The title to be named later

I had intended today to do some yard work. Lately, the weather has been temperate, even with the traditional North Dakota breeze blowing at 30 miles and hour, and seemingly coming from all directions. There's work to be done; the lawn needs a good raking, there's the sprinkler system to revitalize, and the mower needs a good sharpening and such.

At present, the temperature is 31 degrees. And it's not snowing, but the rain is looking rather....large. They expect it to clear, and to get up to around 50 today, so I may do something outside before the sun goes down, but don't count on it, kids, because I'm pretty much blown by 2pm....largely, because I'm up at 5 every morning, even on my days off.

Damned internal alarm clock.

Well, there's interior stuff to do, as well....laundry, dishes....food. And such.

I like working the yard. I'm not a fan of manual labor, mind you, although I've done my fair share, but there's something about turning chaos into order that satisfies the very confused soul that inhabits the body. Put on the headphones, fire up the machinery, and off you go.....straight lines.

I could do without the raking.
Oh, and the leaves.

Changing subjects:

As some of you know, I'm from Detroit. It's not really something you brag about, because invariably, people look at you funny the minute you say you're from Detroit. Nobody bats and eye if you were to say, "I'm from prison", but the minute you claim Detroit as your hometown, you can see the wheels start turning. They're thinking, "Ah....a survivor." Or, "I wonder if he ever killed a guy."

So, to answer.
No.
I've never killed a guy.
I killed a few relationships there. But back in the day, I was a serial relationship killer.

No.
I'm just from Detroit.

And as such, people from Detroit have an almost genetically engineered trait that there is no other sporting teams but Detroit sporting teams.

ANY Detroit sporting teams.
I've attended Red Wing games (in both the old Olympia, the Joe, and two arenas in St. Louis, and one in Orlando), Lions games (at Tiger Stadium, the Silverdome, and Ford Field), Tiger games (Tiger Stadium and Comerica Park) and Piston games (in both Cobo and the Palace)....as well as Detroit Express games (Major League Soccer back in the seventies), The Detroit Wheels (World Football League), the Detroit Vipers (American Hockey League in the mid nineties) and what can I tell you, it's inherited.

And here's the kicker: I go, knowing that the teams are going to break......my......heart.

The Tigers have broken my heart more times than I can name. They're doing it now. All I can say is, they had better have a sixteen game winning streak in their pocket, or it's gonna be a looooong summer. The Tigers broke my heart when they didn't win the world series two years ago. And they even broke my heart when they put together a three game winning streak at the end of the season to avoid being the losingest team EVER. And I had money on it that the WOULD be.

The Red Wings also break my heart on a regular basis, but they do it in a really interesting way: They play like Gods during the regular season, and suck in the playoffs. They won their most recent series, but the games they lost were awfully played, and the ones the one seemed to be given to them. I don't hold out hope. I never bet hockey.

The Pistons break my heart, but usually in the conference finals, NOT in game one of the playoffs. And yesterday they did it in fine style, blowing a thirteen point third quarter lead to lose by a handful. Sometimes, I bet basketball. But yesterday, I woulda lost parts of my anatomy.

And then there are the Lions.
I don't think a single thing needs to be added.
All they need to be a contender is a quarterback, someone consistent in the backfield, an injury free receiver, an offensive line that isn't offensive, and a defensive secondary that doesn't look like it's got more holes in it than your average colander.

I don't look forward to the next few weeks.
I hope I'm wrong.
But I'm not.
Damn.