pondering parties

why do we gather to give gifts to the bride or to both the bride & groom? why do gather to give gifts to the expectant mother? why do we gather to give gifts to the new homeowner?

do they somehow deserve gifts for having accomplished a proposal, a conception, a mortgage signing? i suppose it's as valid a gift-giving occassion as a birthday. i mean, in what way do we deserve reward for having been born? we should give our parents gifts on our birthdays.

i can see bringing a gift to a party, especially if food & drink are supplied at the party. sort of a pay-back for the party. i was at a wedding shower today with soccer teammates. no silly idle girly chitchat and no shower games for this bunch. yeah! and, the cake was exceptional - definitely worth the cost of the gift.

been to any good parties lately?

here are the lyrics to the chorus of kelly pickler's hit song --
Don’t you know you’re beautiful?
Don’t you know you’re beautiful?
Don’t you know you’re beautiful?
Just the way you are!

hmm... did you hear the latest news about kelly? she had breast enhancement surgery. yeah, guess li'l kelly didn't know she was beautiful... uh... just the way she was.


speaking of celebrities, what are your thoughts on paparazzi? i can see it being okay to take pix of the celebrities, but when they start taking pix of the entire family... the kids... i don't know what i think about that. on the one hand, anyone who is on the street is fair game for getting their picture taken. i mean, you're walking around in public - it's not like you can stop people taking your picture. but, the paparazzi are pretty much stalking the families. that doesn't seem fair somehow. i mean, if you see them in the grocery & take their pic, that's one thing, but if you are following them around... that's odd and seems wrong. but, then, the celebrities can stay out of the spotlight. many of them do - they don't live in hollywood, or they just manage to stay out of the spotlight. so... maybe the paparazzi are stalkers, but maybe the celebrities like it, too, eh? i mean, they would not be celebrities if it were not for the fans, stalkers, paparazzi. right? right? what do you think??

i kinda have a hankering for a game of backgammon - wanna play?

today i learned that fertilizer used in the world's farming efforts creates more greenhouse gases than all the cars in the usa combined. i also learned that that the monte cristo sammich is basically a plain ol' turkey sammich -- except that it is also dipped in batter & deep fried.

have you seen the pix from the mars mission? could they be more fake looking? sheezle. the special effects in that tea leoni movie are more believable. seriously - are they snapping these shots in utah? i do believe we put a man on the moon in back in the day, but now... this... i just don't know. here's a wee little taste. looks like that patch out in the backyard where the grass won't grow, eh?

the word of the day is schadenfreude. this is a german word, and as is the case with most german words, it's really two german words just smashed together to make a new word. schaden means damage, and freude means joy; ergo, damagejoy. it's basically that happy feeling you get when that bully gets splashed with mud or that office rival gets his tie caught in the shredder. you know -- the couldn't-happen-to-a-nicer-guy syndrome. the problem with schadenfreude is that it is freqently followed by karmafreude -- the he-who-laffs-last syndrome... where you are so busy laffing at the bully gettin' all muddy, you don't notice you're the next one in line for the dousing.

it's a little bit more complicated than that

me likie some country ham & bisquits. umm-hmm! dip 'em in some ketchup. sippie some coffee with 'em. yeah, we went to cracker barrel tonite.

currently watching an old csi epi from '00. the characters are all wonky & still getting to know each other. they are exaggerated and busy yakking about their personal lives. and, there's all this odd narration... like, they are thinking out loud & talking through everything. an obvious tactic designed to introduce us, the audience, to the techniques of csi - many of which are common knowledge now, simply part of the culture. the things we learn, eh?

caught the end of that disaster movie where tea leoni is a news reporter. remember that one? a comet is going to hit the earth, and they send up a rocket to blow it out of the sky. the kid from the hobbit is in it, and leelee sobieski, and all sorts of people off television shows. it's an okay movie, but not great. it comes so close on so many counts, and just falls short. the characters are sort of half-baked, sort of flat. the overall plot is solid, but the scenes range from plausible to semi-brilliant to contrived to super-fake. thus - it is okay, but not super. it came out the same summer that asteroid movie came out. remember that one? the asteroid was on a collision course with the earth. i believe in the asteroid movie, the earth was saved. in the comet movie, about half the earth is destroyed. still, they were very similar movies. ever notice how that happens - one movie comes out & an amazingly similar one is right on its heels. it is a case of great minds thinking alike, or is somebody copying somebody else?

