Life

A couple of days of me being sick seems to be drawing to an end. I'm sure I caught whatever Henry had but he seemed to bounce back quicker than I. Henry has his 5 year checkup tomorrow. I remember his first one at one week.

Paul Brown would be 100 years old today if he were alive. PB is Massillon's most famous citizen, certainly ahead of Lillian Gish and David Canery of film and tv fame. I believe Paul Brown should be recognized as the most innovative football mind in the history of the game. Those who know and have studied football realize this but the casual fan certainly does not. For some reason, he was never given the "most" genius label and that's a shame.

I met Paul Brown on the night that Paul Brown Tiger Stadium was dedicated to him. My family used to eat at a restaurant every Friday night before the game and he happened to be dining there. My dad made me go up and introduce myself to him and I was very nervous. Not only because it was Paul Brown but because its intimidating for a ten year old to go up to a stranger and say hi. But I did it and I'm glad I did. I mentioned my Grandfather, Bill Briggs, and PB smiled and nodded recognition. Granddad was the first scorekeeper in Massillon Stadium and was well known around town. The Briggs name has always been well known in Massillon and I credit Granddad for starting that nice tradition.

I'm back from a quick trip to Pheasant Run Resort outside Chicago. The Illinois Energy Association had their annual meeting there. It was a nice place but probably not a place I would think of taking the family. Unless I was going to be on the west side of Chicago for something else. I golfed with my boss yesterday. Although I am the best #18 player I know, my golf game stinks. It took the entire round until 18 to get my first par. I don't know what has happened to my game but I stink lately. Need to get back in shape for the Myrtle Beach trip in November.

Last night I had dinner with a group of young legislators from India and Pakistan. I sat with 3 Pakistans and 1 Indian and we had an interesting discussion. It was hard to understand everything they said but I took two things away from the dinner. 1. They believe Osama Bin Laden is dead. 2. They wish the U.S. would do more to help the Pakistan people as opposed to the Pakistan government. They may be a little naive in their knowledge of what we are trying to accomplish with our aid but its difficult to explain why we do what we do. At least its difficult to explain it in a diplomatic way: We give aid to Pakistan and former President Musharref because he was a big help in the post 9/11 days and they continue to be great friends and allies in the hunt for terrorists.

The power came on last night at 3:00 a.m. I knew when I heard Jack's lamp singing "Winnie the Pooh, Winnie the Pooh". I got up because a bunch of switches were turned to on including Jack's and Henry's but neither of them woke up. I plugged the fridge and freezer back in (although I had dumped most of the food last night) and the hot water heater.

It's nice to have power back, it's hard to believe how much you miss it. We had all the neighbors over for dinner on our GAS grill and I even made cookies on it because the frozen dough needed to be used. We had cold beer and a fire and all in all it was a fun night. But it would have quickly gotten old if we had to do it for another 5 nights.

We lost a lot of food but that's to be expected. I think we saved a lot of the frozen steaks and chicken by giving them to a neighbor with a generator. I'll definitely go out and buy a generator in the next few weeks and also put together a better emergency kit for outages like this.

The Briggs family won't be caught without a generator ever again. I always thought they were a luxury until today. At least we have nice weather.

We haven't had power since 3:00 pm Sunday. AEP is saying it could be another 7 days until we get it back. No power = no showers. Our fridge and freezer is hooked up to a neighbors generator but that will end at some point. At least we have a gas grill and stove so we won't starve. If its up to me, we'll head somewhere for a few days of vacation. But Sarah is talking some nonsense about having to work. I guess we can take showers at the club downtown...

Not much going on in life. Tigertown Properties LLC bought its second house today in Perry Township between Massillon and Canton. I hope to close by the end of September and our renters are moving in November 1.

I think we got a really good deal on this house, it sold for $144K a few years ago and we picked it up for far less than that, maybe because it was bank owned. At least I hope we got a good deal. Regardless, the numbers work out that the house will be paid off in less than ten years.

I'm excited about these investments although it was tough selling my IBM, Budweiser and Coke stock today. I began investing in those companies back in 1999, when I had money and nothing to spend it on. I didn't know a lot about investing but I knew that blue chips stock seldom went down for a long period of time and that if the money was automatically taken out of my checking account I didn't miss it. So every month I had $25, $50 or $100 taken out and invested.

Nearly ten years later, I've become attached to these companies. But not attached enough to dismiss a great investment.

Below is a collection of photos, mostly from this weekend. Our trip to Cinci was great, Great Wolf Lodge was a really nice place and even I enjoyed the slides and waterpark. We at ate Nicholson's, my favorite Cinci casual restaurant but only stayed at the game for a couple innings. We went back to the waterpark this morning before heading back to Columbus.

Henry had a fantastic birthday. We tried to get him a Wii but couldn't find one so loaded up on presents, including his new bike which he struggled on yesterday. But today he rode like a champ and even got around the pond. I'm proud of him, yesterday I was frustrated. And our neighbor found a Wii so he got a bonus gift. An expensive bonus gift. Although I might be playing it more than him, especially after he goes to bed...

