Goodbye to a Very Big Man

Good morning everyone and Happy Fathers Day to all you daddys - even you sugar daddys.  I'm sure Memphis Mojo is having a nice Fathers Day after his excellent cash last night (or early this morning depending on where you live) in the Seniors event at the WSOP.  I only realized last night that I am qualified to play in this event myself.  I'm not sure that's an accomplishment but I'll take it.  Maybe next year the PQ will go play the ladies event and I'll play the seniors event.  Or not since the ladies event is a good bit later than the seniors tourney.  May have to wait until we both retire.  Or we can wait a few years and both play the seniors event.  That would be a good year.  But don't tell the PQ she's getting close to being eligible to play, she might get upset.

Unfortunately I found out on Fathers Day that E Street Band saxophonist Clarence Clemmons died yesterday.  I had heard he had a stroke a day or two before.  Not a great Fathers Day for his kids or for all of the fans.  The commonly told story is that on a stormy and very windy night, Clarence went to a joint where Bruce Springsteen was playing.   According to the story, when he opened the door, a gust of wind caught it and ripped the door off its hinges.  Bruce heard the noise and all he could see was this huge figure - Clarence was a former college football player and stood 6' 4" - silhouetted in the doorway.  When Clarence came to the stage and wanted to jam with him, he was afraid to tell him no.  And so began a beautiful friendship that lasted almost 40 years.  Clarence being black in an all white rock and roll band (not quite all white as keyboardist Dave Sancious played with them until just before they hit it big) in the early 70s was a very different animal on the music scene.  You didn't have too many groups that were mixed black and white and in an area like New Jersey I'm sure it cost them some gigs.  But the affection between Clarence and Bruce was obvious to all.  I don't know what the band will do without Clarence but I know he will be missed greatly by both the fans and his band mates.  RIP Big Man. 

This weekend has been pretty relaxing for me.  I went shopping with the PQ and her sister along with my daughter and my niece.  We looked like a bigmist family trooping through the mall.  I got a couple of pairs of shorts and a polo shirt while there.  I looked at some nice cookware in Macy's but the last thing I have room for now is more pots and pans.  But I do love to look.  I do want to get a small santoku knife and a big cutting board someday soon.  We got some new bamboo cutting boards a few weeks back and I'd like to get a really big one with a channel for juice runoff on it.  We got rid of a bunch of old cutting boards before we moved recently.  I don't want to say these boards were old or anything but one of them we picked up at the State Fair of Texas in 1986. 

Whilst I've been writing this today, my daughter made me breakfast.  Happy Father's Day to ME.  Bacon, cheese and onion omelet, home fries, bacon, oj, and coffee.  Oh and lets not forget the english muffin as well.  Now that's a fine breakfast.  Thank you Sarah and thank you my dear wife for making the coffee, I needed it.  Last night I was beat, fell asleep in my chair even before my wife sent me off to bed.  I slept pretty well and even the dog was nice to me by waiting until 7 to get me up to take her out.  I'd say its been a good day so far.  Tonight we are getting together with my boys who are taking me out to a comedy club.  I just wish I had won the lottery last night as well.  Would have completed the weekend on a real high note.   As if. 

I haven't been playing much poker at all lately.  A little online at a site thats still open though who knows if I'll be able to take the money out from there.  Not that I have a lot in it, I mainly used this site for sports betting and since they had a poker room as well, I play there sometimes.  I've been too broke since moving to play live poker much so since poker isn't happening I've been working on getting into better shape.  A lot of Wii Tennis lately.  I play it pretty hard for 45 minutes to an hour and really work up a sweat.  After that, it's shower time.  Well time to plan out my mini vacation next month.  Last year we went went to the great metropolises (metropolii?) of Steinhatchee, Micanopy, Yankeetown, Crackertown (right next door to each other) and Cedar Key.  Beautiful scenery, good food, even some poker in Ocala one night.  Fun times.  This year we are going further up the west coast up by Ft Walton Beach and Panama City.  Might get as far as Pensacola.  I am definitely going to a small town named Two Egg.  We'll also get to Destin and Seaside (where The Truman Show was filmed) along with a couple of state parks that are on barrier islands near there.  Its supposed to be some of the most beautiful beach in the world.  I love to find the unvisited, relatively unknown areas of Florida.  I've been here 23+ years and there's a lot I haven't seen.  Gotta get it all in before I move to Montana.  Yeah like the PQ will go for that. 

Well enough for today.  I hope all you dads have a great Father's Day.  Good luck on your Vegas visit  Lightning.  Congrats to Mojo and good luck permanent resident Poker Grump.  Wish I were there as well.  Stay lucky you nuts.