unfinished poetry

if i asked you to wait on the shore
while i swam far out in the sea
would you wait for an hour or more
just to be there for me?

if i asked you to wait in the woods
while i hiked away over the hill
would you wait thru rain & floods
to be there for me still?

if i asked you to wait by the road
while i drove away in a car
would you wait ....

tora! tora! tora!

when i was a kid, we didn't go to movies much, but for some reason, our parents took the crown prince & me to the drive in with them when they went to see tora! tora! tora!. there must have been some other movie first, b/c i remember watching something else before they told us to lie down & go to sleep on the matress they'd put in the back of the station wagon. tora! tora! tora! is about the japanese attack on pearl harbor. it was apparently a blockbuster at the time -- 1970 -- but also widely condemned as boring, dull, & long. it's on right now, on the teevee, and i can attest to the fact that it is, indeed, boring -- with wee tiny little subtitles.

tora is the japanese word for tiger, but according to wikipedia -- in this case, it is a combination of totsugeki, meaning charge, and raigeki, meaning thunder bolt. charge of the thunderbolt.

in the movie, ships use flags for communication. do ships still use flags for communication?

danica does indy

michael andretti: "he nailed danica in her left rear. it's his fault, not her fault. she did a good job."

tru dat.

ryan briscoe hit danica patrick's car coming out of the pits with 20 laps to go. danica was moving with the traffic, and ryan came out of his pit directly into her. what an eejit. danica was headed down pit road to cut him a slice of her brain, but she was stopped by security & her own publicist. yeah, it's a good thing they stopped her, b/c she might have scratched his eyes out.

the other woman in i.r.l. -- sarah fisher -- ended her day crying. a car spun in front of her, and she could not avoid it, hit it, and put herself out of the race. now, mind you, i am not sure i could avoid an obstruction at 200mph if i had 200 miles to take evasive action, but these are professional drivers. it is their job to avoid the obstacles. what is she doing pulling a hillary?

carthartic bubbles

our dishwasher broke. um... like... 10 years ago. we never fixed or replaced it. it just sits there not working, but, not really taking up space b/c it is like, under the counter. now, we wash our dishes by hand. it's usually not a major task, but sometimes it's kind of a hassle b/c it has to be done. you can only leave the dishes for so long before you are out of dishes or overrun by varmits. it is a hassle, but sometimes it is kind of enjoyable. there is something about doing the work with your own two hands that provides a sense of satisfaction you don't get loading & emptying the dishwasher.

the sense of satisfaction gained through doing something on one's own is a sense that is vastly absent from life today. we have machines for every task, including entertainment. kids aren't even asked to entertain themselves on a trip to the grocery store -- there's a dvd player in the car. our sense of entitlement is enhanced, and our senst of satisfaction decreased, and we don't understand why we aren't happy. we think if we add more stuff to our lives and have more tasks done for us, that we will be happy. but, it's the opposite, really. we'd be immeasurably more happy if we did more for ourselves and had fewer possessions.

well, i would be, at least. this is why i wash my own dishes - the cartharsis of the bubble.

here's to you, sweet baby james!

would you say that baseball is no longer a terribly popular sport? people don't watch it as much on tv. kids don't want to play it. just not as fun as the faster & glitzier sports -- football, basketball, and internationally - soccer. but, here is what is odd about baseball -- baseball is the only sport where people playing other sports wear a piece of that sport's equipment when they are playing their other sport. what? confused? baseball caps, man - baseball caps! we all wear them all the time. golfers wear them. footballers wear them. everybody wears them all the time & any time, playing sports or watching sports or just walking around. baseball caps are ubiquitous.

knew i shoulda tooke that left turn at albuquerque

according to one website - dedicated to relocations - the top ten places to live in the usa are:

1. charlotte, nc
2. san antonio, tx
3. chattanooga, tn
4. greenville, sc
5. tulsa, ok
6. stevens point, wi
7. asheville, nc
8. albuquerque, nm
9. huntsville, al
10. seattle, wa

of these, i have visited 1, 2, 3, 7, & 9. never been to 4, 5, 6, 8, or 10. never even heard of 6. of the ones i have been to, i would choose san antonio or chattanooga to live. of the ones i have not been to, i'd choose stevens point to visit b/c i never even heard of it, and i'd also like to go to seattle. i have no desire to visit tulsa or albuquerque.

other places i'd like to visit -- alaska & australia. other places i'd like to live -- brigadoon.

