In Tropical Neenah, Bad Flick, Sunday Sports

Last night we started watching Snatch, a 2001 flick with Brad Pitt, on one of the HD channels. Recommendation? Don’t bother. Pointless. Incomprehensible dialogue. Gratuitous violence. We quit. Ghost Whisperer was better, even with Jennifer Love Hewitt revealing less, ah, well, you know, than usual.

My brother, Ken, emailed me this morning (from Mohave Valley, Arizona) in response to Peninsula Pen. Though he thought this is all a good idea, he has concluded it’s not consistent with his retired status. He writes: “After some introspective thoughts when first confronted with this notion I decided if it walks like work, looks like work and sounds like work, it is work.”

He reminded me of “the Johnson family picture book that Barb sent” (Barb is our sister, lives with husband Jim in Las Vegas. When they’re not in Wisconsin. Or Minnesota. Or Malibu. Or New Zealand.) Anyway, we’re supposed to collect immediate family photos into a binder for posterity. So far, I’ve gotten as much done as has Ken (see reference to work, above). I share his good intentions.

We visited Wisconsin earlier in the month, too. Stayed with Kelly and Phyllis in Tropical Neenah, as Kelly calls it. This time the tropical part fit. We were there for the weekend festival of speed (ALMS and Champ Car) at Road America. With Jim, the boys (Turbo, too) became the “garage gang” again. All we proved it that we’re getting too old for this stuff. We visited friends at the Saturday sports car race, then skipped the Sunday open wheel stuff. So did a lot of others, it seems. Here’s Kelly, Jim and some other friends paying homage at the grave of Brian Redman’s Cat.



There are two races and Broncos pre-season football on television today, all pretty much at the same time. Other than sorting through that – I nominate the TV remote as the most important invention of the twentieth century – it’s plant watering day. Exciting stuff, isn’t it?

Today’s races were dramatic, the leaders of both beaten – or losing, there is a difference – in the last handful of laps, but the biggest drama of the day may have been the walk-off home run to win the Little League World Series. Most of my focus was on the American Le Mans Series race from Mosport near Toronto. Both the race and the coverage were good. I’ll be writing commentary for that one tonight and in the morning. Again, this is getting long – and probably boring. Later.

Tom