Today is Henry's fifth birthday. As I sit here tonight and think about what I was doing five years ago at this exact moment, I'm amazed. My son has changed my life in so many positive ways that I'll never be able to show him my appreciation. I know that toys and gifts and candy aren't my greatest gifts to him. I know that its the time I spend with him playing catch in the backyard, playing putt putt golf with the family, going to the donut shop on Saturday mornings. Because those are the things that I remember doing with my dad and those are the memories of my youth. It's funny, thinking back to what you remember when you were five years old. Or seven or ten. Sometimes special memories are the important ones, the big things that have occurred in life. But often they are the simplest things.

Not that Henry isn't having a great birthday. We gave him way too many presents tonight, including a new bike and a bunch of Star Wars toys. We went to an indoor glow in the dark putt putt facility to check it out for his upcoming birthday party with friends (yes, we're running late on it) and then he chose Hoggys for dinner instead of Applebees. Tomorrow is his first teeball game and then we'll likely watch some of the OSU game before heading down to Great Wolf Lodge down my King's Island. We are going to the Reds game tomorrow night and who knows what we'll do on Sunday, maybe go to King's Island or maybe not. Regardless, I know we'll have one happy little boy who had a great birthday weekend. And maybe he'll file some of it away to reflect on when he has a little boy of his own.

Well, after her speech last night, I love Sarah Palin. I liked her delivery, I like her message and I admire her for who she is. I think Rush said it best today, there are Sarah Palins everywhere in this country of ours and she is a great representative of them.


And my Sarah liked her speech too, although I don't think she's happy about it. She said it was one of the greatest political speeches she's ever heard. I'm amazed that only 750,000 fewer people watched her speech than watched Obama's. And he had the media declaring it the event of the century.

From The Sun, a British newspaper:

A WEEK ago nobody had ever heard of her.
Today she is the most talked-about woman in the world. And with good reason.
Sarah Palin's sensational performance at the Republican Party Convention may turn out to be the tipping point of this rollercoaster American election.
Obama fans hoping she would fluff her big night were in for a nasty shock.
This speech has turned the election upside down. It was simply stunning.
Democrats and their Lefty media backers had been sneering that she was a small town nobody, a hick from the Alaskan sticks put into a job way beyond an inexperienced woman.
Believe me, you will not be hearing that again.
Palin turned out to be an electrifying mix of intelligence, passion, energy, optimism and plain speaking.
Full of self-assurance and aggression, she popped Barack's balloon big-time.
From the moment she walked on stage in this cavernous bear pit, bandbox smart in cream jacket, trim black skirt and black heels, she proved that John McCain knew exactly what he was doing when he picked her as running mate.
Hair piled into a slight beehive – more Sarah White House than Amy Winehouse – she blinked and smiled behind her geeky spectacles as the vast crowd went ballistic.
For an unpopular party divided over Iraq and struggling to compete with Obama's Messianic glamour, the choice of Palin looks absolutely inspired.
Main Street America will have loved her performance.
And it was seen by 30million voters – the greatest number ever to watch a candidate for the much-derided VP post.
She is popular with voters for the very reason America's snooty political establishment despises her: She isn't one of the Washington gang.
She's a moose-hunting mum of five with a sledge-load of problems behind her own front door that workaday Americans can relate to.
A child with special needs. A daughter of 17 pregnant. A constant juggle between family and career.
As she said, her family has had its ups and downs like any other.
Last night her first task was to introduce herself and her family to an American public incredulous that the unknown Alaska governor could within weeks be a heartbeat away from being their commander in chief.
Compared to the journeyman career politicians dominating both parties here she seemed fresh, natural, one of us and not one of them.
She spoke to America as one mum to another. She cracked good jokes.
What's the difference between a hockey mum and a pit bull?, she asked.
Answer: One wears lipstick.
What will have scared the enemy camp most is the devastating series of prime-time punches she landed on the jutting Obama jaw.
Showing steel beneath her magnolia jacket, she slaughtered his lack of experience, his vanity, his emptiness beneath the windy waffle.
It was the most powerful demolition of the Democrat hero I have heard in two weeks on the US election trail.
The St Paul audience adored her.
When she duffed up the Lefty media commentators for their sexist sneers, the vast crowd roared approval and pointed in anger at the titans of the American press aloof in their special enclosure.
And quite right too: who ever asked whether Obama could still be a good dad if he became president?
The irony, as Palin pointed out, is that liberal media sniping has only succeeded in uniting Republicans behind her.
The wagons have been drawn up and the Republicans are ready for battle.
The McCain-Palin ticket now looks in exciting shape.
A war hero and a heroic mum. Experience and optimism. A man and a woman.
And when McCain joined the Palin gang – babies and boyfriends and all – on stage after her speech there was a sense of cheeky fun absent from last week's solemn Obama coronation.
How the Democrats must be regretting Hillary isn't running with Obama. Barack's sidekick Joe Biden looks a dull old dog compared with the ball of fire that is Palin.
But most fascinating of all, consider this: If Obama loses, Hillary Clinton will run in 2012. Opposing her is sure to be Sarah Palin.
That would guarantee America its first woman president.
And my fistful of dollars, having seen both in action here, would be on Palin.

Today I added Minnesota to my state capitol collection. It was nice and the Clerk gave me a tour of the House floor. I also went into a huge Cathedral, St. Pauls and it was very impressive.

I'm at the airport, waiting to leave. I'm tired, too much late night stuff. I can't wait to get home. These conventions wear on you.

Blogging from the Republican convention. The hurricane is the big news here. Other than that, R conventions are the same as D conventions.