what about you - where have you been? where do you want to go?

don't call me boring!

went to jersey mike's tonight. did not get the regular #14, cold. got the regular #2 instead. heated.

this is why they call me the risk-taker.

the waiter

"wait here."

simultaneously slamming the car door & firing the ignition, she did not leave me time to take a breath, much less voice an objection.

why? - i thought. why wait? and, for that matter, why wait here? what is special about this place? and, wait for how long? wait until she returns? when will that be? if not until she returns, then... until when?

i was unsure & indignant. i did not understand why she issued the command or why i should follow it. what could possibly be the basis for her seemingly simple yet exceedingly random request? and, furthermore, what made her think she could tell me what to do? i am an independent person with thoughts & feelings of my own.

the car screeched to a halt, and she was out of it before the dust had settled around the tires.

"thanks for waiting."

it's midnight in scotland -- no wonder i am so tired.

you know what is weird on the interwebs? when there are adverts for local hotels pitched as vacation getaways. leaves you wondering what's so special about the place you might be planning to vacation, when you see how they can make the local dive sound like the ritz.

okay, hey... it's later, and now it is like 4am in scotland. so, yeah....

crappy green team racked up another indoor win. we should seriously consider giving up outdoor & sticking with this indoor gig. thoughts? opinions?

christina ricci is on jay leno, and you know what - she looks like a cartoon. those big ol' eyes in that tiny little head. long, long legs. actually, she is kinda spidery - all long legs & long arms & big ol' eyes. here's a double shot of li'l chrissie, and what is up with this... has she had some work done or something? or, perhaps it is [gasp] drugs? sheezle, she looks a wee bit tweeked there on the left, eh?

the summer has only just begun, and already the classics are flying in.

my name is tohm-ay-toh.
i am a poh-tay-toh.
.
.
g2? i thought you said "key, too".
i did not understand your english.
.
.
for 150 bucks, that swimsuit better be scritch proof.
.
.
he will now force feed you a diet of hybrid sightings.
.
.
would you like a pumpkin cheese cracker?
no.
why not?
because of the... pumpkin.
.
.
the secret show... it is apparently hidden by commercials.
.
.
and... this summer's mantra for those kiddos living at home:
i completely understand & totally agree.

crappy green team's perfect outdoor season still intact

that is all.

today, i vacuumed.

and, emptied the trash, watered the plants, cooked a meal, washed the dishes, went to the liberry & the grocery. also, went to the thrift store & found 4 tops for $8. that's 4 shirt-type tops, not like, 4 tuperware tops - ya doof. and, i was just settling down on the deck w/ my book & my gingerale & considering having a sleeve of figger newgers, when who should call but my old man, and he's nearly home from the soccer field. so, i held off on the tasty figgers, and let me tell you that turned out to be a good idea, b/c we ended up going to mellow mushroom for pizza & sonic for a reese's blast, and if all that went in on top of the figgers, well, we might have a volatile situation brewing.

i regret to inform you that i have nothing else to say.

questions... possibly without answers....

whycome is it that osama bin freakin-laden can upload vids to his own personal webpage from a cave in the afghani wilderness, and i cannot get a mobile signal in my back yard?

whycome is it i never win the powerball jackpot? or, even a smallish jackpotette w/ like a few thousand wee li'l buckeroos, eh?

whycome is it with most soda, you can open the liter bottle a wee smidgen to let out the pressure, and if it's gonna really blow all to hula, it will blow then, so pretty much right away you know whether you are safe or not, but with tonic water, after you open the bottle a wee smidgen & let out the pressure, and you wait, and you think you have the all clear -- kabla-ow!! whycome is it tonic water has a delayed spewization?

whycome is it if you are positive you have 3 down correct, and you are just as sure you have 3 across correct, they do not match up?

whycome is it some folks never learned to use their indoor voices?

whycome is it that 70º feels so hot at the beginning of the summer & so cold at the end?

whycome is it the shower curtain always kinda billows into the shower, but sometimes, you can kinda pull it aside a wee bit & let some of the cold air in & the hot air out & even things out enough so that the curtain will just stop its meandering, but sometimes, you can 'bout nigh to whip the curtain full open, and it just keeps on billowing in and sticking to yer freakin legs like a piece o' freakin scotch brand tape or something?

don't you love that part in pretty woman with the floss? yeah....

books 2008

currently:
need to visit the liberry!

