first golf outing in Tucson (he was actually a local printer who had enjoyed about 18 beers before we even started playing).







• Vinny Castilla ... At the Rockies/D-back Spring Training game, Vinny was helping out on the field and signing autographs. I got my picture with him and he was very cool.






• Dick Hoerner ... Read his stats on the link. He was a running back for the LA Rams. We met him at a restaurant in Harrahs in Vegas. We were rather intoxicated and talking with all of the folks at tables nearby and Dick chimed in. He's a very nice guy and even gave us an autograph and pic. (That's Randy with Dick up above).






• Lee Smith ... He's now No. 2 on the all-time saves list and trying to get in the HOF. But he was happily signing autographs and pictures (for a fee which is why my pic is from far away and he's not recognizable). He was working with Fergie Jenkins. And I was too lazy to adjust the image beforehand so tilt your head and look for the blob in the middle, that's Lee.




• Eric Idle ... Monty Python alum and creator of "Spamalot." We probably never would have seen him except there was a screw-up at the play (it was only the second night in Vegas!) and he came up from the audience to aplogize and did about 10 minutes of stand-up that was awesome. The picture is the glowing man. Apparently British actors emit a glow when shot with a crappy camera phone.




• Chris "Jesus" Ferguson ... For those who don't know who he is, click on the link. I saw him as we were leaving "Spamalot" and I got a picture (actually some woman offered to shoot it and she didn't know what she was doing so it didn't come out at all) and an autograph. I was amazed at how friendly and courteous he was to all of us poker nerds who wanted a memento.


• Michael Boatman ... Michael is good friends with TT member, Andy, and he met us with Andy's other friend, John, in Vegas. Michael is a very cool guy who earns his money acting (he was in LA shooting Grey's Anatomy) but he also loves writing and I love talking to him about it. He is a heck of a lot more disciplined about it than me.

Oh, yeah

A couple people have asked... so I'll tell you.
I'm down 17 pounds total so far.
I'm feeling a lot better and my racquetball game is definitely improving.
We'll see how my golf is affected.
Anyway, it still doesn't show, but it's progress. (Much like my writing!)

Papers

Journalism was how I began my career. And I loved it.
But the long hours and low pay were too much for me. It's not for many folks.
I have many friends who still work at papers all over the country.
And I have a lot of people who influenced me and my life who still work in papers.

No. 1 would be Bill Spencer with the Fort Morgan Times. Still my favorite editor and a good friend. Bill taught me about remaining cool under pressure (I swear this guy's blood pressure is something like 2) and about what is now called "community journalism" which really means a paper is more than a way to communicate, it's a member of the community.

One of the other biggest influences on me was Chris Cobler of the Greeley Tribune. Chris was the one who called me while I was working in Fort Morgan and asked if I wanted to interview for a job in Greeley. For the next four years, with Chris pushing me, like he did everyone who worked at the Trib, and with my good friend Randy Bangert leading, I realized two things: 1) Newspapers are tough beasts. They demand time, skills, patience, dogged competition, time (did I mention that?), dedication and invite, often times, brutal criticism. 2) Newspapers are not my life.

With Chris and Randy at the Trib, the paper became the best mid-sized daily paper in the state, and I would have compared it to any around the country.

This week, Chris is leaving the Trib. I don't like the circumstances. It's too complicated to get into here. But my problem is that a lot of people who worked with Chris don't seem to care what he gave up and what he did to help make the Trib great. One of my friends who used to work at the Trib paraphrases the Marines slogan when talking about the Trib: "It's the toughest job you'll ever hate."

And I can understand that. Chris was a hard-ass. He didn't settle for crappy quality and demanded a lot out of everyone who worked at the paper. I realized my family was more important to me than a newspaper. That's why I left. And while I may have been frustrated at that, I certainly never questioned Chris' commitment and dedication to the Trib and to journalism.

This year Alex also got to work under Chris ... as a player on Chris' basketball team. It has been the best basketball experience he has had. He has learned more and appreciated the game more than ever before (even if I still don't think it's a sport!). Chris is an excellent mentor and knows how to get the best out of people.

I am going to miss Chris and I wish him and his family the best in wherever life takes them next.