completed:
monday mourning
[kathy reichs]
bare bones
[kathy reichs]
grave secrets
[kathy reichs]
cause celeb
[helen fielding]
deadly décisions
[kathy reichs]
déjà dead
[kathy reichs]
playing for pizza
[john grisham]
the big over easy
[jasper fford]
the life all around me by ellen foster
[kaye gibbons]
the name of the wind
[patrick rothfuss]
eat, pray, love
[elizabeth gilbert]

so - what about that earthquake in china, eh?

what a disaster. last i heard, up to 50,000 people may have been killed in the quake. many, many thousands have not yet been found - buried under rubble. what a nightmare. it's difficult to know exactly what is going on b/c the govt there is still so repressive. the citizen don't want to say anything bad about the govt or be portrayed by the foreign media as even having bad thoughts about the govt. they are afraid the western media will make it appear they are unhappy with their govt. and, really, what would be our motivation for that, eh? would we really want to make the chinese govt look bad? i don't know why we would, but perhaps we would. and, here's another thing about foreign correspondants - why do they all have british accents? just curious.



what a fascinating place, china. so everlovin' large, but yet, so stealth. quiet. hush-hush. ancient chinese secret. what is going on in there, eh? certainly not earthquake-proof building codes, that's for sure. why do so many orphan babies come out of china to america? so many little girls... do they still have those laws about how many children each couple can have? are boys still more valuable than girls? or, was all that some kind of twisted urban legend? hush-hush. ancient chinese secret.

a score by any other name would smell as rank.

score last night was 3-3 at halftime. that is really all you need to know. don't be so nosey about the final score. what is a score, anyway? a bunch of numbers all plastered together. and, what are numbers? barren & meaningless little symbols. the meaning is in the context, eh? yeah, so why are you so nosey about the symbols that were in context at the end of the game? you are such a nosey parker. okay, fine. the symbols were: 0, 1, 5. do with them as you wish.

speaking of symbols, when you get up to pee in the middle of the night, do you flush? i generally do not, b/c the flusher on my toidey sometimes doesn't settle back down quite correctly, and i don't need no feng shui fountain in my bathroom all night long. so, you see where this is going, right? sure you do. the next question - if you don't flush at midnight, when do you flush? the next available opportunity? like, do you get up & flush immediately when the alarm goes off? or, do you go again, and then flush? the former would appear to be more sanitary and the latter more environmentally friendly. really, the pee has been sitting there like hours already. why not pee again, and then flush it all at once? makes sense to me. looking forward to your valued opinions on this one.

211211

that is the poetic reading from the odometer in the garage. poetic, but really... too big. i have selected a new vehicle from the govt auction website. what do you think?

eh-hrm....

one of my fellow vanpoolies was this morning wearing shoes that did not match. by this, i do not mean the shoes did not match his outfit. i mean, the shoes did not match each other. they were of the same type, but different colors. i chose not to tell him b/c we were already on the van, on the way to work. it is too late for him to do anything about it, and he will be stranded at work all day w/o a ride to the shoe store b/c he rides a freakin vanpool. he could walk to walgreen's & purchase some lovely slippers, eh? but, i chose not to tell him. let him live in the little fantansy world where his shoes match. why alert him to a problem which he cannot fix? okay - and, how about this -- define: problem. perhaps it is not a problem. perhaps he did it on purpose. right. at any rate, i did not tell him. what would you have done, eh?

monday, monday... can't trust that day....

sergio won the players championship, and in the golf channel post-tourney interview, he stated that he will be interested to see what the media says about his win. they have had many opinions on his playing, so he wants to see what they will say now. i can tell you what they will say, serg -- they will say: sergio can will when tiger is not there.

so, congratulate yourself all you want, but don't worry your pretty little head... it's not like you will be getting any true respect.

books 2008

currently:
monday mourning
[kathy reichs]

completed:
bare bones
[kathy reichs]
grave secrets
[kathy reichs]
cause celeb
[helen fielding]
deadly décisions
[kathy reichs]
déjà dead
[kathy reichs]
playing for pizza
[john grisham]
the big over easy
[jasper fford]
the life all around me by ellen foster
[kaye gibbons]
the name of the wind
[patrick rothfuss]
eat, pray, love
[elizabeth gilbert]

happy mutha's day to all y'all muthas

the babushka or matryoshka dolls. classic amusement from russia. i played with a set of these when i was a kid -- literally for hours. in & out & up & down. playing doll house or doll family or just stacking them over & over. clearly an all-time classic toy. i would venture to say this rose & yellow-kerchief design is the traditional design, or at least one of the traditional designs. i had a set like this, plus another set, plus now i have my grandmother's set, and a set elvis got for me in prague.

according to wikipedia, the concept of the nesting doll may have come to russia from japan. or, the concept may have originated in russia, but not with dolls - with easter eggs or other carved toys.

this is an impressive set, eh? i do not have any that have more than 5 or maybe 6 dolls. this one has like, a million. or a billion. quite, quite impressive.

the dolls come in a wide variety of designs. i only have the girl-doll design, in a variety of clothing. but, as you can see here - a wide variety exist. i am not sure i am a fan of the variety. i like the traditional girl-doll design.

uh-huh! oh-yeah! adventuring!

bagged the housecleaning & went adventuring w/ my old man. the rental is a mustang, by an odd fluke of timing. the adventure included a greenway, a sammich, a park, a good book, a small-town square, some riding & some driving, baseball, pizza, & lightning. yes, it was quite an adventurous day! plus, before we left, i did all the dishes, made the bed, dusted the bedroom, & wiped down the little bathroom, so it's not like a bagged all the cleaning. uh-huh! oh-yeah!

i am baggin' the house cleanin'

and, goin' to the park!

w00t!!

just because i don't sit around all week wishing my life away by wishing it were friday - doesn't mean i'm not glad to see friday when it rolls around

yeah, everyone loves ol' joe, don't they now?

got any big plans for the weekend? as for me, i believe i might clean the house. there is no possible way i could be more excited. oh.yeah. as per usual, i would like to have a clean house, but do not wish to do anything about cleaning it. perhaps you can come over & clean w/ me. that would be funfun, eh?

in golf this weekend, the players championship - played at tpc sawgrass in florida. you may not be familiar with this course, but perhaps you have seen the 17th hole - the green is on an island in a lake, and the green slopes back towards the water. verrrrry tricky! here is a picture. maybe. if it's not too big, i will put it in here.

hrm... maybe i made the pic too small. can you see it? looks like something off a putt-putt course, doesn't it? that's something we could use around here -- a putt-putt course. then, i could go play golf & get away from this messy house!

not really a big surprise, now is it?

the state legislature of the state in which i live passed a law last banning smoking in public places. this includes all restaurants [unless they specify they are for over-21s only], stores, shopping malls - anywhere except the great out of doors. including -- state legislature building.

so, guess where there is smoking going on indoors? that's right, the state legislature bldg. there is a special room set up with an air purifier & a sandbag "snake" to block the air from going out under the door. there's a handmade sign on the hallway door - "do not open" - to remind folks to come around & enter the room from the back. the local news investigative team found filled ashtrays with recent ciggiebutts, score sheets from card games, and a drawer filled with alcohol. well, turns out that card games and alcohol are legal in the ol' state legi around here - so it's only the smoking that's a violation of the law.

the representative who occupies this office [where there was also smoking] & adjacent conference room has been sent a letter reminding him of the law. reminding him what he so enthusiastically supported just last year. reminding him that if you are messing around, someone will tell on you. reminding him that if you sit by a window doing something you should not, someone will see you & report it. reminding him that there is no such thing as a "friend" in the legislature. reminding him that he is a hypocritical doofus.

books 2008

currently:
bare bones
[kathy reichs]

completed:
grave secrets
[kathy reichs]
cause celeb
[helen fielding]
deadly décisions
[kathy reichs]
déjà dead
[kathy reichs]
playing for pizza
[john grisham]
the big over easy
[jasper fford]
the life all around me by ellen foster
[kaye gibbons]
the name of the wind
[patrick rothfuss]
eat, pray, love
[elizabeth gilbert]

wish list vs surprises

here is the thing about the wish list -- it's a sure thing. i mean, if someone has a wish list, and you pick a gift for them off that list, then you can be fairly certain they are going to like it. so, it's safe.

but, there is something about picking out a surprise gift. the risk you take wondering if it is going to be liked. kind of putting yourself out there a little and saying -- i think i know you well enough to know you will like this thing, so here it is. if the person doesn't like it, it's hard on both sides. you have to face that you didn't know them well enough to pick out something they would like, and they have to face that you think they are the kind of person who would like whatever it is that they picked out.

what's amazing is when it works right. when the giver picks out something they think you will like, and you do like it. you get to be surprised & delighted, and they get the fulfillment of seeing you surprised & delighted. and, you both feel a little closer -- the giver feels they do know you after all, and you feel a bit more understood in this great, wide world of misunderstandings.

that's what's nice about the surprise gift that you like - besides the fact that you get a great gift - the fact that you feel a little closer, a wee bit more understood.

by the way, i got a surprise gift, and i like it. alot.

¡olé!

i stand on the shore

i stood on the shore & called your name,
but you did not answer.
the sea birds whirled & dove.
the waves washed, washed, washed rocks.
but still, you did not answer.
the wind was unnaturally still.
a small crab skittered into a puddle.
but still, you did not answer.

i stand on the shore & call your name.
i will call until you answer,
even if that means i must call forever -
this is my love for you.

this appeared in this morning's paper. i removed the intervening words, to bring the thoughts into juxtaposition. read 'em & weep.

Like its peers, Chevron doesn't produce enough oil on its own to feed its refineries, forcing it to buy some on the open market. But Chevron still pumped out plenty of oil to cash in on prices that recently approached $120 per barrel before retreating slightly. In the United States, the San Ramon-based company pocketed an average of nearly $90 per barrel for crude oil sold in the first quarter, more than doubling the $38.03 per barrel at the same time last year.

okay, my question is: if they're producing excess & selling it, why are they then turning around & purchasing oil to feed their refineries? is it a different kind of oil for different purposes? more likely, it's a bunch o' bidness shizzle - they are selling at a high price, buying at a low price. this much is true: it is not hurting their profits. chevron had the second-highest quarterly profit in the company's 129-year history.

yeah. no tears at chevron, eh?

if you think there is a problem with the price of gas, then you really don't want to know what is going on with the world banking system.

today for lunch, the cafeteria had baked potatoes. um-yeah! i was going to eat the potato & the lunch i brought, but i got full off the potato. well, almost. friday is also free popcorn day, so there was popcorn, too. taters & corn. vegetables. and, lots of sour cream. dairy. and, vault zero. um... there is citric acid in vault zero. that's fruit. fruit'esque. um-yeah.

you know, i am really sick of hearing about digital converter boxes for analog televisions. i mean, what is up with that? why are we [yes, we - our tax dollars] purchasing coverter boxes for these people? criminy, folks - get a new television and leave me out of it. did you also hear that our national representatives are considering legislation to cap the cost of satellite radio? [uh... what about the freakin price of freakin gas??] so, they are working on legislation to regulate the price of satellite radio, and they are giving my money to people so they can purchase converter boxes. why are they messing around in communication? my old man says that it is because it is something easy and something that they don't have a personal stake in. okay, that makes sense. also, i am sure they are trying to distract us from the war & the economy. but... i just keep thinking there is something more to it.

probably it is in some way about a balanced lunch menu.

true sportsmanship

did you hear about the central washington vs western oregon softball game? these teams play in ncaa div ii -- small teams at small colleges in the wilds of the west. anonymous players battle for a place in obscure record books. there are important games & championships, just as there are in any conference, any league, any sport.

so, these two teams were playing for the top spot in their conference in a double-header at central washington last saturday. senior sara tucholsky, a wee little 5'2" part-time starter for western oregon, got up to bat. she hit the first home run of her career -- slammed one over the center field fence. she ran to 1st & missed the bag. circling back to touch base, she twisted & tore her acl and fell to the infield in a heap. the two teammates who had been on base reached home & scored, and everyone looked around for sara. the first base coach was trying to get her to crawl back to first base because if the coach touched her or helped her, it would be an out. if any of her teammates touched her or helped her, it would be an out.

then, central washington senior mallory holtman spoke up & asked the umpire if it would be okay if she and a teammate helped sara. so, mallory & central washington's liz wallace helped their opposition score a run. they carried sara around the bases, stopping briefly by each bag to gently lower her left foot to make the crucial contact.

mallory says it's really no big deal -- it's what anyone would have done. she says she just thought of it first & that doesn't mean nobody else would have thought of it. i'm not so sure. you see, mallory is facing knee surgery in both knees when the season is over. she knows what it's like to go down - the physical pain & the mental frustration. and, mallory holds just about every softball record in the books of the great northwest athletic conference. she knows what it feels like to score a home run. now she knows what it feels like to help someone else score one.

i don't care which side you're cheering for, that has got to be one run that everyone wants to see make it home.